Browse Category: family

3 generations

On Saturday, Cole turned 1 year old. Yay! To celebrate, we had a little party at my parents’ house. It was also the first time I got to see the house with the new floors, paint, and furniture…what a difference!

Anyway, back to the bday party…Cole seemed to enjoy all the attention he was getting that evening. There were plenty of people to entertain him, carry him, and feed him. At dinner, we were reflecting on how we had 3 generations sitting at the table. Boy, we’re all getting so old. My mom and auntie were reminiscing about the old days when both of our families lived in the same apartment building and how my mom would babysit me and Marie each day when we were his age. We were in pretty modest living conditions back then and Marie and I would take turns napping either on the floor or the crib. My mom also said that I’d sometimes find cockroaches on the floor and eat them when she wasn’t looking…mmm…cucarrachas. After dinner, Cole got to sit on the dining table with his birthday cake while everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to him for the first time. He seem pretty interested in the cake and almost got his grubby little hands on it. He attempted to open the present I wrapped for him but seemed more enamored with the glittery paper than the gift itself. It’s too bad he probably won’t remember this little party. He’ll just have to watch the video. Here are some photos of the little shindig.

The Suminos

We had Marie, Kenji, and Cole over for dinner last night. I also got to take a nice family photo of them.

sharing

When we were in Thailand, I updated my blog as often as I could. Since my brother and I were doing the same things and taking photos of the same things, he didn’t bother posting much on his site. Instead, he referred to my blog for updates. Well, now it’s my turn! Johnny just finished the slideshow that he was working on during our trip and it’s up and running. I’d say it captures a lot of what we did while highlighting the most interesting parts of each photo. Good job, brother!

SO not ready…

Last night I decided to treat Marie to a little evening at the Nail Spa by my house. In order to do that, I needed a babysitter for Cole first. Well, when the thought occurred to me, Jes was standing next to me and I had a mini-“aha moment”. I took a chance and asked him if he would be willing to hang out with Cole for an hour and he surprisingly said “sure” without hesitation. I paused for a moment due to the confusion that had come over me and he said, “hurry up and call her before I change my mind!”. Anyway, it was a go and we were off to get our nails done! Marie was so excited and I was a little worried for Jes.

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For the first fifteen minutes, I had to order Thai food so I called Jes twice to ask him what he wanted and it sounded like he had everything under control. Well, 15 minutes turned into 45 and then by the time we picked up dinner and got back to the house it was an hour and a half later and Cole was on the couch with Jes’ leg blocking the drop-zone crying his poor little heart out.

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According to Jesse, Cole was cool for the first 20 minutes or so just hanging out and goin’ with the flow. Then, as if a switch turned on, he realized that his mommy wasn’t around and started to cry. It sounded like he cried for a good hour. Jes laughed at first…haha…15 minutes of crying is still kinda funny. Then the next 30 minutes was spent walking him around, checking for a poopy diaper, and trying to calm him down. Then he tried putting Cole back on the couch and and turned up the TV. It worked at first but 5 minutes later he started to cry again. There was a periodic pause in his crying as if he was tuckered out but then he caught his breath and it was back to the tears! All I know is that when I walked into the livingroom, Cole was trying to catch his breath in Marie’s arms, there were little wet spots all over the couch, and Jes sat on the couch with a funny grin and couldn’t say anything but, “uh, he pretty much cried for the last hour…little wanker”.

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Oh well, so much for Jes’ first try at babysitting. It sounded kind of like my first time with Cole back in September. The only difference was that Cole fell asleep for me after 30 minutes. Nice try, Jes.

More cheese, please

In keeping with the American spirit of gluttony and obesity, Jes, Jason, and I went to The Melting Pot last night for some fondue.
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The only other time I’ve had fondue was in Costa Rica and it was alright. It was more fun just eating with friends. Well, this place has been in Irvine for about 3 years, which is as long as we’ve lived in Irvine. We’ve attempted to try it several times and each time we get thrown out because we don’t have reservations. I must be dumb or just unaware of the popularity because each time the girl at the front desk scowls at me and says, “Uh, guests normally need to make reservations at least a week in advance”. In response to her statement I am sincerely shocked and have actually said to her, “REALLY?!”. Then I walk away saying, “But it’s just fondue!” Apparently fondue IS popular and I really DO need to make a reservation. *sigh*
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Well, I actually picked up the phone last week and made a reservation. When we arrived, the girl at the front shouted out, “Do you have a reservation?!” I smiled and said, “Why yes we do!” At our seat, the waiter was very thorough with his description of the menu and we decided to go with everything…cheese, meats, seafood, chocolate, you name it! Let the gluttony begin!!
The swiss cheese was really good…so good that we asked for more and ended up paying for another whole order. Oh well, the boys managed to finish it anyways. The meats and seafood were cooked in a burgundy wine concoction and I think the butter sauce was the winner out of the 8 choices we had. Dessert included marshmallows, strawberries, pineable, pound cake, brownie, and cheesecake dipped in melted milk chocolate. That was very yummy.
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Overall, the experience was fun and the food was tasty. It’s a nice place for a group of friends on a special occasion. I also wouldn’t recommend going if you’re in a time crunch. You’ll have to plan on a nice long 3-hour dinner at this place and be prepared to waddle your way back to the car with post-gorging discomfort on the ride home.

Pre-Christmas Activites

Jason is home for the holidays and he’s staying with us until we leave for Thailand. Since he missed out on the Thanksgiving Roast, Jes made another one this weekend. It was a nice pre-Christmas dinner. The Standing Rib Roast was yummy and Jes made all the fixings including the real Lawry’s recipe for Creamed Corn.
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I also hung out with Marie and Cole for some last minute preparation for her Christmas trip to New York. Cole was in an extremely good mood today, which made shopping and lunch much easier. In fact, during lunch Cole was the life of the party. He sat in his high chair and kept turning around to smile and interact with the people eating at the tables nearby.