Tracey's been in Edmonton...

It's been strange having Roger home for the last few days. He's been busy taking care of Malcolm and helping the grandparents settle into their new surroundings while Tracey's away. The family even went on a big walk today to the furniture store and the senior centre. Grandma and Grandpa are looking for a new bookcase for their living room. Roger's been busy doing the little things around the house. He's even organized the garage, installing some new shelving. Here are some pics from the last few days:

Pssst, Tracey look what happens when you're away. Roger is a silly Dad sometimes; although, Malcolm sure didn't mind.


"Look I'm almost walking aren't I?"


Okay this cleaning thing is getting out of hand now.


Malcolm and me hanging out.

Grandma and Grandpa are moved in...

120 boxes, loads of furniture, misc items and they did it... they're in. Now Grandma and Grandpa will have to figure out places to put all their stuff. It has been a very busy few days. I think Malcolm has been the most well adjusted out of the whole family. Despite the snow storm we had a few days ago, the weather warmed up considerably and melted most of the snow away. Here are some pictures from the past few days at the new house:

Here's the new house under a blanket of snow:


Self portrait titled: "Where the heck am I?"


Whoa, Christmas when did that happen? Roger and Tracey put up the Christmas tree a few days ago... only 22 days till it's here.


I think Malcolm has been watching Roger and Tracey a bit too closely over the past few days. Yesterday he picked up a facecloth and started wiping his new toy (Thanks to uncle Dave for that, btw. He really loves his new toy very much)


This picture is Roger's favorite, he looks like he's a little bartender, wiping down the bar. "Whadil you have mister, how about a skim milk on the rocks?"

We're officially moved in.

With 70+ boxes to unpack, it took Roger and Tracey a few days to get everything in place. There's still a bunch of things to do, but for the most part things are falling into place quite nicely. Grandma and Grandpa are scheduled to move in next week too. It's going to be very busy around this house in the coming weeks.

Malcolm has settled into his room quite nicely. I'm not sure if it's any indication of his comfort, but he even started sleeping longer from about 7:30pm all the way until 9:00am the next day. It's been like that for the past few days, so we'll see if it continues.

Moving to a new place is very exciting, I have so many more places to explore and sniff. I'm quite intrigued will all the sights and sounds of the neighbourhood. We're quite close to the park now, just across the street. I sure when the weather gets better we'll explore more of the new surroundings. I'm especially excited and happy to run around in the backyard. There's some room for me to stretch my legs and get a good run.

We were honoured by a visit from our good friend and famous "talent" from Korea this past week, Isaac Durst! Here's a picture of Malcolm and Isaac together plus some others.

Moving day is here!

So we got the keys today and have started moving. I've been to the house three times now. It sure is going to be different living in a house with a yard. I'm excited about moving, but it's all very unpredictable. I'm happy to know that grandma and grandpa will be so close. Wish us luck, we'll send an update and pictures as soon as we're settled in.

Initiative to help students in developing countries...

The mission of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) movement is to ensure that all school-aged children in the developing world are able to engage effectively with their own personal laptop, networked to the world, so that they, their families and their communities can openly learn and learn about learning.

The OLPC Association focuses on designing, manufacturing, and distributing laptops to children in lesser developed countries, initially concentrating on those governments that have made commitments for the funding and program support required to ensure that all of their children own and can effectively use a laptop.

In order to accomplish the goal, the OLPC needs people who believe in what is being done and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, anyone can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in their own lives in recognition of the contribution. Roger and Tracey are participating in the program and have put an order in for an XO for Malcolm and another deserving individual in a developing country.

Malcolm's birthday party!

On behalf of the family, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended Malcolm's first birthday party this afternoon. Malcolm was dressed in his "toll" hanbok and thankfully was very tolerant of the whole thing. For those of you who were wondering, he grabbed the toothbrush first, so maybe there's a dental career in his future. He did motion over to the stethoscope a few times but got spooked when everyone started to cheer. The second item he grabbed was the caligraphy brush which usually represents a future as a scholar or artist. Roger and Tracey will have to start saving now if he does plan his future as a painting dentist. We can't even imagine how much that will cost... a Bachelor of Fine Arts, followed by a Doctor of Dental Medicine, whoa! Here are some pictures:

Malcolm's first Halloween.

