Louie

When Macy was little, our wonderful cousin Marjy gave her a new friend to play with.  With his colorful body, chewable ears, and squeaky feet, he quickly became a fast favorite.

Jeff christened him “Louie”.

Louie rode on quite a few airplanes with us.  He had the right amount of crinkle and softness to snuggle up with, plus the kind enough face that you’d want to have a conversation with.

And talk we did.

Here’s Macy girl.

And Selah.  Happy 4 month birthday today.

Louie is the perfect pal for a four-month-old.  He constantly smiles and never gets tired of being drooled on.  Thank you Rosenthals for sending him!  🙂

Pao Bu

I took this class in college called Art or Trash?.  (I’m an English major – our professors like to use interesting names for their classes). Unfortunately, a lot of what we read in that class I would personally consider trash, not art.

This saying – art or trash? – kind of stuck in my mind and when I see something random, I’ll often think – hmm?  Art? Or trash?

So recently when our apartment complex decided to put up a giant statue of three men running – in the buff – I looked at it awkwardly and thought – art? Or trash?

I didn’t think much more about it until one afternoon when I was taking Macy somewhere and we walked past it.  She ran toward it and said, “PAO BU!  Pao bu!”  (run)

And then she posed like she was running.

It was hilarious.

This is not the best shot of her imitating the runners, but it’s still pretty funny.

Well, I know my Macy girl is definitely Art.

But I’m not too sure about those runners.

Maybe if they were wearing shorts?

Choosing

We went back to the photo studio today for the ever-important choice…which photos would make the cut for our 100-day Selah celebration?

I think we started off with around 90 shots and the goal was to get down to 18.

We made it down to 45 no problem.  Some of the shots were of Selah crying or looking away.  My favorite included one where she had her entire fist in her mouth.  Nice going, baby girl.

And then the real cutting began.  We had to try to keep it balanced – not too many in one outfit or too many poses that looked the same.

After we made all of our decisions, they told us we needed to wait a month in order to get everything.  We asked if they could give us the CD earlier than that and after asking the powers that be, they agreed.

So in about a week, I’ll be posting the Selah favorites.

Get excited.  🙂

35 Months

35 months ago today I was giving birth to a beautiful baby girl named Macy Kailyn.

Whew.

I told Macy that soon we would be getting on a big airplane to go to Mama & Papa’s and Cook-Cook & Buddy’s house to celebrate her birthday.  (We’re going back to the US in May for my bff’s wedding and Macy’s birthday so just happens to coincide with our time there).  She was VERY excited.  Since I’ve told Macy it is almost her birthday, we pretty much play “birthday party” for Macy every day with her kitchen set.  It involves me, Macy and Selah sitting on the floor in Macy’s room with tea cups, Macy pouring each of us tea – “it’s hot, Mommy!  Be careful!” – singing Happy Birthday, and then sharing her plastic cake.

I can’t believe she’s going to be 3.

I asked her what kind of cake she wanted.  “Minnie Mouse.  With polka dots.  Pink.”

Very specific.

At the almost age of 3, Macy has quite a bit of personality.  And energy.  And opinions.

She enjoys –

jumping in puddles

running fast

reading books – favorites right now include: Hattie and the Fox, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, You Can Do it, Sam!, The Cat in the Hat, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and anything Sandra Boynton

climbing up high – she’s moved all the stools we have in the house around so that she can climb up on them and reach everything…the light switches, Jeff’s gum on the dresser, her Dora lipgloss I hide up on a top shelf

doing puzzles – our home actually has a puzzle drawer

holding Selah – for about a second at a time

animals

singing, music & dancing – favorite songs include Joy to the World, It’s a Small World, Trading My Sorrows, Mighty to Save, Worthy of Affection (Shane & Shane)

spinning around and around

letters – she likes learning how to spell people’s names (including Mickey, Dora, Pluto…)

playing in the sand

Most days, she is awake by 7 or 7:30 and is ready to go.  Her favorite pajamas are these pink Minnie Mouse jammies that my mom brought her when Selah was born.  Many mornings, she wakes up and goes to find her pink Minnie Mouse shoes to coordinate.  She still naps for about 2 hours in the afternoon (she burns a LOT of energy throughout the day) and then wakes up around 3:30 again ready to play.  Bedtime is usually around 8-8:30.

One of my favorite parts of the day is after bathtime when we get to snuggle up on the couch and read books.  After I finish reading the first stack, she’ll say, “Mommy?  Two more?”  Most of the time, I give in.

