Cottage Cheese by the Window

Life has been a blur of work lately so I'm way behind in blogging. So much has happened this past week, including 4 play dates, going for your 9 month checkup, sleep-training all over again, saying goodbye to your wonderful, caring auntie, and suffering through your first cold.

You were moaning and groaning with a fever for a couple days and now you have a stuffy nose and phlegmy cough, poor guy. It's doubly bad since it's totally disrupted your sleep-training. All those tears for nothing!

I can't possibly record everything now, but I did want to post some pics of you deep in thought, doing what you love to do best--standing by your changing table.


I just love every roll and dimple on your chubby little body!

Hush Puppies

Since you're obsessed with standing lately, I've decided to buy you your first pair of shoes.


100% leather, soft-soled, affordable, and cute as a button. Thanks Target!

The Other Baby

As many of you know, Judah is not our only baby.

We have another baby that just recently turned 1 in May, our church plant, Indelible Grace Church.

Being the wife of a planter, it's inevitable that you consider the 'success' or 'failure' of the plant since your whole lives are very much wrapped up in the church.

One thing that has always bothered me about church plants, and churches in general, is that the de facto way people measure 'success' is almost always about numeric growth. How many people attend? How many visitors stay? How much is the budget?

But as Piper would say, Brothers we are not professionals.

We should not measure things the way the 'professional' or 'corporate' world does. Bottom lines, efficiencies, revenue, numerical growth, polish and pizazz, etc. Those external measures have nothing to do with the values we hold nearest--self-sacrifice, humility, death to ourselves, and inner transformation--namely, the gospel of a God who emptied himself of all but love to save the lowest and the least.

That's why my heart lept with joy when I read this excerpt from Reb Bradley, another church planter:

"Shortly after I first planted Hope Chapel in 1987 we were visited by Pastor Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand. (They both had been tortured for years in communist prison camps and are the godliest people I have ever known.) During their visit Sabina asked me how the church plant was going. I responded, saying that I believed I was in obedience to God to be in Sacramento planting the church, so anticipated that the church would be a success. For that statement she firmly rebuked me. She looked me in the eye and declared, “Obedience is the highest success!”

I think our young plant is doing well, by external measures, but that is hardly the point. Since our Lord "failed" in a most spectacular and public way, we must therefore redefine our measure of success.

Let us only follow Him.

Bath, Bed, and Beyond

Recently I've decided to give you a bath everyday, even though you don't need it, so it becomes a part of your bedtime routine. I'm just desperate to get you to sleep earlier!

Here's you "discovering" yourself. Yeah, you better believe this is going into the 'best blackmail photos of all time' collection.


And here's you looking like you came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. You look like a Whozit or Whatzit or Whatchamacallit. Crazy boy.

iBaby

You're only 9 months old and you're already programming!


Just kidding--no need to freak out, all you competitive Asian moms.

But seriously, you think computer keyboards are fascinating. I think it's because you see us typing on them all the time.
(Thanks to Rachel for the pic!)

Happy 'Older Than the Womb' Day!

Today is your 9 mo birthday! You have now spent as much time outside the womb as you have inside the womb (roughly).

It has been amazing watching you become a real person (instead of just a baby-blob) as you slowly gained control of your eyes, mouth, neck muscles, torso and core muscles, arms and hands and fingers, and now legs (and watching you discover your private parts which you just love to "discover" every time your diaper is off).

You can now stand-up on your own for a few seconds:


Browse catalogues to redecorate your nursery:


And "point" to whatever your heart desires:


But most endearing is when you share your favorite things with me and your dad. You'll be enjoying your pacifier, and then suddenly, with a twinkle of empathy, hold out your pacifier to one of us so we can lean our head in and have you stick it in our mouths. "Put it in daddy's mouth" is one of your favorite "games" and makes me think you're a thoughtful, generous person at heart, inspite of all your fussiness (just like your dad).

Or you just think it's fun to give us something and then snatch it away!

Where the Heck is the Pause Button?!

Gone are the days I used to work hard at the office and then enjoy a couple hours vegging out at home afterward.

Oh no, those days are far, far gone.


Being a working mom means you sweat bullets at the office, and then go home to a fussy, clingy, needy, squirmy, demanding little man. For those of you with "easy" babies, you probably have no idea how exhausting it is to take care of a "non-easy" baby, or as they say, a "high-need" baby. Just know that I hate you. I hate you and your easy, quiet angel. Just kidding, hate is a strong word. I mean, I'm insanely jealous.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, after work you deal with said fussy little man and fight an epic bedtime battle--you bounce, and shush, and nurse, and nurse, and nurse, and bounce some more, and maybe read another bedtime story, and nurse some more, until he finally goes down. And then do you get a break? No, silly naive human. You then must log on back to work until your bedtime! But forget about a good night's sleep! ha ha ha.

And no matter how late little man goes down, he ALWAYS wakes up at 6am!

And gone are the days when I used to look forward to the weekend--a good couple days of R&R before the crazy work week rolls around again.

Oh no. Weekends are perhaps more exhausting since you wrestle with little man ALL. DAY. LONG.

The weekends actually make me LOOK FORWARD to getting back in the office!

Feel Better Soon!

Poor baby. For the last few days you've been downright miserable pretty much every minute of the day.

It peaked (or at least I hope it's the peak) yesterday with a low-grade fever and constant tears (from you and me). I've been assuming it's due to teething (although you've never teethed this badly before) and so have been drugging you up around the clock. Baby tylenol for your fever and baby ibuprofen for the pain.

It's the only thing that brings you any relief. But of course I'm freaked out that you're getting over-drugged and your little liver can't handle it.

I hope this miserable teething period ends soon. Here's a pic of you in happier times. Love your moobs!

Customer Satisfaction

Dear Barnes & Noble,

Thank you for carrying a huge selection of baby board books.


Especially the Usborne Touch & Feel books.


I can't get enough of them, but mom and dad don't want to buy them at $9 a pop! That's kind of pricey for a mere 7-8 pages of fun.


Your drooliest customer,
Judah

Wrist It!

I know I blogged about this already, but I can't help putting more pics up of you "wristing." You do it with such gusto, we can't help but wrist back to you every time you do it. Probably not a good thing since we're just reinforcing this retarded looking behavior.

Wrist it to the front!


Wrist it to the right!


Wrist it to the left!


Yeah! Wrist it!

Top Two

Before I forget, I wanted to note that your top two teeth broke through your gums last week! Once again, your teeth breaking was foreshadowed by a red rashy butt-hole and some intense night-time wailing. I drugged you up with ibuprofen and tylenol 4 nights in a row before your little ivories made their debut.


(Gratuitous, nonsequitur picture which makes me laugh. Your top says "winter" and your bottom says "exhibitionist"!)

Argh!

Judah, go to sleep already!!!

Gone are those beautiful days when I used to just drop you in your crib for a nap. Now you scream and kick and resist and fight your nap tooth and nail.

Instead of sleeping every 2.5 hours, you'll force yourself to stay up 4 or more hours. And instead of sleeping at 7pm, you fight to stay awake until past 8pm!


Sadly, I think it's all part and parcel of your new clingy behavior. As much as it flatters me, I'm pretty fed up with it. You often cry if someone else holds you (even your dad). And it doesn't console you to see that I'm nearby. Oh no. You have to be In. My. Arms.

But when I hold you, you start squirming like a fish out of water, lunging at objects you want to touch and generally wanting to stand up (your new physical fascination).

Sometimes I just want to lock you in a room and go and watch a movie. I hear Thor is getting lots of good reviews...