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This journal is about raising identical twins.The Twenty Ninth Month
Previous entriesNote: This page contains Chinese text in Big5 encoding.
Monday, Dec 6, 1999 (28m)
The twins are twenty eight month old today.
Tuesday, Dec 7, 1999 (28m+1d)
Mommy set up the plastic Christmas tree in the living room. The twins helped to hang ornaments on the tree. After it was set up, they went downstairs several times to take a peek of the flashing lights. When we asked them where they were going, they replied "Da-Da-Ju" a close approximation of "�t�Ͼ�" Sing-Dan-Sue (Christmas Tree)".Jasmine still does not say the S or F sound. She will cheat her way out by changing the words to something without the S or F sound. Da-Da-Ju is an example of her creation. Joanne is better in repeating words more accurately when we ask her to.
Wednesday, Dec 8, 1999 (28m+2d)
Mommy took the twins to visit Debbie and her son Kendrick. When they arrived, the twins went straight to the toys. They were so indulged that they didn't bother mommy during the entire visit.The twins played happily in the living room, so I took videotaped them. And as usual, they nagged to see the footage of themselves. Joanne sat motionlessly in front of the TV. Her eyes glued to the screen. She occasionally made a sound to complain when I fast-forwarded the tape. After finishing the latest tape, they nagged for more. So I played an earlier tape too. Before it finished, it was their bedtime. We had to promise them to show the tape again tomorrow before they agreed to leave the room. I hope this is not an early sign of narcissism.
Thursday, Dec 9, 1999 (28m+3d)
When I came home, Jasmine came to me and pointed to the TV. She wanted me to fulfill the promise I made last night. We never thought they would remember.
Friday, Dec 10, 1999 (28m+4d)
Mommy took the twins to visit Melinda and her kid Alan. Her cousin Debbie was there too. Debbie's son Kendrick broke his arm in a fall recently and the cast was removed just days ago. He didn't play with our twins but attached to Debbie like a sticker. Melinda's in-law brought a ten year old girl and she played with our twins and Alan the whole time. Mommy said she heard a lot of "conversation" going on. My theory is right that our twins would speak more if played with older kids. Debbie and Melinda's kids are both younger than our twins, they usually played in silence. Again the twins were so busy playing that they'd almost forgotten mommy.We had dinner at Todai Seafood Buffet. We had to wait for an hour to get in. It was not too bad a wait, because the restaurant is inside the East Ridge Shopping mall. We went window shopping in the mall after we got a number for the waiting line. It was worth the wait because we enjoyed the sushi, sashimi, lobster tails, beef ribs etc.
Saturday, Dec 10, 1999 (28m+4d)
We went out with aunt Tina, uncle Ivan and cousin Natalie for lunch. In the evening, we stayed home and baby-sat Lori and Harrison while their parents went to their company holiday party. Harrison wetted his pants, and the cleanup kept us busy for a while. Mommy keeps postponing the twins' potty training just because of fear of such hassle. It is a lot of work when the kids wet the carpet. We had many arguments about the late start of their potty training. Since mommy is the one to do cleanup, she has the final decision on the issue.
Sunday, Dec 12, 1999 (28m+6d)
We went to Valerie's 2nd birthday party. There were many kids in the party. One 25-month old girl Dana can speak in full sentences. That makes us envy, because we still have to guess what our twins say in their broken words. Alana's 14 months girl can speak many simple phrases. I guess she is an exception. The twins had fun playing in the party, but they didn't play with the other kids. They stayed with us most of the time asking for food. The twins were very interested in Valerie's birthday cake, which had a battery-powered toy running on top of it. The party ran kind of late, the twins were tired but they didn't want to leave. They kept asking for the cake. So we stayed till they cut the cake and we left as soon as we had a piece. The twins fell asleep right away in the car.We then headed directly to Alameda to pick up great-grandma. We had dinner with Simon, Winnie and their kid Samantha in San Francisco. Winnie's mom is visiting from Canada again, so we used the excuse to have dinner together. After dinner, we drove by Union Square in downtown San Francisco and showed the twins the big Christmas tree. On the way to drop off great-grandma we drove by a famous street in Alameda, every house on that street is decorated for the Christmas season. The street was very bright with all the Christmas lights. The twins sit on mommy and great-grandma's lap to watch the lights while I drove slowing through the street. We then stopped by a Super-K store to check out some Christmas stuffs. And we let the twins played in the toy department for awhile.
Saturday, Dec 18, 1999 (28m+12d)
It was a usual week for the twins. They followed mommy on shopping trips, visits with other moms and kids etc.We first dropped off the twins with grandma Ling and great-grandma today. Then we went on a matchmaking mission for mommy's cousin Kevin. We arranged an outing and we invited Kevin, while mommy's friends Jenny invited her coworker who promised to bring her sister Emmy. Firstly, we got to know each other over lunch. Then we voted between car racing at Malibu in Redwood City or ice skating at a nearby rink.
We ended up driving mini race cars in Redwood City. Mommy and I bought tickets for 12 laps. By the time we finished six laps, we were so exhausted that we started losing control of the vehicle. The car started to skid and occasionally we went off course into the grassy field. Our lap times were getting longer and longer too. Jenny gave up early and gave her remaining 6 tickets to us. We both knew we were not coming back soon, so we decided to just use up the tickets. Our arms and legs were sore from the strenuous steering around tight hairpin turns. After 15 laps each, we were limping when we got out of the car. I began to appreciate the professional race car drivers who drive hundreds of laps over the course of many hours of racing. They must be in top physical condition to complete the race.
