Meant to be in front of the cameras

The more your personality develops I'm convinced that you are meant to go into a performing field. You love to sing/dance and pose in front of the cameras. 

Today, you ended up staying home because there was a snowstorm. Daddy decided that it was best not to take you to daycare. I was a little annoyed because daddy told me that after I had gotten you dressed for daycare. There was no way you were going to go back to bed. It didn't help that I hardly got any sleep because you and Kendall kept me up last night. Kendall woke up with poo in her diaper and then right after you woke up screaming for me. I tried to sleep after daddy left, but you were rolling around and talking in bed with me. I had to yell at you a few times to be quiet. It's been a little hard these days for mommy because Kendall's been waking up in the middle of night because she is pooing in her diaper. I think all the solid foods that she is eating is making her have bowel movements at night. And, she no longer sleeps until noon. 

So while Kendall was napping in the morning I was reading a book to you in bed. Then we were surfing on my phone and I was showing you this blog. I saw the post where I posted your new clothes that we bought you last week so I decided to try that on you at that moment. I was eager to see how the jogging pants would look on you. That's when a mini photo shoot happened. I ended up taking several photos of you trying different outfits. I just love doing that!

The H&M jogging pants are way too big on you, but I rolled it up so that you can still wear it in this shot.

Here's another one. I showed you how to do the West Coast symbol with your hands, but you could
only do the peace signs. Keke.

You look like such a hipster here.

I couldn't resist a muscle shirt so that you could show off your puny muscles. Love you!

I posted these photos on Facebook and so many people commented that I should get you to go into modeling. I'm not sure how you would deal with a room full of strangers as you are not very social. It is something to think about though… You are pretty darn cute.

Report card

You came home with your report card from your preschool class at daycare. I was worried to even open it because I feared that you would not get great marks in some areas (i.e., socializing with other kids). However, you are developing nicely. There are some areas that they marked you at 1 (developing skill), but I know you are already at 2 (acquired skill). I'm talking about Develops/displays preferences for particular children- preferred friends (#7 under Social interactive); Classifications- where things go (#4 under Cognitive facts and concepts); Arranges objects (#5 under Cognitive facts and concepts); I notice that you need to work particularly hard at the Social Interactive category. I already know this. Sigh.

I got you to hop on one foot after I read the report (#6 under Large Muscle) and you were only able to hop once. After that you toppled over. Keke.

These boots were made for walking- Part 2

Remember these boots that mommy bought you a few months ago from Walmart? Well, they were so poorly made that the stitching came all undone. I was so mad because they weren't that cheap either. Since it's been snowing quite a bit I wanted to get you a new pair. However, stores don't carry boots anymore as it's already the end of February. Then, I remembered last night that your Toronto grandparents had bought you Croc boots when I went to NYC with them in December 2011. I always thought they were too big for you, but when I actually put them on you this morning they fit perfectly. They are a size 9 and you were wearing a size 8 in the Lightning McQueen boots, but they still fit. Perfect!

I love how light weight they are and they don't have stitching on the toe area. That's where the
Lightning McQueen boots all fell apart. 

Daddy's clone

Mommy was doing something upstairs today while you and daddy were in the basement. When I went down to check up on you I saw you with your little stool pulled up against daddy's desk and your toy laptop propped up. This just made me smile because it was the cutest thing. I want you to look up to daddy so that you will proudly say, "When I grow up, I want to be just like daddy!" Although the other day you told me, "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be an astronaut!"

A + K = ♥

I just love the fact that you and Kendall get along so well (so far). Kendall adores you. Every time she sees you she smiles and when you get close she always wants to touch your hair. You, on the other hand, always gives her kisses and hugs her. I just love that!

1st day of Korean school

Today was your first day at Korean school. Daddy and I have been meaning to put you in for a while because we've noticed that you don't understand a word your grandparents say anymore. You do Skype Monday-Friday with your Vancouver grandparents and there are times where you and your Vancouver grandfather are staring at each other without saying a word. He's not very good at English and you don't know what he is saying in Korean. It doesn't help that when your Vancouver grandpa is speaking English to you his accent is so thick that he might as well be speaking Korean…

My friend, YJ, had put her son Asher in Korean school last semester so I wanted to make sure I enrolled you when she did again. Asher is really good in Korean because YJ's first language is Korean. 

The class starts at 10am and ends at 2:30pm every Saturday. I wanted to make sure Asher was in your class because you are already antisocial as it is when you are put in a surrounding that you are uncomfortable with. I had to talk to you a few days leading up to this day to make sure you knew where you were going. Otherwise you would likely freak out.  Even though we had the talk you still were clingy to me and when your teacher tried to get you to sit with your other classmates during orientation you almost threw a tantrum. I had to go sit with you to calm you down. I was not impressed. Thankfully, your teacher was so nice and she was able to take you to your class no problem. Phew!

