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• Lunette turned 6! To celebrate, she requested to have a balloon artist present to make tons of balloons for her friends and her. Going to NYC to see a show called “Bello Mania” was the present from Mommy & Daddy this year. It was also time for her to start learning about money management so hello allowances.
• Some kind of strange stomach virus was going on in schools. As the result, Madeline complained about tummy ache on and off for almost 3 weeks!
• As part of the international week in school, Madeline performed the Umbrella Dance while Lunette sang some English and French songs.
• Received the painful news that Madeline had nearsightedness *sigh*

• To celebrate Lunar New Year, we decided to make some new treats - chocolate mochi, coconut rice cake, and blueberry rice cake! They did not possess tastes that we were familiar with when growing up celebrating Lunar New Year in Taiwan but certainly brought sweetness to the beginning of the Snake year.
• We took a short trip to Washington D.C. this month. There was so much to see and not enough time. As the result, we could only pick a few places to go and here were the final picks:
  • National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
  • Old Post Office Pavilion’s Clock Tower
  • Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
  • National Gallery of Art
  • White House Visitor Center - since we could not get on to an inside-White-House tour which had to be booked 2 to 3 months in advance.
  • Library of Congress - to see the magnificent Main Reading Room which only opens to the general public twice a year.
  • Old Town Trolley - so we could see all the major landmarks without having to walk in the cold... Top choice for lazy people sightseeing.

• One day when Phyllis asked what time it was, Lunette casually answered "7:42". That was when we realized that Lunette could tell the time! As the result, Lunette got her 1st watch which she happily wore to school every day.
• Madeline played piano at Carnegie Hall. After the concert, she said "I thought it was going to be fun playing at Carnegie Hall but it wasn’t as fun as I thought it was going to be..."
• Reorganization was done by Madeline in her room so that she could start doing homework there.
• For the first time, the girls did wall climbing with James.

• Madeline went for the Crescendo International Competitions and was awarded to be one of the 2nd place winners. As the result, she would be performing in Carnegie Hall in NYC in January to claim her award.
• One day when Lunette was bored, she pulled out some papers and made herself a friend, Moppy, which was as tall as Lunette herself!
• Most days of our holiday break were spent at home due to Lunette's scarlet fever. While sickness never happens at a convenient time, it was a relief that Lunette felt ill during a slow period when there was neither school nor other activities so she could rest well and recover to welcome a new year.

• After seeing Madeline writing a diary in Chinese for months, Lunette decided to join the club. Since she did not know how to write Chinese yet, her diary was writing in English. From time to time, she would write whatever she wanted to remember for that particular day. Years from now, she would appreciate her own initiative, we believe.
• In spite of Hurricane Sandy and the snowstorm afterward, we decided to proceed with our original plan to visit Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia in early November. It was to our surprise that after 1.5 hours of driving, there was no snow in sight. We enjoyed a few days of warm weathers and lots of stories from colonial time.
• As Thanksgiving approached, it marked the beginning of the holiday season. To get the girls in the mood, we visited the New York Botanical Garden for its famous Train Show and the tree lighting ceremony.
• Time flew when children grew... Phyllis got the shocking realization that Madeline's feet was as big as hers at the end of the month while trying out snow boots and wondered wasn’t it just like yesterday when she held her first-born and started the journey of motherhood???

• Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey hard. We were very lucky that we did not lose power, phone, nor internet connection at our house. However many in our town were not as lucky. Our schools were closed for a week due to power outage. While we felt blessed that nobody we know personally was in a life-threatening situation, our hearts were with those who suffered a great deal.

• Lunette waited with great anticipation for kindergarten to start so she could go to the big school just like Madeline. Both of them were excited when the new school year began and had enjoyed it since.
• Apple picking in September was our annual event and this year was no exception. We visited Ochs Orchard and feasted on cider donuts as usual.

• This was the month when we were traveling most of the time. First we spent 3 weeks in Taiwan. Then we were in Seattle for a day followed by an extended family trip on a 7-day Alaska cruise. Children were having so much fun that they did not want the vacation to end. Some of the places we visited were:
  • Baby Boss
  • Bopiliao (剝皮寮)
  • Raohe Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市)
  • Puppetry Art Center of Taipei (台北偶戲館)
  • Yingge Ceramics Museum (鶯歌陶瓷博物館)
  • Miniatures Museum of Taiwan (袖珍博物館)
  • Postal Museum (郵政博物館)
  • Suho Paper Memorial Museum (樹火紀念紙博物館)
  • Mei Nong Hakka Culture Folk Village (美濃民俗村)
  • Seattle Pike Place Market
  • Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center
  • White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad
  • Glacier Bay National Park

• Just like previous years, the girls were happy to start the summer at the Montessori House camp.

• Tenafly 5K Run took place this month. Phyllis and Lunette volunteered to be servers at the water table. Lunette did a great job picking up cups tossed by the runners and enjoyed watching the dogs in the run.
• Madeline took her soroban exam and passed as 8th level (8級).
• While doing things with children could be fun, it could also be a lot more complicated than planned... Phyllis and Lunette were making chocolate cobbler mix for teachers as presents. After measure the ingredients and pour into zip-lock bags, the bags had to be shacked so all ingredients could be mixed well. Lunette learned a very important step in the process - the bag had to be closed before shaking! Could you imagine how a chocolate/sugar/flour-covered Lunette looked like??? Phyllis wanted to faint when she saw it but that could not happen until the hour-long clean-up was done...
• To mark the beginning of summer vacation, we went to Cape Cod for some beach times. The girls ate enough clam chowder, fish n’ chips, and ice cream, of course.

• Madeline turned 8 this month.

• The Berenstain Bears storybooks were popular at our house so the girls were excited when we went to see The Berenstain Bears Live! in NYC.
• We learned more about Jewish culture this year by having Passover Seder at home of our dear friends/neighbors. Then we had a backyard Easter egg hunt when the children ate a decent share of chocolate and candies.

• Arrival of spring meant the presence of flower shows. We attended the International Flower Show in Philadelphia early this month followed by the Orchid Show at New York Botanical Garden. The view of the flowers had inspired us to start some seeds indoors in the hope that they will be ready to be transported to our backyard when the days got even warmer!
• A week was devoted to introduce international cultures to children at Madeline’s school. With the company of her friends in Asian Dance Club, Madeline performed the Ribbon Dance.
• As Lunette turned 5, she got better and better at reading. Often we could find her snuggling down on the sofa with tons of books to enjoy her own quiet reading time. It was hard to believe that she was just a little baby not long ago.
• Had you ever seen how fat got burned on the meat when it was roasted in the oven??? Phyllis wondered if that was what happened during hot yoga sessions and decided to give it a try. She figured that even if she did not gain muscles, she’d at least get endurance to deal with the upcoming summer heat...
• James changed job this month again – is that news???

