A week in the life of Sedona and Maven

With both of us being second children, we're trying to make sure that our second child Maven gets lots of pictures -- but we've also kept snapping away with Sedona so we don't slight her as she develops. So even though we haven't posted in a while with the Lakers and Kevin getting back to work in the playoffs, we have been documenting.

Check out last week:

Last Monday, we took Sedona to Fort Lots of Fun to hang out with her usual Monday afternoon buddies. Kevin had never been there, so he had fun taking pictures of her as she alternated between her usual thinker self and her developing adventurous side.

You're not supposed to compare your kids, but who are we kidding? Maven has been a better newborn sleeper than Sedona by a knockout margin. Isn't Maven a sweet sleeper?

Here is Kevin's first time giving his baby Maven a full bottle.

Our live-in doula, Ms. Lin has been a blessing, really helping out with Maven and taking diligent care of the house. Everyone should have a Ms. Lin when they have a baby.

Ms. Lin cooks all our meals these days (giving Kevin's mom a little breather!) ... and Sedona is very appreciative.

Debbie came from Texas to visit over the weekend and looked to be a natural with babies! It was great to get quality bonding time with her.

"A-Ma Ding" (Sedona's new favorite thing in the world to say after Kevin taught it to her) and both Wang grandparents are pitching in with great support and fun with Sedona so that Maggie can follow (or at least sometimes try to follow) doctor's orders of six weeks 'pelvic rest.'



Thanks for stopping by for the week in review!

-- Kevin & Maggie

Since we've been home ...

It thankfully has been a great experience bringing Maven home. We've been extremely fortunate to hire an Asian doula who is cooking all the proper food to help me recover the 'right' way and allow me to rest, according to the prescriptions of Asian culture.

I'm not sure I'm a believer in it all, but I'm trying my best to listen and eat the right things -- even though I've broken some 'rules' already:

(a) I washed my hair in the first month.

(b) I have gone out in public already - and sometimes even when it's windy!

(c) I am working rather than just resting my pelvic area.

Hee-hee, but overall I'm being a good girl and I'm grateful to have hired and family help. We are extremely fortunate.

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Sedona has adjusted to Maven brilliantly. Sedona certainly hasn't lost one bit of appetite, as you can see.

On Saturday, Anita & Jason came over to meet Maven.
The whole Ding gang came over right after that.
Maven is preciously looking up at her A-Go Kristen here. So sweet. Sedona is truly loving her sister and constantly asking where she is and seeking her out. Sedona isn't stingy with the kisses when it comes to Maven, and Sedona is moving in for one here.
Never too early for tummy time!
Sarah & Mag came over for a visit last night to check out Maven while they await the arrival of their baby any day!

Whitney & Riley and Loretta & T.L. also stopped by for great bonding time. Sorry there are no photos!

Love,
Maggie

Maven's Receiving Line

Now that I'm officially part of the Ding household, you'll be hearing from me too! So let's start out by hearing about me!

Here is a picture of just MOI!

Sedona came to visit me every day at the hospital. She is so sweet. She started out calling me, 'Baby,' but by the time I came home she knew my name and my Taiwanese nickname for little sister: "Mei Mei." She is a great big sis so far. I love all the kisses and the pats on the head, although I'll have to start asserting myself if she keeps trying to monopolize Daddy. Already today she saw Daddy holding me while I slept and pointed to my crib, saying: "Back." A-Gong & A-Ma Wang came to visit me every day! They think I'm super cute.
A-Gu Felix came to visit me my first day out. He brought me beautiful flowers, and Aunt Geena came to visit to from San Francisco. Isn't that nice?
A-Gong & A-Ma Ding watched Sedona while I was in the hospital, but that didn't stop them from visiting me every day too! They think I look like Daddy when he was a baby.
A-Go Kristen came to visit Wednesday during lunch and brought me the cutest rabbit that Sedona says looks like Gnow-Gnow, Daddy's longtime favorite stuffed animal -- which was precisely the effect that A-Go was going for!
Auntie Lulu & Uncle Ray brought me the GREATEST balloons of all time: one big foot & one singing balloon. I'll bet you've never gotten either of those before.

