Photos: Lydia and Her Doggie

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Lydia loves to bury her face into her big pink stuffed dog. If she is tired, she will use the stuffed dog as a pillow, resting her head on it while laying on the carpet.

February 24, 2007

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Lydia also enjoys laying on her pink stuffed dog, something that she does every day. One reason why Lydia is excited about seeing live dogs is her positive experience with this inanimate dog.

March 11, 2007

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Although the big stuffed dog usually sits on a small rug in the living room, occasionally we place it on the bottom level of the buffet table in the living room so that Lydia can ride her scooter without the dog obstructing her path in that room.

April 27, 2007

"The Complete Guide to Children Photography"

I found this interesting article about taking pictures of your kids on the Internet yesterday at DIYphotograhy.net.


The Complete Guide to Children Photography - Part I

Submitted by udijw on Tue, 2007-05-01 21:23.

OK, to be honest I must start this "children photography" tutorial with two disclaimers:

Disclaimer #1: There is no "complete guide to children photography" there are only bits and pieces of information. When shooting my (or other's) kids, I try to look at the session (or occasional snapshot session) as a new, and put most of what I know behind me. Here I will try to list some of the principles that I think always stay true, not necessarily in an order that makes any sense. However - remember - those are merely general guidelines. If I had to come up with a more appropriate title for this tutorial, it would be called "How To Photograph Your kids and Leave the Jelly of the Walls", as this is the level of things that I am going to discuss.

Disclaimer #2: The author of this tutorial is also a proud Father (yes capital "F"), and as such, had to make some breaks during the writing of this tutorial to change diapers; fetch milk; kiss a scratch and hug. Also last night my daughter ran the test called "See if my father can stay up all night, and still be functional". SO.... I do not take responsibility for random thoughts; loose connection and general "make no sense" advices I here by give. Ready? Here we go:

Shooting children is one of the toughest shooting sessions possible. Whether you are a professional photographer, an amateur or just a father with a point and shoot, kids raise some of the more challenging aspect of photography. They move fast, they don't take modeling instructions, they touch your gear and create mayhem all around them. Hey even if you are not trying to photograph you sometimes just want to shoot them ;) So, what can you do to take better pictures of children?

Make it a game

Try and play with the kid while you are taking the shots. You have two choices here: find something they will keep them focused for some time or (what I like) try and play with them. One thing you can do, is ask them to show you their favorite toy (ask their parent to bring one, if you are on your turf studio). Just when they raise their hands with the toy - take the picture. This is 1-0 in the mind-game you will play. I like this trick, you get something with personality in the shot and the child is beaming. Try and have a face contest - you'll be surprised at what a simple contest can provide in terms of personality and character. The last trick is to play Simon Says. If you and the kid get along, you can trick them into almost anything by using the magic words "Simon Says". Note - if you are in a position where you are saying "Simon says do not touch the lens with your fingers" something is wrong. To generalize this whole point I'd say - both you and the child should have some fun during the photo session.

Make them laugh

Kids look best when they are happy (not when they are crying - though this is great photography), here all the tricks are kosher. Making faces, telling jokes (try the jokes your kids are telling you and you think they are just stupid very funny). I like asking questions and "getting the wrong answers" so my daughter has to explain the answers. (YAP, she gets a kick out of explaining her old man that elephants don't fly. note to self: stop before she actually thinks I am stupid). Oh, yea - Funny hats and funny camera accessories work as well. Another option is to do some easy magic tricks, kids love them and they break the ice instantly.

Go with their mood

Be patient. Be patient. Be patient. Kids have moods, sometimes they are happy, sometimes sad, sometimes playful and sometimes just wanna cry. Another thing I have learned is that kids have their own pace. If your kind don't want to take pictures, don't force them. Put the camera aside. Play a little. Let them relax. Once they have opened up, take an experimental shot. Show them themselves on the LCD, it is a great icebreaker. If after a while the kid stays in bad mood, let it go. Have a break, do something else, you can always come back to it.

Don't waste precious time

Do you want to use any props? Do you need any special setup? background? Make sure that when you meet the kid, you have all this in place. Kids have a non-existent very short attention span. When you meet the kid, make sure you spend your time together on taking pictures and not on preparing the setup.

