JJ

Letter to Tooh Fairy

2011-11-27T09:46:00.001-08:00

Window of opportunity

2011-11-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

Chatting w/ Noriko in the kitchen. Noriko said - JJ and I had an interesting conversation a few days ago.

It goes like this:

Noriko - We live in stevenson ranch. its nice so a lot of people like to live here.
JJ - Was our house expensive?
N - No, it was cheap
JJ - So, not too many people wanted it, right?
JJ - You know, if a lot of people had wanted it, it would have been expensive (explaining to his mom in a professorial kinda way).
JJ- This is called the "Window of Opportunity" !

So, back to the kitchen, Noriko asked - Did you talk to JJ about that?
My reply - Yes, a few times. This is parental satisfaction in the best possible way!!!

Nov 6th dual recital in Burbank

2011-11-09T21:06:00.000-08:00

It's Nov recital again @ Brand Library in Burbank. THis year, JJ did two instruments - German Dance (Piano) and Staccato March (Violin).
According to JJ, he was a little nervous but he did great. Unlike previous recitals at Brand where minor mistakes were made, he did not make any mistakes at all this time. Fantastic job!

JJ was pleased that he was the only kid who did 2 instruments. There were some pretty impressive violinists too. One kid around 10 or so (Jondre Hwang) played a long and tough piece. Lots of great techniques. Very impressive. He was JJ's favorite!

Why does she love you?

2011-11-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

Olivia (Pinecrest 1st grade classmate) said to Jay " I like you but I don't love you. Why does Ashley (another clasmate) love you?
JJ replied - I don't know. Why do you ask Ashley?
Christopher Kim (another classmate standing next to JJ) immmediately started making fun of JJ.

First tournamnet

2011-11-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

JJ had his first TKD tournament at his school (ATA in Stevenson Ranch) last Fri. He did his form really well and was tied for 3rd place in the first round. They had a runoff and he lost so he was fourth in a group of 7 kids. The girl who won during the runoff (chosen by majority of 3 judges) did just half the form ( up to knive hand strike of the blue belt form).Not sure why she was able to get away with it. ACcording to official ATA rules, she should have gotten the lowest score of 9.0. Oh well.

in sparring, JJ went up against Mako(a red belt tournamant kid with many tournament wins under his belt) and got shut out (0-5). Mako was good and Jay did his best. No complaints. Mako also shut out Marcus (another brown belt). This kid was good and had had lots of training. Well deserved and easy victory for Mako.

I was very pround of JJ's performance even though he did not place. As I had told him before the event - Doesn't matter if you win or not as long as you did your best. The best he did. The most important thing is that he wants to go to more tournaments because had a good time. I was impressed by his strength in handling disappointment. I wish I could be as strong.

As for the issue with the 3rd place kid for Form competition, I decided not to push it since JJ did not seem to be affected by it too much even though he was disappointed.

All in all, a good experience for JJ!

An older woman ???

2011-11-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Picked up JJ from school. Talking on our way back home. JJ said - A lot of people love me at school. I don't know what to do. A girl from 3rd grade said she loved me today.
Dad asked - who was that girl?
JJ replied - I don't know her but she is the sister of one of the girls in my first grade class

When JJ sees people kiss, his thing reacts!!!

2011-09-04T00:54:00.001-07:00

We were having dinner tonight. He asked me why people kiss on the lips. Answer - when two people love each other, they kiss on the lips to show their affection.

Then, JJ dropped the bombshell!

He said - when I watch people kiss on the lips (like on TV), my wenis (wennie/pennis) gets bigger!! OMG, is this for real? He assured me that he wasn't not kidding.

Gee, he's only 6!

Our 6 yr old swimmer

2011-09-04T00:48:00.001-07:00

JJ started swim lessons during summer camp at Pinecrest. Took about 3 wks of lessons. Got to a point where he could swim free style for about 7-8 meters. He became quite comfy in water and could dive around and played under water.

Went to Niigata for our summer vac. JJ went to nearby (3 min walk from grandma's) swim school for a week. The teacher (Kato sensei) was wonderful but quite cute!
Anyway, they were great. At the end of the week, they had a test on Fri. JJ swam non-stop for 20meters! WOw, that's amazing. Surpassed my expectation by almost 10 meters! I was beyond proud!

Next step back in US is to keep his swimming consistent. He couldn't do 20M in the pacific palisades pool when we first got back. Been going everyday. He can now do about 13m nonstop after 5 days. He loves to swim which is great.
Pincrest lost Coach Fasma and hence the swim program for PE is gone too. Too bad. Trying to see how we can get him some swim lessons now.

6 yr old son's regular entree at restaurant

2011-07-25T22:30:00.001-07:00

On our way to the airport. For some reasons, the topic of restaurant came up. JJ said from the back " It's not the restaurant that I have my regular puffed fish (fugu) with the spikes". "What!!" said the parents.
JJ - oh, I was just kidding.
But, where did you get that puffed fish thing, man???

Student of the Year

2011-06-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Mum and dad attended the award ceremony on the 2nd last day of school for the year. Everyone got an award and JJ was the last one called. Guess they saved the best for last for it was the "student of the year' award. Wow, what a day!
He had received 2 "student of the quarter" awards and other subject awards. Always got great feedback from all the teachers.

He has really blossomed and became more participative in class discussions. He is an amazing kid. Every where he goes, he does well.

Piano teacher loves him, Taekwondo instructors complements him, Japanese teacher praises and of course his Pinecrest teachers. Man, I truly feel I am the luckiest dad on earth!!!

THANK YOU, JJ!!!

Destiny

2011-06-21T22:35:00.001-07:00

JJ woke up last Fri -the first day of his summer vacation and said "I don't like going to school for a long time but it's my destiny".

