2014
64 posts
January 2014
February 2014
- 05<p>16 months old!</p> <p>September has been a challenging month with the breath holding spells. Thankfully after 2 of them ZBL seems to have more ability to calm himself in difficult situations. So we are grateful for this new found maturity and are hopeful that the spells are a thing of the past. </p> <p>Fun game – John bought Z a stuffed bear as his souvenir from Disneyland and it has been a great addition to our play. John also thought up the morning game of “finding Koda Bear”: each morning when Z wakes up and comes downstairs, we ask him where Koda is? Either John or SPL hides Koda the night before and Z has a fun time finding him. After he is discovered, Z carries him over to his dad to show him first thing (that was a ritual too :-)</p> <p>First hair cut September 22, 2013: I have loved ZBL’s curls and remember SPL have some too (though many fewer). After SPL’s first haircut, they never came back. So I have been hesitant to cut Z’s hair, even though John wanted to. In September, I thought it was finally time and found a place that could work around the curls. They did a nice job and he has what our friend Diego calls a “Luke Skywalker look.” :-)</p> <p>Breath holding spells – hopefully these are done with. 2 were more than enough (see other post for more details).</p> <p>First stanford football game September 21: All 4 of us went to the Stanford football game this year (we got season tickets as it was projected to be a great year for the Card). Z did great and made it through 1 half!</p> <p>A personal goal: climbing the stairs at preschool – Z’s preschool has about 6 carpeted stairs and he is very interested in them. He’s still a bit wobbly when he climbs but he’s getting the hang of it.</p> <p>Loves the wagon – we got it cleaned out and now take walks: Z inherited SPL’s big red wagon and this month we washed it off (it had been collecting dust and dirt since SPL was Z’s age) and took it for a spin around the neighborhood. Now it’s our regular morning routine: after dropping SPL off at the neighbors for carpool, we tool around the neighborhood for 30-45 mins. </p> <p>Uncle Bryan visits October 5 — We always enjoy visits from Uncle Bryan and now that he lives in Australia, they aren’t as frequent as they used to be. But he does visit 1-2 times per year as his work brings him to San Francisco.</p> <p>Figured out he can get into the cupboard in the kitchen – I was wondering when he’d figure this out! He took out some of the bowls and climbed in. Then he looked a little perplexed as if he wasn’t so sure he could get out. :-)</p> <p>Collecting leaves for Halloween front yard decorations – Z has taken over this important responsibility from SPL now. We still have no mature trees on our lot so we walk around the neighborhood (just like S and I did in Sunnyvale) and collect other neighbors’ leaves :-)</p> <p>Interested in puzzles – I got out SPL’s old puzzles this month and Z took to them like a duck to water. He was surprisingly good at matching up the letters and numbers with their corresponding spot. I was impressed!</p> <p>– Z and his classmate S were able to take turns using a cool toy @ preschool. They each had 3-4 turns witthout getting upset or distracted by something else. Impressive for 16 months.]</p> <p>Excited to see what 17 months brings!</p>
- 05<p>Pumpkin patch October 18, 2013</p> <p>We love to go to the local farm’s pumpkin patch each year. They have a train and wagon ride as well as a hay bale maze for the kids to run and leap through. This year we took some of the neighborhood kids too as they had a holiday from school. Fun!</p>
- 16<p>17 months!</p> <p>For me, Z’s most memorable development this month was saying mama with intention :-). Before, he would point or wave at to me if you said “where is mama?”. And he definitely would babble my name and had been doing that for a few months. But it was memorable for me to actually get my name this month (funny thing (and headache inducing thing) too is that I am reflecting on this development as I write this and now it is February 16th and he *yells* mom, almost exclusively. But he says “mama” in his sweet and quieter voice)</p> <p>We are still working on animal sounds and snake, bear, pig, dog, cat, monkey were added to the list this month. He wrinkles up his nose and blows out a bit of air for pig (instead of oinking) – too cute!</p> <p>Other communication developments: he can say eggs, bug, light, eyes, and down. Also signs banana, bread and cheese well. In Mandarin: he understands the words for nose (鼻子 or bízi (“bee tzuh”), eyes (yǎn jīng 眼 睛), and clap your hands (Pai pai shǒu – “pie pie show”).</p> <p>ZBL is crazy for all things peekaboo and SPL loves this! SPL peeks around the corner @ Z, Z covers his face (instead of his ears as he used to) with his hands or his shirt, and their babysitter will start a game immediately upon arrival to our house by going from one baby gate entrance to the kitchen to the other. ZBL laughs and laughs!