Lola is as precocious and, lately, as temperamental as ever. Recently she has been prone to throwing a temper tantrum and crying at the drop of a hat. Michael and I looked at each other in resignation the other day at her overwrought emotions. Poor thing, she has been feeling every little thing so strongly...I'm pretty terrified at how she will deal with having two new additions competing for attention.
Here are some recent anecdotes:
This is Not Ice Cream
Randomly, apropos of nothing, probably a month ago now, Lola was munching on the end of a baked sweet potato, and suddenly piped up in Mandarin, "Zhe shi hongshu bu shi bing qi ling!" or "This is a sweet potato not ice cream!" Looking at the cone shaped end of the sweet potato in her hand, I can see entirely how her brain made that connection! Good thing she still likes a sweet sweet potato (almost) as much as ice cream.
I Want "Something," "Another One," "The Other One," or "That One"
Lola has been a clear communicator from a very young age, so we often take for granted her maturity and her ability to convey her desires. We don't often have an issue where she is frustrated and cannot express what she wants. But it still happens and lately has been happening with more frequency. Lately she will say "I want something," when she knows that she wants a snack but has not yet identified it, or "I want another one!" if it's not enough or something's not right with what she has, or "the other one!" if it's not the right cheese/fruit/crackers, or "that one!" (pointing vaguely in the direction of the kitchen or the bookshelf) which leaves us frantically guessing and trying to get it right before she drops to the floor and bawls her eyes out.
We can usually get her to explain what is wrong or be more detailed about her desires, but her demands do not always follow logic or reason. For example, one afternoon, Lola wanted crackers, which I gave to her in a small green bowl. She dropped to the floor screaming because she wanted "the other green bowl!" So I went and retrieved her other green bowl, only for her fit to intensify because she wants "another green bowl! Not this one!" So I went and got her other small green bowl, which I think was the one she wanted, except it already had berries in it. One look and she dropped to the floor again, sobbing. I finally pulled out a small blue bowl and offered it to her with her crackers in it.
Lo, all was well.
Nobody Touch! Nobody Speak!
This command popped up right around the time of Lola's birthday, when after she opened her presents and we were trying to play with her toys too much for her liking, she suddenly shouted, "Nobody touch!" with her little arms spread out widely. A few days after, in one of her fits when she was upset and wanted us all to be quiet because we were annoying her with our attempts at comfort, she cried out, "Nobody speak!" W
ell, I guess no one could ever say that Lola has had qualms about making her desires known.
Mommy Goes to Work
It's very entertaining and interesting to hear what Lola has picked up when she is playing with her dolls or toys on her own. She usually has instructions, reprimands and words of comfort at the ready. One of the most common refrains I hear is, "Mama qu shang ban le, ta shang ban jiu hui lai le," or "Mommy has to go to work, [but] she will come back after work." Or, "Mama qu shang ban, Lola qu shang xue!" which is "Mama goes to work, Lola goes to school!" Lola says it in both English and Chinese and sometimes repeats it to her dolls like a comforting mantra. I can't help but cringe a little when I hear this, although I know it's necessary and probably healthy that she can vocalize this to her dolls.
Yi Bian... Yi Bian..., Yin Wei... Suo Yi and Other Chinese Sentence Structures
Lola's English skills and ability has exponentially (in my opinion) jumped since the summer, when it was much more clear to me that Mandarin was her mother tongue. Now, she will usually choose to express herself in English (especially when singing) first, and only speak in Mandarin when prompted or when she is speaking to someone whom she knows only speaks Mandarin. But, Lola's Mandarin skills are still very impressive, in part because she has some pretty sophisticated sentence structure. One of her favorites is "Yi bian... yi bian..." which is essentially a sentence structure that you use for describing two activities that you are doing simultaneously. She particularly likes to use it for playing and eating or eating and reading. She also likes "Yin wei... suo yi" which is essentially a sentence for cause and effect, like "Because... so/as a result..." and she particularly likes to use it for "Because Lola is tired, so she needs to be carried." Ha ha!
The next two are probably my favorite.
Shut the Door
Last weekend, we were all playing in the living room when Lola suddenly sent Michael packing into his office. She was absolutely insistent, practically pushing him into the room. She said, "Daddy go to work now," and "Daddy go to work and shut the door." We thought it was so odd because she was in a good mood and usually likes for Michael to be around to play. When Michael asked her why, she inadvertently gave the reason - because she wanted to go to Jovie's room to play. Lola knows that she cannot go into the kitchen, and Jovie's room is off the kitchen, so Lola's reasoning was that she would make Michael shut himself in his office so that he wouldn't see her go through the kitchen to Jovie's room. Her only mistake? Telling her dad her ulterior motive - otherwise, it was a very well thought out plan!
Shopping at the Club
Similarly, when we were at the American Club for dinner on Sunday night, Lola suddenly piped up with the suggestion that "Lola and Daddy will go shopping. Mommy has babies so she cannot go." This also struck us as odd because Lola has been super clingy to me as of late and would never voluntarily give up a chance to hang out with me, babies or not - although we have been using this excuse with her lately when she wants something that I cannot do ("Mommy has babies so cannot carry Lola," etc).
Well, we realized upon further reflection that she must have wanted me out of the way because she knew that I would prevent her from buying stuff at the club store, whereas Michael indulges her whims. Usually they go just the two of them, and as a result Lola has amassed about four water bottles and all kinds of random and useless snacks. The one time I went with them last time, I pulled out her pumpkin and her water bottle at the last minute so that when she went to retrieve her goodies later, she discovered they were all missing. This must have been her ploy to get me out of the way, so she could buy and get what she wanted! Lo and behold, as a result of dispatching me so handily, Lola sauntered up to the dinner table that night with a huge grin and a huge bag - a monster sized bottle of Sriracha hot sauce for daddy and yet ANOTHER water bottle for Lola!