Where did u learn about destiny? dad asked. "Karate Kid" was the reply. He wasn't dsure about the meaning of destiny but somehow it was used correctly contextually.

sushiya must speak japanese

2011-01-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

jj really wanted to eat sushi tonight. Went to Studio city but quite a few sushiyas were closed on sun. Can we go to one that is not run by japanese? to which he replied - >"a japanese restaurant that doesn't speak japanese is kind of weird"
Oh well!

Finding the next school

2010-12-20T02:07:00.000-08:00

JJ's Taekwondo school just closed for good due to economic reasons. There's one within walking distance to our house. One of his classmates is transferring over so we'll give it a try. JJ did a great job in his last belt test. Great form, good kicks, lively sparring and strong and confident board breaks with axe kicks. Quite impressive if not entertaining. So much fun watching two five year olds kicking and sparring up a storm.

JJ's Japanese school X'mas show

2010-12-20T02:03:00.001-08:00

The small kids did some fun Japanese dances. Very cool. Then, when it came to the "big" kids. One class (probably in their early teens) did "Kanji research" and the oldest group of kids did "Japanese food culture". Formal presentations with slide shows. They were lectures! There's no stopping Japanese education. Even at the X'mas party!

Electricity

2010-12-05T00:41:00.000-08:00

JJ has a fascination of electricity. May be it's because his old man is an electronic engineer ...
Anyway, we were heading over to grandma's place in hollywood. JJ noticed that there weren't any overhead electric cables like we do in our neighborhood (i.e. suburb). after some explanation, JJ got to the core question and asked daddy " how do you make electricity?'' Ok, daddy was driving and was trying to sort out how best to explain electricity generation to a 5 yr old. Before I could get to some kind of a explanation, JJ blurted out "do u use water?". Man, how did he jump to hydro electric so quickly.. Anyway, daddy had to explain to him later when we got home.
We got home, daddy forgot to do that and JJ did too. We'll have to revisit this soon. May be a science kit w/a dynamo for xmas ...

when u beome a child again

2010-12-05T00:39:00.000-08:00

JJ loved his Pinecrest sweater and wore it everywhere. One morning, he seriously looked at daddy and said " when you become a kid again, go to Pinecrest in America and get the sweater, it's really warm".
Good advice, JJ. daddy will it in mind ...

Destroyed?

2010-10-27T23:52:00.000-07:00

Daddy helped JJ practise sight words - single commonly words for kindergartner
Daddy and JJ took turns making sentences out of sight words

Word - Are
Daddy - Some simple lame sentence
JJ - "Are we destroyed?"
Daddy - Speechless ...

JJ said that he just wanted to be funny.

Daddy's birthday today

2010-10-09T23:52:00.000-07:00

JJ and mummy bought a new halloween costume for daddy's b-day. Went to SR's Woodranch bbq for the first time for b-day dinner. Had bbq half chick, baby back ribs and pulled pork. Quite a lovely place and reasonable price for family dinning.
After a great dinner. Went back to put on my red "mayhem" bad guy costume. Red and gray. Face mask shows eyes and ears only. JJ couldn't help giggling at it.
JJ put on his bakugan Dan's costume which was also read. Had a big brawl w/Mayhem.
Good fun!
JJ's looking forward to his good friend (pinecrest's classmate), Joshua's b-day party tomorrow at chuckle cheese.

The Principal's office please

2010-09-29T23:09:00.000-07:00

JJ said " My friend, Brennan, got called to the Principal's office"
Daddy " Why?"
JJ - He said to a first grader (they were kindegarteners) "Nice butt"
Daddy - Oh, i see. you know it's impolite to say that, right?
JJ - Yes, i know.

JJ's first Nintendo DS

2010-09-25T00:44:00.000-07:00

JJ had been asking for a DS for over 2 years. He was told that he would need to write a letter to Santa for it.

Today, mum got an used DS from a colleague and had been hiding it in her luggage. She did not hide it well in her luggage so JJ discovered it as he rummaged thru mummy's stuff for omiyage.

When JJ took it out, mummy said it actually belonged to mummy as part of the "damage control". JJ said ok, i understand. As mummy put it back into the bag, JJ went up to 2/f to make his own paper DS and said this is my DS (This is what JJ had been doing for as long as he started wanting one - a self made paper version with lots of imagination...)

As he was playing his paper DS, he ended up in a dark corner and started to weep intensely. Very miserable and helpless. Mummy softened up and relented to his quest.
Mummy said " this is for JJ and mummy". JJ was overjoyed and replied "Yes, this is for nihongin only" and happily walked off with the real DS and having a hell of a good time.

This was how our JJ got his first DS!!!

Violin or not

2010-09-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

JJ's piano teacher (a violinist from Russia- Karin) informed mummy that JJ's ready for violin. Mummy would like to wait because she felt that it would be important for her to be able to play as well to help JJ practise.
Daddy informed Karin of mummy's intention. Teacher looked disappointed. She's into getting JJ started soon. JJ can read music, handle rhythm, kid's a sponge,...
Conclusion - have JJ perform at his first piano recital in Nov that move on to violin afterwards. Mummy wants JJ to progress further with both hands playing. OK!

Girls getting boys at Kindergarten

2010-09-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Picked up JJ at school and went shopping at Walmart.
Walking around at W and JJ said " Ashley asked me on my shoulder today"
Daddy - Why?
JJ - They are trying to get boys
Daddy - Oh, really. Did she get you?
JJ - No, I am with Shannon!
Gee, what's up with this kindergarteners!

