Ming Ming and her new toys

We went to some yard sales yesterday and got Ming Ming a lot of toys, seriouesly, we got 8 sets of used toys. They are used, but you cannot beat the price (all for $24). My mum cleaned them up and they are like new. A great bargain! Ming Ming is happy!

the pool is open!

strawberry picking / 採草莓

Finally we got to the Chiles Peach Orchard for strawberry picking. I have been thinking about it for a while but it was hard to plan around Antoine's day off. Finally I decided to drive on my own, this is the longest trip that I have ever made (45 mins). I was lucky! On the way back I made a fatal error, the woman driver on the opposite lane shown me her middle finger. Anyway, it was a great outing. Freedom comes with responsibility and burden, but freedom is still freedom.

Ming Ming in strawberry field...

Ming Ming does not like eating strawberries that much, actually it is the first time that she tried it (babies aren't supposed to have berries before one year old). But she loves sinking her fingers into it and squeezing the juice out. She come out of the strawberry field with her shirt and pants colored with strawberry spill, everyone knows that the baby has stolen/eaten some berries in the field.

滿載而歸....

trying strawberry milkshake... love it!

she knows how to sip from a straw already...

parenting + studying

concerts

Polish restaurant

we went to a polish restaurant on Sat night, there were live music and the food was great!

Ming Ming slept through the meal. She wake up a little bit at the end, with a very complicated and super funny expression: the presence of the whole party made her want to play, but she was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Ming Ming and Oscar

9am, Oscar and Ming Ming in front of the TV. They were very happy to see each other in the morning, it was like: see, here is another human being who is wide awake and eager to play, instead of the sleepy grumpy parents whom we see very morning.

Oscar's home

playing with Anup Ayi...

with Helen Ayi..

"it is for you..."

Oscar the rock star!

I had a presentation on our workshop on Friday. Antoine took care of Ming Ming during the whole afternoon, here we were back to Max, Helen, and Oscar's home (who run a bed and breakfast for Antoine and me, so many thanks!). Ming Ming had a good time, she even allowed Anup to hold her for a while.

the second swimming lesson

Ming Ming seems to be back to her normal self. Other than pulling her ear (only the right one that is infected) from time to time, she does not seem to be any different. But she hates the anti-biotics, each time we trick her with some Gerber's puffs (the star shape one) which she loves. The result, she is so scared by the anti-biotics that she does not even want the puffs anymore.

teaching her to blow bubbles, but she only cares about drinking the water...

Da Da Da Da ...

Ming Ming in comparison: one month vs 11 month old

Ear infection

Ming Ming woke up this morning crying. She was obviously in pain. But we had no idea where it hurt. She has never cried like that, even when she got a fever. The only comparable experience is her first day home, she cried almost non-stop for one night, and the next morning we found out that she got jaundice. This time, we went to the Pediatrics and the diagnose is that she got an ear infection.

It can take a few days, hope that it won't be so painful for her.

update on Saturaday: Ming Ming seems to be her normal self, but this morning after her nap, there are some dark brown, almost blood like, discharge coming out of her infected ear, can be a ruptured eardrum? sounds scarery!

"Occasionally the eardrum may rupture (perforated eardrum), with a thick and sometimes bloody discharge. This creates some relief of the pressure that has built up in the ear as a result of the infection, and eases the pain. The burst eardrum usually heals naturally."

baby swimmer

with Jillian in the changing room

singing songs and moving in a circle.

teaching her to hold on to the side of the pool if she falls into the pool by accident.

Today is the first time we went to the baby swimming class in ACAC. It is a 30-minute class and Ming Ming enjoyed every miunte of it. The instructor is great, we sang songs and tried different movements in the water together. Most of the babies are older than Ming Ming, and some of them are able to blow bubbles in water. When I tried it with Ming Ming, she opened her mouth to drink it. Apparently it tasted quite good and it was funny, she loved it. We also tried to let the babies jump into the pool, of course mums would catch them before they reached the water. Here is a vedio of Ming Ming trying to do it. It was her first time and she did not quite understand what was expected of her, and the teacher called her Claire, so she had no idea that she was being called. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and Ming Ming was not afraid of going into the water at all. I said "plaf plaf plouf" (from the story "hipoppo va se baigner") and she could not stop splashing water with her hand.

identifying each animal

Ming Ming understands a lot more words than she can speak. Here is she identifying some of her animal friends. This is a favorite game that she plays with my mother, so the animal names are a mixture of Mandarin, Cantonese and Fujiannese. When Antoine tried to play the same game with her in French, Ming Ming was in total loss. We would need mamiecath and grandmere to come in September to speak more French with Ming Ming.

feeding her stuffed animals

Ming Ming trying to feed herself and her stuffed animal friend with a spoon.