San Diego

Our little family doesn't travel much. We're just not the traveling type...we're not opposed to it, we just like being home...except recently I started getting a little sick of being home...so I suggested that we should at least take a short trip. So we did.

Good ol' San Diego...It was a really busy weekend in SD. C0mic-con was going on as well as Americ@n Idol auditions. Everywhere we went we saw people with name badges from the convention or armbands from the auditions. Matt participated in one of the two...you can take your guess on which one.

Here are some highlights of our trip...


UCSD...One of the best places in the world...


This is one of my favorites photos from the trip...they have the same smile


Bear enjoying a smoothie


A "Dar" (Star) that Bear was fascinated with at the tidepools at Se@ World


Bear playing at Sh@mu's Happy Harbor

We had a great time. Although one of us ended up rather gloomy looking by the end of the trip.



Guess it's time to do laundry again.

Toy Store Tantrums

I went to the toy store today with Bear. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just needed a place to walk around. After about 3 minutes into the store, I realized that I wouldn't be able to just walk around a toy store with Bear in the future. Everywhere I looked, kids were throwing fits and tantrums, crying out things like, "I want that toy" or "I want a bigger bike" and even "You are a mean mommy!" Granted it was about 4:00pm which is that time of day when kids start losing their sense of reason (and moms lose sanity). I saw a couple of mothers dragging their screaming children out of aisles or bribing their kids with things like popsicles to get them out of the store. I just patted Bear on the head, and said, "if you and I ever act like that, that's when I know we can't come to the toy store anymore, okay?" She responded, "kay."

Being Hit on by Boys

For being 19 months old, Bear does quite well when we go out. Even when she's tired, she's still easily distracted by food, water and toys (especially stickers!). She's my little trooper these days, especially since I've been trying to buy craft items for VBS. We've been all over looking for just the right items.

At one store I was pushing Bear around in a cart. I wanted to go through this one aisle, but another cart with a toddler was in the way. The mom was a few feet away discussing something with a friend so I didn't think she would be moving her cart anytime soon. I looked and I figured I could squeeze past the cart and toddler, but as we were passing by the little boy grabbed onto our cart and managed to maneuver his cart adjacent to ours. And then before I could do anything, he reached out his hand and hit Bear in the face!

I was stunned! And what was even weirder, the boy started crying...not Bear. The mom saw what happened and ran over apologizing furiously. She kept saying, "I'm so sorry...he's just tired." Bear just looked at the crying boy and the apologetic mother and then looked at me as if to say "what just happened?"

So I assured the mother she was okay, and quickly fled the scene. When I got away, I asked Bear is she was okay. Bear just simply replied, "Be'er(Better)" and nodded.

*Sigh* I guess unnecessary violence will happen. I just hope most of it can be shaken off with a nod.

Toddler-ese

If you know anything about me, you know that I'm really bad with languages other than English. I just have a mental block when it comes to learning other languages (I can form the sentences in my head, but they don't come out of my mouth). On the other hand, my mother speaks about 3 languages fluently, and can get by in a couple more. It's quite bizarre that my polyglot of a mother sired three monolinguistic children. Perhaps, it is true that immersion is the best way to learn a language.

I have been immersed. Everyday, I'm learning to speak a foreign language, one that I have come to call "Toddler-ese." Apparently, I'm getting quite good at the language because people are now asking me what Bear is trying to say...and sometimes I can tell them what she is trying to say. I am her interpreter.

But I do have to say that context truly does dictate much of what she is saying. I think if I closed my eyes and tried to figure out what she was saying without so much as a clue what she was doing, I'd fail miserably in my translation efforts.

Some of the more interesting things she's been saying lately:

pih-ee = "pretty" when she refers to jewelry and other shiny objects, future boyfriends beware.

boose = "juice" Although now that I look at it, it reminds me of "booze" and sometimes to my child she guzzles down that juice as if it were booze.

doh = "toe" Whenever her toe slips out of her sandals, she sits wherever she is and yells "DOH!" until I fix her shoe. She did that in the middle of a street once. Perhaps I should teach her about oncoming traffic.

chees = "trees" Uh, if my daughter ever emphatically points out a tree to you, it's because we pretend that trees are the most interesting things ever...which helps especially in a long car ride and you need a distraction. We just yell, "Look, it's a tree!" and she will stare in wonder.

booduh = "booger" Sometimes when I get frustrated with Bear I start to call her a "Booger." Naturally, she often repeats the word back to me.

beh = "bed" Ah, yes, one of our favorite words lately. She doesn't seem to mind naps and bedtime...and even when we try to keep her up (like at the retreat last weekend), if she is truly tired, she will forsake book reading time and just start yelling, "BEH BEH!"

