2 Months!

[S] As G turned 2 months yesterday, we celebrated "pastor's family" style - at youth group retreat! Although I was sad to not have been able to attend the whole retreat, I was really grateful for the time I was able to spend there. It was very fitting to go down to Rockbridge with G, my brother and my SIL as the theme was "Prodigal Family".

I was very grateful to A and J for driving with me down to Rockbridge! I don't know how I would have gone down by myself. G was a trooper on the way down and got a full meal as soon as we arrived (which explains why she is passed out in the picture). 

As G slept and slept, she missed out on all the fun of people adoring and loving her. Especially Uncle A imitating her chubby cheek action. Also, Uncle A wanted to have the exact outfit G had on because apparently it was "really soft"... but I think he just liked the ears and the feet. :)

Auntie Soy was lucky enough to catch her for the 30 minutes she was awake! G seemed to really like her future babysitter. ;) 

We were able to have a great time of worship and watched a beautiful scene of the group praying for each other. Students praying for counselors and counselors praying for students. Sisters praying for each other, brothers praying for each other, sisters and brothers getting together to pray for each other. A very beautiful scene indeed - one that I had missed seeing.

But G missed all of that.

However, the next morning she decided to stay awake for a little bit to say hello to the group!

She got to see her big unnies and auntie. Missed this family so much! Hopefully G will get to know them more and more!

G was so sad to leave that she cried most of the way home, making us stop twice on the road to reassure her that there will be more retreats and more times of worshipping together as a family. 

Happy 2 months, baby girl. Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Poop

Disclaimer: Please do not expect any profound statements in this post as it is mostly related to my/M's experiences in changing diapers. 

In the beginning, there was a clean diaper. This clean diaper was then secured onto G with two velcro straps. Not more than five seconds later, G "cuts the cheese" and lets out a big one. And then clean diaper, no more.

This happened several times in the first month of her life. However, more recently G has become aware of diaper change time and waits until those two velcro straps are opened until attempting to squirt M and I with her best shot. M used to pride in his diaper changing skills, but I have to say that with G's new awareness, his skills have disappeared. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of these expressions, although I hope to catch them on camera one day.

I had a near perfect record... until the big explosion. It was a typical 3am feeding. I usually change G after she's fed so that she'll kind of wake up to be burped. This is usually what she looks like after a feeding...

"Got milk?"

Yep. Passed out with some drool down her chin. How am I supposed to burp G when she's drunk on milk! But no worries, as soon as I put her down, she'll wake up and then I'll try to change her. She will then create facial expressions such as: 

"Leave me alone! I don't interrupt your bathroom time!"

 So I put her down to change her, opened the diaper and as soon as she felt the breeze, she let it all out. ALL of it. She pooped on her clothes, my hands, and her feet. For those who don't know... babies poop isn't solid, it's more of a watery consistency. I mean, all she's taking in is milk. So to be more accurate, she SPRAYED her good stuff all over.

But before I could get really frustrated, she cracked her gorgeous smile. And then I melted and admitted defeat to this game she seems to play with me.

"Heehee, gotcha!"

Until the next diaper change, G!

Ellie Fun Day!

Are you a mom or mom-to-be and would like to win some cool stuff? For my friends (and founders of Ellie Fun Day) Elton and Sarah Lin, I would like to share about what "hipsters" can win!

In honor of our return from India and in the spirit of Christmas we are hosting a Mommy and Me Giveaway contest!
(can we get a YAY?)

Here is what we’re giving away!

FOR BABY

#1 One Ellie Fun Day blanket of your choice (Ellie or Sharkie) Retail $95

#2 Chewbeads: some might argue this is for mommy as well! Retail $29.50

FOR MOMMY

#3 Deep Steep Organic Bubble Bath in Lavendar Retail $10.95

#4 EOS Organic Lip Balm in Sweet Mint Retail $3.29

#5 Emerson Made Silver Dollar Indian Tunic  Retail $168.00

How to Enter:

{ COMMENT TO WIN }

leave a comment about your favorite baby memory (yours or your baby’s)

{ BLOG FOLLOWER }

follow our blog by clicking on our RSS Feed to the right, and leave a comment below stating so

{FACEBOOK FAN}

become a facebook fan and leave a comment for an entry!

