One month update

Hi Ya! Sorry it has been a while since my first blog, but this past month has been an eventful one for me. First of all, I fought and "won"my battle with jaundice and then I had to tackle a fever of 102 degrees. Thankfully, I was feeling 100% better by the time of my red egg & ginger party.

To back-track. Mummy introduced me to tummy time during week 2 and let me tell you --- I LOOOOOVE tummy time! On some days, I can lift my head to the left and then to the right, while on other days, I just exercise my neck muscles by lifting it up high. That way, I can also look around and stare at all the cool things in my room. I'm getting really good at lifting my head up so I can't wait for the next challenge that mummy introduces me to.

My umbilical cord stump finally dropped off at just over 2.5 weeks. Gone are the days of the sponge bath. Now, I get to "chill" in a tub! I absolutely loooove bath time. Michael Phelps watch out -- I'm only a baby, but boy do I have a mean kick. Mummy told me that when I'm a bit older, she and daddy are going to take me swimming. I can't wait!!! I already don't mind getting water splashed all over my face. In fact, I enjoy every second of it. I think I should be on track to take swimming lessons soon! :)

Mummy and daddy threw a biiiiiiig red egg & ginger party at my one month mark and it felt great to be the guest of honor! I got to meet lots of familyand friends who spoiled me with lots of gifts and red envelopes. I'm not sure what's inside of them, but it felt cool to be the center of attention. Mummy and daddy kept complimenting on how well behaved I was that day. They said that I was not one bit fussy and slept through all of the conversations that were happening around me. I also woke up to take pictures and didn't mind being passed around for the pictures.

Oh and Grandma Tran gave me my first haircut! Yup, I was sporting a nice 'do for my red egg & ginger party! Thanks Grandma!! :)

Mum's still taking a gazillion pictures of me so feel free to take a peek at my gallery.

Hello World!

Hola!

I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Adrian Brandon Tam and I decided to make my grand entrance on Friday, July 25th 2008 at 6:38AM (well, if the truth be told, mummy "forced" me out because I had overstayed my welcome in her womb by a whole week -- I just couldn't help it as it was just too comfy!). I weighed in at a hefty 8lbs 5oz and 21 inches (supposedly 21 inches is the "new" average). To show my appreciation for mummy's awesome room and board for the past 9 months, I tried to keep her labor as short as possible. Mummy went into labor at 6:15PM, but didn't start pushing until around 5:50AM in the morning. I didn't want to torture mummy by having her push for hours so i decided to come out after 40 minutes. Even Mummy was shocked that I had came out so fast -- head and body all in one swoop! To show how brave I was, I didn't even cry as I left my humble abode of 41 weeks when I entered this world. Mummy rewarded me by hugging me tightly and telling me how much she loves me. Aww! How it felt so warm and safe to be held in her arms!

I couldn't wait to lie in daddy's strong muscular arms, but there were lots to be done. The nurses were fussing over me and I enjoyed every minute of their attention. Daddy did a great job of cutting my umbilical cord and wasn't nervous at all. I had to be whisked away for a bit so the nurses could conduct some further checkup. Apparently, I drank a bit too much water when I was inside mummy's womb. The nurses took good care of me and it wasn't long before I was returned to my mummy and daddy!

I'm getting hungry now, so I'm going to "tell" mummy and daddy that I'm hungry. It's bizarre, but when I open my mouth to tell them something, instead of hearing my words, they hear me crying. Note to self -- I better improve on my communications skills so they'll understand me better!

Mummy took a gazillion of pictures of me already and I'll ask her to post them as soon as she can. I've been keeping mummy busy with my constant need for feeding, pooping and peeing. I'll try to sleep in today so she can post the pictures soon.

More to come.....

Still no sign of Baby Tam yet...

Only 4 days until my big D-Day, but still no sign of Baby Tam yet. Since I've never been a big fan of having a holiday baby, I told him not to come out on the 4th of July and that he can come out anytime AFTER Independence day. Well, 10 days have passed and I think he's still taking my words to heart and is refusing to come out! Both Ed and I are now telling him on a regular basis to "come out to play". Hopefully, he'll listen and do just that VERY SOON!

