Yes, this is my newborn boy. This is our new little gift. At the moment I took the photo he was probably 10 minutes old.  He had been crying but when they brought him out he wasn’t… he was just blowing bubbles. So small.  So tiny.  So amazing that he was inside Michelle. Kicking, punching.

Shortly after the photo, the nurse whisked him away.  Quite the moment.

Almost the new year. And Ryan Magnus is growing. He was so small. His legs were all curly and bent due to the close confines of mommy’s belly. He slept so well after his first shot! It was almost strange to have him sleep for so long. When he woke up though, oh my… he was hungry.

Merry Christmas to all. We had a very uneventful Christmas. It was basically spent changing diapers and feeding the boy. But I had a week off from work for my PATERNITY leave. Thanks to KAIEN, my job. It was nice to be at home and take care of the boy and of Michelle.

I love this shot. I’m so proud of this shot.

This shot is a bizarre story. I was tending to Ryan and Michelle and we were talking when a very familiar face walked into the hospital room. It was a student from when I taught at Sanda University. STRANGE. I blinked a couple times and asked her what she was doing here?? I looked at Michelle and tried to explain that I didn’t know she was coming, I didn’t invite her and I had no idea she would come. Anyway, I introduced them and the student explained that she had a friend who also had a baby at the same hospital and her friend had met another pregnant girl, my wife, Michelle, and she had a foreign husband, me. Well, my student friend put two and two together and decided to try and find me. She found me and since mom Wu can’t take really good shots I asked this student to take a picture of me and Ryan. So she did.

Thanks Freedy! I appreciate it and you took a great shot!

Happy New Year. Wow. We made it through December. What a year we’ve had. What a year 2008 will be!! With the photos this month we’re still in the hospital.

We have much to be thankful for about this past year. So much. Michelle is recovering well and Ryan is growing. Thank you for all your thoughts as we go through a difficult time of adjusting to Ryan in our lives. It’s going to be a wild ride let me tell you.

He was so tired. He was so small. The time in the hospital was difficult. The nurses were somewhat impersonal. The other mothers and grandmothers in the room were really annoying. There were 6 other mothers in the room with us, and each mother had a baby, and each mother and baby had a grandmother helping them, maybe even a husband or grandfather. So the room was full, smelly and crowded.

Of course we survived and Ryan was born and Michelle did recover, but the experience at the hospital left us with a very bad taste in our mouths. Are the hospitals in America much different? How much does it cost usually to have a baby in America??

New year is here. Spring Festival is coming. We were getting ready to leave the hospital. Mom Wu and I went down to pay. Nobody knew what to do including and especially me. We stood in line. Everyone was asking us what we’re supposed to do. Everyone was confused. Nobody asks questions because then you are snapped at. When it came time for us to pay the rude cashier she gave us money back. I tried to understand. But I couldn’t. We had a baby and the hospital gave us a couple hundred RMB back. No explanation. The people from behind were pushing so we had to go.

This is a bizarre country. It really is.

Yes, his eyes open. His mouth opens. His hair is black-ish. He is so cute and so adorable. He is so small and beautiful. He is always eating and always pooping. He hasn’t peed on me yet…But I’m sure it will happen.

Ryan Magnus truly is a bundle of joy. It’s been hard. Yes. But all of it goes away when he looks at you and smiles. It’s fun being a father…but also hard. Michelle is doing well as a mother. She is also recovering quite well.

Mom and Dad Larsen will come to visit soon. That should be a great time with them. They haven’t held him yet and are dying to see him. We are madly preparing for their arrival.

Ryan is waiting to see his Ye ye and Nai nai. (爷爷，奶奶)

Wow. February is here and we’re having a great time with this boy.

Well… I mean the nights are long and the days are longer. We’re tired but at least when he is freaking out… we know what he needs and we can provide it for him.

This month’s photo took forever to get. There are about 10 other shots that didn’t make the cut. This is the best we could get. I know I look very strange. Michelle looks great as usual and the boy is looking at me.

I had set the camera up to take an automatic camera. And every time I looked through the camera the boy was looking at me…and the camera. Then when I went over to get into the photo he would turn his head to look at me. Usually completely around. Again we have about 10 photos of the back of the boy’s head. Too funny!

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Here is the boy, hard at work already.  Studying his characters.

