New Cousin (+ blog link)!

We want to welcome Tyler Le Wang, who made his swift and glorious debut into the world on August 3, 2009. You can follow his adventures, along with big sister, Sammi, in their blog, "Pure Joy." Just look to the right-hand column under "Cousin Links" and you'll see we've added their blog to the list!

We are overjoyed to see Tyler (as well as his blog)! He looks just like DDJM's (Di Di Jiu Ma) dad! We love the blog, and we love Sammi, Tyler, DDJJ, and DDJM.

Our Little Carnivore: Epilogue

This Labor Day Weekend, Daddy was on duty as Mommy kicked on the afterburners for school and work. So, Daddy and Maxwell got some quality time together on Saturday and Sunday. We tried a few "food-firsts" for Maxwell:

- First In-N-Out Burger (double-double animal style, thanks to uncle Mike)
- First In-N-Out Fries (well-done, as Daddy prefers them)
- First Pig Knuckle (thanks to Mei Mei Yi Po)
- First Roast Beef (also thanks to MMYP)
- First McDonald's Vanilla Milkshake
- First McDonald's Fries (Maxwell didn't take to these as well as In-N-Out)

Let it be known that these were what we gave him AFTER we fed him his usual meal (of veggies, fruit, tofu, and yogurt). Please don't think that this is all we feed our son. Or that Daddy is off his rocker.

This, of course, all follows on the heels of Nai Nai's Niu Rou Mian, which officially introduced him to the carnivorous side of life.



In addition, for your viewing pleasure (or disgust), Maxwell noshing on a pork knuckle.

Our Little Carnivore

Summary of tonight's dinner:

Appetizer: Steamed Lentils
Max is hungry, so he not-so-delicately smashes lentils into his mouth with his fork. As usual, fork is held in left hand while right hand decorates his tray with misfit lentil droppings from his mouth.

Course One: Plain Yogurt with Tofu, Carrot and Rice Cereal
Max is still smashing lentils into his mouth, so I take the opportunity to shovel in spoonfuls of protein and high-calcium foods. Note that nearly all vegetables must be mixed with plain yogurt in order for Max to eat it these days. Sigh. At least he eats broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Palate Cleanser: Sugar Plum Tomatoes
Okay, so it's not so much of a palate cleanser, but it bought me a bit of time to prepare Course Two. Max sucks out the inners of the tiny tomatoes, leaving behind a dainty trail of tomato skins, amid lentil droppings...all over his tray...the floor beneath him...and in his hair.

Course Two: Baby Borscht
Max LOVES borscht (beets, yukon potato, apple, spinach and pear blended with a savory sauce). He goes a bit gaga for the strong flavors and essence of dill. This is the one baby food we don't make from scratch, but at the rate he eats it, I am this close to hiring a live-in Russian chef.

Dessert: Half a Pluot
Our boy adores his sour foods. (Did I mention most things need to be blended with plain yogurt?) Though Max consistently spits out tomato skins, he savors his plum and pluot skins. (insert squinty smiley face)

Bonus Course: Pig Knuckles
What!? You're still hungry? Who are you, and what have you done with our Max? Daddy offers Max a bit of his "zhu-2 jiao-3"...that's right, Chinese pig knuckles. Sound appetizing? Apparently, Max thought it was the tastiest delight in the world and grinned with each bite like we've never seen before. He actually took whole bites and digested the stuff. Yes, the boy who rejects tomato skins can chew pig knuckles. Intermittently in between bites, Max would raise his head up high, clasp his hands together and thank the gods for such delicious creations. No exaggeration. We caught it on video.

I tried not to show too much disappointment that Max didn't react with this enthusiasm to his lentils and tofu. It looks like we may have a carnivore in our hands.

Maxwell in the Big Apple

We recently attended Xiao-Li Yi's and her husband, Joe's, wedding. It was the first time all the cousins of Alan's generation were gathered together in one place. The wedding was held in downtown Manhattan, and we also got to hang out at GuGu's house and play with Ian and Lia.

Maxwell very much enjoyed hanging out with his two cousins, but Lia especially liked to play with Max. Each time she saw Max, she would point at him and say, "Baby." She is 10 months older than him, but right now, she seems light years ahead.

The first day we were in New York was a humid one, and it's clear that Max, Mommy, and Daddy have been softened by California living because we were all sweaty messes, especially Max. Nai Nai (aka Wai-Po) flew at the same time as us from Cali to New York, so we got to spend some extra time with her. You can see from the pics we had a great time with the family. MMY-Po gave Max his first taste of alcohol at the wedding reception (as she did with Ian at Wes Su-Su's wedding a few years ago), and he very clearly chose red wine over milk. *sigh* Our boy is growing up so fast.

Xiao-Li Yi and Uncle Joe should be on their honeymoon in Africa now, so we wish them another hearty congratulations, and it looks like we'll be back in the Big Apple for Xmas this year!

Google Vanilla

As an ice cream and gelato enthusiast, I must pause to note a vital milestone today: Maxwell had his first ice cream cone today. (well, half a mini-ice cream cone)

The flavor? Google Vanilla.

Huge thanks to Uncle Davidson for a fascinating tour of the Googleplex. We are trying to establish lofty career goals early on for the little guy.

"Maxwell Feng, Little Chef, Google Cafe." That has a nice ring to it, no?

(No pictures to follow as personal photos are not permitted at Google. But, please use your imagination of Max experiencing his first "brain freeze" moment. So happy, yet so sad, right?)

Milestone Alert!

Max is taking his first steps these days. We're convinced that this is the good influence of his twin (@ the nanny-share), Elodie. She's nearly running already! In any case, he's also really into clapping, and turning on and off the lights in the house (when we hold him to the switch - Kai1 Deng1! Guan1 Deng1!).

But most exciting of all is that Max has officially starting eating table foods with us. The meal that did it? Super Nai Nai's Niu2 Rou4 Mian4 (Beef Noodle Soup). He is very much into Nai Nai's cooking, and the soggy udon are a great complement. He was sucking on the beef chunks to get the "au jus" out, but not so much into the texture of the meat yet. HOORAY!

Mommy was the intrepid food explorer who introduced it to him, and the results were amazing! We haven't seen Maxwell open his mouth for the next bite in a long time. So, hats off again to Super Nai Nai (aka Super Wai-Po to our cousins, Lia and Ian).

Video to follow . . .

The Nai Nai Series

Nai Nai came to visit us for the week preceding our trip to NYC. She arrived to our house and in one night, got over her jetlag. She took care of Maxwell during the day while Mommy and Daddy went to work (and a bachelor party, ahem).

She took A LOT of pictures, as any loving grandmother with a digital camera and 4GB memory card would, and below is what made the cut. She made Max smile and laugh like we've never seen, and he really started opening up and being more interactive during and after her visit.

You can see that Nai Nai likes to "style" Max's hair to look like a Chinese politician's or a punk rocker's. The jury's still out on the "guai guai" look. But we dig punk rock Max. Somehow, between babysitting Max, and doing pretty much EVERY household chore that needed doing, she stocked the freezer (again!) with enough dinners to last us until her next visit. Super Nai Nai to the rescue!

So, here's a salute to Nai Nai - thank you for all that you do! Love, m.a.x.