Immodest

"Cutesyville here I come!"

One thing these sisters are not is modest.

C-bao and her sister K-bao don their gowns for their flower girl roles at the upcoming nuptials of Xiao Goo Goo (Aunt Catherine) and Wen Zhen Shu Shu.

Before we knew it, phrases such as "I look so beautiful!" began to tumble out.

Even the C-folks had to admit, however, that there was some truth to that statement.

Hot slide

"C-bao, be careful - that slide looks hot!" exclaimed C-Pop.

Thinking quickly, C-bao replied: "C-bao will blow on it."

"I'll huff, and I'll puff..."

Not Amused

#21YearsTooEarly

C-Pop caught little C-bao prancing around with one of these, rendering him aghast and only very slightly amused, in a sick-in-the-stomach kind of way.

The question now is not if, but rather when, and how many, supplemental dead-bolt locks C-Pop should install on the doors to guard against the unwelcome intrusion of foreign Y chromosomes in this household down the road.

Potty Praise

C-bao has been potty training for a little bit now, and like her sister, has climbed up the learning curve quickly.

Indeed, perhaps the C-folks have overdone the encouragement, for during the first couple of weeks of training, she took an inordinate amount of pride in her "productions," insisting after each episode to gather everyone in the house to admire her handiwork. She would then make sure to verbalize her accomplishments to each person ("妹妹在马桶里poo-poo了!" x3 or x4) until she received individual acknowledgement and applause. Then, and only then, would she permit a flush.

Luckily over the past week or so it appears she's become more confident that her toilet-using prowess is well understood. While she will still seek post-facto validation, the "eye-witnessing" piece of it is no longer demanded, which has been a major relief to the entire family who, many a time in the last few weeks, had to interrupt a meal for an in-person Potty Praise.

Multitasker

C-bao shows off her ambidextrous, multi-tasking capabilities.

"一邊拿奶奶,一邊拿水水" she observes for the visually challenged among her audience ("I'm holding milk and water at the same time").

In fact, when asked somewhat ironically by C-Pop whether she is also drinking both cups at the same time, she refuses to acknowledge the friendly sarcasm, and shows that indeed, she is.

Wet Deception

Earlier today before leaving the house, C-bao went to get a clean face towel from her drawer. For whatever reason, our girl loves washing her face, and insists on doing it herself, always very daintily. The following dialogue ensued:

C-Mum: "Didn't you wash your face already?" (妹, 你今天不是以已經洗过脸了吗?)
C-bao: "No, I haven't!" (还没有!)
C-Mum, disbelieving: "Daddy, did C-bao wash her face already?" (爸爸, 妹妹洗过脸了吗?)
C-Pop: "Yes, she has." (有, 洗过了)
C-bao, running into the bathroom with her precious towel: "No, Mei-mei hasn't! Mei-mei hasn't washed yet!" (还没有! 妹妹还没洗过!)
C-Pop, following C-bao into the bathroom. "No lying, C-bao." (妹妹, 不可以说谎!)
C-bao, ready to turn on the tap, repeats: "Mei-mei hasn't washed yet!" ( 妹妹还没洗过!)
C-Pop, grabbing the little one's previously used wet towel from the rack: "Is this towel wet or dry?" (这个毛巾是湿的还是干的?)
C-bao, feeling the towel: "Wet" (湿的)
C-Pop: "So why is it wet?" (为什么是湿的?)
C-bao, without skipping a beat, and in her most earnest tone: "Because my sister used it." (因为姐姐用过!)

It wasn't so much the dissembling itself, which is commonplace...it was the combination of her age (yes, she just turned two a couple months ago) and the fluidity and ease of her response - the way it rolled easily off the tongue - that shocked the C-folks.

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!

Growth

A year ago, C-bao would look on helplessly while sister quite literally danced circles around her while reciting Tang Dynasty poetry.

The below is from August 2013, when C-bao was not quite walking:


My how time flies. These days, not only is C-bao running almost as fast as her sister, and speaking in full paragraphs to boot, over the course of the summer she memorized a good 9 or 10 Tang poems. In fact she can recite two or three that her sister still has trouble with.

Here she reviews a subset of her favorites (and burps loudly while reviewing how hard the farmer works while planting rice):

Here she is doing the March & Chant:

Clownin'

Visiting the home of Aunt Carol (a.k.a. Da Ah-yi) in Redding, recently, C-bao brought out her inner entertainer. As you can see, she has clearly perfected the Arm Roll dance move.


Later, she showed off her book-balancing skills - as well as her ability to appreciate her own talents - while Cousin Kaitlyn and the family look on.

