Monday, September 30, 2013

Today was “so much better” according to Simon when I picked him up. He didn’t want to go to school in the morning but didn’t cry until it was time to say “see you later!” The teacher took him outside to wave bye to me as I drove off the work and he wasn’t crying anymore by the time he was outside. Although he said he had a good day, he didn’t eat his lunch hardly. Typical for Mondays. But here it is anyways: chicken and cheese grilled sandwich, carrots, persimmons, grapes, babybel mozzarella cheese, and fruit snacks. He also had some roasted seaweed, freeze dried fruits, and milk which he finished all.

They’ve been doing lots of art projects in class and some I missed because they are hanging in the classroom.

And the one I mentioned last week of the person with clothes. One of his other teachers told me about it again and said he was so smart and the only kid to put clothes and a scarf on his doll to keep it warm. I’m impressed he wanted to put his own spin on the project. Proud mama here.

Simon proudly displaying his Lincoln Log house that he built all by himself. Summer nights are winding down so he wants to enjoy as much time outside in the evening as he can.

Little Iris had a hard day with being a bit constipated. She wasn’t into napping since she probably had an upset tummy. She finally had a large poop right before we got home. She was all smiles after that.

Or maybe she just wasn’t tired since she slept an 8 hour stretch last night. I wish I could sleep 8 hours at one time but it would be painful if I didn’t continue to wake to pump. I stopped waking in the middle of the night when Simon was about 11 months since I had enough freezer stash so I look forward to stopping these late night wakings. I am proud that she hasn’t had any formula since she was less than a week old. She had a little formula in the NICU and a little at home before my milk supply came in but that’s it. It would probably be a struggle now anyways if we were to try to introduce formula. She is very particular.

Once I do stop these late night wakings, I’m not sure when I’d find time to blog since I do most of the updates during these times. I really enjoy having these daily photos of the kids to look back on.

Our beautiful sleeping babe during a nap.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Seeing your kids smile and hearing them laugh are some of the best things in life.

Saturday, September 28:

Iris is a bit spoiled in that she usually ends up in bed next to me by morning. Simon rarely slept next to either of us since we were so cautious with him as our first child. Iris will sleep in her own bed all night but sometimes I’m just too tired to put her back and I love waking up to her coos and smiles.

Breakfast with Iris.

Simon buried in stuffed animals! He was so happy to keep piling them on.

Then also loving his cars and trucks.

In the evening, Simon had a little meltdown. Not including school drop offs, he hasn’t thrown a tantrum in a while. He was over tired since he didn’t take a nap in the afternoon but fell asleep in the car around 5pm until 6pm. When Ron woke him to take him inside, he had a fit and started wailing and stomping his feet. He eventually calmed down enough to have dinner and returned to his normal self. Tantrums can happen at unpredictable times but I’ve learned that they always eventually pass.

Both kids napping in the car.

Mom, I’m ready for bed! No more pictures please!

Sunday, September 29:

Check out Iris’ new smiley pants.

Change of outfit for the day since she wasn’t really into drinking her milk today. She would take the bottle but not swallow her milk, just let it dribble out the sides of her mouth so her other clothes were soaked. When she’s in the mood, she can drink a lot but when she’s not, she just plays with the bottle and doesn’t drink much. Like today, I think she only had about 12-14 ounces from 8am to 6pm. Usually it’s about 16-20 ounces.

Simon enjoyed staying home today playing with his outdoor and indoor toys, hanging out with us, and just making silly faces.

And being a silly elephant.

And mimicking silly Daddy.

He started something new today and a bit difficult for me. He stopped listening to me or doing what I ask and defers to Daddy. For instance, I told him to go wash hands before eating his dessert and he told me he didn’t need to. But he had been playing with his toys and always washes hands before eating anything. So I just said, “Daddy, are Simon’s hands clean?” Ron said no and told Simon to wash his hands and Simon went and did it right away. We are guessing it is the start of a “testing” phase to see if Ron and I agree and who is the “last word” or has the “power” so we will see how this plays out.

