Penny meets Ushi

Grandpa in Sacramento got a dog named Ushi. Penny loved playing with such a small puppy and kept saying, "he's so cute!"

O Christmas tree

Last year, our pre-cut tree from the lot seemed to turn crispy dry in a day. This year, we decided to try a fresh-cut tree. We went over the hill to Half Moon Bay and spent a lot of time there riding a train and looking for a tree that we liked. We finally found a nicely shaped, small Douglas Fir and brought it home. Our humble tree is not manicured, but it has some character and it was a fun getting it.

Could this be the "terrible twos"?

Penny has been misbehaving lately and she is on a roll of getting timeouts several days in a row. It seems to happen in the evening hours. She commands what she wants and screams "no" in response to things that she doesn't want. Where could she have learned this behavior? daycare? TV? Is it caused by too much candy? not enough sleep?
I also came face-to-face with the hypocrisy of enforcing "no hitting". It was like a scene from The Three Stooges where I smacked her and she smacked me back... Needless to say, it didn't feel right and it didn't work.
What has been working best is the timeout where you walk away, ignore her, and let her cry it out until she is ready to behave. Unfortunately, I don't expect to always have the time or flexibility to go through this process, especially if we are in public.
The adventures of parenting continue...

*Update: After a couple mornings of sleeping-in, Penny is being a good girl again.

Happy Halloween!

Penny dressed up as Snow White this year. We also went trick-or-treating
near our house with the Wongs. There is a great area near our house
that was very festive where the whole block was decorated. She was
scared of some monsters, but generally was brave when it comes to
getting more candy.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

This is a short recording of Penny and Daddy singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game"

Halloween art project

Penny and I worked on an art project today. We made spiders out of painted egg carton and pipe cleaners and decorated our window sill that faces the back courtyard. It is cute to see how excited she gets for art projects and how proud she is of the finished product.

Family Kite Day!

I'm so proud of me

Wow, it's high! Don't let go...

We were thinking of what to do on this pretty Saturday morning and remembered that there was family kite day in San Francisco this weekend. First we went to the "make your own kite" station and played with the kite we made ourselves, which worked surprisingly well. Then, we bought Penny her first real kite and she was able to fly it really high and hold it all by herself. Penny let mommy and daddy have turns (very brief!) flying the kite, too.

Shasta/Oregon Labor day road trip

family at Lake Siskiyou
Penny at Lake Siskiyou
fishing with daddy
family boat ride
We had a great family road trip to Oregon this weekend. We stopped overnight in Mount Shasta both ways, which we enjoyed more than expected. Some highlights of the trip include, playing in Lake Siskiyou in Shasta, picking blackberries in great grandpa Henry's yard, fishing with daddy, and playing with second cousin Brady at their house in the Portland area.

Camping in Pinecrest

This was Penny's first camping trip. We told her about camping leading up to the trip and I think the most exciting part she anticipated was roasting marshmallows, or maybe just eating them. It turns out that she really enjoyed playing with the other kids, going on a boat on the lake, swimming in the lake with mommy (no photos - daddy missed the whole thing because he was sleeping on the beach), and counting the endless stars in the new moon sky. The difficult part was falling asleep amongst all the excitement (this was at least a two-hour process) and going potty in the portable potty we brought with us. She eventually did go potty and got a lollipop reward. All-in-all, it was a little tiring but a very memorable adventure.

The baby in mommy's tummy

Penny says, "I have a secret"...

in a whisper, "mommy has a baby in her tummy!" This is the secret that Penny told at daycare and tried to tell anyone else that would listen, before it was public news. Funny lesson learned: toddlers can't keep secrets! duh!
We are very excited for the upcoming addition to the family, expected to arrive in late January. As in the first time around, we don't plan to find out the sex of the baby until the big day. Penny usually says that she wants a brother when asked. Interesting, because in the book she has, the main character, Penelope, wants a sister and ends up getting a brother. We are curious to see how Penny will be with a competitor for attention... So far, she says she knows that there is a baby inside, sometimes she talks to the baby, and she has been asking me whether the baby is awake. She has been good with me when I haven't been feeling well, and accepts dad filling in to put her to bed if I am too tired. Dad has been good to me too!