The Korean school takes place at a church. They have different programs that they offer-
Korean school, English school, calligraphy, guitar, drawing, etc.

The place was really nice. I know it looks empty here, but it was packed. I was surprised that
most people were Korean speaking.

Look at unhappy you look :-S

When I went to pick you up I was surprised how happy you were. Apparently you played well
and ate spaghetti! Here you are with the Choi boys- Asher and Austin. You guys look like a bunch
of thugs here…

Kendall's 7-month checkup & a little haul

You had your 7-month check-up today. You got another 5 in 1 shot on your right thigh. I was worried how you were going to react, but other than the initial crying you were fine after 5 seconds. Here's where you're at:

Weight: 7.29kg or 16.07lbs

Height: 65.5cm

Head circumference: 42cm

According to the doctor your length is at the 15th percentile, weight is just below the 50th percentile and your head circumference is at the 50th percentile.

The photo above is a picture I took of you sitting on the doctor's scale. You were so cute smiling while naked that I couldn't resist taking a quick snapshot. I also love all the rolls.

Your brother Aidan also had a quick follow-up. Daddy took a day off from work today so that he could help me take both of you to see the doctor. Last time I was worried about his constipation- he was not having ANY bowel movements in the potty and was pooping in his pants :-S Luckily he is now going poo in the potty, just not daily. Because he is holding it for 2-3 days his poo has been HUMUNGOUS! It's so big that he would tell me it was painful and I would also see some blood in his stool. The doctor suggested I give him more fiber-rich foods. I might try baking bran muffins as Aidan loves muffins. I also asked the doctor about his peanut allergy and if he can redo his allergy test. I don't think his allergy is that severe so I'm curious to see if he outgrew his allergy to peanuts. She is going to refer me to an allergist. Also, his nose is prone to bleeding. Lately, he's been having a bloody nose almost every single night. I think it's because the air has been so dry in his room since we turn on the heater fan. He wakes up screaming my name because I think he is alarmed that his nose is bleeding. It doesn't bleed for a long time, but I'm still concerned why his nose is so sensitive. Maybe it's because I also had a lot of bloody noses when I was young? The doctor suggested I try an OTC medicine for his nose. We shall see if that works. In the meantime I have his humidifier blasting at full strength in his room.

After the doctor's appointment the whole family was exhausted. We were planning to go to the mall to buy Aidan some much-needed clothes, but we decided to go home and crash.

We all ended up napping for a few hours. When we awoke we decided to head to the mall as we didn't have time in the weekend to go- Aidan starts his Korean school tomorrow.

Here's what we got Aidan:

At H&M: I love the kids clothes at H&M. They are so cute!
I immediately was drawn to these monster tees and at $5.95 each I couldn't pass up on it.
As for the pants I absolutely ADORE THEM! They reminded me of the J Crew Saturday Pants that
I've been wanting for myself, but in a boys version. The mannequin at the store had the pants
paired with the gray monster tee and high-top kicks. It looked very cool.

At Children's Place: Not my favourite kids store, but I love their price points. I got these 2
shirts for $4.99 each! Aidan's been outgrowing all his long-sleeve shirts so I wanted to get a couple
more for his daycare. I didn't want to buy too many as spring is just around the corner.
I still have to get Aidan boots (his boots I got this past fall is already falling apart!) and maybe PJ's.

Month-by-month- Month 7

I decided to move the rocking chair that I normally photograph you in for your Month-by-month shoots to Aidan's room since his room is light-filled during the day. It's such a pleasure doing these shoots because I love dressing you in clothes that you normally wouldn't wear during the day. You have so many nice clothes in your dresser, but it's just not that practical wearing them on a day-by-day basis. 

It was hard capturing a good photograph of you because you kept wanting to eat your shoes! You are so active now. You can now sit up on your own, but you sometimes topple over so I still have to watch you like a hawk. You are now an expert roller. You still can't crawl though… You've also begun to blabber (quite loudly). You stick your tongue out and start talking jibberish. It's quite cute :-)

Here's a video of Kendall sitting in her rocking chair, not paying attention :-/

Too upset…

So you got bit on the face again. 

I got a call from daycare today saying that some kid bit you while you were holding a toy that they wanted. It is the protocol of the daycare to call the parents to let them know of any accidents that happen. I was so upset because I didn't know the extent of the mark. The last couple of times you were bit you were left with a scar on your face. I know these things happen with daycare, but I just feel so bad that you have to fend for yourself at such a young age.

When you came home there were 2 red marks on your right cheek. It looks like it's going to bruise in the next couple of days. Apparently some kid named Aaron did that to you. Or so you say…

You don't seem to upset by it though.

When the kids sleep the mother comes out to play…

Taking care of 2 kids is not easy. However, I'm lucky that you and Kendall are far apart in age that you can entertain yourself while I'm tending to Kendall. Still, having 2 kids at home is a lot of work. So you can imagine how happy I am when I get a few hours to myself. That's why it's so important to get you both to nap. 

