Moments to Treasure: January 2006

Doctor's Visit in the afternoon

First Nicole's height was measured.

Then they measured the size of her head.

Getting undressed for doctor's examination.

Here came the shot. Nicole didn't even cry much.

A little fun playing outside in the waiting area.

Mmm, this looks interesting too!

First Visit at Pre-school

Becky decided to register Nicole with the Tinker Tots Preschool in Los Angeles. This morning we took her there for a short trial period. Teacher sent us out to the playground. Most other kids are bigger in size than Nicole. That made PoPo a little uneasy and worried. The first thing that caught Nicole's eye were the horses. Soon other boys came to join her.

Nicole looking quite at home with the slide.

Nicole was still trying out the rocking boat when teacher got the kids all lined up to get their hands washed. First teacher applied one drop of soap for each child, then each kid would go to the sink to get his or her hand washed. With their hands still wet they then ran to another teacher to get in line to go inside. I was still wondering what they do with their wet hands, Nicole ran passed the teacher and dried her hands with the towels hanging on the fence. Boy, was she smart or what!

For classwork the children were supposed to color the number 5, then teacher would place 5 dots of glue on their paper and give each student 5 beans to stick them on. All Nicole was interested was beans, beans and beans. Teacher finally had to hide the beans from her.

After a review on counting the numbers and recognizing the shapes and colors, teacher allowed them to watch Dora on TV, while another teacher started setting up the kids' beds for their afternoon nap.

One last picture at the front before leaving the school.

1/30 Nicole's Birthday

A birthday without a birthday cake? No way! So this was the cake that Mommy made from the big birthday cake we had on Saturday.

Nicole was obviously pleased with this nice surprise.

After finishing with this big piece of cake, Nicole still asked for more. What an appetite!

On Monday morning, Nicole was extra fussy, so we took her to the Kidspace to make her a little happier.

While Nicole was playing with the doll, mommy could relax sitting on the floor.

Nicole having fun collecting toys into the plastic big box.

Celebrating Chinese New Year!

Church was decorated beautifully for Chinese New Year.

Hi! Happy New Year to you all!

We had a great dinner at Mah Mah , Yeh Yeh's place in celebration for the Chinese New Year.

We ended the dinner with this yummy dessert.

The Big Day is here!

Right after feeding Nicole her breakfast I hurried to change her into her pretty red dress. Then it was time to leave the house. Chris already picked up his mother and all the Chinese carrot cake and various other dim sum. Upon arriving at Peggy's place, we started to place the prepared sandwiches, salad and chili out. We cut oranges to prepare for the fruit plate. Becky also made some macaroni and cheese, as well as baked some chicken nuggets for the kids. Guest started coming in by the time we were ready. Perfect timing! Nicole behaved very well today. She said hello to her friends without us telling her. She gave Kyle a loving hug when he was crying on the floor. She sat and chat with Melanie while watching Nemo together. She didn't fight for the toys today even though all the toys were really hers. When the guests were leaving, Nicole also went to the door to say good-bye to them. The party was a success. Nicole had a great day and she got many, many presents which she gladly opened after her nap.

Happy birthday to Nicole, what a pretty two year old.

Favors for the Birthday party.

Mommy and Popo worked very hard, Grandma Kwan also did her part in preparing all these food for the party.

Nicole greeting friends as they arrived.

Nicole trying to console her crying friend.

Daddy saying a prayer of thanksgiving.

Happy chatting with friend Melanie.

Having fun with chalk-writing on the ground.

Learning how to blow bubbles.

Keeping her smile long and strong, Nicole listened as everybody sang her the happy birthday song.

Nicole taking a break from all the excitement of the party.

Nicole joyfully inspecting all her presents.

The day before Nicole's Birthday party

In th e morning, Becky went to attend the first session of MOP (Mothers Of Preschoolers). After class she went to Cosco to buy the bread and ice and did not return till 1:30 pm. So I was left with Nicole. I did my Tai Chi exercises while watching her played. She practically pulled out every piece of toy. I learned to disregard the big mess on the floor and just let her had her fun. While she was taking her nap, I started working in the kitchen to get the chicken and mushroom ready to be cooked for dinnr. Then I cleaned the grapes and lettuce. Next I chopped celery and cooked eggs to be mixed with the tuna. Becky and I both then deboned the two roast chickens for tomorrow's salad. By then it was time to cook diiner for Nicole. After our simple dinner and cleaning of the dishes, I started to work on the sandwiches while Becky cooked the chili. When Chris came home from choir practice, he went with Becky to Peggy's place to do some decoration and some planning for the placemnt of the different dishes. After my shower I finally got to sit down in front of the computer to relax a little bit before going to sleep.

