It's busy around here, but feeling thankful that A is healthy and doing well. One of our dear friend's son (3 years old) is going to through some health issues and currently back in hospital having surgery. So in light of this, I'm feeling grateful that A is healthy and haven't even been sick since he's been born other than a rare running nose. In fact, all the kids have been healthy and doing well. :)
A just finished his 2 years old (mommy and me) session 1. We had great time and appreciate the structure the program provided. That was my once a week, ultra concentrated one on one time with A. Other than when he's watching TV, A wants to play with someone, and it is usually me. Recently, he's been making great progress in stacking blocks and can do 10+ with little cylinders and planks. He is also discovering the fun of pretend but still needs a lot of input from other people. A favorite is little people animals. Before I forget, A is really into pretend sword play but he hates to be the "bad guy" and will protect with crying. He wants to "fight the bad guy".
Another reason to be thankful is A is a great eater. He have no issue eats vegetables, and esp. loves cabbage, broccoli and carrots. And he loves "cuties" oranges and eats 4-5 or more if I let him. One thing I 'm hoping is he will drink more plain water. Right now, he still loves his rice milk, doing good with tangy (crytal multivitamin mixed with water) and honey/lemon water.
Now his nap is getting shorter and shorter, usually about 30 minutes in the afternoon. So not much free time for me. Thankfully, his brother/sister happily plays with him when I really need a break.
A is a lot more vocal with them than with other children. I think a big part is probability due to his comfort level. So sometimes he gets little bullied and was feeling hurt and crying when a 3 years old didn't want him to play with a toy. But in the 2's, I noticed that is fairly common. The 2's haven't quite mastered the art of sharing or asking using words. They use more body language than their voice.We are going to work on that.
Okay, maybe more later. But right now, I have got a healthy and happy 2 asking me to play with me.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
27 months update on A
A started a 2 year old program few weeks ago and I think he really likes it. He thrives having me there, seeing other children his age there, the new toys and the structure. His teachers thinks he's a sweetie, saying he looks "happy all the time". HA-HA! Well, yes, if things are going his way, and mommy gives him her full attention which does happen at the 2 years old program. It is my special time with him.
Other than that, not much else is new. Though just yesterday, I vowed to start speaking to A exclusively in Chinese after reading that in bilingual families, one should speak to the child in the foreign language exclusively. And even when the family does activities together, if I address A specifically, then I should still do it in Chinese. I was doing that but mixing a lot of English in and that didn't work too well. I think I was afraid he won't understand, but actually A understands more than he can say.
Much to my dismay and the declining health of my sanity, A is staring to skip his nap. Arghhhh!! And in Sunday school, he is refusing to stay in the room and we have been paged the last 3 times. Same thing with gym so I am taking a break but hoping to try again soon. I know it's all temporary, but it's hard.
One little success, I did "wean A off" on the ipad. He still looks at my phone a lot but not as long if I were to give him the ipad. I'm going to try to get a schedule going for A and do something similar with him like the 2 year old program. He was hooked on these plastic insects, and last time it was the bears. So that will be on his Christmas list along with a few puppets.
Other than that, not much else is new. Though just yesterday, I vowed to start speaking to A exclusively in Chinese after reading that in bilingual families, one should speak to the child in the foreign language exclusively. And even when the family does activities together, if I address A specifically, then I should still do it in Chinese. I was doing that but mixing a lot of English in and that didn't work too well. I think I was afraid he won't understand, but actually A understands more than he can say.
Much to my dismay and the declining health of my sanity, A is staring to skip his nap. Arghhhh!! And in Sunday school, he is refusing to stay in the room and we have been paged the last 3 times. Same thing with gym so I am taking a break but hoping to try again soon. I know it's all temporary, but it's hard.
One little success, I did "wean A off" on the ipad. He still looks at my phone a lot but not as long if I were to give him the ipad. I'm going to try to get a schedule going for A and do something similar with him like the 2 year old program. He was hooked on these plastic insects, and last time it was the bears. So that will be on his Christmas list along with a few puppets.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Some new sayings at 26 months
We are surprised by him every day.
Most recent is "Daddy, don't leave me", 3 seconds pass, he says, "Daddy, please don't leave me" when lights is out and daddy is trying to put him to bed.
