Browse Category: babies

A Back-to-Work Treat

I went back to work today all relaxed and ready to tackle my day. I actually hobbled in since I have the worst shin splints EVAR right now and my left knee is killing me. Besides all that, I had a pretty good first day back at work. That was…until I went upstairs to see one more patient. She was a sweet little 11-month-old enjoying herself on my lap. Little did I know that she was having such a good time that she emptied her bladder into her diaper which then leaked all over my lap. What happened to all those leak-proof diapers I’ve seen on TV?! Sure, the pee was bad enough but what’s worse is that the baby’s on some crazy medicine that gives her super highlighter yellow pee. So, when I stood up there was a huge wet bright yellow spot on my pants that might as well have been a sign that said “Look here! I peed myself!”. In the meantime, the little baby just looked up at me with a big smile on her face. *sigh* All I could do was change her diaper and call it a day. Luckily it was the end of the day and I could just throw my coat on and drive home instead of wandering the halls of the hospital searching for scrubs to wear. So, that was my first day back at work. WooPEE!!

Snow Day!

snowman

Saturday turned out to be a day of playing in the snow after all. It just didn’t involve skis. Ryan and his sister made an enormous snowman.

koa&horses

Koa got to hang out with the horses, smell the chickens, and run off-leash in the snow.

Vyl and I made a snowboard ramp and a bunch of snowballs to throw at Bang. Ryan and Bang tried out the ramp but it was kinda of a dud considering the snow was super slushy by the time it was ready.

napping

In the meantime, Jes took a super nap with the heater on in the apartment and Jack wasn’t having a very good day, which made Ryan’s supposed day off a little stressful.

messy face

Little J was super clingy and grumpy, didn’t eat very much, and didn’t appreciate the snow either.

crying viking

Poor little guy must have really missed his mommy ‘cuz he got all worked up and ended took 2 monster naps that afternoon.

Once Jes woke up from his nap, he tried the X3 chains on our tires and they sorta fit. It will just have to do. The afternoon ended with a really yummy ribs dinner made by Ryan’s mom complete with pasta salad, potato salad, and corn bread.

clear road

At 5 pm, it was time to head out. Ryan drove ahead of us with his mom’s truck and we made it out of the rough spots with a couple slips but the chains really saved us. We lucked out on the weather (no snow or rain) and got home by 8 pm. It’s a good thing we left when he did because it started pouring overnight and today was blustery and stormy as well. I guess we’ll just have to try again next time.

Here are the photos from the trip.

Eatin’, Walkin’, and Almost Talkin’

jack_toys

It was date night for Jack’s parents so I went over to hang out with him.  Now that he can walk and understands so much more, he’s getting easier to babysit.  He played with his toys and even did a big “Ta Da!” for me from behind the curtains (sorry the photo is so blurry).

Ta Da!

We went through the usual going-to-bed routine but he put up a little bit of fight today.  He was obviously pooped out but seemed to need a little company too.  Plan A is to leave the room and allow him to fall asleep on his own so that’s what I did.  After about 15 minutes of whining and eventually screaming, I decided to go back in his room for Plan B.  I laid him back down (he was standing in the crib), patted his back for a couple seconds, and stood over the crib as he settled down.  Every couple minutes he would look up to make sure I was still standing there and then turn back over to sleep.  It was quite cute.  It didn’t take long for him to finally fall asleep and I was able to leave the room without a peep out of him.  What a funny little dude.  It’ll be interesting once he starts talking.

Oxtail for the Year of the Ox

vyl_cny09

It’s the Year of the Ox, which brings us a hard-working year and will require diligence and patience.  I guess it’s appropriate considering the crappy economy and that Vyl spent these past two days preparing a Chinese New Year feast for us.  Ryan counted nine dishes today: braised oxtail, roasted duck, turnip cake, lotus root salad, Chinese broccoli, steamed fish, Chinese sticky rice, pork-stuffed bittermelon, and chive boxes.  They were all so yummy and Vyl really outdid herself this year.  Michelle also made a mochi cake with red bean so we all went home totally stuffed.

jack2

jack

Jack is walking around independently now and had a great time at the dinner table too.  I think he ate about 4 or 5 lotus root slices! So, Happy New Year and I hope all the hard work this year pays off!!  :)  And thanks for cooking, Vyl!!

Here are photos from our dinner.

Mr. Grumpy Pants

Mad

Little J came over for dinner with his parents and boy oh boy have the Terrible Twos arrived early! Maybe he’s teething, maybe he’s still sick, or maybe he’s just plain grumpy. All I know is that he’s got the tantrum down solid and showed off his skills today. He clung to Michelle, cried intermittently for no reason, and didn’t eat as much as he usually does. My favorite move of the night was the Super Turtle Tantrum, which entails crying while curled up in a ball with his head down on the floor. I was too slow with the camera today and didn’t get a photo of it. He’s smart enough to even place his hand down between the floor and his head for extra padding.

Koa and Crying J

Koa would come by to console him but that just made him madder. I guess he doesn’t like his ears licked.  He apparently knows how to say he’s mad by giving out a big faker cry and saying “Maaaa!” (That’s a drawn out “mad” without the “d” at the end.)  I couldn’t help laughing at him and it was pretty cute but his parents are not happy with this turn of events.  Hopefully this will be a short phase in their life.  But in the meantime, if you guys need to drop him off for a few hours, holla at me.  I can take the whining.

Christmas Roundup

With only 2 full days left of my vacation in Southern CA, it was pretty crazy trying to squeeze in some quality time with my loved ones.  It was fun but felt more like a buffet where I got a taste of everything but nothing was totally satisfying and made me want to have more of the real deal.  In other words, I’m already trying to figure out how and when I’ll be able to make another trip down to LA to hang out with the locals and make a trip to the east coast to visit the out-of-towners for some REAL quality time.

Here’s what went down…

**FRIDAY**

I felt ill that morning and had a really hard time getting up.  The body aches and chills were so bad that I ended up canceling Koa’s vet appointment that morning.  Dog totally lucked out.  For lunch, we had Jes’ favorite ramen at Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa.  Afterward, we headed over to the BMW dealership and purchased a little somethin’ for the ride back to SF.  More details about the car later.

In the afternoon, I met up with my old PTN Pals at the Starbucks next to our Irvine house.

For dinner, we had Chinese food with the old gang.  Aw…I love group photos.

After dinner, the Agustins met up with us for drinks and a truly unique Cerritos experience.

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**SATURDAY**

I woke up feeling a little better and headed up to Beverly Hills to meet up with my UCLA girls for brunch at Campanile. Catching up is so much fun but makes me miss them even more when it’s over.

In the afternoon, I went to hang out with the parents and it’s always nice to be home. It’s just too bad that it only lasted a couple hours. I had to head back to BP to get the CR-V tidied up and deliver it to it’s final destination.

For dinner, I met up with my Whitney girls at Cafe Hiro.  It’s a cute Japanese/Italian place in the middle of suburbia.  We got to chat over tuna tataki and risotto.  I had so much fun, girls! I miss our monthly dinners!

The final stop for the night was my auntie and uncle’s house in Cerritos where Marie and the gang were waiting for me.  The boys are getting so big and I miss them so much.  Unfortunately, by the end of the night, I had lost my voice and went straight to bed.

On Sunday morning, we went to church, said our goodbyes to Jes’ parents, aunt, uncle, and family friends.  We swung by my parents’ house to pick up Koa and said our goodbyes to them too.  In what felt like a flash, we were back on the road for another 7-hour car ride.  Phew.

Here are photos of my entire Christmas season.  Enjoy!