It is hard to believe our one year in LA is coming to a close and Ms. Luna Mae Zhu is 25 months. Truly-where does the time go? This year flew so quickly that it just reminds me how fleeting the passage of time truly is. Luna is our dare-devil, our courageous climber, our loud singer, light radiator and empathetic listener. Luna is two years old going on about thirty. She is so in tune to her own emotions and the emotions of others. She totally comprehends anger, jealousy, love, grumpster dumpster behviors and what it means to have a "no" filled day haha. She will clearly tell you how she is feeling and then give you the why after a lot of practicing and modeling and labeling and discussing our feelings from 17 months to 25 months. She is whimsical but also meticulous and spontaenous but also COMPLETELY a creature of habit and thrives off of a schedule. 

Luna is such a curious gem. She could look at bugs for hours outside, collect rocks and split leaves in half. Her attention to the world around her includes such fine details that I often miss what it is she has found in the dirt, grass, sand, etc. until she brings it to my attention. Her ability to find tiny beads at the playground is her specialty. She loves to climb on chairs, tables, toilets, beds and even up the rock climbing wall which she mastered after a few tries with baba. She is going to be our fierce little girl who climbs mountains both metaphorical and physical or completes the Iron Man Challenge (one of the two.) She does not quit and her perserverence is evident every day all day. She loves swimming and drawing in the bath tub and could spend an hour in there in the mornings before her friend comes over. 

Luna has the best manners and the way she asks a question when her voice tilts upwards is just enough to make you belly laugh. She loves asking questions about seemingly everything and anything even if she knows the answer. "Are you showering baba?" "Are you on the toilet mama? Yes?" And her personal favorite, "Are you okay, Mama? Eva? Baba?" 

Luna has quite the imagination and she can turn anything into everything. She loves pretend playing with her baby, play food, taking our paper towels and making picnic blankets and creating "roads" or "islands" in the sand. She never minds the mess of the moment. In fact, the messier, the better. A good day for Luna is one when she needs an extra bath because there is dirt, sand, rocks and paint on every inch of her hands, legs and face. Her latest is labeling her left and right hand with a name. Her right hand is Tink and her left hand is Paul. We have zero clue how she came up with this but if Paul drops something, she chastises Paul instead of becoming upset with herself, so I think this has worked out in our favor. ;) Luna can pretend play by herself for a good 30-40 minutes now and independent play has opened up a whole new world of adventure. She is artistic, loves sensory play and can sit now for a long time reading books with both of us (which I love.) She adores the library. 

We are currently in a phase of loving boo boos. Our little friend Eva seems to always be in need of. bandaid as well, and we enjoy playing doctor together and taking the temperature of every stuffed animal we own. 

We have worked VERY HARD on sharing and sharing and sharing some more. She will often "fake fight" in the bath tub and play out the scenarios on how the animal or plastic figure SHOULD respond in the moment. Although she doesn't always take the advice, at least she is practicing! We are also still moving past the "yes that individual has a bicycle or a scooter but your scooter is in Pittsburgh. We can ride it when we get back home." After 4,0000 attemps to explain to her that we DO share our toys at the park but not everyone at the park has to agree to sharing with us, I do think we have gotten somewhere...maybe haha. 

Luna still remains a great sleeper, napper and eater. She will always be an early bird, and I have come to love the early mornings with her. Though exhausted, I will look back on these days with nostalgia I just know it. We went through a period of "not eating as much" and there are some days where she doesn't have as much of an appetite as we would like, but as long as we keep snacks to "produce" related items and sticking to a small snack quantity, she seems to still eat a good meal. She loves her apple juice ( a bit) with water as well as milk of any kind. She naps for usually 2-3 hours per day and God love her..she has never missed a nap since 15 months old. 

She is a cuddle bug in the mornings and still a big lover of both Mama and Baba. We were making some good progress on being away from Mama on the weekend, but this went through a bit of a dip after our week long adventure in Pittsburgh. I think it is safe to say Mama will always be at the top of the list until we mature a bit more and have more practice realizing that other family members and friends really are just as fun. 

For now, we love how she smiles when she eats ice cream as a special treat, how she hugs and kisses us and tells us how much she loves us. She already loves her baby brother, and we just know she will be the best big sister. And truly, her sibling is blessed to have her. She is a natural mentor in every sense of the word. A little bossy at times, but we can channel that into something wonderful I am sure ;)

And Luna Mae is potty trained! She poop potty trained herself around 23.5 months and we conquered the pee and the potty on May 23 2025 (26 months.) She actually saw a friend at the park who is around 2 1/2 who had a potty and said to me, "I can do that too." The next day she woke up, asked for her big girl panties and quite literally has not had an accident since. She is just one quietly competitive little soul. And let me tell you, it makes me beam with pride. She drinks a huge amount of liquid so we are in awe of her persistence with this. Thank goodness for our pop up potty because that baby has been popped up at Trader Joes, in the middle of the road on a walk, the garage, near the dumpster, etc. You name it, that potty has traveled there. Thank you, Luna. And thank you, potty! 

We love you Luna Mae! May your year two be even more magical than we could even comprehend! We cherish our every single day and moment with you. 

Love, 

Mama and Baba and (baby brother who is growing quickly too)