I say "Thank you, Alex" and he will reply" You're welcome, mom." :)
"Don't hit my butt" to brother when he bounce a ball on Alex's butt just I'm writing this.
He also says, "Bless you" when someone sneezes and today, he said, "I am really tired" while we are driving home.
Although more common, is "I don't want to go to bed!!" :( and when he doesn't have a shirt, he says, "I'm naked and sexy too" Where did he learn that?! But tonight I talked it out with him. I told him if I don't get enough sleep, then I will have have grandma take care of him. :) and that worked liked magic and he let me go to bed.
He also says, "This clothes is FeiFei's, not Alex. What the? " :)
"You gotta be kidding me". :) That, I know he learned from his brother. The amazing thing he uses it in correct context.
Alex likes to sing a lot and he sings "Happy birthday", "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and "Row Row Row your boat".
He was little sick a couple of days ago and now every night he wakes up at 4:15. Arghh!!
I'm excited he is going to be starting a 2 years old program one day a week. It's like a mommy and me program. And I'm thinking about signing him up for Music and Me in the winter.
We also went to the zoo recently and he really liked the giraffe.
He is getting used to going to gym childcare and about 2 weeks ago, no longer cries when he is going in so that is great progress. I don't think he really plays with other kids but he does watch them. And at church, daddy thinks he is playing and exploring more with the toys rather than just observing. But whenever he sees relatives, he still refuses to say hi or say anything. And if you approach him, he will tell you, "NO, NO, NO!!!" so still can use some progress in this area. I try to remember every kid is different and that he will be fine as he grows older and learns to trust people more.
Most recent is "Daddy, don't leave me", 3 seconds pass, he says, "Daddy, please don't leave me" when lights is out and daddy is trying to put him to bed.
I say "Thank you, Alex" and he will reply" You're welcome, mom." :)
"Don't hit my butt" to brother when he bounce a ball on Alex's butt just I'm writing this.
He also says, "Bless you" when someone sneezes and today, he said, "I am really tired" while we are driving home.
Although more common, is "I don't want to go to bed!!" :( and when he doesn't have a shirt, he says, "I'm naked and sexy too" Where did he learn that?! But tonight I talked it out with him. I told him if I don't get enough sleep, then I will have have grandma take care of him. :) and that worked liked magic and he let me go to bed.
He also says, "This clothes is FeiFei's, not Alex. What the? " :)
"You gotta be kidding me". :) That, I know he learned from his brother. The amazing thing he uses it in correct context.
Alex likes to sing a lot and he sings "Happy birthday", "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and "Row Row Row your boat".
He was little sick a couple of days ago and now every night he wakes up at 4:15. Arghh!!
I'm excited he is going to be starting a 2 years old program one day a week. It's like a mommy and me program. And I'm thinking about signing him up for Music and Me in the winter.
We also went to the zoo recently and he really liked the giraffe.
He is getting used to going to gym childcare and about 2 weeks ago, no longer cries when he is going in so that is great progress. I don't think he really plays with other kids but he does watch them. And at church, daddy thinks he is playing and exploring more with the toys rather than just observing. But whenever he sees relatives, he still refuses to say hi or say anything. And if you approach him, he will tell you, "NO, NO, NO!!!" so still can use some progress in this area. I try to remember every kid is different and that he will be fine as he grows older and learns to trust people more.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
A @ 25 months
Oh, my, this month, it seem like everyday A surprises us with some new word, phrase, or understanding. It's hard to remember them all, but here are some examples.
A: Mommy, Rice milk! (for a long time he only said, milk and not clearly) but now it is very clear
Me: Okay, I'll give you a little bit.
A: No, not a little bit, A LOT!!
A: "Eat that!" (opening freezer himself), pointing, "Up there!"
Me: This? (ice cream)
A: No, down
Me: this?
A: yes!
I take it out,
A: Open it!
so I open it and give it to him A says, "wait, Alex take off shoes"
... and when he's done, he tells me, "mommy, hold this" giving me his mostly eaten strawberry bar.
