Happy First Birthday, Little Mochi!

Posted on July 14, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Fun-tivities, Little Mochi

Little Mochi had his first birthday two weeks ago!  We had a big party last Saturday (July 6) - the turn out was good and the guests seemed to have enjoyed themselves. 

For those of you looking for birthday party ideas for your kid’s first birthday - themes, food, decorations, etc - here is what we did for Little Mochi.

Time of the party:

First of all, the time of the party seem to be the most important.  You have to schedule the party around his nap time.  Little Mochi usually naps around noon time and then again around 4 or 5 pm.  So I scheduled the party from 1 pm - 5 pm.  You don’t want him looking cranky in his pictures or camcorder because he’s tired.

Theme of the party:

We picked a Hawaiian theme.  We wanted something fun, laid back, and comfortable for our guests.  We could have done a western theme but I didn’t think having him wear a Western outfit would have been comfortable for him, especially in July when the weather is hot.  Having Little Mochi wear a Hawaiian shirt is not only comfortable for him, but is also easy to put on and take off.

Attire and decorations:

Most of our guests came in their Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts.  We had Hawaiian music playing in the background.  The music was nice because the tunes are relaxing and laid back. We purchased a box of 50 plastic lei’s for $10 from Party City and had one of my cousins lei’d the guests as they arrived.  Although they were just cheap plastic lei’s, it surprised the guests.  And besides, it help create the “Hawaiian” atmosphere.

We also purchased a big blow up coconut tree that holds the drinks at the bottom.  We just filled the bottom with ice and put the drinks on top.  It also makes a nice decoration and adds to the whole Hawaiian theme.

We also purchased some plastic Hibiscus and taped them all over the room.  That didn’t do much since our clubhouse (where we had the party) was so big and I had only 50 flowers. 

The only thing that I didn’t do was get a tiki bar because I decided not to serve any alcohol (too many kids - bad influence).

Food and Drinks:

We almost catered from L&L’s Hawaiian BBQ but decided to serve ribs instead.  The ribs were purchased from Costco.  To make it easier on the guests, we cut up the ribs before we served them so you can grab one, two or three ribs instead of grabbing the entire rack of ribs.  Also, that way, it won’t be the only thing the guests eat (those ribs get expensive!).

My mom made Pineapple, Bacon and Ham fried rice.  I think I would have asked her to use Spam instead of the Bacon and Ham since everyone seems to associate Spam with Hawaii, but Spam gets expensive.  Who would have noticed the difference anyway?

I also had lasgna.  That went quick.  At first, I thought I should have made another plate of lasgna, but towards the end of the party, there was still a lot of left over food.

There was a lot of desserts.  My mother in law made a Chinese green bean dessert.  My mom made carrot cake.  We didn’t buy a birthday cake (thought the carrot cake was enough).  And I had fruit for the guests. 

We also had chips and salsa and egg rolls as snacks.

As for drinks, I made sure we had Hawaiian Fruit Punch!  Lots of it.  Root beer is always a favorite in our family.  As I mentioned before, I didn’t serve any alcohol because there was going to be a lot of young kids at the party.  I didn’t think it was appropriate.

Presents:

Little Mochi got a lot of presents.  We opened them after the guests left because I didn’t want the kids to feel bad.  I didn’t wrap “gifts” (party favors) for them so thought it was best to just open the presents later instead.

Party Favors:

I bought bubble blowers for the kids to keep them busy.  It’s also inexpensive.   But for the adults, I purchased a small box of Hawaiian cookies and a small bag of chocolate covered coffee beans for them to take home.

What I regret:

I didn’t take enough pictures or videos.

We didn’t play any games.  I really wanted to do the limbo, but the day passed by so quickly that I didn’t realize how late it was.  Everyone was either too tired or already running around.

I couldn’t get Little Mochi to take his nap any earlier than 12:30 so I didn’t make it to the clubhouse until nearly 2 pm!

I didn’t bring my cell phone with me so one friend got lost and couldn’t get a hold of me.  It took her 2 hours to finally find us.  And my cousinn tried to call to get directions, but couldn’t get a hold of me.  They ended up not showing up.  Their baby is only 2 weeks older than Little Mochi so it would have been great to see them interact.

What I’m thankful for:

My mom for helping me make the food and carrot cake.

My mother in law for bringing the dessert.

My husband and two brothers for entertaining the guests at the poker table.  Especially my husband since he made them happy since he lost all his money to them!!!!  :-)

My sister for helping out before the party because I was recovering from food poisioning (I almost had to cancel the party because I almost rushed myself to ER early, really early that morning).

All my cousins that stayed behind to help clean up.

