The Year in Review

I can't believe I have the chance to get a really good nights sleep and I've been awake since 4am.  Hubby is still in Bk, I'm at the parents' house and baby is asleep in my parents' bedroom.  You would think that would be ideal for a good night's sleep. Oh well I guess the bags under my eyes will continue to get worse. 

I also can't believe the year is almost over...I keep looking at photos from last year 'til now. Just seeing how rapidly the baby has grown totally blows my mind. 

He's almost 17 months old now.  Someone asked me once why parents do that...say a babies age by months instead of just dating he's a year old.  I think I used to wonder the same thing before I had my own.  When they're this young, you're just always so intent on keeping track of the developmental phases that go along with each month... Anyways the little man is growing and learning so fast. It's so funny how they imitate you. For example, after gulping down a big glass of water, I tend to exhale with a "ahhh" and he does that now after he takes a sip of his drink.  It's pretty funny.  When my hubby brushes his teeth, he gargles with listerine and spits it out.  So when the baby brushes his teeth, he makes a gargling type sound.  It's so cute and comical at the same time.

He's still not really saying any words yet except "oh oh" which I am realizing I say quite often myself.  "dye dye" is his version of bye bye.  He'll still babble nonsensically in crazy baby language. And when he wants something, he'll point and say "da".  Sometimes I'm like dude I have no idea what you want..da for drink, da for cookie, da for toothbrush...you get the idea. But at the same time, I still marvel at his comprehension of the things I say or ask him to do.   I think it can be quite frustrating for him to not be able to clearly tell us what he wants or feels, and as a parent you're just hoping you're translating correctly.  I suppose it's like communicating with someone who speaks a foreign language.  Eh, he'll be speaking soon enough. 

In looking at old photos, it even just amazes me to see how many teeth he has growing in now.  Before, we were so excited as his first 2 teeth were coming in.  Now he has 4 molars and a couple of others coming through.  It must hurt like a bitch.  I remember how annoying my wisdom teeth felt when they were coming out. No wonder the little man is grumpy sometimes.  But you can never be absolutely sure what's bothering him.  Overall, even though he's teething like a mad man, he's still pretty chill.

I'm still getting constantly asked if we're planning on having another one.  It's a good question that I still don't have an answer to. I'm not getting any younger however so it's not a limitless period for us to decide.  It's a lot if work raising just one, let alone 2, 3, etc.  Pregnancy itself is quite draining.  Then there's the perennial question, is it selfish to only have one child?  The "your child needs a playmate or he'll be lonely" argument.  Or "your child needs a sibling so he won't be spoiled" argument.   Or don't worry about space or expenses, you can/will make it work..which I'm sure is the case. I mean my sister and I grew up in a one bedroom apartment (we basically slept in the living room) until we moved to a house when I was 13.  I didn't think anything of it. But I was definitely excited to finally have my own bedroom.  Anyhoo, I guess that question will still be in debate for 2013. 

Well it's Christmas Eve at our house and I'm excited to see the family.  It's pretty handy having this blogger app on my phone so I can blog from anywhere, especially when you can't sleep but don't want to get up just yet. But it's 7 am now so now is as good a time as any to get out of bed.  Ta ta for now.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Over the weekend, my son stayed with my parents.  My dad decided to cut the baby's hair because apparently he was annoyed by the long length.  He only cut the bangs but he didn't ask or tell me!!.  I found out because I noticed his bangs were crooked when they brought him back to BK..and I mentioned it to them, and my mom casually mentioned that my dad decided to cut them and since the kid was moving so much, they ended up being crooked.  Anyway now that it has been several days since the haircut, I have just realized that he looks like Jim Carey from Dumb and Dumber.  Argh!!!  I know it's only hair and it will grow back eventually, but Argh again!! Just in time for his Christmas photo with Santa. 

Travel 101

OK so now I am no longer a "travel with infant" virgin.  I really was quite nervous about traveling overseas and if we'd have to deal with crying for 7 hours straight and what do we bring on the flight?  And did we pack enough for the journey?  Good thing was all family had spare car seats so we didn't need to lug that around.  We just brought our umbrella stroller and I brought the ergo carrier but I didn't use the carrier at all.  I didn't pack enough diapers to last through our Germany trip but that was easy enough to purchase.  And our poor little one had bouts of motion sickness when in the car (maybe it was the automatic/stick-shift jerky movements as he never threw up in a car before) which I wasn't prepared for since he ended up puking all over his winter jacket...happened 3 times on this trip.  Since we were staying at families' houses, they were thankfully able to wash the jacket for us - and loan us some extra layers.  Throw up was not the funnest thing to deal with on the trip, but we survived it ok. 

For the flight, blessings - our little one passed out on the way over to Germany no problem.  I must say Lufthansa was very accommodating for us with infant.  They assigned us bulk head seats with a nearly empty center row, and we were able to have the bassinet set up (he just made the weight limit).  They gave him a toy rattle to keep him entertained, and they were just generally really nice and understanding.  The cool thing about traveling with infant is we got to board the airplane first.  Who needs first class?  Just take a baby.  We had an 8:30 night flight and he slept the whole way.  Woke up in Munich - I think our arrival was around 10am, no problem and no apparent jet lag.  Perhaps having loads of play time with his cousins helped him adjust quickly.  Munich to London was a 2 hour flight.  My friend had warned me ahead of time to make sure the baby is eating or drinking during take off and landing to avoid any ear pressure issues.  He did eat a handful of cookies when we took off to Germany.  I think he drank his water upon landing.  Anyway, he didn't cry so there were no issues with air pressure.  We flew Lufthansa once again from Munich to London, and once again they were so accommodating - they made sure the seat next to us was empty so we could sit the baby in between us.  On the flight, the baby refused to eat the snacks I gave him and refused to drink.  He practically cried the whole 2 hours.  I had prepared a bag of cheap 99 cent toys - separated into little envelopes - to break out when he got bored and restless on the flights.  He wasn't really interested.  Threw the toys down on the floor. He just kept crying until the last 10 minutes when the stewardess gave him a packet of gummy bears.  I'm thinking..sugar - bad for the teeth - future cavities - but we were on the verge of trying anything at that point. Viola!  Worked like a charm.  He started chewing and he stopped crying and was totally fine.  Maybe the air pressure was really bothering him this time.  Toddlers can't eat gum because they don't know not to swallow - gummy bears are the perfect solution..  Why hadn't I thought of that before?  Why didn't anyone recommend that on any of the parenting sites or did I miss that piece of info?  It sounds like practical info that I would have remembered.  Well, we definitely made sure to have a packet of gummies for the return home just in case.  On the flight home, he was pretty hyper.  We had an afternoon flight, and we flew United which I must say isn't as nice as Lufthansa.  No toy for baby - not even an attachable lap belt for infant during take off and landing.  We had to just hold him on our lap which can be difficult if he doesn't want to sit still.  He was wide awake and wanted to touch everything.  The flight was packed so we didn't have a row to ourselves.  It was a row of 3 seats and we were on the inside.  So we decided to change his diaper early on when we went to use the bathroom, so as to minimally inconvenience the person sitting next to us.  And what do you know?  15 minutes after we changed him and got back to our seats, he did a poo.  So I had to make the woman next us get up again..laptop...earphones..blanket, etc, take his supplies out of the overhead again, and go back to the bathroom.  I know the little man was very tempted to touch that woman's laptop next to us..All I can say is it was a good thing we had personal tv's on the back of the chair so he could press and play on there.  Eventually after about 2 hours of trying to crawl off our laps, staring at the passengers behind us, throwing any and all toys on the floor, kicking off his shoe, kicking the seat in front of us (it was really hard to prevent since we hardly had any space), he finally fell asleep.  I think he slept for about 4 hours all the way through to when we landed.  He only woke up when I put him into his stroller.  So overall, I would say not too bad.

Now we are just suffering the consequences of jet lag and he caught a cold which has progressively gotten worse....4 am wake up, 5 am wake up, hopefully it will be adjusted to the 7 am wake up he used to do.   I think I'll have to take him to the doctor for his phlegmy cough because it wakes him up at night  and he can't breath properly.   I heard they can't really give cold medicine to infants so not sure if the doctor can do anything to help. 

The Aftermath

We are the lucky ones. No damage to our homes, no loss of electricity..In my neighborhood, except for a few fallen trees,  Sandy pretty much bypassed us.  There were some areas like the Jersey shore, Rockaway Beach, Staten Island, and Breezy Point  that were hit very badly... loss of lives, loss of homes. From what I saw on tv, it looked like a war zone in some parts.   Fire in the midst of high winds, rain and major coastal flooding.  It will take some time to recover.  Getting into Manhattan has been crazy since the subways aren't fully running.  Somehow everyone has run out of gas and people are getting very aggravated.  Overcrowded lines of people to take the buses or the trains or get gas, if it's even available.   Major traffic since no electricity of course equals no traffic lights.  Menial subway service equals more people trying to drive to work, etc. I hope things will calm down, instead of  build up more tension, in the days to come.  Lower Manhattan was pitch black since Sunday, but I think some power has been restored today.  Slowly but surely things will return to normal.  I just hope everyone who needs assistance gets it and no one is forgotten...

