Dancing with the Stars

Calleigh is a very observant kid. When Mom watches "Dancing with the Stars", Calleigh tries to copy what the dancers are doing. Lifting up her leg, spinning around. It's quite good fun to watch her. The one thing I like about her is when she falls, she doesn't complain much. Sorry to say, I don't like it when kids are crying all the time over things that don't really hurt or to just get attention. Please Calleigh, don't be like this. Once in a while is okay, but don't make it a habit.



Hmm...Play Mats
You can really go overboard with play if you have hardware floors at home. It's not like your home is a play gym. I thought I had purchased too many play mats for Calleigh but I ended up using them throughout the home. The ones I purchased can be converted to any size I need. The one advantage to having this play mat is that it can be used for exercise as well. I do a fair amount of stretching on the floor and the mats make a great cushion. Placed in front of the TV is a great way to motivate exercise.

Korea, The South

Here is a selection of images from a recent trip to South Korea. I've always wanted to go here to experience the food and it did not disappoint. Calliegh loved the beef, the fried potatoes, jap chae and more. She is my daughter =).

Click on Calleigh's Flickr album for more pics of Korea (right side bar).

Hmm...The Unmanly Man
Normally, when you see kids in Asia, they are taken care of by the female or helper. With my family, I am usually the one with my baby strapped on me and I look out of place. But does it bother me that maybe I am not seen as the Macho Man? Not really. In fact, there were several ladies in Korea that seemed to like that I was the one taking care of Calleigh. When going down the 200 meter tunnel, going downhill, to view what is to be the exact border of North and South Korea, known as the demilitarized zone (DMZ), a couple of women made eye contact with me. They gave me the universal thumbs up gesture and I assumed that meant, good. I realized, I don't give a flying f**k what people think when it comes to my daughter. I do what I want and don't every worry about looking like a fool. The things one will do for their children is powerful.

New Words

Here is video of Calleigh's new favorite word, "Bubble". She says a lot more babble these days but when asked to repeat words, she is doing well with repeating.

There are a bunch of other words that she can repeat when asked.  Here are some that we have been teaching her:

Wow
WooHoo
Bubble
Boo
Ma Ma (We ask her to say Mommy)
Da Da (We ask her to say Daddy)
Ya Ya (Her Nanny's Nickname)
Peep Peep for Bird
Yeh Yeh (Grandpa in Chinese)
Mah Mah (Grandma in Chinese)
May Yee (Cousin Maci's name in Chinese, she can't get the "c" sound yet)
Josha (Cousin Joshua)
O (Auntie Cathy)



Hmmm....Early Education
In Hong Kong, parents are crazy about getting  and early education start for a child. Culturally, it's about giving their child the best options in the future and bragging rights when a child can play the piano at 6 years of age or getting into a school that is highly competitive. I have researched a school that teaches right brain thinking and it's not cheap. Theory states that young children, 5 and under, have a great capacity to learn quickly and read without having to understand phonetics. But does this really matter? Does this really help? What's many don't know is that comprehension does not happen until after 5. So basically, a child can talk but not really understand what they are saying or how to structure sentences.

For me, I decided that Calleigh will learn just fine, but in her own time. I'd rather her gain some street smarts and experience life from her current perspective. Adults need to remember, the stimulation level for a child is off the charts. Everyday they are experiencing and absorbing something new. Lately Calleigh has been having play time with other kids in our building and it's really encouraged her to speak and do things differently. There is a saying, you are who you choose to surround yourself with in your life. So true.

Touchy Feely in Korea

In a recent visit to Korea, people really seemed to be keen on touching and gawking at Calleigh. It was a bit strange because I have not experienced this except with family and friends. Here is a clip at a train station near the South and North Korean border Demilitarized Zone and a tourist is posing for a photo. She notices Calleigh and just grabs her and gets a photo with her. Keep in mind, I am only a few feet away and no permission granted from me. Cute but scary.



