Holidays, nursing and other updates

My dear baby Echo

As a grownup, I never cared for the holidays. Lack of belief, cynical view of anything collective, an intravert personality, distance from the society in which I was raise, all played part in my disengagement. Then I had kids, and now we celebrate everything. We started mildly with baby Zoe, mostly focusing on Halloween and Easter, because they are the most fun, and lightly covering Passover and Christmas, and a tad of Hanukah, without much holiday spirit.  As she grew up, she became more aware, so we bumped up our efforts each season. And then you came along, and doubled the fun of each special occasion. And now, like the rest of Americans, we celebrate.

We just finished celebrating Purim and Easter. They were back to back this year, so it's been an exciting week. First came Purim, so we went to a costume party. Zoe put on her pirate costume from past Halloween and you dressed as a fairy. You loved your pink wings, and swayed your airy dress from side to side. The next day, you had another Purim celebration where you dressed as a ballerina. You adored your ballerina tutu, and kept asking me to repeat the words, so you learn the type of costume you are wearing. "This this?" you asked, pointing at your dress. "Ballerina tutu, for dancing," I responded. You looked deep into my eyes, a smile forming on your lips. "This this?" "Ballerina tutu. For dancing. "Dance." you said. "This this?" you asked again, pointing at your dress. "Ballerina tutu," I said. You tried to say it too. We repeated this cycle over and over. I also put flower clips on your hair, to complete the look. You were beautiful.

Then Easter came. I've been collecting egg and bunny related fun stuff for the last few weeks in a secret bag. Stickers, chocolates, stuffed bunnies, plastic eggs to be filled with chocolate... The night before Easter, papa and you went to Home Depot, and Zoe and I spent some mama-Zoe time, filling some of the eggs with chocolate and candy. Only some of them, because I wanted the rest to be a surprise for her too. We had so much fun that when you two came back, Zoe asked that we continue to have mama-Zoe time. On Easter day, papa and I hid the eggs in the back yard. You girls had a ton of fun looking for the eggs, and even more, eating the chocolates.

Zoe is learning a lot in Kindergarten and through her, I see how aspects of life can be confusing. She is learning about all the holidays at school, including the Chinese New Year, Presidents Day and Martin Luther King day. Given the party animal that she is, coupled with a child's love for gifts and surprises, she is expecting celebration, and is surprised that we only acknowledge these dates without gifts, decorations, and special meals. There is no explanation that makes sense, we  you think about it, so I leave it to time.

Nursing:

Baby Echo, we haven't nursed 4 days in a row. It wasn't easy. It broke my heart to say no night after night, and to see your sad face, as you snuggled into my chest and sucked your thumb. Last night started like the previous 4 nights. You, on my lap, asking for boob, pointing at them, saying "yeah, yeah," me saying "no baby, you are a big girl..." you insisting, lifting my shirt, me insisting, you giving up, snuggling and sucking your thumb. Only that you didn't give up. You kept imploring. It was making me sad, and I wished you would stop asking, because I started doubting my willpower to say no. Your imploring must have affected Zoe too. She was sitting next to me, hearing our exchange. "Give her a little boob mom," she said. That pretty much broke the little resistance power I've left. Let's see how we do tonight.

You're growing:

You went down the steps, holding on to the railing, walked all the way to the mailbox, got the mail out, and started waving the envelopes, with a victorious face. We didn't ask you to get the mail. You just did.

I love you.

Mommy.

Talking bird, girl fun, and other updates

My Baby Echo,

I've been wanting to write a blog entry for you since Valentine's Day, because I wanted to make a record of our little Valentine's fun this year. Here we are, two weeks later.

Papa had a great idea to reserve a fancy hotel room for us at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. Him and I took the day off, to enjoy downtown, and the hotel. We decorated one of the beds with chocolates, balloons, and a candle, as a surprise for you and Zoe. At night, we brought you girls to the hotel, in your PJs, and watching your excitement and faces full of joy.

In the morning, you had breakfast with cookies, milk and M&Ms, and off we went to the jacuzzi and the pool. After a royal brunch, we spent the remaining of the time playing princesses at the palace grounds. Although this was probably more enjoyable to Zoe, you had fun in your own way, going up and down carpeted steps and being greeted by hotel residents and personnel. Before heading home, we went to Zara, to give Zoe an opportunity to pick a piece of clothing for herself. I let you pick what to wear as well, but I usually narrow it to 2 items and ask you which you like more. With Zoe, we are slowly moving toward letting her pick on her own.

I wonder if we had sons, instead of two daughters, we would ever plan this event. On Sunday, we went to the Science Fiction Museum, to see the Hello Kitty exhibit. We had so much fun, watching everything in awe and desire. Zoe kept asking if she could buy a toy at the end of the exhibit. I agreed to one gift each, although I was actually ready to buy multiple things you girls liked. To my disappointment, the museum store was very meager in their selection, and Zoe settled for a hard Hello Kitty doll that wobbles her head. I got the same for you, and at night, I searched the web for a near by Hello Kitty store, and when that failed, I went on an online quest to find awesome Hello Kitty gifts. Next time we have some time to spare, I will sit with Zoe to pick a few items. I will also try to get a feel from you, on your preferences. Just like the Valentine's day - I wonder if we would do any of this if we had boys.

Updates on your vocabulary:
Nearing your 20th month, you started going through a linguistic breakthrough. You point at things and want to hear me say what they are. You repeat almost everything, some with greater clarity than others. You are very polite, and use "please" often: "Help please," "milk please," "more please," "boob please." That makes it a lot harder to say no, especially when you also add "yea!" as in "boob please, yea!"

You point at yourself in the mirror and say "Echo" and love eating "hanni" (honey). But best of all, is to watch you ask for chocolate. "Kakash, kakash" you say, while rubbing your thumb to your fingers, as if signaling money.

Zoe and you:
You love Zoe. When you see her door closed, you start knocking, and yelling out her name "Ayi, Ayi." When she watches a show on the tablet, you sit with her, and watch too. This has been easier since you learned not to touch the characters on the screen. Zoe surprises us daily at how good a sister she is. She is very gentle with you, no matter how rough you are at times. I interfere, so she doesn't get stepped on, and so you learn that hitting is not ok. Instead of complaining, or hitting back, Zoe chooses to be kind. Not too long ago, you kept pulling her hair over and over, no matter how many times I sad no. I just couldn't watch it anymore, and I pulled your hair, so you know how it feels. You stopped pulling Zoe's hair. "Mommy, next time, let me handle this. I say 'no baby, no Echo' caressing her."

At pick up time, if little siblings show up, her teachers at the after-school program give stickers to the little ones. Papa told me that when they didn't give you a sticker, Zoe took you by the hand, went to the teacher and asked the teacher if she could "give a sticker to my little sister." She is a very special sister and I hope you two stay friends.

Other updates:
Papa and I have been aware of your exceptional fine motor skills, and your teachers took notice too. The way you hold a crayon and draw, the way you operate the faucet and wash your hands, put your boots on and off, put your coat and pants on, and the anger you display when I want to do it for you. It is all so unbelievable and cute. On Thursday, we have a parent teacher meeting. Can't wait to hear about all the things you are doing in class. I wish they had cameras I could watch during the day.

I love you so much.
Mommy