20131230 It Finally Happened

My worst fear of living in our house has always been that one of the kids would fall down on our tile stairs. And last night, my fear came true.

CF has always said that R would never go downstairs by himself and she did not like having the baby gate at the top of the stairs (so it was always only left at the bottom of the stairs. Well, last night, R must have been excited with all of the toys he had received and was in a rush to play. He misstepped and fell down from the top step down to the landing. I heard CF scream and R cry while I was in the kitchen cooking. I ran upstairs being so scared for R and so angry at CF for not watching R go downstairs and for not letting me put the gate at the top of the stairs. I was so emotional (angry and scared) that I started crying and could not stop for half an hour. (I was reminded that I had not cried like that since a few years ago when CF inserted a thermometer into A's vagina instead of her anus to take her temperature. A was just a few months old and I was furious with CF that she didn't know the difference between a vagina and an anus, and I was so scared that she had hurt my baby and maybe "deviginized" her)

R seemed a little shaken up but not injured. I examined him as best as I could while balling my eyes out. I hugged him tightly. I just kept thinking that in that instant that he fell, he could have been seriously injured or died...  I hate the stairs and don't know why people would ever make stairs of tile or hardwood. They should all be carpeted with thick foam!

After hugging R as much as I could, I immediately went to work moving the baby gate to the top of the stairs so this does not happen again. I still get emotional thinking that I could have lost my little boy. Maybe it is because CF lost her grandfather last week (and her grandmother this morning).

Right now I am sitting in A's room while she's napping. And I am hearing R laughing and being playful downstairs with CF. I am thankful for my family.

20131230 Sad Christmas

This year's Christmas has been quite sad. The whole family got sick one after the other starting with A, then CF, then R, then CC. I'm still coughing up a storm with no end in sight. It has been so bad that I have slept on the couch or in a separate room just so the rest of the family could sleep. Meds don't seem to be working.

With everyone sick, busy at work, and holiday stress, we did not have time to take the kids out to do Christmas activities other than going to the German Heritage Christmas Festival in Vancouver and the Burnaby Village Christmas Festival. A has been sick the most and has spent quite a few days at Grandma's house. When she comes back home, she always seems more spoiled. It is always so much work to get her back to normal like eating by herself instead of being fed... And the whining just drives one crazy.

CF and I did manage to make it out to my company Christmas party at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The food was not memorable but CF did have fun at the photobooth which, unbeknownst to me at the time, posts the pictures for everyone to see. I thought they would be private for some reason.

So we didn't get a chance to get a picture of the kids with Santa at the mall. But the Father Christmas was actually pretty good at Burnaby Village. And we did not see many Christmas lights. And we did not see many friends other than Jeanette and Barb and them...  And no play dates.

The was one snow day where the kids got to play.  It was Friday, December 21st I think. CF and I were supposed to go to work but due to the snow (about 6 inches fell overnight) we did not want to drive and the school called to say that it was closed. So the kids got to help shovel and build a small snow man. That was probably the highlight of the holiday season.

We did see family though. Dexter, Taksina, and Kaiper were in town for the holidays and were staying with my mom. It was good to see Kaiper for the first time. He's a cute baby boy. We had a nice Christmas turkey dinner (Christmas Eve) at my mom's even though Alyssa was sick (she had a fever the past previous nights).

We also saw CF's family on Christmas Day for dinner. The kids/cousins did not seem to play well together since they probably aren't used to sharing toys nor do they see each other very often. Things were a little sad since CF's grandfather had just passed away a few nights earlier. But the little kids got lots of presents so it was good for them. And it turned out that it would be the last time the little cousins would see their great grandmother too. She too passed away on December 30th.

20131102 A Day with Daddy

The day began with CF rushing to try to make it to a seminar that she needed for her CPD points.  It was held at the new trade and convention centre in downtown Vancouver.  At the last moment, I figured that she would never make it on time so I quickly packed up R and drove her down with R.  CF would be gone from 8am to 5pm so I would have R all day and A for a few hours after her Chinese school.  After dropping CF off, R and I went home.

At home, I fed R some leftover foods, but he only had a couple of spoonfuls as CF had fed him some bread in the car on the way.  In the mad rush to get ready this morning, everything was haphazard so I spent a few moments cleaning myself up and getting things ready to go.  The first thing I decided to do was to take R to McGill Library where they was a "Man in the Moon" session.  This was basically like the "Mother Goose" sessions where they sing songs, nursery rhymes, and tell stories.  The session went from 10:15 until 11am.  These sessions were intended for male caregivers (dads, granddads, etc.) but one strange woman came in with her twins.  It was kind of strange and disruptive, but whatever...  R did not cry, nor did he seem happy or sad while we were doing the songs.  I guess he was just tired as that time was kind of his bedtime.  I did not really get much out of it having gone to a few Mother Goose sessions, but I did participate.  After the "Man in the Moon," I browsed some of the books for sale and bought a bunch for R for about $4.  Then it was off to Lougheed Mall.  R had fallen asleep on the way to the mall so I let him sleep for as long as he would sleep.  But he woke up about 1 hour later.

I took R to McDonald's in Walmart for a grilled cheese happy meal.  He ate the whole sandwich which kind of surprised me.  I did not know he could eat the whole thing.  He also ate a couple of fries, had a few spoons of yoghurt, and drank about 2/3 of the apple juice.  He was quite good to sit in the highchair too.  I was even able to scarf down a big mac and a free coffee myself.  After eating, we browsed around the Walmart looking at the Christmas stuff - there were lots of animatronic toys that would sing and dance.  R really enjoyed watching them.  Then it was off to the toy section.  R spent a bit of time trying out lots of the toddler toys.  But then I realized that he had stopped and was pooping.  Then came the mad rush to get him to a change table.  I had a diaper in my pocket as I was prepared for this, but I did not really want to change a poopy diaper.  Anyways, there was no change table at the washroom in Walmart near the toys nor was there a change table on the second floor of the mall.  I then raced to the food court where I finally found a family washroom to change R.  He would not lie down and I don't blame him as the change table was basically the bathroom counter (made of marble) and it was kind of wet.  So there he stood while I changed him and tried to wipe as much poop as I could off his bum.  On the walk back to Walmart, we grabbed a sample of Orange Julius.  R had taken my sample and drank it all up.  Oh well... none for daddy.  When we got back to Walmart, we were able to look through the entire toy section.  R had a good time exploring I think.

