Journey to binky free for Lexi

So, we weaned off Lexi from her binky months ago, except for sleeping. Then a few weeks after that she stopped using binky at school during naps, but she just couldn't go to sleep without binky at home. So Sunday Dec 28th was the day that i just decided that she shall no longer use the binky.  It was hard, she cried for about 2 hours, on and off, mostly whining and then finally fell asleep around 11:30 pm. Then she woke up again at 12 asking for her binky. And after a brief time out she asked to be put back to her crib and slept until the next morning. But the poor thing came to our bed and asked for the binky from Tony right away. Not getting her way, she cried again, but we were able to distract her with breakfast.  The entire time she cried on Sunday night, brandan didn't go to sleep either. For a moment he was so mad at the whole thing. He asked me to "just give her the binky, she is still a small baby, she needs it". I had to apologize to him and explain that she is now 2 years old and receives gifts from Santa like all the other big kids, so she can't use her binky anymore.  He was very understanding, but then he went to my room to sleep, but when i went back to the room to check on him, he was sitting next to the bathtub and playing with his toy transformer.  

Monday nap time, she asked for binky again, and i wasn't going to give in so i told her that binky's gone bye-bye. She cried for about 5 minutes, then asked for milk and being picked up. That didn't last long, so i gave her a bell that was a part of the Santa Ornament. She held on to that and fell asleep. Night time, after a bath and a long story time, i put her down. At first she asked for milk, i gave to her, she asked to be picked up again, and i let her have her way. But when she just wouldn't lay down, i had to give her a 1 minute time out. After the time out, she went straight to her crib and didn't cry another sound.  But i sat in the room until both of them fell asleep. The entire time, she didn't ask for binky, my mom was amazed, she thought it was going to take a whole week of crying for her to get used to it.

Tuesday morning, she woke up and didn't say anything, but then we praised her for being a big girl who didn't use binky.  She really liked that, and she said "lexi good girl, no binky".  Nap time came, and i told her beforehand to remember that she was a good girl, and a big girl, and there would be no binky. Surprisingly she took it to heart and didn't even ask for it, after a bit of milk, she just went to sleep. No crying or fuss at all.

Tuesday night, it was even more smooth, she did ask for binky, but right after she asked for it she said "lexi big girl, go sleep no binky" i was so happy that she said that. I put her under the cover, kiss-good-nighted to both of them and walked out of the room. They were talking for a few minutes and required for me to stand outside the room to make sure they weren't up playing. But that was like the regular routine on some nights but no binky.  

If tomorrow is still smooth like today, then i think we have succeeded in it. I hope that is it for the binky.  Proud of the little girl for that.

Xmas afterthoughts

It's hard to believe so many days had past before i realized that i hadn't been writing anything down. I guess with all the house painting and xmas madness and 2 kids, time just flew by.

Brandan and Lexi were over joy'd with Christmas, they both got a lot of gifts and they keep coming from the late arrival shipping. Brandan really wanted star war stuff and for a long time he was thinking that he would get 1 gift. And i should probably have kept that idea for him and add a surprise gift.  Now he's got 20 something new toys, he doesn't even know what to do with them. He was very happy, but after a few minutes he moved on to play with one thing, the light saber from star wars.  Lexi wasn't really sure what's going on, but once she saw that Brandan opens the paper and gets a gift, she started to open gifts too. But i had to open some for her, because she stops to play whatever she opens. Their reactions make me feel that they really didn't need all those toys, they would have been happy with fewer things.

The funny thing is that Brandan didn't want to go see Santa until the day before xmas. When we got to the mall, and approached Santa, he was standing there and waiting for Tony to get Lexi settled in. So Santa asked him what he wanted for xmas, and all he said was "a gun". Not sure what to say, Santa looked at Tony in the instance. Tony had to quickly say a "Star War" gun.  Then Santa was very relieved and said yes. Lexi didn't know what to say yet but she was happy to just have a candy cane in her hand. We were able to get a few good pictures of both kids sitting on Santa's lap.

Christmas morning, he didn't even want to come down stairs to check to see if Santa left anything under the tree, he told Tony that he didn't hear Santa nor the reindeer's and he didn't thing there would be any presents under the tree. When he finally came down and saw all the gifts, he tried his very best to hold the smile in. It was so cute, but i couldn't catch it on camera because he had decided to put his hood on. 

He is turning into such a big boy, he remembers things so well. Today was the first time that he had a full conversation with Tony about something happened yesterday.  Sometimes he even talk like an adult. We went to the store to buy some chocolate milk yesterday and he told Tony today that he had bought the c-milk for him and he wanted Tony to share. When Tony asked him to share with who, at first, he answered with each person's name, and then he just said "us" with his finger making a circle of family at the dinner table, it was so cute. Tony said what if he didn't want to share, then Brandan said Tony would have to go time out for not sharing.  

