Happy 43 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

Your new hobby this week is climbing up stairs. You can't get enough of it! You try to race up the stairs with Brooklyn all the time but Brooklyn is so much faster, she usually waits on the top for you. You are always so proud of yourself after you make it up the flight, you sit at the top and give yourself a round of applause!

Your leg strength and muscle control are definitely building up. You can stoop and squat quite well now. You crawl with your feet flat on the ground and Ah Kong calls you Spiderwoman! I think all you need to work on now is muscle control in your back and some balance and you will be off walking!

You have become Ah Kong's superglue. You cannot get enough of him! First thing in the mornings, you crawl into his room and yell for him to wake up and when Ah Kong is up, you only want him to carry you!

You are such a little miss chatterbox but for some reason when we put the phone to your ear when Daddy wants to talk you, you turn into a silent movie. Daddy misses you so much! Don't worry, he'll be here in 3 more days!

Love, Mom

Isabelle's First Christmas

Dear Izzy,

We celebrated your first Christmas today. We went to the 9 am Christmas mass in the morning before your AM nap. Then after your nap, we had our present opening ceremony. You got a lot of presents for a little girl celebrating her first Christmas! Mommy has to leave some of my own stuff here to bring home all your presents! What a lucky girl you are, so many Uncles and Aunties love you!

After that, we went for dim sum and you entertained everyone at the table with a new dance. Not sure where you picked that up from but it was really hilarious! After lunch, we came back home in time for your PM nap. You slept like an angel again...you've been doing so well for the past week!

See, it definitely pays to be a good girl because Santa brings lots of presents to good girls!

Love, Mom

Yay! Presents for Izzy...

Miss Claus and Santarina

Happy 42 week birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

It's our first week in Vancouver and we've been busy! We took you to see Santa again and we've been going out for lunch quite often and you seem to enjoy eating whatever Mommy eats. So far, you've had fish congee, rice rolls, BBQ duck, roast pork, wonton noodles, chicken wings and fried tofu....yummm...this gives you a real taste of some good Chinese food! Most of the time, we don't need to pack you any extra baby food, Mommy just brings out a spoon and a pair of baby scissors!

You sleep schedule is ever-changing as well. Lately, we've tweaked your schedule a bit and putting you to bed around 7-7:30 pm and you've been waking up at around 7:30 am in the mornings. It's great! Your naps are getting longer too...your PM naps have lasted 1.5 hours at the longest. I think you like the Vancouver darkness and air...it's just so relaxing.

Babbling is what you do most nowadays. Your babblings have started to sound more like words and you try to imitate whatever is said to you. You've learned to react to songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "When You're Happy and You Know It". It's so cute, I love it!

Keep on learning, baby!

Love, Mom

Izzy checking out Santa's beard

Champion Traveler

Dear Isabelle,

Thank you so much for being such a good girl on the flight today! You were a champion traveler, Mommy was surprised but oh-so-grateful. You fell asleep during take-off and landing and played with the passengers in between. You were playing peek-a-boo with a 2 year old girl named Emily, who was sitting in front of us. You ate well while in the boarding lounge and on the plane and was in such a good mood.

Mommy is proud of herself too. We managed a huge luggage, a stroller bag, your car seat in the stroller base, a hand carry, a diaper bag and a baby all by ourselves with minimal help! We would not be able to do it with Zoë though...that would be too many beings to keep an eye on. This proves to Mommy that we are able to travel alone so maybe we will do more trips in the future, just you and I.

Our plane ride by ourselves was a success and thank you again for being a good girl. You are definitely growing up!

Love, Mom

On the plane en route to YVR

10 month Baby Wellness Exam and Happy 41 week birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

You are getting skinnier and skinnier, little skinny minnie! Mommy and Daddy were certain that you would hit the 17 lb mark but nope, when we went to see Dr. Scott today, you were only 15 lbs 15 oz and that puts you at the 4th percentile! So it is quite obvious that you have the famous Ow genes because you eat like a horse but haven't put on much weight! Your height was measured at 28 inches (56%) and the circumference of your head is 44 cm (44%).

Dr. Scott said that you can start having citrus and egg whites but to still stay away from honey, shellfish and peanut butter (although you had some peanut butter cookies yesterday!). We also have to start some routine oral care so Mommy is going to try to remember to brush your teeth every day.

You were such a brave girl today. You had to have a toe prick to measure your iron levels and you didn't even feel that one! Then came the second dose of flu shot...ouch! You felt that but you only cried for a second or two. You are getting better at this and so is Mommy!

As for motor developement-wise, you have been doing the crab crawl and Dr. Scott said that since you have been cruising a little and slowly testing the waters by letting go of one hand, you should be able to walk by your first birthday. You are climbing up on things and using everything as a stepping stool! Mommy is kind of not really looking forward to it because I will not know what to do with you during your waking and WALKING hours!

You have become a better sleeper now as well, much to Mommy's delight! Today something happened that has never happened in your whole 41 weeks of life. You fell asleep in the carseat AND didn't even wake up when we brought you into the house. Not even with Daddy knocking the carseat on the entryway of the apartment building! You slept in the carseat for almost an hour afterwards. WOW, Mommy hopes that this continues and maybe you might even be a good girl and sleep soundly in the carseat for our trip back to Vancouver tomorrow. It's going to be just you and I and Mommy is stressing out about the flight!

