With Thanksgiving later this year, the time between that and Christmas is also shorter. Christmas kinda sneaked up on all of us. Christmas cards will finally go out in the mail tomorrow. Thank God we are not so much into the commercialization of Christmas that we must buy gifts for everyone. Baby Bunny still hasn't a clue who Santa Claus is or about getting presents. We've been out and about and have seen lots of pretty lights. She doesn't seem as excited about them this year as last.
Nonetheless, I am now on a little break from work. I still have lots to finish before the spring semester starts. But, for now, I'm taking a few days off to play with Bun Bun and to get more stuff unpacked. Phew... It has been crazy busy, indeed.
Baby Bunny singing vocabulary list continues to grow. This little girl is amazing! She is up to about 60 signs.
38. Please
39. Music
40. Day
41. Cloud
42. Sun
43. Outside
44. Grass
45. Blanket
46. Play
47. Cry
48. Dirty
49. Frog
50. Peach
51. Boat
52. Baby Signing Time
53. I don't know
54. No
55. Snow
56. Telephone
57. Bear
58. Hot
59. Thank you
60. Bike
61. Hi/Bye
On Thursday this week, we celebrate Thanksgiving in America. Why does it take a national holiday to be reminded of giving thanks? Why can't we give thanks everyday? Why shouldn't we give thanks everyday?
Yesterday at church, the sermon was about finding joy in scarcity. The pastor wrapped up a 4-week series from the book of Habakuk. Chuck Swindoll on "Insight for Living" has been preaching from Job, "What if you suddenly lose everything". Alistair Begg on "Truth for Life" has been rerunning a series on "Lessons from the Dungeon" from the life of Joseph. God has been so good in reminding me to be thankful in feast and famine, in plenty and scarcity, in the good times and bad.
It has been a whirlwind! On October 23rd, we officially took ownership of our new home. The following Tuesday, big truck came to the apartment with big burly men carrying all of our things plus everything in the storage units to the house. Two days later, I was on my way to an education conference in San Diego. Phew!
Boxes and boxes...
We've been slowing unpacking. It's been a long process because of Bun Bun. Our new house has a total of 4 flights of stairs ranging from 4 steps to 9. So, someone has to follow Bun Bun around during her waking hours. With her curiosity, Bun Bun has been exploring all over the house, climbing up and down the steps, opening every door, going into every room, and examining all the details. Because of that, only one person can really do much work at a time.
What to do with empty boxes? Some of them have been turned into Bun Bun's toys. Daddy created a tunnel for her to creep through. Into one, we plop her and give her a pen to draw up the inside. Both of these activities actually help her build up some core strength. At least for the box, Bun Bun is content and contained, for a little while.
Baby Bunny in a box! Her hair is now long enough for pig tails, when she lets me fuss with it.
Look at that three-point pen grip!
Box tunnel in the living room
Daddy's work allowed kids in for two hours of trick-or-treating for Halloween. Baby Bunny dressed up as a monkey. The hood of the suit has the monkey face, but she doesn't like hoodies or hats very much.
We got to meet with other kids.
While flying out to San Diego, this was what I saw looking out my window. The dark triangular dot in the middle is some sort of rock formation. I think we were somewhere over the Southwest at this point.
At some point, some landscapes looked like the Grand Canyons. They don't look as grand from 30,000 feet above earth. It was still a spectacular sight!
Another Southwestern canyon shot, with a landscape looking a lot like a giraffe.
She still hasn't said a word. She is babbling a lot more, moving her tongue around, and making noises. It almost sounds like she's singing. What's kind of amazing is that she's been trying to whistle.
Baby Bunny's art work, ca 2013. It looks like a face to me!
We went to a fall carnival with a few more kiddie rides. Bun Bun wasn't too thrilled on the merry-go-round. Throughout the ride of about 5 minutes, she fought hard to get off.She didn't cry, but wasn't giggling with joy either.
Who needs a toy when you've got a laundry basket?Daddy sez that there not enough pictures of him with Baby Bunny. But then, most of the pictures I take of them usually come out blurry.
