Deep In Thought

TV Appeal

A Star Is Born

Astrid has always been very expressive. Uwe says I should look into getting her into magazines and commercials so she can start supporting her ole mom and pop. =)

Grab a bite

Ready to hit the road

What kind of freaky mother are you?

According to this survey I'm an "Activista Mamacita." haha. Who comes up with these?

You're an agitator! Your kids have grown up on the front lines of rallies and pickets, and chances are that you boycott at least one company for its bad business practices. Your kids are learning what matters to you and how they can change what matters to them.

What kind of freaky mother are you?

Drooly Drooly

Astrid's vocal chords have been getting a workout lately. Sometimes it's consonant sounds, sometimes it's cooing, or sounds that come from the back of her throat, and other times it's just making buzzing sounds. Whenever I ask her if she's trying to tell me something, I get a big smile. All this sound making results in a lot of drool.

No More Mr. Bobblehead

Astrid is sitting up with some assistance. Uwe thinks she'll be able to sit up on her own in another month. Look how well she's holding up her head with out any support.

The Letter B is brought to you by Astrid

Fetal Position

Here's Astrid sleeping in the fetal position. I had fun playing with the contrast and brightness and couldn't choose which one I liked best so I'm posting both.

I remember when we brought Astrid home from the hospital and we always made sure she was lying on her back when sleeping. We were so afraid that she would smother herself. When she didn't cry after 3 hours for her next feeding Uwe and I would get concerned and check to see if she was still breathing. But now Astrid sleeps a solid 5-8 hours a night and her neck muscles are a lot stronger and she can even roll over now.

Our jeweler who's Chinese commented one day when she saw Astrid in her stroller (with her head turned so that she was lying on her cheek), that babies who always lie on their backs get flat faces, so you need to put them on their side so that they can get a long face. I told her that sounded very Chinese. (Koreans have a bunch of these old wives tales as well so it sounded very familiar. One that was done to me as a baby was my nanny drank the broth of seaweed soup and licked my entire face. It's supposed to ensure that the baby grows up with good skin. To this day my mother will recite the seaweed story and say to me, "See? You have good skin!" I laugh at how ridiculous it sounds but then again my brother got acne in high school and I never did. Just a coincidence?) She said her son always slept on his side as a baby and he has a long face even though her and her husband have round faces. I wasn't so convinced and told her that if she looked back far enough she'd probably find a long-faced ancestor.

So anyway I'm hoping the night off for the back of Astrid's head will give her bald spot a chance to start filling in.

Tummy Time

Losing the Baby Weight

This weekend is the first time I've been back into one of my pre-pregnancy swimsuits.It's been 3 1/2 months since I gave birth to Astrid. I weighed myself today and surprise, surprise, I'm actually 3 lbs lighter than I was before I got pregnant. I still have a ways to go though in terms of losing inches and getting toned again. It's been a whirlwind experience and I'll never be the same, but I'm happy to see that my body is starting to bounce back and lose the baby weight.

Cute Swim Instructor w/ Equally Cute Student

We went back to the pool again on Saturday and this time we just had Astrid in her swim diaper since it was really hot out plus her swimsuit was still wet.

Family Vacation

When I think of family vacations, the movie National Lampoon's Vacation comes to mind. With the mom, dad, and two kids (and who can forget Aunt Edna strapped to the roof of the car) on a road trip, traveling cross country in the family station wagon. (This comedy still makes me laugh.)

While Uwe and I may not be Clark and Ellen Griswold, (and I'd like to think that Uwe isn't racing along side a Blond in a Ferrari down the freeway while I'm asleep in the passenger's seat), from here on out our vacations are now "family vacations". Instead of a family station wagon, we travel by a family SUV which is packed to the brim with baby "stuff".

Our first family vacation involved us packing up our kid and baby stuff and heading off to Palm Springs for the weekend.

We stopped at a "family restaurant" on the drive up for lunch. Even at a "family restaurant" when you walk in with a small baby you're automatically tagged with specific instructions that say "please seat this family away from the other paying customers as to not annoy them in the event that the baby starts crying, and please seat them where there is plenty of room." So they sat us in the back of the restaurant which was fine with us. Uwe and I are getting used to no longer having premium seating, as long as we have room for the baby, car seat and/or stroller and diaper bag (in my case Bjoern diaper backpack).

Up until now I have been a proud member of the "adults only" club. But having a child has changed all of that and my membership to that exclusive club has been revoked. I'm starting to notice all the changes. Uwe claims we are treated like second class citizens at restaurants. The changes include not only which restaurants we can go to with the baby (and hopefully they will have a changing table..something I never gave any thought to before having a child) and where we are seated, but also hotels that are exclusively for "adults only" and children are not allowed. No longer are we welcome at our favorite resort in Desert Hot Springs for that same reason.

So Uwe did a search on the internet and found the Viceroy Hotel in Palm Springs.

The pool outside our room was designated "adults only". There it was again. A reminder that I am married with children and must stay where me and my kind are choraled together. The map of the hotel showed a "family pool" down another pathway. I probably let out a big groan at this point as I wasn't excited about having to spend the afternoon in and around the "family pool" where older kids would be doing canon balls into the water. But I was pleasantly surprised.
The "family pool" was very nice. It had individual cabanas on one side and a large cabana in the back with a canopy that shaded the whole back end including the deep end of the pool. This is where we spent our time at the pool. And it was quiet and relaxing for the most part.

