Timeline

All 191 posts, newest first.

July 2015

29 months (October 12-November 12, 2014) — 2015-07-25

May 2015

27 months: August 12-September 12, 2014 — 2015-05-31

April 2015

ZBL sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (July 26, 2014) — 2015-04-26

Z sings a favorite song from his preschool: Octopus or as he says “Ha pa p — 2015-04-26

ZBL observing a roly poly (July 30, 2014) — 2015-04-26

ZBL exploring roly polies. — 2015-04-26

Post 117428398169 — 2015-04-26

26 Months: July 12-August 12, 2014 — 2015-04-26

February 2015

trash trucks in San Antonio have an arm! cool! (July 17, 2014) — 2015-02-22

Helping Grandpa with the garbage cans @ his house (he has 2 days per week of pic — 2015-02-22

Summer 2014 in Texas — 2015-02-22

Summer 2015 in San Antonio — 2015-02-22

zBL does a great reenactment of a trash/recycle truck (July 2, 2014) — 2015-02-21

Working on the difference between full and empty (July 2, 2014) — 2015-02-21

he loves trash! — 2015-02-21

25 months old! — 2015-02-21

Sorting the garbage/recycling (July 1, 2014) — 2015-02-14

1st attempt at learning to snap (July 9, 2014) — 2015-02-14

September 2014

Best Buddies: ZBL and Pengba — 2014-09-27

Trash and recycle: it’s not just for outside and chasing the trash trucks. — 2014-09-27

Morning balloon fun with SPL — 2014-09-27

ZBL loves SPL to put on his shoes: July 3, 2014 — 2014-09-27

Best interpretation of a trash/recycle truck — 2014-09-27

I love this video because SPL reads one of our favorite books with absolutely no — 2014-09-27

Kale Smoothie Baby! — 2014-09-27

SF Zoo fun with the O'Donobergs: June 14, 2014 — 2014-09-20

Redwood train adventure: June 20, 2014 — 2014-09-20

ZBL's 2nd Birthday Celebration — 2014-09-20

Happy 2nd Birthday ZBL! June 12, 2014 — 2014-09-14

Disneyland 2014! — 2014-09-13

Meeting Goofy for the first time @ Disneyland (& matching up shoes) (June 3, — 2014-09-13

SPL rock climbing @ CA Adventure (June 4, 2014). — 2014-09-13

Riding Dumbo @ Disneyland (June 5, 2014) — 2014-09-13

Meeting Mickey (june 5, 2014) — 2014-09-13

Buddies — 2014-09-03

August 2014

Toddler run – gotta love it! (May 27, 2014) — 2014-08-30

Sings “If You’re Happy and You Know It” in Mandarin (pie pie s — 2014-08-30

Learning to count in Mandarin (May 29, 2014). — 2014-08-30

Learning to count in Mandarin (May 29, 2014) — 2014-08-30

Counting in Mandarin with his hand stuffed in his mouth (May 29, 2014). — 2014-08-30

ZBL's first visit to the beach! May 30, 2014 — 2014-08-30

3 of my favorite photos from this year, the middle one being my absolute favorite. — 2014-08-30

23 months old -- language takes off! — 2014-08-16

Learning Chinese with our babysitter — 2014-08-16

July 2014

22 months (March 12-April 12, 2014) — 2014-07-06

ZBL does his trash truck imitation — 2014-07-06

quintessential ZBL @ 22 months: playing trash — 2014-07-06

an alien invades our house! — 2014-07-06

first bath together – march 17, 2014 — 2014-07-06

a bit out of focus but hilarious none-the-less. — 2014-07-06

First time to say “uh oh” – march 17, 2014 — 2014-07-06

ZBL does a family fave: Mahna Mahna March 17, 2014 — 2014-07-06

Splashing in puddles for the first time (we haven’t had much rain!) April — 2014-07-06

March 16: the week No came to stay — 2014-07-06

June 2014

ZBL sings “If you are happy and you know it” in Mandarin (May 29, 20 — 2014-06-13

ZBL counts in Mandarin! (this is a current post from May 29, 2014) — 2014-06-13

21 months (February 12-March 12, 2014) — 2014-06-13

May 2014

20 months (January 12-February 12, 2014) — 2014-05-11

Pouring video — 2014-05-11

Dancing w/ maracas @ school — 2014-05-11

Let the climbing begin! February 23, 2014 — 2014-05-11

Brothers! — 2014-05-11

April 2014

We celebrated Christmas at home this year. ZBL was much more into it and had fun opening his stocking, gifts, as well as helping others open theirs. It was amazing to see SPL and Z enjoy the day together and watch SPL help Z figure stuff out. — 2014-04-18

Post 83131242194 — 2014-04-18

19 Months Old (December 12-January 12, 2014) ZBL may not be sleeping well these days, but he is a pretty happy guy most of the time. He definitely shows his emotions and lets us know what he thinks. New words this month: Bath, bye & socks (says “ads”) The animal sounds have definitely gone wild and SPL and John especially love teaching him new ones. He knows chicken, bird, cow, bear (his joke is to say “meow” to what a bear says and then one of us will say “what does a bear *really* say, and he’ll then answer "roar” :), lion, dog, cat, pig, sheep, bee, monkey. And John has been working on snake, turkey, and goose. ZBL loves, loves, loves brooms and it seems like the obsession is intensifying if that is possible. If they aren’t out at preschool (outdoor area), he makes sure to ask me to open the shed to get them out. There are also indoor brooms that he loves and plays with all the time. Teacher Monica said that we could buy one at a local grocery. I think that will be a great Christmas gift :). Now that he is more mobile and interested in running, he likes playing outside more. He seems like a kid who needs a fair amount of activity in his day so I think we are going to be spending more time in the park and walking around the neighborhood in the new year. Sliding down slide has been a big source of fun this month too. There is a spiral one at the local park as well as some straight ones @ his school. He likes to ask me to slide next to him too which is fun :) (the school slides have 2 that are adjacent so we can slide together) His sense of humor is really starting to develop and he now has is on bilingual joke :). The word “Bāng” in Chinese (pronounced more like bung) means “help.” But in English, we sometimes make a similar sound to indicate getting a bump, say on the head. So when our babysitter would say “Wǒ bāng ni” (pronounced “woe bung nee”) which means “I will help you”, ZBL would tap his head like he was getting bonked on the head and then smile at her. Funny kid. We’ve been having a lot of fun building towers & knocking them down. We have 2 sets of nesting blocks and they are great for this type of play. We also got some big boxes for Christmas so have built a set of “condos” in our living room and the boys *love* them and play all kinds of fun games. As far as physical development goes, Z is now running and starting to jump. He’s also very interested in drawing and coloring so we get out the crayons and paper much more frequently and create masterpieces :). Happy 19 months! — 2014-04-11

