tiawan times

Protection

2010-12-03T13:19:00.002+08:00

On the first day of the new unit at school Tr. Sandy read you a story about "Water" which is the subject you will be inquiring into for the next 6 weeks. I was sitting outside with Becky having a quick beer, when you appear in shorts, t-shirt, sandals and swimming goggles.

"Why are you wearing goggles? We can't go swimming just now" I say
You roll your eyes, sigh and looka tme like I am daft and say,
"I am protecting myself again evaporation, and condensation!"
"Huh?"
"Don't you know after it rains and its warm, the rain evaporates and then if there is something colder it sticks to the cold thing, that condensation Mummy, and well my eyes are quite cold!"

Oh my little PYP action taker!

Forwards and Backwards

2010-12-03T13:17:00.002+08:00

Our drives home from school often turn out very interesting.

"Mummy, do you know if you spell poop backwards its still poop!"

This lead you to find other palindromes, which surprises me, I am sure I hadn't noticed this at your age.

"Mum works and so does Dad, but dog is god hahaha!"

Santa is nearly here!

2010-12-03T13:12:00.002+08:00

So Christmas is nearly here again! So this year you have decided to write your own letter to Santa, no help from Mummy!

Here it is....

Dear Snta

I wuld like a miny laptop please, a real one, that can do the intrnet, not a pretnd one like the cinderella one i have already. Can I have a gold or silvr one? or purple if you must.

Ps you forgt to take your presnt last year, so you will have tow this year

Lots of love from Tiana xxxxxxxxxx

I wondered out loud if you had been good about, you looked around checking if anyone else could hear you and said

"Actually Mummy I wasn't very good last year and Santa still came, so I think I am okay again this year"

DVD

2010-07-26T23:58:00.001+08:00

Driving through Kaoshiung city the other day Tiana said "Mummy I feel like a DVD"

Mmmm, I always try to figure out what is going on before I answer and sound stupid so I think for a few second, come up with nothing and say

"Mmm, okay, why?"

"Because people are always watching me!"

Fountain of wisdom

2010-07-26T23:52:00.002+08:00

Okay so mummy's friends wasn't very happy the other day so here is what happened. Everyone was trying to make her see how cool she is, and how much we like her/love her, how pretty she is etc and nothing was working, she was still crying and so it was my turn.

I took her by the hand and led her to the fountain and said "take of your shoes, roll up your pants and put your feet in the water" she did what she was told.

"Close your eyes, put your hand on your heart, breathe, and feel the spirit of the water talking to you"

After a little while, she stopped crying, hugged me and told me I was absolutely right, and I am of course!

miss independent

2010-05-12T18:22:00.002+08:00

"Mummy, I am getting bigger so I can go to the shop by myself right?"
"Right"
"And, I sort out all of my own clothes right?"
"Right"
"Do you know why?"
I shake my head.
"Because I am in the pig pen!"
"What?"
"You know, when you can do something by yourself you are "in the pig pen"

hehe bless you darling I think you mean independent but I like your description better!

Singing in the park

2010-03-13T21:43:00.000+08:00

You have invited everyone you know to your birthday party next weekend (most of my friends too it must be said) and you asked me if Hale would maybe sing you a song with his lovely voice.

I answered "I am sure if you ask him nicely he will"
You said "no, actually I don't think he will"
"Why not?" says me
"Cos Hale only sings after dark!"

Not far from the truth Hale tells me, but I do like your theories.

Hot and steamy!

2009-11-20T08:29:00.002+08:00

On the way to school this morning you turned with a very serious look on your face and asked
"Mummy, do you have a lot of steam coming out of your hot thing?"
I nearly crashed the bike trying not to laugh!
"Why?" I asked
"Well because if you do you will be making a lot of pollution!"

My little caring green girl, I love you!

Summer letter

2009-06-04T12:53:00.002+08:00

Dear Tiana,

It is way past time to write to you again, I am sorry for my infrequent letters but I will do my best now.

You are now wonderfully 5! A big girl, you tell me, as you wait for your baby teeth to fall out and your face to change to match your attitude!

You have decided that being an only child is just fine by you as "My baby sister would need me to look after her all the time, and would push me when she wanted to play with my toys and you would have to look after her too, which means you would have less time for me. Aaand she would cost a lot of money and your money would get lesser and lesser, so I think just me is ok!" Well thanks for considering me in all that and I am glad that you know which side your bread is buttered on.

You have a new best friend, KaiWen, and you two just love each other! Her mummy is an American and daddy is Taiwanese, just like you, so you seem to have more in common (like choosing which language you want to play in, and you are both totally gorgeous). You have had sleep overs at her house and she has slept at yours (half her toys are here and half of yours are at hers, same goes for clothes and underwear). You have spent hours and hours together in the pool playing all sorts of games and you have given her the confidence to be in the pool without her mommy. I would like to recount for you a conversation I overheard you two having:

"Tiana, this is THE bible, which means God wrote this book!" said Kaiwen
"It is A book, Kaiwen, God didn't write it, people write books" you said
"But everything in here is true, and you have to believe it" she said
"You can believe what you want to believe" you said
"But the devil can get you if you don't believe it!" she said
"Not if you don't believe in him!" you said

I never thought I would sit and listen to a 5 year old and a 7 year old have such a deep religious philosophical conversation on the couch.

We had a wonderful weekend down by the beach this last week, all of us together staying in a little hotel across from the beach. You fell in love with the hotel as soon as we walked in and didn't really mind if you went to the beach or not after that, and were happy to lounge on the giant bed, read stories to your Barbies, draw pictures, write notes and watch TV. I forced you out of the hotel as the afternoon wore on to get some beach time, a swim and something to eat. You have a new swimsuit that you wanted to show off, so off we went to give it it's first public performance. You were very sad the next day when we left the hotel, I think you would have liked to live there forever.

You would like to get another pet now, but until you make up your mind and stop changing your mind everyday,I will hold off. You started out wanting a cat, then Kaiwen's kitten scratched you and meowed all night, you changed your mind. Then it was a puppy, and I pointed out that we have a dog Pumpkin, and you don't like walking her, feeding her, and she doesn't chew your toys, or bite you (even when you sit on her or dress her up) you changed your mind once more. Next came a hamster. Then daddy told you that they only wake up at night, and that you would have to keep it in your bedroom because Pumpkin might think it was a tasty snack, and you realised it might keep you awake at night, you changed your mind once more. Maybe you will settle for a fish, which is about all the extra responsibility I can handle right now.

Well darling, I love you, and am amazed by watching you grow so fast.
Mummy

2009-01-02T23:02:00.006+08:00

Happy Christmas Tiana! Here is the Wendy-house that Mummy and Daddy designed, built and painted for you!

You love it!

It has a lounge, a kitchen

stairs,

and a second storey bedroom!

smart eh?

2008-06-10T19:05:00.001+08:00

I came home from kindergarten last night and had lots of things to tell mummy and daddy but i decided to say it like this
"Mummy, I don't need to go to school anymore!"
"Why not darling?" mummy said with an inquisitive look on her face

"Because I KNOW EVERYTHING!"

A long time since...

2008-05-07T09:32:00.002+08:00

I was so small. A long time since my mummy wrote anything about me, so I will let her type some things now.

Dear Tiana,
You are 4 years old now! I am not sure how that can be, I am surprised how quickly the time has past by since your last birthday.

I look at you running around the park, or zooming around on your big girl's bike and I wonder how your legs got so long, when you got so strong, and what you will be like in another year from now.

You ask amazing questions, out of the blue, all the time. Driving to school the other morning you said "Mummy, owls and bats both come out at night but why are the not the same?" I said well they hunt hunt at night but a bat is a mammal and an owl is bird. "What is a mammal?" you asked and I replied "An animal that breast feeds its babies." You smiled up at me and said "I am a mammal." then you got excited and started listing all the mammals you could think of.

"Pumpkin is a mammal"
"Elephants are mammals"
"Cows are mammals"
and so it went all the way to school, you learn so much everyday and you do it so quickly I am sure that you will know more than me is a very short time.

You show a great interest in so many things, music, dancing, painting, nursing people and animals, reading and books, and of course cutting your own hair. You have asked me to let you go to dance classes, or Kong Fu classes and you spend time everyday "playing" piano. Your daddy has written the notes on the keyboard for you and so you sit there saying "CC, GG, AA, G, FF, EE, DD, C" and singing along.

Although you have all these interests you still know exactly what you want to be when you grow up. "I want to be a hospital!" you tell people, oh the smiles you cause.

Well my darling, as always I love you, and yes you may come back and visit us after you get married.

Love from
Mummy

Halloween letter to you

2007-11-01T12:00:00.001+08:00

My darling Tiana,

You are growing so fast my little weed! You grow out of your shoes in weeks it seems, your trousers are all half mast, and none of last winters' stuff is going to do this year! But you want to grow even faster! I love that you think your bum isnt big enough!

