Christmas Tree

Sadly, we will not be having a tree this year. You'll just have to get your arbor fix from other people's houses we visit during the holidays.

Strange Bearded Man

Who is this strange bearded man? Your first encounter with a white beard, or any substantial facial hair for that matter, really had you perplexed. You couldn't stop staring at this fat guy and that scraggly white hair growing out of his face. We paid $25.00 for you to sit on his lap for 30 seconds. (Some pictures were thrown in.) Yeay us.

Already?

You are changing each and every day right before our very eyes. Mommy washes your gums every morning and night. The other day, she was cleaning your mouth and noticed 2 little white lines. Teeth? Already? At 4.5 months? You showed no signs of teething (low-grade fever, fussiness, runny nose) except for the typical drooling. We think it's because you are a resilient boy and quite distracted by all your toys. And as much as we love to see you reach these milestones, it makes us face the reality that you are simply growing faster than we can believe.

New Friends

Mommies getting together mean that you have playmates! Don't look so sneaky, Lucas!

New Toys!

We love watching you discover new things. This time, we put you in the Baby Einstein Activity Center and you went nuts over your new toy. You really enjoyed spinning in the seat and playing with all of the 9 "Learning Stations". What fine motor skills you have!

Happy Halloween!

Thanks for being such a good sport, Baby. You endured Mommy's strange love for one of her favorite holidays - Halloween. She is borderline obsessed with costumes. You, as an electric guitar gave her inspiration to make two other costumes: a drum for your Dad and an upright piano for your Mom. We're hoping to become some sort of musical family, but no pressure, OK? Even though your headpiece was itchy and made you hot, you still gave us lots of laughter today. You looked so confused as we put this silly costume on you, dragged you to two different parties and tried not to be scared as we all squealed in delight over how super adorable you were.

Pumpkin Patch

Hey! You found a good round pumpkin!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Thank you, son, for accompanying me to Disneyland on my birthday. It was the best birthday I've ever had. I attempted to take you, a mere 3.5 month old baby, to Disneyland by myself (it was a weekday so Daddy had to work). I didn't expect to do much except walk around Main Street and head home, but you were so well-behaved the whole time. We even went on three rides: Jungle Cruise, Winnie-the-Pooh, and It's a Small World. You were so intrigued by all the colors, lights, and sounds. Disneyland even has a Baby Center where I could nurse you and change your diaper. While you napped, I ate a chicken sandwich at Tomorrowland while watching a Star Wars show. We even took some pictures with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Pluto. After about four hours, you got tired so it was time to go home. While it was a short time at the park, it was a very fun day for me as I watched how you observed everything and discovered this very happy place. I can't wait to take you back when you are older and you can run around and play to your heart's content. We're saving up for some season passes, baby!

Baby Dedication

We had a baby dedication for you (along with seven six other babies) at church. Our church has had lots of new babies this year! We prayed (and continue to pray each day) that you will be a man who will follow and know Jesus and live your life for Him. God gave you as a gift to us; we are just two silly people whom He entrusted to take care of you. How crazy is that? But you were more than we asked for. We never would imagine that He would give us a son who was so beautiful, so happy, so lovable. We fall deeper in love with you each day. How exciting it is to know that we get to spend the rest of our lives loving you and living life with you! We love seeing your smile every morning you wake up, and even after you go to bed, we still gush over how wonderful you are and think about the cute things you did that day.

We love you, son!

Love,

Daddy & Mommy

First Lim Family 5K Race

Saturday, October 10 we did our first Lim Family 5K Race at the Walnut Family Festival. Daddy thought it was a good idea to take a shot of an energy elixir. The name of it (Arctic Venom) should have been a red-flag warning that it wasn't good for him. Mommy was getting very excited to get back into running races. It's been a long time (her last race before you came was the 2008 San Francisco Marathon). It was quite an ordeal to get you out of bed, fed, out the door, and ready to run by 7am. Those trails were hilly, but we managed to push you through. Needless to say, we finished, did very well, and you came in first in your age group. Actually, you were the only one in your age group, so that makes you extra special. You will definitely run more races, probably only with Mommy though. I think Daddy just wants to stick with basketball.

Grandma (Ah-Mah)

When your Grandma found out we were pregnant with you, she literally danced with joy. It was our Thanksgiving meal and she ran around the dining room and leapt for joy. (She did wait 5 years for this.) She has changed her work schedule so she could take care of you while mommy works at the office. Those few hours that she spends with you daily are the best hours of her day. She shows off your pictures to her friends, bragging about what a beautiful baby you are. She has helped you with your hatred for the bottle and you actually are calm and at peace when you drink from it. Your grandma would do anything for you and she has already sacrificed so much just so she could spend time with you. From the moment she held you a few hours after your entrance into this world, she fell deeply in love with you. You are one lucky dude to have such an awesome grandma.

