"Read, Feet, and Eat"

Despite the title of this blog entry, the three are not related.

Read:
We're fortunate that baby K likes to read a lot (or rather, likes being read to), even with her short attention span. Usually she would hand me a book in silence; I'd take the hint and start reading to her. Last week, we were sitting in the living room playing. All of a sudden, she grabs a book from the floor, gives it to me, and says "read." That was the first time I've ever heard the word come out of her mouth. It took me a few seconds to recover from my shock.

Feet:
A few mornings ago, baby K and I were in her room reading some books together. When M came out of the shower, baby K runs over to him, points to his feet, and says "feet." That was the first time she's ever said it, even though she's been able to identify it for months now. It was so random. M and I just looked at each other, sort of confused and amazed at the same time.

Eat:
The other night we were having dinner, M was feeding baby K while I ate. When she was done with the main course, he moved onto dessert (a delicious Dole cup of mixed fruits). By that time, I was done eating. After taking a bite or two, baby K grabs the spoon from M and gives it to me (wanting me to feed her instead). As I took over the fruit cup, baby K points to the plate of food in front of M and says to her daddy, "EAT!" She said it with such conviction that M and I couldn't help but crack up. It was so cute! This wasn't the first time baby K has said "eat," but the fact that she was so considerate just kind of blew me away.

There's always something new each day. Sometimes they're moments like these that may you go "awww." Other times you're wondering which kid she picked up that bad habit from. The mere anticipation of the next surprise from my little girl is putting a smile on my face.

Point Pleasant Beach

The temperature was forecasted to be in the mid-90s this past Saturday, but with the high humidity it would have felt more like 105 degrees. M and I decided to battle the heat by paying a visit to Point Pleasant beach. We figured baby K likes playing with water and enjoys her time in the sandbox when she's at daycare, so combine the two, and one would expect her to have a good time at the beach. Boy were we wrong...

We paid $16 to get onto the beach and spent less than five minutes there before baby K decided she wanted to leave. Once we put our towels down and reapplied some sunscreen, I brought baby K over to the water so she can cool down (my poor little girl was sweating bullets just sitting in the stroller between the walk from the car to the beach!). Baby K was already apprehensive about walking towards the water and getting her feet wet, but when a big wave came splashing down at us, that was the last straw. She started crying and demanded to be carried. After that, she just kept pointing towards the boardwalk and insisted that we head towards that way. So much for a fun day at the beach!

We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway's and walked around the Jenkinson boardwalk. We had promised baby K a ride on a Merry-Go-Round the last time we were at a mall, so we kept to our word. Baby K loved it so much that I felt redeemed from the disastrous morning. Here's a picture of baby K smiling when she saw the carousel:

Baby K didn't want to get off when the ride ended. I had to carry her off crying and screaming.

We ended up spending the afternoon at the Jersey Shore Premium Outlets in Tinton Falls. I came home empty-handed and disappointed, but at least we were able to find some good deals for M and baby K, so the trip wasn't a complete waste. All in all, it was a good Saturday, but probably the last time this year we head to the beach. We may try again next year when baby K's a little older, but for now, her fun in the water will be confined to the bathtub.

Penguin Pals

Baby K graduated to the toddler's class this week (yippee!), but the transition was not as smooth as I had hoped. She was fine last week when I dropped her off at Baby Birds (the infant class) and someone would bring her over to Penguin Pals (the toddler class) after breakfast. However, last Friday when I dropped her off directly at Penguin Pals, the water works started as soon as I headed towards the door. I could hear her screaming as I walked down the hall; it broke my heart to leave my little girl like that, but it had to be done. They called me mid-morning to tell me baby K was fine (the crying had lasted about half an hour). Monday's drop-off was not any better, but at least the crying tapered off after 15 minutes, which is progress... and this morning was a repeat of yesterday's performance. Hopefully when I call the daycare for an update later, they'll tell me that baby K's crying subsided as soon as I left.

