Baby’s First Flu

Posted on by

  Well, despite being vigilant, there’s just no way avoiding it. Obviously one of us brought the nasty bug home and gave it to poor little Ethan, who got his first serious illness at a week shy of his 10 month birthday. Look at his poor runny nose…

  Yup, that and a cough and a 104°F fever that didn’t break for almost 2 days, suppressed only by repeated doses of baby Tylenol. The little trooper, as miserable as he was, he still managed to sleep through the nights – and days – cuz his little body was using all his energy to fight off this nasty bugger. Luckily, once the fever went, the little guy sprung right back into action.

  Of course, things were complicated by teething pains. Those two big front chompers are bursting out, and well, incessant drooling did cause a terrible cheek rash that no amount of  aquaphor and lotion was able to quell. Aww, see those sad puppy eyes saying: “Daddy, Papa, my cheek hurts.”

Poor guy, finally he’s got some hair too, but short of slathering on some styling gel, it looks like he has a perpetual bout of bad hair days.

“What?!?! Stop staring at my frizzy, electrifying hair!”

What’s more, after an entire week being cooped up essentially in his crib and room, no one can blame him for suffering a bit of cabin fever.

“HELLOOOOO??!?!  Let me out, let me out, LET ME OUT!”

Luckily, he is easily distracted… “What was that you say? You’ve got some apple sauce?!?!”

  These days apple sauce is about the only thing he’s willing to eat though. Since being sick his milk intake has plummeted, and weight-wise he has also shed a pound or so. As worried as we are about dehydration, we’re happy if he’s willing to take in 2-3oz of milk each feeding, but his daily totals only add up to barely 1/3 of what he’s used to eat. Hopefully, his appetite will come back in a couple of days or so.

  We’re just relieved that he’s feeling much better and back to his old self. He crawls like a super baby and easily gets up on his knees and feet when he braces against something. Cruising freely should be around the corner soon. What we find amazing is that these little milestones – sitting, crawling, climbing, standing, etc. – appear to occur relatively suddenly. One day out of the blue you just see him do something new. It’s just so amazing, this human instinct, the innate developmental ability.

  Oh, and did I mention he’s beginning to verbalize “Dah-dee” and “Bahhh-bahhhh”? Happy 10-month birthday sweetie!

A Sad Day

Posted on by

I struggled about whether to make a post or not, but at the end I think it is important for us to make an acknowledgment. Today we found out a heartbreaking and devastating news -  our friend Bernadette, whom we met when we were in Delhi, lost her precious superhero Hayden (aka Master Chief) yesterday. She has chronicled her inspirational and admirable story in her blog, Rasta Less Traveled.

We met Bernadette in the NICU at the Delhi Newborn Center where her twins Hayden and Scarlett were being cared for along with our newborns Ethan and Evelyn. Despite enduring her own challenges at the time she made time to come meet us and cheered us up when we told her of Evelyn’s poor prognosis. In fact, her upbeat demeanor and optimistic encouragement really helped us feel better in our own trying times. We also were so fortunate to have seen both Hayden and Scarlett for the first time.

As parents who have also lost a child, we empathize with Bernadette and her family in this most difficult and heart-wrenching time in their lives. However, we also recognize we cannot begin to truly fathom her loss as our journey cannot compare to what she went through in order to have a family. Words simply cannot begin to describe her trials and tribulations, and certainly can’t do justice to the super-human emotional strength and unfaltering optimism with which she carried herself so admirably through everything. Bernadette is a Super Mom in every respect.

We also found out today to our surprise Hayden Michael shares the same middle name as Ethan, which makes our acquaintance with Bernadette that much more serendipitous.  We were immensely privileged to have met this amazing woman, and feel so blessed that we had the opportunity to see Hayden in person all the way on the other side of the world.

Fly high and reach for the stars, little superhero Hayden.

Can You Believe It? 9 Months!

Posted on by

We just can’t get enough of Ethan.

Our sweetie pie grows more adorable to us each day. What joy it is for us to come home and be greeted by this handsome face! Yes, we are absolutely speaking from the point-of-view of extremely biased parents, but then again, what parent doesn’t? Our little guy is healthy, engaging, happy, and growing. Notice anything special about these pictures?


In case you missed it, look closely at that smile.. see the pearly whites? Yup, those two chompers sprouted almost 2 months ago, but now they light up that smile even more. Oh, and here’s another neat trick.

Yup, give him something he finds interesting (usually anything red, new, has strings, or has an apple logo), and he’ll crawl after it with lightning speed. He also knows how to sit up on his own, and clamber up onto his knees (time to lower the crib more).

He has a healthy appetite and has tried even more exotic foods like pears, cantaloupe, kiwi, and papaya. However, his favorite remains the fresh applesauce. Oh, and we also discovered something else, Ethan has an amazing set of lungs. No longer shall he just entertain us with cutesy little utterances of baby goo goo ga ga. Now he knows that when he wants attention, he’ll bellow out one heck of a shriek that would give the fat lady a run for her money!

 And see, we aren’t the only ones that think Ethan is one handsome chap. Can you say “Mirror, mirror on the wall?”

