Mega PhotoBlog Deluge

It's almost midnight and finally all 3 boys are asleep, the laundry is folded and I'm going to attempt to update this blog. After 7 months. This is a month by month photoblog. Which means no captions because Nathaniel would be 2 if I had to do captions before posting.


October 2009: Nate's 1st month! I forgot how tiny! Isaac/grandparents at Fall for Arts on Roosevelt Island, Apple & pumpkin picking, Hanging out with Meekers, Isaac's cool cardboard boat complete with US flag, visit from Isaac's godfather, Auntie May visiting, Isaac's art class, why is everything Isaac?? oh yeah, Nate is there too..sleeping, getting a bath, sleeping, yawning, being held, hanging out in the pouch...life of a newborn.


November 2009: Nate's 1 month, Isaac checking his bro out with stethoscope, other great brother pictures, Nate with another baby friend both like floursacks (not a lot of pics here, parents obviously still getting used to having 2 kids)



December 2009: Another Auntie May visit! Rocking Horse Ranch with our godson Christopher and family, Train Show at Botanical Gardens, Christmas with both sets of grandparents



January 2010: Liberty science center, Isaac and a few special ladies from our building,
Nate's 3 months, Visit from Kezia and James (my college friends)



February 2010: Sledding, so fun! Best to go downhill with a friend and have daddy pull you back up! Tummy time for Nathaniel who's 3 months now!



March 2010: Grandparents, Fieldtrip to my clinic, Brother pics, First matching outfit (so cute, there will definitely be more!)



April 2010: Our trip to Jamaica at Franklyn D Resort (Taking advantage of Dan's time off between jobs!)

Nathaniel Wang Dean Chen!

Isaac's "didi" (little brother) has finally arrived! Here are some catch-up pictures.

Two Years Old! (And about to be a big brother!)

Isaac has turned two! He's saying so much, and it's just a lot of fun watching him grow! Not that he hasn't also experienced some terrible two episodes, but for the most part, he's just really cute.

Here are July pics. We went to Arlington, VA for a short trip and saw old friends. I went to San Francisco for work, met up with May, went to a bridal shower and visited family. Isaac's bday was July 28th.



Pictures from August: Isaac's birthday party (we kept it small, just Roosevelt Island folk), trips to New Jersey, Sesame Place, Ocean Grove beach, and other assorted photos. (Dbl click to watch videos.)



Also, we did a commercial for Roosevelt Island that's been playing on Taxi TV in NYC. It's an unabashed plug for the island. You can see it at: http://www.riverwalkcourtnyc.com/testimonial01.html

So, we are due for child #2 any moment now. I'm 39 weeks and feel very fortunate that I get to update the blog before baby madness starts all over again (it all feels like borrowed time at this point). In some ways, the second time around is less scary and you know what to expect. But in other ways, doing it again with a toddler makes the whole thing a new experience.

We've been telling Isaac about having a "xiao di-di" or "little brother", and he has been kissing my belly, patting it, knocking on it to say hello to his brother. And he even brings toys or food to my belly when we talk about sharing with his brother. But I'm sure he can't possibly know how his life will change (and we can't predict what it means for us either). He is about to be dethroned as sole prince of the house to welcome another little prince into the family. We are going to do our best to give him as much attention as possible, but he will have to learn sharing to a whole new level!!

Anyway, we will post news of the new baby! We'll have to change the blog too since it will no longer be a blog just about Isaac...

Maybe I should make these semi-annual updates...
So here are pictures from our trip to Mexico in March. This was before H1N1 hit. At that time we only had to worry about drug cartel craziness. Glad we went when we did! We went with 2 families- my cousin Erling and my friend from residency, Caroline. It was a great time for kids and adults!




Here are pics from us announcing to our folks that Isaac is going to be a big brother! He's going to have a little brother to play with and hopefully not beat up too much. Baby is due early October-or maybe late September! Also, pics of Isaac's Catholic baptism (yes, he had a Protestant dedication before).




Over Memorial Day Weekend, we took Isaac to a farm in New Hampshire. We wanted to get him out of the city, see some animals in real life and breathe some non-city air. (Also in this set are pics of Isaac's godfather and our godson.) There are a few videos in this too-- if you double click and view it through Picasa, you can see the videos. There's a great one of the two boys snoring at the end- turn up the volume!

