Horse outlook for 2009

...ughhh:/ Btw, thx c-note's blog for the link. This only confirms everything. I can already tell which of the 8 months out of 12 months will be projected "unfavorable": let's start off with July (busy month of giving birth to baby without chuperman being there and then MOVING with 2 babies by MYSELF across the country). July until the end of the year will be quite hectic with a newborn and an almost toddler plus adjusting to a completely new city without the support of my family and nanny. However, let's look at the big pic: tiramesu will finally grow-up without help from the parentals and we'll have a family of 4 :) I've always wanted a big family so we're def on track with this jumpstart of an unexpected 2ndpregnancy haha.

Let's take things in stride: altho I don't feel like myself like i did when I was in my 2nd trimester last time, I'm going to force myself to get some exercise by signing up for prenatal yoga again. Stop feeling bad for myself and do something positive Tiramesu! ;) This will really force me get me out of the house. The 1st time i was preggers I was so vigilante about my diet and exercise. Everything is out the door this time as I have worse nausea and longer bouts of fatigue. My appetite has been really spotty since BEFORE thxgiving and I've barely gone on any walks. So pre-natal yoga should restore some balance in my life.

To come to think of it, the last time i did yoga was at a 24hr fitness class the day right before i took a home pregnancy test. While laying flat on my belly on the mat I remember thinking - why does this feel weird?? And why aren't other ppl struggling? haha. The next morning I got my answer!

In 2010, granted that I don't get myself pregnant again, should hopefully be a smoother year.

Horse Outlook for 2009

Horse Overview

The Horse may have a challenging year ahead. You may become frustrated with the lack of progress in your career, but you will have to be patient to see the results of your hard work. Beware of your energy levels, as you tend to swing in accordance to your success. You will have to work hard to steer yourself out of ruts with healthy activities and other projects that keep you active. Take comfort in your loved ones and friends who will provide support for you in times of need. Be open to try new things and heed the advice of others in the year of the Ox.

Horse Rating

32% (4 neutral and 8 unfavorable months)

Horse Career

The Horse may not see the success that you have become accustomed in the year of the Ox. You may have to revise your usual tactics and maintain steady discipline to see small gains. Don't allow the lack of results to steer you away from your efforts, as they may not be apparent until next year. It would be wise to gain the confidence of your co-workers, as they may provide a useful means to furthering your pursuits.

Horse Relationships

It would be wise to take caution in your relations. In order for the Horse to have success with personal relations in the year of the Ox, pay attention to the needs of those around you and listen. Hesitate before expressing what is on your mind to spare the feelings of others. At times, you may be so preoccupied with your own activities that you forget the needs of those around you. Step outside of your own world to take care of the ones you love. The single Horse may have trouble this year finding a meaningful, long lasting relationship.

Horse Health

Hard work doesn't come without a price. Your health may suffer due to stress. You may experience periods of low energy, which may leave your immune system vulnerable. You may find that you need more sleep to maintain a functioning level of vitality. It wouldn't hurt to implement a routine of daily exercise, possibly jogging, to allow your endorphin level to keep you running with a high level of energy.

Horse Wealth

One positive area this year may be with your finances, as long as you spend wisely. Don't succumb to lavish spending or any extravagant whims. Plan your spending throughout this year and you will be able to amass a sum that is suitable for making some improvements in your life in the future. With care, you will do well in your financial matters.

jacob's allergy list

Jacob recently took a food panel allergy test and this is what he's allergic to:

-milk (all dairy - so no cheese, no yogurt, etc)
-peanuts
-egg whites (no bread or noodles made with egg)
-soy (Tofu, soymilk, etc)
-sesame (seeds and sesame oil!)

Recently we've been giving him rice milk fortified with calcium, vit A,D, etc and I've doubled up on egg yolks for the lil guy. No more tofu is a huge one since he's had it everyday for the past 5 months - so we've increased the meat (turkey, beef, chicken, fish). Hopefully this is all just a phase. He'll have take another food panel allergy test when he's 2 yrs old. Until then, I have to be the gatekeeper and really watch what he eats.

