A year and a half ago, I was planning a dragon boat banquet. Now, I plan for 6pm dinners. Did you know Tuesday nights, kids eat free at Pepino’s? I notice and log all the possible construction sites along our daily route and I’ve been excited for Dozer Days like it’s Christmas. And I know that last Saturday, Milo turned 18-months on National Train Day.

I’d say I’m pretty proud of my new parental knowledge, but honestly, this kid has learned a lot more .

Language: Milo’s vocabulary is growing towards 150 (we’re trying to only count words he actually uses and not repeat after hearing). He became fixated on possession, saying each of our names and pointing to our assigned chair, plate, etc. More recently, he started using two-word sentences, e.g. Mama sit, Dada no (as in “No, Dada doesn’t have a beard”), car broke (we got in an accident, more on this later), more beans, big bite, and Milo Snort (except it sounds like MINA NORT). He’s said a few three word sentences, mainly adding “this”, e.g. “this ball hoop”, “I this broke”, or “this is ball”. It takes some deciphering but we love eavesdropping on the babbling monologue as he experiments with the combinations and sounds. He still can’t pronounce the letters F, L, or R.

A BII(G) DAW(G) caught Milo’s eye.

Food: Mealtimes have become almost completely independent and less (but still!) messy. Milo no longer spills when he drinks from a cup. He prefers to use a spoon and fork, but still will get those fingers dirty if need be. He’s fairly well-mannered but I can tell he enjoys the playful opportunities, like drinking the remaining milk from his cereal out of the bowl or slurping from a soup soon (so pho has been a big hit). There can be successful meals and total failures of meals. He’s not very good at waiting, especially when he’s hungry. Too many times we’ve missed our window at restaurants, waiting for the food to come. The ALL DONE sign is like a big, fat GAME OVER. But at the more casual, over-the-counter joints, Milo eats like a rock star. Supposedly Milo eats vegetables at school — he even “hearts” them — but with us, it’s all carbs, dairy, fruit, and protein if it’s ground up. He’s only drinking one 4-5oz bottle before bedtime, but I guess he does top off at breakfast.

Just the usual post-dinner show

Physical: At almost 27 lbs and 34″, Milo is in the bigger kid range (85th percentile). From my limited experience, he seems pretty coordinated. Though he prefers to hold on to something, he can walk down stairs unassisted. Just like I showed him, he holds his KNEEZ, bending them one at a time.

He’s really into throwing, and the first night we brought home a toddler-sized hoop, he slept with the BA-KET-BALL.

Milo is not quite running but did finish his first race! I nearly melted when he got a ribbon.

Logical: Milo is a little less coordinated with his fingers, but he’s catching on to puzzles. He can match the two halfs of a pictures and put a cut-out puzzle piece in its place.

Working on his coordination by cutting mushrooms. He took his sous-chef role very, very seriously.

Challenges: We’re seeing a lot more strong opinions. The two biggest debates are getting dressed and washing our hands after we eat. Sometimes he absolutely does not want to put his clothes on; I think it’s his realization that we are leaving, as in getting dressed for school, when he doesn’t want to. We’re not sure why he doesn’t like to wash his hands, since he likes playing with water and the sink, but again, my hunch is that it’s something he has to do when he’d rather leave the table and go play. So, we try to make it fun for him, like washing the cups, or give him alternatives, like hopping to the bathroom or jumping into his pants. Sometimes Ben just wrestles him to be done with it, and lo and behold, Milo usually recovers in a minute.

My little guy: Other than that, Milo is a sweet, sweet boy. We often hear, and see when we pick up, how he gives everyone hugs at school. He doesn’t know sharing, but he recognizes when someone wants something, and if it’s theirs, will likely give it back. He says (signs) thank you usually when I ask him to, but often after the fact, as if he’s collecting all the different situations where this sign works. Still, he can stir the pot in his classroom and comes home weekly with battle wounds. We feel bad he gets bitten, but he should learn how to avoid or walk away from those situations (since our sensitive boy usually doesn’t prevail). At least with us, he’s incredibly affectionate and playful.

More pictures and videos:
17 months: http://flickr.com/gp/nhanh/gH058V/
18 months: http://flickr.com/gp/nhanh/162808/

Still a little unsure of the water, but goes back for more anyway.

Celebrating National Train Day with Nana and Grandpa

The highlight of his 18-months: driving a SNORT!

It’s been an amazing week with our little guy. We realize we had forgotten what Milo is like when he’s not sick. Not that he was memorably miserable, but it’s noticeable when he doesn’t have a constant cough and an endless supply of snot like he did for the last two weeks, one of which I was on my own.

Milo is simply a lot more cheery, independent, and easy. In the mornings, he doesn’t demand us right away. We listen to him playing with his toys and babbling, and wait for the cue “MAMA, DADA, UP, UP”. The other day I finally went in at 7:45am because I was going to be late for work, and I found him happily reading in his crib.

While Ben was gone, most of the meals ended in eating in my lap. After two days of training (and very difficult meals), he behaves much better and is stuffing down the food. Some meals Milo eats more than us! I love watching him eat; there’s a sense of satisfaction and relief that turns into pride. Yes, I know, he’s just using a spoon but at least it’s not mine.