Excited!

2007-10-06T23:52:00.001+08:00

Well Gak called the other day and asked if you would like to go to stay with them for a week, after an initial hesitation, not sure if you liked being without me for a whole week again you have decided it will be great (memories of getting everything your own way, doing what you like, only showering if you feel like it must have come zooming back to you!)

This morning you said "How many sleeps til Thailand?" I said i wasnt sure

"But mummy I am excited! My heart is excited, my tummy is excited, my head is excited, my nose is excited, my bum bum is excited aaaaand my fanny is excited!!"

scary things

2007-10-06T23:47:00.000+08:00

Swimming in the pool the other day I was swimming under you and splashing up to get you doing my best shark impression when you said "My turn" and threw yourself face first into the water, came up spluttering and coughing, told me that it was too hard for little girls!

Then you put on your best scary face, raised your arms monster style and said

"I........am..........the................landlord!"

by the look of confusion on you face I am sure thats not actually what you meant to say but we both nearly drowned laughing!

wow its september!

2007-09-10T07:53:00.000+08:00

Well the summer is slowly coming to a close, its still hot, but the days are getting a little shorter. A sure sign the weather is cooling is the AC is switched off at night.

My little darling, we have done so much in the last six months! We travelled to Scotland on three big planes without your Daddy, we have had a film crew following us around, you have a new school, you go to sleep by yourself and now you have a princess bedroom!

I was amazed how well you coped with the 25 hours of daylight to get us from here to your Granny and Grandads house. We changed planes twice, ran through Amsterdam airport, trying not to miss our plane, and then were delayed for more than an hour. You got upset when the man wouldn't put you through the baggage Xray and then we had a long conversation about bones. You made a friend on the long flight, a little boy from Denmark, who lives in Hong Kong. At one point you were holding hands over the backs of your seats and the little boy said "Look Daddy, we are holding hands!" and you smiled your best princess smile, fluttered your eyelashes at him and said "Yes, we are married now!"

You had such a good time in Scotland but I think you biggest revelation was the icecream van! You love going to the trash truck here, which plays a song, so when you heard the tinkly tune you thought of course it was trash time. We ran out to catch the trash and there it was an icecream van. The amazement on your little face when the lady asked you what kind of icecream you wanted was priceless! As was my face when three little cones came to 3 pounds 60!

You speak often of your Granny and Grandad, even using some of the words and phrases that they use. Bloody hell seems to be the favorite at the moment, and bloody in general is your most used word! Whenever you cant do something straight away its "This bloody bloody giraffe, wont sit down, bloody thing!" mmm thanks Dad!

Now, we have been home a while and you still talk with an Italian accent sometimes! And occasionally tell people that you name is "Lila Columbi" (sorry if i spelt it wrong). Whenever you put ont he outfit that Gak brought for you and the other two gorgeous girls you say "I think Olivia is going to where hers to school today!"

Firsts!

2007-06-19T17:27:00.000+08:00

ok these next posts are stuff lying around in the draft box, so as i dont get any puter time just now here they are in all their unfinished glory!!

What a long weekend this was! Not just that we had a 4 day weekend but because of all the things we seemed to have packed into it!

Driving on Saturday in the car, you looked out of the window and proclaimed "Look mummy, you see those mountains there, well on top, see it, that house, thats granny and grandads house in Scotland. I can see it with my big eyes!"

As my eyes are not quite as big as yours, or as young, I guess I cant see that far!

On Sunday, we went to Cheng Ching lake park and drove around in sharks and crocodiles! Great big inflatable sharks and crocodiles surrounding little go kart type of cars, was hilarious!

Then on Sunday evening we decided to try going to the cinema for the first time with you, Shrek the Third is out and you really wanted to see it.

Something has been bothering you

2007-04-29T20:33:00.000+08:00

For a week or two I have noticed that something has been bothering you. You are more clingy that you have ever been in your life and always just for me. It has been worrying me, and I have to say annoying me! I just put it down to the changes in your little three year old mind but I think in the car on the way home from Vuvu's tonight I finally figured out what it was.

In the car you asked to listen to your twinkle twinkle little star (not the regular version) it goes like this

http://www.haoting.com/htmusic/101281ht.htm (here is the link)

I looked round at you in your car seat and you were crying, big fat tears running down you face. I asked you what was wrong and you said "Oh, the little girl in the song is sooooo sad because her mummy isn't there with her." and I asked where you thought her mummy was and you said "She has gone away"

Then you stretched you little arms out to me and sobbed "Please mummy, don't go away and leave me all alone" OK so now I got it and I blame Disney! All the princesses in your life (and you consider yourself one) have no mummys! No mummy for Snow White, not for Rapunzel, nor for Cinderella and neither does the Little Mermaid!

So, there it is! You have figured out I am going to leave you and you have been scared to let me out of your sight for weeks!

How do I sort it?

Do It Myself

2007-04-24T20:02:00.000+08:00

"I can do it myself" has been your favorite for a very long time, and today you proved it.

You had a pair of scissors and were cutting up loads of paper and making snow, then you came over to where i was sitting and said

"Look mummy I cut my hair myself"

"Arrrrgh" I cried

"I don't want to show you" you said, covering your forehead

"What about the back bits?" I said

"Oh, I tried mummy, but the long bits wouldn't work!" (phew)

Then you showed me the front of your hair proudly

You will always be cute darling, but this is not your best hair day!

A spring letter to you

2007-04-13T23:06:00.000+08:00

Sweetheart

I often wonder when you got so big! You are three years old, 95 cms tall and 14 kilos. I barely remember those days when you couldn't walk and couldn't talk, the days when you didn't chose your own clothes in the morning, when food had to be soft and mushy, those days when you would run and I could keep up with you walking.

Yesterday, you stayed at Jo and baby Bella's' house while I went to get a haircut, when I got back Jo told me what a good girl you had been and how you had been helping baby Bella with her crawling. You were encouraging her to come towards you saying "That's it, come to Nana, sweetheart." "You can do it sweetheart" I wonder where you get that from, my little mirror!

I have started teaching in an awful kindergarten and everyday you come to school with me and are now my "little" teacher. You help the kids when they don't understand English and often take over telling stories and asking the questions. Its amusing how not only the other kids (who are all older than you ) and the Chinese teachers all just accept their English class from a three year old!

The other day one of the boys wouldn't put his toys away and you went over to him and said "Scott, I don't want to tell you again, put you toys away or we wont read a story!" then you turned to me with a very dramatic roll of your eyes and sighed "These kids are doing my head off!" I just crumbled onto the floor in giggles and you said "Mummy, it is not nice to laugh at people!" which of course just made me worse.

You often take over the teaching of the class, whether or not i want your help! I will be in the middle of teaching phonics and you will say "Ok kids, time for a story." then start reading whatever story book you fancy. Invariably the kids listen to you, and I have to struggle to get their attention back onto what we are meant to be doing!

You talk a lot about going back to Thailand, and how much you miss Gak and Steve, and how much you love Aunty El and little Lila, we did have such a great time. The beach of course was your favorite place, but you love Gaks house nearly as much.

You love everything about everything at the moment. If i say lets go to the supermarket you say "Oh I looooooove the supermarket!" and you do but you also love places you have never been before.

I love the way you still get some of your words mixed up or pronounce them badly. Its so cute! In the morning you like to sit in front of you little mirror and put on you pretend "lip dick" or sometimes it is your "lip spit" hehe, I do wonder whose child you are really because you don't seem very like me sometimes. When you see a butterfly you tell everyone that a baby butterfly is called a "caterpitter" Your favorite phrases at the moment are "It's a miracle!" and "Mummy, are you fwustrated?" and "Pay tension everybody"

You are struggling between growing up and being a baby. Some days you are so independent, you don't want anyone to help you with anything, and then on other days you ask to be called Tia (your baby name for yourself) and want everything done for you.

You told me how you want to eat more because you want to get bigger and bigger and bigger, then you can go to work and get money and we can all go to Granny and Grandads house. Oh my little darling, you are only three years old, you are not meant to know that Mummy and Daddy have money worries!

You still have the smallest bottom I have ever seen! So getting little pants to fit you is not easy, I bought some medium in Thailand when we were there to put away til they fitted you right but you found them and wanted to wear them the other day, so of course I let you. Later on we had to run down to do the trash and catch the lala truck and you were falling behind and said over my shoulder "Hurry up, we don't want to miss the lala truck" and you said "Wait mummy" i said "I cant wait darling or we will miss the truck" and you shouted "Mummy, just look at me" I turned around to look and you had pulled your dress up and your new pants were just below your knees and you said "I told you, mummy, these are too big!" I laughed so hard watching you trying to run with your pants falling down!

Well my little love, this letter has turned into a novel again and all I really wanted to say was how much I love you, and how much joy you bring me every day.

