SAR

Growing up, we had "SSR" (Sustained Silent Reading) as part of our elementary school curriculum. Being an avid reader, I loved it. I actually got to read whatever I wanted? In school? Without having to hide my book inside of a textbook? Wow.

Well, Z is starting to do his own version of SSR. But since nothing about this child is "silent", his is called SAR: Sustained Audible Reading.

I hope that my children grow up to love reading as much as I do, so I enjoy listening to Z "reading" his books out loud to himself. He can name almost every picture in his word book, and he picks up several new words every day. He likes to help me read his books to him, and I hear him reading them to his stuffed animals (Blue and Mau-mau) as well.

Watching a child learn to speak, especially with the help of a plethora of books, is truly amazing.

Mei-mei: 4 month check-up

The little Miss had her 4-month check-up today!  Everything looks great with her and she's growing right on track.  She's 12 lbs (10-25%), 24.5" long (50-75%), and her head is 41.25cm in circumference (50-75%).  She's almost the exact same size as Z was at 4 months (she's 3.5oz heavier and her head is 1/4cm bigger), but she falls in the higher end of the growth charts than he did because she's a girl.
Mei-mei had to get her next round of vaccines as well, and she was very brave about it.  She screamed when she felt the first poke, then cried angrily at me (she has this very effective "yell-cry") for about 45 seconds before she calmed down.  She fell asleep within minutes of being strapped into her car seat and seemed pretty comfortable for most of the day.

Then came the evening.  Chris was playing basketball so I was on my own to put both kids to bed (normally, I feed Z dinner while Chris gives Mei-mei a bath, and then I nurse Mei-mei and put her to bed while Chris gives Z a bath).  I had everything lined up so that I could get Z started on his dinner, quickly give Mei-mei her bath before Z finished eating, then let him play in his playroom while I nursed Mei-mei and put her to bed.

Of course, Mei-mei was having none of that.  She started whimpering while I was getting Z's dinner ready, and escalated to a full-on scream in less than five minutes.  When I picked her up, she felt warm, so I took her temperature to find that she had a low-grade fever.  When I took off her outfit to get her ready for her bath, I saw that her entire leg was red and inflamed from the shots.  She was screaming in pain, so I gave up on the bath, gave her some infant Tylenol to help with the pain, nursed her, and put her to bed at 5:30 PM (an hour earlier than her usual bedtime).

The entire time I was doing this, Z sat in his high chair (he'd already finished his dinner) and watched.  He waited patiently until I came back downstairs from putting her to bed, and said, "Awww, Mei-mei cry.  Mei-mei boo boo cry."  Then he told me that his toe hurt and he wanted a Band-Aid too (he'd seen the Band-Aid that Mei-mei had on her thigh from the shots).  What a sweet boy.

So we made it through one more round of shots!  Her next round will be at 6 months, and the Dude suggested that we get her the H1N1 vaccine at that point as well.  Otherwise, she looks just great and is a sweet and healthy girl.

Compare & Contrast: 4 months

Well, obviously we're brother and sister.  We have the same rocker!  And we both have green shirts!  Duh.

Look how cute I am, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

Pondering life as an almost-4-month old, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

It's that time of year again!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Hip hoppy holidays

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giddyap!, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

The "look", originally uploaded by Wenmei.

A sampling of our list of things to be thankful for today and every day:

• Our beautiful and healthy family
• Loving family who many be far away, but are close to our hearts
  
• A close and supportive group of friends, both near and far
• Our sweet and patient Cowboy
• The opportunity to stay at home with my sweethearts every day, and knowing that I will return to work when the time is right (thank you, Chris)
• Mighty O donuts (Z insisted on adding this one to the list)

Compare & contrast: 4 months

Hanging out in the rocker at ~4 months old

Smile!, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

Why, hello there!, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

The Negotiator

Z has a pretty effective way of negotiating. He says what he wants several times, until you repeat it back to him. Then he says, "OK" as if it was your idea and he's just being agreeable. Here are some examples:

Z: Outside, walk. Outside, walk.
Mama: You want to go for a walk outside?
Z: OK!