His games are funny. Ben has negotiated with Milo that he can pick dandelions. Anytime he sees one (and he knows the difference between this yellow flower from another), he gives an evil chuckle. He picks all in sight (inefficiently yet eventually) and asks for MORE. Tomorrow, we tell him. Ben thinks the dandelions don’t stand a chance but then again, he’s also blowing the seeds into the air…and back onto our yard.

Milo is obsessed with my tennis racquet. I can’t mention tennis without him repeating, “NA NA? RACK, RACK!” We’ve managed to control him from not swinging it around the house, but soon he’ll want to actually make contact with the BAW. You can imagine how excited I am to get him his own.

And we’re still obsessed with the language. This week Milo seemed very pleased that he was able to answer YEAH or NO. Tonight we wrote down all the words he uses in context. The list came to almost a hundred, which seems like a lot but also puts in perspective how many more he will learn, daily. Time to work on that pronunciation!

Well, I know this post sounds incredibly cheery, but really, it’s been one of the better weeks. Maybe it was the sunshine or being able to eat my own dinner or Milo saying YEAH more than NO, but I’m looking forward to a whole weekend with Milo.

It’s been busy, busy, and just like that, the boy is 17 months. Mr. Milo continues to entertain, surprise, and consume us. Here are some ”Milostones” we reached these past few months:

Number 1: I weaned Milo.

It was hard. Neither of us was ready. I would have preferred to do it on his own time, but we were leaving town for an extended time, and really, it was time. At this point, I was only doing morning and night feeds, for comfort and routine. Dropping the night one was easier than expected — just a few days and he forgot about it — but the morning one took a lot longer. I couldn’t go to him when he woke because he’d demand to nurse. When Ben went in, he would cry. Once he accepted the bottle, he calmed down. I also made sure to be downstairs and about, rather than in places he associated with nursing (like in bed).

But we did it: at 16 months, about 10 days before the trip, I officially stopped nursing. That didn’t mean he didn’t stop asking.

Our next big accomplishment: leaving Milo for four days, our longest time yet!

Ben’s parents were so kind to come out and take care of Milo while we went on our annual spring break climbing trip. They were thrilled–grateful–for the offer while I was certainly worried…for them! Milo had been extremely clingy to me during the weaning and he’s kind of a non-stop kid.

We had done this once, for two days with my parents but they had Chippy (and a 3 1/2 year old). My mom said he was an easy baby, except in the morning when he missed me. I was also nursing frequently. Since then, he’s become even more communicative and independent, and sleeping much better (I’ll get to that).

We videochatted a lot before they came, printed out their pictures, and explained repeatedly that we’re going on a trip but we’ll be back. When they arrived, he instantly recognized NANA and GANPA and warmed up to them. It was great. They had a fantastic time with him, taking him to the zoo, singing while he hummed his eating song, and deciphering his words and signs. He asked for us, but in a checking in sort-of-way. And we had a memorable time in Vegas, which definitely deserves its own blog post.

Third: We’ve been spoiled with sleep, at last.

Milo has been sleeping 11-12 hours and waking up past 7am. One week when he was sick and slept even later, we debated setting an alarm clock to get to work on time. The one nap schedule is so much better, although it frustrates Ben to no end that it doesn’t always happen when it should, but usually it’s two hours. The bedtime routine is the easiest part of the day; it doesn’t even have to be us doing it. Ben’s parents said he practically threw himself into the crib each night. Last weekend, after only her second time meeting him, his babysitter did it and said it was wonderful.

This brings me to the last one: having a babysitter is wonderful indeed.

She is our next door neighbor and was the after-hours sitter, but we had a wedding reception to go to and needed someone to put him to bed. She came over so he could get to know her, and he instantly liked her. He sat in her lap, showed her his toys, and practically ignored me which is unheard of.  Now when he sees her, he giggles with excitement. This opens up a lot more earlier evenings for us.

It’s not always giggles…

(Except when drumming with Grandpa.)

Milo does pick his battles. In general, he’s a good eater; at daycare, they said he’s their best eater. But he has frustrated moments where he signs ALL DONE with the food we’ve offered or insists on sitting in my lap. The latest thing is getting dressed or out the door. He loves being naked. He wants to go outside but refuses to sit down to put on his shoes. He helps get undressed but squirms as we struggle to get his PJs on. This past week I’ve been on my own (and I will certainly blog about that!), and I’ve resorted to bribing him to get him in the carseat.

So, what do I bribe him with?

Ice cream. First time having it. Salt n’ Straw, of course.

Going to the park, even if it’s pouring. Note: I did NOT have a full rain suit.

SNORTS

But number 1 on his list is a snort, or as he calls it, NORT. For those who haven’t read “Are You My Mother?”, it’s a backhoe (who rescues the baby bird back to its nest). So in Milo’s eye, it’s huge and amazing. And conveniently enough, there’s a construction site en route to daycare. So we pull over, get out of the car, and watch the NORT in action. DIIIIG. It floors his mind. Sometimes it’s sleeping. Then I have to get him back into the car. I offer something else we’ll go see, like the pet WATS (rats) at school. Or the OSE to WA WA the plants when we get home.

