Eating chunks

I've been trying to feed Taede solids since he turned 6 months old (about 6 weeks ago). So far, I've been less than successful. But you knew this since I posted my failed attempts here and here.

I've not really pushed hard on the whole solids thing since I figure he'll eat when he's ready. Usually by 7 months my kids express an interest in food.

Not so Taede. Any attempt on my part to feed him, even get a spoon near his mouth, has been shot down. I can't even get the spoon past his lips. He doesn't bother looking at me when he pinches in his lips, sealing it shut to any amount of prying pressure I exert.

The past couple of weeks I've tried experimenting with foods. That food chart and wait 3 days thing? Forget about it. I'm feeding him all kinds of stuff, trying to find something he likes so we can started with solids. I'm worried the longer I wait, the more stubborn he becomes.

Luckily, I think I've figured it out. He definitely likes the sweet stuff like bananas, sweet yams and avocadoes. But the key is feeding it to him chunky. I've started him on the puffs too. It's hilarious watching his face trying to mash the bits of food.


I stuck a puff in his mouth. He's moving it around....


He thinks he likes it. Maybe.


He's attempting to feed himself. Except his hands are wet with drool so the puffs are sticking to the palm of his hand.


So he's going to stick his whole hand in his mouth.


Success! But don't laugh too hard otherwise it'll fall out.


Great. All that effort and Kael's going to make Taede laugh and he's going to lose the puff.


And there it goes. Stuck on his fingers. Yummy.

Dance Recital

Malia had her first dance recital on Saturday. I was on the fence about having her participate because she's not into tap at all and the recital was a tap routine. She's all about ballet.

Well, if truth be told, she doesn't really pay much attention in class period but she does pay slightly more attention during the ballet portion than she does the tap. Plus the routine the instructors had the kids do was too complicated in my opinion. Linda and I couldn't remember all the steps and in the end Linda had to record it on her phone to email it to me so that we could practice it at home with the girls.

Didn't help. At least not in Malia's case.

Then there was the whole paying to be a part of the recital bit. What the heck am I paying the monthly dues for?! I was a little peeved about that but was talked into going (Linda) so Malia could have her first recital.

It was very crowded and one little girl freaked out and cried. I was worried that Malia would freak out as well but she did great. She didn't smile or do the routine, but she didn't cry or freeze either. In the end, it was cute and at least she's got this experience down. The next recital we do hopefully will be ballet and maybe, just maybe, she might showcase a move or two.

Enjoy the pictures. I took a ton, but they all showed pretty much the same thing: Malia standing there looking around with her hands in her pocket. So I just posted my favorites.

Malia's Month

I know, I know.... it's been a while since I posted something substantial. I've had a really busy April. An insanely busy April.

The first week in April we had 7 Mai's over for a visit from Thursday to Wednesday. The second and third week we went to San Jose for Spring Break. The fourth weekend my parents came down for a wedding and crashed at our place until Monday (while Kael had birthday party commitments both Saturday and Sunday). That takes us to the first week in May where the last of the Mai's (Trieu and Ingrid) made a visit before heading off to Colorado. Their visit coincided with Malia's first dance recital (Saturday) and her birthday party (Sunday).

So here we are. The second week in May. I am free at last!

Until I got a phone call Friday morning at 7:30am and it was Robert. At my mother-in-law's apartment which is 5 minutes down from my house, asking "what's for breakfast?"

So yeah. It's been kind of busy. Nice, but really busy.

While in San Jose, we celebrated Malia's birthday. Then we had her actual birthday party down here with her friends (a Princess Tea Party). Then on Tuesday we had another mini-party for her at school (just pizza and cupcakes). With all this hoopla for her, Malia thinks her birthday is some kind of month-long celebration. Which in reality I guess it is.

We gave her a few options for her birthday (like at a bounce house, a park, her dance studio, etc.) and she without hesitation stated she wanted a Princess Party at her dance studio. The girl knows what she wants. I attempted to steer her towards the bounce house so that we could invite some boys and perhaps some of Kael's friends too. But nope. It was a Princess Party or bust.