Hurricane Sandy

Last year we had a hurricane threat - Irene - although there was some damage and flooding, it definitely did not hit as bad as expected.  We had some downed branches in the hood especially in Prospect Park but that was pretty much it.  Today it's Hurricane Sandy - I've never in my life experienced all the MTA not running and bridges (including the Throgs Neck, Tappan Zee, Whitestone, Verazano and Hudson River) and tunnels being closed due to a Hurricane.  We'll pretty much be stranded here since there's no way to get out of NYC.  That's pretty crazy.  We're far from the water, so we should be safe from any flooding that Zone A is experiencing...perhaps we'll get some flying tree branches and power outages...but so far all is ok.  There has already been flooding in Red Hook, Green Point and Battery Park before the center of the hurricane has even reached us.  The FDR is flooded and closed.  There's going to be major water damage.  I saw pictures of NJ and cities near the water, and it looked pretty bad.  Hope everyone survives Sandy unscathed.  I figured I should try and blog before the power goes out.  Most people did not go to work today since the subways were shut down last night.  The ills of working from home is that no inclement weather can stop you from working unless of course the power goes out or there's no internet.  Most people will not be working tomorrow either because the trains are still not in service.  Some people have lost power already...not sure if we have enough provisions/candles to survive without power.  I'm charging up my laptop now for entertainment purposes...This definitely should be interesting. I received an interesting message from our Pediatrician's office which I thought was pretty funny:

Dear Families,

This will be the first time Tribeca Pediatrics has ever closed due to weather conditions. I want to let you know that we are monitoring the situation and will try to re-open our offices as soon as transportation will allow.

In the meantime, our phone lines are open and staffed by receptionists and providers (working remotely from home). We are also planning to extend hours in the coming weeks so that all appointments can be rescheduled conveniently.

Stay safe and be assured that we will do our best to be available to you. On the upside, I look forward to seeing lots of new babies nine months from now!

Cheers,

Michel

Haha -  And on a lighter note, my son has perfected blowing kisses complete with sound effect, "MWAH!"  It's very cute.  He's also perfecting screaming at a very high pitch when he doesn't get what he wants...hmmm not sure how to curve that behavior and encourage the cute ones.

Election Day 2012

I don't normally like to spout politics or stand on a soap box because I don't like stirring the pot, but election day is coming and I just have to say if you are pro-woman, if you are a woman, you should vote for Obama.  Besides the whole binder full of women comment, I mean the only thing Romney said that he would do to help women get equal pay for equal work is get them home in time to make dinner? Come on! Well I'm lucky my hubby cooks dinner most of the time.  Does that mean I don't need to get paid as much as my colleague for doing the same job?  And that whole debate on contraception..Republicans calling that woman promiscuous because she uses birth control. It's called being responsible.  I am a married woman and still use birth control.  Why? Because I'm not ready to have another baby right now.  I am abortion clinic, sure there are plenty of families operating the same way. Why should an employer dictate if that's covered by insurance or not?  If they don't want it covered, then maybe birth control should be over the counter, not a prescription med.  It's a women's right and freedom of choice to use birth control and it's being a responsible citizen because why would you want people to have kids who aren't ready or can't afford it?  There is so much more to say on that topic but I won't right now.  Not to mention, sometimes women are on birth control because of other reasons such as irregular periods or dysmenorrea. I must add that some of the Republicans' stance on rape is outrageous and it would really suck if they cut funding to planned parenthood.  Planned parenthood is not just an abortion clinic.   It provides affordable health care, testing, counseling,  teaches about safe sex and provides affordable birth control for people who need it.  Anyway just had to get that off my chest.

the spiderman weeble

Our anniversary weekend getaway was nice.  My parents took care of the baby while we went off to play.  We flew American which is really the worst.  It seems like they just haven't upgraded since the 80's, including their stewardesses.  There are no tv screens behind the seat in front of you which is a downer.  On the way there, I was forced to watch NBC promos.  On the way home, they actually showed the most recent Spiderman flick but the screen was pretty small and a couple of rows away.  Anyway I decided to read my Anthony Bordain book, "A Cook's Tour" instead.  Pretty good so far but I'm a fan so.. Speaking of Spiderman, the little man is climbing things...lots of things he shouldn't be climbing on, like the vintage dresser which houses our TV..  Last night it looked like he was able to climb up onto the couch by himself while holding on to one of us or our limbs at least.  Today after lunch, I turn around and to my surprise, he's sitting on the couch all by himself.  He was sitting there nonchalantly playing with one of the throw pillows, like it was an ordinary thing.  What?!!  He can now totally get up there on his own and get off of the couch on his own. It's low enough or he's gotten tall enough to swing his leg over the seat and pull himself up and to get off, he turns on to his belly so that his feet dangle off the seat and then he slides back until his feet hit the ground.  Now here comes trouble for sure!!  He likes to walk on the couch and try to grab things off the bookcase that's next to it - not good.  Or reach over the other end and try to play the guitar. He might flip off the couch if he's not careful.  Ugh, this means I am totally going to need eyes in the back of my head now.   It's crazy how nimble and adept he can be to do climb on and off the sofa, but at the same time he's a total weeble.  He keeps tripping over himself head first.  I can't count how many times he's stumbled and has landed flat on his back.  Can't be good for his brain cells.  He sometimes claps his hands or snaps his fingers above his head when there's a song or music that he likes.  My sister's boyfriend noticed how his hands can barely reach over his own head because it's so big.  It doesn't seem overtly large to me but it is true - he can barely reach above his head.  Hopefully he won't weeble off the couch when I'm not on guard.

sick deux

Yesterday I woke up with a sore throat but it went away once i re-hydrated.  Today I woke up with a sore throat and it's still there.  Ugh - I knew I was coming down with something because my eyes started hurting yesterday - a kind of low grade headache that feels like there's a burning behind my eyes.  I know sounds weird but that's what happens to me when I catch a bad cold.  What do you do when you feel ill but already work from home?  Continue working but stay in your pajamas and don't leave the house.  My son still has his runny nose so he's all congested - poor thing.  I think I am catching a different caliber of cold so I can't blame him for passing it on.

The other night was my wedding anniversary.  My sis and her boyfriend were nice enough to babysit for us so we could go out sans baby.  We decided to go to Buddakan which is right near Chelsea Market and right at the edge of the meatpacking district. Being from NY, you get accustomed to the tight cramped spaces that most restaurants accost you with...chairs back to back with the next table, people hitting you as they pass by, waiters accidentally spilling food on you all because of the cramped spaces.  Not this place.  Buddakan is huge, cavernous and dark and it's quite impressive when you walk down the stairs to the dining area with it's high vaulted ceilings, and massive center table.  They also have a lounge on the first floor when you walk in where you can have drinks and eat if you want.  I felt like I had walked into a hotel lobby front desk only it was very dark with mood lighting like a night club.  There were lots of dudes wearing suit jackets and women in work attire.  So it was that kind of place but mixed in with regular folk and tourists. My hubby and I rated this place a 7.5 out of 10.  Wait staff was great..(they dropped one of my buns for my hoisin glazed pork belly and they remembered to bring a replacement one albeit after I had already scarfed everything down because I was starving and they had to make a new one fresh)..ambiance was ok if you like being in a dark subterranean alcove.  I would not say the place is romantic because there is a constant buzz of people and sounds but it looked like it was a popular date night spot - somewhere you take someone to impress them or you're trying to be hip.  I do agree with some of the comments I read on yelp - it is basically overpriced Chinese food - but they have to pay for the real estate and the abundant restaurant staff.  I was impressed with the appetizers.  As I mentioned, I had the hoisin glazed pork belly and it tasted damn good to me.  The pork was served on a bed of coleslaw which had a hint of ginger mixed in.  The steamed buns were hot, soft and slightly sweet - perfect to go with the crunchy slaw.  My hubby tried these carrot dumplings which were literally shaped like baby carrots - orange skin and all..I had a bite and it tasted good to me.  Since my hubby is a vegetarian, I had to eat all the pork by myself, which didn't leave much room for anything else.  But I was impressed with how they twisted and fried our crispy whole fish.  It tasted good, but I felt like the green curry sauce was a bit too sweet.  Anyway I was stuffed to say the least along with eating Tofu with Eggplant & Dried Pineapple (pretty good), Stir Fried Chinese Vegetables (typical) and Vegetable Fried Rice (I felt like the rice was too sweet and left sort of a candy like aftertaste). I was curious to know how crazy and big their kitchen must be because there were so many people dining and the food was just constantly flowing out.  (yes, we were seated right by the kitchen entrance and bathroom - I guess that's what we get for not making a reservation? But it wasn't an inconvenient or bad spot - you just got to see a lot of people passing by.)  It was pricey but I guess every now and then on special occasions, it doesn't hurt to splurge and try out somewhere you haven't been before.

