Week 43

School will be out in one more week! Woohoo for summer break! This is probably the first time where I felt I needed the break more than the students. I can't wait to be with Garrett and Gideon all summer long!

This week, Gideon is practicing his standing skills while holding on to the couch, the chair, the coffee table, anything at his height. He is working hard on trying to find balance. There were a couple of times he would let go and just stand for a millisecond. We don't have a video of that just yet, but we hope soon. We did get a couple of fun videos.

His weekly picture was inspired by his bedhead. It was amazing! The first few pictures were blurry so these were the best. I love his hair. It looks like it's time for another haircut. Two haircuts in one year!





The first video is titled "Curious Gideon" because he was exploring a new texture. hahahaha....

Curious Gideon from Gar on Vimeo.

The second video is my attempt to record Gideon making the farting noise with his mouth. Once I got the camera out he stopped doing it. So the video is just his face mostly with just one account of the noise.

funny sounds from Gar on Vimeo.

10 months

I cannot believe that Gideon is 10 months old (week 42). The time has really gone by super quick. This week Gideon learned how to scratch his arm really well that he got an infection. At first, we thought he was just scratching to just practice his new finger motor skills. Nope, we were wrong. The dry skin became a bigger rash and then a full-blown red rash that was oozing. We had been putting lots of lotion and hydro-cortisone ointment, but it did not work. So we went to the doctor's office on Saturday morning. The doctor quickly prescribed three different ointments to minimize the itch, treat the infection and for future rashes. He said that Gideon might have eczema and we should just watch out for future rashes. Gideon was really good in scratching his arm. The rash is on his right arm so he would use his left arm to scratch. When we would hold his left arm to stop him from scratching, he would rub his right arm on the chair/blanket/towel to continue the scratch.

This week we have been trying to give Gideon more finger foods for him during meal time. He loves tofu, carrot cubes and radish cubes. We made catfish nuggets for Gideon to eat. He also tried smashed up mushrooms and loved it. Well, currently, he loves everything. He doesn't seem to have a stop button when he is eating. When our friends watched Gideon so that Gar and I could watch a SIFF film, they noticed that Gideon would continue to eat if you give him more. Yup, that's our son. Gideon also tried a tamale from the tamale man at our favorite produce store. Yes, he loved that too! He also tried plain Cheerios for the first time.

Falling, pulling himself up, and eating seaweed!

Just as promised, three new videos. The first one was a quick one since we were trying to get the video of Gideon using the toy as Thor's hammer. He stopped once the camera turned on and fell backwards.

Falling backwards from Gar on Vimeo.

The second video is of Gideon climbing up on my legs to stand up. If you watch it till the end, you will see booger bubbles.

Climbing Up from Gar on Vimeo.

The third video, courtesy of Gar, is Gideon eating seaweed with background music, Marvin Gaye. It's a little long, but if you are Auntie Jaime, you want to watch it over and over again.

Eating seaweed from Gar on Vimeo.

Week 41

It's Memorial day weekend, so I added a couple of activities that I usually wouldn't have on a normal weekend. Gideon and I had a play date with Zane and Zane's mom. Garrett and I stayed up making catfish nuggets and chocolate chip cookies, just because. I wish every weekend was a three day weekend.

Well, we are in week 41, one week before the big ten month birthday! I cannot believe how fast the time is going. Especially now that school is almost out! Woohoo for summer break!

This week Gideon is working on scooting down the sofa while standing. He tries to move his feet but he mostly reaches for the toy or remote control without having to move down the sofa.

We also caught Gideon dumping out some baby powder on the ground. Here is the after picture.



Gideon knows that there is more places to see off the play mats. He ventures off the mats into the new territory. He plays with the carseat. He rocks it back and forth, watching the movement. Then he would try to rock the exosaucer too. He is a curious baby. Here he is playing with the awesome ball that Auntie Valene and Uncle Dustin gave Gideon for Christmas. He is no longer just sucking it but playing with it.







