Swim

These are fresh photos of me from today's swimming class. I've had about 8 classes now and I am very comfortable submerging in the water. I used to hate getting my face wet and cried for a couple of classes but no choice, everyone was doing them...such peer pressure! But I guess it's not so bad. Mommy asked the teacher when I will be able to swim (isn't she an impatient one?) and she said that by the end of December, she should be able to release me in the water and I should be able to paddle a couple of meters. How exciting is that?

First Day of Nursery

It was my first day in Nursery class today. Much to mommy's surprise, I did not cry as much as she thought I would. She tried to prepare me for this big day with Sesame Street's "First Day of School" book and CD, which I couldn't get enough of....but, can any kid ever be prepared for such trauma??? She dropped me off with my new teacher Josh and said "goodbye, I'll come back soon, Mommy always come back, right?" The tears came rolling and when Mommy sneaked a peek at me 10 minutes later, I had already stopped crying because I wasn't getting much attention from the teacher or the 2 teaching assistants who was busy tending to other kids who were wailing much louder and more dramatic than I was! The school has a camera installed in the classroom so mommy can keep me under close surveillance, even from home! She found that I wasn't a very mobile student--I kept sitting at the same desk for 25 minutes!! Should I be praised for long attention span on my puzzle? Or fear of migrating to another part of the classroom? In any case, when mommy came to pick me up 3 hours later, I cried my heart out again. But my Mandarin teacher told her that I was one of the more 'stable' ones who was good at sitting still, ate well at snack time (you knew that was coming, didn't you???), and communicated well in getting what I wanted. Ta da! Is that a successful first day or what?

The second picture I've put up here is not from school, but I wanted to share it with you anyway. Instead of scribbles, I'm painting lines now!

Ocean Park

Now that Mommy is big and heavy due to her being in the last trimester of her pregnancy, she is not up for active activities like Ocean Park anymore! Daddy has also begun taking Fridays off too to spend more time with me so we spent some quality time together there today after days and weeks of urging them to take me there. Usually, we spend our time looking at the aquarium and visiting the pandas, but today, there was a new pink train ride. Pink is my favorite color so I requested to go on it twice. I also went on a tiny ferris wheel and merry go round, followed by an acrobatic show. Normally, these colourful people would scare the wits out of me but after their incredible performance, I thought their acrobatic talent would rub off on me if I pose for a photo or two with them. Jumping has never been the same again.

Yuen Long Fire Station July 26

I had the privelege in seeing a real fire station in Yuen Long with my friend Conner today. Uncle Willie's patient is a firefighter there and arranged for us to see everything inside in person! Just like the books I've been reading, I got to sit and steer a fire and ladder truck, come down the poles like real firefighters, and even sit on a fire rescue motorcycle. There are only 2 of these in HK and it weighs 900 lbs each! There were no real fires to rescue during the time of our visit so all I got to see were firemen playing volleyball in 32 degree heat, which I suppose is not that hot compared to the hot, fiery, burning buildings they are used to!

Salon de Milo

After a handful of people asked in the past month where I get my haircut (they all made an obvious guess that a bowl had something to do with it), Mommy reluctantly took me to a new hairdresser where he 'corrected' my previous haircut. I still prefer to get my cut while sitting on Mommy's lap but as long as you give me some snacks, I will sit still and not fuss like I did before. After returning home, I showed my flair for hairstyling working on mommy and daddy's hair.

My first time in Singapore

Over the weekend, I flew to "Sing-pall" on an "hair-pain" with my buddies Ethan, Tristan, his brother Tyler, and Alex. As I was just over my 2 weeks of psoriasis, mommy & daddy did not let me try the nation's famous chili crab nor pepper crab, but I did have a taste of their chicken rice. We all went to the zoo and saw many animals up close. It was so hot in the 34 degree weather but we all cooled down in their water park where I spent 1.5 hours just running thru water sprinklers. The highlight of the day was riding on the big elephant and hand feeding the goats fresh vegetables. It was an unforgettable trip and I'll be sure to return to visit the animals once again very soon.

What I have been up to the last 4 weeks or so

Wow, it feels like forever that I have not gotten in touch with you all and I apologize for that. Let me give you a little update on what's been happening!

Top photo: Easter--homemade hat made by mommy for my easter party at school. I had a couple of easter egg hunt parties and I indulged for the very first time the taste of chocolate!

2nd photo: Block building has become one of my favorite activities (but nothing beats cooking in my very own kitchen--that is still my all time favorite). I am now getting much more creative and multidimensional with the blocks, as you can see!

3rd photo: Daddy & Mommy got me a chalkboard and drawing board for my birthday. I show off my ambidextrous ability here...I still do not know whether I'm a leftie or rightie!

4th photo: today, I visited an organic fruit and vegetable farm and got to pick strawberries and cherry tomatoes. They are tiny compared to the US long stemmed steroid strawberries I'm used to eating, but they were oh so sweet.

