Heard around the house of late:
Z: I want Caillou! I’m not supposed to say “I want”, Mommy.
Me: That’s right. What do you say instead?
Z: May I have Caillou, Mommy? I want Caillou. May I have Caillou? Caillou, please. If I eat my WHOOOOLE dinner, I will get Caillou. May I have Caillou please, Mommy? Mommy? Mommy. Mommy. Caillou please, Mommy!
And this is how my exercise in patience continues its long, winding course.
Me: Aww, you cried a little bit, Zoe?
Zoe: No, I cried a LOT.
My baby girl had a bit of a rough day at her second day at preschool that both started and ended in tears. :/ Made for quite the heartbreak on Mommy’s end, even though I know it’s supposed to get easier…
Happily, she bounced right back as soon as we got in the car. Here she is puffy-eyed but smiling.
Daddy treated her to a game of Candyland when we got home. It’s her 2nd time ever, so she kind of makes up her own rules. 😛
And I busted out our Popsicle maker for a refreshing frozen after-school treat!
She was a satisfied customer. :]
Fingers crossed that Wednesday will go a little easier on my little monster. ❤️
Doing it! Officially recording Maya’s first word as “hi”, at 5 weeks old. Say Hiiiiii to her often enough in a high-pitched baby talk tone, and she’ll (okay maybe only sometimes) respond back with…”Hi”!
She’s a natural.
Last night my big little girl celebrated a huge milestone: pooping in the potty for her very first time!
It was unprompted (well, after a couple weeks of renewed encouragement for her to try) and happened just after lights off. She declared that she felt like pooping, and she wanted to do it in the toilet. I was already half asleep and not that inclined to get up for a false alarm, but I’m glad that I did!
I’m not sure which of us was more excited and proud. Well okay, I’m pretty sure it was me! Jimmy’s lucky I didn’t take a photo of the poops themselves, which I was tempted to do. I mean, they were pretty big! And made such a loud plopping noise when they hit the water that Zoe’s eyes got big and she demanded to know, “What’s that?!”
And when one of the poops kind of disintegrated when she flushed, turning the water brown, she looked at me with concern. To which I said, “Bye bye poop!”
Here’s the little one’s victory dance:
Walking home from Zoe’s preschool open house earlier today:
Daddy: Zoe, do you want to hold my hand?
Zoe (declining the offer as she passes him by): I’m good.
Jimmy and I have been floored this past month by the stuff that’s been coming out of this one’s mouth. I swear it’s like talking to a mini teenager.
She makes up full-fledged songs and stories, takes and fulfills orders from her kitchen, talks about her day, her faves and her feelings about things…I just wish I could record every single moment.
Not to mention, she’s been the sweetest big sister since the new arrival of baby sis. More on this later!
Dear Daughter,
“You’re my favorite person in the whole world” is not something you’re going to hear me say anymore.
Not only is it unfair to Daddy, but it really won’t go over well with your baby sister, once she’s born and learns to talk. For now, though, it’s hard not to keep thinking it.
You, you, you. You’re the one who burst my heart wide open. You taught me what wild, uncontrollable, unlimited, unconditional love feels like. You changed everything. You turned me into a mom.And even though you will no longer be my only child, or even my only girl, you will always be my first.
Read the rest at: You’ll Always Be My First | Amy Wruble.
Here’s an awesome conversation (in Mandarin) between Zoe’s nanny, Ah-Rong Ahyi, as relayed to me by my mom.
Ahyi (to my mom): My father refuses to exercise and won’t listen to anyone. He’s been so difficult!
Zoe (listening in on the banter, though no one had addressed her directly): Have you tried giving Gong-Gong something good to eat (translation: a treat)?
Ahyi (surprised and amused): Oh, I didn’t think of that! What kind of treat should I give to him?
Zoe: Pumpkin seeds!
We’ve been so amazed by this little one’s conversational skills, both in Chinese and in English. She’s been speaking in full sentences and demonstrating quite a wide vocabulary for months now — it’s just non-stop entertaining!
I’m most amused by her interactions with her Daddy. She’s by all means the boss, and not even he can say no to her (not easily, anyway) the way she negotiates for things that she wants, from the words she uses, to her tone of voice to her facial expressions and very expressive body language. If only I could record every moment!