Lexi got more baby dolls, just what she needs, she has 20+ dolls now, and she is only 2. If i have to think back to all the toys i had, i only had about 5 dolls in my whole life. She loves each of those dolls dearly though, she changes their diapers, and take them to the bathroom and feed them and wrap them in the blankets and stuff. Like a real mommy, i guess it's all nature for her.  I am so glad that i have a little girl, so i get to play with all the cool dolls and do dress ups too.

December what? Already?

With the house been in such a disarray! Time flies, but not because it's fun!  We are getting the entire interior of the house painted including walls and all the wood build-ins in the house. It's been like a giant construction zone.  We practically had to pack up everything so the painters can get to the slightest details and not to ruin our belongings. We had eaten out for 4 days until today.

We were able to escape to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, but that was too short for anything to really happen, especially we ended up with one of those contractors who would start the job, then move on to work on another job and leave our house in a mess until his guilt kicks in and he comes back to paint more. It's been almost 1 month for this project, and still at least another week to go.  We felt like we were forced to not come home because the inconvinence and the awful smell of the place.  We had done everything after school or on non-school days. Library, mall, backyard, playground...It's almost xmas and we don't have a tree or xmas lights.  I just can't wait for this all be over with.

The kids had a lot of fun in Phoenix. They really enjoyed my uncle's big backyard. He grows organic veggies and brandan loved to see those. one day he was walking outside and then decided to rip off a piece of leaf and just started to munch on it.  It was so cute!  Lexi also enjoyed playing with the girls, but she is still too little to really play "with". It was more like play "along".  When we were at Kepra's house, I realized that brandan has a huge gun-facination. He couldn't wait to get his hands on each single one of those boys Nerf Guns.  But he also learned to shoot at people and dog. :(  So NO nerf guns for xmas yet. Maybe for his 4th birthday.  Lexi got pretty sick there, but recovered in just a few days.  Lexi was a bit confused by all the different language that was going on there. My local dialogue and mandarin and english.  

The drive was ok, we put my PC in the car and watch one movie each way. Except for a few pee-stops, there was no drama at all.

The 3 days after we came back, then my mom came from China. Brandan was so excited to see her, but Lexi is more reserved.  Immediately, Brandan regressed into a little baby, cry for every little thing, wanted my mom to put on his clothes, or ask my mom to fee him.  It's finally better now that after I told him Grandma likes big boys who knows how to do stuff.  But now he wants attention for everything, even after he puts on his socks he wants my mom to look at it and praise him.

Lexi is warming up to my mom now too, she didn't remember her but now she is like her best friend. She also wants PouPou to look at everything she does.  But she won't let my mom wipe her bottom. Funny little girl!  Her Chinese is improving a bit, but not like Brandan's.

I start to feel that Brandan is really smart, but maybe he is just on schedule with his developmental milestones. He can draw every well compare to before, he even attempt to write letters. But every time i offer to help him to write or draw, he backs off and just watch me do it. Maybe we need to give him more practice on his own.  He is the kind of kid who wants to do it on his own, and not to show anyone until he's got something good! Or at least that's how he is now.  His vocabulary is increasing too, but he is not doing enough phonetics as i expected.  We had signed him up for the gymnastics and he had jumped a grade in 3 weeks of class, now he is in Junior Champion with 4-5 years old. Today, was his first class in that level, and the teacher had said in a few weeks, he will be ready to move up to 5 year olds class.  She was amazed that Brandan was only 3 and half, even though he tells everyone he is 4.  I thought the class was determined by age, but the teacher said it's based on how accurate they movements and balancing skills are and how well they listen.   He also tells me very long stories that involves very vivid imagination and good logic.  I hope he keeps on this path. And i am also going to put him in other classes to see how well he does just to give him more exposure to different activities.

Lexi is progress very fast too. She now makes very long sentences such as, "don't touch my baby, she is going to sleep" or "it's my mommy, your mommy's at work" to her friends in the classroom.  She is doing great at potting training, although she stills have accidents but it's reduced from once or twice a week to once in the last 2 weeks.  She's got such a girly thing going on with her, she loves to wear my high heels, but she knows how to protect herself, instead of making big steps, she bends her knees and make small stomps.  She doesn't like her hair to be touched though, maybe because it's tangled up a lot and it hurts her, I need to find a better product for that.  Or maybe just cut her hair really short. She loves her little crib, she always want to go to bed, she actually walked upstairs and asked for me to lay her down a few times. Maybe she just need her beauty sleep! I put a play doll's basinet in her bed, and she puts her baby doll in it, she covers her up really well, and tug the blanket tight around the dolls neck, sometimes she even pulls one of the doll's hand out of the blanket and makes her sleep side ways like how she would do herself.  Next to the baby, is her assortment of binkies. 4 of them different color different style. She test them out once i put her in the crib, and she chooses on and put the rest under the doll baby's blanket.  So cute!

One thing i can't stand is that she likes to take her own diaper off when she goes to sleep. not just that, she undresses herself and dresses herself back up all in the dark too. Talented! But half the time that ends with washing sheets.