Happy Gotcha Day, Baby!

It's hard to believe it's been 365 days of hugs, kisses, and giggles. Ok, somewhere there were sleepless nights, tandrum fits, and sniffles too. We can hardly remember without pictures or video what our baby looked like the day we got to hold her for the first time. What a special day that was. What a blessed year this has been.

Our Group 115 gathered in Huntington Beach this year to celebrate Gotcha Day Anniversary. Ten of the sixteen families made it.On this Gotcha Day anniversary, our baby is no longer a baby. She's a little person...and full of energy!

Goof ball

<-----I was taking out the trash and asked Caelyn to come along. She immediately ran into her room and put on her winter hat and picked up her tool box. Then ran back out and waited for me by the front door. I couldn't help myself laughing at this image. Plus look at the t-shirt she happens to be wearing that day.

Caelyn is quite helpful, of course when she wants to be, at home. ------->

Her new chore is to help me sort and bag recyling items. After I tie the bags she usually picks them up and walks them outside the door so we can toss them on our way downstairs later. Who says 19-month olds can't have assigned chores?

It's hard to catch a good picture of any baby much less one that smiles. So I thought I should simply try asking for a smile when I bring out the camera. I thought just maybe I get lucky. And lately this is what I get when I ask her to stay still and smile for the camera. Not sure if that's what I had in mind...but hey, it's a great way to keep track of how many teeth she has at 19-month.

<----My yoga girl...doing her downward facing dog perfectly.

I thought it was a good idea to buy a pair of infant sun glasses that wraps around the head. But when I put them on Caelyn she looks pretty dorky! She, on the other hand, apparently loves them. She often asks for them specifically...,"eye, mama, eye!" She points at the diaper requesting for them. At home she goes to the diaper bag and takes them out herself. And put them on herself and runs over to me, "look! mama look!" After the 10th time, I was still laughing. Because every time gets goofier than the last.

A few more on Hawaii

The timeshare where we stayed has some small gardens, waterfalls, and lots of birds and chickens. The story on the chickens is quite a funny one. A few years back there was a storm that knocked one chicken coup open. Just one. And the chicken has bred all over the island. For a few years now we can see chicken and roosters everywhere! We can see them on the beach, side of highways, resort gardens, and airports (not runway of course)...just everywhere!

To our surprise walking through the garden we spotted pineapple plants! One of Caelyn's favorite activity in Hawaii was spotting birds and chickens. And her other favorite activity is to chase them all over! So needless to say nana, daddy, and I did a lot of chasing too. Chasing the pink hat!

There are fake waterfalls in the gardens that Caelyn helped herself in. So easily amused. She played in the water for over an hour!

"Borrowed" papa's reading glasses!

Papa and daddy took a morning to go hike the napoli coast while nana, Caelyn and I had a lazy day. The weather was perfect...and that's unusual in Kauai. It's usually raining, mugging, or just super warm. But this day was perfect. Caelyn who is usually not a big napper slept on her own for 3 hours on these pillows next to Nana who curled up in her favorite book.

In Kauai it rains more often than Seattle. But it is different here. It's warm and it comes and go within minutes. We have taken walks where part of the walk it down poured but by the end of the walk we're completely dried. And it was only a 45 minute walk. Caelyn heard the rain and ran outside and start stomping on the wet patio. Before you know it she's drenched. Some days she changes clothes five times.

This lighthouse is a great lookout point and as we discovered a great place for Caelyn to spot birds and chase them across the vast lawn areas. Look at the photo where Caelyn is on daddy's shoulders. See the white specs that cover the hillside cliff? Those are special species of birds that only live on the cliff and no where else in the world.

More breaking waves with her watering can.

Most days Caelyn's hair is like she just got out of the bath. It's humid and her hair shows it. I manage to put a flower over her ear for a hawaii look.

On our botanical garden tour we viewed some really unique plant life. This one below is an Indonesian ginger plant. Ginger must be in the root...but the flower is beautiful.

I can't remember the name of this flower but it's generally white with yellow in the center. The white variety is common in the tropics, in particular in Hawaii. And they are used to make lei (Hawaiian necklaces). But this rare variety is red.

This tree has large jack fruit hanging from it. I love jack fruit...Zach and I were the only ones on the tour who have had jack fruit before. Everyone inquired us what it tasted like.

Just a few of Caelyn's buddies....

Caelyn has been blessed with so many little friends and her big Sister Allyson (her cousin) whom she calls, "je-je." Besides all her China sisters from G115 which she sees once in a while she also sees her Yum-Yum brothers and sisters! The photo below shows all the children in the Yum-Yum group a few months ago. We have one more addition since. They are just so CUTE!!!! Je-Je below just adores Caelyn and Caelyn adores Je-Je. My sister and I have almost the exact same age difference and we have pictures of her holding me when we were kids...almost exactly like this. The similarity is uncanning.

the last six months....

Occasionally someone will ask me why I haven't updated the blog...my answer is often, "someone is still checking?"

Well, I guess a few of you are still out there....so feast your eyes, I plan to put lots of updates and pictures. And since Caelyn doesn't have a separate baby book...this blog will have to serve that purpose too!

We've had Caelyn for almost a year now and overall the last six months has been, believe it or not, better than the first six months! She truly spoils us. See for yourself!