日本語学校第一年の成績

2010-09-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

慈英、
頑張ってくれて，ありがとう。素晴らしい！
ＤａＤａ　＆ＭａＭａ

Sukebe hanashi suki

2010-08-20T00:20:00.001-07:00

Family vacation in Niigata Aug 2010
Daddy took JJ to mum's jikka first. Mum came later due to work.
Daddy went down Tokyo for a few days after mum got there. Mum spent time with JJ and cousin Takun.
One night, 3 of them about to sleep in downstairs 和室.

Someone told JJ that Takun's mum's coming to Niigata.
JJ asked - Takun no ままのおっぱい大きい？
Takun - Nande soiu hanashi?
JJ - スケベの話好きだから!

Frustrated friend from Sunshine

2010-07-17T09:49:00.001-07:00

JJ told Daddy that his good friend, Kevin, had said to him that JJ was not a cool guy anymore. JJ was ok with it because he stil had his "cool guy's uniform and belt", which was, at the moment of our conversation, did not really exist. Good imaginative power for positive thinking, I suppose.

Daddy asked why Kevin would say that to him. To which he replied - "He is frustrated with Ryan (Kevin's older brother") at home"

How JJ feels about his female friend

2010-07-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

JJ said to Daddy today - " I think Shannon whines too much"
Dadd asked - "Oh, what does she whine about?"
Reply - " I don't know. It's just her style!"

First piano lesson

2010-04-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today JJ had his first piano lesson w/Karin, russian trained teacher covering piano and violin.
We decided to switch from violin to piano for now to get him a good music foundation so it's easier for him to move over to violin when he turns 6 which according to Karin is the typical starting age.

Mum and I went w/him. The teacher thought 4 was probably a little to young but JJ was almost 5 so it's ok. Teacher seemed to love east asian students. may be they take it more seriously and practise more.

She tried rhythmic clapping with JJ who did ok not too great. JJ was still confusing left and right hands. She introduced the finger sequence (1st, 2nd, ...) and beat -duration of a note. Also, talked about right hand and left hand notes. Hah JJ draw some notes in a music workboard and play a few notes while counting beats.

JJ seemed to like it but we asked him.

Mum practised w/JJ after dinnner. He seems to be into it. Hope it lasts.

I like West Virginia

2010-04-04T21:23:00.001-07:00

April 3rd, 2010 - Duke vs West Virginia -Final 4 of NCCA Tourney
Watching w/JJ who said, " I like West Virginia". Daddy, a Duke fan of course, asked why? JJ's answer "I like their black shirt!". Go figure

JJ and basketball

2010-03-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

Duke made it to the Final 4 today!

JJ watched a little of the game and got bored. He wanted to play instead of watching it. Went to "W" to buy a basketball w/JJ. Man, it was cheap. $4 rubber ball made in Vietnam. Good enough for us.
Went to Richard Rioux park. Nice and new basketball court. Big guys playing half court and so we joined some kids on the other side. JJ tried but was really too small to get the ball close to the hoop. He seemed to enjoy himself nevertheless.

Good for him to get used to other players and be more alert around the court.
Threw him a ball which hit him in the face. Cried a little. No big deal. Good to have get used to this. He was ok and boucned right back.

He enjoyed watching big guys play. He enjoyed having others around on the court. When the other kids left. he wanted to go too. He said " It's no fun if there are no other kids". Also, he kept asked for a hoop for kids so we'll have to get one for him.

Great assessment - 95% percentile

2010-03-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

Had our annual parent teacher meeting yesterday with Ms Tina @ Sunshine Preschool. Topic - JJ's development assessment. Mummy is back in Japan visiting her 90 yr old grandma who is on the brink ...
Great report on JJ who has mastered all but one area - speech. His enunciation needs work but the rest looks great. According to Tina who has a long history of teaching this age group and has a frame of reference tied to Legacy Academy (a priviate school with high academic standards serving K thru 6), JJ is probably in the 95% percentile academically - way above average.

Wow, daddy almost cried! So very proud of JJ. What an amazing kid!
May be magnet school is a distinct possibility...

I am just a kid!

2010-03-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Daddy was trying to convince JJ to practise Taekwondo when JJ did not feel like doing so. Daddy said that getting to black belts would hard work and daily practice. JJ looked into daddy's eyes and in a sincere and serious tone said "But, I am just a KID!"

4yr old JJ at the bar

2010-03-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Met up with old friends for brunch at Hummus Bar and Grill in Tarzana last Sunday. Nice Israeli place famous for it's hummus and laffa bread. 4 adults and 1 JJ.
Upon arrival, JJ was seated on the outside near the aisle close to a bar.
It was a Israeli Halloween so the bartenders, waitors and waitresses were dressed up in costume. JJ was fascinated by the bartender and the action at the bar.
Before we knew it, he had relocated himself at the bar where there was nobody else but himself and the bartender, Arvi.

It was an interesting sight - his tiny stature (with his back facing us) alone at this big long bar hanging out with this bartender who was an extremely nice fellow and kept JJ entertained. Mum tried to tip him afterwards for "looking after" JJ and he refused. JJ had a great time, we got to have some adult time and the bartender was quite amused himself.

Is this a sign of things to come?

No wasting please

2010-02-16T20:19:00.001-08:00

JJ and daddy went to our fav (FreshWorks) for dinner after Spectrum/Kids' Club. Tuna sandwich for daddy and chicken strips w/fried for JJ. The chicken strips shrunk by about 50%. What happened! Oh, daddy as usual helped JJ finish his fries but left some of his chips on the plate. When we were about to help, JJ stopped daddy, pointed at my plate and said "No wasting, finish the chips!"
He was right and caught me in the act of wasting food. Chips came home with us and daddy ate them the next day for lunch together with baked beans and egg.

yes, JJ, no wasting. thanks for keeping me in check. God knows how many times I did the same to you before. Good teamwork.

