Kai on Tour

Kai's first written sentence

2011-06-05T22:38:00.000-07:00

If you need a little translation, it reads, "I like a toy. I want to buy it for my birthday." Let me guess. Here come the marketing pitches from all the toy manufacturers.

Making Wontons

2011-03-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

From 2011.03

Snow day!

2011-02-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

It's been a mild winter, but we had a snow day today. Complete with a snowman.

Kai working on his Chinese yoyo at a Chinese New Year dinner

2011-02-13T15:02:00.000-08:00

From 2011.02

A lawyer in the making?

2010-12-30T23:05:00.000-08:00

Kai has been working loopholes lately. At bedtime tonight...

Matt: "This is the last story before light a out."
Kai (halfway through the book): "Dad, I want a different story."
Matt: "OK, pick which one. It will be the last one."
Kai (after finishing the story): "Dad, read it again."
Matt (after turning lights out): "No, that was the last story."
Kai: "Dad, tell me a 'quiet' story."
Matt: "I'm too tired--you tell me one."
Kai (giving up): "I'm too tired too. Good night. I love you."

The boys

2010-11-20T21:29:00.000-08:00

On our recent trip to Ohio, we had some photos taken of the kids.

Kai's first movie

2010-11-09T22:21:00.002-08:00

Kai went to his first movie over the weekend. An Omnimax movie about the Hubble Space Telescope. Upon entering the theater, he proclaimed, "this is cool!"

For the duration of the movie, he complained it was too loud and too scary.

After the movie, during the parade out of the theater, he provided his verdict: "that was a GOOD movie!"

ROAR!

2010-11-09T22:21:00.001-08:00

From 2010.10

China 2010 trip

2010-11-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

Another trip in the books. Both sets of grandparents were with us this time! More pics available here.

From 2010.10

Indoor surfing...

2010-11-09T22:08:00.001-08:00

One of Kai's favorite past times...so called indoor surfing.

From 2010.10

Bridgetown

2010-10-03T00:29:00.000-07:00

We happened to catch the bridges in action recently.

From 2010.09

The boys gather in Ohio

2010-09-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

Kai and I traveled to Ohio to finish off the summer. He had a lot of fun playing with his cousins. Check out all the pics.

From 2010 Trip to Ohio

Lego Man Tribute

2010-09-05T20:11:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to Ohio, we set off a rocket for the boys to see. Grandpa and I had built the rocket more than 20 years ago. It has a compartment for sending items to "orbit." The best we could find on this day was a lego man (visible in the first picture). We were lucky enough to find the rocket, but poor lego man is still missing. He led a long and happy life spanning two generations. He was loved and will be missed. RIP.

From 2010 Trip to Ohio

Critters

2010-09-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

We've had luck lately finding all sorts of critters. From deer to caterpillars. Kai was willing to hold this one.

From 2010.09

Kai's first tent camping

2010-09-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's Chinese take out on the table. I was too scared to change everything on him all at once.

From 2010.08

New studio pics

2010-08-02T23:38:00.000-07:00

Kai wasn't in such a great mood at the studio this year, but we were able to get a few pics in.

San in the sun

2010-07-24T23:49:00.000-07:00

"San" is 3 in Mandarin. Kai enjoyed his birthday party today. As usual, he loved playing in the fountain. And check out the shirt--thanks Grandma. A legend at 3--let's see what we get at 18.

From 2010.07

What a birthday gift...

2010-07-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

Thanks Mom! An indoor circus. Barely fits in his old (larger) room.

From 2010.07

Bedtime

2010-07-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

Kai will do most anything to avoid going to bed, including the usual routine--"I'm thirsty", "I have to go to the bathroom", "where's my teddy bear?", "I'd really like for someone to stay with me", "I'm hungry", "I want to go find Mama", etc.

From 2010.07

The first visit to the dentist

2010-07-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

Outcome was good--no cavities. And Kai cooperated...mostly.

From 2010.07

Our new neighbors

2010-07-24T23:42:00.000-07:00

From 2010.07

Those little moments...

