Pioneer lessons

My relaxation method of choice these days is to chip away at a book I started after we moved here to Boise. The Price We Paid, by Andrew D. Olsen. My normal reading style is to get immersed for a day or two and finish a book in one big gulp. But my conscience declares I have more worthy ways to spend my time these days...*sigh*...so the book remains mostly unread as of today, but I would still recommend it. Wow, how wonderful were our pioneer ancestors.

Pictured above is Mr. Lo riding a wagon in the children's section of the Independence, Missouri LDS Visitor's Center. We stopped there for a diversion on our drive across the country earlier this month.

Birthday Celebration

I know some people don't do parties for children who are very young, and I'm still not sure where I stand on the issue. I do think gifts at toddler parties aren't necessary, IMHO. Kids this age don't expect it. We didn't do more than a family get-together for Lo's first birthday. But he has so many cute friends in this area, and celebrating with them would be exciting for Lo with his social personality. Plus also, I like parties. =) As Jerry kept reminding me, the party is as much for the child in me as it is for our child Lo. I'm ok with that.


For Lo's birthday we intended to do a "Things That Go" party since he loves trains, trucks, airplanes, etc. Months in advance, I started making a helicopter pinata (with the gleeful help of Little Hands Lo of course). Cakes got baked and sat in the freezer for weeks, decorations and party favors piled up in the closet...and then as the time drew near for Lo's birthday I got intimidated. A few reasons for my hesitation: the schedule seemed FULL right around his birthday--Halloween parties and hayrides, and the beginning of November full of church events that couldn't be held later in the month because of Thanksgiving. Furthermore, location stymied me: it happens to be freezing most days in early November, so we couldn't hold the party at a park, renting locations is more expensive than we wanted to spend on a toddler's party, and our apartment is too small to have more than a handful of preschoolers running around. To top it all off, by the time his birthday hit, Lo was about a week into healing from a cough/cold. So we mulled over not doing the party at all. But Lo was kinda asking about that pinata he'd seen sitting on top of our fridge for months...and we had a mountain of Halloween candy to get rid of via said pinata...So we hijacked the weekly church playgroup for Lo's birthday celebration. He'd caught his cold at playgroup to begin with, so I rationalized the other kids wouldn't mind a little additional exposure. ahem. I had a little too much fun doing that train cake. The engine is a pound cake, made from scratch and super delicious if you ignore the gallons of food coloring in its frosting layer. The coal car is actually rather healthy, again made-from-scratch banana nut bread with whole wheat flour. Crushed oreos for the "coal." The third car in the lineup was the most popular for eating; gingerbread with homemade lemon ginger frosting. The kids at the party were jumping up and down with excitement when they saw the train cake. And I had lofty dreams of adding another car or two plus a caboose to this train cake lineup. Thank goodness Jerry convinced me to rein it in, lol.
I am yelling like a crazy woman in that pinata clip because I could envision all too clearly the possibility of some kid getting whacked in the face with the pinata stick. Yes, chaotic. Yes, lots of fun. We'll probably do a pinata for Lo's birthday every year as I cannot imagine a better way to disperse the leftover Halloween candy. At home we kept things simple, singing the Happy Birthday song to Lo myriad times throughout the day in several different languages, opened a gift. Didn't have birthday hats, which Lo kept asking about. He must have learned about birthday hats from watching Signing Time birthday episode. Something to include next year.

Birthday Boy

Interspersed with darling birthday photos from his 2-year session a couple weeks ago, we present with pride our very own 2-year-old Lo! 

Contemplative, content.  And cold.  :) 

Talking: Lo frequently uses 4-5 word sentences in English (a few recent examples: "Daddy, take more photos;" or "Mommy, I have that spider bee."  His grammar is a little off most of the time, but pronunciation is more and more clear.  We LOVE his talking.  Another cute talking he does is to say "um" when he is thinking.  Like if I ask him a question that requires choice, he'll say "UM," and pause for a second before answering.  My little grown-up Lo. 

Jerry claims this was the first time he ever had Lo Lo do the "shoulder ride" on him. 

Kindness: Lo often gives spontaneous, appropriate "thank you's," crowing "Thank You Mommy!!" When I hand him a block for example, or give him a snack.  And while eating, he often says, "Mommy's turn," and hands me his floaty-filled drink to share.  :)  We are working on using soft hands with playmates.  He is a huggy, loving child, but on occasion intersperses those hugs with hitting for no apparent reason.  The pediatrician said it is normal for kids this age to be inappropriately physical, and to just keep lovingly reminding "soft hands."  She suggested Lo needs more opportunities to practice playing with other kids his age, maybe adding another play date or two each week.  Said maybe the hitting comes from being over-excited at the social opportunity.  I'm doing some reading on the subject...oh, how parenting humbles me. 