He isn’t going to waste any time!

The question remain about both languages though.  I know it’s March and the boy is only what, 4 months?  But there are a lot of people asking already about teaching the boy English or Chinese or both.  We’d like to teach him both but are unsure how to really do it.

One thing is for sure.  The best thing for him is to have both languages or maybe even three if at all possible.  When the boy grows up he is going to be a bridge to both cultures.  Sometimes we joke that he’ll probably correct my Chinese and my wife’s English!!!

Crazy.  Imagine that!

Can’t believe it’s already MAY.

The boy grows so fast. Some of the photos from a while back…he was so small… so tiny… now he’s growing and growing.

Everybody who looks at him comments on his eyes.

“his eyes are so big!”

“眼睛好大哦!”

Kind of annoying but at this point we’re used to it. Here he is flashing his gang symbols. Either he’s from the WEST COAST… or that’s just a PEACE sign.

By the way, he had just dipped his fingers in chocolate so that is why he was sucking so intently on his fingers!

That’s right.  As a member of RED SOX NATION the boy gets a t-shirt.

No no just kidding.  But this was sent by my family who read my mind and we’re starting the new generation off well with this kind of a shirt.

We’ll start him talking like my sister used to do with her kids…  “I SAY RED YOU SAY SOX!  red SOX red SOX!”

WE had the shirt for a while but had forgotten about it since the boy was born in December.  But when the hot summer came along we decided to put him in his FIRST BOSTON RED SOX SHIRT ever.

Thank everyone!

We spend a lot of time bringing the boy out to see the community.

Outside there is a little “park” which has the normal exercise machines for the old people.  This is the place that we bring him to get some good sunshine and interaction with other people.

and boy does he get interaction.

People are so curious to see a “mixed blood baby” or in Chinese it’s a 混血儿。  They come over, make noises and try to make him laugh, smile or just look at them.  Some women will come over and touch him.  Some will touch his face.  Some will want to give him something to eat.  This is usually something I am annoyed at.  I know their intention is good and friendly but it’s not really something that I want my boy to do, accept things from total and complete strangers.

Anyway.  A lot of people say that mixed blood babies are by nature smarter, more attractive and just better at many things than other babies.  Do you guys agree with that?  I don’t know if I do, but I guess we’ll have to just wait and see, won’t we?

This photo came from many minutes of throwing

a sheet over his head and him pulling it off and watching him react as I said, “PEEK A BOO!!!”

For a number of times now when he smile he has this kind of crazy look.  The boy can be crazy at times.  Now with his emerging teeth he can clamp down on someone’s unsuspecting shoulder.  He’s always shaking the CLIFFORD dog that we gave him.  It makes noises so he just shakes it and shakes it and shakes it.  But the doggie never tires.  Good dog.

But he is seriously growing now and really doing well.  He’s not really into the olympics which is ok with us since we don’t want him staring at the TV screen all the time.  He does like talking with his YE YE and NAI NAI on Skype.  From time to time we’ll call my mother and father and put Ryan in his high chair and put the camera on him and make my mother’s video go full screen and so Ryan can talk with her.  It is so funny.  Dad comes too sometime and he loves it and at one point this month he actually was so happy and at the same time so tired he fell asleep right before my mother’s eyes on SKYPE.  It was too cute.

Yes, he does sleep.  One of his favorite things is his CLIFFORD puppy dog.  This is really great because now he is really loving all the dogs that he sees around the neighborhood here.
We’ve been reading to him too from these great CLIFFORD books that are from his cousins.  Thanks COUSINS!!

The strange thing is that my sister actually sent me the CLIFFORD puppy a long time ago.  Before we had children and even before I met my soon to be wife!  This was a kind of prophecy from my sister.  Weird.  But it’s cool that my son, the boy, really likes it and he’s totally into dogs now.

There are many dogs in our community in Baoshan.  The other day I was walking him around in his cool stroller and we came up to the dogs and he immediately was interested.  He got up close and even called out to the dog.  He loved seeing the dogs and when one of the dogs actually came up to his face he didn’t freak out like a lot of Chinese children do.  From what I’ve heard there are many children throughout the generations that are afraid of just common dogs mainly because there are no real laws or enforceable laws to make owners give their dogs rabies shots.  So most dogs who you see daily don’t have rabies shots.  Crazy.