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

One Hit Wonder?

Dear Isabelle,

We heard you say your second consonant word today and it was "papa". Ever since we heard you say "mama" the other day, I haven't heard it again since! Are you a "one hit wonder"? You said "papa" 3 times today...well, twice in the morning and one "oh papa" this afternoon. Too cute.

Love, Mom

Vancouver, Here We Are!

Dear Isabelle,

We are in Vancouver again to visit Mommy's side of the family. We'll be here for 3 weeks but Daddy will only be here for a few days. Mommy loves coming home because we have some extra helping hands here as you are more than a handful. Home Sweet Home!

Love, Mom

Things we have to do when you don't nap...

Dear Isabelle,

When you don't nap, Mommy has to find things to entertain you and to tire you out with. Since you LOVE being in the water, today Mommy had to resort to letting you play in the bath. Mommy can't wait till we move so we can tire you out in the pool!

Love, Mom

Happy 29 week birthday!

Happy 29 week birthday, Isabelle!

You are getting harder and harder to control nowadays...it's always a struggle putting on your clothes and diaper! You are constantly rolling, trying to grab stuff on the changing table or just moving your arms and legs. You are one active little cookie!

Your upper body is definitely getting stronger because Mommy often catches you spying on us from your crib. You can push yourself so high up now that you can see over the bumpers...another reason why you need your own room! As for your crawling, you are now able to slither on your belly...you use your arms and your legs to move yourself around, even though your belly is still touching the ground.

Mommy and Daddy cannot eat without you trying to grab our food now. Whenever we eat in front of you, you always want to try what we are having. You definitely know how to choose your food as well, you open your mouth wide for stuff you like and your lips are locked when you don't want to eat. We have started to bring your food out with us so you can have a full meal while we have ours.

Another busy week!

Love, Mom

You love to press buttons!

Music To My Ears!

Dear Isabelle,

You said "mama" for the first time today and it melted Mommy's heart...I know your "mama" probably doesn't mean me but Mommy ran right into the bedroom when I heard you yelling it! I guess pursing your lips shut all the time was great practice for your first consonant sound! Mommy will accept it as a belated birthday present from you!

Love, Mom

You like pursing your lips together like that...

Our First Overnight Outing/Vacation

Dear Isabelle,

What a great time we had at Terranea resort! You were so well-behaved, we can do this more often. We started off the day by going to get some groceries and an early lunch. We came home and you took your mid-morning nap. After your nap, we headed out to Toys r Us to see if we could get some floaties for you because we were going to go swimming for the very first time! Too bad they were seasonal items and therefore out of stock.

At Toys r Us, trying to find some floaties

You took another nap in the car and by the time we reached the resort, you were all refreshed and ready for some action! When we got there, we chatted with Daddy's friends for a little before we got settled into our hotel room. Then we got changed and headed down to the pool. What was your first reaction of the pool? At first, you were a little unsure, but then you started kicking your legs and splashing water around and I think you thought to yourself, "It's like my bathtub but WAY better!" You are a natural born swimmer! You kick your legs like you've been swimming forever...but I guess you have because Mommy always felt you kicking while you were in my belly.

You drank the pool water on several occasions but this did not phase you. You let out a few coughs and burps and then you were back to normal, having a blast at the pool. When we got back to the hotel, you were so tired, after Mommy nursed you, you crashed. You woke up around 6 p.m. and we headed down to the restaurant for dinner. I guess because of all the exercise you got, you were EXTRA hungry and wolfed down your food! You even had some bread for dinner too.

This was one of the latest you stayed up. We went for a walk around the property and after we got back to the hotel room, we played on the bed. You were rolling around and having too much fun! Daddy ordered some dessert for room service with "Happy Birthday" written all over it. We had dessert and then it was time for you to go to bed. You fell asleep at around 9 p.m.

The next morning, Daddy surprised Mommy with a spa package! So you hung out with Daddy the whole morning. He took you for a long walk and then back to the room for a nap. After your nap, we went for breakfast and then for another swim! This time you had even more fun splashing around because I guess you knew what "swimming" was all about now.

Splashing in the water with Daddy

We checked out in the afternoon and took a leisurely drive back home. Mommy had one of the best birthdays ever. Daddy planned a wonderfully luxurious trip with many surprises! Last year this time, you were still in my belly! I look forward to spending many more birthdays and vacations with you.

Love, Mom

Happy 28 week birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

28 weeks and counting! You have started rocking back and forth on your hands and knees this week. You want to move but you are very confused on how to coordinate your hands and knees! After a half a minute or so, you give up and plop down on your belly...then you do what you do best, roll around the floor! You are so good at rolling now, you roll EVERYWHERE. You roll to Mommy when we put you on the play mat or you will roll to your musical animal zoo when we have you on the comforter. Sometimes you are so adventurous, you even try to roll under the couch or the TV cabinet...then you cry for help because you get stuck!

Rocking on your hands and knees

Mommy has started to get you used to your toothbrush because once you grow teeth, you need to take good care of them. It seems like you love to gnaw on your toothbrush! We will need to schedule you for your first dentist visit before your first birthday.

Getting used to the toothbrush

The other thing you have learned to do is to push buttons. You push buttons on the telephone, cellphone, the camera, your musical animal zoo and the car seat froggy toy your 奶奶 got you. You are mesmerized by the camera and Daddy's iPhone because when you press them, you see a picture of a baby on it...that baby is YOU! I wonder if you recognize yourself in those photos?

Love, Mom

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Dear Isabelle,

It's Mommy's birthday today and Daddy is taking you, me and Zoë to Terranea resort! It's Mommy's "birthdaycation" and our very first family overnight outing together. We can't wait to hit the beach and lounge by the pool. We are going to get our suitcases packed now!

Love, Mom

We Are Moving!

Dear Isabelle,

Mommy and Daddy finally found a new place for us to move to. We have totally outgrown this 1 bedroom apartment. It doesn't work for us anymore because you are such light sleeper. You wake up at the slightest noise i.e. Daddy's snore. You are a big girl now so you need your own big girl room! Mommy can't wait to move into this place because it has a pool and next summer we can go swimming all the time! We'll be living here for another 2 weeks and then we are going back to Vancouver to see Ah Ma and Ah Kong. By the time we come back to LA, we'll be in our new place.

Love, Mom

Happy 27 week birthday!

Dear Isabelle,

Mommy is not a jungle gym. You are so active now, Mommy really wonders how I am going to handle you in your toddlerhood. You love to jump on Mommy's belly...when you were in Mommy's belly, you really loved to jump, jump, jump too! You climb all over Mommy when we are on the mat with you. You love hanging upside down across Mommy and the other new thing is you do is pulling on Mommy's nose and poking Mommy's eye...OUCH!

You really are fascinated by water! After each meal, we take you to the bathroom to wash your hands and mouth and you get so excited. You babble and kick your legs. And when we turn the tap on, you want to "catch" the water!

This week on the menu you had applesauce, pear, butternut squash and corn puree.

You are getting to be so much fun now. Daddy loves it when you are awake before he leaves for work (Mommy doesn't like it too much because sometimes it's at 5:30 am in the morning!) and he tries to come home before you go to bed so he can spend some time playing with you.

Love, Mom

Daddy and Izzy