help help i've fallen under a rock!

thomas has fallen and apparently been partially pinned underneath a large pillow rock. while struggling to get free, he has succombed to exhaustion and has passed out...


hee hee... actually just another exemplary photo showing william's exellent attempt to cover Thomas while they are napping together.

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thomas is definitely developing a personality in his 9th month. he gets really REALLY mad now when you take things away from him before he is ready to let go. and he hates getting his diaper changed - he just howls away when you pin both of his feet together. he is getting really strong too - it is really hard for me to hold both feet with one hand now. i have to really squeeze to keep them under control and thomas lets me know vociferously how much he dislikes it.

food is a little more challenging now too. we found that he eats more if he likes the food (chopped up fruit, chunks of whole wheat bread, etc), less if it is ho hum (stage 2). he really likes chunks. so i boiled up some pasta and other vegetables, stuck them in a food processor and add them to all the stage 2 jars we have. i still have about 20 stage 2's left. he will only eat plain stage 2 now if he is really hungry, even then he will only eat about 4 oz. when it is food he likes he can eat closer to 8 ounces. crazy that they are so aware at this age!

my favorite times of the day are when the three of us play together on the floor. it is so much fun and feels so crazy good just hanging out together.... our little family. :) Oh! hey any of you with babies - play with them on the stairs... i help thomas climb the stairs and he LOVES it. he can do that with me for as long as i can last. he loves feeling like he is getting somewhere... anywhere.
plus now he can crawl forward. it is amazing, sometimes even with his tummy off the ground. we are not really prepared for mobility... not much is child proofed yet. i guess we need to start doing that for real now. but i love watching him move. i sit him down, he pops onto his tummy and he is off. forward, backward, stretching, twisting. i have to keep eyes on him all the time now when he is on the floor. he is scary fast.

our fat little bird head

obvious resemblance....

it's been awhile since he opened this wide. i made a strawberry mango pineapple smoothie today and he couldn't get enough :) definitely not the same as vegetable turkey dinner...

something must have loosened his tongue because he started with consonants today! not just one but several: "a ba ba" "ga" "na na" "da" "wuh" like a talking cornucopia today. makes it sound like there is a real little person talking up a storm in our house. amazing...

Dad's ranting

No more evening engagement that lasts past 8pm....

Last Sunday was at John & Liz's home for some much missed Zachary pizza. Getting there late (Thomas was napping till 6:15pm) was mistake #1. Because then it meant we wont' be able to finish the pizza and socialize and leave by 7:45pm.

So by the time we got home...and tried to get Thomas to sleep...it was 9:30pm and he didn't sleep until 10:30pm.

The result...a Monday to be remembered.

He ate 1/2 of his breakfast only. Then fussed.
He ate the 2nd half of his breakfast and started on his lunch...then stopped.

He finally took his usual 11am nap at 12:30pm instead.

He ate the 2nd half of his lunch at 3:15pm.

Then dinner started at 6pm and he only ate half o it.

No 2nd nap for today.

He fell asleep at 8pm...hard. Tired out.

But now as of 11:30pm..he's been up 30 minutes crying.



So....that is IT. Daddy has made a rule for his household. NOBODY stays out past 8pm...so if I leave at 7:30pm...it's not personal. It is just that I don't deal with a fussy Thomas very well.

Arg...

William

8 months and more updates

Thomas has this little giraffe that he likes to carry around. he likes to grab it right by the neck and use it to bash around other things around him. here he is being hypnotized by it :)

however he quickly recovered, grabbed it by the neck again and is looking for things to bash.


-----------8 months----------------

we went to the doctor's office measure him for 8 months. they told us that we could bring him in anytime to get his height/weight. so he is now 27.25 inches and 19 lbs, 2 oz. i was very happy because he actually grew this month! the last two months, he grew barely a 1/4 inch each month. this last month he grew 3/4 of an inch. yay! i know that they tend to switch off putting on weight vs. gaining height, but it is always nice to see them grow. although sometimes i wish his little razor sharp finger nails would not grow so fast - i feels like i have to clip them every 3-4 days and it is getting harder and harder every month to clip.

i also decided to start him on slightly chunkier foods. a while ago we tried those little star puffs to see if he could handle it. poor little guy gagged and threw up almost half his meal on the floor. so it has been about 3 weeks, and i was reading that about 8 months they should be able to handle slightly chunkier food (just very soft). so i very carefully tried giving him the star puff cereal again... and he was ok! he actually took 5 of them! this was after a 7 oz meal so i knew he was enjoying the new and exciting food experience. he definitely wasn't opening his mouth because he was hungry. btw, babies can keep their lips together really tightly when they want to. if they don't want to open, you can't even get a spoon in there if you wanted to.

