New Year's resolutions

First thing's first - Happy Birthday, Dziadek!

Now, as is the case every year around this time, let's review last year's resolutions to see how we did. First, let's start with Jasper's 2012 resolutions: 

#1 I will learn to speak Mandarin.
J: Ummm... I did take some classes, but truth be told, if anything, my Chinese language skills may have regressed a bit, especially the Cantonese. But I maintain that I'm not the one to blame, since all of the Mandarin (and Cantonese) speakers in my family insist on speaking with me in English. Could you try to help me and Everett with our Chinese language skills this year, please?

#2 I will swim the width of the pool by myself. 
J: DONE. (My teacher has even recommended moving me up to the "intermediate" class!) 

#3 I will continue to learn to be polite to people, by saying hello, goodbye, please and thank you. 
J: Making some progress, though the results are admittedly often mixed...

#4 I will not get angry with Everett when he messes up my things.
J: Getting better at it, and would be even better than I am now, if Everett didn't mess up my things so often. Maybe he should consider that for his New Year's resolutions this year.

#5 I will try skiing (I'm not saying that I will ski but I will try it once to see how I like it.)
J: Done (and I love it!)

#6 I will learn to multiply and divide.
J: Multiply: DONE. Divide: hey, I just started Kindergarten - give me some time!

#7 I will use my passport this year. 
J: Not this year. Between extended trips to California, Montauk and Disney World, plus starting Kindergarten, there was just no way to fit in an international trip.

#8 Maybe I will learn to ride a bike this year.
J: Done (at least with training wheels.) Dziadek and I got in plenty of practice in New Jersey over the Summer.

#9 I will catch a wave on a surfboard.
J: Does a boogie board count? In that case, DONE. (And from what I hear, Mommy and Daddy have some big plans for more surfing practice for all of us this Summer...)

And now on to mine - Everett's 2012 resolutions:

#1 I will try new foods and I will eat my fruits and vegetables.
E: DONE, more or less, except for the fruit. I've expanded my food variety quite a bit, and now sample and even enjoy many more of the foods that Jasper eats. I'm also very good about eating my veggies (some of my favorites include cauliflower, carrots, string beans and zucchini.) I will not eat fruit, though. Maybe this year.

#2 I will sleep past 5:45am
E: DONE. In a big way. I sleep until at least 6:30am every morning, often later. I'm also very good about going to bed at night, and love to take a looooooong nap on weekends. Mommy and Daddy couldn't be happier.

#3 I will learn to use the potty and give up my diapers.
E: DONE.

#4 I will not fight with Juno. I will not hit anyone.
E: DONE. I love playing with Juno, especially board games, and I never hit anyone (though I do occasionally raise my arm in a threatening way, just to get my point across...)

#5 I will learn to ride my scooter.
E: DONE. (And I'm getting better at it, too.)

#6 I will be nicer to people.
E: Ummmm... I will let "the people" decide this one...

#7 I will use my passport this year.  
E: See Jasper 2012 resolution #7 above.

#8 I will catch a wave on a surfboard
E: Does this count?

- - - -

What do you think? All in all, I think that Jasper and I did OK last year.

And here are our brand new, fresh out of the oven resolutions for the new year - 2013:

JASPER
#1. Use my passport.
#2. Improve my Mandarin and/or Cantonese (whichever my relatives are willing to help with...)
#3. Continue to work on being polite.
#4. Bike without training wheels.
#5. Surf like Kelly Slater (preferably in Hawaii...)
#6. Take up a new sport.
#7. Learn to divide.
#8. Swim the *length* of a pool (vs. the width)

EVERETT
#1. Use my passport.
#2. Improve my Cantonese and start learning Mandarin.
#3. Eat fruit. Any fruit. Just a little.
#4. Learn to swim on my own.
#5. Learn to read words and sentences.
#6. Learn how to write the alphabet (not just recite or read it.)
#7. Give up riding in my stroller.
#8. Start taking independent (i.e., no Mommy or Daddy) ski lessons.

What about you - what are your New Year Resolutions?

Happy Birthday Dziadek and Resolutions

First off, Everett and I wanted to wish Dziadek a very happy birthday! We hope that you are having a wonderful day. We wish we could be there to sing happy birthday to you in person but since we can't, here's a video for you!

Since it's the New Year, I guess it's time that we report back on how we did with our resolutions for 2011. Since I'm older, I guess I'll go first.

#1 I will not fight with Juno - DONE! Even Juno agrees.

#2 I will not whine - mmmmm, still working on this one but I think that I'm getting a little better, no? OK, maybe not.

#3 I did not learn to hit a baseball with a baseball bat but I did learn to swim. That counts for something, right?

#4 I'm getting a little better about being flexible about thing. Having a little brother helps with that. In situations where things don't exactly go my way, I've been known to say, "That's OK. You get what you get and you don't get upset." Otherwise, I fly into a tantrum. It's a work in progress but there is progress.

#5 I didn't learn to ride a bike (where exactly does a little kid learn to ride a bike in NYC?). See #3.

#6 DONE! I got to use my passport again when we went on the cruise for Ah-Boo's birthday and visited Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico. One of the highlights of my year, I must say.

#7 I'm pretty sure that I've tried new foods this year. However, any issues I had with eating have been overshadowed by Everett's complete refusal to eat anything aside from Rice Chex, apple sauce, yogurt and fruit roll ups.

#8 I'm pretty good about saying please and thank you, most of the time. Sometimes I even surprise Mommy and Daddy. I'm working on the hello and goodbye but it's getting better. It helps when Mommy stands next to me and says it with me.

#9 I haven't given up my pull-ups. In my defense, I will say that I have recently discovered a whole legion of kids who are older than I am who still wear a pull-up at night.

Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I can read all by myself? While it wasn't on my list, it was a huge accomplishment for me.

As for Everett, here's his progress report
#1 He talks. A lot. Some might even say he doesn't shut up.

#2 DONE!

#3 I'm not sure he has actually learned to jump, but he likes to skip

#4 Same as me. He got to use his passport on the cruise.

#5 Like I said, Everett isn't the best eater so only really eats his fruits and veggies if they are in a pureed form. I think that this one goes back on his list for this year.

#6 See above. If said fruit/vegetable does not agree with him, he spits out his food. Also back on the list.

#7 Working on playing nice and sharing.

#8 He was starting to sleep past 5:45am in his crib in his own room. Well, he's now moved into my room so let's see if it still sticks.

Not bad for two little boys, right? Here are our resolutions for 2012.

Jasper
#1 I will learn to speak Mandarin.
#2 I will swim the width of the pool by myself.
#3 I will continue to learn to be polite to people, by saying hello, goodbye, please and thank you.
#4 I will not get angry with Everett when he messes up my things.
#5 I will try skiing (I'm not saying that I will ski but I will try it once to see how I like it.)
#6 I will learn to multiply and divide.
#7 I will use my passport this year.
#8 Maybe I will learn to ride a bike this year.
#9 I will catch a wave on a surfboard

Everett
#1 I will try new foods and I will eat my fruits and vegetables.
#2 I will sleep past 5:45am
#3 I will learn to use the potty and give up my diapers.
#4 I will not fight with Juno. I will not hit anyone.
#5 I will learn to ride my scooter.
#6 I will be nicer to people.
#7 I will use my passport this year. 
#8 I will catch a wave on a surfboard