JELL-O play - perfect for 4-year-olds!

Bobo doesn't always need a nap in the afternoon anymore, and so while Wawa is napping, sometimes we can enjoy a special 'big kid' activity. When I saw these Jell-o play sets on sale at ParknShop downstairs (normally $48 a box, but now buy one get one free) I thought they might be perfect for Bobo. And they were!

Jell-o play with Bobo

We got two sets - a beach-themed set with fish gummies and a dirt-themed set with worms and snails, but as I had suspected, he immediately went for the dirt! :) 

All you need in addition to the jell-o set is three cups of cold milk. 

To make the Jell-o cups, Bobo did the following:

1) read the labels on the packages - there were two, a pudding package and a dirt crumbs package, and he enjoyed the challenge of choosing the right one at the right time

2) poured the pudding powder into the mixing bowl 

3) read the instructions to see how many cups of milk we needed (3) 

4) very carefully poured the milk from the carton into a cup and from the cup into the mixing bowl 

5) mixed the pudding mix for a good two minutes (we worked together on this one!)

6) tried out the pudding (Bobo's verdict: mmmm!!! it's good, mama!!!) 

7) spooned the pudding into cups 

8) added the crumbs (lots and lots of crumbs) 

9) added the insect gummies (two worms and a snail) 

I found the whole process to be very age-appropriate and fun for Bobo, who is four. I could see how much he enjoyed being able to read and follow the simple instructions and to create something yummy by himself. He loved being able to control the amount of dirt crumbs and the number and color of worms. 

He was proud of the dirt he had made and declared it good! It was very sweet though, so he couldn't have too much of it (a very good thing!).  He was so happy to be able to share his little dirt creation with his daddy when he came home from work, too. 

Hong Kong family photographers - our top picks

We love to take pictures! I've always struggled between enjoying the good times and trying desperately to document them so I won't forget them. This was especially true when the babies were in the newborn stage - I was always afraid that once those special moments were over, I'd lose them. But I didn't want to miss out on the actual moments either! And so the struggle continues. It's a little better these days - sometimes I jot down the funny, poignant things they say at the end of the day instead of capturing them in the moment, and this helps me savor both the moment and the memory.

But back to pictures. We generally try to take family photos with a professional photographer once a year, and so far, we've had three different family photographers. Here are our experiences them.

1. Ringo Chau Productions

Value for money: 5/5  $1200 for a two-hour shoot; all the edited soft copies provided. Amazing value!
Family-friendly: 3/5 Fine for pregnancy pics, but perhaps not great for family photos involving young children, as he didn't have an assistant (we have found this to be essential for getting fidgety little ones to smile/look at the camera in family photos).
Aesthetic appeal: 4.5/5 I love the dreamy feel of these photos - looking back at them four years later, I still love them.
Overall impressions: 4/5
Ringo was our wedding photographer, so during my first pregnancy, we immediately thought of him and contacted him when we wanted to take pregnancy pictures. We found Ringo to be efficient and professional; he took so many beautiful pictures for us. He came to meet us in our home/the beach and park downstairs, so this was perfect when I was so big! I really love these pictures; I think Ringo did an amazing job of capturing how in love I felt with both my husband and my baby in those final weeks leading up to the birth.



2. Diva Photo 
Value for money: 3/5  $980 for a 1.5-hour shoot; 10 edited soft copies provided.
Family-friendly: 3.5/5 I feel a bit conflicted about this because we took our photos in Diva's studio, which was clean and bright, so it should have been a very family friendly affair. But perhaps we just aren't studio types, because Bobo (then 1.5) was sort of grumpy and bored, and we only managed to get one picture of him smiling!
Aesthetic appeal: 3.5/5 I think the pictures from this shoot are okay - my Wawa bump is featured prominently, and we got a few family photos, but I think we all look a bit wooden. I guess there's a limit to how much we can do within four walls with a sleepy toddler. This is the only time we've done a studio shoot - we've learned they aren't really for us!
Overall impressions: 3/5
I picked Diva mainly because their studio is near our home (I was at the time, again, very big) and because I knew there would be an assistant helping us keep Bobo's eyes on the camera, but she wasn't as skilled/dedicated to her post as we had hoped. It was an inexpensive option, but with only 10 photos for $980, I think there are better options out there. The experience was only average for us.

3. KPdio
Value for money: 5/5  $1499 for a one-hour shoot; all the edited soft copies provided. They even surprised us with a one-minute video of the photo shoot, which we absolutely adore. Really good value, especially considering a team of three (one photographer, one assistant, and one videographer) came to take care of us.
Family-friendly: 5/5 Excellent! Patrick, the photographer was so professional and fun throughout the shoot, and his assistant, Terry, was so good with the kids. They both seemed to be enjoying their work, which made the whole experience fun for us and for our babies too. You can tell from all our smiles! They also were wonderful at taking pictures of the grandparents and the babies.
Aesthetic appeal: 4.5/5 We love how natural these pictures are - not a whole lot of editing, as far as I can tell, but that's part of why we like them. Patrick does an amazing job of just capturing the hugs and smiles as they are. I love how proud of the kids we look in these pictures! Also, Patrick managed to make our very ordinary, run-of-the-mill park look almost magical with his photography skills.
Overall impressions: 4.5/5
We love KPdio so much we've had two photoshoots with them! We first learned about them from a friend, who posted beautiful family photos taken in KPdio's studio. We're not studio-types, remember, so we asked if we could do pictures in our our home and the park downstairs for the first shoot, and in a lovely Chinese-style park in Kowloon City for the second. In fact, we can't wait to book a third shoot with them this fall.

So, mamas and babas, there you have it! Three Hong Kong family photographers (but of course, they also do all kinds of other pictures, wedding photography in particular) that we've tried. Who's your favorite?

the best toy ever

In our home, one toy gets played with more than anything else - and this has been true since I first bought it, on a whim, on my way home from work.

Behold, the mighty Gakken blocks! 

Gakken Blocks

These blocks are amazing.  

Gakken blocks, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  

1. They are incredibly versatile. You can make almost anything with them - our children have used them to create buses (Bobo's favorite when he was about two and a half), cups (Wawa's current favorite), beds for their stuffed toys, helicopters, fire engines, birds, towers, and more. When Wawa was really little, Bobo would make a bunch of cubes for her to stack and knock over. 

When Bobo was two, he was making roads: 

Bobo's road at age 2

and when he was three, he was making Tidmouth Sheds! 

Tidmouth Sheds

2. They grow with your children . The bag says 1-6, but as I recall, Wawa started playing with these before she turned 1, so as far as we're concerned, they're a 0-6 toy. Before Bobo really knew how to build with them, he loved being in charge of adding the wheels to the little rectangular boxes i made for him (Voila! A bus!). When Wawa was about one, she used to make little two-piece 'T' shapes with them, but now she makes rockets/drums that are really quite complex! Bobo has lots of other favorite toys now, but when Wawa takes these out (and she does this several times a day) he always joins in for a bit, and he's already four. 

Wawa (age 1) making T-shapes

Wawa (age 2) making cups and rockets/drums

3. They are very light. This is a big one for us because little ones sometimes throw their toys...and wooden blocks can really hurt! Also, this means we sometimes bring a few (or more than a few) with us when we go to church or when we eat out. 

4. They are easy to clean up. They hold up well when the kids are building tall structures with them, but are quick and easy to take apart and put away, too. 

5. They are quiet. Compared to wooden blocks, Duplo, or Mega Blocks, these lightweight blocks are very quiet and can be played with comfortably even if someone is napping in the same room (which was often the case when Wawa was a newborn).

6. They can be combined with other sets for more fun!  We started out with a basic 'starter' bag of Gakken blocks, then added a second larger bag to the mix. A few months ago, my mom bought us a 'playground' bag, which included special curved pieces for making playground equipment like a swing set and a slide. It also came with four little people!

The playground set

One small tip: don't ever soak them or play with them in water! They are very light blocks because they are hollow...and it's nearly impossible to get water out of them once you get some in them. 

If you don't have any of these blocks yet, you've got to get some!

Just a little taller!

Be careful, Wawa!