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.

Smile =)

Recently Noah felt like to smile in this "you-can't-resist-my-charm" way by narrowing his eyes as much as possible. Look at his cute round nose!

最近嘉信很喜歡這樣瞇著眼睛笑, 讓我實在是被迷住了. 看他圓圓的鼻頭真可愛!

The Beauty of Autumn

This morning we took a walk at a park near grandma's house. I can't believe such a beautiful park is just next to a busy intersection (Colima & Azusa in Rowland Heights). I was astonished by the colorful beauty of anutumn leaves! As for Noah, what would be more pleasant than eating a cracker while enjoying the views?

早上我們去阿嬤家附近的公園散步. 真不敢相信在大十字路口旁有如此漂亮的公園. 多采多姿的秋葉使我感到驚奇! 至於嘉信, 有什麼比邊吃餅乾邊欣賞風景更享受的呢?

Yum!
好吃

San Diego, Here We Come Again!

View from Mount Soledad in La Jolla

Belmont Park in Mission Bay

Outlets in Carlsbad (with 2 little dancers from The Nutcracker)

A Ride for 5--25 cents only!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We'll be back next week.

The "Cutest" Baby in Town

Yesterday Noah went to grandma's house and spent some quality time with her. He was so cute that we couldn't help letting him wear the hair band!

昨天嘉信去阿媽家玩. 因他實在是太可愛, 所以我們不得不把髮顝戴在他頭上...

A Girlfriend?

Today was Noah's last class of "Play & Grow Baby Pals." After 6 meetings, the babies seem to know each other better, and so do the parents. We all want to keep the play dates continue, so we exchange phone# after the class.

今天是嘉信最後一次上"和玩伴一同遊戲與成長"的課. 經過六次的相聚, 小朋友們和家長們比較認識彼此. 因此我們互相交換電話號碼, 以讓這樣的聚集能夠繼續.

That girl is really cute! (Sophie is the only baby girl in the class)
那個女孩真可愛! (Sophie是班上唯一的女孩子)

Can you be my girlfriend? (The lady holding her is our teacher, Ms. Donna)
妳可以作我的女朋友嗎? (抱著她的是我們的老師Donna)

My buddy buddy Jaydan
我的好搭擋Jaydan

Last chance to crawl thru the tunnel!
最後一次機會爬過隧道!

That's Why Daddy Always Wins

I'm Daddy's secret weapon: When Daddy was competing in a racing video game, I would try my best to distract his opponent. So that's the reason why he always wins! Daddy even gave my assignment a secret code "MP3"--mission possible 3 (I'll share with you the other 2 assignments later).

我是爸爸的秘密武器: 當爸爸和別人比賽電玩賽車, 我會盡我所能讓他的對手分心. 這就是為何爸爸總是領先!

(PS from Mommy: the fact is that Noah likes Alex very, very much--every time we took him away from Alex, he just went back to him right away! Daddy is jealous ^_^')

(媽媽補充: 事實是嘉信很喜歡Alex哥哥--每次我們把他抱開, 他總是立刻回去他身邊! 爸爸吃醋嘍!)

Go, PJ!

Today we were so excited because it was the day Pastor James was ordained. I've known their family for more than 7 years (I used to babysit their kids when I went to school)! James and Helen are one of sweetest couples I know, and the biggest thing I learn from them is having passion for God and compassion for people.

今天是令人興奮的一天, 因為是俞傳道按牧的日子. 我已認識他們七年多(在我念書的時候曾經幫忙看他們的小孩). 我從這對甜蜜夫妻身上學到要對神發熱心, 對人發慈心.

Thanksgiving to God: for so many "good soldiers" around for us to follow their examples!

向神感恩的事: 有這麼多的"精兵"在身邊成為我們學習的榜樣.