• James and Madeline attended their first Father/Daughter dance. It sounded like this pair did more eating than dancing though...
• For the longest time, Lunette had been asking about taking Mandarin classes. Therefore she was very excited that she could finally start the lesson this month.
• After eating an apple pie, Madeline was inspired to write a poem about it. Since then, we had been awaiting for more additions to her food poetry collection.

• Weather ups and downs this month:
  • January 1/4/12 – temperature when woke up was 12°F. Did we see the number right??? Or is our weather station broken?
  • January 1/31/12 – temperature when woke up was 43°F. Is it spring already?
• To prepare for a bread-making presentation for children, Phyllis brought home a bread machine owned by school. For the whole month, various experiments were made. Everyone ate more than double the amount of bread consumed normally... Now the presentation was over, time to move on to other gadgets and experiments.
• If you follow the step-by-step photo instructions, can you achieve the same result as the book called for? Maybe not, as Lunette had found out. One day, she was reading an animal encyclopedia which had second-by-second pictures on birds’ wing movements. Lunette followed the pictures and mimicked the angels to a T, but was disappointed that she did not take off. Don’t be despair, my child - Mommy often got very different results after following the step-by-step cooking recipes as well...
• Lunette had been making good use of her alarm clock. For days, she would get up on her own when the alarm beeped, get dresses all by herself and come telling Mommy that she was all ready to go downstairs for breakfast. It was wonderful to see a child grow and try hard to be independent.

• During the holiday break, we made a trip to the New York Botanical Garden to see the famous Holiday Train Show. It was amazing to see historic buildings and landmarks in miniature versions made using the best of nature (twig, leave, acorn, nuts, bark, etc.). An exhibition worthwhile making a trip to, indeed.
• Lunette had been working hard on her reading skills. Often she would sit quietly with a book and try to sound out all the words by herself. Discovering the fun of reading and enjoy reading would sure bring joy to her life going forward.

• Halloween in November??? That was right. Because of the unexpected storm last month, our town had a make-up Halloween celebration this month. The girls were thrilled to finally being able to go ring some bells!
• Just when the hunting season began, we took a trip to Vermont and had a game supper where they served bear, venison, and squirrel meat. Yes, we tasted them while the girls had chicken pot pies. Conclusion - there was a reason why bear meat was not in mainstream... On the way home, we visited MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) where the girls enjoyed Sol LeWitt’s work tremendously.

• Halloween this year did not arrive alone - it brought a historic and destructive snowstorm to our region. The early snow clung to the leaves that had yet fallen from the trees. The excess weight resulted in broken branches which often landed right on electric wires and poles. Many of our friends lost power for days. We were fortunate and did not suffer from any power loss. Halloween trick-or-treat activities were suspended for safety reason. Nevertheless we had our 30-minute all-you-can-eat treat time that night while waiting for the town to announce a town-wide Halloween make-up celebration day!

• September would not be September if it did not contain events like a new school year or an apple-picking trip! This year, we visited Ochs Orchard where the girls sampled many fruit right in the middle of the farm. It was a good thing that they did not ask to weight the girls at check-out line after their 2-hour feast...

• August was the month for traveling. We went to Costa Rica for a family gathering. Shortly after that, we went to Cape Cod, MA during the arrival of infamous Hurricane Irene. We made the choice to leave a day early before the hurricane got to our home state by spending a night in Providence, RI first. By the time we got to Cape Cod, the weather was OK – we got lots of wind but little rain. Then we lost power in part of our villa which wasn’t too bad since we spent most of the day at beach or outdoor excursions. We were just glad to find our house intact when we returned from our trip.
• Feeling earthquake in NYC area??? Never thought of that yet happened this month. Initially Phyllis was going to yell at the girls for playing too wildly then realized that they were not powerful enough to shake the whole house...

• Beginning of summer vacation = beginning of camp and swim lessons! Lunette started her lessons this year. On almost daily basis, Madeline and Lunette would spend hours at the swim club. Needless to say, they have gotten quite a tan in spite of the sunblock applied on them and the summer was only half way through!
• A picnic at Pepsi Co.'s headquarter in Purchase, NY was long overdue so we went up there on a nice weekend. The girls enjoyed walking among the sculptures and the view of lily ponds.
• Heat wave this month was a record breaker – heat index at Newark reached 114 degrees. It was days like this that made one looking forward to autumn...

• Talking about unusual weathers! First we had 100 degree days that Madeline actually got half a day off so little children did not get roasted in the classrooms. Two weeks later, on the last day of school, we got pouring rains that the streets near school were flooded. Water was taller than the rain boots we had on so we were walking in water the whole time. What a way to end the school year!
• Since nobody in the house was willing to run the Tenafly 5K Run, we decided to volunteer to work the water table to help the runners stay hydrated. It was a fun experience for the girls and something we shall participate again next year.
• Wondering what the big black container in our backyard is? Guess no more. It was our newly acquired compost. Since we got it together with our neighbor, we had been feeding it. Once we gave it too much green and not enough brown (yes, that was compost talk...) and turned it into an angry stinky lady. We quickly retrofitted a solution and made it calm again.

• Madeline turned 7 this month and during that week, she lost 3 teeth. Tooth fairy was very busy visiting our house. Shortly after, Madeline attended her very first piano recital since she started lesson with Ms. Yoonhye Eunice Park last Thanksgiving.
• On top of his work, James had a new assignment in office – overlook the vegetable garden. One weekend, we went and planted tomato, pepper, broccoli, lattice and various herbs. It looked great on the date we put them in and we wonder how the garden would look in a few weeks.
• At the International Festival of Lunette’s school, we tried to introduce some Taiwanese culture to the children. We prepared glove puppetry (布袋戲) and old-fashioned marble pinball (彈珠台). For those of you who wanted to play, just come on over!

• Leakage and flooding is a common problem when a water heater gets to the end of its life. Since ours was about time to retire and nobody wanted to face such a disaster, we have decided to replace ours with a tankless water heater this month. Result – a happy family who could now take showers without having to worry hot water running low!
• As a birthday present to Madeline, we went to NYC to watch a Broadway show - "Madagascar Life!" It was the longest show the girls had been to so far but behaved well and sat through the whole performance without fussing.

