Baby Becky

Today, we celebrated the upcoming arrival of yubabyyu aka Yee-Ma's baby or my Biu Mui. She's due to arrive in late November and we all know that Yee-Ma needs some help in preparing for a baby. I mean, come on, don't you all think that it will be highly amusing to watch Yee-Ma try to raise a child? ;-)

It was just me and the ladies at the baby shower. I guess I was allowed to attend since I'm still a toddler. They humored me by pretending that I was still the center of attention but I knew it was all about the baby in the belly.

Since the baby will be born in the Year of the Rat right around Thanksgiving, it will be a Rat-ta-turkey. In honor of the baby, the cake was adorned with figurines of Remy and Emile from the movie Ratatouille. That's Remy trying to sneak up the side of the cake.

In other news, this morning I had my first scrape up and scuffle at the playground. If you think I look bad, you should see the other boy!

Just kidding. I just was overexcited while chasing after a ball at the playground and fell. But don't worry, I'm doing fine. I think that it gives me a little bit of character no? Plus, when I start daycare on Tuesday, the kids might think twice before messing with me.

Bleacher Creatures

Today, I took part in an age-old New York tradition - I became a member of the infamous Bleacher Creatures of Yankee Stadium. Built in 1923, Yankee Stadium is known as "the House that Ruth Built", referring to Babe Ruth, and the "Cathedral of Baseball". During their tenure in the stadium, the Yankees have won 26 world championships. While I was hoping that they would make a run this year, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. The Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6.

Regardless of the score, it was pretty amazing to be in the stadium. The energy, the legacy, the fans... I really started to get into the game, clapping along with the chants and yelling at the umpires. He was safe!!

Since this is the final season in the original Yankee Stadium, I had to make a visit. I was accompanied by Mommy, Daddy, Yee-Ma (who surprised me this morning by visiting), Auntie Alison and Auntie Tracy. Right across the street, they are building a brand new stadium which is set to open for the 2009 baseball season. Save me a seat!

Jersey Shore

Today, I went on my first trip "down the shore." For some reason, whenever someone refers to their trip to the Jersey Shore, they always seem to say "down the shore." Does that make sense to you? I know that I might be only 17.5 months old, but I don't think that saying is grammatically correct. Anyhow, Ciocia Ola and Wujek Chris rented a house for a week in Ocean City and since it was Ciocia Ola's birthday this past week, we decided to visit and celebrate her birthday.

We went to the beach right after we arrived. I could not believe it but it was another place where there was sand EVERYWHERE! How could this be? Could there be more than one heaven on Earth? I couldn't help but roll around in the nice soft sand.

I also got a chance to practice my yoga on the beach. How's my downward dog looking?

After we got cleaned up, we went for a walk along the boardwalk.

We visited Playland. I've never seen anything like it before. Amusement park rides, blinking lights and lots and lots of people laughing and screaming. Mommy took me on my first ride on a carousel. At first, I didn't like it at all.

Then, the ride started and the horse started moving up and down. I realized that I was moving around in a circle but Daddy, Babcia and Ciocia Ola were staying still. We kept passing them and passing them.

All that excitement made me hungry so we headed to Daddy's favorite pizza place - Mack & Manco's (this is the main reason Daddy likes coming to the Jersey Shore). I had my first taste of pizza! OK, so it was only crust (since I can eat wheat now and Mommy didn't want to introduce any new spices into my diet just yet) but it was delicious.

To top off our day, we paid a visit to Mr. Peanut.

Food Challenge

Guess what this morning's activity was? A food challenge. Yup, that's right. In this corner, Jasper Henry Yu-Dawidowicz, weighing in between 26-27 lbs. In the other corner, Olde Cape Cod Oyster Crackers, weighing in at 8 ounces.

It was me against the Oyster Cracker at the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital. I know that you were probably hoping for pictures of me engaged in some sort of ultimate fighting or something with the oyster cracker (how funny would that be?!!) but it wasn't that glamorous.

Over the course of about half an hour, a nice nurse named Jessica gave me a handful of crackers to eat to see if I would have an allergic reaction to wheat. Poor Jessica had to endure lots of screaming, crying and squirming but, once she offered me some tasty food, she became my best friend. (Hint Hint) After eating the crackers, we then had to wait 2 hours before going home. That was a lot of time to spend in a little room.

Good news is that I don't seem to be allergic to wheat. We have to take the next couple of days to continue introducing wheat into my diet to see how my system reacts. You see, food allergies often can be dose sensitive meaning that I might be OK eating a little bit of something but if I eat a lot, I'll have an allergic reaction. Keep your fingers crossed! If I can eat wheat, that would make things a bit easier on everyone. I still have to be careful though because a lot of wheat products also have eggs in them and I definitely can't eat eggs!

