Monthly Archives: March 2013
Lily’s 1st Easter! 2013
Lily celebrates her first Easter this weekend! I picked out flowers and arranged them myself for the first time this weekend, because I wanted some fresh pretty flowers for the holiday! I got sunflowers, carnations in white, pink, and white with blue sprayed tips, purple flowers (I forgot the name but it’s really pretty), stargazers, calla lily, and some greeneries! I also got a basket that was on sale (60% off) at Jo-Ann’s and got some carrots, and bunny ears as props for this weekend’s celebration! Don’t the flowers look so pretty?? The bunny in the picture below is also very cute =P. I just love this dress on Lily, I got it from Baby Gap, it’s so cute and pretty! I dressed her up with my pearl necklace Khoa’s grandmother gave me a toddler pearl headband I got at target! =)
We started the weekend Saturday morning by going to try out a free Gymboree Learn & Play (Level 2) class in Anaheim Hills. Overall I think she had an okay time. She liked the this wall mirror the most, and didn’t really care for ther other foam obstacles. She liked the play balls they had and all the bubbles too. She was also very curious about the giant parachute, but I think because there were so many people in the class, about 10-12 babies and twice the amount of adults, she was too overwhelmed and didn’t want to be detached from us. So the only time she was ok was when she was on our lap or playing somewhere distant from the rest of the people haha. I think this class might be a little too intense for her so we won’t be coming back for awhile, maybe we’ll try again when she’s older! Overall though, we got some cute photos of her when we did enjoy her time! =)
Baby soccer time!
Lily loves the bubbles!
Lily fascinated with the giant parachute!
We had lunch at that new place we haven’t been to before that’s conveniently right next to the Gymboree, called Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill. The food was really tasty there and what was really cool was that they had a complimentary baby plate for Lily that consisted of cheerios, half a banana, and 2 slices of orange!! She totally enjoyed her little plate and loved looking around at the surrounding decorations. This was the first time she tried eating orange too, and it looked like she loved it!!
We went to an Easter event that our friends Drexelle and David invited us to at their church Mariner’s Church. They had a big easter egg hunt at the start of the event, but we missed it since we had Lily’s gymboree class and lunch ran late. It was a good thing we missed it though because it sounded like it was very chaotic and we didn’t want lily to get trampled over either. They had a separate baby section from age 0-3 years, but even then that’s a big age range. We met up with Drexelle, David, Knightly and Mike at the event and hung out with Drexelle’s family as well. It was so nice to see cute little Knightly and Drex’s family was totally gushing over Lily! Here are some photos that David and Drexelle took for us, arent’ they so lovely?! Thanks so much D. Park Photography for these awesome photos!!!
Sunday we went to church with Khoa’s parents and had lunch at his parents house. His dad made banh xeo, yummy!!! After lunch, Khoa and I enjoyed our annual easter egg scavenger hunt in our home! Ever since we moved into our new home almost 4 years ago, Khoa always made me an easter egg scavenger hunt in our house. He would hide eggs with candy in them, with clues that’ll lead me to find several eggs lying around the house. He would write the clues in first person of the egg, so it was fun to read it from the egg’s perspective! This year I get to do the hunt with Lily’s help! Khoa even put some cheerios and puffs inside the eggs for Lily to enjoy, so that it’s not just for me! It’s a fun tradition that Khoa and I have, and now we get to have Lily join us as well. We then ended our holiday by catching up on our shows. Nothing’s better than relaxing at home cuddled up on the coach with the ones you love! =) For more pictures from our Easter weekend, click here! Happy Easter everyone!!
My two bunnies! Who wore it best? hehe!
Lily 42 weeks & 2 days old, happy 1st Easter my darling!!
Lily Starts School at LePort!
Lily (42 weeks old) just had her 1st week at LePort school! First off, what is LePort? Here’s their intro on their website “Welcome to our LePort Schools, where we are more than just a daycare and traditional private school. We equip your child with Knowledge for Life – the essential skills and knowledge he needs to thrive as a joyous child today, and as a successful adult tomorrow.” They run by the traditional Montessori educational system, which “is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development” and so LePort’s “environments emphasize materials and activities scaled to the children’s size and abilities, opportunities to develop movement, and activities to develop independence.” (quote taken from the wiki page =P).
