Amelia's First Halloween

She may be too young for trick or treating, but we couldn't let her first Halloween pass without dressing her in something insanely cute. Her small size made it hard to find the right costume that would fit without having to spend an arm and a leg. Luckily we found this little cow number hiding on the sale rack at Gap. We have to take advantage of the times where she will wear anything we put on her. Before I know it, Amelia will probably be demanding that she has to have the latest pop culture icon costume. And yes, when that time comes, I will tell her that it's too expensive and that I will make it myself out of cardboard for her, consequently embarassing her. I can't wait.

A visit from Grandma Kawaguchi & Great Grandma Hing

This past weekend, Grandma Kawaguchi came down from San Francisco to visit and brought Great Grandma Hing a.k.a. Paw Paw (Grandma in Chinese) with her. Even though it was just for two days, they made good use of their time giving little Amelia lots of hugs and kisses. We all got together for dinner, and Amelia got the treat of having both grandmas there to spoil her. Of course having two great-grandmas there made it even better.

Unfortunately, their flight home got cancelled. Or should I say fortunately, because mom took that as an opportunity to spend just a little more time with Amelia. In this case, it was dancing with her at McDonald's. Play the movie enjoy.

Amelia's First Airplane Ride

Being that we never took Amelia on an airplane before, you would think that we would want to start easy and take a short trip, perhaps a one hour flight to San Francisco. Nah, why make it easy? Instead we opted for the 5 1/2 hour trip to Honolulu for Jeff and Marion's wedding. Funny how 5 1/2 hours can seem like days when you are counting the minutes before she starts crying. But we were pleasantlysurprised. No dirty looks from other passengers. She was a little fussy on the trip there, but coming back she was an angel. It was well worth the trip, because it was a beautiful wedding and we wouldn't have missed it for the world.

The cutest giggler

It's nice to know that when we have a bad day at work, this little princess will be waiting at home to cheer us up. Click on the movie and I dare you to not smile.

"Handy" with her bottle

Being the most advanced baby in the world that she is, I thought I'd videotape Amelia holding her own bottle. Quite an event in my book, but then again, she could fart and I would think it's the greatest thing in the world.

Amelia says "Mama"...kind of

So alot has happened since the last blog. Amelia is now 5 months old. I went away on a business trip for a week and when I came back I discovered that Amelia has a new way of crying. I'll let you be the judge, but I can swear she is calling for mommy. Click on the movie and see for yourself.

The Cousin Connection

We knew that Amelia had some similarities to Cousin Christopher, but this is uncanny. It must be in the Kawaguchi genes or something.

Take a look how Amelia sleeps:



And how Christopher slept:


Amelia

Christopher

Kinda crazy, huh?

First day of daycare!

Thursday was Amelia's first day of daycare. We started with a half day to see how she would do. Since I was the one dropping her off, I wasn't sure how I was gonna react when I left her there. But once I brought her in, the staff was very attentive and Amelia seemed to like them too. That made it alot easier for me. I knew she was in good hands. We watched as they prepared her very own new crib complete with a personalized little pink bear. When Nicole picked her up, the staff said that Amelia was a very quiet baby. Ha, our girl sure knows how to make good first impressions. The next day was a full day for her and well, they didn't exactly retract their statement about her, but I'm sure they realized that this little girl requires a little extra attention. But in all, Nicole and I think she will be well cared for and that she will be happy here. Unlike other places we visited where it seemed like it was just a job for the staff, this place, you really get a feeling that they put alot of love and caring into the children. And that's all we can ask.

Lake Tahoe

We just got back from taking a long road trip with the Amelia to Lake Tahoe for Grandma Kondo's family reunion. Turns out Amelia is the first one to start the 5th generation born here. Stay tuned for more pictures. Here's one with Grandpa enjoying the sun on the Tahoe Beach.

Amelia & Mr. Lion

As Amelia continues to develop her personality, we start to notice things that happen by chance, and things that can happen consistently. We have found that of all her toys, rattles and relatives, the one thing that always puts a smile on her face is smile of her little lion friend. She could be having a really fussy day, but once we put her in front of this lion, she's all smiles and continues to have a conversation with it, cooing and giggling. Sad to say Mr. Lion is more successful at getting her to stop crying than daddy is. But I think mommy and Mr. Lion are tied for first place.

