Birthday Cake is yum!
This is Me eating the birthday cake Mommy made me - Lemon cake with Raspberry filling. I like it. But one bite - I'm full now. Off to play with my new toys.
How old is Zeebo?
How old is B* Bean?
Tuesday, October 30
My first birthday cake
What is that thing? I am mesmerized by the flame. But what do you people expect me to do with this.
Presents... woohoo!
My new Baby Grand Piano (by Fisher Price). I really like this new toy. Mommy and Daddy don't mind it either.
Luke and I
"Me" and Luke having fun with one of those door stopper things. Luke and I have fun together!
Monday, October 29
E's First Birthday
Happy Birthday to E !! (well on Saturday)
Lots of preparation went into this party... homemade invitations (only sent to family because I couldn't find the time to make twice as many), buying little bits of decorations from many different places (ikea, the party store in davis and the 99cent store), baking and making of cupcakes and one special cake all for E , planning for the party schedule, updating E's Amazon wishlist and keeping the Uyeyama (our gracious and courage host that let both the Spencer side and Yee side of the families descend on their home). Here's a quick rundown of the week leading up to her party.
Thursday I bought the last minute needed ingredients to make cupcakes and homemade frosting. I just did box mix and used a simple frosting recipe. Cupcakes came out beautifully (and tasty), the frosting on the other hand... let's just say there was a first batch that used shortening and it was rancid tasting (didn't frost any cupcakes with it, in case you were wondering). Even the "good batch" (that used margarine) still wasn't that great, sigh. (If you have an easy tasty frosting recipe, I'm all ears!)
Friday I got everything together, finished decorating said cupcakes with "Happy First Birthday" (ok, actually I told Ian what to do and he did all the decorating) and at around 10:30pm (after E had gone to bed) went over to the Uyeyamas and set up. Most of the time was spent putting up streamers. I know there's probably some perfect way of putting them up, but we just picked some fun places to put them and twisted them a bit. It was definitely "homemade" and very festive.
Then Saturday... the day. Oh, did I not mention yet... E's first birthday party was Animal themed. We chatted, we ate some tasty catered food from The Mustard Seed and when most people had gotten there we played E Jeopardy (minus double jeopardy). The categories were Birthday (having to do with her birth information), Favorites, Playtime, the # Game and Night Night. I was afraid that either (1) everyone would be uninterested in playing the game, (2) no one would know the answers or (3) one side of our family would clearly dominate over the other. Instead, it was a great game, everyone (even friends in Davis that probably don't really get to spend that much time with E ) played. The winner was Andrea (aunt on Ian's side) because she strategically (or just by chance) answered the high point value questions.
Then after the game, we ate so more (what's a party without food?), watched a cute video that I put together of E's first year and then did presents and cake. Everyone like the video, although near the middle Luke Armstrong and E were playing together and doing cute things and they totally stole the show! I would say more about presents and cake, except there's not much to say since E wasn't too interested in opening her presents (or even playing with the wrapping and boxes). She really wanted just one or two of the actual toys she got and was disinterested with what we were doing. And when we brought the cake, she looked a bit confused... I started it off with a big swipe... and I think she ate maybe two bites and then crawled away. Oh well. I ate a little bit of her cake and was done too. Of her little 6"x6" cake, only about 1/5 of it ever got eaten.
And that was her party in a nutshell. It was quite fun just to have everyone gathered around, family, friends and lots of E friends (Luke, Vivi and Grayson).
In the aftermath, E is still enjoying her new toys (and now a new living room which I reconfigured and moved all the furniture to make for one big open space in the center) and especially LOVES the baby grand piano that her auntie Gennie, Gigi and uncle Ivan got here. Thanks everyone!!
Oh.... and did you think I wasn't going to include some picture?? (see the flickr banner for more)
Break On Through (to the other side)
Finally, tooth #5 broke the surface. Phew, the last couple of days have been a doozy. Actually several times we thought it had come through, only to find out it was sitting there ... waiting for tooth #6 to make some progress. So, even though E has just gotten another tooth and should be getting a little bit of reprise, she's not because tooth #6 is just about to make it's way through also.
Poor girl (it makes her so much more sensitive, clingy and overall not too happy - although she still has her happy moments) and poor haggard parents (attending to a cranky, unhappy baby that wants to be held a lot is a lot of work)!
Wednesday, October 24
A Hard Tooth (get it) Day
Today was a hard day. E has been super cranky the last couple days. She cries when she gets picked up, she cries when she gets put down, she cries when she eats, she cries when she (should be) sleeping. She also has been biting me alot... when she nurses, but also just coming up to me and biting my leg. (I guess I deserve it... being that I bit my sister really hard when I was little. She remembers.) And tonight, we discovered why E is has been just so cranky, a tooth bud is making it's way through. Poor girl... this is #5. (It's on the top right, next to her two front teeth). Can't imagine what it's going to be like when she gets her molars... sigh.
Wednesday, October 17
The first half of October
I forgot to write about this earlier, but we had an interesting beginning of October. The Friday right before October began, I started classes. Then on Sunday, we got some voicemails on our cell phone before church from my grandparents and my sister. I knew something had to be wrong and, sure enough, my mom had gone into the hospital late the night before with breathing issues. So after church we high-tailed it to Stockton to see my mom in the hospital and ended up staying the night. We left for Davis early the next morning so I could get to the class I TA for at 10am but then came back to Stockton the next day and stayed until Saturday (my mom got out of the hospital Thursday or Friday I believe), with me driving up to Davis in my grandparents car (I left our car with the carseat for Gilda and E ) on Wednesday and Friday for class and discussion sections. On Saturday, my brother Jordan followed us home and joined me at the Shulls' house for a huge Halo 3 extravaganza put on by Sam Shull complete with a full roasted pig.
