You're Two Years Old!

Dear Lila,

Sometimes, you climb into my lap, lay back so that I have to cradle you and say, "Baby." It's your way of telling me that you want me to rock you like a little baby. And even though you are getting way too heavy to be rocked like that, I always oblige because you will always be my little baby girl. Of course, if we're going to get technical about it, you are no longer my little baby girl (*sniff*) because you are 2 years old now!

I absolutely love everything about you. You are growing into such an incredible person and I am so proud to be your mom. You are so happy and giggly. You are very sweet and affectionate and always giving me hugs and kisses. You are so curious and observant of the world around you and constantly point things out to me (a plane flying overhead, a squirrel climbing up a tree, a puppy across the street) when we are out. You are caring and compassionate--if GuhGaw or I get hurt, you run over, rub our injury and comfort us by saying, "K k k k k [it's okay, it's okay, it's okay]." You love to read. You can be shy and quiet but are starting to come out of your shell and be more social with other people. You love to sing and dance; your favorite songs right now are "Shake It Up" by Taylor Swift, "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor and "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" and "Let It Go" from the Frozen soundtrack. Your face lights up and you enthusiastically sing along and do your adorable bouncy dance every time you hear these songs.

And you are a serious child anomaly because you LOVE vegetables. Carrots, broccoli, squash--it's all good! At Thanksgiving dinner this year, you didn't eat much chicken or stuffing or potatoes but had *three* helpings of green beans and ate your brother's green beans when he didn't touch them. You actually rejected a piece of apple pie in favor of more green beans. We had noodles with sauteed spinach for lunch yesterday and when I tried to feed you the noodles, you shook your head and pointed at the spinach. And at dinner tonight, you ate eight stalks of broccoli! Amazing!

Another thing I love is that you are a total mama's girl. Forget about being "Daddy's little girl"--you are all about Mommy, often pushing Daddy, your nanny and other people away and insisting that I be the one who feed you, read to you or tuck you in at night (sometimes, you even insist that I be the one who take away your dirty dishes or throw your garbage out and it's like, really??). Obviously, it breaks Daddy's heart when you won't even let him sit with the two of us at the dinner table (that's way harsh, Tai) but I love how attached you are to me. I am your number one girl and you are mine :)

Happy birthday, Lilabear! I love you so much!

Love,
Mom

TV Addict

Dear Lila,

Your vocabulary has exploded this month! Your repertoire of words now includes: cup, glove, car, duck, dog, mine, Airee (Ariel, the little mermaid), yep, okay, kiss, gate, happy, sad, mad, phone, the numbers 1-10, dark, ow, ew, sar (sorry), bear, Elmo, food, snack, fan fan (Chinese for rice), peen peen (Chinese for diaper), bat, frog, Buh Guh (Bubble Guppies), pop (lollipop), stop, backpack, couch, cake, fish, grape, bird, wa wa (water), bo (boat), boon (balloon) and--whenever you see Santa--ho ho ho!

Oh, and one of your absolute favorite words is "TV." I don't let you watch much of it and you often ask me to turn it on by looking up at me with your big brown eyes, smiling your irresistible smile and nodding while you say in a high-pitched voice, "TV? Yeah? TV?" You always look so cute and sweet that it's hard to say no! And if I do turn on the television and you're in another room, you come running while cheering, "Yay! TV! Yay! TV!" Haha!

Love,
Mom

Soccer Star

Dear Lila,

Happy early birthday! We celebrated your upcoming 0-2 with a Bubble Guppies-themed party at Soccer Friends today and you had so much fun! It was your first time playing soccer and you did such a great job listening to the soccer coaches and following their instructions. And I loved seeing how much you enjoyed kicking the balls around and into the goal. You were a natural! 

Love,

Mom

Lila Funnies

Dear Lila,

Funny things you did this week:

-After you pooped in your diaper, you pinched your nose and said, "Chow chow" (Chinese for smelly).

-When GuhGaw was misbehaving, you took it upon yourself to scold him, wagging your finger at him and repeatedly saying, "Yi yi! Yi yi!"

-You were trying to pull off your sock but it was stuck since your foot was bent. You pulled so hard that your whole body started to quiver and you yelped, "Help!" (first time you said "help").

-You were playing in the dining room and I went into the foyer to get something. When you realized I wasn't in the dining room with you anymore, you thought I'd gone upstairs and jetted to the stairs shouting, "Wait wait wait wait wait!" (first time you said "wait"). When I called out to you from the foyer, you turned around, saw me and smiled a big cheesy smile that was like, "Oh, haha! I thought you were upstairs!"

-You liked the vegetable and pasta soup I made for dinner last night so much that when you were almost done eating it, you picked up the bowl, stuck your whole face in it and noisily slurped up the rest of the soup.

-You were playing in Connor's room while I was giving your brother a shower last night. When we came into the room, you had put Connor's stuffed lion on the changing pad, pulled out a dozen baby wipes from the box and "cleaned" the lion's butt with them.

Ha!

Love,
Mom

Mini Fashionista

Dear Lila,

You have learned to say a lot of words lately! Your newest ones are mine, kiss, good, bad, yi yi (Chinese for bad), bed, hot, cold, box, gen (again), pear, blue, purple and done (whenever you finish your food, you hold up your empty plate or bowl and exclaim, "Done!").