------------almost crawling----------------

thomas is getting more and more mobile by the week. the last couple weeks he has become very adriot at spinning 360's on his tummy. a week ago, he demonstrated his excellent backwards crawling ability. he is so close to crawling... it is so amazing to watch. unfortunately, this amazing development also makes him more work to keep track of. it really was so nice when you could plunk them down anywhere and know that they weren't moving.

i almost had a heart-attack yesterday morning. thomas sleeps around 8pm. he wakes around 6am and i usually sleep with him after 6. but yesterday i was so tired i actually fell asleep while he was nursing. so when he was full, he was moving around and i didn't realize it. i woke up an hour later and FREAKED OUT when i realized that there was no baby in front of me! i got a wave of adrenaline as i bolted upright.
there was thomas, at the very foot of the bed, snoring away on his stomach... inches from falling off the bed. in fact one of his hands was slightly over the edge. i can not believe i fell asleep so deeply that he was able to drag himself down there before he fell asleep again. i am now going to be really REALLY serious about getting to bed by 11pm. he moves around way too much to be inattentive. i am not going to let him fall off the bed a second time if i can help it. william also mentioned that we are going to have to lower the crib soon. he can pull himself up above the railing now so it is only a matter of time before he will realize that he can pull him self over.

---------------mall walking-----------------

everyone was at the mall today! i went there at 3pm with Liz & Regina and we met up with Blanca. while we were at Pottery Barn Kids, we bumped into amber and her little boy, ryan. he was so funny, just tooling around pushing the little toy stroller they had there in bright pink. we also bumped into melissa on her hour away from home/toddler. she mentioned that she and another friend are looking into opening a clothing boutique in the new Ikea plaza when that opens in Dublin. how exciting is that! the other gal, elizabeth already owns a boutique in walnut creek and another in san francisco. that is so very hip sounding... but lots of your blood and sweat go into owning a business like that. have to get all of the babies into school first, then i'll have time to work on my fantabulous dream career. :)

tagged

i was reading joanna's blog and realized that i have been tagged! :)

1. Grab the book nearest you, turn to page 18, line 4? ops.... ha ha... pg 18 has no words - it is a fashion magazine! oh wait... if only real books count then: "A staple gun makes short work of small household repairs. For example, to repair a screen that has been pulled out of its wood frame, staple the screen..." 2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch? thomas' bitty baby toy wagon, thomas' favorite tree, camcorder, william's ancient agfa scanner, my Bible from high school, m&m's candy dispenser 3. What's the last thing you watched on TV? 9/11 memorial 6. Except for the computer what can you hear? the clock ticking on the computer desk and thomas fussing as he goes down to take a nap with william 7. When did you last step outside and what were you doing? checking the mailbox with thomas (yes my life is so very interesting) 8. Before you started this survey what were you doing? checking email, reading blogs 10. Did you dream last night? that william and i were trick-or-treating, but we looked like we were in high school. then as we were running down a street, we became part of a group of renegades trying to escape a compound. but these evil guys called the lords of war had been called in to help the bad guys recapture us. so i was hiding under a desk in one of the rooms and was discovered! (no idea why i am always hiding in desks. too many movies in my head...). they assigned an amazonian woman to keep an eye on me but for some reason i had an icee cold big gulp in my hand and remembered that her species (maybe they were aliens???) was deadly allergic to ice. i tricked her into drinking it and she started dying, but somehow the sound was vaguely familiar. i woke up and turns out thomas was doing his bird calls (or rather shrieks) from the kitchen and that was the sound of her dying. :) 11. When did you last laugh? an hour ago when thomas strained backwards in my arms to see what william was doing. i could see every single booger in his nose as well as the palette of his mouth and the two teeth that have popped through the bottom row 12. What's on the walls in the room you're in? a copy of matisse's "Les Oiseaux", a modern wall clock, random smaller framed prints, old Casablanca promo print, small cork board with so much stuff on it that you can barely see the cork 13. Seen anything weird? not that i can remember. unless my dream counts 14. What do you think of this quiz? am i done yet?! (same as joanna) these are kinda silly. don't keep reading please... unless you are reeeeeally bored. this is taking me a long time. i had to take a break... i took three breaks while filling this out 15. Last film or video seen? "History of Violence" with Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello. william and i just watched "Munich" tonight. it was excellent very heavy movie though. not something you want to watch for fun. 16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight what's the first thing you'd do? give money to the charities i have always wanted to support better (my church, world vision, doctor's without borders, smiletrain, UPC, the missionary couples we send money to). also i would love to set up an angel investment company. 17. Tell me something I don't know about yourself? i was an absolute compulsive liar from the 10th grade on, until college when i became Christian. 18. If you could change one thing about the world regardless of politics what would it be? i agree with joanna - cigarettes/cigars really suck. but if i had to choose one thing - i would give all babies a safe place to grow up. after having thomas, the idea of babies suffering makes both william and i heartsick. they are so innocent, pure and lovely and the thought of a baby in pain just makes me so sad. if i could do away with that, i would truly give my life. 19. Do you like to dance? yes i love dancing but most of the places where one would go to dance (i.e. clubs) tend to be full of leary guys and plus william doesn't like to dance. so now i dance with thomas in the den with mr. frog and curious george. 20. What comment would you like to make to George Bush? i believe in the republican party (of course, there is always room for improvement) but it would be nice if you could be a more transparent leader. I feel that would help win back the support you have lost in recent years. Oh also, please work on your extemporaneous speaking skills. :) 21. Your first child is a girl what do you name her? Rebecca 22. Your first child is a boy what do you name him? Thomas!! absolutely no regrets :) 23. Would you ever consider living abroad? no, the standard of living in the U.S. has spoiled me (cleanliness, easy access to almost anything, still many opportunities). 24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gates? the same as joanna, Well done good and faithful servant. 25. Five people you want to do this quiz? I tag: regina, liz, audrey, debbie, cynthia... william, vijay...anyone that has some time on their hands. let me know if you fill it out!

