it's hard to believe that a year ago, evan was just 2 cells and there was just a moment of vomit recognition that i might be pregnant at in and out burger, post drinks with anson. note to self, i must eat the good luck sweet beans during new years day. another successful fong xmas eve party under our belt, and i hacked and coughed my way through it. i think it might the last year i actually make something (sweet potatoes/yams) two ways again. it's just too much work the day of and too many cooks in the kitchen. the flowers were great, the holiday decorations were on point, and i have nothing to say about the plaid table cloth that debuted this year on our dining room table. Lee was santa this year, and the kids say 2 xmas carols, dylan was the star, isabella and sofia had equal stink-faces with matching slug enthusiasm. evan was happily passed around and sunggled with everyone and it was an exhausting good time. brian's parents came back to open presents on xmas day and then we went over to belin's for a nice, relaxing dinner. so far, the gifts that are hits: the 3 wheeler from the Lees from costco that i haven't decided if we should keep, the magnatiles, the good night concrete site book from jill, the magnatiles from santa and the cash register from tutu & yehyeh. he did like the art easel and the dusty table and chair set, but we haven't opened them yet.
i wish i could bottle these memories up, and keep them fresh on my shelf forever. time for me to read the instruction manual of my new camera so that i can try to capture these memories the best that i can.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
bittersweet
another xmas has zoomed by and as i get older, i've become more grossly sentimental. i sent an email to dr. k last night, wishing him season's greeting and sharing with him that once again, i turned into emotional mush in the car ride home from belinda. as i watch the boys grow up, i can't help but think that i was cheated out the experience of watching musubi grow up. at least that journey led me to dr k, and to 2 healthy boys.
dylan
he has so much spirit, and enthusiasm. i love that he dances until he falls down, that he dragged puo-poo to the middle of the dance floor at downtown disney. i love that the musical together teacher praised him on his rhythm and pitch. i still stare at him with wonder and awe that "I made that" or more accurately that Brian and I made that. i love that he's almost potty trained, and gives us the espn play by play of what's going on. "annuger one, big one, BIG one!" when it comes to his man-size poops. about a month ago, i was blowing on evan's face to wake him up to finish his feed and dylan was watching me. he said it was "tang tang". of course my boob is hot, that's why i'm blowing on it.
Evan
our little "snuggle-bum" is growing as fast as lightening mcqueen. he's over 16 lbs, is wearing 6-9 months clothes and just wants to snuggle all day. his nickmames have been: "dimples, mr. dimps, double Ds" but lately he's been "snuggle bum, snuggle bumps (variation from Brian) and mumford has been calling him "chubba bubba". he's a professional snuzzler, giggler. he has pretty sensitive skin, with a rash that fades in and out on his face and mean crusty case of cradle cap, but i still think he's so cute. his big eyes, his big cheeks, and all the folds, all over the place! it's hard to put him down. he's heaven in my arms and i can't stand it that he's growing up so quickly. last night he soiled his my first xmas santa outfit, and i swear i was microns away from tearing up thinking that this might be the last time i wash the poop from this outfit. could it be? will there be another fong wearing this outfit in our future?
annuger one?
i'm the first one to wave my hand with reckless abandon to say that i LOVE babies. the way they smell, they way they coo, the way their eye crinkle when they laugh and smile (Evan's eyes turn into little moon-shapes). and I admit the responsibility of having children is enormous, of which i am still learning how to adapt and cope with the responsibility of 2 boys. it's a wonder since i'm barely responsible for myself. but i can't help but feel depressed when i start packing away evan's clothes, thinking that this it it.... i can't help but feel even more depressed at the notion of going back to work...in perpetuity? I love being off during the holidays. i was so sad coming home last night thinking that this might be the last time that i really get to enjoy the holidays. maybe i won't be retail anymore, which will be refreshing, at least in the near term, it's in my destiny and that part makes me incredibly depressed.
am i the same?
motherhood clearly changes you. i ran into bridget when i was in the office last week and she told me that she gave marybeth and earful about me. i wonder how much of what she said about me still holds true. like i told brian yesterday on our way back from belin's, am i wired to just have a job, and not have a career? i don't think i could switch gears like that at sephora, since i don't want to tarnish my reputation, but so much is uncertain. already i feel like i haven't made up from the lost time this year with dylan, working so much for kendo...and that's what i MUST do. starting now.
dylan
he has so much spirit, and enthusiasm. i love that he dances until he falls down, that he dragged puo-poo to the middle of the dance floor at downtown disney. i love that the musical together teacher praised him on his rhythm and pitch. i still stare at him with wonder and awe that "I made that" or more accurately that Brian and I made that. i love that he's almost potty trained, and gives us the espn play by play of what's going on. "annuger one, big one, BIG one!" when it comes to his man-size poops. about a month ago, i was blowing on evan's face to wake him up to finish his feed and dylan was watching me. he said it was "tang tang". of course my boob is hot, that's why i'm blowing on it.
Evan
our little "snuggle-bum" is growing as fast as lightening mcqueen. he's over 16 lbs, is wearing 6-9 months clothes and just wants to snuggle all day. his nickmames have been: "dimples, mr. dimps, double Ds" but lately he's been "snuggle bum, snuggle bumps (variation from Brian) and mumford has been calling him "chubba bubba". he's a professional snuzzler, giggler. he has pretty sensitive skin, with a rash that fades in and out on his face and mean crusty case of cradle cap, but i still think he's so cute. his big eyes, his big cheeks, and all the folds, all over the place! it's hard to put him down. he's heaven in my arms and i can't stand it that he's growing up so quickly. last night he soiled his my first xmas santa outfit, and i swear i was microns away from tearing up thinking that this might be the last time i wash the poop from this outfit. could it be? will there be another fong wearing this outfit in our future?
annuger one?