You are also becoming quite the girly girl. You love shoes, putting on jewelry and wearing dresses and skirts (sometimes, I catch you twirling and admiring your outfits in the reflection of the oven door, too funny!). And tonight, you actually refused to wear GuhGaw's hand-me-down firetruck pajamas. When I took them out of your dresser and tried to put them on you, you pushed them away and wailed, "Noooooooo!" I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I asked, "Do you not want them because they're GuhGaw's boy pajamas?" "Yeah," you woefully replied. "Do you want to wear girl pajamas?" I asked. "Yeah," you said. I took a pair of pink and blue ice cream cone pjs out of your dresser and your face lit up. Almost two years old and already so opinionated about what you wear!

This outfit was Lila-approved!

Love,
Mom

Bedtime Battle

Dear Lila,

It's funny how you and your brother have had completely opposite reactions to all of the different milestones in your life. GuhGaw was a picky eater when he started eating solid foods; took his first steps and was practically running by the next day; and freaked out the first few times I gave him a shower. You, in contrast, have always eaten almost anything I feed you, took your first steps but didn't become a confident walker until months later and didn't even blink an eye when you took your first shower.

So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you and your brother reacted differently to switching to a toddler bed. When Daddy converted Connor's crib into a bed, we thought he would spend the first night constantly hopping out of it and refusing to go to sleep. He surprised us and stayed in bed the whole night. And ever since, once Connor gets into bed, he almost always stays in bed (that doesn't mean he always falls asleep right away, though--sometimes he spends hours constantly calling out for me to fix his blanket, bring him some water, fix his blanket again, give him a pair of socks and oh my god, fix his blanket again).

You have done what we thought Connor was going to do. We converted your crib into a bed 10 days ago (you are so big now that it's a struggle for me to lift you up high enough to put you into the crib!) and it has not been a smooth transition. You stayed in bed the first night (you were still in awe of the novelty of it, I suppose) but every night since then has been a battle to get you to a) get into bed and b) stay there. I used to be able to put you in your crib, say good night, leave your room and let you fall asleep on your own. Now I have to corral you into bed and sit next to your bed until you fall asleep; otherwise, you keep climbing out of bed and coming out of your room to find me (and now that you've learned how to open your safety gate, it is completely useless). And even when you fall asleep in your bed, it doesn't mean you stay there. When Daddy woke up this morning, he found you asleep on the floor next to your gate. Oye.

Love,
Mom

Jailbreak

Dear Lila,

Things you did today:

-Said the word "apple" for the first time

-At the end of a phone conversation with PoiPoi, waved at the phone, said, "bye," hugged the phone and gave it a high five (your nanny always gives you a high five when she says bye to you at the end of the day and you've started doing this, too)

-Were playing *inside* your room when I went into the shower and were playing *outside* of your room when I came out of the shower

So you can open the (supposedly) childproof safety gate for your room now. GuhGaw managed to do it for the first time last month and you are almost as big as he is, so when you put all of your weight on the foot pedal, you are strong enough to push it open. You actually first figured out that you could do this last night and today, you kept practicing and managed to open your gate three times. Crap. There go my long, leisurely showers while you safely play in your room!

Love,
Mom

Recent Events

Dear Lila,

A few recent happenings:

-You have learned to say many new words, including shoe, yeah, bib, boo boo, bottle, nose, me (and you point to yourself when you say it), bed, more, book, hug, baby, door and floor

-You "let it go" on Halloween and looked adorable!

-When I was cleaning up some crumbs underneath the dining room table, I bumped my head and said, "Ow." You immediately ran over to me, patted my head and hugged me. Aww, thanks, sweetie!

-Goodbye, crib! You switched over to a big-girl bed last week!

-When I read a story or sing a song to you, you attempt to follow along and say or sing the words with me.

-I used to have to cut your bananas and string cheese into tiny pieces so that you could eat them, but now I can give them to you whole and you can bite into them on your own. It's funny how these little displays of independence can be so bittersweet for a mom.

-You were sitting on a bench, throwing your baby Ariel doll up in the air and saying, "Weee!" It was really cute and of course made me think of the day, way in the future, when you will be doing that to your actual baby :)

Love,
Mom

Girly Rain Gear

Dear Lila,

It always seems to rain on Tuesdays when you have your Moms & Tots class. It either rains before class as we're walking there, during class so that you can't go outside to the playground or after class, when we're on our way to pick up GuhGaw from school. Today was no exception. The weather report said it wasn't going to rain until after 6pm but--big surprise--the weather report was wrong and it started storming after class while you and I were getting lunch at a nearby Japanese market. 

Luckily, I had the rain cover for your stroller. Unluckily, I did not have an umbrella for myself. So I bought the only one they had available at the Japanese market. And that is why I had to walk through our neighborhood and show up at GuhGaw's school holding a ruffly, neon pink Hello Kitty umbrella. Oye.

Love,

Mom

Poopy Potty

Dear Lila,

You pooped in the potty for the first time today! And don't worry, I didn't take a picture of it like some parents do because that's, well, disgusting.

Daddy was the one who was with you in the bathroom when you pooped and it was actually the first of your firsts that Daddy was able to witness. Afterward he told me, "I didn't get to see Lila's first steps or hear her first words, but this? I get to see her first poop?" Aww, I think Daddy feels a little ripped off!

