A conversation with 3 year old K

K: *points to little bear* This is my baby.

Me: Oh, cute!

K: *points to big bear* And this is my adult. 

Me: ...

Man, I love this girl so much.

Septembers are for school again

Ever since graduating from OT school 6 years ago, Septembers haven't really meant much to me in terms of indicating anything. But this year, that has changed!

K started JK yesterday and a part of me still can't wrap my head around it. I remember being on my first mat leave and holding her while looking out the window at the kids across the street who were waiting for the school bus; I couldn't help but think about when she would eventually start school and join those kids across the street and even though she was literally only two months old at the time, my eyes literally started watering. True story, lol.

Fast forward 3.5 half years later and I'm the now mom of a school-aged child. I know she's only turning 4 this year, but to me it feels closer to 30.

Three

I felt her heartbeat and her kicks before I saw her, then with flashes of pain she came forth and filled my heart with a love so fierce and strong. As I held her in my arms for the first time I looked down at her and took her in; My little ball of light, my little body of love, my little mini-me.

Then I blinked and suddenly she was three.

Happy birthday, K. :)
I love you.

O is for one

Exactly one year ago yesterday, our sweet O came into the world with a healthy pair of lungs and flailing limbs. Last night, as we sat around the table and sang happy birthday to our youngest as a family of four, my heart felt so incredibly full. Thank you for giving us a reason to celebrate - we love you, O!

DIY Kitchen Play Board

I've been wanting to get K a kitchen play set for a while, but with space constraints in our cozy house compounded with prices I saw (over $100 for one? no thanks) I decided to look for alternatives. There are some great ideas floating around on the internet, but ultimately I just improvised and came up with something else: I found an old unused cork board and, coupled with some craft paint, breathed new life and purpose into our would-otherwise-be trash!

Here is what I did: I started with an regular old cork board, cleaned it up, gave it a fresh coat of yellow and white paint, used a crayon to sketch out my "kitchen" (two stove burners, knobs, a sink, and faucet), then did some more painting, and voila!

The board can easily be used on any surface since it's just a cork board so it sturdy and flat, and storing it is easy because of its narrow profile. Even better still, this project cost me nothing because everything I used I already had on hand (I could really get used to this whole repurposing thing!). 

However, the best part of this project was seeing K's reaction to it when she got home yesterday: she stopped in her tracks, pointed at it, and said, "Mommy, see?" At first she didn't realize what it was, but after showing her the ropes she was off washing and cooking up a vegetable storm in no time! Love that kid.

Anyway, I know it's super basic and doesn't have any of the bells and whistles that these $100+ kitchen stations have, but it's perfect for us and that's what counts. :)

a full heart

I end most days with a sore back and a fried brain, but I'm thankful because I know my back is sore from holding my kids, and my brain is fried from trying to decode 2yo talk and 4 month old cries, so despite going to bed most nights feeling like I could sleep forever and still wake up not feeling refreshed, my heart is full. So very full. :)

Returning to work

I return to work this Friday after my year off with K and I have been feeling all sorts of emotions about it. The beginning of yet another new normal.

One year

Exactly one year ago today I started feeling cramps while watching Survivor. Turns out the "cramps" were actually contractions and about twenty-six hours later K was born!

As I type this and reminisce on the events of last year, a part of me still cannot believe my baby girl turns one tomorrow. Time certainly flies when you're with the ones you love. 

Children's Book Illustrators

One of the things I like about children's books is all the pictures and illustrations! Now I'm no children's illustration connoisieur and I'm certainly no artist, but I really like what these two guys put out.

Peter H. Reynolds
(Watercolour has never looked so vibrant or fun!)


Eric Carle
(Love his unique, fun, bold, and colourful style!)

My little bookworm

We were playing with K yesterday when J and I started talking and K crawled off on her own. I looked up a minute later and saw this:

I love that she loves her books! Here's to hoping that her love for books will develop into a love for reading that will continue for many, many years to come. :)

Peering over the edge

Today I was reading a book to K while she was in her crib and after turning a page I looked up and saw her standing up, hanging onto the side of her crib, and peering over the side of the crib while grinning at me.

She is the best. :)

Note to self: Ask J to lower the crib mattress down again.

Her nose works!

