Thursday, April 29, 2021

One More Update for April

 This is the most I've managed to post in a while!  I am falling way behind on the pictures and updates of the kids.  I think I have to stop saving up all the details for a proper mega post and just get on here and tap away some shorthand notes and random pictures here and there.  That's why this post, instead of trying to cover all of the pictures from April 5 (yes...) will only cover the past week or so.

The kids are growing so fast.  Al and Teo are now 16 months (just turned yesterday)!

Lola looks like a BIG kid now.  Here she is in her winter uniform for KCS, which I am somewhat delighted and depressed to announce, she has managed to wear once.  Delighted because at least we got one time, and depressed because we only got one time...


The boys are eating really well, and by that I mean they're getting better and better at eating by themselves.  Teo is still quite reluctant about this, but he can be convinced in the appropriate situation (i.e., when it's not particularly smushy or wet, or slimy, or when it's something he really likes to eat, like grapes or strawberries or pizza or chips).  Al is light years ahead in that he's scooping up food with his spoon, and pretty darn good at it (i.e., only 50% of the food gets lost, 50% of the time).


Al also LOVES "working". He loves, loves loves tapping away at my laptop.  It's so funny, it's like he has a little chip or sensor in his brain, as soon as he sees my laptop he makes a beeline for me and starts emitting alarm-like sounds that loosely translate (in my mind) to "MUST. GET. LAPTOP. MUST. TOUCH. KEYS.  PICK ME UP MOMMY, NOWWWWW."  Incidentally, in what might be one of my favorite parenting moments (and there are many), Al calls me "money."  How great is that?!  He shouts "Money!" at the time of his lungs whenever he sees me, and comes over immediately to give me the tightest and closest of hugs.  This guy is such a sweetheart.  As you may know from my previous posts, Al is always trying to butt in or participate on whatever others are working on.
Teo is less interested in the laptop, but he loves the TV.  Teo is super good at taking direction and you should see him signing along with Wheels on the Bus, or throwing down on the dough when he's at playgroup.  This guy observes, concentrates, and immediately picks up how to do things.  Here at Highgate, he sat and played with these spools of yarn and felt and cloth for nearly 10 minutes, super contentedly, and happily, without any input or interruptions from others.  Teo really prefers to play independently and explore on his own, except he is still getting confident on walking on his own so he really wants to hold hands when walking, and I find it's one of the most endearing things when he reaches out and wants you to walk with him.  He's getting confident and fast now though, so maybe those days are limited.  Ahhh, parenthood.  The days are so long but the years are so short.  I really can't believe the boys are 16 months.  Soon I will have 1.5 year old twins!!
Lola has started swim lessons with Harry Wright.  I would love to say that we have her at the American Club, considering how much money we shelled out just to have a membership, but because we need flexibility and that means somewhere close to our apartment as well as somewhere that will allow other adults to be in the pool with her, the job falls on... surprise, surprise! Me.  We went to her first lesson at 8:20 am last Sunday and it was great. Her coach is so nice.  They group kids by the same age and same ability so it's all a very even playing field.  She was inquisitive, brave, and followed instructions well.  I had to wear a face shield but it was okay.  I'm really heartened by how well the first class went.  In true Lola fashion though, she told me we didn't need to go anymore because she has already learned how to swim.

We started to do some really great playgroup sessions with the kids and parents from Al and Teo's Highgate group, and I can't stress enough how great this has been.  We all live in different parts of Hong Kong and our apartments are all different, which I also love, but what we all have in common is a very toy- and kid-centric environment.  It's been the best way to give the kids new opportunities to try and see new environments, play with peers, and frankly, to enjoy cool toys without buying more things!
It's been a really cold spring for Hong Kong, and lately it's been a bit drizzly and wet.  Lola loves it however, and we went out this morning to jump in puddles. 
I love this picture, taken just this morning, because in our entire apartment the kids decided they all needed to squeeze into this tiny corner in Lola's room, wedged between the bed and the windowsill.  I missed the shot that I really wanted, which is when Teo was on the windowsill and the three of them were all lined up in a row.  All in a row!  Not fighting!  Playing side by side!  It was really great.
At one point Lola got bored and the boys played/drew side by side.  A moment of peace that is still noteworthy.
It's become a ritual/routine for us all to sit in the living room and watch The Wheels on the Bus and Twinkle Twinkle after dinner as a family.  The boys are engrossed and enamored and just... love it.  Then they go to bed (Lola probably relishes that they get dismissed and she gets to stay) and Lola gets to watch two more videos, usually 2 French, but sometimes 1 English and 1 French or 1 Chinese and 1 French.  It's her choice.  Incidentally, this a fantastic (the only possible?) time to get some good pictures of the kids.



And that's a wrap!  

Friday, April 23, 2021

I Miss Blogging! and Some Fun Updates of Al and Teo, who are Changing So Much Every Day

 I miss blogging.  I miss those years (years ago!) when I would blog nearly every day, or every couple of days.  To have that time, and energy, and interest, and enthusiasm!  Now I am lucky if I remember to pay rent on time, and actually just this morning I was appalled that somehow it was time to do taxes again.  How has it been a year already since we waded through our mess of credit card bills and receipts and tried valiantly to get our taxes submitted on time, while promising to do better for next year?  And now it's next year and there is no improvement, not as far as these eyes can see.

Full disclosure, I'm on here at 11:20 and I know I should be sleeping but I poured myself a glass of wine and I'm working my way through that while I swim (slog?) valiantly through my Thursday evening knowing the weekend is around the corner.  I'm also so (like way too) hyped up on adrenaline after having just done a live webinar at 9 pm at night from my office.  

 Like Lola said to me on Tuesday, "it will be Wednesday tomorrow, and then Thursday, and then it will soon be SATURDAY!"  She too knows the power of the weekend, except on Saturdays all she wants to do is go to my office with me (insert a you-know-what emoji face here, except it is so cute that she wants to go to my place of work and make phone calls and type on my keyboard and be "very very busy," so actually, insert conflicting emoji face here).

I have a full day tomorrow (when do I not anymore?) but I am scheduling a happy hour in with some good friends.  I also splurged on a pair of ridiiiiiculously overpriced shoes in a fit of retail therapy.  Except I am still thinking about it.  Do I keep them, or not?

And also because the kids are so cute, and changing so much every day, that I cannot in good conscience let another day go by without posting some pictures of them.  Al and Teo are walking now - Al walking so so well, and Teo almost there and getting stronger and steadier by the day.  Honestly, it cannot get any cuter than Al chasing a ball or balloon in circles, shrieking happily as he bends down repeatedly, picks up his ball and throws it, in an endless and tireless iteration of fetch.  Teo almost always doesn't walk anywhere without someone holding his hand.

 First - a random picture of a full fruit bowl, which brings me immense happiness.  We chow down on fruit in this household and we can get through this entire bowl in less than a week, just among me and the kids.  

In early April the pool at the American Club opened and we went a few times.  The boys are off camera here unfortunately.
This is a classic pic of Al and Teo - playing together but apart.  I joke they're sometimes like magnets, where they don't want to be attracted to each other but then can't seem to help it and find themselves  drawn to each other again and again.
Teo is 1 cm taller than Al, and Al is about half a kilogram heavier than Teo.
Beaches also opened up early April, just in time for Easter.  We went to Repulse Bay beach over that long weekend.  I love this picture of Teo and Auntie Lyn.  He loves her so much. 

Here are the usual pictures of us at Maggie and Rose, except check out Teo, that nut!  He loves water and he kept sticking his tongue out to drink the water from the sprinklers.  I couldn't stop myself from laughing hysterically. This guy is adorable.
A close up.

All fun and games.
This picture though made me think Teo just likes sticking his tongue out for everything!
On another occasion, Lola got to drive a toy Tesla on the rooftop there!  So cool.

Look how happy these guys are!

Finally, I got the chance to celebrate a good friend's 40th birthday at the always delicious Arcane.  It's been a good April and I am grateful!

Friday, April 16, 2021

It is 9:42 PM

and I just looked at my watch and was shocked because I thought it was at least 11:30 pm.  It felt like that anyway.  

I went to bed last night at 2:30am, woke up at this morning at 6 am, worked on a document in the three hours between when the kids are at school or napping and when I had to go pick Lola up (because we're down a helper on Fridays and the boys have playgroup where they each need an adult accompaniment leaving me to pinch hit), had lunch with the kids and waited for Lola to nap so I could try to cram more work in before she woke up, except she didn't nap... doh.

And then I juggled three calls, tried to draft and send emails while in the car on my way to meet the kids, and then had a dinner playdate with friends and their kids, except Lola lost it on the way home because she was so overwrought and tired... and I struggled to put her to bed by 8:30 pm, trying to evince patience outwardly while inwardly panicking and groaning at the thought of the work that was still waiting for me to finish...

and was late to a video test call for my upcoming presentation, except the technical test didn't happen due to technical failures, and then I finished a mark up of a 60 paged agreement that I had to send out to the client, and oh yeah because something else blew up I have an urgent matter waiting for me first thing tomorrow morning.  

This was my Friday.  

It's still Friday?!  This day has been so long.  No wonder I am exhausted.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

The Boys Turn 15 Months, Lola is 3 Going on 33!

The kids, the kids the kids. That's almost all of what my posts are these days, hah.

 The kids are adorable, and spunky, and full of personality.  Strong, strong personalities... The boys turned 15 months last Sunday (wow) and are getting more active and rambunctious by the day. It's so rare and difficult to get a good picture of the kids - I was ecstatic that this happened a couple of weekends ago.


 

 

We went to a playdate mid-March where they had a blow up bouncy castle on the roof.  Clearly the kids were totally into it.

Al and Teo won't remember this period in their lives, but it's undeniable that they were born into an unprecedented time of disruption, challenge and uncertainty, and I can't help but wonder how much of an impact the pandemic will have on their life trajectories.  I'm not sure how much Lola will remember, but if I had to bet given her mental acuity, I would assume that some of this experience will remain with her.  As it is, so much of her vocabulary reflects her love of the macabre, with references to vaccinations, pandemics, viruses, quarantines and the like. I wonder how much of the pandemic has or is shaping her personality.

The boys were both diagnosed with an underbite relatively recently (this year), which caused me a lot of concern and anxiety and upset.  Due to some poorly conveyed words by one of their dentists, I felt very guilty and spent a lot of time thinking that their underbite was caused by our putting them into bouncers and feeding them their bottles that way.  I still don't feel remotely good about it, and while there was absolutely nothing we could have done to prevent it (the catch 22 being that you don't know it's an under bite until the teeth start coming in, and when the teeth have come in it's too late to do anything) it is what it is and there is nothing that can be done until they are at least three or four years old, it was something that just hit me like a ton of bricks.

Michael and I were talking about this the other night, and he was very worried about the effects of the pandemic on the kids.  I, on the other hand, am completely worried about how we will mess them up, despite our best efforts not to.

Al and Teo have both taken upwards of five or seven steps independently now, though still wobbly and uncertain.    They both can stand and squat unaided, and walk pretty comfortably and quickly while holding on to a wall/shelf or walker or if someone is giving them support either through a hand or a grip on the back of the shirt.  Al in particular is super proud of himself every time he wobbles up into a stand, or wobbles down into a squat.  His whole face splits into a wide grin and he wears a look of utter accomplishment.  Al favors the walker a bit more, pushing it about and only getting upset when he gets jammed up against a wall or a shelf (hasn't figured out turning yet).  Teo, on the other hand, much prefers walking with someone holding both his hands, and is a speed demon when he's aided.  He is much more reluctant to go it on his own, though, probably because he can move so quickly when someone is holding him.  Teo also loves, loves loves steps. 

Generally, Teo moves incredibly fast, and is impulsive.  He throws himself down slides, rolls and thrashes around while shrieking enthusiastically, jumps up and down frenetically, crawls at lightning speed, eats by shoving huge bites of food into his mouth.  As a result, Teo has a bunch of bumps and bruises and scratches (including when he slammed the door of the toy kitchen he was playing in onto his own finger), and nowadays scarcely does a day go by without some report of an accident, while Al, the more cautious one, tends to be more scar-free.  Unfortunately, Teo is also way more sensitive to mosquito bites and has more reactive skin, so he, poor guy, often looks the worse for the wear.  Last week it was three big red itchy bites on his forehead, followed by, of all things, hives.  

You really just have to show Teo or Al how to do things one or two times and they get it.  They know how to turn on the light on their sister's legos, how to hit the doorbell, how the light switches turn the lights on and off, how to scooter (seated), you get the idea.

Al loves the balcony garden and will clamor at any chance to be out there.  You can't slide the balcony door open around Al without him going nuts trying to get out there.  And he sometimes will go right up to the crack and pound on the door, shouting to be let out.  The big guy loves just sitting out there, touching the various leaves and flowers and poking around.  Speaking of big, Al is insanely strong.  We can't get over how strong he is - he has a grip that crushes and won't let go.  It's so hard to wrest something out of his hands!  This has caused a lot of issues among the other two kids because neither Lola nor Teo can stand up to him.  And of our three kids, Al is the one who most loves to mosey over and jump into the middle of whatever it is the others are doing, causing untold disruption to others but totally being indifferent about it.  Previously Al was just super sweet and didn't fight or attack, but he's since picked up some bad habits and in recent days has shown signs of steamrolling his siblings to get what he wants. He has started showing signs of biting also!

Al loves shouting "Daddy!" very enthusiastically and clearly whenever Michael shows up.  Al doesn't say much, but he is very clear with the few words he does use.  He just started saying "ayi" last week, the Chinese word for "aunt".  One of the maintenance women in our buildings loves the twins and words may fail to adequately capture how utterly delighted she was when he shouted "ayi" upon seeing her.  

Teo, on the other hand, doesn't really say any words particularly clearly, although he can say daddy and mommy and dog, but he has a stream of conscious gurgle that is very impressive for its sheer creativity.  He can chatter non-stop for 20-30 seconds at a time.  Teo is, for being as active and impulsive as he is, often a much quieter baby.  He is very happy to roll around in his crib with all of his stuffed animals, and he clearly enjoys quiet time after his nap or in the morning when he has just woken up.   He used to be even more calm and quiet (there are so many pictures of him just staring at the camera with his eyes huge and wide) but now he does know to complain and scream to get attention or get his way.  He has grown quite attached to George, his soft toy monkey, and will go pick up the monkey and hold him tight when you ask him "where's George?"

Teo knows to reach his hands out and cup them upwards when you say "catch," and he does the most adorable (and perfect) Wheels on the Bus wheel roll (his little arms roll together perfectly!) and windshield wipers.  After only a couple of times he does a really good Itsy Bitsy Spider, and he can open and close his fingers really adroitly to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  He knows how to wash his hands, immediately rubbing them when his hands are getting washed, and he is finally picking up where his eyes and nose are. 

This is when we went to Maggie and Rose Repulse Bay.  The boys love the train tracks there.  Lola loves the rocking horses.





Lola is just beyond in every way, and rarely does a day pass that we don't marvel at how brilliant and clever she is.  She seriously can outnegotiate us.  I've never been good arguing on my feet anyway, but she can really out-think all of us adults.  It's remarkable.  All of her expressions are also always spot on - she always knows to say exactly the right thing, or use the right phrase at the right time.   And how about the fact that she has a spot-on imitation of every single person's accent?  American English,  English with a Filipinese accent, English with an Indonesian accent, Mandarin and, lately, Mandarin with an Indonesian accent as well!  She continues to love French and is showing interest in Cantonese.  And she can switch between each of them depending on her audience!  This girl.

 
We got a family museum pass because it's basically worth it after two trips.  Lola probably likes the history museum best, followed by the science museum.
 

Here she is doing her Zoom class very diligently.  The Education Bureau just announced that the kids are going back to school full time after Easter.
      
I got my vaccine on the 23rd, at the Ap Lei Chau center. It was pretty empty there, as you can see.  The process was pretty orderly overall.  I am and was and continue to be so grateful to modern science.  If you had told me a year ago that we would be getting vaccinated for Covid before the end of first quarter 2021, I would have laughed in your face, so impossible and far-fetched did that sound.
I try to go out for some walks from time to time, but otherwise my exercise regime remains woefully inadequate.  I can't really do yoga, running, or anything that strains my core, which is pretty much everything because the core is... well, your core.  As you can see, while I am heavier than I should be (I blame the multiple full milk lattes, glasses of wine and lack of exercise) everything has pretty much shrunk down except for my belly, which I now hide behind high waisted leggings and loose tunics and tank tops.  I went to see a surgeon about my diastasis but it's a pretty major surgery that requires a lot of recuperation, time, energy... as well as a good two months of not picking up my kids.  So it probably isn't the right time for me to do anything about it, even if I were so inclined.  It definitely wouldn't be for aesthetic reasons, as my body scars so poorly that I am not sure it's worth the trade off for an even larger, angrier, redder, and bumpier scar across my lower half.  We shall see.  For now I am trying to be careful of using my abs poorly in case I cause a serious issue, and otherwise just biding my time.  While that is frustrating, it does tie in to the whole theme of the pandemic, which is essentially one of watching and waiting.