Lily getting to know Ms. Sharon!
Lily being curious about her friends’ foods!
So this is how Lily’s first school experience went. The head teacher, Ms. Kirsten, came by our house for a few hours to get to know Lily’s living environment, her schedule, habits, and mainly, to get to know Lily. This was a great way for Lily to get to know her main teacher so that when she starts, there will be a familiar face at school! Next, we had her first day visit for 1 hour at school with her last Friday. It was so cute to see her crawl around and try to explore, but because we were there, she just stayed around us and didn’t wander too far away from us. She had her first day by herself this past Monday, where she was there for a whole hour and 20 mins by herself! She got to meet all the other teachers there, it’s a maximum of 3 students per teacher, so there were a total of 12 students in her class, so that’s 4 teachers. Her primary care teacher is Mrs. Heather. However, she will be going on maternity leave soon so she will be replaced by Ms. Bianca! They are all super nice!! When I dropped her off and was heading out, they all sang their goodbye song, and she just stared at me as I left. I signed in her sign in sheet outside the door, then looked back in through the window, and saw her already crawling towards the toy rack. She didn’t even cry!!! I was at first happy that she was fine, but then sad that she didn’t miss me, but overall, I’m proud of her! When I can to pick her up, the head teacher was filling out her first accident report! Lily loves to pull herself up these days, so she was pulling herself up on the table and then she slipped and hit her lip on the table. They said she cried for a little bit but then was fine! What a trooper Lily!! The teachers said she LOVES to explore and was all over the place and that she was very curious of her friends’ food! haha
The second day of school was yesterday, (Thursday), and she was there for 3 hours. She did great as well, no tears, and no accident report! Another thing about the layout of the classroom is that it has a room with a bunch of small cots that are about 4 inches off the ground, and that’s where all the babies sleep. I was really concerned about the cots because normally Lily likes to roll around in her crib for a few minutes before she goes to sleep. So I was really worried that she might try to crawl off the cot and just crawl around and bug all the sleeping babies. Another thing is the cots aren’t the softest things to lay on, so they suggested we bring a blanket or quilt for her to sleep on. So right away I knew just the thing to put on her cot, her personalized made quilt that our aunt (Di A’nh Michelle) got her!! It’s so pretty and it conveniently has her name on it so we don’t have to label it! Anyways, when I arrived to pick her up that day, guess who I found sleeping cozily in her cot!!! Ms. Kirsten told me that when it was time for her nap, she started to whine and roll around in her cot for a little bit, but after some soothing and 10 minutes later, she was fast asleep! It’s like magic!! The next day, she did the same thing and put herself to sleep within minutes!! She is learning so much at school already, and I notice she’s falling asleep at home for her naps a little quicker too. So amazing!!
Starting school is such a huge step to take and some people prefer to wait until later while others say the earlier the better. With our situation, now is the best time for us and Lily, and I feel confident that this is a great decision. Our cousin, Chi Hai’s, kids go to LePort as well, but different campus, but I just see how much smart and well behaved and independent they are, and that’s what I want Lily to learn as well. So far Lily is doing really great, exploring and playing and learning. She had her first buggy ride today too! It’s where they have a stroller that has 6 carseats on it, and they all go for a stroll around the campus so they can enjoy the outdoors! I’m excited for Lily to make new friends and socialize! Another amazing thing is that she gets a lot of stimulation at school that by the time she gets in the car on the way home, she just knocks out and takes a nice long nap! Woohoo!!! I can’t wait to see what fun things she’ll learn next!! Great job at your first week of school my Lily pad! Mommy and daddy are super proud of you!!! We love you so much!!!!!!!
Lily with her hippo backpack ready for her 1st day of school!
LePort T-shirt (onesie) Friday!
Lily Our Baby Model!
Ever since the very first minutes of her life, we’ve pointed the camera in her face! Our friends and family always told us that she should be a baby model, America’s Next Top Baby Model, hehe! Even though they were maybe half joking, some more serious than others, I figured, why not give it a shot! I didn’t know what modeling agency out there is legit, respectable, highly rated, etc., so I put the modeling idea away for awhile, until I found out that one of our friends do it for their daughter, Emmy, who happens to be 2 months older than Lily. So I submitted Lily to the agency and next thing you know, she’s represented by Paloma Model & Talent Agency! Yay! I had to take outdoor pictures of Lily that the agent would then select and approve photos that’ll go onto the photosheet. It’s been about 1 month since Lily got her first gig at the end of February, and here’s what she’s been up to!
