Snowy mountain Tahoe trip

5 adults
4 bags of clothes
3 moving boxes of food and hot pot gears
2 kids
1 snowboard
All packed into my blue hippo named Odyssey, riding a good 6 hours up the snowy mountain for our last minute ski trip. To my surprise, both kids did quite well on the road. We only made 3 stops, with 1 for lunch. They both took a long nap. When they woke up, it's snow everywhere. April was truly excited while River has no clue of the change outside the window. Initially I prepped a DVD to try out the built in DVD player, yet due to lack of a remote, we can't get it to play in Chinese mode. We soon gave up and April had a car sick right then. She soon got it fixed by producing a small bag of body fluid. I'm glad that we brought enough plastic bags for all sorts of garbage ;)

With some struggle in the dark finding our rental place, we made it to the 3 bedrooms sweet mountain home around 5pm. In no time, we were enjoying a hot pot feast warming up our tiny to giant tummies and this western vacation home is filled with Chinese aroma all over. We didn't realized how much food we brought for the hot pot. It was too much, so we changed plan from paste for the following night dinner to another hot pot feast. The cleaner will surely need plenty of air fresher to get rid of the Chinese perfume we put in :)

Second day was a hard snowboarding day for the 2 enthusiasts, namely Daddy and Auntie Linda. They both got sore bottoms at the end, but nonetheless they got another 6 pack of beers to compensate. April was in good spirit taking her first ski lesson. I was amazed that she was such a good student compared to the other 4 kids, who just fooling around, keep falling and had the instructor pick them up. Though she probably didn't learn any of the course listed skills. When I got the report card from April, none of the check boxes is marked. The instructor was torn by those 4 years old, she probably need a bottle of vodka after the whole day class. She recommended me not to send kid to ski class until they are at least 7 or 8 years old.

Last day was another long ride home but it didn't feel long. We had another feast inside my hippo. We snacked all the way home, even River enjoyed her first slice of grapefruit, 10 peeled blueberries, 1 mini cucumber, countless chicken drumsticks bites and even a pita chip. This is more of a eating trip than a ski trip, our stomachs emptied almost all the perishable we brought. But most important we had a great time up in the snowy mountain.

会用吸管了

昨晚发现华华会用吸管喝水，看来我们可以跳过sippycup这一步。如果喝得好我们就给她提早停用奶瓶。

April金句

今天April悄悄地告诉爷爷: 很久很久以前姑姑是在奶奶肚子里的。

九個月体檢

体重: 18lb 1oz (30%) - 很有进步，奶奶的功劳最大，但是还是赶不上姐姐当时的体重，看來笑臉還是喜歡做苗條。
身高: 27.75 inches (50%)

開頭聼了醫生說不用打針，我心裏還替華華高興，可沒想到看完醫生下樓抽血會給她帶來如此巨大的痛苦！原來抽血是跟大人一樣，我還以爲嬰兒會有不同的步驟，那膀子那麽小那麽細，血管都看不見在那裏，怎么抽?可憐的華華，哭得死去活來。我要硬壓着她把事情辦完，可華華的血流不夠快，護士還動了針頭好幾下，又加長了她的痛苦。我就看那護士沒瞄準，功夫不到家！記得以前April只有打針，那來的抽血這會事！抽完血華華抱着還是哭，還好我想起了走路。把她放到地下拖着她手走，兩下子就笑起來了。

華華這三個月進步很大，感覺上仿佛每幾天就給我們一個驚喜。她現在從爬到坐`坐到抓椅子或桌子站起來，再從站囘坐`坐囘爬，這一連串動作都做得乾淨利落。大人轉一個頭，她就换了位置。只是她還是不大喜歡爬，老要我們拖她手走，而走就越走越快，拼命往前沖，并不是好好走路的样子。记得April很晚才走，不过April爬的技术真是一流， 上楼下楼好几回自己来，不用大人帮忙。华华就是不肯爬楼梯。

除了爬和走，华华也学会了不少的小动作。有"wave bye bye"、"谢谢你" 和拍手，还会用大拇指和食指夹cheerio 放嘴里吃。当然也喜欢抓电线和poke electric plug。我买了很多plug covers 防着她，还有给她说"打打"，保姆教的，华华听得懂， 但不是每次都听话。意识也有加强，会听指示，叫她把东西给别人、叫她抱着熊熊拍拍它、喂我吃cheerio、问她灯在哪里，她眼睛会去找、问她妈妈的眼睛、鼻子、嘴巴、耳朵在哪里，专心的时候都抓得对。有时还能帮我们开灯关灯。这些方面华华是比姐姐强，姐姐是个没什么反应的baby，营养都跑去长肉了 ;)

虽然华华并不很胖，但胃口很好。大人吃的，给她什么，她就爱吃什么。只是吃量不大。不过总比挑食的姐姐好对付。哭闹也少。这段时间最让我们摸不着头脑的是睡觉，好几天又坏几天。奶奶和我怀疑各种情况，太热太冷、睡前吃太饱、睡前太兴奋等等，但最终没找到答案。

来看看华华为姐姐做苦力的片段:

School X'mas event

This year the room is a little less crowded since they divided the kids shows into 2 time slots. Last year we had to peep from the outside of the window. Yet we still didn't get there early enough to get a seat, not even 1 seat! Mommy, Daddy and Grandma holding River all had to stand on the side.

Mommy had April picked out her clothes a whole week ahead to prevent any last minute disaster. Last year, she cried through the entire show simply because she saw Jennifer's dad brought her friend a red dress, and we, Mommy and Daddy came empty handed. And of course, we didn't dress her in red and we happened to NOT have a red dress. Go figure!

She's peachy this time and finished all 3 acts with her classmates. They are a dance, a song and a speaking part. We felt that she's not quite herself during the show, acting rather shy. She later explained it's our presence make her feel a bit nervous or say embarrassed. That's understandable. Besides, there are so many parents and grandparents in the audience. Mommy thinks she did a good job while Daddy and Grandma were a little disappointed. A side note, Mommy was surprised to be prompted by 2 other Mommies before and after the show, telling Mommy how great a dancer April is. They were really impressed when they saw the rehearsal. (When was the rehearsal? How come Mommy didn't know about it?) Anyway, April must be running crazy during the rehearsal.

Posting the dance part

Surplus ran out

Mommy only got 18oz a day, once in a while maybe 20oz :| We started to add 2-4oz soy formula for River per day. Not desirable but at least it's still going. Last time, my milk ceased when April turn 8 months old. Hope I can keep it up until March.

传递游戏

最近华华学会了跟我们玩传递的游戏。先找一个华华没兴趣的东西，比如一个小盖子，或是华华玩腻了的玩具。妈妈把这东西交给她，告诉她把东西交给奶奶。她会一手抓来，传另一手交给坐在另一边的奶奶。奶奶收到后会给她做谢谢的手势，她也会跟着做。来来回回她会跟我们玩挺久的。晚饭的时候，April 也会加入我们的游戏，饭桌西角来来回回传东西，这可以骗她陪我们吃饭好一会儿。



Sharing cheerios

April金句

"When I grow up which people will I get married to?"

Songs from school

River's potty

I can't remember when did River start doing it. Grandma was annoyed by it from the beginning, and now it's the trick to get gold. We got this little cute potty for her, but every time she's on it, she's nervous! Even it's THE moment to get the job done, she will hold it. Grandma even tried traditional Chinese way by holding her legs, giving the tune and wait for a long long time. Nothing works except the magic SAUCER! Every time! River will only do her #2 there. How does the surrounding toys help with concentration?

