Tuesday, May 27

Memorial Weekend Activities

Over the course of my nine months on this planet, I've had opportunity to meet my fellow babies from various places - in the U.S. this includes Florida, Washington, and California. And of course, I met my contemporaries in Taiwan and Malaysia. This past Memorial Weekend I met a 7-month old boy, who is a grandson of Yi-por Serena and Uncle Ed. His name is Darrach (pronounced Derik), and he is from our neighbor to the north, Canada. If you are geographically-minded, he is from Bracebridge, Ontario to be exact (look it up if you don't know where that is). Darrach's a happy boy, and I think even happier than I am. It's great to have met my first Canadian friend.

This past week was also Uncle Ed's birthday, so there were many reasons to get our families together. We hope all our readers had a wonderful Memorial Weekend.






(1) Meeting Darrach for the first time, at Chinatown restaurant for Uncle Ed's Birthday Celebration. Notice how he's such a natural smiler. (2) We exchange "babies-only" conversation at Yi-por Serena's home before the Memorial Day BBQ. (3) At the cookout in Yi-por's backyard. Third adult from left is Jen, Darrach's mom and on right is Jeff, Darach's uncle, both visiting from the Province of Ontario.


Thursday, May 22

Lifestyle Medicinal Bath

Will this be the new type of bath for me? As a result of receiving those herbal baths in Malaysia, Mommy was so impressed with how it cleared up my eczema that she is now giving them to me here at home. Fortunately the same herbs are available here, courtesy of yi-por Serena. Even Daddy has noticed the improvement, although he notes it doesn't make me scratch any less. At any rate, I do enjoy my baths, unlike some of my contemporaries.

What types of herbs are these? Daddy is trying to figure them out and to do a literature search on the internet. There are definitely many references to Chinese herbal medicine and baths for eczema and atopic dermatitis. The same herbal soup that I'm being bathed in is also reportedly to be taken as a soup to help control diabetes. Extremely bitter, I am told. Daddy has little knowledge about Chinese medicine and you could call him "doubting Daddy," but he tries to keep an open mind and realizes that not all remedies have yet been tested through randomized controlled trials.

This photo is also an opportunity to show my readers my four teeth. Compare this with my April 8 blog. The front ones, they popped up in clockwise order beginning with the lower right. Yes, mommy has already began to feel the "bite" of them.


With my rubber ducky, enjoying the moment in our kitchen sink. First, notice the golden color of the bathwater, a result of first boiling the water with the Chinese herbs. Second, it is with great pride that I display for you my four erupting teeth!



Tuesday, May 20

Questions and Answers on My Recent Asia Trip

While my Asia blog focused on our activities, there are other aspects of the trip that readers might find interesting. To assist with the Q&A, Demetrius Parnakopoulis is back to interview me about how the experience of "being" in Asia compared with life in Florida.

DP: Besides meeting new faces and the food that your parents enjoyed, what were some of the neat observations of your trip?
EH: One of the cool things I enjoyed seeing was so many other young children everywhere. At restaurants, shopping centers, you name it, I saw families with babies everywhere in Taiwan and Malaysia. I felt a sense of comraderie.

I found Taipei to be much more baby-friendly than here at home. From the airport to the malls, there were dedicated playrooms, cribs, special small toilets for toddlers and diaper-changing stations for us infants. At the Farglory park in Hualien, we were able to utilize a special line reserved just for small kids with strollers when lining up for attractions such as the cable car. This allowed for a much shorter waiting period than for most people.


In front of a kiddie-training toilet in a Taipei shopping mall. Why do my folks take photos of me in such places?

DP: What were some of the not-so-neat experiences of the trip?
EH: Just after arrival in Taiwan, Daddy forgot a bag in the airport that contained some of my toys, books, bottle, and Mommy's sweater. We called the airport lost and found as soon as we discovered what happened and several times thereafter, but it was never found. However, we replaced all the lost essentials.

I'd say another lowlight has to be the deteriorating state of domestic airline service in the U.S. It used to be that families with small children could board first; now Delta doesn't offer that. Our red-eye flight they doesn't provide pillows anymore. They charge for everything - food, checking a 2nd bag, etc. It's a sad state.

Oh, and crossing the street in Penang can still be a very dangerous thing, especially with a stroller.

DP: Where did you sleep if you didn't have a crib?
EH: It was pretty easy to sleep on a low mattress or cushion at the foot of my parents' bed in both Taipei and Penang. My folks felt it was safer to stay low so I wouldn't roll over and suffer a fall. And wouldn't you know it, there were several times when I did roll off the mat during the night.

DP: Were baby necessities different than what you were used to?
EH: Necessities such as baby food and disposable diapers were easy to find in both cities, with such brands such as Gerber and Pampers. Though the brand were well-known, they were still different. For example, Gerber food was more watery than in the States. And although Pampers did its job fine, it wasn't quite the same fit as I was used to. Of course, Pampers in Malaysia was quite a bit cheaper than in the U.S.


