How time flies. One year ago on May 5, I remember feeling the sheer joy, relief, (pain), and instant love for our little boy, Justin. Our lives will never be the same - for the better! We love you so much, Justin, and are so proud of the little man you are becoming! A babbling, active, hard-headed, and always hungry little man, at that!
March is usually a busy and very joyous month for us. Not only do we start the month with celebrating B's birthday, but our wedding anniversary is in March too. This year was no exception! With many weekend getaways, we embraced being a family in Half Moon Bay and took some time to celebrate our coupledom in Vegas! (our first time away from baby!) B kept trying to remind me that it's important for us to remember who we were before baby, even though it is hard to be away from J. Both getaways were some much needed time away from the daily grind of work and chores, and time to just be.
J is quickly becoming a road warrior and loves to explore the new places we travel to. Not to mention, he is becoming super mobile! His personality is just thriving and we (biasedly) find him cuter with each passing day! There are too many tricks to count these days, so here are what I can think of!
- J has learned to throw things - for attention, to express his discontent, or to express his boredom. Oops, there goes another toy, and ow, my leg.
- The little man is cruising! He is a speedster along the TV console and the couch. Any day now....
- He is still babbling and we have noticed that he is understanding what we say more and more. He knows his name, knows when we say "not allowed", and who knows what else he has absorbed! So the big question is - will be talk first or walk first?!
- He likes his golf stick! And it's so cute that he absolutely has to hold it the right way up! (Daddy is happy - check out his swing in the monthly album)
- J likes to dance and enjoys music. When he hears music, he will start boogeying or shaking his hands in the air (depending on the song). His favorite songs are "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and "Old Macdonald had a Farm!". He also likes to groove to the Alphabet Song!
- He knows his name! When we ask "Where's Justin?", he pats on his chest! I usually ask him this in Indonesian, and he understands it more than in English.
- As Grandpa Lie calls it, J is a "demolition derby". He will dig and burrow into everything these days, and pull them out. You can clearly see where J has been in our household!
- We went through some sleeping up's and down's this month as J was developing - and pheu - he's back to his routine again.
- Like Matthew Lee, J is growing two "vampire" teeth on top, in addition to his two bottom middle teeth! We're looking forward to more teeth so he can start eating the same food as us. He keeps staring at what he eats, and I always feel so bad when I can't give it to him!
- J and his pacifier - the love affair continues - he can pick it up with his eyes closed and in his sleep when he hears it rolling around his crib. We're going to have some fun breaking this habit in the next month or two.... :(
So... March was fantastic! Nourishing for the body, joy for the soul, and I think I even got to feed my mind with some reading too! The only thing that we have to get better at now is - getting some exercise (when?!).
Hope you all are doing well and that we can have a play date real soon!
this month more than any, little J has just exploded into a little man! within 4 weeks, he was sitting up, crawling, pulling up, babbling, and socializing all on his own. does it count that i'm nostalgic, but it's only been 10 months? he is still chewing on everything in sight, and his curiosity is just beyond control. his personality is starting to shine through, little by little...
- when he's hungry or thirsty, he's learned to growl. yeah, that works on us every time.
- when mommy walks out of the room, he starts whining or crying (awe, says mommy. jealous, says daddy)
- when you clap your hands and say hooray, he goes "hoo-ay" and throws his hands in the air.
- he's learned to wave goodbye and hi (it's hit or miss, but it's happened more times than not!)
- he has started reaching out to "shake hands".
- he has a monstrous appetite! he can feed himself blueberries and puffs now! hoo-ay! haha.
- he knows how to melt mommy's heart by crawling up to her, climbing on her to signal wanting to be carried, and then putting his head on my shoulder. gets me all the time.
- since he can crawl now, he crawls to the side of the crib closest to his door and tries to peer out when we've left (ducked and crawled out of) the room. sometimes he beats me to the end before i can sneak out! so clever!
- j took his 12th flight this month!
- he still has rolls. PHEU!! hope this one sticks for a bit longer.
and as for mommy and daddy? i think we're starting to (finally) settle into our work and life routine. it is definitely getting even harder to leave little J as he grows up so quickly. we've gotten comfortable traveling with him, and even though there is still a pit of anxiety every time we're about to leave, j manages the travel with flying colors. slowly but surely, we're getting out there - we even ventured out on a friday night to a bar recently!
all in all - it's been a fun february! here is the photo summary.
Nine months and 11 days later, he can awkwardly shuffle forwards.
Is it really only the end of January? Okay, so I'm posting closer to mid-February - but for many reasons, it has already felt like such a long year! The new year brought on a lot of reflection - what it means to be a family, the dichotomy of being a great employee and a great mother at the same time (is it even possible?), and the neverending goal to get fit!
Family - Papa Wey took a long two week trip to Europe for work, leaving Mama and J to fend for ourselves (almost)! It is definitely different being on the other end of the travel stick, as I found myself missing hubby so, so much. Our family felt so incomplete without him here on the weekends, and to reflect to every night after a long day of work. Thankfully, Grandma Lie could spend some extra time with us post-holiday season, to keep us well-fed, in good company, and reminding us to not stress! Similarly, I think Papa missed the family too despite his busy and indulgent trip, and promised to take us next time! :) Each day, I appreciate and cherish the family that we are more and more.
