All posts about our firstborn, Mio Elise Allen.
Dan received this ridiculous bear paw scarf in a White Elephant gift exchange at his workplace, and he brought it home for Mio to try on. She had so much fun chasing us around, terrorizing us with her newfound bear paws! Here’s a video of Mio-Bear in action!
Among Dan’s birthday gifts was a remote control quadcopter, and he’s been having fun playing with it all weekend. For me, it’s more fun watching Mio’s reaction to it — a mixture of uncertainty, curiosity, and apprehension with a hint of excitement. She likes to chase where it goes, but maintains a safe distance and at times gets scared and runs away from it, towards me.
One of Mio’s favorite things to do these days is a “roll call,” in which she calls “Mama” and “Dadoo” to which we respond “Hai!” (Japanese for “here!” or “yes”), and then she waits for us to call her name and she responds “hai” back. She will often repeatedly do this for five rounds or so. I’ve tried to capture it on video, but she gets camera-shy every time. Here’s an old video from almost a month ago that we took on Thanksgiving Day — it’s usually a lot more enthusiastic, but she is a bit reluctant here. Still fun to watch, though! π
I had to share a couple videos Dan took of Mio this past weekend — I can’t help but break out into a big smile every time I watch them! There’s nothing sweeter than watching the pure, unadulterated joy and laughter of a child. These are the moments you live for as a parent… ♥
Mio turned 20 months old earlier this month, on December 2. In all the busy hustle and bustle of the holidays, I’m late on writing an update on her growth and development, but I wanted to make sure I documented it before I forget — better late than never, right?
Stats: We took you to the pediatrician last month for a very belated pediatrician checkup, and you weighed 25.5 lbs! A little less than we expected, but still a very healthy weight! You are about 32 inches tall now.
Things You’re Doing Now: If there’s one word that people most commonly describe you as when they see you lately, it’s “precocious.” You observe everything (and I mean everything) that we grownups are doing and will pick up on them very quickly. You watch and imitate our every move! I’ve had to wrench away pens and pencils from your hand because I’ve caught you trying to jam them into your eye, in an attempt to draw eyeliner on your eyelids. You often steal one of your grandmother’s curlers to put one in your hair yourself (even though your hair is already naturally curly!). You want to feed yourself most of the time, no matter how much of a mess it makes — thankfully, you’re getting better and better at using the spoon and fork. You especially love sipping soup from soup spoons, carefully bringing them to your lips and letting out a satisfied “ahhh!” after each spoonful. The acuteness of your memory astounds us. You’re already making associations between objects and past situations, and it’s so interesting to see how much you remember from experiences that happened months ago. I pulled out my Kitchenaid stand mixer last week for the first time since we moved out here, and you immediately furrowed your eyebrows and backed away from it in alarm, just like you used to back in California when its loud noise would scare you. You look at a picture of you and your grandparents from when we went to see ducks, and you make quacking noises, even though there are no ducks in the actual photograph. You are starting to get pickier with your foods and are selective with your vegetables, but you’ve also discovered condiments, and will eat almost anything as long as there’s some sort of sauce to dip it in! (Also something you learned from just watching us eat.) You love toasting “cheers” and clinking cups together, and you often try to clink between sips — it gets pretty repetitive, but with you in our lives, every second is worth celebrating! π
Mio met Santa Claus for the first time at Tysons Corner when Grandpa took her. She saw all the kids ahead of her crying when they sat on Santa’s lap, but she was just smiling and chatting away while observing them from my arms. As soon as it was our turn and I plopped her into Santa’s lap, her expression totally changed and she burst into tears!
Clearly she is not a fan of Santa… but who would want to sit in some old male stranger’s lap anyway? I’m with you, Mio!