Thursday, March 24, 2011

Her "First" Haircut

Last week Friday I brought Naomi to my hair salon, Pink Comb Salon, to get her her first official haircut. I've trimmed her bangs several times, which is why you'll notice her sporting a zigzag look in a lot of her pictures. But the back of her hair was starting to get really long, and I was tired of fighting her to hold still so I could get a somewhat even trim. So I finally decided it was time to bring her into a professional. I originally thought I'd wait til she was 3, since it felt sort of like a special occasion and having her hair cut felt like a milestone that I wanted to mark. Why 3? I have no idea. It didn't really make sense, and when I mentioned getting her haircut at Mommy's salon, Naomi was incredibly excited, so I figured why not.

Since Naomi isn't necessarily the best when it comes to handling new situations, I made sure to prep her a couple of days in advance. We practiced what was going to happen when she got into the salon, from saying "Hi" to the hairdresser, to washing her hair and sitting still while her hair was trimmed. She loves doing these practice scenarios, we do them whenever we're going to meet new people, or heading out to something she's never done before. It really seems to help her know what to expect.

On Friday morning, she was so excited and we headed off to the salon with no problems. Mikaela was fast asleep in the car seat, so I wasn't worried about her getting fussy. As we got out of the car I made the mistake of telling Naomi she had to be really really still while they cut her hair or she'd have funny looking hair. I'm not sure if it was that, or the fact that we were actually at the salon, but the girl got cold feet. We had plans to have a mommy daughter lunch at a local outdoor cafe since it was the first really warm day. As soon as she got out of the car she declared she was hungry and wanted to go to the outdoor restaurant. She kept saying she didn't want to get her hair cut anymore. I managed to convince her to at least go inside so we could see what the salon looked like, and once we were in, she fussed a little, but didn't protest when Rosalie, her hair dresser, led her to her chair. She quickly climbed up on the pillow that Rosalie lay down for her, and sat patiently for the next 20 minutes while Rosalie cut her hair. Needless to say, I was amazed. She was sooo good. She's never like that for me when I cut her hair. And she looked so little in the apron that they put around her. She didn't even freak out when she couldn't see her hands, something that I was actually a little afraid of. She was terribly shy and wouldn't talk, except to whisper to me, but she was seriously a champ. The end result was super cute, although her bangs were very blunt, she pulls it off I think =)

That night she was so excited to see her daddy and nai nai who was visiting for Mikaela's baptism. She was so upset when she had to take a bath before they got home, and begged not to wash her hair. It was only after learning that I could blow dry her hair just like they did at the "grownup salon" that she let me get her into the tub. Now, everynight after her bath she runs straight to my bathroom to have her hair blow dried. She is so incredibly proud of her cut.




































































































The finished product

I Love to Swim

I meant to include this video with the previous post on Naomi's pool time. As you can tell, she LOVES to swim.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Baptism

Mikaela was baptized on Sunday at Church by Pastor Peter. Following tradition, Chris and Priscilla came out to witness and join us for lunch. Austin's mom was here as well. Mikaela woke up for the service, but was completely calm. Naomi, on the other hand, started whining and freaking out when Pastor Peter took Mikaela from Austin. She kept saying, "I want her back!!! I want Mikaela back! I need my baby!" Good to know she's completely protective of her baby sister, a little inconvenient at the time though =)
After church we met up with Qing and had dim sum in Chinatown. A perfect way to celebrate if you ask me. Too bad Mikaela slept through the entire celebration...well actually it was a good thing since we all got to enjoy lunch without worrying about a crying baby!

WHAT DOES TODAY’S BAPTISM MEAN?


The Sacrament of Christian Baptism is a sacrament in which everyone present should participate. It is one of the means by which Christ conveys to us the benefits of redemption. God’s Spirit works through the visual symbol to convince and convert sinners and to build up believers in holiness and faith.

In Baptism the following spiritual works are represented and/or confirmed by God:
1) Union of believers with Christ (our “ingrafting into him”).
2) Washing away of sins by his blood.
3) New spiritual life created by God’s Spirit.
4) Admission into the visible church.
5) Professed commitment to live openly and wholly for Christ.

When God’s people witness the baptism of another, we should remember our own baptism. We meditate upon the work represented and/or confirmed to us. We are reminded of our sins against the spiritual truths pictured and granted in the sacrament. We confess our sins and renew the commitments and relationships signified. We feed upon the grace of Christ and grow stronger in our faith.

