Magnetic Moment

We've made it our little family tradition to create a photo magnet of Kayla every Christmas/New Year that we share with our loved ones and close friends. Thanks to Winkflash, creating the magnet's a breeze. It's finding the perfect photo that's been the most trying. It also explains why we might be mailing out the magnets, along with our Christmas cards a little late this year.

After much agonizing, here's what we finally agreed on. :) This magical magnet moment was captured at a duck-and-geese-filled park in Morgan Hill. Love, love, love that smile.

Mama called the doctor and the doctor said...

Kayla had her 2-year checkup today and her new paed in Gilroy, Dr. Bhatia, is a gem. Instead of rushing through her examination, she took time to make Kayla feel comfortable, played little games with her so everything seemed just a tad less intimidating. I think she's what every paed should be. :)

We thank God that Kayla's in fine shape. At 23 pounds, her weight has dipped to the 10 percentile (skinny!), her height has climbed to the 50-75 percentile (yipee!), and her head is still in the 75 percentile range. Doc's not too concerned about her weight so long as she's eating well and hitting all her developmental milestones which is great. The only awful thing about this visit was the two test tubes of blood they had to draw for a haemoglobin test and mercury test. And of course, it hurt more for us than for her. She screamed and cried when she saw the nurse pull out those rubber gloves, but once it was over, she was fine and even said it didn't hurt.

I just did some major photo housekeeping and here's how much our little princess has grown.


Jan 08

Nov 08

Birthday Bash

The photos are on their way... and we had a great time despite the fact that Kayla caught a chill, had a runny nose and a fever the day before. She got to shake Chuck E Cheese's hand and I think that was all that mattered. :)

I'm going to keep this short because I'm feeling a little under the weather (I suspect it's the same bug! ugh!). But here's something she said today that made me laugh.

Me: Kayla, you've to be potty-trained if you want to go to school.
Kayla: I want to sit on the train. Choo choo!

(took me a while to realize she thought potty trained was a train.)

Anyhow, potty training is another chapter on its own. We've gone from pull-ups to underwear...but we're not quite 100 percent yet. Hopefully in the next week or so.

Food for Thought

In my two short and inexperienced years of mommyhood, I've heard this (and repeated it to a handful of new mom friends) a couple of times: You either get one that sleeps well or eats well. Kayla belongs to the "Eat Well" camp. She still doesn't sleep through the night, but I think I'd rather constantly coax her to sleep than coax her to eat. It's just easier.

Since she got her full set of baby chompers, she's been busy getting acquainted with all things edible. To my amazement, she loves eating spring onions chopped up and raw, for a snack and will eat pasta, in any shape and form, plain. She likes anything drenched with alfredo sauce, spring rolls, pot stickers, fish sticks, salmon (steamed, baked, fried), meatballs, mushrooms, tofu, eggs, spinach, brocolli, asparagus, olives, bean sprouts, peas, edamame--pretty much anything that doesn't require too much chewing. While her dislikes are few and far between, she has very fierce and strong opinions about them. On the "I DON'T LIKE!" list: carrots, spaghetti sauce (she loves ketchup, but not any else tomato-ey).... and I really can't think of anymore at this point. See, I meant it when I say she eats everything, well almost.

Soon, I'll have to look up recipes and start cooking things on my don't-fancy list (eggplant, okra, squash, tomatoes, pork) and Mike's yuck-list (sardines, anchovies!). After all, I see no good reason to deprive my child of certain foods because our personal dislikes. She can make up her own mind. :)

Oh, and our birthday girl got into a tiny accident earlier today. She was practising her bunny hops near a table when she slipped and hit her chin on the corner. Big, bad bruise with some swelling that subsided a little after we iced it. Plus she scratched her nose pretty badly two days ago, leaving a huge scab on it. Poor baby... looks like her birthday party pics this coming Saturday will need some photoshop magic.

And before I forget, happy Thanksgiving. :)

You're Two!

Happy Birthday Kayla!

My Little Drama Queen

Nov 8: Her little Tinkerbell dance. She LOVES dancing.

Oct 20: At the playground again. It's pretty awesome to watch her go from crawling up the steps of the play structure just a year ago to navigating them all by herself. Listen as she sings one of her fav ditties--"Wheels on the Bus"

Oct 20: Her fav slide at this moment in time. She won't go on any other...

Oct 26: Dancing (again!) and belting what's to my ears the sweetest version of Amazing Grace.

Hush Hush

It's been a pretty subdued November, filled with mostly cold days (save for the past week) and stressful mornings trying to get the holiday issue of the magazine out of the way. Kayla has been very patient most days (which only makes me feel more guilty!), playing quietly by herself and flipping through her books and the mountain of toy catalogs we've received in the past few weeks.

Speaking of toys - with her second birthday fast approaching - we've amassed a whole new generation of thingamajigs. Daddy and mommy bought her a talking dollhouse (it's so cool that even I have fun playing with it), Grandma and grandpa's presents sit unwrapped in the garage, likewise the gifts from Auntie Lynn and Auntie Andrea (thank you so so much babes!). And Po Po and Gong Gong's dress will be saved for summer 09...

We haven't quite decided what we're going to do for her birthday -- most likely a simple family lunch and a trip to Chuck E Cheese (by specific request from the birthday girl). We haven't even ordered the cake, which reminds me we'd better do it today, considering it's Thanksgiving week and all. Who or what's going to be on the cake? I'm not sure. It's a toss-up between Abby Cadaby and Dora the Explorer at this point. Tinkerbell, whom she is obsessed with lately, is another keen contender. I'll keep y'all posted. :)