Be nice to Mommy tomorrow, OK?

Love, Mom

Lulu keeps you brave at the doctors.

Using your animal zoo as a stepping stool.

Isabelle and Friends

Hey Izzy,

We went to 2 playdates in the last 2 days. You are starting to make little friends! You had such fun and Mommy had a good time watching you interact with your little friends. You guys are hilarious! We will make sure to go to more of these playdates next year as you are at the stage where you enjoy playing/watching/interacting with babies your age (and plus you sit nicely in the carseat now).

Love, Mom

From left to right: Payton (12 months) , Nicole (8.5 months), Devin (9.5 months, his birthday is 1 day after Izzy's!) and Isabelle

"Hi, my name is Payton...and you are...?"

From left to right: Nicole, Isabelle and in the background with the cutest devilish smile, Devin

Happy 40 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

40 weeks on the outside world already! You were supposed to stay 40 weeks in Mommy's belly but you checked out early at 38 weeks and 6 days, I think because we didn't have the big screen with Ni Hao, Kai-Lan playing. So how do you like your last 40 weeks on the outside world? You are definitely enjoying it more and more, Mommy can tell.

You are sooooo talkative now. Always babbling and baby-talking. You say "pa pa", "da da", "yayyyy", "ahhhh", "aiya", "ehhhh", "okay" and "woh woh" all the time. Sometimes by chance, we hear a "ma ma" but you are very stingy with that word...why??!! Are you saving that for Mommy's Christmas present??

You are also so animated and thrive on getting a reaction from us. You can definitely understand simple words and phrases now. I especially like it when I ask you to come, you crawl right to me and use my legs to pull yourself up!

Wow, you really dislike to get changed. It's so hard to put the diaper and clothes on you nowadays. You roll around and try so hard to crawl away! Sometimes we need 2 people to get you dressed!

Mommy wants to freeze time now because you are at such a cute stage! But alas, Father Time just keeps on ticking away...

Love, Mom

Outside Santa's workshop

Isabelle Meets Santa!

Dear Izzy,

Have you been naughty or nice? We took you to the North Pole to meet Santa today. You weren't scared at all! You sat on Santa's lap and Santa asked you what you wanted for Christmas this year. Mommy couldn't hear what you whispered in his ear. We took some pictures and you didn't want to leave his lap after. You just kept on staring at him. I think you wanted to go back with him to meet the elfs and the reindeers and of course check out all the presents at Santa's workshop! But Daddy didn't want to leave you.

Can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas with you, Izzy! We will be back in Vancouver and hopefully you get to see a white Christmas.

Love, Mom

Milestone: Sleeping Through the Night!

Dear Izzy,

This is the milestone Mommy has been waiting for! You are finally sleeping through the night. About 2.5 weeks ago, we weaned you off the 2am feed and you've been doing great! The first couple of nights, you woke up and fussed but after the third night, you slept right through till 6am. That gives Mommy about 6-7 hours of uninterrupted sleep after we dream feed you at 10pm. Well, Mommy is still trying to relearn to sleep through the night ourselves as we are so used to waking up. But the nights that Mommy does sleep through till 6am, I feel so refreshed and like a new person! It's nice after 9 months of having fragmented sleep to finally be able to just have peace of mind that you don't need a feeding anymore in the middle of the night.

Not only are you sleeping through the night, your naps are getting longer as well. You were only doing 30mins naps for the past couple of months but now they have lengthened to 1 hour naps. You dropped your late afternoon nap and now are taking only 2 naps a day.

We have to slowly tweak your schedule to try to get you to wake up later...6am is still a little too early! Maybe one day you'll be able to sleep in till 7am. We can only hope!

Keep it up, baby!

Love, Mom

Happy 39 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

Auntie Christine and Uncle Moe arrived in LA last night and you got to see them this morning. We hung out with them for a good part of the day. You seem to have forgotten them at first but have been slowly warming up to them again. It's Uncle Moe's birthday today too and we went out for breakfast, to the library, park and grocery store with them. They will be staying at the Beverly Hills hotel tonight and we'll see them again tomorrow!

At breakfast with the birthday boy, Uncle Moe.

You started drinking from a straw today. Usually you just chew on it but today when Mommy tried to "pretend-share" our juice box with you, you actually got stuff to squirt out everywhere! Daddy cannot "pretend-share" his iced coffee with you anymore as you might actually drink it!

You are constantly using Mommy like a jungle gym by crawling and climbing all over me! I always have to watch out behind me because you use the back of my legs to pull yourself up all the time. Mommy cannot believe the speed of your crawling nowadays and you go where ever you want to go. Mommy found you hiding in my closet today, playing with my shoes! Like I said to you before, they are all yours when your feet can fit in them.

Love, Mom

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Izzy!

We celebrate our first Thanksgiving today. Although Daddy is not home for Thanksgiving, he came back from work for a little while this morning to see and play with you. He misses you so much! After your first nap, we went to the park to play on the swing and slides to tire you out. Then we came home and you went down for your second nap.

