Growing Up!

It is incredible how much Zoe has grown the last couple of weeks. Developmentally, I mean (sadly, weight wise, she is still under 20 lbs). She knows the words for eyes, eye brow, ears, nose, face, teeth, tongue, belly, backside, legs and toes and points to them with great glee. She tests us, our limits and the meaning as well as power of "no." But she does so in the cutest possible way. Just the other night, she said to us most emphatically, "no, no, no, no, no." I'm not sure if we responded as we should. Dennis was so shocked he gasped. Then, we laughed so hard I think we delighted her. But I am pretty sure she knows the meaning of the word.

She has also been very keen on walking about by herself and demands to be let down whenever we are out and about. She indicates as much by pushing against me and by saying "zhou zhou," which is walk in Chinese. Previously, she would never hold my hand when I ask her to or allow me to hold her hand. She is determined to wander off and says as much with her entire body language. But yesterday at the Zoo, even though she was really keen to walk, she responded to my "hold mommy's hand" by extending her hands to me. We walked hand in hand. Even though it was short lived, she got it and today she did it again when I asked her to hold my hand.

Independence she may seek, she does, I think, look to us as role models. For example, she recently started to demand for us to read her books a couple of times a day (it used to be just bed time). She also wanted books inside her crib. A couple of times, I allowed it and was amazed (and delighted) to see in the video monitor that she was in fact "reading" the book in the crib. I think her sudden interest may be related to how, for a few days after Christmas, she saw me carrying a book about the house and reading it whenever I can. (The book in question is my Christmas gift from Dennis and it is "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell).

She is growing! We love her so much.

The little Sahara Princess - and her pig

A Quiet Christmas

We are having an unusually quiet Christmas this year. Aside from Uncle Justin and Uncle Connie, none of our extended family are here to celebrate Christmas with us. Left to our own devices, we are indulging in simply listening to music, watching Christmas Story, long walks, and - what else - updating our blog!

I started to post a blog last week about our heady weekend - one full of firsts and activities for Zoe - but was too busy to finish it. About firsts and activities, Zoe got to go on the Merry-Go-Round for the first time at the Wild Animal Park last Saturday. She was so fascinated by it every time I took her to the Park that we decided it is time to take her on it. You can see her reaction on the video below.



On Friday, we took her to see Christmas lights at this neighborhood south of us. The entire neighborhood went all out with the lights and it was quite a sight. Zoe had a great time there. It was an unique experience too because she is hardly ever out of the house past 6 p.m. That night she got to stay out till 8:30 p.m!

But that was last week of course. It is Christmas today and we are enjoying it and thinking of our wonderful family and how lucky we are to have them.

Fashion Plate

Here are some more photos of Zoe's recent fashion statements. My personal favorite is the overalls. In my opinion, no baby doesn't look cute in overalls.

By the way, if you look carefully at some of the photos you'll notice that, more often than not, there's a little droplet hanging from Zoe's chin. This is the result of her nearly constant drooling. It's kinda gross and cute at the same time.

I think the English language needs a new word that means "gross and cute at the same time."

I look so cute

Auntie Desiree gave Zoe a lavender colored beanie for her 1st birthday. It was finally cold enough in the house for Zoe to have it on her head. We think Zoe looks adorable in hats.

Fish Spa!!

One of the more interesting things we did while we were in Singapore is this fish spa thing. I heard about it before, about how these little fishes love to eat dead human skin and how one's feet (or any other body part one cares to feed to the fishes) becomes baby soft after some "exposure" to the fishes. It was incredibly ticklish at first. A weird experience to see and feel the sometimes hundreds of fishes all over my legs. But I - and Dennis too - got used to it and we were very pleased with the result.



Incidentally, the fishes are Garra rufa or Cyprinion macrostomus, but commonly called "Doctor Fish." Garra rufa is a freshwater fish that can be found in the river basins of the Northern and Central Middle East, mainly in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. It has been used for the treatment of skin diseases in Turkey.

