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Dear Aidan,

Yesterday night was hard because we had to keep waking you up to vacuum your nose. It was really stuffed up so we wanted to make sure you were able to breathe. However, you hated when I put the Babyvac in your nose. You started screaming and crying. Eventually mommy moved you to our bed so that you could sleep with us. This was a photo of you this morning when you woke up. Not so cute, eh? Haha. The good news is you looked like you were a little better today. You didn't sneeze as much and your nose didn't run as much as yesterday.

Mommy had to go out in the afternoon to buy a gift for JP because it was his birthday party today. I also met up with Auntie Jess and Auntie Sara at the mall. It was so good seeing them. It's really hard these days to meet because we are all working, we all have husbands now, and we live in opposite sides of the city. But, when we meet I always have a blast. I love my sisters! I hope that one day you will love your brothers or sisters as much as I do.

While we were at Baby Gap Auntie Sara was saying how she liked the little girl with the violin on their ad campaign. Then Auntie Jess said that she liked the girl jumping in the middle. But upon close examination the ad looked like the Han sisters back when we were young. The girl on the far right was Auntie Sara because she played the violin growing up, the girl in the middle was Auntie Jess because she had a short bob and she was outgoing, and the girl on the left was me! I was the artistic girl.
Here is the ad:


I'm actually feeling sick right now. My nose is running and I can't stop sneezing. I think I caught a cold from you. I'm going to lie down now. I leave you with a photo of you walking around naked right before your bath. Enjoy!

TGIF... or is it?

Dear Aidan,

My worst fears came true today- you got sick from someone at daycare. I was warned by my colleagues and friends that the bad thing about daycare was that the kids got sick a lot. I mean, it could be a good thing in the long run because your body will boost its immune system, but in the present it is HARD. A couple of days ago I noticed that you were breathing very heavily so I thought that you might be coming down with something. Today you were really congested and your nose was runny. Every time you sneezed you had this yellowish mucous that came out. And it wasn't just a little bit. It was a lot! I think you were also very lethargic because you kept falling over while you were walking. It looked like you were drunk. Luckily both mommy and daddy were home today. Daddy took a day off from work and mommy worked from home today. We took you to your doctor in the morning to get your 1-year vaccination shots, but unfortunately you weren't able to get it. The doctor told us that we should hold off until you were feeling a little better. So I made another appointment for next Friday. Hopefully you will be fully recovered by then. I still wanted to drop you off at daycare because I had to work, but it was so hard dropping you off. I think you were really tired and cranky because you were sick. All you wanted to do was to be with me. When mommy handed you over to Larissa, your caregiver, you started crying so much. She was pushing a tandem stroller with the other babies in your class. She put you in an empty seat, but you kept moving side to side to get a better view of me. Then when you saw me, you started reaching out to me. You don't know how hard that was. Larissa told me to go, but it was so hard to leave you like that. I felt extremely guilty. I cried all the way home. Daddy picked you up at 3:00pm, earlier than his usual time, but we wanted to bring you home quickly so that you were with us. These photos were taken just after you got home and mommy was giving you a muffin to eat. You can't really tell from these photos, but your nose was running like crazy. Poor baby! I'm just glad that you got sick now instead of next Tuesday when mommy and daddy go back to work. At least we can watch over you this weekend.

Holding your own

Dear Aidan,

It's so fascinating that every little thing that we take for granted as an adult has to be learned one by one by a baby. Yesterday the daycare told daddy that we should try to get you to hold your own cup at home. I've been trying to get you to do that for some time, but it takes a lot of practice to get it. Finally you started holding your own cup today. Yay! You are now able to hold your cup that has your homo milk in it while you drink from a straw. I'm trying to stop formula as soon as I can (once the can runs out) so I only fed you formula once in the morning. I was able to feed you formula before you went to bed today.

On a sad note, it was your Vancouver grandma's last day today. I was a little glad that I didn't see her when daddy dropped her off at the airport (I was at work), because I would have felt terrible. She always cries when we part and it really sucks. I just feel so horrible inside. She really hates that we live so far away because she can't just see you when she feels like it. It's so surprising for me to say this, but I wish she could stay a little longer. She made dinner every single day and daddy and I are much happier when she is around. I don't know why, but maybe it's because we have more freedom to do our own thing. She did a lot while she was here- she cooked every night, she helped take care of you, she cleaned the house (and she never cleans!), and she took Rosco for a walk (Rosco loved that!). Well, we are probably going to see her very soon in November, but she will miss you a lot. I know she will be depressed for a while.

First day at daycare

Dear Aidan,

Nobody told me that having a baby will make become harder and harder each year. I'm not just talking about the physical hardships, but I'm talking about emotional hardships. I prepared myself for the lack of sleep and lack of freedom of doing whatever I felt like doing before I had you, but I was never prepared for the going back to work part and putting you in daycare. Today was your first day at daycare. I had been dreading this day for a while because I felt that it was the last straw where the bond that you and I had together would be broken. I was so used to having you around me that I never realized that a day would come when I would have to cut the string and let you grow up. This morning everyone woke up at 6:30am to get you ready for daycare. I had to wake you up while you were sleeping so I could feed you before daddy took you to daycare.


I'm not sure if you knew something was different today, but you held on to daddy so tightly this morning. I was so heartbroken when I saw that. I felt so guilty inside for letting somebody else take care of you while I worked. I would rather spend every waking moment with you than work, but things don't always happen the way that you want it to...



It was still very early in the morning so you were a bit groggy.



The sun was shining behind you so you looked like my little angel.



All strapped in and ready to go. Sniff sniff.



