another year...

here i am, waiting to retrieve our laundry from the dryer without enough time to begin working on anything. so, i'm adding to the blog. these are just random thoughts, of course. today is our (jeff and my) 11th year anniversary. obviously, we have not be married that long; the counting begins the day we started "officially" dating. and, it's also the first day of the lunar new year. a very special day indeed.

i've decided that being a full-time parent and student/professional, or should i just say careerist(?) is probably the most difficult thing i've experienced thus far. it takes me FOREVER to leave the house on tuesdays and thursdays because i just want to spend the mornings with siri. she is happiest right when she wakes up, filling our room (and the whole apartment) with her shrilly laughter. i love it! i text/call jeff numerous times a day to check in and see how she's doing. i lock myself in my office with my door shut so i can get work done. seriously, i've always been pretty productive, but i'm definitely a lot more efficient with my time now. a short six-seven hours of work time, two days a week really pushes one to make the most of it. plus, i have to taken breaks here and there to pump. being a mom does not end when one steps out the door and leaves ones baby to go to work. i miss siri so much on those days and it takes a ton of willpower to keep from tearing up or just flat out crying.

we're starting to get her on a semi-sleeping schedule. after her feeding around 7:00/8:00, we wind down with baby massage, story time and then quiet time (where she lays swaddled between jeff and me as we both pretend we're asleep). quiet time can last anywhere from 15 minutes to over one hour, depending on her mood. she kept talking to herself and shrieking with laughter the other night that it made it difficult for us to pretend we were asleep. we both had to cover our mouths with our hands so she didn't see us laughing. it's a joy being a parent.

we try to work within those short one to two hours before we turn in for the evening. this "work" could entail actual school work, or housework. work is work, and we have so little time to do it at home these days.

the clock is telling me i should go get my laundry and get ready for bed. until next time when i blog random thoughts...

Siri -- Week 15

We've been making a lot of progress this week. Mommy and Daddy finally left the house without Siri last night and enjoyed a delicious meal at a Brazilian steakhouse. Our friends Jim, Jen and their two-year-old (Kaia) babysat Siri for us. Siri seemed very intrigued by Kaia who wanted to feed Siri a bottle (and wanted to share her doll's bottle with Siri).

Siri is getting a lot better at grabbing things (rattles, adult-sized fingers, etc.) She is also loving holding her hands together so it looks like she's constantly in the midst of an evil plot. She's also learned how to swat at toys dangling off her playmat and has learned that she can stop a moving object with her hand. As of this morning, she seems to be exploring the possibility of rolling over. She has rolled somewhat towards both sides. We're looking forward to her progress.

Here are some pictures from this week.

Narcissistic Parents

Long before I had Siri I used to find it incredibly annoying when parents talked about how cute their babies were. I found such comments and bold-sharing to be irritating and an indication of their self-absorption. If you've been following our blog, you see that I too have fallen down that rabbit hole. How is it that once one has a baby, one becomes so annoyingly self-absorbed?

I constantly think about Siri and am amazed at how cute she is. I shamelessly share photos/videos of Siri with friends (with or without their prompting) hoping to elicit some comment about her cuteness. But, all this commenting isn't necessarily meant for the baby. She doesn't understand what it means when people say she's cute, or adorable, or beautiful. Jeff and I understand it, however, and we relish in the fact that she is (in our eyes) the cutest, most adorable and beautiful baby in the world. And, since she's the product of both our genes, this makes us rather narcissistic.

So, my conclusion is thus: all parents are narcissists. I take ownership of my narcissism. My baby is cute because Jeff and I are cute (or so we think):) I'll continue sharing pictures to prompt response and tell people all the cute things she does. I do this because I'm a parent and parents are obligated to be natural narcissists.

100 days old!

Siri is 100 days old today and for Chinese folks (and many other Asians as well), this is a big deal. Typically, the parents throw a big party, but we modified it a bit and just had lunch with some friends. Here are some pictures of the little princess. And, yes, she did in fact wear three different outfits throughout the day.

talking to daddy

Siri is talking a lot these days. Here is a sample of one of her one-sided conversations.

baby in the mirror

Our favorite thing to do daily is to watch Siri talk to the baby in the mirror. She gets super excited and shrieks and laughs at the same time.

Siri -- week 14

We're rolling into the 14th week and Siri is doing a lot of fun things. She has decided that her hand is the most interesting toy at the moment. She not only stares at them but also likes to shove an entire fist (sometimes both) into her mouth. Her fists are not enough for her mouth's satisfaction as she sometimes grabs onto our fingers and tries to also shove those into her mouth.

She is also a huge fan of the baby in the mirror (as you can see in other posts). I also sense that she likes the mommy and daddy in the mirror more than the live version.

Siri's also drooling a lot these days. The front of her shirts are almost always wet with drool.

Still doing a lot of tummy time and is getting pretty good at lifting her head. Siri now sleeps in her crib at night, which is a new development. We moved her there after waking up one morning to find that she was perpendicular to her snuggle nest with her feet pressed against my stomach. That was the indication that it was time to move her out of the adult bed :(

out of order pictures

I poached these pictures from Pei Pei's facebook. They're from our trip to Oregon and I thought I'd share them 'cause Siri's doing cute things, especially when she scrutinizes the sandwich :)

getting "told off"

Siri -- week 13

Siri is becoming quite the little person, exploring not only her limbs, but also her personality. She has recently begun to "tell us off" when she is upset (I'll post a video of her doing this), and seems to enjoy doing it. Here are some photos from this week. And, p.s. -- we select photos to post on the blog. As requested, we also stash a ton of other Siri-photos on snapfish. Let one of us know if you're interested in having access to those as well.

Siri's stats @ 12 weeks

We went to the pediatrician on Monday for Siri's three month check up and some shots. I thought I'd share some of her development with everyone:

Weight: 15 pounds 2 ounces (97th percentile)
Height: 24 3/4 inches (97th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 inches (75th percentile)

I'll update the blog with some recent pictures in the next couple of days.

Siri -- week 12

We have just returned from the Pacific Northwest to a not-so-sunny Southern California. But, it is by far MUCH warmer than what we endured for the past two weeks -- this is definitely more our speed. Here are a few pictures from our travels. Jeff and I both start school next week, and I am pretty apprehensive about the change in my current routine, which is to hang out with Siri all day long. I will have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Jeff will have classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and part of Fridays. We'll take turns watching our little one, but I'm not so sure that I'm ready to part with her for such long periods of time each week. I'm sure I'm not the only working mother who feels this way...
* Siri, Mommy and Auntie Sarah in Oregon
* Siri with daddy in Seattle
* Siri with Jiu Jiu watching the Sun Bowl -- go Beavs!
* Siri getting ready to go on a walk with daddy today