celebrating 5 [cedar james]

we celebrated cedar's 5th birthday party with a friends & cousins, hot chocolate & snacks, party hats & a lemon cake that looked like chirp (from cedar's latest magazine obsession), & a winter pinata to boot!

celebrating 4 [cedar james]

we celebrated cedar's 4th birthday with a small, winter evening party including pennants, fake mustaches, tacos, cousins & friends.  

cedar got to choose his cake & he chose a rainbow cake with a tea pot on top which made us all smile.

cedar sounds [age 3]

family photos [eight years!]

A few months ago, our lovely friend Chatti from Savady Photography took these beautiful, vibrant family photos for us.  We've really loved getting to know Chatti & her TJ, who played with Daniel in the Grass Snake Union band as the guitarist/lead singer.  

They've run off to Italy to get married & we sure do miss their presence in our lives here.

When we were thinking about locations for a green photo shoot in this urban jungle, we realized that the University of Agriculture, where Daniel & I taught when we first moved to Cambodia, would be the perfect place!  

So we took shots in the crop test plots, probably the only corn field in Phnom Penh!

When I saw the pictures, I nearly cried because Chatti did such an amazing job of capturing the sweetness of our little Cedar & Ezra Sparrow & the deep love we have for our family.

And now, the day I am finally getting to posting these, just happens to be our eighth wedding anniversary.  Thinking back to that beautiful, sunny Vancouver day, its crazy to think of all the incarnations our life together has had.  From Ft. Langley, to New York City, to Terrace in northern BC, & now to Cambodia.

We've spent more than half of our married days here, in this chaotic city where we've become a family & built a home.  I think we will treasure these pictures in the years to come - such lovely snapshots into the deep joy we're been given for this season.

[cedar james at two]

funny bedtime prayers:

cedar: thank you, jesus, for mama, papa, oma-dahhling, opa.

amanda: and what about our baby?

cedar: thank you jesus for breakfast.

[photos by steve chee]

• re-enacting every fall & bump for us. "cedar fall like that" & then staying in his landing position until we see it.
• loves holding baby ezra sparrow all by himself. "mama, let go, please!"
• loves coloring & wants everyone to draw airplanes for him
• learned how to jump & now does it all the time
• had an airplane cake for his birthday & got a mr. potato head from mama & papa
• refers to daniel's mom, always, as "oma-dahhhh-ling"
• says the word "please" for way longer than necessary, "cedar have ____ pleeeeeeeeease?"
• has memorized bob dylan's forever young & likes to sing it before bed [see video below!]
• still sweet, gentle & cute as can be, but now interspersed with toddler tantrums & stubbornness

just shy of two [cedar james]

its official, we couldn't be any more enamored with this guy than we are right now.

some memories of cedar james, just shy of two years old:

• learning more words every day.  a snapshot of his brain learning two languages: "one more, tiet" (a combination of asking for more in english & khmer)
• calling the new baby "eh-ha spa-wow", & greeting her (even when she's sleeping) with an energetic "HELLO baby!"
• loves playing ball, watching seasame street videos online (especially featuring grover), putting tops on things & everything in their proper place 
• on his own (& despite lots of correction!) has taken to calling us "amanda" & "daniel" (see video below)
• really enjoys drinking mama's coffee, especially if there is whipped cream on it
• most commonly heard phrases: "cedar do it!", "pick you [me] up, please", "what's baby do'in?", "whaa happened?, "cedar brush teeth, too"
• favorite foods: rice, noodles, goldfish crackers & anything fishy tasting or shrimp flavored (basically all khmer food)
• making us smile: "mama, cedar open mouth like turtle!" (while opening his mouth super wide after watching a friend's turtle swimming)

cedar is pretty stubborn about not talking for the camera, but we managed to get him answering a few questions here.

[20 months]

[contemplating the coming storm: bangkok]

gratitude [o canada]

[thanks auntie jamie sue for the reminder of canadian pride, even if i've haven't been there just yet!]

