I was rather bleary-eyed in the elevator on my way up to work this morning (becuase it’s the third day in a row I’ve gotten to work before 7 a.m. in order to have enough time to finish everything), but something caught my eye. We have these little TV screens in the elevators at work that silently give you the weather, news snippets, vocabulary word of the day and occasionally survey results, either from a “real” poll (like one done by Gallup) or from a nationwide viewer survey (they show the question on the screen and ask you to go to a web site to answer it). Well, this morning’s survey results were interesting!

The question was, “Which new service should airlines offer to customers?” The number-one request was “Child-free flights.” According to the results, 38% of respondents (not sure how many people responded) wanted the option of child-free flights. The next most popular, at 36%, was more leg room or something.

Wow! I know that many people don’t like to be on flights with babies and kids, but I had no idea the sentiment was that widespread. Before I had Jack, I was pretty neutral on the subject. I was OK with sitting near babies on flights because they’re cute to look at. I could do without the crying, but I always felt bad for the parents if the baby fussed. When we flew with Jack, the people sitting near us on the flights looked very apprehensive, and when we landed, they said, “Whew! Your baby was good! I was nervous at first.” I’ve also heard people say that parents should just not fly with babies in the first few years.

The thing that I don’t think these people understand, though, is that as much as they don’t want to be on a flight with babies, we parents don’t want to fly with our babies either! Which mom actually looks forward to a flight with her baby? The first time you do it, there’s a bit of enthusiasm — baby’s first flight is a milestone — and it’s exciting, but it also induces a huge headache. You have to think about the gear to take with you, what to check in, what to gate check, what to buy at the destination, items to pack for the diaper bag (I know mine was filled to the absolute brim on our flight with Jack!). And, you’re thinking in your head, “What if my baby cries?” One of my friends once spent a whole hour standing up in the aisle, rocking her baby in a sling, to keep him quiet. The moment she stopped, he started crying again. Hey, maybe it’s the parents who responded and said they wanted a child-free flight. Think about that — we could send our children on a flight supervised by professional baby sitters, and we parents could fly stress-free.  Of course we’d probably spend the entire time talk about our children.

Seriously, though, back to this child-free flight option … how much do you want to bet that that would somehow turn around to bite parents in the butt? I can imagine that if this became an option offered by airlines in the future, passengers who wanted to book travel with their children would be charged more for being on a “family friendly” flight.

Maybe the people answering this survey were thinking about older kids, though, with parents who don’t watch them closely enough. You know — the kids who run up and down the aisles with sticky fingers and who kick the back of your seat. Now, I do hate that. And the parents sit there, going, “Oh, they’re just expressing their creativity.” Or worse, they give you a dirty look when you politely ask the child if he or she could stop kicking your seat. But that’s another story.

In general, I say, give a little sympathy to the parents out there who are flying with their kids. They’re probably only doing it because they have to go on their trip and there’s no other way to get there. I definitely think parents should do their part to keep their kids entertained on a flight, and make sure that their kids are respecting other people’s privacy, but some things are truly beyond our control. Next time you fly, smile at the mom (or dad) who’s flying with her young child! (But not in a creepy way; you don’t want her to call security. )

Happy Easter, everyone! I don’t know how the weather was in other parts of the country, but we had a really hot weekend. Los Angeles is never really cold anyway, but it was in the high 80s yesterday and today. All the sunshine was great, but even I thought it was a bit too hot (and I love hot weather).

This weekend, Johnny, Jack and I mostly laid low. I know I have a busy work week ahead (that’s an understatement, too), so I mostly I just wanted to relax, spend time with my three boys and catch up on some rest. Saturday, we did make a big outing to Babies R Us. Jack’s growing out of his infant gear, so we got him a “big boy” car seat (the Britax Marathon), a Maclaren Quest stroller (more lightweight and compact than the Graco one that his infant car seat snapped into), one of those grocery shopping cart seat covers, some more feeding spoons and bowls and some babyproofing gear (socket covers, wall anchors, etc.). Thank goodness we had some very generous relatives and friends who gave us Babies R Us gift cards up the wazoo. Our total spend on Saturday was $650, but we actually walked out with gift card money to spare. Thank you!  The good news is that we won’t need to spend anything else on baby gear for a long time to come … and baby #2 can reuse a lot of this stuff. Was having babies always this expensive? What did cave people do? The scary thing is that Johnny and I stick to the basics for the most part, because we don’t have a lot of room in our apartment. For instance, we don’t have a bassinette, infant swing or separate changing table (I change Jack on top of his little dresser). I hesitate to think what people who go all out must spend! I’ll have to resist the urge to buy brand new stuff for the next baby. You all will have to remind me of this!

