first trip to the zoo:

We had a great weekend, although I was saddened by a lot of tragedy in the news. I'll start with Monday and go backwards. We took Naomi to a zoo (of sorts) for the first time. Happy Hollow Park & Zoo was a perfect way to spend the holiday! Manny is such a great husband and father...


Happy Hollow Zoo!


Naomi in our rental dino-buggy.


She loved feeding the goats.


Poor goats.


Naomi's first merry-go-round.

All the photos:

Happy Hollow - May 2006 (with captions)

finales, help me out here:

24: Can someone remind me why Jack killed the Chinese consul? If he did? I think we were half asleep when we watched that episode. That ending caught me by surprise. Excellent (except how did he get on the ship and out to sea so quickly?) This show just gives me heart trouble in general!

Alias: So the prophecy (page 47) wasn't fulfilled, but Sloane achieved immortality anyway? Was there ever any indication that Irina was the woman depicted? And Sydney was the one to "prevent" her anger? Could it be the daughter? I guess we'll never know. Ran out of time. Go, Jack! I always think of Titanic when I see him. "I build me a fine boat." (remember that?) Goodbye to a show that brought some new quality to television, but couldn't figure itself out sometimes.

This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury. A burning anger, unless prevented. At vulgar cost, this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation. This woman, without pretense, will have had her effect, never having seen the beauty of my sky, behind Mount Subasio. Perhaps a single glance would have quelled her fire."

Lost: Woo-hoo! Finally, some answers without (too many) more questions! Of course, they still haven't explained why so many aboard the plane are so connected. And if it [spoiler warning] was an accident, planes are mostly aluminum, a magnet probably isn't exactly what pulled it in (and pulled it apart)?

And TH won AI. I think KM will do just fine. She should release SOTR -- it would make it into a lot of slideshows. They probably should stop throwing together songs for the finalists. The judges don't like them, the show's fans don't like them. Cease and desist!

bad hair days:

A picture worth a thousand words...or maybe two: "bad haircut." Well, it'll become funnier with time. Naomi does not appear amused. :)

home work:

Another mundane update for you, a record of life changes for me:

I received my medical transcription materials yesterday. I had a few years of experience in medicine, so I think I've finally found something I could do from home. Naomi's much more independent now, but I still have to chase after her, so during the day, I'm trying to get through the workbook and at night, when Manny can watch her, I'll do a little bit of the computer course.

I tracked what I did from 6-12 this morning to see how I can fit in time to complete the course. The list is a far cry (no pun intended) from this time last year, when 4-10am and 2-7pm (her average colicky times) primarily consisted of: pace in circles, bounce, rock, nurse, change diaper, pray, cry, wolf down food, chug water, read about colic online, blog, repeat...

Today, it's 6:15am, Naomi woke up, I gave her her water, nursed her, took a shower and brushed my teeth while Manny watched her, we all had breakfast, watched Elmo's World, she took a 45-minute nap while I had quiet time, I changed her, read about carcinoma and hematology, read to her, played with her a little, picked up a bit, folded laundry, did a couple workbook exercises (ok, now I know what leukemia and stroke actually are), made her lunch, made my lunch, played with her some more, changed a diaper to end all diapers, cleaned avocado out of her hair, did a couple more exercises, and now I'm about to take her out for a walk (which she actually doesn't like, but I want to mail off my absentee ballot and I need to wake up).

Naomi started sleeping through the night every few days, although the days in between are still full of wakings. It's just enough for me to be able to function, so I'm very thankful.

find your wings:

I like this song by Mark Harris. One of those slideshow Christian songs. :) It has a new meaning now that we have a child of our own.

It's only for a moment
that you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
will all too soon unfold

So many different prayers I'll pray
for all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
you're walking in the truth

And if I've never told you
I want you to know that
as I watch you grow

I pray that God will fill your heart with dreams
and that faith gives you the courage
to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
so let my love give you roots
and help you find your wings

May passion be the wind that moves
you through your days
and may convictions keep you strong
guide you on your way
May there be many moments
that make your life so sweet
but more than memories

I pray that God will fill your heart with dreams
and that faith gives you the courage
to dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
so let my love give you roots
and help you find your wings

It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer you as you fly
I will give you roots and help you find your wings

pics and vid:

"Why? What's wrong with her hair?"


"Oh. Yeah, that is bad." Manny was reminded of Dumb and Dumber. I prefer Jim from 'The Office.' :)

We went to the mall Saturday and Naomi had a blast at the playtown, Sanrio, Lego, and food court. (We didn't let her in Build-a-Bear, because she would've grabbed everything). Maybe next year we'll go to the Asian heritage festival.