She still sleeps with her baby (a stuffed giraffe) and her kitty.  (Sorry to James & Matt, I know how hard you worked on her loving Ernie.  He’s still in the toy box waiting for Selah to grow up a bit).  I have to thank my cousin-in-law, Brigitte, for this one.  When her daughter, Grace, was little, she had a lamby that she carried around with her and I saw how important it was to have a buddy for all the airplanes, bus rides, trains, subways, cars, hotel rooms, etc.  Our life is so transitional and the fact that we have a “lovey” to carry around with us makes it that much easier.

I love you, Macy girl.  Happy almost birthday to you.

Nothing Like a Wedding

This one is dedicated to two of my very favorite people in the whole wide world – Kasie Lee and her soon-to-be hubby JB.  Don’t worry – I promise none of this dialogue will end up in my matron-of-honor speech. (I also promise that your wedding will be nothing like the below).

🙂

LORELAI: I told my mother about me getting married and it was slightly ugly.

LUKE: Yup.

LORELAI: Yup, what?

LUKE: Well, there’s nothing like a wedding to screw up a family.

LORELAI: Actually, in my case, there’s nothing like a family to screw up a family.

LUKE: Something that’s supposed to start nice, two people making promises to each other. I’ll love you forever, I wanna die when you die, my life meant nothing until you used my toothbrush. And then it starts.

LORELAI: Well, that’s not exactly. .

LUKE: Who do you invite, who sits where, open bar, yes or no. . .

LORELAI: Luke?

LUKE: Auntie Junie doesn’t eat chicken, Uncle Momo’s off his meds.

LORELAI: Junie and Momo?

LUKE: Just an example.

LORELAI: Of a retired circus couple?

LUKE: And then after all that planning, the reception will still be a disaster because no matter what you do or how carefully you plan, halfway through one of those nauseating Bette Midler ballads, someone is getting sick, and someone else’s chicken kiev is landing on the cake.

LORELAI: You know, the Gettysburg Address was only one page long, and that was about a war.

LUKE: I just call them like I see them.

LORELAI: I have officially changed my order. I’ll have the ‘Luke’s giving Lorelai a Migraine’ meal.

LUKE: Bleu cheese or ranch?

LORELAI: Both.

LUKE: Coming right up.

Butterflies, Tigers and…Wigs?

Today we took Selah in for her 100-day photos.  She was actually around 115 days.  Whoops.

One hundred days is a pretty big deal around here.  Many people have dinners to celebrate their child’s 100th day with their friends and family.

And others take professional pictures.

We (mostly Jeff) decided to do the 100 day photo shoot with Macy.  I was leery…the idea of spending all day in a photo studio with my non-complacent 3 month old was not so appealing, but the pictures did turn out pretty well.  When we went with Macy, the staff was overwhelmingly patient (the opposite of what I’ve found in the US) and during Macy’s two feeding sessions and naps they just kind of sat off to the side, read the newspaper and let Macy do her thing.

Five hours later, we walked away very tired, but glad we had done it.

Here’s the highlight reel…

And now for the Asian set…

Hmm…

I’ve only had one experience with professional pictures in the US.  I had all this excitement about taking a “real” family picture of the three of us while we were in Houston that one of the first things I did was schedule a session at a large department store (which shall remain nameless).  We got there a few minutes early; they, of course, were running 30 minutes late.  I probably fixed Macy’s hair three times while we waited in hopes that we would get called in.  When we finally got in the room, the photographer was a guy who was younger than me and didn’t really know what he was doing.  He didn’t tell how to pose or where to stand, so after we kind of posed ourselves he just started taking pictures.  But Macy wasn’t smiling.  By the time she started smiling, his camera had “filled up” (apparently they have some kind of limit) so he had to delete pictures before he could take more and missed the two smiles she gave.

Not quite the experience I had dreamed of.  Needless to say, we did not buy many pictures.

On the east side, I’ve had quite the opposite experience.  We arrived a little early to take Selah’s photos, but they were ready for us.  We had our own photographer and an assistant – the girl in charge of making Selah smile, helping change her clothes, and setting the stage for each outfit.  When Selah got fussy, we took a break.  When Selah got hungry, we took a break.  And when Selah got sleepy, we took a longer break for her to take a nap.  No one complained.