Some of the questions from Me Me Me, posted by Liz:

What characteristic do you despise? people who are mean
Where would you go on vacation? anywhere in europe
Favorite brand of clothing? currently H&M. although, if i had a money tree it would be prada, gucci and dolce & gabbana.
Where would you retire? i agree with liz - Hawaii (they say hawaiians live the longest of anyone in the US). or to the central coast of california where william and i would have a kitty farm so unwanted kitties could come and live out the remainder of their natural lives
Favorite sport to watch? hmmmm... i am not really into sports...
Name on birth certificate? catherine inkyung choe
Number of candles on your last birthday cake? 34
Tattoos? one on upper shoulder - a spiked butterfly
How much do you love your job? someday i will have my own clothing company and i will love my job! right now i love being a MOM :)
Been in a car accident? yes at least a dozen if you count all the fender benders. in '92 i totalled my poor jetta
Favorite restaurant? Frisson (because it is so Sex & the City cool)
where would you like to max out your credit card? H&M and EQ3
What do you do most when you are bored? play with Thomas & William. read. watch movies.
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I agree with Liz - Bay Area is wonderful!

going nuts

maybe it is being a stay-at-home mom but i am going NUTS! i bought a peg perego stroller from a family in livermore, in very decent condition, from craigslist. it was only $40 which was good considering it originally retailed for $350 to 400 depending on where it was bought. peg perego strollers have a fairly good resale value (kinda like hondas) so i thought i was getting a good deal. when i got there, turns out the reason it was only $40 was because she couldn't find the detachable hood. it is a nice hood - it retracts fully and opens fully to cover the child and has a zipper to allow air to circulate. it is rain resistant and machine washable. all the things you would want in a stroller hood. that was a bummer but oh well, it was only $40.

that was 2 months ago. so now i was a doing a little research on strollers and it is almost $120 to buy the replacement part from peg perego. forget it!!! now i start obsessing a little because i really want a hood. i start looking at craigslist again for a similar stroller with a hood. only most people want at least $75 for the sim stroller in decent condition with all parts. call me a cheapskate but i do not want to pay that much for a used stroller. arrrrrgh...

well, william was cleaning out his garage a little this evening and guess what he found in there?? a hood attachment that matches my stroller. what?? how can that be? i don't recall getting this part when i bought it. i mean, i even remember her saying that she couldn't find the hood. william walks in, holds it up like a fish he just caught and says "hey is this something we got from lawrence/daphne or julie/james?" i practically had a coronary!! what is that doing in the garage? did it magically appear there? did God put it there??? william claims that when he first took the stroller out of my trunk, he remembers pulling two other pieces out with it. are you lame?? why did you not tell me this? i mean, actually, why don't i remember this? do i have alzheimers? why can't i remember getting this from her? that is just greeaaaat... i have emailed her twice pestering her about whether she has found the hood yet. she is going to think i am a complete nut case. sheesh... is this what having babies does to you? sucks the youth and mental capacity out from you until all you are is a white haired grandmother sitting on the porch drinking lemonade?? !!!! why doesn't she remember giving me the hood? i am so confounded...


