Week 11

Emily started to suck her fingers, especially her index finger. I'm not sure whether this is the phase that all babies go through, or just because Emily didn't have a pacifier. Sometime the sucking sound was so loud that we could hear it in the dining room while she was in our bedroom. On 21st at around 3:40pm, Emily was playing with the nipple of the bottle. I laughed at her. She laughed back! It scared me at first since I didn't expect that. I laughed again (just to make sure) and she laughed back again! That was the first time she laughed. She also learned to use her hands to push the bottle away when she was full. Sunday after church, I tried to clip her finger nail. Just when I was proud of myself that I hadn't cut her skin yet, I suddenly heard a cry - I cut Emily's index finger! This week David and I had our first anniversary. We celebrated the most wonderful year of our life together. Here are a few fun pictures of Emily:
(More pics are at http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=qu0dq1t.76h9lmx5&x=0&y=e6h3q2&localeid=en_US )




























































"Parents are gardeners - planting the seeds of faith, truth, and love that develop into the fairest flowers of character, virtue, and happiness in the lives of their children." - J. Harold Gwnne, author

Week 10

This week Emily began to go through the sleep training. We've been putting her down for naps or sleep when she was half-awake or full awake. 60% of time she will manage to fall asleep. 40% of time she still needs our comfort. But that's a big improvement for her. She plays more and more and sleeps less and less. When she sleeps, noise doesn't bother her that much any more. She enjoys her swing and the activity gym. She smiles and talks to all the animals on them. She began to drink 4 oz and sleeps for 6 hours stretch.

Week 9

This week's highlights are:

Mrs Alice invited all of us to her house for a dinner on Monday night. George and Carolyn were her guests too. The menu was exactly the same as the dinner party I had in her house four years ago. It was the first time that we took Emily out in the evening. She was cranky all the time. We don't blame her. It way passed her bed time and she was over-stimulated by so much noise and activities.

Tuesday Emily tried the Aqua swing. She liked it. She began to notice the fish and seahorse. Nadia came to visit in the evening. She was amazed at how much Emily changed in one month.

Wednesday Grandpa and Grandma left for China. We all got up early to send them off. It was an emotional day for everybody. David and I had to adjust to the life without help again. But we were thankful that we got five weeks help. Emily did super great! She played on her own when I needed to eat or get away from her. She even sat in her swing to watch us eating dinner. David said it was like a switch in her was just turned on. She was so easy on us.

Thursday we had 2-month checkup. Emily got A+ from her doctor again: her weight was 11 lb 12 oz (75%); her height was 23.8 in (97%); her head was 16.5 (>97%). She had two shots on her thighs. But she only cried for one second. We were so proud of her!

Friday night we went to La Hacienda Mexican restaurant for dinner. I worried that it was her bed time again. But she was so quiet the whole evening. She really is a sweet-heart!

Saturday we took her to KBToys and bought some great toys. KBToys is out of business. So everything is 50-70% off. We were very happy about our purchase for Emily. By the way, we bought toys for ourselves too - a new computer since the old one stopped working.

Sunday we attended the first service and a special class about the returning missionaries. Emily did so well that everyone couldn't stop looking at her. She didn't even make any noise. She watched and listened like a big girl and fell asleep during the last five minutes. In the afternoon we took her to Friendspeak. She became the center of everyone's attention. She met so many people and she smiled to many of them. We know she is very loved!

During Friendspeak, Louella's reader came to say Hi to Emily. She told me that she saw Mary Snow this morning. I asked how. She said her friend asked her to go to church with her this morning. So they went to Farmer's Branch and met Mary there. After Friendspeak, Louella told me that her reader wanted to come to church next Sunday. She has invited her reader many times before but she never came. She was amazed at a friend's influence. That reminded me of the story of four friends taking their sick friend to Jesus. I pray that everyone will have a real good Christian friend who can take them to meet Jesus - the ultimate friend we need ...

8 weeks

It's been six weeks since the last post. So many things happened and I barely had time to process everything. But one thing is common: I totally enjoyed everyday with Emily. She has grown so much. Here are a few highlights of the past six weeks:

Week 3: Thanksgiving holiday with Grandpa Jack, Aunt Amy, Uncle Kendall, Cousin Chloe, and Presley; Visitors during this week: Nikki and Matt and Cole, Randy R., Lori and Billy, Brian W. , Richard, Cathy and Annabelle. Emily was active in the morning. She began to wear 6-month clothes.

Week 4: Emily began to turn her head from one side to the other in the bassinet. She began to do the feet push ups with David. She grabbed the rattle for the first time. She liked to sleep on her tummy. When she was full, she learned to push out the nipple with her tongue. She turned her head from one side to the other during the tummy time. Her umbilical cord fell off. She began to smile back and follow the sound and objects consciously. She had her first coughing and yawning. She started bringing her hands to mouth. She had her first bath. Grandpa and Grandma came from China. This week's visitors are Jenny and Eric (they brought a painting with Emily's name for her bedroom); Gayla; Jean Ann; Bivi and Martha; Angela and Tavi; Leslie F.; Amy and Nathan.