2010-07-24T22:58:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week we were driving in the car and Kai suddenly shouting, "Dad, the moon is following us! Maybe it's going to the playground too. The moon is doing a good job of following us. It's doing a good job." That last statement comes has an implicit meaning--the moon deserves a sticker.
______________

Kai has a couple blisters on his feet. He looked at them today and said, "Dad, look at my foot! What is that? Let's go to the doctor. So we can ask him what that is."
______________

And tonight at bedtime while working on a word search, he realized the CD playing in the background was telling a story about a boy. He asked, "Dad, what happened to the boy? We'd have to go into the CD player to find out. I'm too big. I don't want the CD player to be broken."

Backyard fun

2010-07-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

Speed golf, Kai style

2010-07-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here's how Kai gets a hole-in-one on nearly every hole.

Berry pickin'

2010-07-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

We've been a few times this summer, but can't keep up with our neighbor--she picked 72 lbs. of cherries today in 2 hours.

From 2010.06

2010 Yurt Outing

2010-07-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

From 2010.06

This year's destination was Manzanita. By all measures, this locale trumped last year's (near Bend). The weather was fantasic--it's not often a trip to the Oregon coast will remind you of Hawaii, but oddly this one did. Of course, swimming was still out of the question.

Playing in the sand was Kai's preferred activity--steam rollers included.





From 2010.06

We took a bike for Kai and he interpreted the warning label as his "to do" list, reading it off: "first go to the library, then go to Albertson's [grocery], etc."

From 2010.06

Kai didn't completely understand "s'more" at the outset, but hearing "chocolate" was good enough for him.

From 2010.06

Let me read you a story...

2010-07-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

Kai loves to pretend he's the teacher, holding the book facing outwards. It's fun when he picks a book we read often because he usually has enough words memorized that it seems he's really reading to you.

From 2010.06

Farmers' markets back in season

2010-07-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

The Saturday morning routine includes the library of course, but that's just lure him to the farmers' market. A nice fountain, a playground, live music and good eats help too.

From 2010.06

2010 Rose Festival

2010-07-03T22:25:00.000-07:00

We found a newspaper dispenser to be a perfect spot from which to watch the Grand Floral Parade...

From 2010.06

Long time, no see...

2010-07-03T22:20:00.001-07:00

It's been some time since we've posted--plenty of new pictures have been uploaded. Uploading a few videos is still on the to do list.

From 2010.06

The last of this winter's fun

2010-03-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

We recently enjoyed a multi-family ski trip where Kai had all sorts of fun including swimming in the outdoor pool during snowfall. The kids enjoyed the warm sun on the patio at lunch. Video to follow in another post.

From 2010.03

This is how we eat seaweed

2010-03-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

From 2010.03

Artwork for sale!

2010-03-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

From 2010.03

"The moving game"

2010-03-01T22:20:00.000-08:00

If you hear Kai talking about "the moving game", this is what he's talking about. It's a Foucault pendulum at the Oregon Convention Center. The game is trying to stay underneath it.

From 2010.01

Zoo

2010-03-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Back to the zoo we went in this lovely winter weather we've been having. Kai was looking for the tigers this time around, mostly because he watched a Tigger movie recently.

From 2010.01

Time for school

2010-03-01T22:11:00.000-08:00

Kai likes to say "time for school" after which he'll promptly sit you down and "teach" you something.

From 2010.01

Beach boy

2010-03-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

Many of our trips to the beach are cold (or at least cool) and sometimes wet. Well, despite going in mid-January this year, we were blessed with warm and sunny weather. Kai had his shades ready to catch some rays. And enjoyed writing post cards from the balcony.

From 2010.01

While there, we also learned some pool, and...a new way to carry leftovers?

From 2010.01

Merry Christmas to Grandma

2010-01-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

Catching up on old posts here... This one is for Grandma.

Let me read you a story...

2010-01-16T21:29:00.001-08:00

When Kai reads a book, this is usually what it sounds like. The words can vary based on the book, but he throws a few common subjects into every story.

It usually goes something like:

...a noun is a noun...a circle is a circle now...now a square...twinkle little baby...banjo on the bus...this one is a banjo...The End

Not sure we're going to make the choir...

2010-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

This can't compete with Ella. And we still have work to do before mastering Guitar Hero. Sorry for the bad video quality.

