Happy New Year and Talking Videos

Today is the beginning of Tet in Vietnam. This is the new year celebration and it is a HUGE deal. This is the year of the rat. I am going to get some pictures of Lucy in her Ao Dai hopefully tomorrow and take her to a local Vietnamese restaurant. I tried to get her on video saying Happy New Year, but she would only say Happy!!

Here are some videos of Lucy talking up a storm. In the first, she says "Oh Man!", all of her aunts' names, and a few other things. Sorry Lee Lee and Grandy, she doesn't say your names. The second one shows her blankee love yet again. There is a pause in it where she goes to look for her blankee, but she does come back!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Her eating has improved over the past two days. I have even gotten some veggies down her. She picked out a "special" sippy cup all on her own today. She went straight for the Dora cup with a straw, which I think will end up being a great pick. She took about two sips tonight from it and then just held it, but that is better than zero sips. We will see how it goes.

She has been going to bed so early lately - in bed asleep by 7. This is nice for me, but it results in her waking up early, which is not so nice. I am not quite used to it. But as a result from waking up earlier, she has been napping for around 3 hours. So, she has been sleeping a lot lately. I have been playing with her pretty hard lately, so that could explain it. We have been going to the park most days for at least an hour and a half. She just loves it and I love the fresh air. It seems to really wear her out.

Quite the Little Chef

As I have said before, Lucy loves play kitchens. We are trying to find her one that we really love right now. In the meantime, I got her a shopping cart and some play food at Target this past weekend. She adores it. She cooks me all kinds of things in her pots and feeds it to me with a spoon. It just cracks her up. I love it because it really promotes her using her imagination. We love to pretend to lick the ice cream or nibble on the crackers. The food is wooden and seems to really be holding up well. It is just the cutest stuff. Here she is in her apron and hat.




Today is Ash Wednesday. I am not Catholic, but I always like to challenge myself during Lent. I am giving up caffeine and starting an exercise program. I am going to start exercising at least 3 times a week. That is not too much. I am going to do things such as walking with Lucy, Tai Bo, and my pilates video. It will be a start to getting a bit more fit.

Still no milk going down. She did at least drink a few swigs yesterday morning and a bit of milk from a straw in the afternoon, but not much at all and none today. I am going to stop stressing. I talked to the doctor today and they said that I am doing everything right and to just give her some time to adjust to the idea of milk in the sippy cup and try and push other dairy products as much as possible, which I have been doing. The nurse made me feel better by saying that they see this a lot, and the kids always end up coming around after some time to adjust. She doesn't seem to mind missing the milk at any time other than first thing in the morning. She really wants it in the mornings and gets really upset some days when I just give her the sippy. It is frustrating for both of us. It is just hard for me to understand why she will drink anything else from a sippy but her milk that she wants so badly. I know it is just the change, and I try and remember that. I really appreciate all of the great suggestions that you guys have given me. We are going to Target tomorrow afternoon to pick out her own special cup. I think this is a great idea. In most instances, I give her choices so that she does feel a part of the process. I have let her pick out her cup several times from our vast array of sippys, but it hasn't worked yet. Maybe getting to pick a brand new one will do the trick. I also REALLY appreciate the advice on the eating. We are going to take the approach of 3 meals a day and a morning and afternoon snack and no grazing in between.

I got all of my cleaning done for the week. I have felt more productive in the past couple of weeks than I have in quite some time. Lucy is really great about letting my get the cleaning done in the morning. In order to keep her content, I always let her "help". I will let her try out the mop for a while before I actually use it or push the vacuum around. She loves to feel like she is participating and once she has had a turn, she will go and find something else to play with. To treat myself, I got a gorgeous bunch of tulips yesterday. I love this time of year when the tulips are in season. They are my favorite flower. Whenever I work around the house in the mornings, I make sure and do something extra fun with Lucy in the afternoons. This way she never feels like she is getting less attention and she allows me to get stuff done.

We had a play group at our house yesterday. Lucy plus 4 other kids. She had such a great time. They all played in the sandbox. It totally wore her out and she was passed out by 7 last night.

Lucy and her bestie, Anna. Could they be any more adorable?


I thought I should document this since it is so rare - a clean plate. Of course, it was a waffle and syrup, but she actually ate the whole thing. WOOO HOOO!

