So this last little while has been a big time of change. We finally moved into our house, after months of painful renovations! My sister Laura, brother-in-law Charles, and niece Eva have moved to Ghana, Africa! And overall, it just feels like a time of changes (just in time for the upcoming new year!!)
The weather has been great lately, and by great I mean it sucks! Rain, rain, rain, and oh ya, did I mention more rain!!! Well, it beats having snow and -20 degrees-C (but not by much!) The house is great and we’re still just getting settled in. Hadrian seems to like it! He had a bit of trouble adjusting initially (especially his sleeping), but he’s been doing better as of late. It’s a big adjustment for him (and us); we went from our happy condo, Hadrian’s first home, to Debby’s parents’ house, where we stayed for over 5 months, to this new home. So naturally he got a bit confused as to which one is his true home! But all is well now.
So I finally got my H1N1 vaccine and both Debby and Hadrian have had theirs too. Everybody’s been so paranoid about this so I figured I might as well get it and at least hope that it protects us a little! Hadrian has caught a bit of cold recently (no flu-like symptoms though) and it quickly spread to Debby. I’m still holding out… so far!
Aside from that, Hadrian’s doing very well. He’s starting to say quite a few different words now (both in English and Cantonese) and he is understanding a lot now too. I can tell to go get something, or to put something down, or to come to me, or it’s time to eat, etc. It’s amazing how much his personality has developed! He’s very loving and affectionate but also very mischievous at times. One of his favorite things to do is when he’s eating something he really enjoys he’ll pretend to give you a bit and then pull it away and shake his head “no”!! He also started saying “no”. It’s kind of cute, but also annoying at times too!
He loves to copy us now, so in the mornings when we brush our teeth we give him his little tooth brush and he tries to brush his (but mostly just ends up chewing on it!) He also really enjoys reading books together at night time before going to bed. He’ll go and grab one of his little books and bring it to me saying “book, book” and then he sits with me and reads (well I read and he repeats some of the words!) He’s gotten really good at identifying some of the images now. He knows: bird, duck, bea-bea (bear), wo-wo (dog in Cantonese), mao-mao (cat in Cantonese), fa (flower in Cantonese), bug, fish, shoes, baby, boh-boh (ball), etc… And he can identify us in photos too: mama, dada, popo (grandma To), gong gong (grandma To). So it’s lots of fun, everyday he’s learning something new!
Well, there you have it! Included for your viewing enjoyment are some recent photos. I’ll try to send out another update around Christmas/New Year’s time, but if I’m late I’ll wish everyone a Merry Christmas in advance! May we all eat, drink and be merry! And in the infamous words of Clark W. Griswold Jr., “it’s good, it’s good!” (inside family joke, see National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!!!)
Danny, Debby and Hadrian.
