Soos' News

Merry Christmas to you all!!

2011-12-21T22:37:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, 2011 is almost over. We hope you are all having a peaceful, reflective and joyful holiday. Thankfully, the Soo family is happy and mostly healthy (despite the perennial lack of sleep on the part of Phil and Hue). : )

Thank you for your friendship over the years... we look forward to many more!

Joshua's 6th!

2011-10-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today, we celebrated Joshua's 6th Bday. We had a delightful gathering of family and friends at our "Lego" themed party. It was Joshua's first party with some of his new classmates from first grade at Sierra Madre Elementary School, and we enjoyed getting to know some of the families in the local neighborhood.

There were many games, including exploring the pyramid of blocks (compliments of Yogurtland and hard prep work by Hue), a paper airplane contest, smashing a Lego piñata, construction of personalized Lego cars and races, and guessing the number of Legos in a big jar. Fun times were had by all.

Lego table and car construction zone.

Looks like we have a winner!

The adults did even better, surprise surprise.

Tough little handmade Piñata by Hue. Too tough, actually.

Joshua's running jump swing. I don't think it helped.

The kids only managed to wound the Piñata. In the end, the adults had to put the Piñata out of its misery.

Another one of Hue's beautiful customized cakes.

Congrats Joshua!

New cake

2011-10-14T00:12:00.000-07:00

On Oct. 7, we celebrated Ketsana's B-day. And Hue, of course, baked another one of her special cakes. Yes, Ket's a HUGE fan of the King.

Teletubby Lala

2011-09-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

Our dear Elena just turned 2 in August. Does she look like a tele tubby in this picture? You decide. Life is good.

Spring Fun

2010-03-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well, we set out for a huge endeavor this past weekend, taking pictures of the kids for Easter. Well, huge, only because there were three little balls of energy to dress and pose. Haha.. pose, not an easy feat when one doesn't know now to speak yet! At the end, it was tons of fun and we got a couple of cute shots. Now, I can appreciate the work of a good professional photographer for children portraits.

Our goofy kids.

Our youngest fairy.

Mommy and three kids exploring a new park in Pasadena. Great park with lots of fun toys!

Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

Above is a beautiful flower arrangement from my Sweetheart! This year, he ordered from Transcendental Flowers, instead of the regular online channels. Now onto the kids.

Joshua received many valentines from this classmates. One of them was Ivana. Today, he went through his valentines and decides to recycle a couple of them. He remembered the one from Ivana and decides to make a card for her. Being the environmentalist that he is, he takes an existing card, crosses out the writing inside, glues another picture inside, writes his name and his friend's name inside, adds some more of his "art", then happily shows it to me sharing that it was a card for Ivana.

Inside of the card.
He even colored the back of the card more red.

Oh how kids grow

2010-02-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since the last post. With the birth of the last baby (Elena), Phil's school and Facebook, blogging has been left on the backburner. Elena is now 5.5 months, Sophia 2.5 years, and Joshua 4 years old.

Joshua - It's amazing that he's old enough to attend kindergarten. I (Hue) have visited several public schools and realize that I'm just not quite ready for him to be released into the big pond. So, hopefully, he'll be able to attend a kindergarten in a smaller setting this coming year. As always, he chats up a storm and loves to converse with adults as well as kids who are willing to listen to him.

Sophia loves school and has been her teacher's joy. There is something quite adorable about her. She's just a cute, cuddly little girl. We can't help but fall in love with her. She tends to be a bit shy at first though but very loving once she becomes familiar with a person.

Elena is quite a crowd pleaser. She smiles and laughs when anyone interacts with her. Loves watching the action around her. She can roll over from her back to belly. Recognizes mommy and wants to be held by mommy all the time. She also loves it when her brother and sister interacts with her. They all get a kick out of it.

Below are some pictures:

Elena's fun side.

Silly fun at Ava's Birthday party.

With the Huynh Clan.

Jailbird Elena

Joshua's new costume

2009-09-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

All I can say is that we have one wacky son. While I was on the computer, I heard him call out to me from behind, saying, "Hey.. Daddy, I'm a superhero!" Can you guess which superhero he is? Of course, it's Silk Spectre II from Watchmen! Evidently, he found and "borrowed" Aunty Casey's boots for the costume. I recognized the character right away because he's been recently fascinated by the Watchmen movie trailers on our Apple TV and YouTube.

I know, I know, it wasn't right to show the kiddies those violent movie previews. But then we'd miss out on moments like this. : )

Elena Soo's First week!

2009-08-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Baby Elena Grace Soo was born on Tuesday morning, August 25, 2009 at 3:14 AM. Mommy was timing her contractions from the night before. It started around 9:30 PM at about 15 minutes apart. Moved to 10 minutes apart by 12:30 AM. During this time, we installed the baby carseat and got ready. By 1:45 AM, we decided to give the doctor a call, and headed to the hospital. Note for all pregnant moms out there, it's much more painful to go through the contractions while laying on your back. Much more manageable on a toilet or standing. By the time we got to the hospital at 2:10 AM, the contractions were already 6 minutes apart. After signing paperwork and checking in to see the triage nurse, mommy was at 6.5 cm dilated and time was about 2:30 AM. After 15 minutes of monitoring, nurse was ready to move us to the labor and delivery room. By this time, however, contractions were much stronger. Had to wait through one at 2:50 before I could walk to the delivery room. Thank goodness it was only about 20 steps away. Once there, had two more contractions. Once before trying to lay down to be checked. Had to hold onto hubby for support through this one. And felt the urge to push. Nurses quickly tried to get mommy onto the bed. Of course, another contraction came and this one was STRONG. Mommy said "I think the baby is coming". Quickly lied on the bed on right side. Phil saw the baby crowning and doctor wasn't quite there yet. Luckily he got there soon enough. After a couple more contractions, a gush of water, and relief; a new baby entered the world at 3:14 AM.
Elana shortly after birth. Umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck 2x. Doctor had to cut it during delivery.
After a long morning's work.
Home on day 4, getting neck cleaned.
After one nursing session on day 3.
Proud, happy, but weary dad holding Elena.
Sophia enjoying one of her new birthday presents.
Sophia and Joshua making wonton dumplings with Aunty Casey on day 4.
Baby Elena doing a photo session.

Visitors enjoying Ni Hao Kai Lan or Hercules on day 4 (Aiden, Joshua, Leah, and Alice).

The Soo family has moved!

2009-06-24T19:13:00.000-07:00

In mid-June, we relocated from Fullerton to Sierra Madre, which is about 35 miles north. Phil is thrilled to be only 8 minutes from work and loves coming home for lunch with the family. Sierra Madre seems to be quite a green and lush place compared to most of LA, probably because of its microclimate.

Our new place is a house built in 1945, and so is quite a bit older than our previous condo. Yet, it has a charm all of its own. Hue appreciates that there are no stairs to contend with and the kids enjoy having a little yard to run around in. Below, you will see some of the photos we shot with Hue's phone before signing the lease.

