老虎，小狗，小兔一家

爱哭的男孩

2011-02-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

旻恺的眼泪很容易掉下来。

星期六下午，我们好不容易到了图书馆，5:44。图书馆5点就关门了。旻恺不肯相信，跑到门口去看。得到证实以后，眼泪就掉下来了。
“下次你可以提醒你爸爸图书馆五点关门了。” 我听到旻恺问了好几次可以走了吗, 他爸爸忙到最后还是让我带过来。
“我们三点就可以来的。我两点半问爸爸什么时候来时，他说再过半个小时的。”应付这种逻辑性强的孩子...
“那你今天把明天该做的中文作业先做了，明天就可以看书了。”旻恺最近沉迷于Warrier系列，真是废寝忘食。
旻恺开始并不同意。我许诺在他学琴的时候帮他去借书，这样不至于他们回来时借不到书，他才同意了。

第二天，下大雪，我还是去了图书馆。发现旻恺列的一本书不在，只好另借一本。
旻恺回来，发现他要的书没借到，眼泪又下来了。
还告诉我，我借的书是三个系列以后的。我怎么知道？

双胞胎的关系

2011-02-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

旻恺和旻达的关系很亲密。他们在学校有不同的班主任，多数课不在一块儿上，课间也不一块儿玩。所以回家后有很多话可聊。旻达是个急脾气，旻恺是她唯一可以发脾气的对象。旻恺似乎并不在意，有时以调侃的语气告诉我，“旻达又发脾气了。” 其实，旻达妥协的时候挺多的。
一天，旻恺八点就上床了。他说了两天的作业-念阅读材料-还没做，我叫他起来做。同时叫旻达先来念。旻恺在一边哼哼唧唧，旻达说，"旻恺，你先来念吧。"
旻恺最近沉迷于小说，老师布置的作业也不做完，也不交。我接他的时候给他定规则，“从下个星期起，你作业不按时交的话，那个星期的足球训练就不能去了。”
旻恺低头不响。
“你同意吗？” 我的声音很严厉。
旻达在一边小声说，“他同意了。”

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Another year passed. We have had a biggest snow storm in early December 2010 since 1991, a sign for a prosperous new year. (瑞雪兆丰年）In one of the pictures in the link below, you can see the snowbank is as tall as the twins.

Katie looks like a young lady - sometimes / most of the time she is still a kid. She is 5'6" (1.68m) tall and likes long hair. Katie faces new challenges in school as she attends a middle school (Grade 6-12) starting in fall. With five subjects all having graded homework, quiz, and unit tests, she is as busy as a student in China :-) She decided not to compete in skating any more but focus on dancing. Making decision itself is important for Katie, to balance her time and choose a better fit. Katie received her first State Fair grand prize for her acyclic painting - a girl with white-dress by the ocean. She is blended into the new school fairly quickly. Katie is a fan of Taylor Swift, Harry Potter series, and Twilight series.

Minkai loves reading and math. He loves both fiction books and non-fiction books. He likes to know why, how, and what. I am somewhat relieved to see at least one of my children is interested in science and technologies. I have been wondering whether I have misled them by offering them many opportunities for non-academic activities. I want to nurture their passion and support their growth but not to influence them strongly. Minkai is very lucky to have a teacher (a group of teachers) whose goal is to "work hard next year to continue to challenge Minkai in math to support his incredible math knowledge." He is having fun in the world of numbers, from integer to fraction, from addition to power.

Minkai loves to play soccer, even in the heat of 92F (33C) or in a breeze of 42F (5.6C). He runs tirelessly on the soccer field. He is the fastest runner in his school team (C K-1, mixing Kindergarten and 1st graders).

Minda's dance team won first place of 6-10 years old large-group dances in Star Quest National dance competitions at Wisconsin Dells in July. Her team also won Fancy Footwork Award for tap dance. Minda is definitely passionate about dancing - she cannot stop moving her feet. In the competition season, she has no complaints to get up at 5:45 AM to be ready for warm-up at 7 AM and competition at 9 AM.

Reading is Minda's favorite subject. She likes to read to me. She is capable of writing with details, opening, and punctuation. She is still a super student at school. Minda has amazing memory for movements, actions, and music. She plays piano with sounds and motions, not from notes.

Minkai and Minda join swimming team in December. Their team practice three times a week. Fuming is proud to be a dedicated father in bringing them to swimming lessons and practices every week in the past three years.

Fuming receives a promotion just before Christmas. It is a nice reward and recognition from his managers.

I learn a lot from school and work. I am more and more efficient in patent prosecution. Having passed Patent Bar in July, I am qualified to sign my name before the Patent Office. Joggling school, family, and work is still a challenge.

We have traveled six weeks in the summer, first to Wisconsin Dells for my girls' dance competitions, next to California for some fun time in Sea Worlds and Disney Land, then a four-week stay in China. Kids do like China, for seeing our relatives. Katie and Minda went with me for grocery shopping, so they had the surprise/pleasure to see a dissected pig.

Wish you and your family a healthy, peaceful, and prosperous New Year!

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

Matching Socks

2010-11-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

This morning, Minkai is putting up his clothes, said, "Mom, I cannot find any matched socks."
"Well, you can just wear unmatched socks. White socks usually match with any clothes (for school kids)."
"No! I cannot find any two socks that matches with each other."

Certainly, Minkai was going to see doctor for regular allergy check today. Therefore, doctor and nurse got to see his unmatching socks.

Gift

2010-10-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

I was going to pick up Minda and Minkai followed me. In the car, Minkai said, "Mom, if you found that Minda and I did not play piano at practice time, we were preparing a surprise gift for Katie's birthday."
What will those gifts be? Drawing? Stickers? I hope that Katie will treat their gifts nicely. Katie used to give me falling branches and leaves that she found on the ground in day care as gifts. I was happy to receive any gift from my daughter.
"Really!" Minkai continued, "We have never given Katie any nice gift for her birthday. I am going to give my best drawing to her."
I asked Katie to organize her birthday party this year. I am simply too busy. She is at the age having good communications and contact with her friends. For invitation, she need to include information of drop-off and pick-up time, location, activites, food preference, and things to bring. We will see how it goes...

Read for You

2010-10-31T12:32:00.000-07:00

Minda fell in love with reading recently. She tries to read to me whenever I have time, before dinner, after work, before her bedtime, and so on.

Last night, I was in bed reading. Minda knew that it already passed her bed time. She brought a book and said, "I will read for you "The First Day Jitters" tomorrow."
She paused, then said, "It is a good book!"

I was surprised by her tone of assertion, like, ... my teacher.

夏日之旅

2010-09-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

今年夏天，我们去了许多地方：Wisconsin Dells, San Diego, Los Angelas, 香港，汕头，厦门，上海，北京，昆明，深圳。以至于我觉得像做梦一样。记下几件趣事，作为留念。

还没出门，先去了我的部门夏天聚会。每个孩子都有礼物，还有Pinatas（动物或其他形状的纸质容器，装满了糖）。孩子们轮流打一下，捡掉下来的糖。我在与朋友聊天的时候，发现旻恺与旻达捡了足足有3磅的糖，非常兴奋地给我看。我赶紧让他们分一些出去，但只不过分了几颗。我回家后，跟他们说不能拿这么多糖，别的孩子应多拿一些的。
旻恺很无辜地说，“你没告诉我呀。”
哦，他们以前是拿/抢/捡不到糖的孩子，在我不注意间长大了。

7月7日，我下午三点考完Patent Bar以后开往Dells，因为旻达第二天早上九点要比赛，七点要开始热身。在Dells, 最重要的事件是旻达所在的队Pearls（队名珍珠）在两轮比赛后，得了6-9岁组的第一名。如上照片，她活像苦儿流浪记中的人物。旻达的另一个舞和Katie的舞得了二等奖。我们玩水上公园，打保龄球，打小型高尔夫，不亦乐乎。

从Dells回来三天后，我们启程去加州。孩子们在海洋公园与迪斯尼，从早上十点走到晚上十点，很有兴致。在中国就不行了，39C的高温下，5分钟后就开始抱怨。在海洋公园，临走前，在鲸鱼表演中，坐在了第二排，终于淋成了落汤鸡，才心满意足地离开。在迪斯尼，我们把最高的过山车上玩了两次。旻恺是一点也不怕，Katie要抓着旻恺的手，旻达又充分发挥她高音区的特长。另外，吃了不少$5一个的热狗。