We baptize those who come to faith in Christ who have never been baptized. We also baptize those infants born into homes where at least one parent is a believer. For the infant, the things pictured in Baptism are in the form of an offer or promise. When the child believes, he or she claims the promise that God has made and sealed in their Baptism. We do not presume upon the grace of God in saving this child, but we trust with faith-filled hope that he will work salvation in and through the nuclear family and the extended family of believers within the church. When the child believes Christ, his or her baptism is not only a sign of salvation offered, but of salvation received and applied.

We believe that infants can receive grace from God even before they are born. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from before his birth (Luke 1:14). When the Savior (Mark 10:13-16) took infants “...in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them,” they received grace. Christian parents bring their little ones to him in Baptism to receive grace and blessing from the Risen Christ.







Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Swimming

Naomi loves the water. She has always loved going to the pool and beach. Now she can verbalize this love. She's simply obsessed. She asks to go swimming all the time. Unfortunately when you live in NJ where it's freezing cold ALL THE TIME, well at least for a long long time, there really isn't much of an opportunity. I'm not bitter. I don't miss the pool that we had in our apartment complex growing up, I don't miss all the tropical beaches that were within driving distance from my apartment, or the amazing white sand beaches which we could get to via a short plane ride...no no, I love Jersey. Anyway, we're going to Florida this weekend, and Naomi cannot stop talking about the beach. I finally decided it was time for her to try her new bathing suit on, and go "swimming" in our jacuzzi tub. It was the perfect size pool for her, and she couldn't stop screaming from excitement.









Monday, March 21, 2011

33 Months
















Naomi turned 33 months on the 19th. 2 and 3/4. How did that happen? She is our chatterbox. When she's awake, our house is not quiet. Her mouth literally runs all day. Unless of course she's around new people, then the chatterbox is suddenly quiet. At least she's slowly getting over her "shy mean" phase. We've been working on what it means to be nice and how she should greet people when we run into them. She used to just yell "NO" and bury her head into Austin or I. Now she's slowly learning to say "Hi", granted you have to have to strain to hear since she whispers it.
She is completely embracing her role as a big sister. She loves to help soothe Mikaela when Mikaela is crying. If she hears her crying, she'll quickly yell out, "Uh Oh!! I have to check on Mei Mei" and run over to Mikaela and stroke her cheek or hand to try and soothe her. She'll kiss her and lovingly say, "oooh it's ok baby, I'm right here". I've even seen her give Mikaela her Mimi (lambie) and Izzy doll...her two comfort items which she usually won't share with anyone else. She'll sing Mikaela lullabies, or sometimes Justin Bieber's "Baby", all in an effort to get Mikaela to smile. It's too cute.
Naomi is fully showing us what it means to have a toddler going through her terrible twos though. She is so opinionated and quick to get frustrated. Austin and I are finding our selves having to discipline her more and more, but it seems to be working as she definitely is better at listening to us, and her tantrums seem to be shorter in nature. We've used a combo of discipline and a reward system, which seem to work well with.
We do have to be extremely careful with everything we say and do now. She is quite the sponge. She'll copy everything we say, echoing us throughout the day and mimicking our actions as well. She'll even come home telling us things that her teachers at daycare have said throughout the day. (some of which I'm sure they don't want me to know).
She loves all things Dora, Ni Hao Kai Lan and Yo Gabba Gabba. She's incredibly good at the computer, and plays games on her Mac (Austin's old computer) all by herself, and could probably play all day long if we let her. She is getting better at recognizing letters, particularly ones that have an N, A, O, M or I in it, since she loves spelling her name. She can type her name out on the keyboard and iphone as well. Be careful if you leave your iPhone's lying around our house cause she might send out random text messages with her name in it. I've learned that lesson the hard way. She still loves arts and crafts and is getting really good at drawing. She started drawing actual objects, or attempting to at least, as opposed to simple scribbles. She says she's a good drawer, just like her daddy.
I'm still in denial that she's growing up so fast. The other day at dinner we were talking about how when we get back from our trip to Florida, she'd be graduating from Toddlers to Preschool at her daycare center. I sadly mentioned to her that going to Pre-School meant she was growing up, and that I didn't want her to grow up. To which she responded, "Like what Taylor Swift says? Never grow up? Just keep it simple?" Too cute.

