Snow day

I am trying to catch up with the blog posts. Gege and daddy went to snow mountain on new year's day.  Ah, that's long time ago already.  They went there with other parents and kids from the church. Meimei and I didn't go.  From the picture, I can tell that gege had a good time there.

A good day

 Eric:"Mom, I have such a good day today."
Me:"Because we went to the park?"
Eric:"And also because we are going to the Bible study group tonight."
Me:"Do you like the Bible study group?"
Eric:"Yes. I like it very much."
We haven't participate in the Bible study group for several months since Daisy was born. No-time was always the excuse.  Now Daisy is five months old, we decided that it's time to resume our Bible study. :-)

Here are some photos we took in the park.

P.S., Today Daisy called Eric Ge Ge (which means Brother in Chinese.) She pronounced it clearly and the sound was very loud too.  It happened when Daisy was sitting in her chair, watching Daddy and Eric having their lunch. We were so pleasantly surprised.  Actually this is the second time that Daisy called Ge Ge.  The first time was about two weeks ago.  Ge Ge is the first word that Daisy ever spoke out. :-)

Stroll

We did a little outing during the weekend.  The sunlight was warm but not very strong.  A typical comfortable afternoon of the fall. Perfect for a little walk in the neighborhood.

Daddy and son. Love them.

Birthday party fun

Jesse, Eric's friend from the Church, turned four on the weekend. We went to Jesse's birthday party on Sunday.

The party theme is Spiderman. Jesse was dressed in Spiderman costume.  The cupcakes and goodies bags are all decorated with Spiderman icon.  Very cute. 

Several activities were also arranged for the kids, including pizza dinner, swing, climbing tree (only interested Eric :-)), and blow bubbles.  Super fun.  Eric had a blast.  When it's time to get home, Eric was so reluctant to go that he shouted, "I am not tired." :-)

Eric has been longing for climbing trees for a long time. At the friend's backyard there is a small tree which is perfect for Eric to horn his climbing skills.  Eric didn't miss the chance and he played with the tree for a long time :-)

Favorite recipes: Banana Bread

I seldom make bread because in my impression, to make a bread requires a lot of cooking skills, and only a veteran can handle it properly.  However, this banana bread recipe changes my opinion.  It is easy to follow.  I did once and the result is very satisfactory, which highly boosts my confidence regarding cooking :-)

I adapt this banana bread's recipe here just in case you are interested.

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.
Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous -- Coco Chanel

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."
"Fashion fades, only style remains the same."
"Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future."
-- Coco Chanel

How to grow old gracefully is a topic most ladies concern. Evelyn has wonderful collective ideas in her latest article.

Parenting: OK, let's play

The other day, during a casual talk, I told Eric that when daddy was at his age, daddy could read books all day long, and was very interested in math. Secretly, I had two purposes to say this: 1. to motivate Eric to ; 2. to set up the Husband's brilliant image in Eric's mind.

Eric's response was totally beyond my expectation. He asked,"did he know how to play?" For a moment, I didn't know how to answer.  To be honest, I was deeply impressed by a four-year-old's pointed remarks. It hits the nail on the head.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." This is a familiar saying.  I am Chinese.  But I am not a tiger mother by any means.  However, sometimes I become very pressured and tend to be kind of pushy, especially when I knew several friends' three-year-old kids have already begun piano and swimming classes.  I definitely need a clear reminder (like the one from Eric's reply) to make me recognize that play is still preschoolers' main job.

Eric is climbing up a tree :-)

We plan to give Eric more time to play, at least for the time before he attends elementary school.  After all, play is the path that young children take to learn. Learn though play will be more fun.