April River rhymes

summer camp, part 1

2010-06-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

Cooking camp last week was fun for April, though I doubt she actually learn much. I think the only 2 things she learn is how to crack a raw egg and dump the inside to a bowl, and build a mountain with the flour, earthquake(as she described it), flatten it and then dump it into a bowl.

This week is Lego camp. She and another girl are the only girls in the class, the other 20 some kids are all boys. I'm surprised that Lego is such a boy centric toy at this young age. Girl's toys are so boring, why can't they make Lego interesting for girls?

Swimming camp, grand pa complained that April's the shortest and smallest in the class. I think April will stay as the shortest in her class for a long time no matter what type of class she's in.

姐姐学会了啃瓜子

2010-06-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

她开心得比考试得100分还要来的开心。

华华妙语

2010-06-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

最近华华的语言能力大有进步，带给我们不少的惊喜。比较深刻的如下：

我要吃面面，我肚子饿了。

我还没玩够。

不要把它扔掉，我可以玩的。

这是我的功课，不是你的功课。

妈妈坐我旁边，婆婆在妈妈旁边，姐姐在后面，爸爸在前面，公公在爸爸旁边。(sitting in mommy's Odyssey)

我的老鼠在那里？
找到我的老鼠了，在奶奶那里。

jump rope

2010-05-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

When April once stopped at 'M', Daddy happened to ask her, "Who's your boyfriend?"
April said, "Many man"

大小姐六岁咯！

2010-04-18T23:21:00.001-07:00

Knitting

2010-04-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

第一天抓着我要教她却越学越发急，第二天她总算心平气和地学会了打平针。等暑假的时候要她去跟奶奶学去，妈妈我的技术有限，只能教些基本的。

华华生气的样子和姐姐学华华生气的样子

2010-04-12T23:55:00.000-07:00

两岁咯！

2010-03-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

时间过得很快，华华两岁啦！一个蛋糕，一家人，一个简单的庆祝。

问：谁生日啊？
华华：我！
问：几岁啦？
华华：两岁!

样子摆得像是她什么都知道似得，其实什么都不知道。最大的成就是白天不用穿尿布了，我们可以轻松点，也省点钱，睡觉呢？还是给穿上。

小人也上学啦！开始的3天，到了学校就迷上没见过的玩具，连爸爸或妈妈给她说 byebye 都爱理不理。没哭过，老师都说没见过这么乖的两岁。但是过后就不行了。天天都要哭，小手紧紧抓住我的手指，玩什么都可以就是不肯放手。一分开就大哭。还好哭不长，我在门外看，一会儿上课了，就不哭了。在看看一段时间再说吧！希望不用回阿姨家，她倒是有提过要去阿姨家一次。

学校是有中文老师和英文老师，这样希望她不会忘了中文，又能学到英文。姐姐以前就是去了纯英文学校，英文是上去了，但中文一落千丈，到上K时上了中文的 afterschool 才把中文补回来。

First poem

2010-02-22T23:48:00.000-08:00

wand twirling sparkling
the wand is shinny!
moon sparkling like a crystal shape
I like the moon!

-by April

P.S. This is what she wrote when she come home tonight (I need to spell her some of the words). Earlier on the ride home, she was whispering a poem similar to the above, and actually has better rhyme. I asked her if that's a poem she learnt from school, she said no, she just made it up. Then I asked her to remember the words so we can write it down when we come home. Of course, by the time we got home she completely forgot the words, and she made up another one.

好景不长

2010-02-19T14:36:00.001-08:00

阿姨上礼拜才表扬的，这礼拜不知为可180度改变，变得不爱上厕所，而且屡讲不听。阿姨也说本身不要我再带尿布了，现在看来还是给送上为妙。我们也搞不清楚到底是什么原因，华华突然不说也不爱上厕所。烦恼阿！

First baby tooth out!

2010-02-11T23:05:00.000-08:00

The Giving Tree

2010-02-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Last night April show me the book she borrowed from the library, it's the Giving Tree. We have the Chinese version at home. She said she really like it and this time she read me the whole book in English and we didn't cry.

misc.

2010-02-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

妈妈出差回来，April特别多话，不肯睡觉：
April：程老师says HK is a big city, but you say it's small
Mommy: Yes, it's small but a big city.
April: It doesn't make sense
...(back and forth arguing big vs. small)
April: New York is a big city. Cedric's been there, he saw the statue girl.
Mommy: Ah, the statue of liberty. Well, we can go to New York some time.
...
April: Washington D.C. is our capital
Mommy: What's the captial for China?
April: Beijing
Mommy: Good! (这可不能不知道）

Almost diaper free

2010-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

没想到老二这么快，阿姨说白天在她那里training pant都是干的。

misc.

2010-02-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

Mommy was asking April to help with washing veggie while River was yelling and trying to climb off her high chair. Mommy got her down then back to talking to April. Next we saw River grab the stool from the powder room and stood on top of it by the sink. She's ready to help Mommy wash the veggie while April still has no clue.

Later the night, April was crying downstairs playing piano, Daddy and River were upstairs.
Daddy: 姐姐怎么啦？
River: 姐姐哭，华华乖。

Singing together

2010-01-21T15:12:00.001-08:00

Teacher April

2010-01-20T14:58:00.001-08:00

April: You can't say I had a loose tooth, that's wrong.
Mom: Oh!
April: You should say I have a loose tooth. If you say I had, that means you don't have it anymore.
Mom: Oh, right! You know about past tense?
April: What's past tease?
...