My father in law for taking the 5 video clips that I otherwise would not have taken because I barely took any pictures to begin with.

And most importantly, all the guests for showing up in their Hawaiian gear!

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More Baby Shower Games

Posted on July 1, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Fun-tivities, Pregnancy & Labor

Before I went to the wrong wedding this past Saturday, my hubby, Little Mochi, and I went to LL’s baby shower. She’s got another 9 weeks to go and is having a baby girl. It’s their first child so it’ll be exciting for them.

Her shower was a small and cozy shower, unlike mine. She had only a few close friends and her parents. Her husband’s family is still in Australia so they weren’t there. Despite the small size, we all had fun. They played a few games. Here are some of the games that they played:

1. The Pin Game: Everyone gets a pin with a ribbon tied to it. If you hear someone say the word “Baby,” you can take their pin from them. Likewise, if someone hears you say the word “Baby,” you have to give them your pin. At the end of the day, who ever has the most pins win. I lost my pin to a little boy while playing the Baby Food Game.

2. The Baby Food Game: 7 baby food jars, with the labels torn off, are labeled 1 - 7. On a sheet of paper, we write down what flavor we think the food in the jar is. I swear I thought I had this one, but I switched the Apple and Pear - they so similar! Hint: Look at the consistency of it.

3. The How Many Diapers Game: Diapers are stuffed into a see through container. We have to guess how many diapers are in there. The person closest to the actual number of diapers in the container wins. I was totally off!

4. The Baby Picture Game: Everyone brings in a baby picture and we all have to write down who we think the baby is. This is actually a rather difficult game, especially if you don’t know the other guests. I didn’t play this game because a) I didn’t submit a picture and b) I don’t know anyone at the party except for the mom-to-be.

5. The Yarn Game: With the yarn, you try to figure out the size of the soon-to-be Mom’s belly by cutting out a piece of yarn. Many of the men just tied the yarn around their waist and consider that the size of the Mom because they have such a big belly already. I was close, but lost to the same little boy that I lost my pin to!

We left early. We couldn’t stay long enough to enjoy their cake and to watch her open her presents. We had to run back home and get ready for my cousin’s wedding later that night.

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Oops, the Wrong Wedding!

Posted on June 30, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Fun-tivities

This past Saturday, June 28th was my cousin’s wedding.  The reception was at Crowne Plaza in Anaheim.  Being a summer bride, she chose the color green as her wedding color.  Great choice.  I love the color green. 

I entered the hotel through the back.  I saw 4 girls dressed in green dresses taking pictures.  Surely, this was the wedding.  I walked towards the door and started to stared into the reception room.  Suddenly, one of the girls wearing green, obviously a bride’s maid, came running to me.  I thought it was one of my cousin’s bridesmaid rushing over to see Little Mochi. 

Nope, it was a friend from high school.  I wasn’t wearing my glasses so it was hard for me to see.  I couldn’t tell that it was my high school friend.  The second my friend hugged me, the wedding planner from that wedding came out said hi to me.  I was utterly confused.  I could have sworn I knew who my cousin’s bride’s maids were.  And I know we don’t usually hire wedding planners for our weddings.  So what were these two girls from my past doing here?  My high school friend, the one wearing the beautfiul green dress, asked if I was going to this wedding?

I answered her question with my question:  “How do you know my cousin CL?  I didn’t know you’re her bride’s maid!”

Now I confused her.  “No, this is P and P’s wedding.”

So I’m feeling really stupid by now.  At least I knew two people from the wedding and at least I was stopped from entering the room.  Because then, I’d be really stupid walking out of the wedding 2 minutes later.

Of course, I found the right wedding and sat down with familiar faces.  Small world.

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Toddler Choking on Water?

Posted on June 20, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Health & Safety

Nearly his first 9 months, Little Mochi’s bath wasn’t truly in a bath tub.  My husband and I would lie him down on our laps holding his head above the tub.  We’d use a bath towel to wet his hair, shampoo it, and then use the same bath towel to clean off the shampoo (we’d do that by saturating the towel and then squeezing the excess water onto his head).  This way, it would prevent any water from getting into his ears and cause an ear infection.  Then, we’d let him sit in the tub full of water and clean him quickly.

However, recently, he’s been getting rather rowdy in the bathroom.  He loves his baths.  When I say Love, I mean LOVE.  He gets extremely excited when he hears the water running in the bathroom.  He jumps up and down when he sees us pull out his bath tub.  Somehow, he knows that bath tub is his and that we’re going to give him a bath when we pull it out.