Stream of Consciousness

C-Pop had night duty the other night with C-bao, meaning that he was the one putting her down after the nightly Scripture and prayer session ended.*

The other night, however, C-bao had napped only a few hours earlier, so she started chatting to herself aloud while trying to fall asleep. C-Pop had the opportunity to hear a little bit of what's going on in the little one's head, stream-of-consciousness style. This is what he heard:

1. Chinese poetry excerpts.  言师采药去，只在此山中， 云深不知处 ("Teacher has gone to pick medicine in the mountains, but at this time, the clouds and fog are so thick that no one can know where exactly he is"). C-bao has been learning some Tang dynasty poems lately, and now can rattle off quite a few. Clearly the words are floating around up there in her semi-conscious state, because C-Pop heard her repeat the above lines several times, which are of course an excerpt from a well known verse by Tang poet Jia Dao.

2. Select Biblical concepts: 仁爱还是盼望?  仁爱还是盼望? ("Love or hope? Love or hope?") C-bao apparently has been wrestling with the supremacy of certain biblical concepts, because one theme that was repeated several times while she was rolling around trying to get comfortable:  These are concepts found in 1 Cor:13 and Gal 5:22, which C-bao is able to repeat when asked...though we would be shocked if she had any idea what she was actually saying.

3. The Big Bad Wolf. 爸爸不会让大野狼进来的!爸爸会保护的! ("Daddy won't let the Big Bad Wolf come in! He will protect me!") This unsavory character shows up in many of the little nursery books C-bao has consumed over the past year, and clearly has assumed a prominent role in the little C's imagination. Luckily, C-Pop was brought in appropriately to the situation.

There were many more scattered thoughts throughout the 30 or so minutes it took C-bao to fall asleep...both encouraging and sobering, of course, is that the little one is clearly listening, all the time, and is soaking up the words around her like a little sponge. 

* Note: Somehow in the past 8 months or so, C-bao has developed a bad habit of needing a parent to be with her until she falls asleep; how it was developed C-Pop shan't say - can't throw wifey under the bus! Luckily, the little one is normally so exhausted by the time 7 p.m. rolls around that she is generally out within 60 seconds.

Miscalculation

Over this past weekend, C-bao took a trip down to Happy Hollow with her sister to take in the sun and ride the roller coasters. Unfortunately for barely 2-year-old C-bao, she is not quite 36 inches tall, even with her thick rubber-soled Crocs, and doesn't meet the height requirement for the fastest rides.

She did, however, join sister K-bao in line for the well known Pacific Fruit Express - the fastest ride in the park - and after watching her sister's giddy anticipation, she grabbed C-Pop by the ears and earnestly intoned, "妹妹也想坐! 妹妹也想坐!" (Mei-mei also wants to ride it! x2).

Well, what was C-Pop to do? Thinking quickly, he pulled C-bao's hair into a bun to give her a couple extra inches, and then taught her to tippy-toe on command (尖脚!). When the ride attendant pulled out his measuring stick, C-bao obediently stretched up a couple of inches, and Lo! What with the extra carrot bun on top, the tippy-toes, the bright sun and loud noises, C-bao was ushered through.

As it turned out, of course, minimum height requirements have their unfailing logic. Little C-bao ended up...not quite enjoying the ride as much as she thought she would. The below video captures it all (the couple of fake "Ha-ha's" - and only at C-Pop's insistence that she give a smile - only underscores the irony).

Matchy-matchy

C-bao and sister K-bao enjoy going "matchy matchy."

They also enjoy causing a ruckus.

"Here's looking at you, cutie."

Stomp

Here comes C-bao, singing and stomping her way down the hall. The song? From the musical introduction to a Chinese storybook:

"來，來，來，小朋友, 快來一起來享受，姐姐為你說故事喲，快來快來小朋友!"

"Come, little children, let's enjoy together! Sister will tell you a story. Come little children!"

Heliophobia

As the daughter of someone who is a well-known heliophobe (has "fear of the sun") - and let's just say it's not C-Pop - C-bao manages to maintain her milky-white complexion no matter what the level of photovoltaics out there.

Here C-bao takes a dip in a pool in blazing hot Redding, CA in full full sun-protection regalia, looking more like a farmer getting ready for airstrikes by enemy drones than a casual swimmer trying to cool down.