Pregnancy Dreams - "Single Mom trying to finish her senior yr"

The last few wks I've had very vivid dreams of being back in undergrad at Umich as a senior. The dreams always go something like this -- barely passing, might not graduate, feeling super stressed out haha. These past dreams were pre-Chuperman era, so no babies. And then last night my dream jumped to the future and incorporated my 2 babies! haha I know, the 2nd one ain't born yet, but in my dream the 2nd baby was like 6 mos old and jacob was 2 yrs old AND i still had like 10 classes to take to graduate college! I recall that I had to take a bus with 2 babies in tow to try to get a family friend to watch my babies while i attended class and studied. The most stressful part of the dream was that I had to buy bus tickets while juggling 2 babies, but the stupid machine wasn't being cooperative and of course there was a huge line behind me. Then of course I took the wrong bus going the wrong way. I also had to live in a dorm with 2 babies, but at least i had my own room and own bathroom - thank God! Now that I think of it, the weird thing was that Chuperman wasn't around. I was like a single mom trying to finish college with 2 babies. Maybe because in real life, i haven't seen Chuperman for 12 days - since he's been on the east coast. Thank God he's coming back tomorrow!

I woke up this morning and shot up from bed. I really thought I still needed 10 more classes to graduate. The dream was so realistic that I had to reassure myself that yes, I did indeed graduate from college and miraculously graduated from a grad school. Crazy stuff.


Enjoy the RAIN!! Love it! TGIF!

#2 chuperbebe!

Some big news - Jacob is gonna be a big bro in about 5 months!! Yup, I'm about 15 weeks pregnant with #2 baby in tow. No, Chuperman and I weren't trying to get pregnant - it just, well, happened haha - OOPS.

It's definitely harder being pregnant for the 2nd time around, at least for me it is. I had pretty mild morning sickness with Jacob, however this time around I feel worse in that most foods turn me off and i also have worse nausea, hence having a spicy temper (sorry chuperman=P ). I'm pretty much limited to soups, cereal, oatmeal, milk, soy milk, some bread, veggies, fruit, NO meat unless it's well-seasoned - I esp crave SPICY food, like spicy korean food, which explains spicy tiramesu hehe. Given my temperament so far, most likely #2 baby will not have big bro jacob's laid back attitude. Having 2 laid back babies in a row just seems like it'd be too good to be true.

Anyway, we're really excited that Jacob will have a younger sibling soon. Jacob and the younger sibling will be approx 18 mos apart. #2's due date is approx early July!

Jacob FERBERized at 11 mos old!

Jacob turned 11 months old (well, last wk)!!

Fresno - I've been super duper MIA (i was sick for awhile but am feeling a little better) so haven't been on-line much at all. Chuperman has been in Fresno for the last 3.5 weeks and was only home for 2 days during Thxgiving. Over the weekend I drove up to see him for 3 days, without Chuperbaby hehe. Even tho Chuperman wanted to see Jacob, I just didn't think i could handle him on my own in a 4 hr long car-ride by myself. I'm sure if I brought him, it would have easily turned into a 6 hr car-ride with ear muffs and ear plugs taped to my ears to drown out any crying:P

I wouldn't consider Fresno to be a sexy destination by any means, but contrary to my prejudice against "small towns", Fresno really isn't a small town, just totally in BFE. Surprisingly Fresno has great food! We had the tastiest Italian sandwiches at Sam's Italian Deli. I had the Italian sub and Chuperman got the NY pastrami - SCRUMPTIOUS. Fresno also has Cheesecake Factory and FLEMING'S!

Chuperman also gave me a tour of the hospital he was rounding at: UCSF-Fresno. I was totally impressed with the sprawling layout of the state-of-the-art facilities, plush doctor lounges, and swanky library. Being at such a great hospital made me think twice about Fountain Valley Regional Hospital haha. Ok, so FV is no Hoag but I just loved my OB - Dr. Wan. He has great bed-side manner, he's frickin' hilarious, his wife who is the office mgr is also hilarious - what can I say, Dr. Wan is a great doctor! He even delivers babies for wives of fellow doctors.

Okay, tangent! haha.

So as the title suggests, I Ferberized Jacob. I know what you're thinking - what the heck is ferber? Well, Jacob was a solid sleeper until we moved him into his own room around 6 mos. Since then for 5 straight months, he'd have a hard time getting to sleep on his own and would wake-up in the middle of the night. Sometimes not at all if we got lucky (like that one time he slept for 14 hrs straight haha), but most of the time during this 5 month period he'd wake-up in the middle of the night crying and wanting to be held or fed. Disrupting our sleep at least once or twice a night and wouldn't go back to bed immediately. Sometimes he'd just be up for like 2 hours in the middle of the night! During Thxgiving break, I finally got sick of waking up in the middle of the night that I resorted to the Ferber Sleep Method.

