First Day at Daycare

Today was the first day Daddy and I dropped K off at daycare. It was a pretty emotional/tough day. I couldn't help but shed tears. K on the other hand did well and did not cry at all. I'm glad she didn't cry or it would have made things even harder.  Lolita was really kind. She gave me a big hug and told me she knows how hard it is to leave a baby and she would be nervous herself. She told me to call her anytime through out the day to check in.

I'm happy to report K did really well! Lolita even said K was such a good girl and had a good time. She didn't cry at all and was only fussy when she tired. Even more importantly she was able to take naps. I was was little worried she wouldn't be able to since she is a light sleeper. I found out Lolita had a separate napping area for K to sleep in which was secluded from the rest of the kids and Lolita would watch her through a baby monitor when K napped.

I must admit as much as I missed K...I was happy to have some "me" time.  I haven't been away from her for more than 4 hours since the day she was born born. I pampered myself today and got a facial and pedi!

Hopefully tomorrow will be easier, but at least I survived today :)

K is thinking where am I??

4 Month Giggles

In honor of turning 4 months today, K gave us some funny giggles. Daddy was in the background making her laugh by acting like a silly monkey.

Happy 4 months

Daddy is not happy with this picture. Lifting up of dresses is not allowed.

New Discovery

K has discovered her tongue and tries to get our attention on the baby monitor when she wakes up in the morning by making the sound in this video. She tends to do this throughout the day.

Bookworm & Bottles

K is more interested in story time these days. Now she actually looks at the pictures in the book and smiles when I read to her. In the past, she would not pay much attention and turn the other way, maybe now she is turning into a bookworm. It will be fun when she gets older and we have outings to the library. 

In this photo K is trying to turn the page in the book. She loves books that are touch and feel. She smiles when I put her hand to touch the fur on the duckling in this book.

Recently K has been trying to hold her own bottle. She is not able to lift it high enough to drink the milk yet. Daddy and I still need to help her, but she's off to get a great start.

Yesterday grandma and grandpa came to visit. It's pretty cute how excited they are to see her and hear them speak baby talk to her. K seems just as happy to see them!

Cousins Christian & Josh came to visit as well. They took turns holding K. They cheered K on trying to have her show them her new trick of rolling over.

Withdrawal

There is about a week left before I return to work.  I have been on maternity leave since April 1st and the 4 months I have spent with K have gone by so fast! I am starting to have withdrawal and separation anxiety from K. K will be attending daycare at Lolitas. The daycare is in South SF. It is 7 mins from our place and another 10 mins from work. I was recommended to Lolita from my girlfriend, Hazel who absolutely loves/raves about the place and said K would be in really good hands. But I can't help feeling, will K will be happy and like it there? I'm leaving her with a stranger, so I wonder how things will go. As a mother, all I want is for my child is for her to be happy, healthy and thrive.  I thought about it and there are many benefits of K going to daycare:

1. She will have be around other infants and toddlers and will develop her social skills.
2. She will build up her immune system (this is good and bad- it could mean she gets sick more often now, but hopefully in the long run she will get sick less often once she attends preschool)
3. I am getting a full paycheck and can provide K a better quality of life.
4. I will be working with adults and have grown up conversations.

K will do fine. I think it's harder for me than her. Plus Lolita has been taking care of children for 16 years. I'm sure I can learn a thing or two from her. We are bringing K three days early to daycare next week to help her get adjusted...we will see how it goes.  I'm just going to really miss her!

Uncle Josh

Yesterday Uncle Josh came over to visit. He was roommates with Daddy in college. We haven't seen Uncle Josh since we ran into him at the Giants World Series parade when I was 3 months pregnant. It was nice catching up with him and fun hearing stories about Daddy and him during the good old days at Davis.

Uncle Josh was so kind to bring over some delicious desserts for us to share. My favorite was the the tiramisu.