Z: Jee ho, sing. Jee ho, sing.
Mama: You want to listen to the song, "Jai Ho"?
Z: OK!

Z: O Donts, eat. O Donts, eat.
Mama: You want to eat a donut from Mighty O?
Z: OK!

He tricks me into offering him what he wants every time. Clever little boy.

Must we REALLY do tummy time?

Must we REALLY do tummy time?, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

Blue

Blue, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

This is Z's dog Blue. He sleeps with Blue and has started taking him around the house (Blue used to hang out in the crib during the day). I have looked for a replacement in case Blue gets lost, but it appears that this particular style is no longer in production. So a stuffed dog that originally cost about $10 will now cost me over $70. Needless to say, Z does not have a replacement, so I hope he's careful not to lose his Blue!

For our Poopah!

Game day

Game day, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

Z had a little run-in with the sidewalk yesterday, which explains why he looks like he was in a bar fight.

Snack time

Snack time with Jai Ho, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

He really likes that song.

Happy Birthday, Grandma H!

2 year check-up

Today was Z's 2-year check-up with the Dude, and it was pretty uneventful. Now that he's such a big boy he gets to weigh-in by standing on the scale, and his height is measured by standing against the wall. Granted, both methods are a bit less accurate due to the inherent wiggly nature of a 2-year old, but he weighed in at 28 lbs (75th percentile) and measured 34" tall (90th percentile). He doesn't get his head circumference measured anymore; it's just considered "huge".

The Dude gave him the once-over and pronounced him perfect, which was no surprise to me, of course. He's very healthy, he's gaining weight well, he's got the normal bumps and bruises expected on the shins and knees of a toddler, and his language development is great. He was very well-behaved during his exam, sitting quietly on my lap while the Dude listened to his heart and lungs, shined a light into his eyes, and checked his mouth and ears. And he very sweetly said, "Bye-bye Dudah" when the Dude left the room.

Even more impressive was Z's behavior during the next part of the exam: his seasonal flu shot. He didn't even make a peep when the nurse poked his thigh. He just requested to listen to "Jee ho" on my cell phone.

The best part of the check-up was the fact that it was timed very well, and we were able to slip under the radar and get a much-coveted H1N1 vaccine for the boy! The clinic had just received a handful of doses of the spray vaccine that day, and they were only giving them to children between the ages of 2 and 4. Since we were already there for our regular appointment, the Dude sent us to get the vaccine -- free of charge, no line at all. After reading about how parents have been standing in lines for 4+ hours around here (and sometimes still not getting the vaccine), I feel very lucky that we were able to get Z's first dose. We'll have to go back to get him a second dose in a month, but hopefully by then there will be plenty of vaccine and it won't be such a struggle to find.

Now I just have to find a way to get the vaccine myself -- I fall into the high risk category too, since I am the primary caretaker of a child under the age of 6 months. At least the prospect of standing in a long line by myself isn't as daunting as the idea of standing in a long line with a very cranky 2-year old.

I'll end with a moment of extreme cuteness. Today was a sunny day, so I took both children for a walk. I was wearing Mei-mei in the Baby K'tan and I pushed the Phil and Teds while Z walked next to me.  Z stopped walking and just stood in the middle of the sidewalk watching me.

Mama:  Do you want to ride now?

Z:  No.

Mama:  Do you want to keep walking, then?

Z:  No.

Mama:  Well, what would you like to do?

Z (rocking side-to-side):  Dance!

Oh how I love that boy.

Jai-ho and Paci-no

Who, me?

Who, me?, originally uploaded by Wenmei.

I have no idea why you keep finding Cheerios in her cradle.

Sneaky birthday boy

Hey, I've got an idea. I'm going to eat ALL of the raspberries off of the cupcakes. I'll be so sneaky no one will even notice! Jammy, keep an eye out for adults, OK? And if I get caught, well, it's my birthday party after all -- I get to do what I want, right?