二个

2010-01-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

while(1)
{
大人：俩个
华华：二个
大人：三个
华华：二个
大人：一个
华华：一个
大人：俩个
华华：二个
}

Legoland + Wild Animal Park + Balboa Park

2010-01-02T00:27:00.000-08:00

Plus hotpot for dinner, night swimming and hot tub.

San Diego trip 2009

跟屁虫华华

2009-12-29T15:13:00.000-08:00

不知为什么一直忘记记下，还是天天发生的事情。跟屁虫华华老爱学姐姐，给大人带来不少欢笑和娱乐。尤其是吃饭的时候，大小动作都要跟足。姐姐喝一口汤吃一口饼，华华就一口汤一口饼。姐姐吃饭吃一半去上厕所，她也要赶着去。就前两天，姐姐又吃饭吃一半说眼睛痒，我给她点了眼药水，华华马上就叫唤，指着自己的眼睛，也有需要。爸爸就假装给她点了两滴无形眼药水，华华马上眉开眼笑。如果姐姐真得在她面前放了个屁，估计华华也会努力地去放！

April 金句

2009-12-09T23:16:00.000-08:00

That Sat April's very busy, not only cleaning up her room, she's packing, a pretend packing. She kept asking for bags, shopping bags. After asking N times, I got really annoyed and asked her why she's packing. She said, "I am packing to leave home, 像湘湘姐姐一樣"(her second cousin we met over Thanksgiving)

...

These days we got really low temp in the morning, there are frost cover roofs and grass. I was explaining what frost is, April suddenly had a revelation.
April: Oh, 是露結爲霜的霜嗎?
Mommy: 对。
April: Yesterday was really cold and it rained, 是蕭颯凜冽`稍冻即僵.

看来中文学校的学费没白交，不过这样的形容太夸张了点吧！

X'mas gift

2009-12-08T23:48:00.000-08:00

April: I need to write a card for Santa, so he will know what I want for Christmas
Mommy: Ok
April: But how do I give it to Santa?
Mommy: I will help you give it to him
April: How?
Mommy: errhh, it's a secret.
April: Oh please tell me!
Mommy: Emmmh...I wil email him (running out of idea, while driving her home)
April: Oh Santa use computer?
Mommy: Errhh...yeah

Favorite puzzle

2009-12-07T16:45:00.001-08:00

Randomization

2009-11-29T21:57:00.000-08:00

Monkeys are happily running around grandparents big house during Thanksgiving week, until Daddy got a call from work that he need to fly to Chicago to fix some BUG for a conf or something like that. Since April needs to be back to school on Monday, we made the decision to have Mommy and April back home on Friday, River will stay with grandparents until Daddy's done with his work in Chicago, back Monday. This is the first time River is apart from Mommy, total 4 days. She handled it surprisingly well and calm! No cry at all. She simply asked for Mama or Baba or JieJie, then grandma or grandpa would give the same answer everytime she ask. "Mama is at work"
, "Baba is at work", "JieJie is at school", River would simply acknowledge with a "Oh!" and a nod. The night when Daddy's away, River awoke middle of the night only asking for "奶奶" Daddy said when she looked like missing us, she simply look at our photos on the walls, grandma put family photos around the house. She was extremely happy to see us Monday night and almost couldn't stop screaming.

Reading to River

2009-11-26T12:33:00.001-08:00

Time out professional

2009-11-10T10:23:00.000-08:00

I remember getting April to do time out was tough, since she didn't get it for a long time. River gets it so quick and now she's a professional! Whenever we are mad at her for not behaving, she will be crying, obviously. She understand what we said, she will walk right into the powder room, sit on her potty, continue her sobbing. Then after a little bit, she will stop the cry, walk back out, and nod to what we want her to correct.

Religious study

2009-11-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

April: Baba, do you believe in God?
Daddy: No, I believe in humanity.
April: What's humanity?
Daddy: ...(where to start?)
April: Is it being nice to people?
Daddy: Yes, yes! (Phew, can't be easier than that)

Writing her own Chinese name

2009-11-02T13:42:00.001-08:00

Halloween '09

2009-11-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Another recital

2009-10-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

She messed up again this time but got a trophy nonetheless. Everyone has one, it's all out of parents pocket ;) This is taken right before the recital. The event doesn't allow parents doing any recording.

After 1 month of Chinese school

2009-10-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

远古片-272字。会背会认还会考爸爸妈妈。不过很可能1年后忘得一干二尽。

Insist on self serving

2009-10-12T22:51:00.000-07:00

Tired of our serving or maybe because 8 teeth are coming out at the same time. She feels like she has to be in control.

Gilroy Garden

2009-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

真是熱死不過小孩玩得開心。

April's drawing

2009-09-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

The same trick works again!

2009-09-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

Today I received the following email from April's Chinese teacher, she sent it to all the parents in her class. Please don't mind her English, she studied Russian when she was in China and she learnt Japanese when she lived in Japan for 5 years. She's been here more than a decade but always worked as a Chinese teacher.

