Happy New Year 2010!!!

New Year's Eve parties are traditionally catered around adults and rarely are there any fun activities for young children. Fortunately, one of our friends informed us of a fun New Year's Eve party celebration at Pump It Up. Since Adrian is a big fan of jump houses, we instantly knew where we were spending the eve before 2010! Everyone had a blast running around, climbing up and over the obstacle courses and going down the amazingly fast, but uber fun slide! It was a great affair for kids AND adults! The evening ended nicely with a toast of Martinelli's apple cider with a roomful of happy friends and family! Happy New Year Y'all!

Dinner with the extended Tam Family

The extended Tam family (minus the Grandparents, Rose's family and Jen) were all in the Bay Area this winter holiday, may possible by Diamond's new permanent teaching position at Stanford. The whole family united over dinner at Joy Luck Palace in Cupertino. The last time everyone in this picture were together was back in March '08 at Majestic and Jen's wedding in Vancouver with little Adrian and little Justus baking in the oven! :)

Daddy's Little Assistant

A foreign object got lodged inside one of Adrian's toys and required disassembling in order to remedy the problem. Our little helper was keen on providing a helping hand to his father and grabbed, not one, but two screwdrivers and got right to work! Thanks little guy! :)

Merry Christmas from our family!

Our warmest wishes to you and your family for the holidays! May your home be filled with much love and happiness!

Happy Birthday, Mummy! :)

Here's a special birthday kiss for my wonderful Mummy! Hope you have a spectacular Birthday, Mummy! :)

A whole bunch of kids

We hosted this year's Christmas gift exchange / pot luck with our poker buddies at our place this year. From left to right, we have -- Megan, Ethan, Adrian, Alan, Haley and baby Carter. MIA are Mack & Dean. The kids had fun playing with each other and with Adrian's many toys while the adults got to remedy their poker itch. Too bad the house didn't win tonight! :(

Clowning Around

Adrian is always clowning around where ever he goes. Here we are at Valley Fair mall squeezing in some last minute holiday shopping and doing our part to re-fuel the economy!

Adrian's 1st White Elephant Gift Exchange

We felt like we had hit the jackpot when we were (FINALLY) invited to the Nguyen family's annual Christmas party this year! Perhaps our invitation to last year's event was "lost" in the mail! Not only did Adrian get to play with the Nguyen brothers, but he also got to participate in his first (of many to come) White Elephant Gift Exchange. For the most part, everybody played nicely and there were very little stealing action (except for both of the cool gifts that we had brought, which ended up being traded multiple times!) We decided not to steal any gifts (from adults, maybe, but not from kids) and chose wrapped gifts so that little Adrian can tear open the wrapping paper. It was sheer joy seeing his happy little face as he ripped away at the wrapping paper -- a skill he now has mastered just in time for Christmas! :) We took home a set of tupperware and a stainless steel bottle and mug set! Yay! :)

Adrian's play date with Sophia

We missed the first play date that the Nolan's organized earlier this year when Adrian was feeling a little under the weather. Fortunately, Adrian was feeling perfectly fine for the second one. Usually, our little munchkin is shy around strangers and clings onto us while in a foreign place, but for some reason, he felt completely at ease. In fact, Adrian took over little Sophia's living room and played with all of her toys as if they belonged to him all the while under the watchful eye of little Sophia who clung onto her Daddy! Sophia did warm up to little Adrian a little later so they were able to interact for a short while. We'll have to set up another play date for these two at our place to see if Adrian's up for sharing his toys with little Sophia! :)

Winner of a Wine Set @ My Company's Xmas Party

This year, my company hosted our Xmas party at the W Hotel in Newark. This would be another rare opportunity that Ed and I would ship off our precious little cargo, our munchkin, Adrian off to Grandma's for the evening! As a member of the social committee, I'm pleased to say that this was the BEST Xmas party to date as the number of compliments we received from our coworkers were never ending! This year, in addition to the usual great food, DJ, dancing, raffled gifts etc., we had casino tables for some friendly gambling! We had tables for Craps, Spin the Wheel, Black Jack etc. We even had prices for the top 3 people with the most chips! Unlike last year (when I took home an awesome tiny little green Ipod Shuffle), I didn't win a prize from the raffle (boo!), but I did collect enough chips to take home 2nd place for Casino challenge!!! $12,700 chips total (1st place had $14,000!) Yay! I'm not much of a wine drinker, but nevertheless, it was nice not to go home empty handed! :)

Brandon's 1st Birthday Party!

We've attended lots of kiddie birthday parties this year, but this one was extra interesting! Little Adrian was getting lots of attention from a 21 month old little Audrey! First, they played "house" together." Notice how well they shared the space together and allowing each other time at the window?


Then they went to sit down together. It wasn't long before Audrey reached around and tried to place her little arm around my little Adrian!

