A Water Story

K: "It's not that cold, I promise you! It's a lot of fun! C'mon!"

C: "Ok, sis. I trust you."

K: "See, I'll even take you there myself."

C: "Tricked! Bamboozled!"

Lion Dance

We've had six straight posts about singing and dancing - why not another one? Last weekend after lunch in the Sunset, C-bao and sister K-bao stumbled across a Chinese Lion Dance in the streets and quickly decided to join in.

Feel that rhythm!

Roar

Another song that C-bao is partial to is Katy Perry's Roar (as C-Pop discovered recently, this is apparently not uncommon among little girls). In fact, she will take C-Pop's phone - without permission, of course - in order to locate the song on her own and play it.

When C-Pop asks what in the world she is doing, she is quite matter of fact about it.

"Press Goo-go! Goo-go Roar!" she cries in her fobby English, while swiping and tapping expertly.

In the first video, she does in fact get the Google voice search interface to show up, and confidently shouts "Roar" into the microphone.



Unfortunately, she doesn't see the results that she wants. As a result she elaborates to make it abundantly clear.

"Roar! Ro-ah ah ah ah ah-o!"

As a result, this is the kind of search history that C-Pop has on his phone:

Rambunctious

If it isn't clear by now, C-bao is into singing and dancing. Any song will do - she will happily join in even if she's never heard it before. And if she doesn't have a tune on hand, she's happy to make something up (as she does in the video below), and choreograph it herself to boot.

As to what she is actually saying in the video below? No one will ever know.

Jig

On a recent visit to C-Grandmum's home in Los Angeles, the two sisters perform a little dance to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, which somehow infiltrated the family song list recently.

C-bao bunny hops vigorously in the back, providing some solid complementary moves to sister K-bao's boogieing.

Party Crasher

One of the great perks of being a younger sister is having access to a ton of parties that you aren't even formally invited to, but get to attend by virtue of association.

Just this past weekend, for example, C-bao found herself stuffing her face with ice cream...

...splashing around at a pool party in Napa...

...running around crazily on a trampoline at said pool party in Napa...



...mixing it up with the older kids to "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift...



...all at birthday parties of her sister K-bao's various friends.

Furthermore, at each such party, she typically gets a ton of attention from the older girls (and their moms), who all recognize her now and treat her like a little cute puppy.

As if that were not enough, C-bao generally walks away from these parties with plenty of swag. Today, for example, she snagged both a balloon and a sizeable bag of candy (which included candies given to her by older girls who felt sorry for the fact that she wasn't quite big enough to snatch up candies when they were scattered from the pinata).

Pretty good life, we'd say!

Fillmore Jazz

Aunt Carol's family was in town over the independence holiday, and after church on Sunday C-bao took her cousins Justin and K-K to the Fillmore Jazz Festival.

The largest free jazz festival on the West coast, the Fillmore Jazz Festival routinely draws 100,000 visitors. Legendary Fillmore Street is entirely shut down to traffic, and music lovers pack the road and listen to the latest jazz beats from the California Jazz Conservatory Ensemble, Kim Nalley, Blue Grazz, Jungle Biskit, Native Elements and many others.

This was C-bao's first exposure to live jazz, and she grooved it. Couldn't stop moving her feet. Below you can see C-bao bringing out the Feraba African tap dance routine, with sister K-bao jumping in on the action as well, followed shortly by Cousin K-K.

Negotiating an extra bite of froyo from C-Mum

Sister K-bao with her well-rehearsed "Studied Indifference" look

Sabbath

Last Sunday was a typical Sabbath for our little one. C-bao awoke bright and early and got herself ready for church, which over the summer has temporarily relocated to the beautiful Sherith Israel on California Street.

By the way, over the last month or so C-bao has finally (finally!) settled in to the drop-off routine with minimal fuss, and after an obligatory "You'll be back?" will now generally wave goodbye and obediently join the rest of her Sunday School buddies, albeit with a few sad looks. This somewhat new development has been a huge relief for the C-folks and a big step forward for our little one.

After church, lunch was enjoyed at Bun Mee on Fillmore Street, as shown above. C-bao tried a few bites of more adventurous fare - C-Pop's Caramel Citrus Rice Bowl - before settling in to her tried and true vermicelli dish.

Given the nice day outside, the fam decided to trek all the way home on foot afterwards. Full of zest, C-bao marched without complaint the several miles home, and still had plenty of energy to complete some fun workbook pages before bathtime, dinner and bed. All in all a restful Sabbath day ahead of a jam-packed week of summer camp. 

