a day in the life... growing up growing old

2010-02-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY

2010-01-19T21:40:00.002-07:00

Aiden's 5th birthday was celebrated with his family, Gong-Gong and Po-Po, his friend Evan and Evan's mom Becky.

water skid

2009-08-23T22:32:00.000-06:00

new bike

2009-08-22T22:17:00.003-06:00

the other night we took a out for a bike ride. he wanted to ride on the dirt and climb a hill or two. during the ride, a was complaining that his legs were tired cause his bike was too small.
so after our ride through the park, we told a we would take him to the bike shop and get him a bigger bike.
this morning, aiden kept asking when we were going to the bike store. i think he asked me about every 15 minutes. finally, around 1130, we loaded up in the car and headed to the bike store. five minutes into the drive, aiden asks how long it will be until we get there. hilarious.
we had settled the previous night on getting a specialized hot rock, blue. so that's what we got. at the shop, we headed downstairs, located the bike, and a was off riding around the store. after fifteen minutes of riding, we went back upstairs, paid, had the shop mechanic give it once over, then rode to the car.
back home, aiden was overly excited to ride. he immediately took off over the rocks riding back and forth through the alley. thirty minutes later, we were riding through the neighborhood on our way to the pool for some swim time. after the pool, a stop at the sand park, we were back home where the kids rode their bikes for another twenty minutes before bed. while riding around, aiden was singing, "diggin' my ride, diggin' my ride".

the video is dark. i'll have to shoot some more during the day.

2009-08-22T21:40:00.001-06:00

2009-02-24T22:33:00.001-07:00

rock ride

2009-02-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

2 wheel curb drop

2008-12-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

2 wheeler

2008-11-16T18:36:00.003-07:00

on saturday, 15 november 2008, a rode to lunch with training wheels.
after riding through the sticks, two flat tyres ensued.
four patches in the front tyre.
three patches in the rear tyre.
wheels back on, saddle lowered about 5mm...
a was off riding' w/o training wheels.
he rode up and down the block about a half-dozen times and that was that.

sunday morning, 16 november 2008, a rode down to the town center for breakfast, rode home... rode around the alley behind the house, then to and from the park. all on two wheels.

a new chapter of riding has begun for this little guy.

look ma, no training wheels!

2008-05-31T15:25:00.000-06:00

soccer

2008-03-08T20:52:00.002-07:00

on thursday, p happened to stop by the bladium south of our house to inquire about their facilities. turned out that on saturday, they had a lit'l soccer camp open house.
so we headed down there this morning. aiden took a 20 minute soccer lesson with one of the coaches and we signed him up for the spring session. they had a raffle right after we signed up and turned up a winner of a year's membership for aiden and one free 12 week soccer session.
with the sign up, aiden got a jersey and shorts; number three. it starts next week.

rocket ship @ the park

2008-02-02T23:14:00.000-07:00

a's favorite activity

three

2008-02-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

p made a superman cake for a's third bday.

a hess truck from grandma and pa kuo, a spiderman backpack and a prince for a night.

2nd ride

2008-01-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

new years day, 2008.
another trip to the coffee shop and another apple juice.
this one took a bit longer as he would get off and p/u snow/ice to offer us.
four blocks back, then it was time to walk.
video.

1st ride

2008-01-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

we got a a bike for xmas.
K2 - 12Z. new
wanted to get one used, but it was a last minute decision.
from xmas to dec 29th, he rode it inside as we got about 6-8 inches of snow.
on dec 30th, we took him out on his inaugural ride to the coffee shop.
half way through the snow and ice packed alley, crash number one happened.
i was doing a half-assed job of pushing and supporting him when the front wheel slid out and down he went.
the only casualty was the right antenna on the ladybug bell i bought him.
i picked aiden up and we all high-fived to show him he did a good job of falling down.
after brushing off the snow and walking the next 3 meters to the sidewalk,
aiden hopped back on the bike and pedaled 5 blocks to the coffee shop for some apple juice.
on the return trip, he made it 4 blocks and decided he wanted to walk.
not bad for his first time out.

bike

2008-01-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

we got a his first bike with training wheels.
he hopped on xmas morning and found it tough to pedal.
p took a look and sure enough, the bottom bracket bearing cup was not adjusted.
glad i'm knowledgeable in regards to bike repair.
so i broke out the adjustable wrench and a spanner.
a couple minutes later, easy pedaling.
crappy rei mechanics. didn't check the bottom bracket.

i wonder how many parents purchase bikes, get home, find out it's tough to pedal,
drive back to the store where they purchased the bike, get a ticket written up for bike repairs/adjustment,
wait for an adjustment hoping they can do it then and there and not have to wait
a day or two.

broccoli stalks

2007-05-14T13:03:00.000-06:00

on sunday evening, 051307, apk ate and enjoyed broccoli stalks. after eating one stalk, a remarked, 'crunchy,' and then asked for more. after four or five, we were out as the meal was drawing to a close. we told him we'd make more tomorrow.

