Two years old!

Xiao Li turned two years old last month, but she didn't have her two-year check-up until last week. I'm proud to say that she continues to occupy the high end of the height and weight spectrum. At 35 cm and 30 pounds, she is solidly in the top quartile.

To put it in perspective, Wei Wei is 39 pounds and he's 5 1/2 years old . . .

Po Po and her grandaughters

After four grandsons, Po Po now has two granddaughters. Here's a pic from over the summer. Too cute!

Good-bye summer!

I say this every year, but how does the summer pass us by this quickly? Luckily, we were able to sneak in a quick trip to Florida before Wei Wei started kindergarten. (That water and sand are definitely not from the Jersey shore!)

Popsicle Season!

Warm weather means popsicles! I think these photos speak for themselves.

Still here!

As you can tell by the lack of posts, it's been a busy few months. We're loving the warmer weather! Here's a pic from a little while ago of Wei Wei and Xiao Li. Trust me, they are not usually this accommodating or willing to share.

Luge!

Thanks to Auntie Grace, Uncle John, and cousin Jake, Wei Wei is now a luger! He's been loving the luge they sent for his birthday. And so all of this snow has had a good side too. Wei Wei and Jake share the EXACT same birthday and are basically twins separated by birth. It's scary how similar they are.

Ski Bunnies

Wei Wei went skiing for the first time yesterday. It was my first time skiing since high school, which was like 10 years ago . . . okay, maybe a little longer than that.

We both survived without any broken legs or arms, so I consider that a success. Wei Wei did great -- he had a lesson with his friend Kai and did ski down a teeny tiny slope on his own. Success! He is turning into quite the winter sports guy. Maybe luge is next?

Star Wars and more Star Wars

Wei Wei has entered the Star Wars phase. It's all he basically wanted for Christmas and all he's been wanting to play these last few days. Jerry and I are tiring of it and mildly annoyed at George Lucas for creating the franchise.

Let it snow!

We had our first real significant snow the weekend before Christmas and it was Xiao Li's first time in it. As you can see, she wasn't sure what to make of it.

Wei Wei Gretsky?

Santa brought Wei Wei skates, so we've been taking him onto the ice. So far he likes it -- maybe we have a future hockey player on our hands?

Holiday happiness

Ho-ho-ho! The holidays were great -- Santa was very kind to Wei Wei and Xiao Li. Xiao Li is still too little to understand the whole notion of presents, but Wei Wei makes up for it. And with all of the cousins (we're up to six now), there was much festivity. Just seeing them all together makes me smile.

Vanilla wafers

Xiao Li has been in a MOOD lately. Seems like every pic we've taken of her has her scowling or pouting or crying (or some combination). Here are a few from earlier in the month when she was in a good mood. This was her having her very first cookie. She is her daddy's girl.

Chatterboxes

Wei Wei is a talker -- the only time he's quiet is when he's asleep. Looks like Xiao Li is going to be the same. At 14 months, she's already got quite the vocabulary:
> Ma Ma
> Ba Ba
> Ge Ge (brother)
> Wei Wei
> Po Po
> Mei mei (little sister -- Kaiyi)
> Bye-bye
> Hi
> Ni ni (milk)
> Bao (pick up)
> Mao (cat)
> Go go (dog)
> All gone
> Elmo
> Wei? (Hello?)
> Patti
> Kyle

Artwork

Jerry has a new adornment -- that's right, here's his newest tattoo. Actually, that sounds like he has a ton of them when this is only his second. He already has a tattoo of the monkey king (Wei Wei's zodiac sign). Xiao Li's zodiac sign is a rat (not as cute), so he got a phoenix, which represents the female.

This is only part I. He needs to back for part II for more coloring.

Halloween pics

I still can't believe that it's already November. Here are some pics from Halloween of our ninja and cow (and pumpkin).

Wei Wei has been in fine form:

• Do the Wonder Pets brush their teeth?
• When Ma Ma goes to Africa and Ba Ba buys his Ferrari, can I get a metal detector? [These were Jerry's conditions, not mine.]
• Those shoes are adorable.

Jerry is sitting here with his leg shaved. Tattoo tomorrow!

We have real lift-off!

Xiao Li took her first steps today (that we know of, at least). A few steps at daycare, then a few more at home.

We're still here . . .

. . we've just been busy!

Is it me, or is it hard to believe that it's already mid-September? We had a great summer, although it went by too quickly (which is always the case).

Judy, P'ng, and Kaixiang are now officially NJ residents. We love them having them around. It's a hoot to see all four boys run around together. Xiao Li is going to have to work hard to keep up with them! (As is the future Wong-Loke baby girl.)

And in other big news, Jerry turned 40 and Xiao Li turned one. Here are some photos commemorating the big events. Happy birthday!

Budget Friendly Summer Fun

This goes to show that you don't need much to make a four-year old happy. I guess the water was a little cold . . .

Houston..we have lift off!

Here she is with her best attempt at crawling. I give her points for creative form.