Happy Year of the Ox!

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's time for the one-holiday-late update! Here are pictures from December, Christmas and New Year.



Looking at these pictures made me realize how enjoyable vacation is- fun just to hang out as a family and not worry about our to-do lists. Can't wait for the next one.

We do have a new camera now and so have been taking videos again. But now having technical difficulty on the computer end, so that'll have to be another post!

Fall 2008

Here are pics from Halloween and Fall. Can't believe it's almost December!!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we are thankful for so many God-given blessings. We are thankful that Dan still has his job, and that I am not in the finance industry. Things in NYC have been tumultuous, but there are so many things for which to be thankful.

Isaac is thankful that his daddy collects Happy Meal toys for him during his lunch hour (though he's wondering what happened to his actual meal...), and he's happy his grandmother runs a private catering service for him, dropping off meals early in the morning when everyone's still asleep. He is thankful that mommy is often a pushover when it comes to bedtime, and she spends the day with him on Fridays. Now that it's colder outside, we spend a lot of time in our building's playroom, and he loves being chased up and down our hallway (lots of squealing which I'm sure the neighbors love).

It's amazing watching him learn so quickly. He understands so much of what we say now (both English and Chinglish!) and will get his shoes, go to the bathtub and give us things when we ask (sometimes). He even sometimes give me a kiss on the cheek, and seemed to have no problem giving a little girl a kiss too (see pictures).

He also has finally begin to get the whole sign language thing (I felt like I was doing it with no results for so long). Some of the signs he's making are: dog, eat, bath, hat, head, grape, fish, more, all done, sleep, hurt, ball, bird, diaper, car. He's signed please and thank you a few times, but definitely prefers to point and whine.

He is doing a lot of jabbering now and having conversations with himself and us using his secret language. He loves to say "uh-oh" and imitates us every time we say "WOW" or "WHOAH"-it's so cute.

His favorite sport right now is climbing and trying to give his mom a heart attack. He found a way to push his toys up to the radiator, climb onto the radiator, and then onto the windowsill and just squat there. Which I guess is better than when he climbs unto a chair or couch and jumps up and down. Dan caught him once mid-air while he was tumbling down head first. It was one of those slow motion moments that I watched while from the kitchen.

We have no videos, because Isaac killed the camera by dashing it to the ground. I thought it might revive itself after a while, but Dan reminded me that electronics are not living creatures and once broken, usually stay broken. We will probably get a new one for Christmas, so stay tuned.

Isaac's Turned 1!

What a delinquent parent I am! I just realized I'm still working on Isaac's 1 year update and he's 14 months already! Dan says I should blame it on the chaos on Wall St., and the recession leading to production delays, but it's really more like mommy's extra work hours which are a bit removed from financial markets (thankfully). No more procrastination, will just have to forego the captions.

===========
So we've hit the big one year mark!! Hurrah to Isaac! Hurrah to his parents who've survived the first year of parenthood! We have lots of pictures and lots of catching up to do.

Basically, Isaac is a very active toddler now who doesn't like his mom being on the computer, so these updates get harder to do.

So, these are general pics which include photos from 11-13 months, including some professional photos we had taken.



Here is Isaac doing his first chore around the house. We pay him in watermelons.


These are pics from Isaac's first birthday party! We had Marcia the Moose give a puppet show for the kids. As far as Isaac could figure, the puppets were the real deal! He had a blast.


Next we have pics from our trip to Arlington, Va in August. It was a nice minivacation and we had fun seeing old friends and visiting our old neighborhood.

Finally, we went to a wedding where we discovered that Isaac is a better dancer than both his parents. And he knows it. Check out the self-applause.


More photos from the wedding of Jen Lo (who was a crucial link to Dan and I's initial meeting).


Already...until next time! (Hopefully he won't be 2 yet...)

10+ months!

Isaac's walking!

I imagine his view of the world just keeps changing.
First he could just see about a foot from his face, then he could look up at the ceiling when on his back or down on the ground when on his belly, then he could turn his head to look around, then he discovered how to roll back and forth, then he could crawl and check things out on his own, and now he is ambulating like an adult Homo Sapien like the rest of us!
(Except that he walks with his legs spread wide and his belly sticking out, and he stumbles a bit like a drunk and falls on his diaper padded bottom quite a bit, so it's a bit different than most of us.)

