Friday, January 23, 2009

Shin Nian Kuai le!


Congratulations to those born in the Year of the Ox! Iris is carrying a load of her own with soft stacking donuts in the hood of her sweater. In the background, you'll see the beautiful and fun new play mats the were a gift from Aunt Ruth. There are soft puzzle pieces that Iris has already learned to take out. It's great because she can learn the alphabet, vocabulary, colors and shapes.

In the other picture above, you see that Iris is good at getting around, even getting trapped under a chair. She's just about ready to walk, but we've been thinking that since October! Well, her legs need to be strong enough. Until, she enjoys crawling around the house, especially down the hall to her room.

Iris has one new molar! That may explain the excessive drooling (she's a drooly baby anyway!) lately. Trying to get her to use the spoon is a fun challenge. She mostly likes to lick the food on the spoon like a lollipop. That's when she has the right end in her mouth (see picture below).

The challenge for me is arranging my time (Is there such a thing?) for errands, work, chores around her needs. For example, outings are to one or two places-MAX! It's a time sucker putting her in and out of the car seat. She's fine, but I'm tired. Besides, it's all about Iris right now, right? :) She's had a couple of afternoons with babysitters when her mom is working (part-time). There are so many decisions about daycare that we're a bit like Alice in Wonderland. Well, talking to other moms will get us through a lot of that. More importantly, I give thanks that God watches over us daily. Iris remains healthy and happy. Praise God!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

So long 2008, Hello 2009!

Iris had a whirlwind of a week celebrating Christmas in CA and AZ. She loved the food and so did we! Her favorite toys were a plastic bag, plastic bottle, and Christmas cards. The cousins and relatives gleefully showered her with attention. We (the parents) hardly had to take care of Iris because there were people wanting to feed her, hold her, and play with her (and her real toys). Take a look:


There was sunshine once the Christmas Eve rain passed us. As our families gathered, there was a familiar chaos, but more baby noises and squeals that have not been heard in awhile. We enjoyed a yummy brunch at Aunt Ruth's home as we prepared to fly to AZ. It seemed very familiar to packing two large suitcases in which less than one of them was for our stuff; the rest were Iris's stuff!

Once in AZ, Iris's cousins finally met her and continued to say "She's so cute!", which we agree with. Most memorable was our niece Gabrielle (holding Iris in the picture on the right) learning to change diapers, even the poopy ones. After the smell of that, she preferred to feed and play with Iris instead of the diaper-changing deal. We spent a morning at the zoo. We also managed to put pigtails in Iris's hair, thanks to small orthodontic bands from cousin Patrick! All in all, Iris is well-loved and I am convinced that God made the perfect match for us because she is a happy, healthy and social baby. She was the highlight of 2008, so we look forward to more happy times and Iris's development in 2009. Happy New Year!