Happy Weekend!

We had a lovely weekend. The time is flying by so quickly and it's often hard to grasp how quickly the kids are growing up. I must say though, I am truly enjoying every second of it.  What an honor and privilege and responsibility it is to love these little ones.  I hope no matter what they do or don't remember from their childhood, they are left with an indelible sense of the love and delight that we all take in each other.

Saturday recap:

Lola and I worked on a school assignment to make a fruit platter.  She kept saying she didn't know who she would give it to, but then when it was done she promptly bequeathed it to me with a big teasing smile.  She had to write her remarks of gratitude in Chinese - what did she decide?  "Mom, thank you for earning money for us."  Well that is putting it rather baldly.  But I was very, very touched.

The boys built some really fun and colorful, creative Lego pieces.  We located tons of dismembered heads and various body parts and put them altogether. 

In the afternoon Lola and the boys got ready for her kuromi party, where she got to dress up and play with a couple of her school friends.  The boys decided to dress up like Romans.  Lola had been planning this party for ages and was super excited.  She really likes to perform and spends a lot of time thinking about how she wants things to go.  It can be a delicate balance because things easily go off plan, leading to searing disappointment - but over the years she has generally gotten better at handling these small setbacks.  The situation is still highly volatile sometimes and this party at one point was no different, but she can bounce back better.  I think Lola really has the ability and vision to be a director.  She loves recording on her ipad and, after learning a little about how movies are made, has been very focused on set design, direction and musical accompaniment.  One of the sweetest family playtime productions has been our performance troupe, where Lola and Al and Teo act out various roles that Lola has assigned them - and she "cues" me on piano with clicks of her tongue so I know when to play a quick musical riff, whether sad, happy, loud or soft, depending on what is happening in the play.  It is actually pretty sophisticated, if I say so myself!

After the party, the kids enjoyed a nice dinner at home and then movie night followed by bed.

Sunday recap:

The kids have been enjoying the first floor of our building more and more now, particularly during this period when the weather hasn't been too hot.  We have a bunch of cars down there, and a big open space for the kids to scooter, ride bikes, jump and run around.

We followed up the afternoon with a trip out to Stanley, where both Al and Teo got on a bike (without training wheels) for the first time, and both were pretty much off and pedaling quickly on their own on their first tries.  It was a huge moment in their childhood - they are really big kids now!  They still prefer their balance bikes for now - they are so comfortable on them they are speed demons and can run circles weaving around people and objects.  After Stanley, we headed to the American Club where we got to enjoy one of our last times in the (very dated, very old, and very much in need of repair) Eagle's Nest before it undergoes massive renovations for the next 3 months.

We enjoyed dinner al fresco next to another family friend and their young son.  We also bumped into and met one of Al and Teo's classmates - a very sweet and gentle boy!  After eating very well, the kids got to pick their dessert and they all opted for various forms of popsicles/ice cream.  Al enjoyed his so much he needed to close his eyes to savor it.  Dramatic much?? Cracked me up.  Then once home the kids all piled in the front seat and headed toward the garage with their dad.  They loved getting a whirl in the front!

Happy Birthday to Michael

Happy birthday to Michael!

Weather has been wretched all weekend, with today being really yucky, wet, and cold, but it didn't dampen the kids' love and enthusiasm for helping Michael celebrate his 45th birthday.

It was so sweet to watch how much care, thought and planning went into it from Lola, and also how excited the boys were counting down each day.  When I dropped them off at school on Friday, their teacher knew all about it already!  How precious are these little souls.

We planned a lunch of daddy's favorite,  pizza, then chocolate fudge cake (at the kids' request,  a cake with sprinkles and rainbow candy), then present opening, then "sports day" on the first floor.  The kids made a card using their hand prints, lots of stickers and hearts, and each presented their dad with a present: a fancy briefcase, a fancy mouse, and a silver chain. Lola also made a necklace full of pendants of our faces. Sports day was apparently super cool, with basketball, soccer, tennis, and what Lola enthusiastically described to me as scooter ball.  We then headed to the club where everyone got to eat a nice buffet and some dessert.  As a special treat we lined up our driver to come drive us so Michael didn't have to. That was all of today, Sunday.

The lead up to that was a lot of fun too. On Thursday, Lola had book character day, where she went to school dressed as a rainbow magic fairy.  We had to get creative with her costume, and at points we all had tempers and stress levels turned on high, especially in the morning when Lola was having meltdowns before going to school out of anxiety that her outfit wasn't perfect.  But it seemed all sorted once she got to school.  My handmade/hand painted fairy wings are now stuck on her bedroom door, which I count as a win.  

On Friday, given my parent's encouragement to memorialize these things as they are fleeting, I stopped to take a picture of me dropping the boys at school.  It's a morning ritual I have really come to embrace, sleep deprivation notwithstanding.  It is just the biggest tidal wave of love when they both try to sit on me and take alternate turns smothering me in kisses as they say goodbye. Sometimes it is very European, with not two but three cheek kisses, and sometimes with a very resounding smack on the lips also.  Lola's farewells take place first and she is already way too cool to even look at me, running away quickly as soon as she spots a friend (of which there are many).  I thoroughly enjoy messing with her staid school's parent drop off though, by always shouting out her name as she is about to get on the lift.  (I see the small smile tug at her lips as she puts her head down and steadfastly ignores me. Oh, I see you girl!)

Saturday was also a good day, as Lola and I started our morning trying a kids aerial yoga class at our friend's studio nearby.  Lola had an amazing time and immediately asked me if and when we could do it again.  The exercises are all really good for her core and upper arm and back strength as well as flexibility and confidence, so I am all about it.  

The studio was beautiful with big windows, tons of plants, and very, very high ceilings.  The instructor was also incredible with the kids. It was a no brainer to commit. Lola said she loved the hammock the best, and will start these classes after Easter break.

Then in the afternoon we had a huge birthday party at AMC, hosted by one of our friends who always brings the A game - think face painters, magician, all the food and drinks, plus the AMC eighth floor with its fire truck, train, police car, excavator, kitchen, super market... to name just a few of their favorites.  The kids finished off at home with movie night in their pajamas before bed.

And finally, here are a bunch of pictures of the three of them learning and cooking and playing with their Chinese nanny on Sunday morning - wet, cold and rainy outdoors, but warm, bright and happy indoors.

Lola's First Tooth

It is a very sweet and sentimental moment!  My little girl is growing up.  Lola just lost her first baby tooth this evening. 

It has been wobbly for a while and we discovered she had an adult tooth popping up behind her baby tooth last month when we were headed to Taiwan.  Her dentist suggested she practice wriggling it every day to try to get it loose, so that she wouldn't have to have an extraction done with anesthesia.

I special ordered gold fairy coins from Taobao that every one has been going on about, but while I wait for it to arrive I made a little colorful letter and scroll, which is awaiting her when she wakes up in the morning!