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This journal is about raising identical twins.Thirty Third Month
Previous entriesNote: This page may contain Chinese text in Big5 encoding.
Thursday, Apr 6, 2000 (32m)
The twins are 32 month old today.Mommy took the twins to the Ardenwood Historic Farm again for the wagon ride. They rendezvoused with Debbie and Melinda there. Kendrick fell from the wagon and ate a mouthful of sand. He was not hurt besides some minor scratches and a lot of crying. Kendrick is a chubby little fellow and he falls a lot. Our twins are underweight, but that seems to be an advantage in comparison. Debbie took Kendrick home after the fall had ruined their fun. Melinda and Alan came to our place and stayed for dinner.
Jasmine pooped successfully in the potty for the first time. She was quite happy and received praise from everyone. She still frequents the potty with sparse random success. Though she made quantum leap progress in the past two days, we don't consider her fully trained yet. We still put the pull-up training diaper on her, especially at bedtime. Unlike Jasmine, Joanne's potty training was fast and seemed effortless. She has been totally off diaper including bedtimes for over a month now and she has not had an accident yet.
Friday, Apr 7, 2000 (32m+1d)
They went out again as usual with the same gang.I was told that Alan and Joanne are very close, they asked for each other all the time. If you ask Joanne, "Who is your boy friend?" she answers "Alan." If you ask Alan, "Who is your girl friend?" he answers "Joanne." Whether they understand what they say is another story.
It is possible that Kendrick and Jasmine's names are difficult to pronounce and hence a hurdle in the budding relationship. :-)
Saturday, Apr 8, 2000 (32m+2d)
We took the twins to the public library. When our car moved out of the garage, Joanne asked mommy if she brought the potty. Mommy said Joanne often checks on her. The twins were not very interested in the books this time. We returned home for the twins' afternoon nap.We went to Aunt Tina's place for dinner. This time Joanne didn't check mommy, and we forgot to take the potty. Mommy sat behind and held the twins on the big toilet whenever they want to go. They felt safe and did their business with no problem.
Cousin Natalie gave the twins some Pokemon tattoos. The twins went crazy about them. It has been a while since we used up the last batch of Pokemon tattoos.
Sunday, Apr 9, 2000 (32m+3d)
April 5 was Ching Ming Festival, which means it is about time to visit the cemetery again. We visited great-grandpa's grave in the morning. Most of mommy's family was there. Ken and Emily brought Cousin Matthew there. He is chubby and cute.We attended a lunch party for Sara and Simon's one-month-old baby. Mommy got together with many of her old friends from her previous church. Connie brought her baby Cynthia. She is almost as heavy as our twins are now.
After lunch, we left the twins with Grandma Ling and went to see the movie "Romeo Must Die." (DVD|VHS), We like Jet Li's action movies, but I found the plot of this movie very naive and unbelievable. The action was good, though some of the wirework stunts looked kind of unnatural. Compared to the wirework in the movie Matrix (DVD|VHS), this one is not very good.
We took the twins to the playground before joining mommy's family in a reunion dinner. It was quite windy when we walked about eight blocks to the playground. Joanne looked dazed when we got back. I worried that she got hypothermia from the wind, but she turned out okay.
Monday, Apr 10, 2000 (32m+4d)
Mommy was impatient to wait for the notification letter. So she called the Challenger School to find out that the twins were admitted to the summer school. Though we were not selected in the fall term lottery, we were told that the school reserves some spots for returning students from the summer school. In other words, if the twins were accepted for summer school, they have a very good chance to get a spot in the fall term too. We just keep our fingers crossed.
Tuesday, Apr 11, 2000 (32m+5d)
Jasmine's potty training has reached a plateau. She does not wet her pants in the daytime, but her training diaper is still wet every morning. No improvement is in sight.On the contrary, Joanne does not need any diaper day or night.
Wednesday, Apr 12, 2000 (32m+6d)
It is grand opening day of IKEA's new store in Emilyville. Mommy took the twins, Kendrick and Debbie there to check out the new store. They spent half an hour in line to get in, and they spent another half an hour to go through the checkout line. The parking lot was jam packed with cars too. We had been to an IKEA store in LA and we found their furniture have good styling and are very affordable, though the material and construction is not in top quality.