{TWITTER FOLLOWER}

leave a comment if you’re

a twitter follower for an extra entry and give us your handle

{SPREAD THE WORD}

twitter, facebook, or blog about this giveaway for one last entry!

come back & comment with the link! if you twitter, please

tag it with @elliefunday so we can track your tweet!

Giveaway ends on Sunday, December 11th  at 8pm, PST

Please check back next week to see if you are the lucky winner!

Spread the word about the sweepstakes... and about Ellie Fun Day! To find out more about Ellie Fun Day, you can go here. 

THE Pacifer

[M] For the first couple of weeks when we had G, whenever she would get fussy, I would immediately go and search for a pacifier; something that would soothe and calm her.  This worked for a bit, but pretty soon, she began to reject it.  Sometimes she would reject it by tasting it for a bit and then spitting it out.  Sometimes, when I would put it by her mouth, she would just tightly seal her lips as if to say, "Hey buddy, I know what you're trying to do and it ain't gonna work this time."  I'm almost positive that's exactly what she's thinking in those moments.

But recently, I discovered a new method of soothing her - running water.  I think S may have first suggested it to me a while back, but I don't think I tried it until the other night.  I was in the kitchen trying to get a bottle ready for G, while she was crying her cute little eyes out (side note: I crumble into pieces when my baby girl starts crying.  I think she might already have me around her finger.  Yikes).  And while she was crying, I turned on the sink and then she started to calm down.  So I let the water run as I prepared the bottle.  And she was silent the whole time.

I began to use this technique throughout the night to bring serenity to my little G, but even in my downgraded brain activity state, I realized this could end up being a costly means of calming my baby.  LIGHT BULB!  I googled "water noises for babies" or something like that and sure enough, there were many websites that covered this amazing phenomenon.  I explored a little bit, but then I settled on this one link...

http://www.freesound.org/people/roscoetoon/sounds/26402/

I've listened to this 5 second clip (it can be looped) for hours on end (I'm even listening to it as I write).  And that first night I discovered it, it was really sweet.  I placed my laptop near G and just let the soft sounds soothe her to sleep.  And as I laid there in the dark, God spoke to me a very familiar passage:

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul." - Psalm 23:1-3

It was incredibly sweet to hear God's voice in that moment.  I was using the calming sound of "quiet waters" to bring rest to my troubled daughter, and in the same way, God wanted that for me as well.  I had gotten so caught up in the stresses of ministry, family, future and the distractions of facebook, email and TV.

But once I disconnected from the internet and TV, it provided the breath and room for Him to lead me to those quiet waters.

That evening, the house was dark.  I was alone with God and G.  And in that moment, I realized that I had been searching for the wrong "pacifier."  I should have been looking for THE Pacifier.  The only One who knows my fears, doubts and insecurities.  The only One who knows my troubles better than I do.  The only One who can calm the storms within.  The Prince of Peace.

All it took for me was to get unplugged.  (Yes, I recognize the irony of posting about this while being on the internet.  It's similar to when people update their status as "I'm praying right now"...yes, but you're on FB.)

Anyways, here are a couple of pics to celebrate G's 1 month birthday (and one random cartoon):

Chillin' by quiet waters

Happy 1 month, G!

Not sure if it's visible - it says "1 month" on her shirt.

Check out the look she's giving me - haha!

For her 1 month bday, we took her out to Target.  When she wears this jacket, I love picking her up because she feels like this giant fluffy pink cloud.  "She's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!"

Random Thoughts

[M] Some random thoughts...

