A heat wave's sweeping through the region and I can't be happier. Yes, at times it feels like you're living in an oven, but it sure beats walking around bundled like a burrito. And hotter days equals less laundry. I like.
Kayla's been enjoying the sun and like all babies, she loves playing with water. She tells me all day she wants to do water painting, when in fact, all she wants is for me to turn on the faucet, fill her baby bucket with water so she can pour it all over herself with a shovel. I probably should just stick her in a bathing suit all day.
She's already started pulling out my plants.. my poor chives and parsley. I'm training her not to rip out the tomato flowers or my blooming dwarf satsuma, so we'll see. But other than that, she's been her pesky self, terrorizing me in the day and Daddy at night.
Oh, and she's learned how to sing "Jesus loves me" pretty well. I'll try to catch that on my Flip when she's in the mood.
I apologize if this post sounds totally disjointed. My brains are fried (not from the heat, but from the magazine going to print this week. Deadline weeks are killer weeks).
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Baby Dedication
Today marks a very special day for our family, not just because it's Mothers' Day (tho everyday should be declared mommy's day). We dedicated Kayla to the Lord today. For those unfamiliar with baby dedication, here's a quick summary:
Baby Dedication is…
An opportunity to thank God for the precious gift of your child.
An opportunity to publicly declare your intentions to raise your child in a Christian home.
A benchmark you can return to time and time again.
A family dedication, where the parents commit themselves to abide by biblical principles and to raise their children according to God’s standards.
It was a simple ceremony at church this morning with 8 other families and a total of 14 little ones being presented before God. Grandma and Grandpa were there and it'd have been complete if Gong Gong and Po Po who are far away in Singapore were there too (but I know they're here in spirit!). Kayla behaved very well throughout the entire ceremony and didn't flinch when Pastor Eric anointed her forehead and prayed for her and us.
It might just be any other day for litte Kayla, but for us, it's a commitment to God that we'll raise her according to His Word and ways, and that we'll do our best as parents to help her become the unique person God intended her to be. :) It's a huge responsiblity and we'll need a lot of help and prayers along the way, but it's also going to be, I'm sure, an exciting journey.
On a lighter note, Kayla had a great time with her cousin, Emily who visited over the weekend. She got a new rocking horse and a wagon she loves to bits. Emily (who is all of 5 years old) was so loving, holding Kayla by her hand and asking her if she was hungry or thirsty every now and then. They played with the bubble gun, did some water painting on the concrete slab in the backyard and read books together -- really sweet. :) I had a great time watching them.
Grandma and Grandpa, too, helped us plant our first tomato plant (yay!), and how to condition the soil and such. Hopefully we'll find our green thumb soon, but Kayla's already having a ball with her baby watering can. Pictures (dependent on Mikey's schedule) to come.
And it struck me just the other day that I've never written anything about how Mikayla got her name. We originally decided on "Victoria" but Mikey decided sometime towards the due date that he wanted to name the baby after him. (Mikayla is a feminine form of Michael..) Rae-Ann, her middle name, is also her Chinese name. In Hanyu Pinyin, it's Rui-En. In the process of deciding on her Chinese name, we also found out that Mikey's last name "Hong" isn't really "Hong". It's Tang ( as in soup) in Mandarin, but pronounced "Hong" according to his dialect group.
Yes, it's complicated and if you're lost, it's okay... just rem this. Mikayla means "gift from God" and I really can't think of another name that could be more perfect than this.
Baby Dedication is…
An opportunity to thank God for the precious gift of your child.
An opportunity to publicly declare your intentions to raise your child in a Christian home.
A benchmark you can return to time and time again.
A family dedication, where the parents commit themselves to abide by biblical principles and to raise their children according to God’s standards.
It was a simple ceremony at church this morning with 8 other families and a total of 14 little ones being presented before God. Grandma and Grandpa were there and it'd have been complete if Gong Gong and Po Po who are far away in Singapore were there too (but I know they're here in spirit!). Kayla behaved very well throughout the entire ceremony and didn't flinch when Pastor Eric anointed her forehead and prayed for her and us.
