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Tue, Sep 30, 2003 3:29 PM
if my 20's were a period of angst and soul-searching, my 30's are a time of satisfaction and peace.

having a daughter is so grounding, so humbling, and such a tremendous sucess and source of happiness that it makes other hills and valleys seem, well, small. work becomes just, well, work, and success is defined by the number of steps my daughter took tonight, rather than any bank account or promotion.

at times i'm overcome with paranoia about my daugther and how she'll make it through this evil world to a happy place. but, more often than not, i'm just fascinated by her progress, her smile, her chubby little toes.

just when you think it can't get better....it does.

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Tue, Sep 23, 2003 12:24 AM
first of all, let's just get this out of the way:

there is nothing, and i mean, nothing on this earth as utterly fulfilling as coming home from work, seeing your daughter's face light up and then bending down, grabbing and hugging her as she runs across the room to greet you. it's like the one moment in your life where you feel wanted, and special, and everything just makes sense.

ok, so now back to current events:

this'll prolly be the last time that i'll be able to list kaya's skills in one sitting. she's picking up amazing new tricks every day, and it's just fascinating to watch her intellectual abilities catch up with her physical tricks. she understands much more of what we're saying, and can understand stuff like:

- "what sound does a cow make?"
- "hug the dog"
- "show us your smiley face"

more importantly, she just picks things up and you start to wonder where she found the idea...for example, as of 3 days ago, kaya picks her nose. that's definitely from mommy ;). she's trying to eat with a spoon, though we have a way to go on that one...she knows how to open up drawers, bottles, and most everything else...she's beginning to distinguish between remote controls and phones (before, everything went to her ear)...and she knows who people are and the roles they play in her life.

on the more foreboding side, she's discovered how to really get upset...sometimes for the most random reasons. two nights ago she caught her finger in a drawer, which wasn't that bad but led to a night of screaming and crying when she shoulda been sleeping...hmm...

anyway, i'm just babbling. what my child ultimately brings to me is a sense of the beauty of the small things, the wonders of a crack in the pavement, the allure of a balloon, and the bliss of a sprinkler on a hot day.

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Thu, Sep 18, 2003 3:04 PM
our little girl is discovering that she has her own opinions.

and that's a double-edged sword. it's certainly nice to know what she wants - she'll reach for the water bottle and go "eeeh!", she'll fake-cry if you take away a toy she wants to play with - that's the easy stuff.

but her increasing awareness and opinions can cause some adult heartache...she cries when we leave (sometimes when we just leave the room!), she can get very upset if she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it, and it's harder to do things that inflict pain on her (like get shots from the doctor, for example).

she's now regularly melting our hearts with her "momma" when we're putting her to bed, and she'll gladly tell you what sound a cow makes ("mmmmmmm"). she's a fast, solid walker with spiffy new shoes and a fearless attitude, which can result in some fearsome trips. she's suddenly obsessed with rocking chairs, light switches, buttons of any sort (especially elevators), and water in any form.

looking back now, babies are so small and helpless. she's a little girl now, our little girl...

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Sun, Sep 7, 2003 12:36 AM
we've had alot of time together recently, my girl and me.

cho's been busy with the new store (which opened on tuesday, btw, and it looks great), so i've had the pleasure of my daughter's company for most of the last two weeks. i'm not gonna even try to downplay it - these were some of the best times of my life.

we've done all sorts of fun things...here's just a few:

- k's been really working on her walking, going from a very wobbly stumble to full-on fast walking in just a couple of weeks. so we went to Aidan's Place, a huge outdoor park nearby, and rode the slides, chased each other around the swings, and generally explored the world.

- speaking of chasing, one of k's favorite games is chasing (or being chased by) you around and around the wall between our kitchen and our family room. she cracks up as she runs in circles, and thinks that catching you is just about the funniest thing on earth.

- we went to DJ's (cho's dad's restaurant) today and hung with the 'pinos. she ate pancit, tofu, mango juice, rice and generally charmed the pants off of everyone.

- i long for non-stereotypical things to say about my kid, but i can't help but tell you that there's nothing, and i mean nothing, that beats your child breaking into a smile when you come home and come running across the room to hug you. it brings tears to my eyes to even think about those moments.

speaking of tears, i've stumbled into yet another one of those emotional weeks, this one set off by photos. i found a photo of kaya from our trip back to the Adirondacks last year, a simple b&w photo of kaya and me looking at each other as i'm bent over next to her stroller. she was only 4 months old, but the moment was of us looking at each other, and something inside of me just melts when i see it. so i've made a point of finding every photo of kaya and cho or myself, and just staring at it, addicted to the love captured within.

since i'm totally rambling tonight, lemme continue - here's some recent highlights:

- pointing: she's got it nailed. as in, points to an object which could be 2 inches or 2 light years (as in a star or the moon) and says "eeeeh!", which i translate to mean "grab it for me and let's check out, shall we?"

- shoes! our little baby now needs shoes, and she's quickly learned that putting shoes on means going out, a preferred activity. thus, she will often grab (one of) her shoes, bring them over to you, give them to you, and sit on your lap so you can conveniently put them on and then, well, go out.

- sounds: while we're still flirting with real words, she's become quite the monkey when it comes to sounds...a refreshing "aaaah!" or a dog's pant are easy mimics for her, and you'll hear infrequent raspberries from the carseat while you're driving.

- locomotion: current favorite toy, by a large margin, is her little scooting bike, which allows her to sit on it, push the music button on the front, and then cruise around the house. she's also keen on anything that rocks, bounces, blinks, makes loud noises, or tickles her incessantly (that's me).

basically, she rocks.

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