First Speech Contest

2010-02-07T21:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday JJ particpated in his first speech contest at the Japanese Academy on Sawtelle.
We practised with him over a month ago 4 basic sentences for this class of 4/5/6 years old.
Boku wa Jay Leung desu
Boku no suki na iro wa ao desu
Boku no suki na tabemono wa osushi desu
Boku wa okikunattare pokemon ni naritasi desu

It was on a big stage in a pretty big hall which could easily sit over 200. There were about 100 or so people including kids. JJ's class (Kaori-sensei) went up first. 25 kids sitting in front of everyone.
JJ was no. 13. One by one, the kid went up, held the mike and delivered the speech. Some were good, some were ok, some refused to do, but most of them were very very cute. Some were very relaxed like JJ, who was one of the most relaxed ones playing around and putting his fingers into mouth once in a while due to probably boredom. Some were too nervous to speak at all and some squeaked by.

When it was JJ's turn, he walked up confidently, bowed to everyone, picked up the mike and delivered a perfect speech. OMG, it was much better than we had thought. It was spot on, flawless, great speed and volume. Being a critical father that I was, even I couldn't find anything wrong. I was sOOOOO proud of him. I couldn't almost cry. Upon completion, he bowed again (he was the only kid who did bow before and after, which is the proper way to start and finish)!
Ok, this is oyabaka kamo. But, who cares! This matters for he delivered exactly what he was supposed to through quite a bit of pracfice and focus.

What a great day today! GREAT job,JJ!

Tough choice

2009-11-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

Mummy and I have been mulling over which kindergarten JJ should go next year. Legacy, the best academically but it's religious so the concern is the student body and the potential conflict (later in the years) with our family values. PineCrest, non religious and vibrant school in an old facility. Nothing wrong with the old place but the academics, while good, does not seem as strong as Legacy. The public school option is a backup for we don't think it challenges students to their full potential relative to the private ones.

It's likely Legacy vs PineCrest. Need to do more research. We are vacillating between the 2 on a daily basis. Legacy is also about 50 % more expensive than PineCrest. While not a primary factor but, as Noriko says, at that price, it'd better to close to perfect...

Oh well, we'll have to keep mulling over. Next stop, talk to a friend who used to be a Pincrest teacher.

Kids' Club's tale

2009-11-10T23:13:00.000-08:00

On our way to JJ's favorite restaurant, FreshWorks, after picking him up from kids' club, JJ suddenly said " Ms. A of Kids Club likes boys. She sleeps with Mr. B and Mr. C". OMG, where did that come from? . So, we asked who had told him that. Being the diplomat that he was, the response was " Nobody". We kept asking him but he kept giving the same response. Go figure!

Geared up

2009-10-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

JJ got his Taikwondo safety gear today - helmet, face guard, gloves, foot guard, vest and bag. A grand total of $300! Jason (teacher) had him put it on for the class. Very cool! Shane's (classmate) mom kept saying that now they could spar with each other. Shane got his gear a while back.
JJ was very excited! Looks pretty cool to daddy as well. We had a great time in class. Jason had the break the board with lateral chops. First few kids had trouble breaking it the 1st time. No JJ, he broke it in one go both left and right , and broke it hard. His chops almost got to Jason! Nice work, JJ!

The bag's bigger than JJ but he insisted on carrying it back to the car. A funny sight seeing such a small creative carrying such as hugh bag which is relatively heavy for a 4 yr old.

Got home. Immediately put the gear on to show mummy. Practiced his chops again with daddy. He must have put on and taken off his gear 6-7 times the whole evening. Just couldn't stay away from it.

These gears will not last long as he's growing fast. May be we should resell them to other kids for $100 next year!

What?

2009-07-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

Jay mentions to mum the other night - When I get sick, I am going to call my manager. What!
Jay and daddy sitting next to each other having breakfast on a Sat morning. All of a sudden, Jay turns to daddy and says "State your problem" -What!

Flowers for grandma

2009-02-09T00:08:00.000-08:00

JJ and daddy picked up grandma from LAX last night. Good to see her after her 4 month visit in HK. Today, before we went to grandma's place to pick her up for lunch, JJ suggested that we should get some flowers for grandma. JJ said, in perfect Japanese, " flowers are nice. wouldn't it be great to make her happy with some nice flowers?" Wow, I was taken by surprise. Very impressed by his meticulously mature way of expressing his suggestion. I love being his dad! Thank You God!

2008 Thankgiving Day

2008-11-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

Mummy took off for HK Tues and won't be back until Sat. So, it's a two men Thanksgiving this year. We were exhausted from the party yesterday so we went to bed early last night. It was a nice long restful sleep. JJ's cold had got a lot better so he wasn't coughing or making too much nasal noise like he used to 2 weeks ago. Daddy still had a some lingering cough. Not too bad. We were both sound sleepers.

Woke up and JJ was in a great mood. We wished each other "Happy Thanksgiving" and thanked each other for doing so. A good start. He wanted honey toast, egg custard and kiwi with raspberries and yogurt. He ate them all up. What an appetite! Off to kids' club before heading down to Chinatown for dim sum at Empress. JJ had his favourite Bo Law Bao and daddy had his fix of the standard fare. Satisfied and hopped back on the freeway heading for the chinese supermarket (99) so daddy could get his chinese cough syrup (Be Pa Go). Next stop Japanese video stop in Van Nuys. Once we got there, JJ had to take a dump first before choosing his fav movie - An Pan Man. Once we got home, JJ went for a bike ride before dinner.

