Out with the tiger, in with the rabbit

Once upon a time, a Snake met a Sheep. They fell in love, got married and had a baby Tiger. But the reign of the tiger has come to and end and it's time to welcome the Rabbit so on Sunday, we went to Nai Nai and Ye Ye's house and celebrated Nathan's first Chinese New Year.

We spent the day with Will's cousin Melinda, her husband Michael, and their 2 year old son Anthony - who were visiting from the West Coast. I was so happy for Nathan and Anthony to finally meet and they had fun "drumming" the living room ottomans and building block towers.

 

As dinnertime approached, more friends and family arrived and we ate lots of good food - YeYe even bared the freezing cold temperature to make his famous beef satay barbecue!

 

Nathan got his first set of red envelopes, a gift of lucky money, often given to young children by their older family members on special occasions. It was great to spend the day with family and friends and our baby Tiger certainly had a very successful first New Year. Xin nian kuai le!

Weekly Gratitude

Another week, another chance to stop, take a minute, and be grateful.

• I am grateful that Will took Friday off from work and was able to come to Nathan's 9 month appointment with me.

• I am also grateful that there were NO SHOTS at this appointment!! Nothing can prepare you for your baby's scream when they feel a needle jammed into their chunky little thigh.

• I am grateful that it's Saturday - and I got to climb back into bed during Nathan's morning nap.

• I am grateful that I have pretty toes and pretty fingers, after sneaking out during Nathan's afternoon nap for a little "me" time.

• I am also grateful for discovering Essie's Merino Wool, which might just be my new favorite nail color.

• I am grateful that Nathan gets to celebrate his first Chinese New Year tomorrow at his Nai Nai and Ye Ye's house.

• And I'm grateful he'll finally get to meet his cousin Anthony, who's visiting all the way from Seattle!

Nathan's First Words

Nathan has been saying BaBa for a couple weeks now. Will has been trying to convince people that he was saying Daddy. Technically, Baba does mean Daddy in Mandarin but considering Nathan stands in the doorway of the kitchen, grabbing the safety gate and shaking it as hard as he can, screaming "Baba, Baba, Baba" the whole time I'm mixing his formula, I think it's safe to say that to Nathan, Baba means bottle.

However, Will didn't have to wait too much longer to hear that magic word because on Wednesday, Nathan out of the blue said Dada. And he continued saying it over and over, all day! We tried to capture it on video but being the little diva that he is, anytime the camera came out, he stopped talking and struck a pose.

So this is the best we got.

Snow Day

At this point, I can't even remember how many times it has snowed this winter. The snow doesn't usually affect me that much because a.) I live in NYC which means no shoveling or driving and b.) I work from home which means no commuting to and from work. Normally I just bring Nathan over to daycare, a 2 minute walk from my apartment, then come back home to my warm apartment, where I can get my work down while looking out on the winter wonderland from my window.

However, last night's storm was bad enough that NYC schools were closed, a rare occasion. And Nathan's daycare follows the school system so No School = No Daycare.

The morning started off a little rocky, Nathan was more interested in climbing on anything and everything than actually letting me get any work done. So I decided to promote him to my assistant. He was very productive.

He crunched numbers for me.

He sent some faxes.

He took notes for me.

He then ate his lunch at his desk (such a workaholic) and is currently taking a "break", hopefully a 2 hour one so it's back to work for me!

Bundled Up Buggy

It was 6 degrees out today.... 6 degrees!!

Normally I bundle Buggy up pretty good - jacket, hat, stroller blanket. But today I had to pull out the big guns.

His ridiculous jester hat, because it pulls down over his cheeks and under his chin, protecting him from the frigid wind chill. He seemed annoyed, but compliant.

Then I decided to wrap my scarf around his neck, for one more extra layer of warmth. He was not pleased.

He was very mad at me. We went about 4 blocks without speaking.

Then I made a funny face which got him to crack a smile and I knew all was forgiven.

Weekly Gratitude

I came across this concept on another blog, www.lovelifelace.com, and I thought it was such a great idea. It's so easy to get caught up in our daily routines and too often focus on how busy we are, how tired we are, how stressed we are - that we let time pass us by without ever stopping and taking a minute to appreciate the good stuff we've got going on. So every weekend, between relaxing with my family, trying to catch up on sleep, and maybe getting some laundry done, I'm going to make time to stop and be grateful....

