Stellaluna

Joy calls this book "alluna" and we have read it about 6 times a day since we borrowed it from the library. 

She cries when she thinks about StellaLuna being separated from her bird friends. She says "alluna cried mommy".  She always laughs when Stellaluna finally meets the other bats.  We have quite the empathetic two year old in our house. 

Science Museum dinosaur exhibit

We took an adventure down to the science Museum so the kids could see the dinosaur exhibit. Joy loved the dinosaurs. I was afraid she would think they were too scary. 

Simon playing with stuffed dog

Simon loves to laugh and really loves stuffed animals (and when Joy entertains him) 

I'm 2

Here are a few videos I forgot to post on her birthday post!

Dear Zoo

Joy knows that when we go to Oregon this summer she gets to go to the zoo. Aunty Julie and Uncle Tyler bought her "Dear Zoo" in anticipation of the fun event. Thanks for the birthday books!

Joy's 2nd Birthday party!

Joy's 2nd birthday was a circus theme. Grandma and Grandpa brought animal cookies from the USA, fun paper products and masks for all the kids. We had so much fun! 

Putting on Joy's party dress from Grandma and Grandpa in Bend (Joy actually calls that Grandma "Hokey Dinah Namma")

 This year I remembered to take a family picture before the party....but forgot to take a picture of all the kids at the party. Oh well!

 How special that "Namma and Ganpa" (how Joy says Grandma and Grandpa) came all the way to Hong Kong to be here for Joy's special day.

 OHH there are two candles! Joy loved everyone singing "Happy birthday to you", loved blowing out the candles, opening presents and chasing balloons around the house. She talked about it the rest of the day.

Our big girl! We love you Joy so very much. 

 

Grandma and Grandpa brought lots of presents...we parceled them out throughout the week since the weather was cold and rainy and we had to stay indoors. 

Joy is 2 years old!

 

I think these monthly posts are coming to an end now that Joy is two. I may just do them every 4-6 months. Where have the years gone? Pictures from her birthday will be coming soon! 

What Joy is doing 

• We started potty training and it is going really well. We have a few accidents every few days (twice pee and once poop....REALLY GROSS) and we use pull ups when we are out (I am not that brave yet). Her pull up has been dry when we leave the house and I bring the little ikea potty with us which is SO much better than trying to balance a 2 year old on an adult potty. 
• Can count to 10 
• Still singing "frosty the snow man". If there is a lul in the conversation or she is alone she busts out at the top of her lungs "FROSTY THE SNOWMAN BE CAN BE" :-) 
• Still wants to sit in Simon's bouncy seat and baby gym 
• Has been staying with the kids in mom's group which we both LOVE :-)
• puts away her toys...may this last forever
• She has started playing with Simon (handing him toys, and playing "this little piggy" on his toes!)

• Total teeth: 16! Still waiting on the 2 year old molars
  

What Joy is saying: 
*Grandma taught her to say "seha" after coughing (Arabic word for "health"), and Joy says that all the time now!
* loves to say "What is that called?" as she learns new words
* Octopust = octopus
* mook= milk

 Eats: 

• Loves: Our girl loves to eat: Her favorites are: eggs with spinach, homemade chicken noodle soup, pumpkin soup and shaushaa (sausage). The girl is a carnivore! 
• Dairy Free: We have reintroduced dairy and Joy seems ok. She loves plain yogurt and really sour keefer (with tons of bok choy in it..kind of gross but healthy). She hasn't drank a whole cup of milk yet but we are starting to thin out her almond milk and see how it goes. She doesn't like cheese much, especially melted. 
• Still gives us trouble: when she eats too much fruit or nuts!

Sleeps:

•  Night time: 7pm-between 6-7am. On the weekend she sleeps until 7 and during the week she is up at 6.....no one likes daddy's alarm!
• Naps: One afternoon nap (2 hours-if I'm lucky 2.5 hours). 

Likes:

* the new hair bows from Grandma Lorna
*playing hide and seek with grandma and grandpa Condie
* going bye bye
* walking and pushing her stroller (although she will still ride in it!) 

Is learning.....
* to be gentle will Simon...it comes and goes.
*to NOT run away when she is walking with us (ie hold our hand).
*how to deal with life when she doesn't get her way....it still usually involves her flayling on the floor 

  
That crazy face that Joy is making is her new "smile" face. Got to love two year olds!

Dislikes: 

*Really dislikes having "messy hands" while eating  and needs them wiped all the time. However she was fine with the messy sand at the beach!
*Not getting her own way! Having to leave a place she loves before saying goodbye to it.
*Time outs (which is good because when we would threaten time outs she would say OK!)

Favorite event: Having grandma and grandpa Condie for 10 days.

Joy you are a delight to have in our family. You and Simon make our family complete.  We love your exuberance and personality. 

Simon is 6 months

What Simon is doing

• loves to kick his legs and can make the bouncy seat bounce. 
• Grabs toys and chews on them
• likes tummy time 
• rolls over, but doesn't really do it tons 
• Sucking two of his fingers (he doesn't even need his blankie, that will be hard to break!)
• Eating solid food! 
• Sleeping LONG chunks at night YAY

Eats: Simon loves SOLID FOOD and cries when he has eaten all his food.  We started at 5.5 months.
Nursing: Nurses every 2-3 hours. He still nurses quick but is doing a much better job now that he isn't eating 6 times at night!
Solid food: Simon is doing a great job with solid food. He is ok with lumps and pretty thick texture. He eats three small meals a day (he scarfed down green beans today with no breastmilk)

• Loves: pumpkin, green beans, rice, oatmeal
• Verdict is still out on: 
• Introducing this week:carrots
• Need to try again: avocado (he spit up a lot when he ate it)

Sleeps: Chinese New year was major baby sleep boot camp. It went really well praise God! He was getting up 4-6 times a night before sleep training. We started before the holiday to get him to fall asleep on his own. Then we got him to midnight the first night, then 2am, then 4am then 6am! He has been going through a growth spurt so I have been feeding him at 4am the last few days. I can feed him once in the night for a while I feel like a new woman getting a good chunk of sleep! *update: a lot of teething pain for the little guy= lots of night waking again. Poor boy

Naps: He is taking 2-3 naps a day. He likes to nap in his bed. We are doing a little nap sleep training to get him past his 40 minute wake up. He has been doing very well the last two days. We have a very easy tempered little boy.  He doesn't' sleep that long in the Ergo anymore ;(

Weighs: 14.5 lbs (25.9 inches)

Likes: loves watching Rudy! loves his green blankie from grandma Susan, loves interacting with people, likes solid food and going for walks in the Ergo

Dislikes: being left alone, when Joy sits on him (can't blame him!)

Favorite event this month: loved having Grandma and Grandpa visit. What a treat!

Grandma and grandpa day 2

Fun day at the beach 

Joy loved being buried! 

This is her smile face

Sporting her new clip from grandma in bend 

Grandma and grandpa day 1

Day 1:  walk around tai Po (no pictures!) and then an evening in Sai Kung. Joy loves namma and grandpa