As always your silly billy mummy

beach babes

2007-03-12T18:28:00.000+08:00

Sand is great but it is even better when shared with a new friend

I dont think we need the umbrella up anymore

Oh, this is so perfect.

Do you see the bikini that girl is wearing?

sorting out the world

2007-02-27T20:15:00.000+08:00

Daddy came home today and told us that the Five Metal shop that we go to alot is going to close down. I asked him why. He told me that the landlords of the shop have put the rent up again and so the will close. I put my hands on my hips and started wagging my finger at the landlords saying

"Ok, you listen to me. I will eat lots and lots and get bigger and bigger then I will come and tell you. You open the shop ok? You listening or not? Open the door ok? No more bad man! Be good ok? See! I am getting bigger already! Look how big my bum bum is now!"

Daddy says I will be the President one day

Flower Princess

2007-01-27T22:52:00.000+08:00

In December you were a flower girl for my friends wedding and of course you were great and loved it. I was worried at one point you were going to bolt, as half way down the aisle you stopped and looked up and saw every person in the church had their cameras pointed at you and were taking photos (photos to follow), with perfect princess grace you put your head down and started throwing your flowers again.

After the ceremony you back into the church and picked up every single petal and put them back in your basket. You went right to the back of the church and walked down the aisle again throwing all your petals again! Three times in total!

So last Friday night as we lay in bed you said to me
"Mummy, tomorrow we are going to a party."
"Oh, are we really?" i asked
"Yes, mummy a wedding party, and i will wear my dancing dress and be a flower princess again."
"But darling i don't know anyone getting married"
"That's ok, we will go to the church and wait ok?"

So if you know of anyone getting married please let the professional "flower princess" know, she comes with her own flowers and has a dress to match any color scheme.

Snow

2007-01-27T22:47:00.000+08:00

You are fascinated by the idea of snow just now, you have watched it on TV and heard me talk about it but of course you haven't seen it. One day recently in Cheng Ching lake park, we were standing under a tree covered in pale yellow blossoms as the wind started to blow we were enveloped in the petals. You looked up, eyes wide and said "oooooohhhhh its snowing and its not cold mummy"

Then today you told me "mummy tomorrow we are going to granny and grandads house."
"oh really?" i said
"yes cause they have snow there and i want to play in it."

i don't know if you do have snow, granny and grandad, but Tiana wants to be there with you.

your smile

2007-01-27T22:41:00.000+08:00

walking to the shop last night the moon was just a little slither in the sky, and you looked up and said "look mummy, its a smile in the sky"
and i said "yes, it is"
then you looked some more and said "its my smile, look my body is here and my face is in the sky and everybody can see my smile"

awww

another letter to you

2007-01-14T09:22:00.000+08:00

Dear Tiana,

So much has happened these last few months, you are growing so fast, getting taller and even more (I didn't think it possible) talkative. We have had some sad times, some very happy times, lots of silly times and some confusing times.

You discovered this last week that you can reach certain chairs and toilets with your bumbum, so you have been telling and showing everyone you come in contact with that "Look, my bumbum is getting taller". This makes you feel so proud, you are able to climb up onto a lot of toilets all by yourself and then you don't fall off!

Being a big girl is a bitter sweet affair, getting bigger has it's advantages and disadvantages. You can ride your tricycle by yourself, you can pedal that little thing so fast around the running track at the school and so far you have only fallen off once.

We went to the night market in Fengshan the other day and after eating our Mongolian BBQ, you spotted these inflatable slides. The lady at the gate told you, you were too small and you argued saying your bumbum was bigger and you could do it. So seeing how determined you were she said you could try, if I went with you. So off you went, climbing and scrambling to the top of the smaller slide, you turned yourself around backwards and slid down, laughing all the way! Off you went again back to the top, so the lady took our money and let you play.

Of course, then you noticed the wall of death. An inflatable slide three storeys high! So steep it seemed vertical! I was sure you would be scared, I know I was and I was just looking at it. Were you scared? No, of course not. You couldn't get up the first step, so I helped you, and then whoooooosh off you went right to the top. I was watching you with my heart in my mouth, as you got smaller and smaller, and higher and higher, and further away from me. At the top a JieJie(big sister) wrapped you up in a hug and you slid down together, at the bottom you were so mad with her. You started shouting "I wanted to do it by myself" so off you went again, back to the top like a little monkey, turned yourself around, and slid down all the way yourself laughing.

The bitter side of growing up is hard for you. The other night in bed you said "Mummy, there is no milk in the boobie!" and I told you "That's because you are a big girl now" you went to sleep anyway. The next morning when you woke up you asked for a boobie(you haven't asked for a morning boobie in months) "Dont you love me boobie? Don't you want to give me some milk? Oh, mummy i am soooo sad now!" Later that day, you asked me "Mummy, can we go to the shop and buy something?" of course what do you want to buy? "I want to buy milk to pour pour pour into the boobie, then I can have milk in the boobie again!" Oh sweetheart I wanted to cry for you, so instead of buying milk when we got to the shop we bought you a pink camera as a big girl present. So all week you have been telling people you don't have boobie any more because you have a camera. You still want to suckle at bed time, but i am sure that will slowly decrease. So this chapter is finished. I am no longer a breast feeding mother.

Other sad things have happened, a man came and cut down the feral tree in the back garden, that our neighbour hated so much. When you saw it was gone you went outside and cuddled the tree stump and said through your tears "It's ok tree nana is here now, I will make you better." you gave the tree a big kiss and watered it with your tears and have gone back everyday with your watering-can to give the stump some water.

You make us laugh so much with you observations of the world. You stood up in the bath the other day and did a pee pee and said "Mummy look, my pee pee is kinda like a yellow fountain." We went down to the shop and met my friend Morwena, she was wearing a sparkly purple scarf, and you said "Santa gave me a scarf like that, mine is pink. I don't like it though."

You were in the bath singing:

Twinkle twinkle little star

I know I'm so beautiful

Daddy is so beautiful tooo

Mummy is mmmmmmmmm

Twinkle twinkle little star

I know I'm so beautiful

I guess it is time for me to start using that face cream, get a haircut, lose some weight and buy some new clothes! No one wants an old, ugly and fat mummy do they!

You have noticed that you look more like your daddy than you do your mummy. You keep putting your eyes on your daddys' eyes and saying "Look daddy, the same" I think your eyes are the most beautiful in the whole world darling, when they smile they light up a room, when they fill with tears no one can resist scooping you up and comforting you.

Well, my little darling, be sure I love you

Mummy

chrispmas

2007-01-02T10:11:00.000+08:00

Ready and waiting for our friends, to start eating and unwrapping presents

Woooohooooo, look at my new dresses

I am a little fairy princess, with the emphasis on princess of course

Oh, time for a new dress, I have been wearing that old purple thing for ever!

I WILL open this present, that is why i have teeth

Mummy? Was there mucky beer in that cake?

Why??

2007-01-02T07:37:00.000+08:00

I never thought one word could drive any one crazy, but as I hear the word WHY? on average 40 times an hour, all day every day, I have changed my mind!

I am crazy! Let me tell you what our average conversation sounds like

You: Mummy, aww poor baby.
Me: Aww
You: Why, poor baby?
Me: I don't know, you told me poor baby.
You: Why mummy?
Me: Why what darling?
You: Why I say poor baby?
Me: Maybe because the baby was crying.
You: Why is the baby crying mummy?
Me: I don't know honey, you are the one watching the movie.
You: Why you not watching mummy?
Me: because I am busy honey.
You: Why mummy?
Me: Just because.
You: Why just because?

You get the idea! Arrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!

its a secret

2006-12-07T15:00:00.000+08:00

mummy tells me that it is nearly christmas which means i get to sings the songs i remember from last year, like

"jingle bells jingle bells hey
had a farm,
play all day hey!"

and

"we wish you a mary juicemass
we wish you a marry juicemass
we wish you a marry juicemass
and a happy new ear"

yeah i love christmas

oh and mummy says that santa claus comes at christmas and i said "oh i member my daddy is santa claus, and he has a hat but its a secret"

Dear Tiana

2006-11-18T01:37:00.000+08:00

Dear Tiana

I thought that I would write you a letter this week my little princess about how funny, sweet, loving, imaginative and utterly frustrating you are!

You have had such a big personality for such a long time, that I would not have believed it getting any bigger but oh silly me you are getting a huge personality and not just one I may add but several people seem to live in your amazing imagination.

Every morning now as you wake up, you tell me who are today, the day starts like this "good morning mummy, my is princess fiona ok" and god help me if I dare to call you tiana by mistake. The clothes that you wear are dictated by which princess you are today and I need to make sure that all your dresses are clean, because the distress it causes if you cant have the perfect princess dress is just not funny! Although you have been known to wear the perfect princess dress either wet or dirty, if there was no other option!

