Baby trying mango for the first time

Week 146 motherhood of 2 year 9 month old and 6.5 month old: 

• July 4:   The week started with a very humbling lesson and reminder of not relying on technology so much:  My phone stopped working suddenly.  I was nursing the baby as is the norm these days by side-lying with her on the bed and using my phone above my head when suddenly the screen flashed to black and then wouldn’t turn on.  I was tired and so I put my phone down and took a break from it.  The screen did turn back on, but it was a weird thing to have happened.  It then happened again in the next 10 minutes.  This really alarmed me because it was no longer a one-time occurrence.  When DH came home from work and I was about to photograph the Metro salad bag haul, my phone did it again and wouldn’t turn on.  I panicked a bit and had to use my mom’s phone to take the photos.  This time, it turned on again enough for me to re-take the photos but then stayed off again.
  • The next 12 hours, my phone didn’t turn on and wasn’t responsive.  (I did the whole pressing the power and volume down button but it didn’t work and only vibrated.)   I have a habit of “washing” my phone with soap and water when I come home (because I feel like it’s more clean that way) and I know that the other day, I was distracted and annoyed and accidentally let some water (more than usual when I’m paying attention) run over the port of the phone.  I didn’t think too, too much of it though because usually my phone is okay.  However, this time, I really must have let too much water go in because when it was charging later that night, it had the loud warning sound about there being water inside the port.  (I think DH also didn’t pull the plug fast enough when this happened because I was washing the dishes and my hands were wet and I wasn’t near the phone.)  Anyway, I put my phone in rice for the next 12 hours in hopes that it would turn back on the next day.  It didn’t.  I am very blessed and lucky that DH was able to come with me to a phone repair shop the next day to figure out what happened.  When I first went to a certified Samsung shop, they told me my phone was not manufactured in Canada and basically too old (over 3 years) and that if they did touch it, they’d have to reset and erase all the data on it anyway.  We went to Pacific Mall after work and there, my phone was fixed!  Hurrah!  I still have to write a 5-star review on the shop.  The place identified what was wrong with my phone immediately when I told them the issue and it was fixed in less than 30 minutes.  Turns out that there was water inside of the phone and that was what caused it to go off screen.
  • What a humbling experience for the 12 hours to be without a phone and realizing how anxious my phone actually makes me sometimes… all the checking and recording of information.  By checking, I mean checking TGTG and social media.  Also, it meant a really important reminder for me to back up my photos!  I lost my original photos of the first baby once before.  It’s a stark reminder for me to back up my photos so that I don’t lose any more precious memories.  However, it’s also a reminder for me to not hold these physical items so close to my heart.  I have lived the life and have the memories in my head.  It’s nice to have the photos, but if they really were all gone, it doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.  Our ancestors didn’t have photos but they lived regardless.
• We continued with the new foods for the baby.  We gave the baby the mango seed to suck on and she really enjoyed it!  I love that this baby is such a
  “foodie”.  She has also since tried avocado (mashed with water) at a restaurant, more hummus (more garlicy type), oatmeal water, and peanut butter too!  When she sees DH bring her the green spoon or the num num spoon, she is already licking her lips and ready to eat.
• The baby is quite good at falling asleep herself.  Sure, she needs me to nurse her, but once she’s done feeding and full, she rolls over and usually sleeps.  If she doesn’t pass out cold, her eyes will be closed and then she will do the “head shake” thing to fall asleep.  She shakes her head vigorously from side to side as a soothing method to sleep.  So great that this child knows how to sleep like that by herself.  No need for any shushing or rocking or white noise or music or swaddle or sleep sack.  We never used a swaddle on her; she never liked it.  And since she never used a swaddle, there was no need for a sleep sack either.  I guess once the winter months arrive, we’ll put her in one then but for now, it’s summer and she is just in a onesie.
• The baby not only can burp herself once I sit her up on my lap, but now I discovered that she can burp herself while she’s flipped on her belly too!  So impressive!  I’m not even sure I can burp myself if I’m lying flat on my belly.  This baby can do it!  I love how easy it is that she can burp herself without needing to pat her back (although when grandma or DH holds her, they still do it — especially if we are going to be putting her to sit in the car seat because we don’t want her being uncomfortable and gassy during the ride).
• The toddler has discovered yet another fun thing to play with in our room.  She likes to go behind the curtains to play with the medela bottles but now she likes to put her head in between the window curtains and peer out.  She laughs and tells me to take a photo of her.  She also likes to put together the medela bottle pumps with the bottle.  Grandma took a photo of her “nursing” her stuffed animal toy the other day too.  It was so realistic because she had one side of her shirt pulled up to feed the toy just like how I feed her sister.  Art imitates life.
