PandaSpace

What Happened?

Many kind inquiries have come through PandaMail and PandaCommunications, all of them different variations of "are you blogging anymore?" and "where are you?!?"

Mea culpa.  Yes, there are plenty of, ahem, excuses:  a suddenly crazy work schedule that includes travel, a bit of writer's block, two apartment moves, assorted renovations, a broken camera, random health issues of friends and family, and the quest to fit in nuclear family time.  All these add up to almost no time to blog.

But enough of excuses.  Work is semi-slow for now, spring is here, and my parents are coming soon (again)!  We will crack our knuckles, and start typing away soon enough.

Just so you know, here is a list of entries I was composing before the blogging stoppage:

• my favorite crossword puzzle EVAR
• diminutive Filipino action stars
• eating out in our neighborhood
   
• our newfound home appliances
• biking the Manhattan Bridge
   
• and, of course, plenty of fatherhood updates

In the meantime, I will start composing a more detailed entry to fill y'all into what's been happening in our small corner of the world.  Soon.  I promise.

14 Months Old!

He runs, smiles, does raspberries, and is on the verge of talking.  Cautious in a new situation, but quickly warming up whenever there are people.  He runs to hug everyone on site.  "Baeeeyyyyyyyyy" is his latest favorite word.

It's hard to keep this bundle of energy to sit still, but somehow, we got him to pause enough to get his Chinese New Year's haircut.

Happy lives are boring.  There is no drama to recount, no interesting battles to analyze.  We are the most boring of people, a little family quietly cocooning.  Our entire universe revolves around this little sun.

What these pictures don't tell:  he is not showing his 8-toothed smile, as he still has raisins in his mouth.  These have been in his mouth for the last 2 hours.  He, refusing to swallow or spit out.  They, refusing to dissolve like the Cheerios and Goldfish crackers he loves so much.

Cream-filled Colon Sections?

I had been searching for an appropriate metaphor to describe my past week.

Our family is finally pulling out of its bout against misery, thanks to a very unwelcome visitor this past week.  The boy has been pretty nonchalant about it, considering the amount of vomit that has surfaced via his nostril lately.  J. and I have been making full use of the two bathrooms we have at our disposal.

Well, life is back to normal, and I am back to ingesting strange Japanese snacks, hopefully named after a small Irish village, and not a body part.

PandaSpace On Holiday

Hope everyone is having a great end of 2007. 

Lots of love to all our friends and family (and the occasional stranger that stumbles by).  See you online next year!

Call and Go

The boy is currently in the "mimic" stage of his life - quietly observing adults, and being pretty good at copying them.  Obviously, J. and I answer the phone all the time, and now, when the phone rings, he sometimes picks it up and tries to answer it.

Of course, he often misses his ears entirely, or holds the phone the wrong way...but those are pesky details reserved for adults.

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The boy also has a newfound love:  running (albeit in a Frankenstein-like gait, arms outstretched).

Aaaaaand...he's one.

It was a quiet family celebration.  After all, a child's first birthday party is more for the parents than the actual child.  We wanted something small and intimate, and it was so, with just his parents and maternal grandparents.

Not settling for the usual cupcake, and excited to indoctrinate the latest francophile into the family, we made crepes for dinner and dessert.  His candle was put atop a crepe with banana and Nutella, which he loved. 

The celebratory hat, however, would not stay on.

Blogger Guilt - a Confession

Yes, I totally feel guilty about neglecting this blog.  And my Flickr photo account.  I have been...cheating of sorts.  With Facebook.  Yes, it's totally dumb!  The tiny portion of my day that is devoted to leisure internet time has been consumed with reconnecting with friends and...playing online Scrabble.  But, I have to admit, it's totally...enjoyable.

Outside of busy busy work, my life has been pretty low-key.  Our apartment is slowly taking shape, and I have just been fascinated, hours on end, watching my little boy grow up.  Boo, flimsy excuses, I know.

I am making no promises about posting more often, as the crazy month of December is upon us.   But I will try my best to do mini-updates.  Like, how the little one is walking running now.  And how he knows what "kick" means to a ball, and that I have been having an amazing time, every night, teaching him mad dribbling skillz that will someday make him as amazing as Lionel Messi.

For now, I will leave you with this photo, taken this morning right before leaving for work:

(Sorry, dear J. for posting this.  Couldn't resist!)