Jumpstreet

The first thing that comes to mind is 21 Jump Street, a drama of my bygone youth...but no, it's an indoor trampoline park with patented trampolines. With pay per hour deals, it's a really good deal for the operators. At the same time, the kids do get to let off a lot of steam. As long as they make good use of their hour. J & A certainly enjoyed themselves, albeit in different zones. A and Lucas has their fun in the under 7's area whilst J tagged along with Vivian and Nicole. Ann also jumped in and appeared to have a good time. J also had a dab in the dodgeball pit but very quickly got tagged out by being hit 3 times...he still has to get the hang of dodging in dodgeball. Had McAllister's for lunch, which is sandwiches, soups & salads joint. shui wah again tonight, possibly late night Denny's when Andrew returns for the weekend from Houston....

Reunion Tower

Last night, we went dining atop the Reunion Tower with Vivian and her parents. She will be off to Indiana on Sat and we won't be seeing much more of her this summer. It was a first for many of us and the views were lovely. The boys were smitten by the revolving restaurant and had fun going around. The food at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck was mostly tasty, the best scores easily go to the desserts. Menu was,as expected, con-fusioned...like they had "HongKong style" steamed salmon...say what? J & A still not quite over jet lag. Whilst A was able to take a 3 hour nap, J did not and ended up falling asleep midway thru the meal, which resulted in him missing the best part, dessert. One more thing, we had CFA at the mall for lunch! one of our quintessential faves! Today, we are possibly going to take on Jumpstreet...wonder if that would manage to wear the boys out,just a little. The duck pond plus running up and down the stairs plus skateboarding lessons with Vivian did not even make a dent in their energy tanks.

Food

I noticed that my previous entry was almost exactly two years ago when I first travelled solo with the boys. I ham apply to note that the last time went off without much incident either. After arriving here for five days, I note a slight difference in our routine this time around. We haven't yet visited many eating joints...Shui Wah obviously had to make an appearance, Omi Korean grill (all-u-can-eat, but J&A fell asleep half way thru leading SKM to think that they didn't eat anything, thus convincing the cashier not to charge for them two). Lunch at Nordstom's (Northpark Mall) was a first, J especially enjoyed the pizzas. Lunch at home, dad fried noodles, to which A was particularly partial. BBQ at the Lins. What initially was supposed to be simple, just burgers and hotdogs turned into a fancy deal with escargot & ribs, curtesy of sisters Cindy and Winnie (team CinWin). Lunch at sushi robata ( first time having lunch there) their lunch sets are great deals, esp comparing prices in HK. Dinner at home, again (it is rare to seat so many meals at home :D). Tuesday: lunch at Pho Mac, Jerry's face food among other things. Wed: dimsum lunch at Kirin Court (another first, as I don't believe I have ever had dimsum on a weekday here in Dallas). It is surprising how we can still find new things to do here :) Tionight's dinner is also home. I wonder when we start going out?

Summer 2012...

Here we are again, in Big D, Texas. Thankfully, J & A are older and well behaved. At the start, there was a lot of excitement. They discovered a little kiddies area in HK Int'l airport and had a lot of fun rolling on the floor (it's true). When we were transmitting at Narita, AJ has a slight breakdown, and protested the long traveling, which, at that time, was no where near over. After. Short rest and a tempura set, he felt much better (JD had the sushi set, which was equally delish).
Perhaps due to some mistake, or deliberate act, we were placed in the middle 3 seats out of 5. Surprisingly, I was not too upset about that, I think the 2 gents on either side of us got the bum deal. They were very bgracious about moving up and down and in and out of their seats to let us thru to the bathroom. At one time, AJ proclaimed his need to go just as the flight attendants had placed everyone's meals down. I nabbed two blankets from JAL, with the plan of letting one of them sleep on the floor. It worked out really well and they managed to sleep for hours (J for 4 and A for 7).
First meal was at home, home cooking by mom. Sleep came quickly, for me in any case and not a moment too soon, for the boys woke up at 5am.

Summer vac

Summer vacation this year is in Dallas, TX and we are now one week into our visit. I traveled with them solo this year and thankfully, it was a much better trip than I had dreaded. Packing began one week previous to departure and I borrowed a camping backpack to bring in the cabin. I only packed one suitcase for the 3 of us because I didn't want too much bulk when claiming baggage and that caused an overweight suitcase that had to be repacked at check-in. It was only down to an acceptable weight when I gave up my jeans and cosmetics.

