病了一圈

兩個禮拜前不知哪個混蛋帶着流感來上班，把爸爸公司裏一半的人都弄病了。起先爸爸以爲只是發燒（低燒）人累，吃了Mortin去睡覺，很快會好的。但到了第三天還在燒，很不妙，就去看Urgent Care。結果測試證實患了流感，Influenza Type A。知道后才開始隔離他，其實太晚了。我們都不懂，開頭幾天我心理還暗喜家裏沒人病。好景不長，5天后華華發燒了，不過發燒前一晚華華尿布溼了衣服，以爲只是着涼，燒了3天。接着April 開始上游泳課，兩天后也以爲天氣太熱，燒了兩天。還好第3天好了，不然還去不了畢業典禮。就畢業典禮當天，我開車上班，仿佛眼睛睜不開，路和車怎麽會上下動？到了公司開會，人是半躺在沙發上開的，感覺膝蓋酸的像是泡在醋裏似的，混身沒力氣，感覺瓢瓢然蠢蠢欲睡(怎麽這感覺和婆婆前天告訴我的症狀一樣？）吃了Mortin后，在辦公室裏小睡半小時，人好多了（腦筋還是沒轉過來），繼續開會，然後去April的pre-K畢業典禮，回家然後上街吃晚飯。吃完晚飯Mortin效力退了，又是很不妙，回家一測体溫101，馬上去Urgent Care。我在表上填了“suspect flu” 很有效呢！不久醫生就接見我了。是一個光頭醫生，特能講話，知道我先生上兩禮拜得流感，就給我上了一堂流感課，還說估計我家兩小孩（發燒）都得同樣的病過來了，他們都有抗體了，最後輪到我和婆婆。幫我做檢查時換了3次手套，仿佛我整個人是一頭病毒。我說我喉嚨有一點點疼，他就給我做 strap throat 測試，當然是negative啦。不過他給的葯還是蠻有用的，我也在發病的48小時内去看病，第二天下午就退燒了。葯也分給婆婆吃，讓她也快點好。這次事件，最厲害的是公公，不但沒給病毒入侵，還幫家裏很多忙，了不起！還有最甜心的是，爸爸和我生病時 April 都特意畫畫送上祝福。

First piano recital

April was doing great and didn't make a single mistake during rehearsal and playing in front of her own class. I was very proud of her. However, with a room full of strange audiences, packed and kids she doesn't know. It was a little rough for her.

One of the kid's Daddy posted lots of pictures online here.

Homework for Daddy (and Mommy)

Mommy didn't do the homework. I was busy finishing work and packing for the Hawaii trip (excuse, excuse...) Daddy, on a contrary, with great spirit and all the creative juice, was working hard in the garage making the switch for April's school project.

Coming back from our trip, April presented the switch to her class when they ask: "What does your Daddy do?"

April: "He makes chips. It's not the chip that you eat. They are tiny little things(switches) in the chip. You can't even see it, you need a microscope to see it. You put it in anything that's electrical, like TV, camera, computer games."

Next question they asked, "What does your Mommy do?"
April: "I don't know."

華華最近的進步

最近對說話有點興趣，會說...
爸爸，媽媽 -- 清楚加明確
姐姐-- 會叫但沒以前清楚
打打-- 當然是媽媽那裏來的，媽媽說太多了。坐在carseat上吃seatbelt,我在前座叫她No，她會用手拍頭說“打打”
抱抱，byebye -- 會說“媽媽抱抱“，”爸爸byebye"
這個，這裡-- 要我們為她服務的時候都會說
會回答“有沒有？”，“要不要？”-- 這一點很有用
學狗叫，學蛇叫-- Little People 書上學的，最近看書認東西也有進步。Little People 書上每頁都能找到青蛙`貓`狗，或猴子吃香蕉`小丑拿氣球`大象洗澡`等等。
最近也培養了一些好習慣，比如晚上要洗澡，上樓自己會関欄杆門，當然大人上鎖。然後自己會拉浴巾下來（浴巾比她人大）拖或抓進洗澡間給我，然後關門等媽媽給她脫衣服。睡前喝完奶我抱他去水池旁坐下，給她牙刷咬才會聼話開口讓我用毛巾給她擦牙和flossing，弄完也願意還我牙刷順手幫我関燈。
老大很難帶，這個可能是上天同情我吧！

