SP Day 17, 2 days left!

Today our Little Gym class got cancelled, so instead, we went over to our friend R's house. R is expecting a little sister in a few months, so her parents got a few new double strollers, and G came over to help R test them out. The two rolled around the block in a Peg Per-whatever, Aria 60-40, with G in the 40 seat and R in the 60 seat (which was only fair since G weighs about 16 lbs, and R weighs about 26 lbs). They had fun exploring their neighborhood visiting with people, and G enjoyed reaching over to R's side, which R didn't seem to like very much. Next time, we will try out R's backyard play area.

I also started putting up some of the flowers that I have been cutting out (on and off for the last year or so!) for G's bedroom. G loves looking at her new flowers, and points up toward them and talks about them.  Sorry, didn't take a picture of it yet. 

For dinner, we went over to some friends' house for yummy shrimp pasta (which I was surprised G really liked the shrimp, probably b/c of the garlic), and strawberries for dessert. G also enjoyed watching their dog, and even helping to feed the dog (a big biscuit treat). After the dog took the biscuit treat from G, she fed her some veggies as well, but G decided that she would rather throw the food at the dog instead of having the dog get it from her hand.

Here she is eating strawberries, and making a mess, at their house. Since they don't have kids, I think it was a bit of a shock to see the kitchen table (and floor) so messy.

We also had a treat during dinner, E called us! I think he was calling from Xian, but who knows, I think he said something about a Starbucks w/ wifi. We're both excited that he'll be coming home in just 2 days!

SP Day 15, 4 days left!

Sorry, no pics today either. 

After a big breakfast of strawberries, mangoes with oatmeal, G had a short nap (I woke her up) so that we could go to a playdate at a friend's house, the one that came over a few days ago, and another friend we've played with recently. G had fun at her playdate, tho she did have to eat lunch first, which was hard for her to watch the other kids playing while she was stuck in the high chair. I purposely gave her less food for lunch, and stuff she liked (yogurt with lentil soup) so that she would eat fast and be able to play. 

G held her own playing with the two boys (older and bigger too). She got hit (lightly, more like a little smack) on the face, but didn't cry. Later, she got into a tug of war over some balls, and won. G also bullied her way to pushing around a fire truck toy. Even though we tried to keep her a little separated from the one who wanted to keep hitting her, G actually would fight her way past us to get to him. Go figure!

For dinner, we went to visit Tai Po and Tai Gong again. She definitely remembered them, as she had a significantly shorter warm-up period than the last visit a few days ago. G loves how Jio Gong cuts up super juicy sweet oranges for her (cuts out the segments without the skins). 

Anyways, we're happy that Daddy is coming home soon. G talks about Daddy (daaaa-yeee) all the time.

Part 2

With E in China, I haven't looked at our online calendar. I figured I know what G's schedule of classes is (we only have 1 class now, the music class ended). I know when I have bible studies and home group meetings. What I forgot about was our friend's Red Egg Ginger party for their baby. Darn it! So instead of meeting up with friends, celebrating the birth of their second baby (a miracle baby), I was at home with G doing nothing. I'm so mad at myself. Oh well.

Today I have no pictures. We had a long drawn out breakfast, went out to run errands and go to the store (very productive for 2 stores, very unproductive for the 3rd). G had a nap on the go, which was nice. We had an impromptu lunch, at Johnny Rocket's, while we were still out. After playing for a little bit at home, G took a nap for 2 hrs while I dug some holes in the front yard on the edge of the lawn by the garage. I've been wanting to move some flowers from the backyard to the front. I was going to do it myself, then with a friend to help, then asked the gardner to do it, but after the recent rains, the plants are growing, and buds have already formed, and I want to get them moved before they bloom.  So I couldn't wait 2 more weeks for the gardners and started digging. There was a big root (from a little tree stump), that was a bit difficult, but luckily, the neighbor came by and helped get it out. By the time I finished, I didn't have time to dig up the plants from the back, so for now, there's just a row of holes in the front. 

