Ah! Kids! (5)

Older brother is just 4, but he thinks he knows a lot more than Mom, Dad, or other adults. The other day, Mom took him and Little brother to a tennis tournament Dad was running. It was a very important tournament, for up, and coming young tennis players with the hope of turning professional one day! Mom warned Older brother that Dad was working, and he was not supposed to bounce tennis balls against the fence surrounding the courts, or make too much noise. Older brother did not bounce tennis balls against the fence, but he did play with a tennis ball, and bounced it on the ground.

An "overly-concerned" dad was accompanying his son to the tennis tournament. He saw Older brother bouncing the ball on the ground, and told him to be quiet. Older brother was very offended. He came to Mom, and complained about the dad who told him to be quiet. The dad who "shushed" Older brother was sitting opposite Mom, and heard Older brother's complaint. Mom could not help smiling, as she explained to Older brother again about the importance of the tournament to the players, and that we should respect the players' (or their attached parties') wishes. Older brother was still upset, and asked Mom again, "But why did that man ask me to be quiet when I was not making noise?" The "man" of course, was also amused as he heard Older brother's question. Perhaps he thought he went overboard, or for whatever reasons, he tried to make Older brother feel better. He asked, "Young man! Which grade are you in?" Older brother did not understand his question, because he was not in any grade yet. He went to pre-school! The man was a little surprised when he heard Older brother was not even in kindergarten yet. He said, "You speak very well. You don't speak like a 4-year-old!"

Anyway, Older brother was still not happy with the man for asking him to be quiet, when he WAS quiet. Mom finally took Older brother away from the courts, to a place nearby where he could bounce his tennis ball as high as he wished, without upsetting any parents.

Dog Lover?

I do love dogs - some! Really, especially little cute ones! I know, I'm a selective dog-lover! Well, I did not grow up with dogs. I did finally get my own puppy, when I was a very "mature" adult. Even then, my mom would not speak to me for a few days, because I did not respect her wish not to get a dog. I was, after all, still living with her. For the first few weeks (or months), I had to bring her over to my sister's apartment when I went to work, so that my mom would not have to take care of her in my absence.

I got a really cute Pomeranian! My mom finally broke down and started paying my puppy some attention. Who could resist a puppy - especially a Pomeranian that was cute as could be? She stole my mom's heart! After I moved away, she became my mom's dog. It broke my heart not to be able to bring her with me. She was not in the most perfect health, so I was afraid she might not survive the long plane ride. My mom had also grown so attached to her, I did not have the heart to take her away from her. The night before I left, my puppy could not sleep. She kept barking at my packed suit cases!

I was very sad to say good bye to her. However, I get to see her now, every summer when I go home for a visit. She still answers to my call, but my mom is the apple of her eye. She loves my mom, and gets jealous when my mom holds her grand kids!

Anyway, we have some new neighbors. They own a dog, which does not seem very "friendly", in my opinion. One day, I was going to my car, in my own drive way, when this dog came dashing towards me, and barked at me! His, or her owner, was standing across the street. She just stood there, and let her dog bark at me, in my own drive way! I might not know too much about dogs, especially big ones, but I definitely did not sense any friendliness in it! I just stood still - with fear, wondering what I should do. The owner saw what was happening. I was wondering when she would call the dog away. It took her a few lazy minutes, to drag her body over, and say in a nonchalant tone, "She's (or he) friendly!" In my heart, I was saying to myself, "Yah right! Just get her off my drive way!" The dog apparently did not mind her owner very much. It took her a while to "obey" the girl's command. Well, I did not want to make a big deal of the matter, and put it away from my mind.

Another day came when I was driving my kids home. I vaguely heard some barking when I drove into my drive way. I was not paying much attention to the barking because I was focused on getting my car into the garage, without breaking any side-view mirrors (er mirror - one was already broken). Anyway, I got out of the car, and my neighbor's dog came barking and dashing onto my drive way again! I did not want it to bite my kids, so I closed the garage door, just in time to keep it out! It stood outside my garage door, and barked at us for a good 5 minutes!

Call me a selective dog-lover, but I definitely do not like my neighbor's dog! I do not like to be intimidated by a neighbor's dog in my own drive way! I am sorry for the dog because her owner does not care enough to train her, and keep her from causing annoyance to others - on their property .

Ah! Kids! (4)

Older brother just started attending Chinese lessons about 3 weeks ago. He loves going to class for different reasons. He likes skipping his nap, and he loves being with people (even though they speak a language he does not quite understand yet). A week before Chinese New Year, I started playing Chinese New Year songs in my car. Older brother can sing some of the songs now, not getting most of the lyrics right, but it amuses me to no end!

