03.30.04
Posted in Maddy at 8:47 am by tina
I ran into my ex-coworker Betty at the daycare, and had a chance to visit the three-year-old classroom the other day.
How I couldn’t wait for Maddy to be one year old because I thought the toddler’s rooms (1-2 year old) are so much more fun. I was shocked and really surprised when I went into Joshua’s homebase.
The classroom is so spacious and filled with waterplay table, arts and crafts stations, computers, and in-door playgrounds, etc. “I” want to be in that homebase.
But Betty told me that the ‘cutest’ thing she admires the most is their lunch routine and she proceeded to show me a line of 20 little toothbrushes next to the sinks. Apparently they all line up to brush their teeth after lunch before their nap.
At first I thought “What’s the big deal about brushing your teeth? Look at all the cool fancy stuff they have!” Then I realized, you know.. that’s where a mother’s heart is: We delight in the smallest things.
Surely I rather have Pottery Barn Kids furniture; surely I rather send Maddy to a great daycare with the most qualified caretakers and most advanced tools/toys; surely I prefer dressing her in very pretty (and sometime costly) outfits. Yes I am lucky to be able to do them all. But at the end of the day, what delights me the most is when she looks at me, giggles a little bit, then spits out her pacifier because she knows it gets my “pretend-mad” reaction.
What comforts me the most is when she reaches out to me and puts her head on my shoulder when she’s tired.
Somehow, I think that’s all our Heavenly Father asks of us: He is not waiting for us to do some huge missions or study some difficult passages (although they would be nice). All He desires, perhaps is our simple childlike faith, our dependence on Him, and our desire for His approval in everything we do.
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03.29.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:30 am by tina
I got really nerveous this morning about the interview this Friday. As much as I know that God is in control, I feel so inadequate and just so anxious about it.
Father God, I lift up our desire to move back to RTP to You. If you will, please open the doors for us and help me see clearly where You want me to be.
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Posted in Maddy's First Meals at 8:07 am by tina
I mixed it with her chicken soup. She didn’t mind the taste.
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Posted in Maddy's First Meals at 8:07 am by tina
I should have known. Maddy doesn’t like anything tart. She spits them out with an annoying face and gives me this totally uninterested stare.
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03.25.04
Posted in Maddy at 11:02 pm by tina
Everybody knows that Kendall loves Ms Ireli. If Kendal doesn’t know you, you better not walk within 5 feet of her and don’t you even think about talking to her and making eye contact with her (unless Ireli is there) Kendal is Ireli’s ‘daughter’ in homebase 7.
Everybody knows that Maddy doesn’t care who holds her. The person with Maddy’s food in hand wins, and it doesn’t have to be mommy.
That all changed today. Mrs Rocio seemed extra pleased when I picked Maddy up. She told me that Maddy wasn’t happy when the new caretaker was holding her. She cried cried cried until Rocio took her. And Rocio was so happy that Maddy wanted her the most. I guess Maddy will be Rocio’s “teacher’s pet” from now on.
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Posted in Maddy's First Meals at 8:56 pm by tina
I made steamed egg for Maddy tonight. She loved it. I think the texture is perfect for her… not too smooth and not too hard.
My grandma used to make the BEST steamed egg whenever I stayed over. Her steamed egg was smooth, pluffy, delicious and I could just eat that all day long. I’ll try to make the same thing when Maddy is old enough to have meat.
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Posted in Maddy's First Meals at 8:51 pm by tina
Forgot to blog..
Maddy started to have clear rice noodle with her chicken soup. She knows how to slurp the noodles into her mouth. Cute little thing.
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03.24.04
Posted in Maddy at 10:12 pm by tina
For two days in a row, Maddy has been laughing at everything for no reason. It’s the funniest thing:
she cracked up on the floor mat that she’s been playing with for months; she giggled when I made any noises; she burst into laughter when I pushed her around our condo with our little backpack stroller; she was so delighted watching Brownie walk in front of us during our Brownie walk to the “Brownie” park.
She laughed so much that she’s exhausted by “nai-nai” time (half hour before her bath and bed time)…
How nice if we, the grown-ups, can take joy in the simplest things in life.
