Thanksgiving 2011

I have so much to be thankful for this year!  Of course, Thanksgiving isn't the only day we should be thankful, and in my heart and mind I am thankful to God every single day...but because it's Thanksgiving I like to make it a point to let others know that I'm thankful for them.  It's bittersweet because this is the first Thanksgiving with my dad gone, and also Abigail's first Thanksgiving.  But again, I'm just really thankful for every one in my life and every thing I have, and I'm thankful for my past and all my experiences that have made me the person that I am.  I'm also definitely thankful for everything that I'm not--  I'm not poor, I'm not homeless, I'm not sick, I'm not sad, and I'm not lonely.  It's so easy to take all of that for granted.  I know I am so blessed.

In terms of plans for Thanksgiving, this year is different from past years because I really needed to step up and take charge with cooking and making sure everything comes together for my family.  The morning started with Michael dropping me & Abbie off at my mom's at 9 so that my sister and I could get straight to work.  The plan was to cook a 23 pound turkey, a 10 pound ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, a modified green bean casserole, and a pumpkin pie.  With only 1 oven and tons of things to cook, I was really nervous...especially since I've never made a Thanksgiving dinner before.  I was so novice, in fact, that up until it was time to head over to my mom's house, I was watched YouTube videos on how to cook Thanksgiving dinner.  haha

My sister made the stuffing and I prepped the turkey.  Since it needed to cook so long, you'd think we'd have lots of latent time to just hang out.  Quite the opposite.  We were running around trying to figure out how to get everything cooked, especially since everything needed to be done in the oven and my mom's oven is small.  Still not quite sure what I did, but I must have done something right, because dinner was SOOOOOOO AMAZING!  Everything was cooked and done on time.  :)

Massaging the turkey with all sorts of spices

Turkey came out sooo moist and juicy, and the cornbread stuffing was TO DIE FOR!  :)

Ham with my mom's brown sugar glaze recipe

Modified green bean casserole (we added carrots & mushrooms too)

Abbie hanging out while everyone ate dinner

Eating her first Thanksgiving dinner - Turkey and Sweet Potato baby food

SO thankful for my family

Hanging out with family

6 Month Check up

Yesterday I brought Abigail in for her 6 month check up with her doctor.  No concerns on my part to share, except for the fact that the baby has had a bit of a cold and cough, and she's a bit congested.  The doctor says Abbie is fine, and says that it looks like the congestion could be due to a mild cold or teething.  Apparently it looks like Abbie's top teeth will be making an appearance any time now.  

The doctor checked her height and weight, and she is now 27 inches tall and 15 lb and 15 oz.  Her weight used to be in the 75%ile, but now it's more in the 40th percentile, as for her height....she's just a tall girl.  She definitely gets that from Michael's mom's side.  The doctor says Abbie is healthy, looks great and is impressed that she can sit up by herself now.  She said that we can slowly start introducing finger foods and different textured foods soon, and she also told me to expect her to be scooting and crawling soon. I guess we better get started on baby proofing! Yikes!

Scooting around on the crinkly paper and playing with her sock :)

Abigail's 1st Trip to Disneyland

This past Monday, Michael and I called in for subs and took the day off of work to spend the day as a family and bring Abigail to Disneyland.  She's 6 months old and loves looking around at her surroundings, so what better time to take her to Disneyland than when the holiday decorations are up!

We started the day by eating at the restaurant Michael works at inside of the Hotel: PCH Grill.  The food was really good, and the best part was that we got an opportunity to interact with the characters without all the lines and crowds inside the park.  It was also Abbie's first time sitting in a restaurant high chair, and she did great.  She sat up, and played with  the table napkins until the characters came to visit her.  Her first character interaction was with Stitch.  She wasn't phased at all by the large blue fuzzy person next to her.  She just held his hand and smiled.  She really seemed to like all the characters, but she liked Minnie the most.  Tooo cute!

Giving Minnie some kisses (and a couple nibbles)

Abbie was more interested in hugging Minnie than taking pictures

With Mickey in his Lifeguard outfit in the restaurant

After leaving breakfast, we stopped by the Grand Californian, where I got to stop and see a couple friends I used to work with.  Then we headed for Disneyland.  We never made it into California Adventures, which is fine, because that just means we can spend a whole other day there next time.  :)

Inside Disneyland, we visited Minnie & Mickey in their houses at Toontown and then went around taking pictures of the beautiful decor and even hopping on the rides.  For being the first official day of Holiday at Disneyland, it was not crowded.  The lines for the rides were 15 minutes or less!  We even got back in line for It's a Small World because Abbie loved it so much, and because there was absolutely no line! 

