oh...there's the party:

Ok, so we did actually make the party on the correct day. :) Naomi had a fabulous time. We enjoyed ourselves as well, although the party was in the early evening and we're still pretty sleep-deprived. Naomi is, too, but she keeps going and going and going... Lucas slept half the time we were there (after having not slept or even yawned for most of the day), woke up to eat, and then exploded up his back. I know there's the little back tab on diapers, but if I didn't have to pay more, I'd love that extra piece to go most of the way up the back. :)

Naomi was apprehensive at first about going into the jumphouse, so she decided to have a good time jumping next to the jumphouse. Haha. Finally Carissa, the birthday girl, helped her in a couple times and she was good to go after that. She'd give us a thumbs up...it reminded me of Bill.


I get by with a little help from my friend.


"Look out below!"


The dads and kids picnic outside (all us moms ended up inside--maybe for a break?). I'd never been to a birthday party with so many dads present.


Proud papa.


Cake and kids photo! Birthday girl is squishing her face.


Naomi giving Lucas a kiss. He looks concerned as usual.

in total shock:

Last night I turned on the news to see a story about someone headed home to his family who crashed into a house in Las Vegas. Usually I listen for the name(s) because I know a few pilots, but they hadn't identified him yet.

It turns out it was someone we knew, an old friend who used to attend our church with his wife and three young children... I know Bill's with God, and He has determined the numbers of our days. I'm shocked and grieving. Wow. Please pray for the family, especially the children.

uh...where's the party?:

I made my first outing alone today with the kids to Carissa's house for her third birthday. So we get to her house and find a parking spot right out front. Naomi waits by the door with the gift while I get Lucas out. There's a note saying the baby's napping. Kind of odd for a party. *shrugs*

V, Carissa's mom, comes to the door and sweetly asks me, "What brings you here?" Uh-oh. "Uh...the party?" It turns out Carissa's birthday is today, but the party's Saturday. Doh! And I just looked at the Evite before I left!

But V was gracious and let us stay for almost two hours. We were very grateful for any time with friends, plus it was 102 here today, and they have A/C! And smoothies! They also have a baby sister, which made Naomi excited about showing off her baby brother. :) Yeah, just call me Superlame for practically inviting myself over someone's house.

At least the girls rocked it out:

looky lucas:

Lucas is looking at faces more. It's hard to believe he's just a month old. He's the same size Naomi was at 3 or 4 months.





His "up to 12 lbs" shirt keeps riding up in this photo below. Look at that belly! Naomi set up her bed pillows on the couch. Lucas holds his little head up really well.



Well, Lucas had smiled for everyone but me, but I finally got a real one out of him today. I guess he might've been smiling in this photo from last week as well:

out with the newborn:

I've been out about once or twice a week since Lucas was born. It can be quite an effort, but it's good to get out. It's only been a month, but he's growing and changing constantly. I guess the monthly updates are more like snapshots than summaries.

My first time out with Lucas, aside from the trip home, was to a community group BBQ at the park. He was less than 2 weeks old. It was the first time I saw major improvement in Naomi's adjustment. Maybe it's because we all got out as a family.


Photo courtesy of Mel.

The following week we went to a reunion of sorts that Jenni planned for those of us in the area plus those who had traveled out for R&J's wedding. I think I hyped up the other kids too much for Naomi. She is constantly trying to make friends, but I know it's hard not knowing if she'll see her new friends again. She still keeps asking me about Adam, a friend she made over a year ago in her gym class.


Lucas just napping away in the stroller. Pretty easy to take him out then, except for the crying in the car.


She'll at least see Carissa again.

We all went to church last Sunday as well. I also went to the mall this past week to get a birthday gift and a couple dress shirts. I'm too big for my old clothes and too small for my maternity tops right now. Even though it's usually a hit-and-miss store, I really like to shop at Ross. Note to self: Take a bottle next time.


Getting dressed for church.


Lucas at the mall seeming to enjoy his Sassy links.

lucas, 1 month old:

Lucas turns 1 month old today. He weighs about 10 lbs already, so the good news is that he feeds well. The bad news is that he only has one or two good naps during the day. He settles himself to sleep okay, but he constantly grunts, soils, or hiccups himself awake from his naps and nighttime sleep. I give him Mylicon gas drops on occasion and gripe water at night. Swaddling is becoming less effective over time. "Sleep like a baby"--whoever coined that phrase probably never had a baby. He will outgrow it, though, and I'm thankful that overall he's healthy.

