Teething and Snoring

Last weekend has been an eventful weekend. We managed to explore some part of LA. But it also exhausted Lucas. These days, he snored when he sleeps. First, I thought his nose was blocked (he sleeps on his stomach) and quickly went over to check on him. Then the thought of asthma came to my mind. But he seems to be sleeping peaceful. Then I realised he was snoring! Can a seven and a half month old baby snores? His lower gum has teeth/tooth erupting out soon. This boy is really growing fast.

Cooking dinner can be so simple here. We have been buying meat (beef, pork and chicken - raw and cooked). Then we bought flavoured rice and salad. For dinner, we either pan fried or microwave the meat, had salad (no cooking required), and again microwave or boiled the flavoured rice for 5 mins. viola.........complete dinner is ready. No chopping, marinating etc. After eating, all dishes go to the dishwasher. Again viola.....kitchen is clean. How wonderful to have dishwasher and microwave.

I have also been looking for a suitable Gymboree class to send Lucas to. It is supposed to help them develop their mind and hand eye coordination. Have to work out the logistics part of it i.e. what time is Lucas usually awake, what day I can get the car. It costs US$168 for 2 hours a week for 2 months. That comes out to be about US$10 / hour.

Memorial Weekend

It is the memorial weekend and we had our first outing. We were supposed to meet up with a friend but she is down with cold. So, we did not want to take the chance to spread the germs to Lucas. We had a fruitful outing.

On Friday, we went up Mount Wilson Observatory. It is about an hour drive from Pasadena without getting lost. The moutain is more than 5000 feet above sea level. Lucas did not enjoy this trip that much. It is a windy road leading to the peak (like our road to Cameron Highland but wider). Lucas vomitted when we get up there. Guess he was having car motion sickness. On the way down, he cried. The difference in pressure must have make his ears uncomfortable. Next time we go, it will be without Lucas. He was not impressed at all.

On Saturday, we went to Santa Monica beach. This is much better. We can tell he was a lot happier. He had fun on the swing and on the sand. He might grow up to be a beach bum. Santa Monica is quite a nice place. No wonder quite a number of actors live there, like Marcia Cross (Bree from Desperate Housewives).

Sunday is a famous and fame day. We drove passed Beverly Hills. Nice houses and cars (mostly convertible or coupe). Then we went to Hollywood. Hollywood Blvd is packed with tourists. Not only foreign tourists but local as well. Did not see anyone famous. Only their hand print and leg print.

It has been sunny for the past few days. We had to get Lucas sun block and I think he has a bit of sun burn on his cheek. He enjoyed going out now and getting used to sitting on his car seat. When he sees his Daddy, he is jumping with happiness. He knows Daddy will take him out and Mommy will only take him to grocery shopping. Smart kid!

Time to explore

This weekend will be a long weekend. It is a Memorial Day on Monday 28 May. A lot of people will either go for holiday or balik kampung. We are planning something as well. We are meeting ex-colleagues who live an hour drive away from us. She suggested that we go to Disneyland which is the half way. Dominic think that place will be jammed pack with holidays makers. Will need to finalize the plan. According to my friend, Disneyland has a section for infants. She has two young children herself. It's called small small world with musical and moving cartoon. We will definitely check it out sometime. During dinner, we were joking. If Lucas asked to go to Disneyland when he is 5 years old, we will take out the photos and tell him 'You have been there!'.

Our holiday plan during the 4 months stay here...err..three and a half now....is to go to Las Vegas and San Francisco. Dominic has some cousins living on the East Coast and we will all most likely meet in Vegas. This will be in July as the children are having summer holidays. A bit too hot for Vegas...but nevermind.

San Francisco is not firmed up. It is a nice city and would like to go again. I was last there in 1992!!

Then, I would also like to go to Vancouver. Have 2 good friends there. But this will be a bit difficult to arrange. Too far to drive and flight will cost a lot as it is an international flight. And we don't have Canadian visa.

That should bring us till September.