孩子们热爱海水与沙滩。逐浪与捡贝壳是他们玩不倦的。

未完待续。

生存的权利

2010-06-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

周末带孩子们去看加拿大太阳剧团(Circus de Soleil)的演出。马戏团精彩的表演让我们很兴奋。尤其Katie和旻达能从自己的舞蹈训练中体会其中的高难动作。我们后面一排时时有人发出似哭似笑的声音，十分吓人。中场休息时，看到是一个15-25岁的女孩，由父母牵着手。Katie散场后，跟我说，她可能有Down Syndrome。我知道Katie曾有过同学有这种病，她同学的父母曾经去她的班上给那些6-7岁的孩子讲这种病的起因与症状。

我很欣赏这些父母让他们享受快乐的做法，让他们有正常人的生活与乐趣。

DIY

2010-06-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

旻达最近DIY(Do-it-by-yourself，自己动手）的水平大涨。

这天，我看见餐桌边的旻达脸上有好多红包包，很吃惊地问她吃了什么不该吃的东西。她告诉我，桃子。
“没关系，我洗一洗，擦点油就好了。”
我更吃惊地看着她蹬蹬蹬跑到洗手间，洗了脸，擦了油，没有诉苦。两个小时以后，那些包消下去了。

又一天，我想给她做点简易早饭。她牛奶不吃，面包不吃，要吃饺子。那我可来不及做。
“要不要吃方便面？”这属于不健康食品，我还以为自己额外大方呢。
“我不喜欢吃方便面。我吃了肚子痛。"
方便面里有干的豌豆，我看旻恺吃得起劲，以为两人都不过敏了。实际上旻达对自己的状况还把握得很好。

Teachers

2010-06-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

The last day of school for Minkai and Minda, I went to their picnic and wanted to go back to work after that. Minda did not want me to leave and tears came off. I brought her to the lines going out to a magic show after the picnic. Her teacher saw her and asked me, "do you need to go?" I nodded. Her teacher said, "Minda, come here." She hugged Minda and said, "I know." Then I left. I felt fortunate to have kids' teachers so caring.

Minkai started to learn percentage in his last weeks' school. He knows how to do multiplication of a number with a percentage, such as (6%x75). In Minkai's progress report, his teacher said that they (teachers as a team) would "work hard next year to continue to challenge Minkai in math to support his incredible math knowledge."

My kids love school. It is so important to provide students care, understanding, challenge, and supports in a school.

独一无二的孩子

2010-06-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

每个孩子都是独一无二的。旻恺也不例外。

五月份的一个星期天，旻达和霭琳都去跳舞了。吃完晚饭，旻恺问我，“我干点什么呢？”
”你边看电视边叠衣服好不好?" 在我们家，看电视是件难得的事，要和劳动联系起来的。
旻恺点点头，跑上楼让爸爸把楼下的一筐衣服拿上来给他叠。

我去看书了。过了二十分钟，听到旻恺说，“爸爸，你把衣服拿上来呀。”
又过了十多分钟，我听到玩窗帘的声音。走进我的房间一看，旻恺正无聊地拉窗帘，他爸爸坐在一边上网。
我觉得有点好笑，“旻恺，你可以先看电视。” 旻恺立即爬上床，打开电视...

又一天，92F(33C)的气温。旻恺踢完球回来，又黑又红。我让他喝一些水，休息一下再吃饭。
旻恺见我没问他的战况，主动说，“妈妈，It's so hard to win them today （今天赢起来真难）。”
“噢。”
“我们队只有三个人。另一个队四个人。有一段时间，我们队只有两个人在场上。但我们2：0赢了。”
我记得霭琳小的时候特怕热。 90F以上踢球就不肯跑了，站在那儿叫热。旻恺想赢，不怕热。

孩子

2010-05-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

对孩子，我一直心存感激。

早晨，我看着他们背好书包，到马路边等校车。临走前，提醒我，“妈妈，别忘了把门锁了。”
今天，Katie要陪旻达去参加舞蹈比赛。Katie昨晚想到万一出现的状况，“旻达,万一找不着我了，去更衣室等我。”
他们把分享好吃的认为理所当然。学校得的小奖品，朋友生日派对的小礼品，都会分享。
旻达经常跳舞，有一次我发现她爸爸晚接了20分钟，她很平静地说，"That's sad."
Katie要转学，十分不情愿。第二天，又高兴了，“我可以去另一所学校如果我不喜欢这所学校？”“我可以不在中文学校学数学了？”因为新学校的作业量大。
旻恺收拾东西的本领是一绝，他可以把衣服，包括内衣，袜子都叠得整整齐齐，放在抽屉里。
他们四岁时，会拿好午餐盒，等在车里去幼儿园。五岁时会收拾干净的餐具。最近不做了，我问为什么。旻恺一本正经地说，“我们太忙了。”
旻恺儿时是个完美主义者。做不好的事是绝对不做的。输了是要哭的。最近告诉我，“我们队（足球）0：2输了。但我们踢得比上次好，上次我们0：5输了。”

我的孩子。

Decimal? Or Money!

2010-04-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, I found that Minkai is doing plus and minus on decimal. I was quite surprised - he was only six. He learned it by reading the textbook... The computation was all correct.

On the dining table, I wanted him to eat some asparagus. To encourage him to eat it and minimize whining, I told him that I gave him 1 asparagus plus 3.5 asparagus (one small piece). As expected, he showed great interest and came back to the table. But... he could not figure it out. I was surprised again. Finally, he got a piece of paper, and I added "$" on the equation. THEN, he figured out the result, $4.5.

Obviously, Minkai knows money!

Author's Day

2010-03-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

Today is author's day in Minkai and Minda's class.

Two weeks ago, Minkai and Minda started to talk about it.

"Mommy, can you come at Author's Day?"
"I have to check my calendar."
"You do not have to come. I can show you at home." They were very reasonable...

A week ago, they asked again, "can you come at Author's Day?"
"You told me that you could show me your books at home."
"Yeah, but can you come?"
"Sure, I will reserve the time on my calendar."

Today, I went to their school, five minutes late. I stood at the entrance of the classroom. Minkai was looking back with big frown. Then, he saw me, and started to smile. He talked to Minda next to him. I walked toward the center of the classroom and sat down on the floor with other parents and kids. Minkai and Minda crawled to me. Minkai was so relieved and eventually sat on my lap. Minda asked me to listen to her story first as Minkai sat on my lap.

I guessed, when they said that I did not have to go, they meant that they really wanted me to go.

我的乖小孩

2010-02-05T16:01:00.000-08:00

我的孩子们多数是很合作，很讲道理的。旻达旻恺的时间表是我和他们一块儿定的，旻恺时常会提醒他爸爸按时完成任务。Katie的时间表是她自己定的。

有一次，旻恺打来电话，“妈妈，我每个曲子弹了五遍，还有三分钟Timer才响，我能不能停下来了。”
“好吧。”旻恺真有意思，有一次找不到我，还打电话问Katie类似的问题。

但是也有意外。

旻恺是个执拗的孩子。一天放学回来，说，“我今天不想弹琴。” 大有谈话就此结束的样子。
我问，“你今天累了，是吗？” “我就是不想弹。”
我再问，“今天在学校不高兴吗？ Break了吗？” “我不想弹。”
我带着他送旻达跳舞，说了十分钟不完成任务的坏处，他才同意了。

旻达呢，她容易累，心思杂，爱忘事。晚上七点也许就累了。或者过了半小时才发现，忘了。但她做起来总是很利索的。有时早上七点起来补。

2009

2010-01-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

My dear friends,

Happy New Year.

After one and a half years' training in law school, my writing is closer to the 4C requirements: Correct, Coherent, Complete, and Comprehensible. My sentences are getting shorter. No adjective or adverb. Plain language.

Here is a normal version: Wish everyone a healthy, peaceful, action-filled, and prosperous New Year!

In 2009, Katie grew close to 4 inches (~10cm) and she is officially taller than me. At one point, her morning height was equal to my afternoon height :-) She is more mature in her thinking, believing and handling relationships. At the same time, she keeps learning. her gifted class is bonded so well that no one left the program after a year. The gifted program expands from 16 students to 43 students. Katie happily told me, "everyone is so nice to me." in the beginning of the fall semester. That is her criteria to school.

Katie's skating programs and piano pieces become much more enjoyable. Her musical touch and expression on piano are more natural and fluent. She landed her Axel (finally!) in November, which means that she has more power and quicker rotation on ice. Katie started to paint with Acylic. I really like the color of her recent painting, which is in Album 2009(2) with link at the end.

Minkai and Minda started Kindergarten! They both love the new school, new friends, and new teachers. Surprisingly or not suprisingly, Minda adjusted quicker. She is simply a super student, who follows direction, learns fast, expresses herself, and helps others. Minkai is also a good student who answer a lot of questions but forgot to raise his hand.