Grandma visits November 2013 We had a great time with grandma during Thanksgiving week. SPL had the entire week off as did his cousins, EVR and KAR so we hung out with them a lot. Unfortunately ACR only had the traditional 4 days off, but we still got to see him and he had a great time with Z so that was memorable. Z loved making banana bread with Grandma – he loves measuring and pouring and mixing. Plus he loves eating it so that works out too :) We celebrated Grandma’s birthday with a cake from the Prolific Oven (local go to place for cakes) and even got a family photo plus a photo of her with the grandkids (my fave is the one above on the left :) ZBL always thrives when there are more people around (SPL was like that to when he was this age) and we appreciate the time with family whenever we can get it. — 2014-04-02

March 2014

Animal sounds video January 6, 2014 — 2014-03-23

18 months Broom obsession begins! Z said broom and began being focused on the b — 2014-03-21

Photos from 18 months — 2014-03-21

While Grandma was here from TX in November (November 23), ZBL started learning t — 2014-03-21

Are you messin’ with me??? ACR, our 14 year old nephew (and oldest grandchild for my parents) came over while mom was here visiting in November and had a fun time playing with ZBL. ACR is often busy during the weekends so we don’t see him as much as we’d like, but ZBL clearly enjoyed his style of play and ACR even picked him up and held him :-). — 2014-03-21

More jumping fun! — 2014-03-21

This is a current video I took March 17, 2014 when SPL and ZBL decided they want — 2014-03-21

Sleep Regression -- yaaaaawwwwnnnn..... — 2014-03-16

February 2014

17 months! For me, Z’s most memorable development this month was saying mama with intention :-). Before, he would point or wave at to me if you said “where is mama?”. And he definitely would babble my name and had been doing that for a few months. But it was memorable for me to actually get my name this month (funny thing (and headache inducing thing) too is that I am reflecting on this development as I write this and now it is February 16th and he *yells* mom, almost exclusively. But he says “mama” in his sweet and quieter voice) We are still working on animal sounds and snake, bear, pig, dog, cat, monkey were added to the list this month. He wrinkles up his nose and blows out a bit of air for pig (instead of oinking) – too cute! Other communication developments: he can say eggs, bug, light, eyes, and down. Also signs banana, bread and cheese well. In Mandarin: he understands the words for nose (鼻子 or bízi (“bee tzuh”), eyes (yǎn jīng 眼睛), and clap your hands (Pai pai shǒu – “pie pie show”). ZBL is crazy for all things peekaboo and SPL loves this! SPL peeks around the corner @ Z, Z covers his face (instead of his ears as he used to) with his hands or his shirt, and their babysitter will start a game immediately upon arrival to our house by going from one baby gate entrance to the kitchen to the other. ZBL laughs and laughs! Molars– without much fanfare, ZBL’s molars arrived. I noticed them one afternoon during the week of Oct. 21st while I was putting him in his carseat after picking SPL up from school. Hey! Where did you all come from?? Makes eating a whole lot easier too so now he can try more varieties of food. One of the bummers this month has been we have had a bajillion fruit flies in our kitchen! :-(. Yuck. I think it must be due to purchasing so many fresh fruits and veggies @ the farmer’s market (a routine we now have as we live 10 blocks from the Sunday market :-). So I am constantly clapping my hands forcefully and trying to reduce the number. So Z figured this out and has been imitating me :-). ZBL has mastered the use of his fork and spoon and is great about feeding himself. I credit the book Baby Lead Weaning that was recommended to us by our friends Erin and MIke Schroepfer. We never fed him pureed foods, only bite sized foods that he could pick up and feed himself. Now that he’s 17 months, the size of the food has increased, as has the variety. He uses a spoon to eat yogurt too – leaves some on his face and bib but not as much as he used to! ZBL has started sitting still for longer periods of time and even has been sitting on couch reading a book by himself. It’s so fun to look up from the kitchen and see him sitting across the room on the couch silently looking at the book (sometimes it’s upside down but he doesn’t care :-) Challenges for the month: — Z has figured out how to unlock & open back door that leads to 3 stone stairs and down to the back yard. The other problem is that these stairs have no railing! Now for some quick thinking as to a strategy! We don’t want to bolt the door as they are artisan made and practically works of art – seriously. (we ended up buying some more fence sections from a neighbor and blocking him that way. He still has access to the kitchen door but that’s a bit easier to manage). – Kitchen implement obsession: Z is OBSESSED with spatulas. Seriously. And the draw that has all the kitchen tools is not locked and within his reach to open, but he can’t see into it. So this creates a fussy toddler who is getting more and more demanding re. which tools he will and will not play with. I give him options but eventually have drawn the line at the pancake/grill spatulas as they have become whacking implements more than the “scraping the bowl” spatulas. He also like measuring spoons and cups. – Just in time for 1) our beloved babysitter to get sick therefore creating a need for a substitute babysitter and 2) his grandmothers visit on separate occasions, ZBL became highly affected by separation anxiety. And here’s where his new found identification and use of the word “mom” is a drawback as he stands at the gate and sadly cries “mom” as I get ready to go volunteer in SPL’s classroom or other errands. "This too shall pass" but it’s always a challenging time. This is the first time Z has had it too which is a blessing but it seems to be here with a vengeance. I remember SPL having it more frequently: once at 9 months or so and then again at 14 months and then again at 18-20 months or so. As you can see from the photos above, Z is developing quite the personality. He laughs a lot and loves playing games like “where is Koda bear” in the morning (SPL or John will hide this bear we got @ Disneyland in August and Z will look for him first thing when he gets up). — 2014-02-16

October 27, 2013 Fun watching TV – Z, S and John have this new set up on the floor for watching TV. Z doesn’t actually watch the TV much but he likes being included in the pillow fun. He’ll even go get the pillows if they aren’t on the floor and set them up :-) — 2014-02-16

October 31, 2013 – ZBL does one of the oldest gags in the books (on his own!) The Bananaphone gag! His great uncles Andy and Alan plus cousins Pearce, Drew, and Blake would be so proud! What a funny moment! Glad the camera was nearby. — 2014-02-16

Halloween 2013 We love Halloween and this year ZBL had a great time helping us set up the front yard to look like a graveyard. We collected leaves from the neighbors (as we still don’t have a lot of mature trees on our lot – just like in Sunnyvale). Z was a doggie as that’s his favorite sound to make and he loves seeing dogs as we walk around the neighborhood. We had fun trick-or-treating with our neighbors, MR and SR. Z was able to stay up until 7:30 pm this year and loved riding around in the wagon and being part of the fun. — 2014-02-16

