ABOUT

About My Family

Although this site is called Emi's World, it's not all about me (even though I like to think it is). It's about family as well.

As time goes by, I begin to meet more of my extended family. During Christmas 2007, when I was 4 months old, I met Aunt Lisa's family, but have yet to meet Uncle Vernon's. In April 2008, I met my Tai yeh-yeh (great-grandfather), who lives in Taipei. With the exception of Tai yeh-yeh and Grandma Lai, who lives in Malaysia, the rest of my family live in Maryland, in the outskirts of Washington, D.C. I look forward to the time when we can all have a big family reunion!

Left: 2005 Hsu family photo. Obviously Janae and I haven't arrived yet.

Top: I'm a Boppy girl, in a Boppy world. Right: Wide-eyed, ready to go home from the hospital!

Emily's my legal name, but all my friends call me Emi. I figure you'll learn more about me on my blog, so I don't need to say a lot here. At my age, there's not a lot that I really do, except for sleeping, eating, pooping, and crying. My favorite food is really the only food I know: mommy's all-natural wholesome milk. And boy, when I'm hungry, mommy and daddy know it big time!

Both photos were taken in the Pacific Northwest, an area that my parents really love and one which they return to visit every year.

What can I say about my parents? Without them, there would be no me! They've been married since 2001, but I heard they met each other a long time ago. It's too bad that they didn't get married then, then I'd be the oldest cousin! But then again, I wouldn't be me, either...

At any rate, my folks live in Orlando where Daddy does some sort of job trying to keep hospitals clean. Not like mopping the floors, but improving strategies to keep bad bugs from infecting patients. Mommy had been coordinating research for some doctors, but is now full time at home to take care of me! They did a lot of traveling before I was born, but maybe one day they'll take me along. However, right now, I'm happy at home as long as they keep me warm and fed. Daddy's current home  project is learning letters of the alphabet, such as HTML, CSS, PHP, JS, or something like that. Something to do with why he created Emi's World.

Icall them yeh-yeh and nai-nai (grandfather and grandmother on father's side in Chinese). Even though they have 5 other grandchildren, I was so thrilled that they were able to come down for a week and spend it with me. Unfortunately most of that time I was actually in the hospital, but it sure went by quickly. Yeh-yeh travels A LOT internationally, so I should consider myself lucky. *sigh* I wish they could retire soon so they could spend more time down here with me!

Above: That's me waving to camera, along with por-por. Right: Who can resist the gentle arms of por-por?

Por-por, which means "grandmother on your mother's side" in Chinese, is what I call her. Por-por lives in Penang, Malaysia, which is where Mommy grew up. She still works as a chaplain at the Penang Adventist Hospital, though she tells me that once she retires next year, she will be able to visit and spend more time with me here in Florida. I have been fortunate, however that por-por has spent about 4 weeks with me when I was born.

Since Mommy is an only child, I am the oldest and only grandchild of por-por. I think that makes me very special, indeed! She did say something I didn't like: told my parents not to spoil me, which I find an unfortunate statement.

Above: Great-grandpa in Da-an park, the largest public park in Taipei. Right: With Aunty Shiulan, Mommy, Por-por, Daddy, Great-grandpa, and Aunty Sunny in November 2006

My Tai yeh-yeh (great-granddaddy) lives in Taipei, Taiwan. At 89, he's still doing great! I was able to see him and Aunty Shiu-lan in April of '08.  He is a retired colonel from the Air Force, and lives in an condominimum just across from a large shopping complex. When he was younger, Tai yeh-yeh loved to play this Chinese game called Mahjong.

Right now, Tai yeh-yeh likes to watch television and eat in one of his favorite restaurants just across the street. I heard Chinese food in Taiwan is great! When I get a few teeth, maybe I'll understand what that means...

