Haha, I got you there, didn’t I?!

No, I’m not expecting a second baby (yet). I just signed up for my second half-marathon. I’ll be running 13.1 miles in the Disneyland Half-Marathon on August 31! My friend Gesina told me that she had registered for it when she came over on Saturday. I’ve been itching to train for a race anyway, and I just couldn’t resist when she told me that the course takes you through Disneyland and California Adventure Park, under the “A” at the Angels stadium, and back around Disneyland. How awesome will it be to run through the Magic Kingdom at 6 a.m.?! I love Disneyland, and this will be an all-new way to experience it.

Some of you long-time readers may remember my first half-marathon experience, the Philadelphia half-marathon in September 2005. I finished that one in 2:20, and I hope to finish this one in approximately the same amount of time. I don’t have too many expectations on time, though — since the Philly half-marathon, I have aged almost three years and had a baby. But, in some ways, I’m in better shape now than I was back then. Certainly, I will not repeat my mistake of running the first few miles too fast! I also have more patience now, and I know my body even better than I did back then. My goal — like it was for last time — is to not walk a single step. I’m fairly confident I can do it!

Actually, my trepidation around this event doesn’t have to do with the race itself … it’s about the amount of time training will take. That’s why I had to mull this over for three days before signing up, with Johnny’s encouragement to “do something for myself.” I printed out the 12-week training schedule I used last time, and it won’t be so bad. It calls for four days of running a week, with three of the days falling on weekdays. Those weekday runs are pretty short — usually around three miles. I already run three miles when I go out on my runs after Jack’s bedtime, twice a week. So, this won’t take away from time with Jack, except one weekend morning a week, when I do my longer run. I can also fit in one or two Bar Method classes a week, because the schedule calls for strength training on two days. This effort takes away from some time with Johnny, though — something that I also don’t like to give up. But, as Johnny points out, it will be over on August 31, and if I don’t run this one, I might not have the chance to run a half-marathon for a long time, since sometime next year we might be thinking about another addition to the family.  Can’t run a half-marathon while pregnant, and I just don’t see how I’d train while juggling two kids, contract work and running a household. Anyway, now that I’ve paid the $100 registration fee (yes, folks, I paid for the privilege of running 13.1 miles … haha), I better get started with training!

My first training run is tonight: An easy, breezy two miles. I am super-excited for this half-marathon. I’ve told myself that if I am disciplined enough to stick with the training schedule all the way through, I will reward myself with a new running outfit for the actual race (which I will break in before the half-marathon, of course. Nothing worse than finding out on race day that the built-in shelf bra on your new running top chafes!). We’re probably going to book a hotel room at a Disney hotel for the night before, so that we don’t have to get there at 4:30 a.m. just to park. Johnny, Jack and Matt (Gesina’s husband) will stake out a spot at the finish line and wait for us. Gesina is a fast runner (she recently placed first in the 25-29 age bracket in a 5K), so she’ll probably finish in half my time.  Wish me luck!

I was going to make the title of this post “A Weekend of Celebrations,” but then I realized that would be better suited to this coming weekend, what with Johnny’s graduation and Father’s Day.  Nevertheless, this past weekend was also full of celebration!

First came Johnny’s 28th birthday on Friday (thanks for all of your birthday wishes for him!). I worked at home, and Johnny hung out with Jack all day. There were many cute father-son moments, but the one I loved best was when Johnny and Jack were both rockin’ out. Every morning and evening, Johnny holds Jack in his arms and blasts music from his iPod (which he has hooked up to speakers on our living room bookshelves). Jack loves this, and he starts waving excitedly when Johnny approaches the iPod. Then he’ll start clapping to the beat and wriggling around in Johnny’s arms. He even starts kind of singing along (just saying “aaaaah” when the music is playing, and even going up and down in pitch). Sometimes the three of us will “dance” around together. Check out this photo I took from the jam session Friday morning:

Jack is really into his singing!

