Spring party at moms' group

Last Thursday, mommy brought Sheri to the spring party at moms' group for the second time. This time, the kids had the chance to do some handicraft work. Unfortunately, Sheri is too young to participate in this activity. Even though mommy tried to hold on to her to do some colouring with crayons, she did not seem to be too keen on it. Instead, she was more interested in putting the crayons into her mouth. In the end, mommy had to give up and let her wander around as she wished. See how naughty she was in climbing up to the chair herself. Occasionally, she would play with the board or push around the little truck.

After the spring party at the mom's group, we went to Auntie Jess's place. As usual, she would just wander around. One of her favourite activities at the Auntie Jess's place is to climb up the stairs. She seemed to have forgotten the fact that she fell on the hardwood floor from the stairs the last time we came. Mommy had to watch this little girl carefully to make sure that she did not miss her step. Yummy! The french fries was delicious! Thanks to Han who was willing to share with Sheri his fries.

Be the time we got home, it was already one o'clock. Sheri took a 2 hour nap before we went out to the park to take a walk. We were lucky to chance upon a cycling race at the park. Sheri was excited to see so many cyclists sped past her. It was also the first time that mommy witnessed a cycling race at such a close distance.

Beautiful day in the park!

Today's weather is beautiful. Frankly speaking, I was unable to appreciate this statement in the past, however being in a country with four seasons really makes me to be more appreciative of the weather. Every day seems to be different depending on the weather.

Today's weather is very pleasant with temperature hovering around 65 Fahrenheit (18 oC). Finally, we could sense that spring is in the air. Mommy could not resist the idea of bringing little Sheri out to take a walk. After being in the cold for so many months, it is very uplifting to get out of the house without the hassle of putting on thick jackets.

Off we go!

Nowadays, little Sheri likes to utter the word 'sit' whenever she sees a rock or a bench in the park. Well, mommy interprets it that she wants to sit on it. So, here she is, happily sitting on the rocks and benches!

Dinner with Uncle Jerry and Auntie Danielle

Last Saturday, we had dinner with Uncle Jerry and Auntie Danielle. Uncle Jerry was daddy's sister ex-boss when he was sent to Singapore to set up an office. When he came back to the States, he took good care of daddy when daddy was studying in Princeton.
This was a much awaited dinner as we could not really find a good time to meet up as Uncle Jerry travels frequently. I think the last time we met up was in last summer when Sheri was just about 7 months old. Even Auntie Danielle commented that Sheri has grown so big since the last time she met her. Time flies. I guess we do not realise it until you see how much kids have grown.
We had dinner at this Japanese restaurant called Murashi. It was daddy's colleague who recommended this place to us. The ambience is good, but more importantly, the food is excellent too. Daddy and mommy decided to go on a splurge . We had seaweed salad as the appetizer, sushi and sashimi combo as the main course followed by fried cheesecake as the dessert. The sushi and sashimi combo was the most expensive main course on the menu, but it was so fresh and succulent that it was worth every single cent that we paid. The only drawback was that mommy could not enjoy the meal to the fullest as I had to keep our little girl entertained all the time. Nowadays, she is so active that it is difficult to keep her seated in the baby seat. She is more interested in wandering around. Fortunately, the restaurants here allow us to pack the remaining food home, so mommy could continue to enjoy the sashimi when we went home.

Uncle Jerry had recently gone to Singapore for business trip, so it was nice to hear about the changes he had witnessed in Singapore during his trip. With great company and good food, it was an enjoyable evening for all of us.

First Mom's group meeting

Last Thursday, mommy went to the mom's group meeting for the first time. Unlike the spring party that we attended a couple of weeks ago, all the moms can deposit their kids in the nursery so that they can relax and get together in the mom's group meeting without the hassle of watching after their kids. At first, mommy was a bit apprehensive about leaving Sheri in the nursery as she had not left us ever since from the day she was born. However, at the same time, mommy was also curious about how she would react if I were to leave her in an unfamiliar environment. Anyway, I went ahead as planned. Daddy sent us to Auntie Jess's place in the morning to hitch a ride from Auntie Jess. Auntie Jess has a big dog in the house. His name is Aramas(I hope this is the correct spelling). Sheri loves dogs. Even though Aramas is much bigger than her, she does not seem to be afraid of him. See how tender she was in stroking Aramas. Aramas used to have very nice fur, but they seemed to have trimmed it off recently.


