Mei Mei’s giving Zoe a run for her money in competing for the Ms. Chatterbug title around these parts. Our littlest one can now be heard babbling her way through the day, and one of her newest words (as of about last week) is…Zoe! Which makes sense, considering that Zoe is her most favorite person in the entire world. ❤️ Now if only I could catch it on video…
Bye bye, Bei Bei
Another sign our number one girl’s growing up: she doesn’t bring her little pink blankie to school anymore for naptime. Out of the blue a couple of weeks ago, she just declared she didn’t need it anymore. We humored her by saying sure, sure okay but then packing it in her backpack anyway, certain she wouldn’t be able to sleep without it. The first time that happened, she returned home asking why I’d packed it for her when she’d said she didn’t want it. By the second week, she seemed determined to leave it at home, assuring me she’d sleep fine without it and that they had “cuddle toys that friends can borrow” in case they need it for naptime. So, I left it at home! And sure enough, she made it through the day. Her teacher Ms. Phoi said it took her a little longer to fall asleep but that eventually she did just fine. It’s now been two weeks, and as promised, she’s doing just fine Bei Bei-less. *sniff* Bei Bei’s still a fixture at home, though, especially at night, which brings both of us some comfort. :] Don’t grow up too fast, sweet girl!
Soon to be speaking!
Not only has our little Mei Mei been crawling to and fro, pulling herself up on furniture and not quite cruising but reeeeeally wanting to, she’s also been imitating words and now, without a doubt, saying “nai nai” for milk and “yu yu” for fish (when she sees Jobee, Zoe’s little betta fish).
I’m pretty sure she also means it when she says “Ahma”, which she’s been saying very clearly for at least a couple months now but especially when Ahma is actually here, and she definitely says “da da” lately when she sees Daddy (as opposed to just all the time :P).
She’s also getting pretty darn good at imitating sounds and words. Such a blast!
Our little time manager
Jimmy’s working from home this morning since he’ll be leaving tomorrow for another round-the-world business trip.
Some of the chatter I’m hearing from downstairs:
Daddy, can you send 26 emails right now so you can be done working?
Daddy, work very very fast so you can walk me to school before it rains!
Daddy, you know Marshmallow from Frozen? Is Marshmallow going to ice dance at Disney on Ice? Yes? He is? But he doesn’t have any feet! He has so much snow!
Two teeth!
Little Maya’s first tooth came in a few weeks ago, followed by her second tooth last week while we were in Maui. Sweet girl has been drooling like a faucet since she was three months old and finally has something to show for it!
Is it tomorrow today?
Zoe’s been ridiculously sweet lately, melting our hearts left and right. She offers to lend a hand with all kinds of things, tells Mei Mei how pretty she looks, says thank you for helping her with various things, and otherwise just being a real sweetheart…and for the most part without asking for anything (like an episode of Caillou) in return.
But one of my favorite conversations with her that comes up time and again goes something like this (and in fact I just heard her having this conversation with her Daddy, which is why I thought of it):
Z: Is it preschool today?
Me: No, no preschool today. Today is Tuesday. So you have preschool tomorrow, on Wednesday.
Z: Oh! Today is Wednesday?
Me: Today is Tuesday. Tomorrow is Wednesday.
Z: Okay. Is it tomorrow today?
Me: No, tomorrow is tomorrow. Right now is today.
Z: Today is tomorrow?
Me: No, today is today. After today is tomorrow.
Z: What are we having for lunch?
Apparently we’re not doing a great job of teaching the concept of time, but…we’re working on it!
Verbal Milestones
Found some notes I’d taken on some of Zoe’s verbal milestones:
Week of 2/10/14:
- He nai nai (drink milk)
- Pan zi (plate)
Week of 3/10/14:
- Says Mommy and Daddy
- Counting to ten!
Week of 4/21/14
- Started saying “hao” (okay)
Not a verbal milestone, but the first time she had stinky breath! 5/7/14 (has only happened a few times since)
I have hands!
Didn’t manage to actually catch her on camera staring at her hands, but today marks the first of her new discovery!
7th day of preschool
Her best day yet! So brave at dropoff, sitting tight in her seat and mournfully wishing me “Bye Mommy” and reminding me to “Pick me up after playground” and “Leave the door open” (part of our new goodbye routine) as I left, even through her giant crocodile tears.
So proud, my heart could burst. If it weren’t already cracked wide open from all the tearful goodbyes these past dropoffs. Yea, I’m a wuss, but whatevs!
“I had a good day today”
Five days of preschool, five days of heart wrenching drop-offs. But, pickups have been getting better!
Today she was crying in the yard again when I came to pick her up, but both she and the teachers said she had a much better day today than the past three. So when I heard “I had a good day today” from the little panda’s mouth herself, it was music to my ears.
In fact, I couldn’t get her to leave for 20 minutes after asking her to show me her newest discovery, the class computer. Future software developer like her daddy, maybe?
One of my favorite parts of pickups are seeing the drawings that the teachers encourage Zoe to do when she’s missing Mommy and Daddy. This one’s my new fave!
Hoping and praying that she soon starts to love her preschool and her classmates. The good news is that she loves her teachers! That makes a mama happy (and relieved) too. Love this girl so very much!