leapfrog

Katy is just growing up so quickly! She has been a bit grumpy and wilful lately - today we noticed her two year molar coming out on the top left side, which explains a lot.

It's been a real battle of wills lately, culminating in a prolonged episode this morning where she very stubbornly refused to put away a toy, to the point of refusing bribes of flower biscuits (bright pink with icing on top too!) and throwing the toy away when it was put into her hand and the container held out in front of her. The whole matter was only resolved when Dada took her into her room for a little chat and then they came out, and with a lot of encouragement and "help", Katy finally placed the last few pieces of the toy back in their container to much fanfare and cheering from the whole household. It was all still touch and go though - I saw quite a glint in her eye even as she placed the last piece in. She forgot all about the bribe. But this is all amazing because she has been until now a wonderfully cooperative child. Wilful and stubborn about sleep, but always cooperative and eager to please about everything else. I guess we are heading into the terrible twos.

There's so much going on though - I'm sure it is frustrating for Katy to not have all the words she wants to communicate and also to be constantly told what to do and what not to do.

She now likes counting from 4 to 9. She knows 1, 2, 3 so she doesn't bother with that, but we hear her often saying 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9...and maybe 10. Of course, she refuses when we get excited and ask her to do it for us. I don't think she knows the numerical concept, just the number order. And she now says ABCD, not just ABC. She gets excited when she sees alphabet toys around and says "Mama Mama ABCD ABCD".

Then tonight, out of the blue for Mama, Katy picked up her "Peek A" book and said "boo" for the ghost page and "choo choo" for the train page.We had never heard that before. Dad used to read this book a lot to her, but that was a long time ago.

She also enjoyed Snow White on Friday night and Goodnight Moon this evening. She loved saying Goodnight Moon.

Sorry, not wanting to boast about our child at all (really!), but I am using this forum as a journaling record to remind me of Katy's development and "latest tricks". Feel free to skip these bits and look at the picture postings only.

Yesterday, we had a big day. Katy got to bed only at 8.15pm. She was very tired and practically passed out, sleeping through until 6.15am. She had a good nap today of almost one and a half hours, but she had a bad nap yesterday, barely 30 minutes after Dada rocked her to sleep, and then was grumpy and tired at Ally Park's first birthday at The China Club. It was wonderful to meet Ally for the first time. They played a wonderful traditional Korean first birthday game where they place several objects in front of the child and see which one he or she picks, which indicates what the child will become. For example, money for finance, a book for academics, a pen for creativity, string for longevity, and a golf ball for a golfer. Ally picked the golf ball. Katy enjoyed her birthday cupcake, but the lunch with adults was a bit boring for her.

Then we went to Repulse Bay to see our friends Joyce and Ken and their new baby girl Lorena, who is almost 3 months old. Katy loved baby Lorena and was very concerned if she was not nearby. She was so gentle and loving with the baby. Katy also loved our friends' house - it was a whole new world to explore. She did very well with a long day without any real playtime.

We tried really hard to get her back on her dinner and bedtime routine this evening. She did really well. She wanted Mama to give her dinner and put her to bed and we had a lovely leisurely time after she had her bath with Dada. She was so funny. She initially refused to put her nappy on of course but then started rubbing her eyes and was persuaded to get dressed without much fuss at all compared to recent evenings. She wanted to sit in the rocking chair herself while reading Peek A, and then the lights were turned off and her Tommy Turtle star toy was put on and Mama sang to her while rocking her in the chair. After refusing constantly, she finally agreed to sit on Mama's lap in the rocker, then after one hymn (she even allowed Mama to sing Prayer of St Francis again), she asked for her book (I bring book bed) and went into the crib without a fuss, just a little cry out for her angel and bunny. What a joy Katy is. We are truly blessed to have her as our daughter.