The Hopper

A funny reminder of my hometown:

For Kiki and Helen

Happy Friday! I love you.

Better Than a Puppy

Watching Kailyn learn new tricks has been fun. She knows how to spin around, jump (sort of) and sing. She's better than a puppy!

That reminds me of the scene in 'Knocked Up' where Seth Rogan plays 'fetch' with his girlfriend's sister's kids (1:17 in the trailer above.)

As for Kailyn, she's also learned how to get into the fridge and look guilty, just like man's best friend. :)

Word Up

It's been a while since I've blogged, and it's probably because I've been too busy chasing a certain little girl around the house.

Kailyn is seriously mobile and a bundle of energy. She's also learning new words each day.

For instance, she knows how to say 'uh-oh!' when she drops something and can say 'yummy,' 'baby,' 'nai nai' (Chinese for 'milk') and 'Da Da.' So far, she still refuses to say 'Ma Ma' even though we know she can say it :)

What's even funnier than hearing our daughter say real words is the gibberish she speaks. For a while she would say 'Abi-abi-abi' (Helen thought she was trying to say 'happy'.) More recently she's been saying 'dubba-dubba-dubba.'

The newest Kailyn phrase is based on a toy Elmo we have in the house. He says lots of things, including 'yippee-ki-yay,' which gets turned into 'dubba-yay' when Kiki tries to copy me, copying Elmo.

The first time Helen heard the Elmo toy say that, her eyes got wide and asked if a toy should be saying that. When I asked why she freaked out, she said it was because whenever she heard that phrase she expected a swear to follow. I guess that's the Bruce Willis / Die Hard Effect.

Head-bopping, Hand-clapping and Running

Kailyn is turning into quite a little girl. She is really steady on her feet, can walk and go up and down stairs very easily, and 'gets it' when it comes to music, bopping her head, dancing and clapping her hands. It's pretty cool.

She is also so adept at going up and down stairs I don't even really worry about her that much. I can even go up the stairs before here and watch her ascend without worrying she'll fall backwards and tumble down the stairs (don't tell Helen I said that.)

I can see that her personality is developing really well, and she is still super-friendly and fun-loving. I'm always thankful for her, but have to admit that right now, it's a really good time to be her father because she's so enjoyable :)

Worst. Father. Ever.

I felt pretty horrible after Kailyn got hurt on my watch over the weekend. Here's what happened:

We were at a retail store and Helen was trying on some clothes. I had Kiki buckled into her stroller and was watching her, but it seemed like she wanted to get out so I unbuckled her and prepared to lift her out. We hang the diaper bag on the handles, and I've learned from experience that when I take the baby out the stroller tips over from the weight of the bag.

So I went to the back side of the stroller to remove the bag and prevent the stroller from falling, when I saw Kailyn get up out of the front of her seat, then fall head-first onto the non-carpeted floor. It all happened in slow motion, and the 'THUNK' of he head hitting the floor was terrible. I ran over as fast as I could to scoop her up off the ground, and there was that instant when there was an eerie silence...followed by loud crying from the baby. I nearly cried, too.

I carried her around and looked at her head, where there was a little plum-sized bruise forming on her forehead in mere seconds along with a little cut. The workers at the store gave us an ice pack to put on her head to keep the swelling down (and to prevent any potential lawsuit, I imagine) and after a little bit Kailyn was all better and the bump mostly went away.

I on the other hand, was a wreck the rest of the day, feeling guilty and wanting to be extra nice to our daughter to make up for letting her get hurt. Helen joked that Kailyn could ask for anything and get it from me at that moment, which was probably true. New pair of baby Ugg boots? Done. Ice cream for dinner? No problem. Sleep in mommy and daddy's bed? Sure thing.

Thankfully, both she and Helen were understanding of the situation. Neither gave me the evil eye and by the next morning Kailyn's bump was gone, her bruise was nearly non-existent and the cut was hardly noticeable. But it was a scary reminder that one must always keep an eye on their children at all times.

Baby Talk or Speaking Chinese?

Kailyn is expanding her vocabulary, or to be more accurate saying more sounds, every day. The reason why I'm not sure whether it's words or sounds coming out of her mouth is because much of what she says could be considered either.