Seriously?

C-bao took one look at C-Pop's outfit and had only one thing to say.

Granted, she learned this reaction from one person in the household, and one person only. Not looking at anybody in particular, or mentioning any names, C-Mum. 

Confident

Since turning 3, C-bao has a new swagger about her these days. More self-assurance. More bounce in her step.

Her new-found confidence is perfectly summed up below.

Birthday Girl

Happy 3rd birthday to our dearest C-bao!

C-Mum took C-bao to pick out her cake from her favorite bakery, Schubert's. Naturally C-bao zoned in quickly on their chocolate and nut confection, the Opera Cake.

A modest but happy celebration ensued in the evening. Below you can see sister K-bao offering up her best wishes through cards, hugs and songs.

More extensive celebrations to come later this summer!

Summer School

C-bao is off to summer school! This is her first step towards going to a real preschool this fall. Knowing that this would be a major transition for our little one (who has never done any type of school or camp other than Sunday School at church), the whole family tried to get her ready and excited to go.

C-Mum helped her pick out and order her own very first ladybug backpack, and helped her preview the site days in advance. C-Pop talked to her extensively about how many great snacks she would be getting at school, not to mention music and drawing classes. Sister K-bao played with her in the morning (below) to put her in a good mood ahead of Day 1.

When the time for parting came, while not without a little bit of sadness, C-bao took it in stride and by the end of the first week had started to develop a little bit of rhythm with the drop off, to wit: (1) look for recognizable teacher figure; (2) werbally confirm several times that parent will return at some point; (3) wave goodbye sadly.

The day will undoubtedly come when the little one will scamper into the classroom excitedly with nary a look back. That day doesn't yet seem imminent, yet from experience the C-folks know that it's really just around the corner. 

Hyena Love

In this moving story of a young fox who lost his mother in a bush fire and was subsequently adopted by a compassionate hyena, C-bao learned:

• The meaning of sacrificial love
• Always run when you hear "Fire!"
• Hyenas are not always bad (contrary to what she has believed since watching The Lion King)

C-bao is quite into animals, and stories about the African veld are always well received. In the video above C-Pop quizzes her on her listening comprehension after the story and she passed with flying colors. 

Filial

C-bao promises to take care of C-Mum in her old age.

Quick, get this down on film! Make her pinky promise!

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.

Puzzle

Over the past few months C-bao has mastered basic puzzles. She can fly through the Melissa & Doug wooden sets by herself in no time now. Now granted, those puzzles are only 12 pieces each. With larger sets, like the 100 piece one we tried together over the weekend, there is still a reasonable amount of guidance needed. But on ones like the above, she pushes away any helping hands. "I do m'self!" she insists in her fobby accent.

Pooped

Last weekend C-bao went south to hang out at Uncle Calvin's, where she was also joined by Aunt Christina. Predictably the day was filled with zany activities, including trying out Uncle Calvin's home weightlifting system and also spending some time on the basketball court playing 3-on-3 (where she was smacked in the head more than a few times by the ball coming in from unfortunate angles). 

While not normally one to zonk out mid-afternoon, by 5 p.m. our little one was one tired little puppy. Here she is dozing away, though still assuming a feisty boxing position with hands rolled up into fists, ready to take on the next challenger.

"Oh yeah? Well bring it on, I say!...zzz..."

Music Class

One thing C-bao has learned to LOVE is her weekly music class down by the Creativity Museum downtown.

C-Pop got a glimpse over the past weekend when C-bao decided to stop by to check out the Saturday class. While it wasn't her usual weekday routine, and her favorite teacher, "Ms. Mo," wasn't present, she still managed to get a good session out of it - drumming, singing, clapping and throwing colorful handkerchiefs.

While she was at it, she also ran upstairs to show C-Pop the karaoke machine. Along with sister K-bao, she tried out both the Lion King's Be Prepared - which she was totally unprepared to sing - as well as the always popular and entirely overdone Let It Go.

Hop

C-bao prefers not to walk if alternatives like hopping, skipping, jumping and swinging exist.

With a boost from Aunt Carol

Horror Hike

C-bao went on a hike in the Presidio yesterday with C-Pop.

"Tell me a story, Pop," she said while walking. Our little girl has been into fairy tales recently, and generally asks for stories with witches and wolves.

