Not That Kind of Kid

K-Mum: "Kayla, can you please calm your body down? Why can't you sit quietly and read a book?"

K-bao: "I'm not that kind of kid, mom."

K-Mum: "Oh really? What kind of kid are you?"

K-bao: "I'm a move kid, a loud kid and a drama kid."

K-Mum: ......

Cows & Trains

K-bao took her little sister C-bao to Tilden Park yesterday for some R&R, which in her book stands for Rowdy & Rambunctious. After feeding the cows and goats, she brought her little sib onto her ol' favorite, the steam train. More pics here.

Bubble Bath

While we are trying to build grit in little K-bao, it is already clear she doesn't give up easily.

Here she is asking for a bubble bath, during which says "Please Daddy" seven times in 15 seconds, before going on to emphasize that she (1) has been a super good kid recently and, relatedly, (2) has not flagrantly disobeyed anything K-Pop has asked her to do.

Of course, the fact that she walks over to a chair and cracks open a book on Term Sheets and Valuations while articulating her reasoning lessens somewhat the persuasiveness and personal impact of her arguments. Lessons on eye contact forthcoming.

Old Times

K-bao lounges in her old bathtub, reminiscing over the many happy hours she once spent here.

"O for the good ol' days, when I was young and life was carefree!"



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Entertain

Here is K-bao engaging in her favorite activity - entertaining her little sister. And don't ask the K-folks what is being said - the two have a special language that only they understand.

Deflation

K-bao was trying to argue for a later bedtime today so she could play a game of chess after dinner. "But it's still light out!" she exclaimed. "It can't be late."

K-Pop launched into a detailed explanation of daylight savings, the interplay between the earth and the sun and how that causes seasons, and why your location on planet earth changes how you experience the seasons. Just as he was building up steam, enthralling little K-bao with the science behind these natural phenomena, he was cut off with the following line:

"Daddy, can you please stop talking because the more you talk the slower I eat."

Vicissitudes

K-bao's days comprise of a series of mini booms and busts - shrieks of joy turning to tears of desperation and anguish in seconds, only to return to mischievous giggles a moment later. Such is the life of the emotionally (over)expressive 4-year old.

Today, her highs included (i) snuggling with her (sometimes reluctant) sister in the morning; (ii) taking a queen off of K-Pop in a morning game of chess (which led to shouts of acclamation and the triumphant play-by-play for K-Mum, immediately); and (iii) a thoroughly enjoyable birthday party this afternoon for one of her SLS friends, where she overindulged on cake, pizza and tattoos. K-bao is such an epicurean that at one point she was quite content to sit alone in a room savoring her last bites of cake while her friends dashed off to play - because, doggone it, she was not going to be rushed from her treats.

Her lows included (i) being deprived of additional sweets (i.e. being forced to hand over the madeleine she brought home from the party to K-Pop); (ii) getting a queen taken by K-Pop in an afternoon game of chess (where K-Pop's refusal to allow her to take back her move elicited a complete meltdown); and (iii) K-Mum deciding to skip the bedtime story and threatening to withhold a good night hug given her delay in getting to bed on time.

So in short, snuggles, sweets and success (in chess) - these are the ebbs and flows of our little one, circa 2013. We'll see what the next few decades bring.