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 APRIL-MAY
2007 I'm so excited to be ONE! I have a big update for an especially eventful month. At
my last doctors visit in Texas this month, for my one year old
check-up, I weighed 19 lbs. 15 oz. and measured 30.25 inches.
I'm going to miss my doctor, but he said he would keep a spot
open for me when I come back ;) Although it has been a while
since I grew any new teeth, my mouth was really busy this month
when my fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth teeth showed
up! Now I have four center teeth on the top and bottom. Yipee! Grandpa
stayed with us for a whole week to hang out with just me. We ate
together, played together, read together and even went to the
duck pond together. Before moving, I had my first haircut with
Mr. Tony, who has been cutting Daddy's hair since his college
days. Po Po thinks I look older now. I officially became an air
traveler. Not only did I earn my first pair of wings, but I took
my first three plane rides and napped through each one. My
very first flight was on Shamu One (the Southwest Airlines plane
painted like a killer whale)
moving from Texas to Arizona. How did they
know I would be flying that day? Po Po was our first visitor and
spent the week with us at our new house. My next trip was to
Los
Angeles to see Auntie Amanda and my friends Alex and Rachel.
Auntie Amanda took Mommy, Daddy and me to explore fun places
like the Getty Center where I ran around the big grassy meadow
and a neat family
farm where I saw goats, chickens and
even a peacock. At the farm, we also picked red, ripe
strawberries right from the plants. They were so sweet, I kept
eating until my tummy
was full of them! We ate other food around town like Korean
BBQ in Koreatown, Japanese food from Little Tokyo, fish
tacos and ice cream from Manhattan Beach, and afternoon tea at
Huntington Gardens. Of course, I don't drink any tea, just whole
milk and water these days. Finally, I hung out with my friends Alex and
Rachel in
Temecula at the park and the weather was beautiful.
I love to snuggle with my Bo
and Puppers. When Mommy says "Kendall hug Bo" I will pick him
up, squeeze him tight and pat his back all with a
big grin. After playtime and before my nap, Mommy will say "time to
clean up" then I help her put my toys and books back into the
basket. I also like to wave a lot (with my whole arm) to
people I meet, at the computer on our webcam or when I hear the words "hi" or
bye". People always smile back at me when I wave at them.
Daddy thinks that is why I like to do it so much. Gong Gong says I'm a social girl
and Mommy thinks he may be
right. |
 MARCH-APRIL
2007 I've improved my walking a lot recently and am loving
it! One day I was taking just 3-4 steps and a couple days later
I started taking 30-40 steps without stopping. I don't even like
to crawl anymore since walking is SO much faster. Now I can get
into all those places I just couldn't reach before! To celebrate
my first year of life, Daddy and Mommy threw me a
birthday bash
with lots of yummy spring-themed food, a butterfly pinata,
caricatures and tattoos for the kids. There was a super cute
cake, too (from my Aunties Amanda and Tiffany)! It was a blast
to have friends and family there to celebrate my special day
with me. This month, I tried authentic German food in
Fredericksburg. The wursts, schnitzels and pickled cabbage were
the best. After lunch, we found a little dessert shop on Main
Street where I had my first taste of ice cream. Blue Bell, of
course. It was Cookies and Cream. Yum, yum! Just outside of
town, we stopped at Wildseed Farms to see the new butterfly
exhibit where I saw tons of pretty colorful butterflies up close
and personal. Daddy had a conference in
Dallas for a few days,
so Mommy and I went along and played tourist. One day I had
afternoon tea with Mommy at the Arboretum. I was on my best
behavior since we were in a formal place. The tea sandwiches
were tasty, but the scones with clotted cream and orange
marmalade were my favorite! Since they were fresh from the oven,
they were Mommy's favorite, too :) Not only did we see lots of
pretty flowers at the Arboretum, but also hundreds of playful
water fountains near our downtown hotel. What trip to Dallas
would be complete without a little shopping? Mommy's friend,
Auntie Doris, hung out with us as we shopped around town. It was
like our own Girls Day Out. Have you been wondering when my
other teeth would come out? Well, the day before my actual
birthday my third tooth finally made its appearance! Daddy said
having just a couple teeth has kept me looking young ;) |
 FEBRUARY-MARCH
2007
Mommy and I go to Lapsit at our library every week. At Lapsit the
mommies sing songs with the motions, read a book to their babies
all together and then we have playtime with toys. Ironically, I
hardly sit in her lap at all and am meeting all the other babies
instead. Miss Jane, the
librarian, thinks I'm after her job because I like to hang out
at the front and help turn the flip chart of songs. Lola and
Grandpa spent part of their spring break with me and we had a
great time together. They even met Miss Jane one
afternoon. Grandpa made his famous pot roast with veggies for me
and I loved every tender morsel. It was SO good, I said "Mmmm,
mmmm!" after the first bite. Dancing and clapping are such
a blast that I'll move to the groove whenever any music begins. In
my high chair. On the changing table. While I'm crawling.
