Kristin had her 20-week ultrasound yesterday. It was bittersweet. The baby is healthy, within all normal parameters. However, it will be a … BOY! We had been wanting a girl, but now Braden will have a little brother to beat up.

We had enough difficulty coming up with a name for Braden. We are not sure how we’re going to come up with another boy’s name.

At least we don’t have to buy a whole set of new clothes. Braden’s ample wardrobe will now pass down to the next in line.

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We’re not sure how Braden learned to use the phrase “excuse me,” but he did it three times today. He burped twice after lunch, and after both times he said it. Then at home, when he was trying to walk by Brian, he said “excuse me.”

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In our breakfast bar/kitchen counter, we have our laptop. Braden is now able to climb the bar stool to sit in front of the computer. He enjoys watching YouTube videos, but he can’t quite master the mouse yet. That’s why he prefers to use our touchscreen desktop downstairs, because he can simply just touch the videos he wants to watch.

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We love watching Braden get excited about certain treats. For example, if presented with, say, animal crackers or a cookie, he’ll say, “Oh! Animal Crackers!” and then pump his arms up and down while smiling.

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Braden won a toy sword at the fair in Lake Geneva when we were down there a few weeks ago. Brian taught him the difference between the sword and the sheath. It’s amusing when Braden holds them apart and says, “sword … sheath … sword … sheath.” It reminds of us of the scene in the movie “The Jerk” in which Navin learns the difference between shit and shinola. “Shit … shinola.”

Journal talking, technology, ultrasound

As Braden’s vocabulary continues to grow, we’re still enamored by how he pronounces certain words and phrases. For example, he says “they-air” instead “there” and “Bob Bob Pair Pants” instead of “Sponge Bob Squarepants.”  

He still confuses proper nouns, too. He’ll say “Braden hungry” instead of “I’m hungry” and “Daddy feed you” instead of “Daddy feed me.”

We also enjoy watching him try to sing along to songs, like “Sesame Street.” He’ll mumble for a bit and them jump in when he knows the words, such as “air is sweet.”

We think Braden isn’t learning Mandarin as easily as he once did because now he thinks words are contradicting. For example, he doesn’t understand why there are two words for “hat” or “rice” or any other word.

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We were a bit hasty in thinking Braden exited the terrible twos, because over the month of July, he re-entered. It really comes down to him not wanting to ever change his clothes in the morning or at night.

Sometimes the timeouts we give him works, sometimes offering him a treat works. However, letting him pick out his own clothes, which as we previously mentioned was the supposed “cure,” no longer works.

Just this past week, he’s starting to despise baths, too. It’s funny, we used to not be able to get him out–he just loved baths. Now, it’s a struggle to clean him.

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Braden is getting better at brushing his teeth. He used to just suck on the toothbrush, but now after watching Brian “scrub” his teeth (done deliberately), Braden does the same thing.

He also figured out how to unlock the gate blocking the staircase, so we got rid of it (good timing, too, as our house is now on the market). Braden also can connect the top clip of the seatbelt of his child seat (fortunately, he can’t undo it–yet).

At the Brewers game last week, Braden helped Brian with the grill by flipping the meat. We’ll post pictures soon.

Journal bath, new skills, talking

Over the past month or so, we’ve noticed Braden has slowly phased out of his Terrible Twos, which he actually started around 18 months (he’s now 28 months old). One way we’ve ‘measured’ this is by how few timeouts we have to give him now. In fact, we can only think of one in the past month.

It also helps that we’ve recognized Braden’s independence. He likes to do things such as  sit in a regular chair at the dinner table and as previously mentioned, pick out his own clothes in the morning. Speaking of the former, he has not sat in his high chair at our house in several weeks; in fact, we’re thinking of packing it up.

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Braden’s ability to form sentences is amazing. For instance, today he used the word “too,” which we didn’t realize he knew. He still understands more than he can express–the other day, he was saying something garbly that we couldn’t understand.

