Children Full of Life

"Life of Tai" (soon to be renamed and redesigned) is usually comprised of only pictures and videos of Tai and family and friends. But this documentary was being passed around at work this week and it coincided with some of my thoughts about Tai's life so far, so I thought it would be good to include.

"Children Full of Life" is an emotionally-moving look at a class of fourth-grade students in Japan and their teacher, Mr. Kanamori, who allows his students to open up and share their feelings in a deeply profound way, through writing in journals and letters.

At one point, and the part that made me reflect on Tai, the teacher asks his students what the most important thing was for the year. The answer was "to be happy."

I was thinking just the night before about how Tai is almost 3-1/2 years old now, and I wondered, what defines the life of a 3-year-old? Many things could, of course, but for Tai, I think it's really about whether or not he's been happy. Does he have friends? Is he enjoying new experiences, new places? Does he enjoy his family?

And then I got to thinking, at what point in life does this change? When are we no longer able to be defined by whether or not we're having a good time, but more by our achievements and accomplishments? One answer, at least one thought up at work, was when we begin standardized testing. And in America, that begins fairly early. Like in kindergarten.

All of this is to say, as Tai gets ready to turn into a big brother, that I'm happy Tai has been able to be so happy these first three years. He enjoys things with an uncommon zest. I hope it lasts.

Halloween Preview

Tai was going to be Woody from "Toy Story" for Halloween. Thu even bought him cowboy boots. But this past week, whenever anybody asked Tai what he was going to be for Halloween, he answered "Car," as in The King from the movie "Cars." Well, there was no King costume at the Halloween shop, so Mommy bought him the next best thing . . . a Lightning McQueen Pit Crew outfit!

Gotta fix that car.

"Change the tires!"

"Fill it up with gas!"

The pit crew is the driver too.

Safe to say, Tai likes his Halloween outfit.

Tai Makes Promise to Baby Brother

We're not sure where he got the idea for these promises, but Tai says he will not hit baby brother, and he will not "step on his feet." Looks like we're all set!

Oliver and Ethan Birthday Parties

Clearing out the rest of the summer photos . . .

Here's Tai with his buddy-for-life Oliver. These photos by Hanna are from a couple of playdates at O's house and some from his birthday party.

Tai turns on his basketball skills when we're away.

"What does that Star Wars guy do?"

A Swedish tradition at birthday parties is to have a fishing game. Here Tai reels in his prize over the wall.

Ethan turned 6 in September! He's already adept with the iPad so he let Tai have a try at some games.

Pregnant mommies carrying soon-to-be cousins.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Ethan might have gotten all the Bakugan he wanted, but somehow Tai ended up receiving a gift too. Someone was worried that we were depriving Tai of video games. Yeah for the Wii. (So far, we're using it to stream Netflix.)

We've been away from the blog for awhile. I guess preparing for Baby #2 has taken away the part of the brain that produces blog entries.

But since #2 is coming in the next week or two, or three, I'd better get all of Tai's photos up while he's still the only one in the shot. And as today is the National Day on Writing, it's time to write!

We went to a pumpkin patch in Emeryville last week. Here's Tai doing his "Alvin the Chipmunk" pose (as seen on the cover of the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" DVD).

Tai actually wanted to pet the pig in the animal pen, which was also part of the pumpkin patch. We paid our $3 and got a handful of food pellets. Then all the animals came by. The lamb was soft, but the pig's fur felt "like a broom," Tai said. Pretty good simile!

We had a memorial gathering this past weekend marking five years since Thu's mother passed away. Time does fly. Tai and Ethan enjoyed each other's company all day—running, hiding, riding plastic reindeer. Tai was, quite frankly, a little bossy to his older cousin, telling him to "get on the back" of the deer.

In early September, Julia and Sam hosted a party, which included a little apple picking for the kids in the backyard. Tai loves apples!

We celebrated Silas's birthday on Sept. 18. Three years old, just like Tai.

Later that day, we stopped by Auntie Uyen's house, where Tai became a rock star.

Here's Tai conked out on a Friday night on our bed from I don't remember what.

On a Saturday night, everyone was getting restless at home. So we stopped by a donut shop. The chocolate evidence is on Tai's face!

Finally, we don't have a picture of this, but on Oct. 8, we ate at an all-you-can-eat shabu shabu restaurant. After eating several plates of beef and pork that night, I swear the next day, Thu's stomach had gotten noticeably bigger. And not in a bloated way. It looked like the baby had consumed most of the beef and grown. We'll see if the baby has a hankering for beef when he gets older.

In any case, he's punching and kicking and ready to make his appearance soon. Then we'll have to change the name of this blog, among other changes.