BTW, you have tissues in your nostrils because you had a bloody nose. You've been having a lot of bloody noses lately. It's concerning me…

Happy playing

Mommy and daddy had tickets to see the Leafs game tonight. So we got your Toronto grandparents to babysit you and Aidan while we went. Prior to that we just had a low-key day. Daddy took your brother swimming while I stayed home with you. I got you to play in my office while I did some work on the computer. I just lay down a blanket and put Sophie and a few baby blocks and this kept you entertained for a while. You still aren't able to crawl, but you can sit up pretty well and you roll around everywhere! Sometimes you'll end up on the other side of the room because you are rolling left and right. Pretty soon you'll be walking!

Movie & books

Daddy came home early today. He suggested I take you to the movies. You are such a big movie buff so I knew you would be excited. We decided to watch Escape from Planet Earth 3D. The show was playing at 5pm so I took you to the bookstore before the movie to treat you to some books. We picked out 3 books- Love You Forever, The Cat in the Hat and an Educational book (I forgot the title). The first 2 books were my one of my favourite books growing up so I knew you would love them.

The movie was so good! You stayed in your seat the whole time wearing your 3D glasses. I fed you a hot dog and french fries. Let's just say it was a hit.

When we got home I told you I would read you one of the books before bed. I chose Love You Forever. I remember reading it when I was small it always brought tears to my eyes because of the evolving relationship between a mother and a son. Now it was much more relevant as I am now the mother and you, my son. Some parts of the book were really hard for me to read because I kept choking up with tears. I hugged you so tight during the parts where the mother rocked her son back and forth, back and forth…  

Happy heart day!

Look what you made me for Valentine's Day this year. I absolutely love it!

I kept asking you what you made me for Valentine's Day and you kept saying, "Heart, heart." 

I was actually pretty peeved at daddy on Valentine's Day because he didn't get me anything. I don't expect lavish gifts or anything, but a card and chocolates would have been nice. He said we didn't have money this year for gifts and he didn't want to buy me cheap chocolates. But it's still better than nothing!

He was saying that I didn't get him anything either, but I had cleaned up the house and made a nice dinner. Plus, I put both kids to sleep so that he would have a little break. I thought we would spend the rest of the night hanging out together, but he was cooped up in my office watching videos all night. I ended up watching TV downstairs by myself while eating your chocolates you gotten from your daycare friends. I felt so pathetic. It didn't help that when I got to bed he kicked me out when I told him to stop snoring. I ended up sleeping in your room. This morning, he didn't realize what had happened because when he saw me sleeping in your room he asked me why. He emailed me while at work telling me he was sorry and I let him have it. I explained all the things he did wrong on Valentine's Day. I guess he felt bad because he came home with a box of chocolates :-)

It doesn't take much to make someone feel special. I want you to remember that.

Snippets of feedings with Kendall

You will only eat applesauce.

I started feeding solids with you by introducing rice cereal, but now that you've had applesauce (so far you've had rice cereal, oatmeal, banana, puréed apples, puréed pears, sweet potatoes) you won't eat anything else. It's gotten to a point where I have to mix applesauce with these things to even get you to eat. My friend, YJ, told me I introduced fruit too early. Today I tried getting you to eat sweet potatoes sans applesauce and you wouldn't have it. You were spitting it out, shaking your head, sucking on your thumb and you even threw up after gagging. I don't know what to do. Aidan didn't have a problem at this stage. Now he is a picky eater, but back then he ate everything! Help!

Here's a few snippets of feeding solids to you now. As you can see it's quite a battle…

V-Day cards

One thing I love about being home is taking the time to make things- family Christmas cards, Advent Calendar and Valentine's Day cards. When mommy is working life gets to hectic that I don't have time to do all these things that I love to do. 

I've been noticing all the V-Day craft ideas popping up on Pinterest for the past couple of weeks. One of my favourite ideas was from Sally J Shim. I decided to rework her idea to make it my own. I knew I wanted to incorporate your thumb prints on the cards so I tried a few ideas. In the end, I settled on the cards above. I used Hershey Kisses instead of the heart candies that Sally used.

You didn't know why you were making heart thumb prints yesterday night.
I tried several different colours of my stamp pads and settled on the red colour.

You hard at work.

I scanned my favourite heart shape that you had made and incorporated it onto my tic tac
toe cards. I also made sure to get all the names of your daycare friends/teachers before
I made these cards so that I could personalize them.

Printing it out on my new Epson Artisan 1430 printers (gift from daddy).

Here is the printed card sans that Hersheys chocolates.

I cut them all out and used white glue to glue the chocolates onto the cards.

I'm trying out a new web app called Vine. I created a 7 second loop video of the Valentine's Day card that I made.