We didn’t do anything special today because Johnny and I aren’t particularly religious (so we didn’t participate in any church-based activities for Easter), and although Easter is a fun holiday, Jack is too young to do Easter egg hunts and all other things — just wait a couple of years! We can’t wait to dye Easter eggs, put together Easter baskets and basically relive our childhoods.  We went out to brunch, then took advantage of the nice weather by going to the park. There were lots of families having Easter picnics, and Jack loved watching everyone!

Besides that, we just relaxed. I did go to Bar Method this morning, and last night I made another few batches of baby food. Jack’s been going through food like crazy, so I wanted to stock up. I made stewed strawberries (to mix with mashed bananas and yogurt for dessert); chicken liver with potato, carrots and apple;two batches of braised beef (Jack’s favorite meat!); one batch of chicken breast with sweet potato and apple; butternut squash with cheddar cheese, sauteed tomatoes and tiny pasta stars; and cauliflower, carrots and zucchini with tomato and cheddar cheese sauce. This ought to last him a good month or so! Thank goodness for the Magic Bullet.

OK, I think that’s enough narration of our uneventful (but fun) weekend. Here are some pictures of Jack!

Jack crawling around on the floor

He’s not sure about this use of the orange ring

Getting a jump start on his rock star career

Lately, Jack’s been going after our water glasses whenever we drink water. While we were out at lunch on Saturday, we let him take a few sips from our glasses. This mostly results in sputtering, but he does manage to get a few mouthfuls down!

Jack in his new Maclaren stroller at the park today

Waiting for me to heat up dinner

Jack’s expression when eating braised beef

OK … time to fold some laundry, then get to bed. Wish me luck this week!

I was tagged to reveal seven things about myself by my friend Liz, mom to beyond-adorable seven-month-old boy-girl twins. (The oh-so-cute twins are not her only defining quality; Liz has many other accomplishments and talents to her name. These days, I find myself describing other moms through their children. How wrong is that? We all have lives outside our kids, right?) Anyway, you know I’m a sucker for these things, especially if I’m tagged! So, for your enjoyment, seven non-baby things about me:

1. When I’m busy or stressed at work, I have my feet in tippy-toes position as I sit. Often at the end of the day, I find that I’ve spent the entire day sitting there with my feet in that position, crushing my toes until they’re numb. This could explain my extremely toned calves, but it’s really terrible posture, because it definitely puts my knees above the level of my hips. At home, too, I find that if I start to get nervous or anxious about something, I’ll curl my toes under or feel this inexplicable urge to rise up on my tippy toes.

2.  I have this personal rule that I must answer all work-related emails within the hour (unless I’m in a meeting or away from my desk, but at no point can a work-related email sit longer than a few hours before I respond). For personal emails, I try to respond within a day. Otherwise I feel like all sorts of loose ends are left hanging!

3. I love cheese-flavored crackers (but not Cheetos): Goldfish, Cheese Nips, Kashi Seven Grain Cheddar, Cheez-Its … you name it, if it’s a cheese-flavored cracker, I can eat the whole box in one sitting. To stop myself from doing that, I measure out the exact serving amount and put it in a little bowl. I don’t like actual cheese that much, but I can’t get enough of it in cracker form!

4. I was voted Most Anal Retentive by my high school choir in senior year … these were joke awards, but I don’t think that one was a joke.  I admit it, I am. Oh well! But seriously, if you compare me to the other women in my family, I am really quite relaxed.

5. I can speak three languages: English, Mandarin and Taiwanese. (And I used to be able to read and write Latin, but alas, it’s been a while since my Latin Club glory days). People are often surprised — I guess they expect that someone who was born here and who married someone white wouldn’t be able to speak, read and write in Mandarin, but thanks to my parents and my grandma insisting that we only speak Mandarin or Taiwanese at home, I’m multilingual. I’m trying to pass on Mandarin to Jack now by speaking it exclusively to him. He still hears English more on weekdays (from Johnny, from our nanny, from other parents at the park), but I’m hoping that what I’m doing will make a difference. From this effort, Johnny has also picked up a lot more Mandarin. He already knew a fair amount, but now I really can’t hide anything I’m saying to my mom on the phone!

