17 KM Scenic Route by Nanliao Beach

We rented two bikes by Nanliao Beach and off we went, Tyler riding behind Steve, and Byrdie rode in style in her "Pizza Box" with me on a 2nd bike.   The scenery varied from oceanside right on the boardwalk, to narrow path shaded by trees (mangrove?) on both sides, over a few bridges, and right by a canal.  There were a few parks along the way, so one the way back we took a long pit stop and got some 'baboo' (ice cream).  The cooler Mom got us came in handy and kept our water and little snacks nice and cool on the hot day!  

We didn't actually finish the 17 km (34 round trip) since we needed to head up to Taipei, so we our ride was about 20km in total.  Next time hopefully on a cooler day, we can do the whole ride.  

Our eight year anniversary

Yesterday was our eighth wedding anniversary.  Just for giggles, I checked afterwards and it's the year of bronze.  It sounds so impressive when you've hit a metal year.  =)  

We celebrated it by going out to dinner.  And brought Tyler along.  He took this photo of us.  We had a nice evening, all three of us.  Maybe we'll look into babysitters... not that we mind taking Tyler, but would be nice to dine at a table for two.

Moon Festival

This past weekend was the moon festival, and also when the Typhoon landed.  The last few typhoons were none events, but this one had really heavy rains.  I'm sure many a barbeques (a tradition on moon festival for many) were cancelled.  We were planning to visit grandma in Taipei on Sunday, but the Typhoon hit hard Saturday and didn't leave till late Sunday.  

We were disappointed at being rained in, but I think Tyler had fun playing with Daddy all weekend.

Music Class

The insect theme continues in Music class... I think Tyler has buddhist inclinations .  As part of the whole mosquito song and dance, the teacher at the end does a clap and pretends to kill the mosquito.  Last week, Tyler was a bit reticent when the teacher did that.  And this week, he just sat to the side and didn't want to participate.  He was actually ok for the rest of the class.  Truth be told, I've zapped a real mosquito in front of Tyler before with no negative responses from him.  Not too clear what exactly bothered Ty, and he's not forthcoming with the details either...

Actually I was a bit put off by the whole "killing the mosquito" song too.  Not that I think the kids will grow up into murdering psychopaths, but there's really no need.  Another song I thought could've taken a more positive spin was the "bee song."  Buzzing from flower to flower and pollination and the whole bit... could be fun.  Rather, the teacher handed out a gauzy fabric and at certain parts of the music had them cover their heads so they wouldn't "get stung."  

Ok, chill mom.  It's not a big deal, but just not how I would go about these classes.

Children's Museum in Taipei

Tyler and I drove up to Taipei today for a little field trip to see Nai Nai (grandmother).  We met at the Children's Museum in Taipei and basically stayed there for the entire day.  There were plenty of activities to keep us occupied.  Here's Tyler pretending to be a newscaster.
Pretending to be a dentist.  Tyler was sporting a doctor's lab coat checking out Nai Nai's teeth.  Note to self --- please charge camera to avoid running out of juice next time.
And a checkout clerk, with a real cash register, UPC code scan and the whole shebang.  Playing with Nai Nai, is always lots of fun.  We plan to visit the museum again soon, before they close in November =(.  (at least temporarily until they find a new location)

Sushi Anyone?

Tyler's Clay Creation

Day at Nanliao Beach

We had a lovely weekend.  We went up to Taipei as usual and managed to run an errand or two, but the pace this weekend just didn't seem as frenetic. Whatever it was, taking the High Speed Rail?  Going on a Saturday instead of Sunday? Or not trying to hit too places?  I just found myself more relaxed than usual and enjoying it more.

Sunday at around sunset, we headed out to NanLiao Beach to the vista my friend showed me recently.  And this time it was with the whole family... Me, Steve, Tyler and Byrdie too.  Pictures are worth a thousand words--  take a look at the pictures I posted.  It really was a perfect end to a pretty fabulous weekend.  

  

English Class

Today was the first day meeting the new teacher who is to replace Ms. Helen.  Ms. Helen's English class within our housing complex was quite popular, and actually had a waiting list.  For the pre-schoolers, the one hour classes (twice a week) were really more play with stories, games, songs, and arts and crafts around a theme.  Some of the fun activities that come to mind was the class on dinosaurs where the kids had to go on an archeological dig and find the dinosaurs buried in the playgrounds (hidden before class), make fossil imprints using clay...  the list goes on.  Initially, I enrolled Tyler mainly for group socialization and just plain old fun, but was pleasantly surprised afterwards at all the new words/concepts he was exposed to, e.g, the little dipper, the word "locomotive" came up at some point...  Although I've tried to explain that Ms. Helen had to move back to the U.S. starting this summer, Tyler still asks about her class from time to time.  He misses Ms. Helen's class, and probably Ms. Helen herself too.

The new teacher's approach seems to be more traditional, starting with the ABCs.  And there is already practice writing the letters which I think is a bit early for Tyler.  Tyler said he liked the class when I asked him afterwards.   But I think the highlight today for him was seeing so many of his old classmates after the summer hiatus.   It's really too bad that all of them are one year older.  So when he does start school, wherever it is, he'll most likely not have a friend already in the class.

Anyhow that's it for now... For my next blog entry, I'll try to write about something else other than Tyler's classes.  So far that seems to be the focus of the blog so far.... actually to put it in perspective, T's classes are really just 1 hour of the day.  Guess it's just easier to focus on something self-contained like a class.  

Back to Classes

It's September, back to school month, and all of Tyler's old classes have started up again.  Today was music class (the teacher tells a story, sings a song, and there's a few activities which lets the kiddies run around the classroom).  Usually there's a theme, maybe a holiday, animals, flowers, etc...  The theme today was mosquitos?!?Of all the things the teacher can choose I wonder...  Anyhow, next week will be cicadas.  Did you know that it's the female mosquitos that feed on the blood, and the male cicadas that sing?  A bit of insect trivia.  =)

As Tyler was happily beating away on his tambourine, I noticed that there were some familiar faces but many were newbies, mostly between the ages of 2 - 3.  It seemed like yesterday, Tyler was the youngest one, barely 2.  And here he is now a big boy at 3 and 1/2!!  

No longer needing the backup diaper at night, and sleeping in his own room through the night (most of the time), Ty's hit some big milestones in the last month.  Of course there's some biggies we're still trying to conquer, like eating our meal without running around between bites and within 1 hour!!!  We shall persevere....  There are times when they really do surprise you.  Little chores and habits that used to take constant chasing after usually accompanied by some whining and tears , all of a sudden became a bit easier -- like flossing/brushing teeth, putting shoes in the closet, washing hands as first order of business after getting home.  So good job Tyler!