Audrey, 9 months: Predictions and Observations

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that my nine-month old baby has her own personality. She is nothing like her brother and sister.

Let me elaborate.

I have made the observation already that Audrey is mischeivous and stubborn. At five months old, she figured out how to twist her way out of the baby swing and climb out of the bumbo. And at 8 months old, she flipped herself out of the excersaucer. If left alone too long, she will twist out of her buckles in the high chair and stroller. Neither of the other kids did that. Does this mean she will be climbing out of her crib at eighteen months?

Her latest trick is pushing her legs against the kitchen table during mealtime. This means that she either tips her chair back, or pushes the table away. It is only a matter of time before she tips her chair all the way over!

Audrey is opinionated and outspoken. If she doesn't want to do something, then doggone it, she will simply not do it. She went on strike last month while cutting her first two teeth, in which she refused to nurse, take a bottle, take a binky, or take a nap. There was a lot of tears involved in this, and not just from her. Sleeping at church is out of the question. She cries instantly when I put her in the playpen, or (heaven forbid!) leave the room. She is very social and does not like to be alone. I'm sure this has something to do with being the third and never having been alone to begin with!

Don't get me wrong, she is a very sweet baby, and generally eats and naps very well. She is (finally!) sleeping 10 hours at night. When her needs are met she is a charm and full of smiles! But if she is not feeling well, and if the circumstances are not perfect for sleeping (like, being in her own bed...) she will make sure everyone knows about it.

Developmentally she is right on track. Yesterday she weighed in at nearly 17 pounds. She is a very fast crawler and is pulling herself up. She uses the pincher grasp for picking things up, she can wave and clap (so cute!) and she reaches for mom and dad. She knows the signs for milk and more. She says MaMa, NaNa, LaLa, BaBa, and Ga, but her favorite is DaDa. Another favorite noise to make is a throaty two-tone growl, which she employs constantly. (I'm trying to get this on video...) Audrey loves taking a bath in the big tub. She loves to crawl around, and spashes like there's no tomorrow! She loves peek-a-boo, and is starting to pull the blanket on and off her face by herself during the game.

She has very delicate features. Her face is round and smooth and her eyes are wide and full of life. She has dainty features, with her long curly lashes, and a sweet, contaigious smile. While her hair doesn't stick straight up anymore, it is still quite long and reaches all the way to her eyes. It is still soft like feathers. She smiles when I blow my breath on her forehead.

Oh, how I adore this little girl!

Da Da

Audrey, 8 months old.

See and believe

In case you needed proof that my six-month old is crawling.

How did she get to be six months already?

And as Audrey is about to get her first tooth, Leah is about to lose her first tooth!

How to make bread

Would you believe that she has never seen Rachael Ray?

Her stage presence has improved quite a bit in the year and a half since her first cooking video here.

(*There is a gem at 3 minutes, 10 seconds...*)

Inchworm

I blinked, and now my not-yet-five-month-old baby is trying to crawl. I am not prepared for this development. See for yourself: she has the legs figured out, so its only a matter of time until she pushes off with her arms and then never stops. She wants to go places, thats for sure. Is it normal for babies to crawl before they can even sit up by themselves?

Some close-ups of those irresistible baby cheeks and afro-hair. She is generous with her smiles! Coming soon--teeth! And solid foods! Won't that be fun!? (Does it seem to anyone else that this baby is growing up too fast...?)

Perhaps only the Grandmas will truly appreciate all four minutes of the baby-trying-to-crawl video.

"Eventually" has come--Audrey at three months

Daily checklist:

1. Sleep
2. Cry
3. Eat
4. Poop
5. Spit up
6. Smile!

7. Repeat.

Audrey is such a sweetheart. She is getting better at sleeping most of the night. She can hold up her head for a little while, loves tummy time, and she can accidentally roll from her front to her back. Chris is an expert at tickling her and getting her to laugh. "A smile behind every binkie" is what he says, and it is true! We get the greatest comments on her awesome hair--if I had a nickle... She can wiggle 360 degrees around and get herself stuck in the bassinette-time to move to the crib!

I finally bit the bullet and moved Leah and Samuel to the basement and put up the crib in the upstairs bedroom, which is now the baby's room! (She has previously resided in the living room her whole life!) It was a big project to rearrange all the bedrooms--the basement has actually been a work in progress for several months, involving moving the weight room and reallocating all the rooms and closets in the basement. But now that everything is in its place, it is so nice to have a nursery with crib, rocking chair and changing table all in one place.

Leah and Samuel are having a blast with their baby sister. She recognizes their faces and instantly grins. Thery are very protective. They always tell random people (cashiers, waitresses, people at the front door...) all about their baby sister-her name, how old she is, that she spits up a lot, etc. It is quite entertaining. We are so glad she is part of our family!

And a video!

New Installation

Check this out! We have these two gymnast kids and IKEA has these awesome play rings for $10!!!! Add 30 minutes of joist-finding and drilling, and we have two happy kids and the awesomest basement on the block!

Performances

Birthdays

Both of my children had birthdays in the last six weeks, and neither of which has been documented on the eternal blog. So here goes.


Leah turned five!

It's funny because whenever she tells someone how old she is, she says, "I used to be four, but now I'm five."

Aunt Rebecca and cousin Paul celebrated Leah's birthday with us, and took us to the Ogden Train museum, where the kids had a blast. For her birthday dinner she requested "salad," which means fruit salad, and garlic bread. She also was very pleased with her "Strawberry Shortcake" cake, which was really just a cake in which I added strawberries to the center filling for fun. I totally winged it, and it tasted great.

There was also a party with a bunch of five year olds, but I guess I was busy enough that the camera did not make an appearance at that party. You know what they are like: cake and ice cream, a bunch of kids most of my readers won't recognize, and an elated birthday girl tearing the paper off her gifts.





