Visit the Place Mommy Used to Work

Last week I had a chance to visit my workplace with Noah. It's always nice to see my co-workers since now I only work part-time at home.

上個星期我有機會帶嘉信回公司. 因我現在只在家裡半職工作, 能看到同事真是不錯.

David is the best boss ever!

David是我遇過最好的老闆!

Our company's tradition for little visiters: dive in packing peanuts.

公司對小訪客的傳統: 進去包裝泡綿堆裡玩.

Trip to San Diego (the last one in 2006...)

Balboa Park
SeaWorld
Silly Three
Quite a view!
Big smiles :)
Miniature railroad

Click here for more pictures from this trip.

Merry Christmas

That's quite a beard, Santa...
聖誕老公公, 你的鬍子真多!

Happy Holidays

The Chengs wish you all a great holiday season :)
祝大家佳節愉快 :)

Hello Sunshine

Today is a good day going out to enjoy the sunshine!

今天是個值得出去曬曬太陽的好日子!

The Reason for the Season

As the 1st-time parents, we tried our best to make Noah's 1st birthday as memorable as possible--buying gifts, ordering cake, making bookmarks... We surely had a wonderful time!

How about Jesus' birthday? When I was busy shopping for Christmas gifts, did I also think of what to give for Jesus' birthday? Then a verse came to my mind, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship." (Rom 12:1)

Jesus--the reason for the season!

初為父母的我們盡力地能讓嘉信的一歲生日值得留念--買禮物, 訂蛋糕, 作書籤... 我們慶祝的真快樂!

至於耶穌的生日呢? 當我忙著買聖誕禮物, 是否也有想到給耶穌什麼作為生日禮物? 我想到一節經文: "所以弟兄們，我以神的慈悲勸你們，將身體獻上，當作活祭，是聖潔的，是神所喜悅的；你們如此事奉乃是理所當然的。" (羅馬書12:1)

耶穌--是聖誕佳節的中心!

A Father's Heart

This posting is to acknowledge a daddy's loving heart toward his son. I notice that Danny always pulls the inner sleeves out when he dresses Noah.

God bless your heart, Danny!

今天我要來表揚一個父親對孩子的愛. 我留意到凱旭幫嘉信穿衣服時一定會把裡面的袖子拉出來.

凱旭, 願神祝福你這為父的心腸!

Noah's 1st Bible

We bought a Bible for Noah as a birthday gift (besides 2 shirts and a Christmas bib, which he didn't bother to take a look at all). Surprisingly he loved it so much that he couldn't put it away. Here's the proof:

我們買了一本聖經當作嘉信的生日禮物(除了兩件衣服和聖誕圍兜--他連看都沒看一眼). 沒想到他喜歡到愛不釋手. 證據如下:

Andrew's Birthday Party

We went to Andrew's 1-year-old birthday party today. Since his birthday is only 8 days apart from Noah's, we felt the birthday spirit for more than a week and we just loved it!

今天我們參加Andrew的一歲生日慶祝. 由於他的生日和嘉信只差八天, 我們享受著生日的歡樂氣氛長達一個多星期.

There's no comparison to mama's cake!
媽媽做的蛋糕無人能比!

Victory over the cake
征服蛋糕

Noah said, "Andrew, my hairs stand up like an '1' to celebrate your 1st b-day!"
嘉信說: "Andrew, 我頭髮站得直直的像個一是為了慶祝你一歲的生日!"

Bye Bye Fireplace

Noah is getting more and more active day after day, so for his safety we're willing to sacrifice the fireplace for many years to come (and try not to be buried in his toys...). We found this old HEAVY bookself (for safety again!) at the garage sale which gave Danny a good exercise to move.
由於嘉信一天比一天活動量大, 為了他的安全我們只好幾年犧牲壁爐了(也為了不被埋在他的玩具堆裡...) 這個二手書櫃非常重, 爸爸搬它花了不少體力.

Happy 1st Birthday!

Last Day As A Baby (Mama is gonna cry...)

Bye bye, babyhood.
Hello, toddlerhood.

再會, 嬰孩期.
哈囉, 幼童期.

Looking Back

As Noah's 1st birthday's approaching, we looked back this year and thought what an adventure it was! These pictures express better than words! (PS. These photos were taken around 10~12 months old. We're preparing a photo slideshow including the pictures from birth to 1 year old. Make sure to check back our blog on 12/13/06!)

隨著嘉信一歲生日的到來, 我們回顧這一年真是個充實的旅程! 這些照片比言語表達得更清晰. (註: 這些照片是在嘉信10到12個月照的. 我們正在準備從出生到一歲的照片集, 請您拭目以待, 記得12/13來看.)

Count Down to Noah's 1st Birthday

To celebrate Noah's 1st birthday with brothers and sisters, we brought a big chocolate/strawberry cake to our church today. Noah tried a little bit of it but didn't ask for more--probably too sweet for his little teeth!

為了和弟兄姊妹一同慶祝嘉信的一歲生日, 今天我們帶一個草莓巧克力大蛋糕去教會. 可能是因為太甜了, 嘉信吃了一口就沒有再要了.

The cake was almost as big as Noah!
蛋糕幾乎和嘉信一樣大!

