New words and emotions, Homemade Pasta, Fun with Lao Nian & Lao Yie!

What was with this warm weather all of a sudden in the end of December?  I took the opportunity to have Abby wear one of her tank tops that was too big up until now.  She kept calling it her "af" shirt.  That's how she says "giraffe."  :) 

Some new words lately: fork, spoon, bowl, plate, boots, jacket, heart, milk (instead of her nai-nai in Chinese), bed, bath, and eyes (which is what she calls sunglasses).  I wanted to note that at around 20 months of age, Abby has started to act shy and even gets embarassed once in a while.  She gets really quiet around strangers now and she has felt embarassed twice in the last week or so.  She freezes in place, stares down at the ground and won't move or blink an eye!  So of course I'm always close by and I tell her everything is ok and hold my arms out and then she runs over to me and buries her face in my shoulders.  It's soooo sweet and I find myself getting into hyper-protective mode because I don't like for her to feel uncomfortable.  Gone are the days of absolute sheer and naive happiness.  It is just amazing to watch our little baby develop into a little person. 

Bryce got to play with one of his new Christmas presents!  He has always wanted to make his own pasta so I got him the appropriate KitchenAid Pasta Roller attachments for the mixer and voila!  Yet another delicious meal a la Bryce.  He made fettucini with a simple red sauce.  Homemade pasta is definitely worth the trouble!

Abby and I spent Sunday at Lao Nian and Lao Yie's house and we had so much fun again!  They were babysitting Elliott as well so the cousins got to spend more time together.  Of aaaaallll the words Abby has learned, she still can't grasp the word "SHARE."  She is quite possessive so poor Elliott will have to learn at a young age how to fend for himself.  But for now, all the grown-ups have to keep an eye on Abby.  Here are a few pictures from the day. 

Ruby and her teething baby!

I'm in the middle of saying "share" and you can see how tensed up Abby is because Elliott has his hand on the laptop.  She soooo doesn't want him there - it's a WIP.

Wish I had a better camera or Photoshop or something.  I love this picture except that the sun was in the back.  :)

The ducks are coming!  The ducks are coming!

They are huge.  The 2 white ones are the leaders of the pack.

The grandparents, grandbabies and ducks.

Elliott is in that exploratory phase where he loooves to look at his surroundings so you can imagine how interested he was in these strange beasts!  Look at how he has his neck stretched out!  Too cute!

Abby giving Lao Nian a big ol' hug.  :)

Keep the baby's head warm!

Abby and her Lao Yie!

Bye Bye ducks!  Come back again to visit soon!

We can't end the day without playing with the piano!  :)  Thanks for a fun day, Lao Nian and Lao Yie!

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On a side note, Abby got some new "eyes" today and she loves them!  I like these shades because they are 80's-esk.  :)