At around 10 months, I sat him in his tub and decided to wash his hair “normally.”  I applied the dab of shampoo on his little head, foamed it up, and poured water over his head.  Stupid me.  I almost choked him.  Little did I know, he doesn’t know that he’s not supposed to breathe when the water comes down his face or he’ll end up breathing in water.  Well, that’s what he did.  He breathed in the water that was coming down his face.  The water that I poured over his head.  He couldn’t breathe for awhile and started to choke. 

Poor Little Mochi looked up at me with fear and started to grab on to my legs.  I quickly picked him up, put him on my lap and started to pat his back. 

I’ll tell ya, that scared the sh*t out of me!  That was the first and last time I poured water over his head!

Just until recently, I discovered something new that enabled me to pour water over his head without choking him.  I would first use my left hand, form an “L” out of my hands, and cupped his forehead.  That way, when the water falls down his face, my hand acts like a visor/shield.  The water actually falls down the side of his face instead.

Don’t know if that’s something stupid, but it works for now.  At least until he realizes he’s not supposed to breathe in water. 

Just curious, has this happened to your baby?  And what do you do?

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Finally, He’s Teething

Posted on June 17, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Health & Safety, Parenting

At 11 months, I finally see those swollen gums.  I thought babies were supposed to have a mouth-ful of teeth by now!  But Little Mochi is only beginning to show his bottom two.

On Saturday (Jun 14), we noticed that his head was a little warm.  Took his temperature and it was 100.4 degrees.  Wow.  I quickly drove to Walgreen’s and purchased the cherry-flavored Tylenol for infants.  Didn’t really know how much to give him so we based it on the dosage from last time he was sick.  0.4 ml last time.  So let’s try somewhere between 0.6 ml to 0.8 ml.  It should work, right?

Of course, he’s got runny stool as well.  Just the other day, he was constipated.  Suddenly, he’s got runny stool.  What is going on?

Monday, he’s still got a fever.  We’ve been able to control it with the Tylenol and a cold cloth on his head.  It’s been a few days and his fever is still there, although it’s on and off.  So I decided to call the pediatrician.

Ha!  Guess what?  Little Mochi weighs 22.5 pounds now.  He’s still cute, chubby Little Mochi, but he hasn’t gained much weight in the last few months!  I guess they stop growing once they reach a certain month.  But because he’s now 22.5 pounds, the 0.6 ml of Tylenol was too little.  Much too little.  Doc said to give him 1.2 ml.

Ay ya!  No wonder he fever doesn’t go away!!! 

The Doc checked for infection.  None.  So he either has a small cold, or the fever and runny stool is caused by the teething.  I’ve heard that teething symptoms include runny stools and fevers.  And that they are normal for a teething baby because his body is going through so many changes.

The only reason why I think he’s running a fever because of his teething is because he now constantly wants his pacifier so he can chew on it.  And he won’t let it up.  Especially at night.  I used to be able to pull it out after he falls asleep.  Now, he’ll wake up and cry for it.  He’ll also burst out crying for no reason at all sometimes.

Hopefully, this stage will pass soon because he doesn’t sleep much.  That means I don’t sleep much.  And a mom who doesn’t sleep much?  Well, I’m sure you know how they get…

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Snacking on Joe’s O’s!

Posted on June 5, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Health & Safety

Last Saturday, May 31, I finally decided to feed Cheerios to Little Mochi. Actually, I forgot to buy them from Costco since we were there buying drinks (I’ll tell ya, those Costco coupons are dangerous! They make you spend more than you need to spend). So we stopped by Trader Joe’s and bought the Cheerios equivalent - Joe’s O’s. (I know, isn’t that cute?) Apparently, Joe’s O’s got a lot of iron and fiber. Makes a great snack.

Wow. Little Mochi loved them! It’s so strange to see him try to chew them since he still doesn’t have any teeth! Speaking of teeth, I finally see some white on his lower front gums. They’re finally breaking through his gums! At 11 months, he’s finally teething!

Anyhow, the Joe’s O’s are great! Not only are they nutritious, but they keep him busy for a few minutes. They keep him from kicking and screeming, especially when I need to put him back into his car seat as we leave from Grandma’s house.

I guess he’s ready to start chewing on real food huh? It’s so amazing that they even know that they’re supposed to chew! He knows what they are now so when I sees the ziplock bag full of Joe’s O’s, he points to it and starts mumbling something. I give him one (can’t resist because he’s so cute!), then he smiles at me - what a happy kid.

So how do you know your baby is ready for Cheerios anyway? I figure it’s when he’s starting to learn how to use his tongue to push the food back and forth in his mouth. I see Little Mochi doing that quite a bit with the one Cherrio in his mouth.

