Two Big Messes

Dear Connor,

Yesterday, your sister projectile pooped into my hand while I was changing her diaper. Today, you peed on my leg (and all over the floor) when you suddenly jumped off your potty chair mid-pee. Good times!

Love,
Mom

Funny Phrases

Dear Connor,

You are learning how to say many new phrases and a lot of them are so sweet! The other day, you came up to me and said, "Connor kiss Mommy" and kissed me on my cheek. Another time, I hugged you and you exclaimed, "So glad you're here!" I'm so glad you're here, too, little guy!

You also say things that are pretty funny, including:

"Not for me Connor, either." (when I offer you something and you don't want it)

". . . eleven, twelve, three-teen, fourteen, five-teen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twentyteen!" (when I ask you to count to 20)

"Mommy, drink suisui [Chinese for water]." (when you hear me cough)

"Connor timeout! Sorry, Mommy. Big hug!" (you said this as soon as I put you in timeout, attempting to charm your way out of it by apologizing right away and trying to hug me. Nice try, but it didn't work!)

"Boobies!" (ha, you were flipping through my Glamour magazine and saw photos of boobs in a breast cancer article)

"Oooh, big one." (I lifted my shirt to nurse your sister and you saw my boob--isn't it a bit early for you to be noticing women's breasts??)

"Can I have some? Yes I can!" (when you ask for something like a cookie--but you're supposed to wait for me to tell you whether you can, not answer your own question!)

"Connor see everything." (when I'm cooking, using my iPad or doing something else that doesn't involve you and you want to see what I'm doing--you're such a curious/nosy boy!)

Love,

Mom

A Blanket For MuiMui

Dear Connor,

We were in the living room today--I was writing an email and you were playing with your trains--and MuiMui was sleeping in her crib upstairs. Suddenly, we heard MuiMui stirring in her crib and you grabbed the video monitor to look at her. MuiMui fell back asleep and I went back to my desk but turned around when I heard you scampering up the stairs. You know you're not allowed to go up the stairs by yourself so I started to yell at you, but you turned to me, waved the blanket you had in your hand and said, "MuiMui blanket! MuiMui, blanket!" After seeing MuiMui sleeping in her crib, you wanted to bring her a blanket. You are such a sweetie pie!

Love,
Mom

Breaking Free

Dear Connor,

We have a safety gate around your play area, but you've learned how to climb over it. We also have a safety gate at the bottom of our stairs, but you've figured out how to flatten your body so that you can fit underneath it and scoot over from one side to the other. Crap. I foresee a lot more bumps and bruises in your future--and a lot more heart attacks in mine!

Love,
Mom

Data Charges

Dear Connor,

Sometimes, I let you play with my cell phone to keep you busy while I write an email, get the laundry, etc. But I just received an email today telling me that I have accumulated more than $20 in data charges on my phone this month. I never use my phone to go on the internet so it must have been you. And so yeah, I'm not letting you play with my phone anymore. Costly lesson learned!

Love,
Mom

Little Negotiator

Dear Connor,

You asked for some chocolate today so I told you, "Okay, one piece of chocolate." You looked up at me and said, "Two pieces." It was your first negotiation! (But I still only gave you one piece of chocolate.)

Love,

Mom

Big Brother

Dear Connor,

You're a big brother! For the past nine months, Daddy and I talked to you about your MuiMui--how she was growing inside my belly, how you will have someone to play with and how you will also have someone to protect and take care of--and she finally arrived last week! 

I wasn't sure how you'd react to MuiMui's arrival. When we met Uncle Ray and Aunt Sylvia's new baby girl last summer, you were quite smitten with her. You marveled over her tiny fingers and toes, and when I held her, you sat next to us and kept trying to press your cheek against her head. And when MuiMui was still in my belly, I'd lifted up my shirt to scratch my stomach. You pulled my shirt back down, patted my tummy and said, "Good night, MuiMui." But would you be so sweet to MuiMui once she was outside of my belly and around all of the time? 

You are still very attached to me and can be a bit possessive of me. You often shout for my attention if I'm talking to someone else instead of to you. At your birthday party last year, whenever you saw me hug someone, you ran up to me and insisted that I hug you, too. I was once holding your friend Audrey's hand and when you saw that, you yelled, "Mommy hand, Mommy hand!" and urgently held out your hand for me to hold as well. And one time, your Aunt Han--knowing how possessive you are of me--kept hugging me in front of you and each time, you screamed, "No!", pushed her off of me and crawled into my lap to mark your territory. Sheesh. So you can imagine why I was worried about how you'd behave seeing me hold and nurse MuiMui multiple times a day. I didn't think you'd be happy and our initial FaceTime conversation while I was still in the hospital with MuiMui confirmed that. When you first saw Daddy and me on the iPad screen, you excitedly said, "Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!" and started happily chatting to us. But when Daddy turned the camera onto MuiMui, who was sleeping in my arms, your whole demeanor changed. Your expression became stone-cold and you pushed the iPad away. PoiPoi put it back in front of you but you pushed it away again. You didn't want to have anything to do with it and refused to talk to us. Uh-oh. 

Thankfully, you were completely different when we brought MuiMui home. When I walked through the door with MuiMui in her car seat and set the car seat down on the floor, you ran up to her and said, "MuiMui so cute! MuiMui so cute!" Later on, I was holding MuiMui in my lap and you ran to get a blanket and placed it on top of her so that she wouldn't be cold. You also kept bringing her different toys and books and showing them to her.

And over the last few days, you have continued to be a sweet, caring and attentive older brother. You constantly tell me that you want to "See MuiMui" when she is sleeping upstairs in her room and give her soft little kisses on her head. When MuiMui opens her eyes, you get excited and say, "MuiMui looking at you!" When MuiMui is crying, you tell her, "Don't cry." And today, you wanted to help me burp her and gently rubbed her back. Thank you for being such a good GeGe. I'm very proud of you and love you so much!

Love,

Mom