2010 Mothers Day

I wanted to post this one on the Mothers Day, but my laziness defeated my diligence.

Audrey made these gifts for Mothers Day at the day care. Miss Jen told my hubby when he picked Audrey up that she spent almost 2 hours painting the box, one coat after another. We all were really surprised how concentrated she could be.




After they got home, Audrey said to me "MaMa, I have a present for you". The moment I saw them, my heart melted, in happiness.

The First Splash!

Audrey has been waiting for the coming of the rain since I bought her the Hello Kitty rain boots. Today, she finally got it. After we got home, I put her boots on, then out she went!

Completely immersed in the splashing fun:


On the run. I love how this one turned out:

2010 Easter Toddler Fun

The weather was so gorgeous on the Easter day this year that Audrey could wear this fancy Easter dress sent from her Aunt in Chicago. Surprisingly, she even allowed me to do her hair by sitting still for a few minutes. Normally, this would be a struggle. At the age of 2, she knows to be pretty.


Pointing the crocus to me:

Appreciating the beautiful early Spring flowers:

Posing for a picture:

Enjoying the Easter gift bag that our neighbor dropped by at my doorstep:

Studying the Easter bunny horn:

2010 Easter Egg Fun

A Beautiful Summer Day

It was sunny, warm and absolutely gorgeous yesterday. Audrey did not miss any chance to play outside. I was in a hurry to cook dinner, but she was whining to go out because she was not hungry, "I don't like anything". In the end, I told her to eat on the back patio. And it proved an excellent one. We sat on the step, enjoying the warm day and having our dinner. She enjoyed her mac and cheese very much, I have to say.

What are you doing, Mama?

Last Saturday, I bought a smoothies for Audrey in the Mall. She was not very fond of it since she did not drink much before we got home. At the lunch time, she tried to dink again while I was preparing for some lunch. When I came back to the table, I noticed the straw was out of the cup, and the wall behind her seat was dotted very well with brownish smoothies. How can't I be angry? After cleaning the mess, I sat down to eat.

Audrey: What are you doing, MaMa?
MaMa: Eating!
Audrey: You mad at me, too?
MaMa: No, how can I now?

It is Spring Again!

Heavy snow on the ground seemed evaporated over night. The whole week are sunny and warm. Tulips, daffodils, crocuses are coming back to lives. We are also coming out of the house and enjoying the fresh air.

We have hard time putting jackets on Audrey now. She regained the freedom that heavy snow jacket and pants deprived from her all winter long. She was eager to let her little arms get some sunshine on.

Last Tuesday afternoon, she ran around in the yard after coming home from the day care. Barely two weeks ago, who would ever thought we could go out without a snow boots and winter jackets on? But now it is the reality. Enjoy the warm days when we can.

I am Toddler!

Last night, Audrey was sitting on my lap watching a show with me. We had a very interesting conversation, yes, with a 2 year and 4 months old.

Mama: Are you Chinese?
Audrey: No
Mama: Are you American?
Audrey: No. I am Toddler!

Use Scissors!

Yesterday afternoon, while Audrey was watching DVDs, she tried to pull up the zipper on her jacket. However, the zipper was stuck half way, and the lower part was yanked open. I offered to help. Unfortunately, it needed some work. I could not pull it down in order to zip it properly, either.

When I was pondering what to do, Audrey offered me a suggestion: "Mama, scissors!" This made me burst into laughter. This is the logic that only a 2-year old will have.

In the end, I did not follow her suggestion, should I? but managed to undo the zipper, align the 2 pieces properly and pull all the way up in one smooth action.

Oh boy, I had a good laugh. Zipper was stuck, Use Scissors!

Audrey's Weekend Braids

Now I find it more and more fun to have a girl as I can play with her long hair and test my styling skills.

Saturday, Audrey was very cooperative in the morning because she knew we were going to the library. Yeah!!! Therefore, I took the opportunity to ask her to make braids for her. AND she said yes.

I wanted French braids on my own head so badly all these years, but my skill is not up for one on my own hair. So I decided to try it out on Audrey's hair now since I have a model. :-))))

They looked so pretty on her! This also gave me the confidence that I am actually able to make them.

Modeling started:

Front: (taken after coming back from the library)

Right:

Left:

Back:

See, she posed perfectly for those pictures.

Ring Around Rosey

Ring around the rosey,
A pocketful of posies.
ashes, ashes.
We all fall down.

Audrey was so keening on singing this rhyme that she would invite everybody to dance around with her. One day, we went to our neighbors for a day-after-Christmas party. That was a perfect chance for her to perform in public. She likes Nona very much, of course, Nona was luckily chosen to perform with her.

The Little Drummer/Reader

She was reading the new Princess Book that Auntie Xin presented to her on the Chinese New Year. It is such a thick book, but she managed to carry it around the house while saying "so strong". She actually meant "so heavy". :-) I was worry about her dropping the book on her feet, so I often put her on her boaster seat and let her read at the table.



Hubby saw the sesame seed pancake container and thought it was a perfect drum for Audrey to play. Audrey instantly knew to pat on the top like a pro. Look, how concentrated she was!

The Cheer Leader

Audrey entered in the dress phase. She wants to wear dresses every day!!! Unfortunately, we live in a snow-all-winter long place. The temperature is normally below freezing, if not freezer temperature.

Her Auntie sent her this cheerleader dress for Christmas. She struggled to put it on the minute she saw it. I think she looks cute in it and decided to record the moment. Here goes our cheerleader. (As a matter of fact, that was the Super Bowl XLIV weekend.)



Oops, the diaper was peeking out:

I am Safe now:

Snow Angels

Last Sunday, we had a good layer of snow on the ground. It was too fluffy to make snow man, however, it was perfect to make snow angels. After a short walk in the sub-freezing temperature with Audrey, we came back to our backyard to make snow angels. Audrey enjoys doing it after she learned making it from other older kids at Miss Jen's.

She laid down beside me and we made a mama and a baby snow angels.

Baby:

Baby snow angel in motion:

Mama:
Baby and Mama:

I wanted to take more pictures of her playing with the snow, but guess what, she refused to let any of her pictures taken. So we had this paparazzi and celebrity scene. It was hilarious!




Take a look at our snow coated backyard if you are lucky or unlucky to experience snow.

House with a Two-Year Old = Messy House

Audrey is a mess maker! After a weekend, she will transform the living room into a disaster land.

All the books will be scattered on the floor. She loves to read, so she yanks one book after another one from the bookshelves to satisfy her curious mind. Sadly, she does not know the proper way, or any way, to stack them back on the shelves. She then will walk on the books to get where she needs to. Yeah, nothing can hurdle me-baby. Good girly, way to go.

Stuffed animals can only offer temporary comfort to her. She will hold one piece for max. 2 minutes, then drop it where she is and move on to grab another one that catches her attention. However, there is exceptions. That are the baby dolls. She loves them so much that she practically sleeps with them and will get distressed whenever they are out of her sight.

About two weeks ago, I was skypeing with my parents, in no time, Audrey transformed our living room to this litter wonderland. Mom on the other end of the line kept saying "this is so normal for a toddler." Really???

The Disaster Wonderland:

But, I am unable to stand that kind of mess. So after she went to sleep on that Sunday night, I had to put things in order for the following week. I call this Disaster After: