Preschool Graduation

Dear Logan,

Your big brother is really growing up.  I can't believe he's going to Kindergarten in a few months.  In a weird way, he just had his second preschool graduation.  He had one when he was a Sea Lion at CCLC, graduating with the other 5 year-olds, when he was only 4.

This time around, it felt more official.  He was in official cap and gown, and even received a diploma.  Daddy and Mommy were ready and had a game plan.  Daddy was in charge of taking pictures, and Mommy was in charge of taking videos.

With past experience at school events, Daddy and Mommy knew that we had to be there early enough to get a good seat.  Even though seating started at 3:30 p.m., and the ceremony started at 4 p.m., we arrived at around 3:15 p.m.  Of course, many parents were already there.  Parents that volunteered got reserved seats.  I thought about volunteering since I took the day off.  But if I did, then I couldn't go with Daddy and had to come in separate cars.  Logistically, we opted to go together.

The children marched out of their classroom, all throughout the schoolyard to their assigned seats.  After that, announcements were made, and they headed up to stage.  They started out with the Pledge of Allegiance and sang "America the Beautiful".  The children then performed a few more songs: The Alphabet Song and signed the letters, The Capital Song, "Stand By Me", and "I'm The Greatest". Your brother has been practicing these songs at home quite often, so I wasn't very surprised.  However, it was still very enjoyable to see all the kids having so much fun.  Aidan, as always, was very enthusiastic and LOUD!  They were all just too adorable!

After the songs, the children went back to their seats.  One by one, each of them was called up on stage, shook hands with the directors and teachers, received a diploma and a candy lei.  At the end they stood at the end of the stage and waited for their parents to shoot many pictures.  Daddy prepped Aidan beforehand where to look.  He told me he was looking at Daddy first and then turned around to look at me. Aidan was also the ONLY child that ran up to the stage.  He was either too excited or impatient (he's the third to the last to get his diploma).

After the ceremony, we took some pictures and then headed out for some snacks.  Aidan wasn't too keen on taking pictures.  Instead he preferred to get snacks aka cheese puffs, and played with his friends.

And guess what, when I went home, I realized that Aidan has changed my camera settings!  Arggh... the pictures and videos were at pretty low resolution.  You would think by now I have learned.  Oh well...

It was a fun day. It was a good day.  It was a day full of pride and joy.  I wish you were here to share this day with us.


Miss you,
Mommy

Kindergarten...done!

Dear Logan,

Yesterday, we went to Monticello Academy's Open House.  This is going to be where Aidan goes to school in September.  Last year at this time, we were checking out over 10 different schools, hoping to plan for today when he goes to Kindergarten  We decided that Monticello was the best all-around school, and transferred Aidan to their Pre-K class.  We were hoping Aidan could attend their Pre-K class at the main campus,  but they  were all full.  So we signed him up for the Monroe site, knowing current children get priority in enrollment the following year.

And yes, we did it.  We enrolled your brother for Kindergarten at Monticello Academy.  We did a full tour yesterday again to confirm our decision.  Daddy was super nervous about not getting a spot, so we headed to the school pretty early.  Well, it's not as early as Daddy would like, but we did make it in time to take the 16th (out of 40) spot of their Kindergarten classes.  I already heard there's a waiting list for non-current student to want to come in.  Our get-the-foot-in-the-door plan worked!

It's amazing how crazy this is.  We're only talking about Kindergarten!  I hope we don't have to go through this every year.  I am hoping Aidan will stay at Monticello until he graduates from Middle School, and then we're start the craziness again for High School.

And let me tell you, I've never written a $400 check that fast in my life.  $400 for enrollment fee for Kindergarten!?!?!  It's ridiculous!!  Are all private schools this expensive or is it just this one?  This better be a good investment.

At least now we shouldn't have to worry too much until next year, when we fight for a spot for summer camps.  Arrggh... don't even want to think about it now.


Love,
Mommy

5-Year Old Well-Child Check-Up

Dear Logan,

It's that time of the year again, the annual check-up. I really can't believe Aidan is 5 already.  He behaved like a big boy at the doctor's office and I was so proud of him.

He weighs 43.2 lbs (50%) and is 44 1/8 in tall (75%).  He got his blood pressure checked, and had his first hearing test done since he was discharged from the hospital when he was a newborn.  He followed instructions well, and was able to verbalize and show us what he needed to do.  He also had an eye test, which was a simpler version of the one at the Optometrist Office.  All numbers and tests were good.

He waited patiently in the room, and entertained himself with a book.  When the doctor came in, we answered the usual questions, and she did her usual check-up.  Everything was fine, except the doctor noticed some redness in his throat and his nose.  I guess that meant he might be coming down with a cold soon.  And TA-DA!  He started coughing the next day.  Maybe I jinxed myself by telling the doctor that Aidan has been pretty healthy during this flu season.  Oh well....

We will probably come back in 6 months for a TB test for Kindergarten.  Aside from that, let's hope we won't see the pediatrician until next January.


Love you,
Mommy

Disneyland Trip - Day 3 - Happy 5th Birthday, Aidan!!

Dear Logan,

Today's your brother's 5th birthday!  Even though he's been getting many "Happy Birthday" greetings ever since he got the birthday button at Disneyland on our first night there, it didn't dampen his excitement at all.  The night before, he didn't sleep until 11 p.m., yet with all the blackout curtains, he still woke up at 7 a.m.  I would love for him to sleep in a little bit, but he just couldn't contain his excitement. He was jumping up and down, playing with his toys and watching Playhouse Disney, all the while when Daddy and Mommy tried to sleep in a little bit.