Oh, it was hilarious. All the singing tired Jack out, because he took a really long afternoon nap (like three hours!). When he woke up, I had finished work, so the three of us headed out to the park. After the outing, dinner (for Jack) and bedtime (also for Jack), our babysitter arrived, and Johnny and I headed out for our date night to celebrate his birthday. I got all dressed up in my very risque brown shirt with the keyhole cut-out and wide “belt” underneath the bust. We went to dinner at the Lobster in Santa Monica. The guy who led us to our table asked if we were married (the reservation was under our last name). We said yes, and he was like, “Really?! Wow, you guys look so young to be married! That’s why I asked.” Johnny told him we even have a baby, and that he was actually 28 today, and I was 27. The guy said, “WHAT?!” I’m going to believe that the guy meant what he was saying, since he wasn’t anticipating a tip from us. Of course, that made, oh, my whole year.

Anyway, they gave us the best table we’ve ever had there … right next to the window, where we could see the ocean and the pier right at sunset.

We went all out and ordered a lobster cocktail and an artichoke for an appetizer, and I got a pan-roasted lobster over lobster mashed potatoes for my entree. Johnny got a surf and turf plate. For dessert, we had the scrumptious chocolate bread pudding.

Here is my lobster dish! And you can kind of see the belt part of my shirt behind the lobster

Afterward, we met up with Amy and Han at Bodega wine bar in Santa Monica. It was a bit noisier there than I’d remembered, but we still had fun chatting with Amy and Han and looking at videos of the wonderful apartments they’d viewed earlier that day. I can’t wait for them to move here!

Amy and I at Bodega

Saturday, I went to Bar class with my friend Tomomi in the morning. After a grueling workout and a coffee break, I came home to prepare for our friends Gesina and Matt to come over. I made salsa, garlic lemon chicken wings with sea salt, and we also set out hummus and vegetables, as well as watermelon slices. I mixed up a pitcher of delicious berry vodka spritzers (with fresh berries and lime juice), and we also had plenty of chilled Corona and fresh-cut limes on hand. Once Gesina and Matt arrived, we carted everything downstairs to the pool area and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon and evening of relaxing and eating poolside. Jack also joined in the fun — he sat in his stroller and enjoyed his snacks, and even chatted with us adults sometimes (in his own baby babble, of course). The most hilarious thing is when he starts laughing when the rest of us are laughing, as if to say, “Haha, I’m in on the joke, too!” When we went swimming, Jack also had fun taking a dip. For dinner, Johnny grilled up some burgers (thanks for your grilling tips, Chris!) and some marinated Korean bbq short ribs (they sell them pre-marinated at Trader Joe’s, and they are delish!). We ate down by the pool, then I put Jack to bed, and after he was asleep, we enjoyed dessert in the apartment (cream cheese brownies and vanilla ice cream). It really was a great summer day!

Yesterday was more low-key. I spent lots of time with Jack, and I also went with a friend from work to see our other friend/coworker who had a baby last Saturday. We brought over flowers, gossip magazines and a dinner for the new parents. The baby girl is so cute and tiny! I couldn’t believe how small newborn diapers are. I mean, yes, Jack did wear them when he was a newborn, but they look so small next to his size 4 diapers now. I don’t think the newborn diapers could even cover one of Jack’s butt cheeks! I held the baby for a long time as she slept. SO CUTE! (On the other hand, SO MUCH WORK!)

This week will be busy at work and at home. My lovely in-laws are coming in on Wednesday night for Johnny’s graduation on Friday. It promises to be a weekend of good eating, celebrating and shopping!

I’ll leave you all with this video of Jack laughing at Atari’s squeaky toy.

Happy Birthday to Johnny! That’s right, my wonderful husband is 28 today. He’s really into his “late 20s” now.  I will join him in a little more than three months.