• Madeline's school hosted an International Fair this month. We had the pleasure to introduce some Taiwanese art to the children. With the help of Taiwan Tourism Bureau and Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in New York, we were able to give out some cool souvenirs to the children. At the end of the fair, more children could say Taiwan and pointed out its location on the map. Go, Taiwan, Go!
• Lunette turned 4 this month! To celebrate this big day, she had a tea party with her little friends. We thank Robin, a professional photographer and mom of Lunette’s best friend Marie, for her generous gift to Lunette by taking the gorgeous pictures that would be treasured forever!
• Notable achievements of Lunette this month:
  • Recognized some Chinese characters - 大小上中下一
  • Tried to write "A" to "Z" by herself
  • One night, when Lunette wanted a drink of water, instead of calling for Mommy, she got up, turned on lights, went to the kitchen downstairs and poured herself a cup of water. Mommy heard some sound so went to see who was up and was pleasantly surprised at how independent and capable Lunette had become. A few nights later, Mommy also found out that when Lunette thought her feet was cold in the middle of the night, she would get up and fetch a pair of socks to put on without disturbing her sleeping family!
• We took the girls to NYC to watch a performance called "Mischief". Being so close to the city, we decided to take the advantage and give the children a chance to see a show or performance as their birthday presents.

• Phyllis got a real surprised for her birthday this year. She was told by the kids not to get out of her bed until they went to wake her up. Therefore she waited and waited for 2 hours only to find out what the surprised was - the kids had forgotten to go get her...
• This was the month when winter virus attached - it took maybe 2.5 weeks for the 1st person to show signs of sickness till the last person fully recovered. We hope the virus would soon pass us just like the winter!
• It was sad to know that some local stores would be closing soon - The Skein Attraction yarn store in Teaneck and Borders book store in Fort Lee. While we enjoyed the closing sales, we hope new stores would soon appear to fill the void.

• With the weekly snow storms we had been having this month, lots of time was spent at home. To make sure that everyone was entertained, Hello Kitty UNO, Old Maid and Sudoku were introduced and frequently played. Stop by if you are interested in joining us for a round of game.
• Madeline had her eye check-up this month. After putting Madeline behind an eye check-up machine, the technician asked Madeline to open wide. Madeline promptly opened her mouth. The technician learned the lesson to be more specific when examining the young patients.
• Perhaps the lengthy holiday break had confused James' mind, on January 3rd when James is off from work, he dropped off Madeline at school then drove to work. He stopped mid-way, not because he realized his mistake, but because he heard something from the backseat – he had forgotten to take Lunette to her school! James asked Lunette "How come you are still here???" Lunette answered with more puzzlement – "I don’t know..."

• After a few unsuccessful attempts to find a reasonably-priced dance studio to exercise, Phyllis decided to give Zumba a try. Guess what? Not only did she love it, she convinced a few friends to start as well!
• A blizzard right after Christmas left us over 20 inches of snow. While the adults got some workout shoveling, the children got tons of fun making snow angels, cones and whatever it was that they were making. Jumping into snow was a hit, too. It sure wasn't easy to convince them to come into the house after all the playing. How was it that children never seem to sense temperature the same way adults do??? No amount of snow was going to stand between James and his sausage. Therefore he put on his special gear and head out to grill some good eats.
• During the holiday season, we decided to pay Philadelphia a visit. We took the children to Please Touch Museum where the girls enjoyed being shoppers and cashiers at the "supermarket" tremendously. Of course no trip to Philly would be considered complete if we did not visit our favorite Reading Terminal Market. If you happen to visit, don't forget to take home some made-at-premise breads from Beiler's Bakery.

• "Want to have home-made sourdough bread or pizza?" was a frequently heard question in our household this month after Phyllis got her new pet - King Arthur Classic Fresh Sourdough Starter. Many of our friends had willingly (or unknowingly) become the guinea pigs. So far so good and no sickness or sour face was reported. If you think you want to get into the movement, too, just let Phyllis know when she would perform her weekly starter feed.
• Madeline started her piano lesson this month and seemed to enjoy it. One morning after finishing her morning to-do list, she sat down herself to start her piano practice even though she was almost late to school... Let's hope this would keep up for as long as she was taking the lesson.
• How could a holiday season start without yummy food (LOTS of it), and the company of great people? The amount of food we consumed since Thanksgiving was unbelievable. Lunette, a gourmet trainee, loved it. She could careless of what the other children were doing and slowly enjoying whatever was on the table. Imagine her excitement once she found out there were more to come in December!

• A big branch of a town-owned pear tree fell late last month and almost landed on our roof. To make sure that the tree would not cause any future damage, Department of Public Works came in early October to cut the tree. They promised to come back some time to plant a new tree. We wonder what it would be and excited that we can get to see a little tree maturing on our front yard.
• Autumn is often associated with activities such as pumpkin picking, hayrides, corn maze and pony rides. We went to 2 farms, Alstede Farm and Terhune Farm, just to get into the mood of fall. Lesson learned at the end of the month – we’d rather visit the farms at other times to really pick some fruits and vegetables in a slower pace instead of being crowded with all the people and be told to pay a premium price for everything/activity.
• Halloween was quite enjoyable for the girls this year. After the culture enrichment Madeline got from Lancaster, PA during our September trip, she decided to be an Amish girl. Lunette was a happy Nimo swimming in the sea…

• School started for both Madeline and Lunette early this month. Both were very excited about it. Madeline looked forward to her walks to school while Lunette wondered what kind of snacks she would be getting...
• To enrich the girls' view of the word, we took them to Lancaster, PA to learn about the Amish in America. The girls had lots of fun and enjoyed Abe's Buggy Rides tremendously. Some other highlights - Shoofly pie from Bird-in-Hand Bakery, Good 'N Plenty Restaurant, Amish Farm and House, and Immergut Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels.
• Since Madeline had mastered her balance bike, we upgraded her to a bigger bicycle this month. On the first day she rode on it, she was actually able to ride a little bit without Mommy holding on to it. The balance bike was now Lunette’s to practice.

