Delicata

I went to PCC after work to grab a winter squash and carrots (organic). I asked a worker at PCC about choosing a winter squash that is sweeter and he recommended Delicata.

I came home and cut up the Delicata and tested out the new Baebe Babycook. It was a snap to steam the squash and blend it. Once it cooled down, I fed it to Ely...and the little guy didn't want it. He spit it out and started to cry. I quickly made his usual rice cereal and mixed in a little bit of Delicata. He still wasn't too happy about it but he must have been hungry because he ate it. I tried to sneak in spoon full of Delicata and he didn't like it. I then tried having Sung eat it and tell Ely how tasty it was. Ely thought maybe the squash was good. It took a bit of convincing but Ely decided that the squash wasn't that bad. With the little Delicata, I was able to get 7 little containers (I had to mix in some rice cereal), just enough for Learning Center and the next few days.

The nice part is how easy it was to clean the Baebe Babycook. All clean and ready for carrots in a few days. It was a great find from Craigslist. :P

Vancouver and Victoria

We headed over to Richmond, B.C. on Friday. We got there in good time and headed over to dinner at Guu. We had good Japanese food while Ely gnawed on Soybeans (empty shell). Afterwards we checked out the Alberdeen Shopping Center. Soon it was time for Ely's bedtime and we were getting ready for bed at 830pm on a Friday night.

Ely woke up in the middle of the night with his arms and legs stuck in the crib. He rotates in his crib and managed to get himself stuck. He ended up sleeping with on the king size bed with us. He managed to rotate again in our bed as well and looked like he was kicking daddy. Eventually Ely took over the bed as he was doing his 180 degree rotation throughout the night and daddy was sleeping on the corner of the bed in fetus position. When I asked daddy why he was sleeping on the edge, his reply was that Ely kept moving through the night.

We woke up the next morning and slowly made our way to Kirin for din sum. Somehow they didn't get our reservation but we managed to get a table (this was our 3rd time attempting to eat at this place). Ely patiently waited for us to finish. After brunch we headed over to Vancouver. I did some quick shopping (managed to find suspenders for Ely. :P).

Afterwards we went to Stanley park and the Aquarium Center. Ely had lots of fun looking at all of the fish. I held him up to a shark viewing are and he was more amused by other kids next to him. He starred at them and started to whack at them. The kids weren't too amused by it. Poor Ely was just trying to say hello. Ely enjoyed whacking at the fish too. The bigger and brighter they were, the more he liked.

For dinner we headed back to Richmond and drove around to find a restaurant. We located a "all you can eat" Korean buffet. It was very nice inside and was reassured to find that the workers there to be Koreans. We had very good bbq and the seafood pancake was very good. We managed to get a second serving of bbq before Ely started to cry (it was past his bedtime).

On Sunday we woke up early to catch a ferry ride to Victoria. We got to the Butchart Gardens pretty early and the parking lot was empty. It was quite the challenge to go around the Garden with a stroller. We had to maneuver through narrow pathways and eager tourist taking pictures.

Ely enjoyed looking at all of the flowers. He tried to pluck all of the flowers his sight and put the petals in his mouth.

We took the Anacortes ferry back to Washington. The boys were very tired and took a quick power nap in the car while we waited for our ferry.

It was a long drive home for daddy while Ely and I slept. Daddy swore off going back to Butchart Gardens for at least 3 years. I agree. I think we should go to Yellowstone Park next! We're still contemplating our next road trip for next summer. Meanwhile, we'll need to convince daddy that we need to go somewhere warm this winter. :)

We found that Canadians are very expressive. Ely was quite the chick magnet (young and old) and he figured out that people react to his smiles. While I shopped, Sung would wait with Ely and when I would look over, a swarm of ladies would be around Ely commenting how cute Ely was. We also had random people come up to us and told us Ely was very handsome. While we were browsing through Club Monaco, a sales girl was commenting how cute Ely was and as she said it, she reached over to his hand. As she held out her hand, Ely grabbed at her finger and wouldn't let go. He may have to work on this when he is older but for now, people think it's just adorable.

I asked Ely if he would like to be a baby model and he smiled back at me. I also asked him if mommy can be his manager and have all of his money and he didn't respond. :P

6 months old

Ely is 6 months old today. He has grown so much this month. We went to Woodinville for a run that benefits the Seattle Children's Hospital. Ely and I waited for daddy and our friends Brett and Lisa to finish the 5K (good job guys!). While we waited we got a caricature of Ely running. The artist threw in the picture of a bunny. :) Ely enjoyed a Popsicle after the run.

