The Learning Curve

TJ is learning faster than I ever imagined he would. Just a few examples of his newfound vocabulary and interrogatives (!) in the last few days:

What you doing? (to everyone, all the time)

What you say?  (to Mom, who said the words "presents for TJ" in a phone conversation)

"I number one!" for toothbrushing, using the restroom, and just about everything you have to line up for in a house with three kids.

Why Jiejie 15 dollar? (upon hearing that a groupon-type offer would allow us to buy $30 worth of fabric for sewing class with a $15 voucher)

Why? (of course, and endlessly)

And each time that we are able to give him a considered answer, he learns more.

Short Takes

There's so much to say each day as TJ and the girls grow and the and we all entwine in new ways, but the reserves of time and energy are constantly in demand and sometimes sleep is the wiser choice and recording these moments gets put off for another day and another.

And so,
some comments from the peanut gallery.

Meimei, left,  told us this week that she was studying George Washington in preschool.
"What did you learn about George Washington?" I asked her.
"He's the one with the white hair," she said with undisguised pride.

TJ continues to surprise us. Here he is in his Shirt of 100 Eyeballs, made for the 100th day of school celebration. He refused to wear it, then relented but would not wear it with the long-sleeved shirt underneath. At last, he gave in. Sometimes with TJ it helps to be a clown; he is easily disarmed by his own laughter.
Tonight he said, "Daddy computer."

Then to clarify, he said, "Big." I took him to the desktop computer, knowing full well he could find it and log in himself. "Uh-uh," he says, shaking his head and thinking. "Big iPhone!"
"Oh," I said.  "Daddy's iPad?"
"iPad!" he said, thrilled to have gotten through. Pretty resourceful.

Jiejie is nearly 8 years old and changing fast. She's taking an advanced sewing class at the Y; she knits, with needles and with fingers; she watches out for her big brother and little sister, and she competes with them wholeheartedly. Like TJ, she has trouble putting things in perspective. What seems like a minor slight causes weeping, as intense a reaction as a major emotional wound. She dives into chapter books, but wants to be on my lap every time she stops moving. At her insistence, all three children imbibed in chocolate milk from baby bottles, just as Jiejie did when Meimei came home, a sort of planned regression she found comforting. They each were rocked and cuddled while they drank their milk. They kept it up for three days, and after that the bottles have been, for the most part, put away. But the baby in each of them is near the surface. Jiejie had a couple of whiny and weepy days, and a few hours after this photo was taken complained of a sore throat and headache and spiked a fever of 103.6. I held her in my arms most of the night and put cold cloths on her neck and forehead, and looking down at here, with her hair held back by the washcloth, I could see the long lashes, pouty lips and full cheeks of the beautiful baby who came home almost seven years ago.

TJ Does Nijinsky

TJ is flying along so fast his feet don't touch the ground. He is a busy, content little boy who sometimes gets so excited he cannot contain himself. If we don't witness some of his antics we may not hear about them because of the language barrier or because it's moreinteresting to play Spiderman video games or ride a tricycle around the house, so I should not have been surprised to hear this from his music teacher: 

"Perhaps T.J. does not yet have words to explain,
but he played the part of the clown, Petrushka!  He ...  seems to enjoy music class, and brings energy, delight,

and willingness to "Jump in" and experiment every time."

I wish I could have seen Stravinsky Day in music class! We really do see miracle a each day, or at least we hear about it.

Crunchy Living

Vegetables are not a big favorite with our kids, but the girls know they are required, and now TJ knows too. The other day at lunch the boy who has been know to run a mile to avoid a pea in his soup smilingly stuffed his mouth with the entire serving of baby carrots on his plate, then disappeared. He was back in moments with no sign of the carrots. "Good job, TJ!" I told him and dug out a quarter. "Please tell him that he can have this coin if he can bring back the carrots," I told Haley. She translated. They headed to the bathroom where TJ showed her where the carrots were buried. Silly rabbit!