Daddy's Lil' Girl

It's becoming more and more apparent that Mia prefers Mike. When Mike leaves the house, she would cry, crawl over to him, hold on to his pant leg and cry until he picks her up again. As for me, when I say bye to her, she smiles and waves back bye bye. Since I have been nursing her since she was a new born and seriously gave it all, I feel so "used" even though I like that she's so close to her dad.

Mike told me today when she craweled over to him and operned her arms for hugs, she said "dadda". I am so jealous. So far she hasn't even uttered the word "mama" too many times but she's been babbling "baba" or "dadda" all the time! Sigh!

- Mia wearing daddy's gift of Capital jersey for #8 Ovechkin.

First X'mas

Mia had her first Christmas! For days we have been defending the presents under the tree from being torn up by her. She easily yanked off a few of the bows off nicely wrapped boxes. For now, presents are not important but the wrapping paper is so much fun.

She got a bunch of presents, out of which mine was her favorite - a music table that sings over 50 songs, make animal noises, says ABCs, counts 123s, etc. She's been holding up against it and shaking her head and butt when the music starts. Apparently that's a new trick she's developed, which surprised me.

I have been sick with fever since last Thursday. It was not the most comfortable Christmas for me but it was meaningful with Mia with us.

First Tree

we finished decorating the tree this Sunday. Mia looked like such a big girl in this picture.

P.S. This is what the tree looked like on Christmas Eve before we opened all the gifts. This year it was the first time we had everyone coming over to our house!

Standing

Mia can stand up now with some help. She also knows how to get down, basically just butt flop onto the floor. Today my in laws came for a visit. Mia with grandma's help, climbed up the sun room day bed. When she turned around, she joined us clapping her hands. Now she's becoming really fun.

Tofu

Mia had Tofu for the first time today. I cooked Ma Po Tofu for dinner. Before I put spice in it, I lighted salted the tofu and ground pork and saved some for her dinner. I was completely surprised that she finished a big portion. What's more interesting was she grabbed the spoon at the end and fed herself with a little direction from me THREE pieces of tofu. She's making good progress in her mobile skills. It amazes me to see a little almost motionless thing grow into a little human being full of emotions and her own will.

Children's Holiday Party

We went to the Children's Holiday Party at my work today. Mia is too little to do anything but we took another Santa's picture. This time Mike was holding her and we were all in the picture. She did not cry. There were face painters, balloon people, slides, and a little amuzement park. We just walked around with her.

She was really afraid of the purple blow-up dinasaur that was 9 foot tall. Kids were bouncing in this fenced up play pen with the dinasaur in the center. When we went to the exit where this boy slid out with a scream, Mia started screaming and clenching onto me. I walked away comforting her. I was really curious what went through her mind. She has never seemed to be in fear of anything before.Maybe next year she will be able to enjoy more.

Yesterday evening we went to a friend's house for x'mas party. Mia stayed up till 7:30 and did not get to eat till late. She behaved well. There were ton of kids at the party. It's amazing how your life changes in a couple of years. I remember only a few years ago, I was downing vokka shots at the same party with the same groups of people. Now almost everyone has a baby or two... The basement was full of toys and babies. The host even hired two sitters to watch over them so the adults can have a normal time!

The lights are up (they did not show up magically, kudos to Mike!). We still need to put more ornaments on the tree but we do have the tree. I feel so domesticated now.

Little Critter

Mia has been climbing the stairs. Yesterday she successfully conquered one section of the stairs leading upstairs. As I was filming her, she tried to climb onto the second section of the stairs and she rolled off the stairs (3 steps) and fell on the carpet. I did not catch her. She was ok.

We tried to buy more gates for both end of the stairway going upstairs but Babies R Us sold out. We have to watch her closely before the gates are up.

Cristmas Tree

we selected a 7 foot Christimas tree this past Sunday. Lights are not all up yet. We will decorate with Mia this week.

First Thanksgiving

Mia had her first Thanksgiving this weekend. I had five days off so it was nice to spend so much time with her. We went to my in laws for dinner. We were supposed to be there at 2 PM  but her nap took longer. By the time we went to get gas, she had an "accident". We had to double back home to give her a bath and change her clothes. Nowadays getting out of the house is such a challenge. We found ourselves late for most of our appointments/events. It was also like packing up the house each time we went out. So by the time we got to our dinner, it was already three and they already finished eating (Turkey can't wait!) Mia missed her first pictures with the turkey.

