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This week I feel like Zoey's all of a sudden grown so much. She has become much better at breastfeeding now it doesn't take her forever to nurse, and she's finding other things more interesting than food (which also means she gets bored pretty fast..time to think about buying toys for her, maybe?!) She recently noticed the existence of the duck humidifier in her room, and can stare and talk to it for minutes. Speaking of talking, she has progressed from crying to yelling nowadays when she's mad or wants something. It's not tantrum-like, though (I don't think she's old enough to throw tantrums yet?) It's not screaming, either (whew!) However, it can get loud. I was embarrassed when she did that in a store today, and had to vacate ourselves immediately. Oh well, something to get used to and um, look forward to as she gets older ;)

Speaking of her getting older, I still can't believe I had to put on a 6-month PJ for her today! Her 3-month PJs are too short now.



So far only Gary can make her laugh out loud like this. She loves it when he tries to teach her "da-da." It cracks her up.


She loves to smile for the camera, too.


And one day she slept from 11pm to 1pm the next day. Don't you just wish you could sleep like a baby? I do! :)

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Last Friday I made some Asian hotdog bread before Gary came home from work. It was my second attempt since I didn't know how to awaken the yeast the first time (yeah...VERY amateur.) I didn't knead the dough very well (not enough flour on the surface) so it was still super sticky after the first rise. Nonetheless, these little guys turned out quite okay.

I chose Challah for the bread part because of its eggy flavor. Gary had two right away and that made me happy more than anything else. :)

Saturday evening after we dropped Z off at grandparents, Connie, Kyun, and us went to see Dreamgirls at the Paramount theatre. We grabbed a quick dinner at M.O.D pizza on 6th & University in downtown Seattle. We each had our own - you get to pick however many toppings you want for just $5.88 a pizza!

We were satisfied.


Dreamgirls was amazing. So much fun to watch probably because I know most of the songs already. The whole time I couldn't help but comparing every actor/actress to those in the movie. I still can't decide which one I like more..but the broadway people were just amazing. Hei ren know how to sing!



Zoey is almost 3.5 months old now! She's growing faster than I want her to (literally and cognitively.) I almost cried at two of her recent breakthrough moments - one is when she finally discovered how to lift her head up during daily tummy time; the other is when she laughed out loud, with her biggest grin ever.


Wearing the cute summer dress Connie gu gu made (though you can see that it's a little tight around her belly already :P)

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I am very fortunate to be able to take school off for a few quarters because of Z. It enables me to discover many things that I'm interested in, though at the same time, I can barely start one thing without having to attend to Z. I can have a strong urge to make a sundress for her one afternoon, but won't even finish measuring and cutting the fabrics by the same night. It doesn't make me want to complain, after all I got this long break because of her :) It gives me opportunity to think about the old hobbies I used to enjoy doing, and find out new ones. A couple things on my list: sewing, cooking, baking, crafts, writing/journaling, yoga, and morning devotion. I know, half of my list is very gender stereotypical, but to me, it's fairly new and surprisingly enjoyable.

I've always loved sewing. I loved playing with fabrics when I was a little girl. I made all sorts of stuff...but stuffed animals are the only thing I remember now. (I'll never forget the days in the fabric store with my dad - how excited I was, and how he patiently looked around with me and graciously offered his opinion on the fabrics I liked.) Now that I'm at home with our babygirl and supposed to have "more time," Gary encouraged me to buy a sewing machine. It's one of the fanciest machines I have, and also one of the easiest to operate.


These are the two main things I've tried sewing. One is a sack-like summer top, and one is a tote bag, good for grocery shopping. They turn out alright, though "suei bien" is I...I really should care more about whether my seam is straight enough.

Another thing I want to talk about is cooking. It is one of those things that I never thought about or had to do until I moved to America. Also, until I got married. Learning how certain meat and vegetable combinations create flavors that I'm so familiar with is a lot of fun. And it's encouraging when people appreciate my effort and are willing to be guinea pigs. However, cooking for another person/a family is sort of a struggle for me. Guessing which dishes my husband is in the mood for is especially difficult when my recipe collection (and skills) is quite limited. Gary and I are both laid-back people about eating/food. Maybe too laid-back. We don't really have a sit-down-it's-time-for-dinner type of routine; we have cereal for dinner when we feel like it. Or chips. I've realized it's kind of a bad thing...and want to start a daily family time at the dining table in our home. It's good motivation for me to stop being a bum on the couch and get busy in the kitchen, too :)

Oh, and some recent updates: We are moving into Gary's childhood home in Northgate area at the end of this June. Home renovation is what we discuss and think about these days...we've been looking for materials and colors we want for kitchen cabinets, countertops, and flooring; paint colors for the living room, kitchen, and the bedrooms. Mmm, there are actually a lot more work than what I just mentioned, but I shouldn't bore the few of you who read my blog by listing it all. :) It will be a pretty stressful, major renovation, but we are excited!


We visited IKEA last Thursday to look at some kitchen layouts for some ideas. Gary was hard at work, I was being playful (he got mad by the way; but I was really paying attention at the same time!)

**
Thanks to Connie's reminder - I totally forgot to mention the useful 3D model Gary made of our future home! I somehow found it online but had no idea how to work the program and get inside of the house. So I can only offer this picture (and I had to look up how to take a screenshot on Mac. How embarrassing)

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Recently I've been realizing more and more how God has been really, truly gracious to me.