I have already made reservations to go to "Surf's UP! Breakfast with Mickey & Friends" at Paradise Pier Hotel.  Let me tell you, having breakfast with Mickey is not cheap!  But Oh well, Aidan loves Mickey Mouse and this is the only character meal that he will show up, so I just wish the money would be well spent.  Reservations was made for 9:20 a.m., but I wished I had taken the 8:50 a.m. slot instead.  I think Aidan was a little too hungry.

When we got into the restaurant, we were greeted by Mickey Mouse.  We had the obligatory picture of Mickey Mouse, just like the picture we took at Goofy's Kitchen last time.  Of course, Aidan was excited to see Mickey, but if he has slept more and with a full stomach, I think he might be more excited.  The restaurant was small, and the atmosphere was definitely casual and beachy.  I much preferred the restaurant at Goofy's Kitchen.  The place wasn't full, and was actually quite empty.  We got settled, ordered our drinks and then I took Aidan to get some breakfast.  The quality of the food was just OK, and you definitely go there just to see Mickey Mouse.

Our table was first approached by Daisy, who was very sweet and lovely.  Then Minnie Mouse, Stitch, and Pluto.  These were basically all the characters present.  Aidan was a little apprehensive when taking pictures with them at first.  While we're eating, the staff started some dancing with Mickey Mouse and Stitch and tried to get the kids to join in.  I tried to get Aidan to participate, but he was being a party pooper.  He preferred to just sit down and eat.  Well, I couldn't force him, but on the other hand, I wanted him to join in (I paid that much money for an OK breakfast all because of the entertainment!).  After some food in his tummy, he was in a much better mood.  I was glad to see that the dancing started up again, and this time he participated!

After some dancing, it's time for a birthday cake!  This is a tiny little Mickey-shaped "cupcake" with Mickey-shaped sprinkles.  It's Aidan's favorite chocolate cake.  He enjoyed the very rushed birthday song sung by the staff, blew his candle, cut the little cake and definitely chowed it down.  A nice end to a breakfast, and it's free.

After breakfast, we went to the California Adventures Park through the direct entrance from the Grand Californian Hotel.  Man oh man, what a nice hotel!  It's so grand!  No wonder they charge so much for a room.  Next time, I got to spend a little more time checking out this hotel lobby since I can't afford to stay there.  Upon arriving at the park, we got Fast Passes for "World of Color", even though we saw that in August.  We figured it wouldn't hurt just to get the passes and not go, since they're free and the park was pretty slow.  We first went to the Mickey Mouse Ferris Wheel, as that was the first ride that Aidan really wanted to get on.  It's quite interesting how 6 months ago he wouldn't go near any ferris wheel, but now that he's FIVE years old, he's such a big boy that he's not scared.  And guess what, Mommy was the one that was a little scared.  It was quite high up there! Daddy and Aidan then went on the Golden Zephyr, Mommy and Aidan went on the Jumping Jellyfish.

We also took some pictures, and walked back to the Hollywood area.  We watched the Playhouse Disney show again (same as last time but a different hostess), went on the Monsters Inc. ride and snacked past lunch hour.  The turning point of the day, was introducing your brother to a bad experience of a 3D movie.  We went to see the Muppet Show 3D, and he was so scared that he cried and wanted out. We should have warned him about what to expect.  We hope we didn't scar him for life and he would hate all 3D movies from now on.  After this experience, we figured it's time to go back to the hotel for a nap.  He's tired and hungry, not a good combination.  We walked back to the hotel and Aidan took a good 2-hour nap.

Our plan was to have dinner at ESPN Zone and played at their arcade area, since we got a $20 coupon.  The games were fun, and we spent a good amount of time there.  Who knew it would take a while for us to spend down that $20.  After we're done, it's about 8:00 p.m., and we planned to take the Monorail back to Disneyland.  Unfortunately, they closed the Monorail down as they closed early for the 8:45 p.m .fireworks show.  I forgot the show was earlier on a Sunday.

Aidan was disappointed, but we bribed him with gifts at the Lego Store, and more importantly, he built his own ride at Ridemakerz.  Daddy was very excited to assist with building the ride.  Aidan selected a red (no surprise there) Mini Cooper with red tires and black rims.  Daddy then obtained instructions on how to put the car together.  We did that, got batteries and his ride  was ready to go.  He played with the car for a while at the store to test it out, and continued playing in the hotel room.  By the time we're done at Downtown Disney, we're all tired and wanted to go back to the hotel.

This pretty much ended our trip, as we're driving back home the following morning.  This 4-day trip was basically a 2.5-day trip. Driving really wasted quite a bit of time.  Maybe next time we'll fly, or even spend more days there.  There's so much we haven't seen.  But I figured, as Aidan grows older, we get to explore more.

Aidan was already excited and wanted to go back on Jan 7, 2012, and have his birthday party at school the day before, exactly like this year.  Most importantly, I am glad he had so much fun he wants to plan for another visit already.