Love,
Mom

Daddy's Little Girl

Dear Lila,

When GuhGaw was around your age, he took a crayon and scribbled all over his bedroom wall. Daddy got so mad and yelled at GuhGaw so much, he made him cry.

Tonight, you did the same thing, except you scribbled over a lot more wall and on one of the couch cushions. When Daddy saw what you did, he said in a not-very-stern voice, "MuiMui, what did you do?" and that was it. You totally have Daddy in the palm of your hand! More proof of this? One time, you dumped a bunch of toys all over the dining room floor. When Daddy saw the mess, he yelled at GuhGaw, "Connor! Why did you let MuiMui make this mess?!" *sigh* Poor Connor!

Love,
Mom

Potty Time!

Dear Lila,

You peed in the potty today! After we dropped GuhGaw off at school this morning, we took a leisurely walk around our neighborhood (I like the days when we don't have to rush to a class and can play things by ear), stopping to admire flowers, listen to a blue jay's melodic bird call and climb up hilly lawns. When we went back home, I sat you on the potty as I have been doing occasionally but several minutes passed and you didn't go, so I carried you to the changing table. You started protesting when I tried to lay you down on the table, though, and actually cried out, "Pee pee!" so I took you back to the potty. And then you peed in it! It was the very first time you peed in the potty and you acted as if it was no big deal--that is, until I started acting like it was a big deal (because it was!) and began clapping and cheering for you. Then you smiled a big smile and looked very proud.

Love,

Mom

Lila-isms

Dear Lila,

You are 21 months old now (Wait, what? How are you almost 2 years old already?!) and I love all of the adorable "Lila-isms" you have:

-When I say we have to be quiet, you put your finger to your lips and whisper, "Shhh."

-When you pee in your diaper, you say "pee pee" and tap your crotch.
-You make all of the animal sounds at the right time when we read Moo Baa La La La.

-You are very into climbing things and, though you were initially afraid of them, you now love the swings and slides at the playground.

-When you stumble and fall (not hard), you laugh and think it's hilarious. 

-When I ask you a question--like "Which book do you want to read?"--you tap your chin with your index finger as you think it over.

-You love to dance and when you hear a song that you like, you run over to me to pull me up to dance with you. When you dance, you throw both arms up in the air and sometimes flap one arm like a bird. And when you hear a fast-paced song you really like, you do this adorable bounce-and-squat dance move that cracks me up!

-You are actually very musically inclined and often try to sing along to songs you hear on the radio or that I sing to you. And like other girls (and boys, including GuhGaw) everywhere, you love the Frozen soundtrack!

-You are very independent. If I try to feed you a spoonful of food, you often push my hand away, grab the spoon and feed yourself. You can also take your shirt off and pull your pants and leggings on by yourself.

-You are very neat and conscientious about wiping your face and hands and keeping them clean if you're eating something messy.

-You are growing so fast that you are already wearing size 4T clothing and size 6 diapers and no longer fit into your high chair. Feel free to slow down--I won't mind!

-When you're not happy about something, you pout by tipping your head to the side, sticking out your bottom lip, crossing your arms and turning your body away. I shouldn't encourage it, but I always smile when you do this because you look so cute!
-I do not, however, smile when you bite your brother, which you do--and sometimes with quite a lot of viciousness--when he makes you angry by not sharing a toy or food with you. Not okay, lady.
-Like your brother before you, you are very possessive of me. The other night, Daddy, you and I were in bed and every time Daddy tried to touch me, you pushed him away from me and hugged me tightly.

-When you're sleepy, you like to twirl your hair or mine when I hold you before bedtime.

-When I put you in your crib at night, you sometimes roll over onto your side, look up at me and pat your back to tell me that you want me to rub your back as you fall asleep.

-You are saying many more new words, including bye, up, down, oh (when something is wrong), bao bao (Chinese for bread), rub rub rub (when you are standing at the sink and washing your hands), whoooa/wooow (when you see something impressive), boobie (you can't say that many words and among the few that you can say, one of them has to be boobie?!), bo bo (elbow) and--this is a big one--Dada! You said it for the first time yesterday when you saw a photo of Daddy on the digital picture frame and again when he came home from work. Daddy was so happy!

Love,

Mom

Moms & Tots

Dear Lila,

You started a new Moms & Tots class today and even though it takes place during your usual nap time, you managed to stay awake during the entire hour and a half class--and you loved it! You made an art project with shape stickers, played with Play-doh and especially enjoyed scooping up sand at the sand table (I eventually had to drag you away so you would try out the other activity centers). You had fun riding in the toy cars when we went outside to the playground and, of course, also liked snack time, during which you ate your own animal cookies and then helped yourself to your classmate's cookies, too!

We've taken other classes before, but those were located in dance studios and church basements. Your Moms & Tots class is in an actual school in an actual classroom with cubbies, toddler-sized tables and chairs and a big rug in the corner for circle time. And it was bittersweet to see you in a "real" classroom setting because it made me realize that you will be starting nursery school not too long from now and leaving me (*sniff*). I think you are going to do really well once you do start school. In class today, you were so good, sitting down and paying attention during circle time, putting away toys when it was time to clean up and even pushing your chair back under the table when you got up from coloring. My big girl!

