3 Years and 3 Months

Cathleya is now 3 years old and Jeremy has 3 months under his belt.

In month 2 Jeremy started smiling. Now in month 3 he's cooing back at me, smiling, kinda laughing. We swear we can hear him cry "Mama" sometimes when he's whining. He's found his hands and tries to shove the whole fist in his mouth. It does occupy him for a little while if his binky falls out. Speaking of which, we were hesitant to give in to the pacifier but with Pah-Pah watching him now that I'm back to work (booo!!!) it was easier to stick the pacifier in his mouth than let him suck on her newly manicured fingers. Nail polish can't taste very good.

He's starting to grab for things that dangle in front of him while he's strapped in his car seat or swing, which is good for us to keep him occupied. But we are still his favorite form of entertainment. We will catch him staring at Cathleya's latest show or movie on the TV. He was rooting for the Giants too. His happy place seems to be the changing table. Unless he's hungry, he's usually all smiles on the changing table. Tummy time can be a challenge but it calms him sometimes. He loves singing along with "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes" while sitting in Mommy's lap.

Cathleya loves her little brother, unless he's impeding on her alone time with Mommy or Daddy. But for the most part she's constantly trying to give Jeremy kisses, offers a diaper when we're changing him, independently offers him his pacifier when it falls out of his mouth and tells him 'Don't cry, Baby. It's ok. Mommy's coming', when he's fussing in his bouncy chair. We'll occasionally get a request, "Mommy, give Baby to Daddy so you can play with me." She tries.

Cathleya has discovered the Beatles. Her favorite song is Yellow submarine. It always amazes me when she starts singing full lyrics to songs like 'It's a Wonderful World', 'Yellow Submarine', or 'Lollipop Tree'. She's been learning to write her letters and sounding out words. She' not too good at the second part yet, but you have to catch her when she wants to try. She's drawing shapes like triangles and actually coloring in the lines. She likes connect the dots and attempts the other games in those activity books.

She speaks very clearly and matter of factly and cream or a band-aid will fix any owwie. She has gotten very good at working her Leapster 2 and "computer" with the drawing games, matching, memory, biggest to smallest type of activities using a stylus. I have to remind myself sometimes that she's only 3 years old.

We had a party for the kids celebrating Cathleya's 3rd birthday and Jeremy's Red Egg and Ginger party. The Red Egg party is historically to celebrate the life of the newborn (since the infant mortality rates where high in China way back when), introduce him to the family & friends, and symbolize happiness and renewal of life. Of course, Cathleya had too much fun playing and spent less time eating at the Todai-esk asian buffett. She ended the day with an extreme tantrum while trying to get in the car due to the lack of a nap. All in all it was a good day spent with generous friends and family.