At 6 months, Ely is 17.5 pounds (50 percentile) and 26.5 inches (50 percentile). I expect this to change once we get better measurements next week at the Dr.'s office.

At 6 months:

-Ely's biggest accomplishment this month is sleeping through the night. He usually sleeps from 7:30 pm to 5:30am, eats for a little bit and goes back to sleep again while I get ready for work.

-Has a tooth with a couple more on the way.

-He started on rice cereal. He leans over to take a bite of it now. We're trying to figure out if he needs to eat more or more often because it seems like he is hungry all the time. It may also be because he is going through a growth phase.

-Ely scrunches his nose when he gives us a big smile or tastes something funny.

-Got over a heat rash (from being bundled up too much at night) and didn't complain about it.

-Likes to grab his hands like he is praying and put it towards his mouth over & over.

-He grabs at our arm for attention.

-Likes to stand in the shower and play with the shower head.

-Ely likes to grab my hair and run his fingers through it. He doesn't pull on it.

-Still figuring out how to roll around. He rocks side to side and manages to change his direction slightly to get to where he wants to go.

-Ely is a happy mellow baby. He doesn't cry very much and when he does it is because he needs something or he is tired at night.

-He likes to pull his pacifier out of his mouth and try to put it back. It's still working on it.

-Smiles when I tell him "I ruff you". :)

Rice Cereal

Ely had rice cereal for the first time on Monday. He didn't eat very much of it but it was enough to him super strength to sit by himself. He thought it was funny to spit it out and let it run down his mouth. Ely had rice cereal again today and he ate much more than yesterday. I wonder if it will make him constipated. He certainly had no problem going poopoo after yesterday's rice cereal.

Today we went to our coworkers for a potluck. Diane was very nice to offer us her home, her boat, jet ski, and much patience. We had lots of fun and ate way too much food. Anne made Ely a toy (a water bottle filled with rocks) that Ely loved to play with. He would hit it and laugh as it rattled.

Ely met baby Sophia for the first time and gave her a big smile. They took a nice long nap next to each other.

It was a beautiful day. The sun came out and it was nice to ride on the boat and watch others on the tube behind us.

Training Camp

We had an eventful weekend. First we went to our baby Justin's b-day party at Pump It Up in Kirkland. Ely had fun going down the big slide with daddy. I don't think he knew what was going on but at least he didn't cry going down the slide. By this time next year, Ely will be able to have more fun. It was amazing to see how much Justin had grown since I last saw him at the Overlake Hospital when he was born, and when I held him in my arms...not quite sure how I should hold the little guy. Even a couple of years ago, he wanted me to play with him at his party. This time, he was a big boy and ran around playing with his friends.

Later that day with met with our friends Paj, Lisa, and Jadie to go to Seahawks training camp. They were able to get tickets for Saturday (much better than our 8:30am Sunday tickets). We sat on a little hill and watched the football players. It was hard to figure out what they were doing but after awhile it was starting to make sense (a little bit). We had Jadie and Ely lie down on the play mat next to each other. They were very amused by each other's pacifiers and took turns taking off each others pacifier. It was nice to see that they finally knew that they were lying next to each other and played. Ely has seen Jadie so many times but it was probably his first time that he "saw" her. It was amazing to see how much Jadie had grown. She was pulling herself up as she grabbed onto Stephan's shirt. Such strong girl! She also had two little teeth and another one possibly on its way. I also noticed another white bump on his lower gum.

Today we went all the way to Federal Way to buy Beabe Babycook from a lady (from Craigslist). It was brand new in the box and it had the Williams Sonoma stick on it. Apparently she got TWO of these for her babyshower....but maybe she didn't get a gift certificate with it? I'm looking forward to cooking up some meals for Ely but I need to get Ely started on rice cereal first. Maybe we will start that sometime this week. Ely loves to watch us eat and stick his little tongue out when we put our food in front of his mouth. He likes to suck on our spoons too.

I read a little book to Ely today and Ely found it so funny that he was laughing. I laughs when I tell him "I ruff you", "you're some bunny special", and "you're purrrfect". So there I was saying this over and over to get him to laugh more. After awhile, it was so funny to him anymore. I'll have to try it again tomorrow.

