Hello 2009!

Happy New Years Everyone!

Okay, okay, okay, it's now March...2009! It's been over 1 year since my last post - and there's now four children in the lead photo (more on that later - no they're not all ours). As you might already be imagining, things have been stupid busy, so much so, that this website has been ignored for a long long time, and after this post, will probably be ignored for another year or more.

So why the update now? Well, 1. there have been grumblings from one family member in particular (we shall anonymously refer to her as Christine K.) about a lack of photos coming from the Lee household. 2. I'm on Paternity leave, and have a few spare minutes to work on things like this - before I get ahead of myself let's recap 2008.

Jan - April: We completed our first Montreal winter (apparently one of the craziest winters in terms of snow Montreal's had in a long time) and Mateo contiuned to grow, and grow, and grow. He happily transitioned to his sweet front facing car seat...



and started to get use to playing in the snow...well, sorta sitting more than playing...



at the same time, I also got use to playing in the snow (if you're wondering, this was after about 2 hours of shovelling)...



We also had our first visitors to Montreal! Mateo and Aras seemed to be getting along just smashingly.



Finally, spring was upon us, and we were able to get outside and enjoy the nice weather...



In the middle of summer we made the journey home to Vancouver for summer holidays - making sure to be there for Mateo's first birthday! How exciting (or scary, depending on your interpretation of the next picture)



After our holidays, we came home to Montreal and Mateo decided it was time to start doing things....like walking....and carrying things...and playing basketball?



By this point, our family had managed to go a whole 12 months without any major life changing events - so there was only logical solution to this - buy a house! We packed up and move out to the suburbs near Merck. (btw, if you're thinking "I don't have your updated contact info" - send me an email)...





Good thing we got the new house...when Kelly's birthday arrived...surprise! Visitors - Mima, Mipa Yee and Aras!



Aras and Mateo were re-aquainted, and although they still got along, perhaps this time a little less smashingly...



Alrighty....let's keep this moving along. Halloween came and went...



Followed by winter...hurray!



And then Christmas came a knocking. Kelly and I were staying in Montreal for Christmas holidays, the first time away from Vancouver ever...oh, did I mention that we were 8 months pregnant at this point? Well, we were, and thus couldn't fly. So, to ease our pain (and maximize theirs), Uncle Desmond, Grandma and Grandpa came out to Montreal for Chistmas! The decision to make this trip may have been a grave mistake...



I'm not sure if Mateo "gets" Christmas yet. Maybe next year...



Speaking of next year...Jan 8 2009 - the world welcomed Marcus Noah Lee! 2 weeks early, 6 lbs 15 oz, and a personal best 4 min delivery (if you missed this story, email one of us)...



Despite booking her flight such that her arrival in Montreal was over 1 week before the due date, Mima Yee still missed the big momment...again...sorry Mima! After Marcus' arrival, Mima and Mipa Yee, Auntie Gail, Aras and 2 month old Kael (apparently they learned nothing from my family's visit in Dec) all made the trip out to Montreal in the dead of winter to help us out - thanfully we've got a nice big and warm house to hunker down in!

So if you haven't figured it out by now, the picture below is of Marcus, Aras, Kael, Mateo (clockwise from top left).



After the Yee's left in Feb, Grandma and Grandpa (they really didn't learn their lesson in Dec) made another trip out to Montreal for 3 more weeks to help us out!



Phew! So that is the rapid summary of everything leading up to the Paternity leave that I'm enjoying right now. I've linked a couple of photo albums below with lots and lots of new pictures. Enjoy!

2008 album

Jan and Feb 2009

See you next year - EL

Hello 2008!

Happy New Years Everyone!

Well, if you've been visiting this site even only on a bi-annual basis, you'll know that we have had a busy year. We finished off 2007 with our usual return home to "the greatest place on earth" - for those not from Vancouver, this slogan is now on the 2010 Olympics themed car license plates.

This trip of course allowed us to escape the piles of snow we'd been getting here in Montreal (apparently, this was one of the worst December's for snow in Montreal over the last 25 years). Mateo was probably happy to not have to wear his snowsuit - Mom an Dad wish we could put him in it more often, cause he looks super awesome in it.



Kelly and Mateo left a week ahead of myself (Dec 15th) and had lots of extra time to spend with the family (especially with our newphew Aras).