Dinner + Baby

Last night we went out to dinner - 3 couples (including myself), my friend visiting from Miami and another friend, total 8 plus our baby.   We went to a spot called Esperanto on Avenue C in the East Village, a Brazilian/South American joint.  I had never been there before.  I liked the ambiance.  I think they have live Samba music on Saturday nights.  I would have to say the place is not kid friendly since they don't have high chairs available, and goes without saying no changing table in the bathroom.  Good thing we had some bench seating so I was able to corner our son in and feed him as he sat next to me.  He was pretty well behaved but got a little antsy and started crying towards the middle/end because I think he was tired but forcing himself to stay awake or he was completely bored. I'm not sure which.  Since it was quite loud in there, I don't think anyone noticed the screaming baby which was good, but since it was quite loud I also couldn't hear what anyone else was saying especially on the other end of the table.  The hubby took him outside a couple of times to calm him down which helped a bit when he got  really fidgety.  Of course most everyone was late meeting up but there was plenty of space to be seated because we got there so early (6pm).  Good thing it was empty because it was not until an hour later that we actually went to sit down.  It did fill up by the time we left though.  Food was good. The waitress was nice to let us put in an order of  Cod Fish and Potato Cakes for the baby as soon as we sat down, before anyone else had ordered, so we could get the baby some food asap.  They were delicious and perfectly fried balls of goodness.  I also had Carne Asada  which was seasoned nicely and tasted pretty good, served with a side of black beans and rice.  It was still a little chewy for my taste but not inedible.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy their food.  They have a feijoida there that I want to try.  Next time.  Hubby had a vegetarian plate - skewered vegetables which seemed to also be seasoned nicely.  He also ordered some fried yucca which was crispy and tasted awesome.  Overall it was nice to get to gather with people we hadn't seen for some time and have a night out.  Across the street there is a neighborhood garden, and they were having a free concert which was also a nice touch to end the evening.

The pièce de résistance is we got to see my friend's twin baby boys for the first time.  They are 11 weeks old and oh so small and lovely.  Gorgeous babies!  I can't imagine having to care for double at this stage of 2 hour wakings/feedings.  Must be exhausting but still rewarding to see the little smiles on their faces.  I forget that my baby was once that size because in one year they grow so fast.  And to think prior to this, they didn't even exist.  Every time I see a baby, I know the scientific why and how, but it really makes me wonder at this miracle of life.   It seems like they were formed out of nowhere and are now these little precious human beings born with their own personalities, learning and adjusting and becoming part of this crazy old world that we are all a part of, until one day they are the adults and we cease to exist, and the cycle begins all over again. 

broken into pieces

is it my kid only or do lots of kids like to break tissue up into a million little pieces?  i'm not quite sure what the fascination is but he will steal a napkin off the table, or grab a tissue from my bag or wherever and just proceed to rip it up into a nice pile of little messes that i have to pick up all over the place.  i wouldn't mind him doing this (since it doesn't really hurt him or anyone around him and does keep him somewhat occupied if only for a few minutes) if it weren't for the million tiny floating pieces that i have to gather from all around the room.  i guess that gives me some needed exercise and distracts me from sitting on my ass all day typing on the computer. 

poor little man.  this week he has caught his first cold.  his nose is just running like a lost freight train without any brakes.  he's sneezing every now and then too.  he doesn't like me wiping his nose either.  he'd rather rub all the goo with his hands and spread it who knows where, or just let it drip down.his face.  no one wonder toddlers are a haven for spreading germs.  gross.  not sure there's much i can do to relieve him from his symptoms.  i'm also not sure where he caught the cold from.  hopefully it will go away soon.

in the past week, i've applied to 2 positions and i got my first rejection notice today.  ha.  i guess the first job i applied for was a bit far fetched since i had no valid work experience in the field but it was worth a try.  you never know unless you try.  it's very nice of them to email a rejection letter so at least you're not left hanging. 

Back on the saddle?

I have the perfect job situation in terms of being able to take care of my child and still have a full time job, working from home.  I don't think there are that many job opportunities that allow you to do that unless you do freelance work, work in design or own your own company.  There are pros and cons to working at home.  On the plus side,you get to work independently with no one literally watching over your shoulder, although obviously you have to perform your job as the people you work with can tell if your doing what needs to be done. You have a lot of freedom that you normally wouldn't have in a bricks and mortar office.  I can run an errand, go to the doctors at whatever time.  I can answer emails in my pajamas.  There's no commute.  I'm always home to accept mail order packages.  And like I said, I have the ability to watch my baby at the same time, which can be a balancing act at times, but it definitely saves on the nanny/daycare expense.  Another plus would be no interoffice politics.  Why? Because I work by myself.  The only politics would be dealt with via email which I think is less of a hassle than when you would have to deal with it face to face on a daily basis.  But sometimes it's hard to separate work from home.  So on the down side, you can end up checking emails at 9PM at night or during dinner time when you should really be spending time with the family.  You don't necessarily feel like you've left the work place and you're headed home since it's all now rolled into one.  Living in a 1 bedroom in NYC, space is limited so I have no formal office - I have a makeshift desk in my kitchen/dining area. I have no daily face-to-face social interaction with coworkers.  I do use the phone and there is lots of email communication but it's not exactly the same as having someone sitting in an office next to you.  But I think the pros outweigh the cons.  Why would I trade my current job in for one where I do need to commute and find a babysitter and make my life more complicated than it needs to be?  Well unfortunately the  financial situation of my current employment is a bit shaky. So in order to protect myself and my family, I think it would be best to at least start looking and see what's out there...You know what they say.. the best time to start looking is when you still have a job, not after you've lost it.  And even if I apply for a position, it doesn't necessarily mean I will actually get asked in for an interview.  It might take a long time before I even get a call back.  It's a little crazy since I haven't been on the job market for a long time.  I'm not even sure what types of jobs to apply for.   Since I've been working with the same people for such a long time, I sometimes feel like I'm betraying my work family.  But if they eventually become unable to pay me my full salary, then how am I supposed to survive, pay rent and care for a baby?  I sometimes wish that I was well off and didn't have to worry about paying the bills, but it's just not the case.  Anyway, shouldn't a job that you put your blood, sweat and tears into provide stability and benefits whether or not you have money in the bank?  I've started looking at companies that I like in the clothing and home decor arenas to see if there are any openings that correlate with my current skills.  Sometimes I wish I was a nurse or something where the jobs always seem to be stable and in demand.  We really were hit hard by the waves of the recession and then the dollar exchange rate.  Not all jobs, like nursing, are as dependent on the market as that.  But then you ask yourself do you need to be practical or do you want to pursue things that you actually enjoy?  I mean having a family, you do need to be somewhat practical.  I can't go off, quit my job and just sell t-shirts on etsy without having some kind of steady income.  So it looks like I have to get back on the job hunt saddle again, and not sure if it's out there but I hope I can find the perfect match. 

amusement

A couple of weeks ago, the baby learned how to blow out..like on a horn or maybe if we had candles, he'd be able to blow them out.  My cousin got him this plastic saxophone for Christmas that he used to just ask all of us to play for him.  When I say "ask", I actually mean he'd push the sax in front of our face.  Now if we hold down the keys, he can actually make the sound come out of it.  Very exciting indeed.  My hubby also got him some sort of horn for his birthday (where you don't have to press any keys down to create a sound) and he can totally use it now on his own instead of making fake sounds with his own voice.  So cute.  It's crazy to watch a child develop and see what he can do now and what he couldn't do before because you can see how they are definitely a sponge just soaking up all this information that is bombarding them at every second.  Some might be new information, some might be repetitive but it's all being absorbed and translated and spit out in some form or manner.  He now takes people's keys and tries to unlock the wall...too short to reach an actual door.  ha.  He takes my phone and starts tapping at the screen.  He can't really say any words, but it's amazing to see that he can totally comprehend what you're saying..like when I read him his Elmo book and it says, "Baby Elmo points to his nose," he does it too, or he even jokes around and points to his teeth sometimes..and he touches his toes or plays peekaboo just like in the narrative.  All these things that he understands now is really mind blowing to me. 

Since he can't really say any words, I do tend to assume he's in his own little strange baby talk world but in actuality he's listening and watching and learning..And I suppose he's trying to talk to us too, but I have no idea what the heck he's saying.  You know how some babies are quiet and will only say a few monosyllabic sounds?  Not this kid - he babbles, grunts, screams, speaks like Jabba the Hut, you name it whatever sounds he can invent and muster up.  He also does this motorcycle type sound with his lips - a repetitive  bbbbbbbbbb.  I don't know what you call it exactly but it's like something you'd do to warm up the lips, instead of rolling "r"s with your tongue, he's rolling "b"'s with his lips and it's actually kind of hard to do for a long period of time, but he can do it for quite awhile. I think he learned it from one of his baby pals. 

I try to catch all this on video but he hears the beep of my camera (which I can't seem to silence) and he stops what he's doing.  He doesn't really like posing for photos anymore either.  He keeps running away or just blankly staring so my photos haven't been the best lately. 

And since we're speaking of the fast growth and development of babies, he finally fit into his pseudo converse hi-tops and then a couple weeks later, they're too small!  For so long, they were too big and he kept kicking them off.   Now that he's walking and actually needs shoes, it was such a small window that he could wear these before his heel started pushing past the boundaries of the foot bed.. What the heck? 

On another tangent, it's almost my one year wedding anniversary..seems quite fast.. I think my hubby said it felt so much longer haha.  Does that mean I'm quite a nuisance?  We never went on a honeymoon..we didn't have time really with a 2 mos old baby.  We did go away on a mini-moon weekend trip to Philly which was nice but it wasn't Hawaii or Italy or whatever else normal tropical escape that it should be.  But I guess, nothing has been the norm with us.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  We are planning a weekend getaway which should be nice.  My parents so graciously will babysit.  I think I've said it before, but they totally love and adore the baby.  Who cares about seeing me or my sister anymore.  It's all about the grandchild now. :) Every time I see them with him, I still keep remembering the time I first brought up that I was pregnant and how "disappointed" my mom was in me...and all my friends said, "oh, you just wait until the baby is born, it will all be forgotten."  So right they were - it was a full 360 degrees and then some.      