Dinner was more long and drawn out than dinner. I have no idea why G has suddenly returned to her bad eating habits. Maybe it's because she knows that everyone has been commenting on how she's such a good eater. Dinner took almost 2 hrs, with much crying and complaining and refusing of food (it was something we've had before, so I know it's not because she doesn't like it). Cleaned up the kitchen while she played, then gave her a bath. She's also been a fussy nurser too, the last day and a half, which is making me think of weaning her. Why bother doing it if it's just frustrating for both of us (and painful for me)? Right now, G is nursing about 3 times a day. We'll see.

Her favorite toys today were the lego blocks and her Easter eggs/baskets, along with with her Elmo airplane that drives me crazy (and not in a good way). 

5 more days!

Saturday night, E skyped us, so we both were able to see and talk to him, which was great for G, who kep waving at daddy and showing him whatever was in her hand.

Sunday we were late for church and missed the Easter pancake breakfast. But at least G got to participate in the Easter egg hunt that was after church on the lawn. She "found" 5-6 eggs for her basket. Then, after a nice long nap, we went over to visit Tai Po and Tai Gong. After dinner there (G ate so well, she especially loved the juicy oranges that Jiu Gong was cutting off the skins around each segment for her), we went for a little walk with their dog too. G loved looking at their dog, and whenever I said gogo (dog in chinese), she would point to the dog. 

I let G play a little before bed, when we got home, but maybe that was a mistake (I also remembered to take some photos of her in her pretty dress). After changing her and getting her ready for bed, G cried for like 25 minutes, refusing to nurse or do anything, she was sooo tired that she was falling asleep while she was crying. Finally, she fell asleep, and I was able to nurse her for a little bit. But it was quite draining for me, so after putting her in her crib, I needed a break, so I didn't blog, didn't clean up her toys, didn't wash the dishes. But I did collect all the trash and take it out to the curb. 

These are the pics I took before G's major meltdown. It may look like her foot/shoe is crooked, but it's actually just her sock.

This almost looks like her dong-dong face, but if you look closely, it's actually the beginning or end of a smile. She already had 2 dong-dongs that day, so no more for her.

Look at all my eggs!

SP: 8 Days left!

Now I can start counting down and getting more excited for E's return.

Today, G had a playdate with one of her little friends (he's not so little, at 25 lbs!). It was so funny to watch them interact. When sitting in their high chairs (G was eating lunch, H was sort of having a snack but mostly playing with his food), they totally seemed to be talking to one another, and reaching out for one another, so cute! Playing was a different matter, though! Their version of playing together was wanting to play with whatever the other baby was playing with. G held her own, despite being smaller, and we were somehow able to give them enough things to share that no one cried. They did enjoy passing toys back and forth between them, which was also really cute.

For dinner, we went to our bible study group, which is just down the street from us. G loves any food that she eats there (she won't eat peas at home, but apparently she will eat them there!). Tonight we had a yummy chinese pork stew that G totally loved!

G is taking more and more steps every day! Today, she took so many steps that I lost count, maybe 6-7 little ones, not to go anywhere, but mostly for stability, but at least she was lifting her feet off the ground. 

Here she is getting ready for Easter with her bunny ears :)

SP: Day 10 Almost 2 wks down!

This morning, I added a strawberry to her oatmeal b/c the mango seemed to be not as sweet as I had hoped. After she finished, I gave her part of the mango seed to eat/suck on (I eat most of the seed but leave a little chunk on the skinny end of the seed for her to work on).  As you can see from the pics, she loves it!

Everything becomes "hands free"

Afterwards, I was distracted on the computer while she was supposed to be drinking her milk. When I turned around, this is what I saw (notice the milk everywhere)! That's what happens when she's quiet... getting into trouble!

Here is G after dinner playing with her octopus chair. After several months of basically ignoring it (and E thinking it was a waste of money for me to buy it b/c I thought it was soooo cute!), she is finally playing with it. G loves to flop onto it and climb on it too. Sometimes she sits on one of the legs.
She had a bath tonight too. And after her bath and putting her to sleep, I did the laundry, put away her toys, finished cleaning up the kitchen, made a new batch of oatmeal for her (it's a little lumpy because I ran out of the original oats that I had ground up, so I bought a mix of oat flour, oat bran, and steel cut oats. It also has barley, the last of the millet, and quinnoa. I haven't been using the brown rice or buckwheat because of her constipation, but I may start using it more now). Speaking of her constipation, G's been off any prunes for maybe 2 weeks now, and has been ok with her poops. I still bought a pack of them just in case, but it looks like that phase is finally over, yay!

