Picture Round-up

Here are some pictures from the last 2 months:

Anting has found a new hobby that she really loves--soap making. This particular soap is made
through a marbling process. Every bar has a different and surprising pattern.

This toy is the first thing that ever scared Ryan, and boy did it ever scare him. He was calmly having a nice bath when it was introduced to him. He screamed, had such a scared look on his face, and nearly jumped right out of the tub. It might have been the noise it made after pulling the string. He continued to hate it for several weeks, but now has gotten used to it.

May 10, 2005

In May Ryan was able to start sucking his toes. He even likes his toes better than his thumb.

Mother's Day - May 12, 2007

May 19, 2007

May 21, 2007
Ryan rolls around a lot in his sleep now and can wind up in some interesting positions.

May 23, 2007
He likes to take pictures of himself now.

June 7, 2007
Ryan is able to now sit up unassisted

June 9, 2007

June 9, 2007
Jeff and Jean's Ivan. Three baldies (1 shaved)

June 10, 2007
Ryan's Auntie had some fun with stickers

June 10, 2007

Here's some genetic modificaion for you. 2 for one Bananas.

June 14, 2007

June 14, 2007

June 18, 2007
While Ryan can sit up, he does fall down sometimes so Anting made a towel helmet for him.

June 18, 2007
Ryan really loves his "a-ma"

June 18, 2007

June 27, 2007

The Podcast - Episode 10 - Taiwan Wedding

The Podcast is now in High Definition and widescreen!

In this episode we attend a Traditional Hakka style wedding.

For the best quality, you should download Quicktime (if you do not already have it). If you are having difficulties watching or downloading, please click on the link under "Podcast Episodes" on the right or write a comment.

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For a smaller file, faster download, and worse quality use this player:

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Mother's Day Adventures

The Day before Mother's day everything was set. We had a nice restaurant to go to, we knew where it was, and we knew who was going. Then, on Mother's day, it all changed. Ted, the favourite son, did not want to go all the way into Taipei to celebrate his mother's day. So, like on every other day besides mother's day, his mom had to accommodate his wishes. Since Mother's day is celebrated here, most of the restaurants were booked, but Anting's mom was able to make a reservation at a Thai restaurant she remembered going to a few months ago.

We all piled into two cars heading in the direction of where Anting's mom thought the Thai restaurant was. She forgot, however, to bring along any information about the proposed restaurant. She also forgot the name of the restaurant. After driving around for three quarters of an hour hoping divine intervention might allow Anting's mom to find the restaurant, we decided it might be best to call directory assistance. Of course directory assistance works much better when one has a name, or an address, or even a phone number.

Here was the original conversation with directory assistance in the morning:

Mom: Can I get the number of a Thai restaurant?

411: What's the name?
Mom: I don't know, but I think its on Zhuang Jin Road?
411: I'm sorry, there's no Thai restaurants on that road. Do you know the name?
Mom: I think its Golden something.
411: Is it Golden Coast?
Mom: Yeah, that's it.
411: Please hold for the number.

As we were driving around Anting's mom again called directory assistance:

Mom: Can I get the number of the Thai restaurant on Zhuang Jin Road?
411: There is no Thai restaurant on Zhuang Jin Road
Mom: But I called there this morning and the other lady gave me a number. Can I get that number?

After some more time on the phone explaining that directory assistance gets more than two calls a day, we finally got the number of the restaurant we thought we had a reservation for. Although we were now almost an hour late, we called and got the address. Upon arrival, Anting's mom realized that this was not the restaurant she went to those months ago. Plus, it was definitely not a Thai restaurant.

Plan B was to call Anting's dad who was the one other person who went to the Thai restaurant, but he was flying back to China that day. Fortunately, he was in the Hong Kong airport, had his phone on, and remembered the restaurant.

Now with address in hand, or at least rudimentary directions on how to get there, we were able to find the fabled Thai restaurant with little difficulty. But, we were told we'd have to wait an hour and a half for a table. Even though we were all frazzled and hungry, we decided to wait it out.

Luckily we waited as the food was very good, probably the best Thai food I've had in Taiwan. In addition, it was a very nice place for a photo shoot with all the moms and the newest son:

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