transitions

2007-05-14T10:48:00.000-06:00

a couple of weeks ago we bought a bunk bed. now that we have 2 boys, we figured with our three bedroom house, the kids would be bunked together after r sleeps consistently through the night.
i decided to take a couple of days off from work to spend time at home and to help get a's bed built. so on a thursday morning, after waking up at a 'crack of dawn' hour of six (a's been back to his old pattern of waking up at 6am and not really going back to bed), a and i built the bed and were done by 715am. we moved a's crib to the corner of the room, and set the bed against the wall. we weren't sure if a would take to his bed, so we left the crib up for about a week.
that evening, bed time routine was the same: bath, teeth brushing, pj's and then stories. surprisingly, a took to his bed right away. we had stories in bed, and then he laid down for the night.
it's been a week now and a isn't getting to sleep very easily and wakes up after a couple of hours and cries until we come console him.
the good new is that he's not getting out of bed and looking for us, he just cries until we come to see him. another positive is that we've changed his afternoon nap from the couch up to his bed.

franken-kite

2007-04-03T10:23:00.000-06:00

this past saturday we woke up to a blustery day. a perfect day for some kite flying. so around 11am, i hitched up the bike trailer and a and i went over to crap-mart to look for a kite. after about thirty minutes in the store and asking three different sales associates if they had kites, we walked out of there empty handed. so. home we went with the promise to a that i'd build him a kite. so during his nap, i looked up kites and after he awoke, we built one based off of pbs.org- the benjamin franklin kite. unfortunately, though, it didn't really get off the ground. we even charlie brown'd it once (got it wrapped in a tree). after another couple of failed attempts, the kite was packed away in the laundry room.
sunday we awoke to a calm day. no chance of kite flying.
i watched the weather report that night and they mentioned a windy afternoon on monday.
so after racing home monday night after work, i quickly changed and asked boo if he wanted to try flying the kite again. another couple of failed attempts resulted ina broken cross beam. i took it inside and taped it together with some blue painters tape. then, after another unsuccessful flight, grandpa murray (built/assembled his own plane), took up the reins and made some alterations. he bowed the horizontal beam and started to add weight to the tail. we headed across the street into the dirt lot and tried again. this time, it rose into the air, but would dive only after a couple of seconds. looking around the dirt lot, gp murray picked up some orange rope and yellow plastic tape he found strew about the lot and tied it to the tail. the next flight proved to be exceptional. it actually flew. the franken-kite was airborne and aiden was excited to finally have a kite to fly.

2007-02-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

so it's been quite some time since i've posted anything here... so time for a bit of catch up. aiden is now two years old. grandma and grandpa came for a nice three week visit to help out around the house, spend time with aiden and help celebrate his birthday. for his birthday dinner, we made a cheese, mushroom and tomato pizza; and for his cake.
p baked a homemade chocolate mayonnaise two layer cake, with chocolate frosting and icing that created a picture of a fire engine. here's aiden patiently waiting to blow out the cande and have some cake. after cake, it was present opening time, aiden's grandma and grandpa gave him a HESS semi-truck- flatbed with a helicopter. p and i got him a large red kick ball and two smaller balls along with a wood car transporter semi-truck. > here's a photo of him opening up presents. after opening up presents, it was close to his bed time, but we let him stay up a bit later so he could work off the sugary cake.
with his birthday past, things were pretty much business as usual... but with the added bonus of having grandma and grandpa kuo around so p and i could relax a bit and head out on a couple of dates before #2 arrives.

here are a couple of more photos of the rugrat painting

for the past couple of weeks, aiden's favorite toy has been a 'car' constructed out of a cardboard box. in the photo, the one on the floor is car #1. The two air-o-swiss boxes taped together is car #2. car #1 is his favorite, but is in danger of falling apart.

xmas

2006-12-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

for xmas this year, p and i got a a wood train set. we bought it a few months ago and hid it in the hallway closet. during the past week, i built a train table for it; and made some alterations to the table legs after p got back from her trip to texas. i think a was pretty excited to see this new toy when he woke on monday morning. he played for a good 2+ hours with it.

he also got a nicely knitted sweater from gong-gong and po-po, along with other toys. here he is posing with his new sweater

aiden got quite the haul with gifts from his aunts and uncles. more pix later as i upload them.

2006-12-16T23:16:00.000-07:00

'i got a book'

2006-10-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

last night while playing in the living room, aiden picked up a book, showed mom and said 'i got a book'. loud and clear. 'i got a book.'

poopie

2006-09-24T21:17:00.000-06:00

on sunday, september 24th, 2006, aiden, for the first time, used the potty. p was about to put aiden into the crib for bedtime when he pointed to the door and said 'poopie'. p wasn't sure if he meant it, so asked two more times if he had to go potty. with another hand jesture toward the door and saying poopie, p reluctantly took him to the bathroom. after the diaper was removed, aiden looked at the potty, turned and sat down. then, did a bit of a grimace and stood up. p was doubtful that there was anything there, but lo and behold, some pee! woo hoo. first time using the potty. good job, bubbie!

