Just For Laughs

This is a scene from last week's playdate:

Ethan meets a 7-month old little girl named Addie. She's on her tummy playing and he's on his tummy playing. Suddenly she looks across the room at him and flutters her pretty blue eyes. Ethan notices her and scoots over until they are face to face and...PPPTTHHHTHTTH (that would be Ethan blowing with his tongue sticking out). Saliva flies all over Addie's face as her eyes got super big because she is in shock at what just happened. I apologize profusely at Addie's mom. Okay, so I guess we need to work on our social skills especially with girls!

Take Time

...to go on a date and reconnect with each other.

The first few months after we had Ethan, we were really good at planning a date at least once a month. Lately, however, Brian has been super busy at work and we both are usually pretty exhausted when 7 pm rolls around and we finally put Ethan to bed. So it has just been easier to sit around and relax at home instead of going out to do something. But as this weekend rolled around, the thought of "when was the last time we went on a date (without Ethan)" came upon me and I realized it has been a while. Suddenly I desperately needed some alone time with my hubby. Thanks to our friends, Andy and Stacia who was kind enough to babysit last minute, we were able to go out on a dinner date. And let me tell you how GREAT it felt!!! Apparently, I couldn't remember the last time we both could sit and enjoy our entire meals together! The fact that I also didn't have to constantly check my watch was also a plus =0) After dinner, we ended up strolling down by the river and watching the sun set. We had such a nice time and just felt so much more refreshed and recharged (before having to tackle another day with a 7-1/2 month old). Thanks again Strouds!

Future Swimming Star

With a few swimming practices (in the mini pool) under his belt, we decided to take Ethan to the real pool today. I started him out slowly in the zero dept zone where he splashed away like he usually does at home. It didn't seem to take him very long to get use to the water so I brought him in further where he could really get his arms and legs moving. It was pretty funny to watch him swim with such concentration since he hardly smile, but I could tell that he was enjoying every moment of it! Both Brian and I agreed that this kid was born to swim =0)



What a natural!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Ethan enjoying his 1st KJWW company picnic & baseball game outing

Blogging "Twittering" Style

So, after Ethan's 3rd change of outfits for the day and a bath (Grr, don't ask why), I am exhausted! It has been a very frustrating day!!!

Just For Laughs

So Kaika's main activity everyday is either sleeping on his new pillow in the living room or lazily lounging around outside in the sun...and that's pretty much it. Well this afternoon after lunch, I looked around and realized that he's not at either places and I couldn't figured out where he has gone. So I searched the house to find him sleeping in the dark in Ethan's room. I guess now that Ethan's napping downstairs, I think he decided to reclaim his old room (while he can). He even stayed in there after I found him and didn't follow me out. What a funny guy! Maybe the doggie needs a change of scenery, too!

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

This week with the temperatures being in the 90s, I decided to put Ethan down for a nap in our basement where it's cooler. I figured I can tough it out, but the lil' guy seemed to just be hot all the time. Plus, that way I don't have to crank on the air and save money ;0) Anyway, he seemed to like it downstairs in his pack and play, not to mention the fact that he has a change of scenery. Although I must say that yesterday he was quite distracted by all the miscellaneous "junk" we have in the guest bedroom that it took him a while to fall asleep. Well hopefully this heat wave won't continue for too long or else Kaika and I just might have to join him down there!

Discovery of the Week

My friend Jenn asked me last week "When do you start give baby water?" And I thought "Hmm, that's a good question 'cause I don't really know." I've read that breast milk/formula is their main source of nutrient so I've never felt the need to give Ethan any water to drink. However, every once in a while I would give him some diluted apple juice to help with the big "c" problem.

Anyway, Ethan and I spent the afternoon at a "Babies in Bathing Suits" pool party with the mom's group and of course the day turned out to be a scorcher. So when we got home, I poured myself a cold glass of water and thought that maybe he might be dehydrated and would want some. (This is actually the first time Ethan has ever tasted water, other than the time when he tried to drink out of his mini pool) I guess I got ahead of myself and wanted him to try drinking out of a glass. So I held it for him as he takes a sip and swallow. But then he decided to grasp it with both hands and pull...and of course water was EVERYWHERE! His hair, face and clothes got wet and so was I. Good thing it's just water! Okay, I think we're gonna go back to the sippy cup. Other than that, he seemed to like this new refreshing drink called H2O!

Papa Bear

A tribute to my hubby:

Happy 1st Father's Day Brian, my awesome husband and Ethan's wonderful daddy! You are such a "natural" with Ethan from day one...holding & comforting him and changing his diapers. While I, on the other hand, was too afraid to do anything in fear that I would break him. How funny to look back now =0) Anyway, thank you for working so hard to provide for our family and helping out with Ethan (even when you're tired). You have such an AMAZING servant heart! It has been fun sharing this journey of parenthood together. Without you to help balance life (with an infant), I would probably never leave the house!