16 months old! September has been a challenging month with the breath holding spells. Thankfully after 2 of them ZBL seems to have more ability to calm himself in difficult situations. So we are grateful for this new found maturity and are hopeful that the spells are a thing of the past. Fun game – John bought Z a stuffed bear as his souvenir from Disneyland and it has been a great addition to our play. John also thought up the morning game of “finding Koda Bear”: each morning when Z wakes up and comes downstairs, we ask him where Koda is? Either John or SPL hides Koda the night before and Z has a fun time finding him. After he is discovered, Z carries him over to his dad to show him first thing (that was a ritual too :-) First hair cut September 22, 2013: I have loved ZBL’s curls and remember SPL have some too (though many fewer). After SPL’s first haircut, they never came back. So I have been hesitant to cut Z’s hair, even though John wanted to. In September, I thought it was finally time and found a place that could work around the curls. They did a nice job and he has what our friend Diego calls a “Luke Skywalker look.” :-) Breath holding spells – hopefully these are done with. 2 were more than enough (see other post for more details). First stanford football game September 21: All 4 of us went to the Stanford football game this year (we got season tickets as it was projected to be a great year for the Card). Z did great and made it through 1 half! A personal goal: climbing the stairs at preschool – Z’s preschool has about 6 carpeted stairs and he is very interested in them. He’s still a bit wobbly when he climbs but he’s getting the hang of it. Loves the wagon – we got it cleaned out and now take walks: Z inherited SPL’s big red wagon and this month we washed it off (it had been collecting dust and dirt since SPL was Z’s age) and took it for a spin around the neighborhood. Now it’s our regular morning routine: after dropping SPL off at the neighbors for carpool, we tool around the neighborhood for 30-45 mins. Uncle Bryan visits October 5 — We always enjoy visits from Uncle Bryan and now that he lives in Australia, they aren’t as frequent as they used to be. But he does visit 1-2 times per year as his work brings him to San Francisco. Figured out he can get into the cupboard in the kitchen – I was wondering when he’d figure this out! He took out some of the bowls and climbed in. Then he looked a little perplexed as if he wasn’t so sure he could get out. :-) Collecting leaves for Halloween front yard decorations – Z has taken over this important responsibility from SPL now. We still have no mature trees on our lot so we walk around the neighborhood (just like S and I did in Sunnyvale) and collect other neighbors’ leaves :-) Interested in puzzles – I got out SPL’s old puzzles this month and Z took to them like a duck to water. He was surprisingly good at matching up the letters and numbers with their corresponding spot. I was impressed! – Z and his classmate S were able to take turns using a cool toy @ preschool. They each had 3-4 turns witthout getting upset or distracted by something else. Impressive for 16 months.] Excited to see what 17 months brings! — 2014-02-05

Pumpkin patch October 18, 2013 We love to go to the local farm’s pumpkin patch each year. They have a train and wagon ride as well as a hay bale maze for the kids to run and leap through. This year we took some of the neighborhood kids too as they had a holiday from school. Fun! — 2014-02-05

January 2014

First Day of Preschool — 2014-01-11

September 2013: Baby Breath Holding Spells -- Who Knew?!?!? — 2014-01-11

December 2013

Walking with John to the park – his first time to walk solo for any &ldquo — 2013-12-01

15 months — 2013-12-01

October 2013

14 months old! — 2013-10-28

ZBL’s first time to ride a carousel: Disneyland August 7, 2013 — 2013-10-13

August 7, 2013: Hotel @ Disneyland: Practicing his walking and discovering himse — 2013-10-13

August 9, 2013: Home again after Disney and now he’s choosing to walk inst — 2013-10-13

After taking a year off from going to Disneyland last year, we decided to head back for some more fun this summer. Most importantly, we wanted to share the experience with ZBL! I wasn’t totally sure how it would go with him napping 2X/day and with the southern CA heat, but it all worked out. Z napped and didn’t get sunburned, nor did the rest of us. His first experience was the barbershop musicians on Main Street. It was fun to see everything through his eyes and remember how magical Disney is (we haven’t been there with a baby before :-). His first ride was Jungle Cruise (shortest line as we arrived in the afternoon which means ridiculous lines in August!). We had a character breakfast this year for the first time too: with the woodland creatures. Z loved Koda bear and Meeko the raccoon from Pocahontas, giving him the loving “bite on the nose” greeting of affection (that Z gives to all of his stuffed animals :-). Photos above: watching the musicians on Main Street when we 1st arrived; obligatory family photo in front of the Mickey Mouse flowers :-); ZBK biting Meeko’s nose (racoon); Kathy and Z at the new Cars exhibition; Z upside down!; Z’s first ride at Disney: Jungle Cruise; SPL, Koda Bear, and Z; Z, John and SPL riding the Disney train; and Z and John on the Jungle Cruise. — 2013-10-12

ZBL loved the parades and just being with the family. He rode a bunch of rides including the carousel & the Bug’s Life Train in CA Adventure, and the train, Dumbo, and It’s a Small World in Fantasy Land. The only bummer was we didn’t spend any time in Toontown because it was *way too crowded.* Magic mornings and “baby switch passes” were the keys to this year. We got in each morning at 7:30 am and would ride as many rides as we could before 10 am, when we’d grab breakfast. Baby switch passes allowed us to take turns watching ZBL while the other parent rode w/ SPL – and then swap off. So SPL got to ride twice and only had to stand in line once – hooray for baby brothers! Switch passes also don’t expire like the Fast Passes (we learned that the hard way! D'oh!). Once again, we had an awesome time – looking forward to next year and seeing what rides Z will be tall enough for :-) Photos above: (top row) Z and his mom watching the parade; family photo with Goofy; SPL and Z hangin’ with Dale at the Critter Character Breakfast. (2nd row) Smiles on the plane ride home; Z and Dale; Z watching the parade from his favorite spot: dad’s shoulders. (3rd row) brushing up on airplane safety on the plane ride home; riding the carousel with mom; dinner @ the Blue Bayou resturant: Z was losing patience and the (mom of 4) waitress gave us a cup with a glowing Tinker Bell inside. Awesome. — 2013-10-12

August 2013

June 23, 2013: Just wanted to capture ZBL’s crawling before he says goodb — 2013-08-31

June 30, 2013: ZBL’s original version of peekaboo! — 2013-08-31

June 30, 2013: Brothers being brothers! — 2013-08-31

July 6, 2013: Learning to walk — 2013-08-31

Evolution of a Walker (video above was July 10, 2013) June 23 – ZBL took h — 2013-08-31

July 8, 2013: Funny serendipitous moment: we had a full grocery bag on the floor — 2013-08-31

July 15 – SPL and ZBL playing one of their favorite games: SPL sneaking up — 2013-08-31

July 17: ZBL eats sushi for the first time (avocado roll, not raw fish :-) — 2013-08-31

June 23 -- first steps! — 2013-08-29

13 months old! — 2013-08-29

July 2013

12 months old! — 2013-07-22

June 2013

Happy 1st Birthday ZBL! We celebrated Z’s birthday with a party on Sunday June 9th and then again with his cousins coming over for a visit. Here he is having his birthday breakfast: hard boiled egg white. — 2013-06-15