Zoe goes shopping

Zoe did Auntie Grace proud with her shopping prowess. This was taken while we were in Singapore. Imagine the following video with the soundtrack of Pretty Woman.

Adventures in Singapore and Cambodia

Orchids at the Singapore Botanical Gardens

We just got back from our little 12 days holiday to Singapore and Cambodia and are we glad to be home! As always, as much as I love the experience of seeing new places and breathing a different air, I love coming home. This homecoming is especially sweet too because of Zoe. We knew traveling with a young child wouldn't be easy, but it was more challenging than expected both psychologically and physically. The getting to was especially hard. On our flight out, Zoe slept only four hours during the entire 18 hours journey. Most of the remainder hours were spent fussing or crying. It didn't help matters that I am perfectly capable of sleeping all 18 hours on a plane. Something about planes - perhaps the drone - knocks me out in general. Then, because of jet lag and various sightseeing activities, it was hard to get Zoe onto a regular schedule. On top of it all, she didn't eat much the entire time. In short, we worried about her, which marred our otherwise wonderful trip.

Luckily for us, Zoe is quite resilient. She was mostly good humored and was curious about the new surroundings. And, already, she has began to make up for her not eating much during the trip. She ate a huge quantity of sugar snap peas, a chicken sausage, pasta, and yogurt last night.

As to Dennis and I, we ate like Singaporeans (well, a lot and frequently), met some of my friends (glad to say that I think he thought all of them charming and great company and vice versa), and visited some of my favorite haunts in Singapore (Peranakan Place, Emerald Hill, Boat Quay, Botanical Gardens). We even chanced upon a little peak at my Primary School. Then, of course, most importantly, we took great pleasure in showing Zoe off to Gong-Gong and Puo-Puo, both of whom delighted in Zoe. And we celebrated with Puo-Puo her 70th birthday (the prime reason we chose to go back to Singapore).

It was quite festive and almost overwhelmingly loud and crowded at home for a few days. But that is just as I imagined a three generation Chinese household would be. It was quite wonderful to see Gong-Gong and Puo-Puo fuss over Zoe. Gong Gong personally supervised the making of fish porridge for Zoe! As expected, everyone thought Zoe too skinny and "must eat more!"

At the Botanical Gardens. I love, love, love the Singapore Botanical Gardens. I spent a lot of time there as a child (we lived across the road) and as an adult would visit it with friends on the weekends.

At the Tiong Bahru Market for an early breakfast of $1.50 a bowl Wanton Noodles, Chinese Tunip Cake ($1 for 6) and lots of Iced "Kopi." We decided to have Wanton Noodles because there was a long line at the stall selling it. It must be good if there is a line at 6:30 am in the morning for it. It took a good half hour before we sat down to eat our noodles. It was not bad. Wanton was excellent. Soup was good. Noodles so so.

Reunion with high school class mates. Excepting for Aili, I was 16 the last time I saw Junyi, Fong Chew and Garen.

Scary Looking Rain Clouds!

Breakfast at Fullerton Hotel. The food was so-so, but the view of Boat Quay and Singapore riverfront magnificent. When I was living in Singapore, I would sometimes walk home from boat quay. A somewhat longish walk, but completely pleasant and doable in the evening.

We (mom and dad, Ben, Uncle Send and Auntie Connie and Derrick) went to have a Bak Kuh Teh (Pork Ribs Soup) breakfast at this rather famous place on Rangoon Road.

With Dad

Dad was sooo happy when Zoe allowed him to carry her. We visited this particular food court three times while in Singapore. On our first visit, Dennis and I ordered four pratas, two fish ball noodles soup, fruits, ice coffee and an ice kachang for the two of us!

Dad following Zoe.

After a few days in Singapore, we took a little 4 days 3 nights side trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the famed Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is a huge contrast to Singapore. Whereas Singapore is super clean and super modern, Siem Reap is - to me - like a time capsule of the old Singapore. Many of the roads were dirt roads, some of the stores look just like the stores the lined Bras Besah and North Bridge Road in the 70s. The Siem Reap river reminds me of the little canal that ran between Bukit Timah Road and Dunean road. But a lot of it is very new and ultra chic. There were wireless hotspots. A lot of the restaurants we saw would not look out of place in New York city.

