No park = cranky baby

Cranky day today, not sure what's up. No new teeth, no fever, no cough...Upset stomach? Possibly because it was pouring rain in the morning and so we didn't get to go to the park. The park has been a daily part of our routine. She missed her evening nap but then still played so nicely at church with her buddy Noah, so that was good. She fell asleep in the bike seat on the way home and so I just plopped her in the crib and its only 9:15. Yay for mommy time. Always lots to do.

Longshan Temple

A few pics of us at Longshan temple with the Hickeys and Chris. (Look at their blogs for more artsy ones; these are just Gemma specific) She is super into animals lately; her head is stuck through the bars looking at the fish. It was a busy day at the temple and she smelled like incense when we got home.

She isn't sick yet. Cross your fingers!

Oh, and we missed our dr. appointment again. We were already to go and then I realized I didn't have her health insurance card (like Sk Health Card - you need it to get anything done). So I searched high and low, but I knew I had it yesterday at that dr.s so I thought well, we'll trek out there and see if its there, but when I got to the MRT I remembered to check the clinics hours and sure enough, it was closed. So we went to the park instead. I know that more and more people are choosing against vaccinations now; maybe this is a sign. Yay for Andy, he called the drs office and yes they have it so tomorrow I will go pick it up and then next wed. Chris can take Gemma for the shot. Fourth times a charm.

Gemma Heart Chocolate

This is all we have for Easter photos, oops! It was a busy holiday as Daddy got ready to preach and as we both got ready for Tom's visit. I'm sort of worrying that Gemma (who am I kidding; all of us) is eating too much junk food and so the Easter Bunny just brought a kinder egg and one other treat for everyone. With the kinder egg one bite was enough; Gemma gobbled it up faster than Bugs eats carrots. And she is so smart, she recognizes the wrapper and so when Chris opened his today she saw it and darted over to him. I put all the rest of the treats away today because she sees them and wants them. I feel like we've had junkfood everyday for the last few weeks, and so it is time to cut back. (ha; I'm munching on nerds as I post this...this will be harder than I thought...)

What else is new? I wish I could remember stories, mostly I have just blurbs.

-Went to the dr. today; vaccination time. Actually, it was a few weeks ago but she had a cold so I waited and now I have a old so I want to go quickly before she gets it too and we have to wait again. We're on a bit of a time crunch because we need her to finish a series before we go home for summer. It was a bit of a saga, actually. We started buy going to the hospital across the street, but after waiting to register they said they don't do that there. So we went to the park instead. In the afternoon we tried her regular pediatrician with the irregular English (Did I tell you about the time he measured the 'circumstance' of her head?) and after waiting there for 25 minutes he said that if she got the measles one today she can't get the Japanese Enciphilitis one (she was supposed to go in January, too, but we missed that one). And since the measles one is more important he said to get that one. Except they didn't have any there that day. Doh! So then was like, uh, can you tell where to go? And so he gave me directions to the hospital in Yonghe, close to his office. But they are only open for vaccinations Wednesday afternoon. So hopefully third time's a charm tomorrow afternoon.
-She blew bubbles in the bath today. So cute :) She was also trying to catch the soap bubbles.
-Loving animals lately. She always points and laughs at dogs and cats we see on the street, and chases the birds at the park. She also loves the fish; there are some big koi ponds at a park near our house with hundreds of fish and we fed them today. Very cool.
-Teeth like crazy. Those four molars are all just through and I can already see the next ones coming up (I better write it down in the baby book)

More pictures tomorrow. We did some touring with Tom, and some other park pics.

The One Word Wonder

We were looking at a picture book yesterday and I right after I said 'puppy' she echoed perfectly, 'Puppy!'. It was so clear and immediate Chris spun around and I froze. Of course when we tried to get her to say it again she wouldn't say anything. It's like the time she said cupcake around her first birthday. Audrey and I were decorating cupcakes , not paying much attention to her, and she just walked past the table and said as clear as day, 'cupcake'. And she's never said it again. She is much more cooperative at completeing verbal requests such as:
Give me five
Give mommy a hug/kiss
Give this to daddy/mommy/Auntie, etc...
Where's your bellybutton/eyes/nose/mouth
Spin around (thats new as of yesterday)

She was very helpful this week, helping me make the cake and then by napping while I was making meatballs.

