四千金 Quadruplets

最近去參加了小朋友幼稚園的教育講座。討論的主題是有關小朋友的教育。聽了之後覺得很有感觸。將近兩個小時的講桌重點就是如何發掘小孩的天賦，找到他們熱愛的事情，教會他們執著和態度。幫助他們找到機會跟製造機會。身為父母的我們要注意觀察小朋友們的天賦是什麼。有什麼事情是他麼一學就會的。有什麼是他們熱愛的，可以一直做而不分心。或許很多父母都會想要小朋友當醫生啊，做律師啊之類的。但是其實行行出狀元。麵包師傅也可以很有前途，畫畫賣tshirt也可以賺錢。而我們家的四個寶貝特別愛游泳，即使會冷還是要玩水。這是她們的天賦與熱愛嗎？ :-)...

我們家的四個千金超愛喝米漿的。應該是遺傳到爸爸吧。不過也有可能只是因為是甜的。所以我們都會加牛奶或無糖豆漿讓它不要那麼甜。

After waking up from their afternoon nap I didn't really know where to take the girls because it was pouring raining outside.  I didn't really want them playing in the rain again since they had just gotten over a cold yesterday. So I thought why not go for a short walk just within our building.  A simple walk was enough to keep the girls occupied and still made it enjoyable.  Kids seem to be able to find enjoyment out of even the littlest things.  I guess one of the great benefits of having quadruplets is that what ever they are doing can be fun since there are four and not just one.  Being quadruplets means they never lack someone to play with.

Just last week when we took them swimming, they were still afraid of being in the pool without being held.  Today it didn't take them too long to get comfortable in the pool, after just a few times sliding down into the pool with them, they started going down on their own. 第一天游泳時她們還要有人陪著在水裡，但是到了第二天下午竟然就說要自己溜滑梯到水裡。小朋友的適應能力真強。

明天就是父親節了。回想起第一個父親節是疲勞，睡眠不足的渡過。因為那時後Baby 們的校正年齡還不到半歲，每天光是忙著照顧四千金時間就不夠用了， 更不用說過父親節了。第二個父親節是在台灣的第一個父親節。那時候雖然好多了，也不至於像第一年一天睡個三個小時，但是每天的時間還是都在照顧四千金。那時後多虧了有岳母的幫忙，要不然一定還是很累。記得那時忙一點時岳母十二點都還在幫忙洗Baby 們的衣服。所以要特別感謝岳母對我們一家的照顧。而明天就是第三個父親節了。昨天晚上四千金的額娘和千金們早早就先上床睡覺了。做在沙發上上班，轉眼看了一下床上的五個人，腦裡面想到的就是，她們就是我的五個女人。看著她們熟睡的樣子就有一股簡單的幸福感。覺得能夠擁有我的五個女人陪伴我這一生就是最好的父親節禮物了。我只能說我比大部份的男人都還要幸運，有多少個男人可以有五個女人陪伴？我愛一號到五號。

Growing up with siblings vs being the only child creates a very different childhood.  Growing up with siblings means always having someone to play with, to share, to talk to, to cry with and much much more.  However typical families with many children means that there will be age gaps between the siblings.  Audrey, Emma, Natalie and Isabelle will have a very unique and different childhood growing up.  They not only have 3 sisters, they have sisters of the same age.  They get to experience life growing up at the same time, start school at the same time, graduate at the same time and many other things.  Watching and accompanying them grow is an amazing gift, and I hope that they will always cherish what they have in having sisters.  They have sisters to share their childhood memories and grown up dreams. "Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there." -Amy Li