things are looking up...

happy birthday

It's my 28th and also 7th birthday. Peter got me some sunflowers. They were my favorite flowers when I was little. We had lunch with our friends and dinner at the cheesecake factory with my mom. After tonight, Peter and I vowed not to ever go to restaurants with Eli again until he understands the word "no". He actually wasn't bad. He only cried a little bit when we were seated, but we got the look from the people that were sitting next to us. I had never gotten "the look" before. I was petrified with embarrassment. I couldn't enjoy my birthday dinner because I was trying to finish it as fast as I could while watching Eli intensely making sure he didn't start the crying again.

vanity

I had always wanted a vanity set for my bedroom. I think every girl should have one. My mom got me one from target as my birthday gift. I love it. I have been enjoying doing my makeup every morning in my room. Thanks mom!

snow tree

almost spring?

where is the sunshine?

a nice afternoon is...

going for some sushi and shopping for something special.


afternoon snack

I always wanted to go to this store

an intricate keepsake box and a pair of earrings crafted with beautiful japanese chiyogami paper

confession

I have a confession... I have been sneaking to the kitchen every night after everyone has gone to bed to get myself a bowl of sweet treat. Now I'm ready for a sweet dream.

happy buy

the sound of music vinyl with the storybook

chiropractic

I didn't want to talk about this until I see some real improvements. We have been taking Eli to the chiropractor. This chiropractor was recommended by a friend at work. She has been taking all of her six kids to her. I was really skeptical at first. This is such a controversial topic. I read up on it and found a lot of different opinions. When Eli was becoming more fussy and the only time he would not cry was when he's sleeping or eating. It's not only disturbing to everyone in the house, it was affecting Eli as well. All those excessive crying was exhausting for him. After the first visit to the chiropractor, I noticed some small changes. He was a little more relax and easier to console. At first I thought maybe he was already improving on his own, it was just coincident that happened when I started taking him to the chiropractor. Or maybe I was hoping this would work so much that my hopeful mind let me be less objective. Eli has had 4 visits now, and he is doing great. He interacts with people and has so many expressions. He spent all day yesterday smiling and cooing. I'm so happy for him. I'm not going to say this is going to help every fussy baby, if you are not comfortable with the idea of taking your baby to a chiropractor, that's okay. Even though the chiropractor assured me she only applied little pressure to his tiny bones, it still scared me when I saw her holding Eli upside down by his legs or when she's doing things to his neck. I know how it feels to have tried everything and nothing helped. I was so desperate to find something that would help my baby, and I'm glad it did. He is so much happier now, and that's the only assurance I need.

hooked on dexter

I saw the show for the first time tonight. It's the most creative show I have seen in a long time. Dark humor is my favorite kind.

can't stop smiling

It was a good day.

sunday morning...

chilling with dad to some jazz

breakfast

typical day

after bath

afternoon nap

focus

bubbles

a night at the cheesecake factory

photos of the day...

valentine's day morning

the living room of first time parents

sleeping companion

gurgling cup

saw this at starbucks one day and just had to have it

bedside bunny

I know I am a hopeless blogger when I find myself sitting in bed at one thirty in the morning fixing up my blog. Sure I have better things to do, sleeping for one, but it's easy to get carried away. The reason I spend so much time on my blog is not to self-promote but merely just for fun. Today is Valentine's day, I hope everyone has a sweet Valentine's. My sweet baboo has to work, so I will be spending my night watching A Charlie Brown Valentine with the baby.

Cure for cold, chamomile tea and homemade cookies.

Eli got a bouncer and baby gym from his grandma. I had high hope for the bouncer even though he didn't like the swing we got. We gave that a try the other day, he stayed on it for a good five minutes before he let out his signature cry. He's not fooled by some plastic devices, he's too smart for that. He insisted on real human touches, a tight hold from his mom and dad that is.

I tried to use one of those wax hair removal kits at home tonight. It's my first experience with wax hair remover. Don't want to get into the messy details, let's just say I won't be doing it at home anymore.

The women at church threw me a baby shower today. I had a wonderful time, and so did Eli. He didn't cry until after everyone has left, the longest he has ever gone awake without crying. We also got some very nice gifts. Eli doesn't know it yet, but he's one spoiled baby.

We had Eli's pictures taken by our friend Amanda today at the church. After 90 minutes of baby crying, these are some of the end results. They turned out really nice. Eli got some baby acnes, and despite his crying, he's still one photogenic baby.

Vacuum cleaner is hands-down the best household appliance. It picks up dirt and dust blah blah blah, but most importantly, it puts crying babies right to sleep. I have heard it many times, but didn't believe it. Today we tried it on Eli. As soon as we turned it on, boom! He's out. The problem is he wakes up as soon as we turned it off. It's funny to see him freeze whenever we turn the vacuum back on. They should make mobiles or baby CDs that play vacuum sound.

When is it going to stop snowing?! I feel like I'm back in Michigan.

I was pretty excited that Steve & Barry's was coming to town. I finally had a chance to go check it out yesterday. Whoa! Everything was $8.98 or less. I came out of the store with two big bags of clothes and they cost me less than $100. I'm feeling rich. I bought couple pairs of jeans and lots of tees. My maternity clothes are too big for me now and I'm not quite back to the pre-maternity size yet. I can fit into the old jeans, but my chest is too big for most of my old tops.