We played tic tac toe after dinner. Probably a little too early for this game. We gave it a shot anyway. He was gradually getting it . Not quite there yet. Then we practised writing a few alphabets before bedtime.

All in all. Not a bad day. We missed mummy and her turkey terribly. We managed ok w/nattou and miso soup. A far cry from mummy's cooking but light and healthy nonetheless.

A great helper at school's Thanksgiving Feast

2008-11-27T22:14:00.003-08:00

JJ's preschool had a Thxgiving party in their classroom yesterday. I was responsible for drinks and arrived early to set things up. JJ jumped right in and helped me take put the drinks into the ice box. Then he started placing a pack of juice on the dinning table for everyone of his classmates. He even put out a couple of waters for the adults just in case. He did it all on his own without prompting whatsoever. His teachers and I were pleasantly surprised. What a great little helper he was! Needless to say, he insisted on helping me carry the big ice box back to the car afterwards.

During the party, he sat there and ate his dinner quietly. He was enjoying his dinner until one of his classmate's little 2 year old sister started to take interest in him and kept poking him in the back. He was a bit annoyed but kept his cool nonetheless. Daddy was busy running around taking video and pictures so mummy gets to check out what she had missed.

A great helper at school'

2008-11-27T22:14:00.001-08:00

Discipline

2008-10-20T23:28:00.001-07:00

JJ, like any 3 yr old, pushes our buttons. My buttons are just simpler to get pushed than mummy's. Today, when we came home, he insisted that we'd go ride his bike right away. I wanted us to go into the house for a little break and drink before heading out to the park to play. He kept refusing to come in so I just went into the house knowing full well that he'd folllow me. Well, he did. But not without the usual busting out in big tears episode. He is gradually learning to become a 1st time listener but he needs to be reminded once in a while.

He normally behaves well when only 2 of us are around. Even when he fusses around, he will quickly come around once I issue my warnings. The whole thing changes when mummy is home. JJ takes full advantage of mum's presence and fights to the end no matter what. He swithces from an almost perfect kid to an irritating brat in no time. It's amazing to see how well he uses mum to buffer dad so effectively.

Mum keeps saying that it's ok for him to de-stress since he is under more stress when mum is not around. Not sure if this is indeed the case but I guess it's ok to let loose as long as he stays within bounds, which mum does a good job enforcing. It's just that dad's bounds tend to be much tighter.

The important thing is that JJ seems to have adjusted to our new life (mummy being away for work several nights a month) pretty well.

Surprising thoughtfulness

2008-10-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

Been such a long time since my last blog. Can't believe I snooze on this one.

JJ is a good balance of kindness, rebellion, maturity and playfulness. His occasional moments of surprising thoughtfulness remind that the we just might be doing an Ok job as parents. These small signs were of course big things in the eyes of parents.

It was one of the evenings where JJ was falling asleep during dinner (no PM nap) and needed to go to bed before I could finish dinner. I put him to bed. As he was resting his head on the pillow in my bed, he looked at me and said "Daddy, please go and eat more dinner then come to bed". He was thinking about my half finished dinner all along.

Tonight was a similar evening but at least I finished my dinner. As you was about to lie down on our bed, he reminded that the TV was still on downstairs. I guess we have a budding environmentalist.

Mum leaves for HK - 6 wk training

2008-07-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

3 of us slept together last night. JJ knew mum was leaving tomorow. Got up early and took mum to the airport. JJ was excited about the trip to the beach afterwards. He was very good. May be he didn't get how long mum was going to be gone. Nor we were eager to explain this element anyway.

Mum was a litty misty as we kissed good-bye on the curb. Noriko - be strong. We'll be alright. You'll do great. Only 6 weeks. No big deal, I said. Couldn't help but feel the suddent emptiness. I knew I was incomplete without her. And, it struck me pretty hard to face the fact that I actually have to experience it for this long.

Rio (our live in nanny), JJ and I went to Santa Monica Beach. Picked a spot right next to the Pier where there was a fun fair. JJ was funny. He was so anxious to hit the beach but when we got there, he got scared of the water and wanted to go home. We eventually got him into the water by writing his name in the sand. He was happy to see that and started to get bolder and bolder. He got so bold that he kep dragging daddy to the deeper water. He was having so much fun jumping in the waves, and he insisted that I let him do it on his own even though he occasionally felt right into water. It was great to see him quick transition. Just a little encouragement and fun.

We then went on the Ferris Wheel. Nice view. JJ did great. Not scared at all. Just enjoyed the ride. Rio then took us to the organic vegan restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd just east of 5th Ave. Amazing food. Great curry flavor and just the right portin. Very satisfying. Some of the more tasty vegetarian food I had ever tasted. The waitress named Bunny was one of the best. Very attentive and had a great time with JJ, who seemed to have fallen in love with her. Bunny had been to HK attending her friend's Miss HK Pagaent (his friend was "Miss Leg" of 1998 or something like that).

JJ fell asleep on our way back. We are hoping to get him to get by 9pm tonight to set his clock back to where it belongs.

I want to buy my friend's house!

2008-06-16T13:06:00.001-07:00

JJ went to his friend's place to play. According to Mummy, his friend's toy collection was about 20x of Jay's. Well, either we have been stiffing JJ or his friend's a toy junkie. Daddy quicky proposed a "toy surge" to counter the imbalance. Mummy said that it'd be unnecessary. Less toys more imagination opportunities.

A week or so later, while we were having lunch, JJ said:
"My friend has a lot of toys. When I grow up, I want to buy his house! I will pay money for it"

Mum and Dad were amused. Not quite the kind of response we were expecting from a 3 yr old. Guess, parental influence played a part here since we had been talking about investment properties lately.

