Bio for a 4-Year Old

.. turns out to be really hard to write! Well, Dad was assigned the challenging task of writing something for Nick's recital this coming weekend. So, there we go:

Nicholas liked music even when he was still in mommy’s tummy -- he would “dance”
to the music when baby Hach was played in the car. Now 4 and half years old, he
has been learning piano for 6 months. He enjoys playing piano whenever possible,
and doing Mr. Harrington’s homework was one of his favorite after-school
activities. He is looking forward to playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star all by
himself.

Early start on an engineering career?

Nicholas loves to play tracks, and he's got a lot of them :) There are some of his creative work


Multi-level train track














Carnival

Skipping Dinner

Nicholas has not been a good eater ever since he was a a little baby, he even threw up when he first tried his jar food. But recently it has been taking him longer and longer to finish dinner. He did not want to eat dinner today, even after mom and dad warned him that he would not have any food tonight if he skipped dinner -- but it was his choice, and we shall see..

Play Date

Nicholas is on a play date with Ibraham from school.

The two started planning last Wednesday on their way out of the classroom. And Ibraham said, "do you want to come to my house?"

"Of course." Nicholas was so eager to go.

Then, Dad and Ibraham's mom had to talk them out of the idea -- "How about Saturday?" They thought delaying would be a good technique.

Well, ever since then, Nicholas has been reminding mom and dad about the Saturday date.

Then it came Saturday.

"Are we going to Ibraham's house?" asked the cheerful Nick, as soon as he woke up.

Just as Mom and Dad were thinking about what to do, a panic Ibraham's mom called. Ibraham had been crying and asked where Nicholas was.

And as they say, the rest is history :)

Happy Baby

Rachel is a happy baby. And just like her brother, you could hear her laughters. Her favorite -- "Riiiiiiii... Pii Pii Pii Pii".. Just like her big brother :)

That Marriage Thing

Nicholas was telling Dad about his school friends last tonight:

"Joohoo, Eric, and Nova are my friends."

"What about Katie?" asked Dad, wondering whether there were still some romantic feelings between the two.

"She is a little bit of my friend."

"Oh, what about Carmen?" Dad remembered that Carmen was hugging Nicholas when he left school the other day.

"Carmen wants to marry me!"

Seeing an opportunity for teaching a new concept, Dad started to explain that Mom and Dad were married.

"Will you marry me then?" Asked Nick.

"Silly. A boy marries a girl." Explained Dad.

Suddenly, Nicholas burst into tears and ran to Mom -- "Dad does not want to marry me!"

"Well, dad is right." Said Mom, "You will marry a girl."

"Then, you can marry me! and Dad can marry Meimei!" -- well, appreantly, problem solved!

BTW, Nicholas had a fever this morning, sigh....

Learning is fun

Nicholas is doing well with his studying these days. First, he loves doing his math homework, always insisting doing at least couple pages from the book before bedtime. There is also great news from Mr. Harrington -- Nicholas will be in the piano recital this December! How exciting it is...

Yummy yummy pumpkin pies!

It is a Fairfax Connector Bus!

Dad did something silly yesterday -- he left the car key in the office before hopping on the Metro to pick up Nicholas. Going from the Metro station to Nick's school was easy -- there was a cab. But home? hmmmm... Dad had an idea-- how about buses?

Well, Nicholas loved that idea! So much that he was telling everyone one his way rushing out of school to the bus station, which was just across the street: "We have to take bus today, my dad left the key in the office!" Sigh....

Nicholas was also so excited on the bus, talking all the way home and asking questions about eveything he saw -- Everyone was looking at Nick and Dad, and Dad was a bit embrassed!

When Dad dropped Nicholas off in the class this morning, Nicholas' teacher was also asking, "Did you take a Metro bus yesterday?"

"No, it is a Fairfax (Connector) bus", corrected Nick.

Then, Ms. RenQing added, "You are not taking bus again tonight?"

Dad blushed right there :(

BTW, we gave home-made cards to Ms. RenQing and Mr. Ryan this morning, and they loved them!

Big Brother, Month One

Being a big brother is very exciting, and, as Nick has discovered, very challenging too. But we are doing good so far!

The first a few days was tough for Nick, as he had never been separated from mom and dad for so long. Nicholas came to visit mom at the hospital every day, and he really enjoyed seeing the little sister for the first time! One of Nick's favorites activities at the hospital -- making milk shake with the orange juice and milk from the refrigerator!

