21 Month Update!

Sorry, it has been a few weeks since I last blogged. Ya know, it just isn’t a priority these days and while I usually write it in the mornings at work, the mornings have just been flying by.

Moving on…Katie turned 21 months last Wednesday and is on her way to turning 2 years old officially on August 19th, 2 more months!! At this stage in her life, there are so many little and big things going on in and around her that it is near impossible to keep track. She has not grown much in weight but she’s definitely grown a little in height. Oh and that little brain of hers is helping build a much bigger heart.

 

She is able to answer 2 questions about herself when asked what her name is and how old she is – “Ka-tee” and she’s “thoo” almost…haha… She sings and dances constantly and loves to play hide-and-go-seek. She usually likes to be the seeker and will cover her eyes against the wall and count from 1 thru 10 randomly…haha… She also loves to watch little people her age perform. We attended the Pacific Rim Festival on Sunday and she had the best time of her life! She enjoyed every minute of the dances with huge smiles on her face and followed along with arm gestures whenever she could. It was the cutest thing!!

Things worth documentation:

• First visit to Art Beasts Friday, 5/7. Explored her artistic side. 

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  First Amgen Tour fair Sunday, 5/16. Loved ringing her cow bell and cheering on the riders! 

• Babysat by Auntie Fil and hung out with Cousin Tyrus Monday, 5/17. Dreamt of them that night :o)

• First travels in Nevada, Reno, Carson City and South Lake Tahoe Friday, 5/21. A chance at playing snow again and again!

• Biggest tantrum ever on Sunday, 5/23. Did not want to leave the festival!
• First pee in the toilet Sunday, 5/23. Rewarded with her favorite sweet, ice cream!
• Decided on preschool Monday, 5/24. Bradshaw Christian starting Sept. 1st!
• Second pee in the toilet Tuesday, 5/25. Are we on a roll?

And so, the journey continues in June: family trip to Angel Island with my family, multiple baby showers including ours, and plenty of fun in the sun, if it ever prevails over these unwelcome clouds this time of year!

20 Months!!

Time for an update…Katie turned 20 months last week and nothing like a toddler to be singing and dancing impromptu throughout your day and night, the same exact song and dance…haha…we’re loving it!!

Physically, Katie may have grown a tad bit in the last month but nothing drastic that we can tell. But we have noticed her brain sucking up all that we have to offer intentionally and unintentionally. We have found ourselves on a few occasions amazed that she’s simply not a baby anymore and the biggest evidence is her vocabulary. She has plenty of it and knows how to use it…scary! She knows how to say ‘Sprout’ for her favorite cable network, ‘dance’ to make Mommy and Daddy get their workouts for the day, ‘ketchup’ as an all purpose dipping sauce, ‘Starbucks’ so Daddy knows where to stop for his coffee, ‘juice juice’ for a sip at Jamba Juice, and ‘ice cream’ as her favorite dessert…please don’t say ice cream when you’re around her. These are no where near all the words she knows. She’s especially fast to pick up words for things she loves. Suppose, this girl knows what she wants a majority of the time!

She’s also a big fan of YouTube videos. Hubby created a playlist of kids’ videos and it is helping her be interactive in her singing and dancing. Like us adults, she has a song and dance stuck in her head. You can see her show it off to her Grandpa and teaches him to follow the moves to it too on my Facebook ;o)

Since the weather is getting nicer, we’re able to hit the parks almost daily. It is a great way to wear Katie out (not so easy these days) for a nice long nap or a sleep-through-the-night treat. Her naps have been consistent at one a day for 1-2 hours and if she wakes up early in the morning, she’ll take a late morning nap and a late afternoon nap. As for overnight sleep, she’s at 50/50. Half the week, she’ll wake up at 3-4am screaming for some warm milk, probably evidence that she didn’t get much of a dinner meal. And the other half of the week, she’ll sleep like an angel for 10+hrs straight. One night last week, we were woken by crunching noises and found our toddler to be sitting at the end of our bed munching on toddler snacks that was suppose to be in my purse. She had a glow on her from the night light in the hallway which made her seem like a dream at first. Obviously, she quickly snapped us out of it and back to the reality of putting her back to sleep. Unfortunately, the sugar from the snacks kept her awake for the next hour and half. By the time she was knocked out, we had ten minutes before we had to get ready for work…urrgghh… Thank goodness these nights are getting few and far between but they never get easier. A cup of black coffee the next morning is a definite must!

