Malcolm is becoming pretty vocal.

My brother can make all sorts of sounds now, he can coo, babble, squeal and even shriek. Roger and Tracey are only getting up once throughout the night now, which is a marked improvement. I don't bother to get up, cause it's just too cozy in bed. I've learned my lesson... after all they just come back to bed as soon as they feed Malcolm anyway. Roger is taking a vacation day to stay home with us today. Tracey is going out with Irene, I think I overheard that they'll be going to a movie. Anyway, here's a sample of Malcolm's vocalization.

Dietary supplement.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Roger has been adding a yummy homemade supplement to my regular kibble. He told me that it's made from 1/3 protein (boiled chicken), 1/3 rice, and the last 1/3 made up of boiled/mashed sweet potato and organic probiotic yogurt. Roger makes a batch and adds it into my meals twice a day. He said that for the first time in a long time, I've been finishing my whole portion without a scrap leftover. That's what's probably attributed to my weight gain. As you can see from the picture, I'm VERY FOCUSED and am waiting for the magic release command! C'mon, Roger "okay" already.

Here's a picture of Malcolm at the controversial Olympic clock in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery, only 1090 days to go....

Malcolm is 15 weeks old today.

He's been sleeping longer, we're almost afraid to mention it to anyone cause it's been going so well; after all we wouldn't want to jinx anything. Last night he slept from 9:30pm to almost 5:30am (with an 11pm dream feed)... then decided to sleep until 8:30am so we could all catch up a bit. Here are some pics:

He looks like a red jedi in this one:

Longest sleep ever!

I'm happy to report that Malcolm enjoyed an extended sleep session last night (the first time ever!). Tracey and Roger put him to bed at 9:30, he had a dream feed at 11:00 and he slept until almost 5:00am this morning. Whoo hoo! The dream feed idea is advocated by Tracy Hogg in the popular book, The Baby Whisperer. It is called dream feed because you don't actually wake the baby. You basically take the baby out of the crib and give it a breast or bottle and don't even change it unless he's really soiled and then put them back to sleep. The dream feed has been working really well so far. Malcolm drains the bottle and drinks at least 3.5 ounces every time. We've also been using a great swaddle blanket, called the "Miracle Blanket" that swaddles him very snugly so he can't wriggle his arms out. Most night we've found that Malcolm gets his arms free and wakes himself up because of all the flailing. Here's a picture of the "Miracle Blanket" (a special thanks to Janey and Bill for loaning it to us) Roger is actually bidding on another one on Ebay so we can have a backup, just in case.

Malcolm's Baek-il party.

February 13th, 2007 marked Malcolm's 100th day. To celebrate the occassion we took Malcolm out for dinner with the whole family.


Here is some history behind this auspicious event in a baby's life:

In premodern Korea infant mortality was high because of a variety of diseases and other health problems that did not respond to herbal medicines. Newborn babies were treated with extra care in an effort to preserve their lives. This generally included taboos against visits by outsiders for the first 21 days of the baby's life, and not formally recognizing the new family member until it was fairly certain that the child was going to survive.

A long time ago it also became customary for families to wait until the 100th day to officially celebrate the birth of a new child with a baek Il (baek eel) or "100th Day Party," making this one of the most auspicious social events in Korean life. Relatives and close friends were invited to participate in the happy event. Baek il parties are still the custom in Korea, and continue to be one of the more important social events that take place regularly throughout the year. Many families, in fact, stage three baek il - one for the father's family, one for the mother's family, and another one for the father's school friends and work colleagues.

Baek il are marked by feasts that include a variety of special foods and drinks. Guests are expected to bring gifts. Families generally take platters of rice cakes and other specialities to their closer neighbors, who respond by bringing gifts for the infants. "100th Day Parties" are always occasions for taking numerous photographs that go into family albums. (In earlier times it was customary to take frontal pictures of baby boys in the nude as a public record of their maleness.) The second milestone in the life of a new baby is its first birthday.


Excerpted from the forthcoming book, "NTC's Dictionary of Korea's Business and Cultural Code Words" (NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company), by Boye Lafayette DeMente. DeMente is an author of more than forty books and currently works as a consultant on Korea, China, and Japan. For more information about his currently available work, check out the Internet site (http://www.dancris.com/~phxbooks/).