I personally enjoyed watching the other couple of babies that were there to take their pictures.  The locals here view this as an opportunity to play dress-up with their kids – and dress-up they do!  I watched one baby girl get dressed up as a butterfly, complete with wings and antennae.  Another little boy was dressed as a tiger with a little hat and outfit. (I so wanted to take a picture, but figured that would probably be frowned upon). Photo studios like these have clothes for all ages (I even saw a McDonald’s outfit for a six or seven-year old)  – and most adults will even wear the studio’s clothes rather than bring their own.  It’s pretty cute on the babies, but I wasn’t sure I wanted Selah’s first professional photos to be of her in animal costumes.  To the disappointment of the photo studio, we brought our own outfits.  They did give us one extra outfit so that we could put Selah in the little Asian ensemble like her sister wore.  At one point, the assistant gently asked me if I wanted Selah to wear a wig.  I thought long and hard about it – and decided probably not.  🙂

The other good thing about taking pictures here is that you buy a package – meaning you get to change your child’s clothes three times (a joy with an infant, but makes for good pictures) and you go home with more than just a couple of shots.  The package often includes up to 15-20 pictures on a CD that are yours for the keeping, a photo book of sorts with your favorite shots, and a couple of framed pictures.  We just so happened to stumble in to a special where once we paid for Selah’s 100 day shots, we were given another free package.  This means we can bring both girls back within the next 2 years, take three different sets of pictures, and get the same package again – the CD, the book, and the framed pictures.  Not bad.

I’m thinking about waiting until Macy can sit still long enough to have her picture taken.  However, that might not be within the next 2 years.  Guess we’ll bring treats.

Happy 100 days Selah!

Questions

Living in another culture keeps you on your toes – it is exciting, it is interesting, it is entertaining.

And sometimes it is tiring.

There are times that I really have to gear myself up to take Macy outside to play.  In the US, I would just take Macy outside to play.  I may see another mom or two and some other kids – and we’d smile at each other and maybe say a polite “hello” and that would be that.

It is not like that here.

I live in an apartment complex that has about 15 buildings.  Each building has 31 floors.  Each floor has two or three apartments on it.  Each apartment could have from two to possibly six people living in it.

That’s a lot of people.

So when we go outside to play, I will see someone that has never seen me.  Or my girls.  We are quite the novelty.

And out come the questions –

What country are you from?

Why are you here?

How old are your kids?

Is that a boy or a girl? (directed at Selah, fortunately we have figured out Macy is a girl)

Do you speak the national language?

Do your children speak English?  (Yes, they really ask)

Do your children speak the national language?

Does Macy go to school yet? (It is common for two-year-olds to go to “school” here since most moms work full-time six days a week)

How many children does your country let you have? (There is a one-child policy here)

How much money are you paying to rent your apartment?

Do you like living here?  Are you used to the food?  Are you used to the weather?

I could go on forever, but I’ll stop here.

Most of the time this is great because I have no trouble making friends or starting conversations with my neighbors.  Everyone is just so curious about us that it is easy to strike up a conversation.

But some days this can be a little overwhelming.

I figured I was the only one that felt this way because I’m the foreigner.  But the other day I went outside with both girls and Ayi.  Ayi was holding Selah and I was making sure Macy didn’t fall off the playground (it’s actually tougher than it looks).  I looked over and realized Ayi was surrounded by five other women holding babies asking her questions.  If I thought I got questions, I was wrong – she was getting some questions.

About 10 minutes later, Macy decided she wanted to go to a different part of the complex and we all took off – with a relieved Ayi.

“I don’t like going to the playground when it is so crowded,” she said.

“Oh, really?” I asked.

“Yes.  Macy and I normally go in the mornings when it is not so crowded.  I don’t like it when there are too many people.  They ask a lot of questions.  Don’t you think so?”

I stifled a laugh.

“Yes, I feel that way too.  But sometimes they assume I don’t speak the national language and so they don’t ask me as many questions.”

She smiled.

Guess I’m not the only one who feels overwhelmed sometimes.

Sleep Habits

I’ve been writing and unwriting this post in my head for a couple of weeks now, but haven’t decided if I want to go through with it and actually publish it.  Mostly because I know that mothering is such a personal thing and I find it awkward sometimes to write on the way that I “mother”.

So please bear with me.

When Macy was born (and before Macy was born), I read lots and lots of books about babies…how to take care of them, how to feed them, and (my all-time favorite) how to get them to sleep through the night by 2 weeks old (alright, alright, I’ll try to do this without the sarcasm).

Most of these books were immensely helpful – especially the ones about nursing (a topic I knew nothing about) and just the overall “what to expect” for the first few months. I found myself consulting them quite a bit during the first year of Macy’s life.

However, some of these books were not so helpful and pretty much made me feel like I had failed as a mother.  Macy did NOT sleep through the night at 6 weeks.  Or 8 weeks.  Or 4 months for that matter.  She did NOT like going to sleep by herself in her own bed.  She preferred to be walked around and rocked and have a pacifier – all of the things that are big no-no’s according to certain parenting strategies.  I was STRESSED. I kept thinking, “But the book says if I follow the formula A-B-C then Macy will go to sleep by herself, she’ll sleep through the night, and all will be right with the world”.  I tried.  And I failed.

