New Year Eve

It's a shame that Elle and I slept through the new year eve. Hin was on meds, laying semi-consciously on the couch while the TV was broadcasting the new year countdown. We bid farewell to year 2007 silently.

Elle has made progress on crawling forward and even pulling herself up by holding on the furniture. She amazes us of her observation towards wee things. She can spot on tiny little things that we don't even realize they're there, such as a dirt, a stain, a scar, or a string of hair. I love the look of her when she concentrates on a thing. Her face expression is a mix of curiosity, wonder, and mind-crunching with a furrowed brow, as if it's the biggest discovery, the biggest mystery in the whole universe.

Happy reader

We read a lot to Elle when she was around 3 months old and since then we have been slacking off due to so many reasons and excuses. The only book she reads and chews on is given by her pediatrician in 6 months checkup.

Today, we finally made it to the library to get some books for Elle. There's a go-cart type of transport for baby-riding by the elevator. We thought it would be fun and were so excited to let Elle to ride on it. Guess what, the seconds she left our arms and placed into the cart, she started pursing her lips and crying, wanted to be out of it. We ignored the noise she made and pushed her around, hoping she would shut up and enjoy it after a while. As her noise level was rising significantly, we had no choice but to pull the screaming baby out of the cart. After all, we're in a library.

She acted a little bit cautious, grabbing a corner of my shirt, when we put her down on the floor exploring the books. It only took her a while to flap her arms and bang the books, pull them from the shelves, and gnaw on them. Pure joys!

7 months in red cap

Changing diaper and outfit has become a totally new experience for us now! It's ridiculous that two adults can't keep a baby from rolling over and sitting up during changing. The most horrifying moment is when her bum is covered with explosive poops. Gosh! We need some help! Maybe a few handcuffs and twine will do!

We suspect there's teething going on with Elle by her constantly licking the lower gum with her tongue. Keep our finger crossed. We have a fantastic day at home today. No meltdowns. In between meals, we play for two hours and then she naps for one and a half hours. It's a bliss.

Elle has a big head. It's sort of weird that she still fits in her red cap she worn when she was just born.

Elle got elfed!

Mama couldn't resist turning Elle into a singing, dancing, mirthful elf troupe and spread the Elfin' cheers to y'all. Click here to watch Elle, the elf troupe.

Clingy baby

Elle's clinginess has been escalated since a week ago. When we drop her off to the daycare, she'll purse her lips and hold out both of her hands, desperately wanting us to take her back. She looks so pitiful yet silly, make me want to wipe off the tears streaming down her face.

She wants to be carried a lot lately. She cries when we put her down or out of her sight. She doesn't let anyone else, besides mama and dada, holding her. We're very surprised that she totally enjoyed the company of Santa Claus, no crying, fussing, or frightening over the scary big beard guy.

Looking back the past 7 months, it's funny to reflect how Elle always throws us one or two curve balls that when a problem gets resolved, more problems surface. In the first 2 months, that was a period that she only wanted her granny and grandpa to carry her and she would cry colicky when we were holding her. Getting her to nap was a headache. In her 3rd month, she developed a blissful sleeping routine; however, she didn't want to eat and sleep in daycare, which worried us so much. 4th and 5th month were the months we dealt with her nose stuffiness, lots of mucus sucking and saline drops. Her bottle striking at home drove us over the edge, almost. 6th month is the whining month; however, we're blessed that feeding her is no longer dreading. 7th month is the month of clinginess and we're going back to sleeping problem again for the sake of her ability to sit up.

Merry Christmas!

I have been neglecting the fact that Elle is way different than she was a month ago. My baby is growing and has a mind of her own now. It seems to be a mission impossible to make her sitting still and not rolling and moving all over the place, not taking off the Santa hat every single time I put it on her, not whining and throwing me tantrum, so that I could take Christmas holiday pictures for her. This photo session has a lot of wrestling involved.

We helped Elle open her Christmas gift after the breakfast. At night, we drove through the
Nite Lites Christmas Light Display to spark up the Christmas spirit.

Merry Christmas to y'all! Ho Ho Ho!

T'is the season!

We had a wonderful time at the German Christmas market, Christkindlmarket, in Chicago. It's filled with festive holiday atmosphere: the gigantic Christmas tree, sparkling lights, fragrance of food, the puppet show, the crowd and the holiday musics.

Elle was very excited and tired at the same time when we were walking around the market. She was like jumping in our arms joyfully in one second, squirming and whining in the next second. We had been waiting about 45 minutes in line to the Santa House. Her whimsical behavior made us thinking that we should prepare for the worst, screaming, yelling and kicking, to happen when she met the Santa Claus for the first time. Out of our expectation, she was not startled at all when we passed her to the Santa. She sat quietly on the Santa's lap and looked curiously at the red suit, big white beard jolly man. Being a good baby for a few minutes, Elle started acting mischievously. Grabbing the Santa's beard with two hands and then pulling his mustache! The funniest was she turned to us giggling at what she just did. She definitely looked proud! It's a killer! Everyone in the room burst into laughter at these classic acts.

Tabblo:Christkindlmarket