Ah, Toddler-ese.

Catch Up

I haven't really posted much about what we've been doing these days. It's been more stories rather than events...so here's a little catch up on our summer.

1) Weddings - ah yes...wedding...we had some good friends of ours tie the knot this summer and it's been great celebrating with them. Here's Bear picking flowers at one of the weddings...



Congratulations to our dear friends, M & B and D & C!

2) 4th of July fun - We hung out with some of our family, ate lots of food, watched Bear down a bowl full of tomatoes and played fun games like B0ggle. Later on we went to watch the fireworks, where Bear and her friend S were running around sharing Cheet0s. Once the fireworks started, Bear started to cry a little, but soon calmed once Sonja came near.

3) Retreats - went on a church retreat this past weekend and we tried to introduce Bear to the swimming pool. We thought that she would like it, especially since she loves the bath so much. Instead she cried the whole 20 minutes in the pool and Daddy tried his hardest to entertain her. Here she is all dry and happy away from the scary pool.





Perhaps we'll have to try the pool again another time.

Well, now you're caught up with us...we hope you're all enjoying yourselves as well!

Speaking of which...

I was sorting through our pictures the other day, and I happened to find something rather disturbing...



I had to confront the guilty party at once (ahem...Dad) and ask him why there were pictures of Bear playing St@rcraft.

He said he needed to get her started early.

Busy...busy...summer

I know most people look forward to the summer. I don't. I think I tend to look forward to the wintertime. Summertime has always been just too busy for me. Even when I was teaching, although I had my summers off, it just felt busier. Isn't that weird?

This summer is no exception. I'm not sure what it is. I'm not complaining though...just making a casual observation.

A Lesson in Manners

Bear: Ma ma! Muuuuhhhh! (Bear comes running into the livingroom from the kitchen with a bag of uncooked macaroni)

Me: No, Bear. It's not cooked, you can't eat it.

Bear: Muh?

Me: No. Go put the pasta back.

Bear: Path-da (Pasta).

Me: Yes, put the pasta back on the shelf.

Bear: Bahk? (Back?)

Me: Yes, put the pasta back in the kitchen, on the shelf.

Bear: (Looks mom squarely in the eyes and says...) PEEZ!

Me: You want me to say "please"?

Bear: (nods) Peez.

Me: Okay, you're right. Will you please put the pasta back?

Bear: (Scurries away to the kitchen to put the pasta away)

Perhaps she's getting me back for all the times that I've been having her "ask nicely" for things lately.

Bear Speaks

Lately, Bear has been extra verbal...we don't always understand what she's telling us, but she's trying to tell us something. If we don't get it, she waves her arms around and yells louder. That still doesn't help us. Nor does it help with her impending frustration.

She has always been fairly expressive vocally. Her voice raises an octave when she talks to Sonja or smaller babies. When she's angry, she yells. When she is really hungry and yelling for "muuuuuhhhhh!"(more) she will roar like a tyrannosaurus rex. Seriously.

She just started stringing words together. Yesterday in the car, I heard, "ma ma, peez bhup" (Mommy, please cup). Today she told me, "boo boo pah-ee" as she was sitting on her potty. This morning she said, "sid chae beow" (sit chair bear) when she found her pooh bear sitting in her booster seat or "boon bap" (spoon rice) when she was shoveling rice at lunch.

I just need to learn to be patient to listen to what Bear is trying to tell me...or I need to hire a translator. Anyone out there speak Baby?

Things I'd love to learn...

1. ...how to take proper photos
2. ...how to organize my home
3. ...how to play the drums
4. ...how to do brush calligraphy
5. ...how to cook better Korean food
6. ...how to sing jazz
7. ...how to start my own business
8. ...how to cover a couch
9. ...how to drive a manual transmission car
10. ...how to decorate a cake

Physical Therapist Daddy

Yesterday, we had this conversation:

Bear: "Sduhk!" (Stuck!)

Daddy: "Um, Bear is trying to lift a 5 pound bag of potatoes."

Mommy: "What? That's like a fifth of her weight!"

Bear: "SDUHK!"

Daddy: "Bear! Lift with your legs, not your back!"

How in the World?

