Sunday, May 11, 2008

Solids, Sitting, Swimming at Sweet Six



My little angel turned 6 months old last Saturday! Since Mother's Day is only a day away from my baby girl's half year old birthday, we decided to have a joint celebration with Grandpa and Grandma Kwok for a sumptous champagne brunch at the Pacific Athletic Club. And just in time for Mother's Day, Haeley gave me the sweetest gift that I could ever ask for. A few days ago, she started making a new cute sound that resembles very much like Mum Mum, as part of her baby babbles. It completely melted my heart and of course I took it literally that she is calling me. However I must admit, she says it even when I'm not present or when she is hungry and tired.



-----------Mother's Day Pix-----------

Did Papa buy this shirt for me or for Mama?

Family picture at the Club

Haeley facinated by Grandpa's white hair (or no hair?)


Weee...


-------Eating Solids---------






So much have happened since our last posting and I might have slipped a couple of fun Haeley events. One pretty big event is that Haeley has started eating solids food about a month ago and she is now pretty addicted on experimenting with foods of different textures and tastes as much as I am enjoying slicing, dicing, steaming, pureeing, freezing and bagging little ice cubes of baby food. Apart from the staple rice and oats cereal, Haeley loves almost everything that we prepare for her. In no order of preference, she cherishes every tiny bite of carrot, apple sauce, pear sauce, banana, sweet potatoes and butternut squash. She is not yet a fan of avocado and she makes sure we know it by giving us a "disgusted" look. Here's a picture of the "look" to prove it below! We recently got a high chair for her and now all 3 of us can have breakfast and dinner together at the dining table!

mmm, yum yum, food!


eekss, what's that green stuff?

keep that stuff away from me!


apple and pear sauce are my fave...MMMmmore!!

Papa distracting me with a ball so he can clean my neck


-----------Sit up Straight---------



Couple of weeks ago, Haeley has graduated from a supported sitter to an accomplished independent sitter with better sitting posture than her parents. She loves being on her butt and can last in a seated position for a long period of time, playing, grabbing and chewing on her toys. Occasionally, she would grab her tiny toes if there are no toys available. Once she get a little wobbly and sways to the side, she'll either grab her pants or stretch out her arms to the side to balance herself. Good job gal!


Miss giggles

--------Swimming Sensation--------



Haeley went swimming for the first time a few weeks ago when the weather turned warm and sunny. Since she likes to splash water in her bath tub (with arms flapping the water and her legs strutting like a frog), we figured she's ready for the big pool! It was a Sunday and the pool at PAC was crowded with kids and parents but we managed to find a relatively calm corner for her first swim in her sexy bikini. Haeley tightened her tiny fists as we lowered her into the water, but after a few minutes, she became more relaxed and seemed to really enjoy herself, flapping her arms around. Not long after, she was able to float on her own with us gently supporting her head. Haeley is not afraid of the water... there were a few occasions we even dunked her in the water and she seemed unshakened. She's probably thinking, "hey, this is nothing, I was living in water for 9 months!" Her first swimming session lasted 30 minutes or so. We figured she drank enough yucky water for the day. 2 weeks ago, we took her swimming again for more fun in the sun!

I can't swim, but at least I look cool!



-------6 Month Well Baby Visit --------

Last Friday, we took Haeley to Kid Kare to see her pediatrician, Dr. Laura, for her 6 month well visit. Doctor said Haeley is developing very well and is somewhat amazed that she can sit so well at this age. Haeley now weighs 17.15 pounds and is 26 inches tall. Her weight puts her at the 95th percentile while her height is right smack in the middle at 50th percentile. Yup, she's one heavy baby... with that weight, that might be why she can't roll over yet.

As usual, we brought our camera along and took a bunch of photos. Unfortunately, something happened to the memory stick and we're not able to retrieve any of those photos! We took a lot of funny shots of Haeley having fun crumpling and ripping up sheets and sheets of protective paper covers on the examination bed. Keeping our fingers crossed that we can retreive those photos.

-------More Pictures-------

Haeley strikes a pose



The 80's aerobics fashion is back...bring on the legwarmers

Papa, can you read this to me again?



Haeley can read at 6 months old!



When done with reading it, start chewing it!

Ermm... the ending is a bit disappointing...

One of Haeley's favorite past time: her exersaucer!







-----With her pals at daycare, The Whistle Stop-----





Zane has the hots for Haeley

Lillian wants to play ball with Haeley


Girl talk with Reese

Haeley checking Olivia's temperature

Guess who's Haeley?



Sunday, April 6, 2008

The Big Four Oh






Shortly after Haeley turned 4 months, her papa turned 40! Yup, the big four O has finally arrived! It's actually less scary than what the Hallmark cards make of it. In fact, I don't feel any different. It's not how old you are, but how old you feel, right? Despite a few more grey hair and wrinkles, I still feel like I'm in the late twenties! With all the baby talking and acting foolishly to get Haeley to laugh, at times, I certainly act a lot younger than my age!!


The party days are over! The weekend before my actual B-day, we went for a short getaway with baby and mama to Mendocino, a beautiful quaint little town about 180 miles north of San Francisco. The drive on HWY 1 was scenic but curvy and it seems to be the perfect condition for Haeley to doze off. She pretty much slept through the entire journey! But the windy road is certainly not what ma ma likes as she was feeling a little car sick, and didn't really get to enjoy the breathtaking views. We took a few pit stops along the way to let ma ma get some fresh air and we took plenty of photos of the coastline of northern California.






Pit stop to stretch our legs


Light house at Arena Point


Are we there yet?? I'm bored.


We're here! Now let's look for parking...


Yippee! Let's check this place out!


ma ma making sure baby is still inside the stroller...



Smile Haeley, smile!




This is where we stayed...its famous for its vegetarian restaurant



In our room... Haeley suddenly realizes she's got feet!



Haeley enjoying her first hotel bed!



mama playing flying girl with baby! Weeeee....


Hmmm... when did I last cut your toe nails?



Baby playing Taliban



A walk along the animal barn outside of the Inn



On my actual birthday, I picked up Haeley from her day care, and to my surprise, she was wearing a tee shirt that says Happy Birthday papa! Mama had made that shirt the week before and knowing that I'll be picking Haeley up from day care, she arranged for the care taker to change her outfit right before I got there! That's the best and most touching birthday surprise I've ever had!


That same evening, I had a craving for meatloaf and mikeshake (maybe I'm trying to be young again), and since its my birthday, I get to eat whatever I want. So we went to a diner in Palo Alto to have my birthday dinner.



Haeley and ma ma wish papa a Happy 40th Birthday!!



The following weekend, we met a few friends at the Cliff House for sunday brunch. It turns out three of us all had birthdays in March! So it was a triple celebration!



It seems like each time Haeley is near the ocean, the sky is perfectly clear. This is true even before she was born. When Anthea was 8 months pregnant, we took a trip to Big Sur, and it was again clear blue sky admist clear blue ocean. In fact that's kinda how we came up with Haeley's Chinese name...Hai Qing which means Ocean clear sky. Little did we know she actually has special power to cast away clouds from the sky!



Cheek to cheek with God mom and God dad



Haeley with her little beannie in front of Ocean Beach