Baby Advice to Pass On

For all of those looking forward to the births of their bundle of joys... here's a list for those new parents. After talking to one of our friends, we remembered how much confusion and time was spent trying to figure out all that baby gear. Really all we needed to know was what was necessary, what was useful and then how to choose the "right" kind. So that is how this list was made. Of course, we're also always available to help traverse the crazy mega baby stores in search of that needed baby gear among all the unnecessary "cute stuff". Just let us know... recently made experts (because you almost have to be in order to decide on anything in those massive item filled stores) of baby gear!
(P.S. Oh, on the amazon list, I forgot to add a very much used item - Mylicon, for infant gas release. Boy did we go through a lot of it and it isn't too cheap either. BUT our baby girl definitely needed it. Oh and later on we discovered generic brands that make it - like Walmart and Target type brands - and work just as well.)

Also, THANK YOU to all those who pitched in for our car seat (especially Rebekah - who orgainzed it as a group gift)! This might seem like a random thing to blog... except for the recent Consumer Report article released on new infant car seats. If you were wondering, we indeed do have the Graco Snugride with EPS that is mentioned in the article. Yeah... pretty and safe!

Parenting is Rough even for Dr. Sears!

OK, a lot of you might be asking "Who?". If you don't know, Doctor Sears is a doctor that comes from a family of pediatricians... his parents being the ones who published all those books on raising kids and how to handle childhood issues. Let's just say, the Sears family knows about taking care of kids. So, of course, that makes this blog/article (Diary of a Third Time Dad) that I read even funnier. Actually, I think this is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time, trumping all other funny things. Ian also found it highly amusing (although the situation in itself might not have been amusing). AND, it makes me feel loads better about my inadequacies in parenting when I read that even knowledgeable pediatricians have a rough time when they bring home their newborns! (BTW, Ian asked me what I would have done if he had done that... I said there would have been a lot of yelling and scolding.)

2007 Goals (NOT Resolutions)

So 2007 has begun... how are you doing so far?

Ok, so most people I know are not resolution makers, Ian included. Actually most are anti-resolution makers. This isn't because they don't have goals, plans or dreams they hope to accomplish, but because the whole idea of making resolutions (usually unachievable resolutions at that) and then breaking them in the first week is ludicrous to them. I guess I partially agree... BUT I still make them. I just have to add a disclaimer in saying that I don't make flippant resolutions... and there's a process to my goal making. First, I look back at the last year and see where I've been... then consider where I think I'm going... how I think that might need some changes... and then make some Goals for 2007. They're not resolutions... because with my very inadequate discipline (hehehe - lazy procrastinator!), I'm bound to fail... especially the harder I try to accomplish them as a "task" (aka. resolution to fulfill). So instead I make Goals for the Year, with action plans, and give myself some liberty to tweak them as necessary. Doesn't that sound much better? Oh it does also help that this year I realized that all I need is a few (like 5 or 6 for the whole year) simple (aka do-able ones) goals. And I made sure they were Important. (ie: One is Enjoy E ! Simple. Action Plan -> Accomplished through intentionally spending time with her. Recording her milestones. And doing things like reflecting on what she teaches me, how she is growing and recording it through pictures, scrapbooking and journaling.) See, not so bad.

Oh, I also (not a goal, but this is a good time to kick my butt into gear) did some much needed cleaning up of stuff around the house as 2007 rolled in. Mostly it was organizational things I had let pile up. I think I would like to stay more organized and have a set way of keeping track of what needs to be done... but I will work on that. One resource a friend (Corrie Haffly) has enlightened me with is actually a system of which I might try some pieces. Specifically, I like the Pickle Jar and glorified To Do List . See David Seah's site for more explanation. Also a big organization step accomplished in the Spencer Household is helping Ian get more organized. Yeah! (It also makes me feel better NOT seeing his papers littered all over the apartment...hehehe).

Well, Happy New Year (and Resolution/Goal Making, if you do that)!!

2006 Family Photo

Here's Ian, E and I! Isn't E cute in her Christmas dress and hat? This is one of the fortunate pictures where her hat is not falling over her eyes (the outfit was just a tad too big). Everyone loved it!