I realized this morning that this is the tenth birthday of Johnny’s that we’ve celebrated together as a couple. Hmmm, that means we’re either really old or that we met when we were really young. I’m going to go with the latter. Someday, I suppose it will mean both! Anyway, it’s incredible to me that we’ve celebrated 10 birthdays together. Where has the time gone? It doesn’t even seem like yesterday that we were college students; it seems like an hour ago. Each year keeps getting better, but it’s a bit scary how quickly life seems to be happening.

Jack’s birthday present to Johnny was a pat on the belly as Johnny was changing his diaper this morning, accompanied by a very cute uttering of “Papa!” I don’t know how I can top that! My gift is our “date night” this evening. I’m also looking into an iPhone for Johnny. I decided not to keep it a surprise; I really need his input on these technology things, so I don’t get the wrong item!

Tonight, we are hiring a babysitter and going to dinner at The Lobster in Santa Monica. Then, it’s on to meet up with Amy and Han (who are in town apartment-hunting) at Bodega, a wine bar with good atmosphere. Yes, we will be out past 10 p.m. Watch out, Los Angeles!

p.s. Thank you to everyone for your encouragement and support on my last entry.

Some of you already know about this, but it’s out in the open now, so I can share it with everyone.

Earlier this week, I gave notice to my manager — I will be leaving the world of full-time employment. My last day will be August 1, after which, Jack will be my boss (but I will be the boss of him!).  That’s right, I will join the world of stay-at-home-moms (SAHMs, for those of you unfamiliar with the lingo). However, I will also be a contractor for my company, which means I would get to keep my work laptop and my work email address. I will be paid for the actual number of hours I work, at a pretty good hourly rate, and I can turn down or accept projects as I wish. There are no benefits, of course, but that’s OK, because I will have them through Johnny’s employer, and he starts his job on June 16, so there won’t be any time where I don’t have coverage.

I told my manager that I am happy to accept 15 to 20 hours of contract work each week, provided that the work does not have to be done during regular business hours. So, instead of the project management work I do now, I should be doing a lot more writing, which is great, because it can be done at home (or really, anywhere) during naps, after bedtime and on weekends. I can focus my attention on Jack and keep a foot in the professional world and make some money while I’m at it! She said that should not be a problem. Of course, there won’t always be work to spread around to a contractor, but summer and fall are busy seasons, so I may very well have some contract work to start with.

I am really, really excited and happy about this. It’s been difficult emotionally from day one, and increasingly more so as the days go by. It’s been harder than I thought it would be, despite a supportive team and manager at work. Johnny has been wonderful and very supportive of this decision. Now that he’s graduating, he’s eager to start work, and though he’s sad that he won’t get to spend as much time with Jack anymore, he is also relieved that I will be home to make sure things run smoothly. This way, if he has to work late or travel, we don’t have to scramble to make sure Jack is covered, and during our free time as a couple, we can perhaps spend less time discussing logistics! I feel lucky that I have the flexibility to do this. It will mean being more disciplined about purchases (sorry, Dear Closet, you will be seeing new additions less frequently!), but it is well worth it. Instead of being a cute, trendy mom, I can be a cute, slightly-less-trendy mom. Tee hee.

Despite all the wonderful things about this decision, it was definitely a difficult one to make. This has been my first and only full-time job — I’ve been doing it for almost six years, and it has been in the background through many of my major milestones: engagement, marriage, pregnancy, motherhood, two cross-country moves, just to name a few. Plus, it’s a little scary to step away from a nice, regular paycheck at a time when Johnny and I are saving for a house, student loan repayments for Johnny are due to begin, and when the economy is on the rocks (and, it’s also tempting to think about how much we could be earning together!). Not to mention, there’s the whole “but I’m a modern woman who should be able to do it all!” mentality. Then again, for the last two years, we’ve been only living on my salary, and we’ve saved a significant amount of money toward our future down payment, so I’m confident we’ll be able to swing it under the new arrangement. When it comes down to it, my heart is at home, and I can’t deny how much I enjoy running a household. My mom stayed home with us, and I loved it — and she is my ultimate role model for what a mom should be.  So, I am following my heart on this one!

