Paint Play Together

I signed up an art class for Sophia for the month of March in Eric Carle Museum, and it has been one of the best things for both of us. We came to the Museum's bright and open art and craft studio every Friday morning, and we sat down to paint with brushes of all sizes, tools ranging from combs, brayers, plastic forks, dabbers, and mediums such as watercolors, oil pastel, tempera, glue, cardboards, pencils, etc. Sitting by large tables covered with brown papers, we were given papers to put our creations on. It has been so therapeutic for me, for one hour a week to just sit and play with the brushes, being served by the art instructor with different choices of art mediums. I pictured myself as if lounging in the business class on an airplane, indulging in the visual stimuli of colors and textures with fine services. The best part was, I didn't even need to clean up after all the fun. 

Week 1 started out by learning about the concept of primary and secondary colors. Then we explored mixing the colors with the brushes to create more shades of colors. Sophia was fascinated about how new colors were created when blending them together.

"Mama, what is your favorite color?"

"I like brown, gray, black, white... and really, I like many colors."

For the next few weeks Sophia created many shades of browns and grays in her drawings, and I just love them. In one drawing we even sprinkled salt on it, and then rubbed it when it was dry. The salt left interesting texture to the colors. In another week we swished brushes and brayers on big pieces of papers, then used oil pastels to draw on it. We also created a large cardboard painting/sculpture with a caterpillar eating a leaf, while wild berries and other fruits drizzled around. It was interesting to notice how Sophia just painted without thinking too much about it, while I caught myself being careful and contemplating what colors to use next, what pieces to put down on the paper. It was a great experience to learn to let go of the control and just be child-like, "just do it". 

One week I also observed how Sophia learned to build connection to her surrounding through painting. She made a friend named Penelope in the class. One time Penelope drew a train track using her colors. Sophia wanted to do the same thing, so in her drawing she also made a train track but with different colors and compositions. In her mind that was her way to relate to her new friend. Penelope went on to make a drawing of snow because it started to snow outside, and Sophia also started to put snow flakes in her drawing. This time she noticed how each drop of the paint can stay on the paper like a bubble, or a water drop. Later on she created a painting with the question "what happens if I put lots of water bubbles on the page and then mix them?" It was very beautiful.

Sophia sitting next to Penelope, both busy with their work

 

These paintings will probably be put up somewhere in our house, just like what we have done with many other of her art work. We are two parents obsessed with collecting photographs and Sophia's art work, from dots to lines to patches of colors to scissor-cut shapes, stickers, stories made out of the pictures, etc. Maybe one day when she is older she can look back to these childhood drawings and see her own journey of building connections with the world. 

Friendship Week

This week has been so fun. Our friends John and Pauline came to visit from New Jersey, along with their kids Reuben and Joshua. We have some common friends in the area that go back to more than 10 years ago, so the last few days have been good times of catching up, hanging out, eating good food, etc. With friends together food is always involved :) On Sunday night, the husbands watched the kids while the women went out for a nice meal at Judie's and chatted until the restaurant was closing. On Monday night we went out to see "Miss Pettigrew Lives for Day". It was a very good story and we loved it. I was beside myself to think that I had gone out two nights on a row with girlfriends!! 

Tuesday through Thursday another group of friends, Peter, Gemma, their children and one dog also came up from Maryland for a visit. We have known them through the student fellowship while we were in UMass. Their children are now so big and tall. Sophia bonded immediately with all the children, especially their dog, Coco. She would sing lullaby to her when she was taking a nap on the floor. 

Everyone at the Dock for dinner

Gemma and Jun Jun posing by the trampoline 

On Thursday morning Gemma, Mari and I had breakfast together.  These special moments with veteran wives and mothers have been so rejuvenating to me. It has made me appreciate these friends so much more. They are women who are strong when they are weak, who are down-to-earth practical while dealing with the stresses in life. I am thankful for the gift of real friendship.

Jun Jun is 1 year old!

I can't believe how quickly one year has gone by and our baby Jun Jun is turning one! It feels just like yesterday that he was born in Hong Kong. The other day I was just telling the story of his birth to a couple of friends, and the memories of it is still so vivid. Some time I will h

ave to write down our experience in Hong Kong and particularly related to his birth. 