i'm the first one to wave my hand with reckless abandon to say that i LOVE babies. the way they smell, they way they coo, the way their eye crinkle when they laugh and smile (Evan's eyes turn into little moon-shapes). and I admit the responsibility of having children is enormous, of which i am still learning how to adapt and cope with the responsibility of 2 boys. it's a wonder since i'm barely responsible for myself. but i can't help but feel depressed when i start packing away evan's clothes, thinking that this it it.... i can't help but feel even more depressed at the notion of going back to work...in perpetuity? I love being off during the holidays. i was so sad coming home last night thinking that this might be the last time that i really get to enjoy the holidays. maybe i won't be retail anymore, which will be refreshing, at least in the near term, it's in my destiny and that part makes me incredibly depressed.
am i the same?
motherhood clearly changes you. i ran into bridget when i was in the office last week and she told me that she gave marybeth and earful about me. i wonder how much of what she said about me still holds true. like i told brian yesterday on our way back from belin's, am i wired to just have a job, and not have a career? i don't think i could switch gears like that at sephora, since i don't want to tarnish my reputation, but so much is uncertain. already i feel like i haven't made up from the lost time this year with dylan, working so much for kendo...and that's what i MUST do. starting now.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
2 month check up
evan is cruising through his checkups. i'm starting to sound like a broken record with my commentary about time flying by. he was 23.25 inches (64 percentile) and 13 lbs and 6 oz (86 percentile). just this week his cradle cap has become a little bit more extreme. i couldn't find the special shampoo we bought for dylan, so i bought a new bottle from amazon prime. it is scary amazing and dangerous how easy online shopping is these days.... evan is cooing now, smiling a lot, and has just about the sweetest, snuggly disposition.
firsts (evan)
i mentioned a few firsts, but he too, also made his first trip. it was carmel at the sanctuaryee, just like dylan. we went nov 15-17 to get away for the weekend and to take dylan to the aquarium. dylan is very much into fish right now, particularly after watching finding nemo. he's already wearing 3-6 month clothes, easily, and is also wearing 6-12 months clothes. it's startling how quickly he's outgrown some of dylan's old clothes. he blew through the newborn diapers within a few weeks, size 1 diapers within a few weeks, and has been wearing size 2 diapers for the past ~3 weeks. i'm pretty sure he has 2 dimples on one side of his face. he has double everything! there are a few instances when he reminds me of dylan, and most of them are when he's sleeping on the boob. they have the same milk drunk face. evan had his first halloween, and he was a japanese sumo wrestler. it was difficult to get the wig/hair right, but i went with the subtle approach. we also had a family costume, inspired by brian's suggestion of star wars. hopefully next year will have some fodder to inspire another family costume.
firsts (dylan)
i'm also fascinated by the way dylan's mind works. he's chinese improved significantly when my mom was here, but now i'm noticing that he's speaking a lot more english (to my dismay). one day we were taking a bath, and i was talking to him about washing his butt, and he told me in chinese to wash my own butt. i was a proud mama. there's a lot of pretend play and he uses his imagination and makes a lot of connections which also makes me very happy. he saw a picture of sponges on a toy at kindergym, and he told me that it looks like pasta, and there was a treasure chest of jewels and he said that it was necklace, like tutus. his memory is amazing. we're playing with the monkey rattle that my mom bought dylan, and when i asked him who got that for him, he said "puo puo". he's adjusting well to preschool and has started going 2 days a week in november. it's this strange dichotomy of happiness and wistful sadness to see my boys grow up so quickly.
first (me)
the first time i was alone all day with the boys was nov 1 (tutu and yeh-yeh were in NY). evan was a dream, and dylan had a meltdown because he was so hungry in the morning. even though i wanted to watch finding nemo, we ended up watching some of madagascar instead. i feel a little guilty that i need to resort to electronic devices, but it is what it is. the following week, annie was super sick, so i took care of the kids again by myself on the following thursday. as long as i have access to electricity, i'm fine.
evan is cruising through his checkups. i'm starting to sound like a broken record with my commentary about time flying by. he was 23.25 inches (64 percentile) and 13 lbs and 6 oz (86 percentile). just this week his cradle cap has become a little bit more extreme. i couldn't find the special shampoo we bought for dylan, so i bought a new bottle from amazon prime. it is scary amazing and dangerous how easy online shopping is these days.... evan is cooing now, smiling a lot, and has just about the sweetest, snuggly disposition.
firsts (evan)
i mentioned a few firsts, but he too, also made his first trip. it was carmel at the sanctuaryee, just like dylan. we went nov 15-17 to get away for the weekend and to take dylan to the aquarium. dylan is very much into fish right now, particularly after watching finding nemo. he's already wearing 3-6 month clothes, easily, and is also wearing 6-12 months clothes. it's startling how quickly he's outgrown some of dylan's old clothes. he blew through the newborn diapers within a few weeks, size 1 diapers within a few weeks, and has been wearing size 2 diapers for the past ~3 weeks. i'm pretty sure he has 2 dimples on one side of his face. he has double everything! there are a few instances when he reminds me of dylan, and most of them are when he's sleeping on the boob. they have the same milk drunk face. evan had his first halloween, and he was a japanese sumo wrestler. it was difficult to get the wig/hair right, but i went with the subtle approach. we also had a family costume, inspired by brian's suggestion of star wars. hopefully next year will have some fodder to inspire another family costume.
firsts (dylan)
i'm also fascinated by the way dylan's mind works. he's chinese improved significantly when my mom was here, but now i'm noticing that he's speaking a lot more english (to my dismay). one day we were taking a bath, and i was talking to him about washing his butt, and he told me in chinese to wash my own butt. i was a proud mama. there's a lot of pretend play and he uses his imagination and makes a lot of connections which also makes me very happy. he saw a picture of sponges on a toy at kindergym, and he told me that it looks like pasta, and there was a treasure chest of jewels and he said that it was necklace, like tutus. his memory is amazing. we're playing with the monkey rattle that my mom bought dylan, and when i asked him who got that for him, he said "puo puo". he's adjusting well to preschool and has started going 2 days a week in november. it's this strange dichotomy of happiness and wistful sadness to see my boys grow up so quickly.
