The Senakams | Corgi + 3

Happy New Year!

 

May your 2010 be fuill of love and happiness! (Feeling nostalgic about these specs already).

What?! All I get for Christmas is this...

Stinking hat?

Sorry Eva, Daddy and Mommy are too busy to buy you a Christmas gift. Besides, we buy you Christmas gifts every day. Just check out your toy bin, you're only 5 months old and it's already overflowing. We've actually contemplated digging up some of those new toys that you barely played with, rewrap them and pretend they're your X'mas gifts. Alas, we didn't even have time for that.

But hey, you get to see your grandparents (Daddy's daddy and mommy) from Austin for the first time...

 

Who took you to the Buddhanusorn Thai Temple for the hair-cutting blessing ceremony, which is believed to bring you a lifetime of health, happiness and good luck.

 

Really, what can we give you that'll beat that?

We also braved the crowd and took you to see the Union Square X'mas tree (which you didn't care about):

Plus, you gotta go on your first wine-tasting trip in Geyserville (granted you didn't get to actually taste anything other than breast milk, grandma pretty much hated all the wine we tasted, and grandpa lost all his money at the nearby casino *sigh*).

(But hey, Bryson's welcomed! That's a great winery in my book :>)

The truth is, I feel slightly bad that we didn't get a chance to create any special holiday tradition with you. We historically volunteer to deliver meals during the holiday, but with you in a car seat, it's slightly challenging to say the least. 

We want you to always appreciate just how special it is to be with our little family and remember how fortunate we are every year. I'll have to think harder about what's a good tradition we can embark on (readers: any suggestions?)

To make up for a lack of big, huge gift, I spent the afternoon shopping for fabric to whip up something quick for you. I found this super adorable Olivia fabric (I can see some Olivia-like antics from you already, precocious and feisty...), and remember I tried out this simple bib pattern before you were born (when I had free time to sew whenever I want, ha ha *bitter*...) 

And an hour after putting you to sleep, you now have a new, reversible and seemingly-very-absorbent bib (this black Olivia flannel is soooo soft and lofty, we'll see how it performs in a field test tomorrow, seriously your drool is the ultimate test, just check out that buddhist ceremony photo above where your drooling onto the monk's robe):

Olivia's so darn cute! Don't look too closely though coz the craftmenship is pure shoddiness. I'm tired and bleary-eyed. Good thing you're not too discerning at this stage.

But guess what? Tomorrow's your first X'mas! And after saying goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma, we'll have our quiet little celebration, new bib and all. And if you're lucky, I might even find time to rewrap a Christmas gift for you to open! Boy, I'm sure you couldn't wait to dig your chubby little fingers into the mess of crinkly wrapping paper.

Everyone have a Merry, Merry Christmas!
 

Eva FAQ- Part 1

Dang, has it really been a whole month since I last posted? Can't believe we're in X'mas tree shopping mode again already. It seems like it was yesterday when we almost poisoned Bryson with our last X'mas tree. Life seems to be stuck at super-fast-forward ever since Eva was born.

Speaking of Eva, we've received tons of questions from family and friends about how she's doing. As free time these days is an oxymoron, I'll try to create an FAQ for her, so users friends and family can refer to this document when I fail to return a well-meaning phone call/ e-mail/ letter from you...

Seriously, we're not ignoring you! We really do love hearing from you. Please accept my apologies and please don't stop thinking of us. Here's an adorable picture of her in case you wanna say you don't even know what she looks like anymore:

 Hi! It's me, Eva! You can't possibly be mad at this face, right?

Q1: (Mostly commonly asked question) How's Bryson doing with Eva (or vice versa)?

A1: Well, funny you ask! Ever since this day when they were forced to pose together, Eva seems to have started noticing that Bryson is a living thing. I mean she had accepted his presence before, even accidentally petted him a couple of times. But this week, she had actively lunged at him a couple of times while squealing in delight (and almost getting out of our grip and fallen flat on her face). She would also track him across the room, something that Bryson doesn't seem too comfortable with (we think he's worried that she's scheming to steal his food/bed/his perceived top spot in the pack). We tried to train Bryson to accept Eva's superiority in the pack by pretending to have Eva ask him to sit, then giving him a treat from her hand (or at least hand region). Eva also gets a kick out of playing with his flappy jowl and pulling at his whiskers... which Bryson doesn't seem to mind but nonetheless makes us a little nervous. We realize we have to start setting boundaries very soon. (And all these play sessions are really 2-man operations, so sorry, no photos yet)

Q2: How's she sleeping? (and if asked in person, usually accompanied with a very sympathetic look)