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03.20.04
Posted in Maddy at 9:08 pm by tina
We don’t know how Maddy knew, but she started to scream for our table food recently. When it happened the first two times, I thought maybe it’s just coincidences. We know she recongnizes her bottles and her food containers, but how did she figure out when mommy and daddy are eating?
We made sure that she’s well fed before we went out to the restaurant the other day. But when our dishes came out, she screamed bloody murder. We had to share our veggies with her.
We went to the bagel shop this morning. It was not her feeding time. She was content and sitting in her stroller people watching with mommy and Brownie until daddy came back with juices and bagels. Again she screamed for no tomorrow. Mommy had to share her bagel and cheese and apple juice with her.
We went to the great mall later afternoon. To prevent history from happening, we made her face the other way so that she wouldn’t know we were eating. For a little while, everything was fine. Then she must have turned her head and saw us eating…. that was it. Mommy had to share her korean noodles with her.
So I guess this is the end to our peaceful eating out. We have to always order something she can eat from now on, and Maddy is offically a member in our family meal times.
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03.17.04
Posted in Maddy's First at 11:42 pm by tina
Dear Maddy,
When mommy first started celebrating daddy’s birthday, he was turning 25 and there were lots of food and friends with us. Ten years later, we celebrated his birthday in the quiet of our home, with you who is the living proof of our love.
“A good father material” was not on my check-list when I was dating because mommy didn’t want any kids before despite that I love them. When I was pregnant, I get weary about what kind of father your daddy will be occasionally. Mommy’s worries were all in vain.
Your daddy is everything I thought a perfect dad should be: He plays with you; he makes you laugh (sure he copies what mommy does to make you laugh); he changes your stinky ‘gifts’ diapers; he bathes you; he prays for you; he sings and reads to you. And to mommy’s HUGE surprise, he gets into ‘cleaning spree’ (which he never did before we had you) once in a while and cleaned our entire place while mommy just sat there and watched. He even got mad at your grandma once and asked her to not be so messy (your grandma and mommy were both shocked when he said that)
And your daddy takes such good care of you in the morning and really is an essential part of mommy being a working-mom. Some people say it’s hard enough to be a full-time mom, and it’s almost impossible to be a working-mom and give your child proper care. It’s never the case with mommy… not when your daddy puts both you and mommy above everything else.
Baby girl, I so believe that you bring the ‘best man’ out of your daddy. And you, are the best birthday gift for daddy…. We hope to be able to celebrate our lives with you for many many years to come.
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Posted in Maddy's First at 8:16 am by tina
Maddy got sick for the first time in her life. We don’t know if it was caused by the swimming class, the Chuck E Cheese, daycare, or a mix of all of them..she had a fever.
The child is such a trooper though. She didn’t complain that much, but needed someone to be with her all the time. I decided to sleep with her, just to make sure that she felt comforted. She just leaned her whole body on me, and then “stared”. My poor baby.
She seem ok this morning though… started to eat and play on her own for a bit. Hopefully she recovers soon.
Daddy said that it’s her gift to mommy since mommy is about to quit nursing. If she had gotten sick after I quit, I will probably feel guilty. But since she got sick right before I quit (quitting tomorrow when she turns 7 months), I don’t feel so bad quitting now.
====================
Maddy is back to her old-self and was in a happy mood during lunch time. She wouldn’t concentrate on drinking her milk because she was too busy looking at everyone else; she cracked up laughing when Patricia crawled over and put her face next to Maddy’s; she refused to go down for a nap and wanted to sit up and play like a big girl.
Our little tyrant is back.
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03.13.04
Posted in Maddy's First Meals at 9:12 pm by tina
I made another attempt in making chicken stock for Maddy. Instead of chicken with bone/skin, I used thigh fillet (boneless/skinless). I can’t seem to find any chicken that is skinless only, and de-skinning anything is just too much for me at this point.
It works out well. Since I mainly used the soup and only blended a few pieces of chicken, Brownie got to eat the leftover chicken chunks. My poor doggie… finally getting a little leftover goodies.
I think we’ll stick with chicken for a while. Daddy and mommy are happy because there is no fishy smell for the next three days, and our two girls like it too.
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