How she eats her raspberries

Weekly Goal #4 and Bottle Woes

I really love having the goals of the week. I feel totally accountable for them and love feeling the sense of accomplishment after they are done. I did not get all of my old pictures uploaded to Flickr, but I got a lot done. I have done way better with the complaining. Sometimes I am scared I am doing it without even noticing, so I am certain there was some complaining done, but less than usual. This week my task goal is to start a cleaning schedule. I am basing my schedule off of my mom's, which is to do "dry work" (dusting, vacuuming, sweeping, and changing beds) on Mondays and to do "wet work" (bathrooms, laundry, and mopping) on Tuesdays. I have already done todays cleaning. Yeah me! I usually try and do all of the cleaning in one day and get so burned out that I don't want to think about cleaning again for a long time. So, I am hoping that by breaking up the days I can keep it up every week. Our house is alway very very neat, but that doesn't always mean clean. I want it to feel cleaner. My personal improvement goal is to work on my tone of voice. I can get easily annoyed or frustrated and the resulting tone of voice is usually not very nice. I want to really work on this. I figure by the end of the year, I should be about perfect if I keep up all of this good work! :) Ha.

This is the 4th day of being bottle free. She continues to refuse a single sip of milk out of anything that I have offered - which includes every sippy cup ever made, a regular cup, a cup with a straw, a milk carton with a straw. I have put strawberry syrup in the milk. I have tried chocolate syrup. She will turn up the sippy, realize it is any kind of milk and turn her nose up. I mean, what kid doesn't want strawberry milk? I don't know what else to do. Is she seriously never going to drink milk again because she doesn't have a bottle any more? How long is too long of letting her go with no milk? I have almost caved and just given her the bottle several times because I know that she wants to drink the milk, she just refuses but I have not done it. The thing is, she NEEDS the milk. She desperately needs the calcium, protein, and calories. She is such a picky, bird eater but was at least getting more calories from the milk. What do I do????? HELP! The only good news is, she still is going to bed very very easily, even without the milk. I think she likes our new night time routine. She wants to read about 150 books, but I don't mind a bit. I have been getting some yogurt and occasionally cheese down her, but it is just not enough. I have even started giving her rice cereal mixed with whole milk and yogurt in the mornings again just so she gets some milk. One other thing I have done is making pudding with whole milk, and she will eat that. I swear, the whole getting her to eat/drink process is going to totally stress me out, and I am trying to not be stressed any more. I literally dread meal times. I just want her to willingly eat, without a big fuss over it or having to fix 47 different things. Actually, I don't even mind making her a lot of different things, if she would just eat one of them.

I have had such a productive day today. One that really makes me feel good. In addition to major cleaning, Lucy and got a ton of errands run today - the bank, the post office, made and mailed our valentines for family, the grocery store, returned stuff to Target, and picked up some pictures. And we are about to go for a walk with our neighbor. Lots of production today!

It was so nice here this weekend, so to make up to Lucy our lazy day on Saturday when I wasn't feeling well, we had lots of fun on Sunday. By the way, I feel great - thanks for all of the get well comments. I took her to the park for a good long while and then she got to play with a friend for the first 3 quarters of the Super Bowl until she was just so tired that she had to go to bed. She really had a great time. We went to church, too. This is not her best part of the day. She still gets pretty upset going to the nursery. She cries when I drop her off and every single time when I go back to get her she is sitting in a stroller with the most solemn look on her face. I am hoping that now that we are going to church more regularly that she will get used to it.

Here are some pictures from the park


I mean really, you can feel the attitude coming from this picture. Once she noticed I had the camera, she was clearly annoyed and just stood there looking at me out of the corner of her eyes. Funny funny funny.

I Got the Bug

Lucy was kind enough to share her stomach bug with me. Last night when she was eating dinner, I started to feel yucky. I managed to get her bathed and to bed (with no bottle - we are on day 2 of being bottle free and she has refused to drink a single sip of milk even though she really wants it - I think she will give in to milk in the sippy cup eventually, but not just yet). By this point I was really not feeling well and I knew what was coming. I was sick all night long. Really not fun. I feel like I have been run over by a truck. Lucy has been so easy today though, so that has been very nice. We are having a very lazy day. In honor of my complain free goal, here is what I am so thankful for: 1) That Lucy was not nearly as sick as I was with this bug, 2) That I was sick in the night while she was sleeping and not trying to keep up with her while feeling like that, 3) that she has been so sweet and easy today because I am totally exhausted and weak, and 4) that I have great neighbors and friends who have offered to take care of Lucy if I need them to. Of course, Justin was gone when this happened, so I have been on my own. I can't wait to feel normal again.

