It snowed in Victoria, on and off for a whole week! Winters in Victoria are not normally like this, I was told. About 10 cm snow covered the roads. I was advised by Sana's daddy, who was in Toronto for two weeks, by continuous phone calls, not to drive on snowy days in Victoria. And to protect my poor ego in driving, he made it very clear that it was not me, but the drivers in Victoria he did not trust simply because they were not used to driving on snowy days and snowy/icy roads. So me and Sana walked in the snow and enjoyed the walk and the bus rides, tremendously.
Sana had a Christmas party at the daycare today. I didn't realize it was such a big deal until I saw the other girls coming in beautiful dresses. I should have dressed Sana up! When I went to pick her up in the afternoon, it became an even bigger deal that she actually got presents from Santa and the teachers. And I just have to mention her primary care giver Shirley. She was so sweet that she actually knitted a pair of wrist warmers for Sana and hand made a Christmas decoration with pine cones to give Sana as her Christmas presents. She also wrote nice words on a Christmas card to all of us. It was really nice of her and the daycare staff. Now more than anything, I hope the cake I ordered would arrive there on time tomorrow as they are open only for the morning and it is the last day of daycare before winter break.
We also got a call from campus housing. They told us that there was a two-bedroom townhouse coming up in February and we were the first on the list for that. I already scheduled a viewing for next Monday. They would paint the place and renovate the inside before handing it to the next tenant, which in this case are us. So again we got lucky!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
spice girl and strategy
Being born to me and her daddy, Sana actually did not have any choice, in terms of dealing with spicy food. Pakistani food is known for being spicy, my food, on the other hand, is only spicier than Pakistani food. Sana seems to enjoy spicy food to a certain degree by now. She does find food spicy, but shows no sign of stopping eating it. She also seems to have developed some kind of strategy to handle the heat that comes in our daily diet.
Tonight, we had pan-fried cod, stir fried celery, and stir fried spinach, with rice. She loved the spinach and fish. Daddy was in class that time so when he came home and had his dinner, Sana went to the table again and demanded exactly the same thing that daddy had, which was the same as our dinner earlier, but with hot sauce. So daddy squeezed a little bit of hot sauce into her plate, then she asked me to put a cup of water right next to the plate. Now she was fully prepared for the spiciness.
screaming
Sana developed a new "strategy" of turning herself down. She would talk/sing/scream loudly and put her index finger right in front of her lips with a "shhh", then started talking nicely. She came with me to the laundry room. The moment we stepped out of our door, she called out for me, loudly. Then she looked around and put the finger on her lips with a "shhhh", and walked toward the laundry room. When we got out of the laundry room, she did the same ritual.
Today when I went to pick her up from the daycare, I was told that she screamed in the daycare playroom as well. When they were outside playing in the sand, she was all fine, nice, peaceful, and quiet. So they were working on reducing the screaming.
So we will see what happens now.
2.
We got up early this morning. But daddy decided to shave (after three or four weeks) and wanted me to take a few pictures for him before the beard is gone, so that he could post the pictures on facebook. Well, as a natural consequence, he wanted many many different pictures from which he could choose from (the root reason was that he did not trust my photography skills), and, we ended up leaving home late. Then Sana and I missed the bus by five seconds. Then there was an accident somewhere on the way so it took another 40 minutes (the normal bus interval was 5-7 minutes) for the next bus to come. Sana and I were just playing at the bus stop for the whole 40 minutes. It was a beautiful experience on a chilly Victorian winter morning, after rain.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
please please
We were eating dinner, red and white kidney beans in curry sauce. Sana loves beans. It was only slightly spicy for her as she did not ask for water right away. By the time she finished half bowl of the beans, she was asking for water to ease the spicy tongue. Then she slowed down and started playing with the water. So I told her that it was not nice table manners and then took it away seeing her not stopping for a moment. Of course she wanted it back. Today she actually clearly said, "please, please" when asking the cup back. Both mommy and daddy were made speechless and giving the cup back seemed the right thing to do at the moment.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
It's a Real Question
Sana and us talk back and forth, just like a real conversation. Apparently she understands us better than we understand her. Why is that she has to learn to talk in our way?
A Few Things That Sana Does
We were eating roast duck. Sana sure liked it. She put the last two pieces into her plate and told me, "all gone".
After finishing the meal, she said, "xi3 shou3", which meant wash hands in Chinese, and then we went to the washroom to clean up. She washed her hands, dried them up, and told me, "all done".