By the time we got to Mickey's house, he was already changed into his usual clothes!  :)

Abbie & Daddy

Abbie & Mommy looking toward the castle, and showing off her new hat :)

It was such a great day!  Abbie was such a trooper and didn't cry at all (seriously!) even though her feeding and sleeping schedule was completely off, and even though we kept waking her up.  And yes, we know she probably won't remember this day because she's so young, but Michael and I will.  And we will be here and armed with pictures to show her how much she enjoyed her first trip to Disneyland. :)

Twins

I get it that she's bound to look like me, but really, the resemblance is uncanny!  I was looking through pictures and just realized how much she looks like me.  Wow.  Just had to share.  :)

It has a name!

Thank you to everyone who has been asking about and praying for my brother and my family.  It's been rough, but we're praying hard and keeping positive.  I can't believe it's been almost a month since this whole nightmare started!  I've been busy with so much, but I finally have a little time to blog and update about everything:

First of all, as the blog title states, it has a name.  My brother's diagnosis is Transverse Myelitis.  It's a neurological disorder where the spinal cord becomes inflamed, and these attacks of inflammation can damage or destroy myelin, the fatty insulating substance that covers nerve cell fibers. This damage causes nervous system scars that interrupt communications between the nerves in the spinal cord and the rest of the body.  So basically, my brother's spinal cord has lots of swelling that prevents his nerves to communicate properly with his body, which causes him to lose feeling and control of his body.  The start site of his paralysis is at T6 of his vertebrae, and everything from his chest downwards is completely paralyzed.

Upon finding out about this, most people ask, "Why??  How??"  Well, unfortunately, we don't know and the doctors don't know either.  The cause of transverse myelitis is still unknown and there hasn't been enough research on it.  My brother's doctors say it's auto-immune, which means the body has incorrectly turned on itself, and is attacking itself.  To try and target the "bad" cells, my brother went through treatments of plasmapheresis where his blood would be removed and the plasma was taken out and replaced with clean plasma.  These treatments ended almost 2 weeks ago, and we are still waiting to see any change from those treatments.  He is still taking major steroids to help with the swelling, but basically, it seems that all we can do is sit and wait.  Most cases of transverse myelitis lead to some form of permanent paralysis, however, there are about 30% of cases where the patient can get better in time.  The other 70%, unfortunately must just learn to live with their situation due to the damage within their bodies.

Anyways, in the past month, my brother has gone from the ER and ICU at Lakewood Regional Medical Center, to the ICU, then the Neuro floor at LB Memorial Medical Center, and now, he is at the Rehabilitation Center at LB Memorial.  He's been through dozens of MRIs, spinal taps, and blood tests, as well as poked at and examined every day.  Most recently at the rehab facility, he's been given a wheelchair and is being taught how to live daily life with his new found disability.  He's building up what he has of his upper body and learning how to move around in his wheelchair and take care of his personal needs.

I ask him every day how he's doing, and although he says he's okay, I know that inside it's hard.  I mean, how could it not be??  He went from living an busy, active life full of friends and school (as most 22 year olds do), to being confined to a hospital bed or a wheelchair and depending on others in order to take care of basic needs.  I know it's hard for him, especially since he's like my dad-- very independent and wanting to take care of everything by himself.  Even has a little kid, he was the one who didn't want help assembling his toys or games-- he'd figure it out on his own, even if it meant that he'd end out breaking whatever it was.  And now, his days are full of physical therapy and occupational therapy.  Sitting up in his chair is a struggle (because he has no control of his core muscles).  His legs are SUPER skinny due to his muscle tone going away.  But despite all that, he still manages to smile.  He tries his best every day and is doing so well.  I'm so proud of him.  As easy as it could be to let everything make him angry or depressed, he keeps looking forward and staying positive.  If I was in his position, I know that I would let my frustrations eat me up and get me down; but not my brother.  So many times I've cried over this and everything going on, saying that I wish my dad was here, because he might know what to do.  But just seeing how my brother is and how he's coping with everything.....maybe my dad is here and has been here all along.

Sorry, I know I've rambled on, and not necessarily in any organized, easy to understand direction either.  Sorry for that too.  I hope this explains and updates you on my family and my brother.

Anyways, we visit him as much as we can, which is every other day during the week and usually on the weekends.  It's become a sort of meeting place for my family.  I think it's actually brought us closer together, which has been an unexpected blessing.  Here's a picture of a birthday we celebrated in my brother's hospital room:

Again, thank you for your care, concern, positive thoughts and prayers.  We very much appreciate your love and support!!!

