C Summary (1M10D)

25 APril 2017 (11M10D): Willing to sign for "more" for the first time

First a little tantrum, then deep in thoughts, and finally willing to sign for "more"

J Summary: Learning How to Roller-Blade

Dear J,

Four years ago, Mommy and Daddy were by your side, teaching you how to cycle. Four years later at 8 years old, you are learning how to roller-blade on your own, as Mummy and Daddy are constanly tired taking care of Chastine. Boy, how you have grown! 4 years ago, you were a pre-schooler. Now you are a pre-teen. Thanks for the time together.

C Summary (7M30D): Mastered A Real Kiss

Tonight, for the first time, C kissed with a "smuak" sound for the first time. And she kissed me, Daddy and J :-)

C Summary (7M29D): A Special Kiss for Mommy

I was upset and sad over something today. This evening, while putting C to bed, she kissed me on the cheek (by planting her lips on my cheek for a few seconds, not exactly a real kiss, but as much a kiss as a baby could), as though she was saying, "Mommy, I know you are sad. I just want to comfort you. I love you so much." They were special kisses reserved just meant for me, as she kissed J only after much coaxing and refused to kiss Daddy, no matter how I coaxed her.

C Summary (7m20d): Said "Da Da" & Kissed Mommy For the First Time

5 December 2016 (7m20d): On the flight to Sydney today, I noticed Baby FECS said "da da" as like daddy clearly for the first time today. I kissed her, and put her to my face to kiss me back. She planted her lips on my face and gave me some kind of a kiss, at least that was what I felt she was trying to do. Then she smiled. This went on for several time.

J Summary (7Y9M6D): Writing his little story

Today even though it was a Sunday, our Little FECS (7 years old) out of his own initiative, sat down to write a story and made his story book with drawings. It was quite a few pages. We were very impressed with it. He was really having a lot of fun with it, and very motivated at writing his story. He found inspiration from his sea-animal card collection for this story line. I think I have his school to thank for making learning fun. That's the Danish way. The Danes have a talent in making learning fun *. It humbled me. I wish our Little FECS would show such love and interest for Chinese. He has not yet started to write an essay in Chinese yet. Hopefully this Danish habit will one day spill over to benefit his learning of Chinese and English.

* The Danes do not correct Children in their handwriting, and allow them to mispelt words, believing that that will inspire that love for learning language, and that the writing and spelling will correct itself as they grow older. Me on the other hand, constantly correct our son for his bad Chinese handwritting and his Chinese spelling.

J Summary (7Y7M21D): Positive Feedback from His Teachers

We had met the teachers day today. Both of his Danish and Maths teacher told us that our Little FECS is doing very well in school - among the top in his class for Danish and Maths. He is also reading very well in Danish and among the top in his class. His class has 22 students. The teacher also told us that J is highly popular, in fact the most popular person in his class. This means that he has a moral responsibility to be a good role model. We were pleasantly surprised.

Daddy FECS commented that he noticed also that J has a very strong grasp of numbers. Daddy FECS credited to my efforts in doing Montessori with him. However, I think it is more to Daddy FECS' credit. He managed to make learning fun for J in their daily day-to-day conversation. If we ask J, I am sure, he would say that it is Daddy FECS who inspired him.

This doesn't mean that Montessori is not effective. I think Daddy FECS and me complemented each other - thankfully. Montessori is really good, but I just need to make sure that I don't have too much of a Tiger Mom, and in the process of educating J, become a kill joy. It is a humbling experience, but I am still learning, and hopefully I improve.

Milestone Charts 0-36 months

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6476/milestone-chart-one-to-six-months

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6477/milestone-chart-seven-to-12-months

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6474/milestone-chart-13-to-18-months

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6472/milestone-chart-19-to-24-months

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6471/milestone-chart-25-to-30-months

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6470/milestone-chart-31-to-36-months

J Summary (7Y2M4D): First Piano Exam & Graduation from Suzuki Book 1

Daddy FECS, Mommy FECS and Po Po went there armed with our video cam and camera to give him our full support :-) He made some mistakes, but he passed :-)

J Summary (7Y2M1D): Speaking Mandarin with Grandma

Having afternoon tea time with Grandma

The reason why J could speak Mandarin today was because I spoke Mandarin to him from Day 1 as a baby right as we returned from the hospital. With a will as an iron steel, I disciplined myself to speak zero Danish to him. It was sheer hard work. I stuck to Mandarin, even in front of Danish parents. But thankfully I had his kindergarten's support. They think likewise that for J to speak like a native Dane, it is best that I don't speak Danish to him. Why should I speak Danish to him, that will only corrupt his accent? Daddy FECS can speak the Danish part. It was also only when he turned two years old that I introduced English. This was the only strategy for Mandarin to have a fighting chance to be a language that is alive in him.

I guess the new baby may not have this fighting chance. I have been worried that once J has a sibling, the Mandarin will be gone, for him and for the baby, as I have seen so many siblings speaking just Danish to each other, and they never get quite gotten fluent in their mother tongue. When I told J that when baby is born, he should speak to her in Mandarin, he said he will only speak to her in Danish. So I am worried that I am going down the same path as many Chinese parents in Denmark. What strategy should I adopt now, now that the dynamic of the family is changing? I haven't quite a clue.