Milo continues to love games and songs that require interaction and music. NANA and GANPA showed him lots of music — the xylophone, recorder, African chants. They discovered the CHEERS game when he enjoyed hearing the sound of glasses hitting. We have several songs and books that involve animals, sounds, and body parts.

The language has been absolutely fascinating. He goes around pointing, clearly asking “WHAT’S THIS?” He has picked up so many new words, but more noticeably, uses them. Some fun ones: he says MORE with a British accent, NA is short for tennis, HI confusingly means here, BA-GA-PI is one of his favorite dishes (guess, and the answer is at the bottom), and he eats an entire AYAN (orange) after every meal. He likes to read with us, anticipating and saying the next word. We see him starting to form sentences, like when Ben goes out for a run, he says “DADA” and signs running. (And then motions to shave, because that’s what Dada does when he gets back.) He’s also added M and L to his alphabet list so technically, he could spell MILO. He definitely has tried to write A several times.

Here’s video of the first time Milo says his name. It was very exciting and entertaining. Now it sounds more like MI-NA.

We really love how Milo is sweet and considerate. Maybe it’s the French blood in him, but everyone in the room will get a NOSE (eskimo) kiss or cung dau (bonk heads). We find people are more comfortable giving high fives or saying their names. He wants to help and do things with us: he can’t wait to hand Dada his towel after he showers; he participates in every step of making the french press (and that’s why sometimes the coffee is cloudy); he wants to sweep, put his dirty bib in the basket, throw away the trash (like a baller), and wash the dishes. I try not think about how much water we’re wasting. He cuddles with us, momentarily. I love it when he backs up and trustingly sits in our laps. I sneak in lots of hons (Vietnamese kisses) and we make our rounds around the room again.

More pictures and video here: month 15 and month 16.

First full Catholic mass. He couldn’t sit still but apparently enjoyed it, because at the end, when everyone cleared out, he sat down and asked for MORE.

BA-GA-PI

Last month we went to Cabo, Mexico for my cousin’s destination wedding. This was Milo’s first time flying international. The long stretch was about four hours and Milo did a lot better than our last flight to Maryland over Christmas. He was still very clingy to me, but this time he took a solid nap (in my arms) and we were able to pass him back and forth across the three (we flew with Chippy) aisle seats. Our go-to entertainment included the iPad, books, and a tennis ball can filled with a random assortment. Still, with customs, rental car, and traffic, it was a long trip, 10 hours door-to-door, for everyone. As we drove along the local, bumpy road from the airport to the hotel, Milo, not fussy, was simply (and signing) ALL DONE. (A side note: As for as family-friendly airlines go, Southwest wins so far. On this Alaska flight, the flight attendants were so loud they woke Milo up. Don’t they know?!).

We stayed at the Cabo Surf Hotel, which is about a half hour from Cabo San Lucas (i.e. spring break locale). This 5-start resort, featuring spa treatments, one (and only one) fancy restaurant, hot tubs and infinity pools, and a practically private beach, is meant for couples and destination weddings–and not for kids. We saw only one other family with a 2-year old staying there. But really, we’re not complaining about this!

Our room was on the first floor, with not the best ocean view but conveniently facing the lawn where the reception would be. It was a little challenging sharing a room with Milo, who often wakes in the morning and falls back to sleep on his own. We ended up putting him in the closet and using the door as a barrier, but he knew we were just on the other side. Tata Chippy and Kimmy also stayed with us in exchange for babysitting, and we took turns doing the early morning duty while the rest attempted to sleep. Clearly, Milo got the better end of the deal:

Hanging out like a local

The weather was perfect for Ben and me: sunny but not too hot. I’ve always loved the ocean. I forgave Milo for waking early because we caught the sunrise, I ran on the beach with my cousins, Ben surfed the last day, and the welcome dinner was beach-side. Milo didn’t swim too much. The ocean was rocky and the pool was shockingly cold, but he did enjoy the bubbles in the hot tub. We were also careful of his baby white skin so he didn’t run around naked as much as he would have liked.

Naked baby!

One thing we discovered was that Milo AND I love Mexican cuisine. My whole life I’ve never understood the difference between a quesadilla or enchilada, nor why anyone liked food so heavy and mushed together. It turns out neither do the Mexicans! The real deal is fresh, light, and tasty. The restaurant at the hotel was worth it: I couldn’t get enough of the fish tacos, machaca (shredded beef), queso fresco (Mexican cheese), and fresh tamales. We ate in town at the open market, feasting on endless, creamy guacamole and spicy salsa, and for dinner one night, we bombed a local restaurant who luckily had enough ceviche to serve all 20 of us.

The one downside to the trip was that both Ben and Chippy were hit with a 30-hour stomach bug. It could have been a virus or simply not agreeing with the local water, but it was brutal. Ben got it the evening before the day of the wedding. After a rough night, he was in bed all day and barely managed to get vertical in time for the afternoon ceremony.