By Boye Lafayette De Mente

Funny!

I think Grandma Nan is trying to turn Malcolm into a garden gnome. She made him a hat and I swear that he's the spitting image of a garden gnome I've seen before, what do you think... separated at birth huh?

It was Grandpa Mel's birthday on the weekend, the family enjoyed a Chinese dinner feast! Grandpa Mel got a nice wallet and tickets to a show from Roger and Tracey. He received a gift certificate for the Casino from Glen, Manjit, Nicole and Joseph. I was a bit naughty at the dinner, it was a perfectly laid plan actually. I told Malcolm to distract the family by smiling and looking cute and I sneakily jumped up to the table and got a few good licks in on the cheesecake. I must have licked the cake about three times until Grandma Nan and Tracey noticed, next time I'll have to get Malcolm to distract them for longer... he and I are going to be a great team!

Weight watchers?

Tracey said that I've lost three pounds. My stomach has been feeling a bit strange lately, but as for the sudden weight loss, I'm not exactly sure why? Roger did mention that he felt that I've been eating less and that I've had less appetite. Roger has even gone to lengths to upgrade my dinner by adding some chicken, yogurt and rice to my kibble. I managed to scarf all that down no problem. With the dietary supplements, they hope that I'll gain back the weight soon, cause I know what the consequences are... another trip to the vet. Tracey took Malcolm and me on a big walk to the park, it was nice to get outside and run around, she even let me run around in the tennis courts.

Malcolm is doing well. He's a little chubster, here's a picture of him trying Roger's ice skates on, a little big don't you think?

upgrades to blogspot.com

You may have noticed a bit of an upgrade to the site, well some aesthetic changes anyway... don't fret all the information is the same just packaged a bit differently.

I was trying to write the number 7

Roger and Tracey were wondering what I was trying to write on the stairs again.. I was trying for the number 7, but got distracted when I heard a cat outside. Now that I see the picture, I think the number is backwards? I hope I'm not dyslexic. Here's a pic:

Oh, Roger, Tracey and Malcolm, went to visit Janey, Bill and Ty on Saturday afternoon. They discussed Malcolm's eating, activity, and sleeping schedule with them. You see Roger and Tracey are trying to put Malcolm on a better routine so he'll start sleeping through the night. It hasn't worked yet, but it's only been a couple of days. We're all hoping that he'll start sleeping for longer stretches soon. Here's a picture of Malcolm and Ty together.

Don't see what the big deal is?

Roger and Tracey were impressed that I positioned my kibble in such a way that it resembled a perfect square. I wasn't too happy with it, because I was trying to position the kibble to look like the star constelation; little dipper. Maybe I'll blow their minds next time and write out something, like "STEAK PLEASE", bet you that would freak them out! Usually Roger isn't so impressed that I bring my food bits to eat in the living room and on the step, but this time they were more amused. Here's a pic of the food:

Oh, here's my favorite picture of Malcolm, Tracey took it the other day.. doesn't he look happy?

As promised pictures from our pre-natal class reunion.

Roger, Tracey and Malcolm went to the pre-natal class reunion yesterday at BC Women's Hospital. They were reunited with the groups from their classes last year. They said that it was nice to hear all the different stories and experiences all the other parents went through. Almost every baby arrived early except for one, they all seem to be doing quite well. Also coincidently, three babies were born weighing the same as Malcolm, 6 pounds 12 ounces, neat huh! Here are the pics as promised.

Down the line:

Here are William and Malcolm together:

Roger's going to BNO.

For those of you who don't know, BNO stands for Boys Night Out. Every last Saturday of every month Roger and his friends get together to chew the fat, eat, drink and partake in some male bonding. I wish I could go, but Malcolm and I have to stay home.

During the last few months BNO was temporarily suspended, but now that it's 2007 they've brought it back again. I think Roger said that they may go to the Giants game or maybe even go-karting. Although they try to plan the activities, they often just play it by ear.

On Saturday morning, Roger, Tracey and Malcolm are going to have a pre-natal class reunion at BC Women's Hospital. This will give them a chance to see all the other babies and parents that took part in the classes. I'm sure that there will be pictures of the event soon. In the meantime here are some more pics:

Yesterday was Tracey's Birthday.