This was Astrid's first time in a pool. The water was warm and comfortable but Astrid didn't seem to know what to do at first, as she just hung in place and didn't move her arms and legs. We thought she would take to it right away since she loves her baths and kicks and splashes in her baby tub, but I guess this felt like a new, strange environment to her.

Uwe placed Astrid on a floating mat and got her acclimated to being in the pool.

Isn't she just precious in her ladybug swimsuit and matching floppy hat?

Here is Astrid asleep in her customized lawn chair.

There was never even a question of whether we would bring Astrid with us or not. Astrid's a part of our family now and it just wouldn't be the same with out her on a family vacation.

Lap of Luxury

Away for the Weekend

This weekend we're vacationing in Palm Springs. Lots of new firsts...Astrid in her first swimsuit, swimming in the pool, lounging by the pool, etc. Future posting and pics to follow on Monday.

Family Portrait - South Park Style

Create your own South Park character

A Knuckle Sandwich

It gives a "knuckle sandwich" a whole new meaning doesn't it?

This Little Piggy Went to the Market...

Lately Astrid has been playing with her feet. She stares at them with fascination, grabs onto them when she's lying on her back, and uses them to touch objects/toys.Here Astrid is in her crib touching the hanging star from her mobile with her right foot, while grabbing onto her left foot.

Resemblance

When a baby enters the world, we're all intrigued with the baby's family resemblance. We ask the question, "Who does the baby look more like? Her mommy or daddy? Does she look like someone on her mom or dad's side of the family?"

Uwe's family sent us some reproduced photos of Uwe as a baby to compare with Astrid. Do you see the resemblance? I hadn't seen this photo before. It was fun to see Uwe as a small baby. Such a cutie. I was staring at this photo for a long time comparing his facial features as a baby to his adult face. Some things have changed but other features have stayed the same, like his eyes. They look just like they do now. It makes me wonder what features will change on Astrid's face and what features will stay the same.

Gifts from Germany

Today Astrid received some gifts from Germany (from Uwe's niece and father). I took photos of her with each toy. Toy #1: "Cosy Teddy" by Steiff. Steiff is a German brand that specializes in quality stuffed animals for children. Uwe had been wanting to get a nice Steiff teddy bear for Astrid that she can keep as a memento from her childhood. Uwe had one as a kid as well. For now we will have to put the bear away until she's old enough not to drool all over it.

Steiff Teddies
"The first teddy bear was created by Steiff as long ago as 1902. Just a short while later the international career of this amiable fellow began. He became a friend, confidant and favorite playmate. Especially in America, the Steiff bears became famous, and no lesser person than the president and bear enthusiast Teddy Roosevelt stood as godfather. To this day Steiff teddies remain world famous and valuable collectors items."
Toy #2: Another Steiff stuffed animal. This is an adorable hippopotamus with a bean bag body. It's so soft. You can see that Astrid liked holding it.

Cosy Friends
"Hello, would you like to be my friend?

It's really nice to finally meet you. I've been looking for someone to cuddle, play with and run around with for soooooooo long! I think you're the one, don't you? I'm one of the cosy friends from Steiff. We're all really snuggly creatures just like you, and we're always there when you need us - if you can't sleep, if you have to go to the doctor's, or if you're frightened. Don't worry. We're friends. And we can manage anything if we stick together!

I'm really excited about meeting you - and about all the adventures we're going to enjoy together. We certainly won't get bored. But first of all, let's have a hug!"

Toy #3: A plush pony by Sigikid. Astrid can play with this one everyday. Since she already likes to look at patterns, she can enjoy the stripes on the pony's body and ears, and the polka dot bandana around the pony's neck.

Sigikid
"Have a happy childhood."

Baby Joker

"Mom, I can't wait to tell you my joke!"

Astrid's first lol

Astrid laughed out loud for the first time today. Uwe was playing with her and she was smiling at him and then all of a sudden we heard this cute baby laughter come out of her. Uwe and I both stopped and looked at each other as if to ask, "Did you hear that?" We could hardly believe it. Our little one laughed!
Recently Uwe and I had a conversation about how Astrid will smile and kinda snort out of her nose but how she didn't actually laugh out loud. Until today! She laughed a few more times but stopped when we got out the video camera.

We're both so happy that she did it when Uwe was home so we could both see and enjoy her first laugh together.

Astrid's laughter is the sweetest sound on Earth. Don't I sound like a mom? It's not surprising that Uwe got Astrid to laugh for the first time. He's always cracking me up. (The photo above was taken at an apple wine specialty house in Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 2002).

Now I have to work on my goofy faces and other highjinx to get the baby to laugh.

Earlier this afternoon I met with my Principal to let her know that I will not be returning to teach for the new school year. One of the reasons I noted is because I don't want to miss those little moments. And now here is one of those moments which just reinforces that I made the right decision.

Help! The baby stuff is taking over.

Yes, we got an Aquarium bouncer for Astrid. Lots of moms were raving about it and Astrid seemed to like it when we sat her in one at the store we got the stroller from. The store was sold out but we did find one at Target.
She's still getting used to the front display that blows bubbles inside the faux aquarium and lights up with a red or green light. Sometimes she cries at it and other times she smiles at it, so I'm still not sure if she likes it or not.Now we have 2 vibrating/bouncy chairs, 1 manual bouncy chair, 2 swings and 1 activity gym/mat. At one point last night there were 3 bouncy chairs lined up in the family room. If you didn't know better you'd think we had triplets. It looked so ridiculous that Uwe moved the one chair to the baby's room. So now it looks like we have twins. We just have one kid and her stuff has taken over the house.