That foot turned to one edge is EXACTLY what Jerry does in photos!  Our wedding photographers commented on it.  Appears to have some genetic propensity...

Singing: Songs of a toddler melt my heart.  Sometimes we have the treat to overhear the soft, happy notes of Lo's made-up songs while he plays by himself.  He often imitates our singing/sings along.  He sings clearly the words "Happy Birthday" and "Do Re Mi." 

Bare feet in the sand feel great!

Counting: A few times I have heard Lo count correctly "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" but more often he just says "One, Two, One, Two..." etc. We trained him to say "Two" when people ask "How old are you," because we didn't want to have to untrain him from saying "One," but now that he is finally REALLY "Two" he only says he is "One."  What the heck??  Who taught him to say he is one year old? 

Where'd those feet go??

Games: He LOVES hide and seek, using the Chinese term "Lay(4) My(2)" (I am guessing on the pin yin because it is Cantonese). He pronounces it "Yay My" and says it with such glee and delight I cannot help but play the game with him a million times a day. 

Is that not the cutest face. 

 Shapes and Colors: He knows all his colors in Chinese and English, pointing accurately to a request given in English, Mandarin or Chinese.  Verbally stating mostly English but sometimes says them in Chinese.  Shapes he loves in the shape sorter and seems to recognize the different edges readily, but verbally only says correctly "heart," "star," and calls an octogon "Stop," and a circle "ball" or "O." 

We have loved having the beach just minutes away from us...will miss it when we move to Idaho in a couple months.

 Another game: Jerry taught Lo to sort his play-plastic foods into "Healthy" and "Bad" piles.  Lo is correct most of the time, but sometimes emphatically tries to tell me lettuce is "UNhealthy," for example.  He seems to care a little too much about my approval of him getting the answer right or wrong.  Tries hard to guess if he isn't sure. 

Center of our lives

 Feelings: Lo feels at varying times obvious embarrassment, pride, shame, elation, love, anger, confidence, probably so much more emotions than even what I've just thought of off the top of my head.  He is such a complex, amazing creation.  I guess all kids are.  But really, my own seems so much more intense than what I notice in other kids.  Lo has a definite dominance to his personality, a sort of aggression that will someday come in handy in life if he can channel it appropriately.  :) He is outgoing, social to the max, and never seems to fear new situations.  He's the type of kid who will jump into the pool first, follow bigger kids onto paths he is too small to handle, and so forth.  Daring, exciting, energetic and yet contemplative with a love of reading, drawing, and gluing noodles to paper.  I have great hopes for this combination of talents. 

This just might be my favorite pic of Jerry and me to date. 

Jerry and I think Lo is a good combination of both our strengths, and we even notice our son showing aptitudes perhaps beyond what he got from his parents.  It is a miracle to watch his personality unfold with each passing day.  We are so happy to have this great little boy in our family.  Happy Birthday Mr. Terrific Two-Year-Old Lo Lo!

Finishing up the trip

I have a random assortment of photos left from our trip last month to Utah/Idaho. I'll just throw them all together and get it over with so I can move on to tell about more recent happenings. We went to the Western Idaho Fair in Boise. Lo rode this mini roller coaster type ride all by himself. Note how all the other riders around him have parental supervision...but we were too cheap to buy a few more tickets to get ourselves on there with him. And he was technically tall enough to go on his own...? See photo below for how sketchy the height measurement was...

Why yes, that is a hand-drawn, scibbled mark at the 32 inch mark to denote that Lo's 34 inches is tall enough.

We went to a butterfly house. Ever since then, Lo can be heard saying on an at least daily basis, "puh-puh" (accompanied by making ASL butterfly sign), followed by tapping his shoulder, followed by the verbalizing the word "Mom" (translation: remember how the butterfly sat on grandma Valerie).

My little brother David (age 16) makes things out of popsicle sticks. This ship he crafted won every prize available at the fair. For scale, to imagine how huge it is, pictured in the background (about one yard away from the boat) is myself, my mom, and bro. Justin.

See the buck in the middle of this frame? He hangs out in my parents' garden all the time. Jerry couldn't get enough of it.

We went to an aquarium in Sandy, Utah. It was a tad mediocre--still new and needing to expand a bit before I'll recommend it.

Crocodile (or alligator...I never remember how to tell them apart).

Also while in Utah, we visited all of Jerry's former host families. Here we are with the beloved Dean and Melody. And their parrot (on Dean's shoulder). Note Lo Lo eating out of an endless bowl of chocolate chips. Ah, good memories.

