misc update:

Manny and I came down with something, but thankfully the baby is still fine. I spend a lot of time moving things out of her reach nowadays. She's also cruising in her crib now (walking along the perimeter while holding onto the railing).

The grandparents got me Naomi a most awesome gift from an H&G show: a personalized Veggie Tales CD with Naomi's name in the songs.

We pronounce Naomi "nay-oh-mee," as opposed to "nye-oh-mee," but you can say it however you want.

It's that time again: We're almost done with Christmas shopping, saving the biggest items for last. This year I couldn't wrap all the gifts and chase after the little one at the same time, so I stuck them in large gift bags. I wondered why I hadn't done this before.

Freaky-deaky: I accidentally entered the wrong channel today and came across 'Unsolved Mysteries.' Before I could change it, they showed a video of what looked like my former company's parking lot. Then it turned out it was that parking lot. One of our employees was killed there over ten years ago. I'd heard several rumors about it and this laid a lot of it to rest, so to speak. Very sad.

My who-in-the-world-cares-except-me comment: I heard somewhere that Gwen Stefani meant for "Holla Back Girl" to be a slight against Madonna (holla back backwards is possibly kabbalah?). The other day I saw Stefani's latest video and I'm pretty sure I saw her wearing a shirt with a Madonna-like figure cut in half. Coincidence? I think not.

A poem I wrote to my mom is being considered for a greeting card. It's going through marketing review. I hope I get it. $300 for some corny writing is not too shabby!

photo time:

November photos. Not sure why so many photos are blurry this month.

last week:

Last week was great. Naomi was so angelic and social, despite being a bit thrown off. After the relatives left, she had seven bad diapers and unusually long naps over the weekend. I guess like many adults, she was waiting till the company left. As for me, I managed to avoid any conflicts, although Manny (and I) caught me muttering to myself a couple times. At least I'm learning and with God's grace, I'll get beyond this self-talk habit.

I spent all of Tuesday cooking for Grandma and Grandpa. The menu: Southwestern salisbury steak with bacon, corn chowder with bacon, homemade country bread, and an English trifle. It turned out fine, but the next day I found out that they are now eating healthy (healthfully for you grammar gurus)! We had bought bacon and eggs for their breakfast and they had shredded wheat instead! What a relief -- now I can make more Asian foods, salads, and sandwiches (oh, how I love sandwiches...often with bacon, though).

Manny's sister Dahlia flew in Wednesday. So Naomi traded Grandma in for her aunt. We're noticing Naomi moves on from one person to the newer one, kind of like how she tires of her toys so easily. When Manny's aunt and her family came that night, Naomi was attached to them, and likewise with Manny's uncle and family, who came for the feast the next day. Wednesday night we went to Fish Market and semi-celebrated Manny's big three-o.

Manny's parents cooked pretty much the entire Thanksgiving meal. I cannot tell you how stress-free that made it for us. And it was so so good. I don't mind leftover turkey at all. Can you believe that Manny doesn't eat stuffing, gravy, or sweet potatoes? Oh well, more for me!

I finally lost all 48 pregnancy lbs last month. I'm actually back in my old clothes again. I think next time, I won't gain so much during my pregnancy (especially now that I don't eat out as often). Holiday meals don't have me feeling too guilty. I still have to eat 500 extra calories per day to feed Naomi.

Naomi's first Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving! Everything was delicious!

Belated birthday boy and his chocolate-dipped strawberries (and a free hat).

Us, parents, sister Dahlia, aunt, uncle, and cousin at Fish Market.

Is this a kids' menu? Your finest wine, please.

Can I change the channel?

Queen of the world!

Our first Christmas tree. $20, pre-lit, from Big Lots - we spared no expense! :)

7 months:

N turned 7 months old on Saturday. This past month has felt the shortest so far. Especially in the last week, where she suddenly went from barely raising one arm up to fully pulling herself up to standing. I was up every 1-2 hours with her crying again last night. And yet she manages to wake up smiling at 7am everyday. I am so convicted by her about having joy even when I'm tired, even going to bed a 5am. :)

I think her daily mission is to crawl around searching for a hidden wire/cord/plug and pull it out. And sometimes if I don't let her crawl, my hair will have to do. I try to switch sides so there are no apparent bald spots.

Solids are going very well. Out of six vegetable purees, she's only rejected acorn squash so far. She makes a face at the taste of fruit, but eats it anyway, kind of how I am with a chocolate cake that's too rich. Cereal, no prob, Bob.