Wish me luck as I finish the last couple of months at work, and as I head into the role of full-time mom. I’m sure it holds its fair share of challenges, and I am certain it’s harder work than what I’m doing now. I’m happy to be having a bit of both worlds.

Wow, a whole week without posting?! Could it be? I’ve been reading everyone’s entries but haven’t gotten the chance to post my own. I don’t really have much to say — we had a relaxing weekend, and I watched the Sex and the City movie … it was awesome! I won’t say much more than that, for those of you who have yet to see it. As June so aptly put it, the best part about it was that it provided the closure everyone wanted from the show.

As usual, Jack is the highlight of my entry. Here are some pictures we took over the weekend:

My cheeky little man

Hello, world! Are you impressed with my cart-pushing skills?

I love father-son-happy pics

Jack and Atari race each other

Jack also had some pretty rare time with my dad this weekend. Since my dad is in Taiwan most of the year, his time with Jack is very precious. Unfortunately, Jack’s going through a phase where he really does not like to be held by people he doesn’t see every day … especially men! He was very curious about his grandfather, but it took him a while to warm up enough to be held by my dad.

Three handsome men — my dad, Jack and Johnny

At lunch on Sunday — my dad sneaks a kiss from Jack

Do you see a family resemblance between me and my dad? Actually, this is SO freaky, but someone at work (who doesn’t know me very well) saw a picture of my dad and thought that he was my husband! I was so freaked out!

I love this picture. Jack was having fun with Grandpa!

Oh, that Jack. He’s really blossoming more each day — in some ways, he requires more energy from us than ever, what with his obsession with moving toward the most dangerous object in a room, his constant pulling up to standing and his never being still. But, he’s so delightfully funny. The other night, we were sitting on the floor in Jack’s room, and I put a block on my head. I then let the block slide off my head and onto the floor while Jack was watching. He smiled and squealed, then picked up the block and reached it up toward the top of my head! He wanted to put it there. Now, whenever we’re playing with the blocks, he’ll reach one up toward my head. He’s also started putting things into containers instead of just dumping them out. And, when we make animal noises, like “mooo” or “woof,” he’ll start to imitate us. He can’t really say “Moooo” yet, so he’ll say “Mmmmmmmm” in the same tone whenever we moo at him. It’s really adorable.

Clapping has not yet happened, although I hear it’s “supposed” to happen any moment now. I feel like milestones are happening more quickly than I can record them!

I hope all of my U.S.-based readers had a wonderful long weekend! I took Friday off, so I had a full four days to enjoy. It went by way too quickly, and despite getting sick toward the end of the weekend, I had a lot of fun!

Friday, Johnny and I took Jack to the Third Street Promenade. I got some workout gear at Hard Tail, then Johnny bought some casual summer clothes at Old Navy. After shopping, we had lunch at a Greek restaurant, where Jack was adored by the waitresses. He was so good during the outing! We didn’t take pictures while we were out, but I did take this pic before we headed out for the day. It’s Johnny and Jack in their matching shirts!

Saturday morning, Jack and I headed to my friend Tomomi’s house for a playdate. She lives in my neighborhood, and her son, Kai, is only 11 days older than Jack. Kai is super cute. He’s half-Japanese, and he has almost blond hair! Kai looks so much bigger than Jack, despite weighing in only a half pound more! I think he’s an inch taller, though, and that makes a lot of difference at this age. Anyway, for the first 15 minutes of the play date, Jack was very shy and hung around me. I knew he was comfortable when he started crawling away from me, flirting with Tomomi, making funny faces at her husband and trying to hit Kai with toys. The two boys had fun together, especially with peeking at each other through the walls of the play pen that Tomomi has in her living room. They also tried to hit each other with the door of the play pen.

Jack tries to join Kai in the play pen

The only successful shot I got of both babies looking in the direction of the camera!

Later Saturday afternoon, Jack and went to Target. He had a grand old time, sitting in the cart, drinking out of his new straw sippy cup and waving to shoppers with his other hand.

