Merry (First) Christmas!

There...I said it and I'll say it again. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! It seems strange that a saying that I've known all my life and which truly symbolizes this particular holiday season is so rarely heard and has become a politically incorrect phrase. "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" has replaced "Merry Christmas" as the politically correct terms. It seems a bit silly. It doesn't really bother me, but something that's been on my mind especially when I'm writing an email and have to put the polically correct phrase instead of "Have a Merry Christmas". Next thing will be "have a pleasant evening spending the start of another roman calendar year" so we don't offend those who celebrate the lunar new year. Jeesh.

As you can see. We've dressed up dear Evann in the Santa parapanalia and are happy to do it! He truly is a Santa Baby! It goes without saying that this Christmas has been all about Evann. We've always been a family who embraces the Christmas spirit, but this year he's really shown me the happiness Christmas brings to all. Sure that seems a little syrupy and simplified, but I'm telling you, he really spreads Christmas joy! I can't tell you how many people would smile or even stop and talk to us while at the mall with Evann dressed up in his Santa outfit. People were constantly saying things like, "Hi Baby Santa!" or "Can I sit on Santa's lap?" followed by laughter. Despite its repetativeness, I was happy to see a smile on even the grumpiest Grinch.

Although he can't quite walk (or even crawl), you'll be amazed to see Evann do his Christmas dance (almost guaranteed to bring a smile).

To further my point that Christmas is about kids, you only have to look at our Christmas tree to see what/who Christmas is all about. Present upon present are stacked under the tree this year. You'd be surprised how many people have come by with present in hand with the same phrase, "Sorry...only presents for Evann this year." Now, I lost the concept of Christmas being about me over 12 years ago when my first nephew and 2 nieces were born, but I feel for my dear wife who's going through it for the first time (having said that, she's handling it way better than I did). ;)

Despite Evann not really knowing what was going on, he was so well behaved and really enjoyed playing with all the wrapping paper. As you can see, he was literally surrounded by gifts. He's such a lucky little guy to have such wonderful people supporting and loving him (though we don't need gifts to prove that).

I am touched and so grateful for the incredible generousity of my friends and family. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season! I certainly know that Evann had a great first one and I had the most memorable one thus far. Peace and blessings!

Oh yeah...one last thing (or first thing)...Evann has had his first tooth erupt! It's his 3-1 in dental lingo...bottom lower tooth. He's chewing/drooling like there's no tomorrow. We are just seeing it (and hearing it at night when it seems to really bother him). As usual, he's a real trooper and seems to be dealing with everything surprisingly well.

Sleeping on his own...

The pictures say it all.

This is the face which I was so lucky to capture. It's Evann's "poo" face or the face he makes when he's making poo. It's hilarious and always cracks me up (though that happiness is shortlived, once I start to change him). This face is also a nice summary of how it's going with getting him to sleep on his own. The other picture is what I wake up to every morning. With that happy smile, I makes me forget how he slaps me in the face several times a night...almost.

Yes, despite a good college try, he's back in our bed. He slept on his own for a few nights, but after long bouts of crying. Desperate wails of loneliness and abandonment. Mommy L and I simply couldn't take it any longer. We've decided that we'd rather have him sleep with us until his early teens than go through listening to him cry all night. This child is DEFINITELY like his mother and father in that he is stubborn and persistent. It's not so bad, but we're now considering getting a larger bed.

Things in old Vancouver have taken a strange turn. We've turned into Toronto. Weatherwise anyhow. This picture was taken earlier this morning and doesn't quite give justice to the conditions here. We've since had another day of snowfall. It's strange since Vancouver has so many micro-climates the amount of snow varies greatly. It was fun to play with the neighbours' kids while shovelling the sidewalk. They'd lightly throw weakly made snowballs which I'd dodge easily and I'd throw a shovel full of snow at them almost knocking them down. Don't worry, no children were hurt or mistreated during the production of this blog.

Also, for over a week, we've had heavy rainfall and had a water boil advisory. Normally, this would not bother me at all, but with a baby, it sure does make for a lot more hassle. Mommy L has done a great job in dealing with things though.

I love these pictures. We went to our friends' place and took some pictures while Evann was playing with a beach ball. He really loved it. I love the look of anticipation before it bonks him on the head. Don't worry, no babies were hurt or mistreated during the production of this blog.