All four molars have come up in the last 2 weeks, it's a sea of white inside her mouth. She's woken up a few times crying in the night, I think that may have been why. She went right back to sleep after some Tylenol.

I haven't put too much thought into Easter for her... I guess I better find some eggs and hide them, dig the baskets out of the closet.

I don't care what my teachers say...

I'm gonna be a supermodel!

Chris and I decided that it was time for Gemma to start contributing to the family economy, so we put her to work..Ok just kidding, it wasn't really like that at all. We sent in a picture like 4 months ago and they finally called us, totally last minute; they called Friday afternoon to see if she could work Saturday morning. It was a nice short gig, three costumes for a Halloween catalogue. It took one hour start to finish, and was pretty fun. Although she didn't crack a smile the whole time. Doh! Of course, she smiled the whole rest of the day.

Another mom was there but her daughter was older, and she said that these pictures aren't even for this years Halloween, but for 2009 or 10. They take the pictures before they send the items for manufacturing, so when they are mass produced Gemma's picture could be the one on the front of the package. Maybe. Anyway, enjoy :)

How to get Mommy and Daddy's attention

1) Pick u a book and carry it over to me. I'm a sucker for reading my girl a story, I think reading is so important.

2) Grab the remote control. We're pretty strict about not playing with the remote control, so if we are not giving her enough attention or if we are careless enough to leave it at her level she grabs it and looks around triumphantly, waiting for us to come and get it form her. Well, today Chris was sitting in his office and I was out. It got quiet out in the living room so he looked out, and right in his line of vision was Gemma, sitting on the couch, waving the remote above her head laughing at him. Firstly, how did she get on the couch? And so funny that she knows how to get us. We're so well trained, aren't we?

Spicy!

We were at Subway yesterday for dinner, and Gemma was sitting on my lap as I was eating my sub. All of a sudden my firneds sitting across from me said "AHH! Take it out of her mouth!" She had picked a jalepeno off the paper and put it in her mouth. I got it out pretty quickly, wiped her tongue off with a napkin and gave some drink. Not before she let out a surprised 'AhhhHHH!' though. Yikes!

TCK

A TCK expert comes every year to meet with kids, teachers, and classes, and do a workshop with the seniors at the highschool in Taichung. I took teh opportunity to talk to her about our ownlittel TCk and asked what are the most important things that we should know about raising a TCK. (Do we have any TCKs in the audience?)

First of all, What is a TCK you may be asking? The acronym refers to Third Culture Kid, and the definition "refers to someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture".[1] So it is the mix of the parent's culture, and the culture they actually live in. You can see why this comes into play in a missionary school, where most of our kids are TCKs. I'll skip the other info about TCK profiles, etc, and skip to the advice we got.

1) Take advantage of all the opportunities presetned in the host culture. (Which is good advice for kids in any culture, I think) Travel. Study language. It is very unique to live in a different coutnry and kids should be taught the value of other cultures.
2) Be deliberate in relationship building. TCKs have relational roots, not geographic roots, so be deliberate in building relationships with important people. Send pictures, write letters and send gifts, web chat. Kids can still bond with grandparents and cousins, etc, from overseas. It has to go both ways: A grandparent will never forget they have a grandchild, but a grandchild will forget they have a grandparent.
3) Tell stories. You know, the remember the time we did this, or went there, etc.. A kid at home will hear the stories from uncles and aunts whenever the family gets together, but the TCK parent needs to fill that role.

I am happy that we were doing the things she suggested already. We phone and chat with people regularly, we've sent packages, we've recieved packages. Gemma has a photoalbum with her family people in it and framed pictures of her friends in her room. Of course we want Gemma to feel close to all her family and friends. I know my grandma says this is impossible: "She'll never be close to her cousins like you kids were" (dare I ask if any of you beleive that?) but I think it is possible.

