Introducing Colin

Mmmm...

2008-06-25T03:05:00.005-07:00

colin by the bay

2008-06-25T03:05:00.003-07:00

Mika about to go

2008-06-25T03:05:00.001-07:00

Waiting for cake.

2008-06-25T03:04:00.003-07:00

Discovering Skype Video

2008-06-25T03:04:00.001-07:00

Some videos of Colin and Mika

2008-05-01T00:51:00.001-07:00

Flickr now offers videos. I've uploaded a few recent videos of Colin and Mika. I'm afraid that they aren't well edited and a little long so they are most suitable for relatives--except for the first one of Colin at the computer (it's short and sweet).

Colin looks at a bee at Griffith Park

2008-01-14T21:45:00.001-08:00

Colin looks at a bee
Originally uploaded by James Cham.

Colin and Yang-Sze at Santa Monica beach

2008-01-14T21:44:00.001-08:00

Colin and Yang-Sze at Santa Monica beach
Originally uploaded by James Cham.

A few pictures from a quick trip to our old haunts in LA.

Natalie's Third Birthday Party

2008-01-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

Colin and I went to Natalie's third birthday party on Saturday. James

Imagination

2007-11-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Tonight Colin was standing in his crib before going to bed and he called to me in a small voice. At first I didn't understand what he was saying, until I realised he was saying "My paw is itchy, Mama" and holding out his little hand. A long time ago he had been playing a plastic tiger and pointing to the feet, told me that the tiger had "hands". I corrected him and said the tiger has paws. Now, many months later he suddenly applied the word "paw" to his own hand!

He's really developed an active imagination. Sometimes I think he's living in his fantasy world where there are lots of animals, Grandpa takes him to the "big zoo", everything can be turned into a train (including playing cards, dinner plates, lego bricks and shoes). Sometimes he runs around the house shouting "Rrragh!" and tells me he's a lion. Sometimes he dances and says "Lion dong dong chang!" (thinking about the lion dance he saw at a friend's wedding). He put on my mother's red slippers yesterday and walked around, telling us they were "robot shoes" and he was a robot. He's so funny yet exasperating at this age!

New birthday photos

2007-08-11T09:11:00.001-07:00

IMG_0980

Thanks to Wendy Lim for taking some great pictures!

Chatty Colin

2007-08-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Colin's birthday - I can hardly believe he's two! He talks so much nowadays and is quite the noise maker. He can make increasingly complex sentences, as opposed to the pidgin he's been spouting for a while. Yesterday, he told his grandmother "Colin yi jing chi bao le" (Colin has already finished eating) after dinner. Noticing a glass vase with roses on the dining table, he told me "hua hua he shuai" (flowers are drinking water). This afternoon I took him to a new park - Burgess Park in Menlo Park which has a nice play area and plenty of open space as well. He ran across the sunlit grass, looking at the birds flying against the brilliant blue afternoon sky, and told me "niao niao fei lai fei" (birds fly back and forth). When I pointed out that it was a crow, he said "wu ya, bu shi hai ou" (it's a crow, not a seagull). We went to the seaside to look at the gulls a few weeks ago so I guess he knows that they look different. Some people were playing softball, and he commented "people da qiu" (people are playing ball). It's really amazing how much he can say nowadays! Uh... I'm sure that very soon, he'll be talking back to me, being sassy etc...

My babysitter, Mrs Fu, called this morning to tell me that her little granddaughter was visiting again and was insisting that they visit Colin, so could they come over? I was very happy to tell her yes. The two children get along so well, even though the little girl is 6 years old. She told her grandmother that she likes Colin better than her older brother because her 11 year old brother is mean to her (ah, siblings! More things to look forward to). He probably doesn't want to play with her because she is a lot younger than him. But Colin really likes her a lot. When they got ready to leave, he cried and held onto her hand, saying "jie jie wan" (sister, play) and "jie jie bu huay jia" (sister don't go home). It was really pathetic. I had to practically pry him off her since he was hanging on to her backpack strap like a limpet. In the end they were forced to take him for a short walk since he had already fetched his own small shoes to go out!

Colin's Second Birthday

2007-08-06T10:39:00.001-07:00

We're starting to post pictures of Colin's second birthday party. Thanks to my brother Michael and his girlfriend Sabrina for coming up from LA and taking these pictures. We'll add more later.

Colin at the supermarket

2007-06-02T21:28:00.001-07:00

Colin at the supermarket
Originally uploaded by James Cham.

Here is Colin at Ranch 99. Can you count the five ways that his dad is not doing a good job? I'll start with the way he is siting in the shopping cart and the coffee in his lap. Whatever you do--don't tell his mom!

Colin leaning, Mrs. Wong and Mikaela in the middle

2007-06-02T21:27:00.001-07:00

Colin leaning, Mrs. Wong and Mikaela in the middle
Originally uploaded by James Cham.

What does Colin do while Yang-Sze is away?

2007-05-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

Yang-Sze has been at the hospital for the last few days to deliver Colin's new sister Mikaela so my parents have been taking care of Colin. What has he been up to? Yesterday, he went to the Farmer's Market in Mountain View:

And, he's had a great deal of fun with his new toy:

Colin has a sister!

2007-05-13T14:56:00.001-07:00

Sleeping Mikaela
Originally uploaded by James Cham.

He can call her mei mei but I don't think he knows that she's coming home with us!

With Uncle Danny

2007-04-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

Colin liked sitting on Uncle Danny's shoulders so much he didn't want to come down. Poor Uncle Danny! -- ysc

Dinosaur train

2007-04-15T23:50:00.000-07:00

At the Palo Alto Junior Museum, Colin lined up all the dinosaurs into a "choo choo"... clearly the Great Train Phase has begun -- ysc

Colin's favorite toys

2007-04-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Colin loves his train set. He hasn't quite figured out why the trains' magnet connect one way but not the other but the coos with delight when they are all hooked up. We bought his set at IKEA.

Colin and his dad

2007-04-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Colin is outraged

2007-04-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Colin is apparently outraged by the latest issue of Business Week.

Colin's Breakfast

2007-04-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Mommaduck asks a fair question: what the heck is this stuff? It is the only thing I know how to make for Colin in the morning: cheese toast cut into little squares. Not as healthy as the stuff that mom makes but pretty tasty.

Colin and Grandparents in Palo Alto

2007-04-05T23:56:00.001-07:00

Colin and Grandpa

2007-04-05T23:56:00.000-07:00