Christmas Day

It was cold and wet outside on Christmas Day. Everyone slept in but eventually Craig woke everyone up around 9am so that he could open his presents.

The first present that Craig opened was a scooter.

Before playing with the scooter Craig thought it was more important to open his other present.

It was soft toy monkey. Craig liked it so much he hung it around his neck straight away.

He also tried out the scooter but Craig's Dad didn't manage to get any good pictures.

Craig's Mum only had one present to open.

Two denim jackets. Craig already has a denim jacket so now they can go out looking like mother and son.

Craig then very helpfully opened Graham's present. It's a new toy that Graham's parents hope will keep the baby boy occupied sometimes.

It worked a treat the first time that Graham tried it out. He played with it very happily for 10 minutes and then demanded something new, not bad for a baby.

Graham has finally started to eat something other than mother's milk. Craig's Mum boiled up some sweet potato especially for him. He didn't eat as much as the amount that got left on his face but it was a start.

Despite gentle rain, the family went out in the afternoon. Craig's Dad wanted to see an exhibition at the Huashan Culture Park. But, the exhibition was so crowded that the staff at the door said Graham's stroller could not be taken inside. Instead, coffee and cake was had at a lovely cafe near the entrance of the park. Craig shared his Mum's drink.

And he really enjoyed his waffle.

Craig's Kindergarten X'mas Show

Today we have two videos of Craig onstage at his kindergarten Christmas show. The videos are rather raw. Craig's Dad really needs to learn more about editing videos.

Christmas Preparations

With just a few days to go before Christmas, Craig's Dad finally went and bought a new Christmas tree to replace the mini tree that had served him so well for the past few years. Craig was happy to help decorate the new tree. Unfortunately, it is big enough for Craig to hide behind. So, every time Craig's Dad tried to take a picture Craig's face would disappear from view.

Well, almost every time.

In fact, Craig was very conscientious about decorating the tree.

And, he did a great job.

When the decorations were done, the presents were put underneath, ready for the big day.

One other thing under the tree was a tiny Christmas tree that Craig made at kindergarten. It's a very fine piece of handiwork that deserves pride of place.

Tooth Number Two

No, not every tooth in Graham's mouth will be celebrated but the fact that number two appeared so quickly after number one seemed worth noting. Graham has suffered from very itchy gums recently and it has sometimes affected his sleep patterns. Hopefully his parents will get more sleep soon.

The weather in Taipei was beautiful last Saturday. The sunshine didn't inspire anything special in Craig and Graham's family. Just the usual brunch and then walk through park after park on the way back home. The only slightly new thing that Craig did was drive a little electric dog/car thing. He needs a better driving instructor.



Craig has played on this slide for years now. It was once too big for him and a little bit dangerous but he has to be creative to make it fun now.

On the one hand, Craig is much happier when he can hang out with his Mum and Dad but he's still very sensitive to how much attention Graham receives.

Graham's First Tooth

Graham doesn't get much space on the blog when compared to his brother Craig. Being a baby isn't a bed of roses, there are some tough days. Graham has started teething recently and that has sometimes darkened his normally sunny disposition.

Fortunately, Graham's life is otherwise pretty good. He's still able to raise a smile easily when someone plays with him. That gave his Dad a chance to take a picture of Graham's very first tooth. It's very sharp, too!

Saturday Brunch Again

Sometimes Craig's Dad reckons that he suffers from a lack of imagination. The result is that life can become a bit routine, even if the routine means comfortable things like brunch on Saturday at the same place more than once.

Craig doesn't seem to mind, however, so long as Craig's Mum has prepared paper to draw on and crayons to draw with.

Craig and Graham's Mum was happy that the little family were able to sit in their favourite seats. She likes the sofa seats. She was probably also pleased that Graham slept right through the meal.

After brunch, they took the now traditional walk through the department store rooftop playground and then on to the local school with the rope-climbing equipment that Craig likes so much.

Craig has a good time here every time. His Dad reckons he needs more exercise than he gets at kindy and whenever he's given something interesting to do Craig has plenty of energy.

The school, and the rest of the neighborhood, lives in the shadow of what used to be the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101.