My cousin’s wedding was beautiful. Ceremony on the beach, cocktails at sunset, a festive reception, and if you didn’t know, that side of my family can dance. I didn’t get to appreciate all that they put into it because with Ben sick, I was on duty with Milo who decided to skip his afternoon nap that day. So I missed out on the bridal preparations, caught most of the vows (while trying to entertain a cranky Milo with sand), and dinner was fast. After Milo went to bed, we all took shifts sitting outside our room while the others danced. Exhausted, Ben and I called it a night early, and missed the grande finale of lighting lanterns into the night sky on the beach.

Welcome wedding dinner on the beach

Besides the wedding, the big highlight was the whale watching trip. We almost missed the boat because we were following the tour busdriver who drove like a maniac on the highway and disappeared into the town. But thank goodness we made it! My cousin had reserved a big catamaran (with free breakfast and booze) for an hour and half. About 10 minutes in, we spotted a baby humpback whale breaching, jumping out of the water every few minutes or so. Not long after, the mother surfaced. And it went like this for the next hour! Milo was so excited about the boats — he kept pointing at the other boats also following the whales — waving at the people and singing, “ROW ROW ROW”. Finally, we got him to notice the big, ahem, “fish” and after that, he understood why and joined in on everyone saying, “WOW!”

Milo is at the age where everything is, just, WOW, so it was worth all the trouble (which really, wasn’t that much) to take him on this trip. Here are more pictures on FlickR: Chippy’s and mine. I end with one of Chippy’s great beach shots of my cousins and their boards, and a video she put together which captures a lot of the essence of Cabo.

MaiFebruary from Mai Duong on Vimeo.

We have entered the toddler stage and it is hilarious and nonstop.

This is our first winter in daycare and we’re feeling it. We all took our turns being sick during these past few months. Ben and I were hit the worse, from fever to flu to stomach virus to this neverending cough that Ben still wakes up to. We’re lucky that Milo was just the messenger and bounced back quickly from his congestion and cough. At some point he did have to go on antibiotics for an ear infection and it turns out he has a possible allergy to amoxicillin. The plus side about being sick? Milo sleeps more.

The sleep has gotten SO much better. After the holidays and visits, we did some intervention. Milo had to cry a few times, but was most effective was telling him it’s time to sleep. “More sleep”, we sign and say. Now, Milo consistently goes to bed around 7:30pm and wakes between 5:30-7am. The bedtime routine is quick and enjoyable and when we leave, he lays down awake yet motionless. The mornings are less consistent. We try not to go in before 6am; often he’ll fall back asleep after some babbling and moaning at 4:30am. He’s noticeably happier (and easier) if he sleeps in, but some early mornings he simply feels ready to go. These past few weeks as we battled the afternoon nap, it also became clear that Milo is transitioning from two naps to one.

We think Milo has been going through a growth spurt because he is eating a ton. For breakfast, he can eat half a bagel with cream cheese, a slice of cheese or most of a banana, and a bowl of yogurt. Mealtimes have magically gotten better too. We’ve converted to his schedule and have family dinner at 6pm. Milo watches intently as we cook over the stove, eagerly blows on the hot food, and gets impatient as we serve up. The kid has a salty palate! This past week he ate spaghetti with meat sauce, shepherd’s pie, Vietnamese pork and egg, and he and I both discovered on our trip to Cabo that we LOVE Mexican cuisine. He self-feeds in the beginning, alternating between spoon, fork, and fingers. Once he starts to play, I feed him the rest. It’s an absolute mess, but it’s worth it if he’s not picky. At his 15-month check-up last week, Milo was 33″ (91st percentile in height) and 24 lbs. and 5 oz. (47th percentile in weight).

At school they’ve weaned the kids from bottles so now Milo takes all his milk from a cup. We’re trying the same at home, reluctantly because it took forever to get him on the bottle with us. He still gets a warm bottle before bed, but we’re starting to wean him completely from me. I’ve been nursing first thing in the morning and as part of the bedtime routine. It’s more for comfort and we both enjoy this time together. But we have to break the dependency because in a few weeks, we’re going on a climbing trip and leaving Milo with Nana and Grandpa for four days. The weaning process has been challenging; we think it’s the reason why Milo has been extremely clingy to me for the past few months. When I’m around, it’s all Mommy, unless Tata Chippy and Daddy can put on some really entertaining circus acts.

Many of those acts involve music. Milo LOVES music. He was thrilled when he learned how to dance in place. But when he realized we can *make* music, that opened a whole new world of many, many jam sessions in the kitchen. This Sunday we’re taking him to his first orchestra. The Oregon Symphony is performing a Dr. Seuss musical — it’ll either blow his mind or we’ll leave after 20 minutes.

The language continues to fascinate us. Milo has become really interested in the alphabet; he will point out and say the letters A, B, I, O, and Y. Some new words he uses are: BIB, BLOW, BOOK, CLOSE, DOWN, GLOVE, GO, HOT, POTTY, POO POO, POP, SHOES, THIS (which sounds a lot like, ahem, sh*t), and WAVE. Now that he wants to understand and learn words, he’s more choosy about his books; his current favorite is “Go Dog, Go!” which is perfect for his vocabulary.

I still crack up every time he uses the word, “WOOOOW”. Like when he found the water pitcher, i.e. the mother of all cups. Or when he ran out to the middle of the soccer field to watch all the kids running and kicking the BALL, BALL! Or the first time he saw spaghetti. I guess it wasn’t what he was expecting for dinner.