Before we moved, we had the chance to explore Sierra Madre Vista Park and the downtown area. The downtown area has character, with lots of small boutiques, coffee shops and gourmet restaurants. It is a nice change from the franchise-dominated landscape of suburban Orange County.

Now we just need to figure out what to do with all of the junk we've accumulated over the 7 years we lived in Fullerton.. : )

A view of our backyard.

Our living room.. no carpeting in this house!

Guest bathroom.

The kitchen gets plenty of sun.

Designated play area for the kiddies.

Master bedroom.

Master bathroom.

Kids' room.

Joshua and Sophia trying to help unpack.

Joshua posing at downtown Sierra Madre.

Trip to our local Farm

2009-04-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

After reading about Clifford and his friends going to the farm, mommy decided to take Joshua and Sophia to Tanaka Farms. It was a nice warm sunny day and we got to experience yummy fresh, organic vegetables while riding on a tractor ride. We tasted raw celery, spinach, green onion, carrots, and cilantro. Joshua and Sophia's favorite was the celery (believe it or not!).

Afterwards, we went to picked some yummy strawberries. Mommy said they tasted a little oniony (because they grow green onions with the strawberries to ward the bugs off). Sophia just loved picking strawberries no matter what colors they were (green, pink, red, small, large). Joshua, enjoyed looking for red strawberries and filled up a whole basket by himself! Unfortunately, because mommy only had two hands (and both were occupied holding baby and strawberries), we don't have pictures of the berry picking experience.

Two tired kids patiently waiting for the tractor.

Yummy veges!!

Shopping Helpers

2009-04-24T14:27:00.001-07:00

Recently, we went grocery shopping at our local Henry's. Boy was it fun with Joshua being such a great helper and Sophia our cheerleader. We had a nice picture list, where Joshua made sure mommy didn't stray away from. The only exception was two smoothies - one for us as a treat for our hard work and one for daddy because daddy works so hard!

Not only did Joshua help mommy find the items from the list but he also helped pick out fruit. When picking pears and apples, he learned to pick heavy ones with no soft spots. Overall, we had a great time!

Oahua - Family Vacation

2009-03-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

We spent the first half of our trip in Oahua, staying with our friends, the Yees. Most of the trip was relaxing at home and taking a short excursion each day. We went to Ko Olina (SW Side of Oahu) for one day and North Beach on another day. We also visited Chinatown on the first day and the Dole Plantation on the 2nd or 3rd day. We enjoyed some YUMMY pineapple soft serve. We also made our own at home from frozen fresh pineapple. Unfortunately, we don't have pictures from these two trips =(

Joshua and Sophia loved reading with Zachary and his daddy (Galen).

Building a sand mound at Ko Olina Lagoon.

Giddily playing in the water!

Sophia fascinated by a new discovery.

Silly Chinese smile!

It was a very nice, secluded beach. Not like Waikiki.

Silly faces while waiting for Thai food.

More silly faces!

Of course, we couldn't leave North Shore without trying some yummy shave(d) ice with macadamia nut ice cream!

We also got a chance to visit our outer friends - Monica, Steve and their two kids. It was great to be able to visit all our friends on the Hawaiian Islands.

Maui Family Fun

2009-03-13T00:09:00.000-07:00

The family spent 5 days in Maui. The first was just to relax at our Ohana and get settled in. We had dinner with some friends on the island. It was a very festive affair.

On day two, we hung out at our friends' place where the kids got a chance to drink and taste some coconut water and meat. It was a new experience for them to see the coconut get cut in front of their eyes. Afterwards, they took us for a short hike to a waterfall. The kids enjoyed it, especially Joshua, because of the water, the narrow pathways, the rock climbing. We also got a chance to see a crazy guy jump from a height of 20 feet into the pool. That was scary to see. (some of these pictures are from our friend, Anna).

Heading on the hike with energy and zeal!

Jumping like the Hulk (taken by Anna)

Reaching our final destination - we all relaxed and enjoyed the view and refreshing water.

Curious by what's inside a coconut - Sophia takes a cautious approach. Turns out later that she is allergic to coconut meat & milk (but not the water).

Coconut Hugger.

Coconut Lover.

Enjoying a little snack while watching a very captivating show on TV - don't remember what it was though, maybe Sleeping Beauty?

On day three, we headed to a resort in Wailea (SW part of Maui) to enjoy their shallow warm pools. Sophia met her love (no, not Doug - the water). Kids had a great time and adults got a chance to be kids again by sliding down the waterslide. Pix by Anna.

Sophia shows her glamorous side with these hip glasses and no smile.

Joshua takes a little horse ride.

Aunty Andrea & Uncle Kieran Visits!

2009-02-03T20:38:00.000-08:00

At the Santa Ana Zoo.. thanks to Andrea for narrating the kids antics!

Biking at Santa Monica. In the second part of the clip, I love how Andrea tries to change the subject while talking with Joshua on the bike.

Christmas & December Pix

2009-01-21T23:37:00.000-08:00

December was fun filled with a birthday party, two baby showers, a visit from the Soo grandparents and of course, Christmas. We had a low key holiday in our home with a temporary housemate - Sweetie the dachshund. Sweetie was indeed sweet and the kids enjoyed her company (not sure how much she enjoyed theirs but she definitely enjoyed their mealtimes).

Siblings trying the new bicycle - ok, so it's still in the box, unassembled, but the box is always the fun part of the present right?

Cousin Kingston with his happy grandpa.

Sophia with her happy grandpa.

Yes, my head is flat enough to balance this block!

Yes, I know I'm cute too.

Ahh, the bike, fully assembled. Sophia was definitely more eager to ride it than Joshua.

Joshua's new pajamas from Miss Alice.

Just loved this fish pucker, even if its blurry.

Just having lots of fun.

Sophia can really chow down sometimes!

"Toma!", don't know what this means but it's something daddy taught me to say and get into kungfu pose.

Our 3 1/4 old son attempting to climb something new and challenging.

Resting in "bed" after all the hard workout.

It's always great hanging out with grandma Soo.

Cancun

2009-01-17T23:27:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving, we joined the Soo grandparents on a trip to Cancun (well actually, south of Cancun in the Mayan Riviera)! It was a very fun and memorable trip. Most of the time was spent relaxing in the luxurious Grand Mayan timeshare with a few excursions. The kids had a great time!

Checking out the modern airport in Mexico City.

Joshua still likes the sling.

After a VERY LONG travel day, we arrived in "paradise".

The dual master suites were AWESOME!

The Common area was AWESOME!

Relaxing in the patio with grandma. Yup, Sophia has a buzz.

Joshua checking out the outdoors tub.

Joshua relaxing in one of the two jacuzzis inside. Gosh, it's almost as if he's a natural at posing in the nude.

Catching some rays by the poolside.

Enjoying a drink. Life is pretty rough out here....

One of the excursions was a trip to Tolum, a seaside Mayan city. Not very big but big enough for the kids.

Sophia says "Hi" from the sunny south.

One of the entrances to the city (city is surrounded by a wall).

