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October 31, 2007
Moo
Katy dressed as a cow on Halloween. Her daddy took her trick-or-treat around the neighborhood (about two blocks). She had a great time. The only candy she ate was a lollipop.
Revised: Her bucket of goodies sat on top of her dresser untouched for months until the arrival of her baby sister. For some reason, the baby sister trigger her candy eating behavior. Hopefully it is not due to the stress. By the way, her daddy would sometimes take a candy from the bucket as taxation.
Posted by Mike at 11:22 PM | Comments (0)
Misc Pics
Our computer crashed and we managed to salvage some pictures today. Before we can have a chance to save all Katy's pictures elsewhere, we decided to post some pictures below that we never got around to.
It was traumatizing when we realized there was a possibility that we could lose all her pictures.
By the way, Katy went trick-or-treat tonight. She had a lot of fun.
Katy went snowshoeing earlier this year. We hope we can take her again this winter. She liked it, but she refused to put on a hat or earmuffs, so we didn't go for a long time.
Squeeze really hard.
Katy looking cute in her Chinese outfit. She didn't like it. It was not a pink floral dress.
Katy in a swimsuit. Afterwards, she had her first sunburn. Our baby's skin was so rough the next few weeks. Guess too much sun does age your skin.
Katy being very helpful.
Katy having her birthday cake again, with her cousins in San Jose.
Posted by Mike at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)
October 11, 2007
Reading Fun
Katy's favorite book is "Bears in the Night." She likes to read along with her daddy before bedtime. She has reached the age where everything dark or dark-related is scary. She has trouble falling asleep and needs reassurance almost daily.
Today was a rather unusual day. After Katy got home from the daycare, she played with her Princesses stuff. Not long afterwards, she put everything away (what a good girl) and told her mom she needed a bath because she was very tired. This was the first time she requested a bath; she usually puts out a fight when we tell her it is time for bath.
There was this one afternoon a few months ago (probably in the summer) that she told her mom she was going to take a nap, and she walked to her bedroom with a book under her arm. You could hear her reading the book in the bedroom but pretty soon it was all quiet. She never did that again.
She went to bed about 7:30 tonight. We only spent an hour and half with her today. Because her mom started a new job, we were trying out a new schedule today. Katy has been going to bed pretty late recently. Last night she didn't fall asleep well past 10 (we did spend a lot of time with her though). She got up at 8 this morning. Not enough sleep for this little girl. We are hoping to get her to bed early so she can get up early and spend time with us in the morning. We really don't like to rush her in the morning.
Posted by Mike at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)
October 09, 2007
Pumpkin Patch
Katy's mom has a couple of days off between jobs, so she decided to take Katy to Bishop Pumpkin Farm again.
It was fun. Katy had a good time. But based on the recent experiences, Katy's parents are less inclined to take Katy places. It is just too hard to get her to leave.
Yeah, we will be one of those parents who leave kids with relatives while going on fancy vacations all over places.
Shouldn't kids be punished for whiny bratty behaviors? Before Katy learns to shape up, it will be years before she sees another pumpkin.
Besides, when we return from our future trips, we can show her pictures of our great time. Hopefully it will encourage her to go out make her own money and have her own experiences when she grows up. You don't want kids to be too comfortable or they will never leave.
So Katy's mom finally left her stressful job. Yes, all jobs are stressful, but this one was especially so because everyone in the department was an *essential* employee. There was no doubt about the job security, but the downside is when the holiday season comes around, only one person is allowed to take time off. Katy's mom was not sure about waiting for six or seven years for her turn to take time off around holidays. Maybe she could call in sick. But it is all done.
Katy's mom thought about becoming a stay-at-home parent before she found a new job. It was a difficult decision. Of course she was aware of the fact that life as a stay-st-home mom wouldn't be all peachy. There would be stresses of a different kind.
Quite frankly, Katy's mom does best if the kid goes to daycare while she stays at home. She doesn't do well with little children. Her patience is running real thin when a child whines and screams. So it is of everyone's best interest if she keeps working until Katy goes to school full-time. Daycares or preschools are too expensive on one salary.
Further, if Katy's mom stopped working right now, Katy's dad would have to work another 30 years. No layoffs, no illness, no disability, no nothing. Must keep working for 30 more years. Seems like a tall order to fill. Many people have done it, but it is too risky for this family.
And it is not like Katy's daddy is in a career path that fully utilizes his skills and interests. It is best to wait until he finds something suits him better or he would end up taking a job that pays well that he hates.
By our calculations, if Katy's mom keeps working for another seven years and Katy's dad works for seven more after that, we will have the luxury to choose to work. Katy will possibly have not just one but two stay-at-home parents in her teen years. All teenagers dream of that.
[MonkeyDaddy editorial note: Do all teens dream of two stay-at-home parents? Do any?]
Posted by Mike at 04:37 PM | Comments (0)