First time

Maddy doesn't really have regular posts as far as updates now, but I thought since she's had so many 'firsts' lately, a post was due. (Plus it's report card time again. Heh, heh.)

The first "first" is that a couple weeks back Maddy had her first piece of bubble gum. She's seen Josh and I eat it and because it's minty we've told her it was "Laht-Laht" (spicy in Chinese) and she's been ok with not having any. A long time ago, Oma was chewing some and it was bubble gum flavour and Maddy was very interested. We told her "When you're bigger" and she was ok with that too. I can't say what really made us decide that it was time to let her try, but more just that I thought it would be fun and I'm sure she won't swallow it anymore. I've set boundaries around being able to have some in order to avoid the constant asking for it. The rules are:

1. It has to be during Ethan's nap time so that he won't see and want to have some too.
2. She has to be sitting at the kitchen table. She can't play or colour, just chew.
3. She's only allowed to chew until the taste is all gone.
4. She has to drink some water after she's done.

Can you tell we've tried to make the "chewing time" as boring as possible so that she won't stay for long? So far it's worked. :) Usually she'll get bored after about 10 min and want to paint or play on the computer, so she'll spit it out and be done. Not a highly exciting milestone, but the most exciting part for me was watching the pride on her face as she got to have big girl "gubble bum". Priceless.

The second "first" was going to see the Optometrist. Nothing really happened to prompt me to take her. I just thought it was time. She knows her alphabet so I figured it wouldn't hurt just in case. We just popped into the office at Brentwood Mall and it was quick and easy. At first Maddy was a little worried, but the doctor was really great and put her to ease. It doesn't hurt that for part of the exam they put a cartoon on and have her watch while they peer into her eye. The appointment was fully covered (I think at 4 yrs, there is a small charge) and I even learned that it would be a good idea to take the kids to see the optomitrist if you ever suspect something like pink eye. They can give you a better course of medication because not all types need to be treated. As it turned out, the following week Maddy's cold caused an infection in her eye. Maddy was more that happy to return to see 'Dr. Jessica' (mostly because she remembered that she gets to pick a toy at the end). I get the feeling that we'll be going often because Maddy is prone to getting eye infections because of her slightly clogged tear duct. Might as well make good use of our benefits package!!

The last "first" was Maddy's first trip to the dentist. This one was probably overdue, (I think you're supposed to take them at 3 years and she's almost 4) I was just lazy and kept putting it off. I was a bit worried because after she turned 3, I mention it to her and it would make her all upset and say that she didn't want to go. Her friends Aly and Nora have both seen the dentist and blogged about it so we talked about it a lot and read the Usbourne "First Experiences" Book a lot. By the time I got my act in gear and made the appointment, she had changed her mind.

We arrived early and had time play in the waiting room. If she hadn't already changed her mind, the waiting room would have easily done the trick. It's a pediatric office so the decor is completely geared towards kids. It had individual TVs with headphones, tons of toys, books and a dress up area. By the time we went in, she was already loving the place. The dental nurse was really great and Maddy responded well to her. She took x-rays, cleaned, flossed and gave flouride. All the while Maddy looked like she was at the spa. Who wouldn't be with sunglasses to keep the bright light off her eyes and a TV with TreeHouse on. When the dentist came, Maddy was still in 'TV land' (one benefit to not being allowed to watch TV at home) and he checked her teeth. Maddy's very keen on pleasing the dentist and she often asks me, "Will the dentist be proud?" It's something that we used to say when she'd lay down nicely to let us brush her teeth. So for her to hear confirmation from the dentist, it made her day. She was amazed with all the 'stuff' she got to take home (new toothbrush, crayons, colouring sheet, a sticker and a toy) and so I think the dentist too was a hit.

Sitting in the x-ray chair. She looks so tiny.

Yes, I couldn't resist bring the camera to her first appointment.

So many "firsts", on the one hand I'm so proud of the way she handled these new experiences, but on the other it's bittersweet knowing that my little girl is growing up so fast.

Blommestein Butterflies

Every year at school we get some caterpillars so that the students can see the full life cycle of butterflies. This year I decided to get a set for home so that Maddy and Ethan could see it too. I have to admit that even I had a great time watching them change. At school, it's a little different because we're only there for a short period of time, but at home we got to see all the stages up close and personal.

The baby caterpillars came in a little plastic container. They were about 1 cm long and about 1 mm thick. I was amazed a how much they grew in such a short time. The beige stuff at the bottom of the container is the food that they will eat until they are fully grown caterpillars. It's made mostly of soy and wheat.

Here they are on May 8th. (Two days after bringing them home)

By May 13th, they were much bigger.

The length of time before they are ready to pupate depends on the temperature and can be anywhere between 8-14 days. Our first caterpillar started to hang in the 'J' shape after just 7 days. 24 hours after they hang, the chrysalis appeared.