Grandpa (Ah-Gong)

Your Grandpa (Ah-Gong) is not a man of many words. He has a very stressful job and keeps to himself most of the time. But when he sees you, his heart softens. He babbles with you, makes silly noises with you, tickles you, giggles with you, and holds you until you fall asleep in his arms. When you arrive into his office and he is busy with work, he drops everything to greet you with a big kiss. His face lights up like you are the best thing he's seen all day. You always make his day brighter.

Blankie

At around 4 weeks, you clearly expressed to us your hatred for the car seat. Riding in the car was miserable (mostly for mommy since she's the one transporting you most of the time). Once we were stuck in traffic for about 50 minutes and you screamed and cried the entire way. You screamed so hard that mommy started crying, too. Every car ride had to be strategically planned - you couldn't be close to your feeding time and you had to be just a little bit tired so you would fall asleep for the car ride. Somehow you also know when we're stuck in traffic and our speed goes from freeway-fast to a crawl. It was so stressful to live a "normal" life which involves leaving the house - mommy gets cabin fever quite easily.

So, we asked ourselves, was it the car seat itself? Was it too hard? Was it too upright? Were you too hot? Was the sunshade not positioned right? Were your legs uncomfortable? Did you not have enough lumbar support? Did you hate facing the fact that the law states you have to face rear and you just get to stare at the blue upholstery of her Honda Civic Hybrid? We scoured through baby forums for the "perfect solution" in hopes of making our car rides less of a nightmare. We put a mirror so you could see and entertain yourself. We bought a toy to put over your car seat. Nothing really helped. Finally, we thought maybe you just needed to feel close to mommy. The solution? Her sleep-shirt. Embedded with her scent, you found comfort in this tattered grey cloth. This shirt was old and frayed, yet, the moment you hold onto it, it somehow soothed you. I guess this is your blankie now.

Friends

You are blessed to have so many friends at such a young age. You silly boys will start kindergarten at the same time and be the class of 2027. Incredible!

*Thanks to the Chyos for the picture!

More Kisses

Kisses

Son, whether you like it or not, we're going to smother you with kisses.

A Turning Point

I know that this is supposed to be "our" blog and "our" updates, but it wasn't until very recently did I feel any motivation to write in this. Our son was born 9 weeks (and 1 day) ago. I was so overwhelmed with being a first-time mom and how my whole world was turned upside down that I didn't even know what to write about. There have been so many changes in the past 9 weeks. He's growing up so fast, right before my very eyes, but inside, I didn't feel like a real Mom until this past week. I'm going to be brutally honest and say that I didn't know how to bond with this guy for his first month. I just felt like a milk machine, feeding him every 3 hours (sometimes more frequently), the whole time feeling like he didn't know who in the world I was. It wasn't until he cracked his first smile at 4 weeks did I feel a connection. Almost like a small "Thanks for the food, Mom!". Then he started cooing at 5 weeks, like he wanted to tell me something. I pretend I understand what he's saying and we have a semi-dialogue. It's pretty neat. Then he started to entertain himself for 10 minutes, slowly lengthening to 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and today he laid there and cooed and laughed for 40 minutes. My baby is growing up before my very eyes and I don't want him to pass right before my very eyes; I want to cherish every moment and remember who he is and who he is becoming.

I am now fully enjoying being a mother. I love taking him out and showing him the world, even if it's just the post office or the grocery store for a gallon of milk. I never knew I could love someone so much, to have such an overwhelming desire to protect and nourish, to hold him and look at how perfectly made he is. It took me a while to get to this point - of loving him with ever fiber of my being - but it's the greatest feeling in the world.

I am his mom. He is my son.

-NL

You're Official

Hi Lucas,

You just got your first piece of mail last week stating that you have officially become a number.














I did go through your mail because you are too young to open it yourself but, when you are older, I will try to respect your privacy and not go through your mail but I cannot make any guarantees. I need to protect you from those girls but hey, who writes letters anymore anyway? I did hate it when my grandparents would go through my mail.

Love,
Dad

Gotta Start Young

Hey Lucas,

I just want you to know that what I'm doing is supported by research. Apparently, at your age, you tend to appreciate the contrast between black and white more than anything else. Well, what better thing to use than a Chicago White Sox mobile!!! Being my son, you'll probably be influenced by me in some way and that may translate into the fanship of both the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Clippers. Though you may suffer a lot being fans of these teams, you will learn valuable life virtues such as loyalty (I'm still a fan after almost 20, mostly losing, years!) and unwavering optimism (which happens at the beginning of every season). I'm starting you out young so that you will develop a love for them like I have. This is for the better...

Love,
Dad

What You Really Think of Me...

