Austin

Thanksgiving Dinner

Not many people celebrate Thanksgiving in Taiwan, especially when it's on a school night! But Granny Yang (NaiNai's best friend) was kind enough to invited us for dinner with her family.

Austin's fascinated by the flowing fountain at their apartment. It kept him occupied for quiet a while...

Carving the turkey...

Watching TV with the two little hostesses...

Having lots of fun with someone else's dad...

On our way home, passing by the fountain in front of THE MALL...

Walking home...

Mamma's thankful for her boy, Austin, her family, and all those that stood by her through the tough times...

Happy Turkey Day!

Austin's computer art project!

Happy Turkey Day!

First Grade Masterpieces

Austin's teacher informed us of a art contest in school. Kids could bring in 3 drawings from home of any topic, but specified size. Since we don't have any art works of that large size, mamma decided to try to get him to whip up something before the deadline.

One major problem is that Austin refuse to use color, so mamma has to find ways to make coloring interesting!

Freight Train... He made it loud and clear that coloring will only ruin this perfect drawing. So he left it the way it is...

Solar System... Mamma provided black paper so he could use color pastel to draw on black paper. It includes 9 planets and the sun, plus rocket ship, space shuttle, UFO, aliens, satellites, comet...

Skyscrapers... Besides transportation and space, one of his new developed interest in the recent years is architecture. Mamma got him acrylic, which is thicker than watercolor so he'd be interested to try, if not to paint, at least to make a big mess...

One drawing per day, and the homework would have to wait! Not a bad idea. He loves drawing, and as long as he doesn't have to do his homework first, anything is good!

First Game, Soccer Season 2009

Austin has been playing soccer since 3, at least mamma tried! At 3, we signed up for mommy-and-me soccer in LA during the summer, and all Austin did was sat with mamma and watched the others play. So at 4, we skipped a year because he just wasn't ready. At 5, we gave it a try, again. Austin would be inside the field running but always the in opposite direction, away from the ball and the crowd.

Now that he's 6, we're ready for another season of soccer.

Waiting in line, listening to the coach...

Practice...

Throwing the ball to his teammate across him...

Waiting for his teammate to throw the ball back to him...

More practice...

Listening to their coach before the game...

Ready to kick some ball...

Didn't run away from the ball...

Chasing the ball...

Haha! Finally got a chance to kick the ball...

Stayed with the game, most of the time...

You played a wonderful game. Mamma is so proud of you! So proud!

Happy Birthday, YeYe!

It's YeYe's Birthday! But it doesn't matter whose birthday it is in our family, Austin gets to blow out the candles.

Watching the candle sparkle...

Singing the birthday song...

Sneak a bite...

Cut the cake...

Lick the knife...

Waiting for his slice...

Light the candle again...

Happy Birthday, YeYe!

Outdoorsy Weekend

The weather was perfect this weekend, sunny, yet not too hot. We spent most of our weekends outdoors.

Mamma took Austin to TAS playground before his gymnastic class for some fun out in the sun. Surprisingly, no one was there. The boy had a blast!

Austin didn't start climbing until when he was 5...

Even though he could climb now, he's still very cautious...

And today is the first time he reached the top. Yeah!!!

He has the playground all to himself...

Even running up and down the stairs...

He also has roller blade lesson on the weekend. We were there bright and early and no one was there either. Don't people get up early in the morning anymore? Skating in an empty rink means you could do anything and go any direction you'd like!

Austin loves roller blading...

He loves it because he has his coach to play with...

Bright and early at the park...

The coach teaching him a thing or two...

It's been almost 10 lessons and he's finally getting the hang of it...

He is very cautious. So he learns very slowly...

Finally, had the courage to skate outside the rink...

After his roller blade lesson, we walked to the flower market...

The boy was already soaked from top to bottom...

Resting, before walking home...

Great outdoorsy weekend!

Halloween Party

Except for the goodies bag which mamma packed for Austin's class, there was absolutely no Halloween celebration at school. And since trick-or-treating in the city is just horrifying, walking shop to shop on the streets not knowing which place had candies to give out, and which didn't, we never attempted to even give it a try! Thank God, Austin and mamma got invited to a Halloween Party at Auntie Michele's! Otherwise, there would not be a Halloween for us!

Lot's of goodies at the party...

The little firefighter and his mamma...

Kids chasing each other around...

Turning the place upside down...

Dancing to "Sorry! Sorry!"...

Austin can't dance, but he was happy...

Mamma's little firefighter was tired and wants to go home...

Austin's creation, at the entrance of our apartment...

It was a Happy Halloween after all!

T-ball Last Game

T-ball season has come to an end. This is their last game this year.

Austin isn't so interested in sports, any sports. But getting out on the field and getting some sun is good enough. At least he knows to swing at the ball, run to first base, second and third, then run home and sit in his batting line. And out in the field, even though he won't run to catch any flying ball, when the ball rolls his way and lands in front of him, he will pick it up and throw it back home.

Waiting for his turn...