Ten-month Update

1. I am a LOT more stable standing up now. Sometimes I can even let go of both hands. And I love to stand up. I even stand up in the bath tub.
2. I am beginning to share things. I pass my slobbery toys to mama, but never when she asks for it.
3. I am eating Stage 3 baby food. I'm starting to eat fewer times during the day, but am eating more at each feeding. I still drink about 24 ounces of milk each day.
4. I visited San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a long drive up there from LA.
5. I've found a new game that I like to play: I put a cup on the lid of my plastic toy bin, then tilt the bin so that the cup rolls toward me. When it hits me in the head and falls off the toy box, I can pick it up and put it back on the box to start over again.
6. I play peek-a-boo over and under my crib railing.
7. I wear size 12-16 month clothing.
8. I got another haircut.
9. I am 98% successful at getting cheerios in my mouth.
10. I'm back on a regular night time sleep schedule (sleep by 9 pm, wake up by 6 am).

Nine-month measurements

Today I went to my doctor's office for my nine-month checkup. Same old, same old...you know, a lot of talking between the doc and my papa and mama about my sleeping and eating, along with some poking and weird lights in my eyes. Among some new news is that I can start eating cheese, yogurt, and cheerios this month. Next month, however, I get to eat eggs. Doc said my physical exam was "wonderful."

I now weigh 22 pounds and 8 ounces (85th percentile), and measure 29" long (75th percentile). The whopper of the news, however, is that my head is 18.75 inches in circumference (95th percentile). Yes, you read that correctly -- NINETY FIFTH percentile...Out of 100 boys my age, I am number 5 in line if you arrange us by the size of our noggins. My head must be really huge because Doctor Kaminker actually measured my head TWICE to make sure the first reading wasn't a mistake.

Real men wear pink tutus...

...and real fathers encourage them!

Transportation Demand Modeling, Lesson I: Mode Choice in China

For those of you who aren't transportation planners (or who don't have a mom who is), the title of this blog entry simply means the modes I used for travel to, in, and from China:

BY PLANE:

Papa and me, enjoying the bulkhead seats

BY TRAIN:

Our spacious train car
Aboard the Z-train from Shanghai to Beijing

BY SUBWAY:

Inside the subway station at Tiananmen Square

BY TAXI:

Pictured here with Uncle Eric and Papa
And notice: NO CARSEAT, WOW

BY PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE:

Hired car and...

My own!

BY STROLLER:

Looking around outside the Forbidden City

BY HUMAN:

Getting ready to hike to the Great Wall (pictured behind us)

BY BOAT:

Powerboat ride on the reservoir along the Great Wall

Stay tuned for my next posting, which will highlight the new friends I made while traveling in China...

Nine-month update

Here's what I've been up to this month:

1. I now have four bottom teeth, and little white spots showing on the top row. I continue to drool like a waterfall.
2. Just a few days ago (April 29) I pulled myself up to a standing position (see photo below). Later that night, Dad came to check on me to make sure I was sleeping, but he found me standing in my crib smiling in the dark. The next day, my crib mattress was lowered.
3. I haven't figured out how to sit back down, so when my legs get wobbly, I cry and wail until someone comes to help me.
4. I traveled to China for two weeks and saw Shanghai and Beijing. I rode planes, trains, taxis, and boats.
5. I now can say, "mama," and I say it whenever I want to see mom, or when I want food, or when I want to sleep, or when I want to play, or when I need my diaper changed. Mom says she's going to teach me new vocabulary words like "papa."
6. I scream in protest when anyone removes my toys.
7. I love to eat teething biscuits, rice cakes, tofu, avocado, and rice porridge.
8. I can sit by myself and eat in a highchair.
9. I am losing my cheeks (facial).
10. I have learned how to shake my head, "no!"

We went off to China and when I returned...

...I stayed a few days with Halmoni (grandma on Dad's side). When I got home, I found that THIS happened to my room. It looks tons better now. Thanks, Dad and Mom, for finally decorating my place.


Stay tuned for pictures from our visit to China.

Mama's gettin' crafty

Mom made this taggy blanket for me. She spent about five hours cutting ribbons, deliberating on the fabric selection, measuring and cutting fabric, pinning, and sewing. I fell asleep that night before she was done with it, but when I woke up I found it in my crib next to me. I promptly ignored it.

I've got better things to do than play with the tags on this blanket, like gnawing on the wood of my crib like a little woodchuck, and figuring out how to bust out of the safety gate to my room like a wrongly imprisoned woodchuck. (Did you know a woodchuck is the same as a groundhog?)

