Ami's got CURLS!?!?!

If I were one of those girls who squealed with delight and danced in little circles, I think I would be doing that right now...

except I am NOT, nor will I ever be...

So I took A BUNCH of photos...

That is more my style :)

We are planning to go to B**Rs tonight (a social event at Tepper), to show off the kiddos to Jeff's classmates and co-workers. And I thought "hey, I should totally wash Ami's hair, because she hasn't had a bath for two weeks." Side note: Please don't assume I should be put under the 'bad mom' category, because hey, babies really don't get dirty, and they cry a LOT when they are naked (at least mine do), so the less baths, the more I keep my sanity, just sayin'.

But anyway, her hair is just kind of greasy from my fingers needing to stroke it all the time, I seriously HAVE to touch her thick black hair every time I am holding her. So after Chase and I got all cleaned up for the day, I decided to give her a quick scrub down. Ami's hair has been a bit wavy, and so I was already thinking in my head how fun it would be if it was curly, but not really thinking it would ever come true, with my stick straight hair of childhood, and Jeff's straight as a Kooshball hair, I figured there was no way...

and then I added shampoo...

and oh my, those curls just started popping up left and right! Thick, tight little curls all over her head! :) I love, LOVE, LOVE them!

I really hope they stay.

I really don't know how to work with curly hair though, I am going to have to get pointers from my friend Kim, who has crazy awesome curly hair.

The sides of her hair are already starting to flatten from even just taking the photos, and I guess it is probably just a matter of time before the top of her head is straight again from me touching her gorgeous black hair.

Please don't go away curls, I really, REALLY want you to stay :)

Two and a Half weeks into it ;)

At this moment....

Chase is running circles in our living room saying "Whoa, Whoa!"

Ami is sleeping in the Moses basket, which is on the chair-and-a-half

Blue's Clues is playing on Netflix - so convenient, and I forgot what a great kids show that was until this week!

I am typing here...

So, I am over two weeks into this whole 'mom of two kids' thing, and I have to say, it is sometimes easier than I expect, and then it is sometimes much MUCH more difficult than I expect. But above all, it is so incredible to have these two kiddos that are so amazing and wonderful.

Chase is doing so well with the transition, he has been a bit more whiny lately (but that was to be expected) and has tried to head-butt and sit on Ami a few times, and for the most part, I am there to stop it before it happens. But in general, he loves 'Bibi' Ami, and has to give her kisses whenever he sees her. It really is so incredibly sweet to see :)

Ami seems to be adjusting to life in our crazy busy house. She can sleep through most things while in her Moses basket, and can sleep crazy deep when I put her in Chase's crib. I think it must be the white noise of the fan, as well as the fact that Chase cannot get at her while she is in the crib ;)

Today is my 3rd day without any help around the house. Monday went fantastic, with the kiddos sleeping great, no real tantrums, and I got to nap while both the kids were sleeping in the afternoon. Tuesday was more difficult, more whining, more tantrums - although Chase's tantrums are really not all that bad compared to most - Jeff had an evening class, so he didn't get home until after 10pm (7am - 10pm was quite a long time to be by 'myself') and I think the worst thing of all was that I wasn't able to get a nap in... And I am still sorely in need of a nap a day, which I keep forgetting, and I also keep forgetting that my body needs to still recover from having a baby two weeks ago. I was so exhausted last night that I think I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow!

Today I made a point to make it to my Bible Study group, and got up at 6am to make it happen. I really hope that I don't have to get up that early to make it to things in the future! Hopefully I will become more efficient and just be able to get up when the kiddos do... which is around 7:30... and another hour or so of sleep goes a long way!

Happy 1 week Birthday, Ami Michele!

You were born at 4:25am

Weighed 6lbs 4oz

19 inches long

with a full head of black hair!

You waited for your Baba to get home from Chicago before you decided to come, good girl!

You decided to come pretty fast though, in only two and a half hours... but Mama is thankful

In seconds you learned how to breath

immediately you recognized your Baba and Mama's voices

within minutes you learned how to nurse

in hours you were aware and calm with your hair being washed

and in an instant you had Baba wrapped around your itty bitty finger

in three days you gave Mama your first smile

after a week, Chase still calls you "Bibi," but now also calls you "Tiny"

you smile in your sleep when he kisses your head

You are so wonderfully and fearfully made

for God knit you together in my womb

and I am in awe at this gift He has given us

You are a miracle

you are beautiful

you are our Ami Michele

and we love you so much!

A BUSY Summer

Life has been pretty busy lately, with:

1) Jeff's internship with Deloitte in Chicago this summer

2) Jeff, Chase and I moving in with my parents for 8 weeks

3) Family functions GALORE!

