Albert's Playground

其实，人生就是靠那几句智慧之言引导

2011-07-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnd.org/my/modules/wfsection/article.php%3Farticleid=29273

而对一个人一生真正能有指导性的话语，也就那么几句，搞明白了终身受益。听多了反而糊涂了。我的一生到如今，我觉得真正是对我有影响的关键性话语，我的人生指南，也就那么简单的几句话。

第一句话，是我上成都七中初中时，第一堂课，语文老师鲁老师，在黑板上写下：“不积跬步, 无以至千里; 不积小流, 无以成江海。”（源于荀子《劝学》）意即：要想成大器者，都要从小事一点点干起。第二句话：是我的阿姨（父母文革中被送走去被改造，她带我长大）在成都火车站站台上，送我去长春吉林大学读书时，说要送我一句话：“做人要不卑不亢。”（源于齐国宰相晏婴奉命出使楚国的故事）即得意时不要张狂傲慢，不成功或失意时也不要低声下气、自卑自贱。第三句话：当时，站在旁边送行的父亲，也说他自己读书人一辈子两袖清风，没什么送我的，就送我一句话：“天行健，君子以自强不息。”（源于《周易》）意即：自我奋斗，才是真正人生运行的规律，人生到头来只有靠自己。第四句话：读大学期间，姨父来长春出差，与其谈到该怎样处事为人，他说：“很多人与人相处，总是想自己来控制局面和他人；其实，很多时候，还不如把球踢给对方，让他发球，看他怎样出手，自己来应付，会主动得多。” 意即：与人打交道，多观察少说，先弄明白对方的思路和牌局，自己主动来应付，结局可能会好得多。

这几句话教我的是：第一句话，聚小成大（集腋成裘）。第二句话，做人态度。第三句话，要我自强。第四句话，交流技巧。

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-29T13:32:00.001-08:00

Time flies, I almost forgot to send holiday regards to friends and relatives until Christmas already passed. Here you go:
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

自推娃 and his life plan

2010-12-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Albert is a 自推娃, as parents, we can't help laughing inside. But what's more amazing, he already started planning his life. So far, he has decided that he's going to marry a smart wife who can speak 4 languages, and 4 years younger than himself. As to the appearance, she's just OK, not pretty (the standard of OK is mommy, and mommy is not pretty : ( ). He will be married at 27 and have kids (better be twins) at 32. He will have 2 kids, both boys. He will have a 4 story house at Spicewood springs Rd. He will have pets, and he himself will take care of the dog and the cat, and his wife will take care of the fishes and the bird, as well as the kids. And Albert is going to cook and clean dishes, the rest of the chores are left for his wife. He also decided what his first car is, of course that's consistently changing. Initially he wanted a Ford Mustang, later he changed it to a Nissan Altima.

We were waiting for our flight at the airport. Sitting next to us was a 3 year old pretty Hispanic girl, her mother, and older sister. Albert managed to get her attention, but when she came over, Albert started to fill up a form. The girl found that boring, left to play with a cat. Albert finished the form, wanted to show it to that girl, but was too timid to get closer to her. Yuqi and I at first were puzzled, then later we realized that Albert were trying to impress her with his strength. That's really nerdy, but also kind of cute. He's yet to learn how to deal with girls. : )

Albert loves math

2010-12-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

Albert started to do math when he was three, but he's really into it recently. He asked "Mommy, can you teach me multiplication?" He even enjoys memorizing the addition and multiplication tables. Albert always wanted to do division, but I told him to hold it off until he grasped multiplication. Now he thinks it's time, started practicing division himself.

Albert would do math in workbooks or create math questions himself. He then asks us to grade it and always says "don't forget to draw a happy face and write Excellent".

How to raise a creative genius

2010-10-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

We are blessed with Albert who's a smart and self-motivated kid. But it takes a lot of learning and work to cultivate and nurture the talent. Read on...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/22/motivation.kids/index.html?hpt=C2

略谈教育

2010-09-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the collections of the blogs from a father of a ten year old boy whose IQ is 160.

http://www.unknownspace.org/article_t/Parenting/31492729.html
http://www.mitbbs.com/article0/Parenting/31275247_0.html
http://www.mitbbs.com/article0/Parenting/31276027_0.html
http://www.mitbbs.com/article0/Parenting/31278411_0.html
http://www.mitbbs.com/article0/Parenting/31280387_0.html
http://www.mitbbs.com/article0/Parenting/31283107_0.html
http://www.mitbbs.com/article0/Parenting/31298403_0.html

I agree with most of their opinions and approaches, but some of them gave me a different perspective on things that I didn't expect or think of. Every kids is different, the most important thing is to understand your kid, and find a right way for him/her.