Get some assistance

Hey! Where are Mommy and Daddy? If the kid is acting wild and restless, a kind word from mommy can help. Mommy can also be in the picture. Once the kid is playing with mommy, he (or she) will relax. Your earnings are twofold: you get nice shots of the child with his parents, the kid stops crying. Mommy can also ask some things like "eat this apple" or "wanna play here?" and the child will actually listen.

Use fast lenses / strobes

The first thing you will notice is that kids move fast. How fast? - Just for example sake remember the time it takes a kid to run through the playing grounds to get to the road. It's a good thing that kids tend to run in circles, otherwise we'd all be exhausted all the time. There area few ways to overcome the blur that fast kids create. The most common way is Valium using strobes. My daughter loves flashes, she likes the big lights, and she gets curious by the light stands, but not all kids do. Explain the kid that he is going to see some light, be attentive if the light makes them cry. Another alternative is to use flood lights, fast lenses and higher ISO setting. Lastly you can use some of the props play some stand-still games like "green light red light".



The Complete Guide to Children Photography - Part II
Submitted by udijw on Sun, 2007-05-06 19:03.

If you got here, you must have read the first part of the complete guide to children photography. By now you should know that the key element to your success is having fun - both by you and by the kid. In this part I will talk about some more tips and techniques for children photography, but this time from a more "technical" angle. Did I say technical? Nothing to worry, I am going to keep it simple.

Use props

You can use props in two ways, for setting a theme, or for playing / eating / etc. Kids love stuffed animals, dolls (girls) and trucks (boys). I prefer to use toys at the later stage of the session, when I need to recap the child's attention. The show-me-your-favorite-toy is a sure winner. One thing I recommend is to place the toys out of site until you actually need them, otherwise they can distract the kid's attention. So, what props should you use? Here is a partial list: wooden horse, dolls, Teddy bears, fire trucks, small vehicles that the kid can sit in, rubber ducky, 2 feet long crayons, anything both you and the kid like. (If you have some good ideas, add them in the comments) If you are shooting not the kid's house, ask them their parents to bring some favorite toys. (Hey, I am sorry about the firetruck for boys dolls for girls thing, my daughter is a car freak.

Get real close

Don't be afraid to get real close to the child. As Kappa once says - if your picture is not good enough, you were not close enough. Once you have earned their trust, you can come closer, and get some nice closeups. You can get an eye only shot, though my recommendation is not to cut the face. Instead try and capture the face with something of the child's world in the background / edge of the picture. Even if the object is not in focus (this can be good props usage).

Try experimenting with a wide angle lens. Once you are close you can get some interesting results. Also don't be afraid to use 2.8 or 1.8 apertures. as long as you keep the focus on the eyes , you will get a soft look that complements a child.

Try exploring different angles

Small kids have some interesting facial features. They have cute button noses, big eyes and cherry lips. As a general thumb rule I try to have several close ups on each session, there are some interesting things you can do with the kids face. One of my favorites is the reverse shot (see on the right). Usually you take a frontal picture, the idea here is to take a picture that "starts" at the forehead, and "ends" at the chin. Word of caution - Do not over use this trick, it can be frustrating to see an album of reverse faces.

Take tons of pictures

So, one of the things you will notice pretty quickly, is how fast your kid can go from point A to point B. Yes it is the same exhausting exhilarating temper you have in the garden. You'll find it hard to lock focus, to aim and to press the shutter release in the precise second. How can you overcome this? Take tons of pictures. If you try, you may end up with a nice picture or with a bad picture. If you do not try at all you will surly end up with no picture. As Anthony Kiedis said nicely "It's better to regret something you did than something you didn't do"

Focus on the eyes

This is a true must. As in most portraiture, the eyes are the key to understanding the child. They reveal character, and usually have a lot of expression in them. If the eyes are not is focus, you will fill that something is missing from the shot, no matter how good of a posture you had. There are some exceptions for this rule, for example if the face is out of focus completely, and the focus is on the hands holding an object.

Shoot as if you were three feet tall

It is the nature of the world that small kids are also kinda short. When we take pictures from a high angle, it looks like we are patronizing and condescending over the child (remember those times when you had to look up at adults all the time, how did it feel?) When shooting from the child's point of view of the world, you get the world as viewed by children. You gain authenticity. Also the child will feel safer and equal in the session. So... Don't be shy and "Get Down".

