A Letter to Sarah

Dearest Sarah,
At 22 months:

• You can speak short sentences now - 2-3 word combos.  In fact, you can say more than 3 syllables at the same time and can mimic a lot of words and sentences
• You like to do things yourself, like putting on your shoes and opening doors. You can't always do it but you insist and then eventually ask for help.
• You don't like to brush your teeth, but still loves bedtime stories and books.  
• You can walk up and down the stairs by yourself, holding onto a handrail and sometimes not
• You are sleeping later and later at night.  We will get you in bed at 9 but you will not fall asleep until 9:30 or even at 10 sometimes. But you still wake up around 7 in the morning, even though you sometimes get cranky
• Your appetite is stunning.  You are little eating machine, although you don't appear to be chubby. All your food goes directly into your tummy, no where else. You don't have cheeks nor your arms/legs show any "folds."
• You weigh about 28 lbs right now (home scale)
• You can sing along most songs and love to listen to music in the car on our way to and from daycare
• You can now identify and say all your alphabets, numbers (to ten), colors, and most animals. We think you learn pretty quickly
• You love to grin with only your bottom teeth showing! 
• You got your first passport!! 

A Letter to Sarah

To my dearest little baby,
At 21 months -

• Your new favorite word is "Mine!!"  You say this word with a whiny voice or sometimes even scream on top of your lungs when we take something you want away from you.  You should know that nothing is yours!
• You are just starting to say two-word combo phrases - brown bear, mommy help, and more babies (referring to a book titled, More, More, More! Said the Baby) We will continue to work with you on improving your sentences
• You can read over 20 alphabets and can periodically spell your name. Sometimes you get the order mixed up, but you know that your name has a S, R, A and H
• You know how to sing the ABC song!  We can make out most of the letters you sing
• You are testing limits. You like to throw things on the floor and like to throw your hands to hit on things when you get frustrated. Whenever we tell you that it's not OK, you act silly and start to giggle to get out of trouble. You are a sly little baby!  We don't let you get away with it though.  
• You never seem to be able to catch a break in the marathon of colds, coughs, and runny noses!  
• You refuse to go to bed, no matter how tired you are. You want to read books, drink milk, eat crackers, or find other excuses not to go to sleep.  You are just an Energizer bunny!
• You speak mostly English, but there are certain words that you say in Cantonese from the start and still do: bao-bao (bread), po-po (carry me), and nai-nai (milk).  It's funny that you refer to nai-nai as milk in the bottle.  When we give you milk in a cup, you say "no, nai-nai." (milk in a bottle). We've cut you out of milk in a bottle already so you don't say nai-nai anymore.
• You don't like rice. You still eat it, but you rather not eat it.  You eat everything else though and have spoon-precision skills to scoop out all the other food without scooping out the rice no matter how much we mix everything together. You loooooove soup!

Sarah's "HAPPY" face

Sarah's "MAD" face

You continue to be your silly-self and bring us so much joy and laughter everyday! Love you, my sweet little mao-mao!

A Letter to Sarah

My dearest baby,

In just 1 month, you've learned so much!! It's so amazing!! Recently,

• You know how to walk up and down the stairs by yourself.  The stairs are usually not that high but still...what an accomplishment!!  
• You now know how to count! You count the best when we go up or down the stairs. That's because when you were just a baby, mommy and daddy will always count the stairs out loud as we carry you up the stairs from the garage
• You are beginning to throw tantrums! You don't do it often but sometimes you just cry for no reason. Really, for no reason at all!  But knock on wood, your tantrums are usually very short (no more than 5 minutes) and then you return back to your normal happy self
• You love to point and shout out "BUS" every time you see one when we drive in the car.  You are now seated facing forward in the middle, so you have a full vantage point
•  You know how to speak many words right now, it's almost hard to comprehend.  Some of the words you know just amazes me... like "ambulance," and "wolf."  And you say "No" as much as you say "Yes" to questions.  Actually, you don't say Yes, you say, "Yah!"  You are so Californian!
• You know how to identify at least 1/3 of the alphabets. I love how you sometimes say 'T' as "7" and "W" as "M."  I totally see how these can be mixed up too!
• You are about 25 lbs right now
• Just today, I told you to go get your shoes. You took a long time so I went to see what you were doing. I casually picked up a pair and asked, "do you want to wear these?" not expecting an answer.  Then you said, 'No' and picked up another pair.  I thought to myself, uh oh.  Do they start this young??
• You call yourself "Wah-wah." as in "Sarah"
• When I ask, "Who's Sarah?" you point to yourself. When I ask, "Who's kay-kay?" you point to yourself.  When I ask, "Who's mao-mao?" You also point to yourself! You know! You actually know that you have 3 names!! 