This afternoon we checked out the Asian night market "Night It Up!" and when we passed by the stinky tofu vendors I noticed K furrowed her brows, wrinkled her nose, and had a general look of "I don't like this" meets "I think I'm going to be sick" on her face.  I made J pass by the 'stink zone' a few more times on our walk around the marketplace just to make sure it wasn't a coincidence (poor guy), and each time we passed by her facial expression would go from neutral to "Ughh." Needless to say, we were both thrilled.

Unlike me, we are pretty sure that K can smell, huzzah!

Big S, Little S, Sick Sick Sick.

Little K's immune system has had its hands full as of late as she has been battling a cold for the past couple of days. She has become very adept at dodging my attempts to use the nasal aspirator with her and I can tell she has better things to do than sit there patiently while I wipe the snot off her face (she'd rather be playing, thank you very much). The only time she will sit relatively still for is when I am putting vaseline under her nostrils to help alleviate any irritation under there. Smart girl.

This is her first 'real' cold, so it's a rite of passage of sorts for both her and us. Sucks to see her sick, but I know it's good for her in the long run and her immunity system will be stronger for it.

a little haiku from me to you

Today K turns six
Months not years oh me oh my
Time is flying by

Happy six months, Little One. :)

:P

K figured out how to stick out her tongue today.
She found it amusing all morning.
I find her amusing all the time.
She is the best.

first mother's day

I am so blessed to be the mother of my sweet little girl. :)
Little K, Mommy loves you to the moon and back.

How she rolls

K is continuing to grow well as evidenced by the rolls in her arms and legs. Oh the rolls. Her extremities look like they are made of sausages!

K is also rolling. From front to back and back to front, she's pretty good with both directions now. She is also good at repositioning herself in her crib too. It's always amusing to see where she has ended up when I go to get her, heehee.

She is such a little roly poly and I love her to bits.

It starts with an S and it ends with a T

Good grief. Who knew that such little beings could have SO MUCH POO?!?! 
Oh well, at least we can be sure K is getting enough to eat...

hello there, i'm still here

It's been a while, but so much has happened since the last time I posted! Here are some of the highlights:

1/ Arrival of Baby
We were blessed with the sweetest little girl in the whole world, K. She has overhauled our lives, but in the best way.  She is just awesome and continues to bring us so much joy, and I am so thankful that she is here.  November 14, 2013 marks the day our little family grew from two to three, and our hearts became even fuller.

2/ Official start of Maternity Leave
I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend everyday with K for one year (thanks hubby)! People often ask me if I'm stir-crazy from being at home all the time and quite honestly no, I'm not. (I think being a introverted home-body really helps me out in that department, haha.) Internet is key though (not sure how mothers used to do it without it) because without the ability to go online, check e-mails, go on facebook, or stream TV shows, I'm pretty sure I might have gone loco by now. However, I have the internet at my fingertips so throw a book or two into the mix and I'm more than good to go. (Or rather, not go anywhere).

That being said, hanging out with other mommies and their little ones during the day is always such a treat. :) Yay for friends being on mat leave too!

3/ First Christmas with K
This Christmas she was only just over a month old so she definitely will not remember a thing, but we will. And it was lovely. :)

4/ K's Developmental...Development
From blob to blob with flailing limbs to little person with pretty decent control of her neck, limbs, and digits (there's nothing like intentional movements to excite this OT mommy), it has been such a pleasure witnessing K develop both motor and cognition-wise. While she has always been fun, she is interacting more and more with the world around her (this includes us!) and it will only continue getting more fun from here. We're also starting to see more glimpses of her personality shine through now and I'm excited to discover more about who she is and have her discover more about us in return. Exciting times ahead!

With all these highlights I've had my share of low-lights as well, but I choose not to dwell on those things as much as possible. Why focus on the not-so-good when there are so many things to be thankful for? Onwards and upwards, I say, onwards and upwards.

Awaiting baby

As baby's arrival comes closer and closer, I can't help but get a bit sentimental re: these past nine months because being sentimental is what I do, although (I admit) it gets a little bit ridiculous sometimes. Anyway, as much as I am excited to meet her, see her, and hold her (finally!), I will miss having her with me always (at work, at home, at church - we've literally been inseparable for the past nine months), as well as feeling her kicks, squirms, punches, and hiccups from the inside out. I love feeling her hiccup, I think it's one of the greatest and cutest things ever. Oh how I love her. :)

Can't wait to meet you, Little One.