Anytime. Anywhere. Even if the music is coming from a video
on our camera, a cell phone ring or if someone starts singing a
song.
At the end of my dance, I like to give myself a round of
applause. Clapping sure is contagious because if I hear or see
someone clapping, I will happily
join in.
Bo, the monkey, and Puppers are my best soft buddies, but I call them "Buh" and "Pupah." They keep me
company at naptime and each night while I sleep. Mommy says I
remind her a lot of Bo because I'm always on the move. One
morning while some friends from our church group were at our
home, I decided to take my first steps. Only Daddy saw me since Mommy was
busy talking with a friend so I showed her my new skill the very
next day when I took more steps just for her. |
 JANUARY-FEBRUARY
2007 I now weigh 17 lbs. and am 28.75 inches long. This
month I started doing several new things on my own. For
starters, I've kicked the bottle and can now drink from and
hold the sippy cup all by myself. I wasn't a fan last
month, but now I've really got the hang of it. I like to travel
all over the house and in to EVERY room by cruising along walls
or crawling really fast especially when I'm following Mommy
around or if Daddy is chasing me. When I'm being chased, I
really kick it into high gear and will giggle until I'm
caught! Something else I'm doing independently is standing
without any support. Yay for me! Mommy had an accomplishment too
this month when she started leaving me at the nursery during her
weekly bible study. We used to stay in class together with the
other Mommies and young babies. She thought that I
would miss her too much to be away from her.
But to her surprise, I had such a good time playing with all the
other babies and new toys I didn't have a chance to miss her.
Even the three times when she peeked in on me that first day, I was having a
grand time with my new friends. The same thing happened at our church
nursery, too. When Daddy and Mommy return to pick me up, I have
the biggest smiles EVER for them! It's pretty rare that I'm not
exploring or investigating something at every moment. Can you
tell from my last three month birthday photos that it's hard for
me to sit still for very long? In this months photo, I'm about
to get up to take a very important phone call:) My final first of the month was getting
a cold, but fortunately it didn't slow me down one bit! (For
a short time, you can see my
television debut here.) |
 DECEMBER
2006-JANUARY
2007 One of my
favorite spots in my whole house is the book basket. I like to
pull out five or six books at a time and play with them even
more than some of my toys! Daddy thinks the reason I like books so much
is because I see Mommy reading books and magazines all the
time. Reading with Mommy and Daddy is even more fun
now because I'm in charge
of turning pages. At meal and snack time, I'm in charge of
feeding myself itty-bitty cubes of cheese, avocado, asparagus,
pear, tofu, banana and brussels sprouts among other foods. Mommy
still uses a spoon to feed me things like yogurt and applesauce. I love
making Mommy laugh (just like Daddy). I can always get a laugh
or smile out of her if I imitate things she does like rest her
head on her shoulder (as if I need a break) or cough (even
though I haven't been sick yet). I spent my first Christmas
at both Gong Gong and Po Po's house AND
Grandpa and Lola's house. It was fun to tear up tissue
paper and
wrapped boxes all morning long. During our trip to Houston, we
went to a pottery painting studio where Mommy made my hand
prints into flowers and my foot prints were made into a
beautiful butterfly. Boy, was that paint was cold! Can you guess
what my biggest accomplishment was this month? I started to walk
holding on to the couch for a little extra balance. That's right
- I can CRUISE! Lola and Po Po were the first to witness my
new skill. They are great at clapping for me and cheering me on.