Wii 的誘惑

We got to get something on bfs(black Friday sale) to fulfill the American life, right? Indeed, we got the Wii...even though we could have gotten it any other day. Daddy wanted XBOX over Wii but eventually he gave in to the majority vote(both grandma and grandpa also spoke highly of Wii). We bought 1 for them, and 1 for us. For them, it's a fun way to do exercise, but for us, it's multi-purposeful ;)

April started with baseball, then gradually become fond of bowling. Something magic about how she hold the Wii control, she did well with almost every throw. I don't care which one she likes the most, the secret goal of mine is to get her to finish her dinner and do things we want her to do before or after the game. So far, the temptation still works. We will see how long it last.

For Daddy, he feels challenged on tennis. It also acts as an bonus exercise mean at home for him. I can't remember when's last time he exercise regularly. If it's not for the sweat, it's still a good distraction away from the evil computer screen.

For me, it's a relaxation treat after a long day of work at work and work at home serving both princesses.

小名華華

River本身沒小名，自從保姆來了后，因爲RI-VER的發音對她太難，就建議只叫尾音。其實VER-VER更難念，他們（外公外婆也覺得RI-VER很難念）就取了一個類似的中文字 - 華華。他們天天叫分分秒秒叫，弄得媽媽`爸爸和April也跟著叫。現在連奶奶也這麽叫。
另外，叫得最多的是坏蛋，不管River做坏事了還是表現良好，我們都愛叫她坏蛋。給她洗完香香噴噴的澡或吃飽飽喝飽飽后，就愛叫她地主婆。保姆臨走前覺得River變得什麽都愛抓，而且動作特快，又給了她一個小名叫土匪。

全家福

爺爺來幫我們照的。

Monkey around

April feeding River

Nanny's last day

This is my first time hiring a nanny. Due to urgency, I didn't do in-depth research, and we didn't take referrals. There was one lady who we interviewed was referred by the parents' mailing list I am on. She was an experienced candidate though she bargained with us on salary and job requirement. Many others called also had similar tones, except this one, who without me telling her what the job requirement is, she said she want the job, period. It was a tough call between her and another lady whom my mom knows well and had just stopped serving one of our neighbors. I decided on her by instinct.

5.5 months past, I'm grateful that I chose her. We panicked in the first month when we started to learn more about her. She had rather unusual background ;) After day and day interaction, the way she carried herself, the fact that she was always early and anticipate our need and our inquiry, the way she interact with River, numerous tricks she taught River, we grew quite fond of her. Not to mention, the dumpling, Chinese pancake she made for us and the fresh noodle she made for River. Making dough from flour was never an easy task to me, but it's almost like boiling water for someone who came from northern China, or maybe just her.

We enjoyed listening to her shopping adventure and amazed at all the discount she could remember from Great Mall. The gossip between her housemates, her observation on the train (everyday she took 1 hour train ride, with transit, and walked 45 mins to our house) and many other stories of her, it feels like I read another novel! But the most I will miss is her daily report on River's progress. Her keen observation of River's every little movement, expression and gesture combined with her northern slang, made her narration quite pleasing to my ears. I am quite sure she will miss River if not a lot, when she's back to China.

Grandma and everyone in the household will have a tougher job this coming month. We won't know until past mid December whether the Chinese home daycare nearby will take River, fingers crossed.

要靓唔要命

最近没谈到April，还是老样子吧！妈妈最有印象的是她老毛病又犯，大冷天要穿裙子。早上时间紧迫(我们老是迟到)，还要跟我争穿那一件衣服，1、2天是这样子就把我气的恨恨地骂她一顿。爱美不是罪，但不要离谱。伤风感冒了，大家都痛苦。我们不住Hawaii, 那有365天的夏天?其实最好把她送回香港，所有学校都有校服。多好呀！不愁买衣服，又可避免不必要的争吵。

光头姐姐 vs. 光头妹妹

不顾一切往前走

会爬，不爱爬
要走，非走不可
腰疼，还是要走
大人，苦阿！

Tonight, we find out she could cruise


We want her to learn how to crawl stairs like her sister, but her majesty insist walking

吃，进步了

River 虽然嘴巴也挑(不吃babyfood)，但没有April离谱。我们有给过她的蔬菜水果都爱吃。来数一数River吃过的蔬菜:
茄子 - River最爱，April到现在都不肯吃
花菜
油菜心
芹菜
青岗菜
大白菜
小白菜
冬瓜
胡萝卜
黄瓜 - 附上River用她两小牙啃黄瓜的片段
菠菜
萝卜
芥菜
西南花(broccoli)

睡，退步了

最近这个月River晚上都要醒来2-3次，以前的7小时不多了，搞得妈妈和奶奶抓头阿！好像总是热凉饱饿调节不好，天气热热冷冷不定，River吃的也在调整期似的。

October feast

Pumpkin patch!


Which one should I pick?


Gathering with classmates before the parade


Hugging scary fox at Mommy's company halloween party


Jack O'Lantern meeting Supermom


Kimono princess and super girl


Daddy crafted this Jack O'Lantern, using the pumpkin April got from her pumpkin patch. April and Mommy watched Daddy work on it while preventing River from eating it. We lighted it for a few night before throwing it away.

Directed draw from school

不是自發的，是在老師指導下劃的，媽媽最喜歡這幅稻草人,劃得有神。

开步爬了

今天早上保姆告訴嗎媽媽 River 會爬了，媽媽還不相信。今晚媽媽親眼看到了！又比姐姐早了1個月。

Multiplication?!?

In the car...

Mommy: Did you have juice for lunch? (Grandma packed the lunch, Mommy has no clue.)
April: Yes, apple juice
Mommy: ok, ic.
April: I like grape juice more, can you get me more grape juice? I want two four.
Mommy: two four? You mean two four-packs?
April: yeah, that's eight. That's a lot!
Mommy thought: No way, she knows multiplication?

other talks...

Mommy: What about two three?
April: six
Mommy: What about two five?
April: I'm going to trick you...ten
Mommy thought: WOW! Am I dreaming?

At the gas station...

Mommy: April, what about three three?
April: six.
Mommy thought: Ha! I am not dreaming.

和尚姑娘

剪短变靓仔










剃完变和尚姑娘

姐妹俩

天使与村姑

海盗翻船

River report

今晚妈妈无意地让 River 抓妈妈的手指头放在嘴里咬，发现小白出来了！River 不再是无齿之徒咯！比姐姐早了正正一个月。妈妈从一个多礼拜前停了喂半夜里的一顿，River 现在每天4顿奶，每顿5.5 - 6oz，都是喝奶瓶。妈妈只打奶，不喂奶了。没想到就这一个多礼拜牙齿就冒出来，时间对挺准的。而且，只从奶奶来了，发现 River 不爱吃 babyfood 了，现在她跟大人一样，喝粥吃饭。剩下的好多瓶 babyfood 不知能往那里送?

还有就是 最近 River 喜欢做小兵，天天要站岗，也喜欢把自己拉站起来。今晚妈妈又看到她不用帮忙的，自己抓着东西站起来。但是还不会爬，只会原地打圈。

Miss April

April: Ok, story time. I'm the teacher and you are my kids.
Daddy: Oh, okay.

She started reading and held the book facing outside for Daddy to look at.
April stuck somewhere, and Daddy was trying to help her.

April: You can't help me. I am the teacher, you are my kid. You don't know things.

Daddy grew tired and laid down to listen.

April: No napping, you only nap at napping time. Now sit up. You sit cross legs and hold your hands in a fist.
Daddy: Oh, okay.

April stopped reading...

April: Where's your friend?

Daddy paused and realized she meant River.
Daddy went to the other room and grabbed River(student #2) over.
...
April's done reading the story.

Daddy: Good job!
April: No, you can't say "Good job", because I am the teacher. Teacher always do good job.

Wave bye bye

Recently River learnt waving bye bye, we love to do it with her before heading out to start our day at school or at work.

公公婆婆走了，奶奶来了

上星期公公婆婆回香港，奶奶来帮忙带 River。River现在很认人，头两天不要奶奶抱，累得大家。这两天回正常多了。

小矮人自圆其说

April: Flore is taller than me.
Mommy: Yes, she's always taller than you.
April: You know, our body takes time, just takes time to grow and grow and grow
April: Like Jesse is growing slower than me and Jonathan
April: Hailey is growing faster than me, you know
Mommy: Yes, Hailey's mom is very tall
April: Jennifer is shorter than me, but she's same height as me now

Relay

• First April caught some bug from school, low fever, get well in 2 days
• Next Mommy's sneezing for 3 days, no fever
• Followed by Daddy's fever for 1 night
• Last it finally get to River, her first cold. Mild fever for 1 day.

Grandma has been sneezing and having itchy nose at the border line all along, while grandpa is the iron man, who's standing still with his all around preventive toolkit.

无齿之徒爱上黄瓜

River loves sucking and chewing raw cucumber, she will cry furiously if we take it away from her. She will also be angry if she couldn't get any more juice out of it by her gum.

苗条六个月体检

妈妈工作忙没空博客...

体重: 15lb 10oz (比同期姐姐的体重轻了快一磅!! 笑脸改名为苗条)
身高: 26 inches

Vaccines: 口服的比上次好，没哭只是皱眉头。扎了3针，回家有低烧，到第二天下午才精神过来。

体能: 苗条是翻身能手，不用爬，连续翻身可到目的地抓到她要的玩具。坐得也比一以前好多了，坐着玩风景是不一样呀！能抓着东西站着一会儿。

吃的: 马马虎虎。一天5顿奶，2顿solid。量不多，奶吃得比较好一点。蔬菜和糊要在苗条特饿得时候喂才吃的好。喜欢新鲜水果，不喜欢babyfood的。

睡的: 一直挺好的， 7-9小时。

其他: 皮肤好多了，头发也不怎么掉了，反有长多一点点， 等苗条大一点再决定要不要剃头。意识强了，保姆教她做一些手动作，愿意的时候会跟着做。昨晚爸爸摆手说: no, no, no, 她仿佛明白爸爸的意思似的。

No crying when...

No crying when you can't get the zipper up at the back (We adults has difficulty doing it ourselves)
No crying when there is something in your shoes and it tickles your feet
No crying when you have a stuffy nose
No crying when you have itchy eyes or skin
No crying when your drawing falls to the ground and you can't reach it in the car because the seat belt prevent you from doing so
No crying when you can tight your shoelaces on one foot, but they tangled when you try on the other one.
No crying when something is broken and couldn't be fixed. Duct tape could only do so much.

The laundry list goes on...

东西没有欺负你。东西没有脑子，怎么欺负你?

It used to be whenever April cry River will get the infection and cry. Now when April cries, River will just stare. I think you get the idea who's the crying baby in our household.

River holding milk bottle herself

Couple months ago, River would cry when she see the milk bottle, now she likes to hug it and play with it.

邻居的小女孩

最近April交了2个邻居的女孩做朋友，一个小她2个月叫Hannah， 是个韩国人，另一个10岁大叫Rosemary，是个美国人。现在几乎每天吃完晚饭，打开车库门，她们就会在外面 cul-de-sac 碰头。单车、scooter、吹泡泡、乱跑，疯得不得了。她们都知道在 cul-de-sac 范围内玩，大人放心。公公婆婆可以看看电视新闻，爸爸妈妈打羽毛球，River 放在stroller 里看我们玩也激动得手舞足蹈。爸爸说这就跟他小时候在上海家的弄堂里和邻居家小孩玩是一样的。

Swimming for real

Not sure how this happen, April went from scared of water to swimming without any floating device this summer. At the beginning, I was shocked that she forgot all the swimming fun and what she learnt last year. Slowly she gained back her fond memory and one day she showed me she could hold her breath under the water for longer than a few seconds. Then we lost her floating vast at Daddy's company summer picnic and we were too lazy to buy a new one for her. To my surprise, she wasn't too concerned about it. Lately it's Daddy who brought her to the swimming pool, since I needed to attend to River. Yesterday I finally made time to go and see, and I saw it for the first time that she really could swim a short distance without any help! She's also a good jumper, I would hate to jump into the water like how she does it. Thanks to Daddy who keeps pushing her to try and overcome the fear of sinking. We will see if she forget all these next summer ;)

Delicious dinner

Beach fun

停糊

黄金不通，大人痛苦死了。回去喝奶和一天3oz prune juice

Bad example but it's funny

April's 1st piano song

上班啦！

5个月真是飞快的过去，今天上班觉得自己没放过假似的，时间跑到哪里去了?！幸好 River 喝奶瓶进步很大，经过保姆阿姨的训练，现在一天3顿奶瓶没问题。可能就是要外人来教才行，家里人都恨不了心，你看这钱不花不行吧！
开始吃糊(rice cereal)，爱吃的很，不给她还大叫。平常看我们吃饭就是一幅嘴馋的样子。一天一次，可是连续3天后，黄金失踪了2天，妈妈慌忙去买果汁(prune juice) 才把黏糊糊的黄金给叫出来。所以现在喂糊一定要喂果汁，不然黄金收不到。

River rollover

Nanny found out this morning and later River loves to do it over and over again. Mommy was quite surprised since April never did.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

最近大小姐的流行歌曲

笑脸四个月体检

体重: 14lb 6oz (65%) 比姐姐同期轻了半磅有多，难怪看过去妈妈总觉得笑脸苗条。姐姐四个月时都快15lb了。妈妈这次奶没上次多也没上次浓，加上笑脸喝奶慢，到现在还是每顿要喝半小时。记得姐姐同期每顿都大口大口喝，只花5-8分钟就搞定。
身高: 24.5寸(60%)比姐姐同期长一点点
头围: 40cm(25%)

Vaccines: 口服的还是不太好，第一口吐了点奶，往后就勉强的一小口一小口喝完。打针哭了俩下，抱起就不哭，不过过了一回儿她像是记起刚才有多疼又哭了几下，非常可怜的样子，像是受了什么委屈似的。回到家正常了3-4小时，开始哭，像上次一样，可能药起作用，不过没上次哭得长。量到99.5F 体温，笑脸体质是比姐姐敏感，姐姐每次打针回家一点反应也没有。

奶瓶: 没法救！这是个人意愿问题，医生说了，她朋友的小孩，非常固执，妈妈上班的8小时，宁可一滴奶也不喝，非要妈妈的奶头不可，他妈也很担心，后来发现她小孩这样绝食体重身高并没有降下来，也就不理他了。笑脸要比这好点，起码有时会赏脸给保姆把3oz喝完。医生也同意，如果真不肯，可用米糊替上。米糊也不要的话，就让她绝食吧！

