Now There Are Two

That's enough for this blog. In the future, all of Craig's adventures will be moved to a new home where his life and times will be shared with his new brother Graham at Two Boys in Taipei. Look forward to seeing you there.

Visitors Arrive From Afar

Sunday lunch was a welcome for visitors from far America. Craig's Uncle Amitha, Aunty Bess and Cousin Ishan--making his first visit to Taiwan--had arrived early Sunday morning. Craig's Cousin Ishan looked to be in good shape for someone so small who had been so recently subjected to international travel. He was keen to "walk" everywhere.

Craig was keeping a close eye on his Mum. He's been a bit sensitive about where she is and what she's been doing recently.

After lunch, at a park very near the restaurant Craig showed off his backwards sliding technique. It's become his favourite party trick. Along with walking backwards.

Taipei Botanical Garden

Last Saturday Craig was taken for a walk at the Taipei Botanical Garden. He was very happy to have the chance to get out of the flat because he'd been stuck inside due to rainy weather for the past few weekends. The group included Craig's Cousin Soit-Jade and her little sister Yu-chi.

The three little people had been told there would be squirrels but the furry little fellas seemed to be hiding from the heat. Instead, the children spent their time looking at waterbirds of unknown name and fish.

Craig was a bit naughty and picked up some stones to throw which Craig's Cousin Yu-chi quickly copied.

A quick stop to have a drink was a welcome respite from the constant walking. Craig needed to put some water in because he'd been sweating plenty while running around like a mad thing and giggling whenever his Dad asked him to stop and come back.

Finally, a lone squirrel appeared at the same place where the kids had been looking at the fish earlier.

The squirrel was very fast-moving and extremely good at taking little pieces of food from people's hands without giving them the opportunity to touch.


Of course the children tried the odd dangerous strategy to get closer to the cute little animal so Soit-Jade's Mum (aka Yu-fang) had to be on guard!

Craig's Dad's Birthday & Improvements to Craig's Room

Wednesday was Craig's Dad's birthday. After he arrived home from work Craig was definitely not in a sleeping mood. So, it was decided that some cake would be a good idea. Fortunately, the local coffee shop had a free table outdoors. Craig actually wanted to help Craig's Dad drink his mango smoothie (right foreground) but Craig's Mum encouraged him to drink hers instead.

Craig seemed pretty happy about helping out.

Craig also helped eat some of the two pieces of chocolate cake. The cake was eaten too quickly for Craig's Dad to get a picture.

After eating the cake, Craig sat with his Dad for a photo. The cake had put him in a really good mood.

Meanwhile, back at home a small improvement to Craig's room has been made. He now has two small whiteboards to draw on. They used to be in the front room where Craig's Mum sometimes taught. But, since she is down to just one student she doesn't need the whiteboards. Craig likes to draw a circle.

And then rub it out.

And then draw another one.

When he can't have cake, which is pretty much every night, Craig's preferred late night snack is yoghurt. He insists on feeding himself and that gives Craig's Dad the opportunity to take pictures.

Using an Umbrella & Rainy Day Fun

Craig has owned a very cute umbrella for a couple of years now. He hasn't used it much, mostly because he's not very good at holding above his head. Last Saturday, Craig wanted to try out the umbrella when going out for lunch.


You couldn't really say that he got the hang of it but Craig's Mum did a good job of keeping him reasonably dry while walking along.

Fortunately, it didn't rain on Sunday morning giving Craig a chance to go out and run around a bit. Craig's parents needed to do a bit of shopping for baby stuff for Craig's soon-to-arrive baby brother. In the end, all they bought was a pram. But, they bought such an expensive one that they received a bunch of freebies for Craig!

Almost as soon as they returned home the rain began again. So, it was time for Craig to have some fun by himself inside. Craig's Mum's electric piano is the perfect instrument for Craig to mess about on.


It's a good thing it doesn't rain every day. Craig's parents don't really need too many performances of Craig's musical genius.

Walking Backwards

Walking backwards is a lot of fun if you are three. Craig hasn't actually said that but he has recently taken to walking backwards almost everywhere he goes. This is Craig walking down the stairs at home.

And this Craig walking off to the breakfast shop near home in the morning.