扁豆五岁半的时候经常去一位小朋友家玩。那个小朋友和扁豆一样大。他们家刚买了
Yamaha 钢琴，并给孩子请了老师。有时候就让孩子即兴弹个儿歌什么的，扁豆羡慕得
不得了。回到家跟我们说，他也要学钢琴。于是我们就买了一个德国的杂牌钢琴，请了
个台湾老师教。钢琴老师在美国拿过音乐硕士，用美国教材教，很认真，对孩子也和蔼
可亲。教了有一年，孩子也学了简单识谱，但扁豆妈觉得教得太浅，只是局限于儿歌之
类。于是她就去咨询有没有更好的老师。调查的结果是，俄国的钢琴老师水平比较高。
一来二去的，我们就让扁豆去和一位严格得出名的俄国老师学琴了。头一次上课，上来
就让扁豆弹 German Dance by Bethoven。我们扁豆一是看不懂谱子，二是弹琴手型不对，用老师的话说“是敲琴不是弹琴”。结果被一顿臭骂。回来的路上，扁豆就哭开了
，说不想和新老师学了。她妈苦口婆心地说：严师出高徒。你再学一个月。如果还是受
不了，我们就换。又去“挨骂”了三、四次，回回扁豆都哭。他妈就问他：换不换老师
？扁豆说：这个老师严厉是严厉，但水平的确高。她弹 German Dance 不费力气，很好
听。虽然被骂，心里难受，但我还是想跟她学。这一晃三年下来，扁豆钢琴已经考过四
级，“挨骂”的次数越来越少，比赛小奖也拿了一两个。更重要的一点，老师的言传身
教，让扁豆对音乐的理解提高了一个层次。用老师的话说，他已经知道 tempo,
expression 的重要性了。相比之下，原来先学琴的小朋友早就不弹了。Yamaha 钢琴成
了客厅里的摆设。

言归正传。扁豆中文学校用的教材是中国暨南大学华文学院编的一套《中文》教材，给
海外儿童用的。一年学一册。现在已经开始学第五册了。我这孩子记性不错。上次提到
的 whale's blowhole 的趣事就是一例。一旦他用心学，笨鸟先飞，磕磕绊绊地也就赶
上来了。现在的中文班上，扁豆已经属于好学生之列。主要是他肯学。据他讲，好多同
学都放弃了。上中文课根本不听。听写单词可以错上一半的，大有人在。他老实，老师
让干啥就干啥，从没二话，一步一个脚印地走下来了。所以龟兔赛跑的故事，在他身上
应验了。

我们为了提高他的学习兴趣，特意让他和一位中国声乐老师学唱歌。大家一听肯定笑了
。一个男孩子，学什么唱歌呀。不瞒你说，我开始也有同样的看法。可扁豆妈有她的一
套理论：一是我们当父母的都五音不全。这孩子可不能步我们后尘，给耽误了。二是学
唱中文歌曲，有助于巩固所学中文。三是上台演出，如果不怵观众的话，有助于培养扁
豆的公众演讲能力。这第三条对我比较有吸引力。于是就这么办了。

你甭说，几年下来，扁豆在这三方面都有进步。歌喉嘹亮，音域宽阔；中文利索多了；
大庭广众下的言谈举止，更拿得出手了。四年级在学校做的课堂报告啦，课上发言啦，
都比以前有进步，有口若悬河的趋势。这点从他的成绩单中也能显示出来。语言表达能
力上了一个台阶。上台唱歌也从扭扭捏捏型，变成大大方方型，自信心倍增。有时候
在家，他心血来潮，会一边弹琴一边唱歌，有滋有味的。

Albert to play pretend

2010-09-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

Recently Yuqi and I asked Albert, how's things at school, who he played today. His mouth would popped up a few familiar names. And sometimes, he even said "I didn't play with anyone, I played with myself. No one wanted to play with me." I got worried, and had Yuqi asked his teacher. Surprisingly Ms Vino said Albert played very well at school, played with almost every one. He's even very talkative now, v.s. before going back to China, Albert was quite at school. Albert also translated for two Chinese classmates who don't speak good English.

