first words June 27, 2008

11 months and 1 day old, and my little baby has officially uttered her first words:

“All done!”

Not ‘mama.’ Not ‘dada.’ Not even ‘bye-bye’ or ‘no’….but ALL DONE.

All done with being a baby, since officially she will only be one for another month? Or all done with trying to have us decode her babbling? Maybe all done with us fishing kleenex and book corners out of her mouth? Or even all done with having to deal with yet another runny nose?

Actually, she was just ‘all done’ with dinner. But look at how versatile this phrase will be! And regardless, it was very, very cute. My mama heart swells with pride. I may not be able to say this in a few years, so I’ll say it now: boy, is it amazing to hear them talk!

baby in motion May 27, 2008

My excuse for blog neglect is quite legit: I’m chasing a 10-month-old around.

Gone are the days when I could put Lillian on the floor, run upstairs, gather laundry, brush my teeth, whatever and have her STILL be where I left her. Gone are the days when I could sit her down with a toy and have her be content with being in one place for minutes, maybe even hours. Gone are the days when I could even plop her down in a room filled with paper, coins, clips, bookshelves, glass, metal objects, breakable valuables, electrical cords and other hazards and not worry an ounce because she couldn’t reach them.

Yup, long gone. Lillian is m-o-b-i-l-e!

She can now add the following skills to her resume:

crawling
crawling to sitting
sitting to crawling
laying to rolling to sitting to crawling
sitting to standing
standing to cruising
crawling up the stairs
standing in crib
eating book corners (nothing to do with mobility, but it’s definitely a hobby)

And we can add the following to ours:

installing baby gates
decorating with the SuperYard XT
chasing baby before she grabs plant
chasing baby before she grabs cord
catching baby before she eats dime (actually, we were late on that one)
stopping baby before she eats magazine
catching baby before she dives down stairs
stopping baby before she grabs plate of food
blocking baby before she bonks head on table
fishing book corners out of baby’s mouth
cleaning every unthinkable crevice in the house

Whew, I’m tired.

 

Lillian has a cousin! May 5, 2008

After her 9-month reign as the sole grandchild on the Leong side, Lillian has finally been dethroned! Congratulations to David & Chris on the safe arrival of adorable little Jonas, born April 15. Man, I forgot how light newborns are. And how much they sleep. And how much their parents don’t.

“You gonna share some of that bottle with me or what?”

 

good times April 8, 2008

Lillian is now over 8 mos old. Where did my little newborn go? She has transformed these last few weeks into a mobile machine, squirming, twisting, moving every which way. Last week she started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. Someone’s getting ready to crawl! This week she is skillfully scooting her way around the room (albeit backwards) and moving with PURPOSE. That’s been interesting. Leave a piece of paper on the floor and within seconds, it’s in her mouth. Why she loves paper when she can eat Cheerios, I don’t know…

Anyway, here are some recent pics, NONE of which really show how squirmy she is!

 
Here’s what I think of sweet potato

Here’s me while Mommy “works”

What? Who is that peeking over the hedge?

Nothing beats a bubble bath and a chewy whale!

Look who popped up in the wash!

Lost in a sea of clothes

Me, Daddy and pigtails on Easter Sunday

 
These days I’m working on Debussy…

 

 

why daddies are the best March 30, 2008

These past 3 days while John’s been off hangin’ with the youth in Turner, OR, the Chang home has been very quiet. It’s just been us two girls, and trust me, we’re not very loud, even when we try to be. Yep, it’s pretty clear that someone is missing. Daddy!

I think Lillian knows it, too. It’s been the hardest at night because that’s when Daddy usually saunters  through the door, sweeps his baby up in the air and swings her around. Basically that’s when the real playtime begins for her. I’ve been realizing how Mommy just doesn’t measure up when it comes to evoking giggles, smiles and squeals. I realize that all day the time I spend with her is a hodgepodge of multitasking and activity: Feeding. Holding. Showering. Dishes. Groceries. Errands. Working. Cooking. Cleaning. Driving. Laundry. In between are cuddles and hugs and babbling, but it all gets mixed in with the rest of life. Sometimes at the end of the day I feel like all I did was take care of house stuff but spend very little quality time with Lillian. Yet, amazingly, she somehow still looks to me as her source of comfort, care and gentleness. (Not to mention food. Maybe that’s why!)

Time with Daddy, though, is different. Daddy is F-U-N. He is silly. He does ridiculous things that I would never even think of doing. I look over and Lillian is soaring through the air with him, or has her little hands all over his face, or they’re rolling around on the floor together, or he’s creating silly conversations between her and her stuffed pig. It makes me laugh, too, and it is a joy to watch this daddy in action.

