iTalk

Baby Joshua was chatting with uncle Mike about ABC++.

Baby Joshua and Koh Cho

Koh Cho (means big brother Chocholas) seems to love playing with his mini cousin. Perhaps it's because baby Joshua has cheeks that reminds him of his own. But baby Joshua does remind us of Chocholas when he was a baby. One day these two are going to have eating contests and comparing belly sizes I just know it!

Here they are.

KC: "Hi baby Joshua..chubby chubby chubs"

KC: "poke poke poke chubby cheeks"

BJ: "hey koh Cho, go poke your own cheeks!"

Abacus

Now that Jasmine is almost 5, we decided that it's time for her to start the abacus class with her brother.

Last week when we registered, Chocho's reaction was "you want Jassie to have the same life as me??". :-)

Today was Jasmine's first day at abacus and she seems to be adjusting just fine.  And lucky for her (and me), she has a personal tutor.  To my
surprise, Chocho is a pretty good tutor.  Even after doing their homework together he wanted to go on to teaching his sister how to play the piano.

Of course, he also came up with a business proposition on the side. He says he can help me save money by teaching her piano.  However, he proposed that I pay him the same amount I pay his teacher. So I'm not sure what he means by me saving any money?!  :-)

Taekwondo

Now that the school year has begun, we decided to put Jasmine in the same after school day care with her brother.    They're now doing taekwondo together after school.

Jasmine is so small, even the smallest uniform size is still too big on her.  We have to fold her sleeves, her pant legs and also by the waist.

I wonder what she looks like while doing the class.  Maybe one day I'll try to get off work early so that I can take a peek.  :-)

Burger

Chocho: "that doesn't look like a burger to me."

Wealth

Here's Dada feeling rich.

Zoom zoom zoom

Today when we went biking, Nicholas all of a sudden zoomed on his own without Dada guarding him anymore. He can now ride on 2 wheels.  Now Dada feels lonely walking alone when all this time he would run beside Chocho to help him balance out.

Now it's Jassie's turn to learn riding without the training wheels.

Super baby

Wonder what this guy is dreaming about...

Big sister Jasmine

Jasmine finally gets a real life baby doll to play with. Years of practice with her doll now pays off.  She looks like a giant with Joshua around. She's no longer "my little puny."

I had a chat with her last night after seeing baby Joshua:

J: "baby Joshua is soooo cute, right mama?"
M: "yes he is. One day you're going to be big and have a husband and also your own little baby, just like baby Joshua."
J: "I know that.  ...  And then you're going to miss my voice?"
M: "yes I'm going to miss your baby voice."
J: " it's OK mama. I'm still your kid."

She's growing so fast.....  :-)

Speed-counting

Last month Nicholas went for abacus competition. He's been doing abacus for a couple of years now and this is the first time he is trying out a competition.

The place of the competition was full of kids ranging from 5 years old to as old as perhaps teenagers. They were seated in an exam setting and parents were provided with waiting rooms.

Nicholas wasn't nervous at all. He was quite excited and had lots of fun bumping into friends. 

When the teachers finally finished grading the papers, Nicholas was delighted to find out that he made the top 10 in his level.  The top 10 were called up the stage and were given little trophies.

The head of the abacus school was giving fun quizzes as the teachers were grading. She basically speaks out loud of a bunch of numbers to be added together really fast and the kids had to process it in their minds or with the abacus of what the answer is.  The kids yelled out the answers within seconds of her "speed- reading" the questions. That is some kind of brain power!

Congratulations Chocholas! We are so proud of you!

Peace treaty

Here's Dada re-enforcing the peace agreement in the house.

Lost in translation

Today Dada shared a funny story about Jasmine at daycare.

Apparently when he picked her up at daycare, Sue, one of her teachers, just couldn't wait to tell him the story.

Jasmine was screaming and calling for Sue's help, and Sue quickly went to see if she was OK...but only to hear Jasmine mad while pointing a finger to a boy across from her and said "that boy keeps talking to me in Chinese!!!!".  Sue asked "Jasmine can you speak Chinese?" ... Jasmine answered firmly "NO!!!!".

Maybe Jasmine should start Chinese school soon.  :-)

Newcomer 2013

Last Friday on July 26, 2013 afternoon, Chocho and Jasmine's first cousin from my brother arrived safely fully packed with a full head of hair!  At 3.7kg heavy and 51cm long, baby Joshua Matthew is incredibly cute.

Jasmine was so excited to hear about his arrival that she mentioned it to all her teachers and friends. Nicholas wanted to skip going to summercamp (which he loves going to) just to go meet his future sidekick.  And Dada just couldn't wait to hold a light weight again.  :)

All in all we are so blessed and happy to have a growing extension to the family tree.

Father's day 2013 by Jasmine

My dad is a super hero because "he is a juggle."

His super power is "he is fast."

He is as strong as a "house."

And as fast as a "cheetah."

I am his sidekick because I help him "do the laundry."

Happy Father's day!

Joyful journey

Yesterday we celebrated our 10 years anniversary.  Can't believe the time has passed by so quickly. I still remember not sleeping the night before the wedding since I was so nervous. And Mike's famous speech... Who can forget that.  But reaching to 10 years reconfirms our love for each other which we pledged in front of God in 2003 and this is symbolized by the two additions in our family.  I'm feeling so blessed in life for having to have met Mike and having both Nicholas and Jasmine as part of our family.

Girls will be girls

"Alright, which of these skirt would go with the shirt I picked?"


"Oh here's a good one!"


"Hmm... too big, not my size."


"Let's check out what size this one is."


"Hey, why is this smaller size the same price as the bigger one? The smaller one should be cheaper since it uses less material! I need to talk to the store manager to get this straighten out!"


"Hmm...this looks like a nice pair of pink pants."


"I don't have this shade of pink yet."


"Ohh that looks like it's a good number as a price..."


"...and it looks like my size."


"Now how do I convince that cheapskate Dada to buy me all these new clothes? Hmmmmmm.....!"

Bubbles

Wonder how much longer before they think this is not cool anymore!

Dada's hair salon

Dada has been cutting his hair all his life and now he also cuts Nicholas' hair. Strangely though, he doesn't have enough confidence in cutting Jasmine's hair since she's a girl. However, he can do some simple up do for her.

Here he is giving her a pony tail before she heads out to school.

Yoga anyone?

Jassienese

"I don't like the wonderstorm"

"Let's go to the libarry!"

"Can we eat dinner at Beeside Mario's?"

"I love cantaloupes and honeydudes"

"Dada, can you take me a shower?"

"I like boganning.  I want to go boganning."

Sillies

Both Nicholas and Jasmine love to make funny possess and funny faces when they see the camera.

Here they are as we were about to blend some strawberry smoothie.

Little Miss Jasmine

Jasmine loves to play as Princess. She can get really creative with her outfit.