</p> <p>Molars– without much fanfare, ZBL’s molars arrived. I noticed them one afternoon during the week of Oct. 21st while I was putting him in his carseat after picking SPL up from school. Hey! Where did you all come from?? Makes eating a whole lot easier too so now he can try more varieties of food. </p> <p>One of the bummers this month has been we have had a bajillion fruit flies in our kitchen! :-(. Yuck. I think it must be due to purchasing so many fresh fruits and veggies @ the farmer’s market (a routine we now have as we live 10 blocks from the Sunday market :-). So I am constantly clapping my hands forcefully and trying to reduce the number. So Z figured this out and has been imitating me :-). </p> <p>ZBL has mastered the use of his fork and spoon and is great about feeding himself. I credit the book Baby Lead Weaning that was recommended to us by our friends Erin and MIke Schroepfer. We never fed him pureed foods, only bite sized foods that he could pick up and feed himself. Now that he’s 17 months, the size of the food has increased, as has the variety. He uses a spoon to eat yogurt too – leaves some on his face and bib but not as much as he used to!</p> <p>ZBL has started sitting still for longer periods of time and even has been sitting on couch reading a book by himself. It’s so fun to look up from the kitchen and see him sitting across the room on the couch silently looking at the book (sometimes it’s upside down but he doesn’t care :-)</p> <p>Challenges for the month:</p> <p>— Z has figured out how to unlock & open back door that leads to 3 stone stairs and down to the back yard. The other problem is that these stairs have no railing! Now for some quick thinking as to a strategy! We don’t want to bolt the door as they are artisan made and practically works of art – seriously. (we ended up buying some more fence sections from a neighbor and blocking him that way. He still has access to the kitchen door but that’s a bit easier to manage).</p> <p>– Kitchen implement obsession: Z is OBSESSED with spatulas. Seriously. And the draw that has all the kitchen tools is not locked and within his reach to open, but he can’t see into it. So this creates a fussy toddler who is getting more and more demanding re. which tools he will and will not play with. I give him options but eventually have drawn the line at the pancake/grill spatulas as they have become whacking implements more than the “scraping the bowl” spatulas. He also like measuring spoons and cups. </p> <p class="p1">– Just in time for 1) our beloved babysitter to get sick therefore creating a need for a substitute babysitter and 2) his grandmothers visit on separate occasions, ZBL became highly affected by separation anxiety. And here’s where his new found identification and use of the word “mom” is a drawback as he stands at the gate and sadly cries “mom” as I get ready to go volunteer in SPL’s classroom or other errands. "This too shall pass" but it’s always a challenging time. This is the first time Z has had it too which is a blessing but it seems to be here with a vengeance. I remember SPL having it more frequently: once at 9 months or so and then again at 14 months and then again at 18-20 months or so. </p> <p class="p1">As you can see from the photos above, Z is developing quite the personality. He laughs a lot and loves playing games like “where is Koda bear” in the morning (SPL or John will hide this bear we got @ Disneyland in August and Z will look for him first thing when he gets up). </p>
- 16<p>October 27, 2013</p> <p>Fun watching TV – Z, S and John have this new set up on the floor for watching TV. Z doesn’t actually watch the TV much but he likes being included in the pillow fun. He’ll even go get the pillows if they aren’t on the floor and set them up :-)</p>
- 16<p>October 31, 2013 – ZBL does one of the oldest gags in the books (on his own!)</p> <p>The Bananaphone gag!</p> <p>His great uncles Andy and Alan plus cousins Pearce, Drew, and Blake would be so proud! What a funny moment! Glad the camera was nearby.</p>
- 16<p>Halloween 2013</p> <p>We love Halloween and this year ZBL had a great time helping us set up the front yard to look like a graveyard. We collected leaves from the neighbors (as we still don’t have a lot of mature trees on our lot – just like in Sunnyvale). Z was a doggie as that’s his favorite sound to make and he loves seeing dogs as we walk around the neighborhood. We had fun trick-or-treating with our neighbors, MR and SR. Z was able to stay up until 7:30 pm this year and loved riding around in the wagon and being part of the fun.</p>
March 2014
- 16Sleep Regression -- yaaaaawwwwnnnn.....
- 2118 months Broom obsession begins! Z said broom and began being focused on the b
- 21<p>Photos from 18 months</p>
- 21While Grandma was here from TX in November (November 23), ZBL started learning t
- 21<p>Are you messin’ with me???</p> <p>ACR, our 14 year old nephew (and oldest grandchild for my parents) came over while mom was here visiting in November and had a fun time playing with ZBL. ACR is often busy during the weekends so we don’t see him as much as we’d like, but ZBL clearly enjoyed his style of play and ACR even picked him up and held him :-).</p>
- 21More jumping fun!