Last night when we were hanging out by the pool with our friend Lisa, you enchanted us with your stories about your two baby rabbits, that have been following you around since grandad was here. Apparently they are pink, eat grass and cant swim. They have their own little imaginary cases to carry them in and as they are so heavy I have to carry them for you.

Your memory astounds me! Today walking by the pool, you looked into the cafe area and said "oooh mummy member Gak and Steve has a party there and daddy coming too, and daddy is Santa Claus" I nearly fell off my feet, Tiana darling that is 11 months ago, I thought two year olds couldn't remember what happened yesterday!

You are incredibly observant, and mirror everyone in your life with scary accuracy! One day this month you looked up at me with your little finger extended and said "look mummy, my is kinda like daddy" and then proceeded to pick your nose! You sound like me and are always playing little teacher, ordering your daddy and me around with your teacher voice. The kids in class are so sweet and follow your orders like you are just an extension of me

Here you are telling them a story, look at how they all listen to you. Do you, or do they for that matter, realise that you are two years younger than the youngest of them?

All your stories start with "Once up on a time, there was a little girl" even when the story is about a lion or an elephant.

The other morning you were melting down for no apparent reason, those are the meltdowns I find hardest to deal with as there seems to be nothing I can do to help, and I said to you "oh sweetheart, its confusing being two sometimes isn't it" and you looked up at me and said "mummy you sound like Gak!" then went off to play.

You talk in your sleep, I think because there are not enough hours in the day to do all the talking you want to do. I love hearing you switch from English to Chinese and back again when you are sleeping, maybe your dreams partners don't understand what you are saying and you have to make yourself doubly clear.

Bedtimes have become increasingly interesting, as your capacity of coming up with good excuses has expanded with your language skills. You always seem to start simple with things like "read me another story" or "mummy my is hungry" or "mummy my needs a drink of water" when those fail to work you get a little more imaginative. "mummy my baby rabbits are outside" or "listen mummy! That's my airplane coming. My have to go to Thailand now, bye bye"

I love the way when you don't want to do something you say "but mummy my washed hands already" or "mummy I was sleeping already, now it is time to wake up" of "mummy I finished eating already"

After you came home from a week in Thailand with your Gak and Uncle Steve I kind of hoped that my breast feeding career was over, but in the car on the way back from the airport you put your little hands on my chest and said "boobie now ok", then later that night in bed when you had drunk your fill you laid your head on my breast and said with such love and passion "ohhhh, I love you, boobie" I knew it was far from over. I really never expected to be breast feeding you 4 months before your 3rd birthday.

Well, my little darling, I find you amazing, funny, bizarre and fulfilling. I will try to write to you again soon

All my love, always
Mummy

snow white says

2006-11-18T01:32:00.000+08:00

when we were going downstairs to school today snow white said to mummy

"mummy, my is snow white"

"look mummy snow white has a beautiful dancing dress" and i show mummy my dress

"snow white has beautiful eyes" and i flutter my eyes at mummy

i hold my legs up and say "mummy snow white has beautiful legs"

"aaaaand mummy snow white has BIG feet, lucky snow white"

beauty according to tiana

2006-11-18T01:07:00.000+08:00

mummy says that she spent too much time with aunty loubie, aunty jenny and aunty yael and that somewhere along the lines she must have absorbed some of their genes, and passed them onto me

just now my name is either princess fiona or snow white so, please, dont call me tiana!

i have to change my clothes at least four times a day, from one beautiful dancing dress to another

here is outfit 1 today

this is my blue dancing dress, i love it cos uncle steve got it for me

this is outfit number 2 today

cos the blue dress didnt look good with my face painting
this is my orange dress

this wasnt today

but it shows you what a dancing dress is for

and this is an outfit that i put together myself

me and mummy

2006-11-11T08:14:00.000+08:00

ok here i am with mummy in the PUB! aunty PJ was playing music and i was dancing

dancing dress

2006-10-10T08:48:00.000+08:00

we have a long weekend this week, so we all went to my great grandads house, down in the village.

mummy took me for a walk round the village and i saw all the ladies and alot of the men dressed up in their baiwan clothes getting ready to have a dance in the centre of the village. so i told mummy we had to go back to vuvus house and get my dress on.

i let mummy help me put on my dress because i was in a hurry and off we went.

when we got to the dancing place i said to mummy "you want to dance mummy?" she said no, so i looked into the crowd of people until i found a little boy and said "bye bye mummy" and went and took his hand on one side and his granny's hand on the other and off i went dancing.

i danced for ages then came back to mummy and said "ok bedtime mummy, nana is very tired"

stinky

2006-09-30T07:59:00.000+08:00

when we were walking to the shop yesterday i could smell something really really stinky so i said to mummy "eww stinky"

mummy said "yes tiana very stinky"

i said "mmm kaohsiung farted, say excuse me kaohsiung"

the moon

2006-09-28T07:33:00.000+08:00

i am really fascinated by the moon, i love seeing the moon in the sky with the twinkle, twinkle little stars! all last week the moon was coming out in the day time, silly moon, so one night we were walking back from the shop and i said to mummy
"Where IS the moon?"
"maybe the moon is hiding behind the clouds" said mummy

i looked up, scratched my head, put my wee hand on my chin, tapped the finger on my cheek and said "possibly"

i dont know why mummy was laughing so much, it is possible that the moon is behind the clouds, isnt it?

wow i have been in taiwan for nearly six years

2006-09-22T15:01:00.000+08:00

can you believe it? i have been here 6 years on the 10th of october!! bloody hell, how time flies when you get older hehe

so today, i took the class to cheng ching lake park for a morning out, we all had a great time, and as we were walking up to the upper play park area i saw something move near our feet!

it was an Asiatic Cobra, can i just say that again......... we nearly stepped on A COBRA!!!!

i have been here 6 years (did i say that already) and for the first time in all that time i saw a snake and nearly stepped on the fecking thing!

so we backed off slowly, with me wishing i had shoes on instead of sandals, and watched this hooded beauty rear up and spread its hood (i am pretty sure we were out of striking distance by then) watch us for a minute or two and then slither, slide and make lots of S shapes into the ditch, we followed it (not too closely) for about 5 minutes

what an amazing site to see!

well......its started

2006-09-21T10:15:00.000+08:00

the end of the fourth day, why does it feel like weeks?

our first day was a little shaky, starting with the mummies hanging out in the kiddies lounge and not seeming willing to leave - not through concern for their children but because it is a comfy space to hang out and chat! so at 10 (class starts at 9.30) i took the kids out for a walk to give them the hint to leave!

lunchtime wasnt good as the food i had ordered in didnt turn up, so i had to bundle the kids into the car and go buy food for them all!

nap time went well and the afternoon was fine until the mummy that wouldnt leave in the morning didnt turn up to pick up her son until 6pm - class finishes at 4.30! needless to say i was getting tired of his company by then lol

yesterday (wednesday) went great, parents droppped the kids off and left (yeeehaaa), lunch turned up on time and was yummy, the parents picked their kids up by 5pm and left immediately but both of the boys were saying to their mums - wo bu yao hui jia - or i dont want to go home! good sign i guess

tiana gets so excited that her friends come to her house every morning and hopefully this week we will find a few more friends for her

so i guess at the moment it is all good

never the right time

2006-09-17T13:41:00.000+08:00

someone once said to me "there is no such thing as a perfect time to start your own business or have a baby, but some money in the bank helps"

well before you get excited, i am not pregnant, and no i do not have any money in the bank!

so i guess it is time to start my own business! (as i never listen to good advice)

i wonder to myself what the hell i am doing but i am doing it anyways

so here it is, what used to be the front of our lounge is now the play area

and in the middle the classroom space

and at the far end the "kiddies lounge" for storytime, quiet time and cooking of hotdogs and icecream (tiana does the cooking!)

it has been a couple of hard weeks getting it all ready as we have had to basically move house! the ground floor lounge moved up to the first floor but only after the second floor moved up to the third so that the first could move up to the second! you get the picture we moved house just not to anywhere new!

so far i only have three students! arrgh but i realise it will have to start slowly and build slowly, might mean working at nights for a few weeks to get us enough cash to keep going but if that is what it takes so be it, i am sick sick sick to the back teeth of working for money grabbing bosses, that dont give a shit about the students or the teachers

this is giving me the chance to do what i always wanted to - stay home with tiana and teach her as well - and i am getting paid for it, and as an extra bonus she has a couple of friends with her at home

so everyone send your good vibes, prayers or whatever spare cash you have to help get my little school running

painting

2006-08-26T08:46:00.000+08:00

Here i am at mummy's school! i love painting, it is the best thing ever.

Mummy brought more paint home for me last night, so i can paint at home now too! i love painting on paper, my hands, the floor, my feet and especially my legs

can you find me?

