Browse Category: life

Party Girl

IMG_7666I don’t really know what’s going on but Kumquat has been waking up in the middle of the night and partying.  My hunches are that she may be going through a growth spurt, teething, or she’s sick.  I’m thinking it’s a growth spurt since she seems well, I can’t feel any new molars, and she’s been asking for more milk lately.  All I know is that she was up from 4-6 am on Tuesday morning and she was up from 12-1:30am this morning.  She rolled around and was really restless so I wasn’t able to get any sleep too.  I really hope this doesn’t last long.  I came home sick with a fever of 100.4 this afternoon and my stomach has not been treating me very well for the past 24 hours.  This photo was taken earlier in the evening when I was hopeful that she would sleep better last night.  I was wrong.

Christmas Party 2013

The last time Jes and I threw a Christmas Party was back in 2006 when we lived in Irvine.  It was before any of us had kids and some of us weren’t even married yet.  On Saturday, we threw a party and it was almost like a reunion for some people.  It was just nice to have a lot of the same people all together again under one roof.  DSC_4043We reserved the Clubroom and we had a decent showing of 17 adults and 9 kids!  My oh my!  I remember back when our parties consisted of at least 25 adults and maybe 4 dogs.

IMG_7559Anyway, the day started with a little drama.  Jes started the prime rib at 11:30 thinking it would take 7 hours to finish.  There was smoke all up in the house because it was turned up to 500 degrees (nothing bad happened) and the roast finished by 2:30!

DSC_4040 So, in a panic, we went to Plan B and decided to make prime rib sandwiches with horseradish aioli, onion relish, and arugula instead of serving slices with sides.  It turned out just fine and the meat was perfectly medium rare.  Yum.

IMG_7565DSC_4022We had a kid-friendly menu and activities also prepared and they had a fun time together.

DSC_4035 IMG_7582The adults also had a little game to play – we set up a blind wine tasting of cheap and more expensive red wines.

IMG_7575 By the end, everyone was pretty rowdy.  Check out the Reese and Jack Team vs. Uncle Jimmy. IMG_7588

DSC_4050Keenan almost stole a kiss from Zoe until Uncle Victor spooked her.

IMG_7578I’m so glad the timing worked out for everyone.  It’s rare that we all have a free Saturday to hang out all together nowadays.  What a great way to kick off the Christmas season!!

One Month!

DSC_3936Baby Alice is one month old today!  Coincidentally, we planned to have dim sum at Yank Sing this morning, which is where we celebrated Kumquat’s one month!  IMG_8955Alice slept through out meal but woke up at the end for her to placed in the baby carrier for the first time.     IMG_8957

Happy One Month, Alice!!  And congratulations to Brother and Joy for surviving your first month.  You’re both doing a wonderful job!!!  It gets better from here on out.

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It’s still weird to think that Brother and I each have one kid.  I can still remember Brother at their ages.  I guess we all have to grow up eventually.

Running Errands

IMG_7280Our afternoon errands ran a little long and Kumquat was desperately asking for milk.  So, I had to buy small milk cartons while at Target.  Luckily they had a mini register in the grocery section so I could pay for it and not feel weird about breaking open the package in the middle of the store.

I am also guilty of taking out the iPad during checkout.  I’m one of THOSE parents now.

By the way, I figured out how to rig the iPad mini with toy links connected to the shopping cart and a clear pencil pouch.  Worked like a charm without having to worry about Kumquat dropping it on the floor.  I forgot to take a photo of it today.

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IMG_6712I’ve been so used to bringing Kumquat around with me everywhere I go that this weekend felt a little weird.  On Saturday morning, I had a hair appointment so Jes took her along to Costco to get the car fixed.  I had an hour to kill before my appointment and I didn’t seem to know what to do with myself.

IMG_6644So, I did some laundry and went out for a cup of coffee.

On Sunday morning, Kumquat was supposed to join me for brunch with Vyl and Michelle.  It was going to be a mother-daughter brunch but since she had a cold, I had to leave her behind with Jes.  I had some time to have a meal without having to feed another little human and she got some more time with her dad.

IMG_6716 Later that afternoon, I had plans to go to Patty’s house for dinner.  She invited a few of us over to her cute little apartment for a pseudo book club evening.  IMG_6719Kumquat was supposed to come and hang out with Vivian but again, she had to stay home.  Patty prepared a full dinner complete with a pork roast, veggies, and a poached pear dessert!  IMG_6722IMG_6727

It was weird having my little shadow separated from me for half of my weekend but I’m glad that she was able to spend some quality time with Jes too.

11 years

IMG_6688 We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this evening by having a tasty steak dinner and bringing our little girl with us.  Kumquat came along this year and it was certainly the shortest and cheapest anniversary dinner we’ve ever had.  We usually go out for a drawn out multi-course dinner at a fancy restaurant but not this year.  I suppose we’ve had 10 good years to ourselves and now it’s the beginning of a new chapter in our marriage.  Besides, I can’t think of a more fitting way to kick off the next chapter than to have a little person clinking her sippy cup to our wine glasses!!  On top of that, Kumquat is such a good little diner and she adds a little extra something to the mix when we go out nowadays.

IMG_0608Here she is double fisting her milk and water.

IMG_0610And here I am making fun of her.

Happy Anniversary, Jes!  The next few years will be quite an adventure and there’s no one else I’d rather have by my side.  Love you!