Dear parents;
One thing happen today, I want tell you.
Today is Jane's birthday, her Mom bought a cake for our class students, We ate it at snack time, all of our class students had one piece except
Jane,she doesn't want it, and a lot of the other class students came in ask for it, quickly the cake is gone, When class started, we sang a birthday song again for Jane, then I told the students that I even didn't have a piece of cake, do you know what happen, one student came to me gave me a hug, then other, two students,three students, and all of them, some students even gave me a second hug, I am so thankful, They so sweet and so kindhearted. I almost feel to cry.
I am very tired at beginning of the school year, new students,new parents, a lots of question need to be answer, spacial my class students, I have to make them happy an love to learn Chinese, be safe, know school rule an much more,
Whatever, I do my best work with your child, and today, I see my work worth of it. I am happy. even I didn't have a piece of cake :-).

Tonight, I was telling Daddy about this email in the car and April interrupted in the middle saying she's the first one to hug Ms. Cheng. I feel proud.

A cousin called Linda?

2009-09-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Couple weeks ago

April: Why don't I have a cousin?
Daddy: 因爲你姑姑還沒結婚。

Tonight

April: I know 2 Lindas, one is my Mommy and one is aunt-cousin
Mommy: what? who? No, that's your auntie Linda, not an-cousin!
April: Yeah, but when she got married, she's my cousin.

Daddy is cracking out laughing

Catherine

2009-09-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

School started like a breeze for April, she fits right into the new school environment and with friends she already know, there is no transition period per say. Not so for another girl in her class named Catherine. Catherine cries almost everyday, asking for Mommy. Little that we know, until Catherine's mom approached Daddy when he dropped off April one morning, that April has being her daughter's emotional comforter since day 1. Whenever Catherine cries, April will go hug her until Catherine feels better. Her mom really appreciated April's help and invited her over to their house for a play date that weekend. And Catherine now sees April as her best friend.
What's funny to us, is little that Catherine's mom knows, April is such a whimper at home. She cries over every little things that doesn't go as she *expected*. Number of times she cries at home is way more than River. Every time she cries, not counting the times when she's fighting with River over a toy(obviously), River will go and hug her. My personal best guess is probably she learnt this from River and applied at school!

上幼兒園咯！

2009-08-19T17:27:00.001-07:00

對April來説K是讓她興奮的，一切都是新鮮的。但對於我們這些沒接觸過美國小學（當然公立的，私立的應該是不一樣的風景）的父母們來説是有點憂慮。首先為小孩準備的不是書包`書本`筆盒等學習用品，而是一堆清潔用品。數量不少，爸爸看了第一個反應就是：一個小孩一年怎麽用得完這麽多的清潔用品？交給老師后才知道清潔用品是所有K小孩共用的。也就是說學校沒錢支付日常用品，要父母提供。怎麽那麽窮？連copy paper也要父母提供。至少有提供畫筆和toilet paper，當然也是所有小孩共用。
開課兩天后爸爸去了第一個PTA meeting才知道，加州的公立學校的確窮！人家紐約州公立學校花在每個學生身上一年一万五千，我們這個學區一年花在每個學生身上只有八千多到九千，所以每個家長必須捐錢，而且有指標。捐款不夠的話，學校連PE和Art老師都請不起，小朋友的上學天會無比枯燥。這樣一說父母們那忍心不輔助一把呢？唉!還有一堆fund raising和volunteer的項目，要父母和小孩共同參與。看來七年后，大家都能成爲文明乞丐。

兇到家里来

2009-08-10T11:12:00.000-07:00

阿姨动不动就会告状华华兇daycare里的同窗，这以是平常事。最近华华把她的武器带回家，兇姐姐也兇其他人，抱括爸爸妈妈在内，不过兇姐姐的次数最多。吃饭跟姐姐排排座，看姐姐吃什么就要抓，不给就打姐姐或抓姐姐的脸，我们给她说不能这样，她就大哭。没法给她timeout,因为她还不明白，只好抱她去“安全”的地方，让她哭，其实她哭不长，不过公公婆婆会去讨好，爸妈就没法好好教育她，到现在这坏脾气还改不了。有时大人为免麻烦，就劝April让着点，可怜的姐姐都是要做被逼分享的事。
不过，她这坏脾气用在不同的情况会有好效果的，最近就有过两次，当然又是跟姐姐有关。姐姐这个走路做事不带眼睛的人，撞了墙角踩到异物就浩声大哭，华华会跑去打墙或打异物，一脸的兇像嘴里还会叽里咕噜地骂着。平常姐姐会哭挺长的，不过一看到妹妹这样就马上不哭了，过去抱华华，华华也会爱惜地拍拍姐姐。

piano

2009-08-01T22:36:00.000-07:00

Chinese camp

2009-07-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

参加了1星期的中文夏令营，大人千问百问还是不知道她学了什么。头一两天只说学了爸爸`妈妈`哥哥`姐姐`妹妹`弟弟，心想这太容易了吧！往后就什么都不肯告诉，我就去问老师。老师见我就问：April是不是第一次上中文课？我说是的。老师就说：怪不得不会写。我不怪她啦！（写字？我报名的时候都不知道，那女的只告诉我会教认字和说话，怎么跑出写字来？）老师解释大部分的学生在上学年跟她有学，都会写就April一个不会。其实他们分班也没分好，把K-Gr2都放在一起，能力相差比较远嘛。到第4天晚上April竟然写了照片里的两句话给我看，把我开心得！还是要交给老师教，我们上班不可能教出什么东西来。

New found love

2009-07-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

I need to keep my baby wipe away from this little beast. Last time I gave it to her and told her to wipe her month, she took it and start mopping...faint!

bye bye pre-K

2009-07-03T22:44:00.000-07:00

Didn't know preschool graduation is such a big deal! The kids got trained for performance for 2 weeks, but I guess they had fun and worked hard to keep it a secret from their parents.

