Raising Little John: Father's Memoir

Homework Poem and Sketch

2010-06-24T21:56:00.003+08:00

John's Homework Poem and sketch... see the hamster eating the book. : )

I started on my homework...
But my pen ran out of ink...
My hamster ate my homework...
My computer's on the blink.

Happy 7 Birthday

2009-11-12T18:06:00.002+08:00

A very busy and tiring November for me with lots of things at work, church, and family so I couldn't find time and energy to update my blog journal lately. Tuesday was the birthday of my 7-year son and he was very contented to just eat at home and have a small birthday cake celebration. He doesn't like buying toys anymore. Good boy! : )

Birthday cake bought from newly open bakery chain store near our house in Donghu... How Sweet Bakery. : )

John's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-07-29T18:22:00.002+08:00

Taken from Daddy's blog journal...

My son finally graduated from Hurray Montessori kindergarten last Saturday. Time flies so quickly, I can still remember John's first day to school... he was really adored by his teachers from Debbie to Judy to Emily. They all tell of him as a very sweet boy. : )

Three years later... still a sweet boy. : )

It is a bit sad that John will not be continuing school with his kindergarten batch mates because we will move John to Nanhu elementary school near our new house. Thanks to all loving caring teachers at Hurray!

Outdoor graduation pictorial...

John receives his graduation diploma from Head Teacher Yoyo...

My little girl also started school in Hurray last year had three numbers during the graduation program. Lydia will also move to another kindergarten school near our new house.

John had two performances aside from singing their graduation song...

Teacher Emily tells John to visit her often...

I am really thinking of opening a daycare school... look at all the kids in Hurray!

It is really not easy to raise children (in Taiwan)... but thank God! He is Jehovah Jireh - God Our Provider!

To end, I invited former American Idol David Cook to sing a song... always be my baby. : )

Happy 6 Birthday

2008-11-10T22:58:00.005+08:00

Little John is now 6 years old as we had a simple birthday cake celebration at our new house with John's grandma. John picked this pink heart vanilla/mango/white chocolate mousse cake (香草蛋糕、百香芒果慕斯、白巧克力慕斯) from White Wood House (白木屋).

Look what birthday gift John got from his grandma at Toys"R"Us... a nice Ryunkendo sword! No batteries included so daddy's birthday gift to John is a pack of AA batteries. : )

Hurray Graduation Program

2008-08-01T13:05:00.011+08:00

John already finished his 2nd year in Hurray Montessori nursery school and will be graduating next year to start grade school. Last Sunday they had their annual graduation day program ceremony with typhoon Fung Wong coming that evening... well, the show must go on! :)

The ceremony was held in MinSheng Sports Center where they had a much bigger auditorium...

The graduates...

The next batch with John in the middle (second boy from left) reciting some wishes for the graduates...

After their speech, they wowed the audiences with their high energy musical performance... I'd say this year was better than last year!

Act #1: Surfin' Summer

Act #2: Everybody Has A Magic Inside

John, is that a cross? :)

Little sister Lydia enjoyed the show sitting at Daddy's lap... :)

Look Dad! No Teeth!

2008-07-18T22:43:00.002+08:00

John lost his first upper milk tooth when he was just around 3 years old because he tripped accidentally and banged his tooth (scary one). Then this month, after almost another 3 years, John's lower milk teeth started to loosen. Here's a photo of his other lower milk tooth already almost to fall off.

You Knew Michael Jackson?

2008-06-09T22:05:00.001+08:00

Chickenpox

2008-06-03T22:53:00.008+08:00

Last Saturday, we confirmed with a doctor that John has chickenpox. I always feared chickenpox because it is contagious, itchy, you get lots of spots and blisters... and most of all, my own mom can't remember if I ever had chickenpox also. That's why I had to blog this so I can tell my son that he had chickenpox when he was 5-1/2 years old. Well, my sister did told me that I did had chickenpox when I was little... but again, my mom told me that she is not sure if it was measles or chickenpox. Anyway, I think I am bound to get infected (also my little daughter Lydia) if ever really I'm still chickenpox-free and we've been monitoring our body for spots these couple of days.

John was very happy he had chickenpox because he won't have to go to school for a week. We were also relieved that John did not had so many spots, just a few only. This is because he already had taken chickenpox immunization shot when he was little.

John, how about inviting your friends for a Chickenpox Party?

Mother's Day

2008-05-25T19:00:00.005+08:00

This is for you, mommy! Lovely pink and red carnations!

Mother's day children song offering in church... John was very good in lip singing, hehe. John's little sister Lydia sat at the back... too shy.

Hualien Ocean Park's Mermaid Show

2008-04-20T00:26:00.007+08:00

This was a bit funny when we went to Hualien Ocean Park and John was excited to see the so-called Mermaid show.

While waiting for the show to start inside a cinema room...