Samuel is three!

I was in Dallas for Grandma's funeral when he turned three, but we figured he wouldn't really know the difference if we celebrated a couple days later. He specifically requested a Spongebob birthday, which surprised me because I don't think we really watch Spongebob at our house. On the other hand, he does get a lot of Dora and princess exposure, so I am really glad he didn't ask for Dora or Ariel. It was fun to decorate (and eat) Spongebob. The trick is to frost the cake, then trace the image with a toothpick before icing the face on it.

The video displays the excitement of a little boy turning three, followed by what three year olds do best: be silly! Compare to this video of when he turned two.

Kitchen Helpers

Daredevil Kids

This is us swimming in Washington after 14 hours in the car. Samuel goes under water with his mouth and eyes open and comes out smiling every time. That kid has no fear, which worries me.

A New Skill

How do you teach a four-year old how to jump rope? I'm not sure. I just had her watch me jump rope and she practiced and figured it out in a day!

Here are my little show-offs for your viewing enjoyment:

Explanation: Samuel is wearing underpants during our 3-day attempt at potty training.

Leah's Cooking Debut

I was inspired by Michelle and Kyla's cooking show, so we tried our own. Cookies always take 3 times as long as they should when you have a little helper. I guess practice makes perfect!

Leah chose the title for the movie.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Vera, George, and Dave?

Samuel's 2nd Birthday

I'm posting this a year late (he just turned three when I write this), but I found the video and realized how much he has grown in a year, so I'm post-dating it. It is amazing to note the differences in language development and face-chubbiness.

By the way, the first part of the video is Samuel jumping off a bench at the mall. There is a little girl behind him wearing pink tights who, very obligingly, pulled him up to the top of the bench each time so he could jump off again.

Out of the mouths of babes

Here's a quickie for you.

Mom: "Samuel, Ready, Set..."
Samuel: "Go!"
Mom: "One, Two.."
Samuel: "Go!"

San Francisco Top 10

View Album --hundreds of pics from our trip!

First and foremost, Samuel is allergic to cashews. We found this out only two hours away from our destination (and after ten hours already in the car), and subsequently got to experience emergency room care in Auburn, California. We were there for four hours; we figure one hour per cashew. His reaction consisted of constricted breathing, vomiting, whole-body hives, and hot, itchy skin. We're grateful for the GPS that we bought for the trip, because it led us straight to a hospital in about 5 minutes.

Oh, and driving across country was much more enjoyable for me this time considering that for all the other road trips we've taken in the past few years I was pregnant and puking in the gravel on the side of the road. Soooooo much better when you're not puking!

TWO--Sam is a graduate! The core of our trip was to cheer for and support Chris's cousin Samantha, who just graduated high school and celebrated her 18th birthday. She is the next oldest grandchild after Chris and his brother, and the only girl of their generation. Filipinos sure know how to party!

THREE--Chris has moves. He really got to bust out his break dancing and popping during Samantha's big birthday party. He complained of foot pain for weeks afterward, but he said it was worth it. The kids had some moves too. As soon as I'd put them down to dance and they'd start crying instead of dancing I knew it was time to put the kids to bed.

FOUR--Leah is not shy. She treated the entire party to a solo of Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star by microphone, then lectured on flowers and lights and houses and cameras and other unconnected random things that only make sense in the mind of a three year old..

FIVE--Great food. Chris got a full dose of seafood at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (at Fisherman's Wharf) and I managed to find something on their menu that wasn't fishy at all. We spent $60 on one lunch--the most we ever spent for two on one meal. Ouch. Chris's friend Rebecca Hamburg from his high school years in Japan treated us to some authentic Japanese food. We also got lots and lots of Filipino food!

SIX--The Sights! Rebecca also gave us a guided tour of San Fran and drove us down Lombard Ave (crookedest st). Chris and I spent a day at Fisherman's Wharf, enjoyed the sights, entertainment, and of course, the shopping. We scoped out the seals, and for the love of chocolate, ventured over to Ghirardelli Square. We also spent an afternoon at Golden Gate Park for a picnic with Lola and to give the kids a chance to ride the carousel and run amok at the park. The kids playground in Golden Gate Park is a definite site to hit if you are in SF with kids. This park had just about everything you could want: sand, swings, slides, climbing, water--you name it.

SEVEN--Alcatraz. They let us out. Whew! By far the best self-guided audio tour we've ever done. We highly recommend the Alcatraz tour to anyone visiting SF. Plan to spend several hours there, and you'll definately enjoy it more without kids in tow. Chris wants to do the tour again at night next time, after he reads his new book "The Ghosts of Alcatraz." OOohh...

EIGHT--The kids got to see (and pee in) the ocean for the first time. I didn't expect it to be quite so cold and windy!

NINE--Lola loves her grandkids. She was a ready babysitter and took 10 pictures per minute! She was so great to play along with Leah's "I'll race you to the potty" game...

TEN--Family. Chris got to spend some much needed one-on-one time with his mom. We were graciously hosted by the Rafaels, and CJ even gave us his bedroom. We've decided that we are not going to wait for another 10 years to pass before seeing his extended family again!

Here are a few video highlights we managed to capture. I'll let you figure out which one goes with which description (I think you'll be able to do it...)



Transcription of Leah's first public address:
So everyone has flowers on their table so they can help their lights be comfortable.
Because at their house they have cameras and toys and they have lights.
You’re welcome.

Leah-girl the songbird

These are the moments I want to savor forever.


I've noticed several things: Chris is always cooking in the background and my children are usually at the kitchen table or in pajamas when I make a video of them, but they are always so cute, anyway!

Daredevil Boy

What can I say? Boys will be boys.

Chicago Vacation Highlights