The shorter flight to Tokyo was peaceful and uneventful. Jerry got to play Bejeweled on the inflight entertainment system and Aaron was thankfully more or less entertained with the videos and books that we brought along.

While re-checking in at Narita airport, I had a slight shock when I found out that I should have made an online registration to take advantage of the visa waiver for British passport holders. This is a new requirement that I was not aware of and luckily for us, there was enough time to do it at the airport's Internet cafe. Even more lucky was that American Airlines Japanese ground crew were extremely helpful and had someone escort us to the Internet cafe and wait until our registration was complete. She served as a precious babysitter for those 20 minutes.

Even after having eaten lunch on the plane, Jerry was hungry already, so we stopped by the foodstop next to our gate and had tempura and cold udon and soup soba. (pictures later)

The longer leg of the trip was more taxing on me (I had no room to sleep because collectively, they took up all three seats), but no effect on the boys as they managed to eat and sleep a fair amount. We even brushed our teeth in the tiny bathroom to go through our routine. Aaron also put on pj's to get comfy.

Finally, after 20 hours of combined traveling and waiting, we arrived in Dallas.

We are now 1 week into our trip and we have had the following Dallas favorites:

Shui Wah, Chick-fil-a, Pizza by Marco, Taco Bell, Macaroni Grill, menoodle, Sonics, Papa John's, Yoghurtland, mom's cooking, and more Shui Wah tonight.

The boys have enjoyed swimming at the Yips' and the Lins' (especially at the Lins') and Aaron has grown attached to Lucas' playroom. It's literally the first place he thinks of going to when he wakes up in the morning. We went to the Tom Mullenbeck Swimming Pool today complete with waterslides, water fountains and a lot of fun. Jerry has already decided that when he moves to Dallas (not "if") he will want to live close to the swimming pool, just like how Sai BewYee is so close by. All in all, we are enjoying this trip and Jerry is more convinced than ever that he'd like to live in Dallas....

Kelvin joins us in another week and we look forward to reuniting!

blogger's block

So, I know I haven't blogged about the boys in almost 10 months...but the long delay was not intentional...honest.

Obviously, a lot has occurred within these 9.5 months and it would not make a very interesting post if I attempted to fit everything in today.

Jerry turned six in March and Aaron turned three in April. In Aaron, the transformation was most obvious and luckily, all for the good. No longer did he feel the urge to throw temper tantrums neither did he scream unnecessarily in the middle of the night. Attending nursery also helped him develop a milder temperament and improved his manners altogether.

Jerry's school searching ended in January with acceptance in 2 schools. Luckily, one of them was our first choice, so we didn't have any problems deciding which one to pick. This coming September 1, Jerry will be a Grade 1 student at St. Stephen's College Preparatory School. We already bought the books and uniform...so, we are all ready, I hope.

Aaron interviewed for Jerry's kindergarten in February and was accepted. Aaron has always been in the habit of speaking English more than Chinese, so, during his interview, when the interviewer asked him his name and age in Cantonese, he replied in English. When he was presented with pictures to identify, he continued replying in English whilst the interviewer was still using Cantonese. We believe that but for Jerry having attended there, Aaron's chances of getting in would have been slimmer (because according to some of Kelvin's friends, there were over 1000 applicants for a mere 120 spots.

Jerry graduated from kindergarten and Aaron left nursery. Jerry was chosen to play a part in his school's annual graduation performance and was dressed as a pearly clam. Coincidentally, Aaron was chosen to perform at his school's graduation too. I'm proud to say that they both performed excellently. To our surprise, Aaron received an award for Most Improved! That was a very proud moment too. To Jerry's credit, he received awards in K1 and K2 for Achievement in Academics and Conduct.

What's been up with us?

I didn't intend to leave such a long gap from my last post in August. Since we returned from Dallas, thinks started happening and the momentum to post anything was lost.

Jerry on a school outing (above left) and Aaron goes to school with a schoolbag that's bigger than him (above right)!