John saw cardboards of mermaids hanging on top, so he was really excited...

When the theater carpet opened, it was a huge glass aquarium with two mermaids or should I say "Dugong sea cows" and one merman (feeding the mermaids), hehe. John reacted loudly by saying, "That's not a mermaid!"

After the long sea cow introduction, they finally did had some sort of mermaid show, two swimmers dressed sort of mermaids flipping and circling in the water... still John insisted that they still are not mermaids, hahaha!

Time to Brush Up

2008-04-11T23:11:00.004+08:00

Every morning we brush our teeth...

Summit Resort

2008-04-08T22:06:00.004+08:00

John at Summit Resort (新社莊園) in Central Taiwan Taichung...

Mushroom Picking

2008-04-04T19:47:00.005+08:00

John does some mushroom picking in Central Taiwan. I told him not to pick too many so he tries hard to find big ones and finally found a really big one. He looks very happy with his pick.

Ultraman or Voltes V?

2008-04-01T17:00:00.008+08:00

Litte John is crazy over Ultraman series. He already has 4 DVDs of Ultraman movies and thank God so far there is no Ultraman TV series airing in Taiwan. Last night, while my son John was watching spiders and Ultraman series in YouTube, I thought of letting him see daddy's childhood all-time favorite cartoon robot series, Voltes V!

or

So we searched Voltes V in YouTube and watched Episode 2 where Mrs. Amstrong (mother of Stevie, Big Bert, and Little John) was killed sacrificing herself while trying to help Voltes V and her children break free from the Bozanian beast fighter. I admit that scene was still tearful for me to watch... I also saw my own Little John's eyes almost with tears while watching Stevie, Big Bert, and Little John crying.

Episode 2: Part 1
Episode 2: Part 2
Episode 2: Part 3 (ready to cry in this scene)

I'll ask some friends in Manila if they can buy me the Voltes V DVD or VCD collection. I also like to watch it all over again.

Wikipedia wrote, "Rumours say that former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos banned Voltes V from being aired because it "dumbed down children and took them away from their school work."

I am also starting to worry about Little John watching too much Ultraman. At least, I can say he's not watching too much TV, only DVD, hehe.

Too Much TV May Make Kids Bullies

Too much TV?

Happy Birthday Granny!

2008-03-16T23:46:00.001+08:00

Guess how old my Granny is?

Happy Birthday to you!!! Sing it loud! Sing it proud!

My Artwork Collection

2008-01-27T19:26:00.000+08:00

John's extra curricular artwork drawing collection in nursery for last year.

Sunflowers...

Airplanes, clouds,.... and a bee?

Dessert and cactus...

Gold fish...

Blowfish...

Hen and her chicks...

Leopard...

Bicycle...

Canoe...

John's New Born Cousin

2007-11-12T22:48:00.000+08:00

John tries to cradle his new born baby girl cousin (Tse-Sin)...

Give Me Five!

2007-11-09T22:09:00.000+08:00

John is 5 years old! Time is really fast...

For his birthday, we went to SOGO to buy Berry Milk's strawberry-motif birthday cakes to celebrate in his grandmother's new house. My wife bought one vanilla with pudding and one chocolate with pudding cake filled with strawberries. Really looks delicious!

Nice box....

First time I've seen someone celebrate with 2 birthday cakes....

This one is vanilla with pudding cake...

This one is chocolate with pudding cake...

John cuts the cake...

Everyone votes which cake is better...

Give me 5, Little John! Happy Birthday!

Trick or Treat

2007-10-31T23:13:00.000+08:00

John's ready to do trick or treat for his school Halloween day... Prince John Merlin?

Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!

2007-08-15T14:00:00.000+08:00

John loves watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cartoon in Playhouse Disney channel and is asking me to buy the DVD for him.... he loves saying the secret word..."Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!"

Cuddly Black Baby Puppy

2007-07-09T21:46:00.001+08:00

John and little sister Lydia met a cuddly cute black baby puppy.... good thing we didn't met its scary black big daddy.

Meet Justin Timberlake Jr.

2007-06-20T21:56:00.000+08:00

Meet your rival, Justin Timberlake....

Little chairman of the board... :- )

Prefere - John's Favourite Soft Serve Ice Cream

2007-06-01T15:10:00.000+08:00

John loves going to the 5th floor of the CPC Living Mall to enjoy two things.... Tom's World湯姆熊 and Prefere soft-serve ice cream. It is actually our family's prefere (favourite in french) ice cream.

Photo taken with my Dopod 838 phone.

Flickr Badge

2007-05-20T16:49:00.000+08:00

Little John joins in the Flickr craze. Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. One cool feature provided is the Flickr badge where you can share a set of photos in a badge (like on the top right side) and add it to your own blog or website.

Click here to visit Little John's Baby Portrait Collection.

