Affirmative Action

When asked a question, J has taken to replying in the affirmative in one of three ways:

No problem-oh!
Yessiree!
You betcha!

The first is his favourite.

Joshua Is In The Bible

K and I have talked about how sure we are that E is going to one day ask us why there is no book of Emma in the bible. (She is not one who will be left out of anything. She fights fiercely to be included, and even when she's not sure what's going on, she jumps right in anyway.) So since there's the book of Joshua in the bible, surely there must be the book of Emma.

That day has come.

J wanted to hear about Joshua from his bible at bedtime this evening. And E was watching and listening. So when I flipped the book open to start on the story, she pointed to the picture on the page preceding it, and said (loudly), "Me!"

When I tried to point out that she was actually pointing to Moses, she indignantly insisted, "MEEEEE!"

So yes, my daughter now thinks that Moses is about her, and perhaps more importantly, that she actually precedes Joshua in the bible.

***

It's been ages since they've been in a pool! But our hotel in Carlsbad (where we were over the weekend) had a heated pool and sunny weather. So it was perfect. E the water baby threw a fit when it was time to come out. (Actually she throws a fit everyday when I tell her it's time to come out of the bath. She's going to miss the bathtub so much when we get back to Singapore.)

First game of Jenga!
(The kids were more excited about having the blocks collapse, so that became the point of the game.)

LA Arboretum

We had perfect weather to visit the LA Arboretum today. Really lovely.

She Sings

Oh yes, she does! My little two-year-old has a favourite song. One that she sings all the time, by herself, without anyone else prompting her. How cute it is to see her playing or lying in bed and singing at the same time. This is what she sings, with my translation for some clarity.

Jee-che... meee... nee ner nooo...
Jesus loves me, this I know

...bye-ber... soh...
For the Bible tells me so...

She has discovered the hat as a fashion accessory. She wore it to school one day, deigned to take it off while in school, then insisted on wearing it back home. And when we went out after dinner to pick up some groceries, she wanted it on again. Never mind that it was dark out.

Be My Valentine

The room at bible study this morning was all done up for Valentine's Day - pretty pink table cloths, candles, a tea-cup of pink, red and white M&Ms, delicious homemade sugar cookies and a pretty centerpiece of flowers at each table. My name got picked to bring home the centerpiece today so here it is, arranged by one of the ladies. Lovely. (E was very taken with the pink glittery heart stuck in the middle.)


J has apparently been working on his gift for weeks! They took the photo one week, then made the photo-frame another week and then assembled it altogether. So he had a gift for me today! As well as a card that K got for him to give me! Which he signed himself! Precious. J has really gotten into the spirit of Valentine's Day, so I've been showered with lots of kisses and I-love-you-s. Not that I'm complaining!

Strongman

On a visit to the Science Center, we managed to lift a Toyota Tundra!

This Is How We Play

I found mention of this book, Unplugged Play, on a website that I was reading, and immediately got a copy. The kids watch too much TV as it is, and I really like the idea of them having play that requires no batteries or plugs. Just good fun that gets them dirty, if necessary!

K made them a little cubby, with a blanket and an extra curtain draped over our dining table. It was supposed to be like a secret hiding spot for them, but they basically turned it into a stage, with their dinosaurs as puppets. This was J's made-up story:

Once upon a time, there was a Mommy dinosaur and Baby dinosaurs. Then one day, the Mommy dinosaur couldn't find her Baby dinosaurs. So she roared really loudly, and that woke them up.

We were pretty impressed that there was an actual plot!

***

This was basically a modified game of soccer. An empty carton served as the goal-post, and for lack of a better alternative, our Christmas ornaments were the balls. They could kick, roll or throw. J quite got into the whole scoring thing. E did too, in her own way. In spite of my instructions, she'd stand right up in front of the carton to fling the balls in. Then, she'd yell, "Ta-dah!"

***

Pizza play! This, I thought, would be lots of fun. Each kid would get a flour tortilla (we had these lying in the fridge, anyway) to act as the pizza base. I used a small tub of yoghurt that was probably a little past its prime, as the "sauce". Then they got to assemble the pizza themselves, using whatever snacks we had in our pantry. Cheerios, raisins, Teddy graham crackers, multi-coloured Goldfish and marshmallows.


This was interesting too in revealing their characters! J is, true to form, quite meticulous. None of that sprinkling nonsense. He put each ingredient on his pizza in its precise spot. And even though his favourite marshmallows were out, he was so focused on getting his pizza done properly, he didn't even remember to eat any of them. He does not like to get dirty, so he'd call for a tissue the moment he touched any of the yoghurt.

E, on the other hand, started snacking the moment she saw the Cheerios. Only after she popped a few into her mouth, did she remember about making the pizza. Quite the opposite from her Kor-kor, she is of the 'sprinkle' school of thought. After a while, she started pouring the ingredients straight from their plates on to her pizza. Why waste time picking them up?

So no prizes for guessing which pizza belonged to whom.

Bai-Nian

Xin Nian Kuai Le from California!

Must make pretty.

P.S. Check out his T-shirt - he so loved it, he was showing it off to everyone he met at bible study this morning!

Happy New Year!

Reunion Dinner, Improvised

The concept of a steamboat, executed on the stove-top.
(Not as good as the real thing, but it had to do.)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!