We were running a bit late when we reached the place, so mommy did not have the chance to say 'bye bye' to Sheri when we left her in the one year olds' nursery. The people who took care of the kids in the nursery are mainly retirees whose kids have grown up, so many of them are very experienced babysitters. Frankly speaking, mommy should be able to set her mind at ease, but somehow, mommy could not really concentrate in attending the workshop. Breakfast was provided at the mom's group and they had also arranged for a speaker that day who is a family counselor to speak to us about good parenting skills. After the talk, we had small group discussions to share with each other any insights about the talk. It was very beneficial for mommy as most of the moms in the mom's group have at least 3 kids at home. Domestic help is hard to come by here, so it is pretty amazing to see how they can take care of so many kids singlehandedly at home. One of them even home schooled all her four kids. However, mommy's mind seemed to be with little Sheri all the time even though I was not with her physically. Thinking that the baby sitter would come and get me at anytime because little Sheri was crying miserably for her mommy, mommy could not help but turned my head towards the entrance everytime I heard someone opening the door. Mommy waited and waited, but miraculously, nobody came to get me. So, little Sheri survived the two hours in the nursery. I'm so proud of her.

When I went to get her in the nursery, I could hear her cries before I stepped into the room. The baby sitter told me that she must have smelt my presence. Anyway, most of the parents were there picking up there kids, so she must be thinking where her mommy was. Anyway, she stopped crying the minute she saw me. The babysitter told mommy that it took her quite awhile for her to roam around in the nursery as she started crying when I left her. However, considering that it was her first time she left mommy's arms, she said that she was doing well and she believed that she would do better the next time. After mommy brought her out of the nursery, she was back to her usual self, roaming around freely and fiddling with things she could lay her hands now.

Well, this was a short separation from mommy. Through this, mommy just wanted her to learn to adapt to new environment and develop a sense of independence. Hopefully, this will put her in good stead when she goes to playgroups in the future.

Sunny and chilly Saturday

Spring should be officially here. However, the weather has been pretty freakish nowadays. It can still be pretty cold on some days. Last Saturday was a sunny day even though it was pretty cold with the wind chill. However, mommy still brought Sheri to the park to enjoy the lovely sun. See how this little girl poses with her summer hat.



With her newfound mobility, she seems to be more insistent in going in her own way. Mommy really has to watch this little girl carefully as she may end up stuffing something into her mouth or chasing after other people's pets.

Field shots

Unlike in a city where mommy and daddy grew up in, there is more greenery here. There is more open space for kids to roam around here. Furthermore, the air is always so fresh and crisp, especially in the morning. I don't deny that this is an ideal living environment for nature-lovers.

The only determining factor is the weather. Since the weather is getting warmer nowadays, mommy will usually try to bring Sheri out in the daytime for her to roam around . Last Tuesday, mommy brought her to the field beside our apartment complex, thinking it might be fun for her to kick the ball on the field. Well, it turned out our little Sheri is not interested in playing with the ball at all.

Even though daddy was not with us, we just wanted to let him know that...........

Playground

Last Saturday, we brought Sheri to the sand pitch again. Since it was a weekend, Daddy came with us this time.
Ironically, daddy and mommy had more fun playing sand than Sheri. I guess we were trying to relive some of our childhood memories. Mommy is certainly better at making sand molds than daddy. This is her mini artwork. We had to take a picture of it quickly before Sheri destroyed it.
On Sunday, mommy wanted to bring Sheri to an outdoor playground. Here, it is quite difficult to find a public outdoor playground. Mommy and daddy chanced upon one last year. It was Macungie Memorial Park. It took us quite awhile to find it. All thanks to Daddy!

Time flies. Sheri was just a small baby the last time we brought her there. Now, she is a toddler , roaming around freely in the playground.

