Lukie is two and First Trimester Screening tests.

Ice cream cake for Lukie 2nd birthday

Monday, July 27th, 2009 was Lukie's birthday. I actually made a little birthday party for him two days before, on Saturday. My mother, her husband Jimmy, Charlie's brother Johnny, his wife Shannon and their daughter Sadie also visited. Lukie got a new tricycle from Grandpa and Grandma (thank you). Uncle Johnny gave Lukie John Deere tractors and John Deere tools (thank you very much). Lukie loves his birthday presents. I let him stay up pretty late and hoped he would get up late the next morning but no.

Kun Yai and Papa Jim (Jimmy) gave Lukie some cool outfits and some money to put in his savings account (thank you very much). I decided to get Lukie an ice cream cake for his birthday. We went to Cold Stone Creamery and Lukie picked out the style of cake that he liked best. I made pasta, salad and chicken cacciatore for the dinner. It was almost time for the party when I realized that we didn't have candles for the cake. Charlie went to the supermarket and bought candles. Charlie accidentally picked out a "1" candle instead of a "2." Luckily, he also got a pack of crayon candles. That was funny for me to laugh about but Charlie (pretty smart) said that we can use the "1" for the little one next year.

Pool party with his first cousin Sadie.

Lukie was very happy with his birthday party. Charlie and I didn't buy big presents for him this year. We got him two books from the book store. Lukie loves to listen to Charlie or I reading books to him. I hope one day he will be able to read them back to us.

Got John Deere tractors and tool set from Uncle Johnny and Aunt Shannon.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Grow strong in mind and body. Kisses.

Update: Lukie's 2-year check up at 2 years and 2 days old.

Height: 34 inches, 50th-25th percentile

Weight: 23 lbs, 5th percentile :( (again, low weight and we have to work on it)

Lukie been eating better since turning 18 months old. He drinks more cow's milk and yogurt, and has his snack time every day. The doctor did not seem too concerned about his weight. She asked if Charlie was skinny as a child? Charlie said yes.

the Doctor said maybe Lukie is like Charlie when he was a kid. Some how, I'm still not giving up with his eating. Lukie same to be interested in so many food now a day, when we take him to diffirent kinds of restaurant.

Doctor also suggest that we should train Lukie for his potty training. I ask if she think he is ready and she said yes. She said that Lukie is pretty sharp and very good with communication and we should try. Start with walk him to the bath room in the morning first and let him sit on the toilet for pee. If he cann't do it ,it is okay. Try to do it ofter after meal for number one and every one hour or two for number two.

Lukie's favorite food at this age

Udon, Tempura, Fried rice, Fried corn (Thai style), Miso soup, Tofu, Califonia roll, Salmon on the skewers, Congee with egg and ground pork and once every few week French fried.

Fruits and Vegetable : Lukie loves toeat every fruits. Brocoli is number one Vegetable for Lukie. Fresh tomatos, Carrot, Purple Cabbage slide, Ice berge lettuce with Ginger dressing.

Everything is okay but Lukie has to go for routine blood check(don't have a result yet).

First trimester Screening test.

Today I also have an appointment for 12 weeks check up for the new baby. After Gymboree class we had lunch and go strength to the hospital. Charlie and Lukie are also with me today at the hospital too. We got there earlier 15 minute to fill up the forms and wait about almost 30 minutes. One good thing there has toys for Lukie to play while waiting. Charlie and Lukie went in the Ultrasound room with me. The technician was very friendly and nice. We can see the baby pretty clear (but still black and white thought). Lukie was a little nervous. He thought that this check was for him (no honey your is tomorrow :P). He kept said " I want to hug mama".

Everything went good and I will receive the result in 7 days the nurse said. Charlie and I hope everything is okay with the little one. Worrying is already started.

Grandpa and Grandma gift for Lukie

Lukie is almost two.

A cutie face Lukie

Time flies when you are happy. Lukie is almost two years old. He talks so much. He understands a lot. I love to have Lukie sleep on the bed with us. I love to hug him when he sleeps.

When Lukie turned 23 months, he changed his eating habits. I can see he loves to eat more and eat bigger portions. I hope he has gained some weight when he goes for his two-years-old checkup.

Lukie is asking for his birthday cake every day now. He wanted to have a caterpillar cake for his birthday. I don't know if he understands what his birthday is. Soon enough Lukie will want to participate in making his birthday cake, I think.

Nowadays, Lukie loves to sing. Sometime he sings a long song, too. His favorite song is "Wheels on the Bus." He can sing it so many times that I get a headache, but it's still cute.

After we came back from San Francisco, Charlie decided not to let Lukie watch TV at all. It's been two months and Lukie is doing just great. The reason for this was because he was losing his interest in his toys and didn't pay attention to people as much. A lot of times he used to feed himself but when the TV was on he stopped. If we turned it off he would throw a tantrum and it was getting worse.

We had started letting him watch TV in the first place when he got sick at 16 months. Then I kept turning it on to keep him sitting in his high chair while I fed him. But it didn't really work very well.

Lukie's Abilities

Charlie and I read books for Lukie every day and night. I read for him at his nap time and Charlie reads at night before bed. Lukie actually memorized some of the passages from the books we read to him. One night after we finished reading Lukie said that he wanted to tell a story too. Then he recited the first page of "Curious George Makes Pancakes." He said, "This is George. George is a good yuyu (little) monkey and always very curious. One morning, the man with the yellow hat woke George early. Time to get up George, he said. The pancake breakfast is today." Lukie didn't miss a single word. We were amazed when we heard this.