For my Dad

These pics are for my Dad. When we were shopping for her birthday present at Toys R Us I knew as soon as I saw this we had to have it. She carries it around the house, not really knowing how to fix anything yet but we'll see what Grandpa can teach her this summer in the garage.

Field Day

Today was out track and field day, so of course Gemma came to take in the excitement. She was very good all day even though she woke up two hours earlier than usual, and let people take her for walks and play with her. She was even in a race; a 4 year old and under race ;) I had to lead her the whole way and she got last but, come on now, she's only 1. Everyone was watching her and cheering and she got a huge applause at the end...It was all so silly and ridiculous I could hardly move at the end I was laughing so hard. Photos courtesy of an 8th grade student.




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Ga ga ga

Today was lots of g sounds. When I read other blogs of the funny things their kids say it is so hard to believe that one day all this nonsense chattering will give way to whole words and sentences. Babies are amazing! She did say a real word today, one that others have heard I and had not yet: xie xie. (sh-eh sh-eh) which is Chinese for thank you. Chris and our babysitter are convinced she speaks Chinese sometimes. Me? How would I know, I speak hardly a lick myself.

Here she is with said babysitter, a super person who has blessed our family so much. She volunteers to come twice a week in the afternoons and gave up another job so we could pay her to come a third day. She is so great with Gemma and the extra time is really help Chris with his studies and church work.

The Great Shoe Rescue

The fun of travelling with babies!

After dinner out last Thursday Gemma and walked to the bus stop to wait for our ride home. She was in the stroller, but I had the snuggli on to put her in for the bus ride so I could collapse the stroller. Well, that was plan but as soon as we got to the stop the bus arrived. Taiwan busses are very efficient; they won't even stop unless you are standing up waving your arms. Often they hardly come to a complete stop, you have to practically jump in. So you can imagine what this is like with all the baby gear. Well, I yanked her out of the stroller, had her half in the snuggli, noticed her left shoe was on the stroller seat, By this time the bus was pulling away, so I just grabbed the stroller un-collapsed, hoping the shoe would make it and tried to leap on the bus: stroller in one hand, half Gemma in the other and diaper bag. Well, as soon as we got our balance on the bus I realized the shoe had not made it with us. Doh. And then it was one of those super long stretches wthout a stop; the bus just kept going and going. Finally at a red light I motioned to the driver to let me off. The people standing with me had caught my drama and one of them explained that I wanted off. So I jumped out with all my gear again, put Gemma in the stroller and hoofed it back to the original stop (like four blocks back already). Praise the Lord, the shoe was still there, sitting by the curb. Pheww! These were her new good shoes, her adidas ones, from Baba, so I needed it back. Then we settled down to wait for the next bus and made it home uneventfully after that.

Apartment living

It is 9:40 and Gemma is still in bed :D. BUT there is construction going on above us, and I don't know what they are doing but it is heavy and loud. It is shaking the floor so badly that this monkey she has zips around the floor when it touched keeps going off, singing its little circus song. Do I try to go in and turn it off, or will that wake her up more than the monkey? Apartment living...

Party Time

We went to a wonderful 1st birthday party on Saturday for our friend Atticus. It was really fun to have all the other kids her age there because she mostly plays with the bigger kids at school. Gemma loved the toys and food (everything was super yummy) and helping with the presents. (Which is funny because at her birthday, she didn't open many presents either; her older friends did most of the work and checked them out for her first). I stole the pictures from Heather's blog; our digital camera is having battery issues.

On another note, she always rides her cars backwards too. ??? Hers is especially funny because it has all these buttons and a piano on the 'dashboard' and so she sits on it backwards and bounces on the piano with her butt.

Haircut photos

Before...


After!