Here are some recent anecdotes:
This is Not Ice Cream
Randomly, apropos of nothing, probably a month ago now, Lola was munching on the end of a baked sweet potato, and suddenly piped up in Mandarin, "Zhe shi hongshu bu shi bing qi ling!" or "This is a sweet potato not ice cream!" Looking at the cone shaped end of the sweet potato in her hand, I can see entirely how her brain made that connection! Good thing she still likes a sweet sweet potato (almost) as much as ice cream.
I Want "Something," "Another One," "The Other One," or "That One"
Lola has been a clear communicator from a very young age, so we often take for granted her maturity and her ability to convey her desires. We don't often have an issue where she is frustrated and cannot express what she wants. But it still happens and lately has been happening with more frequency. Lately she will say "I want something," when she knows that she wants a snack but has not yet identified it, or "I want another one!" if it's not enough or something's not right with what she has, or "the other one!" if it's not the right cheese/fruit/crackers, or "that one!" (pointing vaguely in the direction of the kitchen or the bookshelf) which leaves us frantically guessing and trying to get it right before she drops to the floor and bawls her eyes out.
We can usually get her to explain what is wrong or be more detailed about her desires, but her demands do not always follow logic or reason. For example, one afternoon, Lola wanted crackers, which I gave to her in a small green bowl. She dropped to the floor screaming because she wanted "the other green bowl!" So I went and retrieved her other green bowl, only for her fit to intensify because she wants "another green bowl! Not this one!" So I went and got her other small green bowl, which I think was the one she wanted, except it already had berries in it. One look and she dropped to the floor again, sobbing. I finally pulled out a small blue bowl and offered it to her with her crackers in it.
Lo, all was well.
Nobody Touch! Nobody Speak!
This command popped up right around the time of Lola's birthday, when after she opened her presents and we were trying to play with her toys too much for her liking, she suddenly shouted, "Nobody touch!" with her little arms spread out widely. A few days after, in one of her fits when she was upset and wanted us all to be quiet because we were annoying her with our attempts at comfort, she cried out, "Nobody speak!" W
ell, I guess no one could ever say that Lola has had qualms about making her desires known.
Mommy Goes to Work
It's very entertaining and interesting to hear what Lola has picked up when she is playing with her dolls or toys on her own. She usually has instructions, reprimands and words of comfort at the ready. One of the most common refrains I hear is, "Mama qu shang ban le, ta shang ban jiu hui lai le," or "Mommy has to go to work, [but] she will come back after work." Or, "Mama qu shang ban, Lola qu shang xue!" which is "Mama goes to work, Lola goes to school!" Lola says it in both English and Chinese and sometimes repeats it to her dolls like a comforting mantra. I can't help but cringe a little when I hear this, although I know it's necessary and probably healthy that she can vocalize this to her dolls.
Yi Bian... Yi Bian..., Yin Wei... Suo Yi and Other Chinese Sentence Structures
Lola's English skills and ability has exponentially (in my opinion) jumped since the summer, when it was much more clear to me that Mandarin was her mother tongue. Now, she will usually choose to express herself in English (especially when singing) first, and only speak in Mandarin when prompted or when she is speaking to someone whom she knows only speaks Mandarin. But, Lola's Mandarin skills are still very impressive, in part because she has some pretty sophisticated sentence structure. One of her favorites is "Yi bian... yi bian..." which is essentially a sentence structure that you use for describing two activities that you are doing simultaneously. She particularly likes to use it for playing and eating or eating and reading. She also likes "Yin wei... suo yi" which is essentially a sentence for cause and effect, like "Because... so/as a result..." and she particularly likes to use it for "Because Lola is tired, so she needs to be carried." Ha ha!
The next two are probably my favorite.
Shut the Door
Last weekend, we were all playing in the living room when Lola suddenly sent Michael packing into his office. She was absolutely insistent, practically pushing him into the room. She said, "Daddy go to work now," and "Daddy go to work and shut the door." We thought it was so odd because she was in a good mood and usually likes for Michael to be around to play. When Michael asked her why, she inadvertently gave the reason - because she wanted to go to Jovie's room to play. Lola knows that she cannot go into the kitchen, and Jovie's room is off the kitchen, so Lola's reasoning was that she would make Michael shut himself in his office so that he wouldn't see her go through the kitchen to Jovie's room. Her only mistake? Telling her dad her ulterior motive - otherwise, it was a very well thought out plan!
Shopping at the Club
Similarly, when we were at the American Club for dinner on Sunday night, Lola suddenly piped up with the suggestion that "Lola and Daddy will go shopping. Mommy has babies so she cannot go." This also struck us as odd because Lola has been super clingy to me as of late and would never voluntarily give up a chance to hang out with me, babies or not - although we have been using this excuse with her lately when she wants something that I cannot do ("Mommy has babies so cannot carry Lola," etc).
Well, we realized upon further reflection that she must have wanted me out of the way because she knew that I would prevent her from buying stuff at the club store, whereas Michael indulges her whims. Usually they go just the two of them, and as a result Lola has amassed about four water bottles and all kinds of random and useless snacks. The one time I went with them last time, I pulled out her pumpkin and her water bottle at the last minute so that when she went to retrieve her goodies later, she discovered they were all missing. This must have been her ploy to get me out of the way, so she could buy and get what she wanted! Lo and behold, as a result of dispatching me so handily, Lola sauntered up to the dinner table that night with a huge grin and a huge bag - a monster sized bottle of Sriracha hot sauce for daddy and yet ANOTHER water bottle for Lola!
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