Isabel at Union St Fair

On dec 11, union street has a xmas fair. Isabel has a lot of fun and met Santa for the first time. She stood in line and was all excited, but when we got to our turn to take the picture, she got scared to sit on Santa's lap alone. so we took the picture together. No worries, all in due time. Right now, it's kind of good that she is timid with stranger and cautious even with "Santa".

Isabel at Yerba Buena Center

with her friend Ayza who is our neighbor. They are only a week apart in age and loves to play together. They will be in a dancing class together starting in Jan.

Xmas party at Lauren's house

Lauren is 3.5 years old and is the one in the dark red dress. She is one of Jaime's high school friend's daughter. We went to her house on Dec 12 for a BBQ and xmas party. There were 11 kids there - Isabel was the youngest. This is the night we put her to sleep at 10:30pm at their house. We left around 11:30pm. Isabel has so much fun and didn't get over-tired.

A song for you from Isabel

Isabel loves to dance and sing. Here is a song from her to you. Enjoy!

What a Xmas Morning!

It's 2am in the morning on Xmas day.  You would think that Isabel is sleeping soundly dreaming about what Santa will bring her as Xmas gifts in the morning, but you would be wrong.  She is too young to still understand all that.  Instead, at 2am, she is crying on the top of her lungs from being overtired.  The screaming last for 5 minutes.  At 2:40am, I wake up to screaming again.  This time it's more like 20 min.  She was inconsolable for awhile.  I didn't realize but this is normal I guess for a child that has been overstimulated and so tired.

We went to a party at Jaime's parents' friend house Xmas Eve - a very nice party that had appetizers at 7pm and dinner at 10:30pm - a Spanish tradition I guess.  Quite a few bigger kids who happily entertained Isabel.  She was so excited and just played, played, and played.  We let her play thinking she is big enough now to stay up later.  Isabel didn't go to bed until 11:30pm in the car on the way home.  She seemed fine and went to sleep again soon after we got home.

It's now 3:17am.  She is asleep again thankfully but I can't sleep, worried that she may scream again and hoping at the same time that she won't and will rest well for the rest of the night. Agnes tells me her screaming is normal and she will be fine.  She is just over-tired, needs rest, but doesn't how to do it herself.  Agnes was holding her walking around in the room so she can be comforted to sleep again.

I guess it's lesson learned.
1.  When a baby is not yet 3 year old, they can't stay up way past their bed time (which is 9pm) without suffering a bit (screaming and being over-tired).  Few weeks ago, she was up until 10:30 but we put her to sleep at the friend's house we were at and she was fine that night.   11:30 was obviously too much.
2.  Don't let her watch TV when it's past her bedtime.  The kids and her were all watching Madagascar the movie.  I went to check on her at almost 11pm, she was looking at me cross-eyed a bit.  She was obviously way too tired.   A few months ago, she had this problem after she woke up from naps or sleep.  We took her to an eye doctor and she said it's probably normal since she is developing still.  After that I haven't noticed her  crossed-eyed much at all.  When I saw it tonight, it makes me worried.  Another reason to watch out when she stays up too late.
3. Don't let other people's opinion influence my instinct.  People told me it's fine to have her stay up late. Well, they are not up now at 3:25am worried about whether their child is resting well.  My instinct told me 11:30 was too late. I guess I feel guilty and probably should have tried to have her sleep earlier.   Every child is different.  Some has been trained to stay up late.  We can train Isabel but not do it this suddenly.  For the most part, I don't see any reason to train her to stay up late.  She can do that when she grows up.

I guess I feel bad overall.  It's hard to see our child suffer in the middle of the night.  I am sure she is fine now and I am probably being over-dramatic..  No crying since 3am.  I hope she is resting well now.  It's amazing how protective motherhood feels. I guess this is part of the roller-coaster ride of life.  Well, we will make sure Isabel gets plenty of rest and sleep as much as she wants so she can be all good to open her presents in the morning.

Now, hopefully, I can sleep soon too.

-Lei
It's 3:56am and she hasn't screamed again.  Time for mommy and daddy to go back to sleep

Merry Xmas and Happy 2011

2010 has been a memorable year!

• Isabel is growing so fast.  She speaks full sentences now and has quite a personality.  While she loves to dress up, she is also really tough (usually don't cry when she falls unless it really hurts; she can give a mean kick to a ball, and can throw pretty well with one hand).  We are blessed with a sweet, smart, active, and adorable daughter
• Jaime and I were able to get away on 2 trips - Puerto Rico and Cancun.  Very fun.  We ate a ton of Mofongo in PR, Jaime demonstrated impressive skills at the Trapeze, and Lei learned how to waterski.  Yeah!
• We continue to develop our business vision.  Jaime successfully started his contracting business on top of full time work.  We are ever more clear on how we want to build our career and life in the next 5 years.  We are so excited for 2011 to start.  I also continue to pursue my passion in career coaching - writing blog posts and helping people individually with their career challenges
• We are forever thankful for Agnes in our life.  She is amazing and constantly teaches me how to be a better mom and person.  She is also so talented - she has an intuitive talent for cooking new recipes (her chocolate souffles are superb). She also found a new passion in photography and is almost always seen snapping photos with her DSLR camera.

We are of course also thankful for our friends and family - Life is an journey and a roller-coaster ride.  We are loving every moment and wish you are too.  Happy Holidays and Best wishes in 2011.

Isabel and friends at Hyatt Hotel

Christmas is in the Air!

10 most effective parenting tips

In order of priority. I think #2 is often overlooked and not considered, but it is crucial. See full article on this at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=77315

1) Love and affection. You support and accept the child, are physically affectionate, and spend quality one-on-one time together.

2. Stress management. You take steps to reduce stress for yourself and your child, practice relaxation techniques and promote positive interpretations of events.

3. Relationship skills. You maintain a healthy relationship with your spouse, significant other or co-parent and model effective relationship skills with other people.

4. Autonomy and independence. You treat your child with respect and encourage him or her to become self-sufficient and self-reliant.

5. Education and learning. You promote and model learning and open-mindedness for your child.

6. Life skills. You provide for your child, have a steady income and plan for the future.

7. Behavior management. You make extensive use of positive reinforcement and punish only when other methods of managing behavior have failed.

8. Health. You model a healthy lifestyle and good habits, such as regular exercise and proper nutrition, for your child.

9. Religion. You support spiritual or religious development and participate in spiritual or religious activities.

10. Safety. You take precautions to protect your child and maintain awareness of the child's activities and friends.

Lei

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Isabel at 30 months, North Beach Library Petting Zoo

Isabel on her Giants gear and at Peekadoodle with Dash

Isabel at 30.5 months

SF Giants Victory Parade

Duck tour with Agnes and Isabel at 28 months