Terrible 2?

The older Aaron gets, the more he's driving me insane sometimes as he's having his own mind on doing or not doing the things I want him to do (usually drinking his milk or eating his meal properly).  I am not sure if he's not hungry or he's just not in the mood of eating/drinking most of the time because I can never starve him like other people have told me to or whatnot.  It just seems like this little guy is never hungry and doesn't need any food.  He's quite weird that he doesn't even snack much when I observed how other kids just couldn't wait to finish their snacks at school.

He made me so mad yesterday when he wouldn't drink his milk at all after waking up from his nap. He just wouldn't drink it no matter how hard I tried. I let him look at his books, play with toys, and even watch some of his favorite videos on youtube. Nothing seemed to work and I just had to put him in timeout.  He got so upset and just stayed on the ground for the entire time (probably 20 minutes) until daddy came home to rescue him.

The more I have to deal with these frustrating situations, the less patience I have.  Sometimes I even doubt that if I am qualify to be a mother when I cannot even control my temper that well. I get so flustered whenever Aaron is not listening to me. I feel so lost and I can't help but yell at him. I definitely don't think yelling is going to solve anything as he doesn't seem to respond to yelling very well either. I then found out that he might not have been feeling that well yesterday when he woke up with snotty nose this morning. Now I feel so bad that I yelled at him and couldn't have been more patient with him.

I've always known that I am not the most patient person in the world, but being a mother and working non-stop brought out the worst of me. I get frustrated and lose my temper easily on a daily basis.  I am starting to not feel great about being a mother the way I am. I don't think it's healthy for me nor my baby with my mental state. I know I need to change as it's going to be more and more difficult to take care of Aaron when he's growing into this little person that has his own will.  I think this might be God's plan for me to improve myself in something that I've always lack of. I hope I can overcome my temper issues with God's greatest gift (Aaron) someday.

Preschool tours

This has been an extremely stressful and busy week as we are scheduled to tour 4 different parent co-op preschools.  I am hoping to decide on a preschool for Aaron this week so he can enroll ASAP. It is quite discouraging when I find out some of the preschools are already full for Fall.

I don't know why I feel such an urgency to enroll Aaron into a preschool. Is it because he's turning 2 in a few months? Or is it because I have been hearing all his friends are planning to or attending preschool already? As much as I don't want to be a tiger mom, I feel like I can't let him miss out on anything that other kids are having.

We have toured a couple preschools (The Explorer & Discovery) on Tuesday and Wed, and it's quite interesting that how committed parents have to be with the parent co-op preschools.  To be honest, the time commitment is quite scary for a first time mom that has no idea what parent co-op school is about. Not only do the parents have to watch their kids during school hours, parents are responsible for administrative and cleaning jobs to the extend of cleaning bathrooms in the school as well.  All the work seems a little too much for me when I thought parent co-op simply means participating with your child at school.

The Explorer is definitely intimidating, which makes any other school seem easier. I am so glad that I went tour these schools as I didn't know they can be so different in terms of the school itself, parents, the vibe, the teacher, and the facility. I clearly like the Discovery a lot better as it seems to be less intense and the outdoor playground is awesome!

I don't know what I was thinking to schedule 2 other preschool tours back-to-back today. We toured the Campbell Participation and MACC preschool today with an hour 15 minutes break in between. Both tours were pretty much a demo class for us and we stayed the entire period. Aaron seems to love going to school as he can roam around freely and check out all the toys. He is definitely much better around other kids now and hasn't been hitting people out of the blue. I am so relieved that he finally passed that phase and can hang out with others peacefully. I remember how nervous I used to get every time Aaron was getting close to another kid because he might totally slapped him/her out of the blue.

Anyways, long story short both schools were great and I chose to go with MACC as there is no cleaning to do! I am trying to enroll Aaron starting late Feb and see how it goes. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast and is going to school this soon. :( I can't stop appreciating the opportunity I have to be able to take care of my own son since day 1. I wouldn't want it any other way if I have to choose again. The time with my baby is so precious that I don't want to miss any moment with him. I am truly grateful that daddy is so supportive of all of my decisions. He never questioned my judgements on how to raise Aaron. I hope I am doing things right when I muddle them through. :)

Taken @Campbell Participation

Taken @MACC

Indiana trip

We were supposed to go back to Indiana for Christmas to visit Nana and Papa; however, daddy had to go to a training workshop at Wash U in St. Louis in Jan so we decided to make it one trip instead of having him fly twice back to the Midwest. We flew to Indiana and stayed there for 9 days while daddy drove down to work in St. Louis for 4 days.

The trip is finally over and we made it home safe. Nevertheless, this trip was possibly the worst trip we've taken so far due to our health conditions.  We were sick before going on this trip and my cold had gotten worse after we got to Indiana.  I was coughing non-stop and had a 104 fever for a few days. Aaron was on antibiotics for 10 days and he was still having runny nose. It was tough taking care of Aaron when I was feeling so uncomfortable myself.  I totally understand when people always talk about how being a mom is a 24/7 job without any rest no matter what.  After experiencing it myself this week and all I wanted to do is to curl up in bed and cry. I wish I were in HK where I can have my family around to take care of me or Aaron while I am sick. No matter how tough one is, he/she still needs to rest when they are sick.  Not being able to rest slows down the healing process and it's a never ending cycle.

Alright, enough of the ranting! Being able to see Papa, Nana, Noah, Anna, and Angie is priceless. Aaron loves them all, especially Noah whom is extra nice and gentle to Aaron.  I am surprised to see how patient and caring Noah is to little kids. Noah even told me that he wants to have another baby because Aaron is so cute like a puppy. Kids are so honest and innocent that they are truly God's gifts. I never felt this way about kids before I have my own baby. I believe Aaron opened up my eyes to the world of kids and taught me how to love and appreciate them. Kids bring us so much joy and happiness that I hope everyone is able to have their own one day to enjoy God's precious gift to us. :)

Noah is so patient with Aaron

Cousins love

Hanging out with nana

just being silly

Story time with cousins

Loved playing snow

First time meeting papa

Warming up to nana

Hello 2014!

2013 went by so fast when I had the opportunity to spend all my time with my baby. I loved and enjoyed every moment being with him even when he's cranky and moody. I have become so dependent on Aaron that I want to be with him ALL the time, like I am not doing it already. It is truly amazing how I have become the kind of mothers that cannot be separated with their children.

All I hope for Aaron is health and happiness.  Seeing him happy and healthy is everything I can ask for. Happy 2014 everyone!

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