Pics

Pics with my two guys!!!



I was taking pics of the fish while Dylan was feeding them...weird effect!

Almost sunset at the lake up at Dong hai

Another Sunday night

Dylan has had a very good weekend, we went over to Ivo's house yesterday so Ciro could work on their pc and Ivo and Dylan played really well together. Dylan normally retaliates very quickly to the slightest touch or hug coming his way but yesterday he was very relaxed and enjoyed playing. He even tolerated ivo "washing" his hair for quiet a while. we have our suspicions that he -being the youngest- at the baby sitters has to fight off the bigger kids a lot and there is one really aggressive kid there that influences him, checking out some other options school wise for the summer time.
Three weeks today my mom arrives ..she has not flown long haul in 27 years so it is a big thing for her...excited and nervous for her.

Dylan checking out the black spiderman on Ivo's wall..."hmmm...i thought he was red"

The thinker!

Wedding pics

Sunday (before the Monday crisis )we went to Charlotte and Grant's wedding...pics from there.

What a week

Hectic week. Monday night when i came come for supper Dylan sounded a bit wheezy so Ciro took him to the doc while i went to class. 9pm Ciro pulled up at.. school we had to go to hospital. Doctor wanted Dylan x-rayed to check there was nothing lodged causing the wheezing...the alternative was an asthma attack. We were sent to the veterans hospital. The x-ray was an ordeal in itself...very distressing to Dylan..thankfully nothing was lodged but they wanted to keep him under observation and on a drip ...anyone who knows Dylan knows how well he took to this. They taped his hand to a little splint to stop him pulling it out...he tried to use the splint to pry open the window, lift the bed rail and do a handstand. Needless to say at about 1am the drip was not looking good..they removed it and the doc said another was not necessary, they would check and put another in at 4am if necessary. As soon as it was removed he was able to pass out. The three of us lying in this hospital bed trying to get some zzzz's was a sight i am sure. Unfortunately for me there was too much noise and light so i was not able to sleep....so at 4am I walking to the 7-11 for coffee and a newspaper. Ciro got a bit of sleep and then he went to work in the am. They discharged us before lunch with instructions to use a nebuliser at home. Spent the next two days at home trying to keep a toddler on steroids calm....needless to say not an easy task!He is fine now especially as the meds are finished. We reckon it came about as a result of an allergy to something. I am a little disorientated with my week...but very happy that it is Friday. Dylan slept till 10am this morning...so did I. Felt sooo good!

Dylan, Teletubbies and things

I have had a photography-challenged week this week, so not too many pictures. Had quiet a busy week of play with Dylan. We went to a playgroup organised at Sandy's house with three other kids and their moms. Dylan was not too happy about the influx of people in his space (Ivo's house is practically an extension of his house, he makes himself completely at home there.)
The landlord organised to close in the front balcony for us, which is sooo great!!! It is no longer a hazard (being 12 floors up) and we can get a little paddle pool out there now. Dylan is enjoying walking in and out freely too... He has also rediscovered the teletubbies this week!! He gets so excited when it is on, loves dancing with them and falls down , with them etc....
Friday at the gym was strange. Sandy and I exercised a bit and then checked in on the boys. To our shock, the room was filled with the smell of smoke...apparently there was some burning going on (maybe ghost money) and the ventilation system (going to the baby room) had picked it up...needless to say we made a hurried exit!! Off to Charlotte's wedding reception this afternoon will post some pics later.

"Cheese" and "Ohhhhhh"Pulling faces this morning..a 6am wake up!!!

A rare pic of the three of us. Thanks to the waitress at Friday's

We decided on the spur of the moment to head to Friday's yesterday afternoon...Dylan had not napped and it looked like he would keep going until bedtime..of course he fell asleep en-route. Got there and thought we would let him sleep and have a meal...he woke up of course and was a little grumpy so the manager came over to provide entertainment.

Cleaning up after an Oreo cookie ..one of the waitresses gave him...yes before his dinner!!!!:) sweet of her anyway.

Mother's day

Mother's day started off with a cup of coffee in bed and a toddler sleeping past 7am...yippee!! Ciro and Dylan got me a beautiful chinese bracelet and some great Burts bees lotion. We went off to Mitsukoshi because Dylan loves to eat there but we were on the wrong floor at first and dreading him seeing the Macdonalds sign (unfortunately the marketing ploy works well on him) but instead it was Starbucks that we had to go to...Dylan has had the Starbucks lollipops with Ivo a few times and once or twice i have got him one so now we cannot walk past Starbucks without stopping in!!! He just LOVES them!! After nap we went for a walk and the ground was covered with cotton looking stuff...exploded from pods up in the trees (i have no idea the names)

Throwing stones into the lake at Dong hai

Sunday in Donghai

Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon after nap we head to the abandoned road at the back for a run and if we are feeling energetic head further into Dong hai university grounds. Dylan loves running there and on this particular Sunday he picked some purple flowers en route and clung to them the whole way. On Sundays we can't go in to see the cows (their day off) but there is a pond with lots of fish etc. it is really peaceful up there. It is great to have that practically in our back yard especially greenery is such a rarity here. Apparently a horse riding place is opening there too so we will ba able to visit the horses too hopefully. It has been a busy week at school with reports and stuff due. Ciro and I have also started going to the gym more regularly..so feeling good about that.

