Reading with the Gong Girls

After a lengthy absence, I want to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to plug a FANTASTIC new blog that a friend of mine has started on reading with children, called Annie and Aunt. I'd highly recommend it to all parents, or anybody who loves children's literature. It's already provided some wonderful suggestions that have become instant favorites in our house.

Books are a very important part of life chez Gong. Fiona is a READER; she's been known to retreat to a corner to read during playdates. Campbell...well, it's still a little bit early to tell, but she's currently more of a mover than a reader!

So, please check out Annie's blog. Herewith, a few of the Gong Girls' favorites (which have also passed the test of being bearable for repeated reading by parents):

FIONA
Aside from the most well-known classics ( Where the Wild Things Are, Little Bear, anything Frances, The Story of Ferdinand, and Make Way for Ducklings), some of Fiona's favorites include:
Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin, the first book in a delightful series about Farmer Brown's rebellious farm animals
Sheila Rae, The Brave by Kevin Henkes (and just about anything else by Kevin Henkes), which has a nice message about sisters helping each other out
The Little Bit Scary People by Emily Jenkins, which sounds awful but is actually a heartwarming book about the soft sides to people who might at first intimidate children
George and Martha by James Marshall -- our family's FAVORITE series of droll short stories about the relationship between two hippo friends
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson, Fiona's most recent discovery
Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie, the first book in a charming series about two pig best friends

CAMPBELL
A bit of a shorter list, but here are the books that succeed in getting Campbell to sit still to listen:
Peek A Who by Nina Laden -- I've found her looking at this book quietly in her crib after naptime -- it's simple and clever
Baby Faces by Margaret Miller, a book of close-ups of babies with a descriptive word for their expression ("Uh-oh!", "Yucky!", etc), which has made both Gong girls laugh hilariously
Dog and Cat by Matthew Van Fleet (and just about anything else by Van Fleet), which have captivated both of our animal lovers
Subway by Karen Katz and Anastasia Suen, a rhythmic book about a ride on the NYC subway with enchanting illustrations. Just about anything illustrated by Karen Katz is guaranteed to grab our girls' attention.

Happy Reading!

A Cautionary Post

I recently read a critique of blogs as people sharing "only the acceptable persona that they want displayed to the world." I am posting the following video in order to disprove that theory. This is my attempt to transcend narcissism for the greater good.

You may have noticed more videos on this blog of late. Erick has enjoyed using our digital point & shoot to capture short video clips of the girls, and clearly Fiona has enjoyed it, too. See below for an example of why you should never, ever video your children with their knowledge. I am afraid we may have unwittingly created a future reality TV star, yet another desperate fame seeker who spouts meaningless drivel for entertainment value.

Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. In any event, expect to see fewer videos on this site in the future.

It's All About Campbell (Mostly!)

Campbell recently hit the 9-month mark, and she has come into her own. Gone is the quiet, peaceful little baby who could be carried around everywhere. Oh no: Campbell has suddenly decided that all she wants to do is walk. And this is great, except that she can't yet walk by herself and she has no interest in crawling (because what's the point if you can walk?!?). Which means the adults in her life have very sore lower backs from doing this:The above picture also indicates Campbell's likely motivation: her big sister, who is working on the next stage of mobility. But this is not about Fiona; for a change, this post is ALL ABOUT CAMPBELL!Thankfully, she does enjoy toddling around with the walker, which gives my back/knees/neck some breaks throughout the day. She's already showing signs of breaking away from the walker and going it alone -- and not a minute too soon, I say!

Campbell's also starting to talk. Her repertoire at this point consists of: "Uh-oh!" (Same first words as Fiona, but this is not about Fiona). And she's so pleased at the response she gets from all 3 of us whenever she says "Uh-oh," that she's started saying it whenever she wants attention. So she walks around the house (assisted) saying "Uh-oh, uh-oh," she wakes up from naps saying "Uh-oh, uh-oh!" and so on.It's been fun to see Campbell developing her own personality, but of course she does interact quite a bit with her big sister -- which is also fun to see. They've already got a nice little relationship going.
When Campbell was born, we initially thought (or maybe a better word is "projected our hopes") that she would be the "laid back one." As the months go by, we're realizing that it actually may be possible that she is the more energetic one. Only time will tell, of course. Meanwhile, Campbell's got some walking to do.

Happy Easter!

Just a few highlights from our Easter:

Fiona did a couple of Easter-related art projects, incorporating both the sacred...

and the profane.

On "Easter Eve" both girls (Campbell celebrating her first Easter) enjoyed a delicious dinner with Grandmommy and Granddaddy, featuring TWO cakes (guess which one Fiona made?)
Both girls in their pre-church finery. Posed portraits are going to be a little challenging for the next bit, because suddenly all Campbell wants to do is MOVE.

And finally, another Erick Gong production. This is our Easter breakfast, and yes, our daughter is having a "cupcake" (really a chocolate muffin, courtesy of Grandmommy. But basically a cupcake). Check out Campbell's expression. Can you see her thinking, "Good Lord, is this really my sister for life?"

Hope everyone had a special, peaceful Easter!

In Praise of Grandparents...and other updates

We don't acknowledge it enough on this blog (or in person), but Fiona and Campbell have been blessed with two phenomenal sets of grandparents -- the four of whom are probably the most faithful (if not the ONLY) readers of this blog!

So, in appreciation, here is a brief peek at some special moments that we've shared with them in 2010.

Nana and Boom visited us for 10 wonderful days in February (wonderful for us, a little frustrating for them since they'd only planned on staying for 7 days, but were snowed out of the East Coast!). We watched the Super Bowl with them, and celebrated an early Valentine's Day.
Later that month, we celebrated Grandmommy's birthday with a fancy dinner in a restaurant (truly a rarity for us these days!), followed by a cupcake feast (cupcakes made by Fiona, with a little help from Mom).

Anybody else notice that Campbell seems to always be eating with her grandfathers?

And, just to get us all caught up, a summary of a couple of highlights from the past 2 months.

Fiona and Campbell joined our community group for a morning of volunteering at Spiral Gardens Community Food Project, an urban farm/nursery in our neighborhood. Fiona met a chicken at close range (and was more excited than she appears).
She also met her first earthworm at close range, which was WAY more exciting than the chicken!

And she was, truly, a big help.

That very afternoon, the girls attended their first bowling party. That's right: their friend, Luther, celebrated his 2nd birthday at a local bowling alley.

Despite her confidence and stunning form (and a LOT of parental help), Fiona didn't break any records.

Both girls did, however, have a wonderful time, appearances to the contrary. Have you ever seen a more depressed (or, with that red-eye, evil) group of kids? It's like Twilight: The Toddler Years.

Next installment: The Gongs Take A Road Trip!

The Girls...LIVE!

Since posting the previous short video clip of the tail end of Fiona singing "Roll Over," Erick has been obsessed with capturing a more complete performance. So here it is. It's worth noting that Fiona may be good at many things, but it already appears that quantitative ability will not be high on that list. "Roll Over" is a counting-backwards song ("There were 5 in the bed and the little one said, 'Roll Over,'....There were 4 in the bed...." etc.). At about the 13 s. mark in the song, you'll see Fiona get totally stumped by how many are left in the bed. So instead, she quickly covers by improvising, tacking on whatever pops into her head and in effect creating an entirely new song. (Like mother, like daughter: this is essentially how I got through 13 years of math).

Campbell is not to be outdone by her big sister. She may be pre-verbal, but she's already showing a talent for endearing giggles. See below for an example.

Fiona Sings the Pinks

We JUST returned from our first family road-trip since Fiona was born: a week during which we drove down to Orange County to visit Uncle Wesley & Auntie Kristin, then on to the San Diego Zoo (for obvious reasons), and concluded in Santa Barbara with our friends Chris, Heidi, and their 3 kids, plus a brief visit with Erick's cousin Cherise and her new baby Mackenzie. (If that sentence is not in any way grammatically correct, I've just spent all day in a car with an infant and a toddler!)

As you can imagine, there is MUCH to post -- not to mention my 2 month backlog of other photos. But, a first for this blog, I wanted to share this video of Fiona tapping into her inner rockstar at Chris and Heidi's house. Put Fiona together with a pink guitar and some pink sunglasses, and you get some serious energy. Unfortunately our camera could only film for 12 seconds, so you're getting the tail end of the song ("Roll Over") -- which she sang repeatedly for, I am not kidding, 30 minutes. Enjoy!