Shoot in couples / groups

Some of the more interesting situations happening when children interact, when you feel confident, you can try and take pictures of two children together. If you like Kitsch, you can prepare some props - some of the nicest pictures are of children handing things to each other. Be careful though to Over-Kitsch it.

All that said, I think that the biggest tip I can give is shoot from your heart and have fun. If you are enjoying yourself, the children are enjoying - you will get good pictures.

Do you have more tips for shooting kids? Post them as comments.

Singing

Submitted by MikePearce (not verified) on Mon, 2007-05-21 16:40.
Great article, some really good tips!
Another thing I do is to sing songs, if they're old enough to sing along to songs they know the words too, then you can get some great action shots, especially if the songs have actions that go with them - Row your boat is a good one, it means they're sitting down for the duration of the song.
It also helps to know all the songs yourself, but being a dad, you should... (it also means you can makeup verses for extra comedy value).

Source: DIYPhotography.net

Photos: Racing Up the Stairs

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This picture and the next two occurred about a month ago on April 28, 2007 when the families of New Hope, Group 7-05, gathered for a potluck dinner at the home of the Cochrans.

Leila Bhagwandin is in the lead, followed by Chelsya Cochran, Lydia, who is standing and looking to the left of the picture, is third.

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Leilia Bhagwandin still has the lead, but Lydia is number two now with Chelsya looking to the left of the picture.

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Lydia has caught up with Leila, who is looking back at her mom, Sarah (who is standing on the right side of the picture). Chelsya is standing at the bottom of the stairs and tugging on the pant leg of her mother, Nella.

Notes:

SiowFong took all of these pictures.

Banquet at the Wangs

May 26, 2007


Banquet at the Wangs

Wesley Wang, one of SiowFong’s longtime colleagues and friend, and his wife, Ni, invited us to their home for dinner this afternoon at 4:00 PM. Wesley and Ni grew up in Taiwan and emigrated to the states in their 20s, so both of them speak Mandarin fluently; in addition, since they communicated in Mandarin to their son, Kevin, during his years at home, he also speaks it well. Because of their Mandarin-speaking ability, Ma Wee was able to converse freely with them.

During the five hours at their home, we enjoyed not only their company but also the fruits of their culinary skills and labor. Wesley and Ni prepared a feast, which included the following entrees: boiled jumbo prawns, pan-fried Copper River salmon (a special type of sockeye salmon that lives for part of its life in the Copper River found in Alaska), Dungeness crab stir-fried with ginger and scallions, stir-fried beef with scallions, one whole chicken boiled with herbs (Korean style), and vegetables (small Shanghai bok choy, baby corn, and button mushrooms). Dessert consisted of cheeries, blueberries, papaya, and a torte topped with strawberries and blueberries.


Lydia’s Perspective

As the Wangs’ living room has an entire wall of windows, Lydia spent some time just looking out at the home’s surroundings. The Wangs have a twelve-year old black and white dog that stays outside, and whenever the dog walked to the front porch adjacent to one of the living room windows, Lydia would stare at it and point at it.

Lydia also enjoyed pushing on some of the white and black keys on the Wangs’ baby grand piano that resides in their living room. Since she could not easily reach the keys by just sitting on the piano bench, I sat on the piano bench, and she sat on my lap to play with the piano. She smiled as she was making these sounds with the piano. When she saw that my fingers were not on the piano keys, she clutched them and pulled them towards the keys to encourage me to play with the piano.

The last thing that Lydia relished was going up and down the carpeted stairs leading from the first floor to the second floor. She did not have trouble creeping up the stairs, but she encountered some difficulties when she was descending the stairs.


Fish and Fruit Frenzy

Prior to dinner, Lydia enjoyed a small slice of Brie cheese.

For dinner, Lydia ate a little rice, a bit of chicken, a small amount of bok choy, and Dungeness crab, but she finished a 5-inch long by 2-inch wide filet of Copper River salmon.

For dessert, she tried two fresh fruits for the first time, papaya and blueberries. After sampling them, she could not contain her excitement about how much she enjoyed these fruits. Armed with a small fork in her right hand with SiowFong’s help, she would spear a small piece of papaya and stick it into her mouth. Sometimes she would use her left hand to grab another tiny cube of papaya and place it into her mouth. She paused temporarily only when her mouth was stuffed with papaya. After she finished the five ¾-inch cubes of papaya that SiowFong sliced into smaller fragments for her, she did the same with the blueberries. At one point, her mouth was filled with three or four blueberries. After she swallowed the last of the dozen blueberries that Ni had placed in her bowl, she uttered, “Ah…Ah…Ah” and pointed at the bowl.