病了一圈

2009-06-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-19T14:37:00.001-07:00

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)

2009-06-19T14:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-07T23:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-06T14:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T23:51:00.001-07:00

Kick off the summer at Oahu

2009-06-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-04T00:35:00.001-07:00

Best Father's Day gift

2009-05-25T23:26:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T12:19:00.000-07:00

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

5 years checkup

2009-04-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T00:40:00.000-07:00

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！

2009-04-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-05T23:38:00.000-07:00

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”？

2009-04-05T22:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

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?

奶奶回MN

2009-03-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

这5个多月来奶奶给我们的帮忙很大，奶奶包家务、厨房、带华华、接送华华、有时大家上班上学不在家，她还出去帮我们买菜或修补家里的东西。最厉害是早上爸爸妈妈April还在懒床时，她是开着4个炉子煮早饭、准备April 和华华的 lunch的同时，还要娱乐华华或抱华华、喂华华吃东西，因为华华一般早起，要找人玩。奶奶是很会煮也很会催人吃东西的，所以公公婆婆来了说大家都给奶奶养胖了，除了华华(这个下回分解)。奶奶离开后，我们都进入了调整期，爸爸妈妈现在要多做点事，就一个周末，妈妈就叫苦腰疼，看来我们的确是给宠坏了。

A simple celebration

2009-03-20T22:58:00.000-07:00

公公婆婆來了！

2009-03-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

華華看見公公婆婆哭了，不見機個月不認得了，不過會時不時看一看他們，好像在思考什麽似的。April是最興奮的，抓住公公婆婆說長說短，拿着玩具和新鞋子愛不釋手，就是沒碰過那幾本中文書！吃完晚飯April鑽進公公婆婆的房間裏，安靜地在書桌上畫畫，不一會兒畫好了，給我們看一個PostIt。有7個人，5女2男，有大有小，有label，原來是一個全家福！看着婆婆心裏溫暖哪！還表揚April畫得好。家裏現在熱鬧的很，准備給華華過一嵗生日呀！

是否偏心?

2009-03-12T15:57:00.000-07:00

前天早上我起晚了忙着赶April上学，我在自己厕所刷牙，April在她的厕所刷牙，没空理华华。华华现在流着哪，来来回回穿梭我俩的厕所，像个管家婆一样。晚饭时告诉爸爸，爸爸并不觉得好笑反而突然紧张起来，因为俩个厕所之间通楼梯口。华华不爱爬楼梯，喜欢‘走’楼梯，必须有人牵手，不然很危险的。晚上安顿好俩小的，爸爸就开始动工，以前装修工人的本领都拿出来，又是墙上钻洞，木板上钻洞，铁丝老虎钳等等，弄到半夜栏杆门大功告成，你说爸爸偏心不? April 的年代可没那么幸福，只是教April如何爬楼梯，什么都没装。

Screening test

2009-03-02T22:43:00.000-08:00

I don't think I had taken a test for kindergarten, at least I don't remember there was one. If I really had one, I must have turned in a blank paper, or muted during the whole interview. All I could retrieve from my lossy memory are those foreign shape of alphabets which I couldn't memorize and I hated the same snack they provided every single day in that crappy kindergarten in Hong Kong. I rarely talk, since I just moved to Hong Kong. Don't speak a single word of Cantonese and I felt so alienated.

One generation down, it's for sure a different world. Will and I attended the information night at our home school. I promptly registered April and picked the time slot for her screening test. Thinking it would just be a casual and friendly chat with the kid, like a get to know your kids conversation, so they could balance each class "somehow" in a better and harmonized way, turned out to be sort of an exam.

I sat quietly at the far table observing the test. It's a series of questions, asking April to write her own name, to recognize shape and colors, to draw the shapes, to draw something she never see before, to talk about her days in school, to count and add, to perform some big motor skills to lastly draw a self portrait! I couldn't imagine drawing myself at the age of 5. She actually finished it in a minute, and have all the parts of face and body in the right place and later took her time to color the clothes in rainbow colors. Thanks to her pre-K teachers, I felt like they can predict the screening test.

The funny thing is at the end she asked the teacher if she can take HER self portrait home because she think it's a pretty drawing. The teacher told her that she need to share it with other teachers, thinking that will stop April from asking more. April countered back asking if she can have it back after all the teachers see it. "Maybe next year, if I still remember." said the teacher. April tends to carry herself quite far away when she's in the mood of talking, especially when the teacher is instructing a class. She will compete with teacher stealing air time. And sometime she will completely ignore teacher's question, by saying something which has a remote relationship to the topic. Here's a good example:

Teacher: Who's your favorite friends in school?
April: (slience for a bit) You know what's my favorite color?
April: It's pink.

Afterward, I asked her why she didn't answer the question. She told me she couldn't decide on who her favorite friend is. She has lots of good friends but can't decide who is her best friend. Well, you could still tell the teacher, you haven't decided, instead of being silence and derailed to something else. I was being praised and warned by the teacher, that I know and indeed have been working on it at home. Talking about pressure from school even before the school start!