睡觉: 表现良好！平均每天晚上能睡上7-9小时。但白天睡的特少，总共2小时。

哭: 慢慢地发现笑脸虽然没姐姐哭得多，但是真得生气就给你没完，想想伤心又哭，要花挺长的时间哄她。

Eczema: 可怜的宝贝！现在除了脸上还发展到双手和双脚，天天 Aquaphor 和 1% Hydrocortizone, 消掉又起，没完没了，真讨厌！

其他: 医生表扬笑脸是个亲善大使。

请保姆

River 比 April 幸福。本来公公婆婆这次来身体比以前好，打算帮妈妈带River到十月份，就是River 半岁大。但是公公婆婆帮得太卖力(就是照顾妈妈太伏贴了)，俩三个月下来，他们的骨头病都跑出来(当然还有一堆新移民的事要跑腿)。妈妈试着自己来，照顾River加俩个病号，还要带他们看病，早晚还要对付April, 不用3、4天，妈妈也快垮了。看着上班就在眼前，临时去找daycare是不可能，也不忍心River太小去daycare. 只好登报找保姆。登了世界日报，就3天，20几个电话，面试4个，选了1个。这星期一上班，的确帮忙很大，River有人照顾，还做饭洗碗洗衣服。俩老可以好好养病，妈妈可以轻松一下，更重要的是River不肯喝奶瓶的难题可推到保姆身上。当然费用也是可观的，就算是爸妈要破财一段时间咯！

Busted lip

April got a busted lip from her gymnastic class...Mommy wasn't there, Daddy was in the bathroom...the teacher wasn't paying attention...another girl swing back when April was about to swing out and her head hit April's lip. April's lower lip was swelling 3x and with blood filled half of her lips :(

Learning together

The Deep Blue Sea


Early Mah Jong Education

Naive pre-K

April: I am 5 years old now, because I am pre-K
Mommy: No, you are still 4 years old
April: No, I am 5 years old
Mommy: You will be 5 years old next year, 4 years could also be in pre-K
April: No...
(this cycle repeats until Mommy gave up...)

Teacher told Mommy about April's big words
April: You know...I can do dangerous things, because I am a pre-K

At the playground, she pointed at one of the girls and told one of the teachers
April: Look... those are the old pre-K, and I am a new pre-K

Pre-K

Since most of the pre-K are gone, the director made the decision to move Starfish up early rather than wait until Sept. April started her first day of pre-K today, she reminded Mommy to remove her nail polish this morning (to signify that she's grown up now?!?). Different classroom, different place for lunch box, blanket and files, Mommy needs to remember all the new locations for things. Time flies...

Holding breath

I thought it's gonna take a light year for April to do that...to my surprise, she was willing to hold her breath under the water for almost 10 seconds the past weekend.

no improvement

About the bottle, it's hopeless. I bought 5 different types of nipples, all failed in her mouth. I even got the zippy cup, no interest. I am not defrosting my milk anymore, will let her practise with water for now. Worse case, grandpa will feed River solid when I am back to work.

闹的收获

白天就没怎么睡，最长的一次是1小时，昨晚从9点闹到12点，睡下，这一下妈妈可痛快了，River到早上9点才醒来。是出生以来最长的一次。其实最近睡觉没进步，还是和俩个月大时差不多，晚上最短5小时最长7小时。

笑哈哈

我们家的笑脸，昨天笑出声音来了。原来安静的River也可以是个疯丫头，跟姐姐一样。

Nail polish

I got April a light pink nail polish after she's been asking for it for more than a year. It's a surrender but also an early preemptive measure(i.e. get it now, and get it over with!) April's eyes sparkled when I brought out the nail polish. She holds her hands still for me to paint and reminded me not to forget about her toe nails. She certainly is observant when she's at school, paying attention to things that she's NOT SUPPOSED to pay attention to. And to top it, she told me one of her classmates has flowers on her nails...I stared at her with a muted look and said "No, I don't know how to do it."

Reminisce my own history, I am fond of nail painting when I was in college. Before that, I know what it is but wouldn't think it's an age appropriate thing to do. However, nowadays kids pick things up so fast. From preschool to college, what a generation gap!

Slow improvement

River had another fight with Daddy yesterday when Mommy's out with grandma. She cried for a long time, both Daddy and grandpa could only get her to drink half oz in 1 hour. But yesterday's noon, Mommy was able to get her to finish 3oz without crying. It seems like when she's about to fall asleep empty stomach, she's more willing to accept the rubbery taste. Today is a 3-course meal, total 2 oz. First half oz was a fight, second half oz Mommy spoon fed. Last 1 oz, Mommy insert the plastic nipple into her mouth right when she falls asleep. So hard!

To my disappointment

After couple weeks of trying, I don't see much improvement...River is another bottle hater, like her sister. Today I had a horrible fight with her, she's crying non-stop even after we remove the bottle. She was so angry that she couldn't control herself, eventually I had to give in and breast feed. Time is running out, in 6-7 weeks, I will return to work, if her bottle strike continues, transition could be difficult.

I looked up from the web and I am probably will be one of them... http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/nursing/bottle.html

Keep trying...sign...

Odyssey going SF

We've been looking at couple BIG cars after family size got doubled. Our beloved Mazda5 has been stretched to its limit for outings. After checking out everything, (like these new 7-passenger cross-overs) but mini van, we returned to mini van and quickly decided on Honda Odyssey. I'm speechless after I checked off a laundry list of consideration for elders and kiddies. And at the same time, it's almost unbearable to think about owning it, since it locked us in at a different stage in life.

Let's see these requirements:
- Roomy cabin with comfortable seating for 7-8 passengers (check)
- With all the seats up, still enough room in the back for two strollers, ice-box, beach tents, beach chair, umbrella, and towels (check)
- Easy access to both rows of back seat (check, can't beat the dual power sliding doors)
- Good horse power (check)
- Easy to drive, we like to drive, not steer a boat, (check)
- Air vent for all passengers (check)
- Easy to get into, i.e. short enough for me (check)

No wonder Mini-van is still the choice for mommy's mobile. I think the only problem is the "mini-van" image thing. But the pluses are too much to bear. We will live with the image.

Last Sunday, we loaded up our new found love with age ranged from 2.5 months to >60 years old plus all sort of junks we could possibly need outside of a house, headed to SF for a sunny day trip. We first stopped at Chinatown for grandma and grandpa to check out Stockton Street. They felt like they've brought back to Asia, and grandma repeated we should bring a stroller cart to get all the fresh produce next time. We also visited a tiny fortune cookie factory in this alley way. April was the happiest person on earth. Later we enjoyed the freshly made fortune cookies with Italian drinks at one of cafe in North Beach, just around the block. Last, we went for fresh air and scenery at the Marina. On the way back, there are 4 piglets snoring at the comfy inclined back seats, while I drove with grandma chatting next to me.