Love,
Mommy

Aidan's 5th Birthday Celebration at School

Hello Logan,

Since we'll be heading down to Disneyland tomorrow for a 4-day trip to celebrate your brother's birthday, and Daddy and Mommy's wedding anniversary, we had an early birthday celebration at school.  I believe many of Aidan's classmates at Monticello celebrate their birthday at school, more than having big birthday parties.  So, per your brother's request, Daddy and Mommy brought in chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for the kids today.

We arrived at 3:30 p.m. and the celebration began.  Check this out!





Afterwards, Aidan assisted in handing out cupcakes to all of his friends.  This really hit me that your brother is becoming a big boy now.  He's serving his friends!  I could see that he's having a lot of fun, even though he was sitting so still and stiff in the beginning of the video.  He didn't really finish his requested chocolate cupcake, but only ate all of the icing.  It's OK, as long as he's happy.

Tomorrow, we'll be driving down to Disneyland.  This is going to be a long drive.  I hope we can keep your brother entertained during our 6-7 hour ride (hopefully not longer than that!).

Wish you could come to Disneyland with us.


Miss you,
Mommy

Monticello Holiday Program!

Dear Logan,

We finally got to see your brother's first performance yesterday at his preschool's holiday program.  He's been practicing singing "Jingle Bell Rock", "Frosty The Snowman" and "My Two Front Teeth" for the whole month.  I was very surprised he knew the lyrics to all three songs, because I surely don't!

Daddy and Mommy got off work early to get to the gymnasium at the other campus half an hour early to find a seat.  Well, we're not the only parents who wanted good seats.  When we got there, the seats were 3/4 full already.  We were deciding to either sit towards the left of the stage, or towards the back but in the middle of the stage.  We opted for the left side.  Luckily, your brother was standing close to us!  Phew!  When we got there, we saw several tripods with video cameras already set up.  All family members either had their digital cameras or video cameras ready to snap and record the performance.  Mommy was in charge of taking videos with my camera, and Daddy was in charge of taking pictures with his phone.  Too bad we didn't have a decent video camera, as it was a little difficult to zoom when Aidan was standing towards the right of the stage during the big group song at the end of the performance. I think it's time to invest on a good video camera.  We actually bought a video camera 5 years ago when your brother was born, but never really used it.

The performances from all classes were great!  The older kids, 4- year olds like your brother, all knew the lyrics to the songs.  I was surprised the younger ones were singing super well, too.  Only two crying 2-year olds were on stage, but they were just super cute.  No one minded their crying at all.  There were four classes, and each class performed 3 songs.  At the end, the whole school, teachers and students, went on stage to sing the school song, "Monticello School".  It was a lovely performance.  I'm looking forward to many more of these performances, now that your brother is old enough.  It was a lovely occasion to kick off the holiday season.

Here are the videos I took with my small digital camera.  They are not of the best quality, but you can still see Aidan.  For some reason, the first song, Frosty the Snowman, was not recorded.  Weird!

Love,
Mommy

The "S" Word

Dear Logan,


Upon arriving to Aidan's school today for the International Potluck Party, your brother was happily playing with his friends, until it was time for the potluck.  I sat down with the other parents in the playground, after being ordered by your brother that I shouldn't just stand there and watch, but to sit down with all the other daddies and mommies.  When it's time for food, I headed over to Aidan and saw him holding a teacher's hand.  Then I was told that Aidan needed to hold on to his teacher for 2 minutes.  I immediately knew that he did something wrong and was having a little 'time-out'.  I patiently waited for the 2 minutes to be over, and then approached them.  Teacher told me that she had to tell Aidan a few times today not to hit his friends but to use his words to express frustrations.  He is still learning to express his frustrations with words, instead of crying or hitting.  Teacher said she also talked to the other boys.

When I asked him why he hit his friends.  He answered:

"M called me stupid and I didn't like that".

I literally was speechless for one second, amazed that four-year-olds knew how to use that word already.  I recovered for a minor shock, and continued with my speech about not using his hands, that it's never ok to hit, and to tell his friends that he didn't like them using that word.  I wasn't sure if Aidan told the teacher this and I couldn't see the teacher's reaction, so I wasn't sure if she was as surprised as I was.  But she did encourage Aidan to tell the teachers if something like this happened again.

On our drive home, I reminded Aidan again to never hit anyone.  I told him to tell his friends that he didn't like being called that, and to tell his teachers about it.  I asked him if he knew what "stupid" meant, but I don't think he did.  He only knew that it was a 'bad' word from playing an online Martha Speaks game on PBS Kids.  He recalled being that "stupendous" was good, but "stupid" was bad.

When we went home, we told Daddy about what happened.  I had him tell me about what he should tell his friends if such an incident occur again.

Boys.  Definitely need more time to mature and learn to control and express emotions more appropriately.  But then, Aidan is not even 5 years old.  Expecting him to be mature is a little unrealistic, right?

I know I am always mindful of the words that I use around Aidan.  I don't think I've ever used the word "stupid" to describe anything in front of him.  But that doesn't mean he won't learn it anywhere else.  I just want him to be a little boy for a little longer.  He's growing up too fast.


Love,
Mommy

Aidan's School Life

Dear Logan,

I didn't get a chance to give you an update on your brother's little hip condition.  Everything's fine!  He recovered really fast and was back to normal after 2 days.  What a big relief!

