17 Months, 3 Weeks

Baby CP said that this is his "ban", which is short for "hua ban" which means skateboard.  He has also been quite obsessed with pretending that a small pot with a handle is a guitar. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing when he was saying "jin jin jang!" over and over again while moving his hand over the handle.  I guess he's got a good imagination. 

Last night's conversation:
Baby CP: Ma ma!
Me:  Dui, wo shi ni de mama.  Ni shi shei? ("Yes, that's right, I'm your mom.  Who are you?")
Baby CP:  Dong Dong.

I think that's the first time he really understood that he was referring to himself.

18 Months, 2 Weeks

Most of you know that up until recently Baby CP uses one syllable words even if word should have two syllables, but since we hang out with him so much, we know what he's trying to say.  My guess is he knows more than 70-100 words.  Last month, he started to say "bao bao wo" (pick me up), though I don't think he really understood the "wo" part of the command.  A week ago, he connected "choo choo train" and "qian qian shou" (let's hold hands).  Last night, we saw a true intent to connect words, starting with "more more li" and "more more chex" (more pears and more chex), "run run jump" ( a fun phrase from swim class), and a 3 syllable command (!) "wo  yao gan" (I want raisins).

Baby CP decided to self-wean from the bottle.  I was dreading going through the process since Baby CP used to come running to grab his bottle of milk before bedtime.  Last week, he would take the bottle but started acting weird - he'd take a couple sips and then try to dump it out.  There was something about his facial expression that made me realize that he just didn't want the bottle anymore.  It was too slow and he preferred to drink from a cup.  Baby CP drinks less than 8 oz of milk a day now and eats normal food.

He has gotten better about eating things though he does still spit stuff out from time to time, especially if he isn't that hungry.  He usually doesn't like mixed food and prefers that each food be separate.  He likes to eat meat and veggies.  He loves raisins, grape, clementines and rice chex with milk.  We don't give him sweet things to drink, but if he sees a cup with something colored in it, you can bet he'll come clamoring and demanding some.

One other development is that Baby CP knows when something on tv is scary.  We were watching Frosty the Snowman and when the abominable snowman (who has big teeth) appeared, Baby CP demanded that I "guan" (turn off) the television.  I guess that means that he knows these things are only on tv and that simply turning it off gets rid of them, though he might have nightmares.

Finally, Baby CP is getting a little better at brushing his own teeth and lets me get in a few brushes at the end.  We're still not brushing as thoroughly as I'd like, but it's better than nothing.

17 Months Old

Baby CP is into doing some chores...

And driving cars....

At Baby CP's checkup, he received his three booster shots and only cried a little as he was being poked.  One of these days he'll remember that place and cry before they even bring in the needles, but he's still too young to remember well enough.  Baby CP measured in at 33 inches (over 75%) and a little over 24 pounds (less than 50%, but within normal).  I think they're scale just runs lighter than ours at home, but he was also sick with a cold last week so maybe he lost a couple ounces.  We thought he had gone through a growth spurt recently and we were right.

16 Months Old

Baby CP turned 16 months old a couple days ago.  He walks and runs all over the place and is trying to figure out what it takes to jump.  He knows he needs to squat down to get height, but he hasn't quite figured out the timing yet.

Last weekend we took Baby CP to the zoo, but we realized that the logistics of taking Baby CP to places where he will sit for part but get up often (like the zoo and the farmers market) requires something less restrictive than a stroller. I had seen these push buggies around and thought it would be a good idea.

In this video, Mr. CP is putting Baby CP's new car together.  As you can see Baby CP CANNOT wait to get in it.  He is sooo excited.  What I like best about this video is that you see that Baby CP knows that his car should have a steering wheel.  He sits down, thinks about it and then he actually tries to put that part together himself.  I also have a couple other videos of him trying to help put little pieces on the car and trying to use a hammer.  Hilarious!  I don't know how he knows this stuff.

 

15 Months, 2 Weeks

Since my last post, Baby CP has had a few more firsts.  He attended a birthday party at gymboree, but those photos will come later.  He had a lot of fun climbing and crawling all over the place with the other kids.

Baby CP also got his first haircut and made it through without crying, which was a relief.  I was expecting him to shake his head around or demand to be taken out of the chair.

Before

After

Baby CP likes to draw.  We have had to hide all the pens and writing utensils so that he doesn't draw all over the house.  His nanny had a good idea though and suggested we buy a magnetic doodler for him.  He uses his right hand to draw most of the time.