Most people don't have any memory of being three. In Craig's case that would be a bit of a shame if he can't remember any of the fun he had when he was small.

It's a good thing Craig's Dad has created such a monstrously large blog to help him remember. ;>

Craig's Parents First Big Scare and a Quick Trip to the Park

Last Saturday was a big day in the life of Craig's Mum and Dad. Craig gave his parents a really big scare by letting himself out of the flat and running off down the street not long after breakfast on Saturday morning. He mistakenly believed that his favourite mobile phone had been left behind at the breakfast shop near home. Craig got away just after helping his Dad put some dirty washing into the washing machine. Craig's Dad stayed on the back balcony to bring some dry clothes in. Craig went back inside but Craig's Dad wasn't concerned because he knew Craig's Mum was there. He didn't know that Craig's Mum was in the bathroom. When she came out of the bathroom, the front door of the flat was wide open and Craig was gone.

Craig made it all the way downstairs and out into the lane outside before being pulled up. It was ever so fortunate that the father of Craig's second cousin Ke-jhen was standing outside of his place on the ground floor smoking a cigarette at the time. He stopped Craig from running away too far. The lane Craig lives in has some traffic but not much and the lane is so narrow that, generally speaking, the cars and motor scooters are not travelling very fast. But, the road at the end of the lane where the breakfast shop is located has plenty of fast-moving traffic. Luckily, Craig didn't get that far.

Within an hour of that event, the lock on the front door of the flat had been changed. So long as Craig's Mum and Dad remember to lock the door from the inside after they get home, a repeat is impossible.

Later the same day, Craig went to the park with his Dad. He likes this see-saw because he can play on it by himself. He's definitely becoming braver about doing things like standing up on moving objects.

It's always a good idea to get the boy outside where he can run around and exercise during the day. He always sleeps better at night afterwards.

Mother's Day Weekend

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Craig's Dad has been much too busy to give the blog the appropriate amount of attention that it deserves. But, finally a new update has been prepared. Last Saturday, Craig and his parents went to a really nice Chinese restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day. The guest of honor was not Craig's Mum!!! It was Craig's Grandma.

Craig's cousins Soit-Jade and Yu-chi were there as well. It's a shame the only picture of them at lunch made their eyes turn ghostly blue.

After lunch Uncle Guapo drove to the Neihu Sports Park. While the children ran around on the grass Aunty Jessie kept an eye on proceedings.

Craig was being a bit selfish about holding on to the only ball that had been brought along. It wasn't his ball but that didn't stop him from claiming it and holding on tight.

Persuasion was useless.

Craig kept holding on to the ball when he went for a walk along this path.

Craig walked up and down this path a dozen times and never really got tired of it.

He didn't do anything exciting, just walked up and down.



Craig's cousins came over to play as well. Craig immediately started to play with the water as evidenced by the wet footprints in this picture.

Craig then played a game with his Dad where Dad's job was to lift the boy up on to the platform here and tickle him. Craig would then slide down a slippery slide on the left and then run back to do it again. After 10 minutes of that Craig's Dad sat down for a break but Craig decided to try to climb up by himself, not very successfully.

Craig's Uncle Guapo then played the same game with Craig for almost half an hour! It was a truly heroic effort. Uncle Guapo then played another game where he picked up two kids and span around until everyone was dizzy. Craig's Dad thinks he was King of Kids for the day.

Walking back across the park to the car, Craig found a white rabbit!! It wasn't hard to spot on the green grass.

Craig is very timid when it comes to animals, even very small ones. First, Craig's Mum patted the rabbit gently to show Craig it wouldn't hurt but he just hid behind her.

Even pulling his hand forward to stroke the rabbit gently was too much for Craig and he wouldn't keep his hand there for long.

The drive home was a very happy occasion. There was lots of giggling from the back seat.

Dinner that night was at the local steak place. Craig likes it because the all-you-can-eat salad bar has chips! (Nobody has taught him to say fries.)

Craig's Mum had to wait until Sunday night for her Mother's Day dinner. She didn't get to choose the restaurant. They went to Craig's favourite place in the whole wide world .... when he's hungry. TGI Fridays managed to fit us in even though we didn't have a booking. Craig thought that was a really good thing but he wouldn't sit still for the camera.......