Kicking like Beckham

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Mom bought me my first pair of Nikes! In training now... watch me kick up a storm here like Beckham.

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Mom, cut my nails please!

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Last night at bedtime, I was scratching my right ear and gave myself a little cut (on the outside but inside the crevices).

Mom noticed it first, she saw the outside of my ear had black stuff on it (dried blood). Dad helped to clean it up with a Q-tip, while Mom held my head down (although I was sleeping). Well, they ended up making my would worse by pulling on my ear trying to find where the bleeding was coming from.

Next thing you know the blood is pooling up in my ear! Just in the outside crevices though. OK it sounds a lot worse than it really was but I gave the folks a good scare anyway. Mom had me sleep on her right side so that my head would be turned toward her with the injured ear facing up.

Mom, if you could just keep up with cutting my nails please!! Yes she cut them last night.

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At the mall with Ellie

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Last Friday Mom and I went to Oakridge Mall with Ellie and her Mom, Amy. They went mostly to walk around the mall for exercise and talk. There was this man in a red suit with a lot of white hair on his face - I think Mom called him Santa Claus. He was standing around the mall and we took a picture with him. I guess he was funny looking and that's why we took a picture with him? Or maybe they liked his red suit. As you can see from the photo, I wasn't impressed.

The two Moms decided to take pictures of Ellie and me so that we could do a scrapbook page for each other as a Christmas present, whatever that is. We'll see how that goes, Mom mentioned scrapbooking for quite a while now and I still see that scrapbook sitting on the floor every day.

Here's Ellie and me sitting in my Peg Perego stroller. She can sit up all by herself! Me, I'm still leaning back and playing Mr. Cool.

Ellie still has a fascination with her feet. Or maybe just her cutesy shoes.

After Ellie left, Mom fed me from a bottle. Here I am kind of holding it myself! Mom was impressed.

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Another new toy for Connor

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Teresa invited me to go to a kids' swap meet on Sunday. Anyone can rent a table at these swap meets and sell their kids stuff.

I had been scanning Craigslist for a cheap exersaucer - These things go for waaay too much money brand new, from $60 to $130! So I was very please to have picked up an older exersaucer for $10 at the swap meet.

Connor is liking it so far, except for one of the attachments... check out the video...

I had to tape down that rattling thing today to stop Connor from scaring himself!

Here he is sitting in the exersaucer in an outfit that I got for $2 at the swap meet. I know he doesn't look too happy here but he was tired that morning...

In general there was hardly any baby boys' clothing compared to girls clothing at the swap meet. I did luck out with two Baby Einstein DVDs for $2 each! They retail for $16.99 and usually resold used for at least $5-$10 each. Teresa made out like a bandit - paid $30 for a box full of nice baby girl clothes and almost ten pairs of baby girl shoes!

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Great Grandma Kwok's Birthday

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The past week Connor seems to be staying awake longer these days, about 8 or 9 hours, compared to 6 or 7 hours. Even when he is tired, he seems to want to stay awake. Which sometimes results in making it easier to put him to sleep, so that's a good thing.

Last Friday we celebrated Great Grandma Kwok's birthday. He was determined to stay awake the entire evening, even though he was really tired.

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In the playpen

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Last week Mom finally moved and the co-sleeper in the office and set it up like a playpen (except that they didn't lower the bottom part).

Mom put me in there tonight, along with a few of my new toys that she bought on the weekend (from a Craigslister, she got a whole bunch for $15). Even though I was tired, the crackly ducky book got my attention. I was kind of moving the pages. Check out this video of Mom sneaking up on me while I was playing with the book!

Hopefully Mom will let me play more in here. I still haven't turned over yet so I think I need more practice goofing off by myself in the playpen.

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Jolly Jumping

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Last week Mommy dug out this thing called the Jolly Jumper that she bought for $5 from a Craigslister. It was fun!! I'm able to turn around to see whatever I want to see, and I can jump up and down and twirl around. Although I guess I am a wee bit short for it, Mommy had to place a cushion beneath my feet so that I could reach.

I had my 4 month shots on Tuesday - two needles into my right leg, and one big needle into my left leg. The first shot I barely noticed that. Second one, I noticed it. The third - yikes, I sure noticed that one!! I cried as loud as I could - what's with these things poking me!?

But I was a pro after that, I stopped crying real fast. And because I had been awake for almost 3 hours (we had dim sum earlier, and then the doctor was 1 hour late seeing us!), I was so tired I fell asleep real quick once we got into the car.

Back home, this time Mommy remembered not to rip off the bandages! I did get a fever that night, Mommy and Daddy went through that whole thermometer calculation stuff again. I was cranky and sleepy all day yesterday, and Mommy was a bit worried. I took the grape flavoured baby Tylenol twice during the day. By the time Daddy came home from work, I was almost back to my regular self.

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Daddy and me

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Daddy tried to take some pics of me smiling again. I have fun not cooperating with him.

I am much better now on my tummy. I can stay on my tummy for a few minutes before I get tired and start fussing. I can almost but not quite roll back over from my tummy to my backside, too. I am four months old now, so I am right on target with the whole turning over stuff.

Can you say "Got Milk?"

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My GF Ellie (Elizabeth)

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Last Thursday I finally got to see Ellie again at the Mommy and Baby Fitness. Ellie is six months old. I don't mind the age difference! :D

Ellie sat in her carseat for the entire class and played with her feet. She likes to kick her shoes off and suck on her toes. I wonder what that's like - I don't think I've discovered my feet yet. Ellie also has a great giggle.

