A lean, mean tennis machine!

After a week off from tennis, Valerie was quite excited to start practicing tennis again. Of course, she has to do it in style, which includes wearing everything from a colorful headband to a heart necklace to sparkly shoes. Who knows, maybe she'll be a better player because of them :)

Tennis 101

Today will be the first day that Valerie will step on the court for tennis lessons. Her interest in the sport is not too strong, so I figured putting her in an atmosphere with other toddlers learning tennis may help peak her interest. Let's see if the old saying "monkey see, monkey do" holds true in this case. So far, mommey loves shopping, Valerie loves shopping. Aunt Kat likes art, Valerie likes coloring. So, daddy enjoys tennis, Val enjoys tennis? Hahaha, only time will tell.

Valerie at 3 years old

Valerie is growing up so fast! She's been potty trained and just moved up to the 3 year old Preschool class. She's attending 3 full days. She seems to be adjusting well and happy to be joining her friends in the room. She also got very good assessment grades from her teachers for all her developmental milestones from 19 to 36 months. Valerie has come a long way and still has some trouble separating from mommy and daddy.

Q & A

Valerie is really growing up as she is communicating like a mini-adult and learning more words. She’ll give consistent answers whenever Sherry and I ask her the same questions over and over. It’s really wonderful to see her develop and see the kind of person that she’ll become.

Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Red

Q: What is your favorite animal?
A: Polar bear

Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Milk

Q: Who is your best friend?
A: Mommy

Q: What do you want to do today?
A: Color and read books

Q: What do you want for Christmas?
A: Books and clothes

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: Nurse (I’ll still try to train her into a tennis prodigy, haha!)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! I'm surprised that Valerie is the only one in her class dressed up for Halloween. It's a beautiful day and no one dressed up? Valerie must feel awkward being the only kid with the costume on.

Milk Consumption

Valerie is not lactose intolerant. We stopped using the Lactaid after a week because it didn't help much and switched her back to the organic milk. The reason her stomach stuck out was due to her daily milk intake. Recently, Valerie likes drinking milk from a regular plastic cup instead of her straw cup, and she is drinking less milk, around 16 to 20 ounces. She drank a lot and so much faster with the straw cup.

Children over 12 months of age need only 16 to 20 ounces of milk a day recommended by pediatricians. We're aware of that but she loves milk. She was drinking about 36 ounces per day. She became full from the milk and didn't eat much of her solid food. I hid all her straw cups, so she doesn't ask for them and now she likes using the plastic cup. After she lost all the fluids, she seems lighter to me and her pants seem a little loose. Now, her tummy is normal and she eats more solid food:)

Valerie is Almost Potty Trained

Valerie is almost completely potty trained. She did it! She would say " Mommy, go potty" every time she needs to pee-Voluntary request. Cecil initiated the process by hiding all the diapers. I got her to use the potty by depriving her the things she loves such as holding her or extra milk. I also put her on the potty 30 to 40 minutes after she had milk or water and I wouldn't hold her till she peed in the potty. Bribing doesn't work on her. It's true, your child wants your love more than anything. She wears underwear during the day but still uses diaper at night. And she always pooped after I changed her diaper before bedtime. Next step is to get her to poop in the potty.

A Day in my Life of Fatherhood

Being a dad has brought me great joy, but it isn’t without its challenges. There is no one correct way to raise a child. Instead, everyone has their own unique style and methods. In the following video, you’ll see Valerie struggling and crying from trying to take her shirt off. Any good parent will help their child in need or trouble, but in this case, what do I do if Val doesn’t want my help? I apologize in advance if the video appears cruel but Val is quite independent, and pretty stubborn.



Drawing from what I know and my own childhood experiences, I feel having balance is very important in a child’s life. Sometimes, it’s just not that simple as you’ll see in this next video where Val and I are at odds in finding a balance between spoiling her with everything and depriving her of everything.



Haha, you may have noticed from the videos that my daughter likes to be naked. I just hope it’s a phase and not a sign of anything bad in the future…

Lactose intolerance

Valerie may be lactose intolerant. We mentioned that her tummy was big to her pediatrician when she was 6 months old. The doctor said it's normal, baby's tummy sticks out till they're 18th months old. So, we didn't think too much of it because she was tolerating her formula and the whole milk with no signs of diarrhea. Until, 2 weeks ago, Uncle Dave mentioned that Valerie's tummy seemed big. Thank You, Dave :)

I brought her to the doctor's office this week and mentioned that her tummy is still big to her pediatrician. The doctor felt her tummy and said "She's probably lactose intolerant." I switched her milk to Lactaid, and her tummy seems smaller. She's doing much better with the Lactaid milk and her tummy seems normal now.

