just us.

Nor Cal, it does a body good

Keira decided she was big enough to help with the laundry.  so I let her.  she's not tall enough to put the clothes in the washer, nor is she coordinated enough to fold.  but she's really good at pulling all the folded stuff out of the laundry basket, go figure!

uncle Ryan thought it would be fun to build Keira a cage.  Keira, not so much.  Take that Uncle Ryan!

family photo.  we dropped Mike off in Half Moon Bay on Tuesday to go crabbing.  he amazingly felt a lot better after resting for a day.  when he heard they caught their day's limit in an hour, he was rearing to go! 

just look at the smile.  you know Mike is totally happy to be out at sea.  I've said it before, it's his home away from home!

we met up with my cousins Mary and Craig and their son Oliver at the California Academy of Sciences.  it's been completely redone recently and I've heard how cool and neat it is.  I didn't take many pictures inside but we got to see the aquarium and the indoor rain forest, and had gyros for lunch right afterwards.

since Keira's been doing more cruising lately, I decided it was time to put some proper footware on her feet.  a lot of the shoes she already has don't fit her, so she usually just wears socks.  my mom and I took her shoe shopping (starting early!) and initially bought her a pair of tennis shoes, but she wasn't used to walking in them.  so grandma wandered into Baby Gap, and found these cute little numbers on sale!  she does really well in them, so hopefully they'll last her until she can walk on her own.

this week at my parents' house has been a week full of milestones for Keira.  just last night, she started holding her own bottle!  she's been feeding herself puffies more consistently too, and eating a lot more.  I'm thinking she might be going through a growth spurt, and hopefully putting on some weight.I think it's going to be any day now that she'll start walking.  my dad has been trying his darndest to get her to take a few steps and she actually took two of them on her own last night!  she might've gone a little bit more had it not been for all the squealing and happiness that was coming from all the adults.

she's been sleeping really well here too.  she normally doesn't sleep very well the first few nights due to being in a new place, but she's been sleeping 7 or 8 hours each night.  which is super nice for mommy and daddy :)  we're thinking maybe she should stay at Po Po and Gung Gung's more often!

Sunday the 8th

 this post isn't going to be very witty or super exciting.  just saying.

 

my Uncle Vernon stopped by today to drop off a gift for Keira.  He was on his way home from dropping off my soon-to-be-Auntie Stella at the airport.  He seemed truly excited to meet Keira this time around and she even let him hold her.

 
driving the new portion of the Bay Bridge.  I didn't realize it was such a short section and that S-curve most definitely needs to be taken at 40mph.  or else you'll end up swimming with the fishes.

and the most exciting part of the day...

crab!!  Mike and my dad went out dark and way early at 430am to head out to Half Moon Bay.  from what I hear, my dad spent the whole boat ride with his head overboard and was pretty much out of commission.  Mike smashed and bruised his finger somehow while helping bring the crabpots in and out of the water, and came back with major sinus congestion.  despite all that, they still brought back their limits worth of crab...20 total!  Mike would be going out again tomorrow, and was planning to, if it weren't for the fact that his cold got worse.  so Tuesday will be his next time out.

we wasted no time introducing Keira to the crab.  I thought she would be afraid, but she reached out and touched them with no fear.  I told her one day, she'll be going out with Daddy to catch a few of her own.

 
 say hello to my little friend...

the loot.

  
my dad caught these pictures of Keira in the backyard with her walker.  she was pretty happy to be outside in the sun, I think the fresh air did her some good.  there's a lot more room to wander and more things to explore.

it was a pretty lowkey Sunday, and I already feel like half of our vacation is over.  we still have a few fun things planned for the rest of the week, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with Mike.  its been hard not having Mike around to help with Keira, especially since she's still sick and clingy to me.  thankfully, my mom got up with her this morning and my dad took her so I could eat dinner tonight.  she went to bed early tonight, so I'm gonna hit the sack while I still can.

more adventures to come!

(and happy 32nd birthday to me!)

home sweet Bay Area home

we made it up to the Bay Area safe and sound...and in 6.5 hours too!  I was a bit worried about how Keira was going to do on the drive up, but thankfully she slept most of the way up here.  We knew by the end, she was ready to be out of her carseat so as soon as we got to my parents' house (with a stop at my dad's work so he could show off), she went hogwild.

 

my parents didn't really do much babyproofing before we got there, so we learned really quick what was okay and what had to be put away.  we pretty much took everything out from under the coffee table and moved it to higher ground.  I think the only thing left was a basket of coasters that ended up all over the floor.

my parents took us out for dinner to a place called Great China in Berkeley.  my mom's been raving about it for weeks and has been waiting to take Mike and I there.  for those Nor Cal locals, it's on Kittredge right above Shattuck.  it's quite the popular, and not very big, place and it's a good thing we got there when we did because a crowd soon developed outside.  probably should've taken pictures of the food, but gasp!  I didn't.  we had a rice paper noodle dish thing, a plate of dumplings, a peking duck with all the fixings, green beans and steamed clams.  it was pretty good and even Keira got to have a taste.

right now, I'm sitting at home with a napping Keira while my mom is at her private practice and Mike and my dad are headed out to Half Moon Bay.  this weekend is the opening weekend for crab fishing, so Mike and I are off the whole week so he can go.  we're looking forward to seeing family and friends and doing some touristy things, like the California Academy of Sciences, cupcakes and Daiso.

stay tuned for our week's adventures! 

the end-of-October round-up

haven't been around these here parts much lately.  I've had intentions of posting, but just never got around to it.  so here's the rundown as of late:

Keira's Halloween costume for this year.  $36 costume picked up for a mere $6.  thank you BabyStyle-going-out-of-business sale!  these pictures were taken a week early, since I was itching to see how it looked on her.  and it turns out that these are the only pictures we have of her with the whole costume on.  she wasn't having much to do with the hat.