I thought I would note how this blog has been jumping with visitors lately. I get lots of international hits from countries like Canada, United Kingdom, Malta, Phillipines, Spain, Vietnam, South Korea, Netherlands, Belgium, Argentina, Mexico, France, Qatar, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Cyprus, Switzerland, and Portugal. Pretty crazy, huh? I would love to hear from those of you who read that I don't know. I have been averaging around 300 hits a day since I have started writing more.

Also, I have been tagged a few times. Sorry I am just now getting around to this. I really think I am the last person in the VN adoption community to do this.

4 jobs I’ve had:
1. Clerk in a pharmacy - high school
2. Waitress/Bartender - college
3. Financial Planner - this is what I majored in and I HATED it
4. Office Manager for a Financial Planner

movies watched over and over:
1. Notting Hill
2. Pretty Woman
3. Love Actually
4. Old School

4 places I’ve lived:
1. Little Rock, AR
2. Fayetteville, AR
3. Austin, TX
4. Dallas, TX


4 shows I watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Project Runway
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Biggest Loser

4 places I’ve been:
1. Vietnam - Danang, HCMC, and Hanoi
2. Paris
3. London
4. Zurich

4 people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Sisters
2. Chatroom
3. Mom
4. Dad

4 favorite things to eat:
1. Sushi
2. Mexican food
3. Spring Rolls
4. My mom's Chicken Noodles

4 places I’d rather be:
1. the beach in St. Maarten
2. Under the covers since it is cold
3. the park with Lucy
4. Disney World - I can't wait to see Lucy's reaction

4 things I look forward to this year:
1. Becoming a better mom and person
2. Learning to cook more
3. Watching Lucy continue to grow and learn
4. the arrival of several pregnant friends' babies

I am not going to tag anyone else because I really think that everyone has done this. If you haven't and you want to, I tag you!

18 Months Old

Tomorrow our little pumpkin is 18 months old. I can't believe it. She is such a big girl these days. Not only does she look so much older, but she acts so big. I am going to give an update on her accomplishments, but first I would like to ask everyone to say a little prayer for Lucy - she is fighting what the doctor thinks is a viral bug. She has been sick out of both ends since last night. She is clearly uncomfortable and it is so sad. This is the first time in the 13 months we have had her that she has run a fever. (Well, she runs a fever with vaccines, but they never seem to bother her) She is a totally different child with fever. She wants to cuddle nonstop and is very lethargic. She has kept her head on my shoulder for a large part of the day, which is just unlike her since she is such a busy child. When the fever reducer is working, she feels pretty good. We were so lucky because she had an 18 month check up already on the schedule for this morning, so she has been checked out by the doctor who thinks it is just a little bug. She is currently in our bed watching TV with us because she can't get comfy in her bed. I actually love the cuddle time I have gotten today. It is such a treat.

Okay, so what is the girl up to these days. As far as talking goes, she can imitate about half of the words that we ask her to say. She can say all of her aunts' names and all 3 of her boy cousins' names. She can say all of her granparents' names, except for Grandy - which she tries to say but it isn't clear just yet. She can say three phrases with words linked together - Hi ____, Bye____, and Yeah, I do. If you ask her if she wants something and she really does want it, she will reply with a big Yeah, I do!! It is hilarious. When you ask her want she wants to eat, she puts her finger by her mouth and says, "Ummmmmmmmm". Again, it is so funny. Whenever she sees Swiper on Dora the Explorer she shouts, "Oh man!" in the funny little voice that Swiper says it in every episode. We about fell over the first time she did it. She has a large vocabulary. She can understand pretty much anything that we say to her and can follow most directions, even multiple step directions. We think she is VERY smart!

Physically, her stats at 18 months are 21 lbs 3 oz (below 10th percentile) and 33 inches long (90th percentile). This is her biggest weight gain so far. In three months, she has gained almost a pound and a half. More impressively, she has grown 2 whole inches in 3 months. That is really unbelievable to me. I knew she had grown for a lot - you can tell in the length of her pants. Due to length, she needs size 18-24 month pants, but I have to be able to cinch the waist up tight. She wears mostly 12-18 month clothes, but they are getting small because the arms are starting to get short. She is hard to dress a lot of the time because she is tiny, but so long. I can't wait for spring and summer when we can go back to dresses every day.

