My Brown-Eyed Strawberry Girl

"You are my strawberry girl... Do you remember when we used to sing?" 

Time Lapsed - Some Old Photos

Mom had ideas for James (a bath, a nap...) -- so while we waited, Jackie and I flipped through some family photos.  Mom's albums were rarely labelled and weren't in any particular order -- neither the albums nor the photos were standard sized, so she stuck photos where ever there was space*. 

*I should take some pictures next time to illustrate that...

This is what we found:

Photos from Angela and Patrick's wedding (that would be 1978?).

Right: The tea ceremony at my parents'

Below: At the reception - Nancy, Gary, Theresa, Angela, Patrick, Donald, Tim, and Kathy

























Dad's early backyard gardening attempts (Jackie: "You were pretty handsome back then."  Tim: "I'm always handsome.")  

A studio photo from China, rare because it was one of the few we found of Linda (Linda, someone, someone else, someone else-else, and my grandfather 爺爺 - Linda and Dad's dad). 












Photos at Linda and Gary's house (based on the fact I wasn't there: 1976-1977?):

Left: Theresa, York, Tim, and Angela

Right: York, Tim, Theresa, and Angela

Below left: Donald, Gary, and Theresa

Below right: Ernie and Gary




















I know Jackie was really interested in the photos of China, but I was interested in the people I knew and, of course, me!  And so we have it:


Below left: Despite being 2 weeks early (and only 5 lbs 6 oz) I quickly "caught up" and became this chubby baby.  NB: They still have those couch cushions! 

Below right: Mom and me (at around 3 months-old, based on the X-mas tree). 






I'm looking forward now to my next visit to my parents'.  Goal: Photograph and label more of those photos!  (And ideally, find some evidence of me being a cute baby.)

Cat Toys for Babies?

Hm... what will keep James engaged?  The toys we have don't seem that interesting to him.  But random dangling bits and bobs... yes those make him laugh. 

But, I guess even those can get boring. 

Oops, I wore him out. 

(Right: My boys in red and white stripes!)

Fierce!

When I look at this selfie, I think we are a "ban yun" (餅印 cookie mould/stamp) -- how could anyone say he doesn't look like me?  

But then, I take another look and snap away: he is a way better model than me.  Who can pose like that?  Yep, that's Paul. 

Rawr!

Oh, wait, that does look tasty. 

What?

 Nom.

Bouncing & Baby Boys: Visiting Evan and Natasha

We're all awake! (Sort of.)  Natasha is still managing the days somehow without napping.  And Evan is happy when bounced on that big yoga ball. 

James (and I), is (are) happy to be out of the house to see friends -- but kind of dulled by being sleepy (am I projecting?). 

That's "Muppets Most Wanted" on the t.v. We weren't there to watch, but I was sure tempted (love the Muppets so much!). I guess that's something I can look forward to: I'll soon have someone to watch my silly "children" programs with. Oh, but yes -- too much screen time isn't good for James or me.  

James and (Someone Elses') Garden

He slept and we played inside.

Outside it was overcast, but it's full-on summer.

Was so glad to get outside to look at flowers and such (even if they're mostly not mine).

 Right: No clue what this is, but it does have some interesting pale blue berries.

 Left and Below: Bees!

 Above and Below: Those onions (how many years ago?) have come back and bloomed!

 Left and Below: Caught-in-between expressions

TT makes me Stronger

Hey!  Look at me!  I'm doin' it! 

 This is working.  This is pretty good. 

 Uh...

And then time for a nap.