Happy 4th of July to my American girl! You were allowed to stay up a little later today because you had a couple of good naps. So you could also celebrate Independence Day and enjoy your first BBQ prepared by Daddy! Mommy loves it when we get to eat at the table as a family. You enjoyed munching on the corn and chicken wings. They are delicious, aren't they?
You are a true Mac girl! Not only you have your own iBook, you have inherited Daddy's old iPhone. Maybe we need to get you an iPad too. You are going to grow up to be a Mac fan girl for sure!
It's Daddy's 2nd Father's Day and this time you are actually able to celebrate with him! Last year you were just an itty-bitty thing. So what did you get for Daddy this year? Well, actually, "what did we get YOU?" is the question. We got you a mini apron that reads "Daddy's Little Sous Chef" and a t-shirt that says "When I grow up, I want to be a chef like my dad". You love to watch Daddy and get involved when he cooks so the apron will come in handy in the future and the shirt, it's just soooo cute, Mommy couldn't pass it up.
We try and practice your speaking everyday. Here we record your practice session for Daddy and all to see. You do well when you are in front of the camera...must be the Hollywood in you.
It seems like Mommy has no time for anything these days! We are constantly going out after your nap(s) so as to keep you busy and entertain you. We are now a regular at the playgoups and also the park! You have also made friends with the other "regulars" there. It's funny to see you and the same kids get into trouble together.
You have started to engage other kids to play with you instead of only engaging in parallel play which is really cute. Most of the time, they are older kids and sometimes you like to go to babies and pat them. You "call" the kids for their attention and start waving at them. Sometimes you go right up to them and squeal at the top of your lungs and are quite "in-your-face". It's hilarious.
You've started calling me "Mama" and Daddy "Dada"! Hooray...you used to just babble these words without meaning. New words you've picked up are "nana" for banana, "bah" for bird, "Pain" for plane, "wuwu" for your Lulu. And oh, you would purposely throw stuff around and go "uh oh", thinking that would fool Mommy that it was an accident!
We are still working on your nap schedule...some days its 1 nap and other days 2. It really depends on what time you are waking up in the morning. Mommy can't wait till you totally transition over to 1 nap so our days are more predictable. On the bright side, you are waking up a little later than your usual 6am!
There is no doubt in my mind you will be a surfer one day. You really love the ocean...ever since you were born, you fall asleep with the sound of waves crashing on the shore on your sound machine. And today, your first visit to the beach, you had no fear of the water...even though the water was freezing cold and the waves were big at times, you just wanted to be in the ocean. You were yelling and screaming when we took you out and back to Godpa's house!
Daddy took us on a mini vacation in San Diego for Memorial Day. It was such a beautiful weekend...the weather was perfect and we stayed at a gorgeous hotel!
You did well on our first road trip. The drive to San Diego was about 2.5 hours but on our way there, we stopped for lunch and then proceeded to the resort.
You had lots of fun at the pool and sand pit. Although it was supposed to be a relaxing mini vacation, taking care of a toddler on vacation is not a vacation at all! When Daddy came back to LA, he had to go for a massage because you were too much for him to handle...hahaha. Mommy said that he should try doing it everyday with no help, then he'll know how I feel!
All it all, it was a great trip. Summer in California is beautiful and there are many other resort towns that we will have to visit!
Daddy hasn't seen you in a week now and he misses you so much. You've progressed so much since he last saw you! Here's a video taken just a few days after leaving LA. You can walk so fast and far. Everyday when we talk to Daddy, he asks us if you are walking all over the place now, he has no idea! Daddy will be surprised at the improvement you have made so far!
You are such a little entertainer. Here you are doing the shoulder shimmy "Happy Dance". You usually do this after a good meal! You're just like Daddy, you love your roast pork and BBQ duck!
You, Daddy and Mommy had a rough night last night, Izzy...you came down with a fever again. Not sure why? You slept from 6pm the night before but woke up at around 1am. You couldn't fall back asleep till 3am. But your sleep after that was very fragmented with wakeups at 3:45am and again at 5am. You were up for the day at 7am and today you are restless and have lost your appetite. Poor baby. We really hope that you put on weight since your last doctor's visit because next week we will be going in for your other round of shots and also a weight check and Mommy doesn't want you to get any unnecessary tests due to a lack of weight gain.
I hope it's just teething or some viral infection and not another UTI. Get better soon. Mommy misses the cheeky Isabelle.
Love, Mom
Video taken a couple days before getting sick... Your walking is getting better and better!
