Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Cold Weather + Busy Baby =

The Queen is Not Amused


No explanation necessary.

Take That, Impressionists!




Grace discovered the joys of fingerpainting. (Thanks, MamMam -- now let us discover the joys of bathtime!)

Rats! Happy New Year!






Chinese New Year starts tomorrow. I had high hopes for sending out pics of Gracie and belated thank you notes to all of our friends and relations who have been so generous and thoughtful and helped us celebrate and spoil Miss Grace. I even have two years' worth of USPS-issued sheets of Chinese New Year stamps (both in too-small denominations now) for the envelopes. Anyway, those were my plans....

Instead, I can report that we are spending all our time chasing Miss Grace and trying to find time to file the tax return.

It is the Year of the Rat, which reportedly means there will be prosperity, at least in the first half of the year. (Seems to be true based on our rough estimation of our tax return, although nobody told the Dow or NASDAQ about this Rat thing...). Also, earth and water will be prominent this year, with water meaning "a focus on lively trading, communications, transport and tourism, which will boost the economy." And Earth relates to "construction, agriculture, petroleum and palm oil." Some of that sounds like good news for Grace's mom and dad!

As for Grace, she seems to have plateaued a bit -- or maybe she's just taking a holiday from brilliance. In the last week, she has been whiny, fussy, and disinterested in food unless she can eject it from her mouth. She has regressed from saying many words to just screeching and uttering "datdatdatdat" for "what's that?" and "gimme that." She is exhibiting signs of impatience, exasperation, and frustration. She refuses to use any of our many potties after her early success.

On the plus side, she has a new tooth (and more coming in), is running and walking very well, and has stopped biting her parents. Thank goodness for progress.