Weekend of December 1-3
Friday, December 1:
Mommy and Daddy went out and got a few things for Noah:
– nail files (got two packs because well his nails get long real quick)
– a teething ring (to soothe his gums, seems like he’s starting to teeth)
– new nipples for bottle (for 3+months)
– and Baby Mozart!!! (so he can focus on the TV without having to watch adult stuff like football or tv shows hehe)
We also got him:
– socks and a long-sleeved onesie and vest from the Children’s Place. Awesome store! Surprisingly not as expensive as the Gap, especially for sales. But will have to check out the Gap store sales though since an Auntie told us she got socks there for less than a dollar.
Saturday, December 2:
Noah TURNED OVER!!! Twice!! Once in the morning and another time in the late afternoon! And both times he was stopped by his bumper from laying on his back but yep he did turn over!! Finally! Now we just have to see if he’ll continue hehe
He’ll also pick up the Lamaze Cube or Mister Bear if we put it on his lap! I think I may have wrote about this milestone earlier but whatever, it’s too cute NOT to write about again.
Sunday, December 3:
It’s Halal bi Halal time! We arrived late as mommy did not feel well earlier. Lots of people were there. Lots of yummy food! We dressed Noah up in his new clothes and he looked so cute! Like a little preppie boy, which a few people have protested about because they want him to be ghettofabulous instead. blah. He’s still little and cannot complain right now so mommy can dress him however she likes. 😀 *pictures will come, I still have to upload them*
Picture time:
Why am I here?
oh that’s right, to be with the family and fawned over because i’m so cute 😀
not another close up shot mommy…geez
Noah didn’t seem to enjoy the event much. We think it’s because it was too loud for him and too chaotic, well he likes crowds so it’s most likely the noise. They had live music there and even the drums were too loud for mommy. 
Maybe next year or when he’s 2, he’ll enjoy the festivities better and can actually participate. Insya Allah.
okie, the little man has awakened…
*edit: 12-13-2006–added photos*
Sitting, standing, and grabbing
Here are photos of Noah sitting, standing, and grabbing (of Lamaze cube toy and his bear):
Forgive me for saying, for the umpteenth time, that children grow up so fast. 3 months seemed to just happen in a flash. Pretty soon he’ll be in school, and driving, and in college, and then married! eek!
Relative and Thanksgiving weekend
November 23-26, 2006
Despite the struggles we have had to face, 2006 is a thankful year for us. Two new arrivals have blessed our community here: our little Noah bear and our distant relatives from Indonesia, the Widodo family.
Sometimes we do tend to forget how much we have, thinking that we are the only ones out there who have to face these difficulties. Yes, we are basically living from paycheck to paycheck, every cent a good addition to our piggy bank, but the day is still shining down on us. The grey clouds will part in time, and even if they don’t, we shouldn’t let the outside conditions affect the possibility of tranquility and calmness within. Doing so would make us the foolish ones.
Let us be thankful for all that we have and the lessons learned from our struggles.
Here are photos from this past Thanksgiving and relative-filled weekend:
The first picture is from Grandpa Firdaus’ house where we had a big family gathering. Uwo made two turkeys! and many relatives brought yummy dessert and side dishes. Grandma Hilda’s stuffing and mashed potatoes was yummy! Mommy didn’t try the rest of the food because she was focused on turkey and all its trimmings! hehe
As you can see from the picture, while Grandpa Firdaus was giving his opening speech, Noah was staring right at him (or the red scarf worn by a respected elder). He turned to his direction several times throughout the speech. And it seemed like he was taking mental notes or something because our little Noah bear looked like he was deep in thought, taking every word in.
The second picture was from a trip to the Washington Mall with relatives from Pittsburgh and the Widodo family. Mommy and daddy had oodles of fun, though the walk from the WWII memorial to the Lincoln memorial wore mommy out (exercise, mom! exercise!). It was very nice spending time with the family. We went on the excursion with our three-car caravan, hoping we don’t get lost or get ticketed for making illegal u-turns.
Our last stop of the day: Pho 75. The warmth of the Vietnamese beef noodle soup really alleviated the chill we felt as the night set in and hopefully prevented the onset of whatever aches and pains we might get from our fieldtrip.
We hope that one day we can also gather with our relatives who are still in Indonesia. insya allah. Now that would really be a thankful event.
