We have been working with Caleb to learn how to write his uppercase letters and numbers. We made a chart, and put stickers by the letter/number when he could write it 6 times by himself. He decided that we would go to Chuck E Cheese when he completed the chart. We struggled to get the last few letters/numbers – G, K, 5, and 9. Don thought he’d motivate Caleb by asking if he’d rather go to a pet store. Caleb, of course, said he did and that he wanted to get a pet. This was something I definitely did not want or see coming, but Don thought we would be able to just look at the pets without getting one. Yeah right! So, soon Caleb passed off his chart, and off we went to Denny’s Pet World. I quickly steered Caleb in the direction of the fish instead of towards the birds, snakes, spiders, rabbits, gerbals, and other very high-maintenance and expensive animals. He took the bait, and we walked out of the store with a new blue Beta fish, which supposedly have a much longer lifespan than the goldfish of my day. Caleb decided to name him, "Fish Gift", which is the title of a beginning reader book that he has. So, now we are a two-pet home with Sadie and Fish Gift. Caleb has actually been pretty good about remembering to feed his fish on a daily basis, and miraculously the fish is still alive after 3 weeks.
Caleb’s completed chart
Caleb with Fish Gift
Caleb wanted to hold Andrew and take a picture next to his fish.
Hyun Family 
I (Don) should comment on this… Caleb would have been fine with just a visit to the pet store. Tenille is the one forcefully enlarging our family with non-humans.
Also, up to now, I have never felt that I\’ve really pressured Caleb into academics…. that is until we were 2 letters away from finishing… We had 2 letters left for about a month…. Those wretched letters K and G! I would find myself printing out reams of tracing paper with the letter K and G, hoping that one day he will just be able to write them without tracing… I have to admit, I did feel a bit like an overzealous parent when I finally forced him to write the K and G…..
I hate K and G. Those two letters have made me into the stereotypical high-pressure Asian parent. Well… you know what they say… If they don\’t resent you, you\’re not pushing them hard enough…. (I think that\’s in the Asian guide to parenting…)
All joking aside, we\’ve stopped with the writing since this chart… I think we all needed a break… Now we\’re on to piano lessons! Hooray… It takes a bit of coaxing to practice, but Caleb\’s a good kid and we\’ve been practicing every day. Honestly, all credit is due to his piano teacher, Becky Jenson, who is a genius in my book. For months I\’ve been trying to get him to touch the piano with absolutely no success. In week 2 with Becky, he can identify half of the white notes.