Saturdays Are Fun Days

The weekends are fun times in the Lee household. So fun in fact that Noelle loses her Monday-Friday routine of taking 2 naps a day. Jean thinks that it is because Noelle gets really excited when I am around and that I play with her more in the early mornings than Jean would.

Today we made the trek to the Westside for my 6 month dental checkup (which was all good), followed by a visit to Feast from the East for some awesome Chinese Chicken Salad. It was supposed to rain today but we didn't see any rainclouds so we headed for our old stomping grounds UCLA! I've been taking classes for a certificate in HR Management from UCLA Extension so I have a parking pass that is valid on nights and weekends (work even pays for it).

We decided that our journey would start out in Ackerman Student Union so Jean could feed her Wetzel's Pretzels craving and so we could see what had changed (which happened to be a lot). It was nice to bring Noelle to campus and to walk around sharing stories about our college days. Jean and I both went to UCLA but we met at church after we'd both graduated. After Ackerman, we cut through Kerkoff and took an elevator so we didn't walk up Bruin Walk

One thing that stood out about this visit was a new understanding of how inconvenient it must be to be handicap since we were limited to using walkways that included ramps and couldn't use the stairs. If you thought going uphill on Bruin Walk was tiring try having to only use ramps designated for wheelchairs (we only experienced Bruin Walk going downhill though). Noelle and I made the trek downhill while Jean took the stairs. While she was waiting a chinese student tried to evangelize to her and invite her to a bible study.

Since Noelle didn't take her 2nd nap she had an early bedtime so Jean and I didn't eat until she was in bed. Tonight's menu was homemade sukiyaki.

Below is a video that we took on a Monday morning on a day that I didn't go to work.

Dear Noelle,

You are growing up so fast. There are things I want to remember about this first year of your life, images in my mind which I will never forget.

I still remember when you were just a month or two old, when you would wake up crying and I would take that as my cue to feed you. I read from some book that I was supposed to keep you awake at least an hour so that you would fall into a napping schedule. So after I fed you, I put you on my lap, facing me, your little head cradled in my hands. But your eyelids were so heavy, you just couldn't keep it together! Sleep was going to take you, no matter how hard you or I tried. Your arms became limp as old lettuce. During those times we called you the "narco baby" - sometimes you were narcoleptic and other times you were a spasmatic!

I will also always remember how easily startled you were (and are). Thinking that nobody was watching you, you would do all sorts of acrobatics in your crib, singing and talking (baby gibberish) all the meanwhile. Of course I was peaking on you the whole time, and of course I would forget to "approach your crib gently." Just saying "HI NOELLE!" from the door half-cracked would send you into a near heart attack! Please forgive mommy for all those times I scared you and made you cry. Please forgive mommy for that one ridiculous time I decided it was a good idea to vacuum your room during the end of your naptime. It sure woke you up and sent your heart beating ten times as fast as normal. Mommy is such a knucklehead sometimes!

Something that just happened yesterday sent your dad and me into a crazy fit of giggles, and it is also a scene which I will remember always. We were getting ready to go out: I was in the bathroom doing my ugly hair (some parts of it is as short as daddy's hair and it sticks straight up), and I screamed out of frustration. Your dad and I then heard an echo of my scream from your room. You screamed, too! I was the "Marco," you were the "Polo!" Your daddy and I ran to your room out of excitement and found you standing at your safety gate, your eager little face peering over the edge, knuckles white from pulling up to stand. You screamed again, "Ahh!" And then we looked down. Your pants had plain fallen off and were sitting in a puddle at your feet. Mommy didn't realize that you were so skinny and the drawstring on your pants should have been pulled tighter! Of course your pants would fall off when you stood up! Thankfully it happened when you were very young and the laughs we were catapulted into made you smile and giggle, too.

You are our sweet, little girl. We love you so much and can't wait for you to read our letters some day.

Love,
Mommy

Family Portraits 2010

We had a great time taking photos with Lukas Van Dyke for Portraits for Missions!