A and her grandmother came at around 2pm.  But the grandmother had a big bag of food for R.  As I could not take the bag and the two kids, I had to drop it off on the car first while the GM watched the kids.  After storing the bag, I took the opportunity to make a quick bathroom stop.  The GM left as I got back since I think the grandfather was in a rush to go (meet a friend?).  I took the kids to look at a Christmas store that was selling ornaments and nicknacks.  We also went into a few other gift stores until we found the children's play area just outside of the Bay on the second floor.  A was climbing on top of all of the toys and having fun.  I don't think R has ever been to this play area as he was quick apprehensive about going in and playing.  I think we must have been there for about 20-30 minutes.  After that, the kids wanted to sit on some of the ride on machines.  To be on the safe side, I decided to take the kids to the family room washroom in the family lounge just outside of the Bay on the second floor to wash hands.  Lucky for me, A decided that she had to pee (staving off a pee emergency on the way home).  Afterwards, we went back to the car and headed home.

At home, I fed the kids some leftover mac and cheese.  They actually ate quite a bit for a snack at around 3:30.  Then it was bath time.  I wanted to wash up R as I was not sure if I did a good cleaning job on his bum (it turns out that he had a small secondary poop in the new diaper - like a wet quarter teaspoon) so he was kind of stinky.  Both kids were cooperative and I was able to get the kids washed including washing hair.  The only hiccup was that A had decided that she was really cold and said that she could not get dressed.  She eventually realized that her little tricks at manipulating people to do things for her do not really work with me.  So she did get dressed and managed to put on a sweatshirt by herself to keep herself warm.  R got changed well.  It was almost 5pm and there was a spam of emails from CF trying to confirm that I would pick her up.  I did not want her to get wet in the rain so I suggested that we meet in Metrotown instead of Brentwood where she had originally suggested.  It would also work out better since Metrotown would be open later and has more restaurant choices.  But this would be in vain since both kids fell asleep in the car on the way.  So I told CF that we would be best to head home but pick up hot dogs and milk on the way.  We decided that she could quickly go into Costco to buy stuff.  However, there was some stupid cashier there that screwed up so bad that she charged CF 7 times for 1 single item.  Strangely enough, she tried to justify her mistake.  It took much longer than I expected for CF to finish the grocery shopping.  Anyways, while this was happening, A had woken up and was suddenly hysterical and woke up R.  I was able to calm R down by holding his hand and shushing him.  When A finally calmed down, she did not seem to acknowledge that she was all hysterical and crying.  I'm not sure what goes on in that head of hers.  CF thinks that A must have just woke up after a dream and was in an unfamiliar place (i.e. the parking lot of Costco).

When we got home, CF went to nurse R while A was suddenly crying.  We turned on the TV for her while I went to the car to unload the groceries.  When I asked A why she was crying later, she said that she wanted mommy.  I told her that mommy would be right down after feeding R, but that was not good enough for her.  I think she was just tired.  Anyways, CF made the kids dinner (R had a rice dish that the GM had made) and A had some tortellini that CF had whipped up.  But A was not eating and was again suddenly crying.  She called the GM and said that no one was feeding her.  So, strangely enough, the GM decides to come over to our house to feed the 4 year old who was entirely capable of feeding herself (as she does when she and I are alone - like in the mornings when we get ready for school).  I wish everyone would stop feeding her and let her feed herself.  A is a smart kid - she manipulates people very well - but she should really do more things for herself and learn to get faster at doing things herself.  Anyways, bedtime routine for A and she was out like a light.

R, on the other hand, had lots of difficulty getting to sleep.  He only had a total of about 2 hours with the two naps that he had during the day.  But he did not want to sleep.  It took a couple of threats in the crib and a few minutes of me holding him before he realized that he was not going to win and should just nurse with mommy.  He finally decides to sleep around 11pm.  At 1:30am, he was up crying again.

I miss a good nights' sleep...

All in all, I generally had a good day with the kids.  They were better behaved than I thought they would be especially in the mall (A was good to always stay within a couple of feet to me and would hold my hand at other times).  It was nice to spend the time with R.  I don't remember the last time that I had the two kids to myself.

20131031 - Halloween

I had to skip out of work early today because CF had not planned the evening to include me until the last minute.  She had made arrangements with Lynnex to go trick-or-treating with the kids at the Heights along Hastings.  They were meeting at 4:30pm and I had only got there around 5pm.  I was a little sad when I saw them though.  I had missed R trick-or-treating.  He was strapped in the BOB stroller in a little Superman suit.  He was barely able to move, he was tired, and he was just grasping his little candy bucket.  Trick-or-treating at the Heights seemed to be a good experience and felt safe.  There were lots of kids and parents, it was still bright out when trick-or-treating, and most of the merchants were participating (not like Brentwood where we had taken A before - that was crazy.  Very few shops were handing out candy and it took like 15 minutes just to get a couple of candies).  R and A had collected a good sized bucketful of candies by the end of the night.

After we made it to the restaurant (Wai Lan), we met up with A's grandparents at the restaurant and we had Chinese food for dinner.  So all 10 of us had dinner together.  After dinner, we went to Confederation Park to ride the Halloween train, but R had fallen asleep so the grandparents took him home.  I think we all had fun at the train especially Alex who seemed to have ridden the train for the first time.  After the train ride, we had hot chocolate and pumpkin shaped sugar cookies.  It was a nice treat.

When we returned home, I had hoped that we could get the kids into bed by 8:30.  However, CF had other plans.  She had bought a ton of fireworks and wanted to light them all off with Lynnex and their kids.  We started with sparklers then there was a bunch of jumping jacks and other flaming/sparkling/jumping fireworks.  It looked like the kids were excited to watch.  But again, I think Alex had the most fun.

