Moments to Treasure: April 2006

Going to Sunday Service and lunch at Golden Palace

In the morning we all went to church except Alvin, because he was not feeling well. After the service, Stephen treated us lunch at the Golden Palace restaurant. Getting back to the Condo, John, Vickie and Rita had to finish packing and start driving home. We all appreciated their coming for this special occasion to celebrate Jason's birth with us. Grand Aunt Vickie even bought Nicole a very beautiful dress and cute little outfits for Jason. We couldn't thank them enough and were sad they had to leave so soon.

Lunch at the Golden Palace Restaurant after church.

Tai Kung, Tai Po and Uncle John's family joining us at lunch.

Nicole was more happy with picture-taking than eating during lunch, in spite of all the good food in front of her.

The Big Day for Baby Jason.

In the morning, everyone tried to get ready for the 10:00 o'clock photo appointment at the Picture People Studio. Becky thought since everyone in our family were here, it might be a good time to take a family portait together. Baby Jason was the first one to be ready, all buckled up in the car seat waiting for everybody. We woke Tai Kung , Tai Po at 8:30 am, but they were still the last ones that were ready. Tai Po had a new suit on. She looked very nice. I did not even have time to wash my hair, so I looked lousy. My greater concern was to get every visitor a place to sleep at night. Anyway, to our great surprise we were even too early for our appointment , the photo shop was not opened yet! Good job, everyone for being on time. After taking picture for the entire family, the three children took one with grandparents and one with great grandparents. Then each family took an individual one and lastly we took one for the three kids. The greatest problem was to get Nicole to focus the camera with a nice smile. Well, we would see how the pictures would turn out.

After the photo session, we spent about half hour at the mall to give Becky time to pump her milk. Then all three cars headed for the restaurant in Chinatown. Our old friends, David, Yolanda, Babara, Richard as well as Maria and Tom were all there already. We sat down on one table and had a good time chatting. John, Vickie and Rita arrived just in time to join Kung Kung, Po Po, Alvin's family and Amy. Another table sat our other relatives like Sue and her children, Bo and her daughter Irene. The rest of the tables were for the Kwan family. We waited for a long time for them to eventually filled up the seats and started serving lunch. The food was good. We all had a good time.

For dinner, I suggested the young people go out together and we old folks would stay home to take care of the babies. We did not have to cook much because we had a lot of left overs from the two restaurant meals. However, the babies did keep our hands full. First we would like to put Nicole to bed. We worried that she was too hyper to obey. Tai Po and I worked together to change diaper and get her into her pyjama. Tai Po did not know the side rail was not too sturdy. She leaned on it to put Nicole into bed. The side rail bent and she practically dropped herself and Nicole onto the bed. Thank God they were more shocked than hurt. After calming Nicole down, we tried to get out of the room as soon as possible. She was unbelievably co-operative and she went to sleep without giving us any more trouble. Then it was time to feed Baby Daniel and Baby Jason. Baby Daniel soon finished his 8 oz formula fed by Grand Uncle John, however, Baby Jason was giving me a hard time, refusing to finish his milk and get settled down. I had to put him in the carrier and walked him outside. Then I changed diapers for the kids, running up and down the stairs. Even Grand Uncle had to learn carrying Baby D in the carrier while he ate. After dinner, I had to continue carrying Baby Jason, who for some strange reason kept crying loudly and resisting to go to sleep. I was glad our visitors finally got settled down to play Mah Jong, and relieved when Becky returned, so I could I hand Baby Jason back to her.

Picture taken in the Mall while waiting for the Picture People Studio to open.

Tai Kung, Tai Po happy to take a picture with great grandson Jason.

Lunch at the Golden Dragon Restaurant to celebrate Baby Jason's birth.

What a lovely family!

Proud Mommy showing the cute but sleepy Jason around.

Lunch at Soup Plantation and Dinner at Empress Harbor

Early this morning we got up. Baby Daniel was a little feverirsh. After giving him a dose of Tylenol, Alvin set off to the airport with Daddy to pick up Tai Kung, Tai Po and Auntie Amy. When they got back, all were excited and happy to see the two babies. Then Sue treated us a fantastic lunch at the Soup Plantation. Nicole was feasting herself as usual. When her tummy was too full, she still couldn't refuse her little cup of icecream. It was a joy watching her enjoying her lunch.
Our old buddies wanted to gather with Daniel and me for dinner. However, I felt I just couldn't leave all the people at home without taking care of their dinner. So I suggested to Daniel to take the excuse of holding a dinner in honor of Baby Daniel, so we could bring all of our family members to dinner and to meet with our friends. This way, no one would fight for the bill. We were happy our in-laws could come to the dinner as well.

