Toddler looking at the zebra in the distance

22 month, 4 weeks old: 

• August 16:  Bb likes sleeping on top of her doll these days and rolling over it.  She knows she is “jat zu” it (squishing it).
• When waking up these days, she sometimes will say “fun dor dee” (I want to sleep in longer).  It’s like she’s a full-on teenager lol…
•  She can be so sassy sometimes and refuse or push away our arms when we’re trying to feed her and just in general say “no” frequently.  She really asserts herself and when we try to encourage her to do something else, she will whine and cry to get her way…
• This past week, she enjoys making cubes with the magnetic tiles.  She says “chai da hap” (make a big box).  I usually build the base of the cube for her and then let her build the rest.  She also likes to involve her “monster” stuffed animal to join in the cube-making.  “Gwai sau (monster), gor lay (come here)”.
• The cubes are slightly different each time because we make them different sizes or levels.  It’s great to see her at nearly 23 months be able to manipulate and build with the magnetic tiles.  I want to get a set of wooden blocks for her to build even more things with them — stack, put together, organize, build, play.
• She barely sits in her high chair anymore.  She prefers sitting on my lap during dinnertime which gets annoying because then I can’t really eat freely and she’s in the way of my stomach too.
• During breakfast though, she can sit alone at the chair or on the learning tower to eat.  I’ve been really lucky to be able to wake up late in the mornings 9 or so a.m. while grandma or DH gets bb ready for the day and eat breakfast.
• We actually started this week on a poor note.  On the morning of August 11th, bb woke up in the early mornings screaming and unable to fall back asleep.  It was like back when she had that night terror when we first moved into the new house earlier this year in January-ish.  Except this time she was awake and wasn’t sleeping.  Still, it took about 45 minutes of her wailing and wanting to leave her bedroom.  All three of us adults were awake and trying to get her to sleep.  We had to block the stairs because she was writhing in the hallway and we were afraid that she might fall down the stairs.  She pushed me away when I tried to calm her down and ultimately in the end grandma had to take bb to her room where she ultimately fell asleep.  In the morning around 6 a.m., bb was moved back to her bedroom where she slept until about 9 or so.  These days, bb sometimes sleeps until 9 a.m. which is a bit too late and interferes with the rest of her day (and pushes everything too late).
• We took her to a wonton noodle restaurant and after eating (she refuses to sit in the booster chair nowadays too), bb actually said “bao la” (I’m full) for the first time.
• Highlight this week was going to the Toronto Metro Zoo for the second time (her first visit was last year in September 2021).  We ventured around the same areas as last time but saw more different animals like the giraffes, zebras, and hippos which were highlights.  Bb is older this year to be able to see and recognize more animals like the snake where she was able to identify it by name.  It was funny because bb was more interested in people watching in her surroundings than the actual animals we were there to see.  Pandemic baby things.
• There were also way more people this time around at the zoo than last year in September.  There were so many families and kids and children in summer camps.  We also packed a lunch this time instead of buying lunch from the vendors.  It was so much more enjoyable (and cheaper) and efficient.  We were able to spend our time seeing more animals.
• Before we left for the day, we visited the splash pad at the zoo!  This could easily have been the highlight for bb.  The water shoes are so handy and I want to make the most of it this summer before she grows out of them.  I loved how the fountains and slides and splash pad at the zoo was all animal-themed.  It was so creative.  Bb enjoyed playing with water although she is still learning how to play and be comfortable in it.
• That same evening, we drove downtown (bb skipped a nap again) to enjoy the Taste of St. Lawrence picnic.  I received free tickets to attend.  We thought bb would have fallen asleep in the car ride from the zoo to home or from home to downtown, but she was wide awake.  Bb wasn’t a fan of the foods that were offered in the picnic basket though.  Most of it was slightly spicy.  Whenever food is spicy, she knows and says “lat” (spicy) and doesn’t eat it.  This also works well for when I’m eating Cheetos or salty snacks at home and I don’t want her to eat them.  I’ll tell her the snack is spicy and then she stops pestering me to try it lol.
• Same thing though, whenever she sees us eating something, she wants a bite of it too.  Even during dinner time if we have cut up something for her in her own plate, she prefers to eat what I’m eating even though it’s the same thing.
• We also visited Hot House Restaurant for dinner.  Bb was able to colour in the paper place mat with crayons that the restaurant provided (love when restaurants do that).  I was so impressed and actually surprised that bb was able to colour the birds in.  I should have taken a picture of it.  She went outside of the lines of course, but it was obvious enough that she only intended to colour the birds in.  Her crayon skills are developing.
• She passed out in the car on the ride home almost immediately.  And for the first time ever, when we arrived home, DH was able to bring her in from the car seat still asleep.  And he put her in her room to sleep when she slept until around 3 a.m. before waking up for a milk and diaper change.  She was exhausted from the full day’s activities.