While you were sound asleep in your crib, you inexplicably let out multiple yelps, probably a mating call of some sort for some species of mammal. Anyway, being the curious dad, I walk over to your crib and tried to shush you back to sleep, hoping it was a nightmare. You just kept right on crying, saying, "Dad, why aren't you picking me up? Can't you see that I'm not going back to sleep?" I finally get the message and pick you up but you keep right on crying. Hmmm...I thought, maybe you need a change. So I proceed to change your diaper. While changing your diaper though, you pee on me not once, but twice! Hmm...What are you trying to say now? I finish changing you and you're still crying so, I'm thinking that you're hungry. So, to tease you, I put my nose to your mouth and you start wanting to suck it. Realizing that it's not momma's milk spigot, you start crying again. While feeding, you show me what you really felt after Dad tried so unsuccessfully to take care of your needs.




















All you needed was Mommy.....

-Dad

Puberty Already?!?!

Wow, you already have pimples...

Don't be too self-conscious though. Daddy just lets them grow until they pop on his pillow. Mommy will tell you to "squeeze the seed out." In any case, I hope that I don't have to talk to you about girls yet or the birds and the bees or random nighttime accidents. Right now, we're just trying to have you sleep well. Can't wait to interact with you though!

-Dad

Time to Start Blogging...

It's about midnight and I've finally got you to fall asleep. I tried rocking, swinging, pacifying, air venting, running watering, patting, humming, even pleading and you still would not sleep. Finally I decided to fit you tightly into an undersized sling and you finally got to sleep. Why did I do all this? Well, I want you to go to sleep so that you can grow and develop. You know you grow more when you are asleep (So you better go to sleep when I ask you to once you become an adolescent). I was so tempted to let you cry it out but I thought better. You're too young to take advantage of me. Also, I better cherish these moments that you want me to hold you all day because you may hit a phase in which you are embarrassed to be seen next to me (though I'll try my darndest to be the cool dad - reference Doug's Dad on MTV's "the State"). So yes, I kept on trying until you fell asleep.

Why else? Because mommy is exhausted and I wanted to give her a break by trying to rock you to sleep. Mommy cares for you so much but she is pretty tired. When feeding doesn't go well, she may get frustrated but she loved you dearly. Lesson? We may get frustrated at times and, in our brokenness we may react poorly, but know that we love you and will continue to do what we need to because we love you.

Sleep tight, Lucas!

BTW...It was very difficult to take this picture by myself without waking the baby or mommy...thus, it's a little out of focus...my bad...

Father's Day - A Testimonial

Father's Day always is interesting for me...

Having grown up without a father, father's day used to remind me of one thing: I don't know who my father is. This was quite tough for me whenever I saw my friends doing stuff with their dads or when I saw stuff on TV about how dads wanting to spend more time with their kids. I never had that and I kinda resented God and my family for putting me in that situation. I remember randomly throwing tantrums and crying/screaming for no reason and, when my family would ask me about it, I would sulk about how I didn't have a dad. I only have memories of pictures. What killed me is that, as I grew up, all my family kept reminding me about how much I look like my dad. How disappointing is it when you ask your family for a picture and all they say is, "Look at the mirror."

I had pretty low self-esteem because of this. Not having a dad made me feel unwanted. I always thought that my parents didn't want me (I had wondered why I grew up with my grandparents and not my actual parents). I went so far as to despise my Filipino ethnicity (My dad is Filipino. As a matter of fact, if my parents didn't get divorced, my last name would be Galang). I distanced myself from Filipino folks and always referred to myself as Chinese.

I'm thankful that God started a healing work in college. The motivation I had to do well at school was to prove to people that I am just as good as you even though I am fatherless. I'd be like, "Even though I didn't have a dad, I can still be successful." This was my "purpose" in life. Suffice it to say, after a year in college, I was stuck in a huge rut. I got amazing grades but I was so unsatisfied. Is this what my life is all about? Proving to people that I can get by on my own?

This is where God entered the picture. He showed me, through some amazing friends who supported me, that, because I didn't get those encouraging, esteem building words from a father, I was out to seek the approval of people. I was bound by what people thought of me. Without going into details, God showed me that, while it sucks to grow up fatherless, He was the One that ultimately encourages me and says, "Well done." I still am vulnerable to what people think of me but I know that I am a much more confident person now.

Which brings us to the point of this "Note." In a few short days, my son will be introduced to the world. The healing work that God has started in my life is not yet finished. Without putting extraneous pressure upon my son, I believe that God will continue to heal me through my relationship with him. Through it, I can give him the things that I never received from am earthly father ("bio father" per Ted). I can't wait to play catch with him, teach me how to box out and to man the grill with him. I shared with some friends today that any scene in a movie that shows some restoration of a father-son relationship always makes me cry. It's because I yearn for that and I want my son to experience those things. I will live vicariously through my son in these times. It's kinda weird to think about. I will experience what I've never experienced through the experiences that I engage my son in (weird...). In fact, I'm kinda tearing up as I write this. I can't wait for you to be born, son. I love you so much...

Thanks for your time and have a Happy Father's Day all you dads!

-daddy lim