Uncle

Over the holidays C-bao spent some time with her various cousins, aunts and uncles in addition to her grandparents and great-grandmum.

Here she is working with her cousins to gang-tackle and try and extract an "Uncle" from her beloved Uncle Calvin.

Baking

Last night, C-bao caught wind of the fact that Aunt Chris (Xiao Ah-yi) was considering baking some gingerbread cookies. C-bao had recently experienced a Gingerbread Workshop at her sister's school, and it was nothing but sugary goodness. Naturally, she wanted in.

C-bao: "Let me make the dough, Aunt Chris."
Aunt Chris: "Not today, C-bao. You have to go to bed."
C-bao: "Make me a deal!"
Aunt Chris: "A deal? What type of deal?"
C-bao: "Today, we make it. Tomorrow, we bake it. And then, we eat it!"

That little bit of cleverness almost got C-bao out of her bedtime. However, and luckily for the C-folks, Aunt Chris remained firm.

Tonight, the making, baking and eating all happened at once. Above, C-bao sees the gingerbread cookie-making up close, along with her sister and cousins. Below, enjoying her fresh gingerbread cookies - pre-dinner, of course.

Farmer's Market

C-bao checked out the local farmer's market after church last weekend. Dressed in her Sunday church outfit, C-bao wandered the stalls trying out local produce and treats.

Here she is getting a smooch from C-Pop.

Dress

Showing off her new festive year end dress, C-bao hams it up for the camera. Our little one has turned out to be as much of a fashionista as her older sister. 

Let me show you how I really feel

Speaking of older sisters, here she is sharing a moment with K-bao.

Playdate

A few weeks ago C-bao participated on a playdate with a couple of her buddies from school. Below is a snack break after the kids had probably completed a good half-mile running crazily inside the playground.

"You dropped some crumbs, C-bao"

C-Pop noticed that there was a some genuine affection between C-bao and her young friends.

"Yes...in your hair!"

Indeed, the last couple weeks from school, when picking up the little one, C-Mum has overheard a few boys from the class shout out "Goodbye cutie!" and other similar tokens of friendliness. But for the fact that no one in the preschool class is older than three, there might have been a little alarm from ol' Papa Bear when he heard this story. But alas, there's plenty of time for that in the years to come.

Um, where exactly are you going, kiddos?

Date

Daddy daughter date on a Sunday afternoon!

Nothing better than my Shanghai noodles!

Peace the Whole World Over

C-bao has learned a nice song recently from her preschool. Here she has the family hold hands in the name of peace. 

Peace, peace, peace, 
Peace the whole world over 
Building friendships, sharing our worth 
Take my hand let’s circle the earth with 
Peace, peace, peace

Sugar High

For C-bao's second official Halloween, she donned another princess outfit, and this time quite appropriately chose Ariel the strong-willed youngest daughter. 

Below the little munchkin poses for a pre-candy pic. 

"You realize I'm planning to fill this whole bucket, right Dad?"

This year, trick-or-treating appeared to be old hat. While last year's first outing involved some tentativeness, this year our little one had no hesitation whatsoever from going straight for the candy.

This feels way too empty right now

Indeed, the C-fam joined up with C-bao's classmate from her preschool and their whole family for the festivities, which only further enhanced C-bao's comfort level.

"See Dad, I told you I'm already done with that piece!"

By the end of the night, C-bao, who had managed to sneak more than a few pieces of candy into her mouth along the way, was in full sugar-crazed delirium. It took all of C-Pop and C-Mum's energies to wind the little one down.

"But I really CAN fly, Mum, just you watch me!"

 Of course, once she did, she immediately went straight into a bartering session with her older sister to see which pieces each would keep and which they would trade.

Eat It

C-Pop sent the little one in to brush up before bedtime.

Checking up on her a minute later, this is what we found.

"EAT IT! EAT IT! EAT IT!" (Sam-I-Am's directive in Dr. Seuss' classic Green Eggs & Ham)

Soccer Style

C-bao, on the sidelines at her sister's soccer game, shows she's got some handles too! And with a stylin' outfit to boot -- complete with a gold chain and her own purple Adidas cleats, which C-Mum absolutely couldn't resist when she spotted them in a store several months ago.

Osmosis

C-bao is fortunate to have an older sister who brings home with her just about everything she learns - be it a new song, poem, rhyme or magic trick - and insists on passing it on to her sibling (often in a very authoritative manner, we might add).

Here, C-bao learns - and then performs - the latest Halloween song her sister has picked up at school.