What have you been up to this month? LOTS! You are like a sponge and learn things so fast. You are really good at imitating sounds and have picked up the sound of the sirens that go by our apartment. When a fire truck or police car passes by with sirens blaring, you stop whatever you are doing and go "whooooooooooo" in a very high-pitched voice. It's hilarious! Your pronunciation of words is getting better too. You've learned to articulate the words "baby" and "cookie". It's so funny when you point to a baby and go "baby" because it seems like you think you are such a big girl now!
You are Zoë are becoming REALLY good friends. You've learned the word "pat" and pat her whenever she is close by. The other day after Zoë gave you kisses, you wanted to give her a kiss back so you stuck out your tongue and proceeded to try and lick her back! And then came up to Mommy and tried to lick me too! That's how a doggy kisses—not humans, silly! You've also learned how to high-five and when you want too, you do it with lots of enthusiasm!
You have self-weaned from your nursing sessions before naps and I think are also ready to stop nursing before bedtime...much to Mommy's disheartenment. I am going to miss you cuddling up to me and those starfish fingers roaming my face. I am especially going to miss the contented sigh and the all-out-stretch you always give me when you are nice and full. Another reminder that my baby is no longer a baby... And yet another reminder that you are no longer a baby is that you have started to self-feed with a fork! You are growing up too fast!
You are also very aware of your appearance. Every time when Ah Ma or Mommy puts a bow or hair clip in your hair, you take it off and check it out. And when it meets your approval, you "throw" it back onto your head expecting it to stay on. You also kiss yourself when you see your reflection in the mirror. You are so vain!
Do we see a future for you as a soccer star? Hmmm...maybe not! But you were too cute. Well at least next time when we try snowboarding, we know you are a goofy because you were using your right leg to try and kick the ball the whole time!
You made your first attempt to walk unassisted today! Well, you've been standing on your own, cruising and trying to walk for quite some time now. Some days Mommy has seen you take 2 steps from the sofa to the ottoman. You have been very cautious but with every practice, you build up your confidence. Today, is THE DAY. You were in the open and you took 4 steps into Mommy's arms!
You were on your knees, then you steadily got up to stand. I see the cheeky grin on your face and knew you were ready to try walking. With a little coaxing, you walked towards me and into my open arms! Oh, Mommy is so proud of you. Ah Ma was here to witness this milestone too! Maybe you were just trying to show off to Ah Ma that you're a big girl now!
Izzy, you are growing up so fast...you are officially no longer a baby.
You are getting cheekier and cheekier by the day! These days when Mommy nurses you at bedtime, you LOVE to shove Lulu into Mommy's face to make me smell it. Lulu's sooooo stinky! And you burst out into giggles when Mommy starts gagging. You do it again, and again, and again! You love to see Mommy suffer, don't you?
You are a real chatterbox! Daddy's ticked by your babbling...it sounds like real sentences in some kind of a foreign language! Sometimes when Mommy or Daddy lectures you, you talk back. I can already imagine what's going to happen in your teenage years. Oh my! Also, when we went into Walmart to try to exchange your damaged toy, the sales clerk who was helping us was arguing with us and wasn't being very helpful. Mommy had to raise her voice to get her point across and you felt like you had to join in too. Mommy tried so hard to not start laughing because we were supposed to be mad that Walmart's exchange policy was so flawed!
As for walking, the other day you took your first independent step from the sofa to the loveseat. Although it was only for a split-second and a single step, you let go of both hands when you were going from the sofa to the loveseat! It was all because of a veggie stick that you left there a couple of minutes before. Soooo Mommy found your weak spot....FOOD!!!
You love to throw stuff around ON PURPOSE now. You throw everything! Your sippy cup, Daddy's blackberry, Mommy's keys, your friuts... The other day, Mommy saw you throw your cereal on the floor for Zoë! Are you bribing her to like you more? Well, at least you are learning how to share...
We took you to the playground and you had such fun! Because you are more mobile, you are beginning to appreciate the playground now. You don't have to just play on the swing anymore...can you climb around in the slide castle!
You give Mommy heart attacks everyday with the antics you come up with. Where do you learn things like that? I really don't know. You get new bruises everyday but you really do not care! Your newest antic is to climb into your infant swing and start swinging yourself really high. It's CRAZY!
You've been blowing raspberries all day, everyday, for the last few days. When you eat, when you take a bath, when we meet new people... You think it's so funny! Sometimes you do it till you are red in the face! I guess you just want to practice until you get it perfect? You silly goose!
Once again, Mommy caught your cheeky self on video. This time blowing raspberries! We can see that you are a natural in front of the camera...you look and even take a moment to pause and compose yourself before you let it out. Mommy laughed so hard that we couldn't keep the camera still while filming. You are Mommy's personal comedian!!
