Unusual moments

Some mannerisms aren't learned, they are innate. Take this first picture as an example. Rowan and his Dad look surprised in the same damn way. Mind you, Rowan has my eyebrows, which, together with the distended eyeballs, convey that "holy fuck" moment he and I encounter on a daily basis in a unique way. On the other hand, he looks alot less tired than I do.

The other picture, however, is remarkable--Rowan standing on the table by himself, surveying the situation, ready to pick up some chicks if he could only remember where he put his shoes. If you look closely, though, you can see my fingers supporting him ever so slightly (I'm hiding in the background). Hell, who'd believe a 4 and a half month old could stand on his own anyway?

Ye-Ye's Visit (aka Aaron's Dad)

The day after Thanksgiving, Aaron's Dad visited us from Sioux Falls for the virgin meeting with his second grandson. Said visit culminated first with Grand-Dad offering fingerlings of both a dry martini (for teething) and fois gras (for God knows what) to the little darling at a posh steak restaurant in downtown Chicago Friday evening; then a little visit the following day to the Chicago Field Museum to look at the animals, the dinosaur bones, and everything in between. Mind you, the portions of alcohol and fois gras were minimal (Rowan was largely unfazed), though Winnie was not entirely amused. Before all this excitement, though, Grand-Dad came to our place to see the little one, where I took this picture of Ye-Ye holding A-Long for the first time. Already, you can tell, Rowan senses something is afoot this evening.

Lost Files: Leo's visit

Some months ago, Fey Kow Fu (aka Leo) visited us from beyond the Pacific, traveling from Japan to Chicago just to spend the weekend with us (what a guy!). These two photos are from that visit, the first featuring Leo holding our hero for the first time, a look of determined awkwardness stark against the multinational flags; the second snapped by Leo of the nuclear family out at Loyola Park, Rowan seated atop Dad's femur, conked. Winnie, meanwhile, observes her handiwork.

Downtown Chicago

We took a little trip with Rowan downtown to check out a few sights here and there, stopping first at a little garden in front of the famous water tower, which, shortly after its construction at the turn of the century, managed to turn Chicago's water supply from muddy, fishy-smelling stuff to something almost clear.

Next we wandered down to the neo-Gothic Chicago Tribune building for a quick shot of Rowan (who passed out on the way) in front of the entrance. Later, after a short jaunt through Millennium Park to see the Cloud Gate sculpture (aka the 'giant bean'), we stopped in for a cup of coffee and hot chocolate, where Rowan, now awake, shared in our pleasures and reveries with a few of his own--namely, being nuzzled on the cheek by Dad. Though not completely in focus, it's still a favorite pic of ours.

Update: Rowan's getting some of his hair back...just FYI.

Fam shot

What? No caption?

A day in the life (3 months and counting)

Just a few more snapshots of what Rowan's been up to after 3 months in the outside world. On top, you can clearly see that he's begun to turn over, though only half-way at the moment (my recent sources report that he has successfully turned over once).

Below that, a choice picture of Rowan post-vomit after a vigorous bout of jumping up and down on Daddy's lap. For those of you who don't know, Rowan's spit-ups are like the Deluge, though considerably more milky and without the mass murder of countless numbers.

And finally, Mommy gets a little blog time with this mother-son pic in front of the mums at the Botanical Garden. Rowan is sleepy, and a few minutes later will be in dream-land.

So that's Rowan's life so far...turning over, spitting up, sleeping, eating, jumping, and generally remaining quite alert (when awake). He's lately taken to reading books about triangles and squares, and can't wait to get to volume 3: Circles!

Forgot one...

This white hat was made by our friend Amanda from the University of Chicago in days gone by. It fits him right perfect and complements his ubiquitous bib, juxtaposed against the yellow stripes and oddly misshapen insects in the background. And he's smiling!!

Life is good...

Every so often, I snap off a couple of good photos that, to my mind, go beyond what my normal photography skills are typically capable of. These two pictures were taken at the Chicago Botanical Garden. They are what I might term "desktop fodder," since they make for excellent desktop backgrounds. The top one is of an unidentified (at least by me) flower, with two yellow globes of mums in the background. The lower one is particularly priceless--Rowan sleeping in his red full-body coat outside in the gardens. Life is good...

A brief look at Rowan's wardrobe

I know what you're all probably thinking: "How in the f@#& could he get any f@#&ing cuter than this?! Holy f@#&ing sh!t!!"

Well, my friends, you bring up a good point, and as much as I'd like to say there's an explanation, I honestly have none to give. On the left, Rowan is wearing his red-orange starfish outfit with matching hat, posing with his spectacular wobbly mouse toy that Uncle Leo (Fei Kow Foo) got for him. Below that is Rowan in his green knit sweater, made for him by "Auntie" Paula (notice the little flower buttons). In moments such as these, I'm reminded of Shakespeare:

"This were to be new made when thou art old, and see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold."

Like father, like...

Of course now we know where Rowan gets that somewhat vacuous, open-mouthed stare. Still, you can't help but notice that he looks a lot more mentally stable than his father in this picture. Winnie and I were out on the Northwestern University campus checking out Lake Michigan with the other Evanstonians on a cool Sunday in early Autumn. Oh, and Rowan wanted to say that he wuvs his wittle Mommy.

More developments

First off, I have to apologize for not adding to the blog in almost a month. Things have been absolutely busy these days, and there hasn't been much time to sit at the computer and upload photos accompanied by pithy commentary of late. In any case, as you can see from the previous entry, Rowan is in the throes of potty training, thanks in large part to the efforts of Bel. He's even graduated from newspaper to an actual kiddy potty. We also have him pee into a jar that we keep under the sofa, which he's pretty good about. A few slow, upward-moving whistles and his little one whizzes on command.

And now, we're proud to report, he's moved on to solid foods at the tender age of two and a half months. Yes, he just loves carrots, though his body has trouble digesting this little morsel, much less actually chewing it into smaller pieces and washing it down with a glass of chianti. The carrot, meanwhile, doesn't seem to mind, even smiling through the whole ordeal of being gnawed on with Rowan's toothless mandibles. Just wait until he tries cow...

The three stages of pooping...

DENIAL


















ANGER


















ACCEPTANCE

Reversal of fortune

A little background information: Mike, Julie and Ruby visited us (rather, are still visiting us) this weekend in a first official meeting of the cousins. We really got to know Ruby and her mannerisms, which are quite different from Rowan's. Being 2 months older than Rowan, Ruby's much more talkative and squeally, and a tad more tempermental. Rowan is like the Buddha (in more ways than one), generally even-tempered, quiet and thoughtful, emitting little coos now and then. And that's what makes this picture funny. Rowan is visibly upset, and Ruby looks curious and, dare I say, slightly amused. Check out the other differences between them: Ruby's hair, Rowan's baldness; her little head, Rowan's melon. But damned if these aren't the most beautiful, adorable couple of kids I've ever seen. Pretty soon, we've got to get cousin Liam in on this and up the ante.

Look who's drunk!

The number of expressions that Rowan is able to conjure on that face of his is nothing short of remarkable, as can be seen in these rare shots of him with his adorable cousin Ruby Day. Ruby, by the way, is built like a brick house, very sturdy, while Rowan is round, soft and squishy (check out the gut). You can also see how much lighter Ruby's skin tone is compared to Rowan's, although by baby standards, Ruby's pretty dark, too. But if all this weren't enough to raise the cuteness level to orange, check out the next photo.

"Do these diapers make my ass look big?"

Yes, indeed, Rowan has finally gotten just big enough to graduate to the final phase of his diapering, the end-all, be-all of diapers that we have left--the Eco-Snappies. They're adjustable, so that they actually grow with him, and they come in a wide range of flattering colors and designs (even hot pink...which we have). He's shown here sporting his "multi-colored rings" diaper and displaying what, I'm sure, he thinks is one of his best assets.

Man...there's a baby stuck to me!

Winnie snapped off this shot when Rowan happened to be passed out on Dad without holding onto anything, and without being held. It was his sheer weight and size that kept him securely on top the near supine form of his father, making him look as if he were: a.) covered in velcro; and b.) shot out of a cannon, landing squarely on my chest and sticking there like a wet gummy bear to aluminum siding. Incidentally, I think he's getting a little cuter these days.

Sunday in the park with Rowan...

...although it was actually Thursday. The fam took a trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens to see if we could find a real rowan tree, and then photograph Rowan in front of it. Although mountain ashes were available, they were of the alnifolia variety, not the aucuparia associated with British folklore. (Strangely, Chicago has a number of rowan trees around the city, though they all seem to be hiding.) All was not lost, though. We caught some beatiful pictures of Mom with Rowan, taken by Joseph, and some lovely pictures of flowers, taken by yours truly.

Baby dreams

I've often wondered what Rowan is dreaming about when he suddenly wakes up crying. Although one can never presume to know another's psyche indepthly, let alone completely, I think I have a pretty convincing dream scenario for Rowan. Let me know what you think:

DREAM SCENARIO
I'm lying on my back naked in the middle of a field. All the flowers look like nipples. I try to turn toward one, but I don't have the strength to turn over yet. Suddenly, I'm falling...falling...still falling...I land on a giant breast. The nipple is enormous. I try to latch on but it seems impossible. I begin to cry...that's when I wake up.

This baby was made possible in part by...

Here's a special tribute to the people who have helped us enormously in these first few weeks of Rowan's life. We'll start with Rowan's Grandma and Grandpa, Joan and Joseph, posing with baby Rowan, cradled comfortably in Gung-gung's arms, the park barely visible through the window in the background. Ahhhh...

