2nd Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

What a difference a year can make (especially when it doubles your life)! This year's Christmas has been so much fun with Evann, I can only imagine that Christmases will only get better and better. Christmas is truly a time for children (young like Evann and old like me)!

As usual, Evann was inundated with gifts from friends and family. This year was a little different because Evann was a much more willing and active participant. As you can see from his excellent arm action, he was a very good unwrapper (not much for saving the paper though).

As usual, thank you to all our friends and family for their incredible generousity. It was nice this year because instead of the obligatory crappy gift to one another, our family donated money to charity. At work, we had some great charity events as well donating to the Empty Stocking Fund and Canucks Place. The hard part is to think of the less fortunate only during Christmas time, I must try to be more diligent to be giving throughout the year.

Newest Canucks fan at his first Canucks game!

Today was a special day, not only as a father, but also as a Canucks fan. Evann went to his first Canucks game (and his first trip on the Skytrain)!

Despite the disappointing result (4-2 loss to the lowly LA Kings), it was a really great time. I was surprised for a number of reasons:

1) I was first surprised by Evann's focus on the game. He didn't squiggle or complain while the game was on. He sat, ate popcorn and watched the game.

2) I was shocked that a toddler's (2T-4T) Canucks jersey was $50!!! I can only say that this jersey better still fit when Evann is 4T!

3) Even the burliest, toughest looking people turn into big teddy bears when they see a cute little kid.

When the Canucks scored, I was really worried that Evann would freak out because it gets pretty loud (he doesn't even like it when mom and I cheer when watching at home). But once again, I was suprised by his calmness. Of course, being a good Canucks fan, he was high-fiving everyone around.

I lifted him by his legs and everyone in a 5 person radius wanted to high-five him. It was pretty funny.

I'm looking forward to a life-long love of the Canucks with Evann. I can't wait.

Newest addition to the family!

We recently did the smartest thing in a long time. We hired a nanny and not just any nanny, but the best nanny in the world. She's everything that we could have hoped for and more. I think that Mommy L and I can both agree that she has already significantly changed our lives for the better.

As working parents, it's tough to find proper child care. Of course, not having a child before, it's impossible to forecast the significance of this. Okay, maybe not impossible, but impossible for my limited mental boundaries. ;)

The Foreign Domestic Workers Program is one of the great programs the Canadian government sponsors. Basically, it allows for foreign domestic workers to come to Canada to work and eventually obtain legal landed residency status (after 2 years of continual work).

Although it's a LOT of paperwork and waiting, it's well worth the work and wait. Many people have concerns about having someone who is not supervised watched their children, but I have none (thus far). Evann and the Nanny have hit it off right away and for me, children are a great gauge on character.

Day at the Waterpark

It was a beautiful BC Day long weekend so we (Mommy L and I) decided to take Evann down to the water park on Granville Island. There's something about kids and water. Evann absolutely loves it!

Evann absolutely loves the water. He had a lot of fun with a hose (no symbolism) connected fire hydrant. It would go on and off intermittently which Evann couldn't quite figure out which resulted in him being inadvertently soaked a couple of times. The funniest moment is when the hose came on when he didn't realized it and I took a collection of pictures with the stream of water proceeding to engulf him. The cutest shot was when he looked over while I was howling with laughter. He hardly looks impressed.

Since we were married just over 2 years ago on Granville Island, we decided to take Evann down to "the Island" for a trip down memory lane. After we changed him, we walked around the Island to all the spots we took pictures and reminisced. This time around, it was much better with Evann around.

One Year Old!!!

Evann is one year old and had a big party to celebrate! In Korean culture, the first birthday("dol") is very important. In fact, the first birthday is probably the biggest celebration next to the 60th birthday ("haang-gap").

Historically, due to a lack of medical information, Korea's seasonal temperature differences, and many childhood related diseases, the death rate for children was extremely high. Many children died before their first birthday. After the age of one year, the survival rate steeply increased, making this milestone a very happy one for the child's parents. In modern times, due to the improvements in medicine, the influence of Western culture, and modern industrialization, the Shamanistic reasons for the Tol celebration have been reduced. However, the event is still celebrated as a time of congratulations for the parents and family.

Evann wore the traditional Korean outfit ("han-bok" - literal translation is "Korean dress") and was so great for the entire day. It was a LONG day since we started off at church then to his party. He fell asleep on the way to the party which probably helped his mood.

Evann was placed at a table to perform the "tol-ja-bee" event. In this event, Evann picks up items that attract him and his future is predicted according to the what he grabs. The first and second items the child grabs are considered the most important. Evann's future is predicted according to the items: bundle of thread (long life); book or pencil (successful scholar); $100 or money (rich); scissors (talented with his hands); and paint brush (artist). Evann chose the book followed by paint brush. There's also knife (good cook), but I didn't want to risk an accident. No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't take the money. Looks like Freedom 55 is out for me.

Of course, we had lots of food and as usual, Evann was showered with wonderful gifts from our incredibly generous friends and family. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kindness. I feel that Evann (as well as Mommy L and I) are truly blessed to have such an incredible support network.

Peace and blessings to all of you!

Almost One Year

What's transpired in the past couple of months seems improbable. So much has happened (developmentally for Evann and events for Mommy L and I).

As far as Evann goes, he started walking at 10 1/2 months. Very slowly and awkwardly at first and now he's faster than his feet (which means he gains a lot of momentum and then falls down). Mommy L. purchased some sandals and runners for him which he's getting used to...much more bulky and awkward than his baby slippers.

Evann is starting to babble a lot more and interact. He's signs regularly (okay, he mainly signs for "milk"), but he does it several times a day. Even that one sign makes it easier for us to understand his needs. He's onto solid foods and whole milk which should keep formula costs down. He seems to be a good eater (obvious by his size), but he also gets pretty bored with food quickly.

I can't believe that he'll be one year old soon. This year has been the quickest slowest year ever. What I mean is that the year has passed by so quickly, but on an average of 4-6 hours of sleep per night seems like it's been going on forever. As far as Mommy L. and I are concerned, it's been a good year, but it's time for Mommy L. to go back to work. I've recently accepted a management position which will be a new challenge for me, but should allow me to spend more time at home too.

We've sponsored a nanny from overseas and she'll be coming soon. We've been hectically preparing her quarters downstairs and I must say that things are looking pretty good (that is, if you like the Ikea showroom). We're so excited to have some help and I pray that everything works out.

Next weekend we'll be having Evann's first birthday party at my sister's house again. It should be another small, intimate family-type gathering of a few hundred people. Hopefully, it'll go off without a hitch. I'll keep you in the loop!

March Madness!!!

There were a few really exciting events this past month (the Easter bunny was just one of the events). Evann's Easter Egg hung wasn't that exciting, just a single egg "hidden" in the middle of the room - he found it though!

The first one involved one of my closest friends, Sinclair. He was recently engaged and his fiance and her entire family came up for an engagement dinner/meet Sinclair's family. I was honoured to be invited to the festivities. We had a marvellous meal at Sequoia Grill (formerly known as the Teahouse Restaurant at Stanley Park). It was the first time I had driven through Stanley Park since the wind storms and I was surprised and shocked by the devastation. I had no idea that the destruction was so widespread. I digress...Christine (Sinclair's fiance) is an incredibly wonderful woman and her family is equally charming. We had a wonderful time with them and finished the night with a group Wii outing back at our place.

Another exciting event was that Evann was baptized. He is now considered a Christian though we will be bringing him up with knowledge of other religions (which is okay by the United Church of Canada). Of course, the baptism wasn't smooth sailing, in fact, I actually missed the event. Let me expand...Evann was in good spirits and was dressed so nicely as was Mommy L. and I. The youth minister's son (Peace) was also being baptized and they were having fun playing with one another. Just before the baptism, Evann starts coughing and looks uneasy. Before I know it, I'm COVERED in warm milk...from Evann's belly. Mommy L. looked at me with shock and horror before bursting out laughing. To review the situation, we're in the chapel and in service and I'm covered in baby vomitted milk. I hand Evann to his mom and take off for the bathroom. Upon returning, the baptism was finished and I managed to click a couple of photos. It made for a memorable event anyhow.

