Alex is the first one to report, “My high point is I had chicken nuggets for lunch.”

Angie proudly announced, “My high point is I listened to the teacher and being good at school.”

Mom said, “My high point is when I saw Alex said ‘How are you’ to Mrs. Bishop at school.”

Dad said the most touching thing, “My high point is to come home and see my family.”

But our angel sometimes is not happy with her old-fashioned parents.

Yesterday she talked to me seriously, “I don’t get it, why are you so mean to me?”

“Me? When did I be mean to you?” I was puzzled, I don’t yell at her as often as to Alex for sure.

“You don’t allow me to use nail polish!” She exclaimed, “You Chinese people don’t know, nail polish is not dangerous. All my English friends use it.”

OK, that’s why we are classified as mean parents. Angie has been asking for nail polish for a while, we declined every single time. Last week when I picked her up from Emma’s house, she excitedly reported that Emma has a box of “beautiful nail polish”. Seeing Angie’s enthusiasm, the selfless big sister Emma offered to let her pick one to take home.

But the sweet daddy at home was very firm on his principle, no nail polishing at this young age. Angie couldn’t understand why the always-saying-yes daddy is not “nice” this time. I know the kids version nail polish Emma gave her is safe to use; wondering when is appropriate time to allow her start using it? Maybe we should tell her “You can use nail polish when Alex starts talking at school.” J

Dr.Dave must read my mind, he kept asking Alex why he doesn’t talk at school, Alex just shrugged without offering a valid answer. Then our most prestigious pediatric psychiatrist in town prescribe this medicine: he pulled out a shiny $20 bill from his wallet, showed it to Alex, and said, “Alex, I am going to clip this $20 to your chart, if you talk this month, the money will be yours when you come back to see me.”

I was so touched, this is first time ever that we get paid instead of paying for doctor’s visitsJ I understand the reason behind Dr.Dave’s approach, Alex is not a self-driven kid, his reaction when facing obstacle has always been avoidance instead of fighting. Make him motivated is the key to conquer this SM issue. Let’s hope money can talk!

2011 has been the year of Alex’s SM solution seeking year, now Alex is having, in addition to other mundane enhancement classes:

• Speech therapy at school 3 times a week
• Psychology counseling once a week
• Psychiatry visits once a month
• Private tutoring 2 hours a week to improve communication skills
• Story telling at school once a week
• Boy Scout twice a month
• DSi as a bribe
• Playdates, playdates, playdates

Behind this action list, there were countless of communications and planning among therapist, school teachers and us to facilitate the progress. I used to worry so much about Alex’s SM issue, now I found myself not that bothered since I know we are trying our best. This journey has been long and no sign of major breakthrough yet, but on the road we have met so many generous folks. There is no doubts that Alex is a lucky boy, I was moved when I see our therapist spending her personal time designing speech bingo game for Alex , when I receive all the emails from his teachers reporting his daily progress, and when I see how kind and supportive his classmates are….

The other day Aunt xmh mentioned that we should journalize how he overcome his SM, this can make a strong case in his future college application essayJ

]]> http://alexangie.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/548/feed/ 1 alexangie http://alexangie.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/our-mexico-vacation/ http://alexangie.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/our-mexico-vacation/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:17:14 +0000 alexangie http://alexangie.wordpress.com/?p=546 ]]> Written by Alex

Day One (12/20)

We woke up at 4:00 AM because we were going to Mexico. We went on a carpool with William. When we got on the plane I ordered a V8. I watched Fengfeng play Plants vs Zombies. When I was o the 2^nd plane I ordered a diet coke. When we got to Las Cabos airport, we took a taxi and when to Hola Grand Faro Hotel. Mom told me my final exam score was 99/120 so I got a extra gift. For dinner we went to a Mexican restaurant but when I ate my dessert it tasted like plastic.

Day Two (12/21)

I had breakfast this time. I had choco zucaritas. Then we went to Cabo San Lucas on a taxi. When we got there the first thing we did is went on the glass bottom boat. We saw a whole bunch of fish, we even saw a whole bunch of sea lions sleeping on a rock. We saw the arch and a rock that looks like a dinosaur drinking water and a rock looks like a witch. When we got off the boat, we went to this souvenir shop. We bought a necklace for Angie and 3 necklaces for my teachers.