6. One of my fashion pet peeves is when people wear black pants with a solid brown top, or vice versa. Or when they knowingly wear brown shoes with black pants or skirt. I have covered this topic in my blog before, but it continues to bug the heck out of me. It’s one thing if your outfit has a pattern that incorporates both brown and black (like the Burberry pattern … although on that note, to the random lady shopping at J. Crew a few months ago, your shapeless, saggy Burberry dress makes you look like a couture sack of potatoes!). But I see people out there wearing, say, a red top, black pants and brown shoes. Look down when you get dressed, people! (New moms are excused from this … as long as we make it out of doors clothed, with baby in stroller, diaper bag on shoulder and keys in hand, it’s a good day.)

7. And this isn’t really about me, but I had to share: I am appalled by gas prices in Los Angeles! The other day, Johnny went to fill up our Beetle, and he came back with a receipt for more than $50. Seriously, that car should cost between $30 or $40 at most to fill up. Even Costco pump prices are up. I’m not much of one to drive around to the cheapest gas station, though. But really, $50 to fill up a tiny Beetle? Good thing we live close to both work and school! The Beetle gets OK gas mileage, but the RAV4 is really a winner in the gas mileage department. Go, Toyota!

OK, so I think I’m supposed to tag seven people to do this, but I’m going to leave it as a free-for-all. If you want to do it, go ahead — I can’t wait to read seven things about you!

Jack has three teeth now, and in this photo, for the first time, you can see two of them. The third tooth is on top, but until it grows out a bit longer, we won’t be able to capture it in photos.

Tooth one and tooth two!

Aren’t they cute?

I must be a retailer’s best friend. Every spring, I get this crazy urge to shop. I don’t know if it’s the warm weather, cute window displays or ads showing carefree people lounging in the sun, but I always want to rehaul my entire wardrobe come March or April. Add a supportive husband (“You really should get something for yourself! It makes you happy!”), the proximity of my office to a mall and the fact that my work starts getting busy in the spring (retail therapy is my #1 stress buster), and it’s even worse.

Over the years, I’ve definitely gotten better about this urge. After a couple of “What was I thinking?” closet purges, I’ve learned to edit and say no to the wacky trends. I hope no one remembers the off-the-shoulder, multi-color stripe, puffy-shouldered, ruched shirt that I bought at Express in the summer of 2002. At the time, Johnny said, “That is the kind of thing that only girls would compliment each other on.” I scoffed at him, but he was right. I wore that shirt once, to some sort of alumnae event at my sorority, and all the other girls oooh’d and ahhh’d over the shirt. Then I saw a picture of myself in it and was horrified by my resemblance to a clown. I never wore it again. So now I limit my spring sprees to things that I’ll wear over and over. Actually, I find the “would guys also like it?” guideline to be a pretty good one. Not because I’m out to please any guys (we should all dress to please ourselves!), but because most guys don’t like outfits that seem uncomfortable, too fussy or way out there. (Of course, they also think that something thistight and low-cut is somehow comfortable, but that’s another story.)

Now I just need to learn to limit the quantity I buy. I can never pass up a sale … I probably get that from my mom and grandma. I also have this innate urge to collect. Once I get started on a collection, I can’t stop. For example, I recently decided to try a Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day cleaning product (all natural, no bad chemicals going down the drain or onto Jack’s hands). I liked it, so I bought the wood cleaner, the scrub, the window spray, the nursery cleaning spray (that’s even more non-toxic, I suppose?). This is why I consciously avoid collecting too many things. Clothing is my only serious collection (otherwise our stuff would flow from our apartment out onto the street). Last year, I told myself, “No, 10 pairs of jeans [yes, I do have 10] is enough. No more adding to the collection until one pair dies.” This year, I am refraining from buying multiple cute patterned dresses.

However, anyone with this same problem knows that total denial just leads to a binge later. So, I set a little budget (both in terms of money and in terms of numbers of items bought) for this season, and the other day, I bought these cute things on sale — most are updates to my working out wardrobe. (I’m so much more motivated to exercise when wearing a cute, comfy outfit. Who wants to exercise if you have to put on grubby clothes to do it?)