One day as I rolled down my window on the right, A is sitting in the back,
"my side! Open it" (while pointing to his side of window") showing he know what he is talking about
Or I say, its time to say bye-bye, and he will say, "not yet mommy", or "okay, I am ready, mommy"
These days, most stuff is his, as in "Alex's phone, my phone, Alex's shoe, Alex's clothes" or "Alex's turn"
And some bad words he picked up from the siblings or made up himself,
"chicken boobie" whenever he doesn't like his bro/sis,
"stupid shoe" he made that up himself when he is having trouble taking it off.
"meanie, jiejie(sis) or jiejie, meanie butt" when he thinks sis is not doing things his way.
"no kissing me"
Or on eating a juicy piece of chicken or whatever, A says, "tasty!"
He also knows to say , "thank you, (insert name)" or "sorry, mommy" when prompted.
He seems to understand most everything we tell him and can def. follow directions. He is moving past just picking up key words to saying more close to a full sentence.
I'm sure it is the case with other 25 months old, but A have strong preference on who does what. For example, since he is very close to me, he will want me to do/get him everything. Everything is "mommy do it, mommy get it" I have to buckle his seat belt, (if his sis/bro did it, there will be lots of screaming/crying) or I have to get him milk. "Daddy have to cajole him into letting him get it for A, like C'mon, daddy will do it ", then only if he agrees will he happily let you go. Otherwise, you will hear him protest!! Getting back to seat belt, there is one time I forgot to buckle him up, and he yells, "Alex not buckled up!":) Thanks, buddy! He also tells us, "(insert name), buckle up!!
A is esp. affectionate with me, and tells me many times a day, "I love you, mommy", "wo ai ni, mommy"( in Chinese), kisses, hugs me. It is probably because I do the same to him.
I was talking to one of my friend that A is pretty cautious and for whatever reason does not put anything in his mouth without my permission. Even when he picks orange cherry tomatoes, he only picks the one I tell him too. He will hold a yellow/orange one but won't pull it off until I okay it. He has also been loving to play with water beads, but he never puts in his mouth. I feel confident that he knows this is not for consumption. I think it is part of his personality or maybe he can tell this is not for eating as we are not eating it.
Independence: A is able to open the frig. and get food for himself now so he likes doing that. He feeds himself. He always helps his brother unload the dishwasher and he is learning to sweep. Whenever he sees one of us sweeping, he takes out his little sweeper.
And A says," okay, mommy I'll clean up." when I tell him to clean up and he actually does. (which is the best.) He also helps me charges my phone and knows when the battery is running low. Essentially, he likes to do things himself and you can see the joy in his face when he is able to the task. Sometimes he will do it over and over just to make sure he can do it. This month he figured out how to unbuckle the top part of his seat belt. Also, he is mostly potty trained at night. We put on diaper when he naps/night but it has always been dry this month.
Physical development : A loves to moves and to just go, go go whether that is a car ride to somewhere or out to our driveway. He loves to throw/catch balls. A favorite game is throwing/catching balloons filled with some water. He loves to climb whether it is at the playground or at home on the couch or on me. He likes to roll too and walk down on the slide. He watches his sis do situp and does them too. He can almost do a full split and will often walk on tip toe. He likes to kick his soccer ball and hold tennis racket. He loves to help pick up tennis balls and brings it to us. He tries to imitate everything we do.
Social:One thing I hope A gets better is when he meets our adult friends. Most of the time, he will turn his head away from the person who is saying hi or give you the look he does not wish to talk to you or say hi until at least for some time, usually when it is time to leave. He doesn't seem to have this problem with kids his age. He might not say hi but he won't turn his head away. A usually is interested in what his siblings are doing rather than what his little friends are doing, but sometimes, he will watch them and play side by side. He might even show them how to play certain things or how not to. He is only affectionate with only one friend, a sweet, sweet girl 2 weeks apart from him. They def. have a bond.
Sleep: And as since birth, we still struggle with sleep. I have com to the conclusion that A just does not need a lot of sleep. These days, A either skips the afternoon nap entirely and get sleepy around 9pm or he will take a nap around 4-5 in the afternoon and then he really have a hard time sleeping at night like 10. And he always cries for us when we try to put him to sleep. It is def. not like my oldest where I can do the usual bed routine and turn on some music and she will drift to sleep by herself. Or my second oldest, he will be be falling asleep sometimes while he is still eating. But no matter when he goes to sleep at night, A is usually up between 7-8. Once in a great while, he wakes up in the middle of the night, comes to sleep with us and in those cases, he might sleep closer to 8:30.
