10 Months already?

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (1 John 4:16)

Time Flies! I can't believe that it's been a month since I last blogged. I've been so busy going back to work and just wanting to hang out with Mimi every chance that I get. Lots has happened in the last month including celebrating the first birthday of cousin Weslee and having her first Valentine's Day (which is also Grandma Lily and Grandpa Rally's anniversary).

From Happy Heart Day

Now that Naomi goes to "school" everyday, her development has come a long way. She is officially a crawler! There is a cool tunnel that Ms. Adela puts out every now and then and Mimi used to just scoot into the entrance. Now she can go all the way through and does it several times in a row =)





Now that she's super mobile, we set up some soft foam mats in the living room so that she can crawl around on top of the hardwood. Even though she crawls around, she still seems to prefer to stand up and hold onto her activity table. Now the only problem is that she doesn't like to sit in her high chair for very long. She used to eat a whole meal sitting down... now she'd much rather play while she dines. I can't really complain though because when she's in the chair she clamps her mouth shut but when she gets to move around, she opens her mouth wide and smiles while she eats. =) Looks like she still sits in the chair at school though... at least long enough for a picture:

From Daycare is Fun!

Speaking of which... she's kinda over the baby food. Now we mix her babyfood with our good eats and she's good to go. Also, she is definitely Richie's baby because little girl LOVES her crunchies! Richie loves chips and Naomi loves those little cheetos and recently has fell in love with Veggie Sticks. She chomps on those like there's no tomorrow!

Unfortunately, Naomi got another ear infection since Super Sick Sunday. Apparently it was her right ear at first. Then a couple of weeks ago, she was fussy again at night and had a low grade fever. When it was her turn to see the doctor, she began tugging on her left ear... sure enough, that was the side that was infected! More meds and ten days later, she's back to normal.

Well, yesterday Baby Ganda turned 10 months old and today, Daddy brought her to see Dr. Tracy. She now weighs a nice 16 lbs. The doctor said that she is kinda on the petite side, but as long as she's still gaining weight and is eating well, there isn't anything to be concerned about. This was the first time that Richie was taking Mimi to get her shots and as usual, Naomi was a champ!

We're going to LA this weekend to celebrate cousin Arabella's first birthday. It's gonna be lots of fun. But there's still one more day of school to play with her new best buddies!

Half Way There

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' (Luke 10:9)

WOW! Can you believe that Naomi is already 6 months old... half way there! We had her doctor appointment on Monday and it came at a really good time because started having the sniffles and sneezes the night before. Naomi now weighs 14 lbs and 1 oz. She is 26 inches long. So Mimi actually went down in percentile for her weight... now she's considered on the lighter side at 25%. She is still in the 70% for height.

Naomi also received another set of immunizations. This time we added the regular flu shot so she had to get poked twice in both legs. Mimi cried loud while gettin the shots but only sniffled once I picked her up from the exam table =) So brave! Dr. Tracy took her temperature and Mimi didn't have a fever. She said that Naomi seemed to have a mini-cold, but nothing to worry about or take medication for. It would only be "bad" if she had a fever over 100.4 or seemed inconsolable.

When we got home from the doctors, she slept a lot.... a whole lot more than usual. And she didn't want to be put down. She would wake up when I tried to transfer her to her crib or the bed. I figured that she was drained from the immunizations. Richie and I decided to take her temperature and sure enough, she had a slight 99.8 fever. We removed some of her clothes and she was really fussy. Naomi doesn't cry much but she was wimpering as though she was uncomfortable. My poor baby! We gave her a sponge bath and she felt cooler to the touch, but I could tell she was under the weather. Naomi is not a fan of the nasal aspirator, but I had to use it several times to clear out her sinuses.

She slept in the bed with us and was pretty much attached to my chest the entire night. I normally don't let her pacify on me for too long, but I made an exception because it worked in soothing her. The next morning, on her actual 6 mos. bday, she woke up with lots of boogers in her nose =( Her temperature was still 99.4 but she was smiling, which is a good sign. Richie went to work while Mimi and I lay low. Lots of naps and lots of breastfeeding. Being sick is no fun, but I guess her first fever had to happen sooner or later. Fortunately, by evening her temp was back to normal and she was her bubbly singing self.

Oh, I haven't told you yet... this little girl can sing! I'm not just saying this because I'm her mother, but she really sounds like she is copying the melody I sing to her... specifically the tune sung by Ariel from "The Little Mermaid." I'm still trying to figure out how to upload the video from my BlackBerry. You've just gotta hear her!