Next we have Bel, our very good friend, who seems to know more about Rowan than we do. Through her magical charms, she has managed to get Rowan to pee and poop on command, sleep comfortably under her watch, and burp copious amounts of milk neatly onto the burp cloth without so much as a shirt stain. Lately, however, Rowan has wizened up, and is now, slowly but surely, getting the better of her.

Finally, we have Rowan's other grandparents, Grandma Sue and Papa Bear (Susan and Charlie). Papa Bear is the rock, unfazed by anything Rowan has to issue forth. Grandma Sue is the pillar of experience, who deftly inserted a thermometer up Rowan's ass and held it there for three minutes (!) without either of them breaking a sweat. Surely Winnie and I have a long way to go.

The many faces of Rowan Yat-Long

This is just a paltry selection of the plethora of faces which little Rowan can make, from the dour to the silly, the shocked to the downright pathetic. A whole host of emotions flood through his little cheeks, make his
lower lip quiver, and send his body quaking, his little arms grasping at the temperate ether which surrounds his bright orange bassinet. And if that weren't enough, check out his green outfit with the little squirrel on the upper left. Friggin' awesome...

84 hours...

...that's how long it took for Rowan to finally poop. Being silly, first-time parents, we took him to the doctor after he didn't poop for 48 hours. The doctor, a terrific man who likes to avoid interventions whenever possible, told us not to worry and to call him back in a week if he still wasn't pooping. At 6:00AM on the day of our official wedding anniversary, Rowan unleashed a series of slow but deliberate bowel movements just before we were going to put on a new diaper. We could not have been luckier or more proud. The picture here shows Rowan's poopy face, a demeanor he assumes just before lift-off, as it were, with uncanny precision. Notice the pursed lips, the concentrated, slightly crossed eyes, and the tucked in chin, all of which come together to say, "I have to poopy soooo baaaaad!"

The sleep sheep

Rowan recently discovered his sleep sheep, a soft, cuddly toy that attaches (via velcro) to the side of the crib and emits a variety of sounds from trickling water to whale songs in an attempt to help remind the child of his life in the womb and help him sleep through the night. Rowan, however, always marching (or rather, flailing randomly) to the beat of a different drummer, decided that the sleep sheep was his new toy, and proceeded to bat it around for half an hour at fucking three in the morning while it spewed ocean sounds in a futile attempt to lull him to sleep. Then, of course, he wet himself in all the excitement, and it took another hour to mollify him, thanks in large part to Mom's nipple and a few minutes of cradling from Dad.

Bath time

Rowan's first full-fledged bath proved to be rather uneventful, possibly due to the fact that he was half asleep at the time. In the picture to the left, he actually seems to be enjoying it. We avoided using soap since, frankly, he just wasn't that dirty, and his skin is still a little sensitive. Rowan also made a new friend--Froggy the washcloth. Coming soon...an expose on his latest friend, Mr. Ball, a round object of black, white and red that jingles softly when pleased.

Rowan and Winnie: Their first day out

'Neath the umbrage of a giant hackberry tree in mid-summer, mother and son shade themselves from the sun's harmful rays. It's their first day outside in almost a week. Baby's sporting a sleek panda outfit made from bamboo fiber, while Mom looks very chic in a lavender button-tee. Mom is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; baby is conked. In my mind, I can't really decide which one is cuter. Apples and oranges...

The chub factor.

At week one, Rowan achieved his first (though perhaps not his last) double chin. Having already gained back all of his weight plus another 12 ounces, he's a very healthy boy, guzzling milk by the gallon and burping like its going out of style. Here, you can see him sporting his skin-tight polka-dot outfit, the one we picked out for him to wear home from the hospital, realizing only at that moment that it was a little small for him. Then he pooped on it.

It's not just about the baby.

Of course, little Rowan would be nowhere without Mom and Dad. Being at one's beck and call 24/7 takes its toll, but it's all worth it for those special moments when you realize--I'm a parent.

So how did it all begin?








Here's a quick look at the evolution of Mom and Dad (Winnie and Aaron):
On the left, W&A in Hong Kong at 3 months. To the right, Chicago, 6 months. Below, 8 months. Notice my level of happiness slowly giving way to worry. Until finally...
The happy parents, their new child, and tons o' stuff. Parental bliss reaches a new level.

Three days later...

...and Rowan is slowly starting to come into his own. This picture is still pre-sponge bath, but look at that face! He poops at a 3rd grade level, likes to grab hold of things for a few seconds, and is doing very well with his brief moments of tummy time. Here, he's marvelling at Po-Po's (Winnie's mom's) cantonese.

Life is rough...

Sometimes life...even at the beginning...is so damn hard. Here's little Rowan fresh out of the womb, just cleaned and a bit unhappy after receiving his vitamin K shot. Just wait until he gets the hep-B and blood tests...



Less than an hour after birth, and already Rowan is experiencing life to its fullest (as is Winnie--poor girl hasn't eaten in 36 hours!).