Thursday, October 31, 2013

Farewell to my Hello Kitty Crocs from Taiwan! These are a half size too small and I’ve been saving them for the one day that my feet will magically shrink. Alas, that day has never come so now they are going to two other obsessed girls.

I enjoyed a hot ginger milk dessert at lunch. I normally do not like ginger but really like this dessert. Warm and spicy!

My Halloween outfit was a Hawaiian princess. This is my mom’s muumuu from my parents’ honeymoon. Talk about vintage! It’s in super great shape so you know it’s well made. Posing with my dad.

Ron’s costume was a Nespresso pod. Posing at his company.

I left work a bit early to pick up Simon and Iris for trick or treating in the Temescal District in Oakland. We visited my work for a few minutes. Simon “riding” a T-Rex.

The stores along Telegraph Ave were all open late to hand out candy. On the way we go!

Iris collected her own candy. Mmm yummy! Of course she didn’t eat it! What kind of mom would I be who lets her baby eat candy at 5 months old?!

After collecting a small basket of candy and walking 3 blocks down and 3 blocks back up, we were ready for dinner and resting our feet. We stopped at Round Table for pizza. Buzzy buzzy bee! Chubby chubby cheeks!

It was a busy and tiring day. Simon and I got out FluMist at Kaiser Oakland in the morning. I don’t know why they call it FluMist when it’s not much of a “mist”. This morning was an ordeal since I had to go to two different office buildings to get our vaccines. They make it inconvenient for families with small children to get vaccinated together. The nurses in Pediatrics were not very friendly either. It was like we were bothering them when we came to get Simon’s vaccination and were harsh when he asked for a lollipop or treat. They gave me a lollipop when I got my vaccination so I gave that to Simon. Overall I was disappointed in the service I had at this Kaiser. I think I’m going to keep going to Walnut Creek for my care and keep the kids’ care in San Francisco. Iris has her six month checkup in a few weeks at Kaiser SF so I hope that experience will be better. She’ll finally be able to get her flu shot. At least our family and nanny are all vaccinated so it is less likely Iris will get sick but I will feel more comfortable when she receives her first flu shot.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Simon practicing for trick or treating tomorrow evening.

We decorated our pumpkins this evening. Yesterday at Target, I went with “push in” decorations rather than carving since it is less messy and time consuming. At least we will do this for this year, when we are less exhausted and when Simon can help more, we will probably go back to do carving. But these push-ins and foam stickers are pretty cool.

Iris has been having this look on her face recently, seemingly asking “when do we eat?” She watches intently as we eat our meals so today I sat her up in the high chair for a better view than just sitting on my lap. Her back is getting stronger day by day so she’s almost ready to try solids. We will introduce solids probably when she turns 6 months old.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

A well rested baby is a happy baby. After some initial crying before bedtime, Iris fell asleep and slept for almost 9 hours last night. There was some whimpering around 2am but she soothed herself back to sleep. When she finally awoke, she was one happy baby.

Simon did not have such a good day since he cried when I dropped him off today to school. He was fine though after I left and made this pumpkin.

When I picked him up, we made a trip to Target to buy some supplies and he was super happy to browse through the toys. Santa, this small excavator is on his wish list!

He originally liked the large one but he said later, he liked the smaller one better. He reluctantly put it away so that we could check out. He was maybe more upset than he wanted to show at first since by the time we finished checking out, he threw a tantrum in the store. We were using one of those special shopping carts with two forward facing seats for kids attached to the front of a regular shopping cart. He insisted on sitting on the “runner” part where kids usually rest their feet or use to step up. He insisted on letting his feet dangle to the ground where they could touch the ground and potentially get caught. I may not be describing it too well but I did not think it was safe and told Simon multiple times to either get up or put his feet up. He eventually got up and started screaming. Lately his default scream is “I want a hug” and to pull on clothes and your body. I don’t know why he has chosen that phrase when it is more like he should say “I am very upset”. We had a lot of stares at Target as he was crying near the exit doors and eventually I had to just hold his hand and start pushing the cart to our car. He calmed down finally when he was in his carseat and we went on our way home. I think he may have enjoyed the “audience” at the store because he was screaming and looking around to see who was watching and at times he was leisurely sitting on the ground, touching the carpet, and picking up pieces of paper from the ground. He seemed to realize what he did was upsetting since he apologized on the car ride home. Simon has a very strong and stubborn personality which sometimes can be hard but he also has such a happy, soft, and sweet side that makes the occasional tantrum easier to deal with.

By the time we got home, it was late, around 8pm and Ron was putting Iris to bed. She was overly tired and was crying to go to sleep. She eventually calmed enough to fall asleep but I don’t think it will be a 9 hour sleep tonight.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Silly Simon acting like baby Iris.

Although he acted all grown up this morning. Not a tear or whimper. Just gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek then walked quietly into the classroom to the teachers. I’m so amazed and so proud.

Little girl had a good day and was full of laughter and smiles when we got home.

Her hair is growing longer so is a little like a Mohawk right now since she has a bit of a widow’s peak. I hope her hair distribution will even out as she gets older.

I’m still waiting for the amazing sleeping baby to make her appearance again and almost thought it would happen last night. She slept 6 hours straight which has been better than the 3-4 she’s been doing recently. So I am a bit more rested. The unpredictability of her sleep is what wears on me. I know it will get better and I hope sooner rather than later.