New Start

Sana has been away from me for almost two months now. I was all good until these past two weeks, I am missing her like crazy. I was feeling so stressed and exhausted that I couldn't wait to be alone for a while. All that is going away now. I want my Sana back with me. I feel that I am ready to take on my life now.

Sleep training?

Sana has been co-sleeping with us ever since she was born, meaning she either shares the bed with us or shares the room with us.

As she is a fast-growing little being, the crib/toddler bed is to be outgrown soon. There is no way we would be able to fit two big beds in one bedroom. So I know, it is TIME to help her to go on her own.

So we tried, so many things. We put a small customized poster on her bedroom door claiming it is Sana's room; we put the small TV in her room; I slept with her in her bed and came out after she is fast asleep; we transferred her into her bed after she fell asleep in our bed; we kept emphasizing this is Sana's room; we kept cheer her up for her small world. Well, nothing really worked. She would wake up around 1 am EVERY night to look for me; and would do the same thing again around 5 am. Neither daddy nor me believe in letting her cry during sleep.

I ordered some kid style bedding this time. Nothing commercialized like Mermaid or Thomas the Train. We went for some cartoonized little people on the linen, those people even have freckles on their faces, in short, very cute.

We put the bedding on the mattress right on Sana's birthday. She fell in love with it instantly. Despite the fact that she just woke up five minutes ago, she went straight under the comforter and claimed, "this is mine! my bed!"

And she has been sleeping in her own bed, her own room since then. It is just with auntie for the time being. So we shall see what happens after auntie leaves.

conversation

The three of us are sitting at the dinner table. Daddy said with 100% of admiration to Sana, " you are so beautiful. If you were my age, I would have married you."

"That's silly." Sana responded.

Growing!

Sana has got a few new things to say.

"You are right!" Even though I personally do not encourage the idea of restricting young kids' thinking (like to tell them this is what it is, nothing else), Sana still sounds cute when she says this. This is clearly from our current babysitter, who really emphasizes on kids being correct. I do not oppose the idea of appropriate behavior, but I do not completely agree that they have to name things or playing some not-so-creative games (like the sticky dinosaur) correctly. Why do I have to put down so many words yet still feel I haven't expressed explicitly? It is all one word "creativity" that I am after. This is one of those times that I wish I could afford (financially, physically, and emotionally) to be with my kid(s) and watch them closely at least until they are 6.

"Which one do you like?" And she really would give you the one you like. This fact I love. And please do not get it wrong. She has boundaries. She does not share everything. I always wonder at such miracle. This is not only Sana, it is about kids, young kids. I call it a miracle because sharing with certain boundaries is such a complicated idea yet these little persons have been gracefully handling it since such an early age.

" I've got a plan!" Then she went on elaborating about it, most of it understood by herself only. Then she would ask, "ok?" If you said "ok". She would be so excited and tell you, "follow me". Then all you have to do is to follow her lead. I always let her take the lead when time allows and safety issue is under control.

" Are you ready to go?" She is such a bundle of energy, always on the go. This has two positive effects: she gets ready by herself; and she sometimes helps you to get ready by bringing your shoes and reminding you of the keys...

"Awesome!" This one sounds so surreal coming out of a two-year-old!

" Too~~~ Pre~~~tty~~~" What a girly girl!

Sana's First I Love You

Daddy has been away for three weeks now. Sana is missing him every day. On the first few nights, Sana would turn around to face me in bed and utter a sad word, "daddy". I asked her if she was missing daddy and she answered yes. "Are you missing daddy so much that you cannot sleep right now?" This question returned a nod.

So I try my best to cheer her up. I keep a busy schedule with her. She goes to our babysitter for the day while I work. When I finish working, our program starts. Sometimes I take her to see bunnies, sometimes on the swing at the playground, sometimes we go for a ride.

Last night, I told her that we would go run a few errands and then we would go for ice cream. She was so looking forward to it, the ice cream part. We went to the mall after the housing office, the bank, and the library. I got her an ice cream and then borrowed the car from the mall. Sana was in heaven, riding in the car with an ice cream cone in hand.

When I was scrutinizing in the store, Sana was enjoying her ice cream and the ride. We both won, I told myself. Right that moment, Sana said, " I love you, mommy."

Well, in the end I think I won. She only responded " I love you (too/three)" if we initiated it before.

Communication

I have been questioning, thinking, and trying to find answers to many questions. Apparently I forgot to express. Now that I would like to, I don't think I am able to express all of the questions I have been dealing with. Not that they are not important. I think all of them are important and the fact that I can not recall each and every one of them is giving me stress.

a few updates

Sana is evolving into a polite young lady.

She uses her manners: please, thank you, you are welcome, I'm sorry, it's ok...

Meanwhile, she stays in her childhood.

She says hi to everything, be it the plane in the sky, the flowers, the grass, the bunnies, the ducks, the fish, the trees, even the trucks on the roads. She is either genuinely treating everything and everyone equally as she says hi and bye and sorry to everything/everybody when appropriate, or just being a child who is yet to discover that only human beings share the ability to talk in the same way. 

She has a contagious fun-loving characteristic.

She chases after the animals; blows the dandelion; picks the flowers and puts in her hair; smells the flowers to see the difference between similar-looking ones; runs on the soccer field; plays field hockey with her small badminton racket; jumps on the sewage lids on the roads just to feel the vibration; embraces everything with "I like it", even when she walks in my office building.

Kids should just be kids. Can't be more true.

She Cares About Who?

Our friend flew in from Calgary for a short visit. Sana calls him Uncle Shan. She also keeps telling us "shhh, Uncle Shan is sleeping!"

She also tells me "shhh, daddy is sleeping!"

I have not been told by any source that she tells anyone "shhh, mommy is sleeping!"