Sarah, you brighten our lives. Every day, you make us smile, giggle, and laugh and experience pure joy. We are so lucky to be your mommy and daddy!! We love you!!

A Letter to Sarah

To my mao mao:

Recently -

• You've learned so much this past month, it's unbelievable. You continue to surprise us with how much you understand and your increasing vocabulary.  You are able to pick up the words we use and can identify so many objects.  
• Your neck and wrists are red and dry. You have eczema in between the folds of your skin.  The ointment we put on it doesn't seem to help much.  We are surely going through a cold, dry winter.
• You have developed a strong attachment to Fred, the elephant.  He is your friend and you like him to be around you although you understand that he only stays in the car or the house. 

Sarah's BFF, Fred the Elephant

• You are having a lot of fun at daycare. There are times when we pick you up, you don't want to leave!  You love all your teachers and like to play with all the other kids.  You now know how to fight for toys too!
• You love to dance!! Arms swinging up and down, body twisting and going around in circles. Your favorite tune comes from the hand-me-down Barbie RV.
• You still lick some type of fabric whenever you go to sleep for comfort 
• You call me "mommy," and your daddy, "dada."  I absolutely love it when you say "mommy"  :-) 
• You can identify and recall some alphabets and numbers, play match games, and can do board puzzles by yourself.
• You love to eat almost everything - your favorite is String cheese and crackers (all types). You also really like avocado, milk and yogurt.  When you're hungry and focused on eating, you can feed yourself well with a spoon or fork, and can drink soup out of a bowl and liquids out of regular cup with minimal mess. 
• You are fascinated with the self-timer function of the camera. You get really excited every time the camera "beeps" and eventually takes the picture.  We have found the sure way of getting you to smile in the picture.  Set the self-timer, let it do its thing, and then manually take a picture afterwards.  The 2nd shot is always going to be the one with you smiling in it. Works like a charm, every time.

Picture taken with self-timer

Picture taken manually seconds after the self-timer goes off

You have grown so much - and yet you're still the silly you. You continue to brighten our day with laughter and joy.  You bring so much life into our lives!! Love you, mao-mao

A Letter to Sarah

My dearest Mao-mao;
Recently,

• you love the lights of our Christmas tree. Every night when we get home and the tree is lit, your smile brightens up your face and you stomp your feet with joy and excitement. No matter how many nights it has been since you've seen the tree, your expression of amazement is always as if you are seeing it for the first time.  Simply priceless. 
• you absolutely love airplanes!  You drop everything you do when you hear the sound, or see an airplane in the sky. You point to it and shout, "eh-plane!"  You even ask daddy to show you videos of airplanes on the computer.
• You are doing well in daycare. Everyday you eat all your food, nap for a good 2.5 hours and do tons of playing, learning, and testing limits. You fight for toys now...and if you are told to give it back, you will run away with the item instead...
• you still love, love, love reading books with us. In fact, you will take our hand, guide us to the sofa or chair, and literally push onto our thighs so we would sit down. Then you would climb onto our laps so we can read together!
• You love being chased. You squeal like a little piggy when one of us carries you and the other one is behind. You think that we're going to come after you.
• You know a lot of words now - single words only though.  Your favorites are : airplane (of course) moon, book, help, nai-nai (milk), poh poh (carry me), cracker, cheese...just to name a few.  
• Although you know that you are Sarah, you can not say your name.  You know how to say your classmates' names (Abby, Cole, etc) though
• You enjoy spending time in the park, which we try to take you to at least every other weekend. Your favorites are the swing and slide. You love to go HIGH on the swing, and you can go down on the slide by yourself!
• Stay silly, my little mao mao!! 

Smiling with friends, Fred the Elephant and Peter the Rabbit

Having a blast on the swing

Acting silly with all her dance moves

Having fun with daddy

What's up, Willis?