I am grateful where April's at today, both mentally and psychologically, even though there are buckets of things need to be worked on. Starting kindergarten will open a new chapter in her life, she's merrily looking forward to that day. I hope she will learn to adapt as much as she can while stay being a giggly happy gal, since I know it will be piles after piles of work and pressure. At the end of the day, I felt relieved that we didn't win the lottery to a local charter school, which is being considered by lots of parents as a highly prestigious elementary which obviously has a high mark for each of its student's academic and all other performance.

垃圾處理員

2009-03-01T00:35:00.000-08:00

在奶奶的教導下，華華懂得“垃圾桶“在那裏了，而且今天還幫媽媽丟了3次垃圾，可是3次以後華華回到垃圾桶，把剛丟掉的廣告拿回手中，然後嘰里呱啦地在家裏到處亂走！

媽媽牌停牌了！

2009-02-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

明天就3月啦！好不容易等到這一天啊！華華就要1嵗了，喝豆漿喝得挺好的，牛奶還是有點敏感，吃面喝粥，吃我們吃的都吃得很好，我的奶可以說是完成任務，我實在打奶也打得太無聊。What a relief!

我行我素

2009-02-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

夜半哭聲

2009-02-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

原先以為華華晚上閙是因爲感冒鼻子塞住，現在病都快好了還是每晚3am準時站起來哭閙，大人們輪流上陣對付她，搞得我們都睡眠不足。怎麽變成了習慣？搬家前天天晚上睡9小時的優良傳統跑到那裏去啦? 不妙！前兩天晚上媽媽我實在沒辦法了，抱阿哄阿唱歌都沒用，最後想到這傢伙仿佛聼得懂大人講話，就跟她講道理。給她說天黑了，人人都睡覺，看姐姐睡得多好，你也應該這樣。不抱她叫她自己躺下，眼睛閉起來，她還真聼懂，照著辦。但是就幾秒鐘，我才離開她房間，又站起來哭。回去用同樣方法，離開又叫，這下可好了，把“媽媽“兩字越叫越准，平常開開心心的時候可不見她叫一聲媽媽，每次都是苦苦哀求時把“媽媽”兩字挂在嘴邊，我真倒楣。反反復復幾次后華華是會睡長一點，她必需明白夜半哭聲也好，夜半歌聲也好，都是徒勞無功的，還是繼續睡覺才是明智之擧。

Cough

2009-02-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

April just recovered from her 1 month long cough. Mommy hasn't really gotten rip of her cough, which has been 3 weeks. Now both grandma and River developed a cough. River caught a cold from daycare last week. Now compounded with the cough, night sleep become quite challenging. As a matter of fact, it's getting worse each night. We are in need of a magic kleenex to wipe all the germ off.

華華搬家嘍！

2009-01-31T23:03:00.000-08:00

爸爸終於受不了奶奶不停的催促，動手重整April的房間。其實前後就半小時的時間，華華小床的空間就驣出來啦！最開心的人當然是April，姐姐是一直都很須要人陪的。半夜裏不時過來找爸爸或媽媽陪她睡。現在有華華天天陪她，她心裏就踏實了，睡得也好。就是嘴巴硬，堅持說是她陪華華，不是華華陪她。華華呢? 基本上對她沒影響，這倆天感冒，鼻子塞住，不過晚上睡得還真不錯。

華華去托兒所有倆禮拜啦！很有進步，星期五離開時會跟阿姨揮手bye-bye，上學下學沒哭，也開始和小朋友玩得久了。來看看華華自己發明的擦嘴法和有勇氣自己走的片段...

上托儿所进度

2009-01-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

第二天是最惨的，去时哭不用说，回家后还是哭，睡前一直要人抱，平常爱玩的东西一样也不要，第二天早上喝完奶还吐了。往后是一天比一天好啦，阿姨是这么说，华华也的确一天比一天正常。但是，早上奶奶送她时还是哭，最特别的是黄金产量大幅度增加。平常是隔天一包，现在是每天2-3包，周末回常。奶奶估计是神经过敏，希望习惯后会回常点。

来听听托儿所阿姨对华华的评价:
- 你女儿很敏感，可能要一个月才能适应。
- 她怎么那么惊醒的啦? 都已经睡了，我轻轻动一下身体，她就马上睁开眼睛。
- 她动作怎么那么快的啦? 我传身去拿药膏，她就翻身爬过来了。而且，换尿布特别困难，是否要给她个玩具?
- 她吃东西怎么那么困难的啦? 要花好长时间。一不要吃，就给我跳Tango。
- 你这小孩怎么那么精的啦? 脑子动作都像一岁大的小孩，真是的！(是表扬还是批评呢?)

Mommy, I am going to take care of you

2009-01-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Mommy: I have a headache, a tummy ache and I have a bad cough
April: I am going to take care of you
Mommy: You are?
April: I am going to make hot chocolate and hot soup for you
Mommy: You are?
April: Yeah, I am going to get grandma to make the hot chocolate and soup for you
Mommy: Oh!