Art Attack

2007-05-01T17:25:00.000+08:00

John loves watching Disney Channel's Art Attack show especially when the show master Neil Buchanan tries to create giant art images or illustrations using different available things.

Here's John trying to create his own art illustration....... er, what's that, John?

John's Favorite Hangout (ToysRus)

2007-04-24T17:21:00.000+08:00

One of John's favorite hangouts - ToysRus or 玩具"反"斗城.... John calls it "反斗" or "Pan-do".

Light a Candle

2007-02-20T19:20:00.000+08:00

Church uncle teaches John to light his first firecracker candle...

Giant Crab Attack

2007-02-19T18:04:00.000+08:00

John lies on top of the giant crab... only found, of course, in the crab museum.
http://www.peikuan-resort.com.tw/html/main01.htm

New Year's Eve Fireworks

2007-01-11T22:14:00.000+08:00

John experienced his first new year's eve fireworks when we brought our kids to Taipei Arena near our house before midnight.

Click here to go to my MSN Live Photo Album for photos of the fireworks.

Nursery School Christmas Party

2006-12-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

John's preschool nursery (Hurray) held an evening Christmas Party with children and their parents. Each student or parent were assigned to bring specific food or drinks. John picked to bring 4 small boxes of Mister Donuts.

The English teachers also prepared a song program for each student level. John belongs to the small group level (age 4 and below). Cindy and I were much surprised and laughed when we saw John and his little classmates sang "Jingle Bell", "Five Little Ducks", and "Silent Night".

Here's John and his classmates being line up as the first show of the night...

One, Two, Three... ready sing "Jingle bell, Jingle bell, Jingle all the way"!

John and his classmates next sings the "Five little ducks"... "5 little ducks went out one day, Over the hills and far away, Mommy duck called quack quack quack,But only 4 little ducks came back".... very funny.

Hurray!!! Give them a round of applause...

All children group together to sing one more song...

Mommy is very proud... our money is not wasted after all! :- )

John and Mommy outside the Hurray Nursery... time to go home. Merry Christmas!

5 Little Ducks:

Not so Silent Night...

Cars!!! (Ka-Chow!)

2006-12-12T21:31:00.000+08:00

John added another DVD to his Disney movie collection - "Cars".
http://adisney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/cars/main.html

Great story between choosing friendship (Radiator Spring friends) and personal ambition (Piston Cup and Dinoco). The ending was quite touching where Lightning McQueen gave up winning and drove back to help the King (crashed during the race) finish the race by pushing him to the finish line. And behind McQueen as his crew team were the Radiator Spring pals and former champ Hudson Hornet as his crew chief.

Quote of the movie - "It's just an empty cup" (referring to the Piston Cup champion trophy by Hudson Hornet).

Favorite line of Lightning Mcqueen - "Ka-Chow!"

Lightning Mcqueen, Hudson Hornet, Mater, Mack, Sally, Doc, Luigi, Red, Chick, and the King...

John's Birthday Gift - Buzz!

2006-11-25T20:50:00.000+08:00

Uncle Benson (my former roommate and playmate of John when he was still a baby) drop by our house one night weeks after John's birthday and surprised John with a big birthday gift - a new "Buzz Lightyear!"

John was soooooooo happy, he even kissed Uncle Benson to say thank you. John enjoys watching Toy Story (1 and 2) and loves both Woody and Buzz... so Daddy decided to buy Woody for John to play together with Buzz. John will sing, "You got a friend in me, you got a friend in me."

John plays with Buzz...

John poses with Buzz, Woody, Whezzy, and.... Winnie?!

Oh, the Winnie Pooh dolls are Lydia's (John's little sister)...

Happy 4 Years Old, John!

2006-11-19T17:04:00.000+08:00

John enjoys his birthday dinner after school with Mom and Dad...

John's strawberry chocolate birthday cake...

Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you...

Aunts, Yee-Po, Mommy, Lydia, and Ya-ya...

With Mommy, baby Lydia, Grandma, Aunts, Great Grandpa, and Ya-ya...

John finally eats his strawberry chocolate birthday cake...

Baby sister Lydia says "Mummm-Mummm" (baby talk for I want to eat)...

John, baby sister Lydia, and little aunt Tse-Yin tries to finish the big cake...

King John and Lion King - Halloween School

2006-11-01T18:00:00.000+08:00

Little John in the Philippines (2nd Time)

2006-10-15T18:25:00.000+08:00

Little John is back in the Philippines since he went there when he was just 9 months old. He had a wonderful vacation meeting his older cousins in Manila, going out of town for swimming and in shopping malls.

John's many funny faces at Taiwan's Duty Free airport...

John plays with the new EVA airplane console remote...

John tries this local carousel inside the shopping mall after arriving Manila...