Disappointment

April was having fun playing with our camera, she got into this mode/mood that she could forget about anything. And we were all in her room resting watching her play. Suddenly she cried and next moment we realized she peep to the carpet. How old is she? 5. I truly believe her brain is still operating at age 3. I can't foresee how many notice I will get from the school starting this August. Maybe I should send her to special education.

Early scooter training

Kick off the summer at Oahu

Due to laziness, photos not in any order.

Salty River - She was scared at the beginning but after some warming up(obviously I need to hold her tight) in the shadow water she started to enjoy the sea and didn't mind salty water pouring over her head from the wave and giggled with April who was splashing water non-stop.

Power April - I was amazed at her energy level, Daddy and I took turn to watch River and our stuff, but she's in the sea at all time. This guaranteed a good snoring nap for 2.5 hours back in the hotel room.

Unlucky Grandma - Grandma had a good rest laying down on Waikiki beach after we landed, only to find out she caught a cold the following day. She had a really bad sore throat and didn't leave Waikiki venturing out to other places with us :(

The men - Did you put on sunscreen? The answer is YES. All over your body? The answer still is YES. The next day we had 2(Daddy + Grandpa) burning and itchy back. WYSIWYG, right? Never come across their mind when you snorkel which part of your body is facing the sun.

When's the wedding? - The family dinner was on Fri evening, I naturally assumed Sat morning is the wedding. Isn't the family dinner is the rehearsal dinner? We were all dressed up Sat morning and right before we walk out of our hotel room, I made a last glance at the invitation card. Sunday, May 31st. What? How could it be? I totally screw up the schedule :(

The food - totally authentic Hawaiian food at Ono Hawaiian Food restaurant, yum yum...And Spicy Ahi Don in the International Market, I had it 3 times.

April feeding River

Best Father's Day gift

The coffee mug idea belongs to her preschool teacher. The drawing is hers. Here's how she explained (from left to right)...

I like it when Daddy do puzzle with me.

I like it when Daddy climb the ladder and catch the stars with me. (When did that ever happened?)

I like it when Daddy and I took the airplane to Shanghai.

That's the crown for Daddy.

Daddy's holding a flower.

Here's the moon with little stars around it.

I like to watch movie on the television with Daddy together.

This made Mommy very jealous!

Potting

Neither Daddy nor Mommy are planting type of people. We will see how long this last (I won't keep my hope high since I am such a failure on planting). Thanks to her classmate for giving her this wonderful gift - 2 bags of sunflower seeds and 3 little clay pots.

有没有大便?

华华和姐姐在客厅和厨房之间追逐，华华突然停下来对我挥手。
我跟她说:"Bye!Bye!" (现在想来可能她要我带她去厕所)
然后，她就往厕所走去，进去了(没灯)又出来。
公公就说:"刚才看到华华抓尿布"。
我就派爸爸去侦察，爸爸回报说:"没味道"。
我们继续吃早饭。。。
然后，发现华华站在沙发旁发呆、使劲
我走过去从后面再侦察一次，有一丝的味道，但并不明显。
我问:" 有没有大便呀，华华?"
华华说:"有！"
我再问一次，华华还是说:"有"。
我说:"你躺下来，妈妈给你换尿布"。
华华传身坐下、躺下，等我为她服务。
打开尿布一看，哇！有拳头大的黄金！臭死了~！

Happy Mother's Day

It was a fabulous Mother's Day for me only it ended with a stress note. I got to sleep in until 10:30am which I haven't be able to do so for a very long time. When I woke up April gave me 2 pictures she drew for me. Then I got downstairs and received a even better surprise, Daddy and April made me a world class brunch. Daddy the main chef, April the assistant, whereas River's the irresistible interruption helper.

