Created for a Family Studies Project. For Samantha Gabrielle Chen =]

1. It's a girl! Samantha Gabrielle Chen Baby Book Phoebe Chen

2. Samantha Gabrielle Chen Was born to Phoebe Chen On October 12 th , 2007 At 1:30 in the afternoon Weight when born 7 pounds 3 ounces Length when born 19 inches Witnessed by

3. David Amy Samuel Boeun Jane Nick Great Grandparent’s Name Great Grandparent’s Name Phoebe Grandparent’s Name Grandparent’s Name Parent’s Name Samantha Gabrielle Chen Baby’s Name My Family Tree Meaning of baby’s name: Samantha ‘s original Aramaic and English meaning is listener. Gabrielle’s original Hebrew meaning is “God is my might.” Reason being chosen: Samantha was insisted by the child’s great, great grandmother in order to honour her great, great grandfather. Gabrielle was chosen because of our own Christian beliefs.

7. 4:27pm Friday, Oct 12, 2007 My first day with the baby! … Yet still no sound from Sammy, except for the unexpected and adorable cooing at 4:00. Today, I spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon hanging out with my friend. At around 10:30am, my friend and I walked to the school to pick up baby Sammy. When I was carrying the carrier with Sammy inside, walking on the street, I had the strangest feeling ever. I felt like I was being stared at all around. My friend kept on laughing because of the wide-eyed, shocking glares given by many drivers in cars passing by and random strangers walking nearby. I think this is probably how the teenager, single mothers felt. As we reached my friend’s house, we began planning for Viv’s birthday surprise. (psst, don’t tell anyone! Shhh…) We had lots of fun choosing the birthday supplies, watching a movie and then going to Starbucks for some relaxing frappucino. Although the time at Starbucks was a little awkward because of the constant eyes following. Aside from that, we had lots of fun! That is, until it was almost 4:00 when my friend kicked me out of her house because she didn’t want to hear the baby cry. So now, I’m home with the baby and still trying to decide what to dress her in. Baby’s crying. Got to go. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8:45pm Friday, Oct 12, 2007 I can’t believe I was so excited and happy to hear the baby’s crying just to take care of her but now, I just want some free time to myself.

8. 8:27pm Saturday, Oct 13, 2007 WOW! I never knew a baby is this much work! I mean, I knew that Sammy would wake up a few times during the night…but 7 times while I was sleeping last night?! I wonder how I’ll be able to get through the next morning without pulling all my hair out. I basically spent the day inside the house because none of my friends wanted to hang out with me once they had heard me mention the baby or had heard the baby’s shrieking cries. Although, I did go to the backyard to help my dad rake the leaves while he cleaned out the garage. It was so embarrassing when Sammy started crying outside. I was raking when suddenly, her unforgettable crying started (I bet everyone on the block heard too.), and instantly I dropped my rake (which I almost tripped on later) to take care of the baby. It turned out to be a diaper change. I really hope nobody walking by saw me changing a baby’s diaper in public!

9. Sunday, Oct 14, 2007 Right now, looking at the baby’s sleeping, tucked-in, quiet state, I can almost forget her ear-ringing cries from last night. She had woke me up 9 times. Wow, a new record! Anyway, I brought Sammy to church today because my parents forced me. They said I shouldn’t coop up in the house just because of the baby. I really didn’t want to be embarrassed there or disturb the meeting. During the pastor's important passage, Sammy suddenly began whimpering and I knew she was going to burst a shrieking scream if I didn’t do something quick. Everyone turn around to look at me and the baby. I tried to keep my head down and speed walked out of that room as fast as possible. I changed the baby’s diaper in the washroom and had barely made the 2 minutes limit. Then I spent the remaining time left staying in the washroom. Before, I used to get so annoyed at parents with loud, shrilling babies and would blame to for not keeping their babies quiet…but now, I understand more of how they feel and how difficult it actually is to keep a baby quiet.