John and sister Lydia tour Grandma's house in Manila. Now it is baby Lydia's turn to climb the stairs...

John and Lydia enjoyed the bath together at the house. Sorry, no bathtub here...

John meets Aunt Julie and Cousins Andrew, Cheska, and Jill (Syobe)...

John sits beside his Uncle Andy at the seafood market. Too bad he won't taste these great chili crabs.

During the weekend, we went to Fontana Water Leisure Park where John's Aunt and Uncle have a vacation house inside where we also can bring food and cook. Very nice place...

John pretends to drive the red Fontana golf cart...

Family photo shoot in Fontana park with Aunts, Grandma, Mommy, Lydia, and Uncle...

John poses outside the vacation house at the Fontana Village...

John with Uncle Andy as they walk around the Wave pool...

John and Daddy enjoyed the Lazy River ride...

John and Lydia squeezed themselves in this kiddie cart while Lydia tries to get in front of the driver's seat, hehe...

Crazy for Halo Halo, a local favorite dessert...

He really loves Halo-Halo...

John enjoys a second time swimming in this kid's pool at Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Cavite...

John plays Buzz Lightyear upon our arrival back at the Taiwan airport...

Finally back to Taiwan... John really enjoyed our visit in the Philippines.

Bedwetting

2006-09-13T16:46:00.000+08:00

John has been wetting the bed at sleep for 3 straight days now... twice even after he woke up in the middle of the night to pee on the toilet... is he drinking too much milk and water after dinner? What are other reasons? I tried searching the web and here's what I found.

The fancy name for bedwetting, or sleep wetting, is nocturnal (nighttime) enuresis (say: en-yoo-ree-sus). Here are some facts parents should know about bedwetting:
1. Approximately 15 percent of children wet the bed after the age of three
2. Many more boys than girls wet their beds
3. Bedwetting runs in families
4. Usually bedwetting stops by puberty
5. Most bedwetters do not have emotional problems

Persistent bedwetting beyond the age of three or four rarely signals a kidney or bladder problem. Bedwetting may sometimes be related to a sleep disorder. In most cases, it is due to the development of the child's bladder control being slower than normal. Bedwetting may also be the result of the child's tensions and emotions that require attention.

Many kids who wet the bed are very deep sleepers. Do your parents complain that it's hard to wake you up? Could you sleep through a marching band parading outside your bedroom door? Or a pack of dogs howling at the moon? Trying to wake up someone who wets the bed is often like trying to wake a log - they just stay asleep.

Good News
The good news is that almost all kids who wet the bed eventually stop. So if you wet every night, don't be discouraged. And don't worry that you're not normal, either physically or emotionally. Sleep wetting is not usually caused by a problem with your body or your feelings.

More Good News
If you wet the bed, there are some things you can do to stay dry. Parents may help children who wet the bed by:
1. Limiting liquids before bedtime
2. Encouraging the child to go to the bathroom before bedtime
3. Praising the child on dry mornings
4. Avoiding punishments
5. Waking the child during the night to empty their bladder

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/bladder/enuresis.html

http://www.aacap.org/page.ww?name=Bedwetting&section=Facts+for+Families

John Simba: Lion King

2006-09-07T09:37:00.000+08:00

John is starting to like the Lion King movie. He would then play lion fight with me after watching the movie. John watches very intently and would turn very quiet on the part where Simba's father (King Mufasa) was killed by the stampede as little Simba cries and helplessly tries to wake up his father... I think John was touched in this part much the same as the sad part in Finding Nemo. John would also call Nala and those lioness, "哥哥"(brothers).

One very nice lesson I get from this movie is where Rafiki convinces Simba to return to Pride Land to face his past and his uncle Scar... "you can either run from your past or learn from your past... even if it still hurts".
Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Oww. Jeez... What was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter, it's in the past.
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.
[swings his stick at Simba again who ducks out of the way]
Rafiki: Ha. You See? So what are you going to do?
Adult Simba: First, I'm gonna take your stick.
[Simba snatches Rafiki's stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it]
Rafiki: No, not the stick. Hey, where you going?
Adult Simba: I'm going back.
Rafiki: Good. Go on. Get out of here.
[Rafiki begins laughing and screeching loudly]

My other favorite part of the movie are the singing of "Hakuna Matata" and "Can You Feel The Love Tonight"...

Simba's two partners, Timon and Pumbaa (don't call him Pig) are really very great actors and very funny.

----------------------------------------------------
Song: Can You Feel The Love Tonight Lyrics

-----------------------------------------------------
[Timon:] I can see what's happening
[Pumbaa:] (What?)
[Timon:] And they don't have a clue
[Pumbaa:](Who?)
[Timon:] They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line. Our trio's down to two.
[Pumbaa:](Oh.)

