Pictures at the Park

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"Where's the ground?"
Lydia's first experience on the swing set with mom in the background after she launched Lydia into the air

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Dad getting ready to release Lydia on the swing

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Lydia observing other children doing other activities at the playground while on the swing

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Ma Wee, Lydia's maternal grandmother, standing next to Lydia on the swing set

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Lydia at the playground

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Lydia moving tiles on a rail at the playground

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Lydia, whose only experience with dogs has been with her big stuffed pink dog in the living room, kisses her first living dog, a dark brown cocker spaniel.

Notes:

SiowFong took all of these pictures except the first one (DSC_0163), and these pictures were made yesterday in the evening from about 6:15 PM until 6:45 PM. (The official sunset time was about an hour later at 7:46 PM. All these pictures required direct fill-flash with the flash's output turned down at -1.7 or -2.0 flash compensation.)

Toy Photos

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Lydia playing with her lawnmower, a gift from SiowFong's coworkers

March 7, 2007

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Lydia clutching onto the pink pig bath toy while getting to a standing position

White cow and blue lamb bath toys are at the bottom of the photo, and the green carrying case for the five small rubber bath toys sits at the right of the photo (the other bath toys include an orange horse, and a yellow chicken)

March 11, 2007

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Lydia and her bath toys

March 11, 2007

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Lydia placing her bath toys back into their carrying case

March 11, 2007

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Lydia placing her bath toys into their carrying case

March 11, 2007

Taste of the Terrible Twos

April 1, 2007


Taste of the Terrible Twos

Within a week Lydia will be fifteen months of age, and she is beginning to show signs of willfulness. For the last two days, she has been exploring the exteriors of the television, DVD player, and receiver by pushing the buttons and turning the dials.

When Ma Wee commanded her to stop on Friday, Lydia repeatedly ignored her, so Ma Wee moved one of the large baskets containing Lydia’s toys in front of the television and home electronics devices to block Lydia’s access.


“Grab the Reins Early”

“Isn’t it amazing that a child, who only a few months ago was helpless and dependent, is capable of defying the big adults who would try to control him? The truth is, we human beings are born with a rebellious nature. Babies are not innately ‘good’ as some believe. Those who support this theory say that bad experiences alone are responsible for bad behavior.

Scripture indicates otherwise. King David said, ‘In sin did my mother conceive me’ (Psalm 51:5 KJV). Paul tells us that sin has infected every person who ever lived: ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). Even from birth we are naturally inclined toward rebellion, selfishness, dishonesty, and the like, with or without bad associations.

For this reason, we urge you to grab the reins of authority early in your child’s life. You must train, mold, correct, guide, punish, reward, instruct, warn, teach, and love your kids during the formative years. Your purpose is to help shape and develop their inner nature, and especially in the case of strong-willed kids, to keep it from tyrannizing the entire family.” (James and Shirley Dobson. Night Light for Parents: A Devotional. Multnomah Publishers. 2002. page 119.)

The End of Congee ?

April 1, 2007

The End of Congee ?

Since we returned home from China in mid-January, Ma Wee has been feeding Lydia a steady diet of congee or rice porridge twice a day, once at lunch and once at dinner. Using broken rice, potatoes, onions, and carrots, Ma Wee cooked just enough for Lydia’s daily portion, and she has made a variety of congee, including beef congee, chicken congee, fish congee, pork congee, scallop congee, and shrimp congee.

For two months, Lydia ate the congee without much resistance. Two weeks ago, however, Lydia started refusing her porridge by turning her head away and occasionally using one of her arms (usually her left one) to push away the spoon of congee that Ma Wee was trying to feed her. As a result, Ma Wee is feeding her rice that is flavored with sauce from the main entrée or a vegetable dish, which Lydia eats.

More flavor and more variety are two things that Lydia’s palate must be desiring. After seeing that SiowFong, Ma Wee, and I were not eating congee and after tasting some table food (mainly vegetables and fruits but some fish and a little meat), our little one decided that she wanted to eat more table food.

Within the last week, Lydia did eat some congee prepared by a restaurant. Ma Wee has not completely abandoned the idea of giving Lydia rice porridge again, but it will later reappear on Lydia’s menu on an intermittent basis.