Back at the resort, spending some time a the poolside practicing some "martial arts".

Building our own version of a Mayan City.

Connect 4, or 5? or 6?

We had no idea that our neighborhood Spiderman was also watching after us in Cancun!

Grocery store/discount store in Playa de Carmen...yes, it's quite developed here.

Hue's Latest Craze - Cakes!

2008-12-01T22:29:00.000-08:00

After taking the fondant cake decorating class at Michaels, getting my hands on "The Cake Bible" and joining the author's discussion forum, I've been obsessed with cakes! Who knew the girl that never really liked cakes would ever get so engrossed in it. I've learned so much about baking cakes. So far, my favorites have been the chocolate Mousseline and chocolate whipped creaming icing. Oh so yummy and smooth! So below are some cakes I've made (not in chronological order). The Spiderman and Elmo cakes are listed in Joshua & Katelyn's birthday post.

Princess Cake: is cake was for a 3 yr old birthday. Making the crown was fun!

Little Mermaid Cake for Alice's 3rd Birthday.

3 tiered cake with chocolate / chocolate on two tiers and yellow with raspberry filling on one. The cake is covered and decorated with fondant & gumpaste. Ariel was a purchased topper. The little flounder sitting next to her was made by my mother in law at the last minute.

The bottom flounder is a toy.

Wonderpets Cake for Mark's 4th Birthday.

This cake is a two tiered cake with the top tier being the wonder boat. The pets are toys and the sail is paper and popsicle sticks. The rest of the cake is decorated with fondant and gunpaste. The boat was a little bit tricky to coat because it was tapered on the bottom (it's supposed to be a frisbee or flowerpot bottom). After watching Ace of Cakes, what I can do next time is make a thicker bottom of foam board (instead of cake) that is tapered and covering that with fondant. Enough with the tech stuff...

First Chocolate Mousse cake.

This was my first time working with chocolate in a cake as I have never been a big fan of it. This is is a flourless chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate mousse, white chocolate whipped cream, chocolate covered strawberries, and encased by a chocolate band. The band was the most fun to make. I have to say that after making this cake, I like chocolate much more now (actually, I started liking it after tasting a flourless chocolate cake from Pattie Cakes in Alta Dena .. Yum!).

Billard Ball Cake:

I purchased a Wilton round cake pan from Michaels and couldn't wait to test it out. It was very difficult to cover the bottom of the cake with fondant without eventually flattening the bottom. Ahh... again, I watched Aces of Cake and learned how they keep the ball spherical (by using foam for the bottom semisphere).

Cupcakes:

I was playing with my new swirl embossing rolling pin.

Train Cake for Ryan:

This was a last minute cake and I wanted to make a train. Cake was covered and decorated in fondant. I didn't get around to putting tracks on and the cake slid from the base on the way to the party. Luckily, it stayed intact!

Joshua's & Katelyn's 3rd Birthday at the Zoo

2008-12-01T21:45:00.001-08:00

Joshua shared his birthday party with his good friend, Katelyn. They had it at the Santa Ana Zoo. They enjoyed yummy pizza and lasagna, fun train and carousel rides, and visiting farm animals at the petting zoo. Oh yea, Joshua loves the fondant topping on the cakes his mommy makes (that's about all he eats from the cake). His poor friend, Elias, is left watching as Joshua eats away here. He hasn't quite learned to share yet.

We settled across from the train depot, a very convenient location.

Katelyn's little Sesame street cake. It's a Deviled Food cake with fondant exterior.

Joshua, of course, is crazy about Spiderman and anything violent. To his mom's dismay, he did not want farm animals on his cake. Instead, we have our neighborhood Spiderman. He loved the Spiderman toy on top. Cake was a white cake with raspberry Mousseline filling and fondant exterior. Both cakes were fun to make!

Kodak moment with father and son.

The birthday boy with his mommy and daddy.

The birthday girl with her mommy and daddy.

Joshua's favorite ride at the zoo is the train!

Alice and her mommy enjoy a ride on the carousel.

The babies (sophia and leah) relax in a ride around the zoo.

Sophia's first BD

2008-12-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

Sophia's birthday started out at the park but ended at home. Everyone took part to make it happen and the kids had a great time!

Minivan row - kinda like a minivan sales lot. It's definitely the vehicle of choice!

Sophia in garden themed dress and greeting everyone with her smile!

Last minute cake decorations!

The whole family.

"We want our food!"

Aprons on and ready to get dirty!

Everyone focused on their masterpieces!

Flowers and plants for the finishing touch!

A mouse in the house?

2008-11-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

A number of nights ago, Hue was baking a double layered cake. She had set the cake on the dining room table to cool, and forgot about it for a while. Upon her return, she was shocked to discover that someone (or something) had taken multiple bites out of her cake!! Hours of time were lost. Was it a mouse? Or just a mousy toddler? Joshua later admitted, under intense questioning, that he indeed was the one. He was even willing to re-enact the crime. See below.

Hue's Fondant Cakes

2008-10-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

Recently, I, Hue, enrolled in a Wilton Fondant Cake Decorating Class. It was a four week course with a class a week. It was lots of fun and I got a chance to decorate two cakes! The first one was at the second meeting and the second one was at the last meeting. I can't wait to make and decorate more cakes.

Here's the finished cake #1 - Learned to cover the cake, drape, and make carnations. I used the Crazy Chocolate Cake recipe and made a raspberry jam and buttercream filling. Fortunately, I was able to share it at my friend's baby shower. It was a hit!

Above is cake #2 - I made a thank you cake for the staff at Noah's Town who faithfully cared for our kids every Sunday during service. The flowers were made at the 3rd class. The box and side trimmings were learned at the last class. Everything is either fondant or gum paste and thus edible (although kinda artificial tasting). Joshua loves the fondant. The cake was yellow cake with Raspberry Mousseline buttercream. I used these baking strips when baking the cakes and they worked out marvelously to make leveled cakes. I was amazed. Also, the Mousseline buttercream was very nice - smooth, fluffy and not too sweet. I tend to prefer the baking buttercream over the non - baking buttercream for this reason.

Superman?

2008-09-20T11:43:00.001-07:00

Not sure what Joshua is thinking in these pictures. Does this fella think he's Superman or something?

Sophia loves our little downstairs gym (thanks to Ming and Susan for letting us borrow it!). Here she is doing some 'reading', or at least pretending to.

Ever since Sophia started playing on the gym, Joshua has taken a much keener interest in it. Hmmm.

Alina park

2008-09-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

The kids had a wonderful time getting soaked at the nearby community park. It is a tiny, hidden hole-in-the-wall as far as parks go--Hue only happened across it from her search on the internet. Since few people know about it, it is rarely crowded. Along with the usual play structures, it has a mini water park with an array of water jets and a big hanging bucket that fills up every 30 seconds or so and then dumps its entire contents onto the concrete (and any bystanders) below. Sophia loves the water. Joshua does not. Can you tell in these pictures?

