Matchie Matchie

Am I cheesy for dressing my girls matchie matchie? =) Tee hee!

Giggle-fest

Here is a cute video of the girls interacting.

Baby B's giggling is contagious. I dare you keep a straight face! =)

Brunch With Friends

Today we went over to visit some friends in their new house and had a brunch potluck. We closed on the property back in Dec 08, but with holidays, schedules, etc, we finally got around to visiting them after they settled in.

We had lots of yummy food and great company. The kids enjoyed running a muck, and thank goodness Baby C did not break anything!

The spread: brunch stratta (made my yours truly), apple pancake, waffles, hash browns, bacon, and fruit (not pictured)...oh and also an excellent lemon bar made by the host SM, that we took to-go.

Batter spillage makes the waffle taste better!

The only way we can get a picture with all the kids together was to sit them in front of the TV. =) L-R: TM, Baby C, and RK.

Oakland Zoo

Last Friday I randomly decided to brave the zoo with the two kiddies. The zoo was crowded with school kids and other people, so I had to park kinda far. Plus the stroller with two kids on it was about 60 pounds. If you have ever been to the Oakland Zoo, it is one hilly ride! Between the grouchy hungry mama, slow eating toddler, and cranky-I-don't-want-to-sleep-in-the-stroller infant, We only lasted there about 1.5 hours (thank goodness we are members). We saw enough animals to satisfy.

We usually end our zoo trips with a carousel and train ride, but Baby B was not in a great mood so we had to skip it. On a brighter note, Baby C is finally tall enough for the car ride, so she got to ride it on her own. She chose the firetruck and had a blast driving it with her "friend".

Baby B end up in the Hip Hammock with me because she did not want to sit in the stroller anymore. Made it quite awkward to push the stroller...note to self for next time.

Baby B's New Toy Stash

In an attempt to keep the toys that Baby B chews on safe and BPA-free, I went shopping for some new loot for her. Baby C was not much of a drooler/chewer, so I did not really have many chew toys for her.

I shopped online, so I did not really get to touch a feel the toys first. Most of the toys were not too pricey (so I would not really care if she did not play with them much), but two of them were a bit pricey (IMO for um, plastic!), and I really hope she likes them, otherwise I would feel real ripped off! LOL! I have not tried all the toys on her yet, but so far so good...

Corn!

One of my favorite things about the summer season is corn. I know it is not technically summer yet, but corn is coming along just fine. Here is a picture of Baby C helping me husk some corn. She made a big mess with all the corn silk everywhere, but we had fun.

San Jose Kids Discovery Museum

There was a free day at the museum so I thought we'd go check it out. It's a very interactive museum for kids. It was a complete zoo, but we had fun. Here are some pictures from our day:

Real fire truck with knobs, gauges, and hoses!

Baby C in some sort of basket boat thingy.

Real big tire to climb in and out of, also other "circles" to learn about.

Bubble station.

Balls and water, can it be more fun?

Slam-dunking balls into a water tornado/vortex!

Eggs and freshly hatched chicks in the incubator!

Finger painting.

Thank goodness Baby B was well-behaved in the stroller and even took a short nap. This is what I felt like doing after our little adventure at the museum!

Mother's Day 2009

This year was my first Mother's Day with 2 kiddies. I was not expecting a day to myself or anything, but just a nice day with our little family of four. On Saturday, we hit the Hayward Farmer's Market and grabbed some yummy kettle corn, along with some fresh fruits and lunch at a random Mexican joint.


We had dinner that evening with my inlaws. On Sunday, we hit up the San Jose Kids Discovery Museum (separate blog entry to come). It was a free day and it was a zoo! We were exhausted, but had fun...well, more specifically Baby C had fun. =) It's funny how parenthood has altered my concept of happiness...watching my kids have fun makes me happy! We stopped for some Hawaiian food for lunch. What can I say...spam musubi, chicken katsu, kalua pork, mac salad...I am a cheap date!


On our way back we stopped by for a mango smoothie with lychee jelly in San Jose.


We had some yummy sushi for dinner at Ray's Sushi in Hayward.


And of course after a long day with the kids, we needed a tall one of these....

Happy Birthday Daddy J!

