Olivia is 3!

Olivia turned 3 two days ago. We had a party for her on Sunday at the same place as last year. This year, I noticed that all the kids were able to follow the coach’s instructions going from one activity to another.

First it was warming up – shaking legs, trying to smell their toes, being funny….

Then it was off to kangaroo jump on a long trampoline like equipment, roll into a pit, then up and down the slide.

Olivia loves jumping and she was the only kid who got pretty good height on the trampoline. Next is another type of trampoline where the trampoline material is a little softer. Again she enjoyed herself very much. The pictures say it all.

The last activity was the rock wall. Surprisingly, she was a little scared on this one. We have a little rock wall on the swing set and she climbs up without help but I guess this wall is bigger and steeper.

Olivia’s birthday treat from the coach is flying through the air. Initially she won’t let go of the coach’s hand but then she was fine. She went a little higher but she doesn’t want to swing for long, I think she was still a little frightened.

Off to the party room for pizza, juice and cake.

I can see the difference between last year and this year. Last year, all Olivia wanted to do was jump and run around, ignoring anything the coach said. This year, she followed everything that the coach said and was responsive as well. I also know she enjoyed herself very much.

Her actual birthday fell on a Monday and hubby went into her classroom to celebrate with her and her classmates. He brought cupcakes, took a book to read to the class and spent about ½ hour there.

My baby is growing up!

Halloween 2009

Halloween is here again. What will Olivia dressed up as this year? Will I be a cheapo and dress her up in the Chinese costume that my parents brought last year?

Let’s see – on her first Halloween, she was a butterfly. Last year, she was a China doll (the Chinese outfit with pants). This year, I have the Cheongsam outfit. Should I dress her in the Cheongsam outfit or a different one? She’s still young enough that she has no opinion of what she wanted to be.

So, can you guess what Olivia dressed up as? Ready…..scroll down for the answer.

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ELMO!!

The costume was my niece’s. I told Olivia that she’ll be dressing up as Elmo a month ago and she has been talking about it ever since.

Grumpy Elmo.

Asking to eat the chocolate before we're done trick or treating.

It was an usually warm day and the costume is very warm. After about 1/2 hour of trick or treating, she was done. Everybody said she was the cutest Elmo.

"Graduation"

Olivia recently graduated from a tricycle to a bicycle with training wheels. My in-laws bought this used bicycle for her in a garage sale 2 weeks ago. Guess how much it was? $10!!

It is in pretty good shape and Olivia pedaled home from the garage sale. This type of bike does not have a brake. You just pedal backward if you want to stop. Olivia hasn’t figured this out yet. She kept getting stuck when she moved the pedal backward.


She’ll get it at some point. Oh yes….I have to get her a helmet.

Which is funnier?

In recent years, the number of children who are obese are increasing in an alarming manner. The school districts on Long Island have been trying to look for ways to get the students to eat healthier.

One of the ways is to ban students from bringing home bake goodies like cupcakes and cookies to school. It is a tradition among school children here to bring in cupcakes to school on their birthdays and share with their classmates.

Now, the funny part….I read in the newspaper a few days ago that one such school district is banning the cupcakes but is allowing pre-packaged snacks. Pre-packaged snacks!! Are they out of their minds?? Those snacks are loaded with SUGAR (main cause of obesity) and preservatives. At least, in home bake goods, we can control what we put into them.

Then, in the same report, one mother was lamenting “Oh, the kids are growing up too fast and we can’t even give them homemade cookies”. I was thinking; give your kids homemade cookies at home, lady.

So, which is funnier – school districts allowing pre-packaged snacks which are high in sugar and salt content or the mother complaining she can’t send in homemade cookies in her kids’ lunchbox?

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely agree obesity is a problem in the US and people should eat healthier and drink WATER instead of soda. But, I don’t think banning homemade cupcakes or cookies is the solution. Getting kids to eat healthier should start at home; teach them to make better choices in food. Of course, kids will be kids and they like sweets but there are good sweets and bad sweets.

I don’t give Olivia candy or cookies. She only drinks water and diluted orange juice on the weekends during breakfast. You’d be surprise that she eats brown rice, broccoli and whole wheat bread. I know, I’m a mean mommy……bwahaha……

Like Clockwork

Olivia would go to sleep on her new bed and like clockwork, would cry around midnight or 1am. She would continue crying until one of us go to her room. I would let her cry a bit to see if she would give up and go back to sleep but noooo…..her cries would just get louder and louder. I was afraid she would wake up the neighbors.

So, during the first week, I would go to her room, lie down with her and ended up sleeping on her bed. It has been 2 weeks now and sometimes hubby would go and also ended up sleeping on her bed. Luckily, it’s a comfortable bed as we bought a pretty good mattress.

We knew the transition would take a while since she has been sleeping with us for a few months.
I’m looking for a night light for her room, not sure if it would help, since she is so used to sleeping with somebody.

Again, I’m sure this is another phase in Olivia’s childhood that we would one day look back on and think fondly of, wishing that we could somehow recapture the emotion and hold on to her childhood.

What a Wonderful Age

Toddlerhood is a wonderful age. As difficult and frustrating as it can be sometimes, it is also full of surprises and excitement with funny sentences coming out of your toddler’s mouth. A few examples:

1. Olivia wants to do everything from washing the dishes to taking out the garbage. One day, when hubby was about to take out the garbage, she wanted to do it. It was a 13 gallon tall bag and quite heavy. She heaved it over her shoulder, said “I have big muscles” and took it outside to the garbage can.

2. I was on the phone with my cousin who is now residing in Boston, a few nights ago and Olivia kept interrupting by asking “What’s the name? What’s the name?” This was the cousin we visited last year when he was in Ohio. So I told her, it’s cousin J. After the phone call, she said “I’m afraid of J”. Where did that come from? Hubby and I could not stop laughing. I doubt she even remember this cousin.

3. It is hard to get Olivia to do things sometimes like taking a bath or brushing her teeth. One night, she was being extremely difficult and I called in “reinforcement”, which was hubby…J. Anyway, she kept saying No, No…then she pointed to the home office (hubby works from home) and said “You go do your work.” We really shouldn’t laugh but couldn’t help it.

To all the mommies are there, enjoy toddlerhood because in a few years, it will be gone.

My New Dora Bed

Mommy & daddy bought me a bed which was delivered last week. I had outgrown my crib and refused to sleep in it anymore. If you remember, I was sleeping with my mommy and daddy for the last few months.

Mommy put Dora sheet on it because I just love Dora. I also have a night table where I can put my books in.


I am still trying to get used to sleeping on my own. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I would cry and cry and mommy would come down and sleep with me. I get scared if I wake up during the night because it is so dark and I am all alone. One night, mommy was so tired that she brought me up to sleep with her and daddy.

At the moment, my favourite activity to do on the bed is JUMPING!

5 silly monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bump his head, mama called the doctor and the doctor said.........No more monkeys jumping on the bed. 4 silly monkeys.......