Happy Birthday Z! We had a fun time with the cakes. Z loves Cheerios so we decorated the little Cheerio shaped cakes with them (used a mini-angel food cake pan to bake the O shape). Z recognized them immediately and actually didn’t eat much cake as a result. John noticed that after Z had eaten some amount of the Cheerios, he screwed up his face as if to say “wow, this sugar stuff is potent!" And so it begins. And he didn’t pinch out the candle! But I did hold his arms just a wee bit, especially as he reached for the flame (just as John and I were blowing it out). — 2013-06-15

Birthday Party Fun We invited some of our friends over to celebrate with Z (from the bottom up): Diego Rodrigues and Helen Yeni-Komshian (neighbors and long-time friends – bottom photo), EVR and Z playing with his toys, Aunt Liz and MWG, MR and SR (4th from the bottom), Erin and NGS (middle photo in row of 3 photos), Helen MR and SR, and cousin KAR holding ZBL @ the top (not pictured but also attending were Mike Schroepfer, Aunt Beth, Uncle Scott, and ACR). It was a lovely day and we also were celebrating the new trellis and patio that we had built during the month of May. Happy 1st birthday Z! — 2013-06-15

11 months old on May 12 – Z loves being able to explore the kitchen and is especially into the knobs on the stove. Luckily they can be pulled off. He also loves unpacking all the plastic dishes and tupperware (SPL didn’t have access to the kitchen at this age as we’d configured the gates differently in the Sunnyvale house, so this is a new experience for us). His language recognition has accelerated this month and he is recognizing and being able to find his ball and bus with good accuracy. He loves playing with the black soccer ball and will hoard it for himself and get mad if his brother takes it from him. He has a funny little bounce seated position that he does when he is trying to hold onto the ball – too funny! He also will forget he’s standing when holding ball and sometimes tumbles. Not my favorite development but it does make SPL laugh – Z is now blowing bubbles w/ spit. Z definitely is asserting himself and his desires more and more and this was most notable with the development of him pointing at objects. New foods: cheese, peaches, grapes watermelon. the boy *loves* cheese. And when I say love, I mean he has a special giggle when he sees it coming his way. It is hi.lar.ious. Z loves figuring out how things work: gates, cabinets (which ones open/don’t), drawers. He quickly figured out which drawers in the kitchen were “his” and now just beelines for them. We never had the kitchen accessible to SPL at this age so it is new terrain for us. I’m glad we decided to configure the gates this way as the drawers provide endless sources of exploration (and ouchies too! fingers getting caught has been a difficult learning for both of us :-(). Z is vocalizing a lot more this month. He has a few “words” that are close to saying bye bye, da da, and mama. He understands no now too and it is often accompanied by his lower lip getting extended. He will often shake his head and pout when told no. Z has also developed his own dance. When the music starts, he will rock side to side if he’s sitting down. Very cute. And as you can see from the first photo above, he’s really interested in the stove knobs. Thankfully ours are removable as it’s a gas stove. Hard to believe he’s almost a year old (and it’s actually his birthday as I type this as I am running about 1 month behind on these posts even though the descriptions and details are correct). — 2013-06-12

We also got to spend 3 days in Austin with Dave, Sue, Nan, GCL and EAL. Z had fun watching all the big kids do their thing: trampoline, dress up, Nerf guns. And Z showed them how he can now get around, not only crawling but pulling up and cruising. Z even helped Uncle Dave sort through his “junk” box – what a helper! — 2013-06-08

Fun Times with Grandpa in Texas We had a fun spring break in Texas with Grandma and Grandpa in April (still catching up on Z’s blog). Z had a great time listening to grandpa read an actual newspaper (whoa!), watching him make homemade bread, and sitting in his lap in his big rocking chair. ZBL did great sleeping in a new place in his “special bed” (baby bjorn port-a-crib) and even took some 2.5 hour naps!???! We didn’t do much visiting this trip as we were only in town for 3.5 days – not long — 2013-06-01

Fun times with Grandma Visiting Grandma was also super fun. She played blocks with Z and read books to him. She showed him his mom’s old Easter basket and got him his first stuffed lamb. SPL showed Z how to hunt for hidden Easter eggs and we went to church on Easter Sunday to listen to grandma sing – and Z responded appropriately during the children’s part of the service (he loves call and response :-). Though no photos were taken, we met Uncle Short, a long time friend of Grandma and Grandpa who was about to become a grandpa himself for the first time. — 2013-06-01

Grandpa always lines up his shoes by the stairs so I thought it was funny to add Z’s shoes :-) — 2013-06-01

Family photos — 2013-06-01

Meeting Amy We got to hang out with my dear friend from high school, Amy Schiflett Irby while we were in TX. She came over, played Yatzee with SPL, and happily went with us to my favorite restaurant for TexMex, Alamo Cafe. She has a son who’s 14 now so she also enjoyed hanging with little boys again and remembering days gone by. Wish we could’ve visited longer! — 2013-06-01

May 2013

<div class="post_title">10 months old: Teeth and Movement!</div> <div class="post_title"></div> <div class="post_title">{Since Sunday is his 11th month anniversary, I figured I needed to write 10 – :-}</div> In the span of 1 short month, ZBL has exploded with movement and teeth! At the month’s end, he now has 4 teeth: the 1st one came in mid-March. The 2nd one was actually above the 1st one on his upper jaw (I realized this while we were playing. I heard this strange noise that sounded like teeth grinding. And then I realized it was coming from Z and that meant he had not 1, but 2 teeth!). Then 3 and 4 quickly followed. He still wants to put other people’s fingers in his mouth now though so be careful! Those teeth are sharp! Movement: he went from sitting up and scooting to crawling slowing on all 4s to moving with purpose and intentionality. It’s been fun to watch! With this added mobility and opening up of the world, we added gates to our house so Z now is contained in the TV room and kitchen. We also have a play yard in that space that keeps him contained when need-be. Mostly though he’s out exploring: crawling to the couch and pulling up, noticing that someone forgot to put away the TV remote and cruising over to check it out; pretending he’s Spiderman and pulling himself up on glass windows or walls (no handles). At first he took awhile to cruise around the play yard but by the month’s end, he was proficient and could make it around half of the kitchen! He definitely enjoys his freedom but with that comes big changes for me and his dad. During the week, there is less time to “get things done” as Z requires a lot more attention and me being at his side as he discovers and explores his new abilities. But I know this too soon shall pass and all the “to dos” can wait (or at least most of them :-). It’s amazing to watch as literally each day we can see the changes: the confidence increase, the motor coordination improve, the stability increase. Awe. Some. — 2013-05-11

