Baby Gate

The stairs at our sublet are extremely steep. They're even difficult for us to go up and down as the steps are quite narrow. Last night we put up a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs to prevent Mini from climbing up the stairs by herself (she loves going up and down stairs). When she went over there this morning, her first words were "Oooh Nooo". :)

Two Year Wellness Check

Mini's two year check-up went well, although the percentiles were heartbreaking to hear.  She's 1% in height and 9% for weight.  This little munchkin just won't grow!

Head circumference 47 cm
Length 32 in
Weight 22 lbs

Developmentally, she's perfect.  Doctor said she had better than average hand dexterity and said that standing on one foot was impressive.  He said her language comprehension seemed very high since she did everything I told her to.  Which is true, since month 20, Mini's language aquisition has skyrocketed.  It's been so impressive to hear her speak words that we weren't even trying to teach.  And she likes to sing now - Old McDonald, Ni Waa Waa, Itsy Bitsy Spider.

San Ramon

We've been staying in San Ramon for the past two weeks and it's been fabulous.  Uncle A and Aunt W have a beautiful house with lots of space, and more importantly, lots of toys.  Mini had the chance to hang out with her older cousins and learned a bit from them.  Cousin E always took care of her and Mini liked to follow her around.  Cousin C is a boy and acted like one which put Mini at odds with him. 

Mini played with the train table every day, multiples times a day, and choo choo'd all day long.  For some reason, she always insisted on tearing down the roof of the train station and dismantling the stairs.  I still haven't figured out why.  Her next fave activity was climbing up and down the stairs.  She even took a liking to the piano. 

With the warm weather, every day was a trip to the playground, going on snail hunts, and bee watching.  It was cute seeing her in shorts and sun dresses.  In SF, she'd be wearing layers and you'd never see her chubby knees.

Memory

Today, we had to go pick up the keys for the sublet that we are going to stay at for the next couple of months during our remodel. We had only come once before when we previewed the place almost 2 months prior. The owner had a black cat at that time that Mini really took a liking to. She would pet her tentatively with her index finger. Anyway, when we got there, the owner was standing outside with the other tenants. We stopped to talk to them. Mini immediately started pointing at the house and saying "Mao" (Cat in chinese) over and over. I was really impressed that she remembered the house and the cat from such a long time ago. Even more impressive that she recognized it from the outside since we must have seen the outside for only a couple minutes last time. It's also possible that she remembered the owner. Either way, she definitely has a better memory than her daddy.

San Diego Day Three

Tons of fun at the Children's Museum - arts and crafts, bouncy toys, painting and clay, and climbing structures.  Mini loved it all and played for five straight hours, totally missing her nap.  She spent a good hour at the bubble tables and really enjoyed the time with her cousins.

Then we headed to La Jolla for the beach.  Mini avoided the water and chose to play in the sand and climb rocks.  Uncle T caught a tiny crab that kept the kids entertained for some time.  They dug a pit and invented a game to keep the crab in the hole.  Long day but such a good time.

San Diego Day Two

Spent the day at SD Zoo.  Such a hot day that Mini slowly dropped her socks, then shoes, and finally the pants.  We saw tons of animals but she liked the fish, giraffes, and monkeys the best.  Didn't really pay much attention to the pandas but oh well.  

San Diego Day One

Quick flight to San Diego where Mini slept the entire flight, killed time drinking her first 7-11 grape Slurpee, feeding (possibly antagonizing) the local pigeons, and watching the trolleys.  Then we met up with NY cousins and has huge bowls of pasta at Buca Di Beppos.  Mini seemed to fall right in line with her cousins even though she only met them once before when she was nine months old.

   

Hai Ma

Mini's recent obsession is with sea horses and starfish.  Today, she got a special treat - a Godiva pina colada chocolate "hai ma."