Craig's Grandma Turns 70!

This was a very big day for Craig. It started out with an early morning trip to watch his Mum, Dad and Aunty Bess play squash with some friends. Then, it was back home for a bath and quick nap before putting on his kangaroo t-shirt (family team uniform) to attend a lunch to celebrate Craig's Grandma's 70th birthday.


He still had plenty of energy when he was dressed and ready to go to lunch. He was happy to kick his legs and wave his arms just to show off to his Dad.


When we arrived at the restaurant Craig's cousin Soit-Jade was running around so fast that Craig's Dad's camera couldn't keep up. Every photo came out blurred.



As soon as our little family arrived Craig's Mum got together with her two sisters for a chat. Recently, they have spent so much time together chatting that Craig's Dad has nicknamed them The Three Sisters. (Aussies will understand that comment better than others.) Craig's Aunty Suprana was keeping a close eye on her phone throughout the lunch.


Before lunch was served, Craig was in demand as his great-aunt and several others all wanted to hold him for a minute.


One thing about family get-togethers that can make them a little arduous is the pressure to drink alcohol. In this case most of the pressure came from the restaurant staff. Craig's Aunty Suprana had some trouble trying to water down her scotch because the only way to do it was by adding ice and the ice-cubes were just a little bit bigger than the shot-glasses that had been supplied.


The lunch itself was otherwise not exceptional but afterwards there was some gift-giving. Judging by the smiles on the face of the reciever, the most popular birthday gift was a collection of 6 coffee mugs with photos on them. Each mug had a different picture of members of the family. It was given by the Three Sisters and their brother.



Everybody wanted to get a close-up look at the mugs.


The mugs were very popular with everyone that saw them but were especially so with all the older people. This is the one with Craig and his Mum and Dad on it.


Then it was time for the birthday cake to come out. For some reason, Aunty Suprana was playing with her mobile phone again!


Pictures of attendees with the cake were then the next order of business. The first picture was the birthday-girl (Craig's Grandma), Craig's Grandad and their children and grandchildren plus one little girl who snuck in at the front. She's Craig's second-cousin.


The next picture is the birthday-girl, her husband and their brothers, sisters and spouses.


Then it was time for smaller groups to have their picture taken with the guest of honour.


During the picture-taking Craig was dragged in as an excuse to "hold the baby".


That led to Craig being passed around among his Mum's cousins and some of the other ladies like a living rugby ball. His Dad only took one photo but if he'd been quicker he could have taken one or two pictures that looked like a scrum of women all trying to "hold the baby"!!


After lunch, everyone retreated to the second-floor apartment just one floor down from Craig's home. Some of the ladies had fun playing a card game in the bedroom.


Craig's second-cousin insisted that Craig's Dad take another photo of her.


But, at the end of the day, Craig looked exhausted. His Dad has never seen him so tired. So, it was no surprise when he fell asleep almost as soon as his little head was placed back on the lounge/sofa where he had started the day many hours before.

He really needed a rest.

Lunch at Craig's Grandparents' House

Sorry folks, Craig's lazy Dad has been a bit slow with updating the blog recently. One event that he really should have posted sooner occurred about a week (or maybe two) ago when the extended family were all invited to travel up into the mountains to Craig's grandparents house.

Craig did a bit of complaining when everyone was sitting around watching TV after lunch so his Uncle Guapo tried to cheer him up while one of his great-aunts held him.


Craig was sitting on the lap of one great-aunt with the great-aunt from downstairs sitting beside him on the immediate left and his grandmother at the other end of the lounge (Aussie English) or sofa (for our North American friends.)


But, no-one played with Craig very much because, as you can tell in the next picture, most people were interested in watching the television.


After the movie everyone was watching had ended they had to find something else to do. Unfortunately, sometimes babies are treated as if they are toys, aren't they?


Craig's cousin Soit-Jade was also there and no-one treated her like a toy but that's probably because she moves too fast for anyone to catch her.

Craig Likes to Watch

The first two pictures in this post were actually taken about two weeks ago. Craig's Dad likes them a lot but he mysteriously forgot to put them on the blog.

They show Craig watching TV. He puts quite a lot of effort into it. Normally he won't roll over unless he has a good reason but if the TV is on then he seems to think that's a very good reason.



The third picture is not connected to the two above except that it was taken on the same day. Sometimes, Craig's Aunty Suprana takes care of him while his Mum is teaching and his Dad hasn't yet come home from work.

To the casual observer, it might look as though Craig could be pulling his Aunty Suprana's hair but I'm sure he's not doing that because he's such a polite boy! :>

Craig at Squash

A new sports centre opened up in November last year not far from Craig's home. Craig's Aunty Bess is apparently a keen squash player and she's played with Craig's Mum a few times at the upmarket gym where they are both members. When they found out that the sports centre has two squash courts and that it was within walking distance of home it was decided that Craig's Dad and Craig could join in the fun and go there to play and maybe watch.


Craig wasn't very interested in the goings-on on the squash court.


So he didn't see Aunty Bess hit a shot that went just a little too high.