----------------thomas milestones-------------------

trying to calm myself down... his first two teeth started breaking through last saturday. so far, he has been very good about not biting while he is nursing. we'll see how long that lasts. in this picture, if you click on it to get the larger version, you can see the two bumps in his gums form the teeth. he has such a wonderful smile. :)
more lovely pictures of thomas on our vacation, and yes... it would be so nice if all of our bedrooms looked so cool, uncluttered and clean. we decided that a king size bed is very nice.
we actually had a very good vacation. i was a little worried because i have been so cranky lately.... worried that i would spend the entire time making william miserable but it never happened. we had one incident over take-out but as i was putting thomas to sleep, all i could do was look into his sleepy, lovely eyes and take-out didn't matter any more. i put him down in the pack-n-play and went over to the bathroom to see what william was up to.

there was william, sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor (it was pretty large bathroom for a hotel room) on one of the big white bath towels, drinking beer, eating take-out and reading my celebrity trash magazine. :D
as he looked up at me with that very happy smile, it completely did me in and all i could do was giggle and join him. so there we ended the night, drinking beer & wine cooler (btw, the green apple vodka chiller is really really tasty), eating thai noodles, sitting on towels and reading trash about celebrities.

our mini vacation - day 3

Day 3 started at 1pm. We drove up to Mt. Tamaplais. It was HOT up there...about 88F and no wind. What made it hot was that there is NO shade. So we made haste and came back down the mountain to Muir Woods (a chilly 60F).

A couple on their honeymoon asked if we wanted a family picture and we accepted their offer. They were a young couple from the southern part of the country.

We stood between two big trees...and for once Thomas did not look upset in a family picture!







I finally held Thomas over my shoulders and it was scary for me. I made sure my hands were always inter-locked at all times because this little guy can really move when he wants to. Dropping him from 5 ft. up onto pavement is not something I'll ever forgive myself for....

As you can see, Thomas here is trying to look up at the tall trees and has pushed away from my head with his little arms! Crazy Thomas!






Thomas is laughing like crazy in this picture. His high-pitched laughter must've been heard by everyone hiking near us at Muir Woods. The place is quiet...and the majestic trees almost demand that you respect their tallness with silence. And here's daddy rubbing the back of his head into Thomas' belly which made him giggle and squeal.

Who knows...maybe the trees enjoyed baby laughter for a change...




At one of the bridge crossings, there was still some light left (6pm) and we stopped to take some pictures. Thomas here is looking at his dad with a puzzle'd look cause I was hanging way over the bridge to get this shot. He probably wonders if I'll fall over...








Here's where I'll get a little bit philosophical:

Thomas is at the bridge with mom. Mom made sure he is safe. The look on his face, I'd imagine, is of curiosity. Without parents looking out for our kids, they wouldn't know any better and literally would fall into harm's way.

Mom's is clutching Thomas's chest while Thomas "thinks" about jumping or what lies beyond the edge. No way Thomas....daddy & mommy will protect you as long as we can. You're so precious to us; but someday we'll have to let you go....

our mini vacation - day 1

here's the first pictures from our mini-trip out to Mill Valley, a little bit north of SF. without traffic on a Labor Day Monday, it only took us 48 minutes to get here. thomas slept almost the entire way there so it was a perfect drive.

Here's the view from our balcony. Catherine swindled the young man at the front-desk by saying it's our 10th year annivesary (which is true...) and he bumped us from a regular to a junior suite with a balcony and a bottle of champagne.














Acqua hotel is nice...and not too pricey at all. I'd recommend for a short get-away in our bay area backyard. all the staff are also very nice. continental breakfast is included along with free wine & cheese in the lobby every evening. BIG plus! instantly made me like the hotel.

Here's Thomas all by himself in the king-size bed....









we got into our room and immediately took over 100 pictures of thomas on the bed. it was so arty looking we couldn't help ourselves. plus it was very funny seeing him, sitting so properly on the bed. we got quite a few good shots of him smiling, laughing and looking pensively out towards the bay.

-william