Within a 5 minute walk of our apartment is a small park/playground. This is about the only thing I will miss about living in the apartment.The plan is to move into the new house over the next week! Stay tuned!
Bun Bun has been busy. She has been busy with pens and crayons. Her OT has been working on her hand-writing skills - vertical lines, horizontal lines, and circles - and how she holds writing tool in her hand. This helps her with not just writing later but with staying at attention to a task. When she draws on a vertical or slanted surface, she is actually building up her core trunk strength as she crosses mid-line stretches her right arm pass her left arm. So, she has been busy with a ball-point pen. She's been drawing on paper, walls, and her shoes.
Her artwork on paper has been pretty impressive - nice firm strokes. Her work on the wall was strongly discouraged early on. (Thankfully, it's kind of behind some curtains and hard to see anyway. And, no, we didn't beat her to stop her from drawing on walls.) On her shoes, that's a very different story. Over the summer, I had bought her a pair of cute purple booties. I waited all summer for the weather to cool down and her feet to get bigger so she can wear them. Last week, she took a red pen and drew all over them (pictures to come later).
We hit another milestone last night when Daddy and Mama went to the movies and left Baby Bunny home with a babysitter. Daddy and Mama went to see "Gravity" (best movie I've seen in a long, long time). Baby Bunny stayed home with Diana, a church friend (note: not a family member!). She did OK. According to Diana, Bun Bun cried for just a little bit. After they read "Goodnight Moon" about 10 times, Bun Bun went to bed. She was asleep when we got home.
More signs:
30. Horse
31. Bus
Cutie! You can see her art work on her shoes, although not very clear.
Curious Bun Bun trying to get at something in the bin. There's not much in there, just diapers, small packs of tissues, some pens, and joke mustache glasses. She has fallen in once and thought it was hilarious. We keep a lot of boxes around the house. To Bun Bun, they are a lot more fun than the actual contents.
No, Bun Bun doesn't wear glasses. We were having fun with an app on the iPad.
This is how much Bun Bun has grown in 3 months. She is at least 3 inches taller. Many of her pants don't fit anymore, or those that were too long in the spring are now just right. Picture above was taken about a week ago. Picture below was taken at the end of June. Sofa is there for perspective. By the way, Daddy is growing a beard. Doesn't he look handsome?
This curious little monkey loves to explore. Here, she's fascinated by a small twig at the playground.
Bun Bun's signing update. I'm sure she has picked up a few more. I just haven't kept good records.
I am also very excited about the church we've been attending. The teaching is sound. The people are wonderful. Bun Bun can make friends since there are other toddlers around the same age. In fact, Sunday school has been her first exposure to structure that will help her get ready for pre-school when she turns 3 (way too fast if you ask me). This weekend, we'll be attending a membership class to see about becoming members of the church.
Speaking of school, I will be looking for a small table/desk for Bun Bun. She'll have to practice sitting still and doing work. Gasp!
One of the best thing about being a mom is having Baby Bunny fall asleep while I'm holding her. Here she is out cold after playing at Grammy and Pop-pop's house a week ago.
I wonder how much longer I will be able to savor moments like this. Here we were back in October last year, a bit smaller and shorter.
Bun Bun got a new toy! This is a tent from IKEA. She quickly learned to duck to get in & out, then entertained us by popping out of the entrance. Surprise!
24. Ball
Recording Bun Bun's signing vocabulary helps me keep track of her progress. Her Early Intervention team met yesterday for annual review. Her speech therapy will now be once a week. Hopefully, Bun Bun will be talking soon. We have an appointment at CHOP next month for speech assessment. We may be able to get more help there. I wonder what her first word will be. George?
The other day, John and I were having a conversation with the grandparents about a friend of ours named George. Bun Bun started to sign for monkey. The girl is obsessed with Curious George!