To me, having two is busier but easier. It goes by faster, especially with the second baby not being sensitive/colicky (I know people whose second or even fourth was the colicky one!). Maybe you remember how I used to keep checking the clock with Naomi's crying--1 hour, 2 hours, 5 hours, still crying. Plus Naomi is a great helper. It's still challenging having the lack of sleep early on while trying to maintain a routine or sense of normalcy for the older sibling. And also when the older sibling wakes the younger one. :/ It's helpful that Lucas is a summer baby, so we get to see the sunshine and worry less about illness.

Naomi was already truly smiling by four weeks, but given the choice, I guess I prefer Lucas not being a particularly fussy baby. The only time he'll cry is during car rides, and he'll wail the entire trip. He notices mobiles and toys now and looks right at Manny and Naomi. He was quieted by Naomi's singing the other day, and I think she's really proud of that. Just like Naomi as a newborn, he doesn't seem to care for my singing or my face, though. I hope that changes!

i <3 olympics pt 2:

Here we go again, judged events...blah...especially women's (girls') gymnastics, but at least the competitors persevered and didn't visibly dwell on the lack of fairness.

I'm impressed at the reporters' pronunciation of foreign names (not just reading them phonetically),

Never knew there was a trampoline competition; I really wanted to jump on one after that.

I'm happy for the "old-timers" like Dara Torres and Jason Lezak and Oksana Chusovitina. I can't give up on getting back in shape.

It's amazing how different Michael Phelps looks in and out of his swim cap. :P

Naomi loves gymnastics, especially the floor exercise. "Come on, Mami, clap!" She has no attention span for anything else, except maybe the hurdles.

Checking listings for when synchronized swimming will be on...Oxygen channel?!

Another interesting article.

she's got rhythm:

A couple videos of Naomi freestyling to her hip-hop beats--more fun with the volume on. She's got a bit of Latin flavor going on in the first one. I should've taken videos of her b-girlin' days (when she was two). Excuse my loud voice at the end there. She likes to invent "new moves" every time. I don't think she'd be into lessons/classes right now.





P.S. Things are better with Naomi now. I had a chance to talk to her last night, and she said, "Having Lucas is not so bad after all." :))))

baby photos:

Home from the hospital.


1 week old. Who's kissing me? Naomi loves him, even though she has had trouble adjusting.


2 weeks old. Lucas has rolled himself onto his side since birth, just like Naomi did. But he doesn't put up as much of a fight when I roll him back.


Naomi and Lucas "waving."


Lucas turned 3 weeks old yesterday. Had his first growth spurt already. Now he's graduated to spit-up and blow-out diapers. :P

Lucas is growing fast and those adorable size NB outfits we received won't be fitting him much longer. I'm using it as motivation to take more photos of him. I don't think it'll top the volume of Naomi's baby photos, though. After talking to Jenni on Saturday, I'm thinking I should just try to do the announcements, even if they're a little late. They'd make good thank-you cards, too. I just wish I knew how to take better photos. If you'd like one, email me.

i <3 the olympics:

One of the (few) nice things about being up in the middle of the night or early morning is the Olympics coverage. Not since Seoul 88 have I been able to catch this much of the Olympics, nor have I been so excited (some of it owing to Asian pride, I suppose). An 8/8/8 start in China...very cool*.

Several highlights of the games so far: opening ceremonies, US swim, men's gymnastics team competition (Japanese on that high bar, China's skill, and US getting a medal), plus all the background stories of underdog athletes who made it to the Olympics against the odds and weren't medal contenders. It's a reminder of what we take for granted living here. A friend of mine said that cute little boy with Yao Ming in the opening ceremonies had his flag upside down. :)

I enjoy all the events and have watched a little badminton, shooting, boxing, water polo, just a few minutes here and there. The more obscure sports are so fun to watch, but I am also looking forward to track and field. Whatever happened to the Pan-Am and Goodwill Games?

