Uncle Johnny

Mini met her Uncle John for the first time today. Uncle flew in from Thailand to see his new niece. We'll spend the next week hanging out with Uncle.

Now and Zen 2010

Uncle Andy and Aunt Wendy came over with E and C aleb to go to Alice 97.3 free yearly concert. Caleb is walking all over the place now and likes to touch everything in sight. E kept rubbing your cheeks calling you "so cute". We first stopped by the Cole Valley Street Fair - it wasn't very interesting, just some neighborhood vendors. We didn't make it inside the fenced area so we sat outside in the grass. We could still hear the music pretty well. Plain White T's and Sarah Bureillis. You were very calm and stayed awake for most of it.

Mini Snores

We caught Mini snoring today (you may have to turn up the volume to hear her). Hope it's a one-time thing.

Mini's Month 2

Mini, you have officially turned 2. Papa came home early from work (8pm) to see you. Unfortunately, during the extra time spent with you, you only slept and cried. Daddy was sad. Anyway, today Papa tried to think of all the differences between your early days and now:
- you were so tiny when we first met you - 5lbs 9oz. Now you're getting kind of fat, probably over 10lbs. you seemed so delicate the first few days but now you are very strong. you're always kicking with your legs when you cry and your arms are constantly flailing.
- the first few days, you slept a lot, almost all day long. you still sleep a lot, but now, you are awake a lot more during the day. In the mornings, you seem to enjoy being awake and looking around and making your baby noises. At night, you seem to be tired and cranky and tend to cry if you're not asleep.
- lately, you seem to cry whenever I hold you. When you start crying, I don't know how to make you stop. In the first month, I felt like I was able to stop your crying by bouncing you in my arms or rocking you.
- the only noise you made before were your cat-like wails and cries. you still make those now, but you have added soft cooing noises and "hi".
- you used to hate diaper changes and would cry every time the baby wipes touched your butt. now you seem to understand that they're for your own good -- you actually smile sometimes as we wipe your bum.
- you used to look right through me at bright lights. now you are able to look right at me and follow me around.
- your eyebrows used to be all white, now they are black
- you used to open one eye at a time, now you open both.
- you used to have a crazy widow's peak...well, you still have that today

Mini's First Ballgame

Minis first ballgame - go A's! Zzzzzzz

Mini's Monday

A play-by-play of Mini's Monday:

8:00am Wake up, full feeding, two diaper changes (both #2), accident and change of clothes
8:30am Playtime
9:00am Back to sleep
9:45am Wake up, snack, two diaper changes (#1 and #2)
10:15am Watch "Price is Right" with Grandma
11:00am Back to sleep
11:20am Wake up, Boppy time
11:40am Snack
12:00pm Back to sleep, Mom clips nails
2:30pm Snack, back to sleep
3:20pm Wake up, potty training session, diaper change (#2)
3:30pm Watch "America's Funniest Home Videos" with Grandma
4:00pm Snack
4:20pm Stroll to Buena Vista Park, naptime
5:30pm Bath, diaper change (#2)
6:00pm Full feeding, spit up and change of clothes
6:30pm Playtime with Grandma
7:00pm Back to sleep
7:45pm Wake up, full feeding
8:30pm Diaper change (#1)
9:30pm Full feeding, diaper change (#2)
10:15pm Bedtime
2:45am Snack, diaper change (#1)
6:00am Full feeding, diaper change (#1)

Fairyland and More

Saturday:
Mini ventured into her first theme park today. Mama and Mini met Lori and Emi at Oakland's Fairyland for a playdate. Fairyland is a fairytale-themed playground for younger kids that's on the older side but still something to see in the middle of Oakland. Mini spent most of the time sleeping and didn't see much but heard plenty of kids laughing and having fun. One day, she'll be one of those crazy kids running from place to place. Mama has to thank Mini for being on her best behavior. This is the first time we went out alone and Mini didn't cry in the car at all.