first (me)
the first time i was alone all day with the boys was nov 1 (tutu and yeh-yeh were in NY). evan was a dream, and dylan had a meltdown because he was so hungry in the morning. even though i wanted to watch finding nemo, we ended up watching some of madagascar instead. i feel a little guilty that i need to resort to electronic devices, but it is what it is. the following week, annie was super sick, so i took care of the kids again by myself on the following thursday. as long as i have access to electricity, i'm fine.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
and then there was evan
how time has flown by. we just took evan to his 1 month check up yesterday. weighing in at 10 lbs. 15 oz, 22 inches and a head circumference of 38.5cm, we are raising a bruiser. he was 7 lbs 15 oz at birth and 20 inches when he was born. It was a scheduled c-section on the the 18th. we had to be at the hospital by 6:30am, with my c section scheduled at 8:30. it was surreal again, driving to cpmc in the dark, arriving at the hospital and checking in. Nothing really hit me, and it all didn't seem real until about the time they wanted to give me my spinal injection. At that point, it started to hit me that i was about to have major surgery and that this baby was about to be born. I started to have paranoid thoughts about what if the spinal didn't work, i started to fear the pain before, during and after the surgery. I tried to remind myself that worrying about it wasn't going to change anything and that i needed to focus on having a healthy baby.
the actual c
the delivery of the baby only took about 8 minutes. the tugging of my innards was the strangest sensation, one that was disturbing and strong, more psychologically painful than physically painful. i was squeezing the hell out of brian's hand and was not too entertained or distracted by the anesthesiologist's small talk and the other surgeon's discussion on the metric system and why the british drive on the left side of the road. brian was able to do the honors to announce the sex of the baby, and it took him awhile to announce that it was boy! i was a little surprised, but not really. he had a really high apgar score 9/10 and they put him on my chest. I remember waiting to hear him cry and it taking longer than anticipated. i was surprised that i had an almost 8 lbs baby! they took him to get cleaned off and measured, and brian went with him, and i was being sewn or more like glued back together. we reunited back into the holding room until i was transferred back into the antepartum room.
post c
i remember my vision being distorted. my near vision was ok, but i couldn't focus very well on anything in the distance. i was seeing double. and the itching...oh the itching. It's a pretty common side effect, but i was so uncomfortable. i had a catheter in me, which was also strange, and I couldn't eat anything for 24 hours, until i passed gas. i was so out of sorts that it didn't really matter. i was taking ibuprofen, colace, narco for the pain. i started breastfeeding right away, and he was a less of a chomper, but had the smallest latch...not good for my nipples. brian stayed with me wed night, went home thursday night, and stayed with me friday and saturday. Dylan was a little sick, so it was super stressful to have him visit. he was all over the place, and of course touching everything, and we wanted him to feel like he was part of the experience, but overall was pretty stressful. evan gave him a building/car set which he liked. over the course of my stay, brian's parents came to visit twice, mom, dad, aunt caroline and uncle james, and belinda came to visit, as well as sam. it was difficult to move about, but i tried to get up to walk a little bit after i started eating. it was painful to wander the halls, but i had to do it. what was most difficult was the first poop (more on that later)
we didn't have a name for evan until the sunday morning, the day we left the hospital. top names were tyler, and evan. brian liked ethan, but i have negative associations with the ethan i knew growing up. it was strange to be in the hospital for so long (wed - sunday). it was a strange combination of the familiar mixed in with the new. knowing a little bit about breast-feeding, but still needing support from the lactation consultants. the familiarity of having a newborn, but dealing with the recovery from the c-section, vs natural labor. holding a baby that sometimes looks like dylan when he's sleeping, and sometimes looks totally different. big differentiating factors are his football shaped head, and the irony of not having a chin, but having double chins. difficulty taking a shower, but this time needing to use hazard tape/plastic to cover the incision to prevent it from getting wet. swaddling the baby, but this time learning the new football swaddle. the nurses were overall great, and one even knit a little blue cap for evan. everything was pretty painful, including the catheter removal, and i think i had some sort of skin reaction to the tape on the left side of my gigantic deflated belly. again, i wasn't prepared for how big i would be post-partum, or how vain i would be about it, for that matter.i would nurse and the uterine cramps would be "something else". i described it as having my uterus being a washing machine, and the pain being equivalent to boulders and cacti being put on spin cycle in the washer. it was all somewhat of a blur. like this hospital purgatory before real life smacks you upside the head.
sunday
originally brian was going to stay at home sat and bring dylan with him to pick me up, but we didn't exactly know when i would be discharged and dylan was still sick, so brian ended up staying with me saturday night. it was nice to have him there. it also was different knowing that dylan was at home, and we were all in the hospital. it was nerve-wracking, bringing a newborn home and having a sick toddler at home. dylan's nose was runny for almost 2 weeks! we were all packed up and ready to go, and was just waiting for dr. katz to do his final exam on me. evan had a little heart murmur that resolved itself, passed the hearing test, and had his circumcision and although his weight was down to 7 lbs. 2.5 oz, he had shown that he was on the upswing so he was cleared to go home as well. we put on his newborn outfit, his cap, took a few pictures, and just like that, we busted out of there and headed home.
how time has flown by. we just took evan to his 1 month check up yesterday. weighing in at 10 lbs. 15 oz, 22 inches and a head circumference of 38.5cm, we are raising a bruiser. he was 7 lbs 15 oz at birth and 20 inches when he was born. It was a scheduled c-section on the the 18th. we had to be at the hospital by 6:30am, with my c section scheduled at 8:30. it was surreal again, driving to cpmc in the dark, arriving at the hospital and checking in. Nothing really hit me, and it all didn't seem real until about the time they wanted to give me my spinal injection. At that point, it started to hit me that i was about to have major surgery and that this baby was about to be born. I started to have paranoid thoughts about what if the spinal didn't work, i started to fear the pain before, during and after the surgery. I tried to remind myself that worrying about it wasn't going to change anything and that i needed to focus on having a healthy baby.