Thanks to Katrina, Kate, Marky, and Joy for being such awesome playmates, and being big brothers/sisters to Sophia. Enjoy the hot weather while it lasts, kids!

The kiddie table

2008-09-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the better investments we've made through Craigs List-- a kiddie table. Often we'll take it outside or move it into the kitchen where crumbs and spills can be cleaned up in a jiffy. It also folds up completely flat, which add tremendous value in my (Phil's) opinion. I hate clutter! In these candids, Joshua and Sophia are having a great time dining on some colorful foods during snack time.

Playing around

2008-08-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sophia is almost 1 year old now and Joshua is about 34 months. She's been cruising and even taking a couple of steps. Curious, just like her brother, she and her brother leaves a room looking like a tornado came by. Above is a picture of Sophia and her friend, Leah (5 m) behind bars. The crime? Guilty of excessive cuteness.

Here's a picture of the siblings at the Houston Airport on the way back from Long Island. Sophia is making sure her brother stays put.

Yum, yum, just love to eat my spoon (not much of the food on it though).

Most of the food seem to have missed it's target.

Enjoying a book before bedtime. Peek a boo books are the greatest invention!

Speaking of peek a boo. I'm wearing my sister's Chinese outfit and playing peek a boo. By the way, if you were curious, I am Chinese, NOT Chinese - American. It makes perfect sense because I am wearing a Chinese outfit!

Relaxing with a spa treatment of "J" and "S" chips. No cucumbers in the bedroom.

Having a fun horsey ride with aunties Pam and Casey.

July 4th on Long Island

2008-07-18T22:50:00.001-07:00

What a fabulous July 4th holiday we had! We spent an entire week frolicking in the humid, lush East end of Long Island, where Grandma and Grandpa Soo spoiled us with good food, good company and plenty of toys for the kiddies. It was so nice to be able to set aside the ways of Corporate America and sleep anytime we wanted to. We watched a lot of Wimbledon (awesome Men's Final!), kayaked around the Southold bay, and went for long relaxing walks along the pebbly beaches. CA beaches are better for sunbathing but Joshua loved the change of scenery. We enjoyed some new activities too, as you will see in the pictures below.

Thanks go to Auntie Andrea for helping caption these pictures, most of which she took.

Cuddling with the kids!

Hue with Sophia in camo (see two cute bottom teeth when she smiles).

Uncle Kieran making a funny face.

Auntie Andrea getting Sophia ready for morning grub!

Ready for clamming!

Mom and Dad rake it in.

Here we are depleting the clam population at Oyster Bay Beach!

Uncle Kieran catches 3 clams in one stroke (not staged)!

Joshua building his empire.

Sophia is nearly walking by herself, but not quite there yet. She has a lot of fun trying.

Sophia, joining her brother in building a large moat to protect his empire. Note the sea foam in background; presumably this is naturally occurring and is caused by churned, decaying organic sea matter (on the other hand, it may be the purest form of living cancer).

Auntie Andrea was pleased with how many we got!

Clam dump in the backyard.

Upon arrival, all clams were carefully inspected by our schnauzer Cinder Soo!

Mom made a wonderful clam chowder after our laborious harvesting efforts!

Our grand finale… LOBSTER!

Joshua getting ready for bed.

Movin and Groovin

2008-06-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we last posted and my, has lots of changes occurred! Sophia will be 10 months old next week! Gosh is seems like yesterday when she was cooing and laying on her back. Now, it's crawling, pulling herself up, bouncing, and exploring. She LOVES to put things into her mouth, especially paper and tags. Can't say it tastes too good to anyone else though.

Joshua is more like a little man now. (side note: he likes to be called a "big guy" and will correct anyone who calls him a baby or boy). He is very curious and always asking what things mean.. what's project mean? what's laceration mean? What's .... He also loves cars, trains, trucks along with weapons of less(?) destruction such as gun, rifles, swords , you know typical weapons that boys seem to gravitate towards. As much as his mommy tries to get him involved in crafts and building, he prefers destruction (kinda like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch). Oh well, here are some images from the last month or so.

Siblings love playing in their room. Joshua wanted to dress up in daddy's old suit that great grandma made.

sophia eating Cherrios - she enjoys picking them up and putting them where they belong - although about 1/3 of them end up in her seat or the floor.

Mommy felt inspired to make crepes (just couldn't get enough from a local restaurant). Joshua enjoying his fresh made Crepe Royale (strawberries, bananas, Nutella, whip cream). Yum!

Trying on daddy's shoes. He likes to try on mommy's and daddy's stuff.

A playdoh flower just for you!

Just a fun picture of Joshua outside. Daddy took this one.

Another fun picture of Joshua... future model?

Enjoying a fun book with daddy. This is one of the rare occasions Sophia has alone time with daddy.

Curious Sophia out exploring again.

Who do the Soo kids look like? Cast your vote!

2008-05-11T00:23:00.000-07:00

It seems like Mommy and Daddy can't agree whose genes are dominant in Sophia's facial features so we decided to put it up for a vote. Love to hear from you!

Sophia

Her Daddy

Joshua

His Mommy

Passport photo rejects

2008-05-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

We'll be taking a family trip to Cozumel this November, and that means Sophia will need her very own passport. I guess this is what happens when you try to take your own passport pictures. 8th one's the charm.

What an eventful weekend!

2008-04-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time with grandma Soo and grand auntie Vicky, who were visiting us from New York and San Francisco, respectively. Here are some of the fun things that we did:

Joshua was ecstatic with the new toy truck and bus Grandma gave him. Here he is.. showing the truck some love.

Sophia adores her older brother, and flatters him by attempting to mimic everything he does. Here she is playing with his blocks. Fortunately, with some "correction" from Mom and Dad, Joshua has quit his old habit of plonking her on the head with his blocks.

Hey.. get that camera outta my face!

Joshua loves building big towers. Look how proud he is of this one. Pretty soon Daddy will have to knock it down to teach him a "Babel-esque" lesson.

Bike ride with Joshua!! Daddy and Joshua love to go biking together. Sometimes we'll even bring a backpack and run errands together. It is such a nice change of pace from being strapped into a car to travel 1/2 a mile and spend another 10 minutes looking for a parking spot.

Here, Joshua got to go to the zoo with grand Aunty Vicky and grandma Soo. The zoo itself is pretty primitive, but it's close by and the kids just love it. Especially the train ride, replete with conductors in uniform and little kiddie train tickets.

Posing with grandma.

This nice conductor helped welcomed Joshua to his train.

Happy baby, happy Auntie.

Cramming a 'Dan Tat' into his mouth at dim sum this afternoon. We went to dim sum at New Capital (formerly Sam Woo) in Rosemead. The food was delicious. But.. let's just say that it wouldn't have hurt to have some more green leafy vegetables on the table.

Thank you for joining us for dim sum, Uncle Hiep and Aunty Amber!

