mabel says.

One of my favourite parts of being a mom is listening to and talking with Mabel. She is so funny and so sweet. Here are some of the best things she's said lately:

When singing the alphabet, instead of singing, "Now I know my ABCs," she sings, "Oh my, oh my, ABCs."

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Mabel: "What does a penguin say?"
Me and Tony: ...
Mabel: "Wobble wobble!"

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Mabel: "I want to be a boy."
Me: "Why?"
Mabel: "I want to be a girl."
Me: "Why?"
Mabel: "I don’t know."
Me: "You can be a boy or a girl. You can be whatever you want to be."
Mabel: "I want to be a Mabel!"
Me: "I think that’s great!"

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She calls the restaurant McDonald's "Old McDonald's"—like the song.

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When I was tucking her into bed, she told me, “I love me daddy and me mommy and me baby. I love me friends. And I love me!”

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She calls her Mr. Potato Head toy "Sweet Potato." She'll say, "Where's Sweet Potato?" or "I want to sleep with Sweet Potato!"

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I was just finishing cleaning the bathroom and she came in and asked me, “Whatchu doin’, Mama?”
I told her I was cleaning the bathroom; she asked, "What?"
I replied, "I scrubbed the sink, toilets, and bathtub."
She threw her arms around me in a hug and said, “Thank you, Mama!”

morning coffee.

I hear the doorknob rattle as I’m about to get in the shower. I hear your baba say, “Mabel! Bù! Mama xǐzǎo!” (He’s protective of my time alone and I appreciate that.) I hear you say something about coffee and then the doorknob rattles again. I walk over and open the door, see you standing there holding a little red cup. “Coffee, Mama! Put it here,” pointing to the spot where your baba leaves my coffee every morning.

I thank you and tell you I can’t wait to drink it. You smile and close the door.

Later, while I’m washing my hair, I hear you asking your baba, “Whatchu doin’?! No! I made Mama coffee!” He fibs and tells you he’s making coffee for himself.

I get out of the shower and find two cups of coffee waiting for me. How lucky I am to be loved by you both. Who knew morning coffee could convey so much?

mabel's big girl bed.

A week ago, Mabel got a "big girl" bed! First, the backstory:

T wanted to make the switch before Clarke was born to avoid buying a new crib, but I had heard from many people (sleep experts, other mamas) that basically, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Mabel still fit in her crib, she was sleeping through the night, we could afford to buy a new crib (this one from IKEA)... I didn't want to mess with it. So we didn't.

But as kids do, Mabel's getting bigger. And she was bumping up against the bars of her crib. But still, I hesitated. And then we went to T's parents for Chinese New Year. And she had a toddler bed there. We hyped it up to her, but I was sure she wouldn't sleep in it. I was wrong. She did sleep in it! All of her naps and all through the night every night that we were there. And then she started asking for a "big girl bed at me home."

I conceded to Tony. It was time to get a "big girl" bed.

Because of the coronavirus, IKEA was closed, but luckily, we could still place orders online. After lots of debate and measuring, we decided on the MINNEN.

After her first nap in her new bed!

We set it up a week ago and this is what I want to remember:

+ Mabel picked out the duvet cover by herself. She had a hard time choosing between "yellow" and "animals" but went with the latter.

+ She "helped" us put it together. She was (and still is) very proud of that and tells everyone, "Me and Mama and Baba built it!"

+ As we were putting it together, she said, "Thanks, Mama! Thanks, Baba!"

+ While we were deciding what length to set the bed at, we asked Mabel to lay on the floor with the bed frame around her. She looked at us like we were stupid and was obviously exasperated. She lay down but said, "This is not a bed; it's a floor!"

+ We put the bed together in the morning when Clarke was napping. When he woke up, Mabel was so excited to show him, "Look, Dìdì! Look at me big girl bed!"

+ When it was time to sleep in the bed, she asked for her crib back because, "I want to hold you hand." (We always laid on the floor beside her and held her hand as she fell asleep.) Now we sit in a chair beside her bed and hold her hand; she's happy with that.

+ She napped in it that afternoon, no problem.

+ Her first night in the bed, she kept waking up and crying. I finally gave up and brought her to sleep with me and Tony (her first time sleeping with us!).

+ Every night since that first one she has slept through the night (except one time when she woke up and I had to sit beside her for a half hour or so).

I thought I would feel more sad about the transition (I did get a little weepy), but I'm excited. My baby girl is growing up!