Finally, Lynnex and their kids left at around 9pm.  That's when A decided she was going to poop and she sat there for a good long time as she had not pooped for about 4 days since she was sick.  We had given her some Malox so we were hopeful that she would poop soon.  Luckily she did not miss any Halloween adventures.

R was nursed to sleep at around 10:15pm and has been asleep for just over an hour in his crib.  He has been sleeping in our bed lately so he must really be tired if he can be sleeping in his own bed for so long.

I'm quite tired, but I wanted to just down a few notes before I forget.  CF has been getting into work late and she has been tired too.

20131027 Sick Day #2 and Kaitlyn's Birthday Party

A woke up feeling hungry and energetic.  However, that soon wore off and she became irritable again and did not have much of an appetite.  She ate very little and did not want to take the medication that she had been so willing to take the night before.

We did our best to get ready on time for Kaitlyn's birthday party.  I had already spent time wrapping her present last night so A only had to sign the card.  On the way to Wing and Bonnie's place, the kids fell asleep.  So I got to go in and eat while the kids and CF were sleeping in the car.  There weren't many people at the party this time and it was kind of cozy.  A woke up first and I took her in.  But she was groggy after waking up and she was still irritable from being sick before.  She would not eat nor play, but was planted in front of the TV again watching Snow White.  After I finished eating and after they had cut the cake and I ate some, I switched places with CF and sat in the car with R still sleeping.  When he woke up we went in and I got him some food right away.  He scarfed down cut up hot dogs and I gave him some cut up sandwich bits.  After eating, he was playing with a bunch of toys.  He seemed to be still afraid of remote controlled toys.  A was finally feeling a little better by this time and ate a little bit of food including some jello.  We left around 3pm and we decided that it was still early and went to look for salmon along a trail that Lynn and Alex had suggested before.  We found the location they had mentioned at the end of Clarke and Victoria, but there was nothing interesting and the kids were getting irritable by this time.  When we went back to the car after a short walk along the slough, A wanted to go to grandma's house.

We went back to grandma's house where A was still irritable (even watching more TV) and R needed another nap and wanted to be nursed.  While CF was nursing R and A was getting a bath with grandma, I took a nap myself.  We had dinner and then CF decided that A should sleep over at grandma's house since she would probably still be sick on Monday.  It's funny, at grandma's house, both kids want to have grandma's attention, then next would be CF, then grandpa.  I would be last on the list... sigh...

20131026 Sick Day

We found out early on the Saturday morning that A was sick and threw up in the grandparents car.  She was not feeling well and was going to Chinese school.  But CF had made plans already with Lynn.

We headed out to Toys R Us with R to line up for a build it yourself free Lego Superman Shield.  CF and Lynn had decided that the boys (R and Lex) should dress up in their Superman outfits.  There was a line of about 30 to 40 kids with their parents all waiting to get some free Lego.  They were very disorganized this time and did not inform the parents of how many blocks and colours we would need to complete the toy.  So luckily, we had enough parents and kids to make the shield as quick as we could.  But it still took about 20 minutes I would say.  I think the boys had fun and we did get a couple of funny pics.  It is always interesting hanging out with Lynn and Alex as their kids are the same age as ours, and they always have funny/interesting stories to tell.

When we got home, A was definitely sick and she had just come from seeing Dr. Lam who prescribed some Tylenol for the fever and some ammoxocillin for the throat infection.  A would only eat some bread and water and did not have any appetite.  We gave her medication as soon as we could.  She was planted in front of the TV all day.  She took a nap, but threw up her lunch about 15 minutes later in her bed.  So we had to change her sheets.  She was hysterical that she threw up in her bed and was flapping her arms like a bird.

A few hours later, she ate a little of the mac and cheese we made her but she threw it up along with her meds so she had to take another dose.  At bedtime she was irritable, but managable.  After she slept for a few minutes, I heard her start talking in her sleep.  She was happy and talking to someone while fast asleep.  Then she mentioned an "apple".  A minute later, she woke up crying and talking about an "apple".  I thought she was going to throw up again so I took her to the bathroom.  But she did not have to throw up and could not calm down.  So we went back into her bedroom and she did her best to calm down, but she kept crying a little and looked at me in fear with her eyes wide open.  I kept telling her that she just had a dream and that it was not real.  I sang her a few lullabies and about 15 minutes later, she was back asleep.

Because we had spent a lot of time and attention on A, R likely did not eat enough at dinner.  He kept waking up throughout the night.

20131025 Dentist

Today, the kids had their second dentist appointment.  Both A and R did fine.  A did not cry, but she did tear up a few times.  She even sat funny in the dentist's chair.  She was kind of making and "L" shape with her body facing away from the dental hygienist.  R, on the other hand, did cry.  But the dentist was very good with both kids.  Very friendly and spoke Cantonese so grandma could understand.

There were no obvious signs of cavities so it was ok.  But we won't know for sure until the kids get their xrays.  However, the dental hygienist did remind us to start flossing the kids teeth and to give flouride toothpaste to R.  I started with the flouride, but I'm not sure how I will get the kids to floss.  Hmm...

20131020 - More Busy Times

Things have been so busy lately that we have not had much time to sleep much less update the blog.  Anyways, there have been many activities to keep the kids busy.

20131006 - I don't remember much about this day other than we were in North Vancouver at the White Spot.  A and I were together in the restaurant while R and CF were nursing in the car.  A actually ate quite a bit of her food by herself so all we had to worry about was R.  I think we were also at Maplewood Farm again to visit the farm animals.  We also stopped in front of the Maplewood Bird Sanctuary just so confirm where it was so we could visit it in the future.

20131008 - Shots for R
Today, R had his 18 month immunization by the public health nurse.  The shot was done at the Eileen Daly pool in one of the meeting rooms.  We had been there once before at R's 6 month shots.  He did ok and only cried a little bit when the nurse stuck the needle in.  He seemed fine afterwards, but he did develop a fever.  We gave him some tylenol to help bring his fever down and help calm him.  But it was yet another tough night.

