Vocabulary explosion

What happened? Over the last several weeks I've suddenly become quite a chatty cathy. My parents believe that I developed a lot of my vocabulary and speech mannerisms at school. I like to tell stories in a sing-song voice, "xxx, an den [and then], *tsk*, xxx, an den..." If my parents are not paying attention, I scold "guys, don't talk!" If they ask me a question, I might reply "I don't know" and shrug my shoulders. If they ask me to do something, I may say "I did already" and raise both hands out to the side. My parents can't get over the conversations we have now. I'm not a baby any more!

First new family outing

Check out my new sweet ride! We're out on our first outing together as a four person family to pick up pizza. Don't see Sebastian? He's in the back in what looks like the storage compartment!
Afterwards, we "picnic" with our pizza.

Adjusting to my little brother

My baby brother Sebastian sure sleeps a lot! I get excited when he's crying because that means he's awake. I tell Mommy "she's [sic] crying", "come, Mommy!", "hurry hurry!". I get excited watching my parents take care of him; sometimes it makes me giggle. I always want to stand in his bassinet and play with his mobile while watching his diaper be changed or him drink Mommy milk. I try to help any way I can, e.g. when I saw that he dropped his hat, I searched all over the house for it until I found it.

Mommy being busy hasn't bothered me too much because Daddy is always there for me. The first night back from the hospital, Sebastian's crying woke me up, so Daddy slept with me that night because I was too excited. I did tell Daddy that I didn't like Sebastian once - when Mommy couldn't go out with me because she had to take care of him, but Daddy reminded me that we have to take turns now. Sharing Mommy does become an issue however if she tries to pawn me off to a non-parent. Then I pull out all my attention-getting tactics with Mommy. When I don't want to take a nap, I say "I want to go pee pee". When I'm being ignored, I scream "ITCHY!" and that I need help with "squeeze-slap!"-ping my skin. When that doesn't work, I say I need to puff (albuterol asthma medication). My parents are on to me though because none of these things seemed to work today.

There are of course advantages to our new family dynamic. Mommy seems stuck whenever she's nursing Sebastian, so I jump on the bed, play with their expensive electonic equipment and hide them around the house, and otherwise wreck havoc while Mommy admonishes powerlessly from her immobilized perch. And, Daddy is more likely to reward me with tasty treats like chocolate milk and cookies.

Well, even with the adjustments that we'll all be making, I love my baby brother. He's awfully cute, and so small - just like a toy. I always want to hold, touch or kiss him, and give him as a "present" to my parents!

Meet my baby brother!

My baby brother Sebastian finally came!

I like him, even if the various hospital cereals, milk and Goldfish snack retained my interest longer.

Here is a link to some photos.

Big girl milestones

I have sat on the toilet many times, but get off before I produce anything. But today I was determined to actually pee in the toilet! So I brought Daddy to the bathroom with me and had him read books to me. He kept me company as I drank a whole glass of water and sang songs. And after two hours of sitting on the toilet, I finally pee'd into it! I was so excited!! So was Daddy! He gave me the much promised treats of ice cream, cookies and TV ("Charlotte's Web" and "Le Mans") for actually succeeding in peeing in the toilet. I have decided that this tactic is a great way to avoid naps and will milk it until my parents figure out my strategy.

On the same day, I slept in my new Big Girl Bed in my Big Girl Room for the first time! I fell off at one point so I told Daddy the next morning that it was "too small." (it's full size) I loved it nonetheless because I get to jump on it and play one of my favorites, a pretend-falling down game called "Oh No!"

Where's my baby brother?

Everyone told me that my baby brother was arriving today, but all I see is Mommy's big tummy. We went on a hospital tour where they gave me Goldfish snacks so now I keep wanting to return to the hospital to get more. I was also fascinated by the bed that elevated up and down. Until the baby comes, I like feeling him move and playing with all of his toys. I can't wait to meet my baby brother and get more goodies at the hospital!

Chinese food scare

My parents have been ultra careful with what I eat since I have such an intense allergy to peanuts and eggs. The allergist has even cautioned against eating at Chinese restaurants due to excessive peanut cross contamination, but we have been eating at many Chinese restaurants without issues. Today's experience however taught my parents a lesson to be more vigilant about which restaurant we patron! When I had some of my favorite foods (dumplings, tofu, green onion pancakes, rice) from a Chinese takeout lunch today, my lips and chin completely swelled up and my hands starting itching! I was screaming hysterically at our friends' house so we left soon after. I immediately fell asleep in the car, but then woke up 10 minutes later vomiting everywhere! Mommy instantly stopped the car to clean up the mess. When we got home, I started breaking out into hives. They weren't too itchy per se but their appearance fascinated me and I kept wanting to touch them. Mommy had to pin me down to squeeze the 5 ml of Benadryl into my mouth; luckily after a few hours I was back to my old self again. Whew, but not before giving everyone a big scare!

Last day before super fun times!

This is Daddy's last day of work before he takes three months off to spend time with me and my little brother to be! His company helped us celebrate by hosting a company wide family picnic at the Shoreline Amphitheater next door. I screamed with delight running around Daddy's office, yelling "sho sho sho" into his big bullhorn, slurping iced lemonades, and giving high fives to the adult sized bunny rabbit!

Thomas crazy!

I got to meet and ride on Thomas train! Daddy grumbled quietly about how the Thomas train we rode on wasn't really a steam engine, and about what a racket this whole institution is, but I didn't care because I totally ate it all up! And when I'm happy, my parents are happy.

My new bathroom!

After a 2 1/2 month long remodel, I'm taking my first shower in my new bathroom!