Explosive Energy

We are here for a week now. Things look to settle down. Lucas is sleeping through at night (but he can do better). He sleeps at around midnight and wakes up at 7 am for milk and goes back to sleep until around noon. I am trying to get him to sleep by 10 pm and wakes up at 8am for milk.

This little boy has so much energy! Maybe the weather suited him better. He also seems happier. He enjoys our bed so much. He sleeps better on our bed than his own bed, which is actually a play-pen padded with blanket and bedsheet as mattress. The apartment is fully carpeted except for the kitchen. I do not let him crawl on the carpet as I thought it might be unhygenic. So, I usually put him on the bed or sofa as 'playing area'. He simply enjoys playing on the bed. He holds on to the head board and starts singing. Now and then he will let go of one hand and seems to be happy with his own achievement!

At seven and a half months, Lucas seems to understand what I said. Twice a day I will apply lotion to his face and put on some lip balm. Yesterday, I had his toy, the lotion and lip balm on the bed. And I asked him "Lucas, where is the lip balm? Where?' He looked at me and pick up the lip balm! Then I asked "Where is the lotion?". He picked up the lotion! So, now my next goal is to teach him not to cry unnecessary.

Still having jetlag.

Today is our third day in LA. We are still recovering from the jetlag. Sleeping through at night is difficult. Lucas gets up at 11pm and again at 3 am. We have just moved to an apartment today (last three nights were in a hotel) and hopefully I can do his usual routine as in KL. He is having dry lips and he tends to lick it often. As a result, the lower chin is red and dry. I ran out of idea as to what to do, so I take the risk and apply lip balm on his lips. Hope the chemical is not too strong.

The weather is nice...high 23 degree Celsius and low 13. We walked quite a fair bit. We walk to get food usually. So, we dressed Lucas up in long sleeve shirt and long pants. Then we put a blanket on him while he was sitting on the stroller. I was worried if he was under-dressed but he seems to enjoy the walk. Today, I saw a local boy of similar age was wrapped up like winter i.e. with hat and ear muff! That gets me thinking again if Lucas needed more warm clothes.

Food here is really cheap even if you convert them to RM. We bought Haigen Daz 1/2 pint ice cream for US$2.99! In KL, that same 1/2 pint would cost RM29! You bet we will have many many more of the ice cream. Today's grocery shopping came to US$54 and that was very reasonable compared to KL. We had a bottle of wine, a packet of ground coffee, fruits (peaches included), microwave-able food, vegetables and many others. Cooking at home is so much cheaper than eating out. But in KL, eating out can be cheaper than cooking on your own.

The grandparents are missing Lucas again. They called to ask about him...and not us.

Yes..we made it

Yes...we finally made it to LA. We woke up at 6 am to do the last minute packing and ensure all the house electrical appliances are switched off. We woke Lucas up at 7am to change him. Taxi was here at 7.15am.

The 4 hours flight to Taipeh was good. Lucas only slept for 20 mins during that flight! We thought that might be a good idea. He should be tired in the Taipeh - LA journey. How wrong were we! During this flight, he got all the attention. All the stewardess know his name and some even carry him. There is this kind grandpa from Taiwan who offers to babysit when he cries. He was carrying him and playing with him. Too bad he has to get off at Taipeh.

Lucas poo numerous time. I even lost count. I was worried if I packed enough diapers with me (and I have more than 10 pieces in my hand luggage).

The flight to LA was loooonngg. Lucas only slept 3 hours in total. That made us exhausted as well. This little fellow is quite a KPC. (i.e. keh poh chee = busybody). My sister nicknamed him Mr KPC. He will look around and when he catches someone attention, he will either stare at them and they will make funny faces in return. And this will go on for a few minutes. Sometimes, he will get so excited and laughed out loud. There are quite a number of babies in the flight. A lot of young Indian familes (MAS and Air India are co-sharing the flight). All babies except for Lucas were sleeping throughout the journey except for this little fellow. I was very tempted to ask my neighbour what did she put in the milk!

Other than being awake, Lucas was behaving well. At least he did not being the plane down or wake everyone up. Couldn't ask for more. He is a good baby...and a grandma in the plane agreed too.

