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This journal is about raising identical twins.Thirty Fifth Month
Previous entriesNote: This page may contain Chinese text in Big5 encoding.
Tuesday, Jun 6, 2000 (34m)
The twins are thirty four month old.The twins and mommy spent some time at Melinda's place. Mommy returned some paperwork to the Challenger School. The headmaster was out of the office at the time so the twins enjoyed their stay at the waiting room. They were excited because they know they were at school. Their first day of real school is still three weeks from now. We need to wait and see how much they like the real thing.
Mommy put the kitchen timer in front of Jasmine at milk time. She finished her milk faster than Joanne did today. We wonder how long this old trick will last.
We changed toothpaste on the twins. We now used the Oral-B toothpaste with some Nickelodeon's Rugrats cartoon on the tube. Joanne hated it the first day, but she said it smells good starting on the second day. Jasmine still refuses to use the toothpaste. We had to force her every time.
Wednesday, Jun 7, 2000 (34m+1d)
The twins and mommy joined daddy for lunch.They refused to take the afternoon nap. Mommy struggled with them for two hours before they finally fell asleep.
Mommy bought the Orajel toothpaste for Jasmine, because she refused to use the toothpaste. Joanne stays on the new toothpaste. I would rather Jasmine switch to the new toothpaste because the gel is much much much more expensive.
After we put the twins in bed, we watched some TV in bed. We heard some noise outside our door. I opened the door and saw Jasmine with her head on the floor peeping under the door. She jumped up and startled me. I expected to see them there before I opened the door, but I didn't expect Jasmine to jump up. We leave our doors unlock to let the twins go to our bathroom whenever they want. This time they didn't touch the doorknob, they were on a mission to spy on daddy and mommy. I asked Jasmine what she was doing. With a roll of her eyes, she quickly answered she wanted to poop. I told her to go ahead to use the bathroom. She didn't produce anything. Either she was really constipated, or her earlier response was a quick lie under pressure.
Thursday, Jun 8, 2000 (34m+2d)
An unusual storm hit the area all night long. The soothing sound of rain gave us a good restful sleep. Everything returned to normal in the morning. However, it was an abnormally cold summer day. Mommy and twins decided to stay home all day.The twins played crawling around on the floor. Mommy told them they used to crawl like that when they were babies. When I got home, the twins wanted me to show them how they used to crawl. After dinner, I played the videotape from two years ago. They got a good laugh at themselves when they saw the clumsy babies falling left and right. Since the camera was mainly pointing at them, people in the surrounding were not fully captured on screen. During the viewing, the twins kept asking, "Whose hand was that?"; "Whose foot was that?"; "Where was daddy?" etc.
It is amazing how much they have changed in two years. Though we could tell them apart back then, we had a hard time telling them apart on the video footage now because their differences had changed over time. We had to rewind the tape to hear our own commentary in order to confirm who's who on the picture. When they smiled, the dimple on Joanne's cheek was a reliable telltale. It is interesting that despite the change in appearance, their laughter and crying sounded the same then as is now.
Saturday, Jun 10, 2000 (34m+4d)
We attended Edwin and Jin's wedding at Menlo Park. We showed the twins some of our wedding photos last night and told them we would attend a wedding today. On the way, the twins said we were all going to get married. The twins were rather quiet in the beginning. But they started to make noise when they fought to blow bubbles into the aisle. The twins were more interested in the bubble solution than the ceremony.After the wedding, we got to see other friends and their kids. Denis' Jonathan is a very active and happy boy. He can stand quite well with support. Poon's Claire can walk very well all by herself now. We went for a light snack with Louis, Angela, Lambert, Sandy, Poon and Sharleen.
We dropped off the twins at Grandma Ling's place. We then went to visit Michelle who had her baby boy a few days ago. He was born 7lb 4oz and 20" long. The baby reminded us how tiny new born babies are.