the actual c
the delivery of the baby only took about 8 minutes. the tugging of my innards was the strangest sensation, one that was disturbing and strong, more psychologically painful than physically painful. i was squeezing the hell out of brian's hand and was not too entertained or distracted by the anesthesiologist's small talk and the other surgeon's discussion on the metric system and why the british drive on the left side of the road. brian was able to do the honors to announce the sex of the baby, and it took him awhile to announce that it was boy! i was a little surprised, but not really. he had a really high apgar score 9/10 and they put him on my chest. I remember waiting to hear him cry and it taking longer than anticipated. i was surprised that i had an almost 8 lbs baby! they took him to get cleaned off and measured, and brian went with him, and i was being sewn or more like glued back together. we reunited back into the holding room until i was transferred back into the antepartum room.
post c
i remember my vision being distorted. my near vision was ok, but i couldn't focus very well on anything in the distance. i was seeing double. and the itching...oh the itching. It's a pretty common side effect, but i was so uncomfortable. i had a catheter in me, which was also strange, and I couldn't eat anything for 24 hours, until i passed gas. i was so out of sorts that it didn't really matter. i was taking ibuprofen, colace, narco for the pain. i started breastfeeding right away, and he was a less of a chomper, but had the smallest latch...not good for my nipples. brian stayed with me wed night, went home thursday night, and stayed with me friday and saturday. Dylan was a little sick, so it was super stressful to have him visit. he was all over the place, and of course touching everything, and we wanted him to feel like he was part of the experience, but overall was pretty stressful. evan gave him a building/car set which he liked. over the course of my stay, brian's parents came to visit twice, mom, dad, aunt caroline and uncle james, and belinda came to visit, as well as sam. it was difficult to move about, but i tried to get up to walk a little bit after i started eating. it was painful to wander the halls, but i had to do it. what was most difficult was the first poop (more on that later)
we didn't have a name for evan until the sunday morning, the day we left the hospital. top names were tyler, and evan. brian liked ethan, but i have negative associations with the ethan i knew growing up. it was strange to be in the hospital for so long (wed - sunday). it was a strange combination of the familiar mixed in with the new. knowing a little bit about breast-feeding, but still needing support from the lactation consultants. the familiarity of having a newborn, but dealing with the recovery from the c-section, vs natural labor. holding a baby that sometimes looks like dylan when he's sleeping, and sometimes looks totally different. big differentiating factors are his football shaped head, and the irony of not having a chin, but having double chins. difficulty taking a shower, but this time needing to use hazard tape/plastic to cover the incision to prevent it from getting wet. swaddling the baby, but this time learning the new football swaddle. the nurses were overall great, and one even knit a little blue cap for evan. everything was pretty painful, including the catheter removal, and i think i had some sort of skin reaction to the tape on the left side of my gigantic deflated belly. again, i wasn't prepared for how big i would be post-partum, or how vain i would be about it, for that matter.i would nurse and the uterine cramps would be "something else". i described it as having my uterus being a washing machine, and the pain being equivalent to boulders and cacti being put on spin cycle in the washer. it was all somewhat of a blur. like this hospital purgatory before real life smacks you upside the head.
sunday
originally brian was going to stay at home sat and bring dylan with him to pick me up, but we didn't exactly know when i would be discharged and dylan was still sick, so brian ended up staying with me saturday night. it was nice to have him there. it also was different knowing that dylan was at home, and we were all in the hospital. it was nerve-wracking, bringing a newborn home and having a sick toddler at home. dylan's nose was runny for almost 2 weeks! we were all packed up and ready to go, and was just waiting for dr. katz to do his final exam on me. evan had a little heart murmur that resolved itself, passed the hearing test, and had his circumcision and although his weight was down to 7 lbs. 2.5 oz, he had shown that he was on the upswing so he was cleared to go home as well. we put on his newborn outfit, his cap, took a few pictures, and just like that, we busted out of there and headed home.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
where'd the ipad go?
sometimes it's hard to believe that dylan is our child, but if you get down to the specifics, you can trace his characteristics to members of our immediate family. he does this hop skip jump, when he's happy and excited, loves to dance to music, moves faster than me, which isn't saying much now, but i seriously question my ability to catch up to him even when i'm not pregs. he's had many more firsts that i want to be able to capture:
2012
aug 17 - we took the day off and took dylan to the discover museum/center in marin. we were grossed out by how dirty it was, but he didn't seem to mind. dylan had miso seabass at sushi ran for his bday dinner, since he loves fish!
aug 26 - dylan's big bday bash with over 100 guests and even a special appearance by dr. katz! it was catered by hiroshi who made amazing ramen and also BBQ from gilroy. family who was in town for gary's wedding also made it, with many friends and family, making it a very special celebration! japanese laterns, flower arrangements, table and chair rentals, hired help (cousins of Jess Foley's), etc.
sept 15 - first haircut at snippets
oct 11 - first trip to NYC to see great grandma (leading her around on her cane), attract the ladies at the korean late night joint, first pastrami at Katz's deli and running on the keyboard at FAO
oct 27 - first time to disneyland, dylan chowing down on a giant turkey leg
oct 31 - dylan as Psy "gangnam style"
nov - dyland toddling around and hitting the ball of of the plastic tee (in our house no less)
nov 23 - first time to donner!
2013
march 22 - another spring training with all of team fong
march 31 - dylan's easter egg hunt - very aggressive and assertive with the eggs, with a miniature bouncey house
april 20-28 - trip to maui and oahu, and dylan's first trip to the emergency room with his arm/elbow injury
july - day out with thomas with both sets of grandparents. he as soo happy!
aug 17 - and his birthday at sonoma train town with immediate family. so excited, he didn't nap at all. he was so happy, talking to his new penguin at night and signing himself to sleep
aug 18 - his first movie at the metreon - planes! for his birthday. the previews were scary but he sat in his chair, ate his popcorn and thoroughly enjoyed himself. at one point during the storm scene he became scared and jumped in my lap.
sept 6 - first day of preschool (once a week to start in sept)
sept 10 - 1st soccer class and kindergym. "soccer stance, no hands"
some of the funny/entertaining things he says/does:
-"whoa - what is that?" in english and chinese
-"croissant" with the french accent from the picture in the big brother book
-he pointed at the mobile by the baby bassinet and called it a "spaceship". he's not a fan.