'cesca in gj

2006-09-18T10:00:00.000-06:00

quick post highlight (expanded post later (?)):
four hours to grand junction friday night
woke up, played with new toys for an hour (11pm to 12pm)? then put the kabosh on it and went to bed
next morning (saturday) saw francesca! played more- cutting wood food in the play kitchen
park (i missed that part- went riding with dice)
3.5 hour afternoon nap
went to town on cheese and crackers. hilarious image of aiden and cesca standing on the dining chairs munching down crackers like it's open season
bathtime with the 'devil' duck and way more bath toys than aiden's ever experienced
story time and bed
sunday morning... story time with dad on the couch. got through about three books before cesca woke up. aiden promptly launched himself off the couch to greet her and britt at the btm of the stairs.
breakfast of french toast sticks and tater tots
trip to the park: climbing ladders and wet slides
highlight of the park: jumping (kind of- aiden can't seem to jump, but was just more or less diving) off the platform onto dad... tried to get him to wait until i was ready to catch him... on one occasion, said wait as he was mid-dive and saw the attempt at the change in direction to stay on the platform, but was too far along and dove anyway... i was ready to catch him, so no injuries ensued. hilarious. he loved it... probably did it a dozen times.
bananas and a wagon ride to 'cesca's... sad attempt at lunch and then in the car to palisade farmer's market
short walk to a pottery studio... got to see the river, ride on dad's shoulders.
then up to r & b's house on the orchard.
more playing- train set, various walking toys, kid piano.
the big swing... not too fond the first time. got the initial swing, but the travel back to dad was too scary.
sand box! and the funniest tantrum i've seen yet. it was time to go inside for food and aiden was having a ball playing with the loader in the sandbox. when i said it was time to go inside, aiden ran toward the sandbox, climbed in and promptly sat down as if he was playing in it all along. hilarious. wish i had it on video. but, pulled him out, sat on the outdoor chairs, calmed him down and explained that we were changing venues and activites. he accepted and gave me a nod when i asked if he wanted to enter house from the front door.
after playing inside some more, and not really eating- but finally got some fried rice in him... saw the new barn, sat on the lawn mower and then warmed up to the big swing.
and somewhere in there he met bandit.
packed up around 6pm? don't even remember... in the car and back to denver.

cheese

2006-08-27T20:52:00.000-06:00

aiden enjoys saying 'cheese'. we have a camera that we've succumbed to him as being a play toy. and when ever he plays with the camera, we always say 'cheese'. tonight, while playing with his train, i took out the camera and took a couple pix of him, all the while he was saying 'cheese'.

rough day at 'bacon-n-eggs' playground

2006-08-27T20:37:00.000-06:00

saturday afternoon we were packed up and ready to head to the local playground so aiden could run around and climb on a few things and go down the slide. except, when we opened the door, it had just started raining. so instead, we packed him in the car and headed to the library so aiden could play in the little play yard.

when we got there, it was teaming with kids, but aiden wanted to go in anyway. timid at first, he wouldn't let go of my hand, but after a few minutes, he started to venture on his own. no more than five minutes later, as he was climbing up the banana staircase to the bowl of shredded wheat and blueberries, another kid came barreling up and pushed him down the stairs. no harm to the boo bear, he tumbed down the equivalent of two stairs and i picked him up. the other boy's mom came over and had her kid say sorry. that was nice.

about ten minutes later, after boo pulled himself together, he was off to another part of the playground when he bumped into another kid who was chasing his brother. after bumping, and a split second where aiden was giving the boy a hug, the boy maliciously pushed aiden to the ground. instant bawling from my little one. i'm pretty sure aiden's little head bounced a bit... good thing the carpet is padded quite nicely. as i went to pick up my trooper i couldn't do anything but glare at the kid that pushed aiden down. couldn't believe it... and no appearance from his mom. can you believe that? hello? mom? dad? are you paying attention to your tyrant of a kid or did you just drop him there to release energy while you sat around like a snob. so mad. so i had my eye on the kid that pushed aiden over. after about five minutes of boo sniffling in mom and dad's arms, i saw the boy's mom pull him over (as he passed her) and she had a few words for him, i think... but no apology no nothing to us who were sitting no more that ten feet away.

picture

2006-08-19T13:20:00.000-06:00

ok. it's been some time since i've made a post let alone post any pictures. so here's a pic. we bought aiden a little thomas the train couch from the store so he had something his size to relax on... although he still very much enjoys climbing up on the couch and sitting with us.

rainy day boo

2006-07-10T09:27:00.000-06:00

rainy weekend in denver, colorado.

the rain started friday night, i believe, and didn't let up until sunday night. it was definitely a nice change from the usual sunny skies and warmer temperatures that colorado sees during early july. so it was a couple of days of indoor activity for wen bin.
saturday afternoon was spent at the children's museum. wen bin fell asleep in the car on the way to the coffee shop, so p and i ordered up our coffees and sat in the car while bin bin slept in his carseat. we then headed into downtown, stopped and picked up lunch in highlands and headed toward the museum. as soon as we pulled into the parking space, bin bin woke up and we headed inside. the first big attraction for him is the fire truck. as soon as you enter, just slightly to the left, there is a fire truck that the kids can climb on and sit in the cab, push buttons and play with the steering wheel. once done with the truck, we ate lunch and then headed back to the fire truck, only to pull him away fifteen minutes or so later to head to the train room. the train room was ok for a time being, but the real excitement was upstairs in the train track building room. this is a room where wooden tracks are laided out on eight different tables and kids can design their own tracks, then put trains together to run on the tracks. i think we blew a good thirty to fourty minutes in that room alone; almost rivaling the time spent on the fire truck. next it was exploring in the wooded area, which after a couple of crawls and climbs, he was done... off to the art room. here the museum supplies art supplies ranging from crayons to paint. kids can put on smocks, hang up a sheet of paper, and go to town with paint. quite fun, and i believe both p and i escaped with no paint on our clothing. bin bin, however, decided to take some paint home on his shirt... but only a few drops. after some milk and some random running around, it was time to head home.

