The Baby Expert

October 31, 2014

Oops, We Did It Again

After waiting for the green light from the wife and because I’ve just been too busy/lazy to write a post, I can finally announce that we do indeed have a bun baking in the oven! Back in August when I first found out, the wife was actually trying to hide this fact from me. I guess she hadn’t had time to process it all in yet. The only reason I found out was because we have a little blabber mouth, Caitlyn, whom the wife had imparted and entrusted the secret to. Well, now I know who not to tell my deepest darkest secrets to.

While we were both naturally happy, there was also a sense of disappointment because we both very excited about a trip we were planning to Germany and Europe during Chinese New Year. This, obviously, has been officially scrapped, much to our dismay. After months of rather lackadaisical attempts and being unsuccessful, couldn’t my sperm cells have just waited a few more months to make contact with the wife’s egg?

But on the flipside, we’re having a baby! Yippee. Forgive me if my excitement seems a bit forced, but all I can think of right now are the sleepless nights, stacks of bottles that need to be washed, dirty diapers that need to be changed, and all the baby gear that we’ll have to lug around again. I’m sure all that will change once I see our little bundle of joy for the first time, but still. Bottles upon bottles that need to be washed....

One other thing that flashed through my mind was being on the receiving end of the wife’s frequent mood swings (most of which I was responsible for) when she was pregnant the first time around. However, I’m very pleased to announce that I have yet to really tick her off and be confined to sleep on the couch thus far. While I’d like to say that I’ve changed for the better, the wife is probably more correct in saying that she’s become better at tolerating me. Either way, it’s still early in the game. Will I make it through all 9 months of being on my best behavior or will I crack under the pressure? Only time will tell.

As of this moment, the sex of the baby is still a mystery. Ask me the first time, and I'll tell you that I'll be happy with a boy or a girl as long as it’s healthy. But prod me a bit further, and I’ll admit I want another girl. Even the wife admits she would rather have a girl.

What’s not to like about girls? Bottom line is they’re just plain cuter than boys and 100 times better-behaved.They can do everything a boy can do, only better. I freely admit, girls rule, boys drool. But if you ask Caitlyn what sex she’d like the baby to be, she’ll say a boy. It seems that she's figured out little brothers are easier to control and boss around than little sisters. I just need to think back to how my older sister used to order me around to realize that this is totally true.

"Who run this world? Girls." You tell em, Beyonce.

September 7, 2014

Here to Pump You Up

Has it really been two months since I last checked in? I'd like to think it’s because I’ve been so busy working out. While blogging is a good form of finger exercise, I have been neglecting my other major muscles groups for some time now.

Exercising and my physical health have been on the decline ever since leaving college. It took its biggest dip when I got hitched. No need to impress anyone anymore, right? Plus, with the addition of daddy duties, exercise was the last thing I wanted to do after a long day at work.

But I finally tried to turn over a new leaf this summer. I didn’t want our daughter growing up thinking that being a couch potato is ok. Physical fitness is important. After all, a healthy body leads to a healthy mind. And we all know that a healthy mind leads to an Ivy League college.

Plus, the new school that I just started teaching at is gung-ho about fitness. How gung-ho you ask? Let’s just say that in order to graduate on to the next grade level, the students have to pass a specific physical test. One grade has to bike around the whole of Taiwan, another has to swim across the largest lake in the country, and for one unlucky grade, they get to hike up the highest peak in the country.

A grim mental image of me laid out on the ground, gasping for air and help while a pack of 8^th graders casually hiked by me was enough motivation for me to get back in shape. And to give me a helping hand was none other than my new workout partner, Caitlyn.

Not having a membership to a gym and too cheap to get one, I started doing simple exercises at home. Being at an age where kids copy everything that others do, Caitlyn also started exercising alongside me. We’d do stretches, push-ups, sit-ups, dips, and arm curls together. On days I didn’t want to exercise, she’d call me out and insist we get our daily workout in.

To balance out our physical regimen, Caitlyn also started teaching me how to meditate, which she picked up from Grandpa the last time he visited.

“Close your eyes!” “No! This is how you place your hands!” “You’re not doing it right!” she’d bark as she’d try to teach me the proper way to get in touch with my inner-self. Somehow, she'd morphed from being my workout partner to being my overly enthusiastic trainer.

But the funniest has to be when she insists I shout out, “Hercules!” every time I do a rep of arm curls. A bit strange if you ask me, but she’s my trainer, so I suppose she must know what she’s doing. After all, I do feel fitter than I did two months ago.

Pre-workout stretch

Graceful push-ups

Hercules!!

The Zen Master

In the zone

Workout for the brain

July 4, 2014

Besties on the Weekends

Every morning, Caitlyn will call out either ‘Daddy’ or ‘Mommy’ to come get her from her bedroom. Which person she chooses depends on what day it is. If it’s a weekday, she’ll say, “Mommy.” If it’s the weekend, she’ll say, “Daddy.”

Just so she doesn’t get things mixed up, she’ll specifically ask what day tomorrow will be, and then proceeds to state who she’ll give the honor to of going to her room in the morning. If either the wife or I try to go in when our name hasn’t been called, we’ll be received with a lot of crying and screaming.

Basically, on weekdays, she only wants Mommy and will ignore and give me the cold shoulder unless I bribe her. On weekends, however, it’s the complete opposite. She showers me with hugs and kisses, latches onto me whenever she sees the wife, only wants to play with me, sits next to me during meals, and insists I take her to go potty and to take a bath.

How she decided on this is beyond me. My theory has been that weekends equal fun. Therefore, Daddy must equal fun. That makes me feel pretty good. What weekdays equal and therefore what Mommy must equal, I leave up to you.

Now that it’s officially summer and school is out, Caitlyn has been a bit confused as to why I’m still around in the morning on the weekdays. As with before, she would prefer the wife over me. But then several classmates at her Montessori school got the enterovirus last week, and the place had to be shut down for two weeks. That has made her extremely happy and in turn, has made every day thus far into the weekend, which means Caitlyn and I have been living it up as best buds.

Would asking the school to shut down for another two months until I go back to work be asking for too much?