-some of the fancy words he says "delicious" or when he eats something he likes he says "ummm, good"
-he loves fish, and can say "lobster" and "crab" in both english and chinese
-loves guacamole, can help make it as well, and uses chips and bread as a utensil to eat guac, and more specifically butter
-when tutu and yeh-yeh offered him fruit, he says "what about a french fry?"
-every morning we wake up to "baba bau-bau, baba bau-bau" on repeat until baba gets up to bau-bau. this can last at least 30-45 min...we haven't been able to go longer than that.
-he's a giggle monster, and shrieks with glee through the hallways of los lomitas when he rides his tricycle
-he makes me happy when he requests "read chinese" almost every night before he goes to bed
-he loves trains, thomas, chuggington, and chupacabra (from disney's planes) has been a hit since his bday. this past weekend he put all his trains into a bag and declared that he wanted to go to foster city. it's as if he packed up his most prized possession to go stay and tutu and yeh-yeh's house.
-he loves eating samples at the menlo park farmer's market
-loves to play with the squirt bottle in the shower
-still sucks on his 2 fingers...
-wants us to "put a bandaid on little piggy" when he hurts his toe
-really liked "locked out of heaven" by bruno mars and would sing the "boom" parts
-taught me what tractor was in chinese
-is a little impatient in the car...says "go, go, go!" when we're stopped
-will spontaneously burst into song "bob, the builder, dadadadada..." or the train song in chinese and happy birthday is a favorite too
-seems to gravitate towards older children - a big fan of isabella lately
-give me a kiss every night before going to bed, and baby too on my belly. such sweetness from a 2 yr old.
today is a special day, as it will be the last day that dylan will be by himself with us, before baby joins us on the outside. part of my heart breaks for him, as he will need to share his baba, but the other part of me knows that this is the best possible gift i could ever give him.
2012
aug 17 - we took the day off and took dylan to the discover museum/center in marin. we were grossed out by how dirty it was, but he didn't seem to mind. dylan had miso seabass at sushi ran for his bday dinner, since he loves fish!
aug 26 - dylan's big bday bash with over 100 guests and even a special appearance by dr. katz! it was catered by hiroshi who made amazing ramen and also BBQ from gilroy. family who was in town for gary's wedding also made it, with many friends and family, making it a very special celebration! japanese laterns, flower arrangements, table and chair rentals, hired help (cousins of Jess Foley's), etc.
sept 15 - first haircut at snippets
oct 11 - first trip to NYC to see great grandma (leading her around on her cane), attract the ladies at the korean late night joint, first pastrami at Katz's deli and running on the keyboard at FAO
oct 27 - first time to disneyland, dylan chowing down on a giant turkey leg
oct 31 - dylan as Psy "gangnam style"
nov - dyland toddling around and hitting the ball of of the plastic tee (in our house no less)
nov 23 - first time to donner!
2013
march 22 - another spring training with all of team fong
march 31 - dylan's easter egg hunt - very aggressive and assertive with the eggs, with a miniature bouncey house
april 20-28 - trip to maui and oahu, and dylan's first trip to the emergency room with his arm/elbow injury
july - day out with thomas with both sets of grandparents. he as soo happy!
aug 17 - and his birthday at sonoma train town with immediate family. so excited, he didn't nap at all. he was so happy, talking to his new penguin at night and signing himself to sleep
aug 18 - his first movie at the metreon - planes! for his birthday. the previews were scary but he sat in his chair, ate his popcorn and thoroughly enjoyed himself. at one point during the storm scene he became scared and jumped in my lap.
sept 6 - first day of preschool (once a week to start in sept)
sept 10 - 1st soccer class and kindergym. "soccer stance, no hands"
some of the funny/entertaining things he says/does:
-"whoa - what is that?" in english and chinese
-"croissant" with the french accent from the picture in the big brother book
-he pointed at the mobile by the baby bassinet and called it a "spaceship". he's not a fan.
-some of the fancy words he says "delicious" or when he eats something he likes he says "ummm, good"
-he loves fish, and can say "lobster" and "crab" in both english and chinese
-loves guacamole, can help make it as well, and uses chips and bread as a utensil to eat guac, and more specifically butter
-when tutu and yeh-yeh offered him fruit, he says "what about a french fry?"
-every morning we wake up to "baba bau-bau, baba bau-bau" on repeat until baba gets up to bau-bau. this can last at least 30-45 min...we haven't been able to go longer than that.
-he's a giggle monster, and shrieks with glee through the hallways of los lomitas when he rides his tricycle
-he makes me happy when he requests "read chinese" almost every night before he goes to bed
-he loves trains, thomas, chuggington, and chupacabra (from disney's planes) has been a hit since his bday. this past weekend he put all his trains into a bag and declared that he wanted to go to foster city. it's as if he packed up his most prized possession to go stay and tutu and yeh-yeh's house.
-he loves eating samples at the menlo park farmer's market
-loves to play with the squirt bottle in the shower
-still sucks on his 2 fingers...
-wants us to "put a bandaid on little piggy" when he hurts his toe
-really liked "locked out of heaven" by bruno mars and would sing the "boom" parts
-taught me what tractor was in chinese
-is a little impatient in the car...says "go, go, go!" when we're stopped
-will spontaneously burst into song "bob, the builder, dadadadada..." or the train song in chinese and happy birthday is a favorite too
-seems to gravitate towards older children - a big fan of isabella lately
-give me a kiss every night before going to bed, and baby too on my belly. such sweetness from a 2 yr old.
today is a special day, as it will be the last day that dylan will be by himself with us, before baby joins us on the outside. part of my heart breaks for him, as he will need to share his baba, but the other part of me knows that this is the best possible gift i could ever give him.
how can it be (out of order post, saw that it was a draft)
How can it be 9 MONTHS later that I've writing again. I knew that the year was going to fly by, and I need/want so desperately for time to stand still, just so that I can emotionally, and psychologically catch up. So I'm giving myself an hour to make a list of highlights throughout this year (Dates are approximate):
Jan 7 - hanging out in the exersaucer, feet barely touching the ground
Jan 10 - first of many playdates with Elly, both practicing tummy time
Jan 15 - Dylan hangs out with us in Carmel when we are invited down to Sanctuaryee
Jan 16 - tripod action as Dylan practices sitting on his own - definitely not there yet
Jan 22 - we introduce the swing in our bedroom. he loved it, but his feet don't quite touch the floor yet.