I waved so hard while I saw daddy drive off with you, but you didn't even look at me. I was so sad. I came inside and I broke out in tears. Your Vancouver grandma saw me cry and consoled me, but afterwards she disappeared in her room and cried too. It was sad for both of us. It felt so lonely in the house after you left.



This was after mommy came home from work. Your Toronto grandparents and Toronto Aunties came over to visit you and see how we were all doing. You looked very drained and not your usual self. Or maybe it was just me. You were sitting in your playpen watching a Treehouse program. Apparently you were very grumpy at daycare today.




We all played with you in your playroom and your mood got a bit better.

Tomorrow we start the second day at daycare. Daddy will probably put you in for a little longer than today. You were there until 1pm today. We'll see how tomorrow goes. I'm hoping to work from home on Friday this week so I can take you to daycare myself.

You're a big boy now

Dear Aidan,

I can't believe the time is finally here. You are starting daycare tomorrow. Daddy took a day off from work so that he can be with you while you transition into daycare this week. It was really nice having your Vancouver grandma here while mommy went back to work because I felt that she was going to take care of you with the best of her ability. I know daycare will be good, but I know that they won't treat you how your family treats you. It's going to be different. You are so used to being doted on and receiving the best, but in daycare you will be surrounded by other kids your age. The teachers won't be able to give you their full attention and since you aren't their child they won't treat you as well as we do. I spent most of this evening preparing your stuff to bring to daycare tomorrow (diapers, wipes, extra clothing, sunscreen, bottles, etc. etc.). Yesterday your Toronto grandma called me to say that she bought you a raincoat and Auntie Jess bought you a backpack for your first day at daycare. That was so sweet of them.

I tried giving you homo milk for the first time yesterday because I want you to transition from formula to homo milk after you turned 1. You're still getting used to it, but I think you'll do just fine. We upped the amount of homo milk we gave you today as well. I took a few snapshots of you having homo milk and doing other stuff.


Look at your new cup mommy and daddy bought you at Baby's R Us yesterday. It's a cup with a straw. We want to eventually wean you off bottles with nipples because it's apparently not good for you now. The hard sucking could make you more prone to ear infections and other bad things.



Hmmm. It seems like you don't like homo milk. Actually you always make a face when you try the first tasting.



You couldn't stop playing with the straw. I had to hold your hand down while I fed you because you kept fussing with the straw.



You had a little bit of the homo milk and then I fed you cheese strings. You love that stuff.



Uh oh! A piece of cheese got stuck on your face.





Jjak jjak goong, jjak jjak goong. (That means clap, clap, clap in Korean)



The far-off look you have on your face while you are chewing on cheese strings.



You crossed your feet together while you were enjoying your cheese. It was very cute indeed.



Oh, that dreaded foot has come up again! You love playing with your foot while you are eating. It's such a bad habit.



Look at that foot! It's bigger than your head!



Mommy bought you a Charlie Brown shirt at United Colors of Benetton the other day. I didn't even know they sold baby clothes, let along Peanuts shirts! I love Charlie Brown and Snoopy so I couldn't resist.



Now you match mommy's Peppermint Patty shirt!

Here's a video of you while you were eating. You were being your usual goofy, playful self:

My heart bleeds

Dear Aidan,

You had an accident today. You fell and hit your mouth on the window sill in your playroom in the morning while both mommy and daddy were at work. I guess it happened so quickly while your Vancouver grandma was watching you. She was so traumatized by that whole ordeal because you were crying and you bled a lot. Luckily your teeth were ok, but your lips swelled up really badly. I didn't even know this had happened because daddy didn't call me to let me know. Apparently he had found out about this after you had the accident from your grandma. I came home and your Vancouver grandma asked me if daddy had called me while I was at work. I said no and then I saw your mouth. I was so shocked. I think she was so stressed out the whole day because she thought that I would get really mad at her or something. I know she didn't mean for this to happen so I made sure she didn't feel worse than she already felt. I'm just sorry that I wasn't there to console you when you were hurting. Ugh. I hate that. I want to be there when things happen, but I can't do that anymore. It's so frustrating! I know it's only going to get worse when we put you in daycare on Monday. You are going to get bruises and bumps, but they won't be giving you the same attention like mommy, daddy, and our family members.

Blessed

Dear Aidan,

We had to take you to Sick Kids today to see a Urologist. Your GP had referred us to a specialist at Sick Kids to look at your penis. When you had your circumcision 2 days after you were born the doctor that performed the circumcision told me that you had a minor case of hypospadias. Your urinary meatus (opening) is a bit lower than how it should be. Your GP wanted to make sure that you didn't need to get surgery to fix the problem. Good news is that you are totally fine. The Urologist said we had nothing to worry about. Phew! It was scary going to Sick Kids because while we were waiting in line we saw a tiny baby being carried away in a hospital bed with IV running through their little body. It was scary. I don't think I could deal with that. Actually I don't think any mother could...

Birthday cards

Dear Aidan,

Your Vancouver grandma asked me to take a photo of all the birthday cards that you got for your 1 year birthday party before I took it down from the mantle. She also told me to save the card that she wrote you. She's sentimental like that.

Daddy and I decided to take some photos of you by the cards too before we took them down.




Just after we took photos with you we put you down on the couch by one of the gifts that you got for your birthday. It's a purplish teddy bear that was in Toy Story 3. I didn't watch the movie, but daddy told me that the bear is a bad character! I don't think our friends, Jenn and Ed, knew that the bear was a bad guy in the movie. You also don't like the bear too much because every time you see it you start crying. Awwww...



I know this is totally off topic, but I thought I would include a couple of pictures of Rosco that I took today. It's when daddy was about to give Rosco a bath. He usually washes Rosco in the laundry room sink. Rosco looked so sad and small in the sink that I had to take a picture. Poor guy!