Hmm...Kidnapping
People in Asia have always talked about child abductions and using cute children as begging magnets on the street or selling them off. It's a horrible feeling. But when I saw how fast that woman grabbed Calleigh    it made me think how easy it is to lose a child if you are not paying close attention. When watching the video, notice how Calleigh does not scream out for me or say anything at all to alert me.  It's a scary thought. Maybe I've watched too many movies but as a parent, I couldn't bare the thought and would not know what I would do, especially in a foreign country. I could only imagine them saying....oh well....your fault.

Walk the Walk

Flip flops are nice for Calleigh because I believe her feet is not stuffy. Similar to her Dad because when Dad takes off his socks after some walking, they are soaked! Tonight Calleigh wanted to go out but it was near bedtime, but insisted on wearing her flip flops. So she just decided to walk back and forth until she got too tired.

Hmmm....Shoes
Buying the first pair of shoes for your child is supposed to be a serious matter as it does influence the way the arch develops. Not sure if that's totally true, but we did spend $40US for a good pair of SrideRite's for her and Calleigh loves them. A few times I had her wear her shoes without socks, which to me is not a big deal for her. But after noticing how wet her socks get after walking around Hong Kong, I decided to put those socks back on!

In Da Club

Hong Kong is a vibrant city with the night life where the night starts no earlier than 11am and running until daybreak. Too late for Calleigh so I decided to take the club scene home and created a House Party effect with my camera.


Hmm....Parent Time
So talking about the Club/Bar Scene, it's not usual for parents to continue this lifestyle back in the U.S. But in Hong Kong, with the availability of hired help, there are many parents going out to social events every night of the week. Whether it be networking socials, clubs, restaurants, etc., in Hong Kong, a lot of business meetings happen during social outings. In fact, I experienced someone's parents show up at the same club as their sons! I can't imagine bumping into my Calleigh at the same club/bar when I'm in my 60's! If it can be arranged, parents definitely need that time to interact with adults outside of work and take a break from Disney Channel and toys.

Peek at the Boo'er

Calleigh started doing the Peek a Boo game a few months back. It's funny to see how a simple game can be entertaining. Although it is really cute, it's really hard to keep acting surprised each time.

Lately, she's been wanting to watch her Barney videos and boy, I've got all these songs stuck in my head. I think I'll go out and buy a different Barney video or maybe try Blues Clues. She's not too big on Sesame Street or TeleTubbies.

Hmm...Games
Repetition is common with toddlers. Wanting to do something over and over again. If you want to avoid this, try exposing different games or actions that might distract them to do something else. Eventually, you'll get them to do something new and mix things up. 

Look Who's Walking Now

Almost 15 months of anticipation for that first step, Calleigh gets the courage to stand up and walk. I can't say I've been disappointed but I have been waiting for a long time and it felt as if Calleigh just didn't care. She's become very mobile with crawling and I thought having her hang around kids that could walk would encourage her. As I stated in a previous blog, Calleigh does what Calleigh wants.

Last night, Calleigh used my chest as leverage to stand up and I slowly slid away and told her to walk. She did. I yelled to her Mom "Look Look!". I cannot express how excited I felt inside to see this day come.

It's been some time since I wrote on this blog, but here are some things that occurred with Calleigh in the last 3 months.

• Drinks from a straw cup. She never got the hang of sippie cups.
• Talks more using vowels/syllables, Speech is coming more defined
• Dances a lot, especially to Barney videos, and claps hands a lot
• Had her first Kid's meal ordered at a Tonkatsu restaurant
• Eats pita bread, oatmeal, Cheerios, sushi, ramen, bolognese, Kalbi, lots of different foods and loves cheese
• Loves her shoes and tried to put them on herself
• Officially off formula, although we are still finishing her last can. Instead drinks Pediasure
• Grew taller and has outgrown lots of her 12mth clothes
• Weight is still 3%, but head and height I think in the 20% range
• Learned to finger slide to access iPad or iPhone
• Holds the phone to her ear, tries to put ear buds in ear
• Had her first diaper rash which got out of control and turned to a yeast infection
• Likes to watch Dad play AngryBirds
• Gives big wet kisses on the lips while grabbing cheeks
• Wants to do everything that we do, i.e. eat with adult forks, sit with us on the couch watching T.V., play with a phone, computer or iPad

I'm sure there is a lot more to mention but I guess that's what blogging is for...to capture these moments as they happen.