Love,
Mom

Bottomless Pit

Dear Lila,

Oh man, you and your food. Last week, you were snacking on a plate of cheese cubes and animal crackers when it was time to leave the house and pick up your brother from school. I tried to take your plate away but you wouldn't let me take it. I told you that there was no time for you to finish your food because we had to go and you then quickly stuffed all eight cubes of cheese and two animal crackers into your mouth. Whoa. I asked you if you were going to be able to swallow all of that and you opened your mouth wide to show me the masticated food. Lovely!

At dinner yesterday, you ate your bowl of pad thai, plus your brother's bowl of pad thai (he didn't like it), plus several slices of apples and cantaloupe. And when I sat down to eat my dinner, you opened your mouth wide at me to ask for even more food. Seriously?

At dinner tonight, you had eight ounces of milk, a quarter of a pear, an ounce of cheddar cheese, two slices of turkey AND half of your brother's bowl of broccoli, steak and rice (he is obviously not the voracious eater you are). Everyone, meet Lila, she of the hollow leg!

Love,

Mom

Happy Homecoming

Dear Lila,

You may have noticed that Daddy and I weren't around for the past few days. Instead, GongGong, PoiPoi and Uncle Tony came to take care of you and GuhGaw while Daddy and I took a trip to Chicago. There were a lot of firsts. It was Daddy and my first time in Chicago; the first time we tried authentic Chicago deep-dish pizza (I still like New York pizza better but the deep-dish was good, too); the first time we went on a vacation with just the two of us since having kids and the very first time I left you. I have been with you every single day since (and before) you were born and this marked the first time I was ever away from you. And I'm not gonna lie: When I realized that fact while Daddy and I were eating breakfast at the airport on the morning we left, I totally started crying into my multigrain bagel.

Daddy and I did have a nice getaway. We saw all the sights, did some shopping and ate so much yummy food. And it was *great* being able to sleep in, go out without having to worry about nap schedules or packing the diaper bag and avoid having to listen to the Frozen soundtrack for the millionth time. But I am ultimately a mom and there was nothing like coming home to you guys tonight! The way Connor charged at me when I came through the door and hugged me so tightly and the way you kept smiling and also hugging me so tightly and not letting me put you down--best feeling in the world :)

Love,
Mom

New Vocab

Dear Lila,

You doubled your vocabulary today when you learned to say ball and nai nai (Chinese for milk).

Sometimes I worry that you aren't talking as much as your brother did when he was your age. But then GuhGaw starts talking my ear off and I think, hey, maybe that's okay. Hehe.

Love,
Mom

Some Words About Lila

Dear Lila,

Words that can be used to describe you:

Caring--When GuhGaw got hurt at a birthday party earlier this month and your friend Kaira fell down when we were at a park, you immediately went over to them and put your hand on them to comfort them.

Stoic--Your front tooth was chipped (oddly, it just grew in that way) so you had to get a filling. You cried while the dentist was fixing your tooth but immediately stopped as soon as he finished. Two days later, you had to have your blood drawn (to check your iron level) and you barely flinched when the phlebotomist stuck the needle in your arm. Brave girl!

Voracious eater--You ate a fortune cookie so fast that I didn't even have time to get the paper fortune out before you swallowed it!

Drama queen--Sometimes you lay face down on the floor and cry when you're unhappy.

Cutie pie--You're so sweet when you quietly say "peas" (please) when you ask for something and when you lay your head on my shoulders.

Love,
Mom

Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes

Dear Lila,

We had more post-nap chaos today. When you woke up from your afternoon nap, your clothes and bed sheets were wet with pee so I took you right to the bathroom to give you a shower. A few minutes into the shower, you tapped your crotch and whimpered as if you were in pain. I thought you had hurt yourself somehow so I comforted you while I soaped you up. Then you squatted and when you stood back up, oh look! There was a giant pile of poop in the tub**. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, ew! I spent several seconds freaking out because I was by myself with you and didn't know what to do. I had to clean the tub, but I couldn't take you out of the tub since you were wet and covered in soap bubbles. And I couldn't take the rubber shower mat you had pooped on out of the tub because you might slip without it. Once I composed myself, I took a paper towel and scooped up the poop (yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck!), pulled you away when you tried to touch the poopy spot and finished cleaning you up. After I dressed you, I had the fun task of scrubbing and disinfecting the mat and the tub.

When your brother came home, I told him how you had pooped in the tub. That freaked him out, even though I told him that I had cleaned the tub and no evidence had been left behind, and he didn't want to stand on the shower mat (ironic, because in the past, he has had no problem rolling around on the dirty classroom floors at school or eating food he's dropped on the sidewalk). He kept trying to step off of the mat onto the sides of the slippery tub, which was obviously dangerous and made showering him harder than usual. I yelled at him to stop and he wouldn't listen. And for the rest of the day, he kept not listening whenever I asked him to do something. 

So yeah, it was that kind of day. Messy, frustrating and exhausting. I'm used to days like this by now, but they are draining nonetheless. The day ended on a high note, though. When Daddy came home from work tonight, he surprised me with a box of one of my favorite things in the world: chocolate marshmallow cupcakes from Sprinkles. His Spidey sense must have kicked in and told him what a crazy day I had!