What Is A Girl ?

May 26, 2007


Rogene Johnston

Since our return to the states in January 2007, we have received many wonderful cards from family, friends, and colleagues. Many of these are for Lydia, and some are for us. Yesterday, we read one from a very special elderly Caucasian lady in Nebraska whom SiowFong has known for over twenty years, Rogene Johnston.

Over two decades ago, SiowFong met Rogene as she was the wife of Dr. Robert Johnston, one of SiowFong’s chemistry professors at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. As SiowFong’s mentor in college, Dr. Johnston, a Christian, befriended SiowFong, encouraged her, and provided academic and career counseling to her. Although SiowFong initially intended to return to Malaysia after finishing the last two years of her undergraduate studies in America, she remained in the states largely because of Dr. Johnston’s advice. Through the intervening years, SiowFong has kept in touch with them through letters and cards.


What Is A Girl ?

Below is what is printed on the cover of the card entitled, “What Is a Girl?” (copyright: Gibson cards):

“She’s a bundle of happiness dressed up in pink
Who captures your heart just as quick as a wink.
She’s a cutie who bubbles with laughter and fun,
Who brightens each day from the time it’s begun.
She’s the hope of tomorrow, topped off with a curl,
An angel, a darling – all this is a girl.”

As we read those words which describe Lydia well (except that Lydia does not have curly hair), we were reminded again of God’s faithfulness and goodness to us.

With respect to families who have adopted a child, family members, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers frequently comment how fortunate the child is to be adopted. What is equally true, however, is just how much the child blesses the adoptive parents and the rest of the family.

Photos: Fireplace Switch

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Lydia is wondering, "What are these two things (switches)?"


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Lydia activating the fireplace switch



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Lydia moves in closer to her "new toy".



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Lydia is communicating to us, "Look at the fire!"


Notes:

Curiosity and toddlerhood are two words that have a very close relationship. Lydia is no exception. When she discovered that pushing one of the two switches beside the gas fireplace resulted in flames bursting out behind the log, she continued to play with the switches for over half an hour during the afternoon, and during the evening, she returned to this spot to flip the switch on and off also.

All pictures were taken on March 25, 2007 between about 4:30 PM and 5:00 PM. The location is a hotel in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada where Lydia, Ma Wee, SiowFong, and I stayed for one evening. SiowFong selected one night at Whistler to give her mom a chance to look at snow in the mountains, something that her mom had never experienced in her homeland, Malaysia.

Mandarin Story Time, Version 2

May 21, 2007


Mandarin Story Time, Version 2


Our local library has had weekly Chinese story time in Mandarin on Monday afternoons from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM. Mrs. Hua Zhang, a local Chinese teacher in private Chinese schools who lives one block from the library, teaches this class and has been doing so for a year.

Normally Lydia cannot participate in this event because both SiowFong and I work on Mondays and because the distance from our home to the library is too far for Ma Wee to bring her. The only reason Lydia could go today is because I am not working today.

When we entered the library’s dedicated story time room today, I saw six other preschool children with their mothers. Lydia was the youngest child as the other preschoolers ranged in age from three to five years old. Five of them were Caucasian and female, and one was a half-Caucasian, half-Chinese male (whose name was Michael and whose mother was Chinese).

Mrs. Zhang began by leading the class in singing the “Ni hao” (Chinese for “Hello”) song. She proceeded to teach the class the Chinese words for the numbers one through ten by placing pictures of ten ears of corn on the storyboard. After leading the group through a Chinese song involving the numbers one through ten, she read a book about a bear bringing home ears of corn. She then placed three pictures of frogs onto the storyboard and asked the class questions about the numbers of eyes, mouths, and legs that the frogs had. Then she read the Chinese version of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. Following this, she brought out three shapes made of cloth, a pink circle, a blue triangle, and an orange rectangle. She taught the group how to say “circle”, “triangle”, and “rectangle” in Mandarin. To reinforce this lesson, she played a game with the group, using a pig made of pink cloth. She turned the storyboard around so that nobody in the class could see what she was doing, hid the pig behind one of those three shapes, turned the storyboard around again, and asked the group to guess where the pig was by stating in Chinese those three shapes. The class ended with the “Zai jian” (Chinese for “Goodbye”) song, which is very similar in melody and lyrics with the “Ni hao” song.