A lot of things surprised me about parenting. One is how much room I didn’t know I’d have in my heart to love another person in our home besides John. And the other is how much deeper I have come to love John as a daddy. He does it so well.

Hurry home, Daddy! We miss playing with you…

hosanna March 16, 2008

I tried to explain today’s significance to Lillian:

“Today we celebrate Jesus as our King!”
And then I whispered to her, “He was always the King.”

She seemed to get it because she was really happy to wave her little palm branch around with the rest of the congregation this morning.

How exhilarating it must have been to be there. To see the culmination of Jesus’ ministry to that point…to watch the people lay their cloaks down along the road before him…to hear the Hosannas of the crowds, the shouting, the praising. All for the King who was prophesied to do this very thing so very long ago.

He saves, indeed.

6 months & eating! February 12, 2008

Can’t believe how fast it’s going. Our little one is not so little anymore. She’s now past 15 lbs., and Mommy has the biceps to prove it!

So now that she’s 6 months, Lillian has started solids, which are technically not very solid, but that’s what they’re called. She even has a little tooth coming in to help her out in this whole ‘eating’ thing. I realize what a great design God had when He thought up this whole growth process. Like did you know that the muscles used in eating will help her learn to talk? Anyway, here are Lillian’s food reviews so far:

1. Rice cereal. At first she just had more fun licking the bib instead of the food. After discovering the food, more ended up on her chin than in her mouth.

2. Avocado. Two thumbs up. A winner!

3. Sweet potato. She didn’t know what to think about this. She just let the little chunks that I neglected to mash fine enough fall out of her mouth. After a few days she tolerated it a little better.

4. Acorn squash. Yesterday she gobbled this up, but today she kept fake-gagging on it. Silly girl.

Next up: Carrots. Or maybe peas? I’m staying away from fruits for now just in case she has a sweet tooth like her mommy! I welcome anyone’s suggestions, too.

p.s. I also have to say that I have fallen in love with my KitchenAid blender. I never knew that “Puree” button existed until now.

losing oneself in a book January 23, 2008

One of life’s simple pleasures. I go in reading waves. Especially since I spend so much time just sitting and feeding the baby, I have found the little table (now that I have one, thanks to Beth) practically toppling over with reading material. Sometimes it’s What to Expect The First Year. Sometimes it’s my Bible. Sometimes it’s random mail that I never have time to read. Sometimes it’s the Baby’s First Year Journal. I’m still trying to finish Searching for God Knows What. And I just polished off The Nanny Diaries. But this week, squeezed between reading The Little Ladybug and Goodnight Moon to Lillian, it was The Shack.

John was reading it for school but after he let me read a chapter, I was hooked, devouring it across four nights in the rocking chair. It’s actually classified as Christian fiction, which I am not typically excited about because there seems to be a lack of GOOD Christian fiction out there. But this one was different. The story is compelling, and as you get deeper into it, you realize it’s not just fiction; it’s all about the Trinity. Whether it is completely theological or not, I’m not sure yet…I’m sure there are things that people will want to pull apart and analyze and criticize, but for now I will chalk it up to a writer’s creative license. And John is still reading it anyway, so I have no one to discuss it with as of yet. But I will say that it changed my view of God, Jesus and the Spirit and how they are in relationship with one another. I know they are One, but different, but I loved reading about Jesus the most. I really can’t say any more at this point because some people are still reading, but I’ll just say that I cried through the whole book. It was real, it was touching, it was moving. And oh, was it beautiful. The imagery was incredible. The night I finished it I had dreams of nothing but beautiful, vivid sights and colors. This would make a great movie.

So I know I could pick up one of the many heavy theology books lying around the house and read a whole wealth of headsy stuff about the Trinity. But there’s something about a story that I resonate with so much more. It’s like I ‘live’ in it and dwell on it for quite some time, even after the last page is read. But yes, The Shack. If you can get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend letting yourself get lost in it for a bit. God’s got a great story waiting for you.

o-eight January 1, 2008

2007 was one of the most special years of my life. I began the year 10 weeks pregnant, excited yet totally scared to be a mom and all that came with it. I ended the year with my baby girl in my arms, the most extraordinary gift anyone could ask for. And I rang in the new year sitting 2 feet from the TV (lowest volume setting) with my wonderful husband, some dessert, and Carson Daly. All this, after spending a very, very exciting New Year’s Eve celebration at IKEA. OK, there wasn’t really confetti or anything, and it all ended when the store closed at 9, but at least we got out.

I wouldn’t have had it any other way. God’s been so good.

score one (christmas) for lillian December 22, 2007

And Lillian slides into home! 
She’s safe!
The crowd goes wild!