Bottom Canines Coming In

Two more bumps are emerging.

Tahoe for Christmas

It's really a non-holiday for us but Papa planned a trip to Tahoe for the Christmas holiday with friends and family.  Mini was great on the drive up and ate her first In-N-Out burger (really a grilled cheese sandwich).  She nibbled on it for twenty minutes before having it taken away because of crumbs dropping everywhere.  Most of the sandwich was already soggy from the licking.

We got to the cabin and, yippee, there were stairs to climb.  This is where Mini spent most of her time when inside.  If she wasn't climbing up and down, then she was playing at the bottom landing with her toys or with Baby M.  There was no snow this trip so going outdoors wasn't too difficult but still quite cold.  The cabin had a large backyard where Mini gathered and built a pine cone garden.  On another outing, Mini lined up pine cones near the street and later find them smashed by cars.

We also went for a drive to K-Mart and played in their toy section (best free way to kill time and entertain a kid).  Mini found a plastic shopping cart here and pushed it around the aisles.  She got to take it home as a Christmas present and loved playing with it in the cabin. 

On the drive back, everything was fine until Mini had a major meltdown that was enough to pull the car over.  She eventually calmed down but we never figured out the cause.  Maybe motion sickness?

More Teeth

Top canines are coming in.  No real signs of discomfort from Mini - she's been great through this teething process.

Nut Allergy

Uh-oh, Mini may have a nut allergy! Either almond butter or peanut is the culprit since she's been eating that for a couple days now.  The first time, her mid-section showed red bumps.  Today was full-on hives and small welts on the tummy and back.  It happened soon after eating almond butter so it's a definite reaction.  It's a shame too since these nut butters are so fattening and Mini enjoys the taste.

Daddy time

Today, Mini stayed home alone with Papa in the morning while Mama went to the farmer's market. She's been a little bit sick so we didn't want her to stay outside too long. This was probably one of the longest times Mini has been alone with Papa, almost 3 hours. Mama snuck out of the house while Mini was watching Tangled on Netflix - she didn't even notice. Actually, she didn't seem to mind the entire time that Mama was not around - sorry Mama. She seems to be losing her Mama dependence that she developed the last 3 months.

A couple of fun things to note. Mini has these measuring cups that she likes to play with. Sometimes she pretends they are pans and she's cooking things in them (such as the fake fruit we got from Ikea). Anyway, we have these round wooden pieces that come from another Ikea toy that fit into the cups. I showed her how I could throw them in the air and catch them in the cups. After watching a few times she grabbed one of the cups and placed the piece inside. Then she lifted it above her head so that it fell right on her face. I laughed. After a few more times of that, she actually was able to move it fast enough so that the piece would at least fly out of the cup. After that, we spent some time looking at the street for the bus and doing some tumbling. Finally, she spent some time walking around in mommy's slippers. I'm not sure why all kids love to do this.

Bottle Free

No more washing and sterilizing fifty bottles parts for Mama!!  Mini's last bottle was Sunday and it will be only cups (sippy or straw) from now on.  Mini went on bit of a milk strike but still drinks it.

Mini Elway

Today, Papa went to play in the annual Turkey Bowl. Mini got her first taste of football. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her hand around the ball -- she was still able to get in a nice throw (see below). Anyway, Papa didn't do so well with his bad back and knee, giving up a few touchdowns and throwing a couple interceptions (never was a good quarterback). In years past, he used to be the one scoring multiple touchdowns and getting a couple interceptions. Ah how times have changed -- it's just another sign of papa getting old. Anyway, here's to a future athlete. :)


this ball is bigger than my head

check out the form!

no such thing as a tuck rule

i think that was 6 inches

and there it goes

is that a fumble?

Big cone, medium cone, little cone

now mini is the football

just one cool customer

Mini Chores

As you all know, mini has already started helping with sweeping the floors. Now, she's taken up another chore - throwing away her dirty diapers. Well, really, taking them to put outside the door. Anyway, she'll take them from our room and bring them to the door. Once you open the door, she will place it outside. It's just the precursor to taking out the trash!


open the door

here we go!

out the door

Randall Museum

walking the stairs


watching the animals from a distance


getting the courage


walking around the museum grounds


trying on the new shoes


I love them!
Randall Museum is a free children's museum very close to our house. Mini has gone many times with Mama and other friends but today was the first time (not counting halloween since we didn't see anything) that Papa went. The museum is relatively small but I'm sure it's big for Mini.