Monsterpiece Theatre: Diet Coke Attacks

2010-01-11T23:20:00.000-08:00

14 years to go...

2010-01-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

...Kai's first vehicle will not be a motorcycle if I can help it.

From 2009.12

Christmas fun

2009-12-28T22:26:00.000-08:00

It wasn't intended for Kai, but Kai has enjoyed the Wii Fit--it's a bit easier to manage than the Wiimote. You can tell he was into it, but still needed a touch of help. And of course when the girls get into it, Kai just follows along.


From 2009.12

Our creative side

2009-12-28T22:23:00.000-08:00

Enjoying some painting recently. Kai usually prefers the left hand, but this time he used the right. Not that it matters--the paintings look about the same either way. He's getting ready for a new art class that starts in a couple weeks. Don't ask me where the Hello Kitty apron came from!

From 2009.12

Nike Employee Store

2009-12-18T22:51:00.000-08:00

We were able to visit the Nike employee store lately. The Tiger Woods' golf section had limited activity. It felt as if people purposefully were walking around it, willing to suffer through aisle congestion to avoid that area as if it may contain communicable diseases.

Oregon's newest state park

2009-12-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed some fresh air on Sunday. Kai mostly loved following the bigger kids around, but he was in a good mood and gave us some nice smiles.


From 2009.11

Zoo Lights

2009-12-02T22:08:00.000-08:00

Kai was ecstatic to check out the ZooLights. We had a bit of trouble keeping him out of the displays. Never fun when you hear the other parents tell their kids, "just because he is doing it doesn't mean you can too!"

From 2009.11

Look, no hands!

2009-12-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

Next up: chopsticks.

From 2009.11

Boys day off

2009-12-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

Had a day off last Wednesday--a perfect day to hit the slopes and work up some appetite for turkey.

From 2009.11

OMSI

2009-12-02T22:01:00.000-08:00

Kai recently enjoyed a trip to OMSI. Air-powered rockets, laser lights, and a submarine equal good fun.

From 2009.11

Under the weather

2009-11-03T22:06:00.000-08:00

Kai picked up a cold (and passed it on to me, thank you). So he got some special treatment recently. Does it look like he was pulling our chain? Don't tell me they learn this trick at age 2! (Okay, ignore the shadows of the nose crust.)

From 2009.11

Saturday Farmer's Market

2009-11-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

Kai enjoying a recent visit to the farmer's market. They ran out of orange balloons, so we had to settle for a monkey hat instead of a pumpkin hat.


From 2009.10	From 2009.10

Trick-or-Treat

2009-11-01T00:08:00.000-07:00

I'm sure Kai is counting down to the next Halloween already. Kai was desperate for nightfall so he could get some candy. He loved touring the neighborhood (avoiding those in scary costumes) and handing out candy once we were back at home.

Here is telling us to get on with it, "Enough with the pictures already, let's go!"

From 2009.10

A friend came over to Trick-or-Treat with Kai. Here's a hint of the back and forth that ensued at each house as they jockeyed to ring the doorbell and be the first recipient of some processed sugar.

From 2009.10

Halloween Parade

2009-11-01T00:06:00.001-07:00

Kai's school arranged a Halloween parade yesterday. A fun time had by all with one exception--one youngster was frightened by another roaring in his green dragon costume!

From 2009.10

The couch potato

2009-11-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

We do all we can to prevent Kai from catching the tube save getting rid of it altogether, but he gets his time in here and there. Here he is all decked out and ready for what appears will be an afternoon on the couch--blanket, drink, playdoh and of course the remotes.

From 2009.10

Aloha

2009-10-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

Just back from Hawaii--our first real vacation with Kai. The stars from Mauna Kea, Mauna Kea Beach, and Kai rockin' it on the ukulele...what more could we ask for?

Next up: Hood

2009-09-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

Busy day today. Hit the playground early. Climbing walls and vertical structures were the last frontiers on the playground--Kai is mastering them now. No need to stand so close to catch the inevitable fall any longer.

Vancouver, eh?

