Big moment - Luca switched to toddler bed

March 28, 2014

We have a mixed feeling about retiring the crib because now Luca can get out of his bed in the middle of night, wandering to pappa's and mama's room, just like what Maya does almost every single night. It's hard to fit four people on our queen-size bed, not to mention that Maya and Luca move a lot while sleeping. Sometimes mama has to sleep on the mattress on the floor. (Yes, we gave in and put a mattress next to the bed.)

So far, Luca sleeps well on his toddler bed - the one Maya used before. Maya has a bunk bed from Ikea. She promised that she'd sleep through the night on her bed if we bought her a bunk bed. But of course, that didn't happen - she had slept through the night on her bed for only one night.

Starting couple of weeks ago, Maya and Luca both sleep in Luca's toddler bed. It's working well so far. We love it when they're so close, and it's easier for us to put them to bed. But some nights, Maya woke up crying, and then Luca woke up and started to cry, then they both had to sleep with papa and mama. Well, there's no end of it. When will Pappa and mama get some good night of sleep??????  

Luca still uses pacifiers, for sleeping only. He's stubborn, and mama doesn't have energy to fight him. Maya quit pacifiers when she was a little over two - it had taken mama three days to make the change.  

The past two nights Luca fell asleep without a pacifier, but he woke up at 4am, asking for a pacifier. Well, we have to take one step at a time. 

Cozy moments between Pappa and Luca

Luca is not as huggy as Maya is. He hugs when he wants to, not when you want to. But sometimes he's  very affectionate, holding your face in his hands to give you many wet kisses - you cannot even run away from them.

Other events in Feb. 2014

Pappa's birthday, of course! Yes we got Pappa's favorite cake and got some gifts, too (unfortunately we don't remember what we gave to him - blame mommy who seems to be really forgetful after Luca was born. Any research about child birth and memory loss?) Not another porsche as he wished, sorry, pappa. :(

We talked about eating out. But eating out with Luca was not much fun these days. He was like Curious George and couldn't be quiet for a second. Not his fault. It's "Terrible 2"'s fault.

Yes, Pappa just turned 25 years old, if you had to ask this private question.

Ouch! But again, we forgot what was the cause of the pain. (That's why you cannot trust a writer when she tells you, "Everything in my memoir is based on true events.") Sorry about the girly bandage. Maya was in charge of the Band-Aid supply.

We went hiking at Coyote Creek Trail, Silver Creek. It was hot and dry, and the trail was very steep (sandy and rocky surface, too). Luca was sleeping in the stroller, so Mama and Pappa got a lot of exercise. Mama even got quite a few "wow" moments from other fellow hikers and cyclists for her physical strength. ;)

Train, train, train! ( Other days, "Monster Trucks" and "Airplanes")

Luca started his first pre-school day on Feb. 27. Mornings only. He was upset for two days then he loved the school, saying goodbye happily to mama and farmor. His first teacher is Desiree. She's wonderful. Every day, the school sends us a report about his food intake, activities and his mood. Now he has two teachers, Desiree and Tanya, and has about 10 classmates (he's in the age 2-3 group). The school is less than 5 minutes' walk from our house. It has a nice playground, a garden and several animals as pets. It provides healthy snack and lunch. A lot of playing every day. We drop him after sending Maya to school and pick him up at 12ish because he likes to nap at home. He's a good napper, sleeping at least two hours.

Recently Luca started to wink a lot. To females only. Hmm, we wonder where he had picked up this habit. From Pappa????

Pizza day. Maya and Luca love home-made pizzas, and are eager to help. But, of course, they tend to make a mess, Luca making holes on the dough with his fingers, they getting tomato sauce everywhere on the counter and on their clothes, they eating a lot of the mozzarella cheese that was meant for the pizzas. On this particular occasion, Maya and Luca fought over certain task.

Reading Ratzs Kid together. Many nights, before bedtime, Maya reads Ratzs Kids, stories online from her school, on iPod. You can read, you can record, and each story has a quiz. Maya is an advanced reader and she loves reading. She has her own library and we go to the library every week, too, each time getting at least 20 books. We also subscribed two children's magazine for her: Ask and Ladybug.

We are a circus family

We do tricks and stunts all the time, and are never tired of them. Before the bedtime is always fun, taking a bath, doing some performances, and reading. (That's why papa and mama take a long breath after Maya and Luca finally fall asleep).

Our Chinatown visit

Photos from Feb/March

We were in Chinatown for the New Year parade. It was fun to look at the crowd and costumes, but we didn't stay for the parade because everyone was tired, and it was not easy to keep an eye on Luca and Maya who wanted to run around.

Maya, an artist

Maya loves creating arts. When farmor was here, they drew and did crafts almost every day. Mama just signed her up for two-week art workshop at Art Kids Bash, a well-reviewed studio (mama always does a thorough research), run by a well-known book illustrator. It's close to home so mama doesn't have to drive far.

Here are three pieces of work by Maya

Luca, Why Are You Upset?

The Globe 1

The Globe 2 (and what's with that "Luca, No, No"?, which reminds me an earlier message written by Maya: "This is mine, mine, mine, mine! I like it! So don't take it away please! Don't take it away please please please! No, no, no, Luca, no touching!"

Maya is Mr. Nguyen's Winner, again! Congratulations, Maya.

We're back, after three months' busy life

It will take quite a while for us to catch up with the posting. We've been so busy. The day after Waigong and Waipo left in Feb., Farfar and Farmor arrived. Then mama took a 2-week trip to China in March, meeting publishers and writers. While she was in China, Luca had to go to emergency room because of coughing and short of breath, and was hospitalized for one night. As soon as mama was back, we had to meet our tax guy and our financial advisor. Many other appointments, too. Hospital visits, car services, etc. Then we took a mini vacation at Napa and Sonoma County. Nice hotels and great food and wine, Farfar and Farmo's presence making the whole thing even more memorable. It was hard to say goodbye to Farfar and Farmor but we understood that they missed their home in Sweden, and they had many things to take care of. We were grateful for their visit - Maya and Luca had such a wonderful time with them. We're still getting used to their absence, but we have begun to set into a new routine (or the old routine before we got any help from the grandparents.) Luca started morning preschool about two months ago, so mama can devote her mornings to her writing and other work. We also have a new babysitter (Jennifer moved to San Diego to be a live-in nanny) and her name is Tammy. She's Maya's old pre-school teacher. She comes every Thursday afternoon so papa and mama can have a peaceful dinner and talk about things. Pappa has been very busy at work, having recently taken on a new role to run a brand-new group.