School began on 1 Sept for both Jerry and Aaron. Jerry is in K3, his final year in kindergarten. Aaron is just beginning in nursery. Aaron's first week of school was posted on FB; to summarise: he had a little separation anxiety leaving home at first and was also upset when he had to leave school. However, after almost 3 months, he has adjusted well and loves going back.

It has always been observed that Aaron responds more to English, since he was under 2 yrs old. One time, when an aunt called to him by his Chinese name, he did not respond; then she switched to say "Hello!" he said it right back. Now, although he goes to a local Chinese school which only has 20 mins English "lesson" per day, he still responds better in English. In contrast, Jerry has always preferred Cantonese, sometimes even Mandarin, to English.

It is fascinating that whilst both boys are placed in the same environment and are offered similar experiences, they respond very differently. It relates to how they are very different in character and style. It's really fun to watch them grow up together and turn out so differently.

September 2009 also was a month of activity in securing a primary one spot for Jerry. The way the primary one placement is designed in HK is complicated and almost incomprehensible. Basically, there are public schools and private schools (this category actually loosely encompasses 3 categories, but for easy reading, I'll just group them together). Public schools don't have a choice in their students, however, their primary 1 places are split up to go through 2 stages of admission. Stage 1 allows cross-district applications; i.e. you can apply to a school that's not in your school district. The applicants in this stage are split into 2 groups: 1. children with connections (i.e. older siblings in the school, parent teaches at the school, etc); and 2. children with no connections. The school has to admit all applicants in group 1 and if there are more kids than places, then the extra kids take up the places allocated to group 2. All the places left are allocated to group 2 applicants by "lucky draw". Stage 2 is when you have to list in order of preference the schools in your own school district. But it is all "lucky draw" at this stage and there is no guarantee at all as to which school one ends up with.

Having just written the above, I don't even know if I understand.

Private schools, on the other hand, can choose their students and some schools are highly sought-after, either because they are traditionally known as good schools or they have proven academic track-records. Since the public school route is really uncertain, we also took matters into our own hands and selected a few private schools for Jerry so that we have some control over where he'll end up going to school for the next 6 years. Another reason to pick a primary school is that some of them have connected high schools, which means that we will not have to go through another school searching exercise in 6 years time.

In Hong Kong, we observe that many parents take the whole school searching exercise a little too seriously. Not only for primary schools, but already at the kindergarten stage. Kelvin and I took a minimalist approach and did not create "portfolios", nor did we go in person to pick up application forms that were available for download (those are the sort of things that most parents do). We have also heard of kids who had to attend "interview training" for a whole year (2 of my ex-colleagues put their kids through this). Some people also went to extremes and paid 4 figure sums to have their portfolios created for them.

Anyway, to prove that all that crap is not necessary, we deliberately did none of it. Our applications to the 5 schools of choice contained: 1 cover letter, the application form, a one page profile in table format, and a recommendation letter from Jerry's headmistress (which is issued to all the kids on request) only. In the end, Jerry received 2 offers and one waiting list position. All in all, the lesson to be learned is that the whole recruitment process is not as complicated and does not need to be as big a deal as many people make it out to be.

The best thing for us is that Jerry actually got into the school that is our first choice, St. Stephen's College Preparatory School. Not only is the campus next to a beach, it also has a boarding program in 6th grade. Jerry also likes it because he watched a cartoon during the "interview"; therefore, he reckons he will get to watch cartoon when he attends this school. Jerry was not stressed about any of the interviews because we did not make a fuss over the whole thing. As mentioned on FB, he applied the whole process to Nemo of "Finding Nemo" and wondered why he didn't have to go to an interview. He had been re-watching the film and it prompted this question. Kids are so good at applying things observed; hopefully he can continue this attitude throughout his studies.

At one of Jerry's school friend's birthday party over the weekend, Kelvin took some time to chat with the other parents (that's his role, social-king). One thing that got me having a deep thought was that some of the parents, when they considered a school, they also had to consider the cost. It occurred to me then that we are truly lucky and blessed. My sons are amongst the luckiest and more privileged children who can go to whichever school might seem suitable or desirable, without any consideration as to money. Not to say that we are rolling in it, but, at least we don't have to cringe at the idea of going to a private school. Tuition for a year equals that of a local Hong Kong college student's tuition for a year. During the application process, we did make loose calculations of how much it would cost for 6 years total, but the actual amount was not in issue. It only struck me now, that whilst we talked about which school we thought would be "best" for Jerry, we never had to worry about whether that school was expensive. With this in mind, I hope to remind myself and my family not to take things for granted and to be grateful every day for what we have.

