Al's Nighttime Shenanigans

I am really pretty tired.  In no small part due to Mr. Al deciding to wake up at 3:30 am last night announcing his desire to be picked up and rocked back to sleep (and held that way, ideally forever, thankyouverymuch).  

Michael and I looked at each other in consternation.  We crept out of bed and stood outside the door.  I whispered urgently, "wait, don't go in!"  

Al cried louder.  

I went to check the monitor and said, "maybe you should go in!  He's standing up in his crib clinging desolately to the bars."  

Al cried louder. 

Michael said, "I'm going in!" 

I tried to go back to sleep.  All was quiet.  

At 4 a.m. on the dot, Al sobbed at the top of his lungs while Michael returned to bed in a defeated retreat.  He needed to sleep also.

Al's cries got louder. Al added wails of "Daddy! Daddy!" to devastating effect.  

Michael and I sighed in mutual horror.  I went to check the monitor twice.  Al renewed his efforts to wake up the entire house.

I said, "I'm going in!"

Michael said, "Don't go in! You have work!  This is a horrible idea!  He needs to cry it out! We can't afford to do this with twins!" and probably many other iterations to this effect. 

I vacillated, tossed and turned, tried to hold out for another 2 minutes and finally picked myself up and said grimly, "I can't leave him like this! I have to go in!"  I wasn't going to  be able to sleep anyway and the last thing I wanted was for all three kids to be awake and screaming.  Then we would REALLY have a problem on our hands. 

On the positive side, human experiences are really all about expectations.  When I slithered into the boys' room at 4:15 am, I was fully mentally prepared, knowing that I was up for the day and not going to get back to bed.  Al was going to want me to hold him forever, and it would require a miracle for Teo to not be awake after that caterwauling.  And knowing that before I went in made a lot of difference.

Because it turned out to be exactly how I imagined it. 

I was completely unsuccessful in getting Al to lie down in his crib - I started humming in the hopes that would calm him.  Nope.  It just had the effect of waking up Teo (if he wasn't awake already).  

Turns out, Teo was wide awake. He was wide awake but I barely knew it.  In fact he freaked me out in the dark because he was just sitting up in his bed so calmly, so quietly, waiting for me to deal with his loud and cantankerous brother.

It's like the boys can smell me, or have super sonar hearing - they both started crying, wanting to be held.  It is a pretty challenging feeling, in the wee hours of night, to face your utter inability to attend to more than one child at a time, because you simply do not have more than two arms, or more than one lap.  

I pulled Al out of the crib (already seeing how this whole plan was sliding away from me), and held him close, and he immediately snuggled into the crook of my neck.  For all that it's 4:30 am, and I know I'm about to have a very long day... is there anything better, more heartrending, and more touching, than the instant, innocent, willing and freely given trust of a baby or child?  

I turned on the shushing machine which settles Teo.  I cross my fingers hoping he would fall asleep (he didn't).  I continue to hold Al, who had a nice snooze in my arms.  As soon as I tried to put him back in his crib, he wakes up (doh).  

Finally I plopped Al in his crib, and went to hold Teo, who had been waiting so patiently for so long.  A good half hour commencing from 4:45 my morning was probably spent holding Teo while stroking and patting Al's back simultaneously, trying to keep them both calm and not crying, and me from sweating.

Al was so tired he was leaning his head against his crib, yawning, while refusing to sit.  But refuse to sit or lie down he persisted.

The peace, while a precarious one, did not last long.  Just before I gave up and called it (no sleep for anyone anymore!) at 5:30 am, the cutest and most adorable thing happened.  

Teo was outside Al's crib and the two of them start pawing (gently, for a change) at each other.  

Teo skimmed his hand down Al's head/body, poking his arms through the crib slats to try to tickle Al, and started cackling like crazy.  Al giggled back and said something akin to "goochie goochie goo" or made similar tickling sounds. 

The two were playing with each other and trying to tickle one another!  And they were nearly spasmic with laughter, cackling away hysterically and very loudly in unison.  It was so. freaking. adorable.  Almost cute enough to make the whole experience worth it.  Almost.  But probably not quite.

Happy Mid Autumn Festival!

I can't believe this year is more than three quarters of the way done.  I felt very strongly about celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival this year, which, as Michael will laughingly tell you, previously we barely celebrated it but this year I was somewhat fixated.  I think because it's a really important holiday in the Chinese lunar calendar, and the kids are getting old enough to take part and enjoy in this stuff.  Plus, having Covid around has made me realize how much I jump at the chance to participate in anything social or memorable or slightly different.  I went and got lanterns for everyone, made a whole fuss about allowing Lola to eat mooncakes (kid's got it good, immediately jumpstarted into the custard mooncakes from the Peninsula, rather than the old-timey traditional double egg yolk lotus paste stuff we were accustomed to as children).  Wednesday was the public holiday, but arguably Tuesday night is what it's all about.

On Tuesday evening, I took the kids to Frites, where we enjoyed a nice restaurant dinner before we walked over to Victoria Park. There was coloring, there was eating, there were lights, and there was general mischief.

I got the boys these amazing lanterns, which are light up plastic buses made by a very popular Hong Kong toy company here of local transportation vehicles, and they are just the best things ever.  The remote wands that come with them also play music and light up the vehicles perfectly.  I got Lola a bunny lantern because she told me she loves bunnies, and also because I figured she would get plenty of play out of her brothers' lanterns as well (though let the record show I was very ambivalent about this because I hate when girls get bunnies or dolls and boys get vehicles or aircraft).

However, I have to say, as beautiful as the photos and the lanterns were in the festival, it paled in comparison to when I went in years past (I think I last went like 5 years ago).   I am still grateful that they were doing it and that we had something to go see, despite the pain of getting the kids out late at night.  We bumped into our friends there and managed to get a few pictures together, which also made me happy.  Small blessings and pleasures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going back in time now, to recap the missing bits of September, I enjoyed a really amazing ladies hotpot/durian tasting dinner right before Mid-Autumn Festival, with my besties.  I am not a fan of durian (and after this experience continue to believe that I am not a durian fan - maybe some things just have to be ingrained in you during your formative childhood years) but the occasion was delightful, mainly because nowadays any opportunity I have to hang with friends and for our kids to play together is just brilliant. 

First, a money shot of the durians.  Four durians = 7kgs and man oh man if you could have had a whiff of the pungent smell that this carton brought out!!

We had an amazing spread for dinner.  I salivate looking at it now.

Hotpot forever.  It was a great party and I'm so happy it happened.

Here are some pictures from when the kids have gone on playdates, gone to the science museum, attended playgroup at home, gone to other friend's houses, played with much older or much younger siblings, and just generally enjoyed the close and wrapping up of summer.  The boys are so big now, I can't believe we are getting close to have two year old twins!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

The boys continue to attend Mandarin playgroup in the mornings, but now that Lola goes to school during the afternoon she is free to attend the playgroups with her brothers and it's quite sweet how much she has taken to doing this!  She loves teaching others and this completely allows her to do so, while feeling confident in her abilities.

 

Lola got to the go to Legoland a couple of weeks back where she met up with her friend.  The power of the Legos... I get it now.   The kids have been on some amazing playdates recently.  Here is Lola hand in hand with an older sister of her friend following a playdate at Maggie and Rose one Sunday morning.   Lola loves the older jie jie's.  Bless her heart, she told me recently she wished she had a younger sister.  I could only laugh and shake my head and say no more mei mei's.  She also in a hilarious moment somehow explained to us that she wished she didn't have two younger brothers because she "can't handle the two of them together!"  

  

The boys have also made friends with another boy who lives just down the block, so that has been really easy and nice.

 

Lola continues her her swimming lessons at the American Club, but that also continues to be a pretty relentless battle of trying to convince her to put her head under water.  So far, my best and most compelling argument seems to be that she needs to learn how to swim before she can go cage diving with sharks (yes, this is something she wants to do) - and she has not yet come up with a way to refute me on how she can do so without being able to swim.  But when the time comes to put her head in the water... nada.

While Lola is at the pool, the boys are playing in Eagles' Nest.  I've since braved going by myself with the boys to Eagles Nest on the weekend, and they are so well behaved and will wait for me and sit on the slides properly and not run around like crazy (though my fear isn't about my boys but rather the bigger kids who are hyper and excited and come barreling around the corners).  But still, it was enough to have me sweating profusely as I ran after each kid and crawled into tiny spaces and tried to keep them corralled together. 

                                         

And finally, the kids have also been to a lot of birthday parties, one of which had the most OTT cake I've ever witnessed, and that's including wedding cakes. It's been great seeing how Lola has become a lot less shy and is totally participating in all of the songs and dances and activities at the birthday events.  It's a far cry from her own party when she turned two!

September in Full Swing

The boys have become so active lately and are constantly surprising us with new words, phrases and cues they've learned or picked up.  Al and Teo both know the words to Twinkle Twinkle, and sing along (imperfectly, but it's perfect, if you know what I mean) and Teo has the added embellishment of his little hands opening and closing in accompaniment.  They also do this really adorable but awkward dance of sorts, clomping their feet around taking exaggerated steps while they sing.  Al can sing parts of his ABCs, and both of them count very well (probably in Chinese better than in English, but still quite good) except they both skip four.  As their teacher laughingly noted, they probably know the superstition around the number four in Chinese culture and don't want to deal with it!

The other day Teo kept insisting to me he wanted "da kai" while holding one of the dry erase markers by the board.  It took me a while to get that he was asking me to open the marker - there was nothing wrong with how he was saying it, in fact, the pronounciation was very clear and good - I just wasn't expecting it at all and it took me aback!  Teo also says "fei ji" (airplane) and "bird" every chance he gets - the kid sees every plane and bird in the sky!! Al is also very clear when he says "xie xie" and "please". 

They have settled very well into their routine of playgroup at Fairchild in the toddler transition class three times a week, MWF at 8:45 am, and then Mandarin playgroup at home two times a week, TTh at 9:30/10:30.  They are so playful and fun and such mischievous little boys.  They love to climb, and run around, and laugh and shriek.  They are truly so cute and darling.

The kids are playing better and better together, and often Lola will ask if her brothers can come along to something, or if they can accompany.  Of course, on the flip side of that is when Teo bites Lola (Twice now, ouch), Al pulls Lola's hair (once or twice), Al and Teo fight and bite (too many to count) or Lola snatches toys out of one of her brother's hands or fights with them over something.   There are also times when Lola relishes how much trouble her brothers are in and will ask with a nearly insatiable gleam in her eye if she can "lock them up" or "give them two minutes." Ah, my brilliant, bold and bloodthirsty daughter.

 

Someone at work commented in passing that I seemed to have taken so well to motherhood, and to enjoy my children so much.  And you know, I can't say that I love all the moments - it has certainly made my marriage harder, and invited me to look into dark recesses of my own childhood and personal shortcomings which would have otherwise stayed safely tucked away - I will unreservedly and without a doubt say that motherhood has been such an unexpected blessing and has at times stopped me in my tracks with the force, pleasure and pain of the entirety of the experience.  Is there anything more fulfilling, frustrating, exasperating, tiresome and rewarding? 

We are as busy as usual and yet again I don't know how my life is passing at such warp speed.  But at least the kids are cute.  Here are endless pictures.