Poor Andrew...

Look at the thickness on top of our outdoor storage bin...

Say " Hi " to Andrew...

Since it was snowing almost 2 weeks, Andrew has to shovel all the time even the top of our car port...

Snow... Snow

It has been snowing since Dec 17,08. Eunice's second last day of school. I had a hard time driving her to school; walking down to school; walking back up to our van; picking her up again from school etc... However, Eunice and Isaac were having a great time because of the snow. They were playing snow ball fight; making snow angels; tasting the snow... When I saw them having great fun, I was so pleased that God gave us Eunice and Isaac. They are really our loving angels.

Isaac's Christmas party at Brainbridge

Isaac's first Christmas party at Brainbridge preschool. He was excited. Daddy took a day off to come with us. Really fun!!!

Happy 5th Birthday - Eunice

Eunice had a very wonderful birthday this year. She invited two old classmates (Harmony & Victoria) from Brainbridge and her cousins (Hannah & Coleman) to Build-a-Bear Workshop for a birthday party. First they had a warm-up time. Then everyone chose a bear. The leader brought them jumping around the shop. So funny! They all sat down and decorated the bears. Everyone was so happy about their own bear. After the birthday party, they all came to our house for dinner and played together. Oh! I forgot to mention about the birthday cake. Eunice chose a black forest cake. The kids liked it a lot.

First time with Eunice alone...

Today is a very special day. Sept 12, 2008. Nothing really special for most of you but this is very special for Eunice and me. I am dating with Eunice. HAHAHAHA!

Studying at VCS for Kindergarten for Eunice only has to attend class on Mon, Wed and alternate Friday. Today is Eunice's day off. Yeah! Yesterday, Eunice and I talked about what we should do during Isaac is at school... However, we didn't come up anything.

Eunice woke up at 7:00am this morning (normally at 7:30 - 7:45am and I have to wake her up). She came to my room and slept with me. She could not fall back to sleep. Then at 8:00am, everyone woke up and got ready for school. After breakfast, we went to Isaac's school. Eunice was so happy to see all the old teachers. Hug and laugh and talk about the school etc.... After dropping off Isaac, I asked Eunice whether she would like to go to Metrotown. She thought for a few seconds then she said Ok. She continued to ask whether she could go to Disney Store. She was so happy and excited in the van as I drove to Metrotown. I haven't seen her so happy before. Then we walked by DQ and bought a juice to drink. Went up to Disney Store. She was so excited. Actually she has been Disney store for so many times. This time was so special because it was without Isaac and daddy. She touched almost everything and watched the TV and played the toys. When I told her to leave, she was so ready and no whinning.

Then we went to Superstore to buy a few things and went to McDonald's for kid's meals for lunch. She was cheerful, helpful and I enjoyed the time with her alone too. Isaac was born when Eunice was 1 1/2. After that, she always has Isaac besides her which is good for both of them. However, I find out that I don't have much time for Eunice because when she went to school, I was with Isaac. Never have a special mom-daughter time with her for 3 1/2 years. This year God is so good to us that Eunice goes into VCS and she just need to attend school for Mon/Wed. Then I have more time to be with her alone. At first, I think it is not good to go to school only on Mon/Wed/alternate Friday. But now I like it very much. Thanks God! Hopefully I can have more time with Eunice to build a stronger relationship with her.

Isaac's first day of school - Brainbridge

Finally, it was Sept 3, 2008. Isaac was going to the pre-school. He has been longing for going to school. When the school door was opened, Isaac went into the class. He changed his shoes, took off the jacket, put down the backpack. Then he went to the play station and ready to play. He didn't notice where I was. What a boy! Then I told him that I was leaving. I requested a kiss from him and he did it. After a few seconds, he looked around and asked me. "Are you going home to do housework and make lunch for me?" He asked. I answered, "Yes!" Then he continued his "JOB". It was so easy for Isaac to get into school because he has been in the same school for the past two years when Eunice studied in it. Isaac knew the teachers, routines and places. Thanks God!

Ready to "Back to School"

When you go to the shopping mall, you will see "Back to School" everywhere. Are you ready? Maybe you are or maybe you are not.

As a mother of two, I am not quite ready for both of my kids "Back to School". HAHAHA!!! Eunice is going to the new school (VCS) on Sept 3 and same as Isaac is going to a new place (Brainbridge) on the same day. Eunice's schedule is 8:45 - 12:00 and Isaac's 9:30 - 11:00 for the first 2 weeks on Mon, Wed and Fri. After the first two weeks, they will be in full schedule. Eunice is from 8:45 - 3:00pm and Isaac is 9:15 - 11:45am. It seems to me that I have almost 2 1/2 hrs "kids free". On the other hand, I miss them a lot because both of them go to school together and leave me "alone" at home. Although I will have a lot of housework to do, I will not have Eunice or Isaac to call "mom .... " or Isaac is playing alone or Eunice is drawing on the table etc... There will be an adjustment for me as well as Eunice and Isaac. Of course, as an adult, it will be easier and faster to adjust. I talked to one of Eunice's pre-school teacher about my feeling. Then she said she never think about this on a mother's eyes. She said that you may be more cherish the time with them after school.

