Where did June go?

DD and I had a relatively busy June:
1) We visited the zoo with Auntie M and her friends.

2) Celebrated Father's Day with Grandpa, Grandma and Auntie M.
3) Mommy put DD through an intensive potty training. He had accidents everyday!! I dreaded washing his smelly soiled underwear and pants, but we stuck through it this time, accidents or not!! By the time Daddy came home, DD was almost potty trained. Daddy thought that it was like "magic" that it just happened....aaaarrrg....

4) Concerned about DD's verbal development, I had him evaluated by a speech therapist. She thought DD was normal and on track compared to his age group. I kept telling her that I was concerned that he couldn't speak as many words as my friend's daughter and she just laughed. According to her expert opinion, girls are often more advanced with verbal skills, so she assured me (at least 5 times) that DD's speech was totally normal. :) At this phase, DD is pronoucing many words wrong that can be embarrassing (to me), but it seems to come with parenthood- we, parents, must have thick skins!

5) DD started "reading" to mommy intead of being read to! He simply prefers to "read" the books on his own during our story time. hahaha...:)

6) My brothers and sister visited us at the end of June. DD loved his uncle M, because uncle M was so much fun to be around. He is young and strong and was able to carry DD on his shoulders! (Let's see if Daddy can do that.. :)

DD certainly got lots of family attention in June!

Daddy is BACK for good!!!

S graduated on July 2 and has arrived home safely last night. My life as a single-working mother has finally ended!!! DD was excited to see his daddy this morning.

Originally DD and I were going to join S in London on July 1, then travel around Europe in July, but I decided not to at the end. Let's just say that was the right decision. Last week, one of the old filling in my tooth broke. It was so painful that I needed an emergency dental treatment. It turned out that I need a crown done. I would have died traveling Europe for a month with an aching tooth...phew~~ :) S did take some short trips to Paris, Scotland, Greece and Germany by himself. Hopefully he will have time to post some blog entries and pictures about his travel.

We are very happy that our family is together again!!

Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

May Him Rest in Peace in Heaven



This is one of my all-time favorite songs of the world. It touched me so profoundly the first time I heard it and it still brings tears to my eyes as of today.

In most people's life, certain music impacts us in special ways and would always connect us back to those old lost memories. For me, it's Michael Jackson's music. Before I moved to London, before I could speak English, Jackson's music was THE connection to the West for me. Later, it saddened me to learn how his childhood was sacrificed to achieve such great success in music to entertain us. It saddened me even more to watch his career decline and reputation shattered due to his bizarre behaviors which can probably all be attributed to his childhood (or lack of.)

I don't condone the weird things that he had done, but I do want to show the compassion for a lost soul who couldn't find his own happiness in this life, despite such great success, and wealth and his ability to touch people's heart musically.

Hope Michael Jackson can finally find the peace and happiness that had eluded him on this earth.

Seven-year Wedding Anniversary

"Happy Anniversary!! Has it been seven years? Time flies, May your anniversary be as warm as the memories you both have collected. Love Mom & Dad"

This sweet email from S's parents reminded me of the 'special day"!! (I am not into celebrating any particular anniversary, and S is usually the person who reminds me of important dates like this!:)~

Has it been SEVEN years!? This is a major milestone for our relationship! I really look forward to many more years of happiness with S and DD!

Birthday Party...again!

DD was invited to a second birthday party in the last weekend of May. The host put in a lot of thoughts and work to make sure that everyone, especially the kids, had a great time!
He was a little scared of the water slide and only climbed up twice and was too afraid to slide down. After some 20 minutes of just sitting on top, I had to climb up there to help him slide down! I was soaking wet (thanks God that I had lost 15 pounds, so I didn't break the slide....:)~ I can really see DD's cautious personality now. However, he had so much fun that he has been asking to go to Eli's house every morning! Every night he had been saying "DD like Eli house." One night, I asked him (jokingly) " does DD want to move to Eli house?" He replies with loud "YES!" hahahaha... who would have known that my baby is ready to move out to have more fun at three years old!! I now dread the day when he becomes a teenager!

What have we been up to?

Not much.
DD and I have been enjoying our routine and life in general. We attended his classmate's birthday party last weekend in 100+ degree heat. Never mind the heat, DD had so much fun playing in the jumping house, eating cake and candy. Mommy forgot to bring the camera, so hopefully, DD will remember all that fun without any picture. :) That same day, Auntie M came over to swim with DD. DD was so scared of the water that he kept screaming for mommy, not realizing that mommy can't swim! It was so much worse than two summers ago when Daddy first showed him how to swim. It's time to sign him up for a swim lesson this summer, or he might never like water.



Of course we parents live for the milestones and celebrate them no matter how big or small.
1. DD started dressing himself three weeks ago and seemed to enjoy this new found independence.

2. We are making some progress in the potty training arena. I know I am dragging this on for way too long, but I don't want to traumatize him either. It's very hard to strike a balance, but I think he is starting to like his big-boy pants and is at least not afraid of using the potty.