I won't/can't write so much about politics, but it's all still a bit tempered for me. Things like this, this, and this aren't really surprising (and the govt has denied forcing anyone to move). Just saying the motivation to win might be different for athletes from different countries.

*88 is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. It looks like the "double joy" character. Well, "joy" is the character--double joy more like a decoration. You see it a lot at Chinese banquets. 888 is like triple joy.

P.S. Naomi's favorite event is gymnastics. Everything else is "boring."

chinese month-long recovery:

...or my failure to adhere to it. Some know this as "zhuo yue zi." It's a custom that probably dates back to when a mom could easily become ill and die in the first month if she got sick. Without my mom here, I am not so motivated to do it. I am now two-weeks postpartum and...(X=fail)

X Do not go outdoors/outside.
Well, I had to get home from the hospital, plus go to the baby's 2-week appointment. I've also been to two park gatherings already this week and last. If I weren't a germaphobe, I'd be back at church as well probably. It's more because we have Naomi that I feel like we have to get out as a family.

X Wrap up the abdomen to put everything back in place.
I had a bandeau I wore for a week or so, and then after I washed it, I forgot about it.

X Do not wash my hair. (Angie, how did you know about this custom?)
Maybe in the winter months I would've considered it, as I tend to get sick from wet hair at night, but not this time around. Sometimes moms do get too busy for a shower, but I'm making the effort. My mom and I compromised on this last time and she permitted me to use a hairdryer.

Almost X Eat herbal soups/black chicken soup/soup, soup, soup.
Some of our friends from church have graciously and generously prepared delectable meals for us. No way will I pass that up. But I have been cooking myself the black chicken soup with goji berries and ginger intermittently.

X Lie in bed.
We hired a part-time mother's helper who will take care of Naomi till the end of this month so I can lie in bed a little each day, but I think being up and about has helped with the c-section recovery. When it gets too tender or sore, I know I've overdone it and get back in bed.

chapmans on cnn:

Steven Curtis Chapman, his wife, and his three older children were on Larry King Live last night to share about the loss of their 5-year-old adopted daughter Maria. She was accidentally run over by their son's car as she ran out to get him. Video of the interview here (where did the Maria gallery link go?). I've prayed for them, and I grieve with them, even though I don't know them personally, and I could only imagine what it would be like to have endured that tragedy. The loss of a child that brought so much life and energy and joy to their family--I think that would be the hardest trial I could ever go through. I was encouraged, especially in how sincere they all were about their grief and their faith.

We suffer. In Scripture, God promises us that we will suffer. But the Lord is indeed near to the brokenhearted. Suffering is not outside of His love for us. He's designed the big picture, the purposes for suffering, which I believe started with the fall of man but will be brought to an end someday. Yet He is faithful to provide comfort in the here and now, and supplies it for every minute of our need. For forgetful people like us, His mercies are indeed new every morning. In Memory of Maria.

lucas v. naomi, 2 weeks old:

Lucas weighs almost 8 lbs now. The pediatrician said it's the biggest jump she's seen in a while. He's also an inch and a half longer than at birth, but I'm skeptical about that. In any case, we're so glad to see him thriving (definitely can't take that for granted). On the other hand, he's a real feeding/pooping machine! I didn't know newborn boys could pee that far, so I'm diligent about covering him up now. :)

It's hard not to compare Lucas with Naomi as a baby, even at 2 weeks, especially when they seem to fall at different ends of the awareness spectrum. By this time, Naomi was actively turning her head towards voices and faces, playing with Manny's nose, and pretty focused (and screaming at the top of her lungs most of the day). Lucas either stares off into space or looks for his next meal when anyone talks to or holds him. He doesn't cry too often or for too long. When he's uncomfortable, he just grunts like an old man. It's enough to keep me up at night but it's not stressful. I have to wake up every couple hours anyway to feed and change him. He likes to be swaddled tightly, completely opposite of Naomi. I remember swaddling her tighter and tighter till I discovered that she just wanted to be free.

P.S. I do not recommend buying a cheaper replacement AC adapter off eBay--it turns out that even though the charging function works, if the input amperage is even slightly different, it can throw off the laptop touchpad when the adapter's plugged in. A lot of the replacements are more universal, so they are technically compatible, but that's not what you want. All that to say I can't get to photos of Lucas right now to post them.