I am astonished at the rate that 1-year-old's learn. It's true that this is such a fantastic age for kids. It seems like Josh understands something new everyday. One day I am constantly repeating myself trying to get him to do something and the next day, he does it the first time I mention it.
Take spinning around, for example. He started spinning around a few weeks ago when he heard music that he liked. I never thought I labelled it for him, but apparently, I did. Here's what happened the very first time I asked him to "spin around"...
Monday, February 11, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
gung hei fat choy!
I often get teased because my friends think that I say I'm Chinese only when it suits me. The truth is that my family is from Indonesia, but somewhere in our ancestry, we came from China. So, I guess that makes me Indonesian-Chinese, or "IndoChink", as me and my siblings affectionately call ourselves.
Growing up, I remember Chinese New Year being a time where we went to a parade full of dragons and firecrackers of which I was afraid. And, if we went up to my grandfather and gave him a "pi-pi" greeting, as my mom called it, he would give us a red envelope (which all Chinese know what that means!).
This is why I don't really consider myself Chinese. We don't follow Chinese traditions (or Indonesian ones, for that matter!). But that is no reason why we couldn't go down to Chinatown today and watch the New Year's parade.
We took my girlfriend's daugther, Skye, and Josh and we stood in the rain with MANY people to take part in the celebration. Josh got to see his first parade (for some reason, which I don't recall, we missed the Santa Claus parade). I was hoping he would not be afraid of the dragons, loud drums and firecrackers. As it turned out, he was completely mesmerized by it. You can see, it was hard to get his picture because he wouldn't turn around!
Josh also got to sit on his first motorcycle, courtesy of Vancouver's finest. We hope that this will be the only photo of Josh that has anything to do with VPD!
Check out the rest of our parade photos below. Gung Hei Fat Choy, everyone! We wish you a healthy and prosperous Year of the Rat!
Growing up, I remember Chinese New Year being a time where we went to a parade full of dragons and firecrackers of which I was afraid. And, if we went up to my grandfather and gave him a "pi-pi" greeting, as my mom called it, he would give us a red envelope (which all Chinese know what that means!).
This is why I don't really consider myself Chinese. We don't follow Chinese traditions (or Indonesian ones, for that matter!). But that is no reason why we couldn't go down to Chinatown today and watch the New Year's parade.
We took my girlfriend's daugther, Skye, and Josh and we stood in the rain with MANY people to take part in the celebration. Josh got to see his first parade (for some reason, which I don't recall, we missed the Santa Claus parade). I was hoping he would not be afraid of the dragons, loud drums and firecrackers. As it turned out, he was completely mesmerized by it. You can see, it was hard to get his picture because he wouldn't turn around!
Josh also got to sit on his first motorcycle, courtesy of Vancouver's finest. We hope that this will be the only photo of Josh that has anything to do with VPD!
Check out the rest of our parade photos below. Gung Hei Fat Choy, everyone! We wish you a healthy and prosperous Year of the Rat!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
wisps of her
My cousin writes poetry. Actually, she's really Brian's cousin, so am I supposed to say she's my cousin by marriage? Or is cousin OK? Whatever! Anyway, Brian's cousin, Kim, writes poetry. I NEVER knew. I met Kim the same time I met Brian (2002) and I would say we have become pretty good friends. She and Brian are quite close, so we've all spent a bit of time together. Maybe it has to do with the fact that she lived in our basement suite for close to a year! Hehehe...
Anyway, Kim and I have had MANY heart to heart's and she is a fabulous heart to heart talker. We've had some pretty good conversations! But we never once talked about poetry - probably because I am a complete idiot when it comes to poetry! I don't know why I'm so shocked to hear she writes poetry, but I am.
So, I checked out her poetry blog. Like I said, I know nothing about poetry, but this one poem in particular touched me. I'm sure it had everything to do with the fact that it's about wee Joshie. But I'm also touched that Josh had such an effect on her that she would write a poem about him.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Kim. We all love you too!
Anyway, Kim and I have had MANY heart to heart's and she is a fabulous heart to heart talker. We've had some pretty good conversations! But we never once talked about poetry - probably because I am a complete idiot when it comes to poetry! I don't know why I'm so shocked to hear she writes poetry, but I am.
So, I checked out her poetry blog. Like I said, I know nothing about poetry, but this one poem in particular touched me. I'm sure it had everything to do with the fact that it's about wee Joshie. But I'm also touched that Josh had such an effect on her that she would write a poem about him.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Kim. We all love you too!
Monday, February 4, 2008
wedding bells are ringing!