I slept for 20 minutes of the class and then decided to give Mommy a hard time. Ha ha ha!

Here's Ellie, what a great smile!




Just the two of us here...

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Out and about on Main St, Vancouver

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Yesterday we walked to Main Street, which we do often. There are a couple of record stores that Linds likes to shop at (he's still on his record album kick), and there are lots of stores for me to choose from to check out.

My first stop was Beansprouts, a baby clothing store that sells both new and like-new consignment items. I picked up a pre-loved vest jacket and a sweater for Connor. The store has a nice sitting area to breastfeed and a change table in the washroom, so that was handy as we needed to do both!

My next store was Front & Company, sells new and consignment clothing for women and men. They were having a loonie sale on accessories - They had a fire over the summer and I believe these were some of the salvageable items. I picked up 4 knit hats and a cute credit card holder all for $1 each! What a steal!

Linds of course picked up a few record albums.

We had Connor in the Peg Perego pramette, but after we were in Beansprouts, he was fussing. So I carried him face-forward in the Baby Bjorn. By the time I got to the tea house, he fell asleep without a fuss. What a cutie pie, if I do say so as the mommy of the babe!

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Baby wearing

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Linds finally tried using the Hotsling to carry Connor. It's known as "baby wearing". Below is a pics of Linds wearing baby Connor this weekend, aren't they cute! Connor is 3 weeks, 2 days old in the photos (Nov. 8/08).

I have a few different carriers. The first one that I bought was a Hotsling. I use it when I want a quick way of wearing Connor around the house. This method is not totally hands-free - the sling doesn't hold Connor by itself. I could place him into it like a 'cradle' way but Connor doesn't like it. This sling cost me $50.

I also have the Baby Bjorn, which is just the best carrier, I have to say. I have an older model for $20 from a Craigslister, it works great - this carrier retails for $118. I have a Safety 1st carrier that I received as part of a "$30 baby boy clothes lot", and Connor cannot even fit into it, not sure if I am doing something wrong there. I also paid almost full price for a Belle carrier (retails $89.95+), because I was looking for a lighter weight carrier and places some of the support on the hips. The Belle one is nice looking (lots of press on celebrities using it) and comfortable but not that easy/quick to put on. The Baby Bjorn is in two pieces which makes it convenient to put on or take off.

I was searching for another carrier that could be used as a backpack style, and just purchased one online. The Baby Trekker can be used backpack style as well as forward facing and for nursing too. I got it from GoneShopping.ca, they have it for $109 - which is less than the $150 the Baby Trekker website sells it for.

A lot of money spent on carriers, but I think it is worth the investment - it is so nice for both the baby and the wearer to be so close and comfortable. Plus I can recoup some costs by reselling them when I am done with them.

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Some moments from the past weeks

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It sure has been busy! Last week we went to Oakridge Mall with Gung Gung and Po Po. I was a good boy at the mall, I didn't cry or make any fuss. I smiled and laughed a lot, and Po Po was so happy zipping me around the mall. We bumped into her friend Wah Jeh and I smiled and cooed at her and Po Po was so proud. Here are a couple of pics we took at the mall while Po Po fed me at the food court.





I can now sit up in my bassinet! In the mornings Mommy will sit me up in the bassinet and I kind of play with the piggy and the cow. Here's a mini video of me in the bassinet.

There was one morning when Daddy was playing with me and I was smiling and laughing with him. So he tried to take some pics of me laughing but by then I didn't feel like smiling anymore, ha ha.



Auntie Teresa came to visit me, here we are. She has twin girls, Addison and Avery, that are 11 months old now. They are my girlfriends :D



And here I am in my car seat, I am a bit better in it now, the last time I rode in it I fell asleep within 5 minutes and slept the whole time!

zzzzz

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Baby brain development

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Wow, haven't posted in a while. Been busy moving Connor's stuff out from our bedroom into his own room, trying to start Christmas shopping, my friend Jeff visited a couple weeks ago during the weekend, and the past two Mondays I drove Connor and I out to Steveston to visit Amy and walk around the area, which is very beautiful (the dykes).

Connor is now 3 months and almost 3 weeks old! He now tries to hold things like his toys and his milk bottle. He can't actually hold the stuff but he kind of tries.

I've been reading a book about how babies' minds grow. It's a very interesting book. A couple of interesting things of note, babies are not yet able to regulate their temperature that well (contrary to what I had been told or read before), especially in extreme heat and cold. To warm themselves up, they will move their bodies by kicking their legs and waving their arms. To cool down they will spread their arms and legs out to dissipate the heat. I've seen Connor do this lots of times! Also the body's ventricular system, which controls the sense of balance, can help to improve motor skills faster. The ventricular system is responsible for the Moro reflex and the tonic neck reflex/fencer's pose in babies, here's a pic of Connor doing that when he was about 12 days old (I haven't looked at his hold photos in a while, wow he looks so different.)

The book noted a controlled study of babies that were spun in an adult's lap on a swivel chair 16 times a day showed quicker development of their motor skills - so the more movement, change in balance that you provide baby with could be helpful. Also neat, if you twirl a few times and then stop, your eyes will keep on moving from side to side because while spinning, the eyes are trying to compensate for the movement and provide a still picture, and when you stop abruptly it still tries to compensate for a while. In babies the same will occur, but the eyes will move faster. So I spun Connor around yesterday and yes, his eyes did that! It was neat to see that.

We also learned last week that Connor shall be having a baby boy cousin! My brother Andrew and wife Cindy are due in March. Very exciting!

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