My Boy is 10! 我的儿子十岁了!

I was reading my own blog last night (ok, I do that sometimes because I think some of the stuff I blog about are quite funny and they still cracks me up everytime I read about them), and realized that I didn't blog about Jovan's birthday last month. Not that I feel obligated to blog about that but turning 10 is quite a milestone and I really do want to share some of the silly stuff we do with my family and friends, who do read my blog once in awhile. 。
昨晚我当正在读我的部落时(ok, 我有时会重读我自己的部落，因为我觉得有几篇不管读了几次还是觉得很好笑)，我发现我没写有关Jovan的生日篇。我不是觉得我“一定”要写，不过十岁也算是个小里程碑， 而且我也想和有空到我的部落逛逛的亲戚朋友们一起分享一些我们做的无聊事。

As the saying goes,"A picture speaks a thousand words." So let's enjoy these pictures!
有句谚语说"一画胜千言"，就让我们一起"赏画"吧!


We (as a family) decided to have "Breakfast-in-bed" as one of our privileges we get when we celebrate birthdays (next privilege is to be able to choose what he or she wants for dinner). So our birthday boy woke up (well, actually he woke up really early due to excitement but daddy made him go back to bed to "pretend" that he was still sleeping so that we can do the "Breakfast-in-bed" thing...) and was enjoying breakfast prepared by mommy, daddy and Angel.
我们一家人决定把"在床上享用早餐"列为其中的一项生日的特权。(另一项生日的特权是"有决定晚餐吃什么"的权力。) 所以我们的寿星起床后 (其实他一大清早因为兴奋就起床了，老爸要他回床上假假还在睡，这样我们才能继续我们的"床上享用早餐"特权。。。)，悠闲地享用老妈，老爸和为他准备的早餐。

I think he was happy!
我想他还蛮开心的!

And as a prelude to his special day, he received small gifts, a spade, Ben-10 bedsheet and a card made by Angel.
我们先给他几样小礼物当作他生日的前奏。有一把塑胶铲子， Ben-10的床单和Angel做的卡片。


The card read,"Happy Birthday to my brother. Jovan you are 10 years old. 10 years old" I know, what a milestone!
卡片上写着:"祝我哥生日快乐。Jovan你十岁了。十岁" 就是啊，又到了一个里程碑！


Farmor (Grandma) came with Roy (her partner) in the afternoon for a little tea party, bringing present for the birthday boy, even Angel and Ivan got presents!
中午时，奶奶和Roy(奶奶的伴侣)来喝下午茶，他们也带来了礼物给Jovan、Angel和Ivan。


Jovan picked Burger King for his birthday dinner, fast food is always popular with kids! And look, Ivan has learnt how to smile at the camera! Now we can look forward to many years of "weird-looking" smiles in our pictures!
晚餐Jovan点了Burger King，小孩子都爱快餐!看， Ivan学会了对着相机笑!看来以后将会的照片里有很多看来很勉强、怪怪的笑容!

After dinner, came the highlight of the day - the cutting of the birthday cake and presents!
晚餐后就是当天最期待的时候 - 切蛋糕和开礼物!


Since I totally suck at decorating cakes, I thought I'll buy a Ben-10 picture printed with edible ink on sugar-paste paper. The result is quite ok but the picture started to turn hard and was curled up on the side, I think I should spray it a little with water and pipe some cream on the side. The car-candle was from my brother who bought me a lot of figure candles when they came for visit last year. Jovan was happy with my effort.
我对点缀蛋糕真的不行，于是我买了用可食性油墨，打印在糖糊纸上的Ben-10图案。出来的效果还可以，不过时间一久，糖糊纸就开始变硬，旁边也开始卷起。我想我应该喷上一点水和在旁边挤上奶油花。蛋糕上车性的蜡烛是我弟弟去年来的时候带来的。他还带了其他不同形状的蜡烛。对我付出的努力Jovan还挺开心的。


Beaming birthday boy!
笑容满面的寿星!