A2: Actually, we're pretty lucky that she's been a fairly good sleeper. We just started some basic sleep training, and she can now fall asleep on her own after a routine of bath (every other day) --> changing to jammies --> reading --> feeding. We'd put her down in her crib with her "Tabbi" (short for Tabatha), she would coo a little to herself and her little stuffed animals friends (probably saying nite nite) for a few minutes, then drift off to sleep. That happens around 7-8 p.m. each evening, and she'll sleep for about 8-9 hours, wake up, coo a little bit more (funny she doesn't really cry when she wakes up anymore, usually), get fed, and go back to sleep till around 6-7 in the morning. But how I am sleeping is a different story. Sometimes after the 3-4 a.m. feeding, I can't really go back to sleep. I keep thinking it's almost time to wake up again soon, and end up tossing and turning for hours. Ugh.

Q3: Does she have a favorite toy?

A3: Yes! The one toy she couldn't live without these days is her jumperoo. It's one of those obnoxiously colorful toy that plays even more obnoxious children's music that I sweared I would not buy before I had her. But the fact is she is attracted to it because of the bright primary colors and (pseudo-)cheerful music, and also probably because for the first time, she feels like she doesn't have to be confined to being held/ laying flat or being strapped to some seat, but has some autonomy and control over her environment (the seat swivels 360 degrees and she can "turn on" the music when she jumps or activate it with a toy). And if it means it can occupy her for 10-15 minutes so we can go to the bathroom in peace, it's worth every penny.

Here she is jumperoo'ing for joy:

Q4: So, are you guys having fun?

A4: Are you kidding? How can we not be having fun?! All the poopy diapers, 3 a.m. feedings, 5 p.m. tantrums... but seriously, like I tell hubby, even though it's exhausting, unlike your job where you work goes to making someone else rich, your work at home rearing your kids is an investment with 100% return. For better or for worse, she'll always be your child, and will never ditch you because of a merger/ lay-off/ restructure. And after a long day's work, being able to hold her, kiss her cheeks and take in all that baby aroma, all the troubles in the world seems to melt away... until she screams to be fed again.

Oh yeah, the joy of teething

  And yes, this is a hint of what I'm sewing currently, using this slightly manic Alexander Henry Around the Worldfabric which Eva ever so patiently help me pick out. 
 

 
Let me go already!

Look! I'm posing! And sitting...

 
Eh, maybe not.
  

 
 
 

The Pharaoh and the Sphinx

Why have a kid and a dog if you can't dress them up in ridiculous costumes for your own entertainment? (Isn't Bryson such a natural being a sphinx?)

And hey, she's enjoying it, right? The over-the-top headdress is a gift from my parents while visiting the King Tut exhibit at de Young before they left. It's then up to me to fashion the rest of the outfit in the 11th hour- raided my craft drawer for some gold-foiled paper and rhinestones, glue-gunned together with a cut-off bib with some elastics haphazardly sewn on the back. Voila! King Tut reincarnated! 

Miss Pharaoh, Mr. Elephant, Red Hot Chili Pepper and Miss Monkey mingling at the Halloween party (all saying "Are we done yet?")

Completely unrelated to Halloween. Just coz... 

Back to Work = Tears

Today's my first day back to work from my 4-plus-month maternity leave. *Sigh* 

I had a mini-meltdown last night, thinking about having to kiss her goodbye in the morning (ok, I do work from home mostly, but still it means handing her over to hubby, and trying to ignore her even when she's crying, which she did all afternoon). To make matters worse, I felt the urge to organize Eva's new closet and putting away clothes that didn't fit her anymore last night. Imagine me clutching a handful of tiny onesies and sobbing my face off on them. I was such a wreck.

When people with kids used to tell us when she was a few weeks old to enjoy them while they're small coz they grow up too fast, I thought that's absolute nonsense! All my sleep-deprived mind could grapple was that I couldn't wait for her to get bigger so she doesn't have to eat like 12 times a day and sleep only 2 hours at a time. But now, looking at these onesies that I can't believe she used to fit into just 3 months ago, and this giggling little thing beside me whose face lights up as soon as I walk into her room, I wish that time would stand still for just a sec so I can imprint this moment forever on my brain. (OK, the tears are flowing again... argh, what's wrong with me)

Just look at her and her little friends at a mommies' group gathering about a month ago (she was about 8.5 weeks then):

She looks so cute! So tiny! And so tanned! I swear I haven't taken her to a tanning booth yet. She is the youngest one there, but only by 4 days (the 2 cuties to her left and right are the 2 other youngest ones there, but they're all within about 3 months of each others).

Isn't this the most adorable line up ever? They look kinda wobbly that we thought they might all tumble like dominos. Good thing they didn't (but the slightly evil part of me thought that would've been kinda funny too. Tee hee!). Could you pick out the oldest baby?