25 Weeks!

This past week, Abbie's Grammy (& Grampy) were out of town, so we needed to have someone else watch her.  My sister coincidentally had a week off of school, so she offered to babysit.  We were afraid at first, especially since Kayla has never babysat a baby alone, and I know she is sometimes squeamish about changing diapers and babies spitting up.  Well, after just the first day, I was so relieved because Kayla was great!  She really surprised me!!  I wrote out a schedule and some simple instructions on Abbie's routines and how to prepare her food, and she really followed it to a T!  Honestly, the first day, I had my cell phone in my pocket anxious that my sister would call panicking about something.  But nope, no calls.  Just pictures that she'd text me of how well Abbie and her were doing, pictures of Abbie playing in her jumper at my mom's house, and of Abbie swaddled and sleeping.  :)   All week went well, and it was great that I brought Abbie over because she got to spend some time with my mom, whom she doesn't see very often.  Anyways, it's great to know that I have someone else who I can trust to watch the baby, who knows the baby's routine and how to take care of her the way I would.  

Playing @ my mom's house

Also this week, on Thursday night, I discovered that Abbie is starting to sit up by herself, unsupported!  Can you believe it?!  Geez, this kid is growing up waaayyy too fast.  I'm just afraid that I'm gonna blink and next thing I know, she'll be crawling away from me too.  Ahhh!  I just want her to stay my little baby forever.  

My big girl, sitting up! :)

Also, it's been a while since I posted this, but:

Likes:

• Mirrors
• Her own reflection & pictures of herself
• Blinking lights (I can't wait for her to see what Christmas will be like!!)
• Music, especially fast paced, pop music
• Riding in the car 
• Grabbing anything and everything around her...especially shiny things
• Chewing on everything
• Being swaddled

Dislikes:

• Delayed meals.  If she sees her bottle, or knows it's time to eat, you better feed her, ASAP!
• That her mobile in her room is broken and the little hanging people don't move around for her :(
• Being on her tummy for too long.  She wants to sit up or stand.

iPhone 4S

I got it the other day in the mail....and am in LOVE with it!  Seriously, why didn't I get it sooner?!  I'm totally a Mac person and prefer Macs vs. PCs.  I love their ease of use and how most of the controls are very intuitive.  Now that I have the iPhone, it really connects everything together, not to mention use the same kind of charger, which I have a ton of!  Love love love it and I couldn't be happier with it :)

....and it looks like Michael will be getting one in a few months too.  Haha, gotta invite everyone onto that bandwagon, eh?

Got Milk?

I've always had the attitude that breast is best and was and have been determined to bast feed Abigail for as long as I could. My goal was as close to a year as possible, with 6 months being the absolute minimum. Sadly, in the last few weeks, my supply has really been dwindling down. :(

I have never had any problem producing milk, and in fact, was overproducing. I would be able to feed Abigail in the morning and still be able to pump about 5 ounces or more. Then while at work, I could pump another 5 ounces. I knew that going to work would affect my supply, but during the first couple months, I've been able to maintain a good supply. But lately, I've been producing about half of what I normally make. This makes for a frustrated and hungry baby, a shrinking supply in the freezer, and a sad and stressed out mommy :(. I even had a mini break down when I had to open up a can of formula and supplement so that Abbie could get enough to have for dinner.

At my doctors appointment last week, I expressed my concern and was giving a prescription that could safely help increase lactation. I started taking it...and while it makes me feel drowsy, it seems to be working. This morning alone, I pumped 7 ounces in addition to feeding Abbie her breakfast. I'm not sure if the medication is working, or if it has a placebo effect, but whatever it is, I'm just glad it's working for now.

With a Quack Quack here

Yes, Abigail is a little skunk for Halloween, but during a trip to Costco, my mom found this little duck costume and couldn't resist getting it for Abbie.  I put her in it and was singing her "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and every time I got to the "quack quack" part, she'd just start smiling and laughing.  I took these pictures and just had to share.  :)

Irrisistable, I tell 'ya!  :)

Big Girl Bed

As I type this, I have an eye on Abigail sleeping...using the video monitor.  That's right!  She's finally transitioned into sleeping in her own room at night!