Ely likes to kick. He did it at the Learning Center. He kick his toys (attached to a mirror) and he squealed in delight (moving arms and all) after he gave it a good kick. I had him kick a ball and he thought it was pretty funny. I had him kick my head (we were bored in the car) and he thought it was very funny. I had to stop it though because it may not be funny if he kicked someone at the Learning Center and started laughing.

Earlier this week I got a Mozart for Babies CDs from Costco. It has various music that will help babies with concentration, memorization, ....etc. There was one for "Calming & Soothing" and I played it on the way to work so that Ely will sleep better. I was listening to the music and was wondering how the bells were so not soothing and calming but 10 minutes into it, I realized that I was getting very drowsy and quickly changed the station to something else so that I wouldn't fall asleep while driving. Once we got to the Learning Center, Ely was very sleepy and Mayboobae asked Ely if he was tired and commented how he is usually wide awake. Maybe the other CDs will work just as well....at least there's no harm in trying. I think it will help me to listen to it since I took all the time to make a CD for our friend Lisa and had it in our bag but forgot to give it to them. Oops....

Looking for another eventful week - feeding Ely rice cereal and possibly dealing with the backup that other babies go through.

Teeth

I tried taking a picture of Ely's tooth while he was crying and it didn't work.

I then tried to hold his mouth open and it didn't work.

Eventually Ely thought that I was funny and he laughed. I was able to snap some pictures. It was harder to figure out a way to make him laugh. He's really stingy with his laughs. It has to be really funny or else he doesn't laugh. Although sometime he thinks everything is funny.

Food?

Now that Ely is teething and he is sitting up better by himself, we are going to start him on rice cereal pretty soon.

Sleeping!

Ely has been sleeping much better. He doesn't really cry anymore when he goes to bed. This morning, he was awake and playing in the crib.

Moving?

Ely's been moving around at the Learning Center by rocking side to side and moving a little bit to get to his destination. I was trying to get his to do it at home and he didn't do it. I lied down next to him and showed him how to roll. He just smiled at me. He did roll side to side but didn't move much. Toby came by and rolled too. Charlie just thought we were being silly.

Eruption

Ely and I have been busy for the last few days. Daddy left for a bachelor party on Wednesday and the two of us kept ourselves busy. It was a bit hectic during the work week. On Thursday I accidentally left Ely's milk on the kitchen counter. I remembered everything else though. Luckily there was a day's worth of milk at the Learning Center. Whew!

It was very hot on Wednesday and Thursday. We were able to cope with the heat by sleeping in the loft. I moved our queen sized mattress into the loft and slept there for the last few nights.

We went to our Grandparents for Granpa's b-day. Ely played with the grandparents while I made Poke and Sushi Bhap (Whea-Dhup-Bhap). Ely even took a short nap while I took my parent's new puppy (SoonDol - means sweet dog) to the vet.

On Saturday, we went shopping with our friend Miyeon and baby Logan. The two boys were very patient as the moms shopped. Ely looked over at Logan and curiously watched Logan play. He even joined in as Logan went on the rides and went on some of the rides too.

Today we met up with some of my friends and Ely played with our friends. ELy smiled at Joyce when he first saw her. He must remember her from last time. He sat on Joyce's lap and watched cars pass by. Ely studied Catherine's face and soon smiled at her (it's been a month or more since he last saw Catherine). We enjoyed a delicious fruit tart and coffee while we chatted away. Afterwards, we went to the mall a grabbed a belated gift for daddy. Actually, it wouldn't be late if we used the Chinese Father's day - 8/8 (it sounds like papa in Chinese so it's Father's day). :)

Before falling asleep, Ely played with my hands. He pulled at my finger and put it in his mouth. He gnawed at it and as he did it, I felt a little bump. His bottom tooth had erupted! It almost seemed like he wanted to show me that he had his tooth. :) I am thinking that maybe that he has had the "Hulk" for the last week because his tooth was coming out. Our little guy is growing so fast! Now I need to figure out a way to take a picture of his first tooth.

Due to the weather, Ely has been sleeping with me out in the loft. Last night Ely slept in his crib from 8pm to midnight. He woke up crying and fell back asleep until 2am. It's been hard getting back to his normal sleeping schedule (8-6am). Tonight, he went to sleep and started to cry. He cried for only a minute or two and I heard a banging sound. When I went to check, I found Ely swatting at the camera. He batted at Mr. Turtle a couple of times too.