March of Dimes/March for Babies 2011

Dear Logan,

We participated in the March of Dimes/March for Babies walk again this year with Team The Arc of San Francisco.  Our team raised over $4000!  What an amazing amount and my client did a spectacular job soliciting, well, harassing, for donations.  I was fortunate and grateful enough to raise about $1000.  Not a bad amount despite all the different tragedies happening recently around the world.

We stayed over at Grandma and Yeh Yeh's house the night before the walk.  This saved us a lot of time.  I picked up Lola Lolita bright and early in the morning to head over to Fort Mason first.  Daddy, Aidan and Grandma came a little later in a separate car.  It was yet another gorgeous day at Fort Mason.  You can see the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge as we walked along the beach.  This time around, we didn't go all the whole way to the end and back.  Last year, we had a stroller for Aidan, so it was fine if we walked more.  This year, he's all on his own and it would be difficult for us to complete the whole 6.25 miles.  Grandma was the one in the best shape.  I have to say, I am very proud of Aidan.  He walked 95% of the 3 miles that we did.  I only needed to carry him towards the end of the walk.  He stayed close to Grandma most of the time, and it didn't hurt that Grandma had a whole backpack full of yummy snacks.



It was a lot of work putting together this walk for the team.  However, as Lola said, after all said and done, it was totally worth it.  My body was sore for the next two days.  My feet were tired, and my muscles were sore from carrying the heavy items in and out of my car, and up and down the hill.

However, I look forward to next year's walk!

Miss you,
Mommy

Swimming and Kung Fu Classes

Dear Logan,

Guess what, Mommy finally signed Aidan up for a swimming class.  This is just so long overdue.  I've been wanting to do that since he's 2 years old, but I keep on procrastinating.  Finally, at 5 years old, he is taking swimming lessons!

The purpose of this class isn't really to get him to swim.  I just want him to overcome the fear of being in the water and having water in his eyes.  He's just like Mommy, scared of water.  He doesn't even like water in his eyes when I'm washing his hair.  So, I signed him up for 4 classes through Sunnyvale Park and Rec.  Unfortunately, the last class coincides with March for Babies, so he can only attend 3.

I was proud and surprised that he wasn't scared at all in his first class.  He jumped right into the water, and participated without much fear.  Most of the time, he listened to instructions.  But he was also easily distracted by the little kids sharing the pools in the other classes.  Of course, it didn't help that Mommy was standing right there listening to everything and snapping pictures and videos.  His main issue in the first class was to keep one hand on the wall.  I reminded him of that before his second class.  He did a much better job, and I was far away so that I couldn't distract him with my presence.  He was more comfortable in the water, and in fact, too comfortable that he was kicking when told not to.  I guess he's having a lot of fun, and that's the goal of the class.  Next week will be his last class.  I haven't decided whether to sign him up for more lessons yet.  We'll see.

Last week, Aidan did a trial class at All Star Kung Fu.  A neighbor was thinking about signing up her son for classes and asked if we're interested.  We checked them out and it seemed fun.  So, today, it's their official class with uniform and all.  I have to say, Aidan was doing very well listening to instructions.  I was so proud of him.  He was doing everything that the teacher requested him, though not perfectly yet.  He wasn't too distracted or causing trouble.  Actually, another younger kid in the class was causing so much trouble that Aidan seemed like the perfect angel. It's also nice to have a friend in the class with him.  The boys are only a year apart in age, and get along really well.  Through this class, I hope Aidan can learn to stay focus, to be disciplined and take instructions.  We only signed him up for 3 months, so we'll see if we'll continue then.





Though I'm not a soccer mom, I feel that our weekend plans will have to work around Aidan's busy schedules with classes and birthday parties.  I don't want to overwhelm him with too much.  But it's nice to keep him physically active, so that he's not on the computer all day.  With this, I don't have to always try to come up with "fun" things for him to do every weekend.


Love,
Mommy

It's been two years...

Dear Logan,

I can't believe it's been two years since I last held you in my arms.  Time really does fly, and I am sure I will say that every year on April 15.  Though life is back to normal in a sense, I have not stopped loving or missing you.  I can still remember vividly all the lovely moments that we spent together.  From calling you a little red lobster, since you turned red whenever you sneezed or cried, to the night time feeding with a feeding tube or a bottle, and the eventual hospitalizations.  I still have the Google Spreadsheet for tracking all the night time feeding, medication administering and your bowel movements!  I thought about deleting that file, but I wanted to hold on to those little memories of you.

I didn't take time off from work today like last year.  I only left work a little early to come see you and spend a little alone time with you before we visit you on Sunday with Daddy and Aidan.  I enjoyed that little quick visit, though heart-breaking in another sense.  Whenever I see kids around your age, I would smile and imagine what you would be like if you're still here.  Life will be hectic with two kids, but I will never know for sure, right?