For the past couple months, Michael and I had been talking about when the best time would be to transition her into sleeping in her own room at night.  Of course, I had a little trouble letting go of her sleeping in the co-sleeper in our room.  Obviously I love having her close, but also, it's just so convenient to have her close just in case she woke up in the middle of the night and was fussing, or if she was coughing or anything.  But sadly, the time finally came where she seemed ready to move into her own bed because:

1) She rarely wakes up, and if she does, all she is looking for is her pacifier, and not a feeding.
2) She should make the transition soon because if we wait until she's a little older, it'll be harder to move her.
3) She really was starting to get too big for the co-sleeper.  Our girl is really tall, and her legs are long, so she really fills out the co-sleeper.  If she get any bigger, it'll be much to small for her.  (especially since she rolls around much more now).


Anyways, she started sleeping in her crib on October 21st.  We went through our bedtime routine with her, and instead of putting her in the co-sleeper, we just put her in her crib.  I'm so glad that she's familiar with, and comforted by her Sleep Sheep and her puppy...because they really helped make the transition soooo easy.  We put them in her crib with her, turned them on, and she drifted off to sleep as usual.  It's been a week now, and putting her to bed has been a piece of cake.  What a good little baby!  :)



ps- THANK YOU to the inventors of video monitors!  While the transition for Abbie was pretty easy, it was a little rougher on me, so I'm really grateful that we have a video monitor because I can watch her and feel more at ease, knowing and actually seeing that she's safe and sleeping peacefully.

Rest in Pieces

My phone broke.  :(  I was loading the baby in her car seat, and then sat and closed the car door, but for some reason it wouldn't close.  I looked down and realized that my phone had slid out of my pocket and I had slammed the door on my phone!  Poor Droid.  I tried to turn it on, but the screen had cracked and neither the display nor the touch screen would work.  I started to panic and tried to rush to Verizon, but by that time they had just closed.  I was sad because my phone is the only way for people to reach me, and really my only way to reach other people.  Especially with what's going on my brother, I want to be reachable.  True, people can reach me through Michael, but how would Michael even reach me while he and I are at our schools?  :(

So the next day, I called Verizon and asked about what I can do.  Thankfully, I had insurance on my phone, but it would cost me $100 to replace my phone with the exact same kind.  As much as I like my Droid Incredible, I had been wanting to change phones for a while now and was hoping to upgrade my phone to an iPhone.  I asked about an iPhone, and it would cost $299 with an upgrade discount, and almost $800 without.  Our account had an available upgrade so I went ahead and got the iPhone.  Why bother spending $100 to get a phone that I wanted to change soon anyways?  It's a bit expensive, but I decided to use my recent birthday money on it.  The only catch is that due to popular demand, it won't even be shipped to me until the second week of November.  Thankfully Fred let me borrow his old phone, so that's what I'm using now.  :)   I'm really excited to get my new phone...but I'm still peeved that I lost all my old contact phone numbers.  The people at Verizon said they can't retrieve it since my touch screen broke.  So now the only numbers I know are the ones that I have memorized...which is basically my mom's cell phone and house, and Michael's cell phone.  :(

If you're reading this, perhaps you can email me your phone number to help me start up my collection again!  :)

She TALKS!

I've been meaning to blog about this...and in fact, I finally recorded her talking, but for some reason I was not able to attach the sound clip to this blog :(  But nevertheless....MY BABY SAID HER FIRST WORD!  :)

Last Wednesday night (Oct 19th), Michael and I were at Target picking up some groceries.  I was walking down the aisles, pushing her stroller and listening to her babble, when all of a sudden, she started saying "mama mama!!"  :)  I called Michael over to have him hear her.  He doubted that she was saying it, and said that it didn't really sound like "mama."  Michael said that babies don't usually talk until 7 months or so.  But even when we were checking out with the cashier, he even confirmed that Abbie was saying it.  Haha...What's funnier is that later that night, as I'm putting the groceries away, I could hear Michael with the baby in her room saying, "Can you say 'dada'??"

She now says it all the time, and it just melts my heart every time!  <3

Our Little Stinker :)

Today we went to a portrait studio to get some pictures of Abbie in her Halloween costume-- a skunk. :)  We probably won't be going trick or treating, but still wanted to commemorate her first Halloween by getting some pictures done.  It was an annoying experience today because the studio was over booked with lots of families also trying to get Halloween pictures done.  Our appointment was supposed to be at 12:10, and we were prepared to have Abbie "ready" at 12:10....but because of the studio's unwise decision to book appointments too close to each other, with not enough time to work with each customer, they were reaaaallllyyy backed up.  Our appointment was delayed almost 40 minutes!  Anyone with a baby knows that that is NOT good.  :(  Abigail was a real trooper.  Can't blame her for getting tired and falling asleep....or for getting cranky when we woke her up because the photographer was finally ready for us.  But even though it was a crappy experience at the studio, we still got a few super cute pictures of our little stinker :)

Thing 1 & Thing 2

With all the craziness that's been going on, I've been so busy, but sooo needing to blog!  We've been so busy with work/school/and with everything going on with my brother, that I haven't had time to post about a big milestone.  I've been meaning to try and find just 5 minutes at least to escape to my computer, but before I knew it, it had been a week and a milestone became TWO milestones!



