First "Separation"

Today, this morning, Zoe and I had our first "separation" experience. This has been a long time in the planning and I am very, very happy to say that it was as smooth sailing as can be. Zoe made through some 50 minutes of being away from me without fuss or much duress. At one point, about 8 minutes into my workout, I took a peek in and she was sucking her thumb and being comforted by one of the sitters there. Otherwise, she did wonderfully and did not cry once according to the sitters. In fact, she seemed to have enjoyed herself very much, so much so that when I went to get her, she did not notice me for a good minute, being totally engrossed in watching a boy push a toy truck around.

I am so glad I did it too. Even though I looked forward to this day, I also dreaded it. I was worried about traumatizing Zoe, even though I know children are resilient, that she receives so much love and attention in general to be harmed by a little separation, and that this practice is in fact good for her and for me. It is time to start.

Zoe's Vocabulary

Our friend Matthias asked us how many words Zoe knows and I didn't know. I said 20, Dennis guessed 30. Matthias commented that he would guess more than that. So I thought I should try to take an inventory of her vocabulary. The following is what I can come up with right now. All told, she knows at least 87 words/phrases.

Words she understands but cannot say yet: U
Words she pronounces accurately in English: PE
Words she pronounces accurately in Chinese: PC
Words she understands but pronounces not quite accurately, like gurt for yogurt: AT (Almost there)

People/Names (5)
Mama (PC); Papa (PC); BaoBei - What I call Zoe (PC); Elmo (AT - she calls him "MO!"); Baby (PE)

Body Part (15)
Eyes (AT); Eye Brow (U); Nose (PE PC); Mouth (U); Teeth (U); Tongue (U); Face (U); Ears (U); Head (U); Belly (U); Belly Button (U); Backside (U); Leg (U); Toes (PE); Hand (U)

Food/Drinks (17)
Bread (AT); Noodle/Pasta (PC); Rice (U); Chicken (PC); Sausage (U); Fish (PC); Banana (AT); Apple (PE); Blueberry (AT); Juice (PE); Milk (PE); Yogurt (AT); Cookie (U); Croissant (U); Breastmilk (She has her own special name for it); Water (U/AT); Cheese (PE)

Animals (11)
Pig (PC); Dog (PE); Cat (PC); Mouse (AT); Bird (PE); Lion (U); Monkey (U); Giraffe (U); Bear (PE); Turtle (PE); Duck (PE)

Things/Inanimate Objects (17)
Blanket (PC); Car (AT); Balloon (PE); Ball (PE); Bib (PE); Book (PE); Cup (U); Clothes (U); Diaper (AT); Door (PE); Flower (PC); Light (U); Shoe (PE, also understands in Chinese); Moon (PE); Star (PE); Poop/Poo Poo (PE); Airplane (AT)

Verb/Phrases (17)
Brush Teeth (U); Eat (U); Kiss (PE); Shower/Bath (U); Carry Me (PC); Walk (PC); Open (U); Close (U); Watch TV (U); Hold My Hand (U); Come Here (U); Do you want/not want (U); Don't Eat That (U); Don't Touch That (U); Be Careful - Xiao Xing (U); Lift it up/higher (U); Brush your hair (U)

Adjective (4)
Slippery (PC); Correct/Right (PC); Cute (U); Purple

Adverb (1)
No (PE)

Back from the Badlands

We returned last night from a wonderful overnight camping trip to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the eastern part of San Diego county. We went with our good friends Ensie and Matthias, and their two boys, Jasper (age 4) and Elias (age 10 months).

On Friday morning we arrived in Borrego Springs, where we drove around the town to see the life-size prehistoric animal sculptures of Galleta Meadows Estate. A local property owner and a Mexican artist have teamed up to create several free-standing metal sculptures of Pliocene species that were native to the Borrego valley. The art was fun to see, and Zoe was fascinated by the huge beasts.

Zoe inspects the saber-toothed tiger.


















It was especially fun to show Zoe the giant tortoises, because "turtle" happens to be one of her favorite words. She's looking a little stunned here.













A family photo with the elephant.


















Quality time with the giant sloths.













After the sculptures, we headed east into the desert. We camped in Coachwhip Canyon, a few miles outside town. We picked a perfect spot -- quiet and peaceful, and plenty of open space and nooks for the children to explore. Zoe especially loved the sand - touching it, digging it, rolling around in it, and occasionally tasting it.

Matthias took this photo of our car camp. That's the tent that Jackie, Zoe and I shared. Inside you can see Zoe's Pack-and-Play portable crib. If you look closely at the photo, you'll see some people on top of the hill behind the camp; that's me, Jackie, Zoe, Ensie, and Jasper.













The view from the hills around Coachwhip Canyon.













Watching the sunset from the hilltop.













On Saturday we did a short hike to visit three palm oases. It's amazing how, once children enter the picture, it takes an entire day to complete a two-mile loop; gone are the days when we could cover 15 miles and still make it back home in time for dinner!












Jackie and Ensie pose in front of Seventeen Palms Grove.













Dennis and Zoe on the trail, with Una Palma in the distance.