Jack, riding in style

Saturday night, while Jack slept in the car, Johnny and I went to the airport to pick up my dad, who arrived from Taiwan. Unfortunately, my mom had to leave for Taiwan earlier than expected because her uncle is really sick.  So for the first time ever, my dad’s here in the States while my mom’s in Taiwan! My dad looks so thin from working too hard! After picking him up, we headed to my parents’ house to spend the night.

Sunday, we met up with my dad’s side of the family for a reunion/belated birthday celebration for my aunt (who’s also my godmother). My cousin Diane was also there; she had her baby, Justin, a month before I had Jack! It was the first time the two babies have met up since they were three and four months old.

Jack looks away while Justin looks at Jack’s high chair enviously

Jack stuffs his face while Justin looks on, unaware that he also has Cheerios and puffs in front of him — so cute!

Jack was fascinated by Justin and kept trying to harrass him. He would take a Cheerio and try to stick it in Justin’s eye while making cheerful noises. He also kept reaching over to touch Justin, and when Justin started crying, Jack withdrew his hand and kept on eating like nothing happened. Whenever Justin made a noise, Jack would look over quizzically and maybe say “da” or “ba” in response. It was really interesting to observe. Justin was also interested in touching Jack. Both babies were obsessed with dropping things onto the floor!

In between watching the babies and eating, we did manage to take lots of pics!

Jack enjoys standing on the windowsill

June and I

My dad, my aunt, June and I

Jack and I, my cousin Diane and Justin, and my aunt. Notice how Justin’s looking at his mom, while Jack decides that Justin’s jacket is much more interesting than I am!

Johnny, Jack and I

Another shot of us; this one isn’t as nice of me and Johnny, but Jack looks so happy!

It was fun to see everyone. That afternoon, I started to feel really bad physically, but I chalked it up to being tired and crampy. I took a long nap and went to bed early that night after we drove back to our apartment, and I felt better yesterday. In the morning, Johnny and I took Jack to Coffee Bean and then to the park, where we met a 10-year-old girl who uses a Blackberry for a phone (to be fair, it was her mom’s old Blackberry) and talked about how much she wanted an iPhone. I decided that 10-year-olds these days are more sophisticated than I am! After returning home, I made cream cheese brownies for a barbecue we were going to later in the afternoon. The barbecue was a lot of fun, and the brownies were a hit. Jack had fun, too.

Why don’t Mommy and Daddy have one of these lawn chairs at home for me to stand on?

After returning home from the barbecue, I started to feel really bad. My throat was scratchy, my back was sunburned (I forgot to apply sunscreen on my back, and I was sitting with my back to the sun most of the time) and my tummy felt weird (not food poisoning weird, just gassy weird). I thought maybe I’d just talked too much and drank too much. I’d had about three glasses of wine, which is three more than I usually have! Alas, this morning I woke up with a cough, stuffy nose and cloudy head. I came to work, though, since there is a lot to do! I was going to go to Bar Method class this morning, but thought better of it and canceled. I’ll go tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!

I am so glad Memorial Day weekend is coming up. This week, I’ve had three offsite meetings in three consecutive days! Today, I drove back and forth from San Diego … that’s 240 miles; five hours of driving in one day. Johnny was sweet and insisted that I take the RAV4 instead of the Beetle, so that I could see traffic more clearly and be more comfy for the long drive. I almost fell asleep at the wheel on the way back. It wasn’t late at all — I left SD around 1:15 p.m., but my day had started at 6 a.m., and I had stayed up until midnight the previous evening to finish prepping for the meeting. I had taken a couple hours’ break when I got home from work so I could spend some time with Jack, and then picked up again after he was in bed, and by the time I got done wearing my Mommy hat, eating dinner and preparing for the meeting, it was today.  On the drive back this afternoon, it seemed like the more I tried to stay awake, the more my eyelids wanted to close, even when I was pinching my leg and singing loudly in the car. I made it safe and sound, though! My meetings all went well, so all the prep and traveling was worth it.

