4:15AM Post

So, as the title reads, 4:15AM post, I'm awake, and have been awake since 12:45 just waiting for my little man to decide when he wants to go to sleep. I've given up trying to sleep while he roams all over the bed and all over me. Now I'm up posting on my blog while the little man plays on the floor next to me.

(Brian decided that he'd like to watch his videos, so while he did that I ate snack, brushed my teeth.)

Now it's 4:45AM and he decides to nurse...this may just be it! Sleep at LAST!!! No. Wait. I was wrong. He's back up for more videos. Baby Einstein, we are ready for you. Entertain us! Grr...

4:54AM...I bet I'll be up for another hour or so. I'll find something more interesting to do than blog here...and wait for something exciting to post about. Ha!

Snippets of Christmas 2011 Memories

I was really looking forward to Christmas this year because I now have my OWN child, and I wanted to share the Christmas spirits of giving, joy, and love with my child.
We decided to find a tree and set it up with lights for him to enjoy. First time for me and Josh to have a C-mas tree, or any C-mas decorations, in our personal room for Christmas. We set it up all together. Brian even helped. U. Isamu even dropped by to hang out with us. It was a real 'family' moment.





We proceeded to have more family moments like this. One which I captured on camera was our Lincoln Logs building night. :)
(Note: I got these from my mom's house and she said it was from when Eman was little. Boy oh boy! I've got to keep this in the family for another 30some years!)
I built a little house to show Josh how it was done. Boobins, who was sitting close by, decided he wanted to learn something new by grabbing at my house. Josh tried building his own masterpiece, but Boobins was determined to get in on all the action, so Josh opted to build something with Boobins.



See how Boobins is helping by filling up the middle with the little pieces? So cute.

Josh and I also played a part in setting up the big huge Christmas tree in the main dining room. Several other young people helped us out. I guess you could say we were the managers of the project (putting up massive tree, decorating it, and setting up and decorating the whole dining room for shows and parties). We had a memorable, fun evening doing all this. Usually it takes quite a while to set up this tree, put up the lights, and then decorate the whole thing evenly. But, this year...for lack of a professional decorator, it was put up extra fast, with extra hands and creativity. :) It turned out beautiful. Sadly, I didn't take better photos. I just took this one at one of our Christmas events. (PS. Just so you know, the paper Christmas tree with all those plastic balls is NOT what I'm talking about...that was just a game. Ha!)


Christmas day, we opened presents together as a little family. :) Elaine made the little wooden sign for the door of our room, and carved out our names. So sweet. Thanks Elaine! She also drew a cartoon photo of our family which she copied from one of our real photos.
Crystal bought Josh socks (PINK stripes! ...which Josh actually wears and says are super comfy), and Boobins some bath toys which he loves. I got sweet gifts from my sisters and parents too. Thanks everyone.
Your presents really brought a special "Kovach" family presence to brighten my Christmas. :)



In the morning, Boobins had loads of fun with his new bath toys. He lied there checking each one out carefully.

Then I tried having a little photo shoot with Brian, but it was very short lived and all the photos turned out blury because the settings were just wrong. I didn't have enough patience to sit down and fix settings.



Another special Christmas moment with his favorate, U. James. James comes over to visit Brian often. He says Brian brings him much joy and helps him to focus on something pure, other than his stressful life.


Well, I believe thats it for today. I'm working on typing up Boobins 5 to 6 month report...it's taking me a long time. I dread typing with one hand. :(

Updating Updating

Boobins and I have been sick for the last week with fevers, colds, coughs, etc. Nasty stuff. I can't wait to get better so I can go drive over to Isaac's to wish him fairwell, and get some of his stuff that he's leaving behind.

So, two days ago (7th) Boobins turned 7 months. And what do you know...in the morning as I was washing his face, I stuck my finger in his mouth and felt a little tooth in the bottom of his mouth. Exciting!!!

I'm going to be writing up his 5~6 month report. Boy, I'm so behind. Heh heh! I dare not make it a 5~7 month report. I better start keeping tabs and taking time to type stuff down so I don't forget.