Lily’s photosheet!
Lily on set of her 2nd Infantino photoshoot! I had to be discreet since pictures weren’t allowed…
Lily got her first photoshoot with Infantino that following week her paperwork was completed! When we arrived to the site, Lily got to play with a bunch of toys in the waiting room while the staff for her set ready for her shoot. They provided a cute outfit for her to wear, and when they were ready for her, they sent someone into the waiting room to get her. I got to go with her, and place her in the set where they want her, and then stand next to the photographer to help get Lily’s attention so she can laugh and smile at the camera! She did so well, it’s like she was a natural! She knew right away where the camera was, and was simply just being herself, having fun with the new toys! She got to model a bunch of teething toys, which is perfect since she likes to put everything in her mouth! She did really great, smiling, playing with the toy, and looking at the camera! The staff kept saying how much they loved her, and how she’s so easy and how they would love to have her back! It was such a great experience (for me at least) and everyone was so nice and welcoming! The photos they took will be on packaging boxes of those toys that will be sold in various stores like Target, Babies R Us, Walmart, Costco, etc.! It usually takes around 6 months for the products to be released, so I will keep my eyes peeled, I’m sure I’ll buy every toy there is with her cute face on it!! Soon enough, we got called back for a 2nd photoshoot, and 3rd!! It’s like she was doing a gig every week, so amazing how successful and busy our little baby model can be already! I don’t know how long I can keep it up for though cause I have to take at least a half day off work to take Lily to these gigs, but we’re trying to enjoy the moment for now! When it becomes too much work, took much for Lily to handle, and not fun anymore, then we will stop! We still want Lily to be a baby, and enjoy playing and being silly and not have this affect her.
Look at the crowd at the studio!
Also, Lily had her first casting audition with Porkchops Casting for the Disney Family project in Hollywood as well! Khoa and his mom came with us to her first audition and boy it was quite an experience. The studio was packed with parents and kids in her age group (babies), there were at least over 200 babies there in her time range. Even though we had a schedule time slot, we still had to wait about 45 minutes until Lily was called up. We waited patiently and Lily got to play with her toys that I brought, got to meet some new friends, and relaxed on her daddy’s lap! When she finally was called up, luckily she was still in great spirits, and was able to smile for the camera! I held her while the photographer took her photos, it literally only took 3 seconds, and this was all in front of a panel of people. On the way out one of the members on the panel asked me what brand bottle she uses and if she can crawl, other than that, that was it! Khoa stood by the panel while Lily got her pictures taken, and he overheard them say “oh I really like this one!” so maybe that’s a good thing? Well, fast forward 5 days later, I got a call on the way home from work from Paloma, Lily’s agent (I know, fancy right?), called me and asked if Lily’s free for the photoshoot the following week, and to say CONGRATs, Lily got the Disney job!!!!! I was so taken by surprise, I was so happy and excited and proud of Lily, I couldn’t stop saying “thank you” and smiling while I was on the phone!! It’s so amazing and lucky and special that Lily nailed her first audition and got a job with Disney, with unlimited use too (meaning they’ll be able to use her for gigs unlimited)!! Lily doesn’t understand or realize any of all this that is happening to her right now, that’s why I’m blogging this so she can read up on it later, but either way, I am SOOOO proud of you Lily! I’m one proud mama and I do believe she is a something quite special and I’m glad we can share her with the world =).
The casting panel, and the photographer will take Lily’s photos to the right.
Lily patiently waiting on daddy’s lap for her turn to audition!
Lily and Emmy together at the audition!
Infantino is located in San Diego, either in Encinitas or in La Jolla. Lily’s been to the Encinitas location twice, and those take place in a private residence where Infantino rents out to do their photoshoots, but other times they have it at the Photographer’s Studio (M Studio) in La Jolla. Lily did a photoshoot at the M Studio where she got to be outdoors at a little park on a cliff overlooking the ocean!! It was such an amazing view, I was able to snap a few photos of the view from my phone.
