Super Baby, chapter 1-5: Never deny food to a hungry baby.

Words ... How we speak can dramatically change the day.

Instead of saying, "we are not going to park until you put on your shoes," (「靴をはかないと、公園に行かないよ」と言うよりも、）

we want to say, "we are going to park as soon as you put on your shoes."　（「靴がはけたらすぐ公園に行こうね。」と言う。）

Tantrums ... in order to minimize them, match her feelings.

Instead of saying, "It's ok," (by the way, saying "it's ok" tells the baby that you are not listening to her and understanding her) we want to state what is going on with matching her feelings; for example, when she cries out, we can say to her "Yuna is still mad, mad, MAAAAAAD. Yuna says no no no ... NO," matching with her tone of speech (in this case, cry). When she stops and has a puzzled look on her face, we win! My husband is really good at this.

Baby language discovered by Priscilla Dunstan:

Neh = I'm hungry.

Owh = I'm tired.

Heh = I'm in discomfort.

Eairh = I have lower gas.

Eh = I have upper gas (burp).

I have not yet differentiated the sounds.

Feeling Secure.

The babies, whose parents are quick to respond to their cries and hold them longer, feel more secure. Especially if the parents can understand the baby's cues and respond quickly, she does not have to cry for a long time. Hence, she feels more secure, and has higher EQ (Emotional Intelligence). That includes never denying food to a hungry baby, not ignoring baby's cries, nor leaving her in the car seat, (which is also a risk for flat-head syndrome).

Tiring Sun.

Sleep research found babies who slept well at night were exposed to twice as much light between noon and 4 p.m.. Yuna slept 11 hours straight for the first time after being exposed to her extended family members, being held by one cousin to another, as well as sun light on July 4th.

TV.

For every hour of TV watched by children aged 1 and 3 face a 10 % increased risk of attention problems by age seven.

The curse of the sippy cup.

Sippy cups can cause babies speech problems in the future. So try straw-cups or recessed-lid drinking cups instead.

She can now put her hands together.

Week 12

Conducting music.


She was able to touch the turtle on our right (the lowest one) for the first time. Very excited and kept doing that for the next 20 minutes.

Super Baby, chapter 1: It's all about respect

I started to read a book called "Super baby," which gives me ideas how to be a better parent. So here it goes, "parenting 101." This entry only serves the purpose of my memory retention and maybe for newly parents like me. But of course, any comments and advice are highly appreciated.

"Because babies are so small and totally dependent, it is easy to forget that they're human beings, individuals with preferences, thoughts, and their own feelings. ... we pick her up without a word of warning and abruptly put her on the changing table. At other times, we put her in her crib and run out of the room without saying a word because we hear the phone ring. We even get so caught up in our own anxieties about our child being developmentally "on time" ... In fact, it seems that often we watch our children without really seeing them for who they actually are."

In which, I am guilty of.

So here is what I need to try:

(1) Tell her what is going to happen
(2) Narrate her experience
(3) Let her know my expectation and choices that she can make within my limitations.

Yes, Yuna. We want you to be the happiest baby with us.

July 4th fun

Thanks to uncle Chad who saved our seats at 5:30 a.m., we had great time cheering at the parade.

Great morning to begin July 4th.


After a while, the heat of Utah summer reminds us that in deed Utah is a desert.


Then, we had a very relaxing time with cousins.


It's not even everybody.


Aunt Rachael bought Yuna a July 4th outfit.
Am I the only one who sees a lot of similarities in this photo?!


I love how she adjusts to the environment by curving her body.

The stadium fireworks were much better than the ones from two years ago. We had fun guessing what the different shapes and sparkles were supposed to mean. Since we did not capture those, here is a little sparkling kicks to light your day!



Yesil dolmates bastisi - Green tomatoes gratin (from Egyptian cooking book) for tonight's dinner

Very much arranged by me; I did not use green tomatoes nor mash the vegetables. But hey, tasted great! I am making a vegetable soup with the leftover for breakfast.

Week 11

Week 10

Yuna's form of exercise. Yes, she just moves on the floor but not so much different from us, exercising vertically. She does the surprise open arms at the end. I promise that I will shoot the surprise open arms better in the future!

Week 9

You can see the battle scar from all the 2 month immunization shots on her thighs. Good work, Yuna!