Last week on the night of Abigail's 5 months, we saw this:

That's right!!  Her first tooth!!  :)  We knew it'd be coming, especially since she's been gnawing on her hand and her toys (and everything she can get a hold of).  She's also been drooling like crazy!  Then on that night, I put my finger in her mouth to massage her gums, when all of a sudden I felt something sharp on her lower gums.  

But that's not all, folks!  Just the other night, after Abbie had been super fussy all day, I felt in her mouth and discovered something new poking through:

Tooth #2!!  It's crazy how soon it came it, considering it had been only a week (if that) since the first one came.  So now, we can say that she has teeth!  Crazy! :)

Not so happy birthday

It's funny how throughout the build up and countdown to any birthday, especially as a child, you'd get butterflies in your stomach and just feel so excited that you could burst.  I remember when I was young and asking my mom if she was excited for her birthday, and she would say that it's different when you're older. I guess I must be older now, because that's how it felt for me.  Just another day, except for the fact that from now on, I need to remember to say that I'm 27 instead of 26 when people ask me.

But still, my birthday on Wednesday started off happy.  It was going to be super hot and humid (which is just ridiculous for this time of year), but other than that, I was good.  Any day is a good day when it starts by seeing Abigail wake up with a smile.  Work was good too.  My kids remembered it was my birthday, and one of my students even brought me a little gift. :)  The plan for the evening was to go out to dinner with Michael and my siblings to Cheesecake Factory.  On my drive to work, I got text messages from Justin (my brother) and Kayla (my sister) confirming the time and location.  I also found out that my cousins GJ, Leslie and Tracy were going to come meet up with us too.  Great! :)  However...after work when I got home, I received a call from my sister telling me why my mom never called to greet me happy birthday.  Apparently she was with my brother who was in the ER.  She didn't want to call me while I was at work and upset me with the bad news.

(Side story:  Several months ago, a little bit before Abigail was born, my brother went snowboarding and fell.  He complained of back pain and got it checked, but everything was attributed to inflammation from the fall and sciatica.  The week before Abbie was born, he complained again to my dad and he told my brother that he would take him to the doctor to get it checked.  Unfortunately, right after the baby was born was when my dad had his stroke and then passed away.  Because of the funeral and everything that comes after a family member passes away, my brother's back issues (which still bothered him on and off) were pushed to the side.  Eventually, he started complaining again to my mom, so she got him an appointment for an MRI to get it checked.  This test from last week showed that he had a herniated disc. A course of treatment would be devised for him.)

Now back to my original story--  On my birthday (Wednesday), my brother went to school and took his final, and then came home.  He complained of being in a lot of pain and that he felt the numbness down his leg again.  Within a couple hours, it got worse and he could barely walk.  My mom and sister took him to the ER at my mom's work.  By the time they got him in and checked, he had already lost feeling in his legs from the waist down, and he could not move.  Tests and scans were done and it showed that there was a lot of swelling and a hematoma (a buildup of blood) and his cerebrospinal fluid was leaking out.  Since it was my birthday, my mom and brother insisted that we still go to dinner, and said that they wouldn't know how long he'd be there.  Hopefully he would be released the next morning.  We visited him at the hospital that night and learned how serious his condition actually is.  He was very brave, and only complained that he was hungry and thirsty.  He was not allowed to eat or drink just in case they needed to take him in for surgery.  Thankfully, by the end of the night, the doctors said that he could eat and he was able to have dinner.  I left telling him that I'd bring food the next day.

Then the next day came and went, and still, he had no sensation or movement in his lower half, and in fact, the paralysis had moved up to his mid abdomen.   I visited him after work, and was happy to see him staying positive and in pretty good spirits.  It helped that his friends were visiting him all day and bringing him food and other comforts from home.  We left that night hearing from the doctors that there wasn't much else they could do for him there, and that he would need to be sent to a bigger hospital, possibly UCLA, which is bigger and has more resources to help him.