Arthur Ashe Kids' Day

While I do enjoy being home in Brooklyn, the one thing that I miss about Saugerties is the fresh air. That and the morning excursions that we used to go on. So, I was excited this morning when Mommy and Daddy packed up our bags, gave me my backpack and started up the car. We were going to Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the National Tennis Center!

Every year, the US Open Tennis Tournament kicks off with Arthur Ashe Kids' Day. It's a day full of fun, games, tennis clinics, music and appearances by all the great tennis stars. There were lots of kids and families there and I had fun walking all around the grounds. We heard some good music and watched some tennis demos and silly games. We even got to see some pros practice in the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

We even got to visit with Daddy's friend Ingrid who now works for the USTA. I was being a little shy and squirmy with Auntie Ingrid.

After we left the Tennis Center, we walked around Flushing Meadows Corona Park - the largest park in Queens. The 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs were held here. The centerpiece of the park is the Unisphere. Wow. It's big.

Daddy let me skip along the side of the fountain. So fun!

At the end of the day, Mommy and Daddy were lost and couldn't find their way back to the car. I had to show them where we parked on the map. Here's Shea Stadium... we parked right over there.

Gardener in Training?

More water please!

Family reunion

Since Keira is in town, everyone wanted to come over and see her: 4 Yee-Pau, 5 Yee-Pau, 6 Yee-Pau and 6 Yee-Kung, Arthur Biu Coufou, Phyllis Biu Yee and Jeff Biu Coufou, Tiffy Biu Yee, Auntie Alison, Tony Kung-Kung, Vicky Pau-Pau and Auntie Jessica. 10 points for anyone who can plot out the family tree based on the names above :-) (See why I had to post yesterday's post first?)

I was a little jealous because everyone was paying attention to her and ignoring me. Plus, she kept trying to steal my toys AND sat in my high chair!! Sigh. I know I know. She's just a baby and she doesn't mean to steal my toys. And she's my cousin so I love her anyways. It's just hard because I want to be the center of attention too.

Oh, and just in case you had any doubt, see the picture below. Yup, we are related.

Index to Chinese and Polish Family Names

I've been meaning to post this post for quite some time. I realize that for many of you, keeping up with all the different Chinese relative names is a bit confusing, especially if you aren't Chinese. Add into the mix the Polish names and it really gets your head spinning. Imagine how it must be for me! So here is the cast of characters and an explanation for how the naming conventions goes, or at least how I understand it. I'll start with the Polish side since that's easier:

Tatus: Daddy
Mamusia: Mommy
Babcia: Grandma aka Vicky
Dziadek: Grandpa aka Mike
Ciocia: Aunt aka Olga
Wujek: Uncle aka Chris
Prababcia: Great-Grandma
Brat: Brother
Siostra: Sister

Now on the Chinese side, things get a little bit complicated. The names that I call my relatives depends on which side of the family they are on (i.e. Mommy's side) and where Mommy fits in the family order (i.e. Mommy is the youngest of three kids). It's confusing because there are so many different names. But the cool thing is that you know exactly what each relative's relationship is to you and where they fit into the family tree based on what you call them. So here goes...

MaMa: Mommy
BaBa: Daddy
Jiah-Jiah: older sister
Gao-Gao: older brother
Mui-Mui: little sister
Dei-Dei: little brother

On the maternal side:
Ah-Boo: Maternal Grandma aka Mabel
Ah-Yeh: Maternal Grandpa
Coufou: Uncle on Mommy's side aka Ron
Couma: Coufou's wife aka Siegrid
Yee-Ma: Aunt who is older than Mommy aka Becky
I-Yee: Aunt who is younger than Mommy
Yee-Jurn: Yee-Ma or I-Yee's husband

On the paternal side:
Yeh-Yeh: Paternal Grandpa
Nai Nai: Paternal Grandma
Bak-Bak: Uncle who is older than Daddy
Bak-Mo: Bak-Bak's wife
Souk-Souk: Uncle who is younger than Daddy
Sum-Sum: Souk-Souk's wife
Gou-Ma: Aunt who is older than Daddy
Gou-Gou: Aunt who is younger than Daddy
Gou-Jurn: Gou-Ma or Gou-Gou's husband

Phew. Now other complicating factors...
Biu designates "cousin" so Keira is my Biu Mui. But I also use "Biu" when I call Mommy's cousins so Mommy's cousin Arthur is my Biu Coufou (cousin uncle) and Mommy's cousin Phyllis is my Biu Yee (cousin aunt).

You have also heard me refer to some people as Pau-Pau and Kung-Kung. This is a generic name for "Grandma" and "Grandpa" respectively and I use it when I refer to all the many family friends who are a generation older than Mommy.