Life Changes

It's amazing how fast your life changes in an instant when you have a baby. We been so focused on little Amelia, that we forget to take a step back and look at ourselves. Yes, we're parents now, but more important, we're a family. Sounds Cheesy, but I found it's way too easy to get into a zone and forget to stop and really enjoy what you're doing. Those veteran parents must know something if they're all saying 'Enjoy this time while you can, because it'll all go by so fast" I believe it, it seems like only yesterday I was sitting at home, watching cartoons and playing with action figures. Oh wait, that was yesterday.

Genius in the works.

Amelia is at the point where mental stimulation is important, as well as physical development. To ensure she maintains her daddy proclaimed "most advanced baby in the world" title, we make sure she gets her daily dose of looking at colorful objects, listening to us talk, and tummy time, which helps strengthen her neck muscles. One of our friends has lent us a Baby Einstein DVD, which we thought she might be too young for. But we gave it a shot. We turned it on, sat her in front of it and sure enough, the little baby genius did not disappoint Daddy. She kept her eyes on the tv for the entire time. mark this up for a another thing that will keep her occupied when we need it.

Rub a Dub Dub Amelia in a Tub

Everyone loves the smell of little babies, but we've found that cute smell has started to be masked by the scent of old formula and diapers. Luckily, Amelia seems to enjoy the relaxation of a warm bath. She cries as soon as we take her out of the bath, but we found that this can be quickly resolved by blowing a warm air dryer across her as we dry her with a towel. Yup, our little Diva loves the Spa treatment. What's next? An avocado mask?

A Hairy Situation

So Amelia's hair has decided that Newton's law does not exist. Over the past couple weeks, her hair has gone from the clean "Julius Caesar" look to the "Kramer from Seinfeld" look. I guess it adds to her cute personality.

The princess takes her throne

I realize the more Amelia develops, the more fun it is, because I can try all the gadgets, toys and contraptions we have for her. In any case, her neck muscles are getting stronger where she can hold her head up for longer periods of time and she has definitely started to use her eyes much more. If we're lucky, sometimes she's perfectly happy to just sit and watch as mommy and daddy get things done around the house. Exciting things like laundry and cooking. Visual stimulation has now become incorporated into our daily routines of feeding her changing her and holding her. I can't wait till the daily routine includes playing video games with daddy.

Ouchie!

At her most recent visit to her doctor, Amelia was unlucky enough to receive four shots in the thigh. I don't know who it hurt more, her, or mommy and daddy b/c they had to watch as she gave a look that said "How could you let them do this to me?!"

Sleep and more sleep.

We've been told that we don't know how lucky we are when it comes to Amelia's sleeping habits though the night. We usually put her to bed around midnight , and she will sleep straight through until about 7:00 the next morning. This started soon after we decided to move her into the nursery, graduating from the bassinett in our bedroom. I've come to the conclusion that it was probably my snoring that was waking her up throughout the night. In any case, little Amelia loves her sleep. I've gotten so used to having Amelia wake up around the same time every morning that I've stopped using my alarm clock. This week however, Amelia proved that sometimes she would rather just sleep in a little, as Nicole and I woke up and realized it was already 9am and we had yet to hear that little cry coming from the baby monitor next to our beds. Something tells me that this "predisposition" to sleeping is gonna backfire on us as she gets older and we need to wake her up for school.

The First 8 weeks

The fact that this blog is starting after Amelia is already 8 weeks old should be an indication about how much free time I have or should I say, don't have, anymore. For the past two months, Nicole and I have experienced everything from joy, to stress, to pride and frustration. Nothing could have prepared us for the range of emotions that we would be feeling over the weeks since her arrival. Geez, I don't even want to think about when she becomes a teenager. But so far, it's all worth it because each day, caring for Amelia get a little easier. And each day we find a new reason why we love her so much.

Welcome!

Pretty soon, little Amelia won't be so little anymore, so to capture all the special moments, we've set up this blog so everyone can check in to see her progress as she blossoms into the beautiful little lady she is destined to become.