Hmmm....Changes
When you want your kid to change, they don't change. When they do change it's unexpected. Being a new parent and understanding how I developed as a child, I now see a different perspective. Kids will change when they are good and ready. How they change may not be what you expected. The key is that they grow up because who wants to spoon feed a 21 year old child!

Before and After

Here are some before and after pictures of Calleigh after waking up and getting her ready to go out. Her hair was sticking up so much all I could do was put some water on her hair to keep it down.

Hmm..Hair Clips and Hair Styles

I've been trying to learn how to do different hairstyles for Calleigh so naturally I went onto YouTube to find something that will show me what to do. Most of the hair vids I saw when I used the keywords "Baby Hair Style" resulted in a bunch of videos with African American Woman. Not exactly what I wanted to see. Then I went to eHow and did a general search on google. Well, there's not much relevant information out there. If someone has a site they can share with me. I"d really like to know about it. One day, I'd like to be able to tie her hair up and make it look reasonably attractive.

1st Birthday Weekend - 2011

When I hear parents talk about their kids, many of them can't believe how fast time has passed. I feel this way about my own life before Calleigh, but now I just feel the time that has passed has been jam packed with more memories and it has made life quite fulfilling. It's sensory overload. A year has passed and life has become increasingly more interesting as I have had to go through so many changes with my daughter and the rest of my life. It's a strange feeling because it's like this new vertical in my life which is already filled with other verticals.

The video posted here is of Calleigh's big Birthday weekend. She still isn't walking as I had planned, but I hope she will before her Aunt's wedding day. But no loss here. I see some of me in her. Calleigh does what Calleigh wants to do....when she's good and ready.

Visit CalleighTV on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/calleightv

Hmmm....Keeping Promises

I have not yet given Calleigh her birthday present. Truth be told, there isn't really anything to give her more than I already do everyday, but there is one promise I made to her the day she was born. It is a promise that has occupied my mind on and off and I know it is something that I need to follow through on. Knowing myself, I know I will expect myself to break promises to Calleigh, both intentionally and unintentionally for various reasons I can only imagine. But, I think as a parent, you try to keep the promises that matter. If you are keen on knowing what this promise is, keep in touch with this blog as my promise to my daughter will be fulfilled this year.

Stanley Market

Calleigh and I headed to Stanley Market hoping to catch the dragon boat races. Mom was still out in Florence. The main beach area is where all the activity was happening and it was packed. Maybe the stroller wasn't such a good idea trying to get on the beach, but it did in fact come in handy in the 88 degree heat.

Too many people so we took a bunch of photos and videos and then headed to my Aussie mate's cafe to grab a burger and fries, which they dump sour cream, bacon and chives on top. Yummmmm.... After Calleigh had her milk and playing around for a bit, the heat got to her and she slept for a couple hours while Pops had a couple of beers.

Hmmm...Beaches Preparation

I didn't really expect the Dragon Boat event to be near a beach. But it got me thinking, strollers and beaches...leave the stroller at home/car or bring a crappy one. All the sand will just muck up the wheels. When I do take Calleigh to the beach I can imagine brining a bunch of other things, mats, umbrella, water proof suntan lotion, change of clothes. Or, just be spontaneous and get her naked!

Bangkok

Calleigh's first time to Bangkok. It was a short, short trip. Decided to tag along with Uncle Jim and family. Stayed a night and a full day, booked on miles, and Uncle Jim stayed for 3 days. It was a fun trip but there is only so much you can see in Bangkok in one day.

Hmmm...Traveling in Southeast Asia

There is always the fear of a child getting sick from food or water in Southeast Asia. But you can only worry so much. Buy name branded bottled water, just in case there are those people who you try to sell bottle of water filled with tap water. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly with bottled water. Try to avoid street foods that may not look well cooked. Calleigh had her baby jar food so the only concern was water if we had to give her formula. But Mom was around to break open the tap on the milk well.

Cypress Hill

Here is a little clip I forgot that I had. It was made for Uncle Dave. He knows the song from Cypress hill. Thought to have a bit of fun getting Calleigh into Hip Hop early. It was in a mall in Bangkok.

