Novey's Cyber Corner


Dec 24, 2008	I did not update my website for 15 months. It's all Facebook's fault (and I suck). Added a log for our much-needed and much-appreciated kids-free vacation to Santa Barbara and Palm Springs.
Sep 21, 2007	Added a log for our road trip in August and updated the Family's page.
Jun 22, 2007	Updated Family's page with new photos and development milestones.
May 10, 2007	Updated Family's page with new photos and development milestones.
Apr 4, 2007	Replaced Calvin's page with the Family's page now that Owen has arrived.
Jan 23, 2007	Updated Calvin's page with new photos since September. Including Christmas and his third birthday.
Sep 4, 2006	Updated Calvin's page with new photos since June. Including our trip to Lake Tahoe. Also reorganized Calvin's page into three pages, one for each year.
Jun 10, 2006	Updated Calvin's page with new photos since February.
May 28, 2006	After much procrastination, I finally put together the log of our trip to Taiwan in March. The purpose of the trip was mostly to visit family, but we managed to see some interesting sights.
Feb 1, 2006	Updated Calvin's page with new photos including his second birthday.
Jan 17, 2006	Added pictures of our Christmas and San Diego trip.
Nov 19, 2005	Updated Calvin's page.
Aug 25, 2005	Updated Calvin's page with recent photos. He's gone through alot of changes in the last two months. The biggest one being that he started daycare for the first time. Not only does he get to play with a handful of other kids around his age, he gets to pick up all their germs and bring home to mommy and daddy. Since starting daycare a month and a half ago he's gotten sick twice already. One time we rushed him to the emergency room because he had fever of up to 105F and was vomiting. Second time around we weren't so panicky anymore. He's learned many things that we suspect had been picked up at the daycare - various ways of showing affection and an incredible new set of vocabulary that he now understands. We can communicate with him in full sentences and he's soaking up all the words like a sponge. His latest favorite things: grab mommy/daddy by the cheeks and plant wet kisses all over the face, climb onto the night stand and jump onto the bed, jump up and down, shake his head and twist his body to the music, playing hide and seek with mommy (with mommy doing all the hiding). Also uploaded a really funny clip (3.3MB).
Jun 20, 2005	I'm going to start updating Calvin's page less frequently but with more photos each time. Calvin has discovered the joy of climbing - that is, on top of anything that can get him within reach of the goodies on the dining table, kitchen counter, top of the television, the keys hanging by the door, the stove....there really isn't much we can do to stop him short of nailing all our chairs onto the ground or chopping off his little legs. So we just moved everything even higher, or hid them in child-proofed drawers, or just let Calvin have his ways with them. We bought a new car yesterday, a brand new Mazda MPV with room for 7. We got a really good deal on it - almost $8000 below MSRP. Russ is the primary driver since the new car has a lower MPG than my Corolla and his work is closer. I'm feeling envy and a bit left out. Where is my Ferrari?!
May 5, 2005	I'm a little behind on updating Calvin's page this month. I blame it on my new job and the two colds. I used to go for years without as much as catching a cold; but since the little monkey learned the use of his legs he's been bringing home germs to share with his mommy! I never thought motherhood included having to suffer every cold that your child catches. Well, you can't say the kid doesn't know how to share! Calvin had his 15-month checkup which included immunization shots. He put up such a fight that I actually saw fear in the nurse's eyes. I was a wreck leading up to the visit and was so relieved when it's over. If I could take all the shots for him I would (and for that matter anything else that may cause pain and discomfort). He has gained the weight and height as expected. The doctor gave us some tips on handling the "terrible two's" which is ironic since he's barely one! I've heard that at this age they start to assert their rights and throw tantrums, basically making life a living hell for their parents. To cope with it, I've adopted the attitude of just sitting back or finding a way to distract him whenever he throws a fit. It's crucial to be selective about battles in order to keep one's sanity. [Brag] Russ and I always laugh whenever we read physical development milestones for Calvin's age. "At 15-month, may walk holding on to furniture..." meanwhile Calvin is running across the room dragging a piece of furniture behind him; "Can turn body around while standing..." er, the kid is spinning in the center of the room trying to get dizzy; "Crawling is still easier than walking..." Bowahahahahaha! Crawling? The kid has learned to jump up and down! [/Brag] I started a new job in April and my mom became the official daytime caregiver of Calvin (though we take advantage of her during the weekends too - I love my mommy!). She's due to go home in July so we'll have to find some other method of daytime care for Calvin for three months till she returns. We've started looking at daycares and it's not a pretty sight. More on that in the next update
Mar 22, 2005	More photos of Calvin. The little guy enjoys kicking around his soccer ball, playing games of catch and peek-a-boo. He has really good appetite and shows no signs of being a picky eater that most toddlers turn into. His latest thing is pointing his finger at just about everything and gesturing for us to bring it to him. He's also starting to socialize with other children.