As parents and their children filed out of the room, I introduced myself to Mrs. Zhang, and she commented that Lydia was very focused and very patient during the class.

Suzuki Spring Concert

May 20, 2007


Suzuki Spring Concert

Yesterday, I attended the Suzuki Spring Violin Concert held at our church because Evelyn Chen, who has been studying violin for about a year now, was one of the participants in this annual event. The concert brought together seven local violin teachers and their 126 students.

Even though I know little about classical music and rarely listen to it, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the sixteen pieces of music. To my untrained ears, the quality of the music that leaped from the strings of those violins that were played by children ranging in age from preschool to high school was simply astounding.


Reason(s) Revealed in Reverse

Some things in life only make sense in reverse. After the hour-long concert concluded, I spoke with Jordan, a friend of the Chen family, a participant in the concert, and a teenager who has been learning violin for the last twelve years. I asked him whether he enjoyed playing the violin, and he answered yes. Then while gently nudging his son, John, Jordan’s father, smiled as he joked to me, “We made him do it.”

Few children enjoy language lessons or music lessons initially because learning anything well takes effort and time. Evelyn, for example, practices violin for a half hour each day (usually in two fifteen minute sessions), awakens early on Saturday morning to attend her 8:30 AM class with Ms. Hirata, her Japanese teacher trained in the Suzuki tradition, and has been engaged in this routine since she began learning the violin almost a year ago. At times, Evelyn, a five-year old, is not very excited about daily music practice at home. That necessity, however, helped to produce a wonderful concert for the audience that filled our church’s sanctuary this afternoon.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Siew, our dentist, explained to us that the reasons that he and his wife enrolled their sons in music lessons go well beyond music proficiencies in string instruments and piano. Through providing these experiences to their children, they are trying to reinforce in their children character traits and life skills like diligence, discipline, excellence, fortitude, patience, perseverance, and time management.


Lydia’s Reaction to the Concert

Since I videotaped the violin concert at church, I replayed it tonight on the television for Lydia, Ma Wee, and SiowFong. As Lydia was watching it while sitting in my lap, I was occasionally watching her reactions to the music. She clapped with the audience when the violinists bowed after a piece of music. With some of the music, she stood up and began dancing by gently rotating her trunk or swaying her body from right to left, something she learned from the Chinese playgroup on Friday mornings at CISC. At other times, she smiled when she heard some music she enjoyed.

First Attendance at a Child's Birthday Party

May 19, 2007


First Attendance at a Child’s Birthday Party

Lydia went to her first birthday party for a child today at the home of our good friends, James and Jenny Chen, whose daughter, Evelyn, turned five years old on May 17. We arrived at noon, and Lydia became reacquainted with Evelyn and her brother Samuel, who is about two years younger, after not seeing them for about four months. Both Evelyn and Samuel shared their toys with Lydia, including some of their favorite stuffed animals.

On this occasion, we also met James’ parents, Paul and Melissa, who were visiting them from Florida, and we met three other families who are good friends of the Chens.

One couple, Curtis and Gail, has a daughter whose name is Faith, a toddler who is just a month younger than Lydia. With the older kids playing with each other in other rooms, Faith and Lydia remained near their parents on the upper floor. Both Faith and Lydia engaged in some parallel play. At times, they stood together at the large windows in the dining room and in the living room, gazing at the scenery. At other times, they played by themselves or with their mothers.

One memorable event at the party occurred when they were in the kitchen. When they were standing on a rug and facing each other in the kitchen, Faith walked towards Lydia, lost her balance, toppled Lydia, and fell on top of Lydia. Realizing that both Faith and Lydia were unhurt from this accident, I commented to Curtis that it looked as if Faith had tackled Lydia in the kitchen.

We had a great time with the Chens and their other friends. Before we realized it, six and a half hours had gone by, and it was time to go home.

Photos: "Peek A Boo"

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Notes: Lydia has enjoyed playing "peek a boo" for a few months now. Although she initiates "peek a boo" less often now, she still relishes the game, especially if anybody starts it with her. For example, if two people are helping to change her diaper, one person will occasionally play the game with her to distract her while the other person does her diaper change.

