Way Too Fast

I spent a good part of the New Year's Eve sorting through the kids' outgrown stuff, getting them ready for donation, give-aways and Craig's List. Everyone tells you to enjoy your kids because it goes too fast. But you don't quite realize how fast it really goes until you are staring at the stuff that not one, but both of your kids--who are five years apart, no less--have outgrown.

Here's the changing table that we received as a gift over seven years ago. It managed to withstand both of our wiggling, screaming, poopy kids. Both EB and BBoy pretty much hated laying still so they squirmed, rolled and kicked through most of their diaper changing sessions. Towards the end, one of its corners cracked and K ended up having to reinforce it with a heavy-duty metal wire. It's a simple changing table, but it served us well. In-between wiggles and kicks, K and I would kiss and bite their little toes, tickle them and gobble them up while they belly-laughed. I am going to miss this changing table.

EB at six months

BBoy at three months

Here's the crib that both kids slept in the first two years. Most nights they slept peacefully, 10-12 hours at a time (yes, we got lucky on that front). EB slept in that crib until two-and-a-half, whereas BBoy graduated to a big boy bed a few months shy of two. The little guy kept trying to climb out of the crib (he's a sneaky one), so we figured it was time.

BBoy planning his escape

EB peacefully sleeping

And then there's the little car that EB scooted around in. And the doggy walker that BBoy leaned on and learned to walk. Baby bottles and baby sippy cups. Bags of their outgrown booties, shoes and onesies.

In a blink of an eye, EB has moved on from giggling, singing toddler to to the still-giggling, still singing, sometimes eye-rolling and sulking pre-tween girl. BBoy is not too far behind, trying desperately to keep up with his big sis, struggling for more and more independence each day. And I look at both of them with awe, excitement, wistfulness.
























My 2014 resolution? Cherish each day. Because it really does go too fast.

Look Ma...

...no teeth! And I wasn't even home to see her lose her first baby tooth *SNIFF*

A Way With Words Year 3 + Season Premiere

This is my third annual installment of capturing funny little EB-isms. She's growing up so fast, I'm hoping that I have another few years before these funny little EB-isms become full-on bratty, ungrateful EB-isms (did I tell you that I'm a bit fearful of the tween/teenage years?)

While I'm at it, I thought I'd start throwing in some B-Boy-isms for a good measure.

The Latest EB-isms

"Jesus of God"
EB is in awe of the mightiness of God and the all-loving figure, Jesus. So much so that she goes around calling Jesus: "Jesus of God." Technically speaking, his name is Jesus. And he is the son of God. So by deductive reasoning, it probably is not inaccurate to refer to him as "Jesus of God."

"Georgia Washington"
If EB were a historian, we would all think that one of our Founding Fathers was actually a Founding Mother.


"I will wear it when we go to church"
Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It's been...uh, never since I've had my last confession. And it's been over a year since I last went to church. My little tomboy knows this all too well, so whenever I try to buy her a twirly, girly skirt, she looks up at me, smiles and says: "Looks great, Mom! I'll wear it when we go to church." Translation: at the rate we are going, it'll be another year or so.

"Cheese grill sandwich"
Like the French, EB sometimes puts her adjectives behind the described noun. For example, instead of saying: "blue sky," the French refers to it as "le ciel bleu" (direct translation: sky blue). So instead of "grilled cheese sandwich," the girl is going all Francophone on me by calling it "cheese grill sandwich."




Season Premier of B-Boy-isms

"Go!" (pronounced "Gah!")
He likes to repeat this over and over as he climbs up our stairs, as if he were a Little Engine that could.

"Uh-oh!"
Uttered when he purposely throws his sippy cup, bottle and food onto the floor.

"Na-na" (banana)
Self-explanatory

"Geh?"
When uttered while pointing to grapes, it means: can I have some grapes? Otherwise I will scream my head off. When uttered while pointing to my iPhone, it means: can I hold it? Otherwise I will scream my head off. And when you give it to me, I will test gravity and drop it on the floor.

"Ma-ma!"
Uttered when he is in a cuddly mood. This one always melts my heart:

Five!

EB turned five years old today! She woke up this morning, looked in the mirror, and said to me in a slightly disappointed voice: “I don’t look older, Mommy. Maybe I’m dreaming that I’m five.”

This girl just cannot wait to grow up. As for me, I just want to preserve her childhood forever. I get choked up just thinking about EB as a five-year old; something happens when you cross the boundary from four to five. For one, five years old is when you attend Kindergarten, or what I perceive as real school. As in I would need to worry about dropping her off on time, whereas now, I have no qualms about dropping her off 15-20 minutes late. Mathematically speaking, five is closer to ten than it is to one. Meaning, she’s just that much closer to entering the bratty tween years.

