Luca a crawler, officially

Luca has two teeth coming out!

Yesterday, while watching Maya putting together a puzzle, Luca started to crawl. He could slide before, but this time he was really crawling, tummy up in the air, knees pushing forward, arms keeping the balance. Bravo!

There's still not a lot of progress with Luca's sleep training. In fact, he kept mommy awake until almost 5am. (Not entirely his fault. The bed is too small for four people--Maya comes to mama and pappa's room between 12am and 4am most of the nights; Luca sleeps in his crib first but then mama has to carry him to the bed to feed him when he wakes up. Mama and pappa really need to get a king-size bed.) One of his habits is to play with mommy's hand while he's trying to fall asleep. Mama has tried to give him a toy instead but it doesn't work. Sigh.

Maya the gardener

Waigong started a garden at the sideyard three months ago, and Maya has been helping him taking care of it. There are lettuces, strawberries, tomatos, eggplants, baichai, green onions, string beans, squashes, and bell peppers. Waigong also planted many cucumbers, but none of them survived because worms and bird ate them all.

The first thing Maya does when she comes home is to check the garden. She's excited about every new tomato (fruit) and squash. She's learned from Waigong and Waipo how to take care of the plants. Sunlight, water, food, and plenty of love.

Maya the artist

Maya does quite a bit artwork at school. Here's an example. Pretty good, isn't it?

Maya always likes puzzles. She could do pretty complicated puzzles when she was barely two. On Sat. while pappa went mountain biking with his friends, Maya and mommy did Hello Kitty puzzles at home. Three of them. The most complex one included almost 70 pieces. With little assistance from mommy, Maya finished all the puzzles.

Luca is six months old!

Congratulations, Luca! Does that mean that you can finally sleep through the night now?

Let's see what you're are at now.

You can crawl...sort of. It's more like sliding. And sometimes your limbs are up in air and your whole weight is on your tummy. You look like you're skydiving. But you certainly can get yourself from point A to point B pretty fast.

You can eat solid food...hmm, that's old news. Very old.

Several times (today) you lifted your tummy, supporting your weight with your hands and legs, ready for some serious ab work. That was impressive.

You like solid food. When you see mom eat at lunch- or dinnertime, you open your mouth eagerly. Feed me, feed me!

You like playing the game of standing up and walking. Nice to feel strong, right? You'll surely be an early walker.

You still don't have much hair. But who cares? Baldness is beautiful, baldness is cute.

There's something about Luca

1. Luca was almost nine pounds at birth. No wonder mama had stretch marks this time.
2. The day he was born, he lifted his head momentarily when the doctor put him on mama's chest.
3. He cried the loudest cries after he was born, which made both mama and pappa cry.
4. He was a vigorous eater/biter in the beginning. Ouch!!!! Mama had to go to the newborn club at hospital to get help from exprienced nurses. Mama has to admit that she almost gave up on breastfeeding.
5. He was an earnest talker from early on. When he was barely two months old, he was already doing serious talking. He could talk nonstop for an hour when he was three months old and he loved chatting with you.
6. He's a charmer. The second he wakes up he smiles. He smiles at strangers too. That's why he's so popular among all the grandparents at the park Waigong and Waipo frequent. He rarely cries -- Maya was like that too when she was a baby. Mama and pappa are very blessed.
7. He likes to be out. The first thing in the morning, after the feeding, is a long walk to the park with Waigong and waipo. If there's a delay, he'd make a lot of noises to protest. No matter how fussy he is, as soon as he's out, he quiets down, looking around curiously and eagerly.
8. He hasn't learned to sleep through the night yet, and he doesn't know how to fall back sleep on his own. Sometimes he's even in the mood to play at 2am or 3am. That's why mama has dark circles under her eyes, also why mama now has white hair in her head.
9. He began to roll tummy to back at three months. He's now a pro roller, back to tummy, tummy to back, several rolls on one go, you name it. That explains why it's so hard to change diapers for him these days.
10. For a while he was a screamer. A happy screamer (waipo worried about him hurting his own throat). Now he is a roarer. He roars like a tiger, stamping his little feet at the same time to tell you he means business.
11. He loves Maya. Maya can always make him laugh, and even when Maya ignores him he still watches her without blinking, and as soon as she looks at him he smiles.
12. He's a big eater. His daily meals include breastmilk (8+ times) + formula (twice) + solid food (twice or three times; started that a month ago). As for solid food, he has tried more than 10 different flavors already and seems to like them all.
13. His favorite toy? Boxes of wipes from Costo
14. Wondering why he smells like cheese - just the slightest smell and only pappa's sharp nose can detect that -- sometimes? (Answer: he has so many folds in his neck that it's hard to do a thorough cleaning.)
15. He loves loves loves water. A natural swimmer. Mama washes him in the big bathtub so he can "swim" a little.
16. When Waipo says his name, it sounds like Loo Ka, "green card" in Chinese.

Maya and her school friends

Maya has many good friends at school. If you ask her who are her best friends she'll say Vivian, Ethan B, Clemente, Ethan L...Recently her school began to offer music and soccer classes (for a while there were tumbler gym classes, which Maya loved). Her main teachers are Carol, Yali, and Jennifer Xiaoxue. Yali's good at art and crafts, and Carol is very good at baking.

Photo credits: Jessica (Ethan B's mom) and other parents.

Luca and Waipo

Luca loves Waipo. Sometimes when mama cannot make Luca sleep at 3am or 4am, she hands him to Waipo. No matter how fussy Luca is, he calms down as soon as Waipo's magical hand touches his head.