Global warming

I'm not sure how else to explain the winter we're having this year. I mean, sure, we got a little snow one day, but aside from that, it's been the warmest Winter I can remember (granted, it's only my third one...) First, when Winter was supposed to start, it felt like Fall would never end (and Daddy was even surfing in Rockaway Beach in November!) Now, when we're supposed to be in the thick of Winter in February, it feels as if Spring has arrived. Today temperatures reached the upper 50's, and tomorrow they'll be in the 60's!

Of course we've been taking advantage of this great weather, and today right after school headed to the field across the street from our house (to which we sometimes refer to as "our backyard") for some outdoor frolicking. First, we played the chase game. It was so warm that Jasper felt the need to remove his coat to keep from getting too hot.

I decided to keep mine on, though it was hardly necessary, as you can see from the handball players behind me.

I'll bet you can't catch me, Daddy!

Then, in preparation for the Superbowl, we played tackle football. I'm not sure Jasper enjoyed it as much as I did.

Then finally, the afternoon sun started to set - and cast some wildly long shadows. Jasper enjoyed trying out different positions, like his "Statue of Liberty", to see what effect it would have on his shadow.

With all that running around and exercise, we worked up an appetite, and since it wasn't quite time for dinner yet, Daddy agreed to treat us to some snacks at McDonald's (after much pleading and whining on our part.) To cool off, Jasper went with an ice cream cone, and made short work of it.

Good choice, but I decided to stick with my favorite - french fries.

I was in such a good mood, that I even decided to share with Jasper.

We can't wait for more warm weather tomorrow, and hope Spring will be here soon for real!

Weekend Wrap-Up

How was everyone's weekend? Everett and I had a very busy one. It might not seem very exciting to you, but it was to us, in addition to being exhausting. First of all, Dziadek came to visit and stayed the whole weekend. We took him out to dinner at a local restaurant on Friday night, then on Saturday morning Everett had soccer class and I had swimming class. 

On Saturday afternoon, while Everett went to the park with Dziadek, Mommy took me to a cool new place - Film Biz Recycling. It's a great big warehouse near our house which sells all kinds of things that were used as props during the filming of TV shows and movies, so they don't end up in wastefills. We went with my friends/neighbors Mia and Claudine, and had lots of fun checking out all the props for sale.  

Then, Sunday morning, Daddy and Dziadek took us to the Staten Island Children's Museum, where we engaged in our usual frenzy of checking out every possible exhibit...

Then finally on Sunday night, we continued our celebration of Chinese New Year at 6 Yee-Pau and 6 Yee-Kung's house. All the Yee-Pau's and cousins were there, and there was lots and lots of delicious food, which Nathan seemed to really enjoy.

We, on the other hand, were a bit tired by this point in the weekend. Everett in particular was feeling a bit under the weather and cranky, and didn't seem to have much of an appetite, even with the enticement of Backyardigans on the big-screen TV...

By the time we got home, we were too exhausted to even take a bath, and just collapsed in our beds for a long night of sleep. Another exciting week begins tomorrow!

Blackberries!

Big news around here this week was that I had a bit of a breakthrough - I ate blackberries. On my own. Really.

OK, I know that this may not seem like newsworthy information but really it is because this is the first real, fresh fruit I have eaten in my entire life. Yup, that's right. Up until this point, I have subsisted on apple sauce and other fruit purees, freeze dried fruit, dehydrated fruit and fruit roll-ups. Wait, the last one doesn't really count, huh? Anyhow, earlier this week I decided that I wanted to try a blackberry.  Does this count towards my first resolution for this year?

And not only did I try some blackberries and like them, but I declared to everyone and anyone who would listen that I LOVE blackberries!

I only wish that they were all sweet, since that last one left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, as you can tell, and I've refused to try another one since. Still, it's a breakthrough, and I know Mommy and Daddy are hoping for more of them in the near future. What do you think I should try next? Rasberries? Blueberries? Strawberries? It feels like the possibilities are virtually endless...

Will you just let me sleep, please?

Lately, Mommy and Daddy seem to have developed a habit of coming into mine and Jasper's room in the middle of the night, and worse yet, taking pictures of me while I sleep! Apparently, initially this was "for my own safety", but lately I'm beginning to get the idea that they are doing it for their own amusement. 

Do YOU think there's anything amusing about how I sleep?

How about Jasper? 

No, I didn't think so. So Mommy and Daddy, can you just let us sleep, please? And please, NO MORE PICTURES!

Celebrating Chinese New Year at School

On Monday, January 23rd, Mommy came to my school to celebrate Chinese New Year with me and my friends. I have been asking Mommy to come do a special activity in my class for quite some time now and we decided that Chinese New Year would be the perfect occasion. I was so excited to have her there at school with me that I could hardly sleep.