Little Adrian sat still, as if frozen and didn't know what to do. Then Audrey got all shy as the adults were gasping on what had just happened, while snapping crazily away on their cameras! Little Adrian decided he wanted out of the "sticky situation" and ran to his mummy! :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Brandon!!! :)

Our Little Photographer!

Adrian is so used to being in front of the camera since Mummy is super snap happy, he decided to *steal* daddy's SLR to have a taste of what's it like being behind the camera. Go easy on Daddy's expensive toy! :)

Polar Bear Cookie

We have a very sweet chef at our cafeteria who is very fond of kids. He knew about my little 16-month old and gave me a polar bear cookie to take home to little Adrian. To show our gratitude, I took a picture of Adrian eating the cookie so that I could share the picture with Takis the following morning. Thanks for the cookie, Takis!!! :)

Our little Coder

When Daddy has a brain fart while coding, guess who comes to the rescue? J/K! No, we haven't put the little guy to work yet (but we should!) :) For the most part, Adrian doesn't usually interrupt us when we're tapping away on the laptop unless he needs our attention. But then there are days that he just want in on the action, like today! :)

Winner of our Halloween Costume Contest!

Last month, my work hosted a Kid's Halloween Costume Contest where employees were encouraged to vote for the cutest Halloween picture. 17 contestants participated - some parents even submitted separate pictures of their kids to increase their odds; all vying for that coveted 1st place win! Well, guess whose little munchkin reigned supreme? Yup, that would be my little monkey below who tied for 1st! As a result, I've dedicated my cubicle wall with his montage below! :)

"Battered & Bruised"

Yup, if our family car had a voice, that would be her complaint! The poor SUV just 1+ year old has not only been hit in the front, but now also in the rear!

Exhibit A below is an accident that Ed endured earlier this year while going to Tahoe for a ski trip! Even though, he wasn't technically at fault -- the car in front had spun out of control and was sitting at the bottom of an on ramp like a sitting duck, Ed ended up taking the blame since it was our SUV who hit the car! :(

Exhibit B below occurred this past weekend with the family riding inside! Thankfully, nobody was hurt! The young fella behind us admitted to not paying attention to the road and had taken his eyes off before slamming on the brakes when he looked up and noticed our red brake light at an intersection. Luckily, the Mitsubishi Eclipse was no match for our SUV as the SUV itself didn't budge and nor did we experience any whiplash!

I'm thankful that nobody was injured at any of these accidents and hope that it doesn't occur again. Be careful and stay safe on the roads during the holiday period folks!!!

Very Prom Like Pose

Unlike Ed, I've never attended a prom, so here was my golden opportunity to strike a "prom worthy pose!" This was taken at Brenda & Danh's wedding @ ABC Seafood Restuarant in Milpitas last weekend. We hardly ever spend our weekends without our precious little munchkin, so we made the most of the night (even though we left shortly after 10PM to run home to our little baby!) :)

Congratulations on your marriage, Brenda & Danh! :)

3 Little Monkeys Sleeping On "Grandma's" Bed

There were Three little monkeys rolling around in Grandma's bed!

One little Monkey rolled over and fell off the bed!
Then there were Two little Monkeys rolling around in Grandma's bed...

Another little Monkey rolled over and fell off the bed!
Then there were only One little Monkey reining over Grandma's bed...

And it weren't long before all three little monkeys were back rolling around in Grandma's bed!
Note: None of the little monkeys did fall over the bed! :)

Adrian's Diaper Hat!

Not sure if it's due to a recent haircut - less hair to keep his noggin warm, but late one evening Adrian picked up one of his diapers (a clean one, of course) and placed it onto his head. Quite possibly he could be starting a new trend or just being his usual goofy self. Either way, I'm just glad that I was able to capture it on camera. It makes for an awesome blackmail pic when he's older! :)

Happy Turkey Day Y'all

Each Turkey day, we divide the day by having a luncheon with my family and then dinner with Ed's family. This year was no exception. For my family luncheon, I decided to make a pot roast - my first! After slaving away over this dish the night before and cooking it in the oven for over 6 hours, it turned out amazingly well! I was told that my dish had even stolen the spotlight away from the Turkey! Sadly, we got caught up with serving the food that we didn't get to take a picture of my pot roast! :( Ed, as usual, made his famous devil eggs, which I still find yummy even after all of these years! :)

Must Eat Greens!

We were invited to William & Jasmine's early Thanksgiving get together where Adrian got to play with lots of Emma & Andrew's toys. They had every category of toys you could think off and guess what our little munchkin decided to play with? Yes, the pots and pans and the pretend food! This pic is another example of how goofy our little boy is.

Adrian's 1st trip to Chuck-E-Cheese

This was Adrian's 1st trip to Chuck-E-Cheese's and he only gravitated toward this fishy game. He didn't show much interest in any of the other games -- most likely because he was a bit cranky that day. We exchanged some money for tokens, but ended up leaving without using a single token! Oh well, I'm sure we'll be making lots of visits in the very near future!

