Aaron turned 2.5 today!

I don't know how time flies by so fast after having Aaron. He turned 2.5 today in just a blink of an eye. It's actually a mixed feeling that he's growing up fast. I love watching him grow, talk, play each day and I want to stop the time because I love the innocent little boy the way he is now. Everything he does is terribly cute, well not always but you get the idea. But I know all the cuteness will eventually go away when he's older. I am living in the moment and enjoying him before he becomes all independent.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have Aaron in my life whenever I look at him. He's just a perfect little angel that God has given me. I feel like I can never have enough time with him even though I see him all day long and I didn't know I could love someone so much. I wish he felt the same way about me and become the person he wants to be. Happy 2.5 Birthday, my love!

Aaron's first Trick or Treat

Aaron finally had his first trick or treat this year as he didn't go for one when he was in HK last year. It's actually quite difficult to find him a cute costume as he's not a baby anymore. This is usually the time that I wish I had a girl so that I can dress her up with all kinds of cute outfits. Oh well, I am just thankful that I have one precious little boy after all. I can't imagine life without this little guy anymore. He becomes my world and I do everything for him. I wonder if it is because I am with him 24/7? Does that make a difference at all?

Ok, back to my topic. So I found this cute little costume right before we went back to HK and never really tried it on until we returned. The costume fits him ok besides the hat is super duper huge for a 2 yo. Aaron is at the age that he doesn't just let me put whatever on him. It was tough putting the whole costume on without sweating. By the way, did I mention how warm it is in CA when it's Oct/Nov time? It's unbelievable that we get to live in such mild climate area after all these years in the cold brutal Midwest. Words simply cannot express how awesome I feel living in CA and I seriously wouldn't want to move to anywhere else in the country.

Enough digressing, we went to Valley Fair for Aaron's first trick-or-treat around 5:30 after he woke up from his nap. The traffic was bad and daddy was stuck at work. I knew I had to get him there before all the stores runs out of candies. The parking lot was full and the mall was like a zoo. People were everywhere looking for candies with their kids. As I predicted, most of the stores ran out of candies and Aaron only got to get 4 pieces of candies. How sad! But he didn't seem to care, just be his happy self holding the pumpkin around. Daddy finally came meet us up and we went to dinner at the sushi restaurant before heading home. Overall, Aaron was happy and that was all it matters.

Happy Halloween!

Bronchitis

Aaron has been coughing for a couple days before getting on the plane to HK and I didn't think it was anything serious as he gets sick every now and then. He was in good spirit all along even after we got off the plane. I was thinking to take him to the doctor after we get off the plane anyways to make sure everything is ok.

As I haven't been living in HK for a long time, I don't know how to find a good pediatrician or any doctor in general so I asked my friends who have kids to get their pediatricians' info. Unfortunately, all the doctors my friends recommended were busy/closed. I finally found Dr. Ko in CWB who has good reviews and I took a leap of faith to go with him.

The nicest thing about HK is you can usually get to see the doctor the same day you make an appointment even if you are a new patient. I guess that's the beauty of private practice. You can go to any doctor of your wish as long as you are willing to pay the price. The wait at Dr. Ko was minimal, Aaron was seen right away. Aaron had the routine check and Dr. Ko started lecturing me for not taking Aaron to see a doctor earlier. He was diagnosed with bronchitis and was at risk of developing asthma if it wasn't taken care of properly.

I have never thought that Aaron's condition was that serious as he has been pretty healthy even with his rough start, however, Dr. Ko brought this back to my attention and emphasized the importance to take care of Aaron's condition with extra precaution. I am so glad that I found Dr. Ko as he is not only knowledgeable but caring and thorough with Aaron.  He even noticed little things like Aaron's chest retraction (a condition that he was born with due to the premature birth). I have never met a doctor being so generous with their time explaining everything in detail.  Dr. Ko spent a good 40 minutes with us, which is unheard of with any other doctor I've seen in my life. I wish we had more doctors like Dr. Ko and his thoroughness once again brought up the thought of finding another pediatrician for Aaron in CA, but I doubt I can find anyone even close to Dr. Ko. I hope Aaron will feel better soon so he can enjoy his time in HK.

Still in good spirit playing at the clinic

To be honest, this is quite a bit of medicine for a little kid who is only 2

Mission accomplished

It's quite unbelievable that I actually have the courage to fly all the way to the other side of the world alone with a toddler. I am not gonna lie, the 14+ hour flight is not easy at all. Would I want to do it again? Maybe not. LOL

The good news is we landed safely and no major tantrum on the plane. Aaron napped about 4-5 hours, which I don't quite remember as I was out on and off. It was hard for him to find a comfortable position to sleep even when his head was resting on my lap. He kept adjusting to different position and rolling of the seat, but he was amazingly not cranky about it.

Aaron has been coughing since Saturday and his cough doesn't sound good at all. I think I might have to take him to the doctor today and get checked out. I hope it's nothing serious when daddy is not around.

Ready to take off at SFO

iPad is such a lifesaver!

We landed safely

Moving up to Advanced swimming class

Aaron has been progressing quite quickly in terms of swimming class.  He started taking the beginner's class back in June and now he's starting to take the advanced class. I've been noticing that Aaron does not quite swim in the kiddie pool after he figured out that he can stand in the pool. All he wants is to play with all the bath toys there, which can be quite frustrating. I am trying to help him practice what we learned from the class, but he doesn't seem to be too interested in it. I guess I need to be more persistent with practicing so he can make some improvements.

Daddy agreed that we need to keep letting Aaron learn swimming as it's good for both his health and physical coordination. I am not sure how long it will take him to really start swimming on his own, but swimming class is one of the activities we will keep doing.

Hungry after swim lesson

Gotta love living in California

I definitely appreciate living close to the ocean after living in the Midwest for over a decade. I love that Aaron is not deprived of being able to go to the beach pretty much whenever he wants. He loves playing in the sun, the beach, and the water just like any other kids in Cali. Living close to the ocean has always been just a distance dream when I was stuck in Indiana and didn't know when I could get out. I am glad that it's all over and can live in a place we love. 

It's hard to even imagine how did I survive in the middle of nowhere for so long, yet I've only moved to the West for a few years. I love the food, the weather, the scenery, the activities, and not being a minority in CA.  I don't think I would want to live elsewhere unless we are moving back home. (:

1 more month to go

We have exactly 1 more month to go before heading home to HK.  For some reason I am not as excited as I used to be. I wonder if it's because going on a trip is not as relaxing as before when I was childless. It is definitely hard to go anywhere with a little one when there are so much planning and preparation to do for everything to run smoothly. I am so not looking forward to flying back alone with Aaron as there are so many things to take and he won't be able to sit still for a long period of time. But I guess I can't let that discourage my will to go anywhere as I really need to go home to see my parents.

I have been looking for different kind of activities for Aaron to do in HK so that he won't just be sitting at home all day. It's tough to arrange all these when we are thousand miles away. Luckily I can have my mom to take care of most of it and we already have swimming and playgroup lessons signed up. I hope we will have a better trip this time and Aaron gets to spend more time with his grandparents.