Anyway, here are some photos to show where Isaac's been and what he's been up to.

Montreal
We took a week long family trip to Vermont in May and crossed the border to Montreal the day before. It was the first time for all of us, and we really enjoyed seeing the French-Canadian culture. Isaac became a fan of good bread and cheese while there.


Tyler Place
Our week in Vermont was at Tyler Place, an amazing family resort that we recommend highly. Great food, beautiful setting, lots of outdoors activities, and best of all, childcare in the morning and evenings! Isaac had a blast with the other kids. AND he got over his fear of grass!!


Here are other photos leading up to his 10th month (pre-walking)


And here are some videos:
First Steps!


Playing Peek-A-Boo with his Great-Aunt


Bouncing Ball with Grandma Wang


See you next time!

Grass is Scary

Isaac's New Skill

Some Videos!

8 months!

Above: Isaac lives up to his dinosaur nickname.

Welcome to the 8 month update, chock full of videos which I can't figure how to include in this post.

The videos above are (I can only figure out how to post one at a time):
1) Isaac the city boy discovering grass for the first time
2) Isaac learning the life skill of flushing (now we just need to get potty trained and learn how to wash our hands after touching the toilet)
3) Isaac eagerly dropping his toy and going after a keyboard

So in January, we went to Florida for the wedding of our friends, Diana and Jim. It was Isaac's first flight, and he slept through most of it. He can't wait to go back- he met Pooh and Tigger, went swimming in a pool and saw the ocean for the first time.



Isaac was extremely proud of himself when he was able to pull up on his crib railing and stand. I got this shot right after it happened (7 mos).

Spring is here on Roosevelt Island and the cherry blossoms are blooming! Reminds us of DC without all the insane crowds. This was our first run around the island as a family using the jogging stroller that Dan extensively researched and picked out way back when Isaac was a mere lima bean in the womb.



Other assorted pictures from the past few months.

See you next time!

Half a Year!!

So we have crossed the 6 month mark, hurrah! And so much has happened.....

Let's start with the world of eating. We started with some rice cereal at around five months. After tasting it, he made a face, it all dribbled out of his month, and then he opened his mouth up for more. Not a bad intro to food if you ask me.


Learning what to do with your tongue to push the food back is a big accomplishment. Here we are eating bananas (and yes, I mean "we" because whatever Isaac doesn't finish, I eat! And I actually have a new found appreciation for pureed food)


Here we are having a meal with our friend Hudson who is sitting safely in the Bumbo on the ground. (Hudson is 7 months and crawling so it is a feat for him to stay put.)


Speaking of Hudson, the boys celebrated their first New Year's together (we actually made it to midnight!). Here's a pic of them wearing their New Year's hats. This pic makes Isaac look the same size as Hudson when in reality, Hudson could crush Isaac.

Isaac and Matthias still hang out and now they can "play" together by grabbing at whatever toy the other one has. It's quite funny.


We had a little half-year birthday party for Isaac, Matthias, Hudson and Riley who were all born June-July.


Isaac also made his first trip to Boston to meet Carolina Maria Florez, the daughter of our dear friends, Jose and Lucia. She was born in October, and is an answer to lots of prayers. She is just beautiful and perfect in every way.


We also had Isaac's dedication at church on February 10th. It was a time for us to celebrate the gift that Isaac is to us and to ask God's help in raising him. It's also a way for us invite the support of family, friends and church in raising Isaac.


Lastly, Isaac is starting to really move. He can roll back and forth. And he not only moves backwards and around in circles (like he did for a long while), but now he can move forward! It doesn't look like what you think crawling is, watching it is like seeing a series of many uncoordinated movements that somehow propel him forward.
See the photos documenting his progression towards the toys.



As a side note, this Doctor Mama made her TV debut on the NYC CBS station for two medical news stories this week. Here are the links to them; be prepared to laugh. Good thing for makeup, the interview happened after a night where Isaac woke up every two hours. (Also, the fabulous office is not mine; we filmed it in the medical director's. My office looks more like a typical exam room.)

Questions Women Ask Their Doctors

Artificial Sweeteners

If the links don't work, the websites are:
http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=109282@wcbs.dayport.com
http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=109238@wcbs.dayport.com

Merry Christmas: 5 months!