 
 
 

a day at Disneyland to catch all the Halloween decor before it goes away.  Keira ate like a champ at New Orleans Cafe, she probably filled up that hollow leg of hers and then some.  We rode the Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh.  you know, your standard "it's okay for babies to go on it" kind of rides.

another picture of our little pretty girl doing her "I'm so sexy" pose.

Mike's office Halloween party.  can you spot him and Keira?  if not, here's a close-up of the two of them:

 
 Mike's costume is pretty awesome huh?  he got good use out of it too and was able to wear it 3 times!

a rare Thursday playdate with the Hari girls where pumpkin carving was involved.

Keira decided she wanted to help Uncle Ben get the pumpkins ready and had to pull her sleeves up to get down and dirty.  if we weren't watching her, she would've been eating pumpkin seeds the whole time!

  
I tried to dress her to somewhat resemble a pumpkin.  the green pants were $2 at Target and a tad big for her..sized 12months...but it worked!  and thanks to Auntie Candace and Uncle Paul for her Halloween shirt!

at Uncle Pat's Halloween party.  Keira wasn't so freaked out by the giant panda holding her compared to the first time Mike donned the outfit...she screamed like a banshee!  she got to meet Auntie Melissa and Uncle Timmie for the first time too.  we made sure to ask them for a little friend for Keira as well :)

Mike and Keira's godfather, Uncle Vince.  the two of them just crack me up.

we went trick-or-treating in downtown Claremont today, where all the stores were handing out candy.  It was really cool to see all the little kids dressed up and walking around.  I can't wait until next year when Keira can go and collect candy on her own.

 

the little panda bear just hanging out.  the second picture showcases her newest face (she learns it from mommy!) with the scruncy nose.  I'll have to find a picture of myself as a baby because I used to do this ALL the time.  ask my parents, they'll tell you.

going door-to-door with her cousins.  I think this might've been the only doorstep she crawled up too, the rest of them she was carried by mom or dad.  and she brought back some pretty good loot too.  I think we'll be heading to Claremont again next year :)
 
Mike's costume was a hit with this one little boy we befriended while out tonight.  he was in total awe of Kung Fu Panda and even chased after Mike as he walked away. Mike said bye to him by name, and he couldn't believe that the big panda knew it!  it was so cute!

so that pretty much finishes up our October.  can't believe there's only 2 months left of 2009...where did the year go?  gotta remember to set the clocks back an hour too.  aw heck, it'll just have to wait until morning because we're beat!
 

week-end round-up

this little booger has lots of boogers.  that's because she's caught herself another cold.  this time around she's got a lot more snot which leads to a cough since she's probably got post-nasal drip.  and because of the fact that she can hardly breathe, she doesn't sleep very well at night.  both Mike and I have been having to sleep sitting up with her on our chest, to make it easier for her to breathe.

she's got a bruise on her forehead as well, due to a friendly collision with a walker.  it's starting to turn yellow now, which means its getting better.

 

it was family flu shot day today.  we weren't sure if we should or if we even could get them since we're all down with a cold (although not all the way down), but we got them anyway.  Keira didn't even flinch.  she was too busy staring at the nurse and probably didn't notice she was getting stuck.  her and Mike got matching Daffy Duck bandaids, while I ended up with a shiny metallic one.

we're having a pretty carefree Saturday so far, did a few errands (bank, AAA and Target) and now we're home hanging out, watching college football (Mike is, anyway).  kinda feel like going out again, but we'll chill at home for a bit and then see how it goes.  have a great weekend!

Keira's First Pumpkin Patch

Now that the holidays are starting to roll around, it's getting to be an exciting time for me.  I can't wait to do all the fun, cutesy things you can do with a baby.  We decided today would be the day to take Keira to her first pumpkin patch!

 

Scarecrow Keira

she wasn't too into the whole pumpkin patch thing.  she's probably just a little too young to understand.  but we managed to get a few more pictures of Keira amongst the pumpkins.

the Hari's met us at the patch too, and we always have a good time with them.  it's especially fun to get together now that all our girls are older and Keira can actually play with them.

our 3 little pigs:

 
we didn't stay at the patch for very long since it was pretty crowded and surprisingly warm, so we headed home so the girls could rest and Mike could get started on dinner.  He made pho (vietnamese noodle soup) and invited not only the Hari's, but the Hsu's, the Chen's and my brother and cousin over to eat.  We've never had so many people (10 adults and 6 kids) in our less-than-1100-square-foot condo, so it was pretty loud and snug in there.  but we had a great time with our friends, and hopefully they did too!