Dr. Ferber is a pediatrician who invented this wonderful technique to help babies fall asleep on their own. *Warning: this method may sound heartless and barbaric but it really works.

This is how I ferberized my lil one:

Night 1:
Feed him WITHOUT having him fall asleep on the bottle (this way baby will learn to fall asleep without the aid of a bottle or boob)
After feeding, I read a story to him with him scurrying around in the crib.
Then I kiss him good-night and turn off the lights.
Then I leave the room and close the door.
Naturally he starts crying.
I wait 3 minutes into crying to pat his back briefly (you CANNOT pick baby up otherwise it'll mess everything up) and verbally assure him "it's okay, mommy loves you. i'm just trying to help you sleep better and on your own. this isn't easy for me either"
Then wait another 5 minutes to pat him down and to verbally assure him.
Then another 10 minutes after... then 10 more minutes.. etc until baby falls asleep on his own.
He cried for a total of 35 minutes straight that first night. It was really really hard for me to just leave him crying. He'd get so pissed when I'd go in at the various intervals and not pick him up.

Night 2:
Same bed time routine of feeding and reading bed-time story. Turn off the lights.
This time, instead of waiting 3 mins, I waited 5 mins into crying, then 10 mins, then 10 mins, etc.. He only cried for 15 minutes before he gave up and fell asleep!

Night 3:
Same bed time routine of feeding and reading story. Lights go out. But this time it was different. The nanny had just gotten back and she was too quick to pick him up before I could get a chance to tell her that I was sleep-training Jacob. Her picking and holding jacob threw things off and he proceeded to cry for 70 minutes. I had to go in at 10 minute intervals for over an hour, all while listening to him scream and cry. This was the most gut-wrenching night of all hearing my baby cry like that. It was my fault for being too slow to tell the nanny.... but it's all good, cuz jacob totally learned to sleep on his own from that night on!

Night 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,... etc! JAcob has been sleeping like a baby again - YES!!!!!!! Mission accomplished. Now putting him to bed is rather pleasant and not like the torture it's been for me. I feed him and then read him a story, then the lights go out, he only cries for like 3 seconds before he gives up haha.. Then he'll like "talk" or coo himself to sleep and will be out for 12 hours straight! Sometimes he'll cry for like 10 secs but won't wake up in the middle of the night. Amazing huh!

And today, he got almost 13 hrs of straight sleep! And he's been a more solid napper. He'll sleep for about 2-2.5 hrs. Before he got ferberized, his naps were all over the place and shorter.

I am so happy that Jacob finally has a routine now! For now, we can pretty much count on him sleeping from 8pm to 8am of uninterrupted and solid sleep, then a nap from noon-2pm. This makes it a lil easier for me to schedule things!

JAcob at 11mos old. He still looks like an infant hehe.. I don't mind, I don't want him to grow up too fast!

10 mos old!

Jacob is 10 months old (and 1 week)!

I haven't had a chance to go in depth on chuperbaby's growth and development, so here goes:

Physical growth:
- estimated 23 lb butterball
- average height (50th percentile) and above average in weight (75th percentile): he's losing his rolls since he's so active!! =( how sad!
- big head (75th percentile) haha
- finally teething! his 2 bottom teeth are starting to come in and boy does he not enjoy this, especially in the late afternoon/ evening. i might wean the lil guy pretty soon!
- waiting for his hair to come in - thank God he's not a girl! we don't know why jacob still has only "fuzzy fur" on top of his head and not hair. both chuperman and i had way more hair when we were infants. hmph... could be environmental reasons?