[Timon:][In a sarcastic mock-French accent]
Ze sweet caress of twilight
[Back to normal, but still sarcastic]
There's magic everywhere
And with all this romantic atmosphere
Disaster's in the air

[FS:]
Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world, for once, in perfect harmony
With all its living things

[Simba:]
So many things to tell her
But how to make her see
The truth about my past? Impossible!
She'd turn away from me

[Nala:]
He's holding back, he's hiding
But what, I can't decide
Why won't he be the king I know he is
The king I see inside?

[Chorus:]
Can you feel the love tonight?
The peace the evening brings
The world, for once, in perfect harmony
With all its living things
Can you feel the love tonight?
You needn't look too far
Stealing through the night's uncertainties
Love is where they are

[Timon:]
And if he falls in love tonight
It can be assumed

[Pumbaa:]
His carefree days with us are history

[Timon and Pumbaa:]
In short, our pal is doomed (the two starts crying loud)

------------------------------------
Song: Hakuna Matata Lyrics

--------------------- ---------------

Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze

It means no worries
For the rest of your days
It's our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!

[Timon:]
Why, when he was a young warthog... (When I was a young wart hoooog!)
Very nice. (Thanks!)
He found his aroma lacked a certain appeal
He could clear the savannah after every meal

[Pumbaa:]
I'm a sensitive soul, though I seem thick-skinned
And it hurt that my friends never stood downwind
And oh, the shame (He was ashamed!)
Thoughta changin' my name (Oh, what's in a name?)
And I got downhearted (How did you feel?)
Ev'rytime that I... (Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!)
Oh... sorry.

Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain't no passing craze
It means no worries
For the rest of your days (Yeah, sing it, kid!)
It's our problem-free
philosophy...
Hakuna Matata!

Hakuna matata
[Repeats]

To Infinity and Beyond

2006-09-04T17:28:00.000+08:00

John has a new favorite cartoon movie - Toy Story! He does not want Nemo anymore because he said the movie makes him cry, ha ha ha!

John got his Buzz Lightyear toy from his Aunt Susan when he was just 10 months old. After he watched the movie, he now plays with Buzz again.

Here is Little John 10 months old with Buzz Lightyear... "To infinity and beyond!"

Take Me to San Francisco

2006-08-31T14:50:00.000+08:00

John meets my funny Aunt and Uncle from San Francisco... I think they get along very well at their first meeting.

Finding Nemo: John's First Cartoon Movie

2006-08-09T09:37:00.000+08:00

John haven't enjoyed watching TV or movie cartoons before. I tried Disney Channel or even the Lion King movie but he won't watch very long. He still prefers watching his old DVD favorites like 巧虎 (benesse), Zippy and Friends, Baby Einstein, and the Koala Brothers.

Lately, I noticed that his attention was caught on the Monster, Inc. cartoon movie which was showing on TV but the movie was already near the end. Hmmm.... I thought maybe John likes 3D cartoons. So one night after dinner, I had my Finding Nemo collector's DVD and played it to John. He actually liked it very much and watched the film from start to the very end. He laughed at the way Dory spoke to the whale, excited in seeing the many turtles (cool dude!), and even pitied Nemo when he was put in the plastic bag and bad Darla shaking it. Finding Nemo is really a very nice movie, great 3D animation, and a very good story about establishing Father and Son relationship. Me and my son enjoyed watching it that night. It is also from this movie that John learned how to say - "I hate you." Good thing the movie ended with Nemo hugging his father (Marlin) and saying - "Daddy, I love you".

Some memorable quotes from the movie:

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." ~ Dory
"Fish are friends, not food." ~ Sharks
"You so totally rock, Squirt! So gimme some fin." ~ Crush
"Sandy Plankton? You think I would travel the whole ocean and not know as much as Sandy Plankton? He was a hundred and fifty, not a hundred." ~ Marlin
"Sharkbait! Hoo ha ha!" ~ Bloat, Gurgle, Bubbles (John loves this part)

the one that keeps on repeating...

"Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine... " ~ Seagulls
"P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney." ~ Dory (can't forget that one, ha ha!)

the best end part...

"Nemo: [swims up quickly to Marlin, giving him a hug] Love you, Dad."

The End

70% Chocolate

2006-08-03T01:44:00.000+08:00

Cindy loves taking John every Sunday afternoon after church service to "完美比例巧克力 70% Chocolate" for a cup of hot chocolate, a slice of cake, and a piece of home-made chocolate confectionary. There are many health benefits in eating or drinking chocolate.

Satisfying?

John's 1st Day of School

2006-07-03T22:45:00.000+08:00

Little John... I have to stop calling him little now since his growing so fast... went to his first day of nursery school called Hurray Montessorri Nursery. For the first or second coming weeks, my son will finally feel the pressure of having to go to school everyday, whole day. There will be crying in the morning and begging from him not to go to school. My poor son... boy, how happy he was to see me when I went to pick him up late in the afternoon... He already had his backpack on waiting for me.