A Letter to Sarah

x

Recently,

• you are getting kinda of sassy! We're not sure if you starting your terrible twos but you've definitely learned how to test the limits and our patience! You cry if you don't like something, and definitely let us know when you're not happy about something!
• you are beginning to "choose" your food.  So far, you still eat everything we give you, but there are times when you prefer one food over another and you make that preference known!
• you are sleeping later than before, to our dismay. Your sleeping time is between 9-9:30. Your ulsualy bedtime was 8:30 before!
• you LOVE books. We go through at least 3-4 books before bedtime.  Sometimefs you won't go to bed because you want to read more books. Your favorite book is s till Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• You understand a lot now - words, directions, questions.  You finally know that you are Sarah. When I ask,"where's Sarah?" you will point to yourself.
• You know most of your body parts - head, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, fingers, elbows, knees, tummy...
• You have about 12 teeth now.  Soon you will have a full set of teeth! You're not a big fan of brushing your teeth though.  You just like to suck on the edible toothpaste (which I don't like to give you) so I always have to pin you down to brush your teeth for you! One day, you will thank me.
• At daycare, you are energetic, playful, and vocal. You love music, play in the sandbox, ride toys, and of course, books!!
• Your double-eyelid finally emerged on your left eye today!  I've always wondered why you only have single eyelids when both your daddy and me have double eyelids. I guess they just come up whenever they're ready...now waiting for your right double eyelid to arrive!
• You know how to feed yourself (still with a mess), drink small amount of liquids out of an open cup, walk backwards, stack and nest  boxes, complete board puzzles, 

Your smiles, giggles, and laughter continue to brighten our days everyday!

A Letter to Sarah at 15 months 2 weeks

My sweetest mao-mao:

Recently,

• you have just transitioned to a new daycare and you're having some problems adjusting to the new environment and the new caregivers.  But I know that you're a very strong baby and soon enough you will get used to the place and make new friends.  Life will be full of changes, and you will find your way to cope with these changes, your own way.
• you say so many words now... about 15-20 of them at least.  You say some words in Chinese, like nai nai (for milk) and mut-mut for socks...and some words in English, like duck-duck, apple, nana (banana).  You're going to speak Chingish! 
• you got a lot more whiney and you cry a lot more lately.  I'm wondering if it's because you're going through the separation anxiety phase or because you're transitioning daycare. You tend to always want to be near us and in the same room. You don't want to be left alone, anywhere.  I hope this only a phase.
• you are now growing your second molar on your right side.  It's about 50% out.  Including that one, you now have a total of 10 teeth!
• you eat just about everything now.  We don't really keep track of what you eat anymore.  You eat pretty decent sized portions too!  I seem to constantly underestimate the amount you can eat!  Just eat up, my little girl!
• you can self-feed yourself. You are getting pretty good at it. You can put a spoon and catch at least 85-90% of the food into your mouth, which is actually great! The only thing is that you can't scoop up the food well...and tend to make a mess that way.  But you're making very good progress.  You can self-feed a whole cup of yogurt by yourself. 
• you respond well to simple commands when we ask you to put things away or give us an object. 
• you either know all of your colors or all your shapes. You are able to put all the wooden shapes into the puzzle.  I'm truly amazed that you are able to do that...though I'm not sure if you can put the puzzle together because you recognize the shape or if you made the connection through the color.  You can do this puzzle all by yourself.  You can even say "oval" and "circle."  
•   

• you continue to surprise us everyday with the new things you can do and new words you can say.
• And you can jump. Or so you think you can jump.  Don't know where you learned it or when. One day, you saw a cartoon kangaroo on TV and you started to jump!  You also know the meaning of the word Jump, because when I ask you how to jump, you jump!!   

A Letter to Sarah at 14 months 2 weeks

Hi mao mao
Boy, you are growing by leaps and bounds! You've learned so much in 1 month!

