Pixie Dust

Following C-bao's summer trip to Taiwan, grandparents C-Grandmum and C-Grandpop made a trip to San Francisco this fall. As usual, little C-bao was showered with that special pixie dust that is found nowhere else in the universe: a grandparent's love.

In response, C-bao felt compelled to create a little message for her C-Grandfolks.  "How do you spell 'love'?" she whispered to C-Pop morning. Then she ran into the study and reappeared with the below sign.

Not to be outdone, C-Grandpop got in his fair share of hugs and kisses as well.

Summer Vaca

C-bao just returned from visiting her parents' homeland, Taiwan, over the past month. Her last visit was some three years ago, as documented in these pages. This was yet another eventful trip, and worth a number of posts.

This time, however, C-bao could actually walk, which, to put it mildly, made a difference. What hasn't changed since 2013 was the below Eva Air cardboard cutout, which C-bao didn't recognize but her sister posed next to several years ago.

C-bao actually enjoyed the long trip, largely due to the various amenities along the way, from the red bean dumplings to the ugly airline socks.

The C-fam arrived near midnight, and didn't settle down until close to 3 a.m. local time. Jet lag kicked in however a few hours later, and C-bao and her sister K-bao were bouncing off the walls by 6. The below family picture was taken at the hotel the morning after arrival.

The rest of the day was spent swimming, eating with family and taking in the sights of Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest buildings.

And, of course, ice cream with C-Grandmum!

Hugs & Sun Cakes

One of the key bonding moments on the C-Grandfolks' recent visit was when C-bao discovered the dessert that her grandfolks had brought from Taiwan: sun cakes (太陽餅).

Indeed, C-Grandpop and C-Grandmum, on the day before they left Taipei, had made a special trip out to buy several boxes of the sweet, flaky treat for their grandchildren.

"我想要吃太陽餅!" became the constant refrain around the house the minute C-bao had tasted it.

"Of course!" shouted the C-Grandfolks enthusiastically each time. Naturally, many contented hugs followed thereafter. 

Grandfolks

"I said, 'Ice-cream!'"

The C-Grandfolks are here! After getting to see her grandparents in Singapore at Aunt Catherine's wedding in November, C-bao is being treated with a visit by her grandfolks here in San Francisco.

With C-Grandmum in the sun at Golden Gate Park

The C-Grandfolks enjoy going for long walks, so have accompanied C-bao on her daily constitutionals.

Below C-bao enacts her best lion character with C-Grandmum as the poor zebra (drawing particular inspiration from her recent viewing of The Lion King), pouncing and roaring until C-Grandmum throws up the white flag.

Christmas

After all that traveling, young C-bao is all traveled-out and is staying put these holidays. Instead, her other C-Grandmum and C-Grandpops, along with C-Great-Grandmum, have come up from LA to see her and other family members in the Bay area.

That, of course, means that young C-bao is feasting and partying like royalty. Her very first meal with C-Grandmum looked like this:

Not quite feeding the 5,000, but close

Indeed, C-bao couldn't get enough of those green onion pancakes (at the bottom left hand corner of the picture), and helped herself repeatedly to those slices throughout the evening.

After she had finally had her fill, naturally she was ready for play. C-Grandmum was more than happy to oblige, zooming her around on the new scooter that Cousin Justin had received as a Christmas gift.

Who needs a helmet when I've got loving arms on all sides?

Merry Christmas everyone!

Gong-Gong & Po-Po

One of the great joys for C-bao over the past 10 days in Taipei was getting to spend time with C-Grandpop (Gong-Gong) and C-Grandmum (Po-Po).

Though not at first. Indeed C-bao had apparently forgotten the March visit from her grandfolks and was reticent and coy with all of her relatives for the first few days. When, after day 5, in the gift store at the Taipei Zoo, C-bao finally agreed to let Gong-Gong hold her, Gong-Gong wanted the seminal moment recorded for posterity.

After that moment, of course, C-bao proactively would reach for Gong-Gong and Po-Po for extra hugs and kisses whenever she felt her quota from C-Pop and C-Mum was running low (which, given her overall naughtiness, was quite frequent).

Here is a video of C-bao succmbing to Po-Po's charms:

Taiwan 2013

C-bao just completed a whirlwind trip to Taipei, Taiwan. It was not only her first overseas travel, it was her first time on an airplane. It was also her first time meeting relatives such as C-Great-Grandmum (on her father's side) and several dozen great-aunts, great-uncles and cousins - all important people in C-Pop's childhood such as Great Aunt Five, Great Uncle Seven, Great Uncle Nine, etc. A lot of firsts for out little one, who only celebrated her 14th month during the trip.

As usual, C-Mum packed enough for the family to relocate permanently. Here is a snapshot of Barnum, Bailey & Hu at the airport. With five carry-on bags jam-packed with snacks, toys and extra clothing, a carseat and a stroller, not to mention 2 squirming children, C-Pop looks understandably a bit grumpy.

How did C-bao do on the flight, you ask? Well, the plan had been for C-bao to take her usual afternoon nap a little bit early, and to board the evening flight ready for bed. C-bao foiled that plan by refusing to go down for her nap, and was clearly overtired by the time the family boarded. While one might instinctively think that that state of affairs might make it easier for her to fall asleep, quite the opposite is true. Coupled with the adrenaline flowing from the vast flood of new stimuli flowing her way, C-bao literally began bouncing off the seats and did not settle down for a good 5 hours.

Luckily, C-Pop had 3 seats to work with (thanks to some smart seat selection by C-Mum), and quickly set up a fort in which C-bao roamed around like a Tasmanian pup, pulling herself up every 5 seconds, grabbing at the monitors in front of us, flirting with the old couple behind us, launching herself at C-Pop without warning and slapping him on the face every now and then for good measure. The below snippet captures one of her calmer minutes during those first few hours. By the time C-bao finally and literally keeled over, she had not closed her eyes for over 12 hours (she usually goes about 3-4) and was pretty much stupid with fatigue.

Once she arrived, of course, C-bao enjoyed just about every minute of it. Below are a few pics from the early days, with more posts to come on her various interactions with family members.

Spoilage

With the arrival of the C-Grandfolks (on C-Mum's side), C-bao is enjoying life - just as her sister did at this age.

Already, the attention is coming fast and furious, with extra reading and singing sessions, lots of additional shoulder rides, and plenty of 2:1 play sessions with the kitchen set. A few snapshots of the action below.

(Too) Much Love

The C-Grandfolks and Uncle James ("Shu-Shu") were here visiting from Taiwan over the last week.  Little C-bao took full advantage, soaking up the love like an ultra-absorbent diaper.

Every little smile elicited coos, fawning gazes and delighted chuckles. Every whimper or sneeze brought a concerned grandma or uncle to her side, tissue and baby blanket in hand, ready to comfort, wipe or hug, on demand. Camera phones were working on overdrive.

Let it be shown for the record that the additional attention from all these parties did indeed have an impact on the little one's behavior. A highly deleterious impact indeed.

Grandpop

C-bao scored a visit from C-Grandpop recently, but was unfortunately too sleepy to properly greet him. Ever gracious, C-Grandpop nevertheless took the opportunity to snap a few mementos of the somnolent interaction.