Ok, I got it. I am awake all the time she is, and more.

Mothers need to be cared too.

I like it!

We went to the beach on the 15th of January in Chinese Lunar Calender, to appreciate the beautiful full moon that night. We took our teas along. Sana wanted to try my green tea. I let her take a sip, she put on a smile and said, "I like it". Then she finished my green tea for me. Small as she is, she already knows what she likes. Sometimes I do wonder, should it be my job or her job to teach her?

Random Continued

We moved into the family housing on campus.

Sana got sick. Ear infection, the first time in her life. Apparently it was painful. She fell in love with the pink antibiotics. It was finished three days ago and she was asking for "medicine" yesterday.

I had assignments due. The last piece was sent out midnight last night. So all is good and fresh. New assignments and exams coming up. School!

Daddy also stayed up late to file stories for BBC.

What happened to our new year resolution of not staying up late?

Victoria is beautiful as ever. We wake up with the birds chirping in the back. Small animals run in the forest steps away from our patio. Nature is a gift.

Random

Sana picked the black and red dress three mornings ago and asked me to put it on her. "Mommy, dance, " with a smile. This is the typical language she talks in. Then she surprised me by bringing out a dress and saying clearly "ok, we'll go with this one!"

"Happy ... to you, happy ... to you, happy ... dear Sana, happy ... to you". This is how she sings "happy birthday to you". I sang it twice and she was singing it with me the third time. The fourth time she is putting different people's names in the song. She totally got the idea. This is how I forgive her for not being able to spell "birthday" and many other words. Brain before tongue is considered a virtue by me anyway.

We read books. Sana has seen the sun, the moon, the stars, and the owl in the book. Somehow she made the connection and showed us the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky; then the owl in the movie "Bambi". Again, it is the idea that counts.

Above all, this is probably the only time in kids' life that they do not have to rush for things. Why pushing?

She keeps me balanced. This is how.

Bum-Bum The President and...

1. It was the inauguration ceremony day for the 44th president of the United States of America. I stayed home and watched the whole thing. Sana asked "who is this?" pointing at Obama, I answered her that was Obama. She said, O-bum-bum.

2. We put ourselves in bed at bedtime. I was just about to summarize the day for Sana, she started going over the names of all the people at daycare. She knew the names of all the daycare teachers', the kids' and the babies', and their mothers'. And she could even put them in groups. I asked her to name all the teachers, she would call out their names only. But she is not showing any sign that she actually knows my name, or daddy's name. Is this sad? Or is this sad!

Potty? Later.

Sana realized that going to the potty actually disturbed her play so she decided to put the diapers back on. Playing is more important, I agree.

Potty will come another time.

Potty?

When I got home this afternoon, Sana just refused to put on a new diaper after I washed her. So I thought we might as well start potty training.

After the first try, half on her panty and half in the potty, she did the second one by herself, meaning, walking to the potty and sitting down all by herself.

There were many wet pants later on and many half success in the potty but I would say this is a great start we are off to. Well, if we are going to stick to it for a few days. We shall see.

Yesterday and Surprises

Yesterday morning we were in a rush. I had a class at 9:30 and it was 9:19. When we came close to the traffic lights, they were turning yellow. Sana warned daddy, "stop"! But we were too close and it was just turning so daddy went right through it. Then Sana said, "Daddy, you didn't stop!"

In the afternoon when the daycare was over, daddy went to pick up Sana. She was all ready and the last one to be picked up. She was sitting on Shirley's lap and all the daycare staff were together having a meeting or something. The moment she saw daddy, she stood up from Shirley's lap and waved, said, "bye-bye, everybody!" Where did she learn this word "everybody"?

In the evening. We were at the door to the bathroom. She was trying to get my attention so she could go to wash her hands. I heard an "oh my God" from her. She is a small bundle of surprises!

Jokes, Manners, and a Big Girl

1. Last night Sana and I were going through the pictures we took over the winter break when QL was over. One was taken by QL, with M.A., Sana, and myself opening our lips into an "O" shape, just like the totem pole right beside us. Sana right away grasped the idea and said, "funny!" and started laughing as if she never laughed before.

The other day, Sana created a game to play. She ran towards me and rested her head against my thigh, then uttered, "excuse me, I almost fell (on you)".

She really has got a sense of humor and the ability to appreciate jokes.

2. Today we went shopping for groceries. Suddenly Sana found herself standing in front of a lady's shopping cart. She put on an apologetic face, said, "Oops, excuse me", then walked out of the way. Even though Sana's words were not so clear, the lady seemed to understand her fine. She couldn't help looking at Sana. I was equally amazed.

Drivers in Victoria usually stop for pedestrians when they cross the roads. Every time when someone stops for us, Sana would wave at the driver, smile, and say "thank you". Nice drivers would almost always wave and smile back.

It looks like Sana is developing some manners!!!

3. Sana does not like keeping her shoes on her feet when she is indoors. And a trip in the car is considered indoor as well. When we arrive at our destinations, I would have to put on the shoes for her. These days, she started saying, "I want to do it". She can put on her socks, shoes, and pants properly if no one is hurrying her.

A big girl to be!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I couldn't lose the weight that I wished to at the beginning of last year. And I forgive myself even before thinking about it. With this much going on in my life, I decided not to give myself too much hard time.

But this year, especially after moving into the on-campus housing, I am going to set excercising as a priority. I will think about excericising as something necessary in life, not something I have to squeeze time for. I may swim, jog, jump rope, yoga, etc. Whatever I decide to do, I will do it.

Then it shall be called a happy new year! :)

QL's visit

QL visited during the Christmas break. We had a blast. We enjoyed great food, great scenery, great picture-taking experience, great converstaions, great laughters, great shopping trips, and great moments observing and talking about Sana.