After that long walk they went home for a short rest. Then, Craig and his Dad went for another walk through some local parks in the late afternoon. Craig did heaps more climbing and running around.

So, it was no surprise that he started asking for dinner at about 5pm.

Earlier this week Craig's parents received Craig's latest report card from kindy. His teachers say he's doing well. In the past his main problem, as far as his Dad can see, was shyness. But, Craig's teacher reckons he's starting to overcome that. Let's hope the teacher is right.

Can't Get Enough of Taipei Zoo

Despite the weather not looking inviting, Craig and Graham plus their Mum and Dad headed off to Taipei Zoo. Craig insisted on wearing his new Aussie top.

Once they arrived they met up with Craig's Mum's friend Yating and her family but sadly no pictures were taken with them.

Craig was not very interested in the larger animals. He seemed to prefer fish and turtles.

He even had a better time with penguin statues than he did watching the real things inside their cold home.

Graham had a tough day. His first tooth had just poked through his bottom gum and the only thing he felt like doing was chewing on anything handy.

Some parents came prepared to entertain their kids at the zoo. The lady with the videocamera was also supplying two soap bubble-making toys to her kids.

Craig joined in the fun chasing and popping the bubbles. He had a lot more fun doing this than looking at animals.

But rain started to fall heavily enough that umbrellas became necessary.

Shelter was taken in a building that houses cute little animals for the smaller children to look at. Craig was more interested in them but he was even happier that he was allowed to have chocolate ice-cream before they went home.

Belated Birthday Presents

A belated fourth birthday present for Craig arrived from Aunty Anne and Uncle Jim in Canberra on Monday. At first Craig was hesitant about ripping open the wrapping paper.

But it didn't take long for the paper to come off.

The Aussie top for Craig is big but in a good way. He seemed to like it a lot.

After trying it on he wouldn't take it off until bedtime and then he wore it to kindy the next day. It's already a favourite.

Graham has already almost grown out of a Socceroos jumpsuit that his Dad bought him so this Wallabies jumpsuit is a very timely replacement. It's also quite big but that's a good thing because cooler weather has arrived in Taipei and people here are extremely reticent to put short-sleeved clothing on from November to February.

Craig insisted on another photo being taken with him sharing the limelight.

Craig didn't show much interest in the two soft toys that were in the presents. So they have both temporarily become Graham's. He didn't mind having his photo taken with his new platypus and Craig's emu.

A Weekend Away

Craig and Graham's Mum was feeling rich and wanted to use her newly-acquired wealth to get out of Taipei for a weekend. The destination selected was Hsinchu. They stayed at a guest house on the Tsing Hua University campus. The trip down was uneventful. It was only after a long walk through a forested area on the university campus in drizzling rain that Craig and Graham's Dad remembered to start taking photos. Craig and Graham's Mum and her friend Yating always have a good time when they get together.

They spend quite a bit of time talking about children.

On Sunday morning, the university guest house breakfast was somewhat spartan but Craig didn't seem to mind. He likes having raisins for breakfast.

The rest of Sunday morning was spent walking around the campus grounds. Most of their time was spent near a little lake that has some of the fattest fish anywhere.

Craig was given fish food by this nice lady and her son to feed the fish. Other people had given him bread to feed pigeons earlier but he was scared of the birds.

Around midday Yating came with two of her kids in tow to pick them up and everyone piled into her little car. They found a park that a had a very cool thing for kids to climb on. Craig had heaps of fun there.

Climbing was the best way up and sliding was by far the best way down.

On Craig's left in this picture is nothing but a sudden drop. For a change he concentrated on where he was walking and reached the top safely at least a dozen times.

At the top was a difficult decision, which way down?

The best part of the little park was the mini rock climbing wall. In this photo, Craig's right foot is about thigh-high for him. He was really good at climbing this little path once he had been shown the way up the first time. It was great to see how quickly he could get up to the top.

The restaurant chosen for lunch had a large pond full of fish. The pond ran both inside and outside the place making it a bit of fun for kids that like to look at fish.

Yating's two kids also liked the fish.

It was hard to take them away but tiredness was setting in and an afternoon nap for the other kids beckoned while Craig accompanied his parents on the High Speed Rail train trip home.