Yesterday was my sister's 21st birthday.  I went to work as usual and according to my brother's wishes, had plans to go out with her and some of her friends to The Yardhouse in Long Beach to make sure she got out and enjoyed herself.  She didn't have school that day, and I knew that she'd be home alone all day probably being sad, so I followed the advise from a co-worker of mine and just left work to spend the day with her and spend some time with our brother.  So I left.  Went to my mom's house and surprised my sister.  Took her out to breakfast first, and then we bought a little cake to bring to the hospital so we could have a birthday cake for us to eat with our mom and brother.  We spent the rest of the day there and kept him company.  It made me sad to see that his good spirits were starting to die out and he was getting more and more frustrated and depressed about everything.  I hated hearing him say that everything was a waste and now he'll be nothing and have nothing to do with himself because he won't be able to get up or do anything.  My mom and aunt were there and since they know the medical lingo and have experience with this kind of stuff, they were really upset because they know how serious this condition is and what his chances of ever being able to get up and move will be.   Leaving the hospital, we heard that the next step for my brother was still to transfer him by ambulance to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.  The calls had gone through, my mom had pulled strings, and the neurologists and neurosurgeons there had accepted him as a patient and a bed was waiting for him.  However, the accepting doctors want him to be in the ICU and not just in any room, so they said that they'd wait until Monday or Tuesday when a spot in the ICU would open up for him.  Until then, he was to be transferred to the ICU at Long Beach Memorial.  Although UCLA is better, LB Memorial was still better than the hospital he was currently at, so they went ahead and approved him to go there.  When we left, they were calling in the order for the ambulance and getting my brother ready to travel.

Last night, Michael and I went out with Kayla, a couple of our cousins and some of Kayla's friends and had dinner at The Yardhouse.  Before leaving the hospital, my brother had instructed me to order her a couple specific drinks and to make sure she has fun.  Dinner was good, and then I passed on my brother's instructions to my cousins who were going to go with Kayla and her friends to a couple bars.  It was getting late and since we had the baby with us, we needed to go home.

And now, it's Saturday.  Birthday week is almost over, and yet the nightmare of what's going on with my brother seems to be just beginning.  I feel so emotionally drained.  As if going through each day and knowing that my dad is gone isn't hard enough, now my brother's health and well-being is on the line.  My mind and heart and in constant prayer.  :(

No hospital stay is gonna stop us from taking a family picture with our cake!

With our aunt

My sister's "first legal drink"

At The Yardhouse in LB with cousins...
Abbie was being a tourist and was interested in everything else around her

5 Months Old

Holy moly!  This girl is just getting os big!  Can you believe she's 5 months old already?!

Octoberfest (the non-alcoholic, non-German kind)

I love this time of year! It's October...which means the weather will soon be changing to colder days (yay!!!), we'll be setting our clocks back an hour, the holidays will start rolling in one by one, and also, it's birthday time in my family. Quite a few of us in my family, myself included, have October birthdays.

My mom's birthday was last week, for which we had a small family party. Yesterday, we had the annual Limay fiesta (a big celebration and reunion for all the people from Limay, the place where my mom's side of the family came from in the Philippines). This upcoming week will my mine and my sister's birthdays. Mine is on the 12th and hers is on the 14th. She's turning 21 this year and is pretty excited. She's planning on going out with her friends to some bar and ordering drinks. As excited as she may seem, I know that she is sad on the inside, because our dad told her that for her 21st birthday, he would take her to Vegas. I feel sorry for her, and hope to go to Vegas with her soon to make up for that trip that she won't be able to take. Anyways, for my birthday, I'm turning 27. :( I can't believe I'm getting to so old. I know 27 isn't "old", but I can't believe how fast time has gone by. For my birthday, I wish I could go out and do something fun like a weekend getaway to Vegas or something, but sadly, I work, we're busy, and more importantly, we have a baby. Now sure what we're going to do, but I'm fairly certain that there'll be some family party next weekend. Michael keeps asking me what I'd like for my birthday, but honestly, I really can't think of anything I want. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, and most things I want, I work hard for and get them myself. ...or maybe it's because I'm getting more mature and am realizing how blessed I am to have what I've got. Either way, I don't want much. Maybe a day off from work and some time to spend enjoying my family. :)

Oh poop!!!

Having been exclusively breastfed and bottle fed only breastmilk up until recently, Abigail's poop has been yellowish, and more on the runny side. As a newborn, she pooped what we thought were record breaking 8-12 times a day. (seriously, how does someone so little poop that much?!) Eventually, the number of poopy diapers went down to a few times a day, and then most lately, only a few times a week. Along with occasional tootiness, her poops didn't smell "bad"....but they had a distinct smell. All very typical and healthy. Our doctor said all of that is to be expected, as long as she was eating only breastmilk.

