New Year, New Sydney Stuff

Family Day - Fu sisters on our red couch!

Happy New Year, Happy Family Day, Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, Happy President's Day, Happy St. Patrick's Day.... Oh and somewhere in there, Sydney turned FIVE!

Sydney's birthday trip to Build-a-Bear!

Sydney at her preschool with best bud Sophia

Just call me Slacker Mom. I've neglected this blog, it's true. I was reminded that I needed to update this as, a couple of days ago, Sydney had her annual checkup to let us know that she's alive, thriving, growing, moving and shaking. She now weighs in at a whopping 35 pounds, which is in the "13.87% of growth percentile based on weight-for-age". She is 40.25" tall, which translates to "8.02% of growth percentile based on stature-for-age." Which really translates to the fact that Sydney is a petite peanut compared to all those giant white kids out there (sorry to sound racist - Brian likes to point out that Caucasia is an actual place). Based on those growth chart numbers, her projected height and weight when she's 20 years old will be around 5'2" and 110lbs., roughly my size. (Well, maybe not my actual weight, but my desired weight if I drop a few... more than a few...) But I digress. This is not about me.

Sydney has been plugging along, going to preschool three mornings a week, and going to Grammy and Grandpa's three days a week as well. She loves both places - although I think she likes the grandparents' house better, since she gets massive amounts of attention and the answer "yes" to most of her requests. She continues to be the social butterfly at her preschool, flitting from one group of girls to another "best friend" and being the object of a couple boys' affections. She chooses playtime with friends over arts and crafts. She also loves PE/gym time and gymnastics. We had our first ever parent-teacher conference - she's ready for Kindergarten!

Sydney hanging out with Glendyne at gymnastics.

After months of intermittently coming into our bedroom and sleeping on our floor, we decided to get Sydney a new bed and move her out of her toddler bed. Hmm, novel idea. It actually worked! Our big girl rarely comes into our bedroom at night unless she has a bad dream. She loves sleeping up top in her new IKEA bed with the canopy. And sometimes she takes a nap underneath, where there are lots of stuffed animals and pillows to get snuggly with.

"I love my new bed!"

One big milestone she achieved this past week: Skipping. For probably over a year, she has attempted the skip with no success. She couldn't get the alternating legs down. But last Saturday, at her hip hop dance class, she busted it out and skipped to the moon. Now, there's no stopping her. She's skipping everywhere.

In spite of the occasional eye rolls (which we're trying hard to nip in the bud), Sydney is our constant joy. I can't begin to describe all the times she makes us laugh, cry, and everything in between. Whether she's mentioning that "Bambi is out on Blu-Ray combo pack" or "Could you ask Lon if his kids are coming to bowling and then text us?", to wondering "what animal are we eating?", Sydney keeps us on our toes and already trying to stay a few steps ahead. Most likely she will overtake us soon.

Modeling her new nightgown and scarf as a pirate girl

Sydney on the bungee trampoline - No Fear.

Merry Christmas

Here's our almost-five-year-old and her second year of visiting Santa. Sydney impressed Santa so much with her dress, he asked to see the photo before we left. He actually got up out of his big red chair and came over to where we were standing to look at how it turned out. Sydney was giddy and excited.

She has been pondering how Santa operates. She thinks there is more than one Santa. "One at the North Pole, one at the mall, and one up there watching us." When she asks questions, we always reply with, "What do you think?" We are cherishing every moment of these young years of magical belief.

Fall Happenings

Sometimes, all you need is a little gelato.

The other day, Sydney, Brian and I were relaxing on the couch. She had brought out one of her baby dolls (which, by the way, she rarely plays with) and sat back down. All of a sudden she pulled her nightgown down from the neck hole to expose one of her nipples. When I asked what she was doing, even though I had the idea, she replied, "I'm feeding my baby." Then she proceeded to attach the baby's mouth to her chest. Brian and I looked at each other and tried not to crack up or overreact. I asked how she knew to do that. She said, "From watching Natasha in the nursery. That's where the milk comes from." Natasha is the daughter of one of Brian's cousins who is still nursing her baby and had fed him at the family Halloween bowling party. Sydney was apparently right there watching. So I accepted that valid answer and told her to make sure she covers up. She pulled her Pooh blanket over her shoulder and eventually over her head to watch herself.

They grow up so fast...

Some highlights of the past few months:

Vancouver's Sausagefest, where Sydney rode the little roller coaster with a complete stranger (little girl) and they had so much fun, they did it again together. Not to mention the fun times with Mom on the bumper cars.

Going to preschool three times a week, learning new songs and meeting new friends (one boy named Brier is going to marry her, and another boy, Xander, gives her goodbye hugs and thinks she is the prettiest girl in the school).

Taking Tiny Tots Hip Hop dance class and meeting a new friend, Dayna, and her parents who recently moved here from Hawaii. They exchange little gifts every week now (drawings, snacks, candy).

Dressing up for Halloween as Snow White "because I have black hair like her."

Helping haul pumpkins at Bi-Zi Farms.

Riding a horse named Sugar behind Grandpa and Grammy's house.

Writing her name! (Along with Mom's.)

Riding her bike without training wheels - we're still working on that, but the training wheels are gone as well as the pedals so she can practice balancing and coasting.

Getting together with another Fu family for a hot pot lunch. It's always nice to see our "friends for life". Here's Sydney with Maya (Fu sister) and her little sister Anya.

We're moving rapidly into the holiday season! Hope everyone (anyone?) out there is enjoying life to its fullest! Here's a little clip of Sydney at her hip-hop class.

Tattoos and stuff

Hello, blogcheckers! Procrastinator here. Seems that life always gets in the way of blogging. I keep telling myself to post whenever Sydney says or does something worthy, before I forget. And so it goes - memories are fading!

Sydney has returned to KidSpace preschool, this year for three days a week as a 4.5-yr-old. She gets to continue her gymnastics through KidSpace. She is getting ready for Kindergarten for sure! We got rid of her "baby" carseat and she is now in a booster seat and can buckle herself in, which she loves. She also just started a "Tiny Tots Hip Hop Dance Movement" class, which is highly entertaining to watch!

Today as I was driving Sydney to preschool, she commented from her booster seat in the back that her duck tattoo from Burgerville was starting to come off her arm. Thus began our discussion of tattoos and what she and her mom and dad are going to get when we all grow up. I kept telling her that real tattoos are permanent - that they inject ink with a needle under your skin. It almost didn't phase her. She ultimately said, "Maybe when I'm not so afraid and I get braver, I'll get one."

By the way, wanna know what she chose for all of us?

For her Dad: Mario and Bowser. For me: Yoshi. And for her, Princess Peach.

Is Anybody Out There?

I have yet to see any comments on my return to blogging. That's okay. I just wanted to document some thoughts and things. Like I said earlier, I will not likely post many photos here. But I feel like I have to get things down in writing (?) before I forget. Some things may not be too significant. Some may even bore you. Thanks for reading, if you are.

Yesterday we visited our good friends, the Hawkins' family. Short history: Steve and Tressy have two kids, Xander (6) and Lucy (almost 5). We have all dreamed of the girls becoming lifelong friends ever since we brought Sydney home. (Xander is also included in the mix. In fact, he is such a sweet, smart boy and so incredibly nice to Sydney that we all half-jokingly talked about arranging a marriage.)

For three years, Sydney and Lucy have had a love-hate relationship. Chalk it up to age and immaturity. We have had to leave their house with one or both girls crying. But not last night! Sydney and Lucy played unbelievably well together. I won't go into the details, but there were no tears, only lots of laughter and hugs. Mark this day down in history!!

Recently we have been strongly emphasizing "Good Choices" to Sydney. It's amazing what a little positive reinforcement and a lot of reminders can do! I've even caught myself being less stressed about her behavior because she is making those good choices. And she's so much cuter when she's happy.

Cowgirl Sydney with her friends and their horses!

Sassy Sydney

For some reason unknown to me, our precious four-year-old daughter has been turning up the sass-meter. And not in a good way. She seems to answer almost every request we make with a sassy, attitude-filled remark. Some real examples:

Mom and Dad: "Sydney, please clean up your toys."

Sydney: "I'm too tired to do that." (Spoken with a touch of whine and cheese.)

Sydney: "What are we going to eat for dinner?"

Mom: "Curry shrimp with rice and peas."

Sydney: "Eww, I don't like that!"

Mom: "You haven't ever tried it yet."

Sydney: "Well I just want ramen!"

Mom: "I'm not making anything else."

Sydney: "Then I'm just going to bed!!!" (Runs down the hallway to her room.)

Mom: "Sydney, go potty please, before you have an accident. Remember, that's what we do when we first get up."

Sydney: "I'm just going to go at Grammy and Grandpa's."

Mom: "AAARRRGGGGHHHH!" (Well, not really, but that's what I wanted to say.)

Last night Sydney got into trouble at the bowling alley child care. When I went to pick her up, Krista (the dear high schooler who was having a rough evening with the kiddies) informed me that she had to put Sydney on a timeout for running out of the room. She also told me that Sydney sassed her about it. What happened, Krista asked, to the sweet Sydney we know and love? Oh how I wish I knew!

So we had a talk on the way home and before bed, to remind her how bad choices make us mad and sad, but good choices make us happy. Her response?

"I'm not going to make bad choices ever again." Dream big, I say!

Making Friends For Real

Follow-up to the "Making Friends" post: Sydney made a new friend at the playground!

We were just about to leave, having been there for about 40 minutes by ourselves, when a mom showed up with two kids, a grandma and two little dogs. The little girl immediately headed to the play structure where Sydney ran right up to her and asked if she wanted to play... she said YES! Aahh, the joys of childhood. They ran and ran and ran and ran for the next hour while us moms compared notes on the challenges of making friends at our kids' tender ages (the other girl was five and a half and her little brother was three and a half). This other mom told me that her daughter went through the exact same thing a couple years ago where no one wanted to play with her and she kept trying to make friends with everyone.

I find this interesting, how the social dynamics of making/shunning friends starts so early and carries on through our lives. I suppose it is just passed on from generation to generation, from older kids to younger siblings, and on and on. I wish the trend could be broken. But then we'd probably have to move to an unoccupied island or live in a bubble. As they say, with risk comes reward. I will encourage Sydney to continue putting herself out there, risking rejection, for great friendships to come.