Zoey has an exceptional talent at throwing things. Even before she could walk, she could throw, with impressive accuracy and surprising velocity.
As she's grown, she has continued to develop this talent. Often to the chagrin of me and Mommy. Feed Zoey something she doesn't want to eat ... she will casually take it out of her hand and throw it in your face in a single movement. She throws things at big brother.
We were at Home Depot today and she had the little wood floor sample pieces. One of the employees was trying to explain flooring options to me. Zoey took one look at the man and threw the wood floor sample piece right at him. *sigh* He thought it was funny and said in a joking voice to Zoey, "what did I ever do to you?!"
I remember reading the child development "what should they be able to do at a certain age", and recall thinking that she had the whole throwing thing down extremely early.
I'm thinking maybe she could be a pitcher or something.
The whole throwing thing (like many behaviors of a toddler) feed upon themselves. She wants to be in control of her world, so she throws things. Throwing things in people's faces usually gets a reaction. Thus, she throws more things.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Zoey and the Red Trains
My wife told me this story ... unfortunately I didn't get to see it unfold myself ...
She took Zoey and Michael to the local Barnes & Noble to play with the wooden Thomas Train Table and wooden trains. She said there were a pair of brothers there, one was about 7 years old, the other was maybe 1 year old.
Each of them was playing with a red train. Wife said there were green trains, and other color trains on the table.
Zoey likes red. Apparently, she toddled up to the 7 year old boy and *snatched* the red train right out of his hand. He was dumbfounded, didn't say anything, probably didn't know what to think of an aggressive ~2 year old girl walking up and taking something right out of his hand. She proceeded to toddle over to the younger 1 year old brother and *snatch* his red train as well.
Makes perfect sense to me. If the 7 year old isn't going to do anything about her snatching his train, the 1 year old younger brother certainly isn't!
Mommy called her out and told her that she can't take things out of other kids hands. This made her angry, and she threw the red wooden trains at the ground.
I could totally see her doing this in my mind. Zoey has a ridiculously fast (and focused) grab. It's really impressive. She knocked a spoon full of food out of my hand before I had any notion she even moved her own hand.
She's also got a really good throw. I've often thought maybe she'll play baseball when she grows up. Even before she could take more than a few steps, she could throw very accurately. She's also good at making her throws come out of nowhere. I've gotten beaned in the head from her tossing something, where I didn't even see her winding up to throw.
It's funny to see she isn't afraid or intimidated by other kids, even ones that are a lot older than her. It's also impressive (? not sure if it's a good thing) to hear about her being so aggressive.
She took Zoey and Michael to the local Barnes & Noble to play with the wooden Thomas Train Table and wooden trains. She said there were a pair of brothers there, one was about 7 years old, the other was maybe 1 year old.
Each of them was playing with a red train. Wife said there were green trains, and other color trains on the table.
Zoey likes red. Apparently, she toddled up to the 7 year old boy and *snatched* the red train right out of his hand. He was dumbfounded, didn't say anything, probably didn't know what to think of an aggressive ~2 year old girl walking up and taking something right out of his hand. She proceeded to toddle over to the younger 1 year old brother and *snatch* his red train as well.
Makes perfect sense to me. If the 7 year old isn't going to do anything about her snatching his train, the 1 year old younger brother certainly isn't!
Mommy called her out and told her that she can't take things out of other kids hands. This made her angry, and she threw the red wooden trains at the ground.
I could totally see her doing this in my mind. Zoey has a ridiculously fast (and focused) grab. It's really impressive. She knocked a spoon full of food out of my hand before I had any notion she even moved her own hand.
She's also got a really good throw. I've often thought maybe she'll play baseball when she grows up. Even before she could take more than a few steps, she could throw very accurately. She's also good at making her throws come out of nowhere. I've gotten beaned in the head from her tossing something, where I didn't even see her winding up to throw.
It's funny to see she isn't afraid or intimidated by other kids, even ones that are a lot older than her. It's also impressive (? not sure if it's a good thing) to hear about her being so aggressive.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
MEI-MEI!!!
Zoey's started to stand up for herself, important for a younger sister.
When she was really young, big brother would just take toys out of her hand and run off to play with it. She'd just shrug it off.
A few nights ago, both she and Michael were playing with an empty gallon water jug. Michael was pretending it was a jar of chocolate syrup. Zoey was just holding it.
I was eating dinner, and heard Zoey yelling "MEI-MEI!!! MEI-MEI!!!" from the hallway. I came over, and saw her holding onto the water jug handle with an iron grip, fist balled up, and Michael trying to take the jug out of her hand. She stuck her face out at him and yelled "MEI-MEI!!! MEI-MEI!!!"