Week 5: Emily had her one-month checkup and got A+ from her doctor. She weighed 9lb 10 oz. (50-75%) Her length was 22.5 in. (90-95%). Her head was 90%. This week Emily started wooing back and talking and smiling. She went to the church for the first time. Began to use size 1 diapers. Her fists began to open and she started tasting her fingers. Emily started to sleep for four hours stretch. She loved reading her books and talking to the characters in the books. Her favorite toy was the red mouse rattle that Angela and Tavi bought her. Visitors this week were Kathy and her dad; Robert and Gail.

Week 6: We had the Christmas photo session. Emily went with us to a grape orchard in Grapevine. She also attended her first Chinese church service. She was more sleepy than before - guess this was her growth spur. Visitors this week were: Kun and his wife; Shawnda; Jean Ann.
Week 7: First Christmas!!! Grabbed toys and brought to her mouth. Slept for 5 or 6 hours stretch. Slept on her right side. Visitors were Grandpa Jack, Aunt Amy, Uncle Kendall, Cousin Chloe, Presley, Greg and Shannon and their two kids, Joyce. Watched the Christmas lights at Deer Field. Visited Home Depot. Her neck can support her head now. Her favorite painting is the fruit (of the Spirit) picture in the kitchen.

Week 8: Welcome 2009! Visited Fort Worth (Stock Yard). Had dinner with Leslie at Houstons. Had bad constipation. Doctor suggested to change formula to Good Start. Had lunch with Tom at Fogo De Chao. First tears rolled down the cheek because of bowl movement pains. Visited Yuemei's family and Pam's family. Visitors this week were Tony and Suanna and their two kids. Emily can stand on my hand for a few seconds now. She loves her crib mobile.


Here are a few pictures:

A Video of Emily and mobile:

The first talk recorded on Dec. 10, 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!!!

Some Pictures

Here are some pictures of us:

Emily is here ...
































No picture please ...











Smile ...











Daddy and me ...







































Some of our visitors:
Gail














Nathan












Dawn and Jerrod












The Pakins











Nadia and Joan

40th-41st Week

Guess what? Our little princess Emily is here!!! She was born on November 8th, at 15:52. She was 7 lb 4 oz and 19.5 in. For the past two weeks, David and I were awed by this little girl, trying to figure out what she needs and how to meet her needs, day and night ... We felt like two months have passed by. Often heard new moms talking about the survival mode they were in for the first couple of weeks, seldom did I truly comprehend what it meant. I have a new hightened respect for the moms who kept sending emails with baby's pictures and updating the blogs daily in their motherhood - where did their sleep go??? Please forgive us if we haven't replied to your emails during the past two weeks. We were in so much fun!!! And it was a real challenge for me to sit down with loads of stitches.

Our Emily is really a sweet delight! I still can't believe she is here right next to us in the bassinet sound asleep. She is such a good girl that she only cries when she is hungry or hurting. Even those cries are low pitch, short ones, sometimes I say cute alarming sound. She has her personalities already: always sneezes in three; most time uses three diapers per change; likes to smile in her dreams; likes to move her arms/hands (David said she is going to be the orchestra director/composer); has hiccups after every feeding; enjoys sleeping on daddy's chest; ... One day, David was holding her in the arms. I went close and put my face on her arm. Emily turned her face and reached over and gave me a kiss on the face - That surprised both me and David. David joked that she managed to steal a kiss from mommy! Emily also taught us many life lessons already: before she fell asleep, she always uses her corners of eyes to check on us (as if saying: are you still there?). Just as what we often do to our Heavenly Father...

David is such a wonderful father and husband. He got up three times a night to feed Emily most of time. Whenever he's at home, he always holds her, talks to her, and plays with her. Emily and I felt so well-cared for. I wouldn't have recovered so quickly without my sweetheart! He definitely is more sleep-deprived than I am.

We are also soaked in the support and love from our friends. Grandpa Jack took us home from the hospital and helped us to settle down. Dawn organized a group of friends to bring us meals every other day. Pam, Kathy and Fang cooked so many traditional Chinese meals trying to make up for the blood I lost. Jerry's parents cooked many delicious and nutricious food. Gail came over to clean the whole house for us. My previous co-worker Nadia came every morning to baby-sit Emily for a couple of hours so that I could take a shower and take a short nap. Gayla took us to the doctor's office for Emily's two-week checkup ... David and I offered thanks everyday for our wonderful friends! You all made such a difference in our life!

My parents are going to Beijing today. They will have the visa interview on Tuesday (Nov. 25th) at around noon (Dallas time Monday night around 10pm). If they are granted visa, they will be here on Dec. 3rd.