1. These roll-down yoga pants from Hard Tail

2. These crop stretch pants from Lulu Lemon. The ones I got are black, and the fold-down waistband is in a turquoise blue.

3. This turquoise bra tank from Lulu Lemon. Yes, it’s the same turquoise as the fold-down waist of the crop pants above. I also got a black version. I like the mesh detail at the neckline. There are also removable cups in the bust for added shaping and support.

4. My non-workout-related purchase: A top by Sky. Mine is in this style, but it’s chocolate brown and the leather belt thingy is also brown. The belt is braided, does not have the buckles and has only a few small amber crystals on it (that perfectly match my Seven jeans with the crystal back pockets). It’s the same width, though. Now that my bar-hopping days are over, I suppose this top was impractical, but I can wear it to some evening parties/events related to Johnny’s upcoming graduation. I can also wear a tank under this for more conservative events.

The best part is that I still have some of my self-imposed shopping budget left over, so I can go buy some new undies, one dress, one pair of Bermuda shorts (I have to keep telling myself: only one!) and a couple of cute everyday tops.

Of course, now that I have Jack, I also feel the urge to go shopping for cute baby clothes. Must stop, because he grows out of things practically every day!

Sorry for the kind of pointless post … I get really excited about my purchases, and for some odd reason, Johnny just doesn’t want to see how I can make 100 new outfits by combining my new purchases with the stuff I currently have.  Thanks for reading!

What a fun, busy weekend it’s been!

We spent Saturday morning chilling with Jack and Atari. Now that Jack is creeping or crawling along the floor for much of the day, they can interact on a whole new level.

Atari washes Jack’s hair

Jack and Atari both covet the blue ball

Atari is really good with Jack. When one of his toys lands near Jack, he very gingerly goes to retrieve it. He’s never rambunctious around Jack, even when he’s in the midst of one of his crazy Shiba 500s through the apartment. Somehow, he knows that Jack is delicate! Although we are always extremely vigilant when the two of them are in close proximity, it does give us peace of mind that Atari behaves extra well when Jack is underfoot.

Saturday afternoon, we headed to Northridge to attend Madison’s ninth birthday party (she’s our friends Donna and Scott’s daughter). The party was at Skate Land, which definitely would have been my party destination of choice if I were a kid! Jack enjoyed watching the skaters. He also loved the colorful party napkins.

Deeeelicious napkin!

Saturday night, Johnny went to Zach’s to play some Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and I took advantage of the alone time (relatively speaking — of course, Jack was home, but he was sleeping) to get some chores done — ironing, dishes, making baby food, watching reruns of Fresh Prince.  It felt good to putter around the apartment.

Today, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill came over to visit with us. Before they arrived, Johnny took Jack on Atari’s morning walk. It’s a morning ritual of theirs — I think it’s so cute, the three boys heading out together!

When they got here, Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill could not believe how much Jack had grown! Last time they saw him, he wasn’t even six months old yet. He’s really changed a lot since then. He crept all over the floor while we talked. After Jack’s morning nap, we headed out to C&O Trattoria for brunch, where June and Charles met up with us. It was Jack’s first time sitting in a restaurant high chair. He’s sat in his padded high chair at home for quite a while now, but I’ve been nervous to put him in restaurant high chairs, with their lower backs. He did great today, though, and really enjoyed his new vantage point, at the table with the adults! He was fascinated by the menus and grabbed one right away.

“What should I order? Frittata? Omelette? French toast?” I swear, this picture was not posed!

In the end, Jack settled for Cheerios, which he scarfed down while we ate our meals

After brunch, we walked along the canals in Venice Beach.

All of us — Charles, June, me and Jack, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Bill, and Johnny

Jack looks spaced out in this picture, but it’s a rare pic of the three of us, so I wanted to post it!

After brunch and our stroll, we parted ways with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill. June and Charles came home with us for a bit to play Super Smash Brothers Brawl and to see Jack’s latest tricks — creeping and standing.

Jack eagerly crawled toward this Game Cube controller. Like father, like son!

He was also very eager to take “steps” while holding on to me. And look — he’s in blue stripes and jeans, and I’m in pink stripes and jeans! Unplanned but kinda cute!