Baby Teeth, Baby Food, Baby Steps

Posted on by

  So we’re late…, by 1 week. Last Tuesday Ethan turned 8 months old, but boy were there milestones! Earlier last month we came home to a pleasant surprise, Ethan has his first tooth! Soon after, both his lower teeth are slowly peeking out, leading to the cutest smile we’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, like the elusive Big Foot, we have yet been able to capture that 2-teeth grin in a photo yet. To celebrate, we officially started Ethan on some solid food, and Ethan was quite excited in anticipation as we plopped him down for the first time in his feeding booster chair.

Of course, the first try of baby oatmeal was not what he was expecting…

and after several shudders and winces, Ethan stares skeptically at us wondering, “What did you guys just put in my mouth?”

Luckily, soon after he grew fond of his baby cereal, and between rice and oatmeal he actually prefers the former. We were also quite adventurous in having him try some fresh home-made puree of carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, prunes, and apples (well actually the prunes were store bought). Smartly, Ethan made it pretty clear that he only likes fresh apple sauce.

  Ethan is also showing his first signs of being able to cruise. Whereas before he’d solidly plant his feet on the ground and would contort, lean, and reach without ever trying to move his feet, in the recent weeks he is able to cruise a foot in distance. Granted we have to entice him with something he’d want, but it’s beginning to look like Ethan may skip crawling all together and jump right to walking. We’ve also seen him deftly pass toys from one hand to the other and back again, and he also has discovered the joys of sucking his toes now that he’s able to reach and pull those sumptuous digits towards his salivating lips.

  During MLK holiday weekend, we took Ethan back up to Tahoe again at the invitation of his Uncle Will and Aunt Kim. Of course, instead of the swimming weather when Ethan was there last during July 4th, this time it’s chilly snow everywhere. Thanks to Kim, we got him outfitted in the latest fashion headgear.

Ethan didn’t waste any time and was eager to go downhill in his yellow sled, color-coordinated in his cousin Mia’s pastel pink jumper.

His daddies were right there with him, although it’s clear Ethan was more focused on the sled ropes than his surroundings.

Everyone had a great time.

Of course, all that activity was capped off with a delicious and bountiful double hot pot feast. Ethan was very happy he got to spend time with his cousins and seeing snow for the first time. Until next time!

A Very Merry Ethan Christmas

Posted on by

  Ethan says a Merry Christmas to everyone! We celebrated Ethan’s first Christmas with the obligatory first family Christmas photo session at JC Penney. Ethan cutely donned a brand new outfit his Auntie Kim bought him, which went perfectly with his little Santa hat. Having Ethan as ours has truly been the best Christmas present ever. He is just flourishing, and at his most recent 6-month checkup with his pediatrician, officially is above average percentile in every respect. Many of our friends and family marvel at just how solid this 20lb little guy feels when they hold him, incredulous that he doesn’t weigh more.

  Our son has now graduated to size 3 diapers, and not only can sit and roll around back and forth, but also can stand up against a sofa or table unassisted for minutes at a time. He’s beginning to show signs of being able to crawl, but hasn’t really figured out how to move his hands and knees at the same time. Oh, and he’s beginning to discover the joys of his feet, not to mention a predisposed urge to suck on his toes!

  Since Thanksgiving, we began to celebrate Ethan’s first holiday season with family gatherings and special occasions. Our friends Melody and Karen came by with little McKenzie to have a hot pot feast and to help us decorate Ethan’s first Christmas tree, although I’m not sure our little guy was too impressed with the lights on the tree.

  We also had a holiday family gathering at our Cousin Mel and Sammy’s, who were so kind enough to host another get-together, this time with everyone present. Although it’s only been 1 month since our last visit there, many of our relatives marveled at how much bigger Ethan’s grown. Here’s the little guy showing off that he’ll be walking not too long from now.

  The Christmas dinner was just fantastic, and the food, well, the food was superb. From a savory shrimp pasta to home-made egg rolls, and to add to that many authentic Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, 30+ people enjoyed this holiday feast. So much thanks and appreciation must go to Mel and Sammy, who were just amazing hosts and made everyone feel at home and welcome. Three generation celebrated what it truly means to be a family. Ethan showed his appreciation by giving Mel a well-deserved Christmas gift – a day at a spa to relax.

  Mel also had a surprise event for everyone, a raffle drawing complete with 6 different prizes – ranging from a bag of gourmet mushrooms to a potted orchid to a grand prize of $100 cash. Everyone placed there names in a pot and all the little kids got to go up and draw the winners of the prizes. It was quite uncanny as all 6 prizes went to Kim’s and Mindy’s families, with Mindy winning 4 of them!

  There was also a hectic white elephant gift exchange, which was incredibly fun as people opened surprise presents and begged to give the unwanted ones away while stealing those gifts more desirable. John got a bun cha (a Vietnamese rice paper used to wrap into spring rolls) dipping container, which he tried many times in vain to hock to the older aunts, who were quite wise to his shenanigans and opted to keep their more desirable gifts. I got a box of almond roca candy, which I deftly tucked behind my seat so no one would remember… well, I doubt anyone cared. Most were focused on the more desired pack of lottery tickets.

  Will also was so kind as to offer his photography skills to help take family photos for everyone. Just amazing how he was able to corral, I mean, coordinate 36 adults and children into this Christmas photo to remember. Ethan, of course, posed with his signature thumb in the mouth…

and by the time it was our turn for the family photo, Ethan was getting tired of smiling for the camera.

after a couple of shots, he had enough. Too bad, that Santa hat ain’t gonna fit next Christmas!