Christmas

Grandpa went into hospital at the end of November, and spent over three weeks there. He has a broken tummy, which doctors are trying to fix. The doctors took good care of him. Grandpa came out of hospital in time for Christmas.


SGG and Grandma came to my Christmas show at school on the 22nd. I was very good and SGG took lots of photos of me.

Great Uncle Frank, Uncle Des, Auntie Kinnie and Uncle Colin came for Christmas lunch; and Uncle Darren, Auntie Aggie, Ella, Lulu, Alex Popo and Auntie Margaret over for Boxing Day.

Sai Gugu's birthday

I have making lots of different faces recently and SGG caught me testing these out in front of the mirror. She thinks I’m cheeky. Soccatots finished at the start of the month. Gemma isn’t sure whether there’ll be more sessions next term, I do hope so.

I was so excited about SGG’s birthday that I sang Happy Birthday to SGG for many days running up to her birthday, and then for another week afterwards. SGG organised a play date with Marvin on the 8th because school finished early. We went to Happy Valley Jockey Club with Grandma and Marvin’s grandma, Chan Popo. I introduced Marvin to my friend Coney, pictured right.

November

I had a very busy month starting with a play date with Marvin and his family, Megan, Auntie Esther and Uncle Calvin at Happy Valley Jockey Club. The weather was very good so we played outside and ate pizza and fruit.

Sai Gugu took me to the park with a little girl called, Danelle. We played separately and Danelle gave me a little digger as a parting gift. Gugu Big signed me up for Soccatots on Saturday mornings at the USRC. I like Gemma, my coach but it still takes me about 30 minutes to warm to the group before I am able to join in with the fun and games.

Despite the introduction of the “Star Reward” scheme in September, I’m still very naughty so SGG is trying out a punishment scheme where my toys are taken away and put "under lock & key" when I do something naughty or unsociable, such as throwing my food and spitting. My toys are returned when I’ve been good. Let’s see how I get on.

I’m talking quite a lot now and in addition to English, I’ve started saying words and phrases in Cantonese and Putonghua. Although I’ve been singing songs in Putonghua since I started school in September, speaking it at home is new.

Uncle Thomas Schieber, SGG’s good friend was in HK for a day and came to meet me. I liked Uncle Thomas so I was on my best behaviour ;-)

Halloween

We celebrated Halloween at home and at school. Gugu Big took us to a Pumpkin Festival at the HK Island School last Saturday where I had my picture taken with pumpkins, scarecrow and a ghost. Gugu took me for a ride on a tradition rickshaw, I loved it so much I had four goes! On Halloween day itself, we wore fancy dress to school. I dressed up as a little devil with my hat and pitchfork and my classmates came as an angel, Superman, Spiderman and lots of other characters.

I took the cue from Halloween and decided to adopt some aliases of my own so I can blame another child when I misbehaved. I answered to Marvin (my best friend at school), August and Buddy. The grown-ups were so tickled by this development that I got away with lots of unsociable behaviour.

Speed demon

Wow! I have been so busy! Grandma and Grandpa were away on holiday for most of the month so Sai Gugu was in charge of looking after me, Papa and Big. The weather has started to cool so we were able to get out and about more. We went to Beas River Country Club with Auntie Susan, twins Austin & Mason and my big tricycle. It was my first time cycling outdoors - Sai Gugu said I broke the speed limit ;-)

"Big School" starts

Today was the first day of the new school year, and my first day at a new nursery school. I was made to put on a brilliant white uniform, and Papa and Grandma took me to meet my new teachers Ms Stella, Ms Hong, and my classmates. It was a bit overwhelming because the class size is much bigger than before, and some classmates turned up with a whole army of anxious relatives. Papa joined me in class, but Grandma replaced him when he had to leave for work. I didn't like my uniform very much at the start, but I had dress rehearsals two days beforehand.

Thanks to Gugu's superb organisation, things have gone so smoothly the last two months: the helpers were delegated with making sure I left for "little school" at the designated hour. Papa rode with me every day. We called out all the different things I saw en route. Now I've got used to going into class alone, it won't be too much of a shock when school starts in earnest next week.

Papa has been making sure I still get to bed at the same time; Gugu Big still likes to make sure I don't oversleep in the afternoons. I'm a big boy, so stopped using my bottle for my milk; I am now made to pick up things which I have thrown; I still prefer to use my fingers when eating, so it has not yet stopped mealtimes being like feeding time at the zoo ;-)

I am now 32 pounds in weight, 94cm tall. I now enjoy constructing ever more complex sentences. I surprised the grownups one day when I said "Someday, Booboo go work with Gugu Big and Papa"

Summer holidays

Luckily its been dry the last two Sundays in a row - Papa and Gugu took me to the country club to see horses. Last week, I was fascinated to see one taking a shower. I nearly touched one, but got scared when I got up close :-( This week, we watched people riding them and jumping over gates. It has been so hot to be outside that droplets rain off my face :-0

Although most children have started summer holidays, I now go to school 4 days a week instead of 3; Wednesday is my new day off. I love school : One very wet day in June, I was very upset when I arrived at school to find that classes have been cancelled due to the rainstorm warning. Since Mrs Griffin left, my class has been taken over by Miss Rachel, who I know from last year. I go to class alone for two of the four days. My classes start two hours earlier than before, so I now commute in the morning rush hour. Gugu took me in on the first two days to make sure I started off smoothly.

