Sleeping Princesses

Sometimes, if Ming Wai wakes up grumpy in the morning, I'll pull out a picture of her asleep. I like to snap pictures of my girls when I think their sleeping habits are...entertaining.

Baby Ying Ying Kinda Loves Our Chickens

My chickens have a fenced in run on one side of the yard. And that is where they should be. Except, they don't always stay in there. On this particular day, I had left the gate ajar because I felt bad for the one hen who always seems to find her way out, but can't find her way back in when she sees all her "sisters" digging into fresh treats. Well, I have no idea if she made it back in, but the rest of the flock certainly found their way out! It's winter, and nobody is playing on the deck, so I let it slide. The girls wandered around, finding invisible bugs in tiny puddles of water, and carefully de-weeding the rest of the yard. It's not such a bad deal, after all! 

Baby Ying Ying, especially, enjoyed their adventures. She calls them "kuk kuk" and just loves watching them wander around. (In the picture, you can see my cuckoo maran "Lightning", and my buff orpington "Rosie". They are from my first batch of chicks. Chicks from the second year didn't get names - we just call them by their breeds.)

Trying to get a shot with Baby Ying Ying

If Baby Ying Ying sees the camera come out, your chances of getting any more snuggles pretty much drops to nil. But believe me when I say, her snuggles are pretty cute.

Goldfish for Breakfast

Baby Ying Ying is not a huge fan of the sitting in the high chair and the putting the food into the mouth. In fact, she has very little patience for it. I struggle to find anything she will feed herself, or allow me to feed her, let alone something that is nutritious. 

Baby steps, people. She saw her sister snacking on goldfish, and deigned to sit down and eat a few of those. 

She ate a few, and the rest were unceremoniously swept onto the floor, to be enjoyed at her leisure. *sigh* 

(PS - My girls, apparently, both have an affinity for spotted cats. Heh. Meow!)

The Post about Ying Ying's Cake

This post is nothing but photos of my newly-minted one year old attacking her birthday cake. And I'm not sorry. This is one of my favorite traditions - my family has used this forever to get an early glimpse at a child's personality. For example, my twin sister and I. My twin carefully dipped her finger into her cake and licked the frosting off. Me? I looked left. I looked right. Then I did a face plant. I'm sure it was glorious, and it is so me. I do, or I do not do. There is no try. 

Ying Ying was pretty thrilled that there was a whole cake coming her way. She is a bona fide chocolate lover, and she had already sampled some of the cake when I trimmed hers up to even up the top. 

Her brother and sister got a little bored watching her...not eat. So they came over to try and help. Ming Wai wanted to make sure she didn't eat anything before the Birthday Girl got her first bite. SJ...couldn't last that long, and I didn't want to push him over the edge. 

Speaking of pushing....

Ying Ying eventually figured out where the cake was. (She started by picking off the sprinkles, one by one, and eating those. That drove Ming Wai NUTS. Eating sprinkles doesn't equal eating cake. Which meant Ming Wai wouldn't let herself have any cake yet. She was shouting, "Eat the CAKE! THE CAKE! NOT THE SPRINKLES! ARRGGGGHHHHH!") 

(It was precious.) 

"Mommy, my hands...they are squishy. And sticky. I like."

Eventually, she just started poking holes all over the cake with her sticky little fingers. 

And then she handed me the plate. And that was that!

Happy birthday to my smart, sassy, opinionated, cheerful, playful little Dragon baby! 

Chinese New Year, 2014 and Ying Ying is 1!

Baby Ying Ying's birthday happened to fall on Chinese New Year's Eve this year. There was so much celebrating, we couldn't even fit it all in! We decided cake was more pressing than presents, so we will just have to stretch her birthday across a few more days. I'm sure she won't mind. 

Today was a really packed day. I got Ming Wai off to school at 8:15, then spent some time making pineapple jam to fill the tarts I want to make for a party tomorrow night. At 9:45, my parents called and we chatted for about 20 minutes. At 10:15, my visiting teachers (two ladies from church, assigned as companions, and assigned to visit me every month to leave goodwill and a lesson with me) showed up. I was still in my PJ's, but they don't care! I think we all prefer our visits to go like that...it makes us feel better about the messy kitchens we left at home! We had a lovely visit while our kids played. When they left, it was time for Ying Ying's nap. Shortly after I put her down, one of the Moms from Ming Wai's class came over so we could work on some furniture we are making for a school auction coming up. (I can't wait to show it to you!) 

We worked until 1, when my in laws came over to watch the kids so I could run to a friend's house for a haircut. Forty-five minutes later, I was back and running between the kitchen (helping Ma), Ying Ying (who missed me), and the garage (still working on that furniture). Phew! 

At 3, someone left to get Ming Wai from school. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some New Years cleaning, helping Ming Wai with her homework, putting together a birthday cake for Baby Ying Ying, and staying out of Ma's way while she put the finishing touches on our feast for tonight. She really outdid herself this year! Six dishes, and all of them were delicious. 

(My New Years display on the dining room table. One of the oranges had her leaves forcibly removed. SJ happened to walk by while I was getting out the table linens. Before I knew what was happening, he plopped his bum in the nearest chair and started trying to get the orange open. Starting by removing the stem. Poor kid - Ma was so disappointed! She only bought two. They aren't for eating - they are special, to display at New Years. Maybe he can eat them in a few days. Ha!)

These trays of treats are common in Chinese homes at New Years. I was told that they should have either 6 or 8 different treats, all of them sweet, to represent a sweet future in the new year. On offer this year (clockwise from bottom center): Candied lotus seed, guava hard candies, candied winter melon, dried cranberries, candied coconut, and candied lotus root. With the oranges ("gat") in the middle, representing luck. (Even if our lucky "gat" weren't very lucky this year!)