2009-09-13T00:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, Hong finally got her wish--a trip to Vancouver, B.C. Apparently Vancouver, WA doesn't have the same attraction. And now I know why--Vancouver brings the Far East to the West. That should have made for some great Asian cuisine, but alas, the hot pot restaurants don't accept parties of 3--phooey. We had a good time nonetheless. Here's Kai at the aquarium. See all the pics.

Bridge Pedal 2009

2009-09-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, we did all the pedaling, but Kai enjoyed the ride. How couldn't he back there? He had snacks, toys and a comfy seat. This was at the beginning when the trailer was still in order. By the end, he had easy access to everything without so much as moving.

Bear hugs

2009-08-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

Here's Kai in jail for the bear hug he put on Matilda today. It's the second time in two days Kai scared the recipient of one of his bear hugs--yesterday it was Ian.

Oaks Park

2009-08-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

My company's picnic was at Oaks Park this week. It was Kai's second trip. He and Matilda had a great time on a handful of rides. The only surprise was the kids' viking ship which unexpectedly starting spinning (after it was too late to get out of course!)--Kai was wobbly afterwards, but got off still asking for more.

Two, Three, Seven, Nine

2009-08-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

Kai's favorite numbers start with two. Maybe because he just turned two! We had a small party at the park which Kai thoroughly enjoyed. The Elmo pinata left a bit to be desired, but the kids had fun inventing their own ways to "open" it.

Curious George...close relative?

2009-07-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

Kai has always loved climbing...lately it's trees.

He's getting cuter all the time. I realized that I have a habit of saying "Be nice!" when he hits me. Today, when I was changing his diaper against his will, guess what he said? "Be nice!"

Ah, summer!

2009-07-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

The summer weather in the Pacific Northwest has been fabulous as usual. We've been busy lately. Playing at the beach, picking berries, hiking the trails, even riding bikes. We also found a used bike trailer so Kai can enjoy a free ride while he's still small enough. Check out a few other pics.

Kai's first camping trip

2009-06-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Kai and family and friends ventured to Central Oregon for his first camping trip. Highlights included the mountains, the Painted Hills and Smith Rock. We stayed in a yurt at Tumalo State Park near Bend. Kai loved throwing pine cones, wading in the Deschutes and the live music at one of the coffee shops. For the most part, the trip was a success. A slight slip on the Misery Ridge trail near Smith Rock was our only mishap--I'm sure Hong is saying "I told you so!" See the other pics.

Back to our roots...

2009-05-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

Kai visited the Midwest for the first time last week. It brought a handful of firsts including a ride on the MAX, meeting the cousins, a visit to Kings Island and a 3-way.

Kai again turned out to be a good traveler. He managed the fiasco that was our return trip better than could be expected despite the fact that it took us to six states (Ohio, Indiana, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oregon) in a single day.

Check out the other pics.

Day at the beach...

2009-04-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking... Sunshine, swimsuits, and a leisurely day at the beach. Nope. Try winter clothing for Kai (and goosebumps for the rest of us) and enough wind to blow sand in your eyes. At least the sunshine part was correct.

Kai did like playing in the sand, but his favorite activity of the day was hanging out of the sunroof (while we were parked of course). As usual, we have a much easier time catching Kai's serious face than his silly face. See more pics.

Thumbs up, dude

2009-04-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, we recently learned the thumbs up. And enjoyed a "walk in the park." I can now vouch that carrying a 30 pound munchkin plus gear for 6.8 miles with 2,000 feet of net elevation gain carries consequences. Other pics also posted.

Need to ask Sree if we can post the GPS data/graphs.

The zoo

2009-04-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to the zoo. But only after some persistence. And a long wait to find a parking spot. Next time we'll be parking at Sunset and taking the train.

New pics...

2009-03-31T00:07:00.001-07:00

A recent attempt to visit the zoo was thwarted, but we managed enough fun anyway...

ABCs

2009-03-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

Here we are working on the ABCs...on a good day we can make it to Z, but some of the letters still sound similar (e.g. 'D' like 'B').

Blowing kisses

2009-03-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to uploading some more video. We've been busy as of late. Kai is learning things faster than I can keep track of them these days. He's working on shapes and colors and loves puzzles.

