I am ONE

Today, I am ONE YEAR OLD!!  It’s been a fun year and I’ve enjoyed sharing my milestones, travels, and fun times with you.  At just over 15 lbs. and 29 inches long, I end this year as a healthy, happy, walking, and babbling little person.  For the upcoming year, I will turn the blog back over to my Mommy, who will continue to share our family’s story.  But for now, I’ll say “bye bye” and give you a little wave since that is one of my favorite things to do.  (I will follow this by covering my eyes and waiting for you to find me.)  Thanks for reading!

Month by month…

11 Months

Yesterday was my 11-month birthday.   I played with my friends at daycare, enjoyed broccoli, eggplant, and yogurt, and had fun with Mommy and Daddy as we played with my blocks and read books in the evening.  My favorite book that I always pick from the bookshelf is “The Littlest Puppy.”  My Mommy sings the words to me and I like to dance.

I almost weigh 15 lbs now and fit comfortably into 6-month clothes.  Daddy says that I’ll need a new car seat soon because I am 29 inches tall – the maximum height for my current car seat.

I have a pink hippo that I like to sleep with at night, but let’s be honest, I’d rather sleep with Mommy and Daddy.  My top two teeth are trying to come in and they hurt, so I wake up every night and I cry until Mommy comes to get me.  Mommy and Daddy try to leave me in my crib, but I discovered that if I scream loud enough, they will come rushing in.  In fact, I’ve found that if I cry much at all, Mommy will pick me up and cuddle me.  I love to cuddle!

Ten Months

Monday was my 10 month birthday.  This month was exciting.  I spent a night at my Ong Noi and Ba Noi’s house while Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding in Palm Springs.  I celebrated my Mommy’s first Mother’s Day.  I went to Seattle.  In Seattle, I saw my Mammer, Grandpa and Uncle Jeremy.  I enjoyed every moment with them!  I got to meet my pen pal, Livie.  (My Mommy and Daddy got to see some of their friends and Mommy got to attend her friend Charleen’s baby shower. )  I had a couple of playdates.  I mastered walking with my walker.  I figured out how to balance myself standing up without holding onto anything….and those are just the highlights!

In other news, I weigh almost 15 pounds and am so tall that I’ve almost outgrown my car seat.  I also have some more hair, which I love to pull.  Anyhow, I’ll try to post pictures from Seattle at some point.  For now, I’m off to find something to chew on.

Nine Months

Yesterday was my ninth month birthday!  I’ve been living out here just as long as I was living in my Mommy’s belly.  We celebrated with a hike up in Malibu, from which I will post pictures later.  In the meantime, here are some interesting facts about me from this month.

(1) I love to crawl very quickly everywhere.  If you take your eyes off me, I can cross an entire room and be out the door before you know it.

(2) I like to pull myself up to a standing position and then walk along holding onto stuff.  If I think it’s getting a little dicey to continue in the standing position, I gently get back on my bottom and then resume a crawling position.

(3) I like to talk.  A lot.  It’s a little frustrating that Mommy and Daddy don’t understand me, but they laugh and talk back at me.  I give them credit for trying.  I do say Mamma and Ba (Dad is Vietnamese) and both parents can’t get enough of it.

(4) I enjoy clapping.  Perhaps that is because when I do, Mommy and Daddy get excited and clap with me.  It’s fun.  I do it all the time.

(5) I’ve decided that waiving goodbye is a waste of my time.  Mommy and Daddy are always trying to get me to waive, but I think it’s boring and I’d rather clap.

(6) I like to take my blocks and toys out of their bins, but when I am done playing with them, I just crawl away.  Mommy and Daddy usually put my toys away for me, so there’s no harm done.  I’ve also discovered that the easiest way to show Mommy and Daddy that I’m done with a toy while in my carseat or highchair is to simply drop the toy overboard.  It’s fun to watch Mommy and Daddy try to catch my toys before they fall on the ground!

(7) I love my veggies (including kale), but only in the fine pureed form.  Mommy tries to give me what she calls “finger food,” but let’s be honest – it’s never as good as a nice, warm purree.  I prefer to spit it out of my mouth with lots of drool.  Mommy usually gives up pretty quickly after I do this.

Eight Months

Yesterday was my 8-month birthday.  I weighed 13 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 26 1/2 inches high.  It’s been a big month for me.  I learned how to crawl, pull myself to a standing position (now if only I could make my feet walk!), and say “Mamma.”  I’ve had some requests to post more pictures, so be on the lookout.  Over the next week or two, I plan to post pictures from Arizona and video of my new skills!

Seven Months

Last Wednesday, I celebrated my 7-month birthday.  This has been a great month for me.  I started eating “solid” foods.

I love carrots, yellow squash, and butternut squash.  I am not the biggest fan of green squash.  Mommy and Daddy are making my food, which is fun.  Can’t wait to see what I get to try next!

I also celebrated the Lunar New Year with my Ba Noi and Ong Noi, who gave me my first red envelope.

I loved watching the dragon dance, but when the dragons started jumping in the air, I got scared.  I can’t wait until next year when I can wear an Ao Dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress.

I also attended my first two UW basketball games – one at the Pauley Pavilion against UCLA and one at the Galen Center against USC.  UW lost both games, but I enjoyed all of the action on the Court and walking around the venues!

I should have also enjoyed celebrating Valentine’s Day and my Daddy’s birthday this month, but unfortunately, I brought a cold home from daycare and Mommy and Daddy have been too sick to do much for the last couple of weeks.  Hopefully everyone is feeling better soon!

Six Months

Yesterday was my half-birthday!  I weighed exactly 12 lbs.  My mouth hurts a lot these days (my Mommy says that I am teething), so if I don’t have a toy to bite on, I just chew on my hands.  I am almost sitting up on my own and I recently learned how to push off with my legs to move around.  It’s not the most efficient mode of transportation, but for now it will do.  Most often, I’ve been practicing on my changing table and the couch – both of which freak my Mommy out.

Look out for more posts later this week!

Five Months

Yesterday was my five month birthday.  I started eating rice cereal this month, which really boosted my weight gain.  Unfortunately, I also contracted my first stomach flu from daycare and lost most of the weight I’d gained.  (It was such a doozy that both Mommy and Daddy caught it, too.)  Therefore, at five months I weighed in at 10 lbs. 10.2 oz.

Four Months

Last Tuesday was my four month birthday.  I weighed in at 10 lbs 10.2 ounces.  Unfortunately, I was sick at home with my first real cold.  My mom blames it on daycare.  My dad says that it’s building my immunity.  Either way, it was no fun!

Besides the sickness, I had another big month.  I started daycare, where I am the hit of the class.  I am the smallest and youngest baby, so all of my caretakers love to hold me.  At first, I was having so much fun that I couldn’t nap more than 20 minutes while I was there.  I got over that quickly and now I enjoy long, luxurious naps.

I’ve also taken to rolling all over the place.  I still can’t figure out how to work my legs very well, but I’m getting the hang of using them to push myself around.  Ms. Cynthia at daycare says that I am going to be an early crawler.  Watch out, Mommy and Daddy!!

I’ll post pictures from Colorado and Washington soon…once Mommy and Daddy get over the cold that I gave them…

Three Months

Yesterday was my three month birthday.  This was a big month for me.  These things that kept hitting me in the face turned out to by my hands.  I love my hands.  In fact, I love them so much that I spend much of my day trying to eat them.  So tasty!!  If I’m lucky, I can get five fingers into my mouth at once.  Otherwise, I prefer to suck on my pointer finger.

In other news, I finally figured out how to get places on my own…well, sort of.  I can roll from my back to my tummy and I love doing it every time my mommy or daddy puts me on my back.  Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to roll from my tummy onto my back.  When I’m stuck on my tummy, I get very frustrated and alternate between crying and drooling all over the blanket.  Mom and Dad keep trying to video my roll over, but I am too embarrassed and refuse to do it whenever the camera is on.  (They hope to post a video soon.)

This past month, I also started “talking.”  I like to talk to my mommy all the time and tell her stories.  She listens, but I don’t think she understands me…at least she doesn’t laugh at my jokes.  I’ll just keep talking and hopefully they’ll understand soon!  (My parents also hope to post a video of me telling a story.)

Well, that’s all for now.  Pics from Philly, apple picking, and the pumpkin patch to be posted this week!