Jan 27 - He likes and licks his first cold beer (IPA)
Feb 10-13 - we're off to hawaii, first flight for D. He's great on the flight, we have an amazing time and can't wait to go back. highlights: - Sasabune, Sasabune, Sasabune. Dylan is much better at tummy time.
lowlights: dylan did not like the ocean, nor did he like wearing his sunglasses. Also, the happy trail on my muffin top.
Feb 20 - we introduce the sippy cup, he's a genius since he knows exactly what to do
Feb 21 - he can sit on his high chair to join us at the kitchen table
Feb 24 - Doc appt, 15 lbs, 1,8 oz, 27 inches, and 43.4cm head
Feb 24 - we introduce him to rice cereal with breast milk
Feb 25 - Dylan takes his first bath with me in our tub and rides his first swing at the park in menlo park
March 3 - Dylan's first swimming lesson
March 4 - Dylan's first tea at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus in SF
March 8-11 - Dylan's first spring training. We had some pool time at the W.
March 12 - Dylan eats sweet potato and expands his food palette
March 16 - Can sit up by himself for extended periods of time
March 22 - He's doing the push and roll technique to travel across the bed
March 24 - Dylan gets his passport picture taken
March 25 - His first piano lesson at Belinda's house, and demonstrates no fear with tickle me elmo
March 31 - rocks back and forth on his hands and knees, about ready to crawl, but notices that he goes backwards. Musical instruments come into play with his drums and moroccas
March - he goes to the junior museum with yeh-yeh and tutu, and hakone gardens
April 5 - some "ba-bas" are happening, and "ra-ras" and occasional "ma-ma"
April 6 - first time carrots
April 7 - Uncle Zach comes back and gets Dylan's his cherry tree to match musubi's
April 7-9 - we go to carneros inn to celebrate musubi's birthday and keep our life goals in mind. Peanut hangs out with us by the fire pit, we go swimming in the pool, he dines with us (chicken and waffles at ad hoc)
April 11 - introduction to broccoli
April 12 - Dylan beings to crawl forward (more so on the 15th)
April 13-15 - we head down to LA for peanut's first trip to Seal Beach and a fun trip to balboa island. Puo Puo makes sweet peas and pumpkin
April 17 - 16 lbs and 3.5 oz
April 19 - Definitely crawling and pulling himself up onto his ottoman!
April 21 - we go to the citykids and daddy buys him a walker wagon!
April 22 - really starting to like straws
April 23 - introduction to puffs
April 25 - the beat-boxing sounds start
May 2 - puo puo has shingles :(
May 4 - the oral hygiene has started, Dylan starts brushing his teeth
May 10 - the Leapfrog activity table is a HUGE hit
May 5 - dylan really starts grooving to music
May 12 - we take Dylan do the Academy of Sciences with Uncle Zach
May 13 - Mother's day brunch at Filoli
May 14 - Daddy and Dylan Day and they go to his first Giant's game vs. the Rockies
May 18 - Dylan's 9 month appt (76% hight, 5% weight)
May 26-29 - Dylan goes international! Off to London, in first class no less
May 30-June 2 - Provence, where Dylan zips on pellegrino and eats olives, and gets a custom vegetable blend from our hotel
June 3-9 - Dylan takes on Paris
Jan 7 - hanging out in the exersaucer, feet barely touching the ground
Jan 10 - first of many playdates with Elly, both practicing tummy time
Jan 15 - Dylan hangs out with us in Carmel when we are invited down to Sanctuaryee
Jan 16 - tripod action as Dylan practices sitting on his own - definitely not there yet
Jan 22 - we introduce the swing in our bedroom. he loved it, but his feet don't quite touch the floor yet.
Jan 27 - He likes and licks his first cold beer (IPA)
Feb 10-13 - we're off to hawaii, first flight for D. He's great on the flight, we have an amazing time and can't wait to go back. highlights: - Sasabune, Sasabune, Sasabune. Dylan is much better at tummy time.
lowlights: dylan did not like the ocean, nor did he like wearing his sunglasses. Also, the happy trail on my muffin top.
Feb 20 - we introduce the sippy cup, he's a genius since he knows exactly what to do
Feb 21 - he can sit on his high chair to join us at the kitchen table
Feb 24 - Doc appt, 15 lbs, 1,8 oz, 27 inches, and 43.4cm head
Feb 24 - we introduce him to rice cereal with breast milk
Feb 25 - Dylan takes his first bath with me in our tub and rides his first swing at the park in menlo park
March 3 - Dylan's first swimming lesson
March 4 - Dylan's first tea at the Rotunda at Neiman Marcus in SF
March 8-11 - Dylan's first spring training. We had some pool time at the W.
March 12 - Dylan eats sweet potato and expands his food palette
March 16 - Can sit up by himself for extended periods of time
March 22 - He's doing the push and roll technique to travel across the bed
March 24 - Dylan gets his passport picture taken
March 25 - His first piano lesson at Belinda's house, and demonstrates no fear with tickle me elmo
March 31 - rocks back and forth on his hands and knees, about ready to crawl, but notices that he goes backwards. Musical instruments come into play with his drums and moroccas
March - he goes to the junior museum with yeh-yeh and tutu, and hakone gardens
April 5 - some "ba-bas" are happening, and "ra-ras" and occasional "ma-ma"
April 6 - first time carrots
April 7 - Uncle Zach comes back and gets Dylan's his cherry tree to match musubi's
April 7-9 - we go to carneros inn to celebrate musubi's birthday and keep our life goals in mind. Peanut hangs out with us by the fire pit, we go swimming in the pool, he dines with us (chicken and waffles at ad hoc)
April 11 - introduction to broccoli
April 12 - Dylan beings to crawl forward (more so on the 15th)
April 13-15 - we head down to LA for peanut's first trip to Seal Beach and a fun trip to balboa island. Puo Puo makes sweet peas and pumpkin
April 17 - 16 lbs and 3.5 oz
April 19 - Definitely crawling and pulling himself up onto his ottoman!