Outdoor play times are also great opportunities for her to harass strangers and dive into social networking like a natural. We can already tell this little girl is going to love pre-school. She’s observant of other kids and is not shy to participate in activities with them. She actually prefers being around kids particular girls a little older and takes pride in her independence to make friends. At a party recently, she followed a girl a few years older into a play room and as soon as she saw her daddy walk in behind her, Katie showed her daddy the door hinting him to leave her and her friend…haha… Gosh, we should really get uses to this huh?

She’s four months shy of her 2nd birthday and look at what we’ve had to deal with already. This parenting thing is quite dynamic and a science to get a hang of, if we ever do. Katie definitely keeps us on our toes and our lives are as interesting as the phrases she throws at us. Have a great week!

Spring Break in Monterey

Last week during Spring break, we took a short roadtrip with my sisters and Mom to the beautiful coastal ranges of Monterey. The first time Katie visited Monterey was when she was 6 months old inside of me. This time, she was able to take it all in herself.

Powdering up for the outing with Auntie Annie.

We headed out on Wednesday stopping by in San Jose for lunch and eventually arriving under cloudy skies in Monterey. We checked into our hotel rooms and darted off to Pacific Grove to begin the 17 mile drive, a stretch of highway unlike any other along the chilly California coast with breathtaking views of relentless waves crashing onto the well manicured rocky shores lined with million dollar estates and renowned golf courses such as The Pebble Beach. One day, I will watch a PGA tournament here…one day :o)

The girls in the family minus Linda.

Towards the end of the drive is a turnoff to a charming neighboring community called Carmel by the Sea. For the most part, tourists enjoy walks along the main street, Ocean Avenue for a majority of their shopping needs. The town boasts cute little specialty shops housed in fairytale looking cottages whereas more popular high end shops took over larger structures that were just as enchanting. The best part is after a meal or a snack, the soft and white sandy beach of Carmel is only a short a walk away. Unfortunately for us, the cloudy skies soon turned into sprinkles and a storm was upon us.  After our Italian dinner, it was time to tuck Katie into bed with Grandma and for us to catch a few games of pool at a nearby billards.

Jellyfishes and Auntie Tina.

The next day, we spent most of it exploring all that there was to see in the Monterey Aquarium. The place was filled with Spring breakers eager to have a good time learning away from school. We caught sight of a tank filled with different species of under water creatures, big, small, skinny, fat, fast and slow ones too. Visitors of all ages crowded around the tank to watch a narrated feeding demonstration. It was jaw dropping to witness how all the fishes can co-exist in their own forms. The small fishes have to keep sight of their food and not be food themselves.

Did not like sand in between her toes so Auntie Annie had to warm her up to it.

Apart from how much we enjoyed a rare sight of some of the animals, Katie gave her 2 seconds of 'ooohs and awwws' to jellyfishes, seashorses, hot pink flamingos, turtles, penguins, etc and eventually settled into the area that fits her most...the kid section. In it, she was able to drown herself in the water streams demonstrating where and how fishes exist then played her little heart out in the indoor play structures hugging every little kid in sight.

Finally lunchtime came around and off we went to grub at Bubba Gump down the street. The best place for deep fried coconut shrimp! For the remainder of the afternoon, we hung out at the Carmel beach and flew a kite, snacked on sweets, chased waves, looked for seashells and took pictures.

No, it is not a tradition to visit Monterey when I'm 6 months pregnant.