Lo warmed up to Melody within seconds of meeting her. She has such an angel glow about her, little kids must feel it.

While in Salt Lake City, we had to stop by Jerry's favorite restaurant, Little World. It is a pretty authentic, delicious Hong Kong style eatery.

We hung out with cousins a lot. Here is Lo and his second-cousin Marshal. Riding the airplanes. More amusement park rides all by himself--our little Lo seems so grown up when I think about it!

Traipsing through Liberty Park in SLC. Lo hitched a ride from my little brother Brandon who is starting at BYU this semester. We were so happy to get to spend time with Brandon while we were in Utah!

And here is Lo feeding baby cousin Brit. He LOVED her, stroking her hair, hugging her, etc.

Well, that's it for now on the trip updates. I have a few more photos, but this post feels long enough. We had a really fun time on this vacation, visiting lots of family, friends, etc. and doing a million activities along the way.

Big Trucks

While in Boise recently, we spent some time with my dad up at Bogus Basin. He used to just work there as a cat driver during his off season from doing hay, but now he does full-time maintenance at the ski resort. And still does the hay harvesting as well, but that's another story. :) Have we mentioned how much Lo Lo is crazy about "Big Trucks!" He kept wanting to "Ride Dat!" and cried when we finally made him exit this big rig.

This machine is actually called a Piston Bully, or a snow cat. It grooms the ski trails.

I love my dad's animated face here. He is so good with the wee ones.

Outside the shop, Lo Lo got a chance to visit up close with the diggers and such. What a cool experience for a little boy. Thanks, Grandpa Dean!

MK Nature Center- Boise

Personality entails "enduring characteristics," as explained in one of my human development classes. I enjoy watching Lo's personality unfold. Lo's personality seems to show a consistent bent toward sociality: He stood blandly by this fish viewing tank until a few other children walked up, and then he leaped into action, chattering to them about what he was seeing, staring more at the other children than the aquatics.

His personality also seems detail-oriented, though I wonder how much of that characteristic is developmental rather than unique to Lo? I thought he would love seeing these taxidermy critters, and he thought they were okay--but the ROCKS! Wow, the rocks. Lo kept wanting to touch and examine the rocks more than desiring to gaze upon the mighty grizzly and salmon.


I keep finding myself surprised by this child. He is his own person.

like father, like son

Lo Lo follows what Daddy does, and sometimes it is so cute to me. Here he is trying to squish in the same chair Jerry was using for a nap: by the way, this photo shows Lo's buzzed hair pretty clearly--his head also looks a little bit square-ish but I think it is just the camera angle?

Jerry often does pushups and situps, lifting hand weights, etc. in the evening and Lo Lo likes to exercise right alongside him. Normally Jerry's form is more straight of course, but he was craning his head around to look at Lo, laughing as I took the photo.

Lo gets his feet up on the couch like that all by himself.

Try to ignore all the toys covering our living room floor in those last two photos. =)

Cleveland Children's Museum

 When my mom was here, we visited the Children's Museum.  Most of the exhibits seemed perfect for Lo's stage of development.

He always begs us to let him drive our real car, so this jeep was a favorite. 

Puppets. 

Water table. 

Okay, this train table was hands down Lo's choice--if I had let him, he would have spent two hours there.  But we have free train tables at our local library.  Sorry Lo; I am restricting your agency on this one.  :)

Finally I dragged him away from the train table and we played with anatomically correct baby dolls...

Until he looked out the second story window of the make-believe house and saw...

The TRAIN TABLE!  He abruptly dropped his baby doll playtime in favor of running back to the trains.  Um, really, we can just play with the ones at the library anytime, Lo.  Moving on...

A moon buggy car to drive! 

Spacemen use treadmills.  This was cute because we are always trying to keep Lo off the treadmill at home, but he loved to be just like Mommy & Daddy, exercising on this fake one. 

A real astronaut suit.  Lo was excited to wear it once he saw other kids trying them on.  He is sitting at a control desk, which had an intercom, and some other fun buttons. 

Launching a rocket. 

Building a rocket...or um, throwing the blocks that could be used to build a rocket. 

Lo Lo loves putting coins into those little devices that funnel the coins to a center hole. 

This climbing platform is supposed to mimic the water cycle, and you can pretend to be water molecules going up into the clouds and then raining down.  It is meant for kids a few years older, but Lo didn't know that and we had scary moments of him getting stuck trying to climb around. 

Hope we can return again soon!



Oh, and one more shot: His face looked lit up, coupled with squeals of delight, every time we entered a new corner of the museum.  But most of the photos show just little smiles because he was busy concentrating on serious play.