sunday morning we woke up to the sound of rain again... i didn't really realize, but p did when she picked up aiden at 5am and rocked him back to sleep for a good half hour or so. around 7am, aiden had had enough of lying in bed and proceeded to 'shirt' us as he ran from one side of the bed to the other, seeing who would get up and play with him. (getting shirted: aiden was pulling out my shirts from the dresser and throwing them onto our heads in an effort to get our lazy butts out of bed) so. after breakfast, play time, a trip to the grocery store, a nap and the world cup finals, it was inside play time for the rain was still coming down. so instead of heading in the car somewhere, and since p had to get some work done for school, i decided it was time aiden got his first three sofa and seat cushion forts. the first one was pretty basic. just a pile of cushions on each side and then a blanket draped over it. just a shotgun style fort. one entry, very little space for the two of us to play in. after destructing this fort, i decided to utilize a couple of chairs as one wall of the fort, the ottoman and couch would provide the basis of the other walls. this fort was a tad more spacious. the floor plan was l-shaped. not a bad fort for both boo and i could be inside fairly comfortably even with a couple of musical toys. we also had a peep hole that could notify us if mom was launching a sneak attack. and just incase, we had a back door cushion which could be removed for quick escapes. this fort lasted about thirty minutes or so. i almost gave up on building forts until i decided to angle the ottoman and pull some more cushion resources. i deconstructed the old fort and built number 3. this one proved to last the longest, over two hours. but this was not because it was the best fort ever, it was that after abotu ten minutes or so, it was time to start cooking dinner... and with that, p took aiden outside to stomp around in the rain. so through dinner and a bit beyond, this fort sat empty until i decided it was time to clean up the living room... thirty or so minutes later, it was off to bed for boo.

new words

2006-05-31T10:57:00.000-06:00

so a couple of new words popping out of wen bin's mouth... bubble. this was during a bath... our friend britt gave us some bubble bath that comes with a bubble blower... and as we were playing in the bath, he blurted out bubble! now everything that floats is a bubble- the balloons (he actually said balloon a week or so back) we have floating in the house are bubbles.

the other word is apple. on sunday night, as a second course to his dinner... i was opening up the applesauce and he pointed at the jar and said 'ah-ple'. after a couple repeats, 'apple'.
pretty cool, it is, to see your kid enlarge his vocabulary. i wonder what the next word is going to be... hopefully not 'crap'

ball!

2006-05-05T08:07:00.000-06:00

the other morning, wen bin was playing around the living room in the company of mom and grandma murray. he was working himself around a few obstacles placed in front of the tv/stereo area. he then started to point and say 'eehh' and continued doing it a few times. mom and grandma were both puzzled and asked wen bin what he wanted. after a couple of seconds of frustration, he just pointed again and blurted 'BALL!'. grandma got up and looked behind the tv and sure enough, there was a blue bouncy ball waiting to be played with.

a day at the park

2006-04-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

saturday morning's walk to the coffee shop was a bit nippy, but by the time we headed back, the sun had risen a bit more and started to pull the chill out of the air. so once we got home, we decided to pack up the little one, change out the attachments on the jogger and ride the bike over to city park and then take a quick trip to the zoo.
as we headed out, we made a slight adjustment to the trailer and added a small pillow behind wen bin's back so he massive helmet he rolls with doesn't push his head forward. this proved to be a good fix, as he could hold his head upright and look around at the passing scenary. of course, after about four or five blocks, he was out cold, taking his late morning/early afternoon nap.
so p and i took our time and rolled down montview to city park... then took a lap around the criterium course before heading to a pond to soak up some sun and eat cookies.
once boo woke from his nap, we headed to the playground. for some reason boo didn't feel much like climbing around and playing; instead, he took off walking around the playground and just enjoying the grass under his feet.
after about a half hour, we rolled off to the zoo. after looking at the sleeping lions, big cats and various other sleeping animals, boo lead us around walking randomly down the paths.
due to time constraints, we cut short boo's exploration of the zoo, packed him up and rode the bikes back home. by this time, the sun was beatin' down on my baseball hat! boo was in a short sleeved shirt, and p had shed a layer.
hopefully this weekend will be a three day affair for me and we can have at least one day to enjoy as we did this past saturday.

day care

2006-03-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

ok. so bin bin is in day care now. we were able to keep him out of it for just over a year and we were reluctant to put him in... but with babysitters unable to continue service, we took the plunge and found a day care (thanks to one of p's b-friends). it's actually not too bad, very flexible with our schedule and can change days with some notice. they even offer up evening care for kids incase the moms and dads wanna head out for a night. the price isn't too bad either. so we really can't complain.
except, since we've taken boo there, he's been sick twice. this one has the added bonus of a viral conjunctivitus. i feel so bad for the little one pulling snot and having to wipe his eyes.