Milo is definitely showing interest in the potty. Twice Milo has pointed at it, said “PAH PAH”, and then went poo! We didn’t react quick enough to put him on the toilet, but time to start.

But communication has become really important and effective. Understanding–internalizing–what’s going on makes all the difference. Drop-offs are easier; we give hugs, blow kisses and wave good bye. At night, we tell him everything–from giving me a hug goodnight to when Ben’s last song will be–and he no longer starfishes onto us the second we shift our weight. We do have to repeat rules, but most of the time, he listens. It’s amazing when we don’t have to say anything, but he has the internal debate. He shakes his head, as if to tell his Gollum-self that “we don’t touch or eat that” or “crayons stay on paper.” My precious.

There certainly have been tantrums. Usually it’s because he’s overtired but a few are inexplicable. We offer alternatives, which sometimes work; other times, we wait it out. I’m not looking forward to the real deal.

But Milo is very sweet, sensitive, and inclusive. He has several games where anyone within radius has to join in. Drinking from the cup and saying “aaaah”. Ring around the rosie (Tata tries to get out of this one). The laughing game, where everyone takes turns breaking out into laughter (we blame Ben on this one). Clapping after he takes a bite (it started out as a reward, but now it truly is a happy meal). Milo loves to play together, and MORE, he will sign again and again.

We’ve been video-chatting with family as often as possible. Milo is excited to see and definitely recognizes their faces on the screen. He shows off his tricks and toys; he even tried to virtual tap heads (cuc dau) with Ba. After we got back from Christmas, we had a nice visit from Nana and Grandpa. Besides having extra hands, Roger kindly taking the morning shift, and getting out on a date, it was really sweet to watch how enamored they are with Milo. It seems like no matter how many times you’ve been through it, this young stage will always be nostalgic and amazing. I try to remember that because I have my moments where I’m all business, watching the clock for meal/milk/diaper/bedtime. But I can’t believe how fast Milo has grown, and often I want time to stop moving (or him, literally) and enjoy taking turns laughing at this super fun stage.

Pictures/Videos:
Month 13
Month 14
Month 15

Now that Milo has mastered walking, the past few months have really been about talking.

Milo’s constant chatter cracks us up. He babbles, gives speeches, even hums while eating (we cannot figure out where he picked up that habit). We get caught off guard when we realize he is actually listening and understands us. He’ll point to what we’re talking about, put his hand to his ear when he hears the phone beep, or recognize songs like his favorite, “Row your boat” or “Head, shoulders, knees, and toes”. He especially likes books that have actions; I have to do all of them (hug your bear, thump your chest). It’s all very entertaining, and the icing on the cake: he obeys us, most of the time.

Here is a list of Milo’s words, signs, and stuff he understands, should you ever find yourself in a conversation with the little guy. And two videos: the first is his and my favorite word, and the second is the babble we can’t decipher but find pretty darn cute.

 

 

WORDS — These are words Milo uses correctly.

BA (bagel)
BA (ball)
BA (Ba, my mom)
BA (the sound the sheep makes)
BATH
BYE
CAR
CUP
CA (coffee cup, trust us)
DADA
DA (dog)
DA (down)
DA (that)
DUCK
GA (Grandpa)
GOAT
HI
HEP (help)
KABOOM (when we knock down things)
MAMA
MMM MMM (hoo hoo for the owl)
MMMMM (moo for the cow)
PO (hippo)
ROW
TATA
UH-OH (I’ve tried explaining that when he says it *before* he drops something, that is premeditated.)
UP
WA WA (water)
WOW
WHERE’D IT GO (it really sounds like it, especially when he drops something)
YUMMY

SIGNS — Some take a little interpretation of those baby fingers
diaper change, sleep, more, food, milk, bird, fish, all done, wave hi and bye, water, no, thank you, blow kisses

UNDERSTANDS
clap, cookie, dance, fork, goat, hair, hat, head, hug, Ong (my dad), music, nose, sit, pants, shirt, shoes, socks, spoon, table, window, Yohan (his cousin), leaving things alone (like the fireplace)

Christmas is possibly my family’s favorite time of the year. This year was extra special since it was Milo’s first time celebrating with the family back at home.

Our second flight with Milo now as a toddler was a little more tiring. He wasn’t fussy, but he was curious and restless. As a result, his naps were cut short and there was a lot of climbing over us, entertaining, and restraining. At some point, he couldn’t resist and had to rub the smooth round object in front of him. You should have seen his face when the, ahem, shiny bald man turned around. He kindly joked, “So it’s you who’s kicking my seat.” Gulp. Luckily the flight was nonstop.

Milo instantly fell in love with his Tata Cookie. For the first few minutes, he didn’t even want me to hold him, which is unheard of right now during this demanding mommy-only stage. Too bad he couldn’t get her name right and settled on “CA CA” (Vietnamese for poop), and when I do say her name, he signs for food. And Milo already loves Ba’s cooking.

It was sweet to watch Milo play with the toys we grew up with, like our play kitchen set. He loved being pushed around in a toy car, knocking over Yohan’s blocks and yelling “ka-boo”, and “rowing” on the rocking horse. Let me explain and demonstrate: At school, they sing “Row, row, row your boat” in a makeshift boat, so he asks to “wo” on anything that rocks.

