This past month was definitely an adventurous one! First off, Emi visited Japan for the first time. Prior to the trip, I was filled with anxiety over the LONG flight and didn’t know what to expect. I hoped (and prayed) that Emi would stay with her nighttime routine and fall asleep. Whatever scenario went through my mind, it was nothing compared to what actually happened. Emi had a complete meltdown and threw up four times before we even took off. When Taro returned from the restroom he had vomit all over his shirt, Emi’s shirt was covered in vomit, and she had on no pants. Of course she went straight for me which resulted in vomit all over my clothes! We were definitely not the most pleasant smelling during the flight and all three of us had to change (and pretty much throw away all of our clothes). It started off rocky, but eventually it did get better.
Once in Japan, there were still some challenges – small hotel space, traveling in tight spaces, and the time change for Emi especially – but eventually we got into the swing of things. Emi was a ramen-udon-cracker-milk machine in Japan! She enjoyed the food and I can only imagine as she gets older, she will enjoy all the Japanese food even more. Eventually she, too, will be able to eat some of the things Taro and I had at the fish market!
Luckily the flight back wasn’t a problem. Like I said, Emi had to get used to tight, small spaces so the airplane wasn’t a surprise coming back. Thankfully she did not throw up and slept most of the flight back. It was definitely hard getting her adjusted back to California time, but overall, it was still a good trip.
Besides our trip to Japan, Emi continues to develop her vocabulary. She knew how to say up before, but now she stands up when she says it and she squats down when she says down. Emi also says block, ta-da (after she stacks a toy on top of her block), ba-ba when she sees Taro (sometimes she shouts out his name and runs toward Taro), grandpapa, eye, and foot in Cantonese. Emi can identify different parts of the body, mainly eyes, mouth, nose, ear, and her feet. She doesn’t know how to say all the animals, but she will go baaaa when I say sheep, moo when I say cow, and say quack quack when I say duck. When Emi sees an elephant, she will also make a sound, which is pretty hilarious.
Emi has grown taller, but continues to remain roughly the same weight. She is still a small eater, but definitely continues to grow! She’s able to reach more and more things and another noticeable thing is her feet. She now wears a size 5!
Summer is just around the corner so I look forward to the activities that we can do this summer. Until then…
Oh how time flies. I initially started this update weeks ago and have been so busy that I nearly forgot about it! So instead I am just going to put 17 and 18 months together since Emi has really developed so much since the last update. Emi officially has 16 teeth now. The last two on the bottom were pretty swollen until they finally pushed through. It was a bit rough when they were breaking through the gums, but it only really disrupted two nights of sleep so we were relieved when she wasn’t experiencing the pain anymore! With 16 teeth, she is able to chomp on all sorts of food – she has finally decided to hold crackers and such and munch on them! – but still continues to enjoy peas (of all things!), meat (she is a carnivore), and rice and pasta.
Emi’s vocabulary is developing more. She can now say up, fish (She loves fish and points at them from across the restaurant!), crab – although sometimes it comes out as ab, bye, hi, cracker in Cantonese and English, and she tries to say ball and boat. She struggles with the b sound sometimes, but is able to identify those objects. Emi has tries to say Sandi’s name, but she doesn’t say the “s” so it is more like andi. It’s really cute, though. Even though she may not know a ton of words, Emi is actually able to identify all her animal toys at my parents’ house. There are 19 animals total and if you ask Emi for the giraffe, for example, she knows exactly which one it is. She gets nearly all of them correct and occasionally mixes up the white tiger and zebra since they look a bit identical. I am truly amazed by it! All it takes is repeating the names and having her hear the name and sound the animal makes and she instantly picks up on it. So now she not only knows all her Sesame Street figurines but the animals as well!
In addition to learning names, Emi is getting better at matching puzzle pieces. She especially likes matching up the animals in her books and can identify the animals to the correct sound buttons. Her favorite animals in the Eric Carle Around the Farm book are the woodpecker and the fish (of course). The way that Emi says fish after she pushes the button is funny and cute because she says ish. Also, after she pushes the cat button, Emi will meow in a high-pitched voice. Sometimes she will even meow after I say Peanut’s name!
