American Idol

ally's new nickname at her daycare is "the american idol." apparently, they will play songs they know she likes, and she then entertains them by singing along. her current faves are "bad day" (daniel powter), "you're beautiful" (james blunt), and "we belong together" (mariah). the teachers think it's pretty hilarious, and she does seem to enjoy performing.

this started after i asked one of the teachers, crystal, if she was a rent fan. she looked surprised, and i explained that one day when "seaons of love" was playing in the car, ally said, "miss crystal sang this today, and i said i have that song too!" i then told crystal that ally can sing "light my candle", and she found that to be pretty funny. but i also said i tried to avoid playing that these days, because i found it pretty disturbing to hear my 3 year old baby girl singing the words "i used to be a junky" and "i was born to be bad".

we first noticed that she was pretty musical when she was about 6 months old. she showed a distinct preference for "the scientist" (coldplay), and that song was the only thing that could soothe her when she was cranky or tired. we got pretty tired of the song, and would sometimes try a switcheroo by playing the song for a minute or so and then changing it to another song. but she would notice immediately and start wailing. let's just say, we don't listen to that song much anymore.

when she hit 18 months, she started echoing songs (singing along but with a delay). at that point, some faves were "nobody" (five for fighting) and "ai ni deng yu ai zi ji" (leehom wang). we would play different songs for her, and she quickly picked up (or assigned) the song names and would request them by name. around the 2 yr mark, she was really in to "hey ya" (outkast), "karma" (alicia keys), and "ai wo bieh zo" (jacky cheung).

it wasn't until she reached 2.5 years that she really started singing with the music. at first, it was rather "pitchy" (hehe), but now she is singing mostly on key. she most recently was very into our good friend's lisa and hogan's wedding cd, and just loved the song "slung-lo". that's the first song she really learned in its entirety, and it was just freaky to watch her singing along to the whole song.

so now once we're in the car, our job is as both chauffeur and dj. our trick is now to try to get her to like the songs we want to hear. i have been successful lately in getting her to like some songs off the new depeche mode cd. it's pretty funny to hear her ask for "john the revelator".

i know the day will come when she will tell us that our songs are boring and uncool, and when she will insist on listening to her own tunes. but for now, i do enjoy hearing her little voice belting out the words "you're beautiful, it's true!"

here are some video clips:

• jingle bells - daycare performance from last christmas (dec 05)
• you're beautiful - jun 06
  

The "My-Kid-is-Allergic-to-Everything" Diet

so for the past couple of months, i have been on the "my-kid-may-be-allergic-to-dairy-shellfish-eggs-oh-and-let's-throw-in-nuts-for-good-measure" diet. it started out with a suspicion that he may be allergic to dairy. but after i cut out dairy, he still had reactions. so then i cut out shellfish. then eggs. then nuts. and then wheat.

finally, this past tuesday, i took him in to see an allergist. the dr. did 3 sets of skin tests. the first 2 were deemed negative, even though i had noticed that a few of the spots turned red but then faded. the third test was shrimp, and it turned red and then faded. the dr. said that that was an indication that it was positive. so i asked about the previous spots that had also turned red, but he dismissed those (probably because he hadn't seen them when they were red). he then said for me to resume eating anything i wanted except for shellfish and eggs. "eggs? but he tested negative for eggs." yes, the dr. said that while he did test negative, most cases he sees end up with eggs as the culprit. uh, ok. that's really scientific. when i asked if that meant it was ok to start him on formula and rice cereal, he asked me to hold off. ok, sure.

so that afternoon, i took griffin to the pediatrician for his 6 month checkup. i told her about the allergist's recommendation, and she started shaking her head. she recommended that i stick with the "vegan-plus-red-meat-and-chicken-minus-nuts" diet, but to go ahead and start him on hypoallergenic formula and rice cereal. this was weird, as the allergist and pediatrician were basically giving complete contradicting advice.

anyway, i had already treated myself to some pasta with alfredo sauce after seeing the allergist, so i figured i would continue allowing myself to have dairy and made myself a latte at work. that night, griffin's skin actually looked almost perfect, so i thought i was in the clear. well, the next day, his rash reappeared, and by the evening he looked pretty awful. so it does seem that he does indeed have an allergy to dairy. :(

let's just say that i am not going back to this allergist. and now i trust our pediatrician even more. when i told her i was surprised at the allergist's findings, she asked me, "well, what do you think?" i should have trusted my gut instinct, which was not to believe his findings. but instead, i let my cravings for ice cream, cheese, and lattes blind me.

so i'm back on this crazy diet, but i do see a light at the end of the tunnel, as i will likely wean him in a few weeks. i have come a long way in these 2 months. i started out thinking "oh, what's the harm in a bit of cream sauce here or there?" since then, i have become very strict about my diet. i have certainly learned a lot about my self-control (or lack thereof), and i have also learned a lot about how difficult it is to be vegan. but most of all, i am quite proud that i have been able to stick this out as long as i have, and now i ready to wean this guy and pig out on ice cream, pizza, and cheesecake!