John always cries in the morning before going to school...

Daddy trying to give John a smile to brighten the day...

Brother Bullies Baby Sister

2006-07-01T11:29:00.000+08:00

My wife is shooting a clip video with our kids using our digital camera. Big brother John is eating my favorite grain chips while baby sister Lydia goes near him to share some of his food. This video was caught by our camera... naughty John, poor Lydia!

Lydia still looks at the bag of chips while John makes a monkey face, haha!

John meets Excavator

2006-06-20T21:45:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday afternoon while walking outside, we saw this huge excavator parked besides the street. Little John got excited when he saw it and it was a great time that we brought our camera. So I asked John to post in front of this excavator... well, I didn't imagine he would raise his right hand with a victory sign as if he is a superhero, a wonderboy or maybe the Transformers.

Little John in HongKong - The 2nd Time

2006-05-13T20:06:00.000+08:00

Little John posing in front of the HongKong Disneyland MTR Station.. Well, we decided not to go to Disney as we're afraid of too many visitors during the golden week (Labor Day) in China. We decided we will just use the ticket money to have lunch buffet in our hotel.

Little John takes photo of daddy and mommy.. not bad.

John & Josh - Church Best Friends

2006-04-09T13:05:00.000+08:00

Little John now has a very good playmate and friend in church - Josh!

(1) From right: Josh, John, and baby Lydia Anne...

(2) John and Josh having fun together...

Little John 2nd Trip to Singapore

2006-01-10T23:20:00.000+08:00

This is the second time we took Little John to Singapore. The first time was a year ago. I always enjoyed Singapore's nice hotels and breakfast buffet.

John and mommy in Sheraton Towers Hotel lobby:

Singapore was hot especially when we went to Singapore Zoo. But John had a great time in getting close to the animals.

Singapore Zoo website - http://www.zoo.com.sg

John and mom aboard the Singapore Zoo tram:

John enjoyed the Elephant of Asia show:

Little John Dumbo:

White Tigers (bengal tigers) in water:

After a hot trip to the Singapore Zoo, we took John to one of Singapore's many malls (Raffles City Shopping Centre) for a Häagen-Dazs chocolate vanilla strawberry banana split ice cream.. yum! yum!

Delicious!

John riding his first sports motorbike...

Year No. 3 - Still Terrible!

2005-11-10T23:22:00.000+08:00

Little John is now 3 years old! Happy Birthday! Here are some photos taken at grandparent's house...

Little John looking at the white chocolate birthday cake with the no. 3 candle...

Oops! We forgot to put the no. 2 candle for John's little aunt Tse-Yin who also turns 2 in November...

Grandpa (A-Kong) lights up the candle... wah! Sister baby Lyanne looks at the camera.

Little John claps while everyone sing the Happy Birthday song... John sings the ABC song...

Little John now can blow a candle... Wah! Look at the smoke!

Little John finally enjoys his cake...

Little John in Tokyo - Part I

2005-09-15T17:23:00.000+08:00

Little John waits for the United Airlines boarding call while eating my potat0 chips...

Arrived Narita Airport and my very heavy baggage (Little John)...

Little John meets Onoken-san from SONY Japan...

Litte John enjoys an ice cream cone the next day...

Welcome Little Sister Lyanne

2005-07-12T21:58:00.000+08:00

Little John now has a little sister, Lydia Anne (Lyanne), born July 9, 2005. Little John will be staying at our home for 2 months while his mommy Cindy recuperates. His grandma will also stay with us to help Cindy take care of baby Lyanne. Cindy's aunt also has a 1 and a half year little girl (Tse-Yun) that is also cared by Little John's grandma during weekdays. So there are three children in our house right now - Little John, Tse-Yun, and baby Lyanne.

http://lyannechu.blogspot.com/2005/07/little-miss-lyanne-arrives-home.html

Train: Huo-Tse!

2005-06-08T11:26:00.000+08:00

Little John enjoys playing with his wooden trains. He calls them in Chinese 'huo-tse". We bought this set with wooden rail tracks from IKEA.

We added another set of cute wooden trains with elephant, giraffe, and zebra!

Drawing Circles

2005-06-07T22:45:00.000+08:00

One of John's favorite hobbies at home is drawing (hua-hua). He would usually asks us to draw trains (huo-tse) for him. Here he is showing his lovely red circles. Thank God, Little John does not draw on our house walls.

June 5: Sunday Outburst

2005-06-06T10:44:00.000+08:00

Just one week from loosing my cool over Little John's tantrums, I had to loose it again... probably John was too bored in our church's children sunday school because he's still too small to join in their activities and there's not much for him to do... so right after the church service was over and I went up to see him, he immediately pulled us to go home. I know his mood was not good that day and he started crying to go home. Here we go again...