C-bao is also the first to hear about any new game her sister has been exposed to -- and generally is strong-armed into playing it right away.

Not all of it is rosy, of course. Over the last few weeks, we have also seen little C-bao being sent by her sister to the "principal's office," over just about any trifle. We haven't inquired as to the details.

Dinner Date

C-bao enjoys dinner out with C-Pop and sister K-bao at a local restaurant.

C-Mum was out for several days on a business trip, so C-Pop was forced to be creative with dinner; here, he brings the kiddos to a Latin joint for some seasoned meats (which, it must be said, they attacked like true carnivores).

Preschool

C-bao has started at her new preschool for several weeks now. With her array of experiences over the summer at various summer camps, C-bao was emotionally much readier than the C-folks had anticipated, though there were still some moments of sadness at various points during the first couple of weeks. Overall, though, our little one has adjusted to her new environment like a champion.

Both the art and music programs at her new preschool are areas of emphasis, which the C-folks really like.

So is hands on learning. Above C-bao collaborates with a friend to build a Magnatile tower.

The school also has an extensive playground in the back that is entirely covered with sand. We all know what this means: daily sand in the shoes, socks, sandwiches, car and everything else she comes into contact with.

Head Restraint

For a little 3-year-old girl, C-bao's appears to have quite a heavy head. Full of grey matter, C-Pop would like to think. The unfortunate consequence of that, however, is that when C-bao falls asleep on long road trips, her head ends up dangling forward at uncomfortable and seemingly even dangerous angles.

The below is a home-made contraption C-Pop set up on our last road trip to try and prevent any whiplash-like neck strains on our little one.

Sharing is Caring

C-bao attempts to eat a frozen dessert, only to be ambushed by her older sister. 

"Hmm...this looks pretty yummy"

K-bao: "What you got there, C-bao? By the way, you love me, right?"

C-bao: "Wait a sec, sis...just hang on one minute...easy there..."

#ASisterIsForever

Dancing on Water

C-bao grooves to her Aunt Catherine & Uncle James' iconic song Running on Water.

All moves self-taught (including the floor sprawl).

The "elbow freeze" is particularly inspired.

Medusa

"Excuse me, Daddy, who did this to me?"

(Who else?)

#ASisterIsForever

Royal Jigsaw

To celebrate meeting the princesses last week, C-bao put together the above puzzle this weekend (mostly on her own, the C-folks might add). She's come a long way with these puzzles over the past few months.

Princesses

C-bao's visit to Disneyland of course included meeting various princesses, including Snow White, Cinderella and Belle.

C-bao was quite shy, actually, and didn't appear to be overly comfortable with royalty etiquette. Luckily the princesses were all quite gracious and encouraging. Good training, Disney!

Here she is having a nice conversation with Cinderella, who complimented her on her blue shirt.

Disney

C-bao took her first trip to Disneyland this past week. What with August vacation month, the venue was as crowded as ever, and the merciless heat took at least a few shades of "happy" out of the "Happiest Place on Earth."

However, with (1) C-Pop, a.k.a. "The Mule," hauling her around from ride to ride on demand, (2) utter and complete sun protection what with C-Mum's specialty-ordered wide-brimmed hats, along with her patented 5-layer sunscreen application methodology (recall the Heliophobia post), and (3) even, on occasion, having one of C-Pop or C-Mum in line on her behalf while she relaxed in the shade, C-bao experienced all of the upside and virtually none of the downside of the famed entertainment park. Below are some of the action shots.

Underwater checking out the fish on the Finding Nemo ride

The view from the submarine

These hats are in addition, of course, to 5 coats of sunscreen

Waving to the characters on It's A Small World

"How do I get the It's A Small World jingle out of my head?"

"Hey Daddy Mule, I didn't say stop here"

On the slow train (Disneyland Railroad) around the park, C-bao clowned around with C-Mum, as shown below. Flashback to December of 2012 - de ja vu all over again.

Making my silly face with K-Mum

The girls on the Disney train

On the Storybook canal boat ride, the two girls got special seats at the front on the bow of the boat.

How's the air back there? 

The view from Tarzan's Treehouse

Hey, I can swing too!

One undeniable hit was the huge parade down Main Street at 8:30 p.m. The C-folks allowed C-bao an extra special late bedtime so as to be able to catch the parade. With plenty of lights, music and dancing, little C-bao was genuinely enthralled.

Disneyland's famed night parade

With a view from C-Pop's arms, of course

Sharing a couple of moments with Tigger

Day Two, with Pooh

Insisting on pushing her own bag