Day-Care Update

Today is the first day that Valerie didn't cry when I dropped her off at school. The teacher is telling me that she's doing great and very talkative in class. I'm happy that my baby is finally warming up to her teachers!!!

Potty Training:So Hard

We have been trying to get Valerie to use the potty, but she refuses to use it. She does seem interested in the potty chair. She'll say "Mommy, I need to go potty." She would pull down her diaper and sit on the potty but she won't use it, when she really gotta go. She's 2 & 1/2 years old and we're ready to ditch her diapers for good. After many unsuccessful potty training attempts, we just gave up. Potty training is a big deal and it's going to be a long battle. Perhaps, we have to be more patience.

Day-Care

Valerie's been going to day-care, 3 full-day a week for 4 months. Every time I drop her off, she cries and she wants to go home with mommy. I try to accentuate the positives like making new friends, playing in the playground and learning new things. The teacher says she's fine all day, and she seems happy when I pick her up. She is still adjusting and she's still kinda of shy and timid around people that she doesn't know.

Why?

Recently, Valerie's been asking us WHY about everything. When she gets older, I know she will be asking me where do babies come from? I will not tell her something stupid like a girl can get pregnant from kissing a boy. When she's old enough, I'll get the body book out and tell her the facts. I think as parent, it's important to equip the child with knowledge, because I can't be there for her all the time and I hope she'll make the right decisions for herself.

Valerie is going to school

Valerie is growing up. She started going to school this Monday. She's enrolled in the 5 half-day program, which is the core of the program. We drop her off at 9 am and pick her up at 1pm. She is excited to go to school every morning but wants us to stay with her. Surprising, she didn't cry on the first day, but she cried yesterday and today. I called the center after 20 minutes to check on her, she stopped crying after 5 minutes after I left. I like the facility. It's very clean, the staff is good and it's only 5 minutes away. I get a daily report on what she eat , number of potty time/diaper change and what she does at school. With Valerie being in school for 4 hours, for the first time in 2 years that we actually have more free time, me- time and couple-time. Overall, I’m happy that Valerie is interacting with the other kids, learning and having fun. And, we still get to spend time with Valerie because it’s only half-day. It’s worth the money.

Val likes dog

I took Valerie to the park today. She was having fun playing and one of our neighbors stopped by with her little boy and her dog. Valerie started playing with the puppy and wanted to take the puppy home with her. She was crying and wanted the dog to go home with her. We took her to a pet store after lunch. She liked the white terrier, so we asked to see the puppy. Valerie was so happy to play with the dog and again she wanted to take the puppy home with us. Honestly, we don't know how to take care of a dog, it's a lot of responsibilities and too much work right now. Valerie's fondness for dogs is possibly because she was born in the year of the dog. We might consider getting a dog for her when she gets older.

Valerie's 20th month milestone

Things Valerie can do at 20th months old-in no particular order

1. Feed herself using a fork & spoon
2. Brush her teeth
3. Know the alphabet up to letter F (tried to record a video but she moves too much)
4. Use 50+ words
5. Turn on TV
6. Turn on & off light when asked
7. Point to body parts when asked
8. Take off her jacket & shoes
9. Go up and down the stairs without help
10. Identify pictures by naming

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Goebbert’s Farm in South Barrington today with our friends. We had a very good time because there’s a lot to do at the farm. It’s got the petting zoo, pony ride, corn maze, indoor restaurants and ect. I would definitely go back next year. The pictures are posted in Valerie’s Photos. I’m super tired, I’ve been up for more than 24 hours. I'm going to sleep. I’m just Happy it’s my last night of work for the week.

A Preference For Mommy

Valerie won't let anybody else do anything for her when I'm around even daddy. It's somewhat flattering to know that my daughter loves spending time with me, and I'm grateful for her attention, but she seems too dependent on me. My hubby is saying I'm holding her too much, I give in to her demands too easily and I don't discipline her. She definately behave differently when she's under daddy's care, she's well behaved and less clingy when daddy is taking care of her. I talked to other parents, they say it's a transitional stage. I want to provide enough love, comfort, security and support but don't want to over do it. Recently, I incorporate playdates and a daily walk in the neighborhood, she likes to play with other childrens and seem less dependent on me. I know she won't learn to let go overnight. Being good parents is the toughest job in the world, it takes a lot of work to raise good, healthy and happy kids but very rewarding.

Guess who's birthday it is today?

Happy Chinese New Year!

Thank you for the lai see, Mommy & Daddy! Love, Val