Minkai is a number geek. He loves to play with numbers, second to wii and computer games. If he has no funner things to do, he will work on math problems. What a hobby! He finishes at least 50 pages' math exercise on our cruise trip. He figured out how to read a clock after I told him that each bar increases five minutes. He will read a clock time of 2:35 as a equation of 2+3=5.

Minkai is also a good soccer player. He scored several times in the summer section, to the right goal :-) At this age, his ability to focus helps him to be a desirable team player.

Minda has happy feet. She loves tapped dance and she could tap really fast. She passed her audition and joined the competition team in the summer. I will post her tap dance online soon.

I luckily received an offer of a law clerk position in 3M Intellectual Property Counsel. I left the career path of engineering on Minkai & Minda's birthday. I started as a junior person again and moved up on a deep learning curve. I have no regret and anxiety. Learning is my hobby. However, exams are not :-(

Fuming received corporate Circle of Techical Excellency award and we went to Wonewok together without the kids. Wonewok is a tranquil place. We saw many lagoons and wild rice plants.

At the end of the year, we are rewarded with a 7-night Caribbean cruise trip, by ourselves. We, together with eight other families, travelled to Cozumel in Mexico, Grand Cayman in Cayman Islands, Ocho Rios in Jamaica, and Nassau in Bahama. The warm weather suited us well. The food on the cruise ship was delicious, except Minkai was mistakenly served and tasted fish. He found that he does not like fish :-)

Minkai and Minda are still extremely allergic to seafood, nuts, eggs, and sesame. They are getting better on IgE numbers (the standard for allergy reaction), but they are not close to out-grow any of these. After some struggles, Minda's asthma is under control. On the other side, they seem to have more mouth and throat sensation in recent allergy reactions that makes me worry.

Here is the link to pictures: http://cid-4511a810a0da1662.skydrive.live.com/albums.aspx
Here is the link to videos: http://u.youku.com/user_show/id_UNjI3ODU3ODQ=.html

Better Mom

2009-12-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

This morning, Minkai talked to me seriously, "you shall try to become a better Mom!"
I know, I know. I was thinking: What it could be? Spending more time with them? I kept asking my kids not to talk to me when I was studying for my finals; Helping him finish his lego spaceship? We have talked about it since October; Sign him up for a soccer section or chess class? I could not find any one right now since we missed the October section.
Then I asked him, "how can I become a better Mom?"
"Work less hours, earn more money!" Oops, that is a goal up in the air.

Boyish Changes

2009-11-24T10:27:00.000-08:00

Minkai continues demonstrating interests in math. He is one of the top five students in the K-1 team.

Minkai continues showing improvement on his control on voice and body consistently. I do not remember when it starts - Minkai has a loud voice. He had been so mellow and sensitive, so I took it as a good sign to be more boyish. The problem is that he could not figure out the appropriate time for showing his boyish side. Now, I have to reverse it...

Minkai is still a thoughtful kid. He asked me why I did not come home after work and before school as I usually did. I asked him "may I take evening classes?" He said, "it does not matter to me."

One day after Chinese school, he just sit there and said, "我爱妈妈，我爱爸爸，我爱姐姐，我爱妹妹." This is a good use of Chinese.

Super Student - Minda Li

2009-11-24T10:17:00.001-08:00

Minda is doing so well at school. At yesterday's teacher conference, her teacher had all kinds of good comment on her - she is focus, she is working independently for a sustainable period of time, she works very well with others, she can explain her strategy in solving math problems, she is in a rapid development period for her reading, she follows direction very well, etc. "She is a super student!"

Wow, I start to remind Minda at home that she is super student! :-)

This morning, she could not find her clothes on the ground (what a place!) that she put it there last night and was going to change into. She started to move her mouth into a crying position. I stopped her, "remember! You are a super student." Then, her tears did not come out but she insisted me to help her find her clothes...

Mother and Son Day

2009-11-17T11:39:00.001-08:00

Friday evening, Katie went to a sleep-over party, Minda went to a birthday party, and I had a chance to go out with Minkai.

"Mom, I don't understand this!"
"What?"
"Minda sometimes hit me at home, but she never does that at school."
Oh! Minkai was reminded to control his voice and body recently.

I took Minkai to Mall of America to buy a set of formal clothes to wear in concert and at formal dinner. He had one strawberry shake, two Lindors' truffle, and was able to finish the shopping.

"My feet really hurt! I must have walked six miles!"

一夜无梦

2009-10-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

一夜无梦。来不及做。

刚睡下没多久，就听见旻恺在哼唧。 “旻恺，妈妈在这儿呢。” 接着睡。

然后听到有人走向我的卧室。我的警醒是毫无疑问的。夜里，孩子的任何声响都能让我醒来。

“旻恺，你要上厕所吗？”
“妈妈，我的head hurt。”
“你要在我这儿睡吗？上来吧。” 旻恺睡到床的另一头，这样我不会太挤。后果是我不敢伸腿，早上醒来腿是酸的。

再过一阵子，旻达醒来哭。我带她去洗手间。
“妹妹，你怎么没穿Jacket？” 前一阵子旻达发哮喘，一直穿我的保暖外套睡觉。
“You are not my boss. You cannot tell me what to do.” 这是怎么回事，做了什么妈妈bossy的梦了？还是别人bossy了？这是我第一次听到这话。

后来，旻恺又抱怨一次head hurt。

再后来，我该起床了。

妹妹的曲折心思

2009-10-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

达儿从小脾气急，有气就发，从没受过委屈。最近变了。

有一天她在床上抽泣了半个小时，因为睡晚了，怕第二天不能早起让我给梳三个辫子的发型。

又有一天她睡前跑来问我，“我明天要打针吗？” 得到肯定的答复后就开始掉眼泪。

我们的小鱼儿最近没有哥哥游得快，因为她的手上动作影响了踢水。并且哮喘期体力不好。有一天两人游泳后，我先称赞旻达，“达儿，你的动作做得很好。” 再转身称赞旻恺，“你游得很快呀！” 旻恺很疑惑的问我，“什么是动作？”

我带旻达洗澡时，她向我透露，她想比哥哥游得快。 “那要好好练。” 这个问题容易解决。

“我要做数学算得比旻恺快。” 啊？要比那个着迷于数学的人快？ “你不用算得快，也可以喜欢数学的。”

一地鸡毛

2009-10-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

昨天晚上10点回家。就听到楼上嘭的一声，然后是旻达的哭声。
“他们还没睡？”我很吃惊。这是开学以后还未发生过的。
跑到楼上，旻达边哭边说，“我不知道已经这么晚了。 Katie没告诉我。”
旻恺在洗手间也边刷牙边说，“我不知已经这么晚了。” 是吗？自从旻恺会看钟后，他每半个小时一定看一次的。我没说什么，让他们赶紧睡觉。

早上六点多，我起床后准备上班。旻达哭哭啼啼地让我抱着，又不敢睡，生怕我走掉了。我的日子一下子回到了两年前。抱着我家的小猴子穿衣服，梳头，吃饭。亏得她从来不胖。最后眼泪汪汪地站在窗前跟我挥手，看着我的车开走。

我一点都不想念那种生活。

Maplewood Fall Classic

2009-10-02T21:08:00.000-07:00

As record keeping: Katie competed in Pre-preliminary level.
3rd in Compulsory
3rd in Spin
2nd in Test Track

Katie in Maplewood Fall Classic, Pre-Pre Test Track

2009-10-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

话说滑冰

2009-09-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Katie八岁半时，在跳舞，滑冰，游泳，足球几项运动中选择了滑冰。我当时的初衷是让她为了自己的兴趣而努力，能有效地学习，有自我约束的能力，有良好的运动精神，坚持不懈，有团队精神，能吃苦，有竞争的心理素质。
两年多下来，Katie从摔一跤就眼泪汪汪，到用冰刀踢了自己，肿起一大块也毫不在意。喜欢比赛，不怯场，克服身高体重迅速增长的负担，当然也喜欢漂亮的滑冰服。
我却犹豫了。她十岁一米六的大高个，要蹦跳，旋转还是要多花很多努力。开销很大，成人后又很难作为娱乐或锻炼的项目。但Katie不愿放弃。
于是，提醒自己，不要忘了自己的初衷。

将功补过

2009-09-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

今天，从车里钻出来，正好旻恺旻达从校车上下来，跑了过来。
“旻恺，你的饭盒袋呢？”
“哎呀，我把它忘在车上了。”校车已经开走了。

我回家给他们做水果羹。问他们能不能把干净的餐具从洗碗机里拿出收好。
旻恺说，“我来收。”
“上次旻达收的杯子和叉子，今天你来收吧。”他们一直有分工，一个人收小件的，一个人收大件的。
“妈妈，我可以全都收好的。”
我纳闷了一下，旻恺一直是个慢悠悠，仔仔细细，不多干的孩子。
“旻恺，明天坐校车时，你问一下司机，你的饭盒袋在哪儿。不会丢的。”
“噢。” 旻恺说完，就跑去吃饼干了。

我真后悔，应该等他把碗收好了再说。

Diplomatic Speaking

2009-09-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

I found that my two younger ones are capable of diplomatic speaking now.