And of course, the weekly photos! Enjoy!

Week 40

This week was filled with sunshine, bucket hat (sun hat, multiple stinky diapers (no more once a week) and a trip to the dentist.

I better start with the last item, the dentist. With the brushing and rubbing of Gideon's teeth, at least twice a day, he was showing signs of stains near his gum line. I tried to rub harder, but then Gideon would get mad so we tried a non-fluoride tooth gel. He didn't seem to mind with the naturally flavored gel but he still didn't like the rubbing. The stains were still there and I wasn't sure how bad it would be. So we got a medical opinion. Gideon would not keep his mouth open to have the dentist try to get the stains off. The dentist said that we are doing everything right in trying to keep his teeth clean. He said to continue doing it and just watch out for further staining. I am more at peace with what we are doing and continuing to monitor his teeth.

Ok, back to the more fun stuff. With the sunshine, Gideon does not like to wear sunglasses that we would try on in the store. So we opted for a sun hat or what Garrett would say, a bucket hat because it's more masculine sounding.

One morning, while I was driving Garrett to work, Gideon was playing in his carseat reading a book. The sun was just hitting that spot in the sky where driving eastbound can be a little tricky. Well, we were driving westbound and the sun was behind us, aka through the rear window. Garrett was taking his normal morning nap when I heard Gideon crying. Usually he doesn't cry in the morning. He is well-fed. He has a clean diaper and a toy. Garrett woke up to find Gideon pulling down the canopy of the carseat and the sunlight was hurting his eyes. Garrett fixed the canopy and went back to sleep. Thirty seconds later, Gideon was crying again, canopy pulled down and sun in his eyes. We thought he would learn from the first time, or the second time, but nope, he continued to do it all the way to daycare. Crazy boy! So I found him this awesome reversible bucket hat from etsy on sale. I also bought another one in a larger size.

Gideon tried monterey jack cheese this week. He made a slimy mess. =)

Week 39

Gideon is now closer towards the 12 month milestone. I knew that he is getting older every day but now he is able to do more than just sit and be cute. He can return a smile when you smile at him. He laughs at funny faces. He loves to play peek-a-boo. He is practicing his wave goodbye when someone leaves. He is feeding himself more foods with his hands. He currently loves fish sticks. He loves feeding himself. He would stuff one half in his mouth and continue with the other half with a full mouth. We hope that he learns to wait and "gum" the food first before adding more.

This weekend, Garrett and I went to a marriage retreat in Seattle. Christine Nakano invited us to attend since it was hosted by the church that she ministers to. We appreciated the helping hands to take care of Gideon while we were learning more tips and strategies to strengthening our marriage. Thank you to Grandma Chan for Friday evening fun! Thank you to Auntie Kimmie and Uncle Jonathan for watching Gideon all day on Saturday!

We took Gideon's weekly picture after giving him a bath. So his hair looks slicked back but it's just wet. He looks very different when his hair is swept away from his face. He was also really into holding the transformer's cup in the bath. He would not let it go. When we tried to switch it with another toy, he would make a yelp. So that is why he is holding a cup in his weekly picture.

9 months! (Week 38)

I cannot believe that Gideon is now 9 months old. He went to see the pediatrician this week. Due to a mommy memory lapse, we did not see Dr. Kumasaka. Since Gideon is moving around a lot, he did not gain as much weight. He is now 18 lbs. 4 oz. He is 27.75 inches tall. The pediatrician was impressed by Gideon's ability to pull himself up and crawling all over the place. She also predicts that he might be an earlier walker.

This week Gideon met Ayano for the first time. She played volleyball with us when she was living in Seattle. She was visiting from Japan this past week. She liked holding Gideon and Gideon liked her too.



Gideon also played with Camille. Well, side by side play. He doesn't know his own strength.





So his weekly picture was fun to take this week. He was awake, happy and alert. I love the picture where he looks like he is doing soulja boy. =) Gideon, happy 9 month birthday! We love you!