On the right, is a caterpillar just beginning to pupate. The one on the left is in the Chrysalis form.

Once all the caterpillars turned into their chrysalis form, we were able to move them to the bigger home. They stayed there for the rest of the time. This stage can last anywhere between 8-14 days and again it depends on the air temperature.

Room to grow (May 19th)

About 24 hours before the butterfly emerges, the chryslides turn very dark. If you look closely, you can see speckles of orange and those specks are the wing colours showing through.

The one on the left is about ready to emerge. Look closely and you can see the orange specks.
In the background is the casing left by a butterfly that already emerged.

Our first butterfly emerged after about 8 days. The whole process of emerging can take about 2 minutes, so the chances of being able to catch it on video is low. Not that I didn't try. I stayed up late, I checked them often, I even willed them to emerge by talking to them, but it was not to be.

The first one! (May 25th)

When they first emerge their wings are crumpled and the butterfly will grip the netting and hang upside down while their wings dry. If they don't their wings will be deformed, making it difficult to fly. In some of the photos, you may see red drops that look like blood. It's just the waste they excrete when they first emerge from the chrysalis. They don't eat for the first 24 hours but after they ate off of Gatorade soaked cotton balls or orange slices.

These are Painted Lady butterflies.

All six of our original caterpillars made it. The kids loved watching them.

In order to release them, you have to wait for a warm and dry day. I was worried that we may not get another chance with Josh being home too, so we decided to release them today. It was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy the video.

Ethan, 20 months

I seem to keep missing every other monthly post for Ethan. Time just seems to fly by and before I know it, it's the 10th of the month again. I am so proud of Ethan and the little man he is becoming.


In the last two months Ethan continues to push the limits when it comes to moving on to the next big boy stage. In his 18 months update I wrote that he was out of the high chair and using the booster seat that straps him to the chair. Well he now out of even the booster. Not that he can properly reach the table while sitting on just a chair, it's just that he insists on being a big boy. One time he was leaning too far over and nearly fell off the chair. In the last second his two little fingers caught the edge of the table and he held on until we were able to rescue him. He's definitely our little fighter.

The last two months have also shown a lot of growth in his speech. The best is when he wants something that Jeh-Jeh has. He'll hold out his hand like he's ready for a high five and say "Ba". The "Ba" part is his way of saying "bai" which is "give me" in Chinese. The high five part is that he's holding five fingers up because he's telling Jeh-Jeh that she needs to give it to him in 5 minutes. It usually works pretty well and both of them are pretty good about giving the toy over to the other and then asking for it back in 5 minutes if they still want a chance with it.

Other words that he uses are "Ju" (Juice), "Mo" (More), "Nana" (Banana), "Turtu" (Turtle), "Pee pee", "poo" (no translation necessary), "Ow", "Daw" (Dog), "Mimi" (Cat), "Cheh-Cheh" (Car in Chinese), "Bapac" (Backpack). He can also say the sound that most animals make... Wow, I guess when you write them all down, he did have a word explosion in the last couple of months!

On the potty front, he's still pretty good about holding it. There is the odd time where he'll tell me that he needs to go, but for the most part we just take him every once in a while and he'll usually hold it until then. I don't know how to do the next step where he'll consistently tell us that he needs to go before it's too late, but I'm not too worried yet. He can hold it from about 8:30am to around noon.

Sleep in the last couple of months has been a little wonky. After Christmas I thought that Ethan was solidly onto just one nap a day. Around April or so he started falling asleep in the stroller at about 11am and so he kinda went back to 2 naps. Now I think he's switching back to one nap but some days it seems like one nap (at 1:00pm) was too late and he'll end up with only half an hour of sleep. I think that he should be taking the one nap around 12pm now, but unfortunately he can't because of Maddy's preschool pick up time. I guess we'll just have to push through until he can last until 1:30 again. Luckily for us, he doesn't completely lose it on just 30 minutes of sleep all day.

The relationship between Maddy and Ethan just gets better and better. Don't get me wrong, they do fight at times, but on the whole they are pretty good about giving each other turns. The funniest new development is that Maddy has learned that if she doesn't want to finish something on her plate, all she has to do is offer it to Ethan and her problem is solved. Both of them are good eaters, so I don't worry that Maddy isn't getting enough. I just love how excited Ethan gets at times when he realizes his sudden winfall of an extra helping. Here is a video of us in Hawaii. We were eating tuna casserole... (In case you can't hear what Maddy says at the end it's, "His mouth is dirty"). I just LOVE that squeal of his.



This post has been written for a while now and I've been waiting to get the photos up. Looks like we'll be missing the 21st month update seeing as it's already the 23rd today!