E's first Christmas

What a whirlwind Christmas! Ian and I returned home late Wednesday afternoon. We were thoroughly pooped!! We let E continue sleeping in her carseat (where she had fallen asleep from the drive home) while we took the chance to unpack all the clothes, toiletries and presents. This Christmas was quite exhausting, not because we did anymore than we usually do for Christmas (which is usually us going to see both sides of the family over the course of a couple days)... but because it was E's first Christmas! On the surface, this wouldn't seem to change much, but and boy is it different. Gone are the days of just throwing one bag together and jumping in the car for a visit. Gone are the days of showing up whenever, staying up late and mostly just being free with Christmas plans. Now instead, there is "time" planning involved (when does E need to eat, so when can we leave, so when do we need to arrive so she can eat again). And on top of that, there is a lot more extras to pack and consider when just staying over one night - add a carseat, a whole bag of clothes to herself and a portable crib just to start. Don't forget diapers and wipes. Then add the little sleep you get normally when spending time with family on top of the little sleep you get with a new baby. And that's the whirlwind that we've just emerged from. Don't get me wrong, we had a great Christmas with family, but we are also really glad to be home!

So this is what we did:

First we went to Dublin (California) to visit some friends (the Rosendales) who had just moved down to the East Bay. Then we spent Christmas Eve with the Yee family. My siblings and I (and Ian) made Christmas dinner for the family. This was a very large dinner (soup, salad, lamb, roast beef and roasted vegetables, scallops, shrimp, and green bean casserole) which then was finished off with several dessert options (mango pudding, angel food cake and strawberries, and low fat cheesecake). At the end of dinner, we cleaned up and took some family pictures. E fell asleep by this point (go figure, asleep for the family pictures)... so we tried to put her down to sleep. Of course, when it was time to actually lay her into the portable crib, she awoke. But all in all, we got a decent amount of sleep. It probably helped that she was awake most of the day and ready to get some ZZZs by the end of it.

Then on Christmas morning, we rounded up the family (this takes a while with the many siblings, grandparents and parents)... had some breakfast and opened some presents. We took some more pictures, especially of E in her cute Christmas outfit (to be posted). Then we packed up and headed over to Stockton to see the Spencer-Bossert-Thompson Clan. In my rush to pack up though, I somehow forgot to give my sister Gigi her Christmas present... oops!

Then around noon we got to Stockton. Only G&G, Uncle Rob, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Sandy were there (oh, and Colleen - who lives there). I think we just sat around waiting for others to show up. We had an inkling that most people would be there late, but I guess we didnt' figure it would be 4pm before everyone came on over. So much for rushing over to Stockton on Christmas morning. When we finally rounded up the Spencer-Bossert-Thompson family... we opened presents (I, while trying to feed E , which meant Ian opened most of the presents). It was a very nice, with a few surprises - including a new color printer from Yvonne (aka "Mom") and Terry. E by far got the most presents out of anyone - toys, stuffed animals, a growing collection of books, hair clips, socks, a stocking of her own, money, clothes... and more. And of course before, during and after all of this, we ate ... and ate ... and ate. Ok, I snacked most of the day and still had breakfast, lunch and dinner... but I need the calories, right?

The rest of the day is a blur... actually the rest of the extended weekend was a blur. I think there was more eating, some visiting with Ian's mom at her work (to show off E ) the day after Christmas, some game playing, some rice crispy treat making, some TV watching and of course, taking care of E . Oh, of which (E I mean) I think has caught some of the illnesses floating around the two families this last weekend... not good :( !

So that was E's first Christmas... a bit crazy, a bit "pulled" (by family, circumstances and time constraints) and very full! Maybe the first year is always the craziest... we're still figuring things out, our families our wanting to spend as much time with E )and us) and we're still learning how to care for our baby girl. By the way, this was subsequently also E's first nights away from home, a big step for us all!!

Next year... I think it might be better to plan to do some family traditions that focus more on the real reason for Christmas... have some time just the three of us (maybe before the traveling)... and give more meaning to Christmas than just family, food and fun (oh, and presents) - not that those things are bad in any way. In fact ,we are quite blessed by it all. But I don't want this time of the year to be a whirlwind that we're glad to be out of.