20131012 - Today A did not have to go to Chinese school as there was a vacation day.  So we were invited by Lynn and Alex to go bowling.  I think the birthday twins had a good time bowling and it was kind of fun for the parents too.  A actually got a couple of strikes (with the gutter rails up of course).  After bowling, we went to Metrotown where CF and A got to spend some time shopping while R and I were in the car while he was napping.  When he woke up, R and I went on the kiddie train from the bus loop side to the Disney Store side.  He seemed a little scared to be on the train even though he's been on it a few times.  He probably was just a little nervous after just waking up and not having A riding with him.

20131013 - Grouse Mountain!
CF decided that we should all go up to Grouse to see the last lumberjack show of the season.  She made reservations at the Observatory Restaurant.  But before we went, we had a quick bite at Capilano Mall's food court.  After eating, we stopped in at the Toys R Us Express Store where we were informed of a train table deal at WonderLab.  Well, CF wanted the train table so we rushed to the WonderLab store and picked up the train table along with doing a little shopping for Christmas presents.  The train table was too big to just leave in the truck, but we did it anyways and headed for Grouse Mountain.  We went up the tram.  I think the kids were a little scared going up on the tram.  But they were ok.  When we got to the top, A seemed a little disappointed and asked why were were not at the mountain.  We explained to her that we were on top of the mountain.

We snapped a few pictures with the wood carvings and then made our way to the lumberjack show.  It was entertaining.  Then we went to see a couple of grizzly bears up close and personal (well about 20 feet away anyways).  Then it was off to dinner at the Observatory.  The food was mediocre and the portions were very small for $40 a plate.  But we weren't very hungry and R was so tired that he fell asleep before he had a chance to eat very much.  Soon the sun went down and the mountain was dark.  We bought some maple syrup candy which was all too sweet.  After that, we went home and tried to recover from a very busy day.

20131014 - Thanksgiving Day
After the busy day on the mountain, we were enjoying a quiet day at home.  The kids were playing at home and doing some arts and crafts.  Then mah-mah came to visit the kids in the mid morning.  She brought the kids some small nick-nack toys as usual.  Then R had to take his morning nap so CF took him upstairs and nursed him.  I think at that point, she was thinking that she should go.  But I tried to keep her involved to play with A and suggested that we go for lunch.  But she did not seem interested so she had asked Aunt Nancy to pick her up.  I don't know where they were going after that, but we were going to poh-poh's place for dinner anyways so I did not get too worried about it.  The kids are used to going to their grandma's house so they were ok.  CF and I helped move around some furniture in CF's old room, and I tried to fix up the old computer that CF and A use occasionally.  We tried to go home early after dinner, but it is never easy.

20131018 - Apple Barn Pumpkin Farm
As part of A's school field trip, we went to the Apple Barn Pumpkin Farm out in Abbotsford.  The school was a bit disorganized in the morning as they did not know where the kids/parents were.  But it turned out that they were all playing together close by.  Anyways, I went with A while CF was again nursing R in the car.  The apple barn/farm was somewhat interesting and educational, and the weather was nice so I think A had a good time.  There was a short talk on the bees/honey production, apple cider production and sample, apple tasting, petting farm animals, apple sorter, and then off to the hayride to the pumpkin patch.  The kids were only allowed to take a pumpkin that they could carry themselves.  A picked a very small pumpkin and I am not sure why.  I had asked her if she wanted a bigger nicer one, but she said that she was fine with hers.  When the school tour was finished, CF and R were just finishing.  We had some lunch at the picnic tables, but there was a lot of kids from other schools there that day.

CF bought some apple related food stuff like apples and apple cider.  Then we all went as a family to re-tour the things that A had already seen.  We also went to a jumping pillow and played with some ride-ons, and went to the corn maze.  By about 3pm I was very tired of carrying R and needed to go.

We dropped the kids off at their poh-poh's house and then CF and I stopped in at Subway for a quick bite before we went to a Direct Buy meeting.  They were asking $5475 for a gold membership which could be reduced by as much as $1000 if we signed up that night.  But we could not find things that we could compare prices with on their website (such as a recently purchased Nikon D7100 camera, vacation, cars, or a boiler for home heating).  And since we were in a rush to get back to the kids, we just left as soon as we could.  We went home as soon as we could so that R could get some rest.

20131019 - Quiet Day at Home
Today, CF let me sleep in.  I had been sooooo tired lately and really did appreciate having the extra hour to sleep.  But I still slept a couple of times during the day as I was so tired.  We stayed home while A went to Chinese school.  When she came home, she was greeted with the new train table that we had bought the week before.  It is a nice set actually with lots of things to play with.  I hope the kids will enjoy it for years to come.  Anyways, it was an uneventful day.  A had a piano lesson today.  And R played with all his toys.  He is starting to say "Daddy" more clearly (as opposed to da-da).  The highlight of the day for me was to actually have Vietnamese food - from Thai's Saigon (take out) which used to be the old Gilmore Restaurant.  The food was good - not great - but good - and I would go back.  Before a late bedtime (9:15pm) A and I were reading our phonics e-book.  She is learning the "SH" sound.  She is picking up the phonics pretty good.  I am proud of the kids today.

20131005 A Busy Day

It was a busy day today.  We had to rush to A's Chinese school this morning since there was parent-teacher meeting today at 10am.  R fell asleep just as we parked at the school.  And CF went in to listen to what the teachers said to the parents.  Apparently A is learning more but she needs to communicate more.  We stopped by a dollar store to pick up a birthday card for Hayden while R was still sleeping in the car.  After that, CF went to pick up A right before 12 noon (school normally ends at 12:30pm) to take her to Hayden's Birthday Party.