"Please tell me there's noone here I know"

心肝寶貝

C-bao has heard perhaps more than a few times that she is Daddy's little precious, or in Chinese, 心肝寶貝 (Xin gan bao bei, literally "heart liver treasure shell(fish)"). When asked, she revels in repeating it, in a whisper at first, and then with greater and greater emphasis on the last word bei (in a higher pitch). With luck, she'll remember that little fact forever.

Guard the Sheep!

C-bao recently has gotten into a story about sheep - specifically how Grandpa Sheep embarked on a quest to hire an animal guard to protect his little ones from the big bad grey wolves.

As one can see in the below video, C-bao gets quite pumped for the story.

Encouragingly, C-bao appears to genuinely follow what is going on, and will remark throughout the text about things she sees happening on the pages that correspond to the story line.  "Here are the little sheep...and they're getting eaten." "So many animals appeared!" "The bear is crying!" "That plate is broken."

Part of the way through sister K-bao appears and joins in the animated storytelling.

Mischief

C-bao is growing in mischief every day. Her sense of irony abounds; her sass knows no limit. Here she decides it's time to fish around for a face towel lying on her tummy when she knows full well that C-Pop expects her to be flat on her back for her diaper change. Her impish giggle at 1:02, in response to C-Pop's inquiry - "You know full well you should be lying obediently - what in the world are you doing?!" - is classic (and typical).

Gangnam

C-bao's all-time favorite video of her scant two years on earth thus far is a clip of an Asian mother and son duo hip-hop dancing on the Ellen Degeneres show, set to Gangnam Style.

Concededly, she's gotten into the song a little bit past its peak popularity - but she has more than made up for any lost cycles through her intensity. She can watch this clip on the iPad or computer a dozen times in a row.

While not quite able to articulate exactly what this video is, she has always been able to communicate precisely what she wants by coming up to C-Pop with a big smile on her face, stomping her feet (in imitation of Psy's horse-riding dance), and then climbing into his lap. In the below video she also tries to say "se- se- se- sexy lady!" to make sure C-Pop gets it. This is now a daily routine for the little one.

Kicks

Little C-bao, like sister K-bao, likes to run. The problem, as always, is the footwear.

Bare feet again! How do you expect me to reach my track potential?

This is called Taking Matters into My Own Hands (or Feet). 

Finally! And a matching tracksuit! 

Too Funny

C-bao enjoys a really, really funny joke.

"That was so funny I can't stand up straight"

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Uncle

[Overheard on the car]

K-bao: 妹妹，我可不可以叫你 C-寶?
C-bao: 不可以
K-bao: 我可不可以叫你 Carolyn?
C-bao: 不可以
K-bao: 我可不可以叫你妹妹?
C-bao: 不可以
K-bao: 我可不可以叫你胡凱莉?
C-bao: 不可以
K-bao: 那麼,我叫你什麼?
C-bao: 舅舅!
K-bao & C-bao: 哈哈哈哈哈哈!

-------------
Translation:

K-bao: Little Sister, may I call you C-bao?
C-bao: No you may not.
K-bao: May I call you Carolyn?
C-bao: No you may not.
K-bao: May I call you Little Sister?
C-bao: No you may not.
K-bao: May I call you Hu Kai-li? 
C-bao: No you may not.
K-bao: Then what can I call you?
C-bao: Uncle!
K-bao & C-bao: Hahahahahaha!

Sisters

With a feisty and affectionate older sister to emulate, play with and test her wits against all of her life, little C-bao is one lucky little gal. It has been a joy for the C-folks to see the two little ones grow up together, despite the many - many - challenges of keeping the two civil and well-behaved with each other.

Here is C-bao enjoying a sip of water while her sister braids her hair:

Being strolled around town: 

 Learning the not-too-difficult act of riding a wooden horse from her sister:

Getting a swim lesson:

Singing "Let it GOOOOOOO!" together:

Pops

Happy Father's Day! C-bao celebrates C-Pop by taking him (and sister K-bao) to froyo, and then chasing him around at the park. Great day all around.

Bubbles

Little C-bao, who is just shy of two years old now, has a poetic soul. Yesterday she saw some bubbles floating in the sky, and contemplatively recited the following rhyme:

小妹妹
吹泡泡
大泡泡
小泡泡
一個一個天上漂
太陽公公抱一抱

Happy Runner

C-bao enjoys her afternoon jog, while clad in sweater and dress.

Precious Lips

One of C-bao's recent obsessions is lip balm. She cannot leave home without it. Once the right outfit has been donned, her teeth brushed, her hair combed, and her face washed and appropriately greased with both regular lotion and suntan lotion, C-bao will come running down the hallway with one and only one thought on her 1 year old mind: Chapstick!!!