Thursday, Apr 13, 2000 (32m+7d)
For some unknown reasons, Joanne had major leaking accident during her afternoon nap. Mommy's theory is that perhaps Jasmine is also potty trained, Joanne lost her superiority over Jasmine so she is not making as much effort in her control.
Friday, Apr 14, 2000 (32m+8d)
The stock market dropped to the bottom this week. The college funds are gone. :-(Jasmine had her share of leaking accident during her afternoon nap. Even the comforter and some pillows were soaked. We replaced the entire set of bedding, and started the night with many loads of laundry.
We went out to dinner with Melinda, Ben and Alan at Cafe Ophelia. I left work at 6:30pm. It took me 50 minutes to travel less than ten miles from San Jose to south Fremont on I-880. I hate Bay Area commute!
Joanne leaked like a faucet while she was brushing her teeth before bed. We gave her a rinse in the bathtub before putting her in bed. I was kind of surprised, because these were her first two accidents since she was trained almost two months ago.
Saturday, Apr 15, 2000 (32m+9d)
Daddy and twins went for a haircut in the morning. This was the twin's first professional haircut. Mommy used to cut their hair at home. They usually treated it like a game.Daddy had the cut first while the twins watched. When it was Joanne's turn, she sat on the barber horse to be cut first. Then another barber became available, but Jasmine refused to sit on the regular barber chair. So she'd rather wait for her turn to ride the horse. Both twins behaved very well and didn't move for twenty minutes during the haircut. The horsy seat is one of the crucial factors to keep them at bay. Of course, daddy's setting a good example is important too. Otherwise the noisy electric clipper would have scared them.
We went to Alan's two-year-old birthday party around noon. The twins are no strangers in Melinda's house. They enjoyed playing with Alan's abundant collection of toys. Debbie and mommy jointly bought Alan a slide for his birthday. All the other kids enjoyed the new attraction too.
When it was cake-cutting time, all the kids were standing on chairs around the dining table. Joanne was sharing a chair with one of the smaller kids. He shoved Joanne off the chair. She landed the side of her head on the edge of a chair, and got a slight abrasion on her ear. She cried for awhile before she requested to return to the car for her afternoon nap. We figured it was the right time to depart though the party still went on.
When daddy took the twins home for the nap, we dropped mommy off at her hairdresser. She wouldn't feel complete if she were the only one in the family who didn't get a haircut today. The twins fell asleep in the car before we reached home. They slept in the car in the garage while daddy spent sometime fixing a clogged toilet. The twins had been throwing paper towels into the toilet since the beginning of their toilet training. Since mommy ignores my objection, the clog was inevitable.
After the twins woke up, daddy took them to Target to shop for some Drano for the toilet. Of course, the trip took a detour to the toys department.
After spending four hours in the hair shop, mommy came out with a puffy curly hairdo. She said the hairdresser told her it was a new style she created. She only had done it on one other customer so far. Mommy spent a fortune to be a guinea pig too, but I could not say too much about what woman enjoys. We walked over to a restaurant next door for dinner. We bumped into Poon, Sharleen and Claire. They just finished dinner. We chatted a little bit before they went their way.
After the twins went to bed, we had a flood in the bathroom due to the overflowing toilet. It was panic, chaos and a lot of hard work to clean up and mommy should have learned a good lesson about the paper towels.
Sunday, Apr 16, 2000 (32m+10d)
Daddy spent the day finishing up the tax return at the last minute. Since April 15 fell on a weekend, IRS gave everyone till Monday to file the tax return.Mommy's Cousin Ken and Emily bought us dinner at Elephant Bar Restaurant in Fremont. Their kid Matthew was bouncing around all night. He was very energetic, but still very well behaved. We all had an enjoyable dinner though we waited almost an hour for the table. We didn't mind the wait because mommy and Emily were busy exchanging ideas on raising kids.
Throughout the dinner, Jasmine took three to four trips to the potty in the car. She kept saying she wanted to poop, but she just stopped short after peeing. She was definitely constipated. When she got home, she took several more trips to the potty before she released her burden. It took her great strain to let it out. Daddy's cheerleading on her side helped too. She did not even want to look at the potty as if a beast had left her body. She sought for a hug of comfort as if she had just survived a torment. Her response towards the potty was kind of opposite from Joanne's. Joanne likes to praise and show off her "trophy". Jasmine shows disgust and fear towards her "product". Such attitudes make a big difference in length of their potty training.