On the way home, he kept crying and became mad he slap the bag his mother was carrying and the bag fell to the ground. He was irritated and I started to get mad. I carried him in my arms and walk fast back home. My wife is worried. I then go straight to the bathroom and tried to lock him but he kept pulling the door open (Boy, was he strong). Little John now was afraid of me as I tried to talk to him and he run to his mother crying. I had to cool myself now and went to the room by myself. Later on, John was OK and he tried to approach me, gently calling 'Papa...'

Lord God, it's hard to discipline a 2-3 year old child.

7-Eleven & Ice Cream

2005-06-03T20:37:00.000+08:00

Little John loves shopping or "買買" (buy,buy)... at 7-Eleven or Family Mart convenient stores. His favorite item... ice cream!

And he won't take just any ice cream brand... he wants Meiji (Japan brand) Hokkaido 北海道 ice cream.

Since we won't allow him to eat all of it, we would end up helping him eat 2/3 of the ice cream. Good thing, he now let's his parents share his good fortune. His ice cream slogan - "好冰﹗好吃﹗" (So Cool! So Delicious!). (Got milk!)

Favorite DVD: Baby Einstein

2005-05-29T13:15:00.000+08:00

Little John loves watching Baby Einstein DVDs. Ever since I bought him his first DVD - Baby Mozart (Music Festival) and Baby Einstein (Language Nursery), I never stopped buying the rest for his collection along with the Disney's World of English (ABC Song).

His current favorite now is the Baby Galileo especially while singing the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little star":

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are!"

Visit Baby Einstein to preview the DVDs.

New Bicycle

2005-05-28T13:30:00.000+08:00

Friday night we went to the Woodpecker baby store to buy some diapers and milk powder... also finally decided it's time for Little John to learn ride a three-wheel bicycle. He immediately sat on it and drag the bicycle with his feet. The store lady said it looks like our son has been waiting so long for this moment. We bought a two-passenger bicycle that can also be pushed and stirred by the parent at the back of it. Now he can ride it very well.

Waffles at Starbucks!

2005-05-23T16:31:00.000+08:00

Little John loves the waffles at Starbucks! When he is still younger and would still sit on his stroller, we would usually drop by Starbucks for caramel macchiato during Sundays and would order those mini-waffles for Little John. He would sit on the chair with us and goes crazy over his waffles with some sweet honey on top of it. "Hmmmm... 好吃!" (means delicious) would be his immediate expression after putting the first piece of waffle to his mouth.

Well, last night, we passed by Starbucks going to the car park... and Little John sees it! We tried to tell him its late for Starbucks and we need to send him home to her grandparents since we have to work next day Monday. He forces his way into the door and when he found out that we are still outside waving goodbye to him, he started crying with his feet stomping like he has been fooled. I went inside smiling to get him and the store lady told me that they are closing already... so Little John held my hand and we left the store, my wife still laughing. Next time, John.

Breakfast at Church

2005-05-01T15:23:00.000+08:00

Little John loves going to Sunday church... especially for breakfast. Look how well behaved he is holding his cup of fresh milk.

Aggressive Antics

2005-04-27T12:33:00.000+08:00

Read this article about 2-year old child....

Aggressive Antics

Toddlers are notoriously ornery. Here's how to handle with the hitting, shoving -- even biting.

If you fear that your toddler will never have any friends because she won't share her toys, take heart. Conflicts over sharing usually subside by the age of 4, when kids not only understand better why sharing is important but also have greater self-control.

Another less-than-pleasant by-product of "toddler togetherness" is aggressive behavior-hitting, shoving, and even biting. These unpleasant bullying tactics often stem from anger or territorial issues, the same egocentric mentality mentioned previously. But other instances seem almost random (and, hence, can be highly worrisome to Mom and Dad).

However, rather than a sign that your child is destined for a life of crime, such actions are usually experimental, and that's how you should take them. Your child may be thinking, "What will happen if I push Kevin?" "Is it okay to bite Molly's arm?" It may sound sadistic, but the behavior jibes with both the toddler's endless curiosity and her limited ability to empathize. Also, many kids this age lack the capacity to express feelings in less offensive ways. Frustration or anger may cause them to lash out at a playmate in a kind of primitive response.

Which isn't to say that such conduct should be tolerated one bit. A parent or caregiver must deal with it immediately in a calm, firm manner. First, make sure that your child understands the rule as well as the reason behind it: "We never hit people. Hitting hurts." If your child is going through a phase of aggressive behavior, watch him closely when he's interacting with peers. Try to intervene just as the misbehavior is about to take place. Say no sternly, and send your child to a designated time-out spot (or improvise if you're not at home) for two minutes. Never punish your child's aggressive behavior by hitting or biting him to show him "what it feels like." The message delivered -that it's fine to hit someone as long as he's smaller than you-will ring loud and clear.

