Sweet baby smell (40+5)

Xinyi has been out of the womb for 40 weeks and 5 days. She has been out of the womb the exact amount of time she was in the womb. :O.

When I wake her up in the morning, I love opening the door to her nursery and smelling the room. The room smells like her. And then I pick her up in her sleep sack, and I smell her. Sometimes, when I'm cleaning up her room while she's playing out in the living room, I'll smell her sleep sack. I think it has the sweetest baby smell. I'm a little bit addicted.

Baby girl has the sweetest, silliest smile! 

She amazes me! At 9 months, she knows her first word, "at" or cat. Every time Sophia, our cat, comes into the room, she smiles and says, "at!" But then again, she also thinks all other babies that are smaller than her are cats. At playdates, she sees younger babies and says, "at!" 

Whenever there is music playing in our home, which is often, she shakes her little groove thing! She loves dancing! She loves Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off" the most! If she's sitting when the music is playing, she still shakes her booty on the floor! Cracks me up! Baby also cruises around our couches and coffee table like a champion! 

She just figured out how to play peek-a-boo by herself! While she's on the changing table, she grabs her pants and puts them over her face. When she takes them away from her face, I say, "Peek a boo!" and she cracks up!

Xinyi loves books. Daddy and I read to her all the time and she just loves it! She can't get enough! Where's Spot? is currently her favorite book. Pop-up books are a close runner up, though!

She's typically a very happy baby. But she does get upset when she's tired or needs a mommy recharge. Or when she gets food taken away from her. Then her little mouth turns into a sad square and she lets out a very loud cry! A quick scoop and some snuggles cheers her right up though!

Look at that square mouth!

Baby loves picking up finger foods! Puffs and mum mums, zucchini, chicken, tofu, strawberries, peaches, pieces of pita or bread or tortilla, rice, really anything! She loves her food, especially little licks of popsicles from daddy! 

She's not too scared of strangers. We like that! She'll let almost anyone hold her, especially if she's chewing on a toy. And empty water bottles are one of her favorite toys. So silly :).

When she sleeps, she ends up in funny positions. I like to take pictures of her sleeping. It's one of my favorite things to do. She also loves having her head touch the corner or side of the crib when she's sleeping. I always find her head in a corner or next to the side of the crib when I check on the baby monitor. It's a silly thing, but so cute to me.

I can't believe how fast time has gone. She was just a squishy little face and now she's a tiny human, with her own wants, need and opinions! We love her so much. Our little baby is growing up! Soon she'll be walking and talking. But for now, I will enjoy her sweet intoxicating baby smell and her silly wide open smile! We love you baby girl!

Forty weeks old!

Baby doll is forty weeks old! It seems silly to be counting the weeks at this point, but then again, I love taking these pictures!

On Saturday, Xinyi spent time with Grandma Peaches and Grandpa Chuck, along with Auntie Lindsey, Uncle Dru, Gemma and Archie! Here are the babies playing with bottle caps and wooden spoons :). Thanks Peaches for hosting!

Xinyi wants to tell Archie something!

This time, Archie wasn't having the photos... Maybe it was because baby and Archie played a game of Finders Keepers with mommy's empty water bottle. First, Archie grabbed the empty water bottle, crawled a few feet, then stopped and played while Xinyi crawled to try and take the water bottle back, only for Archie to crawl a few feet farther, and so on and so forth.

But Xinyi got the water bottle back later on, and we got a few pictures of the babies!

All three of the babies seem unhappy here... hehe. But they were actually very happy!

Gemma in particular was happy that Clara was in town. Apparently, she kept saying, "Clara! Clara! Clara!" all the way on the drive to Peaches :).

Then later we spent a little time at Grammy's house.

Grammy also had some baby bananas, which we gave to the baby. She ate the banana like a little monkey!!

Then, on Saturday night, we spent time at Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh's house. Yay for cousins all day long! Here Tai Nai Nai is playing with Xinyi while Auntie Christina and Nathan play along!

Nathan and Xinyi had a blast! And mommy accidentally left the flash on... but this picture is too cute! Look at their adorable confused faces!

And a better picture :).

Sunday morning, we went to our old church, it was wonderful! Then afterwards, we headed back to Grammy's house for some apples! And for some good old fashioned birthday fun :).

Grampy put Archie in a baby stroller, and Xinyi pushed! She was so proud of herself!

Gemma wanted in on the action too!

We got all three babies on the piano! Lots of banging, but so so cute!

And again, Gemma couldn't get enough of baby.

Like, really really couldn't get enough of her! I love these two so much!!

Grammy also couldn't get enough of the two of them :D.

And Grandpa Chuck with both Archie and Xinyi!

Family picture!

It was a long but fun weekend, and when we got back, we needed some food. Off to Trader Joe's we went, and found a pumpkin patch in front! The sun was in her eyes, so she's kind of squinting. But I can't wait to take her to a real pumpkin patch!

And oh how sweet she sleeps :). Especially after a long weekend of traveling.

Last night, daddy turned Xinyi into Supergirl! She loved it!!

Xinyi is our little sweetheart. She's cruising up a storm, using all sorts of furniture and tables as support. She loves to have books read to her and loves to dance to music. She is amazing to us, just amazing :).

She also never sits still :P.

Always moving, always kicking!

Our little cutie!

The beach at dusk

On Friday, we went down to San Diego to see family. Both sides (Shane and mine) live in San Diego. It often makes for hectic trips shuttling back and forth between the different sides, but every time, it is always more than worth it!

After a grueling 4 hour drive through LA and San Diego traffic, we arrived at my parent's house, dropped the baby off, and went out to dinner. After dinner, I asked Shane if we could go to my favorite beach down the street. It was just after dusk and it was take-my-breath-away-beautiful.