Emily is two weeks old now. She is as healthy as she can be. She weighs 8 lb. Her length is 21 in. As the weather gets cold and the flu season just started, we probably won't take her out for a while. We did take lots of pictures of her. But we haven't had time to upload them to the computer yet. Next time I'll post some pictures ...

Happy weekend everyone!!!

39th Week

Monday was the first day David transferred to his new job. He started training right away. After over 10 hours' setting up and hands-on training, his brain was full! But I knew he was fully charged for the day. After he got off work, his Friendspeak reader Jerry's parents called that they made some Chinese dishes for me. David drove by and took home a box load of food. Jerry's parents only had Mondays off and they spent their day off preparing the food for me! We were so touched by their kindness! Hopefully we will do something in the future for them.

Tuesday I went to the office in the morning. Two of my co-workers wanted to have a brief meeting with me before I take the maternity leave. They told me it was going to be a quick one. We walked into a conference room. I was surprised to see a group of guys in the room with a pile of baby stuff and two boxes of cookies on the table. "Come in!!!" They smiled. I realized that history repeated itself - I was tricked again. 14 guys in my group gave me a surprise baby shower (no girls were invited)!! Ron organized all these and did the shopping. All the baby gifts were spreaded on the table. While everyone passed around the gifts, Syed joked, "Ron spent all night to wrap the gifts ..." They began to share their experience as dads. What a group of great guys!! We had many pictures - but not in my camera. Maybe I'll post one or two once I have them.

Wednesday we had the doctor appointment. I began to have the blood show. The doctor told us the baby may come any time, most likely before the due date. The effacement was 90% and the dilation was 1 cm already. David and I became a little bit nervous and excited. Baby girl, get ready to greet the world!

David has been reading the book "The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name" to Emily every night. We all enjoyed this daily ritual.

38th Week

I've been having such an easy time of pregnancy until this past Monday, when I got a bad cold from a co-worker. Running nose, low fever, coughing, low energy ... The doctor didn't seem to concern about it. His prescription was to drink lots of liquid and rest. I had planned to use my afternoons to prepare for the upcoming childbirth. Now I ended up doing nothing except sniffing the nose. David said it was funny to see my belly dancing up and down every time when I laugh. Now with the lung-deep coughing, Emily must have thought she was riding a roller-coaster inside! Hope the cold will pass soon, at least before Emily arrives ...

Tuesday David and I had another car seat check. It was at the hospital this time. Both David's car and my car have a car seat now - his is an infant car seat (Graco) and mine is a convertible car seat (Britax). Using a separate car seat in David's two-door car made it easier to take the baby in and out.

Wednesday was Friend Speak Day. David had two readers scheduled that night. But he didn't feel well - I must have passed the cold to him. He ended up canceling both sessions.

Thursday night David and I had booked the seats at the Bible Institute benefit dinner. I was still having the bad cold. David went although he didn't feel well either. He had to go because two other couples who were on our table went there because we planned to be there. David came home before the program was over. He said he liked the speaker's message very much: very persuasive and authorative! We also had the 38th week checkup. Everything seemed to be fine. Emily is at the right position and she has dropped. No infection of any kind. The cervix effacement (thin out) level is 75% and no dilation (open) yet. We'll see next week ...

Friday was the "Trick or Treat" Day!!! That was David's favorite day growing up. We had trick or treat in the office from 1:00-3:00pm for the kids downstairs. Our cubes were all decorated with pumpkins and baloons. Some co-workers brought wii games for kids, the tossing balls, etc. Others dressed up in costumes. I missed it because of the cold - it's better not to pass the germs to the kids! Here are a few pictures from our office - my group was disappointed that there was no pictures of our decoration ...

David bought lots of candies and chocolates. He said when he was little, when he saw the houses with lights off during Trick or Treat, he would connect that with the people in the house being cold and distant. He wanted to be the light to the kids and give them the biggest and best candies! So he cooked the dinner well ahead of time so that it wouldn't interfere with the Trick or Treat. We put the fall decoration and the candies out and saw a few neighbor's kids in their costumes already. The temperature was perfect outside. We waited and waited. Finally the first door bell rang - he was a ninja warrior! Then more kids came - we had about 20 kids in total for the whole evening. I remembered we had around 50 kids last year at David's old house. David said it might be that our neighborhood is international. Many Asian, East European people don't do Trick or Treat. That may be true. One kid was so excited to see us waiting for the kids at the front porch with the candies. He probably didn't see many houses with the lights tonight. But I know another reason that not many kids come out for Trick or Treat was there are many organized trick or treat activites from churches or city because of the safety reason. One benefit of having the candy leftover is that David got to have a big Reeses in the middle of the night. He normally doesn't get that treat!














Here are the belly pictures of me this week (it becomes difficult to lean over for food at the table):












Here are some wontons I made to be freezed for the first couple of days after Emily is born:












Here are some dishes David made:











Here are the abundant peppers from the back yard. David made his own pepper sauce out of them: