My Christmas

Had a couple of big accomplishments this past month -- first, I figured out how to use chopsticks one-handed! (Looks like my wife won't be from anywhere near my home village though...)



Second, my first school Christmas play, with a speaking role even!

I'm A Real Boy Now!

Not that I was ever a wooden marionnette or anything, but after five long years of tortured domestic rule by one Annette Tang and one Clarence Tang, I finally get to escape to school for three hours a day, where I turn from harried son into independent boy and learn very useful things like colours, patterns, shapes, reading, writing, building, and cooperative play. I love it!

Here's a clip of my playing with James. Look at him smile at me! Actually, I've always enjoyed making my brothers and sisters laugh -- from Isaac, to Lilly, and now James. I'm quite good at it, too, and mom and dad appreciate the help -- what a good older brother I am!

Random Videos Over the Past Two Months

You know, usually I'm pretty shy around strangers, but when dad's GPR resident friends came over one evening for dinner, I got to stay up a bit later than Isaac and Lilly, so I amused myself by building a stage and mounted a silent puppet show for all the adults. The whole thing was my idea from conception to execution. Dad and mom were so impressed!

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Just before our trip to Jasper, I'd really gotten into the whole superhero thing -- Isaac and I were constantly whizzing around the house, either pretending to be Superman or Spiderman. Pretending to be Spiderman sure gives you lots of excuses to climb and jump off furniture -- despite mom and dad's efforts! Not even the dirt and rocks in Maligne Canyon, Jasper deterred me, and I Spiderman'ed my way up and down that canyon with aplomb.



Well, you already know what else happened on that trip -- the broken leg. But after a week or so, like the good Spiderman I am, I found alternative ways of getting around -- first scooting around on my butt, then hopping around on my one good leg, which is the stage I was at when I visited the zoo in Calgary. I'm pretty good, eh? Stairs, rails, concrete... no obstacle is too challenging for SpiderEthan!

I Don't Live in Canada Anymore

No siree, I sure don't live in Canada now. In fact, in the long spell since I last wrote, I have moved to Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan, to be exact, so that daddy can do his oral surgery thing. Seems like now that we're here, we're going to stay a while. But let's go back a couple of months here and review the many many things that have happened!

First, there was Jasper -- with its mountains, streams, and rocks



I especially liked the shiny rocks... but they didn't seem to like me -- ouch!




I ended up with a broken leg (for all that it looks like a bruised shin) after that accident... all is well though, and I made it through the rest of our trip and home alive. It didn't hurt too much, except for when anyone bumped it by accident. But it sure happened at a bad time, because one week after we came home from Jasper, mama yeye, Uncle Andrew, Auntie Liew, and Andersen arrived at our door to visit! From then on, it seemed like everyday we welcomed yet another set of cousins to our home, and by the time the following Friday came and we all took a trip to Calgary together to see Tai Ma's gravesite, there were lots of us little people gathered together!


I was a little shocked when Uncle Sam told me Tai Ma Ma was in the ground, covering my mouth in shock and pointing, "You mean, down there?"


The four-day family reunion was a blast, although it did have its ups and downs.



Then there was the long trip to Michigan, passing through Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and somewhereorother in Minnesota before we finally arrived!

And the changes don't end there -- I'll have to post pictures later, but a couple of weeks after our arrival, our stuff finally came and took over our living room. Two days after that, we went to Indiana to visit Jen and Evan for a few days before mom, James, and I got on an airplane and went to Idaho for a family reunion (Lilly and Isaac stayed with Evan, and daddy stayed in Michigan). When we come back, we'll be just about ready to move into our new home, and THEN, we'll be able to settle in. What an eventful summer this is turning out to be! Meanwhile, four weeks post-injury, my leg isn't quite good enough to run on, but I'm not scooting around on my bum anymore, and I'm not even limping too badly anymore. By the time it heals up pretty much all the way, it'll be fall and I'll start kindergarten! Wow!

Greasing the slide

In a matter of days, it seems, it went from the dead of winter to the heat of summer -- mom took us to the playground the other day and the slide just wasn't doing for me. No worries, with a bit of hard work, I was able to fix it up good as new!

Playing with Baby

Somewhat surprisingly, it turns out I, of all the children, show the most interest in playing with Baby James. Lilly likes to play with him like she would play with a doll, and Isaac doesn't show much interest. I enjoy interacting with him -- even if that means putting on funny goggles to make him laugh. So far, it hasn't worked very well -- I must say I look forward to the day he can interact back a little bit better than he does now!

Ethan II -- oh, I mean, James

Baby James (who, in my humble opinion, would have been more aptly named Baby Ethan II), sleeps almost ALL THE TIME. And mom, who was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and has since been recovering at home, is almost always with him. Not that I mind much. Daddy does a good job of taking care of us, and as a bonus, while he's at work, I get to go to play with different friends each day -- Maya Sala, Josh Olson, and Cousins Natalie and Sydney so far.... It's a lot of fun to go off and play with different friends during the days!


Mom brought James out for a few minutes this morning so we could play with him, although I thought he was very small and cute, I found him a bit too fragile and non-interactive to be of much use. I tried to play doctor with him, but no response, really. I'm looking forward to when he gets a bit older and can actually play with me!

Out of the Vault

Dad was perusing the old family videos and came across this classic silent-film era clip (i.e. Mar 2002) of one of Uncle Jason's first spots. He's looking for newborn Ethan and can't find anything but old socks -- where could I be?

And Finally, the Cake!

So, it took a few days, but finally I got my birthday cake today -- I mean, the previous celebratory "birthday milkshakes" were fine as a temporary measure, but I wanted a Lofty cake! When I told dad this, he initially shook his head and told me he wasn't sure he knew how to make a Lofty cake, to which I responded, "Uncle Andrew knows how." (Editor's Note: Dad later found out that Uncle Andrew really doesn't know how -- it was Auntie Liew who made the 3D Gordon the Train cake last year, after all!) Inspired by Auntie Liew's efforts (darn her for raising the bar so high!), here's what Dad came up with -- I helped to decorate it!

Blowing out the birthday candles:



The best part of the celebration was the Lofty and Dizzy presents I got -- just what I've wanted ever since last summer! Of course, seconds after opening the presents, they became communal toys... notice Isaac's long reach!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was my 5th birthday today! I didn't really get much of a party today at home (we had cupcakes at school, though), but I don't want to complain too much -- mom and dad are taking me to the circus with the Wongs this Friday, and they said I'll get a real cake and presents on Sunday, but that this would have to do in the meantime. Here's the little celebration I had a home tonight:

1. Ensuring we had the right number of candles.


2. Blowing out the candles.


3. Opening the presents!


Happy Birthday to me!

The Downfall of the Abominable Snowman

This is a pretty gruesome sight, I'll admit, but I really wanted to post a picture of the snowman we built a couple of weeks ago. Of course, while dad was getting the camera ready to snap the shot, I decided the snowman didn't need his head anymore and knocked it off with a stick (oops). Oh well -- it was melting anyhow.

We've been doing workbooks each night before going to bed -- learning shapes and numbers and colors and letters. I've caught on to the numbers the quickest, and even figured out how to add on my own! I'm so excited, I want to make sure everyone else knows how, too!

First Time Skating!

This has been a great winter for me -- winter sports up the wazoo! Sledding, Skiing and Skating top the list. So much fun! Here's a video clip of my first time skating. I got better, I promise!

A couple of weeks ago we got to celebrate the brand new Golden Year of the Pig. Along with dinner out with mom, dad, Darren and Minn Va, we also got the traditional lai-see (otherwise known as hong bao) from mama and yehyeh. How cool is that?!

First time Skiing!

Dad had a day and a half off work last week, so the whole family went to Banff on an impromptu vacation together. Dad had already been planning on going skiing anyways, but he and mom only decided last minute that everyone would go and not just him. I'm glad we got to go!

The first day while dad was skiing, the rest of us spent most of our time in the hotel (we did venture out to the townsite, but it was quite cold, so we only stayed out for an hour or so). That was relaxing, but not exactly "fun." While at the resort that day, dad found out lift tickets are free for kids 5 and under, and thought it might be fun for me to try it out. The next morning, he left early on a bus and skied the morning by himself, but after checking out of the hotel at 11, mom drove us to meet him at the ski hill. Dad wondered if I would be apprehensive, but he needn't have worried. I talked about going skiing all morning!

When I finally got to the hill and met dad, I first got my lift ticket,

Then we rented skis.

After taking the gondola from the parking lot to the resort, I took my first ride to the top of the bunny hill on the magic carpet.

It took me no time at all to feel comfortable on skis and before long was asking dad if I could go faster and faster!


So we went up the chairlift to ski down a bigger hill.

The first half of the way, dad skied backwards in front of me while holding my ski tips together in a snowplow to help me stay in control. Then I told dad I was tired so he stood behind me and helped me ski the rest of the way down the hill and back to the gondola. The gondola ride to the bottom was fun, and we met mom at the bottom. What a fun time I had!