Aunt Lisa is the youngest of all the Hsu siblings; however, she was the first to get married and also to have kids. She and Uncle Steve have three boys. They are both elementary school teachers, having met in college, but right now Aunt Lisa is staying at home raising my cousins. Uncle Steve teaches math and science at Atholton Adventist School. They've taught in lots of places: in Chesterland, OH; Berrien Springs, MI, and now in Columbia, MD. Hmmm, have you thought about teaching in Orlando, FL?

Shawn's my oldest cousin, born in 2001. He was only a few months old when he first traveled internationally, and that was to attend my parents' wedding in Penang! Don't ask him about it, however - he won't remember.

Shawn is currently receiving homeschool instruction. And what do you know, he takes just after his dad! Favorite classes are math and science. Hmm, I wonder if that means I'll be a doctor?

Let's see, in addition to bike riding and listening to great stories, Shawn has another thing he loves: playing dress-up, especially in Superhero costumes. He's a natural for Halloween, that's for sure.

Right: Dora, Boots, and Diego. Vamos!

Cousin Jason, 4,  is pretty athletic. He loves bicycles, and actually started riding a 2-wheel bike soon after he turned 4. I think he'll end up traveling around the world one day--he loves to pack up toys and other stuff in bags and haul them around the house.

Jason loves Diego. In case you don't know Diego, he's Dora the Explorer's cousin. If you don't know Dora the Explorer, then I can't help you there, but you probably don't have young kids of your own. Jason also loves candy. Honestly, I've never tasted candy, and I have this feeling that Daddy and Mommy really aren't excited to let me try anytime soon.

Above: Enjoying the swing. Right: Kylie is apparently making a checkmate move on Ryan.

I must say I have a lot of respect for Ryan, even though I have yet to meet him. If anyone knows what it's like to be a hospital patient, it's Ryan. In 2005, he arrived several weeks premature and went through 3 weeks of hospitalization right after birth. Fortunately he was born in St. Louis Children's Hospital, one of the top-ranked pediatric hospitals in the nation. So Ryan and I will have some things to chat about, although I must say my hospitalization was fairly smooth compared with cousin Ryan.

Right now Ryan's latest craze is writing - on the carpet, on the walls, on the chairs...you get the point. As the youngest of 3 boys, Ryan spends a lot of time doing what Shawn and Jason do.  He loves the playground, loves running around and being chased. With his looks, I think that at some point later in life, there would be some girls who would like to chase him!

Above: In Hawaii, and right: At Red Robin restaurant, one of Kylie's favorite

Uncle Vernon & Aunt Joan met in California, but had this great opportunity to live in this place called Hawaii for several years. Now they are back on the east coast, but I think that living on a tropical island would be fun.

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Joan are both teachers -- just like Uncle Steve and Aunt Lisa. He teaches middle school math and science at Beltsville Adventist School. Aunt Joan is an excellent artist. Aunt Joan used to do some freelancing and also had been teaching art in school, but her duties as full-time mother has kept her busy these days. Maybe I can have her give me some great drawing lessons when I get older!

Above: Ready for the plunge! Right: Taking after her mother - another masterpiece!

Kylie arrived in 2005, and in that short time, she has developed a reputation for being the high-maintenance child of the clan. They say if you can handle Kylie, you can handle anyone. She fusses quite a bit, and it's hard to know exactly how to make her happy. Poor Uncle Vernon & Aunt Joan. However, all that work seems to have paid off, 'cause Kylie is also extremely advanced in skills and development for her age.

Above: Janae, taken not too long after birth. Right: Kylie and Janae share a tender moment

Janae is just a few days older than I am. In fact, I was supposed to have been born a few days before Janae, but for some reason I decided to come out a few days late, so unfortunately I have to be the baby.

So I heard that from a personality standpoint Janae is nothing like her older sister. Like she's real easy going, a great sleeper -- so great, in fact, that she needs to be woken up for her feedings. Can you believe that? What's up with that?

Because we're both still newborns, I am assuming that her favorite activities are the same as mine: crying, sleeping, feeding, and pooping. I also am assuming that she loves the same food as me as well, straight from mom.

Well, that's it for my family. That's plenty, really. Until the next one comes along...