But now that she eats cereal too, even though it's only the 1 time a day, there have been some changes. Funky poopy changes. Who would've thought that introducing a feeding of cereal a day could change her poop that much??? I know it's supposed to be a single grain rice cereal, but what the heck do they put in there? Don't let that 1 tablespoon of simple-looking, almost translucent rice flakes fool you. It turned our innocent, smiley-faced baby into a poop monster!

Her poop's color, consistency and odor have all changed. It's thicker, darker, and smells....funky. Thank goodness she's cute, because even the smell of her toots would make you think you're in some dive bar full of big burly truck drivers who haven't showered in a week!  Haha, Alright, alright...maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it's no exaggeration to say that her diapers and toots smell. They smell bad enough that I've contemplated a few times about stopping her feedings and keeping her on only breastmilk again. But alas, this is a part of her growing older. And also, as her doctor said, giving her these feedings is not only good for her nutritionally, but it's also good for her developmental growth, as she learns to stop her tongue thrust reflex and move food from the front of her mouth to the back of her mouth.

Anyways, I don't want you to walk away from this post thinking "wow...her daughter is a beast!" so here are a couple pictures of our little cutie pie.  Although diaper changes have gotten more interesting (to say the least), I assure you that she's sweeter than ever  :)

Just finished eating and "pooped"

Other side of things

Although being parents is a HUGE part of our lives now, there's still a lot more going on besides the baby. It's so easy to be consumed by being parents that it's also important to acknowledge and celebrate the other things going on in our lives.  This post is just to fill you in about what else we're up to...

Me:
Still working like crazy.  As much as I wish I could've taken a year off to spend with the baby, it's absolutely necessary for me to work.  This year, I'm still at the same school and teaching 3rd and 4th grade SDC.  We found out at that our school is now in our first year of PI, so administration is really buckling down hard on all the teachers to improve their teaching in order to help the kids do better on their state tests.  Unfortunately, because of the area that I work in, with the low socioeconomic status and number of English learners, it's characteristic of the students to perform lower than students in more affluent areas where parents provide more support.  What bothers me is that even though I teach Special Ed, I (along with the other SpEd teachers) are feeling so much more pressure to get our students' scores on the state tests to increase.  There are so many things wrong about this...but I don't really want to get into that, because it only gives me a headache to think about it.  Anyways, I'm busy trying to teach my 13 students the same standards that the general ed teachers are doing, and as you can imagine, much of it is going over their heads.  Though, I think it's frustrating me more so than it's frustrating them, and it really is making me stop and think.  Is this what I really want to do?  Lately, I'm coming to the conclusion that it isn't.  I want something else.  I was specially trained and got my credentials to work with students who have severe disabilities.  In the past month, I've realized that while I do like what I do and the students I work with, it's just simply not the population I want.  It came to me while I was talking to the school counselor that I just met.  I was introducing myself and telling him about what I did before I came to this school, and he said "wow, with that skill set, you're working here?"  That's when the lightbulb went off, and made me realize that I need to start looking elsewhere.  So now, I'm doing my best to chug along at work, and do what they're asking me to do with the students.  But on side, I'm starting to look around and see what my options are.

Michael:
Although he's still aching to have a classroom of his own instead of taking on substitute positions, things are starting to look more promising for him.  Last year, he worked in my school district as an Impact teacher, which is basically an intervention teacher who works with small groups from different classrooms to work on skills that they are having difficulty with.  The liked working with the kids, but his experience was really tainted because of the way the classroom teachers, themselves, were to work with.  He was very frustrated, to say the least.  Coming into the new school year, he was hoping to secure another year as an Impact teacher (and hopefully at a different school)....but as luck would have it, he found out that there was a position open in Irvine Unified at the school where his former principal (who LOVES him) now works.  Unfortunately, he only came in second to getting the position...but only because the staff there who have a big say in the selection process did not know him.  He was told, though, that he could be put on the sub list at Irvine, which is hard to get on to.  Soon after that, he was offered a long term position teaching 2nd grade which is the perfect chance for him to get his foot in the door and give the teachers there a chance to get to know him so that he'll have a better chance at getting hired when the next opportunity comes.  That's where he's at now, and he's loving it (but not so much loving the drive there and back through the traffic every day).  The students are sweet and he's finding that the parents aren't as bad or as interrogative as he was fearing they would be.  Best of all, he gets to work again with the principal who initially hired him when he first started teaching, and who he really loves working with.  We're keeping our fingers, toes, eyes, and everything else crossed that he can get another long term position there after this one ends, and that a position opens up soon. :)

20 Weeks!

Time is flying like crazy!  Our little girl is 20 weeks old, can you believe it?!