Today, Mommy gives thanks for our perfect little family, for the best husband any wife could ever have, for a beautiful, healthy and growing daughter and not forgetting, our little Zoë. Even though she's in Vancouver this Thanksgiving, we miss her and we can't wait to see her in 2.5 weeks.

Happy 1st Thanksgiving, my American baby!

Love, Mom

Izzy & Peter Rabbit (thanks Auntie Janet!)

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Dear Izzy,

Mommy saw that one of your front central incisor has broken through the gum and the other one is not far behind! Yet another reminder that you are growing up...*sigh*



It looks kinda swollen right now but you'll be getting your bugs bunny teeth soon and you can sing the song, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, MY TWO FRONT TEETH. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, so I can wish you Merry Christmas!"

I am sure they'll be fully out by Christmas!

Love, Mom

Oh My...9 months already! (And 38 week birthday)

Hey baby,

Newborn Izzy, barely an hour old.

You turn 9 months today! At this hour, 9 months ago, I regained consciousness and laid my eyes on the most beautiful being God has ever created. While I am not really cut out for motherhood (I'm not and will never be a Suzy Homemaker), you are a joy in my life that exceeds the drudgery of being a mostly working at home mother. I wasn't really expecting to ever be a real mother (just a fur-mom), much less be totally in love with this tiny being...but I am. It's such hard work but whenever I see your eyes light up when you see me across the room, it makes it soooo worth it.

You are very feisty and outspoken. You know exactly what you want and you go after it with gusto. Whether it’s a piece of what Mommy is eating or that new magazine you want to rip up, you reach for it and usually get what you want. You live life with passion and perfection, when you learn something new, you do it over and over again until you get good at it. You also definitely have a funny bone in you because you love to make people laugh with all your hilarious antics!

Wait, what’s going on with your hair?

Thank you Auntie Cheryl for the little barrettes!

Oh yeah, Mommy discovered that you have *just enough* hair to make a wannabe ponytail. It’s time to start toughening up your scalp for all the fun hair do’s you’ll be getting as you get older...Zoë must be so happy that she's no longer Mommy's Barbie doll!

Now Daddy and I have only three months to plan your birthday party! Don't you worry, it will be the party of the year as Daddy has already started preparations!

Love you baby!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Izzy, Izzy, Izzy...

You've been blowing raspberries all day, everyday, for the last few days. When you eat, when you take a bath, when we meet new people... You think it's so funny! Sometimes you do it till you are red in the face! I guess you just want to practice until you get it perfect? You silly goose!

Love, Mom

Who Says?

Who says baby food is mostly pureed peas and carrots? Obviously those babies did not have a Daddy like yours! You are so lucky that you haven't even had to touch a single jar of commercial baby food. And as much as we can, we try to only give you organic food.

Daddy has been busy in the kitchen making you all sorts of delicious food! And he is thrilled that you are not a picky eater either! You are pretty sick and tired of just the regular pureed vegetables so Daddy has concocted other yummy and chunky combinations for you. Also, instead of pureeing your food up with water, he infuses homemade stock (which he simmers for hours on the stove) into them which makes it oh-so-good for you!

And as for your taste for foods, you eat anything and everything! When we go out, you eat most of our table food too. I think your favorite is dim sum, just like Mommy and Daddy! Also, you seem to enjoy your dairy and Daddy can't wait till you are old enough to have cheese courses with him when we go out for fancy dinners because he always has to have those by himself.

Your normal day-to-day menu is as follows:

• Breakfast (around 7:30 am): oatmeal cereal with a dash of ikan bilis powder, 1 egg yolk, cheese cubes, juice
• Morning snack (around 10: 30 am): fruit mixed with yogurt, water
  
• Lunch (around 1:30 pm): cereal and yogurt, avocado cubes, water
• Dinner (around 5 pm): vegetable mixed with soft tofu and cereal, juice

You nurse between each meal, before you go to bed and 2 times at night. And since you are a puff-a-holic, you snack on puffs all day long as well! I wonder if you will even put on some weight or are you just like Mommy who eats and eats but can't seem to put on the pounds?

Love, Mom

This weeks menu: carrot, chicken & mushrooms; green beans, brocoli, spinach & chicken; cauliflower & salmon

Goodbye Ah Ma & Ah Kong

Dear Izzy,

Ah Ma and Ah Kong left to go back to Vancouver today. You had so much fun with them and they were so much help to Mommy. Mommy finally got all our boxes cleared and we just have a few other small loose ends to tie up but our apartment finally feels like home now. With Ah Kong's help and Daddy's brilliant idea, we got our TV centered on the wall and our electronics all hooked up. Now you watch Ni Hao, Kai-Lan in stereo! They took Zoë home with them because you and Mommy are going back in December to celebrate Christmas there. Daddy can't come with us so Zoë had to go with Ah Ma and Ah Kong so it will be easier for Mommy and you to travel.

I am sure you can't wait to see them and your little Zoë next month!

Love, Mom

Happy 37 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

Another week has come and gone and what have you been up to? You are now trying to cruise with the help of the furniture. You are still quite wobbly but you are trying soooo hard! After pulling yourself up, you shuffle your feet in one direction and move towards that direction. Or you let go of one hand and try to balance yourself. You have sustained many, many falls but have always taken them in stride—always just crying for a few seconds and after some comfort, you are off and trying the same thing again. You are definitely one strong-willed and determined little girl with no fear whatsoever!