• You are able to follow instructions/directions now... you understand when we ask you to bring us something, sit down, stand up, go someplace, put things back, etc. The only thing we can't get you to do is to stand still!
• Your vocabulary is improving substantially.  Sometimes we are surprised you even know the word! You are able to say: baba, mama, ose (for nose), circle, "gor-dough" (Cantonese for 'over there'), bye-bye, mum-mum, duck, nai-nai (for milk), dog, uh-oh, "deet jor" (Cantonese for 'it fell down'), po-po (Cantonese for 'carry me').  I'm sure they are more words that I'm forgetting or haven't discovered yet!
• You don't seem to be afraid of anything (exception may be the iRobot).  You get on slides and swings, and monkey bars if you could.  Not afraid of heights or falling. 
• You are a little bit better at playing with toys. You know what the buttons do and hand-eye coordinate in stacking up boxes
• You are eating all sorts of table foods now.  We're not even keeping track of what you're eating - hopefully, you're not allergic to anything...'cuz if you do, we wouldn't know how to trace it back to the source!
• You are pretty much bottle-free.  You drink most of your milk in a straw cup (Lollacup).  The only time that you don't is in the morning...and that's mostly our fault/choice because we need to get out of the house in a rush!    
• You have 9 teeth. 4 on the bottom, 4 on the top and a molar!
• We are in the beginning stages of letting you feed yourself with a spoon/fork. You already mastered eating finger foods, so now onto the utensils! Your first self-feeding was a success. You got most of the rice cereal into your mouth. Practice makes perfect!  I can tell that you're kinda like a clean freak because you don't like getting your hands dirty. 
• And you think you can dance!  

A Letter to Sarah at 13 months 10 days

Hi mao-mao,

Recently,

• You are walking all over the place!  I can barely keep up. You walk back and forth, in and out. 
• You say mama and baba indiscriminately, although I don't think you really know what these words mean yet. Regardless, we answer you back every time you say these words. You also say mum-mum, duck-duck, and El-mo!
• Your "fly-kiss" consist of you putting your palm on your open mouth and you saying "ahhhhhh." Your hands stay there...as if your kisses don't fly. They stay with you. :-) 
• You like to point at the light, the clock, and everything in between. 
• Your toilet seat is still working like magic. Every morning, you daddy plops you on the seat and you do your business.  I find it utterly fascinating.
• Every time you enter an unfamiliar place, like a restaurant or someone's house, you need time to warm up. You tend to stick really close by us and not let go.  After a while, then you become more comfortable to roam around.
• We have not been diligent in weaning you off the bottle because you drink so much faster from the bottle. But we will start giving you the straw cup so you can practice more. 
• You are drinking 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk now.  I keep you on formula because I want you to get all the nutrients, longer.  I don't think you eat nearly enough solid/table foods!
• You have a total of 7 teeth right now, 4 on the bottom, and 3 on top. The 4th one on the top is coming out, but not quite yet.  The weird thing is that on your bottom right gum, one of your molars is sticking out. I can see the white part of the tooth already. Weird. I thought teeth erupt in an orderly fashion. Apparently, yours don't!! 
• The eczema on your face is a lot better now.  We haven't used aquaphor or hydracortisone on your face for a long time already. You still scratch your neck and it gets red there.  We still need to apply aquaphor onto your neck.

With Love, mama

A Letter to Sarah at 1 yr 10 days

Hi Mao Mao!!
Boy, you've had so many new developments this past month! You're ONE and you're a big girl now!

1. You now have 6 teeth! The 2 upper ones grew undetected for a while. Whenever you smile, only your 2 lower ones would show, so I didn't even know you had upper ones already... but now they are clearly visible out of the gums.  You also just grew out 2 additional lower teeth!  they are about 30% out right now.  With more teeth, you can eat more things!
2. You love to play with the nesting cardboard boxes.  They are hand me downs, but you love them regardless.  You absolutely LOVE IT when I stack them up in a tower and you in turn knock the blocks down!  No matter where you are in the room, the minute you see the blocks towered up, you come to destroy them.  You laugh hysterically afterwards!  
3. You are now walking steadily! You know how to get up from your knees to your feet without support. You walk everywhere now...even though you continue to do balance checks and periodically fall down on your butt! 
4. You love to dance! Whenever you hear music, you bounce your legs up and down (if you're standing) or you sway right and left (if you're sitting). I love it when you do that!
5. You are constantly curious of everything around you.  You love to touch everything and examine the object with intensity. 
6. You understand the word, "no."  When you're about to touch something I don't want you to touch, I say "no." Although I can see how much you want to touch it, you understand my direction and walk away.
7. I want to start to wean you off the bottle, so I've been practicing with you during dinner time with regular milk.  I haven't been able to find a good straw cup for you yet, so I just use a small milk bottle and a regular straw. You are able to suck the milk out of the straw just fine (you've learned this a while ago). So far, you're only have the patience to drink about 1-1.5oz of milk from a straw.  With practice, you will soon be able to drink a lot more.
8. Not sure why, but lately, you've been throwing up at night around bedtime.  We can't figure out why.  We've tried giving you your bedtime formula earlier, giving you food instead and foregoing the formula altogether - but nothing seems to work much.  The doctor doesn't seem concern since you're gaining weight, which means you must be getting enough nutrients.  We'll continue to try other things. 
9. Your favorite word is 'doh-doh.' Every time you see something interesting, you point to it and says, 'doh-doh.'
10. We always carried you up and down the stairs to and from the garage but never attempted to let you crawl by yourself.  So it came as a surprise that you were able to crawl up the stairs by yourself without practice.  I guess you learned it at daycare??  Don't know.  Right now, we're trying to teach you how to get down from the sofa / bed using your feet first.  You haven't quite mastered it yet, so more practice, my dear!

