Busy Day

Despite being tired and a little overstimulated, Zoe had a nice time at Sophia's birthday party today. There were other children to gawk at, a sandbox to play in, and an easel to draw on. Zoe also enjoyed test driving the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. According to Zoe, it handles like a dream and has great gas mileage.

Eventually the bubble machine was fired up. As it turns out, "bubble" is one of the words Zoe knows, as you can hear at the end of the following video.

Little Lamb

Zoe is finally big enough to enjoy a present that her Auntie Grace gave her for her first birthday.



Unfortunately, the lamb appears to be stuck in "reverse."

Random Act of Zoe

Your moment of zen.

Honeymoon's Over

The honeymoon period with Zoe is definitely over. No longer do we spend our days simply admiring our adorable little offspring and her various antics and accomplishments. No longer is our main concern only health and safety issues. Nope. We have arrived at the part where we have to consciously and patiently nurture our little one for good character and a good heart, which is easier said then done when baby is swatting at us. In short, we have entered the era of defiance, petulance and belligerence. The famed terrible twos are not here yet (according to other knowing mothers), but the little horns are growing on her head already. I fear the path ahead is going to be a lot more challenging than I thought it would be. It is going to take a lot to be consistent in our application of rules, to be determined to show her we are her parents and we are higher in the hierarchy, no matter how cute she is. It is going to take a lot to not cave in when she screams and whine and just as much to not overreact when she does. It might take more to teach her that screaming and whining is not an acceptable mode of communication. But I suppose all this is normal and all of humanity's parents have been through it. And so we shall too.

First "Separation"

Today, this morning, Zoe and I had our first "separation" experience. This has been a long time in the planning and I am very, very happy to say that it was as smooth sailing as can be. Zoe made through some 50 minutes of being away from me without fuss or much duress. At one point, about 8 minutes into my workout, I took a peek in and she was sucking her thumb and being comforted by one of the sitters there. Otherwise, she did wonderfully and did not cry once according to the sitters. In fact, she seemed to have enjoyed herself very much, so much so that when I went to get her, she did not notice me for a good minute, being totally engrossed in watching a boy push a toy truck around.

I am so glad I did it too. Even though I looked forward to this day, I also dreaded it. I was worried about traumatizing Zoe, even though I know children are resilient, that she receives so much love and attention in general to be harmed by a little separation, and that this practice is in fact good for her and for me. It is time to start.

Zoe's Vocabulary

Our friend Matthias asked us how many words Zoe knows and I didn't know. I said 20, Dennis guessed 30. Matthias commented that he would guess more than that. So I thought I should try to take an inventory of her vocabulary. The following is what I can come up with right now. All told, she knows at least 87 words/phrases.

Words she understands but cannot say yet: U
Words she pronounces accurately in English: PE
Words she pronounces accurately in Chinese: PC
Words she understands but pronounces not quite accurately, like gurt for yogurt: AT (Almost there)

People/Names (5)
Mama (PC); Papa (PC); BaoBei - What I call Zoe (PC); Elmo (AT - she calls him "MO!"); Baby (PE)

Body Part (15)
Eyes (AT); Eye Brow (U); Nose (PE PC); Mouth (U); Teeth (U); Tongue (U); Face (U); Ears (U); Head (U); Belly (U); Belly Button (U); Backside (U); Leg (U); Toes (PE); Hand (U)

Food/Drinks (17)
Bread (AT); Noodle/Pasta (PC); Rice (U); Chicken (PC); Sausage (U); Fish (PC); Banana (AT); Apple (PE); Blueberry (AT); Juice (PE); Milk (PE); Yogurt (AT); Cookie (U); Croissant (U); Breastmilk (She has her own special name for it); Water (U/AT); Cheese (PE)

Animals (11)
Pig (PC); Dog (PE); Cat (PC); Mouse (AT); Bird (PE); Lion (U); Monkey (U); Giraffe (U); Bear (PE); Turtle (PE); Duck (PE)

Things/Inanimate Objects (17)
Blanket (PC); Car (AT); Balloon (PE); Ball (PE); Bib (PE); Book (PE); Cup (U); Clothes (U); Diaper (AT); Door (PE); Flower (PC); Light (U); Shoe (PE, also understands in Chinese); Moon (PE); Star (PE); Poop/Poo Poo (PE); Airplane (AT)

Verb/Phrases (17)
Brush Teeth (U); Eat (U); Kiss (PE); Shower/Bath (U); Carry Me (PC); Walk (PC); Open (U); Close (U); Watch TV (U); Hold My Hand (U); Come Here (U); Do you want/not want (U); Don't Eat That (U); Don't Touch That (U); Be Careful - Xiao Xing (U); Lift it up/higher (U); Brush your hair (U)

Adjective (4)
Slippery (PC); Correct/Right (PC); Cute (U); Purple

Adverb (1)
No (PE)

Back from the Badlands

We returned last night from a wonderful overnight camping trip to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the eastern part of San Diego county. We went with our good friends Ensie and Matthias, and their two boys, Jasper (age 4) and Elias (age 10 months).