It turns out that baby talk can easily be misconstrued as speaking Chinese. For instance, Kailyn will walk around muttering, 'Mei Mei' which could just be her making sounds, or she could be saying 'little sister.' {Maybe she's dropping Helen some hints that it's time to open up the baby-making factory again.}

In Boston, Kailyn said, 'Yeh Yeh,' which again, could just be sounds or in this case, she could have been saying '(patneral) Grandpa.' Whatever it was, suffice it to say my dad was really happy. So much so he took to calling Kailyn 'Princess.'

Though chances are she is just babbling, the fact that her sounds can make people so happy if they think what she is saying is words is a good thing. So the next time she says, 'Da Da' and points to the toilet, I'm still going to think she's calling me by name.

Snowmageddon 2012, aka Mr. Dumass

After years of covering severe winter weather as a TV reporter, telling viewers not to go outside if they didn't have to and warning drivers to go slowly on icy or snowy roads, it finally happened: I ended up being the jackass who drove into a ditch during a snowstorm!

It all started when my place of work sent people home early because the snow was really coming down. A line of cars created a mass exodus for the one road that led away of campus. As a result of the waiting many of the smaller, lighter cars got stuck going uphill and needed a helping hand/push from me (and others.) The car I was driving (an SUV) had no such problems, making me glad Helen had suggested I take it to work instead of my other car (a sedan.) It also made me confident that the rest of my ride home would be a piece of cake. How wrong I would be...

Once I got out onto the main road, I got stuck following a very 'careful' driver, who was going about 5 MPH. As we started going down a hill, the driver came to a complete stop, which pissed me off because I felt it was a dangerous maneuver since there were also cars behind me. My east coast driving-in-snow instincts also told me that when going down a hill, it's best to continually move so as not to slide. I was incredulous as I believed this idiot was just stopping because they were scared, so I decided to go around them and pass on the right. Big mistake.



Since there was fresh snow on the ground and very little traction, I started to slide uncontrollably to the right, right into a ditch nose-first. I tried to get out but only managed to sink deeper into trouble. Despite the best efforts of a few burly dudes who stopped to help push my car back onto the road, the weight of my SUV, the angle of the road (graded toward the ditch) and the lack of traction under the wheels made my car slide back into the ditch.

Remember that 'idiot' driver in front of me? Turns out they stopped because a metro bus coming up the hill had jackknifed and was blocking both lanes of traffic (the long way across the road.) So even if I had successfully gotten by the slow-poke, I still would have had to stop because of the bus. Oops.



After a few futile attempts to get my SUV out, I gave up, abandoned my ride and walked about 3 miles home. Later that evening I called and got through to the one local tow truck company that didn't have a six-hour waiting list of customers who were in the same predicament as me. Nearly 7 hours after my ordeal started, the tow truck pulled my car out and I drove the car back home. Very slowly.

My buddy Jae heard about what happened and texted me a three-letter question: "DWA?" My answer was no I was not, in fact 'Driving While Asian.' :) Rather, it was my perfect storm of overconfidence, arrogance and impatience during the first big winter storm of the year that led me off the road and into an embarrassing and unforgettable story. It made me feel a little like this:



*NOTE: The SUV below is not ours, but it crashed during the same batch of winter snow making me feel less like a doofus, which is why I posted it :)

Snow Day!

We had to take advantage of the recent snow day(s) in the area by going outside and playing.

Even though Kailyn technically experienced snow last winter she was only a couple of weeks/months old back then, and we were too protective to take her out and pose her next to a snowman or dress her up in a big, puffy snowsuit. No such hesitation this year:

End of Year Holidays in Boston

Last month Kailyn, Helen and I visited Boston to see my side of the family. It's always great to reconnect with them, especially since Kailyn has quite an East Coast fan club, as well as numerous young relatives she can play with.

The added bonuses included the weather being mild (no snow), people bought Kiki lots of gifts to make it like a second birthday party (all of which she loved), and like always the baby was a great traveler/eater/sleeper and adjusted to the time zone change without much problem. My parents even babysat for Helen and me so we could go out to dinner on New Year's Eve. A good time was had by all!

Grandma, Grandpa and the Grand kids


Kailyn with Bak Bak (Great-Grandma)


Story time with Grandma


Hanging out with Aunt Caroline

First Post of 2012! Kailyn Birthday Photos

It took a snow day, lots of free time and no activity on my eBay account, but I'm finally back in the saddle wih this blog.

Lots has happened since I last made an entry. But rather than explain in words, I figure it's easier to do so in photos. And let's face it, pix of Kailyn are all people really want anyway, isn't it?