Christmas Fireworks

I know it's too early to celebrate Christmas (esp. before Thanksgiving), but I just can't help it--because it was the season when Noah was born! I still remember a year ago when I went to see the fireworks in Disneyland by myself (actually with Noah in my belly). Now with Noah almost turning 1 and back to see the fireworks, I just realize TIME FLIES...

我知道慶祝聖誕節的到來似乎還太早(尤其是在感恩節以前), 但我實在是忍不住--因嘉信是在十二月生的. 我還記得一年前我自己, 不, 是和在我肚子裏的嘉信一起去迪士尼樂園看煙火. 現在嘉信已快一歲而我們又去看煙火, 真體會到時光飛逝, 日月如梭...

Having Noah makes all other gifts fade...
有了嘉信使得其他的禮物失色...

Because he's the best gift we've ever received!
因他是我們收到最棒的禮物!




Fireworks for all of you!
和你們分享煙火!

This picture was taken in Disneyland on 12/05/2005, about a week before Noah was born!

這張照片是在12/05/2005, 大約嘉信出生前一個星期拍的!

I Need Earplugs

Does anyone know why babies sometimes SCREAM a lot?
Does anyone even know how come their voices aren't cracked after all the screaming?
Amazing, huh?

有誰知道為何嬰兒有時愛大叫?
有誰甚至知道為何他們在大叫一天後聲音不會變沙啞?
奇妙吧!

Random Shots

Here are some random shots of Noah that I want to share with you guys:

兩張照片想和你們分享:

Noah had some fun playing with his pals. (He even lay down to enjoy when parents twisted the canvas--maybe we went to Disneyland too often)

嘉信和他的朋友們玩. (當家長在轉帆布的時候, 他還躺著享受呢--也許我們太常去迪士尼樂園了)

Also had some fun playing with his papa. (Don't you think Noah looks different in this photo? It's not because of being 11 months old already but his ears being flipped out.)

和爸爸玩. (你覺不覺得嘉信看起來不太一樣? 不是因為他已十一個月大, 而是因為他的耳朵被翻出來啦)

Bus Lesson

Today Danny drove my car to work, so I decided to take a bus with Noah to a park. After waiting for more than 40 minutes, we changed our plan back to just having a walk in our neighborhood. Usually I would complain about the delay, but it was fun to watch Noah enjoyed the cars passing by. A lesson learned: sometimes things just don't work as we plan, but we still can have some fun if we keep our minds open!

今天凱旭開我的車上班, 所以我突發奇想帶嘉信坐公車去公園玩. 在站牌等了四十分鐘後, 我改變計畫只在家附近走走. 通常我會抱怨公車誤點, 但看著嘉信對經過的車子如此地好奇還真是有趣! 我學到一個功課: 事情往往不如我們所計畫的發生, 但只要我們放寬心胸還是能夠盡興的!

Thanksgiving to God: for a car to drive whenever and wherever we want!

向神感恩的事: 不論何時能有車子開!

I can't believe Noah is 11 month old already!
真不敢相信嘉信已十一個月大了!

No Poo Poo

Noah tried very hard to convince me he didn't poo poo...

嘉信努力地搖頭讓我知道他沒有上大號...



I kept asking "Did you poo poo?" but he actually didn't understand what I was saying. He just felt like shaking his head whenever I said something.

我一直問他有沒有上大號, 但他不了解我在說什麼. 他只是想要在我說完話後搖搖頭.

Don't Like Touching Grass

I forget to mention 2 things about Noah: 1) He shakes his head a lot recently (but not necessarily means no; 2) He doesn't like touching grass. When combining both, here comes the video...

忘了提到關於嘉信的兩件事: 1) 最近他很喜歡搖頭(但不一定表示不要); 2) 他不太喜歡摸草. 當把這兩件事結合就產生了以下的影片...




The next video shows you Noah was learning to walk. Even though he still has a long way to go, we enjoy the crawling stage and definitely will miss it later...