- 21This is a current video I took March 17, 2014 when SPL and ZBL decided they want
- 23Animal sounds video January 6, 2014
April 2014
- 02<p>Grandma visits November 2013</p> <p>We had a great time with grandma during Thanksgiving week. SPL had the entire week off as did his cousins, EVR and KAR so we hung out with them a lot. Unfortunately ACR only had the traditional 4 days off, but we still got to see him and he had a great time with Z so that was memorable. </p> <p>Z loved making banana bread with Grandma – he loves measuring and pouring and mixing. Plus he loves eating it so that works out too :)</p> <p>We celebrated Grandma’s birthday with a cake from the Prolific Oven (local go to place for cakes) and even got a family photo plus a photo of her with the grandkids (my fave is the one above on the left :) </p> <p>ZBL always thrives when there are more people around (SPL was like that to when he was this age) and we appreciate the time with family whenever we can get it.</p>
- 11<p>19 Months Old (December 12-January 12, 2014)</p> <p>ZBL may not be sleeping well these days, but he is a pretty happy guy most of the time. He definitely shows his emotions and lets us know what he thinks.</p> <p>New words this month: <br/>Bath, bye & socks (says “ads”)</p> <p>The animal sounds have definitely gone wild and SPL and John especially love teaching him new ones. He knows chicken, bird, cow, bear (his joke is to say “meow” to what a bear says and then one of us will say “what does a bear *really* say, and he’ll then answer "roar” :), lion, dog, cat, pig, sheep, bee, monkey. And John has been working on snake, turkey, and goose.</p> <p>ZBL loves, loves, loves brooms and it seems like the obsession is intensifying if that is possible. If they aren’t out at preschool (outdoor area), he makes sure to ask me to open the shed to get them out. There are also indoor brooms that he loves and plays with all the time. Teacher Monica said that we could buy one at a local grocery. I think that will be a great Christmas gift :).</p> <p>Now that he is more mobile and interested in running, he likes playing outside more. He seems like a kid who needs a fair amount of activity in his day so I think we are going to be spending more time in the park and walking around the neighborhood in the new year.</p> <p>Sliding down slide has been a big source of fun this month too. There is a spiral one at the local park as well as some straight ones @ his school. He likes to ask me to slide next to him too which is fun :) (the school slides have 2 that are adjacent so we can slide together)</p> <p>His sense of humor is really starting to develop and he now has is on bilingual joke :). The word “Bāng” in Chinese (pronounced more like bung) means “help.” But in English, we sometimes make a similar sound to indicate getting a bump, say on the head. So when our babysitter would say “Wǒ bāng ni” (pronounced “woe bung nee”) which means “I will help you”, ZBL would tap his head like he was getting bonked on the head and then smile at her. Funny kid. <br/></p> <p>We’ve been having a lot of fun building towers & knocking them down. We have 2 sets of nesting blocks and they are great for this type of play. We also got some big boxes for Christmas so have built a set of “condos” in our living room and the boys *love* them and play all kinds of fun games.</p> <p>As far as physical development goes, Z is now running and starting to jump. He’s also very interested in drawing and coloring so we get out the crayons and paper much more frequently and create masterpieces :).</p> <p>Happy 19 months!</p>
- 18<p>We celebrated Christmas at home this year. ZBL was much more into it and had fun opening his stocking, gifts, as well as helping others open theirs. It was amazing to see SPL and Z enjoy the day together and watch SPL help Z figure stuff out.</p>
- 18Post 83131242194
May 2014
June 2014
July 2014
- 0622 months (March 12-April 12, 2014)
- 06ZBL does his trash truck imitation
- 06quintessential ZBL @ 22 months: playing trash
- 06an alien invades our house!
- 06first bath together – march 17, 2014
- 06a bit out of focus but hilarious none-the-less.
- 06First time to say “uh oh” – march 17, 2014
- 06ZBL does a family fave: Mahna Mahna March 17, 2014
- 06Splashing in puddles for the first time (we haven’t had much rain!) April
- 06March 16: the week No came to stay
August 2014
- 1623 months old -- language takes off!
- 16Learning Chinese with our babysitter
- 30Toddler run – gotta love it! (May 27, 2014)
- 30Sings “If You’re Happy and You Know It” in Mandarin (pie pie s
- 30Learning to count in Mandarin (May 29, 2014).
- 30Learning to count in Mandarin (May 29, 2014)
- 30Counting in Mandarin with his hand stuffed in his mouth (May 29, 2014).
- 30ZBL's first visit to the beach! May 30, 2014
- 30<p>3 of my favorite photos from this year, the middle one being my absolute favorite.</p>
September 2014
- 03Buddies
- 13Disneyland 2014!
- 13Meeting Goofy for the first time @ Disneyland (& matching up shoes) (June 3,
- 13SPL rock climbing @ CA Adventure (June 4, 2014).
- 13Riding Dumbo @ Disneyland (June 5, 2014)
- 13Meeting Mickey (june 5, 2014)
- 14Happy 2nd Birthday ZBL! June 12, 2014
- 20SF Zoo fun with the O'Donobergs: June 14, 2014
- 20Redwood train adventure: June 20, 2014
- 20ZBL's 2nd Birthday Celebration
- 27Best Buddies: ZBL and Pengba
- 27Trash and recycle: it’s not just for outside and chasing the trash trucks.
- 27Morning balloon fun with SPL
- 27ZBL loves SPL to put on his shoes: July 3, 2014
- 27Best interpretation of a trash/recycle truck
- 27I love this video because SPL reads one of our favorite books with absolutely no
- 27Kale Smoothie Baby!