At the end of this month, I experienced my first snowfall. It
was an extra special day because Daddy stayed home from work so
we all stayed warm inside together. |
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 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
2006 I'm so
thankful! All my grandparents and both my aunties came into town to
spend Thanksgiving with me, Mommy and Daddy at our home. I loved
having my big family around for the holiday week. We all went to
the park for a nice walk around the lake and ate turkey for
Thanksgiving dinner. That was my first meat actually. It tasted
a bit like chicken ;) During their visit with
us, I mastered pulling up to standing using
anything and everything from a shoebox to Mommy's legs. Now, I
can push myself up to standing using just the
wall! Standing is so much fun, I'll stand, sit and roll around in my crib
sometimes for up to 20 minutes before falling asleep. With my new
legs, I've been catching
the beat and will dance, dance, dance when the music begins. My hips start moving side to side and my knees will bend over
and over. It's not always exactly to the beat, but it
does look a bit like those dancing Santa toys :) What can I say,
I like the jamz. Auntie Amanda
came to visit me twice this month for two weeks! She helped me
practice feeding myself baby cereal and other soft
foods like smashed green peas and bits of broccoli. I love it
when she comes to visit. We play together and go shopping, too.
Mommy says I'm already a good shopper. Making people laugh with my funny faces
is fun. My favorite silly expression is where I squish
my face and breathe heavily through my nose. Gong Gong is always
amused and it
gets a laugh every time. If you
haven't seen it before, it's all over my album this month.
I've also been making the "bitter beer" face as Aunt
Tiffany calls it, but not as often
as my "crinkle" face. |
 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2006
At my check-up this month I weighed 15 lbs. 13 oz. and
measured 26.5 inches. I like my doctor a lot and like to visit
him because he is so friendly and knows lots of stuff about
babies. The only part that's not as fun
about going to the doctor are the shots I get at the very end,
but at least I get to sleep a bunch the rest of the day! Lately, I just
can't seem to sit still anymore. Sitting all by myself is cool, but
once I'm there I like to bounce, bounce, bounce and flap my
arms. Mom says I look like I'm about to fly away. One
night when Uncle John and Auntie Donna were visiting, Mommy
checked the monitor thinking I was asleep for the night, but
there I was STANDING in my crib. I think they were all surprised
because Daddy and Uncle John came and lowered my mattress right
away. Two days later first thing in the morning, I
started CRAWLING!! The very next day Daddy installed a gate at the
top of our staircase. Mommy says I'm growing up too fast, but I
can't help it. Ready or not, here I come! It sure was an eventful week
because my first tooth (the bottom middle right) made its
appearance. Mommy noticed it during breakfast when she could
feel me bite the spoon. Two weeks later, my second
tooth (the bottom middle left) came out! Looks like I got my two
front teeth just in time for Christmas :)
This month I also started using more consonants in addition to
vowel sounds. Talking is so much fun, I even like to
do it while in my crib with my plush animals although they don't say much back. "Da
da" were my first "words", but does it count if I said them
looking at Mommy? I love being Daddy's little girl! |
 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2006
I didn't have a check-up this month, but I weigh 14 lbs. 10 oz.
and measure 26 inches. Mommy has been making me some veggies and
fruit that have been helping me to grow, but milk is still my
favorite thing to eat. What do I need all that extra food for?