One week shy of 4 months
Noah is growing everyday, I can’t believe he’ll be 4 months soon! He’s outgrowing his 0-3 month clothing and fitting quite well into his 3-6 month size clothing. Supposedly he weighs now about 15 pounds (give and take a few because of the clothing he wore that day) from using the subtract-from-daddy’s-weight method: we weigh daddy first and then weigh daddy carrying baby and find the difference.
Our Noah bear is also realizing the joy and comfort of sitting down and standing up. He has not yet rolled over, but he has begun to push his little body up from the support pillow behind him to a sitting up position, albeit a bit slouchy. With a little help from mommy, by way of gently grabbing hold of his hands, he can sit up pretty well and even push down on his little legs to stand up. A truly amazing feat that caught us by surprise and has us in giggles everytime we see him do it. When we pause even for a moment, he’ll get frustrated and fuss.
Noah also seems to have a penchant for singing. He has started to follow mommy when she sings, though his singing still sounds like this: aih aih goo goo aih aih. When mommy was waving her hands in the air and making a point with her right hand and pointy finger to use as a wand, he too followed. Not sure if this is coincidence or true mimickry but he did it a few times.
He seems to recognize us more too, smiling when we look at him or talk to him. He has not fully laughed out loud yet but we’ve heard the beginnings of a good laugh before it stops and turns into squeals. For the most part, he is a pretty happy baby.
The TV has become a fascination for him also. I was, and somewhat still am, against him watching TV but when he catches a glimpse of the screen he would just stare at it so intently and is so focused that I am now considering getting Baby Mozart for him so he atleast can get something out of it instead of just watching whatever mommy and daddy watches. I hope this won’t lead to bad habits or bad eyesight.
Things we’re considering to get for baby:
- Bumbo seat (because he loves to sit)
- Jumperoo (because he is enjoying bouncing on his legs and standing up)
- Baby Mozart (he loves Mozart and loves to focus on the TV screen)
Not sure if we’ll get the first two because we are on a tight budget, but maybe we’ll get him Baby Mozart for Christmas. I know we don’t celebrate but I don’t see the harm of getting him something during that time…
okie…time to do the laundry now.
New Crib
Here are photos of the crib before and after:
And this is our Noah bear enjoying his new crib and toys:
The extras:
The view from below:
As I’ve mentioned before, we got the crib from a twin’s sale held at daddy’s old middle school. The price: less than $100. The crib is not new, a 2001 model, and was used before but it was in great shape and is quite sturdy, so getting it for that price was a nice bargain.
It took us about 30 minutes to assemble it. Hubby held it up while I screwed in the screws. A Sunday well spent.
The extras pictured (mobile, toy satchel, wall decor, etc.) were all from Abang Tommy. It suited our own colors quite well (Noah currently shares our room because we are all out rooms here).
Having his crib all set up and seeing him play and sleep in there makes it all more real that he is our baby and we are now parents.
I still have to put up the rest of the wall decorations, there are 3 more stars that needs to be hanged with its friends. So the layout is not entirely done yet. We are also looking for a dresser in a complimentary color for his clothing and extra blankies. K-mart or Target perhaps? Or craigslist.org for a used one?
This upcoming weekend will be winter cleaning time. We’ll be scouring the house for unneeded stuff to put into public storage, which we hope will be open on Saturday, so our house will be more easy for the eyes. Right now it’s a complete shipwreck with baby stuff strewn all over the place. I don’t even know where to begin to clean it at this point because there’s really nowhere to store anything.
Hopefully we’ll find a bigger place soon. Insya Allah. Our little bear needs room to grow hehe
Ebay anyone?
Having discovered the incredible rush of bidding and winning on this addictive site, I know acknowledge what others have known for some time: ebaying is fun!
I just successfully bid on two items: a wool dress coat (size 3-6 mo) and a Children’s Place snowsuit, with extra fleece suit, (also size 3-6 mo). And I got them for the low, low price of, get this: $1.99 and $1.30, respectively. Gile dak? Shipping is $4 and $10, but whatever, I still got coats for less than 2 bucks! Now that is just awesome!
I scoured the site again for more bargains but I remembered to caution myself, thankfully, or else I’d have bid on many more items and wouldn’t know how to pay for all of them. hehe
And now I also learned that you really have to look for the “payment method” carefully or you will have to send a check/MO to the seller instead of just using PayPal (an online payment tool).