• Trying to capture the last chance of going to the beaches before summer ended, we took a trip to Cape Cod, MA. We had fun (and sunburns...). Lunette enjoyed playing with sand, Madeline loved the mini golf while Mommy and Daddy craved food from Pain D'Avignon and The Raw Bar.
• We went berry picking at Terhune Orchards and brought home tons of raspberries, blackberries, peaches and fresh produce. The berries had not chance to be made into a pie since they were consumed way before Mommy can decide on which recipe to use.
• Things Madeline might have told you if you saw her this month: After 4 lessons, she could "swim" without any floating device. Now she has to work on change her breath without assistance.
• Tooth Fairy came to visit her for the 2nd time!

• Summer had been packed with fun activities for Madeline and Lunette. On top of the summer camp, Madeline also started swimming and soroban classes. To Lunette, the camp site seemed to have created a relaxing environment for her that she actually fell asleep a few time in the tents.
• While the children were busy playing, Phyllis was fully occupied with all the house remodeling and fixing (both expected and unexpected...)

• After being in CA for 10 months, we made our trip home and were all very happy to be in NJ again! A cross-country-move with young children was challenging but Eric and Jordan from Always Moving made the process more bearable.
• Madeline mastered the art of tying shoelaces this month. Now we had to find her a pair of shoes that actually has shoelaces
• Big things happened for Lunette this month:
  • Changed from a crib to a twin bed
  • Stopped sucking thumb at night when going to sleep
  • Started to use learning chopsticks to eat
• Summer camp started for both Madeline and Lunette. Both were happy to be having fun playing with the other children; mommy was even happier to have some time to clean up the house, think like a sane person and daydream a little without much interruptions.

• To celebrate Madeline's 6th birthday, she had a ceramic painting party at which she and her friends enjoyed doing some craft projects and eating butterfly cupcakes. Shortly after Madeline turned 6, she decided that it was time to give up sleeping with her burp clothes, a habit formed since she was a baby. She put away the burp clothes for her future baby and left a note explaining to her baby what they were. Now she sleeps with her beloved doll, Lola...
• After their hair-cut almost a year ago, the girls decided that they wanted to have short hairs again. Therefore Mommy took a few days (yes, days...) to cut the hairs (then perfect the cut again and again). After all the work, Mommy was certain that it would be another year before giving the girls their next cuts...
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Without anybody's help, she created a dragonfly for Madeline as a birthday gift. She even practiced singing the "Happy Birthday" song while Madeline was in school.
  • Finding rhyming words seems to be a new thing Lunette enjoyed doing. One day when Madeline was talking about 'cape', Lunette said it was just like 'tape.'
• Have you ever got lost in the mountains where neither of the GPS nor cell phones would work? We had that experience on the way visiting Harley Goat Farm. To calm ourselves after finally getting there, we sampled many yummy goat cheeses at the farm...

• During Madeline's spring break, we visited quite a few places:
  • Emma Prusch Farm Park – where we saw tons of farm animals walking around us.
  • Moss Landing – where we witnessed a hundred or so sea lions trying to find a resting spot on the narrow deck.
  • Happy Hollow Park & Zoo – where Madeline took her first roller coaster ride!
• All the sudden, Lunette seemed to grow up so much. Instead of drawing wiggly lines, her drawings started to show the shapes of people, animals, or objects. Her vocabularies were also increasing. One day while washing her hands, she saw the soap foam dripping down the sink and said to Mommy "It looked like a snail! Let's observe it. (這個看起來好像蝸牛哦! 觀察一下吧.)"

• Lunette turned 3! To celebrate her growth milestone, we had a picnic in the park where she enjoyed the company of her friends, playground and the requested gingerbread cake with flowers.
• After all those times riding on her Strider PREbike, Madeline could now balance pretty well. Guess a visit to the bike shop was due in the near future.
• Just when everyone thought the winter was over, more snow, rain and wind came. Lots of trees were down and roads were blocked. It also left many of our friends without electricity and water for a few days!

• Madeline learned her lesson about closing car doors tightly this month. One day after school she had forgotten to close the car door and nobody noticed. The next morning the car could not be started at all and everybody realized. Madeline was told that she’d have to pay for it if a battery replacement was needed. As you could imagine, Madeline was very happy after knowing the jump start by AAA was sufficient to "fix the car" and remembered to close doors ever after.
• Snowstorm in NJ this month had broken off some big tree branches at our house. Fortunately the branches did not make holes on the roof. However our beloved local supermarket, Tenafly Gourmet Farm, was not as lucky when snow caused massive roof collapse. We wonder where we should go get our fruit and produce now...
• Slowly Lunette has learned her alphabets through songs and games. One day while getting her nails trimmed, she picked up 2 nail files and made "T" and "V" with them. She could sing the whole "ABC Song" clearly now probably because we had sung it whenever we were waiting for her hand lotion to dry.

• After working for days, Madeline finished writing her first book, The 911 Story, with grandpa. The book was being "published" and we looked forward to sharing the final version with you soon.
• One day Lunette was walking around in the house holding a piece of card in front of her. After seeing her doing so for a few minutes, Mommy asked Lunette - "What were you looking at?" The reply – "GPS." Talking about technology and toddlers nowadays!

• After attending the two's program at Children's Center for a few weeks, we decided to pull Lunette out due to schedule conflict. The school hours were from 1 to 3 PM, exactly the same when Lunette would take her nap. For the first few times, Lunette was OK of either skipping nap or took a short and earlier nap. However the lack of napping time started to catch on afterward. Lunette complained that she was too tired and said school was fun but she'd prefer to nap. Since she was only 2 and sleeping has a higher priority at this age, we complied with her request and would let her start school again when she was ready.
• One day out of the blue, we saw bubbles in a toilet. The next day, we saw bubbles in ALL toilets in the house and we knew it was sign for trouble. As it turned out, something (maybe overgrown tree roots?!) was blocking the main sewer line. The plumber and his power machine grounded up the blockage and everyone lived happily ever after...
• To make the most of our stay in CA, we decided to take the girls to explore San Francisco during the holiday break. Some notable adventures included Academy of Science, Golden Gate Park, Fisherman’s Wharf ferry and the 2 sea lions (the others seemed to have migrated elsewhere; if not because of these 2, Lunette would have just started crying on the deck...), Boudin's bakers in actions, de Young Museum, Aquarium of the Bay, Legion of Honor, Lincoln Park, historic F streetcar and cable car rides. Thoughts after the visit – we missed NYC!