2006-08-17T12:39:00.000+08:00

i am in there, there was more than 300 people dancing all day, but i was the smallest and the BEST!

the rice festival

2006-08-17T12:23:00.001+08:00

here i am at the rice festival, warming up my charm, and ready to make friends

opps, my hat slipped, it gets heavy you know

ok let me see.........what is she doing with her feet? one, two forward,, one back, one, two forward, one back

ok i got it

the rice festival

2006-08-17T12:23:00.000+08:00

boom boom bear

2006-07-22T11:03:00.000+08:00

i was in my very first school show last night! i remembered all my dance moves and even all the words to my song

here i am doing a boom boom with my tummy

i had a real good time

can you see the lightman?

2006-07-15T18:07:00.000+08:00

at lunchtime yesterday it started raining like mad, not just cats and dogs but cows and elephants too!

mummy tried to go back to her school after lunchtime but she couldnt get out of the road because there was suddenly a river where the road used to be!

mummy asked a-bei at the little shop to help come pick me up (he has a big jeep) so off they set at 2:45 to drive the six minutes to my school, after taking more than hour and about 10 miles of back roads all blocked or getting blocked with water and rivers mummy decided to walk the last mile

mummy walked through waist and chest deep water trying a few different roads that were impassable til she finally found a way to my school, the principle was very surprised to see her as none of the other parents had made it there, and the teachers had started making dinner for everyone and laying down beds and blankets for the night

mummy bundled me up and carried me out of the school, i thought it was great all this water everywhere, people walking and pushing their scooters, me dangling my feet into the water, and laughing at the bubbles mummy's legs were making

mummy walked home the long way round because she knew some of the roads where still open on the way down might still be open on the way back

we sung songs all the way home including "i hear thunder, i hear thunder boom boom boom, can you see the lightman? can you see the lightman? boom boom boom"

all in all mummy did a good job and once we had gotten away from our school area the water was much shallower, only coming up to her thighs most of the time, we got back to a-beis shop and told him we were ok, he had had to get out of the area as it was getting to bad, with concrete blocks being pushed down the road by the water, and was surprised to see us so soon

we got home at 5:30 and daddy didnt get home until 9:30 after the rain had stopped and the floods had gone down a bit

mummy went to bed with me after we had mopped up the ground and fourth floors, she said she was really tired and that it was the best work out she had had in months!

where are you?

2006-07-14T08:20:00.000+08:00

we were coming home from school the other day and i said "daddy is a man" and so mummy asked "what is tiana?" i said "nana is a girl."

so then mummy asked "what is mummy?"
i had to think about that for a minute mmmmmmmm
"mmmm mummy is a mum!"

when we get home i love to take all my clothes off and run around naked for a while shouting "look mummy nana no clothes"

i was sitting on the floor naked and said to mummy
"what happened?"
she looked at me, with my legs spread wide, sitting on the floor looking at my fanny and i said "willy where are youuuuuuu?"

mummy said "tiana you are a girl, like mummy, you dont have a willy"
i said "mmm what happened?" and looked some more for it "where are you willlllllly?"

nanas words!

2006-07-11T07:56:00.000+08:00

i love words, i love books - daddy says i am turning into mummy!

just now i love asking everybody about everything "whats that?" i ask it on average 200 times a day

but some words are mine all mine and no one else should use them

"i love you mummy" and mummy says "i love you nana" and i say "no mummy, thats nanas words"

i start singing "twinkle twinkle little star"
and then mummy sings "how i wonder what you are?"
"no mummy, thats nanas words!"

"oh look mummy a baaaaaaaaaby"
mummy says "aww what a cute baby"
"no mummy, baby is nanas words!"

and when the lala truck comes i sing "la la la la la"
and mummy starts singing!
"NO mummy, thats nanas words" (my mummy doesnt learn very fast does she?!)

so mummy asked me what words could she sayand i told her

"mummy you say blah blah blah blah!"

watch out

2006-07-07T17:13:00.000+08:00

sometimes mummy picks me up from school on her scooter but her beep beep is broken so my job is to let everyone know we are there

"watch out everyboy nana is coming" i shout

"watch out trees nana is coming" i scream

"watch out mooooooon nana is here!"

and this morning when i was getting ready for school i was shouting out the door

"watch out rain nana is coming, you stop now k!" and it did

helping

2006-06-30T18:26:00.000+08:00

i love helping mummy, everyday when i come back from school, i wash my own school bowls, the floor around the sink, my clothes and sometimes even my hair. mummy says i am a good helper, daddy says i just make a mess, i think i agree with mummy

mummy bought me a little kids toilet seat to put on the big toilet so now i dont just have to use the potty i can be a big girl too. mummy helps me by holding on to me so i dont fall off

silly mummy forget sometimes and goes to the toilet all by herself, but most of the time i remind her and say
"wait mummy, nanas coming, help you ok?"
"ok" says mummy
i hold on to mummys' knees and say
"its ok mummy nanas got you. hold on mummy dont fall off. be careful ok?"

how to look taiwanese on a scooter!

2006-06-23T23:26:00.000+08:00

here is how to look taiwanese on a scooter

1. look at my cousins' hilarious "how to look italian on a moped" on her blogspot all of her points apply www.rebelyael.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8. wear your shirt or coat back to front, i have no idea why but most people do it (not guilty)

9. carry as many people as possible, this means two adults, up to four children, only the driver is wearing a helmet, and possibly add the family dog (guilty of two adults, one child but all were wearing helmets)

10. move large, awkward and cumbersome items on your scooter, included and manditory are fridges, tvs, couches, gas bottles, replacement windscreens for your car and just about anything else you can think of (guilty of the tv and fridge oh and a huge potted plant that i couldnt see around)

11. livestock (or deadstock), upside down still living chickens in bunches of two or three on each side, a whole pig, dead (thankfully), small dogs must be carried int he basket in the front (not guilty on any charge)

12. if you chose to stop at a red light(optional) always stop under the nearest tree to the traffic light, rather than anywhere near the traffic light, thus avoiding the sun (guilty it is damn hot out there)

13. wear an open face and visor free helmet, thus making driving in the rain a blinding experience (guilty)

14. own and wear a huge raincoat that covers you and all your stuff in shades of orange, green, pink or purple only (guilty mine is pink and green)

look an airplane

2006-06-18T21:42:00.000+08:00

when we went down to the shop (yes my favorite place in the world) this big airplane flew over so i said "hi airplane! Where you going? oh, you going see gak, oh, nana going to the park ok? tell gak nana going to the park ok? bye airplane come back soooooooon."

yes, i look innocent

2006-06-04T22:15:00.000+08:00

mummy says that i am going through the terrible twos! but i am not sure what she means

i love going to ayi shop just down the road, mainly because they give me sweeties and things for free but also they have a sand pit outside that i can play in for hours yeeeahh

nana and mummy went to the shop on saturday night and i found this great new sweetie, its called M&Ms but it is in a little tube that makes a great noise when you shake it. with one in each hand i started to dance round and round the coca cola display, that was fun but then i gave two to mummy and two to ayi and asked (mummy says demanded) that they dance round behind me and i made them all sing "twinkle twinkle little nana"

everytime another grown up came into the shop mummy and ayi stopped dancing but i just kept on going until "mummy, nana needs peepee now!"

so mummy takes my hand and we run out of the shop as she starts to pull down my pants i say "no mummy, nana can do it!" so i do then squat down at the side of the road to pee pee but then it wasnt a pee pee i needed it was a poo poo!

so i am squatting outside of the shop with my bumbum up in the air pushing like mad and mummy says "tiana, is that a pee pee or a poo poo?" i say "poo poo pee pee mummy" so i do a really big poo poo and then realise that i need a tissue and start shouting "tissue mummy TISSUE!" so mummy has to run into ayis shop again get a tissue while my bumbum is still pointing up in the air by the side of the road next to this huge poo!

when we were leaving the shop later mummy said she had to have a beer before she went to bed cause she was really tired, i dont know why!

dance like this mummy

2006-06-04T22:00:00.000+08:00

no mummy you are doing it wrong! this is how you dance!

my dancing hat

2006-06-04T21:54:00.000+08:00

this is my dancing hat! vuvu made it for me and i love it cause everytime i wear it dances just happen

a good read

2006-05-11T20:26:00.000+08:00

i really love sitting on the potty and reading my book while i wait for a pee pee or poo poo to come

mummy doesnt like dusting because.....

