03.06.03

I didn't update yesterday. I was too tired....and I totally forgot to take any pictures. =P
Ashlyn and I went to visit Aunt Sherry (a family friend) yesterday. I haven't seen her in over 10 years! She owns a home in Irvine, but her family spends most of their time in Taiwan. She recently moved back so her oldest daughter can finish high school here. But it appears that the move, mixed with the awkwardness of teenage adolescence, turned her daughter into a total rebel. For the entire afternoon, I listened to Aunt Sherry describe the difficulties and huge rift in her relationship with her daughter. Embarassingly, she told me that she spoke to my mother and my mother advised her to talk to me since I was once a hell-bent rebel. Gee, thanks, Mom! =P
Though I remember those years pretty clearly, I couldn't offer much solace to her. There's a big difference between her daughter and my teenage self....though I was stubborn and difficult, I was concious of my parents' limits. I remember just needing to get a lot of things out of my system and learning for myself the hard way. Luckily for me, my parents are strong and forgiving. But Aunt Sherry's daughter..*sigh*...I dunno. While she talked, I kept thinking, "Boot camp!...girlfriend needs to go to Boot Camp!"
Aunt Sherry pleaded with me to help. She was hoping that I could befriend her daughter and somehow talk some sense into her. I want to help...I just don't know how. I can tell you right now that her daughter doesn't want to be my friend. What seventeen year old would want to be friends with someone almost twice her age (unless it were someone she was a fan of)?
Aunt Sherry asked if her daughter could babysit for me. That way we could slowly build a relationship from there. The idea didn't sound too bad, so I agreed.
Later in the afternoon, the daughter came home from school and I had a chance to meet her. The last time I saw her, she was maybe 3 or 4 years old. She's all grown up now and didn't look like a delinquent by any means. She happily played with Ashlyn for a bit before Aunt Sherry mentioned the babysitting job. Her daughter thought it over and asked, "Can I bring my friends to babysit?" Aunt Sherry, desperate and anxious, answered "yes" right away. I, on the other hand, felt very uncomfortable about that. First of all, I'm not comfortable leaving Ashlyn with just anyone to begin with, let alone a bunch of teens I don't even know. *Yikes!* What to do?! What to do?! The decision is so much harder since it involves a family friend.
It was weighing on my mind the rest of the day. It also made me think of my own daughter and what it'll be like when she grows up. Aunt Sherrry is from an affluent family. They are gentle, generous, and warm-hearted people who provide their daughters with the best of everything. The whole thing scares me to death.
I have to have faith in myself and stand firm in my beliefs. I had a hand at help raising my teenage nieces and they turned out GREAT!

Anyhow, afterwards, I went home and put Ashlyn down for a quick nap. Matty and Dave came over and we went to meet Winnie at The Loft in Cerritos for dinner. The Loft was a simple and homey restaurant that serves up yummy Hawaiian eats in generous portions. We spent the evening talking and hanging out! =) Thanks for dinner, Winnie! =D

THE LOFT
20157 S. Pioneer Boulevard
Cerritos, CA 90715
Tel: (562) 402-3538

I think I caught Ashlyn's cold. As a result of running around all yesterday and last night, I mistook it for fatigue...but now my nose is stuffed and runny, and I'm experiencing the irritating tickle at the back of my throat. =( *DARNNIT!*

Today was a quiet day. I took it easy and made sure I dressed warm and got in plenty of liquids. Ashlyn's still sick, but you couldn't tell by the abundance of energy she has.

Ashlyn turned 17 months today! She sprouted two more teeth (upper and lower right lateral incisors) in the past month. She just needs two more (upper and lower cuspids) to complete the set! YAY! =) She's been pretty good at letting me brush them too! Although I read somewhere that I need to start flossing once any two teeth are touching. *scratch brow* I don't think she'll let me do THAT. =/
Ashlyn volcabulary is growing. She can communicate her feelings, needs, and wants with simple words and gestures. I can't remember ALL the words she knows, but her new words are "No" (...which sounds more like "Nah"), or "More" (...which sounds more like "Mah"), or "cookie" (...which sounds more like "cuckoo"). I hope she'll begin to enunciate her words because her babble is kinda ghetto. HAHAHAHA! Her eating habits still fluctuate a lot, but I think there are more days she eats than days she doesn't. I think she's much too attached to her pacifier these days. She hums and dances to her "Barney" videos all the time and wants to watch them repeatedly ALL the damn time! She continues to climb all over our furniture and get into trouble. She's still struggling to control her bad temper when she doesn't get what she wants...but she doesn't hit as often now. *Whew!* The one thing she loves to do is yell "Mama!" at the top of her lungs to get my attention. It's really embarassing, because when we're in public, it makes all the other mothers turn and look. =P
She's really rambunctious, playful, and goofy. She loves to play "chase" or "hide-n-seek" with me and Aric. She uses hand gestures and tilts her head when she talks. She's really developing into a little girl now. For every bad thing she does, she makes up for with a bunch of sweet and loving things. *sigh* She's a doll and I LOVE HER! =D

Tonight Aric and I went grocery shopping and had a dinner picnic in front of the tube. It's been over a week since we got to watch regular TV. We watched the first half of "Survivor: The Amazon", but it was weak. I was on the phone with my mom for half an hour and during that time, I heard Ashlyn win her battle for the control of the TV. *UGH!*...."Barney" again!

Well, I'm going to bed early. G'Nite!

Ashlyn and her fireman's hat

playing in her ball-pit

Ashlyn's pics of the day