My Pretty Girls

Mommy went to a Ladies Christmas dessert tonight, so I had the joy of hanging out with Ming. Here's a shot of my two gals just before Mom headed out...And here's a click of Baby Ming in her winter stocking cap...isn't she precious?

Baby Steps

This little sweetheart is getting better and better at walking these days. When she really needs to move fast she still resorts to her monkey walk, but she's quickly realizing that walking on two feet gives her the freedom to do other things with her hands!

We've decided that orange really is her color...even if she does drool on her shirt constantly :-)

Ming's First Turkey Day

We have much for which to be thankful this season - not the least is our precious little daughter Ming Mei Ruth. She continues to bring untold joy to our lives, and we think that she show us her thanksgiving with her smiles, hugs, and steady stream of kisses.

Ming loves to eat, and eat ANYTHING she does. We really haven't found a food item that she doesn't like. Here's a cute shot of Grandpa feeding her a jalepeno cheese popper as a snack before our Thanksgiving meal.

Yes, she even eats broccoli...and turkey, and mashed potatoes, and yams, and stuffing, and break....and she even opens her mouth like a little birdie to have a sip of Mommy's coffee!

Yo Mom! Hey There! I'm outta food here!!

Our after meal entertainment was a tune from the lil' piano prodigy. (She's especially partial to the black keys.)

My Little Eskimo

Another Saturday morning when Daddy got to spend some fun time with Ming! We, along with Levi and Joe the Dog, headed out this morning for a little fun cruising around town.















We started at McDonald's where Ming scarfed some eggs. She'll basically eat anything and everything. It's amazing, really. Our boys were fairly picky at this age, but not Ming. If you put it in front of her, she'll gobble it up.


After breakfast I let her climb around on the Play Place at our McD's. She didn't wander too far, but she enjoyed the fun.


Levi found a car in the parking lot that he decided he wanted. I told him that we didn't need a golf cart! :-)


After the fun at McDonald's we went over to Aunt Cindy's for a visit. Cindy used a scrunchie to put Ming's hair up in a little Chinese ponytail.
Ming is standing up regularly these days and taking a 4-5 steps. She really hasn't decided that she wants to walk yet. She does her monkey walk on all fours most of the time. She'll stop, stand up, look around, then drop back down on feet and hands (no knees!) to motate around.

The Ming and I - Part 3

We started our Sunday morning at McDonald's for some sausage and eggs - and a bottle. And yes, we did skip church. I figured that other Mommies would appreciate one less runny nosed baby in the nursery while Ming is nursing her sniffles.

Ming was able to experience her first-ever visit to Play Place while at McDonalds.

Later in the morning we tied Joe Dog to the stroller and took a long, enjoyable walk.

Our afternoon was spent hanging out at home. Titus did a great job keeping his eye on Ming as I worked to tidy up the house for Mommy's arrival back home. As the afternoon progressed I honestly think she was getting a little edgy without her Mom. It was one of those special 'mother and child reunions' when pretty mommy arrived home around 5pm after a long drive from Portland in the rain.

Now it's back to playing second fiddle for me...

The Ming and I - Part 2

Since I am only able to post a limited number of photos per blog entry, it looks like I'll have multiple entries for my Ming-A-Ling Weekend...
Lunch (after the nap) consisted of pizza...Hey, I'm a guy! She loved it, by the way.

We hung out at home for the afternoon, just playing and messing up the house. Then for the late afternoon we headed out to one of our favorite haunts - Starbucks.

I have this little made up song that I sing that goes like this..."I am the emperor of China..." I usually sing it when either me or Ming is wearing a goofy hat.

By the time I gave Baby Ming her bath and read her a book, she was good and ready for bedtime after a fun-filled day with Daddio.

The Ming and I

I have been neglectful of my blog, so I'm going to do a little catching up tonight. Recently I spent 7 days in Alaska, so I got thrown off my groove. But this weekend I had some good Ming-Time while Linda and Levi went to the Portland area to visit Nate at college. Titus was busy doing his senior-in-high-school thing, so for the most part it was just Ming and I.

We bagan our Saturday morning with a yummy breakfast at Chaps. If you live in Spokane and haven't been to Chaps, you're missing out. Chaps is across the parking lot from the Latah Bistro next to the old Tidyman's (Chaps Coffee Company4235 S. Cheney-Spokane Rd.Spokane, WA 99224509.624.4182 ). I had an enjoyable bowl of oatmeal while Ming feasted on watermellon rind. While cruising I took this over my shoulder at a stop light. Ming's not sure about my driving.
We made a stop at one of my favorite clothing stores where Ming joined me in the dressing room while I tried on a shirt.
We couldn't resist a saunter through Sportsman's Warehouse - Ming liked the camo gun cases. Notice the rosy cheek and red nose...she's been fighting the sniffles lately.
By the time we headed home for Ming's noon time nap she was tuckered out...she didn't even wait for the crib.

