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