These past couple of days have been kind of a nightmare cramming for potty training. I wasn't planning on potty training for a while, but somehow...and Matt and I are just so confused about the whole thing...somehow Bear decided to start potty training herself. Seriously. No joke. Not even exaggeration for effect.

A couple of days ago, as I was changing Bear's diaper, she told me she needed to go. I was taken aback. After a couple of seconds I snapped back to sense and ran her to the potty. After a minute or two, she happily held out her hands and said, "aw dun" (which means "all done"). And sure enough her potty was full...(number 1 if you must know).

I was stunned...and totally UNPREPARED! I was trying to decide what to do next. So I firmly told Bear to stay seated and ran to get a diaper and wipes. Of course, when I returned 5 seconds later, I found Bear standing up with one foot in her potty (ew!).

Okay, so she's not fully potty trained or anything, but this wasn't a one-time-only performance and number 1 hasn't been the only thing I've found these past couple of days. And in the meantime, Matt and I are just watching with astonishment...mostly because we're not sure what to do next...or how she learned about using the potty in the first place.

So if you catch us in the next couple of days and we have these befuddled looks upon our faces, you'll know why.

In the News today... "My life for Aiur" (by Padawanlee)

I very rarely post or blog, Momma Bear seems to have this blogging all under control. I guess I'm not much of a blogger unless something random catches my attention...like a story about an unlucky nectarine or what inhabits the freezer. Today as I was getting my daily fix of news I came across this article that invokes memories from my college days...well, what I can remember of them. I shared this article with Momma Bear and all she had to say was "I guess I won't see you for a while". Now why on earth would she say that?

Well anyone who knows about or is a fan of (or shudders) at zergling rushes or remembers the declaration of a "Nuclear Launch Detected" will eventally hear about the announcement of the unveiling of St@rcraft 2. Until it actually does come out (who knows when), Momma Bear and all the other significant others who lost their loved ones to the original game, can rest assured that they will still be able to see us as much as they want...at least for the time being.

Parallel Universe

My sister and I used to ask each other what we thought our life would be like if we were in a parallel universe. I used to joke with her that I would have been a rock star or a songwriter or something of that sort. She would then tell me what she would have been in a parallel universe (I won't tell you what that was...you can ask her yourself).

The other day I was thinking about this question again, and you know what I came up with this time? A paper sculptor. I know! You're thinking, "what in the world!?! (or possibly, "what a dork!")", right? But I realize that I really like paper. It's just a piece of paper, but it can become all sorts of things...cards, sculptures, books, origami, etc...Paper can be quilled, folded, ripped, dyed, shredded...Paper is just so much fun! Hee hee...but yeah, keep in mind I'm still talking about a parallel universe here. :)

So how about you? What would you be doing in a parallel universe?

Mother's Day Weekend

This past weekend we flew to visit all the grandparents. Remember how worried I was about Bear's first plane trip? Well, here she is after getting off the plane.



No sign of unhappiness at all. The only problem was that her mommy got a little queasy on the flight home. Bear Cub got compliments all around from nearby passengers on how "good" she was. Figures. I worry over things that needn't be worried about.

On to Mother's Day weekend...

My sister (with the help of her sous-chefs) made a wonderful brunch...very fancy shmancy...Bear practically ate half of the baked brie on her own. Pictured here are the yummy apricot tarts.



Bear spent her whole weekend traveling up the stairs at her grandma and grandpa's house.



When she wasn't traveling upstairs, she was following her grandpa around saying "pa-pa" or opening and closing the door saying "doh!"

The funny thing was that I forgot that I was a mother, too. Whenever someone wished me a "Happy Mother's Day" I thought they were talking to someone else at first. Ha ha. I guess even after 2 Mother's Days, I still haven't quite gotten used to being "mommy."

Hope all of you out there had wonderful Mother's Days, too.

Fear of Flying

The title should read "Fear of Flying with a Toddler."

We haven't taken Bear on a plane ride yet. This Friday will be the first time. We're a little wary. Of course, I shouldn't worry too much seeing how most of my fears in the past were abated because of our worry-free, happy-go-lucky child...but nevertheless, I worry.

I don't do well on planes. Never have. My mom tells me horror stories of my plane rides. I remember living some of those horror stories. I must have had terribly bad inner ears, because I could not stand the pressure change going up and down on the plane. Add on top how easily I succumb to motion sickness, and plane rides were never easy.