All in a day's work

My car has been in dire need of a car wash for a loooooong while now. So after our papa's day lunch at Super Buffer, Ed was super sweet enough to wash my car. While Ed was cleaning my car, my uber cute nephew, Alan wanted in on the action. The only problem was he would still sponge down the car even AFTER the car had been rinsed and was ready for drying!

(Disclaimer - in case this reaches the hands of the child protection agency, technically Alan didn't really clean the car, but it was cute seeing him attempt to help out!)

A chat with Chow Yun-Fat

One of my aunts in England recently opened a small Vietnamese restaurant in London and was surprised by a very special visit by none other than the legendary actor -- Chow Yun-Fat. Filled with overjoyment, my aunt called my mum to tell her about the presence of the famous actor sitting in her restaurant. My aunt then decided to pass the phone to Chow Yun-Fat so that he and my mum could converse. Apparently, Chow Yun-Fat enjoyed the food -- crab, banh xeo (vietnamese crepe) etc. so much that he not only devoured everything on his plate, he also proclaimed that he'll be returning again for another meal!

I hope this will be the start of a very successful restaurant for my aunt and her family!

Our Baby Shower

Ed and I had our co-ed baby shower this past Saturday, which was a lot of fun! Since most of our guests were Asians, we mistakenly thought that they'll arrive on "Asian Time". Interestingly enough, our guests were very punctual and one-by-one -- individuals, couples and families started to pour in. We were a little embarrassed for not being more prepared for our guests. For the next 20 minutes, our wonderful helpers -- Christine, Nicole and Ed's parents rushed around preparing the fruit salad and getting all of the hot food items into the chafing dish. Thankfully, food was served not too long after! Whew!

We would like to thank all of our friends and family for spending a beautiful Saturday afternoon with us and for their wonderful gifts (plus those that are still in transit). Baby Tam now has all of the essentials waiting for him when he decides to make his grand entrance!

We're also extremely gracious to all of our helpers (you know who you are) for all of your help and support at this special event. Thank you!!!

(Full screen)

No mas Baby Crib!

We found out that the awesome baby crib that we had registered for Baby Tam is no longer available on our Babies R Us registry today. Eagered to find out what had happened, I called our local Babies R Us store and was told that the manufacturer had placed a STOP SALE on the Jardine line and to have the product removed from the sales floor until further notice. The kind gentlemen tried to comfort me by saying that the situation could've been worse and that there could've been a product recall issued for the crib instead! He then provided me with a 1-800 number to inquire for further details.

I dialed the 1-800 number and was told by the rep that it was NOT they (the manufacturer) that had issued the STOP SALE, but Babies R Us headquarters themselves for a "inventory line production safety overview". Unfortunately, that was all the information he could provide and advised that I call Babies R Us myself.

Determined to get to the bottom of this mess, I googled for a number to Babies R Us headquarters and was placed on hold. Finally,

after talking to the operator, I was transferred to the voicemail box of a lady in the Babies R Us division where I left a voice message for her to call back. [Note: it has been 7+ hours since I left the VM and I have yet to receive a call back]

My experience have taught me not to wait for a call back, so I googled for some more numbers at Babies R Us. This time, this rep denied that Babies R Us was responsible for the STOP SALE and that it was the manufacturer who had issued it. What a bunch of he said / she said!!! Anyhow, he provided with another number to call for further information.

I dialed the new number and instead of being placed on hold, I was actually on the line with a live person!!! Woohoo! Unfortunately, the rep was unable to provide any further information other than the fact that this is a normal practice and that products are periodically pulled from the sales floor for safety investigations, which may last anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks! I explained my predicament to her -- the fact that we had already purchased the diaper changing table and threw away the box, but needed to purchase the matching crib to complete the nursery! -- and not to mention that I'm only 7 weeks shy of my D-DAY!!! The rep was sympathetic towards my situation and suggested that I keep my receipt for the diaper changing table and that I may want to consider looking for a different crib instead! Yuck!!!!

Granted, that we will become "elite" members of the Babies R Us "club" in the months/years to come, I'm really not looking forward to shopping around for another crib/diaper changing set after spending months to find a set that we both really liked!