2006-05-11T19:47:00.000+08:00

she would rather be painting pictures like this one or playing with me or going for a walk or going for a ride on our two people bike or even going to the dentist

so busy

2006-05-10T19:49:00.000+08:00

sorry i am too busy to play now, i have to listen to music, visit my friends and make a mess in the house

happy song

2006-05-08T08:13:00.000+08:00

i like to sings songs

my favorite songs are twinkle twinkle, ali bali bee, itsy bitsy spider and ten tiny peas. i was singing a song in the car for mummy and daddy it goes like this
(please feel free to sing along)

nana happy happy happy hahah happy
mummy ha ha happy happy happy
daddy happy happy happy ha happy
everybody happy ha ha happy

add in everyones names and sing it to them

the beach

2006-04-08T12:49:00.000+08:00

sunscreen, a hat, a spade, a rake and lots of sand

my life is complete

we did lots of things

2006-03-30T07:46:00.000+08:00

i loved my happy birthday to you week, because grannie and grandad were here i didnt have to go to school! instead we did lots of fun things, like play in the park

i love playing on the slides and climbing up and down things

so here is some of the party

2006-03-27T09:11:00.000+08:00

what a week

2006-03-27T09:01:00.000+08:00

oh what a wonderful week i have had!

on saturday night, i woke up at 11pm cos i could hear voice in my house, after mummy came up twice and tried to make me go back to sleep, she gave up and took me down stairs. guess who was there? grannie and grandad! yeahhhhhhh

sunday morning and it is my birthday! i can sing the whole song all by myself, me and mummy danced for ages in the morning before my friends came over to help us party

mmmm yummy

2006-03-15T08:06:00.000+08:00

here i am! having a picpic in the park, dry noodles are the best thing in the world

i have 6 pairs of sunglasses

2006-03-09T14:41:00.000+08:00

mummy says that i am more like my aunty loubie, aunt jenny and my aunt yael, that i am like her!

i have more sunglasses, shoes and sparkles than she does!

naptime?

2006-03-09T14:38:00.000+08:00

shhh, i am meant to be sleeping!

new words!

2006-03-01T21:29:00.000+08:00

i have lots and lots of new words this week! i thought you would like to know about them!

near our house there is a BEAUTIFUL (yes i can say that) WATERFALL(and that too). sometimes i see BUTTERFLIES and i love pictures of DINOSAURS and i like CATERPILLARS too.

at bedtime mummy lets me play for 5 minutes by myself and and i was reading my book "the bears picnic" mummy reads it to me every night and i mean every night since we went to thailand and i think it is the best book in the world ever. sometimes i let her read me another book but well if it isnt the bears it just isnt bedtime!

this is how it sounds when mummy reads the first page

Mother Bear, put your apron away
We are going to go on a picnic today
Where are we going on our picnic Dad?
To the very best place in the world my lad!

when i read it, it sounds like this

mummy bear pu you pron away!
we going picpic toooooo day
where going picpic dad?
to best best world my lad

when mummy heard me reading it she was very very surprised cos she hadnt realised that i was listening every single time she read it to me, and she didnt know that i have remembered the whole book, but i still like her to read it to me, sometimes it just isnt bedtime unless mummy reads the bears

night night everyone, night night toes

microphones are cool!

2006-02-24T20:32:00.000+08:00

i love my red dress and my new red shoes but best of all is my microphone!

the man playing piano didnt know any of my songs, but i sung my words anyway and he played his songs(i dont know how anyone doesnt know ali bali bee, or twinkle twinkle little star??

chinese new year dance!

2006-02-24T20:26:00.000+08:00

outside my great grandads' house at chinese new year, there was this great stage, with lights and music and people watching and lots of people clapping their hands, so i took advantage of it, to show off my funky dance moves and to let everyone hear my great singing!

everyone clapped even harder and mummy said there must have been 200 people watching, i dont know how many that is cos i can only count up to 10

the week from hell!

2006-02-10T23:15:00.000+08:00

mummy hasnt been very happy this week, and neither have i!

mummy has no money cos she hasnt been working for a month(chinese new year) and so she went to teach one of her friends classes. with gak away and vuvu busy that means i have been going to school from 8.30 am til daddy comes and picks me up at 5.30!

mummy told me all about her week:

monday she goes to school to find out the kindergarten class she is meant to be teaching has doubled in size, with lots of 2 and 3 year olds in it, and all the 5-6 year olds as well. so there is a lot of noise, no other teacher in the school and all the kids have to listen to my mummy (i think she should go to school with me) there is only enough books for a quarter of the class, and half the class dont speak any english anyway (whats wrong with them? i can speak english and chinese and i am not even two yet)

the second day she gets a brand new student that is 7 years old and has ADD (attention something or other) who rips up the other kids books, paints on the walls and rips down all the art on the walls, walks out of the classroom when ever he feels like it and the only word he can say in english is NO!

by wednesday mummy looks really sad and tired but she is trying her best i am sure

thursday comes and on her way to school she stops to get a coffee and as she pulls in to 7-11 another lady on a scooter rams her bike and knocks her off! the lady started shouting at my mummy in taiwanese and mummy just stood there with her mouth opening and closing like a fish, then the lady drove away. mummy went into 7 bought coffee and sat on her bike having a cry. mummy is ok there are no cuts or scratches but she couldnt sleep thursday night cos her neck was really sore and she was sick cos her head hurt so much

friday mummy got smart and took a video to school with her and the kids all watched it!

and oh she didnt get paid today like she should of and has to go back to the school on monday!

we are both very glad it is saturday tomorrow. anyone want a pancake?

ooops i ate it all

2006-01-25T17:12:00.000+08:00

mummy made me a great breakfast this morning - cheese and toes, its great and i can sing the head, shoulders, knees and toes song when i am eating it, but sometimes i get cheese in my hair when i am touching my head, oh well it will wash out

so after breakfast i decided that i would wash my hair, i took my bottle of bubbles, opened them and poured them all over my head and said "mummy, nana wash hair!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhhhh"
"Mummy ouch eyes! AAARGGHHHH WAAAAAA"

mummy came running picked my up and put my head under the tap in the kitchen to get the bubbles out, how can anything that is so pretty by so paaaaaain full!!!

mummy said that we could go to the shop to buy something nice (chocoleee) to cheer me up, so i put my shoes on, still crying a little bit, and my coat and we went out for a walk, well mummy walked, i was carried. when we were nearly at the gate of the complex, i saw the meow meow, and told mummy "mummy buy fish, meow meow eat fish, nana go shopping!"

at the shop the Ayi there, offered me some chocolee and told me not to pour bubbles on my head, but i said NO meow meow eat fish, nana buy fish, so mummy bought tuna and we went to look for the meow meow

meowmeow liiiiie, meow meow come ere! well she didnt want to come here so mummy and me opened the fish and sat down and mummy threw some to the meow meow but she ran away

mmmm fish mummy nana eat fish! so i ate alittle bit, yumyum mummy, i ate some more, "more pleeeease mummy" mmmm more more more more moremoremore and then the meow meow came back and there was no fish left so i said to mummy
"bye bye mummy, nana go shopping buy fish, meowmeow eat fish!

how could i forget shoes!

2006-01-16T08:21:00.000+08:00

i love shoes! shoes are great! i love daddys' shoes, mummys' shoes, gaks' shoes and everybodys' shoes!

when mummy is taking me out for a walk she says tiana go get your shoes, yeeehaaa shoes! i go put on my shoes and then i bring mummy her shoes, i dont understand how shoes can be wrong but mummy was wearing her jeans and big fluffy socks and i brought her the shoes that she wore for her wedding, i thought they looked great with the blue fluff coming out from between the silver straps

shoes at McNono (McDonalds) are great cos all the big brothers and sisters have to take off there shoes to go play on the slides so there is always heaps of shoes for me! sometimes i like to put them in the box but most of the time i love to try them on and walk around (slowly)

well on no school day mummy and gak and me went to McNono and i found the nicest, sparkliest, big girl shoes there. they were pink and had a little heel and sparkles and Wow i loved them, i walked around showing them off for everybody. it was great, they were the best shoes ever! so i played forages like this and then the big sister came to sit next to me and was asking for her shoes! then her mummy started shouting at her cos they were going home and i would NOT take off her shoes! finally my mummy came and took them off of my feet WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

i am heartbroken!

the important things in life

2006-01-16T07:58:00.000+08:00

there are certain things in my life that have gotten much more important recently, take cups for example

when i got up this morning i really really really wanted to drink my chocolee milk from my babys' bottle but mummy said the bottle was in the car and that daddy had taken the car to work this morning cos it was raining and that i could have it in one of my cups! well i dont want a cup! no mummy i dont want the cup with handles, no not the pink one either, NO not the green one I WANT THE BABY BOTTLE so mummy suggested the dollys' baby bottle mmmm ok

clothes are important just now, i HAVE to chose my own clothes and put them on myself or i wont put any on at all, so on friday when gak and steeeve were coming to take me out i decided to wear:

long sleeved white tee shirt
short sleeved orange, pink, red and yellow chinese style tee shirt
one green sock
one orange sock
a cream skirt with little red roses
lilac trousers
purple and pink hat with fluffy tassles
blue gloves
and pink sunglasses
i looked great!

oh and fish sweeties
fish sweeties are really really really important! mummy keeps them in a big jar and they are golden little pearls of juicy fishiness! mmmm yum yum mummy! mummy says that they are NOT candy and that they are Cod Liver Oil tablets?? but i know that they are candy and i want more! mummy says its not nice hugging or kissing a baby that stinks of fish but i love them! more pleeeease mummy!