Lukie loves singing. I can see him trying to sing along with his songs. His favorite songs are "The Wheels on the Bus," "I Like Trucks," and the ABC song. He always asks me to turn on his favorite songs and he wants to listen to them again and again.

Drawing is one of Lukie's favorite activities nowadays. I can see that sometimes he gets frustrated and has a meltdown when he tries to draw something and it doesn't come out the way he wanted. I taught him how to draw a flower once and he remembered how to draw it: Start with drawing a spiral first and then draw one straight line down for the stem.

P.S. Lukie,

Mommy loves you so much. My wish for your birthday is that I want you to be a healthy boy, smart and have fun in your life always.

Love you,

Mommy

Lukie drawing flowers for Mommy and Kun Yai.

Welcome a new member.

I just don't have much time to update my blog but somehow I have to introduce the newest member of my family. I have been pregnant about ten weeks already and of course the morning sickness is still on. Compared to the first time I think this morning sickness is a lot milder. I found out that I'm pregnant after I came back from San Francisco.

Lukie already knows that his mommy is having a baby but I still think that he doesn't understand yet. I told him while were taking a bath together. He was so funny. He asked me why my stomach was so big. I laughed and told him it's because there's a baby in there, and when the baby grows, mommy's stomach will get bigger and bigger, too. He listened and then poured water on my stomach and said, "I water it, baby is growing."

One day Lukie asked me if the baby can be fed. He wanted to show the baby how to eat. I laughed because of his innocence.

So far, so good this time with my pregnancy. I'm still dizzy sometimes. I lost weight, about 4 pounds, because I can't eat much. I went back and read my first pregnancy journal to see when I felt better the first time. Well, I was still sick like a dog at this point and my weight at that time was 111 pounds. If I still lost weight I think I would be at the same weight as the first pregnancy, too.

A lot of craving but I can't eat. I'm craving for pickles this time but I had one and didn't want any more.

Next week I will have to go see the doctor again to see how the baby is growing. I'm starting to get worried (again, this is my habit) because some days I forget to take my vitamins. Sometimes I feel sorry for the new baby because I don't have time to concentrate on him or her. Lukie makes me busy everyday. When he naps I have to lay down with him for an hour, too. I am very tired during the first trimester.

I'm sure the new baby will have a lot of fun and a lot of love. Welcome to the family, honey!

It's a bad day

Hi Lukie my love.

Sometimes something can happen and we have to be strong. I haven't updated this blog since April. I have to record this for you to read someday so you will understand that sometimes life is difficult.

Wednesday, July 1st, we got up in the morning like every day. Daddy always gets up before us and gets ready for work. On this day, grandma said that I might have a doctor appointment in the afternoon because a nurse called and left a message. Daddy tried to check for me to make sure, because as far as I knew I didn't have to see the doctor on this day. But the doctor's office wasn't open yet. So, just in case, I wanted to have the car.

We drove Daddy to work as usual. You had you big, fresh, soft and warm pretzel in your hand. Daddy prepared one each for you and himself. We dropped Daddy off and drove back home. We were almost home when I got a phone call. It was Daddy asking us to come back. I asked why but your Daddy said he would let us know later.

We got to Main Street, and I saw Daddy was carrying the things from his desk like his box of tissues. My first thought was that someone at work might be really sick so his boss sent him home. Daddy got in the car and said "I'm out." He said that his boss had to let him go because business was slow. Customers weren't paying their bills and he couldn't afford to keep Daddy there any longer. Well, in another words, he just got laid off. I was shocked and started a big cry. This happened to me once when I used to work at the bank. In my case it was because my work permit was expired. I didn't even realize it until I had to use my Social Security number to renew my driver's license, because my SS was on the work permit card. When I explained the situation to my supervisor at work, she decided right away that I couldn't work there anymore. It was my birthday, too.

When I heard that Daddy lost his job, I was so sad, emotional, confused and worried. You saw me cry and said "No Mama, it's okay" like I say to you when you cry. I looked at you, still crying. You asked, "Mama, do you want a pretzel?" and held up the big pretzel in your hand, so cute and innocent. I tried to stop crying and gave Daddy a big hug. I think he needed it.

In this situation, our family has to be tight. I wanted to hug you and Daddy very tight and never let you guys go. I also appreciate what I have right now more than before. If we had to rent a house or apartment right now this situation would be even more tough.

To Charlie, I love you very much. I know that sometimes we don't have time for each other because we are always giving our attention to our dear son. I just want to let you know that I still miss you very much as always and I will try to give you more hugs when I can, okay? I know you understand. Love you love you.

To Lukie, Mommy wants you to be the way you are, lovely, funny, silly and very big-hearted forever. The world is big and sometimes it is bigger than you think. Life in the real world is hard so you should be strong and smart. Reality is very rough sometimes. Nobody will spoil and pamper you like your family, you should know that too. Sometimes people need to be pampered, need hugs for comfort, I think.

Daddy and I promise to be by your side as long as we can. Whatever happens we will be here for you to comfort you when you need it. That's what family is all about, honey. Mommy and Daddy love you very much, sweetheart. Grow strong and healthy in mind and body, love.