Duncan: 19 Weeks Old

Duncan & his Ba Ngoai

Dear Duncan,

You turned 19 weeks old on February 22, 2012. This last week was awesome! Well, aside from the plane ride from SFO to DEN. That was NOT awesome. But there were lots of firsts for you!

Your first time traveling by plane was not good. All seemed to be ok on the way to the airport on the 15th, even though you cried a lot in your car seat (because you hate it). Once we got to the parking garage and you were able to be in the front pack, you were much better. You were pretty quiet and spacey from the parking garage to the airport to check-in and to the gate:

The moment we got on the plane, however, all hell broke loose. You were MAD!!! There are no photos of this part, only the horrific memories forever etched into my mind. You cried (screamed) for what seemed like forever (it was probably 15 or 20 minutes straight) and we could not console you. It was hot, the flight was full, and it was 5:30 am. Your screaming (at the top of your lungs) and flailing made Mommy wish she was invisible. The woman sitting in the window seat of our row was clearly not impressed by the look on her face. Luckily, you finally fell asleep. Mommy & Daddy passed out, too, probably from the relief of it all. After you woke up, you were again MAD! So I had to nurse you and you pooped (giant). The plane toilet didn't have a changing table so I had to put you on the changing pad on the closed toilet lid (which was too small for you) and you were MAD! So much screaming... In such a tiny compartment... After we were both traumatized by the whole ordeal, we returned to our seat and you continued nursing (it kept you quiet). The seatbelt sign came on and guess what? You had another GIANT poop! For the love of all things holy!! Well, nothing we could do but keep you on the boob until we landed (felt like forever) and we rushed off the plane in search of a bathroom. After a clean diaper, a deep breath, and I luggage pick-up, we headed to get the rental car. You cried in the car seat all the way from the airport to your Great-Grandma's house. It was the least fun Mommy's had since her root canal in junior high...

Mommy had to document all that because she is going to try to forget that it happened. But it's hard. Anyway...

After the horrible, traumatizing start, the rest of the week was so awesome because we spent the whole week in Denver with the entire Vo family. This gathering was much overdue for all of us since your Ong Ngoai & Ba Ngoai (maternal grandfather & maternal grandmother) have been in Vietnam for almost 5 years. Mommy & Daddy haven't seen them since we were in Vietnam in December 2009. I was so happy that you were going to get to meet them, your Ba Coc (great-grandmother), all the cousins, and baby Dustin! As expected, they all LOVED you and could not put you down. :)

Cousins Dustin & Duncan

Daddy & cousin Dustin

Duncan & his Ong Ngoai

Duncan & his Ba Coc

Duncan, Daddy, & Ba Ngoai

Auntie Heather & cousin Logan

Duncan, Ba Ngoai & Ong Ngoai

Duncan & Ba Ngoai

Duncan & Ong Ngoai

Duncan & Michelle

Duncan & Logan (after Logan bonked his head)

Snuggling w/ Michelle :)

Playing w/ Ong Ngoai

Duncan & his Ba Coc

Dustin was so nice to share all of his toys & play things with you all week. That little cutie is a good cousin! We discovered that you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dustin's jumperoo. You bounced in it like a madman! You had so much fun in it everyday that we just knew we'd have to get you one when we got home. :)

By the end of the week, an amazing thing happened. Since we had to put you in the car seat every single day to drive from Auntie & Uncle's house to see Ong Ngoai, Ba Ngoai, & Ba Coc, you FINALLY got used to the car seat! No more screaming your head off in it the entire car ride! I'm not going to say that we didn't have to suffer through several days of ear-piercing car trips to start the week, but by the end of the week you were completely cool with the car seat now. That is the BEST! Mommy is so proud of you, buddy. :)

By far, your 19th week was the most fun for all of us. We shared some new experiences and survived with only slight mental scarring. You met so many loved ones for the first time. You discovered so many new things. I so enjoyed watching you with all of your family. They love you so much and you were constantly rewarding them with smiles & giggles. If we lived in Colorado, you would for sure be spoiled rotten. :P

Love,

Mommy

Duncan: 18 Weeks Old

Dear Duncan,

You turned 18 weeks old on February 15, 2012. This post is late because on the 15th, we were on our way to Denver for a 2-week visit with both sides of your family. It was our first ever family vacation! I'll write more about that crazy adventure in the next post. For now, I'll try to catch us all up on the Duncan antics of week 18. :)

You had a really fun 18th week:

-  You love sitting in Daddy's lap. You are so calm and content. It is the
    few times that you actually sit still. And it also helps if Daddy has his
    Macbook open. Not sure Mommy likes your zoned out staring at the
    screen though...