4) Being Pregnant

5) Having an active toddler ;)

6) Losing a good friend

So basically I have not blogged for QUITE a while... Which makes it difficult to sit down and try to share all that has been going on. First off, there have been some 'scares' in this pregnancy, which I have not wanted to publicly share since it was not until recently that baby and I were 'cleared' and approved for a normal pregnancy/birth. They basically thought there was an aneurysm on the umbilical artery, which is VERY rare, and in most cases, the outcome for the baby is, shall we say, not good. They have kept track of it, via ultrasounds, over the months, and the last appointment I had basically showed that there was no growth of this 'thing' and that it was so insignificant that if they had not seen it in the first place, they wouldn't have noticed it now! Can we say "THANK YOU JESUS!" Prayer has become a much more regular thing with this pregnancy, and for that I am glad, trust is such a big thing, especially in the face of the very scary unknown.

The next thing that has been going on with this pregnancy is that, with all these ultrasounds, we have been able to keep track of the baby's growth rate. And when first 'scored' she was in the 50th percentile, more recently she was between 26-28%. For the midwives and the MFMs (high risk OBGYNs, for those of you not familiar with the term... I had no idea they existed before this pregnancy), it is something to note, but not necessarily something to be overly concerned about. Since 1) I am small and most of Jeff's family is small and 2) Chase was only 6lbs at birth, which means that I might just make small babies (good for birthing, mind you!).

The only thing is, that with Chase, my fluid levels were shockingly low (2cm), and I was going to have to be induced with him. But by the grace of God, I went into labor spontaneously the night before they were to induce me, and I didn't have to take any drugs. (I had planned a Birth Center birth from the beginning, and never dreamed I would have to get induced!)

Because of this history with Chase, they have been monitoring my fluid levels as well with all these ultrasounds. Two weeks ago, the day after I traveled back to Pittsburgh from my parents house in IL, I went in for an ultrasound and my fluid levels were at 8.7-8.9cm. (For those of you not familiar, a typical range of fluid levels go from 5cm-25cm. Anything between 5 and 10cm is on the low side, and usually needs to be monitored.) I went in for a follow up ultrasound 4 days later, and my fluid level had rose to 11.1cm. Which convinced us that I had been dehydrated, probably because of the move back to Pittsburgh, the packing/unpacking and the intense heat we were having that week.

Just today, at my now weekly check up with my Midwives, I measured small again :(

That could mean a couple of things, 1) I am dehydrated, which I am almost positive I am, and have been thinking it since the weekend, or 2) I just get low fluid levels at the end of my pregnancies, but which would have to be addressed. I am supposed to schedule an ultrasound for as soon as I can... but I think I am going to try to schedule it on Saturday or after, that way Jeff will be done with his Internship program and if anything comes of the ultrasound results, then he will be here.

Me: 38.5 weeks pregnant:

On another note, we suddenly lost a good friend of our family, Roark. He has basically been an uncle to me my entire life. My parents were friends with him in High School, and he is the only person to have actually visited us in every city we have lived in. He has been such a big part of our lives that to loose him so suddenly by pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the heart) was a huge shock. The worst part of it for me was that there really was no practical way for me to get to Milwaukee, where the Memorial Service and Mass were held. While the Midwives couldn't have stopped me, they couldn't promise that I wouldn't have this baby somewhere along the road while driving there. At 38.5 weeks pregnant, it was just a bit too much to do. Plus, I gave birth to Chase at 38.5 weeks, and had already been dehydrated from one long car drive. Not to mention the emotional stress that I know would come about from being there. It hurt me a lot to have to stay here, but I know Roark would have been the first person to step up and tell me not to risk such a thing. He was such a giving and generous person with such a big heart for everyone. He was greatly loved and will be sorely missed. I love you so much Roark, it is just too hard to say good-bye.

Adventures in Tsai-land

'Adventures' of the day so far -

1. Getting stuck in a pampers box and screaming at the top of your lungs "Tuk! TUK!"

2. Pulling LARGE pregnancy books off the side table because you saw the brand new Kleenex box on top, and subsequently emptying the box of all Kleenexes

3. While Mama was picking up the Kleenexes, you got into the diaper bag, pulled out the wallet and proceeded to pull out all the credit cards and empty the coin purse

4. Climbing into the dryer as Mama put laundry in the washer, and figuring out how to stand on the 'blades' in such a way to make the dryer spin a little... and saying "WEEEEEEEEEEeeeee!" as you did it

5. So Mama put you on the deck to keep you busy while she was trying to get lunch together, and you pointed the hose toward the house and pulled the handle, spraying water EVERYWHERE in the kitchen then walking inside and slipping on the wet wood, and screaming in frustration that something made you fall

6. While Mama was cleaning up the water in her kitchen, the phone rang and she had to try to reschedule an appointment, of course, since she was on the phone, you wanted her attention, so you stepped back inside, slipped AGAIN on the wet wood floor that Mama hadn't been able to quite clean up yet, started screaming again and wanting to be held all while Mama is still on the phone with this lady and needing to get upstairs to the Google Calendar to double check all this scheduling stuff... so Mama had to take you upstairs screaming in one ear, while this lady was waiting patiently on the phone in the other ear and finally got things figured out as you squirmed and screamed in her lap in front of the computer.