We soon arrived at Hayden's Birthday Party where he was dressed up as Jake (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates TV show).  Wing and Bonnie had done a great job decorating their place.  It always seems to look neat and tidy.  We quickly grabbed some food for the kids as they were hungry.  There was pizza and hot dogs.  A and R did not really play very much with their cousins Hayden, Kaitlyn, Kara, or Kyle.  But at least they were playing.  I hope the kids will grow out of their shyness phase.  We left around 2pm when most of the other people were leaving and went home to rest for a while.  When we got home, CF nursed R for a while A and I went to Safeway to pick up some cupcakes to take to the next stop - playdate!

Once R was nursed, we were off again for a playdate for A with Eden at Susan and Anderson's.  Susan and Eden had just decorated their house with all of the halloween decorations.  A and Eden played together right away.  They make a good pair.  I was a little surprised that Eden was only an inch or two taller than A.  Given that she is 2 years older than A, I would have thought the difference would be more.  Anyways, we had sushi for dinner while the kids had some udon and some cooked sushi.  We got there just before 5pm and stayed until 8:30pm - A and Eden played until the very last minute.

On the way home, A indicated that she was hungry so she and R had a snack at home.  It was already 9:30pm when the kids were ready for bed.  I put R into his bed around 10:10pm or so.  And all seemed well with A until she woke up around 10:45pm.  She had had a nightmare and was crying and pointing/grabbing at nothing.  I sat with her and read her Curious George until she settled down and started to sleep again.  It's now 1am and both kids are still sleeping.

What a day...  It must have been too much excitement for A today.  But she did say that she really had a good time today and liked playing with Eden the most.  She liked playing with babies and the stroller with her.

20131004 R's Nurse maid's Elbow

So today at Strongstart, A was holding R's hand while running.  But she fell while still holding his hand which dislocated his left elbow. Their grandmother took R to Dr.  Wai Arm Lam in Chinatown. He diagnosed that R dislocated his elbow and snapped it back in place.  A couple of hours later when I saw him, he seemed perfectly fine.  I felt so bad that my poor little guy had to suffer so much pain.  But I guess he likely will never remember that this happened.

It's strange that R is following A's path: first he gets roseola, then he gets the Nurse maid's elbow.

CC

20130929 Art Knapp's Funland

So today, CF decided that we should go to Art Knapp's Funland in Coquitlam.  It is normally a fancy garden shop that has converted a section of their plant sale area into a kiddie amusement park with a handful of midway rides along with a playground with a bouncy castle, zip line, and pumpkin train ride.

Because it took so long to get ready and to drive out there, there really was not much else we could to on the rainy/windy Sunday.  I think the kids had fun doing the rides - well, maybe only A.

After Funland, CF was nursing R while A and I went exploring in JYSK.  We bought a few knick-knack items.  Then it was off to have dinner at Mr. Mikes.  The food was ok - but surprisingly, the kids at a LOT of the macaroni and cheese.  When they finished dinner, the kids played around at the Chapters store next door.  I think the kids had lots of fun in the kids reading and play area.  After that, it was time to head home.

CC

20130928 Another Performance

Today started as usual with A going to Chinese school and CF and I taking care of R.  And as usual, I took R for a drive to help him take a nap in the morning while CF got ready to go out.  Once we were ready, we went to A's Chinese school to meet up with A and CF's parents.  We ate some lunch that CF's mom had prepared.  Then it was off to check out the performance location (Dufferin Care Centre).  But we did manage to take a quick stop at Target for the kids to explore a little bit.

We waited a good while at the Care Centre where we meet up with Jasmine and Alex.before A and Jasmine performed the same song/dance they did at the TAIWANfest.  And poor R gets dragged around to these things.  Well after their 7 minute performance, we went back to Coquitlam Centre for play at the playground and frozen yoghurt.  A and Jasmine had a blast playing with each other and running around.  And again poor R doesn't get to play much since he had to eat (he was being fed by his grandmother).  But it was nice to chat with Alex for a bit. When us dads get together, we vent about our crazy wives and kids.  It's nice to know that Jasmine and Lex get into fights too - it's not just A and R.  And it is nice to hear that Alex's kid, Lex, did not start communicating until very recently so I do not feel that bad that R has not started talking more than just (mama, dada, baobao-grandma, gogo-grandpa).  It was also nice to hear that when Alex has both kids to himself, things go really well - like clockwork, as he put it.  And I think about how I get Alyssa ready for school in the mornings.  She actually does a pretty good job.  But it would be nice if she could hurry up and eat her breakfast faster.

Anyways, after playing, the kids had some frozen yoghurt - and poor Russell only got a bit of a taste.  A and CF ate it all.  Then it was off to CF's grandfather's house where we would have dinner and then head home.  R did not eat very well at his house.  I am getting concerned about his eating.  He used to eat so well before I went to work.  I hope this is just another phase he is going through.

CC

20130922 Guilford Town Centre

I decided that we should explore the newly renovated Guilford Town Centre today as the Lego store had a grand opening as well (and last week the Disney Store had their grand opening).  I had asked CF to take the Pattullo Bridge today to avoid the tolls.  Little did I know that the toll was only $1.50 and we had probably driven so far that we spent more money on gas than save on the toll.  Luckily, R was sleeping and A had her little TV to keep her occupied.

Anyways, there were tons of people in the mall on this rainy day.  We went straight to the Lego store which was really busy.  After that, we went to look at the green Lego Hulk they were building.  CF decided to get A to help build part of the Hulk.  They spent about 15 minutes doing that while R and I walked into a card store and looked at Christmas ornaments.  After building, A got some certificate that said she helped build the sculpture.

We then went to the new Disney Store and browsed for a bit.  It seemed a lot like the one in Metrotown so there was not that much that was interesting.  But the mall itself was quite nicely renovated with new lighting, appearance, and water fountains - though we only walked through a small bit of it.  The kids had some McD's happy meals at the Walmart for lunch as I knew that they would eat a bunch.  And afterwards, we browsed around the toy section.  At that point, A was probably getting tired as she was getting excited and not listening to CF and I.  So we went home after that and called it a day without doing much shopping at either Walmart or the rest of the mall.