November

• Lunette decided to potty train herself at night. She would wait till morning to pee in the potty instead of doing it in her diapers. When Madeline was young, she did the same as well. Therefore for all those friends who had asked us for night potty training tips, we really had little to say...
• It had been almost 2 years since Madeline started using training chopsticks. However we weren't so sure if the training chopsticks was really helping her to use real ones as the holding position were not exactly the same. Therefore we decided to get Madeline real chopsticks without any supporting aids (yes, just 2 sticks...) After a few tries, Madeline was able to eat with them and quite proud of her own achievement.
• Since we were in CA, we decided to take the girls to visit Disneyland during the Thanksgiving break. The girls had fun plus tons of walking exercise. Lunette went on "It's a Small World" 5 times and Madeline waited for an hour to get autographs from Snow White and Sleeping Beauty... While Disneyland was smaller and more manageable for the younger ones, Disney World had more to offer in terms of live entertainment. Guess we would be going to Disney World when the girls got a bit older and built up more leg muscles.

October

• This was the first time that Madeline and Lunette really did trick-or-treating for Halloween. Madeline was a Hello Kitty witch while Lunette a crossing guard (costume and sign were handmade by Mommy). After spending so much time making the 'STOP' sign, Mommy decided to use it even after Halloween - it would be displayed between Madeline and Lunette during sibling quarrels...
• Lunette started to attend the two's program at Children's Center so that she could have some friends in her own age. She was excited about school because she had seen Madeline happily going to one since she was born. So far she seemed to like it, especially the snack part...
• There were 2 big fund raising events at Madeline's school this month: Walkabout – a student would get sponsors and walk in laps on the day of the event. The sponsors would donate money to school depending on the number of laps the student walked. Madeline walked 17 laps before being stopped by Mommy who was trying not to burn too big a hole in the sponsors' wallets. In total, Madeline raised $243 for her school. Thank you, sponsors!
• Halloween Carnival – children got to play some games while parents busy buying tickets needed for the games... Phyllis made a ghost cake for a game called "Cakewalk" where the winners could bring home donated cakes!

September

• To prepare for the upcoming winter, the girls had already gotten their flu shots. One cried and the other did not. Guess who the brave one was - if you had picked Lunette, you got it right!
• Madeline was getting better at reading so we took her to Palo Alto Children's Library where she could read to a dog. We hoped the dog enjoyed it as much as Madeline did.
• The girls attended their first children's rock & roll concert by The Sippy Cup. The lyrics of "7 is the new 14" made Mommy very worried about what she would be facing in a few years.
• Daddy had yet another birthday and the girls were super excited – about the cake, of course...

August

• This was a busy month for us while we tried to settle in CA, wait for our car to arrive from NJ, get Madeline ready for kindergarten which started in mid-August, and figure out what classes Lunette could take while keeping up with Madeline's school schedule...

July

• Potty training was finally going somewhere. By the end of the month, Lunette was doing pretty well and we were all very happy with her big growth achievement.
• Lunette finally got her first haircut from Mommy. With the new hairdo, she looked so much more like a toddler. Madeline who never liked to tie her hair up was envious of Lunette’s short hair so requested Mommy to give her the same cut. The girls now both had what they called “beautiful hair (漂漂頭).”
• Life at the end of July was crazy as we prepared to leave for our “long vacation” in Silicon Valley, CA where James had been working since last October. Thanks to the helps of our dear friends, the girls were well taken care of during the packing process. Trying to sleep in an unfamiliar environment brought too much excitement to Lunette that she would take on average 2 hours to fall asleep! To all our friends, we wanted to say – thank you for the support, we will miss you and hope to see you soon!

June

• Potty training, potty training – that was pretty much the focus of the month as we tried to train Lunette to use the potty. Perhaps the training process with Madeline 3 years ago was too easy that we had unrealistic expectation when we started with Lunette. After some frustrating, yet seemed to be normal, days, Lunette was comfortable using the potty. Of course, she was also very comfortable at making some accidents once in a while…. A note to all the parents: beware of the website, Start Potty Training, by Carol Cline. It was a total internet fraud while took advantage of parents’ desire (and desperation) of painless potty training. None of what promised on the website was delivered and you would never get your money back like it suggested.

• Madeline turned 5 in Indian style! She was very happy of the wampum (beads used by Indians as money) she collected and excited to be in a tipi with her friends and listening to stories by a campfire. Way to grow, Madeline!!!
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to herself when she was in a good mood; Mommy overheard it one day while Lunette was playing by herself and was pleased that she could entertain herself with not just toys but also music
  • Started using training cups to drink directly without a straw
  • Said "Lunette did not know (Lunette 不知道)" in Mandarin when she learned something new
• The girls had some fun new experiences this month -
  • visiting polar bears and the other animals in Central Park Zoo
  • took a short walk in Tenafly Nature Center and ended up chasing some ducklings
  • attended the International Fair at Madeline's school, the Montessori House, and dressed in jinbei while Mommy worn her yukata to teach the children how to do origami

April

• Ever tried having a broken refrigerator in the house? Well, it happened to us at the end of the month, on the most-unusually-hot day in April!
• The weather got a bit warmer this month so there was more time to play outside. Grandpa gave Madeline the idea of flying a kite. As the result, Mommy was running crazy with a kite in the backyard... When the wind wasn't strong enough, Madeline and Lunette would play with their windmills made by Grandpa, blow some bubbles, and color the sidewalk with chalks.
• Some achievements of Lunette this month:
  • Counted from 1 to 10 in both Mandarin and English
  • Said "please help (請幫忙)" in Mandarin when she needed it
  • Figured out what going to the zoo was all about! Last time when she was there, she was a bit too young, but the visit this month really delighted her that leaving required some crying...

March

• Lunette turned 2! Her favorite phrase of the month was "go ri go ri go." Favorite activity was to stack things up and practicing taking off her clothes.
• Instead of dance, Madeline decided that she would try doing yoga. It was certainly interesting to see a group of toddlers trying to get some zen...
• Grandparents came to visit and needless to say, the girls enjoyed very much the on-going play dates. Perhaps the excess amount of playing confused Madeline - one night, around 4:30 AM, she summoned Mommy to her room and asked "when we get up in the morning, can you give me a piece of string to play?" In the morning, instead of the string, she got a good lesson on when and where to ask for what!
• For many years, Phyllis had volunteered at Tenafly's Welcome! Committee supported by the local borough to help new residents settling into our town. For those of your who are interested in living or learning more about Tenafly, please check out Tenafly's Official Website and Tenafly Twitters.

