The first visit from Tooth Fairy - my 100th post!

Tooth Fairy came to our house for the first time this morning. "How did she get in our house?" J asked. I said, "I don't know. What do you think?" He said, "Well, Tooth Fairy has a magic wand, so she can come in." Actually, more concern for him was Tooth Fairy NOT taking his tooth this time...

J went to a dentist yesterday for his first dental procedure. He had a cavity. Yes, a cavity, a big hole, in his baby tooth. I felt like a bad mother...but, that's another story. So, my dear husband took a day off and took J to a city 1 hour away from here for his dentist appointment, where they removed a tooth, cap another one, and drilled and filled another - total 3 tooth fixed in over an hour!

J didn't cry and he was very proud of it. He asked Daddy, "Daddy did you hear that I didn't cry?" Daddy was a bit confusingly said, "You mean, I didn't hear you crying? No, I didn't hear anything. You didn't cry, did you? What a big boy!"

Another thing he was proud was his little treasure box that his tooth in. So, here is where his concern comes from. Usually, Tooth Fairy takes a tooth and leaves some money, But also, usually, those teeth are the ones come off naturally, not taken out by a dentist, in J's book. So, this was a very special tooth for him. He wanted Tooth Fairy to come and leave him some money, but he did not want her to take his this special tooth away. He debated for a long time, and also worried about it for a long time before he went to bed.

When the morning came, J found that Tooth Fairy was nice enough not to take his tooth and left him some money - 41cents - a quarter, a dime, a nickel, and a penny. He was so excited and so happy! His very first visit from Tooth Fairy went pretty good - she gave him what he wanted, both tooth and money. Tooth Fairy is "a very nice person," he says. Yes, she is, isn't she?

"You are the best mom ever!"

As I was coating marinated chicken pieces with mashed potato flakes and bread crumbs, J came into the kitchen and watched what I was doing. He wanted to smell everything I was using, the chicken marinade, the seasoning salt, etc. Then he said, "Mom, you are the best mom ever!" Honestly, I was tired (maybe possibly something to do with pregnancy), and tired of making meals everyday. But J changed that whole thing. He was jumping up and down and hooraying over the dinner to come, praising me how good of a job I was doing coating the chicken and placing them on a baking sheet, and loving the smelling coming out of the oven. He even found a shape of a heart in one of those chicken wings, and wanted to save it for his friend (It was Audry, for those who know who she is). He gave me a big hug while I was cleaning up the kitchen, and the big smile and a thumb up for the delicious dinner according to him. He thanked me many times. I think that comes from his Daddy, who treats his wife like a princess.
I am such a lucky girl.

Joy of Motherhood

Today was a tough day. To lighten up myself, I did some search on some encouraging words, and I came across with this.

"As mothers, our work is not washing diapers and mending holes in jeans—that is what we spend much of our time doing, but it is not our work. Our work is rearing children; but it is much more than that, for we rear our children to fulfill their potential...They (our work) are tools that we may use to develop our own divinity and help our children develop theirs....Motherhood is joyful. It is exciting, challenging, and fun; it demands all our best efforts. Motherhood is creation of children and of the homes to nurture them in.."

I'm spending alone time with my daughter this evening as my husband took my son out with him. I went to grocery shopping with her. We bought fruits and vegetables, and some cookies to share after the shopping trip. Now she is playing quietly with her doll house I painted. She is learning to be a big sister, and eventually a mother herself. I did dishes and vacuum this morning, and now I remember J was helping me cleaning up. I guess I did an okay job today as a mom.
Okay, I'm feeling a lot better now.

My personal gallery collection

This past few months, my house has been decorated with many pieces of arts. Our dining room wall is now my personal gallery. (I have been meaning to post this for a long time)

Thanks to IKEA for the big roll of drawing paper, this is how it started in early August. If you walk this gallery with the artist, he'll tell you a story behind this piece.

This is absolute my favorite. "Mommy and the baby in mommy's tummy."
I love her smile. (August 2009)

This is the latest version of the same title. I love the smiles on both of us. I now have actual trunk and baby is inside of my body. Plus the baby is getting bigger just like my belly is too.

(September 30, 2009)

"Oh, no! We got a mouse living in our house!!"
"Mice are living in the wall with a little hole," J says."When Sun is out after rain, you can see a rainbow and a flower comes out!"
The flower is, of course, for his mama. How sweet!

"Book of Joshua"

The amount of papers with drawing in my house was getting out of control. I did not want to throw them away because each of them had stories. So I decided to make a binder. Each page has a little sticker with explanation. Like the one on the right page was his first drawing of a butterfly (July, 2009). I actually forgot what it was. Good thing it was recorded. Whew.

These papers are accumulating daily and I am having a hard time keeping up with it. Papers, papers, everywhere. But I love the fact he enjoys drawing. And it is improving tremendously each time. I can see "evolution" on his doodle guy's (or his mama) details, face and body, even only in a few months period. It is so fun to see him growing. And I'm so happy to be right here with him to witness that.

Good-bye, Summer. Welcome, Fall.

Finally, I decided to sit down with my computer and organize some pictures. I don't know what I have been doing this past few weeks, but this was the last picture I took (partially because I didn't recharge batteries for a long time). It was dated on September 15, only a few weeks ago.
It was nice and sunny. Kids played in the backyard, splashing water, and decided to have lunch outside. Menu: hot dogs, chips, oranges, and juice. It was a nice day. I wanted to note that. Now summer is gone. Leaves are changing colors. Farmers' market has been full of apples, pumpkins and winter squashes. And even that will end this weekend too. Fall is here. But I like Fall. I've enjoying apples everyday, not an apple, several apples. It must be one of my craving items with this baby. Paula Red, McIntosh, Honey Crisp, etc. Maybe I can convince my hubby to take us to an apple orchard this weekend.

Good-bye, Thumb!

J has been known to suck his thumb since he was a baby. Pacifier, you can cut it, toss it, hide it...you can do a lot of things to get rid of it. But, his own thumb. I can't cut it or hide it. It just doesn't go anywhere but his mouth. I have tried covering with a bandage, putting nasty nail polish on, talking him about teeth being pushed and hurt, etc. Nothing worked. But, one day, he decided to stop it. The key was a comment from his friend K, who is 8-year-old and J looks up to.
His comment: "You know J, if you suck your thumb, it'll melt away. Did you know that?"
That's it. J must have believed it and got scared. He has been very conscious about it, and I don't think I have seen him sucking his thumb for at least a few weeks, if not longer.
My son graduated from thumb sucking! Yay!!