[11 months]

[braving the NY winter - who dresses this poor kid?]


 baby cedar (i've got to use that phrase as much as possible, because its close to not being applicable anymore) is growing & changing like crazy & its a real joy to be a front row observer.  at 11 months, he's not walking yet, but has become a very fast crawler & enjoys toddling around holding onto couches, chairs, tables, people's legs, whatever he can find.  he has 3 words that we can recognize and they are all khmer (cambodian) words so far.  he says the baby forms of ch'gai (dog), p'gaa (flower), k'bal (head).  he also knows the cambodian sounds for "don't do that", which sounds like eht eht.  we know he knows that one, because he often says it to himself when he is doing something he is not supposed to do - he's a mischevious one, that's for sure.

at 11 months he has 4 teeth.  we get a kick out of the top two, because his outer teeth are coming in before his middle ones, so he looks a bit like a vampire when he grins.

[vampire baby - pictures by jamie, more to come later]

he's a good eater & this month his favorites have been rice & his grandma mary's (who he visited this month, more on that later too) turkey soup.  he's still not a very good sleeper, but makes up for it by being pretty happy & charming when he's awake.  (& his momma makes up for it with lots of coffee)

when cedar was born, i thought there was nothing  cuter and more fun than the tiny baby he was.  but i was wrong.  sitting in a cafe yesterday, i saw some new parents with their newborn & realized what a difference 10 short months makes. he's so much more fun than that little guy who could only sleep & cry.  at 11 months, baby cedar is a complete delight & we couldn't be happier to be journeying with him.

[bonus picture: wearing uncle ben's hand-me-downs, 30 years later]

gratitude [go blues!]

[thanks aunt hannah for my first hockey jersey.  

i always thought i'd be a sabers fan, but it turns out that i cheer for the blues - shhh don't tell my uncles.]

gratitude [ben & lindsay]

[thanks uncle ben & auntie lindsay for the sweetest & cuddliest veggies!]

[10 months]

at 10 months, baby cedar has taken movement to the next level; he pretty much cannot stay still for longer than 1 second.  he's got crawling totally down & zips all around the house, happy to follow behind whatever adult is around at the moment.  he pulls himself up on absolutely everything & enjoys cruising around that way too.  his cutest new trick is that he's learned how to groove to a beat - current favorite albums are baby beluga, & his half-pint harmoney lullabies.  he is also the proud new owner of 2 teeth & loves playing with cell phones more than any of his toys.

[pinkie up is really the only civilized way to eat a phone]

but his biggest accomplishment this month has been the debut of his first word.  he now proudly says "gai, gai", whenever he sees a dog or hears a bark (which, if you've ever talked to us on the phone you know is ALL the time).  it comes from the cambodian word for dog - ch'gai.  (his pronunciation is great, i just knew it was only a matter of time before his cambodian language skills began to overtake ours.  i've been trying to say that word for 3 years & still can't get it quite right!)

he's also became quite dramatic (see below).  he is not a quiet, sweet little guy anymore.  no, he is really, really LOUD (& ok, still sweet).  whether its just babbling to himself,  telling ming kohm a story, or actually trying to get our attention, this little guy has learned how to make his presence known.

 [expressing himself after he crawled so happily & quickly towards mama's camera & then wasn't allowed to play with it.]

[9 months]

cedar james seems less & less like a baby by the day.  at 9 months his personality is really coming out (mischevious & jolly, i'd say).   the bottom's of his feet are no longer baby smooth & this little guy is on the move.  his recent check-up stats came in at 80th percentile for height, 30th for weight, & 90th for head size.  on paper that adds up to an odd looking baby, but luckily for cedar it adds up to continued cuteness.  

cedar's acquired some new skills this month (loyal fans, i.e. grandparents, see video here) & also added in some new stranger anxiety along the way as well.  (we're hoping thats just a phase!)  the quirky guy doesn't seem to mind cambodian strangers holding him, but has been crying at other foreigners lately.

he's been eating lots of rice & vegetables & is proud of his lone tooth.  we're happy for him to stay mostly toothless for now, because we still can't get enough of his wide, toothless grins!

we'd like to hit pause for awhile, because we can't really get enough of this sweet little 9-month old.

*photos by our great friend & wonderful photographer steve chee

seasons [3]

turns out mohawks run in the family.