Mateo, the vetern flyer he is, gave Mommy no problems on the flight over - as it was just the two of them. I flew into Vancouver a week later, just in time for Christmas. As you may imagine, once in Vancouver, all the relatives went crazy for coco-puffs....errr....Mateo. Mateo for the most part handled all the celebrity-ness like a pro, with very minimal crying and/or crankiness. We were kind of surprised since he spends most of his time with only Mommy and Daddy.

In terms of Mateo milestones, we've learned that he can now stand on his own if you give him something to hold on to (before I get a dozen emails about baby safety - he can't get into a standing position on his own, he needs to be place there!).



Mateo's has also taken a liking to many foods of the mushy variety (bananas, peas, carrots, yams, etc). As a result he now makes his Uncle Des proud (uncle Des bought him the shirt in the following picture).



We also had a chance to finally meet little Keith "the teeth" Lange. Keith is about 3 weeks younger than Mateo, but much, much bigger (see Jason and Kathy's blog linked in the side bar for more info). To overcome the size and reach disadvantage, Mateo decided to clinch until the fight was over.



Mateo's Updated Album is here:

Mateo's Album #2

*Note* I have separated out the photos from the annaul Wu-Lee-To-Pong-Kwong Xmas Bonanza into a separate album to be found here:

A Wu Family Xmas

(many thanks to Des for taking lots of pictures - sadly the ones in the album are indeed the best ones)



That's all for now - EL

Fall is almost over!

Hi everyone! I've finally gotten around to putting up some pictures of Mateo over the last 2 months (although you've already seen some of him during our holidays). The full set of pictures can be found here:

Mateo's Album #2

It can also be found on the side bar ======>

Here's a short recap of what's been happening:

Mateo has been getting very good at telling us when he's happy. We're getting lots of smiles, and once in a while delighted scream.



Mateo's also managed to get his head held up nice and high from his belly and can sit for a short (very short when he's tired) period of time.





We've also got Mateo started on some solid (read mushy rice stuff) food, and he seems to enjoy it...



although we think he enjoys chewing on the spoon more.



As the fall weather starts to feel more and more like winter, I finally buckled down and gave Suzy some long overdue attention this weekend (before it really gets impossible to do any work outside). During our time in Fort Collins, I had stockpiled a feel upgrades that I was meaning - but never found the time to - install.



Long story short, over 5 hours of work outside in just below freezing temperatures, everything successfully went in, and the car still runs!



That's it for now - EL

Happy Hallowe'en!

Been too busy to complete a new Mateo album, but it's coming soon. In the meantime, here's a teaser of what's to come.

Happy Hallowe'en everyone!

2007 Holidays!

Okay everyone, the highly anticipated holiday summary and recap is here.

First some housekeeping. Mateo's album was getting kinda big so the first 3 months are archived on the right... =>>>> look this way =>>>>

A larger collection of holiday photos can also be found on the side bar.

I will be starting a second album for mateo and will also leave the link on the right hand side of your screen (not there yet, cause I haven't made the album yet).

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Okay, for those who don't know (if you didn't know, why are you here?) we decided to go on holidays before moving to Montreal...to Fiji and Australia! As it turns out, this wasn't just some random trip, we had extra motivation to travel half way round the world as Kelly's cousin Marie (who lives in Adelaide, AUS was getting married...hurray!).

To help everyone decipher who's in the pictures, not only were we (Kelly, I and Mateo) going, but both sets of grandparents, Auntie Gail, Uncle Luong, Aras, and Uncle Desmond all were going as well!

Sept 9: Boarded plane in Denver, flew to LAX, met up with everyone coming in from Vancouver. Got on Air Pacific 747 headed for Fiji. Boy, this is easy! By the way - LAX international terminal has a very yummy food court!





FAQ: how was it flying with Mateo?

Answer: piece of cake. Recall, Mateo's already flown to Montreal, so he's already gotten this flying thing down pat. Although if you look closely in the picture, the baby seat belt was something new to us.

Added bonus - our 11 hour flight to Fiji was empty!



No it really was empty. This picture of Desmond was during the flight, not before or after.

And Mateo got a bassinette (on almost every flight we took on this trip).



Oh, did I mention Fiji and Australia is really, really, really far? Well it is.



Well, the long trip was worth it. We touched down in Nadi, Fiji and safely made the 2 hour trip to the Warwick resorts. Here's a shot from our room's little patio.



Nadi was great, and we had a wonderful time just lying around enjoying some 'R and R', and lots of Fiji Bitter and Fiji Gold beer. Here's a shot of Luong and Aras enjoying the beach.



