Thank You God

Last night Jonathan had a really hard time going to bed because of fear. I sat in the rocking chair for the usual amount of time and did our prayer for protection from cookie monsters and the like. When I got up to leave, he got up and called out to me, "Mama I need you. I'm scared." I asked him what he was scared of. "I don't know."  He replied. No comforting was enough for him. He begged me, "Don't run away from me." I attempted to leave the room a few times. Each time he would begin to cry. This was not normal for him. I went back again and again. He kept telling me, "Mama I can't see you." So I put my hands into the crib and reached out to him. He grabbed my hands and laid his face on them and let out a relief, "Thank you God." He then began to lay on my hands with his body and said, "I got you." I was moved almost to tears. I knew I could not leave him alone until he was ready. It was almost 1 hour later that I was able to leave the room with him semi conscious. He was too tired to be afraid by then.  I left the door semi open so there was a little light into his room. This must have helped some.

Tonight went a little easier. I put him to bed when there was still light out and left the door open. We prayed for God to protect him and I told him that I will never run away from him. I will just be outside. He called out from his room a few times and I replied from downstairs. He is now asleep.

He is such a precious child. So mature for his age. Two days ago on our way home from lunch, I told him that he would take a nap when we got home. He asked why. I told him we were all tired and we would all need a nap, including mommy. Then he told me to go to the kitchen. I was surprised and asked why I should go to kitchen. He said, "I get up and 吃饭饭 (eat dinner)".

He has so many cute sayings. I wish I can record them all.

Easter Sunday



In Front of T4C West



Remembering the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We went to the service at T4C West in the afternoon. The main church choir came to sing. Jonathan even stayed for the singing portion of the worship.

It was a beautiful day. We opted not to go crazy with the Easter egg hunt. We took Jonathan back to Weaver Lake Park where he fell into the shallow lake water. He was only throwing sand into the lake water. We had a relaxing weekend but our bellies were filled with two buffets. I'm actually, 上火，has a blister on the lower lip. Resting and feeling thankful.



Loving the slide



Fun on the swing





The Lake where he fell 2 weeks ago



Throwing sand

The Rite of Passage to Toddlerhood - 5 stitches

Jonathan ran with his head turned to the side. He bumped into the cubby and hit his forehead against the cubby shelf just above the left eye brown. By the time I got to daycare, he was eating gold fish with a huge gauze on. There was  deep one inch gash all the way to the bone. He got 5 stitches at Maple Grove Hospital. As soon as we got out of their, he forgot about it and the only thing he was concerned about was going to Target to get Misty Island and candy.

As I put him to bed, he told me he fell on Grant's cubby. As I began to advise him, "the next time you run," he finished the sentence by "walk slowly." I was going to say, look where you are going. Daycare must have been telling everyone to walk slowly.

April snow again. All the snow melted by the afternoon.

Xiaoyan and Airong's baby girl

We took Jonathan to visit Wendy, Xiaoyan and Airong's baby girl in Methodist Hospital the day after she was born (born on 4/12/11). Jonathan gave her a baby doll for new baby present. On our way out, we saw Murray, a trained dog for family and kids in the hospital. She goes to most of the twin city hospitals that have pediatric wards. Jonathan was very happy to see the puppy - how he calls all dogs now. They are not dogs any more, but puppy or doggie. He got to pat Murray for a few seconds.

Fears and Dreams

For the last several weeks, Jonathan has been experiencing fear. He has trouble going to bed and wakes up crying 1-2 times a week. He is clingy when we drop him off at daycare. Initially we didn't know what was the matter. As he becomes more verbal, he is able to tell us more. He is afraid of cookie monster, roosters and pigs. He is afraid of owls and Mr. Percival, the narrow gauge engine controller who is angry with Thomas.

One time he said he didn't want to go to bad because he didn't want bad dreams. My husband didn't think he knew what dream meant. I believed him. He had seen Thomas DVDs in which the trains fell asleep and had dreams.

