Graham at 20 months old

It's getting so much more difficult now to take Graham's monthly picture for his album.

I just can't get him to sit still long enough!

Graham is growing up so quickly and talking so much more now. He is able to say even more words now, in which is able to express himself quite well:

- upstairs/downstairs

- Mommy/Daddy sit

- air purifier

- thermometer, stethoscope

- medicine, honey (see the trend here?)

- school bus, cement truck

- Pluto, Donald Duck, mouse, Goofy

The weather here has been unusually warm for January, so we have been able to spend some time in the yard. We were finally able to put the other side of the yellow frame and the door on the cozy coupe. Thank you Daddy! Now it's just a matter of time before we put the whole thing together. And yes, Daddy was able to dig for the screwdriver (twice!) that Graham had put into this cozy coupe through the holes.

And oh, here's a new development around the house. We started potty training this week. Let's just say we have a long way to go! Graham loves to just sit on it with its cover closed and say "motorcycle" as he moves his legs like his on a bicycle!

And we still need to work very hard on letting Graham know that he can't put his hand in the bowl, which as you can see - he really enjoys doing!

Thankfully the bowl is still clean as of now!

A trip to New Jersey

Last week, Bobby had a trip planned to New Jersey to teach his class at Rutgers University. That meant a trip for Graham to see Grandma and Pop-pop! He warmed up really quickly to both of them which was really nice to see. And that worked out great for Bobby and me since we had a trip planned to NYC on Monday.

The train ride to NYC was uneventful - although we almost did miss our train because Bobby was trying to find a parking spot for his mom's car at the train station. When we got on the train, he told me that he gave the key to the attendant of the lot along with the house keys! (Thankfully our car was still there when we returned. I suppose the $10 worked too!). Anyhow, after running a chore, we had a wonderful meal at Bryant Park Grill and later found an ice rink at the park:

We didn't do too much around the city as it was quite a chilly day. We did find the Empire State Building. I've yet to make that trip up to the top!

And of course, we found some clothing stores along the way back to the train station :-)

Graham really enjoyed himself in NJ. Pop-pop found a little tractor for him to play with:

And while we were at Uncle Doug and Auntie Myla's place, the boys enjoyed playing in the basement:

And he was so excited (and so quiet!) when Auntie Myla found a container full of Thomas the Train and Friends!

Look at that concentration!

By the end of the trip, Graham was able to say "Grandma", "Pop-Pop", "doobie" (the dog), and we also discoverd his "funny" face!

By the way, before leaving for NJ, Graham busted his lip when he tripped over another kid at daycare and fell on a toy.

Guess I needed a close-up of his bottom lip. Anyhow, it didn't stop him from eating his first chocolate popsicle!

Since being back from NJ, Graham has been going through my pot drawer. He had a fun time stirring imaginary soup with Grandma's pots. I knew I should have saved those cheaper pots from college!

Now when I ask Graham where's Grandma and Pop-Pop, he would actually answer "New Jersey!"

Happy New Year 2012!

I can't imagine 2011 is over! Where did the time go?! I suppose every day flies by pretty quickly when you have to deal with a little toddler! Haha...!

We actually spent our New Year at the airport - flying back from Phoenix to Tulsa. But before that, we finally had a chance to put our new couch together. And of course, another big project from IKEA! Thankfully Graham was ready to lend a hand:

And unfortunately, it took a little longer since Graham misplaced a little tool that came with the instructions. When I was done with the tool, I did not realize that I needed it again so I let Graham play with it. Bad mistake! Anyhow, nothing a spanner couldn't take care of, but it obviously took a little longer. Phew!

Back to our day at the Sky Harbor Airport....

You wouldn't believe the check-in line that was at Terminal 4! It was at least a 2-hour long line! Thankfully Bobby had a fly-by pass and we literally jumped the queue and were able to check in within minutes! Yay to Daddy!!!

So, off to the gate. Graham got on the walk-scalator for the first time and really enjoyed it:

And... UP!

And then, a little snack by Starbucks and watching planes take off almost every minute!

And then, helping Daddy with the luggage (it didn't last for very long!)

The flight was only 2-hours long and Graham finally fell asleep in the middle of the flight.

