Asian Baby Taste Buds

Hey Sunshine! We took Vincent out to South 47 Farm about a month ago. I don't have any recent photos yet, so you'll just have to deal with this one.

It looks like Vincent has his first teeth! The first to come in was his lower middle left tooth, shortly followed by the one to its right. I was in denial for the first couple of days, since they're not that far out, then David slapped some sense in me.

We had our first double carseats experience today. Kari, Sasha, Vincent and I all went down to Ikea and The Great Wall Mall. I think it's Renton. Both babies basically were NOT happy from the 405 freeway until we got out of the car.

We ate dim sum at the Imperial Palace, where Vincent got to enjoy radish cake & bbq pork bun. The ladies at the restaurant all loved Sasha, and humored me by acting half interested in Vincent. We survived Ikea, and Kari showed me a new route home.

Along with some dim sum, Vincent ate Asian pear (from his A-ma's backyard), banana, and green beans with pork chop. He is also getting better with feeding himself Cheerios. Ooh, and we shared two lychees! Yum. Way to show that Asian pride, Kiddo! (Yesterday, I let him taste my glass noodles with Chinese sausage & shitake mushrooms.)

August 10

Today, Vincent started his day with whole grain cereal. For his second meal, he had some yogurt. Lastly, for dinner, Vincent had green beans. For snacks, there was some Cheerios, chunks of peach, and some cheddar cheese crackers. And, of course, breastmilk all day as desired.

Vincent ♥ Shasha

Well, I didn't quite get to taking the picture fast enough, so this one here doesn't really do what actually happened justice.

Three moms, a dad, and lovely Julia took an infant CPR class today at our house. Somewhere between lessons on CPR and choking, Vincent & Sasha got very close & seemed to be kissing! Both babies turned their heads to each other and leaned in with mouths open & touching. It was actually really cute. I rushed to get the camera, but had a fake baby in my arms (couldn't just throw that baby down), and just wasn't quick enough. By the time I got the camera, it was more like Vincent trying to eat Sasha's face. I have video footage, but I'm not advanced enough to post a video.

For those of you interested, the CPR class was really great. I highly recommend it. After it was over, our instructor, Jennifer, even walked out to our cars & inspected our carseats & their installation.

As for Vincent's eating these days, he is doing very well. I think I'm going to try and food blog his eating on a regular basis. It's better than charts, graphs, etc. (which we aren't doing), and it may be nice for me to look back on one day. Today, he ate a little yogurt in the morning, and at lunch time, he had a small amount of green beans with a pinch of grated parmesan cheese. Yes, there is still breast milk between all this as well.

Back from So Cal

Vincent got to see three of his cousins during our trip. Here he is with Spencer (age 5) & Koen (age 3). He loved watching them play, and tried to get right into the action.

Here's Vincent with his other cousin, Anabelle (age 7+ months). Anabelle is only 10 days older than Vincent. We love her wild hairstyle!

It took Vincent a few days to warm up to his A-ma (grandmother), but after that, they were like buddies. A-ma took very good care of him, and even carried him on her back in the Ergo while doing a couple of chores.

Now that we are home, one thing Vincent is starting to learn is self-feeding with finger foods. He's working on his "pincer grip", and is figuring out that he can put food in his mouth, though he hasn't learned how to let go of it. Now, I just need to be even more careful about what he decides to pick up and taste.

Water Baby

We're on our "summer vacation" in Southern California.

Vincent received his first kiddie pool from his A-Ma (grandma).

Here we are in Santa Monica, the day after the Gottlieb/DiGiacomo wedding in Malibu.

The Hunts get fancy at the Ritz Carlton, in Laguna Niguel. Nah, we didn't stay there, just had a nice lunch with our friend, Levi. Vincent tried some olive bread & a tiny bit of mushroom pasta.

Baby loves Laguna Beach!

Hot Baby

Uh Oh!

Sorry for the somewhat blurry pics.

It's been hot here in Seattle lately. I've been trying to let Vincent spend about 10 minutes each day rolling around naked. It allows him to air out a bit. These pictures were taken after our little diaperless mishap today. You can guess what happened...No, not #1. Yup, I set V down on his tummy to play. I checked back on him a couple of times, in case he peed. No pee. A couple minutes later, I returned to find that he had pooped! Oh what a lovely mess!

Life As A Mom

I've been thinking about writing this blog entry for some time now, but was having a hard time putting into words what I've felt for the past 6 and a half months. I'm still not really sure I can fully express the amazement I feel with this beautiful, delightful, little creature that is my baby.

As all my mom friends may know, even after all those pregnancy hormones have subsided, I'm finding that I am more emotional than I've ever been. Something happened to me the day I found out I was having a baby. I was no longer just Anny Hunt. I was TWO-in-one! I never imagined that I could love this tiny little being inside of me that I've never even met so much. And, then, Vincent Tomi Hunt was born, and I love him more than I knew possible.

I'm not saying that everyday is just awesome and beautiful. Believe me, I've had to adjust to this motherhood thing big time. I'm still adjusting. With all this love, came so much guilt. For me, at least. And, the amount of pressure I put on myself. I don't think I prepared myself very well to be a mother. I mean, we were ready with the crib, changing table, cloth diaper service, car seat, stroller, baby book, clothes (although most of them didn't fit, so maybe not so ready with clothes), books, toys, even baby proofing stuff that we're just now going to start using. I just don't think I really thought about what kind of mother I am going to be. I didn't do much reading. Heck, the only books on having a baby that we had were about actually having the baby...child birth. No Dr. Sears, no breastfeeding help books, not even the American Academy of Pediatrics book. I just thought, "I'm going to be loving & caring, and what more is there to it?" Much more.

Breastfeeding, pumping, milk supply, reflux, color of poop, cradle cap, mis-shapen head, tummy time, elimination communication, all the choices of cloth diapers...my obsessions go on. All this, and more, to think about for such a small person. I have gone from one obsession to another. I can't believe I'm even admitting to all of this. I guess I can because I don't think I'm alone. I'm sure with other moms, if it's not one of the above, it's gotta be something else. But, you know what? Vincent has been worth all of it.

Being a mother has been the best thing I've ever done in my life. Every morning, when I hear Vincent's little voice on the monitor, I'm am overjoyed thinking about the first time I get to see him that day. And, when David and I go into his room to say "Good morning" and he's smiling up at us, my heart melts. And, we are like buddies, Vincent and I. We go on outings, we play together, we ride the bus, take walks, take naps, pick on Buster, do chores (when we can).

I am amazed each day that I helped create this person! Every single little part of him. Being a part of all that is new to him, all the growth and learning, has been such an incredible experience. With each stage in his life so far, I want to freeze him there forever, only to find that the next stage is even better than the last.

I can't wait to see what all my dear baby boy has in store for this world!

P.S. - I couldn't have found a better man to be my baby daddy.