bloody minded

2006-01-04T18:59:00.000+08:00

when i get up in the morning i like to stay in my jimjams until i have eaten my breakfast, and i will not let mummy take them off til after i am all finished

my favorite breakfast is porridge of course, so mummy cooks some for me, puts raisins in and then i sit down and watch the "wiggles" and eat my porridge

i dont let mummy help and i dont want her to sit next to me, it is my breakfast not hers! so she sits me on a towel and leaves me to it, i am not quite sure what the the towel is for but i have to make her happy sometimes

ok i admit is porridge is hard to wash out of my hair, but it feels great on my face and neck, and i think it looks good on my jimjams

so when breakfast is finished mummy insists i get washed and dressed, but i insist that i pick my clothes myself, or i will scream and scream!

this morning i got dressed nearly all by myself (shirts are still hard) so i put on my big girl pants, then i put on my pink trousers, then i put on my lilac trousers, mummy helped me with a lilac shirt but i wanted the orange and red one, so she helped me with that too, then i put on my socks - one pink one and one orange one, then i was cardi time and i thought that the peach and white cardi was just what this outfit needed, then my yellow hat and i am all ready to go!

mummy and gak said i looked like a refugee - dont know what that is but i look great!

cooking for mummy

2006-01-04T18:22:00.000+08:00

i love cooking! i have a great set of kitchen things that aunt sally bought for me ages ago and i like to use them for all sorts of things but now i can cook!

mummy was doing her emails the other morning and i decided to cook an apple for her. so i brought her little bits of apple in the pot and spoon fed her some and said "mummy nana cook! mummy eat apple" so like the good mummy she is she ate it all up

so i made some more and she ate that up too "good mummy"

then the pot was empty and i left it in mummys' hand and went to get the apple "wait mummy, nana cook apple"

so i brought back the apple and showed her how i was cooking

i take big bites of apple, chew them up into small pieces, spit them into the pot and then spoon feed them to mummy

after she had seen my cooking she didnt want to eat any more, i dont know why? its her fault she wont let me have a knife

living with the waltons?

2005-12-06T11:23:00.000+08:00

when i go to sleep at night it is really important that i say night night to all the important things in my life, so here is my bedtime routine

first, i take off all my own clothes

second, milk machine runs some warm coffee into the bath for me and adds bubbles

third, i wash myself, my mummy, my dollies and anything else i can fit into the bath, somethimes my clothes, sometimes mummys clothes, my teddies, the toilet paper, and ohhhh i can open the shampoo bottles and make more bubbles yeaaah and have a swish(swim) in the bath

then, i get out of the bath, brush my teeth ALL by MYSELF!

then, into bed for a book, a snuggle and of course a boobie from mummy

then comes the important part night night time

n'night mummy
n'night daddy
n'night gannie(she is in scotland i know but she still needs to hear it)
n'night ganda(he is there too)
n'night vuvu(my other gannie)
n'night book
n'night dolly
n'night gak (Great Aunt Kate)
n'night uncle steeeeeve
n'night mooooon
n'night doggy
n'night stars
n'night trees
mmmmmmm
n'night coffee
n'night bubbles
mmmmmmm
n'night teeth
n'night mummys hair
n'night nanas hair
mmmmmm
n'night shoes
oh n'night socks
n'night daddys shoes
mmmmmm
n'night fish
n'night meow meow
mmmmmm
n'night mummy

then she switches off the lights

n'night lights

its all coffee to me

2005-09-04T20:10:00.000+08:00

well, its been a long time since i wrote anything, because being a toddler has left me very little time for anything. i am soooo busy figuring out how to switch the lights on and off, practising my running (milk machine is definately getting faster), taking important things out of the milk machines bag, flushing things down the toilet (sometimes the important things i find in her bag), drawing, watering the gardening and of course taking naps

we went on a vacation to thailand(pictures later) and i spent most of my time naked in the garden/jungle and naked on the beach but i had to put clothes on to go to bed, which seemed strange to me.......

i am really learning to talk, i can say all sorts of things

when i pick up something i know i shouldnt have i say "no no no no no" and wag my fore finger just like mummy does

i love doggies, they are the best thing in the world, i shout at every doggy i see "doggy go lie" (doggy come here)

i made a whole sentence which seemed to make mummy really happy, auntie louies doggy was chewing (gently) on my fingers and i said "doggie bite nana"

my favorite words right now are
no
no no
no no no no!
no no no no no no no NO!
hao - (ok or good)
help me nana
no no no no no
help me daddy
help me mummy
help me nana
doggy
dollie dollie dollie dollie
no no no no
daddy (usually said loudly)
bao bao (hug me)
baddie (i say this to anything that trips me up, or hurts me)
ouch!

oh and coffee, mummy drinks coffee, so does daddy, so does nana, the sea is full of coffee, i take showers in coffee, it rains coffee, the swimming pool is full of coffee (mummy keeps trying to tell me that is it water but i know it is coffee!)

2005-06-29T10:29:00.000+08:00

my daddy is always telling my milk machine how smart i am! i know it, why dont they.

daddy went to sort something in the car and the front door swung shut and locked, i was sleeping on the floor but the bang of the door woke me up. waaaaaaa Waaaaaaa WAAAAAAA

so daddy goes round to the big window doors at the back of the house so i can see him and he calls me over. i really dont like being home alone! waaaa waaa sniffle sniffle

"What daddy? I cant hear you! Waaaaaaaa!"what is he saying, i wish he would come inside! oh right, wait i get it, he is locked out. WAAAAAAAAA!

daddy says "unlock the door, nana"oh ok, this is easy now i know what to do, i walk up to the window doors and pull down the latch thingy and then go to the other door and do the same daddy pushes the windows open, gathers me up in his arms and tells me how smart i am.

smarter than daddy anyway! i have never locked myself out!

talking sometimes makes my milk machine blush

2005-05-22T21:04:00.000+08:00

i have been practising my talking for weeks now and find that some words are more effective than others, so here is a list of my first words

1. daddy
2. dawwwgie
3. hot
4. boobie
5. up
6. hat
7. cat(have you noticed yet there is no need for the word mummy?)
8. car
9.bike
10. hao (my first chinese word!! are you proud of me?)
11. baba (another chinese word - means daddy)
12. nana (thats my name incase you didnt know)
13. bao bao (chinese for hug)
14. mummy (she is mostly with me so i dont need to say it often)

so we went to the doctors the other day with gak(great aunt kate) she was getting her boobies checked - i think they must be broken cos she always tells me they are empty no matter how often i ask - so we were in the waiting room with lots and lots of other ladies, the men were all round the corner.

this old lady asked if she could pick me up - bao bao - i allowed her to do so, then i started to say "Boobie"
" Boobie, boobie boooooobie, BOOOBIE!!"!" and pulling at her shirt, looking inside to see her boobies and making my milk sign too.........she didnt understand me??! so i tried again
"Boobie, boobie, booooobie" and grabbing her she then asked my milk machine
"Ta yao shemne?" (means what does she want?)
milk machine said "ta yao chi nei nei" (means literally she wants to eat boobies(nei nei) or breast feed in other words)
so the old lady laughed and starts telling everyone in the room that i want to chi nei nei, hahahaha and that her nei nei are empty and have no milk
the only person not laughing was milk machine, she looked all red in the face

talking is great!

2005-05-09T17:14:00.000+08:00

ohoh they found me!

2005-05-09T17:12:00.000+08:00

i was watering grannies garden, but then i watered me mmmm not so much fun!

2005-05-09T17:10:00.000+08:00

here i am sleeping like, well, like a baby really

2005-05-09T17:09:00.000+08:00

me and mummy looking at leaves in the park

2005-04-27T11:42:00.000+08:00

ahh, this is how you use it, hold on here and run! i would rather be outside

2005-04-27T11:41:00.000+08:00

oh, i need a sleep, what do you mean this is a running machine???

2005-04-27T11:40:00.000+08:00

so how do i get this out of the box?