Never Grow Up (Taylor Swift)
Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies
And you're mortified your mom's dropping you off
At 14, there's just so much you can't do
And you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots

But don't make her drop you off around the block
Remember that she's getting older, too
And don't lose the way that you dance around
In your PJs getting ready for school

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
(From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/taylor-swift-lyrics/never-grow-up-lyrics.html)
It could stay this simple

No one's ever burned you
Nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room
Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home
Remember the footsteps, remember the words said
And all your little brother's favorite songs

I just realized everything I have
Is someday gonna be gone

So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder than I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish I'd never grown up
I wish I'd never grown up

Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
Could still be little
Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

Won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
And even through to you want to
Please try to never grow up

Don't you ever grow up
(Never grow up)
Just never grow up

Two Months















Mikaela turned 2 months on the 14th. She grows cuter every day. Life is slowly starting to calm down as we figure out how to manage taking care of two girls. For the past couple of days, Mikaela has slept for longer stretches, ranging from 5-7 hours. Yesterday I actually had to wake her up on the 7th hour because she was making us late for church, which happened to be her baptism service.
She is coo'ing more and more each day, and seems to be an incredibly happy, laid back baby. She'll smile at you when you talk to her, or when she hears music. She especially loves when Naomi talks to her and will immediately stop crying and sometimes even start smiling and laughing when Naomi sings and dances to try to calm her down.
She's happy during the day and doesn't need to be held as much which is a huge relief on my arms and back. But she definitely still likes to snuggle, and there are definitely times, mainly when I'm trying to get things done, that she'll scream in protest if she's not being carried.
She's spending more of her hours awake during the day, although she still likes to stay up way later than she should. Every night I try to get her into bed for a longer stretch by 8pm. Every night she'll refuse to be put her in her crib til right around midnight. Then she'll sleep for a huge long stretch. I guess it's really not that bad of a situation since it means that once I finally do get her down in the crib, we both can sleep til morning time.
She's also decided that she will no longer drink from a bottle. She was fine with bottles from day 1 (she was jaundiced so we supplemented with formula), and even as late as 6 wks, when Austin and I went out for dinner. But last week she decided she no longer wants a bottle and only wants to nurse. Ugh. Naomi went through the same thing and when I went back to work actually went on a feeding strike for about 3 days. She'd refuse to eat during the day, and then nurse and nurse when I got home. Not fun. I was hoping that since we started the bottle early with Mikaela we could avoid that problem. Oh well.
At her 2 month doctor's appt, she got 3 shots and had another oral vaccine. She handled them all like a champ and only cried for a few seconds after she was picked up. She's growing nicely too. Here are her stats:
Weight: 10 lbs (20th percentile)
Height: 21.5 inches (12th percentile)
Head: 38.7 cm (60th percentile)

So just like her big sister, she's not exactly a giant...but has a big ol head to fit her big ol brain =) We looked up Naomi's stats in her baby book ( I apparently didn't blog about them at this point yet) and she was 10 lbs 12 oz.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tummy Time

At least someone is getting use of my new yoga mat.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Posing


We had some spring-like weather this weekend, so we tried to take advantage of the warmth with some time outside. On Saturday morning we took a walk around the neighborhood. It was nice just to get outside. Naomi definitely enjoyed it:


Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Baby Shoes

If you know me I have a slight obsession with baby shoes. Ok. Who am I kidding. I have an obsession with shoes in general. Naomi has a plethora of shoes just like her momma.
In fact, two days ago, I had a pair of shoes come in the mail. When I opened the box, Naomi yelled out, "SHOES!!!! Lets try them on". And she proceeded to wear and walk (attempt to at least) around in them.
I bought Mikaela's first pair of shoes before she was born. As soon as her feet grow a little bigger, she has a lovely pair of black maryjanes from one of my favorite kiddie shoe companies - See Kai Run.



















While I love See Kai Run, Naomi has gone through several pairs, I think I may have found another brand that may be giving them a run for their money...at least in terms of baby booties.

How cute are these:

















and these:

















and these:

















They're from Bobka Baby on Etsy.
The only problem (other than which one to buy) is the fact that Mikaela's feet, much like her big sister's, are so small that by the time she can fit into the smallest size, she'll probably need walkers instead of baby booties.

Date Nights

With my parents leaving 3 weeks after Mikaela was born, Austin and I didn't think we'd have a chance to get out for any date nights. But we've actually been on two date nights and Mikaela is only 7 wks old. Definitely a better track record than what we had with Naomi.
For our first date night, our awesome friend Soo-Jin volunteered to take both girls the Saturday before Valentine's day. So Austin and jumped at the opportunity to go see a movie and try a new restaurant (Soo-Jin even recommended a fantastic restaurant!).
While we were out relaxing without the girls, Soo-Jin worked her charms on Naomi and had her working on an art project, Naomi's absolute favorite activity. She worked on painting a heart shaped box, which she still lovingly carries around with her today. In Naomi's 2.5 years of life, we've only ever had one non-family member babysit Naomi, and that was her daycare teacher. So naturally I was worried at how things would go, especially since Naomi isn't exactly Miss Personality when it comes to hanging out with people outside of her everyday routine. But Soo-Jin won her over and with the exception of a meltdown at bedtime, they had a great time. Mikaela, in true to her nightowl routine, slept for most of the evening until after Naomi had gone to bed, and was wide awake, ready to party when we got home.
