Even though Baby Daniel was a little sick, he kept himself calm and happy sucking onto his fingers.

Proud Grandparents with their darling grandsons.

Baby Daniel having a good conversation with Cousin Nicole.

Tai Po happy to hold Baby Daniel for the first time.

Baby Daniel was cheerful to be in the loving hands of Tai Kung.

Nicole came over to play with Baby Daniel after she finished her big, big lunch at the Soup Plantation.

Mnn, this ice cream is soooo yummy!

Arriving at the Empress Harbor Restaurant for dinner.

The two cousins sitting side by side for people to admire.

Mingling before dinner.

Old friends taking a look at the two lovely babies.

Mah Mah proud to show off her grandson Jason along side Cousin Daniel.

Nicole was quite hyper at the dinner, here she was dancing joyfully with Uncle Scot.

Arrival of Grandpa and Uncle Alvin's family.

Grandpa Daniel was arriving at around 11:00am. Since Nicole did not have to go to pre-school on Thursday, we decided we all go to the Airport to pick Grandpa up. With much excitement we headed out first to Quiznos in Santa Monica. Becky was a little anxious because she thought we were getting late and Daddy usually does not like to wait.
We arrived the Quinzos parking lot with no problem. Becky went to get the sandwich, leaving me with the two kids in the car. Well, Jason thought it was a good time to poop, so I hurried to get him out of the carseat and cleaned him out. When Becky came back with the sandwiches, we started feeding Nicole so she won't fall asleep in the car on an empty stomach. However, we discovered weasked for 4 , but they only gave us 3 sandwiches, besides that they also gave us the wrong kind. Becky decided to go back. I was holding baby on one hand and feeding Nicole with the other. She was running back and forth from the front seats to the back seats, and almost climbed right on top of the sandwich on the seat. I was feeling pretty out of control and was relived to see Becky returning. However, she had only came back to get the wrong sandwich to return to Quizno. So we were further delayed for unexpected reason.
Daddy called to let us know he had arrived but he had not gotten his luggage yet. We told him we were on our way to the airport. When we arrived we immediately spotted him by curb side talking on the phone. Timing was not too bad after all.
Alvin, Jenny and Baby D arrived after 3:00pm. Thank God they were going to rent a car, so we did not have to worry about picking them up. We were all so happy to see how much Baby D has grown.
Stephen and Sue came over to chat and invited us out for dumplings. Alvin's family was too tired to go, so the rest of us went and got some food home for them. Since they were using my room, Daniel and I spent the night over at Stephen's place,

Baby Jason getting a good bath, so he would look clean and smell good when Kung Kung and Uncle alvin's family arrive.

BABY JASON all set to go to the airport to meet with Grandpa Daniel for the first time.

Grandpa Daniel taking a good look at his new grandson.

Grandpa exhausted from his return flight from Hong Kong, fell asleep while holding Jason.

Hey, don't you think we two have a resemblance? Thank you, Uncle Alvin, for coming all the way from New York to see me.

Saturday was party time again!

Baby's crying woke me up this morning. I hurried to take a look. Daddy was in the bathroom and Mommy went downstairs. So I picked him up and he stopped crying. That was good for a while, then he got fussy. Mommy said there was still half hour more before his next feeding. So I changed his diaper first in order to kill time. Before long, he began getting agitated and really wanted to be fed. Finally we got his milk ready and I settled down to feed him. Meanwhile Chris got Nicole all ready to go out for breakfast at IHOP. I wondered why since they would be going out soon for her little friend's birthday party. Well, may be Chris wanted more father and daughter bonding time or simply his morning coffee.

I put Baby Jason down in his crib since he fell asleep after his feeding. He barely gave me enought time to get washed, then he woke up again. I had no choice but to pick him up again while dying for my cup of caffeine. They left for the party around 10:00 AM, Baby Jason was still fussing. It took him a while to calm down with the help of the pacifier. I had about half hour of peace and quiet, then it was time to feed him and change his diaper again. After he finished his bottle, he was willing to relax on his infant seat by himself for a short while. I hurried to tidy up the kitchen and grab a quick lunch. Then back to carry Baby Jason out to the frontyard for a little walk and fresh air. At this time, they came back. From the pictures they took at the birthday party, I knew Nicole must had a very good time. Next, off she went again and this time to Mah Mah's place. What a busy girl!

