Hot

If there's one thing Taiwan is justly famous for, it is the overbearing heat. Along with the 100% humidity, walking around outside feels like wearing a wet blanket.

The upside of course is that C-bao got to wear cool shades and cute tank top outfits pretty much the whole time.

To escape the heat for the first few days the clan had a few dips in the swimming pool. Even C-Mum made an unlikely appearance, and splashed around in the kiddy pool for about five minutes.

Vigorous swimming in turn inevitably led to some very sound naps.

Cool Relatives

While in Taipei, C-bao got to hang out with her musician Aunt and Uncle, The Lighters, quite a bit. Xiao Goo-Goo and Shu-Shu distinguish themselves by being quite a bit cooler than her parents.

Here she is trying to keep up with Aunt Catherine and sister K-bao's yoga moves.

Here she is feeling alternatively sassy and safe in her auntie's arms.

As for Uncle James, several years ago in Taipei it was a victory for her uncle even to have the little one consent to being held.

My, how the tables have turned. Now it is C-bao seeking out her uncle's attention at every turn.

Foodie

One of the most beautiful things about Taiwan is the food. C-bao, being an epicurean of the first degree, loved just about every meal. Her daily diet consisted of:

...Red bean dumplings...

...ice cream...

...waffles with cream...

...freshly baked pastries...

...beef noodle soup...

...more ice cream (or sorbet, in this case)...

...leek dumplings...

...sun cakes...

You get the picture. 

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!

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.