She's learning so much, so quickly...not to mention growing like a weed!  We take pictures often, and even looking back at pictures from the week prior is crazy because we can see how she's changing and getting so big!

In the past couple weeks, Abigail has learned to:

• Grab her toys (any basically anything in her reach) and put them straight into her mouth
• Push the buttons on her toys to make them make noise or play music
• Reach for her toes (while laying on her back) and put them in her mouth. Boy, does she LOVE sucking on them!!

• Recognize her spoon and open up her mouth in anticipation for the next bite of rice cereal
• Roll over
• Outstretch her arms towards what/who she wants
• Respond to the sound of her name, especially when her dad calls her
• Play with all the little toys and gadgets on her jumper...before, she seemed content just hanging there and smiling.  But now, she reaches for all the little dangling toys, bats at the little flashing lights, and tries to twist all the knobs and move the little pieces around.  
• Stare and smile at her reflection in the mirror, and even tries to "talk" or scream at it.  
• Remove her pacifier with her hands, and even pick up her pacifier and put it in her mouth (although it's not always in the right way the first time, she's pretty persistent and keeps trying until it is)
• Suck her thumb!  Yep...she finally found it.  However, once she found it, she sucked on it for a day or two at the most.  It seems she is more interested in sucking on her fist or a few fingers instead.  

Abigail is doing great!  As her doctor said at our last visit, "She's perfect!!" It still breaks my heart that I have to go to work and not spend the day with her, but I think I've finally gotten the hang of it, especially since I stopped crying when dropping her off in the morning at her Grammy & Grampy's house after the first few days.  Things are going great there too during the day, by the way.  They've got their routine and it's obvious how much Abbie enjoys seeing her grandparents.  

Another thing that's going great is feeding.  Breastfeeding is still going well.  I feed her whenever I'm with her, and while I'm at work, I pump during my break.  It's time consuming and sometimes inconvenient, but it's so worth it to know that I'm giving the baby what's best for her.  Also, eating solids is going great too.  She loves her cereal and gobbles it all up.  

Again, we feel so blessed.  We're so in love with this little girl, it's just ridiculous.  Now that October is here, we're getting so excited because the holidays will be coming soon, and we can't wait to spend them with her.  There's so much to look forward to :)

Rice Cereal!

On Friday, we went ahead and gave Abigail her first taste of solid food -- rice cereal!  Although, I really don't think it's considered solid, considering it was really thin and runny, but nonetheless, it was our girl's first time eating from a spoon and sitting up in her highchair like a big girl! :)

She definitely liked sitting in her chair.  We gave her a toy to occupy her while we figured out the right proportions of breast milk and the cereal.  It was surprising how watery the cereal looked.  I was expecting something more around the consistency of a milkshake, but it seemed more like the consistency of a watery gravy.

When we started feeding her, she seemed confused by the spoon.  She sucked on it and kept trying to grab it.  She seemed to like the cereal, and she ate it up, but she gets frustrated at the part where she has to wait in between bites when we're getting another spoonful for her.  When she's hungry, she's hungry and she doesn't like to wait!   

We told her, "All done!"
She just sat and stared, and looked like she was waiting for more.

It was a successful feeding!  

She seems to like it, but it will take a little while to get her used to eating from a spoon.  In a few weeks, we'll introduce some fruits and veggies too.  :)

4 Months Old

Look who's 4 months old today!

With turning 4 months old, also comes her 4 month doctor's appointment.  The appointment went well, and the doctor was very pleased at how Abigail is growing and developing.  Her height is now 25.5 inches, which still puts her in the 90th percentile!  Also, she now weighs 14 pounds and 4 ounces, which puts her in the 64th percentile.  Her doctor also mentioned that because Abbie is 4 months and over 14 pounds, she is now ready for rice cereal!  Ahhh!  While rice cereal (a couple teaspoons mixed with a couple ounces of breastmilk) isn't considered a "solid food" yet, I still can't get over the fact that she'll be eating from a spoon now!  Also, we were told that as long as she does well with the rice cereal and gradually gets used to the texture and thickness of it, we also have the go ahead to start introducing some pureed fruits and vegetables to her in the next month, too.  I guess I better start looking for sales on baby food!