Hmmm...Generation Gaps

It's pretty cool that a lot of the music I used to and still dig has been remade or played still at current bars/clubs/radio. Having the next genration dig it as well is pretty cool. Rock Band and Guitar hero has definitely helped to link different generations. Therefore, I wonder if Calleigh would like the same music I like. Thank goodness for MP3's I can now ditch the rest of my Vinyl and have all my music to share with her one day. Or I can keep some Vinyl for memories, but I no longer have a turntable. If she does like my music taste at least I can feel we have something in common, especially when she is a adult. So the hmm is using music to bridge genration gaps and have something in common with your kid.

Sleeping Tigers

A year has almost passed since Calleigh was born. The year of the Tiger and it seemed fitting to take a picture of my baby sleeping next to, or as close as I could get, sleeping baby tiger. Here is another pic of Me and Calleigh hanging with the Asian Elephants.

Hmmm...Take 'em Anywhere

After coming to Hong Kong, I have to say, I really hate the stroller. So hard to maneuver. I'll still do it, but I'd rather pouch my baby or make her walk, if she could. The Bjorn isn't the most ergonomic of the baby packs but it does the job fine and I've dragged Calleigh all over Asia in that thing. Luckily she is still small. One thing I love about the Bjorn is that I use it on a plane and put her to sleep on my chest. So I can sleep and not worry about dropping her. But if you have the luxury of having a bassinet or better yet, a business class seat, leave the Bjorn packed!

Calleigh's First Swim

We took Calleigh for her first swim. It's way overdue because we could've taken her a long time ago. She loved it....splashing her hand in the water and the feeling of floating seemed quite new and exciting for her. Grandma got her a cool swimsuit and we threw on a pair of little swimmers for protection. One thing we still need to get next time is some sun protection lotion.



Hmm...Water World
It seems most kids are fascinated by water. Calleigh used to like the bath a lot but lately she's been crying every time we dump her into the tub. But she loves watching water fountains and the sound of the water faucet. After taking her swimming, she seems to be better about baths now. So I guess getting her used to water, especially having water splashed in her face will get her used to getting wet in the bath.

Randomness by CJ and friends

My nephew Joshua put together this fun clip with Calleigh in it, so I thought I'd share it on Calleigh's Blog. Thanks Josh!




Hmm....Other Creative Works
As busy parents, sometimes it's a chore to get that camera or video out to capture the moments in your child's life and when you do, it takes even more effort to sift through the footage and post them. Make use of the people around you that are already doing this work for you and make sure to have them send you copies so you can pick the ones you like and add them to your album. You don't know how many times I wished I had my camera for a shot but was too lazy to bring it along.

Calleigh's First Kiss

Caught a great video of Calleigh, too bad the quality s*cked because the lighting was too dark. Still, it captured the moment of Calleigh's first kiss. Well, there was a boy that gave her a kiss on the ferry ride to Shenzhen, but I won't count that.




Hmmm...Catching Moments
I've tried catching lots of moments with Calleigh on film and video. The trick is to make sure she is distracted. You see, lots of times she sees me with the camera and she will want to come over and touch the camera. The video above was shot when she had no idea I was behind her AND she was also distracted. This tactic made for a great video clip!

For Cô U

Calleigh's Aunt Cathy's (U or O) wedding will be coming up soon and my cute baby girl was selected to be a flower girl. So, we got some work ahead of us. Hitting 12 months, Calleigh has been showing lots of signs that she wants to walk. She's been pulling herself up on couches, shelves, chairs and computers in order to stand. Today, I decided to motivate her to cruise by teasing her with a roll of Fruitups candies.

We are about 3 months away from the big day, we will see if she can balance herself down that aisle.



Hmm..Cruising....
One of Chris' co-workers said to do things to motivate Calleigh to cruise so that's where I got the idea. But she also said that parents are crazy about getting their kids to walk as early as possible. That would be me. She noted that crawling is good for kids because they pick up all the germs on the floor and build their immunity to handle such germs and it's also very good for the development of their coordination.

Chimelong Circus/Zoo

I've been quite behind in posting, but I'll be catching up as it has been a crazy couple of months and there is a lot to share. For now, just posting a quick video of Calleigh's first visit to a circus...in CHINA!