[8 months]

[8 months & the old man grin is back!]

baby cedar continues to grow & change at breakneck speed & we actually can't believe he is 8 months old already.  this is the month he became truly mobile & now alternates between scootching, crawling & wiggling his way through his days.  his new nickname is "cedar the curious cat" because he wants to look & touch & explore everything & everyone.  gone are the days of chilling calmly on a blanket, this little baby is on the move.  thankfully we have a bit more energy to chase after him these days now that he's gone back to sleeping through the night - hooray!

in some ways, it seems like baby cedar has always been with us & in other ways it seems we're just now realizing that baby cedar is always with us - we're not just babysitting, soon to return to our normal life. this smiley little guy & all the changes he's brought with him (most notably the lack of sleep & the realization that our schedules are no longer just about us) are here to stay!

& all your 2,000 parts

& all your 2,000 parts. *

* copyright lever 2,000

he dreams of moss & cedar trees

[a little cedar tree among the moss]

[five months]

[picture by daphne]

well, at 5 months, baby cedar is continuing on his sweet baby trajectory. he is still a pretty happy camper punctuated with bouts of unhappiness, usually related to sleep. he's mastered sleeping through the night, but hasn't yet discovered the bliss of sleeping past 6:30am, sigh.

he's full of smiles these days, but saves his sweetest laughs & smiles for his two best friends, sophie the giraffe & ming kohm.

[four months]

at 4 months baby cedar seems so much more like a real boy. he's bigger & much more cuddly now. he has a sweet & contented disposition, usually happy as a clam to sit or lay & play with his tag blankets or stare at a fan & flash huge smiles at anyone who gives him any attention.

he's not always happy, however. he fights sleep like a champ & is very offended by the imposition of naptimes & bedtimes. we're still working on that one.

this month baby cedar left the land of his birth to visit the land of his citizenship! (more on that later, you can see a preview of our time in bellingham here) while we were home, one of my oldest & dearest friends, jamie, took these beautiful pictures. you can see more of her cedar shots here & more of her photography at backporch creative (www.backporch-creative.com)

[cedar + auntie jamie]

akuun preh-a ung [visit home]

last month the combination of my graduate school graduation, an ailing grandpa, a delta voucher & a good priced ticket meant that baby cedar & i made a last minute trip home. last minute as in i bought the ticket on monday & then flew halfway around the world on thursday! clicking "purchase" was exhilarating & then terrifying & i spent one nearly sleepless night fretting about making such a long-haul by myself with a three month old. what was i thinking?

but the next day, when i told ming kohm, our wonderful house helper & nanny, that i had bought the ticket, the first thing she said was akuun preh-a ung, which translates as "thank you, Lord".

[ming kohm]

not "thats crazy!" or "how will you travel alone with a baby?" or even "thats so much money!" (even though the ticket was more money than most cambodians make in five months). just a simple akuun preh-a ung.

& i took those words to heart.

i decided to recognize the whole trip for what it was - a precious gift - a cause for gratitude, not guilt or fear. akuun preh-a ung became my motto for this last minute trip & it turned out to be such a blessing in every way.

baby cedar was a totally amazing traveler, so smiley & hardly even crying throughout our 36 hour journey home & back (seriously, the seems like a minor miracle!). we got to have a number of lovely visits with dear friends & family, (on such short notice!), most especially with my grandpa. i got to celebrate my graduation with my family & classmates who traveled from so far. & we got to enjoy resting in being home in the comfort & the cold for a few joy-filled weeks.

akuun preh-a ung, indeed.

the trip was so wonderful that i think each segment deserves its own post. i'll begin with the fun of introducing cedar to my hometown in new york & to his friends & family there.

[reunited with grandma & grandpa & introduced to cool spring weather]

[mother's day lunch at java junction]

[meeting uncle seth!] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[getting cozy with great aunt tracy]

[cedar's first WoW - wine on wednesdays]

[watching my brother seth's final tennis match of his college career]

[a tropical fish out of water]

[baby cedar enjoying his first taste of pajamas with feet, sweaters & fun american baby toys]