Easter

2008-04-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday, our friends Kent and Jane invited us a a bunch of friends from their small group over for an Easter egg hunt. Joshua didn't do so much "hunting" really.. once he opened up one egg he just wanted to play with its contents. Below you'll see him racing a car over Sophia's head. Sophia was bright eyed as always and enjoyed scooting around the blanket on the lawn. She moves around very well now, and is all but crawling everywhere she wants to be. She is in the middle of her teething phase and will put anything into her mouth given the chance.

The weather was just perfect, and the kids had a blast with all of the toys and each other to play with. As parents, Hue and I love letting Joshua run free with his friends in a safe environment like Kent and Jane's backyard. Having a group of kids running around is like having free babysitting. We had some delicious Korean BBQ short ribs which Kent grilled for us, noodles for the kids, and a sumptuous assortment of refreshing salads and fruits.

Thanks go to the Chen's and the Cho's for all of the planning, hosting, and providing such good food and company!

Wanna bandage?

2008-03-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hi there! This is Joshua speaking. Today, mommy told me she had an ouie. So I asked her, "mommy touch oven?" I looked at her and she had a sad expression on her face, so I said "wanna cry?". Then I thought, maybe she would feel better after a bandage. I asked her "wanna bandage?". She then smiled and said she was ok.

Family Hike

2008-03-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well, last Thursday, we decided to have a Family Day, when everyone would be home and enjoy each others' company. We had a grand time visiting Joshua's school and meeting his classmates, took a long midday nap, then enjoyed a lovely afternoon hike near a local park.

It was close to dinnertime, and so it was a short hike. But we all had a terrific time enjoying nature and the break from the hustle bustle of our routine weekday schedule. As you'll see in these video clips, both Joshua and Sophia enjoyed all of the stimuli in this new environment.

Robot Joshua

2008-03-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Joshua playing "robot" at Aunty Erin Song's house. Oh the wonders of paper towel cores!

Sophia rolling and reading - 6 month update

2008-03-04T00:15:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, this is Phia. Well, it's been 5 very eventful months for me exploring and learning all the cool stuff outside of mommy's tummy. Last week, mommy took me for my 6 month visit. The stats indicate that I'm a slim little girl at 25% in weight but 50% in height and head circumference. It's hard to get attention since my big brother is also a handful (or so mommy says) but when someone does talk and play with me, I like to smile, giggle, and squeal back! Last week, mommy gave me some new yummy stuff to eat! It was mushy, kinda white, smooth and oh so yummy! I gobbled it up and cried when she stopped feeding me more. So now, I look forward to those feeding times. Here are some pix of me rolling, lounging, and hanging out with bigger brother, Joshua. He's very entertaining to watch!

Mommy trying to show my two little pearlies coming through the bottom gum. I feel like a specimen.

Lounging around.

I love lounging!

Oops..

Almost there...

yay, I made it back up!

Reading with Joshua.

Getting a hug from big bro. He gets a bit out of hand and will start squishing me. Mommy has to step in and remind him that I'm fragile and he's tough and heavy.

New Sling

2008-02-17T15:49:00.001-08:00

After months of looking at sewing instructions and fabric swatches, Hue has finally completed sewing a baby sling for the kids! It's been a while since the machine has seen light, so some time was spent relearning it. One of the major frustrations was sewing the invisible zipper onto the pocket. However, determination won over. The finished product is sage on the outside and pink on the inside with circles accents on the bottom.

Closeup of ring part of the sling.

Green side of sling with accent and pocket.

Joshua's Snow Day

2008-02-16T02:29:00.000-08:00

Joshua's "school" had snow day on Feb 6th. Joshua was bundled up just to play in a little bit of manmade snow. After playing around in the snow a bit and going on one sled ride, he was ready to head back to the nice, warm, dry classroom where he could play with other toys.

An interesting subtance this white stuff!

Our motherly son

2008-02-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry, but I just had to post this one. Hue noticed that Joshua these days has been taking quite a liking to "Boo" the character from Monsters Inc. The other day she heard him say "Boo jeet ni", which means Boo drinks milk! The picture tells the rest.

Sophia's almost 5 month update

2008-01-21T22:46:00.001-08:00

Well, it's been a while since Sophia's last update.
She is now 5 months and is growing beautifully. She LOVES to hold her toes and sometimes puts them into her mouth (just like her bigger brother when he was her age). She also holds her hands and rolls over from belly to back and back to belly! She really enjoys watching her brother since he is so active and boisterous. Here's one of her big grins!

Her favorite pacifier.

Kicking legs and flailing arms.

Loves those toes!

Wrestling with the worm. Looks like Sophia's the winner.

Joshua's Train Ride

2008-01-15T01:48:00.000-08:00

Joshua is a little man now. His current favorite subject is train! He loves watching Carlie and Conner (two kids on this great video that talks and visits toy trains, train rides, and real trains. It's called Big Trains, Little Trains or something like that). He speaks A LOT and understands A LOT. He has also understood the concept of going to the bathroom (yay for mom!). He enjoys going to Miss Elaine (his school teacher) and always comes home with some artwork (as well as paint all over his body). Lately, he's really enjoying pretend play. He has a stuffed bear (that her aunt Andrea gave him when he was born) and a Boo doll from Monster's Inc (that his aunt Tran gave him) that he sits, tucks in bed, etc.

Standing on front of the train station at the Santa Ana zoo with Katelyn. She's about a year younger than him and is really sweet.

Chess master J 'El

2008-01-10T18:20:00.000-08:00

Tonight, after his bath, Joshua requested to play "Chesh!" and who was I to refuse? He has learned to recognize all of the pieces now, and we love hearing him say "Bishap!" and "Ruck!".. very cute. This time, I quizzed him on the various pieces and asked him to show me which is which. He was very proud to show me the "yellow Bishop" here. Teaching him how the pieces move has been a little more challenging, though. Usually a chess session lasts for about 5-10 minutes, after which it turns into a demolition derby. But that's okay, since it is time for bed now anyway, right? Nighty night night Joshua!

Baby Jesus

2007-12-20T09:46:00.000-08:00

It's amazing that a year has passed already and we have two little ones instead of one! Well, Joshua is a little better with Sophia - that is, he doesn't bother her as much. He still loves to kiss her and do what she's doing. When he's not interested in what Phia's doing, he'll draw (Aquadoodle is a great product), build imaginary stuff with his blocks, play with playdoh, and explore. He is curious and discovers new "phenomena" each day. Just yesterday, he discovered that if he pulls on the toilet paper roll, paper will unravel and unravel and unravel to no end! He also discovered that raw linguini breaks with a nice "snap" instead of being soft and pliable. He also was quite entertained to hear daddy to "ouch" whenever he hit him... (something that mommy and daddy is trying to teach is not nice to do). Oh yea, ones of his latest phrases is "mine, not your's".... ah the wonderful two year old phase.

Phia, turning 4 months on Christmas, is squealing, holding her hands, and when placed on her belly, will "roll" to her back. She just loves to be spoken to and will smile and squeal back! Each morning, when she sees her brother, she smiles at him. She also has a very strong grip and will grab at anything within her arms reach (mommy has lost quite a few hair strands this way). Last night she slept with her brother in the same room for the first time. It was a success since they both slept soundly through the night (exept one time when Joshua woke up and cried because he was afraid of the green LED light on the baby monitor).

