july already!?

sarah: sigh. back to the feeling of "why do i keep this blog anyway?" there's just always way too much to catch up on with the taos.

well, the spring has sprung and we're in the heat of summer already. our friends (hannah, philbert, & rachel) came to visit for a week of st. louis fun - unfortunately, the week they came, it was hot, hittin the high 90s (UGH) so we had to keep play indoors. too bad the week after they left, the heat dropped down to 80, and it feels like a perfect cool upper 70s in the evening (sorry yaus...). nevertheless, gabriel went wild having a big sister in the house for a week, and he still longingly asks for rachel jie jie.

time for mei mei to grow up so they can play together. just wait gabe! sophie will be 5 months in one week, and as her brother once had, she's got those monster thighs and chubby cheeks, at a hefty 17 lbs. lugging that pumpkin seat around (with a 2-year-old, mind you) is getting tiresome for mom. 95% in all categories at her 4 mo. checkup (actually, >97% for length) - she'll be a tall one! AND in the last couple months, with much persistence, she's finally taken to the bottle. Tried like 4 different kinds til I found THE ONE! thank you, jesus. anything to make my life a little easier... i'll put off spoon-feeding as long as possible...

but now to add on another challenge, we're starting to potty train gabe - just a trial period. two mornings so far. 4 misses and 3 hits. but we'll post more on that later...

josh is busy with work, but i'll pester him to post something soon. he's on the prowl for a job, and we're open... where should we live next? shall we stick around st. louis (it will be a wonderful 6 years) or time to move on?? for those of you out there married to doctors in med school, or residency, or fellowship, or in research... you know about that "never-ending" feeling.. of what it's like to live in 3-4 years increments. I think i've finally gotten used to it, and now preparing myself for the next segment. over and out for now.

being productive

today i fed the kids, worked out at the gym, made lunch, put the kids down for naps, showered, watched an episode of glee, did 3 loads of laundry, swept the patio, cooked dinner, cleaned the bathroom and guest bedroom. after josh came home, he watered the plants, mowed the front lawn, washed the dishes after dinner, vacuumed the house, and helped fold laundry. did i miss anything, honey?

sigh... all in a day's work. =)

how time flies

winter is finally over, and the spring rains have brought warm weather. nearly 12 months since i was last in the classroom, 6 months since i finished my program... gabe has successfully entered his terrible 2's, and sophie is nearing 3 months old already!

we survived the first few weeks - most without our parents or outside help. the second time around is just as exciting, and certainly not easy, but as parents we were clearly more confident and calm in the ups and downs. and i have to admit, we were pleasantly surprised by our second child. Is it because she's a girl? or are we better parents? or is she just a better eater and sleeper? probably a combination of all of the above. but at a stunningly early 9 weeks, she already started sleeping through the night (Gabe took 9 MONTHS to do this!) And we mean, really sleeping through the night... like a whole 8 hour chunk. A few nights ago, with the quick pop of a binky, she went an extra 2 hours, and without milk from 9pm - 7am. Not always consistent yet, but we get some pretty nice stretches most nights. Amazing.

I'm tired though. My list is ever growing of things to accomplish: decorating the nursery, painting letters for the kids' rooms, planting annuals, setting up patio furniture, buying another gallon of milk, working out a couple times a week, teaching gabe how to read new words, and finding new recipes to try... the list goes on and on...

but i can't wait til the sun comes to stay. i can't wait to host parties, and break out the grill. i can't wait to put sophie in some cute summer clothes and show off her chubby, adorable arm rolls. i can't wait to watch gabe gleefully run around in the sprinkler in our back yard. and amidst the busyness of being a mommy of 2 little ones - i am truly excited for this new season, and welcome all the crazy, chaotic, exciting, and wonder-full changes that this summer will bring.

Gabe's Milestones - Year 2

Before we start smothering this blog with photos and videos of our newest addition to the family, I thought I'd post some of Gabriel's milestones from this past year. Also, trying out youtube here for the first time, so we'll see how this goes...

Our little guy is learning SO FAST and is one brilliant little dude (of course, mommy and daddy think so :) - by now, he's a big talker and absolutely loves to learn anything new. Just for fun, here are some of his firsts from 2009:

First Steps (11.5 months)

Learning Chinese
Yes, teaching Chinese to Gabe is a work in progress...

Identifying Colors (18 months)

Here he is learning his colors... and some other stuff.

First Haircut!! (18 months)

Gabe got another haircut a few months later (20 months)... here's the before/after.  check out that winning smile.

ABC's (20 months)

First Snow (23 months)

Ok, well, technically, he did see snow last year... but this year he could gear up, run around, throw snowballs, and experience it firsthand. Uncle Chris helped him make a snow angel, and Daddy even took him sledding this year. Gabe loved it!

