Malcolm last ice skating class...

Whoa, it sure did go by fast. Malcolm made some really great improvements this winter. He's gone from literally not being able to stand, to being able to stand and walk unassisted (even glide a bit on his own). Hats off to Rick his instructor. Here are some pictures from his last lesson. 

Melody has been good, she's been such a happy little girl. She sure does have some funny habits though. Many times throughout the day she'll go to her closet and pull down her jacket and hat to put on. She's also got something for shoes, she loves playing with them and carrying them around the house. It's sure been fun with her, watching her grow and soon she'll be able to talk!

Happy 15 months Melody.

Wow 15 months already. Melody sure has come a long way. She measures 30" in height, weighs 24lbs and has a head circumference of 19". Growth percentiles have been leveling out, she's basically in the 50th percentile (except for head size, she's in the 75th in that category, just like her brother was).

She's been walking for quite a while now and has some awesome dexterity. Tracey believes it has to do will the baby-led weaning as she's been feeding herself since she was 6 months old. Annoyingly she can also pull off the electrical safety covers off of the outlets, cheeky monkey. One of the best things about her little pincher grip is that she can pick up every small speck, dust ball, or bit of paper off of the ground and feverishly comes and gives it to Roger or Tracey to dispose of, quite fascinating really, most kids would just eat it.

I'm not sure if babies can have shoe fetishes, but Melody sure loves shoes. She can't get enough of them whether they are her own or not. Words aren't coming fast and furious yet, but she sure understands a whole lot. It's cute to see her put electronic devices to her ear and pretend to say hello. So adorable to watch her put all sorts of hats on her head and say, "Hhaa". She also been using a few signs like milk, more, and waving bye-bye anytime someone puts on their jacket.

Happy 15 months Melody, you've been a dream. Keep up the good work.

Snowy weekend in Vancouver - New Westminster

We had a pretty snowy weekend on Saturday and Sunday. The whole family went for a walk to the park to take in all the wonderful white. Malcolm had great fun at the playground going down the slides. See the videos below. Incidentally, all the photos and video below were taken with Roger's iPhone.

Happy Belated Birthday to our friend Wendy.

Happy Birthday to you

We all love your super doo

You're such a good friend

We hope that will never end

You kindness see no bounds

It really quite astounds

You are simply the best

Head and shoulders above the rest

Happy Birthday Papa Mel.

We had a surprise party for Papa Mel on Saturday, boy was he surprised. Malcolm did his best to keep things a secret. Almost 50 friends and family attended the event. Now what to do with all those left-overs.

Roger asked Mel what the most memorable moment has been in his eighty years and he said it was the day he got married. Next year will mark 60 years of marriage for them, amazing.

A couple of firsts for Malcolm.

On Sunday, Roger and Tracey took Malcolm to see his first movie at the movie theatre. All in all, it went well but he was a little scared during some of the scenes. They went to see Tangled, Disney's adaptation of the classic story of Rapunzel. He ate two bowls of popcorn, drank his apple juice and sat through pretty much the whole movie without uttering a peep. I don't think Malcolm will all of a sudden want to see more movies, but he did say he might want to see Cars 2, in June.
Also, as you can see from the pictures above Malcolm got to see his very first NHL hockey game. Grandpa Harry got some free tickets to a luxury box and Malcolm and Roger went to the game. They ate Pizza, Churros, Chicken Strips, Popcorn, Dibs, and drank Cranberry Cocktail and Orange juice till their hearts were content. Malcolm was a little scared from all the noise when the Canucks scored, but he soon got used to it and cheered along with the rest of the crowd quite willingly. Suffice to say, he fell right asleep as soon as they got home, which was 2 hours past his regular bedtime. Final score, Canucks 4, Ottawa 2. Thanks Grandpa Harry. Here's a link to some more pictures.

Life in balance...

No one ever said that raising kids was easy and to those of you who think it is, here's the reality:
-Scheduling, without it things fall apart (Reality = things sometime fall apart anyway no matter how hard you try)
-Plan, plan, plan (Reality = kids are unpredictable no matter how well you plan)
-Sure parenthood is rewarding, but sometimes it can also bring the lowest of lows
-There's simply not enough time in the day to do everything
-Sometimes you feel like whatever you do, it doesn't change anything
-You cannot rationalize with kids who don't quite grasp concepts like "being late".
-Some things are simply beyond your control no matter how hard you try and force it
Suffice to say, although Tracey and Roger appreciate all that they have with respect to Malcolm and Melody, it doesn't mean that they sometimes wish that life could be easier. They do their very best to make sure both kids are safe, loved, fed, encouraged, and nurtured... too bad the nuances of each of those activities can be so complex and taxing. Malcolm is at an age now where he is inquisitive, eloquent, and even charming; however, with these traits also come things like unbelievably stubborn, at times manic, and irrational. Tracey and Roger both await the day where life is simpler, less hectic, and peaceful. Is that asking too much?

