Alex Kwan: Alex's Journal

Paola's going to school!

Fri, 22 Aug 2003 04:00:53 GMT

Yesterday was Paola's semi-1st day of a new Mother's Day Out program called Mornings with Jesus at St. Paul's. She will just be going 2 days a week for half-days, but it still seems like a big step. We had the open house yesterday morning, and she did really well sitting at the table and profoundly taking in everything that was going on. I think it helped that we had talked about going to school, read stories about a girl's 1st day at school (she carries the book around everywhere now), and she knows a couple of the other kids in her class. When we got home, she commented that she wanted her teachers, Ms. Margaret and Ms. Angela to come visit us at our house. Still whenvever we talk about school, her first question is whether I will pick her up. I imagine she will have a bit of a harder time on Monday which will be her 1st day on her own there, but I am sure she will adjust soon.

Little Rock post-mortem

Thu, 07 Aug 2003 05:00:25 GMT

We got back a few days ago from a great visit in Little Rock and seeing the Abuelos and Bisabuelos. Paola thoroughly enjoyed the visit and getting experience so many new things and so much love from her family. In addition to the experiences noted in the previous post, the natural setting of the house allowed her to see a turtle up close, a nest with newborn birds waiting for their mom to feed them, and tons of squirrels running around. She got to swim everyday becoming more comfortable with the water each time; visited the Museum of Discovery; and went to Barnes and Noble storytime with Baya and the Bisabuelo. She also got to visit Abuelo's office with her brother. She got to see her heartbeat on the ultrasound courtesy of Debbie and BoBo taught her how to use a microscope. Also I have to note that amazingly (to anyone who knows Paola's usual refusal to go to be easily), almost every night she was so tired she went to sleep by herself quickly without getting out of bed and taking out every toy available. (Naptimes/quiet times were another story since after each one it looked like a tornado had hit the room.)

Kobe also obviously had a wonderful time. He so enjoyed having constant attention from someone at all times. He spent half the day "roughhousing" with the bisabuelos and abuelos and the house was always filled with his precious laughter. You could just see him seeking out everyone's faces to see if he could engage them. He also started sitting up much better during the time there. We were also able to take him out to the pool twice. Although he initially cried out when he got in and felt the cooler water, he soon was having a great time. He followed Paola's lead and kept on splashing though he never figured out that was why he kept getting water in his face. He also loved being pulled on his tummy with my hands helping him kick. He would break out in laughter until he ended up with a mouthful of water.

By the end of the trip, Paola was starting to miss home a bit and started asking longingly for her Daddy and Austin. Of course once on the plane, she wanted to see Baya again (BoBo generously accompanied on the plane to Austin and flew back the same day). For the first couple of days, Paola seemed to feel like she had to go through all her toys at home again - as if we might be leaving for somewhere else anyday again. She is really enjoying watching the videotapes of our visit in LR though and laughs at the silly things we caught her doing.

Today it was also obvious that Kobe missed having the larger family around. Usually with strangers it takes him a little while to allow them to hold him. If they try, he will pout and little tears will come out of his eyes. But today when we visited Marcus' office he kept reaching out to every coworker that approached him. He immediately went to the women dying to hold him and there wasn't a hint of hesitation or tears He so enjoyed having so much attention and smiles doted on him again!

I also had a wonderful time in Little Rock. Of course I got pampered immensely with free babysitting, a pool, sleeping in, and great food. And more importantly I got to spend some - but never enough- time with my grandparents. In our family tradition, I really enjoyed staying up late talking about the day's activities and the kid's antics. It was wonderful to see them trying to connect with their great-grandchildren whether it was my grandfather braving the heat to accompany Paola to the zoo, museum, and bookstore, or my grandmother setting all aside to sit on the couch holding "su muchachito" Kobe as he acted as if he were a prince on a throne. It was also a really nice treat that one night Daddy and I were able to go out to eat a wonderful meal on our own and talk about such varied things as his new venture and reality shows. Thanks to Mami who was a great host doing a great job of taking care of everyone from taking Kobe after his morning feeding so I could sleep to setting up projects for Paola to do from picnics, collage, water colors and finger paints. Honestly it was a bit of a shock for me when Kobe woke up early the first morning back and I had no one to hand him off to after he ate. (Ok Marcus did get up and take him, but that was also because a scorpion in our bed had bitten me the night before, and the medicine I took knocked me out).

It is nice to be home, but we loved every minute of our trip!

Vacationing in Little Rock

Sun, 27 Jul 2003 23:39:47 GMT

We are having a great time at the Abuelos house in Little Rock. We came about a week ago to visit and have since been enjoying being at Bobo and Baya's house -especially since the Bisabuelos Hugo and Elsy made a special trip from Guatemala to be here too. Last Saturday, the Abuelos graciously hosted a lovely sip and see for their friends and neighbors to come meet Kobe and see Paola. All had a good time with the wonderful food and company. Kobe napped for the first half of the party, but once awake did really well with all the new faces. Paola did very well in meeting all the new people as well and was very polite.

