They Are Growing Beautifully

Ethan now knows how to say "No" very accurately since he finds it useful to say all the time. He also calls every liquid "Nai Nai" which means milk in Cantonese. I didn't understand why until I hear the MIL calling the soup and the juice I gave him "Nai Nai". Well, it's my responsibility to teach him so I am glad that now we are in Manhattan and living only 15 minutes walking distance from her. We take care of Ethan and Artimus together everyday. Before I go back to work at the end of May, I hope that Ethan will improve his language skills many folds. As for discipline, he is like a sponge. With the right attitude from adults around him, I am confident that he will be a child with good social skills - i.e. like stop hitting other kids. The playroom in our building has exposed him to many other kids bigger and smaller than him. Each time he hits another kid, his playtime ends and we go home. If this doesn't work, I have to figure something out fast. So far, he is hitting another kid after about 20 minutes. Since I only have about one more month at home, any suggestions will be welcomed. Ethan has other bad habits too, like in want of a bottle of milk in the middle of the night even though he doesn't need it. When we were with him before Artimus came along, he could sleep through the night. When he got sick after Artimus was born, I suspect his appetite was so erratic that the MIL decided to just let him eat when he wants to, which I could understand.

Artimus is an angel. Since last week, she koos and smiles at me quite often. She has very attentive gazes. Unlike Ethan, she doesn't cry for no reason. She cries only when she is hungry or in want of company, particularly mine. Best of all, she sleeps easily at night and doesn't wake up crying like Ethan. I sleep with her and nurse her as soon as she stirs and she stirs only once or may be twice during the night so I actually get a lot of sleep considering she is a newborn.

Ethan is still learning to let her into our lives. Today he cried miserably when JK was putting Artimus on the babybione, which was once exclusively his. He also wanted JK to carry him on the backpack carrier, I think out of jealousy. Up until now, JK has been taking care of him in every way while I take care of Artimus. But when I cook, he has the responsibility to watch both. So JK carried Artimus in the front and Ethan on the back. Poor JK. He looked so funny. I applaud his willingness to just do what is necessary. However, everyday he tells me he can't wait till they can understand reasonings.

JW