Go Fly a Kite

...enjoying my first kite flying experience with my new Spiderman kite from Sebastian's birthday party...

Land

More details to follow. See more pictures here.

The "Big Ship"

Running around the balcony between our rooms, trashing Obachan and Gichan's room, and meeting all of the friendly employees on the ship made our cruise! See more pictures here.















































































...no matter where I am, getting a hug from my brother is one of my favorite activities.

Italy

See more pictures of the Italy trip here.

@ NYC

The Superhero leaving the hotel every morning, some sights, and lots of fun playdates with friends. More details to follow.































































...ah yes, and at the Gay Pride parade too.

Prince Philip does baseball

I've been saying for weeks that I want my hair short like a boy, like Sleeping Beauty's Prince Phillip. Today I got my wish! I celebrated afterwards with a very "boyly" activity - my first baseball game! At first, all I could focus on was the men with the big boxes walking around with treats. After inhaling half a box of Dibs, I started watching the game more carefully. Mommy explained while I enjoyed the high scoring game: everyone in Oakland got 10 points while the Detroit fans only got 2!

My buddies

George and I are "just friends" now; Zion is my man these days. The other day George ran up to Mommy's car window and exclaimed, "I love Izzy!" and I grumpily mumbled in the back seat, "I like playing with Zion too!!" Zion likes to play Transformers, Power Rangers and Spiderman! I started rejecting green and Pokemon, both of which George loves. The other day I said that I would marry Zion and George was marrying somebody else. I think George was bummed out the rest of the day. What a love triangle!

Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman's here!

Woo hoo! I finally earned my Spiderman costume! I had to attend a LOT of Chinese classes in Oakland for it, but it was sure worth it!

Portland

We were in Portland for a family reunion to celebrate my Grandma's 75th birthday.

More details to follow.

See pictures here.

Nailed it!

I nailed it! I was Turkey Lurkey for the Chicken Little school play. I spoke loud and clear, that even my parents sitting in the back of the room could hear. They were so proud. It was the first time I performed a solo part on stage. Mommy wanted to cry!

On the right is all of us singing the "You are My Sunshine" finale.

John

Mommy was surprised when she opened her library book and found my handwriting. I told her I drew on this page because I like to be a boy. I've been perfecting the writing of my name since the beginning of the year. But you may start seeing a different name written soon, because these days I prefer to be called JOHN.

A note from my teachers

To the parents of Isabella:

"Isabella has been working very hard on her moveable alphabet letter "a" words. A little more practice and she'll be moving on to new words! Way to go, Isbaella! you're doing a great job! =)"

The moveable alphabet is the first stage towards reading. How exciting! I can already read things like "stop" and "ikea"!

Happy Mudder's Day!

To the Bat Cave!

I borrowed this Batman costume from a friend and have been consumed by my new identity! Over the next 5 bat times and channels, I took this costume off only to bathe and go to school (where superheros are not allowed). I even refused to take it off this weekend, when it was 85 degrees! Holy heat rash, Batman! But I sure saved the world from lots of bad guys!

I can't hear you

Sometimes my parents say things to me repeatedly and I just don't respond. At first my parents believed that I was selectively listening, which really got on their nerves. But they started dropping bombs like, "Isabella, would you like some chocolate?" and I still didn't respond! They started to believe that I seriously had some hearing issues! So Daddy decided to take out my ear wax, and got out some ridiculously huge chunks! Now that my ears are clear, I've told my parents, "Now everything is TOO LOUD!"

Up & down OK

Historically, I've always wanted to ride on the bench or stationary animals. But for the first time, I rode the carousel in Golden Gate Park today and wanted to ride on the horse that went up and down.

(pictured here is the Zeum Carousel)

We'll miss you, a-Ma!

My a-Ma went home to Taipei after a month visit. I miss having her around to play with, take me to parks, and chase kitty cats together! Although, I admit that my parents will probably miss her more than me.

Ski bunny

Mommy taught me how to ski for my first time! We first tried it in front of the Hannah-moto home as she held my hand and back to keep me balanced. We then went on the bunny slope where she ran behind me holding a ski leash. She was impressed by how well I balanced on skis and skied down the slope!

I also had fun making my first snow angel and sled racing.











Here is what happens when you have too much sugar in the morning:


See more pictures here. (Sledding picture above taken by Dave.)

The "bad" stuff

I get so annoyed when people assume that I prefer girly things. I say "I don't like to play princess stuff. I like to play with bad stuff." Playing pirates, Dart eRaider (Darth Vader), Transformers, or Power Rangers is so much more fun! I told Mommy that I want to grow up to be a boy.

A new pet. Or not.

What??! A new pony for a pet, you ask? Sorry, no such luck! But at Steven's birthday party where I'm riding this pony, I got four goldfish as a party gift. My grandma has been bugging my parents to get me a pet for some time now, so she was happy for me!

I really enjoyed eating meals with my fish. I always remembered when it was time to feed them at breakfast and dinner, and I was very diligent at only feeding them a little bit, not too much.

Unfortunately, the fish didn't last long. After the third day, they disappeared. My parents explained that they got sick and they had to take them to the hospital. Mommy didn't have the heart to say the "D" word. Mommy seemed more distraught over the situation than me!