Here are some pictures from Tracey's birthday dinner at Memphis Blues. It was a meat-fest!.

Happy Birthday Tracey!

Happy Birthday Tracey
Another year has gone by
Another year of happiness
Another year of family
Another year of growing
Another year of experience
Another year closer to retirement!
Love you very much,

Obi, Malcolm, Melody and Roger.

Whew, the computer is back and up and running again.

Whew! The computer is back from Apple all fixed and running smoothly again. It's been over a week since Roger and the family have been computer-less. The good news was that the Apple Care warranty took care of it all. It was estimated at over $1500 to repair so quite a relief for everyone.

You may also have noticed that the blog has been given a face-lift. We hope you like it. Basically, every year Roger tries to update the look and change the banner. I'm not sure if he's 100% happy with it, but for now it will do.

Roger and Tracey have enrolled Malcolm in ice skating. He's already had his second lesson with Rick at the Moody Park Arena and is doing very well. Here are some pictures from Malcolm's first two sessions:



Meanwhile, Melody is doing well too. If you can believe it, she's cutting two more teeth on the right side, I think it's the cuspids. I guess with all that eating she's doing, more teeth will definitely help the process.

Mount Seymour Tobogganing...

Last week the Roger, Tracey and Malcolm headed up to the mountain for some tobogganing. Unfortunately they were met with a lengthy delay up the mountain due to a car fire. The fire department was deployed and it took over an hour to clear the incident. They weren't even sure they'd make it up the mountain. Patience was wearing thin, but they managed to tough it out and have an adventure that day. Chad, Wendy and Aaden even came along, sad news was Aaden fell asleep and rather than wake him from his nap they decided to go home. Luckily Wendy did get one run in that day. Here are some pictures from the event:

Vacation is over, now it's back to work.

With the holidays now over, the family is returning back to their daily routines. Malcolm is back to daycare tomorrow and Roger and Tracey will be resuming work again. Carol's Mom has been helping taking care of Melody and she's been really great. We're all very thankful to her to be able to help out. Melody is so close to walking independently now, tonight she managed to take several steps on her own. Roger managed to snap the picture above of the beautiful sunset on New Year's Day, such a stunning site.

새해 복 많이 받으세요! Happy New Year!

On behalf of our family to yours, here's wishing you the very best in 2011. We hope that 2011 is the best yet! Health and happiness to all.

Whew!

Whew, it's over. After all that build-up Christmas has come and gone. Luckily not too much of an early morning for the family. Malcolm woke up at 6am, but Roger managed to coax him back to bed till about 7am. We opened our stockings in the morning and our presents throughout the day.

We were hosting Christmas Breakfast so we had to get ready with all the food and preparations. It was quite a spread, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, toast and the like. Also, several hours later turkey dinner prepared by Grandma. All in all, it was a pretty good Christmas, good food, great gifts and time with the family. Thankfully Malcolm was good, although he got his Candy on, chocolates, candy canes, cookies and baked treats galore. Now we'll have to figure out how to get rid of all that extra packaging and wrapping paper fall out. Here are some pictures from the day:

It's been tough...

Everyone is almost back to 100% in the house, health-wise. Malcolm's cough has finally subsided thanks to the dose of the steroid puffer and Melody looks like she's turned the corner as well. Now if we could only find a cure for the boy's attitude. I think the most heart-breaking thing is that we know he can be so good. He's apparently an absolute gem at Daycare and when people visit the house you couldn't find a more charming 4 year old. Unbeknownst to many is how ornery and cantankerous he can be at home. A lot of times he's downright mean to Tracey, yelling at her being so oppositional that attempting mundane tasks like getting dressed can often spark a full-fledged tantrum. Sigh.

It's been quite a busy time at Malcolm's Daycare. He's had his first Christmas concert, breakfast with Santa, made gingerbread houses and even visited the local Kindergarten to share in their pancake breakfast with Santa; such a busy time this Christmas season. Malcolm's going to need some kind of therapy to work through the withdrawal that's going to happen in January. Here are some pictures from the recent events at his daycare. Pictured below are quite possibly four of the nicest and most caring teachers ever. (L-R) Miss Pam, Miss Aman, Miss Margaret and Miss Doris are pictured below:

Stanley Park Christmas Train

The family made their annual trip to the Stanley Park Christmas train last Monday evening and from the sounds of things, a fun time was had by all. It really does help to go on a weekday, the crowds were certainly diminished. Lucky for the family it was dry and quite mild compared to years past. Here are some pics with Roger's new Nikon D700. Yup, a new toy for him, darn technology.

