My loves,

I feel as crazy as those faces of yours in this photo. BTW, that giant Peppa Pig won best Christmas gift of the year in our household. Good job, Nonnie!

Gin n tonics, takis, and each other...that's what I have been clinging to to numb my pain since the election. And if anyone from child services is reading this, please do not worry, I am the biggest light weight and I only have 1/2 of one or a full drink on a particularly wild night. In all seriousness, it has all been pretty sad since the election and worst after the inauguration of our new President. Kids, thank you for being my source of comfort and giggles when I feel like the world is dark and I wake up in disbelief everyday wondering, "what is happening to our country, what will happen to our world?" I am pretty sure I'd be crying in bed curled up in a fetal position if you guys weren't there to wake me up at 6:30am every morning. I am sickened that you guys are going to learn that the leader of our country is a selfish liar, a scumbag, a racist, a misogynist, and a bully. It might seem as though the bully won this round but I assure you that our country will fight back and one day soon, the world will be a better place again. It has to get better because I will always firmly believe that kindness prevails, it is only a matter of time. And we have to work even harder ourselves to be extra kind and play a bigger part in our community to improve things, we have got to be a part of the solution! When the time is right, I can't wait to show you all the photographs from all the Women's Marches that happened all across our globe the day after inauguration. It was inspiring and energizing to see so many people from different walks of life making their voices heard. That was the day I felt better, lifted and regained some sliver of hope that there is humanity left. Mama admits that she hasn't been the most fun lately but I'm glad you guys are holding down the fort in that department! I'll be back soon, promise.

E - You continue to challenge me to become a better person and a mom. You remind me that my job is to be a mother and not a boxer fighting you in a boxing ring. Perhaps you are going to be the biggest trainer to help with my low reservoir of patience! In other news, you are becoming quite an artist! You drew this bunny at Nonnie's house with markers that just blew me away. I might have mommy goggles but this was the coolest bunny drawn with markers I've ever seen. You don't know this yet but I am getting that bunny drawing mounted and framed really soon. I am amazed at the way you think about what you want to draw and how you execute it because I think so much more linearly. I can't wait to see more of what you create. You love using your orange plastic kid scissor that I got you from Taiwan and you are getting better and better at recognizing and writing your letters. You love your little brother and I am always surprised at how much you protest when I joke that maybe we'll just leave Max at his school. Oh yeah! That other day, you said something really funny. You said your friend at school broke his arm and missed school for two days. The next day, you came home to tell your Baba that your friend "still had both of his arms!" We had a pretty good laugh from that..I mean..what else can a "broken arm" mean if it didn't break off right??

M - TANTRUMS, TANTRUMS...but gosh, you're still so sweet. Terrible twos (or my more positive phrase that I am trying to use- major transition phase into toddlerhood) is on strong! You've been saying a ton of words, wanting to read books over and over again, and showing your continued love of cars. You've been hitting when you get frustrated and upset and we've been learning to work on that. You adore E and now says "evie..ewieeee" when you see her in the morning. You love the small little routines of reading or watching cartoons with a blanket over your legs and asks for it if there isn't one. You often times play with your big red car while you nurse and want to hold onto to it until you fall asleep. Your favorite book a few weeks ago was Goodnight Gorilla, it currently is Birthday at the Zoo and you'll say "birfday birfday" when you want to read it. You love to sing and dance...we were watching a music video together and afterwards, you sang "wooooooo" all while you squeezed your eyes shut. It has been so fun watching you become a big boy.

And kids..late afternoon yesterday, we received great news. I can't wait to tell you more about it but I am so excited to start a new adventure with you both.

Love,

Mama

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Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County Lifestyle Family and Newborn Photographer, also serving Ojai, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, and other surrounding areas. She captures real-life moments with a documentary approach on film to tell your family's story.