Well it's Malcolm's first Halloween and Grandma made him an especially nice costume. As you can see from the pictures below he was the tinman from the Wizard of Oz, well perhaps the tinbaby is more appropriate. Tracey went as Dorothy and Roger went as the scarecrow. They all went down to the mall for a little trick or treating. Here are some pics:

Here's the payoff!

Who said Elvis is dead, he's alive and well and looks a bit like grandpa don't you think? Maybe he'll sing "Hound Dog" for Malcolm's birthday celebration.

Thanks for the music lesson uncle Felix.

Roger, Tracey and Malcolm had a chance to go over to Mimi's place downtown for lunch. The place has been transformed, it looks so much bigger than before. Here are some pictures from the lunch. Everyone had a chance to enjoy a delicious lunch, except me. Oh, and congratulations to Grandma and Grandpa for selling their townhouse. I know they were quite worried about it all. Soon we'll all be together living under one roof. The countdown is on for Malcolm's birthday and our big move.

Here's uncle Felix showing Malcolm how to cut it up!

"Look at all this uncharted territory, I must explore!"

Malcolm exploring the kitchen.

Malcolm talking and laughing about something...

Now if we only knew what he was talking about.

The flu season arrived early.

Roger has been sick for the last week or so, coughing, sneezing, sniffling. It's been a lot of sleepless nights for him. So far we're keeping our fingers and paws crossed that Malcolm doesn't get Roger's cold. I can't imagine if that little guy gets sick. Oh and poor Tracey has also been recovering from her gum surgery. I tell you sustaining yourself on a purely liquid diet can be very restrictive. A diet of soup, ice cream, yogurt, and pudding can get pretty dull after several days. She's been quite a trooper though.

Here are some more pics:

Like the Jeffersons, we're movin on up!

Whoa, we're moving! Yup that's right our townhouse is now sold. Can you believe it, we'll be in the new house by the end of November. It was definitely a stressful time for both Roger and Tracey, but everything came out great. Truly the housing market in Vancouver is crazy. Roger and Tracey have seen the value of their property jump by 60% in three and a half years. Our open house which took place over three days, saw almost 150 people come through the property. With that many visitors we were expecting a multiple offer situation and indeed that's how it played out. Special thanks to Dave for all his hard work. Now we'll have to start packing, uh oh... Say good bye to our townhouse, it was good while we were here. Oh and here are some more pictures from this week:



As you can see Malcolm is still using that wonderful bathtub sent by Susan in Chicago.

Malcolm is 11 months old today!

Let's review some of Malcolm's recent developmental milestones:
-he has seven teeth (four on top and three on the bottom)
-he can get to a sitting position from crawling
-he can walk (cruise) with assistance, independant walking not quite there yet
-he's able to feed himself some finger foods
-he's able to make more vowel sounds
-he's actually starting to point to random things
-he's recently learned how to throw an object
-learned the meaning of "No"

Malcolm's birthday (Dol) is right around the corner. Roger and Tracey are trying to decide what the best plan of action will be. Stay tuned to find out.

Oh so they also finally told me what's happening with all the recent activity, they're selling the townhouse. In fact, the open house is this weekend. That means we'll be moving soon. I'm not sure about the new house, but Roger has reassured me that there will be lots of room for me to run around. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

It's Grandma's birthday tomorrow.

The weather in Vancouver has been miserable, fall has certainly arrived and with it has come rain, wind and cooler temperatures. Roger and Tracey have been busy cleaning and de-cluttering the house. I think something's happening, but I'm not quite sure what. I've been a bit stressed about all the upheaval, but I'm sure everything will be fine. Malcolm has been his cheery self, you know that kid has another tooth coming in, which now makes a grand total of 7! Thankfully it hasn't been disrupting his sleep. Here are some pictures from this week:

Happy Birthday Grandma, we love you!
"What are you looking at?"
Now even Malcolm has tried his turn at doggie obedience

Nick, Fabianna and Samba came to visit us.

