Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Landon Goes to Gymnastics




Our swimming membership provides free weekly "SweetPea" gymnastics classes for babies 3 months- 18 months!

We did sign him up during nap time... which currently is ok... he's taking a later nap.. which means lunch is later as well... so far, I'm not sure how I feel about changing up nap time, but thats a whole different story!



The class started off a little overwhelming, there were a few 3 year old's running around during the class and 1 girl was coughing up her lungs... it made me very nervous, but Landon had so much fun!

We did lots of singing, tumbling, balancing... they put out an obstacle course for us to walk/ climb/ crawl through!

 Landon took forever to go through the tunnel.. at first he refused to go into the tunnel, so we tossed a rattle in there.. then he sat in the tunnel shaking the rattle and laughing... all the other kids had to wait for him to get out, but after a few minutes, he came crawling out and everyone cheered!

Looks like we'll come back every tuesday!



Monday, April 22, 2013

Swim School



We finally registered AND attended our first swim class. The past few months we've signed up, but once he was napping and you DON'T wake a napping child... its like trying to perform an exorcist on yourself... and the other 2 times, he had a cold.




so we did it. and HE DID GREAT!

We signed him up for CAL ELITE KIDS, located 10 minutes from our house. Its one of the few locations that offered indoor pools. I like it because the ratios are small and they had a shower, changing tables and were very accommodating for young children. It's pretty affordable and Landon gets to attend 1 gym activity class a week for free! (2 classes for the price of 1!!)



First off, lets talk about what to wear. They recommended iplay reusable diapers (SUPER CUTE!) for baby. And for days I stressed about what to wear. My husband thought I was being silly... but I thought about getting a 1 piece swimsuit. He thought it was ridiculous since I haven't worn a 1 piece since 4th grade, but I didn't want to be "THAT" mom that showed up in a bikini... yea. I was that mom. but its ok.



The class was very fast pace...

start in a circle and sing songs

then blow bubbles underwater

swim laps and kick feet

float backwards

"swim" to the wall and climb out

swim to teacher and back to mommy

walk across a floating plank and then swim to mommy

stand on the steps and reach for toys

float under a tunnel

swim in a circle and say good-bye



After class, there are shower centers and changing tables so that worked out well for us! Landon caught on very quickly and he was able to climb out of the pool himself. The instructor kept saying, "now, it's his first time and he's young so obviously he won't be able to do this yet" then Landon would do it and she would say.... "wow, he's strong. Ok he can do this"



We love swim school and can't wait until our next lesson!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

My parents 36th Wedding Anniversary



Yesterday, My parents celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary. this is an accomplishment in itself, but I must tell their story.

My parents have been regular normal parents all my life. It wasn't until my late 20's that I realized how far they've come and how many obstacles they had to overcome.. and here is is their love story...

now, before I start- I must first explain that getting information from my parents about how they got married is like taking a child to a dentist.. painfully grueling lol.. but after years of gathering stories here and there, I think I successfully put the puzzle together.


My parents met in Vietnam. My dad was in the military and he rented the back room of my grandparents house... It was there, where he met my mother and fell in love... As most typical asian love stories go, my grandfather was very over protective and would not allow my mom to date my dad... so they went on, admiring one another for years... in 1975, while my dad was serving the war, my grandfather passed away. My Grandmother sent my mother with her siblings on a ship to America. There were 12 living members in my mothers family, 8 successfully made it to america. 4 stayed behind.

how did they get separated you ask? well, the ship that they were on started sinking so 12 members jumped ship... 8 made it, 4 fell, swam ashore and were arrested...

My mother 22 at the time took charge to help raise her family. Her siblings ranged between the ages of 3-25.

When my dad returned from war that year, he went looking for my mom... He did manage to locate my grandmother who informed him that mom had left for America.. He too, fled to find her.

In Guam, at a refugee camp, she literally passed my dad (he was arriving and she was leaving). They briefly talked for (what she explained) less than 5 minutes. He asked her where she was going and she said, "CA. come find me". She ended up in southern CA and he ended up in San Francisco.

I'm unsure of how long it took them to find one another, but I do know that My dad put out several Ad's in papers all around the state looking for my mom and was unsuccessful. After a few years, they began dating other people.

One day, In thousand Oaks, CA, my father started a new job at a local chicken farm collecting eggs. When he arrived that day, he went to introduce himself to other vietnamese workers... there in front of him was my mom's brother. YEP.

AND that is how they found one another...

Met in Vietnam, separated by war... connected in Guam but then placed in different parts of CA.. and fate finally brought them together... fell in love, Got married and had 3 kids of their own!

That is a GREAT love story!!!

it literally gives me goosebumps every time I think about it!!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Matching Monday with my Mini Me...



Looks like we're twinning! LOL!!


On a super gloomy monday- I decided to venture out with my babes.. He was ALL SMILES as we daddy drove us around to run errands! We went to Soup Plantation, Wholefoods



and then we went to visit this little Gem.. Sophie!! My girlfriend is dog sitting for her mom, she is the CUTEST dog.. she weighs 3lbs.. ADORABLE. JUST ADORABLE!



If you're wondering where we got out matching outfit, you can find the items listed on the photo...