C-Mum, who keeps the little one's chapstick in her purse, knows what's coming. C-bao will burst into the study and make a swiping motion in front of her lips to signify her mission. She then makes a beeline to Mum's bag and dig through the 78 or so articles inside - flipping obstructing items out of the way as necessary - until the precious grease is located. She must then of course apply it - liberally - herself, often ending the process not only with shiny lips but also glowing chin and cheeks.

Then and only then is the little princess ready to leave the house. Should C-Pop or C-Mum try and rush her downstairs forgetting this critical step, little C's countenance registers shock and indignation. How dare we leave those precious lips unprotected?

Filial Piety

C-bao heard that her mum is suffering from a stiff neck and shoulders, so like a good filial daughter she immediately gets to work rolling out those knots.

Rosie

C-bao, like her sister, loves to both sing and dance. Here she performs Ring Around the Rosie, one of the many rhymes in her repertoire, with sister K-bao.

His praise

While C-Pop was away on a business trip recently, the girls gathered for their nightly scripture reading. The memorization verse of the week was Psalm 34:1, and both K-bao and C-Mum handled the English version from memory with aplomb: "I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips."

When it came to the Chinese version though, K-bao recited the first half ( "我 要 時 時 稱 頌 耶 和 華...") but then got stuck. C-Mum was similarly perplexed. Mother and daughter looked at each other blankly. 

Suddenly, the littlest one piped up. "讚 美!" she cried. By George! That was it. 

The rest of the verse flowed out, and C-bao even finished the sentence for them: "口 中!" she inserted, at just the right time, while pointing to her lips. "讚 美 他 的 話 必 常 在 我 口 中!"

Amen! shouted C-Mum. "C-bao! I'm so proud of you!" chimed in K-bao.

What's the big deal, Mum? 

Touchy

C-bao has turned out to be quite a touchy-feely girl. She has loved to touch animals, for example, from an early age (despite being simultaneously petrified). Whenever she sees a dog walking by, she shouts, "摸它! 摸它!" (Touch it! Touch it!).

Predictably, she has turned out to be a big fan of petting zoos, and will run around like a glutton at a buffet, from one animal to the next.

Here she is with the goats:

And the pigs:

And the rabbits:

She can also be quite friendly with any little cuties she sees at the park or on a play date, insisting on generously doling out hugs whether requested or not. Here is a young gent she met in Scottsdale who was quite pleased with all the attention.

In other cases, such as with stalwart little Emmett, a friend she sees from time to time, the affection is not as visibly appreciated.

Poetic Justice

Here a casual poetry reading takes a turn south.

In Scene I, C-bao and K-bao are collaboratively reciting a recently learned Chinese rhyme, Tricycle (三輪車), emphasizing the rhythms by banging on the green sofa in unison.

In Phase II, a few seconds later, Little C-bao decides she wants the stage alone, and rather bossily demands that her sister cede the microphone.

In Scene III, predictably, K-bao decides that she will return the annoyance by snatching at the blackberry in her sister's hands, a gadget that of course belongs to neither of them.

Yes, this happens every day. Multiple times. The joy of siblings.

Heat

Now that April has come and the weather has warmed up somewhat, C-Mum insists only on 4 layers rather than 5 when C-Pop takes the girls to the park.

Indeed, C-Mum has bought snazzy matching puffy vests for C-Pop and the girls (two of which are shown above) to finally replace our winter coats and hats during our outdoor excursions.

Now no one said San Francisco has the warm balmy climes of San Diego, but the Eskimo gear (see below) was starting to attract some funny looks from strangers. Perhaps the shiny red cheeks and profuse sweating finally convinced C-Mum to allow the clan to leave the house more lightly clad.

"Um, California?"

Princess

C-bao dons her princess outfit - courtesy of sister K-bao - and is swept up in a dance by C-Pop (who appears to be king only by virtue of his paternal association with C-bao and her sister - certainly not in evidence by his sphere of influence).

No one wants to be thinking of the hopefully long-ways-off and very far away wedding banquet dance, but these are the moments that remind C-Pop of how fleeting time is.

Center of Attention

C-bao showed up to pick up older sister K-bao at the end of her ballet lesson the other day.

The little one was somewhat startled by the reception she received. K-bao's friends immediately crowded around and took turns picking her up and complimenting her on her outfit. In the meantime, K-bao beamed from ear to ear and proudly showed her off like a coveted doll in a show and tell session.

Church

C-bao hangs out at church with friends Sam and Emily. Lots of play and snacks, not much worshipping going on.