Then I found the answer by coincidence by God's grace.

My mum is here. She just arrived today, and unknowingly, it has already made such a great benefit to J's Mandarin. He has been speaking Mandarin the whole day to her and to me. They could communicate comfortably in Mandarin without any struggles, looking back, it was due to the sheer determination of giving Mandarin a fighting chance. Mandarin is alive language with J. With my mum's here, it just gets better. So for the whole day, the baby in the tummy has just been listening to Mandarin. So hopefully J will speak Mandarin to baby, as a natural consequence as he speaks to my mum in Mandarin.

So perhaps when the baby is born, with my mum being here, it will give it a chance for Mandarin to take root and remain a live language in our cross-cultural family. It is not an easy task to keep three alive languages - Danish, English and Mandarin at a high level. The road ahead is tough, but I will do what I can to keep them all at a high level. It is highly ambitious, and it has already cost my work career. One of the main reason why I went part-time, forgoing the career and the salary, braving against society's norm and ridicule, is to give these languages a chance to flourish in our family. The road ahead no doubt will be tougher with a new add on... I hope I have the same energy, as it was when J was a baby...

J Summary (7Y1M28D): J's First School Camp

Last year, Our Little FECS couldn't part with us and we couldn't part with him. This year, he is very excited about going to his first school camp tomorrow. He is all ready to go without us. He said, "I am going to be free from my angry mom, how nice, with a grind on his face." The day before, he was packing his luggage (with my supervision). I know I am crazy in uploading so many pictures of him packing his luggage. I want to remember every single moment... It is only a one-day camp, but it marked yet another milestone. Sob sob.... Joshua is growing up, and can do without me anymore...

3 May 2016 (7Y1M29D): On his way to the school camp... J said he wouldn't miss us at all :-(, so different from last year, when he refused to go, because he said he would miss us... Boy, what a difference a year has made in school...

Our son... he is grown up now... sob sob...

'

4 May 2016 (7Y1M29D): Home-coming :-)

J Summary (7Y1M23D): J Dropped His First Tooth on 26 April 2016 (7Y1M21D)

This is what I placed in the package given by the "Tooth Fairy": A card to remind him to brush his teeth well from now on, since he will not get a second chance with a new set of teeth, a piece of chocolate and 20 kroner, 10 kroner for each tooth. 

28 April 216: J lost his first teeth 2 days ago (26 April 2016 - 7Y1M21D, and lost his second one yesterday. 

But he was so sad, he almost lost the souvenir, when he dropped the second tooth in the kitchen sink. Cried and cried, and then suddenly, we found it on the floor.

Isn't God good? God allowed him to drop his tooth on the floor, so that it didn't go down the sewage.

28 April 216: He was very excited about a visit by the Tooth Fairy.

He said he doesn't believe in Tooth Fairy. Tooth Fairy is just parents in disguise. Nevertheless, he wanted a visit from tooth fairy.

This morning, the Tooth Fairy visited, and he was very happy.

I asked him whether he believed in Tooth Fairy. He said yes.

I asked him, whether he knows how Tooth Fairy looked like. He refused to say. I bet, he knew how the Tooth Fairy looks like. She looks like me, of course :-)

A friend of mine told me how she realized that her baby has grown up, when she dropped her first tooth. I could really identify with her. That was how I felt, when Joshua brought home his tooth from school. Sob sob... our children are growing up so fast :-(

It is a new milestone that we are embarking on... we have to treasure our motherhood...

Dear God, thank you for the joy of family and the health and time to enjoy it.

J Summary (7Y1M21D): J's Seems to Have a Sense of Large Numbers... Due to Montessori's Work?

Daddy FECS was just commenting that J seems to have a sense of large numbers. For example, he could calculate in his head that 24 x 20 is 480 or 40 x 4 = 160. He could add 270 + 30 = 300. It is not always he get it right. Although there are also many times when he got it right, he couldn't and would not explain to me, how he calculate in his head to reach the answer.  So I am more skeptical about it, and perhaps perhaps it is just a coincidence.

The other day, we had play date with one of his classmates, and the boys were playing with darts and keeping score. His classmate would just ask J to calculate the score for him, for example, what is 40 + 30, what is 60 + 40, what is 500 + 20. I was actually pleasantly surprise to find out.

Daddy FECS said that perhaps it was because I did Montessori with him since he was a toddler. That made me very happy to have the endorsement of Montessori. Daddy FECS used to say that I spent way too much money on Montessori materials and way too much time on preparing Montessori lessons and doing Montessori activities. He used to say that it was good, but not necessary. So it is really nice to have his approval, and so now, I am free to do more Montessori with the baby, and I even got his approval to be a full-time career mom.

This is the best recognition one can have from her hubby :-)

J Summary (7Y0M19D): Building LEGO Robotics by Himself for the First Time

Our Little FECS wanted to watch more videos. I said no, it is time he played with other toys. So he chose to play with LEGO Robotics, and this was the first time he succeeded in building everything on his own - the Monkey Robot and the program himself without help, as we were both busy preparing the nursery for the coming baby.

This is one of the reason why I do not fully subscribe to free play and free choice. Give the choice, he will choose to just watch video. Because we said no, he got to sit down and play with his toys.