Congratulations to my bro, Lenny, and his new fiancée, Tini. Lenny proposed this morning and Tini said yes! In true romantic form, Lenny prepared a picnic breakfast for Tini and then promptly woke her up to surprise her with it! Hehehe...don't wedding proposals take you back to the time when your spouse proposed (sigh!)? It's such an exciting time, isn't it?!
So now, my family, spread across North America, is preparing for a wedding! Lenny is the last of us 5 siblings to get married, so we better make it a big one! There is no date or venue yet (they haven't even been engaged for 24 hours!), but if my mom could have it her way, I bet that our family Disney cruise is looking more and more like a Disney wedding! Hahaha...
Congratulations again, Lenny and Tini!
So now, my family, spread across North America, is preparing for a wedding! Lenny is the last of us 5 siblings to get married, so we better make it a big one! There is no date or venue yet (they haven't even been engaged for 24 hours!), but if my mom could have it her way, I bet that our family Disney cruise is looking more and more like a Disney wedding! Hahaha...
Congratulations again, Lenny and Tini!
Monday, January 21, 2008
molar envy
Last weekend Josh's temperature spiked to 39 deg. C. He wasn't throwing up or anything, but he as lethargic and cranky. We were worried because Josh is NEVER lethargic. We contemplated bringing him to the doctor, but instead of being over-worried first time parents, we decided to leave it overnight before taking action. Sure enough, Josh's temperature cooled down to 37.5 deg. C by morning and he was his usual active self again. Phew!
This past weekend, I was helping Josh brush his teeth when I noticed a glimpse of white in the back of his mouth. Upon closer examination, I saw 4 glimpses of white, one in each corner in the back of his mouth! Josh has only 6 front teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom, and now he has 4 molars coming in at the same time! Poor guy!
Some people do not believe that fever is associated with teething. I'm not sure if Josh's fever followed by 4 molars is just a coincidence, but I'm more inclined to believe that they are related. Man, I'm sure glad that we can't remember what it was like to be teething!
This past weekend, I was helping Josh brush his teeth when I noticed a glimpse of white in the back of his mouth. Upon closer examination, I saw 4 glimpses of white, one in each corner in the back of his mouth! Josh has only 6 front teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom, and now he has 4 molars coming in at the same time! Poor guy!
Some people do not believe that fever is associated with teething. I'm not sure if Josh's fever followed by 4 molars is just a coincidence, but I'm more inclined to believe that they are related. Man, I'm sure glad that we can't remember what it was like to be teething!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
the new 2008
I have kept resolutions to a minimum this year. When the thought of "resolution" crossed my mind, I felt more like this needed to be a revitalization year. I want to feel fabulous this year.
One thing I wanted to do to feel fabulous was to re-connect with my girlfriends. I spent most of my time in 2007 with my family and I lost touch with some important people in my life. Family is definitely my first priority, but I know I have time for friends - I just have to prioritize the other things in my life. Also, I wanted to spend more time reading. I read 2.5 books last year. It's a bit of a poor showing. So, what a better way to combine the 2 than to start a girlfriend's book club!
Our goal is to read 4 books this year - 1 every 3 months. We're all busy women, so I didn't want anyone to feel discouraged from joining us because of the number of books. The response from my girlfriends ranged from "...I'm very busy and don't know if I can read 4 books on top of the courses I'm planning to take..." to "...these 4 books can be part of my goal to read 52 books in 52 weeks!". I have an ambitious group of girlfriends! (And wouldn't have it any other way!)
Our first selection for the book club is Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay. I just received my copy from Amazon, so I'm barely 2 chapters in. So far so good. I have 2.5 months to finish it. I've been reading One Hundread Years of Solitude for about 6 months now and I'm only 3/4 done. Ugh. Wish me luck!
My second resolution requires that for me to feel fabulous, I need to look fabulous! Or at least feel good trying! I've been trying to get back into running since Josh was about 3 months old. I think I ran a total of 6 times in 2007. I decided that I need to get back into running the same way that I got into it in the first place. I need a race. So, I'm going to do the Sun Run for the first time in 3 years.
I also figured since I'm starting from scratch again, I should join a running clinic for motivation, and to make sure I'm doing it right. I've joined the Learn to Run clinic at the Running Room. We are in our second week. The goal is to be able to run a 3K race by mid-March. Seems a bit slow, but I'm betting that they know what they're doing! I'm not sure if I'll be ready to run 10K by April 20th, but at least I'll be injury free while I'm trying.