Reading Words (20-24 mos)

Somewhere in between learning his capital letters, Gabe picked up the lower case alphabet and all the sounds that go along with them.  He's pretty much got the phonics down.  Thanks to leapfrog, magnetic letters, his easel, flashcards, and big giant foam letters, his new love is spelling words - by now, he can pretty much spell/read any 3-letter phonetic word, a few 4-letter words like stop, book, and milk, and some other longer words like daddy, mommy, and gabriel.  (Thanks to Auntie Sherah, he also knows how to spell way, eat, and poo.)  he races downstairs to spell words every morning, I kid you not!  He's gonna be a big nerd.

Gabriel's Other Obsession



Counting in Chinese (24 mos)
He could definitely use some work on his pronunciation... but nevertheless, he loves to show off his counting. Here he is practicing with Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh on Skype.

Turns 2 Years Old

It's amazing how much Gabriel has changed this year.  His pronunciation is much clearer, he's understanding more Chinese (responding in English, of course) and can speak more Chinese (like counting, colors).  It's fun to watch him interact and respond verbally with shows like Dora the Explorer or Ni Hao Kai Lan (his favorites - yes, both girly shows).  He's become a fantastic napper (2+ hours) and sleeper (10+ hours)... he eats much better (usually), and he's much more social and talkative... loves the church nursery, gymboree, and of course going to his best friend Ellie's house.

Happy Birthday to our very special boy. 

2009 Year in Review

Here are some highlights... of what we can remember from this past year...

JANUARY 2009

[s] Time to put pencil to paper - I became a mac and diligently plugged away on my dissertation.  Josh (on research at the time) made some pretty big sacrifices for me... a few nights a week, he would feed gabe dinner and put him to bed while i whisked away to a nearby starbucks or borders to work until late hours.  needless to say, the first few months of 2009 were clouded by work.

[j] Took Gabe on his first overseas trip - to Hong Kong of all places!  My grandfather's funeral was a sad occasion, but definitely a great chance to see and hang out with the extended family.  One lesson learned - don't bring a carseat with you to HK - no one uses them over there!

[s] oh yeah, also went skiing in denver with the chong family.  fun at beaver creek!  here, Gabe took his very first steps.

FEBRUARY 2009



[s] We celebrated Gabe's 1st birthday!!  Along with his little friends (bella, ellie, alyssa, and caleb), Gabe enjoyed his first birthday cake, bubbles, and loads of presents.

[j] Started off my research time with a bang - this is the month I started suffocating baby ferrets in the name of science. =)

MARCH 2009
[s] Spring Fever.  As the weather got warmer, these two grew closer =)

APRIL 2009
[s] More outdoor time for Gabe.

MAY 2009

[s] we spent some time in Houston for Mother's Day... Gabe loved having a swimming pool in the back yard - swimming with daddy and yeh yeh was a real treat!

[s] I walked down the aisle of chaifetz arena, dressed in a big black gown, to blaring (off-tune, i might add) bagpipes.  it was a formality, but good for my mom who was in attendance.  i felt extremely young among all the other Ph.D. candidates... but it was nice to have my husband and little boy waving at me high in the bleachers.  i still had some loose ends to tie up with my dissertation before publication, but a ceremonial closing of this chapter was good.  kim & ellie even came to surprise me!

[j] More traveling with a 1 year-old - this time to Houston and Austin.  seeing old friends is always a treat - and sharing our growing families with them makes for more good memories.  we also had some good friends in for a long visit  here in st. louis.  nothing like exploring museums and parks right in your own backyard...

JUNE 2009

[s] we found out we were pregnant and expecting baby #2!  Also, had my final defense of my dissertation - more a formality than anything else, but NOW i felt like i had really finished.  some good friends sat through a powerpoint of my project, which was pretty long and probably quite boring, but they were all good sports.  they also brought food to that small conference room, and helped to celebrate crossing the finish line!!

JULY 2009

[s] our first family missions trip.  destination: navajo reservation, arizona. temperature: uncomfortably hot  (especially for a pregnant woman!) i worked with the middle schoolers and high schoolers, and had a pretty awesome team.  it was a challenge, however, being a mom and also sharing team responsibilities...  

[j] after the navajo trip, it was time to get back to work in the NICU.  another six months straight of in-house call and 80-hour work weeks.  uggghh...

AUGUST 2009

[s] will God provide the opportunity for us to move into another home?  we weren't quite sure whether our condo would adequately house two babies.  started searching for a bigger place to rent...

SEPTEMBER 2009

OCTOBER 2009

[s] i finally completed and sent off my paper to the press.  whew!  the last few months i had taken a break, and just slowly completed some of the final corrections and paperwork for the department.  after this point, i finally let go of all things related to my Ph.D. and turned that darn thing in once and for all.  Yes, all 278 pages.  God, you are so good!