Minda and Minkai were putting away the cleaned dishes from the dishwasher. Minkai was responsible for plates and bowls, and Minda was responsible for utensils and cups. Minkai finished his job quickly, while Minda was eating her favorite, white bread.

I told them that they could watch TV together when they finished the job.

Now, Minda stood at the dishwasher, and looked at a full bucket of forks, spoons, and knifes. Said, "Minkai, if we do it as a team work, we can finish the job quicker."
"Sure." Minkai happily joined the team.

Minkai's story.

Minda and Minkai were tense that morning. Minda was acting as a cry baby so I asked her to go out of my room to cry.

Minda went out to continue her argument with Minkai and damage his stuff. All of sudden, after some noise, Minda started to cry, "Ow-yee." I stayed inside the room and did not respond.

Minkai said loudly, "Minda, I do not like you to put your feet on my face!"

Then he came in and reported to me Minda's misbehave.
I looked at him and said, "did you push Minda? It is dangerous to push people. I told you that you should never be physical."

上学了

2009-09-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

新学年开始，孩子们都上学了。

旻达背着书包，穿着白T恤，红短裤，腰系一件粉色外套，脚蹬黑靴子，左手拎着餐包和一沓纸，右手拿着水杯。下了校车，向我跑来。书包长过腰际，荡来荡去。
“达儿，你怎么穿得这么复杂啊？"
"Katie让我穿的。” 最近，Katie在穿衣，发型方面比我更有权威。还有个姐姐来打扮妹妹。

旻达转眼把那沓纸递给我，说送给我，放在办公室的。里面有她的抽象画 - 线条和颜色，也有具象画 - 大心，小心和气球。

旻恺走在后面，也回来了。
“妈妈，我今天没有画打仗的画。”这是第二天这么说了。
“我没有不让你画呀？” 多半是老师这么教导的。
“我今天从Monkey Bar上摔下来了。” 怪不得脸红红的，我还以为是晒的。
“我不是摔在沙子上，是在木屑上。但那比沙子还糟糕。”旻恺要是作证人的话，一定是合格的。
“你去护士那儿了吗？”
“去了。她给我用水洗了洗。"

Katie呢？
Katie很高兴的对我说，“妈妈，今年每个人都对我很nice（友好）。”
这就是Katie，最关注人与人的关系。

妈妈的功用

2009-08-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

旻达是个急脾气，热心肠的小姑娘。她还特别缺乏安全感，小时候总是一副惊慌的样子。所以我对她比较宽容和有耐心。
于是，我在她心里似乎是这个功用：
一岁时，半夜啼哭半个小时。我在月光下，告诉她，‘我要让你爸爸抱了。’ 哭声才渐渐停止。
两岁时，夜里经常哭醒，哄也哄不停。她爸爸把她抱到楼下，大哭十分钟后，可以在我怀里轻声哭，直到睡着。
三岁时，到托儿所接她时，经常因为饿了，晚了，早了而发脾气。边跺脚还边瞟着是否有老师注意，很不愿破坏在老师心里的乖乖女形象。看来只有妈妈是受气包。
四岁后，终于离开了我的床。早上醒来，仍找妈妈，我要马上去她的房间报到，否则仍要哭上十分钟，直到她上过厕所为止。这是什么毛病？！
五岁时，她再大哭大闹时，我请她去洗手间里哭，并把门关好，以免吵着别人。她转去向Katie诉苦。Katie一直很不满，为什么旻达只要妈妈，不要她，于是很高兴地接管旻达。Katie有一次也受不了，也请她去洗手间。旻达愤愤不平，‘你怎么像妈妈一样？！’
六岁了，今天早上打电话来向我哭诉，‘Katie不让我用计算机。’ 我一般不插手孩子之间的矛盾。但她大有说上五分钟，‘我想你了，我要你马上回来！’的趋势，我赶紧打断她，让Katie来听电话。

Good Night

2009-08-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

This is my first day of school. I will be back to home at 10 p.m. Katie, Minkai, and Minda called me a few times during the day. I know that Katie is influencing. The other two do not quite get the idea, but Katie is worried.

At 3 p.m., they called me again. Minda told me that Minkai and she would sleep at 9 and Katie would sleep at 10 because Katie is an older kid. I confirmed it. Minda was in a good mood, so she did not complain. Minkai said good night to me :-) I told him that he could see me tomorrow morning.

I am grateful for their acceptance of my being home late.

Thinker

2009-08-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Minkai is a thinker, which means that he needs to resolve conflict by logic. He likes to think too.

One day, he said, "Mom, look, it is 2:35! 2 plus 3 is 5."

Another day, he could not find his cup. He told me that his cup was put into dishwasher. My three kids usually use more than ten cups a day. I was reluctant to give him another cup.
I said, "it must be the cup on the counter top."
He said calmly, "no, it is too tall for me to reach."
The counter top is about 2 inches less than his height. And yes, it would be hard for him to put a cup with water there.
So I gave him another cup.

Soccer Player

2009-07-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Minkai is an enthusiastic soccer player. He loves the sport.

A couple of weeks ago, he has his first game. In order to encourage the kids, games are not scored. When he came back, he ignored my question of how he did and went upstairs to talk to Katie.

After a while, he came down and told me, "we had 2:7."
"Oh, that is great! So your team scored 2?"
"No, we blocked the other team twice."

His team did much better the second time. Minkai scored 3 points by himself! He was thrilled. His coach asked them to talk about a favorite thing during the game at break. Then he said, "we do not keep score."
Minkai responded, "I know what it is, 6:7."

My little boy loves to win.

Surprise

2009-07-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

Minda asked me, 'Can you buy this for me?' It is a pair of shoes.
'No.'
'Thank you, Mom! Today is opposite day!' Minda smiled.

今天

2009-06-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

今天，是旻恺旻达的生日。他们六岁了。
昨天，旻达说，‘今天是最后一天我要抱ing。’还很殷勤地问旻恺是否也要享受这最后一次。我也不知自己会不会想念抱小孩的滋味。

今天，是我最后一天做Engineer。
明天，我就要到IP部门报到了。

今天，我下班后要上课，还有一个小测验，继续我的学生生活。

今天，我们要一起在Grand Ave吃晚餐，庆祝旻恺旻达的生日。

Katie升级了

2009-06-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

我们家是典型的没大没小。旻恺旻达从未被教育要叫Katie姐姐。他们刚学话时，Katie五岁多，是家中唯一会捣蛋的人。于是，他们不但直呼Katie名字，还以严肃的口气。潜台词是，“你又干什么坏事了。”

最近Katie在家与他们一起过暑假。教他们弹琴，数学，阅读。旻恺时常把姐姐放在了嘴边。

逍遥游

2009-06-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

旻达的协调性很好，又好动，又有表演欲。她非常喜欢跳舞。
她和另外四个小朋友一起参加跳舞队选拔的热身课。
我在下课前去看一下她学了什么。哇，好复杂的步法！三个孩子过去，没有一个是对的。我一阵紧张，五六岁的孩子就学这么难的？
咦，旻达把这步法还跳得很有感觉，好似逍遥游。
我心想，让旻恺跳这个，肯定是一丝不苟地使劲学，保不准成了苦恼爬。
我的孩子怎么这么不一样呢？

中英结合

2009-06-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

旻恺小朋友的中英结合的本领已炉火纯青。
他说，“我怎么放ing了这么多屁s。”不管这话如何有辱斯文，他把进行时与复数形式正确地放入句中。
旻达不高兴了，说，“你是臭皮蛋。”
他反驳，“你臭er！”

旻恺的小心思

2009-06-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

旻恺是个细腻的男孩。

有天晚上我们去朋友家，待到了11点多。因为没有其他同龄的孩子，旻达早已呼呼地睡了。
旻恺跑来问我，‘现在几点了？’
‘10点57分。’
‘哦。’他又走开了。
旻恺知道自己在家时最晚10点20分睡觉。他一定是累了，婉转地提醒一下。

又一天，我带旻恺和旻达去骑车。到了Playground时挺热的。我把外套脱下，系在腰上。问他们热不热。
旻达说，‘我会自己系。’ 她唰地打开拉链，系好衣服去玩了。
旻恺犹豫了一下，说，‘我不热。’
旻恺的外套是系扣子的，他不很熟练，刚才穿的时候费了一些功夫，我还帮他系了两个扣子。
‘旻恺，我帮你脱。待会儿，我再帮你穿上。’
于是，旻恺走了过来。
这要是旻达，她会不会又跳又叫又不耐烦地让我帮她呢？

当姐姐

2009-05-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

早上开车送Katie去上学，旻达打来电话，要跟Katie讲话。Katie在电话里“Yeah，”了几句就挂断电话了。
我很好奇地问，“旻达跟你讲什么？”
“她问我能不能吃土豆片。”
这个当姐姐的也管得了？！

Minda's Book of Feelings

2009-05-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

I feel surprised when ... I get to go to the Mall of America.
I feel scared when ... I see spidars and snakes.
I feel happy when ... it is my birthday.
I feel mad when ... my sister yells at me.
I feel sad when ... my friend yells at me outside.
I feel shy when ... I meet people that I don't know.