It's just as important that a child's aggressive behavior not result in a desirable outcome, such as gaining possession of an attractive toy or having Mom and Dad cave in to a demand. Also, with an eye to preventing aggressive behavior before it occurs, praise your child for "good" social behaviors. After an amicable get-together, you might say, "You played so nicely with Kelly today. It really makes me happy when you share your toys so easily and willingly."

As your child heads toward her third birthday and her verbal and reasoning skills expand, guide her to better ways of dealing with her negative feelings. For example, if she has just hit a playmate in a squabble over a stuffed animal, you might ask her, "How do you think hitting Caroline made her feel?" and "Can you think of a better way to get the teddy bear?" When a toddler takes part in coming up with a solution, she's then far more likely to carry it out.

John's Frequent Outburst

2005-04-25T01:03:00.000+08:00

It is 1am in the morning... just finished updating our church website. I kept thinking and worrying about John's frequent outburst whenever he does not have his way. Last Sunday at the church 2nd floor while waiting for the gospel and communion service to end, John kept asking me to go down and look for his mommy... he couldn't yet understand my telling him to wait for some more minutes before we can go down. So while I am carrying him up in my arms, he would burst out and would normally react by hitting my face... it has become a habit and we tried several ways of correcting this by either telling him that it's bad to hit someone or by disciplining him as well. But whenever he reacts and hits me, he seemed to be at shocked many times immediately on how he reacted.

Lord, I don't know how to ask from you for my child... all I ask that when he grows up, he would know You, love You, and serve You. I pray that You would mold his character to Your use someday. I pray that You would guide us and teach us as parents on how to raise him up for You.

Flying Cow's Farm

2005-04-08T11:15:00.000+08:00

My sister, Susan, came from the Philippines to visit Little John and we took her to the Flying Cow's Farm (飛牛農場) one Friday with Cindy, John, and my mom. Found the place very nice and we decided to spent the night there even without bringing any extra clothings. Good thing Little John has enough diapers and the room was clean and nice with towels and amenities.

Here's John enjoying his farm-made ice cream with mom:

Here's John and me playing frisbee in the open field outlooking the cow's farm.

Here's John and mom, auntie (姑姑), and grandma (奶奶):

Tommy Little John

2004-12-12T15:05:00.000+08:00

This Tommy shirt is from Auntie (Ninang) Sandra... the slipper is daddy's.

Building Blocks

2004-11-11T11:34:00.000+08:00

2-year old Little John likes building blocks. Here he is trying to pile them on top of each other...

I'm 2-Years Old!!!

2004-11-10T19:00:00.000+08:00

Warning: Terrible Two

Little John is now 2-years old, Happy Birthday!!!

Look at your face...

With Mom and Dad:

John's First Swimming Lesson

2003-09-11T16:20:00.000+08:00

Great Grand Daddy

2002-12-31T14:24:00.000+08:00

Here is 2 months Little John with his great grandfather.

My First Christmas

2002-12-21T22:33:00.000+08:00

Little John's first Christmas... his aunt Eris bought him this Santa baby outfit and we brought him to church for our annual Children Christmas Gospel gathering.

First Month at Home

2002-12-15T19:52:00.000+08:00

Little John finally comes home for the Christmas season. We had his baby crib ready for him.

David Beckham Impersonation

2002-11-23T18:23:00.000+08:00

Here is Little John's impersonation of David Beckham's hair. If only Little John would grow up to look like him as well.

Little John's First Months in Postpartum Center

2002-11-20T17:52:00.000+08:00

Little John spent his first month in the mother nursing postpartum center (李義男月子中心) together with her mommy Cindy where the center provides room, mother's food, and nursing for babies. One night would cost around NT$3000 and Cindy stayed their for 20 days to recover before going home.

Here is Little John with Mommy Cindy:

Here is Little John face to face with Daddy:

Here is Grandma (Cindy's Mom):

Here is Nanny (My mom):

Meet Litte John

2002-11-10T00:39:00.009+08:00

Meet my son, Little John...

His full name is John Elias. We call him “Little John” or by his Chinese name “啟恩” (Chi-En).

His name came from God’s promise to us (before he was born) one morning when reading the Bible:

“and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." ~ Luke 1: 13-17 (KJV)

We gave him the Chinese name 啟恩 meaning “knowledge of salvation” (知道救恩) or “see God’s salvation” (見神的救恩):

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins..." ~ Luke 1: 76-77

"A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him… And all mankind will see God's salvation.' " ~ Luke 3: 4-6

Little John is our firstborn child after our 2-year marriage where my wife also had experienced miscarriages during her early pregnancy. God's words for me during those trials were from Lamentations 3:21-26:

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the LORD.

I hope to share some stories, photos, lessons, and experiences in raising Little John.