Mommy can also see the beginning of some communication between us! There were a few times that I noticed you pointing to things that you want! Like when we eat our meals, Mommy caught you pointing at your sippy cup because you wanted a drink. We think that is soooo cool!

Love, Mom

Here you are being your silly self again!

Caught on Tape: Blowing Raspberries

Dear Izzy,

Once again, Mommy caught your cheeky self on video. This time blowing raspberries! We can see that you are a natural in front of the camera...you look and even take a moment to pause and compose yourself before you let it out. Mommy laughed so hard that we couldn't keep the camera still while filming. You are Mommy's personal comedian!!

Love, Mom

Beach Clean-Up Duty

Dear Isabelle,

Being the good citizen that you are, we joined Daddy and his colleagues for beach clean-up duty today. We had to pick up the small little pieces of debris because the fishies and the birdies think those things are food and they accidentally eat them and get sick. While we were cleaning up the beach, Daddy took you close to the water to watch the waves. You really enjoy the sound of the ocean, it sounds just like your Sleep Sheep and also maybe it's because Mommy and Daddy took you to Punta Mita Four Seasons resort on our babymoon!

After beach clean-up, we had lunch on the beach and you entertained all of Daddy's colleagues with your cuteness. They couldn't get enough of you! What a beautiful November day it was!

Love, Mom

Picking up debris

Watching the waves

What a beautiful day!

Hello Kitty Three Apples Exhibition

Dear Izzy,

Since we are such BIG fans of Hello Kitty, we went to the Three Apples Exhibition today with Ah Ma and Ah Kong. The exhibition celebrates 35 years of Hello Kitty...Mommy grew up with Hello Kitty too! It was a great day and I think you enjoyed yourself. We hope that you will continue liking Hello Kitty even after you grow up!

Love, Mom

Izzy & Ah Ma

Izzy in her Hello Kitty top from H&M...courtesy of Godma who is also a Hello Kitty fanatic!

Izzy's bedroom one day...her nursery is pretty close though!

Happy 36 week birthday!

At the library for storytime...but Izzy's not paying attention, she's facing the wrong way!

Happy 36 week birthday, Izzy!

You really have taken a liking to chasing Zoë but Zoë really doesn't appreciate it too much! You are always crawling after her and Zoë is scared of you that she runs away every time she sees you coming towards her.

This past week you are way steadier when you pull up on things i.e your crib, the sofa, the boxes that still have to be unpacked. Your legs and upper body are getting so strong that you can almost climb up the sofa soon! Mommy will not be surprised if you start walking by Christmas!

You have the funniest crawl: one knee and one foot! You use your foot to accelerate your crawling. You figured that you can go faster like that than just crawling on both knees.

We unofficially started potty training you for the last month and you've been pooping in the toilet quite consistently now. Soon we need to get you used to your potty and transition you there. The number of poopy diapers that Mommy has to change has gone down a lot and we like it like that!

Ah Ma says you understand the word "No" now because you try to test her all the time. You try to put all sorts of things in your mouth, but when Ah Ma says "No", you stop but slowly try again in a bit while watching her to see her reaction. You just want to see where the line is drawn!

Your naps are changing as well. You used to sleep 45 mins at a time but now it's only 30 mins! Oh my, already as it was, Mommy had no time to ourselves but now it's even worse! And your awake time has stretched to 3 to 3.5 hours at a time. We have gone to the library for storytime and to the park to sit the swing to entertain you while you are awake. You love being outdoors!

As for the tests you had to take due to your UTI, we went for your ultrasound and everything came back normal so Mommy and Daddy decided to decline the VCUG test as it is quite invasive and you have gone through enough! Cross your fingers you don't get anymore UTIs ever again!

Love, Mom

Surprise! Ah Kong is here!

Dear Izzy,

No one can stay away from you for too long...so surprise! Ah Kong arrived today joining Ah Ma in her visit. YAY, another pair of hands to help Mommy out!

Love, Mom

Getting Ready for Christmas?

Dear Isabelle,

In attempt to get you ready for Christmas, we got you tearing up some paper so you will know what to do when you see a wrapped up present. But you start screaming every time you tear the paper...why?? Santa does not bring presents to "tear"rorists!

Love, Mom

Happy 35 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

Oh you little troublemaker...you enjoy pulling up on everything! But you are not steady yet and so you have fallen quite a few times but you take it like a pro and you usually don't shed any tears! You love climbing all over, up and down the sofa. You are quite the monkey!

You also love to imitate people and when you do, you find it so funny! You are learning so fast, it's amazing. You respond to your name almost every single time now as well.

Your favorite food right now is avocado. You can eat a couple of slices by yourself at one sitting! It's awesome because avocado is so good for you. You also love your puffs and always shove more than one in your mouth at a time! Your appetite is getting bigger...you have started to eat more than 2 ozs of food at a sitting. Hopefully that means you'll be putting on some much needed weight!

You are also back to your regular sleeping schedule now after having visitors, going on vacation and getting sick, all in the last few months! Daylight savings didn't really affect you because you went to bed so late on Halloween. So it kind of helped you because although we gained an hour, you slept almost an hour later and woke up at your regular 6 am wake-up time the next morning. Mommy wonders if you will ever sleep in a little, maybe at least until 7 am, because our day always starts so early!