Hmm...Circus/Zoo was worth going
I thought Calleigh would not be interested in the Circus/Zoo and be bored out of her mind. But I was wrong. I always knew kids liked seeing animals, but a 9-10 month old. What are the really thinking when they see these animals. Well, whatever Calleigh saw, she had big grins and smiles throughout Circus and Zoo. She probably won't remember much, but I would like to think the experience helped to develop something in her view of the world.

I'll be posting some more great footage of Calleigh being captivated by animals and clowns!

Stop....Family Time

It's been to long since my last post but you know, I've got lots to share with Calleigh's Aunts, Uncle and cousins visiting. I live for family time and Calleigh got a boat load of quality time spent in HK. Below, is some girl shots. My baby definitely needs some girl bonding time as I don't want to overload her with too much guy influence.

Calleigh with another expressionless face.

Hmm...Family

It's sometimes an oversight to notice how important it is to have family around. Sometimes I like to think that Calleigh's Mom and Dad are enough, but it's not true. Calleigh had family come through for 4 full weeks and it was perfect as it was a time where she learned to crawl and become more interactive. Truly a fun age. Cousins making silly videos, aunties getting some great photo opps, and lots of laughs. Making sure your child gets exposure to family is important in creating a loving and fun environment which I think helps in the social development.

Teeth my Friend

Solid foods turn into solid solids. Now, the teeth are coming in and it's a whole new world. Calleigh is really loving solids. Her favs has been bananas, sweet potato, graduate puffs, rice cereal with egg yolk, and now yogurt. No allergies yet and she's going for more foods this week.

(Click image for larger view of teeth)

Hmm. Teething
Being the fun and cool Dad I am, I let Calleigh bite my fingers when her teeth bother her. Little did I realize that I am basically saying, "Hey, it's okay to bite people." Now I have to say no. =( But I rub her gums if it is bothering her. She did start to bite Mommy pretty hard during feeding, ouch!, so I guess we have to retrain her habits.

Gymboree Fun

I was really wanting Calleigh to interact with other kids so off we went to a trial class at Gymboree. Everything seemed so new to her and she had a lot of fun. We committed to 12 more classes so hopefully this will spark Calleigh's social skills.



Outfit gifted from Co U: H&M top and sweat bottoms.

Hmm..Classes
Taking your kid to class can be fun but also time consuming. Before committing to a series of future dates, be sure that you either have the flexibility to change the scheduled times or that you look at your current schedule and really think about how your time will be spent. Even though the Gymboree class was only 45 minutes, the total time to pack the baby and return was about 2 hours.

It's Official,The Crawl Comes First

After months of training my baby to walk, she ended up crawling first. She still likes to try to stand all the time and her legs are extremely strong. This was what I was waiting for. Most parents I hear don't want their kid to be mobile too soon. I suppose because it takes more energy to take care of a moving target.

For me, I want Calleigh to move. After a while, it's quite boring for me and for her to just sit and stare. Yeah Calleigh! She gets claps from me every time she stands, now it's also when she crawls!



Hmm..Mobility
My intention of training her to strengthen her legs in order to stand was really not that much effort. Every time I played with her I would just let her sit on my leg and encourage her to stand. Maybe she is a natural but really, she looks at me when I clap and say "Yeah". She may not be able to understand my words but this praise is the enthusiasm she needs for encouragement.

Happy Feet II

Calleigh's Aunt Cathy published a post called "Happy Feet" that is why this post is called "Happy Feet II". Since Grandma has been here, Calleigh has been receiving some new entertainment which makes her laugh out loud. Here in the video, she is laughing at moving feet. I don't get the humor, but something about it must amuses her.

Expressions

Do you ever wonder what goes through a baby's mind? Look at their expression and we see what we want to see. Imagine, being the baby, how frustrating is it to see, hear, taste, feel, and smell things and not know how to describe the sense.

Well, maybe, babies can communicate senses in their own way. In fact, we just started Calleigh on raw carrots and she invited the spoon with an open mouth. Soon after tasting it, she made a nasty look. After a few more tries, she just turned her head way. Eventually, we decided to add some breast milk to the carrots. Now she is eating it without compliant. So I guess babies do have their own way to communicate, it just takes some patience to watch and understand them.