The cow's "moo" sound is mastered, but for lions/tigers/bears it's a big open mouth with just heaving breathing noises. We heard the first real sentences in both English and Mandarin. In English it was, "I see Mama." In Mandarin it was, "this is my sister."

Another favorite activity of late is "reading" books to Elmo (or trying to get the big Elmo doll to read a book to the baby Elmo doll).

The paparazzi...

2009-02-21T21:18:00.000-08:00

While in China, we experienced a different kind of paparazzi. But this is Kai trying to deal with the local paparazzi...aka Mom.

On the topic of pictures, we're on our fourth camera in two months. Can't seem to find one that consistently takes good pictures. We started out with Canon, but eventually Hong's Sony bias took over. We're on the second Sony, and it too may be on it's way back to the store.

We're not selling anything...

2009-02-21T21:12:00.000-08:00

Kai loves appoaching neighbor's houses. This friendly neighbor even has a "No Soliciting" sign, but that was no deterrent to Kai. If you see us coming, no worries...we're just out to say "Hello!" And if you're not home, we might just use your front step to take a rest.

Another snow day

2009-02-03T23:15:00.001-08:00

Not quite as much tubing as we'd have liked, but we got our feet wet.

A few more pics are posted as well.

Roll call

2009-01-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

Found (humor) in translation

2009-01-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is a roll of TP...

This ad was on the side of a number of ice cream stands around the city...

An item slightly out of place in the young children's DVD isle...

My personal favorite...Mickey cheering you on in a game of Whac-A-Mole. I'm told there's actually an advertisement for a brokerage on the game and it roughly translates to "risk free investment, join today."

Please, no chicken feet

2009-01-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

Our friend Nic was asking about the food in China, so I promised to take a few photos for him. Here is a food mall we ate at--a stretch of maybe 40 restaurants or so. Each has one or two folks out front to try to sell you on the idea of eating at their joint. It looks a little sketchy, but the food is good. Of course I'd recommend not drinking the tap water. And taking Hong's mom along to sterilize your eating utensils probably helps too.

It's true that food in China is much better than Chinese food in the U.S. The opposite is true as well--American food is much better here than in China. I admit that we ate at Pizza Hut--it was terrible. Hong's dad also

got us McD's for breakfast one day and I couldn't bring myself to eat it.

White Christmas

2008-12-26T00:23:00.000-08:00

Definitely had a white Christmas! The snow gear is out and ready for use. Kai has mastered the local hills--by now, they're so boring, he's falling asleep in the sled. Time to hit the mountain.

Nifty uses of GPS

2008-12-22T22:41:00.000-08:00

A relative in China used his phone mounted to his dashboard to receive audio alerts about upcoming speed traps. It caught me off guard for a minute--made me feel like I was riding in KITT and David Hasselhoff was going to come to our rescue.

Anyway, pretty useful. Here's a link to a U.S. site that does the same or similar...

http://www.trapster.com/

Terrorists in training...

2008-12-22T00:12:00.000-08:00

While in China, we found a great kids bookstore (actually, many). We brought home a near suitcase full of 'em. We also received a handfull as gifts. This one in particular is my favorite. I'm told the title is "Transportation and Weapons." In my childhood, I think the equivalent would have been called "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." The extent of my weapons training was from playing Cowboys and Indians.

Though it is it's own little book, I believe it to be just a part of a multi-volume Baby Terrorist Handbook. It covers all the basics...getaway vehicles (motorcycles, saloon cars, jeeps), disguise vehicles (firetrucks, police vans, ambulances), enemy vehicles (fighter planes, B-2 bombers, tanks) and tools of the trade (pistols, sniper guns, daggers, grenades).

The whole weapons take is one thing. But explain me the rationale behind educating young children about the differences between a shrapnel gun and a submachine gun (see picture).

Each picture includes a sample usage. For the shrapnel gun, it reads, "The bullet fired from the shrapnel gun will follow its target wherever it runs."

For the submachine gun, it reads, "Whenever your enemies hear the sound of your submachine gun, they run with fear."

Air conditioning...

2008-12-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

Always interesting traveling to new places. They often provide creative inspiration. Here's one idea that might be great in the long term, but has to be painful in the short term.

Note the suspicious green streak on the second woman's pants.