Ah Ma arrived yesterday and will be here for a couple of weeks. She is helping Mommy keep an eye on you while we finish putting the apartment together. It has taken us a while because you were so sick before and now you are better, we have to finish up unpacking!

Love, Mom

Happy Halloween!

Hi my little petite pois!

You were a hit at Redondo beach today! We were there for your first Halloween celebration and went treat or treating with Daddy's colleagues and their kids. We dressed you up as a pea, Daddy wore his chef's uniform and Mommy dressed up as a pea farmer. You sat in one of Daddy's pot the whole time and everyone was so tickled by your costume! People could not stop taking photos of you. If Mommy were to charge $10 a photo, we could have added to our Manolo collection! They kept on telling us to enter you in the costume competition but Mommy was afraid that you were going to melt down soon because you were already up for over 2 hours since your last nap!

You were such a good girl though. After trick or treating, we went out for dinner and didn't get home till 9:00 pm. You were up for 6 whole hours and didn't get cranky till we were driving home. You stayed up till 9:30 pm to wind down after the fun-filled day then went to bed.

I think you had tons of fun today...we can't wait till next Halloween because we already have another awesome family costume idea!

Love, Mom

Petite pois - from the farm, to your table

The chef and his petite pois

My little pea

Spooky Halloween Tales at the Library

Dear Izzy,

We went to the West Hollywood library for the Spooky Halloween story time today. You had a blast! You dressed as a little prima ballerina and everyone loved your look! Mommy made the tutu you wore today...I'm so proud of it, and you totally look the part.

My little prima ballerina

You were so intrigued by the story fairy at the library. This is the first time Mommy saw you sit for a whole 20 mins without moving! I guess we got to go to the library more often for story time! After story time, you played with Grace and Nova...two cute little girls!

Sitting quietly for storytime

We headed to the playground after and you had another first there too! Your first time on the swing...you absolutely enjoyed it! I guess it just feels like Daddy throwing you around.

First time on the swing...weeee!!

We will definitely be back to the library and playground soon!

Love, Mom

Happy 34 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

Mommy's so happy that you are feeling MUCH MUCH better now...although we still have to continue your antibiotics for another few days. You really hate taking your medicine, so much so that you will keep the liquid in your mouth and refuse to swallow it. And when we least expect it, you spit it right back at us! Mommy really doesn't know how you do it...keep the medicine in your mouth and cry at the same time...you are definitely talented!

Your appetite is also coming back. You are starting to eat your regular portion of food and also since Dr. Scott mentioned that he calls this age the "restaurant age", we can start feeding you food off our own plates. You actually love the food that we eat more than your baby food...I guess the palate is genetic! We had Indian buffet again yesterday and you really enjoyed feeding yourself potatoes and peas!

You are a crawling machine now...you crawl so fast, Mommy's eyes have to constantly be on you because you have gotten yourself into trouble a couple of times already! Your eyes are so sharp too...you pick up the smallest things off the floor. Mommy thought you were a noisy little girl before but now, you are even noisier. Not only do you like to scream, you now love banging your plastic toys together. Perhaps you are a future percussionist?

Mommy thinks you are starting to recognize things now too. Especially Zoë. When we ask you "Where is Zoë?", you look to her. We look forward to teaching you more now...you are like a sponge!

Love, Mom

Pumpkin Patch Princess

To my little Pumpkin Patch Princess,

Welcome to your first Fall! We took a trip to the pumpkin patch in Beverly Hills today. You rode in the wagon and we got to see lots of pumpkins, ghouls and goblins. You were so intrigued by our little outing, you were analyzing everything! Daddy picked out a perfect sized pumpkin and we will attempt to carve it for Halloween. We hope to make this a yearly tradition now!

Love, Mom

Pumpkin Patch Princess

Princess with Daddy...

Lots of pumpkins!

Cheeky Face is BACK!

Oh how I missed the cheeky face! You woke up in high spirits today, Isabelle. Mommy's so glad that things are looking up and you are feeling WAY better. Your rashes are gone too...the Benedryl worked!

Now you have to start eating well again so you can gain back some weight you have lost. Sleep more too...you have a lot of catching up to do!

Love, Mom

Love it when you wake up with this face!

URGH...Rashes!

My poor poor baby,

Not only are you fighting your UTI, now you have rashes to deal with! Mommy feels soooo bad for you. This morning you woke up with some rashes on your head and body and Mommy quickly called Dr. Scott. We thought you were allergic to the antibiotics you are taking but Dr. Scott said that it is probably the infection that is giving you the rash. So he told us to give you some Children's Benedryl.

You are so overmedicated that you are grumpy and cranky. I am so sorry you are going through such a tough time. Mommy is really praying that you get well soon.

Love, Mom

8 month Baby Wellness Exam and Follow Up Appointment

Dear Izzy,

You had your 8 month baby wellness exam today. You weigh 14 lbs 10 ozs (5%), your height is 27 inches (57%) and your head circumference is 43 cm (38%). Your weight percentile has dropped from 15% to 5%! Mommy is a little worried but Dr. Scott isn't too concerned. He said that by this time, babies usually slow down in weight gain and he thinks that because you haven't been feeling well and have no appetite, that might have contributed to a little weight loss. Dr. Scott also saw your 2 lower central incisors...probably another contributing factor for your loss of appetite!

