Family Time

For some reason, my family and I have been spending the week over at my parent's house. I guess since we are moving to the mainland (U.S.A.)I want to spend as much time possible with my family. I've never really been separated from my family. Even when I went to college it was only an hour and 15 minute drive from my parent's place- please consider that I live on a small island. Of course, back then I barely visited my family because I was always studying, working or hanging out with my then boyfriend. Despite almost never visiting them, I always knew my parents were only a short drive away. Where I come from families are really close knit and even when we go off to school or get married in reality we all live at a relatively short distance.

This time around it will be totally different. Instead of being a drive away my family will be a plane ride or two away. Thinking about it makes me sad. Then on the other hand I think that it'll be a good thing for my husband because he'll be closer to his parents- which he only gets to see twice a year. The one I really worry is about my son. He has become so attached to his harmony and abuelo that I don't know how he'll react. I think he might notice for a couple of days and then forget being that he's only 13 months old.

How do you deal with being away from your family?

Yummy Yummy Cheerios

(image from http://www.cheerios.com )


For those of you who like Cheerios, know that it's not only good for the adult. If you happen to have an infant, Cheerios make a great finger food. I've just started giving my son, who is 11 months old, Multigrain Cheerios and he loves them. My husband and I used to give him Gerber's Multi Grain Puffs but now figured out that since he's almost a year old that we could start him on a more big boy cereal.

Let me know what kinds of finger foods do your babies eat. :-)

Tree treat

It never ceases to amaze me how curious infants can be! One aspect that amazes me would have to be how much my boy just loves to eat paper. In general, he likes to put mostly everything in his mouth, but I have to say that paper is his special thing. If it were up to him, he would devour all of the napkins and baby wipes he could get his hands on. He can not see these items because he will make a bee line towards them. I just find it funny how sometimes I have to stick my finger in his mouth and get that wet, slobby piece of paper out.

These are the things that I hope to remember when I'm a little old lady. Besides being hilarious they make me very happy.

Fussy Baby

Have you ever seen how a tired baby acts when he is extremely tired? I can't speak for other babies so I'll tell you about mine. During the day my son has the sweetest disposition. He will play with you, offer up his toys and finger food snacks, he will lay his head on your lap. Like my mother-in-law would say: "He is such a doll baby." Come 8:00pm and it's a whole other story. My little doll baby transforms into bruiser baby. He will pull your hair, put the hair in his mouth, he will rub his eyes like crazy-he reminds me of a kitten-, if you try to play with him chances are he will slap the living daylights out of you. Despite this, he still looks cute.

What does your baby do when he or she is extremely tired but doesn't want to go to sleep?

My boy

My son is about to turn 1 year old. I am truely amazed at all of the milestones that he has been able to achieve and all of the knowledge that he has already acquired. I knew that babies learned a lot during their first year but, I had never been able to experience it firsthand.

It's so random how infants learn things by trial and error all by themselves. Just the other day my son figured out how to climb up onto the ottoman in an attempt to get into the kitchen. It probably took him like 2 days. Yesterday, he was able to get into the kitchen via the ottoman. It's crazy!!!



The other thing that blows my mind is the way that my little boy already has likes and dislikes. My husband and I have been reading to our son since he was in the womb. He has 20-25 books in his collection and it just keeps growing. The other day my husband's aunt sent him a Valentine's day book. Now we don't have to lay him down or sit him down to read him a book because our son is the one who tells us when it's time to read to him. He will get one of his books and basically he shoves it in our faces. Right now he is very into the following books: Fifteen Animals and Barnyard Dance, both by Sandra Boynton. He makes us read these books to him 2, 3, 4, 5 times in a row.

In terms of things he dislikes, I've got to say he is not a big fan of television. We have tried to introduce him to kiddie shows but, they don't seem to draw his attention. I guess this is a good thing. If there is one thing I dislike is the idea of parents just letting their kids rot in front of the t.v. This is probably a topic for another post.

