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Here are some more of the journal entries in Myspace.

Friday, August 19, 2005 Mikayli's First Fall! Mikayli fell off of our bed on Wednesday night! She had woken up in the middle of the night to breastfeed. I had lain her on my left side, not realizing that I had pushed the crib (which I use as a side gaurd) away from my side when I had visited the restroom earlier. I underestimated the whole situation about her not knowing how to flip on her left side while she's sleepy. It was like a bad dream, I saw her slowly turning on her left side and I tried to catch her. Unfortunately, I wasn't as quick as I thought I was. She went over the edge and I felt my heart follow her in the same fall. I'm sure we were both more scared than anything else, because I was able to calm her down immediately as soon as I picked her up. Whew! As she fell back to sleep, I thankfully prayed for less negligence as a parent and for every bone in my child's body to have more strength to withstand my negligence.

Thursday, July 21, 2005 Happy 24th to me! Yeah, everyone forgot my birthday. That's a major sign that I'm getting too old for anyone to remember about. Hehe. The weekend before my birthday, we took Mikayli to get her 4-Month pictures made at Main Place. Every single picture that came out was adorable so it took me forever to debate on one main pix. After that, we found ourselves in Sharper Image and ended up going home with the iJOY massage chair for my birthday present. This has got to be one of the most useful presents I've ever had. Now I won't need to rely on Bien when it comes to my back pains. As for the day of my birthday, we went to Cedar Creek in Brea for a family dinner after work. I had the Chateubriand (medallions of filet mignon) and Bien had the Cedar Creek Prime Rib. The food there was absolutely delectable. As for Mikayli, she had the Gerber Beef with beef Broth, Sweet Pea, and and Mango. All in all, this was a greatest birthday ever. Thanks Mom, for everything.

Sunday, July 17, 2005 Mikayli's First Rollover! Ahhhh....You cannot fathom how excited I am as a Mother to witness my child accomplish this new discovery! She rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time yesterday morning. Thankfully she was wedged between us in bed because we found her sleeping on her tummy last night. She was exactly 19 weeks old yesterday. She also learned how to grab onto her feet these past couple of days, sometimes even pulling it towards her mouth. Ahhh....It's amazing how the simplest things in life are so much more appreciated now.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Happy 9 Year Anniversary Hon! Hubby, I can't believe how fast nine years could go by, it's like a blink of an eye. These past nine years shared with you were full of bliss, worth every tear and laughter. We never looked like a compatible couple, but our years together prove that two opposite beings are capable of intertwining their lives together. June 14, 1996 was the momentous day that you asked if I would be interested in being your girlfriend. I remember an innocent 16 year old teenager with a nervous stance, stumbling for the right way to ask me to date him. Who would have thought I would marry this teenager 7 years later. Three months before we celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary, we were blessed with the surprise of expecting our first child. With God's help, we were capable of bearing and raising a healthy baby girl. Isn't life full of wonderful surprises? Now you've taken on the role of a father, how amazing that you're as great as I'd envisioned you would be. I look forward to this new life lesson of parenting with you. Perfection is something we'll never be, but we have forever to try. I love you hon, with all my heart and soul, as long and tendons as it is...