More energy of course for push
ups, rocking back and forth on my hands and knees, rolling
around and sitting up all by myself. Like any serious athlete, I
train every day and make sure to eat the right foods ;) There
are trade-offs to a high performance lifestyle though as my poopie used to smell
like roses Daddy said, but now that I've started solids my
poopie smells well... like poopie. Mommy is thankful that I still
have that sweet baby smell on me the rest of the time. I've also been working on my puppy
dog impression, especially the growling part. If I start
growling, Mommy will mimic the growling sound that I make, I
smile and make a new sound for her to make. We like to play this
game over and over again until the very end when I get millions
of kisses on my neck and laugh so hard it hurts. Once I was on all "fours",
started growling and
held a small stuffed toy in my mouth. Then I really looked like a
little puppy. I had my first encounter with pumpkins this month and they were
fascinating. I just couldn't take my eyes off of them.
They were so big and bright. I love the color orange and it's a
good thing, too because it's everywhere. It's in my
sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, peaches, the pumpkin patch
and even my hat! Speaking of firsts, we took our first
family vacation to
San Antonio where I took my first dip in a swimming
pool. Vacations are fun! |
 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2006
At
my 4 month check-up the doctor said I weighted 13 lbs. 14 oz.
and measured 25.75 inches. Independence has been a theme
for me this month. If there’s a toy that I want I won't wait
around for you to give it to me, I’ll go and get it myself!
I’ll plant my face into the ground, lift my behind way up in the
air, tuck my legs under my body and push myself forward. I
also travel by rolling over and over and soon I'm several yards
away from where I started. Sometimes I roll in a straight line
and other times I’ll roll around in a curved path depending on
where the toys are that I want. It's almost as if I've
been rolling for years. Another time I’ll test my independence
is during feeding time. I've been trying to "help" out so
if Daddy helps me get it into place I’ll hold my bottle all by
myself (just for a few seconds). My grip is stronger than
you might think for someone my size, but I can grab things as
quick as a flash of lightening and may not let go (once I even
got my hands on Lola's glasses before she knew what happened.)
You might want to watch out if you wear glasses while holding me
J
My curiosity has grown so much that love to inspect and closely
observe EVERYTHING! I started staring at my hands one day
and just couldn't stop. Other things I like to study are
people's mouths when they are talking closely to me. I'll reach
out to learn what their mouths and noses feel like (followed by
a good hand washing of course). Mommy says I’m a budding
scientist since I love to discover the feeling and sounds of
fabrics and textures by scratching them with my fingertips.
It's fascinating to experiment with things that make new sounds.
My chenille nursing pillow slipcover, cotton crib bedding and
the paper in books and magazines are the materials I like to make
scratching sounds with most often. It's so fun to
hear the different sounds that I can make with each of them!
With all this activity, I need my beauty rest and still sleep
about half of each day away at night. At the end of this month
I started trying out rice cereal and I really like it!
Hmm, I wonder what else there is to eat from a spoon.
Finally, a big, big thank you to my Grandpa, Lola, Gong Gong and
Po Po for a wonderful
Red Egg Celebration. I had a great time meeting more of my
relatives and family friends. |
JULY-AUGUST 2006
Chuckling has been a new development for me
and it's so fun to do! It's a blast for me, but Mommy had
tears the first time I did it. She said it was because she
was so happy, but I don't know why you would have tears if you're happy? That's what smiling and chuckling is
for! Not only do I enjoy rolling on to my tummy almost as soon
as you put me on my back, but if my hands are placed right I can also tripod ( which means I
can sit by myself with my hands in front of me for support) just for
a little while though. Again, it helps if there is a mirror in
front of me to keep my attention. Is there a pattern
here? During the time I do play on my back, my toes have become
a favorite toy. Maybe it's because they are always
within reach and there are so many to choose from. They're chewy too,
so I'll nibble on them every now and then. I look forward
to bath time these days since I learned how much fun splashing
water can be. Daddy says he gets "extra" clean whenever
he gives me a bath. After my baths and each night, Mommy
and Daddy read me a bedtime book, say a prayer with me and sing
a lullaby before laying me down to sleep. Lately, we've been
reading Good Night Moon and The Very Hungry
Caterpillar, two of Mommy's favorites when she was growing
up. It's especially entertaining when Daddy does the funny
voices and sometimes he will even act out the story for me. It's
like having my very own musical to watch. |
 JUNE-JULY 2006 At my two month check up I weighed 12 lbs.