There were moms in my life that became my encouragers and told me that every baby is different.  Every mommy is different.  I just needed to do what I felt was right.  And eventually, Macy would sleep through the night.  She would be able to put herself to sleep.  It may just take a little longer than other children.

They were right.  Bless their hearts.

So when Selah was born, I did not re-read those books that made me feel like I wasn’t doing it right.  I held her when she wanted to be held.  I fed her when I thought she was hungry.  I did what I could to comfort her.  I didn’t worry about what time it was or if I was “spoiling” her; I just did.

And she did what the books said she would do if I followed the magic formula.  She “accidentally” starting sleeping through the night at 8 weeks.

Of course.

When I can tell Selah is tired, I wrap her up in her blanket and put her in her bed.  And she goes to sleep.  Just like that.  She actually gets more upset if you try to rock her to sleep – it’s as if she’s thinking, “I’m tired!  Put me down!”  That’s just who she is.

Selah doesn’t sleep through the night every night, but she does sleep for 6-7 hour spans most nights.  To me, this is a pretty big deal.

All of my friends were right – EVERY baby is different.  Some babies want to be rocked to sleep, others find comfort in laying down by themselves.  I think these books were written about the second half – the lower-maintenance babies.  So when we moms have a “high-maintenance” baby, we can’t figure out what we are doing wrong.  We try to follow the formulas, but they don’t work.  I’m finally figuring out that Macy needed a different formula than Selah does.  I tried to put her in a box and it didn’t fit her.

So there it is.  Lessons from a mother of two.  Who knows what I’ll learn if we have a third?

(Then again, maybe two is nice)

🙂

Where’s the Bunny?

A bunny that lays eggs is a very strange concept.

And yet we teach it to our children.  Hmm.

My parents sent a package for the girls and it made it just in time for Easter.  It was literally Easter-in-a-box – including the ever-favorite egg dying kit.

Time for a party.

Selah dressed up for the festivities

This is my first time to dye Easter eggs since I was a child.  These kits are awesome!  Macy was enthralled.

We quickly figured out that this would be an activity better enjoyed without our brand new Easter shirt actually on.  For those of you who know me and know Macy, you can understand.

Decorated eggs.

As we decorated eggs, we got Macy’s children’s Bible out to tell her the story of Jesus and him risen.  She’s heard the story before, but she listened intently as we talked about Jesus dying on the cross.  Her little face got all crumpled up as she looked at the pictures.

And then I said, “But guess what, Macy?  On the third day Jesus rose up!  He was alive!”

And her whole face changed into a broad smile and she said, “Good job, Jesus!”

Yes.  Good job, Jesus.

I love Easter.

Then it was time to hunt for our newly decorated eggs.  Jeff and our friends went outside first to be the “bunnies” and Macy, Selah and I waited inside.

Getting excited.

We told Macy that the Easter bunny would be hiding her eggs and it was her job to find them all.  So the whole way to the garden area where Jeff and our friends were hiding eggs, she kept asking me, “Where’s the bunny?  Where’s the bunny, Mommy?”  I think at first she was more excited about seeing a bunny than she was about hunting some colored eggs.

Time to go!

I love this picture because it so symbolizes Macy.  Always, always running.

Yes, my child is hunting eggs with a David’s bag.  Shout out to R&J and James and Matt.

There’s one!

It actually was a chilly morning (hard to believe considering where we live) and so I chose to dress Macy appropriately rather than in one of her new dresses.  I was a little sad to do it, but fortunately my mom had sent a brand new Easter t-shirt.  Thanks Mama and Papa!

Back home after the hunt.  Love my girls.

Happy Easter!  He is Risen!

Birds of a Different Feather

We have two different birds living in our house.  The early bird and the night owl.

Oh goodness.

Macy can stay up late, but actually functions better with a regular early-ish bedtime.  When she gets enough sleep, she is a HAPPY girl.  When she doesn’t, she is NOT a happy girl.  So 9 out of 10 mornings, she wakes up singing, “Mmmmooooommmmmyyyyy!!”  She loves the morning and is excited to start back up where she left off the night before – reading books, doing puzzles, playing blocks.

Selah likes to sleep until 10.  Seriously.

This is fantastic, of course, until it’s 10 pm and I’m ready to go to sleep and she’s cooing and giggling.

And since Macy’s in bed by 8:30 at the latest and usually up by 7, this can make for a tired mommy.

So most mornings, I wake Selah up when Macy gets up and try to keep her awake for as long as possible.  If we make it a full hour, this is a good day.  There are some days Selah is so cranky in the morning that I just put her back in her bed.

Maybe one day my little birds will get on the same page.