The Many Faces of Green Beans

Today Joy tried green beans for the first time. I will let you decide what she thought about them. 

Bananas and carrots and cereal...oh my

Feeding Joy solid food has been hilarious! She likes rice cereal (made with breast milk) quite a bit and likes anything that has LOTS of breast milk in it...can't blame her since that has been her exclusive diet for the past 6 months. We have tried carrots and they went down easier when I mixed them with rice cereal and breast milk (thanks for the idea mom) and we have tried bananas. This morning she shuddered on every bite of bananas and milk but if she "helped" and held the spoon she was more willing to eat. Looks like we have an independent little girl on our hands :-)

 This picture is for Kalina who wanted to know why Joy wasn't wearing her hippo bib (Kalina's 3.5 year old son has one that matches)....well a) it is huge on her, b) I have forgotten how to snap it, so I may need a tutorial from her and c) Joy just wants to eat the bib :-)

 Rudy is becoming more of a fan of Joy now that solid food has been introduced. Inevitably Joy swings her hand and some gets on the floor so Rudy is learning to stay close. He tries to lick her fingers and bib when I turn away! Yesterday a whole spoonful of carrots, breast milk and cereal flew to the ground and Rudy couldn't have been more delighted. Maybe Rudy, this new hairless puppy isn't so bad after all.

We need to buy a high chair since the bouncy seat is a little too reclined and Joy wriggles out of the bumbo too easily (it was recalled for that very reason!). I think Joy might be left handed like her Grandpa Paul and Grandma Lorna, it definitely seems to be her more dominant hand.

Happy half birthday

Joy is 6 months old today. Happy half birthday baby! 

What Joy is doing:

 Got to love that mouth and sunshine eyes!

• Joy seems to still be working on teeth though nothing has come in yet, she chews on anything within arms reach. 
• Joy is rolling all over the place and loves sucking/chewing on her toes (or on whatever is nearest to her, in the case of the picture below: her dolly)

Eats: Nurses every 3 hours and has started eating solid food (once a day)

• Solid food:  Nothing too exciting yet, only rice cereal (and carrots once, which was hilarious to watch her eat because she actually gagged, her dad actually feels the same way about carrots). Next week I may start with some purees for real.  The first few times she wasn't really into it but last night she was quite excited to eat it. Sorry the video is so long (2+ mins), first time parents think that everything their child does is exciting so don't feel like you have to watch the whole video :-)

Sleeps: We have been doing some major sleep training with Joy now that we are back home.

•  Night time: Joy goes to bed between 6:30-7pm and wakes up between 6-7am. She now only eats once in the middle of the night (instead of 4 times like all summer). She goes to bed without her paci because when it falls out she wakes up. She still cries a little going down but not long and sometimes we hear a little noise in the middle of the night but it doesn't last long. 
• Naps: Joy still takes 3-4 naps and is doing much better at napping longer than 40 minutes. She loves per paci during nap time.

Weighs: Joy goes in for her 6 month appointment next week but I weighed her using my homemade method and she weighs:15.1lbs.

Likes: She still loves sleeping with bear and being swaddled (although she is getting strong and breaks out of her swaddle and then wakes herself up with flailing arms). Joy loves riding public transportation and people watching. She likes having books read to her and chewing on new toys.

Joy and her friend Elena (who is a couple months older so has mastered a few more skills :-)

Dislikes: Joy dislikes being left alone for too long even if she is in a good mood. I think we have a social butterfly on our hand.

Favorite event: Being back in her Hong Kong house and having her own room again (oh wait maybe that is her mom speaking :-)

Shoes

I sure hope that Joy loves shoes....because she already has 16 pairs (not all the same size....but still, good thing they are small :-)

Home sweet home

We are home after a very fun and full summer! It was great to see so many of our family and friends. We are happy to be back to our life and friends here. We have spent the weekend cleaning our house, buying groceries, unpacking, finding new homes for things we bought in our tiny house and feeling quite jet lagged. I have to remember how to cook since I barely cooked all summer.

Joy did GREAT on the flight, not a peep out of her. However jet lag is another story. Poor girl has a really hard time with it (like her dad) and thus we have all been a little sleep deprived and a little grumpy. This summer it took us a week to get over the jet lag so hopefully we only have a few more days of it.

Brad is at work this week for in service and school starts next week. I love the first day of school and it is a little weird that I will not be there, but Joy and I are having a very fun time together.

Here are a few pictures from before we left the US

 Yumm I love to eat everything these days

 My great grandma requested a picture and Joy cooperated with a smile

 Joy loves her activity mat and is busy rolling over

 

Cute little family

Joy got a couple new onsies from my friend Kalina so I thought we should take an impromptu family picture.

5 months and counting

It feels like only yesterday I was blogging about being five months pregnant and now little Joy is five months old. It has been extremely hard to blog this summer but im trying to write/ publish a post on brads iPhone. I wanted to get Joys 5month post complete before we head back to hong kong ( I promise to be a better blogger then:)

What is Joy doing: Joy is rolling over both ways now and loves to "talk". She smiles s

o much and is such a happy baby. She is grabbing toys and lives sucking on soft toys. She chews on her hands constantly so maybe some teeth are in there.

Eats: I finally got Joy to eat stretch her feeding to every 3-4 hours. I think we will try solids once we are back in HK. For the past month she really has mastered nursing quickly which is great!

Sleeps: Jet lag has messed up Joy's sleeping a bit. She sleeps through the night but wants to eat. We have been all over creation this summer so her schedule is all off. She is still taking 3-4 naps a day and sleeping about 10 hrs at night. I need to break her of middle of the night feeds when we get back home.

Weighs: Joy went to the health department for her four month shots ( which were traumatic for all of us and she cried for 30 min once we got home) and she weighted 13 lbs 11oz

Likes: Joy loves to sleep with a little bear blanket OVER her face...I have checked she can still breathe but it looks kind of scary. Joy loves the bath and kicks/ splashes lot. She stil loves the paci. The stroller is becoming more agreeable but stil not her favorite. She likes being tickled under her neck and squeals with delight when it happens. She went in the pool for the first time when we were in ca and had a good time until she got cold.

Dislikes: Joy had her first cold and dislikes getting nasal spray up her nose ( but who really does ). She also hated being in her car seat for 12 hours on our drive from Oregon to California. But even though she fussed she never screamed. We are really blessed with a great baby who is easily soothed.

Favorite event: Joy has loved meeting all of our families and friends here in north America. Joy went to her first wedding ( pic of brad with the funny bow tie). Joy walked around our university which is where her aunt ruthie is studying. She has been a hit wherever she goes Joy has now been to Hong Kong, England, Ireland, USA and Canada.

Joy we love you and can't wait to keep discoveringore about who God made you to be. You are our perfect baby and we wouldn't change any part of you. We love your sunshine eyes and how you really do bring smiles and joy to all who interact with you. We pray that the joy of the Lord will always give you strength. Love mommy and daddy