How does Tony begin 2012?

• Tony wasn't the least disappointed by the fact that he didn't win the Wuxi Expat of the Year award for 2011 -- he was the Wuxi Expat of the year for 2010.  
• He seemed more concerned about being able to start on the year by playing computer trains.
• After two hours of playing computer trains, he pushed Dad into the seat in front of the laptop -- he wanted to play with the Ipad.

Tony's Mom gets a new hairstyle

Tony not with the program

Tony's kindergarten had the kids put on a show for the parents.  Thankfully, I didn't have to go.  These shows are mind-numbingly boring and I don't really care too much to see how other children are doing anyway -- I only concentrate on Tony.

Tony's mother Jenny, who is into this sort of thing, did go and made a report to me.  She also took some video but there is no point in uploading it.  Tony really didn't do much.  He is still too young to do anything solo.  As it is, it is hard enough to get him to participate along with a group.  So for yesterday's show, the teachers had him wave his arms and dance with a group of his classmates.  Jenny said that for the first group show that Tony was a part of, Tony did well in that he waved his arms in unison with the other students.  However, for the next shows, Tony stood at one end a group, that was spread out wide, and cried.  Watching the video, one can see the children beside him waving and dancing while he stands still, causing a teacher to try to comfort him.  Jenny says that Tony cried because he saw her and thought he was going home.

So, Tony wasn't with the program.  Oh well!

Bumper Cars in Wuxi, China

Photos taken of Tony round Christmas time

Gee! Thanks Tony!

Previously, I mentioned that Tony had learned to say "Dad!  I need to check my email!" when he wanted to get on my laptop and play with the Microsoft Train Simulator program.

He learned this when I kept asking him if I could check my email when he was playing with the trains.

Just now, as Tony was playing on my laptop, I decided to play with the Ipad.  I did this for about fifteen minutes before Tony noticed.

All of sudden, Tony grabbed the Ipad from me, and said "Daddy! you can check your email!"

It seems he prefers the Ipad.

Wuxi Tony opens his first ever Christmas Present

Recent Photos of Tony

Daddy! Can I check my email?

Daddy!  Can I check my email?

That is a strange thing to be coming from the mouth of a four year old.  Those who are so young shouldn't have email accounts, even in this day and age.  Still, Tony does say this, and I have an explanation for why.

I let Tony play on my laptop.  I have showed him the Microsoft Train Simulator program and he loves it.  He can spend hours on end playing with the trains.  It is nice that he likes the trains but unfortunately, his liking the program means I can't use my laptop myself.  Tony doesn't let me use the laptop even for a short time.  I ask him if I can check my email and he says no!

So, you see, Tony has picked up the expression from me.  He doesn't know its exact meaning, but he has gathered that the expression is a request to yield the laptop.

Tony and Andis on December 19, 2011

Tony and Andis fight.

• Tony and I had another fight.  This time it was about the train set.  Tony pointed to a PLA RAIL box and a picture of a particular train setup or track configuration.  I then started to dismantle the current track configuration and Tony became upset.  I continued dismantling because I thought that Tony's wailing would subside when he would see me put together another configuration.  But it didn't.  Tony only became more upset when I started to make a new one.  He then began to rip apart the track of the new configuration.  Annoyed, I helped him and put the track in the plastic box in which we store all his PLA RAIL things.  I asked him if this was what he wanted.  He said no! in an upset manner.  I then held him in my arms for above ten minutes trying to soothe and calm him down.  I eventually took the track out of the plastic box and tried to make another configuration, but the same scenario happened.  This time, I told Tony to tell his mom his complaint -- he can speak a lot of Chinese that I don't understand.  She told me that he wanted me to make a new configuration for him.  Telling Jenny my story, that that what was what I was trying to do, didn't do anything to lower the contempt she had for me at that moment.
• Actually, the second incident really wasn't a fight.  I did nothing aggressive towards Tony.  I just let him wail.  I even withdrew from him at one point to see what he would do.
• During the withdrawal, I was hoping to see Tony run to me.  What did happen was he continued to cry and I couldn't stand it and so went back to him.
• It took Mom giving him the Ipad to calm him down.

Tony plays with his TOMY PLA RAIL train set

Ultraman! I want Ultraman! Mai Ultraman!

Father finished his Christmas Shopping** for Tony.  Or at least he thought.  He bought some toys, at a Toys-R-Us near his place of employment, that Tony had requested and took advantage of the free gift-wrapping offered.   Father imagined the look of excitement that Tony was sure to have when he opened the packages on Christmas day.

While Dad was making his purchases at a Toys-R-Us, he picked up some catalogs for Tony to look at.  He gave them to Tony first thing when he arrived at home from work.  Tony immediately pointed to a photo of some Ultraman figures and told Mom and Dad to buy them for him.  Tony didn't mention the other toys that he and his father had discussed.

Maybe Dad isn't finished his Christmas Shopping after all!  He will have to rustle some extra cash to pay for an Ultraman figure.

**What Dad bought for Tony will be revealed at the proper time to Tony and the rare readers of this blog.

Tony and his father's laptop

Happy Birthday Uncle Ron!

Tony and Uncle Ron in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in June 2010.

An evening of Microsoft Train Simulator

Dad let Tony play MTS on the new laptop on Saturday evening.  Tony played with the software, more or less unsupervised, for over three hours.

Though, Tony is only four years old, he can use the mouse to navigate the software.  He knows the key sequences to get to where he wants to go.  He can't read but he learned them by watching father show him once.  He was able to watch all the six types of trains on MTS without assistance from his father.

Getting him off MTS and telling him to go to bed isn't easy.  But Father knows Tony will wail for five minutes before there is something else to play with.

Tony the Guerilla