15 Month Check Up!

Our little Adrian reading a book while waiting at his 15-Month Checkup! It's unbelievable how quickly time goes when you have a little one. 15 Months!!! Where did all the time go? As much as I'm enjoying watching him develop into his own little independent person, it saddens me knowing that he's getting closer and closer to one day leaving the nest! :(
At 15 Months:

• Adrian is walking/running comfortably around
• His strong legs allow him to squat for quite a while (a skill he must've inherited from my side of the family!)
• His strong arms allow him to lift some very heavy objects, like the gallon sized milk jugs
• He can crawl up and slide down the stairs with ease (he also knows to turnaround onto his tummy to scoot himself backwards off our bed!)
• He can blow raspberries (and enjoys blowing them on mine or Daddy's tummy!)
• He has no qualms going down the slide by himself
• His vocabulary has greatly expanded to include words like: Ba Ba, Ma Ma, Yeh Yeh (Grandpa), Ma Ma (Grandma), Gor Gor (Brother), Uh Oh, Toodles, Ba Ba (for Barney), Elmo, Pooh (as in Winnie the Pooh), Woa Woa (Doggy), Mao Mao (Cat), Nieh Nieh (Milk), Mutt Mutt (Socks), Bye Bye, Nite Nite, Sui (Water) etc. He recognizes the names of all of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters and can point out each character when asked. He's also beginning to understand the names of all of Winnie the Pooh's friends.
• He's learning, and is far from being skilled at feeding himself. In fact, he usually gets more grub onto his face than into his mouth!
• He's showing major signs of independence by wanting to do things himself. There are times, where he refuses to do things if he doesn't get to it for himself
• He also recognizes a bunch of different animals and can point to them when asked
• Others that I can't seem to think of at the moment (you can blame it on my "Mummy Brain")

The following are Adrian's vital signs at 15 months:

Height: 32.5in (.826m) (86.36% percentile)

Weight: 25lb (11.34kg) (56.75% percentile)

Head Circumference: 19.09in (48.5cm) (84.14% percentile)

Our little munchkin is growing at a very healthy rate!

Old Friends

Our good friends, Eric, Sylvia and Sam were up in the Bay Area for a wedding back in October, which conveniently provided us with the opportunity to reunite after 2 years! Although we weren't able to hang out for long since they had a long drive back down to LA ahead of them that night for work the next day, it was awesome to see them in person again and for Joshua and little Adrian to finally meet! Hopefully, the next time they see each other again, they'll each have a sibling in tow! ;-)

Afternoon out at Almaden Lake Park

These pictures were taken during a beautiful late October afternoon out at Almaden Lake Park in San Jose. Yes, almost an entire month ago and I'm only blogging about it now! I'm finding it hard to find time to post everything especially dealing with a full time job and the high demands of a very active little 15 month old. The beautiful California weather and the constant urge/temptation to take Adrian out every weekend adds to the challenge especially when the little darling takes such awesome (yet also very goofy) pictures that makes for some great photos to share with everyone. Lately, the little munchkin has been demonstrating his yoga moves (don't ask me where he picked this up as I certainly don't have time to exercise). I guess this is a good habit that one should start early! :)

Peeking Through!

I love the silly side that Adrian often displays with close friends and family. The raw innocence of not caring what people would think of your actions is something that us adults too often get caught up in. I hope he continues to live life this way and enjoy the simplest of things. Life is way too short to stop and ponder what people's reactions may be especially if it's not harmful to anyone!

Xmas came early for Ed

I'm falling behind on my blogs so some of these events are not recent, but instead occurred in the month of October! Lucky for Ed, Christmas (and his B-day) came early for him this year and he now has another toy to play with. Yes, the box on his lap, not the little darling! :) I hope this serves as a gentle reminder of how fortunate he is to have such a sweet & generous wife, even though he does have another SLR lying around somewhere!

As for me, I'm not sure what Santa will bring -- I guess, given the economic situation and all of the crises out there, I'll trade my gifts for everyone to have food on their table, a shelter above their head and a joyful holiday! I know that may not be possible, but I take comfort in knowing that our monetary contribution (YTD & over the years) to some of the organizations out there will benefit a number of families out there!

A Huge Load for the DishWasher

It's amazing how kids are fascinated with everything in their surroundings and can make anything turn into a game! Being the typical Asian family, we don't always use our dishwasher to actually wash the dishes. Instead, we use it as a drying rack! While Ed was trying to do the dishes one night, our little munchkin decided to climb inside. And before you ask, no we didn't leave the little munchkin inside the dishwasher to dry! :)

Going Ga Ga for Noodles

You may recall from an earlier post (see here for details) on Adrian showing signs of a developing interest to noodles even before it became a part of his diet. Even though it is far from being a healthy meal, it's really sweet to see how father and son both share a love for noodles as they share a bowl of it together! :)

Spot the Monkey!

Our little munchkin didn't like sharing his shopping cart with the 2 plush monkeys. They were chucked out one after another after this picture was taken! We may need to consider enrolling him in some anger management class!