It seems to start to happen after Albert came back from China, he wanted to have a little brother just like his good friend Maomao does. Tonight he even named his fluffy toys Mommy, Daddy, Albert and little brother, and played pretend by himself. Big pressure on me. : (

Good Children's Books （2-6 years old)

2010-09-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

不一样的卡梅拉（法）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9213954&ref=book-02-D
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20531735&ref=book-02-D

青蛙弗若格和朋友们（荷）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9203153

贝贝熊系列丛书（美）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9201235
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20353519&ref=product-0-B
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20689592&ref=product-0-E

蹦蹦和跳跳的故事(全10册)（德）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20163873&ref=product-0-A

斯凯瑞金色童书（美）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9284655&ref=product-0-F
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20039610
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20163872&ref=product-0-A

14只老鼠 (日）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20817211&ref=product-0-A

小兔汤姆系列（法）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20213333&ref=product-0-A

可爱的鼠小弟 (日）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20646032&ref=product-0-B

好奇的乔治（全8册）（美）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20805043&ref=product-0-A

聪明豆绘本系列（英）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9272644&ref=product-0-A
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=9238009&ref=product-0-E

古利和古拉(日）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=20676778&ref=product-0-A

窗边的小豆豆 (日）
http://product.dangdang.com/product.aspx?product_id=706089&ref=book-02-D

Albert's back to school

2010-09-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Albert finally went back to school. He came back last night, seemed to be happy. A few friends graduated or left for preK. But Albert's still got his best friend Harrison, buddies Luke, Anolf and girlfriend Harper to play with. Albert said that his classmates asked if he could speak both Chinese and English, he said yes, proudly :).

Started to read "Frog and Friends" with Albert, very fun and educational. Definitely recommend it.
From Wikipedia:
The characters deal with elementary feelings such as love, fear, sadness, insecurity, happiness and more. These themes are materialized by simple and clear stories. Frog and his friends try to understand the feelings they encounter in both good and bad times.

Good Children's Books

2010-08-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

I bought some Children's books translated into Chinese from China. Albert started reading a few of them, and he really loved those, even I enjoyed reading them for Albert. A lot of fun.

不一样的卡梅拉（法）
这套书讲一只很有探险精神的小母鸡以及后来她的孩子们的探险故事。Albert's favorite now.

贝贝熊系列(美）
There a few different sets for different age group. I already have a few in English. Albert loves them very much. So I bought more from this series in Chinese. Good stories, and very educational. I will continue to collect The Berenstain Bears.

青蛙弗洛格系列（荷）
这个系列有12本。这套有拼音。故事很好，插图很有童趣。But we haven't start reading those books yet.

It's a bit surprising to me, now Albert speaks fluently Chinese, but he forgot a lot of English. He has to relearn English words. So every day we read both English and Chinese books. Hopefully he will pick up his English after he gets back to school.

Albert loves math

2010-07-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

When Albert was in China, he loved to give George and me math quiz, normally additions with many big numbers. Right now Albert got hooked by multiplications, I tried to explain to him how it works and what it means, he doesn't seem to get it though, but he refused to do addition and subtraction. I opened his Kindergarten and Grade 1 math exercise book, and surprised to see that he finished both already. No wonder, he's ready for new challenges.

It's so funny that if you ask Albert to do 12 + 3, he probably would say "I don't know". But if you ask Albert, "If you are playing basketball, and you already scored12, now you get 3 more points. What do you have now?" He will give you the answer right away.

Albert's love for China

2010-07-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Albert just came back from China after a 2 month stay. He really enjoyed it and promised grandparents that he's going back to China every year until he's 18, then he would go to college. I asked him why he loved China, he said a lot of yummy food and snacks. : )

Albert suddenly grew up, talked fluently in Chinese using complex wordings, became reasonable, and learned to control his temper. Thanks to grandpas and grandmas.

What Albert said recently:
奶奶，你买给我吃，我就吃。
说不好美国话，也就说不好中国话。
上海好吃的东西最多，Austin第二，金华第三。
奶奶给我的，就是我的。
我有点怕爷爷，但我又喜欢他。

山口百惠

2010-07-01T14:15:00.001-07:00

Found a person that I really like has the same star sign. Admire her for her determination, for her braveness, for her desire towards simple but happy life. The only and forever 山口百惠.

