This is how 3 year olds party!!

We had a great time Saturday with friends and family. Lil M was adorable in her new dress and shoes. And all the kiddos seemed to have a blast. :) Her friends MK2, Becky and Kate were there. As was Chase. They got to color if they wanted to when they got there, then hang out a bit and have snacks.


Then we opened presents (thank you everyone SO much for all the fun, great things!! wow!)... and they played some more.

And more presents!! :)
Then we had cake! :) And all was well!! ...yum. The cake turned out perfect. Thank you, Scott for picking it up for us, and for being there. I know we didn't get a pic of Scott, but he was there (hiding in the background, lol) and he and Lil M are going to have BIG fun playing with the new tent he got her!!!


Cute pic of the girls!! Do you know how hard it is to get 4 kids of their age to stand still for 2 seconds?!! (they range in age from 2.5 to 4 years old)


And off they go again!!! :)

We took an inordinate amount of pics... but I just wanted to share a few. It really was a great day. :D

Peace.

Happy Easter (video)

Happy Easter! We had a little Easter Egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's house... (i apologize for the obnoxious narrating, ugh)



We had a great day!! We started by seeing what the easter bunny brought Lil M and my nephew. That was fun. Then we went to church with Aiyee Mimi, Scott and the grandparents... then Easter dinner. Yum. :) Oh, and the Easter egg hunt.

Sis and Chase coloring Easter eggs last night.


Easter baskets, obviously. :)

Here we are in our church dress.


Hope you had a blessed day.

Peace.

Picture day

Lil M didn't have a nap on Monday and this is what happened at dinner...
This morning... getting ready to go to daycare to have her pic taken...
Mommy snuck a camera in and took a pic too!!!

LOVE the pink sweater that Auntie Ellen gave Lil M! It is adorable... Her hair is looking pretty good today, too. Getting so long. Glad we did the trim recently. Oh, and she had her pic taken with Martha-Kelly too... but I didn't get one of it on my camera! They were adorable! :)

Peace.

Milestones

So, I was reading about 2 year old milestones... and for the range of 2-3 years old, Lil M has hit almost all of the ones listed below. She is 2 years, 5 months old and will be 2.5 on Feb 27.

I don't know how many words she knows now, but it seems to be quite a lot. We have a book of 100 words, and she knows most of them. Plus lots of others and can speak in short sentences. I need to measure her, but last time I measured her she was 31.5" tall... which would make her 62" tall as an adult... so, I'm guessing between 5' and 5' 2" or so. Cool. :)

She is not overly demanding, but is definitely possessive... "MY mommy, MY meow...etc". Which, of course. I think is pretty adorable. lol

One of her most recent things is for me to sing the ABC song over and over... she can even sing part of it with me. (QRS, XY and Z and maybe another letter here or there)

She is also asking to go potty very consistently now... many times a day. She is dry almost all day every day (at home)... and, so, we went and got her big girl undies last night. :)

2-3 YEAR OLDS

Physical development:

• Like to run, jump, climb, and swing.
• May show interest in toilet training.
• Cuts last of baby teeth (20).
• Reaches ½ of adult height by 2 ½ years.
• May continue to use both hands equally well.
• Can scribble and make marks on paper - may miss paper and mark on table or floor.
• Can put clothes on, but not able to button or snap.
• Will explore toys and objects by sorting, poking, pulling, or imitating others.

Social/emotional development:

• Enjoys being near and playing beside others.
• Wants to do it himself.
• Routines are important and builds secure feelings.
• May develop fears.
• Moves to extremes - from loveable to demanding.
• Will feel positive or negative about self-based on feedback from others.
• Impulsive, easily distracted, & excitable.
• Can become easily frustrated with activities/people.
• Likes people.

Language/intellectual development:

• Can speak in 2-3 word sentences.
• May know 200 to 1000 words, but does not speak them all.
• Enjoys talking.
• Uses "I," "me," "mine," and "you" often.
• Remembers where objects are when named.
• Remembers routines, past events, & names of people.
• May identify the picture with the object (apple in book with the fruit on the table).