We bought some headbands for her last night. She just couldn't let it stay on her head. She put it around her stomach, around her ankles, around her arms, back on her head, and then all over again. Finally at one point, it broke on her. She looked so innocent and said, "broke".
Last night, daddy asked Sana if she would like to have her own email account. She said "Yes!"
I asked Sana to go check if daddy was home, from the balcony window. She went and couldn't see the car there. Then she came to me and told me, "Baba gone", with her hands spreading outward and hand palms facing up.
When it was around the time that daddy should come home and I heard a car coming, I asked her to go check again. She went and saw daddy stopping the car, coming out, and she just started smiling right there. Then she would call, "Baba, baba", waving at him too.
When the Backyardigans played on TV, Sana and daddy would both stand up and start dancing, as if they were having a dancing competition.
Sana missing daddy
Sana and daddy just have this special bond now.
Daddy works on the weekend. Sana would go in front of the balcony window to check if daddy's car is there in the parking lot, every thirty minutes or so. This Saturday, after checking for three times, daddy was still not there. She started crying, calling "Baba" the same time.
She must be missing her dad so badly.
Library visit
We went to the library to check out some books for Sana, to be read to.
She saw a boy around her own age and started talking to me about the boy. The boy was so shy that he wouldn't come up to talk to her. Sana waited for a while and came back to me, climbed up to my lap, smiled while shrugging, and asked me to read a book to her. That shrugging and the look in her eyes were just so cute.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Inspiration Everywhere Everyday
We moved to Victoria for my school. M quit his job in PA so the family could stay together. We have been blessed in Victoria. We found our apartment here before we even left PA, found a fabulous daycare for Sana within the first 10 days after we arrived in Vic. It took Sana about two weeks to adjust into her daycare life and she is really enjoying it now.
This is one month and half after the move. M is working now and is planning for a serious business seriously. M is also running for the director of the student society on his campus. Please remember that he is doing all this besides going to school full-time. I guess a busy schedule like this helps both of us. I do not complain about boring chores especially the dish-washing part, he also does not "forget" doing housework.
Sana is doing well. She sings, she dances, she talks. She is a brave person when it comes to communication (because not too many people understand what she talks about yet she keeps going. :)). But I do have a confession to make. We are turning Sana to TV when I know it is not necessarily a good thing to do. I guess this time I just took the easier path. I might allow this to continue till the moment my heart cannot handle the guilt anymore.
Sana is showing her strong opinions, which many parents would refer to as Terrible Two symptoms. I personally do not agree with this term. At the same time, I genuinely respect her as a little person, like always. So she looks OK, not particularly terrible. And to be honest, I do get frustrated sometimes and get right on the edge. This later on turns out to be the moment for me to mentally grow as a person. Like I always say, watching children grow humbles us or at least humbles me. I do not think that I am teaching her. I believe that she is teaching me, and luckily I sometimes do think so I teach her what she teaches me. Parent-child relationship is reciprocal.
I still need to work hard on my paper. School now does not seem to be as inspiring as it used to be. I found that inspirations are daily occurrences and not exclusive to school. More later.
This is one month and half after the move. M is working now and is planning for a serious business seriously. M is also running for the director of the student society on his campus. Please remember that he is doing all this besides going to school full-time. I guess a busy schedule like this helps both of us. I do not complain about boring chores especially the dish-washing part, he also does not "forget" doing housework.
Sana is doing well. She sings, she dances, she talks. She is a brave person when it comes to communication (because not too many people understand what she talks about yet she keeps going. :)). But I do have a confession to make. We are turning Sana to TV when I know it is not necessarily a good thing to do. I guess this time I just took the easier path. I might allow this to continue till the moment my heart cannot handle the guilt anymore.
Sana is showing her strong opinions, which many parents would refer to as Terrible Two symptoms. I personally do not agree with this term. At the same time, I genuinely respect her as a little person, like always. So she looks OK, not particularly terrible. And to be honest, I do get frustrated sometimes and get right on the edge. This later on turns out to be the moment for me to mentally grow as a person. Like I always say, watching children grow humbles us or at least humbles me. I do not think that I am teaching her. I believe that she is teaching me, and luckily I sometimes do think so I teach her what she teaches me. Parent-child relationship is reciprocal.