Hmm.. Communication
It's very important to watch your baby's reaction to anything that happens because they will show you in their own way how they are affected. As they get older, they may decide to change the way they communicate as well. Right now Calleigh has a distinct annoyed sound which she makes when she is uncomfortable, wants attention, or is bored. Knowing this makes it easier for me to figure out what to do with her next.

Big Ol' Head

I love how a baby's head can look so heavy on their body, looking like its about to topple to the side. We tried setting up a new play area and used this fur type blanket that looks pimpin'.

The second picture below I played around in editing trying to make it look aged, like a film shot.



Hmm.. Clothes
With the remark I made about a baby's head above, sometimes it makes it very difficult to put on clothes that has to go over the head. I like two piece suits, which reminds me of my likes for Air Jordan Jumpsuits. It's easy to put on and take off. She is wearing a 6-12mths Baby Gap outfit given as a Red Egg gift. To the right, she is wearing a Bohemian style dress from H&M.

Wan Chai Park

Here is another park in HK, the Wan Chai Park. It has a full on soccer/futbol field, a play area for kids, and an elderly section with Chinese Chess tables and an exercise area. It's a nice big park and very close to Boogie's new home. I love taking pics of my baby at the park. Other kids try to socialize with her, but she will just stare back with a puzzled look.

(This picture inspired by RobertLinPhotography.com)

Hmm.. Hygiene
I can only imagine the type of dirty hands that come across this play yard. Kids can be dirty...very dirty. I made sure to wipe Calleigh's hands after the park, especially now, when she is putting her hands in her mouth all the time. So my suggestion, always bring some kind of anti-bacterial wipes or basically anything that will clean your baby's hands.

CNY Celebration

HK puts on a very expensive fireworks show for CNY. Boogie loved watching the display and this time, it was not as loud and bright like at Disneyland.

(Displaying the number 8 in the fireworks)

We were at Chris' co-worker's home, which provided this awesome view. To celebrate, we hired Thai cooks for a scrumptious dinner.



Calleigh was well behaved during dinner and she was in a very good mood. She even received some red envelopes.

Hmm.. Time
I realize it is not just the money spent on material items that can make a child happy, but simple events that create a life experience and memory are quite priceless. Yes, she won't remember, but I sure will.

Baby Dior Jumper

Calleigh receives some very nice gifts from her admirers. Here she is in her first Baby Dior sleeper. The material is soft and after washing, it didn't shrink at all and kept it's shape.

Hmm.. Baby Clothes
When it comes to spending big dollars on baby clothes you want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck. Get a size that is a little bit bigger just in case it shrinks and to allow for maximum usage, but of course making sure it's not too baggy. The way I see it is that you can spend big money on a few items rather than using the same amount of money to buy a bunch of cheaper items, which you are not that happy with. My example is buying clothes from Old Navy, which I discussed in a previous blog. The materials don't feel so good, they shrink a lot and there is not a lot of give, which can make it hard to dress your baby.

Paul Frank My Friend

Love the Paul Frank monkey on the butt.

Hmmm....Baby Toys

The activity gyms are awesome. They keep a baby engaged for up to 30 minutes easy, or at least for my baby. It can be quite expense for baby toys like this, $75, but worth it. The one in this picture is from Baby Einstein and it can be used for up to 3 years old. One thing is that my baby drools on the mat all the time so it's important to clean frequently. Also, the hanging toys are some of my baby's favorite. Like the panda, and the tiger coin.

Down for the count!

(Wrestling Babies)

Calleigh got this baby doll from her Uncle Andy. It's a bit freaky. Press on its belly and it laughs. Press again and it says "I love you!" As freaky as it is to me, Calleigh smiles when she spends time with the baby. When I look into the doll's eyes, I think of that movie "Chucky".