On the first day we arrived, I was so exhausted and I lost track of the time! I wasn't sure to feed him solid or milk as I lost my orientation. So, I ended up giving him milk all day. On the second day, I got my bearing right and trying to get him back to his routine. Hope he will sleep through tonight.

We will be moving to our apartment (currently staying in a hotel) on Thursday. Hopefully, we can settle down soon and live will be back to normal. Pasadena, Arcadia are pleasant places to be. There will be so much exploring to do.

Learning Fast

Lucas did something amazing today..and something annoying too.

I sing some songs very often to him..'Are you sleeping', 'Baa Baa Black Sheep', 'Twinkle Twinkle Star' and I had a VCD sing-along for these songs too. This afternoon, I had him sit near the TV (TV was off) and was singing 'Baa Baa Black Sheep'. He instantly turn his head towards the TV. I figured he must have known or remembered that he watched those songs on TV! So, I played the VCD for him and he was enjoying himself. He even rocked himself on some songs. Amazing...he actually remembers.

The annoying act today was he almost cried the whole day.I used to be able to put him on my chest and pat him to sleep. Now..no chance. He will be busy looking around or wanting to move when I put him on my chest. I have no choice but to put him on his bed. Of course he screamed for a few minutes before falling asleep. And now he even wakes up crying. He is usually very cheerful after his nap. It is like he is afraid I am going to leave him on his bed and he will miss some exciting activities. Sigh....hope he will be his old self soon...cheerful all the time.

Oh..the grandparents missed him so much. Lucas is the only grandchild for my family and my husband's family. So, he is like the pride and joy of all our family members...except for one. During my four and a half year marriage, my parents hardly come over for visit. Now, they come without being asked. And in the last seven months, they have been here more than the 4 years before Lucas. My husband's parents missed him so much that they called just to hear his voice, and they are only on their first week of their holiday.

How to tell a baby 'NO'

Lucas is crawling - not quite smooth but enough to get him around. His favourite 'destination' is items where he can hold on and stand up. Obviously, the stand fan, dining chair and coffee table are his favourites! I am trying to teach him certain items especially the fan is a 'NO'. So, my method is each time he heads toward the fan direction, I will said 'Lucas, NO, NO' and do the action with my hand. I had said that numerous times. Sometimes, he will look at me and crawl away but mostly, he will look at me for seconds and continue. I will then pulled him away from the fan and said 'NO, NO'. HE will by then already crawls toward his new destination. I really wonder if he understands what am I trying to tell him and if I repeat this enough, will he get the message. We will see.

His sleeping time is also a nightmare. He just refuses to sleep especially when there is noise. It is like he does not want to miss anything that is going on! Amazing coming from a seven month old. So, for the last 2 days, I just put him on his bed and said 'Good night..go to 'oii oii' (sleep)' He will of course cries for a good 10-15 mins. Then he will fall asleep. The first time he cries was of course worrying and I can't help but to take a peep on him every 2 mins. But now, I am quite good at ignoring his cries. I used to carry him in my arms and pat him to sleep. This is getting a bit too much - he is getting heavier and I figure I can't carry him until he is a toddler. He has to be able to fall asleep on his own. Afterall, that's all the baby books preach. Let's see when he will stop crying.

Countdown

Exactly one week to go - and packing has to start soon.
I have 2 lists for this tedious task. First is list of things to do before leaving like renew road tax, do all banking (make sure enough money to auto debit credit card), cancel Astro and newspaper subscription etc. We managed to strike out all the tasks at last!! hurray...

Now, the second list is what to bring. We decided to only bring clothes for my husband and myself. That is not very difficult as it is summer in LA. But for Lucas, it is a daunting task. First, we have to make sure we bring enough milk and food for the long flight (with the 100ml liquid ruling, I wonder how am I going to manage this) and then we have to make sure we have enough food for him in the first few days while we settle down. So, the list goes a can of milk powder, diapers, all his bathing necessities...I'm sure we will forget something.

Now, I started packing by cleaning my suitcases. Then I throw the items I am not using in the suitcase...hardly anything. I really need to get serious with this packing business NOW..