A sharing violinist???

2008-05-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ran into Adam, JJ's buddy at Kids' Club. Handsome little boy. Every time he sees me, he wants to have me organize a race for him and JJ. The race is about 2 of them pushing little trucks around the room. As usual, I happily obliged. It was a great race. Then, there was this third boy called Tyler. He started barging in trying to join the race by taking one of the trucks away. So, we talked to JJ about letting Tyler have a go. At first, there wasn't much reaction from JJ. After a few more seconds, JJ gracefully agreed to let Tyler have the truck. The room applauded (3 attendents plus Nori and me). Can't describe how proud I was of him! We have a gentleman in training! Way to go, mate!

JJ woke up from his nap. We did our Shostakivich Jazz Suite Waltz II (one of JJ's fav activities). He was in a great mode. So, we started watching Youtube. He first requested Village People's Macho Macho Man. Then. I started to steer him to something more classical. We watched our Waltz and Have Nagila played by Andre Rieu and his orchestra. A lot of violinists there. JJ was completely engrossed because firstly it was 2 of his fav's. and the violin action was rather enchanting. Now, he wants to play violin so he can play them too! Let's tell mummy that!!

Been too long

2008-04-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

Can't believe I haven't posted anything for over 4 months. Me bad bad bad ...
JJ has changed so much that I don't know where to begin. How about what we did today.

We let JJ sleep until almost 10:30am today to see how far he could push it. Noriko thought that he might be transitioning over to no PM nap mode. Or, he might have been too exhausted from yesterday. Anyhow, we all felt taking it easy so we just woke up whenever.

Finally, JJ got up by himself. After the initial wake up ritual of inseparable attachment to mum and a quick bite of porridge (yesterday's leftover but still very good!). We headed off to VIP Seafood in WLA for a dim sum fix. Noriko and I were both longing for one.

JJ, as usual, went for the baked barbecue pork buns. There were superb! No wonder he couldnt' stop eating them. I did the chinese eating thing where I kept shoving stuff in with minimal conversational pauses while Noriko took time to feed JJ. Boy, was I a lucky dude!
Noriko had quite recovered from her cold and she only ate a little. Nonetheless, it was a rather satisfying $46 tab for 2.5!

On our way to the beach, we stopped by a few open houses. JJ was making comments about the properties like " Hey, this is big", "Oh, I want to see other rooms", "Nice bathroom". His expressions were more interesting than the houses.

JJ's talk has progressed so much that he's conversing in full sentences (to be expected for an almost 3, I suppose) Still, as parents, we are constantly amazed by what comes out of his mouth.

He is switching between E and J pretty effortlessly. Hopefully, this skill will stay. I am sensing the taking over of E because of his interaction with his E speaking play buddies. Good thing is that he's interested in songs so I have been teaching him Cantonese songs like "It's a Small World", which he seems to like a lot. Not singing it yet. But, potential there. Or, may be all parents think about their kids that way.

Anyway, back to today's saga. After the open houses in SM, we headed to one of our fav places for JJ to run away - Pepperdine campus. The school was on break so everything was closed and the place was deserted. We hung out by the water fountain near the student center. JJ was climbing up and down the permiter and ventured into the center of the fountain occasionally.
Noriko and I took turns to nap in the lovely shade by the ocean. Boy, the air was sooo good. I kept thinking about buying a house in Ventura.

JJ kept wanting to go to the beach. We obliged. He had his first taste of the ocean when he slipped and fell into the water while wading. He was all soaked so he had to go topless for a while. He seemed to like the ocean a lot and was gaining courage to test the waves. All in one, it was a fun fun time just watching him wade with Noriko.

He felt asleep on our way back so Noriko jumped off and did some shopping at Nijiya. We got him "sasa" so he was happy to wake up to a nice cream puff when we got home.

Still going to bed late

2008-01-04T23:17:00.001-08:00

JJ has been going to bed around 11pm. He can't fall asleep earlier than that. He used to go to bed around 930. His pattern was upset by the trip to Japan back in Oct. We still have not been able to push it back to normal.
He was running a lot in Japan so he may not be getting enough exercise back at home He goes to kids' club almost every day but the running there may be enough. We need to find more time to take him running. It used to be a lot easier before winter. Now, it's dark and cold.
Our evening exercise spot is now the mall where he can run around and plays to his heart content at Playtown when there aren't too many kids around.

JJ's way of saying NO

2008-01-04T23:13:00.001-08:00

He has developed a new way of refusal.
Mummy says " Do you want to go the park?"
Parks are one of his fav places. But, sometimes, he just doesn't feel like going
JJ replies " What if I fell and hit my head? or "What if sand got into my shoes"? "What if bugs bit me?"

Is this a sign???

Just when we thought ...

2008-01-04T23:06:00.000-08:00

An amazing event took place this morning. JJ woke up quietly, went down to the toilet downstair where his private toilet was located and took care of business. Gone was his signature wake up wailing and fuss. Man, we were impressed. Our boy had finally made it to the big league.

Then, as the day went on, our excitement waned and disappointment set in as he had 3 potty accidents. Our guess was that he did it deliberately because we were giving him enough attention. Daddy and Mummy were watching their fav. Japanese drama in spite of his strong protest. He kept proclaiming how uninteresting the drama was, telling us how scary some of the characters were (it was a trendy comedy), how unattractive the actresses were, yelling as the TV to tell the characters to go somewhere else, and demanding the TV be switched off.

I guess we were somewhat guilty and his behaviour ( if our guess was right) would put him in the feline category!