It’s great to see such a wonderful milestone. In addition, he’s now able to hold up his own sippy cup. So far, I think he’s doing OK.

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When Does an Infant Start Teething?

Posted on May 19, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Parenting

Some start at 4 months.  Others start at 6 months.  Little Mochi is almost 11 months now and has no teeth still!  At one point, I thought I saw a little one spot on his lower gums.  Thought a small tooth was going to blossom but it has been two weeks and haven’t seen anything come out of his gums yet. 

So when will Little Mochi actually grow a tooth? It seems as if Little Mochi has been teething the last 6 months!  My cousin’s kid, who is only 2 weeks older than Little Mochi already has this bottom teeth!

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Little Mochi Update at 10 months

Posted on May 15, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Little Mochi

He’s cruisin’!  Yup, my Little Mochi started cruising last week.  He is able to pull himself up and walk along furniture now.  I didn’t realize how strong they can be, being able to pull themselves up and all.  I feel that it won’t be long until he can take his first step!  Now he just won’t sit!

Also, he’s very good at pointing to where he wants you to take him.  Every time I carry him, he’ll point in one direction.  If you take him there, he’ll clap. 

Babbles way too much now.  But it’s so adorable.  However, this Little Mochi of mine sure has a temper!  Perhaps every baby does this.  But he kicks, screams, and cries if we set him down when he doesn’t want to be set down.  Or try to give him milk when he doesn’t want his milk.  Arg.

Speaking of milk, Little Mochi doesn’t seem to want it anymore.  Loves his juice and water out of his sippy cup though!  But during the day, he pushes the milk bottle away.  But if I give him the sippy cup, he’ll glady take it.  Why do babies do that?  Why do they stop wanting their milk?  Little Mochi still wakes up once during the night for a feeding - that’s the only time he’ll take the bottle.  Hm…

 

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I Love You, Daddy

Posted on May 12, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Stories & Random Thoughts

I read on someone’s Facebook page today a story of a young girl’s tear jerking experience. She saw her father die as she was calling 911. Basically, she came home late one night, went in to check up on her father, and went to bed knowing that he’s sound asleep. A few hours later, she woke up to his wheezing. She called the paramedics, told them that her dad was having a heart attack. A few minutes later, they arrived, gave him CPR, did almost everything they could to get a heart beat. But it was too late. It was too late. A few minutes too late.

She titled her story, “I’m Sorry Daddy, I Love You.” She was sorry for coming home late that night, for not spending that one last night with him. She was sorry for not being a better daughter. She was sorry for the last argument they had. She was sorry that she didn’t wake up a few minutes earlier - the few minutes that could have saved his life. She was sorry she never told him that she loved him.

It was now too late.

It made me cry because it was rare that I tell my parents that I loved them. I really appreciate everything that they have done for me but have not told them that I loved them.

My dad was napping on the couch when I got their home after work today. I stared at his face as he snored and almost cried. Thoughts of the story suddenly ran through my head. If my dad suddenly had a heart attack at that moment, I wouldn’t know what to do.

The words “I Love You” is among one of the hardest things to say. Although I can’t seem to say it to my parents, I hope they know that I do love them and appreciate them for all that they have done.

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Mother’s Day Conflict

Posted on May 11, 2008 | Posted by little mochi in Relationship

Last year, it was the health spa for 3 hours. This year, it was a facial at Charlie’s Skin Care in La Mirada, CA. My mom and mother in law enjoyed it. The shoulder/arm/neck/head massage was so relaxing that they fell asleep. And they absolutely loved the hot mask.

I wish I had joined them. Afterall, it is my first mother’s day! But I didn’t. With only a few hundred bucks left in our bank account, I thought I could wait on mine.

That was yesterday. I chose to celebrate Mother’s Day on Saturday. Not because every place on Earth would be busy, but because there was going to be a conflict. We decided to celebrate my mom’s birthday on Sunday.

Everything was fine and dandy until I get an email from my brother in law. He wants to have a BBQ in his parent’s backyard with his mom, my mom, AND his girlfriend’s mom on Sunday. Strange set up, but what the heck. Conflict.

If you had to pick one, which is more important: Celebrating mother’s day, or celebrating your mom’s birthday?

This is just one of the few occasions where we have conflicting events. Another big one is our anniversary and my mother in law’s birthday. Or my father’s birthday and father’s day.

What would you do with all these conflicting events?

The best answer I can come up with is to sit down with hubby and decide which holidays to spend where. For example, we can agree to spend mother’s day with his mom on the even years and mother’s day with my mom on the odd years. I think that as long as you both agree, and stick to the schedule, things will work out ok.
The only problem is, where do we find time to be with just hubby and child?

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