Happy Chinese New Year!

Special hugs and hello's to my sister in Bermuda and all our family in the old country - here's all our best wishes for the new year.

It was Mom and Dad's place for the weekend feasting, not once, but twice - New Year's Eve, New Year itself, and then there's the day after New Year's... honestly though, isn't that when the dieting is supposed to start? Our stomachs were too tired to take any more.

Sunday morning, Ann and I set out to Sophie's in Kits for breakfast. Met up with some friends over a coffee and two eggs, sunny side up, to reminisce about old times.

We brought Kiki along but she slept through the trip there, breakfast, and back ... never stirred once!

Kiki continues to entertain us with her antics. She now has an intense interest in her toys, she will bat at them but hasn't quite got the hand-eye co-ordination down yet. Still very cheerful, still very chatty... she changes so much now, I feel like I'll miss something if I blink!

So Ann went shopping and surprised me with it - OK so I admit to feeling some previous bib envy.

But lets focus on just how cute we look together :)

We're lucky that Mom and Dad live close by, and even luckier that they're happy to drop by to help when we need. Time with my grandparents are amongst my best childhood memories, and I'm happy that Kiera will have many of her own.

With their help, we manage to get to the gym, fit in some grocery shopping, dentist appointments... Ann even squeezed in a facial this week :)

Its exactly what she needs - little breaks like that, which by themselves don't seem like much, but add up to a lot.

Kiera decided a couple of nights ago that she no longer wants swaddling. She also decided that she would no longer fall asleep right-away after her last feed. Instead, she will stay awake, play with Dad a bit, and be entertained by silly songs before wandering into dreamland.

So of course Dad stays up late to oblige, and spends the next day at work looking like a zombie.

Aren't Dads silly? :)

Look at the first picture - check out that belly!!! :)

Kiki gets 6-7oz of formula in a bottle for her last feed, and it used to take over an hour...often more. She'd drink too fast, choke, spit up, cry... very frustrating.

Switching to a different nipple was the answer - one that flows a little slower, but not so much that it tires her before she finishes the bottle. The time it saves is a relief, but more importantly, bottle feeding is now something to look forward to.

I now know that baby clothes are blue or pink for a good reason. I was grocery shopping with Kiera, and she was dressed in a nice gray knit outfit, when a nice lady stopped and told me what a big boy Kiki was!

'He's going to be a football player, you can tell can't you!'

That's when I decided that colour coding Kiki in pink is a Good Thing.

Besides... she's gonna play hockey :)

We're constantly amazed by the welcome that the world has given Kiera. From family far and near, friends close by, friends at work to friends far away - the outpouring of generosity, kindness, love and support has been moving and inspirational...

What greater wealth than all this love?

So for our little Kiki, from the both of us - thank you everyone, for everything.

Welcome to version 2.5 of the website! Most of the changes under the hood are done, so it'll be cosmetics from here on in.

Yes, I know that the 'About' links aren't going anywhere :)

My friend Pam messaged that to me when she saw the latest pictures, and it made me laugh out loud. Thanks Pam, that was awesome!

Ann's work with Kiki's tummy times has really paid off. She used to fuss after a couple of minutes, but she really enjoys it now. She plays, laughs, and she's strong enough to push up to have a good look around.

We noticed tonight that her hair is falling out in the back. Expected, but disconcerting all the same.... sigh! Our baby is going bald!

Hiccups are a sure sign that Kiki has burped every single bit of air out of her, which is why I like to hear them. I know some babies don't like it, but not Kiki! Soon as she starts hiccuping, she smiles and starts to play. Probably because she knows that Dad or Mom quits thumping on her back :)

Ann was overjoyed this morning when Kiera slept right through to 7:30 AM; she was sleeping till 7:00 last week, and 6:30 the week before that. The bonus feature: she goes right back down after the morning feed, and will sleep until 10:30 AM.

So if you wondered why Ann seems so cheerful... well now you know.

The womenfolk in my house insist on using the bathroom sink, but the one in the kitchen is my no. 1 choice. Its got every feature I want in a reliable Baby Wash System:

1. Gooseneck faucet (maximum hydro coverage)
2. Reliable water temperature
3. Directional nozzle (gets hard-to-reach places)
4. 'Spray' or 'Superflow' options
5. Easy to clean
6. Good height decreases back pain
7. Deep sinks minimize spillage

It also gives you a chance to wave 'Howdy Neighbour!' while bathing your naked 2-month old. What more could you want?

Erwin told me that a few years ago about his son Brandon, and it was funny then. It is funnier now that I'm living it, but Kiera is more like the ultimate Barbie.

A round, chubby, gurgling, lets-pee-all-over-Daddy kind of Barbie.

I get to dress her up, feed her, make ridiculous noises, and be rewarded with cute noises and bodily fluids, some of which projectile, splatter and splash beyond the laws of gravity.

But nothing beats talking to her. She's attentive, she watches my face, she answers back with her own gurgles and cooo's, aaaah's and oooooh's. Somewhere in those cute baby noises is a real conversation trying to happen! Three months ago, I wouldn't have imagined doing this. Now, I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

I'm busy having the time of my life :)

Kit comes running over a lot when he hears me call Kiki, because he thinks I'm calling him. Kiki, Kit, Kiki, Kit... sounds pretty close! It doesn't help that we've always called him 'Kit Kit' before, so its not entirely his fault.

I hate disappointing him, but if he got a yum yum everytime he came, he'd look like... well, he'd look like Kiera pretty soon! And nobody likes a roly-poly Sheltie.

Just got home from Kiera's anti-climatic 2 month checkup - no worries, issues or concerns. She's officially a healthy, bouncing, chubby little baby girl.The official stats for our Rookie of the Year:

Weight: 13lb 8oz
Length: 23.5 inches

The standard growth charts say that she's in the 97th percentile, or the equivalent weight of a 4 month old baby - that's pretty big! I guess that explains our sore backs...

Gold!

Canada wins the World Junior Hockey tournament, two years in a row, beating the Russians both times. A lot of 'hockey people' think that the US is a better rival, but it'll always be the 'Ruskies' for me :) I wonder if there was a lucky loonie at centre ice.

Meanwhile, in kikiWorld - our sweet-pea was getting her 2 month vaccination. What a champ! We had worried that she would fuss, run a high fever or lose her appetite. But she only fussed for a couple of hours, slept through the afternoon, had the slightest fever, and woke up with the appetite of a horse.

That's my girl! :)

I heard on the radio this morning that a staggering percentage of workers in a British survey list the first post-X'mas day at work as the 'most depressing day of the year'. Various reasons like 'being broke' and 'being bloated' were given.

I was glad to get back to work myself. Spending time with Ann and Kiera has been wonderful, but you need that bit of away time to really appreciate going home to them.

And Happy New Year!

Yeah, everyone has fun on my birthday, but that comes with the territory when you're a New Year's Eve baby. It meant free drinks when I was younger, and in my life BK (Before Kiera), it meant NY Party at CK and Ann's.

Not this year. Just a couple of friends, a nice dinner, some drinks and a couple of movies to wait out the old year. And you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed it.