Birthday fun, part 1

Wow, birthdays are pretty great. Last year I didn't really appreciate how cool it is to be the birthday boy (I was only one year old, after all). This year, I got to play with a whole bunch of new toys, Daddy came home from work early to play with me, and I even got to have a mini-donut with cinnamon sugar on it from Mighty O (I had no idea that donuts come with toppings)! And it gets even better: tomorrow, I'm having some of my friends over to help me celebrate more! Whoever came up with this "birthday" idea was pretty smart.

Here are some pictures of me on my birthday; I'll add more with my friends later:

1. My new easel, which I'm allowed to color on (unlike the walls, furniture, or Cowboy). It has a chalkboard on one side, a whiteboard on the other, and a roll of paper in the middle that pulls up over either side so I can color or paint on it. I'm not allowed to paint on it until we get something called a "drop cloth" for the floor.
2. My tricycle from Poopah and Grandma Joan. This is the first thing I saw when I woke up on my birthday morning and went to my play room. I opened the door, saw it sitting there, and yelled, "Ride! FUN!!" I scooted it around the living room, and then Mama let me take it outside to try it out. I'm not quite sure how the pedal thing works yet (in fact, I'm a little scared of the pedals) but Mama and Daddy say that I'll figure it out quickly. In the meantime, they can push me around or I can scoot with my feet on the ground.
3. My first train set. It's pretty simple, but I really like to push the engine over the bridge. I don't like to pull the rest of the cars behind the engine as much -- I prefer to park those in the middle of the track while I play with the engine.
4. I got the "2" to go with my "1" train engine from Grandma and Papa Hill. It hooks onto the engine, so now I can push them both around together. I'm going to have the longest, coolest wooden train in the world by the time I'm 35!

I call my new trains "chooch" and I say "peep peep!" while I play with them, because that's what the engine says in my book, "Little Blue Engine".

Happy 2nd Birthday!

In the last year, you have grown in so many ways:

• You love to run around outside, climb on benches, go for rides in your wagon or stroller, splash in puddles, and stomp on leaves. You yell "play!" whenever you see a playground, and you rush to climb up the stairs, go down the slides, swing, and jump on the bridges.
• When we're inside, you like to push your cars and trucks around the house, announcing whichever vehicle you've chosen ("Car! 'chool bus! Dig! Poopah truck!").  You also like to color with your crayons and play with the Play-Doh accessories (you're still not that interested in the Play-Doh itself). You pick letter magnets off of the refrigerator and usually get them right (because you look for the ones you know -- which include O, F, M, E, L, and S -- and ignore the rest).
• You love to read books, especially your growing collection of Dr. Seuss books from A-Mah.  You're getting better at taking care of your books, although there are still a few books awaiting treatment in the book hospital ("Awwww, poor book. Break.").
• You are quite the chatterbox and usually provide a running commentary of your day.  You pick up new words quickly and put them together in the most clever ways.  You have little quirks that make us smile, such as saying "hngh" instead of "two", mimicking people's laughs and coughs, and asking for things by saying, "xie-xie please" while stretching out your hand.  You say, "Haloo knock-knock" to greet people and call out, "Oh Donts YUM YUM!" whenever we pass Mighty O Donuts.
• You love to wash your hands and call out, "Shi shou!  Shi shou!" whenever you see a sink.  In fact, you love to clean things in general and spend a lot of time vacuuming up Cowboy's fur with the dust buster or "cleaning" the table with a rag.  Yesterday when I picked you up from playgroup, the rest of the kids were playing with the parachute while you were happily sweeping up the corner of the room. My sweet Cinderfella.
  