Katie loved the trip just as much as we did being able to hangout with her Aunties and Grandma all at the same time. We of course, could not have been more appreciative for the extra help especially being able to go out at night :o) Lets see, where should we go next?!

Welcome Spring!

Last weekend, we were invited to join Yogi’s brother and his family at Fairytale Town. Our sister-in-law bought a membership for their son to go whenever they wanted to throughout the year. The membership also includes a couple free passes for guests such as us. We got to spend apparently our last furlough Friday in Fairytale Town in beautiful Spring fashion even though it was the last day of Winter.

Katie and her cousin T loved every minute of it. The weather was warm and sunny. We bathed them in sunblock, put on their hats, and comfy shoes so they can run around endlessly. There were plants to water, animals to mimic, and all sorts of fun playgrounds throughout the park: wooden structures, tree houses, slides of all shapes and sizes and plenty of green lawn for a diaper change or even a laptop computer so Yogi's bro can catchup on work.

The kiddos loves to feed nature.

Katie curious why the goats are budding heads.

Sister-in-law trotting along with our kids having a blast!

Umm...we suppose these characters could work...hehe...

'How about a hug cousin T?'

Katie trying to squirt out water from the Jack and Jill hydrant.

...and more water from the fountain. It was definitely a warm enough day to try and stay cool somehow.

And, here we are showing off her19 month old skills climbing to the 4th step all on her own.  Happy 19 Months Sweetie Pie!! 

Happy Spring Everyone!!

First Fight

We’ve loving this Spring weather in northern California after a harsh winter with all kinds of wet storms week after week. We’re finally getting sunny breaks and ditching our coats and scarfs. The nicer weather also makes going out and running around town a bit simplier, no hauling around raincoats, umbrellas, boots, hats, scarfs, gloves etc to worry about.

Pixs from over the weekend...playing pool at Jointed Cue where Auntie A works.

I got off at 3:30pm yesterday and took Katie over to play with her cousin T. With the time change, there was plenty of daylight to enjoy a cool afternoon on the front porch. The kids drew bugs on the sidewalk with chalk and the neighbor’s kids lent them a skateboard to roll around in. Although, the kids love eachother to death, they are still little individuals learning how to interact and share with other little individuals. Inevitably, they will push and shove the other for what they want or don’t want. And so, we left the play date with an official first fight.

Taking a break at SB after the Zoo on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Making duc faces at the zoo.

It happened so fast that the three adults in the room (me, Yogi and sister-in-law) did not catch any part of the fight until we heard a scream. As soon as we turned our heads, it was all over. The two troublemakers were tangled up on the ground with one in tears. The closes object to the both of them was ball so we assume they were fighting for the ball but who knows, they practically fight over every little thing these days.

Trying to play tennis on a very windy day at McKinley Park.

Poor cousin T will always look like the bully over Katie who’s the innocent little sister. It doesn't help T to love to play rough and stand solid in weight and muscle. But I have to you warn all you boys that however bad you may seem, we know our daughter is never always the innocent one. We’ve seen her purposely tap T where he clearly does not want to be touched so watch out and don’t let this little girl fool you into doing something that will land you in timeout.

See her dark sides...intimidating huh...lol...

Have a great week everybody!!

Can't Quite Shove It

One of Katie's most advance skills at her age is chatting or more like copy-cat.  Hence, we’ve been very careful with what we say around her cus she’ll pick it up instantly, especially the bad words.

Pixs from this past weekend in SF.

In the less advance category is her self feeding skill. She can’t really hold the spoon upright but when and if she gets food on it, she knows exactly where to put it, in her mouth. Forks are easier except she sometimes have difficulty poking the food hard enough so it stays and not all foods are pok-able. So the mess continues at every meal.