Love,

Mom

** Ironically enough, I was just telling your nanny this morning that when you were a little baby, you often used to poop in the baby bathtub as soon as we put you in it for a bath. Did you hear me tell her about it and want to remind me of how fun that was? :P

Terrible Twos?

Dear Lila,

I have said over and over again that you are such a good baby, such an easy baby. From the beginning, you have slept when I've wanted you to sleep, eaten when I've wanted you to eat, played quietly by yourself when I've needed you to play quietly by yourself. You are so chill and have always gone with the flow for the most part. And then there was today.

Your nanny took you to the playground and when it was time to get out of the swing and go home, you cried and resisted. When you were playing with my keys and I had to take them from you to open the door, you cried and resisted and even threw yourself down on the ground in protest. When I gave you a shower, you cried and resisted and wriggled so much that I had to put an iron grip on your arm and pray that you wouldn't bang your head on the side of the tub. When I was dressing you after the shower, you cried and resisted and screamed so loud and for so long that you actually started to hurt my eardrums.

When I finally managed to get your diaper and clothes on despite your kicking and flailing, I picked you up and held you tightly in my arms and you started hyperventilating because you were crying so hard. I hugged and rocked you for 15 minutes and you eventually passed out in my arms, so exhausted from your meltdown, without even drinking your lunchtime bottle of milk first.

When you woke up after your nap, you were your usual laidback, easygoing self but oh. my. GOD. I have never seen you behave like that. You're 19 months old now--you're not gearing up for the terrible twos, are you? Nooooooooooo!!!

Love,
Mom

Cutie Pie

Dear Lila,

You know that I think you are adorable and apparently, many kids at the playground do, too. After we picked your brother up from camp today, we went to the playground behind his school. Several minutes after we arrived, Connor and two of his friends gathered around you. Connor sweetly said, "This is my sister. She's small, so you have to be careful, all right?" His friend Karen started stroking your pigtails and saying over and over again, "She's so cute" while his other friend Alyssa kept smiling at you and hugging you. Connor then started patting you on the top of your head and you just sat there with a look on your face that said, "I'm not sure, but should I be weirded out by this?"

And the same thing happened 10 minutes later with a set of three girls we don't even know. Connor and his friends had gone off to play and you were sitting on a step when three 6-year-old girls also gathered around you to admire how cute you are and to lovingly stroke your cheeks and hair. Well, there you go. Indisputable proof that you are irresistibly cute!

Love,
Mom

Post-Nap Surprise

Dear Lila,

Normally, when I hear you wake up from your afternoon nap, I go into your room, chat with you a little bit, change your diaper and then get your lunch ready. But here's how things went down today:

3:25pm: I hear you turn on your music box and start babbling.

3:26pm: I enter your room and see that you are standing up in your crib.

3:26pm: You walk over toward me and hand me your diaper.

3:27pm: I have the following internal monologue: Where did she get that diaper? There are no diapers near her bed. Wait, that's her diaper! The diaper she was wearing! Oh my god, she took off her own diaper! 

3:28pm: I realize that not only have you learned how to take off your own diaper but that you also peed ALL over your bed. Ugh.

In other news, you officially graduated from baths to showers today. After the super fun incident above, I plucked you out of your crib, put you in the big tub and gave you a shower. When we switched your brother over to showers when he was almost 2 1/2 years old, he screamed and cried and took a week to get used to them. But you were totally fine, as if it was your 100th shower, not your first. Big girl!

Love,
Mom

You Make Me Smile

Dear Lila,

You make me smile when . . .

-you see me cleaning the dining table and mimic me by wiping down your kiddie table with your picnic blanket.

-I see how much joy you get from playing in the sprinklers at the playground.

-you cover your mouth when you laugh really hard.

-you babble to me so earnestly that I really wish I knew what you were talking about because it sounds very interesting.

-your nanny brings you back home after you guys have gone for a walk and your face lights up when you see me at the door.

-I see how good you already are at completing puzzles.

-you sometimes walk so fast, you topple forward a little bit before you balance yourself out.

-you take my lotion bottle and pretend to put lotion on your baby dolls and stuffed animals.

-you look so focused and studious while reading books.

-we go grocery shopping and I can see how much you love picking out groceries and piling them into our basket.

-you lean in toward my face to let me know that you want to give me a kiss.

-you give me big, wet, loving kisses.

Love,

Mom

Sherpa Woman

Dear Lila,

I have started calling you my little sherpa because you do the following every day:

1) fill your doctor's bag with random toys and books and hang the bag on the handle of your doll stroller

2 ) fill your picnic basket with more random things and hang that on the other handle of your stroller

3) load up the seat of your stroller with your music box, toy cars and anything else that you feel you need

4) fill your bee backpack with yet more items, hold said backpack up to me and turn your back to me to indicate that you want me to put the backpack on your back

5) put on your sunglasses, wave goodbye to me and push your stroller and 50 pounds of goods away

Where exactly are you going with so much stuff? :-P

Love,

Mom

Saturdays

Dear Lila,

One of the greatest things in life is waking up in the morning and realizing it's Saturday. Yay weekend!