A big meal for a little girl.

Nicole taking care of teddy bear and watching TV together.

Struggling to put on the undershirt by herself. Dressing undershirt on the outside is Nicole's favorite style.

Day with Nicole

Becky continued to run around today to do more shopping, bring the van for more repair and looking at two more pre-schools. I had a fair day with Nicole. Lately she hadn't fuss over putting on clothes in the morning. That is quite a relief for me. She still likes her cereal and raisin for breakfast and doesn't mind watching Boo over and over again. Her new favorite movie is Madagascar. It tickles me to death when she imitates the lion sticking out her tongue to lick me. She pooped three times today, but each time she allowed me to change her diaper without fighting with me. I think she looked real cute in her karate outfit.

Nicole having fun with her little slide.

Getting instructions from her karate teacher - Po Po.

Ready, get set!!!

Getting busy in preparation for Nicole's birthday party

In the morning Becky spent her time completing her shopping list. After Nicole was put in bed for her nap, Becky headed out shopping for the party and getting the helium tank for the balloons. So all I did was babysitting and cooking. I was still sore all over my body from yesterday's hard work. Also the night before I could not sleep well due to stuffy nose, itchy throat on top of the muscles aches. I needed a good rest today.

Auntie Sue and Uncle Stephen are back from England

Auntie Sue surprised us with a visit this morning. As usual she played with Nicole. She even seucceded in putting Nicole up into a ponytail.
In the afternoon I went out to the patio to do a little cleaning up and planted a few bittermelon seeds in the big flower pot. Then I moved on to clean the front of the apartment. When I went down to dispose the garbage, I couldn't stand the dirty floor any longer. I started sweeping the dust and the dirt. I took me forever to clean out just a little part. When Stephen returned, I took the opportunity to ask if there is a water hose in the garage. He came down a little later to hook up the hose for me. All I wanted was to clean the outer area where we parked and walked upstairs, but he started cleaning from the far side and we ended up cleaning the entire big, big garage with me doing the hard work - sweeping the dirty water with the big broom he found for me. Boy, was I tired. However, I still had to hurry to clean myself up and then started cooking. Nicole was crying and wailing for one thing or other around me. She had a bad afternoon, not being able to fall asleep for her nap, plus falling off the stool and broke her lips. Becky invited her friend Anna for dinner, and Auntie Peggy was waiting for dinner too, so I had to cook more food. My back was killing me. I hurried to wash all the pots and pans after I finished cooking. Poor Nicole was so tired, she even refused to take any of the nice dinner I worked so hard to prepare for her. They had to put her to bed on an empty stomack. Well, she was still a little sick. Her nose kept running and we kind of adding irritation to her by trying to wipe her nose. Sure hope she would feel better tomorrow.

Great Auntie Sue fixing up Nicole's hair.

Saying good-bye to Great auntie Sue before going out for a spin.

Poor Nicole with her broken lips.

Doing laundry and house cleaning

After Baba, Ma and John left, we got busy to do laundry so we could put the clean sheets back on Auntie Sue's beds. Nicole also tried to help us to sweep the floor. I was beginning to feel quite weak, for I am afraid I got the bug from Becky. I had to take a nap after Nicole was put to bed, but I woke up with a headache. I started cooking early so I could hurried to rest in bed. I felt better when I woke up and found enough strength to go downstair for my supper. Then I settled down to read the Chinese newspaper that we got from the supermarket. After that I headed back to bed.

Time for a snack after all that hard work.

Nicole simply loves eating her pretzel sticks which she called crackers.

A rare moment when Nicole allowed us to put her hair up. Doesn't she look cute?

Nicole giving us a hand in house-cleaning.

A little hard for Ms. Nicole to handle both the broom and the dustpan at the same time.

Time to say good-bye.

Nicole got dressed today without making any fuss. I spent the morning getting lunch ready for Baba, Ma and John while waiting for them to get up. Around Noon, they were all set to leave. We were really sad to have to say good-bye. Hopefully, we will see them soon after the new baby arrived.