April 21 - we go to the citykids and daddy buys him a walker wagon!
April 22 - really starting to like straws
April 23 - introduction to puffs
April 25 - the beat-boxing sounds start
May 2 - puo puo has shingles :(
May 4 - the oral hygiene has started, Dylan starts brushing his teeth
May 10 - the Leapfrog activity table is a HUGE hit
May 5 - dylan really starts grooving to music
May 12 - we take Dylan do the Academy of Sciences with Uncle Zach
May 13 - Mother's day brunch at Filoli
May 14 - Daddy and Dylan Day and they go to his first Giant's game vs. the Rockies
May 18 - Dylan's 9 month appt (76% hight, 5% weight)
May 26-29 - Dylan goes international! Off to London, in first class no less
May 30-June 2 - Provence, where Dylan zips on pellegrino and eats olives, and gets a custom vegetable blend from our hotel
June 3-9 - Dylan takes on Paris
Monday, September 16, 2013
anticipation
so i still think this baby is a girl. i didn't have the dark line down my belly like i had with musubi and dylan, it's there, but it's much fainter and didn't come about until much later in the pregnancy. i'm like a beluga whale, HUGE, have gained over 60 pounds, the double, if not triple chins are in full effect, the pregnancy has been difficult and did i mention how amazing the cerclage is, but how painful it was after the medication wore off? i'm still on the fence is if that was more painful than postpartum with dylan. I remember gripping the handle within the car and writhing in pain when dad drove me home. brought back memories of my dislocated shoulder, but there's something inherently more painful with crotch pain, than pain in other areas. but these are the joys of pregnancy, right?
so i wonder if i'm right. as of tonight, brian thinks that it's a girl. my dad thinks that it's a boy and he's so sure of himself and dr. katz mentioned last week that he thinks we should still have another. does he know something we don't? one pregnancy, one baby at a time. brian says he hopes that it's a girl because he doesn't know if i can handle another pregnancy.
other things that i'm looking forward to:
-non-labored breathing
-throwing out my holy, parachute panties
-not wearing the same clothes over and over again
-OYSTERS and champagne
-japanese food
-nice glass of red wine
-dare i say this, getting back into shape, more specifically my thighs not touching
-shoe shopping, as i fear that my sasquatch feet won't go back....
and my absolute thing that i'm looking forward to? inhaling the scent of our milk drunk baby as he/she snuggles on my chest for a nap. there's nothing better than that.
so i still think this baby is a girl. i didn't have the dark line down my belly like i had with musubi and dylan, it's there, but it's much fainter and didn't come about until much later in the pregnancy. i'm like a beluga whale, HUGE, have gained over 60 pounds, the double, if not triple chins are in full effect, the pregnancy has been difficult and did i mention how amazing the cerclage is, but how painful it was after the medication wore off? i'm still on the fence is if that was more painful than postpartum with dylan. I remember gripping the handle within the car and writhing in pain when dad drove me home. brought back memories of my dislocated shoulder, but there's something inherently more painful with crotch pain, than pain in other areas. but these are the joys of pregnancy, right?
so i wonder if i'm right. as of tonight, brian thinks that it's a girl. my dad thinks that it's a boy and he's so sure of himself and dr. katz mentioned last week that he thinks we should still have another. does he know something we don't? one pregnancy, one baby at a time. brian says he hopes that it's a girl because he doesn't know if i can handle another pregnancy.
other things that i'm looking forward to:
-non-labored breathing
-throwing out my holy, parachute panties
-not wearing the same clothes over and over again
-OYSTERS and champagne
-japanese food
-nice glass of red wine
-dare i say this, getting back into shape, more specifically my thighs not touching
-shoe shopping, as i fear that my sasquatch feet won't go back....
and my absolute thing that i'm looking forward to? inhaling the scent of our milk drunk baby as he/she snuggles on my chest for a nap. there's nothing better than that.
state of mind
it's been awhile, and i want to capture again my state of being right before my life dramatic changes again. it's monday and in less than 40 hours we'll have a new member of the family joining us at the dinner table. this is the most pregnant I've even been, at 39 weeks and 5 weeks at the time of our C- section and although it's a blip on the timeline of life, when you're in it it seems like and eternity.
the pregnancy
i still subscribe to the fact that every day that you're supposed to be pregnant is a good day. and that's the truth, and that every pregnancy is meant to be different. similar to musubi, I had signs of pregnancy early on. Over the holidays, we went out with Anson a few days before new years eve, and I threw up after we went out to in and out burger. I'm not a spontaneous vomiter, so was a little suspicious. I purposely did not drink very much, hardly at all, with a few ceremonious sips of vodka for new years at 5A5 steakhouse where we celebrated, and was a little nauseas throughout the weekend. did eat some good look azuki beans for new years and stayed away from the sashimi just in case....
it was not quite accidental, but i nursed Dylan until he was about 14 months, and didn't even get my period until sometime in October, so this was about the 2nd or 3rd cycle before we were blessed with another baby. the timing coincided with a role change for myself at sephora. there was an opportunity for me to report directly to julie to launch the digital arm for the kendo brands, which included launching marcjacobsbeauty.com, formulax.com (or formulaxnail.com as it was first registered) and taking over the ecommerce efforts for ole henriksen. it was a an amazing opportunity to leverage my pervious skills, with a chance to layer on aspects of ecommerce that i haven't had a chance to truly experience/manage before, and a chance to work with Julie and Savio, C level executives which i've had limited exposure to. this 1 man/woman show clearly took its toll and i look back with astonishment and awe at how unsustainable that model was and how I would never subject myself or anyone else to that level of stress and responsibility, but i can look back and said "I did that," and truly I really did that.