Today is Daddy J's birthday. Although we had a combo birthday dinner a couple weeks ago with friends (we have 4 birthdays in a 3 week span every April/May), we went out for an "intimate" sushi dinner tonight. Umm, intimate as in small group, NOT like date night or anything. LOL!

We went to Senro Sushi in downtown Pleasanton. Honestly I like Sozo Sushi better in Pleasanton, but it was the birthday boy's choice! Thanks CE for dinner! =)

Here are some pictures from our dinner. Senro was nice enough to throw in 2 free mochi presented with a candle for the birthday boy! =)


Our friend CE ordered some raw oyster shooters with quail eggs. A bit too slimey for my taste, but he enjoyed it. Also pictured is some unfiltered sake.


Here was our sushi spread...well, partially...we also had fried oysters (kaki fry), a big sashimi plate with tuna and hamachi, unfiltered sake, melon soda, and Baby C had a chicken cutlet and shrimp tempura bento box, which frankly we ate most of.


Here is a picture of the combo birthday dinner at Tomodachi Sushi Bistro in Hayward a few weeks ago. Happy birthday to Daddy J, CL, VL, and CO!.

Baby B's Six Month Well Check Appointment

I can't believe Baby B is six months already! It's so crazy how quickly time flies!

Here are her stats, looks like she is in the 70's percentile all the way around:

17 lbs (71%)
16.5 inches tall (77%)
43.2 cm head circumference (72%)

We recently started her on some solid foods: carrot, butternut squash, etc. We are also getting her started on sippy cups. I bought all new sippies for Baby B because of the whole BPA in plastics thing. I am hoping she will take the sippy well (since she never took a bottle) so that I can perhaps be away from her for more than 1+ hours at a time.

Baby B can roll from front to back, but not the other way around. It's probably because I just don't give her enough practice time...bad mommy! Heh. She is also working on sitting on her own. Still wobbly, but getting there!

She is babbling a lot, sometimes squealing in excitement (of course not always at appropriate times), She definitely recognizes faces, and has her "preferences". She is a drooly monster, we soak through quite a number of bibs each day (annoying!). No teeth yet, but I am sure they are on their way!

Baby B's sleep schedule has been all discombobulated the past 3-4 weeks, which has left me a frazzled zombie. It's been frustrating because I KNOW she can sleep through the night, because she's done it before, but now, all of a sudden, she decides to wake every 3-4 hours around the clock. She's not a paci kinda kid either, so that leaves me, the human soother. Oh wells, I hope this is just a passing phase. More updates to come!

Children's Art & Science Festival

Last weekend I took the kids to the 9th Annual Children's Art & Science Festival at the Laurel Center. Daddy J had the weekend "off" because it was his birthday weekend (lucky him!). It was a super hot day, but we had fun. I busted out the full sized stroller for Baby B because it had a canopy, plus extra sun shade...we would have never survived the festival if I had her in a carrier! There were a lot of booths with sensory and art activities in addition to puppet shows, storytelling, and sing-a -longs.

Here are some pictures from our afternoon:

Baby C banging on some pots and pans, making "music".

We bumped into our friends GK & LN and their son RK. We caught a puppet show and "Gabby La La's" musical act together (partially). I even bought Gabby La La's CD. Here is her youtube page. I liked her funky vibe and Baby C seemed to enjoy it too!

It was SUPER hot that day, we were so melting. Thank goodness for sno-cones!

Baby C checking out a jar full of ladybugs.

Rocking Baby B

Here is a short clip that shows what a cool big sis Baby C is.

It's pretty funny to see the size difference....but to be fair, Baby B looks extra big because she is in the foreground and Baby C in the background...you know...like an optical illusion of sorts...! LOL

Baby C Reading to Baby B

Here's a picture of Baby C reading to Baby B.

Quite cute IMHO. =P

Baby B Bouncy

Here is a cute video of Baby B on the bouncy.

She is 5+ months old in the video and happy as can be!

Doggie Accessorized

It's funny to see Baby C and the dog interact. We are lucky that our dog is very gentle and *tolerant* with the kids. Here is a picture of Baby C "accessorizing" the dog. Poor Max!

Amish Friendship Bread - Done!