Okiedoke, the little bear has awakened….
3 Months and 2 Days
Noah is now a 3 month old and wouldn’t ya know it, right after he turned 3 months he fell ill.
He caught my husband’s cold and had a little fever with a slight cough. We have been giving him 0.4 ml of Children’s and Infant’s Tylenol and that has helped to reduce his fever. His cough though has been picking up but I believe that’s because his illness is slowly going away. Well, I hope.
He is “talking” more than ever now and this morning I think I heard him utter a vowel-consonant combo while hubby was changing him–twice. Not sure what it means, perhaps it was a fluke, a coincidence. He sure likes to “talk” though. I think he recognizes people better now, he will follow the people close to him around the room. Last night his eyes trailed my mother out of our room, to both of our amazement. And yesterday morning, while he was being fed (the bottle), his eyes were fixated on his daddy. This morning, while playing with daddy, he turned in my direction and just stared at me. hehe
A bit freaky but undeniably amazing that he can do that now.
While burping him this morning, we also found that his can comfortably lift his head up a good height and hold it there for a while, as well as turning it from side to side as he scans the room. It does unnerve me a little while he is doing that because I am afraid that at any moment it will snap back or forward, possibly causing damage, but so far, thankfully, it hasn’t. And if you move him, he’ll fight back. hehe He loves that position.
He seems to love trying new things. Tummy time has also gotten better. He can lift his head up almost 90 degrees while on his belly and move his head to follow an object while in this position. Even though he still has a while until he turns over, he has been showing signs of it. More so when he’s on his back. He’ll lift his leg up and swing it from side to side which causes his whole body to rock back and forth, sometimes almost making him roll over on his side (one step closer to rolling over on his belly hehe).
I’ve found also that he likes to sleep on his side. When he is put to sleep in that position, he will continue being in dreamland. Putting him on his back, on the other hand, will immediately cause him to stir and stretch and then cry. He also likes belly sleeping but I only do that in the afternoons, when I can watch him.
These are the songs he is starting to become more familiar with and even show signs of liking:
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- The Hokey Pokey
- Soleram, Anak yg Manis
- Indonesia Raya (I know he’s American but he still likes the Indonesian National Anthem)
- melody from “My Mother” by the Chipettes which I made up lyrics to:
The rainbows are outside
the rainclouds have parted
the sun is shi-ning down
Don’t cry a tear,
my child have no fear
your mother, that’s who’s right here
It was sung beautifully–albeit with a very high-pitched voice–by Brittney (the lead Chipette), during a hot-air balloon ride, to a little penguin in the “A Chipmunk’s Adventure” movie.
And now I sing it to my Noah bear…
Can’t believe he’s 3 months now. I look at him and sometimes think that he is still a newborn, then I snap back to reality when I carry him and feel his weight. He’s gotten significantly heavier, not sure his weight now but it has got to be more than 10 pounds. He’s also outgrowing several of his 0-3 month clothing, so he must be longer than 22 inches now.
sigh They really do grow up so fast…
Eventful weekend
This weekend past was just lovely. Eyang granddy came to town, we semi-celebrated daddy’s 29th birthday, and we finally found a crib for our dear Noah bear.
May you always get wiser as you get older!
Eyang Granddy: Takut yah ama granddynya? Kok gak mau ngeliat granddy sih…oohh lagi ngeliat ibu yah. “Bu, mana susu?”
Noah bear: hmmm…. let me think first…I think I’ll give them a C minus. Major improvements are necessary. Most of the time they really do not know what I want. Granddy: ahhh…I see. I will talk to them.
Noah bear: You are a good man, granddy. mmhmm.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
We were woken up by Uwo way too early in the morning. Well not too early because it was already past 7, but since it was Saturday, it would’ve been nice to sleep in a bit–especially since Noah was sleeping comfortably and not waking yet. But I’m glad Uwo woke us because if she hadn’t we would’ve have missed out on a wonderful opportunity.