Once we got home, we went on a walk to Tank Hill with Papa and Grandma.







Sunday:
Mini went shopping at Macy's and helped Papa pick out a couple of dress shirts. Later that evening, Aunt Karen came over for a visit and dinner. Thanks, Aunt Karen! We can't wait to try out the Jenny Jump Up when Mini's older.

New Sunday Ritual

A new experience for Mini - Papa woke her up at 10:00am this morning for her first NFL game. Mini is ready for some foooot-baall (per Faith Hill and the SNF theme song)! Still have to confirm this with Papa but, hopefully, her first glimpse of football was of the NY Giants vs Carolina Panthers game. By default, Mini should be a Giants fan. But while she's still a baby, she can split her time with the Cowboys, Dad's favorite team.

Around 3:00pm, Papa and Mama took Mini for a stroll to Buena Vista Park. On the way, we stopped off at nearby open houses and encountered something new. We now have to take turns doing things. One parent has to watch over Mini while the other eats, sees, plays, etc. Mini did go inside the last house and met a pretty nice realtor who rocked her stroller while the parents looked around. By this time, she was hungry so crying ensued and we rushed home.

Brave Girl

Mini had a 10:00am pediatrician's appointment today. To get her Snoopy band-aid, Mini had to suffer through two shots and an oral medication that covered five immunizations. We were impressed by her braveness. After the 2 shots, she only cried for at most 30 seconds. All the other kids were wailing all the way out the door. It helped to have Papa there to hold her. She already senses security and trust from him.



Mini weighed in at 9lbs 10oz today. Another eight ounces and she'll hit ten pounds, can't wait! She's finally above Daddy's birth weight after six weeks.

Mama and Grandma decided to spoil her after getting the shots. The goal was to comfort her all day and allow her to sleep and eat well. We wanted to make sure she stayed strong to avoid any side effects or fever.

Observations

Mini cries differently than when first born. It's a demanding cry and starts off like a scream (it used to ramp up and stay at a whine). Not only that, she has different cries tied to hunger, fright, boredom, and annoyance.

Mini has outgrown her first set of onesies and quickly stretching another set. She used to swim in these onesies and we thought she'd never fill them out. How quickly they grow :(

Mini can see and hear clearly now. She follows figures, seems to recognize faces and voices, and loves to look outside. It's time to start kiddie enrichment. Mini's first class started with Mama showing animal figures to associate color and noises. Mini reacted most to Green Turtle, Pink Flamingo was a close second.

Mini's sense of smell was tested recently too. While eating dinner at Spices, Mini was introduced to stinky tofu. Mama waved a piece of this supposed delicacy near Mini's nose and let the aroma waft in. The smell was enough to wake her up and she pulled back in disgust, nose shriveled, and face scrunched. Haha, even babies know that stinky tofu is foul!



Mini's dexterity is developing. She can hold small items for very short periods of time. She's better at grabbing air and holding onto hair and blankets.

Mini looks like a different baby every week. This week, her eyebrows finally darkened and she looks more like a person. Before that, her cheeks became super chubby. Even before that, her face shape elongated a little.

Mini is also experimenting with facial movements and looks. The pursed mouth and wide-eyed look is a favorite so far. She also started playing with her tongue and eating air.

And the sounds... this is the cutest thing of all. Her small barks and yelps while sleeping are precious. During playtime, she makes happy noises that are coo-like. When she's tired of playtime, she calls out "iii"to let us know that time is up. It's funny to watch her make stretching noises when she wakes up or comes out of a curled position. (Stretching is probably one of her favorite things to do.) When she's ready to poo or toot, she grunts with such force that she sounds like a baby elephant. The all-time best are her little squeals. These happen mostly when she's sleeping, sometimes while awake. Grandma Chan says these are her "antenna" noises. Not sure where this originated but it has to do with a Yakult commercial and a fuzzy digestive system mascot.