Beauty and the Badlands.













Too much excitement for baby! Time for a nap.

Happy New Year!

From all of us, Happy New Year!

On the last day of 2008, we were favored with some lovely warm weather. Zoe enjoyed running around in the garden. I tried to teach her how to jump up in the air, but all she could manage was a squat. Well, at least it was good exercise, especially for papa, who isn't getting out to the gym as often as he used to, and ought to.

Growing Up!

It is incredible how much Zoe has grown the last couple of weeks. Developmentally, I mean (sadly, weight wise, she is still under 20 lbs). She knows the words for eyes, eye brow, ears, nose, face, teeth, tongue, belly, backside, legs and toes and points to them with great glee. She tests us, our limits and the meaning as well as power of "no." But she does so in the cutest possible way. Just the other night, she said to us most emphatically, "no, no, no, no, no." I'm not sure if we responded as we should. Dennis was so shocked he gasped. Then, we laughed so hard I think we delighted her. But I am pretty sure she knows the meaning of the word.

She has also been very keen on walking about by herself and demands to be let down whenever we are out and about. She indicates as much by pushing against me and by saying "zhou zhou," which is walk in Chinese. Previously, she would never hold my hand when I ask her to or allow me to hold her hand. She is determined to wander off and says as much with her entire body language. But yesterday at the Zoo, even though she was really keen to walk, she responded to my "hold mommy's hand" by extending her hands to me. We walked hand in hand. Even though it was short lived, she got it and today she did it again when I asked her to hold my hand.

Independence she may seek, she does, I think, look to us as role models. For example, she recently started to demand for us to read her books a couple of times a day (it used to be just bed time). She also wanted books inside her crib. A couple of times, I allowed it and was amazed (and delighted) to see in the video monitor that she was in fact "reading" the book in the crib. I think her sudden interest may be related to how, for a few days after Christmas, she saw me carrying a book about the house and reading it whenever I can. (The book in question is my Christmas gift from Dennis and it is "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell).

She is growing! We love her so much.

The little Sahara Princess - and her pig

A Quiet Christmas

We are having an unusually quiet Christmas this year. Aside from Uncle Justin and Uncle Connie, none of our extended family are here to celebrate Christmas with us. Left to our own devices, we are indulging in simply listening to music, watching Christmas Story, long walks, and - what else - updating our blog!

I started to post a blog last week about our heady weekend - one full of firsts and activities for Zoe - but was too busy to finish it. About firsts and activities, Zoe got to go on the Merry-Go-Round for the first time at the Wild Animal Park last Saturday. She was so fascinated by it every time I took her to the Park that we decided it is time to take her on it. You can see her reaction on the video below.



On Friday, we took her to see Christmas lights at this neighborhood south of us. The entire neighborhood went all out with the lights and it was quite a sight. Zoe had a great time there. It was an unique experience too because she is hardly ever out of the house past 6 p.m. That night she got to stay out till 8:30 p.m!

But that was last week of course. It is Christmas today and we are enjoying it and thinking of our wonderful family and how lucky we are to have them.

Fashion Plate

Here are some more photos of Zoe's recent fashion statements. My personal favorite is the overalls. In my opinion, no baby doesn't look cute in overalls.

By the way, if you look carefully at some of the photos you'll notice that, more often than not, there's a little droplet hanging from Zoe's chin. This is the result of her nearly constant drooling. It's kinda gross and cute at the same time.

I think the English language needs a new word that means "gross and cute at the same time."

I look so cute

Auntie Desiree gave Zoe a lavender colored beanie for her 1st birthday. It was finally cold enough in the house for Zoe to have it on her head. We think Zoe looks adorable in hats.

Fish Spa!!

One of the more interesting things we did while we were in Singapore is this fish spa thing. I heard about it before, about how these little fishes love to eat dead human skin and how one's feet (or any other body part one cares to feed to the fishes) becomes baby soft after some "exposure" to the fishes. It was incredibly ticklish at first. A weird experience to see and feel the sometimes hundreds of fishes all over my legs. But I - and Dennis too - got used to it and we were very pleased with the result.



Incidentally, the fishes are Garra rufa or Cyprinion macrostomus, but commonly called "Doctor Fish." Garra rufa is a freshwater fish that can be found in the river basins of the Northern and Central Middle East, mainly in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. It has been used for the treatment of skin diseases in Turkey.

Zoe goes shopping

Zoe did Auntie Grace proud with her shopping prowess. This was taken while we were in Singapore. Imagine the following video with the soundtrack of Pretty Woman.

Adventures in Singapore and Cambodia

Orchids at the Singapore Botanical Gardens

We just got back from our little 12 days holiday to Singapore and Cambodia and are we glad to be home! As always, as much as I love the experience of seeing new places and breathing a different air, I love coming home. This homecoming is especially sweet too because of Zoe. We knew traveling with a young child wouldn't be easy, but it was more challenging than expected both psychologically and physically. The getting to was especially hard. On our flight out, Zoe slept only four hours during the entire 18 hours journey. Most of the remainder hours were spent fussing or crying. It didn't help matters that I am perfectly capable of sleeping all 18 hours on a plane. Something about planes - perhaps the drone - knocks me out in general. Then, because of jet lag and various sightseeing activities, it was hard to get Zoe onto a regular schedule. On top of it all, she didn't eat much the entire time. In short, we worried about her, which marred our otherwise wonderful trip.