One of Baby CP's early works.

Baby CP's vocabulary continues to grow steadily.  A few of the recently acquired ones are jees (for cheese), pie!, gu (for ku-zi/pants), mut (which is the second half of the cantonese word for glove).  He also seems to be learning some of the hand and arm motions of the itsy bitsy spider.  Baby CP also understands things that are going on around him.  Everyday when I get home from work, within a short period of time, he turns to his nanny and says "bye byeeee."  He knows that it's time for her to go home.  Today, as a conversation about needles was going on around him, he started to whine.  I thought he was just being fussy, but then I realized he was pointing to his arm and saying "gut" which is the Cantonese word for being poked/stabbed with a needle.  He was telling us that getting shots sucks and makes a person cry.

One of Baby CP's favorite places.

Baby CP can reach all but the top drawer now, so we've moved all of the knives up there.  Little trouble-maker.

First forward facing ride.

This week we installed Baby CP's new forward facing carseat.  His former carseat is only for babies up to 30 inches tall and Baby CP is almost 31 inches tall.  I thought he would be excited about facing forward, but he didn't really seem to have any excited or adverse reactions.  It does seem that he falls asleep more quickly though.

Finally, this week is the first time where I have seen Baby CP really watching television.  I've mentioned before that his attention span for television is relatively short and he usually prefers to watch only when some attractive music comes on and afterwards return to his playing.  This week he was introduced to a DVD from his grandparents and he was mesmerized.  He really likes to watch little animals and kids eating fruit.  I limit him to two viewings a day...usually while feeding him lunch because then at least he's pretty cooperative while eating.

14 Months, 2 Weeks

Unfortunately, I left our camera at my brother's place last week, so we have no new photos.  Baby CP caught a cold last week, most likely from me.  It's nothing serious though, just a runny nose.  He was also drooling a TON, but I am not sure whether that was because he had to breathe with his mouth open or if it was due to teething. 

Baby CP received his vaccine for chicken pox last week.  He cried when the nurse stuck him with the needle, but it was quick and stopped crying quickly.  He did learn from his nanny how to say to get pricked in cantonese.  If you ask him where he was stuck, he will point to his thigh and sometimes he says it himself and uses a finger to "prick" his other arm.

We realized that while Baby CP continues to learn new words every couple days, he only really says one syllable words.  So for strawberry, which  is "cao mei", he says "mei" and for rainbow, which is "cai hong" he says "hong".  The only two syllable words he says are two of the same syllables, like "ba ba" and "ma ma".

Someone introduced Baby CP to grapes and raisins last week and he loves them!

14 Months Old

This week, Baby CP will reach the ripe old age of 14 months.  He can now say "dan" for egg, "nai" for milk and can say the "ring" and down" for the beginning and ending of Ring Around the Rosie.  Baby CP continues to be obsessed with "cooking" and feeding his stuffed animals. 

He's been watching the Olympics and gets especially excited to watch the swimming events.  He will flail his arms around to "paddle" when he sees the swimmers in the water.

For some reason, Baby CP's swim teacher decided that he should wear goggles this week.

It's gotten a little more difficult to deal with Baby CP as he has become more mobile.  Not a ton different from when he was crawling, but sometimes he likes to climb onto our bed and stand up.  This makes me very nervous, but as I lunge towards him to make sure he doesn't fall, he smiles and giggles, which makes it seem fun for him...sigh.  It's also hard to keep him out of the kitchen when we're using the oven, so I decided to purchase this safety gate to see how it goes.

First Years Hands Free Safety Gate

He's also tall enough to open the knife drawer as well, so I had to purchase some drawer locks.  I'm hoping they're not difficult to install.

Magnetic Locks

Safety Straps

Mo-ah

Baby CP has been picking up a few more words...I think he's up to 10 now.  He was able to sign for "more" a while back but a couple weeks ago he started to say "mo-ah" or "mouh" sort of like Oliver's "Please sir, can I have some mouh."  It's cute.  I think he thinks "more" means "I want some" though, because sometimes he hasn't had any of what you're eating yet, but he comes by and says "more" so he can try it. He can also say "mao" for cat, "wen" for smell my feet, and "wa" for socks and flowers (although that should be "hua" - close enough).

Baby CP also like to snort if you ask him what a pig sounds like and he sort of makes a very similar sound if you ask him what tiger's sound like.

