Quick Visit by Aunty Suprana

Not long before Christmas, Aunty Suprana dropped in for a very quick visit. To welcome her back to Taiwan there was a special lunch where Graham tried valiantly to order food.

When he couldn't get the waiter's attention, Graham turned his mind to other things. He very quickly surprised Aunty Suprana by unlocking her phone right before her eyes.

After lunch, a crowd of kids showed up at the second floor flat downstairs from home.

Craig seemed to like being rolled up in this mat.

But so did his cousins, so they took turns.

They were a lot of kids.

So it took a bit of time for everyone to have a go.

Aunty Suprana and Uncle Guapo tried to take a photo of all the kids on one sofa with Craig and Graham's Taiwanese Grandma.

It was pretty difficult to get them all to look at the camera at the same time.

Some of the kids then decided that jumping on a bed would be fun.

Then they all piled on top of someone you had fallen on the bed. Mum tried to get them off before the child at the bottom got squashed.

Then there was just enough time for some sisterly chat before Aunty Suprana had to head for the airport.

P.S. It's slightly surprising that there's no picture of Craig giving Aunty Suprana a hug. Craig quite likes her hugs.

Early Christmas Gift for Craig

Christmas came early for both Craig and Graham this year. In early December two bicycles came home. But, Graham hasn't got the hang of riding his new bike yet so there's no photos to show. The good news is that Craig loves his new blue bike. He hasn't been out to ride as often as he would have liked because there's been a lot of wet weather.

Craig stays off the roads and mostly rides in parks near home.

One park has a 340m-long path around it that has become a bit of a favourite. Craig rode four laps without stopping the last time he was there and only quit because rain had started falling. He likes to be accompanied by Dad as he rides but Craig's legs get stronger every time he goes out. It's only a matter of time till Dad won't be able to keep up by jogging along beside the boy.

Craig & Graham's Mad Parents

There was a time in December where it seemed to rain every day for weeks on end. The boys were so bored with staying indoors that Craig and Graham's mad parents thought that even taking them out in the rain seemed like a good idea.

So, after a short walk to Songshan Station, everyone got on a train headed for the east coast. Graham really likes trains and was quite happy for a short time.

But the boys were hungry and quickly ate the tiny snacks that had been brought along for the ride. Not long later both boys were hungry and starting to become irritable. Then, a liitle boy sitting opposite offered little pancake sandwiches. Craig and Graham loved them.

This is the little angel that saved the day.

So, after arriving at their destination of Fulong the first thing on the agenda was more food. The difficult part was finding somewhere to eat while it was raining and almost nothing was open. In the end convenience store food was considered the best of a bad bunch. After eating a little Craig took the next photo.

After lunch there was nothing else to do but walk around in the drizzle.

Graham really enjoyed splashing around in puddles.

And, the car park wasn't busy at all.

Craig had a good time too.

He put his soccer skills to use on a piece of fruit that had fallen from a tree.

Graham was curious about water flowing down into a drain.

While Craig got on a fence to watch water rushing down a tiny creek.

The way down to the beach was blocked off by construction work.

There was no way through.

So, they wandered off to have a waffle.

In terms of indoor seating, the Mr. Brown Coffee at Fulong is probably the smallest in the nation. Just two small tables with two seats each.

There's plenty of outdoor seating for those who don't mind sitting in the rain. :)

On the way back to the train station, this sign raised a smile.

Just outside the station, this photo was part of a collage meant to highlight the attractions of Fulong. This was as close as they came to the beach during the trip.

The trip was not an oustanding success. It was merely better than spending yet another day trapped indoors by rainy weather. Hopefully, the boys' mad parents will have a better idea the next time time rainy weather arrives on the weekend.

Christmas Tree

It's been said before on this blog but there really isn't a lot of Christmas spirit in Taiwan. Nevertheless, Craig has a pretty good understanding of how things work. He knows that a tree is necessary and he reckons that decorating the tree is his job. Graham is only allowed to supervise.

Craig seemed to remember what to do from last year.

He did a great job, in fact. After finishing the decorations, he let Dad put the string of lights on the tree.

Craig is very happy about Christmas coming soon.

There's only two presents under the tree so far. Hopefully, there'll be more for the boys to open on the big day.

Expensive Buffet Lunch

One of the many good things about living in close proximity to so many relatives is, every now and then, freebies will be bestowed upon the amazingly cute boys called Craig and Graham!!! Not long ago was one such occasion when Great Aunt From the Fifth Floor had two coupons to give away for a buffet lunch at an expensive hotel way up north in Danshui. Unfortunately for Craig, that meant Graham travelled with Mum and Dad while poor Craig went to kindy.

Once seated Graham refused to eat any food offered by Dad. An obvious side-effect of that decision by the very hungry boy was the necessity of Mum to be quick about fetching food.

Graham became quite worried if Mum was too slow.

But brightened up quickly whenever she returned to the table.

The party of three (had arrived late and) were eventually kicked out of the restaurant because the buffet had finished and the management wanted to get afternoon tea started. It wasn't a big deal. The intrepid travellers had eaten plenty and there's a boardwalk right outside the hotel.

It's near the mouth of the Danshui River. That's the part of the river that smells like the ocean and not so much like wastewater. The weather was perfect for a stroll but the boardwalk has a stupid fence along the edge that is poised above a largish drop to jagged rocks below. The bottom of the fence is perfect for tripping two year old children and the gaps are easily large enough for little ones to fall through. That's why Mum had to keep a firm hold on Graham every second.

Eventually they went indoors where a deserted arcade had some games machines. Weird.

It was soon time to head back to town and pick Craig up from kindy.

He's starting to take this climbing business seriously now. Anything that he thinks he can get to the top of, is fair game.

Climbing Craig (Video)

Just a short follow-up to the previous post. This brief video gives a much better idea of Craig's climbing prowess than still photos.

Climbing Craig

Craig isn't the most active of little boys. It's not his fault. He lives in a flat in a very densely-populated part of the world and simply has very, very little chance to get out and run around. However, he does occasionally show a bit of athleticism. One recent evening, immediately after having a bath and supposedly being ready for bed, Craig decided to climb the walls.

Well, it's a door and wall but you can see that in the photos. Craig hasn't learned how to climb down yet.

But, after jumping down he was just as quick to climb back up.

He was very quick to become confident enough to pose for pictures!

It was pretty cool.

He stayed up there long enough for Mum took some photos too.

It wasn't very surprising when Craig repeated the trick the next evening. Cooler weather meant he was wearing a padded sleeping vest but it didn't slow him down at all. He just needed to be careful about not dropping down onto his little brother.

He gets up there quite often now and sometimes doesn't wait until just before bedtime.

 Sometimes he can found climbing up during the day.

 Graham doesn't get involved. He'd rather watch a video.

Craig doesn't mind.

 This is a game he can play quite happily by himself.