It's kind of ironic to see the pictures now cause the kids look so happy. You wouldn't have guessed that they are all so sick with colds now. Let's hope the family all gets very healthy soon.

Help Portrait Vancouver 2010

Two years in a row Roger has been involved with the Help-Portrait initiative in Vancouver. This year it took place at the Union Gospel Mission, where approximately 600 people came through to have their picture taken. Here's some information about the event. Also, you can check out the blog link as well.

Help-Portrait Vancouver 2010 (Thank You) from Steve Tan on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Melody!

It was a lot of preparation and hard work, but it all worked out extremely well. We officially have a one year old and a four year old. Melody's party was a lot of fun filled with friends, family and another round of cake pops. Bakerella has certainly made an impression on this family. The party was great, the birthday girl powered through even though she only had a 45 min nap all day. From what Roger and Tracey have said, she wasn't cranky, she didn't fuss, and she was a real trooper. The Doljabi went well, looks like she's got a future in the military using technology. She grabbed the sword then the iPhone, we'll have to wait and see if it really pans out. In fact, in the end she ended up grabbing all the items and passing them to Tracey. It was mentioned that she's got a future in philanthropy perhaps. So, she didn't walk by her first birthday, but we expect that it should be happening soon. Thank you to everyone who was in attendance, Melody thanks you as well. Here are some pictures from the event.

Melody's Birthday counting down...

Can't believe how much time flies. Our little Melody is growing up fast. This past week we got rid of her baby tub and now she's in there like a big girl. She's so much more easy going than Malcolm was at the same age. As you can see from the picture, she loves the water, her brother not so much. Even a little drop on his face can sometimes trigger a full-blown meltdown. It's interesting how a brother and sister can be oh so different.

Step by step, oh baby!

Day by day Melody's getting better and more confident about walking. She's really getting the hang of couch surfing. We're not sure if she'll be walking independently by her 1st birthday, but it might be close. Here's some video taken last night:

Melody Couch Surfing... from Obiwanhavanese on Vimeo.

Thinking of you...

All jokes aside, as most people know I initially started this blog (for fun) to chronicle our lives as seen through the eyes of our Havanese dog, Obi. Most of the posts are dedicated to documenting the growth of the kids and all the trials and tribulations of this journey that we're all on. I hope one day we can look back on all the past entries and laugh together.

The blog has allowed me to share not only our lives with friends and family, but to also act as a creative outlet for myself. Sometimes the posts are simply updates, sometimes they represent an official log for us to come back to, in recent times it's an opportunity to capture the beauty that I see through my lens, and in today's case it's perhaps a voice to give me peace of mind that somewhere out there my Mother can hear me. It is a voice that has called out to proclaim my contentment, the joy and fulfillment I feel of being a father and husband, a true statement of well being. Today marks the 5th anniversary of my Mother's passing. It was a life-changing event that will never have resolution. Sadly, I have to admit, I don't think of her as often as I used to, but the fact remains although her death was tragic, that tragedy is unparalleled to the loss I feel that she never had the chance to meet my two beautiful and fantastic children. She was an amazing lady, I miss her dearly and today more than any other day. So again, I send this message out into space in the hopes that she can hear me and to let her know that I'm ok. I love you Mom.

Here's a picture taken in June of 1973, just after I turned 1, she was 25. She was just a kid herself.

Here We Bowl Again!

Malcolm has been wanting to go bowling again for quite a few months. Roger and Tracey can't even drive past the bowling alley without him mentioning it. To celebrate that he has finally been staying at daycare for the whole day (including the afternoon rest), Roger took him bowling on Saturday. They had a great time and Malcolm really enjoyed his special outing with Daddy. Now we're gearing up for Melody's big birthday party in a couple of weeks and then the busy holiday season will be in full swing along with Tracey's return to work. Wow! It really is a busy time of year. I hope I still have time to fit all of my naps in. Woof!

Happy Birthday Auntie Suki!

To help celebrate Aunt Sue's birthday, Roger and the family have been working on a little photo assignment that was sent from Vienna. They have been provided with 10 different photographic themes to work with and to interpret those themes in any way they see fit. They haven't quite finished them all yet, but hope to do so by the submission deadline tomorrow. At Sue's birthday party they will share all the submissions from the groups and pick winners in each category. Here's one shot that Roger captured for one of the themes, "Something Radiant". Can't wait to see all the submissions. We asked Malcolm to check on his baby sister to make sure she was feeling ok.