Mmmmm, yesterday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate Tracey's birthday. Grandma gave me some pork scraps leftover from dinner, it was so delicious. I know I shouldn't be begging for food, but it's irresistable. Roger had to put me in a down - stay to keep from the dinner table. :(

Tracey said that she had a great birthday this year, she and Roger were able to enjoy a nice dinner on Saturday night at the Boathouse. She also said that she received some very nice gifts from her whole family. Incidently, Malcolm celebrated his 11 week birthday on Sunday too. Here are some more pictures:

Hey Malcolm is 10 weeks old today!

Whoo hoo, 10 weeks old. That boy is growing like a weed. I heard he was such a good little boy yesteday at Shabusen for Fabiana's birthday dinner, as they all played "Pass the baby on the left hand side". Now if he would only start sleeping.

Feeling much better.

A week ago I was at the vet and, I can tell you, being home is a lot better. Roger and Tracey are happy that the vomiting has stopped. I'm still taking some antibiotics, I think there are only two left. Roger is sneaky, he puts the pill in a little ball of meat, I know it's there, shhh don't tell him. This way I get a special treat twice a day.

Oh, the snow is back again accompanied by chilly temperatures, I think it was minus 6 degrees today. The snow has covered the streets and sidewalks of Vancouver. It sticks to me when I'm out walking and then do my legs ever weigh a ton! Roger had an idea and put a pair of Malcolm's socks on me before our walk, but they fell off in the snow. Malcolm and Tracey are feeling slightly better, but they both still seem to have stuffy noses. We've all been hoping that Malcolm would start sleeping through the night, but we haven't had much luck in that department. His sleep sessions seem to vary between 2-4 hours. Here are some new pics; Malcolm will be 10 weeks old tomorrow.

Had to see the vet and stay at the hospital.

I spent three days at Atlas Animal Hospital. Roger took me there because I kept throwing up at home. I really scared Roger and Tracey when I threw up some blood. At the hospital, they took x-rays and did blood tests and put an IV drip in my paw. It's a good thing I'm not a show dog because they had to shave the hair on my leg to insert the IV. It turns out that I have a stomach infection and after taking some antibiotics I should be as good as new. Was I ever glad to see Roger and Tracey when they picked me up yesterday. It's not very fun to stay at the hospital with strangers; I missed my toys, food and peeps! I've been spending a lot of time napping since I got home and am feeling much better now. Here' s a picture of me before my IV bandage came off.

The boys not feeling well.

I don't know what it was, but Malcolm and I didn't feel well last night. Malcolm was up almost all night, poor Roger and Tracey. It sounds like he caught Tracey's cold, his stuffy little nose was keeping him up. I on the other hand felt sick in my tummy. Tracey did her best to keep me from getting sick, but I ended up throwing up on the carpet, (sorry Roger and Tracey for the mess). Maybe some 'bug' is going around and we ended up catching it. It's not good when 3/4 members of the household are sick. I better keep my paws crossed for Roger, poor guy had to go to work with less than 4 hours sleep. Sometimes we're trouble.

Happy New Year everyone! (Sehe Bokmanee Bateuseyo)

Happy New Year to all of you out there. Can you believe that 2006 is over? It has been a pretty eventful year with the arrival of my little brother Malcolm, who is incidentally 8 weeks old now. His chubby little cheeks and chubby little legs are sure filling out. On behalf of our family here in Vancouver, we would like to wish everyone a very prosperous and joyful 2007. Here are some more pics:

Wow, Christmas is over, whew!

Here are some new pictures:

Malcolm at 7 weeks old:


Malcolm can lift his head:


Whoo hoo, Santa brought me lots of presents (만세) :


All this Christmas stuff is exhausting, I need a nap:

Thanks to uncle Lane in Calgary!

Malcolm received a gift from Calgary today, a cute sweater, socks, diaper shirt, a cool Christmas Ornament and a hilarious letter. Tracey read the letter aloud, I know Malcolm doesn't understand it yet, but the jist of it was very heartwarming (although there were some tall tales in it!). Here's the new outfit and socks, thanks Uncle Lane: