Trip to California - Week 2

Week 2 was a pretty busy week.  Sandi and Jeff took Michael and Matty to Gilroy Gardens.  When we lived in California, M and I took the boys there a lot.  We had a lot of fun because the rides were perfect for little kids under 10. Matty finally went on the roller coaster this time!

Jeff and Matty on the hot air balloon ride!

M and I had an overnight date and drove to Napa Valley to do some wine tasting. Can you believe that all the years we lived in California, this was our first time to go there with each other?  It was beautiful, of course.  The weather was perfect and the trip was a much needed break for us.  We left all 3 boys with my mom and dad. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

We started at Caymus where we had a private tasting with a few other couples.  That was my favorite tasting because we learned a lot about the wine-making process and...and we got to pose with a gigantic bottle of wine. Haha.

M with some grapevines

We visited Opus One and walked right out when we discovered that the cheapest bottle of wine was $240! But the winery was beautiful.

We stopped by Silver Oak.

After a wonderful day of wine tasting, we went to dinner at Redd and sampled their tasting menu.  Everything was delicious, of course!

When we got back from Napa, we took the boys to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  My brother took the day off and came along with us!

This was the best picture I got in front of the sign.

The jellyfish was one of my fave exhibits

Lunch at Bubba Gump's.  Aren't my babies sweet?

With Kau-Foo

Ice cream sundaes at Ghiradelli's.  Can you tell that M was VERY happy with his?

High-Five for Friday

Before I get to the "High-five Friday," I want to say that we had quite a busy morning. M woke up at 4 this morning to let me know that I need to drive him to the ER when all the kids wake up later in the morning. 


Last week, he hurt his knee in a soccer game. It was badly bruised, but it was getting better - until a couple of nights ago when I supposedly re-injured it by accidentally hitting it with my leg. Well, the pain was so bad last night that he felt he needed to go to the ER to make sure there wasn't anything too serious. He sprained his knee and is wearing a brace, but should be OK.

Anyway, without further delay, here are my high five for Friday hosted by From My Grey Desk.

1. My new nephew, Benjamin Matthew Yam! He's here! He's here! Isn't he adorable?!

2. Got some new throw pillows and I love them.

 3. Marky had his 9-month check up and everything is great and he is on track 

4. I finally updated my mantle arrangement (until the Fall) 

5. The Summer Olympics start today! I'm looking forward to watching the Opening Ceremonies tonight with my boys.

Welcome, Benjamin!

We are so excited to welcome Benjamin into the world. My first nephew was born Wednesday, July 25 in the morning at 8:46.  He has the trademark "Yam" head (90th percentile).  The rest of his body is in the 50th percentile.  Very similar to Marky and Matthew. He's 18 inches long and weighs 7 lbs., 7 oz. 

I'm bummed that we were not there in person to see him, but we got lots of pictures thanks to iPhone and FaceTime.

He's got the cutest little scrunched up, new born face!  And it's perfectly round! I think he looks a lot like my brother, but I'm sure there are different opinions.  I can't wait to see the pumpkin head in person.

Look at those pouty little lips!

So sweet!

Proud Papa

Thirty With Thirty Challenge - Last Week!

I've slacked at posting about the 30/30 Challenge at From My Grey Desk, but I have not cheated!  I was away in CA for 3 weeks so I think that helped me to be more creative with my outfits because I only packed the key pieces.

I must not tell a lie though.  I did buy a few new pieces and switched out some of the pieces that I picked out prior to my trip, but I did keep to the 30 piece limit.  How can I visit one of the best outlet mall in the States and not buy anything?  Plus, it was 70% off a ton of stuff at the Banana Republic outlet!

Here are my 2 outfits for this week.

Jeans - Gap 1969
Top - TJ Maxx
Shoes - Nine West

Shorts - TJ Maxx
Top - Monteau from TJ Maxx
Sweater - From Ideeli
Shoes - Guess from DSW

Trip To California - Week 1

As promised, here is the first post of our 3-week long visit to California.

Week one of our vacation was pretty mild.  It was nice to not feel like we are in an oven every time we stepped out the door.  I love the California weather and the California scenery, especially Northern California. And of course, it was nice to see my mom, dad, brother and sister again.

My brother has never met Mark in person so it was great for them to finally meet.  It was not love or even like at first sight for Marky.  He refused to be held by my brother and even went so far as to cry. Fortunately, Marky did warm up to him in a few days.  Thank goodness! Another arm to help me out...

I dreaded the flight there because it was just one little sold me and 3 rowdy boys.  If you're a mother, you understand why I was scared.  But to my delight, they were great!  Michael even held Marky while a took a quick trip to use the lavatory.

The first stop we made when we got there was to my parents donut shop.  The boys had been waiting got eat "the world's best hamburger" and wash it down with the "best donuts in the world."

We didn't do much else that except hang out, enjoy my mom's cooking.  We all went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for a day.  The weather was on the cool side and beautiful for walking around but not for ocean swimming.  The boys swam anyway. Michael got to go on the classic wood coaster called the Big Dipper - it's his favorite.  Matthew refused, but he did go on the log ride. I'm not a big roller coaster fan, so thank goodness Sandi and Kho were there to take the boys!

Happy baby at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with Poh-Poh and Gong-Gong.  Please ignore the fuzzy thing that is my fingernail in front of the lens.

Marky and Daddy

Eating homemade pizza that they made with their Kau-Foo

Loving on Poh-Poh

Blogger Four-One-One Link-Up

I'm linking up with Becky over at From Mrs. to Mama where she hosting Blogger 411 link-up. Sounds fun, right?

1. How long have you been blogging? And what got you started on blogging? Has your blog changed?


Technically, I started this blog in 2003 when my second son was born but did not actually start blogging until  about 3 years ago. I didn't really know how then.  I still have a lot to learn about the blogging world. My blog hasn't changed very much.  My posts still focuses mainly on my family and family happenings, but I have been linking up more in the past few months. 


2. Did you go to college? If so where, and what did you study?


Yes, I graduated from Santa Clara University in California with a BS in Marketing. GO BRONCOS!

3. Where have you traveled?


I've had the good fortune of being able to travel with friends for a month after I graduated from college.  We went to Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and Australia.  It was an unforgettable opportunity. More recently, we've taken family trips to Aruba, Grand Cayman Island, St. Thomas & St. John, Cancun, and in August we are taking a family trip to Maui.  I strongly believe it's important that our children get to opportunity to see the world.

4. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you would buy?


I would buy my dad his dream car.  Him and my mom have worked so hard so we can have a good life and have made so many sacrifices for us that I feel it's the very least I can do.

5. What are your 3 biggest pet peeves?


People cutting in line, littering, and spitting in public

6. What is your favorite movie?


I loved When Harry Met Sally.  Believe it or not, my hubby introduced me to that movie.  Another Meg Ryan flick that is  favorite is Sleepless in Seattle.

7. What is your drink of choice; wine, beer, or liquor. Or Water, Soda, Tea?


Soda and wine

8. What is something you enjoy to do when you have me time?


Reading

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be?


TJMaxx. Can you imagine all the cool stuff I can buy?? My imagination is running wild right now.

10. Share with us an embarrassing moment of your past? Or present.


Falling down in front of the ENTIRE school during an assembly when I was in 8th grade.

11. What day would you love to relive again?


My wedding day.  I would take more time to relish every second of the day.

12. If your life was turned into a movie... what actor would play you?


There aren't very many Asian actresses so I would say Lucy Lui.  I loved character in Ally McBeal.

13. What are the jobs you had in high school/college/the early years?


I worked most of my high school life in my parents donut shop. In college I interned for a PR agency.

14. Show us a picture from high school or college.

15. If you could travel anywhere in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?


A cruise to Antarctica.  I saw a documentary on The National Geographic channel and so want to go on that cruise.  The scenery was breathtaking and the glaciers were pristine.

16. Show us the most current picture of you or you, or your family, or anything of meaning to you. 


These guys are the most awesomest kids!  They make me laugh and cry.  Sometimes all at the same time.

17. Where do you see your life 5 years from now?


I don't really know.  There have been so many changes in the past 5 years - 2 cross country moves, 1 baby and living in 3 different houses.  I'm not sure where I will be in 5 years.  Hopefully, enjoying an healthy, happy life with my family.