Learning how to play from the older kids at the mall.

On Sunday, we went to a different church because our service was cancelled. Naomi really doesn't have stranger anxiety -- she jumped right in to the toddler group and was all smiles when we came back an hour later. As long as there's something new to explore, she's happy.

And this video is from Mother's Day at Johnny Rockets. I think nodding "yes" was the best thing we ever taught her. I know, I know, it's the last time she'll have sugar for a while.

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naomi, 13 months old:

I think I just gave Naomi the worst bang-cut in the history of bang-cuts, but fortunately I can comb it aside to look more natural. :P

Cute things Naomi has been doing (actually some were since 11 months, but I didn't record them):
--After she takes a drink from a cup, she goes, "Ahhh."
--She does the twist and sometimes spins herself around to music.
--She signs all done, more, ouch, sleep, eat, and bye-bye.
--When she hit her head, I said and signed, "ouch." She then repeatedly hit her head to sign "ouch" each time.
--Manny and I are now both called, "maba". But when I'm gone or when Manny comes home, she will say it right: "mama" and "papa."
--She climbs on and off the couch, sometimes with the remote control.
--She still laughs at kung-fu noises, and also "aboooga."
--She tries to strap herself into her seats.
--We got her a potty. It has a musical reward for going potty, but unfortunately, Naomi thought it was a reward for sticking her hand in (IR sensors), so we had to turn it off.

As for the less-than-cute things she does (e.g., T.T.), I guess they're the same as any other toddler, so I don't need to list them.

misc:

Sorry if that last post made anyone uncomfortable. Here's something more palatable -- Naomi is back to her agreeable, smiley, and mobile self. Things have never been so easy wth her. At the end of the day, Manny and I used the wisdom given to us to come up with a system that achieves the same results as all those books parents read. Our marriage has never been stronger, and Naomi is learning about God and how to love others. There is still no shortage of "expert" advice sent our way by well-meaning parents, but learning to take it all with a grain of salt and a ton of appreciation has been very helpful to me. I think I was too concerned for a while about Naomi fitting people's molds. And you know what they say about trying to please everyone. Now I can just enjoy her for who she is (and what a joy she is!). On another note, I'm looking into medical transcription now as my work from home. I guess I'll have to say goodbye to prime time TV for a while, but I think it'll actually be fun work for me. We'll see.

mother's weekend:

Does this look like a child who had two ear infections and hives? And she had a huge blow-out right at the start of her session that went right through her outfit. Naomi's hives have cleared up, we'll have to get her ears checked in a few weeks.

At a local park that's perfect for kids:


Portraits:



Naomi did so well on Saturday (even slept through the night, but that might've been the Benadryl), but on Sunday, her temper tantrums started getting out of control, so I had to discipline her. She calmed down immediately and we enjoyed the rest of our evening with her. I wasn't upset or angry, just helping her obey. I got some super duper extra special pampering from Manny all weekend. He's too wonderful. :)

By the way, a belated Happy Mother's Day, especially to May & Ivan, who just had their twins!

another ear infection, hives, poor naomi:

what a rough week for naomi. her hives are spreading and she's hardly eaten anything. and after four days, not only has the one ear infection worsened, she now has one in the other ear as well! her infection might be resistant to the very stuff that's giving her the hives! it's a new kind of pain for me -- watching my child suffer like this and being uncertain about how to help.

what the doctor decided:
pull her off amoxycillin, put her on omnicef (not much penicillin) and benadryl. :(

what my natural-meds doctor friend from church said:

Uh Oh! Using antibiotics with an ear infection may sometimes be needed but from clinical practice and research dictates, it is often unnecessary. Hives come about partly as a result of the beneficial bacteria in the gut being destroyed by the antibiotics. This leads to a slippery slope with more drugs to treat the side effects of the previous drugs. I’m sure your doctor mentioned nothing about “probiotics”, did they? This is not standard medical practice, though it should be, but this is common knowledge in functional health care. Probiotics put the good bacteria back that are necessary to treat and prevent recurrent infections. The increased mucous production is partly a result of the lowered Immunoglobulin A (IgA) as a result of the antibiotics killing all the good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. If the IgA remains lowered, she will get recurrent infections and additional side effects, and eventually likely develop food allergies. If you look to treat the symptoms (ear infection, mucous, hives) without considering the processes that are going on, you will miss the cure. Rather than going the recurrent drug route to treat the resultant side effects of the previous drugs, I would strongly urge you to consider allowing me to intervene to resolve the problem. The infection and hives can be more effectively and more safely treated using herbal, specific nutrient combinations, probiotics, and dietary adjustments.