Other things Dr. Scott told us to look forward to is cruising since you have already started to pull yourself up. He said you are a little advanced in your mobility milestones! He also warned us that we should remove crib bumpers as it can be used as an aid to climb out of the crib. You are such a violent sleeper though, Mommy's worried that you will be bumping your head all night! But once we see any sign of you using the crib bumper as an escape tool, the bumpers will be GONE!

As for the follow up to your urine sample results, they confirmed that you have a UTI and found the e. coli bacteria in your urine. Good news is that the antibiotics Dr. Karen started you with has already taken effect and is slowly killing the bacteria. You are definitely starting to slowly feel better. Bad news is that we have to go for further testing to make sure that this infection is just going to be a one time deal and not that something is wrong with your urinary tract. Mommy is not looking forward to one of the tests as it is somewhat invasive. But I would rather know now so we can correct it, if neccesary.

Although you are still a little cranky, Mommy is glad that the well Izzy is starting to pop in every once in a while after a good nap! Can't wait for you to get your appetite back because Daddy made you some really yummy food!

Love, Mom

P/S: We saw Mrs. Diamond, Dr. Diamond's wife from the show Dr. 90210, and her son at Beverly Hills Pediatrics.

Happy 33 week birthday

Poor little baby...you're not really having a happy 33 week birthday today. You still have a fever and are very irritable and clingy. You are in and out of sleep and don't sleep very well at night unless you are in Mommy's or Daddy's arms.

We really hope you feel better soon because it really upsets Mommy that I don't know where your discomforts are and cannot help you. You have so much Tylenol and Motrin in you that you are pretty out of it. We have to give you the medication to keep your fever in check. Good news is that your antibiotics finally arrived at the pharmacy and we have started it today, so hopefully, with that, you will feel a little better.

Lots of hugs and kisses.

Love, Mom

Fever, Fever, Go Away

Dear Isabelle,

Today is day 3 of your fever. It comes and it goes...Tylenol and Motrin have helped with getting it down but once the medication wears off, your fever comes back in full force. My poor, poor baby...seeing you in so much discomfort is just so heartbreaking for me. And to top it all off, your gums are so swollen. Mommy thinks your other lower central incisor is coming in but you won't let me near your mouth to check!

We went to see Dr. Karen today and she did some tests on you. First was the flu test and that came back negative. The second one was the urine test. Your urine test came back with a small trace of bacteria and therefore Dr. Karen says that most probably you have a urinary tract infection. They are sending the urine sample into the lab for further testing so that they can tell for sure if you have a UTI or not.

We hope they can find out for sure what you are suffering from because apart from the fever, you have no other symptoms. We will hear back from Dr. Karen on Wednesday. Till then, we were instructed to continue using Tylenol and Motrin to keep the fever in check. Mommy hopes you get well soon because we miss the cheeky Izzy with that infectious laughter.

Love, Mom

My poor little sick baby

Trip to the ER

Dear Isabelle,

You were running a temperature and sick with your first bout of fever today. It all started at around 2:30 pm on Saturday when Mommy realized you were burning up. We took your temperature and it was 102.5°F. Mommy quickly called your pediatrician but since it was a weekend, we left a message and the doctor-on-call, Dr. Beth, called back to instruct us on what to do. She said to start giving you a dose of Infant Tylenol in hopes of bringing the fever down.

You took a dose of Tylenol and fell asleep at around 2:50 pm. You woke up 40 mins later and the fever had subsided. Mommy was relieved. You were even playful. We fed you your full dinner, took a cool bath and put you to sleep around 5:45 pm. By about 6:15 pm, you woke up crying and Mommy went into the room to check on you. You were shaking like a leaf! You had the chills and Mommy didn't know what to do for you but wrap you up and gave you another dose of Tylenol.

You were shaking for 15 mins and Mommy started to panic so I had to call Daddy to ask him to quickly come home from work. Daddy came home and we put you back to sleep. Again at around 10 pm, you woke up with chills. This time your temperature started to spike. When we took your temperature at around midnight, it was up to 103.2°F. Mommy decided that it was time to go to the ER because your fever did not seem to be letting down and we didn't want to risk any permanent damage.

By the time we got to the ER, your fever was up to 104.1°F. They stripped you down to your diaper and gave you a dose of Motrin. 1 hour later, your temperature went down to 101.8°F and we waited for 2 hours before being admitted to a room. The doctor checked you out and said that everything looked fine. By this time, your temperature went down to 98.6°F much to Mommy's relief. The doctor wanted to do some invasive tests on you but Daddy decided that since you looked OK and also since you've been through so much already, we will avoid the tests and wait to go in to see Dr. Scott on Monday.

When we got home, it was 4:30 am in the morning. What a night. This is the scariest night that Mommy has ever experienced. Mommy and Daddy are exhausted. We hope you get better soon.