Here are some shots from her 1st Birthday Party, a big bash organized by Helen and held at O'Asian restaurant downtown. As always, the pictures were taken by personal Kailyn photog, Ava Van. :)

Learning to Walk

Kailyn has taken her first steps! I am working on capturing it on video, but it has defintely happened and it's pretty cool.

I'm especially proud of her because I've been told first kids in a family tend to learn to walk a little later than others since they are usually carried alot by their parents and others and thus do not get as much practice.

So kudos to our little walker!

Gettin' Into the Holiday Spirit

From Santa Visit, Yu Zhen bday Nov 2011

Kailyn is a huge music fan. She will clap her hands and do a little dance whenever she hears a good beat. It's cute and funny. I like to say it's because I sang to her when she was in Helen's belly, but I think it's also that she is just a happy little baby and can't help but show it.

With two weeks left to go before Christmas, we've been listening to a radio station whose format has changed to all Christmas, all the time. While she enjoys the classics, one time in the car when Kailyn heard the song below, she went wild. Then again so did Helen and I, and we sang along while Kailyn happily moved to the music:

Happy 1st Birthday, Kailyn!

Dear Kailyn,

It's hard to believe a year ago today you were just a little 6 lb peanut:



You have made us so happy! We love you so much and can't wait to see you grow up - just don't do it too fast. Have a great day today and eat as much red velvet cake (or other sweets) as you like!



Love,
Mommy and Daddy

My Best Friend's Wedding

Good news! I recently heard my cousin Jason is getting married. He is like the brother I never had, was the best man at my wedding and besides Helen is my best friend. That we grew up together, share the same brain and have the sense of humor probably helps a bit (ask him about You know Joe Namath?/Joey the Horse/VCR to VCR dubbing/New bases, new bases' and any number of random things and he and I will both crack up simultaneously.)

After I told him about my awesomely romantic proposal story (I hid the ring in an Arby's beef 'n' cheddar sandwich and made Helen search through the cheese to get it,) he went ahead and did something even more memorable. In fact a local Boston TV station was so impressed they ran a VO of it on the morning news. Well done, Uncle Yeson!

Fast and Furious Learning

As Kailyn nears her one year birthday, it is simply amazing how quickly she is picking up on new things. Among her cool new tricks- the abiility to crawl up the stairs, pretend to be on the phone, hugging her stuffed animals (very sweet), feeding herself food, saying real words (like 'mama' and 'dada'), understanding what we're saying to her, talking into empty bottles to hear the echo it makes and laughing at funny things.

One of our friends told us that 6-12 months is the best age for little children because the babies usually get more hair, coordination and personality, and can communicate better. This has totally been the case with Kailyn. she is a total joy to be around (most of the time.)

Scream

The baby has now learned that screaming will get her what she wants, or at the very least get our attention. So she yells at the top of her lungs pretty much every chance she gets. Lots of our friends and family are surprised because Kailyn used to be such a quiet, little angel.

We try not to encourage her and allow her screaming to dictate what happens, but when it's in public and everyone's looking, it sort of forces our hand a little. At her old nanny's place, Kailyn used to scare the other babies because while they'd build up to their screaming, she would go from 0 to full blast immediately.

Also, when we're feeding her and are a bit too slow to get the next bite into her mouth, she'll produce an ear-piercing scream at the top of her lungs until more food is put in her pie-hole. Then she'll happily sing 'Nom, nom' like nothing ever happened. It's pretty cute, even if our ears are still ringing.

Great Cuts

Forever ago, when I was single and had a Match.com account they used to have a section asking what your best physical feature was. While I assume most people put down 'eyes' or 'smile,' I went with 'hair.' As a former TV news anchor, my hair was my thing, so much so I once told someone my biggest fear of doing crowd 'live shots' wasn't having someone attack me or swear on the air, but rather having someone mess my 'do up.

Anyway, I had to laugh because the other day we had Kailyn in pigtails. When we took them out, her hair defied gravity, stood straight up and was quite a sight.



She looked like Wolverine


Or Flock of Seagulls


Or like me when I wake up in the morning and haven't put any product in.


The good news is if she takes anything after me, Baby K's hair will be thick, strong and abundant. Even if it's a littl wild sometimes.

Santa 1, Kailyn 0

Kailyn's First Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving this year, Kailyn's first. She had a nice time at one of Helen's relatives' place and even tried a little turkey for the first time (she liked it.)

It's hard to believe that a year ago, the baby wasn't even here yet, and this year she weighed more than the turkey. Gobble Gobble!