11 oz.
and measured 23.75 inches in length. I found my 'big' voice
this month and can now really show off my vocal chords. I love
to squeal with delight, shout for joy and laugh out loud when
people are playing with me and sometimes when I am entertaining
myself. My smiles are the biggest when Daddy blows me kisses.
Kicking is one of my favorite things to do now too, especially
when I'm sitting in my bouncer or while playing on my back. In
fact, my legs are so strong I can even stand by myself while
leaning on Mommy's shoulder. She said it's probably because I
had so much practice kicking before I was born :) Tummy time is
more interesting for me now that I'm starting to roll both ways
and scootch around on my tummy like the dial on a compass. It
also helped that Mommy discovered placing a mirror in front of
me kept my attention and head lifted high. When ever I smiled,
someone was smiling right back at me! In July, I also met my
cousin Maisy, who turned
two years old. That seems so old! Then in Dallas, Daddy
and Mommy's good friends Uncle James and Aunt Karen got
married and invited me to join in on the fun. Po Po came
with us to hang out with me for most of the festivities, but I
got to attend part of the reception. Before heading back home, I
visited my cousin Tyler, Uncle Alex and Aunt Jodie. After we
returned from Dallas, my Aunt Tiffany stayed with us for about a
week. Her nickname for me is Chubs, but Mommy said we should
probably think of a new nickname before I enter high school.
During her visit, Mommy and Daddy were able to finally finish my
birth announcement and our new home announcement, too. |
 MAY-JUNE 2006
I've been growing like crazy and weigh 10 lbs. 8 oz. these days.
It's been a busy month for me attending my Aunt Tiffany's
graduation, taking my first two trips out of town and
moving into a new home! Cooing and smiling have also been
keeping me busy. I especially love practicing my smiles and
cooing first thing in the morning when Mommy comes to get me
from my crib. Oh yeah, I've moved out of my bassinet into my own
room and crib and also started sleeping through the night at the
beginning of this month, too! I can grab a hold of things with
my hands now and am especially fond of pretty long hair, my
other hand and necklaces with a lil' bling bling :). We took a
trip to
Galveston where I met three more cousins who were
visiting from Denver, Colorado. The youngest of the three,
Alessi, is my closest cousin in age and is eight months older
than me. I had a fun time hanging out with everyone. One
afternoon, Mommy took me to visit Daddy's office and I got to
meet all his friends there. They certainly are a fun bunch!
Finally, this month I celebrated Daddy's first Father's Day.
He's the most wonderful Daddy in the world and I'm so lucky to
be loved by him. |
 2
weeks
old
I now weigh 9 lbs. 1 oz. and measure 21.25 inches in length. Mommy and
Daddy have been learning all about physics and chemistry with me
around. I've been teaching them about different liquids and
gases and exposing them to new colors, textures and sounds. I
think they've just about seen it all by now. I helped Mommy
enjoy her first Mother's Day (thanks to me :) and finally met my
Auntie Amanda when she came to meet me all the way from
California and even brought a whole new wardrobe for me to wear.
Who knew there is a whole other world outside of onesies?