More Pictures of 小牛牛

小牛牛 looks like a great excuse for us to take a trip to Beijing!! :)



(M....future 憂鬱小生?)


(Guess they do do things differently in China, including when they start training kids how to swim! This is quite an interesting way to bath a new born. :)

小牛牛 (Little Ox)

Here's the newest member of the Wu clan: my brother's son, 小牛牛, born in Beijing, China on May 10, 2009. The nickname is cute, but I hope he is not too 牛 (we also use the word 牛 to describe someone who is very stubborn:)!

Look at how fast and efficient the Chinese nurse dressed him up! It was almost like she was making a ....dumpling.:)

Happy Mother's Day

To avoid traffic, we celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday. Auntie M, DD and I drove to Napa to meet Grandma and Grandpa for lunch at the Pacific Blues Cafe in Yountville. The menu selection was great for lunch. We ordered a burger, Mahi Mahi, chicken linguine and ribs. After lunch we went on one of our favorite pastime activities: looking at model homes for the decorations and design. These homes have a nice view overlooking the hills and valleys and the interior designs were tasteful (never mind the price tag.:) You can check out the pictures of the model homes here. After a quick stop at the Napa outlet, we drove back to Sac and have a nice short nap.

DD and I then met up with baby H and his parents for dinner at Taro's at 6:30. DD had fun playing with baby H and watching the fish in the fish tank next to our table. We ordered our usual favorite dishes. Uncle D and Auntie A just returned from a two-week visit to Hong Kong. They really missed the many helps from family (& their maids:) while in HK and of course the food!

DD loved seeing Grandpa, Grandma and Auntie M. So much so that after dinner when we drove next to an SUV, DD kept pointing at the driver and called "GRANDMA! GRANDMA". I took a quick look and it was really a guy wearing glasses who looked like grandpa (for some reason DD kept calling grandpa as grandma!) DD started throwing a tantrum when I drove pass the SUV instead of following it into Bel Air's parking lot! DD would not stop screaming Grandma until we pulled into out garage. Thank goodness, we were not that far from home!

We had a great early Mother's Day celebration! BTW, daddy is all lonely and "sad" in Paris this weekend while we are having fun...(hahahaha...NOT!) Daddy is lucky that mommy had been to Paris twice before, or he will never hear the end of mommy's complaint until the end of the day!

Today is also a special anniversary for me. May 09, 2006 was the day when I first read a Taiwanese news article about DD and decided to try to adopt him. Looking back, that was the best decision I had made, on par with the decision to marry daddy, in my life!

(Mahi Mahi @ Pacific Blues Cafe)


(Family picture)

(Grandma and Grandpa)

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Oh my gosh... where did time go! DD turned three years old today! Since daddy is away, it's up to mommy to celebrate his birthday. I am not big into celebrations and parties, so we celebrated by singing happy birthday FIVE times today. (I know...it's pretty lame, but hey thank GOD he doesn't know any better yet. :)

Some of his progress update:

1. He is officially in pre-K. He is learning so much more in pre-K and is always eager to "tell" me what he did during the day. Although it's still hard for me to understand every word that he is saying, I am pleased that he is talking so much more.
2. His height is between 38 inches (54th percentile) and 39 inches (77th percentile). Well..it is huge range, but it was pretty difficult to get a good measure of my wiggly baby.
3. He is about 33 lbs with his diaper on. It baffles me that he hasn't gained much weight since his last birthday. The rate of weight increase slowed down dramatically after her turned two.
4. He is still NOT potty trained yet. His teacher told me not to worry, because three other boys older than DD are also in diapers. :)
5. DD loves going to the park. The first word out of his mouth is mommy and always followed immediately by "park" when he wakes up in the morning and from his naps. How do you tell a three year-old boy that our lives don't revolve around "park"!
6. DD is very ticklish and he loves laughing and giggling. Sometimes all it takes is just a little touch of his tummy and he would laugh like crazy~~ Very cute to watch!

I am very happy that I have started this blog for him. Even though I don't update the blog as much I would like, I can still go back and revisit a lot of the great times that we have had.

Mommy played dumb when DD asked for "cake" after we finished singing happy B-day song. He will get to have some cake when I take him to his classmate's B-day party next week. I am not a believer of throwing annual B-day parties for a child, but I don't mind taking him to other kids' B-day parties now and then! :)





(Note to self- I should call his pediatrician to set up his 3-year check up. )

Dental Appointment

We went back to get another check up at the dentist. The prognosis of his bumped tooth is still good as of today.. Yeepee. DD also got his first teeth cleaning experience. Due to a ceiling TV, DD was extremely relaxed and cooperative during the exam and teeth cleaning.

DD got to sit in this kiddo dental chair and watch a video on the ceiling. He even got to wear this pair of cool sun glasses.



(Totally relaxed~~)


(Very cooperative!)


(Still cooperative- wow~~)