Daycare Family & Growing Up

Baby CP has been attending Apple Tree Daycare since January of 2013.  I can't believe he's been there for moer than 15 months now.  Sadly, since he will be turning 3 in a couple months, the time to advance to preschool is approaching.  He may not realize what is happening - he may not know that his last day in June will be the last day he will see his loving daycare providers and his Apple Tree friends - but I will surely be sad.  I think his teacher Jasmine grows a bond with each child and in anticipation of a few of her little ones moving on in the summer/fall, she took this daycare family photo today.

Everyday, when Baby CP goes to daycare, I know he will be well taken care of.  I know that he will eat lunch.  I know that he will take a nap.  I know that he will be disciplined when appropriate.  I also know that I will probably get a couple photos of his activities during the day.  I will definitely miss those updates.

Baby CP has an unhealthy addiction to DisneycollectorBR videos on Youtube.  They're strange videos of a lady opening and assembling disney toys.  He cries for them and the cry is unlike any cry.  It's a cry of pure desperation as if he'll die if he can't watch the videos.  He doesn't throw too many temper tantrums but when he wants to watch these videos he is super stubborn and won't leave the computer even if you say you're going out or upstairs.  Finally, I told him that if he can't stop watching without crying, then I won't let him watch at all.  This usually gets him to calm down.

Loving the Rasta hair that his dad made for his cars.

Baby CP has hit a growth spurt recently.  He looks taller and his legs meatier.  All his 2T pants seem a little too short and I may have to break out the 3T pants.  His head has also grown, because I have had to loosen his bicycle helmet twice in the past week and a half! 


He likes to goof around in his sunglasses.

He will feed himself if it's something yummy like jello or mangos.

A couple months ago, I realized that Baby CP understood the concept of opposites after just a couple examples from me.  What I didn't know was that very soon after understanding that concept, children learn how to disagree with opposites and other logical arguments.   

"No, it's not big, it's small!"

While confronted with some of his remaining dinner on one place and another plate containing mango...

Me:  Here, eat this shrimp.   You like shrimp.
Baby CP:  But, I like mango too.

One of his favorite funny ways to taunt his dad: 
"Mama - I love you a lot.  Baba - I love you a little bit, now cry REALLY REALLY LOUD!"

He has started to distinguish "dark" colors from regular colors.  I don't think he has started pointing out "light" colors yet.  He can identify 1,2,4,7,8.  He has trouble with 6 and 9 which look alike and I don't think he knows 5 is a number.  It kind of looks like an S.  He knows a handful of letters and likes to pretend he can spell or read. 

We took Baby CP to his first baseball game recently.  He picked up on the fan clapping right away.

I need to get a video of Baby CP on his kick scooter.  It took him about a week to get it, but he loves it now and it helps us get to BART in the morning.  I'd much rather have to deal with him on a scooter than have to carry him when he's tired.

34 Months Old!

I went on a trip without Baby CP for the first time this past weekend.  I was gone for four days and I wasn't sure how Baby CP would take it.  I had to get on a redeye and he didn't fall asleep on the way to the airport so I did have to say goodbye and you could see the wheels turning in his facial expression when he was trying to grapple with the idea that I was leaving to go inside the airport without him.  He was sad...shed a few tears without crying loudly and then left with daddy.  I'm told he was a model citizen all weekend, except that he went to bed late. 

He needs a haircut!!

Apparently the weather was beautiful while I was away.  I was only gone for four days, but he sounds different and looks different already.  He seemed a little bigger and his speech patterns are a little bit more fluid and grown up...weird, right?

He tells me this pose is the foot telephone.

While I was gone, Baby CP had some Easter-related arts and crafts at daycare.  To his delight, this involved chocolates...all eaten before I got back.

Here are some photos of Baby CP being helpful in the kitchen.  He put all of the chopped apples into the batter and used his own little whisk to make apple muffins.

And apparently they were making dumplings in daycare today.  Yum!

 

Celebrating Uncle Luke's Birthday in Gualala - 31.5 Months

I guess I forgot to post this 3 months ago -

Last weekend, we celebrated Uncle Luke's birthday up in Gualala, Mendocino County.  Mommy had some motion sickness issues while driving up the VERY windy roads in the dark.  Think stopping dead in the middle of the road and opening the passenger side door so I could throw up.  Yuck.  Thankfully Baby CP had fallen asleep in the back.

