Amyblog var sc_project=1172607; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=10; var sc_security="e8e56473"; html hit counter Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Back to main weblog Archive 2010 May April March February January 2009 December November October September August July June May April March February January 2008 December November October September August July June May April March February January 2007 December November October September August July June May April March February January 2006 December November October September August July June May April March February January 2005 December November Amy's Brain is 47% Female, 53% Male Amy's brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy. Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed. But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve. What Gender Is Your Brain? Feel free to email me your comments, suggestions, and/or random thoughts. June 2010 Comments (0) Happy Father's Day!! Here are the pics of my favorite fathers. This is Mr. BAW's very first Father's Day and he's earn it. We're lucky to be able to spend this special Father's Day with Mr. BAW's dad since my in-laws have been staying with us to watch Baby until he got into daycare. This is their last weekend with us and we'll miss them very much! Also congrats to our friend Eric who just became a father two days ago!! ........................................................................................................................................................... It was Petting Zoo Day at the daycare!! What a wonderful way to end Baby's first full week at daycare?! This is only a once-a-year event and Baby was lucky enough to experience it this year. They had tons of animals, some common farm creatures such as goats, sheep, and horses. They also had other exotic animals such as a llama, Polish turkey, and a tortoise! The daycare center had time slots for each of the age groups so that the older kids can spend more time with the animals. The infants got the last time slot. Baby got to take a nice long nap before hitching a ride on the baby bus out to the petting zoo. Mr. BAW, Grandma, and Grandpa all made it out to participate in the activities. We all had a blast. But I think I had the most fun. I had never seen a Polish turkey before so it was a real treat! I think Baby had fun too...but maybe he thinks they all look like Toby. Enjoy our photos. Baby enjoying his buggy ride to the petting zoo. A Polish Turkey...very soft. Love his hair. Baby likes the bunnies the most. Hm...this creature looks like my dog.... Baby got to ride a horse!! But he didn't really get what was going on. The horse was so patient, by the time the infant groups got to ride him, he had already endured a few hours with the toddlers! Hopefully, they'll give him lots of carrots afterwards. We all had a great time and look forward to Snow Day!! :-) ........................................................................................................................................................... Congratulations to our friends Wade and Mika on their recent wedding! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, we were able to attend their beautiful wedding last Saturday. The venue was the Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa. They both looked so happy and the whole event was very well planned. The food was fantastic. But the most impressive part of their wedding was this amazing strawberry bar! They've got a variety of chocolate dipped strawberries. But the most unique part of it all was that there is a guy behind the bar ready to inject various alcohol into the strawberries with a syringe!! They had Kahlua, Amarettom, and several other types of sweet liqueur. Such creativity! My newlywed friends are currently enjoying a two-week honeymoon in Italy. Brings back fond memories of our honeymoon two years ago. :-) ........................................................................................................................................................... Baby got his very first cold this week after starting at daycare for a week and a half. After everyone whose ever had a child in daycare have warned me for months, his cold is not unexpected. So two weeks ago, I purchased a rectal thermometer and a bulb syringe in preparation for Baby starting at daycare. The two items have proven to be essential to help Baby get over his cold. I originally have an underarm thermometer and a bulb syringe with a two part construction that came with a medical kit that I purchased before Baby was born. However, I quickly discovered that underarm temperature readings are not very accurate. Baby fevers can be extremely dangerous so having an accurate reading is very important. I asked my pediatrician what is the best thermometer for Baby and he told me to get a rectal thermometer. The thought of sticking something rectally into Baby is not very pleasant to me. So I found a thermometer that takes temperature readings in under 5 seconds. Plus the tip is so short that you don't really have to insert the thermometer deep at all. It makes take Baby's temp a snap, even when he's wiggling! The bulb syringe was an item I thought would be simple to use and all designs are the same. Well, not true! Turns out that there's a lot to think about when it comes to bulb design. The one I had came apart in the middle of the bulb, for waste removal and cleaning. But when I try to use it, the front part of the bulb keeps popping off! Terrible design. So I got this one, it's a single-body design with an open back for easy cleaning. Plus, the tip is rounded off and extremely soft on the nose. This bulb proves to be essential in helping Baby get over his cold!! Eventhough Baby hates it when we wipe his nose with a tissue, he actually will tolerate the bulb. If Baby is asleep in my