Love, Mom

Goodbye Ah Ma

Dear Isabelle,

The end of Ah Ma's stay with us came by so fast! She left for Vancouver early this morning and we already miss her. She took really good care of you - feeding you, putting you to sleep, giving you baths and playing with you - while Mommy got our new place in order. We still have a little bit more of unpacking and organizing to do but without Ah Ma's help, we would have soooo much more to do! Thanks Ah Ma for taking such good care of us and cooking Mommy all her favorite foods!

Love, Mom

Humpty Dumpty Had A Great FALL!

Dear Isabelle,

You have learned to pull yourself up to a kneeling position and have been doing it all morning instead of taking your morning nap! We really need to get Daddy to lower your crib because you already hit your head on the crib rail a couple of times today...poor baby. But you have such a strong and hard head, you cry for a minute and when Mommy kisses it better, you stop. When we put you back into your bed, you start pulling up again...it's either you never learn or you are so determined to learn how to pull up to a standing position!

Love, Mom

Waves Bye Bye

Dear Isabelle,

You are so cute when you wave "bye bye"! You are starting to imitate people when they wave to you. Such a little smarty pants!

Love, Mom

Milestone: Emergence of First Tooth

Dear Isabelle,

No wonder you've been cranky...your first tooth made it's appearance today! It has taken a while...ever since the trip to Seattle with Mommy's friends. It's your right central incisor and boy is it ever sharp! I wonder if that's the reason you've been using your tongue to push against your lower jaw for the last week. Finally a tooth...I hope it gets easier for you from here on out.

Love, Mom

Happy 32 weeks birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

You are a different baby every day! You learn so fast it's amazing. After crawling for more than a week now, you have started sitting from a crawling position. Also, you are almost pulling up! Daddy has to lower your crib mattress very soon because a few times on the baby monitor, we have witnessed you holding on to the railing and lifting up your bum! Before we know it, Mommy is going to have to chase you around the house.

Standing on your own

You are enjoying your meals like a pro. You eat so well and especially if it is something you like, you eat so much! You scare Daddy with how much you eat but if you are anything like Mommy, he should be used to it by now. You also demand food when you see us eating and you are not. Your pincer grasp is getting more and more accurate, you can pick up your puffs with your index finger and thumb now whereas before you just used your whole palm. Not sure why, but you dislike drinking water! You push away your water bottle or sippy cup and so Mommy has been trying to feed you water with a spoon but you blow all the water away...so we are now trying a straw. Water is good for you, baby!

The funniest thing is that you laugh at your own videos when Mommy plays them back to you, especially the "Splash Splash Splash" and the "Water Blower" one...are you going to be one of those people who laugh at your own jokes?

Another trick you have learned is to wave hello and goodbye. You practice it randomly...we have to get you to do it on cue soon. Goodbye!

Waving bye bye!

Love, Mom

First Visit to the Eye Doctor

Dear Isabelle,

We went for your first visit to the eye doctor today. Dr. Scott referred us to this eye doctor because we have noticed that you have been a little crossed eyed since birth. The eye doctor said that what you have is called pseudostrabismus and nothing to worry about. She said most Asian babies have this and will eventually grow out of it when the bridge of the nose matures and narrows.

She also checked your vision. It took 3 drops of pupil dilation drops before she could check your eyes. Your eyes just refused to dilate! At the end, you were crying hysterically because you were getting impatient and tired and it was WAY past your naptime.

You have perfect vision and your follow up check up is in 8 months.

Love, Mom

Back in LA and Moved Into New Apartment

Dear Isabelle,

We are back in LA and moved into our new apartment! Finally you get your own big girl room. Mommy and Daddy will be sleeping in your room with you for a week to acclimatize you to your new room and while Ah Ma is here helping us. When Ah Ma leaves, Mommy and Daddy are moving into our own room and you will have your big girl room all to yourself!

Love, Mom

What a Way to Drink Water

Dear Isabelle,

We can't give you water in a bottle anymore because all you do is hit it away! So we have resorted to feeding you water with a spoon...but what do you do? You blow it all away! You are hilarious...are you a comedian in a baby suit?

Love, Mom

Milestone: Finally Mobile!

Dear Isabelle,

You are finally mobile...before we know it, you will be a crawling machine! Mommy just decided today to take off the footed sleepers you've been wearing for the duration of the trip and that did the trick! You can finally feel the carpet with your knees and toes and have more traction and now can go almost everywhere, although you are still a little wobbly at times.

The look on your face after you figured how to crawl around was priceless...

Ah Kong is so proud of you! He got his wish to see you crawl before we leave Vancouver to go back to LA.

Love, Mom

Tickles from Godma

Dear Isabelle,

We love to do anything to get that infectious laughter out of you...it's so contagious!

Love, Mom

Mommy's Cooking

Dear Isabelle,

Mommy had to be resourceful and make you some fruit purees this week. It's probably not as good as Daddy's but you still loved it! Mommy made pear, plum and blueberry puree and Ah Ma will be making you some chicken and carrot puree. Mommy is actually enjoying cooking for you!

Love, Mom

Pear and plum puree with some pear and plum water we saved to make your oat cereal

Happy 31 week birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

Mommy has started feeding you 3 solids meals a day now. Dr. Scott wants you to be fully on 3 solid meals a day once 8 months rolls around and it's just around the corner! You are getting better and better at eating nowadays. Our menu for the day usually looks like this:

Breakfast - half an egg yolk and oat cereal mixed with a fruit puree
Lunch - rice or oat cereal mixed with a fruit or vegetable puree
Dinner - rice cereal mixed with a vegetable puree and fruit puree as dessert

Mommy wants to start adding tofu to your dinner so you get some good protein in you!

