First Bloody Nose

Mini had been sick for the last week so she's had the usual symptoms including a runny nose. I woke up this morning at 5am to Mini sitting in bed and saying "I need a tissue" in Chinese. Sleepily, I said you can get it yourself as it was on her side of the bed. She replied I can't, I want Daddy to get it. I leaned over her and grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. She blotted her nose with the tissue a few times and gave it to me. I threw it toward the trash can. Then she said I need another one. I reached around her to grab another one as she wiped her hand on my shirt. I gave her the tissue and noticed that something dark was flowing from her nose. I suddenly realized that she didn't have a runny nose and leapt out of bed to turn on the light. There was blood everywhere: on the pillow, the sheets, on her face and hands, on my shirt... I quickly carried her to the bathroom and tried to get her to tilt her head back and pinch her nose but she didn't really understand what I was asking of her. I shouted out to Mama to come help. She picked her up and laid her across her legs so her head would tilt back. After about ten minutes the bleeding stopped.

I don't think Mini really understood what was going on -- I'm not sure she even knows yet what blood is. Anyway, I think her bloody nose was a result of having dried up snot in her nose. She had been rubbing her nose vigorously before going to bed so I think she might have been doing it throughout the night, which might have caused her first bloody nose.

Ring, Ring

In the last two weeks, we found out that Mini is finally tall enough to ride her trike.  She knows her left and right directions so It's much easier to push her around too.

Sleeping With Daddy

Starting about 2 month ago, we decided we really needed to work on getting Mini to sleep without Mama. We had tried getting her to sleep in her own bed, but she would wake up every couple of hours and it was draining on Mama. When I try to console her, she would only scream more loudly. With baby #2 on the way, we had to do something. We decided we would take a baby step and try to break her attachment with Mama and at least get her sleeping with Papa.

We started training after President's Day weekend. The first couple of weeks, Mama would put Mini to bed and then I would sleep with her the rest of the night. Results were mixed. Some nights she would sleep through the night with Papa. Some nights she would wake up crying for Mama. Sometimes, she would be inconsolable so Papa would take Mini to go see Mama in the living room. After she saw Mama and was told to go back to bed, she would go back to bed with Papa. She would sometimes ask to go to the potty (I think so she would catch a glimpse of Mama). In the morning, she would say "It's morning. I want to go find mommy." Then she would run to the living room to see Mama. I started telling her to "Go slowly" since we had guests downstairs and I didn't want her to disturb them. After a few nights, she would wake up and say "man man zuo" and then walk to see Mama.

At the end of March, we took a vacation. After a week on the road and all sleeping the same bed, Mini had regressed. When she woke up in the middle of the night, she would say "man man zuo" and go find Mama. Papa decided that he would also put Mini to bed to try to completely break the dependency on Mama.

On the first day, Mama laid down with us on the bed. We told Mini that Mama was going to leave to do work. After 5 minutes, Mama told Mini she was leaving and they gave each other kisses. Mini began to tear profusely and started to cry. I started singing Twinkle Twinkle to her and she stopped crying. After stalling a few times to go to the potty, she finally went to sleep. On day 2, we did the same thing. Mama left after 2 minutes and Mini teared up again. Instead of crying, she asked Papa to sing a song for her. After a few more potty trips, she went to bed. On day 3, she just laid down with Papa without Mama. She was tired this night and after a few songs she fell asleep. By day 4, Mama laid down with us again. This night, after a few minutes, she said "Mama, you can leave now". We knew we had been successful. Now, when she wakes up, she will actually cry "Daddy" instead of "Mommy". Next, Papa will try to get Mini to sleep in her own bed.

Woodworking Week 2

Second class was a busy one.  Mini used a miter box and backsaw to cut wood, a drill press to make holes, sandpaper to smooth wood, and a coping saw and vice clamp to cut dowels.  

We'll show you the finished product in a couple weeks (hint - it's a 19th century toy).

Swim Class

First day of swim class.  Not so great.  Mini didn't like the pool and cried to get out.  Let's see how the next six classes go.

Woodworking Class

Signed Mini up for a woodworking class at Randall Museum.  First class went really well and Mini enjoyed using a glue gun to create wood art.  Three are abstract and the front piece is a steamboat that got out of control.  It resembled a boat until Mini got excited with the glue gun and kept adding pieces.