 I am so proud of you! You are developing so fast and learning things everyday! You continue to amaze us with all your new "tricks!' 
 

Letter to Sarah at 11 months 10 days

To my mao-mao,

Recently,

• You LOVE to LAUGH.  You laugh at the silliest things...!  You love the anticipation when I come slowly and slowly to catch you to hug and kiss you! You pretend to run away. But you know you'll always be caught so mommy can give you lots of hugs and kisses
• You finally learned how to chew now. You used to gag whenever I give you anything other than milk and pureed foods. Now you love to snack on the little puffs and can chew on soft foods.
• You still won't hold your own bottle! You will only hold and drink from the straw cup on your own
• You don't mind when I pour water over your head during your baths.  You're such a good baby when it comes to taking baths.  
• You are mobile now! You still can't crawl correctly...one knee and one foot but you get around places.  You've been cruising and have taken a few steps now.  At this point, you don't walk at will. You walk whenever we encourage you to do so, but sometimes you just sit right now and crawl over instead. 
• You are curious -you love to dig into boxes and bags, and touch everything you're not supposed to. 
•  There isn't much improvement on your eczema.  You still get rashes on your face if I don't apply hydrocortizone   :-( 
• You weigh 20.5 lbs now
• You sleep in the cutest fetal position (on your tummy, knees tucked in, butt sticking up) 
• You make sounds like dada, duh-duh, baba and all sorts of funny noises

A Letter to Sarah at 10 months 2 weeks

To mao-mao (little kitty):
It's been a while since I last wrote to you. Mommy was in Hawaii and then 3 weeks later in Hong Kong for work.  These 2 business trips have been hard since I had to be away from you. But now I'm done with the trips for a while, I'll get to spend more time with you.  You have progressed so much since I last wrote to you. Recently:

1. You finally learned how to crawl at 9-1/2 months.  You crawl with your left knee and your right foot.  You don't crawl with both knees, but you are so darn cute when you crawl in that funny way.  You are now mobile...uh-oh.
2. But seriously,  you don't crawl much nowadays. You've already moved onto 'cruising' at 10 months. Whenever there is something to hold on, whether it is the sofa, the table, or your toys, you very much prefer to cruise instead of crawling to get from Point A to Point B.
3. Starting last week, you also can stand unsupported for over a minute now!  It's so exciting to see you stand so confidently without wobbling.  You just stand there and flash your watermelon smile!
4. Yesterday, at your Popo and GongGong's place, you took your first step!!  You stood there by the sofa for a long time. I can see your tiny little toes 'curling up,' trying to hold on and wanting to move at the same time. Finally you lifted up your right foot and made 1 tiny step. Then you lunged for the sofa.  We were all truly astonished! 
5. You can now clap your hands on demand, especially when I ask you, "How do you clap your hands?:" You always clap with a huge smile on your face.
6. You are just beginning to learn how to wave your hand. We've been trying to teach that to you for a while now, but you just love to clap your hands instead!
7. Silly girl, you've been sick a lot lately. :-(  Since the beginning of the year, you have had your fair share of colds, stuffy nose, and coughs. Despite all the nasty symptoms, you are still a happy baby. You never cry or whine. You still smile and laugh all the time.  You are one amazing baby! Thank you mao-mao, for being such a good baby to me and your daddy.
8. You have 2 bottom teeth so far.  Haven't seen the 2 top ones pop out yet!
9. Whenever you're sleepy, you not only scratch your neck, rub your eyes, but you like to lick.  You lick your blanket, my shirt, the toys, anything.  You don't take the pacifier and you don't suck on your thumb.  But you lick instead. That's your way of soothing yourself.  So guess why we nicknamed you "mao-mao" (little kitty)??   
10. The best part of my day is the moment I walk into your daycare and I see you with a HUGE smile on your face.  I am so excited to see you too!!