San Diego trip

We flew to San Diego to visit Ann and Hung and to check out Comicon. Penny had a great time with auntie and uncle and at the San Diego zoo.

Penny was very scared of this Ugly Doll and all large dressed-up characters we saw at Comicon.

Mt. View Obon Festival

They had some amateur animal balloon makers at the festival and Penny got this funky bunny.

A walk in the double stroller

Penny and Griffin, going to the park

Strike a pose

Napa trip

We were invited to stay at a vacation house with friends in Napa for Griffin's second birthday. We all had a lot of fun and Penny got the opportunity to play with little buddies her age.

Penny kicking the ball around in front of the house in Napa


All of the kids hanging out together on the couch.


Sonoma train town "choo-choo!"

Golden Gate Park, April 16th

Potty training

We are starting to work on potty training #1s now (#2s have been on the potty for about 9 months!). When we are home, we practice having no diaper. She has had some accidents, but she is learning to control it more. Even when she wears diapers, they tend to stay dry now. She has also been able to "go" outside of the house, at grandma's and at daycare, but it isn't consistent yet. The way she tells us is by saying, "I better go poo-poo now". She doesn't seem to distinguish between pee and poo yet.

Penny's favorite songs

ABCs

 

The Wheels on the Bus (old, non-PC version of the song with the lyrics of daddy and mommy saying, "sh sh sh" to the baby)

 

Easter fun

Penny enjoyed Easter events this year. She had an egg hunt at daycare, died and painted eggs at home, and we went to San Mateo's Eggstravaganza event with Grandma.


"Mommy, protect me from the Bunny-Man!"



Rainbow parachute and static hair.


Penny quickly collected a basket full of empty plastic eggs which she then had to turn over for three stickers (I guess they are trying to discourage candy consumption)


Penny's favorite part? Blowing bubbles!

Guerneville cabin trip

We had a nice trip with some friends to a cabin on the Russian River in Guerneville. It was a rainy weekend, so
we mostly stayed in and relaxed while we kept an eye on the full river. In between rain showers, we did make it to Armstrong Woods State Park for a stroll with Penny and she loved it.

Grandpa visits

Grandpa came to visit us and it took a while, but Penny eventually warmed up.

Penny's 2nd Birthday Party!

Penny is a very lucky girl! She had a great birthday party with friends and family at CuriOdyssey. Grandma catered the food, including animal themed cake and cupcakes! Penny blew out her candle by herself, after a few tries!

Winter cold behavior

Penny caught something at daycare last week. It started with a cough and then a runny nose. Friday, I stayed home with her and she came down with a fever. Friday night, she slept with us, coughing through the night. Saturday, the doctor said that she should get better in a day or two.
This is the first cold I remember, having such a big effect on her behavior. She has been unreasonably fussy and has no appetite. Maybe she has some pain that she can't quite describe yet (she does like the taste of the medicine and claims that her head hurts if you ask if something hurts). I'm afraid that spoiling her (with juice and whatever she will drink/eat and tv) while she's been sick may have encouraged some bad habits, too. But, our friend who is visiting and has a couple kids says, we ain't seen nothing yet, in terms of terrible two behavior...

Riley's Party

We went to a friend, Riley's, birthday party last weekend and there was a face painter. At first, Penny didn't want to get anything, but then she changed her mind and asked for Thomas the train on her arm and she also got the heart on her cheek. Later, she went back again to get a Dora face on her other arm!

Penny at Ocean Beach

We had a fun-filled weekend and took a couple of days off to spend with Penny. These pics are from Ocean Beach today. Penny is turning out to be a bit of a clown, just like her daddy.

Chef Grandma

This weekend, we went to grandma's CCA graduation ceremony in San Francisco. Penny is eager to eat more of "grandma's cake" and other desserts...

Playing with daddy in SF

Grayson's 1st birthday party

Penny and Addie playing in the game area


Penny greeting the birthday girl