Last night I was gchatting with a girlfriend who also recently had her first baby while Z was dozing off in the middle of feeding. It was my first time exchanging thoughts, emotions, my daily routines and all the baby talk with another new mom, and it made me see how God has made so many things particularly easy for me from pregnancy to labor to life with a newborn. I had a really healthy pregnancy, a smooth-than-ever labor according to my ob and nurses, and a quick recovery afterwards with a lot of help from my wonderful family. Z will be 3 months old in two weeks, and she's been sleeping through the night in her crib, sometimes up to 8 hours. (Though that leads to another problem which is a freezer full of extra beast milk. I never come around to use it...and now we're running out of space in the freezer, I need to find other ways to put it to good use.) I've also been trying to take Z out more during the day, and she's very well-behaved 99% of the time, making things easy for her momma. Sigh, what more can I ask for, really? :) :) I can't praise and thank God more.

In my really-pretty-smooth motherhood so far, however, breast feeding might be the most challenging task among everything else. Because it's never-ending. Because you can't be away from the baby for too long. Because you are the one with what the baby needs at 3 in the morning. Because it can hurt (pretty bad) sometimes. Because you most likely will get mastitis. Although, despite all the pain, complaints, and the idea of giving up, this is one of the few things that I really, really want to commit to in my life. I am fortunate to have a choice about breast feeding and be able to have enough supply for Z. It takes a lot of internal reasoning and conscious effort sometimes - I almost have to be stubborn about it to keep going. Of course, Z keeps me motivated too - by her poopy diapers (those are the most rewarding!)

Two Sweet Dreams

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Before Christmas, Kyun and Connie took us out to a nice Christmas/Pre-baby dinner at Canlis. It was probably the nicest restaurant I've ever been in my life, also, the most extraordinary dining experience I've ever had. (They pulled out my chair for me after I came back from the restroom...)

Connie and Kyun looking good with stunning view in the back.

My first time trying foie gras! mmMMMmm.

Kyun and Connie left for Bahamas cruise for Christmas, so Ko stayed with us for a week.

Koko just turned 12 this year. He loves Chinese food...and you talk to him in Chinese mostly. He melts my heart by standing by the bedroom door every night watching me to get ready for bed. He won't go to sleep unless Gary and I are both lying in bed. He peed our bathroom floor twice...and he slouches and bends his head because he knows he did something wrong. (and I think he feels bad seeing Gary squatting on the ground scrubbing the pee stain with tons of paper towel.)


I finally started sewing a couple days ago. Since I'm only a beginner, I chose to start with felt, a thicker, stiffer fabric that I thought should be easier to manage compare to normal medium weight cotton. (and it looks more acceptable if I leave the stitches on the outside with felt, too.) I used interfacing for the front, bottom and the back, in between the oak and brown felt. I like the feeling of sewing by hand but it was tough to keep everything lined up well and professional. (That is a cosmetic bag in the picture if you can't tell ;)


This picture is taken on the day after Christmas. I'm proud to say I've gained 30 lbs over the past 37 weeks, but also can't wait to shed them off soon (hopefully :) We spent roughly two weekends to clean and set up the baby room. Now the guest room is taken over by Zoey's crib, changing table, and all sorts of other baby stuff. It's supposed to make her coming more of a reality but everything seems to get more surreal to me as this pregnancy is coming to an end. I think that's a sign for her to hurry up and come out already, so I can post a new family picture, family of 3. :)

(4)

Can't believe it's December already! Next week is the last lecture week of this quarter. Woohoo! I'm really really pumped for Christmas this year (to my own surprise) though I'm also constantly reminded by my to-do-list that I have so much school work to take care of before the most wonderful time of the year comes around.

Fall has been a really good quarter this year. Classes and teachers are interesting, and we have awesome lecture videos that I can watch at home if I miss a lecture or two (or every one of them!) It's true that school can get very stressful and annoying sometimes, but I think I'll most definitely miss it in the coming year.

Trying to stay awake in class this afternoon, I made a Lin family time chart for the following 2-3 years (it's mostly my plan for school and maybe baby #2. OH!) It's just for fun...BUT, notice those 20s in circles. They are my age, and I seriously find it shocking I'd be 24 someday, and it's going to come sooner than I want it to be (GASP!)


Okay, some real updates of our Novemer...

In order to prep for Seattle's rain, Gary and I both got some new gear this fall:

I love these rain boots. They make my life so much easier walking around campus when it's pouring outside. No more wet feet from stepping in puddles :)


Gary got a green jacket from Helly Hansen. His new rain coat in the last 5-6 years. He was so excited trying it on and wearing it all night at home on the day we bought it.

One of our favorite desserts this season is probably the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting from Trophy, until we baked it ourselves (hehe):

One Saturday morning we brought all the ingredients over to Connie's and ta-da! It was surprisingly delicious. The frosting was straight up cream cheese, butter, and sugar.

Lastly, a quick picture update of Zoey from week 32:

There's less and less room in my stomach now. Though that doesn't affect my appetite at all (hence the round face ;)



Thanksgiving weekend pictures are coming soon :)