Happy 4th Birthday to Lil' M!!!

Four years ago at 9:48 pm I gave birth to our first baby girl. Lil' M is growing up faster than we expected. I swear it was just yesterday that we had our first child. It was definitely a challenge since we know nothing. I had so much fun watching her grow up to be such an inquisitive and funny little girl. She has her moments now that she's older and has her own opinions. Overall, she's a sweet girl. I'm proud that I've gotten a chance to have her as my first baby. She means the world to us. Happy birthday to my little lady.

Happy 1st Bday Eva Unit 2

The day has come and my last little baby is now (as of 4:02 AM) ONE years old. I have mixed feelings about it. I'm happy she's been growing and thriving very well and becoming her own little person along with her developing personality. I'm just sad to see that she will eventually learn to be on her own and won't need me as much. The way she looks at me and hugs/kisses me melts my heart. I especially will miss our nursing time. I'm so glad she was able to like it. Overall, I'm eager to see her advance up to the toddler years so she can enjoy more to her life.

She's already taking multiple walking steps unassisted. The look on her face shows of proudness when she walks. I am so grateful we have her with us. I know she was meant to be with us rain or shine. She has been through so much with is even before she was born (Pre-term labor and uterine rupture) and then at her 6 month wellness exam, we found or she had a innocent murmur. That was a scare for me because I'm not familiar with it. However, it's not a heart disease, but just the way her heart is pumping blood (hers has this "whoosh" noise).  Just last month, we followed up at the childrn's hospital and confirmed that she was a healthy baby an no heart issues.  Her murmur is stil there, but just fainter this time. We don't have come back anymore! It may go away in time or stay, but it won't affect her life. It's a genetic thing; Big M had it as a kid and it went away. Anyways, she is my little fierce fighter and won't let anything stopping her from enjoying life! She's our zen Buddha.  

Here's to a happy birthday to my little sunshine ;)!

Kitchen Reinnovations

Big M and my dad have been quite busy the past month at our house. We just got our kitchen countertops done. We had Rockit Granite replace the old school

1986 white tile countertop with black granite countertop.  It looks really good against out white cabinets. After that, we got our new Kenmore dual (convention) stove oven. Then, it was the flooring with brand new tiles. The kitchen looks really modern and spacious.

All this to help our place look decent and efficient for the girls dual birthday party coming up.

9 month old Unit 2 & Big M's Birthday

Happy 9 months old to our Unit 2! Also, happy birthday to Big M! I l know I say it alot, but time does truly fly by so fast. At this point, Unit 2 can:

-crawl

-claps hands

-stand when leaning against objects

-cruise when there's a wall/bench

-baby talk (says bye)

-wave hi/bye

-shakes head side-to-side

-kisses (understands word in Vietnamese, English, and Tagalog)

-eat baby food

Today, she managed to get a little tiny taste of her dad's birthday cake. She was angry when I didn't give her anymore. She's such a hearty eater! I can't help recall  that this time last year (2011) was when my doctor called to tell me I needed to go to the hospital ASAP because I was going into pre-term labor at 24 weeks with Unit 2. I thank my lucky stars that everything came out fine. We are all fine and together today.

7 month old Unit #2

Happy 7 months to my baby girl. She is full of surprises:

She very much enjoys her first solids (rice cereal, bananas & apples). She can prop herself up (like she's doing push ups) and often propels herself backwards to crawl. 

Everything she grabs goes immediately into her mouth in an effort to explore the world around her. When she's upset, she screams "aaa baaa" to get our attention. We think she's saying her name. 

Unit 2's Baptism

Today we had Unit #2 baptized at the family Catholic Church. It went pretty well. There were 17 kids who were being baptized. Unit #2 was so good. Only cried like once in the church because she wanted me to carry her. She was observing everything around her and was fine with the Priest blessing her w/oil and water. I had to hold her when eating dinner since she didn't want anyone else. She was overall a sweetheart.

All her Godparents came, our friends, and family came. We had a good time celebrating. We couldn't have ask for a perfect day.

Happy 6 months old!

Happy 6 month old birthday to our Unit 2! I'm always amazed at how fast they get older and the milestones they reach. Unit 2 has been doing this:

1) Roll both sides
2) Turn herself 180 degrees around on tummy
3) Eats rice cereal
4) Yells, laughs, baby talk
5) Shows signs of crawling by moving her legs around while on tummy.

She is definitely becoming a little character. She loves being kissed and played with. She smiles everytime she sees her Ate (Lil' M). This Sunday is Unit 2's baptism. Hopefully, it goes well.