On Friday morning we arrived in Borrego Springs, where we drove around the town to see the life-size prehistoric animal sculptures of Galleta Meadows Estate. A local property owner and a Mexican artist have teamed up to create several free-standing metal sculptures of Pliocene species that were native to the Borrego valley. The art was fun to see, and Zoe was fascinated by the huge beasts.

Zoe inspects the saber-toothed tiger.


















It was especially fun to show Zoe the giant tortoises, because "turtle" happens to be one of her favorite words. She's looking a little stunned here.













A family photo with the elephant.


















Quality time with the giant sloths.













After the sculptures, we headed east into the desert. We camped in Coachwhip Canyon, a few miles outside town. We picked a perfect spot -- quiet and peaceful, and plenty of open space and nooks for the children to explore. Zoe especially loved the sand - touching it, digging it, rolling around in it, and occasionally tasting it.

Matthias took this photo of our car camp. That's the tent that Jackie, Zoe and I shared. Inside you can see Zoe's Pack-and-Play portable crib. If you look closely at the photo, you'll see some people on top of the hill behind the camp; that's me, Jackie, Zoe, Ensie, and Jasper.













The view from the hills around Coachwhip Canyon.













Watching the sunset from the hilltop.













On Saturday we did a short hike to visit three palm oases. It's amazing how, once children enter the picture, it takes an entire day to complete a two-mile loop; gone are the days when we could cover 15 miles and still make it back home in time for dinner!












Jackie and Ensie pose in front of Seventeen Palms Grove.













Dennis and Zoe on the trail, with Una Palma in the distance.













Beauty and the Badlands.













Too much excitement for baby! Time for a nap.

Happy New Year!

From all of us, Happy New Year!

On the last day of 2008, we were favored with some lovely warm weather. Zoe enjoyed running around in the garden. I tried to teach her how to jump up in the air, but all she could manage was a squat. Well, at least it was good exercise, especially for papa, who isn't getting out to the gym as often as he used to, and ought to.

Growing Up!

It is incredible how much Zoe has grown the last couple of weeks. Developmentally, I mean (sadly, weight wise, she is still under 20 lbs). She knows the words for eyes, eye brow, ears, nose, face, teeth, tongue, belly, backside, legs and toes and points to them with great glee. She tests us, our limits and the meaning as well as power of "no." But she does so in the cutest possible way. Just the other night, she said to us most emphatically, "no, no, no, no, no." I'm not sure if we responded as we should. Dennis was so shocked he gasped. Then, we laughed so hard I think we delighted her. But I am pretty sure she knows the meaning of the word.

She has also been very keen on walking about by herself and demands to be let down whenever we are out and about. She indicates as much by pushing against me and by saying "zhou zhou," which is walk in Chinese. Previously, she would never hold my hand when I ask her to or allow me to hold her hand. She is determined to wander off and says as much with her entire body language. But yesterday at the Zoo, even though she was really keen to walk, she responded to my "hold mommy's hand" by extending her hands to me. We walked hand in hand. Even though it was short lived, she got it and today she did it again when I asked her to hold my hand.

Independence she may seek, she does, I think, look to us as role models. For example, she recently started to demand for us to read her books a couple of times a day (it used to be just bed time). She also wanted books inside her crib. A couple of times, I allowed it and was amazed (and delighted) to see in the video monitor that she was in fact "reading" the book in the crib. I think her sudden interest may be related to how, for a few days after Christmas, she saw me carrying a book about the house and reading it whenever I can. (The book in question is my Christmas gift from Dennis and it is "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell).

She is growing! We love her so much.

The little Sahara Princess - and her pig

A Quiet Christmas

We are having an unusually quiet Christmas this year. Aside from Uncle Justin and Uncle Connie, none of our extended family are here to celebrate Christmas with us. Left to our own devices, we are indulging in simply listening to music, watching Christmas Story, long walks, and - what else - updating our blog!

I started to post a blog last week about our heady weekend - one full of firsts and activities for Zoe - but was too busy to finish it. About firsts and activities, Zoe got to go on the Merry-Go-Round for the first time at the Wild Animal Park last Saturday. She was so fascinated by it every time I took her to the Park that we decided it is time to take her on it. You can see her reaction on the video below.



On Friday, we took her to see Christmas lights at this neighborhood south of us. The entire neighborhood went all out with the lights and it was quite a sight. Zoe had a great time there. It was an unique experience too because she is hardly ever out of the house past 6 p.m. That night she got to stay out till 8:30 p.m!

But that was last week of course. It is Christmas today and we are enjoying it and thinking of our wonderful family and how lucky we are to have them.

Fashion Plate

Here are some more photos of Zoe's recent fashion statements. My personal favorite is the overalls. In my opinion, no baby doesn't look cute in overalls.

By the way, if you look carefully at some of the photos you'll notice that, more often than not, there's a little droplet hanging from Zoe's chin. This is the result of her nearly constant drooling. It's kinda gross and cute at the same time.

I think the English language needs a new word that means "gross and cute at the same time."