When I was talking to my mom on the phone today, she told me — and rightly so — that I should get to bed earlier. Most nights we’re not in bed until 11:30 p.m. or midnight – late for people who get up at 6 a.m. That’s probably my fault. Johnny always waits up for me so we can go to bed together. I know I could get more sleep if I let some things go around the house or skipped working out. Does anyone else get weird when it comes to chores, though? Johnny’s always offering — even insisting — on helping with more than his share of chores (he’s in charge of doing dishes, putting them away, taking out the trash and vaccuming. Since I started back at work, Johnny has also often taken on laundry and ironing, things that used to be exclusively ”mine.” (I adore doing laundry — I feel so in control, what with the piles and the sorting and the putting away. And, oh, ironing … if only I could apply an iron to life and smooth away all the wrinkles!) Because of this, I’ve gotten rather territorial about my remaining chores – all things related to Jack, usually, plus cooking and general straightening, and laundry, if it falls on a weekend. Last night, Johnny kept offering to make dinner and do Jack’s laundry, but again I was reluctant to have him do things that are on “my” list. I’m especially possessive about cooking. It’s not a male/female thing, it’s a — you guessed it! — control freak thing. My kitchen = my domain! Don’t mess with it! The more Johnny offers help, the more stubborn I become. Sometimes Johnny points out to me that in the time I’ve spent trying to dissuade him from helping, he could have gotten the chore done. I am making progress, though. Last night, I managed to tell myself that if I’m working late and my sweet husband is offering a helping hand, it is only logical to accept it. Equal partnership and all that, not a dictatorship run by Beverly, right?   In the end, Johnny did Jack’s laundry and made his bottles for the next day, in addition to his usual dish washing. I made dinner and selected Jack’s food for the next day (I truly relish that “chore” and will never give that up! Well, until Jack starts eating meals with us. Then I have to relinquish control as Master Menu Planner for the prince). My goal is to unabashedly accept help in the name of getting more sleep.

Wow, that was a long tangent! Back to the topic at hand. I’m taking Friday off, and I’m really excited. My only plans are to spend the day with Johnny and Jack. We’re going to head to the Third Street Promenade. Johnny wants to look at some shorts at Old Navy. I love going there and getting trendy things that I know I probably won’t wear for more than one season … I don’t feel as guilty because it’s pretty inexpensive.  So, while the trip is really more for Johnny, I can’t say I won’t at least peek at the women’s stuff. But even better than the shopping is the prospect of four whole days with Johnny and Jack, and family and friends. 

The rest of the weekend will be pretty packed. Saturday morning, Jack and I are going to a playdate at a friend’s house, then later that evening, we’ll go pick up my dad from the airport. He’s coming back from Taiwan for a couple of weeks. Sunday, we have a family reunion on my dad’s side of the family, and Monday we’re going to a barbecue. I think I’ll make my cream cheese brownies to bring to the barbecue. Somewhere in there, I’ve got to find time to shop for the brownie ingredients and make some more food for Jack. He’s running through my frozen supplies like nobody’s business these days. I also need to make a Target run. Wish me luck on getting those things done.

(I promise that very occasionally, I do things that are more interesting than going to Target, baking brownies and cooking baby food. )

I hope everyone has a relaxing, fun Memorial Day weekend! Off to bed I go to recharge for my last workday this week!

I hope the answer to that question is no! Unfortunately, this morning I ate mold without realizing it. On Friday night, I made a trip to Trader Joe’s. Among many other things, I bought a package of their Tandoori Naan (not the frozen naan, but the fresh, ultra-soft, extremely delicious naan that come six to a plastic bag). The bag said the naan would be good until Monday, but I knew it wouldn’t last until then in our household. Johnny and I gobble up TJ’s naan with hummus, or just plain as a snack, or toasted with butter … basically, we use any excuse we can to eat it!