As far as Evann goes though, he continues to grow and change all the time. He's eating more and more solids (although it's funny we call them solids since it's pureed into a semi-liquid). He's so good except when it comes to bed time. Having said all that, we love him dearly and Mommy L and I both agree that having sleep issues as the worse thing to deal with is not too bad.

Well, Christmas (dare I say "First Christmas") is just around the corner. Our tree went up today. Though not yet decorated, it brings back fond memories of Christmases past. It'll really be a special Christmas this year. I can't wait.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more adventures of East Van Evann!

Happy (1st) Halloween!

It was a cool, crisp night. It was a night where princesses, grim reapers and monkeys & lobsters lurked. It was a night which I've missed "actively" participating for 25 years. It was Halloween.

I was so excited to dress Evann up for Halloween, that I purchased his Halloween costume in early September while visiting my 2nd sister on Vancouver Island. I was over on the Island for a day business trip, but due to flight cancellations, I wasn't able to make it back home so I went with my niece and went shopping for some clothes to wear the following day. While at Old Navy, we noticed that the Halloween costumes were being freshly displayed. Upon seeing the monkey suit, I knew what Evann would be going as this Halloween.

Some may say that Evann is too young to go trick or treating, which is why I recruited my friends S & V to bring their little one (2 days older than Evann) as well. He's the lobster in the picture above. We joked around about how we were exploiting the infants, but really our intentions were strictly altruistic as we wanted to share our kids' cuteness with the world (or at least the neighbourhood).

We did both sides of the street for two blocks and by the end the little ones were quite tired. In fact, by the last few houses, Evann was asleep as I knocked on the doors and yelled out "Trick or Treat!" Holding out my...I mean, Evann's Halloween bag while I held him passed out is when I realized that this was truly exploiting of my child.

Returning back to my sister's home, I once again fell into the frenzy of Halloween. By that I'm referring to the systematic organizing and sorting of the candy by category, name and "deliciousity"...folled by the best part of Halloween...the trading. My nephew had a few friends and my two nieces went together too so there were many with whom to trade. I finally realized what it was like to be on the trading floor when surrounded by 6 kids under the age of 11 looking to score an Aero bar. Even better was the fact that I had two separate trading partners; one with the 11-year old boys upstairs and another with the girls downstairs. Long story short, I got rid of all unwanted candies and left home with just the prime candies. For those of you who are shaking your heads disapprovingly, you'll be happy to know that the kids received volume for quality.

I had to include these pictures of Evann. This was his alternate costume, but we couldn't find any good baby "bling" for him. Actually, this is a wonderful hip-hop outfit which a close friend of ours gave him. It's so cute and really makes him look like a cool dude.

Evann's new vice is his stand-alone jumper. We borrowed it from a friend after Evann tried it out. He fell in love with it and anything which distracts him from us holding him is a blessing. Evann is reaching 20 lbs. after only 5 months (5 of those pounds must be in his large cranium).

He is as dear as ever to Mommy L and I. Every week reveals new discoveries and advancements, it's such a special time for us. This week we're going to attempt to have him sleep on his own! Come back to see how it goes.

Five months...Already?!?

Wow, I can't believe it. I send a public apology to all those parents out there whom I privately shrugged of when they said it would pass by quickly. Okay, he's not quite 5 months, close enough, but it's been a wonderfully fast ride, thus far. Here's what I've learned about the boy in the past 5 months, he likes: jumping, baths, talking, eating, lights/shiny things (what guy doesn't), hockey (seriously, he actually watches me play and sits quietly) and being carried in the baby carrier. He dislikes: the car seat, having his nose wiped, being woken up, going to sleep, and wet/poopy diapers (I too dislike these for a totally different reason).



We're seeing advancements and "firsts" all the time. Let me start with all the firsts: drooling, Thanksgiving dinner, eating rice cereal, roll-over, cold and sleep over at hal-mon-ee's house (grandmother in Korean). I'm sure there are many more firsts, but I don't want to bore you too much. Another upcoming first is Halloween, I'm going to score BIG on that day with Halloween loot! We've got the cutest little costume, stay tuned for more on this topic in a future entry (with pictures)! Oh by the way, the doggy towel is not Evann's Halloween costume, it's a doggie towel.