A Letter to Sarah at 8 months 10 days

To my little silly girl Sarah,
Recently,

1.  We found you to be extremely camera shy.  You would be laughing and giggling like your usual self; but the very second that you see a camera out in front of you, you immediately freeze. No more smiles, no more giggles. That's why it is so hard for us to capture these precious moments with you on camera...
2.  You love to wave your arms up and down, up and down, and squeal!  Just love it when you do that - looks like you're having so much fun, and it surely brings a big smile on our faces!


See your hands waving?!



3. You are always so smiley!  I absolutely love your laughs and giggles. You can laugh at almost anything. You are a happy baby! :-)

4.  I think you might have ezcema. There is a constant red rash on your face, right near your mouth.  Sometimes the area will get so dry that your skin gets scaly. Most of the time, however, your skin is smooth to the touch, but the red rash is still there.  I think it's because your face is constantly wet from your drool. We're loading up a lot of Aquaphor on you - hope it helps.

5. You are trying to crawl, but not yet. You haven't really been given a lot of chances to crawl, so you haven't mastered the skill yet.  But you're making progress! You've found a way to move about, which is rolling!! No, you can't roll your way around all the time!

6. You have 2 teeth now! They are now prominently displayed whenever you smile.

7. You don't like Gymboree.  You just don't.  I don't know what's with the place, but you don't enjoy the activities one bit. You cry or whine during the whole session.  Either that, or you stare at the other babies. Not sure why.  But next week will be your last week there.

8. You've learned how to play with us.  You once held a blanket up high to cover your face, then you lowered the blanket - you did this repeatedly. We know you wanted to play Peek-a-boo with us.  You've also learned how to softly bump your head against mine - because then we will look each other in the eyes really close and we both laugh our hearts out. 

9.  You've outgrown your infant car seat and we've since switched you to a convertible car seat.  You will be using this car seat for the next 5+ years!

10.  You now say the words, "da-da" and even sometimes "da-dee."  Your daddy gets super excited when you say these words, but I highly doubt that you're actually calling him!  When are you going to say, "Ma-mee?!"

oh Silly Girl, you are the joy of my life. You can make me smile, laugh and cry at the same time.  Love you, love you, love you very much!!     

 

A Letter to Sarah at 7 months 10 days

To my dear little Sarah,

Recently,

1. You’ve got a tooth!!!  Or should I say you got a little grain of rice sitting out of your lower gums?! The little white thingy peaked out last Sunday (Jan 9th)… well, at least that’s when I noticed it.  You didn’t cry, whine, or fuss before or after. And thank goodness you didn’t have a fever either.  I sure hope that the rest of your teeth will come out this way.
2. You are a solid sitter now.  But sometimes you would still fall back or on your side – you look so cute when you fall because it’s like seeing Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall!
3. You got your first haircut on Dec 28th. You look like a boy now due to your Daddy’s horrible hair-cutting skills.  He now regrets cutting your hair so short because he often asks why your hair is growing so slow?
4. You actually can suck water from a cup through a straw.  I find it amazing that you can do that, but you would do everything for water. You absolutely love it, though we have been limiting your water intake because we don’t want you to get filled up and not drink your milk.
5. You drink 7 oz of milk, 4 times a day and eat 3 tablespoon of rice cereal or oatmeal (+2-3oz of formula to mix), and a 2.5 oz jar of Stage 1 fruit or vegetable.  You seem to love eating. I want to add 1 more jar of fruit/veggie into your meal plan, but it’s been hard to work out the schedule.  We’ll continue to work at it.
6. You love to play – especially now that you got some toys for Christmas. Your favorite so far is the toy piano, which is actually a hand-me-down toy from your cousins.  But you love it regardless.  It plays music and lights up.
7.  Of all the toys and things to do, you are guaranteed to get super-excited when you sit on your Daddy’s shoulders.  You have the instincts to hold on, which is to pull on his hair.  You squeal loudly with excitement and smile with your famous watermelon mouth!
8. You have too many nicknames. I think one day you will probably get confused. In addition to your English name, Sarah, we call you by your Chinese name, Kay-Kay.  Then we also call you “mao-jai” (little kitten) because you purr like a kitten and you love to lick everything.  Daddy also calls you Silly Girl, and then Mommy calls you Little Girl. I hope you continue to respond to every name or nickname we call you.
9.  You still don’t like to do tummy time and would rather stand.  We think that you might bypass crawling and go straight to walking one day.  Either way, mommy is not in a rush to get you mobile just yet! 
   