"感谢大家容许我的任性，我会得到幸福的~"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lufvt7oS-8&feature=related

Where's the money?

2010-05-16T13:03:00.001-07:00

扬扬跟着爸爸妈妈去了国内，中文在短时间内就有了大进步，还见了好多的亲戚朋友。国内的亲戚总给第一次见面的扬扬红包。妈妈我到了上海后，一家人去见宇奇的奶奶，扬扬又收了几个红包。宇奇的大姑妈来晚了点，见扬扬亲热的打招呼，扬扬忽然冒出一句：“Where's the money?"

4 year old big boy

2010-03-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

扬扬已经四岁了，他对妈妈叫他baby很不高兴。两星期前在Chucky E Cheese过了生日party, 接下来连着三星期，都要去小朋友的生日party。
扬扬还是一如即往的爱学习，最近不仅要做加减，还要做乘除；不仅要做正数，还要做负数；不仅要做整数，还要做分数。汗。。。
最近没统计过扬扬的词汇量了，但应该比妈妈高中的词汇量多了。可见妈妈的英语当初有多烂。
扬扬的球龄不大，但球瘾不小。足球，篮球，冰球，橄榄球，高尔夫球，啥都看，而且最喜欢给爸爸报分数。
扬扬跟妈妈说好，（三岁踢足球），四岁学游泳，五岁学功夫，上中文学校，六岁打篮球（得找个篮球队），七岁弹钢琴（有点晚，不过玩票性质，所以要求不高）。我们扬扬啥都要计划的来。不过实际上是妈妈建议，并时不时地吹耳边风，最仅总算通过扬扬的批准了，当然，经过扬扬的稍加改动。

Yesterday had a teacher and parent session, Yuqi and I decided to take the teacher's suggestion to keep Yangyang in the Montessori school until 6. That also gives us an excuse to send Yangyang back to China in the summer.

Yangyang just had a 4 year well check, height 41 inch (75%), weight 36lb (50%), still fit and slim. Yangyang also had 4 shots today, and he was so brave that he even didn't groan.

Texas Museum of Natural History and Happy New Year

2009-12-29T21:33:00.000-08:00

Albert was very happy to visit the Texas Museum of Natural History the second time. It's a little treasure in UT Austin, we are sure we are going to visit it in the future.

Happy New Year to all!

Albert's first stage appearance and competitiveness

2009-12-22T12:42:00.000-08:00

Albert became a flag boy to hold Chinese flag in the Christmas party. He was quite happy and followed other kids waving the flags while walking in a circle.

Albert went up stage during the Christmas sing along. To our surprise, he was not shy at all, but he's not interested in singing either (Albert loves to sing though). Albert was looking around, looking up and down, he then started walking on the stage (the only kid who moved during the performance, we as parents were a bit surprised). The teachers had to protect him from falling off since it was a very tiny stage and full of kids. Albert walked around the edge of stage for a couple of times, he cut through kids back and forth, then finally settled in a spot which was the other end of the stage of his original spot, and started to sing a bit.

Albert suddenly became very competitive. He always wanted to win, and always claimed that he won the games. It's amazing to observe the changes. And since neither Yuqi or I encouraged it, we have to say he's born competitive and it just started to show.

All-Time Bestselling Children's Books and Dr. Seuss

2009-12-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA186995.html

Bought a few Dr. Seuss's books for Yangyang, he really loves them, and has me read them every day. We are going to collect Dr. Seuss's best children's books from the list. We do have a long list though.

Green Eggs and Ham
The Cat in the Hat
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Hop on Pop
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (done)
Fox in Socks
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
My Book About Me (by Me, Myself)
I Can Read with My Eyes Shut (done)
Oh, The Thinks You Can Think! (done)
Oh Say Can You Say?
There's a Wocket in My Pocket!