picking up around the house

2006-03-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

it's been too long since i've written a short about aiden (wen bin). i've been using his chinese name lately... too many aidens floating around, so now i call him bin bin or wen bin.

anyway. two days ago bin bin was playing and moving blocks around the house. he picked up one block, walked around the kitchen island, opened up the garbage can and put the block in the garbage. he then walked around the island again, went to the garbage can, opened the lid, and pulled out the block. tonight, playing on the floor, bin bin picked up a wrapper, walked to the garbage and threw it in. he then went back to the other two wrappers that were on the ground, separated them out, and threw one of them away. after that, he went back to the garbage can, pulled out both wrappers and played with them until i pulled them away and took out the garbage. pretty funny

2006-02-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

first word

2006-02-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

ok. so aiden's been doing the babble bit for a while: mamamama, dadadadada, nai-nai nai-nai. i've been working on diaper with him while on the changing table. i believe last week he had 'dia' down... this past saturday (02.04.06) he repeated 'dia-pa' and then on sunday morning (02.05.06) repeated 'dia-per'
and again today (tuesday 02.07.06) said 'dia-per' after hearing me say it. pretty cool

walk half-way around the block

2006-02-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

today was aiden's first half walk around the block. i got home from my desk job around 5pm and saw a and p coming out the front door. after getting the mail, aiden was walking down the sidewalk pushing the jogger. apparently he's been walking around the house pushing everything in site in front of him. so p thought it'd be a good idea to have aiden push the jogger around to the garage. so, i decided to join them. after getting the jogger in the garage, aiden quickly turned around and started west down the alley way. he knew that going up the slope to the garage meant going back inside, which he wasn't thrilled about. so we started west down the alley toward the street and a loader and a worker shoveling the opposing alley. once we got to the street, we took a left and headed to 29th ave. once at 29th ave, aiden was determined to head west, but we were calling him and trying to steer him to the east. about twenty (aiden) steps east, he found the stairs that lead to one of the 'row' homes and worked on his stair climbing abilities. These stairs were short enough where he could lift his foot and walk up them, rather than get down on all fours and climb the house stairs. after about three or four repeats of this, we decided it was a bit chilly and picked him up and carried the rest of the way around the block.

2006-01-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

a'ight. been a bit since i've blogged about the little one... but i'm tired so not much text... rather. no more text. will write some soon. aiden is now one year old. damn. time has passed rather quickly... except for the hours spent at the office.

ok. time for pictures

self feeding

2006-01-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

on thursday night (01.12.06), aiden gave the shocker of the week. i sat him down in his booster seat and placed a couple of morsels of food on his tray. next thing i new, aiden had picked up a cube of cheese and placed it in his mouth. for the next 10-15 minutes, aiden fed himself cheese cubes and tempeh. pretty cool... must have learned it from playing with carson.

one year. already?

2006-01-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

aiden's one year birthday is fast approaching. i can't believe it. it only seemed like yesterday i was flat on my back with back spasms and serious pain that standing, let alone getting up to stand, was excrutiatingly painful. but it is true, 01.18.05, is only eleven days away. what a difference a year makes. aiden is now walking around the house. most of the time with both arms in the air; and when he makes it to a chair, the ottoman or the couch, he throws his hands down as if to say 'I'm HERE!' it's quite cute. he still crawls, and i do believe he can crawl faster than he walks, so if we are playing chase, he will often times get down on his hands and knees and crawl away.

he is also talking more these days. his vocab is only mama, dada, nana... but i think he is on the verge of saying 'nai-nai' and maybe even getting his p's down... i could have sworn he was trying to say diaper today as i was changing him. i bent over and said 'diaper' and thought he was repeating the word. probably not, but i can hope.

so. for his first birthday, grandma and grandpa kuo are coming to town for a week. it will be a great time for aiden to reconnect with his grandparents. this will be the fourth him he seems them.

i've gotten myself a little present for him, but really for me. we have a jogger that transforms into a bike trailer... p and i bought the bike attachment yesterday and today i set it up on my basso and took aiden (sporting his new helmet) on a spin through the alley and around the block. not sure if he enjoyed it, i think he was just tolerating the ride wondering when he'd get lunch served to him. but... with the coming of his first birthday, more mobility for the family and many more firsts to be had.

untitled

2005-11-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

flying to grandma and grandpa's- 1st leg from denver to chicago.

aiden playing in the concourse seating area waiting for our connecting flight from chicago to providence.

my brother took this photo during our t-day visit to CT.

so aiden has been eating things other than mush, cheerios being his number one favorite, followed by edaname, toast and teething biscuits. the only thing is, we can't seem to get him to feed himself yet.