Latest on Unit 2

Well, Unit 2 is 5 months old and looks like she is on verge of crawling. She looks like a fishy on her tummy when lying down. Her legs are kicking, but nothing's happening :). She does move herself in circles with her arms and turns with her upper body. She loves playing in her excersaucer. She just started in her rice cereal last week and loves it. Eats every spoonful. I'm so proud of our baby. We've been preparing for her upcoming Baptism and reception. It's like we're prepping for a baby's wedding (minus a baby groom)! Tell me if I'm off:
1) White formal gown
2) Church Ceremony
3) Reception restaurant location
4) Favors

Ok-it's prob reminiscent of a wedding because it relates to God? I guess it's a glimpse into the far far away future.

Unit 2's First Roll

Yay! Weeks of teasing us with her rolling from back to tummy finally came through with us watching! She did her first roll with my parents-which of course doesn't count because we (her parents) didn't witness it. Just kidding. She did it without us, but we find it special when it's the first time with our own eyes. Pretty much completes that milestone for her. She can fully do rolls from either direction at 4 months.

This weekend has been a good exploratory (is that a word?) experience for her. She enjoyed the trees and what nature provided during our trip to a local park. She squeaked and cooed happily at all she saw. So much that she didn't even nap! Then, her first McDonalds trip was also very interesting for her. Not one peep while my MIL, Lil' M, and I ate our lunch. She did want to be held when I took us to the play area. She was content just looking around while I sat holding her. She's such a little sweetie. I'm sad she's growing up so fast, but ecstatic to see all these milestone firsts.

4 Months Old

Unit 2 is Four months old today! She's doing great and growing so fast before our eyes. She loves to talk and smile. She even squeals or laughs when it's something she really loves seeing. She bubbles up (her mouth) when she's really happy. I'm truly cherishing the moments I have with our baby. So far, she's pretty clear cut about what she wants. We understand her cues much better than Lil' M's when she was a baby. Probably more so because we learned from the first one.

First Week Back to Work

This week was my first week back to work. I was a bit overwhelmed Day 2. However, it all started coming back to me as I'm thrown back into the mix. I hope I can perform back to the level I was before I left. My boss seems to have lots of confidence in me and its very encouraging.

For some wonderful reason, like her Ate (Lil' M) at 3 month, Unit #2 slept through the night this past Sunday through Wednesday. She actually self-pacifies herself with her thumb and goes back to sleep! And then yesterday (Thursday), she woke up at the usual 1 am time and wouldn't fall asleep. I kept watching the video monitor to see f she was trying to suck her thumb. She was but looked like she kept missing her mouth or barely had it in her mouth and got pissed. Perhaps she was legitimately hungry and figured out her thumb wasn't giving her real milk to her tummy. I felt bad and went in to nurse her. I was thinking of weaning her from night feeds , but feel bad because she was still crying while I changed her diaper. She nursed for some time, which means she was hungry.

I hope she sleeps through the night again.

Last Day of Maternity Leave

Well my time has run out and after 6 months of being away from society, tomorrow's my first day back. I have mixed feelings about it. Maybe it's because it's been 1/2 the year since I worked is making me nervous. I'm happy to get back to being more than just a mommy. But, it wasn't all that bad w/Baby. I enjoyed the time I got to spend w/each of my kids and catching up on my errands and keeping up with household stuff.

Unit 2 Growing

Unit 2 is now 9 lbs and 5 oz! She and Lil' M had their wellness exams on Friday. I hate it when they get their vaccines. They look so happy and then they are so angry when they get the needle. Luckily, Unit 2 didn't have any severe side affects.

This was the first week Big M went back to work and I'll miss the free lunch times we've had when he was home. I'm glad he chose to stay with me on this leave. I know it brought us and our kids together.

Last Month at Home

Big M's returning to work next Monday and I'll be returning at the end of the month. I'm nervous about going back to our regular FT work life and handling our new life as a parents of 2. It was pretty full with one child and working 10 hour days. Now, it'll be even fuller. I hope to be able to cook/run errands and take care of the kids successfully with Big M. This is coupled with Lil M going to preschool. I can understand the benefits of being a stay at home parent now. How in the world can 2 working FT parents squeeze in so much in a short amount of time for their house and children duties? The most important thing is getting paid again.

Happy New Years!

It's 2013! We stayed low key this year and was at home with our girls. We were all getting over a cold and so it was just another regular day for us. We took down the Christmas tree and decorations. I admit, Christmas is my favorite holiday and the decorations make the house a lot more cheery. I'm sad to see it all go down. I had a rough year, but am looking forward to new BETTER year with my family. I have two beautiful daughters and a caring husband. I'm blessed.