Can we just pretend that this is on time? Or at least not so late that the girl is almost 36 months old? No excuses really. Anyway, here is our 35 month old Yaya (almost 3 years old now!!!! wooooo!).
[[image:2011-0622-yaya24.jpg:I’m in a hotel crib!:center:0]]
June was so long ago I barely remember it. We drove home from the work outing in New Jersey on June 2nd, and had lovely weather (for a change). No complaints from me. But we had a busy month though. Lots of work (for Mama) and then on the week leading up to the big 35 month birthday, we did a ton of traveling, and this time for fun! Yay! First vacation of 2011!
But before we get to that, quick report: food intake unchanged. Still very limited options of what she will eat. Potty training: Yaya 4000, Mama and Papa 0. So that means still no progress. She can however now climb in and out of her playpen (her time out area) with ease, and helps to dress herself pretty well. Shirts, shorts, socks, shoes, she can put them on with little or no help. The shirts and shorts may be back to front but they’re on there! We’re starting to get her to understand more about what letters do (what sound does an S make? or what is for Goofy? G!). So we’re starting down the literacy path, hopefully!
She can really blow into the harmonica now and it sounds pretty good (still no deliberate music though there). She loves to sing the ABC song while I play the piano, and is a crazy mad dancer! She quotes her favorite TV programs all the time, and she directs Vin and me every day. She will tell us what roles to play (e.g., Vin gets to be Goofy, while I am Minnie Mouse, Yaya is Figaro the cat, and Lily is Mr. Pettibones, Goofy’s cat). She will tell us what to say and how to say it (her impression of Goofy is quite hilarious). Of course she gets no cooperation from Lily, but Vin and I are ever obedient. It’s really fun too. She has a bunch of different roles that she assigns to us, and these are influenced by TV shows, the animal kingdom, books and such. Every day it seems she finds new roles for us all to play.
She is getting more of an awareness of time – for instance, what happened yesterday? “Tomorrow” though is still hard for her to grasp – that we have to wait before we do something tomorrow. But I guess that’s ok. Who likes to wait for fun things anyway? Her drawing skills continue to improve. She is also showing more interest in coloring so that’s fun. She is also attempting to write numbers (1, 2, 3, 7 are successes so far). It’s quite amazing what she comes up with using paper and crayons sometimes.
Anyway, back to the leading up to the birthday travels. We attended cousin Julie’s wedding in Richmond, VA the Saturday before Yaya’s 35 month birthday. So we drove to Richmond on Friday.
[[image:2011-0622-yaya01.jpg:Julie being walked down the aisle by Uncle Rick:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya02.jpg:I am not a very good whisperer:center:0]]
Luckily the wedding was outdoors in downtown Richmond so Yaya’s voice was drowned out by the rest of the city noises. For more pictures of Julie’s wedding (including one of Yaya) please go here. Then on Sunday we drove to Myrtle Beach for a well-deserved beach vacation! We were there until Wednesday, June 22nd (the birthday!). Even though we had to leave by noon on that day, we still managed to cram beach and pool time in the morning. We’d already had a few days of complete fun – Yaya loved the pools and the beaches and her new floaties! Here’s how the day began. We had to wake her up that morning so we could have breakfast and have time for the beach and the pool:
[[image:2011-0622-yaya03.jpg:Good morning everyone:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya04.jpg:Let’s go to breakfast!:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya05.jpg:Helping stir Papa’s coffee (somewhat suspiciously):center:0]]
After breakfast, we rush back upstairs and get ready for the beach. Slap on that sunblock!!!
[[image:2011-0622-yaya06.jpg:That’s disgusting! I’m slippery!:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya07.jpg:Walking on the beach:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya08.jpg:Look at the waves!:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya09.jpg:I’m determined to play:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya10.jpg:Splish splash:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya11.jpg:Water me, Mama:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya12.jpg:Ombak!!! (Wave):center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya13.jpg:Mari main pasir (let’s play with sand):center:0]]
And then we had to tear her away from the beach and Yaya got some pool time.
[[image:2011-0622-yaya14.jpg:No problems in the 3-foot pool:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya15.jpg:Hanging off the edge:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya16.jpg:Riding the seahorse:center:0]]
The hotel had the coolest kiddie pool (6 inches to 1 foot depth with all kinds of fun water toys).
[[image:2011-0622-yaya17.jpg:Climb the fountain:center:0]]
Alas, it is time to get back upstairs and get checked out. Yaya took some convincing, I must say. But she finally got out and demanded her towel.
[[image:2011-0622-yaya18.jpg:Burrito baby:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya19.jpg:One last smile in the hotel room:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya20.jpg:In the car we go!:center:0]]
Yaya napped part of the short 4 1/2 hour journey to Spartanburg, SC. Here she is awake and chatting while Mama went to check into our interim hotel.
[[image:2011-0622-yaya21.jpg:Oh Papa, I’m shy:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya22.jpg:Are you still taking pictures?:center:0]]
As a birthday treat (and it’s summer and the days are long), we decide to go to this hotel’s pool in the evening.
[[image:2011-0622-yaya25.jpg:Let’s go to the pool!:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya26.jpg:Catching some rays:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya27.jpg:I’m swimming!:center:0]]
[[image:2011-0622-yaya28.jpg:In the deep end with Papa:center:0]]
Then a sudden thunderstorm caused us to scurry into our room and all of us jumped into the jacuzzi to get warm. Yes, we got a free upgrade to a room with a jacuzzi! Woohooo! A bath was had by all! (Pictures censored, ya?). Then an exhausted Yaya awaits bedtime.
[[image:2011-0622-yaya29.jpg:Watching Wonder Pets on the iPod (aka Mama’s Phone and no it’s not a phone):center:0]]
It was a fun-filled day, and then it was bedtime for little girls and her parents. We continue to have so much fun with Yaya and can’t wait to see what the future brings. Hopefully this includes potty training success. 😉 Happy birthday, baby! We love you! See y’alls next month (or next week as the case may be in real time) ;-).
[[image:2011-0622-yaya23.jpg:I’m going to be three soon:center:0]]