• Bb is at such a cute and fun stage right now.  She blabbers and talks to herself and repeats things she’s heard.  Half the time she doesn’t know what the things mean but the other half, she actually comprehends and is trying to make conversation.  It’s so fun to watch.  I love her little voice too.  It’s so girly and small and cute.
• I actually miss her when I’m not around her because I don’t want to miss her little antics, but I also get tired after a while when playing with her.
• The nap situation hasn’t improved.  I’ve just relented to letting grandma or DH put her to nap these days.  I don’t even try because I only do the “get in the room and leave” method, which is what I was used to and had perfected.  Bb is used to someone staying and laying down in the room with her when she naps.  Somehow and some way, it needs to be corrected.  For now because I sometimes have jobs in the day, I’ll just let the other adults handle her naps. 🤷‍♀️  (Too many cooks in the kitchen means that a cook has to leave, so I’ll let the other cooks handle it the way they have in this new way.)
• On Sunday, we went to David Hamilton Park again, the one with the nice splash pads.  Bb was familiar with scooping water into her red sand bucket.  Bb came out of her comfort zone a little bit as we taught her to step on top of the fountains to make the water stop.  There were few kids around her that day too.  Bb gets so clingy whenever there are other people around her.  It was so fun that day (perfect 25 degree sunny weather with a strong breeze).
• Bb requested each adult to join her in the water play in turns.
• She cooperated to leave and sat in the car seat with minimal coaxing.  It’s really a hit and miss.  Sometimes, she’ll whine and tantrum for a bit before letting us put her in the car seat but sometimes she’ll be able and sit right in.  I guess it depends on if she’s also really tired too.
• One thing that worked (when we were downtown at the parking structure and bb refused to leave) was that there were some loud people coming into the parking structure and DH urgently told her that we had to leave because there were some loud strangers coming in.  I guess the fear and urgency worked and bb got in the car seat without fighting it.  I’m not a fan of fear tactics, but it worked in this case.
• Yesterday morning, I had a friend come over to our place to see it for the first time.  DH’s parents also were coming over too.  I told bb this in the morning that I was going to have a friend over and her grandparents were visiting too.  The moment she heard that, she already was in a scared stance and physically clung onto me on the sofa and wouldn’t let go.  When I stood up, bb hung on to my legs.  The people hadn’t even arrived yet and she was already scared!  This little one really needs to be familiar with more people.  And again, when her grandparents arrived, bb just clung on to my mom and didn’t let go.  She didn’t even eat until her grandparents left. 😪
• Bb does this “heh heh heh” laugh on purpose sometimes and it’s hilarious.
• People keep asking me if we put her in daycare or will be.  Honestly, I’m not sure.  Daycare is for babies/toddlers who have parents who work full-time and aren’t able to care for them/or don’t like caring for them full-time.  I work part-time freelance and I’m at home and my mom is retired and at home too.  That’s basically one and a half adult available to look after her.  DH also works from home 80% of the time and he also takes care of her during the work day too.  Monetary-wise, it’s not feasible for us to spend money just for someone else to take care of her when we can do the same at home.  The only part would be that bb would socialize and learn to play with other toddlers more.  Also, she would learn authority and how institutions work.  However, do I really want to put her in an “institution” this early?  She will be in school starting at age 4 and then for a good decade + afterwards too.  I also think about the parents who homeschool.  Their kids seem to thrive as well and don’t need a regulated or rigid school system to learn and become members of society.  So who’s to say that we *have* to put her in daycare?  Maybe we will put her in daycare at age 3.  With the changes that are coming soon this year, we will keep her at home for the foreseeable future and then reassess when she gets closer to 3 years old.
• I haven’t physically picked her up in a while.  She is heavier and not so easy to carry around.  When I do, I clutch her with her knees bent.  She is almost past the halfway point height of grandma too.  When I look at the baby monitor when she is sleeping, she is stretched out so much taller than before.  She’s like a little girl now and not a baby.
• When grandma was getting her things ready to go to the park this morning with her, bb said aloud the things that they needed to bring.  Like, she’s reminding grandma.  “Bring blueberries.  Bring crackers.  Bring sunglasses.”
• We always put sunscreen on her too.  Her hands and forearms are so dark!  This little girl has been out in the sun so often this summer.  In fact, we have gone out so much more this summer alone than the past two summers combined (because of COVID-19).
• Bb started to say “thank you” in English this week!  I was taken aback when she said it to me after I handed something to her.  DH must have taught her it.  I immediately said “you’re welcome” to her and she repeated it right back to me.  Her “thank you” sounds like a horsey old lady speaking 😂.  We’ve been teaching her to say “mm goi” (“thank you” in Cantonese), so the English really threw me off.
• “Mm yeu” (don’t want), “mm ai” (don’t like) are her common things she says in refusals.