Welcome to our family, Chanson!

Welcome to our family, sweet boy! We are so happy to announce the arrival of Chanson Matthew on March 30th at 8:57 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 10 ozs and was (is) 20.25 inches long.
To see more pics, go to this link:

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?birthid=3e79d6ce-7219-4dfb-8329-29724acca2f3

Once there, use the password 53151262564863 to view the pics. If the link does not work, please go to http://www.our365.com/ and use the same password. You can search for me by name, or they told me that the username is Hei with the password above...

The delivery was really great! It went fast - 1 hr and 40 mins from the time they broke my water.

Aria got to meet Chanson the day after he was born. She was so excited to see Mama holding a tiny baby. I was thinking she might be a little jealous, so when she got there, I was going to hold her, and let someone else hold Chanson while we spent some time together. Aria wanted me to hold the baby, and only me. She also got to hold him, and kiss him. I don't think she's stopped kissing him since ;-) She hasn't been a bit jealous, and has just been the best helper. She is a great big sister!! She even told Chanson she loves him today. Actually... I am not sure if she said "love you" meaning "I love you" or if she meant "he loves me" (she says "help you" and means "help me" for instance, so she could have meant "love me").

She saw me nurse Chanson for the first time, and she looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed, and said "baby eats boobies??" She says that every time I feed him now... instead of a question now, it's a statement.

One moment I am very upset I missed getting on video was Aria's reaction to seeing Chanson in the car when we got home. Her reaction was priceless! She was just so excited that the baby came home to stay with us! She just loves her brother.

A couple of things Aria said the last 2 weeks that I think are cute ;-) She says "Nummy in my tummy" when she likes whatever she is eating. When Winston was bothering her at her table, she told him "hit the road, Winston".

I think the best story, though, is what she said to Matthew last week. Aria was standing too close to the TV, so Matthew was telling her to back up. She was ignoring him, so he threw a stuffed animal at her (OK so we're not the best role models sometimes.... he threw it gently, anyway). She turned around with a very annoyed look on her face, but then her expression changed to a smile, and she said "Nice throw, Daddy!".

Aria has been getting time outs lately... problem is, she gets excited when she "gets" to go into time out. Ummm.... I am not sure what to make of this.

I'll be changing the name of my blog soon, so it will be a name that covers Chanson and Aria. I'll keep you posted!

I've got a lot more to say, but will have to update you all more later ;-)

Baby update

I had a doc appt today, and the baby is now (by ultrasound prediction...) 7 lbs 8 ozs. Aria was 7 lbs 13 oz at 40.5 weeks and I'm just about 38 weeks now, so this baby will be a little bigger than Aria (unless I go into labor this week ;-), but still a good size! YAY!

Aria was good as gold during the ultrasound. She really liked to watch the screen and see the baby (she was probably thinking... huh?? You call THAT a baby??) She also had goldfish (crackers) to eat ;-)

I am still 3 cms, and the doc said he is surprised I haven't gone into labor yet. That puts me even more on guard... every day wondering if this is the day! But we are pretty ready, besides getting the baby room done ;-)

They are so sweet to Aria at the doctor. They really cater to her, and I just think it is so considerate of them. They never act like she is a nuisance, but instead, they play with her (all the nurses and the doctor) and involve her in the whole process. When we went to leave today, Aria did her scowl face (which she does often ;-) and pointed to the ground and said "stay HERE!" bc she didn't want to leave. One of the nurses noticed that Aria was pulling at her ear, and went to get the doc (after he'd already left the room) to see if he could check out her ear. He came back and was concerned, and took a look. Seriously, how sweet is that?? I just love them!

I forgot to mention another little Aria story yesterday... lately when she breaks something in half, or rips a paper in half, or sees something that is broken in half she says "in half". She has been doing this a lot over the last week. I think she learned about that on Sesame Street ;-)

If you haven't voted on the baby pool, click on the below and enter your guess ;-)

Happy St. Patty's day

Happy St. Patty's day! Today we had green eggs and green french toast for breakfast. Aria didn't notice it was any different than usual, and Matthew thought it looked gross... party poopers. But Aria wore a pretty green dress that was my dress when I was a baby ;-)

A few funny things from this week...

The TV was on, I'm not sure what was on, but there was a scene at Starbucks... Aria saw them walk into Starbucks, and saw someone in the uniform, and runs up to Matthew and said very excitedly (actually, it was more a question how she said it, like she wanted some) "Pumpkin loaf? Pumpkin loaf?" That is what she gets when we go to Starbucks.... hmmm... I don't spend THAT much time there!

Aria can now count to 14. She doesn't do it often, but she's done it a few times, so I know she can. She doesn't recognize the number 11, 12, 13, 14 when she sees them, but does know 1-10 by site. Today we were going over the numbers, and she kept telling me that the number I'd point to was 14. She thought it was funny - so then I'd say "noooo... what number is it?" and she'd say the right one.

She used to just say "help" when she wanted help, but now she says "help you" when she wants help. When she'd ask for help, I'd ask her "do you want me to help you?" so, now she thinks it's help you. I'm trying to get her to say help me....

When she sneezes, she says "bless you" to herself ;-)

She has started saying "oh goodness" this week. It's so funny when she does it, bc of the expression that comes with it, and she says it over and over, like a little old lady.

She has been hugging and kissing my belly a lot lately. She comes up to me and says "hug the belly?" One of the times she was hugging my belly, she said "awwww baby kitty". Umm... sorry to disappoint you, baby ;-/

Well, she has finally eaten a banana. I had a banana and said to her "are you a monkey? Monkeys eat bananas" and she nodded and was very excited... and ended up eating the whole thing! She has refused bananas since birth, so this is a big development ;-)

Her weight was stuck at 23.5 lbs since she was 14 months or so up until this last month... and I weighed her yesterday and she is now 26 lbs!