10.  You continue to brighten our day, everyday. We are so blessed and lucky to have a daughter like you.

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Sarah is standing, with a little help from Daddy, of course

A Letter to Sarah at 6 months 10 days

My sweet little baby Sarah,
Recently,

1.  I miss you soooo very much when you're at daycare!!  Today is your 3rd day. I think about you very second of the day. When I look at my watch or the clock, I think about what you're doing that very moment.  Are you napping, playing, or are you eating? Are you missing mommy as much as I am missing you?! I'm sure you are doing far better than me because you're are strong, resilient, and adaptable. Plus, you're super adorable so who wouldn't love you lots?!?  :-)
2.  It's almost instinctual for you to roll over from your back to your tummy every time we put you down. You are probably getting ready to crawl.
3.  You seem to have forgotten how to roll back the other way (tummy to back). When you get too tired from being on your tummy after a while, you just cry and cry and get frustrated. Most of the time, you end up falling asleep on your belly.
4.  You can sit for a short period of time especially if we have a toy in front of you (for entertainment and as support). So far you love the Discovery Ball.  It's a toy that you roll around and it plays music.
5.  Your tasting menu has expanded! You have now tasted rice cereal, oatmeal, peas, sweet potatoes, pears, and bananas. Your favorite so far is pears! Baby, you still have so many foods to try!
6.  You are becoming a thumb sucker and I'm not liking it a bit.  You already like to put your fingers into your mouth but lately, you tend to favor your thumb. It seems like you only suck on your thumb when you go to sleep. But I have seen you fall asleep without your thumb before, so you probably don't need it that much.  We can work on this!
7.  You've outgrown all your 6-month clothes, not in width, but in length. You're going to be a tall girl when you grow up.
8.  Still drooling like a faucet and still no tooth yet! It's not that I want to see you teeth - because I still love your gummy smile. I'm just trying to understand the reasoning behind all that drool. :-)
9.  You always smile and giggle whenever we blow raspberries into your tummy.  You must really love that.
10. Your newest gig lately is sucking your lips into your mouth. When you do that, you look like a Cabbage Patch doll.  Sometimes you only suck in your upper lip.  When you do that, you look like an old Granny! LOL

 

A Letter to Sarah at 5 months 10 days

Dear my sweet little Sarah,

Recently,

1. You learned how to roll over! Oct 31st, Halloween - that's the first day you officially rolled over from tummy to back. Since then, your tummy time has been cut down to only a few seconds each time because you love practicing rolling over! 

2. You are also very close to rolling over the other way too!  You can already position your body correctly but don't quite know what to do with your arms yet... but you will get there, soon enough!
3. Your hand/fingers are now your best friends. You love putting them into your mouth, AT ALL TIMES. You don't like the pacifier - you never did. Mommy still thinks you're teething, but you have now been teething for 2 months...still no pearly whites to be seen yet. 

4. You drool, drool and droll.  You go through 3-4 bibs in a day and even with that, you can manage to get your shirt underneath wet too. The Post Office should hire you to lick stamps with all your excess drool. 

5.  Your baby laughs are contagious. You giggle at the simpliest things...like when I say "Peek-a-boo" in different tones. How was that funny? But I would do anything to make you laugh, even if I have to say Peek-a-boo a million times.  
6. You are beginning to eat solids. This week you are starting off with only 1 teaspoon of rice cereal mixed with formula.  You did great!! Not looking forward to your poop though... :-)

7.  You still love to bath. You take one almost every day before bedtime at 7:30pm.  You don't mind the water splashing on your face.  You don't mind when I spray your hair with the shower sprout. You don't mind how rough mommy gets with you, turning and tossing you around to clean all your little folds...you never utter a peep. You just smile & splatter the water with your legs and hands!  

