Baby, baby, baby!

Apparently Esme only likes to smile for me because I can't get her to repeat it for Allen. Either that or she only likes to smile in the morning and during the day but not in the late afternoon and evening when Allen's home. Someday soon..........

Today we went to a parent-baby class for infants up to 3 months old. It's offered at the hospital where she was born and I was really glad we went. We started the class off with a photo shoot of all the little ones and amazingly they laid there for almost 10 minutes. Esme started to fuss so I had to plug her with the pacifier and then she lasted a few more minutes. I think she was still upset that I dressed her in clothes that were WAY too big for her but was in a rush to get out the door so didn't have time to change her again. Ha ha! Then there was a discussion about baby sign language and then an open session for us to talk about anything we wanted. It was nice to be out in public and not have to worry about breastfeeding, diaper changing, fussing, etc cause everyone was doing the same thing and we can all relate. The facilitator just kept going no matter what we were doing so it didn't seem disruptive. It was fun to watch Esme listen to all the new noises and sounds that the other babies made. She was definitely aware that we were somewhere different and she seemed intrigued. She constantly had her eyebrows up and eyes wide open, even when she was breastfeeding. The classes are held once a week so we'll definitely go back next week.


Ready to go to class


Esme's center stage in the bottom of the photo

All smiles :)

More exciting than our first walking adventure around Greenlake today was when Esme smiled at the sound of my voice. Of course that brought me to tears right away cause it was so special. I was walking around the house while holding her in my arms and she started to do one of her spontaneous smiles (like she does when she's dreaming, or has gas, or just randomly :) and I started talking to her and the smile got bigger and bigger as my voice got louder and higher pitched when saying her name. Since then I've got her to repeat the smiles a few more times but I still haven't caught them on camera. When I do, I'll make sure to show you all!

This past weekend her eyes starting showing specs of brown in them. Soon she'll no longer be our blue-gray eyed girl.

Off to work he goes...

Well the "vacation" is over as Allen returned to work today. It's been soooooooooo wonderful to have him home with Esme and I during this first month and to share in all her new experiences. We've really been able to bond as a family and that extra time together made all the difference. We're really going to miss him! First order or business today was to clean out Esme's room. She's graduated from newborn clothes to 0-3 months and she's even outgrowing the newborn diapers. Her cheeks and tummy have fill out and her voice continues to get louder and louder as she coos and sometimes cries. Such a big girl! So she got some tummy time in her room while I packed up all her little clothes and unloaded the bigger ones. Now she's napping in her crib (for the first time since she usually sleeps in the pack-n-play in our room) and I'm going to attempt to get all the pictures organized for her baby book. I'm sure it will be a work-in-progress for awhile :)

Hanging out in her swing

Tummy time

Home Sweet Home

We made it down to Cannon Beach, OR and back this weekend with no major mishaps! I was so nervous when we left yesterday morning that I'd forget something important or that Esme might not do so well away from home for the night but all went well. It was about a 4 hour drive and Esme just slept except for when we stopped midway to feed her. It was a little cold to go down to the beach once we got there so we just hung out at the rental house. There was no shortage of friends who got to take turns holding Esme and she had no complaints either. Amazingly her night-time routine was pretty much the same too. She's so awesome :) On the way home today we made a stop in Vancouver, WA for a short visit with some of my family. However, once we got back in the car Esme decided she didn't want to sit in the back seat by herself so Allen kept her company and they both napped. Lucky ducks! Here's some pics Allen took at Cannon Beach while I stayed in the car with Esme (cause that's where it was warmest):

Staring contests...

Apparently Esme wants to make these staring contests a nightly ritual but I had to cut last nights session short. Again, after her 3am feeding she just wants to lie in bed and stare at me but luckily this time it only lasted about an hour. I was thinking back to when I was pregnant and it's around the exact same time that she used to do flips in my belly so maybe that's why she likes to be up at that time.