You probably noticed that Isaac's fourth month update is absent. As you may know, the Number 4 is bad luck in Chinese culture because 4 sounds very similar to "die". Often when people go to a restaurant with a party of 4 they will tell the maitre'd that they have "3 plus 1" instead of "4".

That would be a great reason if I were superstitious. But the truth is, I just got busy and the blog kept getting postponed. So now we have a 4 and 5 month update.

Here's the quick summary for those of you who want to skip the details: Isaac is bigger and more mobile.

Isaac loves bathtime! Here's a pic after the reverie- see contentment written all over his face?


He can lift his head pretty well now and actually plays with toys now! He's a busy boy now with his hands, with a penchant for swiping at our plates during dinner.




Speaking of dinner, below is a picture of Isaac joining us for a dinner one night when he wouldn't let us put him down. This is a BUMBO seat that he is sitting in. It was recently recalled for new safety instructions (i.e., do not use unattended, on a bed or a chair) because kids had been injured through falls off it. As one friend said, "They should recall the parents." NOTE: Isaac was continually supervised while sitting on our table.




Since I started back at work 3 days in November, Isaac has a nanny that comes to watch him those days. Bo is great at getting him to take naps and she sings a lot to him in Chinese.


Over Thanksgiving we went back to Arlington, VA so we could see family/friends and introduce Isaac to them. He did great on the trip down since we drove during his bedtime, but was not so pleased with the very slow 7 hour trip back to NYC which started Sunday afternoon.

Here are pics of the visit with friends- a few are pics not from the visit (including one of a "blowout" for those of you who have never witnessed one)



Here are pics of Thanksgiving day with Dan's family. Isaac got to meet his second cousin, Samantha, from whom he has inherited A LOT of great stuff.


Unfortunately, Isaac got a cold early December which developed into bronchiolitis which was quite scary for us. He was wheezing, coughing and having a hard time breathing. Thankfully, our pediatrician saw us after hours and loaned us a nebulizer to use overnight, saving us a trip to the ER. Here's a pic of him wearing the nebulizer mask.


My parents and sister came in December and we celebrated my mom's 60th birthday. Of course, everyone was really here to see Isaac.




Isaac continues to explore NYC, including one really late night in the subway where we waited and waited for the train. At least I got a few good shots.




Finally, Isaac still hangs out with his buds, Mathias and Hudson (though from the pics they really dislike sharing a seat with each other).


And amidst all the boys in our baby group, there's also this cute girl named Riley. See the boys looking at her already, could be trouble ahead...

Baby Snowflake!

Three Months

I know some of you are expecting an announcement that Isaac has 3 chins now. Sorry to disappoint. Actually, the picture of the double chin really exagerated the extra chin. Some folks were surprised when they actually saw Isaac in person; they said he was much bigger in pictures. Yes, he's larger than life in the blog.

Highlights from this month:
Trip
We took a weekend trip away- our first overnighter with Isaac. We went to the Hudson River Valley to see the leaves changing colors. Isaac was really great in the car (it has the effect of instant snooze on him). Having a baby makes you travel at a different pace. We found ourselves just absorbing the scenery while parked in various places so he could nurse.



Halloween!
Isaac had three outfits for Halloween. A few of them I got in Taiwan at a nightmarket when I was 24 weeks pregnant. I couldn't help it, they were so cute.
He was a bunny, dragon and a Milch Cow. (Milch is the result of bad Taiwanese spelling)





I Spy....
He really likes to look at objects now. This is a pic of him looking at his wall while getting changed.


3 Amigos
He's had many a play date with Hudson and Matthias now. They have a ball being together in their own little worlds.



Going to work with Mom
Here are pics from one of our visits to Mom's clinic. He was chatty the whole time. He loved all the attention from the ladies.


Tummy Time
My neck is getting stronger!!



Car trunk changing table:
He may consider this a low point but we thought it was quite smart. The car trunk is great because it's a flat surface for changing.




Daddy Dinosaur reading to baby dinosaur

Two Months, Two Chins

On September 28th, Isaac celebrated his 2 month birthday while his Auntie May celebrated her 30th birthday.

Isaac's acquired a handsome double chin which requires extra special cleaning to prevent any smelly surprises. Yes, I know, this picture makes my son look like Buddha and he won't like me when he's older for posting it. But it highlights the chins which I'm sure can represent good fortune in the Chinese culture, as everything else seems to.


