Saturday, October 18, 2014
polishing silver and metal
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
A little hexabug
Sunday, October 12, 2014
J.W.A update
I know it has been so long since I have written here, but I really want to make an effort to capture some of their moments in their life here.
So starting with J... J is blossoming nicely into a fine young lady. She still loves to dance, and most specifically ballet. She is starting with a new studio this year, and I think this is THE studio, God willing. In fact, I'm putting her passion for ballet into God's hand. She is doing some catch up this year since she is learning Cecchetti ballet instead of Russian ballet. She is learning grade 1/2 and 3 as well as learning Cecchetti grade 4. Plus with the nutcracker production and she is in production for all 3 grades. But her teacher is hopeful she will be doing just grade 4 by spring. So needless to say, she is busy. The good thing about J is that she is flexible. :) It took a little nudging for her to switch studio but I think she is enjoying her new studio and/or have adapted beautifully. She is officially on her 2nd pointe shoes this fall. J's other passion is music, whether it is playing piano or learning a new instrument, i.e the violin, the girl's got passion. I think music touches her soul in a way words perhaps cannot. Though somewhere this year, her love of farm/restaurant story has turned into wattpad where people write, read, and share their story. So this is what J likes to do, I think, ballet, music, and wattpad and of course hanging out with her friends. All this and she balances with her homeschool load, which is pretty amazing! The girl got good time-management skill. I can go on, but in short, I am proud of my little girl and who she is becoming ; if only she will remember her mom's pet peeve- the laundry. haha. Most of the time, I see a smile on her face and know she is thriving and it makes me very happy. :)
Now moving on to W... W is still my sweet, responsible, smart, and somewhat head in the cloud boy. W joined his friends this year in robotics (FLL) this year. I think even though it added a lot more to his plate, it has been a great experience for him. He discovered the fun of making his own games, creating his own little blog to help with their team's mission: world hunger, and of course programming the robot. W also continues to work on his martial arts with daddy and is officially a red belt. They are diligent in going to to their practices and their goal is black belt! W's big passion this year seems to be reading about SONIC hedgehog. He gets so excited when he buys those books at the local comic store and devours them when he gets a hold of them. And when he is done, he is so excited for the next book that his eyes are bright and all his teeth are showing. :) It is quite different from the intense concentration J has when she reads or contemplative look when she finishes reading. Perhaps that's part of the head in the cloud which I think all true artist needs to live pt in that imaginary world. I think his imagination gets so fired up after he is reading that he cant help but smile and then goes to design/draw his own stories as he has imagined it.W is also managing his time really well, with never before 5 homeschool classes, Chinese classes, art classes, etc. He is busier than ever. Hopefully he won't get any busier than this since i know my boy likes his down time to do his own creating and chilling out with his rip stick.
Last but not the least, I come to write about Mr. A. Mr. A is a little ball of fire, heart and smiles. When he is sweet, he can be the sweetest little boy with his kisses and all his sweet talk of love. But when he is mad, he roars likes an angry lion and you better stand back. Mr. A is also full of heart and have high emotional EQ. He is quite a sensitive little boys and pays close attention to family member's emotions. The good thing is he is mostly sweet at least to me/daddy. But with J/W, I'd venture to say sometimes it is like 50/50. Maybe it is because he is the youngest, he has to fight for his standing? Mr. A has made a lot of progress since he first came back from China. I think he readjusted to going to church and being able to be dropped off. He is still very attached to mommy and loves to play with daddy when daddy is available. But he also likes playing with his little buddy, a boy named J, who is going on 5. They see other quite often as a result of their older sibling's schedule. Mr. A still wants to sleep with mommy every night and he still sleeps with his baby who has been with him since he was little. He has really good concentration and can sit very still when it comes to book and can listen to a very long, and fairly complicated story. Stories I remember reading to J when she is close to kindergarten. Even though Mr. A is not exactly Mr. social, he loves to have someone to play with him. Whereas I remember when W was little, he can play in his imaginary world for a long time. Not Mr A, the boy is always looking for someone, namely mommy or daddy, to play with him. I also notice he likes to count and already knows the rule of one to one correspondence up to 10.