Tomorrow we're going to embark on our first road trip. It'll be a short little weekend getaway but it's amazing how much stuff I've already packed and I'm not even finished! Hopefully we don't forget anything :)

One of her "comfort positions" while hanging out with daddy

The new carseat cover so we can go walking outside

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Luckily we had two special St. Paddy's Day outfits to cycle through today because it didn't take long for Esme to spit-up on the first one :) I didn't feel like cooking so we attempted to eat lunch at an Irish pub but unfortunately it was too crowded. We ended up at a seafood restaurant that had a surprisingly good Reuben sandwich and Esme just slept through it all again. Otherwise, she got a lot of NCAA basketball tournament watching in with dad today.

Last night Esme went to a work get-together with me and of course, slept the whole time again. Everyone got to hold her but she just didn't want to wake up. Then she made up for it by having a staring contest with me after her 3am feeding which lasted for about 2 hours. I couldn't sleep with her staring at me like that so we just layed in bed gazing at each other and I think she won. Everytime my eyes would drift shut she'd fuss and then we'd go at it again :) Silly girl!


Outfit #1


Outfit #2

Esme, doing what she does best, with Aunty's Nicole & Bonnie

1 Month Old

Yesterday Esme turned 1 month old! Maybe that's why she was so fussy yesterday - she doesn't want to grow up either. Ha ha! It was strange though cause she's usually so easy and yesterday she was just irritable and hard to console. She also barely napped during the day which was nice for me last night cause then she only woke up once to eat. However we can't complain too much about the day cause she still doesn't cry out for long periods at a time. She just kept spitting out her pacifier, squirming and fussing. It was worse on Allen since he was home with her more than I was. Since he goes back to work next week I've been working on getting all my appointments out of the way while I still have him around to watch Esme. Yesterday was my eye appointment and physical. I even squeezed in a massage that was actually rescheduled from when Esme was born. I had planned to get one the weekend before my due date but she was already born by then. Silly girl! Anyways, we'll keep our fingers crossed that today goes better than yesterday...

No sleep for Esme today!

Well today was interesting... Esme probably slept all of 1 hr today during the day.  No real naps! Mom was out all day with appointments, so daddy had to feed her twice.  The not sleeping is not really a good thing, as she is still awake right now and not wanting to change that much.  Can't complain too much, as she's not really cryingm but really just fussing if we aren't paying attention to her. It was pretty awesome watching her follow my face as I moved it around her head.  I can't complain too  Here are a couple of examples:

And here she is talking to us!

Well, we hope to able to sleep tonight... luckily, nothing important is happening tomorrow and we'll all try to nap while we can.  Good night!

No more potstickers :(

The party is coming to an end :( Ting left last night after a fun filled weekend of family, good food, and a little adventure! We didn't let her escape without a trip to the Theo Chocolate Factory for chocolate samples and gifts to take back to NY and then we went to the Lunchbox Laboratory for another burger experience.

Esme slept through it again which meant I was able to eat without disruption :) Ting did leave behind some yummy freezer meals for us which we'll be enjoying in the near future. And then tonight Allen's parents leave. We got a chance to make some homemade potstickers while they were here and I think we still have some of those in the freezer also. Yum!

And now for the obligatory cute baby photos:

Esme's Dr Evil impression... 

Esme sleeping with Grandpa

Esme sleeping on Grandpa

The Shih's in the House!

So everyone is in the house right now! Everyone is happy meeting Esme for the first time.  Here's proud grandma holding her:

Ting is crazy about exercise too.  Who would've known.  Just finished a run with my sister (made her run farther than she really ever does). Here's us doing Ab Ripper X, which sucks:

Here's Esme getting her first Hong Bao... nest egg for the future (Thanks Yeh Yeh and Niang Niang):

Grandma holding a sleeping Esme

Esme getting ready for a trip out!

Everyone will be staying for the next couple of days. Sis wants to run again tomorrow. Not sure what the day is going to foretell.