Milo’s non-stop babble and 20-word vocabulary provided a lot background noise and amusement. My mom kept saying it reminded her of someone… The best discovery was the echo in my parents’ bathroom. We could hear him yelling in it from all over the house. My dad decided the bathtub was an easy way to babysit.

Christmas with the Bui’s is…loud. We may be a generation older now, but it’s not obvious which table is the kids’ table. The big cousins will always, always heckle. Milo was a little overwhelmed by all the yelling during the annual White Elephant gift exchange. And my family makes the most of a party. It was Christmas lunch, but what do you know…by the time the movie ended, it was dinner. Ben and I are always amazed how my mom can whip out meal after meal.

The cousins representation, more than half this time! You’ll notice we’re missing (putting Milo to bed).

The biggest treat of the trip was going to NYC kid-free! My parents and Chippy, who kindly decided at the last-minute to stay back, took care of Milo and Yohan for two days. This was our first night with both of us away from him. Milo is entertaining but also a handful and, like I said, very attached to me. We were very anxious to see how he’d do. They told us not to call, but texting doesn’t count, right? It was more for my sake because, no surprise, they did great. They took the kids out on multiple excursions (only one was aborted as both were falling asleep within minutes in the car), my mom was able to cradle Milo (a position only reserved for me), and Chippy just kept relaying to my mom as she fed Milo, “MORE, MORE.” My mom said the hardest time for him was in the morning, when he really missed me.

Meanwhile, we spent 30 hours hanging out with our cool city cousins. We decided they are living the Friends’ life. Their Central Perk coffee shop is An Choi, a hip Vietnamese restaurant and bar in LES opened by two of my cousins (who are brothers). One lives literally right across the street, and can watch over the restaurant by webcam. The other, who architected and built furniture for the restaurant’s narrow space, has his latest project, Plant-in City, on display in a gallery down one block. Just across the Williamsburg Bridge is Brooklyn, where yet another cousin has a spacious, corner 3-bedroom apartment. She and her husband LOVE to cook; they have their own Vietnamese restaurant, Bep, and host family dinners.

We did a little sight-seeing on our own and visited the 9-11 memorial. Despite the line and multiple security checks, it was worth seeing the elegant and somber pools. But we spent most of our wandering in the city indoors because it was cold! We didn’t dare go to Times Square on NYE; instead, we chilled with our cousins and their friends (fashion tip: black is back). Our taxi driver that evening was so upset to leave Manhattan that he hit almost 90mph crossing the bridge into Brooklyn. On New Year’s Day, we convinced them to go for a run across the Williamsburg Bridge, which was a great way to admire the Hudson, all the bridges, and the city skyline.

We ate very well. The famous Diner in Brooklyn known for their grass-fed burgers totally belongs in Portland. Even Ben, normally not a soup guy, liked the hot pot restaurant. And dim sum with the cousins was just like old times, except we ordered as much as we wanted and didn’t fight over food. Thank goodness we picked up banh mi from An Choi for the road. On our way out, just as soon as we got onto the bridge, we noticed a flat tire. After driving on it for another few miles to get to the nearest gas station, it was ruined. Since nothing is opened on New Year’s Day, we had to drive home on the spare. It took forever to get back to DC going no more than 60mph! After the epic drive, it was so nice to come to the kids tucked away in bed and another home-cooked meal (cha ca!) from my mom.

We’re really happy Milo got to spend so much time with the family. He clearly remembers them. Chippy gave the whole family photo magnets for Christmas, and you can watch in this video how Milo knows Ba, Ong, and Yohan:

I’d like to give a shout out to my mom and dad. As a kid, you depended and demanded on your parents as you pleased. As a teen, you thought you became independent. As a parent, you know you never thanked your own parents enough. If I can raise Milo and give him crazy holidays, meals to look forward to, endless chats and bonding around the table, then I’ve given him the “home” my parents are still giving to me. Thank you, Ba and Ong!

Chippy has more photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chippyd/sets/72157632427552384/

Dear family and friends,

After our first year with Milo, we have calloused knees, an alarm clock gathering dust, and piles of tissues prematurely extracted from their boxes.

Milo is a sweet and energetic toddler. Even when he couldn’t crawl, he never stopped flailing his arms. We won’t forget when he first crawled to a cellphone, and walking hasn’t gotten old yet. At the sound of music – any music – Milo puts his hands in the air and jiggles his body to the beat. He’s a chatterbox, just like his mom. He babbles earnestly, even while eating, and loves to hold the phone (to the back of his head). Now he’s using “real” words, like kaboom, uh-oh, and hippo, and he signs for more food, more milk, more of everything.

Milo is very affectionate. He gives wide-open-mouth kisses and hugs goodnight and can latch on like a starfish. But we can’t get him to cuddle early in the morning when we would love to lie in bed just a little longer.

The hardest thing about parenting has been the sleep deprivation. For the first half of the year, we struggled to find a consistent sleep pattern and routine with our fickle sleeper. Only recently can we honestly say Milo sleeps through the night (and we don’t just mean 12 to 5). Our trick? Training ourselves to sleep through the crying. Still, we won’t say we’ve seen the red caboose at the end of the sleep train yet.