孩子话

2009-05-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

五月八日晚，“妈妈，你能给我把维生素的瓶盖打开吗？”旻恺问。
“可以。”
过了五分钟，没有任何动静，旻恺多半在忙着看电视。
“旻恺，你不是叫我给你打开瓶盖吗？”
“是啊。”
“那你过来呀。”
“你叫我过来？好！”
旻恺噔噔噔地走过来了。空着手，一脸笑容。
“你就自己过来了？我让你把瓶子拿过来。”

五月八日晨，我送孩子们上学。旻达在车上乱发脾气，而且眼泪涟涟。
“旻达，你几岁了？” 我故意问。
“她只有三岁。” 旻恺答。
旻达接着哭。
“旻达只有一岁吧。” 我说。
“是的。”旻恺顺竿爬。
这下可捅了马蜂窝。旻达在接下来的二十分钟里，委屈，抱怨。
“我不喜欢你说我只有一岁！”
我不得不道歉。

五月五日下午，旻恺的脚被新鞋磨破了，红红肿肿的，而且脏兮兮地回来了。
我让他洗个澡再擦药。他哭得惊天动地地。
“旻恺，不要哭。妈妈一会儿给你擦药，贴邦迪。”旻达安慰他。
旻恺的哭声渐渐小了。

Piano Recital

2009-05-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

Minda and Minkai had their second piano recital last night.

Minkai has been always a better piano player than Minda, because he recognizes notes very well and his hand posture is very good. Minda, although she may not be able to read notes by herself, could memorize a song after playing it twice.

Last night, Minda showed her ability to perform! She was smiling, confident, and not making any mistake. Minkai, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable to be on stage, played slower, and touched a couple of wrong keys.

Minda and Minkai both received a star trophy from their teacher.

Little Fishy Swimmer

2009-04-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

Our little fishy swimmer is Minda. When she swims, her legs pedal like fish, and super fast! However, when she learns the front stroke, she rolls over whenever she tries to breathe.

Manner

2009-03-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

Minda, obviously, knows something called "manner".
"Minkai, when we get home, can you hold this part? I will put tape around it." She was planing to fix the broken batman airplane in the car with Minkai.

However, Minda often speaks in demanding language, "Give me a cup."
If we ask her to say in a polite way, she will scream into our ears, "Please!!!"

Chatting in the Night

2009-03-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

Minkai and Minda love to chat with each other. They especially cannot stop talking once they are in bed! I cannot image how many things they could share with each other. Although they are in the same daycare and same classroom, they are in different groups with different teachers. They would come up with ideas to play, to tease others, and to make games.

Unfortunately, after a night's long talk, Minda usually is very tired in the morning. She would demand Minkai to bring clothes to her, whining, and jumping. What's more, she may have an accident at nap time!

Amy - Forever 11

2009-03-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

Amy was born in the summer of 1997. She used to be a chubby baby. When I saw her for the first time, she was one year old and enjoying her yogurt. I always think that all chubby babies look alike, so she was a usual happy and sweet girl.

I remembered her three-year-old birthday party. She lost some baby fat, and Katie, the one year old, was the chubby baby. We left earlier that day because Katie threw up. Katie had two seizures the next day. It marked the scariest moment for my motherhood.

We also went to Amy's four-year-old party, her five-year-old party, the little girl grew up.

When Amy got older, she demonstrated her talents in many aspects. Her posture in dance was graceful. Her coordination was excellent. Her back flips were connected amazingly well. She accelerated in dance, piano, drawing, and other activities. She was popular. She was active. She was a star student.

More importantly, she was a nice and caring girl. She was Katie's best friend. Katie, when she five years old, did not know how to compromise. So Katie's friends had to be someone as nice as Amy :-)

When we went to Door County together in summer 2006, Amy and Katie looked like twins. They were about the same height and same size, with long hair. They did everything together. Amy was also very protective to her brother, Michael. When her father disciplined Michael, he would run to Amy for protection. Amy would hug him and protect him.

Katie and Amy always asked for sleepovers. They would try to hide or pretend to be asleep. Amy had a couple of sleepovers at my house. When they finally got a chance to sleepover at Amy's house on her ten-year-old birthday, Amy was sick and sent to the hospital.

After discovering the brain tumor, Amy went through many many treatments. She was always cooperative. She could lay still for the entire MRI; she could remember and take tens of medication and nutrition per day; she could not eat her favorite food, cake or ice cream; she would eat the saltless steamed vegetable every meal; she never complained. She shared with me her experience of getting stitches on her head without anesthesia, - she counted the stitches with the doctor.

Life had been very hard for Amy. She chose to smile, be positive, and be active. She would finish all her homework. She was still the top student. She would go to school whenever she could. She prepared a Mother's Day breakfast with a heart-shape bread, granola with yogurt, for her Mom. She also prepared a drawing together with Katie for Father's Day. Amy and her family had several vacations with surgeries and treatments in those twenty-one months: Boston, New York, North Carolina, Argentina, and El Salvador. Amy enjoyed the happiness with her family and her friends. Amy kept her smiles.

However, she probably knew more than what she was told. One day when she was asking me for something, I saw the deep sadness in her eyes. When her body was uncontrollably shaking and weak, she had a lot of questions in her eyes. She did not ask anything, which I believe that is because she did not want her parents to be more sad.

After Amy could not talk, she smiled to Katie when Katie visited her. Katie was no longer scared of looking at her changed face (because of the steroid) and body, because Amy is her friend.

Amy had surprised everyone for her strong will to live. She had five brain surgeries. Every time, her recovery was amazingly quick. She, and her parents, fight with her cancer until the end.

Life is precious. Life is hard. Attitude is the best decision we can make. Be postive. Be happy. Do not complain.

Dealing with Frustrations

2009-03-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

Katie was not longer lucky for her competitions :-) She was placed 5th for both freestyle program and compulsory in Eau Claire. She was very disappointed for the first one, because she believed that she had powerful jumps and stability, and finished on time. I told her that she should watch the recorded program later and had more feeling on what could be missing from her program.

Good sportsmanship, knowing how to learn and improve, and hard work is what I want her to learn through her favorite sport.

Important Annoucement - Friday ...

2009-03-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

I went to pick up Minkai and Minda from Little Gym in the afternoon.

Macy's mother told me, "Minkai said that he would not be in Paidea on Friday, as Katie is having a competition in Eau Claire."

"Yes." I was a little bit surprised and wondered Minkai told this to Macy or her Mom.

So I asked Minkai on the dinner table.

"I told everyone in Paidea, Tammi (teacher), Jean, Jack, Cole, Macy, ..." Minkai said.

Wow, it is an important annoucement.

妈妈是个香馍馍

2009-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

在我们家，妈妈是个香馍馍。

旻达和旻恺小的时候上车时都要争妈妈后面的位子。“我要坐妈妈后面！”仍然是旻达委曲后说的话。

吃饭时，他们要坐在妈妈边上的位子。霭琳也不甘寂寞，也要争这个优先权。于是有了三个人轮换两个位置的算法。

霭琳从小就为了周末在妈妈边上睡觉付出了无数努力。任何不良习惯的改正都与这挂上钩。旻达和旻恺去年也加入此列。有时妈妈也记不住各人的规则与分数，于是大家都蒙混过关。

喜欢

2009-02-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

晚上，小朋友半天没声音。我去看。旻达趴在地上使劲擦地板呢。
她站起来说，“我能不能再擦一擦呀？我很喜欢。”
“好吧，不要弄太湿了。”
这真是个值得鼓励的爱好。

Simple and Happy Life

2009-02-21T19:20:00.000-08:00

I would like to live like a little kid, who gets up with smile for the sunshine, who is content with a glass of milk, who is happy to wear the same clothes again and again, who is excited with the smell of sweet and sour ribs, who is happy with ten minutes of TV time.

