Saturday, January 31, 2009

Spring Cleaning and a Gathering

The day after the great traffic debacle Craig's Dad was in no mood to go anywhere using personal motorized transport. The furthest he wanted to travel was to take Craig to the park while Craig's Mum did some Spring cleaning at home.


This was one of those days when Craig slid down the slide too fast for Craig's Dad's camera.


On Friday, some of Craig's Mum's friends came to visit. Not as many as expected and no-one brought any children! So there's plenty of juice and other drinks for Craig to help clean up in the fridge.


Craig was pretty good at providing entertainment whenever the conversation slowed down and even when it going along fine.

Unexpected Trip To Hsinchu

On Wednesday, Craig's parents foolishly planed to take Craig out of town to Taichung in Central Taiwan where the weather was supposed to be much warmer than in Taipei. The car trip took a little longer than expected and Craig became a little bit bored.


Finally, after a traffic jam-filled 4-hour car trip that should have only taken two hours and that only took the passengers in the car to Hsinchu instead of the intended destination of Taichung, Uncle Dean, Aunty Suprana, Craig and Craig's parents finally had lunch. They were joined at the pretend Italian restaurant by Craig's Mum's friend Yating, her husband and two children. Craig was pretty happy to be out of the car and only sat still long enough to eat.


Then it was time to go for a walk around the campus of a local university.


There are some wide open grassy spaces inside the campus and it was beautifully quiet.


There's a small lake that is full of extremely fat ornamental carp. Craig had some fun throwing biscuits to the fish.


The group then trooped off to a glass museum but Craig had to wait outside while the two car drivers looked for parking spaces. Meanwhile Aunty Suprana kept Craig warm while he drank some yoghurt.


Craig seemed to like the museum but he did become a bit concerned about walking on top of these glass panels. Luckily Craig's Mum was nearby to help him when he needed it.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Unlce Dean's New Hat

Life was dull just sitting at home and the rain had finally stopped so Craig was taken for a walk with Uncle Dean, Aunty Suprana and Craig's parents. While they were walking they looked for a beanie for Uncle Dean. He didn't buy this one.


And Aunty Suprana didn't even think about buying this one.


But the lady selling the ridiculous headwear did make a sale, and Craig acquired a new panda backpack! Pretty cool, huh?


Craig was getting tired after walking for a while.


So the group repaired to a nearby coffee shop that had comfy sofas as well as big picture windows so that Craig could enjoy a view.


Craig also had his picture taken on Uncle Dean's very cool mobile phone. It was a nice quiet day.

Chinese New Year in the House in the Hills

On Saturday morning (the first day of Craig's Dad's 8-day Lunar New Year break) Craig wanted to spend some time in his new tent.


He dragged Craig's Dad in there and brought along a book to read. It was a cold, wet day outside and this was a very nice way to start the holiday.


In the afternoon it was time to drive up into the hills to visit Craig's Taiwanese Grandmother for a Lunar New Year feast. First he had a chance to catch up with his cousin Soit-Jade.


While the adults finished eating, Craig was watching the TV. He perhaps got a little too close at times.


To get him away from the TV, Craig's Dad took Craig upstairs to play for a while. As soon as he saw the gap under the sofa Craig began playing his "I'm stuck" game yet again.


He kept playing for quite a while.


Luckily, Aunty Suprana came up and interrupted the game.


Back downstairs, Craig and Soit-Jade insisted on being fed watermelon seeds at the same time by their Grandmother.


So, she had to be super-quick at cracking the shells and then feeding the two little people. It was very demanding.


The next morning, Craig ate his breakfast standing up.


And he played with his younger cousin Yu-chi for a while as well.


In the afternoon, the extended family went for a drive to a big shopping mall in Taoyuan called Taimall but there are no pictures of that. Craig's Dad's camera stayed in his pocket for a change.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Walking with Uncle Dean and Aunty Suprana

While Craig's Dad was working on Friday (last day before Lunar New Year) Craig went out for a walk with the very jet-lagged Unlce Dean and Aunty Suprana.


From the pictures it looks like Craig had a good time.


Saturday was the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday but the weather outside was cold, wet and no good for going anywhere. Craig tried on a top that was given to Craig's Mum by Craig's Aussie Grandma.


He wore it for long enough to become very relaxed.


Everyone does stuff like this when they are two.


Craig's Dad had been outside and needed to keep his warm clothes on until he warmed up a bit. Craig came over to add some body-heat.


Craig then began to play his "I'm stuck" game.


He really likes this game.


It's a shame that this picture came out so blurred. If Craig's Dad's camera skills were better it would have been a very happy photo.


Craig was very pleased that the weather was just good enough for him to be allowed to have dinner at his favourite restaurant.


He also insisted on taking a ride on the MRT before allowing his parents to take him home to bed.

Brunch and New Tent

Last Sunday, (Jan. 18) was Consumption Voucher Day. Craig's Dad was allowed to be part of the fun, even though he is not a citizen of Taiwan. Just being married to a Taiwanese citizen and being a(n alien) resident qualified him to receive vouchers. But, that made this sign posted at the distribution center where he picked up his vouchers all the more mystifying.


Later in the week on Thursday, Craig's Dad was almost in holiday mode because he had just one more day of work before Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year to some). It was decided that brunch at LA Cafe would be the best way to start the day. Upon arrival, Craig was very happy that he was finally going to be fed some breakfast.


The first things to be put on the table by the amazingly sexy waitress were two tiny yellow tubs with banana slices in them and Craig's Dad's coffee. Craig was interested in both. Not because he wanted to drink the coffee but because Craig simply has to play with the creamer thingy.


So, Craig's Dad had to quickly pour the creamer into his coffee.


Clean the little creamer tub with a tissue.


And then re-start the feeding of banana to Craig (aka The Boss).


Having finished taking pictures of that little process, Craig's Mum went back to reading the newspaper. All the bettter for Craig's Dad to watch the waitress walking around serving other customers.


After brunch, a leisurely stroll was taken towards the 4th floor play area at a nearby department store. On the way, Craig stopped to look at elevators going up and down .... as you do.


Craig is getting better at climbing on jungle gyms but Craig's Dad likes to stay close in case of a mis-step.


Craig is truly the world's slowest slider.


Craig also likes to play in water and had to be convinced that he couldn't go for a walk in the fountain next to the jungle gym.


Then it was back home to play with the new tent that was given to Craig by his recently arrived relatives from England.


Despite Craig's parents inability to get a happy picture of Craig in the tent it is actually a much appreciated gift. Uncle Dean and Aunty Suprana have done good with this one.