The Terrible Twos???

Yesterday, my beautiful, sweet angel of a daughter was swallowed by the Tantrum Beast, who spit out a child that is equally as beautiful, but not quite as sweet! LOL Granted, this is a first time Mother talking that has always heard about the "Terrible Twos" but never actually experienced it for myself.

Is it as bad as I am making it out to be? Nah! I can still picture the little boy laying on the floor in Target kicking and screaming because he wanted to be the one to put the trashbags in the shopping cart. I remember looking at his mother as I was walking around the screaming bundle of a child on the floor and seeing the frantic look in her eyes silently pleading with me to understand that she's not a bad mother. Would that be me one day???

I know that before we have children, we always say "No, that just won't be me! There is no way that I would put up with that!" That's great and everything, but what about when reality hits? Will you stick to your guns?

Normally Keira is a happy, laughing, smiling, singing little girl. Every once in a while, sure, she'll cry over having to hear a "No" from Mommy or Daddy, but it's almost always short lived. After that, she's happy, laughing and smiling again.

Yesterday and this morning was a different story. It came out of NOWHERE! I can't even begin to count all of the times that she would burst into crying fits when she didn't get everything that she wanted. It was CONSTANT! Now, it wasn't the screaming, back arching tantrums that you normally see from kids, but it was SO much crying and whining. Well, that wasn't working too well since I would pick her up, make her look me in the face while I talked to her in a calm, low voice explaining that if it didn't stop, she would have to go in the corner. I would get her to respond to me on whether she wanted to stand in the corner (which of course the answer was no) and she would stop soon after.

Well, that worked just fine! That is....until the "No's" started. Now she was crying and yelling "NOOO!!!!!" I got her most of the time to change her "NOOOO!!!!!" to a "No thank you!" but you know that would only be as consistent as it can be for a 2 year old!

I lost track of how many times she ended up in the corner. As a matter of fact, After she cried about SOMETHING and said "NOOO!!!" while hitting the table, I looked over at her and gave her the "Oh no you DIDN'T!" look and she walked HERSELF to the corner and stood there! LOL That crazy girl...

I talked to some people at work that have children about it and the general answer was the same, "Yes, sounds like the Terrible Twos! Brace yourself!"

So here we are....The Terrible Twos. One of the good things about having her go in "The Corner" when she's misbehaving is that there are Corners EVERYWHERE....I'm getting the feeling that she will be visiting them a little more often than before! ;)

Old Town

The Magnum/ Blue Steel Pose
Keira and I were originally going to try to take the Coaster down to Old Town the other day, but we didn't make it. We decided to go ahead and make another go at it---this time Dan came along! We headed to the Coaster station, got our tickets and we were on our way!

(Picture of Daddy and Keira on the Coaster)

We made it in good time and even though there was constantly the threat of rain, we stayed dry. There was a fountain in front of the Mexican Restaurant that we ate lunch at. Keira was dipping her fingers in and doing the sign of the cross. I wonder where she learned THAT from? I didn't think that she noticed me doing that at church...but that just goes to show that children watch EVERYTHING that you do!
We sat down to have lunch and Keira dove right into the salsa and chips!
After that, we went to the Candle shop where Daddy and Keira dipped a candle. Once she got the hang of it, she wanted to dip it in every color. By the time if was finished, it was this really weird poopy color. No matter, after it was glazed, she loved it and was showing anyone that would listen to her "This is a Kitty Cat!"
First Color
I think this was color number 6She was so proud of her poopy Kitty Cat!
Here she is walking through the park showing everyone that walked by her Kitty Cat Candle.
Back on the Coaster, she was OUT as you can see. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again on a trip Downtown!

Mommy and Keira Day

Since I get one less day off from work a week now, I really appreciate the time that Keira and I get together even more (if that's possible!). I love to just plan little days for us to hang out and do stuff together. The original plan for today after she got up from her morning nap was to take the Coaster down to Old Town. I've been dying to take the Coaster since there are free trams that will take you to popular locations. Apparently there are so many people where I work that take the Coaster that there is even a free tram that will take you from the Coaster Station and drop you off pretty much right at the front door of my building.