I'm much more alert these days looking at objects around the
room and am able to track toys with my eyes when they're about a foot away
from my face. I've started eating every 3 to 4 hours and
sometimes will sleep up 4
1/2
hours at night,
although Mommy and Daddy keep talking about cluster feeding. Is that
when I can invite my friends and we all eat? More friends came
by this week to meet me, so I had to come up with more to
entertain them. It's amazing how grunting, squeaking, and
squealing can amuse people for hours. At my two
week birthday, I took
another car ride to my doctor's office. He gave me a clean bill
of health again. Yippee! |
 1
week old
At the end of
my first week, I weigh 8 lbs. 10 oz. My past times now include eating, sleeping and
hiccupping around the clock. Mommy says my hiccups sound
like the bark of a small dog and Daddy says my grunts sound like
a baby dinosaur. He likes to call me his little Raptor. Is
that a good thing? More family and friends came by to visit me
this week. It was great
because I love to see how different everyone's face is and whenever anyone came over they wanted to hold me, I
don't think I'll ever have to learn to walk. Although, I think
Mommy and Daddy are spending a fortune on antibacterial soap because people always have to wash their hands before
they pick me up. Daddy gave me my first bath at home this
week...oh boy, I hope it won't always take 25 minutes just to
wash my hair. I kept trying to
yell at Daddy to let him know I was cold, but he just kept telling
me it was going to be ok. Anyway, I also made two new
friends, Moosey and Lulu. We tried to take pictures together, but
one kept
pushing me into the other. Mommy and Daddy really like to take pictures
of me every time I turn around there's a flash going off in my
face. |
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I'M FINALLY HERE!
April 2006
It's so much brighter out here than I imagined, but it's
wonderful
to finally see Mommy and Daddy's faces after all these months of
just hearing their voices. I also met my Grandpa (Daddy's dad),
Lola (Daddy's mom), Po Po (Mommy's mom), Sam Yee (Mommy's
youngest sister, Tiffany) and some of Mommy and Daddy's friends soon
after I was born. I started lifting my head off Daddy's shoulder
my first day, but I think it may have scared Mommy and Daddy
since they thought I would wait to try that at least a few days
later. After spending a few days in the hospital, I
took my first car ride home. I can tell you already that I think
I'm going to really like these car rides; they put me right to
sleep :) |
 FEBRUARY
- APRIL It sure is getting crowded in here. Mom says
that I'm ripe and as heavy as a watermelon. At 36
1/2
weeks, the doctor took more pictures of me and estimated that I
weighed 7 lbs 9 oz. I wonder if I'll be as big as my Auntie
Amanda who topped the scales at 9 lbs 5 oz? Some of Mommy and
Daddy's friends and Mommy's family hosted showers (in
Houston,
Austin, and
Houston again) to help them celebrate and get ready for me.
I feel so special and I haven't even met you yet, thanks so
much! At the showers, everyone had fun guessing whether I am a
boy or a girl. It's funny to hear all their guesses, but only
God and I know for sure ;) Daddy and Mommy have been busy
getting ready for my arrival taking classes, reading books,
organizing and re-organizing the house. Daddy's been testing out
all the toys and gear to make sure I'll be safe and sound and
Mommy has made a bedding set and some things for me to wear when
I come out. |
 NOVEMBER
- JANUARY I've been growing and growing in my cozy
home so much so that Mommy and Daddy can feel and see me kicking and
moving around now. At first, Mommy would only notice my
movements at night, then when ever she ate anything sweet, but
now she can tell I'm active all day long. She can even sometimes
see me do the "wave". I love when Mommy reads books
and Daddy plays his
guitar for me so when I come out I will already know his music
and voice. I can't wait to meet everyone face to face! |
 Oh,
baby!! In August, I gave my Mom and Dad a big
surprise. They shared our surprise with our family and a few
friends in a Baby
Gee-to-be
announcement and are so thankful to God for blessing
them with such an amazing gift. Mommy said she she started
craving meat a lot more (probably to satisfy my need for more
iron and protein) when she didn't really eat it too often before
and Daddy was happy to accommodate her cravings. This is my
first picture taken just a few weeks after they found out about
me. |
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