Our babies are growing up and I hope that Kelvin and I can really guide them in the right direction to become responsible and contributing members of society.

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (Fun, Food, Frenzy, F(th)rills)

Our wonderful five weeks in Dallas have sadly come to an end. Jerry and Aaron had what was probably their best summer (so far) and have made new friends with newly discovered/re-discovered cousins.

Jerry is so smitten by the Big D that every day, he professes his wish to live there: "I don't see why we have to go back to Hong Kong" or "We have to live HERE!" or "Hong Kong is too small (the whole place, not just our apartment) or "Dad, you will have to buy a house here in Dallas, one that is bigger that Dai Kau Kung's (and one which happens to be on list as one of the 100 most expensive houses in Dallas!)" etc, etc. One time, he went so far as to suggest that we can all move to Dallas, that his dad will not have to work because his Po Po and Gung Gung can go to work! Jerry is forever the problem-solver.

This was Jerry's second visit to Dallas and he had met everyone before, although he's forgotten most of those meetings. For Aaron, it was a first meeting in many cases, yet, both boys developed lasting bonds with everyone.

Lucas, a.k.a. Lukies has become a firm favorite with both brothers since we saw him and his mom, Ann, almost every day of our stay. Summer Camp was in session mostly at Aunt Cindy's in Beaver Creek and sometimes at Marblewood which is Astor's address. We saw Nicole Bew Jeh almost as many days and we are grateful for all the love, hugs and kisses from her (even the occasional scolding, which have helped Jerry on his way to maturity). Cousins Vivian, Sarah and Victor were fabulous baby-sitters and all three have left lasting and loving impressions in our hearts. Aaron, would ask for everyone in turn, e.g.: "Sarah, where's Sarah? Come here, Sarah." or "Where's Victor? Where's Vivian? Where's Kau Fu? Where's Lukies?" etc, etc.

Eric Bew Gor was an influence in his special way and he had to put up with Jerry more than anyone else.

Andrew Kau Fu was the best and no words can describe his contribution during our visit. We are thankful for such a loving yet authoritative figure.

Our plan is to make a visit to Dallas at least once a year. It is not only to give the boys something to do during summertime, but also a great opportunity to help them maintain lasting relationships with their cousins. There is a great deal to learn from and love about everyone.

Aaron in Dallas

Aaron's time in Dallas involves a lot of crying, tantrum throwing and clinging, so there is relatively less to write about. He likes to play the drums as he enthusiastically banged on Vivian's Chinese drum and the drum set in Uncle Richard's basement. He also likes to drink out of his new Cars sippy cup and to play with Cousin Lucas' toys. It's the first place he runs to when he reaches Aunt Cindy's house, which he has visited only twice. He already knows his way around. He also knows his way around Uncle Richard's house too, because during an hourlong tantrum there, he ran around the house to every room about 5 times. When he returns to my parents' house, he is unhappy too because his sleep deprivation kicks in around that same time each day. Apart from that, he does seem to be having a good time :p

Jerry in Dallas 2

On the second day, we were invited to a pool party at Uncle Richard and Aunt Trea's place. Jerry loves to swim, although he is insecure without his armbands. He was lying on the inflatable water bed when Vivian asked if she could flip him over. He didn't understand the English, so she attempted Cantonese which came out as "Can I push you?" Thinking that she was going to push him on the water bed, Jerry said yes.... After he got flipped over, he flipped out and exclaimed that he would never swim again and started to cry. It seems that Jerry is going to learn a lot on this trip :D

On the third day, Uncle Danny asked Jerry to teach him English, claiming that he did not know the language himself. To this Jerry replied: How can you not know English, you are an American? To that, we laughed our heads off.

Jerry in Dallas 1

We have been in Dallas for 4 days and it's been fun (not counting the sleepless nights). Jerry, in particular, has been enjoying himself immensely.

For our first meal in Dallas, my Mom and the Aunties/Cousins graciously prepared potluck at my parents' home, so that we can eat in the comfort of home whilst getting to meet everyone all at once. Jerry had been really excited about this trip and he was impressed with what he had seen, the great expanse of space and the fairly big house that he would stay in for the next 5 weeks.