New pics

Here are some new pics of Lil M from today. Happy Chinese New Year everyone - tomorrow!! :)




Peace.

Not feeling so hot

I'm not feeling very well. Getting a cold, I'm afraid. :( It was bound to happen... several people I work with have been sick for a couple of weeks now. Ugh. So, today, we've stayed in and I have been trying to get some extra rest.

Lil M is doing well. She got up this morning and said "potty, Mommy"... :) Of course, then she sat on the potty and cried, 'cause she didn't want to actually sit there. She had a dry diaper all day, because she used the potty every time. These were both big firsts. I don't expect they will continue every day...but definitely progress.

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow, I realize it's been awhile! She is able to count to 10 by herself, except she skips number 4 every time. She can say yellow, green (geen), red, blue, purple, black, brown, and pink...and recognize all of those.

She LOVES bananas still and calls them "binas". I didn't pick that. She did. I learned that even when she wants 3 binas in a day, she shouldn't have that many!! (yucky diaper!) She also loves raisins, cheese and crackers. And "meow" is still her favorite. She loves to be read to, and wants me to read to her every night now. She picks out my shoes every day. lol. She loves her shoes and especially her winter boots. She likes hats and wearing Mommy's gloves. She likes to help Mommy carry her lunch bag downstairs every day. And always knows when Mommy is making her "foffee" (coffee)! Oh, and she likes to help me unload groceries... she'll take something out of the bags that I sit on the floor, and hand it to me to put away. Very helpful. :) She still doesn't like meat too much... but loves beans. Most liquid in cups is still "Juice" (even milk)... but she does know the difference when it is Mommy's coffee or water. lol

Newer words -
"wader" (water) ... Mommy's Wader??
"phone" - Mommy's phone?? this is instead of Mommy "Yo", which is what she said for a long time because she couldn't say "hello". So, my phone became "mommy, yo?" But now she can say phone. :)

Peace.

This is what I want to Lil M to know

It is OK to be Chinese. It is OK to be who you are. It is OK that you are American... a Chinese American. It is OK that you aren't fluent in Chinese... or maybe you will be! It is OK that you speak English so well. (even at 2 years old!!)

It is OK that you are who you are, and not a cookie cutter replica of Mommy or anyone else. It is OK to be different or the same, or whatever makes you a more comfortable you. I celebrate who you are. I want you to celebrate who you are.

I wish I could tell you more about your biological family. I wish I knew. I wish the world wasn't what it is today. Secrecy and un-openness disgust me. I pray that it is different when you grow up. I can't wait to see your children and your children's children.

You are natural,
You are loved,
You are family,
You are mine,
You are your own person,
You are everything you want to be and more,
You are special,
You are amazing,
You are beautiful,
You are happy and sad and allowed to feel your own feelings,
You are Mommy's "own" child, but I don't own you,
You are my daughter, and I love you.

Peace.

What a wonderful Christmas!!!!

The first pic is of Mia on Saturday... she's 28 months old now!!! WOW! :) She looks like a little dancer in this pic, I think it is so cute.

The rest of the pics are from Christmas morning. :) The first couple are of her and her new American Doll, Ruthie (from Scott)!! And then of her new handbag and headband! My little angel loves her accessories!! hehehe

Speaking of Lil M... she's just amazing. I know I say that over and over... but she is one of the happiest little souls I've ever met!!! I'm COMPLETELY and totally in love with her (as any mommy should be).... She makes me smile!!







Have a happy New Year!!

Peace.

Family visit

Here are a couple pics from a recent family visit -10/08... Elle and Mia, Mia and then Chase and I




Here are a couple pics from a recent family visit... Chase and I, Elle and Mia (of course! L

Peace.

Happy Birthday Lil M

So, I posted pics from last weekend... Mia's 2nd birthday party, but I didn't write yesterday, on her actual birthday. We had a great dinner last night with Aiyee Mimi, Chase, Scott, Brian, Dustin, Abbi, Joe and Kat! We also celebrated Dustin and Brian's birthdays last night, since they were both in the last week!

Here are a few from her 2 year pic session, plus Chase who is 8, and Sis and I. Here are some, in no particular order.
















Peace!!