Josh and I had a little vacation in the first days of January, which was very nice and relaxing. It was nice to have Josh around during the day for a few days. Also, Aiki and Mary were planning on moving in, but...it may take a bit longer than expected. Aiki is working on wallpapering; etc. the two rooms that they'll be taking, so once that's finished (which it is in a few days) they'll be able to start moving in. That is also very exciting!

And...oohps...Mr. Man is awake so I must get on with my life. If I save this now in hopes that I can come back, it may be in a few days, and I don't want that now do I.

I'll try to post some photos or something in the next few days. :)

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!
This seems like the first Christmas in ages that I got to party ON THE DAY! Usually we perform for old folks homes or orphanges or at hotels, then we celebrate Christmas AFTER the 25th. It feels RIGHT to celebrate it on the day...however, it feels like Christmas is shorter. Ha! I still don't want to take down the Christmas decorations till the year is over.

Well, here's what we did for Christmas.
Morning time was filled with cuddles and kisses. SKIN to SKIN time with Mommy, while I thanked God for giving me such a sweet and precious little Gemini boy this year. Last Christmas Boobins was a 3 month old fetus in my tummy. :) Now he's a big/skinny 6 month old boy. :)


After cuddles, I dressed Boobins in his Christmas vest and walked around giving Christmas Cheers to everyone we met. Until he stopped giving cheer, and instead giving off the fumes of something that needed changing. (After feeding him solids, the smell of doodoo instantly changed! Beware my friend mothers! The smell only gets worse!)

Then the afternoon came and I started wrapping presents and writing Christmas notes for everyone here. :) There's something about giving presents to people. I love it! I enjoy watching people's faces light up and become encouraged with the simpliest gifts. It's not about the present itself, it's usually the thought that counts. :) So... this year Josh and I gave presents to 39 people, plus my family-6. WHEW!!! I feel good!!! :) You should have seen me in my room in the middle of the floor wrapping presents, while Brian sat next to me ripping up paper, grabbing ribbons, playing with presents, and all the rest. So, some of our wrapping was a bit wrinkled, and some toys broken (JK), but it was fun!
We brought all our presents to dinner to pass out. Sadly I don't have any photos of our big bag and two big baskets of presents.
Anyway, I had a wonderful Christmas! Food and fellowship was great. Took some Christmas photos, something I was really looking forward to doing.

There were 4 other tables decorated as below.

Mary and Shun were the cooks! Thanks again Mary for the awesome dinner! I really loved the salad and PIES...goodness me!! Tasty! Shun's rice was awesome too! First time for me to eat the chirashizushi during our Christmas parties.

Katie and Kina. Their younger sister, Kimby, was also dressed up like this too. So cute!

And...family photos.

Us with Uncle Isamu!

Yay! I wish everyone a super wonderful Christmas and New Years!!! Can't want to see your Christmas posts and family photos.

Hat Show

Last week I pulled out his size 70 clothes. I found a stack of hats, so I had a little fun. Some hats are still too big, but tried them on him anyway.

Hair Cut!

I woke up yesterday morning and after taking one look at Boobins I decided, "I'm going to cut his hair today!"
So, I sat him in his walker and turned on his favorite video, Baby Einstein. And as he watched his video, I watched his baby hair fall to the floor. Aww...a part of me wanted to shout, "Noooo!! Stop!!" But, thank God I cut it! He looks soooo much cuter and fatter!





Some people say he looks more like Leika's boys now, others say he looks totally Japanese now, and some say he looks like Hik and Angel's boys. So...although he's cuter, he looks less like me. Ha! Darnit!

For fun

This is pretty funny!

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/video/parents-prank-kids-with-bad-gifts-15153721?tab=9482931&section=4765066

Is Crying it Out Dangerous for Kids?

By Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine | Parenting – Wed, Dec 14, 2011

Is crying it out hurting your child?