Mommy has been very busy with work lately.  Too many things going on and I was going crazy for a while.  This coming week will be another crazy week.  I've been actively looking for a job in the for-profit world, but with a bad economy and so many more qualified candidates out there, I haven't had any luck.  I am really not in a hurry to quit my job, it's just I am mentally and physically tired.  The commute is really getting to me.  Now that your brother's school is in Sunnyvale, I don't have the midway break in Palo Alto anymore.  The traffic down 280 by your place is so bad everyday, sometimes taking 101 is actually faster.

Aidan is enjoying life in his new school.  He is like a little sponge!  He's soaking up all the new words, new ideas, and new discoveries.  I am amazed at the things that they teach to 4-year-olds these days.  He learned about AB color and patterns, Pledge of Allegiance, Book Title and Authors, Earthquake drills, and of course reading and writing.

Aidan has never been an artist.  His art is still no way near the quality of other kids' that I've seen.  However, he has definitely developed a bigger interest in drawing these days.  His favorite thing to draw: Traffic Lights.  He's been drawing pictures of traffic lights and posting them on his bedroom wall.  It's actually really cute.  Of course, I wish he would be drawing cars and airplanes and flowers and trees, but I am happy that he is finally not opposing to drawing.  Took him a while.  His main interests are still in numbers, clocks and calendars.  That's him.  Numbers!

Remember the Spanish number song he sang to you last time?  Yes, he's learning Spanish at school, too.  Hopefully, next year his interest in learning Mandarin will be just as great.


Love you,
Mommy

Definitely a false alarm!

Dear Logan,

Thanks for watching over your big bro.  He's definitely a lot better today.  He was able to stand a little early this morning when we woke up.  Then throughout the day, he could sit and stand without much discomfort.  Yesterday, he would be crying when we moved him from one position to another.  I was able to take him shopping for his Buzz Lightyear outfit in a stroller, and went to Walmart and Costco for some shopping by placing him in the shopping cart.

By the end of the day, he was able to finally go pee pee by himself, walk like a crab for most of the day, and then limp and walk semi-normal.  What a big relief.  I guess the Dr. M was right.  It might be a case of Toxic Synovitis. 

I am hoping by tomorrow, your brother could be back to normal, though we will still limit him walking too much or running.  Hopefully he can go back to school on Monday.


Love you,
Mommy

It's just a scare. Make it a scare! False Alarm!

Dear Logan,

What a day.  Finally get a chance to relax since 4 a.m. this morning.  Let me tell you what happened today.

Your brother woke up at 4 a.m. crying in pain.  He complained that his leg was hurting.  So  I went to his room, laid down in bed next to him and gently massage his left thigh.  He slowly went back to sleep, and I went back to my room.  Not too long later, he cried and screamed in pain.  Aidan has a pretty high tolerance of pain.  If he's crying like this, he WAS in pain.  I went over and slept with him, comforting and massaging his left leg again.  He woke up periodically crying in pain.  I knew I would have to take him to the doctor when the sun came up.  This crying, massaging, soothing lasted until about 6:15 a.m.  Daddy was smart enough to suggest Mortrin.  Doh!  Why didn't I think of it at 4 a.m.??  We gave him some Mortrin and called our "trusted" Kaiser.  I called Kaiser way too often within the last 5 years as a parent.  We're lucky enough to get an appointment with the pediatrician at 10:50 a.m.  Phew!

The next few hours, I busied myself with calling work, calling your brother's school, sending work e-mails and such.  It's really too bad because today was Aidan's first field trip from school, and they're going to a pumpkin patch.  I told him that I would take him to another pumpkin patch to make up for it.  But he was sad coz he's been looking forward to taking the school bus!  Well that's what I told him before that he would be taking a school bus for field trips.  He then dozed back to sleep, and periodically whimpered and cried about the pain, and demanded me to scratch his big toe, side of his leg, etc.

Getting him in and out of the car was an adventure at first.  He had pain extending and bending his leg.  It was quite an ordeal getting him buckled up in the car seat, and then transferring him to the umbrella stroller (Thanks to the Cheung's for the stroller during our Disneyland Trip).  Got to Kaiser and waited for the doctor without much adventure.  Dr. M examined Aidan, and believed it's not the leg that was the problem, but his hips.  So, she ordered blood tests to rule out any infection, and an X-ray to check out his bones.  She said sometimes kids just hurt for a few days, and then got better by itself.  Sometimes, they get some sort of arthritis after a cold, and the pain will go away.  But just in case, she ordered those tests and x-ray to rule out any other problem.

Aidan's not even 5 years old, and he already had blood work done several times (when he was dehydrated/undernourished at 4 days old), and two X-rays (one when he fractured his skull at 10 months old).  How many more X-rays do I need to see him go through??  Aidan was a real trooper.  I've always been very proud of him when he had to get his immunization shots.  This time was a little different.  Daddy had to transfer him from the stroller to my lap, gave the technicians his left arm and got blood drawn.  He whimpered a little with the initial poke, but I was able to distract him with his toy.  I am so proud of him!

Then off to Radiology.  The all-too-familiar Radiology department.  I remember passing by there very often on the way to see you when you're at the hospital.  Once the doctor mentioned it's by the hospital wing, I immediately knew where it was.  Not a good feeling.  So, we got there and it's close to lunch time.  Luckily, we didn't have to wait for too long and was called in to change Aidan's clothes.  Getting the x-ray done wasn't too bad.  He found the fun in staring at the mirror to look at his reflections and make silly faces.  He was calm and listened to directions.  A trooper again!  I was relieved.