学习别人的教育方法

2009-12-18T11:27:00.000-08:00

Came across this article. Liked the view point, the principle and way to education kids. Save here to share and learn from it.

http://www.unknownspace.org/article_t/Parenting/31361401.html

我们看书，结合自己的成长经验，相信给孩子自由与爱，尊重孩子。难得的是在基本的
理念上，LD和我的观点是一致的。不赞成严厉的家教。

从两岁起，我们开始注意让儿子对自己的事情做决定。“你想要哪一个自己选。”他在
做决定方面做的很好。后来注意到出去活动让小孩子自己选东西，在有些孩子不知道该
怎么样做的时候，他总能做出自己的决定。并且只要是他决定了的事情，即使不是他想
要的，他也不会反悔。

不强迫他，除非是一定必要的事情。他不喜欢吃的也不逼他吃。两岁的孩子吃东西都很
费劲。看到很多家长哄着骗着花很多时间哄孩子吃饭。因为效果是明显的：哄了他就多
吃点。不哄他就吃一点点，吃的少身体就不壮。我们不哄。把东西给他，他不吃了就不
吃了。限制他吃零食。攒几次，他自然会吃多。没有小孩子会傻得把自己饿坏的。发现
这样我们也省心。人的精力总是有限的。要把有限的精力用到对付他其他更难缠的方面
。但这样做的坏处到四五岁的时候也表现出来了。他的食性很窄。只吃他熟悉的几样。
花了时间精力哄的那些孩子，到了四五岁的时候吃各种各样的东西。有劳总是有获啊。

不怎么管教他。更相信要影响孩子而不是管教孩子。他是胆怯的孩子。很难跟别人打
招呼，说再见。我们只提醒一句，“和老师说bye。”他不说，我们也由他。要是家长
都很害羞，和别人讲话不自然，怎么让孩子做到啊？所以我们也尽量自然的多同别人讲
话。要是在一个不熟悉的场合我们和别人聊天很随便，他就更自然一些。几年过去，现
在他会很自然的和刚见面的人讲话。用影响力比用管教见效慢，但更深远。

儿子做的不对的时候，我们很少说他。相信只要他的心里知道什么是对错的，长大他自
然会懂得选择对的事情做。很多时候他做了不好的不对的事情他本身是知道这是不对的
。只是一时调皮而已。他发脾气，往地上乱扔东西。扔的都是枕头，书，不怕摔的东西
。我们不管，随他，只要他不破坏东西。“你要把你扔的东西都收好才能出来玩。”
过了些时候，他要出来玩了。
“东西收好了吗？”
“可是太多了。要人帮。”
我们不计较，和他一起把东西摆回去。

我们不希望他是个“听话”的孩子，而是个听从道理的孩子。爸爸妈妈做错了，爸爸妈
妈会承认错了。在我们长大的环境中，更多强调的是听从权威，尊敬师长。但我们希望
儿子长大的环境中，相信真理，坚持真理，不盲从权威，独立思考。

看起来，这点是做到了。他很能独立思考，有自己的想法。

但另外一方面呢，前段时间发现了问题。也许我们做的有点太过了，以至于他觉得他有
道理，不必听我们的话。不是所有的事情都有道理可讲的。

他要看电视，我们计划要出门玩。
“我不去，我要看电视。”
“回来看。我们要出门了。”
“我不去。”
“我们需要去。妈妈说了，给你三分钟时间我们上车。”
“妈妈说了”是我用来向他表示爸爸妈妈说了话必须要听。我们坚持了几年希望儿子不
要听话，现在却发现父母的话，孩子还是一定要听的。五岁的孩子还好管。孩子到了11
岁，习惯了不听家长的话，是不是就真的没办法了？

总的看来儿子还是很好的。很多常年积累的效果渐渐显出来。他很自信。也常让我们惊
喜。比如练钢琴，我说要强迫他每天都练，这样以后就会成为习惯。LD说，不要破坏
了他对钢琴的喜爱。让他感兴趣为主。想弹就弹，不想弹也不逼他。这样的兴趣才是真
实的。我听了LD的。果然，半年过去，儿子对钢琴表现了真实的兴趣。不需要练琴的
时候也会去弹。没有硬性的强迫他，每天很自然的养成了练琴的习惯。

Soccer Practice and Dinasaurs

2009-11-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Albert loves playing soccer every Sunday morning with a team of little soccer players organized by Michale's Daddy. However he seems to be confused between Soccer and Football, for he always tries to knock Michale down in the soccer practice. Albert doesn't care too much of scoring, he feels happy running around and chasing friends.

After last Sunday's game, Daddy took Albert to see dinosaurs in Texas Natural Science Center http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/. Albert became a fan of dinosaur after Grandma brought him a book of dinosaurs from China. For the past two months, he's been listening to the book at least once a day. In the Science Center, Albert recongized many of the dinosaurs listed in his favorite book. Mom needs to search for dinosaur books now.

Little Superman

2009-11-16T11:11:00.001-08:00

Out of the desire for candies, reluctantly Albert agreed to put on his Superman consume and go trick-treating. He carried his McCain basket and walked two blocks, and finally when it's totally dark outside, Halloween lights sparking everywhere, and most of all, basket was full, Albert agreed to go back home. As soon as he arrived back home, Albert immediately started counting his collection of candies.

It's already 9:00pm, but there were still some kids knocking at our door after climbing the long stairs. Albert was very eager to give candies away(of course, not those he collected). He gave each kid two hands full of candies, and kids were all very happy. The climbing was worth while. : )

一件旧事

2009-08-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

扬扬大约俩岁的时候，奶奶总当着我和宇奇的面问扬扬，“爸爸和妈妈，你喜欢谁？”。扬扬也总是回答，“都喜欢“。从来没有人教他这样回答，是个聪明的孩子，妈妈很暗自得意。

Trip to Coprus Christi

2009-08-19T07:52:00.000-07:00

在妈妈的坚持下，全家去了Coprus Christi 过周末. 未了发现家里多了一个小宅男。

Although being a busy and lazy mom (conflicting, but true), I still try to give as much attention to Yangyang as possible. Sometime, I even question if he gets too much care, since Yangyang tends to be spoiled. By many means, Yangyang is not a perfect kid (of course, we are not perfect parents either). He's shy and stubborn, he's sensitive and proud, he's very opinionated and consistent (those can be considered strength from a certain perspective). Yangyang is also a quite active and sweet boy. He love sports, love playing balls (golf ball, basket ball, soccer ball, football, base ball), love watching sports games (all kinds). His cheerful and playful personality fills the house with laughter. He enjoys learning and reading so much that Yuqi and me are always amazed and tired. Imagine yourself after reading 6 books and writing numbers from 1 - 300 and above at once. Yangyang can read beginner books himself now, and he knows more than 300 English words.

Yangyang's got quite a few best friends now: Maomao, Dongdong, Harrison, Asa, Philip, and a couple more boys from his class. He started to talk about things happened at school - that's the parent-and-kid-bonding that I've been longing for.

Albert's first musical experience

2009-08-09T16:25:00.001-07:00

Albert went to watch musical for childern "Pinocchio". He was quite at first, then started to ask why or what questions, finally he got excited and screamed really loud at the end. I asked him "did you like this", he shake-ed his head, and said "no". Then I asked again "do you want to watch it next year", he nodded and said "yes".

sweet Albert

2009-06-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

Recently, and many times after bath, Albert would sit in mommy's lap, and put his arms around Mommy, say nice things like "Mommy, you are so sweet!", "Mommy, you are so cute!", "Mommy, you are so nice!", "Mommy, you are so pretty". Mommy's heart is so touched, and becomes really soft. Albert, Mommy won't trade anything for that moment.

Albert's 3 year old birthday party

2009-03-16T21:05:00.000-07:00

Albert had his first birthday party!!! Everyone especially his little friends enjoyed the yummy birthday cake Albert picked.

新学校

2008-12-25T20:58:00.000-08:00

一个多月前扬扬换了个新学校: http://www.internationalmontessori.net/. 这是奥斯丁最老牌的蒙校. 扬扬的班上有一个比他还小还调皮的小男孩. 从扬扬零零星星的话语中, 我们大约猜想扬扬和这个叫喊Asa的小男孩常在一起疯玩，也常被timeout.

推荐一加工照片的网叶：http://www.photofunia.com/．

乘游轮归来

2008-11-09T00:57:00.000-08:00

奶奶再过两天就要回国了, 爸爸, 妈妈和扬扬要开始自力更生,艰苦奋斗地三口之家生活了. 紧张, 并向往ing...

上学三星期

2008-09-14T20:40:00.000-07:00

扬扬还是不断的生病, 但是已经逐渐能听懂老师的话了. 今天忽然在家冒出一句Let's go. Lea也上学了, 扬扬又开始自称扬扬哥哥.