And in line with her relationship with my mom, Auntie Anita brought Mommy some Asti champagne and cookies! :-) My mom's Uncle David & Aunt Nancy came bearing a red envelope: I'm not sure what is inside, but for some reason I have a sixth sense that I should not let it go!
Thank you to everyone for visiting - and everyone who wanted to visit.

We've been quickly adjusting to home life and are happy to be together.

Please come visit me soon!

Love,
Maven Ding

Welcome Home, Maven Ding

We are happy to announce the arrival of our healthy & wonderful new daughter!

Maven Tally Ding
April 8, 2008
7:40 a.m.
8 lbs, 7 oz
19.5 inches

Here is a first glimpse of Princess Ding II (A-Gong Ding calls his little grand-daughters "princesses") ...

It only looks as if big sister Sedona is deriving satisfaction over Maven's initial crying while stabilizing her body temperature.

That's the complete family of four :-)

Check back soon for more pictures ...

Love, The Dings

My Big Sister Party!

On Wednesday, my friend Riley & her mom, Whitney, threw me a Big Sister Party. It was super sweet and creative. We all made little onesies for my baby sister.

Loretta (& T.L.) brought a lot of yummy food, and Eli (& Kendall) brought BALLOONS!

Riley had bought me a crown, but I prefer the star sunglasses.

This is Whitney & Riley. They forgot that the paint didn't wash out, so now they have a 'unique' shirt and 'unique' dress. Oops!

End result ... pretty cute, huh?
Thanks to everyone for a great time -- and making me feel so special!

Four days (or 79.5 hours) until I'm a big sister!

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One more thing: Nanny Linda came over today (she's the bestest ... ha-ha, sorry for the bad grammar, but it's a fun word!) and I demonstrated my new talent for copying adults. Pretty close, huh?

Love, Sedona

The countdown begins ...

We are officially six days away from having Baby Ding Girl No. 2.

We went to Dr. Rosenberg yesterday and we are all set for C-section delivery Tuesday. It's super exciting and, well, a bit scary to be having two kids under the age of 2 -- but we hope they'll be good friends.

The house is ready, and hopefully Sedona is too. We'll keep everyone posted! Thanks for all the well-wishes and support!

-- Kevin & Maggie

My New Bunk Bed

To make room for my new little sister, my parents bought me a BUNK BED! Isn't it cool?! I just got my super duper nice mattresses (hee-hee, my daddy is a bed junkie) this morning with my Pottery Barn Kids bedding. I love it. Now if only they would let me (and I knew how to) climb up to the top bunk.

I'm off to the Hermosa Beach library story time with Linda now!

-- Sedona

Hermosa Beach Mom's Club Easter Egg Hunt

Today we went to Valley Park with our friends for the Hermosa Beach Mom's Club Easter Egg Hunt. I went last year when I couldn't walk ... and well, it wasn't as fun, as you might imagine.

Hello? Any eggies in there?

Surprised? I'm on another SLIDE!
I love these rocking things -- whatever animal this one is.
Can you believe it? Yes, it's REALLY me! It only took me about 1.5 hrs to warm up to the idea of getting my hands dirty in the sand! When I got home, my white pants actually had dirty spots.
Here is my friend Riley with me in the sand. She loves climbing and getting messy. I'm learning to be 'active' from her, and she's learning the potty from me.

Aww... here is another friend, Sophie; she's giving me a friendship kiss. We don't roll that way. She used to be a bit aggressive (which I didn't like), but then her daddy had a talk with her. And now she always wants to kiss and hug me ... but who can blame her, I'm pretty darn cute!

Mommy went to see Dr. Rosenberg today, and my baby sister is very healthy. She is likely as large as I was. I'm putting my bet on a 9-pounder like our daddy was as a newborn. Poor Mommy, huh?