I'm told it's natural for kids to go through this stage when they move to a new class, but the "normalcy" of it doesn't make leaving her any easier. I'm actually surprised baby K isn't adjusting as quickly as I had expected. She visited the toddler's class a few times before she officially moved over, but I guess that wasn't enough to make her completely comfortable.

Here's a picture of the poster the teachers made for baby K when she left Baby Birds:

Passports

We finally got baby K's passport application completed and submitted at the library yesterday (and mine mailed out since it was a renewal). What a relief to finally cross this off my to-do list! It's been hanging over my head for months now. I must thank JL for posting a note on Facebook about the increase in fees. The $35 extra per passport was enough incentive to get my butt moving. If not for that, the procrastination would have lasted much longer. Of course, the process wasn't as smooth-sailing as I expected it to be, but then again, nothing seems to be anymore.

I filled out the application, got all the paperwork together, and once we got to the library Friday afternoon, realized that I left my checkbook at home. Not wanting to have made the trip in vain, M drove back to get it (while baby K and I stayed at the library). Unfortunately, without the appropriate form of payment and both parents present, we had to be skipped over twice on line. M was gone for less than 10 minutes, but as luck would have it, we had to wait another 20 minutes before the next agent was available to help us. And of course, baby K chose that opportune time to poop. M wanted me to go change her, but I knew the second we left, they would have called our name and we would have been skipped once again on line. I told him we'd wait it out and when they finally called our name, baby K did surprisingly well with the picture-taking. She looked at the camera, didn't cry, and was able to get her passport photo done with the first try (she didn't go as far as to give us a smile -- that would've been too much to ask for). While we were sitting at the desk with the agent, all I could think about was how stinky baby K's poopy was. We couldn't have been there for more than eight minutes, but knowing my little girl was stuck in a soiled diaper with the smell permeating through the room, it felt more like eight hours. When we were done, I rushed to the bathroom with baby K, but to my dismay, there wasn't a changing table in there. [I know there are budget cuts and all, but surely they can afford to install a changing table in the women's restroooms!?] I ended up changing baby K on a table in an empty conference room.

Now that this administrative burden is taken care of, I am excited. Soon our vacations will no longer be limited to domestic travels. Baby K's first international trip probably won't happen until next year (if even then), but at least in a few months, that'll be an option.

Baby K: DC Road Trip Videos

This video was taken on our way to Washington DC a few weeks ago. We had just started to get on the road again after stopping at Friendly's for lunch. Baby K was well-rested, well-fed, and decides to explain to mommy and daddy why she doesn't like being stuck in the backseat of the car all strapped in (which doesn't excuse her non-stop crying for half an hour before we stopped for food). She looks so serious I can't help by laugh. I also love her hand motions.

And here is a video of our return trip from Washington DC. This time baby K is telling mommy and daddy we need to get her more Little People to add to her school house collection.

The Toddler Stage

I was originally going to do a top 10 list of the things I love about the toddler stage, but then I thought to myself, why limit it to 10? I will try to update this list periodically as baby K comes up with a new skill or feat to surprise me with. In the meantime, here's my list...

I love the way baby K:

• runs into the kitchen and starts dancing as soon as she hears a song (or jingle) she likes on the radio;
• holds our hands to pray before mealtime, then says "um" afterwards (we haven't been able to figure out if she's trying to say "Amen" or if she's just hungry);
• starts talking non-stop (with full hand gestures!) in the mornings when she wakes up and I ask what she dreamt about;
• shouts "wo wo" when she sees a dog;
• randomly yells "ma ma" or "da da" out of the blue;
• grabs my hand and starts dragging me somewhere;
• sleeps on her stomach with her butt stuck high up in the air;
• recognizes all parts of the face in Chinese and is willing to point them out when I ask;
• tries to help clean up by grabbing a paper towel she sees and scrubbing the floor with it;
• looks at us with that mischievous grin when she's up to no good;
• grabs my bottle of lotion, puts it down next to her, and pretends she's putting lotion on herself by rubbing her hands together;
• giggles when she thinks you're chasing after her;
• puts her arms out and runs towards me after she's done throwing a tantrum;
• is finally able to say "Elmo" instead of just "Elm;"
• yells out "ba" when she sees a school bus drive by (yes, we have to work on the "s" part of bus);
• lifts her feet up for me to clean during bath time;
• pulls me down on the floor (where she is) and tells me to "sit;"
• says "All Done!" when I turn off the hair dryer.