Last week, Baby CP had his check up and received the MMR shot.  He didn't seem to exhibit any serious side effects.  They said that he is 31 inches tall (75th percentile) and 23.5 lbs (50th percentile).

Baby CP continues to attend his swim class on the weekends.  We have been instructed to try to teach him how to paddle.  After just a couple times of hearing the word, he will flail his arms around...not very good form though.  =)  The Olympic Games seem to have inspired him though - I think seeing all the athletes swimming super fast excites him and he "paddles" really wildly and likes to lie down and kick his legs.

Two weekends ago, Baby CP went to a water park in El Cerrito to celebrate a birthday party.  He seemed to have a lot of fun in the warm sun.

Photo courtesy of Cathy Leung

This weekend, Baby CP went to another birthday party for Cousin Kayla's second birthday party.  He had fun roaming the house and chasing the big kids around.  He was somewhat of a food strike though and refused to swallow any solids.  Thankfully, his appetite picked up on Sunday and he ate a ton of breakfast this morning.

Photo courtesy of Sue Chan

Another word!

As I mentioned the other day, Baby CP can say "gou gou" for dog and something very close to "car."  Yesterday, while I was changing his diaper, he started to flip though his book - Peek a Who by Nina Laden and suddenly he pointed to the zebra on this page and said "ma" (the Chinese word for horse) very loudly.     

Cookie Monster

After our Fourth of July get together, I had some leftover graham crackers.  I gave a couple to Baby CP after dinner last night and he really likes them.  He happily feeds them to himself as he's walking around.  This morning, I gave him some after a big breakfast and decided that since he seems to like them so much, it was the perfect opportunity to teach him a new sign. 

{via dummies.com}

The sign for cookie is a little difficult for baby hands, but after showing Baby CP just a few times, he was able to do something very close.  I guess nothing motivates like sweets.

13 Months Old

Baby CP turns 13 months old in just a few days and so far he is quite the athelete.  His walking skills continue to improve daily and he enjoys kicking soccer balls at home and at the park.  He also likes to play baby basketball by putting a little basketball through a baby hoop.  In swim class, Baby CP still hates to lie on his back, but he has started to kick...his form isn't correct, but you can tell that he has the idea that moving his legs may somehow help him move forward.  Baby CP is also a dance machine!  At first he would dance to one particular song...then to a variety of music...now even just a tasty blueberry might bring it on.  We have to get some video of all of these activities soon. 

Baby CP went on his first bike ride, unfortunately, this photo is a little blurry.

This weekend we took Baby CP to the San Francisco Zoo.  It was drizzly in the morning, but the animals were out and about and Baby CP got a good look at the giraffes and gorillas.

After the drizzle stopped, Baby CP wanted to get on the ground to try out his new shoes.

Mommy was experimenting with Instagram here.

Baby CP may have been saying "mama" and "baba" for a while....maybe he can also say "nai" for milk, but we're never quite sure. Since he is obsessed with buttons and switches, it doesn't surprise me that his more deliberate first words are "guan" and "kai" but more often a hybrid of the two which sounds like "gan" when he points to switches and demands that you take him there to let him turn the lights on and off.  One word that I know he knows for sure is "gou gou" for dog.  He points to images of dogs and says it...I guess those are the things that are most important to him at the moment.  =)

Apparently Baby CP knows what is stinky.  If he farts, burps or poops, he bats at his nose to tell you something stinky happened.  Also, if I say "poo poo" or poop in Chinese, he will grunt, as if he is trying to poop...so can be a little faker.  He loves to make you smell his stinky feet too.

By our rough measurements, we think Baby CP is about 24 lbs and 29 inches tall, which would put him in the 50-75 percentile for weight and 10-25 percentile for height but that doesn't seem right - He looks pretty tall to us and is barely chubby anymore.  We'll see what the doctor says at his checkup in a couple weeks.

Baby CP is 1 Year Old!

Baby CP officially turned one year old a few weeks ago!  We decided to celebrate with a birthday party at Douglass Playground on Sunday.  The family was very busy preparing all kinds of delicious treats for the occasion.

Baby CP was dressed in his Pineapple best, but unfortunately, we were so busy entertaining guests that we didn't have a chance to take many photos.  (If you have any, please send them!)

We had no shortage of snacks, including cold sesame noodles, kimbap, prosciutto with melon, fruit salad, chips and homemade salsa. I prepared pina colada cupcakes and lemon basil shortbread shaped like...pineapples! We also had fresh squeezed lemonade and, of course, pineapple juice with soda water mixers.  The weather was great and the kiddos had a ton of fun at the playground.