Luckily for us, Zoe is quite resilient. She was mostly good humored and was curious about the new surroundings. And, already, she has began to make up for her not eating much during the trip. She ate a huge quantity of sugar snap peas, a chicken sausage, pasta, and yogurt last night.

As to Dennis and I, we ate like Singaporeans (well, a lot and frequently), met some of my friends (glad to say that I think he thought all of them charming and great company and vice versa), and visited some of my favorite haunts in Singapore (Peranakan Place, Emerald Hill, Boat Quay, Botanical Gardens). We even chanced upon a little peak at my Primary School. Then, of course, most importantly, we took great pleasure in showing Zoe off to Gong-Gong and Puo-Puo, both of whom delighted in Zoe. And we celebrated with Puo-Puo her 70th birthday (the prime reason we chose to go back to Singapore).

It was quite festive and almost overwhelmingly loud and crowded at home for a few days. But that is just as I imagined a three generation Chinese household would be. It was quite wonderful to see Gong-Gong and Puo-Puo fuss over Zoe. Gong Gong personally supervised the making of fish porridge for Zoe! As expected, everyone thought Zoe too skinny and "must eat more!"

At the Botanical Gardens. I love, love, love the Singapore Botanical Gardens. I spent a lot of time there as a child (we lived across the road) and as an adult would visit it with friends on the weekends.

At the Tiong Bahru Market for an early breakfast of $1.50 a bowl Wanton Noodles, Chinese Tunip Cake ($1 for 6) and lots of Iced "Kopi." We decided to have Wanton Noodles because there was a long line at the stall selling it. It must be good if there is a line at 6:30 am in the morning for it. It took a good half hour before we sat down to eat our noodles. It was not bad. Wanton was excellent. Soup was good. Noodles so so.

Reunion with high school class mates. Excepting for Aili, I was 16 the last time I saw Junyi, Fong Chew and Garen.

Scary Looking Rain Clouds!

Breakfast at Fullerton Hotel. The food was so-so, but the view of Boat Quay and Singapore riverfront magnificent. When I was living in Singapore, I would sometimes walk home from boat quay. A somewhat longish walk, but completely pleasant and doable in the evening.

We (mom and dad, Ben, Uncle Send and Auntie Connie and Derrick) went to have a Bak Kuh Teh (Pork Ribs Soup) breakfast at this rather famous place on Rangoon Road.

With Dad

Dad was sooo happy when Zoe allowed him to carry her. We visited this particular food court three times while in Singapore. On our first visit, Dennis and I ordered four pratas, two fish ball noodles soup, fruits, ice coffee and an ice kachang for the two of us!

Dad following Zoe.

After a few days in Singapore, we took a little 4 days 3 nights side trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the famed Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is a huge contrast to Singapore. Whereas Singapore is super clean and super modern, Siem Reap is - to me - like a time capsule of the old Singapore. Many of the roads were dirt roads, some of the stores look just like the stores the lined Bras Besah and North Bridge Road in the 70s. The Siem Reap river reminds me of the little canal that ran between Bukit Timah Road and Dunean road. But a lot of it is very new and ultra chic. There were wireless hotspots. A lot of the restaurants we saw would not look out of place in New York city.

Our First Tuk-Tuk Ride

Zoe really enjoyed riding in the Tuk-Tuk. She loved the wind.

Going to our first meal in Siem Reap at FCC Angkor

Very Yummy Lunch at the FCC.

Tummy filled, we head off to Angkor Wat - Here at the Entrance.

At Bayon

Of all temples we visit, Ta Prohm is probably my favorite. I love the mysteriousness of the temple and I love the trees that has become one with the temple structures.

If Dennis felt "Lord of the Rings" in New Zealand, I felt "Tomb Raider" in Angkor Wat!

Most of the temples are worn and in a state of disrepair. Walking among the ruins, I thought of the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Of course, being Buddhists (and Hindus), the kings probably never boasted as Ozymandias did.

On the bridge leading to Angkor Thom

One of the many beautiful stone carvings we saw gracing the walls of the temples.

Outside Banteay Srei

One of the intricately carved lintels at Banteay Srei

Pre Rup in the morning sun.

A busy street in the old market area now filled with bars and restaurants. Food is generally good and cheap in Siem Reap. All the restaurants we ate at had main courses that cost $3.50 to $5.50.

Fish Amok - One Of The Delicious Traditional Cambodian Dishes We Tried. This version came from Viroth's.

Happy at Viroth's, a most lovely boutique hotel. We loved the minimalist sensibilities of the owners. And we loved the salt water pool there. I actually went in there twice!

At the Elephant's Terrace at Angkor Thom

Zoe loves it when we let her have free play time. Here, you see her fascinated with the little holes in the stone blocks.