Connecting two words

After babbling and finally speaking words clearly for awhile, Aaron is now connecting two words together.  His words are making more sense now and I remember he started saying "byebye toys" a couple days ago. Then I heard him saying "byebye daddy," which is incredibly cute. It's awesome that his words are finally making some sense, but I am scared that he will soon talk back at me (it's quite scary to even think about my sweet baby will talk back at me).  Hopefully he will be a good boy and not challenge mama too soon.

After Gymboree

掙扎

Stanford 又一次向我招手
我應該點做呀？:(

18-month checkup

Aaron had his 18-month checkup this morning and he only got 1 hep A injection this time. Recently, he only cried a little right before being injected because we had to pin him down. His physical and mental development are right on track. I am delighted to learn that Aaron's growing well just like any other kids his age when he had such a rough start. His height is still in the 90th percentile and weight in 50th percentile. I cannot be more happy to see that he's healthy and happy. I cannot ask for more to have such a perfect kid. I love him to death and I never knew I could have loved someone so much. I thank God everyday for this wonderful blessing in my life and hope that our bond will stay strong no matter how old he gets. I love you baby :)

a little boo boo on his thigh doesn't bother his reading at all

Happy 18 months!

Time flies and my baby is already turning 18 months. How did time go by so fast that Aaron is a 1.5 years old toddler in a blink of an eye? Is it because we have such happy times together and time goes by even faster? He's growing and growing each day. The more interactive he is, the more fun we are having. He's talking so much and understands most of the things I say (either in English or Cantonese). It's simply amazing how much he has learned in the past few months. Aaron and I went to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant with his buddy Jayden and picked up his own birthday cake (Strawberry mousse) in Cupertino. It was such a fun day with Daphne and Jayden, as always. We love you, Aaron. Happy 18 months :)

有感而發

能夠陪伴你成長係多幸福的事

Flu shot

I took Aaron alone with me to get his long overdue flu shot.  He was supposed to get one before heading to Asia back in Sept, but the vaccine wasn't available until the day before we flew so we decided not to have it just in case he reacted badly on the plane.

The nurse, Danielle was really good at administering shots. She finished the shot before Aaron noticed it. He didn't even have enough time to react and cry. He literally screamed for 2 seconds and started to be his happy self again. It is quite amazing to see how tough this little guy has become. Taking him to the dr's office is going to be easier and easier as he can walk and no stroller needed anymore. My little guy is growing up and he's going to be one strong kid. :)

Had dinner @cooking papa with the Lau's 

Happy mooncake day!

Happy mooncake day everyone! I purchased 2 boxes of Maxim's ice skin mooncake this year as I learned that I wanted to eat more than 1 mooncake from last year. I bought them last week just to make sure I could get the flavors I like. Mooncake is not an ordinary item to get if you live in the US, except if you are in big cities like NYC, SF, LA, etc. I never take it for granted because I remember those days when I lived in the Midwest. We would have to drive 5-6 hours to Chicago for the more "exotic" asian food.  I am so thankful that we are finally living in a city that we don't have to drive hours for the food I crave for.

Nonetheless, living in the Bay Area is not stress-free. It is not easy to make it out here, especially with single income like us.  I simply do not understand why does everyone seem to be doing so well out here? Housing prices is ridiculously high, yet some people own multiple of them like it's no big deal? There's no doubt that this area is a great place to live and raise kids, but the pressure can be unbearable. I hate to see how daddy is so stressed with work and come home exhausted and frustrated.  I am starting to think if I should return to work to help ease the financial pressure so he can enjoy what he does?

Can I really leave my munchkin at this age? Will he be okay without me watching him 24/7? Will I not be his world anymore? :( I can't help but feel like my world is falling apart when things don't seem to be going smoothly lately. My own daddy fainted, Aaron got sick, daddy and I got sick, daddy is stressed, my good friends are dealing with health issues, nothing seems to be right altogether.  I feel sick to my stomach when I was just happy and content with my current situation 2 weeks ago. My mooncake day is not so happy after all.

Walking officially

After turning 15 months, Aaron is finally walking. He is trying to stand up by himself even though it might not be successful every time. His walk is still wobbly but he's able to walk 10, 15 steps without holding onto anything.  Once he takes off, he walks so quickly until he falls. It's quite funny to watch as he looks like he's drunk. Walking is such a big accomplishment for him even though it took him a while. I can't wait till he can walk stably and take him to walk at the park. :)

Happy 15 months!

Time flies! Another month passed by and Aaron is a 15 month old big boy. We didn't do much to celebrate besides taking him to Sausalito.  We hung out there a little bit and went back to the restaurant, B3 for lunch. Sausalito is such a nice fun place for kids to hang out. Aaron had quite some fun practicing his walk on the lawn at the little park there. Happy 15 months baby, mommy loves you!

Taking a few steps

Aaron is almost 15 months and finally taking his first steps without holding onto me or any furniture. He's still not popping himself up yet, but he has taken a few steps here and there. I am not sure if that counts but I think he might be walking pretty stably when he goes to HK. 

I have been patiently waiting for him to take his first step and it seems like he's so content with speed crawling that he doesn't want to walk even though he has been cruising for months. It might be easier when he's not walking but at the same time I would like to see him walk before the 18 month mark (red flag for autism). I guess he will just take his time until he's ready. 

Counting my blessing

We went to Gymboree @ Oakridge today as usual and I noticed one of the moms looks very familiar, yet I can't quite tell where have I met her right away. I kept looking at her and her kid and thinking that I must have met this mom somewhere before. It finally rang a bell when I overheard her mentioning her son was born prematurely and his name is Henry. Henry was indeed Aaron's roommate in the NICU! He is the first NICU grad that I've seen and he's already walking. It is so amazing to see his development when he was born at 23 weeks.