Eight Months!

OK, let's pretend today is July 3rd.  My Marky, you are 8 months old and went through a pretty big growth spurt this month.  You're crawling like a pro and cruising all around the place.  You loves to pick up anything tiny off the floor and put right in your mouth.

You are still a babbler and picking up on things so quickly!  When I sing to you, you sing along with me with your cute little baby voice.  You love to hear "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "The Wheels on the Bus," "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and the "ABC Song." Actually, those are the only songs I know all the words so that's probably why you likes them. Haha.

You're a pro at getting into things that you're not suppose to - cabinets, drawers, and under tables.  Your little fingers have found plugs, and those flexible doorstops.  I don't know what it is about babies, but it seems like you all have a radar for all things dangerous.

You've fallen off the bed a couple times, and fell on your head a few times as well. Poor baby.  You're probably the most active out of my 3 boys.  You're also turning out to be one of the most content out of them all.  Unless you're tired, wet or hungry, you're content to crawl and cruise around on your own.  You've changed from being the most difficult to the easiest of the 3 in about a month.

You went on your first plane trip to California and did so awesome! No problems at all.  You slept for a couple of hours and when you woke up, you were happy blabbering to anyone who cared to listen or pay any attention to you.

Things to Remember:

Weight - about 20lbs. as of 7/20

Height - Will get on our next visit to the Dr. on 7/26

Diaper - Still at size 3

Clothes - You are in 6-12 months clothes depending on who makes it.  Most of the time, we have you in onesie because it is so hot here.

Teeth - 2 little bottom teeth and 1 top tooth units way. So CUTE!

Food - 8 oz. of formula every 4-5 hours.  Eating solid foods a couple of times a day.  We are still pretty inconsistent on the solids.  You started with rice cereal, moved to squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, and are on pears right now. We also introduced you to fresh strawberries and you couldn't get enough. I would say your favorites are strawberries and bananas.  Not surprised.

Things You are doing - Babbling, crawling, cruising, kind of clapping and waving.  You haven't really mastered those last two things yet, but I' thinking you will by 9 months.

Sleep - Still suck at sleeping.  You'll wake up 1-2 times at night for your bottle.  We don't really have a consistent bedtime routine so you fall asleep whenever you want to.  After 3 kids, I'm not all the stressed out about it. You will nap 2-3 times a day depending on how long you sleep.  Sarah has been trying to ween you off sleeping in our arms and going in your crib instead.  So far so good.

SUYL - My Foyer

Time for another Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life post! I've skipped a few because I have away, but today, I'm sharing my foyer.

I love my foyer - it's open and bright.  We don't use it a lot because we don't usually come in or go out of our house through the front door.

I don't have much more to say about it so come on in!

This is what you will see when you walk in the front door.

My favorite thing about this room is how much light we get from the high windows and ceiling.  Do I need to to say that the chandelier is from the early 90s when brass was "the thing?" I'm hoping to change it out to something a little warmer.

To the right is the front stairs and the office. I'd like to change out the white wood banisters to wrought iron to warm it up a little.

And to the left is our formal living room, but I couldn't get a good picture of it. When school is in, this piece of furniture is what keeps the entryway clear of clutter.  Shoes go in the basket, and jackets and backpacks go into the hutch.

Here is a view of our entryway from the hallway connecting the foyer to the kitchen.  You can kinda see the living room on the right.  We don't really ever use that room.

That's our foyer. Can't wait to see what others have done with theirs!

Winning the Bet

For about 4 months, Michael has been asking for a Mohawk.  Yes, a spiky, half-shaved head of hair. I have never been a fan of the Mohawk, and M is still not. Ever since he saw that soccer players sported this do, Michael has tried to convince us to let him have one.  I was willing to give in because what other time in his life can he do this?  I was OK with it so he can get it out of his system.  M on the other hand, fought it hard.

So there was a bet.  I think it was a bet that M knew he could not win but agreed to it because he didn't want to seem like he was giving in. 

If the Heat won the NBA Championship, Michael gets his Mohawk for a week.  If Oklahoma City won, Michael has to get a buzz cut.

As it turns out, the Heat won easily and Michael is now sporting his beloved Mohawk.  I personally think it's adorable.