That's Chinese for "little sister." Basically, that's her way of saying "It's Mine!" that something "belongs to little sister."
Michael looked shocked at how adamant she was and backed off.
When she was really young, big brother would just take toys out of her hand and run off to play with it. She'd just shrug it off.
A few nights ago, both she and Michael were playing with an empty gallon water jug. Michael was pretending it was a jar of chocolate syrup. Zoey was just holding it.
I was eating dinner, and heard Zoey yelling "MEI-MEI!!! MEI-MEI!!!" from the hallway. I came over, and saw her holding onto the water jug handle with an iron grip, fist balled up, and Michael trying to take the jug out of her hand. She stuck her face out at him and yelled "MEI-MEI!!! MEI-MEI!!!"
That's Chinese for "little sister." Basically, that's her way of saying "It's Mine!" that something "belongs to little sister."
Michael looked shocked at how adamant she was and backed off.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Frenectomy
Zoey had a frenectomy today to correct an upper lip tie and tongue tie. I did a lot of reading and research, and realized it was something we needed to correct, and she would not outgrow on her own without procedure.
Poor little thing. She was really good in the Pediatric ENT's waiting room, walking around, looking at other kids and babies, and just being social in general.
She did not realize it was a doctor's office since we had never been to this specialist before (with her main pediatrician, she starts crying in the parking lot).
She had a very skeptical / nervous look when the doctor brought us back, but didn't panic until the doctor brought out the otoscope to look in her mouth. That was when she realized that the strange man in front of her was a doctor, and she got completely hysterical.
We actually didn't think that we were going to do the procedure today. I figured we would do a consultation, assess options, and decide when / how to move forward. The doctor was great. He explained everything, and said we could either do it in the office, or in a hospital setting, but that would involve anesthesia. I was adamant about not wanting anesthesia used on Zoey, with her being so young, if it wasn't absolutely necessary, so he recommended doing it in the office. I asked him when it could be done, and he said "I could do it now."
That was quite a surprise, but I figured:
When we brought her back in again, it took about 5 or 10 seconds for the whole procedure. Just a quick *snip, snip* and done. I freaked out a bit with how much she was bleeding in the mouth, but the bleeding stopped in just a few minutes. By the time we left the office, she had completely stopped bleeding, and stopped crying. She was calm the entire drive home.
Surprisingly, she was in a wonderful mood all evening. I think the upper lip tie and tongue tie were causing her discomfort. She was singing (well, how a toddler kinda makes melodic sounds), laughing this evening. She was also smiling and moving her tongue around her mouth, like she was exploring the new range.
It was an emotionally stressful day for me, but I'm really glad that we got it done and she seems happier.
Poor little thing. She was really good in the Pediatric ENT's waiting room, walking around, looking at other kids and babies, and just being social in general.
She did not realize it was a doctor's office since we had never been to this specialist before (with her main pediatrician, she starts crying in the parking lot).
She had a very skeptical / nervous look when the doctor brought us back, but didn't panic until the doctor brought out the otoscope to look in her mouth. That was when she realized that the strange man in front of her was a doctor, and she got completely hysterical.
We actually didn't think that we were going to do the procedure today. I figured we would do a consultation, assess options, and decide when / how to move forward. The doctor was great. He explained everything, and said we could either do it in the office, or in a hospital setting, but that would involve anesthesia. I was adamant about not wanting anesthesia used on Zoey, with her being so young, if it wasn't absolutely necessary, so he recommended doing it in the office. I asked him when it could be done, and he said "I could do it now."
That was quite a surprise, but I figured:
- We need to get it done
- It's better while she's young (in fact the doctor said if we wait much longer and she gets more teeth, he would have to go the anesthesia route)
- She was already upset (poor little thing's day gets ruined by trips to the doctor), so I figured why upset her again on a different day
When we brought her back in again, it took about 5 or 10 seconds for the whole procedure. Just a quick *snip, snip* and done. I freaked out a bit with how much she was bleeding in the mouth, but the bleeding stopped in just a few minutes. By the time we left the office, she had completely stopped bleeding, and stopped crying. She was calm the entire drive home.
Surprisingly, she was in a wonderful mood all evening. I think the upper lip tie and tongue tie were causing her discomfort. She was singing (well, how a toddler kinda makes melodic sounds), laughing this evening. She was also smiling and moving her tongue around her mouth, like she was exploring the new range.
It was an emotionally stressful day for me, but I'm really glad that we got it done and she seems happier.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Focused Child
Zoey is a very joyful little girl. She laughs and screeches a lot. However, she can get very focused. When we were walking in our neighborhood, she was excited and screeching and cooing. I hold out my 2 index fingers, and she holds onto them for balance and toddles along. It makes her very happy. She was having a great time, but she kept insisting on heading east. I would redirect her, and she would reorient herself and head east again. Finally figured out that she wanted to go to the playground across the street.