Back home, there is another challenge -- Rachel has super ears to hear every tiny little noise, and Nicholas is famous (or infamous) for making loud noises! A month later, Rachel, who is not a good sleeper, is getting much better at ignoring Nicholas, resigning to the fact that the big brother will be with her for a long long time. In fact, some times Rachel really seems enjoying Nicholas' singing, just for her.

Speaking for singing, Nicholas has been a great helper for mom and dad. Getting diapers and milk for the little sister, singing to her as she cries. So, what about changing diaper for meimei? "Yew... stinky!" Ok, so we are still working on that part :)

Mom's Personal Massage Therapist

Mom has been feeling pains in her butts as a result of carrying 30 lbs of weights, also known as Meimei.

So, Nicholas wanted to help. For two nights in a row, he has been giving Mom personal massage sessions, and according to Mom, it really helps! The secret? "My hands are soft, that's why." says Doctor Nick.

Nick and Katie

How long does love last? Well, in the case of Nick and Katie, it is long and still going strong!

This evening Dad talked to Katie's mom when he picked up Nick from school, and learned some very cute stories -- like last week, the two danced together at the Royal Ball, and it was "the cutest thing ever" :)

Is it time for a vacation yet?

It has been a while since Nicholas took a vacation last time, and he is getting bored, especially since all his school friends seem to be taking vacations!

Every time Dad and Nick study a map, Nick would draw a route, following the interstates, to the beach! And he seems to have planned the next vacation already. Just this morning in Mr. Harrington's studio, he said he wanted to visit the leaning tower in Pisa (of course he knows it is in Italy), he even drew a picture of it!



Too bad, Nick. I guess we would have to wait for while, as Meimei will be too little to travel for a while! :( Speaking of Meimei, Mom and Dad are preparing Nick for the time when "the doctor will take Meimei out of Mama's belly". As always, Nick has his own plans --"when meimei comes out, I will go see a doggy doctor who will take Jake out of my belly"... sigh...

Geography 101

Before the nap today, Dad and Nick were talking about geography --

"We live in Virginia, Dad?" asked Nick.

"Yes, and Grandma and Uncle live in Maryland", Dad saw an opportunity to introduce some important geographical concepts.

"And Maryland is far away."

"Yes." Nodded an impressed Dad.

"Where is the American land?"

"Well, we are in America. Both Maryland and Virgina are in America." Dad was a bit concerned about whether Nick could comprehend the concept.

Apparently there was not a problem. Nick finally reached his conclusion, "but we don't live on the earth."

Before Dad could recover from the initial shock, Nick continued, "the earth is round, and it is not round here!"

Sigh.....

BTW, this evening, Dad and Nick studied the maps -- we located some of the places we discussed - our house, Maryland, Virgina, and the "America land". Still, we need to figure out how to solve the earth challenge :)

Peer Pressure

Nicholas is making great progresses in swiming these couple days, and it has something to do with a weekend visit to his cousin.

Nicholas always enjoys playing with Justin. Last weekend, they played together in the pool near Uncle's house. Justin could swim very well by himself and Nick was very impressed. And it did not take long for Nick to act:

-- The next day during a piano class with Mr. Harrington, Nick told his teacher, "Justin can swim, not me", when responding to a reference to "swimming fingers".

-- The following day, he was all kicking and swimming in his "swimming bath". He was putting his face against the bottom of bathtub. And, he was so proud - "I can swim, just like Justin"

Mom and dad were proud too. Good job, Nick.

Nick's Art Room

Nicholas loves drawing and he is really good at it -- from the leaning tower, to "spaceship car", to the machine that changes shoe colors, he is building up his collections. And he has found a perfect place for his gallery, mom and dad's sitting room wall. Or, as Nick puts it, "MY picture room"!

BTW, Nicholas teacher told mom today that Nicholas is showing some regression-- he had accidents for the second day in a row now. There are other worrying signs since grandma gets here: he does not sleep by himself any more, and he is way too hyper... sigh...

Too early for broadway

Last weekend, Mom and Dad took Nick to Wolf Trap to see the show Mama Mia. Nick was very excited, because he loved the songs from the show. "Hurry, we'll be late!" He was all excited before the show.

Well, half way into it, Nick got bored, I guess. Or it could be that he was tired, missing his nap because the show was at 2pm...

Nicholas Art Work

Grandpa saves a bird

Spaceship

A train named Tomhas

Rachel's Crib

A Busy Summer

Nicholas is having a busy summer, so busy that Mom and Dad had not had a choice to update this blog!