Everyone Loves A Bunny

Have yourself a very bunny day!

Picture Perfect

Every once in a while a really great photo gets snapped. Try as we might to set everything up just right - lighting, elements, color, etc. - most of the time you really don't know if you got 'the one' until you get your film developed; or in the case of digital, get your shots downloaded to your computer screen so you can study them closely. Good photographers think in terms of "thirds" when setting up shots...framing the photo vertically or horizontally in thirds helps construct a photo that is pleasing to the eye. It's even better when the thirds are distinct colors, but complementary. And it is even better yet if you can take your thirds and create depth: close; midrange; and background. The photo below is absolutely perfect. Not only is the rule of thirds used nicely, but can their be anything more precious than that cutle little 'third' in the foreground? Oh, by the way...This is a "Photo by Mommy."

(Email me if you want a high resolution copy.)

Saturday Morning Ritual

Lil Ming-A-La-Zing and I often get out of the house on Saturday morning to enjoy some Daddy and Baby Girl time together. It gives us some fun one-on-one activity, and it lets Mommy have at least one day of the week where she can stand at the bathroom mirror without a cute little orphan girl climbing up her leg. Typically, Ming and I make it to Starbucks where we hang out for a while and all the coffee drinkers get all smiley with Ming. Today it was an absolutely B-E-A-Utiful day in Spokane, so we hung out on the sidewalk where I had Ming in her stroller. She entertained me and the crowd...

After Starbucks we headed over to Albertson's for a spin through the market in a grocery cart. Ming enjoys the ride, and is a very curious little lady in the grocery store. All the fun seemed to wear her out though, and as we were driving home she was bushed. She dozed off in the car just prior to pulling into the neighborhood. I roused her and brought her in my music room where I sat her on the floor and started playing the guitar (loudly). It didn't seem to matter how loud my music was...Ming just rolled over and took a snooze.

Eatin' Seeds

One of the little treats that Ming Mei enjoys is sunflower seeds. Daddy likes 'em too, so I have fun sharing them with Ming. Here she is sitting on the floor gobbling them up.

So good she wants some more!

Crazy Hair

Here's what happens when you have fine little baby hair

and you slide down a plastic slide - crazy hair!

Saturday Night - Take Two

Getting better acquainted with her friend, Mr. Tree.

Eating Mr. Tree's Leaves...Yummy!

Just sitting on a rock...

...looking pretty.

Satruday Night at the Park

Tonight (a beautiful October Saturday evening in Spokane) Daddy, Mommy, Levi and Ming went down to Riverfront Park for some pictures, football, and fun. Here's Ming taking it easy on Levi's Green Bay Packer's football.
The Beauty Queen and the little Princess...giggling up a storm by the Spokane River.

Daddio and Ming-A-Ling doing the swing thing.

L-Dawg and his baby sister.

Checkin' Out the Big World

Here's Little Miss Ming Mei standing at the living room window checking things out. She gets all around the house these days as she has become quite comfortable exploring. She really likes climbing the stairs - which means that we have to watch her closely, because we don't like her climbing the stairs!

She likes her big brother, Titus. He takes good care of her, and she's generous with her kisses for him and others.

A Little Clippin' Going On

Little Ming Mei is a scratcher. She likes scratching on various surfaces - tables, blankets, high chair, etc. She also seems to wake up every couple of mornings with a doozie on her cheek, or near her eyes. Those little finger nails are like puppy claws. Mommy is good about working to keep them trimmed, and Ming is very good about letting Mommy do the deed.

I'm keyboarding from Wausau, Wisconsin tonight - about 90 miles west of Green Bay. I'm making the rounds in boating country over the next couple of days. I'll hit Green Bay, Sturgeon Bay and Oshkosh tomorrow. On Thurs I'll stop in Sheboygan, then on to Milwaukee where I'll fly out to head home. It's tough to be away from the family!

Family Shots

Here's one of Tito and Mei Mei (Chinese for 'little sister'). If there's food around, Ming wants to be involved in the action!
Mommy and Sleepy Ming...She has her snuggly Mommy, her Pinky bear, and her TV clicker. Life is good.