Albert's going to school

2008-09-08T20:33:00.001-07:00

扬扬上学已有两星期了, 还正在逐渐适应过程中. 英文不懂(他自己的原话: 听不懂), 没有熟悉的朋友(Lea 去坐油轮, 前两星期没来), 扬扬经常独自自坐在角落里的小沙发上. 上学不久就感冒发烧了, 自己拿着一把纸巾擦鼻涕. 妈妈很担心, 但也明白这是必经阶段. 只是希望这个阶段不要太长.

两岁了

2008-04-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

扬扬两岁检查, 所有指标都超前, 除了语言能力. 可没想到近一个月以来, 扬扬开始学大人说话了, 虽然大都还只是一个字的发音.
扬扬的胖笃笃的小手, 虽小可真灵巧. LEGO那是早不在话下了. Mouse也早以操纵的很灵活了. 不过令大人挂目相看的是昨天发生的事. 扬扬在个子足够高以后能开门了, 但对套上了套子的门把还只能是敲门兴叹. 昨天, 扬扬却拧开了套上了套子的门把. 第一个时, 爸爸妈妈没有重视, 偶然的; 第二次, 否认之; 哪想到, 还有第三次,第四次...这偶然顷刻之间变成了必然. 大人们眼睁睁地看着扬扬轻轻松松闯入了禁地-书房, 窜到了电脑前.

Best friend

2008-02-26T09:12:00.000-08:00

扬扬的best friend是winnie the pooh.

又是新的一年

2008-01-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

刚过22个月的扬扬又长本领了: 会吹泡泡, 会从沙发上跳下, 会发更多的音, 会认更多的字母, 会手把手地学写字, 会画光芒四射的太阳, 会发"哼"和甩手来表示生气, 会玩捉谜藏的游戏, 会要求讲故事, 会自动替妈妈用遥控器调节音量和更换频道, 还会上网, 会双键点激激活软件, 会...
在新的一年里, 希望扬扬健康, 平安, 快乐.
也感谢外公, 外婆, 爷爷, 和奶奶对扬扬的疼爱和辛苦付出.

第一个Halloween

2007-11-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

10/31那天, 妈妈早早地开溜了. 一家人提早吃了晚饭, 妈妈将糖准保好, 正犹豫着, 要不要出门, 门铃响了, 邻居们的小小孩打扮地或是花枝招展, 或是精灵古怪, 上门要糖来了. 急忙三下五除二替扬扬套上南瓜服出门了, 牵着小手去追赶大队人马. 到了第一家, 无人在家, 留了糖果在门口. 扬扬先是把玩了会儿糖果, 然后将其注意力转移到了刻着鬼脸的南瓜上. 妈妈抓了颗糖, 放在篮子里, 没想到, 扬扬火眼精精, 一把将糖抓出, 放回原处. 如此反复几次, 最终双手空空的离开了. 第二家, 一个女的蓝色的大M&M将几颗糖放进扬扬的篮子里. 扬扬很是疑惑, 但默默的接受了. 接下去, 扬扬也许是一下子明白了, 也许是对Halloween的装饰很感兴趣, 主动牵着妈妈的手逐个造访各家了, 乐此不疲. 十来家下来, 篮子沉沉的坠到了地上. 妈妈想接过篮子, 扬扬坚持不让.
扬扬的第一个万圣节, 在他19个月时, 在Austin温暖的夜色中结束了.

小小旅行家

2007-10-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

扬扬18个月的时侯第一次长途旅行, 不但上天下水, 攀山越岭, 还出了国. 这不是妈妈我在这想吹嘘的. 扬扬让人惊喜的在于其在路途中的表现.

说起来, 不得不提起扬扬9个月时的第一次出游. 从Austin<->Dallas途中, 除了小睡以外, 扬扬一直都在哭, 深嘶力竭的哭. 这一哭, 把大人们关闭在家, 一关就是近处10个月.

18个月的扬扬一下子变成了小大人. 一天坐几小时的车, 吃大人的饭菜, 晚上好好睡觉. 到了目的地, 很配合地下车. 还会见缝擦针地在车上打盹, 休息, 保持体力; 有精力时, 作游戏, 唱歌娱乐性大众.

妈妈心里乐开了花, 这次旅行没结束, 便开始盘算下一次了.