I'm a bit behind on reporting recent developments.  Baby CP has a new tooth, bringing the total to 9, and he's got another one coming in on the top.  On his first birthday, he couldn't walk, but within a few days, I saw him take about two steps before sitting back down.  His nanny has been training him with daily exercises.

Yesterday, Baby CP starting walking farther to take about 6 steps.  He does it often, so I'm sure he is making the conscious effort to make those steps.

Baby CP can do the sign for "more" and he has a few other new tricks up his sleeve, like bouncing up and down when we tell him to dance and playing peek a boo with a blanket or hiding behind things.  He's also babbling a lot more, and it sounds like he is starting to say milk in Chinese sometimes.  We have started to mix some cow's milk in with his formula (about 3 ounces per 8 ounce bottle), and he seems to drink the combination just fine, but he doesn't like cow's milk straight.

11 Months 1 Week Old and in NY

Baby CP flew to NY for the second time this past weekend.  Unfortunately, he came down with a cold the morning of the day we were to depart on a red eye.  The poor guy thew up a few times during the day which made me very anxious about the flight.  I warned Delta that their other passengers might be disturbed by the little guy and that if they knew what was good for them, they would let me switch to one day later.  Of course, the only suggestion they had was to pay $150 in change fees (for each of me and Baby CP) and pay the fare difference...Ok..Delta...you asked for it.

It seemed like Baby CP was throwing up as a result of gagging on mucus so we tried to give him some Benedryl several hours before the flight.  He didn't seem extra drowsy or hyper as a result.  I was convinved that Baby CP would just fall asleep on the flight and I would be able to sleep, but once we got on the flight, things took a turn for the worse.  Baby CP started to cry because 10:30 was past his bedtime.  The flight attendents kept speaking over the intercom and the lights were too bright.  Once they stopped and we proceeded to the runway, the lights shut off and Baby CP finally whined himself to sleep.  This didn't last though, because every little sound would wake him up and cause more crying.  He didn't sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time, mostly in short periods of about 5 or 10 min, for the whole flight.  Once we got close to NY, the sun was up and he stayed awake and was a little better.  That was really the worse flight ever!  I felt bad for neighboring passengers but nobody complained or gave me dirty looks.  I hope the flight back is better...

After we landed, Baby CP was a little better, but was still pretty cranky for all of Sunday, because he hadn't slept the night before.  He's been getting a little better each day, but he still tires easily and needs to take a couple long naps a day and his nose is still stuffy.  He also doesn't seem to have much of an appetite and won't eat more than 2.5 bottles of milk all day.  He normally eats 4 and a whole bunch of solids.  Today he wouldn't even eat one of those pouches.  I'm sure he has a lower appetite and the stuffy nose makes it hard to eat, but he has to be a little hungry.  I hope he gets better soon.  He's having fun playing here, but he's just not his usual jolly self. 

 

11 Months Old!

It's really crazy that Baby CP is already 11 months old.  He's been learning all sorts of new things...some I know he learns from his nanny, but some I am not so sure...he just surprises me with new things he's picked up.

Baby CP enjoying his Mickey Mouse car, a gift from Mr. CP's uncle.

If you ask Baby CP where Mickey Mouse is in Chinese, he will crawl over to the car and point to the little figurine on the front.  He can actually do this whether you say Mickey Mouse in Mandarin or Cantonese.  He can also point to the mouse on his baby laptop if you ask him to.

Baby CP is also very helpful at bathtime.  He finds his toys on the floor, picks them up and leans over the wall of the big bathtub to put them into his baby bathtub.  He figured this out on his own.

Baby CP can clamor up stairs.  He likes to climb up the stairs at the park and he can climb from our ground floor up to the second floor very quickly.

Baby CP has gone to swimming class 4 weeks in a row.  He seems to be getting more comfortable in the water and the teacher has submerged his head under water two weeks in a row without any protest.  Although he doesn't kick yet and doesn't really do much of anything during class, he seems to get really tired because he will take a 2-3 hour nap when he gets home.  After his 3 hour nap today, we played for a bit in the living room and then took a walk to check out Sunday Streets - this week they blocked off a chunk of 24th street to make it a biking and pedestrian area.

Here is Baby CP pointing to a dog on his activity table.  He can also point to dogs in books, so it seems that he understands the concept as opposed to just knowing that one photo of a dog.  I could swear that he can also say the words "gou gou" though I think he might just be imitating me and he can't always do it.