February

• This was the month when Madeline decided that she no longer needed the bed railing. We took it out and warned her not to cry if she ended up on the floor in her sleep. So far so good...
• Children do the strangest things adults can imagine. Madeline for some reason decided to use toothpaste to paint Mommy's bathroom mirror one day. Of course, that did not earn much praise. Lunette tried to be helpful by throwing a big towel to suck up some water except the "towel" she used was Madeline's sweater and the big pile of water was what inside Madeline’s potty!
• Some new things Lunette was doing this month:
  • Sang "star shining" song to herself while she was in good mood
  • Walked downstairs by holding on to the railing
  • Said "wait" when we asked her to go change her diaper
  • Started saying "no" to every question - since we cannot stop her doing so, we decided to teach her to say "no, thank you" instead. Lunette's version ended up to be "no, kan ku."

January

• Mommy was cutting up fruit for Lunette one day and apparently a bit too slow to her liking as we heard Lunette saying "come on, come on" to Mommy...
• Our playroom got a makeover this month since Lunette really did not want to play in the gated "zoo" anymore by herself. Therefore we took away the gates and put in a Fold-n-Lock unit. Everyone played happily in the new space now.

• Madeline got more curious as Christmas approached. She was asking a lot more questions - from where would the Santa Claus enter the house since we do not have a fireplace, how would Santa Claus know what she wanted since she did not mail him a letter, would Santa Claus like the snack we put out for him, etc. Per Madeline's request, we also decorated a tree in our front yard to give it some holiday spirits. At the end, Madeline was happy to receive something that "she really wanted" yet had no idea existed in the world until she opened her present...
• It was so nice to see Lunette growing up and starting to help around the house without us asking. One day while Mommy was doing laundry, Lunette took the empty hamper and attempted to move it upstairs to return to its original spot. Mommy was very touched by all the effort she was putting in to help.
• Lunette showed Daddy that she could talk in short sentences now by saying to him "wake up, Daddy" (爸爸, 起來) whenever he was napping... She would also remind herself to be careful with the table corner by saying it was sharp and would hurt her (尖尖,痛痛) when passing by.

November

• To prove her independence, Lunette now wanted to feed herself and when she did, nobody was allowed to touch her bowl, spoon, or fork. If you helped her to put something on the spoon, she would dump it out and tried scooping it back up again by herself.
• House toys stay in the house was the general rule. However one morning, Lunette insisted on taking a doll with her while it was time to drop Madeline off at school. Mommy could not convince Lunette to leave the doll at home so decided to let Lunette have her way under one condition - she could take the doll and leave it in the car when we got to school. Lunette nodded, smiled and said "Happy!"
• During a pretend play, Madeline was acting as the helper of Santa Claus (聖誕老公公) and named herself 聖誕老妹妹.
• For the first time, we ordered a cooked turkey instead of baking one by ourselves for the Thanksgiving feast. It certainly saved us a lot of work and the turkey from La Promenade turned out wonderful!

October

• James decided to take a job opportunity at Yahoo! and said his farewell to Thomson.
• Madeline's major achievements this month:
  • Started to read and loved the idea that she could understand books by reading to herself.
  • Not only was Madeline starting to read in English, she could read some Chinese (32 characters to be exact) since she started her Mandarin classes this month.
  • Took her first set of dental X-rays without any fuss - the dentist and nurses were extremely impressed.
• What is happening with Lunette this month? Well...
  • Trying to dress herself was one of Lunette's favorite activities this month. One day while Mommy was bathing Madeline, Lunette saw her opportunity - she grabbed Madeline's underwear and put it over her own pants! We were happy to see her progress and glad she did not use it as a hat...
  • Due to roseola, Lunette was in fever for a few days and not a happy camper until all the rashes were gone.
  • After all those driving around, Lunette started to know the roads in our neighborhood. One day on the way to her music class, Mommy parked the car then decided to find a better spot. As Mommy started driving, Lunette started crying. She only stopped after Mommy made a few turns and got back onto the right street.

September

• To make sure Madeline and Lunette get a taste of super fresh apples, we took an apple picking trip to Warwick, NY. Madeline had become quite an experienced apple picker while Lunette was doing a fine job as the quality controller...
• Lunette's big news to note -
  • Climbed up and down her own highchair
  • Had 16 teeth (yes, she had 8 for a LONG time and all the sudden 8 surfaced this month which, as any parent could imagine, wasn't easy on Lunette at all)
  • Talked and signed more. It was fun listening to her practicing to call Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, Auntie, Sister, Brother, etc. in Mandarin
  • Pointing body parts was Lunette's favorite activity at the moment. So far she knew the following: ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hair, eyebrow, hand, elbow, shoulder, neck, feet, toe, knee, leg, tummy, butt, back, and her favorite, belly button...
• Proofs of Madeline's growth -
  • Got her first salon haircut, just like a grown-up (though Mommy might still be the one doing the trimming for the next few months or years...)
  • Was very brave when getting her flu shot and did not cry or whine at all
  • Started reading and feeding Lunette when Mommy was busy

August

• After a rough transition period, Lunette had switched from 2 naps to 1 and also gained enough weight to have the car seat switched to face the front. The baby in the house was growing up! She found out that there was echo in the bathtub if she talked into it and loved to perform her vocal practice there. Phyllis was also amazed that Lunette understood the following command - "Bring Mommy the library book you were reading and Mommy will give you a new one." One day, Lunette even successfully dressed herself half way by putting legs into her pants while Mommy was organizing the closet.
• Knowing how much Madeline loved to do crafts, Mommy organized a 2-week art camp with some local Moms at The Art Place. Her favorite project was the piggy bank.

July

• Grandma came to visit from Taiwan and the girls were thrilled to have their big play date.
• Phyllis' best friend from elementary school, Katrina Liu, got married to Victor Chang in NYC. Thanks to them, Madeline got another chance to be a flower girl!
• Lunette's growing progress:
  • Did the following signs - rabbit, kangaroo, frog, banana, and umbrella.
  • Could call 爸爸 (Daddy), 阿媽 (Grandma) and 公公公 (Grandpa)
  • Knew where to point when we asked her where her birthmark (痣) is.
• The summer camp had kept Madeline very busy and entertained. It was the one place that Madeline could play and be messy as long as she got a mini-shower the minute she came home...