If the link between parent and child is strong enough that kids can "catch" their parents' stress, it may stand to reason that babies crave the physical connection that comes with a cuddle. It's something that plenty of parents are more than happy to provide during the day but, when it comes to bedtime, the modern emphasis has been on teaching good sleep habits -- and giving mom and dad a break.

Most sleep-deprived parents get to the point where they're willing to try almost anything in order to get a good night's rest. While some decry it as cruel, others have had success with the "cry it out" method -- teaching babies to "self-soothe" by letting their nighttime crying go unanswered.

But is "crying it out" about establishing independence? Or is it just a way of making those early years easier for parents?

In an article published this week in Psychology Today, one researcher says that crying it out could be dangerous for children, leading to a lifetime of harm.

"A crying baby in our ancestral environment would have signaled predators to tasty morsels," writes Darcia Narvaez, an Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Collaborative for Ethical Education at the University of Notre Dame. "So our evolved parenting practices alleviated baby distress and precluded crying except in emergencies."

When babies are stressed, their bodies release the hormone cortisol, which can damage or even destroy neurons in their still-developing brains, researchers at Yale University and Harvard Medical School have found. That can lead to a higher incidence of ADHD, poor academic performance, and anti-social tendencies.

Human babies are hardwired for near-constant holding, breastfeeding, and having their other needs met quickly -- the hallmarks of Attachment Parenting, Narvaez points out -- in order for their brains to develop properly. Even Dr. Richard Ferber, whose sleep-training method is commonly called the Cry It Out Method, says that he never intended parents to completely ignore their babies nighttime tears.

"I've always believed that there are many solutions to sleep problems, and that every family and every child is unique," he said in an interview with BabyTalk. "People want one easy solution, but there's no such thing. I never encouraged parents to let their babies cry it out, but one of the many treatment styles I described in my book is gradual extinction, where you delay your response time to your baby's wakings. I went to great pains in the second edition to clarify that that treatment is not appropriate for every sleep issue, of which there are many."

What he does encourage is teaching children to soothe themselves during normal nighttime wakings. But many parents extend his advice to include all bedtime-related crying. That's the type of crying it out sets kids up for stress-related problems, trust issues, anxiety disorders, reduced brain function, and a lack of independence, Narvaez writes. And since the problems are on a genetic level, they can't necessarily be fixed later in life.

"In studies of rats with high or low nurturing mothers, there is a critical period for turning on genes that control anxiety for the rest of life," Narvaez writes. "If in the first 10 days of life you have low nurturing rat mother (the equivalent of the first 6 months of life in a human), the gene never gets turned on and the rat is anxious towards new situations for the rest of its life, unless drugs are administered to alleviate the anxiety."

Could a lack of nurturing explain our "Prozac Nation?" Narvaez points out that she's witnessed the long-term physical effects of it firsthand.

"I was raised in a middle-class family with a depressed mother, harsh father and overall emotionally unsupportive environment -- not unlike others raised in the USA," she writes. "I have only recently realized from extensive reading about the effects of early parenting on body and brain development that I show the signs of undercare -- poor memory (cortisol released during distress harms hippocampus development), irritable bowel and other poor vagal tone issues, and high social anxiety."

The lack of nurturing, and the prevalence of parents who put their own needs in front of their kids', may be to blame for the mental and physical health problems that are plaguing the United States now.

"If we want a strong country and people," she writes, "we've got to pay attention to what children need for optimal development."

Christmas

My attempt at taking a beautiful Christmasy photo.

Do you notice anything out of the ordinary?

Merry Christmas to you!
May this Christmas be filled with many laughs and great joy!

My Whereabouts

Caption: Boobins with Aunty Sherry

Hey there,
I just wanted to post something quick to let you know my whereabouts, and to reasure you that I'm still alive!

Josh went to driving school on November 20th, for a little over two weeks. So in the mean time, I stayed at Sam and Leika's then moved on to stay at my parents house for 11 days.

Now I'm back home and am busy with Christmas planning and organizing. :) But I am taking care to photograph my son during this season, so...hang in there. I'll have photos posted of my visits soon. :)

Love you!