First Plane Trip March 28, 2012! ZBL took his first plane trip from to Austin on Thursday March 28. John had to work unfortunately, but SPL had spring break so we took off for the week (plus we were having work done on our house so that was also a motivator – it was going to be LOUD :-/). All in all, the flight went well. I ended up buying Z a seat so we could have the entire row on the outbound flight (the return was a small commuter plane that was 2X2). And since I booked his seat after I got SPL’s and mine, I had to talk to a human to get the transaction taken care of . Turns out that was a mistake! I ended up with assigned seats together for SPL and me and ZBL seated a few rows in front! Whuck!?!??! United is *the worst* – not even worth getting the cheaper fare. But eventually we did get the seats straightened out (same thing happened on the return flight and good karma was on our side. Turns out the seat across the aisle from us that we wanted was occupied by a gentleman with some mental disabilities. I took the opportunity to tell SPL a story about how my Uncle Donny, who had Downs Syndrome, used to fly home to Atlanta to visit my grandmother for the summer and holidays. And this lovely man happily swapped seats with us. Thank you to him! As you can see from the above photos, there were many phases of this trip. The first was curiosity. I had just buckled ZBL into his seat and turned around to talk to SPL for a minute & when I turned back around (maybe a minute had passed, tops) Z had the seat belt unbuckled. Now with my sieve-for-a brain I thought, maybe I didn’t secure the belt? So I did it again and found out that no, Z figured out how to unbuckle the seatbelt lickety split! Glad the 5 point harness for his carseat is more complicated! The second phase was friendly flirtiness. He looked around the cabin and found people who would wave with him. They were pleasantly surprised by this cute baby who was playing with them and it passed the time for ZBL as well :-) The third phase was tired so that brought with it the fussiness. On the outbound trip Z did great on take off and only fussed a bit as it was nap time. He quickly went to sleep and slept for 1.5 hours of the flight. Awesome. The return was a bit bumpier as he didn’t want to nap for longer than 40 mins but we were headed home so I figured, we’ll work it all out when we get back to our house. Thankfully he maintained a good mood despite getting less sleep than he needed. — 2013-05-11

March 2013

What a fun month! ZBL is making his move towards being an independent toddler and we saw a lot of the precursor steps this month (note to self: need more photos of John and Z. We didn’t have as many this month :-() Wanting to pull up – he’s started to grap things that are just a bit taller than he is and hold on and then use his mouth as a 3rd hand. Tilts head to side as a game – se the picture in the collage above. He’ll tilt his head and then if you mimic him, he’ll giggle and then switch sides. “Yao Yao toe” – This is one of the first phrases he understands and responds to and it’s in Mandarin :-). It means shake your head and he loves it! Plus it gets endless laughs from his mom and big bro so that is an incentive too. Exploding fist bump – John thought of this one. He lowers his arm with a fist at the end and says in a dramatic way “exploding fist bump!” and Z reaches out his hand to touch his dad’s hand, it suddenly “explodes” and John makes a cool sound. SPL has added his own twist and drama to it (as big bros love to do). He says “splodin’ fist bump!!!” and adds a big hop as he throws down his arm with a fist out stretched to Z. Z loves it and laughs! First cold – not fun. gunky eyes, stuffy nose. Disrupted sleep: early wake times, waking at 12:30 am and then 4:30 am :-0 (yawn!). It’s a tribute to SPL’s self-control that ZBL didn’t get sick earlier. :-) Pulls off hat - this doesn’t bode well for summer and our desire to spend more time poolside. Bends over backward – if you are holding Z in your arms, he will lean over your arms to do a backbend. He cracks himself up with this. Loves to do it right before naptime. Gives kisses to Sam & dad too sometimes – He more reliably gives me kisses (see photo above taken by SPL) and now has branched out to kissing S and John :-). Loves the iPad & the baby in the iPad – he loves seeing himself in the mirror or iPad and will reach out to touch the face he sees. He also does this when we are doing Facetime video chats with grandparents and great-grandparents :-) Trying to push up from all 4s to seated – he hasn’t quite mastered this key skill but it’s coming fast. He’s a determined little guy for sure. The other key is trying to go from seated to all 4s w/o clocking himself as he often flops down and bumps his head – d'oh! Wants to control the spoon when you are feeding him – we usually let him feed himself but foods like yoghurt still require a spoon. Z is not deterred. He grabs the spoon out of your hand and puts it into his mouth. If you are feeding him yoghurt, bring 3 spoons: 2 for him and 1 for you :-) Less gagging – this is a big relief for me, not so much for Z, as I am the one who is most “nervous Nelly” when Z eats. John and SPL are the Zen brothers. Yin to my yang. New foods: cheerios, scrambled and hard boiled eggs More independent – you can see this from all the description above – he is his own dude and it’s definitely showing itself in many interesting ways :-) Bring it 10 months – we are ready! — 2013-03-26

Development-a-palooza: 10 days of extreme contact development — 2013-03-26

Video of Z crawling from 3.13.13 — 2013-03-14

crawling! — 2013-03-13

[Note: tomorrow is actually ZBL’s 9 month anniversary so I am a bit late on this, to say the least — d’oh!) ZBL loves playing the “Where is Sam” game. When we ask him, Z will reach for Sam (not 100% but getting there) Object permanence — ZBL definitely has this milestone. He’s been dropping things off his exersaucer and looking for them. Also off his high chair. Here comes the food dropping phase of life! Not my fave. Wish we had a dog :-) Feeding himself puffs — or as I call them, baby crack. These bits of cereal that melt in the mouth have been a great transitional food for Z as he had more of a gag reflex than SPL did. It’s been amazing to watch his proficiency increase from missing his mouth 50+% to almost 100% accuracy. Intentional scoot — Like I said above, the kid is on the move! He’s gone from just moving to intentional moving which is a big shift. Still not crawling but he can get places. Takes off hat — glad winter’s almost over as Z doesn’t like wearing a hat. Not sure what we are going to do about the sun. Note to self: need to figure this out. Sucking fingers = tired — it’s nice to have such an obvious “tell” when he’s tired. SPL didn’t have one. Speaking of tired – it’s been a tiring month of waking up early. :-(. As early as 4:30 am but as “late” as 5:30 am – the problem is, he won’t go back to sleep! And we have to drive S to school @ 7:45 am so Z’s nap, which should be @ 7:30 or 8:00, gets pushed off until 8:15 or 8:30. Thankfully we have a carpool 2 (sometimes even 4 :-) times a week and John drives 1X/week so those days Z, gets to keep closer to his own schedule :-). Forever fidgeting w/.his fingers: textures, cloth, sounds, drawstrings — Z loves textures, cloth fabrics, sounds of toys, wood, the couch — you name it! Call and response with SPL and me — Z will make a sound and SPL and I will imitate it. Z understands it to some degree and then repeats with a different sound. SPL loves this! Beginning to give kisses — it’s only to me so I’m not sure if it “counts” or not but more than a few times this month I said “give me kisses” when his face was near mine and he leaned over, opened his mouth and planted one on my cheek! Oh, and then he licked me for good measure. And then we both burst into giggles. Exploding fist bump — guess who taught him this one??? Of course — John/Daddy. John will stick out his hand and say in a funny voice “Exploding fist bump!” and Z will reach out his hand and as he gets close to J’s hand, J explodes his fist and makes a funny noise. Z loves it! Shakes head side to side as game & giggles: This is awesome (until it has meaning of course ;-). Love this game. He loves it too. Pouncing on SPL’s knee or leg: this is a game Z and S have come up with. Z pounces on S’s knee with an open mouth. 9 months here we come! — 2013-03-12

