Baby to Child

Just yesterday, I came home after work and looked at Natalie who was super cute, clean and fresh after a bath, and I suddenly realized that she is no longer a little baby, but undeniably now a small child. She talks (can identify several objects clearly), walks well, and her head is no longer too big for her body which has lengthened to just a couple inches shorter than her 2.5 year-old cousin Vanessa. How did this happen? More specifically, when did this happen?

Also, last night, around 2:30am, I felt a small hand tapping my shoulder, waking me up. I looked over and Natalie was wide awake. She opened and closed her hand several times (sign language for "milk"). I asked her "Do you want milk?" and she did the signal again. So told her I would be back and she lay quietly on the bed as I left and then quietly drank her milk when I returned. When she was finished her bottle, she said, "Ma-ma," and handed the empty bottle to me, popped her thumb into her mouth and went back to sleep. Amazing!

Natalie walking around, trying to get "in" with the boys crowd playing at QQ Club.


All the other boys were older than her and spinning circles around her. They were fast! She looked on in fascination (mouth open most of the time).


This boy is 7-years old and was super nice to Natalie. He helped pick up her little bouncy ball. He was very patient because as soon as he gave it back to her, Natalie would throw it again and then walk after it calling "Boh-boh! Boh-boh!", and he would go and pick it up for her again.


Poor Natalie could only watch as the other boys raced around her. She's not big enough to move the car while sitting on it and was happy pushing the car ahead of her. One bright point is she can now walk backwards while holding the car (and not always be stuck against the wall any more).

Little talker

Parents always claim their babies can speak certain words, and occasionally people don't believe us when we tell them "Natalie said ____!". Some people think it's just our active imaginations. Watch Video 148 of Natalie saying "Turtle".

Grumpy Nat

Natalie loves to learn! Whenever she learns to do something new, she is super happy and pleased and will often laugh and clap for herself. But, when Natalie is trying to learn something new and not quite getting it, she can get very frustrated and grumpy and complain and even cry. Watch Video 147 of Natalie trying to put two markers together. When she can't do it, it really upsets her, but when she gets it, she is super happy!

Videos!

Thanks to Clark to downloading (and then uploading) the below videos of Natalie. You can see she has grown alot in the last few weeks. It's amazing to see the changes in her!

Watch Video 143 and Video 144 of Natalie feeding herself. With a little help and lots of encouragement (clapping and cheering from her adoring audience and also from herself), Natalie has started to learn to feed herself. She's not super coordinated and sometimes the food will drop off the spoon before it reaches her mouth, but it's a great start :)

Watch Video 145 of Natalie standing up by herself. Although she's been walking by herself for a while now, she only learned to stand up (without pulling herself up on anything) recently while in Taipei.

Watch Video 146 of Natalie playing in the pool. We went swimming every day and everyone had a nice little tan after the trip.

Fun hanging in Taipei

Here is the last batch of photos from our wonderful trip to Taipei. They are mainly miscellaneous photos of Natalie hanging out and "gow-gow-juhn". Videos to come soon!

Natalie watching intently while I teach her put her hands against her face when I say "Oh no!"


Natalie doing the "Oh no!" action. She's loves to mimic other people.


Natalie watching the Olympics with her daddy on our big comfy king bed. Look how tanned they are. We went swimming every day.


Natalie has scooted closer to lie like her daddy to watch TV.


Not sure where Natalie learned to do this. Maybe she's been watching too much "Married with Children" or maybe her real name is Natalie Bundy.


We turned off all the lights and Clark took this awesome shot (20 sec exposure) of the Taipei city at night.


Natalie follows me to get some celery juice at the breakfast buffet.


This is what I see from my angle.


Natalie wanders off after a very full breakfast (congee, steamed egg, bread, half a banana, mangoes, and more!)


She's not afraid of heights at all and will slap the balcony glass and babble fearlessly.


She wanders farther and farther away. She's becoming more and more independent (especially when happy with a full belly).

Family in Taipei

While in Taipei, we spent a lot of time with our close family there. It was really nice to see everyone again (we missed you!) and also great for Natalie to meet all her aunties and uncles again and hang out.

Natalie with Nai-nai, Clark, and Tai-por cuddling close on the couch in our hotel room.


Tai-por playing with Natalie. Natalie loves playing with Tai-por. They seem drawn to each other (maybe because they look exactly the same!)


Natalie laughing and giggling when Tai-por tickles her.


Natalie playing with Ching-por. She's very interested in what Ching-por has in her hands. She'll watch for a short while before demanding the interesting object be passed to her.