5th photo: I spent yesterday's public holiday with my granparents in Gold Coast playing on the beach. Ma-ma taught me how to make sand meatballs--this family cannot stay away from the thought of food!

Last photo: For my 2nd birthday, I had my own Thomas the Train birthday cake. I celebrated it with 21 other friends in an indoor playgym running and jumping around--I had such an awesome time!

Since turning 2, I've not shown any signs of "terrible 2". In fact, mommy calls me "terrific 2". I'm speaking so much more now and I do enjoy telling mommy and daddy everything that's on my mind: pa-ta (pasta), mi-to (tomato), or-gee (strawberries), noodle (no translation required), doong-gu (mushroom in cantonese), mushoom (mushroom in english), and the list goes on. I surely would not starve, despite my limited vocabulary.

A New Look from Salon de Mom

It's been over 2 months since my last haircut--it was getting too long and shaggy. Mommy decided it was time to try cutting my hair instead of taking me to the barber, probably because the last time I was there, I ended up having a terrible temper tantrum and throwing things in front of the hairstylist and the assistant. This time, mommy put on my favorite Japanese doggy movie and she finished the cut in 10 minutes. Without close inspection, I actually don't look half bad.

The other photo featured here is my work of art from last month. It is my version of the IFC tower--I did it all by myself!

Blast from the Past

Has it really been over a month since I've made an entry in my blog??? Mommy should be ashamed for being so lazy! She hasn't even taken many photos of me either in the past month. This one featured here is actually from last month. Here's the story: I was supposed to go for my afternoon nap as usual everyday at 1pm. From time to time, I like to make mommy's life miserable by making a fuss and crying until she comes back into my bedroom. She realised there was nothing wrong with me each time she checked so she stopped coming in even though I was wailing from the top of my lungs. The next time she checked up on me, I was so tired from crying that I fell asleep on my pillow while standing up. She thought it was such a funny sight that she snapped a picture and then gently put me flat down, horizontally, on my bed.

Year of the Ox begins

Gung hei gung hei. 12 days late but nonetheless the good wishes must be wished! It has been a memorable 2nd Chinese New Year for me. Even though we all stayed in HK instead of being on a fancy holiday, it was wonderful to gather together so many times with my grandparents and family. We otherwise would not have this chance and of course, in the process, take advantage of the lai see bonanza. Did you notice my golden yellow Chinese dragon outfit matched with the blue with a golden dragon--I sure looked smart, didn't I?

I went on a verbal growth spurt over the holidays much to my mommy's delight. I'm linking sentences together, singing tunes, and being a jolly loud toddler now! I've been through different phases with quirky tastes and habits--right now, I am in a phase where I'm obsessive about cars and balls. Mommy & daddy let me play with the steering wheel once a day. My daddy stepped on my plastic bat and broke it the other day--I am hoping he will replace it for me soon.

My first taste of snow...literally

Since 2009 started, I have begun going to a new playgroup at Tutor Time on Mon, Wed, and Fri. There, it is different from the playgroup I go to on Tues and Thurs which is Montessorian-based. The biggest difference is that half the class is in English and the other half is all in Mandarin. I'm not tri-lingual yet...I'm not even mono-lingual in fact! But I enjoy all the song and dance in different languages.

My daddy's friend gave me a Japanese snowman cracker today. I've been learning all about snow from my "Snow" book. I read it everyday and although I've never touched a snowflake, I know it's white and that it's fun to play in it. The cracker is the closest I've been to a snowman but there's a chance I might see snow in the next couple of months if daddy and mommy take a trip to Japan.

Last week, I was invited to my friend Tristan's 2nd birthday. What a day! We spent it at Disneyland. I saw the parade with Mickey, Minnie, Pooh and all my other Disney friends. I spent a lot of the time just roaming in one area playing with demo toys with my friends Tristan, Ethan and Alex.

I continue to work a lot in my kitchen. Chopping fake fruits and vegetables just doesn't do it for me. I much prefer the real stuff. Here you see me looking like a real prep cook chopping bak choy.

Tonight, I'm going for my first hot pot meal and pretty soon, it will be Chinese New Year! Can't wait to get into my Chinese costume! More photos later friends!

Happy 2009 New Year!

What a week it has been. I thought I just show you some of the things I got up to with the photos above. Many have said that they are glad that 2008 is over--that the so called "financial tsunami" has affected everyone globally. I can't say that I felt any bit of it at all! 2008 was a year of stumbles and falls--true: because I was learning to walk most of the time, but overall, I had loads of fun, learnt so much, made lots of friends and tried out many new foods! 2009, I predict, will be even more exciting as I begin to talk more and more, express myself better verbally, run faster and jump higher. I don't care whether the stock market goes north or south--I'm a contented active toddler either way.