The one thing that I have realized about myself from the running clinic is that I chose to start running so that I could be alone. I started running in 1999 and I can't remember anytime in the past that I have run with anyone (except maybe Val when I visited her in Elko). Running with a group now is very weird. Especially a group of strangers. I will reserve judgement until I'm further into the clinic...
One thing I wanted to do to feel fabulous was to re-connect with my girlfriends. I spent most of my time in 2007 with my family and I lost touch with some important people in my life. Family is definitely my first priority, but I know I have time for friends - I just have to prioritize the other things in my life. Also, I wanted to spend more time reading. I read 2.5 books last year. It's a bit of a poor showing. So, what a better way to combine the 2 than to start a girlfriend's book club!
Our goal is to read 4 books this year - 1 every 3 months. We're all busy women, so I didn't want anyone to feel discouraged from joining us because of the number of books. The response from my girlfriends ranged from "...I'm very busy and don't know if I can read 4 books on top of the courses I'm planning to take..." to "...these 4 books can be part of my goal to read 52 books in 52 weeks!". I have an ambitious group of girlfriends! (And wouldn't have it any other way!)
Our first selection for the book club is Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay. I just received my copy from Amazon, so I'm barely 2 chapters in. So far so good. I have 2.5 months to finish it. I've been reading One Hundread Years of Solitude for about 6 months now and I'm only 3/4 done. Ugh. Wish me luck!My second resolution requires that for me to feel fabulous, I need to look fabulous! Or at least feel good trying! I've been trying to get back into running since Josh was about 3 months old. I think I ran a total of 6 times in 2007. I decided that I need to get back into running the same way that I got into it in the first place. I need a race. So, I'm going to do the Sun Run for the first time in 3 years.
I also figured since I'm starting from scratch again, I should join a running clinic for motivation, and to make sure I'm doing it right. I've joined the Learn to Run clinic at the Running Room. We are in our second week. The goal is to be able to run a 3K race by mid-March. Seems a bit slow, but I'm betting that they know what they're doing! I'm not sure if I'll be ready to run 10K by April 20th, but at least I'll be injury free while I'm trying.
The one thing that I have realized about myself from the running clinic is that I chose to start running so that I could be alone. I started running in 1999 and I can't remember anytime in the past that I have run with anyone (except maybe Val when I visited her in Elko). Running with a group now is very weird. Especially a group of strangers. I will reserve judgement until I'm further into the clinic...
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
2 heads are better than 1
Never mind the heads, it's the bodies that I'm more concerned about! When Josh was born, I remember how hard it was and how grateful I was to have help. I remember thinking that I couldn't imagine being a single mom, doing it all on my own.
Well, for 3 weeks, I had a taste of single mom-dom. Yes, it is do-able, but much harder than having 2 of us here and I was exhausted at the end of each day! However, I wasn't on my own for 3 consecutive weeks. Brian was gone from early Monday morning until late Friday night. So, I did have time on weekends to re-charge - something a single mom doesn't get!
I found that it was so important for me to be prepared ahead of time. After Josh went to bed at night, I would clean up from the day, get his food and clothes ready for daycare the next day. Then, I would get my stuff ready for the next day and take a shower and stuff. Only after all that, would I have time to get a bit more work done - since I needed to drop off Josh and pick him up at a reasonable hour, I wasn't getting in my full 8 hours per day at work!
On my days off (because I work 3 days per week) I found that I needed the time to prepare meals, do laundry and financials, and, since this was right before Christmas, prepare for Christmas!
I could go on and on but my point is that I admire what a single parent does. I don't know that a person is meant to raise children on their own, but given those circumstances, they do what is necessary. That, in itself, is amazing.
Well, for 3 weeks, I had a taste of single mom-dom. Yes, it is do-able, but much harder than having 2 of us here and I was exhausted at the end of each day! However, I wasn't on my own for 3 consecutive weeks. Brian was gone from early Monday morning until late Friday night. So, I did have time on weekends to re-charge - something a single mom doesn't get!
I found that it was so important for me to be prepared ahead of time. After Josh went to bed at night, I would clean up from the day, get his food and clothes ready for daycare the next day. Then, I would get my stuff ready for the next day and take a shower and stuff. Only after all that, would I have time to get a bit more work done - since I needed to drop off Josh and pick him up at a reasonable hour, I wasn't getting in my full 8 hours per day at work!
On my days off (because I work 3 days per week) I found that I needed the time to prepare meals, do laundry and financials, and, since this was right before Christmas, prepare for Christmas!
I could go on and on but my point is that I admire what a single parent does. I don't know that a person is meant to raise children on their own, but given those circumstances, they do what is necessary. That, in itself, is amazing.
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