Sunday Fun Day

On Sunday, we went to Auntie Becca and Uncle Ken's place to meet their new 1 year old puppy, Taiga. Taiga is a husky and has the softest fur! We enjoyed Chinese take-out for lunch and afterwards went on a nice stroll around the neighborhood with Taiga & baby C.

Uncle Ken and Auntie Becca-they look like the All American family with a baby in hand and dog by their side.

This is Uncle Larry. He secretly loves babies especially holding them. He may seem like a tough guy but he's really a softie at heart :)

 

Thanks Uncle Pete, when can we drop K off at your house so you can babysit?

Yum fingers! They taste so good!

K: Hey listen Court, maybe if we don't look at the camera they will stop taking our picture.

Baby Arianna

Yesterday we went to visit Baby Arianna who was born one week ago. She was wide awake and alert when we got there. She is such a pretty girl with nice big eyes.

K wanting to give A a hug.

K kissing A or maybe she is admiring A's hair. Can I have some??

The new set of parents (Auntie Margaret & Uncle Jimmy)

Playdates

This week K had two play dates.

On Wednesday, we met Auntie Lilian and James for lunch in Fremont at QQ noodle.  James is one month and one day younger than K. Auntie Lilian looks like a supermom here with the two kiddos in their strollers.

After lunch we went back to James' house and Auntie Lilian snapped away at pictures of the kids. Here K is leaning as usual on her friend. We had a lot of fun and can't wait to play together again soon! Thanks James for letting K try out all your toys!

On Friday, Auntie Yoko and Emma came to visit. Emma is also about one month younger than K. K and Emma played on the mat together. K looks very intrigued by Emma and was wanting to get to know her new friend better.

Holding & Pulling

K recently has started to hold and pull things. Her two favorite things in the house are the monkey on the activity mat and the Lamaze firefly.

 K is really attracted to the bright orange color. Daddy is happy about this since that means she is a true Giants fan. She has even been able to pull the monkey off from the bar of the activity mat.

She loves holding the firefly especially in her car seat which keeps her occupied. Doesn't the firefly look as big as her?  She is starting to outgrow the little lamb infant chair in this picture. Her feet are starting to dangle. She sits in the chair next to us while Daddy and I eat dinner.

Rolling Over

I had my camera ready this time!

This morning, we unswaddled K and let her chill by herself. She was lying on her back when we unswaddled her. Thirty minutes later we found her like this in her crib. Guess she has been busy practicing rolling over.

Wide Awake

This afternoon I went to Target with K and she took a really short nap in the stroller. When I got home and fed her, she was pretty tired. She was constantly rubbing her eyes, so I knew it time for another nap. I swaddled her and I typically rock her for a few minutes to help her fall asleep. Today she was fighting the nap when I was rocking her, so I thought ok then you go to sleep on your own. I laid her down in her crib wide awake and closed her door. I could hear and see her in the monitor playing and giggling. She didn't cry and after 15 minutes...she fell asleep on her own! I couldn't believe it!  Maybe now she is ready to sleep on her own through the night which would make sleep training so much easier! Fingers crossed!!!

I snuck into her room to get a photo of her sleeping. This was definitely a proud mommy moment! Auntie Ali taught me to leave one arm unswaddled, so K can learn to soothe herself. K ended up napping for almost two hours

Hello Sebastian!

Yesterday we went to grandma & grandpa's house to see baby Sebastian who is my uncle's son. He was born less than 3 weeks ago and even made an appearance at K's red egg ginger party! He is such a cutie and a very good baby. He hardly cried once and slept pretty much the entire time.

The new moms. That's Auntie Lety. She looks great for just having a baby!

Look how little Sebastian is compared to K. What a difference 3 months makes. Sigh...I already miss when K was that small!