Eating blueberry puree made by Auntie Peggy from Uncle Andrew's family farm

Your attempts at crawling are yielding results! You can actually move around now. You maneuver your upper body like an expert and your crawl is a commando crawl - you use your knees and toes to push your body forward. When you have motivation (i.e. something you see that you want), you crawl even better! Oh, the days of my lump of jello are officially gone!

Love, Mom

WHOA...What a Weekend!

Dear baby,

WOW, our 3 day trip felt like 3 weeks! It's our first Mommy & Me trip with Mommy's friends. 9 of us (Auntie Chris, Uncle Moe, Auntie Maggie, Uncle Kevin, Auntie Peggy, Uncle Andrew, little Kaiden, Mommy and yourself) took a roadtrip to Seattle and spent 2 nights there. Mommy is exhausted. You have pretty much been in pain for a good duration of the trip due to cutting your bottom tooth. You are usually a very cheeky baby but you've been miserable at different times of the day for the last couple of days!

We stayed at a beautiful condo with breathtaking views in Seattle's downtown. The condo was within walking distance to the Space Needle and Pike Place market. We did quite a few fun things on our trip!

View from the condo

Just like when we are with Daddy, it's all about food for Mommy and her friends. Uncle Kevin, Auntie Maggie, Uncle Moe and Auntie Christine cooked a few scrumptious meals. 1 quick and easy dinner, 2 huge breakfasts and a seafood feast! We had so much to eat that there were always leftovers after each meal!

Seafood feast!

We also went swimming and as usual, you had a blast in the water...my little water baby. It was Kaiden's first time in the pool and he seemed to have lots of fun too! He was so nice to share his floaties with you.

Mommies & Babies

We were walking a lot while we were in Seattle. We did a short walk each morning so as to not disturb all the Aunties and Uncles as you are such an early riser. We also walked to Pike Place market and to the Space Needle. The weather was just beautiful for all those walks!

Mommy is amazed that even though you and Kaiden are only 4 days apart, sometimes you both are at the end of each spectrum but at other times, you guys are so similar! Kaiden cut a tooth while we were on the trip as well, he was miserable for the first night and the next night, it was your turn! Kaiden is such a calm and relaxed baby while you are hyper like a little monkey...from the moment you open your eyes till the next time you close them, you move non-stop. I think you tired out all the Uncles and Aunties as well.

Isabelle picking on Kaiden again...

Usually Mommy can handle you all by herself but with this teething business, it will be our last trip by ourselves, until all your teeth come in. We really missed Daddy...we are not going anywhere without him in the future!

Love, Mom

Teething BITES!

Poor Isabelle,

Mommy had NO IDEA that you were cutting teeth until you let out a few primal screams that would put any animal on National Geographic to shame. And this HAD to happen during our very first Mommy & Me trip with a group of Mommy's friends.

Your crankiness already started on Thursday when you were so grumpy and restless. Ah Ma even said to Mommy maybe we should forgo the trip but Mommy already promised her crew that she would join them and so we did.

Mommy almost had a mini breakdown because you were so uncomfortable for a portion of the trip. I felt so bad for you and my heart was just breaking into pieces because I couldn't do anything to help with some relief. The second night of our trip, you were up every 2 hours. We gave you tylenol to help you sleep. It calmed you down a little but you still did not sleep well.

Your glass shattering, mind numbing shrieks made me realize how painful getting teeth is. I'm sorry you have to go through these growing pains, if Mommy could take the pain for you, trust me, Mommy would.

Love, Mom

Happy 6 year Wedding Anniversary!

Dear Isabelle,

Although Mommy and Daddy are not in the same city this year, today marks our 6 years of being married. We miss Daddy a lot and cannot wait to see him when we return to LA! Another 2 more weeks!

Love, Mom

Happy 30 week birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

30 weeks...wow! Mommy can hardly believe that the time has just gone by in an instant! You are so alert these days that nothing can go by you without being noticed. You have started to recognize your name! When we call you by name, you respond...it's awesome. You are totally like a little person now.

You rock back and forth so often nowadays and Ah Kong is trying to teach you how to crawl by helping move your hands because usually you just move your legs but your hands stay stationary. He is determined to teach you how to crawl before you leave Vancouver!

We are still in Vancouver and Ah Ma, Ah Kong and Godma are having a blast with you. You Daddy left to go back to LA today and he will miss you a lot. We'll see him again on October 8 when we return to LA.

By the time we go back to LA, Daddy would have moved us into our new place! We can't wait to see it.

Love, Mom

Happy Birthday, Ah-Kong!

Dear Isabelle,

You seem to be celebrating almost all of your grandparents' birthdays with them. Today we celebrated Ah-Kong's birthday. Daddy made a BBQ for him and you got to stay up till 8 pm. You were so curious about all the different faces you saw at the BBQ today! After you went to sleep, we played The Beatles Rockband and Ah-Kong was the solo singer. That was our birthday present to him...hope he liked it!

Happy Birthday, Ah-Kong!

Love, Mom