It might just be any other day for litte Kayla, but for us, it's a commitment to God that we'll raise her according to His Word and ways, and that we'll do our best as parents to help her become the unique person God intended her to be. :) It's a huge responsiblity and we'll need a lot of help and prayers along the way, but it's also going to be, I'm sure, an exciting journey.
On a lighter note, Kayla had a great time with her cousin, Emily who visited over the weekend. She got a new rocking horse and a wagon she loves to bits. Emily (who is all of 5 years old) was so loving, holding Kayla by her hand and asking her if she was hungry or thirsty every now and then. They played with the bubble gun, did some water painting on the concrete slab in the backyard and read books together -- really sweet. :) I had a great time watching them.
Grandma and Grandpa, too, helped us plant our first tomato plant (yay!), and how to condition the soil and such. Hopefully we'll find our green thumb soon, but Kayla's already having a ball with her baby watering can. Pictures (dependent on Mikey's schedule) to come.
And it struck me just the other day that I've never written anything about how Mikayla got her name. We originally decided on "Victoria" but Mikey decided sometime towards the due date that he wanted to name the baby after him. (Mikayla is a feminine form of Michael..) Rae-Ann, her middle name, is also her Chinese name. In Hanyu Pinyin, it's Rui-En. In the process of deciding on her Chinese name, we also found out that Mikey's last name "Hong" isn't really "Hong". It's Tang ( as in soup) in Mandarin, but pronounced "Hong" according to his dialect group.
Yes, it's complicated and if you're lost, it's okay... just rem this. Mikayla means "gift from God" and I really can't think of another name that could be more perfect than this.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Anger Management
Kayla may just be 16 going on 17 months but I am almost certain we've hit the "Terrible Twos."
As Dr Greene of drgreen.com aptly explains it,
"Newborns and infants are quite happy as long as their basic physical needs are met. Children in the developmental stage known as the "Terrible Twos," or "First Adolescence," become aware of the choices available to them and as a result become angry or frustrated when they are powerless over those choices. The result is often 'Temper Tantrums' or what I like to call 'Emotional Storms.'"
Make that "Emotional Typhoons." This past week has been extremely trying with meltdown after meltdown over the most innocuous of things -- Daddy walking out of the room, Mommy saying she needs a diaper change. At times, at the mere mention of the word "No," she breaks out her deafening screams and promptly dissolves into tears.
We've tried everything to calm her down--from hugging tightly and telling her everything's okay to asking her to "use her words" and "baby voice." But nothing's working really very well. She knows what she wants and she's determined to get it. Good for her, but not so pleasant for us. Cry and scream as she might, we've done our darndest best not to give in and I think we deserve a pat on our back for standing our ground (you'll understand when you witness firsthand how she screams, yells and cries). Hopefully, Kayla will realize soon enough that screaming isn't the solution or the shortcut to getting attention or whatever it is she needs. She may be strong-willed, but so are we. :)
Again from Dr Greene,
"Whatever you do, if your child had a temper tantrum to try to get something, don't give it to him, even if you would have ordinarily done so. Giving in to tantrums is what spoils a child. Giving in is the easiest, quickest solution in the short run, but it damages your child, prolongs this phase, and ultimately creates far more discomfort for you. Choosing your child's long-term gain over such dramatic short-term relief is part of what makes properly handling temper tantrums so heroic.
Instead you might say, "Sorry, I would love to give you what you want, but because you had a temper tantrum, I can't right now. Next time, let's do that." Stand by your child during this difficult time for both of you. When you feel yourself getting tense, again say to yourself: temper tantrums are a beautiful, albeit painful, part of growing up, so take a deep breath, relax, and remember, "Dr. Greene thinks you are beautiful, courageous, and worthy of high praise!"