A New Season Begins

I can't believe almost a month has passed since I last wrote a post here. For sure, time flies.  Labor day came and went, and summer is officially over in terms of parks and beaches anyway.  All the kids are back to school..a new season is beginning.  Time to pack away the summer clothes and bring out the fall ones.  Time to go through all of the baby clothes that the baby has outgrown.  Time for a new season of 30 Rock! (although I hear it's the last season? which sucks.)

Working from home and taking care of the baby, you sort of miss the feeling of the change of seasons.  No change in work attire - still can wear a t-shirt and shorts or your pajamas if you feel like it, which is a luxury to say the least.  Although, I find the work day does become more like 16 hours instead of 8..because you tend to check emails at all times of the day..when you first wake up in the morning, at dinner time (my computer is on the dining room table) and before you go to bed at night.  You are tempted to answer emails at all times of day but I usually try to restrain myself.  I was warned by people who have worked from home before that you need to set up a divide, or work can become somewhat all consuming.  The other bad thing, for me at least, is that I tend to not leave the house during the day which can lead up to not leaving the house for several days..That is probably bad for me and bad for baby.  I should make it a point to go out each day at least at lunch time, or if it's a particularly busy day, at least after work when the hubby gets home.

Lately the habit with baby is baby falls asleep for nap in my lap..and I can't put him down or he wakes up and starts crying.  This pattern has been happening for a few weeks now, which I know is bad.  It's occurring right now as I type with one hand.  He's asleep leaning in the crook of my left arm while I sit here and work/type with my right.  It leaves me immobilized for a good portion of the day which can be a pain in the butt.  Although, I just put him down in the playpen now and he didn't wake up!  So all is good for now.  He'll tend to cry after 5 minutes and I have to pick him up again and he'll fall asleep and I can try back and forth or just give up and let him sleep on me.  Right now he has remained asleep so I guess it means he is in really heavy sleep which is good.  He does typically take 2 naps a day.  One in the morning around 10am and one in the afternoon around 2..sometimes later.  It's good that he does nap because it gives me some time to really get things done. 

Another new treat is he's been wanting to be carried all the time...Hmm - I think I can blame that on my parents.  My dad will carry him around all day when he babysits, and when the little man returns back to us, he expects the same thing from us, which I mean I do for a little bit, but I can't do for long periods of time.  Not only is it not good to be carried all the time, it hurts my back.  Although he's still pretty little and light for now, so I better enjoy the carrying while I still can.  

He's so cute.  He's been wanting to wear his flip flop sandals around the house lately.  Maybe because I wear slippers and his dad wears flip flops in house.  He clomps around and always seems to end up with one shoe off and one shoe on.  The one place where he doesn't really need shoes at all and he insists on putting them on. Funny.  

I still can't believe the summer is over.  I feel like I should have participated in more activities..more summer concerts, beaches and parks. But I did go to a few shows, tried out some food festivals and took a road trip to NJ so the summer was not completely barren.  I mean there was no summer away vacation for me this year, but there is November vacay, where I get to face the trials and tribulations of international travel with a toddler head on.  I get worried thinking about this trip - if we can pack all that the baby needs, but not overpack, and be able to have all the essentials in one carry-on for the airplane portion of the trip that will keep the baby well entertained, well fed, etc.  I am hoping he'll be asleep for the whole ride since it is a night flight.  But who knows how this will turn out.  It will be an adventure for sure..

Oops - he's awake now and crying..guess that's my cue to finish up here!

1 Year Old Today!

Today my baby turns 1!  I really can't believe it.  I feels like I just gave birth yesterday.  Ok, maybe not yesterday but only a few months ago.. How could it be that we now have a walking/talking little munchkin in our presence?  He started walking a couple of weeks ago..July 24th to be exact.  Hubby and I were both there to witness his first steps.  He was in our kitchen/dining area, standing in the corner by this chest of drawers that we have and he took maybe 2 or 3 steps before falling.  His face was beaming from ear to ear.  He looked so happy to finally achieve this as I know he had been trying to work his way up to it for quite some time.  If I could have only recorded his face but of course I wasn't milling about the house with my camera ready to point and shoot.  He just looked so ecstatic.  It was really fantastic to see.  I'm glad hubby and I both saw it happen. 

He's quite a character already very determined and demanding, yet good natured and always ready to smile and giggle and laugh and give you a cuddle.  He likes attention and he likes looking in the mirror at himself..Are these early signs of narcissism?  Oh well, he is a Leo after all.  Boy, when he doesn't get what he wants - he's already throwing fits. It's a bit cray-cray.  I know we should just ignore him when he does that, and that's what we've been trying to do but tantrums are not a pleasant thing to endure.  He had a fever these past 2 days, and he was not his normal energetic self - he took more naps and sat on my lap.  I was worried he's still be sick on his birthday but this morning he seems back to his normal self, i.e. he threw a tantrum because he couldn't play with daddy's phone. Nice.  But it's great that his fever has gone away and he's back to wandering where he shouldn't go, trying to grab things he shouldn't touch and eat things he shouldn't eat.

I love the little bugger even if I have to be on alert 24-7 nowadays and he is still hogging half a bed shared by 3.  (Still haven't figured a way to break that habit.) It's probably the purest and strongest form of love there is - love for a child.  As a mother, you give of yourself more than ever before and having a child is really like an extension of yourself.  He hurts, you hurt.  He's happy, you're happy.  It's a crazy bond for sure and a lifelong adventure.  And I assume it's the same for fathers too?

Anyway - Happy Birthday to my son!  May you have many more years to come.  We have many hopes for you but most of all we wish you happiness throughout life.  We may not be able to prevent all bad things from happening, but your dad and I will be there every step of the way to help guide you through your journey. 

first words?

Our baby babbles a lot - mostly repetitive consonants.  dadadada. bababababa. etc.  Sometimes he sounds possessed and he sounds like the redrum kid from the shinning.  I guess that's practice for him on the low scale.  At times he likes to practice his high pitched screaming.  Not pleasant at all to the ears.  Probably worse sounding for people who don't have kids.  Yes I guess I have to admit his first word was dada...although I don't think he knows what it actually means yet.  He did eventually make the mama sound - also don't think he was referring specifically to me.  But every time he does say mama - I say - "that's me!" in the hopes that he will eventually put two and two together.  haha.

Blame Game

I think it was Rihanna that said the first 5 years of your life have the most profound effect on who you are as an adult, and you spend the rest of your life trying to undo any damage done during that time.  I know, you're probably thinking why are you quoting a pop singer?  The thing is I kind of feel like that's true.  I mean your experiences as a child effect you for the rest of your life.  I know many a people who blame their parents for the issues they have now...commitment issues, relationship problems, fears of abandonment, yadda, yadda yadda.  I'm guilty of the same. I blame my mom's overly controlling ways for my indecisiveness and inability to speak out..that kind of thing.  Eventually you need to get over it, and move on.  Easier said than done.  I also feel like the way you see yourself as a child - let's say you were a shy, awkward, geeky kid, ahem, well you sometimes still see yourself that way and feel that way, even when you're grown up and way past that geeky phase.  It kind of creeps up on you in certain situations.  For example, I still hate wearing my glasses in public..like I know no one else gives a flying f*** and I actually think glasses are attractive on most people, yet I still feel like a nerd when I have them on..And being a new parent myself, I realize our parents didn't know what they were doing when they were raising us, they were just learning as they went along.  I mean that's what I'm doing... I mean whatever advice is given to you or whatever books you read, it doesn't really matter.  You're still going to do what you feel is best and what works best for you and your child.  I just have these thoughts sometimes that I may be doing something wrong or not good enough.  Am I too lenient?  Am I not giving him enough attention? Am I coddling him too much?  Am I teaching him enough?  The list can go on and on.  Maybe it's inevitable that your child will blame you for some emotional issue that they have as an adult.  My sister seems to think so.  I mean it's not always the parents that cause issues - there are other situations when the child is older, like peers at school, that probably have a profound effect too.  But right now in these first years of life, who do they typically spend most of their time with?  It's probably their parents.  Do these thoughts go away when you have more kids?  Or do they continue?  Is this me just being neurotic?  Ah well.  You do your best and hopefully your best is good enough.

To nurse (for as long as possible) or not to nurse?

There was a debate recently about nursing and how long a mom should do it for.  There was some article that had a photo of a woman and her 2 year old son standing and breastfeeding and it caused quite a stir in the media.  Actually I forgot how old he was, but he was larger than normal.  They say you should breastfeed for as long as your child wants to.  Kids who are weened on their own freewill apparently are smarter and more well adjusted, etc.  I stopped breastfeeding my son when he was about 6 months or just a little bit after, when his teeth started coming in.  Actually if babies are feeding correctly, once their teeth come in, it shouldn't hinder the breastfeeding process because they shouldn't be using their teeth at all.  But I wasn't really producing enough milk and had to supplement at every feeding so it was double the feeding process.  I thought it would just be best to slowly ween him off.  I think at 6 months, he liked to nurse in order to fall asleep, a comfort sort of thing, more than to actually feed.  And some may think 6 months - that isn't long at all.  But for me, it was quite painful at times because I used to get clogged milk ducts which really hurt, and I think he was latching on wrong at times, so I was very sore.  There were times when it hurt so much I really wanted to give up, especially when feeding was taking place every 2 hours, but I stuck with it for 6 months - through the flu season, to make sure he had his antibodies.  The debate brought to surface the stigma that seems to go along with breastfeeding (if your child is big) even though it's one of the most natural things on earth to do.  And I suppose there is sort of stigma if you decide not to breastfeed at all.  I say if you are able to and can nurse for however long you want, then more power to you.

