The Kuan Family

Spring has arrived and now it is practically summer - where does the time go?
Updates on us all... Let's see...
Kang has moved back onto the line at the restaurant and is working towards a Sous Chef position. So that means that are schedules are opposite again, but we are getting used to it. On his days off, the work on the greenhouse has been really progressing. Most of the glass is in now and we can really use it! Still more to be done, but it really looks great.
I have changed jobs and am happy to be back in Sales at The Carneros Inn. It's a hard year for any type of sales position but I am so happy at this new property - great product, great coworkers, and great location! Only 3 miles from the house!!
Edward, well, he has the most going on of all of us. Now at eight months old, he is working on learning how to crawl and stand up, feeding himself (or should say spreading food around) and has six teeth already. It really does seem like he changes and grows overnight. Last week he couldn't get the cheerio to his month very well, and this week he can't get enough of them.

As usual, follow the link to see pictures of the past three months - we added one picture of Kang and I just to show that we are still around :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/WinterSpring2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCKydzpmKt9TC9AE&feat=directlink
XO Megan

Happy 2009 and Chinese New Year!
The end of 2008 and the start of the new year have been very busy for our family. Grandpa and Nona Garrard came to our home to celebrate Edward's first Christmas with us. It was great to have all of our parents here to enjoy the holiday. It was the first time that my parents had seen Edward since he was a couple weeks old and he certainly has changed! They even babysat for us on New Years Eve while we catered a private dinner, which was an adventure for us all and we really appreciated it.

We left for our whirlwind trip (aka Baby Tour 2009) on the 2nd and went to six states in two weeks - Colorado, Virgina, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York! Edward got to meet his great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends. It was wonderful to see so many of our friends and family - thank you to those who made the time to meet up with us! Luckily, we had an easy time traveling as a family. We tried to take the advice of friends and not take too much stuff, but can definitely do better next time. Edward has now experienced most modes of transportation (with the exception of a boat) and thankfully seemed at ease with all of them. Maybe camping will be our next adventure!

Since we have been back, Edward has had his four/five month check up and has now tipped the scales at 19 pounds, 5 ounces with a height of 26 inches. His first tooth/teeth are coming in and he has started sampling rice cereal. He is also "talking" to us more and more which is so much fun for us all! I have started back at work full time, which has made baby time truly precious. Kang has started work on a green house for our backyard and we are looking forward to the additional plants that will come with it.

As always, here is a link to our recent pictures - A sampling of our trip to the East Coast.
http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/WinterVacation?authkey=7Ezqu7POvBg&feat=directlink

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year) to you all - We are excited to see what 2009 will bring!

Another month has passed and we are well into the holidays now!
November was a fun month for us. We went to weddings, birthday parties, and dinners - All of which Edward slept during, at least during part of each. The big event for us this month was Thanksgiving. It was Edward's first and we definitely had a full house with thirty people coming over to celebrate with us. Kang bought a pig and roasted it in the backyard and I made sweet potato casserole and apple pie.

We are now looking forward to our family visiting for Christmas and then packing up to go to the East Coast to start the new year. We will be in Colorado, North Carolina, DC, and New York City - all in two weeks! We hope to see as many of our friends and family that we can, so it is bound to be a busy trip.

Here are just a sampling of our pictures from the past month. Ed has lost most of his baby hair and is starting to have it grow back, but I miss it! He is also grabbing for toys, laughing a lot, and beginning his gear-up to rolling over:

http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/NovemberAdventures02?authkey=a5ieoVXZIIY&feat=directlink

The second month of Edward's life has brought us new joys and challenges. With both of us back at work now, our family schedule has changed as Kang takes care of Edward two days, Megan gets four days, and our mother, Geng, has graciously taken him one day a week. Thankfully, Edward is truly a daytime baby and is usually a delight for all of us.

Edward has discovered that he really likes his hands and his dad's funny faces. He can stare at ceiling fan or his fish mobile and be entertained for hours. (okay, not hours, but every minute counts!) He now enjoys his bath and hates getting taken out of it, which is quite a change from last month. He coos and laughs at us, so we must be pretty entertaining for him. He has also had his first cold, but came through that remarkable well. It was hard for us to be unable to do much for him since a baby can't blow his nose, but we all got through it.

This week, Edward also had his two month doctor's appointment. He has grown to 24 inches and 15 pounds! Both are within the percentiles based on his birth size, but it just seems so big to us. I suppose that is what parenthood is all about - watching your kids grow and wondering where the time has gone.

More pictures are on our at our online album for viewing as well:
http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/October8132008?authkey=giKwYAyXUW4#
http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/October14312008?authkey=KJFycxAx1Yo#

It is unbelieveable that a month has already passed with Edward in out lives. We have had our trials in figuring out his needs sometimes, but that is all part of becoming a family I suppose. Edward is about 12 pounds now and has started to coo and smile. He had some sleeping problems in weeks three and four which caused me distress - mostly from the sleep problems that it was causing me to have. But, thankfully, we seem to be on the path toward a good routine for all of us to live with. Next step - sleeping through the night! Haha!

I go back to work part time on the 20th and Kang will be on his own with Edward for two days a week. That should be an interesting change for all of us but just a new adventure to enjoy!

Here are two links to our web albums of the past few weeks:
http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/September15302008?authkey=DAvRfgeEeLI#
http://picasaweb.google.com/megan.e.kuan/EBKOctober472008?authkey=kl7zj4fCVqs#

Edward Bo Kuan joined the world and our family on August 30, 2008 at 2:43am. The labor was an all day affair, lasting 26 hours, but worth it to see our beautiful baby. Kang had the honor of "catching" Edward and holding him as he took his first breath. What an amazing time for our family!
We have enjoyed the past two weeks with our parents while getting to know little Ed. It seems like he has grown so much in such a short amount of time, and it has only just begun. Ed is a great baby with a happy demeanor and (thankfully!) good sleeping habits for a newborn. (Meaning he goes right back to sleep after eating every three hours)

We had a beautiful baby shower on June 28th, hosted by Ginny Heitz and Geng Passaro in Calistoga. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated the upcoming arrival of the baby in just a couple months! It was a great afternoon and we missed all of you that could not attend. Thank you to everyone for all of the well wishes, advice and gifts - it is all so overwhelming! Only 6 more weeks to go!