But so far, Bear has proven that although she may look a lot like me, she doesn't act a whole lot like me (and we're still trying to figure out who she does act like). I am an introvert. She is a total extrovert. She loves pink, fluffy things. I don't really enjoy pink & fluffy too much. She loves putting on jewelry and socks and carrying purses. I just don't have that knack for accesorizing.

So perhaps she'll be just fine on the plane...she'll eat snacks, drink some juice, make friends with the rows of people around her, and arrive at our destination happily...and I'll have worried for nothing.

Toddler Strategy

Matt and I have been more and more tired these days. Raising a toddler sometimes feels like you are raising a herd of wild animals. But not just any wild animals...wild animals who strategize and game plan. We've come to familiarize ourselves with some of Bear's tactics.

The Bait & Switch: Once bathtime is over, we have a toddler who does not want to come out of the tub. Her tactic, when we reach in, she quickly pulls the switcheroo by grabbing our hands and pushing a rubber ducky in instead.

Misdirection: Bear knows which household items she shouldn't play with (namely: the bathroom cabinets). Her strategy is to point us towards her room as if she wants to play there. Once we enter, she asks us to retrieve an item. Once our back is turned, she makes a beeline for the bathroom cabinets. Tricky.

Misinformation: This is similar to misdirection, except it involves the phone. Bear hands me the phone, cries out "Da Dee" (yes, she finally started calling daddy something other than his first name). After asking about 10 times, I call Matt, but by the time Matt answers, Bear is halfway across the apartment making mischief. And I feel like a sucker.

Emotional Manipulation: I don't know how she does it, but this kid can get about anything she wants. She seems to know the right emotion to "act" for each person she comes in contact with. With "Da Dee" she gives him the "oh-so-cute" smile and giggles, races up to the door to greet him when he comes home, and promptly will ask him for something that I just told her "no" to about 5 minutes ago. With Auntie R, she is utterly persistent. She will repeat herself over and over again, until Auntie finally gives in. With Granny, she gives the hugs and kisses - and somehow Granny always seems to show up with little gifts for her. With Grandma & Grandpa, she does the "fake cry" whereupon Grandma & Grandpa will instantly swipe her out of our hands to comfort her and give her whatever she wants. Even with the general public, she pretends to be shy and gives this mischievous smile, shows them Sonja, and says, "Doh Dya"...and I always hear how "she's such an angel"...And somehow she works her charm and by the time we leave a restaurant, all the surrounding tables are waving and saying goodbye to Bear (seriously! It happens all the time!).

So beware, take heed and don't fall for her "evil genius" strategies. And if you are one of those out there who have been victimized by Bear's charisma and charm, we sympathize with you for being duped by our toddler...If you haven't yet...uh, don't say we didn't warn you.

Boo!

I haven't posted much in the past couple of days because our family has been under the weather. Baby Bear, who got the bug first and therefore is recovering first, has been running around our apartment as she pleases (sometimes you lose the will to parent when your head feels like it's going to implode). I was sofa-bound. Sitting or standing was dizzying for a couple of days there. I've been feeling better, but sometimes I still have to sit down for a spell.

Today she meandered over to the kitchen, played with some of the plasticware and returned to where I was sitting, pointed to her diaper and said, "Boo!"

I thought Nah, she couldn't be telling me...

So I changed her diaper, and sure enough she had "Boo."

I told my mom what happened. She replied, "That means it's time to start thinking about potty training."

What?! Oh "Boo."

Yogurt

I admit it. I let Bear feed herself most of the time. I realize that it usually means there will be a horrible mess to clean up, but I figure that she's going to have to learn sometime. Although I guess it might have gotten a little out of hand today.



I gave her a bowl of yogurt, a spoon, and a couple of graham crackers. This is what resulted. I'm guessing the yogurt exploded.

Turmoil...

I had to turn off the television. Every news channel has this story plastered all over. It's weird because the other day when Matt and I were watching The @pprentice I was commenting on how Asians were starting to appear more mainstream on television. I guess that has to include the bad news, too.

So I turned off the television because I couldn't watch anymore. And I heard yelling outside our door and our window. Van man has been asked to leave quite a few times. Our building manager has come to talk to him. His ex has come over and yelled at him a few times (of which he responded with a few expletives). His sister came over and yelled at him (of which he responded with a few expletives). A guy friend of his ex has come and had discussions with him. Seriously, I'm not eavesdropping...they're just that loud. I try to ignore it, but when they're yelling right outside your doors and windows, it's hard to tune out. At present, he is yelling at someone...I don't know who.

So I turned the television back on. Maybe I'll find some old Cosby show reruns.