Today I got head butted in the nose by my son.  We once again brought him into our bed after he was crying in his crib around 11PM.  Around 7 AM, he sat up to readjust himself and slammed his head down on my nose, and peacefully went back to sleep, all nice and cuddled beside me. It was very sweet actually, but in the meantime, I felt like my head was going to explode.  It's 5PM now and my head/nose still hurts.  I think it's time to pop another ibuprofin.  I bruise pretty easily so I think I might be forming a nice big bruise on the bridge of my nose a week before our scheduled family portrait.  Hopefully I won't have a bruise or it will go away by then. But damn that hurt.  Kids heads can be really painful.  Goes to show this sleeping in the bed thing is not really a good idea. He was also pretty restless in the night and since I'm a light sleeper, I am aware of all his movements which doesn't bode well for a good nights' sleep.  My hubby is also afraid if we are fast asleep, the baby could potentially crawl over us and fall/thud in the night, which would totally suck.  My bed is pretty high up so a fall would not be pretty.  He already did it once before which was awful.  And I totally learned my lesson not to leave a sleeping baby in the bed even with pillows around because he surely will attempt to crawl over them when he wakes up.  What a scare!  But babies are supposedly made of rubber when they're young.  The doctor said he was fine..(you do have to keep careful watch those 24 hours after a fall to make sure nothing is wrong like liquid or bleeding from nose/ears / nausea / unusual sleep patterns / unusual play patterns) but I felt my heart leap up through my throat when that happened.  Well we don't want any more of those kinds of incidents if we can help it...

And now I've enrolled him in swim lessons for the summer...I'm kind of scared of water but hopefully he won't be.  8 half-hour lessons 8:30 in the morning on Saturdays at the local YMCA. Should be fun I hope!  Just because he's raised in the city, doesn't mean he can't learn some essentials like swimming.

Super Duper Pooper

He's a super duper pooper and I'm the super duper pooper scooper.  10 months old / 3 solid food meals a day with formula in between equals lots of diaper time.  I know kids all vary, but really, I thought maybe he needed some time to regulate and get used to the solids...but he still continues to have a bm after every feed.  Ah well, at least he'll eat anything we give him..he's already tried Pad See Ew (Thai Noodle Dish), Curry, Pancit (Filipino Noodles), Fried Chicken (although he did throw up later that day), Guacamole (also threw up later that day), Mac and Cheese, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Yogurt with cereal and fresh fruit.  He loves Hummus. He likes fish, fried eggplant, rice and bread.  He had lemon chicken yesterday as well as couscous with chickpeas and edamame.  He likes those Auntie Annie's Cheddar Bunnies but whatever snack you're snacking on, he wants to try it to.  And of course since his dad is a vegetarian, he'll eat tofu - no problem.  Sometimes I feed him the organic baby food in a jar.  Sometimes I think I should feed him first before we have dinner...wrong!  He still wants to eat our food even after he finished all of his...and gets very upset if he is left out of it.  We swear he has hollow legs or something because where is he putting it?  I guess that accounts for all the bm's. 

Is it too early to introduce all this crazy food into his diet?  Some of my friends were shocked when we were feeding him guacamole but I think most kids love avocado.  I guess they were concerned with the other stuff that's in it: onions, jalepeno?  Well we test out new food to see how he reacts - if he does get sick after or have an allergic reaction, we'll avoid it for future.  For the most part, he's been ok.  No allergies yet.  He did get sick several hours after eating the fried chicken but he's eaten other forms of chicken so it  might have been the heat or maybe the way the chicken was prepared.  Same with guacamole, he's eaten guacamole before, and the time he threw up after, I feel like it might have been the heat because those 2 days were really hot and we were outside for most of the day.  I still am avoiding kiwis and mango though for now. 

Apparently I was a picky eater as a child.  My mom said thank goodness he's not.  Or maybe I just didn't like my mom's cooking (hope she doesn't read this).  I never liked eating Filipino food either (which was my dad's specialty).  I didn't like meat, like steak and porkchops, but I think that was because my mom liked (and still likes) to cook those very well done, a.k.a. burnt which equals very chewy meat which I still hate now.  As a child, I remember I used to love spinach of all things.  Spaghetti & meatballs was another favorite.  And I still love grilled cheese to this day.  I do know I was very picky up until college.  And it was in college where I started trying out all kinds of weird food that they served at our dining hall.  It was also where I gained 15-20 lbs. The dining hall also served different desserts every day, like cake and giant chocolate chip cookies.  Growing up, my parents rarely made dessert..it was typically a banana for dessert.  So when I got the opportunity to eat chocolate cake, cookies, etc, well I went for it and it sure did show...especially Freshmen year.  The daily availability of fries and tater tots didn't help the cause much either.  It could have also been the late night pizzas (and perhaps the beer?). Ugh.  And then you hit 30...but now I'm going off on a tangent..

Ah well, our little man was only in the 5th percentile in weight at his 9 month visit, and I don't know if our full fat diet (as in full fat yogurt) for baby has worked to give him a little more meat on his bones but I think his cheeks are looking a little fuller.

Alias

When the baby was just a mere fetus, I used to call him the bean because he looked like a pinto or lima bean in that first sonogram.  I continued to call him that through the 9 months because well we didn't really choose a name until the end.  And now that he's born, we've developed even more nicknames.  They say when you speak to a baby you should speak in 3rd person so that he learns his name and he knows who you are and who daddy is, etc.  So I've been trying to do that but at the same time strange nicknames have cropped up like "Mister Mister".  Not sure why we started calling him that and didn't even realize I used it so much until my mom started referring to our son as Mister, Mister in her emails.  Ha!   OOps, I guess that one might stick around.  I also refer to him as the Little Man..but more so when I'm speaking about him than to him.  Sometimes it's Nic Nic which makes sense...Sometimes I call him Bubby.  This probably stems from the Yiddish "Bubula" which was a term of endearment (which I think means: child) that my former coworkers used to use with each other (it was a family owned company).  My hubby sometimes calls him Prince.  When he's in a bad mood, we call him grumpy grumps.  My latest alias for him has been "Pudge, Pudge" as in Pudgy, although he's not that pudgy.  It's just a cute sounding word.   At his 9 month check up, he only fell  into the 5th percentile when it came to weight so we've been trying to get some meat on his bones by feeding him full fat yogurt, avocados, peanut butter, hummus, what have you.  I wonder what other concoctions of names we'll come up with and if there will be that one that everyone will call him.  I grew up hating my nickname especially when I was a teenager.  Some of my family members still continue to use it to this day but now that I'm older, I've come to terms with it and don't mind it at all.      

growing at the speed of light

Wow the little man is now over 9 months old!  He can crawl normally now, no longer looks like a mermaid on dry land.  But he still will glide across the floor like a seal at times because it's definitely much faster to get to the other side of the room. Only possible on the hardwood floors though. 

He can now pull himself up to standing position - holding on to a ledge or even using the wall for support - so his little legs are getting stronger.  He can push a chair across the room while standing/leaning against it so he's definitely learning the basics of walking.  He also likes to pull himself up by grabbing on to a person's legs...and today I helped him walk across the kitchen into the living room while he held on to my legs.  He was totally laughing and enjoying the trip.  It was so cute.  I guess it's cool for him to see how his legs can work. 

He's also eating up a storm.  Today he tried rice for lunch with edimame..It was his first experience eating with chopsticks...well, me holding them, him eating from them.  I'm not sure if he actually chewed the edimame or just swallowed the halves whole but I guess I'll see later.   He'll eat anything which is a good thing - he's not picky like I was as a kid...but it also means he'll eat anything...a dust ball on the floor, a napkin he pulled off the table, the cotton ball he grabbed from the bin, the soil from the plant, the phone charger, the plug, the coasters, a penny (he didn't like the taste of that one and spit it out...apparently that happened while my sis was babysitting).  You name it, he must have tasted it.  I know it's part of the learning experience for them, but it can be a bit crazy.

He already has 4 teeth (2 on the top center / 2 on the bottom center) and it looks like he has 2 more teeth coming out - one on each side of the top center 2. 

He does a sort of wave hello now to people which is cool, and he can clap his hands on demand. 

He's a great hugger and can (sort of) kiss, which I love!! 

He's now fascinated with closing and opening doors..trouble for cabinets.  Yes we need to install our safety locks still.   

He has this house with a bird hanging underneath it - his grandparents gave it to him as a present.  When you pull the bird, it plays a song ("Are you sleeping Brother John?").  We have it hanging on one of the corners of his playpen.  He now knows how to pull it himself!  That's pretty cool.  It's amazing to see the little man grow and learn new things each day! 