I made mac and cheese for dinner while CF was building a Little People car toy for R.

20130921 Maja and Amelia's Birthday Party at Koko's

Today started like a typical Saturday morning.  A was in Chinese school from 9:30 until 12:30, while R was with CF and I.  R was a bit fussy today but pretty typical.  He is not eating and sleeping as much as we feel he should.  But it still is pretty normal.  I was trying to clean up a bit by doing some vacuuming when I could.  CF was nursing R quite a few times today.

A came home around 2:30pm and we were rushing to make birthday cards for her friends, Maja and Amelia.  CF had already started on the cards using the special markers that she got from PNE.  Once the cards were done, we were off to Koko's for the indoor kids playground.  CF had purchased some science themed toys but she made sure that we gave them gift receipts in case she wanted to return them.  A was playing with Maja quite a bit and R was just trying to figure out what was happening.  He did not enjoy the toddler area very much, but he did want to sit on all of the ride on toys (only when they were not moving).  The food was not great, but the kids seemed to have fun until A started getting tired and cried a couple of times:  once when she fell down while climbing up to the slide (she said that she bumped her head and her back - but I only found this out at night before she went to bed since she was too hysterical at the moment it happened.  CF thought that A was just crying because she did not get to race/slide with her and R), and another time when A thought she was lost in the jungle gym.

On the drive back home at around 8pm, R fell asleep and would be asleep until around 9:30pm when we put him to bed.

20130915 Medicine and Farm Day

Today, we had to make another trip to get Chinese medicine from Dr. Wang.  But Dr. Wang was not in today so we saw Aunt Winkie.  She took a very long time to see the previous couple and was very talkative.  When she finally saw me, she said I was doing a lot better.  I'm sure A was totally bored.  Luckily, R was sleeping in the car.  After picking up our 6 week supply, CF decided to go to North Vancouver to Maplewood Farm.  Before going to the farm, CF ordered a few pirate paks to feed the kids.

CF planned to feed the kids inside the farm ( i.e. have a picnic) but that turned out to be a bad idea since the it then started to rain (along with thunder!).  We all went into the barn to finish our lunch and watch the cow being milked.  After scarfing down lunch, the kids went to see the bunnies (who were all fat and fed), the peacocks, the chickens, cows, and horses.  The kids did seem to be very interested in the goats which we got to see up close.  It was funny that R would copy CF and I when we went "BAAA, BAAA!" as we went up to the sheep and goats.

Oh, forgot to mention that some English lady and her kid let us ride on a pedal tractor toy.  A wanted to play with it and did not want to share with R.  But it was soon apparent that the tractor toy was impossible to steer.  We took some pictures of the kids on the tractor toy anyways.

Before bed, I had been reading with A - books from progressivephonics.com.  I know she was learning the sounds and learning to read at school.  But it was nice to see first hand how much she can read - even if it is just 3 letter words.

20130914 Barbecue With the Richmond Girls

Today, A had her first day at Tzu Chi Chinese school at Charles Best Secondary.  She apparently had a performance (same as her TAIWANfest performance).  But we were going to see her after lunch.

It was tough to get out of the house today as R was being difficult to get out.  I tried driving around with him in the morning so that he could take a nap.  But he only slept about 40 minutes.  So while he was awake we managed to make it to Toys R Us for their "Back to Class" event where they were giving away freebies.  Since we came late, we only managed to get a couple of Star Trek Enterprise Lego toys and some Playdoh.  But while were were there CF decided to buy more stuff including an "Adirondack Table and Chair Set" (even though we have lots of plastic chairs and outdoor stuff).  After we picked up A, we headed down to Trout Lake for the barbecue with the Richmond girls, Ken, and Jay, which we have been planning since July 2013.

We made it there by about 3:15pm even though we were supposed to get there by 3:00pm.  It was nice to see them but we were too busy watching the kids to talk much with them.  I think the kids had fun especially A who had come up with a new game of playing in the "tree house" which was basically walking under a pine tree.  We stayed until about 7pm when everyone else was leaving.  We had not seen Bernie in forever...  Anyways, we decided to plan for another get-together - probably the first week of December.  The kids slept well tonight, but I think they caught a little cold.

20130908 CC's typical school night

My typical school night starts after dinner where I am frantically trying to get A asleep in bed before 8pm.  A usually sleeps about 11-12 hours.  And if she is woken up before she wakes up on her own, she is very grumpy and will often cry for a few minutes when she is woken.  But I need her to get up by 7:30am to get ready for school, fed, and drive to school by 8:45am.  If you do the math, that means that A should be in bed by 7:30pm at night.

Like I said, I try to get A into bed before 8pm.  This includes making sure she has eaten her dinner, drank milk if she wants it, goes pee, brushes her teeth and washes her face, changes into her pjs (and diaper - just in case).  But CF just dilly dallies and delays bedtime every night.  She does not take R when I need R and CF out of the room before I read a bedtime story to A before she sleeps.  CF usually takes him to nurse (or whatever) around 8:30pm and I am lucky to get A in bed and sleeping by 8:30-8:45.  When I am sure that A is asleep, I sneak out of her room and grab the baby monitor.  This is usually around 9pm.

After the A bedtime routine, I usually spend time cleaning up the dinner table and eating the kids' leftovers from dinner.  After that I spend about 30 minutes doing dishes.  Then it is wiping the table, cleaning up a bit, doing some recycling, and other miscellaneous chores.  On garbage day, I spend another 30 minutes just getting the garbage and recycling ready.  There is always some silly thing that I am doing be it laundry, cleaning up, working on the computer/researching, whatever.  Then I take my Chinese medicine while watching some TV show.  Lately it has been Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel on Netflix.  In the coming weeks, the regular TV shows will be back like "Walking Dead" or "Person of Interest".  I do not normally get to bed until about 12 midnight or 1am.

In the morning, it is getting A ready ASAP to make sure she is at school before 8:45am.  Work at the office from 9am to 6pm.  And every night I hope I can see the kids in the evening before they are asleep.  Soon R is going to forget that I am his dad since he will not get to see me much during the week.  At least on the positive note, R should be learning more Chinese from his grandparents.

