I’m trying to be better at remembering all the things she’s been doing but it’s hard. Nowadays it’s because I would usually write it down in my “reminders” app in my phone, but now since she insists on listening or watching Little Baby Bum on my phone, I often forget before I have the chance to jot it down. So this is what I can remember for this week:

• We went to the Oxon Hill Farm this Monday (we went back when she was about 6 months old, too) and this time she LOVED IT! It’s so fun with her being at this age where she is really understanding what is going on in front of her, she is completely and utterly mesmerized by animals. When I brought her by the cows (they were the first group of animals into the farm) she was so happy, giggling as we touched the cows chomping on their hay. When I picked her up and put her into her stroller (it was quite a walk to get to the next section and it was HOT) she started crying and squirming because she wanted to see more animals. She was happy seeing the chickens, then next were pigs, then horses. She was just. So. Happy. For a pretty lackluster farm, it was like Disneyland for her. (gotta love free experiences!)
• It’s really fascinating how many words toddlers pick up each week. Some of these are repeats, but to keep tabs on what she is learning, I’ll re-list some frequently used words so far: 
  • Duck (did I already write this in last week’s post?)
  • Doggie (“Do-Go”… “Arf!”)
  • Says “Arf!” to any furry animal (horse, cow, chickens, cats) in person and on tv
  • “All done!”
  • “Seesher” (sister) and “Brover” (brother) (re: Mei Mei and Kona, her pug “siblings”)
  • “KoKo” for Kona
  • “Good girl/boy” and “Bad boy/girl” (Again, the pugs)
  • “Uppa!” (up)
  • From Little Baby Bum, she knows the exact timing of when to say these words in her nursery rhymes: 
    • snake goes “hissssss” 
    • mommy on the bus says “sh sh shhhh”
    • the tire on the bus goes “hissssssss” 
    • “F- F-” Fish, in the phonetic alphabet song
    • “G-G- Girl”
• Temper Tantrums in the Bathtub – She gets very upset when I’m in the house (available) and am not the one bathing her. Lately she has been crying through baths with Jeff, so I have to sit on the toilet seat while I write blog posts, play youtube videos, etc. (like I am at this moment). We’ll see what that means for this Saturday when we are gone all day for a wedding and my mom watches her! She’s usually really good with both grandmothers so I’m hopeful.
• Following direction a bit better: pointing out things and identifying them, waving to people when we say “say hi/bye!” When I say “Whatcha got there?” she shows me what’s in her hands, when I say “OK let’s go, Jia!” she’ll start walking right to me. When we’re reading bedtime stories, I say “turn the page!” and she’ll turn the page. Same goes for “turn off the light!” when we approach a light switch. 
• So Jia knows how to uncap markers herself now. Found this out when she grabbed a black sharpie marker, walked around and I found the cap on the floor, marker all on her right forearm and the spot between her 2nd and 3rd finger. But, with a nice warm bath, some baby body wash and a wash cloth, that little arm was spotless! Daddy will never know I let her walk around with that marker… muahaha… 
• She loves it when we squirt water into her mouth with her bath squirt toys. If Jeff squirts it, she stands there and opens her mouth for the water stream. Oh boy…
• I have finally found a chicken recipe she’ll eat! She actually really liked it too – it was this recipe here. It’s been over a year since I roasted a chicken, so it was nice to be able to have roasted chicken, cooked in our toaster oven. What a beast of a toaster oven, thank goodness we have it! This method was a good compromise to not having an oven but having roast chicken.
• I love seeing her head bopping to music! Nothing gets me quite as happy as seeing when she hears a familiar song and starts jiving to the beat! 

Mom Thoughts:

• My mind has been way overwhelmed lately! Here’s a list of what is on my mind: Nursing licensing in Maryland (fingerprinting and endorsement), investing in an income asset fund, life insurance for me (since I’m not working, I don’t really have any), fixing my credit history because of identity theft that happened a long time ago, rolling my 401(k) contributions into a Roth IRA, all the while figuring out what my plan is for work. 
• About to start this higher education savings fund for Jia. Looking at 529 type plans and trying to decipher what we should do – after browsing the website I think I’m gonna have to discuss these with my financial advisor because I feel like these websites should be in layman’s terms and they’re really not. And projected tuition + room and board + books and supplies for four years = $158,000?! Sigh.
• I’ve been going to weekly hip hop classes to have some time to myself, to do what I love(d) to do. Unfortunately, I’ve missed the last two classes (friend was in town last week and this week Jeff left work a bit late and I was so so tired, so I’m fine with not going this week). If you read my blog (mynewpointeofview.blogspot.com) back in 2012/2013, you’ll remember I took ballet at Metropolitan Fine Arts dance studio. It’s the same studio, new location, different class! It’s a lot of fun, but we don’t perform (which I wish we did!) I’m looking forward to when Jia’s able to enroll in a ballet class for tots 🙂 
• Lately I’ve been feeling like I have been hit by a truck every evening after 6 PM. I’m just flush out of energy, my head hurts, and my eyes are scratchy. I need to get to bed earlier. Speaking of which… 

That’s all for me, I’m pooped.