That scenery was the backdrop of her photoshoot. They had her strapped in a car seat while playing with a couple car seat toys! I was nervous at first because she started to rub her eyes when we were waiting for our turn, so I thought she might be getting sleepy and won’t be in a smiling mood. Once she got in the car seat though with the car seat toys, she was bright and happy and had a huge smile on her face the entire time! I’m so impressed by her every time We always meet new people on all her photoshoots, and this one she got to do with her friend Emmy, and we got to meet a new friend, Grayson, he’s the oldest of triplets, also 9 months old, and his mom Teresa! Lily had a blast going through the toy basket, and she’s starting to get really good at pulling herself up to standing position now too!
Grayson, Emmy, and Lily at Infantino!
Lily getting her hair and makeup done! fancy fancy!
Lily excited for her turn at the Disney photoshoot!
Lily’s photoshoot for the Disney Family project with Porkchops Castings: The Disney photoshoot was really fun but it was the longest working day for Lily by far! All her Infantino jobs were under 2 hours, she was at this Disney gig for almost 3 hours! She was a champ though! They started by having me take her to hair and makeup, where they used a wet wipe to brush her hair in place. Then the makeup lady put a little bit of blush on her little cheeks, and a little bit of lip gloss on her lips. Fancy right?? Then we changed her into her first outfit (1 of 3 wardrobes), a fuchsia onesie. Her first setup was inside a crib where they displayed Minnie Mouse sheets, blankets, and doll. They first had her laying down and surprisingly she did really well. Normally should would want to crawl around and play but she just starred at the camera and smiled, everyone was in love with her!! Then they had her sit up and play in the crib and she did super!!
Next we changed her outfit into her Snow White outfit, which is just too adorable for words!! They shot her in a Disney playroom setup, where she played with a Minnie Mouse sippie cup and then a Disney rattle toy. They then brought in her first “pretend mom” named Lindell (I’m pretty sure I spelled it wrong, but she’s a really nice Malaysian model that was a big fan of Lily!). She played in the playroom with Lily, and then they cleared the table and she pretended to give Lily a bottle to advertise the Minnie Mouse bottle. After that, Lily was getting tired and hungry, so we took a mini break to feed Lily. We also changed Lily into a Tiffany’s teal color onesie for her last wardrobe change. After her break, they brought in her second “pretend mom” named Kinoma (I’m pretty sure I butchered her name as well…), a really nice and pretty model from Japan! She also took some shots of Lily with the Minnie Mouse bottle, and then ended the day with shots of Lily playing with Kinoma in a stationary activity center. By this time she was getting restless so she didn’t smile as much anymore, but everyone said she did really great! Lily is such a trooper and champ for getting through all those sets!!! I’m so proud of her!!! The day was long but I’m glad I was able to take photos to capture this adventure in Lily’s modeling career!
Behind the Scenes: Lily on set with her two pretend moms!!
my sweet little Snow White!
Lily waiting her turn at her Pampers audition!
Lily also got two auditions last week, one for Tiny Love and another for Pampers. She unfortunately didn’t book the pampers one, but she did book Tiny Love, for 2 days in the beginning of April!! When Lily and her friend Emmy arrived at the Tiny Love audition, the office manager was so excited to see us and already knew their names, and said they were one of the favorites!! The photographer snapped some photos of Lily and said she was really cute! She wanted Lily to be in the crawling position, but it was hard to get her to do that without her belly getting off the ground on command, so I thought she wasn’t going to get the gig, but surprisingly she did! I later heard the photographer was complaining about other baby’s uncontrollable hair, so it was a good thing Lily’s hair is a lot more manageable now!! haha. At her Pampers audition, with Armstrong Casting, all babies had to come “diaper ready” meaning they’re only wearing their diapers! She smiled and was great, but when the photographer asked me to hold her up so she can stand, she had trouble standing cause the floor she was standing on was quite slippery, it was foam board. It’s ok though, you can’t win them all! It was fun and awesome that she even got the audition!