Oh, I forgot to mention R's schedule.  CF still nurses R to sleep.  And R still wakes up numerous times during the night.  R may be teething, having growing pains, or just wakes up because... Anyways, CF needs to get to work by 6:30am and before then, she has to get ready for work, get R changed and ready to go out, drop him off with his grandparents (I guess around 6am).  There are so many sleeping problems with R right now.  He does not sleep at night until around 9 or 10pm.  He may sleep 2 naps during the day for a total of 2 to 4 hours.  He still often sleeps in CF/my bed.  And he is very cranky when he is tired/can not sleep/can not nurse.  Just a couple of weeks ago, he had roseolla.

I am looking forward to nights when R can sleep as well as A.  That's not to say that A did not have problems early on either.  It's just that we have forgotten them now that she sleeps better.  ;)

We are not sure how we are going to survive this sleeping nightmare.  Hopefully it will get better.  But we are taking it one day at a time.

20130908 Vancouver Convention Center and Crab Park

Today was CF and my monthiversary which we hardly ever celebrate anymore since we are always too busy with the kids.

We were deciding between going to Maplewood Farm or the Mexicofest at the Vancouver Convention Center.  We decided that going downtown might be fun - or at least more fun than last week with the fiasco with the grandparents who did not know their way around and the mixup with the restaurants.  We parked at the Delta Pinnacle and A and I went down while CF and R were in the car napping.

A and I walked around and saw the new Cactus Club and another pub restaurant.  We had a nice sightseeing walk around the convention center area.  We finally made it to Canada Place and I asked the information desk about the Mexicofest.  At that point, they informed me that it was "yesterday"... sigh...

Oh well!  A and I made the best of it by walking around Canada Place.  We did a little exploring of the outdoor information displays and some staring at the cruise ships.  We stopped to eat a little dragonfruit, watch seaplans, and then went back to the car since A wanted to go to the farm.  A stopped to make some wishes at the water fountains including the Olympic Cauldron.  When we finally got back to the car, CF and R were already awake.  So we went back to the area to get some food.  Cactus Club was awfully expensive so we went to the pub restaurant which claimed to have a kids menu.  That might not have been a good choice since the kids menu was $9 and there really was not a menu.  But we ate.  It was still expensive though and not worth it.  A did eat some, but R did not (we are getting worried about him since he does not eat that much lately).

After lunch, A wanted to go to the farm, but it was getting close to closing time for the farm so we just walked around the Convention Center area some more and watched more seaplanes.  R just got so excited when we put him on the ground to stretch his legs.  He started walking fast along the seawall railing.  We made it around to the gelato place next to the Bellagio Cafe which we went to last week.  The kids shared two scoops of ice cream and then we started to head for home.

On the way back, A asked if we could go to Crab Park.  It is not in a great area so I was a little hesitant, but CF decided to go.  We got to a parking lot where you had to pay by phone.  I must have spent about 30 minutes just trying to get the parking setup.  Once the data connection got screwed up when I tried to send off my registration data.  The next time, it said that my phone number already had an account setup with it.  The third time, I just called the number and when I was almost finished the transaction, the phone line got cut off.  The last time, I called the number again and finally finished the transaction.  It was then that I realized that the pay by phone used by this Impark lot was the same system that the City of Vancouver uses for their meter parking - which I had setup before.

There was only one toddler in the park aside from A and R.  And the other park users were dog walkers, a few homeless people and some twenty somethings playing some ball sports.  We stayed for about 30 minutes before we headed home to eat dinner as I wanted A to get to sleep before 8pm.  CF and A were overturning rocks to look for crabs while R and I were running in the grass and waiting for the girls to finish.  We went home and had a hot dog dinner.  The kids had a bath and went to bed by 8:30 for A and 9:30 for R.

20130907 Mah Mah Time and Kits Beach

Today, CC's mom came over to visit the grandkids just around noon.  R was terrified of mah mah since he does not see her very often.  But Alyssa looks forward to seeing her all the time.  Maybe it is because she always gets gifts from her since we do not see her often and when we do, there is always some vacation she has just come back from or some birthday, Christmas, or some other special event.

A soon came home after she heard that MM was over for a visit.  A is usually sleeping over at grandma's (por por) since she has to get up early for Chinese school with Tzu Chi at Charles Best Secondary School in Coquitlam.  When the grandparents came and dropped off A, they were going to leave again.  But we asked them to go for dim sum at the Wah Lan Restaurant just a couple of blocks away.  So the kids, grandparents including Mah Mah and CF and I had dim sum together.  Surprisingly there was actually a wait at the restaurant. But since the grandparents (with R) got there a little earlier, we did not have to wait long.  The food was good - not terrible anyways.  CF's dad stole the bill before all of the food came so I am not sure what the bill came to.  After lunch, the grandparents left and mah mah visited for a little while longer while waiting for Aunt Czarina and Michael to pick her up.  Once we got home, R was actually playing with Mah Mah.  It was good to see.

A got to show everyone her video of her performance from last week at Taiwanfest.  She also brought everyone upstairs to show them her room and R's room.  After they left, we decided to go for a drive so that R could sleep.  CF wanted to go to some park near Granville Island.  At that point, I decided that we should go to Kitsilano Beach since we had not been there with the kids and I do recall going there with my dad as a kid when we would visit Auntie Cleta and Uncle Bob.

I took A while CF took R in the car since he was still napping.  It was nice and sunny with a light seabreeze.  A had fun in the playground but it was very crowded.  Living in Burnaby, I guess she was not used to the crowded park and was not quite used to having to wait and competing with so many kids to have a turn going down the slide.  The big slide actually required climbing up a chain ladder with wooden rungs - I think she was scared to go up the ladder and so she did not slide on the big slide.  I then suggested going to the sandy beach where we played for a while.  I sent the family a picture of A at Kits Beach and then my sister Monica replied that she was also at the beach.  So I told her that she should come by and see her niece.

