Monday, November 29, 2010

Yikes!

I said something. along those lines when I turned over, in bed, to see it was 7:55 a.m. on the bedside clock.

What was the significance of 7:55? Tony's school van was to come pick up him at 8:15. We were going to have to boogie to get him dressed, washed, fed, and at the van stop in time.

Now, I am happy to report that we did get him there, but Tony was still sleepy when the van arrived. Standing, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. Being picked up, he put his head on his father's shoulders. He didn't protest or show he had any spring in his step.

Tony and his father invent a game that they both can play.

When Tony takes a bath, he bathes in a smaller bathtub which we put in the bigger bathtub in our apartment. Tony, more often than not, likes to stand outside the tub while he plays with his boat and other toys.

Tony also likes to take a bath while supervised -- whenever I watch him in the tub, he will protest if I leave the bathroom. He will also protest if we ask him to leave the tub and get dressed. So I often read or listen to a podcast, in the bathroom, while Tony does his thing.

Last night, I decided to give him more attention, and, in doing so, Tony and I found a game we could play to amuse ourselves. Tony suddenly thought it was a great idea to throw his facecloth in the tub. I found the splash annoying and I tried to stop him, and so we came up with a game. The object of this game is for Tony to try to get the facecloth in the tub, to score a goal as it were, and me to stop him, like a goal or bath tender.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Tony waits to go to school.


Tony on Sunday Evening.

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What's this?

Tony pointed to a body part.  "What's this?" he asked.
 
"A leg!"
 
He pointed to another body part.  "What's this?"
 
"Your stomach!"
 
And then...
 
"What's this?"
 
"Your p**-p**!"

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Saturday Night Tony

What was he doing on Saturday Night?
 
He was watching train videos on the computer.  He then challenged his father to a session of Kung Fu, Bruce Lee style.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Tony calls Dad to bed

Dad was taking a shower.  As he got out, he heard Tony call him from the bed room.  It was Tony's bed time and he wanted to have his father beside him.  Often, Tony wants to wrestle with his father.  This time, however, he wanted his father to lie beside him.

His father thought this was great.

Friday Night Tony

The boy went crazy.  He stayed up till midnight, playing with his toys and watching DVDs -- Shrek and Dumbo.
 
He is sleeping late this morning.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tony's successful return to school.

  • Jenny tells Andis that Tony's return to school was a success.  Tony was happy all the day.
  • Jenny noted that Tony although tired still wanted to do things last night.
  • Last night, Tony (in bed) and Andis (sitting on the toilet) had the following conversation:
"Do you want the doll?"
 
"Bu yao** the doll!"
 
"Do you want to see the waterfall?"
 
"Bu yao see the waterfall?"
 
"Do you want Thomas the train?"
 
"Bu yao want Thomas the train!"
 
"Do you want to go to school?"
 
"Bu yao go to school!"
 
"Do you want the glockinspiel?"
 
"Bu yao want the glockinspiel!"
 
Okay.  He didn't actually say "glockinspiel", but he most certainly would have if Andis had thought, at the time, to say it.  But he was repeating everything his father was saying.
 
**Bu yao is Mandarin for "don't want" or "I don't want".  Tony can speak some Chinese and some English.
 
 

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

中国无锡 Wuxi Tony Update: November 22, 2010

Tony is back in school!

After a few weeks of being in the hospital for a fever and then spending time at home, Tony returned to school this morning.  Both his parents went to the bus stop to send him off.

Andis did not care for the resumption of the getting-Tony-out-of-bed procedure in which he tries to gradually coax Tony to leave the bed, all the while knowing that the cooing is simply holding off the inevitable tantrum.  

So this morning, Tony was cooed,  and then had his tantrum when the moment of arising could not be held back any longer -- after which his mother calmed him, and he quietly got dressed, washed, and ready, to go to school.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tony and his Thomas Train Set


This is what Tony was doing on his 39th.

It was 39 months ago.....


that Tony was born!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Tony is watching a good (?) copy of Toy Story 3.

The first copy, that his parents bought for him, was ripped in the cinema.
 
The latest is a rental DVD copy.  But it has been freezing.

Tony doesn't go to school Tuesday.

He will go to school on Wednesday.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

中国无锡 Wuxi Tony plays, talks, and watches t.v.

Tony to go back to School on Tuesday?

That's the plan.  But we will have to see what happens.  Because of what ever Tony had, that put him in the hospital last week, Tony has had to stay away from school for half a month.  But he still has a bad cough, which his father and mother have now caught....

Stand still Tony!

Tony is no poser.



Tony can sing:

  • Happy Birthday!
  • A Latvian Lullaby.
  • We Will Rock You!
  • We are the Champions.
  • Are you sleeping?
  • Many Chinese songs.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Tony wears Jenny's pink hat.

Tony used to quickly discard any headgear put on his head. But lately, he has actually started to pick up hats and try them on. Last evening, he tried on his mother's pink hat.

Hide and Seek Tony


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Use the key!

  • When I arrive home in the night, the front door is usually open.  But when it is locked, I usually have to wait for someone to open it, because the door can be locked from the inside so that it can't be opened by key from the outside.  If I do try to use the key open the door in that situation, I will find I can't open the door and so have to undo what I did with my key before I can get inside  -- if someone does try to unlock the door from the inside then, I have locked the door on the outside.  Understand?  Any way!  Last night, I found the door was locked, so I knocked.  Tony screamed "use the key!" to solve my quandary.  The first time he has ever done.  His use of sentences is improving on an hourly basis.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tony watches An American in Paris

  • It is nice to see Tony likes watching parts of old Hollywood musicals.  I was worried about his liking just The Jam, U2, and Queen.  There was a scene in An American in Paris where Gene Kelley danced for some children -- Tony laughed watching it and then tried to imitate Gene Kelley's moves.  I very much enjoyed seeing that.
  • Tony said he lied.  He said he didn't want to pee when in fact he did.  We took him to the toilet and he did his business.  Afterwards, he said to him mother, in Chinese, that he had lied about not wanting to pee.
  • When I left home Wednesday Morning, I told Tony "bye bye!"  He said "bu yao bye bye" meaning he didn't want to say "bye-bye!".  Did he fact mean that he didn't want Daddy to leave?  Maybe.  But then maybe he was lying.

Tony, out of the hospital, returns to an old obsession.







Monday, November 15, 2010

Tony is out of the hospital; Ritma.

  • Tony is out of there, as of Monday Morning, but he won't be going back to school for a while yet.  So, Tuesday Morning, the K family was able to linger in bed, if only for a while (apparently, Tony was in bed at 730 Monday evening!) -- both Andis and Tony didn't have to go anywhere in the morning -- a rare concurrence.
  • Tony's father is still trying to process his aunt Ritma's passing away.  He got choked up when he heard about it.  He passed on the sad news to some friends of his  from his time spent in Winnipeg in the nineteen eighties.  They all mentioned what an interesting and grounded person she was.  Andis always thought of Ritma as indestructible because she seemed so unflappable about most things.  Andis will work on a proper piece about Ritma over the next week.
  • Yesterday, Tony went on a journey, of sorts, with his parents to a restaurant.  During the journey, Tony demonstrated both an ability to point out things that he wanted, and a knowledge of where things he wanted were. 
  • Andis needed some paper to blow his nose.  He mentioned this to Tony who promptly provided some -- a first that Andis feels is needed to be mentioned to the world.

Tony and his great Aunt Ritma

Tony and Ritma

Ritma Jurevics R.I.P.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

More from the TKIC archive

Tony gets out of the hospital tomorrow so I can start to take more photos of him.

For now, I will show you a photo from the extensive TKIC archive. Here is Tony with his father on February 6, 2008. Tony is about six months old.




Tony gets out of hospital on Monday

Yes!  And not a day too soon for his father.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Tony Kornheiser, Tony Kaulins, and the two Tonys: a day of coincidences

Saturday morning, I was listening to a podcast of the Tony Kornheiser Show -- it was a show that I always listened to when I was in British Columbia and could pick up the ESPN Radio affiliate from nearby Washington State.  The show is an entertaining mix of banter about sports, entertainment, and life -- if Jerry Seinfeld had a radio sports show,  the TK show is what it would be like.  I always sing the TK Show's theme music to my TK.  Just recently, I have been able to find podcasts of the Tony Kornheiser show.  I recommend it along with my many other podcast choices (Econtalk and Radio Derb, to name a few).

Saturday morning, I had my Tony K sitting on my lap as I read to him from a Dr. Seuss book.

Later, I had a class in which two students were named Tony.

Coincidence or what?

From the TKIC archive

I didn't take a photo of Tony at hospital Saturday Morning, so I will instead publish a photo of him taken from the extensive TKIC archive.



Tony runs away from his mother at Canada Place in Vancouver, Canada. The photo was taken in June 2010.

More tales from the 101 Hospital

  • Friday night, Andis went to the hospital to visit Tony and Jenny.  Tony will be the hospital for a few days yet.  Jenny does not know when they can leave.  The doctor said Tony was not allowed to leave his room for fear of catching further infection.
  • Andis bought Tony a matchbox dump truck.
  • Andis came to visit Saturday morning before he had to go to work.  He brought Jenny some magazines.  She said she was bored with nothing to watch or read.  Tony happily sat in Daddy's lap and listened to Andis read from a Dr. Seuss book.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tales of Tony at the 101 hospital and at a restaurant.


  • I learned that the 101 hospital is named after some Chinese military unit: the 101th.
  • Tony and Jenny are in a hospital room with two other beds. There is a family next to them with a sick infant. One female member of the family is weak with sunken cheeks and a weak chin. When she walked, she limped slightly. I felt sorry for her. Perhaps she was the infant's mother. An older woman was looking after the baby. I see lots of people like this in China. I shudder to think of the impoverishment of their lives.
  • We went to the Amazon Buffet Restaurant for supper. When one of us would return to the table with a plate of food, Tony would say "______ (someone) lai le" which is Chinese for "someone has arrived.
  • Tony can fake being asleep by doing fake snoring. He must have learned that from me.
  • Tony loves looking at goldfish anytime he goes to a restaurant.
  • At the restaurant, Tony asked for his Thomas the train engine by name. I am not sure if he understood us when we said it was back at the hospital.
  • Tony threw up at the hospital.
  • A boy in a room had a toy that Tony took a fancy to. So much did Tony take a fancy to the toy, that he protested vigorously when he had to give it back. Wednesday morning, I brought Tony a couple of his matchbox cars. These didn't take Tony's mind off the other boy's toy. In fact, he waved his matchbox cars in the direction of the boy. I first didn't realize what he wanted but then it dawned on me that Tony was trying to trade his cars for the other boy's toys. I'd never seen him try to make an exchange before. I will say again. Children grow quickly.
  • Tony runs so fast now, that Jenny tells me she can't catch him.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Tony is staying in this hospital

Tony and Jenny stay overnight at the hospital

Tony and Jenny spent Tuesday Night at the hospital.
 
Andis will visit them on Wednesday morning before he goes to work.

Cross-eyed Tony

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Tony tries on his grandfather's hat.

Tony tries on his grandfather's hat.





Photos taken in the hospital.

Tony's Chinese Grandparents.



Tony's Chinese grandparents, who live in Beixing, came to see Tony today in the hospital.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Tony in the hospital

Tony is in the hospital because of a fever and a bad cough he has got.  The cough he has had for a few weeks, along with many of his classmates.  The fever happened overnight Monday.  Jenny tried to get him into a hospital right away Monday morning (I was wondering if I had a wife who liked to take her child to the hospital for any reason).   She couldn't, and so Tony did spend some time at home Monday- he laid on the sofa beside his father for a while.  Jenny eventually found a hospital, military hospital actually, to take him to, and so the K family went there in the mid-afternoon. (The military hospital does have a military look to it with people in military uniform but otherwise it looks like an ordinary military hospital)
 
Tony has an apparatus, for having "the drip" administered, on his one wrist.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Wuxi, Jiangsu, China: Tony Kaulins and a toy train: the sequel

This video is a sequel to a video that has been viewed many times in China on the Youku channel.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Last night and before Tony



Above is a photo of Tony taken on April 25, 2008. He is about seven months old.

Here is Tony: last night and before on another blog about Tony.

Here is what Tony was up to last night:

Tony has been watching the Dumbo DVD I bought for him a few months ago. It has only been the last week that it has caught his fancy.

Tony seemed to be Daddy-Clingy on Saturday. When he meet Dad as his work, Tony insisted on being carried around by his father, and at bedtime, he lay beside his Dad -- Tony read while Dad read.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Tony in August 2009

In August 2009, Tony accompanied his father on a school field trip to Tianmu Lake in Jiangsu Province -- lots of students and tourists took photos of Tony.

Tony can sleep in Today!

It is Saturday.  So, let the boy sleep!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Tony throws, Andis talks in Wuxi, China

Tony the Refusenik

I brought Tony his morning bottle of milk, and he refused it, saying "No!" in the most emphatic of manners.  It was the first time I had experienced him being that way.

Later the same morning, he told his mother to take the medicine that she was trying to give to him.  He told her to do this in Chinese.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Tony and his father




Tony heads for the stairs!


Tuesday, I took Tony for a walk after he came back from school.

Little things Tony can now do

As I have said over and over again, Tony's quick development amazes me.  I shouldn't be amazed by it, I know.  But it is my son and I can't be blase about him.
 
Here are some things he did that struck me as worth of reporting to the very rare readers of this blog:
 
  • Tony corrected himself saying something.  Tony said "bu ya something".  He meant to say "bu yao something".  And he corrected himself and said what he meant to say. (the "bu yao" is Chinese for "don't want!")
  • Tony took all his cars and put them on the track from his train set, so he could push them around the track.  It was something that I had been doing it, and he copied.
  • Tony asks me to move his little chair and table to a spot closer to the t.v.  He moved all the toys that had been on the spot and directed me to move the furniture.  He then sat on his chair and read his Barney the Dinosaur book.  He showed off for me as he read showing all the words he knew.
All these things he did, though ordinary, are firsts for me to witness.
 
"To see something through a child's eye, is to see things anew."

Monday, November 1, 2010

Tony this morning (Tuesday)

He plays with a guitar toy.



He happily gets ready to go to school.