Santa's in Town

I heard that each year, the "Santa" link is extremely long over the weekend. To beat the crowd, we went to the Mall today after work to see Santa instead and of course take Mia's first picture with Santa. When we got there around 6:30, the line was short and in five minutes it was jour turn. However as soon as Mike put Mia in Santa's arms, she started crying. We were not able to calm her down even after waiting for two groups of babies finishing taking their turn. I was hoping to have Mia's picture with Santa as this year's Christmas card picture but look at this!

She clinged to me for dear life in all the pictures with me but she had her good reason. Overall she was a good sport and tolerated us eating diner out even though it was her dinner, bath and sleep time normally. She even waited till I got all my new makeup at Macy's. We rushed by the Thanksgiving shopping crowd. I did not have time to take a glance of all the Sales stuff. It's amazing how your life changes and how you adapt to be efficient and self-sacrificing.

Shopping Together

x'mas is almost here and it's one of the most stressful time of the year for me because I have to search for gifts for everyone in the family.

Sunday evening after a three hour nap with Mia, we went out shopping. The Town Center is well lit with Christmas trees, raendeer, and shops' neon lights. It was the first time I took Mia out in a carrier at night and shopping. We picked out a blue sweater for aunt Lia and a x'mas tree bird ornament for the bird-loving grandpa.

Fence

Yesterday Mia creeped up the stair and came into the kitchen. With incredible speed, she headed straight into the dining room. She was so happy of her newly found freedom and did not want to stop exploring.

Today we went to Babies R Us and bought a fence to block the stairs for the basement. Mike also lowered her crib mattress to a lower level. Since she's so tall. she can now reach up and almost climb over.

We did other house spoofing such as packing up my Turkish ceremic whirling dervishes, putting locks on the cabinet doors, etc. When I was clearing stuff up, I found the stack of sonograms from last year. I went over each one and one was taken on 11/19 last year (a year ago today). It was so amazing to see Mia is so big now!

Meadowlark Botanic Gardens

It's football Sunday so Mike stayed home to watch the game while I drove Mia to the Botanic gardens nearby to have a walk. It was in the mid 60s. However due to the recent cold weather, the leaves have mostly fallen from the trees and we are about two weeks late to appreciate the changing colors of Fall. Regardless we had fun. There was a lake in the gardens and I took Mia out of the stroller so she could see the gigantic fish and the Canadian geese swimming in the lake. She was quietly observing her surroundings and seemed to be enjoying herself.

We also had our last Music Together today and we have decided to continue going to the Winter class starting in January.

9 month stats

Mia had her 9 month well check today (11-11-11). She weighs 19 lbs 1 oz and is 29.25 inches tall. She's off the chart on her height and about 50-75% in terms of weight.

She had her first flu shot today and a prick on her finger to test her iron level. Everything is normal.

When we got home, she tried American cheese for the first time at the suggestion of the pediatrician. She also picked up the bits of the cheese I put on her tray and fed herself successfully for the first time. She seemed to like the cheese a lot. I think it's because of the salty flavor that's attacting her as most of the time she's been eating plain food.

Since it was Veteran's Day, Mike had the day off. We went out and had a lunch date and watched the Immortals coming out to theatre today.  The movie was so so. We tried a new restaurant at the Mall and it was nice to spend some time with just each other.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Mia had chicken noodle soup today. I cooked organic chicken broth and put in some meat balls. Then I mixed it with wide noodles. She ate quite a bit after rejecting her store bought rice cereal. Maybe I will try noodles more later. I've been feeding her table food with my fingers as we eat dinner. She likes rice and of course she's my daughter. She also eats a little salmon from time to time but the portion is generally very tiny. Today she had a hearty meal.

9 months!

I cannot believe Mia is 9 months old today! She's a happy child. Even though she does not eat as much as I would like her to and she still does not sleep through the night all the time, I love her the way she is.

In Grandpa's Eyes

Below is a picture taken by Mia's grandpa. He titled it "The REAL Mia". In his email he said:  To me this image reflects Mia as inquisitive, playful, focused and relaxed. Mia was investigating grandpa's camera in this photo. She was so close to the lense, her face is slightly distorted. She looks like some animated character. I love it so much I made it my desktop picture at work.

The End to the Sun Room

Today Mia climbed her first stair from the sun room to the kichen floor. Mike placed her color book in front of her and it was incentive enough for her to figure out how to wiggle her chubby little legs up the stair and get to what she wanted. This officially marked the end of the sun room as her sole territory. From now on, there is no stopping her!