He’s slightly better at recognizing colors but still has trouble from time to time. However, he can recognize most objects, as evidenced when he correctly picks them out from one of his books.

Braden also like to sing. He’s know the Alphabet Song, and he’ll often use the tune with other words.

Journal talking, terrible twos

We like watching Braden play by himself, as he’ll often talk, sing or attempt to read. Regarding the last point, he loves spelling the letters of words he sees, whether they’re on signs, the TV, books … you name it. Usually he says “Braden” at the end of spelling a word, after we previously taught him what his name looked like.

Braden has just about learned the alphabet song. It’s so cute when he sings along to his alphabet game device (or without it). Even if he messes up the “now I know my ABCs …” portion, he’ll always end the song correctly on “me” (and hitting the right note).

In terms of speaking, Braden is getting much better at communicating in either two- or three-word sentences as he learns the meaning of more and more words. For example, he says “are you?” quite often when he’s looking for something or someone, as in “daddy are you?” or “blanket are you?”

He’s also very quick to repeat words he hears, so we have to be careful with our langauge. He usually repeats the last two words of a sentence he hears, then puts them into a question form. We may say something like, “Braden, it’s time to eat dinner.” He’ll reply, “eat dinner?”

As Braden’s vocabulary continues to grow, it’s funny what he calls certain things. For example, Brian was trying to explain what syrup was, but eventually he told Braden it was “waffle juice,” and now that’s what Braden calls it.

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Braden can count to 10 in both English and Mandarin. Sometimes he switches back and forth if he forgets a number.

In terms of understanding both languages, he’s definitely getting more fluent. He also know his Chinese name is Jie (though he’s affectionately called Jie Jie by Brian’s family).

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Braden likes to do things himself. For instance, he may want to go down the stairs without our assistance. Often he’ll either shoo us away and/or say “Braden do it.”

That independence extends to the morning, when Braden prefers to pick out his clothes and take off his own pajamas. Too bad he’s not potty trained yet, or we’d be set!

When he’s in our downstairs area, he likes to pretend he’s exercising. He’ll pick up the medicine ball, or he’ll lift the shake weight up and down.

His fine-motor skills also have improved. He can do things like turn on Brian’s iPod Touch, swipe it to unlock it, then run the Video app to watch “Wiggles.” He can also use his wrench and screwdriver from his toy workshop.

Journal new skills, talking

Thanks to Kristin, Braden can read just about the entire alphabet. Sometimes he confuses “I” and “T,” and he has trouble saying “W,” but he’s really getting there!  

In his bedroom he has foam cut-outs of letters and numbers, and it’s neat to seem him pick one up and say what it is. Last night he picked up the “V” and said “Y,” then he flipped it over and said “A.” He’s definitely recognizing the shapes.

Along those lines, Braden is getting much better at identifying objects. He has a book with pictures of everything from A to Z. When we read to him at night, we ask him things like “which one is the dog?” and he’ll point to it.

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Braden’s language is evolving into sentences (usually just two or three words long). From “more, please” to “night night daddy,” his speech grows every day. He also can understand what people are saying to him in both English and Mandarin.

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Braden calls Brian’s grandma “ma,” as that’s what Brian’s aunts call her, and he mistakes that as her name.  To Braden, she should actually be “tai po.”

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Braden was slightly sick last week. He learned to cover his mouth while coughing–it’s really cute. He also knows to grab a tissue paper when he has a runny nose.

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It seems like every new generation is more comfortable with new technology than the previous. Braden knows has to unlock Brian’s iPod Touch by swiping the screen. He also knows how to use the YouTube app on our smartphones.

In addition, Braden loves playing with Kristin’s dad’s iPad. We would probably buy him a tablet device if they weren’t so expensive.