So all 3 kids are doing well and that is all for now. Thanks for reading if you made it all the way to the end. HA
So starting with J... J is blossoming nicely into a fine young lady. She still loves to dance, and most specifically ballet. She is starting with a new studio this year, and I think this is THE studio, God willing. In fact, I'm putting her passion for ballet into God's hand. She is doing some catch up this year since she is learning Cecchetti ballet instead of Russian ballet. She is learning grade 1/2 and 3 as well as learning Cecchetti grade 4. Plus with the nutcracker production and she is in production for all 3 grades. But her teacher is hopeful she will be doing just grade 4 by spring. So needless to say, she is busy. The good thing about J is that she is flexible. :) It took a little nudging for her to switch studio but I think she is enjoying her new studio and/or have adapted beautifully. She is officially on her 2nd pointe shoes this fall. J's other passion is music, whether it is playing piano or learning a new instrument, i.e the violin, the girl's got passion. I think music touches her soul in a way words perhaps cannot. Though somewhere this year, her love of farm/restaurant story has turned into wattpad where people write, read, and share their story. So this is what J likes to do, I think, ballet, music, and wattpad and of course hanging out with her friends. All this and she balances with her homeschool load, which is pretty amazing! The girl got good time-management skill. I can go on, but in short, I am proud of my little girl and who she is becoming ; if only she will remember her mom's pet peeve- the laundry. haha. Most of the time, I see a smile on her face and know she is thriving and it makes me very happy. :)
Now moving on to W... W is still my sweet, responsible, smart, and somewhat head in the cloud boy. W joined his friends this year in robotics (FLL) this year. I think even though it added a lot more to his plate, it has been a great experience for him. He discovered the fun of making his own games, creating his own little blog to help with their team's mission: world hunger, and of course programming the robot. W also continues to work on his martial arts with daddy and is officially a red belt. They are diligent in going to to their practices and their goal is black belt! W's big passion this year seems to be reading about SONIC hedgehog. He gets so excited when he buys those books at the local comic store and devours them when he gets a hold of them. And when he is done, he is so excited for the next book that his eyes are bright and all his teeth are showing. :) It is quite different from the intense concentration J has when she reads or contemplative look when she finishes reading. Perhaps that's part of the head in the cloud which I think all true artist needs to live pt in that imaginary world. I think his imagination gets so fired up after he is reading that he cant help but smile and then goes to design/draw his own stories as he has imagined it.W is also managing his time really well, with never before 5 homeschool classes, Chinese classes, art classes, etc. He is busier than ever. Hopefully he won't get any busier than this since i know my boy likes his down time to do his own creating and chilling out with his rip stick.
Last but not the least, I come to write about Mr. A. Mr. A is a little ball of fire, heart and smiles. When he is sweet, he can be the sweetest little boy with his kisses and all his sweet talk of love. But when he is mad, he roars likes an angry lion and you better stand back. Mr. A is also full of heart and have high emotional EQ. He is quite a sensitive little boys and pays close attention to family member's emotions. The good thing is he is mostly sweet at least to me/daddy. But with J/W, I'd venture to say sometimes it is like 50/50. Maybe it is because he is the youngest, he has to fight for his standing? Mr. A has made a lot of progress since he first came back from China. I think he readjusted to going to church and being able to be dropped off. He is still very attached to mommy and loves to play with daddy when daddy is available. But he also likes playing with his little buddy, a boy named J, who is going on 5. They see other quite often as a result of their older sibling's schedule. Mr. A still wants to sleep with mommy every night and he still sleeps with his baby who has been with him since he was little. He has really good concentration and can sit very still when it comes to book and can listen to a very long, and fairly complicated story. Stories I remember reading to J when she is close to kindergarten. Even though Mr. A is not exactly Mr. social, he loves to have someone to play with him. Whereas I remember when W was little, he can play in his imaginary world for a long time. Not Mr A, the boy is always looking for someone, namely mommy or daddy, to play with him. I also notice he likes to count and already knows the rule of one to one correspondence up to 10.