Dylan the explorer


Sunday is always a good ice cream day.

The purple flower picker.

No that is not an apple...Dylan grabbed a red pepper as we left the house. He likes to chew on red pepper...strange ...i know.

Snail and sunset from the walk.

Sometimes when people hand down clothes that are too big i put them away (and to be honest nearly forget about them) I was tidying up and discovered these spiderman pyjamas which are still too big but thought he looked so cute...did the pyjamas come with amazing foot power? No that just comes naturally , he does things with his feet all the time.

Dylan is two and two

It has been a pretty busy week compounded with a visit to the doc. Last week Dylan pulled a door onto his toe and it was getting infected so he has been on antibiotics. Giving him medicine gives mommy and daddy a workout. He hates the stuff! Anyhow the toe is looking better although the nail is going to come off.
We were at the gym this morning and he passed out in the car on the way home(hence i have time to blog). The little guy rises with the sun these days so not surprising. We are really holding thumbs etc that his granny (my mom) will come to visit next month during her school vacation. It will be great for all of us and especially nice for Dylan to spend some time with his Granny.

The NT$10 rides outside the doctors and in the store (on the way to the parked car) hmmm...the doctors ends up costing a small fortune in NT$10's


Photos from the other night, he loves playing guitar with Ciro .I will try to put some video up sometime, when i work out how to do it!!

A rare pic of me and Ciro...Dylan has to learn to use the camera!!!

Early mornings.

Another week has flown by. Pretty uneventful apart from being busy at school. Dylan has had a good week. We are seeing more and more progress with his speech, still slowly but we are getting there and he is communicating more verbally and non verbally. The best is that he has become so affectionate...all he wants are hugs and kisses. We went out to dinner on Friday and he was in his element. He loves being out. I have not been getting to the gym lately, so today Ciro and i made a "comeback" . Dylan also had a great time in the play area, they seem to have improved some things and there are loads of toys for the kids to play with. Sandy, Ivo and Burl came to play there too and the boys were pleased to see each other. Dylan i napping at the moment, not surprising since he was up at 5am the last two mornings!!!!it is weekend!!! I should probably have grabbed the chance and napped too!

Dylan and Ivo at Ivo's house last week.

Playing with Daddy at Friday's on Friday.

There is a supermarket war going on in our neighbourhood. A huge superstore just opened down the road and this has sent the local Geant (supermarket) on a heavy advertising buzz. I just missed photographing a bevy of motorcycles and vans leaving in convoy flying flags and banners advertising specials and this is a pic of the corner outside Geant.

Finally time!!

Two weeks have flown by and I have not posted anything. Time ran away from me.I took Dylan to the doctor to have his ears checked and physically all fine, the hearing test involved sedation so we decided against it for now. Since then though he is talking a lot more ..some recognisable words..."no, go, stop, shoes off " and repeating the names of some pictures (when he wants to)also some new word/sounds that we can't quiet understand yet. This past week he has had a cold, he had a fever on and off from Wednesday to Friday.Better now. Yesterday he was a bit better, we were planning to go out of town but instead went to movies to see "Meet the Robinsons" we have not been to movies for ages and were not sure how successful it would be. Dylan loved it he sat on his own chair the whole time, giggling and pointing at times.Yay!! He is also really looking forward to Shrek 3 coming out. The other day at the doctor's the preview was on and he was very excited and then yesterday we saw the preview again and spent about 30 minutes standing at the big billboard cutout. Needless to say he is a fan of the friendly ogre.

Last weekend we took a drive to Puli. We were thinking of going to Ching ching farm but didn't get that far because the guy was coming to pick up the van at 3 still we found a little herb farm on the way. We decided to take the mountainous route home and came across this temple(pics follow)There was a lady outside selling loquats, she gave us some to try on the way in and although very nice the box was huge so we never contemplated buying one. When we came out though she came running up to us to give us a box.."Please take this, i want to give it to you for free" so generous and sweet!

At a park we have been meaning to check out for ages. He loves the slide.


Dylan is eating so nicely when we go out. he like the "big boy" chair and feeding himself with his own two-handed style.


The bath plug needs replacing so Dylan has been taking a shower with Daddy. He loves it!! We may never be able to get him into the tub again!!