So that was the first week in October. My mom was feeling a little better but still very weak and needing rest and such and since my stepdad was going to be away on business Wednesday and Thursday, we all went back to Stockton after my Wednesday class to help with dinner and house chores and with my youngest brother Drew (now in Junior High). It was lucky we came because Drew became very sick with food poisoning from his school cafeteria (apparently like 50 other kids got it too) and was throwing up everywhere Wednesday night.
So now we're back at home, I'm trying to get work done on my dissertation (I've got 3 or 4 chapters pretty well covered but I still need extensive work to do in figuring out the next major section on the way our minds represent time and other interesting stuff). E , meanwhile, continues doing very cute things. She points at everything now and is getting better at communicating wants and likes to point at things and have us tell her what the thing is called. She's also learned how to flip light switches and to walk forwards like a drunk person (that is, staggering and with a little bit of help). She looks and acts more like a "big girl" every day!
Monday, October 8
A Belated Anniversary in Monterey
In September, right between UC Davis' summer session 2 and the start of the fall semester, the fam (Ian, E and I) took a trip to Monterey. Specifically we wanted to take E to see the fishes, jellyfish, sharks... and such at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We also wanted to get away for a mini vacation. Taking E with us wasn't too bad either.
We got a hotel just 3 blocks from the aquarium (The Otter Inn, which even has on site parking, woohoo) and took E for some really long walks, from Pacific Grove all the way to Fisherman's wharf and back to Cannery Row. We also bought candy for some family. We saw a really fat seal (all ready for winter) and a sea otter eating an oyster (not at the aquarium, just in the bay) up close and personal (within 10 feet). We enjoyed eating out and discovering E's love of crackers. Then we stayed the night.
Because E is on the ferber sleep method, she needs her own cirb (pack n' play check) and her own room to fall asleep. Hmmm... how did we swing that in a one room hotel room. Well we put her to bed with her normal routine (bath, books, boob - just had to keep the "b" theme going - and bed) and then we hid out in the bathroom (playing a card game) until we were sure she was asleep. After she had gone down for the night (only about 20 minutes) we snuck back into the room and to bed ourselves. Ingenious eh?
The next day we met up with some of Ian's family (Andrea, Gabriel, Colleen and Jordan) and went to the aquarium. Because we got a hotel we went earlier and got 2 extra hours of looking around. The verdict for the day? E loved the aquarium!! She loved watching all the fishies and would stare open mouthed as the enormous sea creatures (of all shapes, color and sizes) swam past her. She also really enjoyed the otters. And since their tank had low glass, she could stand their by herself with her face pressed up against it and shriek in amazement and excitement at their swimming and playing. Let's just say, we have a lot of beautiful pictures and lots of E . And we're already planning for when we'll go back. Maybe in March when they reopen the splash zone so she can see the penguins. It was a great trip and fun for all!
The next idea (before it starts raining) is take E to the Sacramento Zoo. Boy, more animals... who can resist!
Oh Goodness, How She's Grown
Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. No, we haven't fallen off the planet. We've just been super uber busy. I guess I need to get in the habit of blogging so everyone can keep in touch with us.
So what has happened the last couple weeks??
Well, the biggest bit of news is that E is fully worked into the Ferber sleep method. This means we put her down around 8pm and she sometimes cries for a minute, two at the most, and then falls asleep on her own - in her own room - in her own crib. She stays asleep till about 5pm of which she then comes to our bed. Yesterday (and this is becoming more typical) she went down without a peep and stayed asleep till just before 7 ish. WOW, it's lovely. Now if only Ian and I took advantage of her sleeping and slept ourselves. Instead we've been staying up to surf the web, watch movies or get work done. Tisk Tisk to the (still) tired parents.
E and I also joined MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) at a church in our area (University Covenant - every other Monday morning... just in case anyone was wondering and wanted to check it out). It's great because it's not super expensive (even the childcare comes out only to something like $2 a session), it helps me connect to other moms in Davis, it directly addresses my thoughts on how to be a good mom who can help E to grow in the Lord and also has expressive avenues (aka crafts). So far, I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know people I only knew by sight and also meet some moms (new and experienced) with kids just E's age.
And then there's the teeth. E has four very sharp and fully "pushed out" teeth. I think I already mentioned this, but after weeks of biting and no end in sight... I decided that after E turns 1 it's time to start weaning her. She'll still nurse before bed and maybe nap times, but not every 3 hours like she does now. It's just too much for me (the pain) and she is necessarily as interested... unless she's feeling clingy or needs something to calm her down. Pray for us! She also now eats fig newtons, crackers, peas, corn (whole kernels) and anything else she things she can sink her teeth into (har har ha). But honestly, she chomps down on everything (including us) and likes to take the biggest bites of food. She often chokes on too big of bites or is found shoving several large pieces of cracker into her mouth, even before the last two bites were done. Silly girl. We watch her very carefully in case of needing to do the baby Heimlich. Boy, does she like her food!
These last few weeks, it also seems like we have been away a lot. I think it's because we've traveled a bit over the weekends to visit family and took one very belated anniversary trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was lots and lots of fun. I'll expand on this trip in another post.
And lastly, E is learning new things everyday. It's amazing to watch. Exciting to me. Too bad I'm not as good about recording it as I wish I could. Three most recent things is E is learning how to fully use her teeth, she's starting to put things into containers (and not just empty them out) and she can easily climb up stairs (and down steps if they're wide enough for her to sit and readjust before attempting the next one). Hopefully you can see her new found discoveries and skills soon!
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