Boo!

Elle, the teddy bear, was having her first trick-or-treating on the Halloween night in the drizzling rain. The spirit of Halloween overwhelmed the rain. There're swarms of kids in costumes knocking door to door for trick-or-treating around Jessie's neighborhood. Our teddy bear did not fall far behind the kids in participating the act of trick-or-treating at all. After people got over how cute she was in her teddy bear costume, she picked out her candy, put it into her mouth and started licking it.

By the end of the night, our teddy bear was treated with more than a handful of candies. Not bad for a gonna-to-be-6-month-old. Elle was over-exhausted and super starving on our way back home. Remember, she worked hard for her candies? I couldn't be happier to watch her gulping down the whole bottle in one shot. To boot, she finished half cup of squashy rice cereal after the bottle. After we got her fed, then it's our turn to eat. Before we could finish our dinner, she had already started rubbing her eyes (her sign of sleepiness). We rushed her to take a bath and then put her to bed. By the time we got the chance to wind down, I was already too tired to remain conscious that I hit the bed instantly. In the next morning, I just realized Elle missed her 5th meal the night before. Mama was already asleep, dada was too tired to stay awake to feed, and little baby was too weary to be awake to eat. All three of us just knocked out till the next morning.

Happy Halloween!

My first pumpkin

Elle had her 1st pumpkin at "Gene the pumpkin man". It's a tradition for Mr. Gene to give babies their 1st pumpkin in his farm. He is a friendly, six-feet tall, cowboy look man. He wears orange clothes and greets everyone with his orange glitter face. Hills of pumpkins, squash, and gourd in his orangish farm.

Next year this time, Elle will be big enough to sit inside the hand-pulled wagon to hunt for her own pumpkin.

Meet my cousin Summer

Finally the cousins met up! How cute of Summer and Elle to sit side by side. Thanks Beeleng, SenHwee and Summer for your warmest welcome! We had a swell time!

Autumn in Grand Ledge

Gorgeous fall color at the Fitzgerald Park in a small town nearby Lansing.

A challenge lied ahead at the trail head was a flight of stairs. We were fortunate to have more than a couple of hands to help us carrying the baby gears down the stairs. It's an enjoyable, stunning colorful trail winding through the forest along the bank of Grand River on the left and the ledges on the right. An ancient railroad trestle marks the end of the trail.

As we unwinding at the end of the day, the soreness of arms crept in. Carrying a 17-pounder along a trail was quite a workout.

Faces

This week's highlights are rolling from back to tummy, sitting upright inside the car seat, holding her legs, and sleeping on her side.

We had one of those baby bloopers happened last Sunday while we were all sitting on the sofa for dinner and movie. We set Elle sitting at the corner of the sofa. Minutes after, when I turned back to check on her, she had already tumbled face-down behind my back, no screaming for help but happily doing her own thing. When Hin was trying to pick her up, he caught her sticking out her tongue licking my yummy butt! Elle is kissing my ass! That's hilarious!

I'm NOT a boy!

I used to think it's a cliché to wear baby girl pink. Unfortunately, I have became one too.

"Your baby a boy or a girl?"
"It's a boy?"
"He is....."

It can't be more ironic to hear these especially when I dress up Elle like a girly girl: pink hat, pink shirt, pink pant and pink socks. Come on! It's like a baby goes pink overboard. Are they color blind? They can't be totally ignorant about the pink outfit she's wearing right? Please, just shoot me!

There's one guy popped the "boy or girl" question like 10 minutes ago came back to me for reconfirmation went like this, "It's a SHE right?". I just went slapping my forehead and screamed: " SEE! Pink! Pink! Pink!". Believe me, I would never dress up my baby pink if she were a boy.

I think I may as well go ahead to buy a oversize bib with a label saying "I AM NOT A BOY" and wear on Elle every time we go out. Maybe I should dress up Elle like a boy, so that when people pop the question again, we'll both feel better about ourself since it's not anyone's fault to mistaken Elle a boy because she dresses up like one. All these may help, I think.

Bedtime ritual

"Ah..Ah..Ahhh..", "Wah..Waah..Waaah..",squealing, "Ah..Ah...Ahhh..", "Hmm..Hmmm..Hmmmm..", blowing rapsberries. These are going on and on and on until the silence hits, our little bug falls asleep. Pure bliss!

It's totally the opposite in the first 6 weeks of Elle's life. The biggest challenge was getting her to sleep. We expected newborn sleeps most of the time and only awakes for feeding. Elle chose to be differ. Her grammy, experienced with manhandling 5 grandkids, even amused by Elle's not-so-newborn-like behavior. Elle slept about 6 to 8 hours a day. She was a eating and playing machine during the day. Nap time was almost out of the question. Never count our luck for more than a 20 minutes nap. This pattern continued for 6 to 10 days and then all of a sudden she would be in hibernation mode for one whole day. No matter how we bing, bang and bong, she was sleeping like an angel. It's like catching up all the sleeps she had missed and reclaiming her energy in that one day. Voila! The cycle was back again.