Dinner at Rebecca's

We went on our second date night when Austin's mom and sister were here. They graciously told us to go out one night, so we went to Morimoto's to try the yummy Omakase.

It was definitely a treat to get out and I'm eagerly awaiting our next overnight visitors so we can use them again for babysitting services =)




Blurry Dinner at Morimoto's...notice my hair is 12 inches shorter
















Another view of my new haircut (another bonus of having my mother-in-law and sister-in-law visiting was a trip to the hair salon)

She's lucky she's so cute...

We've been borrowing DVDs and books from the library pretty frequently these days since I have more time to drop by and pick stuff up. One of Naomi's dvd's was due back today, "Dora's First Day of School". This morning I spent around 30 minutes looking frantically for the case to the DVD before we headed out to daycare. I asked Naomi if she knew where it was, and she said, "Nope" and then went back to playing games on Austin's iPad.
Finally about to give up, I brought up an empty DVD case hoping to use it as a substitute. Naomi took a look at it and said, "Oh, you can put the Dora DVD in there ok?"
Before we left I did a final sweep in our TV room and double checked under the couch, where I finally found the darn thing. I jumped up and said, "Naomi, I found it!!!" I was obviously excited.
She looked at me, smiled and said, "yea I was playing with it on the couch!"
grrrr

Monday, March 7, 2011

Lazy Monday

We had a slow start this moning.







Friday, March 4, 2011

Photo Editing

One of the many talents Austin has that I wish I possessed is photography and photo editing. He has a natural eye for that kind of stuff, whereas I just don't.
While on maternity leave I've been trying to pick up a little photo editing technique. Here's an attempt using Light Room. I only adjusted some of the colors and edging. I don't know how to edit blemishes (yet) although I did hide a huge scratch Mikaeala had on her cheek. But I did it by randomly pushing buttons in the editing tool bar....nothing fancy but here it is!



Sleep does the body good

We're finally on the mend. Naomi is completely better and both Mikaela and I are congested, but definitely on the road to recovery. As she gets better, Mikaela is starting to sleep better as well. For the last 3 nights she's slept in her own room in her crib and hasn't needed to be held. Yesterday for the first time she napped in her crib as well, and even fell asleep on her own.
Today I'm home with both girls, and Mikaela is already on her second nap of the day, in her crib, freeing me up to umm blog, I mean watch Naomi. It's nice to be on the road to getting her on a sleep schedule, and it's definitely amazing what a difference it makes for me when I can get a few more consecutive hours of sleep at night.

Other than sleeping better, Mikaela continues to hit milestone after milestone. She's already been smiling and coo'ing, but is doing so more frequently now, and two days ago she started laughing a little bit. It's the cutest thing.

Naomi has done a lot of growing up as well. She is completely in love with her baby sister, and affectionately gives her kisses and strokes her face, hands and feet. She loves to try and include her in games and is constantly running over to check on "mei mei" when she hears her crying. She's actually really great at getting Mikaela to stop crying. The sweetest thing is when I've found her stroking Mikaela's hand singing her "Misty" her own lullaby that Austin or I sing to her every night.
She's also starting to grow incredibly protective of her Mei Mei as well. She'll sometimes call Mikaela "her baby". Yesterday while picking her up from daycare, some of the kids in her class, as usual, ran over to see the sleeping baby. Naomi saw them, came over, pulled the shade over MIkaela's car seat and said, "I don't want anyone to look at MY baby. She's sleeping". Then she walked away.

I have to say, I'm more tired now than I ever have been. It's almost 11am and I'm still in sweats and a sweater. Our house is a complete mess, and I've played candy land so much that I dream about lollipops and double color cards. However I'm completely loving having two girls right now. There really isn't any other need to explain other than to say I'm incredibly blessed.



Mikaela mid-laugh


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Overheard at dinner...

Austin: Naomi, do you know what The Beatles sing?
Naomi: No. Daddy, do you know what Ariel (the little mermaid) sings?