Congrats Aileen & Joe

Today we attended Auntie Aileen & Uncle Joe's wedding celebration. Auntie Aileen worked with me at Genentech several years back. The dinner was held in Vallejo at Golden City Buffet. The couple had a civil service at City Hall the day prior. The buffet was transformed into an actual wedding reception which included a DJ, many toasts to the happy couple, first dance, father/daughter dance, money dance and cake cutting. We are so happy for them! They complement each other in many ways.

The new Mr. & Mrs. Apostol

Here are some shots taken at home. Someone didn't seem too happy in this picture, maybe she didn't like her new hair accessory. Daddy says K is like my little doll and I like to play dress up with her.

Daddy and his little girl

Mommy's New Toy

Daddy brought out his old SLR camera for me, so I can learn how to use it. Here is today's photo shoot. Not too shabby for my first try-dont you think? Here's what K thought....

What is that black thing you are sticking in my face?

Grr this is hard work trying to keep my head up, but I can do it!

This is actually fun. I can see all around.
 It beats just looking up at the ceiling.

Mom, seriously how many more pictures?  I'm tired of looking cute.

Attempting To Roll Over

When K was playing with her cousins, she rolled over. This is probably her fourth time she has done this. I wasn't able to catch it on video, but here is a video of her attempting to do it again. You can hear Nicholas and Aunt Vandy cheering K on in the background.  Hopefully next time she does it, I will have my camera ready. Maybe this is why K is waking up more in the middle of the night.  I read in a book that when a baby is trying to practice a new milestone, she will wake up trying to do the new skill in the middle of the night. This perhaps is true for K since we can hear her moving so much on the baby monitor.

Photo Booth Silliness

Today we went to hang out with cousin Ethan and cousins Nicholas and Julia who live in Japan. They come back to SF to visit every summer. My uncle is directing a consulting firm in Japan and his family has relocated to Japan for 9 plus years already. Three weeks ago, when Nicholas met K for the first time, he started taking pictures of K on his ipad. He had some fun and used the photo booth option and emailed me the photos below. The pictures are disturbing yet hilarious at the same time. My favorite is the alien child.

Here are all the kiddies. We will miss them when they leave on Sunday, but can't wait to play again next summer!

Auntie Jill & Feet

Auntie Jill came to visit today. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends. We have known each other since the hopscotch days in elementary school. Auntie Jill currently resides in San Diego, but has flown up north for all the major milestones in my life (bridal shower, wedding, baby shower and K's red egg party). Flights aren't cheap these days either! It was nice that Auntie Jill was still in town after K's party and was able to come over to spend some quality time with us. K loved her! She watched K while I took a breather since K is still waking up many times at night. We can't wait until Auntie Jill has kids. She will make a great mommy!

We also had a photo shoot with K's feet when Auntie Jill was here. I was telling her, Daddy and I wanted some pics of K's feet before they get any bigger, but K is very active and moves and kicks a lot, so we haven't been able to get a good shot. Auntie Jill happened to bring her fancy SLR camera and was successful in capturing some great photos. She must have the magic touch and eye.

Too bad her feet could not stay this small forever. Baby feet are so cute and soft. I can touch them all day long.

Red Egg Ginger/100 Day Old Party

Today was K's red egg ginger party and the day she officially turned 100 days old!! The party was hosted by her grandparents at Hokkaido Buffet in San Mateo. Some say it is a celebration of welcoming the baby into society, but it's really a means for the grandparents to show off the new addition to the family. K did very well at the party. I was so proud of her! She hardly cried and was a trooper when she was passed around and held by many of the guests. She must have known she was the guest of honor.

The restaurant made this nifty picture display for guests to see when they arrive. You can't see him, but that's Uncle Larry pointing at K's picture.

Grandparents from Mom's side of the family 

Grandparents from Daddy's side of the family











Heartfelt and special thanks goes to:

Grandma for taking care of all the details.  This
day would not happen without you! We love you! 

Auntie Suzy for volunteering to make all the favors

Kelsey for being the photographer of the day

At the end of the afternoon, K was all partied out and ready to call it a day and go home to take a nap.