Phia sitting in her new Bumbo seat. Now this is a nicely engineered product that props your child upward even when she cannot sit up on her own (she just needs to be able to hold her head up). Phia does fidget a bit so she ends up a bit tilted on the seat at times.

Joshua is singing at his school Christmas show. He is the little toddler swaying side to side below the Cross. You can hear his voice singing with the teachers'.

Joshua joining his little sister to sleep on the jungle gym.

Catalina!

2007-12-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

For Hue's birthday, we visited the quaint little town of Avalon on Catalina Island for a 2-day mini-vacation. Avalon is a set into a lagoon like area on the southern tip of the mostly uninhabited island. Catalina is about a 1 hour express ferry ride from San Pedro, and is known for having a Mediterrainean climate year round and is colorful, festive and a fabulous place to walk around. Since Hue was still nursing Sophia, I planned the event to include the two kids and booked a nice family friendly hotel right on the beach called the Pavilion Lodge. The package we booked also included a glass bottom boat tour and an Avalon scenic bus tour. Along with the tours, it was nice just walking around and sampling some of the seafood restaurants. Joshua really enjoyed playing in the sand, and even got a chance to crash a mini golf course. Here are some of the pictures.

Autumn Fun

2007-11-19T13:40:00.000-08:00

Now that Joshua is 2, he has not escape the fate of the "terrible twos". He has learned how to whine (which is really cute because he has this perfect frown), use the "mine" word even when they are not his, and say "no" to everything. He also is learning to share - taking turns, count (says "seven, eight, seven, eight, nine seven..."), tap dance, and communicate his emotions (tells mommy when he is scared and needs help). He's still the active little boy he's always been.

Sophia has been smiling her sweet gummy smile. Today, she GIGGLED at her mommy! Still loves to be held and played with and sleeps 8-9 hours at night! Joshua likes to kiss her and help mommy take care of her.

Joshua is very excited about this parade!

Mommy was very amazed when she saw Sophia do this:

Here, she is giving her usual pensive look..

Joshua is Two & Sophia is Two Months old!

2007-10-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

Had to insert a little picture of Sophia - we entered this into Baby Gap's baby contest.

Crying because he had to wait to eat his cake.

Getting all the kids together can be a challenge.

Joshua sings and Sophia smiles

2007-10-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

But not at the same time.

Week 3 of Sophia's Life

2007-09-19T22:07:00.001-07:00

Well, the whole household had a cold, minus Phil. Lucky, daddy was in Maui at a wedding when we all got sick. Unlucky for Grandma Soo who came in this past weekend and caught the cold. Everyone is getting better though. Sophia is sleeping better through the night, although she still likes to be held. She also loves to sleep on her tummy. Joshua is enjoying his preschool which started last week. While other two year olds are crying their eyes out from separation issues, Joshua just runs around and has fun without any thought of his mother. Mommy is still short on sleep but a bit better.

Joshua having a great time at school.

Would this be Magnum? or Blue Steel?

Exploring the ocean life at the Long Beach Aquarium.

Caught booger handed?

Ahh Choo!

Week 1 for Sophia and Soo Family

2007-09-05T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well, we all survived week one of Sophia's life. First couple of days were ROUGH with sleepless nights for mommy. Daddy and Joshua had their share of lost sleep since Sophia's crying would wake Joshua and thus daddy. Sophia is now nursing about 40 minutes at a time and sleeps 3-4 hours. Sometimes she doesn't want to sleep and likes to be held. Other times, she just isn't satisfied with 40 minutes of nursing and constantly wants more milk, so we have some cluster feedings that lasts several hours. Overall, things are good. Joshua loves kissing Sophia... or Phia as he calls her. He's also been helpful with throwing out Phia's dirty diapers, and helping to build her crib!

Helping daddy assemble Sophia's crib.

A job well done!

Sophia is born (not for the squeamish)

2007-08-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well the big moment finally arrived, but not at all as we expected it!

Baby Sophia Liana Soo was born at 4:54am on Saturday morning. It started off innocently enough, with a series of contractions at 4:00am but Hue was used to contractions happening over the last 3-4 weeks. Well, this time they were for real, and when the intensity ramped up and Hue realized it was time to call the doctor, she was in the throes of labor.

The doctor on call told us to get to the hospital "as soon as possible!" , but I could only help Hue stagger from the toilet to the door of the bathroom in 5 minutes. She was starting to bleed heavily and could only take a few steps before the next contraction hit. The urge to push was overwhelming for Hue. Our hearts were palpitating, as we both knew there was no way we would make it. Well, we made it to the second step of our carpeted stairwell before Sophia could not wait any longer and literally FELL out of Hue into my hands. Hue was screaming, everyone was drenched in blood and our stairwell looked like the aftermath of a rubout scene from the Godfather series.

Fortunately the paramedics arrived soon after our 911 call and did a fabulous job clamping and letting me cut the umbilical cord, then tranporting a woozy Hue, baby, and myself to the closest hospital, St. Jude. Sophia was born at 19 inches long an a healthy 6 lbs 11 ounces. Mother and baby are doing great, and doctors are amazed at how healthy Sophia is. In a world where doctors usually tell you when to push, how to push, and monitor the fetus' every vital stat during labor, I guess nature works best after all.

More later!

Summer under the Sun

2007-08-15T23:35:00.001-07:00

Joshua's been spending lots of time under the California sun this summer and having lots of fun along the way. Since his mommy has been less energetic during her last month of pregnancy, he's had a chance to hang out with lots of new friends! He loves to transfer things from one container to another, feel them in his hands and mouth (unfortunately), and eat and play with others' toys. He also loves to throw things he calls "chash" into the trashcan (most of the time they are trash). His favorite snack is "aikem" as he makes a fist and puts it to his mouth and mimicks licking it (that would be the sign for ice cream for those who still wonder) and favorite beverage is "juice" and always asks for "morm pease" (although mommy always tries to limit to the recommended 4 oz/day). Here are some pix from this July and August (he's about 20-21 months).

Paddle boat with the Hsiehs. They had to hang onto their 2 and a half (Marky) as well has Joshua while paddling. Very brave.

Loading up the machine. Still can't really squirt the water though.

Chilling at the Beach with Ava Warren. This is probably his first time playing with sand at the beach. He wasn't really interested in getting in the water. Was plenty happy with the sand and people around him.

Went to a local park with water jets for kids. Thought he would love it. Instead, he was terrified, even with daddy holding him, so after spending 2 minutes or so, headed home.

LOVES to vacuum. Always excited to "help" daddy out with the vacuuming. He does call it "vacuum".

Had dinner with the Chins (Phil's cousin and his family visiting from Tahiti) at a Korean BBQ place. Joshua loves to give hugs and kisses at at one point hugged and kissed his 2nd(?) cousin, the little girl who is about his age.