She told us of a Twins Sale being held at Daddy’s old junior high and how her friend had found a crib there and has held it for us. We had been searching high and low for a nice crib for our Noah bear but we hadn’t come across any that we truly liked. Mommy’s a bit picky and well we did have a budget to consider. We weren’t going to buy a $200+ crib if Noah bear wasn’t going to be sleeping in it a lot (right now he’s sharing the bed with us) and if we didn’t have a budget for it. We did not want to push it but we also didn’t want just any old crib. It had to feel right. Ya know? Like buying a house or a car. If we didn’t feel like that crib is the crib for us, undoubtedly, then well we aren’t getting it. I feel so bad for all the times we went to Buy Buy Baby and bothering the salespeople there, asking them questions, holding certain cribs, and in the end not purchasing anything. May God bless them for their patience…
Well we went off to his old junior high and really not thinking anything, though a part of me did hope that this was “the” crib since well it was at his old junior high school and it’s the perfect weekend since granddy was here to help. We paid the 4 dollar entry fee ($2 per person) and headed straight for the “hold” section, which was pretty hard to find amidst the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria room (where the sale was being held).
When we finally spotted the crib, we just knew. The design was the one we’ve been looking for and the price was just right: under $100. Though it was used we didn’t mind. The condition was fantastic and it had all its parts, the color also went well with our room. Without thinking twice we paid for it and immediately pasted the green “PAID” sticker on it.
Since we were there we also decided to check out the clothing they had for sale and found a few things for Noah. There was this cute tigger costume but it was for $6.50 and we felt that 6.50 could be well spent elsewhere, like for sleepsacks and sweaters.
We arrived home a bit cranky, due to our sleepiness, but satisfied. We finally found a crib for our little Noah bear. Here is a photo:
Later on, we went to Tilden (the Ambassador’s residence) for the Indonesian community open house. It was windy and a bit chilly, but we packed Noah tightly into his carseat, and went there as a family. Our first official Indonesian community outing, by ourselves, as a family.
As usual, Tilden was packed! It was nice though seeing the community come out that day, dressed to their nines. We opted for comfort though, mainly because mommy’s clothing options are limited right now.
The food was great too! Even their Rendang was tasty!
Our Noah bear though just lied comfortably in his stroller:
*write more later*
Country Road, Take Me Home
to the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
take me home
country road.
Noah may be a Marylander by birth but he is a West Virginian at heart
LET’s GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!
want some of this punk?
c’mon…bring it on 
yeah, i mean you
with the West Virginia “state bird” the Cardinal:
Baby Items that we love
The Bosom Baby Nursing Pillow
Ultimate lifesaver during the last trimester with those restless nights and perfect support for nursing. It’s also very plush and comfy! I love this better than the Boppy, which I hardly use at all. Noah loves it too. We can wrap it around him and several times he fell right asleep:
Arm’s Reach Mini-Co Sleeper
Helped us a lot during those tumultuous first weeks back from the hospital. What’s funny was that Noah was born just a few days after we set this up. Before we had this in our house we’d whisper to my belly to not come so soon because we don’t have a place for him to sleep in yet, then after it was set-up we whispered that it’s okay now cause we’re ready but to hold off until after 37 weeks so he won’t have to go into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Well he listened. Noah was born just one day after 37 weeks and several days after his co-sleeper was all ready for him hehe
Lamaze Clutch Cube
One of daddy’s closest friend got us this. And when I opened the box I immediately put it to good use. I put this 6-8 inches from Noah and moved it side to side and amazingly he followed. This toy helped Noah to practice his eyesight and following objects in a 180 degree angle (all the way to the left and right). He wouldn’t follow his Baby Einstein learning cubes but he followed the black and white sections of this cube quite well.
Kiddopotamus Snuzzler
(for car seat or stroller)
Noah was born a wee bit premature, 3 weeks (or specifically, 20 days) early, and weighed only 6 pounds 12 ounces. Since we couldn’t afford the more expensive Britax Companion (suited more for preemie and smaller babies), we felt that we needed this insert for our car seat, which a good friend of my mom gave to us. And it helped a lot! We used the faux-suede side though instead of the faux sherpa/fleece lining because of the temperatures outside (still pretty hot) and because it was smoother. Noah was snug as a bug in ther
e and now if you just put him in the car seat and merely lift it up he’ll just close his eyes and fall right to sleep. hehe My mom was adverse to this at first because it “didn’t look right” but after using the car seat without it she realized that he looked more secure and snug with the Snuzzler than without it. (the picture to the right is of Noah in his car seat with Snuzzler the day we brought him back from the hospital)
Well that’s just a few of the baby items we love and could not be without right now.
His Own Corner 