Excellent Customer Service

After being the chief finance manager of the household for the past few years, mommy has learnt to be more sensitive to the prices of items during grocery shopping. Mommy just wish to share one interesting encounter with my readers during our weekly shopping trip on last Saturday. I bought a pack of ground pork from 'Giant' supermarket on Saturday. After checking out, I decided just to have a quick glance at the receipt before I drove off. I noticed that the price of the ground pork was listed as $3.99 on the receipt even though I remember vividly that it was listed as $2.99 on the shelf. Thinking that they might have over-charged me, I went to the customer service to check it out. Actually, I would not have gone back to check it out if I have gone home since it is just a difference of one dollar.
Anyway, they later found out that the discrepancy arose because they did not change the price tag even though the price of meat have increased recently. Initially, I thought they might just refund me one dollar for the difference. To my surprise, they decided to refund me $3.99 which was the entire price of the pack of meat. I'm deeply impressed by the level of service that they rendered to me. Actually, this is not the first time that I have encountered such an excellent service from them. There was once I wanted to buy some catfish that was on special discount. However, there was only one piece left. To avoid any disappointment, they issued me a raincheck which allowed me to buy the catfish on another day at the same price. From my experience, I certainly have not encountered this type of excellent service in my home country.

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Home alone with Sheri-Day Two!

How did mommy spend time with Sheri on day 2 of daddy's business trip? Sheri took a morning nap after eating her breakfast. By the the time she woke up, it was already one o'clock. Mommy quickly fed her lunch and out we went! Mommy decided to drop by Galy's place for a while since we have not met up for quite some time. After that, mommy brought Sheri to the indoor playground in Mcdonald at Emmaus. As posted in the earlier post, this is mommy's favourite place because it is the Mcdonald's world largest indoor playground. I also like the fact that they have a confined space for toddlers to roam around, so I do not have to worry that Sheri may just wander off.

It's time to snap more pictures of our little girl as she roamed around.

Home alone with Sheri-Day One!

At last, little Sheri is sound asleep and mommy had just finished talking to daddy over the phone about what happened in the day. Thinking that it might be too early to go to bed, mommy decided to sit down to make a new post. Tonight, mommy has to be home alone with Sheri as daddy is away for a business trip for one day. After sending daddy to work today, mommy decided to go for some retail therapy with little Sheri. We came back just in time for her tea-break in late afternoon. Perhaps because it was tto much for little Sheri to absorb, our little girl was sound asleep on our way back and she did not even wake up for her tea-break. Instead, she slept for 2 hours after putting her on her bed when we came back.

After she woke up, mommy gave Sheri her favourite tea-break snack, banana puree and cheese. Thinking that she must be recharged and rejuvenated after her 2-hour nap, mommy decided to bring her to the park to play with sand since mommy just bought her a sand kit on Saturday. This was the first time she played with sand as the poor little girl was kept indoor most of the time during winter. It was a sunny day today even though it was a bit chilly. Mommy could not wait to bring her out to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, so mommy went ahead with the plan after dressing her warmly. Off we went!
Perhaps she might be too young to play with sand, she did not seem to able to handle the shovel and spade very well, but she was very amused when mommy tried to teach her to scoop up some sand into the pail.


Actually, there were some pieces of sand kit left behind by other people. For instance, there was a little sand machine at the park, which Sheri could not wait to lay her hands on it.

Happy Easter 2008

Last Saturday, we met a huge bunny at Wal-mart in celebration of the coming Easter holidays. Just as mommy was telling daddy that it was a pity that she forgot to bring her camera, Sheri waddled towards the bunny who swept her from the floor and took a picture with her. We were told to collect the free picture from the Photocentre later in the afternoon. This was the free picture that we collected.

On Sunday afternoon, daddy was busy reviewing a paper that he just received. After lunch, Mommy wanted to bring Sheri to the park to play with sand using the sand kit that she just bought for her on Saturday. However, it was very windy and cold when we stepped out of the house. Thinking it might be a bad idea to go to the park in such a weather, mommy drove to the nearby Mcdonald to let Sheri play in the indoor playground. It was there that we met a small boy who was crazy about Sheri that he started hugging her. Sheri had a hard time trying to shake him off. Finally, we got rid of him and mommy could take some pictures of her at last.

Sheri's 1st Spring party at mom's group

Today, mommy brought Sheri to her first Spring party at mom's group. At first, mommy was afraid that Sheri might be terrified by the crowd, but it turned out that Sheri was quite comfortable with the kids there. Well, at least, I'm glad that she was not averse to the environment. Even though she did not seem to be able to play with other kids yet, I think it is a good idea for her to interact with other kids so that she will be more adaptable to such an environment in the school next time. Furthermore, it is also a good way to dissipate her excess energy.

Hurray! One goal for Sheri!

A lovely teddy bear from daddy

Today, mommy was very surprised to receive a gift from daddy when he returned from work. It was a teddy bear wearing a shirt with our family picture on it. Well, I guess I must commend daddy for his thoughtfulness as he did it secretly without informing mommy. Three cheers for daddy! I wondered if Sheri could recognize the three of us inside the picture, but she did hold onto the teddy bear for quite a while tonight and we took it away from her only when she was about to bathe.

A lovely hug from Sheri!

During the daily reading session, mommy will usually ask Sheri to pick up those books that she wants mommy to read to her from her little carton. This evening, she picked up this book called 'Little Elephant Tale' which mommy bought for her when she was very little. It is just a very simple story which starts with a question asking the kid what makes the elephants special and it ends with the reason that the elephants never forgets to hug and cuddle their family. After reading the book to her, Mommy quickly added that the elephants are just like daddy who likes to hug hug Sheri every night. Daddy likes to put Sheri on his lap every night and gave her a few consecutive hugs. After hearing this, Sheri quickly stood up and gave mommy a hug too. That really caught mommy by surprise. I thought that was very sweet of her to do that. It is indeed very satisfying to see her becoming more and more responsive to us as each day passes.

Foo family's secret code...Head Butt

All thanks to daddy who likes to head butt Sheri ever since she was born. Nowadays, Sheri is very good at head butting both of us too. This is our family secret code.

Sheri's development at 14 months

Earlier, we posted that Sheri can count 'six' and 'eight' with us. Recently, we noticed that she can count 'ten' too.


At 14 months, she can say her name very well and understand simple instructions. She is also learning to clap her hands recently.


However, she seems to have a greater affinity for English words than Chinese words. If you ask for her name, she will tell you that it is 'Sheri' immediately. However, if you were to ask her the same question in Chinese, she will look at you in perplexity. Even though we have started teaching her some Chinese words, she refuses to imitate us in pronouncing the Chinese words. Mommy and daddy are getting a bit worried whether she will be aversed to the Chinese language in the future.

Last Sunday, we brought her out for a morning walk with the Clifford dog that was given to her by her godmother for her first birthday. Sheri loves dogs just like her godmother. Perhaps, it could also be due to the fact that she was born in the year of dog based on the Chinese calender.

Retreat to Delaware

Last week, daddy had to attend a 2-day course in Delaware. Mommy and Sheri decided to tag along daddy so that we could enjoy staying in the hotel for a few days. It was a good break for mommy especially after encountering a few unpleasant events ever since the start of the new year. We went off on Monday afternoon and we spent three nights in Courtyard Marriots in Delaware. Mommy loves the hotel. It was sufficiently spacious for the three of us. Daddy had specially requested a king size bed so that the three of us can have more room to sleep. Having a microwave in the room also made it very convenient to prepare food for our little Sheri. More importantly, they have a heated indoor pool and a jacuzzi, which was one of the reasons for following daddy on this trip. It has been quite some time since Sheri had a dip in the pool. Just look at how excited this little girl was when we put on her swimsuit!



Little Sheri loves to roam around in the lobby. Since it was on a weekday, there were very little people in the lobby. Our little Sheri attracted the attention of the hotel reception staff who found her so cute that he gave her a purple bear. See how this little girl adores her new bear!

The hotel reception staff recommended us to 'Bamboo House' which serves fine Asian cuisine. Somehow, we were unable to find the place, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We lost our way, but we we chanced upon a Korean restaurant, which mommy and daddy found the food to be finger-licking good. The food was so good that we patronized the place for 2 days.

Delaware is also a good place for shopping as there is no sales tax. It would have been a more worthwhile trip if we have to purchase big ticket items there. Anyway, daddy bought a new camera for mommy before leaving Delaware. Overall, it was a well-deserved a break for mommy. I guess we have to take breaks once in a while to rejuvenate ourselves. Cheers to our holidays!