Engagement Party and happy 10 months

Today we went to our friends engagement party out in Temple City. It was a far drive and she took her afternoon nap in the car. She cried for 10 minutes in the car before she fell asleep but it felt like forever listening to her screaming her lungs out. It was fun to see some of S's old friends at the party. Bella had a good time meeting new people and exploring her new environment. She even had enough energy for us to check out the new Korean Market in Irvine on the way home. Bella is growing up and now she can stay up without being cranky for more than few hours at a time. I really can't believe she's 10 months old now. These pictures were taken after we got home. Bella had her bath after and she was wiped out by 6:10pm. She was fast asleep in less than few minutes. We are really fortunate that Bella developed really good sleep habit. We worked hard and sacrified lots of our activities to have consistancy for her. It's really paid off and now she's in her crib every night asleep between 6:30-7pm and wakes up at 6am. She's been doing great on her naps as well. Tomorrow will be another full day for Bella. She may have to take another nap in the car. My mom and day are flying into LAX tomorrow. I really don't like that airport but we're all excited that they are coming back. Bella will have someone else to adore her and S & I will be able to go out on date nights.

Bella says, "Hello!" She's learning to wave hello.

Here's a "smug" looking one.

Happy smile with still only 2 bottom teeth. We're wondering when she'll get more....

Bella is constantly babbling and pointing at different objects and discovering the use of her wrists and fingers. She even sucks her thumbs sometimes.

Brunch at St.Regis

Today we had brunch with the Chan family at the St.Regis Hotel. The hotel was beautifully decorated for Christmas, Carolers singing and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus walking around the hotel greeting guests. Bella had a great nap right before brunch and was a very good girl for the entire 2 1/2hrs. She even managed to smile with Mr. & Mrs. Santa Clus.

Bella's been having stranger anxiety for the last month or so but I think she's slowly getting over it. She normally cries and doesn't let anyone other than mom or dad hold her but today she let Mr.Chan hold her. She was really happy and content to hang out with him! I was pleasantly surprised with my baby girl. Thanks to Mr.Chan, S and I enjoyed our brunch at the same time. She also sat in her stroller for a while too! Bella was really entertained by the Carolers singing and played with the hotel spoon for a long time. We had a wonderful time with our friends and it was especially enjoyable since Bella was in such a great mood. She also took a long nap after we came home and it was just a perfect day. Bella used to hardly ever nap for more than 40-50mins at a time, but lately she's been sleeping closer to 1 1/2hrs on each nap so I am so happy! It's so much more fun to go out with her now that she stays up longer and is curious about all the places we go.

Here's one with Santa and Mrs.Claus. She even half smiled with them.

Check out the neat sand sculpture behind our picture!

Christmas Dresses

On our December Hawaii trip, we went to Princeville, Kauai for a few days and took some Christmas photos. The Hotel lobby was decorated with beautiful weaths, garlands and trees. I was sad that we had to buy a disposable camera here b/c our camera ran out of battery. Boo Hoo.


Here's a picture of daddy and Bella facing one of the glass walls in the lobby. It was rainy the entire time we were there but it was still lush and beautiful.

It was fun to see all the Christmas decorations in different hotels and on the main street of Honolulu. They had so many beautiful trees all decorated with the island twist. It rained the entire week we were there but I liked seeing the rainstorm since we get so little rain back at home.

Daddy and Bella with surfing Santa at our hotel in Honolulu.

View of Waikiki from our balcony. I really can't complain too much.

Back at home here's Bella early in the morning spending time with daddy while Mom sleeps. She's still in her sleepy clothes and sporting a major bed head and mouth full of breakfast.

She loves to play with containers, cell phones, wallets, lotion bottles, CD jackets or any other everyday items. She gets bored with her toys so quick but not with her non-toys.

Here are some dresses Bella tried on for the Christmas pictures.

We thought of using saving this one as her birthday dress but thought it might look too Xmas with the white fur collar.

With another technical difficulty (my battery on my computer refused to recharge) a month went by without any updates on my poor blog. There were many activities in the Lee household in the month of December. We went to Hawaii again and came back. We couldn't take decent pictures again this month b/c I forgot to pack the battery charger for my camera (I had a severe migraine the night before we left and couldn't pack properly). We bought a disposable camera and the pictures were not too good. I was really sad because we wanted to use the pictures as our Christmas cards. We also had our 6th year anniversary and celebrated my hubby's birthday. We also took bunch of pictures for our Christmas cards.

Ethan's Birthday Party

Mommy and Bella saying "Cheese" at the party.

Daddy and Bella ready to come down the giant slide.

A rare picture of Mommy, Daddy and Bella.

A solo picture of our princess.

Today Bella went to Ethan's birthday party at Scrooter's Jungle. She went on the giant slide with Daddy and had a good time. Mommy tried out the slide and it was a bit scary for her. So steep! We had a chance to catch up with some friends and their new babies. We had a good time hanging out with everyone.