Another happy purchase, I found my favorite ice-cream at Hy-Vee today. I know they sell Blue Sky creamery, but they never had my favorite flavor the green apple. It's so smooth and dense but not too rich. What a delight to end my day with a few spoons full of creamy sweetness.

We took Eli with us to the local Chinese New Year celebration. He was pretty good for half of the time. As first time parents, it's nerve wrecking to take your baby to any kind of public setting. You don't know when he's going to burst out crying. Little babies are unpredictable. They are like bombs, you don't know when they are going to explode. We were with Eli at a antique store few days ago when he started crying as soon as we walked in the store. I panicked and stormed out with him. I heard other babies cry in public before and didn't think it was a big deal. I guess it's different when it's your own causing the embarrassment. What's the best strategy for public display of a cry baby? I'm going to apologize for our baby's behavior until I become desensitized.

Bath time...

What are we doing?

Wait! I don't want to, don't make me. Wah!!!!!

What is this? Water?

This isn't so bad.

This wash cloth is yummy.

Happy to be 1 month old.

點解人生BB﹐我生BB﹐但是我生的是個大喊包?你日喊夜喊難道不累嗎?小小的個子何來喊得聲嘶力歇的肺?真是說他喊到拆屋一點都無誇張。雖然做媽媽的看到自己的Baby喊得那麼淒涼會很心痛﹐但有時他哭得起勁時會無意間笑一下﹐看見他那個哭笑難分的可愛樣子真是不知好嬲定好笑。

Eli has reached his 1 month old mark. He's thriving everyday beautifully. Of course, some days are harder than others, a heck lot harder. It's never clear what makes him happy or sad. No matter what you do, sometimes he just likes to be a grump. I love how he will start to smile, but then all of a sudden he decides he wants to cry for eternity instead. Regardless, I still treasure that split second of smile. I'm sure that's just the beginning of more long last happy moments. As for me, my first month of motherhood has taught me so much. I have learned I'm much more patient than I thought. I also for the first time truly appreciate the nice set of breasts God has blessed me with. They are not made to fit the expensive lace bra or to make me feel more like a woman. They are for nurturing my baby, which makes me a good mom. I'm not going to apologize for saying that either. Making milk is the one thing I'm good at right now. I wonder what I can do next.

I found a cute little store today called "Eden". They sell fragrances, novelty soaps, candles etc. all my favorites. I was going there to get the Kai body buffer that was shown on Oprah's favorite things. Apparently everyone saw the show and was trying to get their hands on this. I wasn't able to get it at the store, but I already ordered it online. Anyhow, this has become my new favorite store. I like how it's not like most fragrance stores where the smells are so strong that put people off. I always find it calming to burn a nice scented candle. It must be a nice job to have working with so many nice aromas everyday.

Breastfeeding is no easy task. It takes skill and a great deal of patience. No doubt breast milk is the best food for babies, but I understand why many women give up breastfeeding, I almost did. It's hard to continue when your nipples start to crack and bleed. It's easy to want to take the easy way out to bottle feed, it's easier and no pain. But you have to remind yourself you want what's best for your baby. I haven't mastered breastfeeding yet, but it's getting easier. That seems to be the way with my newfound motherhood. Just keeps getting better.

These are my few favorite things these days:
1.Nutella spread. I love putting it on graham crackers.
2.Sophia Shorai's version of "Hello Goodbye" from the Target commercial. I'm addicted.
3.Rice congee with chicken that my mom makes.
4.My Moby wrap. Eli usually falls asleep minutes after I put him in it. It's a life saver.

These days I have been obsessed with reading anything babies related online. As a new mom, I feel so inadequate. I think I have read everything there is to read, but I still feel helpless, like a kid playing mom. Today started out as a terrible day. Actually it started last night when Eli was crying on and off for three hours and kept my mom and I awake. We did everything we could think of but nothing helped. He didn't go back to sleep until five this morning. During this whole ordeal, my mom told me to go back to sleep and she would take care of the baby. I couldn't sleep hearing my baby crying his lungs out. I'm very sensitive to any noise Eli makes. I know babies make noise, and it doesn't always mean they are in pain. That's something I need to learn to adjust. Every time I hear even the slightest sound coming from the bassinet, I run over to check if he's okay. Most of the time it was just him trying to pass gas in sleep. I feel terrible every time he cries, and if I can't console him, I feel like a bad mom. I wonder what he thinks of his mom when he's screaming for help and his mom doesn't have a clue what he wants. Every night I go to bed praying to God for patience and wisdom to care for my precious little one.

So that wasn't it. We thought we found the solution of Eli's constant crying, but we were back to the same old crying phase today. He's the biggest cry baby I have ever met. It bothers me a great deal when I hear him cry even though I know that doesn't always mean he's hurting, just the way babies communicate. It quickly turns into frustration when I can't figure out what he wants. I have done everything, feeding, burping, changing, cuddling, back to feeding again but nothing seems to help. Does anyone speak baby?

We have had a couple of rough days with Eli. He seemed to be having a lot of indigestion. He usually arches his back and his face turns bright red when he tries to pass gas or have a bowel movement. At first we thought it's normal, every baby has gas, but lately he has been doing that constantly. It got to a point where it affected his feeding. I had watched my diet and avoided food that would cause gas in breastfeeding babies, but that didn't help. He had gotten more irritable and impossible to console. We finally got him some Mylicon anti-gas drop, and I think it has helped. He felt asleep within minutes after we gave him the drop. Poor baby and his little body, I hope we have found the solution.