So we put him in our bed when he cries in the middle of the night and he always seems to assume the "H is for Hell" position.  It was something I saw on facebook - baby sleep positions.  And at the time, the little one was fine in his crib/bassinet so I thought some of those positions seemed far-fetched.  But it is an unfortunate actual position.  Mom and Dad are each at the edge of their side of the bed, while the baby lies vertically - his head at the dad's stomach and his feet at the mom's stomach, actually that would be baby kicking me in the ribs...ugh.  If he stayed in the middle, right side up, it probably wouldn't be as uncomfortable.  If only we had a king or queen bed...not just a full.  I remember my friends saying you should get the biggest bed possible!  Now I know why.  I know you're not really supposed to advocate babies sleeping in the bed, but if he's not quieting down and it's 2 or 3 or 4 AM and you just want him to go sleep and you want to sleep yourself...really what are you supposed to do?  I am sure our neighbors appreciate it.  It's not the same if you live in a house - I suppose you can let your child cry for 20 minutes which they say will work to wean the baby off of waking up each night...and then you're supposed to extend the crying time for longer each night until eventually they stop.  But the 20 minutes seems like an eternity when it's that late at night...I think we tried for about 5 minutes and then we just deal with the crying in the middle of the night and move him to the bed because it works to keep him quiet and he does tend to fall asleep soon after, although there are times when he does want to play or it feels like he's kicking me for hours before he sleeps.   There are also times when he does sleep through the night and doesn't wake up until 6:30..so you never know really.  It's a little different for us also because the crib is in our room..it's hard to ignore a crying a baby when he's pretty much at the foot of your bed, and when you look over - he's standing, holding on to the crib railing, staring and crying at you. 

PukeFest 2012

Welcome to the exciting world of solid foods.  You never know what you're going to get.  It could be rounds and rounds of throw up depending on what the little one has tried to ingest.  The other day, the little one threw  up while sitting on the floor, saw it - wondered what it was and then proceeded to pat his hands in it.  The good thing is we have hardwood floors.  I had to whisk him off the floor and run to the kitchen sink to wash his hands, and he then proceeded to throw up some more.  I heard a small clanking sound in the sink..what was it?  It was a small clear plastic disc...a furniture glide from the piano bench.  Hmm not sure if he actually swallowed it or if it was just stuck in his mouth so that's why he started to up chuck.  Anyways, it looks like this kid will try to eat anything now that he's learning to eat solids. It also means we really have to be careful about what he can reach at floor level.

And then a few days later, he was on his bouncy chair happily bouncing up and down when he spewed big time.  All over.  Inside crevices and dripping out of the chair legs onto the floor.  Of course baby starts jumping up and down on top of the puke.  So I rush and grab him out of the chair, clean him off as best and quickly as possible and put him down in the play pen to keep him away from crawling into the disaster zone.  I start wiping up the floor which was an immense mess to say the least.  I was hoping and praying I didn't start gagging myself. It appeared that a piece of mango was the culprit. I had fed him fresh bananas and mangoes that morning.  I had to remove the chair from the hanging device to properly clean it out, as well as clean the chair itself.  I did start gagging actually.   If you had the visuals and the odoriferous vapors wafting your way and the actual tactile joy of touching the stuff, you probably would have to.  I also starting wishing my husband was home so he could share in the fun of the clean up.  He totally missed out.  I never saw so much..ugh.  Not to mention, while in the playpen, he apparently wasn't done and proceeded to throw up some more in there too.  OMG.  So I had to clean him again and then sop up the mess in the playpen.  I was like, "Is this going to continue all day long?  I'm never feeding him fresh bananas and mangoes again."  The festival did end after that though so I did get a reprieve.   

Not sure if I want to participate again in PukeFest 2012, but I have a feeling I won't really have a choice.

In Memorium

April is so bittersweet since it's me and my hubby's dating anniversary but that same year and month was also when my dear cousin passed away suddenly at 29.  Maybe it's lucky for him that he will never have to grow old.  He will eternally be 29 in our eyes.  Yesterday was the anniversary of his passing (it's been 2 years) and so my sister, her BF and I went down to 53rd St and 6th Ave in Manhattan to the famous Halal Food Cart.  Their known as the guys with the yellow tees.  I think I was first introduced to this cart when they only had 1 on the block right across from the Hilton hotel on a late night adventure with my sister and her friend many many moons ago.  And I've been a customer ever since.  Nowadays they've built up quite a reputation and I've noticed they now have like 4 carts around the vicinity of 53rd st, and the lines can go for eons for the perfect drunken late night snack.  We ate some gyros in our cousin's memory because this spot was one of his favorite places to eat.  Eating was one of his favorite things to do. 

I think my cuz's usual dish was chicken and lamb with rice (which is also served with a couple of slices of pita bread but I think they dwindled down on serving that). We opted for the lamb gyro version.  I think these used to have tomatoes with the lettuce - it's now been whittled down to bare essentials meat and lettuce.  Can't forget the white sauce and the hot sauce.  At most places, the white sauce is typically a yogurt sauce but I think here they use mayo to make it tastier.  And their hot sauce is the bomb - super spicy hot - I don't know what they use but I haven't been able to find a better hot sauce anywhere else.  The lamb still tastes good even though there's not much to be desired in the salad.  I kind of miss the old days when they used to overload the pitas and plates but I guess times are tough now and they need to be economical to remain a cheap eat.  Anyway I think it's nice to honor someone's memory by doing something they liked to do  .

The Sweet Life

This was a significant week in this little ol' life of mine.  Monday my little boy turned 8 months old.  He is getting so big so fast.  He still isn't able to crawl properly but he can propel himself across the floor with his hands, pushing himself as if swimming.  The hardwood floors help him glide to wherever he wants to go.  I wonder if that's a hinderance to making him crawl in the proper way on his hands and knees.  Anyway, he's enjoying the ability to wander to all these places he's never been before in our apartment.  He especially likes crawling under the dining room table, which doubles as my workspace area, and pulling on all the cords he can get his hands on.  He seems to also enjoy playing with our shoes that are stacked by our entry door.  And by enjoy, I mean tasting a shoe or shoelace or two.  Ugh.  You can have a conversation with him but his responses are in baby babble, which I unfortunately am not versed in, but it's still fun to try.  Sometimes he still likes to scream at the top of his lungs.  These high shrill shrieks actually sound a lot like monkeys do when you go to the zoo.  Weird but maybe it's a throwback to evolution.  He was sitting up on his own before but had to use his hands/arms for support.  Now he has the upper body strength to sit up without leaning on anything.  He looks pretty stable now, although every now and then, he has the tendency to fall backwards.  He's pretty quick now to move from sitting to being on his stomach.  I taught him to clap his hands and sometimes you'll catch him clapping on his own for no reason.  It's so adorable.   The new thing I'm noticing is that when he is on his stomach, he'll push up on his feet, straightening his legs completely while his hands are on the ground.  It looks like he's a step away from standing up (or tumbling over).  My sister keeps telling him to not grow up so fast...I mean with his four teeth and on his way to walking...it's feeling much like a whirlwind.

And Friday (yesterday) was the 2 year anniversary of our first date, the hubby and me.  My parents have the baby for the weekend, and my hubby took me out to dinner at a surprise location not disclosed to me until we were standing right in front of the restaurant.  He took me to Maze - one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants at the London Hotel. How apropos!!  Why?  Because we've been watching Gordon Ramsey TV shows since we started dating and still to this day watch Kitchen Nightmares.  How very sweet and thoughtful!  I was very excited to be there.  I chose the 5 course tasting menu which was very  delicious.  Hubby ordered the halibut with a side of brussel sprouts.  But he was going to taste my dishes as well so it worked out to be a filling meal for both of us.  Well I guess eating all the bread before the meal helped with feeling full, but it was so good.  They bread was flakey and they salted the top so it was yum - you didn't even have to use butter but I think they even put sea salt on the butter.  At the bar, while we were waiting for our table, they had sesame breadsticks to munch on and let me tell you, they tasted a hell of a lot better than the stella d'oro ones.  For my five course meal, the first thing I had was a sweet potato velouté with fried battered shrimp.  It had coconut milk and curry.  Very good.  Next were fried sweet breads with beets.  The sweet breads were good - I mean most things fried taste good.  On the outside, the taste sort of reminded me of fried chicken but the texture once you chew it is soft, not like chicken at all.  It's an unusual texture because it's soft and dense.  Well it tasted good to me - there were only 2 pieces anyway.  Not sure if I'm a fan of beets in general but I ate the entire dish, so no complaints there.  Next was scallops - cooked to perfection - as Gordon would say.  Those were quite yummy and I was starting to feel full.  For my main course you had a choice of meat or fish.  I chose the fish - it was a lemon sole.  The only problem there was the potatoes had olives in it.  Should have asked if they could remove the olives or change the side but didn't.  The fish was delicious though.  Johnny's dish was nice as well.  It was actually served exactly the same as mine (with the olive potatoes and a red wine reduction).  The brussel sprouts were so good - I think they were bathed in butter.  The last course was dessert...it was some molten lava cake thing with a mini scoop of almond ice cream and 4 chocolate ganache balls filled with salted caramel.  Those balls were the bomb.  And who doesn't like the molten lava thing?  I was just reading about the trickle down effect of the molten lava cake in my Lucky Peach magazine and here I was having it at a Gordon Ramsey restaurant.  I don't think you can ever tire of it.  It's just an awesome taste sensation to have the warm oozing chocolate cake combined with the cool ice cream.  Overall an enjoyable evening with the hubby.  

Today was a beautiful spring day.  We went into the city and got foot massages which were a bit on the painful side, more painful for the hubby than for me. I think his masseuse had a vendetta against men or something.  ha!  It was quite funny actually (well maybe not for him).  My feet feel good - my calves are a little sore.  And now we might go to Talde (again) tonight since my boss gave me a gift certificate for there.  We checked on the little man this morning, and of course my parents said he was doing fine and was very well behaved.  He's such a good tempered baby except maybe when he's hungry...or is dire need of attention.  He does have his grumpy days but overall he is a happy baby.  I am very lucky indeed to have such a great little family.      