What to do now? I think she's getting the reaction to meds from me, so I know she's suffering. And yet she smiles and smiles. She didn't get that from me. :)

finales:

aaaaahhhhhh! jim kissed pam on the office! it's been a while since i felt that way (like a teenager) watching TV. i guess i relate to pam in a way, which is probably why i was a bit upset with her through this season. those "brotherly" terms and handshake the warehouse guy taught michael -- classic.

smallville - two parter. my interest in this show had all but vanished; that is, until lex turned evil, zod showed up, and lana and clark broke up (finally).

alias - boo hoo, it's coming to an end and it's finally getting good! but the violence is making me nauseous. what happened tothe tranquilizer darts and hand-to-hand? now people are getting bullet holes in the head?

24 - every episode feels like a season finale to me! can't wait!

lost - we're supposed to finally find out why they crashed in the finale.

my name is earl - last night was funny, although not any more than usual.

american idol - chris is gone. pretty much a finale for me.

and there's the list of shows i watch (aside from news shows galore), nowadays with fewer interruptions. i might tune in for top model's finale, or at least a re-broadcast later. oh, and prison break's is monday. we often have to tape that one, and smallville , too, so we can watch the little one.

i said a hip hop:

I took Naomi to see a little dance exhibition last night and to see some old friends (Ceech, Christina, Christine, and Huy). Only Ceech had seen me when I was pregnant, so to everyone else, it looked like I just suddenly had a baby. Except I'm sure I looked haggard. Gone are the days of me jumping and sliding around, at least for now. Naomi was twirling around like a ballerina. Wish I'd brought the camera! I was really glad to see everyone, and Ceech's two performances were the best of the bunch, of course. He's a work-at-home dad duringthe day, so it's just interesting to be talking to a guy about scheduling and colic and having two kids, etc. He sounds just like any sahm/wahm I talk to. His first kid was chill/mellow, but the second is much harder. I'm hhoping it'll be the opposite for us. Naomi was pretty difficult. Well, God's grace will get us through it, however it turns out.

Forgot to mention, when I went to the front door yesterday, I was greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes! Must be from the recent rains. I swatted like mad and closed the door (but one managed to get in). The rest of the evening, and this morning, whenever she's near the door, Naomi imitates me, flailing her arm, and laughs. It's cute. Manny found the mosquito last night and killed it. Yay.

ear infection:

Well, she seemed okay yesterday...

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I took Naomi to see an alternate pediatrician this morning (ours was completely booked). It turns out Naomi has an ear infection and it's severe enough for her to be put on antibiotics. I guess that explains the sudden 103 fever after having a cold for two weeks. I'm just holding her all day now, elevating her head. Getting the dropper in her mouth was tough. I feel terrible, having to hold her down and push it into the back of her throat when she's crying. Otherwise, she'll spit it out. She weighed in at only 18 lbs, down from almost 19 last month, but not alarming. I also now have Eurecin cream for her legs.

A mean bug appeared to have bitten this other doctor in the rear. I mean that he was kind of abrasive, and it really made me appreciate my current pediatrician that much more. Love her!

pobrecita naomi:

naomi and i are still sick, but last night she started a fever that ran really high and even tylenol seemed to only help a little. i usually avoid giving or taking meds as much as possible, because of my own adverse reactions to several drugs, including tylenol. anyway, she seems to be getting better now, but she wants to nurse all the time. i was hoping to wean her soon, but not if she's sick.

i only got four hours (two two-hour intervals) of sleep last night. i'm tired, but feel okay. i haven't really slept much in a year, with naomi still waking several times a night. but since i feel fine, either i adjusted or i felt worse initially because of the 15 hours of pitocin they pumped into me (i just remember the nurse saying the level was already too high and she couldn't turn it up anymore). i wonder if my body can't take drugs because i grew up on herbal remedies and without much health care?

naomi also has terrible eczema on her legs. they're scarred all over. petroleum jelly seems to be the best remedy so far, but when we take her in for a check-up, we'll see if the doctor prescribes anything. she's also become pickier lately, refusing veggies. it's funny, she loves beans and avocado and quesadillas, but rejects rice and tofu. guess she's more chicana right now than china.

on a brighter note, we had a great weekend at Manny's aunt's place and at the church picnic (some photos below). it's so cute how she goes around giving hugs now. and tries to put her feet in our shoes. we also got naomi her belated birthday present, a little tikes piano. she loves it, especially singing into the mike. she is loving music more than ever, twirling around with her arm up and trying to shift her feet while bouncing. she's also fearless and has a high tolerance for pain. that is kind of dangerous. she tries to climb up slides and even when her face slams into tile floors, she just rubs her face or head and keeps going. i think she got that from me. :P


Naomi at the church picnic.