Baby CP had so much fun with 3 older buddies and Grande Burrito.  The last couple times we all got together, Baby CP hung back a little - I think because he felt intimidated by the group of kids who were so busy doing older kid things - but this time he really hung out as part of the group and kept up with the older kids the whole time.  They played on the tire swing, climbed up to a wooden tree shack of sorts, played with the arcade game in the living room and messed around with all other kinds of things in the house.  All of the kids were very well behaved.

He loves nothing more than he loves ice cream.

And judging by his face, you can tell chocolate is his favorite flavor.

Hanging out on the small beach with his buddy Caleb.

The small cove was beautiful

We also spent a couple hours trying to get some crabs off of the pier.  When we got home, Baby CP was pretending to throw things down the side of a chair to "get crabs."

When it was time to drive home, I was sure Baby CP would whine and cry about my not sitting in the backseat with him.  I explained to him that I might puke if I sat back there.  He understands the concept of "puke" because when he gets too excited and runs around too much, he starts coughing which triggers his gag reflex and then....puke.  So, lucky for me, he was sympathetic and said that it was ok if I sat in the front.

These days, Baby CP no longer wakes up from naps crying.  He might whine a little, but for the past month or so, he doesn't have those 20-30 bouts of continuous crying and demanding to be held.  I for one am glad that he has outgrown that.

He now likes to drink "like a big boy" and will often refuse a straw.  He also wants to pee "like a big boy" and stands in front of his potty rather than sitting down.  We didn't push these things on him.  He just decided that was what he wanted to do.

Baby CP attended his first preschool playdate.  Mr. CP took him so I did not witness it personally, but I'm told that he behaved well and even helped put some toys away at the end.  I hope his play date at the other preschool(s) go as well.

33.5 Months

Below are a few more recent photos...

While Baby CP continues to love his trains and magnets, he also really likes to play with playdoh and stamps.  We recently got him a mini kick scooter and he's been slowly improving while cruising up and down the block with his neighbor buddy.

Baby CP seems to prefer speaking in English most of the time now.  I ask his daycare teachers what he speaks there and they tell me he speaks in Chinese since a few of the teachers don't speak English, but at home he usually expresses himself in English sentences.  He tries to negotiate these days...if you offer to let him watch one episode of Dora, he will often say no, I want 2.  If you tell him we have to go somewhere or do something he might say...can I play a little bit first? 

Baby CP is able to sing many songs and can keep up better with what he hears on television.  He also really likes to dance.  Last night he started to sing the Speckled Frog song...I didn't know he knew that one.  If a theme song comes on he will leave the couch and just start to show off his moves.

33 Months Old

My internet connection at work isn't the greatest, so uploading photos is not super reliable.  Below are a couple recent photos and links to some new videos:

 

Jumping in a bouncy house at a friend's birthday party.



Getting ready to jump into the pool.



Getting ready for a bike ride.

Here is a link to another video.  I am not sure why blogger won't post it here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBYvSbPNv8k

Halloween! (A very late post)

I've been delinquent, but I'm making up for it with Halloween photos!  Baby CP is wearing the same costume as last year...why?  (1) He was sick last year and only wore it for half an hour and (2) I'm a lazy mom.

This year, Baby CP was old enough to run around and start to understand what Halloween is really about....costumes and candy!  In the morning, Baby CP took a stroll through the Orrick offices with mommy.  It was mommy's last week at the firm, so perfect timing for the little buddy to check in and say goodbye to all of the secretaries who give him tons of attention.  He loves the ladies.

At daycare, they brought the kiddies to some other local Halloween events so that they show off their costumes and learn more about trick of treating.

Finally, in the evening, Baby CP was invited by his buddy Mini Burrito to partake in a local Halloween celebration.  Mr. CP and I had to get rid of/hide most of the candy that was obtained, but we let the little guy have some chocolate, which is his absolute favorite food.

Phew!  It was a long day. 

Yoga Master

Baby CP's teacher says that he can follow along with pretty much everything that the yoga instructor asks the kids to do.  Last weekend, his gymnastics teacher said that he was ready to move up to the next level.  And two weeks ago, his swim teacher awarded him a sticker for breath control.  Way to go Baby CP!