Healthy Mimi

Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. (Proverbs 16:24)

Our babygirl had her 4-month old well exam with Dr. Tracy last Friday. Naomi now weighs 12 lbs, 9 oz and is a lengthy 24.5 inches long =) The doctor said that Mimi is doing great and once again admired the color of her eyes... they did get darker since her last appointment, but are still more on the gray side instead of brown. Naomi smiled and cooed at Dr. Tracy as she was getting examined to show off her playful personality.

The doctor noticed how strong Naomi's legs were and asked how tummy time was coming along. I let her know that just the night before, Naomi had rolled over for the first time while she was laying on my bed =) It was 4:30AM and I was getting ready to feed her when she rolled in my direction in an attempt to latch onto me. After I fed her, I thought she would go back to sleep like she normally does, instead she kept rolling over from her back to her tummy. She doesn't know how to roll back yet, so I helped her out. Mimi rolled over 5-7 times before getting tired and going back to sleep.

I held Naomi in my arms and the doctor told me that Naomi will already be eating solids by her next appointment. Mimi stared at Dr. Tracy with that intense look written on her eyebrows as though she was concentrating very hard on what the doctor had to say. Before Dr. Tracy left the room, she said, "Bye-bye sweet Naomi!" That put a smile on my heart because the description really does fit her perfectly =)

When it came time for Naomi's immunizations, she didn't do as well as last time. She didn't drink the oral medication as smoothly and then moments after she drank the whole vial, she threw up all over herself...that freaked her out. I had to change her out of her clothes and rub a washcloth through her hair. Mimi calmed down only long enough for the nurse to give her the three shots in a row - BOOM, BOOM, POW! Oohhweee... Naomi was UPSET! We hung out in the room for another 10 minutes while I nursed her and she relaxed. By the time we were in the waiting room scheduling her next appointment, she was smiling and cooing at the little 3-yr old who was also waiting. Way to go, Mimi!

"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue"... or Gray?

Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith, let it be done for you!" (Matthew 9:29)

Naomi got her first set of immunizations this past Monday and I almost cried! :( She of course shed a few tears, but not nearly as many as I had anticipated. She was asleep when the nurse came and gave her the first medication to drink. She woke up because of the taste in her mouth. Then I was instructed to hold her upper body as she lay down while the nurse proceeded to prick her twice in her left leg and then a third time in her right leg. Naomi let out the loudest cry I have ever heard come out of her! My poor baby! Just as my eyes were watering because I was feeling her pain, she stopped crying and closed her eyes and went back to sleep. AMAZING! No short sobbing or whimpering or muted cries... it was like she said, "OW! THAT REALLY HURTS! Okay, I'm over it, now can I go back to bed?" I was warned that she might be cranky at night if the pain persists. Not Mimi. She cried out a few times upon waking up during the day, but as soon as I picked her up, she was fine. Then at night instead of not being able to sleep, she actually slept the longest she's ever had - from 7PM until 3:30AM - a whole 8 hours! What a trooper :)
Other highlights of her doctor appointment: she now weighs 10 lbs 5 oz (45th percentile) and is 23 inches long (75th percentile). (Side note: Richie caught a fish that was longer than her!) Basically, she's slightly more slender than average and well on her way to being quite tall :) Dr. Tracy said that she has great skin - no baby acne, no cradle cap and no rashes (diaper or otherwise). Also, Dr. Tracy isn't the first to notice, but she was admiring the color and the shape of Mimi's eyes. They are slate gray and almond shaped. I kinda went picture crazy again and took a bunch of close ups trying to capture the color of her eyes. My sister told me that it's quite likely that they will get darker and turn brown, but I think it would be so cool if they stayed just as they are.

This past weekend some other people were adoring her eyes as well when we were at a 4th of July party with some friends from college. It was the first time many of them were meeting her, including her birthday twin Auntie Elisha who was also born on May 10th. Here's Naomi in her cute Gap denim skirt :)



We've been told that Naomi has a nice combination of features from both Richie and myself. Most people say that for the most part she looks like Daddy but has Mommy's eyes. Although her eyes are an almond shape, they are definitely bigger than mine were at her age. Here is a collage of photos that I took of her the day she got her shots... all in less than three minutes. Who do you think she looks like? Smile!