I mopped the entire floor last night in anticipation of this. She already hit her forehead twice in the process of attempting to climb up again later in the day. I can just see all the little accidents in the days to come and more cleaning work for us. :)

Pumpkin Festival

It's hard to believe it's already November and this post is three weeks late. In mid October we went to Cox Farm Pumpkin Festival. I carried Mia and my visiting girlfriend pushed the stroller around. We did the baby slide half a dozen times and check out diffent "theme parks". Mia had a great time. She obviously enjoyed the outdoors. The weather was incredible unlike now. Last Saturday we had an inch of snow... in October!!! At least we got to enjoy the Fall a little bit this year.

Return of the Jedi

Today's Mia's first Halloween. To satisfy the daddy's Star Wars dream, we are dressed in a family theme.

 Yoda's reaching for the light sabre.

 Master Yoda is not cooperating!

 Pricess Leia and Master Yoda

Smiley master

Swimming Again

Mom sent two more swimming floats our way. The baby tube Mia has been using since birth is now too small for her neck so we gave up swimming for some time. The new float goes around her waist instead of neck so she can't breathe better. The only down side is her shoulders and upper back are exposed since we kind of use the tub as both a swimming pool and a soaking tub for her. We swam for the first time in the new float yesterday. I poured warm water over her back so she did not get a chill. It took a minute to get the hang of it and start loving it. I was really pleased.

Crawling

Mia's now crawling. Very slowly and not smooth since she plunges down on the way to her destination. Today her favorite game was to destoy the tower we built in front of her using her color blocks. She crawled in front and reached out to pushed the blocks down. If we built it in another direction, she would come straight after it and push it down again. She could not get enough of it.

First Fish

Two days in a row, Mia had Salmon and seemed to like it. I think she's a meat eater just like her daddy. She does not like veggies or fruits as much

First Meat

Mia had her first chicken meal today with spinach puree. I cooked stir fry chicken for dinner and gave her four small chunks. I mashed it with a spoon and fed her with my finger. Because it was marinaded in soy sauce, she really enjoyed it. I hope this is the start of a well balanced diet for the years to come.

Aquarium

I havd Columbus Day off today so I took Mia to DC to meet up with Lu and friend. Three moms, one baby, two toddlers, we met up at the National Aquarium and then went to eat Sichuan food.

It was Mia's first time in DC and it was the first time I ever took baby out in a car on my own (not counting one doctor's visit). It was quite a production to get her ready and out the house. We were supposed to meet at 10:30 and we all got there from different directions at 11:30. With a baby, it's impossible to keep your schedule straight now. So many things are out of your control.

I pushed the stroller for a good twenty some minutes from my work to the Commerce Building where it housed the aquarium. It was tiny compared to the aquarium in Baltimore but just right to keep Mia's attention. She took a nap earlier in the car so she was awake the entire time and was very excited to see the fish, the allegator, the snakes, the sharks, and the rays... For a small aquarim, they offer a decent collection of sea life. We left the stroller at the gate (no checkin) and I carried her in the baby b'jorn. This way she could see what was going on. After seeing Mia so interested in everything when we were walking around in DC and inside the aquarium, I decided that it was about time to take her out more often now that she can appreciate things more.

Lunch was crazy. We got one table and another small table just to accommodate the stroller since I could not leave Mia outside the stroller. I fed her some noodles with tomato and egg broth. She ate some flavored restaurant food. I know it's bad but there is a first time for everything. :) This was her first noodle experience. We ate as fast as we could. I had to leave the table twice to change her and feed her. Now I am starting to see more and more into the hardship and sacrifice of motherhood. In the past I was always first stuffing my face so I don't get cranky. Now she has to come first. Since this is practically where I eat every other day at work. The owner and all the waiters and waitresses know me. They all came to see Mia and praised her for her large eyes. Typical for Chinese who favor large eyes. It was like introducing her to my extended family. I was proud that she did not make a fuss over lunch.

Home Made Baby Food

Julee stopped today to make baby food with me. I went to Whole Food yesterday and got a bunch of organic veggies and fruits. It took us a little over an hour to cook a dozen little jars of food. We made baby peas, pears, apples, squash, sweet potato and carrots. Mia tried a few of them and her favorite of the butternut squash.

Mia has very small appetite and generally does not like the store bought jar food. Hopefully she will eat more  of the fresh food.



Being first time mom, I am ambitious to do my best. Maybe I will be able to keep up with this for some time. Even if it's not every day.