As Dr Greene of drgreen.com aptly explains it,
"Newborns and infants are quite happy as long as their basic physical needs are met. Children in the developmental stage known as the "Terrible Twos," or "First Adolescence," become aware of the choices available to them and as a result become angry or frustrated when they are powerless over those choices. The result is often 'Temper Tantrums' or what I like to call 'Emotional Storms.'"
Make that "Emotional Typhoons." This past week has been extremely trying with meltdown after meltdown over the most innocuous of things -- Daddy walking out of the room, Mommy saying she needs a diaper change. At times, at the mere mention of the word "No," she breaks out her deafening screams and promptly dissolves into tears.
We've tried everything to calm her down--from hugging tightly and telling her everything's okay to asking her to "use her words" and "baby voice." But nothing's working really very well. She knows what she wants and she's determined to get it. Good for her, but not so pleasant for us. Cry and scream as she might, we've done our darndest best not to give in and I think we deserve a pat on our back for standing our ground (you'll understand when you witness firsthand how she screams, yells and cries). Hopefully, Kayla will realize soon enough that screaming isn't the solution or the shortcut to getting attention or whatever it is she needs. She may be strong-willed, but so are we. :)
Again from Dr Greene,
"Whatever you do, if your child had a temper tantrum to try to get something, don't give it to him, even if you would have ordinarily done so. Giving in to tantrums is what spoils a child. Giving in is the easiest, quickest solution in the short run, but it damages your child, prolongs this phase, and ultimately creates far more discomfort for you. Choosing your child's long-term gain over such dramatic short-term relief is part of what makes properly handling temper tantrums so heroic.
Instead you might say, "Sorry, I would love to give you what you want, but because you had a temper tantrum, I can't right now. Next time, let's do that." Stand by your child during this difficult time for both of you. When you feel yourself getting tense, again say to yourself: temper tantrums are a beautiful, albeit painful, part of growing up, so take a deep breath, relax, and remember, "Dr. Greene thinks you are beautiful, courageous, and worthy of high praise!"
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Berry Good
From the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose (http://www.cdm.org/) to Gilroy Gardens (http://www.gilroygardens.org/), we finally found the time (and energy) to explore a couple of kid-friendly spots in the neighborhood the past couple of weekends. I'm not sure Kayla remembers all these places, but it really doesn't matter so long as she had as much fun as we did while we were there:
Taking a Spin in a Strawberry at Gilroy Gardens
Checking out some "produce" in Children's Discovery Musem
Revving up the possibly the world's slowest racer in Gilroy Gardens.
Today, we decided to take her strawberry picking and at a friend's recommendation, we headed to Gizdich Ranch (http://www.gizdich-ranch.com/) in Watsonville, about half an hour away. The strawberry harvesting didn't last long. After yanking close to 10 strawberries, Kayla decided pulling out weeds and sticking dirt in her mouth--to my horror--was just as enjoyable. It took probably us less than half an hour to fill our box with a little over four pounds of some the juiciest and sweetest (and biggest) strawberries I've ever seen. And I think, there's only about half of that left in the fridge. (I must have heard Kayla say "Strawberry good" and "more" a dozen times today; she ate at least 10 of them.)
But the highlight of the day (for her and us) had to the good, old-fashioned slice of apple pie with vanilla ice-cream and an equally tasty strawberry shortcake. No better way to end a morning than on a sugar high. :)
Taking a Spin in a Strawberry at Gilroy Gardens
Checking out some "produce" in Children's Discovery Musem
Revving up the possibly the world's slowest racer in Gilroy Gardens.Today, we decided to take her strawberry picking and at a friend's recommendation, we headed to Gizdich Ranch (http://www.gizdich-ranch.com/) in Watsonville, about half an hour away. The strawberry harvesting didn't last long. After yanking close to 10 strawberries, Kayla decided pulling out weeds and sticking dirt in her mouth--to my horror--was just as enjoyable. It took probably us less than half an hour to fill our box with a little over four pounds of some the juiciest and sweetest (and biggest) strawberries I've ever seen. And I think, there's only about half of that left in the fridge. (I must have heard Kayla say "Strawberry good" and "more" a dozen times today; she ate at least 10 of them.)