A: Mommy, Rice milk! (for a long time he only said, milk and not clearly) but now it is very clear
Me: Okay, I'll give you a little bit.
A: No, not a little bit, A LOT!!
A: "Eat that!" (opening freezer himself), pointing, "Up there!"
Me: This? (ice cream)
A: No, down
Me: this?
A: yes!
I take it out,
A: Open it!
so I open it and give it to him A says, "wait, Alex take off shoes"
... and when he's done, he tells me, "mommy, hold this" giving me his mostly eaten strawberry bar.
One day as I rolled down my window on the right, A is sitting in the back,
"my side! Open it" (while pointing to his side of window") showing he know what he is talking about
Or I say, its time to say bye-bye, and he will say, "not yet mommy", or "okay, I am ready, mommy"
These days, most stuff is his, as in "Alex's phone, my phone, Alex's shoe, Alex's clothes" or "Alex's turn"
And some bad words he picked up from the siblings or made up himself,
"chicken boobie" whenever he doesn't like his bro/sis,
"stupid shoe" he made that up himself when he is having trouble taking it off.
"meanie, jiejie(sis) or jiejie, meanie butt" when he thinks sis is not doing things his way.
"no kissing me"
Or on eating a juicy piece of chicken or whatever, A says, "tasty!"
He also knows to say , "thank you, (insert name)" or "sorry, mommy" when prompted.
He seems to understand most everything we tell him and can def. follow directions. He is moving past just picking up key words to saying more close to a full sentence.
I'm sure it is the case with other 25 months old, but A have strong preference on who does what. For example, since he is very close to me, he will want me to do/get him everything. Everything is "mommy do it, mommy get it" I have to buckle his seat belt, (if his sis/bro did it, there will be lots of screaming/crying) or I have to get him milk. "Daddy have to cajole him into letting him get it for A, like C'mon, daddy will do it ", then only if he agrees will he happily let you go. Otherwise, you will hear him protest!! Getting back to seat belt, there is one time I forgot to buckle him up, and he yells, "Alex not buckled up!":) Thanks, buddy! He also tells us, "(insert name), buckle up!!
A is esp. affectionate with me, and tells me many times a day, "I love you, mommy", "wo ai ni, mommy"( in Chinese), kisses, hugs me. It is probably because I do the same to him.
I was talking to one of my friend that A is pretty cautious and for whatever reason does not put anything in his mouth without my permission. Even when he picks orange cherry tomatoes, he only picks the one I tell him too. He will hold a yellow/orange one but won't pull it off until I okay it. He has also been loving to play with water beads, but he never puts in his mouth. I feel confident that he knows this is not for consumption. I think it is part of his personality or maybe he can tell this is not for eating as we are not eating it.
Independence: A is able to open the frig. and get food for himself now so he likes doing that. He feeds himself. He always helps his brother unload the dishwasher and he is learning to sweep. Whenever he sees one of us sweeping, he takes out his little sweeper.
And A says," okay, mommy I'll clean up." when I tell him to clean up and he actually does. (which is the best.) He also helps me charges my phone and knows when the battery is running low. Essentially, he likes to do things himself and you can see the joy in his face when he is able to the task. Sometimes he will do it over and over just to make sure he can do it. This month he figured out how to unbuckle the top part of his seat belt. Also, he is mostly potty trained at night. We put on diaper when he naps/night but it has always been dry this month.
Physical development : A loves to moves and to just go, go go whether that is a car ride to somewhere or out to our driveway. He loves to throw/catch balls. A favorite game is throwing/catching balloons filled with some water. He loves to climb whether it is at the playground or at home on the couch or on me. He likes to roll too and walk down on the slide. He watches his sis do situp and does them too. He can almost do a full split and will often walk on tip toe. He likes to kick his soccer ball and hold tennis racket. He loves to help pick up tennis balls and brings it to us. He tries to imitate everything we do.