Good thing Ching-por has a toy drawer that has been around for 30 years and played in by her daddy, and numerous uncles and older cousins. Natalie was kept very busy by the toys in that drawer.


Natalie also spent a lot of time with Auntie Ann who showed her all the magnets on the fridge and looked through lots of photos with her. It was so sweet to watch them play together.


4 look-a-likes and one Tracy pose for a family photo. Cheese!


Natalie hanging out with Auntie Amy. Auntie Amy just came back from Malaysia and we were really lucky to meet up on our last night there.


Uncle Joseph, Ann's mother, and Auntie Ann with Natalie. At this point, Natalie was very grumpy and sleepy. Look at her trying to wriggle away.


Nai-nai, Natalie, and Tracy pose for a photo before heading out for lunch. This was our last meal in Taipei and on my request, we had Western (I was all asian'd out by then). We had salad, ravioli, and shepherd's pie at Carnegie... yum!


Natalie with Nai-nai. She likes to kiss the jade necklace that hangs around Nai-nai's neck.

The above photo was taken right before we said thank you to Nai-nai and kissed her good-bye and got on the Tai-Yo bus for the airport to head home. Thank you so much to Nai-nai for helping to take care of us and Natalie for the past 2 weeks while our helper was on vacation. See you again soon!

The Taipei Zoo

Photos from our Taiwan trip are being posted in bits and pieces. Here are pics from our visit to the Taipei Zoo. It is actually a really nice zoo! And practically free to visit (only NT$60 for Clark and I, $0 for the Nat). We were totally amazed at the size and number of animals in the public zoo, but we went a bit late and only managed to visit a few animals before we had to go.

Natalie wonders what's going on while Clark and Nai-nai figure out the train system in Taipei.


Now we're waiting for the train to arrive.


Natalie and her daddy riding the train on our way to the zoo. She has no idea where we're going and I think she was a little grumpy because it was so hot and sunny. She wouldn't say "Hi" to a nice young couple who stood in front of her.


We're at the zoo! The first animals we see are the emperor penguins. Natalie very importantly points them out to us. She says "Bur!" and we say, "Yes, Natalie, birds!"


We also saw several bears (one brown, a few black). This one got very close to the observation window... very cool. Then it drank some water, and fought with another black bear (kinda... they got really close and opened their mouths at each other). It was just like the discovery channel!


This was Natalie's constant expression while at the zoo. Her eyes and mouth were wide-open the entire time. What's she looking at here?



It's a deer! See her tiptoeing to get a better look?


Natalie posing with Nai-nai and the deer.


Natalie and her daddy study the donkeys (I think... not sure what they really are).


What's Natalie looking at now?


The very cute koala bears.


Can you find Natalie and her daddy here? They are front and center at the display.

Settling in

This weekend, we went to Taipei for a 4-day family vacay. We stayed at the Far Eastern Shangri-La Hotel which is fabulous: modern, clean, spacious, and it also had a great view! Here are pics of Natalie getting settled on our arrival.

Natalie is cheerful and happy after two naps (one on the plane, one during the ride from the airport into the city).


First thing's first, we give Natalie a bottle and she eagerly tries to drink. Then she realizes she has to lie down to get any milk out.


After guzzling down her milk, she offers us the empty bottle. (We've learned a little trick: If she hasn't finished her bottle and tries to give it to us, if we don't take it from her, she'll drink some more. When she's really done, she'll drop the bottle and move on to something else)


Happy with a full belly, Natalie is feeling playful. She gives a little smile to the camera.


What a cutie!


The great view of Taipei city and 101 from our room windows.

More busy-body-ness

Natalie is a little busybody. While we were packing for our trip to Taiwan, Natalie kept herself busy trying on her daddy's shoes and helping us pack (and unpack) the suitcases.

Natalie loves to put on shoes. Here she is trying on her daddy's shoes.


Natalie has climbed into the suitcase and is looking through all the "stuff".


Natalie inspects the wheels.


Too bad we couldn't pack her away and save on her infant ticket. She's too big now.

The Park

After a healthy and hearty breakfast (at a restaurant that shall remain nameless), we decided to take our big bellies out for a walk to Causeway Bay. On our way, we passed through the beautiful Victoria Park and decided to stop by a kids' play area and see how Natalie took to the swings there.

Natalie loves balloons. While in the "restaurant", she kept pointing and excitedly repeating "boh-boh! boh-boh!" and so of course we had to ask if we could keep one of their balloons (for a small donation).


Natalie was not too impressed with the swings, but at least she didn't cry this time.


Instead she sat there, quietly holding her boh-boh and watching the other kids play.


Hey, what's Natalie looking and pointing at?


She didn't know her parents were... ninjas!