First, we took her to the playroom. She liked climbing the stairs up and down. There were other kids but she generally ignored them although there was one other girl that she tried to hug. There is also an owl stuffed animal that sits in a nest on a fake tree. She seems to have a memory of it because not long after entering the playroom, she started pointing at the tree. Me, not knowing what she was pointing to, picked her up near the tree but it wasn't what she wanted. A few minutes later, Mama told me about the owl and when I picked it up, she started nodding. I gave it to her and she hugged it closely and carried it around with her. She put it down on a chair and Mama put it back in the nest. A few minutes later, she was pointing at the nest again. I guess the little one has eyes like an owl. :)

Later, we took her to the petting zoo. They have some rabbits, hamsters, and a duck. At first, Mini was a little bit scared of the animals. We looked away for one moment and she took a sip of water from their water bowl (yuck). Not sure if the water gave her courage, but then she went up to go pet the rabbits. 

As far as animals go, Mini recognizes the common ones and will point when asked to identify cow, horse, dog, cat, duck, etc.  She's also good with face and body parts now.

Afterwards, we went shopping -- bought her some snow boots in preparation for our annual Christmas Tahoe trip. When we got home, we tried them on with a snow outfit from Cousin E. She enjoyed walking around in them and spent a lot of time admiring herself in front of the mirror.

Horizon Addiction

We've always been buying horizon organic milk for Mini. They come in the red/white cartons that Mini likes to play with and she has become very attached to them (see October 30, 2011 post). For the past couple weeks, there has been a shortage or Horizon milk at the supermarket so we ended up buying a different brand in a gallon container. (BTW, it sounds like Horizon claims of being organic are widely disputed).

Anyway, I feed Mini her milk in the morning, and she is always excited when she sees those milk cartons, pointing at them and nodding her head. For the past couple of weeks, sans Horizon, she would shake her head, quite vigorously, whenever I grabbed the "other" milk jug. She would still drink it but she was obviously wanting the Horizon. Today, she finally nodded her head again. It is a new jug of milk today with a red cap so not sure if that's why, but it seems like either she's accepted other types of milk or she's forgotten her old addiction.

Also, one other thing of note -- horizon branded items have a cartoony cow on them. Now, whenever she sees a cow on the touchpad or computer, she will lean in and kiss it. Cute -- but makes you think about how powerful branding is eh?

Winter Wonderland

Mini experienced falling "snow" (actually flaked bubbles) at the Academy of Sciences this morning. It took her a while to understand this was meant to be fun. She did start chasing the bubbles around at the end and running into other kids. To finish off the wonderland festivities, she saw Miles the Reindeer and drank hot cocoa. The turtle is a year-round resident of the museum.

And Then There Was One

The pediatrician and dentist will be glad to hear that Mini is down to one bottle now. Her appetite has been better the past couple days and she's eating more at dinner so this was the opportunity to lose the night bottle. Mini didn't seem to notice or ask for her bedtime milk so it's working out. This will also help with the nighttime diaper leaks. Less liquid, less pee.

Now to figure out to drop the morning bottle which is more of a habit. This one she looks forward to.

Play Date Extravaganza

Mini had a weekend of play dates. Two on Friday, two more on Saturday, and a final one on Sunday. I only heard about the ones on Friday since I was at work.

The first one on Saturday was a Mandarin-speaking playgroup. I was told you were supposed to speak mandarin there so I was a bit worried given my limited skills. Fortunately, there were a couple of white/asian couples and even some full caucasian families. I guess learning Chinese is "the thing" now. Anyway, they had a "teacher" that read some books and sang songs. Most of the songs were translations of english songs and they just don't sound good in Chinese. The main thing of note is that Mini had been sick the past week. She's been having diarrhea mostly. Not long after we got there, she had a particularly large bowel movement that escaped from her diaper. This is the first time I remember this happening while we were out. As such, we didn't even have a change of clothes because we've never needed it. Anyway, she spent the rest of the play date with no pants. She probably loved it.

The second one was the library playgroup. It's amazing seeing all these babies growing up together. Mini spent the entire time ignoring the toys and other babies. Instead, she spent the whole time trying to get outside or climbing the stairs.