We met the cousins one by one, and although Jerry had been in Dallas before, it was when he just turned one, so he was not familiar with everybody. He was also not familiar with the games that the older cousins played and when he saw them engage in a pillow fight, he became quite agitated. He was so concerned for cousin Eric's safety to the point that he felt he had to step in. So, he yelled at cousin Nicole and Vivian Bew Yee and even banished them from the room on account of them "hurting" Eric and being naughty. I explained to him that they were playing and that nobody was really getting hurt, to which he replied: This is just my first day here, so I didn't know ah-ma.

Traveling with an entourage...

After months of anticipation and weeks of preparation (I started packing at least 10 days in advance...as everyone knows, I'm part Lam, so pre-packing is perfectly natural), we finally made it to Dallas.  Before the flight, our main fear was Aaron's behavior on the planes and/or airports.  We also feared that he would throw a tantrum when he discovers that his dad won't be going.  That stems from his mini-tantrums in the mornings when Kelvin leaves for work or when we try to go out without him, particularly difficult week leading up to the flight.  

The entourage included Christy, Andrew and me.  Obviously, we were the entourage to the Lau Bros.  To our great surprise, relief and joy, both legs of our flights were uneventful and almost "enjoyable".  Aaron willingly walked through HK immigration without a fight (he did look earnestly for Daddy and even called out several times).  We had planned not to officially say "goodbye" so as not to trigger any unwelcome emotions.  We had breakfast without incident and boarded the plane to Tokyo for the first leg of our journey.  We had bought a portable DVD player especially for this trip to keep them entertained on the flight but we also knew that the planes would have inflight entertainment.  The Disney Channel came to the rescue and definitely kept them entertained for the most part of the journey.  

When we reached Tokyo, it appeared that we didn't have much time to transit, so our original plans of ramen, dan dan noodles, rice balls etc were all dashed as we had to dash our way from AA counter to boarding gate.  Again, Aaron was well-behaved and in a relatively good mood.  Needless to say, Jerry behaved best of all.  Unfortunately, AA was not showing any cartoons, except for Monsters vs Aliens, which Aaron watched, but Jerry was too "scared".  He watched some sitcom from the Disney Channel, and ended up watching it about 5 times.  As I mentioned, we had brought a DVD player, so, around 1/4 into the flight, I decided to take out this "lifesaver" to entertain the brothers.  "Ta Da"!  I intended to show one of Aaron's faves, Bear in a Big Blue House, but the player would not turn on, then Andrew spotted the fatal mistake...there was no battery pack!   !>_

Before I left HK, I had conscientiously plugged in the thing to "charge" the battery.  Little did I know that I had not inserted the bloody thing!  Actually, my first reaction was: Did someone take it?? Thinking back, it was a truly ridiculous situation.  Luckily, despite the lack of more entertainment, Jerry and Aaron managed to be entertained by the onscreen shows and their coloring books.  When they slept, they managed to share 2.5 seats out of our 4 in a row and slept for abt 5 hours.  They also managed to eat the airplane meals, Aaron ate just white rice, but that was good enough.  Best of all, we had 2 of Popo's salted chicken to share between us, neatly separated into 4 Ziplock bags complete with Viva! kitchen towels and plastic gloves.  

The only real trouble during this journey was in the line to Dallas immigration.  Aaron was overtired and getting extremely cranky.  I had them both on their leashes but he kept trying to run away.  That struggle was witnessed by everyone in line and other kind travelers tried to distract him, but to no avail.  After what seemed like an hour, we finally made it through to claim our baggage and got out asap.  Finally, when we met up with my parents and DKF and DKM, it seemed like we had made a major achievement.  The car-ride back home was comfortable and stress free and the boys enjoyed their rides in their borrowed car seats from Cousin Lucas in the borrowed van from Auntie Kwan.  

Dallas, here we are! 

So You Think You Can Dance

Occasionally, my boys dance it out!

A Pretty Boy

Jerry often expresses his wish to pretend to be a girl.... For example, he doesn't like to cut his hair too short because he wants to grow it long like a girl's; or he likes the color pink more than any other color and likes pretty things (used to have a thing for Disney princesses). We are not too concerned with this expression for now, because it doesn't appear that he acts in a particularly effeminate manner. We often have conversations with him to persuade him to appreciate being a boy.