NOVEMBER 2009
[j] with the help of sarah's family who came over for thanksgiving, we moved!!  from the city into the suburbs, complete with leaf-raking and snow-shoveling.  having nearly twice as much space is truly a blessing.  next project - sell the condo!!!
[s] seriously, this was all the Lord's provision.  I had spent the last several months endlessly surfing craig's list and spending weekends looking at houses.  it was getting late, now entering my 3rd trimester, and we weren't too hopeful.  yet one day, we found this place in creve coeur, called to inquire, fell in love with it on our first visit, and immediately signed a contract - exactly what we were looking for... lots of open space, affordable, and a great central location.
   

DECEMBER 2009

[s] amidst unpacking boxes and trying to settle into our new home, as well as traveling to Chicago to spend Christmas vacation with family, we were on a clock to put our condo on the market.  so this month we left most of our boxes untouched and spent every free hour preparing, cleaning, and staging our condo.  lots of work with carpet cleaners, painters, and other contractors.  and especially challenging with an energetic toddler!

[j] it was definitely an eventful year for us - we look back and are awed by God's amazing provision for the two of us and our growing family - His timing, His blessings, His love for us...so perfect.  bring on 2010!!!

Is it too late?

Hello world.

So, we've been contemplating for awhile... whether to keep up with this blog or just leave it hanging.  we have to admit, it's embarrassing that we haven't blogged for 9 months or so.  i mean, does anyone still read this??  do we really have time to blog these days?  and how will we ever catch up on this past year?  in any case, we shall attempt to press on, even if it's only for posterity.  after all, we do have fun looking back at old posts and keeping track of major milestones and markers for our family.

So our next post (when we get around to it) will likely be rather long, as we'll try to fill in the blanks from 2009.  enjoy!

Enjoying his freedom under the Arch

Caught

Despite our (failed) attempts to fend him off, Gabe has now taken over the kitchen.  The baking pans drawer and the big pile of pots and pans are his daily domain... and yesterday i turned my back for just a couple minutes and was surprised to see this.  =)

bedhead

finally...his hair's growing in!!

hooray!!!

here's our little cutie, celebrating at his one year birthday party.  we've been through a lot in the last few months - a funeral in hong kong, a wedding in denver, skiing in the mountains, and now we're finally settling back into routine.  gabe's been doing quite a bit himself too - walking, talking (kind of), and even sleeping 12+ hours a night.  everybody's happy!!!

and he had quite the entourage at his party:

miss bella

his old friend caleb!!

his girlfriend ellie...

...and baby alyssa!!

Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas to all our friends & family!!

9 months today

Happy 9 months to our little guy!

He's reached many milestones since our last post... he's now a proficient crawler, a furniture cruiser, happily eating chicken, loves peekaboo, pulls toys in and out of his toy bin, can choose his favorite books out of the stack, babbling lots of random dadas and goygoys and squawks amidst his laughter, steadily sleeping 10 hours a night and two "regular" naps during the day, and his first tooth appeared two days ago! Here's some other "growing" stuff:

He was seriously obsessed with "the wheels on the bus" - his favorite book. i had to reattach the wheels and some other moving parts multiple times. Josh had to finally hide it away... but he always find another book to satisfy him (and then wants me to read it again and again). He loves his books - especially anything with animals.

He's been watching "baby's first signs" and always smiles real big at his favorite parts - loves the cats and dogs, toy bears, moving cars, and kids drinking out of straws and sippy cups. and the little girl at the water fountain. He hasn't started signing yet, although he randomly does the "milk" sign, and we're seeing him start to wave hello a little...

He has a girlfriend. A few, in fact. Ellie (the butterfly) is a couple months older and she's always a few steps ahead - which is good for him. He likes to follow her everywhere, and they're starting to grab things from each other. Then there's Alyssa (3 months old), who we get to spend time w/ every week at our house. He's obsessed with her graco carseat and has recently stolen one of her toys. And we can't forget Bella (the grumpy penguin) who he doesn't get to see very often, but I sure wish he would eat as well as her...

So onto feeding. Ugh. This has been a big pain in the you know what. Every day, three times a day, it can be pretty painful. I am SO happy when feeding takes 10-15 minutes, when he opens his mouth - but that's pretty darn rare. You'd think he'd be a good eater, weighing in at 21 lbs. Sometimes I'm so determined to sit there until he eats the food i lovingly made, and forget that I'm not supposed to force him. It's my will vs. his will. So we resort to all sorts of shannanigans - playing with plastic cups and straws, cheerios, music, making him laugh (to open his mouth), and I bend down to pick up all the stuff he drops like 20x per meal. It gets really annoying. Lately, we started chicken, and he opens right up for my hand to go in... so we're going with the flow. The really weird thing is... he almost never has a problem eating when we're out - restaurants, friend's houses - I think it's the distractions. I discovered that it's not really about the food - he doesn't seem to really discriminate tastes or textures that much (except for the chicken?) So as long as he's happy and entertained, he does well. Like when we go out to eat, it's wonderful. Weird, right? ok, enough about food. oh what fun it has been, though. a MAJOR test of patience for mom.