Of course, my little girl is far from perfect, as evidenced by her bratty behavior this past weekend when her Uncle P, Auntie K, and two cousins stayed over. The list of things she does that aggravates me is probably twice as long, but as with everything in life, we take the good with the bad... and in this case, no doubt the joy she brings me far outweighs the stress and frustration she causes me.

Twice Bitten

Baby K was bitten by one of her classmates on Friday. It pained me to see the teeth marks on her arm when I picked her up. I was already upset about that first incident. Now this morning, I got another call from daycare telling me that baby K was bitten again. It took all the self-control I had to keep from rushing over there to take my little girl out of that place! Two days in a row! What the heck are they doing there!? I spoke to baby K's teacher, then had her transfer me to the assistant director, but she was busy, so I spoke to one of the other coordinators. They wouldn't tell me if it was the same child who bit her, but my guess is that it was. When I called M to tell him what had happened, he could tell how upset I was, so he said he would call the director in a little while to speak to her. I'm hoping to hear from him soon.

Update hours later:
Not much came out of M's conversation with the coordinator (same person I spoke to since the assistant director was not available). However, I believe I've figured out who the biter is (not that it took a rocket scientist to narrow down the possible culprits). Just as I suspected, it was her buddy N. When I went to pick baby K up from daycare today, I saw his father there and he was asked to sign an incident report -- no doubt informing him that his son had bitten another child, yet again! They left as I entered the room, and I couldn't even look them in the eye for fear that I would end up giving them a dirty look. I told baby K's caregivers that I don't want her playing with the biter any longer; they have to keep the two of them separated. I don't care if they're friends, but she's too young to defend herself and I do not want to get another call from them telling me that baby K has been bitten again. Two days in a row is already twice too many. I don't know what kind of teeth this kid has, but the marks he left on baby K are pretty much identical and are quite disturbing.

Bite #1 on Friday (not a clear shot since I didn't zoom in):

Bite #2 today (bite #1 has now turned black and blue):

New Chair

On a whim, we decided to drive down Rt. 1 and made our way to Bob's Discount Furniture Store late Sunday afternoon. Our original plan was just to take advantage of some free ice cream and candy. However, as we were strolling through the kid's section, we came across these leather chairs and matching ottomans with a sports theme (they had baseball, basketball, football, and even soccer). I plopped myself down on one of them and found it pretty comfortable. Baby K proceeded to do the same, climbing up on the chair across from me. She was smiling the whole time and seemed to like the chair, even managing to sit still for a few minutes (quite a feat for her). Meanwhile, M and I gave each other a look, a look of understanding that we were about to be $100 poorer. We had baby K pick her favorite chair among the different sports and to our delight, she picked baseball (I think she was drawn to the color red).

It's very rare that we'd go into a store and make a big purchase without having the intention to do so when we first walk in. Talk about spontaneity! But in our defense, I would not consider this a frivolous purchase. For months now, we've been looking for a chair to put in baby K's room to fill the void where my sister-in-law's rocking chair once stood, but haven't had any luck. Being the baseball (Yankees) fans that we are, this was perfect! It'll probably clash completely with the lavender walls in baby K's room, but I can live with that. Unfortunately, we couldn't bring the chair home with us on Sunday since the only one they had in stock was dirty. We had them order a new one for us and now I can't wait to pick it up at the end of the week!