So, last night, during one of these conversations with Kelvin, he asks Jerry why he wants to be a girl. He says it's because girls are "leng" (good-looking). Kelvin defended boys and said that boys are also good-looking, using himself as an example. Jerry HAD to agree that his dad was also good-looking.... He also agreed that he will be "leng jai" so that many girls will chase after him. He would choose the prettiest girl out of the group and she will also be rich. He will give her all the money in his piggybank and have more kids than us. He doesn't want just 2...he wants 10 or even 100 kids and he told Kelvin, seriously, that there will be 100 grandchildren calling him yeh yeh.

A wife to kill cockroaches

Tonight, we had dinner at PoPo's place. Karen and Andrew had been staying at her place these past nights and were coming home with us tonight. We all bustled into the 7-seater and Andrew was the last one to get in the passenger seat. He got in and quickly jumped out again saying "Ho wut dut ah (Really Gross!) When he came back in, he said that he saw a cockroach trying to crawl in.... We were all discussing how gross it really would be if a cockroach was in the car with us and what could we possibly do. Kelvin was saying that he could kill it if we all kept calm. Jerry said he would get a wife to help! That cracked us all up. He and his future wife would each use a weapon against the cockroach, one with a cane and another with a sweeper. His wife would also be one who will teach him things, play with him and do everything with him. In written form, it may not seem so funny, you had to be there. But, seriously, it was hilarious. It's comforting that he has set such tangible goals for his future! haha.

Random Gifts

Before Karen came to HK, she stopped by to visit the Lins in their last week in Chicago. Dr. Alberto Lin successfully landed a job in Dallas and the family is making a much desired relocation. In HK, we are very proud of and happy for the Lins although we are a little disappointed in not having visited them all that time they were there (our fault entirely). We are also grateful for the Lins to be thinking of us enough during their time of busy packin' and relocatin' to us have gotten us gifts. Thanks to Karen, too, for her gifts.

Aaron received orange water balloons with their own filler (they'll be put to good use in Dallas) plus Veggie Tales and Dora DVDs (his fave) and Jerry received Transformer T-shirts plus walkie talkie set (Karen thoughtfully researched his preference). I got Taco Bell Salsa Chicken Bowlz and Fiesta Steak Bowlz microwave dinners. These are, hands down, the most random gift that I have any recollection of receiving. So, that has motivated me to go one better and I am now on a gift buying mission!

Whilst this summer has gone off on a fairly poor start with the boys falling ill, we look forward to better days and loads of fun during our trip to Dallas in July. If we survive the heat 'n' humidity in HK, that is.

Summer, school suspension 'n' paracetomol suspension

My last post was on 11 Apr 2009! Aaron is already 2 and 1/2 (almost) and summer is upon us. Classes for all kindergartens and primary schools in HK are suspended until 26/6/09 due to the "spread" of H1N1 human swine flu in a local high school. It was originally widely spread by incoming travellers originating mostly from North America. But once a confirmed case had no apparent contact with someone from abroad, they didn't want to take chances and allow any widespread community break out.

Andrew and Karen are visiting from the States and just arrived within 2 weeks of each other. Andrew has already taken a trip to Seoul with our paternal grandparents partially as a token of filial piety (LOL). Karen arrived over the weekend, and, luckily, neither suffers from any flu-like symptoms.

Unfortunately, Jerry came down with a fever last Thursday, anyway. My suspicion is that he caught it in his English practice class on Thursday mornings. He was at first diagnosed with "typical" flu, then later, with a viral infection that's related to hand foot 'n' mouth as he later developed little white spots in his throat. Aaron, always in close proximity to big brother, caught the fever three days later (just as Jerry's broke) and his diagnosis was "flu-like illness"(?!) The worst part for us was that he threw up all over the bed...I won't go into details. Febrile children are really scary, for me, at least. The recorded temperature is close to 39 degrees C on our home thermometer and with the doctor's more accurate one, it's always above that. There is always relief when the paracetamol and the lukewarm sponge bath apparently take effect, but when the temperature rises just an hour later, it's nerve racking to think that it is something more serious. Besides, it is not yet time to take another dose of medicine and it is difficult to force down another glass of water (this is especially difficult in Aaron's case).

