Browse Category: babies

Saturday Supper

We invited the Sokol-Juns over for dinner last night and Ryan challenged Jes to make a non-beef meal.  So we went into our Ad Hoc at Home book and made some scrumptious crispy chicken thighs over fennel and olives.  I was a bit worried about eating fennel since I hate the taste of black licorice but they were cooked enough that I just kept eating them.

We also had new potatoes and asparagus on the side.  The potatoes were made with the fresh herbs from my “garden”.  Heh heh.

I also made some box brownies and Jack (and his dad) loved them.

You really can’t beat brownies and ice cream. Yum yum!

Little Baby Reese slept through dinner and Koa kept trying to get a better sniff of her.  Fortunately, Jack has learned to be a Big Brother and said “Don’t eat baby sister, Koa!”  It was pretty darn cute.

Birthdays

On Saturday, I was on my way home from Safeway with a 6-pack of beer for our afternoon on the roof to watch the Blue Angels when I got a call from Ryan.  They were on Red Alert and I made a left turn to their house.  Jack was napping and Jes came over to keep me company.  Once Jack woke up, he wasn’t too surprised to see me and kept saying “Baby Sister in Mommy’s tummy”.  I guess they really prepped this guy for what to expect.

He happily played with his blocks and we watched Sesame Street together.  He had some juice and even used the potty before we headed out to dinner. We already had plans that evening so Ryan’s mom took the next shift.

That evening, Jes had planned a belated Birthday Dinner for me at Paragon.  He reserved the private room and had everyone join us.  Dayantha and Krissy drove down from Sacramento and Jen and Kevin drove up from Redwood City.  What a treat!  While we were having dinner, Ryan sent us a photo of Reese.  Woohoo!  If Saturday was my actual birthday, we’d be sharing the day!

Little J is a Big Brother

Jes and I were on Jack duty on Saturday afternoon because he was getting a baby sister that day.  Baby Reese was born on October 9th around 8:30 that evening and missed Ryan’s goal of being a 10/10/10 baby by only 3 hours.  I got to hold her tonight and she’s so tiny and oh so cute!  Hopefully I’ll get to take some photos of her this weekend.  Thanks for sending me this photo, Ryan!  Had no idea you had taken this!

My Weekend at Home

Last weekend I flew home to celebrate my 35th birthday with my brother and the rest of the family.  I hadn’t been home since end of January so it was long overdue and perfect timing since Jes was in NYC for work.  I took some extra days off so I had the flexibility to score the $39 one-way fares.  My flight to LA wasn’t until Saturday afternoon so I actually got to enjoy a warm, sunny day in SF.

In the afternoon, Ryan drove me to SFO (thanks, dude!) and I flew a quick hour and 10 mins to LAX where Brother and Joy picked me up.  They drove directly to Beverly Hills to take me to Paulette.  It’s a place selling French macarons and they were so yummy!  They were about to close to all they had was lemon, coconut, and violet cassis.  We all got one of each and sat down at the Starbucks across the street to enjoy them with a nice cup of coffee.

Before dinner, we walked around The Grove and got a quick drink at a bar down the street from the restaurant.  Dinner was at AOC and Ben and Tiffany joined us for a feast of French tapas.  My favorites were the bacon-wrapped dates and the peach salad with burrata.  I hadn’t been there in over 4 years and it was just as yummy as I had remembered.  When the server asked us if we wanted to see the dessert menu, we kindly declined because we were headed to MILK for dessert!

It was just a few blocks away and I was delighted by their selection of ice creams and other tasty treats.  I opted for the coffee toffee on a cone while the others had Nutella and a grasshopper, which is mint ice cream sandwiched between two pistachio macarons.

I also had to try the cajeta and corn ice cream, which was like cold corn soup with bits of caramel corn mixed in.  Yum yum!

On Sunday, it was unpleasantly hot in Southern CA.  I was up pretty early so my mom made me some Kanom Krok.  Yesh!!  Around 10:30, I met up with Patti at a Korean-owned French pastry place.  It was really cute and I picked up a few treats to take home.  Patti and I got caught up over coffee in a nice air-conditioned place.

For lunch, we made arrangements to meet up with Pish, Debbie, Katie, and their new baby Kyle.  He was just born the day after Jes’ birthday!  My parents were also there and brought along some friends.  Jonathan and Janelle also joined us and brought Noah and their new baby girl Naomie.  We stuffed ourselves silly with Thai food and it felt like Thanksgiving with the non-stop arrival of food to the table and all of us seated at a really long table.