We hurried to the restaurant in Emeryville for the wedding banquet. We left at around 10pm. We then went to San Francisco to meet with Rowena and Winnie. We had drinks at the Hyatt Regency Hotel lobby. We were back to grandma's place past midnight. The twins were already soundly asleep.
Sunday, Jun 11, 2000 (34m+5d)
We had lunch with mommy's uncles and family. They wanted to treat Rowena a lunch before she returned to Hong Kong. Ken and Emily brought along Matthew. He was very active and bounced around drawing attention from everyone. Our twins liked to give Cousin Matthew a big hug.We headed back to the south bay after lunch. We went to visit Hing and Lucy and their new baby Terence. We were served the traditional ginger vinegar. We left at around 4:30pm.
We then bought some take out food and went to CW's place for dinner. Lillian joined us too because William was on business trip again. The twins had a great time playing with Addison and Deanna and their toys. We left at around 10pm.
Monday, Jun 12, 2000 (34m+6d)
Mommy and the twins stayed home in daytime. It was hot outside all day. It was in the upper 90s. Jenny came visited us around dinnertime, but she didn't stay for dinner.After dinner, we took the twins to do grocery shopping. The twins enjoyed the trip because they got to ride the small merry-go-round outside the supermarket.
Tuesday, Jun 13, 2000 (34m+7d)
It was a hot day again. It hit 97°F and even higher in-land. Mommy took the twins to see Lucy and baby Terence again. Mommy tried to offer her company to help her get over the baby blues. During the two-hour stay, the twins behaved very well and didn't bother mommy for anything.
Wednesday, Jun 14, 2000 (34m+8d)
The heat wave is getting worse, the weather forecast said the temperature would reach 115°F in-land. I've asked mommy to keep the twins at home to avoid the heat.
Thursday, Jun 15, 2000 (34m+9d)
I took the minivan to the shop for a tune up. I was given a huge bright red Dodge Ram QuadCab pickup truck as a loaner while the van was in the shop. Mommy does not know how to drive my car with stick shift, so the twins were stranded at home without transportation. The dealer called. The shop was too busy that our van needed to stay overnight.Lillian stopped by and lent us some Chinese movies on VCD. Jenny and Helen visited. Jenny brought takeout dinner for us. They had dinner with us. We watched a Chinese movie on VCD after dinner.
I showed the Dodge Ram to the twins at night. They thought daddy bought a new car and they played excitedly on "daddy's car" for awhile.
Friday, Jun 16, 2000 (34m+10d)
The dealer called again, the car needed to stay over the weekend. They wanted us to keep the loaner pickup truck for a few more days. Without the kids' car seats, we would be stranded at home till Monday. I went back to the dealer to fetch the car seats so that we could take the twins on trip in the loaner car.
Saturday, Jun 17, 2000 (34m+11d)
We went to Dick's house-warming party at a park near his house in Danville. Since our minivan was still in the shop, we drove the Dodge Ram pickup truck. Due to the limited space in the cab, we had to put the twins' car seats on the front seat and switched off the airbag on the passenger side. The twins were very excited because they got to see where the car was going with an unblocked view for the first time. We arrived half an hour after start time, but we were the second group there besides the helpers.It was a sunny day with light wind. We slapped sun block on the twins. Jasmine had a Pokemon tattoo on her arm and I didn't rub the sun block over it. At the end of the day, we found a patch of reddish sunburn on her arm around the tattoo. After the tattoo wore off, we found a white silhouette of Snorlax over the sunburnt area.
The twins enjoyed the BBQ and dipping in the swimming pool. They got a lot of exercise by paddling around the pool with buoys on their arms. Mommy didn't get in the water, so the twins had to take turn sitting in a buoy while daddy's help one paddling kid at a time. We got out of the water when the twins started to shiver.
After we had baby Jonathan's birthday cake, mommy took the twins for the afternoon-nap ride. She and Angela took the opportunity to visit Amy at her restaurant in San Ramon. I stayed to play volleyball because I had not played that for many years. I got a twisted ankle and two swollen thumbs when we finished.