Careless Mommy

Yesterday silly Mommy was using a slow flow nipple and not realizing that's the problem. River probably was furious with that bottle. Today Mommy happened to pick the medium flow one, River was much pleased.(Though still some cry at the beginning)

都退步了！

爸爸这次出差妈妈倒霉。先说老二，第一天晚上， 从凌晨12点闹到5点，出生以来表现最差的一夜。都怪大人不好，白天时老是把她放在carseat里睡觉，平常的规律都乱了。第二天，我们努力的调回来，不过晚上最长也只是5-6小时。今天，做了奶瓶试验，足足给我哭了1小时才把3oz喝完，奶头一放马上停止哭声。就1个月没喝奶瓶就忘了? 千万不要像姊姊，从明天起一天一奶瓶，不然等妈妈上班，谁喂奶谁倒霉。

老大更头疼，一顿饭好好吃，下一顿饭就给你没完没了，骂完了好一顿，再下一顿又给你闹别扭。"Mommy, I have a tummy ache", "Mommy, I wanna give River a hug", "Mommy, my eyes hurt", "Mommy, I need to tell you something", "Mommy, I need to go potty" 吃一顿饭有这么难吗? 晚上要来我房间10次以上才愿意乖乖回自己房间睡觉，真想把我房间上锁，让我清静清静。雪上加霜的是我这几天都在咳嗽，没法多说话，头上的白发不知又加了多少根!

River laughing

Food challenge

April was tested positive for shrimp last year, and the same this year. Dr. strongly recommended a food challenge since seafood could be 50/50, meaning the skin test could give false positive result. Therefore today Mommy brought April in for the 3-hours food challenge experiment.

Mommy bought about 10 cooked shrimps from Whole Food and brought them to the allergist office. The appt started 9am sharp. Here are the procedures:

1. Have April touch the shrimp with her bare hands
2. Wait 15 minutes, the nurse return to check for any allergic reaction and measure her oxygen level and heart beat
3. Rub the shrimp around April's mouth
4. Repeat step 2
5. Have April lick the shrimp
6. Repeat step 2
7. April had a small bite of the shrimp
8. Repeat step 2
9. April bite off half of the shrimp
10. Repeat step 2
11. April eat a whole shrimp
12. Repeat step 2

3 hours later, we knew that April could eat as many shrimp as she wants. She enjoyed the experiment and finished watching the movie, Alice in Wonderland on a 15 inch TV :)

Sleeping through the night?

Lately River's sleeping pattern goes 2 poles, a night of 6-7 hours followed by couple nights of 3 hours sets. Last night, she scored 8 hours, however, all the long hours are achieved by the CAR SEAT. There must be something wrong with the crib, we just don't know what it is. Any suggestion?

Number of feedings per day has been reduced to 6, yesterday was just 5 feedings. Not sure if she has enough...and she has pretty serious spilling lately which calls for more laundry cycles. Mommy thinks it's because of overfeeding while grandma thinks River's catching a cold. Couldn't find the real cause yet.

April's last dance class

2 months checkup

Little River achieved the same result with a little more on the length.

Weight: 11lb 4oz(Gained 5lb 8oz, exactly the same weight gain as April when she's 2 months old) Dr. praised little River almost double her birth weight.

Length: 22 1/4 inch(River is half inch longer than April @2months checkup)

Both weight and length are at 60 percentile. Overall, she's a healthy baby. The baby acne on her face seems to turn into a mild eczema, comes and goes away quickly. She has bowel movements 3 times a day which Dr. thinks that's normal and needs no concern.

Dr. gave River 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine. She handled the shots fairly well, just cried for couple seconds, once Mommy hold her tight she stopped crying right there. But the oral one, not so good, she spilled out some milk with it. We had no clue how much she swallowed.

All went well going home. Mommy gave River a nice bath, a feeding, an exercise then she fell asleep. Yet after the nap she suddenly broke out crying and it was non-stop for a good half an hour. This is the longest cry we've ever seen from little River! :( Grandpa and grandma were so broken hearted. She has been such a calm baby which made this cry exceptionally alarming to grandma. There was some swelling on her right thigh where 2 shots were administered but no sign of fever. Grandpa held River walking in circles for quite a while until River was tired of crying and fell asleep again. The swelling went away after the second nap and River returned to her normal self.

Lately, River is a chatty little blob who demands quite a bit of face-to-face time, mostly after feeding when she's in her best mood. She will reward us with her 10-thousands watts smile when we not only talk to her but also look into her eyes. Her cooing fills our days with endless joy. Yet she also starts to call for longer holding time when she's bored or sleepy, with the increasing weight on our arms, pain and soreness also increased proportionally.

River also starts to stretch her sleep at night a bit longer with the longest record of 7 hours, counting from beginning of one feeding to the second one. Yet there also nights she wasn't being consistent and threw Mommy 3 hours sets until dawn. Mommy shouldn't complain too much, it's a lot better than those nights with April when she's River's age.

River speaking 福州话?

2 funny clips - April trying to be a big sister

April's trying to calm River


这叫鸡手鸭脚！

过了?没过?

Last Monday, April came home with a pair of red eyes and lots of discharge from both eyes. Mommy knew it's an infection again. She had it before, like 2 years ago, just need the antibiotic eye drop. Yet it's late, ped's office's closed, we would need to wait until the following day. Mommy checked that last time the medication has no refill, darn! We told April not to touch River, and every one's required to wash their hands before handling River in hope we could avoid any contamination before treating April.

After dinner, we went to Sears for a stroll while Daddy needed to get something from there. While we were strolling, Mommy and 婆婆 noticed River's right eye looked swollen with redness. Not so soon! We were being careful already...Daddy and Mommy dropped 公公婆婆 back home and rushed to urgent care with both kids. On the way there, River took a nap, and when she opened her eyes again her right eye looked normal. Was Mommy day dreaming? But 婆婆 saw it too!

We got called fairly quick. The doctor checked April's eye and prescribed medication. She also confirmed that River's eyes are okay and normal, need no treatment. Daddy and Mommy were much relieved. This incident marked our first taste of cross contamination between both princesses. I'm sure it will happen again in the future and probably for real. This is just a warm up exercise. Hopefully next time we will be better prepared mentally and psychologically.

Some photos from last couple months

River - birth to 1 year old

妈妈要写个"服"字给 River

从第五个星期开始到现在，每天晚上River都会送妈妈一顿5-6个钟头，一般是从9点多喝完奶睡下，半夜里3点多发出喉咙的声音，妈妈会先起来打奶，然后给她换尿布，再喂她奶，接着她睡下就每3小时一顿直到快中午为止。中午洗完澡就一直醒着到晚上，中间只是断断续续的睡，10分钟到1小时不等。有时候是从早上9点到晚上9点都睁着眼睛。印象中 April 大概是要到4个月才有5小时的记录，而且 River 现在可能10lbs 还不到，妈妈的确觉有点得不可思议。

Nursing blister

We thought she has a characteristic upper lip until one day Daddy touched it and announced it's hard. There is this half transparent bubble in the middle of River's upper lip, caused by vigorous suckling. And this bubble has been burst and regrow itself 5 times already. If only I could convince her that she can still get the milk with a little less strength...

To our surprise...

April was very well behaved last night. After Daddy read to her, she asked Daddy to leave her alone. She falls asleep in her own room in about half an hour, then she woke up around 3am to pee, and went back to sleep. The question is, would she be able to stay this way? Report later...

奶奶明天要走了

Mommy probably need a clone or a dozen red bull starting tomorrow night. The hard work of "handling April" has been covered by grandma for the past 2 months, so Mommy's free to mainly concentrate on the easy one. The reality will uncover itself...... tomorrow night.....

April 金句

妈妈指着"出"字，问 April
妈妈: 这字怎念?
April: 山山

妈妈看了看奶奶，我们又笑了。April 觉得我们在嘲笑她，提出了抗议... ...

April's 4-year check up

Weight: 34 & 3/4 lbs (50%) Mommy still clueless how did this happen since April's such a bad eater
Height: 38 inches (15%) :( she's probably the shortest girl in her class, not sure what to work on to pump up her height, anything I can do other than making sure she has 800mg of calcium intake?
Past year has been a pretty healthy year for April, only 1 episode of pneumonia in Dec 2007, otherwise she's peachy almost everyday.