Since it is the Year of the Dragon, we decided to make dragon puppets so that my class could have a special parade. Mommy took the teacher's seat at the table and helped us all make our very own dragons. Look how colorful the dragons are!

After we finished making them, we had to test them out to see if they were parade-worthy.

After everyone finished their project, it was circle time. Mommy read us all a story about Chinese New Year and all the special traditions. Then, we practiced saying "Gung Hay Fat Choy" and because we all did such a good job with our dragons, Mommy gave us each a lucky red envelope with a chocolate coin inside! Lucky day indeed!

By the way, did I tell you that we are building our very own city in our classroom? Look at how pretty our city is!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy Year of the Dragon! Now that we've prepared the house for the New Year, it's time to celebrate! First thing's first - lucky red envelopes!!

Yesterday, Mommy and Daddy took us to the Museum of Chinese in America. It's a museum that is dedicated to preserving the history, heritage, culture and experiences of people of Chinese descent in the U.S. It's housed in a beautifully renovated building in Chinatown designed by Maya Lin. They were hosting a family day full of fun arts and crafts activities and demonstrations. First, Everett tried his hand at beading a necklace and making some knots while I made a pop-up dragon book.

There was a gentleman demonstrating Chinese calligraphy. Everett was mesmerized. 

But the real reason that we went to the museum was to see the lion dance demonstration. Mommy and I have been reading lots of books about Chinese New Year this year and the one book that I keep asking her to read to me over and over is called Lion Dancer. I love hearing about the lion dance and the dancers and how they parade in the streets. I was so excited for the chance to see a lion dance in person. So we crammed in the museum's lobby with lot of other people. Here, the lion dance coordinator is checking to make sure everything is working correctly in the lion's head.

And then the dance! It was so cool to watch. The best part was when the lions gobbled up the heads of green cabbage and then spit the cabbage leaves back into the audience! It was so funny! See for yourself.

While I loved the dance, Everett, on the other hand, didn't really enjoy it. He kept telling the lions to go away.

Oh, and one other thing. While we were there, there was a reporter from NY1 at the museum interviewing the visitors for a story. As Mommy and I were coming down the stairs after finishing our arts and crafts, the reporter asked to see my dragon pop-up book. Then she wanted to ask me a few questions but once the cameraman turned on the bright shiny lights, I got a little shy and didn't want to talk. Mommy and Daddy thought that I missed my shot to be featured on the news. But guess what? While they didn't feature me, they did feature my dragon pop-up book!!

Here's the clip of the story. Around the 43-44 second mark, you'll see the lion dancers performing. If you look really carefully, you can see Daddy and Everett. If you look at the pillar in the middle of the screen, you can see Daddy holding Everett. Everett's wearing a black sweatshirt and there's a little girl in pink sitting on her Daddy's shoulders behind them. Then, at the 46 second mark, you'll see my dragon (and Mommy's hand)!!

Look at all the decorations and art projects we've made over the last couple of days!

Preparing for Chinese New Year

As many of you may know, Chinese New Year is tomorrow - the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring - and will usher in the Year of the Dragon, the most auspicious in the Chinese zodiac. The dragon is the only one of the 12 zodiac signs to be governed by a mystical creature rather than a real animal. The dragon is a symbol of good fortune, power, intelligence and immense power. And you know what? We have a dragon living in our house - Mommy!

There are a lot of preparations that must be done before the New Year so Jasper and I got busy. First, we had to sweep clean the house to sweep out all of last year's bad luck and to welcome good fortune into our house. We hid all the brooms and dustpans so that our new good luck won't be swept away!

Then I had to go get a hair cut for a fresh start on the New Year. Jasper would have gotten a hair cut too if he had any hair left.

We also made some decorations to hang around the house (which you will see tomorrow). Jasper spent most of the afternoon practicing his dragon dance for school tomorrow. What do you think? Not bad, huh?

On a completely unrelated topic - sorry, family and friends in San Francisco... The NEW YORK GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

SNOW!!!

Finally! I thought it was never going to snow this Winter, and I can't believe it took until January 21st. We've been waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. But it's here at last - SNOW, glorious snow. We were so surprised when we woke up this morning to a beautiful winter wonderland.

And of course, Everett and I took full advantage first thing in the morning. 

I think Daddy hit me with a snowball.

I think Daddy hit Everett with a snowball.

A romp in the snow wouldn't be complete without snow angels. First, it was my turn so that I could show Everett how it's done.

That's Everett if you can't tell.

Bye bye! See you next time!