She also takes every opportunity to play with her food first before she’s interested in putting it where it matters, her tummy. Oh and this little lady doesn’t like to sit still for long periods of time so unless she’s interested in eating and is hungry, she can be very challenging to deal with at meal time. It’s fine when we’re home with the ‘struggle proof’ high chair but not very appetizing for us to be out dining when this monster morphs.  At the least, she doesn't throw her food back at us, not yet anyway :o/ 

Foods that she have no problem eating on her own are also Daddy’s favorites…FINGER FOODS particularly drumsticks and chicken wings. Not very lady like but any way she can get food in her tummy is human like.

We’re hoping the feeding practices makes perfect someday. We suppose patience is once again the key to success.

Relaxing on the Muni

Enjoying the Chinese New Year parade from the best view in the house or streets of downtown SF rather; no, Daddy doesn't need to see the pretty ladies waving at him.

18 Month Check Up!

Katie…Katie…Katie…

We can’t believe she’s 18 months and counting. Ever since she was about 6 months old, time has flown so fast that I have to re-read some of my blog posts to keep up with what has happened, then wish I took the time to write more cus there really is soooo much more to this little girl’s life. The speed at which she’s growing and learning is unbelievable and shocks us time and time again. I suppose adults do shocking things still hence the purpose for all these tabloid magazines…hehe…

Anyhow, Katie went to her 18 month check up with her pediatrician yesterday morning. She did really well. Her doc was amazed at how much she has grown since she last saw her 6 months ago. Katie jumped 10% tiles in her height and a bit in the weight and head size categories too. The doc was ecstatic to hear about all of her other developments from climbing out of her queen size bed on her own to walking the balance beam at gym class and addressing her immediate families properly.

We didn’t have many concerns to ask the doc so it was a pretty short and sweet visit. But, not quite done until we stopby the injection clinic downstairs to catchup on shots. Once we were called, Katie immediately recognized the room and the nurse to know pain was coming. She held on to her Daddy tight and the tears started to pour. After the shots, she was not to leave without compensation and asked for stickers as she sobbed. The nurse didn’t have any out and totally forgot until Katie begged ‘stickers, stickers, stickers’. The nurse, Yogi and I looked at each other like, where the heck, how the heck…lol… Katie said thank you and she started to calm down with the pretty stickers in hand. Oh man, don’t us parent ever think that kids might forget cus they usually don’t with the things that matters most, at least for their age.

After the doc visit, she took a short nap on the way home and once home, she was the energizer bunny. It didn’t feel right to keep her cooped up indoors on a beautiful sunny day so we met up with her cousin Tyrus at a nearby park for some running around and playing in the sand box. We were starting to think they gave her steroid shots instead of her chickenbox vaccine. She ran a low fever over night and this morning. Grandma said Grandpa gave her another dose of Motrin this morning and is doing fine. A parent’s job is never ever done.

Checking for gold.

Have a great week!

CYN 2010

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Another year come and gone and here we are in the year of the Tiger!  Is this little girl growing up or what? Katie turns 18 months in 3 days and she was able to enjoy her first Chinese New Year festivities on her own two feet.  She played outdoors in beautiful weather with her cousins, did her own hand gesture to wish others a happy new year, say thank you for red envelopes, stick out her hands for the red envelopes, watched lion dances and long strands of firecrackers burn while mommy and aunties covered her ears. 

New Year's Eve dinner at Grandma (Yogi's Mom's) house on Saturday night was great.  We had a lot of fun watching Katie's cousins chow down enormous homemade sesame balls for more red envelopes. Katie was only willing to sit still for 5 whole minutes to finish her noodles and off she went to her Daddy or out to the front yard to play with her cousins.

 

On New Years Day (Sunday), we spent the entire day with my family.  We started out taking formal family pictures at a local studio, watched the lion dance and martial art performances outside SF Market, then off to Thundervalley for a late lunch.  It was Katie's first visit to a casino and she was loving the lights and sounds.  She kept nudging us to the slots thinking they were video games but not at her age.  We all came home a winner with more money or a free meal from the winners. 

Katie was on que when told to wish friends and family a happy new year.  She folds her hands together in front of her and in return received plenty of $$$ for her piggy bank :o) Keep them coming!!