Our First Tuk-Tuk Ride

Zoe really enjoyed riding in the Tuk-Tuk. She loved the wind.

Going to our first meal in Siem Reap at FCC Angkor

Very Yummy Lunch at the FCC.

Tummy filled, we head off to Angkor Wat - Here at the Entrance.

At Bayon

Of all temples we visit, Ta Prohm is probably my favorite. I love the mysteriousness of the temple and I love the trees that has become one with the temple structures.

If Dennis felt "Lord of the Rings" in New Zealand, I felt "Tomb Raider" in Angkor Wat!

Most of the temples are worn and in a state of disrepair. Walking among the ruins, I thought of the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Of course, being Buddhists (and Hindus), the kings probably never boasted as Ozymandias did.

On the bridge leading to Angkor Thom

One of the many beautiful stone carvings we saw gracing the walls of the temples.

Outside Banteay Srei

One of the intricately carved lintels at Banteay Srei

Pre Rup in the morning sun.

A busy street in the old market area now filled with bars and restaurants. Food is generally good and cheap in Siem Reap. All the restaurants we ate at had main courses that cost $3.50 to $5.50.

Fish Amok - One Of The Delicious Traditional Cambodian Dishes We Tried. This version came from Viroth's.

Happy at Viroth's, a most lovely boutique hotel. We loved the minimalist sensibilities of the owners. And we loved the salt water pool there. I actually went in there twice!

At the Elephant's Terrace at Angkor Thom

Zoe loves it when we let her have free play time. Here, you see her fascinated with the little holes in the stone blocks.

Walkabout at the Wedding

Our friends Kali and Bill were married this morning. The wedding and reception were held at the North Island Naval Station on Coronado. Zoe wore a flowery sundress and a hat that her grandmother made for her.

Zoe had a chance to practice walking at the reception. She was quite sure-footed in her brand-new shoes.

Playing in the kitchen

These days, we have Zoe with us in the kitchen while we cook. Sometimes she wanders around exploring the various surfaces, sometimes she plays with the Leap Frog alphabets we have on the refrigerator door. Other times, she plays with the little pot and wooden spoon I leave out for her, or checks out (again) the straps on her high chair or the recycling bin for her beloved juice containers. And, when she is bored with all that, she stands by the window to see what is outside. Occasionally, when she spies a bird or spies what she thinks is a bird, she would let us know by yelling "Bird!!"

Halloweeen

Zoe was swimming in this outfit last year and see how well it fits her now! Give or take another week and she won't be able to fit it at all!

Palomar Mountain State Park

Lower French Valley

We went out for a nice little hike at Palomar Mountain State Park yesterday. Perhaps it is because the weather was perfect (high 60s, partly overcast), or that the changing season clothed the hills and trees in lambent light, or simply that we haven't been out in a while, we had a great time. Zoe, even though she missed her afternoon nap, was in great spirits the whole way. She looked about curiously, and had fun yelling "Pa Pa" over and over again. We were one very happy family.

Carbo loading before the hike

Go to the Mattress!

I was changing Zoe's sheets and had her mattress on the floor. She was so curious she came scurrying in a hurry. She touched it and then got onto it with great interest. Here, you see her going to town on it.

Helping Mommy - Or Not

New Toys

I went out to get a bunch of new toys for Zoe yesterday. I realized that Zoe has - except for her favorite push toys - exhausted her interest in all of her other toys. Also, I realized, a bit guiltily, that even though we think the house is full of toys already, she really doesn't have all that many. It was all remedied by a quick trip to Toys R' Us and after some searching on Craigslist. I am glad to report that Zoe is well pleased with the change. Dennis and I are too, actually. The pleasure of seeing Zoe giggle and bounce up and down with joy at the new things is immense. Here you see her exhibiting her artistic talents.

Grandpa Asks, Grandpa Gets!