G also looks like she's gaining weight from the supplement. It mostly goes into her oatmeal and yogurt meals, so two of her three meals will have it, and some goes into her water and milk, but it's still a struggle to get her to drink much. Anyways, I noticed today that her cheeks seem to be a little chubbier (if it's even possible for her cheeks to be any bigger than they were before). I had hoped that the supplement would put weight on her body and arms/legs, and not in the one place she already has chub, but oh well. And when I was giving her a bath, I could see her little tummy. I'll probably call the dr tomorrow or early next week to schedule a weight check and also to finish up her 12-month shots (I think she still needs 2-3 since we only did the MMR one). 

SP: Second Week!

(BTW, for those others who have been reading this, I skipped yesterday b/c I actually got to talk to E on the phone! Unfortunately, G was so wiped out from not having a second nap that she was already sleeping and we were having issues with skype so I didn't end up getting her up to talk him.) 

I've survived my first week of single parenting, and I must say it's hard. I'm tired a lot more, and have to remind myself to rest more. Plus, I'm so fortunate that E does soooo much to help me, not only w/ G, but around the house as well.

We missed our bible study this morning b/c G slept in (probably from missing one of her naps yesterday!). By the time she woke up, I figured that we'd miss the entire bible study by the time we got there. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that today was a social, so even though I would have missed the bible study, I still would have been able to hang out with the other ladies. Oh well.  So we just had our usual breakfast at home (multi-grain oatmeal w/ mangoes, again, b/c I have been too tired to cook the pears).

Lunch didn't go over so well for some reason (lentil soup w/ yogurt, which she inhaled last time), so we went out to run errands. I seem to be more forgetful these days (not entirely my fault, sometimes the store doesn't have what I want/need so I have to go back) and end up having to make multiple trips back to the same stores. Lately, I've been putting G in the shopping carts, as it's easier for her to take naps at home and then go out (translate: it's harder for her to nap while out b/c she wants to see everything!), so since she's awake, she might as well be in the cart instead of me Ergo-ing her. G loves being in the shopping cart, I have her snacks with her, and she loves being able to look at everything and everyone. She smiles and waves at people, and grabs at things (like oranges, today).  At the grocery store, she helped give the cashier our shopping bag (which she had been pulling up from the back of the shopping cart) for bagging up our groceries.

For dinner, a friend came over (her husband is out of town too) and brought us dinner (yay!), and after G went to bed, we watched a new favorite movie, Stardust (a modern Princess Bride).

This picture was taken while I was trying to cook some veggies for our dinner and G was playing in her area. I always try to look over every now and then, especially when it's quiet, to see what she's doing, and this is how I found her:

It was so funny I couldn't resist grabbing the camera. Just after I took this picture, she started to fuss so I had to help her out.

SP Day 7: What happened to my baby?

One week down and two more to go!

Reading the updates from E and other teammates about their work in the China orphanage give me strength to go on, knowing that our sacrifice is changing lives in these little kids. Reading about what they are going through brings me to tears.

So... what happened to G? I have no idea! Some one seems to have switched my fussy eater baby to a baby that eats a lot, and quickly! I think now I have an idea of what it is like for other moms, and it's soooo nice! This morning's mango oatmeal breakfast was fairly routine. I had decided that G would have lunch "on the go" after her morning nap, while I picked something up from the store, so after her 3.5 hr nap (wow!), we headed out stocked with grapes (cut in halves or quarters, peels on, I discovered she can handle them cut with peels when she was "stealing" them out of her friend's snack cup Saturday!), cheerios, and bread. She ate all her grapes and about a third of her bun, which was pretty amazing! 

It was late when we got home, but I still decided to put her down for a quick nap, so she slept an hr, and for dinner, it was like she hadn't eaten in DAYS!! She had about 4 oz of yogurt mixed with lentil soup (her new favorite), for a total of about 6-7 oz. I didn't think she'd be able to finish it all when I realized how much I had mixed together, but started feeding her anyways. About 15 minutes into her meal, she had finished over half of it! She also fed herself some soup too, but gave it up after a bit because it wasn't going in fast enough! After she finished her soup, she also had some organic cheerios and puffs (like rice crispies but whole grain and no sugar), and even some oranges.