Little East Van Evann is so incredible. My work takes me away from home often and it's getting more and more difficult to leave my beautiful wife and adorable son. I sit in my hotel rooms and get misty eyed while I look at the video of him on my phone then I think about the undisturbed and uninterrupted sleep and I smile. Yet, Karma wields her head and keeps me from getting my slumbering prize. It's all worth it when I walk in the door to see the boy's full facial smile. What I mean is his WHOLE face lights up when he laughs, it's contagious and not even the worse day can keep me from smiling right back at him.

I know that I've been a little negligent in keeping my blog up-to-date, but there are reasons for this (some believeable, some not) so I'll just say it's due to lack of energy, not creativity. I think about the journaling the day's events and things I observe all the time, but suddenly it's 3 am and I'm changing Evann's diaper while half asleep. Babies are definely labours of love. I don't suspect that it will get easier as he gets older either (for those of you who are already there, don't tell me how it ends, I like finding out for myself). Stay in tune, you don't want to miss the Halloween entry, it'll be as good as a Simpsons Halloween episode.

100th Day Celebration

Last night we had Evann's 100th Day Celebration, mainly a family gathering to celebrated Evann's 100th day of life (as may be obvious by the title). Now, this may seem like another overly zealous "new parent" celebration, but in fact, it is actually a traditional Korean (and Chinese - though they usually celebrate 30 days) event.

So what is the meaning or importance of the 100th day celebration? Of course, I don’t really know, but made it up with partial truths (and thus partial lies) and have found the following information on the Internet:

Baek-il (100-day Celebration)
Similar to the Tol, the Baek-il event has 2 aspects. First, family members give thanks to Samsin (the three gods who take care of the baby's life while growing up). Second, they pray for jae-ak (wealth), longevity, and cho-bok (original luck). The food is different from the extensive table prepared for the Tol, mostly comprising 4 types of Korean foods: baekseogi (for longevity, representing cleanliness and freshness), susupo-ttteok (to prohibit bad things), injeolmi (for patience), and songpyeon (for thought). Admittedly, I'm not really too clear on what these foods are.

Bottom line, it’s a time to celebrate the first three months of Evann’s life. It's also a time to bring our extended family and some friends together and thank them for supporting us for the first 3 months.



My sister and brother-in-law were kind enough to offer their house to us and we had most of the food catered though my mother & father overextended themselves to ensure that there was enough food and their grandson's party was a success. It was a huge success though Mommy L and I were too busy preparing food, organizing people, BBQ'ing meat and being "Hosts Extraordinaire" to really enjoy ourselves. For us, if others enjoyed themselves and had fun then we were happy.

The weather cooperated brilliantly, it was another gorgeous day. Some friends/family arrived early to help us with preparing some dishes and some cleaning. How great is it having close friends who are family too? The value of having close friends/family is so important and we're so lucky to have such a wonderful (and huge) extended family. From my niece who is 9 to my 70-something aunt, everyone really helps out with dear little Evann.

Instead of hiring a clown (as I am scared of them), we hired a young friend from church to do some magic.

He did a great job, first doing some card tricks to keep the kids entertained (it was supposed to be for the kids though many adults enjoyed the tricks too). He had the entire "stage" when he did an amazing 30 minute show which had the audience amazed and wanting more (can't wait for Evann's future parties).

The party was suppose to wind up at 9 pm, but as it turns out, some close friends/family members stayed until midnight taking advantage of the few remaining warm summer evenings on the patio. It was only then that we (Mommy L and I as well as my sister) were really able to relax and truly enjoy first hand.

Once the party was over, we packed up the car with the loads of expected, but greatly appreciated presents. Wow, if there are any doubts whether Evann will be spoiled, those doubts have been answered with a resounding, "YES!" The generousity of our friends/family astounds me and I am truly grateful for their generousity. Evann loves all his presents.



One present, that really touched me and deserves special mention, is the pillow and quilt that my 12-year old niece sewed for Evann during "quilting camp" (no, I didn't realize that "quilting camp" existed either). It's so cute with a sports theme and dual sided. She is such a great kid, so talented and really loves Evann (and takes great care of him - as does all her family), but I can't imagine to be that considerate at that age. I still have problems sewing buttons on my shirts.