June

• What was more fun than sitting in a wagon? Riding on a bike, according to Madeline. She got upgraded to a new bike this month which had no peddles or training wheels so that she could learn how to balance.
• What was Lunette doing this month? Hmm, let's see:
  • Communicated with more signs - rain, poo poo, monkey, help, dog, owl, cat, and open.
  • Said a few more words - cat, puff, and dog (狗狗 in Mandarin).
  • Tried to keep her hippo healthy by feeding it blocks...
  • Loved to see the world upside down by doing a reverse "V" on the floor.
  • Was able to climb up the slide by herself in the playground. Strangely that was the only thing she liked to do with the slide; sliding down did not interest her at all.
• Our home phone had strong static during calls for a few weeks. We tried to ignore it since nobody wanted to deal with Verizon's customer service. But we could not avoid it anymore when the line got no dial tone one day this month. The workman did come to fix it, except he was checking on my neighbor's phone line for at least 10 minutes! He did not realize he was fixing the wrong line until I went out to ask if my neighbor's phone was also down...

May

• To celebrate Madeline's turning into a 4-year-old, a tea party was held at a local children's book store, Acorns. Madeline had a great time having pink lemonade "tea" and cute tea sandwiches with her 4 guests (our house rule: number of guest = number of age).
• Since Madeline had turned 4, she had her first hearing and eye test. After witnessing the tests, Mommy pitied the nurses who had to work at the doctor's office. Here was one conversation Madeline had with the nurse:
  • Nurse: Can you see the words your teachers write on blackboards?
  • Madeline: What blackboards?
  • Nurse: When you watch TV, is everything clear?
  • Madeline: I don't watch TV at home.
  • Nurse: Hmm, if your friend waves at you from far away, can you see?
  • Madeline: No, because she is far far far away. When people are far away, you do not see them at all.
  • Long silence from the nurse...
• Madeline got a new pet - a plant called Nyokki. She loved Nyokki and enjoyed giving it a haircut though we were not sure if Nyokki enjoyed it as much as Madeline did during those makeover sessions.
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Learned to do a few more baby signs - more, bird, book, wash hands, car, bear, and fan.
  • Walked a few steps! On 5/20/08, she walked 4 steps toward Madeline while trying to show off the book she was holding in her hands. By the end of the month, she was walking fast and across the rooms.
  • Climbed down stairs and climbed up chairs. Her favorite exercise was climbing up Madeline's dining chair from behind and peeking at Madeline's plate to see what her big sister was eating.
• Spelling was a game Madeline enjoyed and this month, she spelled her first sentence all by herself - "cat in a hat".

April

• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • When she wanted to read, she would pick a book of her choice and bring it to Mommy
  • Turned off lights
  • Helped to cool down the noodle, her favorite food of the month, by blowing on it - Mommy was doing it too slowly so she had to help herself...
  • Started going to MusicTogether classes and toddler playgrounds.
• What was funny in the Minnesota Zoo? According to Madeline, the kangaroo who lived in the tree!

March

• Lunette turned 1! She had a good time playing with the balloons and seeing everyone running around her. Since the birthday marked the beginning of toddlerhood, Lunette decided to exercise her right of opinions. For one, she would clearly tell you that she wanted to come down after a meal by doing the "down" baby sign...
• "What shall I assign my right hand while I suck on my left thumb?" thought Lunette. Have it grabbed my ear, of course! Other favorite things this month - crawling on stairs, eating cheese!
• This Easter, Madeline had a little bit better understanding on what she should be doing during an egg hunt. While the result was short on her original goal (30 eggs because she told her uncle that she would share that much with him), she was happy with the 3 she got and told herself that next year, she would get 30.
• First Broadway show for Phyllis and James in years! To support a Tenafly mom who took part in a performance called "Secrets of a Soccer Mom", Phyllis and James went into the city for some down time while Madeline and Lunette happily playing with Grandma at home.

February

• What did we get just before spring? 6" of snow, of course. Madeline was thrilled and enjoyed making her snow ice cream.
• One day Madeline brought us a piece of paper which had "caT" written in crayon and told us it was cat. Just then did we realize that she could write all the alphabets in both upper and lower case and was on her way to spelling! This is also the month that Madeline finally gained enough weight to change into a booster car seat. Yeah!
• Teaching Lunette different tricks and sign languages was the goal for Mommy and Madeline now that she was older. Lunette certainly did not disappoint us. So far, she had learned to point to nose, ET people (touching fingers), pretend she fainted, and bring things to Mommy.

January

• Both Madeline and Lunette got very busy growing during this first month of 2008. Here are some big ones:
  • Madeline -
    • Stopped afternoon nap and adjusted to an earlier bedtime at 7 PM
    • Started having lunch in school once a week and loved it
    • Changed into a booster car seat
    • Woke up by herself using an alarm clock
  • Lunette -
    • Clapped her hands
    • Pointed to lights when we asked her where the light was
    • Started using straw to drink
    • Had 8 teeth
    • Loved to do her favorite dance (keep the body still but move her head left and right)

• Months ago, Madeline trained herself to get up when she wanted to pee during the night. She would call Mommy or Daddy to come help her. Starting this month, she was able to do everything herself without waking everyone else!
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Crawled forward
  • Able to go from lying down position to standing
  • Cruised (walked with support)
  • Had 4 teeth
  • Switched from 3 naps to 2
  • Clapped hands when happy and waved as sign of greeting

November

• It appeared that James might have been passing another kidney stone. The doctor did not figure out the cause of the pain, but according to James it felt just like the last time when he had to pass one. This occurred just days before Thanksgiving when James was supposedly taking a vacation!
• Have you ever hiked when the outside temperature was close to 0 degree Fahrenheit (about -17 degree Celsius)? Now James could say he had since that was about the temperature when he went backpacking in Wisconsin for 2 days...
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Crawled backward
  • Able to pull herself to standing position from sitting
  • Knew how to call Mama when she was desperate...
  • Had 3 teeth

October

• For the first time, Madeline got on a pony for a ride. Judging from the picture, Daddy seems to have more fun than Madeline.
• After a few weeks of eating solid food, Lunette got more and more interested in eating. She was able to use sippy cup to drink as well. The favorite of the month was sweet pea.
• For some unknown reasons, our kitchen range and toaster oven decided to break down at the same time. Perhaps it was the sign that we should eat out more...