We got a visit from Nick, Fabianna and my friend Samba. They came over for breakfast this morning. Here are some pictures from this afternoon. Fabianna is 25 weeks pregnant and is due sometime in the beginning of January.

Things are back to normal.

Everything has been going very well these days. Malcolm is completely back to being his wonderfully happy self after the stress and upheaval of his first vacation. He is still sleeping through the night and has even been sleeping in until 8:00 some mornings. He is also in the process of getting his 6th tooth! Before too long it will be time for his first trip to the dentist.
I am happy to have everything back to normal too....it was fun to stay with Grandma and Grandpa though...they gave me so many treats and lots of love. Here are a couple more pictures of Malcolm in Hawaii....he did have some happy moments. He loves mini wheats even though he's never tasted them. I managed to sneak a taste of Malcolm's breakfast the other morning....yummy pears and yams. It's fun now that he is eating more interesting food. If I'm quick I can get some extra treats.

Hey Malcolm made it on Rice Daddies.

Check the header, that's Malcolm.

http://ricedaddies.blogspot.com/

They're back!

After a week in Maui, Roger, Tracey and Malcolm are back home. From what Roger has told me it was quite a trip. Everything that they say about travelling with a baby are true, "it ain't no walk in the park". Apparently Malcolm had trouble sleeping on the plane which made things that much more difficult to deal with from the start. Malcolm only slept one hour during the whole six hour journey there. Suffice to say, it was a tough week for Roger, Tracey and little Malcolm. At least it was really beautiful. I think they are looking forward to going back one day once Malcolm is older. Here are some pictures from Maui:

Say what?

Roger, Tracey and Malcolm are heading to Hawaii for a week. I'm staying with Grandpa Mel and Grandma Nan. They're leaving this afternoon. Roger and Tracey are a bit worried considering this is Malcolm's first flight. I'm keeping my paws crossed for them. I guess the biggest challenge will be getting Malcolm adjusted to the new surroundings, time difference and sleep schedule. He's been sleeping so well these days, it's no wonder that Roger and Tracey are afraid to now mess with a good thing. For the past three months Malcolm has been going to bed at 8:00-8:30pm and sleeping right through till the morning, around 7:00-7:30am. The schedule has been a dream for all of us as the first few months were filled with many sleepless nights. I hope the week goes by quickly, I'll miss them. I'm thankful that I'll be spending my time with the grandparents, it mean lots of treats for me! Aloha.

Bisphenol A (BPA)

Now I'm not usually one to talk about the dangers of chemicals and toxic substances, but we've recently found out that there may be some concerns about some of the plastics that we use. The chemical is called Bisphenol A (BPA) and it is present in all polycarbonate plastics. After reading the "Smart Plastics Guide Healthier Food Uses of Plastics" issued by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Polcy - Food and Health program (and doing some other internet research); Roger and Tracey have now decided to switch all of Malcolm's baby bottles from the current Avent system to the Gerber Gentle Flow bottles. The Avent bottles are made of polycarbonate and although they have been very good, a change is now due. Here's a picture of the Gerber bottles below. Oh, incidently they are alot cheaper than the avent bottles and are stikingly similar; so similar in fact that we are able to use the collars and nipples interchangeablely. We got ours at Walmart.
Some companies have even gone as far as marketing their bottles as BPA free (Evenflow and Born Free). Now most of the studies report that there is no danger to humans, or that the levels are well within the allowable limits for human consumption. Sure, although that may be well and true, why would you knowingly subject yourself (or our son for that matter) to something known to be harmful. Malcolm will not be drinking from polycarbonate plastic anymore.

(See Wikipedia for more information)
Here's another link: Bispehnol A (BPA)
Here's an article about an independent study in California.

2026 Winter Olympics...

How does the jersey look for Malcolm participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics, or perhaps the World Junior Championships? I think it looks good.

Here is another series that Roger put together titled "#2". That's right folks, this is the face made when Malcolm is doing his business. It's amusing, non? There's no mistaking it; grunts, cries and usually a red face to show us all that something is happening. At least it's never a surprise to anyone; we definitely know when his diaper needs changing.