All between 10 and 11am

When people ask what I 'DO' in a day, it kind of frustrates me, because what is there that I DON'T do? It takes so much time to keep the house from looking like a wrecking ball has gone through it (aka Chase), and trying to teach Chase how to help clean up a mess he made...

I get a bit frustrated.

It's a good thing I love my son and husband, because the good days, the fun days, the days where it seems laughter is endless, those are the days that makes days like today worth it.

***I edited this post from earlier, since the 'dishes' comment that Jeff made has only happened ONE time in the FOUR years of marriage, but it happened this weekend, so it was on my mind and I just added it into my rant. I love you hubby, sorry to include you in my rant at people that don't understand how hard it is to be a stay-at-home mom. You do, and you support me without end. I love you, forgive me?***

Chase and Asher - Best Buds

Chase and Asher (the son of our friend's Sarah and Micah) have been hanging out a lot lately and are really having a great time together! Here is a collage of some of their adventures together:

1. Throwing balls off the deck 2. Visiting the Zoo, and seeing the lions 3. Wondering how to get all those balls they just threw off the deck! 4. Chase in his Chinese outfit for International Festival at Tepper 5. Chase and Asher wanting to sit together in their PJs :) 6. Watching the Elephants together at the Zoo 7. Fitting under the table together, just because it seemed like a fun thing to do! 8. Asher in his Chinese outfit for Int'l Festival at Tepper 9. The boys again sitting together in the chair 10. Before crawling under the table, they were picking at leaves stuck between the deck boards :)

Forbidden City and Engrish :)

So in our excursions around Beijing so far, we have encountered a few signs, advertisements and products that don't quite get the same message across in English... here is one (just for you Micah and Sarah!). It also looked a bit more runny and had some bubbles in the bottom, needless to say, Jeff and I stayed away from the 'tomato sauce' when eating our fries that night:

Also that night, at the American themed Steakhouse:

Could you read it? In talking about the steak preparation: "...We have developed our very own foolproof way of cooking a steak perfectly every time, using a thermometer to measure the temperature inside the steak is 'just-right.' The result... a nutritious, scrumptious steak to die for!" REALLY? This steakhouse developed a meat thermometer! WOW! They should get a prize for that one.... I think Jeff said that night that their meat thermometer is probably patient pending ;)

On to some more of the cultural sites... the FORBIDDEN CITY (or the not-so-forbidden city anymore, as you can see by the crowds that are still in attendance on a freezing winter day).

That day, Sunday, we walked to the subway and took the metro a few stops over to the station south of Tian' Anmen Square. Stepping out above ground we saw to the south of us a newly renovated (since Jeff had been here 5 years ago) historical looking street with newer shops on the lower levels. This is pretty much what every 'China Town' in the USA strives to look like... and it had a Hagen Daas ;)
To the north of the subway station was Tian' Anmen Square, which is absolutely the biggest flat paved square of land I have ever seen. The square houses the tomb of Mao Zedong and a few other monuments, as well as a huge Chinese flag that is guarded by at least 6 guards facing North, South, East and West, a 500+ ft perimeter that is roped off and also has guards stationed. To enter the square, they also had guards posted with metal detectors and wands. Jeff didn't remember this from his last trip here, but I remembered in a conversation with one of the resident professors that he had mentioned that Congress is in session here in Beijing. I guess it only happens once a year, so I am figuring they are doing some extra security measures to their important monuments.

We walked north across Tian' Anmen Square to the Gates of the Forbidden City, paid for tickets and an audio guide (I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting), and headed with the masses of tour groups into the main square.

One of the guardian dogs, the female - notice the cub under her paw, in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony. You wouldn't believe how long it took me, standing there, to get a photo with no one walking through!

Notice the crowds? Here I am in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony... as Jeff mentioned, this place has a lot of harmony going on. I have my audio guide and my 'North Face' hat that was purchased at the Great Wall, best purchase of the trip so far since it has been one of the coldest winters in Beijing, like EVER.