The last exciting event was going down to San Francisco with my buddies to watch some March Madness (US College Basketball Tournament). Brad came from Toronto, Bryan and I from Vancouver and Sinclair hosted us. It was a quick trip, but a lot of fun. The basketball was good, but the atmosphere and culture of US colligiate sports is like nothing explainable. It's a totally different world. Pictures are currently being screened for appropriateness.

Evann-zilla!!!

Wow...I can't believe it. Once again, people told me, but I didn't believe them. Time DOES pass quickly. As you can see from the frequent blog entries to the "once in a blue moon" entries now and the 200 pictures a day to a few a month, things have changed. Not bad, but changed.

Evann is growing at a pace which I cannot comprehend. If he continues at this rate he may become more than I can handle (see picture). Of course, even if he starts destroying buildings and eating Japanese people, he'll still be my little baby.

Since my last entry, life has become a crazy whirlwind. We decided to buy a house, sell our home, was filmed for a television show (HGTV's "Buy Me") and then the deal for the house we wanted fell through (bad inspection). We decided to still sell and find another house closer to my parents, but we couldn't find one. In the end, we're staying put and are quite happy to do so since we love our house.

As mentioned earlier, physically Evann is changing by leaps and bounds. He has 7 teeth and bites me regularly. Not those cute "gummy" bites of old, but full on "I want to bite a chunk off of you dad" type bites. The worst are the night bites while I'm sleeping and he decides to bite my shirt and gets a piece of me too. It is my motivation to work out and give him less flab to chomp on.

Here's a little clip of Evann around Christmas time. Our good friend posted it (thank Kat!). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkvSim0ZTss

He's now 9 1/2 months and started crawling about a month ago. He started first with just looking like he was crawling, a lot of hand motions with no real movement...and then, bam...the next week, he whips around like a water bug. He so darn fast and keeps us on our feets. Baby proofing the house is high on our list, right now, it looks like a scene from "Les Miserable" when the barricades are being put up. Also, around the time he started crawling, Evann started standing and chatting too. It's so amazing to watch him grow and develop.

One of Evann's favorite things is definitely his nightly bath time. One of my favorite things to do is to undress him in his room and then run to the bath tub then watch him come crawling out of his room at lightning speed. He's like a little crawling streaker and has a big smile on his face in anticipation of his bath. It's too cute.

Evann with his best bud, Kaizen! Mommy decided to dress them up with little pony tails (though I think they look like little baby samurais). As you can see, they're none too impressed. You may remember Kaizen as the baby lobster from the Halloween entry. He is adorable and they play really well with one another...okay, they play well independently, but geographically close.

I apologize for my lack of keeping on top of this blog and I do appreciate everyone who's written to me. I will add some pictures soon...once I find where the cables are to transfer pictures have been hidden from Evann's curious hands. Peace and blessings!

Grampa's (Hal-ah-bo-gee's) Birthday!

Happy Birthday Dad! It's my dad's first birthday as Evann's Grandfather (Hal-ah-bo-gee in Korean). I haven't had a "first" in a long time. Although his birthday wasn't actually today, we had the party tonight.

We had the party at our house and got this delicious fresh fruit cake. Since my dad was born in the year of the boar (and 2007 is the year of the boar) we decided to get a boar on the cake. And no, this is not a picture of me on the cake...that jokes been made...move on.

We had some fabulous appetizers (courtesy of our house) and my sisters made the main course, rack of lamb with whipped potatoes, carrots and green beans. It was an incredible meal (compliments to the chefs)!

Too bad sister #2 wasn't able to make it over! I've included some pictures of the night so you don't feel like you've missed anything! Can't wait to see you Kaymi and Kaysun - all your cousins (and aunts and uncles) miss you! Here's a picture of you two flying from bed to bed in my hotel room!

Hal-ah-bo-gee with some of his other grandchildren (Hanum, Qwisun, Kihan and of course, Evann up top) helping him blow out the candles.

Yay! All are blown out!

Here's a picture of Evann and his Hal-ah-bo-gee and one of him with my Aunt (Como) and Uncle (Como-boo) who were visiting from Korea!