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Tight

The other occasion C-bao has to sing the aforementioned favorite Frozen song is when sister K-bao is over-affectionate.

"Too tight! Let It Go!"

Let It Go - Cover

C-bao's sister K-bao recently saw the new Disney film Frozen, and since then has insisted on pulling up the now-iconic and Oscar-winning song Let It Go on YouTube at all hours so she can sing along at the top of her lungs.

Not to be left out, C-bao has learned not only the names of the key characters ("Elsa! Elsa! Anna! Anna!" she will go around the house shouting), but a few select parts of the song which she will belt out much too enthusiastically at select opportune moments. Below is representative.

Horse

C-bao is a born equestrian, and has loved pictures and videos of horses from an early age. Indeed, when she sees C-Pop at the computer, she typically runs up to say 騎馬! 騎馬! (Ride Horse! Ride Horse!) to indicate that she wants to see some videos of kids riding ponies.

Several months ago C-Pop inadvertently allowed her to witness her sister K-bao getting a piggyback ride while yelling 騎馬! 騎馬!

So guess what C-Pop has been roped into doing - every night when he comes back from work, and all through the weekend?

Let's Shake Feet

Friendly little C-bao enjoys shaking hands and can often be observed walking up to someone and saying,  "握握手,好朋友" (Let's shake hands and be good friends).

 That's why she got a particular kick when her sister taught her instead to say ""握握脚,好朋友" (Let's shake feet and be good friends) - which she now insists on taking her shoes off and doing at every opportunity.

Hey Orange

C-bao has always liked oranges, from day one. She will eat as many as you let her, until she gets the runs (which is inevitably after orange #3, and sometimes even after orange #2).

Bananas, on the other hand, have been hit or miss - sometimes she's into them, oftentimes not. Here C-Pop tries to trick C-bao into substituting one for the other, to no avail.

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.

Vanity

C-bao is a lover of smooth skin, and here she ensures the continued suppleness of her own epidermis by liberally applying lotion all over her face. With a glee she cannot contain. This is seriously one of her favorite pastimes, right up there with brushing her teeth.

Slow Twirl

Here is C-bao enjoying a little music that her Aunt Catherine and Uncle James recorded, as posted previously here.

She's heard the song enough times now to chime in on the last word of each line.

When asked to dance these days C-bao generally breaks into her patented 2-Way Slow Twirl  (where she spins first counter-clockwise and then clockwise), as can be seen beginning at 0:55. Of course, she then gets dizzy enough to need to be held afterwards.

Imp

In the last few months Little C-bao has not only become a mischievous imp, she has embraced the identity and now basks in the knowledge of her mischief.

Ask her "誰是小皮皮?" (Who is the Little Naughty One?) and she will proudly say "C-bao!" (or sometimes 小妹妹 - "Little Sister" or "Little Girl," her other nickname), before smiling sassily and running off.

The below video where she purposefully grabs too many snacks while grinning from ear to ear is broadly representative. Reminds us of a certain incident around greedy grapes several years ago.

Conversations with C-bao

C-bao's vocabulary has expanded by leaps and bounds over the past few months, and she uses her newfound communication skills to issue a nonstop stream of commands to C-Pop and whomever else is in the vicinity.

A few examples:

• 爸爸喝奶奶！("Daddy drink milk!" This is not, Daddy can I get a drink of milk. This is, Daddy, I want you to drink your milk. There, nice and slow. That's it. Good boy.)
• 妈妈陪! ("Mommy stay with me!" C-bao's understanding of "陪," which means "stay with," is "hold hands")
• 姐姐刷牙！("Sister brush your teeth!")
• 爸爸抱抱出去! ("Daddy take me outside!")
• 要！要！要！要！橘子! 橘子! 橘子! ("Want! Want! Want! Want! Orange! Orange! Orange!")
• And her favorite: 不要！不要！不要！("Do not want!" Do not want! Do not want!" - always in 3's)

Yes, everything has an exclamation after it, and is usually repeated at least 3 times before C-Pop or C-Mum has a chance to get a word in.

In the below video C-bao talks about her socks and shoes, the pen she's not supposed to be holding, and how much she loves her extended family (saying "Love!" with increasing ferocity as we went through the list).

Warm Runnings

Little C-bao is a runner like her sister. Just whisper "跑跑!" (Pao-pao, "Run, Run!") in her ear, and she's off.

Here is a quick jog on the Embarcadero in her full Eskimo gear (which C-Mum insists on her wearing even in 70-degree weather).

Happy new year!

Happy new year from C-bao & Co.!