Devil eggs and smoked salmon on toast with whipped cream cheese, caper and chive


Banana strawberry crepe with nutella, with whipped cream on top and sprinkled with cocoa powder and powder sugar


After every one's well fed, we were running late on our schedule once again. But with good spirit we still headed out to the road. There were more than a dozen museums opened for free only on Mother's Day in the bay area. And we picked Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito. However when we got to SF, it's almost 4, and looking at our GPS estimation, the museum would be closed when we get there. So change of plan, we headed over to Exploratorium. The kids had a blast despite the fact they have absolutely no clue about the science behind each station. Then we rest a bit by the pond next to the museum enjoying the watermelon, watching bride and groom walked by and River challenged the green slope, too bad we didn't take any pictures.

Last, Daddy brought us to a nice Italian restaurant near downtown. That's when the stress note landed on me, so unexpectedly. Everything was so perfect, until River grabbed the bread and tried to eat it herself. It's the kind with hard crust. She didn't start with the soft part, she likes the crust. Even with 8 little teeth, it's quite an outreach for a 1 year old. The more she couldn't chew on it, the deeper she pushed it into her month, until it reached her throat and it became unbearable. She spat out everything and started crying furiously. She must be condemning the bread, "How dare you! Behave, bread!" This entire sequence happened 2 more times. The very last time, she was so angry she tear the bread apart into pieces. People around us weren't complaining but my stress level was reaching boiling point. Only to be lowered long after when I realized it's yet another Wu's family signature personality. I was hoping #2 could skip that gene, oh well!

On the way back to our car, April asked, "You know why I keep saying Happy Mother's Day again and again today?" I asked, "Why?" April said, "Because I really really love you." This definitely help calm my nerve quite a bit.

Future shopaholic

That was a busy Sat morning, I needed to take River to Daiso to get some last minute party favors. Upon entering the store, River walked to one of the aisle and started browsing. She found one of her favorites - 小馒头 snack. I knew it won't be easy to get her moving, so I left her there and quickly walked couple more aisles down to get what I need. When I came back she's still mesmerizing with the same snack. It's a long string of tiny bags, I took it off the hook and gave it to her. At that point, I still wasn't sure whether I will buy her the snack. Then I saw her face turn into this 10 thousand watts smile and started walking quickly towards the cashier. She then looked up and smiled at the cashier lady, raising her hand that hold the string of bags. My resistance to not buying unnecessary stuff was futile by this cute little shopper.

Ear infection

River's skinner than ever :( Appears to me both my kids are going to grow up with plenty of amoxicillin. Sign...

5 years checkup

April remains as an average weight kid with BELOW average height. I couldn't blame it on lack of exercise, she's quite an active kid. The doctor's even a little surprised that she could already ride a bike. I concluded that we didn't pass better genes onto her :| She's doing good otherwise...well, other than the fact that she's still a picky eater, who could gobble down slices of pizza and hot dogs, but couldn't finish a small bowl of rice and refuse to eat a variety of food and many veggies. Always the last one to finish dinner after numerous attempts from us urging her, bribing her, pressuring her, depriving her from her favorite things or things to do, to simply plain angry with her. We hardly have a peaceful dinner period. Other than the fact that it always takes her a long while to fall asleep at night, could be an hour or even longer, and since she sleeps too late, she has a hard time waking up in the morning and usually late for school. I worry I am going to get many late slips when she starts Kindergarten. Other than the fact that she likes to treat us completely transparent when we ask her to do something she doesn't like to do. Plus couple more annoying behavioral traces, she's a well-rounded 5 year old.
She got 3 shots this time, 2 vaccines and 1 TB test. She said the shot tickle her. She made sure she's rewarded with a lollipop since she claimed she wouldn't cry, therefore she should get a lollipop. If she cried, she's not allowed to get a lollipop. She's happy that everything works out the way she planned it.

Snowy mountain II

Daddy needs a break from work, grandma and grandpa got a chance to visit their friend in Sacramento, Mommy doesn't want to miss the nice hotel, April loves to ski again, with all the ingredients, we got another Tahoe trip but was so last minute.

