It feels like just yesterday I took Diana and Beto’s engagement photos at Cal Tech. And now it is a month away before the big day! To celebrate Diana, her bridesmaids threw a bridal shower and transformed the backyard into a beautiful, tented landscape filled with colors of pink and white. The hard work was evident from the beautiful centerpieces, the favors, the handwritten, chalk platter displays for the food, the spread itself – fruit skewers and cute pineapple fruit bowls, and the dessert candy bar. There were drinks galore – sangria, horchata, and Diana’s mom even made tamarind martinis – that went along with the catered taco stand, Tacos Originales De Jalisco. Everything was absolutely delicious and guests at the bridal shower really enjoyed the decor, food, and the funny games that the bridesmaids organized.
It was fun to hang out and get to know some of the people who I will see at the wedding. Thank you for inviting me and I cannot wait to celebrate at the end of May and photograph what is going to be a gorgeous wedding!
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!
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