Her fine motor skills are really improving. She can hold a pencil or crayon correctly. She is definitely right handed, but will color with both hands. She wants to use a spoon and feed herself all of the time. It is really messy, but she is getting better each day. She continues to be a real challenge with meal times. She just doesn't like to eat. She really does not have time for it. Her favorite is still fruit. I haven't found a fruit she won't eat. She is not a fan of meat. She will occasionally eat chicken, but most of the time she just plays with it. She does love waffles and pancakes with a dab of syrup to dip it in. I stress more over her diet than anything else. I just worry about her getting the proper nutrition.

She is a pretty good sleeper. She often wakes up once in the night, but goes right back down. She goes to bed between 7-7:30 and the whole process is so easy now. Getting her to bed used to be pretty exhausting. It was a long process and you could not leave the room until she was dead asleep. Now, she drinks her milk and lays straight down and we can leave the room. It takes all of 5 minutes and it is awesome. She almost always sleeps 12-13 hours a night. Tonight was her very last bottle EVER! We have decided to give it up at 18 months. The only reason it was not gone before is because she refuses milk out of a sippy cup and I know how badly she needs the milk calories and nutrition. I think she will change her mind after a couple of days and start drinking it again. I am scared she is going to get cavities from the milk before bed, so we are going to start a new routine of milk in a sippy during books, brush teeth, and then to bed. Wish us luck!

She knows her body parts, knows most animal sounds, and can point out what you ask her to in books. She is a little sponge and absorbs everything. Her doctor said today that she is right on track and ahead in all of her development. We are so proud of each new accomplishment that she has. I say this all of the time, but it is really amazing to watch a toddler learn. She is smart in getting what she wants - Justin calls her the boss of our household, and he is right. She is full of attitude, spirit, love, and happiness all wrapped into one adorable little person. She has the all time cutest giggle which was just documented tonight in the video below - keep in mind she is "sick." She just got her second wind I guess and is feeling significantly better.

Enjoy the pictures and videos. I know the video is dark, but you can hear and that is what really matters. So many smiles! Happy 1.5 baby girl!

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Weekly Goal #3 and Weekend Trip

Sorry I have been MIA. Justin, Lucy, and I spent a long weekend in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Lucy and I went with Justin for work. It was a nice weekend, but we are all glad to be home. A ski resort is a little difficult with a young child. After a while, we felt a little cooped up and I did not have internet access - this is really hard for me. Lucy was an ideal traveller. She really was amazing. She slept in bed with us and did great. She adjusted to the one hour time change with no trouble. She never fussed on the flights or the 3 hour drive to the resort. She started to get a little upset on the drive back to the airport today but just ended up falling asleep. She was a little restless at dinner last night, but that could only be expected after all of the time we had spent in our hotel room. She is probably a better traveller than me - I know Justin would say so! I get stressed while travelling. I totally sweat the small stuff and miss all of the conveniences of being at home with your own things. I am not the kind of person who was called to travel the world. I must say, I am a little jealous of those who are called to do that. There is so much to see and enjoy in this world. I just prefer to see most of it in pictures. Weird, I know. Maybe in my attempt to find a new calm in my life, I will become a better traveller.

Justin works with Kristin's husband, Brett. They are waiting for travel approval. Brett kept telling me that he was going to crack Lucy - meaning he was going to win her over. She is still extremely reserved with strangers and does not interact with people she doesn't know well. I didn't think he was going to do it, but Saturday night Brett held Lucy for a very long time (I think his arms were finally going to give out on him because any child gets really heavy after 30 minutes) and he almost got her to sleep. He held her while the opening band played. It was really loud (she had in ear plugs) and he still almost had her to sleep. The only reason she didn't go to sleep on his shoulder is because every time a song ended, she had to cheer with the rest of the crowd. Kristin, Brett is going to be such a wonderful dad!! Lillian is one lucky girl.

Before I get to the pictures from the weekend, let's get to my goal of the week. Most weeks I am going to set a goal to improve my character and a goal that is a project. My project of the week is to get my favorite pictures from the past and recently, uploaded to my Flickr account. It takes a lot of time to sort through which ones I actually want to upload. My personal improvement goal is a SUPER ambitious one and is not going to be easy. I am going to fail at times, but now that I have said it out loud, I am going to be so much more accountable. My goal is to stop complaining. I have nothing to complain about, but yet I still whine about silly stuff. There are so many bazillions of people who have real things to complain about, and I am not one of those people. I am going to be more thankful and less ungrateful. So there it is. NO MORE COMPLAINING out of this mouth.

Here are pictures from the weekend. We did take Lucy tubing, which she loved!