It has been so much fun seeing how Emi continuously changes and develops. She now runs more and loves to push her wagon or motorcycle to chase after Sandi and Peanut. She finds it hilarious although I am pretty sure the animals are a bit traumatized by Emi’s enthusiasm to mow them down. An interesting thing that I observed is that we are not the only ones who influence how Emi learns and develops. One afternoon, Emi saw Sandi looking for food and Sandi was standing on her hind legs. Right after this, Emi kept on going on her tippy toes to see how she could stand up taller and even reach for things! Isn’t it amazing that children will learn from everything that surrounds them?
I’m loving every minute and love it even more so when Emi dances, moves her feet like a river dancer, or makes new and silly faces. She is the love and joy of my life and I cannot wait to share her with her extended family when we go to Japan!
The first entry of 2013! January started off with a New Year’s celebration in Little Tokyo. Emi was given a kimono-like top (apparently, more of an obon outfit, but it fit now perfectly now) from a friend in Japan so I was very excited to have her wear it and experience the festivities of the Japanese New Year. What did Emi enjoy the most? The food, of course (just like mommy)! She enjoyed her first imagawayaki and loved the bamboo as part of a traditional Japanese meal. Emi even had the chance to pound mochi with Taro and her gi-chan. She didn’t quite enjoy it as much as we did, but she was able to stand and hold the hammer with the help of Taro and was even featured in the newspaper!
So much has happened in the past month and I absolutely love that I can see this developmental process in Emi. She is mimicking more words and sounds. She can say bow-bow, Cantonese for bread. My mom taught Emi how to turn the lights on and off so every time she does it, Emi says, “Bak!” like the sound of the light switch at my parents’ house. After Emi turns on/off the lights or closes the door (At my parents’ house she likes to close the refrigerator door while at our house, she always checks to make sure the bathroom door is closed.), I say, “Good job.” Now Emi says, “Good job” before I have a chance to or she says it when I do something! It is pretty funny and reminds me how quickly children learn and absorb things. Another pretty amazing thing Emi can do is bring figurines to me. She has a bunch of Sesame Street figurines and I say, “Can mommy have Big Bird?” Emi then goes over to her toy box and will bring the correct figure! She can identify Big Bird, Elmo, Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster. She struggles with Abby – perhaps because she calls it baby sometimes – but I am so surprised how she picked up on all the characters’ names while we read books. Emi points to them and even will say, “Who’s that?” I love that she is learning through reading! In addition, when Emi hears the songs “When You’re Happy” and “Bingo,” she actually stops to clap her hands. It is even cuter because she bobs to the music and claps. Emi still loves music so she constantly pauses to dance.
My mom says that Emi is a sneaky one because she casually just hangs around in the dining room and the minute my mom takes her eyes off of her, Emi will quickly walk/walk-run to the ball pit and go inside and throw all the balls out. At home she doesn’t have a ball pit but instead, has balls inside her wagon. Especially when Taro watches her, Emi will slyly go to the wagon and grab two balls and throw them against the ground to watch them bounce. She then proceeds to laugh loudly and thinks it is quite hilarious! I have to admit, it is pretty funny and it makes her do it over and over again.
Emi loves to give kisses, eskimo kisses, and hugs. She will even give them to Sandi and Peanut if you ask her to. It is pretty funny since Peanut’s nose is wet and it startles her. And Emi thinks it is hilarious to chase the two of them around. Peanut tries to walk away, but Emi is getting faster and faster. He has resorted to hiding under the dining room table.
So as you may know, when Emi was teething, her teeth came out all in succession. Eight straight teeth. So of course, ALL of Emi’s molars came at once. Her four back teeth are out and there are four more coming in. This girl just likes to get them all out of the way. Or she is a foodie in the making.
Like I said, Emi is developing at this exponential rate and she is processing more and more information. During MLK weekend, I took her to the zoo and Emi was able to identify the animals. It was so cute because she would say, “Ooooooooohhhhhh!” once she saw them. She especially liked the orangutan, which she made eye contact with (I’m absolutely positive the orangutan batted her eyelashes!). In addition, Emi thought it was hilarious watching the alligator float in the water. I cannot wait to take her again and see how Emi reacts to the other animals.
2013 has started on a good note and I look forward to more adventures, more words, and more silliness with my little person.
Leave A Comment