happy 6 month birthday to baby sister!

things she likes:

• carrots.  just like me, that’s what she got for her 6 month birthday.   i think she likes them.  she was yelling in between each bite — i think because mommy wasn’t feeding her fast enough.  either that, or she didn’t like the carrots.  hard to tell.
• playing with my iphone.  she has her own iphone, but she always wants to play with the one that i’m using.  when i’m playing “words”, she touches the screen and guesses all the wrong letters.  and when i’m playing my youtube videos, she touches the screen and pauses the video when i’m trying to watch!
• flirting with all my friends.  from the way she was flirting with logan, i thought for sure that there was something going on there.  but it seems that she flirts with all my friends!  i’m afraid that this might be a sign of things to come.
• walking.  she doesn’t seem to want to crawl as much as i did when i was her age, but she definitely wants to walk.  if you hold her standing up, she lifts her feet and takes steps forward.

things she doesn’t like:

• being away from mommy.  she is usually okay with other people during the daytime.  but in the evening, she only wants mommy.  she makes that very clear by screaming and crying and screaming and crying until she passes out from exhaustion.

i am 2 1/4 years old.   here what i’ve been up to these days.

daily schedule:

• 7:00am:  wake up.
• 8:00am:  1st breakfast
• 10:30am:  2nd breakfast
• 1:00pm:  lunch
• 3:00pm:  ~2 hour nap
• 5:30pm:  snack
• 7:00pm:  dinner
• 8:45pm:  start bedtime routine (shower, brush teeth, etc.)
• 9:30pm:  lights out.  bedtime stories and songs.
• 10:00pm:  zzz…

things i’m good at:

• naming colors and letters
• counting to 10
• picking out my own outfits.  i picked the outfit that i’m wearing in this photo.  look how color-coordinated i am!  so what if i wanted to wear my pajama pants all day — mama does it, so why can’t i?

things i’m working on:

• using the potty.  lately, i tell mommy “pee-pee” and “poo-poo” so i can sit on or stand over the potty, but i don’t go pee-pee or poo-poo until after we leave the bathroom.
• dressing and undressing all by myself.  i still need help getting my shirts on and off my big head.

things that make me laugh:

• farts
• putting “lips in” and shaking them all about (doing the hokey pokey)
• tickle torture.  no fair that i am so ticklish!

things i do that do NOT make mommy and dada laugh:

• fake sleep.  i do this mostly when there’s something on my plate that i don’t want to eat.  i lean my head back, close my eyes, and let out a very convincing fake snore.
• throw food or “accidentally” drop it on the ground
• bounce off the walls.  literally.  i run through the house and bounce off the walls when i have too much pent up energy.  i learned this from koda.

favorite indoor activities:

• “reading” in kyden-language.  not my fault that it sounds like jibberish to everyone else.
• playing trains
• playing the piano
• helping out in the kitchen — making lattes, baking, washing dishes…

favorite outdoor activities:

• climbing.  i’ll climb anything — rock wall, chairs, fences…
• skating
• slides
• playing hopscotch

favorite book: “brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?”  did you know that you can make the story into a song?

favorite song:  “the wheels on the bus”.  in mommy’s car, i make her play the song (on CD) on repeat.  in dada’s car, mama and dada sing it.  and i make everyone in the car do all the hand motions with me.

favorite iphone app:  youtube (to watch videos of myself or trains), hanging with friends (more on this in a future post)

favorite sayings:  “uh-oh”, “no no no”

favorite foods that i’m only allowed one bite of:  brownies, meringues

favorite characters:  thomas the train, elmo

happy 5 month birthday to baby sister!

things she likes:

• rolling over.  sometimes she rolls around and kicks me in the butt.  i don’t like that.
• sitting up.  when i was 5 months old, mommy and dada said that i looked like an orangutan because i planted my fists on the floor to balance.  baby sister doesn’t look like a primate.  i’m not sure if she just has better core strength than i did or if she just has a short torso like mommy.
• doing backflips.  she lets mommy spot her even though mommy is not a good spotter.
• interactive toys that make noise and/or flash lights when she pulls/spins/presses/taps them.  she is not as into the exersaucer as i was at her age, though.
• sleeping with mommy and dada.  no fair.  when i was her age, i was already sleeping by myself in the co-sleeper.

things she doesn’t like:

• not having mommy nearby.  sometimes when baby sister is crying, nobody can do anything to console her.  but as soon as mommy touches her, she smiles.  she is definitely a mama’s girl.  dada says that i was the same way when i was her age.

happy 4 month birthday to baby sister!

things she likes:

• rolling from tummy to back.  when she does it, she gives a big smile and celebration dance.
• being tickled.  she is sooo ticklish!
• grabbing and holding things.  she’s getting better and better at it.  she can even hold her own teething ring.  sort of.  i still help her sometimes.
• watching me.  sometimes i dance, sometimes i read to her, sometimes i’m just minding my own business and watching videos on my iphone.  but whatever i’m doing, baby sister likes to watch me.
• my cheater chair.  it helps her sit up like a big kid.  and now that she’s using it, i like to sit in it too.  so we share
• her fingers.  she sometimes sucks on her thumb when she’s sleeping, but she prefers sucking on 2 or 3 of her fingers when she’s awake.
• the dr. seuss crinkly paper at the doctor’s office.  she smiles at the cat in the hat and tries to grab him right off the paper.  one day, she’ll be traumatized by crinkly paper, just like i am.

things she doesn’t like:

• rolling from back to tummy.  she doesn’t like it because she can’t do it yet.  she gets frustrated because she can’t quite clear her shoulder.

happy 3 month birthday to baby sister!

things she likes:

• singing. when mama sings to her, baby sister joins in. then everyone starts laughing because it’s so darn cute. then baby starts laughing. next thing you know, everyone is in hysterics.
• smiling and laughing. baby sister is always so happy!
• sucking on her fingers. she hasn’t discovered her thumbs, yet.
• her wash ‘n go hairstyle. i think it’s wild (not in a good way). but, whatever. it’s her hair.
• kicking and punching.  really, she’s just flailing her arms and legs wildly about.  she doesn’t stop moving, except when she’s sleeping.
• sitting up (with assistance). she likes having a view that isn’t a white ceiling.
• “flying” on mama legs. i guess you could call it elevated tummy time.

things she doesn’t like:

• lying on the right side of her head. and it’s not just that her head naturally rolls that way when she’s on her back. even when she’s on her tummy, she turns her head so that she’s lying on the already-flat left side of her head. this makes it hard to know if her head is flat because she’s always laying on that side or if it’s because the sutures in her skull fused too early
• blankets. she kicks them off of herself even when it’s cold.

happy birthday to me

things i like:

• baby sister.  i love being a big brother.
• drawing and coloring.  i like to draw on the table, my clothes, my hands and face, and sometimes on paper.
• keys.  i like to play with real keys.  i also like to put any long object (like screwdrivers) into anything like looks like a key hole (like electrical outlets).
• taking photos of myself.  i have mastered the extended-arm self-portrait.
• looking at photos and videos of myself.  (dada says i’m vain.)
• making phone calls and talking to my peeps.
• interactive songs like “hokey pokey” and “itsy bitsy spider”
• clinking my cup during toasts.  i learned that at the two weddings i went to last month.
• trains.  i love little trains (my train table and wooden train set), medium sized trains (train rides at gilroy gardens, the oakland zoo, and my birthday party), and big trains (waving at the light rail and railroad trains) — i am an equal opportunity train lover.
• helping mama and dada cook and bake.  my specialty is chocolate chip cookies.
• putting away my clothes in my dresser drawers after mama washes and folds them
• clearing dirty dishes off the table and putting them in the sink to be washed
• taking koda for walks.  when koda goes to get his collar, i get the plastic bag from the cabinet.  i especially like nighttime walks because i get to hold the flashlight and lead the way
• rock climbing.  actually, i like climbing anything.
• walking up and down the stairs.  sometimes i use the handrails.  sometimes i don’t.  (mama gets freaked out.)

things i don’t like:

• valet parking. why are mama and dada letting strangers drive away in our car???
• when someone tries to take a photo of baby sister without me in it.  i always manage to make my way into the photo.
• getting my hair cut.  i was okay with it for awhile, but i don’t like it any more.
• my doctor’s office.  one look at the exam room, and i bolt for the door.

happy 2 month birthday to baby sister!

things she likes:

• pulling her hair.  she grabs a fistful of hair and pulls it so hard that she makes herself cry.  dummy.
• pulling mama’s hair
• clawing at her eyes and face
• blowing bubbles and sticking out her tongue
• trying to stand up on her feet.  (yeah right, good luck with that!)
• bathtime
• curling up next to mama.  no matter where they start off at the beginning of the night, baby sister manages to wriggle herself right next to mama.

things she doesn’t like:

• blankets.  she kicks them off and soon as i (or anyone) covers her.
• lying on her back.  she sleeps so much better on her tummy or when she is being held.
• manicures.  she clenches her fists so mommy can’t trim her nails.
• the de-boogerizer
• vitamin drops.  she gargles it and spits it out so that she has to swallow as little as possible.  thank goodness i never had to eat that stuff.  it must taste gross.

things i like:

• spitting, kicking, hitting, and throwing things.  my “terrible twos” started at 15 months and i am now peaking.  at least, mama and dada hope and pray that this is the worst of it.
• taking showers.  i shower every day, like a big boy.  i haven’t taken a bath in over a month!
• peeing in the shower.  i did it one time on accident, and it was hilarious to see water coming out of me!
• “reading” by myself.  i read books, receipts, instruction pamphlets, and anything that has printing on it.  they all say the same thing: “ree-ree, ree-ree, ree-ree”.
• bounce houses!  well, i haven’t spent much time in actual jumpy houses, but i looove the maze, obstacle course, slide, and other inflatables at pump it up jr.
• taking photos of myself
• making iphone voice memo recordings
• stacking blocks to build tall towers
• receipts.  i love them.  nobody understands my fascination with them.
• giving gentle high fives and fist bumps to baby sister
• sharing with baby sister.  i share my juice, iphone, and all my toys, but she never wants to play with me.
• being burped like baby sister.  i’ll explain in my next blog entry.
• watching koda try to snatch flies out of the air.  he thinks he’s mr. miyagi from the “karate kid” movie.
• playing fetch with koda.  i give him the sit command, then i throw the ball for him to go fetch.  koda is getting better at obeying my commands, and i am getting better at throwing the ball far

things i don’t like:

• listening to mama and dada when they tell me not to do bad things.  like drinking their coffee or soda.  like putting sunscreen on koda.  like pouring milk into my plate of food…
• getting my hair cut.  during my last haircut, i kept signing “all done” and saying “no!” to the clippers before mama was finished.  mama says it’s my own fault that my hair is crooked.

happy 1 month birthday to baby sister! i guess she takes after me. she likes and dislikes a lot of the same things as i did when i was her age. (and just in time for this milestone, she had her first diaper blowout yesterday )

things she likes:

• being held upright
• trying to hold up her head
• winking
• hiccuping and sneezing
• tracking movement with her eyes
• bathtime
• sleeping at nighttime. mama is going to get mad at me for jinxing her, but for the past few days, baby sister has been sleeping for almost four hours in between nighttime feedings!
• snacking. during the day, she eats practically every hour. mama can’t believe how often baby sister wants to eat. i guess she is a snacker, just like mama.
• screaming. she doesn’t cry much, but when she does, she is LOUD. even when she is downstairs in the living room, i can hear her screaming all the way from my room!

things she doesn’t like:

• being swaddled. she wiggles and kicks to unwrap herself.
• having a dirty diaper. she cries when she poops so that her diaper will get changed right away.

things i like:

• taking care of baby sister.  i pull down mama’s shirt so she can eat and i cover her with a blanket so she doesn’t get cold.
• playing with baby sister.  i give her gentle high fives and fist bumps, and i launch my favorite iphone apps and then put it in her hand to play with.
• my step stool.  now i can reach the bathroom sink myself to get ready for bedtime
• funny noises.  baby sister’s hiccups, the crunch of ice cream cones, the squirting of the last bits of lotion from the bottle.
• turning off the stereo when i wake up.  mama leaves music on for me while i’m sleeping.  i think she wants me to like old skool R&B when i grow up, so she keeps the stereo tuned to 98.1 — KISS: “the bay’s old school”.  and now that i get out of bed by myself, i make sure to turn off the stereo before leaving my room and going to wake up mama and dada.
• when mama makes my face look funny.  she squeezes and stretches my cheeks while applying lotion to my face, and it’s hilarious!
• taking care of my stuffed animals.  in addition to feeding bear, i clean scout’s paws and wipe his nose with tissue.
• pretend-driving cars, like the ambulance and fire engine at CDM.
• the slides at pump-it-up.  i still don’t like getting tossed around in the jumpy “earthquake” houses, but the slides are so much fun!

things i don’t like:

• when mama and dada hit baby sister on the back.  they say that they are just helping her burp, but it looks like they are hurting her!
• when mama pumps milk out of her.
• using the potty.  when mama and dada ask me if i have to go potty, i say no.  then i go in my diaper.  if they bring me to the potty, i run away screaming.
• headbands.  they squeeze my brains out.
• scabs.  they don’t belong on me, so i always want to pick them off when i have them.