A few minutes later, CF and R arrive - he did not sleep much.  Then Monica arrives - on a BIKE?! and full biking gear.  Very strange to see her like that - I did not even recognize her until I saw her actually steering the bike onto the beach from the bike path - a very strange sight indeed since most people would not take their bikes onto the sand (sand and bike gears do not mix well).  After snapping up a couple of pics, CF was worried that R would get cold and hungry so I went back with R to get some clothes and snacks for R while CF, A, and Monica visited for a while.  It was nice to see Monica with her niece and nephew, if only for a short while.  Monica soon left on her bike and the kids went to play on the playground for a little while longer.  A liked playing on a merrygoround with a rope web tent on top.  She could not get the hang of running, turning the merrygoround, and hopping on top to ride it.  But it was fun for her to try.

Dinnertime soon came and CF wanted to take the kids to the "Local" restaurant.  I was not happy at all once I saw that the restaurant was more of a college bar than a restaurant.  But we ordered food.  Then CF decided to take R to the car to nurse him.  At that point, I got really angry since I did not even want to stay at the restaurant and the food was taking a very long time to be prepared.  CF messages me on her phone that there was a lot of restaurants in there area - which I already knew since I had just been back to the car parked near the Local Restaurant.  But it was too late and the food eventually came.  A was so hungry by then that she scarfed down half a hamburger slider - she usually does not eat that many burgers.  CF and R came back soon after the food arrived, but R did not eat much of anything.  So I took R back to the car to get some baby food.  On the walk back, CF and A were walking up the street.  I guess they decided to leave and had packed away the food and paid the bill.  Grr... not a good day.  I don't plan on going back to that restaurant any time soon - at least, not until the kids are teens.

After a quick bath for A, it was bed time.

20130902 TAIWANfest in Downtown Vancouver

Today was the big day - A's performance with Tzu Chi, her Chinese school where she learns Mandarin Chinese with her birthday twin, Jasmine.  A had been going to a couple of practices, watching the performance on video, and listening to the music very often for the last few couple of weeks.

We showed up about 10 minutes late for her 11am meetup in front of the Art Gallery.  She got right into the pre-performance practice and was given a head dress made of fake leaves and pipe cleaners.  We waited about 1 hour for the show to start and see her 7 minute performance.  She and Jasmine did great and they were right in front and looked like they knew what they were doing.  However, A had not really done as much practicing as we would have liked, but it really looked good up on stage.  She made us proud.

R did not have as good a time.  His normal 2 hour nap lasted only about 20 minutes before he got woken up by all of the noise and excitement of downtown Vancouver.

After the show, we wanted to get something to eat with A's grandparents and Kathy.  We tried to go to the Imperial Restaurant as Lynn said that the Victoria Restaurant at the Hyatt was closed.  In fact, it may have been the reverse.  We ended up at the Bellagio Restaurant which seemed busy.  But the service was terrible and the food was mediocre and expensive.  A memorable moment was when R and his grandmother walked into a plate glass at the patio.  Admittedly, the glass was hard to see with all of the scenery at the Waterfront/Convention Centre/cruise ship.  No one was hurt, but I am pretty sure R was bumped into the glass.  I was also embarrassed when A's grandmother bought some ice cream from an ice cream parlour and dropped it off right in front of A in the restaurant.

We walked a bit around Canada Place with the kids, grandmother, and Kathy.  There was lots of people around and the Disney Wonder cruise ship docked at Canada Place.

After that, grandparents and Kathy went home.  And we walked back to Pacific Center where we parked.  We tried to do some shopping but this mall was not kid friendly and there was a lot of renovations since I had last been there so I was quite unfamiliar with the mall now.  We walked outside of the mall to get our bearings and noticed that the TAIWANfest was much larger than I thought.  We walked about 4 blocks of the festival but I did not find it all too interesting.  But I did have a bad experience with one vendor booth giving out paper cutout dragon boats.  I will post my nasty email to them later.

20130901 Barnet Marine Park

Today, we took the kids to Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby near Port Moody.  CF and A went first while R and I were in the car while R was sleeping.  CF and A met with Lynn, Alex, Jasmine and Lex as they were playing at the beach area.  We were meeting with Lynn and Alex for a barbecue.  CF spent the morning making macaroni with cheese (and alfredo sauce).

When R woke up because of a train blowing its whistle, we walked down from the parking lot to the picnic area and beach to find CF and A.  After having something to eat, I took A down to the beach with Jasmine.  A was actually being a good girl and listening to me.  The girls had lots of fun making "soup" from sand, water, seaweed, shells, and whatever else they could find on the beach.  Before long, it was time to go because Alex with leaving with the kids and R needed a nap.  I think both kids had fun this day.

20130831 Parks

Today, we spent the afternoon in the parks. We went to confederation park to ride the miniature train. Then went to mcgill park to fly a kite, play in the playground and play hide and seek.

A got scared and could not climb the wall up to the top of the big slide which she was all excited about being able to do before.  R seemed to have fun wandering around, but both kids are still kind of shy.

20130829 PNE

CF and I took the day off work to take the kids to PNE. It was Vancity day and members only had to pay $5 admission and the kids were free. We found parking on the street a couple of blocks away from the Playland entrance. It was raining a fair bit today.

We saw the:
Chinese acrobats
Showmart
Superdogs
Discovery Barn (where the farm animals were and where A got to go on a pony ride for $6.)

We got some free yoghurt and fruit snacks. And CF got some sort of skin cream. We didn't eat much of the carnival food and only played a couple of games in the midway. But CF won a huge stuffed animal by tossing a ball into a large plastic bucket - twice. She let Alyssa choose a big blue dog.

First Post

CF thought it would be a good idea to create a blog site so that our kids A and R could read this when they are older.  I wholeheartedly agreed since I have been wanting to do a blog for while but I could never find the time.  Well, I really don't have much time, but I will do my best to update.

We'll start by posting our weekend adventures with the kids and see where we go from there.