I truly feel blessed for my friends, family (both extended and now my new nuclear family), my beautiful wife who's a fantastic mother and my incredible son who is my gleam in my eye. My hope for those who read this is that you are also surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family...for those of you who know us, you know that you have that already in us. We are eternally grateful to all of you.


Now, I'd better get preparing for Evann's one year birthday because THAT'S the BIG one! Yikes!

First Road Trip!

Today, we had our first road trip! We've had some short excursion and overnight trips, but this was Evann's first time on a plane! We flew down to LA to celebrate my friend's (and distant relative) son's first birthday. Once again we were taught another of life's lessons and harsh realities regarding babies...when you travel with one, they come with many "accessories". Holy crap. My personal luggage has went from one carry-on piece of luggage to slightly less than a half of a carry-on piece of luggage. I'm sharing with my son...half of my clothes lost to diapers.

Thankfully, our friends in LA have a son who's turning one. It's good because we didn't have to take as much down with us since they have most of the baby accessories needed. We also wanted to test Evann with flying and a short trip to LA sounded just perfect!



I was anxious prior to the trip, I just wasn't sure how little Evann was going to be. I've travelled a lot and used to cringe with horror when a little baby was seated near me. I would silently chant, "Please don't cry, please don't cry..." only to have the little tyke, wail like it was going out of style.

Of course, dear Evann proved Dada wrong again. He was an ideal passenger and wonderful flyer (yes, I'm touching wood right now). He slept during both takeoff and landing, and for most of the flight. When he was awake, he was carted off by the flight crew and pampered like the prince that he is.



The Air Canada crew was awesome! I'll only fly Air Canada!



While in LA, we also decided to do another first. Give baby Evann his first haircut! We were convinced by my friend who had recently shaved the head of his one-year old son. Evann was great again. I held him while my friend shaved and he didn't make a peep. The end result, a cute little baldish baby.

It was a wonderful trip to LA. All that we did was eat and sleep. Literally. Everytime we were planning to do an outing, we'd go and eat first...and then get tired...and then decide to go back and sleep. It was great! It wasn't our first trip to LA so don't think that we totally wasted our time (though I didn't get to have In 'N Out). Having said that, next trip down, we'll be more productive and do more "touristy" things.

One trip down...a lifetime left! I hope Evann is always a good flyer like he was this trip. Next trip, we're going to go a little further, I'm not sure where yet, but stay posted!

Two Month Shots?!? OUCH!

Last week Evann turned two months old which is a nice accomplishment (okay, surviving another day after day isn't much of an accomplishment for us now, but it's big for babies). More importantly, two months is the start of many shots to come. This is a "tip of the hat" to those of you who don't have kids or are expecting kids. Prior to having Evann, I never knew how difficult it is to watch your kids in pain. For that reason, I tried to avoid being at this appointment, but Mommy L didn't want to go alone either so I sucked it up. Even seeing these pictures makes me a little misty (it must be the onions I'm cutting). Sniff.



It started off as another normal visit to the Dr.'s for poor, unexpecting Evann. He was happy as can be. Laughing and playing...for now.


But he knew something was up. He sensed a disturbance in the force.


Mommy L comforted him while the Dr. administered the first of four shots (I still don't really understand why there must be four shots instead of one BIG shot - I'm hoping it's for medical/scientific reasons and not for billing purposes). After the first shot, there was a look of confusion on little Evann's face. It was the look of "Hey. Wait a minute, something kind of pinched me. What was that?!?" He didn't cry...yet.


By the second shot, the waterworks were on. In fact the whole system was on. He may be little, but he was strong as Mommy L had to restrain him (I was cowering in the corner, rocking myself in fetal position). He cried so hard and with so much passion, it broke my heart not to be able to comfort him. But as quickly as it started it was over, the shots were expertly and promptly administered. Evann had little streaks of blood running down his legs as he was cleaned up and bandaged.



I swooped him up and picked him up. I was prepared for hours of crying and comforting, but the little Evann surprised me once again. He stopped crying once he was picked up. He was fine. He wasn't "Hey, let's do that again" fine, but he was calm and content.

I realized Evann is going to hurt himself and will survive. I can't protect him from everything and he's going to protect himself too. But I'm still not looking forward to the next round of shots. I also realized that once again, anticipation is way worse than reality...maybe I should go clean up the garage now. Maybe not. ;)