Love,
Mom

18-Month Update

Dear Lila,

When we meet up with friends whom we haven't seen in awhile, they usually say one of two things about you: "She looks just like her dad" (which you do) and "Wow, she is so big" (which you are!). You just turned 18 months old but you are already 27 pounds and 32.5 inches tall. You're currently wearing size 5 diapers; the largest size your brother wore before he switched to underwear at age 3 was size 4, so you've already surpassed him!

Obviously, one of the reasons you are growing so fast is that you are an excellent eater. Pulled pork, quinoa, grilled eggplant, roasted seaweed, stewed chickpeas--you love and eat it all. In fact, when you see food and want some, you come at me with your mouth open as wide as you can get it, which cracks me up!

Your favorite foods are pasta and bread (of course, who doesn't love carbs?), cheese and yogurt-covered raisins. Among the few things that you do not like are sweet potatoes and cottage cheese--and recently, you also do not like sitting in your high chair. Now that you are such a big girl, you like to sit in a regular chair at the dining table with the rest of us. And you are already so good at feeding yourself with utensils.

Here are some other things about you now that you are a year-and-a-half:

-You are walking so confidently but still get nervous from time to time when we are out, like at the playground, and reach out for me to hold your hand. You grip my hand so tightly sometimes and I like that you still need me :)

-You babble all the time but are not saying very many real words. You say mama (but usually only when you are hungry and want me to give you food), sui sui (Chinese for water) and whoa whoa (when you see a puppy or I ask you what a puppy says).

-You do understand a lot, though, and follow my instructions when I ask you to do things like pick up your books or put your clothes in your hamper.

-When I ask you what a lion, dragon, tiger or Cookie Monster say, you make a low growling sound. So cute!

-You love to look at books and can sit for long stretches and quietly flip through them. You especially like The Monster at the End of This Book, anything by Sandra Boynton and lift-the-flap books. I especially like it when you pick a book, plop down in my lap, wriggle around until you are comfortable and listen intently while I read it to you.

-You have also inherently learned to love shoes and accessories. Before we leave the house, you always point to your shoes to make sure I don't forget to put them on for you. Every time we go to Barnes & Noble, you head straight for the backpack display, pick up the bee-shaped backpack, put it on and insist on wearing it the entire time we're in the store. And when I bought you your first bracelet in the Bahamas and put it on your wrist, you kept "oohing" and holding it out for Daddy to see.

-Sometimes you walk around with your hands on your back, like a little old Chinese lady.

-You love listening to music and dancing. And you look so cute when you dance, with the way you bob your head, sway from side to side, turn around in circles and excitedly wave your hands up and down.

-When you are happy to see me, you come barreling toward me, throw your arms around my legs and hug them tightly. It makes me feel awesome every single time!

-You do all of the appropriate hand gestures when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider and" "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and point to the correct body parts when we sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." You can also correctly identify your tongue, cheeks and belly button.

-You are such a good girl when it comes to taking medicine or getting shots at the doctor's office. You handle it like a champ and barely wince or cry.

-Not so with brushing your teeth, however, as I have to pin you down and shove the toothbrush in your mouth while you scream and cry and try to bat it away.

-You are so smiley and giggly with me, Daddy and your brother when we are at home but if someone comes over or we go out, you become completely stone-faced and emotionless. No one can get you to smile or laugh no matter how hard they try. Your pediatrician says you should play poker. Or become a spy.

Uncle Dennis tried so hard to make you smile. He did not succeed.

Love,
Mom

Bahamas, Baby!

Dear Lila,

We just returned from six amazing days in the Bahamas! You had a lot of firsts during the trip: first plane ride (you were great, took a long nap and played quietly with your flash cards and Bubble Guppies toys when you were awake), first stamp in your passport, first time going to the beach. The beaches were beautiful and the water was so clear that you could see so many tiny fish when you walked into the ocean (and one day, we even saw a barracuda!). However, you were not a fan of the beach because you most definitely did NOT like the feeling of walking on sand:

You did love playing in the wading pools with GuhGaw at our resort, though, and exploring the dozens of aquariums with hundreds of fish, stingrays and other sea creatures.

There were so many new things to see and discover, which I think encouraged you to walk on your own more than you have before. You often refused to sit in the stroller and one time, even toddled off after a puppy you saw, saying "whoa whoa" as you walked behind it (so cute!).

Unfortunately, there were two low points of our vacation. First, when we were walking out of Ben & Jerry's one night, there were so many people that I didn't notice that GuhGaw had run ahead of me out the door. Daddy and you were behind me and I thought Connor was behind you guys, but when we were all outside, we didn't see him anywhere. It was the first time I'd ever lost sight of your brother and I experienced several seconds of panic before I saw him running toward us; a steel drum band was performing a few feet away and Connor had run over to watch them. Oh my god.

Second, at the end of the trip, you came down with a fever and both you and GuhGaw developed these pretty bad-looking skin rashes. When we flew back home on Sunday, we actually dropped off our luggage at home and then took you guys straight to the emergency room, where the doctors said you two had ringworm. It was caused by a bacterial infection you had probably gotten in the pool water (and I'm so anal about cleanliness and hand washing!) but it isn't serious and we just have to put antifungal cream on your rashes for two weeks.