Dad is modeling the blanket here, front and back. As you can see, he was pretty exhausted, too, after she made the blanket. He patiently pushed me in my stoller all around the fabric store while Mom turned the place upside down looking for something called "chenille." What the heck is that? She didn't know, either, but just knew it was soft...I'm not sure if she found it in the end, but she emerged from that chaos with something fuzzy.



Mom got the idea for the blanket (okay, okay, she simply copied it) from her friend, Yukari, who also gave us all that neat ribbon you see in the photos (thanks, Yukari!). Yukari's got a photo of her blanket on her blog, too. Maya loves hers!

I clean up pretty well

This photo was taken in early March at my Mom's cousin's (Chia-Wen's) wedding reception in Cincinnati, Ohio...just moments before I shoved the whole tie into my mouth.

I'm EIGHT months old

Accomplishments this month:

1. I am now crawling forward, and can build up pretty good speed even though I'm dragging my belly on the carpet. By the time I've reached my destination I'm usually covered in dog fur.
2. I continue to drool a lot and I tricked my doctor into believing that my upper teeth were coming in. She said, "in the next day or two" -- that was three weeks ago, and still no teeth.
3. I sleep better at night when I've been at day care. When I'm home with Mom, I'm cranky in the afternoon and don't fall asleep easily at night. (What the hell is she doing to me?)
4. I eat finger foods. I can pick up little crackers. I'm 50% successful at getting a cracker into my mouth before it completely dissolves and turns to mush in my chubby grip.
5. I sneaked out of my room a few times when Mom turned her back - now Dad's installed a gate to keep me in my room. They have entered the world of child-proofing equipment.
6. I continue to meet other babies. Mom is looking for a Mommy and Me class to help me with manners, though. I met a baby three days younger than me; I crawled right up to him and gave him a head-butt.
7. I went to a sports bar and watched the Bruins-Gators NCAA championship game with Dad and his buddies. I had a beer. Mom's a Gator so we left her at home.
8. I like bubble baths.
9. I babble a lot when no one is listening.
10. I can drink water from a sippy cup, but most of it pours down my chin.

It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

What'd you say? You wanna see my teeth?

Moving Mountains (of Laundry)

Me and Uncle Enrique -- Now That's Bright

May I brag?

Some of my most recent accomplishments:

1. I usually get my evening bath around 8:30 and go to sleep at 9. I wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning.
2. I enjoy going out and get very restless if I'm cooped up at home.
3. I love to eat baby food and thick cereal; runny cereal makes me impatient and I'll scream about it. I also prefer to (try to) feed myself.
4. I had a real haircut -- not one from my Yeh Yeh (grandpa on mom's side), which left me looking like the dog had taken bites out of my hair.
5. I've got my parents wrapped around my chubby little finger, and I can stare down Lucy.
6. I'm addicted to my pacifier.
7. I still drool all the time but I spit up less these days.
8. I've learned that I can repeatedly throw down my toy and Daddy will pick it up.
9. I can flip over on my own.
10. I can push my butt up in the air while I'm on my tummy, and have started to display something that resembles crawling, even if I'm moving backwards.

The many faces of...

Six months...but who's counting?

Well, I turned six months old a couple weeks ago, and all of a sudden, *everything* changed. First, dad and mom went crazy with our friend Marta, and they dressed me up and took a lot of photos. In case you didn't know, Marta is our photographer friend, and she's really talented at capturing my chubby cheeks in print. Here's the compilation she made for me.





















Then, before I knew it, I was whisked away to see my very cute girlfriend, Maya. I don't think she was thrilled to see me at first, as you can see here. But later we went for a walk together (we loaded up our moms in the backs of our strollers) and all was good.

Today we went to my doctor's office and she said I did a great job growing my two bottom teeth. She saw some coming in on the top, too, and she gave dad and mom some instructions on how to feed me solid foods...finally. Little did she know that I *already* know how to eat winter squash (dad fed me some last night) and I could probably devour an entire jar of it if someone would just hand it to me. I've gotten over my ear infection, and my sleeping has been really good the past four nights. I am also allowed now to use a sippy cup (haven't seen what this is yet, but I have a feeling mom's gonna go out SHOPPING for one soon), and also I can chew on some teething cookies instead of cardboard.

I now weigh 19 pounds and 6 ounces (90th percentile), and am 28 inches long (90th percentile). My head circumference in particular gave my mom hope, as it is 18.25 inches (95th percentile), instead of the 15th percentile it was two months ago. After she measured my head, the nurse said I was smart -- well I told her, "and you haven't even seen my blog yet."

Later, folks.