After June and Charles left, Jack took a nap, then our friends Erica and Pin came over. Pin was visiting LA for the weekend. I haven’t seen her since I graduated from Northwestern … last time I saw Pin in person, I wasn’t even married. And now I have a kid! It was nice to catch up. We all played Guitar Hero for a while, then took Jack to the park.

Snack time for Jack and Johnny while watching Guitar Hero action. A See’s Candy lollipop for Johnny; an organic animal cracker for Jack

Jack and Johnny at the swings

A little sorority reunion — Pin, Erica and I at the park

Johnny took this picture of me and Jack without me realizing it, but I actually really like it!

Hope you all had great weekends! Now it’s back to the grind!

Today was one of those days where it was a struggle to keep all the balls in the air! But first, Jack’s eight month stats, from his pediatrician appointment (although he officially turned eight months old two days ago):

• Height: 28 inches (75th percentile; increase of half an inch from last month)
• Weight: 20 pounds even (50th percentile; increase of a pound and four ounces from last month)

His height was also 75th percentile last month. Although he gained a lot of weight this month, his weight is now in the 50th percentile (from 75th last month). But, since he’s still at a great height-to-weight ratio, the pediatrician was not worried. He was actually glad to see that Jack was not on his way to pudginess! Not that I needed measurements to tell me Jack had grown a lot … this past month, he definitely had a growth spurt. He’s just been eating more and busting out of his clothes, and also a lot more active.

Speaking of baby activity, today Jack pushed himself to a sitting position for the first time! He was creeping across the living room on his tummy, and then all of a sudden, he really quickly pushed himself into a full sitting up position. It was so fast that I didn’t see it happening until he was almost sitting up. It totally caught me by surprise — I wasn’t expecting this for a few more weeks! I squealed with delight but of course he didn’t do it again. It seems like a huge milestone to me — now he doesn’t have to wait for me to plop him into a sitting position when he’s laying on the ground. He can simply roll onto his stomach and push into sitting; or, if he’s already on his tummy or crawling, he can just sit up. I was amazed! There was no hint that he was about to do this, too — it’s not like he’s been almost doing it for the last few days. With every other milestone — sitting, crawling, teething — there have been hints that it’s coming. Not with this one!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of this momentous event. However, I did catch some great pictures of Jack crawling/creeping.

Of course this was Jack’s first stop. I really need to dust the DVD player now that Jack’s roaming around!

It was hilarious — neither of them knew the other was around the corner

Then again, once they found out, neither of them cared

This is to show you how far Jack crawled in only a minute. He started in the middle of that blanket by the coffee table! And on the way he took that detour to the TV.

Not crawling, but see how Jack insists on feeding himself his bottles now?

OK, so today … it really was a juggling act. Even I was impressed with myself. I work from home on Fridays, while either Johnny or our wonderful nanny takes care of Jack (Johnny does not have class on Fridays, though sometimes he has meetings). With my job, it’s not possible to work and watch a child at the same time — there are too many conference calls, emails and impromptu meetings that come up, not to mention tight deadlines. But I’m grateful to be able to see Jack for most of the day each Friday! Anyway, today, my nanny couldn’t come in, and Johnny just happened to have a huge presentation to make for a grad school project. So, I let the team at work know, and people were supportive, but I still had a ton of things to get done. Luckily (or maybe not so luckily), I had worked until 11 p.m. on Thursday night, and also gotten up at 5:30 a.m. to get some work done while Jack was asleep, so I was ahead of the game. At 7 a.m., before Johnny left for his presentation, I went to attend a Bar Method* class (since I missed last night due to working overtime). I got home just in time to take an 8:30 a.m. conference call, and shortly after that, Johnny left. While Jack crawled around or napped, I managed to get a bunch of work done. Then it was time to feed Jack and take him to the pediatrician. While I did this, I answered about five phone calls for work and replied to 10 emails. I’m not sure how.

Whew! After the pediatrician appointment, things wound down a bit as people headed out of the office for the weekend. With all the activity in the morning and early afternoon, I’d only tended to Jack’s basic needs and had not really stopped to play with him, so I took a break and really sat down to play on the floor with my cutie. Now I am really tired, but I’m happy that I got everything done that I’d set out to do today: exercise, work, take care of Jack, spend quality time with Jack. I also wanted to spend time with Johnny, so I’m going to make some dinner for us (curry, rice and vegetables), and since Jack’s asleep now, we can eat and enjoy a relaxing evening together. Sounds like a good start to the weekend to me!