I still need to work hard on my paper. School now does not seem to be as inspiring as it used to be. I found that inspirations are daily occurrences and not exclusive to school. More later.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Dealing with the Unbelievable Energy
Another day starting from 9 am till 10 pm without nap. It was more difficult for me than usual because Sana was also ever-moving, non-stop. Right now when I am writing this post, I am still having a headache and there is this sound like bee humming in my ears. Fortunately enough, I got to take a shower after bathing her tonight.
She still is cute, despite all the hard time in the package of her. She would call, mommy, lolo, meaning, mommy, look at me. Then she would dance which is more like wiggling, :). And she would ask me to read a book to her, or show me certain pages she especially enjoyed. She kicked a ball, ran, and laughed in the green yard.
I am trying to find some ways to utilize her unbelievable energy, but I always get tired before she does. So I believe I seriously need to send her to a daycare as soon as possible, in that both the little people and the big people there can help me with that.
I just found out that Sana gets a hold on new things introduced to her really fast and right away develop the ability to switch between the new way and the old way.
We usually go to throw the garbage from our front door and through the hallway, so we would put on our shoes by the door. Since she is playing in the yard now and I decide to go through the yard and I took her once this way. Now she checks where her slippers are to decide which way to go. I find this quite amazing even though she continues to be the magic glue on me and has to do everything with me.
She still is cute, despite all the hard time in the package of her. She would call, mommy, lolo, meaning, mommy, look at me. Then she would dance which is more like wiggling, :). And she would ask me to read a book to her, or show me certain pages she especially enjoyed. She kicked a ball, ran, and laughed in the green yard.
I am trying to find some ways to utilize her unbelievable energy, but I always get tired before she does. So I believe I seriously need to send her to a daycare as soon as possible, in that both the little people and the big people there can help me with that.
I just found out that Sana gets a hold on new things introduced to her really fast and right away develop the ability to switch between the new way and the old way.
We usually go to throw the garbage from our front door and through the hallway, so we would put on our shoes by the door. Since she is playing in the yard now and I decide to go through the yard and I took her once this way. Now she checks where her slippers are to decide which way to go. I find this quite amazing even though she continues to be the magic glue on me and has to do everything with me.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Catching Up, Discipline
Let's be fair, even though I accuse Sana's dad for not being able to stick to a schedule and that's why Sana does not have one, I am not strict enough either.
I am more concerned about Sana's discipline than about her current language skills. So I guess I should start with establishing a schedule. Especially that I am going to start my school this September. We will need all the nice schedule we can get.
Sana is throwing tantrums when she does not get her ideas through. At some point she hit us in the face, most of the time she would just go lie down on the floor with tears. Most of the time, I handle it nicely. I would talk to her to see some reasonable options and if she kept being fussy, I would put her down and give her some time alone. She usually got back on her feet happy in no time.
The human being side of me kicks in from time to time, meaning I sometimes throw tantrums back at her trantrums. Well again, just like what the philosopher in me always says that children are sent to us to humble us, I become a little better each time and do not let the dissapointment and frustration get me as much now.
A valuable lesson I have learned though: Disciplining your children is actually discipling yourselves at the same time. So I am also the one who needs discipline. Let's all work together taking this Sana opportunity. :)
I am more concerned about Sana's discipline than about her current language skills. So I guess I should start with establishing a schedule. Especially that I am going to start my school this September. We will need all the nice schedule we can get.
Sana is throwing tantrums when she does not get her ideas through. At some point she hit us in the face, most of the time she would just go lie down on the floor with tears. Most of the time, I handle it nicely. I would talk to her to see some reasonable options and if she kept being fussy, I would put her down and give her some time alone. She usually got back on her feet happy in no time.
The human being side of me kicks in from time to time, meaning I sometimes throw tantrums back at her trantrums. Well again, just like what the philosopher in me always says that children are sent to us to humble us, I become a little better each time and do not let the dissapointment and frustration get me as much now.
A valuable lesson I have learned though: Disciplining your children is actually discipling yourselves at the same time. So I am also the one who needs discipline. Let's all work together taking this Sana opportunity. :)
Catching Up, Language
Sana is being exposed to multi languages beyond her own choice. In my adult point of view, it is an advantage. While she can clearly understand what we speak, English, Chinese, Punjabi, Urdu, she has also pronounced a few words in each of those languages and mostly English. I think that she figures that we all speak English the most frequently.
