Santa Picture 2011

 Sage was horrified to be handed over to this stranger with a big white beard, whereas, Kian understood that this was the guy who might bring him the new basketball hoop he was hoping for.

  Our impromptu family shot with Santa.

Choosing a Noble Fir suitable for the Chow-Liddell family Christmas tree...

Kian and Sage Visit Althea's New Classroom

After 10 years of teaching 2nd grade in the Accelerated Program Program at Lowell Elementary School, I have moved over to teach 3rd grade in the southern APP site, Thurgood Marshall.  I teach reading and writing (plus spelling and handwriting) to two different groups of 28 students throughout the day.  It's a great set up.  Going back to work full time has been quite an adjustment after three years of job sharing half time, but the school year is off to a great start! Kian and Sage have visited a few times to "help out."

Happy 1st Birthday, Sage!

A bright happy face on our bright and happy birthday girl.

Messy yogurt face! Despite her great appetite, Sage is only in the 38th %ile for weight at 20 lb., 5 oz.  She is 29 inches tall, which is just under 50th %ile for 1-year-old girls.

The birthday girl is fascinated with the balloons.

Sage examines her first cupcake.

All are eager for her first bite.

We think she likes it!

Cousin Finn helps with the gifts.

Toys and books that both kids can enjoy!

Sage took her first unassisted steps on August 29th.  By her first birthday on September 17th, she was an old pro strolling from room to room confidently.

All birthday photos posted on this blog were taken by Grandpa Andre (Gung Gung). Thanks for visiting from New York for the special event! And, thank you to all family and friends who helped to celebrate our baby girl's special first birthday!

Sage is 8 Months Old!

Sweet Sage is 8 months old today! Some of her favorite things to do are: motoring around in the walker, laughing at Kian, playing "woosh!" with Dada, listening to Mama sing, being held to take naps (doesn't always happen, but she certainly sleeps longer when she is being held), reaching for magnets on the refrigerator, practicing rolling from tummy to belly, watching a Baby Einstein video called Baby Van Gogh from the "Exersaucer," using her leg muscles to bounce and "stand" with support.... Sage does not have any teeth yet, although we suspect a couple are on their way very soon. Kian had 4 teeth by this age!

Below is a picture of Kian when he was 8 months old...

The Luckiest Mama in the World

The best Mother's Day gift is another day with my adorable, healthy children. But on top of that blessing, Kian brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers ("with blue flowers in it!" he enthusiastically pointed out), and Ryan helped Kian and Sage make me a lovely Mother's Day card. I also got to have a shopping spree, courtesy of Ryan, and picked out something to wear to a fashion show benefiting "Northwest Hope and Healing", which offers financial support to newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients at Swedish Hospital.

So sweet!

Baby Sage, Mama Althea, and Gramma Gei

Happy 35th Birthday, Ryan!

To celebrate Ryan's birthday, we had a lovely dinner of salmon, steak, roasted rosemary potatoes, and asparagus at home with family and a few friends.

Kian dines on the kid food - Dino chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese.

Joan was in town, and Sage loved the extra attention from her Nana.

Sage checks out the baby doll's hat.

Sage is Seven Months Old!

Sage is 6 Months Old/ St. Patty's Day 2011

Our little "Chirish" girl's smiling eyes light up our lives! At 6 months, she weighs 17 lb., 2 oz. (70th%ile), and is 26.5 in. tall (75th %ile). She gives big smiles to everyone, even if they aren't familiar to her, but especially adores her big brother.


Our annual family photo on St. Patty's Day. Last year, it was just three of us, but we had just announced that our family would soon be 4...

Kian and Mama

Sage eats rice cereal

Sage turns six months old next week, so we thought we'd get her started eating some rice cereal to practice eating from a spoon. While she is not taking a bottle, she did take to a sippy cup last week, so that is a relief for everyone, since Mama cannot be there for her 24/7!

We're hoping that with a fuller belly, she will sleep better at night because she still wakes up a few times every night. Sure enough, the night that she ate the rice cereal, she nursed at 7pm to sleep, again at 11 pm (right before I went to bed), then woke up just once more at 3 am to nurse, and slept until 7:30 a.m.! Perhaps after she gets larger portions, she will sleep through the night!