*waiting to get his X-ray*

Then off we went back to the pediatrician's office. I had to admit I was a little concerned when we're in the waiting room.  I thought about little Alan, and was afraid Aidan might have some sort of cancer.  I thought of you, and worried Aidan might also have a high percentage of mutated mitochondria that caused all this.   We waited for about 30 minutes and was seen by Dr. M. again.  She said she received 2 of the 3 blood test results and everything came back normal.  She's not concerned about the other test.  It appeared there's no infection.  She looked at the X-ray and didn't see anything abnormal.  But she wanted to confirm with the Radiologist before officially said everything was fine.  She suggested us to go home and would contact us after speaking with the radiologist.  So we left Kaiser at around 12:45 p.m.

I finally got the call back from Dr. M at around 3:45 p.m.  She told me that the Radiologist saw something in Aidan's hip bone that might be of concern of a problem that is usually seen in kids 10 years and older.  She also consulted with the two Orthopaedic surgeons, and both of them were NOT concerned.  Am I concerned?  Heck Yeah!  I asked Dr. M if a history of Leigh's Disease would cause the problem.  She said it had nothing to do with it.  Minor sigh of relief here, because I know everything linked to a Mitochondrial disease is definitely BAD news.  So for now, we would just monitor Aidan's pain.  If it got worse and he has a fever, then we need to bring him to the ER.  If the pain lessens and he can walk again, even with a limp, then we're going towards the right direction.

Please pray for your big brother and see that he gets better soon.  We plan to all come to visit you this weekend.  But now that he can't walk, we will probably stay home all weekend.

Love you,

Mommy

Not as bad a visit

Dear Logan,

Both Daddy and I thought that after last visit to see you, your brother might be aware that where you live might not be the happiest place on earth.  We've slowly seen him wanting to stay shorter and shorter.  And after last time's heart-breaking visit, we were worried that he wouldn't want to visit you anymore.

However, when I mentioned that we would be seeing you today, he happily said "yes" and said "I like Logan". What a sigh of relief.  He always likes to help me scrub your door and help me with your flowers.  He's really growing up to be a little helper.  So, whenever I went to get you flowers, I would let him pick out the flowers.  He always accompanies me and helps with getting water while I trim the flowers. 

The plan worked well today as well.  We went to Costco and he picked out the sunflowers for you.  Then he poured water into your door while I scrubbed it clean.  He sang you the number song that he learned at his new school, while I praised him for being a good, big boy.  It was a great visit.

I'm still glad that he hasn't asked the difficult questions about you yet.  I'm not sure how much longer I can avoid such questions, but for now, we'll keep our routine to have your big brother help me out as much as possible.  I don't want him to associate visiting you as a sad experience.


Miss you,
Mommy

Is it already time to say goodbye to naps?

Dear Logan,

Ever since last month's vacation, your brother's afternoon nap schedule has been way off.  There were days when he would nap from 3-5:30 p.m. (with me waking him up) and then he wouldn't sleep at night until close to 11 p.m.  Those nights totally drove me crazy.  On days that he didn't nap, our evenings were horrible.  He would be especially hard to deal with, and wouldn't listen to me or Daddy.  Those evenings usually coincided with our dinnertime, and that meal turned out to be pretty unpleasant at times.

This past week, he only napped today.  He almost napped on Monday on our way back from Happy Hollow, but because the ride was only 20 mins, he didn't start falling asleep until we almost arrived home.  By the time I stopped the car and got him inside the house, he's wide awake enough to get on my computer to watch videos.

He definitely didn't sleep on his first three days of school.  No surprise there.  Naps start at 1 p.m., and it's a little too early for him, though it's the same schedule as his old school.  At his old school, it took the magic touch of a particular teacher to get him to sleep.  Luckily I was able to get him to bed before 9 p.m., so he had at least 10 hours of sleep at night.


Afternoon naps are a break for Daddy and Mommy on the weekends.  Although he slept today, I am pretty sure he's just about to grow out of his naps.  I was hoping he can wait for another year or so, and just cut that nap when he goes to Kindergarten next year.  I guess no such luck.  All I wish is for his crankiness and disobedience to go away on days that he does not nap.


Love you,
Mommy

Back to work and back to school, may not be such a bad idea

Dear Logan,

Today is the second day of me going back to work.  It has been two very busy days.  While I was gone for a month, a lot has happened at work, and I had a lot of catch-up to do.  I couldn't really slowly ease myself back to work, as I need to update myself on what's been going on with my clients, and getting ready for the many meetings that have been scheduled for next week.

Aidan, on the other hand, has finally started at his new school.  It seems like he is having a good time, and likes his friends and teachers.  Yesterday, both daddy and mommy took him to his new school.  It was nice for us both to be present.  When I came home from work, I immediately asked him about his day.  He told me he has a best friend!  Wow, that was fast!  His best friend is Roger.  I noticed this little boy during the first trial day.  He was quiet, didn't say much, but also was observing Aidan and following him around a little.  He is a little shorter than Aidan, and possibly younger as well.  You know your brother, he's active and talkative.  It's really not hard for him to make friends.  I asked the teacher this morning when I dropped him off at school to confirm this new blossoming friendship.  Ms. R said that they were playing together a lot.  It's also nice to see Aidan giving Ms. R a big hug in the morning.  Although Aidan tends to hug everyone, I think it still hows he likes his teacher.