I'm doing a better job of speaking Chinese to Little brother, maybe because he has almond, single-lid-eyes like me! He has acquired the talent of clapping his hands lately. However, he will only respond to the "command" in Chinese. It's really funny when Dad asks him to clap in English, and he just stares at him blankly. Dad asks Mom to say the "command" in Chinese, and his little hands will come together in a clap! Mom hopes Little brother will soon be able to obey the command in both English and Mandarin though!

Ah! Kids! (3)

Older brother likes to play with his cars on a rug with road designs on it. He sets up his cars in lines, and in make-believe parking lots. Little brother just turned one, and has not mastered the great art of walking yet. He crawls about, mostly on his belly, and cars on rugs do not mean "detour" to him. He crawls over the nicely lined-up cars, and sends them flying in different directions!

Older brother does not understand Little brother's inability to play "nice". Older brother gets very upset, and yells at his Little brother, and Little brother, of course picks up on his brother's angry tone, feels hurt, and screams in his baby language, something rude in return. Mom steps in and tries to calm both down, and tries to persuade Older brother to tolerate Little brother's interference in his playing. The alternative, Mom says, is for Older brother to move all his toys to his room upstairs, and play without interference from Little Brother. Older brother, the social being that he is, of course, does not want to play "alone". Mom then tells him he has to put up with the "Giant Baby" destroying his city of cars then (for at least 1 more year). Older brother stops his complaining, and seems to like the idea of treating Little brother as the "Giant Baby" out to destroy his city!

Ah! Kids! (2)

Mom took Little brother to the Pediatrician's office when his 10-month check-up was due. The Pediatrician was a little worried because Little brother was not crawling "right". He slid on his belly, and rolled around to get places. He could not sit up from a crawling position either. The Pediatrician pronounced his actions "delayed". A frown began to appear on Mom's face! She knew Little Brother was not as eager to hit the different milestones than Older brother, but Mom was not worried, until then! The Pediatrician recommended some therapy sessions! Oh dear! Mom left the Pediatrician's office with a somewhat heavy heart.

Little brother turned 1! Mom and Dad still did not take him to any therapy sessions. It was not intentional though, they just could not "find" the time to do so! Of course, Little brother did not start walking when he turned 1! He started sitting up from a crawling position though! He still did not crawl "right", even though his speed had increased tremendously! One time, Little brother dived from his godmother's lap when he saw Mom take out the lap-top! He practically swam towards the lap-top! He loved the keyboard and the screen, especially if he could see himself on the screen!

One new thing Little brother learned to do recently, despite his other "delayed" movements, was doing flips! He loved to be upside down! One day, Dad held him upside down, and pushed Little brother's little legs over, till he reached a standing position. He broke into the sweetest laughter! He turned himself backwards again, wanting Dad to turn him upside down again. Dad did, and he flipped his own legs over! He did a flip! He just broke into laughter after every flip! It was precious watching those short legs at work, and the delight on Little brother's face, when he completed a flip!

Mom wondered if she could talk about the flips at their next visit to the Pediatrician's office, and avoid talking about Little brother's crawling or walking (or rather , his inability to crawl or walk)!

Ah! Kids! (1)

Older brother was very excited! Today might just be planting day! Mom and Dad had a few more errands to run, and then it would be a trip to the Garden Center - to pick out some orange trees! "Maybe!" reminded Mom. To this 4-year-old, planting was a very exciting activity! Mom and Dad had to remind him constantly that the seeds, or trees would not start bearing fruits overnight. "How come?" the ever-expected question, and one parents have to answer constantly since their toddlers learn to say the word 'why'!

Anyway, the Garden Center had many fruit trees. Mom too, got very excited! The lovely thought of harvesting their very own berries and oranges nearly pushed Mom towards making some impulsive choices. Dad was more cautious, and read the instructions and information attached to the plants. Mom finally narrowed down the choices to just orange trees. Older brother was delighted anyway. Oranges! His favorite fruits! However, Mom changed her mind suddenly when she considered the price of the orange trees! With the economy being as bad as it was, she did not think they could spend that kind of money just at the moment. Dad was going to respect Mom's decision. Older brother was about to cry when Dad put the orange trees back! Mom and Dad told him the orange trees were too expensive. They would go home and plant some peas instead. Older brother had to get over his disappointment quickly, because whining would cause him the privilege of any planting activity!

Mom said if the pea planting was a success, they might consider planting oranges in the future! It was hard to watch Older brother's face, when Dad put the orange trees back!