下一個影片是嘉信學走路. 雖然他離能自己走還有一段距離, 但我們很珍惜目前爬的階段, 而且知道將來會很懷念的...

Another Little Walk

After having some rides at Disneyland, we went to a park to picnic. Looking at these pictures, I think of a tag line similar to the one of a cheese: "Great smiles come from happy Noah. Happy Noah comes from the Chengs."

去迪士尼樂園走走之後, 我們到公園野餐. 看這些照片讓我想到一個和起司產品類似的廣告詞: "Great smiles come from happy Noah. Happy Noah comes from the Chengs."("大的笑容來自快樂嘉信, 快樂嘉信來自鄭家." 原廣告詞是"Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California.")

Great Smiles

Happy Noah

The Chengs

A Little Walk

Before we went to storytime at the library, we had a little walk at the sculpture garden and dolphin fountain. Here's my cute little Noah!

到圖書館聽故事前, 我們去雕刻公園和海豚噴泉走走. 嘉信真可愛吶!

"Another picture, mommy?" (PS from mommy: this picture reminds me it's time to clean the camera lens.)

"又要拍照了, 媽咪?" (媽咪補充: 這張照片提醒我該是清相機鏡頭的時候了)
Grass for lunch?
午餐吃草?
A quiet moment
安靜時刻
I'm thirsty! (or sleepy?)
口渴了(或愛睏?)

Say A Little Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you for helping me feel better from my running nose. By the way, I start using a pillow recently. I love it because it helps me sleep better :)

Please give daddy & mommy a good night sleep, so tomorrow they can play with me all day long!

Pray in Your precious name. Amen.


親愛的上帝,

感謝您, 我流鼻涕好多了. 最近我開始睡枕頭了, 我很喜歡喔.
請讓爸爸媽媽晚上有個好覺, 所以明天他們可以陪我玩一整天!

禱告感謝奉主的名. 阿們.

Where Are We?

Guess where we are with 3 hints:
1) On an island
2) In OC
3) The only way there is by a log raft
(Scroll down to see the answer.)

給你三個提示猜猜我們在哪裡?

1) 在一個島上

2) 在橙縣(Orange County)

3) 需坐浮木泛舟才能到

(答案在最底下)

A cave
一個洞穴
A barrel bridge
一個"筒"橋 (大筒子浮在水面上以支撐住橋)
A suspension bridge
一個吊橋
A wood cabin

一個小木屋
A willow tree

一棵柳樹
A loving family!

一個愛的家庭!

The answer is: The Tom Sawyers Island in Disneyland!

答案是: 在迪士尼樂園的Tom Sawyers島

A Fun Night Out

We visited Charles, Teresa, and their 2-year-old son Nathan on Sunday. The spaghetti Charles cooked was so delicious that I wished my stomach had extra room... (I wonder why I always mention about food)

我們星期日拜訪Charles, Teresa, 和他們兩歲大的兒子Nathan. Charles煮的義大利麵很好吃, 真希望我的胃大一點(真不好意思常常在部落格提到食物)

Thanksgiving to God: for brothers and sisters in Christ to walk thru life's ups and downs together.

向神感恩的事: 能有主裏的弟兄姊妹一同走過人生的高峰和低谷.

Someone was expecting us! (sorry to keep Nathan waiting because of Noah's big nap)
有人在窗前盼著我們的到來! (因嘉信睡午覺讓Nathan等, 真不好意思)

What's the difference between a toddler and a baby? A toddler can hold still for you to take a picture (actually 4 pictures) but a baby can't (this is the best one I took).
兩歲大的小孩和十個月大的baby有何不同? 前者可不動讓你拍照, 後者不可不動.

This 3-minute-long video shows you how much fun Nathan and Noah had that night!
(PS. I'm so excited because it's my first time to put a video in my blog! This video was recorded by camera so the quality wasn't good. I did use the camcorder to record tons of videos but need to learn how to edit it. Hopefully I can put more videos in my blog soon.)