Winking has become my latest party trick; Every day, I speak some new words. The adults sometimes still wonder where I learned the words. Grandma says my pronunciation is improving by leaps and bounds; Papa was impressed with my first five-syllable word - "organisation".

Although I don't sit in my high-chair for meals any more, Gugu realised it was a stretch for me to sit on the big chair, and much food ended on the floor. To make it easier, the Gugus went and bought me a booster seat. The adults are resigned to the fact that I still get mucky paws and food still ends up on the floor.

Goodbye Mrs. Griffin

It's still rainy season. I go to the outdoors playground at the Jockey Club if its dry, and playroom if it's rainy. I like the ball pit in the playroom, where I am surrounded by spheres and can collapse face up and face down without fear of hurting myself. I can say "ball pit", but it sounds a bit like "puppet" right now. Papa is so pleased with further progress this week: he says I can now speak in grammatically correct phrases. I started collecting things recently, and I ask grown-ups to help me capture horses, pylons and "crankies" with this new-found linguistic skill.

Mrs Griffin teaches us songs in school. I often like to hum 'She'll be coming round the mountain, and can now sing 'Twinkle Twinkle'. Mrs Griffin is leaving for home [Ireland] in a few days, so Big and I baked cookies for her leaving party tomorrow; Papa got some photos of me, and we made a card for her. Neither Mrs Griffin nor the folks at home like me throwing things. In order to get me out of unwanted habits, Gugu started putting me in the "Naughty Chair". I have had to go to it several times this week :-( She got the idea of from 'Supernanny'.

I am allowed to sit in a big chair most mealtimes and feed myself. I make a mess: Papa says it's normal; Grandma cringes. Since I read 'Maisy Goes Camping', my sleeping bag has become a prop these days. I no longer wear it at night. If I get put to bed in one, it's usually off before I fall asleep.

Papa is speaking more to me in Mandarin. Also my ability to express myself in both English and Cantonese is also improving, and my verbal comprehension is progressing well in all 3 languages. I have no difficulty in pronouncing new words taught to me every day. I already know all my fruits, for example, mango, papaya, pomelo, strawberries, avocado, pomme, and joining these with words like 'more', 'another', 'get', 'only', 'help', 'milk', 'cheese', I can give precise instructions at tea and meal times. Grandma introduced me to clear beef and vegetable broth - it was an instant hit!

Yesterday was Grandma's birthday. I gave her a card and a present, and wished her "Happy Birthday" out loud. I wished her "Happy Birthday" again and again throughout the day. Grandma was chuffed to bits.

Swimming outdoors

Papa took me swimming today. There was a little girl at the Jockey Club with her grandparents, and she was keen to play with me, but I was too shy. Papa thought it was warm enough to swim in the outdoor pool. Although eager to get there, I took my time to get into the water. When I did, I clung onto to Papa, so he swam around with a koala bear around his neck. I was just beginning to enjoy myself when Papa decided it was time to get out: Gugu had organised a playdate with twins Mason and Austin.

Development

It's hot and rainy outside - not very pleasant, so I've not been to play out very much since my last entry. On the one nice day last week, Gugu took me to play golf (see the slideshow). I got back all hot and sweaty, and referred to the droplets as "rain" ;-)

I still go to school every week, and I now have a "best friend" at school called Eugene. I'm very much looking forward to a play-date which Gugu organised with him for me next Monday after school.

I am learning to construct longer sentences of three, four or more words. Yesterday I saw Grandpa sleeping on the sofa, and told him "Yeye room bed". I am still obsessed with balls, but have developed a great interest in "crankies" (cranes) since seeing the Thomas the Tank Engine episode "A Cranky Day". I point them out whenever I see them on roof tops and building sites, which is quite a lot- as there is a lot of construction on route to my favourite destinations;-). Gugu has been so impressed that she went and bought me a Cranky to go with my growing train set.

Whilst Big plans my meals, I get to select the dishes: I like to eat a variety of things :-), but I am still essentially a vegetarian.

My brother Duncan

The big news last week is that I have a little brother, who was born in Paris Wednesday last week at 8 in the morning. Papa says he is much heavier than me at birth, he weighed in at almost 4kg (8lb 12oz) ! Papa named him 'Duncan' because I like the sound so much. Since then, I sometimes refer to myself as "gege", or big brother in Chinese.

My weight has been stable at 30 lbs, but at 92.5cm, I continue to grown taller. I still enjoy my lie-ins in the morning before getting up for breakfast - I am allowed to wake up slowly and get to practise vocalisation and singing. It's getting warm, so Grandpa couldn't resist giving me another haircut. I will soon be able to go swimming outdoors.

