01.30.08
Posted in Livy at 3:15 pm by tina
The little copycat and I went on an endurance fight last night between the ungodly hour of 3 am to 5 am.
I refused to bring her to our bed, and she refused to sleep on her own. Apparently, she decided that she wasn’t going down without a fight.
There was I who went in intionally with gentle love; explained things to her; patted her; gave her lots of hugs and kisses; then all I got was more screaming.
There was I who decided to let her cry out; I closed all the doors; worked on my laptop; counted sheep in my head; then all I got was louder screaming.
There was I who went to get her so I can fetch her some water (what possessed me to feed her more source of tears I do not know, but I didn’t want the tyrant to be too dehydrated).
I will be the first to admit that I did not have a happy face while getting her a cup of water. What did the copycat do after I firmly said to her “Olivia Chen, you are going to drink the water and go to sleep in your crib”? She gave me even meaner evil eyes.
We stared at each other with our fiercest looks. She then turned to the mirror (I guess she wanted to make sure that she did after all, have a meaner look than her mother) then stared back at me with satisfaction.
I put her back in her crib, then all I got was even more screaming.
I can’t even begin to imagine the stunts we will have to face when she is a teenager!
Permalink
01.21.08
Posted in Life with my girls at 9:43 pm by tina
The girl might complain about how daddy is messy, doesn’t follow rules, ALWAYS LATE, and the eggs he made was all wrong (therefore she could not possibly eat her breakfast) amongst a list of other things. However, one thing she does not whine about, is “Daddy is the strongest in our family”:
Permalink
Posted in Life with my girls at 9:23 pm by tina
We usually do a project on the night or weekend that we stay in. There is a pile of the crafts/experiments I store in the closet, all of which my choices of things to do with the girls… until last week.
The girl found “links for parents and educators” on two of the websites she goes on regularly, and she’s been printing out HER choice of project we must do together. This morning I was woken up with this Cardboard Car page in my face with Maddy’s comment “When can we do this project?”
Thanksfully, it does not require any fancy materials or some detailed handywork. We were able to whip up our own version of cardboard car tonight:
Permalink
01.19.08
Posted in Life with my girls at 11:18 pm by tina
During Maddy’s night time routine in her room-
Mommy: Hi sweety, thanks for being so sweet to meimei today, even when she sat on your hand by accident and knocked over your things on purpose.
Maddy: And she didn’t say sorry either.
Mommy: I know. Sometimes she is a little bit naughty. She needs a little more practice to have good manners.
Mei-mei can be so mischievous. Unlike her sister who will tear right up out of remorse when scolded, the baby just smiles (sometimes laughes when she does not out right ignore me). But her pure passion to be a mini-Maddy is charming enough to win a soft spot with her jie-jie, who is all about justice and rules:
Permalink
Posted in Maddy at 10:22 pm by tina
The girl had two sessions of Chinese School so far. I can’t really decide if I like the class format or not, although the girl has not complained about the school. Daddy did make her cry the other day when he was supposed to help her with the review. He made the girl feel like she couldn’t do Chinese.. Joe Chen, of all people.
They’re actually writing the characters (for some schoolwide competition). It is something out of my expectations, and I decided that I will go with the flow and have Maddy practice if she is up to it. I cringed involuntarily at first because her strokes were all wrong, but did manage to stay composed and praised her for her very diligent effort. They are not bad at all:
Permalink
01.08.08
Posted in Maddy at 10:22 pm by tina
For the past four years, I’ve always delighted to find out that Maddy gets promoted to her next level class one (sometimes two) months ahead of schedule. Today, we got another transition letter for her to move up to K2 before she turns 4 1/2.
For the first time, I felt extremely sad. My big girl is going to start her last preschool class. For the first time, I want her to just be my baby girl a little longer.
They will be keeping a journal in K2 with their weekly writings/drawings. It looks like I, the most un-sentimental person I know, might just start keeping some ‘useless stuff’ in the closet somewhere.
Permalink
01.07.08
Posted in Maddy at 11:29 pm by tina
Maddy started to have a keen interest in phonics/writing recently. It’s been pleasant to hear her sing all the alphabet songs from the Alphabits For Kids (The phonics materials their preschool uses) while the baby girl helps with the letter sounds in between.
She has been working on her weekly show-and-tell since this weekend. I only help her printed out the pictures she chose and gave small suggestion on how to arrange them on the poster board. The girl cut, glued, and wrote the title all by herself.
One month today we will register her for kindergarten. She is really growing up!
Permalink
Posted in Livy at 10:13 pm by tina
From the unlikely pair:
The dog would purposely stay very close to the baby’s chair during meal time partly because she knows that food scraps come from the messy baby and partly she enjoys mei-mei’s “Brow–ie!!” whining.
The baby girl would hold a dog treat showing it off to Brownie but refuse to give it. She would chase the poor animal around the coffee table for the sole purpose of irritating the dog.
They just stare at each other for prolong period of time. It is hilarious!
Permalink
01.04.08
Posted in Life with my girls at 11:26 pm by tina
Maddy started to learn music technique such as legato during her last piano lesson before Christmas, and I thought it is time to get her a real piano. After much internal debate, I decided to get a console instead of a baby grand (for now). Two things that I wanted:
1) A solid brand with good sounds and controls of the keys, and the two brands I love are Yamaha and Steinway
2) One that I will not freak out if the girls touch it with slightly greasy hands or accidently make any kind of marks on it.
So our first beginner piano came in this morning. We had a lot of fun with it tonight, including the baby who made a big deal of insisting on banging the keys (and I was so glad that I went with the more practical choice). I too broke out my old music and attempted to play it.
Hopefully music will be a big part of the girls’ lives growing up…
Permalink
Posted in Maddy at 10:31 pm by tina
It is the start of learning the values of saving, delayed gratification, offering/giving, and hopefully it will make positive impact for the rest of the girl’s life!
Permalink
