Poll: Looks like WHO?

Since the day Elizabeth was born, everyone, including strangers have commented on her Daddy looks. So, we're having an online poll. Please leave a comment on who you think she looks like more. Baby pictures of mom and dad are posted below, so you can compare from the same era. -S

At the Cherry Creek Mall

We went to the mall today to have lunch with Hannah and David Kim. They got married on April 4, 2009, exactly a month after Elizabeth was born and then immediately moved to Maryland. So it's been over seven months since we've seen them and they've seen the baby. Elizabeth was the youngest guest at their wedding, all dressed in white. Going to the wedding was her second major visit to the outside world, the first one being church, the week before.

After lunch, we walked around the mall to get some exercise and did some window shopping. Macy's was having a store wide event and we got a picture with the Macy's bear. When Elizabeth first saw the bear, she got really excited, kicking her feet in the air with a big smile. Then, Tim took her over to the bear to say hello and suddenly she became very shy. Usually she leans forward to grab and touch things, but she decided that this stranger was not her friend and leaned way back into Tim's chest, holding onto his arms for extra security. I'm glad she didn't cry or make a scene. -S

Hannah Hong, Elizabeth, Hannah Kim at lunch at Kona Grill

Macy's Bear at Cherry Creek Mall

"Please don't let go Daddy!"

Hannah holding Elizabeth on 4/4/09

Ohhh...so late, past my bedtime...

During the reception, we took turns holding her outside the ballroom because we thought the loud music would frighten her.

Sleeping through everything...

Nothing can disturb her sleep...

Not even posing for pictures will wake her...

Baby's first "cold"

Last week, Elizabeth seemed a bit under the weather. She was coughing a little and had a runny nose. Those few days while she had the runny nose almost seemed like she was pretending to be a water fountain. It's one thing to have a runny nose; it's another to have a runny nose AND drool a lot. A normal size sheet of tissue paper got completely wet after a single wiping of her nose, mouth and chin. Luckily, she didn't have a fever, so it wasn't too serious or else we would've been giving her medicine and stuff. She seems to be better now. She's back to her normal, rambunctious self. -T

Playing in the cat gym

Elizabeth, the explorer, is now going around the home in search of the next, new, fun thing. Since her crawling has improved so much, she can go to things as they interest her. Before, I used to carry her and put her in front of "educational" things, like the piano, her books, stuffed animals and other play toys. But now, her legs carry her wherever she wants, within reason.

Her new fascination is the cat jungle gym. Just today, she started entering the hole on the bottom, after watching Ruby do it. One of these days, I might just find her in it. The bars are perfect for her to grab onto and lift herself up as you can see in the video. She's even pushed it around a little, walking behind it. It's good exercise and funny for us to watch too. -S

The nursery is fully decorated

Finally, we are finished with all the special touches on the nursery. It only took us eight months to get it together. Actually, we started putting it together when the baby was three months old. The baby slept in our room exclusively the first few months, so it took only five months to finish it all. Luckily, we got it done before the toddler stage. How much longer before we have to change it to Tinkerbell, Dora, or something Disney?

Also, Elizabeth is fully sleep trained now. She can fall asleep in her crib and sleep there all night. Since we got back from New York, she's been sleeping there every night. Say bye-bye to co-sleeping. I don't know if she misses it more, or I do. I'm guessing it's probably me, because she seems to have no problems in her crib. In fact, the other morning, we woke up to the sound of her playing with her toys and not the usual, come get me, yell on the monitor.

By the way, the decorations were Tim's idea. He found them while I was shopping around for fabric at Jo-Ann's. Go Daddy! I hope your daughter appreciates your hard work.-S

Happy Eight Months!

On Wednesday, November 4, Elizabeth turned eight months old. Since last month, she's gained half a pound and grown half an inch. According to the health charts, she is progressing right on track. However, she is a bit skinny for her height and age. She's been eating much more lately, so I expected her weight to increase more than usual, but all the activity must be burning more calories than ever.