8 months at Oktoberfest

Mia is 8 months today. She's now 18 lbs 9 ozs and quite a handful to handle. She just started propping herself up on her knees and knows how to rock back and forth. Crawling is any day now I think. We went out to lunch at Mon Ami Gabi. I fed her many small morsels of a french baguette. It's the first time she had bread. She seemed to love carbs!!! After lunch, we went to the Oktoberfest at the town center. It was a beautiful Fall day in the mid 80s. There were many food stalls and festivities. People dressed up and danced in what I guess was traditional German outfits for Oktoberfest.

We also waited in line for frozen yogurt. It was yummy. She's now ready to open for month and try my food every time I eat. I let her smell the food and explain what it was and told her she was not ready for it yet. She's experimented with many thing now.

Cold

Mia's been having a cold for a few days. She has runny nose, a cough and sneezes from time to time. The weather is bad lately. It's been cold and raining the whole weekend. We rescheduled her music together class so we will stay in tomorrow. I also got a cold, not sure if she gave it to me or I gave it to her. If she does not get better soon, we will need to take her in to see the doctor.

Vinayam and Dheeram

Last night, after weeks of absence, I finally made it to my favorite Monday yoga class. It was almost a two and half hour class. Since I returned to it, I have been leaving a bit early to get home in time to feed Mia, just in case. My bones were aching for a stretch and I got what I needed. As I tried to focus on my standing pose, I could not help but noticing the writings on the wall. Vinayam (Gentleness) and Dheeram (Patience) in ancient Sanskrit reminded me what I was building up in my practice and how I was in reality. Lately especially when Mia refused to eat solid food after me prepping it time and time again, I got really frustrated with her. I was roughing her and trying to shove food into her mouth, while she resisted with all might. I was practically wrestling with a seven month old who could not yet express herself in words. She was fiercely complaining in her blabbing way but I pretended that I did not see. For years, everyone said children would teach me patience. Mike always said I was the most impatient person in the whole world. It might really be true. Patience does not come over night. I am trying really hard. I often thought when I had my own child, I'be be gentle but the past weekend I was not. Since last night's practice, I thought I'd put myself in Mia's shoes. How would I feel if someone twenty times stronger tried to shove food in my month and I could not even say I did not like it. If I wanted to play with my food because I was curious and I did not understand food was not toy, so what? I thought I'd try harder from now on. First thing is to always be gentle and kind. Maybe then patience will come.

Taste of All Kinds

Mia has been on solid food for almost 7 weeks now. She's tried peach, apple, pear, carrot, sweet potato, peas, avacado, banana, squash, rice cereal, egg yolk, and porridge. Her favorite is the rice cereal and the least favoriate is squash.We do two solid meals a day plus a snack mid morning. She's taking a bit more than a few spoons each time. She also drank water from my cup, hence I gave her the sippy cup.

I went on a shopping spree today at H&M buying Fall/Winter outfits for Mia. Here is her winter hat. She's just like a doll and I have been enjoying dressing her up.

Mike had to work overtime today so I gave Mia a bath myself, two days in a row. I put her in the laundry basket so she could not escape while I got the bath ready. She was quite curious about her new 'nest' which kept her attention for a while.

Music Together 2

We went to Music Together again today. We tried different musical instruments and danced. Mia kept babbling on the way home. She's starting to get it.

Road Trip w/o Mia to Falling Water, PA

I went on an overnight road trip on Friday with the girls to Falling Water, Pensylvania (a home built in 1936 over a water fall for the Kaufmann family by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright). It was the first time since Mia's birth that I did not spend the night with her. It was my first time off mom duty.

It was a great trip. The house was fabulous and ingeneous and visionary for its era. It's so organically designed that it fits right into the surrounding.  In many places, we saw boulders designed as part of the house. It's amazing to see a view of the waterfall running under the house from all the balconies and hear its soothing sound.

 

We went to Out of the Fire for dinner off Hwy 31. I had veal osso bucco and three glasses of Malbec. It was BYOB so it worked out perfectly. This was also the first time I drank wine since I got pregnant. I have missed a glass a red wine so much and last ngiht I got my fill of it to go cold turkey again for a few more months.

On Saturday we went to the Ohiopyle State Park, rent bikes and rode along the Youghiogheny River. The weather just turned a bit chilly but it was a pleasant ride. I haven't ridden a bike for fourteen years and had to do a practice ride. Good thing I did not really forget otherise all those years of maneuvering in and out of traffic in the streets of Beijing would have gone to waste. 

I called home three times to check on Mia. She was behaving like an angel and took the bottle well this weekend. In fact I trusted Mike so much I was not too worried and truly enjoyed the trip. I feel reenergized now to take back on my work and motherhood duties.