Cheerios

Caitlin has a favorite new toy. We gave her a single Cheerio one day and like everything else, she stuck it in her mouth. We were overjoyed to find that she neither choked or spit it out. Caitlin happily chawed on it (chawing is chewing, except without teeth) and eventually it was soggy enough to be swallowed. How exciting. Anna and I celebrated and gave her another Cheerio. With great enthusiasm, she held onto the Cheerio awkwardly between her first and second finger while poking it with her other hand. She turned it around and switched it between her hands, promptly dropping it until I picked it up and handed it back to her. I suppose the small loop of processed oats was a wonderment for the mind of an 8 month old... but it certainly wasn't food. Anna and I tried to show her that Cheerios were edible by example, and as many Cheerios as she watched us eat, her personal Cheerio was designated for study.

So far I have observed that our 8 month old scientist discovered a few key facts about Cheerios:

1. If squeezed, a Cheerio breaks into many smaller pieces that are easily lost or spread around the living room.
2. If held long enough in sweaty palms, they turn into the same mush as if you had it in your mouth for a shorter time.
3. The little Cheerio jar makes a fun sound when you shake it.
4. Cheerios are for eating if stuck in mouth. Cheerios are for play if placed in hand.
5. Cheerios are more fun than anything mom and dad has bought for Caitlin from stores.

End of Summer

As I shopped for my class supplies for the new school year, I know it signals the end of my summer. I will be returning back to school this week to start cleaning, setting up and prepping for my 1st week of school. It's really hard to believe that it will be the end of my "stay at home mom" status. (Boo-hoo.....) Eugene has his student teaching orientation next Thursday, and I am back at work for a full day inservice. It has been fun watching Caitlin grow so much just these past 2-3 weeks. She has started to scoot on her tummy and continues to roll around as she explores around her environment. Caitie-pie is starting to get into things, and she's not a full fledged crawler yet. Caitlin just started to use her legs a little. She's still adjusting back to her normal napping pattern. Her naps has gotten a lot shorter and have become less frequent. One thing I do love is that Caitlin has the best hairdo when she wakes up!

More Family Visits

Eugene and I are so happy that Caitlin finally got to meet Grand Auntie Linda and Grand Uncle Ben. Caitie immediately connected with them. Caitie couldn't keep her eyes off Grand Auntie Linda. Grand Auntie Linda sure knows how to play, talk and keep Caitlin's attention on her. Grand Uncle Ben and Grand Auntie Linda came with Eugene's grandma, Tai Ma. Since Tai Ma is staying with MaMa & YeYe's house for a little while, Caitlin gets to hang out more with Tai Ma. Caitlin really loves meeting more of the Law Clan family members. Everyone had a nice evening together. We all got to enjoy YeYe's fresh geoduck clam dish and yummy Harris Ranch beef from Grand Uncle Ben and Grand Auntie Linda for dinner.

Caitlin's First Visit to Chinatown in SF

As we traveled back from Tahoe to the Bay Area, Eugene's parents decided to swing by San Francisco to meet up with my parents and have dinner with them in Chinatown. We had really good Hong Kong style food for dinner. Eugene and I had never seen such a huge claypot dish in our lives called "sa-wall". It had clear rice noodles, mushrooms, chicken and lots of wanton dumplings for Eugene. =) It was a nice visitation since my parents don't come down to San Jose unless they get a ride from my siblings or us. PoPo and GungGung finally got to see Caitlin again since Father's Day. It was a nice visitation for Caitlin's grandparents to catch up and adore our little Caitie pie! Our little Mo Mo Chong had a very long and busy week.

Caitlin's First Vacation

Caitlin has been pretty much a homebody for all her life, but finally Grandma and Grandpa decided to head to South Tahoe, so we all got in the car, and made our way to Tahoe! Auntie Rica even came up from San Diego to spend the week with us. We would have had pictures a week ago, but I accidentally left our camera at Grandpa's house, so we ended up having to wait a week to share.

While everything was new to Caitlin, even Anna got to see something new. This was Anna's first time at the *actual* Lake Tahoe!! We took the time to head to Emerald Bay, and had the privilege of being Caitlin's chauffeur on the mile or so hike to the shore of Emerald Bay (from the road, which is quite a hike above from the shore line. So after years of skiing in Tahoe, mommy finally visited the reason the town is called "Lake" Tahoe. =)

Caitlin also got to go swimming for the first time EVER!!! She didn't cry or anything, but did have fun at the pool (no, no, we didn't swim in the lake) with her new Seahorse floaty device. She loved splashing the water and was quite mobile, kicking her little feet like duck-feet beneath the flotation device.As usual, vacations never last long enough, and we had to go home, but we all had a great time.

Music Class

Caitlin has been attending Gymboree with mommy for the past couple weeks. She has been taking a Music class and a Do-er class (sort of like day camp for infants). She *LOVES* the Music class, and is now an expert in the maracas and dancing (with mom's help).She's the youngest baby in the class, and is the only one who isn't self mobile. We did notice that she is really observant and really wants to learn to crawl. So far, no forward movement, but she does a cute little frog swim, when she's trying real hard. She does roll over really well in both directions, and can spin in place and occasionally scoot backwards. We're really proud of her.

Today Caitlin was doing a peekaboo activity with lots of colorful scarves, and during the transition and clean-up, Caitie decided it would be a nice time to charm all onlookers by rolling her way into the big pile of scarves. Mommy managed to snap a picture and send it to me on my cellphone, so I could help Caitlin charm all of my friends in my summer school class.

Of course, now we have to share and charm everyone who reads this blog while we are at it.

Mommy's Little Precious Baby

Caitlin Brianne came into our lives as a 6 pounds baby and 19 inches long. Her Chinese name is Ga Yun (Rejoice in God's grace or Rejoice in God's gift). Caitlin is her Americanized spelling of her Chinese name. Caitlin means "pure" and Brianne means "strong". We also call her Caitie, YunYun or just her Chinese name. I can't believe how big she has gotten as Eugene and I picked one picture of each month of Caitie-pie for the blog! It has been an exciting summer for me since I get to stay home with her the whole summer as an official "full-time mommy" until I start work again in the late August. It has given me an opportunity to see Caitlin's development. =)