Swim Lessons
The first week in Little Rock, Paola took some private swim lessons. Mami took the lessons with Paola (though Baya was the pinch hitter the first day), and it was a great experience. Of course the first few days, Paola was hesitant to do the activites during class, but Krystle, the teacher, did a lot to help make her comfortable - such as bringing a pink bunny water toy that Paola would talk about every night before going to bed. AFter each class, Paola would always play "swim class" making it clear that she knew what the teacher was instructing, and it more of an issue of feeling comfortable enough to do them in class when asked to. It seemed like we were making some progress when half-way through the week, it was pouring rain so we had to go to the YMCA for a class one day. In the new environment with lots of new distractions, Paola was hesitant to do much of anything. So it was a big surprise when the next class at the house, she just let loose and went off kicking by herself with a float ring! She was so proud of herself and so excited. Since then there has been no stopping her with her float ring though now the challenge is to remind her that she can't step off the stairs without it since a few times she has decided to test her ability to swim without any help. It has been such a neat experience watching her discover her abilities and learning how to get comfortable with new experiences in the pool. I love seeing her eyes light up when she accomplishes something new and is just so proud of herself. She is an amazing little girl.

Zoo
I had vowed that we wouldn't go to the zoo again this year since last year it was so miserably hot, but gave in when my dad reminded us that the LR zoo has camel rides. Paola has been talking about wanting to go to Egypt to ride a camel ever since Tia MAria gave her a Hello Kitty book about different cities around the world.

So today despite the 90 degree weather, Paola, Kobe, Bobo, Baya, Bisabuelo Hugo,and I ventured out to the Little Rock Zoo. Though we sweated up a storm it was worth it to see Paola enjoy seeing all the animals that she usually only sees in picture books or videos. We saw elephants, bears - mostly sleeping, lions, monkeys, flamingos, giant turtles, peacocks, and giraffes. There was also a display where Paola was able to touch a giraffe's skin, tail, and skull bone which she though was pretty cool. And of course she got to ride the camel! She didn't even think twice when Bobo asked if she wanted to ride with him, and they were such a cute sight being lead around on the camel. Later she said the camel was both soft and hard - Bobo concurred that he would not have wanted to sit on that camel much longer than the 5 minute ride. Another of Paola's favorite activities at the zoo was the traditional train ride with the abuelos at zoo; she could hardly wait for it to start, and smile throughout the ride. Surprisingly Kobe seemed to have a pretty good time too as he enjoyed the zoo from the vantage point of riding in the Baby Bjorn with BoBo. His favorite part of the zoo seemed to be passing through the misters set up all around the zoo to cool off guests.

--Alex

Happy Birthday Tia Maria!

Fri, 27 Jun 2003 01:29:04 GMT

Thu, 19 Jun 2003 20:10:00 GMT

"Pretend I'm super Grover; pretend your the elephant" Paola to Baya as she is being bathed 6/16/03

Fri, 30 May 2003 04:44:05 GMT

"Daddy belongs to Mami; Kobe belongs to me" - said by Paola 5/28/03 I've noticed that even though Paola might get jealous when I am paying attention to Kobe, when I am not "taking care" of him, she assumes the responsibility. For example today while I was getting groceries into the car at HEB, she and Kobe were in the car waiting. Kobe was upset so Paola went to sit by him and tried to calm him down by talking to him and showing him his toys. She also demonstrates this tenderness on the occasions when I just have to let Kobe cry some as I try to get something done in the kitchen and can't get to him immediately. She really does feel some responsibility toward him and often prompts me to feed him or give him a pacifier.

Thu, 29 May 2003 04:28:13 GMT

Kobe has really been using his feet to kick a lot lately. When I put him down to sleep I had also noticed that he could raise his head pretty well while crying, but today Marcus had him on his tummy playing, and Kobe lifted his head 90 degrees for a long time. He had a hip ultrasound today since the Dr. heard a clicking in his hip at his last check-up. We won't know the results until Dr. Rimer calls us, but hopefully it won't be major. He did really well with the exam and surprisingly didn't cry. At night, when we are getting the kids to bed, Kobe seems to be looking for me to make sure I don't go too far. Even with his Daddy holding him, he follows me around and just looks intensely in my direction. It is such a sweet feeling to know my little boy knows and loves me.