arms, I can actually use the bulb on him without even waking him up! Good designs are so important! ........................................................................................................................................................... Over Memorial Day weekend, I took Baby and Grandma to the South Coast Botanical Gardens for a little stroll. We had a wonderfully peaceful time there. There weren't that many people there and the weather was very mild, not too hot. Baby got to do tons of exploring and touching of fuzzy plants at the Sensory Garden. I did discover a clever new idea. I noticed that there were these cell phone signs through out the Garden and initially thought that they were signs prohibiting the use of cell phones in the Gardens. But upon closer look, I realized that these were self guided audio tours for the various parts of the Garden! Rather than having to rent/borrow headphones and recorders, all you have to do is dial the number shown on the sign at the various locations to listen to the recorded audio guides!! How clever is that?? I bet museums everywhere are also doing this! So next time you're in a museum or garden and you think someone's being rude on their cell phone, they may just be listening to a self guided audio tour! :-) Enjoy pictures from our little outing. Baby sitting on the porch at "Grandma's house!" This house is the perfect size for Baby! On their way to explore a secret tunnel. Baby wanted to pet the cow in the Children's Garden. Little boys love worm and bugs! Baby picked his first leaf. :-) Enjoying a cool breeze in the shade with Grandma. Baby touching the mint plants at the Sensory Garden. ........................................................................................................................................................... Mr. BAW and I went on our first baby-less date since Baby was born!! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa offering to babysit, we were able to steal away for a fancy dinner at the Villa Blanca i n Beverly Hills. Mr. BAW has been participating in Groupon deals and got us half off at the restaurant for a meal $80 and over. It brought back memories of my carefree single days when I used to dine out at fancy restaurants all the time. The meal was fantastic overall. The appetizers are a bit eclectic, the chef creates his own versions of classics like carpacio and caprese with a twist like adding hearts of palm and edible flowers. After dinner, we took a walk around Rodeo Dr. Then we drove to Milk, one of our favorite dessert/cafe places in LA for some coffee and a huge brownie sundae to share. We came home a happy, sleeping Baby...a wonderful end to a sweet evening. :-) ........................................................................................................................................................... The loss of a legend. But at 99 he's gone farther than most and have done more than most. Here's part of a message all UCLA Alumni received from the university's Chancellor about John Wooden: "With the passing of John Wooden, we have lost a true giant and a gentleman, an individual who was perhaps more closely identified with UCLA than any other person in our university’s history. Coach Wooden was an unparalleled motivator and an inspiration to people throughout the world. Those of us who were fortunate enough to meet him will forever be touched by his unfailing wisdom and generous spirit." John Wooden will be missed. ........................................................................................................................................................... June started out with an amazing Memorial Day 4-day weekend which I spent with my MIL and Baby. Mr. BAW took his father skiing at Mammoth, the last good skiing of the 2010 season. I will forever treasure my special long weekend with Baby. I will post pics of our time at a botanical garden in the next blog. June is also a huge month because Baby is starting daycare. This is such a big deal for me! Thankfully, my In-Laws are flexible enough to stay with us for a few more weeks to ease Baby into daycare. They have been taking Baby into daycare each day and spending time with him as he adapts to the new environment and new caretakers. Thankfully, the daycare is onsite at my work. So I can walk over to visit him too. There are pros and cons to this convenience as I am discovering. The pros are obvious, I get to see Baby whenever I want to and the pop-in keeps the daycare on their best behaviors. But the con is that I end up seeing too much and as a mother, I can't handle Baby being in the real world! The real world is that there are other babies there and no one will run to Baby the second he cries. He's safe, granted, I trust that nothing bad will happen to him. When I snuck in to see him today, I found him lying on the boppy pillow playing with a toy. But within a minute, he started to cry. I waited for...oh maybe 15 seconds (but felt like an hour to me) and no one rushed over to pick him up. So I ran over to pick him up. I'm sure someone would've tended to him eventually, but eventually was too long for me. My heart just breaks to see him cry. I know that in the long run, daycare is the best thing for Baby. All of my co-workers who have their babies there have nothing but great things to say about them. All of their kids love the place too. The babies I saw were all very advanced in their development, there were two 10-month-olds in Baby's class who are already walking around on their own! My friends from grad school have both of their twin girls (now 10 months old) there for months now and they love the place. Even Baby is starting to adapt to his new environment. The next morning, he greeted me with a big smile and I know that he will be fine. I really need to toughen myself up for Baby's new life in the real world!