I have a new obsession. I am out to find an Asian boy Cabbage Patch with dark brown yarn hair, that can take a pacifier. The key is Im not willing to spend more than $25 – I can find them on eBay, but way over retail price.
Yea! I bought it – thanks to those to helped me find the doll. I am so glad that now they have Asian boy dolls. I remember when I was a child it seemed all the dolls were blonde girls. Nothing wrong with blonde girl dolls, but it’s nice to see some diversity!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Zach just got over the stomach flu, so he was pretty cranky all day (not obvious from the pictures.) He started the day screaming and crying at 6:30 am. He calmed down after breakfast and we let him take out the gifts in his stocking. A container of Gerber puffs and a new toothbrush … Elmo. For some reason he calls Elmo “mama” and then points to me. James thinks this is hilarious. Zach also opened a remote control Thomas from my friend Julie and the Knapford bridge set from me. He liked both gifts and played with them until James’ family arrived. Then it was time to open more presents and Grandpa Graeber started the video camera. The first one was a Thomas coloring book. Zach was done opening gifts. He wanted to read the book. We tried to force him to open more gifts but he squealed, twisting and turning. At the end, James and I had to open the rest of the gifts while Zachary ignored them and kept reading. Due to his poor behavior, we put him down for an overdue nap before the final gift…
A Thomas the Tank Engine ride-on!
He was happy for awhile until he went back to playing on his train table. He made this huge train by connecting his entire collection, and of course had a very difficult time getting all of it over the bridge. Trains kept derailing and falling over. This frustrated him to no end. By dinner he had completely broken down and cried through most of it. (Notice the frog in some pictures – it carries it almost everywhere he goes. He keeps very good track of it too – at any given time, he can show you where it is.)
As for what the adults got today … I got a Tiffany’s necklace from James and a “Z” pendant necklace from Zachary (major sale at Red Envelope on uncommon letters.) I also received another pair of jeans – a darker color. James got a bunch of clothes (Three 97 cent t-shirts from Old Navy, $2 shirt from Kohls, socks, slacks), a memo board, and some gag gifts (deodorant, shampoo, bag of bagel chips.) THANK YOU everyone for the wonderful gifts and memories (minus the memories of Zachary’s tantrums.)
Okay – here’s a recap of our busy weekend! Friday night, we drove down to the San Mateo to visit my sisters (and their boyfriends). The next morning, 2 moms from my online mom’s group came to visit with their toddlers. Simon’s mom put out some Gerber puffs and goldfish. Simon tried to hand a puff to Zachary, but Zachary leaned down and ate it directly from Simon’s hand. Like an animal! Then when Simon turned around, Zachary ate all the food – glunk, glunk, glunk. Natalie and his little brother Owen were there too … both very happy and outgoing kids!
After they left we opened presents. Zach scored some books, a CD, 2 pairs of shoes, and a wooden puzzle. James got pillow covers, the Family Guy DVD, and a slow cooker cook book. I also received some books and a pair of jeans. My sisters got a mix of CDs and kitchenware from us.
My sisters made a Holiday feast. It was very good – they never really cooked when they lived with me, so I was pleasantly surprised. After dinner, I held a retrospective on the gift giving process, and we also played Catch Phrase. Thanks to Alice and Sophie for hosting us!
Sunday, we went to Megan’s 3rd birthday at Sunsplash. All the other kids were happy to throw the Skeeball and let it roll back down. I have a naughty boy on my hands – he wanted to actually score! (A better mom would have pulled her son down, but I have the same goal oriented personality, so I just watched to make sure he didn’t fall off.) Happy 3rd Birthday Megan! Oh, and that last picture is from one of the two work holiday parties we went to this year, both with gift exchanges - I didn’t end up keeping the football. I don’t even remember what I ended up with … I probably ate it already.
Wow – it’s been very busy! Not only have I been busy at work, we’ve been invited to so many fun parties and events!
Intel had a Christmas party with crafts and a Santa. Zachary made a bookmark for his dad. He also beaded a a bracelet (which I made into an ornament instead). Interestingly, he understood the concept of directions … he pretended to read each step while he was making the bracelet. I guess it must be a skill boys lose as they get older!
We got a picture of Santa … what the picture doesn’t show is that after taking the picture, my hips hit the cardboard scenery and the whole thing comes crashing down!
That night our neighborhood had a progressive dinner. It started at our house with cocktails and appetizers. It ended at a very well decorated house … a tree (with theme) in every room. One room was dedicated to a miniature village and there was calligraphy stencils on the walls. Two life size Santas and stuffed elves climbing up stairs. I was shocked – their home was featured in a magazine once! The big kids hid in a room to play and did not let Zachary join them (not that he wanted to, he was perfectly happy playing by himself.) It brought back childhood memories of potlucks.
During the week, we had a SWE (Society of Women Engineers) party… and the following weekend we went to the annual Baco Christmas party/potluck. Two of my coworkers babysat Zachary!
This past Monday, Zachary’s daycare held a holiday recital. The littlest kids didn’t sing – they just sat on stage with their teachers. The pre-kindergarten kids sang though. Sort of. One parent set up video camera when his child’s class went to stage. The singing started okay … but then they were all singing different verses off beat. Right into the video camera microphone, Zachary says loudly,”UH-OH!” Whoops.
Zachary says “ztu” for pig, “ze-gee” for airplane, “ao” for cat,”be-ba” for tail and mouth, “yan” for sheep, “spoo” for spoon, “bai” for bike, “da” for dog, and “oh” for the letter O. He also makes “arf-arf” for dog noises and “baa-baa” for sheep noises. I haven’t counted, but I think he has enough words to not require speech therapy – especially since he knows 2 languages that are so different.
This week will be busy too … two work holiday parties and then going to the Bay Area to celebrate the holidays with my sisters!
Last weekend we went to Andrew’s 2nd birthday. Zachary had fun with the slide and basketball hoop. Zachary also helped with some Christmas cards – drew in a few of them and put stamps on the envelopes. Then he helped me make blueberry cupcakes … from a box of course. He preferred to stack the spices, which are about 10 years old because almost all of our foods come from boxes, jars, or take-out containers.
New words… “ha” for help, “bao” for hold. “boo” for book., “tze” for eat, “tzu” for pig, “see-gee” for airplane, and “harol” for Harold (!?!). The Chinese tones are right, but the pronunciations are off. And his first 2-word phrase … when I picked him up from daycare, he pointed to my blue Saturn and said, “mama car!”
Zachary got an early Christmas present – Harold the helicopter! Still wrapped is the Sodor Bay Bridge and Knapford Bridge figure eight set. And Emily is on her way (being shipped). I think the trains have creepy faces, but they are a good for imaginative play especially since Zachary does not like to play with dolls. We try to encourage creative play and problem solving, as opposed to memorization. So no testing with flashcards or “educational” videos at our house. Zachary gets to play all day!
Oh – and it’s officially rainy season. So Zachary has put away his Robeez and is now wearing his geeky velcro Stride-Rites!