XOXO

Saturday, April 13, 2013

What Landon Wore

This week, I joined in with some fashion fun! On Friday night we headed out for some shopping and dinner at fashion island!



Friday, April 12, 2013

Landon is 10 Months!



Oh 10 months crept up and surprised us this week... and I know I sound like a broken record when I say.. I can't believe he's 10 months?!?! It is just flying by! I need to freeze time and just hold him for hours and hours and hours!



Weight: at his 9 month appointment last week, he weighed 19 lbs 2 oz. He measured 28.3". He's in the 40th percentile for growth and weight. I feel like he's not gaining enough weight and I was afraid that I wasn't producing enough milk but the ped doesn't seem to worried and even though I asked to wean him to formula, his ped encouraged me to finish off a year then we will transition him directly onto milk. I'm also shocked he doesn't weigh 30lbs considering he eats like a grown man.



Health: I cannot complain.. he is healthy as can be!



Sleep: We were dealing with a few issues for sleep- but then his 3rd & 4th tooth popped up so now he's back on track. I also sense a new transition where he's fully sleeping through the night. ALSO he's down to 2 naps a day AND both naps are 1.5-2 hours long. We are slightly trying out CIO because he does better playing and putting himself back to sleep then having us come in to rock him or help him.



Social: Mr. social butterfly over hear LOVES babies. He is obsessed with other children and wants to be "involved". I tried signing him up for some classes but his dad is super neurotic about flu season and with his last two colds, we didn't want to jinx it because we didn't get him the flu shot. BUT- now that flu season is over with.. swimming classes and gymboree classes is next!



Diet: We were told he can eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. so.. that's exactly what we do. He eats what we eat plus 3 meals a day of baby food. I'm not afraid to let him have food- he has figured out how to chew and he will spit out anything that is too big. we make HUGE messes when we are out in public- but basically- he will eat 3oz of baby food (homemade) with a whole pear... noodles.. bananas... a whole carrot steamed... anything he can get into his mouth and chew, he will eat. He still nurses at 7am, 10am, 2:30pm, 4:30pm and an 8oz pumped bottle at 7:30.




Clothes: 6-12 clothing and 9+ month jammies. We really like Pampers sensitive diapers for daytime AND Pampers Night time diapers.. they are AMAZING!



Baby Gear Love: he is obsessed with his bath toys, books, walkers.. he will play with anything.. STRING!!! cell phones... Every time he goes down for a nap/bed, I rearrange his play area. He has "centers" where let him explore.. a reading center, a blocks center, a ball center.. and he just crawls over and plays.. etc etc. keeps him busy!



Crying: Here and there but its very minimal. He doesn't like being told what to do.. and he will cry if he's totally over it (I mean that's his breaking point).. but overall he has the sweetest personality ever. OH- we did have a 2 week phase of stranger anxiety but its all better!



Likes: Food, our dogs (specifically Leiahs tail and ears), his walker, long walks, balloons, balls and bath time. HE likes LOVES bath time. If he's fussy... throw him in the bath.



Milestones: we have tons of milestones this month.. He is signing "all done" we get all done a lot when he's finished on the potty, eating and when he's done napping. lol. His favorite thing to do is "blow kisses" we play a kissing game where I'll blow a kiss then he blows a kiss and it continues until he's laughing hysterically! words: Mama, Dada, more.. he holds up his finger to say he's 1. He's up moving around, Loves to hold our hands to "walk".. and he's busy, busy busy busy busy... I love the way he explores and is soOOo alert about his environment.

Oh my little baby, you're growing up way to fast!!!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

What Landon Wore

We have a full day of activities ahead of us!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Our Catalina Wine Mixer...




My In-Laws came to visit for 2 weeks in March!

I LOVE IT when my in-laws visit for a few reasons.. 1. we get tons of adventures and 2. THEY LOVE taking landon on SUPER long walks in the early morning so Josh and I could get extra sleep!

So on one of our adventures, we decided to visit Catalina.

I've never been to Catalina, so I was extra excited to go!


We started this trip enjoying our breakfast... UMMM, best BEST Pancakes ever!

We left out of San Pedro, CA. It was a very cold and windy trip on a speed boat (took about an hour).

Landon ended up taking a long nap and didn't wake up until we got there. I dressed him really warm...



I packed pretty light:

a few outfits for him & a hat
3 meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner + snacks)
2 blankets (1 thicker and 1 light weight)
1 zip lock bag filled with toys
sunblock
1 outfit for me
8 diapers, wipes and changing pad
nursing cover

once we got there- I stopped in at a hotel patio to nurse him, change him and wash his face. then our adventure started!



We enjoyed lunch at an irish bar- We all ordered the fish & chips! It was super yummy!







We stopped to let landon crawl around! I took some adorable photos of him!

We couldn't find a golf cart that could sit 4 people and 1 infant so instead we took a bus tour to see the Island.



It was hands down one of the best bus tours I've been on! We saw Bison, squirrel and learned about the history of Catalina.



We took a tour of the private airport, and just enjoyed the sites!




If anyone decides to take a quick day trip anywhere in southern CA, I highly recommend Catalina. The bus tour was the best thing we did on our trip.