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-12T19:10:00.000-08:00

This is what Minkai's teacher wrote for him:

Ten Things I Love About You!
1. You are Confident and Comfortable at School.
2. You still like to Sit on the Teachers' Lap.
3. You can Play alone or in a group.
4. You make Your own choices.
5. You are a Math Wiz!
6. You are a Good Friend.
7. You like to Talk and Tell Stories.
8. You are Artistic & Creative.
9. You Smile A Lot.
10. You get Excited about Change. (New Calendar, Valentines, New Toys, Someone's Birthday).

Love, Tami

I am very proud of my little guy, who is independant, responsible, caring, and happy!

妈妈的不敢 - 有感于现实与社会

2009-01-29T09:53:00.000-08:00

亲爱的孩子，

妈妈不敢替你承担责任，因为这是你将来要面对的。
妈妈不敢替你收拾残局，因为这是你将来要做的。
妈妈不敢替你安排时间，因为时间是你的。
妈妈不敢替你改正错误，因为这是你学习的机会。
妈妈不敢拉你站起来，因为你将来还会无数次跌倒。
妈妈不敢替你解决矛盾与争执，因为这是你无法逃避的。
妈妈不敢替你做出许多选择，因为这是你的生活，你的世界。
妈妈不敢满足你的很多要求，因为这会使你无法体会到快乐与满足。

妈妈会给你很多的关爱和影响。但有一天，你要去拥有自己的家，自己的世界。妈妈希望你快乐而坚强地生活，所以妈妈有许多的不敢。

Teacher's comments on Katie

2009-01-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

Katie is highly motivated and meticulous in completion of work in class and at home. She is especially adept at mathematics and is able to apply concepts quickly and easily. She is sociable, caring, and is well liked by her classmates. She is able to work with a variety of age groups and maintain focus while still being able to collaborate with others. She can be shy in front of a group but still shows confidence and quickly determines how to get things done. She is willing to take risks once comfortable. She remains true to herself in all activities and situations and has incredible family support.

Katie's Advices and Comments for School

2009-01-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

Katie's understanding to become a popular girl: nice, smart, with some humor, and wearing Aeropostole.

Katie believes that Minda could become a popular girl in school because she is Sassy.

Why it is important to be popular? - You do not need to find a partner, as others will ask you to be his or her partner.

Boys in school need to be good at every kind of sports! Katie recommends that Minkai shall learn a variety of sports so that he would not stand out (as being so bad at sports :-( ).

1999

2009-01-02T22:41:00.000-08:00

Dearn friends,
Now comes the holiday season again. I wish everyone has a happy and
exciting holiday! Have something different this year. Maybe,..., a new
baby :-) A few friends of mine are either pregnant or had a baby this
month.
Last year, Katie was born at this time. Now she is one year old.
She can walk, so our entire home is her playground. She investigate every
drawer and cabinets she can reach and open. Paper is still her ultimate
fun, including toilet paper! She has eight teeth. She lost some baby fat,
because activity level increases. Katie was sick for a few days last week.
These two days she sleeps 12-14 hours a day and eats a lot to gain back the
weight. At one year checkup, her height was still above 95% of babies, but
her weight droped tp 85-90%. When she is hungry or wants something, she
will say a serial of "MaMa". Anyway, her thumb is her biggest comfort.
Above all, she is our joys and trouble-maker.

Again, wish all of you have a wonderful time at the end of 20th
century! And a promising 21st century!

Xiao

1998

2009-01-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
Haven't heard from me for a while? Actually, no news about Katie?
Well, here are some: At six months, she got two teeth, no fever, some
crying; At seven months, she could stand by herself and walk a little bit;
Close to eight months, she finally can crawl. We always laught at her big
belly which might prevent her from crawling -:) One day last week, she
walked by herself in the living room and tasted some leaves from an indoor
plant, then she decided that it tasted too bad and got everything out of
her stomach. We were scared, and she just streched out her arm and asked
for a holding. Except for these kinds of exotic moments and sleepy
minutes, she is still a happy girl. Remember, don't grab the paper out of
her hand, otherwise, she will scream.

Katie in 2000

2009-01-02T22:29:00.001-08:00

http://home.comcast.net/~xhuang4420/katie2.html

Katie in 2001

2009-01-02T22:28:00.001-08:00

http://home.comcast.net/~xhuang4420/katie3.html

Katie in 2002

2009-01-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

http://home.comcast.net/~xhuang4420/katie4.html

Katie, Minkai, and Minda in 2003

2009-01-02T22:26:00.001-08:00

http://home.comcast.net/~xhuang4420/kids2003.htm

Katie, Minkai, and Minda in 2004

2009-01-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

Katie is six years old! She is more than 49 inches (127cm) tall, a
big girl. She still likes me to hold her, needs a lot of huggy and
kissy. She is getting better on class listening and doing homework.
She likes teachers who are nice to her, but she will have her ear
close if the teacher is not nice to her, quite a character. She
enjoys skating, swimming, drawing, dancing, rhythm gymnastic, and
playing piano. She is a busy young lady. She has pretty good
handwriting in Chinese, which I believe that is because she learns
drawing at the same time, or because it's in Mom's view.

Minkai is no longer a mellow boy. He will immediately lay on the
floor if he is not satisfied, grab things quickly from his sister, cry
and look at me for help if his sister takes things away from him,
throw away plates if he does not like it, ask for the whole bag of
food when you offer him one piece. However, he has the longest
attention span among the three kids. He can sit there and figure out
how to play toys. He can match blocks in different shapes and color,
which I do not know what helps more, color or shape. Anything with
buttons amazes him, such as remote controls, phones, etc. The old
time bouncer becomes a sit for him, and he laughs when he pushes the
button and the music comes.

Minda has the sweetest smile. She will open her arm and run to me
when I get home. Minda also has the loudest scream. She will scream
in the middle of night (wow, it actually comes from inside the
house!), scream if she is hungry, scream if she is tired, scream if
her brother is bothering her, scream if she is itchy for her eczema.
She is the active kid. When Minkai and Minda watch TV, he will sit or
lean to a pillow, and she will stand there! She starts walking two
month earlier than Minkai. Minkai had a 1.5 cm cut on his forehead
when he chased her one time and fell down onto the edge of our
bookcase. The poor big head! Minkai can sit on the potty train seat
for 20 minutes while Minda can sit there for 20 seconds.

Both of the twins have severe food allergy including egg, tree nuts,
pea, soybean, sea food, which make their life a little different and
make my life a little complicate. I have to watch closely what they
are getting, and offer them food with enough nutrition but they can
eat.

The twins had their first candy/sucker in the day before Halloween,
when I took them to the mall. They were all smile and happy, with
green or orange lips, sticky hands, colorful shirts, after having the
candies. On the Halloween night, we took them out for a short
trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Minkai fell asleep in the
middle of the trip, and Minda was holding her little basket tightly.

We took all the kids to a informal concert in December. We had a great
time there. Minkai loves the concert! He clapped his hands when one
piece of music or dance ended. He would point to the stage when the
curtains were down and asked the curtains to go up again. Minda did
not care as much about the performance. Fuming took her out for a
long walk. In fact, I was not sure who needs it more, Minda or her
dad. And Katie, as a big girl, was sitting with her friends and paid
no attention to us.

My life is as good as it could be with three kids. Playing with the
twins is relaxing but instructing Katie to do her homework or play
piano is stressful. I learn to transit my role to be a not-so-nice
Mom for Katie, as Katie told her teacher that sometimes her Mom's
voice could go a little too loud.

The pictures of the kids can be reached by the link of Picture Album
on the page of http://home.comcast.net/~xhuang4420/. Some selected
pictures are on the page of
http://home.comcast.net/~xhuang4420/kids2004.htm.

Wish everyone a Happy New Year! Keep in touch.

