Week 28: The last name challenge

The last few weeks went by so quickly.  Our trip to Taiwan ended up being rather bittersweet.   The birthday celebration for my dad went really well, and the day before our scheduled return, my grandmother passed away.  It was a very sad moment as she was the closest person to me in my life, but it was also a blessing that I was there with her holding her hand as she peacefully passed just three weeks shy of her 100th birthday.  Jack-Jack has acted really sweet around her all the time, and it never seizes to amaze me how affectionate he was towards her despite how she looked in the end plus the fact that she couldn't even interact with him nor play with him.  I was able to plan the funeral for her and it was also really great the whole family was together for the first time in over 35 years.  I really enjoyed being with all of them and I hope Jack-Jack also felt the warmth and the strength of love in the family.

Now back to K#2, she's really just a little trooper doing so well despite not getting much attention.  We arranged for a medical check in Taipei since our stay was extended unexpectedly, and it was great to finally get a good rendering of her cute little face on the 4D ultrasound.  She even did a little yawn for us.  I can't wait to meet her and hold her in my arms.

And the other decision that we have come to is she will bear the last name Liu.   I never thought my dad cared about this but when I got pregnant he asked if I could ask if Mic would be open to having this child bear our last name, otherwise the Liu names will not be passed down from me.  My dad has never asked me for anything in my life so I figured this must be quite important to him.  Honestly I didn't really think any of this mattered --- our genes are passed on, and who knows what will become of the future generations, especially with our move to NZ and the fact that our kids will grow up with fewer and fewer Chinese influence.  Surprisingly Mic was really understanding of this and agreed that the heritage a last name bears is very important.  So upon some deliberation, the decision is made.   Well, at least then there will be two people in this four person family with the same last name. (Now we have Wan-Min-Kee, Liu, and we shortened Jack-Jack's name to Wan only, so technically we all have different last names, and I am carrying around marriage and birth certificates around when we travel to prove that we are a family!)