上托兒所第一天

2009-01-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

今天華華滿十月就可憐巴巴地給送去托兒所了。沒辦法給她做心理輔導，因爲她還聼不懂抽象的解釋。不過也該去跟其他小朋友交流交流，奶奶也快撐不住了。早上很順利，阿姨成功地轉移她的主意力，帶她看大小孩玩。奶奶和我帶April離開時華華都好好的。但是下午4點奶奶去接她時就知道華華后來是有哭的，而且是想想又哭想想又哭了好幾次。吃得也不好，只是看到別的小朋友吃香蕉，她要了幾口。奶奶給她準備的麺，她只吃了3口就不要了。不過，回家后華華還是很正常，吃得好，跟我們也玩得好。明天可能會很困難，因爲華華現在有心理準備了。

Academy of Science SF

2009-01-18T21:50:00.000-08:00

After series of advertising campaign from Daddy, we finally agreed on visiting Academy of Science in SF. What we didn't anticipate is the crowd. Even knowing the museum was rebuilt for the past 10 years, and just opened in Sept last year, we didn't know the popularity is still way up high. I felt like every household in SF that has young children all went there! Parking is hard, hard, hard, even getting close to the entrance take a long while. Not to mention April almost got a car sick. When I reached the entrance with grandma and kids, while Daddy still searching for a parking spot, there were 4 lines. One nice young lady kindly pointed me to the line we supposed to be in, where its tail trailed out of sight. We spent a good hour crawling the line while getting both kids fed.
We made it inside the museum by 1 pm. I guess it was worth the wait. Everywhere we browsed was of spectacular view, a meticulously well designed museum. April had a blast seeing the alligator, penguins, fishes, jellyfishes, T-Rex bones, whale bones in the ceiling and trying to catch the colorful butterflies inside the transparent rain forest sphere. Even River got so excited, keep pointing at things and talking gibberish. She only took 2 brief naps, each 30 minutes, the entire day! This day trip really tired everyone out, we probably won't visit SF again anytime soon.
One little surprise we had at the end of the day was seeing River walk by herself. After dinner, April was playing with her hippo walker, River saw it and got really anxious. I took her down to the floor, she just started walking without holding onto anything. After a few steps, she suddenly realized and immediately tried to sit down. I hold her back up and let her continue a few more steps in order to grab her dear hippo. Later on, we couldn't get her to do it again, she still need the security of latching onto something when she walks.

April's version of Martin Luther King's story

2009-01-15T19:09:00.001-08:00

On the way home, April said...
We don't go to school on Monday
Because it's some one's birthday

Mommy: Whose birthday?
April: I don't know

April continue...
He's black
He wants to play with his friends
And the friends is different color
He can't play with his friends longer
He's very sad
When he grow up, he's like his father
He made the different color upside down
Before he see that he died
Now different color friends can play together really long

Mommy: Does he have a dream?
April: Yeah.

First music composition

2009-01-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

I didn't anticipate a composition homework from the piano teacher. For a 4 years old, it sounds mission impossible. Not sure how other fellow parents feel, I can't formulate how I could possibly accomplish this task with April, even after listening to lengthy instructions from the teacher. But, it turned out to be a great experience. I started with drawing the treble clef, then it was a natural flow of discussion with April on everything we learnt at the class. We made a song! In like 30 minutes. It was key to limit it only using 2 notes, C and D ;)

我們都要服從地主婆的“指”示

2009-01-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

在雪山上華華就開始用食指指她要去的方向。回家的路上我們找了個plaza停下來透透氣，本來打算給華華奶瓶，怎知她不賞臉。就在等輪流上厠所的時候，爸爸抱華華，媽媽跟姐姐玩，剛好有一刻媽媽和姐姐抱在一起，華華看了一下姐姐，然後指一下媽媽，再拍拍自己的胸膛，意思說“媽媽是我的。”自從那時開始華華的主意就越來越大，她的“一陽指”功夫也越來越厲害。現在是她大人有所“指”，我們不服從的話，地主婆就馬上反臉。發燒前媽媽侍候她吃飯，她指一下水我餵她一口水，指一下菜餵她一口菜，指一下飯餵她一口飯，簡直把我儅奴婢。下禮拜就上托兒所，看她能霸道多久!

Boilermaker new year walk '09

2009-01-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

原来不是长牙，是出玫瑰疹

2009-01-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

现在不烧了，但食欲还没全回来。

小的發燒大的咳嗽

2009-01-09T23:08:00.000-08:00

April 一開學就不知從那裏感染了咳嗽，然后華華昨天開始發燒。以爲都是April害的，但到今天華華還只是燒，沒有鼻涕咳嗽。現在懷疑是長牙。但媽媽我沒有經驗，April從來長牙沒發燒，就是華華頭倆顆也沒發燒。不知長牙除了發燒還有什麽症狀？琢磨呐!

來看看倆姐妹生病前一起跳舞的片段:

More on dress

2009-01-03T23:38:00.000-08:00

I intended to write this down but kept getting side tracked. Last time I talked about having fight with April over dress or pants on cold (well, cold as a relative term here ;)) winter days. Then that Sat about a week later we had the same argument again. It took me a good hour to talk her out of wearing a dress. Just as I thought all is good through the day, we came to the piano class classroom. I could feel April get slapped on the face just like mine. There was this discrete moment we were just staring at the other 2 girls (the whole class is small and there are only 3 girls) who obviously were wearing dresses.

