Likes and Dislikes

In addition to some fun photos from the past few days, here are a few things we are learning about Lilly's likes and dislikes:

What she likes:

• Meat (she calls is "rou rou"). Any kind of meat: sausage, hot dogs, lunch meat, bacon, chicken, beef. She is a carnivore like her brother. She almost had a melt down as we passed the deli counter during our first outing to Winn Dixie to get some basics like milk and eggs (and soymilk as we think dairy may give her some intestinal issues), because she saw all that yummy meat. She had to have it. NOW. Anna wanted to meet me at the front of the store...I think she was a little embarrassed by Lilly. But--bless her heart--the sweet deli lady gave us a sample slice and...ahhhh...all was well.
• Eggs. She eats several scrambled ones each day.
• Baby dolls. We discovered this yesterday when Anna's sweet friend Katie gave Lilly some of her old baby dolls to play with. Lilly hugs them and pats them and--as they cry when you squeeze their tummies--quickly feeds them lots of food. When i suggested that maybe the babies were tired and needing naps when they cried, she shook her head NO vigorously and stated simply "eat." Then she proceeded to give them plastic bottles and plastic green peas and carrots. It is so cute to watch her play babies, and we got her a little stroller at Target yesterday. She is currently napping on the floor with all the babies who are also napping. Maybe it feels more like the orphanage?
• Playing peek a boo. Hiding behind towels, the stroller canopy, whatever. I think she likes it because she knows that she has someones undivided attention...
• Music. She likes to listen to it, produce it, mimic it. She discovered the piano today and not only did she play it, she insisted that the doll play it too.
• Cats. Her favorite little Chinese picture book, by far, is the one with the cat picture in it. We have to go back and look at it after every single page of the book or any other picture book.
• Choosing her own clothes. Em--the T-shirt you and Wen designed was a hit! She chose it yesterday. I LOVE it, BTW. Very special.
• Sitting on the countertop when I am preparing meals. Not sure I'm crazy about this one, but for now I've allowed it a few times.
• Playing outside. The nonstop thunderstorms since we've been home has made this minimal. Bummer for spring break.
• Pockets ("dou dou"). She loves to just put her hands in them, or stash snacks in them. She points them out on all her clothes (not many of them have them so far) and our clothes and her dolls' clothes.

Dislikes (she is a very normal 3-year-old!):

• Not getting her way. I am so thankful I have the language skills to explain rationally to her many times each day why we do certain things certain ways. The tantrums from not getting it her way are starting to subside a bit.
• Not getting attention when she wants it. (see "peekaboo" above). if I happen to take a look at the computer or a book or magazine or attempt to sit with Anna while she does math homework when Lilly appears to be happily occupied nearby, she notices and immediately starts producing little grunt sounds to get my attention. When I look to see what she wants, she smiles coyly. If I look away after our little smile and eye contact, she'll grunt again. I'm trying so hard to give her all my attention...buy whew it can wear me down!
• Getting whacked in the face with Tad's tail. Can't say I blame her. It's the perfect height for her sweet little face.
• Saying goodbye to family members. She cries when Daddy leaves for work, or if Jared or Anna go out the door and leave her behind with me.
• Going down for a nap. She fights it less and less, but today was back to a harder day on this front.
• Being carried in any kind of toddler hip carrier. Bummer. So much for my grand ideas about attachment and wearing her out for our walks!
• Vegetables. Normal normal normal.
• Having sticky hands. We go through lots of paper napkins as there is apparently a limited amount of times you are allowed to use the same napkin to wipe hands during a meal.
• Coming inside after playing outside.

The jury is still out:

• She's not sure about the jogging stroller yet. We've used it for 1 4-mile run (she fell asleep) and a few shorter jogs and walks around the neighborhood. I think she prefers the umbrella stroller where she feels more open.
• Baths. She likes to play in the water but hates to have her hair rinsed.

Before I sign off, I have to mention that we have had THREE nights in a row of uninterrupted all-night sleep!! Going down at night has been WAY easier. For some reason, I continue to wake up nearly every hour, unfortunately, but Lilly is sleeping soundly.