Welcome to my crib

Over the weekend, mom and dad *finally* set up my new crib and cleared out the other room for me and all my miniature junk. I outgrew my cradle, which was set up next to my parents' bed, oh about a month ago and I suppose they finally understood that all my squirming and wimpering was in protest to the cradle closing in on me. Mom suddenly got the message and hauled the unassembled crib out of the living room where it was doing a lot of good propping up the wall, and assembled the whole thing herself in two hours. I must admit, she did a darn good job cause she had one side of the crib propped up with her forehead while holding the other side at a right angle with her toes, and bolted them together to a horizontal bar with a screwdriver in one hand and a hex wrench in the other. I think that's why dad finds her so sexy.


My new room used to be mom's office, and yesterday she and dad hauled away the bookshelves and computer equipment to make room for me. I slept in my new room for the first time last night, and I didn't have *any* separation anxiety, though mom seems to have some separation anxiety with her work space. Dad set up her desk and bookshelves in the dining room, which is more efficient use of that space, but now mom only has five feet to go to get to the fridge whenever she wants to procrastinate. She can push back from her desk in her rolling chair, lean back, and pull out a casserole and beer if she wanted to.

I also got a crazy cool new jumper for Christmas. I'm still working on launching a back flip off this thing, but in the meantime I'm having a great time just licking the toys.

Ten things no one told my mother about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood

1. Pregnancy doesn't last nine months -- it's actually 40 weeks, closer to ten months.
2. Pregnancy plays a cruel joke on you by making your hair grow thick and glorious, only to have it all fall out after childbirth.
3. Abstinence from alcohol doesn't last just during pregnancy, but throughout breastfeeding too -- a time in your life when you most want to be drinking.
4. Breastfeeding sucks.
5. You do not forget the birthing pains, your baby just gets cuter.
6. Crib mobiles are really only useful for three or four months, after which your baby can reach for, grab, and pull the entire thing down to come crashing on his head.
7. If you buy musical toys from the same manufacturer -- such as a mobile, a baby swing and a musical lantern from, say, Fisher Price -- they will all play exactly the same songs and this will slowly drive you insane.
8. If you forget to change the batteries in musical toys, the perky music quickly changes from soothing and peppy to eerie and weird -- kind of like how clowns and carnivals are fun and innocent when you're young, but can really creep you out when you're older.
9. Crotch extenders for onesies are a brilliant invention.
10. The most useful household item during and after pregnancy is that handheld shower nozzle -- great during pregnancy when you can't reach your feet, and perfect for hosing down the kid after his huge explosive poop.

A few words from my proud sponsor

Today I asked my mama to write a few thoughts about motherhood. Here she goes:

Hello to all of Devin's friends and family. Here's what life is like as a new mom for me. If you choose to switch places with me and live life in my shoes, be prepared for a wild time hauling around a ton of baby gear wherever you go, enduring earth-shattering screams, back-breaking manual labor lifting the baby, and being covered in spit-up. I hope you are ready. I also want to prepare you for the shock of finding out that you now are missing a good portion of your brain, as well as your ability to form full and comprehensible sentences. You will also lose much of your hair (yes, I am going bald and it sucks). I also hope you are looking forward to minor bouts of postpartum depression here and there, feeling like your marriage is about to crumble to pieces, and addiction to bad television programming.

Gone will be your days of being spontaneous, footloose and fancy-free...replaced by sleepless nights worrying about how the hell you will afford a new set of (larger sized) clothes for your new body, let alone tuition for your baby's college. You will never spend money on yourself or your appearance ever again -- and it will show. You will be moody and you will take Tylenol by the spoonful. Come dressed in a lot of black with dark rings under your eyes and stringy hair, and be prepared to snarl at people while you robotically slam down a stiff drink at 6 AM for breakfast. And of course, you will mix these drinks that get you through the day with the use of only one hand. (You will never again accomplish anything in life that requires the use of two.) Yes, this is what motherhood feels like.

If you choose to switch places with me, however, I wouldn't let you because Devin is the most exciting part of each day that I live and I wouldn't trade him for even a few steps in someone else's loafers, no matter how exotic, cushy, or fashionable the shoe. Mine fit fine as they are, and I am so lucky to be his mother.

November 7, 2005

Will you marry me?

Today we visited my girlfriend, Maya. She's a cutie, don't you think? She's a little over two weeks old in this picture, and was born November 4. We've got a lot in common, she and I: we were both born around the six pound range (Maya at 6 pounds and 5 ounces, me at 6 pounds and 15 ounces), and around 20 inches long (Maya: 19.5 inches, Me: 20 inches).


And her family ain't too bad either. I gotta behave around her big brother, though.


I'll wait about twenty years for your answer, Maya. So take your time and think about it. Maybe this picture of me will help you decide.

Whaddya think?