Another one in the park

Another one in the park. :)

Day in the Park

Lux felt good enuf to be able to venture out to a park one of the sunday. Actually we only go to Hong Kong Park, where there's a thai restaurant we like
But siyuan is now understanding how to poise for pictures. Also u see that jean pants he was wearing? It took forever to convince him to wear it. We had to adjust him to wearing long pants with the the onset of winter, and he hated it

The playground

Sometimes he has sweet moments :)

November

November in Hong Kong, it's getting cold and i tricked Siyuan to wearing a hat :)

Small Video Clip

Just a five second clip of Siyuan

Siyuan before he fell sick

A couple of pics before we all fell sick start of October.
one is a visit by my sister and the other at HK Park

How do you know you're in HK?

This is a bit tongue in cheek of How do you know you're in HK, but does come from observations made in the past year. To be fair, the same things may be happening in Singapore too (I've been away for about 5 years), though I don't recall such incidents in Australia

1) The parents dining next to you don't know how to hold their four-month-old baby. It's their maid's day off and they don't hold the baby except for a day a week.
2) It's ten in the morning on the weekends, and the maid at the playground with the kid tells you the parents are still sleeping in. She also tells you that the day she's off, the parents bring the child to the grandparents.
3) The parents are shocked your kid doesn't have an English name, like Buzz, which they've named theirs. Of course it doesn't matter that they are neither Caucasian, Christian nor have kids born in countries like Australia.
4) While you're trying to open the door with one hand, and struggling to push the pram through with the other, somebody shoves past you to get through the door you've opened. You see, they don't want to touch the door frame.
5) People try to shove your two-year-old kid aside so they can run two steps up the escalator, where they then stand there.
6) They don't have baby chairs in restaurants, but Macdonald would have!
7) The waitress thinks it's okay to sit your kid in the path of people rushing out off the kitchen with hot soup.
8) Some people would stare at your child if he's too happy. It's not right, darn it, to be this happy.
9) The parents all want their kids to learn Mandarin/Putonghua, but they would avoid you and your kid if you speak it. You might be from mainland China, you see?
10) Your neighbour thinks you're a freak becos you put your child to sleep by 8 p.m. Theirs are still up at 11 p.m. watching T.V.

Again, this is tongue in cheek, but every observation happened, some quite frequently. There are also a lot of nice, considerate and normal people here :)

nostalgic

Have been away from Singapore for more than four years. Nothing brings back the memories as the songs both me and Lux grew up with. It was a period when local song-writers were bursting onto the scene, writing down-to-earth, at times poetic songs that are performed acoustically. It was known as xinyao, those songs. I was trying to find some of the older lyrics and songs to sing to Siyuan in an attempt to teach him more mandarin.
Found this old video of one of the more well-known songwriters -- 梁文福

http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=LBUDfdzzSEs

One of the speakers on this program said: u don't have to read history, but if you listen to Wen Fu songs, u would have an insight into the Chinese cultural and social landscape of the 1980s in Singapore.

And yes, we continue to be sick. It's either a new flu or the old one striking back.
So it's been 3 weeks getting to 4 weeks of coughing and sneezing. Lux can't sleep, Siyuan is grouchy and I've coughed so hard my ribs are inflamed. Ecks.

Siyuan's photography

Siyuan taking a picture with my mobile phone :)
Also a clear blue sky in HK. A rare occurence. It was actually also cool enough to bring him out to the park to play in the morning. That hasn't been true since March.

Learning

Some old incidents that pop up to mind and brings a laugh to us when we recall it.
Where's my drinks?
We were at our usual Thai restaurant and the waitress had brought lime juice drinks for us. Siyuan turned to her and gestured with his hands, as if to say where's mine?

My yogurt?
There was a time when Siyuan loved his yogurt (his taste changes all the time), and my mother-in-law was in time during that period. My mother-in-law had faked interest in the yogurt. Siyuan first started by grabbing hold of Lux's arm to keep the yogurt in sight, and then using both hands to ensure it doesn't leave. At one point, he even waved no to my mother-in-law when she leaned forward to be closer to said yogurt.