So all 3 kids are doing well and that is all for now. Thanks for reading if you made it all the way to the end. HA
Monday, May 19, 2014
Almost 3
Well, A is almost 3 and talks a lot. Here is a typical conversation with A
playing wii sword fighting,
Older brother asks, "Who is that?
A," I have no idea, but I MUST win!" :)
Or daddy sings him a song titled "Mommy is the best in the world" (instead, daddy changes, "mommy" to "daddy" and A says, "OKAY, daddy, IF you say so". ha-ha.
Lately, as we plan on going to China very soon, A has been telling me he is excited to go every day. A big part of the excitement is he thinks there will be many little friends waiting to play with him. :) And "I will share my sucker with all of them". Since he knows his birthday is in June and is coming up, he is excited he will get a BIG birthday cake. I ask him, if he wants chocolate cake or vanilla or one with a lot fruit or one with lots of frosting, he says, "lots of fruits". So eventually, he wants " a big fruit birthday cake". I say, your friends are going to say, yum, it tastes so good" and A replies, "Yup, it sure is!" :)
Or if we tell A we are going out to eat and what would he like to eat, instead of answering, he asks, "WHERE?"
Anyway, this is a fun age. The best is when A sees other friends, then he play well with other kids. Otherwise, he needs me to pay attention AKA play with him. So in the fall, he will be going to preschool 2x a week. Hoping that will be a great experience for him and give him more opportunity to play independently but also with other children.
playing wii sword fighting,
Older brother asks, "Who is that?
A," I have no idea, but I MUST win!" :)
Or daddy sings him a song titled "Mommy is the best in the world" (instead, daddy changes, "mommy" to "daddy" and A says, "OKAY, daddy, IF you say so". ha-ha.
Lately, as we plan on going to China very soon, A has been telling me he is excited to go every day. A big part of the excitement is he thinks there will be many little friends waiting to play with him. :) And "I will share my sucker with all of them". Since he knows his birthday is in June and is coming up, he is excited he will get a BIG birthday cake. I ask him, if he wants chocolate cake or vanilla or one with a lot fruit or one with lots of frosting, he says, "lots of fruits". So eventually, he wants " a big fruit birthday cake". I say, your friends are going to say, yum, it tastes so good" and A replies, "Yup, it sure is!" :)
Or if we tell A we are going out to eat and what would he like to eat, instead of answering, he asks, "WHERE?"
Anyway, this is a fun age. The best is when A sees other friends, then he play well with other kids. Otherwise, he needs me to pay attention AKA play with him. So in the fall, he will be going to preschool 2x a week. Hoping that will be a great experience for him and give him more opportunity to play independently but also with other children.
Friday, March 7, 2014
A is making progress playing independently
Someone told me that after the child turns 2 and 1/2, the child will be able to play more independently. That has def. been the case with Mr. A. Of course, he still like for someone to play with him but there are times in the day where I found him playing by himself. For example he will play with animals and he is doing the pretend talking. Before, it was always "I want you to make the (insert animal) talk".
A is also making progress socially. While the older kids are in their homeschool classes, moms with small children gather in the nursery and the children play. It is very unstructured. Before, it was very difficult for me to talk with other moms since A needs me a lot more. But recently, probably in part because he has become used to the routine, he has been playing more independently. Last week, I was there for about 1 1/2 hours, and A did not need me at all! I was shocked. It was wonderful. I had a great time chatting with other moms and he was happily playing. Also recently while we are in the library, A played with another little boy who is 4 and even let the other boy hold his hands and lead the play. Before that, the two boys played on their own. Mostly because A gets defensive when other children comes close. He is very protective of his personal space. When he came back, he says J is his friend and he likes him. :)
One activity I have found that occupies A for quite some time is water play. I give him a big bowl filled with water and add little detergent and little water color to make it more appealing. I also give him a funnel, a test tube and two containers to pour water back and forth. Of course, I also give him a towel to wipe his spills. He loves this and plays happily by himself for 15-25 minutes. This is great since sometimes A will say "I want to do something!" which is his way of saying I'm bored.
