Cherry Picking

Daddy - this cherry is yummy

Daddy- pick more cherries for me

Daddy - fill my bucket with cherries

A fruitful day - cherry juice all around the mouth

Mini's walker

Today, Grandma Chan had the ingenious idea to have Mini use her high chair as a walker since she can't yet walk by herself. She's pretty good at walking side to side on the coffee table or pretty much anything else that she can hold on to. Anyway, it works fairly well and really resembles a real walker for the elderly in function. It reminds me of the old adage about how life really comes full circle.

The interesting things to note in the video are:
1) You can tell that she's really learning how to walk
2) I was impressed at how she knew how to steer the walker around obstructions. She understood that if she wanted to turn it right, she would have to walk to the left and vice versa. Is that intuitive?
3) I'm not sure she could even see where she was going.
4) Grandma Chan saying "Touch the roof" LOL

Baby Frenzy

Mini hosted her first playdate today and had four baby pals over for fun, fun, fun. The babies don't play together yet but are aware of each other. They usually encounter another baby over the fight for a toy. In this picture, they converge over a keyboard and pound away on the keys.

Today was also a visit to Presidio Heights Playground where Mini played on the swing, sat on a seesaw for the first time, and ate red velvet cupcake. Mini was also successful in making a new friend and getting a baby girl to play with her by pushing this walker toy together. Then there was some face touching, head patting, and pulling of clothes. She tends to do this - approach other babies and make contact. Maybe she'll be a social butterfly when grown up?!

In the past week, Mini has learned to drink using a straw. She plays the "share" game by handing over a toy when asked to share but then wants it right back. She's even got a game going with Grandma where she pretends to hand over the item but yanks it away and giggles. What a trickster!

She's also battling a runny nose and possible sore throat (it's been two weeks now). A visit to the pediatrician said it's nothing serious, just a bit of discomfort when Mini sleeps due to the congestion.

Doggy Day

What a coincidence that on the day Mini wears her "Squirty Pug" shirt, she gets her first doggy kiss. Mini was sitting on the ground at the playground when a friendly dog came by to sniff her. Then the dog gave her an eskimo kiss (nose to nose). It's a good thing Mini was too busy playing to look up in time to see the dog because she may have been frightened. Then the dog ran off and Mini couldn't stop staring and looking for puppy. After a couple minutes of admiring doggy from afar, we walked over to say hello. Mini was okay with Champ (doggy's name) if he stayed still next to her. But if he got close, then she'd shriek and turn away from fright. This is a first :) After two more tries at petting Champ and getting scared, we left. Then Mini turned her attention to the pigeons. These birdies gave her a real laugh.

Come to think of it, the dog probably sniffed Mini because her face had the scent of McDonald's french fries (she tasted her first one today and gobbled it down like a pro).

Look Ma - No Hands!

Mini stood on her own three times today. These are more significant because they were for at least five seconds at a time and completely unassisted. Her legs are strong enough to hold up and she's got the balance now.Standing leads to walking although Mini gets around just fine by crawling. She's an explorer and gets into everything now - pulling books from shelves, playing with pantry items in the kitchen, digging through garbage cans, pushing the DVD buttons to eject and switch tuners, knocking down the router, and on and on. She leaves a trail of destruction and you can tell exactly where she's been by following the mess.

Two funny moments: when Mama found Mini with both hands gripping the toilet peering down into the bowl and when Mama found Mini punching a table lamp shade like she was a boxer.

New York, New York

Mini is in the Big Apple! Well, more like Flushing Queens. It's a trip to NY to visit relatives and give Mini the opportunity to meet more aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The plane rides were not troublesome at all. Security and boarding were hassle free. Mini slept during most of the flights and didn't seem to experience ear pressure changes. She did cry for a bit but a lollipop solved that.

Cousins N and I treated Mini wonderfully and shared their toys, books, and even diapers. We ate lots of Chinese food, took the LIRR into Manhattan and met with Dada's college buddies, and the parents took a day trip to Boston while Mini bonded with her newly introduced family.

Ready for take-off

First train ride

Bottle break at Penn StationTimes Square and Mini is napping
Shenanigans, reminds Mama of her younger daysPlease no pictures, it's been a long flight