Social:One thing I hope A gets better is when he meets our adult friends. Most of the time, he will turn his head away from the person who is saying hi or give you the look he does not wish to talk to you or say hi until at least for some time, usually when it is time to leave. He doesn't seem to have this problem with kids his age. He might not say hi but he won't turn his head away. A usually is interested in what his siblings are doing rather than what his little friends are doing, but sometimes, he will watch them and play side by side. He might even show them how to play certain things or how not to. He is only affectionate with only one friend, a sweet, sweet girl 2 weeks apart from him. They def. have a bond.
Sleep: And as since birth, we still struggle with sleep. I have com to the conclusion that A just does not need a lot of sleep. These days, A either skips the afternoon nap entirely and get sleepy around 9pm or he will take a nap around 4-5 in the afternoon and then he really have a hard time sleeping at night like 10. And he always cries for us when we try to put him to sleep. It is def. not like my oldest where I can do the usual bed routine and turn on some music and she will drift to sleep by herself. Or my second oldest, he will be be falling asleep sometimes while he is still eating. But no matter when he goes to sleep at night, A is usually up between 7-8. Once in a great while, he wakes up in the middle of the night, comes to sleep with us and in those cases, he might sleep closer to 8:30.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Officially 2
The kids all played with playdough and then free played while the adults can eat, relax and talk while keeping an eye on the kids.
Happy birthday, A!! We love you so much. And even though you are "right on time" on your terrible two as daddy says, you are still as cute as a button and have so much personality.
Some of his new favorite things are watering the plants, going to potty with older bro"ge-ge", playing with play dough, and playing cars. He likes pushing the baby stroller outside and he loves riding in his bike trailer. Often, even when I am done biking, he refuse to come out. He is also loving the music CD (from Music and Me- highly recommend) I put in the car and sings a few words. Of course, A still loves to be read to, and surprises us with new words everyday. For some reason, he is not really into the swing or slide so the little play structure we bought sits there mostly unused.
A also def. got a sweet tooth now. Rock candy, lollipop (good thing they are made from organic cane sugar), string cheese are some of his favorite new food. He is still crazy about pineapple of all the fruits.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
23 months
Well, here we are at 23 months, can't believe little man is almost 2.
You know how I wrote last month Mr. A is potty trained, well, he's regressing. I guess that is quite normal but nonetheless frustrating. For a while, not sure why (though could think of couple different reasons, i.e. too much to drink, acting out, don't feel like it, etc), but he kept wetting his pants. Then it got really bad and he even did #2 in his underwear. Argghhhhh! But slowly we are getting back on track again. For a while, since he doesn't tell me he wants to go, I started to ask him if he needs to go, and his response is always, "No thanks!" But then couple minutes later, he pees in his pants and then comes to tell me he peed with a sorry look on his face like he know he shouldn't have. So now I watch his drink intake carefully, even if I am home. And today, happily, other than 1 accident in the morning, while we were out and for the rest of the day, he is dry.
A victory for me is A can stay in his room and play for up to 30 minutes by himself so that is wonderful progress and lets me take a shower in the morning without needing J/W to watch him or in the afternoon when he skipped his nap. He sets the timer himself, and a lot of times, it is like 40 minutes so I set it back to 30minutes. But I'm hoping to extend that little longer.
Now sleeping is still an issue for A. He is still quite unpredictable when it comes to nap time. A lot of times, if I drive around for longer than 25 minutes, there is serious danger he will fall asleep in the car even if it is 9 in the morning! Needless to say, if he naps like 20 minutes, then the noon-early afternoon is gone. Then he might nap at 5pm. And if we stay home, he will usually sleep his normal time which is around 11:45-1:00 some where in there he will fall asleep. But he always wants someone to stay with him until he falls asleep and that is what I'm trying to change. For a little while, he was all good and would let us go if we asked him and fall sleep by himself but that only lasted for 4-5 days. So I think it is still possible, just gotta keep trying.
He is still quite wary of stranger but will sometimes say hi and most of the time say bye. For children similar his age, if he initiates, then it's no problem. A lot of times he likes to copy other children, esp. children who are little older and join in the fun. Mostly it is if the children are running, or playing with some toy. Like this pass weekend, at a conference, he found a few children from another family and just joined in the fun. They were playing cars on a handicap ramp and had a blast. He must getting used to our church since he hardly ever cries when we drop him off. When he turns 2 he will be in a different room with different volunteers and hopefully it will be smooth transition. If other children initiates, then it depends on his mood.