Have you ever cherish the time with your parents after school or work? They may miss you while you are away from them. May be we should spend some quality time with them!

New Morning schedule for Eunice and Isaac

After two weeks holiday for Eunice, she was back to Summer Program on Monday morning. I was so surprised that she woke up early morning without crying and was very eager to go to school to see her schoolmates and teachers.

I asked Eunice to brush her teeth and get dressed to school by herself. At the same time, I tried to wake Isaac up. It was a little bit early for Isaac but he was OK. Then we went downstairs and I prepared the breakfast and snacks for Eunice. Then Isaac came to me and asked, " Mom, what do I have for snacks? " Eeeee... I told Isaac a few times that he will go to school in the morning in Sept. Then I said, "The snack is for Eunice not you. You still have 3 more weeks." He seems like understood what I was talking about... After he finished his breakfast, I held Eunice's backpack to Eunice. I saw Isaac was packing the toy snack into his backpack. Then I asked, " What are you doing, Isaac? " "I am packing my snack and show it to the teacher..." Isaac answered as he asked me to help him to put on his backpack... Eeeeee... I smiled and knew that he did not understood when is "SEPT" or "3 more weeks".

After dropping off Eunice to school, Isaac and I went to the nearby playground "Bobolink Park" to play for a while. Isaac enjoyed playing the slide and swing for about 1/2 hour and we went back home. Since Eunice was attending the Senior Preschool from last September, she was having the class in the afternoon. It means that she always play with Isaac in the morning. I think Isaac got used to have Eunice around him. This two mornings, he kept on calling me as Eunice. He missed Eunice a lot. When Eunice came back home from school, he kept on asking Eunice to play with him. What a loving brother and sister!

Funny pictures

Isaac and I told some funny pictures.. Enjoy!

Sleeping alone :)

Both Eunice and Isaac have been co-sleeping with me since birth. We have a big breakthrough this few months.

Eunice - the tough one --- >>>

Fact : After we came back from Toronto in May, Eunice was very cranky for no reason. On May 11 (I can't remember the exact day-- mid May), she had a very bad temper and made Andrew so mad. That night, Andrew was so angry that he asked me to clean up the spare room and let Eunice to sleep by herself afterward. Eunice was crying and crying and it did not help to change the situation. Anyway, I cleaned up the room the next morning and put the new bedding for Eunice. Then that night she started to sleep by herself. It was not easy for her because she got used to sleep with me and Isaac. That night, she said "goodbye" for more than 15 minutes; walked in and out her room for more than 10 times; woke up in the middle of the night for more than 4 times (actually every 2 hours). It was stressful for Andrew and me but we need to insist. This pattern was lasted for 2 weeks. Well! Of course it was getting better day after day but still woke up in the middle of the night.

Evaluation : Andrew and I had an evaluation after 2 weeks. We found out that we might need to stay with Eunice for a little while and then leave the room. It definitely helped a lot esp. in the middle of the night but still woke up 1-2 times. Hugh improvement! One funny thing happened was when Eunice woke up in the morning around 5-6am, she would bring her pillow and blanket and jacket to my room and slept with us until around 9:00am. The pattern was lasted 3 weeks (almost to middle of June)

Improvement : After Eunice's graduation party, she had 2-week holiday. No school...means more time to play ... Isaac still had his naptime but Eunice did not need to have one. What should I do? For the first week of holiday, I co-sleep with them as before. Eunice said that it was morning time not night time so she could sleep with me. I said OKOK... Suddenly the second week of holiday, I asked Eunice to take care of Isaac at his naptime. I had to fold all the clothes in the next room. She said OK. Then she fell asleep. After this happened, Isaac said that he could sleep by himself. Eunice said the same time too (in the naptime). I was so surprised that they both fell asleep without me.

Isaac - the easy one --->>>

At this age of Isaac, he is quite a copycat. After observing Eunice for almost 2 months, he suddenly told me that he did not need me to stay with him. Isaac said to me that he is a big boy now and can sleep by himself. I was hesitated but still gave him a try. He has been slept by himself since July 2 (5 days already ... way to go Isaac!)

Situation now : It was almost 2-month "training" for Eunice. She slept through night (1 woke up in the middle of the night but fell asleep right away or sometimes even did not wake up at all). We just need to say "goodnight" to both Isaac and Eunice and they went to bed by themselves.

Thanksgiving : In the beginning, I told myself that I hope Eunice can sleep by herself before September. Now she just need to have 2 months. I don't expect to train Isaac to sleep by himself at this time since he is still little. He can sleep by himself out of my expectation. Thanks God for His mercy & grace on our family.

O Canada

We went down to Canada Place on Canada day by bus and skytrain. Eunice and Isaac were so excited about the transportation. They never ride a bus before. The weather was perfect for a bus and skytrain ride. The skytrain was full of people. When we arrived the Canada Place, I felt like I was in HK. So many people!!! Eunice was very excited but Isaac was not. He kept on asking me to carry him. Our whole family never to go Canada Place to celebrate Canada Day. It was quite interesting. Line up everywhere for free stuffs like tatoos, pin, map, flag, play, drink, cake etc... The most interesting thing that attracted us was the force army display. Eunice took some pictures with the soldiers. I think it was a good experience for them.