But for now, I won’t think too much about how quickly my baby has grown up. Rather, I want to take this moment to capture what she is like now, what makes her tick and what makes her the unique little girl that she is today.

• EB loves all things superhero. Unlike most other girls her age, she considers princesses “boring.” She wants to be where the action is and save the world , and her favorite superheros are Spiderman and Spidergirl.

• She loves treats—nothing lights up her face more than the prospect of eating candies, cupcakes and ice cream.

• Despite the fact that she loves her sweets, she has iron willpower. She will not eat any treats without consulting with me first, and if I allow her only three jellybeans, she sticks to those three.

• Along the same lines, she is obsessed about the idea of eating healthy food. She never tires of asking me which foods are healthy, which ones are not. In fact, She is so interested in this topic that she has proudly declared to me that she is an “expert of being healthy.”

• EB is insanely competitive, which drives me bonkers at times. She's even tried to be competitive with me, claiming that she is a better "drawer" than I am.  I was, however, very quick to point out that she is not a better artist. In fact, since I don't believe she should have an inflated self-esteem, I told her that there's probably not a lot of things that she can do better than I can at this point. The Tiger Mom's got nothing on me. 

• She is a good egg. Above everything else, she wants to please me and K. We feel lucky, although sometimes we wonder if and when pleasing her parents will drop off her priority list.

• She's had her first crush. Of course, she does not yet understand the meaning of a crush. But by the way she talks about this guy in her class, I recognize the signs of an early crush from a mile away.

• EB loves her little brother, and has surprisingly shown almost no jealousy.

• She also has an imaginary brother – her big bear Ian, whom she takes great pleasure in bossing around.

• EB knows how to work me and K. Separately, she will coyly tell each of us that she has a secret to tell us, dramatically motion for us to come close and then whisper in our ears: “I love you more than anybody.”

She’s Got a Way with Words, Year 2

It’s been nearly a year since I posted EB's three-year old "EB-isms," so I thought I’d refresh the list. Obviously the latest EB-isms have progressed beyond the simple funny words she used to invent. The latest collection includes a combination of funny-logic, logical-logic, and words that she will want to swallow when she hits pre-pubescent years.

EB on being a child of interracial marriage:
“I’m half-Chinese, but when I grow up I will be full Chinese - just like my mommy.”

She then also likes to point out that K is "Zero Chinese," and look at him pitifully as if he's missing out.  My ancestors would've been proud.

EB on growing up:
“Mommy, I want to live with you and Daddy forever and ever and ever.”

This one makes me smirk. I will be sure to pull it up when EB is in her pre-teenage years; rebellious, surly and ready to run away from home.

EB on her career aspirations:
“When I grow up, I want to work next to Mommy in the same office.”

God, I really, really, really hope this is not going to be the case, for both my sake and her sake. For my sake, because that would show that I have not moved up the ladder in 17 years. For her sake, because office jobs are overrated. I like my job just fine…but for the love of everything that’s good, follow your passions, EB!

EB on who’s the boss:
EB: “Mommy, I’m going to be the boss of you.”
Me: “Umm…no. I’m the boss of you and don’t you ever forget it.”
EB: “OK. But Mommy, you’ll never be the boss of Jesus; Jesus will always be the boss of YOU.”

This confirms that we are in the South. Neither K nor I are that religious; we’ve gone to the church maybe a handful of times, so she definitely picked this one up from other kids.

She's Got a Way with Words

EB is in a talkative stage -- she talks non-stop, making up phrases, words and expressing herself with funny logic. It's great fun; here is a list of my all-time favorite EB-isms*: 

hanitizer          noun \ ‘haŋ-ә-ti-zәr\

Hand sanitizer, as in Purell  (“Mommy, can I have the hanitzier?”)

donuts            noun

Something she can eat in place of peanuts because of her peanut allergies (“I can’t have peanuts, but I can have walnuts and donuts”)

nursery school    noun

EB’s reference to the nursing school that K currently attends (“Daddy is going to nursery school”)

dressing sandwich noun
Chicken salad sandwich that I had made, with way too much mayo mixed in (“I don’t like the dressing sandwich that Mommy made”)

age-ier  adj  \’āj-ir\
When one is older (“Mommy is age-ier than me”)

*EB-isms   noun \’ē-bē -izәmz\

1: words and phrases made up by EB 

2: a three-year old’s adorable attempt to make sense of things around her