Somehow, Kiki seems to know what a camera is for. We take it out and she puts on a good show, but recently she has started charging at the picture taker so she can get her hands on the camera!

We suspect that Baby + Canon is a bad combination, so we've decided not to let her get near it.

But it doesn't stop her from trying! Check out her Michael-Jordanesque-tongue-sticking-out in the last picture as she makes a run for me...

Well, big changes ahead. I've accepted a new job opportunity, so I've given a month's notice to where I've been working for the past five years.

Five years!

To get a sense of how life has changed since then - Ann and I had only just started dating. Today we're married, mortgaged and proud parents of a little girl. The time has just flown right by, so it must have been fun :)

To all those who've been there with me - thanks so much for everything... I'm going to miss you all. I only hope the next five years will be anywhere near as good. Its been fun hasn't it?

Annie probably prefers that Kiki doesn't share with Kit, but Kit doesn't seem to mind.

Ran around today getting the kitchen ready for its renovation, so Kiera had to fend for herself a bit. Lucky for us she seems to play well on her own, as long as we're close by. Out of all her toys and noisy gadgets, she is liking her books best. A scholar in the making?

Only time will tell...

7:00 AM is the magic hour. It could be dark like night outside, and quiet as a tomb in the house, but as soon as the clock says 7:00 AM, we hear the sounds of stirring from Kiera's bedroom.

She has her own room, and if she is in a good mood, she might play by herself for 15 or 20 minutes. Sooner or later though, she'll get bored and she'll remember that someone's supposed to come get her. So she'll call out,

"Aiiitch! EHHHH! AAAAAAAH!"

We get out of bed, swing into action, and the day begins.

Well, the inevitable happened... she's Officially Too Big to wash in the bathroom sink! Well, she fits, but there's no space left for the water. From here on in, 'rinses' are going to have to be in the kitchen sink or the bath-tub!

Cindy came by the other day with her neice, Kelly, for a playdate; she was back from New Jersey for a few days to tie up some last minute things, and wanted to come see how things were going. The babies didn't really play that much with one another, but Kelly took a real shine to Ann and followed her about everywhere.

The last picture is my favourite... look at that laugh! If that doesn't put a smile on your face...

I take back that thing I said sometime before about her not crawling. She's not just making me eat my words, she is remaking the martial discipline of crawl-fu.

Add to that her new found ability to stand, plus her impressive wingspan, and suddenly all the things that used to be safe... aren't.

Excuse me, I think she's got a hold of something...

Dad's birthday came and went, but not before we had a chance to celebrate in style. We booked a corner at Griffin's at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, and for about four or five hours, there was a lot of laughing, food and wine.

I read some birthday greetings from family back home in Malaysia, which provided a few moving moments. It was, all in all, a great night, and a fond one to remember.

Thanks to all who came, and special thanks to the staff at Griffin's, who did an outstanding job for all of us at the table. If you need to book a special event there, you don't need to look any further.

The last time my sister was here, Kiera was just a wee little five month old. She's now ten months old and weighs in at a hefty 25 lbs - for those of you keeping score, that's a good-sized holiday turkey... with some potatoes on the side.

As you can see, she took to Koh Koh without missing a beat, and they shared many laughs during her visit.

I've decided to archive all my kikiPix elsewhere and Flickr seems ideal.

The community features and tagging photos with keywords are nice, but what I really appreciat is being able to store my uploaded pictures at their original resolution.

The folder and group organization tools are top-notch, too. Check it out and see if you don't end up starting up your own account.

It really is that cool.

My sister does things with style.

For my Dad's 60th birthday, she flew in from Bermuda to surprise him... and was he ever! Its pretty safe to say that he was not expecting it at all... and its hard to surprise my Dad!

Here are some photos of that moment :)

Here's some pictures I took from our cruise around English Bay.

The tour we took was the 'English Bay breakfast cruise' - it left Coal Harbour at 10:00 AM, and was back in time for lunch. A continental breakfast is included, and if you take your plate upstairs to the viewing deck, you'll not find a nicer view anywhere to go with your croissant & orange juice.

The postcard views are amazing from start to finish - seeing Vancouver from the water gives you a new appreciation for the city's beauty, and everyone should take a Sunday off to slow down, relax and take in the scenery. Once you're back on firm ground, you'll not see the city in quite the same way again.

Whether its the mountains, waters, parks or city skyline, its a beautiful reminder of why we love this city so much, and why its one of the best places on this planet to live.

For more information, visit Harbour Cruises' website at http://www.boatcruises.com/.

Its been a month and a half since I took these photos from a family outing - a Sunday morning breakfast cruise around the Vancouver sea-port - but I still remember it like yesterday for two reasons.

1) the amazing weather we had that day
2) the two hours of sleep I had before, after Des's stag

It didn't take long to wake up though.

It was a breakfast cruise around English Bay - we left from Coal Harbour, went around Stanley Park and under the bridge, through English Bay and up False Creek.

Being out at sea on a gorgeous day, with breath-taking views, fresh ocean air blowing in your face and being out with everyone... its exactly what the doctor ordered. It also reminded me that its been a while since we've been on a nice family trip like this.

I spend my weekend mornings playing with Kiki. Don't ask me what I used to do before - I don't remember, though I suspect it involved more sleeping-in - but it couldn't have been more fun than this.

She's so happy in the mornings, she's a little ray of sunshine first thing in the day... the joy that she has at being up and about, and the smile that she gives you when she sees you - its really indescribable.

I can't believe she's just about to turn 10 months old in a few days. Has time really flown by that quickly?