Babels on the Narrow Road: "mommy, i'm a big boy now!"

7.5% (= 2 months) of my life just came & went, and i haven't blogged one sentence about it yet! blame the playdates, family visitors, travels to the north, croup, laziness, tv, christmas, new year's .... clearly all signs of my mommy not being a true "tiger mom" :)

a taste of heaven
november marked daddy's quarter century birthday (plus a "few years"). in celebration of it, i took him to the SF auto car show. OH MY GOODNESS! did you know that there are cars upon cars upon trucks upon more cars just waiting to be opened and sat in?! i led the way dragging daddy around saying, "how about this one?", "how about this one?" ... "no! this one!" ... "open ... oooooo ... (big smile)!" and honestly, why do $300K cars need queue barriers when i just can run right underneath it?!?

i desperately tried to convince mommy and daddy that i didn't need a nap that day ...

"car time" video

chrithmath tree

our first christmas tree in CA was so exciting for me! while last year i couldn't keep my eyes open while we made the trek to find our "perfect tree" in toronto, this year was a breeze. a quick trip to home depot and voila!

last year

this year

i had the best time decorating it (especially the sparkly ones!), and turning the lights on every evening.

happy about our unfinished tree

uncle polkaroo

for those that know uncle polkaroo, here he is, visiting me! he is alive and doing well :)

giving and sharing

i had to learn, on multiple levels, how to "give" and how to "share". giving things that are not mine or that have little interest to me is EASY.

i learned that there are kids with "zero toys" in this world. i thought it would be 'noble' of me to put together a shoebox of toys for a boy my age, and send it across the world through "operation christmas child". everything was perfect, until mommy asked me to choose one of my new "chuck 'n friend" trucks to put in. i couldn't believe the nerve of her! i mean, here i was, taking time out of my busy schedule to pack this box. wasn't that enough? i stalled. i played with it. i whined. she waited. it was the battle of wills and persistence would win. i thought she would forget about it. we moved on to something else and i thought, "phew, she's forgotten." then just as i thought she was going to close the box, she asked me to place the toy truck into the box again! i struggled some more, but eventually placed the truck into the box, with a semi-happy heart. now some boy in indonesia, who had "zero toys" will have a box of toys to play with. maybe one day i will try to find him (my truck that is)!

the great thing about giving is that i forget easily! so though it is difficult for me to "give" right at a given moment, once i give, i forget i ever had it! what is much more difficult is SHARING!

my grandparents visited us for two weeks, overlapping with my aunt/uncle & girl cousins from australia, who are 3 and 1 years old. i loved the first week with my grandparents, which was filled with attention (!!) and silliness.

i was just getting used to all the attention, when i suddenly found myself needing to crash course the concept of sharing -- sharing my toys, my room, my bathroom, my grandparents attention, ... did i mention my toys?! when not needing to share, i had a really great time! :) i tapped into my feminine side while hanging out with my girl cousins (check out the heels) ...

foreshadowing things to come

perhaps all the intense lessons in "giving" and "sharing" was the foreshadowing of things to come?!??

on dec 21, during breakfast, mommy and daddy shared the news that i'm going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!! yes, you read correct .. i have to SHARE my toys, my room, my bathroom for the rest of my life!!!

like me, he was born in korea. in fact, he is still there now, waiting for us to come get him. he's 8 months right now, which makes him about 1.5 years younger than me. i am very excited about my new role, and can't wait to play with him! ... well, at least this is what i think when i see his pictures. i reserve the right to have a different opinion when he physically arrives :)

the cold north

the evening before we traveled to spend christmas in canada with family, i got croup! my high fever and difficulty breathing landed me 4 hours in ER. needless to say, we delayed our trip by a few days.

unfortunately toronto did not have a white christmas this year, which resulted in no tobogganing for daddy and me! i did however get to spend time with more family and some canadian friends. i have never been bribed more to smile and say "cheese" than in this one week! parents foiled again!

a new year

after much observation, i've concluded that it's not difficult being 3 (though i am only 2)! they strut with a little more independence, speak with a few more words, wear silly things called "underwear". come on, how hard can this be?

my first step to independence, was declaring it. people in toronto have stairs (can you imagine??). mommy and daddy are always cautious of me with stairs, since i don't often climb stairs. i watched and watched these 3 year kids hold the rail withOUT their parents, and decided that i'm more than able. i turned to mommy while at a friend's house, let go of her hand and said, "mommy, i'm a big boy now", and proceeded to successfully walk down the flight of stairs.

i have suddenly realized there is an art to communication. it's not just about knowing more words or using words with more syllables. it's about communicating with charisma and appropriateness. i picked up the word "yeah" in replace of "yes". i started saying "no thanks, mommy" very matter-a-fact for anything, including when it's time to eat and there is no choice. i've started requesting when "mommy's music" should play in the car versus "tobe's music", and how loud it should be, and when i feel "i can't hear it". i'm realizing i can use the word "love" to describe a deeper emotion, such as, "i love bunny cookies!!!" :)

and while i have no desire to sit on a potty, i tell mommy when i'm peeing and pooping. the underwear looks interesting, but not enough.

the two biggest transitions in the new year were 1) getting rid of my sippy cup for milk to use a "big boy cup", and 2) getting my very own, "big boy bed"!!!!