December what? Already?

With the house been in such a disarray! Time flies, but not because it's fun!  We are getting the entire interior of the house painted including walls and all the wood build-ins in the house. It's been like a giant construction zone.  We practically had to pack up everything so the painters can get to the slightest details and not to ruin our belongings. We had eaten out for 4 days until today.

We were able to escape to Phoenix for Thanksgiving, but that was too short for anything to really happen, especially we ended up with one of those contractors who would start the job, then move on to work on another job and leave our house in a mess until his guilt kicks in and he comes back to paint more. It's been almost 1 month for this project, and still at least another week to go.  We felt like we were forced to not come home because the inconvinence and the awful smell of the place.  We had done everything after school or on non-school days. Library, mall, backyard, playground...It's almost xmas and we don't have a tree or xmas lights.  I just can't wait for this all be over with.

The kids had a lot of fun in Phoenix. They really enjoyed my uncle's big backyard. He grows organic veggies and brandan loved to see those. one day he was walking outside and then decided to rip off a piece of leaf and just started to munch on it.  It was so cute!  Lexi also enjoyed playing with the girls, but she is still too little to really play "with". It was more like play "along".  When we were at Kepra's house, I realized that brandan has a huge gun-facination. He couldn't wait to get his hands on each single one of those boys Nerf Guns.  But he also learned to shoot at people and dog. :(  So NO nerf guns for xmas yet. Maybe for his 4th birthday.  Lexi got pretty sick there, but recovered in just a few days.  Lexi was a bit confused by all the different language that was going on there. My local dialogue and mandarin and english.  

The drive was ok, we put my PC in the car and watch one movie each way. Except for a few pee-stops, there was no drama at all.

The 3 days after we came back, then my mom came from China. Brandan was so excited to see her, but Lexi is more reserved.  Immediately, Brandan regressed into a little baby, cry for every little thing, wanted my mom to put on his clothes, or ask my mom to fee him.  It's finally better now that after I told him Grandma likes big boys who knows how to do stuff.  But now he wants attention for everything, even after he puts on his socks he wants my mom to look at it and praise him.

Lexi is warming up to my mom now too, she didn't remember her but now she is like her best friend. She also wants PouPou to look at everything she does.  But she won't let my mom wipe her bottom. Funny little girl!  Her Chinese is improving a bit, but not like Brandan's.

I start to feel that Brandan is really smart, but maybe he is just on schedule with his developmental milestones. He can draw every well compare to before, he even attempt to write letters. But every time i offer to help him to write or draw, he backs off and just watch me do it. Maybe we need to give him more practice on his own.  He is the kind of kid who wants to do it on his own, and not to show anyone until he's got something good! Or at least that's how he is now.  His vocabulary is increasing too, but he is not doing enough phonetics as i expected.  We had signed him up for the gymnastics and he had jumped a grade in 3 weeks of class, now he is in Junior Champion with 4-5 years old. Today, was his first class in that level, and the teacher had said in a few weeks, he will be ready to move up to 5 year olds class.  She was amazed that Brandan was only 3 and half, even though he tells everyone he is 4.  I thought the class was determined by age, but the teacher said it's based on how accurate they movements and balancing skills are and how well they listen.   He also tells me very long stories that involves very vivid imagination and good logic.  I hope he keeps on this path. And i am also going to put him in other classes to see how well he does just to give him more exposure to different activities.

Lexi is progress very fast too. She now makes very long sentences such as, "don't touch my baby, she is going to sleep" or "it's my mommy, your mommy's at work" to her friends in the classroom.  She is doing great at potting training, although she stills have accidents but it's reduced from once or twice a week to once in the last 2 weeks.  She's got such a girly thing going on with her, she loves to wear my high heels, but she knows how to protect herself, instead of making big steps, she bends her knees and make small stomps.  She doesn't like her hair to be touched though, maybe because it's tangled up a lot and it hurts her, I need to find a better product for that.  Or maybe just cut her hair really short. She loves her little crib, she always want to go to bed, she actually walked upstairs and asked for me to lay her down a few times. Maybe she just need her beauty sleep! I put a play doll's basinet in her bed, and she puts her baby doll in it, she covers her up really well, and tug the blanket tight around the dolls neck, sometimes she even pulls one of the doll's hand out of the blanket and makes her sleep side ways like how she would do herself.  Next to the baby, is her assortment of binkies. 4 of them different color different style. She test them out once i put her in the crib, and she chooses on and put the rest under the doll baby's blanket.  So cute!

One thing i can't stand is that she likes to take her own diaper off when she goes to sleep. not just that, she undresses herself and dresses herself back up all in the dark too. Talented! But half the time that ends with washing sheets.