The "Nurturing" Things We Do In The Name Of Parenting

1) give him spicy foods (that he likes) so that he will drink more milk

2) he likes to put firehats on our heads, so XW will hold his dinner and intentionally let her hat fall so that he will come back and put the hat on her head while she feeds him another bite of dinner.

3) cut up veggies (stir fried greens) and mix them in with favorite foods (like spare ribs) so that he doesn't notice.

4) when Max was in his yogurt phase (plain yogurt that is), we would mix in blended broccoli.

5) we put his favorite characters on the bathroom mirror so that he wants to wash his hands.

6) we tell him that his classmates LOVE a particular food so that he will want to eat it himself.

7) we put movies on our phone so that he will lie still for his diaper change.

8) daddy promises to let him "drive" the car (i.e. Stand in the driver's seat and hold onto the steering wheel) in order to get him into the car in the mornings

9) for long plane rides - iPhones and benadryl, not necessarily in that order.

10) we always have him facing windows at restaurants so that he can be distracted by the hoipolloi when we eat.

11) we bring easily-peelable oranges so that he can keep busy for 5 minutes when we go out to eat with friends.

2010 M.A.X. Year-End Review

Happy Holidays!

Holly Chocolate Holiday

Make a statement with custom holiday cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Fall Vacation

M.A.X. has just returned from the ultimate vacation in Taiwan and China. Below is a photo taken in our hotel room in Hangzhou. Thanks to Max's grandparents, our suite (which was three times the size of our home) came with a sauna.

More pics to come once we get over some serious jet lag.

Two!

Max turned two on Saturday. We continue to be grateful for the little guy and all the joy he brings us.

More pics of Max & Company after we recover from the excitement (and chaos) from his birthday: a pancake celebration with Max's friends and the fire fighters of Mountain View.

Shades + Stinky Socks = Hilarity

Self Service

Reunion in the Apricot Orchard: How Sweet It Was

Although Max loves going to "school" each day, he misses his beloved Elodie, with whom he shared a nanny for 15 months. This past weekend, the two ran into each other at the apricot orchard. At times, literally. Needless to say, Max was thrilled and perhaps a little too passionate. You'll see how their hug ended below.

Fun photos courtesy of Elodie's mom.

Graduation Crasher

It's been a while since we've posted anything substantive. It seems Max has been busy crashing graduations, related parties, hosting grandparents, family and playdates, traveling down to SoCal, and the big news: attending school himself! Max started early pre-school on June 1 and is loving it there (so far).

More updates to follow. For now, two pics from the memorable month of June.

Hello, Summer!

Orbit Baby

Max and I were flattered to be included in the latest web site for Orbit Baby:
http://www.orbitbaby.com/

The boy loves his toddler stroller seat (ga ga). He gets upset when we stop strolling and demands that we keep walking (moh-mohr!).

Strolling in his ga ga is best accompanied by a cup of milk (da da), fig bar (bobbi) and fresh fruit of the day (nana or booo [blueberries]). If we're particularly lucky on our stroll, we'll see dogs (wo-wo), cats (mao), trucks (da-teh), running water (shui) or police cars (po-po).

Inevitably, as we extract him from the ga ga, the trip ends with Max's favorite choice words these days, "no no no no no no!"

Hot and Spicy. 19 Months.

Max is 19-months old today. Last night, he enjoyed his first introduction to hot and spicy cuisine at Passage to India. Our Little Chef, who is spicy in his own right, devoured an entire thigh's worth of a tomato and pepper-sauteed chicken. Unfortunately, all three of us didn't realize how spicy the dish was until after the fact. Yum/Oops!

Max on Wheels

Alan took Max on his first ride in the bike trailer. Thankfully, the boy (who typically fights any form of hat) tolerated his new helmet.

Maxwell discovers the physics of water

Maxwell discovers the physics of water, and loves it. He normally hates getting water on his face, but in this case, he's clearly made an exception. Two words can be made out in the middle and end of the video: "more" after we take him away from the water. and then "bah!" which means "please!" when Daddy is drying off his face.



2010 03 14

Zebra Robe

Zen Baby



Jedi Baby

M.A.X. by the Bay

Photo courtesy of the very talented Wilmot Yeh. Concept by Hoi Wong and Mohini Rustagi. Fashion consultation by Mei-Lun Wang and Edgar Chuang Industries. More to come, possibly. Stay tuned...

Obama 101

The Maxwell Threatdown

Caught on film, at last.

Boy Meets Puddle

Dweeb

Oh my. Who is this child?




Nai Nai (Max's grandmother) just sent us this photo from her last visit with Max (Sept 09). As you can see, she really enjoys styling his hair!

Alan's reaction? "Dweeb." I think it's pretty hilarious. You be the judge.

Maxese. 17 Months.

Max is 17-months old today. As the little man expands his vocabulary, some of it seems to be in the form of theme and variation.

For instance "wa wa" could mean socks (wa zi), phone (dian hua) or perhaps a request to draw (hua hua).

Similarly, "ma ma" could be a reference to either Mommy, President Obama or Elmo.

In Maxese, there's a fine line between parenting, being the world's most powerful leader and dancing like a muppet. Am I flattered? You bet.

"Table for Three, Please"

On Chinese New Year/Valentine's Day, the three of us went out to dinner in Palo Alto. Max wore his first dinner jacket out on the town (thanks, cousin Ian, for the hand-me-downs!).