A big kiss from Jeremy (and his brother Zachary was kissing him at the same time)
子傑親親嘉信(同時他的哥哥子豪也親親他)

Happy birthday from Nathan (who put his arm around Noah)
永霖哥哥的生日祝福(他還把手搭在嘉信的肩上)

We made little bookmarks with Noah's pictures on them to go with the cake. (the cake looked messy but tasted good)
我們作了些有嘉信照片的書籤和蛋糕放一起. (蛋糕看起來不好看但好吃)

A lot of big smiles from the birthday boy--he probably knew what a birthday was!
整天笑咪咪--他可能知道什麼是過生日!

New Challenge--Again!

This week has been quite a challenge to us: at night when we put Noah into the crib, he started crying seriously... Is it because of separation anxiety or new stage on walking (see the previous challenge from standing)? We really don't know. However, we have to confess: most of time we helped Noah to fall asleep in our bed, and transferred him to the crib after he fell asleep. We started doing so when he was 3 months old. Eczema made him very itchy and we had to stop him from scratching too much. Although the eczema had gone away, we still kept doing so because usually Noah would fall asleep fast in this way. So, here we are, teaching Noah that the crib is where he should lie down and sleep. I think he grasps the concept a little bit, so the crying is getting shorter and shorter... Funny thing is he doesn't fall asleep on back, just on side and stomach... Also, he learned that he could lie down when he got tired from playing, which never happened before...

這個星期對我們來說蠻挑戰的: 晚上當我們把嘉信放進嬰兒床, 他就哭的很傷心... 是因為不想和我們分開或是因為開始會走路(專家如此說)? 我們真的不知道. 然而, 我們必須供認從他三個月大開始, 為了要避免他抓養使溼疹更嚴重, 我們把他放在我們的床上幫他入睡, 等他睡著後再放進嬰兒床. 即使溼疹已好了, 我們仍然如此做, 因他比較快能入睡. 現在我們開始訓練嘉信嬰兒床是他要躺下睡覺的地方, 他似乎慢慢地了解, 也因此哭的時間愈來愈短了. 好玩的是他不會躺著睡, 只會側睡或趴睡... 此外他也學到在玩得累的時候也可以躺下來--這是從來沒有發生過的!

This is why his hairs look so "flat" recently. (See the 1st picture of the previous posting.)
這是為何他頭頂的頭髮平平的(請看前一天貼的第一張照片)

Nap time (we wonder whether it's comfortable)
午睡時間(這樣睡舒服嗎?)

I Love Music

Noah went to another class called "Kids Love Music Holiday Special." It turned out to be a private lesson becuase he was the only one showed up yesterday. He liked the teacher and music, so he could pay attention during the whole 30-min class. He even learned to ring the bell... by hitting his head (we are working on it)... It was so funny when we sang goodbye song in the end, Noah stood up, went forward, and gave the teacher a hug. (Oops, Daddy is gonna be jealous...)

嘉信昨天去上音樂課, 結果只有他一個小朋友出席, 變成一對一教學. 因他蠻喜歡老師和音樂, 所以能夠整堂課30分鐘沒有分心. 他還學會搖鈴鐺... 只不過是用頭敲... 有趣的是當我們唱再會歌時, 嘉信站起來向前抱抱老師! (爸爸吃醋了...)

Now And Then

The 5th vs. the 12th month. What a difference! The same smile--that's our boy!

五個月大和十二個月大的比較. 很不同吧! 笑容不變是我們的嘉信!

That's What I Call Art!

Before I cleaned up the mess, I said, "Wait a minute. This is not a mess. This is art!" (You know how mommies always think their babies are the best...) In order to give tribute to an hour's efforts of Noah, I decided to take a picture of this one of a kind art piece. (bear with me...)

在我整理這一團亂前, 我對自己說: "等一下, 這不是一團亂而是藝術品!" (你知道媽媽都是認為自己的孩子是最棒的...) 為了記念嘉信花了一個小時的努力, 我決定把它拍下來. (對我這媽忍耐一下吧...)

I'm not sure whether Noah loves reading books or taking things out of the box.
我不確定嘉信喜歡讀書或是喜歡把東西從盒子裡拿出來.

Getting ready for the next art session! (the box for baby wipes in the upper right corner is Noah's newest favorite toy)
為下次的創作做好準備! (右上角裝嬰兒紙巾的盒子是嘉信最新喜歡的玩具)

Bus Lesson II

Last Thursday (I'm behind again!) Noah and I finally had a chance to take a bus! Even though it was only a 15-minute drive, both of us felt excited! Our neighborhood looked quite different from a higher angle, and I thought this can apply to the people/things we see--if high enough from the eyes of our Heavenly Father!

Noah's views from his backward-facing carseat in our car must be fascinating--blue skies, white clouds, tall trees, flying birds... No wonder he loves going out!

上星期四嘉信和我終於坐上公車! 即使只是15分鐘的車程, 我倆都覺得新奇! 從高一點的角度看我們近區很不同, 因此我想到這同樣也可應用在我們所看的人事物--如果高到從天父的眼睛來看世界!

嘉信從他的汽車安全椅(目前是向後的)上所看到的景色一定美不勝收--藍天, 白雲, 大樹, 飛鳥... 難怪他喜歡出去兜風!

More Than 2 Steps!

Exciting news: Noah starts taking more than 2 steps at a time! Every time he found out he could do that, he would make some wowing sounds--maybe he was saying, "Look at me! I did a great job!" However, he still find crawling is more efficient than walking...

快訊: 嘉信開始走比兩步多的路了! 每次當他發現他能走時, 他會發出興奮的聲音, 似乎在說"看啊, 我走的不錯吧!" 然而, 他還是覺得爬比走快多了.