Monday, Apr 17, 2000 (32m+11d)
Mommy and twins went to dinner with Jenny and Amy. The twins have seen Jenny many times, but they are not familiar with her sister Amy. The twins gave her a sullen stare. Amy's first impression was that the twins were very quiet. After a while, they lowered their defensive guard, and wouldn't stop talking. Amy's revised her comments and found the twins very talkative.
Tuesday, Apr 18, 2000 (32m+12d)
Mommy took the twins to Gilroy Outlet.The stock market recovered the loss it had taken last week. The twins' college fund was on a roller coaster ride.
After the twins went to bed, we watched "The Sixth Sense" on video (buy DVD|VHS). It was a chilling but good movie. I especially enjoyed the surprise ending.
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2000 (32m+13d)
When I got home, the twins told me they went to the park today and they were happy. They usually tell me only when I ask them what they have done in the day. But today, they volunteered the information. They must be extra happy today or they start to have their own initiatives.After the twins went to bed, we watched "Random Hearts" on video (buy DVD|VHS). We like Harrison Ford, but didn't find this movie very interesting.
Friday, Apr 21, 2000 (32m+15d)
Today is Good Friday. We had to hire a rooter company to unclog the toilet. I told the twins that it cost daddy money when they throw paper towel into the bowl.The twins are very talkative at home. When they are around strangers, they are dead silent. Joanne talks more than Jasmine. She often praises herself after saying a long sentence.
The twins picked up the S word from mommy. We asked them not to say it again, though they used it in the correct situation and intonation. Mommy needs to mind her language even when the twins spill a full glass of milk on the carpet.
The twins can speak in sentences in Cantonese. Although some time they mispronounce some words and switch around phrases in a sentence. Since there is no strict grammar in Cantonese, and even adult speakers often switch around phrases anyway, so they are doing quite well. When they start to go to school in a few months, they will speak English despite what we teach at home.
I spent the evening installing a new faucet in the kitchen after the twins had gone to bed. Since I am not a handy man, it was 1:30 in the morning before I finished.
Saturday, Apr 22, 2000 (32m+16d)
The twins woke up early and played noisily around my bed while I tried to sleep in after the kitchen work late last night. We went shopping in some hardware stores in the afternoon. We spent the evening re-caulking the bathroom with silicone sealant. The twins were well behaved in front of the TV and gave us time to work.
Sunday, Apr 23, 2000 (32m+17d)
Today is Easter Sunday. We ate lunch at Miyaki near Stanford University. Then we visited Peter, Yulin and their 7-week-old baby Anne. We chatted and stayed for about 90 minutes. We had to leave because the twins demanded to take a nap in the car.We headed to Grandma Ling's place. When the twin woke up, we took them to the carnival at the nearby Laney College. Cousin Natalie and great-grandma went with us too. The twins are used to going out almost everyday. They had no problem taking the rides all by themselves. Some of the rides designed for older kids had height restriction and we, the extra old kids, had to squeeze in with them. They had great fun and got several stuffed animals as consolation prizes from the midway games. I am a lousy thrower and didn't win a single game. Next time we need to borrow mommy's Cousin Ken, his home is packed with many huge stuffed animals won from various carnivals. We spent several hours and almost a hundred dollars there.
After the twins went to bed, we watched "Double Jeopardy" on video (buy DVD|VHS). The story is pretty good.
Monday, Apr 24, 2000 (32m+18d)
In these days, the twins are often indulged in toys and games. It is very hard to take a picture of them both facing the camera. Sometimes, when we call their names, they don't even bother to turn their heads. Mommy invented a trick. Instead of calling their names, we would yell Pikachu, or Ding Dong (Cantonese name for Doraemon) or Hello Kitty, or Barney. Once in a while we were lucky to get their attention.Cousin Natalie is on her spring break. She came to play with the twins. The twins imitate everything she does.
Tuesday, Apr 25, 2000 (32m+19d)
Mommy and Aunt Tina took the twins and Cousin Natalie to IKEA in Emeryville. There was a childcare center on the ground floor. Mother tried to leave the twins and Natalie at the center for a more carefree shopping trip. The minimum height requirement was 36 inches tall. And our twins were not allowed to go in because they were one inch too short. Both mommy and the twins were disappointed because the toys inside the center seemed very attractive.Mommy told the twins that they could not go in because they weren't tall enough, because they did not eat enough everyday. In the evening, the twins ate till their little tummies popped out. They seem to be motivated to grow up.