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Somehow Braden learned to roll his eyes. It’s really funny to see him do it. For example, he’ll roll his eyes and then look at Kristin after Brian does something goofy. We suspect Braden will be rolling his eyes throughout his life at his dad.

Journal sick, talking, technology

Braden is getting better at repeating and pronouncing words. For example, he can say “I” then “love” then “you,” though he has some trouble stringing it all together. His “please” is more like “psshh” and his “xie xie” (Mandarin for thanks) is “shh shh.”

But he does know the meaning of the words he can say. He says “more” when he wants a food refill (quite often), “bow wow” when he wants to watch the Wiggles (it’s the name of one of their songs; he also knows how to say “wiggles”), “Elmo” when he wants to watch an Elmo DVD or Sesame Street and “ball” when he wants to play catch.

Brian and Braden were searching for something in Braden’s bedroom the other day, and Braden was so cute in looking under and in everything (drawers, closets, his crib, etc.), and each time he came up empty-handed, he would declare “nope!”

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Braden is way ahead of us technology-wise. One of our computers is a touch screen, and he knows how to operate it, especially when he’s picking videos to watch on YouTube. A few days ago, Braden opened the protective case to Brian’s iPod Touch, then turned it on and swiped the screen to unlock it. It was unbelievable (we never taught him this).

Apparently, he can work Kristin’s dad’s iPad as well. We’ve been considering buying him one of those cheap tablets (~$100) to play with.

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Braden is getting closer to dressing and undressing himself. For instance, he can unzip his one-piece pajamas and take it off (this is actually quite impressive). We’ve seen him put on/take off pants and shirts before, too.

He’s getting to the point in which he picks out his clothes in the morning. Once, Brian dressed Braden in something he did not choose, and he was SO mad.

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Braden has an allergy appointment this week. We’re hoping it brings us some good news that he’s grown out of some of his allergies (peanuts, dairy, eggs).

Journal talking, technology

Hope you  like our Christmas card this year. It was extremely fortunate to have Braden look into the camera (set on “auto”) AND smile at the same time all five or so times we took this picture.

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You can pretty  much ask Braden any question and he will respond with “un un” (no). Even if he really means yes, he will still say un un. This has been going on for about two months now. As of this week, he’s starting to say “no,” which is cute.

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Braden is getting better at jumping. Previously, he could only leap one foot at a time, but now he can take off from both feet. He also can march in place (just like Brian did in the UW marching band).

In addition, Braden is starting to give “zerberts” or “razzberries” (he lifts your shirt and blows on your stomach).

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Braden’s new favorite food seems to be raisins. He likes to take a huge handful and stuff his face with them. If any fall on the ground, he knows to blow on them first (to get rid of any dirt, dust, etc.) before eating them.

Kristin tried to feed Braden a grilled-cheese sandwich (with fake cheese) the other day, but he hated it. However, we suspect if we topped it with his favorite condiment–ketchup–he would have eaten it.

Speaking of eating, Braden doesn’t always want to sit in his high chair. For example, at breakfast, he usually eats at the coffee table in the living room or in his play area. Otherwise, he likes to sit on a dining chair like mom and dad.

Journal feeding, new skills, talking

For the most part, it’s easier to put Braden to bed. After brushing his teeth, giving him some water and reading a couple of books, we can put him in his crib while he’s still awake, and he’ll go to sleep on his own. Much better than the old days of having to rock him to unconsciousness.

On the flip side, it’s become harder to get him out of bed in the morning (isn’t that supposed to happen in the teen years?). He’ll usually lie there and talk to himself. When we try to pick up him, he puts up a fight. Braden also won’t let us change his clothes or diaper in the morning (or at night).

In other words, the morning routine has become quite the struggle. We attribute part of it to his reduced hunger in the morning. Previously, he couldn’t wait to head downstairs to eat. Now he’s not that hungry for some reason and doesn’t mind the leisurely pace.