This morning, while eating breakfast, Baby CP started throwing his arms up in the air, but I wasn't sure why.  I had never seen him do it so deliberately before.  Maybe he learned this at library storytime or from some other kids, but I kept saying "Yay!"  By afternoon, he would do it on command. 

Yay!

We stopped by a display of very shiny classic cars on 24th Street, but they were playing loud music nearby which upset the little guy.  After about 2 minutes he started to cry briefly.  When he stopped, I snapped this pic, but he seemed unhappy so we headed to the park.

Baby CP has a biting problem.  I know that some babies tend to bite more when they are teething, but I feel like Baby CP does it everyday...though I suppose he could have "itchy gums" from teething everyday...I can't ever be really sure what is going on under the surface.  When I get home from work he tends to be tired and he crawls all over me and bites my pants and sleeves...and sometimes if he gets my leg or arm in there it hurts a lot.  I thought maybe it was because we used to nibble on his arm to get giggles since he was ticklish.  Sometimes when parents do this, babies think biting is fun, but they don't know their own strength, so we stopped doing that a few weeks ago, but he's still biting.  Someone at work said we should nickname him "Sharkie."

10 Months and 3 Weeks Old

Baby CP now enjoys biting his puffs and yogurt snacks into smaller pieces with his front teeth rather than putting the whole thing into his mouth.  He also has his opinions on food...if he doesn't like what you're offering, he will clamp his mouth shut and sometimes use his hand to wave the spoon away and out of his face.  Little booger.

Poor Baby CP

It must be another new tooth...Baby CP has been acting crazier and crazier over the past few days...Today he was drooling everywhere and generally fussy and needy and trying to bite everything including my iphone, my pants, my arm, my knee...it's not nice! 

10 Months Old

Baby CP turned 10 months old this past Saturday.  To make this date extra special, Baby CP showed us that he can clap his hands for the very first time.

On Sunday, I was reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle to Baby CP.

I usually point out the caterpillar to him as I am telling the story and he sits next to me and watches me read and turn the pages like a good little boy.  I read this book to him at least 3 times a week, so to change things up (and to keep myself entertained) I decided to ask him where the caterpillar is when I got to the third page.  I was blown away when he pointed to the caterpillar!  Baby CP just learned how to point last week and I usually have no idea what he's trying to communicate when he points.  Sometimes he just points at his own palm.  So, to make sure it wasn't a coincidence, I tried asking him to point out the caterpillar on a few other pages...including the "big fat caterpillar" before he becomes a cocoon and he was able to do it.  Amazing!

Baby CP seemed to finally be learning about kisses this weekend.  He has never really been a hugger or a snuggler...even though we do hug him and give him kisses, but he seems to be learning that kisses are good things and he will bring his head to yours but it's more of a gentle head-butt than a kiss right now.  Also, he has stopped giving hi-fives.  If you say high five, he brings your hand to his face or brings his face to your hand to cover his face and then he might lick your hand...totally weird...I don't have any idea where he would have learned such a thing.

That's a lot of development for one weekend!

We hadn't weighed Baby CP in a while, so we stepped on the scale on Monday.  22 lbs 6 oz.  He looks taller too, but we'll have the doctor's office measure him next week at his next check up.

9 Months 4 weeks

Again, just posting so that I can remember when it happened exactly...

Baby CP learned to point at things this weekend.  He did it a couple times before, but he saw his cousin Aiden point at pictures in a book and has been pointing at stuff himself ever since.

Baby CP can also sign for "milk."  It is very similar to his "goodbye" or "bye bye" but is slightly different and he seems to look you in the eyes when he does it.  His "goodbyes" are much more whatever.

Baby CP also has 2 new teeth - the ones on either side of the two front top teeth.

Wave Goodbye!

Baby CP has got his waving goodbye down pretty good these days. Today he got a little laptop toy from his grandparents and when you close the laptop, it says, "Goodbye!" Baby CP then waves goodbye to the laptop. Funny!

Eating Stuff

Baby CP is eating more and more these days, including sweet potatoes, Mexican bread, curry potatoes, dim sum, prunes, spinach, cinnamon yogurt, tangerines, noodles, etc. We've been trying to let him eat more by himself, despite his messiness. Funnily, he normally eats with his left hand, though he does other things with his right. We'll see if he ends up being a leftie...