Everyone is doing well.  So don't you worry about us.  We love you and miss you as always.

Love,
Mommy

Chaperoning for the 1st time!

Dear Logan,

I've been meaning to tell you about the trip to Hidden Villa for a long time.  But then, Mommy's laziness, procrastination, fatigue, TV, web surfing and Facebook, got the best of me.  So, I am just writing to you now about my experience to go on a field trip with your big brother.

Ever since I got the list of field trips at the beginning of the school year, I've been thinking about volunteering to be a chaperon for one of these trips.  However, I keep on putting that off and forgetting about it.  This month, Aidan requested and really wanted me to come along.  I felt so bad that 2/3 of the school year has gone, and I still haven't gone on a field trip.  So, I took a day off from work and went with him and his school friends to Hidden Villa in Los Altos on March 3rd.

The few days before the trip, it was raining cats and dogs.  Luckily, the rain stopped the day of the trip, but going to a farm in the mud wasn't something I am used to.  I should have listened to the teachers and got Aidan his rain boots.  But because it wasn't raining that day, I didn't, and what a messy mistake I made.

I arrived to school and met with 5 other parent-chaperons.  Everyone was in good spirits, and we had some time to kill before the school bus arrived.  I was assigned to be with Aidan, of course, and his little friend Sindu.  The ride to Hidden Villa was about 20-30 minutes.  It wasn't that far away, but the non-stop talking and questioning from the children drove me a little crazy.  They were cute, but gosh, they really do talk non-stop.  I don't know how the teachers do it everyday.

When we arrived, we met up with 4 other guides.  Our school team of about about 40 students, 5 teachers and 8 chaperons were split up in 4 groups.  We first visited the garden: touched, smelled and tasted different plants and flowers.  It was a lovely experience to be with nature.  Daddy and Mommy really are not the nature type.  We don't take Aidan hiking and usually don't do any nature walk aside from being at a park.  So, to have Aidan experienced this was great.  He seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Then we walked to visit the animals.  We saw sheep, chicken, and cows.  Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to visit the goats.  Did you know that after you put your fingers/hand inside the nice warm wool of a sheep, your fingers will feel a little greasy?  Interesting, right?  I never knew that!

The whole tour lasted about an hour, and then it's lunch time.  A quick lunch of sandwiches, chips, fruit cups and juices later, we're heading back to school.  And let me tell you, our ride back was horrible.  I had a really bad headache, and I knew another parent had one as well.  We're all tired, and the kids still had so much energy that they kept talking non-stop again.  By the time we're back to school, I was BEYOND tired!!!  I got Aidan settled in his mat and hope that he would take a nap.

I got home, took some Advil and went straight to bed.  I slept for two whole hours!  There is no way the teachers can take all these kids on an outdoor field trip without any chaperons.  I actually asked the teacher this and she said the trip would have to be canceled if there's no volunteers.  There's mud everywhere, so many things for the kids to pick up and put in their mouths, running around and not following instructions, etc.  This was so much more work than going to work, plus my 2-hour commute.  But you know what, I signed up to be a chaperon again in April.  Though it was tiring, it was fun as well.  I know your brother really wants me to go.  It makes him happy, so it makes me happy.

Next month, we're going to a LOL Party (whatever it is) at a Sportsplex.  I am not sure what to expect, but at least there won't be mud and all the kids are indoors.

Love,
Mommy

Chinese New Year Celebrations

Dear Logan,

Today is already the 11th day of the new year already.  Sorry it took me so long to tell you what we've been doing.  As always, since we're not in Asia, the atmosphere was so different.  Our days were pretty normal, aside from a few minor celebrations here and there.  One of these days, I have got to bring Aidan back to Macau for Chinese New Year.  It's just not the same here.


Mommy and Aidan, along with Meli, Auntie Leonor and Uncle Kyle visited SF Chinatown the weekend before the New Year's.  Daddy had to work, so we entertained ourselves and hung out with our dear friends.  It was a quick visit to Chinatown to check out the flower market.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and we only stayed for about 30-45 minutes. There were definitely many people buying flowers before the new year.  For us, we only bought two pinwheels, one for you (which I brought to you today) and one for your big brother.



On New Year's Eve, we went over to Grandma and Yeh Yeh's home for dinner.  They prepared a lovely feast and dessert.  See, this is a tradition that we have got to continue.  Always had to have 團年飯 with the family.

Aidan's school had a little Lunar New Year celebration as well.  Parents prepared red packets for the children to  feed the lions.  A few of the kids were scared, but most were excited about the performance.  At the end show, the kids got to play with the drums and cymbals, and also a tiny little lion.

Last Friday, at Daddy's workplace, they also had a Spring Celebration.  The performances and the food were OK, except for the excellent martial arts performance and the lion dance.  I was surprised to see your brother unfazed by the loud music and drums.  He seemed to enjoy quite a bit.

Happy New Year, my baby.


Love you,
Mommy