It's been a very tiring few days for me. Dennis came down with a bad case of gout last Thursday and since then, I have been the only one holding fort around the house. I always appreciated all the things big and small Dennis do for us after he comes home from a day at work, but I really appreciate it now that I know what it is like to not have them. All that said, I'm very happy to report that Dennis' toe is doing better and that he is not all wretched about it any more.

Anyhow, I know that Grandpa has been asking to see a video of Zoe pushing the Radio Flyer Walker Wagon that Kaelem very generously loaned to Zoe. So here it is. Grandpa asks and Grandpa gets! (albeit with some delay ;) )



Zoe loves pushing this wagon around and we think she plays shopping cart with it. Zoe likes to push it around and put things into it as she goes around the house.

Monkey Girl

We love Zoe's new monkey-themed footie pajamas.

Buckles

Zoe spent some time examining the buckles to her highchair yesterday. We love how she made all these talking, cooing noises as if she was talking herself through it. Ba da ba: "Let's see, this one goes to here..." Ba: "How did mommy do it? I can figure it out."

Eating with spoon

Zoe has reached the stage where she develops in leaps and bounds. All those months of practice! She is finally putting it together. She started to toddle tentatively about a week ago. And she is more and more successful with the spoons.

Milestones

I don't know which is more exciting to report first: Zoe's first steps (real steps, three of them) or first kiss bestowed (to daddy). Or - there is more - that she drank just about 6 oz of milk in one sitting of her own free will (she sometimes take 6 oz of milk over three days). Oh! What a day.

Actually, I didn't see Zoe's first step. I was in the kitchen cooking when I heard Dennis yell "Honey! She's walking!!!!" I ran out, but it was too late, Zoe was back to her hands and knees. I encouraged her to "walk," but all she did was crawl over to me demanding to be carried. Oh well. I wish I saw it, but I'm glad that Dennis was there to see it for he was so worried that he would be at work when she takes her first steps. It's a good day for Dennis. Not long after, Zoe kissed his cheeks for the first time. He said "kiss Papa," and she did! Tenderly, sweetly. It was a priceless moment.

I guess Zoe decided she can't leave mom empty handed - she didn't kiss me, even after I planted my cheeks in front of her in the most endearing, beseeching way - and so drank a whole lot of milk right before bed. That was almost better than a kiss!

New Video

I've been busy reading about the election, analysis about the candidates' plans, and the American political process, which is why I haven't been blogging of late. I have been more active on Facebook, posting links and what not regarding the financial meltdown, health care plan of Obama and McCain, and Palin. Anyhow, enough about that. Here is a video of Zoe we took a couple of days ago. She is growing. Not in the actual weight and length sense - the child does not eat much. But she is gaining skills and confidence day by day.

Division of Labor and little changes at home.

"Parents are responsible for what is presented to eat and the manner in which it is presented. Children are responsible for how much and even whether they eat." - Ellyn Satter

Ever since I picked up the book called "How To Get Your Kid To Eat...But Not Too Much," I have been a reformed mom. Reading the book, I realized how mealtimes have become unpleasant, high pressure events for Zoe. "Yum, Yum!" I would chant. The spoon was always hovering about ready to be thrust into her mouth. Sometimes I sneaked a spoonful of food in as she opened her mouth to nibble on the bread at hand. How I cheered when she took the food. All these, alas, according to the book's author, Ellyn Satter, were pressuring tactics. And even though I knew I have to give her control of how much she consumed, as instructed by pediatricians like Dr. Brazelton, I often tried to get Zoe to take that "one more bite." And of course, the more I tried, the more she resisted. And, of course, the more she resisted by refusing to eat, the more anxious I became and the more I tried to get her to eat by persuasion or coercion, both of which never did work.