Diet:
- mommy's milk. I can't believe i've made it this far - will cut him off soon. =P
- grains: oats, barley, brown rice, plain rice, spaghetti
- proteins: tofu, chicken, beef, fillet mignon, turkey, egg yolk, cheese
- veggies: spinach, carrots, sweet potato, beets, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, green beans, zucchini, other garden veggies
- fruits: banana, apple, pear, mango, kiwi, figs, blueberries, prunes, apricots, honeydew, cantaloupe
- dessert: chuperdaddy of all ppl offered jacob a tiny spoonful of Red Mango original flavored fro-yo... naturally chuperbaby loved it haha

Motor skills:
- Loves crawling everywhere since he was 8 mos old, especially loves crawling on a grassy patch, climbing up a whole flight of stairs, crawling on the cool tile floors and mosaic tiles
- Pulls self up to stand
- Cruises or "walks" while holding onto furniture
- "walks" and "runs" in the walker (this is a good place to put him when mom and dad are trying to eat dinner)
- Play ball. Jacob can palm a toy baseball and kind of throw it and then chase after it, and then try to "catch" it again. We're hoping that he gets mommy and daddy's athletic gene, specifically mommy's swimming skills and daddy's tennis/ping-pong skills haha.
- Pick-up giant flashcards "ABC's" & "123's", then wave it around and look at it before throwing it to the side.
- Occassionally winks at ya;)
- Likes headbutting pillows or anything pillow-like

Musical skills:
- Loves to bang on the piano.
- Love to pluck the strings of chuperdaddy's guitar.
- Loves pounding the tambourine.
- Jumps in the jumperoo to the beat of the music
- Sings/coo's every AM when he wakes up

Hand & Finger skills:
- Uses pincer grasp to feed self (cheerio's & teething biscuits)
- Lets objects go voluntarily (sippie cup, toys, etc)
- Pokes with index finger - Jacob likes poking at mommy and daddy's faces
- Puts objects into container
- Takes objects out of container
- Making good progress with the sippie cup!

Language Milestones:
- Pays increasing attention to speech. Jacob always talks back to me when I'm on the phone with someone else haha
- Crawls to me and pulls on my leg/ tugs on my shirt when he's hungry and says "Mama"
- Says dada, daddy ALL THE TIME haha. Also says baba, mama, nana, and gibberish. Grunts a lot and as one of his auntie said, "sounds like a duck" at times.
- Responds to his name and "no".
- Responds to big smiles and laughter with his own lil smile and giggling

Cognitive Milestones:
-Explores objects in many different ways - shaking, banging, throwing, dropping, lifting
- Finds hidden objects easily
- Beginning to use objects correctly - drinking from cup, trying to grab spoon to feed self, listening to receiver, dialing phone, brushing hair)
- Loves Peekaboo since he was a newborn.

Social/Emotional Milestones:
- Overall pretty laid back with strangers unless you're trying to hold him when he's super tired - good luck haha!
- Yelps when mother leaves
- Shows specific preference for certain ppl and toys
- May be fearful in some situations (like when the vacuum is on)
- Pulls down shirt over head when being dressed, sometimes extends legs to help when being dressed

Halloween in Woodbury! I got Jacob a Goofy costume for 50% off earlier that day haha




Overall, I must say, UNBIASED of course haha, that Jacob is in general a pretty "easy" baby SO FAR. We really appreciate how independent he is. In fact, our nanny gets bored pretty fast since Jacob is so low maitenance - she's always looking for stuff to do. Jacob has no problem playing by himself, sleeps in his own room by himself, does not need to be held that much in comparison to other babies, does not have too bad of stranger anxiety, is a good eater, and most of the time a good sleeper. What can I say, he's definitely inherited the laid-back gene from mommy and daddy haha. (I just know that IF we have #2 MUCH later, that #2 won't be as easy!)

We know A LOT of other baby boys and toddlers. In comparison to these other baby boys, Jacob has definitely proven himself to be pretty mild-tempered for an infant. But as we're rapidly approaching the big milestone of walking and toddlerhood, I fear his temperament will change. Rambunctious, stubborn, strong-willed are adjectives that i do not look fwd to using, especially since he's a boy!

Santa Monica! We just got back from a mini-family vacation in Santa Monica - mixing business with pleasure. More later - I'm super exhausted from the "vacay" even tho it's WAY more work than staying at home!

Jacob Pictures! 9 mos going on 10 mos!!

Baby Jacob is such a good sport. He really has mommy and daddy's laid back temperament. Jacob let Mommy put 4 Halloween costumes on him. Sure, there's the usual struggle of actually putting on the clothes, especially the limbs, but once the costume is on him, he's good to go! So far we had him in a baby chick costume, donald duck, mickey mouse, and baby male peacock costume hahaa.... I'm going to put him in as many costumes as I can. Chuperman thinks it's excessive, but this is the only time in his life when I can dress Jacob up like stuffed animals:P For Thanksgiving, my goal is to get him a turkey costume:P

Another new nanny!