2005-11-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

climbing stairs

2005-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

aiden climbed his first set of stairs today. i got home from work and p ran upstairs to finish getting ready to head to work herself. aiden was crawling around on the floor and headed for the staircase. p was back down and standing on the landing when she called me over. aiden had worked his way up the first two stairs. i grabbed him as he lost balance and set him back on the ground. he then worked his way up the first four stairs to the landing and grabbed onto mom. time to start utilizing the baby gate.

more photos

2005-10-29T09:51:00.000-06:00

a day at the park

2005-10-29T09:41:00.000-06:00

since the weather here is still nice and has not turned south for the winter, we've been enjoying the sunshine and taking aiden to the park. of the equipment he can enjoy (being only 9 months old), the baby swing is his hands down favorite. the only other piece of equipment he could play on is the bouncy thingy that has the giant spring, handles and footholds.

weeeeeeeeeeee!

can i get a push please?

halloween

2005-10-20T12:15:00.000-06:00

ok. it is a bit early to think about halloween, but only by about a week and a half. back in september, p's sister j sent us a package that included the famed 'dumbo outfit.' but, it was lost in the mail... i really wonder what had happened. the post office on marion isn't too savy... they held a package for us earlier in the year that when we went to pick it up, it had been broken into. no word from the postal employee as to what had happened, but we feel it was someone in the back picking out an early b-day or x-mas gift. anyway. i've gone off the subject.

so. about a week ago, we get this packing in the mailbox and lo and behold, the dumbo outfit. we immediately picked up the bean and stuffed him in it. he's still to small to actually fit it, but damn it's hilarious

stacking buckets

2005-10-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

although aiden didn't stack these himself, he is beginning to enjoy his stacking toys... he hasn't actually stacked them, but enjoys knocking them down once we've set them up. he's in that stage of dropping things to see what happens, and to see how long it take either mom or dad to pick up the item he's dropped so he can drop it again. today at the library, i had him close enough to the cd racks where he just started to pick cd cases up and drop them on the floor.

booster (take two)

2005-10-07T20:15:00.000-06:00

yes. take two. we realized that the booster we got was only a front facing booster... i thought the usage info on the box was a bit suspect... so after using it for a 4 mile trip and p researching info on the internet, i returned the forward facing only booster and got a 3 in 1 booster. the only issue now is that it kind of stinks. i'm not liking it... but have used it all week. i keep reading the instructions to make sure i'm not screwing something up. so far, i'm not. but another read of the installation manual and then i'll make a decision as to look for another model. oh wait, cancel that. gonna live with this one... i recycled the box today.

booster

2005-09-30T15:55:00.000-06:00

i had the afternoon planned, kind of... more for myself than the little guy. half day friday at the work, rode the bike and now i was home. the plan was to have lunch, pack the car with recycleables, then pack the kid and take him for the afternoon to the recycling center and then d/t to hang out in the mid size buildings. all of that came to a halt when p realized that the car seat aiden's been traveling in was rated only to 20#. Thus, he was now ready for the booster. The booster we didn't have. so instead of running errands, i ran to target to get a booster for the little guy. and now it's 4pm, aiden's napping, and i've got a car load of recycleables and various things to do around the house. the little guy is getting bigger.

dead leg pulls

2005-09-24T08:29:00.000-06:00

so aiden has yet to get up on the hands and knees and start crawling. he has, however, been playing on his stomach quite a bit lately. last week we were hangin' in the office and one of his favorite things to do is pound on the computer keyboard. so, while i was typing, he was playing on his stomach and then grabbed a handful of carpet and pulled himself forward. it was quite the move... but only moved a few millimeters. but... he did get closer to the keyboard.

since then, he has yet to do it again... but he is spinning clock- & anti-clockwise and wearing through his shirt bellies. pretty funny.

anyway. yesterday he had quite the play time, too. we got home around 2pm and had some lunch... then suited up for a walk. i took him back to the little skate park just south and east of our house, maybe 6-7 blocks away. there were a couple of kids riding their bmx bikes dropping in and jumping out. after about 10 minutes, all the kids had left... so it was aiden's turn to ride the bowl in his stroller. quite fun it is... i guess getting him ready for roller coasters... and maybe a bit of riding in the bowl when he's older.

after 15-20 minutes of that, we headed west down the greenbelt to the playground. a few kids were running around, but no one playing on the swings. so i set him in there and back and forth he went. pretty good times for the little guy. seems to really dig the swings as well.

welp, can't type without posting a picture. so here's one of him ready to roll in the AM to the coffee shop so mom and dad can get their fix.

playdate II

2005-09-16T22:24:00.000-06:00

aiden had his second playdate on thursday, 15 sept 05, with carson in golden. quite excited he was, to be playing with another boy.

2005-09-06T20:21:00.000-06:00

it's been some time since i've posted pix of the little one. grandpa kuo keeps asking for more pictures and with the recent move, i've had little time to unpack, let alone take pictures of the kiddo. but, here are a couple taken maybe a week after we had moved in.

apk and a new house

2005-08-21T20:57:00.000-06:00

so we've finally gotten moved into the house. mind you, we still have much to do before this place is operational. i do believe aiden is enjoying all this new space. not crawling yet, but once he does, trouble to be had. anyway. here are a few pics we've taken of him around the house

playing on the bed in the living room

playing in his new crib, thanks to grandma and grandpa kuo

having breakfast at the dining room table

more photos

2005-08-06T09:25:00.000-06:00

getting my slouch on

hanging on during the elevator ride

kickin' it on the floor

peas and carrots

2005-07-23T13:15:00.000-06:00

we started on aiden on rice cereal a few weeks ago. started slow, and now we're up to peas and carrots. we introduced carrots on sunday, 07.17.05. he ate them up. thoroughly enjoyed them. the first bite was interesting. he gave us a weird face as if to say, what is this stuff? and why is it orange? but after a couple of bits, it all went down. five days later, we introduced peas. the first trial didn't go so well. he gave p the 'i don't like this' face so she didn't force the issue. a day later, we tried again and this time, he didn't think they were half bad.