Hmm.. Baby Toys

I realize that sometimes, buying new toys isn't necessary for a baby because sometimes they find the simplest things amusing. For example, Calleigh has a toy book with a page that when crumpled, makes a sound like a candy wrapper. Well, during her changing sessions, she loves to grab at her baby wipes package just to make the crumpling sound and it keeps her interested. Just the other day, I realized she really likes playing with my iPad, especially with applications that are interactive. It kept her entertained for 20 or so minutes.

Warning: At 7 months old, baby's usually want to put anything and everything in their mouth. So even though it make be fun to make any old object a toy, make sure it is safe!

(Baby to Baby Love)

Park Kowloon

There's a park across the street that I've been meaning to take CJ to for weeks. It didn't look too inviting from the outside but it's really a great place to hang out. The park is huge with water fountains, an outdoor public pool that looks like a design from a resort, lots of feathered friends in cages and some not, like flamingos, a McDs AND, along a pathway, a McDs cart selling deserts.

CJ really enjoyed the water fountains, once she got over the fear that the water droplets falling on her head were not harmful. One other thing to note is that they have an area with free WIFI. Asia really knows how to bring technology to good use.


Interesting: Caught a sign describing the tree that stood nearby. Enough said.


To make my post more interesting, I'm going to thrown in a "Parenting Tip or Note" with each of my posts, which I'll subhead as "Hmm.."

Hmm.. - Buying: Clothes
Old Navy can be an inexpensive way to dress up your kids. Although, I have paid non-sale prices for some of their items which I really don't think was worth the money. The shirt Calleigh is wearing at the park is from Old Navy, size 6-12 months. Calleigh is 7 months and about 13-14 LBS (overall 10% on doc's growth chart) and the shirt fits with just a little slack. Shrinkage? Sure there must have been some. But the one thing that annoyed me is the difficulty in putting it on her. The material just doesn't give much. It's not like my kid has a larger than average head or super long monkey arms. But by the time Calleigh is 8-9 months, I'll have to cut a V at the neck and at 12 months, I expect for some belly to be showing. So here are my notes:

• Always account for shrinkage, especially if it is cotton, so buy a larger size
  
• Only buy on sale, unless you don't care about saving money or you have to have it
• You get what you pay for. Most of the materials used are not that soft.
  

Another Day

Mom being away for business, I had to take care of Boog's for a few days. The first couple of days I was sick and slept every time Calleigh slept. In fact, I think she slept longer because I've seen her wake up and look and me and go back to sleep thinking I'm still sleeping. I sweat out my cold and in a couple of days I was feeling better.

Calleigh really doesn't like being holed up in the apartment all day so I decided to take her out the first chance I got. Here is a pic of my baby asleep in the BabyBjorn. Doesn't seem very comfortable.

The second picture shows Calleigh upgrading from a 5 oz bottle to an 8 oz. A little harder for her to hold but she'll do anything to get that milk in her belly.

Calleigh-Fornia Cruisin'

Look at Calleigh! Learning to cruise already! She's only interested with things up top if it's worth looking at and in the picture it was a packet of mom's "feminine product". Hehe. She loves to grab plastic bags and hear the sound it makes as she is crumpling it up.

Girls Night

Calleigh crashed her Cousin Maci's sleepover, which the girls didn't really seem to mind. Being the first time meeting Calleigh, they were entertained by this little bug sitting around while they chat. It lead me to think that these could be potential baby sitters!


Photo by Victoria Lee

Doing Nothing Much

A premier production from Bowl of Rice Films, featuring Calleigh Lee, Film Director and Producer Joshua James Lee.

Thumbs Up Doc!

A little overdue with Calleigh's 6MTH checkup but everything looks good. Doc determined that her development is everything that is expected of a 6 month old, keep in mind she was almost 6 weeks early. So, what this meant in my ears was She's advanced!

Note: Calleigh was checking out her own gorgeous body in the mirror. Vanity setting in early.

The Doc was trying to test her ability to stand and I just told the Doc to ask Calleigh to stand by saying, "1, 2, 3.....Stand Up!". The result, the Doc's eyes mimicked those of a Tarsiers. (If you don't know what that is, I included a pic of a Tarsiers here). Doc was happy to see that Calleigh was responding to verbal instructions and so was I. It proved I wasn't making it up. Thanks Calleigh for not making me look like a fool!