-  Leslie came to visit us and you had so much fun with her! She didn't

    even mind that you spit up all over her several times. And she got to

    see you roll over for the first time! Yay!

-  We dug through the crazy amount of clothes in your closet and found

    that some outfits we thought were too big for you only weeks ago

    are now too tight! Since one outfit was a gift, we subjected you to

    an embarrassing photo shoot in it anyway. :)

You were sad about that...

Leslie had to help distract you. :)

But I think you were still mad inside. :)

-  You also turned 4 months old and patiently tolerated another monthly

    onesie photo shoot with Mommy. Here are some outtakes:

You are turning into such a sweet baby, buddy. Mommy & Daddy love you more than you could ever know. 

Love,

Mommy

Duncan: 4 Months Old

"4" onesie made by:
Grandmom Debbie

I'm 4 months old today already! Holy cow!

I'm such a big boy now... Today, since it's my 4-month birthday, I decided to successfully roll over from back to front for the first time! Hooray!!

My Mommy & Daddy are so proud of me! Not only that, but my cousin Leslie is here visiting this weekend and she was so excited that she got to see me roll over. :)

It's been a lot of fun having her here. She loves to hold me and I love to be held, so we get along just fine. :)

I've been getting up a lot more the last couple nights (angry) and Mommy & Daddy look VERY tired. Mommy says it's the "dreaded 4-month sleep regression" but I don't even know what that is. So... During the day, I'm still in good spirits, play & talk a lot, and work hard at this new rolling over thing. I'm usually a pretty happy guy even though the nighttime sleep thing is a new challenge. :)

This week is going to be a very fun one because we are going to Colorado for 2 weeks! I'm going to meet all my Colorado family for the first time! Well, I've met Uncle Trung, Auntie Heather, and cousin Logan before but it's going to be just as exciting to see them again! It's gonna be such a cool trip!

If my next journal entries are late, it's because we are on vacation. So don't freak out! They'll get updated when we return. I promise! :)

Love,
Duncan

Duncan: 17 Weeks Old

How did I get to be 17 weeks old already?! In a few days, I'll be 4 months old! I'm such a big boy.  :)

Granddad Tony came to visit me on Sunday and we hung out together. I'm pretty happy just sitting in his lap. I don't get to see him often since he lives in NC, but for some reason, something about him is very familiar to me and I'm always happy to see him.  :)

The last couple weeks have been fun ones and I'm reaching all these milestones right on track:

-  As you already know, I've been sitting in my Bumbo chair and figuring
    out how to balance while playing with toys. It takes coordination!

-  I've been sitting up more in general and I like it!

-  I still love to suck on my hands and fingers so much! I prefer these

    two fingers to a pacifier any day!

-  This week, I am all about trying to roll from back to front. I haven't
    been able to do it yet, but I sure do try hard!!

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "This is just a bunch of photos of this kid laying on his side. BIG DEAL!" Well, just to show you how hard I try, here is video footage:

I'm pretty sure I told Mommy to edit the video and cut out the embarrassing ending, but she must have forgotten... So rude.

Anyway, here's another million photos Mommy took today! Enjoy!

I'll be back to show off my 4-month onesie next time. It's gonna be uber-cute, so don't miss it!

Love,
Duncan

Duncan: 16 Weeks Old & Matthew: 35 Years Old

Today is a double whammy! I turned 16 weeks and it's Daddy's birthday! Check it out, we could be twins:

This day was all about Daddy and I helped Mommy make it a special day for him. Ok, mainly I just played quietly and was a good baby while Mommy made cupcakes today, and while Mommy got Daddy's presents wrapped earlier in the week.

Being good pays off because my Grandmom sent Daddy a birthday package and there were presents for me, too! I so rock.

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I hope you had an awesome day. I had the best time opening presents with you (i.e. supervising you from my Captain's chair). Love you lots, Daddy!!

Hey! I have feet!

Mommy apologizes for the blurry shots, but there was a lot of action going on! We forgive her, and she promises to do a better job next time. :)

Love,

Duncan