6 months

2005-07-12T12:22:00.000-06:00

so aiden is coming up on six months. time seems to be flying by, but we are enjoying every minute. we've taken quite a few photos since the last post, but the ones here are the most recent. we went and visited our friend gretchen, who assisted with the birth, and aiden met his first dog. the dogs were quite inquisitive and aiden wasn't at all scared.

the following photos are from our trip to iowa over the fourth of july. i especially like the one of aiden taking a bath.

hanging out on the couch

going for a ride with mom around the golf course

bath time

napping with grandpa murray

fish with john

taking a few swings before heading back to CO

musical baton

2005-06-24T16:51:00.000-06:00

1. the person who passed the baton to you
grey marble

2. total volume of music files on your computer
i don't have a computer yet, nor really know what it is

3. the title and artist of the last cd you bought
what's a cd?

4. song playing at the moment of writing
well, dad's doing the typing for me at this moment, and i don't really know any song titles or artist - plus, i'm sleeping in my swing chair

5. five songs you have been listening to of late or all-time favorites, or particularly personally meaning ful songs
whatever mom or dad listens to is what i end up listing to as well.

6. the people to whom you will 'pass the musical baton.'
i don't really know anyone with a blogsite - but when francesca and carson get blogsites, they will be 1 and 2 on the list.

2005-06-11T21:24:00.000-06:00

WATCHING HIS FIRST RAINFALL

KEEPING WARM BY THE WINDOW

GETTING A HOLD OF HIS FEET

TAKING A NAP IN MAMA'S ARMS

are you talking to me?

2005-06-04T21:34:00.000-06:00

hogging the rocking chair

2005-06-04T09:37:00.000-06:00

couch potato

2005-05-14T13:54:00.000-06:00

it's been some time since i've posted anything on aiden's blog... so here are a couple of photos we took of him kickin' it on the couch

playdate

2005-04-29T13:14:00.000-06:00

getting bigger
last week, aiden grew out of his bassinette. it was a sad realization that our baby is growing up. we realized this when he'd wake himself up from the sound/feel of him whacking the side of the bassinette with his little arms. so i ran to target and got him a pack and play. figured it'll be a good sized bed for the time being... living in a loft and all... but when we move into the house come august, we'll be getting him a crib. something for me to assemble.

playdate
for a few months now, my friend britt and i have wanted to get together to introduce our kids. the thing that has been holding us back is the fact that she lives in grand junction. a good 4 hr drive. but finally, britt, her daugher francesca and her mom, rema, made the trip over to denver to see us. so happy it finally happened. aiden met francesca and was very interested in who was sharing his playpen (and he did a great job of sharing). it was an enjoyable few hours to see britt and her fam (sans husband), but as quick as they came, they were out the door to fort collins to visit her cousin.

more photos

2005-04-23T21:09:00.000-06:00

pro-photos

2005-04-17T09:13:00.000-06:00

a month of so ago, p and i had photos taken professionally of aiden. we felt that with all the photos we snapped, we didn't get quite the quality photo that could be had with a newborn. also. he is just a newborn for such a short period of time that getting a few good photos taken of him would be nice. so. we got the prints from the photographer and decided to go ahead and scan them in so we had electronic copies of them; knowing with the prices of prints we would only be getting a select number. so over the course of the past two days, i scanned in the photos and p started to photoshop them. i think she's gotten through maybe five, and here is one of them:

more photos

2005-04-09T15:25:00.000-06:00

things are getting busier with p headed back to work. she really started working weeks ago, but the quarter started this past week. so i've rearranged my work schedule, and since p is working nights and afternoons, we don't have to do the dreaded daycare for this quarter.
but we have had time to snap some photos; and today, time to dl and photoshop them. enjoy.

photos: easter i, easter ii, bath i, bath ii, asleep in the swing, and a big yawn for papa

2005-03-29T22:22:00.000-07:00

i meant to post pix with the last entry, but i didn't have the photos dl'd from the camera.

photos:
@ four weeks-taken by p's mom: I, II
in grandma kuo's knitted sweater: I
stealing the wedding in oink! baby: I, II

2 mo. and counting

2005-03-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

p took aiden to see the dr for his two month appointment. he now weighs in at 10 lbs 5 oz. and has four bandaids on his legs; two on each side. we decided to go ahead and get four of his shots done all at once. since p'll be taking him to the art institute and there will be quite a bit of interaction with other people there, we decided to play it safe and give him all his 2 mo. immunizations. should have taken a picture. so cute with his two colored bandaids on each leg.

the happy series

2005-03-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

i can't believe it's almost been a month since i last posted pictures. it was a rough month. really tired, but then we started supplimenting formula with breastfeeding. apparently the little one wasn't getting enough from mom, so we've added horizon organic formula with iron to aiden's diet. now he's happy, sleeps, plays by himself in the playgym and is generally a happier child. woo hoo!

p took these pictures before heading out for a walk.

