a daycare picture

I've not posted for a few days, so I wanted to quickly post this photo of Elizabeth helping out at daycare, giving one of the other children there a bottle. I think she'll be a GREAT jie jie!

Ni-hao, Kai-lan!

"Ni Hao, Kai-lan is a play-along, think-along series that weaves together Chinese language and culture, preschool-relatable stories, and interactivity, with Kai-lan as your intimate friend and playmate!

What the Show's About
"Ni hao!" That means "hi" in Chinese--and that's how Kai-lan greets you every day! Kai-lan Chow is an exuberant Chinese-American preschooler, almost 6, who wants you to come play with her and her best friends.

Kai-lan's world is infused with Chinese culture and is brimming with magical sights and sounds, and everywhere you turn there's something amazing and beautiful to see. Along the way, she and her bilingual buddies speak in English and Chinese, but they always need kids' help to find creative solutions to the daily dilemmas that come their way!

Meet the Characters
Kai-lan Chow is a playful, adventurous preschooler with a big heart. She is almost 6, speaks both English and Mandarin Chinese, and is super excited to share her language, her culture, and her playtime--with her animal friends and children at home!

YeYe is Kai-lan's grandpa. He lovingly passes on his rich and colorful world full of Chinese customs and traditions to his granddaughter. YeYe provides Kai-lan with gentle guidance, leading her to find her own answers, at her own pace.

Tolee is a 5-year-old panda-loving koala who puts his friends first. He's the thinker of the group, and Kai-lan and her friends can always rely on him for good ideas and to think before he acts.

At 3-years-old, Hoho the monkey is the youngest of Kai-lan's friends. He's full of boundless energy, he's super good at jumping, and loves to DJ. Nothing makes Hoho happier than being the center of attention.

Rintoo is a rambunctious 5-year-old tiger who's best friends with Kai-lan. Rintoo has a thirst for adventure and thrills, but beneath the bravado he's a sweet and caring tiger who looks out for his friends.

Kai-Lan's Curriculum
Ni Hao, Kai-lan is the next generation of preschool television programming that introduces the psychology of biculturalism. If Dora and Diego popularized bilingualism, Kai-lan will weave together being bilingual and bicultural. Ni Hao, Kai-lan reinforces the idea that being bicultural and bilingual is being American.

The show will familiarize the viewing audience with elements of Chinese and Chinese American cultures to promote multicultural understanding in the next generation and goes beyond featuring "culture" as only ethnic food and festivals. Instead, it celebrates growing up in an intergenerational family, having friends from diverse backgrounds, and "habits of the heart" that are Chinese American. These values include:

Mind-body connection Typically, television portrays excitement as the good emotion to feel. In many Chinese-American communities, the good thing to feel is often calmness and contentment. Feeling excited and feeling calm can both be happy feelings, but they differ in how aroused the body is.

Perspective-taking In many Chinese and other East Asian families, children are encouraged to take the perspective of others to maintain harmony in relationships with other people.

Being a good member of the group Ni Hao, Kai-lan also emphasizes the Chinese and Chinese American value of being a good member of a group.

Social & Emotional Goals Highlight cause-and-effect thinking about social and emotional issues germane to preschoolers and to support preschooler's social and emotional development."

The show debuts here on February 7, 2008, at 11 a.m. on Nick Jr. This we will be taping! Elizabeth has seen the promos and is VERY excited!

She's right!

(I'm supposed to be preparing for a trial which begins tomorrow morning, but I had to share...) Last night, while Elizabeth and I were playing on the floor, she peered intently into my nose and observed, "It's really dark in there!" I love this child! She makes me laugh every day!

love this photo

No words necessary.

Puppy love

Elizabeth loves, loves, loves Baxter, our yellow lab, who will be 12 years old in March! This evening, just before bedtime, Elizabeth covered him with her blankie and placed his head on one of her stuffed animals to make him more comfortable. She then lay down beside him for a little cuddle. He is The Most Patient Dog in the World!

Rudolph

This is my first attempt to use my "cramera" (as Elizabeth says) to tape, and the lighting is pretty bad, but she sounds so darned cute that I saved it. Listen for the little not-so-ladylike burp, too! Hint: turn down the volume of the music video at the bottom of the page in order to hear this clip...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

3 year check-up!

Elizabeth went to the pediatrician today for her (belated) 3-year check-up. She is now 3 years 3 mos old and weighs 35 lbs. (80th percentile) and is 39 1/2 inches tall (97th percentile)! Remember, these percentiles are on the American charts, not the Chinese charts. She's off the Chinese charts! I think Yao Ming is her birthfather. Not every Chinese child is petite!

At 12.5 mos., she was 19 lbs (20th) and 30 inches (75th)
At 17 mos., she was 24 lbs (65th) and 32 3/4 inches (94th)
At 21 mos., she was 27 lbs. (70th) and 34 3/4 inches (95th)
At 26 mos., she was 29 lbs. (70th) and 36 1/4 inches (92nd)
At 39 mos., she was 35 lbs. (80th) and 39 1/2 inches (97th)

Wow!

More Santa pics

I forgot to post these photos of Elizabeth with Santa Claus at her daycare's Christmas party...Finally, a smile!

Winter fun!

Sledding is hard work but soooo much fun! It was incredibly warm today-in the 40s--so we went out in the back yard this morning for a little wintertime fun. Elizabeth liked it a lot, until we ended up in the brush. From that point on, she just wanted me to pull her around the yard on the sled. We (I) also took down all of the Christmas wreaths from the windows, the garland from the front door, and the greens from the mailbox. I took advantage of the beautiful weather today, because another Noreaster is to arrive on Monday. No nap today for Miss E, so she fell asleep at 7 pm after a bit of a crying spell (translation: she was really overtired).

Did you notice...?

Did you notice anything striking about Elizabeth's Christmas dresses? When I bought Elizabeth's Christmas dress this year, I thought that it looked familiar, but I attributed that to the fact that I had been looking at so many dresses that they were all beginning to look alike. I should have trusted my instinct! When I got home, after buying the dress (which I think is lovely!), I pulled out the photos from her first Christmas at home with me. Holy Cow! I still wasn't positive, though, so I dug through her closet. Yup. Same exact dress. Different size. At least, I'm consistent!

Christmas cards...

2005

2006 (my favorite)

2007

Funny girl!

Elizabeth and I have talked for over a year now about what we should name mei-mei (mei-mei means "little sister" in Chinese). When I first broached the subject with her, I asked her if she liked the name, Zoe. She said, Yes, I like Zoe--but how 'bout Backie-Zoe? (We call our yellow lab, Baxter, Backie). I laughed--Elizabeth adores Baxter! I would read aloud to her names from baby name books, asking her, What do you think about ___-do you like ___? and she would say, Yes, I like ___! She also would open up the baby name book at random, run her finger down the page, put her finger on a name and then look up at me, with her head tilted to the side, and ask, Do you like ___? Of course, I would always agree with her name choice (usually, she would pick a name of one of her friends, boy or girl, from daycare). Elizabeth also loves Blues Clues. She watched one of the Blues Clues videos a lot recently-it's all about the holiday season and Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Well, a couple nights ago, Elizabeth asked me, out of the blue, Mama, how 'bout we name mei-mei Kwanzaa? I laughed out loud and told her that we'd add it to the list...!

Our second year together...

Our first year together...