The ringworm definitely put a damper on things but at least you guys are okay. And other than the ringworm and Connor running off that night, we had a really fun, relaxing, memorable island getaway! The weather was so sunny and warm (it only rained once and the storm didn't last long), you and GuhGaw had a blast playing in the water, GuhGaw had a chance to feed some baby stingrays and a baby shark and Daddy and I were able to unwind on the beach with you guys. We've been back home for a few days now and Connor keeps sighing and saying, "I miss the Bahamas." Me, too, buddy. Me, too!

Love,
Mom

Taking Caution

Dear Lila,

I don't know if it's more of a gender thing or a personality difference, but you are sooo much more cautious than your big brother. As soon as he learned how to walk, Connor was practically racing around the house by the next day. You were more tentative after you took your first steps and it has taken you several months to become really confident when walking on your own. Connor has also loved riding in swings from the get-go, but I put you in a swing for the first time today and you were so scared. There was such a look of terror on your face that I immediately stopped the swing and took you out! And you get reeeeally nervous when you're standing on our backyard deck. There are small slits between the wood boards and there's no way you could fall through them, but I can tell that you don't believe that for a second. You insist on holding onto me when we're on the deck and if I let go of your hand, you don't move at all but hold your arms out at your sides, whimper a little and stare at the deck as if it could collapse at any moment.

I guess it's good that you're so careful, whereas GuhGaw often charges through life and throws all caution to the wind. Maybe that means I won't have to worry about you getting hurt as much as I have to with Connor!

Love,
Mom

First Nighttime Separation

Dear Lila,

Daddy's friend had a birthday party last night, so Daddy and I hired a babysitter to take care of you and GuhGaw while the two of us went out. It was the first time we had left you with another person at night and it went as well as you'd expect--you became really upset when it was time to go to bed and we weren't there, so you wailed and cried for half an hour before passing out from exhaustion on the couch (your brother, amazingly, was able to fall asleep despite your crying). You were still asleep on the couch when we came home, because the babysitter was scared to move you to your crib and risk waking you up.

:-(

Love,
Mom

Mommy Will Make It Better

Dear Lila,

It's the worst feeling in the world when your kid is crying. And it's the best feeling in the world when you're the one who can get your kid to stop crying just by holding her.

Love,
Mom

P.S. Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day!

Rockabye Baby

Dear Lila,

At the end of especially trying days, I am usually so tired that I get annoyed when I have to spend an hour-plus rocking you to sleep at night. But then I have to remind myself to treasure our nighttime cuddles because soon enough, you will be too big to rock to sleep.

Love,
Mom

Life With Two Kids

Dear Lila,

When Daddy and I decided to have children, we always knew that we would have at least two. We both have siblings and life is so much better when you have that built-in friend for life. I know Uncle Tony and I fought a lot when we were growing up but I don't really remember the fights now so much as the board games we played together (Trouble, Guess Who?, Operation), the elaborate story lines we made up for our Barbies and Ninja Turtles and the hours we spent in our backyard swinging on the swing set or facing off in baseball or badminton. I love having a brother who has the same childhood memories that I have and who shares the exclusive knowledge of just how crazy our parents are. So I'm glad you will have the same thing with your brother.

A family with two kids is great for the kids. If the parents are busy, there's always someone else to play with and talk to. But a family with two kids is not always great for the parents because it can be hard juggling two kids. At least, it has been for me, especially since Daddy often works so late and I'm on my own with you and GuhGaw most of the time. There was one night when I had fed you both dinner, brushed your teeth, bathed you and dressed you in your pajamas by 7:30pm. I was just silently congratulating myself for getting you guys ready for bed ahead of schedule when you suddenly threw up, Connor stepped in your vomit and I had to shower you both a second time. So much for going to bed early.

Another time when I was getting you two ready for bed, I opened your brother's top dresser drawer to get him a pair of pjs. You, again, suddenly threw up and when I turned to tend to you, GuhGaw jumped up, banged his head on the bottom of the drawer I had left open and started crying. I turned to soothe him and when I did this, you fell backward, hit your head on the floor and started crying, too. It was all I could do to not start crying myself. Oh. my. GOD.

Then there are our trips to the parks and playgrounds. Sometimes you toddle in one direction while your brother runs in the opposite direction, or I'll be helping you walk up the stairs to the slide and your brother will go behind the bathroom or a climbing structure where I can't see him. Playground time means fun time for you guys but Mommy equates it with seriously-stressed-out-how-do-I-keep-an-eye-on-both-of-you? time. *oof*

So yeah, life with two kids has been challenging. But at the same time, it's been fun, heartwarming and rewarding, too. I love seeing how much you and GuhGaw love each other. One time, you were tentatively walking across the living room. Connor held his arms out and told you to walk over to him, you did, fell into his arms and then you guys tightly hugged each other. Another time, you and him were sitting in bed together and he was "reading" his Cars book to you, saying "Once upon a time, there were a lot of cars." Once when you were crying, I heard GuhGaw tell you, "There are no scary monsters. Mommy is right there." The other day, you got mad and kicked the table, so Connor reprimanded you and put you in timeout. After a few minutes, he pulled you out and said, "You know I still love you, all right?"

And of course, having two kids means I feel two times the amount of love. I feel like the luckiest person in the world when both of you crawl into my lap, smile up at me and hug me tightly :)

Love,
Mom

Shoe Fetish

Dear Lila,

This month, you learned how to walk more confidently, cheer when you're happy or excited about something, feed yourself with a spoon and pat a spot with your hand when you want me to sit there. You love looking at books and still eat a lot, which is why you're in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Also, you have developed an early love of shoes! When I showed you your new flip flops today, you started panting and immediately held your feet up so that I could put them on for you!

