She did it!

Friday, June 08, 2007

She's been rocking back and forth that it was only a matter of time. This morning she got into a sitting position from her belly. Then at Vida's she crawled for the first time!!! We brought her home today and she crawled for us too. I got the camera out and have a little bit of footage of her triumphant crawl. When babies accomplish something big they go through night wakings, so no wonder she's been waking at night. She was getting ready for her first crawl. I can't wait for this weekend to see more of it before we jet off on our vacation. I'm so happy that I didn't miss it.

I'll download the video this weekend.

I finally did it...

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

I almost forgot to share that I got Lasik two weeks ago. Yeah. It is incredible to wake up and not have to search for my glasses. I still find myself getting ready for bed and routinely getting my contact stuff out. The first week after Lasik it was a little strange to get used to. My eyes were so dry it created a haze or film over my eyes. It was hard to tell if it was my dry eyes or if the operation wasn't as successful as I had hoped (and payed for). But now, everything looks so good. I finally got over my anxiety of not wearing makeup to work. When you have no choice, you aren't left with much to worry about.

I have my check up next week, so let's hope that all turns out well. Cause after that Ed and I are off to the Maldives! Woohoo!!!! Let the countdown begin. We have exactly one week to go before take off.

Family Ties

I've been wanting to scan in some pictures of Ed when he was a baby, but have been too busy. Well, I finally scanned in one to compare. I'm not sure how old he is in this picture. I'm guessing that he may be four or five months old.

Ed around 5 months old


Isabella at 5 months old

Those that know Ed's parents, immediately see the resemblance to Ed's dad, Leo. But I see a striking resemblance to Ed's mom, Eva. Isabella has Leo's head shape, but the smile indentations around the nose and cheeks looks so much like Eva's. See for yourself.

Striking, isn't it? People are nice to say that she looks like me, but let's face it. There is not an ounce of me in her features. Though, she may have my Korean hair. At first it starts off a little chick-like (baby chicken, that is), but it turns out well after the first two years. Better my hair than Ed's...

If I were a cute baby, I would have scanned some pictures in, but as my family can attest...I was not. So I will spare myself the embarrassment.

Food Poisoning Sucks

Okay, I just need a little sympathy. I was sick as a dog on Sunday night after eating some Pick Up Stix's House Special Beef and Kung Pao Shrimp, and a single (and not even a full glass) of red wine. I have been taking antibiotics for an sinus infection, which combined with the wine may have done it, but not to this extent. I've had food poisoning a few times before of all grades. And this one was almost as high as the time I ate bad, I mean really bad oysters in D.C. There were times when I thought I slept an hour stretch, but then ran to the bathroom only to find that it was 7 minutes later since my last visit. Okay, enough of the graphic details. Food poisoning sucks! On the positive side, since Ed's been out of town Isabella's been waking up every hour at night. Well, she decided to give mommy break on this night. She didn't wake up once! Go figure. But alas, it didn't last long. She woke twice last night.

Catching Up

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

It's been way too long, I know. I've been terrible at keeping my blog up. I'm so, so tired today. Ed left for Milan yesterday. He's spending the weekend in Bologna and then flying to Paris on Monday. He doesn't come back until next Thursday. Yikes. Isabella has been great. She's grown so much since I've returned back at work. Last night, however, she decided to wake up at 9:50pm, 12:45am, 2:40am, and 4:10am. She's not sick, but I think she may be teething. At least I hope so. Every month that she gets "fussy" --my sister, Merah, sees her fussy as a mild whine...which it really is-- I always attribute it to teething, but when are the teeth going to finally come in???

Isabella doesn't have her next doctor's appointment until June 11 so I don't know how much she weighs. Here are some milestone updates on Isabella today:

• She can sit up by herself. She can't get up to a sitting position from lying completely flat yet.
• She just started to get on her knees from laying on her stomach and rocks back and forth a little.
• She does circles on her tummy and scoots backwards.
  
• She eats pureed veggies and fruits, loves those Puff crackers, eats pureed meats, and even has the occasional peeled grape. Vida says she looks like a baby bird when she eats.
  
• She babbles "dada...," "baba...,' and now "mama..."
• She sings when she's happy.
• When you sing "When you're happy and you know it clap your hands" she sometimes will clap her hands at the right spot in the song.
• She lights up when you sing "Old McDonald."
• She likes toys where she can grab, hit, clap, or bang. Toys that make noise when you hit, bang, or clap are her favorites.