well that time period of professional growth and pregnancy was the most emotional, professional, psychological, physiological challenging aspect of my adult life this far. Of course the morning sickness was there, the taking it day by day mentality to not get caught up in the fear of pregnancy was there, and of course the trusting of my care with Dr Katz with this pregnancy. Again, this pregnancy was riddled with a few unexpected aspects...rescheduling my cerclage like 3 times, because my blood tests were not in in time, the baby not being in the ideal position for CVS testing, needing to get the Verifi tests done because my numbers were "ok" but not super ideal for someone my age, etc. and ultimately this baby being breech, not responding to the acupuncture and not budging a bit during the inversion process at the hospital. i still remember bleeding a but at home, working on the Nth version of the presentation for Savio and Julie until 1am, going to CPMC because I was still bleeding, coming home around 4:30/5:00am and still calling in to present at 8 in the morning. never again. the bleeding could have been caused by another bladder infection (UTI), and ive been drinking my diluted 100% cranberry juice + simply cranberry juice cocktail almost every day. but again, every day that i'm pregnant is a good day.
so with a sept 20 delivery date, my last day of work was sept 3, when julie was back from vacation. this left me with a little over 2 weeks to start the rest of my life. nesting mode needed to be on overdrive, whether or not i wanted it to happen or not. my need to de-clutter was definitely hampered by my physical limitations. my clumsiness, random sciatica pain, backaches, and difficulty breathing did not make anything easier, and in fact caused me quite of but of angst and frustration, that everything was twice as hard and took three times as long. my patience was not in abundance. aside from another load of laundry that needs to done, and another load that needs to be folded, i'm nearing the point in which the state of the household is going to be what it is before the baby comes, and like it or not, i need to be ok with it.
finishing up dylan's baby book, recording my thoughts down in this blog, capturing my thoughts for my sephora performance reviews and finishing up one of the parenting books i recently downloaded are still a bit outstanding...but that's what tomorrow is for. And then before I know it, wed AM will be here, ready or not!
it's been awhile, and i want to capture again my state of being right before my life dramatic changes again. it's monday and in less than 40 hours we'll have a new member of the family joining us at the dinner table. this is the most pregnant I've even been, at 39 weeks and 5 weeks at the time of our C- section and although it's a blip on the timeline of life, when you're in it it seems like and eternity.
the pregnancy
i still subscribe to the fact that every day that you're supposed to be pregnant is a good day. and that's the truth, and that every pregnancy is meant to be different. similar to musubi, I had signs of pregnancy early on. Over the holidays, we went out with Anson a few days before new years eve, and I threw up after we went out to in and out burger. I'm not a spontaneous vomiter, so was a little suspicious. I purposely did not drink very much, hardly at all, with a few ceremonious sips of vodka for new years at 5A5 steakhouse where we celebrated, and was a little nauseas throughout the weekend. did eat some good look azuki beans for new years and stayed away from the sashimi just in case....
it was not quite accidental, but i nursed Dylan until he was about 14 months, and didn't even get my period until sometime in October, so this was about the 2nd or 3rd cycle before we were blessed with another baby. the timing coincided with a role change for myself at sephora. there was an opportunity for me to report directly to julie to launch the digital arm for the kendo brands, which included launching marcjacobsbeauty.com, formulax.com (or formulaxnail.com as it was first registered) and taking over the ecommerce efforts for ole henriksen. it was a an amazing opportunity to leverage my pervious skills, with a chance to layer on aspects of ecommerce that i haven't had a chance to truly experience/manage before, and a chance to work with Julie and Savio, C level executives which i've had limited exposure to. this 1 man/woman show clearly took its toll and i look back with astonishment and awe at how unsustainable that model was and how I would never subject myself or anyone else to that level of stress and responsibility, but i can look back and said "I did that," and truly I really did that.
well that time period of professional growth and pregnancy was the most emotional, professional, psychological, physiological challenging aspect of my adult life this far. Of course the morning sickness was there, the taking it day by day mentality to not get caught up in the fear of pregnancy was there, and of course the trusting of my care with Dr Katz with this pregnancy. Again, this pregnancy was riddled with a few unexpected aspects...rescheduling my cerclage like 3 times, because my blood tests were not in in time, the baby not being in the ideal position for CVS testing, needing to get the Verifi tests done because my numbers were "ok" but not super ideal for someone my age, etc. and ultimately this baby being breech, not responding to the acupuncture and not budging a bit during the inversion process at the hospital. i still remember bleeding a but at home, working on the Nth version of the presentation for Savio and Julie until 1am, going to CPMC because I was still bleeding, coming home around 4:30/5:00am and still calling in to present at 8 in the morning. never again. the bleeding could have been caused by another bladder infection (UTI), and ive been drinking my diluted 100% cranberry juice + simply cranberry juice cocktail almost every day. but again, every day that i'm pregnant is a good day.
so with a sept 20 delivery date, my last day of work was sept 3, when julie was back from vacation. this left me with a little over 2 weeks to start the rest of my life. nesting mode needed to be on overdrive, whether or not i wanted it to happen or not. my need to de-clutter was definitely hampered by my physical limitations. my clumsiness, random sciatica pain, backaches, and difficulty breathing did not make anything easier, and in fact caused me quite of but of angst and frustration, that everything was twice as hard and took three times as long. my patience was not in abundance. aside from another load of laundry that needs to done, and another load that needs to be folded, i'm nearing the point in which the state of the household is going to be what it is before the baby comes, and like it or not, i need to be ok with it.
finishing up dylan's baby book, recording my thoughts down in this blog, capturing my thoughts for my sephora performance reviews and finishing up one of the parenting books i recently downloaded are still a bit outstanding...but that's what tomorrow is for. And then before I know it, wed AM will be here, ready or not!
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