We fed ourselves with the leftover from the BBQ before we cleaned up the picnic area in the park. We then went to Dick's place to see his house for the first time. We stayed till 9pm before we headed to Oakland Chinatown for a late dinner. It was past midnight when we got back home.
Sunday, Jun 18, 2000 (34m+12d)
We dropped off the twins at Aunt Tina's place and went looking at new cars. We were kind of fed up by the Dodge dealership. We planned to get rid of our minivan sometime soon. We bought a pre-owned BMW on impulse and might regret it when the buyer remorse set in.We went to Wil'n'Lil's place for dinner. After dinner, we had a night-swim in their pool. The twins stayed in the hot tub while mommy and daddy took turns to swim. The twins enjoyed themselves too. They grabbed a styrofoam noodle and paddled themselves across the hot tub back and forth repeatedly. We were back home at around midnight.
Monday, Jun 19, 2000 (34m+13d)
The Dodge dealer called, they needed another day to replace an oxygen sensor in our minivan. They also informed me that the rear brakes were downed to its last 25% and recommended a replacement. It cost me $433 because the Caravan's rear drum brakes are not machinable; i.e. the whole brake needed to be replaced.I am extremely disappointed at American car's quality and design. Firstly, the brakes were worn out in only three year/31000 miles. Secondly, the brake is not designed to be serviced, repaired or maintained. That is the built-in obsolescence that I heard about in economics class. If a product lasts too long, the company loses revenue. American industries purposely design products to have short durability. They design their products to draw blood from consumers. It is exactly the opposite of Japanese and German engineering philosophy. This is probably the last American car we would ever own. I am just another consumer putting an insignificant nail in Detroit's coffin.
We took the twins out to shop at Home Depot after dinner. The twins enjoyed both the outing and mommy's new car. They spent sometime playing inside the car. They tried out every button and switch in the car.
Tuesday, Jun 20, 2000 (34m+14d)
Finally, I got our minivan back from the dealer. The whole ordeal cost me $900 and five days. The dealer tried his best to please me by offering me a 10% discount, and waived me the $50 deductible from the extended warranty. I appreciate his effort, but that wouldn't change my opinion on the quality of American auto industry.
Wednesday, Jun 21, 2000 (34m+15d)
Mommy took the twins to swim in the pool in our community. Alan and Melinda went with them. The twins borrowed a swim sweater from Alan and they swam to-and-fro happily chasing a float on the water.
Thursday, Jun 22, 2000 (34m+16d)
I dropped off the car at the dealer for detailing. Mommy and twins picked me up at the dealer and we went to lunch together. We bumped into Ben in the restaurant.
Friday, Jun 23, 2000 (34m+17d)
Mommy dropped off the twins at Melinda's place. Ben drove mommy to the dealer to pick up the car. Mommy moved the twins to the new car and drove home. The twins wanted mommy to play the 123 song on the CD. Mommy scanned through the CD to find the song. When she skipped from song to song, the twins laughed hysterically.They wanted to listen to the CD and refused to take their nap. Mommy switched off the CD. Joanne cried and whined. However, they fell asleep within a minute. After dinner, mommy took daddy to Melinda's place to pick up the minivan.
Saturday, Jun 24, 2000 (34m+18d)
We dropped the twins off at Grandma Ling's place and went to see Jackie Chan's movie "Shanghai Noon" (DVD|VHS). We had dinner at grandma's before leaving. We stopped by Aunt Tina's place. The twins played with Cousin Natalie for awhile. Mommy went out with Tina to the new Krispy Kream store in Union City. It is the first Krispy Kream store in Northern California, and it was an instant hit. They said the place was packed and they had to wait in a long line at the drive-through to buy some donuts. We each had a couple of hot donuts before going home.
