Mimi the Adorable Witch

Yesterday Gymboree had a Halloween party for the kids and thanks to Barbara, Mimi had the cutest and most special costume there. Mimi wore an adorable witch costume sent all the way from U.S. by her aunt. At first Mimi was a little afraid to wear it because she has this scared but strange fascination with witches. However we keep on telling her that she will look so cute in the outfit and she will be the cutest girl there and everyone will come up and tell her how cute she was. Having the possibility of praise being lavished upon her Mimi quickly overcame her fears and done her witches outfit and yes she was the cutest girl there.

Her cousin Yankee came up and Barbara got him a pirate’s outfit. The party turned out pretty well for a kid’s party. Music, dancing, things to climb on and hit, cupcakes and candy, I guess when you are a kid what else can you ask for. Best of all Mimi had a great time and it was her taste of Halloween, she liked the candy part a lot. That night when I was telling getting her to bed and recapping to her “Today’s” story, she said she wants to wear the witches dress again. I won’t be surprised to come home tonight and see her in it.

I have several videos I need to edit together which I will post up later this week.

Mimi’s Year 2 Pictures

One of the things that I want to make into a tradition is to have these studio pictures of Mimi and our family about once a year. So about 2 months ago when Barbara and my mom was here in Taiwan we went to the studio to get Mimi’s year 2 pictures. We finally got it back last week and overall we are quite happy with how the pictures turned out. They did a great job photoshopping my bags under my eyes out. Here are some of the samples, you can check out the full pictures in my pbase gallery.

The not so great Turkey

So contrary to the public opinion of how great Turkey is, I have to say I didn’t really enjoy it that much. Yes I admit it that in terms of historical significance and beauty Turkey has all that. Some of the rubbles that you see houses built around are from biblical times. Even ancient stories we grew up with like ‘Troy’ are places in Turkey.

So the reason my trip was not so good is that is more external reasons. One is that I was on a business trip so of course of the 4 days I was there 3 were primary spent at customer labs where we slaved away from morning to late night. I was in a city called Manisa which is about 1 hour drive from Izmir. So I wasn’t in Izmir which is Turkey’s second largest city and house the Trojan Horse from the movie ‘Troy’ in which has Brad Pitt’s sweat in it. Manisa is a little…very little city which seems like there is also very little in terms of restaurants or places to see or even open past 9PM at night. So the 3 days I was there it was customers, hotel, and eat at the hotel restaurant (repeat 3 times).

Turkish food is…ok. It is basically spiced meat, cheese, and bread. It is definitely good meat, cheese, and bread but nevertheless just different combinations of meat, cheese, and bread. The kebabs were good.

On the fourth day I had the day off and I had time to look around. So I flew to Istanbul and went to the famous Blue Mosque area. That area is a must see for tourist because it has the Blue Mosque as well as the Aya Sophia museum and the Palace all within walking distance. Now before I went to Turkey I have read that you must be careful of con artists, pick pockets, and thefts. Since I have been in ShenZhen before I kind of know what to expect and was on the lookout. However I think because I was one of the few single persons there I was a prime target for these people to come up and try to become ‘friends’ with me to get me to buy some of their crap or sucker you into their crap store. So instead of peacefully enjoying the scenery, I was constantly fending off people coming up to me and saying ‘hey were are you from’ or ‘this way to see…’. After an hour I got sick of it and left. I did get this video of the inside of the Blue Mosque. It's not that great because it was on my phone camera but you can get an idea of what it is like inside.

Lastly my very last bad impression of Turkey accumulated when at Istanbul I put my Blackberry in my luggage and at Taiwan when I opened up my suitcase I discovered my Blackberry case still there but my Blackberry gone. Since my luggage did not leave me from the hotel to the airport, the only place it could have gotten taken is during the security check.

Oh well, I think I have another chance to go back again. I am sure that if I was with friends and family or on a tour I would have a better time. But as of right now I am glad to be back home.

Mimi's Lullaby - updated

Finally got the Michael Guang mv on-line. Check it out below and compare to Mimi's singing!

Mimi’s Lullaby

As I said before, recently I have had success in putting Mimi to bed for her afternoon nap. Part of the reason is that she is growing up and can be reasoned with. Another part is because of Mimi’s lullaby. There is a Chinese song, one of the few that I know how to sing to, which Mimi likes a lot. It’s called 童話 (Storybook) by Michael Guang and is actually one of my favorite Chinese song. Anyways I just started singing it 1 day and it really calmed Mimi down to go to bed. Then one day, Mimi started singing it with me. It’s not perfect and the her melody is off, but most of the words are there. So to let you guys know how well Mimi sings it, I had to figure out how to embed the MP3 into this blog posting, it is why it took a bit longer for this posting then usual. Here is the MP3 of the original song and then here is the video of Mimi singing it. Even though Michael Guang sings better, I personally think the cuteness factor Mimi brings makes the song all the more worth listening.

Mimi and Daddy’s Special Day

Recently on Saturdays I have been spending the time taking care of Mimi just by myself. Annie has class or appointments with friends so it’s just Mimi and me for most of the day. I call it ‘Mei-Mei and Ba-ba’s Special Day’ (it’s really cute when Mimi says it). I actually don’t mind looking after Mimi by myself. Overall she is pretty easy to take care of. The hardest part is eating and getting her to sleep, however recently I have been having successes that those departments lately.

So last Saturday was a bit rainy but Mimi was really excited because she get to wear her new raincoat for the first time. Doesn’t she look cute in it!

I first took Mimi to Gymboree for music class. It was fun but I think she liked Play more then music. Mimi was really good though, she participated even though I think she thought it was a bit boring (as evidence in this picture:-)). The other kids were running around but Mimi sat fairly still and listened to the teacher and the activities.

After Gymboree we went to Miramir Mall to eat Mimi’s favorite food, chicken nuggets and fries. We try not to let her eat too much, maybe only once every 2 weeks, however I consider this a special circumstance since it is Mei-Mei and Ba-Ba’s Special Day. See how much she enjoys it!

After lunch I took her to Tom’s World which is like a children’s arcade. It has a lot of the kids rides and games which require throwing and spending a lot of tokens. It’s a bit expensive but Mimi likes it there.

By then I definitely need some coffee to keep on going so we stop by Starbucks in which Mimi would order what she calls her ‘Starbucks Baby’ drink (short warm fresh milk with ½ foam and caramel syrup).

I would usually get Mimi a small toy at the toy store, that day I got her a Hello Kitty toaster set. It comes with a plastic toaster oven and plastic toast with plastic strawberry jam. Mimi likes it a lot. We went home and played tea party for a couple hours before I held her to sleep. She usually sleeps for about 1 and half hours before waking up. We then just play and rest until Annie calls to tell us where to meet her for dinner. That is how a typical ‘Mei-Mei and Ba-Ba’s Special Day’ goes. The most important thing is Mimi has a lot of fun and it gives us a chance to spend some father and daughter time together. Because before you know it, Mimi will be busy growing up, life will get harder, and these Special Days will be treasured memories.