Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Kids aren't the only ones who say the darndest things

serene at 20 weeks
serene at 20 weeks
serene at 20 weeks
serene at 20 weeks
serene at 20 weeks
serene at 20 weeks
serene at 20 weeks
There's something about having a baby that makes you attract parenting advice in the frequency of traffic in Los Angeles. I'm referring to the interesting (that's a euphemism) things people tell you you should (another euphemism) do for your baby. It comes from everyone, everywhere, every time you see them: your parents and parents-in law, older people you see occasionally, and even strangers in the grocery store check-out aisle. This phenomenon has hit us since the day Serene came home from the hospital. Each time we encounter people, they have the irresistible urge to offer child-rearing advice along the lines of:
"Ay! She has hiccups. You know, you need to dab vinegar across her forehead." How thoroughly naive of me to think that vinegar's uses were limited to salad dressing recipes.
"Why isn't she wearing a hat? Put a hat on her head.  If you don't, it will affect her brain development." The day she gets straight Fs on her report card, I will bemoan my irresponsibility in not putting a hat on her head at every waking moment. 
"Don't put her in zippered onesies. I don't want her to wear those. They make her uncomfortable. Poor baby is so uncomfortable." I'm pretty confident that anyone who has changed multiple diapers at 2am would praise the Lord for inventing zippered onesies.
"You need to put a hat on her before the wind gets into her head. Or else she'll have headaches her entire life." Hey, it could be worse. At least they're not lifelong migraines.
"She has diaper rash? Spray your breast milk on her bottom. Do it right now." As in, take your goods out and do it right then and there. Who cares if there are 15 people lingering around within a 10 foot radius?  
And best of all: "She's cold." This is the one we receive on the near daily, which absolutely boggles my mind (the ultimate euphemism). People, we live in Southern California where the sun shines perpetually and it's 80 degrees in January and February.
Of course, I wrote the commentary above with a degree of playfulness because I'm sure they think I'm just plain silly for not knowing these things. When we receive these entertaining nuggets of parenting wisdom in reality, we just smile. And remind ourselves that people mean well and they're speaking from their own experience (usually), which more often than not stems from a time decades ago and cultures elsewhere. Nevertheless, the doctor's recommendations are reigning supreme around here. If we heeded everyone else's advice, Serene would smell rancid twice a day, her bum would drip of breast milk, and she would be so bundled up that the only skin that would be showing would be her eyes.

Not that we don't listen to advice. We've so much to learn in this amazing new realm of parenting.  We're garnering legit recommendations at every new stage (which seems to occur weekly!). We're so thankful for our community because we're not raising her on our own. But at the end of the day, no one knows a child better than her parents. Even though we're new at this parenting gig, we see her more than those who see her once a year, once a month, or once a week. And I write this to remind myself that as we figure out how to do the best for Serene as we go along, to remember not to startle new parents with my opinions someday.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Local adventuring

grand central market
grand central market
grand central market
serene at 20 weeks
grand central market
grand central market
serene at 20 weeks
grand central market
grand central market
serene at 20 weeks
eggslut
eggslut
Though I work downtown, we don't usually find ourselves there on weekends. Alex had a suit fitting in the area over the weekend for a wedding he is in next month, so we made an adventure out of it. We trekked over to the city's first-ever open-air market for lunch and people-watching. Alex had been wanting to sample these egg-centric burgers, and they were surprisingly worth the hype. Serene, on the other hand, was hyped about the flurry of sights and sounds of this unfamiliar, people-packed place. I'm thinking more local adventures are in order now, especially since she is so unabashedly curious about her environs these days.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Endless expressions

serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
Serene is 20 weeks old today on the 20th, but I snapped these pictures of our little sweetheart last Sunday when she was 19 weeks to commemorate her first Valentine's Day weekend. Plus, she had a red polka-dot bum that was begging to be immortalized on camera, so who was I to resist? I like to think Serene's a go-getter because her favorite pastime of late is grabbing things. If she succeeds in nabbing the target, she chatters gleefully. If not, she gets frustrated and whines as if the world is about to end. As you can see, the targets in these photos were her feet, and then the camera. There were moments of victory when she grasped her feet, and of defeat when her toes wouldn't stay in her mouth and when the camera didn't budge from my hands. I couldn't help but crack up when I looked through these pictures at her endless(ly amusing) expressions. Seems as if she has ambition; we just need to work on perseverance. ;)

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

A vivacious one

serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
serene at 19 weeks
19 week old Serene has a personality that is shining through so vibrantly these days. She's turning out to be quite a vivacious one, for her joyful disposition seems to augment by the day. Weekends are so dear around here, particularly since she is in her merriest element then. We're pretty sure it's because Alex and I are both home at the same time all weekend long to lavish on her our attention. Her face lights up whenever she sees either or both of us, and she is so incredibly smiley, playful, and all around content. Even when it's bedtime and Alex and I are bleary-eyed with tiredness. Alex likes to tell her then, "Why are you smiling? It's not time to smile. It's time to go to sleep." She just gurgles and grins at him even harder, of course. What a stinking cute blessing. Lately, she's also into hanging out in her diaper and grabbing her feet. That, and pushing her legs while arching her back to inch around like a worm since she can't legitimately crawl yet (even though she exerts all her effort!). Indeed, we're loving our joyful babe who's loving life.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Simple, short, and sushi-filled

valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
valentine's day 2014
I'm days tardy, but I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day celebrating love with the ones you love! Alex and I commemorated a day early this year because there was a party for the children's group at our church on the actual evening of Valentine's Day, and then a community party for the residents at our apartment complex the night afterward. It worked out swimmingly since Thursday evenings are usually our date nights. Well, these days, they're more like family nights where we enjoy one another's company at home with our sweet babe. So we held the love fest at home after work in the midst of Serene's early evening nap. Once she knocked out, we just ordered sushi from a local restaurant, threw a tablecloth onto the dining table, brought out the wine glasses, lit some tapered candles from the dollar store, and enjoyed an hour just to ourselves.

I've been averaging one teary breakdown per week of late, feeling guilty that I simply can't do it all. I haven't been juggling different priorities as well as I'd wish. We're at the point where my hair is always up in a messy mop because I don't even brush my hair anymore. The simple, short, and sushi-filled dinner date just being able to have a heart-to-heart with Alex was so sweet. God reminded me how exceedingly blessed I am for my amazing husband who not only surprises me with nice-to-haves on a holiday, but also loves me abundantly and sacrificially every day, even if these days entail more emotional outbursts than usual. So thankful for him and how he leads our little family, for our joyful daughter, and ultimately, for Christ's unsurpassed love on the cross that displays to us the supreme example of boundless love.