Shane and I get to have dates here and there, both with and without Xinyi, but this one stood out to me for some reason. I'm still not exactly sure why, but it was special. Probably the beach made it special, for me at least. I love the beach and I love that particular beach. You can park right up against the ocean and the waves are always so beautiful. We strolled, star gazed, and just took it all in. It was wonderful.

On Sunday, we also visited our old church family at Redemption Church. It was so good to see everyone! Our old home group consisted of five families - three families with three children, one family with two children, and us, childless newlyweds. At the time, most of the kids were between the ages of 3 and 7, with a 2 year old and a newborn in the mix. Without really knowing it, we witnessed and learned a lot about parenting from these amazing couples. We watched as kids fought and were taught to reconcile. We listened to parents disciplining their children. We enjoyed hearing, "Mom, I'm hungry!" at 9pm at night from the parents of three boys. We equally enjoyed seeing the amazing play area full of dolls, unicorns, and pink pink pink in the home of the parents of three girls. One couple invited us over for dinner one night and we watched them give dinner to their two children, ages 4 and 5, I think, at the time. Two of the five families applied for and went through the Foster to Adopt program with the county. One of them is currently fostering to adopt :). All in all, it was an amazing group of people.

Even two years later (since our move to LA), we were welcomed with open arms. One family has added a new little one to their mix, and we've added Xinyi to our mix. Xinyi is 9 months old, and I haven't left her at the nursery at church yet. The first six months or so, was definitely the right call - she needed to nap and those naps happened in the baby carrier. The next two months were just me holding on. Last month, mommy and baby started going to Little Lambs together, but I hadn't left her alone yet. That was going to happen this past Sunday, but since we were in San Diego, I hadn't thought about leaving her at a new church nursery when I hadn't even left her at our church's nursery! But I did :X. The mom with the newest little one was heading towards the nursery and she gave me courage! I dropped her off and said "bye baby, I'll be back!" and walked away with my friend. I told her, "This is my first time leaving her at the nursery." She replied, "Oh good job! It's the most liberating feeling! You can sit in service with two free hands!"

It actually was really liberating! Shane and I were able to hold hands during service, and enjoy the sermon, without wrestling a squirmy, loud baby! The joy! And Xinyi did great! When I went to get her, the helpers said she had fun, didn't cry at all, and she came back to me with a big smile on her face! Yay, go Xinyi!

More pictures to come on Wednesday, but, it was a good trip. Xinyi has amazing grandparents. Truly amazing. They love her so well, and they love us well too. So do all her family. And her church family. It was a very good weekend. And, I am really glad we got to see the beach at dusk.

Nine months old!

Our sweet Xinyi! Nine months old! And we discovered a new tooth today! A second bottom tooth! Yay!

Since I posted yesterday, I'll use this space to tell some of my favorite stories from the last few months, interspersed between pictures from this morning :). 

One night, daddy and I were walking in our little downtown area when we came across a little boy, about 4 or 5, and his parents. The little boy was excited about life and kept shouting, "hi! Hi!" So I waved and said "hi" back. Then, right as we were crossing paths, the little boy shouts, "your baby is cute!" We had already passed each other and were walking in opposite directions at this point but I couldn't help myself! I laughed, turned around and said, "thank you!"

Another time, daddy and I were in a different area of town looking for churro ice cream sandwiches. I had Xinyi in the ergo when we came across about 15-20 middle school kids. One boy in particular stared at me for a few seconds and when we passed each other, he shouted, "that's a cute baby!" As we continued to walk, I heard he telling his friends, "that was a cute baby!!" 

Another time, when Xinyi was still a wee tiny thing, maybe three or four months old, daddy and I went shopping at sprouts. I went wandering about to find groceries while daddy carried Xinyi in his arms. I look back to check on the two of them when I see a woman and her teenage daughter talking to daddy. The woman is clearly infatuated with Xinyi and Shane is slightly cornered against the meat and deli area. I get closer and hear her say, "oh my God I just love babies" and she reaches forward and kisses Xinyi on the cheek! A perfect stranger! I give daddy a get-out-of-there stare and he extricates himself from the situation. I told him, never again, never let a stranger kiss our baby!!! 

Finally, Xinyi loves smiling and laughing with other babies. At the women's retreat mommy and baby went to last Saturday, there was another little baby named Sage! Xinyi and Sage babbled to each other and smiled and giggled and could not get enough of each other! I love how interactive and friendly she is! Our little social butterfly!

Happy nine months baby!

Thirty nine weeks old!

Xinyi has almost been out of the womb as long as she was in! Almost, but not yet!

Our little baby is growing up so fast! At mommy and me class, mommy made art for baby! The string is  as tall as baby!

Then, we put Xinyi in her Star Trek onesie! 

Live long and prosper, said daddy!

So happy!

On Saturday, mommy and baby went to a church women's retreat about an hour and a half away. Baby did so great! Two ergo naps and a car nap, but it still wasn't enough because this is what I found on Sunday morning!

An exhausted baby :).

Then after church, we had an impromptu hangout with mommy's college friends!

Xinyi was a hit! Thanks aunties for playing with me!

Hi Auntie Faithy!

When we got home, daddy decided baby needed some different headgear. Haha poor girl!

Xinyi is so sweet :). She has learned her first word, "at" which is cat! She loves Sophia, our kitty, and laughs when she pets her, smiles when she sees her, and constantly crawls after her! Baby crawls normally now, on hands and knees! She waves constantly to anyone who will wave back and is such a a happy baby! And she learned how to sit up by herself!! She's growing so fast!

We love her so much! She's mommy's little marsupial! She sometimes needs some time near mommy, so I put her in the ergo and she recharges... Like a little battery! Then after a little time, she's ready to play again!

Love that smile!