She's also much happier. Now we'll even get, "Wow, what a smiley baby!" "What a social baby!" "What are you talking about, Amy? She's an angel!" That is, until the right buttons are pushed to activate the screamin' demon. At the baby shower Saturday, she went from the happiest baby there to Miss Meltdown. Sunday, we went out to lunch at a pupuseria and a friend, Kristen, wanted to hold her. She was surprised Naomi wouldn't let her stop walking or she'd wail. If she only knew... :) (I'm dancing around with her right now as I'm typing this) Ok, now she's mad - gotta go.

chips:

for manny's birthday, i made him a "daddy and me" book, similar to the children's book i made him last year, except i didn't have time to illustrate this one. i just printed out some photos and glued them on. i also made him fudge (ghiradelli chocolate chips were on sale - yes!) because he hadn't had it in a while. he also picked out a couple dvds he claimed were for his birthday, but that doesn't count. and alas, i came up short in my quest for a big bag of miss vickie's jalapeño chips.

first, i looked through several grocery stores - nothing.
then, went to frito-lay online - they don't sell them in california.
then, i called frito-lay asking if they could send me some - nope.
then, ebay and craigslist - the only listing was for a case of 60. no thanks.
then, online grocery sites that carried them - but they wouldn't ship to this area!
then, emailed a friend of mine who used to work at frito-lay in ca - he never heard of them.
back to the drawing board, i contemplated going to subway and buying up a bunch of small bags of the stuff, but i decided if i couldn't get a big bag, then forget it.
the book and the fudge (so-easy recipe from cooking4engineers) was a husband-pleaser, so good enough.

Hi Auntie Salina, thank you very much for the cute hat!

crawling, standing, teething, clapping, oh my!:

Naomi has been crawling and pulling up, going through whatever barricades I try to put up -- I can't let this girl out of my sight! Her first tooth has also broken through, so nights have been rough. She started clapping recently as well, although it's not full-on patty-cake just yet (which is good -- I'll have some time to learn the words since I don't know too many children's games by heart). Her appetite is increasing, probably because she's burning more calories now that she's more mobile. Her afternoon nap is getting longer, but there's still not much difference in her nighttime sleep or morning nap (30 minutes at best).

I admit that when I read about other moms having fun with their kids at 6-7 months old, I thought that would never be the case with post-colicky Naomi, but I am really enjoying her quirks and interacting with her in general.

Manny's parents arrive on Tuesday and his sister on Wednesday. We have a lot to do! Saturday I have a baby shower to attend and Manny has a smog check. Sunday of course is church, so we'll have to squeeze in whatever cleaning we can.

Next time I'll tell you about Manny's birthday and my unrewarded quest to find him a specific gift.

Random fact about me: I like to search the bottom of the popcorn bag for partially popped kernels -- I like those more than fully popped popcorn.

happy birthday, manny:

[cheese alert] Happy big three-o to my soul mate. I love you from head to toe, inside and out, now and forever. So much has changed since I met you, when you just turned 22, and yet we haven't lost a thing, not the romance or openness or humor that brought us together. Thank you for your unconditional love. My mom says she doesn't know how you do it or what you see in me. I'm not sure, but one thing I know -- I went around the world to finally meet you and now we're two inseparable peas in a pod. :) Hopefully we'll still be together when we're two peas that have shriveled up, but if not, I'll see you in eternity.

Love,
Amy

more chillin':

Dressed up for the parent covenant dedication at church. I love how she puts her arm up like that when she's sitting or being carried.

chillin':

Hanging out with Great Uncle Gerard, Aunt Baby Doll (family nickname), and Cousin Francesca on Friday. Naomi was all smiles and didn't have her usual separation anxiety, maybe because she just had a two-hour nap (one for the record books!).

pulling up:

In two days, she went from barely getting a hand up to fully pulling up to standing. (Baby and bassinet were promptly removed from playpen after photo was taken)

holidays are upon us:

Today is Veterans' (or Veteran's?) Day. Holidays were just days off to me when I was in young, now they really mean something. And I'm often looking for reasons to tell someone I love or appreciate them in the corniest way possible. Life's too short.

Holiday traditions are wonderfully new to me since I married into Manny's family. Now I get to enjoy the type of Thanksgiving and Christmas family celebrations that I used to only see in movies. :) And for the first time, since we are now parents ourselves, we are celebrating in our own home. Last night Manny and I bought (what I think is) a beautiful Christmas tree from Big Lots for $20. It's pre-lit, I just need to dig up my ornaments and ribbons. I love Christmas lights, and Christmas decorations in general.