Look, I'm a big girl and I can feed myself...

... with no hands, too!

And now I cand smear all the rest of the soup all over my face!

It's so funny to be messy!

Thanks Auntie M & Uncle R for the homegrown oranges!

I can't remember if I posted any pics from the Easter party, but I will do it tomorrow if I haven't.

SP Day 6: Lemons!

G and I went to a BBQ today for a friend who is leaving soon for Cambodia to work with victims of human trafficking. The food was so good that G ate 2 teriyaki meatballs, a bite or two of tri-tip, and a piece of chicken (all I got of it was the charred part I didn't want her to have). She also marginally ate a few pieces of noodle/macaroni salad, but mostly I was impressed that she ate the meatballs. In fact, I'm not even sure I got to try it b/c she ate it all!

The bbq was tiring, G totally crashed out on the way home, and I was tired too, so after putting her in her crib (after changing her diaper too b/c it was her second poop of the day), I took a nap too. She ended up sleeping for 4.5 hrs! Which was great, b/c I prob slept for almost 4 of those hrs too! We both totally needed it. 

After a nice snack of blueberries and strawberries, G and I went outside for a little walk and picked some lemons from our tree. Here she is helping me to wash them.

For dinner, we had pizza (organic spinach & tomato with tofu). Here's G "helping" me prep dinner. Ok, she's just playing with the box, but at least it entertained her while I was getting dinner ready. BTW, she ate 2, yes TWO, whole slices (minus crust). And yes, she's definitely mommy's girl, she ate them dipped in (organic) ranch dressing :) YUM!! She also had more strawberries and blueberries with dinner. 

Overall, a very good eating day for G. (In case you were wondering, breakfast was organic multi-grain oatmeal with mango and organic cheerios.)

SP Day 5

Yesterday, we mostly stayed at home, and made a quick trip to Whole Foods for organic milk. I should have just picked it up from Safeway the day before, but I wanted to get the small container, which Safeway didn't have. But it would have saved me an extra trip, oh well. I was frustrated with G because she wasn't eating her breakfast, but figured out she was just really tired, so I ended up putting her down for a nap, and she finished her breakfast at lunch. We had home group tonight, and she LOVED her black beans, corn, rice, carnitas pork mixture, eating it all, and even having secons of corn! 

Today we had our big Easter party with the other little kids in her playgroup (my moms' group). The Easter egg "hunt" was sort of just a see and grab, just a 'arrive and see some eggs appear at your feet' sort of thing, but there were lots of plastic eggs (some whole, some opened) scattered all over the grass, along with lots of cheerios and goldfish too... 

I did G's hair in braids just for the event! Here's a pic of it from the back, it was done while she was eating breakfast, in her high chair.

She's free standing more and more, and taking steps too. Soon, soon.

Look! I can open these things and eat the stuff inside! (Cheerios and Cheddar Goldfish)
Here she is cruising around with one of her friends.
One of her birthday toys is a wood animal puzzle. Apparently she likes to walk around with the  bird in her mouth... (BTW, if you ask her where the bird is, she will look toward the window!)
New food discovery: salad leaves! I give her the darker ones or the spinach, as they have more nutrition. And she's not just sucking off the dressing, she will actually eat the whole leaf!
I had to change her entire outfit when we got home because I discovered an entire Cadbury chocolate egg melted inside the back of her onesie. At first I just thought it was on the back of her neck and hair, but as I was changing her diaper, I discovered what looked like a blow-out (leaky poop) up her back and out the diaper, but it smelled like chocolate and I could see the wrapper still mixed in. I should have taken a picture before washing it out, oh well!

Single Parenting: Day 3

I'm not sure I can keep up this every day blogging schedule, but we'll see.

The weekend before E left for China, we also had a Little Gym Spring party. Here are a few pics of what G is currently doing in her class. The rock wall was higher than it normally is, probably for the bigger kids, but that did not deter G from climbing up several times.  

She also loves the bar and balance beam and rings. She can now do rolls on the beam, as well as over the bar.

I mention this because she had her Little Gym class today. The new thing we tried today was rolling on a GIANT wheel (it really was giant, maybe 4 ft in diameter!) and then doing a forward roll on the other side. Too bad I didn't have the camera with me in class. Next time. She also climbed up the rock wall several times today.  