• We had our third barbecue of the summer at a relative’s home.  It was great.  Beautiful summer weather yet again, amazing delicious food, and good comfortable company.  It was good for the toddler to see more people again.  The baby was also comfortable to be passed amongst different relatives.  A great chance for mom and dad to get a bite in and be baby-free for 10 minutes at a time lol.
• We’ve been having near-weekly dim sum lunches with my uncle and grandma (great-grandma to my kids).  She’s 101 years old and I think because I’ve been home so often through the pandemic and as a mom of two that I really like going out for lunch and just going out in general.  I don’t think I can ever tire of dim sum food.
• For Canada Day this year, we once again coincidentally headed to Richmond Green park.  During the pandemic, we had a picnic here and it was wonderful.  This year, we checked out the sponsored event which consisted of food trucks and CNE-like games and booths.  There wasn’t anything toddler-friendly so we left.  Instead, we revisited the park with a dinosaur in it (the toddler’s favourite) and it was such a great time.  In fact, we went to this park twice this week.
• For the first time since I gave birth to the little one, I was able to have a Chinese traditional “tui na” massage.  Finally!!  I felt very easily irritated and frustrated this week (could it be because of the heat or hormonal in general or because I haven’t been writing in a diary?), so I figured some me time was very necessary.  Mom and I both got a massage while DH had both kids at home.  I nursed the baby right before I left (she then napped for an hour on the bed).  Then DH took both kids to the park and arrived home just before we did.  The massage therapist kind of overkilled it with the pressure points though.  My back and neck were so sore afterwards.  It’s also been a long time since I had a massage (last one was a prenatal one and the previous one was in March 2021).  I’m glad that DH is so capable at handling both kids.
• The toddler prefers me taking her out of the car seat these days (also putting her in too).  If anyone else does it, she’ll cry and have a meltdown.
• The toddler likes me cutting her hair as well.  I like it as well.  I still need to get a trimmer or learn how to trim her hair in a non-blunt way (how to describe it?  I’m at a loss for words tonight).  I cut a little bit of her bangs each time she asks so they’re always at a good length.  It’s good to have her hair cut regularly too because a little girl shouldn’t be bothered by having long hair or hair all over the place.  (I’m also not a mom who cares about tying her hair up.)
• The toddler used to be deathly afraid of loud noises like the coffee grinder or the vacuum.  We got a brand new handheld vacuum which is so great that I use all the time now.  The toddler has finally grown accustomed to it and isn’t as afraid of it now.
•  DH got the bad news that he has to work in the office three days a week now.  Boohoo.  He no longer can just go in once a week.  This means he is no longer at home four days a week and will be just at home working two days a week.  The end of an era.  I think I used to be more upset about it, but I know that me and my mom can handle the two kids.  We’ll attend more earlyons and go to the park and to the mall, have lunch with great-grandma, etc.  We’ll survive.  It’ll only be a little bit over a year before the older daughter goes to full-day kindergarten anyway.  (I can’t believe it.)
• The toddler loves going to Walmart to look for her dinosaur toy.  Similarly, she likes going to Shoppers to look for her tiger toy.  She did so yesterday when we were at a branch.  She was so happy about it.  She also found a little blue dino buddy and “danced” them around with her hands.  So cute.  The joy is so pure.
• The toddler can open her own tub of yogurt and eat and finish it.  She’s really improved leaps and bounds with her eating skills.  She can use a spoon and fork both really well.  We haven’t tried giving her chopsticks yet.  She can drink from an open cup or bowl no problem (milk or water or soup), but sometimes she has accidents where she spills the contents on herself or on the floor.
• (Thank goodness for the new vacuum cleaner.  It’s so easy to clean up messes in the kitchen now!)
• We were waiting around in a car dealership and the toddler drank so many of the small milk cups.  (I originally wanted to get some hot chocolate for her from the machine but there was no such option.  There were also no cups too.  By the time someone came around to restocking the cups, I realized that there was milk in the fridge so that’s what I gave the toddler.  She happily drank the cups of milk as a snack.  She must have had at least 10.  I gave her some cream to try too.  She didn’t mind the first one but preferred the 2 per cent MF milk.  She herself requested for more cream later on but then dumped it out because she didn’t like it anymore.)  So glad that this kept us occupied for a while.  The baby was content to be in my arms too and watching her sister.
• The toddler has a habit this week of pulling apart her sister’s buttoned clothes. 😑😅