Unfortunately, he woke up screaming just as we were about the descend and eventually, Graham just ended up sitting on the floor, by my feet - saying "no" to everything that we offered to him! Thankfully, a couple of laps up and down the plane helped and once we got back to our seat, Graham found a comfy spot with his blankie and finally fell asleep again. During all the commotion, Bobby reminded me why we were NOT flying back to Malaysia this year for Chinese New Year! :-P

Really enjoying time in Arizona

We are really having a good time in Phoenix - both indoors and out. Now that we have a TV, Graham can enjoy his DVDs after his breakfast:

And it's pretty neat seeing balloons in the mornings from the front yard of the house:

And also balloons in the late afternoon while driving around:

We finally had a chance to do a little hiking at the Papago Park:

It's so nice to be out in the sunshine as the weather was so nice! Graham really loved going up the trek:

And sitting on Daddy's shoulders and playing with Daddy's hat on the way down:

And going to see the ducks by the lake after that:

We got a chance to see the Phoenix Zoo Lights this year. Graham was fast asleep when we got to the zoo!

We bought the tickets and 5-10 minutes later... still asleep:

We gently woke up him when we got to the exciting part of the zoo lights:

He didn't miss a minute after that!

And the zebras were out late too so that was neat to see them up-close!

And nothing like ending a night with Daddy buying another fancy new toy for Graham!

At least it kept Graham entertained for the ride home :-)

Merry Christmas! / Graham is 19 months old

We did spend Christmas in Phoenix this year. I was busy the day before Christmas trying to finish up our stockings!

We really didn't fill it up with too much. Bobby got some chapstick and Graham got a new little cement truck toy. Although Daddy did pick up some glow sticks for Graham and also a little Hello Kitty metal container for Mommy :-)

Here are our Christmas stockings for 2011:

A snowman for Graham, Christmas tree for Bobby, and a funny looking reindeer wearing a scarf for Mommy!

Graham was quite a pro at opening up his presents this year compared to the last:

He's also been quite a pro at hiding stuff! We had a really tough time looking for our cellphones the other day. I found it in his toy box in his bedroom!

The 19-month has been quite an exciting one but also a challenge. One of Graham's favorite word is still "no" and he is quite firm when he doesn't want something! He is starting to be quite picky with his food so we're starting to struggle, trying to figure out what to feed him! But we figured, eventually when he's hungry, he will eat!

Graham has started to form 2 to 3 word sentences like:

- Mama/Dada sit

- So many fish

- Wen-wen do

He still has a tough time pronouncing words that has the letter "h" and "v" such as "help" and "vacuum cleaner".

And Graham's walk has been upgraded to a run as well. I suppose it becomes a run when he is actually able to say the word "run"!

We did just buy him a potty today, so we'll see how potty training will go :-)

More time in Arizona

We took another road trip to Phoenix, Arizona about a week and a half ago now. The minivan worked out great (especially after a new battery!). Graham had a great time in the back seat...

Sleeping

Look at all that stuff we had packed up in the back! And we still managed to forget a few things!

Watching DVDs

Eating

Once we got into Phoenix, there were a few things we wanted to take care of - like the kitchen sink. Somehow, I just did not like the sink and faucet that was installed. Couldn't really get my pots in there! So... here's the before:

And ta da! Here's our new stainless steel sink and faucet. Love it! Love it! Love it! :-)And as usual, more trips to IKEA! By the way, the minivan has worked great during these trips too! Graham has been very helpful unloading: You got to love IKEA when they make you build your own furniture... NOT! And oh, Graham has been very helpful loading up the dishwasher too! Little stinker!

RAInin'

When Graham learned to say the word "raining", he actually started to say it in Chinese first - "xia yu". Well, just a few days ago when it was raining again, he used the English word! It's so funny/cute how he pronounced it. And he started to say "Mornin'!" as well when I would walk into his room in the mornings.

And after the rain was done, I tried to put together the new cozy coupe that Grandma and Pop-pop bought for Graham for Christmas. I really can't remember the last time I gave up on putting something together. But gosh,... I really gave up this time! I might have to resort to looking at the instructions online. In any case, Graham still managed to sit/play with it for a little while:

And oh, by the way, I lost my screwdriver! Graham put it through the hole where the steering wheel is suppose to go. So now, he has a built-in noise-maker in his little cozy coupe!

Anyhow, this is as far as I got:

I put it aside and Graham obviously still wanted to play in it. Looks like he'll just have to wait until Daddy takes over. Although I'm rather nervous about that. Daddy loves using brute strength when it comes to fixing stuff!