• You go to a drop-off playgroup once a week and love it.  When we pull into the parking lot, you yell, "PLAY!!" and can't wait to get out of the car, put on your backpack ("pack-pack") and climb up the stairs.
• You try to be gentle with your sister, although sometimes you rock her car seat or cradle a bit vigorously.  You give her kisses on top of her head and you say, "Awww, Mei-mei" when you hear her cry.  You help me change her diaper by holding on to the top of the Vaseline jar, and you say "Mei-mei poo poo!  Change!" in case I forget what I'm doing.
• You like it when I climb into your crib with you after your nap and we cuddle together for a few minutes.  You say, "Mama sleep!" and wait for me to close my eyes so you can poke them while saying, "Mama eyes!"  You climb on top of me and point out my various body parts ("Mama nose!  Mama knee!  Mama hand!") and then you announce that it's time for me to leave ("Mama down!").
• You sometimes share a room with your sister, and you don't even stir when she screams in the middle of the night.  However, if you hear me come into your room, you pop straight up so that you are standing up, say, "Door!" and then go back to sleep.
• You put on a cheesy grin for the camera, squinching up your eyes and nose.  You even do it when you see someone else taking a picture (of something else), just in case you happen to be in the shot.
• You are very independent and headstrong, and will throw a tantrum with the best of 'em when you are frustrated or don't get your way.  However, it's usually pretty easy to redirect you, especially if "cookies" (cheddar crackers and graham crackers) are involved.
• You hate having to hold my hand when we walk, but you put up with it while we cross streets or walk in dangerous places.  You stop at corners and say, "Look!  No car.  Walk!" although you don't actually look, and you say "no car" even if there are cars (we'll continue to work on that).
• You like to sit on the potty, but you have yet to actually use it for what it's intended.
• You look for the moon at night so you can say "Night moon", and you let us know when you want to go to bed by rubbing your eyes or your entire face and saying, "Night night, Blue..." (Blue is your favorite stuffed dog, with whom you sleep).
• You love to use your tooth brush to brush everything except your teeth ("Toothbrush!  Brush hair!  Brush nose!")
  

I could go on for two more years listing all of the funny and sweet things that you do, and I still wouldn't be able to keep up.  You add something new every day, and every day I am surprised and enchanted by how clever, funny, sweet and unique you are.

On this special day, your second birthday, I want to thank you for all of the joy and magic you bring to my life every day.

I love you, sweet boy!

Love,
Mama

11 on a scale of 1 to 10

Last night I did a miraculous thing (or at least Mama thinks it's miraculous): I slept for ELEVEN hours straight! I went to bed at 7:15 AM and didn't wake up to nurse until 6:20 AM. Of course, Mama woke up at the normal times (1:30 AM and 4 AM) but she didn't bother me -- she just lay on the bed staring at the ceiling and concentrating really hard to make sure she could hear me breathing. She's hoping this is the first of many nights of long sleep, but I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this or if it was just a fluke.

So this whole sleep thing has been interesting. Mama tells me that she worked very hard to help Z get into a healthy napping/sleeping schedule when he was my age. She paid attention to when he was getting tired and put him down in his crib to nap, and once she figured out his natural sleep rhythm, she made sure to be home for his naps three times a day.

Fast forward to MY napping schedule. I've been a pretty good sleeper from the get-go, and now I'm settling into a regular schedule as well. However, does Mama rush home to put me in my crib when it's time to nap? Oh no. She can't because we're usually out and about, taking Z somewhere to play or blow off steam. So I nap in the car seat, a carrier, or the stroller. The only time I have a consistent nap at home is during my lunchtime nap, and that's only because we have to be home for Z to nap too. Luckily, I don't mind this arrangement so far. I'm pretty happy sleeping in a carrier, although I'm not as thrilled about the car seat (too constraining) or stroller (too bumpy).

Night sleep is a different story. I've started going to bed around 7 PM, right after Z goes to bed. This ends up making bedtime a busy time: Daddy gives Z a bath, hands him to Mama to dress, gives me a bath, hands me to Mama to dress while he takes Z upstairs to read a story and put to bed, then Mama nurses me and puts me to bed.

I sleep in my co-sleeper, although I'm starting to outgrow it and Mama is worried about where to put me next because Z is still in the crib. And I started off sleeping in Mama & Daddy's room, but then I moved to Z's room about a week ago. Mama was worried I'd wake Z up when I cry, but surprisingly, he sleeps right through it! However, she moved me back to her room two nights ago because I've been waking up a lot with a stuffy nose. Once I'm not so congested (from either a cold or acid reflux, or a combination of both), I'll go back into Z's room. Or rather, OUR room.

And maybe I'll start sleeping through the night regularly...