After discussing the options with the dance studio, it was decided that it would be a Princess Tea Party (which is fancier than a mere Princess Party). Because of this, I decided to invite just girls and ship Kael off to spend the morning with Grandma. What would boys do at a tea party anyway?

I also decided to make the cupcakes myself. Why? you ask. Well, if you asked some friends of mine, it's because I'm crazy. However, if you asked ME why, I'd tell you.... actually, I don't know what I'd tell you. I just woke up one day and decided to make the cupcakes myself. I don't like the store bought stuff and... well, maybe I am just a touch crazy.

I can't tell you how many cupcakes I made in my quest to find the right recipe and frosting. It was a lot -- like over 100 cupcakes, easily. Luckily my friends were all good sports and were willing to eat my test batches. Truong however, has banned me from baking any more for at least another month.

Back to the party. The night before, Kael decided he wanted to crash the party. He didn't want to go with Grandma. He wanted to go to Malia's party. I could completely understand why he wanted to go, afterall we were talking up the party so that Malia would be excited about it. After checking the RSVP list of which of Malia's friends were attending, I called up 2 families with older siblings who happened to be Kael's best friends and told them to bring along the big kids too.

It was a great party. Malia had a fabulous time. I have never done a party like this so it was a treat for me to watch the girls get totally Princess'ed out. Before having kids, I remember saying I would never raise my female child to be such a girly-girl. No princesses, no dolls, just sports and bikes. I want a tomboy!

Ha! I have to laugh at myself now. I didn't raise Malia to be like this. She picked it up all by herself. And sure, I allow it, even encourage it. This is a part of her personality, what makes her uniquely Malia. And quite frankly, it's hard to take away something from your child when they enjoy it so much. I'm sure at some point in her life she will pick up a volleyball or a pair of sneakers and ask me to take her to practice. Until then, I'll make sure her tiara is bright and shiny.

Enjoy the pictures.

Shhh.....

Or more appropriately: hissssss.....

My friend Crystal is getting her house tented next week and has to evacuate her pets. Mochi-cat is going to Mom and Dad's. She asked if I wanted to watch Bubba -- probably not expecting an affirmative answer but little does she understand the workings of a household of a grade schooler. I jumped at the chance to house Bubba. It's a perfect situation: a returnable pet!

The kids would go absolutely nuts over Bubba. I haven't told Truong yet. I'm hoping to get Bubba in house and shoo Crystal and Jimmy away before Truong finds out we're Bubba-sitting.

Bubba is a SNAKE!!! And she said we could even feed it.

Kael is going to pee in his pants -- he'll be so excited.

Truong will also pee in his pants -- but for other reasons. He may end up shacking at the Di Dodo's while we Bubba-sit.

"A" for effort.

I never understood that saying. Shouldn't it be "E" for effort?!

Taede turned 7 months last week and he's still my mellow baby.

7 months stats:
Kael: 17.8 lbs & 27.5"
Malia: 13.13 lbs & 25.75"
Taede: 15.4 lbs & 27"

I expect he will lean out some when he becomes mobile. Which hasn't happened yet. At least not in the real sense of the word. He really wants to be. He just has to figure out the hand-knee coordination:


The above video was taken exactly at 7 months (April 23). He's trying. He really is. Do you see the red mark on his forehead? That's from his "lunge-crawl" attempts. He tries to crawl in his crib and usually ends up lunging face first against the crib. I have the mesh bumper so there's no padding at all. Linda was kind enough to lend me her nice thick bumper so hopefully the head banging (or at least proof of it) is a thing of the past.

The video below was taken today (May 1). And he's getting there. Still pretty shaky but I definitely have to get the baby gate up.


He's got 2-3 "steps" before the lunge. I give myself about 2 weeks before changing diapers become a true wrestling match.