Stitches Out

This picture is Craig ready to go out to play a few days ago. His stitches were still in place at that time.



Craig's stitches finally came out on Tuesday. He was originally scheduled to have the job done on Monday but Typhoon Jiangmi came to visit and the doctors didn't go to work that day.

After an extremely long wait where Craig was twice taken out of the hospital to play in a park, his number finally came up. The doctor was not very confident and his nurse was not much help either. The doctor called in a more experienced nurse who used the time-honoured method of wrapping Craig up in a big towel to keep him still. Craig made a good fight of it and wasn't wrapped up easily. The experienced nurse even complimented Craig on his agility and how quickly he was able to get out of the towel the first time she tried to wrap him up but she quickly got a handle on him.

Craig's Dad was impressed by the experienced nurse who undertood that Craig would put up a fight and then was extremely careful to remove every tiny piece of the stitches. It's still abit early to tell if there will be much of a scar.

At the Park

Last Thursday saw Craig's parents make sure that Craig was outdoors for most of the day. Typhoon Sinlaku had just passed through a few days earlier and Typhoon Jiangmi was on its way. The weather on this day was windy and perfect for a run around in a little local park.



While he was there, Craig had the opportunity to make friends with another little boy about his age but, as in this case, Craig is often happier playing by himself.

Update

For those interested in seeing an update of Craig at his Grandmother's birthday party in Australia, here is the place to go.

Many thanks to Craig's Aunty Anne for the pics.

Stitches

To Craig's Dad's way of thinking, Craig is a very accomplished little man. During the process of growing up there are many firsts to be completed but Craig seems to be ahead of the pack in some ways. Or, perhaps just ahead of where Craig's Dad was at the same age.......

Unfortunately, some firsts are not as positive as others.

Craig has now received his first stitches. He needed three stitches for a cut next to his left eye that he received when he fell down at home. Craig's Mum said that he stubbed his toe on his highchair and then fell face first onto a horizontal support between two legs of a dining chair. The accident happened on Sunday afternoon when Craig's Dad was at work and Craig was at home with only Craig's Mum to help. Craig's Mum tried to stop the bleeding herself but sought expert medical help after her efforts were not immediately successful.


When Craig's Dad arrived home from work that night Craig was already asleep.


Strangely, the next morning, when Craig woke up to find Craig's Mum was not there but his Dad was lying beside him he seemed pretty happy.


And, he stayed happy all the way through breakfast!! He's a bit difficult to understand sometimes but it was good to see him in such a good mood.

Brief Highlights From Last Week

Craig's Dad is currently considering an idea suggested to him by Craig's Great Uncle Brian in Brisbane. The suggestion was to have one day a week set as a publishing date. So, perhaps new posts would be put up every Sunday night meaning that anyone interested in looking at the blog could have a look on Monday morning and there would be something new to see. The idea is currently under consideration.

Last Thursday, Sept. 18, Craig and his parents visited a tiny park in the late afternoon where Craig had a great time playing on the slide. Other kids came and went but Craig stayed there playing happily until Craig's Dad turned on his video camera!!


There was a nice little Italian restaurant across the street from the park. Craig seemed to like it and it was half the price of TGI Fridays...


One reason it was cheaper was Craig ate from his parent's meals and didn't have a special children's meal.


On Saturday morning, Craig and Craig's Dad went to a local park while Craig's Mum cleaned up at home.


In the evening, when Craig's Mum went to a computer class, Craig and Craig's Dad went to Fridays again!! This time Craig became very attached to his balloon. He wouldn't let it out of sight. It even had to be visible while he was having his bath or there would be trouble. Craig's Dad likes to avoid trouble when Craig's Mum isn't there to help.

Another Unsuccessful Visit to the Zoo

Thursday Sept. 11 was a difficult day for Craig's parents. First, they planned to take Craig to the zoo in the morning but heavy rain forced a delay of that plan. Then, unexpectedly, the rain cleared up in the early afternoon. So, they quickly hopped in a taxi which soon delivered them to the beeyootifuulll Taipei Zoo. As usual, the first animals to be seen were the flamingos.


This was the first time that Craig had showed any interest in the flamingos. On previous visits here and here, he didn't look at them for more than a few seconds. This time he stayed and watched them for a few minutes and even wanted to stay when his parents wanted to move on.


Taipei Zoo is situated ona hillside and most visitors take a little train near the entrance up to the top of the hill so that they can walk down the hill. It's much less tiring than doing it the other way.