Caelyn is now 19 months and can say lots of words even though only a few of those words she can pronounce crystal clear. Most recently she would call out her school friends' names so I can guess who she's talking about! Oh, yes, she now goes to daycare (school) while I have gone back to work part-time. We have settled into a routine we all love. Generally speaking. Zach is still working at the same place with occasional schedule spikes...those are the really hard times because he just misses his "noi-noi" (little daughter in Cantonese) so deeply and we miss him. My new job is fantastic with very reliable and flexible hours, twenty four to be exact, so I'm always there if Caelyn or Zach need me. Caelyn goes to a small in-home daycare that is set up like a preschool both in facility and program activity. There's no TV so her day consist of circle time with her teacher/friends in the morning and free play, reading, and planned activity in the afternoon. Perhaps daycare isn't for every child but Caelyn sure is thriving at school.

The last six months we have taken a couple trips...a two-week trip to see papa and nana for Christmas. And recently we took Caelyn to Kauai for 8 days. Here are some photos of those trips and other random moments....

The Garden Island - Kauai

Zach and I came here to honeymoon almost 13 years ago...how we would never have dreamt it would be 12 years later before we would have a child...but we wouldn't want it any other way. If that's how long it takes to wait for Caelyn then we are happy to wait for her. We weren't sure how she would enjoy Kauai...but to our surprise she had the most fun out of all of us! Each day she rises extra earlier due to all the birds and rooster chirping and such. And the first thing she says from her crib (she sleeps in our room) while we're still sleeping is, "bird! bird!" and points out the sliding doors. When we're out and about she chases birds and chickens, eat all kinds of food, and every other day played in the shallow waves. She was giddy happy. Every time she sees the ocean from the car she would shout, "wa-wa!!". Water. The trip was great for Zach and I as a couple too. Papa and Nana were with us so they babysat several times while Zach and I ventured off to a couple's massage on the ocean, a 250-acre botanical garden tour, and just sleeping in.

Mommy and Daddys' Mommies & Daddies
It's not a riddle...just another way to say grandma, grandpa, papa, and nana. Caelyn is only the second grandchild on either side and she's the baby. She gets a lot of love and attention from them. My parents come out to see us on my day off once every few weeks and Zach's parents go on vacation with us (sometimes) and offer lots of babysitting. They also come to see Caelyn every few months. In fact, once in a long while Caelyn gets to see her great grandparents too!

Other Fun and Goofy Things
Caelyn's Uncle Alex came to visit for a long weekend and we spent one day at the zoo. Caelyn was just wide-eyed bushy tailed the whole time. She got to sit on both daddy's and Uncle Alex's shoulders for better viewing. Mommy is too weak to do it. And as the kawala...he's just so cuddly!

Caelyn and I have been going to this wonderful Mommy & Me class for 9 months now. It's once a week and the teacher leads in songs, games, reading, and play yard time. Play yard time often involves the typical equipment with the slides, water and sand tables, sandbox, and lots of push toys. Then there is usually a special project involved. This picture shows Caelyn painting something for daddy for valentine's day. And on the play yard Caelyn found her little "house."
Picture below shows that there is something cute taking over our king size bed! She's been taking over this space a lot lately!
A step in daddy's shoes!
Caelyn doesn't have any dolls...this blue bear is her "doll." She wraps him up in her blanket and rock him to sleep often. She accompany her rocking with, "shh-shh-shh." It's hilarious! A sniff...probably getting ready to eat it!

A step in mommy's fluffy socks!

I don't care much about style or coordination...I just hope mama surprise me with some cheerios in this purse!
Caelyn's first haircut. She did not cry but boy, she was grumpy. She didn't break a smile the whole time.
A walk in the park.
A walk in daddy's slippers.

A hike in the woods. Caelyn in her royal carrier and daddy her elephant. And mommy her food sherpa. What Caelyn did, I gather, was considered quite unusual. At 18-month she tells me "poo-poo" and within half hour I find a soiled diaper. So I hurried and bought her a potty. First 4 times she sat down per her own request, she went poo-poo and pee-pee. Funny thing was I wasn't ready for her to be potty trained. I know nothing about it! She has since gone on the potty once more but now she tells me "no" when I ask if she wants to use the potty. I ask if she rather go in her diaper and she says, "yup!" She must have seen us and kids at school using the potty. I'm told that the typical age for a child to be interested in potty-training in America is 2.5-3.5. So I guess with that standard 18 months seems pretty early.
Caelyn loved her balloon. She calls it, "bubble!"

This day was Caelyn's first official easter egg hunt. She's done a small one at our weekly Mommy and Me class. At the class she (more like me while she wonders all around) dyed eggs and made an easter egg basket.

Our noi-noi all dressed up!

Holiday 2007

What we loved more than all the gifts this year was watching Caelyn lighting up at every turn. All the adults opened all our presents but one during Christmas eve. Then Christmas morning we let Caelyn open hers and we each opened the one present we saved. She was confused with the first one but got the hang of it quick. We sat in a circle watching her go.

Zach and I started a tradition four years ago. We would escape to the wine country in the middle of the two-week vacation between Christmas and New Year's. We make the 2 hour drive from the bay area. The highlight of the trip includes a very luxurious couple's massage at a very indulgent spa. We have our favorite restaurants, we do a hike or two in the early mornings up the wine country mountains and visit our favorite shops and used book store. This trip is always magical. This year, thank papa and nana for babysitting, we were able to escape one day and one night.