Ok, just now, A is saying, "Somebody play with me!" :) Also, at church, gone are the days when I have to worry if I will get paged or not because A is crying. In fact, he likes going to Sunday school. We'll just have to work on him liking preschool in the fall because we do plan on sending him. I think that help him get more comfortable with other children and adults. Just yesterday, I told him I am going to take him to see different preschool and see which one he likes. He points and touches my nose, and says, "I like mommy preschool." ha-ha! Guess I can't trick him.
A is increasingly aware of his feeling and is not shy of saying them in front of others. A favorite saying is "I don't like you!" :( He has little outbursts of emotions but in general recovers quite quickly. A lot of times, he put himself in timeout, like facing a corner or hide in the pantry and close the door for 5-10 sec. then he'll come out and be happy.
One thing that has been consistent is he never wants to go bed although on rare occasions, he will say, "I want you to put me to bed". A also never wants to take a bath. So we still struggle with that.
Something A continue to love is singing. He knows quite a few songs and surprisingly is not afraid to sing it in front to others. I have taught him few simple Chinese songs and he loves to sing them. We love to hear that, makes me happy to hear him sing. It def. makes him happy.
So overall, A is doing fantastic! He has not been sick at all this winter and is the only person in our family who has that distinction. Most he has had was a little running nose. For that, I'm extremely thankful.
A is also making progress socially. While the older kids are in their homeschool classes, moms with small children gather in the nursery and the children play. It is very unstructured. Before, it was very difficult for me to talk with other moms since A needs me a lot more. But recently, probably in part because he has become used to the routine, he has been playing more independently. Last week, I was there for about 1 1/2 hours, and A did not need me at all! I was shocked. It was wonderful. I had a great time chatting with other moms and he was happily playing. Also recently while we are in the library, A played with another little boy who is 4 and even let the other boy hold his hands and lead the play. Before that, the two boys played on their own. Mostly because A gets defensive when other children comes close. He is very protective of his personal space. When he came back, he says J is his friend and he likes him. :)
One activity I have found that occupies A for quite some time is water play. I give him a big bowl filled with water and add little detergent and little water color to make it more appealing. I also give him a funnel, a test tube and two containers to pour water back and forth. Of course, I also give him a towel to wipe his spills. He loves this and plays happily by himself for 15-25 minutes. This is great since sometimes A will say "I want to do something!" which is his way of saying I'm bored.
Ok, just now, A is saying, "Somebody play with me!" :) Also, at church, gone are the days when I have to worry if I will get paged or not because A is crying. In fact, he likes going to Sunday school. We'll just have to work on him liking preschool in the fall because we do plan on sending him. I think that help him get more comfortable with other children and adults. Just yesterday, I told him I am going to take him to see different preschool and see which one he likes. He points and touches my nose, and says, "I like mommy preschool." ha-ha! Guess I can't trick him.
A is increasingly aware of his feeling and is not shy of saying them in front of others. A favorite saying is "I don't like you!" :( He has little outbursts of emotions but in general recovers quite quickly. A lot of times, he put himself in timeout, like facing a corner or hide in the pantry and close the door for 5-10 sec. then he'll come out and be happy.
One thing that has been consistent is he never wants to go bed although on rare occasions, he will say, "I want you to put me to bed". A also never wants to take a bath. So we still struggle with that.
Something A continue to love is singing. He knows quite a few songs and surprisingly is not afraid to sing it in front to others. I have taught him few simple Chinese songs and he loves to sing them. We love to hear that, makes me happy to hear him sing. It def. makes him happy.
So overall, A is doing fantastic! He has not been sick at all this winter and is the only person in our family who has that distinction. Most he has had was a little running nose. For that, I'm extremely thankful.
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