Afterward, I thought hard on this matter and I noticed both girls had thick tights on. So I took April to our friendly Target and picked out 3 winter tights of her choice. Those we had at home aren't really the right ones, and they have holes, result of falling in the playground. April wanted to put them on the moment we left Target, I let her. What I got is a crying baby in my hippo. She kept complaining the tights didn't feel right, it's uncomfortable near the upper thigh and underwear area. Well, tights as it is so called TIGHTS, the fabric holds on TIGHT to your skin. It does take some get used to time, isn't it? She went back home and tried all 3 tights and ended up crying more, realizing all the tights feel the same. We had another talk and eventually I believe she understand and accept the fact that pretty does cost a price. She put on one of the tights once more and came down for dinner without complaining about the tights ever again.

Then recently April was playing with her scooter outside of our garage. Our neighbor came by, on her way to throw away their household garbage. She praised April's dress. She then came to me and told me her daughter wanted dress but nothing when she was young, and now that she's 8 years old, she hates them and won't wear any dress. She now has a headache on changing her daughter's wardrobe all over again with just pants. I looked back at April and I see another American girl growing out of our roof.

Snowy mountain Tahoe trip

2008-12-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

5 adults
4 bags of clothes
3 moving boxes of food and hot pot gears
2 kids
1 snowboard
All packed into my blue hippo named Odyssey, riding a good 6 hours up the snowy mountain for our last minute ski trip. To my surprise, both kids did quite well on the road. We only made 3 stops, with 1 for lunch. They both took a long nap. When they woke up, it's snow everywhere. April was truly excited while River has no clue of the change outside the window. Initially I prepped a DVD to try out the built in DVD player, yet due to lack of a remote, we can't get it to play in Chinese mode. We soon gave up and April had a car sick right then. She soon got it fixed by producing a small bag of body fluid. I'm glad that we brought enough plastic bags for all sorts of garbage ;)

With some struggle in the dark finding our rental place, we made it to the 3 bedrooms sweet mountain home around 5pm. In no time, we were enjoying a hot pot feast warming up our tiny to giant tummies and this western vacation home is filled with Chinese aroma all over. We didn't realized how much food we brought for the hot pot. It was too much, so we changed plan from paste for the following night dinner to another hot pot feast. The cleaner will surely need plenty of air fresher to get rid of the Chinese perfume we put in :)

Second day was a hard snowboarding day for the 2 enthusiasts, namely Daddy and Auntie Linda. They both got sore bottoms at the end, but nonetheless they got another 6 pack of beers to compensate. April was in good spirit taking her first ski lesson. I was amazed that she was such a good student compared to the other 4 kids, who just fooling around, keep falling and had the instructor pick them up. Though she probably didn't learn any of the course listed skills. When I got the report card from April, none of the check boxes is marked. The instructor was torn by those 4 years old, she probably need a bottle of vodka after the whole day class. She recommended me not to send kid to ski class until they are at least 7 or 8 years old.

Last day was another long ride home but it didn't feel long. We had another feast inside my hippo. We snacked all the way home, even River enjoyed her first slice of grapefruit, 10 peeled blueberries, 1 mini cucumber, countless chicken drumsticks bites and even a pita chip. This is more of a eating trip than a ski trip, our stomachs emptied almost all the perishable we brought. But most important we had a great time up in the snowy mountain.

会用吸管了

2008-12-25T22:05:00.000-08:00

昨晚发现华华会用吸管喝水，看来我们可以跳过sippycup这一步。如果喝得好我们就给她提早停用奶瓶。

April金句

2008-12-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

今天April悄悄地告诉爷爷: 很久很久以前姑姑是在奶奶肚子里的。

九個月体檢

2008-12-23T23:01:00.000-08:00

体重: 18lb 1oz (30%) - 很有进步，奶奶的功劳最大，但是还是赶不上姐姐当时的体重，看來笑臉還是喜歡做苗條。
身高: 27.75 inches (50%)

開頭聼了醫生說不用打針，我心裏還替華華高興，可沒想到看完醫生下樓抽血會給她帶來如此巨大的痛苦！原來抽血是跟大人一樣，我還以爲嬰兒會有不同的步驟，那膀子那麽小那麽細，血管都看不見在那裏，怎么抽?可憐的華華，哭得死去活來。我要硬壓着她把事情辦完，可華華的血流不夠快，護士還動了針頭好幾下，又加長了她的痛苦。我就看那護士沒瞄準，功夫不到家！記得以前April只有打針，那來的抽血這會事！抽完血華華抱着還是哭，還好我想起了走路。把她放到地下拖着她手走，兩下子就笑起來了。

華華這三個月進步很大，感覺上仿佛每幾天就給我們一個驚喜。她現在從爬到坐`坐到抓椅子或桌子站起來，再從站囘坐`坐囘爬，這一連串動作都做得乾淨利落。大人轉一個頭，她就换了位置。只是她還是不大喜歡爬，老要我們拖她手走，而走就越走越快，拼命往前沖，并不是好好走路的样子。记得April很晚才走，不过April爬的技术真是一流，上楼下楼好几回自己来，不用大人帮忙。华华就是不肯爬楼梯。

除了爬和走，华华也学会了不少的小动作。有"wave bye bye"、"谢谢你" 和拍手，还会用大拇指和食指夹cheerio 放嘴里吃。当然也喜欢抓电线和poke electric plug。我买了很多plug covers 防着她，还有给她说"打打"，保姆教的，华华听得懂，但不是每次都听话。意识也有加强，会听指示，叫她把东西给别人、叫她抱着熊熊拍拍它、喂我吃cheerio、问她灯在哪里，她眼睛会去找、问她妈妈的眼睛、鼻子、嘴巴、耳朵在哪里，专心的时候都抓得对。有时还能帮我们开灯关灯。这些方面华华是比姐姐强，姐姐是个没什么反应的baby，营养都跑去长肉了 ;)