Sunday, Jun 25, 2000 (34m+19d)
We had donuts and freshly brewed soymilk for brunch. We then went to the Target store to shop for a swim trainer for the twins. We went to the pool and let the twins try on the new floating device. It shapes like a life jacket, but it barely keeps the head above water. So far they like this one best because they can move freely and safely in water. Joanne enjoyed it most, she "dog paddled" around the pool chasing after daddy and mommy. Jasmine was lazy and wanted mommy and daddy to drag her around in the water instead.We have tried several types of floats and buoys. We started with an inflatable baby boat last year, which kept their chests above water with their legs dangling lazily under water. This year, we let them try the buoys worn on their upper arms. They didn't like them too much because the buoys obstruct their arm movement and they do not provide support on the body.
Uncle Ivan and Cousin Natalie joined us at the pool while Aunt Tina stayed dry on the poolside. After the swim, we washed and dried ourselves before going out to have an early dinner in mid afternoon.
We returned home and put the twins in bed for their afternoon nap. Mommy went out to shop at the Great Mall. Daddy washed his car and put on a new coat of wax. The car had not been waxed for more than two years, and it looked shiny and new afterwards.
Monday, Jun 26, 2000 (34m+20d)
Grandma Ling's elder sister and family are in town. Aunt May just graduated from UC Irvine with a Ph.D. degree. The grandaunt and granduncle came from Hawaii to attend their daughter's graduation ceremony. All their daughters are PhDs. Now that the last one had finished school, they can relax and enjoy their retirement.We had a big family reunion dinner in Emeryville. Since this grandaunt lives so far away in Hawaii, grandma had not seen her for over 15 years. They had a lot to talk about in the next few days before they return to Hawaii.
Tuesday, Jun 27, 2000 (34m+21d)
The twins attended school for the first time. We didn't know we were supposed to leave the kids in the classroom first. The twins sat with us through the 30-minute parent orientation before joining their class. It turned out that it was the better arrangement because the twins wouldn't have let us leave them.The class comprised of about one third Chinese and two third Indian. The class was almost entirely Asian, the black and white were minority. The classroom was rather chaotic. I bet at least half of the class didn't understand what the teachers said. Some kids were not following instruction and some were crying for their mommy while the teachers tried their best to calm the kids. We stayed in the room but stood to the side. Jasmine adapted very well. Though she does not know English, she followed what other classmates did. Joanne whined and wanted to cling to daddy and mommy.
While they sat down for their snack time, we quietly sneaked out of the classroom to observe them through a window with a two-way mirror. After the snack, Jasmine looked around for us then she joined the classmates for the next activity. Joanne looked around. When she discovered we were not in the room, she panicked and cried hysterically. She rushed to the door trying to get out and was stopped by a teacher. We entered the room and assured her that we were just outside. We stayed in the classroom for the rest of the session. The twins were more willing to join the class activities when they knew we were around. Besides, we threw in a translation now and then that helped them understand what the teacher had asked them to do. I am sure that they won't miss us a bit once they are used to their daily routine.
Today, they were taught cleaning after themselves, using the bathroom, washing hands, waiting in line etc. The teachers also went through the phonic alphabet song, but not many kids were paying attention.
One thing that I don't quite happy about is the primary teacher of the class. She is not a gentleperson. She drags and pushes the kids around. That may be necessary when half of the class does not follow instructions. However, she rushes around the classroom without considering the tiny people around her. At one time, she bumped into Jasmine and tripped her off her feet. Jasmine fell and her cheek hit the back of a chair. She cried in daddy's embrace for several minutes. The other helping teachers were okay, but they wouldn't be around after today.