2008

2008-12-31T22:21:00.001-08:00

Dear friends,

Year 2008 is ending tonight. We wish everyone a happy, peaceful, and prosperous 2009!
新年好！祝大家迎来一个快乐，祥和，成功的一年！

Katie has been growing so quickly, physcically and mentally. Katie is a 5 ft (153 cm) tall 4th grader. I love to tease with her and make friends with her. She has managed her time very well since I went to law school, despite of the larger amount of homework and more time in activities. Katie got accepted into the GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program and became a leader and popular student in the group of 4th and 5th grades students. Katie's idea to become a popular girl is to be nice, smart, having some humor, and wearing Aeropostle :-) Katie is also recognized as one of the best students in Chinese school. Here is a list of her extra-curriculum activities:
Piano: Junior B winner of MMTA (Minnesota Music Teacher Association) honor concert; SPPTA (St. Paul Piano Teacher Association) honor awardee (only one student is selected for the age group each time)（弹琴）: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjMyODEwNTI=.html, http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDEyNzQ2MTY=.html.
Skating: Third place in ISI 2 (Ice Skating Institute), and Forth place in ISI 4（滑冰）: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTgwNjY4NDg=.html
Drawing: First Prize in Minnesota Art Exhibition dedicated to Olympics 2008. Third Prize in Minnesota State Fair.

Minkai and Minda were held for another year to go to Kindergarten. They got to play one more year! One of Minkai's favorate activities is doing math. Minda is also a big helper at school, just like Katie. According to Katie, Minda is sassy, which means that she usually does not compromise and talks to people in a bossy way. Minkai and Minda have become good friends at home. They chatted with each other, played with each other, and fell to sleep hand-in-hand. On the other side, they have different friends group at school. They have been enjoying little gym, piano, swimming, and skating. The twins' skin condition is much better, but they are still super sensitive. However, Minda's athma has become more frequent. Life is always a challenge.

Fuming has spent a lot of time teaching Minkai and Minda piano and swimming. Here is his and the twins' accomplishments （旻恺与旻达）: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjMxMzgxNzI=.html, http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDE5MTE3MTY=.html

More detail stories were posted on my blog（博客）: http://xchuang.blogspot.com/

I have been working very hard to fit my schedule for family, study, and work. I have been trained well when Minkai and Minda were babies, so life is actually easier to me as I get my sleep! Fuming is much more involved in kids' activities and house works. Eventually, we got to relax at Los Cabos in Mexico （拉斯卡波丝）: http://photoshow.comcast.net/xchuang/2008

I really like one sentence in Minkai & Minda's Thanksgiving song, "I am thankful for to be me."

Be thankful and keep in touch, my friends.

Xiao/Christina

Los Cabos

2008-12-31T10:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas Piano

2008-12-31T05:54:00.000-08:00

Minkai & Minda: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjMxMzgxNzI=.html
Katie: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNjMxNDEyNDg=.html

Katie Skating for ISI 4

2008-12-06T20:55:00.001-08:00

Responsible Kid

2008-11-26T17:35:00.000-08:00

As late as last August, or even this August, I was still training Katie to be responsible. All of sudden, she becomes a responsible kid!

- She gets up at 6:30AM and plays one hour piano from 7-8 AM.
- She finishes her tasks, such as school homework, piano, Chinese homework, by 8:30PM although she has more homework than last year. Last school year she could not finish less amount of homework by 10:30 PM.
- She knows the task to stay on and gently remind classmates, commented by her teacher.
- She reminds her father of her schedule and makes sure her skates and backpacks are prepared.
- She asked her father not to drive on the road with a deep hill and sharp turn in the winter. She was almost too worrisome.

This is the power of ten years old?! Or having a mother who is too busy and studies every night until 12?

Thanksgiving Song

2008-11-26T16:34:00.001-08:00

This is what Minkai remembered for the Thanksgiving song. Minkai and Minda's friends sang the song togther for us, I like "I'm thankful for to be me":

There are many things that we are thankful for,
we can find them near and far,
there are many things that we are thankful for,
let me tell you what they are
I'm thankful for the earth
I'm thankful for the sea
I'm thankful for my friends
and I'm thankful for to be me

There are many things that we are thankful for,
we can find them near and far,
there are many things that we are thankful for,
let me tell you what they are
I'm thankful for the sun
I'm thankful for the tree
I'm thankful for my house
and I'm thankful for to be me

There are many things that we are thankful for,
we can find them near and far,
there are many things that we are thankful for,
let me tell you what they are
I'm thankful for the food
I'm thankful to be free
I'm thankful for the stars
and I'm thankful for to be me

Big Helper

2008-11-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Minda has been a big helper in school, commented by her teacher.

One day, I asked Katie to hang her three coats laying on the bench when she got home in the afternoon, as we were hurry out of the door.
"You have to remind me." Katie said.
"No, it's your responsibility to hang them and remember to do that. I have told you about this last night." I was not very happy to see a croweded mud room.
"Katie, I will remind you." Minda offered help, with her sweet voice.
"Yeah... if you could remember." Katie could not rely on Minda's help, as the girls all have short term memories according to Katie.

表演欲

2008-11-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

这是孩子爸提供的故事：
钢琴老师说,“旻恺，你这个星期的钢琴弹得很好呀。”
旻恺高兴地点点头，他拿了不少Sticker。
“旻恺，你好好弹，圣诞节去表演。”
“很多人看的吗？”旻恺满怀喜悦地问。
“是呀。”钢琴老师忍不住摸了摸他的脑袋。

Kids' Talk

2008-10-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

Minda called Minkai at downstairs, "Minkai, it is your turn to play piano!"
"I am coming." Minkai went down from his bedroom.
"Minda, could you sharpen the pencils? There are many." Minkai probably found a box of 12 un-sharpened pencils.
"Yes. I will do it." Minda liked the job. We got a big Mickey Mouse sharpener from China.
"They are on the bookshelves in my bedroom." Minkai directed.
"OK."
"You promise?"
"I promise"
"Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear!" Minda came upstairs and started to work.
What a deal!

I was in the study room for only ten minutes and heard all kinds of noise from downstairs. It seemed that Minda took or misplaced some stuff when Katie was playing piano. After a while, Minda came into the study room, crying, "Mommy, Katie hit me!"
"Oh, did you tell Katie that she should not hit you?" Minda climbed up to sit on my laps.
Minda put her finger in her mouth, which meant that she was nervous.
"Mommy, did Katie lose a chance?" I have a house rule for losing the privilege to sleep with me on one of the weekends after losing a number of chances.
I laughed. My little girl knew how to negotiate now!

孩子的思考

2008-10-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

今天早上，霭琳问我，“中国也像美国一样失业率很高吗？”
“没有吧。”
“如果你们俩都没工作了，我会让你们回中国工作。”
霭琳曾经说过，回中国读书会让她失去对学习的兴趣。现在可得到她的批准了。

上星期，旻恺对我说，“我会给你带一个南瓜回来的。”一副当家作主的样子。他的班要去农场郊游。

感觉良好的琳儿

2008-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

Katie小朋友是很会鼓励和称赞自己的：

这个星期一，她八点钟就已经把学校作业，阅读，弹琴，中文学校的数学作业，都完成了。我建议她把这个星期的中文字都认会了。鉴于周末有跳舞表演，她勉强同意了。二十分钟后，她把四十八个字的字经都念下来了。她激动地告诉我，这是她第一次这么高效率，可不可以看电视作为奖励，我同意了。

星期三了，做完其他作业后，我建议Katie把这四十八个字的字卡都认一认。
“这怎么可能？这是我第一天认字卡。”
“认70%就可以了。”
“那我可以错十五个字。”她这会儿四舍五入学得不错。
过了一会儿，她又很激动地告诉我，“我把字卡都认下来了！”
“噢。”
"You should be proud of me!" （“你应该为我感到自豪！”）
“是吗？”我很好笑地看着她。

教育孩子

2008-09-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

最近突然有了说出自己的想法的欲望：
1）孩子是没有错的。孩子的行为是父母，学校，社会，教育的结果。如果孩子的行为让你不满意，想办法帮他改变。如果这是他性格的一部分，帮助他尽可能地控制自己。
2）保护孩子的自尊心，帮助他建立自信心。
3）期望值不要太高，这样大家都会高兴的。事先告诉孩子你的期望与要求，不要只是事后责怪。
4）孩子最重要的是成为一个完整的，健康的，快乐的，能承担责任的人。
5）教给孩子学习的能力，学习生活，学习知识，完善自己。
6）犯错误是超越自我的前奏。
7）不要让孩子只会听话，而是要讲道理。

Katie Swimming

2008-09-16T17:54:00.001-07:00

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDE5MDk5NzI=.html

Playing Piano

2008-09-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDEyNzQ2MTY=.html

Being Strong

2008-09-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Minkai, as a boy, loves to show us his muscle. He was proudly talking about that he was so strong that I could not even carry him. I followed his implication. I could only lift him up a few inches from the ground but I could not hold him.

Now, we have walked half of an hour on the street of Chicago to find a decent restaurant, after a full day's visit of museums. Minda felt to sleep on her Dad's shoulder twenty minutes ago. Minkai was still walking by himself with a painful look.