Lastly, you have heard me refer to the numerous Yee-Paus - 4 Yee-Pau, 5 Yee-Pau and 6 Yee-Pau. Who are they exactly you ask? Well, they are my Ah-Boo's sisters so they are my "aunt grandmas." The numbers refer to their birth order in Ah-Boo's family.

Phew, I think that's it! I hope that you've learned something here today. I sure have.

KEIRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! What a great day today. As usual, I woke up this morning excited to greet the day. I anxiously waited for Daddy and my tall cold cup of milk. Then I heard a somewhat familiar sound - crying. But wait, I was happily rolling around in my crib - not crying. Hmmmm, interesting. Then I followed Daddy out of my room and began my morning exercise - laps around the living room and kitchen and retrieving a Puffin after completing each lap. On my second lap around the room, I noticed a new stroller in the entryway. I started getting suspicious. Then Ah-Boo arrived. After a little while, a door opened and out came Keira and Coufou!

Okay, I didn't really know that it was Keira and Coufou because 1) I haven't seen Coufou in a long time and I usually associate that name with my Coufou (aka Julius) pillow and 2) I've never met Keira. Keira is my cousin and she's just about 9 months younger than I am. Oh but she is so cute and little! But I thought that she looked better with a tissue on her head.

Keira and I had fun getting to know each other. I shared my toys with her and even my bath! She takes bath differently than I do - lots of splashing around. Then I showed her my new trick - sticking fishies up on the bathroom wall. I think that we'll get along great.

I Think It's Ripe

Ha Ha. Daddy's belly sounds like a ripe melon.



P.S. Do you like my muscle T-shirt? I'm wearing it because I have muscles.

Home Sweet Home

Sadly, our 2 week vacation in the Catskills has come to an end and I'm now back home in Brooklyn. I had a lovely time in Saugerties. I don't think that I've ever been so relaxed! Mommy and Daddy said that I was eating and sleeping like a champ (actually, they used the word "linebacker"). Plus, I think that my gross motor skills have improved too with all that hiking, running and swimming around.

I almost didn't recognize our house when we arrived at home. We'd been gone for 2 weeks and, frankly, my memory isn't the greatest. But I quickly reacquainted myself and took an inventory of all my toys to make sure nothing went missing while I gone. Check. Everything in its place. While I miss the peace and quiet of our house on the creek, I must admit, it is really nice to sleep in your own bed. Ahhhh........ Where should we go on vacation next year?

Chores

While it might look like it's been all fun and games up here in the Catskills, I've actually been working hard helping Mommy and Daddy keep the house neat and clean. I've been learning how to do all my chores. First thing in the morning, I have to clean the pool...

Then, I help sweep the floors to clean up all the dirt that we've tracked into the house...

Then, at the end of the day, it's time to take out the trash. I actually like this one the best. I'm not sure why. Whenever I see a bag sitting by the door, I know that it's time for me to do my job. Someone has to, right?

To reward me, Mommy and Daddy took me out to dinner at Applebees! What a place. Do you see all the flair on the walls? I was so hungry that I couldn't get the food to my mouth fast enough. All in a hard day's work.

HITS-on-the-Hudson

Today I got to see Wujek Chris and cousin Poppy in action at the the horse show - HITS-on-the-Hudson. They did a really great job jumping over all those obstacles! How does Poppy do it? I don't think that I can jump that high. Wait a minute, I don't even know how to jump yet! After her hard day, we gave Poppy some treats - carrots! They are one of my favorites too.

Since the grounds were so big, I couldn't be expected to actually walk from place to place. Instead, I got to go on my first ride in a golf cart. Wujek Chris better pay attention to the road!

Bard College

This morning, I woke up to a wonderful surprise. Ciocia Ola and Wujek Chris were here to visit! Actually, I only saw Ciocia Ola because Wujek Chris was off riding their horse Poppy. You see, they are in town because Wujek Chris is riding Poppy in a horse show - H.I.T.S. Saugerties. After we reacquainted ourselves, we took a drive to see Bard College. Bard is a small liberal arts college that focuses on the performing and fine arts. It's located in Annandale-on-Hudson; it's near Red Hook and Tivoli and is right across the river from Saugerties. It was moving in day for the new Freshmen. To welcome their arrival, I rang the bells for them.

One of the cool things that we saw was the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, designed by Frank Gehry, completed in 2003. Isn't it cool looking?

Don't you think that the college tour thing is starting just a little bit early? I mean, I'm only 17 months old. But I have to admit, it is pretty here.

In the afternoon, we played around at the house and then decided to go for a swim at the Village Beach. Ciocia Ola played a trick on me - she kept making my foot disappear in the sand and then reappear again! I don't know how she did it.