September

• Thanks to our dear friends, Ruth Chen and Tzevan Poon, Madeline got her first taste of being a flower girl! Overall performance was decent so if you need a flower girl, please sign up. :-)
• School started again for Madeline. Her class was a combination of 3 and 4-year-olds. Madeline certainly looked forward to the BIG classroom and BIG playground. Since Madeline loves to move around so much, we also let her join a "Creative Movement" dance class. But after observing a few classes, we thought it should best be called "Clueless Movement..."
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Started eating solid food and her favorite of the month was avocado.
  • 2 teeth surfaced and more seemed to be following since Lunette was chewing on things ALL THE TIME!
  • Was able to sit by herself, until she got distracted and fell over, of course.
• Phyllis parents came to visit and the girls were thrilled with all the story telling, hugging, and playing from Grandpa and Grandma.

August

• To prepare for her upcoming flower girl duty, Madeline had been practicing the walk this month, with a flower ball she fashioned out of her toys. Perhaps there was something wrong with Mommy's singing because for the first practice, Madeline happily finished the walk and exclaimed "just like in a marching band!"
• First the drawing, now the writing. Madeline got very interested in writing alphabets and numbers this month. It is interesting that Madeline could visually distinguish "p" and "q", yet when she wrote, she had a hard time differentiate them.
• Lunette's major achievements this month:
  • Rolled over! Nobody saw it in action when she did it the first time even though we were all in the same room!!! Madeline was the first to find Lunette in the tummy down position. By the time I looked at them, both have very puzzled expressions on their faces.
  • Sucked her toes. Used her feet to pass toys to her hands when she could not reach.
  • Turned on mobile in crib when she was bored.

July

• Summer camp at the Elisabeth Morrow School was all Madeline could think about this month! She had so much fun that it would be very hard to keep the same amount of entertainment after the camp's completion in August...
• As Madeline got better at her hand control, her drawing got even more creative. Our favorite of this month was the octopus!
• James had decided to take on a research position at Thomson.
• Lunette's growth progress:
  • Laughed out loud - The first time she did it was when she saw herself in the mirror. Perhaps she was intrigued by her funky hair-do...
  • Slept through the night -- In baby terms, that meant about 4 to 6 hours at the stretch. It might not sound like a lot to any normal person, but it truly was a good deal for the sleep-deprived Mommy.
  • "Stop Drooling" ceremony, a Taiwanese tradition, was performed when Lunette turned 4 months old. It seemed to have worked when Madeline was little. Let's see if the magic will work again this time.

June

• A big accomplishment of Lunette -- she got sleep trained! By that we meant she could be put down in her crib in her room after nursing, regardless whether she was awake or asleep. If she was alert, she would suck her thumb for a short while and sooth herself to sleep. This month, Lunette had also learned to slowly rotate in her crib and perform semi-sit-up from Mommy's lap.
• After all the practice Madeline had done on her calendar, she could now draw a pretty good "X."

May

• With the requested Hello Kitty strawberry cake, Madeline happily celebrated her 3rd birthday. She had been waiting for this day for a long time because Mommy said she could start practicing with chopsticks after she turned 3. To our surprise, Madeline handled the learning chopsticks pretty well and was able to use it to eat right away!
• At 2.5 months old, Lunette became much more alert and enjoyed talking and laughing when we played with her. She had also gotten her Chinese name - Shaw Yan-Ci (邵彥慈).
  • Yan = "accomplished"
  • Ci = "compassionate"

April

• While Mommy was busy with baby Lunette, Madeline enjoyed playing and chatting with Grandma. One day Grandma was reading her a book and asked "which animal can go to the park (哪一隻動物可以去公園)?" Madeline pointed to herself and said "this one (這一隻)."
• After coming to the world for a month, Lunette had certainly showed lots of progress in growing:
  • when on tummy, she was able to turn her head from one side to the other
  • weight increase was impressive in spite of how infrequent she nursed. Toward the end of the month, she once slept through for 5 hours at night without waking up. Though we think this was likely an one-time miracle.

March

• On 3/17/2007, Madeline's little sister, Lunette Shaw was born! Here were the details for those curious minds:
  • 3/16/2007
    • 2 AM - Phyllis started to feel some contractions, about 15 minutes apart.
    • 4 AM - Contraction became 20 minutes apart so Phyllis thought maybe it was false labor.
    • Contraction continued and Phyllis started to experience back pain which seemed more like real labor though contraction duration was still at about 15 minutes apart.
  • 3/17/2007
    • 8 AM - After having contraction for 30 hours (yes, you read the number right!), Phyllis was starting to get very tired and was not sure how much longer she could last with the pain. So James called the doctor and was instructed to go to the hospital.
    • 9:30 AM - To speed up the process, Doctor broke the water. Contraction speeded up a little but nearly enough.
    • 10:30 AM - Began using Pitocin to induce labor.
    • 12:28 PM - After 34 hours of laboring without Epidural and 2 pushes of less than 2 minutes (yes, you read the number right again!), Lunette (formerly known as Sharkita) was born.

February

• More preparation was done to prepare for Sharkita's arrival -- layettes were washed, crib adjusted, infant car seat found, even Madeline took the sibling class to prepare herself as a big sister. At the end of the month, Phyllis took another ultrasound to make sure that Sharkita was growing well and in position. We thought this ultrasound would give us the chance to find out Sharkita's sex before birth. To our surprise, the technician told us that it was now too late for such task since a fetus at this age was already too big and there was little room to peek in between the legs! Guess we would all have to wait patiently for a few more weeks then.
• Madeline started training herself to get up to use the potty at night this month. 99% of the time she would wake up with dry diapers, but that also meant James was getting up a few times at night for the potty duty... Before going to bed, Madeline started to have various requests -- need to pee, need to poo, need more water, need to hug, need to hold hands, need to put on lip balm, need the door to be closed but not totally closed, etc. -- all sorts of things that might sound unfamiliar to parents of other 2.5-year-olds.
• On 2/18/07, we celebrated the beginning of the Golden Pig Chinese New Year. This was the 2nd Chinese New Year for Madeline. Instead of lucky money, we put stickers in her red envelopes which were probably more practical from Madeline's point of view.

January

• Starting this month, Madeline would learn some simple Spanish in school. One day when she got home, she was saying something to Phyllis who knew no Spanish and thought Madeline was just making up words. Later that night when James was giving Madeline a bath, he realized what Madeline was doing -- speaking Spanish! What Madeline had been asking the whole day was "¿Cómo te llamas?" (What is your name?) Guess Mommy would have to start learning Spanish in order to keep up.
• As Sharkita's due date approached, all kinds or preparation was taking place. Everyone, including Madeline, had toured the hospital. Phyllis and James took the birth reviewing class and were amazed by how little was remembered from the last experience. Madeline, of course, started practicing her "holding baby" position as you can see from the pictures...

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