First Nicole got to dress up like a cowgirl. Pretty cute, eh?

Next they played with this colorful parachute.

Making friends at the party.

Wow, how exciting! Nicole got to ride the horse for the very first time.

See how brave Nicole looked riding on that big, big horse.

Cake cutting time. Nicole of course, would be right there in the front.

Nicole taking a look at the food first before sitting down to eat.

Mnmm, Mmmm, Mmm, this birthday cake is just fantastic!

A week just flew by.

On Monday Nicole went to pre-school as usual. Becky went to CVS to pick up my prescription for me. Chris went to his basket ball game right after work. When he came back he couldn't eat because he said his stomach had been bothering him all day. He went to bed on an empty stomach.

Tuesday was half day for Chris. He came home late because he had to meet with his boss at the office. Becky went for her 6 weeks doctor's appointment without him. I had to watch both kids. Good thing Nicole was still taking her nap. Chris probably still did feel quite well. He totally passed out on the sofa after dinner.

Wednesday, Becky dyed my hair in the morning. She did a good job. I had to hold the baby on my lap while she was doing it. After a good night sleep, Chris seemed to recover his energy today.

Thursday we did something special in the morning. Becky put up an ad about the coming vancancy next door on the website yesterday. This morning we began to get phone calls, some were calling from out of state. so Becky had to fax them the application form. Since the fax machcine wasn't hook up, we decided to ask Chris to do it in his office. So we put the kids on their strollers and walked over there. This was Baby Jason's first visit to Daddy's office When Chris got off work he took Nicole out while I was taking care of the baby. I thought they went to the park or the kidspace, but Becky told me he took her grocery shopping. Chris got everything on my long list, plus a fish. Nicole didn't have much appetite these days, but she loved eating the fish.

Friday morning, after finished feeding the baby, I went upstairs to get Becky to drive Nicole to pre-school. I found her fell asleep while pumping milk. Jason woke up twice last night and refused to go back to sleep after being fed, so Becky was completely exhausted. I really worried if she could stay awake while driving. I took care of the baby to let her sleep after she returned. In the afternoon I spent Nicole's entire nap time cleaning and defatting the chicken to make soup for Becky. Suk Po came over to help feeding Nicole dinner, but Nicole didn't eat much. I wish I know what she would eat. Today, she seemed to prefer the white carrot and sparerib that we had for our dinner.

Well, tomorrow should be a better day for Nicole, because it will be party day again.

Baby Jason sure has grown a lot bigger.

We appreciate Suk Po coming over so often to give us a hand in taking care of the kids.

Easter Sunday.

Baby Jason 's first Easter Sunday.

Baby Jason still sound asleep while taking picture with Mommy after the service.

Every sunday after service, Nicole would try her hands on the drums. Poor Uncle Scot usually had to go after her while she ran around the santuary and the choir seats.

Baby Jason was so good he even slept all the way back home too.

Two birthday parties on one day!

Nicole sure had a good day on Saturday. First there was David's birthday party in the park. Both Daddy and Mommy went with her. Then in the evening, Daddy took her to another birthday party. This one was a more formal one for Bryden at the Spagetti Factory. She brought home nice party favors even for Brother Jason too.

David, the birthday boy.

Time for cutting the cake. Ms. Nicole set in action. First she fetched the candles.

Candles in hand, next she eyed for the matches.

Nicole having fun playing ball with her friends.

Nicole instructing her little friend how to play with the cones.

Nicole enjoyed picking the flowers too.

Out for a hair cut and nice lunch at the Soup Plantation.

Since Nicole had no school today. Becky made an appointment for her to have her hair cut. Usually she jsut asked them to cut the front only, because she thought Nicole looked cute in long hair. However, Nicole hated to have her hair tied up in pig tails, so her hair sometimes got messy and also it was harder to wash her hair when it was so long. So this time, Becky decided to give her a complete haircut, both front and back. Nicole looked really nice now. I love her new haircut.

Around Noon time, Suk Po invited Chris, Becky and Nicole out for lunch at the Soup Plantation with Stephanie. We all know Nicole usually enjoys eating there. She looked real happy in the pictures.