Skipping Rocks

This afternoon we went to the park in our neighborhood - look how sporty you look!
First stop was tossing rocks into the East River - you like to watch the water splash.
Next you ran around the playground and then ended up in the sandbox. I was surprised because you normally don't like to get your hands dirty. Daddy says you were cleaning up the sand around the edges of the sandbox - you like to wipe like Daddy.
Nice photo of Daddy and you in front of the Brooklyn Bridge - I think you are pointing out a big boat passing by.

Couch Potato

You have become a couch potato in the evenings - most nights when I come home from work, you are glued to the TV watching a DVD. For a while, Bambi was your favorite followed by Dora the Explorer. You no longer like to watch the Wiggles. Sometimes you request Finding Nemo or Dumbo. I prefer you to watch educational DVDs like the Talking Words Factory or a Spanish DVD, but Mommy does not always win that battle.

Sledding in Dumbo

Yesterday it snowed (I also flew home from Korea yesterday) so there was lots of snow on the ground. Since you did not go outside at all on Friday, I insisted to take you outside this afternoon. I dressed you in a ski outfit to keep you toasty warm and we walked to the small hill in our neighborhood. There were lots of kids with their parents playing in the snow. At first you just wanted to kick the snow around with your pink boots.

Luckily, one of the Dads let us borrow his sled. YIPPEE!

We went down the hill once, but you seemed terrified to go sledding with Mommy - you normally do your thrill-seeking stuff with Daddy. Plus most of the other kids were sledding with their Dads so you said, "Sled. Sophia's Daddy." I called Daddy at home and asked him to join us. A few minutes later, you were ready to try sledding downhill with Daddy.

Again, you were scared to go down the hill. When Daddy asked if you wanted to go again, you kept saying, "No sledding!" Instead, you tried to start a snowfight but there was no one around because all of the other kids were sledding with their Dads.

A few minutes later, Daddy walked back up the hill and put you on the sled again - you enjoyed going down this time. . .and went again and again. WHEEE!

A cute shot of Mommy and Sophia!

This time we walked up to the top of the hill and you tried some 'butt-sledding' but it wasn't very successful. Good thing Mommy put your ski pants on or else your bum would have been frozen!
OK - last time down the hill!
Daddy will post some videos later so you can check out footage from your first day of sledding. Maybe we'll play in the snow again tomorrow afternoon.

Here they are:

Drawing & Bandaids

Today we did a bit of drawing. You almost look like you are doing a test you are concentrating so hard.
A good opportunity for me to get a few shots in.
Almost like I don't exist anymore.
Here's your handywork. We watched another documentary on sealife today and I think you were drawing a shark. At least that's what you said it was.
Once again you enjoyed the sealife DVD. You kept wanting to see an octopus but it took forever for one to show up. After a while you kept saying, 'no opposis' (kind of like opposite) because you were tired of waiting. I had to fast forward the DVD to keep you from getting too upset.

After that you dug out some bandaids from one of the kitchen cupboards. We practiced counting (you can count up to 20 now) and you kept making sure they were all face down. Bandaid is actually the brand name. In England we called them plasters but in the U.S. we call them bandages.
After that we ate some cheese and crackers and and some milk. And then it was off to bed. We're getting closer to mommy coming home.

Jigsaw Puzzle

You were unfortunately not sleeping well last night. I crept in to turn your humidifier on at 11 and you woke up and I couldn't get you back to sleep. Eventually i asked if you wanted to come in and sleep with daddy. Of course you said yes. You went to sleep pretty quickly after that. You've been very whimpery and sad since mommy left. Even crying a lot when I leave for work.

When I got home today you were in a bad mood. You hit me three times tonight. You don't hit hard but mommy and I are trying to discourage it. Each time I put you into bed for 2-5 minutes. You scream bloody murder but a rule is a rule.

After you calmed down a bit we did a jigsaw puzzle. You are pretty good at doing them. We have a book that has 5 pages that are each simple jigsaw puzzles with the picture of the puzzle behind so it's easier to put together.



You have a little trouble putting the pieces in because your coordination is not that great yet. But given enough time you always manage to put it together.


After that we watched an awful DVD called Chica Chica Boom Boom. So instead we put in the new underwater documentary from Netflix. You liked that a lot. I fed you some cheese and crackers and grapes and milk and then it was time to go to bed. You were a little bit whiny but not too bad. I made sure to turn your humidifier on before I left!

Fun With Magnets

Today you got up just when I got up. You had done a big poopie and it must have been uncomfortable to sleep. I changed your diaper and then put you on my bed while I got ready for work. You were still groggy so you were fine with laying there.

After I suited up you asked for cereal like you always do. I made that for you and then Girlie showed up. I went off to work and I could hear you crying as I left. It's always tough when mommy's away.

When I got home we watched two froggie videos. One on the sounds of letters which you already know and one on words which you are still learning. I'm going to make a book out of all the words in that DVD so you can read your own story. You love the first video where the 3 kids froggies say, "we're ready!" That's why you're smiling in these photos. I also fed you some cheese. You have a real palette for cheese. You won't eat the cheap stuff anymore. Only the top of the line Saint Andre. Good stuff.

Today you also did your first science experiment. For some reason you wanted a magnet that we keep on our message board. I then taught you to go around and test if it stuck on things. If it did you knew it was 'metal' and if it didn't you knew it wasn't metal. We tested the front door (metal), the heater (metal) the refrigerator (metal but not conductive), the table legs (metal) and the wood beam (not metal). Here you are testing the heater. You can see the small round magnet at the bottom. It was tough to take it off (strong magnet) so I had to help you with that.