We're blessed that bedtime is no longer a torture routine.

Sweet dream, smoochie.

Happy Birthday, Dada!

We went to The Bib restaurant in Gun Lake area to celebrate Hin's birthday. Elle's spirit remained high throughout the day. The seashore-themed decor intrigued her a lot. She kept bouncing her legs, looked like tap-dancing along with the music on play. We had king crab, seafood sac, fried clams with sides of crab bisque soup, the bib's salad, coleslaw, fries, and cornbreads. It might sound crazily plenty of foods, but they were not. It was a fun day. The new addition of our little one just made it extra special. You can tell from the father-and-daughter's smiles from ear to ear.

Tabblo:Happy Birthday, Dada!

Selamat Hari Raya!

This couple was the host for the Hari Raya celebration. The place was packed like sardines with about 30-ish people. Elle didn't mind the crowd at all, buzzing like one little busy bee in the party. Practically, Hin and I were baby-free for most of the time. She was passed around like marshed potatoes served in a thanksgiving dinner. Perfectly happy in the hold of others and found the crowd fascinating. No cry, nor fussy. Acting like a perfect baby one can ever dream for.

Elle conked out immediately after we left the party. Her little mind must be overstimulated.

Autumn farmer market

A god-almighty-huge cauliflower picked up at the farmer market this morning. It is as big as a watermelon.

The farmer market is showcasing the bounty of autumn's harvest right now: apples, pumpkins, cranberries, indian corns, chestnuts, just to name a few. We also picked up a few acorn squashs, making an awesome autumn meal for Elle.

Tabblo: Autumn farmer market

Office grapevine

"You're a HORRIBLE, HOOO..RIBLE mother!". I am doomed for this kind of derision simply because I do not have a picture of my little wee one in my cube.

It's funny to see the way my coworkers reacted with no baby picture. One of my coworker drew a picture of a baby (my baby) on my whiteboard, with two ribbon-tied pony tails. After Elle got her hair shaved, the pony tails got wiped off and replaced with a shinny bald head. Another coworker dug out a photo frame she used to display her baby while she was packing for the office move. She gave it to me. OK. I got the hint. I have no excuse not having a baby photo in the office anymore. However, this photo frame is still displayed as a blank canvas after moving into our new office building.

It must be legitimate to get tsked and scoffed at as long as no sight of baby photo. Yesterday, I got another one again so I realize it's about time to act up. It is going to be a mindblowing task to shuffle through those gazillions of photos, picking the one that reminds me how little and delicate the baby I once held, growing up so fast each day.

Nasty parenting talk

Elle's stuffy nose off and on since the labor day weekend. Somehow it doesn't get any better that her stuffy nose turns into a drippy nose. Her daddy brought her to see the pediatrician this morning, hoping that she will be given something magical that will kick this nasal nuisance's butt. Aside from getting a peace of mind, we felt pretty ripped off for the amount of insurance copay we paid for the examination. The usual suspect advice we got is "It'll go away on its own." Surprisingly, Elle's weight still remains in 90th percentile. She is 17 pound 12 ounce without undress.

It's amazing how Elle can constantly surprise us, even with her poop. We thought we have seen all until she dazzled us with her Play-Doh-like poop yesterday. They're round and solid, looked pretty funny and lonely on the diaper, compared with those messy explosive poops she always have. Remember Elle's bottle striking? She has been drinking like a 2 months old for the past few days. This, together with her baby food intake, contribute to these almighty Play-Doh poops. Seeing her making a constipated face to shoot out these "Play-Doh" is priceless! I hope she will start learning from her lesson: "Bottle, or else Play-Doh".

This photo was captured today when Elle's daddy was fooling around with her and putting his cap onto her head. She looks pretty cool in his smelly cap.

5 months old

Happy 5 months old, sweetie! We're looking forward to all the curveballs you're going to throw at us for the coming month.

C’mon, already. Just drink it!

It puzzles us a lot how on earth does Elle grow into her 90th-percentile weight. After been daycare for 2 months, bottle striking is still going on strong. Elle scores so many "DIDN'T WANT" on her daily care sheet at the end of each day that we have no problem making them into a "Wall of Fame".

It has never been a problem at home, until recently. For some reasons, Elle refuses drinking her milk at home. We have tried forcing and coaxing this stubborn little thing. In the end, it's always her way or no way at all. She is just one feisty baby to fight with.

She purses her lips and jerks her head away, twisting, screaming and kicking, like we're trying to feed her poison. She strikes in silence when she is fade up of fighting back. She holds perfectly still, lets us keep the nipple inside her mouth, but no sucking action whatsoever, stares at us eye-wide or closes her eyes pretend sleeping to declare a stand-off.

Bottle feeding has become a trial of wills and patience. Ours wear thin.