Some words she says:
English:
1. I can't stop it.
2. What's this/that?
3. Who's this/that?
4. Wait.
5. Mine.
6. LoLo (for lotion)
7. looloo (for look)
8. tum (for come)
9. Nana (for food and milk)
10. Allah ( for Allah and music)
11. water
Chinese:
1. yu2, fish
2. la1ji1, garbage
3. xie4xie4, thanks
Very sad, I can't seem to recall more than this.
When we ask her to do something, she can follow the instructions now. But when we ask her to point to something like "Can you show me where the bird is?" she will just smile and look at you. She either thinks this is too retarded a question we are asking, or simply does not understand at all. Either way, I will take it.
Some words she says:
English:
1. I can't stop it.
2. What's this/that?
3. Who's this/that?
4. Wait.
5. Mine.
6. LoLo (for lotion)
7. looloo (for look)
8. tum (for come)
9. Nana (for food and milk)
10. Allah ( for Allah and music)
11. water
Chinese:
1. yu2, fish
2. la1ji1, garbage
3. xie4xie4, thanks
Very sad, I can't seem to recall more than this.
When we ask her to do something, she can follow the instructions now. But when we ask her to point to something like "Can you show me where the bird is?" she will just smile and look at you. She either thinks this is too retarded a question we are asking, or simply does not understand at all. Either way, I will take it.
Catching Up, Mobility
Running: Sana sort of started running four months ago.
Dancing: She likes moving along with music. She has also developed a lot of moves that should be categorized into this entry. She holds her arms high in the sky and moves up and down, spins, touches the floor with one foot at a time, holding hands behind her back, shaking head, kicking legs one at a time.
Excercising: We had an Air Walker excercise machine that I use. After observing for a few times, she decides to go on this machine and do whatever I do there. And she loves me to jump rope in front of her, which I should do more often.
As a result, she has got some strong muscles. If you don't believe, just wait until you get a kick from her.
Dancing: She likes moving along with music. She has also developed a lot of moves that should be categorized into this entry. She holds her arms high in the sky and moves up and down, spins, touches the floor with one foot at a time, holding hands behind her back, shaking head, kicking legs one at a time.
Excercising: We had an Air Walker excercise machine that I use. After observing for a few times, she decides to go on this machine and do whatever I do there. And she loves me to jump rope in front of her, which I should do more often.
As a result, she has got some strong muscles. If you don't believe, just wait until you get a kick from her.
Catching Up, birthday
It has been over a year since I last blogged about Sana's little life and of course due to all kinds of technical difficulties I am facing. The computer is not reading Chinese and hence I cannot type Chinese, pictures are stored in another computer, the other blog is not accessible to everybody so I had to do a lot of repeated reporting which took extra time, etc, etc. After reading so many friends' blogs, I finally realize one thing, I can blog here as well! I know, smart me. Such a quick learner am I!
So some quick feed, serving as a memory aid for the future.
We celebrated Sana's 2nd birthday at PA 125th Annual Fair. There were lots of rides, races, and food. We went in the Exhibition and heard a "m-oo" and ever since Sana was following "mimi" (her word for all non-human moving creatures), be it the cow, the horse, even the bird!
We watched the chuckwagon and chariotwagon races (betting only between the two of us and we agreed on most of them) while Sana napped in my arms and on my lap (she is too long for my arms only now). We came out to enjoy the rides after Sana woke up.
She didn't really enjoy the merry-go-round ride the first time until it stopped! Then she cried on the motorcycle ride, very badly. After having some food, she came back and asked for a second ride on the merry-go-round and this time she enjoyed it.
She was still too small for all rides and the good part was that she got a balloon and was all happy. We concluded the celebration with an icecream cake from DQ.
So some quick feed, serving as a memory aid for the future.
We celebrated Sana's 2nd birthday at PA 125th Annual Fair. There were lots of rides, races, and food. We went in the Exhibition and heard a "m-oo" and ever since Sana was following "mimi" (her word for all non-human moving creatures), be it the cow, the horse, even the bird!
We watched the chuckwagon and chariotwagon races (betting only between the two of us and we agreed on most of them) while Sana napped in my arms and on my lap (she is too long for my arms only now). We came out to enjoy the rides after Sana woke up.
She didn't really enjoy the merry-go-round ride the first time until it stopped! Then she cried on the motorcycle ride, very badly. After having some food, she came back and asked for a second ride on the merry-go-round and this time she enjoyed it.
She was still too small for all rides and the good part was that she got a balloon and was all happy. We concluded the celebration with an icecream cake from DQ.
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