Loves to just snuggle under daddy's arm and fall asleep. Daddy loves it too. Say's that he just can't help it.

Joshua signs again

2007-08-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today, Joshua displayed to us his wide range of emotions-- distress, happiness, laughter, grumpiness, surprise, and fear, all within about 60 seconds.

Summer Language Explosion & #2 progress

2007-07-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

Ever since we returned from China in May, Joshua's vocabulary, comprehension, and communication has been growing in
leaps and bounds (ok, this maybe biased). He's been signing more and speaking more - truck, car, helicopter, airplane, banana, go, jump, sit, mommy, daddy, doggie, bed, kick, please, thank you, park, play and others. And about two weeks ago, he started putting two words together. One morning after swimming, he looked to his mommy and says "mommy cho" (meaning mommy sit) and pointed to a spot next to him on the towel. Mommy couldn't help but to sit down next to him and share some grapes with him. He's also associating things with people, for example, he'll come over to the mommy and daddy's room, points to daddy's side of the bed and says "dadty". When it's bedtime, he picks out what books he wants to read. He says "Wump" for Wump World, Eat (in Chinese) for Green Eggs and Ham, "Eckmin" for Ex-men, and "Choo Choo" for Thomas the Train. Oh yea, his mommy and daddy are always appreciative when he takes a dirty diaper or junk mail, says "trash" and throws it in the trash can. He also reminds his mommy and daddy to pray before, during, and after meals. He'll put his hands together and say "pree" and when we say amen, he says "Ahmin". Of course, all this development does have some "side effects", such him crying and protesting when we say "no" or "wait" or "later" but overall, he's still fairly easy to distract.

In addition to developing his comprehension, he's been working on his physical development as well. He's loves to climb stairs, ladders, rope nets, and just this week, he climbed one of those climbing walls at the park. He's throwing balls, swinging golf clubs, kicking balls, jumping, and building and knocking down blocks. He's quite an active guy.

Golf

Don't bother me, I'm eating.

Swimming with Aunty Casey. I love to splash and play "humpty dumpty".

On another note, baby #2 can't wait to get out. It's week 33 and 3 days now. Mommy found out that she's going through pre-term labor and has to stay on bed rest through week 36 (end of July). This really slows down activities for Joshua and gets mommy restless, but luckily there are friends and family who have been able to take Joshua out.

At 33 weeks and 3 days. It's low this time.

At 5 weeks: just for comparison

Well, he didn't say please

2007-06-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

Giggly Soo

2007-06-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Josh hamming it up for the camera.

The Success Symbol

2007-06-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Sorry the photojournalist in me couldn't resist posting this one. This fellow was the only shopkeeper at this leathergoods outlet store just outside of Wu Zhen. I considered pilfering some vests to teach him a lesson (quite possibly *helping* him out in the long run) but that wouldn't be very Christian of me, no? Besides, those pleather vests were cheap in every sense of the word. And I mean CHEAP.

Xian - our last city visited

2007-05-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Our final city visited was Xian which means west capitol. It was the capitol of China for a while before being moved to Beijing. The city was a center of of trade from the east and west, therefore there is a lot of influences from the Middle East. On the first day, we decided to visit the Muslim Quarters in the center of the city. This is one of the oldest areas of the city and still has the narrow streets. Lots of vendors brought out their various kabobs to grill over coal troughs as well as other foods (all foreign to us). We didn't try any of it, but did get some souvenirs and visited the Great Mosque. Below is an exerpt from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/great_mosque.htm:
"According to historical records engraved on a stone tablet inside, this mosque was built in 742 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). This was a result of Islam being introduced into Northwest China by Arab merchants and travelers from Persia and Afghanistan during the mid-7th century when some of them settled down in China and married women of Han Nationality"

The next morning we visited one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area: the Terracotta soldiers of Emperor Qin. Below is a bit of history from wikipedia:
"The Terracotta Army was buried with the first Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huangdi) in 210-209 BC (his reign over Qin was from 247 BC to 221 BC and over unified China from 221 BC to his death). Their purpose was to help rule another empire with Shi Huangdi in the afterlife. Consequently, they are also sometimes referred to as "Qin's Armies"."
It was quite impressive and what's more impressive is the fact that there is more that has not been excavated due to concerns of how they would handle exposure to the elements.

This is the South Gate of the City. Xian, like Beijing, is a walled city with a number of gates. These gates are very impressive (not what we expect of a typical gate) and fortunately, most of the city's gates still stand today.

We splurged and stuffed ourselves at a famous dumpling restaurant that evening....lots of food! Afterwards, Hue packed some dumplings to go only to hand it to an old lady with 6 fingers and begging for food. Never saw someone with 6 fingers on one hand before.

Our final day in Xian we went to another excavation site / museum of the emperor during the Han dynasty (this would be BC timeframe). His burial site was discovered more recently and is very well preserved. We were more impressed with this museum than Qin's Terracotta's soldiers because of how well they preserved it. The lights, humidity, and incoming dirt levels were all controlled. In addition the burial site is all enclosed in glass so that what we brought in (the tourists) would not damage them. This emperor was known to be a very good one and chose to have clay mini models built instead of using lots of expensive materials and making full scale figures for his afterlife. During his reign, he also had a hierarchal cabinet to manage the various affairs.

Hangzhou West Lake

2007-05-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hangzhou is well known for it's West Lake, a beautiful well kept lake with willows, pagodas, temples, benches, boats, etc. It is a favorite place for poets, philosophers, and scholars of ancient times spend and be inspired. One of the emporers was known to love the lake so much, he would come and visit several times (a rarity since most of the emperors tend to stay in the Forbidden City). We decided to take a boat ride across the lake and quite an interesting ride it was as the weather decided to rain on us!

We also visited a museum of herbal medicine which still has an existing herbal shop! It was quite interesting but kinda freaky some of the stuff they had on display.

The Hangzhou Tea Gardens

2007-05-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

A real jewel on the outskirts of Hangzhou is the Museum of Tea at Hu Xueyan. This area is home to plantations that make some of the highest grade green tea in the world. The museum itself is beautiful, but it is outshined by the surrounding gardens. Replete with lush foliage, gracefully arched bridges, and gurgling brooks, this was a lovely place to walk around and just relax. So much so, that Joshua fell soundly asleep in his stroller and Mom and Dad joined him for a 1 hour catnap on a nearby park bench. Remarkably, there was hardly anyone around except for staff.

We had dinner at one of the fine dumpling houses in Hangzhou right on the shores of the famous West Lake. As always, the food was excellent and service impeccable. The entree pictured is a carved pear decorated with ginko nuts and slice of premium ham. From the pictures, you can probably tell this was a pretty classy establishment. Joshua enjoyed ice cream for dessert, and once again was coddled by the waitress who even gave him a couple of stuffed animals.. what's not to like about that?

2007-05-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

We elected to take the gondola ride up to the top of the Great Wall at Badaling. It is as great as people say it is. The weather was perfect and there is just enough of a hike to the top tower that I (Phil) felt a sense of accomplishment making it there with a 23 lb. toddler on my back. You won't find any strollers (or many young kids) here, since the wall is almost all steps and steep ramps.