photo: I, II, III, IV, V

snugli

2005-02-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

my friend brittany and her parents sent p and i a snugli when they found out we were pregnant. a few weeks after aiden was born, p took him out in the snugli. yesterday, it was my turn to throw him in the snugli and take a walk. i got home from work around 1230pm and we left the house around 2pm, had a great lunch at the chophouse and then continued walking with aiden for another two hours. all in all, we were out for four hours; 3.5 hours of sleep for the little guy.

photo: back home in the snugli

grandparents

2005-02-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

a week after aiden was born, my parents came out to visit and help out with the newborn. it is customary for Chinese families to have the grandparents help for a month; and within this first month, the mother has a fairly lengthy list of things she can and can’t do. we didn’t follow any of them, but p did get quite a bit of rest since my mom would grab aiden and burp him the second p was done feeding. it was quite nice for her to get the help. a week after my parents came, p’s parents came and help cook and clean… and two weeks later, we were left to ourselves to care for the baby… and now it’s been yet another week since I’ve had the chance to dl and post pictures.

pictures: grandma kuo, grandpa kuo, grandma murray, grandpa murray

2005-02-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

i realized a week or so ago that i never posted a picture of gretchen, the gal who helped with the delivery. so, i'm posting it now, along with photos of visitors we've had over the first three weeks of aiden's life.

photos: gretchen, shivani, kristin, michelle, kevin, michelle

a mobile and a bath

2005-01-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

having read a few chapters on newborns, we realized we didn't have any visual stimulization for our little one; even though they only see in a gray scale for some time. we looked through the gifts p's family sent out, but there wasn't anything appropriate for a mobile. so last week, after talking about it for two weeks, i sat down with some foam core, fishing line and a stick, made our little boy a mobile to look at while kickin' it on the changing table.

photos: mobile I, II, III

aiden's u-cord fell of this week. it was during the night and i was sound asleep. p told me about it after i had returned from a day at the office. she told me they just took a bath. quite a day, i believe. free from the cord and able to take a both. first one ever.

photo: post bath happiness

more pics

2005-01-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

i've been getting request for more photos. i have a few on film that haven't been developed yet and last night i went through some digital photos. i would have included more, but i couldn't find my camera last night to dl photos from the past few days - i think i've taken about 20... so. after screening the hospital photos and a few from day 3 of apk's new life, here are a few photos to tie everyone over.

photos: yeah, it looks like a dunce cap
sleeping in momma's arms
blue socks

packin' on the ounces

2005-01-25T11:59:00.000-07:00

so it's natural for a newborn to loose a few ounces after birth. from birth to discharge from the hospital (3 days time), apk lost eight ounces; then, at our first pediatrician's visit, we discovered that he lost another 5 ounces. a bit worried, we were told to supplement the breast milk with formula and to come back monday and weigh him again. monday afternoon p took the little one for a drive and called me excited to have learned that apk has gained 8 ounces back to top the scale at 6 lbs, 5 oz.

year of the monkey

2005-01-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

as time passed during p's pregnancy, we realized it was the year of the monkey according to the chinese new year. with that knowledge, we were hoping for our child to born in this year. good fortune, we thought, having our child born in this year. with that said, we found out two weeks ago that even if p were to be late giving birth, the dr would induce her on feb 1, a week before the new year. with that behind us, no more than two weeks later, aiden paul kuo was born 18 January 2005, at 11.24AM, St. Joseph's Hospital, Denver, CO.

so. the little one came about a week early. totally unexpected since p's family is generally late on delivery. on monday, p was having quite a few braxton hicks contractions through out the afternoon and starting around 1030pm, they became fairly regular. so i got up off the floor (back injury creeping up on me for the last 2 weeks) and started timing the contractions and after 1.5 hrs, we were in the 511 zone. so at midnight i called the dr on duty and while i was on the phone with her, p's water broke. sure sign of having a baby. thankfully p packed a hospital bag over the weekend and we got that and tore off to the hospital. we were planning on doing the bradley method of birthing (natural - no drugs), but after 3 hrs of contractions at the hospital, she decided to get the epidural. her eyes were rolling in the back of her head - so it was a really good idea. then, around 7am, the dr and nurses decided, after much discussion, to start p on some pitosin since the contractions were much too regular, the time between wasn't shortening. so... after another few hours, the dr came in and said it was time to push. four contractions and 12 pushes later, apk shot into the world and greeted everyone in the room with a scream.

two days previous, we threw out the name aiden cause we had come to learn that name was very popular. we picked the name jude as a back up since the sound of 'jude kuo' was cool... so, in the delivery room, the dr's and nurses asked us what the name was going to be and we said 'jude' without taking a good look at the new baby. then, after about five minutes and me taking photos, i turned to p and said, he's aiden, not a jude. so we settled on aiden paul kuo.

now we are home, enjoying the newborn and trying to figure out what all the cries mean. it'll be hard, but quite enjoyable and we are both very excited for coming years.

- and much thanks to our friend gretchen who pinch-hit since i was somewhat laid up with another back injury. we called her at 5pm monday to ask her if she would help and without any hesitation said yes, just call - we called her seven hours later and she was fantastic.

photos: ready to go home, in the car seat, in the car