Being with Aidan for a whole month, esp. alone with him for the last 1.5 weeks, possibly put a strain in our relationship.  It's been a long time since I spent so much time with him alone.  It was tough, as he sometimes drives me crazy.  I need to keep him away from all electronic devices at home as much as possible: TV, computer, laptop, Wii, and cameras.  Thank god I am not a stay-at-home mother.  I would be a terrible mother.  I am addicted to the TV and laptop, and no wonder Aidan is as well.  I had to take him out every single day to keep him happy and active.  At the end of the day, I was so burnt out from being with him, I just wanted a break.

But now that I am back to work and I only get to spend 2-3 hours with him before he has to go to bed, the time we spend together has become priceless again.  I am eager to ask him everything about school, though he always says "I don't know".  I am happy to hug and kiss him non-stop, and read him stories every night.  Even getting him to sleep has become enjoyable again. 

Life is back to normal.  For once, I miss such normalcy in life...until I become restless and bored again.


Love you,
Mommy

Goodybe, CCLC....it's been a pleasure knowing you.

Dear Logan,

Yesterday marked the last day of school at CCLC for your brother.  Another chapter of his life has closed, but that only means another chapter is about to open.  Even though Aidan has only been to CCLC for 18 months, he has grown and learned, and made many new friends.  I remember the day when we visited CCLC, and I even brought you with me.  I remember I had you in my arms, while carrying a backpack with your oxygen tank.  I must have scared a few teachers along the way.

There were ups and downs during your brother's short stay.  The main event had to be when the teachers and Director of the program recommended your brother to be tested for Autism.  It's not the worst news of the world, as you know I've HAD the worst news before, but it's still devastating.  We went through testing through Kaiser, and of course your brother was fine.  He was just being a 3-year old boy.

Fast forward to today.  He's 4.5 and will be onto the next journey to a new school in September.  He has made so many new friends, been to so many birthday parties, given the opportunities to explore and learn.  I am going to think of the positive of the ridiculous staff turnover at school, and think of it as a learning opportunity for Aidan to learn from each teacher he has the pleasure to work with.  He loves school.  Most of the time when I pick him up from school, he wouldn't want to go, but to continue playing with his friends.  I have seen him mature, especially within the last few weeks.  Instead of being a monkey and running around, riding his tricycle or swinging on the play structure, he's been sitting down quietly playing tic-tac-toe, writing, or doing some quiet activities in the afternoon.

I sure wish Aidan would love school as much as he does at his new school, and for the rest of his life.

Love,
Mommy

First Optometrist appointment!

Dear Logan,

Your big brother had his first optometrist appointment, and he did really really well. As always, I prepped him beforehand that he would be seeing an eye doctor on a certain day. He really didn't know what to expect. I think he thought it was fun to look into the machine to look for an hot air balloon, and to do the little 'games' that the optometrist was playing with him. The only part that he didn't like was to have the eye drops for his dilation. He has never had any eye drops, so he really didn't know what to expect. He laid down as told, but when the drops got into his eyes, he was probably shocked and didn't like the minor tingly feeling. He cried a little, but was able to compose himself again to continue with the other games. Mommy was so proud of him!!

Many questioned why your brother needed to see the optometrist. One of the main reasons is (if I remember correctly) that the geneticist once mentioned if your brother also had some of the bad mitochondria as you did, the eyes would be the first place to show signs of abnormality. Since I didn't have your brother get a blood test, I really don't know if has any of the bad mitochondria. So to be on the safe side, I just schedule an appointment with the optometrist. Besides, your brother watches so much tv, plays the Wii, the laptop and all the handheld devices, it's probably best to make sure his eyes are doing ok. Luckily, everything's fine. We'll just have an annual check-up from now on.

Up next is his first dentist appointment on Monday!



Love you,
Mommy

The Winner Is....

Dear Logan,

After touring all the schools and attending a dozen open houses, we have finally decided on the school that we want your brother to go to. And the Winner is... Monticello Academy. However, the pre-K class at the Lochnivar campus (main campus) is totally full and with a wait-list already. So, we enrolled your brother at their preschool location on Monroe, which is much closer to our home. The Monroe location is their first location, thus it's somewhat old. The curriculum is the same as the other location. However, this is only a preschool with classes for 3-5 year olds. We're hoping after attending the Pre-K class, your brother will have priority to enroll in the kindergarten class at the main campus the following year. This is like putting the foot in the door first.

As mentioned in my previous recap, we liked Monticello Academy because it seems to have a pretty well-rounded curriculum, with fun and academics. I talked to two parents at both locations, and they were both happy with the school. We especially like that Mandarin will be offered as an extra-curriculum class starting in kindergarten. We definitely want your brother to take Mandarin classes. Hopefully, KG won't be too late for him to start.

We have already registered for the Pre-K class for this coming Fall. Hopefully, your brother will adjust well, and will grow academically. We will also sign him up for (of course, extra fee) Spanish, Music, and Gymnastics. I assume it's probably just once a week for each of the classes.

On the other hand, your brother will graduate to the Sea Lion room at CCLC (equivalent to the Pre-K class) in March. He will be in the big boy room, and thus interact with the oldest kids in the school. Luckily, his little girlfriend is transitioning with him. CCLC doesn't focus much on academics, and is more play-based. I am glad he could have some more fun at CCLC, before heading to a more academically-focused program. I do want him to have fun. After all, there are many more years of studying ahead of him.