Local diapers in a supermarket in Penang. I would have liked to, but never tried the Mamy Poko, a Japanese brand.

DP: Your parents must have been concerned about your low-grade fever when you were in Penang.
EH: It wasn't much - Daddy was feeling much sicker with his traveler's diarrhea. There were several causes. Yes, I was teething for sure. Started on the trip with one tooth, and returned home with three more. I also had one loose stool on the trip, but I have to put that responsibility solely on the person who feeds me as I don't have a choice of what I eat, you know? Also had a mild upper respiratory infection, but it could have happened anywhere. The medical care was excellent.

DP: How did transportation for you in Asia differ from that than in the States?
EH: In Taiwan and Malaysia, there are no mandatory child restraint laws that I'm aware of. In Taiwan, I was just held tightly by Mommy as we went by private car or taxi. In Malaysia, Mommy's friend Rei provided a car seat for me when sitting in Por-por's car. We pretty much drove in Malaysia, while in Taipei it was much easier for us to take public transportation. One thing in Malaysia that was very noticeable (less of an issue in Taipei) was general lack of handicap access or services when it came to things such as stairs or street curbs. This issue became very obvious whenever my parents had to lug my stroller up and down the stairs. At the newer facilities it wasn't too bad, but definitely stroller and wheelchair access is not the same as it is at home.

DP: Miss Hsu, thank you for your time.
EH: It's always a pleasure.


Leaving the Taipei subway via escalator; probably not the safest way to travel while in the stroller. Although elevators were mostly available, we did a lot of the stroller-escalator combo during our trip to Taipei and Penang. Hey, it beats lugging the stroller up the stairs!


Monday, May 19

Most Common Questions and Comments About Me

Whew! I'm finally getting less jetlagged; in other words, I gave my parents some time to sleep last night for the first time since arriving home. Still been thinking about the wonderful trip we had and so wanted to share some thoughts with you. Since a primary purpose of our trip was to introduce me to friends and relatives in Asia, they got to asking my folks a lot of questions about me, many of them the same ones. Here, in no particular order, I'm presenting you a top ten list (apologies to David Letterman) of most common questions and comments about me that people in Asia have told my parents. The parenthesis refer to my own thoughts about those questions.

10. "Wow, your baby's skin is like father - so dark" (politically incorrect)
9. "Wow, your baby's skin is like father - so tan" (politically correct)
8. "Boy or girl?" (I STILL get asked this, despite wearing pink. Why?)
7. "How old is your baby?" (of course, reasonable question)
6. "What is your baby's name?" (another reasonable question)
5. "Looks like daddy" (about 90% of people felt this)
4. "Looks like mommy " (10%)
3. "She's so cute!" (Thank you, I needed that)
2. "She's such a happy baby" (I agree, unless Mommy tries to put me to bed)
1. "Come on, give me a smile!"

Honorable mention:
"She's sweating." (Yes, that's because it was so d**n hot in Malaysia!)


At a Chinese dinner in Penang at the invitation of Drs. Patrick and Mary Tan on May 10.


Sunday, May 18

LA (Loma Linda) Revisited

Mommy just received some photos via email from Hayleigh's mommy. Just before leaving for the airport on Wednesday, we were able to stop by and see a few friends.



The Yeoh, Yap, and Hsu families. Back row (l to r): Anna Yeoh, Daddy, Dylan & Edmond Yap; middle: Sam & Ruth Yeoh, Mommy & me, Madam Yeoh, Hayleigh & David Yeoh; front: Caroline Yap. Photo taken by Patrick Yap.

Saturday, May 17

Jetlagged but Happy to Be Home

Daddy got so tired of taking pictures that this entry doesn't even have one. No matter, just wanted to let all you know that we got home safely Thursday morning. Mommy actually went to work Friday (I don't know how she does it). These last two nights my sleeping pattern has been disrupted; waking up almost every 2 hours and fussing. Probably combined effects of jetlag plus teething (I have 4 visible teeth now). The only good news for my folks is that they also are jetlagged so getting up in the middle of the night is slightly easier.


Day 21: Wednesday, May 14

Lazing in LA

Technically, we’re in Beaumont, a few miles east of Loma Linda. We’re staying at the home of David, Valerie, and Hayleigh Yeoh who graciously picked us up from LAX last night and will take us this evening back to the airport - a 90 minute drive each way!

It was a very long day yesterday if you consider the flight over the Pacific and then also realizing that we gained a day. Today, it’s no wonder that we’re just staying at our hosts’ home - no seeing anybody, not eating out (except for dinner tonight), and just sleeping and lazing about. That was the intent of this day: to recover so that we can handle the plane ride home to Orlando. I’ve been in the crib most of the day napping away, although I woke up frequently during the night due to jet lag.