"Do you want me to hold you? You are still very strong because you have walked for so long." I suggested.
"Yes. Minda did not even walk." Minkai was so relieved...

Swimming

2008-09-01T13:59:00.000-07:00

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDEyNTIwNTY=.html

Minkai & Minda Swimming

2008-09-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDE5MTE3MTY=.html

Minkai & Minda Chorous

2008-09-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Playing Piano

2008-07-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Practicing Piano - Different Style

2008-07-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

At the age of five, Minkai and Minda start to learn piano. At the very beginning, their little hand can hardly make sounds on the piano, well the black keys.

Now I keep thinking a comment from a friend, "No matter how good or how bad the kids are doing, I keep on encouraging them!" That's exactly what I am doing. Even a song with a few notes wrong, I will say, "that's pretty good!", "that's better!"...

Here are their totally different styles:
Once Minkai knows how to play a piece, he will continue practicing the piece for five times (my requirement) non-stop, no changing on speed, no following the accompanied music. He will just try to finish his practice time...

Minda will wander from a few pages before the practice song to look at the sticker that they got to pages back of new songs so that she could randomly hit keys. Once I start to count 'One, two, three, go!' she usually will start to play the piece. She will follow my instruction for the practicing though...

Hei, Bike!

2008-06-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

Minda is riding on a two wheels bike! The first day her Dad took off the training wheels, I bent myself holding to her bike all the way to a place with no cars around. My back was hurting, because Minda and her bike were always leaning toward me. Sudenly, an idea came to my mind.
"Minda, you shall pendal faster!"
That's it, she is on the road by herself since then. It's early June.

Minda is a cautious kid. She got very nervous when Minkai was behind her and passing her. She will keep calling, "Hei, Minkai! Hei, Minkai!"

Today we went on a new trail. Minda was nervous of the hills, the narrow trails, etc. When she was wiggling the bike on the trail, she started to shout, "Hei, Bike! Hei, Bike!" Hopefulling the bike will listen to her better when she is calling it.

Being Grateful

2008-06-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was looking at Minda and said, 'we shall cut your bang.'
Minda said,'Katie told me that I should grow my hair long.'
'We are only cutting the hair in the front, not the back.'

All of sudden, I realized that Minda could grow her hair! Since she was one, she need ointment on her whole body several times a day and her hair and clothes were all greasy because of that, unless her hair was really short and not touching her neck. She has short hair since then. Now her skin condition is really good and she does not need ointment as often.

I am grateful for this change.

Being Adaptive

2008-06-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of summer section of Paidea. When I picked up Minkai and Minda, they were very excited to tell me about their new teacher and new group. It's a dramatic change for them to adapt to the new environment so quickly. I felt much relaxed. One day, I could send them anywhere by just dropping them off.

A little less than three years ago, when they just started in Paidea, the only teacher that they would feel comfortable with was Angie. They would cry and cry if another teacher was their teacher. Minkai has cried into Carol's ears, his last year favorite teacher, for thirty minutes when she came to the toddler room to read them a story. Lynn, their director would call me if Angie was leaving early or taking vacation. I was extremely grateful for their caring to Minda and Minkai's feelings.

Minkai's Reasoning

2008-06-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

We bought a box of Gold Fish crackers in the evening. As Minda and Minkai had pasta for dinner, I told them not to open the crackers until tomorrow to limit the amount of wheat that they consumed.

While we were driving home, Minkai told me that he was very hot.

Then, he said, "Mommy, do you know that eating crackers will help me cool down?"

Katie as a Learner and a Leader

2008-06-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

Katie is learning from how other people do things.
- Katie will remember the number of kids when taking a group of kids out to playground. She will count the number of kids at each stop point. She will even pair a older kid with a younger kid as a buddy group not to lose any kid.
- The way that she treats Minda and Minkai is like the way that a school teacher will do. She is proud to be able to make Minkai or Minda to do things, such as, help her cleaning her room. She uses persuasive ways instead of forcing.
- She composed a series of dances and songs and practiced them with Minda and Minkai. She probably learned dance choregraphy from her dance teachers.

Being a Considerate Kid

2008-05-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's dinner, I baked a piece of quesadilla and cut it to three but one piece was much smaller. Katie came in and picked out a bigger piece. However, she stopped for a second and put it down and picked up the smaller piece. When Minda and Minkai sat at the dinner table, Katie served each of them a bigger piece of quesadilla.

Alergy & Alergy

2008-05-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took Minda and Minkai to see their allergy doctor. The doctor told me that they will probably never out-grow nuts and seafood allergy as their IgE numbers were still so high, they are literally out of chart.

I have learned from their allergies to manage an unperfect life and to appreciate what one is having. However, I am disappointed with this outcome...

Can we still repeat this conversation:
"Minkai, what is this?"
"It's fish."
"Can you have fish?"
"No. But I can have it when I grow up."

Learning Shall Be Fun

2008-05-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Katie was compaining about her dance classes -- the teacher was too strict now.
"That's because your dance recital is only two weeks away." I told her.
"But my skating coach was always nice..."
"If you spent more time on details of your free skating program and you might get a better score in the competition."
"Why it's all about winning? Learning shall be fun."

Conflict Solving - Ear Plug

2008-05-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

Minda and Minkai are working on their conflicts solving skills...

The other day, I picked them up from Paidea. While we were on the road back home, Minda thought of a doll that she forgot to bring. I told her that she could have the doll the next day. She started crying and screaming.

Minkai asked me, 'Do you have an ear plug?'

I Passed

2008-04-30T10:59:00.000-07:00

Katie just called me, 'Mommy, I passed.'
'You did!'

Katie passed the USFS (United States Figure Skating) Pre-preliminary Move. See how many 'pre's there are. But it is a big first step for her.

Katie Is Making Money!

2008-04-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

Katie is proud to be the winner of the Saint Paul Piano Teacher Association Honors and Awards Audition in the 4th Grade and under group. She not only won the honor but also won the award of $50. For her age group, there were three honor winners and one award winner.

Katie asks me to open a bank account for her and she is going to save money for her college.

Katie as a Model

2008-03-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

领奖

2008-03-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Katie又有一次滑冰比赛。我们全家都去看了。提前一小时到那儿签到。过了一会儿，旻恺提出要照相，还说要告诉我们在那儿照。我让他爸去给他照。过了一会儿，旻恺哭着被抱回来了。原来他找到了领奖台，在第一名的台子上照好像后，满心欢喜地等着别人给他一个奖牌。结果未能如愿。

这次Katie得了个第三名。她希望下次拿个更好的名次。

洗澡

2008-03-03T20:49:00.000-08:00

旻达小朋友会自己洗澡了！她是这样洗的。
1. 先拿好衣服和毛巾。
2 我给她把水打开，调好温度。
3 她进去关好门，冲澡。
4 她抹上洗发液后，旻恺在外面看着，告诉她头上还有泡泡没有。
5 冲干净后，出来裹上毛巾，擦油，穿衣服。

大功告成。

Too Many Medals for Katie

2008-02-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning, I wore my jacket and was zipping my boots.
Minkai came up and asked me, "where are you going?"
I told him, "I am sending Katie for a piano recital."
"Don't let her win." Minkai said.
"Why?!" I was surprised.
"Katie has too many medals! I want to have more medals than Katie." Minkai declaimed.
"Well, you will have to work hard ..."
"I want to play soccer. I know how to kick a ball."

One Minute Show

2008-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I took Katie to see the US Figure Skating Championship Spectacular. Minda wanted to go with me. I told her that the show was not for a kid as little as her. "Then you have to come back in one minute," she said. "I will come back soon." I told her.

At 10:30 PM, I opened the garage door and stepped out of car. Minda opened the door and asked, "What time did you come back? （你几点回来的呀？）" After a while, she added, "I told you to come back in one minute!"

Katie's Work Plan

2008-01-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

As I am going back to school in Fall, Katie complained, "I won't be able to see you as much."
"I will be at home." I said.
"Yeah, if I am sick, I will be at home with you."
"No, during the day I will be working."
"Why you need to work?"
"Otherwise, who will pay for your skating lesson, piano lessons, and so on?"
"I can baby sit, mow the lawn for others to earn money."
"Well, you may earn $20 for those service each week. Your skating lessons cost close to $300 per month, and piano lessons cost close to $200."
"OK, I can open a Chinese school and teach little kids, like Minda and Minkai, Chinese. Of course, I won't charge Minda and Minkai but I will charge other kids. I can also offer tutoring for math, ...." Katie proudly announces her plan.