This morning, after Jack went down for his nap, I realized I was starving. So I sat myself down with some soy milk and half a piece of naan. Yes, I know it’s random, but I just wanted some of its carby goodness. Sure enough, it hit the spot. As I ate, I read my latest issue of Real Simple. All of a sudden, the usually fluffy-yet-substantial naan tasted very … odd. It was like I was eating a mouthful of cleaning-product-flavored bread. This was dumb of me, but I didn’t look down. It was just that one bite that tasted weird, so I chalked it up to the bread somehow coming in contact with some counter cleaner or something (I had just cleaned up with Mrs. Meyer’s countertop spray the night before). I finished the rest of my breakfast and moved on with my day.

A couple of hours ago, Johnny was rummaging around for a pre-dinner snack. He decided on some naan and hummus. As soon as he opened up the bag of naan, he said, “Oh, gross, moldy naan!” I jumped up and went to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, a lovely veneer of white mold with specks of green was growing all over the naan. I am pretty sure that the really putrid-tasting piece I ate was covered in mold. Of course, Johnny was like, “Well, most of this piece looks fine; I’ll just throw the moldy part away and eat the rest!” I made him chuck the whole bag. Gross, gross, gross! I normally don’t like to put bread in the fridge if I know I’m going to eat it by the sell-by date. But, it’s been so hot this weekend that I guess the bacteria got freaky with each other.

No worries, though, I don’t seem to have suffered any ill physical effects from eating mold. I am sad that I’m without naan, though … that was going to be my midnight snack!  Just as well, I suppose … stuffing myself with carbohydrates late at night is kind of falling off the wagon, no?

The rest of the weekend was blissfully mold-free. Saturday, we headed to my parents’ house. It was a scorcher of a day, with temps in the triple digits, so we mostly stayed indoors. Here are some cute pics of Jack we took before we left our apartment in the morning:

“So the gravitational pull from the big blue ball pulls the small red ball into its orbit … “

Lookit those eyes!

The big news from Saturday was that Jack stood on his own for the first time! I don’t have a picture of it, but June, Charles and Johnny all saw it. Unfortunately I didn’t catch it. But, Jack was holding on to his push toy, and he suddenly let go, and then balanced there like a surfer for about five seconds. Way to go!

I also want to share this picture of Jack’s funny sleeping position:

What he does is stand up and cruise around his crib or Pack N Play (since we were away from home, he was sleeping in the PNP) until he literally just drops onto the mattress with his eyes closed. He stays in whatever position he landed in until I straighten him out!! It’s so funny to watch — it’s like Jack suddenly runs out of batteries.

Today, we stuck around home. I took Jack to the park in the morning, before it got too hot.

On the way to the park, sporting his new hat

Enjoying the swings

Playing in the sand like a big boy

Jack made a friend at the park today — an adorable one-year-old girl. They played alongside each other. Jack shared his sand toys; the little girl came over and sat in my lap at one point. So adorable! I’ve seen this little girl, her parents and their dog, for a while now on weekend mornings. They go to the Coffee Bean before stopping at the park. It looks like a really cute ritual. I promise I’m not a stalker, but you can’t help noticing these things when you keep seeing the same people week after week. When I lived in Chicago, I used to see the same people every morning on the way to work. Sometimes I’d think, “That girl always has the best shoes,” or “Wow, I’ve read the same book she’s reading!” But of course, I’d never talk to them, for fear of looking like a weirdo. The nice thing about having a baby is that it gives you an instant excuse to strike up conversation with other parents! (Same thing with having a dog. And hey, this couple I met today has both!) Anyway, we had a nice time at the park, and next time we run into this family, we can actually say hello.

Karthika and Courtney came over in the mid-morning so they could hang out with us and Jack for a little bit before we went out to a girls’ brunch. Jack was a bit shy with them at first, but was soon trying to woo them by waving at them. Johnny tried to take a picture of us with Jack. The key word is tried:

Jack would not look at the camera

Apparently Jack wanted to look at Karthika’s shoes; Courtney tries to keep Jack from flopping out of my arms altogether

Jack says, “Haha, look over there!”