黄金记录

River 出生头俩个星期是每天4次黄金，往后就是每天2次，很少。April 在月子里是每天6-7 次，相差挺大的，家人都觉得不大对头，但黄金的样子和味道都正常，参考书本说 baby 1-2天 1 次也算正常，就没去追究下去。不知诸位妈妈，您们的宝贝在月子里拉黄金的次数是多少呢?

出关了！

先要谢谢奶奶、公公、婆婆和爸爸的帮忙和支持。这次月子比上次做得好。生得比上次容易，身体恢复得快。加上 River 比 April 好带，大夥儿经过 April 的洗礼都比较有经验，所以这次月子做得顺心也写意。这次奶没有上次多，River 又能吃，所以多余放 freezer 的奶不多。当然 River 长肉有比 April 快一点多一点。April 满月长了2lb 10oz, River 满月就长了3lb 1oz.

来看看River 的4个下巴


另外，River 最让大人轻松的是，大夥儿吃饭的时候，多数 River 都在睡觉或睁着眼睛坐在 bouncer 上看东西，一点也不嘈着大人吃饭。还有就是仿佛 River 能分别白天和晚上似得，白天吃完奶多数会睁着眼睛，晚上吃完奶就闭着眼睛。当然不是天天都是如此，不过印象中这样的次数比较多。

脸上的豆豆好多了，零星的还是不停地长出来，不过脸珠子还是很好亲的。Stuffy nose 是最讨厌的，没想到 bulb syringe 还真管用，以前 April 从来不用的，妈妈一直对这玩意有怀疑，不知到是怎么用的，现在搞明白了。

还有，这次准备了俩样东西，让喂奶轻松多了。妈妈要好的同事送的 MyBrestFriend

和这个从 craigslist 买回来的二手摇椅。


还有就是妈妈这次会去享受做妈妈的乐趣，上次脑子乱、心里烦，又没经验，印象中自己没怎么好好亲过 April，也不懂得如何和小 baby 说说话、聊聊天。现在做这些事情就会得心应手，应该是 April 给妈妈的磨炼得出来的成果。

大小姐4岁了

妈妈还有几天才出关，不过今天是 April 的生日，妈妈得到家里老人家的同意外出小会。奶奶和妈妈先去 Whole Food 拿蛋糕，然后带去她的学校。时间算的正好，是老师指定的 snack time, 俩班的同学和她一起唱生日歌和分享蛋糕。爸爸公干在外，没法跟 April 过生日，不过上星期六爸爸和奶奶已带她去 SF Zoo 看孔雀了，算是给她庆祝过了。贴上照片一张，这条裙子是奶奶打的，昨天刚打好，今天就给她穿上。还有录像小段，给在地球另一边的爸爸看看。

A 6-hour set!

Daddy left yesterday for his business trip. Last night is the first night Mommy has to handle River by herself. River gave Mommy a nice present, a 9pm feeding then she slept until 3am. Probably just luck, she was awake for a long time during the day. I will see how she does for tonight.

Hair cut out of the blue

We've been suggesting a hair cut to Princess #1 lately, but it never triggered any degree of agreement from her. Only 1 clause Mommy had been charging her couple times, "I will cut your hair if you don't let me tight it. It's too messy!" She would just go find a rubber band and let Mommy tight it for her.

The past Wednesday night, when Princess #1 came home from school, Mommy used the same clause before dinner. She suddenly agreed to cutting it, out of the blue! Right at that moment, 3 pairs of eyes glowed and met(Mommy's and 2 grandmas') , followed by a pair of scissors, a teared Target plastic bag and light on in the bathroom. Princess #1 gracefully walked into the bathroom, let us wrapped her with the plastic bag and stood there for a good 5 minutes, to let grandma(Will's mom) cut it short, short, short. No regrets at the end, she smiled and stated that she and Mommy have the same hair style now. To whom a long time advocate for long hair defines a girl/female, this incident shows how unpredictable our Princess #1 could be.

花脸

We enjoyed 2 weeks of feather soft skin from River until baby acne invaded her face a few days ago. I was childishly hoping it's another difference vs. Baby April (April's skin has red dots and small red patches since birth, comes and goes throughout the first year). Not so lucky! The invasion is quite severe, both cheeks have 50% coverage of feverish redness with tiny white tops. All the pre-seniors at home started suspecting every single food that the MOM intake would have caused the invasion. Starting from cutting down ginger in cooking, stopped any seafood related ingredient to the most outstanding one - the peanut pork feet soup, which MOM consumed right before the outbreak. Could it be allergic reaction? Or the "hot" sit month dishes? What to feed the MOM (aka the milking COW) was the most discussed and debated topic under the roof until the MOM called up doctor's office for consultation, just to be told the simplest remedy - "DO NOTHING". It's caused by the mother's hormone in the breast milk, it may clear up itself in 3-4 months. Meanwhile, don't put any cream, just wash her face once a day. And the MOM even went so far to suspect the antibiotics that works on the MOM's skin(MOM also currently has acne because of the hormone) will help to clear River's face, nop, it would have no effect at all according to the nurse. ~无奈啊！

远距离黄金炮弹

发射者: River Wu
射中次数 (so far): 6
受害者: 爸爸、妈妈、公公、奶奶、April 的衣服，床单，被套，地毯。(婆婆没换过尿布，所以没在受害者名单内，但有清理过灾区。)
引发材料: 冷冷的 baby wipes
射线: 几乎直线
炮弹威力: ichiban desu
味道: (不用我说你也知道。。。)

Baby River vs. Baby April

1. 哭声: April 的哭声像在咆哮和骂街，River 的哭声像是在发嗲。


2. latch on: April 是到妈妈奶下来以后才愿意 latch on, River 是一出母体就会 latch on.


3. 为啥哭呢? April 常哭，而且经常莫名其妙的哭，找不着原因的。River 不怎么哭，要哭也是有原因的，比如拉黄金，肚子饿，解决她的问题，就安静下来。


4. 哄睡: April 是抱着睡熟了，放下床就哭，这样做好几次都不一定可以哄得了她睡觉。River 是醒着放她下床，不闹不哭，自己会睡着。对爸妈来说简直是天堂！


5. 奶瓶: April 是妈妈断奶后，花了妈妈九牛二虎之力才慢慢地让她接受奶瓶。River 从第一次到现在喝奶瓶，好好的，no complaints.

真不公平啊！妈妈是否偏心老二? 怎么就找不着老大的好处呢???

相同的地方是姐妹俩长得很像，俩人的吸奶的劲都很足，可怜妈妈的奶头呀！

产量增加，开始打奶

奶系统上轨道啦！今天 River 10 天大，妈妈牌奶胀时能打 5 oz，左边 3oz, 右边 2oz， 应该够她吃的了。

Deja Vu

- by Daddy
Here I present two pictures, one is April when she was about 5 days old, and one is River, taken two days ago. Can you tell them apart? I can't either...

I get these Deja Vu feeling time to time. Especially in the wee hour, when River is awake and crying, and I have to hold her, in my half-sleep state. I wonder, who is in my arm? April or River? Is it 2008 or 2004? I guess the routine of putting her to sleep, burping her on my shoulder, changing her diapers are experience I had with April. And when I perform these tasks to River, it's almost like second nature for me to even call River, "April".

