"Daddy"

I am of the view that being a good communicator is one of the key success factors in life. While it is possible to be eloquent without being particularly good in any language, it certainly helps to have a strong grasp of at least one language. So I am quite bothered that the girls speak quite a bit of Singlish, but now and then Tai Pi would surprise me as she did yesterday when she displayed an appreciation of some subtle nuances of the English language.

The girls were watching High School Musical (showing for the upteenth time on Disney Channel) and one of the characters called his father "Dad".

Tai Pi: "He called his father "Dad". I prefer to call Daddy "Daddy". It makes me feel like a little girl. Saying "Dad" makes me feel old and I don't want to be old and die".

Me: "When you grow up, are you still going to call Daddy "Daddy"?"

Tai Pi: "Yes." Turns to KK, "Hello Daddy!"

Tooth Fairy

Last year, Pumpkin told me that the mother of one of her friends, Kris, was the Tooth Fairy. Her friend had caught her mother taking her tooth from under the pillow and putting a coin in its place. Since then, everytime the girls drop a tooth, I would joke with them that Kris' mother would be coming by that night since she was the Tooth Fairy. Pumpkin would then explain to me "No, she is only Kris' Tooth Fairy. You are our Tooth Fairy," and I would feign ignorance and say "But you said that Kris' mother is the Tooth Fairy".

Well, I don't think I make a very good Tooth Fairy because I keep forgetting my Tooth Fairy duty till the next morning when I wake the girls up for school and get a disappointed "the Tooth Fairy didn't come last night". Then I would grab a dollar from my wallet and try to sneak it under the pillow. Better late than never.

Pumpkin kept the Tooth Fairy busy recently when her front teeth dropped off, one just before her birthday and one just after. She's looking so cute now with the missing front teeth.

2-Day Birthday

I remember at Pumpkin's first birthday, she fell asleep just when everyone was singing happy birthday and Tai Pi ended up with the privilege of blowing out the candles for her. Now 6 years later, she again went to sleep during her birthday party. But you could hardly blame her. The adults had left the kids with a couple of pizzas while we went off for a nice Japanese dinner. By the time we got back, Pumpkin had gone to bed. So we had to have a part 2 to Pumpkin's birthday celebration. After Taekwondo class the next day, the kids came by for pinata and cake, with Pumpkin wide awake this time. Here's a nice picture of the girls and their friends. Happy birthday Pumpkin!