Seriously, I can't believe it's October! This year is flying by and I'm averaging like 1 post every 4-6 wks.... my baaad!!

Good-bye nanny #1 - Okie, so as the title implies, we already had a turnover in nannies. Unfortunately, the first nanny didn't work out. When you live with someone, you see everything and quite frankly, though she was very quick-learner and sharp, there were some fundamental personality issues. For instance, nanny #1 would give my mom and I plenty of attitude.

Plays out like this: On a Friday night (like 3 or 4 wks ago), we told nanny #1 that she didn't have to cook the next day. She pretty much cooked dinner for us every night, as we explained to her upfront. But then after the 1st week of being here she started complaining about how she has to cook dinner everyday AND she had the audacity to tell us that we should all go out to a restaurant for dinner (including taking her out!). We were like - hellloo, i don't think so! we frickin' told you from the beginning that we want home-cooked meals everyday.. it shouldn't be a surprise. Anyway, then she fabricated a story of how C-note's nanny didn't have to cook everyday and that this nanny only had to cook 3x's a week. Nanny #1 even asked me to confirm with C-note. And I did! Not like I ever believed nanny #1 but I did confirm with C-note that her nanny cooks like everyday, NOT 3x's a week. Nanny #1 has a tendency to tell prevarications so after about 2 1/2 wks, we let her go on a Saturday morning. The sad thing is that she seemed pretty seasoned at getting fired. She made us stand there to watch her pack her belongings and to make sure she didn't steal anything. We were like, there's nothing to steal in that room (her room, which was full of my bro and I's junk from high school, if there was something worth stealing, do you think we'd be stupid enough to store in her room?), yet she insisted that we man her and escort her out.

And now I hear rumblings that our nanny #1 has been telling her friends that we offered her job back AND that we were going to give her a raise. Can we say DELUSIONAL.

Hello Nanny #2 - We did, however, hire nanny #2 just 12 days after we fired nanny #1. So far in the 8 days that she's been here, nanny #2 has been working out quite nicely. She seems hard-working, honest, and she always rushes down in the middle of the night to calm Jacob. Nanny #1 gave up on midnight wakings after the first few nights. She claimed that since JAcob is still being nursed that I was the only one capable of soothing him. PShhhh. Anyway, since I don't have to wake-up in the middle of night any more, for the first time this year (and mind you, we're almost at the end of it), I feel somewhat rested! =D These last few days I've actually felt more like myself - carefree and happy =D Thank you C-note for supplying me with nanny leads and nanny agency #'s! It's all good re: nanny #1 - a total learning experience - taught us how to be a good "lao ban" and about keeping some distance. I hope nanny #2 stays!

Tokyo Table @DJ - For lunch, I took some clients to Tokyo Table in Diamond Jamboree. It's so close to my office that we all just walked there! It was my first time in DJ. Only 1/2 the stores are open and yet the traffic is already horrendous. Why do all asian shopping ctrs have the worst parking lots designs?! There's only ONE entrance - a total bottleneck of sorts. Reminds me of how The District at Tustin Legacy bottlenecks at Millikan and Barranca - stupid stupid design. Anyway, let me say that Tokyo Table was definitely NOT my choice. I knew it was going to be faux-japanese food, and it was. Everything was fusion fusion... a very "white" establishment, good for the clients. But surprisingly, the restaurant was filled with asians, probably like 90% chinese haha... I'm guessing cuz Tokyo Table has a pretty good bento lunch special. The interior of Tokyo Table is surprisingly hip - like VERY HIP and modern. I wouldn't go back for the food, maybe more like to hang out at their bar hahaaa... I'd much rather go to Ikko or Kitayama for real Japanese food. I know, I'm such a food snob.

I can't wait to try out Guppy House, BCD Tofu house, BBQ chicken, etc etc... after work today, I'm gonna drop by H-mart really quickly ;) woo hoo!

Some exercise for once? - I feel so good and pretty rested that I think I'm actually gonna go work-out this wkend! Maybe a lil tennis, maybe a lil swimming, definitely some hiking - bring it on!

Donald Duck says TGIF!!!

Donald Duck likes nibbling on Mickey's ears.