2005-04-27T11:39:00.000+08:00

its a wee daaawww gie, i love your nose

my first days in baby care

2005-04-02T12:16:00.000+08:00

so i am a big girl now, i go to baby care two afternoons a week so milk machine can go to work, i know she would rather be home with me, but i love going to baby care, so many things to do and play with

first day: milk machine brings me to a place that has lots of toys downstairs and lots of sleeping babies upstairs. she lays me down offers me some milk but i have to say i was more interested in the rest of the babies, ok i give in i will have some milk as she says i can have more for 5 hours!

all the other babies are sleeping, and the aunty there says i am the cutest hehe she doesnt know me yet does she! milk machine is sitting on the floor talking about my diapers and how the aunties dont have to wash them for her just put them in a bag for her to take home and i get down to the serious business of sussing out the other babies, ok i have the advantage here as the others are being good and sleeping like, well, like babies really. the aunties are talking about how much i talk and milk machine is explaining some of my signs, to make their lives easier

i want to see what is under the blankets the babies have on them, so i go from one baby to the next lifting their blankies and saying ohhhh, and ahhhhh, now that is sorted out, they have legs and feet like i do, what is this bouncy bed chair thing that this little baby is in. i put me head on his tummy and say awwww and all the aunties are like "oh she is the cutest baby" in chinese of course "ohh ta hao ke ai ba" so for a while i have them fooled but then the temptation was toooo great, i found that the bouncy bit of the chair (like two big springs at the front) bounce the baby when i push on them, suddenly this little baby is bouncing all over the place, bounce, bounce, bounce, BOUNCE! hehehehehehehe this place is fun

milk machine shakes her head and says she will be back in 5 hours, she looks kind of relieved to say bye bye and tells me to be a good girl, i wave bye bye, now to get down to some serious mischief

stupid things that foreigners do in taiwan!

2005-03-27T12:27:00.000+08:00

when milk machine got home from her new job on friday she told me this story - even i know this is stupid and i am only one year old!

i have taken a new job at the navy base here in kaohsiung, this is a top security, armed and always on orange alert naval base. to get in (at the side gate) i must present photographic id, sign in and be accompanied to my classroom by a duty officer. as you would expect one has to dress appropriately, well the last teacher was turning up dressed in shorts, flip flops, unshaven and occasionally wearing a combat jacket, so they were talking about letting him go at the end of this month, he hastened his departure by doing the following:

turned up late for class, so late in fact that the duty officer that should have been there to escort him to class had gone, so there was no one to let him into the base. which leaves him several options

option 1: call his boss that is in the base and tell him he is waiting outside
option 2: go to the main gate and explain who he is, and get escorted to the classroom
option 3: (i still cant believe this) climb over the 3 metre high gate with razor wire on the top whilst carrying half a bottle of red wine

yes you guessed it he took option 3

upon entering the camp illegally he had yet more options, dressed in shorts, flip flops, wearing a combat jacket and carrying a bottle of wine (nearly finished by now!)

option 1: present himself to the first officer he saw and explain
option 2: stick to the roads and head to the classroom
option 3: take off cross country over shooting ranges(luckily unused at the time) refuse to stop when challenged by the armed military police, be wrestled to the ground and thrown in the brig!

again this smart fellow took option 3

he was handed over to the local police because the military police were not quite sure what to do with him, and now he is residing in the county jail (not a nice place) until the canadian authorities can come and chuck him out of the country!

good riddance!

2005-03-21T20:09:00.000+08:00

look i have a little princess chair, a princess dress and even a bunny rabbit..........who do you think i am? bloody snow white thats who. anyone got any crunchy insects??

2005-03-21T20:04:00.000+08:00

thats me, oh thats me too, ohhhh thats me, ohh thats me woohooo

2005-03-21T20:03:00.000+08:00

i love feeding myself but i dont think liams mummy liked me feeding him, she kept wiping him up, but my mummy is more fun, she waits til i am all finished

my birthbay lasted a week!!

2005-03-21T19:52:00.000+08:00

one week ago grannie came to visit and cos she couldnt stay till the day of my birthbay, she brought a present for each day that she was here! woohoo present central!

we did lots of hanging out in gardens centres with grannie, which is lots of fun as there is always mud, plants and insects to eat. we went to this under water fishy thingy with sharks and everything. i liked the sea grass best (which is a fish but sticks up out of the sand like grass, weird) cos i think some of the bigger fishies and sharks thought i looked yummy

on my birthbay, lots of mummy's friends came over with toys for me and aunt sally brought cake, i played on the climbing frame and wanted to go into the paddling pool but mummy said it was too cold! i started off wearing a really pretty white dress with little daisies on it but i couldnt crawl in it and it was driving me maaaaaaad, so mummy gave in and let me play in just my t shirt

thank you granny for coming all the way from scotland, i will be there soon to make you all messy again, save me some insects and dont forget my mud

fairs fair, share and share

2005-03-05T16:52:00.000+08:00

well tiana is well, full of beans, sweet potato, bread, potato and anything else she can get her grubby little paws on

gak, gus, james and me however have been as sick as dogs, really james and i were sick as dogs but gak was sicker than any dog i have ever seen, most dogs when that sick would have the sense to lie down and die! but we are all much better today in fact i think i could fly i feel so good

the sun is shining, the sky is blue, it is windy and fresh outside but bloody freezing in kate and steves house (nothing new there) no chance of any heating there or even a rug for the ice cube floor (put some more clothes on lass!)

still poorly

2005-02-28T12:09:00.000+08:00

poor little thing is still not very well, she is subdued but has a few happy moments, but i think her tummy is still sore and she still has a runny bum.

for the first time in her little life she is wearing disposables as i havent been able to keep up with the washing and drying of the cloth ones. she has a bit of a nappy rash cos of those horrid disposables, i am so glad that is it just once in a blue moon she has to wear them

we have no idea what caused it, but my tummy is still upset too, it may be a stomach flu rather than something we ate, as i think we would be ok by now if it was something we ate but who knows

all for now as i am k-nackered(to use your term mum) running around trying to get her better, dealing with the poo, not sleeping great and worrying. takes it out of you

fever and sickness

2005-02-26T11:53:00.000+08:00

my poor wee darling!

went to work on thursday night and within an hour had a call to come home, little princess was throwing up all over Gak, and was very poorly

rushed home and found Gak covered in mmm not very nice stuff and little tiana just hanging on, sweating and looking so pale. got tia changed and off to the hospital, was seen within minutes, the doctor taking a real good look at her - he even did a tummy scan - and we were sent home(thankfully) with rehydration fluids, a yummy medicine to reduce her fever, and a acidbaccilus(spelling?).

i spent the night awake and trying to keep her fever below 40, with damp towels, the fan on, and worried like i have never been in my life before. she was so helpless, listless and soooo quiet, which for a baby as noisy and active as tiana was the most worrying thing.

yesterday she slept on and off all day clinging to me, spitting out her yummy medicines and eating boobie like there was no tomorrow. it does amaze me that my body can respond to her need for boobie and keep making milk even though she doesnt drink that much normally

today she is a little subdued, but nearly back to her normal noisy self and it is so nice nice to hear her laugh and shout

in laws arrgghh

2005-02-21T22:48:00.000+08:00

my MIL (mother in law) arrived today unannounced as always with great grandad, aunty and some other worthy from the village in tow, let themselves into the house(door wasnt actually locked but well) and then polished off about 2 and a half pounds of my chocolate!

not just any chocolate mind, the choccy that lawrence had brought back for me from the states, choccy that you can not buy in taiwan, choccy that does not have that added anti-melt shite in it, choccy that i was savoring, choccy that I really wanted to eat, not that i am bitter and twisted about it

phuckers!

GAK is back

2005-02-19T12:02:00.000+08:00

after three long weeks, gak (great aunt kate) and gus (great uncle steve) have returned from their holiday! phew! maybe now i will be able to do dishes, cook food and even breathe sometimes while the baby is being entertained by them!

they only got back last night and already, james and i have eaten dinner by ourselves, i am normally on the tiana diet, were she eats all the good bits of my dinner therefore reducing my calorie intake significantly.

as we were finishing our dinner i said, "oh, sometimes it is nice to eat without tia." and james, bless him, said "i was just thinking i miss her being here, and was wondering if we should take a doggy bag for her" he is so in love with that little girl

tiana has learned to "drive" a remote control car, it is a little yellow vw beetle, and she happily makes it go back and forwards with the remote control, hours of endless fun

2005-02-13T23:31:00.000+08:00

i can walk but sitting down is cool too

strawberry fields february

2005-02-13T20:39:00.000+08:00

went for a nice long drive today in the glorious winter sun, was cool around 25C, as we were driving up to the mountains we saw people picking strawberries! how cool we thought and decided to join them

an hour and a few kilos of strawbs later, tia was covered in hay, straw and of course strawberry juice and pulp, we smiled at each other, paid for the strawbs, bought some cream on the way home and had a delicious dessert.

another of the reasons that i love living in taiwan, strawberries and tomatoes are winter crops! cant wait for the summer season of mangoes, pineapples and lychees.

my back hurts!

2005-02-12T20:28:00.000+08:00

now she can walk my dd (darling daughter) will not get in her stroller! i walked up and down to kate and steves house today, now I know it is not far, but if you are bent nearly double holding the hand of a toddler(omg she is isnt she!) and pushing a stroller that you mistakenly thought she would be in your back hurts!

everyone exclaims on the the way past "Oh she can walk, when did she turn 1 year old?" and of course i have to reply that she is ten months old and stubburn(the determination comes from our side of the family, the stubborness from his of course). Is it too early to start lying about her age??