Craig's Mum pointed out the direction the ball had gone but Craig didn't care. Craig's Dad had to get the ball back off the badminton court where it was rolling around underneath peoples' feet.


Craig's Mum has reminded his Dad that the squash ball did leave the confines of the court after being hit by another player resembling Craig's Dad on the same evening. She also wanted it mentioned that the ball landed on the top of Craig's pram near the top and then rolled down next to Craig. It's a strange thing to ask for but now the story has been told she'll probably be a bit happier.

Craig Visits His Dad's Office

Last Thursday, on Craig's Dad's day off, Craig's parents wanted to go shopping for some new clothes for the boy. There's a few shops that specialise in baby attire and almost anything else that new parents might like to buy right near Craig's Dad's office.

So Craig made a quick visit to the office. Here he is with his Dad's co-workers, Helen on the left and Grace on the right of the picture.






Craig's Mum mentioned that his Dad didn't get a good picture of his other co-worker Christine. Craig's Mum thinks Craig's Dad might be biased but it's probably just a lack of photographic skill.

Craig's New Pair of Jeans

Craig's Mum has been looking to buy new clothes for the very fast growing baby boy and his Aunty Bess recently did her bit for the cause. She purchased a piece of clothing that Craig's Dad likes a lot: a pair of jeans. She also bought a cool long-sleeved t-shirt to go with them. Normally, Craig's Dad doesn't like clothes or things that try to make little children look like adults but these jeans have little snap-together clips on the inside of the legs so they don't need to come off to change a nappy. It's a very clever design and they make Graig look pretty cool.


He couldn't stop kicking his legs the first time he wore them. That must be a sign that he likes them.


He even started waving his arms, too. It's a bit of shame that he still doesn't understand what to do when his Dad says, "Smile for the camera."

Laughing Craig on Youtube

For those who missed this link in the comments section of an earlier post. Here is a link to a brief video of Craig giggling. It was very kindly posted there by Craig's Aunty Suprana. Enjoy.

Craig and His Teddy

Craig's favorite toy at the moment is a little teddy that has a rattle in its belly. Like most little people he pays more attention to things that make a noise as well as feel good to the touch.


For a short while he seemed to like the koala he recieved for Christmas better but the Aussie Socceroo bear (that Craig's Dad bought for him) has had his shorts ripped off and is need of repair. It's a very sad state of affairs.

Taiwanese Craig

Craig now has his very own passport. Naturally, it was easier to get a Taiwanese one first. Living in Taiwan and being born here made it a very quick process. A baby picture on an official document like this just seems extra cute, don't you think?

Late Night Craig

All those who have children will probably have memories similar to our recent experiences where Craig has got into the habit of going to sleep around 11:00pm and then waking up at around 2:00am. He then usually stays awake until at least 3am and often much longer.

In the past, he has sometimes fallen asleep when being walked around in his pram. So, the other night, his parents put him in the pram and walked around the apartment just to see if it would work...... it didn't but at least he stayed quiet
In fact, we could have taken pictures like this every night for the past few weeks. Any suggestions on how to break the habit will be welcome.

Back of Yangmingshan "Farm"

On the last day of Chinese New Year Craig and his parents climbed into a car belonging the Aunt from the Second Floor and followed Craig's Grandad's SUV off towards the north coast. Craig's Dad was driving but he didn't really know where they were going.

The first stop was beside the ocean at Jinshan. Craig seemed to feel that it was bit hot there and seemed a bit uncomfortable in his pram even though was a good stiff breeze coming in off the ocean. Perhaps it was ust too early in the morning for him.

Then, the little two car convoy headed off up Yangmingshan to a "farm" which looked quite remarkable in that it didn't grow much but could serve meals to customers. But only if the customers were willing to treat it like it was a restaurant with outdoor seating and not a "farm", if you know what I mean. Anyway, it was nice spot. Craig seemed to like being out of the car and chatted to his great aunts quite happily.

The most interesting part of the view from the "farm" was a huge temple on the other side of the valley. And I mean huge!

The farm was nicely decorated and Craig's Dad decided to become a bit artistic with his camera ..... with limited success.

Aunty Bess was employed full-time trying to keep Craig's Cousin Soit-Jade out of trouble.

But, she ran into trouble when the little girl got mud all over the front her clothes that had to be washed off. Craig's Mum helped with the washing.


Meanwhile Craig was enjoying the fresh mountain air and showing no interest whatsoever in the ducks on the pond beside the restaurant, sorry "farm".

Eventually Craig became tired and wanted to sleep but found it hard to close his eyes and drop off, maybe because of the bright outdoor light.

When they arrived home Craig spent some time watching TV with his Mum. She had a cold and tried to keep her germs away from Craig by covering her mouth with a scarf. It must have worked because Craig didn't get sick. :>

Then, when Craig still wouldn't sleep he spent some time with his Dad. On the top of the sofa you can see the book that Craig's Dad was reading aloud to Craig to try to put him to sleep. It didn't work, unfortunately. Craig's Dad had mistakenly thought that a book entitled "Why Globalisation Works" would be so boring that it would put anyone as young as Craig to sleep very quickly. Wrong again!