Service Please

O to be young, carefree, and have your hair dried gently blow-dried while you leisurely read a picture book! Such is the blessed existence our young C-bao enjoys.

In fact she is so used to her pampering that following her shower (after which she naturally raises her arms to be dried off and carried to her room), she goes immediately to pick out a couple of books and then wordlessly plops herself in C-pop's lap, with no further direction needed.

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

Spoilage

With the arrival of the C-Grandfolks (on C-Mum's side), C-bao is enjoying life - just as her sister did at this age.

Already, the attention is coming fast and furious, with extra reading and singing sessions, lots of additional shoulder rides, and plenty of 2:1 play sessions with the kitchen set. A few snapshots of the action below.

Not Peachy

The notoriously picky C-bao was digging into her sweet peach when suddenly she stopped. A long silence ensued, during which she suspiciously scrutinized the peach in her hands. Something was not right.

A wail of complaint issued forth. "What's the matter, C-bao?" asked C-Pop. The little one slowly untangled a piece of sticky, dark peach skin. Peach skin! Poison, no doubt! After inspecting, and confirming, this last point, the skin was quickly flicked away, and shortly thereafter the entire peach was summarily swept off the high chair.

(Too) Much Love

The C-Grandfolks and Uncle James ("Shu-Shu") were here visiting from Taiwan over the last week.  Little C-bao took full advantage, soaking up the love like an ultra-absorbent diaper.

Every little smile elicited coos, fawning gazes and delighted chuckles. Every whimper or sneeze brought a concerned grandma or uncle to her side, tissue and baby blanket in hand, ready to comfort, wipe or hug, on demand. Camera phones were working on overdrive.

Let it be shown for the record that the additional attention from all these parties did indeed have an impact on the little one's behavior. A highly deleterious impact indeed.

Picky

C-bao has revealed herself to be a decidedly epicurean eater. Unlike her sister K-bao who would open her mouth obligingly anytime a spoon was waved in the vicinity of her mouth - and then gratefully swallow - young C-bao not only takes a fair amount of coaxing to accept food into her mouth, she also then dribbles out or otherwise thrusts out with her tongue a fair percentage of whatever her parent has put inside. Here she is pushing out most of her apples and blueberries onto her face, chin and bib while simultaneously giving C-pop a defiant stare down.

Grandmum

C-bao has been lucky to have C-Grandmum here with her over the last month.

A woman of infinite patience, energy and love, C-Grandmum has been working her magic with the little one, cooing her to sleep, cleaning her royal behind, and generally spoiling her to no end.