We're Moving!

So the big news is out: we are moving back to San Diego! This is how Xinyi feels about the move:

Just kidding, she has no idea what is happening, other than that there are boxes everywhere!

After 3.5 years in LA, we've decided to move back to San Diego to be closer to family :). We want baby girl to know her cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents, almost all of whom are in San Diego!

As an aside: here is daddy wearing baby's backpack!!

After 15 months, Xinyi finally signs water! She used to sign milk for milk and water, but now she clearly signs water and knows the difference between the two!

Baby girl loves her songs! Now, when we sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" to her, she claps when the song lyrics say clap, and stomps when it says stomp, and raises her arms up when it says hurray! She used to only clap!

She also starts marching when she hears the song about Dinosaurs Marching, raises her hand to make a sun when we sing the song, Mr. Sun, and clicks her tongue to ask me to sing "Hickory Dickory Dock." She dances like crazy to "What does the fox say?" and "I'm a gummy bear" - two songs that I never thought I'd listen to, but baby loves it! And I've already listened to the 100 toddler tunes one hundred times too many :P.

Here we are saying goodbye to one of Xinyi's baby bff's!

Baby tries to zip her jacket together but can't quite figure it out, so she holds them together as if it were zipped up instead. But when I ask her to go to her (high) chair for breakfast, she toddles over and patiently waits to get lifted into her chair! When I say it's time to go, she goes to the baby gate by the door and waits for me to open it! When I say it's time to sleep and she's busy playing, she throws a fit! She understands sooo much!

And the newest thing she does is she gets frantic every time someone leaves the room she is in - to go get something, to go to the bathroom, to throw trash away.... doesn't matter.... separation anxiety!!!

She also continues to climb up sofas, chairs, couches, anything she can swing her leg up on! She's a little acrobat!

Xinyi also loves to hug her lovey before she goes to sleep. It's a new thing that started last week, but has continued strong this week. Every day when she wakes up, she is playing with lovey. Every nap, she falls asleep holding lovey. Every night, I watch her roll around hugging lovey. It's the sweetest, cutest little thing!!!

Well, that's all the pictures I have this week... too many boxes to pack :). Thank you LA friends for a wonderful 3.5 years. We will miss you all! Hello again to SD family and friends, we'll see you soon!

Tiny Turtle Huggie!

This week, Xinyi was diagnosed with a unilateral ear infection... she's been a champion, but I have taken to calling her supercling. If she's next to, sitting on, and playing with me, she's fine. But the second she isn't she whines until she is again... :P.

It's fun to watch her development, She received the book, "Where's Spot?" as a gift when she was a few months old. She started by trying to rip out all the flaps, and then she could only do the easy ones, and now she can open the ones that open like French doors, no problem!

This is baby trying to brush her teeth through the packaging at target... Or trying to kiss Elmo... Not sure :).

Today, I took out her shapes and color puzzle, and she was able to do it! She's never been able to match the color and shapes and fit them into the spots, but today she did!

Unrelated, here is Xinyi sporting her ladybug outfit!

While eating with Xinyi, I handed her a napkin and she delicately wiped her mouth!

Not so delicately, baby is watching jeopardy in a silly pose.

Now she's on the ground...

Baby woke up from a nap one day but it was too early, so I left her in her crib to see if she'd fall back asleep. Instead she grabbed her lovey (which she has had in the crib with her for the last eight months but ignored) and started to play with her!! It was adorable and now she's started to do that after every nap! I didn't get a picture, but here she is sleeping!

After singing a song to baby involving a lot of quacking, baby said "duck!!" She also knows where her nose, eyes, ears and mouth are! She points to them when I ask "where is your ...?" She was throwing a fit because I wasn't playing toddler tunes over the radio for her. When I asked her if she wanted music, she immediately stopped crying, nodded her head, and in the most desperate little voice said "yeah."

She continues to climb up sofas and insists on walking by herself most everywhere! She also found a new way to drink from her sippy cup!

Finally, I found a tiny turtle stuffed animal which Xinyi hugs in the most adorable fashion.

How cute is that???? Auuughh! Love her!

Easter!

What an exciting week, full of pictures and new developments!

First, Xinyi discovered she can climb up the sofa all by herself! Here is her happy face post climb victory!

The next day, we went on a playdate to the Zoo with Camila and Lucas! 

Here are Xinyi and Lucas out exploring together! They are baby bff's!

Xinyi has continued to love her stuffed animals! Here she is hugging her Sophia look-a-like!

Now petting,

and big grin!!! :D

And a face smush, of course!

Baby girl finally has enough hair to put a barrette in it! For 0.5 seconds that is, until it falls out :P.

Here we are at mommy and me with her baby bff's!

On Saturday, we saw Yeh Yeh and Nai Nai! Box play to the rescue!

And music fun :).

She built this tower all by herself (or... with some help!) But she did put all the pieces on herself!

We popped over to visit momma's bff and baby Athena!

Then back for pre-Easter dinner :). Hugs from Nai Nai with Nathan!

And play time too!

A squish from Auntie Lindsey,

before the big Easter egg hunt at Great Grandpa Chuck's!

Yay baby!

Smile with momma!

And with daddy!

And all the cousins who were there!

So cute!

The kids all sat at a table together for lunch! This lasted about 1.5 seconds before one of them decided they were done...

Playing on the floor with Grampy!

Hug from Gem!

More Easter fun with Archie! 

And another kid's table to sit at!

Some good old fashioned guitar time, with a cutie in hand!

Then on Monday, we got to see Nate for a little bit! What a pair of goofballs!

Finally, back at home, Xinyi broke into her newest toy, a Disney Little People set!

Ahhh, resting with daddy, in matching cat sweaters :).

The coolest thing she has started to do is ask for songs by doing the hand motions! She has asked for The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Hickory Dickory Dock, and her favorite Zoom, Zoom, Zoom! Today, she even giggled when I asked if she wanted to sing Zoom, Zoom, Zoom, then she started with the hand motions! She has such a mind of her own, always wanting what she wants! She has the sweetest giggles as well, and continues to love stuffed animals! She is just too much fun!