Graduation Day

Hannah & Eunice

Get the cert from Teacher May.

Eunice and her favourite teachers -- Teacher Cindy (Sitting besides her) and Teacher Doris (Behind Teacher Cindy)

Eunice drew this girl that representing herself. Pink dress, pink hands, pink shoes and pink eye glasses.

Eunice graduated from preschool. She was so excited about it. She told me that she had to wear pretty dress. She had to sing some songs. There was a stage that she would walk up and get the certificate from Teacher May. Eunice said, "I am a big girl now. I shall be going to the big school (means Kindergarten) in Sept. I can do everything by myself now."

Water fun...

We bought a big big water pool for Eunice and Isaac. They are having great fun. You can tell by looking at the pictures.

Flower Girl

Eunice is the flower girl at Donna and Felix's wedding for the first time. She was very nervous and shy.

Friend reunion

Our friends' kids -- Eric, Ethan, Isaac, Eunice, Meagan, Victoria, Mrs. Wong

Gary, Grace, Meagan, Eunice and Isaac

Thank you Kathy for making the dinner for us... Look! So Yummy!!!

Say "Hi" to Ethan...

During our stay in Toronto, we met some of our old friends. They all had their own families. We were so happy to meet again and talked and have fun together. We still had a lot of friends in Toronto that we couldn't be able to meet this time. May God bless our friends & their families in Toronto.

Family Reunion

I have not been back to Toronto since Eunice was 9 months old. This time I had the chance to go with Isaac and Eunice to see my grandma. She is 93-year old. In my mind, she was quite young but this time, she is getting old. Well! It's normal. I still remembered last time I asked my grandma how old she was. Her answer was 88. Then I kept on telling people that she was 88 every year. She is old but still healthy. Thanks God! There are some of the pictures.

During the time in Toronto...

Andrew has to go to Lakefield for a few days and we stayed in Mandy's place. This was the first time for Isaac and Eunice to "sleepover" in someone's place. They were excited and started to look around the house. Very funny. When they saw the room, they knew that was their sleeping room and put everything into the room. Eunice and Andrew were sleeping on the mattress on the ground and Isaac and I were sleeping in the bed. I was afraid what would happening when Andrew left us for a few days and Eunice had to sleep by herself. She used to co-sleep with me since birth.



The answer for the sleep problem that I worried was solved by itself. Eunice knew that Andrew had to go to work. (I kept on telling her that daddy will go to work and she has to sleep by herself.) She behaved very well and slept through night. I was worried too much.

Trip to Toronto (Departure day - Day 1)

Andrew has a business trip to Lakefield, Ontario. This time I asked him to bring Isaac and Eunice to go with him so that I can visit my grandma (93-year old). Isaac and Eunice were very excited that he can fly on the plane. We departed on April 26 at 7:00am. Andrew and I woke up at around 4:00am to get ready for ourselves first. At 4:30am, we woke Eunice and Isaac up. The sky was still dark. They jumped out from the bed without crying. They knew that they were going to Toronto. Very excited. One more excited thing was we were taking yellow cab to the airport. They were happy about it.

We checked in the luggages and it was not 5 o'clock yet. So we bought breakfast for them. Eunice and Isaac were totally awake. After breakfast, we went to the secuity section. At first, Eunice was a little bit nervous. It was because we had to remove all the backpacks, took off our jacket and walked through the secuity gate one by one. When the secuity officer asked Eunice to go through the gate, she was so calm and smart. Then it was Isaac's turn. After going through the gate, he ran to Eunice and held Eunice's hand (I asked him to do it before he entered the gate.) He was smart too.

We were in the waiting room and waiting for the plane and took some photos.

On the plane, Eunice and Isaac slept for more than 1 hour. Then they had some drinks, bread, and played toys and did some coloring. They were super good on the plane (no yelling or crying or asked for walking around the plane.)

We arrived Toronto at 2:30pm and head to Andrew's sister's place for a quick rest and then we went out for dinner.

Isaac's 3rd Birthday Party

Time flies... Isaac is not a baby anymore. He is 3 now. This few days he kept on singing "Happy Birthday" to himself. When we asked him how old Isaac is, he said he was 2 but coming to be 3. Kids are so smart. We set up a birthday party for Isaac. Before the birthday party, I brought Isaac and Eunice to a dallor store to buy some stuffs for the birthday party. I saw a musical candle. I asked Isaac whether he liked it or not. Then he started to sing "Happy Birthday" song to himself again. We asked his cousins (Hannah & Coleman), friends (Kit, Yvonne, Harry- I should say "mom and dad's friends; Clement (Isaac's friend), grandma, uncle and aunt to come to our house.

"Look at my cake with "Thomas the tank engine" besides it. Where is my "3" musical candle?"

"Haha! Everyone sings "happy birthday to me" la"

All the kids say "cheese"

"A big kiss to grandma"

"dancing Clement"