More Sleep Progress

Baby CP's nanny told me today that for the first time ever, Baby CP fell asleep on his own in his crib for a nap!  She left him alone and when she checked in on him after 10 minutes she saw him passed out holding onto his little pound puppy.  I wish she had taken a photo!

44 Weeks Old

I don't have any photos of videos to share today, but I wanted to post so I could remember exactly when it happened....for the past week, Baby CP has been falling asleep on his own in his crib at bedtime!!  He has also done it a few times after waking up early in the morning so that mommy and daddy can get another 1-2 hours of sleep.  After he had recovered from his second cold, we left him in his crib to CiO for about 20 minutes one night at 3:30am.  He cried for a few minutes and whined for the rest of the time.  After that night, I instituted a mini routine (drink milk, sip some water, read a book, turn out the lights, turn on the seahorse and leave) and he whined for about 1-2 minutes the first couple nights, but last night I didn't hear a peep.  The first few nights he still woke up at around 3 or 4, but I only gave him his water to drink and he would take only a couple sips before I left him to go back to sleep (and he did it on his own).  The goal is to teach him that sleeptime is no longer eating time.  The past 2 nights he hasn't woken up until around 6 am, so maybe he's figured it out.  We do feed him if he wakes up at around 5:30 or 6 because by then he's gone about 9 hours without food, so he is probably legitimately hungry. 

40 Weeks Old

This post is 3 weeks old. It took me a while to upload the video below.

Baby CP is into sounds...sounds made by banging stuff around...like a pot cover on the kitchen floor or a wooden spoon on the pot cover or his hands slapping a box or table...he also likes to take my hands and bring them together so that they clap.  I am not sure why he hasn't tried to make his own hands clap together though.  Anyway, these sounds seem to bring him much joy.

Though I have not weighed or measured Baby CP in a while, he seems a little taller and heavier.  His big toe has managed to wear its way through his footie.

Baby CP has been a little fussy while eating.  I can't quite figure out why but oftentimes he does not enjoy eating from his spoon.  He likes feeding himself with particular foods like his puffs and other small pieces of food...and he prefers to suck his pouch fruit purees straight from the pouch and is willing to hold them by himself. 

Thank Goodness for Prunes!

Haha...actually we don't know whether the prunes were the direct result of poop, but Baby CP did so within about an hour of eating them.  We were so worried about the poor little guy that we made a special trip to the store to get them!  He quickly gobbled up half a jar and then ate at least half of a pouch of mango, spinach and pear.  He's been hungrier the past few days and has been eating his salmon porridge which he resisted eating a couple weeks ago.  I also gave him little pieces of smoked trout and roasted eel from my meals this past week.

Here's a video of him sucking some delicious processed food out of a pouch:

Yum Yum

Today, I took Baby CP to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building because I wanted to pick up some organic vegetables to make him a vegetable baby broth based on a recipe I found.  Baby CP drinks milk, some formula and some water during the day, but I think he still needs more fluids to regulate his system.  The baby broth is supposed to be great because not only is it a non-sugary source of fluids, it is also packed with nutrients.  Afterwards, you can also take the veggies that were used to make the broth and puree those for meals too.  The broth can also be used to flavor other foods and to poach fish.  I hope he likes it because I made about 6 cups.

Baby Vegetable Broth

Ingredients

2 quarts (8 cups) of cold water 
6 oz carrots, cut into rounds or, if thin carrots, about 3/4" pieces
6 oz broccoli florets
6 oz cauliflower florets
1 cup of coarsely chopped rainbow chard
1 tomato

Directions
Put everything into a medium pot and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat to low and let simmer for an hour.  Strain the vegetables out of the liquid and set them aside. 

SUPER easy.  Baby CP went down for a nap and 25 minutes later, my broth was already boiling.  I think you can put any vegetables in it...I didn't have exactly what the recipe called for, so I improvised.  I plan to freeze the broth into ice cubes and to puree the veggies and freeze those for his weekday meals.

Because we headed out to the farmer's market before 8:30 this morning, I didn't have any solids prepared for Baby CP when we got home.  The foods I had prepared in weeks past were frozen solid in the freezer.  Last week, I had purchased a couple pouches of Happy Baby Organic Stage 2 baby food for Baby CP because they come in convenient pouches which are perfect to carry in the diaper bag in case we need to feed him some solids while we're out.  They have caps that screw on and off so it's pretty clean.  They are called Stage 2 because they are combos - I bought pear, broccoli and peas and mango, pear and spinach.  Yes...those combos totally sound weird, but other parents wrote reviews about how their babies just LOVE the stuff. 

