Vancouver, eh?

We spent boxing day weekend in a brilliant and sunny Vancouver. It took us about 3 hours to get out the door, and then another 3 to drive up there. I decided that travelling and pooping was not for me so basically I decided to wait to poop until we got home again. This made Mummy and Papa sweat a little bit as they assumed that I would have a massive "blow-out" right at some inopportune moment... the border, a restaurant.. etc, but I was all about waiting until I got home.

Here I am getting appropriate vitamin D forming moments at Aunty M-C's apartment. Mummy and Papa were happy to see the sun again, but more importantly they were pretty excited about eating. We went to lots of delicious places and Aunty M-C and Uncle Andrew were game to take us to many restaurants.

Last time we really enjoyed Shanghai River for their xiao long bao (soup dumplings), but this time they were closed for the holiday so we just stumbled upon another Shanghainese establishment. They were very friendly even though we were just coming in for a snack. Mummy and Papa couldn't stop smiling at each other. I guess the bottom line is that no matter where you end up in Richmond, chances are it will be decent.

Here I am being passed around with Mummy's Vancouver friends. I got to meet Aunty MC's mom and Aunty Sinead too. I really liked the attention.

On top of all that, I even got to finally meet Aunty Jas and Uncle Jonathan in person! They are a lot taller than what I see on skype. We had delicious dim sum at Shi Art and then headed to this fun place, "Excellent Tofu & Snack LTD". It's a whole restaurant of just Douhua. Mummy had a delectable taro root with ginger syrup on hers and Papa tried to eat it all, although his sesame paste was still delicious.

I'm still jealous of all the food they eat, but I'm slowly expanding my own repetoire. So far I've had rice cereal, gailan (chinese broccoli), green beans, sweet potatoes, peas, cauliflower, carrots, peaches, pears, and 1 cheerio - which I spit out because I wasn't too sure about the texture just yet. Mama has been hard at work on the food mill and I know there is broccoli and apples in my near future. Ooh lala!

Papa has been complaining about my poops which have officially changed in "character," but I like to think of it as my little presents to him. Speaking of presents, Mama gave Papa this collage of me for Papa's office. It's entitled, "The Many Faces of Boo-Boo" (that's me!)...

Many thanks to all of our friends in Vancouver and for taking such good care of us. We had such a good time and really hope we see you soon again!

Ho ho ho

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! It has been such a treat today. Both mum and dad were home ALL day with me. I woke up in a tizzy because we had this beautiful tree with shiny, pretty lights! And the best part was underneath, there was all this pretty wrapping paper for me to play with. I threw it all around and had a grand time.

Here is a picture of the pretty Christmas tree that mummy and daddy bought. They decorated it one night when I was asleep and it looks so pretty when the lights are on. I really like to look at it.

Mummy bought these stockings and hung them on the mantel, one for her, papa, and me. Mine had this really cool and fashionable sippy cup. Apparently I get to drink water (and maybe a little juice? nuts, mummy is shaking her head) from the sippy cup. Papa's stocking had some magnets in it to work our closet light. Mama's stocking didn't have anything in it! Oh no.. was she a naughty girl this year?

I don't think so. She made us a really yummy dinner. Well, I had peaches. My first fruit! It was all over me... and mama. hee hee. Mama made this amazing pate' according to papa. Mama highly recomends the recipe. She also slaved away on some cornish game hens, that she didn't really feel are worth recommending, but there was a sweet onion compote with it. She was saying compote a lot during dinner. She must like the way it sounds. She also made some very easy, but delicious risotto from the new show on Bravo, Chef Academy. Papa had 2 bowls! Maybe that's why they were too full for the little chickens.

Well, after eating all this delicious food, we took a walk through "candy cane lane". All the homes on this one block were decorated to a T! I wore my santa hat for the festive occasion, and was so excited to see all the pretty lights.

But then it got dark really quickly. Wait a minute! What happened? Suddenly, I had the urge to say "Hey hey hey..."



Well, while I'm dreaming of sugar plum fairies tonight, I have a feeling Mummy and Papa might be eating some fig souffle'. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!!!

Happy Birthday Mummy!

Papa and I wanted to wish the best mummy a happy belated birthday! Mummy turned 25 (again!) on December 20. She is such a spring chicken! Big kiss to both her and papa for taking good care of me and introducing me to all sorts of tasty treats like yams, green beans, gailan and peas. Yummy! Can't wait to try "fruit"!

18 pounder

Hello my dear family and friends! It's been such a full day and I couldn't wait to share. I went for my 6 month check up and I'm happy to report that I am nearly 18 pounds of love. 171bs 14oz to be exact (8.1kg), but Papa thinks those 2 ounces were a full bladder away from hitting the big 1-8. I've reached between the 75-90th percentile for weight. Now I'm waiting for my length to catch up. I'm a good 25 1/4 inches, but that's only 25th percentile. My head circumference is at 44cm which is also above the 75th percentile. It is so nice to know I'm so well-nourished!

1

Let's get to the good stuff though. And when I mean good, I mean delectable! I sat in my bumbo twice today and got to use a spoon to eat up something called "rice cereal." Honestly, it tasted a lot like my mama's milk, except it had a slightly thicker texture... Do you like the bib I used to commemorate the occasion?

It was going pretty well, but I'm used to a much faster pace of eating. After all, I do take after my Papa. Papa wouldn't let me hold the bowl though.

Finally, I just went after what I wanted and tried to drink from the bowl itself. Mama caught a picture of it. Whoa this stuff is delicious! What's the next course??

Well, as promised, here's some video footage of the action today. I'm still a little/lot on the messy side. But with more practice, I think I can get really good at this. Then, maybe I'll even get to try some finger foods. Isn't Christmas coming? Oooh la la! Yippee! Watch out world, here comes my stomach!

6! Glorious 6!

I'm 6 months old today! Yippee! What a fabulous age to be. Mummy can't believe a whole half year has gone by. I'm pretty excited because I know that soon I get to taste "solids". Mummy is somewhat hesitant. I think she's sad I'm growing up so fast, but I know I'm ready to eat! I sit patiently at dinner time watching all the food go into their mouths... thinking when's it my turn? Probably next week... and likely there will be video footage involved so stay tuned!

Mummy took the day off work today so we could play. We got to hang out with my banana again as it is a special month day.

I'm loving to sing and listen to clapping these days. I'm also really into all kinds of games. Here I am playing peek-a-boo with my belly button!

Peek-a-belly-button!

Heheh.. nice gut I have, right? Well, what I really want are one of these "specialty's" cookies my Mama made today for Papa. No such luck. Guess it will have to be the organic rice cereal that's hanging out for me in the pantry.

Can't wait! Mama wants me to note the height of these cookies as that is one of the Specialty's trademarks. She also finds that they have the right crust and chewy middle. All in all, a successful endeavor... or so she says! Mummy wants to especially thank nainai as she was the one who bought the cookie dough mix. Mmmmm.

Here's a final picture showing one of my newest tricks! I can sit up on my own - admittedly, I kind of lean on my ample tummy to keep me upright, but I'd say it's quite an achievement nonetheless. Papa and mummy like to sit around me cooing their encouragement. This is also the outfit I wore to the holiday party for Mummy's work. I got lots of attention - it helps when you have such smooch-able cheeks! Miss everyone in San Francisco!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Happy Birthday to the best Papa! Thanks for taking such good care of mama and me. We love you!