To make this one year old birthday celebration special, I had taken pictures of what we did that day to document this important event in Jun Jun's life. 

In the morning my mother called to sing Happy Birthday song in Chinese to Jun Jun. Fei Fei joined along. She now can sing it in Chinese too. Jun Jun watched the phone with great interest. 

Jun Jun at the doctor's office for the one year check up. He loves playing with the toys there. Heis now 22lbs 3 ozs, over 30 inches long and very healthy. After 2 shots and numerous tries for blood drawn from his arms, he was completely wiped out and was fast asleep on the ride home.

I bought a second hand rocking horse for Jun Jun as his first birthday present. I have always had the memory of myself as a baby riding on a rocking horse with my cousin in China, and I have always thought about getting a little horse like that for my children. When I saw it in a thrift store, it just caught my eyes immediately. Fei Fei and Jun Jun both had a great time riding it together. I think this toy will stay with us for a while.

Fei Fei decided to help make Jun Jun's birthday cake (really it is birthday corn bread). She has become really good at helping me mix and stir. In the afternoon, Fei Fei decorated the birthday corn bread with colorful cake pens, calling it The Machine. She carefully put 5 candles on it, because ever since she turned 4, she has been thinking about turning 5 and everything is about 5, including the number of candles on Jun Jun's birthday bread. 

We sang to him, who gazed at us and the candles with huge amazement. He was just so mesmerized with the light. 

Happy Birthday to our sweet little prince.

Two Firsts

Between today and yesterday we are having two Firsts in the house: Jun Jun turned 1 yesterday, and Sophia is going to her first sleepover tonight at the Wooleys. We have had quite an excitment going on here. Will post more pictures about Jun Jun's small but cozy birthday. He rode on the wooden rocking horse I got him and loved it! And Sophia insisted to sleep in her sleeping bag last night...she's bringing that to the sleepover tonight!

The "Bigger Kid"!

“Mama, since I'm a bigger kid now, I can put myself to bed. I will read books to my hippoy.”

Tonight when I was bathing Jun Jun, Fei Fei (Sophia) came in to the bathroom and gave the big announcement. I was a bit surprised about this, since bedtime reading has always been our ritual since her babyhood. She brought three books into the warm bathroom, sat down on a little chair and began to practice reading to her baby hippo and Jun Jun. Her ability to just create stories seeing pictures from the pages are amazing to me. Many times she would choose to make a different story from the ones she has heard over and over.

Somewhere in Sophia's mind she has decided that growing bigger and becoming 4 would mean her becoming more like a grown up. That explains the daily morning discussion about how she would like her hair done,how she would like to get dresses, what to eat, letting her zip up her coats, etc. When I do let her have her way, for example, doing her hair, she would tell me, “Mama, thank you for letting me make my own decisions.”

Sophia, in her funky hairdo, was making her own peanut butter jelly bagel sandwiches with tangerine slices...

Her mannerism also seems to change just like overnight. When referring to younger kids, she would say, "they are still toddlers, but I'm already 4". Ages seem to be making a much bigger distinction to her now. Since she's very interested in princesses these days, she would proudly declare, "when I was toddler, I was Belle. When I was 3, I was Snow White. But now I am 4, so I am Cinderella."

While I have been fascinated by this Big Kid phenomenon, I have been thinking of ways to reap some benefits of it. I would suggest to Sophia that since she's 4 now, she can be more responsible to her toys, her clothes, her "babies"--stuffed animals in her bedroom that she has affectionately given names to. I told her that since she is a mom to them, she can't be forgetting to take them home after bringing them out for a ride, a walk, or take them back to her room if they are downstairs or in the mudroom.

But once in while, when she feels the Big Kid thing isn't quite as fun and she wants to be lazy, she would tell me,"my babies are getting bigger. They can take care of themselves sitting in the mudroom."

So, after I finished Jun Jun's bath and we were about to get upstairs, I asked my Big Girl, “ tonight you are going to put yourself to bed, right?” She thought for a second, then smiled to me, “Mama, I still want you to put me to bed.” Somewhere else in her mind, she still knows that she is my little girl.