Cleats

Lace them up! C-bao has started her first soccer session.

C-Mum made sure the little one looked the part, replete with headband, high socks, shin guards and cleats.

While C-bao was a bit slow to warm to the activity, before we knew it she had jumped in and was following the ball around with enthusiasm.

In fact she would have made some good progress downfield in the below video if, um, her own sister K-bao hadn't played such zealous defense.

Chores

C-bao and her sister K-bao are gradually coming up to chore-readiness age, and for the C-folks it cannot come sooner.

Today was a big day as the girls did a full load of (their own) laundry pretty much from beginning to end. Here they rest and observe their work.

Cold Day at the Beach

About a month ago, C-bao took a rare trip to the beaches by San Francisco's Outer Richmond district, near the Cliff House. The day was chilly but sunny, and various intrepid souls were kitesurfing and frolicking among the waves. C-bao and her sister K-bao were not among them. They did, however, have a plenty good time digging in the sand, singing in the wind, and otherwise running around creating havoc.

Here C-bao needs some help with her attire:

Next, she does her Feraba African tap-dance to express her joy:

Finally she celebrates the completion of her muddy ditch.

Braids

C-bao has always had the luxury of abundance in the hair department. As a result, she can sport just about any hairstyle she wants.

Below, Sister K-bao again practices her braiding skills on her little sister, producing a rather unique look.

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).

Medusa

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

(Who else?)

#ASisterIsForever

Paint

Here are the sisters enjoying some quiet painting time this weekend.

C-Pop: "What are you painting, C-bao?"
C-bao: "Can I drink this water?"
C-Pop: "No. What are you painting again?"
C-bao: "I am painting..." Takes a quick glance down where she is splashing some purple on several other colors..."Lion!" Naturally.

Sumo

Occasionally, C-bao's sister K-bao likes to initiate a little rough 'n tumble. C-bao doesn't back down; in fact she welcomes it and is happy to throw her weight around.

Here are the siblings at the park last weekend.

Negotiations

In the early days, C-bao's interactions of give-and-take with older sister K-bao were relatively one-sided, particularly given the natural business proclivities of her sister. In general, she typically found herself either sweet-talked or strong-armed into handing over whatever it was that was the subject of discussion.

These days, C-bao is increasingly holding her own. In the difficult negotiations around the coveted Magnatiles, for example, C-Pop observed C-bao using the following lines effectively:

1. "Let me think about it." (this she repeats several times to buy time)
2. "Nope"

Of course, as her sister's teachers have noted, K-bao can be "endlessly persuasive" when it comes to her agenda, and C-bao soon found herself cooperating anyway. Of course, in the end nature won out - C-bao had to drop everything anyway in order to make a quick run to the bathroom!

Just Playing

"Um, K-bao, what are you doing to your sister?" inquired C-Pop.

"Oh, nothing," replied sister K-bao innocently.

Little did C-bao know that her sister had laid her out like a roast suckling, about to be braised in a high-temperature oven.

When confronted, K-bao insisted somewhat unconvincingly that that wasn't on her mind. Nor was she offering up any type of propitiatory sacrifice. Just to assuage us, K-bao arranged the various fruits quickly on the ground and hopped in herself. "See, Dad? No big deal."

Potty Joke

"It's hard for anyone to make me laugh," said sister K-bao last night in the car, with a serious but proud face.

A few seconds later the following conversation took place.

C-bao: "Where are we going?"
C-Mum: "To a party, C-bao. Remember I told you? Sister K-bao's friend is having a party."
C-bao: "Pah-tee?"
C-Mum: Yes.
C-bao: (Pause)..."Why are we going to the bathroom?"
K-bao: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up. 

Chitchat

Little C-bao, at 2.5, has become quite the conversationalist. Pick the topic - life, love other mysteries - and C-bao has an opinion.

Sister K-bao is a bit of a chatterbox herself, and together the two of them can go on endlessly.

Below is a snippet caught at the park of the two girls chatting it up. At one point, K-bao has to remind C-bao to let her finish before adding her own perspective.

A bit later on the walk the two girls discuss (1) who is "big" (concluding that they are big and C-Pop and C-Mum are small); (2) who their favorites are (C-bao singles out Uncle Calvin, a.k.a. Xiao Jiu, while K-bao includes a broader swath of the extended family, during which time C-bao reminds her sister not to leave out WZ Shu-Shu); (3) avoiding water on the ground, and sundry other topics.

Terrible 2s

Dialogue with C-bao tonight:

C-Pop: "妹妹，你有乖嗎？" (Mei-mei, are you being a good girl?)
C-bao, with a sly smile: "剛剛沒有, 現在有!" (Not earlier, but I am now!)
C-Pop: ......

"Do you see what I have to deal with every day, Dad?"

The reality is, C-bao has entered an uber naughty stage. For example, when she sees her older sister playing with blocks, it delights her to no end to sneak up from behind like a silent predator, then burst onto the scene and scatter the blocks as provocatively as possible, causing anguished wails from poor K-bao. In some cases, C-bao will dance in, grab one of the larger blocks and then take off down the hall, looking back and pausing briefly only to make sure her irate sibling is chasing her.

Ah, the delights of little sisterhood!

Led Astray

Lest any reader, after the last post, fall into some misguided notion around how lucky little C-bao is to have such a wonderful sisterly influence in her life, someone to play with, guide and teach her and act as her True North as she navigates the murky moral waters of her childhood...the below video will set you straight.

Hop Hop

C-bao learns the bunny move from her sister K-bao and gets an assist with hopping from tree trunk to tree trunk.

Giggling with K-bao

While in the early stages of her life there was a significant adjustment period for baby C-bao to get used to the frequently loud and colorful antics of big sister K-bao, over the past month or two C-bao has not only acclimated to the noise, but actively looks for her sister whenever she wakes up.



Here she is thrown into a fit of uncontrollable giggling by her sister, who is doing nothing more than waving around a plastic bag filled with hair clips.

Bodes well for future babysitting duty for big sister K-bao!

Sisters

Sharing a moment with my big sis, K-bao.