Sunday playgroup is the original playgroup that we started going to at around 6 months. It's interesting to see all these kids growing up together. They used to just lie on their bellies or sit and look at each other. Now, they're all walking and playing and talking (well, all except mini). Mini is also the shortest one there, even shorter than the 14 month baby that was there. There was one girl who was a good 6" taller than mini -- looks like she got the height genes from Papa's side of the family.

Bumps and Bruises A-Comin'

Mini is at the stage where bumps and bruises will happen frequently. She's an avid walker now (progressing into a runner) and as cautious as she is, there are times when the wild child comes out. There have been plenty of trips and falls ending in scraped palms and knees. She's ok with it though, not much crying.

On the couch is where she's done the most damage. Mini enjoys the bounce of the couch and loves to run back and forth on it. Sometimes she turns real fast and smashes into the back cushions. Gets a real kick out of it. Today was a bad day as she fell off and landed on her precious little face. Outcome - busted upper and lower lip, slight bloody nose, and crying. And like most kids, she did not learn. Five minutes later, she was back at it. Lots of be-dunks a'coming.

Oh and this one's got a rock for a head. With one of her head butts, she broke Mama's glasses. Got a scolding for this one.

Food Allergies Rock!

Mini's first concert!! We went to a friend's blog launch that centered around food allergy awareness (getallergywise.com). The kids rocked out to singer Kyle Dine while eating vegan cupcakes and tofutti ice cream sandwiches which led to major sugar highs. Mama found a recipe for rice flour playdoh that Mini will enjoy in a couple years, just not now. She seemed grossed out by the texture and wanted nothing to do with it.

Hoover Baby

Mini's got a new thing now. It started when she played with her fake fruit and would bob for apples. She'd pick it up with her teeth to transfer it into the basket. Then Mama found her doing this same thing outside with leaves and rocks. She would get down on hands and knees, lower her face to the ground, and try to suck up small things into her mouth. No no!

To satisfy her need to do this Hoover vacuum action, we've directed it to food. For two days now, Mini eats bite-sized food off the floor or coffee table.

Mini Pics for October

First pumpkin patch

Like my new boots?

Fun with Uncle Dino

I looooove banana!

Cooking Baby

Spitting image of Uncle L

No Tricks, All Treats

Technically it's Mini's second Halloween but it's her first time trick-or-treating. We went to Belvedere Street and found out what a popular spot it is. This block party had it all - kids, families, costumes, decorated houses, performances, and tons of candy. We also stopped off at a Baby A's house for a small party where Mini feasted on meatballs and cupcakes.

Mini immediately dug into her candy bag once we got home and started eating the chocolate, wrapper and all.

Catching up

So we did it again. We fell behind on our posts and we finally got around to catching up. Anyway, if you want to catch up on the life and times, head back to September 21st.

Mini and her Cartons

My 3 Greatest Loves - Mommy and my 2 cartons

I can't get up!

I know this thing comes off
Mini really likes milk and juice cartons. She's always liked throwing things into our trash cans and that includes the recycling bucket. We've lost a few things probably to this phenomenon. I guess she sees us throwing things away so she is just copying.

Anyway, about a month ago, mini found the milk and juice cartons that we put in the recycling bin. She will pull them out and carry them around the house, one in each hand. She has this strange affinity to them. She'll hug them and even kiss them as if they were stuffed animals. Maybe she realizes that they provide her the bulk of her sustenance. Why do we even bother buying toys? Just give her empty cartons! What's even funnier is that she gets really frustrated when she can't pick them both up at the same time and she'll start wailing. Sometimes she gets so angry she'll knock them down with arms a-swinging.

Making the Halloween Rounds

Mini got to go to not one, but two halloween parties today. She dressed up in her little cupcake outfit. It makes her look like she has some huge hips.

The first one was at the Randall museum. Despite all the games and activities they had set up, mini had the most fun walking up the stairs as usual. She also enjoyed a lot of strawberries.

In the late afternoon, we took her to a children's playroom on Waller St. We let her walk a few of the blocks -- she really loves walking up and down sloped driveways. There, she got to eat some ice cream and cookies. They had a kitchen with kid-size chairs of various heights. Again, mini spent all her time climbing on the chairs. She fell down at one point, and although papa caught her, she cried for a couple minutes. Then 5 minutes later, she was back to climbing on the chairs...sigh...