Here is one of his favorite positions, especially when he's gassy. Dan likes being able to lift weights while surfing the web.


I like the color orange and hence, Isaac gets to wear orange. Dan thinks it makes him look like a highway prison worker. But here you see, it actally makes him look like a pumpkin.


Our friend Meekers has a dog named Bear. Somehow we came up with the rule that Bear could come over once Isaac matched her weight of 9 pounds. Isaac has done so and now they're great friends. You can decide from the pictures of the faceoff whether he's as long as Bear.




This is Dad's idea of swaddling when it's 2 am and all our swaddling blankets are in the wash. (If you can't tell what's happening here; his pajama arms are tied up-- this lasted a whole 5 minutes before he wriggled free)


And here is Isaac with an older woman, Koryn. Koryn and Isaac's parents are currently in negotiations for an arranged marriage. Renata and I decided it make our lives so much easier in the future.


So maybe he's not ready for marriage yet. Especially not when I see this picture of him in the pouch. He loves his pouch. He's just happy sitting in it watching the world go by, and when he gets sleepy, we just tuck him in for a nap. I love this picture. I think we'll hold onto him for a while.


Here is the slideshow from the past few weeks. Enjoy.

(You can manually scroll to go faster. And here's the link if you don't have flash: http://picasaweb.google.com/suwang8/910Weeks)

6 + 1 Weeks

Yes, this was supposed to be a 6 week update, but we are more than a week late now; hence the title.

Over the past few weeks Isaac has:

1) discovered that his hands and arms are great for sucking (he doesn't have the dexterity to stick his thumb in his mouth yet)


2) met his Auntie May and Uncle Stuart and many other relatives




3) occasionally smiled socially (in response to us making faces)- this of course, is a major highlight


4) survived the NYC subway several times now--with help of course. I'm learning how interesting it is to get a stroller down 3 flights of stairs when the elevator is out- it is crucial to have an entourage of 3 adults.


5) oh, and how could I forget, he's learned how to scream and shriek when he's really upset. it's a piercing sound and really quite pleasant.


6) First photo sitting- since Su's folks are still in town, we decided to do family photos. Isaac was great and actually smiled while he was being photographed. He looks far cuter than any of us.


7) Isaac has made a friend on Roosevelt Island! (Okay, maybe it's his mom that's met a friend on Roosevelt Island). Mathias is 4 days older than Isaac.



First Birthday as a Mom
Since I've been feeling like a planet that revolves around Isaac, I'd forgotten my birthday was coming up. Dan was so wonderful and planned a day for us in the city and arranged for my folks to watch Isaac. I got my haircut, we walked to Central Park, I successfully pumped in the park (made possible by my battery operated pump and the lovely Hooter Hider or Bebe Au Lait cover), and we had lunch at Jean George's Nougatine. That's my favorite restaurant, and we had planned to go there on July 28th, but Isaac decided to enter the world then).

Then, on top of it, he (along with mastermind Meekers) planned a surprise birthday party upon our return. I was so shocked when I opened the door to our place and saw the floor strewn with balloons and all these people squeezed into our little apartment! He's getting better and better at lying with each subsequent surprise birthday. Here are me and my two cakes:


Isaac's birthday gift to me
On my actual birthday, September 2nd, we went to church, then to the South Street Seaport for lunch, drove to Brooklyn to visit a family friend AND went out to dinner with the Unseths ALL WITH ISAAC IN TOW! It was amazing. It was a record 12 hours out of the house with him. Of course, we went through all of our 6 diapers and had to restock at Eckerds. He also went through all of his 2 extra outfits and was down to wearing just a shirt by the time we got home. We felt quite liberated that day.


Isaac's First Wedding
No, we haven't arranged his marriage yet. My cousin Edgar got married September 8th ,and we had a family reunion. Of course, we didn't get to see the actual wedding since Isaac decided to start crying right after the bride walked down the aisle, and we had to leave the area. I guess he was sad to see her off the market. Anyway, as soon as we finished soothing and feeding him, we heard the clapping as the newlyweds were announced. Sigh. We were with other parents who also had to extricate their noisemaking children- guess we should get used to this.




Other miscellaneous photos