10.31.07
Posted in Livy at 9:49 pm by tina
Height: 31 1/4 inches (10-25%)
Weight: 21 pound 11 oz (10-25%)
During all the hustle and bussle of me carefully calculating where to send Maddy to school next year, what activity to replace her ballet, what reading/math skills she should have acquired, the baby has taught herself how to put on socks and shoes by herself, without mistakes of the shoe going on the wrong foot
New things she says:
1) jiao-jiao (feet)
2) Hi
3) bye-bye
Boby parts she knows (in Chinese)
Hair, nose, ear, teeth, tongue, hands, feet, belly button
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Posted in Life with my girls at 9:22 pm by tina
I don’t know what possessed me to have Livy’s 18th month checkup, both girls’ flu shot appointments on halloween day where there is parade and party at school, the usual treat or trick adventures around the neighborhood and church (where it is called fall harvest, of course)
Why I decided that surely I can run multiple errands including getting all the candies needed for the day and preparing stuff for the weekend race, and not cancelling Maddy’s piano lesson is beyond me.
I am totally exhausted; hungry yet unable to bring myself downstairs to fetch for some food. The bright side: The girls enjoyed all the adventures and didn’t consume as much sweet as I feared.
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10.29.07
Posted in Misc at 10:40 pm by tina
Two good friends from CA visited us this past weekend. We had served on the worship team together, and they were the couple we can always count on for last minute “lets-go-out-to-eat” ventures. And I admit, I shamelessly stole the name “Livy” from their adorable daughter Livy.
We did the typical “tour” of RTP (thank goodness they weren’t here too long because we had exhausted everything we can show them in hmm.. a few hours), but had wonderful conversations over just about everything. And we know we’re amongst good friends when we can carry on our usual acitivites at night with them:
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10.22.07
Posted in Life with my girls at 8:38 pm by tina
The baby turned 18-month old yesterday, and I am surprised to find that some of the 18-24 month clothings are fitting her perfectly. She is at the age where she really interacts with jiejie now. They adore each other; they copy each other (well, mostly meimei copies jiejie); they feed off each other. It’s a pure delight to see them play with each other: one runs very fast and the other follows a few seconds behind.
Some ah-ye at church told me jokingly that she would pay me to babysit the pair. I am just thankful to be able to enjoy them everyday, to watch their bond grow, to see them get along so well even though their personalities are mountains apart.
I’m grateful that God has entrusted these two to us. It’s definitely more beautiful than I had ever imagined!
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10.16.07
Posted in Livy at 10:53 pm by tina
Typical scenario in the car ride-
Livy: ma-ma; Ma-Ma; MA-MAA!!!! [screaming louder than the movie by this time]
Mommy: [turned around] What do you want, Oliva Chen?
Livy: row row row, row row row..
Mommy: You want mommy to sing row row row?
Livy: [with a cutest and sweetest smile] Yea!!
Mommy: [singing] Row row row your boat… [finishes the song]
Livy: ma-ma; Ma-Ma: MA-MAA!!!
And the vicious cycle starts.
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Posted in Maddy at 10:04 pm by tina
Maddy had a bad dream last night and I ended up falling asleep in her bed. This morning, I was woken by her mumbling to herself:
I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag,
Of the United States of America,
And To the Republic For Which It Stands,
One Nation, Under God, “In-den-vinsible” (or something to that effect),
With Liberty And Justice For All
Good morning, good morning, good morning to you..
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10.13.07
Posted in Life with my girls at 9:14 pm by tina
It’s always a treat when auntie Betty comes in town. The girls love to hang out with their favorite (and only) ah-ye. It looks like meimei is getting a hang of it and starting to goof around with auntie Betty:
We also met a new uncle. The girls approve of him:
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10.09.07
Posted in Misc at 3:56 pm by tina
The man of the household is going through some pre-midlife crisis lately, complaining about how his volleyball is just not like what it used to be and how other players would ask if he is injured in any way. He even made a passing comment about the vball picture I posted on my last entry since his spike was blocked instead of feared.
And being as awesome as a wife as I am (as I reserve the right to say anything I want on my blog): Instead of rolling my eyes and laugh it off like I would usually have done, I decided to dig out an old picture taken when we were in Taxas and compared to another one last night.
You can so not tell that he has aged 
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10.08.07
Posted in Life with my girls at 9:00 pm by tina
Once in a while, we the girls abandon our usual spots and outings to give daddy some emotional support. They were actually looking at the game (with small help from a bit of snacks):
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10.04.07
Posted in Misc at 11:53 pm by tina
It really doesn’t affect us the fact that SCHIP got veto-ed this week. We are the lucky ones. Our girls are covered well under health insurance. They even get to go to fancy pediatric dentists regularly.
But I know how it is not having health insurance. I didn’t have one until I started working, and I remember bearing toothaches and insisting on just staying in the dorm when I first found out my food allergies simply because it will cost too much money to go to the doctors. Still, I was ok. When you’re in your 20’s and in general a healthy person, you can ‘tough it out’ in many cases.
But I was mad when I first heard about the Veto. I haven’t even cared that much about wasting the HUNDRED BILLIONS of my tax money in the war on, right, finding MWoD. A fraction of that amount to care for young children is simply a RIGHT thing to do, regardless if the care is socialized medicine or privatized care.
I can’t imagine not able to take Maddy to the doctors when she had her seizures and I thought I was going to lose her.
I can’t imagine not being able to give Livy special infant care when she came out 6 weeks too early and needed 24-hour monitoring and extra oxygen to help her survive.
I can’t imagine any mother not able to take their children to the doctors because they don’t have money.
For 10 million American children and their families, it is about to become the harsh reality. I might not know any of them personally due to our demographics, but I don’t need to know them. I AM a mother of two young children. That is enough to break anyone’s heart!
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10.03.07
Posted in Life with my girls at 10:22 pm by tina
Just when I’m all settled and happy with the girl’s extracurricular activities of piano and ballet, the ballet school is closing down due to unforseen problem with their landlord.
So we tried out this sibling’s class in MyGym Cary (I thought it would be great if both girls can participate in something together). The class is cute; unfortunately, I think Maddy is too old for it and Livy is too young for it:
My second attempt was to call another ballet school. Not so lucky for us. The class we want (ballet/tap) has a long waitlist.
I even asked the girl if she would be interested to attend a Chinese school (with chinese dance/painting options at the end). The girl gave me a definite “no”, and I wasn’t going to force her doing something I am not even full hearted into.
Bummer for mommy. I guess we will be park/museum hopping on Sat mornings until further notice.
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