After the car racing, we went to Cha Am, a famous Thai restaurant in San Francisco. The dinner was wonderfully delicious. I had the seafood with green curry which was VERY spicy hot, but very tasty. It was still kind of early when we finished dinner. So we decided to take a stroll in the nearby Yerba Buena Park and we stopped by the SONY Metreon too. During the course of the day, the newly acquainted had a lot of chance to chat. We believe we accomplished our task, but whether the match was made is still too early to tell.
When we returned, the twins were still very happy, not a sign of missing us for our 10 hours absence.
Sunday, Dec 19, 1999 (28m+13d)
Daddy needed to work overtime at the office. Mommy decided to stay home with the twins.We later had dinner with Hing and Lucy.
Monday, Dec 20, 1999 (28m+14d)
The twins went to see a pediatric dentist in San Francisco. We got a referral from a friend who knew the dentist for many years. As usually, Jasmine screamed for "support" when Joanne was used for a tooth brushing demonstration. Both kids screamed when the dentist cleaned the stains on their teeth. Joanne's teeth were cleaner. Jasmine's teeth had black and white stains on them. The dentists said those stains are footprints of bacteria. Both kids have similar eating habits, I don't know why only Jasmine is infested. The dentist office is closed to the zoo. The twins played in the playground inside the zoo for awhile.For dinner, we went to the Outback Steak House again. We like it because of their steaks and also the Australian motifs. They even had a Christmas tree mounted on the ceiling. I guess that is how they do it from the world down under.
After dinner, we went to the "Christmas in the Park" in downtown San Jose. The twin seemed to enjoy the trip better this year than last. This year they were pointing and calling the names of Christmas Trees, Trains, Bears and Snowman.
Tuesday, Dec 21, 1999 (28m+15d)
Daddy worked long hours and overtime past midnight. Don't know much about what happened to the twins at home.
Wednesday, Dec 22, 1999 (28m+16d)
My company set up some Holiday fun activities for kids. Mommy took the twins to participate. Debbie and Melinda brought their kids too. The twins cried and refused to go near Santa. So we stood behind Santa to get a holiday picture. We had mini hot pot for dinner at Cafe Ophelia.
Thursday, Dec 23, 1999 (28m+17d)
The Christmas holidays started today. We had a delicious dinner with Ivan's family at Koi Palace Restaurant in Serramonte mall in Daly City.
Friday, Dec 24, 1999 (28m+18d)
We bought takeout from a nearby restaurant, rented three movies on DVD and stayed home all day.Jasmine's cold sore at the right corner of her mouth showed up again. The first time we found the cold sore was when she was 12 months old. A cold sore means she is getting sick soon.
Saturday, Dec 25, 1999 (28m+19d)
It is the Christmas day. The first thing we did in the morning was to unwrap all the presents under the Christmas tree. Most shops are closed for the holiday. We dropped off the twins at grandma Ling's place. We went out for lunch and watch the Movie "Anna and the King" (buy DVD|VHS). We had dinner at T.G.I. Friday's. When we picked up the twins eight hours later, they didn't miss us a bit. Looks like we should have no problem leaving the twins at day care centers.
Sunday, Dec 26, 1999 (28m+20d)
We had lunch with Denis et al. Then daddy worked overtime at the office in the evening.Jasmine got a runny nose. We learned that both Debbie and Melinda's families fell seriously sick the day after the party. So it was without doubt that Jasmine also caught it from the party on Wednesday. Both daddy and mommy had sore throats too. Some parents must be bringing a sick child there with no consideration of other children.
Monday, Dec 27, 1999 (28m+21d)
Jasmine spoke with a hoarse voice. Obviously she got a sore throat too. But that did not stop her from running around and saying a lot.
Tuesday, Dec 28, 1999 (28m+22d)
Joanne started to have a running nose too.
Thursday, Dec 30, 1999 (28m+24d)
I worked overtime till the next morning trying to resolve a problem before the end of the year. I failed and would pick up the work again next year.
Friday, Dec 31, 1999 (28m+25d)
Today is the last day of the millennium and it is a holiday. I slept in to recover from the late hour work last night. We got several invitations from friends for dinner and party for the New Year Eve. We turned down all because Joanne still has a runny nose and we don't want to spread the bug around. And besides, it is risky to go out without knowing what the Y2K bug will do to the world. We stayed put at home and watched the New Year countdown on TV.
Saturday, Jan 1, 2000 (28m+26d)
It is the beginning of the new millennium.We stayed home all day. Both Jasmine and Joanne has recovered from the flu. Mommy and daddy survived this flu episode, the worst we got this time was a minor sore throat. I believed the holidays and extra rest time in bed helped a lot.
Sunday, Jan 2, 2000 (28m+27d)
We spent most of the afternoon at a car dealership. Mommy helped grandpa to bargain for a Honda Civic while daddy and twins took an afternoon nap in the car.
Monday, Jan 3, 2000 (28m+28d)
It is a holiday for daddy. However, many people are back to work or school. It is the first day of school at Challenger School. We took the twins to get a tour at the campus. The headmaster of the preschool was very friendly and answered all the questions we had about the school. She also let the twins play in the playground with other school kids during their recess.We went to Toys R Us and bought the twins a tricycle.
Wednesday, Jan 5, 2000 (28m+30d)
The twins were bored at home, they told mommy that they wanted to go out. They said "�h���" (hui guy guy) which is Cantonese for loitering in the street.
Thursday, Jan 6, 2000 (29m)
The twins are 29 months old.
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started on Jan 23, 2000