Well, those plans were pretty much a bust. The only times that we would have been able to go were during Keira's nap times. That wouldn't have worked out too well.

We decided to go to the Wild Animal Park instead! Not a bad backup plan, huh? We had such a fun time! She loved looking at all of the big animals up close. The Lion was right up against the glass staring right at us. It's a good thing that the glass is thick and he wouldn't have been able to jump over the enclosure. It actually was making me a little nervous being THAT close to a big lion! After that, we headed over to the Elephant show where she got to be right up close as well. She was thrilled since The Elephant is her favorite animal.

We headed over to the Safari Tour after that and she did great! The last time I brought her she was about 16 months old and it was really hard because she was getting so antsy being cooped up in a tram for 30-40 minutes. Wow what a difference a few months makes! She sat still and was able to pay attention and really enjoy herself looking at all of the animals. We had such a good time. She saw lots of giraffes and rhinos (that she called elephants) and pretty much paid attention through the whole ride. What a relief!
We went over to the play area that NORMALLY has water spouting out, but because it's still winter and was freezing cold...there was no water thank goodness! We had alot of fun running around and jumping on the animals. The funniest part was when she put her face in the megaphone looking thing and didn't realize that people can talk to you from the other megaphones. A funny man said hello to her from a megaphone thing at the other end of the playarea and you should have seen her face! It was priceless!
Here she was sticking her head in the megaphone
I wasn't able to get a picture the exact second she first heard the man's voice saying hi, but this was close!
Our final stop was at the petting zoo area where they had so many deer walking through. Keira and I got to pet deer and goats and although she was a little scared to begin with, she warmed right up to them and had a great time...she didn't even want to leave.

Our membership expires at the end of the month and I've been contemplating whether to renew or not since we haven't been able to go to often. After seeing how much more she "gets" it now...I think my decision has been made :).

Ni Hau, Kai-lan!

I'm SOOOOO excited!!! February 7th is Chinese New Year and The Year of the Rat. No, I'm not a rat, Keira and I are both actually Roosters and Dan is a Dragon (poor Dan being surrounded by us Roosters lol). What I'm so excited over is that Nick Jr. is coming out with a brand new show for it's regular line-up that will be debuting for Chinese New Year! It's called "Ni Hau, Kai-lan!" and it's about a little 5 year old Chinese girl that teaches pre-schoolers about Chinese culture as well as words in Mandarin. Think Dora the Explorer, but for Asian Children. I think that it will be wonderful for Keira and other Asian children to have a cartoon character that they can identify with. Can you just imagine the marketing that will be out there??? I think it would also be great for her to learn some words in Mandarin....as a matter of fact, Dan and I are excited to learn a few words here and there as well!

Everytime Keira and I see the commercial, we wave and say "Ni Hau!" ,which means "Hello!" in Mandarin. See? It starts already! :)

Anyway, hopefully all of you will get a chance to check it out when it comes out. Here is a link with more infomation on the show.

http://www.nickjr.com/shows/ni-hao-kai-lan/kai-lan-about-the-show/ni-hao-kai-lan-about-the-show.jhtml

Where Has The Time Gone?

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately, so I haven't had a chance to get caught up on stuff. My schedule changed a little at work as of January 1st and now I have to go in one extra day a week than before. I know that I've been spoiled only having to go into the office 3 days a week. Although they have been long days, it still was nice to have one less day of a commute, one less day of headache and one more day to spend with Keira. It's taken a bit to get used to, but I think I'm getting a little more used to it now. One thing that I have gotten out of the change is to be more appreciative of every second that I get with her.

She's growing SO fast and SO quickly! Where has all of the time gone? She had a doctor's appointment with her specialist the other day and she is now 26 pounds and 35 inches tall and is just growing out of her clothes and shoes faster than you can imagine. I'll put a pair of pants on her that are the perfect length and the next time I put them on her, they are total floods.

