33 posts tagged “james”

Whoops, Pardon Me!

Jul 9, 2008
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Guess everyone likes catching up on some reading while sitting on their "thrones"...

Excuse Me...The Door Was *Closed*

Crawling, Sitting Up, Backpacking...Oh My!

Jul 8, 2008
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We officially have to baby proof everything in our house...James is on the move and is showing no signs of stopping!

It's hot over here...let me *crawl* over there!

In the last 2 weeks, James learned how to crawl across the room in order to get what he wants. He's gotten so adept at crawling, one day I put him in his room only to see him crawl out the door and into the hallway bathroom so he could examine the linoleum. In the past week or so, he's also figured out how to sit up from his belly. He's been sitting by himself for a while now, but just recently figured out that we don't have to help him get into position...he can do it himself! These two new skills opened up a new world for James, as he's now able to crawl over to toys he wants and sit up to play with them - he's also unfortunately (or fortunately for him!) learned that getting things off his shelves is not so difficult anymore...

These toys look promising

To keep James entertained, we now carry him in a Deuter Kangroo Backpack. He loves being able to check out all the goodies at the Farmer's Markets, getting samples at Costco, and partying with the big kids at the Shoreline Amphitheater. Did I mention that he loves to eat? James has now graduated to eating practically everything we eat (including steak, pho, and even sponge cake!) His favorite treat right now is peaches and apricots - he even helped us eat our salads at Pluto's...

I want Plutos, Daddy!

Ah, how quickly he grows!!!

Welcome Little Cousin!

Jul 3, 2008
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James got a new cousin! Last Friday, his cousin Matthew was born. Dan and I shook a fist at the name however - James already has an older cousin Matthew! It's cool though - only Dan and I will be confused on whom is being talked about...besides, Big Matthew is in the Midwest...Little Matthew (I'm going to call him Matty) is here in the bay.

Here's a photo of the new daddy Tim, momma Emma, baby Matty, James, me, and Dan. James looks so HUGE compared to Matty - and imagine, there's only a 7 month difference! Yikes!

The Extended Chan Clan

Happy Father's Day!

Jun 15, 2008
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"One day, I'm gonna be a Magician, Juggler, and Acrobat, just like my daddy Dan Chan Magic Man!"
~Baby James

Voila!

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That's My Dad!

The James Update

Jun 5, 2008
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I am stoked. I haven't had to deal with a poopy diaper for a full two days now, and James actually woke up this morning with a dry diaper. I had to wake my butt up at 7 to hold him over the crapper, but hey, progress!!!!

I'm beginning to wonder...do I dare let him roam in the kitchen for a while sans diaper...? I've already ordered a Baby Bjorn "Little Red Potty" for him on Amazon. I'm beginning to think I'm going to wait for it to come in the mail before letting him stroll around nekkid anytime soon.

James also had his 6 month check up today. To my surprise, he grew 2 inches in height, but actually LOST weight. It shocked me because that kid eats a LOT! He's already eating 3 meals a day - not including snacks - and already eating meats, too. His pediatrician told me it's normal though - the weight loss (of a few ounces) is probably from all the movement James makes. Apparently, I'm going to have a very healthy and active little boy. Aw, who am I kidding, I already do!

Dan's mom showed me a commercial today that is advertising babies learning how to read by 8 months of age. I was shocked. There were 2 year old kids reading Charlotte's Web out loud...2 years old!!!! What the heck!?! I'm fortunate enough to have a great library system here, and can check out the videos here...for those who want to see for themselves, the website is www.yourbabycanread.tv. You tell me - is this crazy or what!?!!

If he learns how to read, maybe he can read the subtitles on this...it certainly cracks me up!

Japanese Toilet Training for Kids (English Subtitled)

Suckered

Jun 5, 2008
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I know it's not Halloween, but we got this from a friend and by the time Halloween rolls around he won't fit it most likely - so here's a picture of James trying to audition for a part in a KFC commercial. He's doing the expression of the chicken before it finds out what Colonel Sanders has in store for it!

Who you calling chicken!??!

Elimination Communication

Jun 4, 2008
2 comments

James made his first deposit in the porcelain bank today. That's right! He took his first poopy in an adult toilet!

Dan has been discussing with me lately how he thinks that James could use a potty soon. I didn't think much of it up until I started shopping online for a potty. "If I'm going to order this thing, I might as well look up potty training now, too, I figured. Then it dawned on me - when I went to China in 2006, I saw a lot of babies being held over trash cans and by trees - those kids were probably potty trained already!!

Infant Potty Training on CNN

Kids - potty trained before a year old!??! I could get used to this. After having changed well over a thousand diapers by now, I am so ready to start working with James at "Infant Potty Training" or what the experts call "Elimination Communication". If he can be potty trained by a year, it would totally rock! I went to www.diaperfreebaby.org today to get the information I would need to get us started.

After reading the site, I decided that doing "Occasional EC" was the right path for James and me - it would take up much time and because I don't have a little potty for him in the kitchen yet, it would be the cleanest option to try. Occasional EC entails taking James to the crapper when he wakes up, and during routine diaper changes. So I watched him carefully this morning and tried to get him to do something while over the toilet. No luck. It wasn't until the end of the day did I finally get him over the toilet at the right time - and I was even rewarded with one of his award winning smiles when I cheered him on for his accomplishment.

While I'm not going to hold my breath and expect him to be potty trained by the end of this year, I'm hoping hoping hoping!!! Go James!

The Days Are Just Packed

May 30, 2008
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Sleepy Boys

Life has been so busy lately! In the past few weeks, Dan, James, and I have been to a wedding, several gigs, window (including the house!) shopping in Antioch, and breezing through the digital world on our new Apple Computer. Just imagine - this is just the abridged list of what we've been up to!

Dan and I have been house-perusing lately - there are so many houses on the market now! While driving through Antioch, we discovered just how badly the housing market is: can you imagine that on every block there is at least one house for sale, in foreclosure, or just plain abandoned? On window after window, we saw signs giving warnings about "no trespassing" and "Only PG&E may enter" and the like. We also saw several 5 bedroom/4 bath houses (with detached in-law units in the back) going for less than $400k. While this sounds expensive to many of you midwesters, for California it's ridiculously cheap for such a huge house! We also drove through Danville and San Ramon - housing has dropped significantly there also, although not enough for us to buy anything yet. We'll see how much more it will plummet...

Work is going well for us - while we don't have the jam packed library schedule like last year (thank GOD!), we have been pretty busy with corporate events and private parties. Just yesterday we had a gig at the Dragon Bar in SF for a guy's 40th birthday. This guy bought out the place, got catering from Yank Sing's, and hired a DJ, Hula Hoopers, and of course Dan and I. Talk about throwing a party! I was thrilled because I haven't been clubbing in ages! The food was great, the dancing was fun, and of course Dan and I had a hoot providing some entertainment. We also worked at Oracle and Shopping.com recently. Hanging out in corporate offices like that almost makes me miss having a normal 9-5 desk job. Well...I miss the free snacks, the goofy little toys, and of course the fun coworkers to yack it up with...the working under florescent lights - don't miss that at all.

I would write about the glories called Apple Computer right here, but I think this video sums it up a lot quicker. I like my PC still, but Macs...oh, so kawaii and user friendly!!! :D Gotta love it.