Mommy has two more doctor appointments before her C-section on April 8.

I can't believe I'm going to be a big sister!!!

Love, Sedona

Mommy & Me Class

Here is a day in the life of Sedona at our Mommy & Me class ...

I used to be so shy that I wouldn't leave my mommy's side (you know, it IS called "Mommy & Me" class, so I'm just being logical). But with time I have come to enjoy all the different toys, discussions and music.

That said, I still love playing with balls. They are my favorites. At home Mommy saves her tennis balls for me to throw all over the house, but I'm clearly a righty because when I try to throw lefty it is pretty wimpy.

And as you well know from yesterday's entry, I love SLIDES! Look what I found on this slide: an Easter egg! I like eggs, because they look like balls, but I can take them apart. I also like to say "egg" and "eggy."
Look at me driving ... I wonder if Mommy will let me drive her Cayenne.
After playing outdoors we got to sing songs with pompons. I love them, but Mommy doesn't seem as excited about it. She did go searching in six different locations for pompons for me to have at home, however; it's not her fault Party City makes crummy ones that fall apart.

I was having so much fun that I didn't want to leave, so here is my savvy trick to get to stay longer: my tongue. See how I am sticking my tongue out to the side? It makes Mommy's heart melt. I think it's because Inu does it too. She's a sucker for us cuties.

This is a picture from last Sunday; the Lakers were playing the Houston Rockets. We lost. At this point I realize Daddy is going to have to work long into the playoffs so I might as well be supportive. You might think it to be a bit lame that I have a Kobe No. 8 instead of the updated Kobe No. 24, but consider this: Aunt Sara bought this in 1999, when Mommy and Daddy started dating. She was that certain way back then that they would make me, sooner or later!
Love,

Sedona

P.S. Here's one more cute story. There is this girl Sienna in my music class Thursdays and my library reading class Fridays. Her mommy came up to my mommy during our play date yesterday to tell her that I was so well behaved at library class with my grandma (my mommy's mother-in-law, supposedly). Hmm, I didn't go with A-ma, though. I went with Nanny Linda. So Sienna's mom must've thought that with my big eyes that my daddy was Caucasian (haha!) like Linda. I guess it's just obvious that Linda and I are very close. I think I'll call her my white grandma!

Happy St. Patrick's Day (and pre-Easter days)!

Sadly, we didn't even realize it was St. Patrick's Day so we aren't wearing green, but we got through the day with no pinches (yay!).

Teacher Lulu is on Spring Break this week, so she is staying with us a couple days while Daddy is gone on the last extended trip for him of the NBA regular season. We had a very exciting day, filled with lots of fun.

We started off the day going to my friend Raychel's house for an Easter egg hunt and lunch. They have a great backyard. Gotta love SLIDES and SWINGS! Believe me, I totally know those two words.

Did you see my cool Nikes? Daddy got me a bunch of gear at his beloved Nike Employee Store in Portland, and we find endless enjoyment in finding swooshes on my stuff or his stuff. After some lunch and fun in the yard, we started the egg hunt ... I was kind of shy in the beginning, as is my way, but Mommy and Lulu really tried to make me comfortable so I wouldn't go home empty-egg-handed.
See, I got comfortable! Yay! I have three more egg hunts this week (because Mommy helps keep me happily sociable). Today was a practice round. I'm geared up to go again tomorrow at Mommy & Me class.
After all that activity, I kicked back and chilled in Raychel's cool chair. I want one of these, but I don't think my daddy is going to go for it. Maybe if Nike made one ...

We're home! I love helping Mommy get the mail. It's something I really look forward to every day. I consider it my little way to help out around the house.
After all that, we still had time to play with Lulu's dog, Toffee, before my nap. I got to feed Toffee treats and he would "sit" or "roll over." It was super fun. I wish Inu were as easily trainable and as well behaved as Toffee is ... or as I am!
Doggies are fun. But I also like my new pet fish (not pictured). I call him, "Ish." (That's short for "Fish." Ha!)
Love,
Sedona