Love,
Mommy

St. C Open House

Dear Logan,

The last school that we checked out last weekend was St. C. This school is a little farther away, but still in Sunnyvale. We first went into the Preschool/Pre-K room. Both rooms are decent-sized and brightly lit. Aidan was immediately attracted to the school bus in the little kids room. He didn't want to go over to the Pre-K room. Hank mentioned his nose was allergic to something when he was in the preschool room, and wondered if it was mold. Not a good sign! I talked to both Pre-K teachers, who are nice and young-looking. I got a feeling that the class is not academically-focused. I believe they follow the Montessori style of teaching. Not that it's a bad thing, but I think we're looking for more focus on academics.

They have music class once a week, Spanish once a week, computer class once every 2 weeks. there's a computer lab that the kids could go to. They have 3-4 field trips a year, Christmas pageants and performances. I think the curriculum is very similar to what Aidan is doing right now at CCLC. We didn't stay too long in this room, as we're running out of time already. We wanted to be able to go to the KG room.

We were escorted by the Vice Principal, who also teaches science and computer. The Vice Principal seems like a pretty young guy. He showed us the computer lab and the library, which I like. I spent a decent amount of time talking to the Kg teacher. She looks like she's my age, and appears very enthusiastic about teaching.

There are about 16-22 kids with 1 teacher and 1 part-time aide (shared with 1st grade). They have computer class once a week (30 mins), PE twice a week (30 mins), Spanish once a week (30 mins), Art once a week (50 mins) and music once a week (30 mins). They also teach religion everyday, and go to mass once a month. Religion appears to be a big part of the school curriculum. Classes are from 8-2:50 p.m. and then extended care. Before Christmas, kids all have nap/rest time. But after Christmas, they won't be able to nap anymore.

Kids are taught to read and write 1-2 sentences, and there are a bunch of sight words posted on the wall. They use a language arts program (phonics) from day 1. They also teach addition and subtraction within 1-10. The first couple hours in the morning are ability groups, when teacher can work 1:1 with students to improve their reading. Students have homework every Monday to bring home, and bring them back to school on Friday. There isn't any formal tests, but assessment of how they are doing.

There are about 1 field trip a month, except in the beginning of the school year when they're trying to learn the basic rules and schedules.

This school is OK, but I don't think it's one of the top ones, though I like the KG teacher.

What do you think, Logan?


Love,
Mommy

St. L Open House

Dear Logan,

Continuing with my series of blog posts regarding the open houses, the next one is St. L. This Catholic school is the closest to our house. This school actually goes up to high school. The campus isn't and as all Catholic schools, the campus is on the older side.

We were first escorted by a member of the student council to the Extended Care room. But for the first 15 minutes, I thought that was the Pre-K room. Then it dawned on my after questioning the teachers for a while that it's not! The extended care room is pretty big, but the toys that they had there were all very old. Granted, Aidan still had a good time playing with the cars and trucks that he saw.

When we went to the Pre-K room, we saw a few bunnies outside. It's nice to see live animals, especially when you're teaching about them in science class. There are actually two rooms for the one Pre-K class. One of the rooms is open to other students, and the little ones get to interact with the older kids. However, they only offer a half-day Pre-K class from 8-11:15 and the rest of the time, Aidan would have to be in extended care. That's already a "NO" in my book. That's just not enough class time, and too much downtime. They have Music class (Mon), Library time (Tue/Th), Mass every Wed morning, and PE (Th).

The teacher said the first half of the day is spent on Math, putting numbers in order, learning dates of the month and their birthdays. The second half of the day will be reading and learning the alphabet, and associate words with the letter. The teachers acknowledged that students come in at different level, and they will work with students with different abilities in different groups, so the advanced ones won't be bored. They also accept Open Enrollment throughout the year, provided there's a spot for the student.

We toured the garden at the back where the students have planted carrots. The teacher said the Boy Scouts helped with the project.

We then headed over to the KG room. We saw brand new computer screen where the chalk board was. The teachers said they just got this SMART screen last week. It did some really cool stuff. We also saw some "fake snow" that a couple kids were playing with. I couldn't tell from the texture what kind of snow that is. We didn't notice they have the whole Penguin theme going on in the classroom. There were 5 laptops there, and Aidan of course sat himself down and played with it. The teacher was nice enough to log on and let Aidan play, while I asked more questions. The students use the laptop for reading and math programs, and they do assessment on the kids using them.

There are about 31-36 students in the class with 3 teachers. Actually, I think the room is a little small for that many students. Class is from 8-3, and then extended care until 6. There's a kitchen in the school, where students could order lunch the day of. The teacher also said there's a volunteer who comes in on Fridays to teach a cooking class. There are other classes taught by outside teachers, such as Spanish, Music, Art and PE. There are 3 field trips a year (see a play, pizza parlor, park). On the teacher/class website, it will show what they are doing for the week, and the teacher welcomes emails or talk in person. There's homework to be given out every Monday, and they're expected to complete them and bring back to school on Friday. Informal assessments are done every month, and a report card 3x/year.

Students are expected to be able to read and write 3 sentences, and be able to do addition and subtraction by the end of the school year.

I get a good vibe from all the teachers, but I just don't like the Pre-K is only half day. The campus also seems a little small with all the students around. However, I do like that they invested on technology with the new SMART screen in all the KG and Grade level classrooms. I think the middle school kids all get a laptop as well.