Thursday, March 10, 2005 Mikayli's Birth Day Okay, here's a rundown of Mikayli's big day. I woke up Saturday morning of 3/5/05 with a relentless headache, the same kinds I had when I was in my first and second trimester. Went for my routine OB check-up thinking that she won't be due until the following week. The doctor checked me at 11:30 a.m. and said that I was 3-4 centimeters dilated and 70% efaced. I told him that I had no contractions, maybe some tightening, but that was it. He asked me to head on over to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital to admit myself immediately, that I would be expecting her tonight. Bien had been busy at work and I had not been sleeping well for the past weeks, so we were definitely overwhelmed to hear of the news. Like it or not, our world was going to change that day. On our way to the hospital, I called my family and friends to share the unexpected joy. At 12:45 p.m., I was admitted at the hospital, room ..7. My IV was put in at 1:00 p.m. I had an enema at 2:10 p.m., went to the restroom in 5 minutes, saw my mucus plug. Bien left to run home and grab my Mommy bag that I had prepared for the hospital. My doctor came in at 2:45 p.m., checked me at 4-5 centimeters dilated. Since I was not having contractions, he gave me pitocin to speed it up. At 3:00 p.m., I felt water dripping out, I stood up thinking that I didn't want to embarrass myself by peeing on the bed, yellow fluid with parts of my mucus plug gushed below me, called the nurse, said I wasn't supposed to get up, I told her I had to take a piss, took one and then laid back down. Had one contraction, then Bien came in at 3:20 p.m. Started having many more closer ones, went to pee, my feet went cold, asked Bien to get me socks, went pee again, came out with a contraction, asked the nurse if I could go walking, she said not after my water broke, I asked for an epidural, she gave me IV meds to take the edge off first. I laid back down, still felt the pain but was more relaxed, she checked me to see where I was at before she would call the anesthesiologist, I was at 9 centimeters! She said I was way past an epidural and called the doctor, on the way over to the LDR room (Labor, Delivery, and Recovery), I had a contraction. Once there, I had another contraction, started shaking slightly, one more contractions and said I want to push, nurse said not yet and asked me to breathe, after 2 contractions she asked me to push, at the same moment another mother was in the next room for my doctor also, the nurses challenged who was going to get our doctor first, my nurse checked me and said that we were beating them. I pushed on 2 contractions when the doctor came in. Two students came in to ask for permission to witness the delivery, Bien said it was ok for them to stay, one more push and the baby's head is out, another push and her body was out. It was 4:38 p.m., full head of hair, Mikayli cried instantly, I kissed her while crying, Bien kissed her, then she went off to get cleaned up. They yelled out to us saying that she was 7 pounds 6 ounces at 20 and 1/2 inches long. She had an APGAR score of 9/10. Doctor asked me to give one more push for the placenta while I was slightly shaking. Once that was out, Bien said, "Look at our baby", I looked and then my shaking became more violent, Bien asked the nurse about me, they said it was normal. After I was done, the doctor sewed me up, I remember feeling some of the stitches going through, I looked over at Bien while he was holding her. One of the students asked if I had an epidural, the nurses said that I delivered without, the guy was surprised, he said he had thought that I was, seeing as how I was quiet the whole time. I remember my eyes dozing off, mind was still alert, doctor came back and said he'll see me on Monday. It was in that time frame that I felt the baby blues, which thankfully went away within a few hours. When I was alert enough to talk to Bien, the nurse put on my peri-underwear and asked me to get up. Once I did, I found myself dripping a pool of blood, she said I was making up for nine months without the menstrual, she cleaned me up, sat on the wheelchair, headed on over to room 179B at 6:30 p.m. At 8:00 p.m., Mikayli came in from the nursery. That was when I gave her the first feeding and also when I fell in love with her. Two things I would have liked to be different was that Bien hadn't taken any pictues of Mikayli's delivery (he said everything happened so fast that he wasn't prepared) and that he didn't cut Mikayli's umbilical cord (doctor didn't think Bien looked like he could handle it). This had to be one of the most perfect deliveries. I remember overhearing the nurses saying that we were their model patients, describing how quick I was, with the added bonus that my child scored so high. No 24 hour labors, c-sections, hernias, or screaming. She came out with such ease, I still don't believe that I was pushing hard enough, I'm sure I could have done better, but I guess I'm lucky. All in all, it was an out of body experience, part of me felt like I was watching in on someone else because everything was in overdrive. If I were to be asked to go through this again, I would take the offer in a heartbeat.

On Saturday after work, Bien and I went to eat an early dinner at Sagami-Tei with Cong Map. It was his first experience dining at a Teppan/Sushi Restaurant and I do believe it won't be his last. Then we went to Baby Gap at Westminster Mall for more clothes for the babe. Her new wardrobe consisted of one summer dress, one cardigan, one pair of shoes and one hat. It was a matching outfit, and cost close to $100.00. I'm thankful I made use of Bien's birthday gift card from Anh Vu and Chi Thao. Afterwards, Bien and I headed over to Babies R Us to purchase a traveler system (an all-in-one stroller/carrier/car seat). We settled on buying a Graco Metrolite in Blue Suede and Plaid because we couldn't find any other models to be as tasteful. We also bought the Snuggle Nest that allows the baby to sleep safely between us in our bed. When we arrived home, Miss Kimmie called me. Found out that she recently had her Baby Shower. She didn't invite me because she knew that I was due in 2 weeks. I don't blame her, I wouldn't want to be in someone else's company when they were expecting to pop at any given time. At the Poker game, Bien tried his luck again. When he realized his losing streak, he asked me to take over. I split the pot at the end with Anh Billy and brought Bien up to minus $40. At bedtime, I tried out sleeping in a sitting position for the first time. My back was propped up with 5 pillows. My back was pain free all night and I woke up refreshed. I even had it easier when I got up to go to the restroom. If only I had thought of this position before, it would have saved me the unnecessary agony. As for today, Sunday, we went to buy Kimmie's baby a little gift. She has plans today so I still haven't given it to her yet, I hope they like it. Afterwards, we found ourselves back at Babies R Us. We weren't satisfied with the traveler system that we brought, so we decided to return it for something else. Fortunately I found a $20 discount coupon for traveler systems, so we took our time looking and trying out the other models again. At last, we found exactly what we were looking for, an Eddie Bauer Euro Z in a Glacier color. It was lighter in weight, more easily manueverable, matched our car and came with more accessories. Not only that, it was about $10 cheaper than the Graco Metrolite. It was perfect, a Mikayli compatible necessity. I also decided to grab a few more essentials on my way out. A car upholstery protector for the car seat, a pink Koala Baby blanket and Gerber Hooded Towel and Washcloth Set. I hope she comes out to be a girl, if not, that boy sure is going to hate making use of all the dresses and pink accessories.