This Way Dad!

Last Saturday morning, Craig awoke a little bit late. It might have had something to do with his Dad sleeping in until almost 11:00am, at least that's what Craig's Mum said.

So, Craig and his Dad had brunch at TGI Fridays where Craig attracted attention from just about every woman in the restaurant. There are no pictures of that, so you'll just have to trust that Craig's Dad is telling the truth. He was played with, he was tickled, and two women took turns to almost beg him to let them pick him up but he wouldn't go, preferring to stay close to Dad. He was super popular!


The house was very clean when Craig and his Dad returned home. And Craig's newest and largest toy was begging to be ridden.


Craig checked that all its moving parts were in perfect order.


Before he pointed out the way to go. "This way Dad!"

Serious About Laundry

In an email to Craig's Dad, Craig's Aunty Anne recently said that Craig is obviously serious about laundry. She was referring to this previous picture.

http://craigalexandersworld.blogspot.com/2007/11/better-than-tv.html

There's definitely some truth to this. Craig loves to help his Mum and Dad with folding clothes.


And, he really puts a lot of effort into selecting which clothes should be folded first.


After making his selections he often goes off to do other work like trying to rearrange Dad's CD collection.


The next day he was helping examine the progress of clothes drying in the dryer again.


He even decided that the clothes were too hot and lowered the temperature.


He seemed a bit concerned about that decision and stayed to watch for a while longer just to make sure everything was OK. He truly is very serious about the laundry.

Craig's X'mas Gift

Craig's Dad wanted to go back to New York Bagels Cafe for brunch again. It was a very windy day as you can tell by Craig's hair in this picture.


As soon as Craig was seated inside a little boy at the next table started smiling (and making faces) at Craig. The faces made giggle and that just made the boy continue doing it.


Not long later, the other boy came over to play. He was very generous and allowed Craig to play with one of his toys!


Craig wanted to hold one toy in each hand but the other boy seemed to think one toy was enough.


But the other boy's parents had already finished their brunch and they left. Craig finally started eating.


And, after he'd eaten, Craig wanted to go for a walk.


After breakfast, Craig's parents went to Toys'R'American to shop for a toy for Craig. Craig's Grandmother in Australia had sent some money and asked Craig's parents to buy something appropriate. Naturally, they found something that Craig liked when he was in the shop and took it home only to find that some assembly was required. So, Craig's Dad pulled all the pieces out and put them on the sofa to check that everything was present.


But Craig wasn't in a mood to be patient and dragged the toy onto the floor where he could play with it even though it was very incomplete.


It didn't take him long to become bored with it though.


So his Dad finished the assembly and Craig had a new toy!


Craig tried out every bit of the toy, as you would expect. Hopefully, he'll have a lot of fun with it in the future, thanks to his Grandma in Oz.

New Winter Clothes

Craig's Mum showed a good sense of timing when she went shopping for new winter clothes for Craig recently. Unfortunately, when she tried one outfit on him, the jacket was a little bit too small. She took that back and exchanged it later.


But the other clothes she bought were perfect. Craig now has plenty of lovely warm clothes at just the right time. A cold front is expected to blow in to Taipei tomorrow.

The Lonely Christmas Tree

On Christmas Day, it was late in the evening when Craig's Mum and Dad finally got around to opening their presents!! That's right, there was only two presents under the tree and no present for Craig!


Fortunately, Craig isn't aware of how badly he has been treated.

Overnight Stay at Danshui (Part 2)

The next morning Craig slept in much later than his parents.

The wind was a bit calmer early in the morning.

The view upriver towards Taipei City was calm too.


Craig was still asleep when breakfast arrived at 9:30am.


Even though the room was nice, Craig's parents thought it was a little expensive at NT$3,500. Craig's Dad reckons that some of the other rooms that have a balcony (like the one they had last time) would have been nicer.


Craig was in a very good mood as soon as he woke up.


Craig's Mum fed him milk with a spoon. If you look closely you can see a little milk moustache.


After breakfast Craig began playing with his favourite ball. It was given to him by his cousin Bailey in Australia.

Craig can play with this ball for hours.


Not long later it was time to leave the hotel and go for a walk.


Craig's parents took turns walking with Craig but he was happiest when he could stop often to look at things on the ground. It was a very slow walk.


Lunch was eaten in a Japanese room in a nice restaurant beside the river. It was a safe place for Craig to play with his Dad.


When they decided it was time for lunch, Craig tried to help his Mum look at the menu.


Sometimes, he provided a little bit too much help.


After lunch, Craig was beginning to become tired and it was very, very windy outside. So, a quick retreat was made back to the hotel for a 3-hour rest. Craig slept peacefully for an hour and a half and then played with his ball again!


Then it was time to pose for a picture with Dad in front of the sunset.


And another picture was taken looking upriver.


Craig wanted to walk back to the MRT station. He's much more relaxed about walking now.


There was time for one last photo of Craig with his Mum before they got on the train to come home.

Overnight Stay at Danshui (Part 1)

Craig's poor overworked parents thought that it might be a good idea to spend one night away from home. They decided to travel by MRT up to Danshui on the north coast.

They had been there before.
http://craigalexandersworld.blogspot.com/2007/01/craigs-first-overnight-trip.html

The MRT was very crowded because they hit the rush hour that occurs in Taipei at around 9:30pm-10:30pm when the shops close.


It was close to 11:00pm when they finally arrived. Still pictures can't show it but it was very windy.


The view from the room directly across the river was nice.


And the view upriver looked pretty good, too.


Just before midnight, the FTV English News came on and Craig was still awake!! That's very, very late for him.


He finally fell asleep around 1:00am!!!


While he slept, his parents enjoyed a nice hot bath in the huge bathtub beside a huge picture window. The colour in this picture is a bit funny because the water didn't look so yellow in real life.