Luong, Des and I also got a chance to do battle on the executive 9 hole at the resort. It was a challenging round of golf, especially with the donkey hazard on the 9th.





Back at the resort, we decided to give Mateo a second go at swimming. He seemed to do a little better this time, but he's got a long way to go to catch up to Aras' swimming prowness.




After 4 relaxing days, we made our way to Sydney, Australia - where we had a pretty posh stay at the Meriton serviced apartments in the heart of downtowm (54th floor might I add - great find Gail!).



For some reason, the reception desk has a super duper high counter. Maybe they're frequented by Yao Ming.



Things we learned in Sydney.

1. Sydney is very, very big: 5-7 million depending on how many suburbs you include.
2. There is lots of yummy food in Sydney - but the food is very expensive.
3. You don't tip your servers in Syndey.
4. Crown Lager is pretty good - but it too is very expensive ($19aus/six pack!!!).
5. When staying downtown, it is very easy to walk to all the big malls and touristy-must sees (or walk to the ferries - which will take you everywhere).

Things we saw:

1. Opera House. It's a big opera house. We didn't see an opera there.



2. Queen Victoria Building (it's a fancy shmancy shopping mall with lots of nice shops and architechture). There's also no garbage cans in public areas for security - this is very frustrating and makes it very tempting to just throw your empty coffee cup on the ground).



3. Taronga Zoo. This is a big zoo. We saw lots of animals. That's all there is to report.





Oh, we also learned this important piece of information:



Apparently there also were lots of papparazzi at the zoo.



After 5 days in Sydney, it was back on another plane for a short flight to Adelaide for the wedding. 2-3 hour flight? Piece of cake.

Glowing review of baby product section of blog: This is Mateo sleeping in his PeaPod. It's basically like a little tent with an inflatable air matress. We took it everywhere and love it. It folds up really small and weighs less than 5 pounds. We think Mateo likes it too.



Well, we got to Adelaide, and had a great time at the wedding. Congratulations Marie and Michael!



Things we learned about Adelaide.

1. Adelaide is west of Sydney. It is much smaller than Sydney.
2. Marie and Michael live in Adelaide.
3. Driving on the other side of the road is a piece of cake.
4. It has some lovely sites which we never got around to seeing. However, Desmond got to see them, so if you want to know more about Adelaide, ask Des.

Oh, and somebody who works at the church where the wedding was in Adelaide drives this...



Awesome.

Oh wait, one more observation: Gail and Kelly like dressing Mateo and Aras the same.



After a few days in Adelaide, we flew back to Sydney for 3 more days. During this period Mateo had his first real laugh (this isn't a picture of him actually laughing, but it's close to it).



During our second stint in Sydney we saw:

1. Manly beach. I liked Manley beach a lot. It was awesome. You should go there.



It appears as if Mateo did not enjoy Manly beach as much as his Dad.



2. Sydney Aquarium. This was also pretty cool...I'm not sure how much Mateo enjoyed looking at fish though.



Sept 27th. After all that, we took the long, long, long flight home. The end.

-Ernest

Bye Bye Fort Collins!

Wow, it's been a busy 3 weeks. Our vacation to Australia and Fiji was terrific! Unfortunately I haven't had time to put together some pictures for this site. Since returning, we've had 4 days to recover from the jet lag, finish up at work, and move to Montreal.

Miraculously, we're here in Montreal now, and everything went great (thanfully Merck was paying for movers to pack up and move all your stuff - there's no way we'd have done it without the help).

Anyways, I'm off to work tomorrow, but should be able to get some holiday photos up next week. In the mean time, here's a picture of what Mateo's been up to, and a picture of our stuff packed in a big, big, big truck.

Mateo's First Flight.

Another busy week with lots going on.

Mateo got his 2 month shots and really enjoyed them (see picture below). He's doing well according to the Doc - and he's now 11 lb, 11 oz and 24 inches head to toe.



Merck also flew us out to Montreal this week and set us up with an agent to help with finding something to rent. Thankfully, Mateo's fist flight went off without a hitch, and we managed to find a nice house (duplex thingy) to rent (there are a few more pictures of the rental in Mateo's album). Also - my apologies to the sleeping dude in 13F, this was the only picture I took of Mateo on the plane.




Our final adventure of note was taking Mateo for his first swim in the Hilton pool. I'm not sure if a written account of what took place is needed, the following sequence of pictures should tell it all.



Pictures Updated.