But the highlight of the day (for her and us) had to the good, old-fashioned slice of apple pie with vanilla ice-cream and an equally tasty strawberry shortcake. No better way to end a morning than on a sugar high. :)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Photo Flash
Kayla's first Easter Egg Hunt. And Kayla relaxing in our finally finished backyard. Yes, that's fake grass. Cool, ain't it?
Friday, April 18, 2008
Back in Business
Two weeks and three days later, my body has finally gotten rid of that nasty nasty flu bug...and our yard is now half completed (the pavers and irrigation are in so we're now just waiting for our synthetic grass). :)
I can't wait to let Kayla loose in the yard. It'll help absorb some of that seemingly endless energy she has and hopefully, give me a little more breathing room along the way. And if you're wondering why we went with fake grass and not the real thing, it's pretty simple. I can't handle bugs. We don't get a lot of sun in the half of the yard where the grass is going into. It'll be really silly to buy a lawnmower just to keep a tiny 200-square-foot patch of grass pretty.
Having said that, synthetic grass doesn't come cheap at more than $15/square-foot (though according to experts, it's more cost-effective once u factor in the amount of water, time, pesticides and stress needed to maintain a real lawn. After checking a number of different fake lawn retailers, we decided to go with Heavenly Greens (www.heavenlygreens.com), the same guys responsible for "The Official Playing Surface of Super Bowl XL” and that forever green patch of grass you see at Santana Row. Good stuff. :)
In other news: Kayla's teething is on turbo mode. The top row is sprouting non-stop, and the bottom row must be, I guess, in sleep mode. Still that same two miserable teeth. So yes, she's in constant discomfort and a little fussier than usual. But that hasn't stopped her from learning how to sing "Rain, Rain Go Away," "Jesus loves me," and a whole bunch of other tunes that she's made up along the way--music to my ears only.
I can't wait to let Kayla loose in the yard. It'll help absorb some of that seemingly endless energy she has and hopefully, give me a little more breathing room along the way. And if you're wondering why we went with fake grass and not the real thing, it's pretty simple. I can't handle bugs. We don't get a lot of sun in the half of the yard where the grass is going into. It'll be really silly to buy a lawnmower just to keep a tiny 200-square-foot patch of grass pretty.
Having said that, synthetic grass doesn't come cheap at more than $15/square-foot (though according to experts, it's more cost-effective once u factor in the amount of water, time, pesticides and stress needed to maintain a real lawn. After checking a number of different fake lawn retailers, we decided to go with Heavenly Greens (www.heavenlygreens.com), the same guys responsible for "The Official Playing Surface of Super Bowl XL” and that forever green patch of grass you see at Santana Row. Good stuff. :)
In other news: Kayla's teething is on turbo mode. The top row is sprouting non-stop, and the bottom row must be, I guess, in sleep mode. Still that same two miserable teeth. So yes, she's in constant discomfort and a little fussier than usual. But that hasn't stopped her from learning how to sing "Rain, Rain Go Away," "Jesus loves me," and a whole bunch of other tunes that she's made up along the way--music to my ears only.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sick and Speechless
I apologize for the silence yet again, but it's for good reason (maybe not so good after all). I, keeper of this blog, has been down with what must be the nastiest flu in the world. I've been sick practically the whole of last week and a battle with a terrible sore throat has resulted in me losing my voice. Ughhhh.....
Fortunately, the rest of the family is healthy and well... no one's gotten even a sniffle. Work probably stressed me out too much and wiped out my resistance.
Once I get my health (and voice) back, I promise to fill you in on the past week. :)
Stay healthy!
Fortunately, the rest of the family is healthy and well... no one's gotten even a sniffle. Work probably stressed me out too much and wiped out my resistance.
Once I get my health (and voice) back, I promise to fill you in on the past week. :)
Stay healthy!
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