When I go to April's room, and see her sleeping on her bed, it's shocking that how far she has grown from this 6 lb infant. Time sure flies...

April Foolishness

- by Daddy
Tonight, as usual, since Mommy is still in sit month, I have the job of bathing and reading bedtime stories to April. And one story she picked today is named "April Foolishness". Of course, it's a book about April Fool Day. April, can recognize the English letters that makes up her name, instantly pointed to the book, "Look, 我的名字。爸爸，这本书是讲我吗?" Eh oh. I first explained to her, that her name is also a name for a month. Then explained what's April Fool Day. "That's when people fool each other for fun" I said. The first concept was easily accepted, since we have explained the meaning of April to her before. The second concept is beyond her league of understanding. I guess she is not at the age to understand about why people want to fool other people, for fun or for more evil purpose. Anyways, I spent half of the story time explaining, and at the end she didn't get the story nor the April Fool's concept. 晕。。。 Why did Mommy pick this book?

Growing Pains

- by Daddy

Before the birth of River, we keep telling April that "You are going to be a big sister now, so you have to behave and take care you little sister." She likes the concept that she is going to be a big sister. She likes to imagine that the little sister will want the same thing (like the Dora Backpack), want the same color (hot pink) and want the same Disney Princess (Cinderella) as she does. So she goes around and tells everyone that she is going to be a big sister, that she is so excited, etc.

When we came home with River last Wednesday, the reality hit her. She is no longer the center of attention, her needs are no longer at the number one spot, and she has to share everything, including Mommy and Daddy's love, with baby River. That didn't sit too well with her. She was quite moody, (amazing that she is not even 4 years old yet). She would do anything to get more attention from us, ranging from behaving very good on the dinner table (positive energy) to throwing random tantrum (negative energy). She even said, "Daddy, I feel very sad in my heart." (wow, big words for a 4 year old)

In some way, I know the exact feeling she is having. Been the oldest of two siblings, and the oldest among my cousins from my father side, I was the center of attention from my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Until my sister and cousins came along. I experienced that exact sadness that April is referring. It felt like something was lost in you. Something that was there, that should always be there, but was gone. And no one felt the loss except yourself. And for that lonely feeling, came the sadness - that pain your heart.

I tried to spend more time with April, be more patient with her, and explaining to her that this is all part of growing up. What she will eventually understand is that, other than me and Linda, she will have the greatest influence on River's life. Maybe in some area, her influence will be even greater than ours. That's a big power she will have. Just like Spiderman had understood eventually, "With great power there must come great responsibility".

I hope she will fill that void from the loss with the new found sense of responsibility. There will be pain along the way, but that's just called growing up.

Definition of a nursing mother during sit month

EAT LIKE A PIG, FEED LIKE A COW.
Old MacDonald had a farm...Oink Oink Oink...Moo Moo Moo...

但是。。。

半夜里妈妈俩手松了，这些蛋不疼了，可喜可贺，可是联带俩个奶也不胀了，而且松的像快没奶似的。上次蛋疼完奶还是胀的呀！怎么回事? 难道 cabbage leaves 会把奶弄走? 这晚 River 吃得不好，爸妈也睡得不好。这样持续到第二天中午，过程中妈妈又起了买鲫鱼的念头，后来中午以后奶胀慢慢地回来，念头才又打消了。

俩天后， maternal connection 的护士打电话来慰问，妈妈告诉护士这些状况。。。猜对了！ Cabbage leaves 是会把奶给弄没掉的。妈妈那样不停地扶是不对的，而且连喂奶的时候也扶是最不对的。护士警告不要再用 cabbage leaves 了，真再疼就用冰扶。正确的做法是喂奶后 20 分钟使用 cabbage leaves。

Engorgement attack - chilled cabbage leaves conquer

往事重演，回忆上次: 生完 April 奶一直没下来，第四天晚上家人弄了鲫鱼汤，第二天，奶像洪水般排山倒海的滚出来，奶胀得只要睡1小时，衣服就湿透。但最痛苦的莫过于妈妈左手腋窝长出了一颗蛋。milk sac 长到那里，奶胀也联带这蛋也胀，可是管道不通，蛋里的奶出不了来。如果没记错，那时还在吃 vicodin 。那么重的药，妈妈还是疼得呼天抢地的。全家人都慌了，奶奶先提出用正在发的面粉涂在蛋上，没用。然后，婆婆从福州打点话来说用土豆，爸爸出去买土豆，然后土豆切薄片扶蛋，没用。最后打电话给医院的 maternal connection，说用 cabbage leaves，爸爸又上街买 cabbage，然后菜叶要放 freezer 即冻才能扶。这下找到秘方了，妈妈的蛋就不停地煮菜。不记得过了多少小时，煮了多少片菜叶，才把这蛋的疼给停住。

这一回，怀 River 的时候左手腋窝的蛋就慢慢地从小长大，生产前这个蛋有一个 jumbo egg 大小，大夥儿都在说这一次不买鲫鱼了。但是，River 出来头俩天还是没奶，River又老找吃的，妈妈只有 colostrum，好像不够她吃，开始担心。回家后再把鲫鱼这个题目拿来讨论，除妈妈以外，所有人都说在等1、2天再说。

产后第三天，它来了！开始奶胀，妈妈开心，但是管道不通，打奶只有 1 oz ，打完俩个铁球只松了一点点。那个蛋开始疼，而且发现另外2个蛋。一个大约有鹌鹑蛋大小，生在大蛋旁边，另外一个生在右手的腋窝，只有一颗小青豆大小。从早上到晚上，妈妈的这些蛋就不停地煮菜，煮得妈妈的身上和正个房间都充满了 cabbage 的味道。(Would anyone like a perfume with cabbage smell?) 就这样妈妈度过了第三天。

River is here - 我们的小老太婆来啦！

为什么叫小老太婆呢? 因为 River 太轻又偏长，只有 5lb 12 oz，19 inches，很瘦，身上皮肤皱皱的，就像个老太婆。

我们来看看生产指数:

Mommy is very grateful, River has been super nice to Mommy and thanks to the loose muscle ;P

没动静，April 晚上不乖

还有几天就是预产期， 没动静，纳闷阿！
至从奶奶来了以后，April 每天晚上都不乖，不是尿床，就是起来好几遍找妈妈。哄她睡觉要花九牛二虎之力，而且指定要妈妈来哄，River 出来怎办?

奶奶也来了！

就等 River 出来...
Yesterday, we made the best use of my Mazda 5, 6 seats all taken to do grocery shopping. It's a full house here.

公公婆婆来喽！

这次真的很紧，去年四月给公公婆婆申请禄卡，刚好俩个多星期前拿到。他们说是 River 在赶着他们来的。今天飞机到，爸爸的upgrade用不着，因为飞机太满了。奶奶星期天到。现在就看River 愿意什么时候出来了。

昨天看医生，医生说 dilated 到 1 cm，但是还没有contraction...

不上班了！

但是杂七杂八的事一大堆，感觉上比上班还要忙。还没有任何感觉，星期三看医生再说吧！
April 现在天天问 River 妹妹是今天出来还是明天出来???

Doctor appt yesterday

Finally I am up to 18lbs gained weight, guessing I probably gained couple pounds before first seeing the doctor, so I should be in the 20lbs safe range.

Also doctor said I am half cm dilated, but can't do any prediction at this point. This explained why walking has become more uncomfortable and I felt the baby dropped over last weekend.

1 more week of working...

