When "No" Means No.

Dear Hannah, 

You've learned a new word this week and you know to use it well. "No!" While this is fine in my book, Nathan is not as keen about it because when he makes a request of you and you say, "No" it can be very frustrating for him and so he'll start to thrash wildly--which by the way is not the way to handle "No." There are much better ways and I hope he will start practicing them more soon so you don't pick this up sooner than you naturally would on your own. 

Well, in other news, you are very interested in scooter riding. One day, I was helping Nathan with something and as I glanced back to check on you, you were hanging onto the handle bars, rolling across the driveway, exclaiming, "WEEEE!" Of course, when you hit the grass, you toppled over, but you got right back on the scooter and tried to push off again. I'd say by next month, you'll be zooming around just like big brother. 

 You found a stick in our yard and decided to use it like a walking stick. Not sure where you picked that up...

 Yesterday, we had our usual Chinese storytime, but on a day when Nathan could attend too. For the end of the Chinese new year festival, it's traditional to eat sticky rice balls which is like the full moon, which symbolizes the fullness of life. Everyone had lots of fun making the little round balls.

 Nathan was a rolling machine.

 And when it came time to eat, everyone enjoyed them, except for Hannah, who preferred the sweetened red beans.

For fun Friday, Nathan requested that we make a dessert out of the limes that he picked out from the grocery store. We ended up making lime bars, which were super yummy. Hannah cracked the eggs (too quickly for us to keep up) while Nathan measured and poured the ingredients. It was quite the operation and in the end, we ended up with a concoction that looked and tasted as it should.

At some point, Hannah got into the pantry and pulled out a bag of opened macaroni noodles and spilled them all over the floor. I decided to see if you were now mature enough to clean it up yourself, so I swept up the noodles and put them on a plate and asked you to put the noodles back into the bag. Sure enough, you started to do it. And with more applauding and encouragement from me, one by one, you started to put the noodles into the little open hole. I got the camera and took this picture.

 A few seconds later, Nathan joins in and the stash of noodles quickly dwindle. By the end, you both were fighting over who gets to put back the last few pasta pieces! If cleaning up were always this fun.

Hannah, you still continue to LOVE swings. When you see one, you will book it, and run as fast as your little legs can towards the swing, pointing and grunting to make sure we know that you want to get on and when you are on one, you will point to the swing next to you, as if you are inviting me to get on and swing too. (Which makes me nervous because you are only holding on with one hand) 

 And girl, you sure love to accessorize. Whether it be a belt, a necklace, or book, you love sporting little things around your neck.

 Today, we went in for your 18 month check up. Everything looks good and you are following your growth curve just perfectly. However, you seem to remember the people because as soon as you saw the nurse, you started to cry. She was the one who gave you the shots in the past and that did not sit well with you. You also got 4 shots today and seem to be taking it pretty well so far.

 Dear Nathan,
On Saturday, while Daddy was playing Hockey, we met up with a friend at the Nature center. You guys are about the same age and both of you have little sisters who are about the same age as well. Both of you are just the sweetest boys and except for a few whines over chips and strawberries, you guys get along really well. Here you are both so patiently waiting for lunch.

 On Sunday, you got invited to a birthday party at an inflatable jump house. You used to hate going to these places and I'm so proud of you for being brave and despite the loud fan noises, joined your friends on the inflatable toys. It was neat seeing you boys follow each other around, interact and play on the different inflatables.

 Yesterday, you completed a painting and you wanted to add it to your art wall. As you can see, it's pretty full.

I asked you which of these pictures is less cool or less pretty, that we could take down to make room for new pictures. Immediately, you said, they are all very pretty and cool. We need to keep them up. Just find more clips. Ok,

Well, that is it for now. Hannah, you keep practicing the scooter and Nathan, you keep practicing your roller skates. I'm looking forward to the day where we can just roll around the neighborhood as a family.

Until next week,
Mommy