Anyway, I cracked open the pear, broccoli and peas today to see if Baby CP would like it.   The consistency is super smooth...much smoother than any puree we can make in our food processor...and not too runny.  Baby CP opened his mouth for the first spoonful and took almost a whole minute to contemplate the flavors, then he started to lean forward in his chair for MORE MORE MORE.  So I tasted just a teeny bit and of course the stuff is very very sweet.  No wonder babies love it.  The package only list pears, broccoli, peas and lemon juice...not mention of additional sugar or fructose.  It tastes like pears and smells a little like peas, but my adult taste buds would not be able to handle it..  After Baby CP finished the first tablespoon, he started clamoring for more, so I mixed more into some oatmeal so it wouldn't be quite so sweet.  He liked that. 

So, I'm not sure how I feel about the pouches...I do think I will invest in the prune ones to help Baby CP's digestive system along since he eats a lot of oatmeal and bananas which leaves him a little constipated, and I think pureeing prunes is probably a pain in the butt.  However, unless I can find flavors or another brand that is less sweet, I feel kind of weird feeding this stuff to him. 

Babies are funny though...they love sweets.  Baby CP has very little interest in green beans and zucchini unless we at least mix it into oatmeal and even then, he would never want to eat them with the same excitement that he expressed for the pouch today. 

39 Weeks Old

Baby CP has been sick with a snotty nose for over a week.  =(  Unfortunately, he HATES having his nose wiped and will scream if you get the aspiration bulb anywhere near him.  I'm not sure if it's the stuffiness or teething, but he's not very enthusiastic about eating solids these days.  This week I prepared pureed string beans, pureed zucchini, curry potatoes and cauliflower.  I can get him to eat only a couple spoonfuls before he refuses to open his mouth and quickly loses patience with sitting in his high chair.    He will eat a few pieces of banana at night though.

Baby CP took only 2 days to figure out how to drink water from the straw in his Zoli  BOT sippy straw cup.  I didn't even have to entice him into learning by putting juice in it. I bought him the straw cup because I didn't like that he had to tip his head back with the other types of sippy cups.  He enjoys holding onto the handles himself and shoving the straw into his mouth.

Taken on my iPhone.  I wish our lighting was less yellow.

Last week, Baby CP had his first bottle of formula.  He hasn't had any formula since he was 2 days old when we had to force feed him a few drops by syringe in an attempt to clear his jaundice.  Formula seems pretty convenient to make and Baby CP drank all 5 oz without batting an eyelash.  I guess it must taste good.  I'm thankful it was that easy, because Baby CP has been eating an extra bottle a day and mommy is going to try to cut down on the number of daily pumping sessions to free up an extra 30 minutes a day.  The supplement takes a little of the pressure off.

He's trying to escape with my bag.

Baby CP has become confident in his crawling - though he still uses that one leg like a propeller...his nanny thinks he does this because the hardwood floors are slippery - Baby CP will now try to leave to explore other rooms on his own and sometimes will follow me into other rooms.

Baby CP is more consistent with shaking your hand (wo wo shou) and giving you a high five if you ask in the morning or after he's not seen you for a while.  Maybe he knows you only greet people when you see them at first and not when they've already been around for a while.  =P

8 Months Old!

Baby is 8 months old (or 37 weeks old)!

This past week, Baby CP enjoyed some spinach in his oatmeal.  We think he's teething again because he acts a little crazy sometimes and wants to find things to chew on.  He might also be hungry or just generally curious and excited about food.  One night, I had some chinese broccoli sitting in a plate on the coffee table with dinner.  I turned around to talk to Mr. CP about something for about a minute and when I looked at Baby CP who was standing in front of me he had already shoved a piece of chinese broccoli into his mouth.  I thought it might be bitter for babies, but he didn't seem to mind.  The next day I gave him a lemon to play with while I was washing dishes and when I turned around he was using his little teeth to gnaw on the peel.  He had little bits of lemon zest on his bib...haha...he smelled lemony fresh all morning!

I bought the Boon highchair on Craigslist because I wanted a chair that is easy to clean.  This chair doesn't have all the folds and crevices so it's easy to wipe down. The food tray can be put in the dishwasher if that's your thing.  The chair is on the heavy side, but it has a couple really nice features.  The chair is very sturdy and rolls everywhere.  The nanny can take him from room to room in it and he likes being wheeled around.  The chair also has a pnuematic lift so you can adjust the height of the seat easily.