I managed to get G on a good schedule today, breakfast at 9ish, nap for 1.5 hrs, lunch at 12:15, then class and picking up a few things at the grocery store, a little play time at home (with her new Duplo Lego blocks, yay!), nap for 2 hrs, dinner at 6:45 with her favorite friend (the one she shared a high chair with). G also started her weight gain supplement today (it came in the mail this morning during her nap, so only her lunch, snack, and dinner had it). We'll see how well it works... it seems to dissolve well in soups and yogurt, but not so well to coat it over strawberries!! 

Oh, and for E reading this in China: G still fussed again this morning when I went to get her, but not as much as the previous 2 days. She still misses you and we talk about you all the time.

Single Parenting: Day 2

I managed to get G up and out for bible study this morning, which is a feat in itself. Bible study is at 9:15 (I'm never on time), and because it's so early for G (and me), we usually need E to help us in the morning. I was late, but at least I still made it. One of the reasons I didn't want to miss it was because this is one of the few places where I can drop off G at the nursery. She always cries when I drop her off, but always eats her breakfast and loves playing with everything there and has a great time.  

G only had one nap today, and I'm wondering whether she's getting more and more adjusted to only wanting to sleep in her crib and not being Ergo'ed out. If so, that will be unfortunate, as I take advantage of her sleeping in the Ergo to run errands like grocery shopping. Yesterday she refused to sleep when we went to Costco, and today she refused to sleep when we went to Target. 

Anyways, for dinner, we went over to some friends' house, and G had a great time playing with their kids. Apparently, G's shirt made a great surface for sticking checker pieces onto it... poor girl had no idea what they were doing. (We're laughing WITH you, yes, WITH you!)

Going on a little shopping trip, buying blocks and little books.

These pictures were taken last weekend, which was super busy. Here we are at Lullaby Lane, G is testing out a cool stroller (actually, we were there picking up a replacement crib and testing out car seats, but I just HAD to put G into the Stokke stroller which I totally have stroller-envy over)

Then, we stopped by a friend's house to visit, since they lived close to the store. This is G's first encounter w/ Lego (Duplo) blocks, which she quickly figured out how to take apart. I was really impressed and happy when she also was able to put two back together. Now the Lego obsession can begin for the next generation!!
Then we went to another friend's house for a sandbox/backyard playdate. G didn't like the sand at all (this was her second time to encounter it, she didn't like it the first time at the Children's Discovery Museum either). However, she did really enjoy riding around in the wagon.

G's going to hate us for taking so many pictures of her with food stuck on her face, but I just can't help it, it's so funny and cute!
You probably didn't know that this high chair can also be a double high chair! G and her best friend.

Single Parenting: Day 1

Bye bye, Daddy!

E left late last night (early this morning) for China. He's going with a group from church to help out at a new orphanage for disabled children, and will be there for 3 weeks. I will be trying to update this blog more often so that he can see what G's up to while he's gone. It is his first time away from her since she was born, and the longest he'll be away from me since we were married.

This morning, when G woke up, she was hysterical. And not in a good funny way. Normally, G wakes up around 7-8, which is also when E wakes up, so he retrieves her from her crib and brings her to our bed for me to nurse her, then takes her back to her crib to go back to sleep for a few more hours. This morning, I went to get her and brought her back to the bed. And she became very upset and didn't want to nurse, but was just hysterical crying and writhing around. After a few minutes of not being able to console her, I set her down on the floor by her exersaucer and went to the bathroom. By the time I came back, she had calmed down, and I brought her back to bed and was able to nurse her. She then slept until 11:30.

Today we had a picnic lunch (G's breakfast) in the park with two other friends. Then we went to Costco (yes, E went there yesterday for me, but I wanted to get more stuff and was in the wrong direction to go to Whole Foods), where I expected G to nap while I shopped. She apparently had other plans and didn't sleep until we got home and I put her in her crib, but at least she had a nice long nap. My women's group met at my house tonight so that I could put her to bed at a normal time, which worked out well, since they ended up staying rather late (it was a good time of catching up and sharing). 

I'm considering adjusting her schedule and not letting her go back to sleep in the morning so that she can have meals at more normal times. But that also means that I would have to get up earlier too.