Missing School

Siyuan is just about adapting to school in stages. by the second day, he was playing lego, on the third, he started interacting with one kid and crying bout is down to 20 minutes. By the fourth day, he played with other kids, and by friday, his crying is reduced to 5-10 minutes. However, he still insists on hanging on to his school bag through the whole session. We think it's becos he has associated wearing the bag with mommy coming to pick him up. Oh well.
He fell sick during the weekend, so no school for him. We're also trying to stop him from going out to infect other kids. Sunday became a very long day as we tried to entertain a sick, grouchy kid who can't be allowed to go out.
And the best thing about having kids? when they fall sick, u fall sick as well. I already feel a cold and sore throat coming on after Siyuan fed me, and ate from my bowl.
Such is life. haha

1st Day Away

Siyuan goes to play school today. The first time he has ever left the side of either one of us. The teachers said he cried the whole 90 minutes he was in the classroom, trying desperately to get out. He joins 11 other tear-stained kids. Shopping later, Lux said she saw other kids with red-rimmed eyes trailing their parents/maid. Lux bought a train for Siyuan after it, and he clutched it along while hugging Lux all the way home.

Speaking

Siyuan can now say book and ball. he said zha zhi once, but no other chinese words.
he can say pom pom, which means bath in teochew baby talk.
He can jump, swing on bars, spin around. Feed himself with fork and spoon.
:)

Holding a Baby

We were having lunch when a couple came in with their baby. No maid! Untypical! This is HK afterall. The baby looked like 3-4 months. Then I saw the mom trying to eat while holding the baby. Saw her pass to her husband, and how he held the baby. Later saw her walk around with the baby in her arms. Okay, they have a maid and they only hold their baby once a week. There's no way parents with a baby 3-4 months old still don't know how to hold a baby. Sigh.

Greg

visited my friend greg as well. Greg is an absolute natural with kids, just like the maternal nurses we have in australia.

Long delivery van

something u won't see in asia.

Merry go round

Siyuan at a merry go round :)

Cycling and the beach

Didn't finish my sans francisco posting. We went cycling and dropped by a beach. Poor siyuan was stuffed into tug-along beside the bike with a huge helmet. The helmet was so heavy that he couldn't lift his head. He kept crying. We took off his helmet.
He had fun at the beach though he couldn't figure out the sand at first. And he panicked when the tide kept coming in, and scrambled up Lux.

The Bridge

Can't go there and not have a picture of the bridge. Lux took this.

Streets

Just a street picture to show the slopes typical of the city.
Many street names were also spanish in origins because of the Hispanic influences. To my surprise, I was told the state used to belong to Mexico. I was surprised becos Mexico seem too far south to that. So much for my sense of history! Till today, there's still a strong Hispanic influence and population, and I think even a strong proportion of the tourists would have come from Latin America. Sometimes though I would think they're Chinese becos they have difference features and skin colour, till they speak.

There are of course also many Asians here. We had lunch one day at a Chinese restaurant, whose owner was happy to give us a bit of history. Many of them speak Cantonese here, so i had assumed they were from Hong Kong. As it turns out, they were mostly from China, Guangdong province. Increasingly others were coming, so Putonghua is getting more common as well. The owner also gave us some perspective on property prices. A studio with a toliet, and no kitchen, would have cost US$1,700 a month to rent. Property prices are also very high. I was later told the kids population in the city was falling becos families couldn't afford to stay and were moving to the suburbs.

The other pic is what Siyuan had. The food was surprisingly good there, better than most of the places we ate at in Hong Kong. haha

Fries and growing up

I love pictures like this one, where u can see siyuan and lux walking together. I chose one from the back rather than the front to emphasize the difference in height. It always makes me think - he's so small, yet he's complete in every physical sense. It also shows how vulnerable he is, and how much smaller in size he is to us. Sometimes as parents, i think we forget becos our babies are always so much in our faces and all over us.
The other picture shows siyuan's obession with fries and anything that looks like it. He was basically on a fries and orange juice diet, rejecting most of our attempts to feed him decent food. He did get some porridge stuff we brought, strawberries and bread etc. I guess the other good thing was he decided he could handle eggs again. For a month prior to the trip, he refused to eat egg, whether scrambled, fried or boiled, and would spilt them out no matter how disguised they are, or mixed with other food.
Btw, this time round, what's in the box wasn't fries but sweet tapioca strips.

Raining in HK

It rained all the time we were in Sans Francisco and continued to pour when we're back. And guess what? For the first time in 7 months, since we got here, we have clear views in HK. When we went to the bayside track near our place, I can finally see across the bay. I never realized there were coloured buildings there.
I can see across the bay at my office view as well! My view there is no longer restricted to the buildings nearby. I can see why HK would be so attractive in the past, but the pollution is a real pain nowadays.