“Whoa, did you know there were bricks behind us?”

Jack is, as always, the life of the party

Oh, well, those pictures are somehow even more fun than a “proper” pic with all of us looking at the camera! Brunch was fun … it’s always nice to spend time with the girls. While we were out, Johnny took Jack out to dim sum with some of his classmates from school. I was impressed that Johnny managed Jack on an extended outing alone. Way to go, Johnny!

In the afternoon, we took Jack to the pool. Jack and Johnny took these hilarious pics together while getting ready for a swim.

The Zoolander pic … Blue Steel

Isn’t this sweet? Father and son laughing together!

My goofballs

Somehow, even though Johnny and I both take care of Jack and do things to make him laugh, Jack has associated Johnny with big laughs, and me with everything else. The moment Jack sees Johnny, he waves and giggles. When Jack sees me, he smiles and wants to be picked up, but there’s not the “oh gosh now everything is going to be so hilarious” reaction. When he’s frustrated or hurt, though, Jack will look to me first and say “mama.” I know it’s natural for babies to make this distinction, but I find it fascinating that it’s so instinctive. Certainly Johnny does nurturing things for Jack — feeding, diaper-changing, putting to bed — and of course I do laugh-inducing things with Jack — tickling, chasing while barking, endless peekaboo-ing — but somehow Jack has differentiated our purpose!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

We had Jack’s 10-month well-check today, although he’s technically 10 months and 4 days old.

Height: 29 inches (no change since last time) — 75th percentile
Weight: 21 pounds (half pound gain since last time) — 50th percentile

The percentiles stayed the same. He’s plotting perfectly on the growth curve. At first I was like, “What, no massive gain??” And the doctor reminded me that Jack is almost one, when growth slows down, otherwise he’d be a sumo wrestler.  Anyway, I feel like Jack is plenty big in my arms these days. He’s in 12-18 month clothing now. I feel so sad putting all the 9-12 month clothing away!

The pediatrician also pricked Jack’s finger and got some blood to test for anemia. My mom, sister and I have all been slightly anemic at one point or another (very common among women, especially Asian women), so I was curious as to what Jack’s results would be. He passed with flying colors. The normal range is from 40 to 50, and Jack came in at 44 — not too high, not too low.

So, all is well! I can’t believe it’s been 10 months already!

Oh, and I meant to write this yesterday, but forgot — I often shake my head at being a resident of a sometimes-wacky state, but this news makes me very proud to be a Californian! The right to gay marriage is an issue close to my heart, because it affects some close friends and also because, from my perspective, who are we to deny such a basic right to two people who love and are exclusively committed to one another? Anyway, realizing that some of my friends have very different perspectives, I do consciously keep my political views out of this blog 99% of the time, so that’s all I’ll say about this.

Happy weekend, everyone!

After two weeks of chilly temps, the sun is finally out! I had been in denial about the cold, anyway, and insisted on wearing my spring and summer wardrobe. Now the weather is finally listening to me.

Yesterday, I got to work early in the morning, then headed home a bit earlier than usual so that Johnny, Jack and I could enjoy the weather by taking a little dip in the pool. When I say “little,” I mean it. We didn’t want to submerge Jack, so we basically dipped our legs in and let him splash a bit. He loved it and laughed the entire time. At one point Johnny went under the water and came up, and Jack thought that was hilarious. He especially liked to touch Johnny’s wet, wavy hair. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring the camera down to the poolside, but we did take these pictures right before we left the apartment to go down to the pool — our first summertime pics!

Ready for the pool!

Check out their matching swim trunks! And no, Johnny was not getting ready to throw Jack over the balcony

Next time we go for a dip, we’ll bring the camera downstairs!

Today Jack wore the first of several new summertime outfits that I got on clearance from Old Navy. Johnny took these pics and loaded them onto my Xanga after I left for work.

The bedframe makes an excellent platform for cruising and balancing

Jack beckons for Johnny’s cell phone

Have a great Thursday, everyone!