The evening's spread! 

In the right column, we have (top to bottom): Broccoli, Lettuce with Shitake Mushrooms, and Pigs Feet with Black Moss. In the left column, we have: boiled lotus root (from the night's soup), Salt Baked Chicken, and steamed fish. 

Pre dinner hamming. 

Post dinner carnage. OM NOM NOM. 

(One of the benefits of eating large feasts at home - tiny ones are free to roam around and play peek a boo after dinner.)

I'm sorry. This poor fish cracked me up. He's all, "Dude. I'm cool. No big. How YOU doin'?" It should be noted that my mother in law was mortified that I took this picture. 

One of the traditions that Lo Gung made sure we followed this year was to make sure that there were a few bites of fish left at the end of the meal. In this way, you make sure that your new year is prosperous (the word for fish sounds like the word for money). I'm sure there were a few bites of fish left somewhere in that bowl. I drained off the sauce, and bagged up the bones. We will throw them away tomorrow, after the New Year is safely underway!

After the dinner was eaten, the dishes were cleaned, the kids were upstairs playing and the adults were draped over any available furniture (attempting to digest the large amounts of food we had just consumed), it was time for...birthday cake! (As a child who was born on a major holiday, I can appreciate the special care that must be taken when a birthday coincides with a day already riddled with traditions! Ying Ying's birthday will certainly not fall on New Years Eve often, but I think chocolate cake may become a new traditional dessert for our family, all the same.)

At 7:30, we rallied the troops, dimmed the lights, and lit the candle. My baby...is no longer my baby. 

She enjoyed her cake immensely. 

Finally, after cake was done, it was time for the traditional Writing of the Characters. (My husband's aunt sent me a document yesterday that outlined all of the traditions associated with the 15 days of the Chinese New Year celebration. I had a bit too much fun with it, and tried to incorporate as many of the traditions today as I could!) According the document, the oldest educated male in the home ought to write out the character for "blessings", and affix it to the front door. So, with the last two pieces of red construction paper in the house...we proceeded. 

Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you a very happy year of the Horse. 

Baby Ying Ying is a Morning Person

My baby has the odd ability, like her brother, to be completely upright and talking within a split second of being awakened. She is either crying or laughing, but she is definitely up. And she'll figure out what's going on around her in just a second, thankyouverymuch. She is generally pretty thrilled to be awake...unless she was sleeping in your arms and wakes up to being put into a crib. Then, she is definitely not happy to be awake. In fact, she is pretty ticked that you had the audacity to try and leave her. 

Other than that? She's pretty cool. 

A Day Off School

I love it when Ming Wai has a day off of school. It's special feeling enough that the kids, generally, hold off on squabbling until pretty late in the day. We get to just stay home and pretend that the kids aren't growing up and dealing with pesky things like Education and Schedules. *sigh* It's nice.

On MLK Day, the kids got up and watched a cartoon before breakfast, then conned me into playing Chutes and Ladders. Let me just say, I don't like that game. It can go. on. forever. And it did. Ming Wai made it to the end of the board, and then looked expectantly at Siu Jeun and I while we slogged through. Then he made it to the end. And there I was, bouncing up and down chutes and ladders, stuck at the beginning of the game. Would you think less of me if I told you that I stopped counting, exactly, where I was supposed to land, and just sort of magically "happened" to reach the end of the board on my next turn? It was a miracle, I tell you. An absolute miracle.

Soon after our game ended, our house cleaner showed up and it was time to skedaddle. Since the gym was closed, we went down the hill to spend the morning at Aunt Myrnie's house. Ming Wai brought some homework and got it done there, then all the kids spent the rest of the morning eating popcorn and playing. 

Around lunchtime, it was time to brave Nap Time. I'm beginning to seriously hate Nap Time for Ying Ying. Ever since she was born, sleep has been difficult to achieve. I've tried everything that worked with my other two (crying it out, babywise, nursing her to sleep, rocking her to sleep) and, one by one, the methods stopped working. Leaving us stranded, with a baby who is exhausted, and I have no way to help her get to sleep. When she isn't tired, she is an absolute joy and an angel. When she is tired, it feels like the Apocalypse and all four riders have arrived at once. 

We drove around until she fell asleep, picking up lunch at McDonalds and dropping something off at a friend's house, before she fell asleep and we could go home. She slept for a little while in the car while the kids ate their lunch inside. 

Emphasis on "little while". *sigh* (Last time she fell asleep in the car, it was a solid 2 hour nap. This was closer to 45 minutes.)

And, we were off! 

Trying to get her more used to, and happy in, her crib. I stuck her in the crib and gave her a bunch of toys to play with while I tidied her bedroom. 

This face, guys. This face. It cracks me up! 

The hair doesn't help her case. At all. 

So much teeths! This probably explains why she hasn't been sleeping well. I swear, she's popping out a new tooth every 2-3 weeks. And each tooth comes with a runny nose and general congestion. Poor kid. 

The day ended with Family Home Evening, including a lesson from Ming Wai on Martin Luther King, Jr. Bedtime today was, blessedly, un-traumatic. I laid her down in her crib and stayed by her, shushing her, showing her books, and patting her back, until she finally fell asleep after about 20 minutes. If that is what it takes, I will do it. 

The Difference Between Candid and Posed

Candid.

Candid.

Candid.

Candid.

TAKE MAH PIKSHUR, MOMMY!!!! 

Posed. Heh.