Uh oh, Eva trying hard not to cry...

Where's my MOMMY? Waaaaah!!

Oh, she's right there. I'm fine now.

And this is her at her 3-month birthday celebration (she's around 14 weeks here):

Here she is with her little friends, Ili in orange who's 7 months, and Athena who's 10 months. Sometimes it still feels totally surreal when looking at a picture like this and think "wow, I have a daughter".  

And these are some pix just taken a couple days ago. Compared to these ones at 4 weeks, she looks so different...

 
"Hey Eva, say Dah-Dah"
"Hooo... Ooooooh... OOOOOOOOH!" (totally proud of herself)

By the way, Bryson had a small accident this morning, but really freaked us out at the time. Hubby was walking Eva and Bryson by himself, when he turned around and realized Bryson has fallen off a 5-foot platform onto some steps below. He said he just laid there and looked dazed. Hubby then picked him up (wth Eva strapped onto his chest) and frantically ran all the way home. Thank goodness when we took him to the vet that he checked out all OK, no broken bones that he can feel, just a very bruised belly. Needless to say, this has made my first day back to work even more interesting.

Here, you'll feel all better with a good rub down by your daddy and sister (BTW, don't you love hubby's T-shirt? So appropriate.)

 
 

Eva and Bryson's Most Excellent Adventure

Hey folks, we're back!

9 days of non-stop traveling with our 2 kids (2-legged and 4-legged), we've visited the most mangnificent coastal redwoods and pristine beaches, punctuated with feeding and changing Eva in the strangest places (on a tree stump in a redwood forest, next to a dead seal on an otherwise gorgeous beach, under a 30-foot Paul Bunyan statue, etc, etc...). That and Bryson eating and rolling in countless unidentifiable rotten objects (thank goodness the dead seal wasn't one of them), we've had one heck of a road trip!

Having just had a root canal today (ouch), plus dealing with Eva's latest "development", aka refusing to take the bottle all day (oh fun), I'm just too exhausted to write a coherent post. Just want to post some pix before they become some faded memory.

This is the view from the yard of the house we rented in Fort Bragg. Wish we had more time to enjoy it.

 

This house has a little glass-enclosed nook with a view of the ocean where this queen bed is. Hands down my most fav feature of this house. Even diaper-changing's more enjoyable here.

The first time Eva petted Bryson! And it's not staged, I swear! Awwww...

 Our sweet little girl at the house (seconds before she started wailing for something)

 

Hiking at Founders Grove, inside the famed Avenue of the Giants. We didn't drive through the drive-through tree, turns out there are many of them and I figure they're probably just as gimmicky as the Paul Bunyan theme park (ok, they're actually called Trees of Mystery), which we've already visited- hey, they're the only redwood forest in the area that's dog-friendly, you'll just have to overlook the Paul Bunyan-ness.

 Totally cheesy, but in a cute way

Ultra-man -girl 

Lion King Queen 

Beachside diaper-changing (the dead seal is just out of sight here, we didn't realize it until we sat down on a log on the beach and started feeding her after this diaper change... in fact I mistook the seal for a log, thank god I didn't actually sit on it. After we identified what "that funny smell" was, we quickly evacuated)

Taken just before we identified said dead seal. Eva was probably thinking, "Hey mommy, it doesn't smell quite right here and it ain't my poopy diaper"  

Dawn breaking over our rental cottage next to the Coquille River in Bandon, OR. There are salmons jumping in the river and cows mooing across the bank. Totally zen.

After reading some stories that morning with Eva, I propped her up on the couch so I can get a sip of water or something. She then proceeded to "sit" there and giggled to herself for the next few minutes, all pleased with herself. Next thing we know she'll be walking around and asking to borrow our car keys (like that TV commercial, ya).

Oh and good thing we're at a coastal town coz she's totally into fish and chips...

 washed down with some beer formula (which explains the slightly buzzed look)

Bryson totally enjoys strolling among the tide pools at Sunset Beach near Charleston, OR. I think he might have helped himself to some mussel sashimi.

Hmm, not sure what's so funny, guess you'll have to ask her

Bandon Beach, OR. Not only are Oregon's beaches drop dead gorgeous, they're all super dog-friendly. If my SAD isn't so bad, Oregon would be a great place to live in.

Going off to find some sea junk for dinner coz my people never feed me

You guys go ahead and go home. I'm staying.

And while we're gone, Picasso's parents (aka Auntie Rita and Uncle Brian) helped supervise the remodeling of our loft. We can't be happier with the result, but it's also mixed with sadness as this is their farewell project... they've just left to move to Florida. Bryson's already given Picasso his Skype ID, plus Picasso has just started his own blog, so we should be able to stay in touch. Bon voyage!