babyboba

It’s official, she’s no longer a baby, she’s a toddler. Even though it’s a little unsteady and she like to walk with her right hand up in the air, she is now toddling all over the place. When she sees her shoes, or even socks, she’ll bring them to her feet and with a little yelp, ask us to put them on. She can now go from one side of the room to another and then turn before making her way back. She got her first battle wound, a skinned knee, though she didn’t seem to care and picked herself up and kept on going. It’s a bittersweet moment for me, as her mom, as she lets go of my hand and goes forward with her first steps of independence only looking back when things are a little scary and uncertain. But then turning around and plowing forward without fear. She’s growing up a lot.

I see shades of all members of our family in her. She started out with pale white skin like her mom, but after a weekend at the beach, she just soaked in the rays, and now she is dark and tan. She soaks up the sun like her aunties and her daddy. She doesn’t like drinking milk, like her mom, but also like her mom, she loves eating fruit. She’s quite stubborn like her dad and will be insistent when she wants something. The snoring is definitely from daddy and already I empathize with her future husband who will also have to endure snorts through the nose. Her face is full of expressions from the furrowed eye brow, to the scrunchy nose, to the eyes that light up during hide and seek, and the big toothsome grin when she sees you when you walk through the door.

We have started taking her to the preschool during church, and while I have gone with her twice, she has adapted extremely well. It’s an indication to me that she is turning out to be a more social kid. While when she first gets there, she’s a silent observer and will often go to the toys on the sidelines to play with those first, she doesn’t need me to be with her at all times and as I’ve gone off  to play with the other kids, she’s content finding her own way and doesn’t need me as much as I may need her. She is one of the youngest, but her tall stature makes it seem like she’s one of them. This past week 2 of the kids decided they really liked her so they kept trying to hug her. She ended up on the ground trying to crawl away and as she got away from one, the other would hug her. I sat back to watch how she would react and was proud of her as she didn’t cry, but determinedly kept going on elbows trying to get away.

We’ve taken her to the beach now twice and she’s discovered that sand is not good to eat, but digging sand castles are fun. And also when you go to the beach, you get to eat yummy food for long periods of time. She’s getting better in the pool, but I still have dreams of teaching her how to float on her own. And while she hasn’t said any words yet, we know she is close and we are hopeful our efforts in chinese will not be wasted.

We’re going to slowly start potty training and this morning, I sat her on her little frog toilet and loe and behold, she did it! She pee-ed in the potty! Woo woo! Of couse, right after she did it, her hand went down to touch it. Horrors of horrors. Thank goodness it’s sterile. So, we’re on the right track. Now we have to make it a habit.

I have been reading articles the last couple days about potty training. I wonder if Torito is ready for it.

The Mommy Files : Diapers: Are they necessary?

Lune is part of a growing number of parents who potty train their babies from birth and see it as a way to save thousands of dollars, reduce landfill waste (single-use disposable diapers are responsible for one third of the nonbiodegradable waste), avoid diaper rash, and to strengthen the bond with their children. While many parents find it convenient to keep their kids in diapers until age 2, 3, even 4 or 5, mothers like Lune find it easier to never deal with the hassle of changing a diaper–and then finding a place to dump it.

The Mommy Files : Potty training

It turns out that Erica took a potty-training class from a San Francisco preschool teacher named Julie Fellom, who has since become known locally as a potty-training guru. Erica shared with me Fellom’s method and I tried it out on Dante. Presto! He was diaper-free in three days (though still wearing them at night).

Tori’s one year birthday has come and passed, and our little girl is quickly becoming a toddler. One small step at a time. She took her first steps last week, on July 26th. Or at least, the first that her mom had seen. It was when no parents were in her immediate vicinity and she took 3 little steps between couch and chair. Of course, the moment I exclaimed at her brilliance, she sat down because she didn’t know what just happened.

To celebrate the big birthday, we went up to see the grandparents and had a nice family party with relatives. As the first grandchild, and the first baby out of all my cousins, Torito is the center of attention for everyone and the recipient of many many presents. However, I also know that being the oldest comes with responsibility, so while she gets to be the most spoiled, she will also eventually be the one who has to occupy all the other kids, find games for them to play, be generous with her toys, and be in charge of holiday performances and playing the piano for Christmas carols. For now though, she held everyone’s attention as she pushed toys across the floor and got spoiled as they kept a steady supply of strawberries and blueberries in her grasp. We got to dress her up and did our version of zhua zhou. For our version, we had a music box, a ballerina, a pen, a calculator, a tennis ball, a necklace, and a violin. After dressing her up in the chi pao grandma bought for her, we let her loose and she went straight for the calculator. The next 2 times, we added a strawberry to the fold, but she missed her culinary calling and picked up the necklace and then the ballerina. So, if we take all that into consideration, maybe she’ll be a dancer that comes out with a fashion line and then owns her own business! It was lots of fun. We also got her a little cake and she enjoyed digging in and stuffing her face.

After coming back to LA, we had a baby party where we had like 5 kids come over to swim in the apt pool. It was so cute. We started Tori swimming too late. She is now very clingy and not really willing to let go. I’ve been taking her into the pool more often now that the weather is so warm so I’m hoping she’ll start to feel more comfortable in the water and relax.

Also since her first birthday, her hand eye coordination is getting so much better. I love watching her as she picks up blueberries one at a time and puts them into her mouth. She’s discovered that sometimes they are tart and sometimes they are sweet so now she will often take a bite to try it before stuffing the rest in her mouth. She’s learned how to climb up on the couch now, using her arms to pull herself up.