 - G was born on her expected due date.  I think she's trying to break the stereotype that Asians are always late.
 - I love "new baby" smell.  It's so pure.
 - My youngest sister got married last weekend.  I told you - random thoughts.  It's so many years away, but I couldn't help thinking about the day G will get married.  She's growing up way too fast.
 - I love music...but for some reason, I don't know any lullabies.  S and I make up "original" lullabies almost every night.
 - I can't wait to bring G out to the real world.  But her debut will almost certainly coincide with the cold and flu season.  Maybe we'll just wait til next June.
 - Gospel math: "Jesus + nothing = everything" - Pastor S.
 - Changing diapers has not been that bad.  In fact, I actually pride myself a little bit on my diaper changing skills.  But word on the street is diaper changing gets a little funkadafied when babies start to eat solid food.  Any confirmations?
 - Every once in a while, G will have these nightmares and wake up and start crying.  S will then say to her, "Aww, did you have another nightmare about coming through a small hole?"  Puhaha!  My wife cracks me up!
 - I don't think S and I are super selfish people, but whatever selfishness we have, G is straight owning us.  God has such creative methods of sanctification.  But this time around, I don't mind as much because His way of sanctification is just so darn cute!

Here's some pics...

G and S together

G and S still together.  One of my favorite pics.

Happy.

Happier.

Happiest!  Thank you, Lord for this amazing gift!

Desires

[S] We have a good God. Let me say again - we have a GREAT God.

Since bringing G home and trying to fall into a routine, I have been waking up at around 7am. Not that I have much to get ready for the day, but it gives me some time to myself - even time to take a shower! This past Sunday I was getting ready to watch the worship service online at 9:45am and trying to get G satisfied and content so she could rest while I watched. G happily obliged.

Not.

G was as fussy as ever! I had done everything I thought she wanted... fed, changed, burped, rocked. The more I tried, the more it seemed like her cries got louder, her tears were fuller, and she even scratched her precious face (which almost made me cry). I looked at the clock and it was around 10:15am - I was going to have to wait until the next service. As I pleaded with G to miraculously speak her first words and tell me what she needed/wanted, I became more and more frustrated - for a couple reasons:
- How come she hasn't stopped crying?
- What did she want?
- Why couldn't I enjoy this Sunday worship service?... God, I want to worship you, please quiet G so I can listen.
- Why did she scratch her face??
- How can I keep her quiet for the next hour?
- What is it that G desired?

Then my thoughts began to evolve as I thought about how God gives us the desires of our hearts. I thought about how God provides even the desires that we do not know we need... before we ask! AND the best part is... He does not make mistakes. God gets it right the first time. Unlike... me. Hahaha poor G. At least God is her ultimate Father.

³ Trust in the LORD and do good;
   dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
⁴ Take delight in the LORD,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37

As I still process through these thoughts, I am simply humbled and am brought down to my knees. I may not always provide the right thing for G on the first try. I will make mistakes because, let's face it - I am human. Not only am I human, but I am a sinful human being. There will be moments (and already have been some) where my selfishness will really try to overpower my maternal instinct. But it is comforting to know that as long as I surrender G to the Lord, she will be protected and cared for in every aspect of her life.

The scratch by her nose that almost made me cry... (much bigger in person).

Our family walk in the neighborhood.

Family

[S] As it must be pretty obvious right now, I've been learning a lot about "family" in my life. I guess "family" is something that surrounds me all the time, but isn't always in the forefront of my observations. My parents have always tried to emphasize the importance of family and spending time together as a family, but like many other life lessons, I needed to figure it out on my own.

While G was still residing in my belly, I was sure that once she came out, I would be content spending just time with her and (no offense to M) would not really long for time with all three of us together. However, it is just the opposite. Now that G is out and I've witnessed the interactions between the three of us, I constantly long for time with the entire family together. Yep - me, M, and G time. Why? I love watching M take care of G and how we pass G along to each other to make sure she gets enough mother and father time. I love how G will spread joy to both of us through her facial expressions and smiles (whether or not they appear from the relief of passing gas). I love how M and I can still communicate to each other about our feelings and how G has been affecting our lives.

It's so interesting, I pretty much expected my love for G to come in, no matter how strongly it came. However, I did not predict my love for my family to come in that much stronger.

Sleep Chronicles

[M] I love sleep.  But as the old adage goes - you never know how much you love something (or someone) until you lose it.  And now I know just how much I love sleep.  A lot of interesting things have happened to us sleep wise since G entered our world.  Here are some snippets:

 - Babies can sleep at anytime, anywhere.  By association, parents of newborns learn to sleep anytime, anywhere.