Following up on my original post about my Amish Friendship Bread adventures, here is a picture of the final product. It had a banana bread consistency and was yummy! The recipe made 2 loaves and I ate about 1 loaf all myself over the course of a week...I could not stop eating it! =P

That was a fun experience!...the mushing and baking, and giving!

What's For Dinner?

I hate that question...it's always a challenge to figure out what to eat.

Here is a new combo: teriyaki salmon, bok choy, and ham fried rice.

It was pretty delish, except the portions could've been a bit smaller. heh!

I want to make a "menu" of items I can cook well andy just plan out a week's worth of meals so I can shop all at the same time instead of flying by the seat of my pants all the time...someday I will, someday...

Lacking Sleep

Speaking of sleep, or lack of it...here is a video of Baby C falling asleep at the dinner table.

Active day + refusing naps + eating dinner a bit late = Baby C blackmail video!

She is NOT gonna like this post when she grows up!

This is only the second time this has ever happened at the dinner table. That weird sound at the end of the video is me cracking up, I just couldn't hold back! Of course right after I stopped recording, she conks her forehead (lightly) on the table. Daddy J made me feel bad about that one. =P But it was just too funny not to capture on video!!!...ok, ok, you can take back my "mother of the year" award. LOL!

Sleepless Nights!

I am so behind on my blogging because I have been running on minimal sleep for the past 2+ weeks. Baby B thinks it is funny to wake up as soon as Mommy's head hits the pillow and proceed to give me a hard time into the wee hours. OK, maybe I am a little at fault too, I am a night owl (because those are the only hours I get to myself, so I sacrifice sleep).

When she wakes in the wee hours, I try not to bring Baby B into our bed, but honestly it's the easiest, and in my opinion, much safer than me rocking/nursing her in the glider while nodding off...it is SO hard to stay awake!!!

I want to let her cry it out and let her learn to soothe herself, but I am afraid that her screaming will wake up Baby C across the hall (light sleeper). With Baby C, I did not have this problem because the only other people in the house were me and Daddy J, and I was always hovering the baby monitor anyways and Daddy J can sleep through a hurricane.

I guess things are always different the second time around. =) Wish me luck that this is only a passing phase. With an active toddler running around, it's nearly impossible to sleep in, so I am not able to catch up on my ZZZ's.

Here is a recent picture of Baby B, even though I am running on fumes because of her, how can you be mad at a face like that?!

Look At Me! I am So COol!

OK, so I am not ashamed to say that I am a Star Trek fan. I used to watch the old school Captain Kirk ones...plus TNG (The Next Generation) with Jean-Luc Picard, and even some of the Voyager series. BUT, I have not seen any of the movies (weird), but am excited about the nexw Star Trek movie that just came out. Unfortunately, we will probably catch it when it comes out on DVD because with the kiddies in tow, we just can't get away...

Check out these kick ass glasses we got at Burger King. They also have cool kids meal toys that say something geeky like "Beat me up Scotty". There are like 16 of them and there is no way we are eating that many fast food meals before this promotion is over. I will have to see if I can just buy them without the meal. I know, I am such a nerd, but they are SO cool! LOL!

Sickies

Ok, with all this swine flu hype, I've been extra cautious with the hand washing, wiping, etc. We even missed our Monday and Wednesday classes (for other reasons). Baby C did make it to the first day of her new preschool on Thursday though...I guess we'll be missing tomorrow's preschool.

This afternoon, Baby C was not feeling well. She actually went to go take a nap on her own, which is VERY rare, and slept for almost 2 hours. She was burning up when she got up from her nap. After Daddy J got home, she threw up, and complained that her tummy ached throughout dinner. Then she threw up again when we were putting her down for the night. Poor kid. We could not even get any tylenol in her cuz she threw it up. Hope this is just a small bug and she's able to kick it soon!

Wish us luck, it may be another rough night! (the past couple weeks have been rough because Baby B refuses to sleep for more than a 3-4 hour stretch...oh-joy!)

ETA: Morning after update Baby C seems to be feeling ok, she woke up a couple times during the night (water, potty, tissue for minor bloody nose), but she woke up in good spirits and no fever. I think it was just an germ adjustment period to her new preschool (Tuesday). I guess she just had to get used the new germ environment there. I do recall she also got sick after the first days at her previous preschool...so that must be it!