Two minutes

That's what Jia says now whenever she thinks we're about to stop her at what she's doing. She's cautious, so we hear it a lot.

Here are two minutes worth of new summer photos, just because they're cute.


Making extra sure that her babies have everything they need for their apparently very long trip.

When I asked her to smile here, she actually kicked up her leg too. Should the mugging stop? Perhaps.

This girl loves a good party. (Maybe I should say "these girls.")


Poor cousin Han. Jia is perfecting her "What? I didn't do anything!" look.

Jia loves to help in the garden.

We planted flowers in her playhouse and it's her job to take care of them. They're thriving!

Peony Festival!

I chaired the Peony Festival tonight, the big annual event for the China AIDS Orphan Fund. I am completely exhausted. I have been so tired over the last few days that I put microwave popcorn in the toaster (and luckily didn't cause a fire), and at a party, put a bib on Joe instead of Jia. That drew many laughs as folks thought it was an intentional joke, but alas, it was not.

Anyway, things came together very well for the festival. I am forever indebted to my friends who helped make the event happen. Thanks, you guys!

Here are some photos:


Jia didn't quite understand that a mask is worn on your face.


Maybe a game of peekaboo instead?

Here is a group of boys performing the Kung Fu Fan Dance, where they show that fans can be used as weapons in addition to "cooling gear" or "objects of decoration." What I loved about these boys is that they insisted on their own dressing room as they absolutely refused to get ready where the girls had.

Jia is smiling at the fan boys - already.

An Ode to Summer

Floppy hats, popsicle stains, muddy toes and sandy hands!
Singing birds, bouncing balls, long days and splashing friends!
How we adore summer!






Jia's daycare said that they could tell she is an experienced popsicle-eater. I think I'm proud of that.

Happy Father's Day!

Joe purchased a special outfit for Jia today. It pleased both him and grandpa greatly, avid fans that they are.


Happy Father's Day to all dads and dads-to-be!

Songs needed!

Let me first say that I am musically inclined. At one point I was playing six different instruments. Yet, somehow I have a complete lack of knowledge of children's music. So, when we were hiking the other day, the only song I could think of to sing was "Happy Birthday." Jia loved it. She sings every word and then switches out whose birthday it is. She also now runs up to people and says, "Happy Birf-day to YOU!"

After multiple renditions of this song in the car, I thought we needed a new one. The only song I could think of was "Show Me the Way to Go Home." I'm sure you know it. It goes like this, "Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to bed. I had a little drink about an hour ago and it went right to my head..." Yes, it's an old drinking song about being drunk and having trouble finding your way home from the bar. Entirely inappropriate for a child. Of course, Jia loves it. Thankfully she doesn't get the true meaning yet, but it's embarrassing nevertheless to have her sing it.

We do have children's CDs, but somehow those songs don't stay in my head. I don't know if I want them to really, but I clearly need to do better. Any thoughts are welcome!

Jia's first haircut - from shaggy to shorn!

Shaggy.

Oh this tickles!


All done!


The best part...her first sucker!

Our first big trip!

We flew to California to visit relatives. Many thanks to Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jim who hosted us and likely had some sleepless nights.

Nonetheless, Jia really enjoyed meeting everyone. She was especially funny with my aunt and uncle's dog, Tina. Tina is toddler-aged in dog years and they were truly about at the same level. They had a lively relationship where they were always keeping watch on the other one, gleefully chasing each other around, sharing toys only occasionally and exciting each other greatly!

Jia had her first trip to the beach. At first, she absolutely refused to put her feet in the sand. Every time I tried to put her down she curled her legs up under her like a little crab. She really wanted to touch it and the water so I ended up holding her upside down so she could reach it with her hands. She eventually got used to it and had a great time.

Here are photos from the beach...

Notice how she is keeping her feet off the sand!

Enjoying the sand a little more.


So proud of herself for standing tall on the sand!

Mugging for the camera...

After a while, she really did not want to leave!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Jia was enthralled.




Those are fish over Jia and Uncle Jim's heads!

The best part was an area where she could jump on a mat that was like a water bed. She did two somersaults!

Other fun trip escapades

We had a fantastic time swimming.

We spent our last day meeting all the cousins. Thanks to everyone for the great party. It was the perfect end to our stay.

Slimed!

We made slime this weekend and it was magnificent. Jia really got into it.


I eventually stuck the bib on her because she was drooling from getting molars, not because she was eating the slime.

The best part about the slime is the recipe. Just two ingredients: water and ...Metamucil! (Insert joke here.) So here's the recipe. Mix together one cup of water and a couple tablespoons of Metamucil, bring to a boil and then stir over medium heat until you get the desired consistency. It keeps in the fridge too. What a blast! (Sorry, couldn't resist!)

It's the little things

Little things are what have captured Jia's attention lately. Specifically, bugs. She is more focused now, being older, and could watch ants for hours. She is convinced they are all eating or going night-night. As the ants are plentiful, watching them is how we spend a lot of time outdoors, unless the occasional bee or butterfly happens by. Then, oh the joy!

The other night we had the luck of having a large moth enter our house. This caused great excitement in the Jia/feline contingent of the household. It also resulted in some delightfully inane conversations between Joe and Jia:

Joe: Would you rather have dinner with a moth or an ant?
Jia: Moff.

Joe: Would you rather go night-night with a dog or a moth?
Jia: Moff.

Joe: Would you rather ride in a stroller with Winnie (one of our cats) or a moth?
Jia: Wee-wee.

Joe: Which would you rather have for a pet, a goldfish or a moth?
Jia: Moff.

Joe: Who eats more tacos, a bee or a moth?
Jia: Moff.

The moth generally wins out. Sometimes even over mama and baba.

With the weather being nicer, we are spending all our time outdoors. We went hiking with Jia in the backpack for the first time. Huge success. She loved all the birds, the butterflies and following the river. The highlight of her trip was finding an inchworm doing his inchy thing. We hope to share our love of nature with her. She is already becoming a green kid, always trying to clean up litter she finds.

On a side note, Jia is also painfully honest. She was sitting in her high chair tonight when I returned from grabbing something from the kitchen and saw that some of her food was on the floor. I asked, "What happened here?" She looked at me, smiled and said, "Jia did it."