All pictures were taken in the dining room of our home on April 21, 2007 around 10:30 AM.

Calcium and Vitamin D

May 17, 2007


Calcium

The major manufacturers of formula, Mead Johnson (the maker of Enfamil) and Johnson and Johnson (the maker of Similac) produce formula for toddlers as well as infants. The main difference between toddler formula and infant formula is the calcium content with the former containing more calcium and the latter less because of the increasing need for calcium in children as they age. Infants who are less than six months old, for example, need 400 milligrams of calcium daily. This increases to 600 milligrams for infants between six months and twelve months of age. Children who are between one and three years old need even more, and their recommended daily allowance is 800 milligrams daily.

SiowFong and I have not purchased any toddler formula, but we are continuing to use infant formula. For her morning bottle, instead of reconstituting the infant formula with water, we have begun using two percent milk instead, so with Lydia consuming 8 ounces (1 cup) of milk in the morning, she is receiving 300 milligrams of calcium from the milk and another 160 milligrams of calcium from the formula. In the early afternoon before bedtime, she receives another 6 ounces of formula that is mixed with water, so that is another 100 milligrams of calcium. Then an hour before bedtime, she eats six ounces of Yoplait yogurt, which is another 200 milligrams of calcium. A few minutes before bedtime, she gets her third bottle of the day, and because she is usually full from the yogurt, she manages to drink only about an ounce of formula made with water, so that is another 20 milligrams. All of that amounts to 780 milligrams of calcium per day. Vegetables and fruits, which she eagerly eats at dinner and often at lunch, are other sources that help her to reach her recommended daily allowance of calcium.

Although we have not purchased any organic food previously, SiowFong and I are seriously considering buying organic milk for Lydia.


Vitamin D

Calcium, however, is not absorbed into the body without vitamin D. Children from ages one to three require 400 international units (IU) of vitamin D. Lydia’s morning milk provides 100 IU, her fifteen ounces of formula per day confers to her another 180 IU, and her evening yogurt gives her 80 IU. The total from these three sources is 360 IU, which is 40 IU short of the recommended daily allowance. Because of this deficit, we have also been giving Lydia one dropper’s worth of infant and toddler multivitamin drops, which provides another 400 IU of vitamin D.

Mandarin Story Time

May 17, 2007


Mandarin Story Time

Despite the sizable local Chinese population, public facilities that offer Chinese story time are rare. Even among two gargantuan library systems in this area, only two of about forty libraries have this as part of their regular monthly calendar of events.

The library closest to our home features Chinese story time every Monday afternoon, but we have not had the opportunity to take Lydia here because both of us are working during that time. The other alternative, a monthly one that takes place on a Thursday evening at another library, is the only viable one for us.

Tonight Lydia, Ma Wee, SiowFong, and I returned there, and we went to the children’s section, where we found our friend, Mayfanna, and her son, Kyvin. Eventually eight other children and their parent(s) arrived for this special event. Following lyrical introductions of each of the children, Sun, a public school teacher who is certified in Chinese, read two stories in Mandarin (one about butterflies and flowers and one about pumpkins), used beanbags to teach the kids about body parts in Mandarin, and led the singing of a song about growing plants in Mandarin.

“Let’s explore and learn” is the phrase that applies to toddlers. Because of their ages, Lydia (16 months), Kyvin (14 months), and another girl, Amanda (18 months), only paid intermittent attention to Sun. After glancing at Sun for a few seconds, they would look around at the other children, walk around, and gathered around two plastic milk crates of children’s books, taking them out and bringing them to their parent(s). (Lydia was not afraid to walk right up to Sun and use her finger to point to a familiar object that she had seen in one of her other books, like a butterfly or flower.)

SiowFong and I tried a variety of things to try to increase Lydia’s attention span, including sitting her in my lap, sitting her on the floor, and pointing to what Sun was reading or doing. All of our endeavors were only partially successful.

One thing that Lydia enjoyed after the forty-minute session had concluded was playing with the mouse and the keyboard attached to the computers in the children’s section of the library. Because neither SiowFong nor I allow Lydia to play with anything associated with the computer, she seemed especially delighted that she did not encounter such restrictions at the library.