Ivan LOVES cars, so you can see where his eyes are glued to...
车子是Ivan的最爱，你看得出他的目光锁在那里。。。


Everybody knows how difficult it is to get nice pictures of children, especially when you have more than 1 in a picture. I think Angel had enough picture-taking for the day...
大家都知道要为小孩子拍好照片是很困难的事，尤其是当你有多过一个小孩在同一张照片时。Angel看起来好像拍够了。。。


Time for presents! It is obviously who was the one posing, the other 2 were just a blur...
礼物时间到了! 很明显地看得出谁在摆姿势，其他两个只是一片模糊。。。

"It's a bucket!" Sometimes they wish for the strangest thing... Ivan couldn't understand why his big brother got so happy with a bucket...
"是个桶!"有时他们想要的东西还真奇怪。。。 Ivan不明白为什么他的大哥为了一个桶会这么高兴。。。


He also wished for a pair of swimming goggles and apparently, Ivan thought that Jovan should complete the look with the bucket...
他也想要一副游泳护目镜。显然的 Ivan认为配上个桶会让画面更加完美。。。


He also received a "Present Voucher" which entitled him to play games the whole day. It was a real treat since they are only allowed to play for one hour if they're on time getting themselves ready for school in the mornings or if they have done something really good (like helping with housework without being asked to).
他还收到了一张能让他玩上一整天游戏机的礼券。这对他来说真的士一项很好的礼物。平时他们只能在准备上学时要准时或做了好事(比如自动自发的做家务)时，才能玩一个小时。

Some people think that we're a little too strict with our kids, because they have to help with chores at home, help to look after the smaller siblings, be responsible for their own time and their own properties, they have restricted time in playing the XBox and watch tv and they're only allowed to watch tv programs, video, listen to CDs and play XBox games which mommy and daddy say it's ok. However, our kids are not suffering at all, they're happy, they show appreciation for things they receive or kind things others do for them, they feel safe and secure. Discipline and character building are difficult and stressful and they play a huge part in parenting. Sadly a lot of parents choose to avoid them as much as they can - indulgence does not equal love. All parents have their own way of parenting, we try to find ways that will work for our children since they are all different. Hubby and I don't really care how others think about us as parents, we just want to do the best job that we can for our kids.
有些人认为我们对孩子们有一点太严厉了。他们不止要帮忙做家务、帮忙照顾弟妹、为自己的东西负责，还要掌管自己的时间。他们有限制的时间玩游戏机和看电视。他们看的电视节目、玩的XBox游戏和听的CD都要经过爸妈的批准和同意。不过，我们并不觉得孩子们受苦了。相反的，他们很快乐也感到很安全。他们对收到的礼物或善意的举动都会知道感谢。他们对所拥有的从不认为是理所当然的。训导和人格建设在教育孩子上扮演着重大的角色。但是很遗憾的，有些父母对此却距而远之 -放纵并不等于爱。每个身为父母的都有自己的教育方式。我们大家都不断地找适合自己孩子的教育方式，毕竟每个孩子都不一样。我和老公都不在意别人怎么看我们。我们俩只是很尽力地为了孩子们把本分做好。

Jovan is a very good kid. He is responsible, considerate, sensitive to others' feelings, loves his younger siblings and is protective over them (he'll tell his friends off if they're mean to Angel). He is never afraid to try anything that is new (especially food!) and has an inquisitive mind, he wants to know how things works and try to figure things out by himself first before approaching his "Bible" to everything - daddy. He also tries to do his best in most of the things that he does, school or play. Nobody is perfect and of course, he has some annoying habits which we hope he'll change or improve on, like teasing and fighting with Angel over small issues (somehow he's a little more impatient with Angel, maybe it's the close age gap)and his forgetfulness. Now that he's a "pre-teen", he is starting to test his boundaries more and talking back (and only with me, he doesn't do any of this with daddy...). New phases bring new issues and need new ways of handling these issues. Parenting is a big and continuous project.
Jovan是个好孩子。他有责任感、会为别人着想、会在意别人的感受，也爱护他的弟妹 (当他的朋友对Angel无礼时，他会毫不客气地喝止)。他很勇于尝试新事物 (尤其是食物!。他也有强烈的求知欲，他总是想搞清楚东西的运作。他通常会尝试自己发觉，行不通时就会问他的“万事通”老爸。当然世上没有十全十美的人，Jovan有些令人受不了的坏习惯，象没记性、常为了小事而跟Angel吵架、斗嘴(他对Angel似乎比较没耐心，可能是因为年龄相近的关系吧)等。他现在已经开始步入青少年期，开始试探我耐心的极限，顶嘴的次数也增加了(而且他只对我这么做，他从不如此对老爸。。。)。新阶段带来新挑战，当然也需要新的应付方式。教育孩子是一项持续不断的大工程。.

Hubby and I are both really happy with how Jovan is now and is hoping that he'll continue to grow to be person who has a lot to contribute.
我和老公对Jovan感到很欣慰，我们也希望他能继续成长当个有贡献的人。.

Happy Birthday Jovan! Mommy and daddy are looking forward to celebrating more ten's years with you!
Jovan生日快乐! 爸爸和妈妈期待着和你一起庆祝以后更多的“十”年!