Family Portraits

I’ve never been one for being in photos. The camera is not kind to me. Point one at me and I’m likely to rush at you with an outstretched palm blocking my face. No, I don’t like having pictures taken of me. I’d rather make strange or silly faces instead of actually trying to look proper. This way, if the pictures don’t come out right, I can attribute it to the fact that I was doing it on purpose. Nothing more embarrassing than trying to look all suave for the camera and then finding out that you’re not the GQ model you thought you were.

Until recently, I’ve never taken a family portrait before. I’m not talking about a casual family picture taken while on vacation, I mean a professional portrait done at a photo studio. I remember going to friends’ houses, seeing their family portraits and laughing at them, thinking how silly they looked. But at the same time, there was part of me that wanted to also have a nice picture of all of us together. Those feelings were quickly brushed off, however, when I’d remind myself that I don’t do photos. Thankfully, my parents never brought up the idea either.

Even after Caitlyn was born, I would still have this attitude of not wanting to be in photos, but I’m getting better. Most of the time, it’s out of reluctance and knowing that I should be in at least a handful of photos so our child would know what her daddy looked like. It was also after Caitlyn was born that I decided we should get some proper family photos of us together.

Our photo package was bought 2 ½ years ago. We didn’t get into the studio until this past summer. During that span of time, we received countless number of calls reminding us that we still hadn't taken our photos yet, and in reciprocation, we cancelled photo sessions countless number of times for no real reason other than we were too lazy to go in that day. And then another five months passed before we decided to go back to the photos studio to look at and choose the photos we wanted. If it wasn’t apparent to you before, it should be crystal clear to you now that we are no slouches when it comes to procrastinating.

Out of 300 plus photos that were taken, I deemed only 10 truly acceptable. Bad photographer or too picky? Either way, it worked out because 10 was the number of pictures in our package. So, without further ado, Caitlyn's and our first family photo shoot!

Party like a rock star

This is Caitlyn speaking

 

Sunny-side up?

Why am I in a cupboard?

 

Knock knock

Baby Chun-li

 

Group hug

I'm the Queen B around here!

What are you pointing at?

Is it naptime yet?

Mission Accomplished

 
A miracle is described as an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause. While ‘miracle’ might be too strong of a word to describe what Caitlyn has accomplished, it’s not too far off the mark.

I’m of course talking about Caitlyn being potty trained. We actually stopped putting in any effort and instead, opted for a laissez faire type approach. I put faith in what I've read online about children learning whenever they're good and ready. No point in rushing when one's not ready, right? I was thinking it would be at least another year before she figured things out herself.

And then the unthinkable happened last week. Caitlyn wanted to pee so the wife took her to the toilet to sit. Usually what happens is she’ll sit there for a few seconds and then ask to have a diaper put on her. So imagine our surprise when she actually peed in the toilet.

Of course, I thought this was an anomaly, a one-time event, but ever since that day, Caitlyn has consistently been going to pee and poo in the toilet. Each time is just as exciting as the first for me. Every time I hear the tinkle of pee, the biggest smile just spreads across my face and I clap my hands in excitement and wonderment. Truly this is a miracle in its own right. Our little girl has finally grown up.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I was feeling compelled to tell another one of my pee stories, but after some thought, I think I'll let Caitlyn have the spotlight to herself for the time being. She deserves it. My time to shine can come later.

Halloween Fell on a Saturday this Year

Trick or treating is something just about every kid in America experiences. In Taiwan, it’s a little different. While Halloween is something most people know about and elementary schools let students dress up, going door to door trick or treating is something that doesn’t really happen. And that’s a real shame, because I think it’s something just as important as dressing up.

That’s why, when the wife’s niece brought up the idea of organizing a trick or treating event for this past Saturday, I jumped at the idea. My wife’s parents, her two older sisters, younger brother, cousins, and us all live within a 2 minute walking radius of each other. The idea was to have the kids go from home to home collecting treats, with a total of 6 stops.

We got a pumpkin outfit for Caitlyn and while it wasn’t mandated that adults dress up, it was encouraged. I’m not really one for elaborate costumes; in fact, my shining moment probably came in preschool when my mom made me a Batman costume. It was from one of those template patterns you can buy at a fabric store and then cut and sew yourself. It looked nothing like the costume Batman wore, but thankfully, my five-year-old self wasn’t really self-conscious yet, and I thought it pretty cool.

Not wanting to be a party pooper, I convinced the wife to wear a skeleton shirt we both had. Never mind that it was actually a shirt promoting Kimlan soy sauce, the point was that it had bones on it and bones are Halloweeny. More importantly, we wouldn't have to go out now and look for costumes. Extremely enticing for lazy people like us.

While our trick or treating event might not have been exactly how we'd do it in America, it was pretty close. More importantly, the kids all had a blast, and we had a nice dinner party afterwards with lots of catered bbq. Maybe next year, if we do this again, I’ll actually put some effort into putting together a costume. At least I decorated the house. That counts for something, right? 

Grandma and her brood

Treats in a box

 

A princess & her minions

Pharaoh Kimi

 

2nd stop of the night

Don't be scared. I'm a friendly witch.

 

Help! The Pharaoh's got me!

5th stop of the night

 

Let the party begin!

Strike a pose

 

Twin skeletons and a pumpkin

Mind if I hitch a ride?

 

Snow White and her pumpkin

Time for grub