Mama is really trying to savor every minute and can't stop staring at baby all the time. Wonder what Mini thinks of this. Hope it doesn't freak her out.

Mini Learns to Power Nap

Mini impressed us today. She pretty much stayed awake for a working day, from 9:30am to 5:30pm. With a few power naps of about thirty minutes each, she managed to stay up for morning playtime, a three-hour visit with Aunt Chloe, and computer time with Mama. What a trooper. (And yes, she will sleep well tonight!)

Not sure why she had so much energy today. But she is certainly more alert and curious.

Today's nap attempts - foiled! Wide-eyed and fully awake.

Mini Meets Mama's First Love

Today, we took Mini out for her first experience with Mama's First Love...no, not an ex-boyfriend. We took her to Golden Gate Fields -- the horse track. It was dollar Sunday: parking, hot dogs, beer, and soda, all for a buck. Mini got her first taste of gambling. Grandma said Mini gave her three fingers for the first race so we put a $2 bet on the 3 horse. Unfortunately, the 3 horse did not win. Neither did the 2 horse that I bet on. You can see that Mini was none too happy. Anyway, we only made money on one bet and left down $8. Oh well, she's didn't have the good luck we had hoped for. Anyway, it is safe to say that Mini has replaced the horses as Mama's first love.

Afterward, we went to Auntie Grace's place for a Birthday BBQ. She hadn't seen Mini yet so we thought we'd drop by. It was kind of crazy with 30+ people and 4+ dogs. It was a madhouse but Mini slept through most of it, which has become her MO. After some food, some pinatas, and some happy birthdays, we headed home for some much needed R&R.

Mini's Supergirl Pose

I lost! :(
Last call at the track

Whistle While You Work

So I've been hearing about Grandma Chan's ability to make Mini go number 2 by whistling (although really she was trying to get her to go number 1). Supposedly, she's been successful 7/7 times. Well, yesterday morning, I got to see it for myself. Mini had been straining for a few minutes when Grandma decided to show me her skillz. Sure enough, with a bit of whistling, Mini had gone 8/8 (See photos). Although I was suspicious about the whistling given that obviously Mini was already in the proper mindset. This seemed like a prime example of false causality.
This morning, I tried to test out my theory. She was once again exerting herself. So I tried holding her the same way as Grandma Chan (except I went with diaper on). Pretty soon, she had finished her business. I think I've debunked Grandma Chan's hypothesis. I don't think Mini is responding to the whistling but rather the stance, which probably helps her push.


Mini taking Mama's spot

Uncle Lee and Aunt Vivien's first diaper change (well, Uncle Lee just watched)

Photo Re-creation

This is an attempt to recreate a famous baby photo of mine. I'm sure my family will know what I'm talking about. I need to go back and review the photo angle/head tilt and possibly have Mini pack on a few more pounds. In my photo, I bet I could stay up on my own and looked more like a beached whale.

I want to be like daddy!

Pooty Princess

The past couple days, Papa has decided to start swaddling Mini again. We stopped swaddling her after about 2 weeks because she didn't seem to like being constrained and would always break free of the swaddle (little one's got some muscles!). Anyway, after watching "Happiest Baby on the Block", they said you should continue to swaddle even if the baby doesn't seem to like it since she doesn't really know what's good for her anyway. So starting Sunday, Papa's been giving it a try especially since Mini has been waking up more often and been fussier during the night. Well, what do you know? She doesn't seem to fight it as much anymore, and she's been sleeping better! I think Mama has been sleeping better the last few nights too!

This morning, Mini spent a good half hour pooting. It's really funny watching her because she makes the funniest faces when she exerts herself. I'm not sure why she tries so hard but sometimes her face turns bright red from all her efforts. I told Mama to take a video so we can post it here. Anyway she'd make a little poot and then calm down for a minute or two, almost falling asleep, then started the cycle all over again. I would alternate between egging her on (push it out!) to telling her to just let it come to her. All in all, she successfully completed about 10 of them. :)