In terms of personality, I have to say that my little boy is a people person. He is very sociable and sweet. At the same time he can be a bit of a bruiser but, in time he'll get over that phase...I hope. What I do need to do is find other children his age so he learns how to play with others. He's always surrounded by adults so when he sees children his age he doesn't quite know what to do. Again, I guess this takes time.
I could keep on writing about my little boy but, then this post would never end.

Birthday Party!

I can't believe my son turns 1 year old next month. I'm super exited because I already have an idea in my head about what I want to do for his b-day party. I know a lot of people who went all out when it came to their kid's 1st birthday but, I think it was more for the adults. My husband and I are definitely going to go the opposite way. I think a small, intimate family and close friend family gathering is the way to go. Then again, this is just my opinion so I hope no one takes any offense.

I'm more than sure that the theme is going to be mod monkey because my boy loves the 5 little monkeys song. Then again I'm not sure if that should be the whole theme because I also want the party to have hints of a traditional Korean birthday. In Korea, 1st birthdays are a huge deal...unless you're Korean you have no idea.

During this week I'm going to go out in search of all the party decor. I'm not sure if they sell these decorations in any shops in my town but, I do know for a fact that they're sold over the internet. Wish me luck :-)

I wanted to see if you have any ideas as to what things should be included in a baby's birthday party?? :-)

Finding Happiness in the Simple Things in Life

I'm a stay at home mommy and have a beautiful, healthy baby boy who turns 11 months this week. Every moment that I get to spend with him is wonderful and unique. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely times when I feel like pulling my hair out of place, but I guess it's normal. I just wanted to point out something that my son did today. It was almost his bathtime so I took him into my room so we could play on the bed for a little while. I had already layed out his pj's and diaper. All of a sudden Erik grabs his diaper and starts biting it, which is completly normal. After a little while he started to wave the diaper up and down like a crazy babt gone wild. The action of waving the diaper just made him so happy. He had the biggest smile on his face. Then I got to thinking how the most simple things can make my son lit up. This time it was a diaper, on other ocassions it can be a song, a certain book or a many other things. Then I thought how I wish I could be like that. It hit me right then and there that my son makes me feel that way. Everything he does just makes me so happy. Whether it be the sound of his cries when he wakes up un his crib, his smile when he's just waken up in my bed, how he gets scared when he changes the channel and static noise starts to roar...he's my son! I thank God everyday for having given him to me to take care of until Erik can take care of himself.

I was in a sappy mood today :-)

Yogurt Samplings

Three weeks ago my son sampled refrigerated yogurt for the first time. It was a raspberry-pear flavored organic yogurt from Stonyfield geared directly towards babies 6 month and on. Needless to say that Erik loved it. I gave it a try and I have to say it tasted pretty good; it tasted just like yogurt that an adult would eat. It was creamy, but not too sweet. A couple of weeks before I had gotten Erik Gerber yogurt but, it had a light powdery consistency. You could tell that it was made from powdered milk but, the upside to it was that it didn't need any refrigeration. In that sense it's very good because you can take it with you when you go out and not have to worry about keeping it cold.

I just wanted to know if you have any recommendations on any other baby yogurt brands that I could give to my son?

Yummy Yummy Treat for Babies

Are you tired of solely feeding your baby stage 3 jar fruits? I have a tip for you. If your baby loves fruit but still doesn't have enough teeth to be able to bite let's say into an apple then this is for you. Take any apple or pear of your choice, cut it iAre you tired of solely feeding your baby stage 3 jar fruits? I have a tip for you. If your baby loves fruit but still doesn't have enough teeth to be able to bite let's say into an apple then this is for you. Take any apple of your choice, cut it in half, spoon out the insides and feed your baby. It's better than feeding your baby fruit in a jar and it only takes seconds to execute. :-)

While you feed your bay his half apple you can eat the other half. That way you'll both enjoy a yummy, nutritious snack at the same time. My little 10 month old loves to eat apples and pears this way.

So you know, I got this tip from my mom. She got this tip from her mom.