Where's C?

I took the day off last Monday and joined the W family at Sesame Place. Baby K had a great time playing with C, and it gave me a chance to catch up with WC, whom I haven't seen all year. We even got to take a group picture with everyone's favorite furry red monster:

My conversation with baby K in the car this morning:
Baby K: Where's the blue car?
Me: What blue car? Who has a blue car?
Baby K: C has a blue car. Where's C?
Me: C is at home. You'll see him next time, okay?
Baby K: Okay.

We had driven to Sesame Place together last Monday (NW was following me in his blue Camry) and baby K had kept asking where the blue car was to make sure they were still with us. I can't believe she remembers it from a week ago!

My Hurrican Irene Experience

As told from baby K's perspective:

"I don't know what all the big commotion was about hurricane Irene. All I saw was a lot of rain, so I couldn't go outside to play. I don't exactly know when the hurricane started, so I'll just start from Friday since that's when everyone started talking about it.

Mommy had promised to come pick me up early from school on Friday, but she didn't come until 5:30pm... later I found out it was because she was out trying to find a backup battery for the sump pump in the basement. She shouldn't have bothered, since everything was sold out... she should've just came to pick me up early like she said she would.

On Saturday, daddy made me pancakes for breakfast. I love the weekends because I get to hang out with mommy and daddy all day. After breakfast, I was playing happily in the living room and putting together my Thomas trains until mommy and daddy made me go out. I didn't want to, but soon changed my mind when they told me I could ride on my favorite shopping cart at the red store [Target]. We made a pit stop at the supermarket first. It was so crowded, but good thing we didn't stay there for long. Mommy and daddy only got a few items, but we had to wait on a long line to pay. When we got back in the car, I started complaining because I thought we were going home and they had forgotten all about the red store, but then mommy tells me we're going to Target, so I was fine. When we got there, all the shopping carts I like were outside and wet, so I had to wait while daddy got some paper towels to clean it for me. I liked riding in the shopping cart, but it got boring after a while so I told mommy and daddy I wanted to go home. For lunch, mommy made me chicken nuggets and gave them to me on my Elmo plate. Yummy! Then after lunch, mommy made me go take a nap. I wasn't even sleepy, so I had her read me two Olivia books. When I asked for the third one and she said no, I started crying. Then daddy came in and read to me instead. After my nap, they gave me my favorite panda bear cookies, then I asked to watch TV. Daddy had the channel on the news the whole time (BORING!) so I made him turn on Fresh Beat Band for me. It's so much more fun watching Marina, Kiki, Shout, and Twist sing and dance than to watch the boring reporters talk about rain. Mommy and daddy only let me watch one show, then they made me turn off the TV and told me to go color with my markers. At some point in the afternoon, it started raining. Mommy and daddy kept looking out the window, but I don't know what the big deal was. I went upstairs to practice my numbers and letters. Daddy came with me, but mommy stayed downstairs to prepare dinner. She made beef with peas and corn. Daddy said I had to eat more vegetables, otherwise I have poopy problems, so I was a good girl and ate lots of peas and corn that night. I didn't get all sweaty that day, so mommy said I didn't have to take a bath. Instead, I watched Curious George. Then I got tired and went to bed, but not before mommy and daddy made me brush my teeth. I don't like brushing my teeth, but they make me do it all the time.

I slept through the night and didn't even know that daddy woke up every few hours to check on the basement until the next morning when I heard mommy and daddy talking about it. I guess he was worried the power would go out since we didn't have a backup battery for the sump pump. Mommy and daddy saw on the news that there was flooding in a lot of places, people lost power, and there were down trees everywhere; they said we got really lucky. Mommy and daddy were praying about it, so maybe that helped?

We didn't go to church on Sunday; mommy checked online and saw that it was closed. We also got a call from the township and there was a travel ban where we lived, so mommy and daddy said we were stuck at home. It stopped raining by mid-morning, so I don't understand why we couldn't go out, but I didn't complain. Being at home wasn't too bad... I played with my blocks, my Thomas the train set, I colored with markers, I pretended to go shopping with my shopping cart, I looked at pictures on the camera, I sang all the songs I knew, I took a nap, I watched TV (but mommy and daddy only let me watch one show)... before I knew it, it was bedtime already. Mommy took a picture of me playing with my blocks. I was so proud because I put them together all by myself."

Random Phrases

A few months ago, baby K started saying, "that's a GREAT idea!" (where the "great" would be in a slightly higher octave). It was so cute the way she said it, but that turned out to be short-lived, as I never heard it again after a few days. Maybe it's something she picked up from AM, one of her teachers, so when AM went on medical leave, so did the phrase. AM's been back for a few weeks now, so let's see if it re-surfaces.

More recently, baby K started telling us, "don't say 'no thank you' to me" when she asks if we want something and we'd respond with a "no thank you." She'd continue on that cycle until finally she asks, "do you want paper mommy?" (or it could be a variety of other items like Cheerios, Chex, crayons, markers, coupon, hair tie, etc) and I'd say, "okay, I want paper." Satisfied, she'd give me the paper and all will be right with the world again.