Thursday, Jun 29, 2000 (34m+23d)
The twins went to school for the second time. It was quite a traumatic experience to them. In last session, we accompanied them into the classroom. They felt our presence despite the unfamiliar environment. Today, we had to follow the regular procedure set by the school. The teachers picked up the kids at the front door in a drive-through style arrangement. The twins cried so hard as if they were being kidnapped.After mommy parked the car, she went in the school and observed the kids from the observation window. Unlike last time, the teachers wanted the parents to stay out of the classroom. The twins saw mommy through the two-way mirror and cried at the top of their lungs. They cried on and off through almost the entire two hour session. During recess, Joanne just stood like a statue in the playground and cried while other kids played. The teachers' hugs didn't help.
When mommy picked them up after school, they would not stop talking. They told mommy everything that happened in class. Even though they cried the whole time, they seemed to keep track of what was going on in the classroom. They said they didn't like the class because there were too many kids. Joanne said she didn't want to go to school anymore. That was not what we wanted to hear after just two sessions. Mommy arranged with the school to move them to the afternoon class because the class size is only half of the morning class.
When mommy asked them why they cried so hard, they said they missed mommy. Of course, the unfamiliar surrounding was a major factor. They didn't miss us when we left them at Grandma Ling's place or at Melinda's place.
Melinda gave birth to her second son.
Friday, Jun 30, 2000 (34m+24d)
Today is the Friday before the Independence Day long weekend. Traffic started to jam up at noon, as people wanted to get out of town. Mommy decided to avoid the crowd and stay home.
Sunday, Jul 2, 2000 (34m+26d)
We went to Oakland for lunch with Anita & her family. Jenny joined us too. We learned that Connie had her second child already, we don't want to visit her until mother and child are rested.I spent the evening scanning the twins' photos for the photo album on the web.
Monday, Jul 3, 2000 (34m+27d)
Today is a holiday for the Independence Day long weekend.We hired a contractor to put in a Pergo flooring in the family room and the kitchen. The contractor dropped off the material today. The wood needs to climatize to the temperature in our house before the installation.
When piles of wood planks were put into our family room. The twins were not very happy about it. They scold at the stranger asking what he was doing. They complained that he dirtied and ruined her playroom.
Tuesday, Jul 4, 2000 (34m+28d)
Today is the Independence Day Holiday. The United States is 224 years old.We partied at Wil'n'Lil's place. Simon and family joined us for lunch. We spent the afternoon swimming in William's pool. Five-year-old Carolyn was a good swimmer and the twins watched her swim in envy. Joanne wore her floating device and "dog paddled" back and forth in the pool. Jasmine got in the water several times only to return to the poolside after just a few steps. Even 20 month old Kristen "swam" more than Jasmine did. Simon's family left in late afternoon for another party elsewhere.
Joanne ate a lot of cherry after lunch. She went to the bathroom numerous times complaining about stomachache, but she produced nothing.
Jackie's and Bonnie's family joined us in late afternoon. Their kids arrived in swimwear from other parties earlier in the day. By this time, our twins were wrinkled like two human prunes. I washed them in shower and put them in the car for a naptime drive. They slept for an hour before we had dinner. After a few bites, they wanted to get back to sleep on the couch. I don't blame them after they spent the afternoon in the pool.
After 9:30pm, we were able to see from the house some fireworks at a far distance. The closest was from DeAnza College in Cupertino, but it was partly behind the trees. The fireworks from other cities were so far away that the twins lost interest after a few minutes. The twins were very excited initially because they still remember the fireworks from their Disneyland trip.
Wednesday, Jul 5, 2000 (34m+29d)
The contractors started working in our house at 8:30am. The twins woke up a little earlier than usual because of the construction noise. Mommy had to take the twins out of the house in the afternoon because of the smell they made when they tried to rub off the glue after they have removed the original carpeting.Joanne's teeth are clean and white after she switched to the new Rugrats Oral-B toothpaste. Jasmine's teeth still have many black stains. We force her to use the new toothpaste because the Orajel toothpaste doesn't work very well. She avoided the new toothpaste by flushing the brush under the faucet frequently.
Thursday, Jul 6, 2000 (35m)
The twins are 35 months old today.
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started on Jul 18, 2000