I'm a little cupcake, short and stout

I love to work out my biceps

and my quads

and i love to run too! so athletic!

No More Nap Trap

Not sure is it's the upcoming daylight savings or she needs less sleep, but Mini can function on one nap now. Instead of the usual naps around 11am and 4pm, she has adjusted to a nap from 12-2pm. This happened over a week and half.

Nap Trap - because babies nap twice during the day, it's hard to get out for more than two hours at a time.

SFMTA - We Appreciate You

Mini goes on frequent bus rides, at least every other day, so she's used to them and is a real fan. She's always pointing at them when they pass on the street. Because they drive by our house, she can hear them coming and starts pointing to the window. Pretty soon, she'll recognize bus numbers and stops. OK, maybe later.

She also recognizes sirens and firetrucks. For sirens, she'll pat her chest meaning "pa-pa" (scared in Chinese) and look worried. Grandma Chan taught her this one. We walk by the Stanyan firehouse somewhat frequently and she always sees the big red fire engines. We saw one today and she started pointing. The firemen waved and rang the bell for Mini. She jumped, they laughed, quite cute.

15 Month Wellness Exam

Dr. R says Mini is developing superbly in terms of motor skills and intelligence. But not much in terms of physical growth. She's in the 20-25% range and hasn't jumped much from her year exam.

Head circumference 45.5 cm (40th percentile)
Length 29 in (25th percentile)
Weight 19 lbs 10oz (20th percentile)

Also got three vaccinations.

Spooktacular

i want the green grass

looks much better on me

haha you think you can score on me? you probably can

you can't fool me!

be sure to break my fall

i like me some driveways


Yesterday, we took Mini to the GGMG Halloween Party. There were so many families and kids there. Mini wasn't very interested in playing any of the games there. We spent some time decorating a Mini pumpkin. Then, she did have fun throwing some mini soccer balls around although she was getting in the way of the bigger kids trying to shoot into the goal.

On the way home, we let mini walk a few of the blocks. She kept turning into the driveways so she could walk up and down the sloped portions. At one point, she was running and then tripped on herself, bracing herself with her hands. She didn't cry but she was very slow to get up. After that, whenever she started running, she would run with her arms outstretched in front of her. It was pretty funny. When we got to Clayton, we put her in the stroller to go up the hill. Mini was not having any of it. She cried all the way home.

Visit to Sequoia

With no babysitter options, Mama took Mini to work today. Fortunately, Sequoia's office has a small play area ready with toys. Mini spent 90 minutes playing and listening to real estate talk. Then she began to wander about the office and found the conference room. Given her penchant for closing doors, she did exactly that and slammed the door shut. When P went to open the door, it didn't. Mini was locked inside!

Good thing it was a glass door and Mini could see out. It took five minutes to find the right key and what a scramble it was. Another thirty seconds and Mini would have started crying. You could see her face start to scrunch up as she sensed our panic.

Tooth #10

Top, left in the back. Didn't see it till today so not sure when it first cut through.

Mini's got half her baby teeth now. Think it's time to stop announcing tooth arrivals since it's hard to know exactly when they appear. She does have two more coming in the bottom row. Big swollen bumps on her gum line.

The Zeum!

The carousel

finally, a smile!

what? dad, only one hand?

who says I was eating chalk?

little engineer

cheeky

too much fun
Today, we took Mini to the Zeum. It's a children's creativity museum that had its grand re-opening this weekend. Best of all, it was free to the public! That also meant lots of families and kids.

Anyway, Mini got to ride the carousel. She just sat there during the ride with a pretty stoic face. We weren't sure if she was enjoying it, but when it ended, she nodded when asked if she wanted to ride it again. I was finally able to get her to laugh by yelling "boo" at her.

Unfortunately, most of the exhibits at the Zeum are meant for older kids, so she couldn't really do many of the activities. There was a little slide there but she wasn't too keen on it. She stood at the top as kids streamed by her. Finally, I was able to coax her down -- not sure if she enjoyed it. We then took her to an outdoor deck where they had chalk. Mini spent more time putting the chalk in her mouth and carrying the buckets of chalk around than drawing with it.

Afterwards, we went to Buca di Beppo. We stuck two stickers on her cheek. I was surprised she didn't take them off. At lunch, she was so exhausted, she fell asleep in the booth. When we got home, Mama and Papa had food coma and everyone slept for another 2 hours.