Feb 22, 2005	Added photos of Calvin spending Chinese New Year with his maternal grandparents and uncle Jimmy. He had a blast getting spoiled and pampered and played with on demand. Calvin gets more expressive everyday; he dances to music (rocks from side to side), waves goodbye and hello, and just recently started to play the 'chin chin' game (where he tries to kiss daddy by pressing his face against daddy's with his mouth wide open).
Jan 24, 2005	We had a really busy month with a trip to Seattle, a wedding in New York and Calvin's first birthday to celebrate. He's growing into a handsome little boy who shows obvious preference for the ladies. He was popular in New York and savored every moment of being the center of attention! On the development side, he's now a solid walker and a runner and is working on mastering slopes and uneven grounds. He's mimicking words like 'dada', 'baba', 'mama', 'uh-oh!', and understands words that we say to him frequently. We try to speak primarily Mandarin to him, and along the way even Russ is picking up the words!
Jan 7, 2005	Happy New Year! Added photos of Calvin enjoying his first Xmas with us. He got the most presents of all, including a tricycle, a soccer ball and building blocks. He also enjoyed tasting the tree ornaments and getting chased by daddy's robot toy. Also reorganized this website.
Dec 3, 2004	It's official, Calvin is now a biped! He took his first step at 9.5 month. Now a month later, he's like a little turnado tearing through the house. We had our first Thanksgiving together and he had a taste of mommy's sweet potatoes. We're all looking forward to his very first Christmas!
Oct 24, 2004	Added photos of Calvin at month nine. He is now cruising and can stand without support for a minute or so. He's also developing his own opinions (unfortunately, a strong one against veggies) which he expresses without hesitation. He reacts unhappily to scolding (learning to dislike the word "no!") but giggles to just about everything else. Still loves his jumper and practices opera every morning.
Sep 21, 2004	We were in New Zealand for two weeks where Calvin met his Kiwi grandparents and relatives for the first time. As expected, he was a hit!
Aug 22, 2004	Added photos of Calvin at month seven. He has made so much progress this month - he now crawls around and can pull himself up to standing (he still needs to hold on to something with one hand). He's also able to walk long distance with us holding his hands.
Jul 22, 2004	Added photos of Calvin at month six. He's now sitting up without support, lunging toward things that attract his attention and getting his first two teeth!
Jun 14, 2004	Added more photos of Calvin at month five, including him learning to sit on his own!
May 17, 2004	Reorganized and added more photos of Calvin. The little munchkin is growing so fast!
Mar 28, 2004	Added more photos of Calvin at 9 weeks old!
Mar 8, 2004	Calvin is here!
Sep 8, 2003	Added a journal for our 3-week trip around Western Europe. A big announcement.
Jul 26, 2003	Addition to the Rant Zone.
Mar 31, 2003	Pictures of Pinnacles National Monument. A much-needed break.
Mar 22, 2003	Reflecting on the war against Iraq.
Jan 18, 2003	Photos from the Anti-War protest in San Francisco on January 18th.
Oct 8, 2002	Added a journal for our Big Island honeymoon.
Aug 21, 2002	Added more pictures to the Gallery.
Jul 13, 2002	Pictures of Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, CA which we visited over the July 4th weekend.
Jul 2, 2002	Dun-din-din-dun Dun-din-din-dun.
Mar 24, 2002	Added a journal for our visit to New Zealand in January.
Dec 22, 2001	Added a review of The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring movie.
Sep 30, 2001	Added a journal for our visit to Death Valley and Las Vegas. Added a site map for this site.
Sep 15, 2001	A tribute to all who have been affected by the September 11th atrocity.
Aug 26, 2001	Complete revamp of the site, plus I'm engaged to be married!
Jul 4, 2001	Completed the Drive Across America Trip Log.
Jun 24, 2001	Updated the Profession page (I found a job!).
Jun 14, 2001	Finally finished the Taiwan Trip Log!
Jun 12, 2001	Finally constructed the My SciFi page. Updated the Profession page. Added this Update Log page to the site.
May 31, 2001	Updated the Playtime and Profession pages.
May 10, 2001	Updated the Taiwan trip log and added more pictures to the Family and Friends page.
Apr 16, 2001	Novey's Cyber Corner was born.