* For those of you who have asked me about the subsequent Bar Method classes I’ve been taking, I have to say it is awesome. I do enjoy running, once I get out there, but with the Bar Method, I actually look forward to going during the day. Each class is more challenging than the last, and I’m noticing real progress. I feel stronger, my muscles are leaner and more defined (but not bigger in mass), and when a particular exercise in class gets to be easier, the instructors always provide a more advanced option. Now, I don’t think I have the body type to look totally lean and cut like the beautiful-but-snobby girls in class (alas, I’ll probably be forever round, cute and definitely un-snobby … I’ve tried the snobby thing, and I just can’t do it), but I like that I can see definition in my upper arms, inner thighs and abs. And, I like that I’ve noticed a difference in the effort it takes me to lift Jack’s gear. The introductory package is a very good idea on their part; I’ve been going at least three times a week at night, and because you see results really quickly, you want to continue going even after the introductory package is over. I read a review on Yelp where this one girl half-jokingly wrote that she was going to have to subsist on ramen to afford the class, and at first I laughed when I read that, but now I see where she’s coming from. Anyway, if you’ve seen the recent cover of People with Drew Barrymore’s “new body” on it, she apparently took Bar Method classes to get her new look. If it’s in your area, you should definitely give it a try! OK, now my infomercial is over.

As promised, here are some pictures from this weekend. Aside from going to my fourth Bar Method class on Sunday morning, I spent all weekend with Jack. It was so nice to just relax. For the most part, Johnny was doing schoolwork, but we did steal some family time on Sunday afternoon at the mall, where Jack played in the “fake food playground” that he loves. While we were at the mall, we also got Jack these new Robeez (except Jack’s are black with a red guitar), a sippy cup with a really soft spout and some new jeans. He’s almost into the 12 month size clothes now!

It seems that Jack’s almost always up to something now … he’s not content to be still for long! Although it’s more tiring than his less mobile days, I love watching his personality emerge. So far it seems to be a very jolly, easygoing one. He gets frustrated when he can’t get what he wants, but he does have determination. For example, when he wants to get to a faraway toy but can’t quite crawl there, he’ll cry, but he’ll keep creeping, rolling or flailing around until, one way or another, he reaches the elusive toy.

Anyway, here are the pictures!

One of Jack’s many teething toys

Oh, so silly — Jack and I started our Saturday morning trying on different new hats in the kitchen. Here Jack models a colander

All ready for a Saturday morning walk to the park — Jack literally wriggles with excitement each time he’s in his stroller

On the swings with his buddy, a 19-month-old toddler who I swear only looked a little bigger than Jack

Sunday afternoon, shortly after lunch (don’t worry, Johnny had a good hold on Jack). Doesn’t he look so grown-up?

Jack loves to fly through the air in Johnny’s arms

Here’s Jack playing in the “fake food” playground at Westside Pavilion. Shortly after this pic was taken, he pulled himself up to standing using this banana slice as leverage!

Johnny’s hands are only around Jack in case of a fall — the pulling up was all Jack! Here he’s playing with a 10-month-old boy. I use “playing with” loosely. They mostly ignored each other

Jack contemplates crawling on the fake soda spill with the other kids

A couple of shots with Daddy and Mommy

My shirt’s not really this low-cut. I always forget that holding Jack in front of me tugs down my neckline a few inches! It’s an occupational hazard, what can I say?

Today was another busy day at work. It was nice that it was still light out when I arrived home, though! Jack was so happy tonight — we played this game where Johnny held him outside our bedroom, and I would run out from behind a corner and make some sort of loud animal noise, like a roar or a ribbit or a chirp, and Jack would just crack up and keep laughing for about a minute. They were these true belly laughs. I wasn’t sure if it was the peekaboo aspect or the animal noises. It got to the point where when Johnny would ask, “Where’s Mommy?”, Jack would start laughing the split second before I came out in anticipation. Finally even the sight of my face peeking out from behind the corner set off major giggles. However, as my mom likes to say in Chinese, “Extreme happiness leads to sadness,” and as usual, she’s right. Shortly after the 10-minute gigglefest, that was followed by gleeful crawling attempts, Jack threw up most of his dinner.  I was not expecting this, since it’s been quite a few weeks since Jack’s even spit up. In case you are wondering, a main course of chicken followed by a dessert of apple, pear, papaya puree mixed into yogurt are not pleasant-smelling when they make their way back up. Note to self: No more raucous play sessions after dinner! It was all fun before the vomit, though!