Tooth! — 2013-03-12

January 2013

Hard to believe we’ve had ZBL in our family for 7 months! He had another developmentally momentous month due in part to being home for 2 weeks with his big bro and dad — lots of tummy time and stimulation :-) Mannerisms — my friend Daesman will appreciate that Z is developing some funny mannerisms (she called me Miss Mannerisms in college :-) — one funny one is looking over his shoulder to see if you’re still there. Another one is flapping and then quickly pulling his hands together in front of his face and putting part of a hand in his mouth. A third funny one is saying “ahem” to get attention. One of his big focal points this month has been learning to go to sleep on his own. We had to transition him from sleeping in his elevated bouncy seat to just sleeping on his back in his crib, which wasn’t an easy process. The first weekend of winter break, we started “cold turkey” by removing the seat for all sleeping and then realized it was too much for Z: he wasn’t sleeping for naps or at night (30-45 min naps and waking at 2:00 am and then again at 5:00 am – yawn!). So we backtracked a bit and gave him his seat for nighttime again. Over the course of the 2 weeks, he made great progress and even had 1 night when he slept in his crib without the seat from 8 pm until 6 am – huzzah! But it was only 1 night. The others weren’t horrible though: 8 pm until 5 am mostly. Some 4:30 am and some 5:30 am. But he would go back to sleep after waking and eating @ 4:30 or 5:30. Until, he stopped. And decided that 4:30 or 5:30 was a good time to start playing. Uncool to say the least. But he made great strides and we are proud of him – not easy to make so many transitions in 2 short weeks. The other big developmental milestone that he accomplished after graduating from sleeping in his bouncy seat was rolling over from back to front (12/29/12). I’d forgotten how much better this milestone makes life: sleeping on his stomach is so much more peaceful and long lasting (hence the 10 hour sleep night :-). Over the course of the month, it was fun to watch Z try reaching for the harder to reach elements of his exersaucer. It took a bunch of tries and concentration, but he finally was able to figure out how to hold the swinging object with one hand and then pin it with the other. Coordination achievement unlocked! Just like his brother, Z figured out quickly that he can see the TV reflection in the windows of our living room. Sneaky little guy. This month he added arching his back so he can see the TV to his strategies. Foods: Butternut squash was not a big fave at first but he learned to like it after gagging his way through the first 3 days of it. Sucking 2 or 3 of his fingers with regularity – usually it’s his left hand but sometimes it’s his right. It often is a sign that he’s sleepy too. Less talk more focus on physical: since he has been focusing on rolling over, scooting and getting up on all 4s, he hasn’t been as talkative as in previous months. I miss his chatter but know it will come back after he gets through this physical series of milestones. Funny finding: Z found his ears! Not sure when exactly this happened but he definitely knows they are there now. And has the scratches to prove it :-( Best change in his overall appearance: Can see his neck now! funniest mannerism: Eating zippers. The boy loves zippers. Thankfully both John and I regularly wear half-zip fleece so Z has many opportunities to figure out how they work. The funny thing is that he too has a half-zip and doesn’t seem to be able to see the zipper on his own sweater. Too close I guess. Windburn look showed up between ½-1/7 and I was thinking he might be getting his first tooth but so far nothin’. And the 2 most most life changing milestones accomplished: Scooting on Christmas Eve 2012 & a lot on John’s birthday (1/9/13). And pushing up to all 4s on 1/9/13— Time to babyproof! — 2013-01-24

funny video of SPL and ZBL taken yesterday (1/23/13) while S was home sick with — 2013-01-24

He’s on the move! ZBL started scooching on Christmas Eve and has been work — 2013-01-14

On all 4s! — 2013-01-14

ZBL had a wonderful first Christmas. He loved listening to the music playing through the Sonos speakers. Santa brought him some bath toys, an alien outfit and hat, and some socks plus a workbench and a firetruck. Most of all he loved having his dad and SPL home all the time to play with. We could see a lot of development in just a short timeframe (same was true for SPL during his first Christmas). Z loved the lights on the tree and playing with the stuffed Santa. We didn’t find his elf hat until after the holidays were over but that didn’t stop us from taking photos (it was in SPL’s old toy bin that we just opened). How fortunate we are to have Z in our family and get to experience all the firsts again. Merry, merry, merry Christmas!!! — 2013-01-13

Funny similarity We will see how long this lasts for Z, it just started 6 weeks or so ago, but I (little girl pictured on the right in black & white) sucked my 2 left fingers until I was 9. Thankfully I didn’t have to wear braces. Also, Z has flipped his hand over – try it! It’s not easy to do this and suck your fingers. — 2013-01-11

A Boy and his Feet ZBL has mastered his happy baby pose and loves grabbing his feet and investigating what socks or shoes he has on. He’ll also try (sometimes successfully) to grab his socks and pull them off. Of course, immediately after they are off, he stuffs them in his mouth :-). Classic 6 month old and yet so new and fun to watch. — 2013-01-06

<div class="caption"> (A bit behind in posting this as he’s now 1 week shy of being 7 months old – d'oh!) It’s been a busy month for ZBL. His main focus has been perfecting sitting up and he’s probably 80% now, only tipping over now and again. We still aren’t confident enough to leave him sitting and move away to another space without using the boppy or pillows to catch him if he tips. sitting in the boppy chair and figuring out how to get back up to a seated position when he partially tips over He can also sit up and grab a toy and has gotten more and more stable doing this as the month progressed. At first, he was pretty wobbly as he would reach out but by the end of the month, his stability increased. Favorite past time: pouncing! Be warned! If your hand or knee or shirt or collar or finger or foot or anything is any where near his mouth, it’s fair game! He will pounce on you — grabbing at any hand or arm or finger that is within arms reach and shoving it into his mouth — yum! This resulted in many laughs from Nan over Thanksgiving. Other favorite past time: jumping in the johnny jump up. John figured out this one. Unfortunately our new house has door frames that go to the ceiling on the main floor, plus the door frames are too tall for a johnny jump up, so ZBL does his jumping upstairs or in the basement. He’s cool with it though — can bounce for 20-30 mins. Loves, loves, loves it. remembering how to love riding in the car after Thanksgiving hiatus: Thanksgiving meant a week off of the regular routine of driving SPL to school in the morning, picking him up in the PM, and shuttling him to activities. Even after just one week, our fearless hero lost some of his resilience w/r/t the car and being in it for more than 10 mins. Over Thanksgiving we just hung out at home with the cousins which was just ZBL’s speed. Who are these people? Over Thanksgiving we had extended family staying with us and ZBL loved it. He loves people it seems and when they went home, he seemed to be wondering where everyone went. Z both loves to be a part of things/is social and he is ok playing by himself. But when he transitions from playing by himself to wanting company, you will definitely know. Smiley kid: Z smiles easily and frequently and flirtatiously. It’s charming all the kids in SPL’s class as well as the moms and dad :-). More hair — did I mention that his hair came in! Brown with highlights of gold like his dad and big bro. grabbing your face — his favorite new game. If he’s sitting on your lap — watch out! Lips and noses are favorite targets. More peaceful in the car — he has adjusted to the daily car rides and has found his Zen happy place (most of the time). Now we are working on nighttime driving — Z doesn’t like that but has had some more practice with days being shorter. Also, his stats: 21 lbs 7 oz (95%ile), 27 ¼ inches tall (75%ile) and 46.6 cm head circumference (off the charts!). Looking forward to what the next month has in store! </div> — 2013-01-06

