When A Child Is Born

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Week 13

Jerry and his mom came to see Emily on Monday. They brought us so much Chinese food that I ate them for four days in a row.

Emily is 3 months old this Sunday. She certainly came a long way in these 13 weeks. During the past week, she can hold her head up pretty well. We were amazed at how long she could stand for the tummy time. Below is a picture of it. Emily also ate more every day. We changed the nipple to the level 3 flow. We are thinking to increase her bottle to 5 or 6 oz now since she finishes every drop of the milk in the 4 oz bottle. Emily also likes to blow milk bubbles. We'll have to carry a cloth with us all the time to catch the bubbles. She is so into her hands that 8 out of 10 pictures we took were the ones of her gazing at her hands ...

Starting from Feb. 1st, we have a new preacher at church. We really like his preaching. The verse Godan challenged us to remember was Phil 3:16 "Only let us live up to what we have already attained." We are given the gift of righteousness and the fruit of the Spirit. We as Christians ("Christ-like") have a high call to grow into the clothes that Jesus put on us. He made an illustration that he gave his son an adult razon as gift. But his son has to grow to be able to use it. I liked his interpretation of the "hands up" worship - you put your hands up when someone point the gun toward you - that's a total surrender!

Godan also answered the question someone asked:" Why did Jesus have to die? Is there another way that we can reconcile with God?" The answer was: Yes - if we are perfect (sinless).

Why do we need to put on the Lord; why do we need to be clothed in Christ? Because it is the only way we can be made right with God. All of our good will and actions falls short. We need Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can clothe us with the robe of salvation (Isaiah 61:10) in a new covenant. He himself is the robe of righteousness, the garment of salvation, that we need to put on each and every day. This robe of salvation that we clothe ourselves in is both a free gift from God and a call to action that we face each day. He knows we cannot make right choices by the virtue of our strength alone. That’s why his only Son shed his blood as a ransom from sin and the pledge of a new covenant. Jesus has given us everything we need to live a holy life. He now asks us to embrace this free gift and put on his robe of salvation each and every day.

Here are three more verses that I found related to the message above:

"I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul. For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice" (Isaiah 61:10).

"Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh" (Romans 13:13-14).

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27).

Friday, February 6, 2009

Week 12

We've had a busy weekend. Mike, Grace and Grace's mother came over for lunch Saturday. It was the first time for Grace's mom to visit an "American home". We had a great time. Saturday night Wes, Amy, and Rachel came for dinner. Amy was so kind and generous to loan her maternity clothes to me. I just had time to wash them and return them to her. It was sad to leave those clothes. Thank you Amy for being a wonderful friend!

Look at what Emily is up to: she began to reach out, touch, hold, talk and play with the doll ...

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

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

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

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.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

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 ...

Monday, January 5, 2009

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: