Things Your Parents Say to and about YOU
... and they talk A LOT.

-- Out of the blue
Daddy: "I can't wait for him to grow up so I can start watching movies with him."

-- While you were quietly observing the clock in the living room
Daddy: "You're soooooooo fascinated with the clock!! Maybe you'll invent THE FIRST TIME MACHINE when you grow up!!"

-- While you were quietly observing the clock in the living room
Mommy: "You know what time it is? It's eight forty three. You'll learn to tell time one day, and you'll learn math and geography and history and literature and science and.... There's so much to learn, little boy!! How exciting?!"

-- While carrying you around in the kitchen
Daddy: "And this is the stove, but it's not for little babies. And here's the microwave, and it's not for little babies either. And this is the oven.... Oh man... nothing here is for little babies like you. You'll have to grow up fast, but not too fast though, okay?"

-- While carrying you around in the kitchen
Mommy: "Wanna fill the water jar with mommy? Oh hey, maybe you'll become a chef one day. But first, we'll have to get you a set of those really awesome knives 'cause good tools are important in whatever you do. Those knives are expensive though... (then you started fussing) Okay, so you don't want to be a chef. How about becoming an engineer? Mommy studied engineering for a very short time and sucked at it. But you're smarter than mommy so you may enjoy it more. Plus, you probably got your daddy's math and science genes. (You were staring at mommy with this stunned look on your face) Hmm... you're probably thinking, 'Shut up, mommy! You talk too much', huh?!"

-- While walking home from the morning walk
Daddy: "You're gonna be the coolest kid on the block. When other kids on the playground are like, 'I grew up in the boonies', you'll be like, 'I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and then we lived in Spain for a year and travelled around Europe... and my mom learnt to windsurf.'"

Mommy: "You realize those other kids will probably have walked away when he starts talking about Spain, right?! And why windsurfing?"

Daddy: "I don't know. Why not?" (Good point)

-- While walking home from the morning walk
Daddy: "Man... You're such an awesome kid. You got your good looks from mommy and your smarts from... okay... both mommy and daddy are smart so you got that from both of us. But you'll be funny like daddy 'cause mommy's not very funny even though she thinks she is."

Mommy: "I am funny. I crack myself up all the time."

Daddy: "Exactly."

-- While you were moving your arms and legs when daddy talked to you
Daddy: "Are you dancing, baby Kai? That's so cool. Now we need to get mommy to dance too and be a family that always dances and has fun."

-- Conversations Between Mommy and Daddy
Daddy: "How do you guys listen to music?"
Mommy: "On my computer."
Daddy: "With the speakers on your computer?"
Mommy: "Yeeeaaahhhh?! Why?"
Daddy: "No.....You should use these speakers, Kate, not the crappy ones on your computer! He should learn to appreciate good sound quality. We've gotta train him to be a sound snob."

* Speaking of music, you mostly listen to classical music at nap time and children's songs at play time. Daddy introduced you to the Beattles the other day, and you LOVED it! In fact, you started humming along. I think some Rock 'n Roll is on the agenda next.

Daddy: "You realize Kai's gonna grow up to be an awesome communicator? He's gonna learn the indirect Chinese way of communication from you and the straight-forward American way from me. And he'll see how you and I constantly negotiate to reach an understanding or a conclusion."