 - On one of the first nights we had G home, she was sleeping in her crib at the foot of our bed.  I went to sleep in our bed, but I fell asleep on my arm and it fell asleep too.  Then when G woke up crying, I went to her crib side and consoled her.  After she went back to sleep, for some reason, I had this strange desire to sleep on the floor right by her crib.  I guess walking the 3 feet back to my bed was too far.

So I decide to sleep right there on the floor.  And as I began to go down, I put my weight on the arm that had completely fallen asleep and I just crumbled right into the ground.  I landed face first; glasses first.  It probably should have hurt, but I just fell asleep right there on the ground.

 - G fell asleep in a rocker with some lullaby music playing from S's iTunes.  I left the room for a minute and when I came back, the lullaby CD ended and it was playing Biz Markie - "But you say he's just a friend, Ohh baby, you, you got what I need.  But you say he's just a friend."  Sometimes I get nervous about my parenting skills.

 - All-nighters.  When I finished college, I promised myself I would never do an all-nighter again.  But several years later came grad school.  But when I finished grad school, I promised myself that I would never again, under any circumstance pull an all-nighter.  Usually, with those all-nighters I would hope to not get an 'F'.  And this time around I didn't.  I got a 'G'.  And she was worth it.  That last line was super corny...but I'll blame that on my lack of sleep.

Finally, here are some more pics...

I asked her to divide 1 million by pi.

G likes giraffes.  We hope.

G has so many poses when she sleeps.

Random smile while sleeping.

G is so excited to be with her grandparents.

Auntie E and G's other grandma.

Just plain cute.

G with Auntie D.

This smile melts me every time!

Life with G

So I guess this is where we should give a small introduction to this blog - it'll be snapshots and stories of our life together as a family.  We understand the narcissistic element of having a blog, but we just want to update our friends and family on our happenings, especially with the newest addition to our family.  In the end, if you don't want to read this, just click on the "next blog" link at the top of the page.  That can be fun too!

[M] I'll be writing today, but sometimes I'm sure S will write and then hopefully, one day G will write too.

So, I won't describe in detail the birth of our new baby girl - maybe some other time.  I'll just write about a couple of things before she wakes up again...

Some lessons from the last couple of days:

 - I was a novice.  Noob.  Whatever you want to call it, I had no idea what I was stepping into.  Normally, I'm the type of person who likes to research things like crazy, even if I'm buying something menial.  But for some reason, when it came to having a baby, I literally did nothing.  I kept saying I would read or look up articles online and then bam, 9+ months later, "Let's go the hospital!"

Since that moment, I have learned a ton.  I think the weight of "you are raising and taking care of another human being that will be completely and wholly dependent upon you and that responsibility is a serious thing" slapped me in the face.  I am absolutely getting schooled so much by God, by G, by S, by my parents, by the internet and by life.  And yet after learning so much in these last couple of days, one of the greatest realizations I had is that I'm still a noob.

 - There was this moment last night around 4am when I was holding G and just staring out the window and God laid this verse on my heart - "¹¹ “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

My heart began to well up thinking of how much I love G - how much I care for her, how much I want to protect her, how much I want the best for her, BUT that my love pales in comparison to the extravagant love that God has for both me and G.  It's a concept I knew cognitively, but this verse took on another dimension when we had G.  And it overwhelmed me as I had this sweet moment with the Lord.  Oh how He loves me!

Finally, enough of my sleep-deprived thoughts - here's what you really want...

Baby G on her very first birthday.

Baby G chilling in her hospital crib.

Baby G was 9 lbs.  Her feet were almost the size of the whole carbon paper.

Mommy with G.  S was so amazing through this whole process.

Baby G with Auntie J and Grandma

Me changing G's diapers.  G is not happy.

G and me.  Honestly, this pic pretty accurately depicts my physical condition.  But on the inside, I was beaming!

Uncle A also beaming.

Mommy and G together.  Beautiful!