It appears that they are both recovering quickly, Jerry no longer complains of a soar throat. Aaron no longer has fever but is developing a slight cough. All in all, they have been active and cheerful throughout their time of illness and that has taken some of the stress out of the whole experience. Both LH and I understand that for the rest of our lives, our children's well-being will always be at center stage of our focus. Whilst it is tiring and stressful at times, we are encouraged by and thankful for their progress and improvement every day.

Speaking of improvement, Jerry has earned another award this year for achievement in good behavior and academics! He got this same award in K1 last year and we did not expect a repeat. We are extremely proud of our Dai Gor Gor and hope that his interest and curiosity in learning and creation can continue.

Aaron's 2nd Birthday

Today was Aaron's 2nd Birthday and we held a party for him at home, with a few cousins. In contrast to Lucas' first birthday, we didn't have any decorations or home-baked anything, but I did make spaghetti bolognese (my version of it, anyway), fruit salad and chicken wings with pizza delivered.

Just a couple of weeks before this day, Aaron suddenly "grew up". He was not longer uber-fussy or difficult to handle and he has lost some of his "spirited-ness". We can take him out to restaurants without feeling antsy or exhausted. He is ever so sweet most of the time and is even willing to mimick us talking (previously, he would look away, pretending he didn't hear). This is the day that we have been looking forward to for a long long time. He can count to ten, identify about over a dozen objects by both their Chinese as well as English names and give simple commands ("nai nai" a.k.a. milk, "four" -meaning, "chor", the Chinese word for sit, or otherwise just using his strong arms to push/pull us around to whereever/whatever he wants).

Aaron cuts the cake...

Aaron eats the cake...

He is thrilled with his first trike that Uncle Ken and Aunt Meiji bought!

Everyone dug in the Playdoh playset from Aunt Angelica and Uncle George.
Cousin Duncan looking cheeky.

Cousin Jasper taking a nap.

Cousin Heidi and the little Playdoh chick her mommy made!

Cousin Evan!

Uncle Jay!

Jerry's Prayer

Today, I took Jerry to school as they have a storytelling time 15 minutes before class. The teacher saw me and asked if I was feeling better. She told me that Jerry told her that I was not well and that I had to skip my "exercise" (I have a regular pilates class on Mondays and I skipped it this week due to a sore throat and cough; I told Jerry that I wasn't feeling well). As it turns out, Jerry brought this up during prayer time at school when the teacher asked if anyone had something to pray about. So, he told his class that I wasn't well and had to miss doing exercise. I am deeply touched and grateful for his thoughtfulness...I love my son!!

what does it take to be a parent

Today, I attended Jerry's school for their "class observation day".

Basically, it's where the parents sit in on their class and observe what the kids do in the course of a "typical" school day. Right at the start of the visit, I realised that I do not particularly want to be a "hands-on" parent who has to know what goes on during the school day. I was utterly bored with the explanatory meetings before and after the actual "observation" and frankly, the class itself was boring.

I really don't want to go through kindergarten again from any perspective; it is more important for my son to live the experience as I had lived through mine at that age (sans parental participation/interference).

I suppose it's good to know that my son learns how to speak 'n' spell, count, be polite, sensitive, considerate and sufficiently responsive in class (and more importantly, learns how to go to the bathroom and wash his hands). However, I don't feel like I have to be part of it while he is in school. I prefer the mystery of school to the extent that I can ask my son, every now and then: "Is that what they teach you in school?" and either sing his praises for any good behavior or "tut tut" my disbelief at any sort of misbehavior (thereby disclaiming any resposibility).

I feel that perhaps I am not a parent of this particular era as I am uninterested in constantly breathing down the teachers' necks over any minor detail involving my son and his time and achievements in and out of kindergarten as some parents are wont to do. I like my son to come home and tell me what he chooses about his day instead of knowing the details of each passing moment beforehand from either the teachers or other devoted parents who spend just as much time at the school to gather every detail. Don't get me wrong, I love my sons, but I just don't want to go through school with them (it literally bores me to tears).

I wish to separate home from school in the years to follow. (Then again, I might renege on my proclamation and be the most clingy, demanding and interfering parent and end up carrying my sons' school bags until they graduate from college :p...fingers double-crossed that that doesn't happen).