On Being a Mamma

"Motherhood is one of those things that's totally impossible to picture until it happens to you. You think it will be a certain way and then, boom, your baby arrives and your whole world turns upside down..." - Victoria/2 children, Oakland, CA (from the book I Was a Really Good Mom Before I had Kids)

So I've started reading this book which is a compilation of interviews, stories and quotes from other moms about the reality of motherhood. It talked about the sides you rarely hear about - the hardship and the struggles that come with the job, which I could totally relate to! Anyway, I really like the honesty and humor in it. Being a mom has a lot of pressure (from others and self) and whether you have a good day or a bad day, this is something you can't quit! I'm learning more and more each day how to set realistic goals so that I don't overexhaust myself. And hey, if I get those things done that's great, but if I don't then there's always tomorrow. No biggie. God is also teaching me how to extend His grace for myself and know that I don't have to do it all and do it all perfectly. It's rather liberating to get to this point!

Growing Boy

I took Ethan in for a check up today and got some new growth measurements.
Weight: 21 lb. (95th percentile)
Height: 29 in. (97th percentile)
Yup, he's still a tall, big boy with a small head =0)

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

The last time I used the changing table was right around the time when Ethan started to roll over. He was this crazy man who was constantly kicking at everything that was on the table. So I thought that it would be safer and easier all around to just change him on the floor. Safer? Yes. Easier? No! Somehow everyday, we would get into this diaper-changing war where I try to change him as quickly as I can as he tries to roll over and escape (with or without his diaper). It's rather frustrating!!!

Anyway this past Sunday, the church nursery lady and I somehow ended up having this conversation about how she doesn't have any trouble changing Ethan on the table. And I was like "What, how can that be?" So I decided to give it a shot myself when I got home that day. Well, guess what? He actually just laid there CALMLY and let me changed him. I couldn't believe it! Could it be the confined space? I don't know, but it's kinda nice to be able to use it again since that's what we bought it for.

Discover of the Week

So, I've had numerous people telling me that Ethan must be teething because of his excessive drooling and the need to suck on everything. Well, it has been almost three months of that and we haven't seen anything yet until a few days ago. He did this really weird cry (one that I haven't heard before) like he was in pain. It got me wondering and so I decided to check this mouth and sure enough...his two bottom teeth are poking through. Ever since then he has been periodically fussy and can hardly eat any solid food because of the gum irritation. So I think we're going to put that on hold for a while. I must say though I'm thankful it hasn't really affected his sleep...yet, but I guess we'll see. Poor lil' guy! Wish I could make this whole process a little less painful for him.

Water Fun

Ever since I got Ethan a kiddie pool, I've been waiting for an 80 degree day to use it. Well the temperature didn't get up that high today, but I was too excited I couldn't wait any longer. So out came the pool (which was a lot smaller than I thought) and in goes the warm water. As I was filling it, Kaika decided to help himself to the big "water bowl." It was pretty funny! Anyway once I sat Ethan in it, it took him a while to take it all in. But then suddenly he realized that this is kinda like his bath tub but bigger and decided to splash away. The best part was when he kept rotating in a circle while on his tummy...apparently just loving it! Well, this lil' guy must have wore himself out because he took like a 2-1/2 hour nap afterwards. I have a feeling he's gonna grow up to be one of those kids who doesn't want to get out of the pool when it's time to go home =0)

Project Natal

I saw this on Jimmy Fallon's show and thought how crazy is this?! It's "Project Natal" for the new Xbox gaming system that offers controller-free where it's just your body and the game. Brian wouldn't believe me and thought it was fake at first. But oh no, it's all for real! Check it out...

Growing Boy

Ethan turns 7 months today!

Someone's Gotta Do It

Don't you just love how you only needed one thing at the store, then you come home with everything else but that item? Well, I did that this morning. I started a list with "tomatoes" written at the top and figured while I'm at the store, I might as well pick up other things. I brought the list with me, looked at it a few times and somehow walked out of the store without any tomatoes. Luckily I was running another errand nearby when I came to that realization. So I went back and grabbed some. Before leaving, I wondered to myself how much milk we have at home, but then I said "Nah." I came home, opened the fridge and I saw that there was only 1/2 gallon left and that I probably should have gotten some. Which meant I'll be visiting our local grocery store here again in the next few days. That is precisely why I hate grocery shopping!

While we're on this topic, it's pretty funny how you could definitely tell when it's feast or famine in our household. Since I do NOT enjoy going grocery shopping, a lot of times I would make a long list and just buy everything. Then of course that week and the week after, we would have scrumptious meals every night for dinner. Unfortunately the food supply dwindles and that's when I'm scrambling to think of what else we could eat. Usually it comes down to Dinty Moore Beef Stew, the Helpers and steak fingers and that's when I know it's time to go grocery again. I know it's pretty bad! Then there's other organized people...ahem, like my friend Jenn who plans out various crusine on her menu and goes grocery shopping every week. I don't know how she does it, but I wish I could too. It would definitely be less of a headache when it comes time for me to cook again.