Anyway, it didn’t take long for Jack to regain his good spirits, and he even let me wipe his new teeth with a washcloth before bedtime. He has another tooth now … the other middle bottom tooth! It just popped through today. That’s a count of three so far. As I gently ran my finger over his teeth, I marveled at how those were formed during my pregnancy. I don’t often stop to ponder about the wonders of pregnancy (who has the time?), but whenever I do, I am awestruck by just how much a woman’s body takes on during gestation. I had a pretty easy pregnancy and was lucky enough not to feel many ill effects — I went about my daily business, and yet the whole time, a whole other person (of a different gender!) was growing in there. Everything from his teeth to his stomach to his brain cells, all while I was carrying out my routine. Now here he is, my ever-growing son, with those teeth that I created (OK, Johnny may have helped) poking through. And someday, he may very well be in mine and Johnny’s shoes, caring for his infant, wondering how it was that he progressed from babyhood to adulthood. It always gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes to imagine my mother and grandmother standing in my place 27 years ago, thinking the same thoughts that I’m thinking about Jack, worrying the same worries, glowing about the same milestones.

For me, the experience of being pregnant, of producing another human being, is worth whatever other disadvantages come with being a woman. I am sure that the “what makes it worthwhile?” event or experience is different for every woman (I’d love to hear what yours is), but for me, that’s what it is.

OK, time to sleep! Clearly I wax emotional when it gets to be late at night …

I’m too excited to even think of a better title for this entry. Yesterday, Jack did two especially amazing things:

1. He crawled successfully for the first time. Not creeping, not inchworming, not movement-due-to-flailing-and-rolling, but actually two steps forward on his hands and knees. He looked really pleased with himself, then his face hit the ground in his excitement, and that was that. I’m sure he’ll do it again soon, though! At the time, Johnny and I were doing a silly song and dance to one of those annoying Fisher-Price songs that’s programmed into his toy piano, and Jack was looking up at us from the floor and laughing. We thought maybe if we kept up with our song and dance routine, he would crawl again, but he soon lost interest in us and fixated on trying to pull up to standing on the coffee table. Next time hopefully we can catch it on video.

2. Jack also said “Mama.” I am sure that it meant nothing and that it was just a coincidence, but it was an “awww” moment just the same! He was laying on his changing table, and I was putting his PJs on him and tickling him. In between two bursts of laughter, he looked at me and said, very loudly, “Mama!” Even Johnny said, “Whoa!” from the living room. Johnny is sure that it was Jack’s first word, but all of us moms know that the real first word doesn’t come for quite a few more months. So the “first word” entry in Jack’s baby book will remain blank for now, but I couldn’t help myself from saying, “Yes! That’s me, Jack!”

I’ll post some pictures from the weekend later on. It was a perfect weekend after a very, very stressful week in which I didn’t get to see Jack much. I made no plans this weekend, and Johnny was busy with finals for school, so I had a lot of quality time with Jack. The weather was in the 70s and 80s, so we went for long walks, visits to the park and just chilled. He was very jolly the whole weekend, and is doing well with the change to daylight savings time (waking up later in the morning now, yay!).

Hope you all had good weekends!

I’m pretty sure the recent sleep woes have to do with teething … because this morning, as I was getting Jack into his clothes, I heard a little “click” as Jack closed his mouth. I looked at his gums but could only see the bottom tooth that’s been out for a while. I felt along his top gum line, and lo and behold, his right center front tooth has erupted! Can’t see it yet, but you can feel its ridgey top, and there’s enough of it to clack against the bottom tooth.

So cute! I love hearing his teeth click against each other. It makes me laugh!

Incidentally, last night Jack slept much better. We went to dinner at Paradise Cove in Malibu with our friends Donna and Scott to celebrate their daughter Madison’s 9th birthday. Jack was too excited to sleep until dessert (he usually sleeps through dinner, but he loves Donna, so he woke up the moment we arrived and he heard her voice), but after that he slept until 6:30 a.m. this morning. That’s even half an hour past his usual rising. Hooray! Maybe he feels better now that his tooth is out.