Got tired of running around and found a place to rest.

Play it again, Naomi!

Naomi at her great aunt's house for a belated Easter egg hunt.

Our little Mouseketeer.

interview me:

I exchanged interview questions with cyn. Want to interview me or want me to ask you five questions? Email me at your leisure. The email link is under contact to the right. I moved my reads list to another site.

1. describe your first kiss.

Terrible. Unintentional on my part. I was 14.

2. what is one personal achievement you would like to accomplish?

I can't think of anything tangible or specific I'd like to accomplish -- just to do the best with what God gives me and rely on Him daily. I feel like I've been there, done that, and also got past the drama. I like my current humdrum life, dispersed with little trials and miracles. Relationally, though, I desire to build stronger relationships with others and for my family to know that they are loved.

3. what do you consider your best personal achievement thus far in life?

Honestly, making it through Naomi's first six months (especially the colicky months) without her getting sick or falling on her head. I feel like I never knew the meanings of exhaustion, desperation, and sacrifice till I was alone with an extremely colicky baby after a difficult birth.

4. how is marriage so much better than you ever imagined? how is it more difficult?

Manny constantly amazes me with his wisdom, passion, and considerateness. I never anticipated that I would learn so many important lessons from marriage, or that I could be blessed with such a perfect complement in another human being. As time goes by, the unity just becomes stronger. The best thing about being married to Manny is how he's helped me mature. A lot of this is through leading me away from my former delusions. The worst difficulties came and went after the first couple months of marriage (major adjustmment). But lately, I do feel like I'm trying to balance being a mother and being a wife. I didn't anticipate that this would be such a challenge.

5. if you could change one physical feature, what would it be? and one
personality trait?

These are actually two questions, as were the previous -- haha, which leads me to this: one personality trait I'd want to change is my tendency to over-analyze what others say and do. While this helped me at times in the working world, it really is a time-waster otherwise. One physical feature I'd want to change is my strong overbite/jaw. It often looks like I'm frowning at people when I'm not.

we're going to disneyland!:

Actually, we went last Tuesday and Wednesday. We had the SoCal discount through Grandma ($79 for 2-day hopper, that's $40 off) and we received a great value at Desert Inn & Suites with 5 beds, 2 baths, and 3 TV's in the suite (only $129/night total for all five of us). It's located directly across from the park entrance, which is less of a walk than to the trams from the parking lot. Plus we had a great view of the fireworks at night.

The bad news first: Naomi caught a cold. I was up at night suctioning her mucus with a bulb syringe. Not fun. So if I look tired in the photos, you know why. During the day, she didn't seem as sick. Otherwise, everything was fantastic.

Some highlights:
Dumbo: Naomi seemed to have the most fun on this ride, controlling the dips. All we saw from the ground were her little hands flailing or playing with the controls.

Meeting Mickey: When Naomi saw him, she started screaming with delight and clapping. She grabbed his nose, too. When he held out his hands, she put her hands in his. I think we held up the line, just a little.


Disney Princess Celebration: This was pretty cool. The weather could not have been better. Praise God! Reserve priority seating, because a lot of people were turned away. $20 for a 3-course lunch, but you're really paying to see the princesses (No Mulan, Aurora, or Pocahontas, but the main ones were all there). Under 2 eats free. Oh, yeah, Naomi's not spoiled at all. *cough*


Short lines: Yes, the wait for Space Mountain in the middle of the day was only 20 minutes. We definitely got in the right line for Small World -- a five minute wait! The only Fastpass we got was for the Hollywood Tower (which I've ridden once and that was the loudest I've ever screamed on a ride), and it didn't make a difference.

Space Mountain: The last time Manny and I rode this (in 1999!), we thought it was pretty bumpy and needed some maintenance. Lo and behold, they did it. And the ride is smoother and more fun now. Except one thing -- what happened to the milky way and all the magical space-tacular visuals? Now I'm just flying in the dark.

Dining Out: Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney -- we liked what we had (pasta jambalaya, pork chops, steaks, fried seafood ravioli). I think Naomi we left a big mess wherever we ate, though.

New old rides: We'd never been on Dumbo or Casey Jr. or the Bugs' Land rides before (no reason). So it was cool to take her on. I was surprised at how many rides she could get on. We definitely filled up an entire day.

New skills: So she can give fives and feed people now. And she also picked up a new tantrum scream we hadn't heard before. Great.

Here she is meeting Pluto -- you can't see her huge smile that well in this resolution. I like how she waves. This was a little surprise for me, taken while Manny's sister and I rode on Soarin'.


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All the photos:
Disneyland / CA Adventure