In order to get there, we would have to cross a very busy road, during rush hour traffic. So I decided it wasn't a good idea, and kept trying to redirect her, and she would get upset and frustrated, and demand to go east (toward the playground). Once she's got her mind set on doing something, she's pretty focused on it. She's stubborn, also. I guess tenacity and focus are good traits.
In order to get there, we would have to cross a very busy road, during rush hour traffic. So I decided it wasn't a good idea, and kept trying to redirect her, and she would get upset and frustrated, and demand to go east (toward the playground). Once she's got her mind set on doing something, she's pretty focused on it. She's stubborn, also. I guess tenacity and focus are good traits.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Walking and Talking
... Well ... sort of ...
Right now, Zoey can:
Right now, Zoey can:
- Walk very straight as long as she is holding onto my 2 index fingers and Daddy walks along with her. She is very comfortable (and happy) walking in this manner. I've tried to encourage her to walk independently, so I'll help her up, and then gradually withdraw my fingers from her little hands. She'll still take a few steps as long as she has a grip on one of my fingers, but she won't let go of that last finger. I've withdrawn both fingers from her grip, and she gets a bit anxious and begins making a NNNNNGGGGHHHH sound (which is her way of flagging my attention that she's not happy about something). She can pull herself up to a standing position with the assistance of furniture around the house.
- Say a few words, like Da-da, Ma-ma, Ge-ge (big brother in Chinese). She also gestures toward things she wants, and is very emphatic about it.
- Eat some solid foods. We give her rice with soup in it (to soften it up), applesauce, pear sauce, mushed avocado, mashed potatoes, watermelon juice, all sorts of different foods. She really enjoys eating, and she is very prudent about eating. If she has a bite of food in her mouth that is bigger than she's comfortable with (and she is VERY conservative about how much food that is) she will spit it out.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Magic Kingdom Balloon
Zoey had her first trip to Disney yesterday. We went to Magic Kingdom. It was packed there. I had completely forgotten it was MLK day on Monday, and schools were out.
She was very good during the entire trip. It's a Small World amused and fascinated her. Pirates of the Caribbean scared her (in retrospect, it probably was not a good ride for a little baby, too dark and creepy).
However, she was most intrigued by the Disney Balloons.
There was a specific type she liked ... they are a single color mouse-ear balloon within a bigger clear balloon. It's difficult to describe, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words ... someone captured a beautiful picture of the Disney Balloons and posted it to their Flickr stream.
Every time Zoey saw a stroller with one of these balloons tied to a stroller, she would point / gesture at it and make a NNNNNGGGGGG sound. This is her way of communicating that she wants something, or is interested in something.
I took her close to a couple of the balloons and she got so excited. Her face lit up and she became really animated and giggled and smiled.
As we were leaving, I ended up buying her one of those balloons. It's all she really wanted out of the trip. She got a dark green mouse-ear one in the clear balloon globe. The balloon cost $12. I was *shocked* at how expensive it was (I guess I shouldn't have, considering it was Disney and all), but I can't put a price on something that makes my little daughter smile.
It's like her favorite thing right now. We shortened the string so it's too short to wrap around her neck and we supervise her when she plays with it, but it provides her tons of joy just staring at it with fascination.
She was very good during the entire trip. It's a Small World amused and fascinated her. Pirates of the Caribbean scared her (in retrospect, it probably was not a good ride for a little baby, too dark and creepy).
However, she was most intrigued by the Disney Balloons.
There was a specific type she liked ... they are a single color mouse-ear balloon within a bigger clear balloon. It's difficult to describe, but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words ... someone captured a beautiful picture of the Disney Balloons and posted it to their Flickr stream.
Every time Zoey saw a stroller with one of these balloons tied to a stroller, she would point / gesture at it and make a NNNNNGGGGGG sound. This is her way of communicating that she wants something, or is interested in something.
I took her close to a couple of the balloons and she got so excited. Her face lit up and she became really animated and giggled and smiled.
As we were leaving, I ended up buying her one of those balloons. It's all she really wanted out of the trip. She got a dark green mouse-ear one in the clear balloon globe. The balloon cost $12. I was *shocked* at how expensive it was (I guess I shouldn't have, considering it was Disney and all), but I can't put a price on something that makes my little daughter smile.
It's like her favorite thing right now. We shortened the string so it's too short to wrap around her neck and we supervise her when she plays with it, but it provides her tons of joy just staring at it with fascination.
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