The easiest thing is getting out. Milo loves new places so we are always motivated to grab brunch with friends, go to the climbing gym (a playground for us all), or walk on 23rd and point out all the DA! DA! (dogs).

Annie went back to work in June when Milo was about 6 ½ months. She had more of an adjustment period than Milo who is really enjoying his daycare, Childroots. She called every day, even though we know Milo is growing up in an environment where his teachers care about him and whose positive and unconstricting philosophies we’ve adopted at home.  Annie’s job was the same as she left it, and while it was nice to have adult conversations again, she still searched for extracurricular activities (i.e. planning). She’s looking forward to big changes in 2013 for Intel. Ben’s work on supercomputers is challenging and fun, except for all the planning which he wishes he could give to Annie.

Ben went to the 10th Gathering for Gardner conference which, as usual, entailed a sweatshop. Ben designed and made a 10-piece wooden packing puzzle – 400 copies, so that’s 4000 pieces. It was a good distraction during the sleep training.

Annie jumped back into tennis as soon as she could and decided to join a fancy club. Only a mile away, she couldn’t turn down the nicest indoor courts in town, with daycare.

These days we run only if talked into it. Ben raced a bunch of 5ks with his coworkers; for the first time Annie ran (and not organized) Intel’s 10k; and the big surprise: Annie did a half marathon with – you’ll never guess – her sister Chippy!

We’re really happy we were able to keep paddling with the Maniacs. It wasn’t easy making it to practice with the nursing and sleep schedule, but we managed to take turns and find help on race day. Maybe we weren’t as in shape as previous years, but the Maniacs still had another strong season, taking home a gold and competing in the top divisions.

Milo celebrated his first birthday at the climbing gym. He liked his birthday cookie but everyone singing “Happy Birthday” was a little scary. Following Vietnamese tradition, we gave him four objects/careers to choose from, and for the record, Milo is going to be…a doctor. (Ben: with help from Annie. Annie: he totally wanted it.)

We know everyone just wants to see Milo, but we’re happy all the same, because that means visitors! In May, Annie’s whole family came to Portland, including her sister and husband from France, and their 3-year old. There were a lot of photos of the matching cousins. Ben’s brother Mark and wife Rachel met Milo over Memorial Day weekend, and Ben’s parents visited over July 4th and Thanksgiving, just in time for Milo’s first word, CUP.

We also took Milo traveling. Our first road trip was to Vancouver, B.C. for a dragon boat race. Our poor 7-month old had his first fever the whole weekend, and spent most of it tucked in the stroller under an umbrella. We went camping twice. Milo loved the tent and eating the sand; he did not like going to bed in the sunlight.

Our first plane ride was this summer to the east coast. It was on this trip Milo truly discovered his love for water, splashing at Nana and Grandpa’s pond in Connecticut and crawling head-first into the wave pool with his cousin Yohan at the Chesapeake Bay.

We spent the holidays in Maryland with Annie’s family. Milo instantly got attached to his Tata Cookie. Thanks to Ba, Ong, and Tata Chippy for babysitting, we parents celebrated NYE in NYC with the cool cousins. It was our first time with both of us away overnight from Milo, and it was good for everyone involved.

Life with a one-year-old is awesome, but so different. Even though we’ve watched lots of friends raise kids, we couldn’t fully appreciate parenting until we lived and breathed it. We are thankful for our community of friends (and all their hand-me-downs) and love and support from the extended family. Honestly, we don’t know how you people with multiple kids do it.

We hope this letter finds you happy and healthy. Keep in touch!

Love,
BAM  (Ben, Annie, & Milo)

Blog: www.meannie.wordpress.com
Photos: www.flickr.com/nhanhd

Forgive me for another detailed post about Milo. I am stricken by the tragedy today in Connecticut. That is my, and any parent’s, absolute worst nightmare, one I couldn’t help but picture only two days ago after the mall incident here outside Portland. But I reassured myself thinking, “No one would ever, ever hurt children.” I grieve for the families.

So, I want to capture all the little things during this fun stage with my Milo, who right now is probably the only thing that can make me smile. Maybe blogging will prevent me from refreshing the news sites, which Ben says I shouldn’t read as it won’t change anything.

The first exciting news is that Milo is walking, like, really walking. He broke through the barrier of only a few steps to being able to walk aimlessly about a week ago. He now chooses to walk more to get from point A to B, and it’s cute when he gets sidetracked and detours to take more steps.

Milo is using more words correctly. During our walk on 23rd, he pointed at every dog, “DAH, DAH”. I was chasing all the dogs down the street and eventually went inside the store Hip Hound. For awhile CUP was UP, but he figured the two out after many trips UP stairs. Now he commands–no, demands–to be picked UP to see what’s on the counter, or when we’re wearily lying down, he sits on us and pulls us by our head UP. We brought back the yoga BA (ball) which he loves walking around the house. He’s expanding his vocabulary to multisyllable expressions: KABOOM when he destroys our block structure. We were totally surprised when he said WATER like anyone would after drinking from a cup (but it hasn’t happened again so maybe it was a fluke). And he really, really wants to say CUCUMBER.