Pastor Erik, Sarah SMN and K came over for dinner on Wednesday and the girls had a great time playing together. Mostly, they played steal the item that the other has, basically, "pass the germs". Then they chased each other around a bit. K is much faster than Elizabeth. Her crawl speed is lightning fast and so it was more like K crawling circles around Elizabeth. They played so well together, even through all the pushing and pulling, not one single cry or tear was shed.

K is turning ONE this week, so we want to wish her a happy dohl! Thanks for coming over and playing with our Elizabeth. -S

Funny videos

How do you know when a baby is done eating?

Since a few days ago, Elizabeth's been wanting to feed herself. Here she is eating rice puffs off her tray.

Elizabeth has been using this door jumper since she was two months old. Susan let us borrow it when she was born and yesterday we gave it back to her. She's close to walking now so she's not as interested in bouncing anymore. Before giving it back, I took one last video of her in it.

We can definitely tell that she understands words now. Action words that she will respond to: jumping, walking, sit down, stand up, "ghamani itseh" for stay still and "ahhhh" for open your mouth. -S

Niagara Falls

While in Buffalo, there are just a few things you must do. Go to the original Buffalo wing restaurant and Niagara Falls. Check and Check!

Niagara Falls is only half an hour away from Buffalo and it's a nice scenic drive there along the river. We went there with three of Tim's friends, all packed into our nice, big, rental minivan. Elizabeth sat in her car seat in the third row and I next to her. She did really well back there while Daddy and his friends caught up on old business. She ate her snacks, had a bottle and then she went to sleep for her afternoon nap.

When we got to Niagara Falls, I thought the cease of the car motion would wake her, but not this baby. We took her out of her car seat, put her in the baby carrier and walked to the falls, all while she was still asleep. Then, we walked around the falls, went to the souvenir shop and walked all the way back to the car, and not one time did she wake up. She loves this new baby carrier, the Beco Butterfly II, and we use all the time now. She likes it more than any of the other carriers that we have. Also, anytime we put her in it, it seems like she falls asleep. Must be the closeness and stability it provides. I always feel like a kangaroo when I wear it.

So after traveling all the way to Buffalo, the baby didn't get to see one of God's amazing creations. Not that she would have remembered it anyway. I'm sure, we will take her to see it again (or for the first time), later down the road. -S

Visit to the apple orchard

Fifteen miles south of Syracuse, there are many apple orchards. We visited Beak and Skiff Apple Farms and had a wonderful time experiencing all things apple. We picked our own apples, ate yummy apple dumplings, drank apple cider, and played in the orchard and kid area. The apples were delicious, ripened on the tree, crisp and sweet. Since the baby can eat solids now, she also got a taste of apples. She really liked the baked apple dumpling. I'm thinking of learning how to make it, so we can enjoy it again at home. It is like a delicious apple pie, about the size of your palm, except it is a whole apple inside the crust.

Elizabeth wore her ladybug costume to the orchard and was the cutest looking pest there. For a weekday, it was quite busy, and everyone was laughing and saying how adorable she was. She napped through the drive there and woke up refreshed and happy. We got so many pictures of her laughing and smiling.

We picked three different types of apples. We tried our best not too pick too many, but in the end, we ended up with about two dozen of them. Elizabeth even picked a small apple her size. We ate an apple each day of our vacation and brought some home in our suitcase to eat later. All our clothes smell sweet. -S

"Good Eats"

During our visit to Syracuse, Sana wanted to go to a BBQ joint so that I could try the ribs. We went to a place called Dinosaur BBQ and apparently it is well known in the area. It was pretty crowded. I did enjoy the ribs...very tasty and their sauces were good too. The big thing we realized while eating there was that Elizabeth was eating a lot more too. Before going to Buffalo, she drank less than 20 oz of milk daily and the amount of food was inconsistent. But, this trip just may have boosted her appetite. While we were at the restaurant, she had no problem eating more than half a container of sweet potato. Since then, she is downing bottles of milk and spoonfuls of veggies and fruits. Her daily intake of milk is up to 30 oz a day and two full containers of food. It is a welcome site to see. -T