Big Boy Bed!

During mid-winter break, we made the big switch from Kian's toddler bed in the nursery - which will become a crib again for Sage - to the full-size Big Kids' bed in the guest room. Here, Kian lands a jump on his new bed with transportation-themed bedding and a nifty bed rail, complete with pouches for books,a cup holder, and built-in nightlight that he can control.


With money from his red envelope for Chinese New Year from Gung Gung, we bought a new bookcase for Kian to display his current favorite bedtime stories.


Kian acts silly with laughter on his new town rug.


Dada and Sage think Kian's room is pretty cool, too!

Sage has tummy time

Sage has rolled over a couple of times from tummy to back, but still is most comfortable playing on her back over just rolling from side to side.

Sage is Five Months Old!

Our little girl is getting more and more chubby, and we love every bit of her! She enjoys spending time with Grandma a couple days each week and with Dad every other Friday, while mama is at work. She still visits me once or twice a day for nursing!

Kian gives Sage so much love and is great at making her smile and sometimes laugh! When I bring Sage to Kian's school to pick him up, he is very protective of his baby sister when other kids get close to admire her. We are excited for the day when Sage and Kian can really talk and play with each other, but it's still fun to see them interact with eye contact, smiles, and baby talk!

Kian is Two and a Half Years Old!

Kian has matured and developed so much in the past 6 months, especially in the verbal department. He talks about SO many things and isn't shy about expressing his opinion about everything! Kian uses his imagination, often telling his bear the same things we've told him before. For example, if Bear "falls down" (ie., gets thrown down on the floor by Kian for the sake of role playing), he will lovingly ask in a sympathetic tone, "Oh Bear, are you okaaaay? Did you bump your head? Ohhhhhh..." and then kiss and hug his bear. His teachers say that he is very compassionate with other children, too. There are a set of twins in his class, and when the girl pinched her brother's ear hard enough to make him cry, Kian told the girl, "That really really hurts Jesse. Please don't do that." At home, if he hears Sage cry and I'm in the other room, he will tell her reassuringly, "Sage, your mama is coming."

Somethings we'd like to remember about this stage: Kian loves to sing the ABCs and many other songs, can do his ABC puzzles upside down, enjoys watching "Superwhy" and "Black Hippo Show" (which is a Baby Einstein video called Baby Noah), loves playing "Blanket Game" and "Whoosh!" with dad, likes getting shiny stickers from the toy store and is very generous with them, and enjoys going to "Buhdonalds" (Mcdonald's) with Grandpa for chicken nuggets and fries.

Flowers for Mama

I just had to get a photo of these beautiful, bright green mums that Kian gave me. When he and Ryan were grocery shopping at Costco, Kian saw these flowers and said that he wanted to get them for me. Ryan attempted to steer Kian towards and nice bunch of yellow Gerber daisies, thinking I might like them better, but Kian was insistent. "No, mama will like these flowers!" I was overjoyed by Kian's thoughtfulness and am hopeful that these are the first of many flowers he'll think to give me during my lifetime!

Sage is Four Months Old!

Sage smiles sweetly for mama in the picture above, but when I show her the stuffed snowman "Snowboy" for the second pose (below), she really lets out some laughs and big smiles!

Snowboy is her best friend at the moment... or should I say, "boyfriend"?!

She loves to "shark attack" Snowboy's face, which we find to be pretty darn hilarious. This funny behavior is best shown in a video, so once I can get it to work, I'll upload it.


At Sage's 4 month check-up, we learned that she weighs 15 lb., 3 oz., which is the 80th percentile for baby girls her age, is 24.5" tall, which is 60th percentile for height, and head circumference is a nice 50th %ile.

Sage is still refusing to drink from a bottle, so she visits me once or twice a day at work! I guess this is the reason I haven't really felt much separation anxiety upon returning to work. I only work 2-3 days/week, and I feel fortunate that I can spend the rest of the week with her. She has a mellow and happy personality. Kian continues to shower her with love - giving kisses, making her smile, using her bib to wipe away drool, singing her songs when she is upset, and finding books that he wants her to "read".