Love,
Mom

15-Month Mark

Dear Lila,

In terms of baby milestones, the 15th-month stage is one of my favorites. The first year is full of sleep deprivation, breast pumps and poop explosions and the two-year-old phase brings on tantrums, whining and straight-up crazy but the 15-month mark is the sweet spot in between those two difficult parenting chapters. At 15 months, you're becoming more independent, starting to understand so much and becoming a really fun, social person. (You're also still growing at an amazing speed and already wearing size 3T clothing!)

This month, you learned how to do so many new things: give me your first kiss, blow kisses, point to your head or nose or stick out your tongue when asked to, wipe your mouth with a napkin, blow your nose, tap your crotch when you pee or poop, hold up your feet when I pick up your shoes and identify objects, such as dinosaurs, in books. You give me a big stretch when I go to you in the morning and say, "Morning stretch!" and are still not walking much on your own but get around by scooting around on your knees. I actually decided to stop breastfeeding you this month, which gives me some freedom back but makes me a little sad, so I love the other ways we can bond, like when you sit in my lap, rest your head on me and call me mama and when you hug me tightly and give me your sweet, wet, little kisses :)

Love,

Mom

Attention Hog

Dear Lila,

Connor hurt his leg while playing tonight and started crying, so I held him and comforted him to make him feel better. You saw this and started pretending to cry so that I would soothe you, too. Geez, attention hog much?

Love,
Mom

Chair Climber

Dear Lila,

Lila, so timid when it comes to walking on her own yet so brave when it comes to climbing on chairs.

Love,
Mom

First Steps!

Dear Lila,

You recently learned how to drink from a cup on your own, to rest your head on my shoulder when I ask you for a hug and to tap me when I ask you, "Where's Mama?" And today, you learned how to walk!!! 

Around 7pm, I put you down on our living room floor. You stood on your own and I backed away, squatted and held my arms out toward you. I encouraged you to come to me and you were hesitant but had a big smile on your face when you reached for me, as if you knew how momentous this occasion was. And then you did it! You took seven steps on your own until you fell into my arms! You had such a big grin on your face and looked so proud of yourself. Go, Lila! 

Love,

Mom

Here Comes Trouble

Dear Lila,

It's no secret that Daddy and I consider you "the good one" because you are usually quiet and well-behaved and that we consider GuhGaw "the bad one" because he is, well, usually not quiet and not well-behaved. But you've exhibited a few "bad one" behavioral traits recently:

-When Connor wouldn't share a toy with you, you slapped his head
-When you didn't get what you wanted, you threw yourself down on the floor and cried
-You learned how to climb onto the couch by yourself
-You learned how to crawl under the safety gate on the stairs

Uh-oh.

Love,
Mom

Second Word!

Dear Lila,

You said "mama"!! You were sitting in your high chair eating cottage cheese. I was putting things away in the pantry and you just called out to me, "Mama"! Then after your bath, Daddy was drying you and when I walked into the room, you reached for me and said, "Mama!" Awesome day :)

Love,

Mom

Single Mom For a Week

Dear Lila,

I did it! I made it through an entire six days on my own with two kids while Daddy was traveling for work. And now if anyone needs me, I will be passed out in my bed for the entire weekend.

Love,
Mom

First Word!

Dear Lila,

You said your first word today: Mum-Mum! And no, it wasn't "mum-mum," as in "mommy" but "Mum-Mum," as in your favorite snack cracker. I shouldn't be surprised that your first word is food-related. You still love to eat anything, even all of the crumbs you find on the floor, ugh.

Love,
Mom

That's Cute

Dear Lila,

I don't think there's anything cuter than you marveling at the bubbles I blow for you during your baths. Except when you dance to music by bouncing up and down. Or when you lay your head on my shoulder and pat my back when you hug me. And you pretend to talk on your toy phone or "cook" by mixing a bunch of things with your wooden spoon in your toy wok or sit on top of GuhGaw as if he were a horse, that's pretty cute. Also cute is that you can stand so well on your own. And it's cute that you can now slowly walk while holding onto me with one hand. So basically, everything you do is cute!

Love,

Mom

Big Fling

Dear Lila,

PLEASE stop trying to fling yourself off of the changing table every time I have to change your diaper. Thank you!

Love,

Mom

Twins

Dear Lila,

Here are a couple of photos of your brother at 13 months old:

And here are a couple of photos of you at almost 13 months old:

Uncanny!

Love,
Mom

New Accomplishments

Dear Lila,

You've accomplished a lot of things for the first time in the past few days, including:

-Standing up on your own and clapping (you were sitting in your room and your brother had just finished his shower, so I guess you thought that warranted your first standing ovation!)

-Waving goodbye to Daddy when he left for work

-Climbing onto and off of the bench for your kids' table by yourself

-Drinking cow's milk--you tried it for the first time yesterday and didn't flinch or make a face but just drank it as if you've been drinking it your whole life!

-Scribbling with a colored pencil

-Crawling under Connor's bed while I was reading to Connor and then getting stuck under there, yeesh

Love,

Mom