   

Addendum:
We tried to go to Talde for dinner but didn't feel like waiting the projected hour to eat so we opted for our local goto Japanese spot (Kiku).  The next morning, we passed by and noticed that Talde was now open for brunch so we decided to try it out.  Dim Sum style breakfast (small plates to share) but not at dim sum prices...Tater Tots for $4..other menu items that we ordered anyway ranged from $8 - $12 each.  For the vegetarian options, there weren't that many choices...we had a fat noodle wrapped with mushrooms and other vegetables served with a soy sauce.  It was simple yet delicious.  We also ordered Chilequiles - not sure what the "asian" was in this dish but it had crisp tortilla chips, cotija cheese and spicy salsa verde with a fried egg on top.  We also ordered the tater tots which were served with Siracha ketchup.  Can't go wrong with that.  For the carnivore items, I got kimchee short rib tacos which were really good (and quite filling if you're going to eat both on your own) and I ordered the Korean fried chicken wings and waffle.  The waffle was nice and soft and fluffy.  By the time I reached the chicken, I was so full that I couldn't eat.  I was expecting Korean fried chicken ala Bon Chon but it wasn't the same.  It was more like a Kimchee Spiced Fried Chicken.  Very crispy - Is it bad to be disappointed it wasn't like Bon Chon? - It felt more homemade.  Anyways, I also had some fruity mimosa concoction which was light and very summery - very yummy and refreshing. I would say brunch here is a little pricy for what it is but the food is good.  Lucky I had a gift certificate to use.    

Cinderella

Having a zipcar is a very helpful and handy thing to have when you live in the NYC...you don't have to worry about parking, or insurance or gas...you have a car almost readily whenever you want.  Although in my hood, sometimes if you don't reserve far enough in advance, there isn't a car available at a conveniently close by radius..Anyway, last night I had a rare but always enjoyable girls' night out.  I took my trusty zipcar out to Westchester to celebrate my friend's awesome achievement of completing her doctorate.  I was a little rushed with time because I got stuck in traffic but I made it there in the end.  I dropped the baby off at my parents on the way to dinner, so they have him for the weekend, and I had a very nice, relaxing dinner.   But no sooner than I arrived, the clock struck 9:30 and I had to gallop off into the sunset to get my car back to the garage by 11.  I felt like Cinderella and I was going to turn into a pumpkin if I didn't skedaddle out of there right quick.  That's the thing with zipcar  - sometimes I feel a bit rushed having to get the car back in time.  There is always the option of checking if the car is available for an extension, but it would be great if I had the car and didn't have to worry about that kind of stuff - That would mean reserving an inordinate amount of time for the car - if cost weren't an issue, I guess I would do that.  I didn't want to end the evening so soon, but at least I did get to go out and have a free night and I got back to the garage with a little over 15 minutes to spare.

I called my parents this morning to check on the little man, and he slept through the night no problem...woke up at 6am.  Hmmm - how come he always seems to sleep through the night when he's with my parents?  Anyway, I'm very lucky to have parents so close by and who are so very willing and able to take care of the baby.  It gives us a little respite and allows us to get a full night's sleep for a night or two and we can sleep in the next morning (Although I tend to wake up early anyway). Aside from  being able to spend some QT with the hubby, sleep has become a very valuable commodity to me.

like traveling in water

The baby still can't crawl but is able to get on his hands and knees.  I guess he hasn't grasped the concept of coordinating his hands with his knees to move yet.  He does however have a lot of mobility.  He might as well be crawling.  He's what I call sealing...he moves himself across the floor by using his arms/hands to pull himself forward.  It looks almost like swimming.  He used to just move backwards in this position, but now he's gained the upper body strength to move forward..The hardwood floors are a real help since he can easily glide like a seal wherever he wants to go...This means trouble...pulling on wires, grabbing whatever is on the floor...trying to tip over the plants...I would say he's pretty stubborn, e.g. touching the plants - he knows he shouldn't because we've stopped him many many many times.  So now when I catch him trying to grab soil or pull the plant over, he has a guilty look on his face like he just got caught stealing cookies from the jar.  Anyhow, now if you call him, he can come towards you.  Before he kind of didn't know how to control wherever he was going because he could only push himself backwards.  Looks like he is progressing. 

I discovered reading reviews about wipes on Amazon that people refer to baby's #2 as BM (bowel movement) ha.  It seems like a nicer way of not having to reference the word poo.  Today another BM disaster. Let's just say when I went to change his diaper, he wasn't finished. Ugh :p 
And I tell him often during a #2 diaper change, "Eeww, it's stinky," and he laughs..What a sense of humor already.  He already knows it's gross and thinks it's funny I have to clean it up. Nice one, baby.

teeth spurt

The baby had one tooth coming in..and now it's turned into 3 teeth! He's getting in his 2 bottom teeth and now we see a 3rd one coming in at the top front.  And I think the one next to it is about to sprout out too!  I thought this teething thing would be one tooth at a time, not an avalanche of teeth at once...instead of a growth spurt..it's a tooth spurt..a toothsplosion even.  Well the baby seems to be handling it fairly well.  I'd say not too grumpity although he does have his moments.  He started to sleep through until 6am for about a week again, but these past couple of days he's waking up again 2x in the night..2ish and 6ish.  We are thinking it's because of the discomfort with his teeth, or maybe it's because he's just a plain hungry growing boy.   

forcing catholicism?

So my mom turned 60 this year, and she said she didn't want any gifts except that we get the baby baptized.  is that some form of blackmail?  hmm...as a non practicing Catholic, it seems kind of..what is the word I'm looking for?...nonsensical?  fake? it's like those priests who are anti-everything (gays/family planning/other religions/etc) but end up being closet child molesters. ah that's the word!...Hypocritical.. It seems hypocritical of me to pretend to be Catholic for one day just so my kid can get baptized, so I told my mom I wasn't a member of a church and I wasn't going to pretend to be a member of the church just for this to happen.  Anyway, my hubby wants to keep the peace.  He's not even Catholic - he's Baha'i, but he agreed that if my mom arranged it, she could go do it.  I hate the idea of being forced into a religion really.  It probably results from being forced to go to Catholic school from K-12th grade. I think people who go to Catholic school end up not being a practicing Catholic most of the time. I'm really not sure what it is...maybe the nuns scar you for life...maybe you learn things about the religion that you don't necessarily agree with and with an educated mind (which I guess they helped instill) can't really accept blindly like they want you to...maybe it's the priest who blamed us sinners for 9/11 happening...i would say I wasn't practicing but I put up with the religion for quite some time until I heard that winner of a sermon.  Now I kind of am in limbo about organized religion - actually I'm pretty weary of organized religion.  I feel like you could be spiritual and have morals and be a good person without necessarily being part of an organized religion.  I know that's up for debate by a lot of people, but there are plenty of fanatical religious zealots who are total hypocrites.  And if you don't believe in and follow all of the teachings You could learn about all different religions and all the good that they believe and practice, keep an open mind, be inspired by positive messages from anyone, anywhere...
Anyway, sorry, I just went off on some tangent. 

It seems my cousin was able to get his priest to agree to do the baptism without us parents being practicing Catholics and having to attend whatever class/meetings you usually have to go to as long as one of the godparents is a practicing Catholic.  So I guess my mom will be getting her wish even though we did get her presents anyway on her birthday aside from this...I suppose my mom thinks my baby will be a "sinner" stuck with original sin for the rest of his life if he doesn't get baptized, and that would be sad for her.  But lord knows that isn't true because babies are the most pure and innocent souls on earth...I don't think there's an evil bone in a baby's body...how could there be?...it's the adults that influence them that you have to watch out for..  I'm not sure when the baptism will happen, we do have to participate in the ceremony..my mom had to attend a meeting this past Tuesday as our proxy...so I guess it will be happening sometime soon..