The giving tree - 爱心树

妈妈之前已有听闻，但没有看过这本书。爸爸这次从上海带回来了这本书。妈妈读给April听，弄得我们两人都哭了。好伤感的一本书！

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Tree

Riding the steam train

To Mommy's surprise there is really such a thing nearby! （无知的妈妈）

Last Saturday is a rare warm and sunny day in the bayarea. Daddy found out about this ride from the web -http://www.roaringcamp.com/outdooradventure.html We were supposed to leave home by 9am, yet we missed the target time again. Not too bad this time, it was just delayed by 1 hour. Our plan was to do a little walk on the trail next to the train station before the ride, yet by the time we got there, it just didn't seem possible. Daddy lined up to get ticket and we had an early packed lunch. According to the info on the web, there is only 1 ride per day in the winter, but that was the President's Day long weekend, they added 1 more ride after the 12:30pm one. It was quite crowded in that little place and the train was fully packed. We were on the 12:30pm one. The train head is called #2. She has been serving for a long time. It's quite amazing to see how the white steam and black smoke coming out of the engine. The carriages are all open air, except the last one. So most people could sit and look up the sky to see the tall redwood trees. About 2/3 up the mountain, the train will stop, and the last 2 carriages will be disconnected from the front, apparently at certain angle/level, #2 couldn't handle the weight, or maybe they purposedly design it that way so passengers could have the experience. #2 will continue up the mountain, while the last 2 carriages will be pushed by a small engine at the back. Then they will be reconnected at the next slope. We had a 15 mins break at the top of the Bear Mountain. Then on the way back down, they did the same disconnection and reconnection. The whole trip last about a little over 1 hour, April had a good time there. She was scared by the steam at one point, when they released the pressure on the way down and we sat on the first carriage right behind the steam head. And the funny thing was she asked us, "Where's the seat belt?" Haha, no need in such a slow train.

The conductor gave a pretty good narration about the train and history, but the only thing Mommy could remember is the fact that such a ride requires 600 gallons of water. And to boil the water, it also requires some kind of oil, which is why we see the black smoke. What a waste of energy and resources!

饺子与锅贴

奶奶走之前的一个中饭，我们要完成奶奶包好的馄饨和饺子。为了告诉April馄饨和饺子的分别，奶奶把两碗拿给她看，告诉她一个有汤一个没有。April自作聪明地应奶奶说：饺子有两个名字，一个叫饺子，一个叫锅贴。你知道了吗？

（倒底是她在教我们还是我们在教她呢？）

Valentine's Day -> sugar high

There is still some confusion left in April's little brain, that Valentine's Day ==? Chinese New Year. On the Chinese New Year day, Mommy gave April a red pocket with 2 大白兔糖 in it. When she walked into her classroom, she declared she got Valentine's gift that morning. It's been 2 weeks Mommy's been trying to separate these 2 things inside April's brain and hasn't been successful. 2 festivals in 1 month is too much to digest for a 3 year old?

Yesterday, they had Valentine's Day party at school, despite all the red and pink cards and gifts, it's the day for the kids to get sugar high while 1-800-flowers.com will get 10% of its annual revenue in this single day.

Kleenex please!

http://www.6park.com/enter1/messages/26449.html

White hair

Last time when I was carrying April, I already discovered a few new strands of white hair. They weren't obvious, but this time River's magic is more powerful, white hairs are sprouting out like cherry blossom. And they are mostly found in front, making me look aged by a decade. I will need to dye to hide rather than dye for style like in the past. Sign~

做准备

星期六去三藩市剪发 - 接受上次长发做月子的教训，剪了最短的女性头。而且，爸爸和奶奶也一起剪，新年大家都有新发型。除 April 坚持不剪，理发店的叔叔怎么哄她都不肯。

星期天清洁工洗完房子，爸妈给奶奶抓着理房间，本身妈妈想等停上班再来做，奶奶想离开前做，好吧！做就做，先是April以前用过的crib，不用5分钟搞定，然后是调动一堆家俱，主要是奶奶和爸爸在商量和做，妈妈想帮忙，但April太无聊，老是要人陪。大概理了70%吧！现在觉得房间变小了。

效法诸位妈妈们的做法，上网定购7th Generation 的Diaper

效法anZel妈妈，这次弄了些玻璃奶瓶试着用

妈妈从 2nd trimester 中开始每星期游泳2次，其他4天工作天在公司旁的 trial 步行1.5-2 miles，会坚持到停工为止。

体重到现在为止只增加了十几磅，还没到20磅的标准，有点担心，但是医生说正常。看来River会和April一样，会是个骄小的女婴。

身体在做准备, 开始觉得手脚有点发肿，皮肤出油得厉害，一天洗3次脸都觉得不够。

还要工作2个多礼拜才停工，有点等的不耐烦了。

The chubbiest ballerina

全班她的腿最粗。看来April是喝水也会长肉型的。不好好吃饭就不给她吃好了。

美味的指甲 - 把妈妈气得半条命都没了

The power of peer pressure/influence
The power of addiction
The power of lying

Mommy only got to cut her nails once in the past 2 months. Where did nails go? Stopped growing? April lied a few times that the teachers at school will cut her nail, Mommy asked the director last week, the answer is "school never cut student's nail." April's not capable of cutting her nail using any tool. The only sharp device she has is her own teeth.

No matter how nicely or meanly we explain to her that biting and eating nails is no good. There are germs in your nails, eating nails will get those germs into your tummy, and you will get sick. You might even need to see a doctor who will open up your tummy in order to take the nails out (threatening is no use either) She can't resist the tasty nails, they are way more delicious than any food on this planet!

Last week, Tuesday night, Mommy still could see some white nails, Wednesday night, all gone. Over the weekend, 辛辛苦苦长出来的指甲, all gone last night! When it's gonna end?

Phone conversation with Grandpa - another Lost in Translation

Grandma handed April her cell phone with Grandpa on the other side. She started an abstract phone conversation with him...

April: 我告诉你他(爸爸)在那里，他在东京。
(She walked over to the world map, and pointed at Tokyo)
Grandpa: ......
April: 就在这里。然后他会去上海，我告诉你上海在那里。
(She pointed at Shanghai on the map)
Grandpa: ......
April: 你知道了吗?

Quite a bit of imagination to do for Grandpa...

Literal translation

Mommy: Dragonfly 中文叫什么?
April: 龙飞

Both Mommy and Grandma can't stop laughing...

Grandma came...Daddy's out

Grandma came this Tue, bringing her the bike. Unfortunately, it's rainy days here, she can't ride it outside :(
Daddy left for his business trip for a little less than 2 weeks...

又去儿童博物馆

上星期天爸爸要上班，妈妈就带April去儿童博物馆。腹大便便的跟她在博物馆里面跑来跑去是非常不方便，就抓着她去做劳作。照片中的纸花瓶和纸花就是妈妈跟April一起做的。



牛脾气改不了
晚上和爸爸的同事吃饭，April试着用筷子夹毛豆，竟然给她夹起来！她开心，叔叔们也表扬她。她就不停得夹，也不知道她夹了几个， 大概是碗里的一半吧！然后，她遇到一个特难的，夹了半天都夹不起来，开始发脾气，而且越发越大，大人给她出主意，她不听还拍桌子~！然后，开始哭，扔筷子!大人给她弄得不知好气还是好笑。
其实她从小就是这样，自个主意很强，总是认为某样东西是怎么用怎么玩的，我们要教她新东西特别累~唉！