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Braden babbles a lot, and is starting to string together the few words he can say (e.g. “mama dada”). He’s getting better at repeating words, and he certainly understands a LOT of words in both English and Mandarin.

We know Braden can say (and understand the meaning of): mama, dada, nai-nai (paternal grandmother in Mandarin), up, yes, uh-oh, hot, un-un (no) and Bucky. He also likes to say “yeah yeah,” which stems from TV show segment we once watched.

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Braden for sure has reached the terrible twos (hopefully it doesn’t get worse). When he doesn’t get his way, he well lie on the floor and throw a tantrum if you try to pick him up. His bossiness has increased, too.

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Some times Braden likes to take his sponge and wash himself in the bathtub. It’s so cute to see him try to wash his own feet, for example.

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Braden has been getting hives on his back and face lately, though we’re not sure why, since he hasn’t been exposed to any of the foods to which he has allergies.

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Braden continues to show that he is half Kristin, half Brian, especially in social situations. We were recently at our condo’s flea market, and all our neighbors wanted to say hi to him. Instead, Braden begged Brian to pick him up, then he buried his head in Brian’s chest. Anytime someone try to move to another angle to see him, he would further try to hide.

After 5-10 min., he was running around the room like a crazyman and being his normally cute, outgoing self. It’s funny that it takes time for him to warm up and drop his shyness.

Journal bath, new skills, sleep, talking

It’s been hard to see how many new teeth Braden has, as he hates it when we prod around his mouth. Brian counted eight on the top row (four new), and there appears to be about the same in the bottom row. At least with some molars, Braden is finding it easier to chew.

Braden can now say “bow wow,” and he’ll also respond with those words when you ask him what sound a dog makes. He can also say “darn it,” along with slapping his hands on his thighs, which he learned from his great uncle Chuck. It’s so cute to see him wind up as he gets ready to say it and act it out.

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Braden used to love bananas–in fact, he ate one every day at breakfast–but now he dislikes them. So basically he’s eating around 2-3 bowls’ worth of cereal in the mornings, it seems. On the flip side, Braden now likes strawberries, which he wouldn’t eat before. We don’t understand why his tastes have changed.

These toddler biscuit/cookies we found are his new favorite food. He will open the pantry door and point at them, often stomping his feet, until you feed him one. And he still likes ketchup, to the point that we will put it on various foods just so he’ll eat them.

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We did end up taking Braden to two Concerts on the Square this year. The first time he ended up playing with Brian’s former supervisor from DPI and his wife. They (fortunately) enjoyed his company.

The second time we were able to keep him from wandering as much, but in both cases we left at the half. We missed last year in which he fell asleep during the concert.

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Last update: Braden can sort of jump. After watching Brian do it a few months ago, he tried to imitate it but couldn’t get his feet off the ground (but he got the arm gestures down). Now he can sort of get one or both feet in the air (about 1 cm tops). It’s really adorable when he tries.

Journal going out, new skills, talking, teething

While Braden is still not talking, he can say a few words and does understand what we’re saying some of the time. Besides “uh-oh,” he yells “up!” when he wants you to pick him up or lift up to a place he can’t climb. Note: he can’t quite make the “p” sound, so it’s really more of “uh!”

We have heard him say “dog” (closer to “Doug”), and we think he knows he’s referring to us when he says “mama” and “dada.” In addition, you can ask him to point out his eyes, nose, tongue and bellybutton. Plus, you can ask him in both Mandarin and English to blow you a kiss. It’s super cute!

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We took Braden to the Mallards baseball game the other day. We’ll post a video soon of him acting shy around the dog mascot named Bonehead. Unlike the first game in which Brian took Braden, who only sat in the seats for one out, this time Braden made it through a whole inning before wanting freedom. He went all over the ballpark!

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We’re trying to figure out if we can take Braden to Concerts on the Square. Last year we were able to rock him to sleep, but he was much younger then and couldn’t run. This year may prove to be more difficult.

Journal going out, talking