There's so much to catch up on that it'll be easier to tell through a photo story starting with the most recent.

May 29, 2007
Yesterday, I came home earlier than normal so we got
to play a little longer. She was so cute I had to take pictures.

The first picture of her in my sunglasses where classic and natural,
but of course...where the heck is the camera when you need it?

Here are a few of her clapping to her favorite song.

May 28, 2007 - Memorial Day
On Memorial Day, we took Isabella to the beach and
sat under an umbrella and played in the sand.

I peeled a grape and let Isabella suck on the exposed end while I held on to the grape. She loved it and was taking big chunks off of it.

Ed tried to feed her a whole grape. What the heck! So glad that I caught him.

May 26, 2007
Ed and Isabella horsing around.


Check out Isabella's eyelashes. I'm so envious.



May 21, 2007
It was cold last week so we had to bundle up in warm clothes
before heading off to work and "school."



May 19, 2007
My high school friend, whom I haven't seen since last year
even though she lives in Carlsbad, came over to meet Isabella.
They bonded instantly.



May 17, 2007
Ed's uncle, Wadeed, flew to California from New Jersey for a spur of the
moment visit. We hope he and Ed's aunt Anna will make the move soon.
[the pics came out a little blurry, sorry Wadeed...see,
now you have to come out again so we can take it over.]



May 13, 2007 - Mother's Day weekend
Ed surprised me with flowers and a really cool digital picture frame for work. I can't wait to use it. The quality is amazing! It inspired me to take more pictures.


It's been a while since we've taken advantage of the beach lifestyle,
June gloom came a little early, but we did manage to
get out on a good day and take some nice pictures.



May 12, 2007
This was not a special day or anything, but just the hallmark of a mommy
who was too hungry to wait. Isabella didn't want to eat her food so I
set down her bowl at the edge of the tray. I started scarfing my food down
and look up to find the mess that she made. I learned my lesson.

May 5, 2007 - Grandma's Birthday
Cinco de Mayo to some, but to the Chung'ers it's our mommies birthday.
My mom and dad retired their insurance business last year. But my poor
mom hasn't gotten a break since. She's been helping out her sister's
jewelry store everyday since before Christmas. She's 69 years old; she deserves a break.
[Sorry for outing your age, mom].

Up Next:
Isabella has her doctor's appointment in a few weeks. Then Ed's parents are flying out from Connecticut to babysit while Ed and I are in the Maldives for nine days.

Interesting facts about the Maldives:

• It is southwest of Sri Lanka, on the equator
• There are 1,190 coral islands; only 202 of which are inhabited; and 87 are exclusive resort islands
• The language of the Maldivians is Dhivehi and embrace Islam

Maldives Picture Gallery:

And that would conclude today's entry.

Everybody's Sick

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Aside from the trip to Napa, we've all been couped up in the house down with the cold that won't go away. Isabella had it first, then gave it to Ed, and then gave it to me. Ed and Isabella got better, but then I (or someone from her daycare) got Isabella sick again. And now, the fog has finally lifted from my head. I am finally feeling better. Isabella, however, has only gotten progressively worse.

I took her to the doctor's last week and, of course, the doctor says it's just a cold. She had a runny nose for weeks, a new cough that just begun, and a persisting fever that wouldn't go away. She started to feel better by Tuesday. But by Thursday her fever came back again. We monitored her daily, taking her temperature at least 20 times a day. It fluctuated throughout the day from 99.0-101.3. When it seems like its getting better it gets worse. So I finally took her to the doctor's this morning and it's confirmed...she's got a cold and an ear infection. I don't remember getting them when I was young and Ed doesn't remember if he'd gotten them either so we're hoping it's just an isolated case. They tend to be hereditary. Some kids that get them may get them all the time and others never have even one.

Despite all the illness around the house, Isabella has still had moments of lucidity and happiness. She's such a happy baby in general. We have truly been blessed with an easy going baby. Here are some pics that we took in the last few weeks.

I know Ed's got a crazy face in this picture, but look at how Isabella learned to grab on.

Here are some recent shots of Isabella.


The poor thing has liquid coming out of all areas: eyes, nose, and mouth. See the little tear running down her cheek?

Merah and Jack came over last weekend for Easter. We had an Easter egg decorating contest.


I don't mean to brag, but I won first place...that's right people. Look out Martha Stewart. Two of Jack's eggs were tied for second and Merah came in third. Okay, so there were only three of us that entered the contest....and it was judged by us, plus Ed.


Jack being Jack.