So to sum things up in this past month, Lily did 4 Infantino photoshoots, went to 3 auditions (Disney, Tiny Love and Pampers) and she booked 2 out of 3 of those auditions. She already did her Disney photoshoot and is scheduled to do two Tiny Love photoshoots early April! It’s been so much more busy than I have expected, I don’t know how much longer I can keep up with our little super star!! Our main goal and decision for us to get Lily into this was purely for fun. So once it becomes too much work and not “fun” and disruptive to Lily’s baby life schedule, then we will pull her out. So far it’s been very fun and exciting. I can’t wait till all her products she modeled for are in stores so I can buy it all!!! =) I’m so proud of our precious little baby model, I’m so glad we get to share her cute smiling face with the world!
Lily enjoying her 1st paycheck, yummy!!
Lily Criss-Cross Laughing
It’s time likes these that just reminds me how the simple little things in life can have so much meaning, like the laughter our of sweet little Lily pad! We learned this little rhyme from her music class, and Lily (40 weeks & 6 days old) absolutely loves it! That laugh just melts me heart, I can listen to that beautiful sound forever!! I love our little lily pad to pieces!!!
Happy 9 Months Lily!
Happy 9 months old my precious Lily pad!!! Lily had her 9 month check up today and she did great for the most part! She now weighs 17.15 pounds, stretches 27.75 inches long, and has a head circumference of 17 inches. She’s pretty much average on all point but slipped a tiny bit under average for weight. She had a finger prick test today to test her anemia level and it’s at 12.3, which is normal! She also got two shots today, poor baby! She cried but was very good afterwards. She kept wanting to chew the band aid on her finger from the finger prick, and when I didn’t let her, she kept crying. Poor baby, mommy’s sorry, I just want to protect you from the yucky band aid! She was a little more sensitive today than in the past, so I had to give her extra attention otherwise she’ll cry from the discomfort of the shots, poor baby =(. Here are some photos of her at her doctor’s visit today!
Enjoying the crinkly paper!
Getting her eyes and nose checked!
Enjoying the view of outside!
So sad!!! It pains to see her cry, but I feel bad cause she looks so cute!
I can’t believe our Lily pad is already 9 months old. She’s been out in the world just about as long as she has been in my belly, so amazing! I can literally stare at her and just watch her all day long and never be bored! Another thing that she’s accomplished is that she’s a baby model! (I will post more on this later). She is represented by Paloma Model & Talent, and she already had 2 jobs at Infantino modelling toys! Her picture will be on the packaging boxes for the toys, and those toys can be sold anywhere like Target, Walmart, Babies ‘R Us, Costco, etc! She had a job yesterday, and one of the moms of the baby models there told me something really special about Lily’s name. Her daughter’s middle name is also Lily, and she said the name is so beautiful and wonderful because you can’t say her name without smiling! It’s so true, and I love it!! Happy 9 months my little angel, mommy and daddy loves you to pieces!!!!
Lily’s 1st Music Class!
Lily had her 1st music class yesterday at Dancing Keys Music Studio in Irvine. I saw a Plum District deal online for 3 Baby Simple Rhapsody classes and decided to try it! The format of the classes are like a Mommie and Me class, and so the instructor teaches you how you can continue these lessons at home as well. The class focus on the beat of music and the high and lows of sound and pitch as well! The deal came with a free instrument kit, and so we get to continue some of these songs and play time with Lily at home as well. Lily was really focused the whole time and seems to really enjoy all the songs! The only thing she didn’t like was when they flipped the giant drum up side down and played “Row Row Row Your Boat”. She didn’t want to be in the boat and would rather be outside the boat haha. Overall she did so well, here are some pictures from her class yesterday!
Lily playing on the giant drum!
She likes the drum!
Exploring her new instruments!
Her instruments look tasty!
Her favorite is the drum!
Check a couple videos from her first music class! The first one was her exploring all her new instruments in her nifty new instrument kit. The second video is of a segment near the end of the class that will eventually teach Lily pitch! At the end of the song, in order to get the clown to come out, you have to sing the note “A” or whatever note the teacher chooses. You can tell that Lily sorta wants to sing something, but eventually she’ll get there! It’s a great start though, she’s totally captivated by the clown the entire time and really enjoys it! I’m so happy with her first experience, I think we will keep up these classes when her 3 classes are up. Enjoy these videos!