I'll have to get a picture of our living room right now, since it looks like Toys 'R Us blew through.  The Chens hooked Keira up big time with toys and we're so lucky (and happily thankful) that they did!  it'll have to wait until morning, since I'm exhausted and want to make the most of what hours of sleep I have left before Keira wakes up...good nite!

fuh-fuh-friday

it was Mike's regular Friday off.  started it with a trip to Capital Seafood in Irvine for some dim sum.  it's nice to have a place close to home to eat decent food, and we don't have to drive far to get it.

playing with daddy.

being silly with mommy...or rather, mommy being silly and baby being happy.

 we were going to go to Disneyland in the afternoon, but the parking situation was beyond ridiculous, so we just turned around and headed to the Spectrum to meet up with our friends TnTnT.  We wanted to take advantage of being out and about, especially since Keira was in a fairly good mood.  she even got to stretch her legs and be out of the stroller for a bit.

 

what's the happs on Saturday?

Mike and I got all dolled up for another wedding today, a cousin on his dad's side.  I felt like getting a little more dressed up than what's normal for me, which included getting my hair and make-up done by my brother's girlfriend Julie.  wanna see?

you can't really see it here, but she curled my hair and pulled it to the side.  I love it!  except for the fact that my spriggy sprouts (aka baby hairs a la pregnancy) are all over the place.  we tried to slick them down, but they just had a mind of their own.

 
Mike and I, who is looking a little tired.  you can thank Keira for that, since she is so congested and cough-y that we had to take turns being up with her last night.

 I wore the traditional vietnamese "long shirt", which my sister-in-law Linh Tam had made for me in Vietnam.  I've had the outfit for a few years now and never had a chance to wear it.

me and my nieces N and A.  just a little camera fun during the ceremony.  Mike, who had to do a reading during the ceremony, kept looking at us and telling us to behave.  yea, Auntie Jamie is a kid too at times.

the happy couple...we headed home after the ceremony to check on Keira, who we left with my mom.  I ended up skipping out on the reception (Mike went on his own) because I wanted to stay home with Keira since she wasn't feeling well.  after texting back and forth with Mike, he said it was 2 hours before they served any food!  it's pretty typical with Asian weddings to start so late, and he even left for the reception at 6pm, when it was originally supposed to start!

Keira skype-ing with my dad tonight.  she actually interacted with my dad today, laughing at him as he made funny faces at her through the camera.  my dad loved seeing her hold her own sippy cup and drink from it, stand unassisted as my mom fed her and smile at him.  technology is such an awesome thing.

that's about it for tonight.  I've got to work tomorrow, so I'm calling it a night.  have a great rest of the weekend!  
   
 

it was a Disney kind of day

my mom and brother made it to So Cal around 1am Friday morning.  My mom's been asking for months and months to go to Disneyland, especially now that she has a grandchild to go with.  so that's exactly what we did!

my mom is officially an annual passport holder to Disneyland!  it's an early Christmas present from my brother, Mike and I.  phew!  one less gift to buy this season :)

my mom's first time on the Nemo submarine ride.

in line for Small World.  we love the air conditioning on this one...it was warm out!

silly siblings.  would you expect anything else from the two of us?

in line for Toy Story.  my mom had fun on this one.

Keira wants to sport her own pair of 3Ds.

cheese.

Mike joined us later on in the day, after he got off work.  we tried to stay for fireworks, but it was going to be way past Keira's bedtime by the time we would leave, so we just headed home.  my mom has plenty more opportunities to see them, now that she's a pass holder.

yay for Disney and family time!!    
 
 

yes, we're still alive

I know it's been a while since I've been around these here parts of blogland.  I don't even know where the days go.  here's a rundown...

Keira is quite the mover and the shaker now.  she's gotten the hang of pulling herself up on things and is a pro at going from the crawling position to sitting on her tooshie.  Mike said the other night she was holding on to a Bumbo seat and pushing it across the floor...all the while WALKING.  I swear, if our kid starts walking unassisted in the very near future, I don't know what I'm going to do.

there's a cold going around our household too.  Keira started off with a runny nose and somehow Mommy caught it from her.  Only Mommy has got congestion, runniness and a scratchy throat to match.  no bueno...no bueno.

can you believe Halloween is being to show up in stores?  Keira's already got her costume...and so does her Dad.  and can I just say...OH. EM. GEE.  I can't say what it is or show a picture just yet, but it is pretty darn good.  freaked Keira out when he had it on, but it's darn funny.

(the candy corn hat can be found in the Target dollar spot.  lucky for Keira, candy corn is one of her daddy's weaknesses.  he probably would've eaten her up!)

See's Candy's Toffee-ettes are large and in charge in this house.  only we bought the can and not the small pack.  surprisingly, there's still more than half the can left.  something's wrong with me.

i can't think of anything else right now...my head is still in a bit of a fog from this cold, so off to bed I go.  have a great weekend!