Monday, January 30, 2012

A second grader's take on L&D

I came across this hilariously cute story on Facebook (you know, now that I'm somewhat up-to-date with technological advances). Brings back memories of teaching and birthing... Enjoy!

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher...

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.
...
When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them.. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife.. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this..' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Woo Two now Woo Three

I joked about how if we were to start a band we'd call ourselves Woo Two. Now that's the term we use when we eat out at Sushi House and McDonalds, In-n-Out and Panda Express, you get the idea... But along came our little Sweet Pea, and now we are Woo Three - one step closer to the Von Trapps.

For her 100th day of life outside the womb, we decided to opt out of a party and just document the occasion with a photo shoot with all three of us in the pictures. To help us out, I hired Grace Baek. I know Grace from serving her class in Covenant Flock Group (and was immensely blessed as I studied various topics, observed this group grow, and made some life-long friends). She wasn't available for the day of, so we ended up taking these pictures a few days after Selah turned four months. It must have been a tiring day for the little Sweet Cheeks because she knocked out toward the end. I do wish she would've showed her smiley self, but we like the pictures no less. Now the task of choosing one to canvas for our living room wall...




See more on Grace's website!

Quilt: Handmade by one of Mr. Woo's crafty former middle school students
Headband: Handmade by the lovely Kristin at Petal + Thorn
Dress: Kissy Kissy
Lamb: Macy's 
Plaid shirt/jeans: Carters (Thanks, Unc Joe!)
Cardigan: Gap

Special thanks to Grace and Olivia.
 

Best anniversary gift, ever

We celebrated our 3-year anniversary pretty low-key, which I didn't mind. Mr. Woo kept asking what I wanted to do, and all I could think of and want was to spend it anywhere as long as it was with him and our baby.

But then!

Mrs. Woo: Pooki, wake up.
Mr. Woo: Hmm?
Mrs. Woo: You need to wake up or else you'll be late for work.
Mr. Woo: No, it's okay.
Mrs. Woo: No it's not. You're going to be late!
Mr. Woo: It's okay.
Mrs. Woo: Get up! You're going to be late!
Mr. Woo: I already e-mailed.
Mrs. Woo: Huh? You did?
Mr. Woo: Yeah.
Mrs. Woo: Okay...

I thought it was strange but didn't think much of it. He was sweet to even pick up breakfast for us from a nearly regular weekend joint while I started laundry. I had to because he insisted that I do, using my "emergency quarters." And then he broke the news to me...

Mr. Woo: I messed up a lot, but I want to start off this year right.
Mrs. Woo: Okay.
Mr. Woo: I need you to pack.
Mrs. Woo: Why? We're not going anywhere.
Mr. Woo: Pack for three days, no -- pack for about five days.
Mrs. Woo: Where are we going?
Mr. Woo: I took some time off. I'm taking two weeks off to spend with you and Selah. I thought it'd be a good time since it's our anniversary.
Mrs. Woo: Are you serious???

YAY! Insert happy dance. (I was literally jumping up and down from excitement.) Looking back on it, it was kind of like how this little girl reacted to the news that she'd be going to Disneyland, minus the tears and backpack full of goodies.

And so Husband, Wife, and Baby packed and left to Monterey for a two-night stay at the same hotel two summers ago (cf. Phase V). My favorite part? Just enjoying the days with my sweet hubby and precious baby, no matter what we were doing/eating/seeing. The sea otters at the aquarium were a close runner-up. So much so that I dragged we happily went to see them again the next day. Selah liked talking to the penguins, (I think it's because they're black and white, and babies like contrast) while Mr. Woo liked seeing the jellyfish.





Happy 3 years of marriage, Pooki! I absolutely loved my have-Hubby-spend-two-weeks-at-home and Monterey getaway gift. Good call on starting it the day after so I would really be surprised. :)
 

Sunday, January 8, 2012

A string of birthdays

The fall and winter seasons mean three things: (1) the change of smell in the air, (2) back-to-back holidays=sales=shopping, and (3) nearly everyone's birthday.

First up in the pack is who is now known as Halahbuhjee (Grandpa Na).

Then is Ama (Grandma Woo).

Next we have Uncle Nolan.

Followed by Halmuhnee (Grandma Na).

And then is Agong (Grandpa Woo).

Finally, we wrap up the line-up with Daddy.

Whew! (In between all those birthdays, we also have all three wedding anniversaries.) Then we take a deep breath in of the crisp smell that can only be described as "winter," go through the mounds of receipts to see the damage, and wait with no hurry until my birthday in the spring.

How do you usually transition into winter and the holiday season?

Friday, January 6, 2012

Woo-hoo to 3 years

Already! And this year was probably the biggest in transitions. As mentioned on the back side of our Christmas card this year...

January: Mr. Woo is closer to 30 than to 20
February:  Mrs. Woo craves watermelon, cereal, and peanut butter
March:  Babymoon to Maui, Hawaii
April:  Mrs. Woo is closer to 30 than to 20
May:  Mr. Woo is no longer a teacher by profession and begins working in the city
June:  Mrs. Woo is no longer a teacher by profession and is (finally) a stay-at-home wifey
July:  Mrs. Woo bakes up a storm while "nesting"
August:  Selah is born!
September:  Many well-wishers visit (with food!)
October:  Begin bi-weekly family outings strolling down Fourth Street
November:  Host Thanksgiving for both sides of family
December:  Selah not only smiles and squeals but grabs toys, bibs, and Mommy's hair


And as a nod to our tradition, another picture from our wedding:
Christ not only joined us together, but keeps us together year after year. :)

Psst - Click to view our proposal, engagement, one year pictures.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

A three day process and finding feet

Our Selah has grown so much! I was excited to see that her dexterity was fantastic and just in time for opening presents, which she had no shortage of. The littlest member of the family probably received the most gifts but it was probably us who enjoyed it more.

Christmas Eve was spent with Mr. Woo's side of the family who came up for a few days. Nolie and Joe joined the food and fun as well.
 

Christmas morning was a cozy and special three-persons party. We sang songs, Husband read from the Word, and we fought for took turns holding the most popular member of our household as we opened gifts in our respective stockings. There seemed to have been misunderstanding about that. I thought it meant stocking stuffers plus gifts while Mr. Woo meant only gifts that fit in the stockings. Growing up, stockings were just decorations - except the year my cousins visited from Korea (Santa brought lots and lots of snacks). Now I know for next year.

She did give us a small something for us this morning: she found her feet! It could have been accidental while opening presents, but I saw with my own two eyes her little hand grabbed her even littler toes. Yay for another milestone! (And for remembering to record it in a list of "firsts" that I've been compiling for her scrapbook.)

Then Christmas dinner was at my parents' - with the whole gang. The food was exceptionally incredible before another round of gifts. Selah gathered the most gifts, hands down. She even received one from from Mr. Woo's company! And his team lead!

Three days of presents for the little munchkin! I like to think that it was great dexterity practice for the little learner. Maybe next year I should spread the gifts out and give her one for each holiday, like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day coming up or Presidents Day after that. I do sing her "Happy Birthday" for each weekly birthday (no gifts, just the song)...