Sure, China has to do with a lot of it, but you have to wonder about emissions from local power stations and motor vehicles. I was at Mid-levels checking out a rental apartment when i first got here, and my eyes were tearing while standing on the street waiting for the property agent to arrive. I was there less than 10 minutes.
That's just from the motor vehicles emissions.

And if pollution is that bad from China, why is it worse in HK island than in New Territories which is nearer to China? you have to wonder, wonder, wonder.

Flooding and the long way home

It was a long way home, and all we could do to distract Siyuan, while in a cramped environment. Because it winds all the way down, and we have an erratic driver, we can't even think about letting him down from his seats. So we were reduced to passing him back and forth. We had some great neighbours who made faces with him, played pass the toy, or switched on the lights to entertain Siyuan. Well, we won't be in a hurry to do those long bus trips around. It was worth it to get there, but man, the journey to entertain him can kill.
Here's a picture of flooding that does occur at the park.

Here's what he's really doing

Siyuan was actually throwing a tantrum. Here's the rest of the pics

Contemplating Nature

Does it look like Siyuan is contemplating the awesome waterfall and nature? well...maybe not :)

Yosemite Walks

Just walking through the little bit of the park we had time for!

Yosemite

Yosemite National Park! a 14 hours day tour. We should have booked accomodation for a nite there to better enjoy it. As it was, it was rushed and we barely had 3 hours there inclusive of lunchtime. It was beautiful, and we wished we could have been there for sunrise and sunsets, or just to sit and relax somewhere.

Day 3 or 4?

This is either Day 3 or 4. we're having breakfast at a place called Home plates, and yes, they have child's seat!

:)

Traveling and Such

We were in Sans Francisco for almost two weeks for a holiday. Pictures as soon as I get off my butt to download them. But what a trip! I rushed us out of the apartment, my wife left her wallet at home (but we didn't know for sure), 12-14 hours flight with the return starting at 1:30 am, I left a book i bought in the motel, and then left the camera on the plane. Still, all ended well. Wallet and camera found.

All in all, it was a good holiday - cool climate, fresh air, good food, lots of space and some good shopping. wife got clothes, i got books, and Siyuan got to play on a beach and walk in a national park. That's also his 7th trip on a plane in 11 months. Yes, its a bit too much. So this is likely the last one for the rest of the year. The return trip was hellish becos it was way past his bedtime, and the ventaliation wasn't good. It was almost 4 in the morning before we got any sleep, though after that he was reasonably good. Well, as good as an active baby can get on a plane. :)


During the trip, Siyuan also decided he could say bye bye afterall, throwing in waves as well. He did that while we were on a ferry and chatting with fellow Australians from Victoria, which was where he was born. At their departure, he suddenly decided he liked the woman and said good bye. No doubt that was becos he recognised a fellow Aussie, and more probably becos he was totally fascinated by her rings and bagles. haha.

First impressions of Sans Francisco was that it was a lot like Melbourne - cool climate, wide spaces and fresh air. Of course, its also a lot bigger. Everything in the U.S. is large, from the roads, pavements, people to the coke we got. We arrived at 9-10 pm and hit our motel (becos this is the fourth-most expensive city in the U.S.!). It was old, but in good condition and the owners of the Redwood Inn were friendly and helpful.

We got a room with two Queen-sized bed, which gave Siyuan a bit of room to play around, and a place to put down our luggaes, and his food, his diapers, his clothes, his etc. haha. His stuff took up half of Lux's and mine's suitcases. He even has a toy laptop. (I bought a small basketball for him to play, which kept him most amused. Except rather than kicking or throwing it around, he loved to hide it. It got left behind in the motel room in the end becos we couldn't find it. haha)

We visited Fisherman's Wharf, yes, yes its a tourist trap, but there's a small pier and its only 3 blocks away from where we stayed. Went cycling and got sunburnt. Checked out Chinatown, where movies such as Big Trouble in Chinatown and one of Jackie Chan's was filmed and weren't impressed. Afterall, HK is one big Chinatown. There was little italy as well, which again reminded us of Lyon Street in Melbourne, though of a smaller scale.

We went up the famous Crooked Street, climbed up and down lots of slopes. Took a ferry to Sausaulito. Went to Yosemite national park. Checked out Union Square and also visited a friend's place in Richmond. In between the longer trips (such as the 14-hour Yosemite tour) we just relaxed, bringing Siyuan to a local playground and eating out at restaurants we found six blocks away where the locals hang out.

We had big breakfasts most mornings becos we missed them, and they were usually good. Like I told Lux, this was for the rest of the year! I doubt we can get such good breakfasts in HK (point proven when we went to Mid-levels this weekend for some and found it was hardly worth it.)