But before that of course is Thanksgiving. To host it in our home for the first time, we've purchased a folding table (solid wood, dark finish, for only $55 at BB&B), folding chairs - $20x2, tablecloth - $12, kitchen towels to double as runners - $4, utensils - $12, serving dishes - $9x2, dinnerware - $28, trivets - $1x3, and we've started purchasing some of the food as well. It does add up, but we searched around for good values and I'm pretty pleased so far.

Naomi won't remember any of this, but it will be captured in our photo albums and scrapbooks. And in my memory. I love how she stares at those lights. I don't love how she likes to play with cords. She is far less interested in her bright, colorful toys than her grandparents' coffee filters. I'm sure when Christmas comes around, she'll shrug at the toys and play with the boxes and wrapping paper instead. :)

misc update:

-I voted as an absentee. Some people say that's unpatriotic, but I find that I feel less rushed at home, and my materials are readily available. As much as I enjoyed waiting out in the cold the last time I went in person, I prefer this method.

-We'll be hosting ten adults for Thanksgiving. By "we," I mean Manny and I only have to provide the venue and some of the food, but Manny's parents are handling the major food preparation. I'm pretty excited already.

-Added Helen, Dominique, and Sabrina's blogs to the reads list. :)

-Purchased a labelmaker. Love it, love it!

-Naomi has a kung-fu grip. And she likes when I make kung-fu (i.e., Bruce Lee) noises. I would like to say that is so beneath me, but it makes her laugh, so...

-Finished reading From Fear to Freedom by Rose Marie Miller (thanks, Jenni). Every page of this book was compelling to me. It's always good to examine ourselves, probe our lives, and bring submerged thoughts to the surface and into the light.

from li'l pumpkin to li'l monkey:

Probably time to remove the bassinet from the playpen.

Naomi's new thing is climbing out of her plastic bathtub. I pick her up and sit her back down every few seconds now. She tries to climb out of her crib and pull herself up onto her swing our bouncer, but she can't reach yet. We'd better start Naomi-proofing the house soon!

spoke too soon:

Well, last night we were up every hour from 10-7 with Naomi again. I should've known that seven hours the night before was a fluke! Re: May's kind words, Manny, Naomi, and I are just happy in the photos, so we look awake, but we look very exhausted in person, so people tell us. I seriously never thought I, the insomniac, would obsess over sleep like this. All day I feel like I'm trying to wrestle with Naomi to take her naps. And all night to get her back to sleep. Letting her cry, nursing, rocking, walking, driving, we've tried it all. She usually will nap well on the third or fourth day when she's had it. I think she doesn't need that much sleep or she's just really wired because she's constantly wiggling and kicking. I finally gave up on the books at five months, and we just moved her crib into our room last weekend. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and honestly, we all sleep better with her in the room. I'm kind of glad I've met other moms finally with these same issues. Many of them said the baby got over it at about one year. We hope so!

phoenix:

I've been watching a Korean drama called "Phoenix" (Bulsae) and in looking up some info, was shocked to find out that Lee Eun Ju (who was also in Taegukgi) committed suicide this past February. She was really a beautiful, talented actress. What a horrible tragedy. Anytime I hear of people taking their own lives, I always wish I could have known them, talked to them. Not that I have the abillity to change lives, but God does. I was there once, and I was rescued from that fire through Christ. There is a way out. There is hope.

conversation piece:

First off, Naomi went seven hours last night without waking up! I can't believe it. Most babies sleep about 10-12 hours at this age, but I'd been going on 3-5 hours total of sleep for so long that I forgot what it was like to sleep this many hours consecutively! I think I can actually get on the road now without being a hazard to myself and everyone around me! I hope and pray this continues...

Babies make the best icebreakers. The other day I went to the post office and it started as soon as I got out of the car. An elderly lady next to me: "It takes so much more time to get out now, doesn't it? But before you know it, you'll be chasing after them!" When I went in, Naomi was babbling and playing peekaboo with her teething blanket -- "mmmmBAH," "elbooopfffttt," and the infamous "ah-goo."

A woman in line commented, "Wow, she looks so clean!" Standing there with my frazzled hair, red eyes, sweats, flaky skin, and glasses, I figured she looked so clean next to her disheveled, unkempt mother. Another woman said, "Hao ke ai (so cute)" in Mandarin and then asked in English, "How old is she?" I replied six months and she said Naomi was really big (only Asians have said that thus far).

Even the postal worker and Naomi exchanged smiles. I love it. She can be the social, clean, cute one when I'm too fatigued and disgusting-looking to seem approachable.