With the arrival of September, kids are back in school, and vacations are over. My summer was somewhat productive. I got a grant proposal submitted in June (the study section to review it will meet in October). We sold a house (still looking to buy one to move into, although we've made some progress... stay tuned). Baby Bunny about doubled her signing vocabulary:
22. Car
23. Grandpa
Our PT pool group ended. It was really fun to see Bun Bun interact with another little girl about the same age. Even at church, she's been more social with the other kids. She has been running up to other babies, giving them hugs, then knocking them over, and making them cry. On other therapy notes, we have an annual review this week. Bun Bun has gotten all sorts of tests to see where she is developmentally. She scored about 21 months for cognitive skills (ability for mental processes that includes attention, memory, producing and understanding language, learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision making) and about 18 months for gross motor skills (physical abilities such as walking, climbing, etc). Being now 26 months old, cognitive abilities at 21 months meant her supplemental instruction (SI) therapy will be reduced to once per month. It's bittersweet. We won't see Miss Debbie every week, but GO BABY BUNNY, SMARTY PANTS!
Go sleepies, Baby Bunny!
Baby Bunny inherited a toy that makes music. Here, she's dancing to a Mickey Mouse tune. She was swinging her hips, but I missed it!
I am biased and really don't think there can be anyone cuter! Daddy is off to the side taking a rest; Bun Bun has tired him out!
It looks like Bun Bun is winking. She actually squints her one eye when she looks to her side. We have talked to an opthalmologist about this and were assured that there isn't anything wrong. It should be something she'll grow out of. We have yearly visits to the eye doctors.
The new school year starts next Monday. I've been packing in all in: last minute experiment, get ready for the new semester, spend time with Bun Bun, and house hunting. Fortunately (or rather unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), there hasn't been a lot of houses for huntin'; so, we keep lookin' and waitin'.
We realized that we needed new "Baby Signing Videos" when the tune of "Diaper Dance" started to stick in our heads. So, Baby Buuny has picked up a few more signs over the last 2-3 weeks after Daddy dug up the new videos that I had packed up during the move. This little girl amazes us by how quickly she learned new things. Still no words out of her mouth yet though.
On Tuesday, we were at clinic getting some evaluations. She weighed in at a hefty 24 pounds and measured 2 feet 8.5 inches! Two years ago today, she was barely 5 pounds! Her latest trick has been climbing sofas! Makes me nervous sometimes! She sometimes forgets to climb down backwards or leans back to nothing...
Here's a family picture at the Phillies game Sunday night. It went way past our bedtime. You can see Bun Bun getting really tired. Despite the Phillies losing the game, we had a great time.
Bun Bun watching her favorite show: Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat
One of the advantages of apartment living is that Bun Bun actually gets more room to roam. One of her favorite thing to do is to take an inventory of all her books. Yep. They are all there.
Caught in the act...
Fun time at the beach! We were at Island Beach State Park on Saturday.
We are actively looking for an ideal house to buy and reestablish our roots. The housing market is very slow during the summer time since people are on vacation. We're hoping things will pick up in September. We have seen some good homes, but there's always something that makes it not so great. Some abut highways and busy roads. Some have high maintenance yards. Some sit below street-level and may have flooding problems. Some are in not so nice neighborhoods. So, we keep looking and waiting...
Bun Bun got two birthday parties and two birthday cakes!
What's really exciting was seeing her pick up food with a fork and feeding herself. On Sunday, for the first time, she ate big girl food - not the pureed, mushy food. I was kind of hoping to see and take pictures of her smear cake all over her face. But, she did a pretty good job keeping neat and tidy.
Happy birthday, Baby Bunny! You have brought so much joy to our family.
In four days, Baby Bunny will be two years old! Seems like she's been two for a long time though. It's pretty amazing how much she has grown and developed over the last year.
I recently read an article written by a father with a two-year old DS daughter. It was a confession of his initial ignorance about Down Syndrome that prompted him to think about walking out on his family. His honesty reminded me of my thoughts and fears two years ago when we learned about Bun Bun. If I am able to go back in time and have a talk with myself, I would tell myself to enjoy every moment being with her and not worry so much. It has indeed been great joy to watch her grow and learn.