Day Three (12/22)

We went swimming in the pool today. We also ride a horse, I went with mom and Angie went with dad. At breakfast time we went to a buffet I got some corn flakes and orange juice. After that we layed out in the sun and relaxed, I felt a little hot so I took off my socks and shoes and dipped my feet in the water was freezing cold. In the afternoon I went to ride a horse by myself the first time, it was fun.

Day Four (12/23)

We went to the buffet to eat breakfast, I ate egg and cereal. We also went horse riding at 9:30. Later in the day we went swimming. The water was freezing cold, I got some Pina colada. When we got back I went to take a hot shower. For dinner we went to the fiesta. It was cold so we went home. Then I went to Aaron’s room to watch Harry Potter. We only watched for 1 hour then we went home. My sister was at the fiesta, my sister saw Kyler’s dad dance.

Day Five (12/24 Christmas Eve)

We went to the buffet for breakfast, I ate egg and cereal. We went horse riding but they couldn’t understand English, instead we put 80 turtles back to the ocean. We also went swimming. In the night we went to the show, some people did the bubble game. We also watched some adults do the popping balloon contest. This is how you did the popping balloon, you just pop balloons. We also went snorkeling toady, I found 12 crabs.

Day Six (12/25 Christmas)

We went to the buffet for breakfast. I ate some omelets and cereal. Then we went to take some pictures, we took a picture of a huge fish and a fountain. We also took a picture of Santa. Then we went on the taxi to Las Cabos airport. When I was waiting I watched Fengfeng play Plants vs. Zombies. On the first plane I played some Angry birds with Colin and I order a Sprite. When I was waiting for the second plane, I played some DSI. When on the second plane, I fell asleep. Mom got me a Sprite Zero but she drank it all up, it was fun.

I am good at math. I am good at math because I am on 3^rd grade level math. I am also good at reading. In reading I like “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books. My reading is on the chapter book level. I improved on my writing, now I write more details and longer stories. My other improvement/talents are: I am also good at reading maps and giving mom directions. Some of my other improvement is I don’t use much screen time. My morning improvement is that I wake up all by myself and I eat my breakfast much quicker, sometimes I am fast enough to go to the school library.

“What book, and what fine?” I was confused.

What happened was Alex checked out “Diary of the Wimpy Kids”-his all-time favorite, when it was time to return the book, he couldn’t find the book cover. The librarian told him he needs to pay for the book due to the damage, and it is $13.00.

The next day Alex showed up and gave her a $20 bill. And it happened to be the same day I ran into the librarian, and she thought we were aware of this and gave him the money.

“No, he didn’t mention this at home; the money he gave you must come from his piggy bank.” I feel sorry that Alex had to go through this alone, but I was also proud that he is capable of taking care of things on his own. The librarian said she will give the change back to him next week.

Alex acted really cool, he kept say he still has plenty of savings left, $55 or something.

This Monday morning, since he was fighting with some strange virus, I asked him if he wants to stay home instead, he instead that he needs to go to school, “the teacher said she will give the change back to me this week.”

It didn’t happen on Monday, it didn’t happen on Tuesday, and then Wednesday when he got home, he told us the teacher said she will give him the change the next day.

“How did you communicate with here?” I was curious.

“I wrote her a note, on the note I said–I want my change back”.

That’s politeJ

(Written by Alex)

We went to Newport, OR. I went to a restaurant for some lunch that was fun. After that I saw light house, it was at the New Port. Aquarium was fun. I went to a hotel because grandma cannot live in the tent, after that we went to our tent. That was fun. After that, we went to the beach, then we went to MacDonald for dinner, that was fun. At last we roasted marshmallows. I watched the show, the performers are William, Kyler, Colin, Aaron…I gave gram crackers and marshmallows to those people. It was one dollar, they were rich. I did not do it. That was fun. I used a flash light to go back and forth. I did floss and spit out, no brushing teeth.

To get to those spots: Newport OR99w ,OR18,US101.

08/14/2011

(Written by Alex)

I went to a tide pool, there was a animal that when you step on it, it will shoot water and get smaller, that was funny and fun. On our way to Florence and Bandon, we sent to a small water pops up so….Then we went to the tallest lighthouse. Next I went to see the sea lion on rock, and then arrived at Cools Bay. I went to someone’s big garden, after that welcome to Bandon. Then I saw the Face Rock and sunset.

To get to Bandon and Florence: US101.