But every night, after a long tiring day, he falls asleep like a wet noodle, and my heart melts all over again. We sing Jesus Loves Me, and while he's in my arms, I pray for his salvation, safety, and sleep. And then I can't wait to peek in his crib when he wakes up the next morning. It's hard and long, and I can't see the end... but man, I love this job.

-gabriel's mommy.

One Very Happy Camper.

He finally got his jumper, and loves it (yay for craig's list!). I know I post a lot of pictures of Gabriel smiling... but really, he does smile a lot. He's a pretty happy kid. You can watch a video of him in his new jumper here.

I can't believe he's growing up so fast! He's eating better... peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, peaches, apricots, bananas, pears, zucchini, yellow & butternut squash... and all homemade and spoon-fed by mommy - what a life. But best of all, he's sleeping well through the night - it's a new mom's dream come true. Really a huge sigh of relief. So, from all that eating and sleeping, he's a pretty consistent guy so far in his growth. Since we're keeping tabs, here were his 6 month checkup stats:

Weight: 20 lbs., 3 oz. (90th%... still!)
Height: 28.25 inches (95th%)
Head circ: 44.5 cm. (75th%)

What a chub!! He does look like he's thinning out, though... we can see it in his face. And getting longer, I suppose. Growing to be nice and tall =) And did I mention that he's already starting to crawl!!??

Lots of new pictures & vids - come check 'em out!! www.picasaweb.google.com/tao.sarah

I'm Six Months Old Today!

Hi everyone! My name is Gabriel, I'm now officially six months old, and I think I've got stuff pretty much figured out. You better keep an eye on me... 'cause I can roll around, knock expensive things off tables, stick pretty much anything in my mouth (even my toes), and watch TV when you're not looking. I love making weird squawking noises and then laughing at myself... I can blow raspberries and make fishfaces, and I LOVE being surprised and being thrown up in the air. I flash my toothless, goofy grin at strangers at the grocery store, and I figured out that my winning smile can pretty much get me whatever I want. Either that, or if I cry long and hard enough, mommy and daddy will pick me up. They say I'm spoiled, since I can somehow end up in bed with them by the morning. It's the best.

I'm still getting used to eating from a spoon - sometimes I eat a lot, sometimes I just don't feel like it. But bananas and apricots are pretty yummy... although Mommy's milk is ALWAYS my favorite. I am most unhappy during car rides (hear me scream!!), but at least I've gotten to see lots of fun places already - like the zoo (twice!), the botannical gardens, the children's museum, lots of restaurants, outdoor concerts, the swimming pool, and lots of coffee shops and bookstores. I love facing out in my Bjorn and seeing the world around me, and I especially love watching other babies. It sure is fun! Will I always get to be the center of attention everywhere I go?

My favorite toy... is definitely my exersaucer. Did you see how I can stand up and jump in it like a big boy?? Mommy and Daddy are happy with it too, since they finally get to eat meals together. I tried out a Fisher Price jumper in Babies R Us and squealed with delight when I found out how high I could jump in that one!! I'm still waiting for Mommy to buy it for me.

Best of all, I have soooo many people who love me. At least, they sure do kiss my cheeks a whole lot... and call me all kinds of cute nicknames (mostly having to do with my chubbiness). I have lots of aunties and uncles who have come to visit, my po-po just came again for 2 whole weeks, and I'm taking my second airplane ride to Houston in a couple weekends to see my nai-nai and yeh-yeh. Hooray, I can't wait!

getting cuter everyday...

Priceless

Gabe's expressions are priceless!! My good friends Esther & Lydia came to visit the little guy, and esther took some pretty sweet family photos for us out in Forest Park. We'd like to invite you to see more here! Thanks again, es! Gabe misses you both already.

weigh-in #2

specs at 4 months:

weight 18lbs, 2oz. (95th%)
length 26.75 inches (95th%)


looks just like daddy except with mommy's pretty eyes. =)

the weigh-in

specs at 2 months:

weight: 15lbs, 12oz (>97th%)
length: 24.25 inches (95th%)

big boy!!!

if you haven't checked lately, we've also posted videos on our picasa site:

www.picasaweb.google.com/tao.sarah

our little chubsicle