Happy Chinese New Year! As many of you already know, Keira is in her first year of kindergarten, and she's been attending a Chinese immersion school -- the International School of the Peninsula -- since September. It's already been an incredible experience in so many different ways, not only for Keira but also for us as parents.

Today, the entire school celebrated the new year with a huge performance, and I was SO proud of my big girl. She and her classmates have been practicing a dance routine for weeks. Keira refused to tell me anything about it. "It's a secret, Mama! You need to wait and be surprised!"

Last night, as I was tucking her in and giving her a kiss, however, Keira whispered to me, "Do you think the whole thing will be very embarrassing?" Of course, I reassured her that it would be nothing less than wonderful, but inside, I was worried. Would my shy girl fall apart on stage in front of so many parents?

My concerns were unnecessary. Keira was a superstar. She jumped, she hopped, she bobbed her head, and she had a great time. Indeed, it was nothing less than wonderful.

BRYCE!

There's this book that Tim and Lisa bought when our niece was going through a tough phase. It offered advice as to how to parent the "spirited toddler". Let's just say that we asked them for the book. Please. Right away.

Felix and I have been lucky. Neither of the girls went through a Terrible Two stage. But Bryce? At mealtime, he intentionally overturns his milk on the table and throws chicken at his friends. The instant he's frustrated, he screams and stomps his feet...and his voice is LOUD! He drinks the bath water, digs his hands into the garbage can, and wipes the table and licks the crumbs from his dirty napkin. His latest trick? Getting up in the middle of the night (no joke, I'm talking like 3:30am), coming out of his room (he's finally old enough to reach and turn the doorknob), and wreaking total and utter havoc.

Last week, he pulled the fish food out of the cabinet and dumped smelly flakes all over our sofa. This weekend, he opened the girls' tacky glue, squeezed out big globs and puddles on the dining room table, and then threw art supplies everywhere. Keira actually woke up for that one, and in the morning, she told me, "Mama! I really, really tried to control Bryce, but he's just so crazy! I was SO tired that I just had to go back to bed. I'm so sorry!"

I was sharing our horror stories with my mom the other night, and she suggested that we send him to my parents' place in New Jersey for a month to give ourselves a break. I proposed that we send him for a year. He could rejoin our family after he turned three. We laughed, and I said I was joking...at least, I think I was joking.

The hard part is that Bryce can be incredibly charming. Quick with a smile and full of personality, he casts his spell over every friend and stranger that meets him. It's extraordinary. Yet this vibrant energy is also what makes him such a PITA.

Ahhhh! My wild and wooly Bryce! I can only pray for the strength to get past this stage as quickly as possible. But if that fails, no fear - I already have the perfect military school picked out for him.