It was hot outside so Craig's parents were keen to stay indoors. Craig spent a bit of time looking at turtles in the amphibian house.


Next, Craig's parents tried very hard to walk towards the penguins. They are kept in an indoor house but Craig preferred to stay outdoors where he could look at this little pool full of turtles and fish.


When they eventually got inside the penguin house Craig only stayed for a minute.


He continued to move quickly after that, stopping briefly to look at the Asian Black Bear.


By this stage Craig was tired and seemed to be close to taking an afternoon nap. He wouldn't cooperate when Craig's Mum tried to take a photo.


And he was having fun doing mean things like pulling on his Dad's lip. Fun for him, no fun for Craig's Dad.


After one more attempt to take a photo where Craig was uncooperative again, Craig's Mum said it was time to go home.


For some reason that made Craig very happy. He began racing down the hill towards the exit.


He seemed truly pleased about getting away.


Just before they left, Craig's Dad couldn't help himself. He took a photo of this little sign that had been put up in the men's.


Dinner that night was Friday's. Craig's Dad keeps thinking that Craig should like going to the zoo because kids usually like animals but Craig seems to always have a better time when he's eating than when he's at the zoo. And, he always has a good time at Fridays, especially when they give him a balloon.

The Holiday Ends

All good things come to an end .... sadly. On the morning of Craig's last full day in Kenting, Craig's Dad took some photos from the balcony of their hotel room.


The view is nice without being spectacular.


You can see the bay with the tiny beach.


And, the hotel swimming pool looks almost as good in the daytime as at night.


Craig's Dad also took some pictures of the long morning walk to the beach through the hotel basement.


It's a huge place.


And the walk takes a while.


On the way back from lunch, Craig found a balloon that was bouncing around just outside the door of the hotel.


So, it was brought back to the hotel room for Craig to play with. But, not long after this photo was taken the balloon met an untimely end, popped by a sharp object on the balcony.


Craig didn't seem to mind too much. He was in good spirits when they went to the beach that afternoon. This was the only day that they went to the beach in the afternoon. Craig's Dad now thinks that was they should have done this more often. The temperature and afternoon sunshine were just about perfect for enjoying the beach. It was a lot nicer than the pool which was only really good on very hot days.


Craig spent most of his time sitting at the water's edge playing with the sand but he did go in the water after Craig's Dad dragged him in.... purely in the interest of Craig having fun, of course.


The next morning, after breakfast Craig and his parents waited in the lobby before taking a bus to the airport. Craig seemed to like these soft toys in the lobby.


Touching soft toys is always better than looking at them.


Another little boy came over to play but Craig backed away very quickly creating an impasse that was never resolved.


back in Taipei a few hours later, Craig's parents were both a bit sad about the holiday ending but Craig seemed to be super-happy to be home. Even doing something as boring as buying nappies was heaps of fun for him. We'll never know why?

Cool Dinner Venue

Since the schedule for the next day was no different to the other days no pictures were taken of Craig's outdoor activities. After his afternoon splash/swim in the pool, Craig had plenty of fun in the bath back in the room.


In the late afternoon, they returned to the overly expensive cafe on the beach for dinner.


The only problem with the cafe was the lack of seating that would allow Craig's parents to tie Craig into his seat. He soon became restless.


The scene in front on the peace was very, very peaceful. The last jetski was being brought in for the day.


And, the last tourists were hanging around near the water's edge watching the sunset.


It's hard to find quiet spots like this in Taiwan.


However, Craig didn't even get close to finishing his dinner. The potential freedom to run around was too tempting.


He spent his time walking around while his boring old parents tried to enjoy a relaxing meal.

Relaxed Living

Craig's Dad must have forgotten to take photos on the second full day of their beachside holiday. The only picture he has of Craig shows the boy relaxing in the sofa chair in the room.


On the next day, Craig and his parents followed their now usual routine which saw them arrive on the beach at the hottest time of day. The advantage of that was that the beach was as close to deserted as it gets all day. Well, at least at the end of the beach that Craig's Dad liked.


There was no-one up the end of the beach where Craig and his parents had put their towels and stuff.


But, Craig needed to be covered in sunscreen lotion. Fortunately, he was quite patient about that.


He stayed close to his Mum while she applied the lotion all over.


On this day, they came back to the beach at lunchtime to eat at an outdoor cafe that belongs to the Caesar Park Hotel.


It's a really nice spot but a bit hot for lunch. (And a bit expensive.)


Once again, Craig and his Dad cooled off in the beautiful pool back at the Howard in the afternoon. They had lots of fun there, as they did every day.