Teeny tiny Baby Bunny with Daddy just a couple of weeks after we brought her home from the hospital.
For perspective, Daddy hasn't changed very much, but Bun Bun sure has!
Baby Bunny has lately acquired several cute little dresses. She looks super cute in them. I tried to take pictures. But, the girl is obsessed with cameras, cell phones, and iPads/iPods. If she sees anyone with one of them in hand, she'll be magnetized to it. My little iPod touch doesn't take pictures very well even though it's a nice little gadget. Most of the pictures I take with it is blurry, because Bun Bun is always moving and walking towards me as soon as she sees me with it. This picture came out pretty well despite the girl wanting to touch the iPod and play with it. Sometimes, she just likes to hold it in her little hands, flip through the photo album, and look at pictures of herself. I'm not a big fan of Apple's labor practices, but have to give kudos to Apple products, for making them kid friendly. Even a toddler with special needs has figured out how to use them, open up apps, and be entertained.
June has been a busy month for me. I was finally able to finish the first draft of the grant due next Tuesday and take a little break. Bun Bun and I were suppose to go to our PT pool group today, but the physical therapist is out sick. So, I get to spend an entire day with my Bunny!
The other day, John and I were eating dinner in the dinning room. Bun Bun was playing by herself in the living room, on the other side of the baby gate. She was busy doing something, but I couldn't tell until I saw her pushing and rolling her little red chair close to the TV. She then plopped herself down in her chair and watched us finish our dinner. Now, that's what you call dinner entertainment.
Cutie!
We went back to Longwood Gardens last Saturday while Daddy went to his townhouse to take care of business. While we were having our snack under a big shaded tree, a little 2-year old boy named Nicholas came up to Bun Bun. He brought her his little train toy. His mom said they lived nearby but were originally from Kazakhstan. I think Nicholas was hitting on Bun Bun! Gasp! With that cute face, could you blame her? She could use a better hair cut though. With all the wiggling and wriggling, it's hard!
Update on Bun Bun's signing vocabulary:
Banana
Drink
Hot day today! Since we had to get up early for OT, we might as well take advantage of the cooler morning for an outing. Off we went to Longwood Gardens, again! This time, we strolled through the outdoor gardens and saw lots more flowers, ferns, trees, and flowering bushes. The roses are in full bloom right about now.
Bun Bun got new orthotics last week since she outgrew her first one. These plastic molds wrap her ankles and help her walk. The tight squeeze gives her sensory input. The firm mold help stabilize her loose ligaments and prevent her feet from "rolling" inward.
Bun Bun is starting to outgrow her little sneakers, too. I thought it would be appropriate to buy her sandals (those athletic looking ones) for the summer since she would have to wear socks with the orthotics.
Our first pair had to be returned. They had velcro fasteners which she quickly figured out how to peel and take off her shoes. The second pair had those single pull elastic laces with a fancy fastener that I was sure Bun Bun won't figure out soon how they worked. They were hot pink water shoes. Well, we had to return those, too, since the soles provided no traction. Sigh...
For now, we're still wearing our old trusty lace-up sneakers. I put in an order for some sandals from Amazon. They will arrive sometime next week. Stay tuned!
This being the last week, full-time, with Baby Bunny, I wanted to soak it all in. I had all sorts of plans with her. I wanted to take her to the park and let her swing in the swings. Then, the rains came. We finally got a nice couple of days. So, off we went to Tot Lot - a playground in Media designed for kids 3 years and younger. She had so much fun! She got to see other babies, too!
Bun Bun in a tire swing. I think she managed to swing it herself, since I only had to push her once or twice.
The girl REALLY loves mirrors!
On Tuesday, we trekked to Longwood Gardens to see flowers! Pretty flowers! It rained for most of the day. We caught a break here and there, but ended up spending most of our time in the Conservatory. Bun Bun had fun in the Children's garden, playing with water in the fountains. I ended up buying a membership to the place so we can go back and see the rest of the big trees, pretty outdoor flowers, big ponds, the funny-shaped hedges, and the big tall fountain shows.
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