JJ's speech

2007-12-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

JJ's fav. phrases - "This is mine", "Don't do it", "What are you doing?", "Don't touch"
As for Nihongo - " Yada", "Yatta", "oshiko". and many many regular conversational phrases.
Sometimes, JJ goes on a monologue that is mostly unintelligible and somewhat German sounding. We are looking forward to his proper English speeches.

The toy tree trunk at Playtown in Valencia Mall is one of his favourite stages on which he stands and proceeds to espouse his thoughts in an almost Hitlerish manner, and sometimes orders his parents around during the process.

It's just amazing to witness the contrast between his almost withdrawn demeanor for the first few min when he enters Kids' Club everyday and this dynamic and commanding presence.

Hansei Kai (Time Out)

2007-12-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Hansei Kai in garage as necessary. JJ had a taste of it. Now, it's a great deterence. Boundaries are still being tested. Rarely out of control though.

Road to pre-school

2007-12-01T22:46:00.000-08:00

Mummy found a nice pre-school which offer child care and recreational activites just a few min walk from our house. 'Shooting Stars" is very new, nice and has good vibes. A family run biz with the owner living just across the street. JJ has been there twice already. Had a good time on both occasions. There are several rooms w/ different amenities for different purposes. Quite well run from what I could tell. Teachers are high energy and very friendly.

Mummy and Daddy both agree that it's good place for JJ to start pre-school, and to get some temporary babysiting relief since they have supervised play hours on most evenings of the week.

JJ needs to get more exposure to English. While we are not too concerned, it'd good for him to get more comfortable with it now that his Japanese has reached a pretty decent level for his age.

End in sight

2007-12-01T22:38:00.000-08:00

JJ is making good progress on becoming diaper independent. We still need to mostly sit him down for the 'minor biz' but he does prompt us occasionally. Accidents happen but the frequency is going down. The 'major biz' though is very hit and miss. Hard to gauge the intervals like we do for the minor ones. Mostly luck at this point.

Mummy thinks we are half way through this gauntlet. Just a matter of time.

Daddy tries to time his 'biz' with JJ and does it the 'good old days' way - yes, sitting down, so JJ has real time support. Is this what they call a 'role model'???

Hello Santa

2007-11-27T22:50:00.000-08:00

This evening we took JJ to Kid's club for his annual pic w/Santa. Last year, daddy missed it because of biz travel. Mummy ended getting into the pic because JJ was too small and was scared of the big guy.

This year, it was much better. He was able to sit with Santa alone. Very apprehensive still so it was hard to get him to smile. After trying all sorts of tricks, he finally cracked a smile, which was captured by the photographer. It finally worked this year.

After the pic, Santa tried to do his talk about what JJ would want for Xmas. JJ had no idea what's going on, and was starting to tear up. Thank God, Santa ended it quicky.

Aftewards, JJ had some milk and cookies, which he enjoyed a lot so we had a nice ending.

Let me see the pics!

2007-11-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

It has become extremely difficult to take pic's and shoot video's of JJ. Everything he sees the camera pointed at him, he runs over to see what's on it.
He loves seeing all the images, which are the best pacifier for this little one. Now, we have to learn how to shoot without him knowing it.

Speech at Playtown Valencia

2007-11-27T22:37:00.000-08:00

After dinner at the mall, mummy decided to let JJ hang out at the Playtown upstairs. During the day, there are usually many kids. JJ normally doesn't like playing there because of all the other kids bumping into each other. Tonight, it was quiet. There was one other kid so JJ went wild. Having a great time jumping off everything that he could climb. He was fearless and joyous. He had the place all to himself and it was wonderful.

At one point, he climbed on top of the tree trunk tunnel and started making speeches before jumping off. He was animated and hilarious. Ordering us to go here and there. Sounded like Hilter as mummy would put it.

When we got home, JJ said to us with a lovely smile that he was 'upset' when he made those speeches. I think he was simply practising the words he learnt from us when we were upset.

JJ does speak English

2007-11-26T23:15:00.000-08:00

In an almost completely Japanese environment @ home, we have always wondered about JJ's English. The only English exposure he has is at Kid's Club for 2 hr a day.

Well, when mummy puts him to bed; massages his little belly; and lovingly asks ' do you like it?' JJ raises his legs a little, and with wicked grin, he confidently replies ' I like it'

Simple but reassuring. Thank You, JJ.

Why why why

2007-11-10T00:54:00.001-08:00

First it started with 'what'. Now, the 'why' has begun to join the repertoire. Daddy and mummy now have to the reason for asking JJ to do certain things. Not that good reasoning makes any difference if he does not feel like doing it. Rebellion is definitely in play. The 'terrible 2' has finaly arrived!

Adjusting from a break

2007-11-10T00:41:00.000-08:00

JJ was doing great at Kid's Club before our trip back to Japan. Upon our return, he has been struggling a bit to get back to the normal routine back at home. He started the crying routine again at drop off. It was so bad that they had to call mum back to pick him up once. After 1 week, he is doing better. Just cries for the first 5 min now and plays like he used to. Probably too spoilt...

Macho Man in action

2007-10-10T23:46:00.000-07:00

JJ has been practising his "macho macho man" routine from The Village People. Daddy also practises with him. This little macho man showed his strength today. When daddy picked him up at KidsClub, he was pushing a cart with a girl, bigger than he was, sitting on it. He kept pushing it around with all his strength. I kept wondering if he would ever put so much heart and soul into doing things around the house. Nevertheless, it was an impressive show of power!

Making a perfect box

2007-10-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

When daddy picked up JJ today. Tommy (one of the child minders) @ Kids Club said that JJ put together a perfect box with interlocking pieces all by himself. Tommy said that kids of his age generally couldn't do it. Wow, there was one happy and proud daddy! Needless to say, daddy told mummy so mummy was happy too.