虽然华华并不很胖，但胃口很好。大人吃的，给她什么，她就爱吃什么。只是吃量不大。不过总比挑食的姐姐好对付。哭闹也少。这段时间最让我们摸不着头脑的是睡觉，好几天又坏几天。奶奶和我怀疑各种情况，太热太冷、睡前吃太饱、睡前太兴奋等等，但最终没找到答案。

来看看华华为姐姐做苦力的片段:

School X'mas event

2008-12-21T23:31:00.000-08:00

This year the room is a little less crowded since they divided the kids shows into 2 time slots. Last year we had to peep from the outside of the window. Yet we still didn't get there early enough to get a seat, not even 1 seat! Mommy, Daddy and Grandma holding River all had to stand on the side.

Mommy had April picked out her clothes a whole week ahead to prevent any last minute disaster. Last year, she cried through the entire show simply because she saw Jennifer's dad brought her friend a red dress, and we, Mommy and Daddy came empty handed. And of course, we didn't dress her in red and we happened to NOT have a red dress. Go figure!

She's peachy this time and finished all 3 acts with her classmates. They are a dance, a song and a speaking part. We felt that she's not quite herself during the show, acting rather shy. She later explained it's our presence make her feel a bit nervous or say embarrassed. That's understandable. Besides, there are so many parents and grandparents in the audience. Mommy thinks she did a good job while Daddy and Grandma were a little disappointed. A side note, Mommy was surprised to be prompted by 2 other Mommies before and after the show, telling Mommy how great a dancer April is. They were really impressed when they saw the rehearsal. (When was the rehearsal? How come Mommy didn't know about it?) Anyway, April must be running crazy during the rehearsal.

Posting the dance part

Surplus ran out

2008-12-21T23:24:00.000-08:00

Mommy only got 18oz a day, once in a while maybe 20oz :| We started to add 2-4oz soy formula for River per day. Not desirable but at least it's still going. Last time, my milk ceased when April turn 8 months old. Hope I can keep it up until March.

传递游戏

2008-12-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

最近华华学会了跟我们玩传递的游戏。先找一个华华没兴趣的东西，比如一个小盖子，或是华华玩腻了的玩具。妈妈把这东西交给她，告诉她把东西交给奶奶。她会一手抓来，传另一手交给坐在另一边的奶奶。奶奶收到后会给她做谢谢的手势，她也会跟着做。来来回回她会跟我们玩挺久的。晚饭的时候，April 也会加入我们的游戏，饭桌西角来来回回传东西，这可以骗她陪我们吃饭好一会儿。

Sharing cheerios

April金句

2008-12-20T00:11:00.000-08:00

"When I grow up which people will I get married to?"

Songs from school

2008-12-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

River's potty

2008-12-14T22:32:00.000-08:00

I can't remember when did River start doing it. Grandma was annoyed by it from the beginning, and now it's the trick to get gold. We got this little cute potty for her, but every time she's on it, she's nervous! Even it's THE moment to get the job done, she will hold it. Grandma even tried traditional Chinese way by holding her legs, giving the tune and wait for a long long time. Nothing works except the magic SAUCER! Every time! River will only do her #2 there. How does the surrounding toys help with concentration?

Wii 的誘惑

2008-12-13T22:04:00.000-08:00

We got to get something on bfs(black Friday sale) to fulfill the American life, right? Indeed, we got the Wii...even though we could have gotten it any other day. Daddy wanted XBOX over Wii but eventually he gave in to the majority vote(both grandma and grandpa also spoke highly of Wii). We bought 1 for them, and 1 for us. For them, it's a fun way to do exercise, but for us, it's multi-purposeful ;)

April started with baseball, then gradually become fond of bowling. Something magic about how she hold the Wii control, she did well with almost every throw. I don't care which one she likes the most, the secret goal of mine is to get her to finish her dinner and do things we want her to do before or after the game. So far, the temptation still works. We will see how long it last.

For Daddy, he feels challenged on tennis. It also acts as an bonus exercise mean at home for him. I can't remember when's last time he exercise regularly. If it's not for the sweat, it's still a good distraction away from the evil computer screen.

For me, it's a relaxation treat after a long day of work at work and work at home serving both princesses.

小名華華

2008-12-06T12:16:00.000-08:00

River本身沒小名，自從保姆來了后，因爲RI-VER的發音對她太難，就建議只叫尾音。其實VER-VER更難念，他們（外公外婆也覺得RI-VER很難念）就取了一個類似的中文字 - 華華。他們天天叫分分秒秒叫，弄得媽媽`爸爸和April也跟著叫。現在連奶奶也這麽叫。
另外，叫得最多的是坏蛋，不管River做坏事了還是表現良好，我們都愛叫她坏蛋。給她洗完香香噴噴的澡或吃飽飽喝飽飽后，就愛叫她地主婆。保姆臨走前覺得River變得什麽都愛抓，而且動作特快，又給了她一個小名叫土匪。

全家福

2008-12-04T23:17:00.000-08:00

爺爺來幫我們照的。

Monkey around

2008-11-29T00:27:00.000-08:00

April feeding River

2008-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00