Three nights ago, he woke up crying because a pig was in his bed saying "oink oink". Last night he held my hand tight and pleaded with me:"I am scared. I need you Mama." He woke up at 2 AM this morning crying because "pig eat my (Easter) egg".

On a positive note, he told me tonight his favorite teacher is teacher Pam. "Teacher Pam come nap time. She come in the dark. She pat me in my sleep." Maybe I will try patting him for a minute when he lays down to sleep. Maybe it works better than me "sit one minute."

As we speak of one minute, two days ago, I tested Jonathan's concept of time. I asked him if he wanted to watch Thomas for 10 minutes, 5 minutes or 1 minute. When presented with 2 options, he always chose the longer time. Funny how he knows. Whenever I tell him to go to bed or take a bath or to eat, he tells me, Mama watch Thomas five minute, play 5 minute, do puzzle 5 minute etc. 

Here is a picture of April snow from our winderon 4/16/11. Just for the record. 

I Feel Happy - The Simple Pleasure of a Toddler

We went out for a trike ride initially. Then Jonathan saw a big puddle. Unfortunately he didn't wear his puddle boots. We went all the way back home (1 1/2 blocks away). He put on his puddle boots and went back to the puddle. I let him run to his heart's content. Not quite. I had to cut it after a while. We walked home through the back yard. After I stripped him down all the wet pants and drained the water out of his rainboots, he exclaimed:"I feel happy! I feel happy!" Such simple pleasure! All the cleaning and washing were worth it.

In the video, Jonathan imitated Sir Topham Hatt's (controller of the railway) voice in calling Thomas, the tank engine, who is known for "splish, splash and splosh into trouble". The Chinese dialogue is mostly me telling him to get on the grass when cars were coming. 

Jonathan loves puddles

These were taken from March 20. He ran through the puddle over and over, splashed the water as high as he could. He then took his Thomas tricycle through the puddle over and over.

I got him a pair of rain boots. We called them the puddle boots. He loves them. He always looks for big puddles. The bigger the more exciting.

Where is your bed, Mama?

This is the question Jonathan asked me two days ago. I thought it was funny. As I thought about it, I realized, that is right, he has never seen me sleeping. I have always been the one who gets him up at night and in the morning. On the days Albert gets him up, it is only because I have to go to work early. If I am home, I have never missed getting him up from bed and sending him to bed. Naturally he has never seen me sleeping. No wonder he never knew.

Two and a half years old

At 2 1/2 years, Jonathan speaks clearly and carries on a conversation at ease. He understands comparisons, quick/slow, tall/short, big/small. He loves to sing. I love it when he sings the baby bumble bee song, "ouch, it stung me!" He can do the itsy bitsy spider very well. Every day he says something that surprises me. I wish I could keep a record of everything.

He began to ride a tricycle. Unable to reach the paddle yet. He loves puddles. He runs into them and splashes in water just like in the Thomas DVD "Splish, Splash, Splosh." I got him a pair of rain  boots - we call them puddle boots. He has broken the rule many times - " you can step into the puddle only with the puddle boots."

The Biggest Puddle

Yesterday we took Jonathan to Weaver Lake park. After having fun on the slides, we went down to the lake to look at geese. There was only one to our left. As I knelt down to point the goose to Jonathan, he suddenly took off straight into the lake. He must have thought this was the biggest puddle he had ever seen. Before I could react he had already pattered into the water. After a couple of steps, the cold water shocked him and fell face down into the cold lake water. By the time I reached him, we were in ankle deep water. He was soaked from head to toe including his winter coat.

I laughed initially at the sight. After a littlewhile the event sank in. I was thankful he was only running into shallow lake water and not a busy street. I must admit that the moment Jonathan took off toward the water, I had a split second hesitation of running after him for fearing of getting wet. If it weren't for that, I perhaps could have stopped him before he fell. This too scared me. I had always thought maternal instinct was so great that we would do anything for our little ones. I guess it is not so. Self preservation got the better of me. I will have to be more careful in the future.

This is Jonathan wearing Albert's shirt on our way home from the lake.