 

8. You can sit by yourself for a few seconds now when you support and balance with your arms!

9. People are saying that you are looking more and more like your daddy...especially your eyes, forehead and the shape of your face. Mommy is in denial. You used to look so much like me when you were younger!  

10. Mommy is a worry-freak and constantly thinks about you ~ whether you're full, whether you have enough sleep, whether you're too hot or too cold.  My biggest wish right now is that I hope you will get better with eating and don't throw up anymore.

A letter to Sarah at 4 months 10 days

Dear my little baby Sarah,
Recently...

(1) You love sticking your fingers into your mouth. Sometimes 2 fingers, sometimes 3. You always leave your pinky out though. I'm sure if your mouth is big enough, you would include the little guy too.
(2) You don't babble as much as before, for some reason. But when you're sleepy, you babble for about 5 minutes, right before your little eyes close. Your grandpa says you're singing a song - I think you're more like yelling at people to shut up so you can sleep! LOL
(4) In exchange for babbling, you love to blow bubbles with your saliva during your wake hours. This is your newest trick and you find joy when people notice you performing your newest trick. What is worst than mommy seeing your bubbles is being able to hear them. That means your saliva is flying off everywhere...
(5) You haven't learned how to roll over yet, but you're getting close I think. Every time you flip over onto your tummy, you squeal with delight.
(6) You still love the ABC song - that still gets your attention somehow. "London Bridge," "If You're Happy," and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" have been added onto your play list.
(7) Your eye brows are not fully visible yet. But when I look at you close-up, I can see the little hairs. And you have your daddy's brows. Just great. That means you will need eyebrow waxes for the rest of your life.
(8) Your daily routine is Feed & Poo at 6:30am, Sleep at 8:00. Feed at 10:00am, Sleep at 11:30. Feed at 1:30pm, Sleep at 3:00. Feed at 5:00pm. Sleep at 7:30. Feed at 10:30pm. Sleep until next morning. I love your schedule. You are a good baby.
(9) Your bald spot on the back of your hair is getting noticeably bigger, while the rest of your hair still stick up like foxtail grass - super fine and soft...and oh yea, defying gravity.
(10) You are going to be a TIGER for Halloween! This is in honor of the fact that you're born in the Year of the Tiger. But you know, you're always going to be a kitten to me... :-)

A Letter to Sarah at 3 months 10 days

Today I am going to start a new category in my blog called "Letters to Sarah." These entries are to document what Sarah has been up to lately. It's a list of things about Sarah - it's my way of remembering her little silliness. And maybe one day, she would like to read these when she grows up. :-) I'll start off with 10 things I noticed about Sarah recently.

Hi Sarah,
Lately...

1. you love to lick your wrist. Yep, not your hands or fingers, but your wrist. It seems like you like to do this as you doze off to sleep
2. you're about 2 feet long, according to your daddy's measuring tape. I don't remember if he included your 2" hair
3. you get excited when we recite the ABC's to you and you especially love the letter, "R." You can curl your tongue for the "R" just like us. Daddy thinks you may be a pirate in your past life
4. when we wake you up in the morning, you move your head from left to right, left to right, again and again. This can go on for over 5 minutes as you stretch
   
5. after you're done stretching and actually have your eyes open, you always give mommy a Good morning smile :-)
6. you no longer cry during tummy time. You used to hate this exercise, but now you seem to really like it. We can actually get a smile out of you
   
7. you love your swing and you can finally pull the ring handles to make the swing play music. And yes, you still love your birdie friend, who sits just above the swing. We think that you like your birdie friend so much because its facial characteristics resemble you - so it's kind of like looking into a mirror
   
8. you are wearing 3-6 months clothes and Size 1 diapers
9. you have discovered your tongue and are constantly sticking your tongue out. With your mouth open all the time, you drool a lot too. I sometimes think you're teething, but you're only 3 months now, so not likely. We have to put a bib on you.
10. you have strong legs - one of your favorite game to play is "standing up and sitting down" with your Daddy.

Strike a Pose!