So, following the core advise of the book, I've forsworn trying to get Zoe to eat more and instead to trust that she will eat what she needs. I knew this of course, but it was hard to implement given the fact that Zoe is on the small side (even for an Asian). Anyhow, this may have been important before, it is especially important now that Zoe is at the stage where she wants to assert herself as a separate person. So, I am responsible for providing her with healthy, nutritious (and hopefully tasty) food in small to moderate quantities. She can decide how much she wants to eat, if any. And baby can ask for more if she wants more. It's been quite wonderful not having struggles (overt or covert) at mealtimes. I am more relaxed. Zoe seems to be happy with mommy's new mentality. She seems to be eating better. Just the other day, much to my delight, she demolished the cantaloupe I cut up for her. No urging needed. I simply put the pieces on her tray and then proceeded to eat my portion.

Another change we adopted (or are adopting) is eating together as a family. Except for breakfast, Zoe's mealtimes used to come before ours. That came about because we had to spoon feed her before, which was a full time job. Now that she is feeding herself and seems to want to eat what we eat, and now that we are adopting a more hands off attitude towards her eating, we decided it is time to partake meals together. This means a very early dinner - 6 pm at the latest. This is great as early dinners are better from the health standpoint and leaves us more time in the evening after Zoe has been put to bed to do other things. This also means that dinner preparation must be done by me while Zoe takes her afternoon nap. In short, not a whole lot of rest time in the afternoon for me. Also, no more dinner preparation as a couple activity in the evening. Dennis and I promised ourselves that we would do the long, lingering dinner preparations together on the weekends.

Yosemite Adventures

Because the soul craved to roam "through the dusky wild... and seeks the rocks where billows roll," we drove up to Yosemite over the weekend for some hiking. It would have been a great weekend simply for that reason. But it was made even better because we got to visit our friends Joy and Mark, who are rangers in Yosemite. Joy is Dennis' friend from the high school days.

We believe that this is our most successful road trip with Zoe thus far, even though there were times when she was less than happy. The picture below is evidence of that.

On the trail to Elizabeth Lake, Zoe started to complain. Though she spoke in Babyese, I believe she said "No. No. No!"

Luckily for us, she found Bunny and promptly regained her good humor.

Still, it was all in all a very good trip. We managed to do two short hikes (about 4.8 miles) on both days. Funny how our lives have changed. 4.8 miles in easy terrain used to be a really short hike easily accomplished in two to three hours. These days, with all the stops to feed baby and what not, 4.8 miles is quite good!

On the way to Sentinel Dome

On Sentinel Dome

There were quite a few firsts on this trip. Zoe climbed her first flight of stairs at Joy and Mark's new abode. She got to crawl around Sentinel Dome (I have been pretty protective so far, letting her crawl around only at home). She had her first taste of chocolate (courtesy of Auntie Joy). She had her first bath in a real bath tub. She peed on both Mommy and Daddy for the first time.

Exploring Sentinel Dome

Helping Mommy Pack

I had Zoe in the bedroom with me as I packed for our sojourn to Yosemite this weekend. The little rascal was playing happily with the clothes I had stacked when, suddenly, she decided she would help mommy pack.

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

Grandma and grandpa came to town to celebrate with us Zoe's first birthday. Even though Zoe's reception to her grandparent's arrival was an immediate wail followed by tears and trembling, she allowed grandpa to hold and hug her by the next morning. By Friday morning, she was the best of friends with them and making full use of their love by taking great liberties with grandpa's laptop. (And showing grandpa she can rotate his entire screen 90 degrees just like that). By Monday, when grandma and grandpa left, Zoe showed distinct signs of missing them. She went around looking for them. She kept crawling back to the part of the living room where grandpa camped out with his laptop. It was a little heartbreaking to see her missing her grandparents already. We can't wait till she gets to spend time with them again.

Blogette: Zoe's First Step

Zoe took her first step today. Yep, it was really just one step and then plop. Still, we were so excited and Zoe looked very jubilant.

Family Portrait

Zoe looking so serene in the beautiful hanbok Grandma and Grandpa got her

To celebrate Zoe's birthday, Grandma and Grandpa arranged - through uncle Paul - to have pictures of Zoe taken by a professional photographer. They also wanted portraits of the now three-generation family done. The results are here and we LOVE it. Thank you uncle Paul for the recommendation and thank you Melissa Vaughan for capturing the moments. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!

Three Generations of Kims

Us, under our beautiful tree