Paola is amazing us with her use of sentences. Now she talks in full sentences and tells stories. Some of her favorite phrases right now include: "Let me ask you a question;" "Let me do this just in case;" and stories of sentences connected by "...and then... and then..." We were in Lake Jackson this weekend, and she did very well meeting/seeing everyone. She didn't really turn away and act shy, but instead said hello. By the end of each social function, she was completely comfortable talking up a storm and giving hugs. Of course getting to sleep at night was a chore - MaMa had to sleep in Paola's room each night and couldn't leave- so she was pretty tired by the end of the weekend. On Tuesday when we told her we were leaving, she didn't protest and at breakfast said " I want to go to the car." After all the excitement, she was pretty tired and ready to rest at home. Though when we were almost to Austin, she started changing her mind and asking to go back to Lake Jackson.

Mami's thoughts on Paola and Kobe

Tue, 20 May 2003 04:37:04 GMT

Kobe has finally started to sleep on his own rather than have to be held. Of course that only happened once we started putting him on his stomach. The difference was amazing- instead of unending crying when he was put down or having to be rocked to sleep, while on his tummy and with a pacifier, he fell asleep almost immediately for his naps. Also instead of waking up screaming after 20 minutes of "nap" he is finally taking longer naps of at least an hour. At night he is still waking up once or twice, but the one-feeding nights are happening more often. I was a little nervous about putting him on his stomach, but we keep the room cool and took the bumper and all blankets out of the crib. We just couldn't go on the way we were before with him hardly sleeping during the day and making everyone including himself miserable.

He did sleep one night from 9:30pm to 8:30am, but that was after getting four shots earlier in the day. It seems that after "traumatic" experiences like that, he deals with them by shutting down for awhile to recuperate. That is so different than his sister who might express hurt at the time of an injury/shots, etc., but is back to running 100 miles a minute the next second.

Today Kobe was laughing at Paola dancing and jumping around. He is becoming more cognizant of his surroundings. In the last couple of weeks he has started grabbing at links, holding his hands, noticing his feet, and laughing at toys and people around him. His laugh is really sweet and soft at this time.

Interestingly, even though Kobe is evening out some and giving me and Paola more of a break during the day, Paola has increased her intesity the last few days. Once again she won't take naps, so by the time dinnertime arrives, everything is a cause for a dramatic scene. Yesterday we were out running errands during naptime, so she slept in the car, and the difference in demeanor was amazing.

However, she is still amazing us with how smart she is. She remembers everything that goes on around her. Every once in awhile she brings up experiences that happened months ago and is able to express what happened. It is fun to hear her over the monitor in her room at night as she reads the books she has memorized to her animals. I am so glad that she has such a love a books and learning. We are also impressed and entertained by her creativity. All day long she is saying "pretend this" and "pretend that" and makes up stories and songs. The most consistent play is with her baby doll she calls either "your Kobe" ( as opposed to "real Kobe") and baby bear. She handles the doll exactly as I treat Kobe from breast feeding to putting him in all the baby accessories to talking to him in exactly the same words that I use. It is a little weird to hear my words and see my actions mirrored, and sometimes I realize just how silly I must sound. Even worse, it is quite humbling when I see my faults reflected back to me in her, and I realize how on guard I need to be about how I act!

Paola is doing good with Kobe. She still has some issues with sharing time and toys - she often wants to direct which of his toys and accessories he can and can't use. But when he is in need, she is there and wants to help him even though she is often perplexed by him. The most warm moments are when he is crying and Mami can't tend to him right away. Whether it be in the car or when he is lying under the activity gym, she will imitate me saying to him: "Don't cry Kobe, it's okay" or "I know, I know, I know it's hard" or "There's no reason to cry." Or she will try to show him some toys, or she tries to give him the pacifier- whether he wants it or not. And if all that fails, she comes to tell me "He wants his Mami to feed him or to hold him."

We are going to try to play with some more friends this week since I think some of her intensity is a result of not going to many playgroups lately. We think that she really needs the social outlet to expend some of her energy otherwise it just turns into frustration. She is really enjoying having new experiences and meeting new people even if in the moment she acts shy. She is still talking about meeting Sarah Hickman, and even before we went to meet her, Paola kept repeating "not be shy with Sarah Hickman." All day long she recounts experiences of being around others - always prefaced with "Last night..." which is her catch-all word designating that something happened in the past. For example: Last night we met Sarah Hickman; last night we went to Daddy's frog office; last night we see Kayleigh; last night I ate chips at Jaxon's party; last night we see Dave running. One day we were supposed to have our neighbor Reagan who is 1 week older over to play, but it didn't work out. But since she knew about it, she has been fixated on that Reagan needs to come over. So throughout the day when I tell her that she needs to do something, she often says "yeah... before Reagan comes." She acts like she really wants her to come over, but then of course, she then proceeds with a list of things that she doesn't want Reagan to play with. Silly kid!