Work/Life Balance - let's just say, the balance is slowly tipping one way. I've found myself going through more introspection about what I want out of my job, while at the same time, embracing those precious 2 hours I get to spend with J each evenings and on the weekends. Despite being back at work for almost 3 months, my heart breaks just a little every morning when I say goodbye, and even when I turn him in for bed each night. Will I ever adjust or figure this out? I guess we will see this year...
Getting fit - UGH. Baby weight. UGH. Jiggly arms. UGH. It's been impossible getting back into a regular exercise routine during the week. On the weekends, Papa and I try to trade off workout times with each other, but I think to really get down to my original weight, I just have to try and squeeze in more workouts! Those stinkin' last few pounds! And with work stress and pressure, I definitely can't help sneaking in that extra bite of sweet each day! OOF! Oh repeat new year's resolution, will this be the year?
As for little J - well - he is such a star! He brings a joy to us that we've never known, and it is so amazing how he learns all of his new tricks on his own. How does he do that?! In J's 8th month, he has:
- discovered his man parts. yup, bath time is even *more* fun!
- started schooching! he is still refining his motor skills to get to a formal crawl, but in the mean time, he is rolling, schooching, reaching, and stretching to get where he wants to go!
- started getting a little stranger anxiety. he is generally a very happy and friendly baby, but there he has his off-moments when someone just doesn't rub him the right way, and he'll break out in a sporadic cry!
- growing teeth! the first one is here, and the second one is starting to show itself....
- copying our actions. from squishy faces, to clapping, to noises, he is a perky, talkative, hyper little man!
- developed an affinity for wheeeeeel offfff fortune! after dinner time, j enjoys some trivia and shouts out letters with momma - "e!" - "i!" - "j!" -"L!"
- started sitting up on his own. he goes from downward dog to.... seated baby!
Here is a photo summary of the Wey's January!
We can't believe how quickly December came and went. From all of the holiday parties, to our tropical christmas in Hawaii, we had such a blast, and keep reminiscing at all of the fun we had. Most of all, we really enjoyed creating new traditions, all for our little one. It's all just a preview to the fun we'll have this coming year!
J has changed so much in the last month. He is so, so alert, and listens intently to all conversations. He tracks movements like a hawk, and just can't get enough of play! It could have been all of the firsts and loads of food we ate this past month - J has so many new tricks up his sleeve! And oh yeah, on Jan 1, he sprouted a tooth! Above all, J is growing up to be such a HAPPY and smiley little boy, which is all that matters to Mama and Papa Wey. Some new things that come to mind (there are so many now!):
- He loves picking up his toy, shaking it around for a bit, and then dropping it to the side. Or maybe he's playing us?
- He is doing lots of very high push-ups! Sometimes he gets on his knees, and today, he started scooching backwards. Uh-oh?
- He can clap his hands, and when we say "hooray!", he goes "hwayyyyy!"
- He reacts to different songs that we sing - Grandma has taught him a new Indonesian folk song, and when he hears it, he makes this "crrrrrrr" sound because he's so excited!
- He plays around with sounds, "bobbobob", "bllpttt", "momomomo", "dadadadada", "daahhh-deee" (that's the closest he's come to daddy so far), "yayayaya", "gagagaga", "pahpahpahpahpah"
- When we say, kisses, he starts leaning in for one!
- He devours his meals. When he sees us eat, his mouth starts moving, "bop bop bop", and he gets angry "graaaah" when we don't feed him!
And with those new tricks, he's also stopped falling asleep when we're out, and has become such a squirmy wormy! He has been teasing us with stranger anxiety too, but sometimes, I think it's just because he is startled. So far, he's been smiling at all the ladies! In the evenings, it's sometimes hard to say goodnight to him because he is just so much fun. Time continues to fly by, with only 4 months left before he turns 1? Here is to a stellar 2012!
It's been such a fun and action-packed December, none of us have had a chance to say hi!
In case we missed you, here's hoping your holiday season was filled with all things merry and bright. We'll be updating soon with our (massive) December album, so stay tuned!
Lil J's been making all kinds of sounds of late, expanding his vocab to B, D, F, M, N, and even gave us a very clear NO. I don't think he knows what he's saying yet, he's just enjoying saying it. A couple of videos to capture the babbling.
This month, it was a month of milestones for Mama. I returned back to work (slowly, but surely), and took my first business trip all on my own! Gasp! Each week has just been a constant up and down of to-do's, emotions, and thoughts. Apart from missing Justin terribly, it's taken a few weeks for me to get mentally back into thinking about work and not about little J (when is he supposed to eat, has he pooped yet, what should we play today, ooh, it's nap time!). And for nursing mamas, boy, is it a pain in the butt trying to carry that on in the workplace. I have so much admiration for all of you working mamas, and how you've been doing it this long! Hoo boy!
Apart from that, we made it an extra point to spend lots of family time together on the weekends this month, instead of filling it up with constant activities. Now that both Mama and Papa are back at work, the weekends are all for Justin, playing with him and taking him about to see what new things he can absorb. I find myself squishing and showering him with kisses more than usual now, and am so grateful inside to hear his bursts of laughter. Justin hosted his first Thanksgiving, which was a delicious success! (and he's been loving eating poultry lately too!)
Justin continues to make us laugh, smile, and be thankful for everything that he is (and we are so thankful that he finally started sleeping through the night - HOORAY!) Check out his new moves here!