Later that day, we went to the Cerritos Mall to cool off but it was so hot outside that the mall was just mildly cooler inside.  Did I mention how fancy that mall has gotten?!  It has a brand new Nordstrom and even an Apple Store!  Whut?!  We then went to Pish and Debbie’s new house in Irvine where we hung out and Katie showed off her pink room and closet full of cute dresses.  For dinner, we met up with the Suminos at Uoko.  The boys had played baseball all day in the heat so they were all tired and sweaty.  But that didn’t keep us from devouring a ton of sushi and guzzling ice cold Sapporo.  I went home with the biggest stomach ache.

On Monday, there was record-breaking heat with Downtown LA reaching 113 degrees!  Whut?!  In the morning, I had another one of my favorite treats called Sakoo Sai Moo.  My mom ordered a bunch before I arrived and they were so yummy.

I also met up with Sandy, Linda, her 1-year old Christian, and Shaun.  We had brunch and got caught up.  I was so relieved that it worked out.  Sandy didn’t have to go to work until 1:00 and Linda was working the night shift.  Around noon, I headed down to Orange County.  I had to get my teeth cleaned.  Pish made me an appointment and so I went.  His new hygienist is nice and I left there with no cavities!  Woohoo!

Afterward, I met up with Marie and we picked up the boys from school a little early so that we could take Cole to the doctor for his Kindergarten check-up and shots.  I got to hang out with Brandon in the waiting room and we had a good time playing with the ball maze and he got a little snack too.  It felt like old times…hanging out with Marie and the boys while she does her errands and daily things.

For dinner, we went to Lawry’s for our birthday prime rib and creamed corn.  Yum yum!  My mom and I shared a slice and Brother and I got the usual birthday cake and song from the servers.  It was a nice way to end the last 3 days of gluttony.  Check out the free cheesy digital photo they gave us at the restaurant.  Pretty funny.

The next morning, it was our birthdays and time for me to go back to SF.  On the way to the airport, we stopped at Brother’s new office to check it out and to give him a big birthday hug.  It’s right next to LAX so it was perfect.  We had enough time to hang out for a bit and then I was back on a plane to SFO.

By the way, I got a nice surprise in my suitcase.  I was putting my laptop into my suitcase after going through security and found a pink birthday card from my mom.  It was cool.  I think I still like surprises. 🙂  On top of that, as I was waiting to board, I got texts from Ryan and Michelle who made arrangements to pick me up from the airport.  Thanks Michelle!!!

So there you have it.  I had a great time in Cerritos and I’m so happy that everyone was around that weekend.  I loved meeting the new babies and catching up with my family and friends.  Trips like these make me miss home the most.  I moved to a great city where lots of my friends are but I also left a bunch of people behind too.  *sigh*  At least I know they’re only an hour and a half flight away.

Here are the photos from the weekend.

Harvest Moon over the Ballpark

On Friday, SF warmed up and Michelle and I went across the street to watch “Aida” at the ballpark for free.  It was a live simulcast of the opera and we got some really cool seats up in the top level.  From there, we got an unobstructed view of the jumbotron and watched the Harvest Moon rise up from behind.

Ryan and Jack also stopped by for a little bit.  Jack was having a great time until the opera actually started.  The singing started, there was a quick pause, and then we heard him say “I don’t like that.”  Haha.

So they quickly left and we enjoyed the rest of the evening at the opera.  Too bad we got tired by 10 and had to leave before the opera finished.  Oh well.  It was still a great way to spend a warm Friday night.

Spa Day

On Sunday, we drove up to Calistoga for Michelle’s Baby Shower.  We scored a spot on the balcony with two tables, plenty of chairs, and reclining chairs in the sun.  We had a feast of snacks including hummus, pita bread, cheese, olives, salad, salami, and fruit.  I got a 30-minute massage and the girls all got a treatment of some kind that afternoon.  The pools were all from hot springs and only a few went in the water.   This summer has been so cold and windy that it was just nice to be out in a warm, sunny area for a change.

Michelle also received a bunch of really cute girlie gifts for their October baby.  I had a fun time shopping at Target for her gift.  Kids clothing at Target is so cute AND affordable!  Congratulations, Michelle.  Hopefully Miss Labor and Miss Delivery will be kind to you.

Here are the rest of the photos.  I didn’t take as many as usual.  Sorry.