I was so sure that, at the point Baby Thomas was a week overdue, he & I were going to share a birthday. Close, but no go. This cutie made his debut a few scarce minutes into the 15th (he and his mother made sure that his birthday had no unpropitious figures in it.
*Note for the masses: the word for the number 4 in Chinese sounds a bit like the Mandarin word for "death," and the word for 14 sounds a bit like "to will to die." It just doesn't make for the best sounding birthday. What I think is cute is that the Chinese word for 15 sounds a lot like "its Wu!" -- particularly appropriate since Mr. Thomas Wu Chase is also named Wu Di (吴敌) in Chinese. I mistakenly believed he would have one fully English name (Thomas Wentworth Chase) and one fully Chinese name (Wu Di), but either way he got the distinctive W in the middle of his name.
This picture is a favorite among my students. They love Baby Thomas and still ask for more pictures. By the way, Baby Thomas is how he is referred to by my family members, too, not just me -- and it will sound cute until the day that he stomps around declaring that no one is ever to call him Baby Thomas again. If I am anywhere in the proximal vicinity when this great stage is reached, I will further encourage him to demand the appellation "Superfly." Of course, if I am going to continue being nearby, I will also encourage that if anyone forgets the new designation, rather than cry with all of the tenacity that I understand has been his trademark when he gets cold or hungry, to begin perfecting the use of the silent treatment.
Here we can clearly see that the top half of his head is all Lei, and the bottom half is all Nate. I have not been told how he represents his genes elsewhere, but I am sure that when I get home, I will (quite happily) be assigned at least some diaper-changing duty. I figure I will get a complete picture, then.I think my brother may especially wonder why there has been such a delay in my posting about Mr. Wu Di (my favorite designation for Baby Thomas after "Baby Thomas"). I am absolutely thrilled to have a nephew. I cannot wait to hold him and talk to him and watch my brother and his wife interact with him. I already know that I will think the world of him, and it is very difficult to convey these sentiments to the extent that I feel them... So, rather than post about my excitement and joy, I have just talked about it nonstop. Everyone here knows everything I know about my nephew, and they adore his Chinese name. Truly, ever since I learned how to pronounce it correctly, I have had rooms full of students awing at the coolness and grandness of his name. They awe more for his name than they did when they first saw my over-six-foot-figure (and that is saying something).
Lei & Nate ~ Congratulations. I would give some advice or a word of wisdom, but I am neither a parent nor a good son (as mentioned in a previous post), so the only perspective I could offer is as a youngest daughter. It may be a little early now, but you could start working on getting one of those soon. Then I'll have a lifetime of advice and a pointer or two on hand for ya.
Baby Thomas went for his first walk outside with his dad and Grandmas today. Warm sunny day. The wind was a little much for him. We had to wrap him up in his dad's sweatshirt on the way back and still his dad had to walk backwards to protect him from the wind. Just the same, Thomas obviously enjoyed his venture in the bigger world. It has been a bitterly cold winter and staying inside has seemed the wise thing to do.
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