Daddy - you do this

2007-10-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

JJ knows what he wants and is not afraid to tell us. That includes getting parents to do exactly what he wants. He makes sure that mummy takes her vitamins, and daddy eats his noodles. When his tray gets messy, he wants it cleaned. When his hands get dirty, he goes and wipes it himself. There isn't much that this 2 yr old can't do or won't ask his parents to do anymore.

Getting Gentlemany

2007-10-10T23:34:00.001-07:00

Daddy was making breakfast on a regular Saturday morning where Mummy was off to a ballet lesson. JJ got behind Daddy and saw an open cabinet door. Daddy then heard -
"May I close this door? " in perfect Japanese. Daddy looked around and there was nobody around but a 2 yr old gently closing the door.

Macho Man

2007-09-09T23:44:00.000-07:00

One day, Daddy (for no good reasons) started humming the 70's tune of Macho Man from The Village People. Before long, JJ and Daddy were flexing their muscles to the music. JJ is hooked, and enjoys showing off his new talent wherever he can. Now, it is part of the pre-bath routine for JJ and Daddy.

Who paid?

2007-09-09T23:34:00.000-07:00

JJ went shopping with mummy and got a nice shirt. He came back and announced that it was mummy who paid for it.

He then went shopping with daddy and got a fun book. He made a similar announcement accordingly.

He has become quite disciplined these days in making sure that his "sponsors" are well recognised.

Not sure whether it is part of the normal development of a 2 yr old living in a world of relentless financial reckoning, or it is because of the Chinese blood running in his veins...

2 yr old client

2007-08-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Mummy had been having lower back pains.
Daddy had been massaging mummy's lower back.
JJ began to develop lower back pains just by watching.

Today, JJ looked despondently at daddy with his hand on his lower back and said " My back hurts". He then proceeded to the sofa, and got into the perfect position for a back massage. Daddy obliged.

A few moments later, JJ turned around and said " My shoulders please".

Where did that come from?

Daddy - Go back to your place

2007-08-26T21:59:00.000-07:00

We went to the "Coral Cafe" in Encino for dessert after some great authentic ramen at "Nippon Ramen" in Reseda. The cafe was very spacious and pleasant. Not a lot of customers on a Sunday evening, we had our choice of seats.

JJ was very particular, and picked the spot for us right away. Mummy was ordering at the counter so two of us sat down first. JJ got settled at one end of the table, and pointed across to indicate where I should sit. The seat in between was reserved for mummy of course. So, I "obediently" sat down and he was happy. While we were still waiting for mummy to come back, I moved over to take the middle seat so we could be closer. Before my buttocks could touch the chair, JJ looked squarely at me and loudly proclaimed - "This is mummy's seat!". With his finger pointing me to my designated seat, I quickly obliged. Then, he reiterated for me where our places should be around the table.

Looks like we don't need to worry about this 2yr old not being assertive enough...

Pool Day

2007-08-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we took JJ for his first swim in a pool at our fitness club. Understandably, he was a little apprehensive at first. He soon got used to it and seemed to have a wondeful time. Not to mention the fact that he was hopelessly in love with his swim trunks, which had his favourite race car prints on. If he had his rudder, he would be wearing them everywhere 24x7!

Today, we went again. Not only was he ectastic to be able to show off his swim fashion again, he was pleased to see his super cute friend, Sienna, there as well. JJ lost all his inhibitions and got very bold. He attempted to jump into the pool (a standard adult lap pool) by himself several times, and got intercepted of course. Needless to say, the hearts of the senior family members were put to the test. Once again, they survived.

It was very gratifying to see how quickly he adapted to the water. Or, was it because Sienna was there??

Chasing after mummy

2007-08-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Saturdays are mummy's personal days. She gets to do her stuff and regains sanity, and daddy gets to play with JJ all day.

Mummy has a really early morning class so she's out of here before JJ gets up.

Yesterday morning, I was expecting the usual where JJ would get up and cry for 15 min while going up and down the house searching for mummy. Instead, he got up; went down stairs; and tried to put on his socks. He was uncharacteristically quiet and calm.

Just when I started to breathe a sign of relief, and to think that he had finally accepted the fact that mummy would be away for the day. He pointed at the door and said - "Let's go and find mummy!"

Is he getting it?

2007-08-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

Today my wife needed to get physical therapy for her lower back pain. Upon mummy's departure, JJ immediately teared up and started his "OMG, can't believe mum has left me behind with this guy, and the whole world is going to crumble" routine.

None of my regular tricks for calming him down seemed to work. In the midst of escalating frustration, I looked into his eyes and began explaining to him about mummy's condition and her need to see a doctor for it. Much to my surprise, this 2 old yr stopped fuzzing immediately after I was done with my "perfectly reasonable explanation". We started to play as if nothing had happened, and had a good old time together.

Did he really understand what I said? Did he simply have pity on me when he saw my helpless eyes? Was it just good timing? Who knows?

One thing is for sure - always good to have one more trick in the bag.

2 yr old's future ambitions

2007-08-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

What does our 2yr old want to be when he grows up? Well, we asked this question and got our answer today.

"Gorilla", he replied with almost shocking confidence.

My intepretation was naturally that his company would become the "800 lb gorilla" in the industry, I proclaimed. My wife just chuckled with amusement.

Later on in the evening, JJ seemed to start considering another career alternative. This time, he announced - "Bird"

I was amazed by his "range of thoughts". My intepretation (without proclamation this time) was of course "Pilot".

What will it be next? Well, depends upon when he finds the next fascinating creature, I suppose. And, I stand ready to interpret ...