Yesterday, I returned home to find that Baby CP had caught a cold.  The poor guy had a runny snotty nose and had barely slept all day.  I was afraid that he would wake up every hour since his nasal passages were blocked, but I think he was just so exhausted and I had given him some baby tylenol to help.  He ended up sleeping from 10-5:30 and then another couple hours after that so it wasn't too bad.  I was hoping he would get some sleep so that he could recuperate faster.  

This is a photo from a month and a half ago of Baby CP sitting in a shopping cart for the first time.  He loves going shopping...so many things to see!  Sometimes he twists himself all around so that he can see as the cart is being pushed forward but usually he is just really calm and content.

35 Weeks Old

This post is also a couple weeks late, and by now, I'm sure my weekly age count is wrong, but we'll keep pretending that I didn't miss any dates.  =P

We brought Baby CP back to the pediatrician's office for another weigh in.  He weighed 19 lbs 13 oz. He still hasn't broken the 20lb mark, but at least he has gained some weight.  The doctor said that he's right around the 50th percentile now, so he's fine.  I figured as much since he's a pretty happy baby, but the doctor had been a little concerned since Baby CP used to be in the 90th percentile at 3 months and and then didn't gain weight for 2 months (months 6 and 7).  Baby CP has been introduced to meat...he had some beef in his rice porridge at a couple Chinese restaurants.  He really likes to eat with us and is very well behaved if he has something to eat while we're eating.  We've also tried adding some wild caught salmon into his rice porridge, but he didn't seem to like that very much.  Last week mommy gave him some mashed blueberries without the skin and he seemed to think those were tasty.  The doctor said to try giving him some veggies and to avoid juice, since it's mostly just empty calories.


On Sunday, we tried the saline pool at the newly renovated YMCA in Chinatown.  It was about 82 degrees which by adult standards is pretty warm, but since babies don't really know how to kick yet, they just get cold.  The second Baby CP hit the water he became very upset.  That was a tough 30 minutes.  I'm lucky he didn't catch a cold!  We'll go back to Le Petit Baleen in San Bruno where the pool is as warm as a bathtub.

Baby CP likes being spun around in a circle.  It makes him laugh.  I am not sure whether he gets dizzy...but I do.  Sometimes he finds it relaxing though...if he's tired and in the ergo spinning around a little induces a smile and then his eyes close and he falls asleep pretty quickly.

Here is Baby CP at the park.  At his age, he should probably be lying down in the swing, but he insists on looking around.

Here is a photo of Baby CP in the Presidio.  We went to the bowling alley to celebrate auntie T's birthday and walked by these cannons.  Baby CP seemed to find it amusing to sit on them.  This also happens to be just a few steps away from where mommy and daddy got married.  =)

34 Weeks Old

This posting is about a week late...  Baby CP tries to stand just about anywhere so we have to watch him very vigilantly.  It's exhausting.  We now go to bed at around 9 or 10 (within less than an hour) after Baby CP goes to sleep.

Here is a photo of him from a playgroup a couple weekends ago.  He's sitting right in the middle focused on playing with something..I'm sure it's a germ-infested toy.

Here are is a photo and a video of Baby CP at his first swim class.  We'll be trying classes at the saline pool at the newly renovated YMCA in Chinatown next week.

Baby CP and his buddy Toby in the pool at Le Petite Baleen in San Bruno.

We have tried to give Baby CP apples a few times, but he never seems to like them much.  Whereas he will open his mouth really wide to eat oatmeal, you can barely get him to open his mouth at all when eating apples.  I cut some banana into tiny pieces and he seemed to enjoy "chewing" on that.  Tonight we went out to a restaurant for a birthday dinner.  Baby CP was really tired and he did not want to sit in the highchair at all.  The only way to distract him was to give him some of what the adults were eating, because he is just so interested in what we eat.  The only single food item I had were the french fries that came with my burger...I feel terrible about it, but I ripped a couple up into really small pieces and he gobbled them all up.  Then we gave him some water out of a cup and out of a straw (putting drops into his mouth) and he kept wanting to drink it, probably because the french fries had some salt, but maybe he also liked the idea of drinking what mommy was drinking.   I think he really enjoyed being included.  Mr. CP suggested that we find some kind of heathier and convenient snack that we can always just toss in the baby bag when we go out so we're not forced to give Baby CP unhealthy foods when we're out.  I'll have to look into it.