We were shopping at Costco in the evening. Joanne snapped Jasmine on her head. We wanted her to say sorry to Jasmine and promise not to hit again. She resisted. We told her that we don't want rude baby and asked her to go home by herself. Of course she broke into tears, but she still resisted. Ironically, Jasmine didn't mind saying sorry. The stalemate went on for almost half an hour. Joanne gave in eventually and said sorry. It was an improvement, because last time she got away without apologizing to Jasmine. Joanne is a stubborn kid and her violent temper is not improving.
Jasmine can say one to ten in Cantonese. I am not sure if they understand numbers beyond three because we haven't specifically taught them counting yet. However, they understood the concept of "two" early on. When they got things from us, they usually asked for two so that they could give one to the other sister. They cared for each other despite frequent fighting. And occasionally, we heard them identify three items correctly.
Wednesday, Apr 26, 2000 (32m+20d)
Mommy took the twins to have lunch with Lucy. They needed to talk about Lucy's baby shower coming this Saturday. The twins received gifts from Lucy as usual. This time, they got two pens and a set of Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed toy dressed in Japanese costume.Mommy spent the afternoon shopping in Cupertino. Then they had dinner with Helen, Jenny and Aunt Tina. They all went to the same high school, so the dinner was like a reunion. They all came to our house after dinner and continued their conversation.
Daddy took care of the twins, bathed them, and fed them while mommy indulged in her chat. I was puzzling why the twins were very cranky tonight. They wailed in tears easily when they didn't get what they wanted. Joanne even cried when I sat at the wrong place. She wouldn't stop unless I returned to where I sat before. I later found out that the twins only slept for 15 minutes during their afternoon nap. No nap means cranky babies. Mystery solved!
Thursday, Apr 27, 2000 (32m+21d)
When mommy fed the twins today, instead of waiting for her turn, Joanne kept saying "�Oü��j�j" (this spoonful is for big sister). Jasmine responded by saying "�j�j�h����" (big sister talks too much). Mommy got a good laugh at their funny exchanges.
Saturday, Apr 29, 2000 (32m+23d)
We held a baby shower for Lucy. The twins behaved well. Several balloons were over-inflated and popped, we later found Joanne covering her ears when she saw other kids handling the balloons.We stopped by the public library to return some books after the party. We then took the kids to Valley Fair Mall. They enjoyed playing in the Warner Brothers store for awhile. In the evening, we paid a visit to Lucy and Hing's new home and we stayed for dinner too. They told us the housing market in the Bay Area is crazy. A friend of theirs tried to purchase a house at $1 million and someone outbid him by $500,000 in an all cash deal. We heard from the news that there was another guy who bid $2 million for a house listed at $1 million. The seller instantly turned into a millionaire with the unexpected increase in profit.
Start up companies and the stock market have produced many crazy millionaires in the Silicon Valley. They spend money like there is no tomorrow. I heard from the news that the medium home price in Santa Clara County is now at $500,000. It has risen 12% in March alone. If this goes on at this rate, soon we will not be able to afford a living in the valley.
Sunday, Apr 30, 2000 (32m+24d)
We took the twins to Grandma Ling's. Mommy and Aunt June went shopping while daddy and twins took the afternoon nap. We left the twins with grandma and had dinner with Simon and Michelle. Michelle is expecting a boy in June and they are busy looking for a house. It is getting tougher and tougher to afford a home unless the stock market crashes.The twins were so well behaving that Grandma said she had never done easier babysitting than this in her lifetime.
Tuesday, May 2, 2000 (32m+26d)
The twins are 1000 day old.The twins were horsing around in the evening. Since daddy was videotaping their playful moments, we didn't stop their hyperactive mood. They woke up crying at least three times in the middle of the night. It seems to be true that when kids are too hyperactive in the daytime, they would have nightmares at night.
Thursday, May 4, 2000 (32m+28d)
We left the twins with Grandma Ling in the morning and then took an early evening flight to Paris, France. Due to time difference and ten-hour flight time, we arrived at Paris at around 2:30pm on Friday. I'll write more about our Paris trip when I have time.
Saturday, May 6, 2000 (33m)
The twins turned thirty three month old in our absence.
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started on May 19, 2000