Something that totally made me laugh:
Baby K: Where's my purple ball?
Me: It's in the family room. I'll go get it for you.
Baby K: Okay. You have to hold the handrail mommy. Be careful, otherwise you fall down.

She knows me and my clumsiness so well. I didn't even realize she had the word "otherwise" in her vocabulary. Kids... the things they surprise us with.

WHY?

I thought I'd have a few more years to go before I hear those annoying three letters, "WHY?" in every single response I give to baby K. Silly me, what was I thinking?? I guess kids do grow up faster than we expect them to. As I was driving to daycare/work this rainy Tuesday morning, we passed by a soccer field and there were kids preparing for a game. Here's the conversation that followed:

Baby K: They're playing ball.
Me: Yes, they're playing ball. They're going to get all wet.
Baby K: Why?
Me: Because it's raining.
Baby K: Why is it raining now?
Me: Because it's been so hot, and we need the rain.
Baby K: Why?

Fortunately, it doesn't take much to distract baby K, so I was able to redirect her attention elsewhere. I am fearful for the day when the endless "whys" come and I won't be able to change the subject as easily.

Numbers

After my last posting about baby K's reluctance to learn her numbers, I was really getting discouraged. Then recently, I woke her up one Saturday morning and the first thing she said to me was, "I want to do my numbers." No "hi," no "good morning mommy..." Just the words, "I want to do my numbers." Well, who am I to say no to my little girl? So we spent a few minutes going through numbers 1-10 before starting her morning routine. Since then, we've practiced her numbers almost on a daily basis (most of the times with her actually cooperating). She's mastered all the single digits and I am now starting her on 11-25. If we keep this up, with any hope, I can get her to memorize the multiplication table by the time she's four (though I guess I'd have to teach her the numbers in Chinese first). Full scholarship to Princeton University, here we come!

Tiger Mom Syndrome

I've been called "Tiger Mom" by a few of my friends (in reference to the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, which I found to be a very good read in case any of you are interested), and I am not offended by it. I don't feel I quite live up to the term, but I am at the moment second-guessing my disciplinary ways with baby K. Although she's mastered her ABCs and can count from one to ten with ease, she has difficulty identifying what the actual numbers are on paper. As a result, M and I have recently started "forcing" baby K to learn her numbers on a daily basis, much to her chagrin. Like a typical toddler who'd rather be doing something else (anything else!), her concentration is not there and she often picks a number randomly without looking, therefore getting it wrong. Our patience wears thin and there are few nights where the lesson does not end in tears. Tonight was no exception (my ears are still ringing from the crying), and we even told her that she is forbidden to watch any more television until she's gotten all her numbers right (if I were a real tiger mom, there'd be no tv-watching in the first place!).

Baby K is not three yet; she knows her alphabet and her colors, her vocabulary is growing each day, she can communicate with us, she can tell you who all the Disney princesses and Sesame Street characters are, she can even spot a Honda Pilot (2011 model) a mile away... so I'm wondering, are we being too hard on her? M didn't think so, but baby K has a stubborn nature about her and I don't want our strict parenting style (which in my defense still pales in comparison to author Amy Chua's) to deter her from learning something. I don't suppose there's a right or wrong answer, but I'm just wondering what other parents out there are doing. Any thoughts?

Trip to Ikea

We were originally planning to have a garage sale yesterday, but decided to cancel due to the heat wave. Instead, we made a trip to Ikea in Elizabeth and met up with the M family (my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew). Baby K got so excited when I told her she was going to see her cousin AM. As usual, she had a blast with him. The great thing about going to Ikea is that she loves playing in the store, especially the children's bedroom section (much cooler than going to an amusement park, and just as much fun), but the downside of it is that she tends to run a bit too wild (not a good thing in a crowded store). One of her highlights was seeing all the planes land and take off from Newark International Airport while we were eating at the restaurant.

M and I haven't mustered enough bravery to let baby K play in the ball pit by herself yet, so we still drag her around the store as we shop for furniture. We picked up a dresser and a book case for the new baby's room, but also unexpectedly got two armchairs (one for baby K). We saw the toddler version first, and baby K loved it. It was so cute I couldn't resist, so we decided to get it plus the matching adult version. The black one is for us and the cream-colored one is baby K's (it's much smaller than the black one, but you can't tell from the picture). M put them together last night and they're still sitting in the family room, but we haven't figured out where we're going to put them long-term yet.

Baby K In Concert

One of our favorite past times recently has been to watch baby K "perform" for us. She'd take the step ladder (normally used so that she can reach the kitchen sink to wash her hands), place it in the middle of the kitchen, and climb up to the last step. Then she'd order M and me to sit down, face her, and she'd start to sing, using her markers as a microphone. We were able to enjoy a full-blown concert last night, which even included a period of intermission when she took a break to finish her cup of juice. Some songs we heard from my little girl:

- If You're Happy And You Know It
- Father Abraham
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- A-B-C
- The Wheels On The Bus
- Jesus Loves Me
- The Papaya Song

Here's one time where I was fortunate enough to capture a video of baby K singing (but without the pretend-microphone). Knowing she was being filmed, she says "I see it" at the end of the song.