We had sushi becos it was fresh enough to eat, and burgers and steaks becos we were in Amercia. Went to Hooters becos wife never been to one, ate the Dungree crabs, and tried out chinese food (very good stuff there).

All in all, a good if expensive trip. Pictures and details later!

Fisherman's Wharf

We headed to Fisherman's Wharf after that for a bit of the local crab. We actually went there twice, but only the first time was good. We think the waitress the second time was inattentive and brought our food too late, so it was cold. But the first time, the crab was succulent and steaming hot. THe good thing about cafes and restaurants in Sans Frans is that they provide seats for children, and sometimes crayons as well. HK don't seem to have child's seat ,or if they have them they are really poor.

Little Italy and Chinatown

After that climb, we went down to Chinatown, bypassing Little italy. we stopped by a french cafe to have french onion soup. As u can see, Lux is having a good time since she loves food :)

The other pic is me just in front of the chinatown gate.

Day 3

We woke up, climbed a very steep slope to get to the famous croookkedd street. We were even overtaken on the slope by an old lady. We wondered how people can live on the slope.
The actual street itself isn't as bad.

Saying goodbye

yes, he's learnt to say good bye at Sans Francisco. Here's a picture of him doing that :)

Day 2

This is Day 2 in Sans Frans. We woke up for breakfast and then took him out to the little pier for a walk, followed by a short jaunt at French cafe, where they made burnt coffee..we tried coffee at just about everywhere, and its usually burnt. guess the beans are burnt and they like it that way!

howling outside the toliet

yes, that's the infamous scene.

part 2 of the tantrrum series :)

during this period of time, he has also grown increasingly attached to Lux. Lux is the only one that can put him to sleep, most of the time he wants her to feed him and cuddle him. The family can't, and even i can't most times now. People with kids tell us its the same thing with them. One mom said her daughter chased her dad out of the room. :)
its driven lux mad becos she can't go to the toliet without him howling outside the door, but on the other hand, there are moments of bliss when he would just sit contentedly on her lap. She's enjoying motherhood. Me? I regret not sleeping more often with him, or cuddling him more before! I always thought he would let me do it. Well, like they say, if u don't spend time with the baby, its gone.

the tantrum series

Siyuan is now a fully accomplished sprawler. Whenever he can't get his way, he flops onto the floor (not too hard. he's more careful now after hitting his own head), and lies there and sniffle. Till of course, you agree to go in the direction he wants to in the park, or give him his cuddle or sweet or whatever. But catching him sprawled isnt' too easy. He stops crying and get up aquickly with a smile once he notices the camera :)

but it was really too hot

but it was really quite hot that day, so he took breaks in the shelter as well. He's pretty aware of the elements. On these hot days, u can't walk out for more than 10 minutes without been drenched in sweat and looking like a cooked lobster. HK parents, the well-off one, can be quite picky and demanding. I've heard comments about why SIyuan looked so sweaty. Also seen a mother heckle her son on why he's not doing better at the monkey bar. What should be fun has become a task for the poor kid, who resorted to faking stomach pain to avoid doing the bar. Then i've seen old folks scold another kid for not climbing as well as Siyuan. Its pretty competitive out there!
On the other hand, there are normal people, who run around playing catching with their kids :)

Siyuan at the playground

it was bright and sunny after a few days of rain, so took the camera and siyuan out. Siyuan is now an accomplished climber - if he sees it he wants to climb it. If he can't, he will wait till he sees an older kid do it, and then try it.

My sister and Siyuan

My sister, who helped to take care of me and my brother when young, rediscovers what it's like to have a mad kid running around the house. :)

Making himself at home part 2

So, we were only at his great grandmother's place for a few hours, and he was up to a lot of no-good :)

Making himself at home

Though we were only in Singapore about 4 days, Siyuan made himself totally at home, opening every cabinet he could reach, exploring the kitchen, my old bedroom, pulling out books, old toys and whatever he can reach.

United Square

We took Siyuan to United Square, which caters to kids and parents with clothes, toys and so-called educational places. Later we had seafood at Jumbo. :)
Some pics of him with my brother and his wife.

Siyuan Discovers Apples Bounce

He was wandering around in the kitchen while in Singapore when he found a basketful of apples and made the discovery that they can bounce! My dad cut up the much-bruised apples later for us to eat. Back in HK now, Siyuan can now hold his own apple and eat, and once he had enough he goes back to bouncing them.