It’s irresistible when he signs MORE. Usually he’s asking for more crackers or cookies when I should be giving him his dinner. He looks down at his hands to make sure he’s doing it right (the sign is kind of like when Wall-E is nervous), then looks up and smiles when he’s got it. How can I say no to that proud face? He also learned BIRD at school because they visit the pet birds as one of the class excursions. He wiggles his body when we ask him to DANCE, and even turns on music to dance. He does seems to have his eyes and ears mixed up. In the morning, Ben tells him to cover his eyes before he turns on the light and Milo covers his ears. It’s the same thing with peekaboo, so don’t feel like he’s trying to tune you out.

We experimented with video-chat and confirmed that Milo does recognize faces on the screen. He clapped with Ba, smiled instantly at Nana, and when Chippy, who is in California for a few weeks, came on, he nearly lunged for the laptop.

Milo’s created his early version of the WHY game. He’s figured out he can direct us around the house, pointing and asking about everything. I tell him what it is, let him touch if I think I won’t regret it later, but if I don’t, like the stove or the mirror, he can get frustrated. The current effective distractions are the fruit basket and silverware. We thought by now Tata Chippy’s cupboard was safe, but the other day, Ben found him sitting in a puddle of white cooking wine. Somehow he managed to open a new and sealed bottle!

Eating has gotten a lot easier. We think he wanted more flavorful food and using silverware keeps him interested enough to stay at the table. We can always get him to the table by offering crackers. He loves any kind of bean they serve at school; he’s had full meals of shepherd’s pie, spit pea soup, Vietnamese cha trung, scrambled eggs, cereal with milk; he even slurped up pho! He has a funny habit of moving his food off the plate to the table as a staging area and always wants a piece in each hand.

It was an arbitrary goal, but I was really proud to make it to one year of breastmilk only (no formula) while working. There were several moments during the last few months where I was truly worried. He was drinking more than I was pumping and I was down to the last reserves in the freezer. I worked from home, went in for feedings, and pumped extra to catch up.

At one year, we introduced whole milk. He took it mixed (half and half) with breastmilk and I was able to stop the pump session before bed. What a luxury. Still, it took this past month to fully transition to whole milk bottles, which he has been on now for a week. He still nurses with me on the weekends, so we haven’t weaned yet. It does seem like he’s starting to take out one of the feedings in the afternoon, but this baby-led weaning may be getting a little kick-start after the holidays. I’d like to nurse morning and night and stop the daytime feeds and pumping at work. The boy eats a ton too, so maybe he’ll just start drinking less milk altogether.

This month’s sleep hasn’t been great. The nights have been random: waking several times to sleeping through the night. This week he decided to shift his bedtime to 8pm, wake up between 4-5am, and go back to sleep, with help. We enjoy the later 7am wake-up time but long-term, we shouldn’t encourage this dependency. The other day he decided to start the day at 4:15am! Last night, we had him cry it out for about a half hour at 2am, and it was brutal screams, but we fear this is the way to go (again, may we remind you!).

Sigh. Olivia’s mom in the book Olivia says it all too well,”You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway.” And on days like this, I don’t mind the extra hour or 5 minutes with my Milo.

Month 12 pictures

Milo’s birthday outfit: his Adida’s track jacket to match his parents.

We probably had planned Milo’s first birthday before he was born. But with a few weeks to go, I started to have my doubts whether the Circuit, our local climbing gym, was suitable for Milo and his wobbler friends. Nonetheless, for this momentous occasion, I didn’t want to rent a space that didn’t mean anything to us or have it like any other Family Friday at our house. So we gambled having ~40 adults and toddlers and babies climb all over each other.

We’ve thrown our share of parties but it was a whole new challenge with the ticking time-bomb (a.k.a. nap) and having only one arm available. We had 30 minutes to set up and two hours for the party. It went by fast!

I barely hung out at the party. I spent most of the time making sure things were moving along, tidying up for the quick departure, and keeping a slightly clingy Milo happy. He was a bit overwhelmed with the crowd in the kids’ climbing area and retreated to the empty party room.

I would have loved to labor over a splendid spread, but not in the middle in the night (when else would I have time?). We decided to cater banh mi from Best Baguette and pizza from Hot Lips, and personalize with Benannie’s cookies for dessert.

But everything went great and pretty much according to plan. Kids happily climbed and wobblers were carried up and over to go down the slide. We video-chatted with the extended family so they could be “at” the party. Milo was a little shy about the birthday song but did try his first real sweet. Aimee won the trivia contest with 7/11 correct answers (for the record, Ben’s mom scored 8). And though it took awhile, Milo eventually picked his future profession–see the video below to find out. I think the only thing we forgot was to serve the whole milk to go with the cookies, and maybe change Milo’s diaper :p

Of course we couldn’t have it done on our two hands combined without the help of Tata Chippy, who somehow managed to capture the whole party on her camera. Here are some of my favorite moments but you should look at all the photos here.

The birthday attention was a little too much.

A Vietnamese tradition, Milo says its too early to choose his career.

Milo’s friends at school

The birthday crew. Milo’s thinking, “Geez mom, you’re embarrassing me.”