Naturally, A likes me the best since I spend the most time with him. But he also LOVES his brother and copies off him. With his sister, it depends on his mood. A will give kisses but with the exception of mommy, he is not always in the mood for receiving kisses. He gets quite upset, wipes away the spot you kissed him and tells you NO!
A loves books! One of his favorite books is called "Giving Tree". Another new favorite is " My no no no day". This one it is easy to see why he likes it since he can relate. But I would not have guessed the first one. His new thing with toys is he likes cars, little match box sized car, little wind up cars. Oh, and balls,kick, throw, and dropping ball onto ramp to watch it go down and then do it again/again. Most other toys he is not very interested in. He will do puzzles but mostly he wants to do what we do. So I have been careful not to be on electronics when A is around. Before, his favorite toy was my phone where he checks out the videos/ and pictures I take of him.
Anyway, A def. got a lot of personality. Enjoying him a lot, fun and challenges in all. Oh, and he def. knows how to get his away with those tears at his beck and call.
You know how I wrote last month Mr. A is potty trained, well, he's regressing. I guess that is quite normal but nonetheless frustrating. For a while, not sure why (though could think of couple different reasons, i.e. too much to drink, acting out, don't feel like it, etc), but he kept wetting his pants. Then it got really bad and he even did #2 in his underwear. Argghhhhh! But slowly we are getting back on track again. For a while, since he doesn't tell me he wants to go, I started to ask him if he needs to go, and his response is always, "No thanks!" But then couple minutes later, he pees in his pants and then comes to tell me he peed with a sorry look on his face like he know he shouldn't have. So now I watch his drink intake carefully, even if I am home. And today, happily, other than 1 accident in the morning, while we were out and for the rest of the day, he is dry.
A victory for me is A can stay in his room and play for up to 30 minutes by himself so that is wonderful progress and lets me take a shower in the morning without needing J/W to watch him or in the afternoon when he skipped his nap. He sets the timer himself, and a lot of times, it is like 40 minutes so I set it back to 30minutes. But I'm hoping to extend that little longer.
Now sleeping is still an issue for A. He is still quite unpredictable when it comes to nap time. A lot of times, if I drive around for longer than 25 minutes, there is serious danger he will fall asleep in the car even if it is 9 in the morning! Needless to say, if he naps like 20 minutes, then the noon-early afternoon is gone. Then he might nap at 5pm. And if we stay home, he will usually sleep his normal time which is around 11:45-1:00 some where in there he will fall asleep. But he always wants someone to stay with him until he falls asleep and that is what I'm trying to change. For a little while, he was all good and would let us go if we asked him and fall sleep by himself but that only lasted for 4-5 days. So I think it is still possible, just gotta keep trying.
He is still quite wary of stranger but will sometimes say hi and most of the time say bye. For children similar his age, if he initiates, then it's no problem. A lot of times he likes to copy other children, esp. children who are little older and join in the fun. Mostly it is if the children are running, or playing with some toy. Like this pass weekend, at a conference, he found a few children from another family and just joined in the fun. They were playing cars on a handicap ramp and had a blast. He must getting used to our church since he hardly ever cries when we drop him off. When he turns 2 he will be in a different room with different volunteers and hopefully it will be smooth transition. If other children initiates, then it depends on his mood.
Naturally, A likes me the best since I spend the most time with him. But he also LOVES his brother and copies off him. With his sister, it depends on his mood. A will give kisses but with the exception of mommy, he is not always in the mood for receiving kisses. He gets quite upset, wipes away the spot you kissed him and tells you NO!
A loves books! One of his favorite books is called "Giving Tree". Another new favorite is " My no no no day". This one it is easy to see why he likes it since he can relate. But I would not have guessed the first one. His new thing with toys is he likes cars, little match box sized car, little wind up cars. Oh, and balls,kick, throw, and dropping ball onto ramp to watch it go down and then do it again/again. Most other toys he is not very interested in. He will do puzzles but mostly he wants to do what we do. So I have been careful not to be on electronics when A is around. Before, his favorite toy was my phone where he checks out the videos/ and pictures I take of him.
Anyway, A def. got a lot of personality. Enjoying him a lot, fun and challenges in all. Oh, and he def. knows how to get his away with those tears at his beck and call.
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