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.