I still remember Henry left NICU with oxygen and now he's totally off! I am so happy for his family and hope that he will keep growing stronger. Seeing Henry reminds me how blessed I am to have a perfect little Aaron even though we went through some tough times in the beginning. He is truly an Angel to me and I am so thankful that he is totally normal and makes good progress each day. I can't believe I almost lost my baby and I will never forget what have NICU done to save Aaron. I love you Aaron baby.

Standing?

It has been awhile since the last update, Aaron just recently started standing by himself for a few seconds (without knowing it himself).  He doesn't seem to be quite ready to take his first step yet. Will he be a late walker just like he was a late sitter/crawler? Everyone tells me it's actually a good thing that he doesn't walk yet, but I am getting anxious that he might not be walking for awhile.

I am not sure if he will be walking by the time he goes to HK, but hopefully he will so that he won't get bullied by his cousin which has been walking for months. Oh well, Aaron is tough enough already. I think he actually needs to learn to mellow out a little bit.

Pointing finally

I have been waiting for Aaron to start pointing since he was 11 months as I read that pointing is one of the milestones that a one year old should be doing. I waited and waited all he did was pointing with his whole frisk or all his fingers (which is pretty funny though). I kept pointing at different things and hoped that he would point with his finger, but for some reason he never did until today.  I was pointing at the different animals in the book and magically Aaron started pointing at them too.  Words cannot describe how excited I was when I saw that, but I wasn't sure if it was just a single incident or he really did master pointing.  Later today Aaron is still pointing at his doggie and other stuff with the same finger and I know he finally is pointing. :D Another important milestone reached and it's such a relief.

First choo choo train ride

Aaron went for his first choo choo train ride today at the Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton.  He had a blast even though he was exhausted by the time he got off the train.  We picked the Redwood Forest steam train ride and he loved it.  Aaron was so curious about everything and was standing up pretty much the entire ride, which was pretty impressive when the ride lasted over an hour.

It is so much fun bringing Aaron to do different things as he's getting older and more active, but he definitely is not ready to drop his morning nap yet. Perhaps we can do even more in a few more months? :)

Photoshoot @ May's

We went to May's place near Blossom Hill for a photoshoot.  I haven't met May before but she is kind enough to invite us for a photoshoot.  She had a home studio setup to take pictures of her LO, so we got some pretty nice shots.

I didn't take any props to the photoshoot besides Aaron's new favorite stuffed animal. For some reason he really likes the doggie I got him and plays with it whenever he sees it. I am thinking to get him another one just in case he loses this one. :)

Music class trial @ The Muscial Minds

Aaron went to his first music class trial besides Gymboree. There were many babies there today and Aaron seemed to enjoy the music class.  He is finally more active and crawl to the toys/music instruments.  I still remember he used to just sit there and wait for the toys to come to him.  It's amazing to see him actually interested in the toys and go for them. He is still not as aggressive as other kids and would just grab the toys closest to him, but I guess he will eventually learn to pick something he likes instead of the leftovers. It was such a fun class today and we look forward to another music class soon.

Carmel trip

We went to Carmel for a short day trip this weekend.  Aaron has been to the ocean many times since he was born and I think he likes hanging out at the beach like mama. Too bad the water is always cold even in the summer, otherwise Aaron can try to get into the water. :) We walked around the China Cove and hung out at the Pebble Beach a little bit.  It was a nice relaxing day, wish daddy has more time to take us to different places.

1 year checkup

I can't believe Aaron just had his 1 year checkup this morning.  He has been going to the same doctor's office numerous time in his first year of life.  I think he definitely knows the doctor's office is not a fun place as he never smiles when he's there. He never liked the doctor or the nurses when he always gets checked and poked there (ouch!).

The nurse mentioned to schedule his 1 year checkup after his birthday party as he might be down for a few days after the shots, but Aaron seems totally fine after 3 shots.  He cried for a minute or two and he was ready to play again. What a tough kid! :) I hope Aaron does not ever have to come back to the doctor's office besides regular check up. We have been to this office way too much and I think we have enough scary dr's appointments.

Happy 1st Birthday!

My baby is turning one today. I can't believe how fast time flies and he is already 1.  This little guy has been in my life for 365 days and I can never get tired of hanging out with him.  We went to the Rose Garden today with grandma and the Eilam's family to have a little celebration after the big party last week.  It was small and stress free.  Aaron got to try out his new tricycle (courtesy of Grandma M) and he loves it!

I got him a small cake to smash and Aaron went right at it.  He finally had his first sweet and finished the entire slice of cake. :) Aaron also changed into his hanbok and picked the hammer (to be a judge, yay!).  All I want for Aaron is to have a happy healthy life. Happy Birthday my sweetie!

1st Birthday Party

Aaron celebrated his first birthday with his good friends, nana, Aunt Angie, parents, and grandparents at Gymboree Los Altos today. 16 other babies joined Aaron's party and he had loads of fun (at least that's how I feel).  Auntie Ping and Jeanie were very kind to prepare some homemade blueberry+strawberry/banana muffins for the babies to enjoy.  Aaron loved the banana muffin and the adults enjoyed his awesome owl mango birthday cake. I also ordered some custom owl cookies as party favor and people love them!  I hope Aaron had a wonderful birthday even though he wont be able to remember any of it. Happy Birthday my sweetie!