Like a teenager seeking a thrill from a horror movie, C-bao listens to these plot lines - involving either the wicked witch or the hungry wolf, or both - with both fascination and dread, and then generally hops into C-Pop's arms in case any of the fictional characters decide to step into the real world. Yesterday was no exception.

Here she is scanning the dark forest with suspicion. "Is there a wolf behind that tree? What about that one?"

Happy Mother's Day

On this Mother's Day, C-bao stops to give a big Thank You to C-Mum for all of her love, sacrifices and commitment over the last almost-three years. Thank you Mum!

"I'll take my mum over chocolate cake any day!...or at least on Fridays"

Hand Stand

C-bao constantly sees sister K-bao running around the house doing cartwheels and other gymnast moves.

Not one to back down from a challenge, C-bao has been trying out some of the moves herself. C-Pop caught her attempting a handstand the other day against the couch. It took her a little while but eventually she got those little feet above the arm rest.

"Quick Dad! Take a picture!"

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!

Happy Birthday to DGG

C-bao and sister K-bao wish a very Happy Birthday to Aunt Esther a.k.a. Da Goo-Goo.

C-bao sings enthusiastically and also has a few words of thanksgiving - borrowed liberally from sister K-bao's script - to offer her lovely aunt.

One thing DGG has always prioritized is the girls' spiritual growth, and most of the children's Bible stories and similar books around the house were birthday and Christmas gifts from DGG. Here sister K-bao shows viewers one such gift.

Scoot

C-bao is just about old enough to try out sister K-bao's scooter. Soon she will undoubtedly be zipping around and demanding her own ride. 

Here she gets her first lessons from C-Mum at the park. 

Her head size hasn't quite caught up yet to the helmet but she gamely pressed ahead despite her limited visibility.

"Look! On my own! Though I can't see"

Hanging Out

C-bao enjoyed spending time with her cousins Justin and K-K a few months ago in Redding.

She can be quite affectionate with those she considers family.

"When I see K-K, I like to give her a hug," observes C-bao

Here she is hanging out with her cousins, literally.

"Count 'miss sippy' Daddy!"

Fob Pose

C-bao attempts to do the Asian Fob Pose for the picture but can't quite pull it off. That stubborn third finger keeps sneaking in there.

"Beware of the Girl in the Purple Mask"

Walking & Talking

Here is C-bao walking the streets of San Francisco, rather loudly and colorfully, with sister K-bao on a lazy Saturday afternoon. What they are saying, of course, is a mystery to all.

Language of Love

"Put it right here, Pops"

It turns out that Physical Affection is high on little C-bao's "Languages of Love" list. Unlike sister K-bao, who is always on the move, our little one will happily relax and cuddle on a lazy Saturday morning for any length of time, which more often than not suits K-Mum and K-Pop just fine. And during the day, she's never too busy to stop her routine for a hug and a smooch. 

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."

Hugs & Sun Cakes

One of the key bonding moments on the C-Grandfolks' recent visit was when C-bao discovered the dessert that her grandfolks had brought from Taiwan: sun cakes (太陽餅).

Indeed, C-Grandpop and C-Grandmum, on the day before they left Taipei, had made a special trip out to buy several boxes of the sweet, flaky treat for their grandchildren.

"我想要吃太陽餅!" became the constant refrain around the house the minute C-bao had tasted it.

"Of course!" shouted the C-Grandfolks enthusiastically each time. Naturally, many contented hugs followed thereafter. 

Grandfolks

"I said, 'Ice-cream!'"

The C-Grandfolks are here! After getting to see her grandparents in Singapore at Aunt Catherine's wedding in November, C-bao is being treated with a visit by her grandfolks here in San Francisco.

With C-Grandmum in the sun at Golden Gate Park

The C-Grandfolks enjoy going for long walks, so have accompanied C-bao on her daily constitutionals.

Below C-bao enacts her best lion character with C-Grandmum as the poor zebra (drawing particular inspiration from her recent viewing of The Lion King), pouncing and roaring until C-Grandmum throws up the white flag.

Conversational

As readers of this blog know, little C-bao is a chatty 2 year old. She loves querying and opining, probing and interrogating. Here she is having a wide-ranging conversation with C-Pop about brushing her teeth, the Big Bad Wolf, the relative strength of various building materials, her health, the English and Chinese translations of different words and sundry other topics. C-Pop had to cut this video off after close to ten minutes, as this little one can sit and talk much longer than the recording capacity of any of C-Pop's devices.