I am grateful for Will, who stays calm and level headed no matter how stressful the situation - a quality I am severely lacking, as demonstrated tonight when Nathan projectile vomited his dinner.

I am grateful for Nathan who can make me laugh, even while I'm cleaning him up after the aforementioned dinner incident.

I am grateful for Dunkin Donuts iced coffee which I crave daily, even when it's 14 degrees outside.

I am grateful for playdates, because they let me talk about all the annoying "Mom" things my friends without kids have no interest in.

I am grateful for online grocery shopping because without it, all 3 of us would go hungry.

I am grateful for takeout - which I am about to go order - good night!

You know you're a mom when...

You reach in your purse for lip gloss and pull out Baby Orajel instead.

You consider waking up at 8am "sleeping in".

You say the word "poopy" at least 5 times a day.

You can walk around all day with pureed carrots in your hair and not even notice.

You count the minutes until bedtime but then miss your baby once he's asleep.

You can do almost anything with one hand.

You pray nobody calls your house or rings your doorbell during nap-time.

You need 30 minutes to get out of the house just to run a 10 minute errand.

You forget what a full night's sleep feels like.

You sniff another human's butt multiple times a day.

Museum Monday

Monday was a holiday so Will and I both had the day off from work. It was too cold to be outside and we didn't want to waste the day at home so we bundled up, jumped on the subway and took Nathan to the Children's Museum. I remember wanting to take him there over the summer but he was too young. He's still on the young side - the museum has 4 levels and only one is really age appropriate for him but he had a great time admiring himself in the mirrors, feeding a giant alligator, and making new friends.

Date Night

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Having a baby requires you to give up a lot of things - money and sleep immediately come to mind.

But I think the thing I miss most is being able to go out on dates with my husband. It is very rare that Will and I get a night out to go to dinner, or a movie, or even just take a long walk around the city. So when the opportunity presents itself, I try to make the most of it.

Last night we went down to a cozy little restaurant in the West Village. Stone walls, wood beam ceilings, and a fireplace in the corner set the mood for a great night. We drank wine, ate over candlelight, and shared dessert - all without being interrupted by a dirty diaper or a crying baby.

I love Nathan more than anything and the things we have to give up for him are far outnumbered by what we get from him in return. However, sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. So as nice as it is to occasionally leave him, it makes it that much more exciting to come home to him.

Finger Lickin Good

You know it was a good meal when you want to lick every last crumb off your hand.

Bye Bye Pacifiers

After admitting that we were enabling Nathan's pacifier addiction, we cut way back and as of a couple months ago, we were using pacifiers at nap time and bedtime only. I am happy to report that Nathan now goes down for naps and bedtime WITHOUT a pacifier!

We do still keep a few around... just in case. For example, we had brunch plans with friends this past Sunday and Nathan refused to take a morning nap. So of course we made sure to have a pacifier with us at the restaurant in case he started to melt down - luckily we didn't need it! And next month, when Nathan is baptized, we will have one with us at the ceremony, we all know how good the acoustics are inside churches!

Pacifiers were a good friend to the Chenivans, they got us through many a tough time. But when they started turning into that clingy friend who wants to hang out all the time, we had to kick them to the curb.


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Quality Control

It is important to occasionally do a thorough examination of one's toys to ensure they are in good working condition. This involves taking every single item out of the toy bin, looking it over, then placing it on the ground and moving on to the next toy.

It is a long and messy process that usually includes Mommy and Daddy on cleanup duty.

Waving hello to Melrose

Nathan and I skyped with Papa John and Auntie Mary this afternoon and we tried to show off our new waving skills. Nathan suffered from stage fright though and held out on them. So I thought I'd post a little proof of his fine waving skills.

The Kissing Bandit

In the past few days, Nathan has begun showing off 3 brand new skills: waving, clapping and kissing. The waving and clapping are great, but the wide eyed, open mouth sloppy kisses are hands down the best.

He has a very aggressive technique that he most recently has been practicing on a doll his Uncle Stephen gave him for Christmas.

He spots his target


Leans in


And makes contact!