December 2012

HI8A3507 on Flickr.Fun times playing and laughing with camel (thanks Nan!) — 2012-12-17

w00t! I love these boys. So awesome. — 2012-12-12

We decided to keep it local this season instead of driving up into the mountains to chop down our own tree. Z was taking it all in as he usually does – every the observer. We found a great tree– dare I say the most beautiful one we’ve had so far?? — 2012-12-12

We had a lot of fun decorating the tree - -but got interrupted by the “Flood of 2012” – on Sunday 12/02/12. Our babysitter and SPL filled in though and took care of a lot of the ornament distribution. Thanks Chun Hua and SPL! — 2012-12-12

Look who got a highchair! — 2012-12-12

Meeting Uncle Bryan This is the one I have been waiting for – and considering Uncle Bryan lives in Australia – I was happy it happened as soon as it did. ZBL met his Uncle Bryan, for whom he is named, on Thursday December 6. Bryan was here for work and stopped by for dinner. Bryan and John have been friends since Stanford days and he is like a brother to both of us. SPL loves him too. We are fortunate to count him as family. — 2012-12-12

On November 19, ZBL tried solid food for the first time. It wasn’t anything special, just rice cereal as the doctor had recommended it for his acid reflux. He took to it like a duck in water – gobbled the entire bowl down. Within a couple of days we’d tried pears, then bananas, and then sweet potatoes. He likes all of them! Solid foods are so far a huge success! w00t! — 2012-12-09

We celebrated ZBL’s first Thanksgiving with Nan, Uncle Dave, Aunt Sue, Grace and Evan who all flew out from Austin. We had a lot of fun playing games, solving puzzles, watching movies, and showing them the Stanford campus. ZBL loved having all the extra people around and was a bit perplexed when everyone left :-). It was Grace and Evan’s first time to CA so we were also celebrating that :-). Hope they come back soon! — 2012-12-09

We had a fun time with Grandma over Veterans’ Day weekend. So happy she could spend the 3 days with us! We worked on puzzles, played with the cousins, and showed grandma how much ZBL has learned since July. And since her birthday was right around the corner, we took the opportunity to celebrate it! Happy birthday Grandma! We love you! — 2012-12-04

November 2012

What a cute duo! — 2012-11-19

5 months old! November 12, 2012 ZBL has had quite a month! He’s mastered his hands and can use them to get toys, hold toys, and manipulate toys. There is also a newly developed intentionality around toys that he didn’t have last month. He wants to see what they can do and at the beginning of the month, he had some notion that he could manipulate them. As the month went on, that notion became play and it was awesome to watch unfold! ZBL found his feet! Now we often seem him in the “happy baby” yoga pose holding just his left foot. He seems to have that side more under control than his right at this point. Maybe he’ll be left handed? Having control of his limbs now makes diapering a *much* more challenging endeavor! Plus he is *super* strong! This month has been about everything going in his mouth – if your hand or arm is near his mouth, it will go in too! No permission asked. You are on notice. It’s not a bib, it’s a cape…in the front! It’s a fact of 5 month old life: drool and lots of it. So instead of changing his shirt 3 or more times a day, he is wearing a cape….in the front :-). It’s not as dignified as just a regular outfit is, and it does cover over the interesting parts of his shirt, but it does minimize laundry which is key at this point. Pulling hair – those able hands are finding stability in my hair – ouch! I’ve talked to ZBL about this but his retention of our conversations isn’t great. Sigh. It’s good that he’s so strong and able to control his hands – just wish my hair wasn’t part of the equation. Oh and note to everyone out there – necklaces and dangley earrings are a thing of the past as well. Sucking his thumb and 1st finger – Z seems to get some comfort from sucking his thumb and 1st finger. It’s not a habit yet but maybe? He uses the pacifier sporadically too but only to get to sleep so we’ll see…. This month he has been watching us eat with great interest. He hasn’t moved in to actually try to grab a bite yet but it’s coming soon. We’re planning on trying solids at 6 months so maybe he’ll participate in Christmas dinner. Oh, and we need to get a high chair! I got home the other day and our nanny reported that he was holding bottle by himself! I IM’d John and his reply was “our job is done!" Now he can feed himself and sit up – he’s good to go. Which brings me to sitting up – it seemed like it happened pretty quickly this time. He was tripod-ing last month as I remember – John had him set up to do this – so maybe it was just my sieve-for-a-brain not noticing the in between steps. But he can sit up! And now that is his preferred position. He can even sit and hold onto some toys. But be careful to surround him with soft things as he can tip over as he’s not totally stable yet. Red numbers on the clock – we have a clock in our room that has red numbers. I had to turn it around so he couldn’t see it as at night, he would notice it and it would then keep him awake (at 4:45 am or 5:30 am – not playtime Z!) Time change – that was a doosey! I don’t remember SPL having such a hard time but the mornings were tough for Z to adjust to. He wanted to play after waking up at 4:30 am and eating. Mama and Dad no want to play @ 4:30 or 5:30 am, Z. Go back to sleep! Talking – this kid loves to talk! He has the M, N, G, B sounds now and probably a lot more. We often have conversations on the changing table and while he is in the exersaucer. He’s fun to talk to and clearly is figuring out how to interact in different ways. Smiling – this kid loves to smile! He has a huge, open-mouthed smile and busts it out when he sees SPL, his dad, or me as well as the camera (which makes for some nice photos :-). Such an endearing thing. I could smile with him all day. Looking forward to what’s ahead with you Z. You are a charmer and a sweet baby and we love you very much. — 2012-11-18

Fun with Daddy! ZBL and his dad have a good time together and I love this photo of them. — 2012-11-18

20 weeks (October 30, 2012) Some milestones include: – he’s now in command of his exersaucer – hey what are these? Z’s discovered his feet – He is talking up a storm (wonder where he got that? ;-) — 2012-11-09

Halloween 2012 — 2012-11-04

Another sleep milestone! — 2012-11-04

<a href="http://lilly.tumblr.com/post/34734220052/stroller-shark" class="tumblr_blog">lilly</a>: <blockquote>Stroller shark!</blockquote> — 2012-11-01