baby free weekend

I had asked my parents if they wanted to babysit this past Friday so that the hubby and I could go out.  My parents of course were very agreeable to the idea because they love the little man.  Not only that, but they wanted to have him stay over for the entire weekend, and so here i am on Saturday night, missing the baby.  Although I am sure he's having the time of his life.  Probably doesn't miss us that much?  It actually has been nice having a weekend with the hubby - renew and refresh - so date night Friday started with an early dinner.  Last time we had a date night in Feb (my sis and her bf babysat), we were supposed to try eating at Talde.  But the place had a 1.5 hour wait.  Really not worth it since we live so close by.  This Friday, we beat the crowd by going there at 6.  No wait - free table.  I was pretty happy with the food.  The meals are supposed to be family style - shared - but since the hubby is vegetarian, he couldn't really share the stuff I was choosing because everything I wanted had meat in it.  So I was stuffed to say the least.  As a vegetarian, my hubby was very happy with the restaurant, as they were very accommodating and the waitress offered suggestions on how best to order.  She was really nice and very knowledgeable about the menu.  The menu isn't crazy big..the chef is Filipino so yes there are some throwbacks to Filipino food but it is an asian fusion restaurant, so other types of asian cuisine are represented.  What did we order?   For appetizers - my hubby got the Hawaiian Buns - These are basically 3 sliders with different fillings: Filipino Sausage, Fluke and Market Vegetable (which was Shiitake Mushroom), but my hubby opted to get all vegetable so 3 Shiitake mushroom sliders and wow they were really delicious.  I snuck in a couple of bites.  These had slivers of onions and some kind of awesome sauce..I ordered the Pretzel Dumplings because I read about them in NY magazine.  This year they voted these the best dumplings.  I liked the pork and chive filling and it came with a nice mustard dip, but not so sure how I feel about the whole pretzel-like outer shell.  For me, dumplings should have a soft skin - that's what I'm used to.  These had a bit of a crunchy chewy salty texture (yes like a pretzel should be).  They tasted good enough but I wouldn't say the best dumplings ever.  I could say innovative and original... For the main course, the hubster ordered the Ramen which was totally vegan.   I tried the broth and I think it was a soy based one.  Pretty good - the hubby liked it.  How could I not order the Short Rib Kare-Kare?  Their version has coconut milk (my family's version doesn't use coconut), so wasn't sure if I would like it but just the meat alone, how could I not like!?  I have to give this dish props.  I mean soft melt in your mouth short ribs..yum..the peanut sauce was thicker than the usual filipino version I'm used to.  It also had shaved coconut on the top which was a nice touch.  I think he translated the dish very nicely.  I'm not sure what non-flips will think of this dish but I really enjoyed it.  We also ordered a side of fried rice - come on it's just rice you might say, but it was really good - flavorful on it's own and had a crunch to it - which I think was toasted onion.  It typically is Shrimp Fried rice but since I was sharing it, the waitress offered it sans shrimp.  We also ordered brussel sprouts because I needed some kind of vegetable.  Roasted - they typically come with some anchovy based sauce but the waitress also advised we could have the sauce on the side so that we could share it.  So that's what we did and it tasted really good to me.  The wine offerings were nice as well.  I had a glass of Riesling and it wasn't overly sweet which sometimes can happen.   It was just right.  The piece de resistance was the dessert.  They only have one dessert and it's once again a throw back to Filipino desserts which I love...Halo Halo!  Shaved Ice with condensed milk, tapioca, mango, banana, macapuno, shredded coconut, I'm missing a couple of other things plus Captain Crunch cereal for a textural crunch.  Every time I eat this, it brings me back to childhood and my family breaking out the shaved ice machine in the summer, and all the toppings we would add to it.  It was always a treat.  It is by no means a "fancy" dessert but it probably seems a novelty to Americans. I was happy that Talde offered it to be shared.  It's something fun to eat.  Hubby loved it as well.  Overall we enjoyed a very good meal.  Everyone around us ordered the Korean Fried Chicken - which looked pretty good - I want to try that next time.

After dinner, we headed to Manhattan to dance our ass off (my sister was throwing a Casmik Tribute to Biggie and other fallen legends party) and see friends who we haven't seen in ages.   Having a baby does that sometimes...you feel kind of separated from the world especially if some of said friends don't have kids as well.  I had a blast - got my drink and dance on - got the hubby to do a little dancing with me.  Although I wore heels, which I don't know what I was thinking..Well what I was thinking was all day long, I work from home, wear sweats and pajamas all day.  I wanted to look good for a change.  But my feet took a beating and my knee still hurts today...getting old. Anyway, it was a good time.

Today another baby free day - I had to go to the dentist and get a full mouth debridement.. That's what happens when you don't go to the dentist for a couple of years.  My gums are kind of hurting right now.     But after the dentist, we went to L.I.C. to the Sculpture Center.  I thought it was the sculpture park, my bad - this had art installations not sculptures...Anyway, it was pretty freezing to be outdoors.  There's always next time.  I also got this confused with the  Noguchi Museum which is in the area...Naguchi was a Japanese sculptor and his work sounded interesting last time i read about it, so anyway I was expecting sculptures and got strange modern art exhibitions of sorts.  But it was nice to be out and about and see something new.  Tonight we are staying in and relaxing.  I feel very tired and cold - maybe leaving the house with wet hair on a very cold day was not a good idea.  We checked in this morning with my parents to see how the baby slept and all seemed fine.  I'm thinking I should call again now to see how their day went... Who knows when my parents will bring the baby back to us tomorrow.  They would probably keep him for a week (or longer) if we let them.   It's a blessing to have parents close by who are willing to come and babysit at the drop of a hat.

A Glimmer of

Tooth!  I thought I saw a flash of white when my baby opened his mouth and upon further inspection, I saw and felt a tooth coming out.  Finally after all those weeks of drooling and chewing and being irritable - the tooth has broken through the surface.  It's only slightly exposed but it's there..front bottom - right side!  Aack! - the baby is getting old!  Next thing you know, he'll be going to college or learning how to drive or something. 

Journey into the Unknown

unknown world of solid foods that is.  So at the 6 month Dr's visit, the pediatrician said we should start the baby on solids maybe 2x a day..baby puree optional.  Just mash the food up - the baby needs to learn to chew.  Pureed food makes a baby lazy.  This puree thing is a trend that they didn't have 100 years ago.. (Our Dr's office is very holistic and the such - they even space out vaccinations so that the baby doesn't get more that 2 vaccines a visit. That is something they do automatically - not something you have to request - and it made me feel more comfortable about vaccines.)  The only thing they can't eat until they are a year old is honey (due to botulism), otherwise don't be afraid.  Don't fear food allergies - you don't have to wait 3 days before trying a new food because it takes a shorter time span if the baby actually does have allergies.  Give them anything except maybe a whole grape because they'll choke on that. ha that's a joke - lighten up, parents. And serve it with water since the food is not liquidy like the baby is used to.  The doc did say baby cereal is filler so no point in giving baby empty carbs - better to give them veggies and fruits and things with nutritional value.  They would probably choke on a whole peanut too so we're focusing in on the softer textured foods.We actually did receive a Baby Brezza as a present.  That is a food processor for babies.  I have yet to try it and even though the doctor said pureeing isn't necessary, it seems like it would be better and easier for the baby to handle.  I could also make a giant batch of food and store it in the freezer.  You can't make small single servings with a Baby Brezza. Besides pureeing, i think the thing also steams and cooks food too, all in one.

The other question was - how much food do you give a baby?  Doc's answer: the baby will let you know when they're done so don't really need to worry yourself with amount.   As a new parent, this all seems so foreign and a bit daunting.  I guess the doctor's point is that you need to ease up.  This is all natural and has been done since the dawn of time.  You don't need to stress about it. 

She did warn us that what comes in must come out so there would be some very interesting #2's...

So far, the baby likes applesauce, plain hummus (lemon hummus was a bust - too spicy maybe) and avocado.  I tried mashing strawberries and bananas into the applesauce, and he gagged trying to eat it.  This morning I tried greek yogurt with a little bit of smashed up bananas.  He didn't like it.  Also gagged.  Maybe too sour?  I'll probably try it again with more banana less yogurt. We did buy some organic baby food - so far we tried oatmeal with apples and pears and he seemed to like it.  He tried a little ice cream and he of course liked that (you know he's mine if he luvs ice cream) but that's not something we can really feed him daily.  I guess we just have to keep trying to give him whatever we're eating that's mashable and hopefully he'll continue trying and tasting and liking all types of foods.

Hijacked!

So date nite was sort of a bust because it was 8 pm and it was an hour and a half wait to eat at Talde.  Boo.  We ended up eating at some Indian joint near by.  It was pretty good.  We ordered a bottle wine but it ended up being way too sweet.  Drank it anyway though.  ha.  By the time we finished dinner around 10:00pm, we passed by Talde and there were definitely tables finally empty and available.

Saturday was a busy busy jam packed day:
9:00 AM dentist appt
10:45 AM appt done
11:00 AM pick up zip car
11:15 AM load hubby, baby and all gear in car
11:30 AM pick up sister and head off to Westchester
12:15 PM arrive in Yonkers - no traffic on the BQE
1:00 PM lunch at 808 Bistro in Scarsdale for mom's birthday lunch.
2:30 PM head off to baby shower in Yonkers - leave hubby and kid with the family.
3:00 PM very early for baby shower even though invite said 3PM. 
6:45 PM leave baby shower even though it wasn't over to head over to cousin's house for son's bday.
7:15 PM reunited with family again. 
9:30 PM leave for Brooklyn - leave baby with parents because they insisted on taking the baby this weekend.  If they had it their way, they would have picked up the baby on Friday night. 
10:30 PM drop sister off at her apt
10:45 PM drop off zipcar - with 15 minutes to spare
Parents assume we would go out after we got home since they had the baby and we were "free".  But who goes out at 11pm anymore?  I head to bed and actually get a good nights sleep - straight.  No 2AM wake up call although my bladder still is on the 7AM schedule. 

Sunday - All day without baby :( 
Check on baby around 10AM and parents of course say everything is fine.
Ask via text what time they will be dropping the baby off....no response back.
Finally I call them around 4:30 and they say they are on their way...my baby was hijacked.
It's not like we did anything out of the ordinary with the baby not there.  We basically sat at our computers all day.  What an exciting life we lead. Pretty sure the baby did not miss us at all.  It's really the parents who miss the baby  more. 

Now baby woke up at 2AM and I fed him...and I can't go back to sleep.  It's 3:48 AM.  Insomnia totally sux.  I am going to be so exhausted in the morning.  I was tossing and turning for an hour. But I thought, why keep tossing and turning? Maybe I should just get up?  My  mind is working/thinking and I can't seem to turn it off. Hopefully work won't be too annoying to deal with today.