一片掌声

2007-09-17T17:46:00.001-07:00

扬扬吃饭的时候, 您来了我们家, 别以为是进错了门. 我们不是在开表彰大会或听首长做报告. 扬扬此时正在将一口饭菜送入口中, 然后很满意的抿着嘴笑了, 并且带头鼓掌, 妈妈和外婆马上响应, 爸爸也积极表现. 只是外公比较落后, 于是扬扬就用手指着外公示意. 外公无可奈何地放下碗和筷子, 加入到群众队伍来了. 一片掌声, 真是和协家庭.

扬扬一岁半了

2007-09-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

一岁半了, 也是不大不小的milestone. 扬扬的身高和体重还是维持在80%和25%, 是一个瘦高的孩子. 不过, 小脸是胖嘟嘟的, 象外公和妈妈, 都有一张胖脸.

扬扬已经很明白事理了, 大人们不再能当他的面揭他的短. 几个月前, 遇事不高兴, 扬扬的大哭大叫, 到躲藏在角落里生气, 现如今, yiyi yaya 的与人争吵, 挥手打人 (当然, 每每为此招斥), 扬扬反抗的水平也逐步上升.

虽说扬扬不积极开口学说话, 金口到也不闲着. 只有在扬扬入睡后, 屋子才能安静下来.

买衣服

2007-09-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

妈妈我心底里有个梦想: 希望把我们家的英俊儿童打扮成千人迷, 而不只是家人迷. 现在我最喜欢shopping的地方是童装店. 一日, 乔爸爸在挂满衣物的衣橱前逮到了正在清点衣物, 并计算下次逛街还需为扬扬要买点啥的妈妈我, 惊呼, 这些都是你的衣服吗?!!!
可是, 咋觉得扬扬的衣服总是少一件呢? 正如妈妈的衣服也总是少一件.
为啥喜欢男孩呢? 原因之一就是男孩可以任由妈妈打扮, 至少到七八岁, 而girls到2岁就会与妈妈开始挑衣服的斗争了. 有强词夺理之嫌了. 嘻嘻.

扬扬的艺术细胞

2007-08-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

扬扬的艺术细胞应该是从妈妈我这里遗传的, 有照片为证(第一张: 闻乐起舞, 可惜只有背影, 谁叫咱家的照相机不够高级呢. 第二张:打太极拳).

Social or not social

2007-08-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

扬扬在Gymboree class里总是最害羞的一个, 妈妈我自我安慰地将之归因于环境不熟悉, 公众场合锻炼不够. 可是, 扬扬在另一些情怳下又表现特别大方. 比如说, 在商店里, 在大街上, 频频与stranger招手, 打招呼. 只要扬扬在, 经过我们家门前的人, 无论车里, 车外, 总是躲不过扬扬首长的慰问的, 并且得回礼. 扬扬还在店里与小姑娘套近乎. 迄今为止, 已有三回整了, 每次不同的小姑娘, 还都挺漂亮, 不得不让人佩服扬扬的眼光. 扬扬的泡妞套路: 先是端着小凳子挤到人身边, 再是要与人一起玩搭积木(mega blocks), 还有, 替小姑娘捡拾掉在地上的积木, 更有甚者, 跟随小姑娘去厕所, 然后守在门口. 妈妈是啼笑皆非, 这毕是乔爸爸的遗传( 有乔爸爸小时照片为证:请从以上照片中寻找线索).
正所谓, 令人捉摸不透的扬扬.
推荐: http://www.78baby.com/. 扬扬很喜欢里边的快乐儿歌flash.

写在扬扬十七月生日之际

2007-08-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

8/10 是扬扬的十七月生日, 妈妈我终于给扬扬建博了.
妈妈我在这些日子里经常思考的是如何教育孩子. 教育, 在中国传统教育中等同于discipline(规矩), 在西方教育则侧重于creativity(创造) 和个性的培养, 如何在这两者中寻求及达到一个平衡, 是妈妈我追求的目标.并且每个孩子因为特质的不同, 平衡点也会产生差异.
正所谓世上没有坏孩子, 只有不懂孩子的父母.

My own blog finally

2007-08-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

I've been telling my mom for a long time "I want my own blog". But my lazy mom simply post my pictures online, and considered her doing me a big favor. All my little fellows have blogs. I have to have my own. So I requested, begged, and requested, begged,..., until now, I finally succeeded. Woo hoo...

I want my own blog.

Can I have a blog?

Yeah!