Monday, January 29, 2018

An Overdue Update as We Come Upon Two Months

I didn't mean to go so long between posts, but time has had a funny way of sneaking up on me and completely blowing by while I've been otherwise preoccupied.

Things are going well here - we are slowly, to the extent possible with a newborn, learning Lola's cues and signals and habits and getting into a routine.  Our guesses aren't always right, and Lord knows Lola cannot be cajoled into doing anything she doesn't want to do, so our attempts at routine or schedules don't always work, but then she has been so cute and adorable each and every day that it's hard to be too frustrated or upset even when we're battling exhaustion.  And as scary as it is to say, I'm kind of getting inured to the whole not sleeping for more than 2.5 hours at a time.

As we come up on 2 months, Lola has been cooing and gurgling and steadily making a lot of noises, as if she wants to communicate with us.  She has discovered her hands and loves (LOVES) to shove her fingers (preferably her whole fist) into her mouth and can happily entertain herself this way for quite some time.  She continues to love her bouncer and her playmat and adamantly detests being worn, although we recently made some inroads with the Ergobaby.  Her eyesight has noticeably improved because she is for the first time fixated on the toys on her mobile, and she really enjoys flashing lights, particularly on her baby Einstein music maker.  She is generally a really smiley, happy baby, and will react to our smiles by smiling back.  Her gummy smiles totally warm our hearts!

She has gotten five vaccines to date and has been to the doctor a few times for routine check ups.  She is progressing steadily in all categories and is on the standard growth chart curves.

I've been to the park with her and we've gone on a few walks with her, but we haven't started to bring her out to social events or meals yet.  So far it's just been the occasional fun, short excursion, and then the doctor's office.

We have also been busy amassing her various documents.  For being such a little person, Lola sure has had a lot of applications already!  She has her Hong Kong birth certificate, which we applied for and received in December.  Her U.S. passport is currently being processed and once we receive that, we can apply for her social security card.  Because she was born abroad, we also needed to get a "consular report of birth abroad."

In addition, Lola is eligible for a Hong Kong passport and is a permanent resident of Hong Kong by virtue of her being a "Chinese citizen" and being born here, so we are in the process of applying for that passport and her HKID card. 

Finally, because schools in Hong Kong are so competitive, we've already lodged applications for her kindergarten at a few schools that accept applications as soon as the baby has a birth certificate, and she's already on the waitlist for a few popular bilingual playgroups that accept applications at birth because there is such demand.

I'm slowly amassing a library of both English and Chinese picture books to read to her, and this has been such a fun project and a lovely trip down memory lane.  I love books and I hope I pass on my love to her.  I can't wait until she's old enough to enjoy some of the books I adored as a child, like Mrs. Piggly-Wiggly, Amelia Bedelia, Frog and Toad, Cam Jansen, Nate the Great, Encyclopedia Brown, Caddie Woodlawn, Little House on the Prairie...

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