Today I haven’t even seen Hayleigh, but we did have some fun interaction last night. Here’s a photo of us below.




Day 20: Tuesday, May 13

Heading Home

We’re not in LA yet. We’re still in Asia - in transit at the Taoyuan (Taiwan) airport, waiting for our flight to LAX. We had to say our goodbyes to Por-por and Yi-por Annie as they sent us off to the Penang airport this afternoon, but we still had enough time to get some hawker food for lunch. The flight to Taipei was uneventful and only about only about a quarter full. 

Here in Taiwan have about three hours in transit. I must say this is a very kid-friendly airport. They have several playground areas for children, including a dedicated one for toddlers. The airport also has plenty of diaper changing areas and even a nursery station for breastfeeding and cribs for me to sleep. Then for the adults there is free internet access in certain areas and Taiwanese beef noodles. So, we’re not bored and having a great time! Now for the long haul to LA. See you then!







(1) At Penang Airport, taking one last goodbye photo. (2) Arriving in Taoyuan International Airport,  taking advantage of the aboriginal cultural display. (3) At the toddler’s playground at the Taoyuan airport - a great airport for infants!


Day 19: Monday, May 12

Last Full Day in Malaysia

Today’s our last full day in Malaysia. We didn’t take many photos today. I mean, how many smiling faces at dinners does one wish to see on a trip? I did have a great morning stroll along the beach today and watched Daddy sip a beverage at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Much of the day was spent at the hospital as Daddy talked with hospital administrators about possibly working here in Penang and Por-por also had a checkup. We had a goodbye dinner at my grand-nanny’s home. That’s it. Life has become more routine over the past few days, less touristy and more like a local. But that’s good.

Tomorrow afternoon we start our flight back home, transiting in Taipei for three hours, and then stopping over in LAX for one day, to give me a breather. Next report from Southern California. Thank you for such a wonderful time, Asia!




(1) From a photo taken this morning, showing me getting piano lessons from Por-por. (2) Taken Saturday, happily playing with my big multi-colored ball.


Day 18: Sunday, May 11

My First Mother's Day

Happy Belated Mother’s Day to all of my blog readers! In Malaysia, we celebrate Mother’s Day the same day as in the States. And what did we do to celebrate? By eating out, of course (you do see a pattern in how we celebrate in Penang, don’t you). Our day began when Mommy’s primary school friend Aunty Phai Su and her 7 year-old son Zhong Jun, took us out to a dim sum breakfast at a seaside restaurant called Bali Hai. For lunch, we went out to the home of Uncle Thomas and Aunt Maria Tean’s home. Dinner was hosted by Uncle Patrick Tan and Aunty Mary Tan at a nice Chinese restaurant.

Both Tans are physicians at Penang Adventist Hospital, but Aunty Mary is my type - a pediatric specialist. And this morning I was noted by Mommy to be more fussy than usual, have an increasingly runny nose, and sport a low-grade fever, so  in the afternoon my parents took me to see Aunty Mary to be examined to make sure there was nothing that was serious. Fortunately, I am pretty much fine, but it was very comforting to know we had great medical attention even while traveling out of the country! And with that ends my blog for Mother’s Day 2008.







(1) At Bali Hai, an open-air dim sum restaurant located on Gurney Drive. The restaurant motto is “if it swims, we have it.” (2) With Zhong Jun, who enjoyed pushing me along the beach walk on Gurney Drive after breakfast. (3) Theodore Tean, the youngest of 3 Tean boys, watches me in fascination with mother Maria and younger sister at his side. (4) Getting checked out by Dr. Mary Tan, pediatric cardiologist for a low-grade fever and fussiness. Fortunately, nothing serious!


Day 17: Saturday, May 10

Old Times Revisited

Today was a nostalgic day of sorts for my parents, as they visited old friends and took me to an especially meaningful place for them. The captions detail our activities today. The one damper on this day was that this was day 2 of Daddy’s gastrointestinal misadventure, which limited his ability to enjoy Malaysia’s culinary delights.







(1) Sabbath morning at Mommy’s home church, Penang SDA, with Rei Hong and her children Nathalie and Lewcas. (2) In the afternoon we visited the grounds of the Eastern & Oriental Hotel. It was just about at this spot where this picture was taken that Mommy & Daddy got married 6 ½ years ago on Christmas Day, 2001. (3) Before dinner, I share a laugh at a traditional Chinese Nyonya restaurant with Drs. Chong Seng Fook and his wife Agnes. He is a general surgeon and she is a pediatrician at Penang Adventist Hospital and also old friends with Mommy.

(c) 2007-2008 Vincent Hsu