Gugu says I am developing purist tendencies: I don't like mixing up my building blocks of different colours; when given a bowl of vegetables, I like to separate the peas from the corn. I like comparing things and remarking when they are the same. Green locomotive Percy has never been a favourite since Santa gave it to me for Christmas, but when Gugu bought Duck, the two locomotives are both getting some attention because they are the same colour.

I go to the park more and more because it's warmer and because Gugu says I need to run around outside more, and learn to kick a ball. I still have lots of fun around the house: I am mastering my jigsaw puzzles, and enjoy wearing big peoples' shoes. The grown-ups now get angry more often because I'm doing things they thought I grew out of long ago: throwing things, standing up in my chair, emptying cups of water on the floor or carpet. I occasionally throw tantrums too! Thankfully I didn't invent the "terrible twos";-)

School's out

School's out for Easter, so I've been wearing Grandma and the Gugus out at home. If I'm good, which I usually am ;-), my social calendar is rather full. I am also invited when Grandma meets her friends for lunch (and I get spoilt with presents), I go swimming with Papa every week, I get taken to the playground, I often go for rides in the car with Grandpa. Recently, I have enjoyed two play-dates chez Max, organised by Big [Gugu], so I am putting my taught manners to good use. I am learning to share, and to give presents.

Although I am still a little Charles de Gaulle sometimes, I can also say "yes" enthusiastically - usually when it comes to food:-). I have been bought a potty, but usually 'do a Charlie' to it. Still, I have a few more months before I move up to a class for bigger kids. I now routinely string two or more words together; I can pick out any one of 5 different types of balls. I hum made-up tunes to myself. I like to chime in to "She Loves You", "April Showers" or "End of the World".

I was sooo pleased when [little] Gugu put my name up on my bedroom door this week. She bought all the wooden letters separately from a shop in London. Although I cannot read yet, it will help me recognise my name when I learn to spell. Papa joked that he could spell "Dorothée" with the same letters.

New words

My language development is progressing, new words are coming thick and fast. As I am now officially 2 years old, so I learned to say 'two' and 'deux'. Papa says I'm not a baby anymore, but I still mostly refer to myself as Baby, or Booboo [Bear], as Papa likes to call me.

Weeks ago, I said my first two-syllable words "turtle" and "hello". Now I can use two words together, which I usually use to indicate possessions or to ask for something. A current favourite word is "non", which I now use routinely and emphatically like a little Charles de Gaulle. I also learned to say 'Gordon'. Gugu was so impressed she rushed out to get him for my collection :-) I now like to run Gordon under bridges, or even better to attach my magnetic trains to metallic objects.

Since last week, I get given fresh cow's milk to drink now instead of formula; Little Gugu reports that I am another centimetre taller, at 90cm. She has it marked on a wall-chart :-)).

The weather's been a lot better again, so I've been going out more often to the park to play. Gugu took me swimming today instead of Papa, but she says I should feel more comortable with her next time.

My second birthday

It was soooo much fun celebrating my second birthday yesterday. Gugu Big had left me a present, which I recognised immediately when I opened it - it was James, Thomas' friend. Papa gave me a fire station to go with my train set, whilst Mummy gave me a Lego train. Little Gugu gave me a nice picture book for my collection.

In the evening, my relatives from downstairs all came up for my party, and I got more presents. Somehow, everybody learnt of my love of Thomas the Tank Engine, so my presents have a common theme:-O. My train set is getting bigger - only Papa is making me wait to open my presents as he says I have too many toys right now :-(

I had a delicious cake which Grandma ordered as Gugu wasn't around this year to make me a cake. I couldn't help asking for second helpings, which I devoured without any assistance. Grandma was impressed that I only made a little mess.

People often laugh at my party tricks now, as I often say "Oui" when asked a question - even when people ask my name; colours are usually either 'green' or 'rouge'.

Gugu came back this week, and has noticed I'm taller and more mature - I think it has something to do with the cheese I've been eating ;-)

Guest of honour

Back at school again on Friday, two very tall policemen visited my school as part of this term’s “People who help us” theme. I had my photo taken with Mr Policeman, and also with me sitting on his motobike :-)

Finally, I was guest of honour last night at the special dinner Grandpa’s friends had organised to celebrate his birthday. Again I impressed with all my party tricks. I’m so exhausted it is a miracle that I’ve had time to grow 2cms and put on 2lbs – I’m now 89cm tall and 30lbs.

Black eye

Since my last entry, I sustained a black eye and learned to say my name. I have once again had the most exciting and eventful week starting on Tuesday when Papa celebrated his birthday. Gugu had taught me to say “app-e-bird-e” to Papa, who was very thrilled.

Today, I skipped school to attend my Uncle Des' wedding (by the English reckoning, he's not really my Uncle but my first cousin once removed). I was a bit shy at first, but soon confidently started to perform all my party tricks including speaking in English, Français, Cantonese and Putonghua to keep the grown-ups amused while they were queuing to have their pictures taken with the bride and groom. I love Auntie Kinnie, who gave me an hat - she's beautiful and always comes to play with me.