Love you,
Mommy

St. M Open House

Dear Logan,

On Saturday, after dropping daddy off at Auntie Rachel and Uncle Paul's house to help them move, Mommy and big brother continued on our mission to check out more open houses.

We headed to St. M, which is pretty close to where we live. This school didn't seem too big, and the hallways are painted in yellow and blue (I guess those are the school colors).

The Pre-K students shared the room with the 3-4 yr olds as well. At first I thought the room was pretty big. After talking to the teacher, I found out the Pre-K shared the room with the little ones, and half of the room is actually for extended care. The room didn't seem that big after all. The teacher I talked to is new to the school. She's soft spoken and obviously doesn't know the school very well. The other teacher was talking to another parent, so I didn't get to talk to the more experienced one.

There are 2 Pre-K teachers, and they have about 22-36 kids. Children bring their own lunch. I need to look up their website to see if they have catering for lunches. I didn't see that in my notes. They have music class every Tuesday and a science class where they learn how to grow celery. I asked about what's expected from the kids, and this young teacher told me that the Diocese expects all kids to at least learn to count to 10. She said they want them to count to 20. Ok, that's not good enough. I guess if I have asked a more experienced teacher, I would get a better answer. The extended care reinforced homework and also fun activities. The teacher said the preschoolers are buddied up with the 4th graders. They have a buddy-system going on.

I then headed to the KG room and spoke with a more experienced, and enthusiastic teacher. The ratio is 1 teacher to 20-25 kids plus a full-time aide. Aside from books, there are toys and coloring pencils for kids. The teacher seemed to know what she is doing. She said they use a reading program called Super kids. It's a phonetic-based program. There are also songs that help reinforce what the children are learning. They also teacher kids how to decode and sound out each letter.

This school has a library (not too big but with lots of books) and a computer lab with a bunch of Macs. The teacher said the KG kids get to use the computer lab once a week, and maybe a little more during open time. There's PE every week and Music class once a week. The KG students are buddied up with the 5th graders.

On our way out, we passed by the gym. The gym isn't too big and it looked kinda old.

As much as I like the KG teacher's enthusiasm, I am not sure if I like this school and it's curriculum and facilities enough.

I think I am going to take a break. Kinda difficult to write 4 different entries in a night when I am getting tired. I think I might continue the Sunday open house recaps at another time.


Love you,
Mommy

S. School Open House

Dear Logan,

We visited another 4 open houses this weekend. I think I am getting confused and slowly forgot what I have seen. I've been meaning to write about the two schools I saw yesterday, so that I won't mix it up with the 2 today. But of course, I didn't get to do that last night. Let's see if my memory serves me well.

We visited one of the two locations of S. School. I'll be visiting the other location this coming Saturday. This school is very academic-focused as well. As a general impression of the curriculum, we're pleased with it.

Pre-K schedule is from 8:15-3:45. We met with the teacher and checked out the classroom. Teacher was very nice and enthusiastic. She went through the curriculum a little bit and showed the different projects that the kids did. We saw pictures of the artist/composer of the month. Children copy the picture of an artist/composer and wrote a little something about him/her. The kids were taught reading/phonics, math, science, music, and PE. Aside from artisit/composer of the month, they also have a science topic of the month. They learn about the life cycle of butterflies and frogs, and see the actual butterflies, tadpoles and worms.

I like that in Pre-K, the kids are already learning simple addition (concrete addition) already, and don't have to wait till KG. Music classes are based on the science and art topic.

The ratio is 1:12 and there are 2 lead teachers. The little ones have a separate playground away from the big kids. Twice a year, there's a progress report cards for parents.

The classroom was a good-sized room. As always, student projects and artwork are posted on the wall and window. They have a pretty structured schedule throughout the day. Lunch is not provided, but could order from the catering service.

One bad thing that we noticed when walking in the hallways - leaky roof. Not a good sign. The campus is pretty big, but old. We definitely do not like seeing water on the floor, and a little leak. I am hoping to check out the other campus next week, and the building would be a not newer and nicer.

We then went to the KG room and met with two teachers. Ratio is 1:15 with 2 teachers and 30 kids. The schedule of the day is as structured as the Pre-K room. There are 3 KG classes and it's definitely academic based. We saw the sample math sheet posted on the wall and they are already counting coins (how many dimes and pennies in $0.85). There are word problems as well. I was a little taken back that KG kids are learning that already. But then, we definitely like how advanced it could be.

They offered PE class (2x/week), Music classes (3x/week), art classes (3x/week). Homework is due every Friday (Math and spelling). There is a test every Friday, and a poem recital! Of course, all teachers tell parents not to worry too much about homework, as kids spend all week learning the new spelling words and doing Math. There are other extra-curricula activities and classes taught by outside contracted teachers, e.g. chess, yoga, and soccer.

Despite such a rigorous academic curriculum, they do not have a library in this school. They have the booksmobile coming 1x/month and children check out books. But still, you would think a library is pretty critical. I guess they just want you to focus on their curriculum, but not really leisure reading? They also do not have a computer lab. That's a bummer! The teachers said there's a rotating computer teacher who travels to the campus with laptops. I think he might travel to the other campus as well. Not good either.

Melanie actually goes to this school, but the San Jose location. I think I am going to ask Auntie Leonor and Uncle Kyle what they think of the school.


Love you,
Mommy