Zack Attack

I saw on Yahoo that Jimmy Fallon had Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a guest on the Late Night Show. Mark did the whole skit as Zack Morris - it was awesome! Brought back a lot of "Saved by the Bell" memories and how much I wanted to marry him when I was in middle school. Click here to enjoy it. Even though I was a pretty big fan and saw like every single episodes, I don't know about having a reunion and all though.

p.s. Not that I'm a big TV watcher, but I thought Jimmy Fallon would have made a much better Tonight Show host than Conan.

On the Menu

Food: Oatmeal cereal
Reactions: Liked it. Chomped it down like a champ.

Just For Laughs

Bingo, so this is where all my toys are stashed!
Kaika modeling Ethan's new bib for me

Noises

I would consider Ethan to be a pretty tough kid, but apparently there are a few loud noises that would absolutely f-reak him out and make him cry:

This press-me giggly teddy bear that my co-worker gave me

Kaika's "intruder" barking

Kaika's new, sqeaky toy that can be quite loud and obnoxious if we don't take it away

and apparently the paper shredder (just found that out today while shredding some receipts)

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

Brian and I are still in the process of trying to figure out a better routine for Ethan between dinner time and bed time because that's when he's the fussiest. This is a scene at the Billmans household every night and it's just not working:

Around 6 pm, I feed Ethan his dinner. Brian gets home, changes out of his work clothes and holds Ethan while I eat alone. We switch and I get Ethan ready for bed. Brian finishes his dinner and puts Ethan to bed.

It has been quite frustrating because we've tried putting him in the swing which seemed to work for a while. But now he doesn't want to be "left out." So we've tried putting him in his high chair so he could be with us at the table while we ate. That also worked for a while, but now he hates being strapped in. Then we have him play in the living room and ate our dinner in there, but it was just too hard to eat sitting on the floor. Ridiculous isn't it?!? Anyway like I said, that part we haven't figured out...however, we did realized this week when we put him to bed 1/2 hour early that he was tired. He went straight to sleep and didn't even cry! Apparently, that was the day he got up early from his last nap and just wanted to go to bed. However, that isn't the reason every night. Sometimes I think he's fussy just because. Plus, Brian doesn't want me to put Ethan to bed any earlier than I already am since he said he won't hardly get to see his son. So I guess for now, dinner will be interrupted every night!

Discover of the Week

Ethan is getting very fast and efficient at what I would like to call "army crawling." That combined with the 360 degree spin he just mastered, that boy can get to almost any toys he wanted. He would start out on the blanket, move onto the rug and somehow end up on the hardwood floor and keep going. He even surprised Kaika a few times when he would make it over to touch his paws (while he's sleeping). One thing is for sure, he's never content to just sit still!

On the Menu

Food: rice cereal, bananas & jar carrots
Reactions: Seemed to like them all better the second time around. However, I'm using the carrots from the jar instead since I don't think he liked the coarse texture from real carrots.

He's also eating 3 times a day now. I saw this in a book and liked it - gave me some kind of structure:
Breakfast: cereal & fruit
Lunch: fruit & veggie
Dinner: cereal & veggie

"BK Ikaika the Warrior"

Kaika recently turned 3 and I'm just amazed how "mature" our dog has become. We never thought we would see the day where we could let him roam the house while we're gone. But now we can without worrying what would happen. Of course we started out slowly and tested him by running short errands. I would get home and do a whole house inspection and surprisingly everything seemed to be left in its place. He actually doesn't get into things like I thought it would. Amazing!

Along with that, he has also become a lazy dog. I looked it up on the internet and it said that he's 28 years old in human years which ironically is how old we both are! I guess that's pretty old for a dog =0) Kaika's so lazy to the point that when Brian would let him out of his crate in the morning, he would come upstairs and go straight to his pillow. No good morning, no breakfast and doesn't even bother going outside. We would be lucky if he even gets up to greet us when we come home anymore. How bad is that? His new thing now is why bother getting up when he knows we would eventually make it to the living room to greet him. Anyway, the most amazing thing happened the last time we had a pit fire at our house. I brought Kaika out and had him lie down next to me on his blanket while we hung out by the fire. And he actually stayed there most of the night without being tied down or running away. Given we did take him to the doggie park that afternoon and he was completely exhausted...but still! Neither one of us could believe it!!!

However, do not let all this maturity/laziness talk fool you! Deep down there is still that playful Boxer side to him. He will still go crazy every time someone comes over to the house even with the "sit/stay" commands plus treats. What can I say, he's a people dog and he thinks everyone came to see him! And he still run around in the backyard like a mad man almost every night! Let's just say I'm thankful that after all of that, he does get tired a lot faster. I sure don't miss those days when we would have to stay up late (after we got home from wherever) to play and get his energy out so we could all go to bed. You know, Kaika has come a long way since his puppy days and is now truly a family dog!

When we got our pooch at 7 weeks old