October 2012

17 weeks: October 9, 2012 — 2012-10-26

Happy boy hangin’ in the stroller on his way to big bro’s soccer practice. ZBL enjoys the stroller we borrowed from our friends the Schroepfers: very comfy and can see out – plus has a good canopy when the sun is shining on his face. We are fortunate that the Great White Sharks team practices 5 mins from our house so we can walk over if Z’s not napping. He loves watching the big boys play and visiting with the siblings and parents on the sidelines. — 2012-10-26

Walking to Starbucks wearing dad’s old Georgia Tech hat — 2012-10-26

4 months old! I picked out a half-zip for this photo shoot b/c it’s a fave of his dad :-) It’s been a big month for ZBL! His major accomplishment was rolling over on October 4th, from tummy to back. Most of his efforts, however, have been focused on using his hands: to get things to his mouth, to move objects, to grab things. It’s been fun watching him realize he can control them and do things with them. I can see the look on his face, the intensity with which he is focused on his goal. He is definitely moving out of the 4th trimester set of needs into a broader and more interesting set. This month I’ve seen him engage with people more. When we drop SPL @ school, the other kids come to say hi and he smiles at them and their parents. Sometimes he’ll even talk with them. When we go to SPL’s various activities too, the parents and other kids often visit with Z and it’s clear he enjoys the interactions. Talking: ZBL likes to talk with people. I see him talk with our babysitter as she replies in Mandarin (side note: I think many of the initial words that babies learn are easier in Mandarin: big brother vs. gēge (pronounced “guh guh”) and big sister vs. jiě jie (prounounced “jeh jeh”) and little sister mei mei (pronounced “may may”) and little brother vs. di di (pronounced “dee dee”). It’ll be interesting to see how his language develops. SPL didn’t get exposed in earnest to Mandarin until he was 3 years old but spoke his first word in English, “hi”, at 10 months. Z is at his most interactive on the changing table. Often we will have lengthy conversations or laughs while he’s getting his diaper changed or right after. His vocalizations have increased dramatically this month and he clearly has something to say when he’s talking to me/John/SPL/our babysitter. His eyebrows will arch and his lips will change shape along with the rest of his face to express emotion along with the sounds. Our biggest effort this month as a family has been towards getting Z on a better day time sleep pattern. For awhile, he was sleeping 4 20 minute naps a day and even this good natured child was Mr. Crankypants by the end of the day. A friend recommended a sleep coach for us and after working with her, Z and I have found better sleep patterns. He now sleeps in his papasan bouncy seat, which elevates his head above his stomach to help relieve any reflux that he’s been suffering (undiagnosed) from. He struggled so much on his back, even with the swaddle, and was much more peaceful in the bouncy chair (it’s not vibrating though – just used for the elevation). The first nap he got after working with the sleep coach was 3 hours?!?!? Unprecedented. His babysitter and even many parents at SPL’s school noticed the difference in his face and skin. He’s like a new kid! Let’s hope it keeps going. — 2012-10-26

16 weeks old: October 2, 2012 — 2012-10-25

14 weeks old (September 19)! — 2012-10-10

Visiting with Angel and Chun Hua Our babysitter’s daughter, Angel, was visiting from Hong Kong and came over to play with ZBL for awhile :-) — 2012-10-10

September 25, 2012: Making moon cakes ZBL and I volunteered in SPL’s classroom this year to make moon cakes as part of the Moon Festival in Chinese tradition. We are fortunate to be friends with a master moon cake maker, Chun Hua, and she helped us out again this year to make delicious cakes. — 2012-10-10

15 weeks old: September 25 This week we started working on your sleep with a sleep teacher who came over on Sunday and taught us some healthy sleep strategies. So far, it’s been working well with you: you napped the first time on Sunday for 3 hours!??!?! Unprecedented. And it’s also extending your nighttime sleep as well. You started reliably and repeatedly sucking your thumb and index finger this week. I wonder if that will last? You also are lifting your head up when you are in your carseat or lying against a pillow or a boppy. Rolling over here we come! Your eye hand coordination is improving and on Friday September 28 you had fun figuring out how to spin a toy on your exersaucer. Dad was watching you and called us over to see your accomplishment (what else would we have to do on a Friday night?!?! :-) You were so focused and intent on figuring it out. Loved the look on your face! You also are laughing a lot more and in a more vibrant and hearty way. We were over at our friends Sulu and Zahra’s house, and Sam made you laugh and laugh and laugh. Dad has also developed this idea of the kissing camel (thanks for the camel Nan :-). He moves it to your face and then makes a kissing noise and you laugh, especially when you are on the changing table :-). I joined in with an Ernie laugh and that made you laugh more :-). Good times. — 2012-10-10

September 2012

major sleep milestone! — 2012-09-30

This is the expression Z has when he watches the fan. I love it and he loves the fan :-) — 2012-09-29

No crying — 2012-09-29

Clap Your Hands by They Might Be Giants, dance moves by John & Z. This was t — 2012-09-22

First Trip to San Francisco! — 2012-09-17

September 10, 2012 — 2012-09-14

Three months — 2012-09-14

giggling while doing squats I figured out today that if I wear ZBL and do glut e — 2012-09-14

And why not take two videos – we were having so much fun giggling! — 2012-09-14

Post 31409539968 — 2012-09-12

Post 31301141033 — 2012-09-11

Playing Wii with the big boys: August 19, 2012 — 2012-09-10

First bottle: August 19, 2012 — 2012-09-10

The many moods of ZBL @ 8 weeks This expression above reminds me of his dad :- — 2012-09-08

What we know about ZBL: 2 months — 2012-09-08

Something real time/current this time: SPL reading Uncle Bryan’s Australi — 2012-09-05

Cousin Lisa comes to visit — 2012-09-04

Favorite pasttime: hangin' with big bro — 2012-09-04

Brother shirts — 2012-09-03

Fun times with dad (July 31, 2012) — 2012-09-03

Wedgehead then and Wedgehead now — 2012-09-03

Smiles with Wedgehead August 2, 2012 — 2012-09-03

Z tells his joke: clicking his tongue. And then smiles and laughs after. Awesom — 2012-09-03

1st smile: July 13, 2012 — 2012-09-01

Week 5 — 2012-09-01

6 weeks! — 2012-09-01

Meeting Grandee and Dana — 2012-09-01

August 2012

Meeting Grandpa — 2012-08-30

One month old! — 2012-08-30

Z's first party — 2012-08-30

Week 1 at home: Meeting Grandma and making new friends — 2012-08-17

Thank you Nan! — 2012-08-17

First Night Home & Visit to the Pediatrician — 2012-08-15

Happy Father's Day — 2012-08-15

Going Home — 2012-08-13

The Birth Story Back Story — 2012-08-05

First moments and hours — 2012-08-04

July 2012

ZBL's birth story: June 12, 2012 — 2012-07-25

Hugs for mom and the baby in utero before we head off to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. — 2012-07-25