Cuddling and more ;-)

Painting with Aria's BFF, Mia. I love TX weather when we can paint outside in February!

Cuddling on the couch with her BIG bear.

Aria still loves to be outside and swing!!!


Aria has been asking me to cuddle on the couch the last few days. She is not a big cuddler, so I was surprised at her request ;-) She says "mama, cuddle couch?" So, we go to the couch, and she hugs me REALLY tight around the neck and just cuddles with me. These are the times when I wish I could just freeze time! I feel like that often, though. She is such a joy!! I think now is the best age EVER. I know... I keep saying that ;-)




She is just getting more and more observant. She comments on the birds, on airplanes in the sky, clouds, bugs, trees, flowers. She is talking so much, and is able to tell me so much more of what she is thinking. We were outside and a ladybug landed on her! It was so much fun playing with the ladybug with her. Then the ladybug flew away, back to see her mama ;-) Yesterday we were reading a book, and there was a picture of a bird, and she looked at me and said "bird fly away" and waved her hand in the air, like the bird flew away.




This girl loves Norah Jones. I will try to get her on video singing along. She tries to sing all the words to the songs, and it is funny how much she can actually fill in. She likes track 1 and 5, and wants me to repeat those over and over again (sorry I never know song titles! She calls them both "come" bc one song says "don't know why I didn't come" over and over, and the other repeats "come away with me").







She also started doing this thing where she wants me to get one of her baby towels (the ones where there is a little hood on them) and put the hood on her head, and wrap the towel around her, and then hold her like a baby. Then she wants to look in the mirror at me rocking her like a baby, and then she wants to go on the couch and she wants me to hold her like a baby and rock her... not sure why? I just go with what she tells me! Funny baby!







What is with this... she keeps calling me MOM? That is way too grown up!

She is still categorizing EVERYTHING as mama, daddy, and baby. She makes her voice babylike and says awwwwww the baby! And if she can hold whatever she is calling the baby, she holds it in her hand and rocks it and sings rockabye baby.

I'm editing to add a story. We were at Target and Aria was in the cart, and she put her head all the way to the side, and said "head stuck" and kept her head tilted all the way to her shoulder. I thought she was just being silly, and that was it. Then she took her hand and pushed her head back to upright (but made it look difficult, like her head was really stuck) and sighed, and said "better". Since that time, she has done this several times. I have NO idea where she got this from, but it cracks me up every time!




Baby # 2 update.... Aria can't decide if the baby is a boy or girl ;-) It's usually whatever I ask last. I am 3 cms dilated, which makes me wonder at all times... is this the day?? I'm aiming for March 14th (Einstein's birthday) or March 21st (even better... Bach's birthday!). How come April 2nd seems sooooooo far away????

Couple of cute things

Hello! I always tell myself I'm going to blog things, and then by the next day, I forget what they were! So, before I forget....

Sorry - Aria has been saying sorry a lot the last 2 days. I don't know why, but all of a sudden, she's apologizing every time she bumps into something, or steps in front of something, gets in the way of something etc. It's funny bc she just started doing it yesterday. She'll say it a bunch of times in a row, "oh, sorry sorry sorry!" This might be one of things that you have to see to appreciate ;-) Her mannerisms when she does it crack me up.

She has also been asking Zig to watch her do tricks. He'll be in his kennel sleeping, and she'll call him and call him to come and watch her do the trick. Or we'll be outside, and he'll be ignoring us, and Aria will call him over and over till he looks in our direction so that he can watch her do her trick. She loves Zig! She calls him Tzigane now. Of course, Zig just walks away.... She also keeps chasing him trying to hug and kiss him. He runs away, and she says "fast!" When she wants to hug something (anything) really close she says "come here come here come here" over and over.

Lately Aria has been classifying things as tiny or big. I don't know why? But she does it to everything. Food, dolls, shoes, whatever. For instance, she'll pick a sticker, and if it's small, she'll say "tiiiiiiiny sticker" and then she puts her first finger up to her forehead, and scruches up her shoulders. Or if she takes a big bite of food, she'll say "BIIIIIIIG bite" and she'll say it in a low loud voice, and put her first finger up in the air. Other things she points at and says BIIIIIG to are my belly... and my butt. Nice, baby.

She's getting more and more picky about what she wears. She wants to wear her "dancing dresses" alllll the time. Anyone who knew me as a kid will appreciate this ;-) I don't think I wore anything BUT dresses for the first 10 years of my life. ;-)

She really likes to watch violin lessons, and she has her play violin. The other day, she went into the room where I teach, and sat down next to the chair I sit on to teach, and said "mama, violin?" She wanted me to play for her! I keep telling you all about how she plays her play violin, but have not gotten it on video. She holds the violin and moves the bow really good. She was doing this one day, and I grabbed the video camera and gave it to Matthew to video her. Well, here is the video. She starts out playing the violin for a very short time, and then goes to ABCs. Now when she sees the camera pointed at her, she stops whatever she is doing and does her ABCs.... we will now get nothing on video EXCEPT her ABCs, which we tried in vein to get on video for 2 months!! BABY!! She must get this trait from her dad. hahaaaaaa!!

A couple of things about the video... you can't hear her say it, but after she puts the violin down and smiles, she says "abc's ?". That is why Matthew says "ok do your ABCs". Also, as you hear the music sounds as she's doing the ABCs... that is her pounding her foot on the violin... NICE!! (you can hear me in the background say "Baby! That is not what you do to a violin!"