Valentine's Day

February 14th is a special day in our family. This year, it marks Valentine's Day and the start of the Chinese New Year. It is the Year of the Tiger, my mother's zodiac sign.

On Valentine's Day eleven years ago, my mom passed away and our lives changed forever. Of course, we all miss her tremendously, but we know she is watching over each and every one of her family members, including Max, who now looks up and points to the sky when we show him pictures of his Popo.

On this day eleven years ago, my mother literally gave her heart to someone in need. We take comfort in knowing that she helped save and change the lives of six patients in need of vital organ transplants. Though Max did not have the chance to meet his Popo, I can already see her virtues in him. He is patient, generous, kind, good-natured (and dare I say, finds humor in some of the strangest things just like his Popo).

Today marks a day when we are reminded to take time to appreciate all our blessings, big and small. In the end, it's family, friends and the people we love that matter most.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bumps, Beers and Bruises

Our little man tends to be a little over-confident in his running and climbing these days. The below photos were taken at a birthday party for Avery (Max's bud in Bernal Heights). I've posted these pics (with credit to Ave's mom!) as they show what seems to happen in Max's world on a weekly basis.

1. Bump (followed by a few tears)
2. Beer (he loves an ice-cold can and it helps with the swelling)
3. Bounce back to playing (occasionally, with a bruise)

Our most memorable bruise was in the shape of the letter "L." Guess who face-planted on his wood MaxwelL puzzle...

Carry on, Max. You are one brave boy!

1970 El Camino

A "milestone" for Max this evening. Daddy gave Max his first matchbox car.

Skypee

I've been spending a lot of weekends in the office working on my thesis. Fortunately, I have the most wonderful and supportive husband in the world; Alan has been doing an amazing job of solo-parenting on the weekends.

Yesterday, Alan and Max Skyped me at the office. I asked the boys for their best smiles, and these were the results. I love my boys!

Good Cop, Bad Cop

At 15 months, Max officially started calling us by name. It usually goes something like this:

Happy, excited, cheerful mood: "BaBa! BA BA!!"

Whiney, complainy-pants, woe-is-me mood: "mAh-mee. mahh-meeee..."

As a child, I once overheard someone ask my parents, "Joe and June, how do you handle raising four kids?" Their response? "Good cop, Bad cop."

I think the boy has it all figured out already.

Maxese

Happy 2010! After a truly warm Thanksgiving in Arizona, two weeks of Max-and-Mommy time (Daddy was in Asia) and a snowy holiday in New York and Wilmington, M.A.X. is back in sunny California. We'll be sure to post pics of our visits once we get organized; needless to say, Max is going through some serious cousin, auntie, uncle and grandparent withdrawal. He had a great time with the fam, as did we.

In the meantime, I wanted to compile a glossary of Max's "vocabulary" at 15-months. Admittedly, this is more for Max's doting parents than anyone else; we are having so much fun with the boy and wish we could freeze this stage!

Maxese (so far as we can understand, that is)
Blueberries: Boooo
Eggs: Dan dan (ji dan in Chinese)
Bread: Bao (mian bao)
Cheese: Chhhh
Meat: Rou rou (rou)
Socks: Wa wa (wa zi)
Pants: Kkkku (ku zi)
Shoes: Shhhie (xie zi)
Phone: Wa wa (dian hua)
Open/turn on: Daah daah; on a good day, he says da kkhh (da kai)
Yes: Da Da!
No: Vigorous head shaking
Daddy: Baba!
Grandpa: Gonh gonh (Gong Gong--XW's dad)
Grandpa: Yah yah (Yeye--Alan's dad)
Auntie Flora: Goo goo (Gugu)
Uncle Jeff: Goo Ddz (Gudie)
Ma Ying Jeou: Gonh gonh (Jiu Gong)
Pick me up: Bao bao (bao bao)
Please: PBLEA!
Thank you: ZHE! ZHE! (xie xie)

Pavlov's Bag of Tricks
Thanks to basic human development, Max is in a fun Pavlovian stage and has mastered a few amusing tricks.

Gou gou zenme jiao? (What does the dog say?)
Max: "Woh woh!"

Kong long zenme jiao? (What does the dinosaur say?)
Max: "Raaaaar!" (sometimes the dinosaur says woh woh, too)

Wazi chou bu chou? (Are you socks stinky?)
Max: Picks up his socks and smells them.

Xiao yi ge! (Smile please!)
Max: Displays a squinty, dare I say, painfully happy smile.

Fei yi ge! (Blow a kiss please) or Besitos! (Kisses)
Max: Hand taps his nose and mouth and he blows a kiss with an emphatic "Mmwah!" Unfortunately, his finger is starting to slide up his nose as he collects the kiss.

Ni ji sui? (How old are you?)
Max: Gestures one index finger and grins.

Gong xi, gong xi! (Congratulations/Happy New Year)
Max: Hands clasp together in a bowing fashion.

Wo men kan "Good Night, Moon." (Let's read "Good night, Moon")
Max: Index finger touches his lips and he says, "shh" (reference to the quiet old lady who was whispering hush!).

Feng Yan Zhong!? (FYZ is Max's Chinese name)
Max: Raises his hand!

Superstar! (courtesy of Gugu)
Max: Raises two hands emphatically!

Eskimo kiss?
Max: Rubs noses with us.

...and our all time favorite: Shei fang pi? (Who farted?)
Max: Raises his hand. And proudly, too!