Father's Day

Nick's school held a father's day social. Though Mom and Dad were late (Sorry, Nick), the teacher told us that Nick was the loudest singer :) Nick did sing the special song for Dad -- "Dad is my special friend..."

The Card Nick made for dad was, well, BIG. It had also interesting notes like "My dad likes to collect paper clips", and "Dad's favorite food was sausage" -- wondering where he got that from. But Nick also had a lot of sweet things to say, like "I like it when my dad takes me to the museum".

We finish the night was a movie -- the opening night of "Toy Story III" (Mom actually sneaked out to watch "Sex in the City"). Nicholas liked it so that that he always asked Mom and Dad to take him to the movie, and watch, well, the same movie!

姥姥 and Nick

Grandparents have come to visit, and Nicholas loves to play with grandma -- well, sort of liked playing with a big sister -- fighting all the time! So much that Nicholas was having dreams fighting grandma one night, which got grandma scared!

At night, Nicholas seems confused some times. Last night, he started with sleeping in his own bed. Then, he went to sleep grandma. But this morning, Dad found he in Mom's bed!

Getting Ready to Be a Big Brother

As it gets closer for Meimei to come out, Nick is getting ready too:

"I will share my toy with Meimei"

"I will not time out Meimei" (!!!!")

He even drew a picture of Meimei's crib!

Yes, We CAN SWIM~~~

Last night, Nick impressed Mommy and Daddy big time. FINALLY, I say FINALLY, Nick found out that putting his head under the water is not that scary, and as a matter of fact, piece of cake. Or, I shall say, it is fun to do so. :) Mommy is so proud of Nick and herself. She knows her son can do it and insisted to have him enrolled in the swimming classes for two consecutive days. She knows that her son just needs some time to warm up and figure out his way. NOW, HE DID~~~~

What a difference a few 包子 make

Nicholas has not been a good eater, until today, that is. Mom made 胡萝卜馅包子 for dinner tonight, and everyone loved it. Being an experienced food critic, Nicholas finished his plate -- 3 specially made 包子, in no time. And guess what, before Mom and Dad even had a chance to praise him, Nicholas picked up a fourth one, and a big one!

"Nick, are you going to 肚肚疼?" Dad asked, quoting Nicholas favorite line for refusing food.

"I need to eat a lot, so I can be as strong as you." So, there goes the fourth 包子.

BTW, according to Nick, Jake is still growing in his tommy, "only slow". In fact, he made a card at school the other day. It read "I love my mommy because she got me a dog named Jake"

Child-proof? Maybe. Nick-proof? No way

Trying to find his glasses is part of Dad's morning routing, except this morning when Dad's glasses really seem to have disappeared! So, Dad was looking in the basement, and Nicholas was banging the door -- "Let me in! Let me in!"

Suddenly, the noise stopped, then there was the cheerful Nick, "I am here!"

"How did you get here?" What happened to the child-proof basement door?

"Let me show you!" Nick said proudly, and turned the door nob with his little hands. "See?"

Dad was speechless... Sigh...

Picnic in the backyard

Nick always has great ideas, like last weekend, he insisted on having a picnic. So, we had a great lunch by the trees, right in our backyard!

Mommy, Mommy, you are the one...

That was Nick's mommy song, just in time for the Mother's Day :)

Of course Nick made a lot of presents for mom, like a plant, a hand-made card, a necklace. But the best part is Nick's singing, "You are my sunshire, the only sunshire...."

School Picnic

Nicholas had a school picnic today at the Lake Accotink Park today. We had a great time.

1. Nicholas enjoyed playing with his friends.
2. Dad did face painting for the first time, and he had a lot of satisfied customers. Up util the actual event, Mom had been so concerned about dad's ability to perform the task that she told Nicholas not to admit that was his dad - the lesson: never under-estimate dad's creativity! Samples of dad's work: hearts, super heros, flowers, elephants, butterflies, baby eagles, cats (big and small), snakes, spider webs, and abstract modern arts!
3. Mom had a conversation with Ms. Ellein, who had a lot good things to say about Nicholas: a leader (or as mom and dad call it, being bossy), always reminding his friends to wait for their turns or wash hands; a lady's boy -- "don't worry, mom, the only issue with his prom date would be deciding which girl to pick"; and a very sensitive child. The story goes like this: one day, Miss Ellein was just sitting there when Nicholas noticed.

"Are you sad, Miss Ellein?"
"No."
"I know, I know. Come here, let me give you a kiss."
"????"
"Feeling better now?"
"!!!"

Getting dressed by himself!

It finally happened this morning -- Dad is in tears....

Dad's Homework

Nick will have a school picnic this weekend, and everybody is so looking forward to it!

Today, Dad signed up for a helper task -- face painting. It sounds like a fun thing, and we also need helping hand points :)

Now, time to google - "how do do face painting"....

Bad Gene ----Allergy

Nick has been suffering from allergy these days...watering/swollen eyes especially.

Independent Nick?

We got Nick's 4 year old evaluation from school today. Overall, a typical four year old. But something the teacher wrote really caught mom and dad's eyes: "dresses and undresses by self ... very independent... loves to do by himself or be a teacher hepler"

Are we talking about the same Nick? hmmmm... I guess we need to have a serious conversation then....

Boy in love

Nick is still suffering from the allergy, but that is no match for the young love :)

This afternoon, Ms. Eillin, Nicholas' teacher, told Mom that Katty and Nick are back together again! :) And what a caring boy Nick is - during play time, Nick came to Katty and offered, "would you like anything to drink?"

Well, Dad actually got jealous -- "how come he never offered me anything to drink?" :(

Allergy strikes

Poor Nick has been suffering from allergy for a few days now -- puffy eyes, sneezing, and a lot complaints, "I feel sick...."

Let's see what the doc says...

Gift for Grandma

Mom and dad got a lot of yard work done yesterday, and Nicholas was such a big help -- he helped collecting the leaves and cleaning the driveway. What a great way to start the spring!

Nicholas was also a romantic boy. He picked up so many flowers and had a great idea: why not give them to Grandma? As Nick said, "Grandma is a girl", and "girls like flowers" :) That was exactly what Nick did when Dad and Nick went to see Grandma later that day. Nick even had special container: his sand basket! Of course Grandma loved it!

Following up is important -- of course we know that too. So, Nicholas insisted on calling Grandma this evening, just to make sure, "奶奶，are you smelling the flowers?"

Happy Birthday, Nicholas!

Nicholas turned 4 last week. To celebrate, mom, dad, and Nicholas took a trip to Atlantis in Bahamas, where Nick played with a dolphin named "Brewer". Nick played ball with him, and even fed him fish snacks!

BTW, Nick has a new girlfriend again -- Jillian this time... Sigh...

2 Girlfriends at 4 years old?!

Yesterday, Mommy took Nicholas to "Volcano" for dinner. Nick loves this place and his favorite is ---- Green Tea Icecream...:) Usually, there is a little and pretty umbrella on top of the icecream.

During the dinner, Nick told Mom : "Mom, I wanna give Jackie this umbrella. She is going to love it". "oh, ok. who is Jackie? Nick". "my girlfriend." "huh, your girlfriend? I thought Kitty is your friend?" "no, it is Jackie now". "oh, how about Kitty then". "don't worry, she will be my girlfriend next week".....Mom was astonished....."Wait a minute, what do you mean, Nicholas, you can't do that...two girlfriends?!"

It just seemed that people around the table all heard this little conversation. One lady with a smile just asked " Sorry, but can I ask how old is your son" "Sure, he will be 4 next week" "Wow...4 years old, two girlfriends already?!"- the guy sit next to the lady..."hehe...hmm.." Mom did not know how to reply. *_*

Nick's Art Work

Nick brought home a lovely art work from school today: "my mommy and daddy loveto hear me play the piano" -- so cute :)

Also, he had a science class at daycare today. The subject: friction generates electricity! During the class, the teacher showed the children how a simple act of combing the hairs generated enough electricity to attract tiny pieces of paper. Wow!

It's official, you got a sister!

Mom had a ultrasound yesterday and it is confirmed: the little sister is coming!

Nick is actually well prepared, as mom and dad have been explaining to him what is happening. Except for the occasionally pregnancy symptom he exihbits himself -- "I've got a doggie in my tommy, and his name is Jake (ask the Bunny the dinaso for details, please) " -- he actual understands the whole thing quite well. For example, every time Mom goes to see her doctor, Nick would ask, "妹妹出来了？"

Snowed in, and a lesson on gambling

For the third day in a row, Nick is staying home because of the snow. (His daycare follows strictly the federal schedule for school closures). To entertain Nick has not been an easy task, but mom and dad are up to it! For example, Dad made snow men with Nick yesterday:

OK, these are miniature version of the snowmen :) But it was really too cold outside to make a snow man adult!

Today, Nick played Black Jack with mom and dad for the first time. Well, he did not take loosing a bet too well -- Nick burst into tears as the dealer (a.k.a. Dad) took away his chips! So I guess a career as a Casino dealer is out of the question for Nick :)

Let it snow!

Snow is one of Nick's favorites -- not only because it is fun to play with, but, when it snows, it is also Nick's turn to help cleaning up! And Nick loves driving his big trucks to help, like he is doing here...

So far we have had two big storm this winter. This one is already another record, and the snow is still falling!

Statement as of 10:02 AM EST on February 06, 2010
... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 10 PM EST thisevening... A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 10 PM EST this evening. * Precipitation type... moderate snow.* Accumulations... an additional 4 to 8 inches today with totalaccumulations of 24 to 30 inches... with locally higher amountsin portions of the Baltimore and Washington DC suburbs.* Timing... snow will continue through early this afternoon. Lightsnow will continue late this afternoon and will taper off by 8PM.* Visibilities... visibilities of one-half to occasionally one-quarter mile are expected.* Temperatures... temperatures will be in the mid to upper 20sthrough tonight.* Winds... becoming northeast 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Windspeeds will decrease through late this afternoon. Precautionary / preparedness actions... A Winter Storm Warning means significant amounts of snow areexpected or occurring. Strong winds are also possible... especially near the coastline.

Record Report
Statement as of 04:30 PM EST on February 05, 2010
... Record daily maximum snowfall set at Washington Dulles DC... a record snowfall of 3.4 inch(es) was set at Washington Dulles DC today. This breaks the old record of 1 set in 2001.

A great opportunity to practice his snow cleaning skills!

Home, Sweet Home

We got back from a weekend ski trip to the Canaan Valley today.

It was not a great vacation for Nick, as he was a bit sick, and while he wanted so much to learn skiing, the boots were too heavy for his little feet :( So, maybe we'll try this skiing thing a bit later....

But Nick did have a chance to show off his skating skills :)

补记: It is writing time

Nick is learning writing at school now. Last week, mom and dad found Nick's exercise paper with "S"s on it! Good job!

You got a lot of Stuff, Mom

Mom woke up today feeling better. So, she decided to cook a good breakfast - ham, fruit, eggs, cereal, cookie....So, little Nick came down and looked at the table, his lovely comments: Wow, you got a lof of stuff, Mom... Mom loves this comment. :)

都是鼹鼠闯的祸！

Nicholas enjoys reading. Some time ago, mom and dad bought some book from China for him and he loves them, especially this one: "小鼹鼠尿床"As the story goes, one night, the little moles drank lots of water, just to get a big accident. Well, little Nick loves to learn by examples -- he insisted on drinking a entire bottle of water last night.

"But Nick, remember what happened to 小鼹鼠？"
"I want to 尿床。a big one!" Nick argued with an evil smile of 3 and a half year old.

So, Dad watched hopelessly as Nick finished the entire bottle. And the story ended just as said in the book: Mom and Dad washed the sheets and cloth this morning... Sigh...

F is for 饭饭儿

One fun thing of growing up as a bi-lingual child is that you get to invent your own grammer, and Nicholas is born to be a little grammerian! So, here are some more proof:

• 水 too 大了
• I want 凉 milk

And his favorate:

• You need to 喂喂 me！

The Ice Experience

Two weeks ago, Dad took Nicholas to the Ice Experience at National Harbor. Both Dad and Nick loved it. Nick especially enjoyed the giant ice slides!



The Ice show crew was actually from Harbin, China, Dad's hometown, where people celerabate the long winter with spectacular ice sculptures. However, since the show was indoor, the scale is not even close to what Dad had experienced back home :( So, maybe Nick is ready for a trip to Harbin in the winter? :)

Hmmmm.... Because.....

Lately, Dad and Nicholas has been engaged in intensive neogatiations every night, after the books and before the bed time. At issue: whether Dad is going to stay in Nick's room. And Nicholas is very creative in coming up with good reasons for Dad to stay. For example,

- You need to stay because I gave you the small sticker. Small sticks mean stay with me.
- You read my book. [As a result, ] you are small now. [Therefore, ] you can not go back to your big bed. You need to stay.

He is getting really good at this!

Monster Era

Nick came to mom and dad's bed in the middle of the night last night again. Only this time, he was "scared". So, dad asked him this morning, "what were you scared of?"

"Monsters."

Sigh...