• Both kids’ Chinese improved a lot, especially for Angie, she can now recognize lots of characters and argue vigorously with Alex in Chinese.
• Alex seems to be more relaxed at Chinese school. This week he talked to the teacher there, Angie reported.
• Alex and Angie have formed a strong bond. After spending whole day together at the camp, they still enjoy each other’s company at night. They play dolls together( which annoys me, Alex might be the only 7-year-old boy playing dolls with his sister), Alex teaches Angie how to play piano, and Angie is the one reminding Alex at the camp to drink water because “doctor said you need to drink more water.”

They also talked a lot, other day I overheard their conversation:

Angie: “Alex, after mom dies, we need to tell daddy we don’t want a stepmom”

Alex: “No way, it will be just you, me and daddy.”

Angie: “Yes, we’ll live happily ever after!”

……

Our family originally planned to go to Yellowstone NP this July 4^th weekend with other families, but given mommy’s inflexible work schedule, daddy had to find a new destination for shorter vacation, and Bend came to mind right away. Bend is a place we had planned to visit for some time, and finally this is the time to go.

Bend is known for its spectacular golf courses, and a trip to Bend is not complete without a nice round of golf. With encouragement from friends and the help of poor economy which forces some private courses to open to public play, I decided to take a plunge to play at the prestigious Pronghorn Nicklaus course at $100 twilight special. It’s considered a great deal by many golf fans, but still feels expensive to me (The most I had paid for a round of golf was $50 at Suncadia earlier this year, mommy does not like this trend J).

Tee time was set for 4pm on Sunday. The drive to Pronghorn is very scenic with views of many snow peaks, and after a 4-mile drive on a private road, I finally arrived at the gate of Pronghorn resort. I told the guard at gate about my tee time, he checked his guest list and let me through. After driving another mile through some nice houses, I was greeted by a young man in front of the clubhouse. He took my golf clubs, gave me a ride to the nice restroom, and then drove me to the practice area. After a few swings and putts, I was ready to go.

Standing at the 1^st tee box, I can appreciate why this course is so highly ranked. The course is beautifully landscaped in a spectacular high desert setting, and the pictures cannot do justice to the course. Pronghorn-Nicklaus is the best maintained course I have ever played and it must cost a fortune to keep it in such good shape. Its fairway is better than some of the greens I have played.

I immediately hooked my first drive to the left, and after a disastrous trip to the greenside sand trap, I carded an eight for the first hole.

Scores started to get better in the next few holes after I settled down, but the excitement of playing on this course makes the score secondary concern.

On seventh hole, I caught up with the group in front of me (an older couple named Mike and Susan). They joined the club a few months ago and play here every day, how lucky they are!

I played the rest of round with them, and their familiarity of the course certainly helped my shot selections, which showed on my scorecard.

Before I even knew it, the round was over. It was such a wonderful experience playing here, definitely worth a hundred bucks.

On the drive back, watching the beautiful sunset over the snow peaks, I was already thinking about coming back next year …

Alex and Angie went back to their private Chinese Summer Camp, this week they are the only kids attending the camp, the teacher/student ratio is 1:1 They got plenty of teacher’s individual attention; the teachers even washed their lunch box…

Angie’s Chinese has improved so much just within two weeks. She is very good at language; Alex stands no chance to win any argument with her. And Angie has the best fashion sense in our family; she can vividly remember what dress she has been wearing each day. Given the fact she doesn’t have concept of when and where, when we refer to something happened before, Alex has the digital Xerox memory, Angie can recollect the past if we give her some hint, “remember the day you were dressed in that Hello Kitty Jacket?

We also visited Bend during July 4^th weekend. Kids were not happy about not being able to go to Yellow Stone with the rest of the team.  Fortunately we ended up had a good time at Bend. Grandma enjoyed the breathtaking mountain and forest view, XH enjoyed his first time ever golfing on a three digit dollar amount golf course. Kids’ highlights were the bike riding, unlimited I Pad playing, being able to wear dress every day, and ice cream factory tour. I was grumpy for serving the baby sitter role for too long and too frequent while XH lived on golf course, but I did enjoy riding bicycle with Alex. He was fast and full of energy, it pleased me when I see him being physically strong.

Today in the car we were talking about following directions. Alex told me that he is good at following map directions, not that fond of following teacher’s direction….What shall we do?