She is talking, dancing and singing so much! No matter what she is doing, she will stop immediately to sing and dance along to the Backyardigans. I know that I probably sound like a crazy mom but it really is amazing how ever since she was about 15 months old, she has been able to sing along with songs in it's entirety keeping up with the exact timing of the songs. Granted, it is in her own little baby language, but you know exactly what she is trying to sing because the timing is perfect. She loves music and really is a ham. "BaBEE...Watch THIS!" is what she says constantly for you to watch something that she is doing that she KNOWS is cute. lol

Anyway, one of the reasons for her visit to the specialist is because we needed to discuss her having a biopsy of her liver. Her doctor has wanted to do a biopsy so that he can get a better picture of exactly what is happening with her liver. Her test results LOOK like although there is definite viral activity, that it is still probably very minor liver damage. I've been avoiding it as much as possible for a few reasons. There is never any guarantees with anesthesia...especially with a baby/toddler. I've also been afraid of risks from internal bleeding from the procedure. Dan and I have just been so concerned about risks unless the procedure is absolutely necessary. It sounds like it's starting to get to the point where it is becoming more of a necessity, so we finally relented. She really has a wonderful doctor and he will be performing the procedure himself, so I trust him...but you know how it is. I'm just worried...

The procedure will take place on a Friday and she will have to stay overnight. He is allowing Dan and I to stay there with her every second, so I'm happy about that.

Keira and Daddy taking a walk along Oceanside Pier. She loves to stop to take a look at the water or just to jump up and down.
Lola (Doowa) sent a Dora playhouse for Christmas. Keira loves taking all of her toys in it to play with it. The great thing is that it collapses and folds up so we can very easily put it away when she is done playing with it. Here is Keira catching up on her email.

"Be Careful of What You Wish For..."

A while back...what now seems like an eternity, I remember being kind of bummed out. Keira seemed to know everyone's names. Daddy was "Dahdee", Lola was "Doowah!"...everyone had a name- except me. Oh, she did address me as "Ba!" once in a while but everyone else was "Ba!" as well. There was no distinction between me and anyone else. (Ba, by the way in Chinese means "Daddy"- go figure).

Hey! I'm the one that was with her 24/7 for 7 months and that's the thanks I get??? Just kidding. I know that it's much harder for babies to say Mommy than Daddy, so even though it was kind of a bummer...still. I kept saying "I can't WAIT for the day that she knows my name and calls me by it!". What is the saying? "Be careful of what you wish for..."

Fast forward to months later...Here is a typical conversation between Keira and I in the car:

Keira: BahBEE!!!! (This means "Mommy" by the way)
Me: Yes baby?
K: BahBEE???
M: Yes honey?
K: BahBEE???.....BahBEE???...BahBEE...Watch! (She then moves her head back and forth to the music)
M: Oh! That's very nice honey!!! (I then move my head back and forth along with her--she laughs)
K: BahBEE? BahBEE?
M: Yes honey?
K:BahBEE?
M: Yes honey?
K:BahBEE?
M: Yes sweetheart?
K:BahBEE?
M: Yes?
K:BahBEE BahBEE??
M:Yes honey?
K: BahBEE....watch! (she once again moves her head back and forth in time with the song)

You get the picture...from the second she wakes up in the morning to the second just before she falls asleep, it's "BahBEE?"

Ah....be careful of what you wish for. For sanity's sake, I've learned the old ancient parenting skill of once in a while blocking it out. Keep in mind, when she calls me, she is calling me to get my attention and my attention has never left her. I'm still looking right at her when she's calling me to look at her. I think more than anything, she's just proud of the fact that she can say it now. That's my baby!

Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy that she finally knows me by name so I am very happy about that part of my wish. I just think that next time I make that kind of wish, I would wish that everyone else wouldn't be "BahBEE" as well. That's right...I was "Ba" and everyone else was "Ba". Now I'm "BahBEE" and so is everyone else...

That's the next wish I guess!

Happy New Year!

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years! I was pretty tired and went to sleep by about 9pm. I asked Dan to wake me up at Midnight so that we could at least PRETEND that we stayed up to ring in the New Year. He fell asleep by 9:30pm...
Ahh....to be old and boring! At least we can be old and boring together ;)

Anyway, Happy New Years and wishing everyone a wonderful and prosperous 2008!