Tickle Tickle

Gemma said 'tickle tickle' last night! Ok, it was more of a 'tick-a tick-a' but it was accompanied by the tickiling motion up on my sternum. (That's where we tickle her, she's so giggly). Iwas holding her and she sort of rubs/squeeze and says ticka ticka and of course I act it all up and giggle and laugh and she was so pleased.

Another new thing is that she will bring stuff. You can give her something (like a Valentine's Day rose) and say, Go give this to daddy, and she will! Chris says he can even get her to pickup certain thins and bring them; like pick up the dolly, or the book and bring it and she will.

First Haircut

Chris and I have been talking about getting Gemma's haircut for about 2 months now. It is very sweet and a bit curly at the ends, but also stringy and scruffy. Honestly, she looked like a street urchin from Oliver, grinning but hair in her face and hanging over her ears. But anyway, our babysitter came over and said wow, her hair is long and Chris had the great idea to send them on a mission to get haircut. So they did! Unfortunatley no pictures or little lock of hair, but we'll take some tomorrow and save a clip fom the next haircut. She looks very sweet, still long at the back but the bangs are nicely trimmed and around her ears as well. Much less orphan-y.

Funny story; we were out shopping with friends after school and in the pharmacy, Gemma let out this huge fart. It was so loud and long, and well, adult sounding. We all giggled and looked around sheepishly, not wanting people to think it was us.

New Shoes

The cutest faces are made by Gemma. She puckers her lips, makes excited 0 shapes with her mouth, looks disdainfully, indignant, silly, and of course happy. She is constantly cracking people up.

She went to sleep on her own with the babysitter (Adrienne) last night, since I went to the airport to help Chris with his luggage. Her bedtime routine has become pretty consistent lately (another post) and I think that helped.

Funniest moment today; her new shoes. She wore her first hard soled runners today and when we put them on, well, we should of had a camera. At first she was just frozen, (like Anna, Baba's dog). The she was wiggling her butt and moving up and down, I think trying to see how to move her feet that were so firmly placed on the floor. Then the first tentative steps. Think moonlanding without the bouncing. Very heavy, one foot in front of the other with long pauses between each step. Then she got into them and got around pretty well. At one point she realized that it was her who was making the stomping sound and she pounded extra loud for a few minutes, enjoying her own thump thump thumping.

She is glad to see Daddy, of course, and intrigued by the cast/crutches. She keeps trying to touch them.

Tomorrow is her first whole day with Daddy in 10 days! Go daddy go!

Day 8

Gemma and I are on day 8 of bachelorhood, and doing alright. I have to admit, I woke up this morning less than perky but she was really really good, and we had a nice day. She behaves in the day and sleeps through the night; what else can I ask for?

Everyday seems to bring new skills. Today I especially noticed how good her fine motor skills are getting. We've been playing with stickers lately, and usually I hand her one and she tries to stick it to the page, but its hard to get it the right way, or then she tries to push it down and it just gets stuck to her. (It doesn't help that they are those mall sized dot stickers) Today she got it! It was so precious. And last bath day, you know she was hauling around the huge shampoo and conditioner bottle? Well, she also had a brief pause to remove a hair from her skin. She just carefully pinched it between thumb and forefinger and got it. Tonight at a BBQ she was moving dominos all around. Take some dominos, put them in the cupboard, close the door. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. :)

First Big Girl bath

Gemma sat by herself in the big person bathtub today. Ok, if you've seen our bathtub you know its not a big person tub at all, really, but anyway, you now what I mean. We were bathing together, then I let some of the water out and she was so cute, sitting and playing, standing up and grabbing the big shampoo bottles. We get our shampoo and conditioner form Costco so the bottles are almost as big as she is, and she just had to pick it up, turn around, drop it. PIck it up again, put it on the edge. She dropped it over the side once on the floor, and was immensely satisfied with herself. Who knows what is going through their heads!

Since Chris is with the camera there are no pictures (plus, I would have had to leave her unattended to go get the camera, which is of course a no no) so here is an old picture of baby Gemma with Daddy in the tub taken one year ago. She looks so different!

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