Aloha #2 Trip!

Our second trip to Hawaii was just as good as the first trip last month. We went to Honolulu for a week and Kauai for 3 days. Isabella did great again on the plane. She didn't sleep as much in the plane this month as she did last month but she was just as good and she didn't even nurse during take-off and landing and didn't have any ear pressure problems. I think S & I are getting used to traveling with her stroller and etc...and going through screening is taking less and less time for us. =) Honolulu as usual I read many books while S was working day and night and Bella sleeping around 4-5pm. She stayed somewhat on Mainland time and slept early, which I don't mind since it makes life easier for me at home.

This time in Honolulu I went out with Bella more during the day since the Sun wasn't as strong as last month. However, neither S or I had a chance to go for a nice swim or snorkle in Waikiki which was just steps away. It was difficult to squeeze water time with S constantly working and Bella sleeping so early at night. However, I must say that we were blessed to be in Hawaii while we could have suffered at home the terrible air quality brought on by the fires in San Diego. I really can't complain at all.

We've never been to Kauai and I must say it was so beautiful! The island was so lush, green, and clean! I really loved our time there. We lost 2 days to travel so we only had 2 days to enjoy our time there and I am definitely looking forward to going there again. We stayed in Poipu and stayed in the lower eastside of the island. We would like to explore the northern side of the island the next time. The water was rough but we saw a monk seal hanging out by our beach and a turtle coming to shore at our beach as well so it was fun. Overall it was a fun and relaxing trip. Bella's eczema was almost non-existent despite my "bad" diet. I sneaked in a bit of dairy in the form of cheese and some custard and she didn't even break out! I think much of her eczema does come from our dry weather. This gives me hope and I will try to feed her some calcium via dairy closer to her 1 year birthday!

Bella and Mommy at the Hotel Lobby hanging out.

Here's one with Daddy in Kauai

Bella, Mommy and Daddy at one of the Falls in Kauai. It's tough to have Bella look at the camera when there's so much to see all around her.

Bella in Waikiki beach early morning so she won't get a sunburn!

Bella waiting for daddy while entertaining herself at the hotel lobby in Honolulu.

Here she's enjoying the view of the ocean sitting in her own chair!

Bella in the plane on the way to Honolulu

Bella eating lunch with Mommy and Daddy at a restaurant

Here she is touching sand for the first time. She was fascinated by the texture.

Happy 1st Halloween

Isabella had her beary first Halloween yesterday. She met some friends and neighb0rs and earned some candy for Mommy and Daddy to enjoy! =) It was good to be home from Hawaii for her first Holiday. I am already looking forward to next year's theme for her. I would like to dress her up as Belle - my favorite Disney princess.

New Teeth!

Sorry we couldn't post regularly for a bit. We had some problems with the new camera and it took forever to fix it. I couldn't capture Isabella's first plane ride and our first trip out to Hawaii. I am still bummed out thinking about it. Bella did well on her first plane ride and didn't cry at all. The only funny thing was she went poop 3x in a row and I had to keep getting out of my seat. Although the plane was totally full, no one was sick and I was really thankful none of us got sick. The good news is we're heading out to Hawaii again in a few days and this time we're ready with our camera and our video camera to capture all the precious moments.

Isabella is now almost 8 months and she has 2 little teeth coming out! She's still putting all her toys and everything I have in my hands (cell phone, books, wallet, spoon, etc...) straight into her mouth to gum. She's drooling a bit more but isn't cranky or feverish so we're thankful. Her eczema is under control, but it was definitely better in Hawaii due to their humidity. All in all, I do think Bella is quite easy going baby and she's just getting more fun to play with as each day goes by!

Here are the teeth!

Happy Fall!

Baby is 7 months old.

Happy 6 Months!

6 months went by so fast and she's enjoying her first bite of brown rice cereal. I think more went on her bib than in her mouth but I am sure she'll learn fast. My little baby is growing up so fast.

I want to eat!

As you can see, she's ready to eat! She's all about putting everything in her mouth right now. We'll be starting her solids this week and I am so excited for the both of us. It's so fun to watch her swallow breast milk on her spoon like it's her favorite meal in the whole wide world! I'll let you know how she does with her cereal as soon as we start. I have a feeling she'll love it.

Happy Girl

Bella is now almost 6 months and she's all smiles and giggles when she's not sleeping or eating. The last 3 weeks her eczema was at its worst and it was so hard to see her suffer so much. We finally got some medication from our Ped and her skin cleared in only 2-3 days! She's been sleeping so much better and her skin looks beautiful! I am so thankful she doesn't scratch herself anymore. I really can't believe Bella's been with us for 6 months now! She has such a bright personality and loves to laugh and play all day.