Flying April


Oversized River

你女兒很兇！

這星期的表現報告很不好，最讓我驚訝的是阿姨說華華會“打人”還有“踢人“！！！怎麽可能? 我從來沒見過華華打或踢過姐姐，最多就是和姐姐搶東西的時候會哭。阿姨說她欺負比她大的一個外囯女孩，個子比她大但是還不會走路，那女孩可憐巴巴地坐在地下，毫無反抗地受她打“頭”！真不可想象，我無言以對。我只知道華華生氣時會哭得很兇，但沒見過她動手動腳，是否現在長大了長見識了，知道用不同的方法去兇別人呢？阿姨叫我回家要好好地教育華華，看來兩個女兒都遺傳了非優良傳統，也不知道是從媽媽或爸爸那裏來的（爸爸兇起來要比媽媽兇多了），不過我隱隱喲喲覺得這兩女以後長大一定不好對付，我的白髮一定要比人家雪白。

2 wheels

Before grandma (奶奶) left, she already removed the training wheels on April's Dora bike. Grandma had tried couple times with April when we were not around, but she said April couldn't do it, still need Grandma holding onto the bike at the back. Today around noon we wanted her to kill some time outdoor instead of bothering us cooking lunch, Daddy encouraged her to bike again. With Daddy's magic, she could actually bike a straight line! Later after dinner, we asked her to try again. Now that she has more confidence, she could even make turns and brake herself! I certainly didn't expect that... erh...looks like I shall get myself a bike and start my lesson. Last I could remember, I think I could only bike a straight line and brake. Hmmm...

叫“阿姨”？

星期五去接華華時，兩個阿姨都說華華會叫“阿姨”了，我是有點不大相信。9.5個月開始，華華愛學着叫“姐姐”或“阿姐”，April給樂得不得了！往後不叫了，改了叫“媽媽”，整天“媽媽”前“媽媽”后，我當然也是給樂得！“媽媽”潮流過後是“爸爸”，不叫“姐姐”“媽媽”，只叫“爸爸“，爸爸得意得很。然後，華華就封金口，誰都不叫，只是有時奶奶說華華在電話裏叫過“爺爺“，而且叫得很准，但我們從來沒聼過。其他時候，我們想教華華說話，多數遭到冷落`不理`離開。只有幾次 out of blue 會學着你説話，有一次特早起，把她抱來躺我傍邊，她指着上面的燈，我說‘燈’，她就跟我說‘燈’，還說了3遍，但后來叫她在爸爸奶奶面前再説一遍，她就不幹。還有一次，從Fry's拿回來一個氣球，華華迷上了這個氣球，第二天起來玩氣球時，有一刻仿佛她說了“氣球”兩字，我和爸爸都聼到了，但叫她再説時，又是不幹。類似的過案有過幾次，有時一個字有時兩個字的，但都是那一刻，幸運者聼得到，非幸運者就等着中彩票吧！所以我認爲華華還沒正式開始學講話，開頭我還興致勃勃，現在我就不大積極了，等她真有興趣時再説吧!

1岁体检 - 华华要做模特儿

这3个月来华华体重没变， 连1oz都没长!!!(所以只有10%)，身高有长(50%)，所以看过去华华是越来越苗条。不用跟姐姐比啦！根本没得比，相差太远了。医生叫我们不用担心，看华华其他发育都正常，还那么早会走路，走得很利索。主要应该是她上了托儿所俩星期后就开始生病，感冒没完没了，都已经2个多月了还是有鼻涕咳嗽。不过吃得要比姐姐好得太多了，每天5点半接回家后，不停地吃，吃到8点喝奶睡觉为止。什么都爱吃，尤其蔬菜和水果，不给还大叫，我估计给她一根草她也会吃下去。你看能吃又不长肉，这不是最好去当模特儿吗? 我们家这一黑一白真不可以用常理去理解，一个什么都不吃，喝水喝奶会长肉，另一个不停地吃，就不给你长肉。我这个粮食供应者，不就是一直付出和收入不成正比吗?