Later we made your milk and read some books and jumped on the bed. You can now jump over daddy's torso and when you do you say, "superjump!" like Dora says in her video. Very cute. You also say "cute" a lot. On Sunday when I had you dressed in your purple dress/shirt you kept saying, "cute, cute". Very cute indeed.

Mommy's in Korea

Mommy left today for Korea. "She's leaving again?" Yes she just got back from Seattle and LA with you and now she's off again for a whole week.

Before she left we snagged a picture of her taking a picture of us.

After she left around noon we headed over to Maya's. Her parents were having a few people over. Maya was asleep when we got there but woke up after a while. Unfortunately you began to get tired so we headed back to our apartment to put you to sleep.

After you woke up we did some finger painting which I promised you could do after a nap. In fact the first thing you said when you got up was, 'painting?'. After that we cleaned you up and fed you dinner - green beans, tofu, and some of my lentil soup. Then we did jumping on the bed. You love to jump on the bed. You've learned to jump over my legs but today you managed to jump over my torso. That's a big jump!

After that we read some books, played with your blocks and then slowly got you ready for bed. It's daylight savings today so I was afraid you might have trouble going to sleep but you were clearly tired and didn't make a peep.

Have a good flight mommy.

Month 26 Stats

Not much to write about this month. You've got a killer zit on your mouth this month. I thought I'd edit it out but it looked worse.

You are talking very well now. Speaking in short sentences and phrases, you can usually tell us what you want or what you are thinking. Your pronunciation makes it somewhat difficult to understand what you are saying (octopus = ossipus) but we can usually manage.

 

 

 

Last Day in LA

Yesterday after lunch, we drove up to Oxnard during your naptime for our last night in LA. Your tummy was full after eating pesto pasta for lunch and you fell right asleep in the car. On the way up to Oxnard, we stopped at the Camarillo Outlet Mall where I bought some summer clothes and new shoes for you while you slept in the carseat stroller.

When we arrived at your grandparents' house, you roamed from room to room looking for toys to play with. Your eye caught a small table with miniature frogs - Hal-mo-ni collects toy frogs (don't ask me why). You removed the glass top and picked up all of the small (fragile) items.
Before dinner, we walked to the park nearby. Of course, you ended up on the swings.
Hal-mo-ni walked back home to prepare dinner while you continued to play in the playground. You went up and down the tunnel slide - I think it was bit scary.
And then climbed up the jungle gym - look how tall you are!
It was getting dark, so we walked home and enjoyed a relaxing evening at Hal-mo-ni's house. The next day, we went to the YMCA to go swimming. You have not gone swimming for a few months since it has been too cold in New York.
You had fun jumping into the pool - your grandparents were impressed that you were not scared to jump at all. You like to do cannon-balls and make a big SPLASH!

Kidspace

This morning, we said Goodbye to Sara and Scott since they had to go to school. While I packed up our things, you played on the swings with Auntie.
Since Sara and Scott were in school and there was no one to play with at home, I took you to a Children's Museum in Pasadena called Kidspace. There were so many things to do - first, we climbed up the Waterdrop Climbing Tower. It was bit tough, so I had to carry you up a few stairs near the top.
When we climbed down to the bottom, we decided to play outside since the museum was too crowded with school kids on a field trip. Of course, you wanted to play with the water fountains in the courtyard, but I did not have a change of clothes for you.
Instead, we found some construction trucks to play with.
It was too sunny outside so we went into the little kids' playroom for children under 4 years old. You had fun playing with blocks, pretend shopping with a toy cart, and going up and down the slide.
You love going down the slide - sometimes you even went down head first.
When it was time to go, I had to carry you outside kicking and screaming in order to put your shoes on. You were having so much fun that you did not want to leave. . .but we had a surprise lunch date with Sara and Scott.
Bye to Sara, Scott and Auntie - we'll see you again over the summer.

Here's some video:

Playdate with Your Grandparents

Today I had a few meetings in LA so your grandparents drove to Pasadena to watch you at Auntie & Uncle’s house. At first sight of hal-mo-ni, you burst into tears – I think you realized that Mommy was going away for a few hours. What a clever girl.

Auntie found a toy aquarium to distract you and then you seemed fine. In fact, you did not even notice I left the house. When I returned in the late afternoon, you were having fun playing in the backyard with Sara, Scott, Hal-ra-bo-ji and Hal-mo-ni. Hal-mo-ni helped you ride a bicycle.
Sara wanted to take another photo with Hal-mo-ni and you. Say CHEESE!
Then Sara played a jumping game with Hal-ra-bo-ji. . . .
And Scott rode around in the toy car.
When Uncle returned home from work and Mikyung's parents arrived from Irvine, we drove to a Chinese restaurant in Pasadena. You enjoyed eating soup, noodles and mu-shu pork (which is basically a Chinese burrito).
After you finished eating, all you wanted to do was check out the aquarium in the lobby - there were only three fish in the tank: "Nemo" (an orange fish, not a clown fish), "Dory" (a small blue fish), and a tiny eel. Sara and Scott helped you locate the fishies whenever they swam behind the rocks.
After dinner, it was time for bed especially since it was a school night for Sara and Scott. Good night!