This month, you got almost a whole new wardrobe. Grandma got tired of taking you for walks and having to tell everyone that you weren't a boy. She said you had to stop wearing Corbin's hand-me-down shirts. So we did some shopping at the New Year's sales and now you have girl shirts. Not, of course, in time for family portraits, which will tell you all you need to know about your mother's fashion sense, right there.
It was the month of going to aquariums for us. We went down to the Cabrillo Aquarium twice, once just for fun and once to go to their Annual Whale Fiesta. You had a lot of fun chasing sea gulls on the beach. Then we went inside to look at some of the exhibits. You always like seeing the big lobsters and crabs, and looking at the big fish in the kelp forest. In the Exploration Center, you like walking through the mud tunnel and seeing the animals down in the mud.
Then on MLK Day, we drove down to the Birch Aquarium and met up with Uncle Alex and Aunt Lena for the afternoon. I had thought that we could eat a picnic lunch there and then go through the exhibits, and then you would nap on the way home. The drive down went well, but you were too distracted to eat much lunch. You were disappointed that I wouldn't let you climb on all of the exhibits, and even when we found the children's area, it was all designed for kids older than you. We found a little area with toy starfish in it, but you got mad when I wouldn't let you put the fake starfish in the real exhibits. By the time we were supposed to watch them feed the tide pool tanks, you were so upset that you just cried and cried. I finally just took you to the gift shop and bought you a starfish to take home and put in our bathtub. The only part of my plan that worked out well for you was that you slept all the way home.
This month you got interested in flying kites. I'm not sure why. We do have an actual little red kite, but it's never quite windy enough at the house to fly it. Instead, we made some kites out of plastic shopping bags. You had fun running back and forth in the driveway with yours. It makes me laugh sometimes, the things that we find to make into toys, but I hope that it encourages you to think creatively.
The month ended with us celebrating Chinese New Year. We went up to Santa Monica to see a Dragon Dance and some other performances. We drove up much too early in the day, though, and ended up having way too much time to wait. We had been hoping that you would fall asleep on the way there, but you ended up staying awake and getting more and more cranky. You finally fell asleep on my shoulder and then you slept so hard that you almost missed the Dragon Dance itself.
You are talking more and more now. Most of the time, someone can figure out what you're saying, but there are other times that I am totally mystified. You're still in a very repetitive phase, so sometimes you come out with things that you've heard somewhere but which make no sense in a different context. One day we were playing with your dinosaur and you told me he was, "Oh, so sad." Other times, you repeat something you've heard but it's in the perfect context. Once, you spilled some juice from a juice box and said, "Oh, my goodness!" That one made me laugh.
You still love playing with your animals and watching DVDs. You like to play in the sandbox and in the dirt. Lately, you've started playing with the Playmobil people and even building with Legos (which impressed Grandma a lot). You love playing with Corbin's toys. Whatever he's playing with, or whatever toys are in his room, that's what you want to play with. You're a very typical younger sister, that way. I have started moving some of the books from his room into your room, as he gets too old for them. It makes me wonder which toys you'll simply skip over in your quest to be just like your big brother. I know that for many years to come, you will measure yourself against Corbin. I hope that you always know that we love you for who you are, just your very own self.
Love,
Mom
Cabrillo Aquarium:
With Mom and dinosaur:
In Arrow's crate:
At the Year of the Horse celebration--elementary school students had made horse sculptures:
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