Friday, September 27, 2013

All that sleep during the day yesterday led to a night of troubled sleep. Or she really is growing and needing to wake up to eat. She woke up almost every two hours for the whole night. But she had a great big smile for me in the morning which made me smile too.

I am having lots of fun dressing Iris up in her new outfits. This is a gift from Auntie Susan and family.

It’s been a little chilly during the mornings so that’s why she is wearing a hat. It’s been cold enough that our heater kicked on this morning. Flu season is coming so everyone go get your flu vaccinations to protect yourself and your kids!

Today, Ron made Simon’s lunch. “Sushi” with just rice and Ròusōng 肉鬆, pan fried and sliced hot dog, apples, and grapes.

Simon ate everything! He really loves Ròusōng so it makes sense he ate it all. Not the healthiest of lunches but once in a while, it’s ok to indulge. Here is Simon at home eating breakfast.

This evening, Simon’s school had a parent social at a nearby restaurant and they provided childcare for enrolled students. I went to go see him before I went to the social and he didn’t want me to leave. We’ve been telling him the last few days that we had a mommy and daddy meeting for a short while and he would have to stay at a school for a bit longer. He understood but was still a little sad and maybe unfamiliar with some of the caregivers there for the evening. Ron took Iris on the BART for the first time so they could meet up with me to head to the dinner.

Simon was his happy self by the time we picked him up and headed home after a long evening. His teacher was there at the social and told us some little tidbits about Simon during school. Today they made paper dolls by cutting out the body with construction paper, gluing on eyes and beads for fingers. The teacher said he was the only student to say the person needed a shirt to keep from being cold, so he decided to cut out a shirt and glue it on all by himself. Smart and practical kid!

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Can’t resist kissing her cheeks in the morning!

All dressed up in yellow. Our ray of sunshine.

Simon didn’t seem to like his lunch much today. In the thermos is mushroom chicken over rice then persimmons, string cheese, assorted crackers, and fruit snacks.

He hardly ate anything but I was really proud of him this morning since he almost didn’t cry. Right when I was going to say goodbye and give him a hug and kiss is when he “panicked” and started to get upset. Each day a little closer to him being used to getting dropped off in the morning. He says he likes school but is just a little sad sometimes. Here are some of his recent artwork that they posted outside the classroom.

Simon’s Chinese name “Wenjie” in beans.

Handprint trees.

Sand scenery.

Big smile for me 🙂

Iris had a big day of drinking milk and actually napping. During the time I was at work, she drank 4 ounces x 6 = 24 ounces. Normally it is only 18-20 ounces and she will take in 2-4 ounces each feeding. She also napped in 1-2 hour increments where it is usually 30 minutes. Sounds like another growth spurt maybe 🙂

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Cozy little hat to keep Iris’ head warm.

Iris had a few hours of Daddy-time this morning. Her bib says “Daddy’s Little Princess”.

Simon had a warm (I hope) lunch today. Not sure if the thermos kept it warm all day but he seemed to like it as there wasn’t much left over. I made pasta with corn and mini hot dogs in the thermos. Plus grapes, Fuji apples, string cheese, half a chocolate chip cookie (leftover from our dinner at Fuddruckers last night that he didn’t get to eat), and snack of apple chips and assorted crackers.

Tonight Ron and I attended the fundraiser gala for Asian Health Services with my family. New Oakland Pharmacy was a platinum sponsor of the event this year.

It was a good program this year and I hope they raised their goal amount. Dinner was well done this time, complete with a beautiful mango dessert.

As you know, I cut my hair yesterday. In part because it is really thinning out now post giving birth. I didn’t lose quite this much hair after Simon so it was a little scary seeing it come out in clumps. My hair is really thin on top so is a bit flat looking but here is the length of my new hairdo. Tomorrow I’ll have to try to style it myself, I’m hoping it won’t be a disaster.

Iris stayed home with our nanny this evening and Simon went out with Ron’s parents at their house. He was a bit reluctant to go and cried a little. Thanks to the Chung grandparents for watching him. He was happy to come home and I was happy to see him.

He showed off his art class project from today which he calls his “shape book”. They cut out shapes and glued them on the paper and he folded it in half to make it a “book”. He prefers his “choooz” smile over his regular smile.