To Far Off Oz

On the weekend before Craig was due to leave for sunny Australia, Craig's Dad took the boy for a ride on the family's trusty motor-scooter. Craig was dressed up very warmly but still complained about the cold wind on his face and hands. No surprise really, it was about 10 degrees Celsius. He was happier after getting off at Neihu Sports Park and going for walk.

Not long before Craig's last day at kindy before Chinese New Year, he received his semester report card. This is a more realistic assessment of Craig's abilities than the last one where the teacher gave him "Excellent" in every category.


Finally, the day to travel arrived. After being picked up from home at 6:30am, Graham fell asleep during the drive to the airport.

Thanks to Cathay Pacific, the flights went very smoothly. Graham spent his first night in Oz in a motel, but both boys were extremely happy about not being on the airplane and couldn't sleep until it was very late.

Both boys slept in until it was time to take a taxi to the airport but by Sunday afternoon they could walk around in the warm summer of Yeppoon.

Recent Stuff

Life has been pretty busy for Craig and Graham recently. The weekends have been cold but Craig is still much happier if he can go out for a walk with Dad.

The locals parks all get visited one by one. Craig's new scooter usually comes along as well.



But, Craig has to dress up nice and warm. He isn't accustomed to cold weather and this has been the coldest January for 40 years in Taipei.

Graham spends most of his time at home. He's started munching on soft biscuits despite the fact that he only has two teeth.

He's still working out which way to put the biscuit in his mouth is the best.

But once he starts munching he doesn't stop until the biscuit is gone.

On one of Craig's walks around the parks two teenage girls gave him a pink rabbit-shaped bottle full of soapy water for bubble making. He likes making bubbles.

But bubbles only come out when your mouth directly faces the little round bit at the end of the stick.

Sometimes, there has been dinner downstairs where Graham gets taken care of by his Taiwanese Grandma while Mum and Dad eat.

Some things are funnier in real life. Craig looked pretty funny wearing his Mum's boots but the photo doesn't do the moment justice. Sigh.

Meanwhile, Dad finally put together a playpen that he had been given ages ago by a co-worker. Graham seemed to like it at first.

Especially when there were toys to play with.

He's already started to prefer pieces of toys to the whole things!!!

After a while Graham complains enough that he has to be given a new perspective on things. Sitting up is a new way of looking at life when you're only seven months old.

Craig at Kindy

Craig's kindergarten has supplied another batch of photos from his days at kindy, this time from September to November, 2010. They really take an amazing number of photos at Uncle Jason's. In fact, so many that even his parents have trouble finding time to look at them all. Click here to enjoy the show.

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.