Afterwards, we had lunch and then hit the Wax Museum, where each room depicted a scene that took place during the Ming dynasty. We decided to have some fun and take some pictures with traditional costumes. Mom told me not to smile, since apparently ancient Chinese emperors just don't do that when posing for photographs.

The last couple of pictures are from the Ming tomb, which is really just a very nice stroll past some majestic statues and ending at a big open Presidio-like structure (for those of you from SF, you know what I mean).

Summer Palace

2007-05-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

The summer palace is another historic palace that was famously occupied by Ci Xi, the ruthless empress dowager. Back in the late 1800s, she put her son under house arrest for disobedience to her and misappropriated funds earmarked to modernize the Chinese navy to renovate this palace for her own enjoyment (and ours I guess too.. thanks Ci Xi).

For dinner we went back home and had another sumptuous Chinese meal with stellar service. This waitress was completely enamored by Joshua and was derelict in her waitressing duties for at least ohh.. 20 minutes while we ate our meal. I also got a shot of Joshua gettin' down on the stage; he just loves the limelight, let me tell you!

The Forbidden City (and other things)

2007-05-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

Next stop: Old Bookstore area and the Forbidden City. During the feudal times, this street was packed and flourishing with bookstores and business. At the end of the Qing Dynasty a lot of valuables from the Forbidden City were stolen by eunichs and sold here. Today, there are no more such relics from the Forbidden City, however the street still has the old look with lots of bookstores, craftstores, art stores, etc. We had a little stamp made here with the "Soo Family" imprint. After
browsing the bookstores and having a little tea break, we had lunch at a funky, purple gold, clublike restaurant that was catered for westerners. The menu had a varied assortment of east and west dishes. It had surprisingly good beef and chinese broccoli dish. We were pretty taken aback by their bathroom sinks and have included an image of it. Before the meal, we also had a taste of tough haggling by peddler. He was trying to sell some books on the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. The starting price was 50 yuan for the Forbidden City book. After following us and not taking no as an answer, we finally relented and bought both books for 50 yuan.

Here is Joshua posing as Emperor Pu Yi in front of the Forbidden City. Is he worthy? You decide.

Day 2

2007-05-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the local farmers' market, Capital Museum and toured the megamall by the Beijing Hyatt Regency hotel. Hue loved the farmers' market.. it was full of vibrant colors, yummy smells and interesting people, not the mention the freshest produce one could find. The mall offered a completely different kind of experience. It was very upscale, and most of the brands we didn't even recognize.

At the end of the day, we visited an older section of Beijing, which was a tourist trap. Here we found the most unusual items on a stick--presumably for human consumption. In case you haven't had dinner, I'll only attach one picture.

A couple more observations:

No one here wears shorts. For some reason it is just not fashionable, even when the weather is hot. Guess this means that I can fit right it as long as I wear long pants. Never mind the huge camera around my neck..

The people here are surprisingly friendly. People we meet in restaurants, in elevators, etc. often smile at us and ask about little Joshua.

On a related note, the level of service we have received at some places has been amazing. Our trusted driver helped out by watching Joshua while he was sleeping and a kind waitress at a restaurant held and entertained the baby when he was fussy (for a long time) so we could eat. This probably would never fly in the U.S. because of liability issues.

So this is China!

2007-05-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

The first day in China was stimulating and eventful. So far, we're having a wonderful time.

Our airline, Cathay Pacific, provided terrific service. Before we even checked in, they noticed we had a baby and re-routed us on a different flight with extra seats so Joshua can lie down to sleep. They also gave us an exit row on the second leg and made arrangements to provide baby food, diapers, and kiddie toys. Cheerfully too.

At Mom's apartment, we chowed down on delicious Hangzhou steamed buns and Joshua got to play with his new toys. We didn't have access to a car so we just hit the local shopping scene on foot. Drivers here are not afraid to use the horn. But.. they actually know how to use it--for signaling intentions and warning others. Nonetheless, Mom informed that with the blatant disregard for the rules of the road, minor accidents happen all the time.

Quite a few people here work right out of their apartment. The local cobbler set up shop from his apartment window. As far as I could tell, his primary overhead cost was a wooden chair for customers to stand on to reach the window.. slick. They should have vendors like this in the U.S. We also came across some street food. Smelled good, but we know better thanks to many of you.

The first shop we visited was a department store-- sort of a Macy's analog. I was surprised to notice that many boxed products looked old or even used, and there were very few patrons at the store. We were approached constantly by Mandarin-speaking salespeople. We don't speak Mandarin. But they seemed like very nice people.

The Wu-Mart here is China's WalMart, and very impressive. They even have a full service grocery store on the first floor. Can you identify the meat in the picture? If you guessed pork liver, you must have cheated.

By the end of the day, Joshua was OUT.

Baby #2!

2007-04-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the first posting for our second little one. It's been about 5 months (21 weeks) of oven baking for our #2. Unfortunately, with a little toddler running around and demanding attetion, our #2 is a bit neglected. Here is the first side profile of me (Hue). It was taken at about 19.5 weeks.

Last Friday, the whole family set out on a trip to see the ultrasound of #2. It was very exciting since Phil couldn't make it to Joshua's ultrasound. This was a first for him. Joshua came along for the ride. Below are some ultrasound images. We, of course, received lots of questions, mostly the same ones, asked of #2. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?" "What would you like?" "Are you going to find out or wait for the surprise?" Well, even though we did not wait unit August, we were very surprised to find out our baby's gender. And what is it you ask? You'll have to scroll to the bottom of this posting.

IT'S A GIRL! Imagine that? We both thought that she was going to be a he. Well, Joshua won't be able to pass down all of his boy wardrobe so any of you who have girl clothes that you would like to pass along, we are sure our #2 would appreciate it! Now, we know you'll all be asking the next question: what will be her name? We're working on that and you'll find out next time!

Splashes in the New Bath tub!

2007-04-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today, Joshua was elated when he saw a NEW bathtub being filled with nice warm water! He couldn't wait to get in. When he did, boy, did he have a great time! This upgrade is soooo much better than his OLD bathtub. The OLD bathtub was actually a rubbermaid dish pan that he was beginning to out grow - i.e. legs were cramped, not too much room to splash. This NEW one was NICE...lots of leg room, higher then the typical American tub (since this was personally purchased and brought back from Taiwan by a friend's friend), and nice roomy too! It's like going from a Geo Metro to a Suburban.

17 months, Signing & Moving

2007-03-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well, this boy is all over! He climbs stairs, ladders, anything he can get his little feet on top of! He also runs...makes his mommy very nervous because he'll trip and fall. He has lots of bruises from all of his daredevil stunts! Makes other parents wonder whether he's being abused! Anyway, Joshua continues to develop his motor skills as well as communicative skills. He doesn't say much that is understandable, however, he does sign. His favorite show (the only one that his mom actually puts on generally) is signing times and he loves to dance to the music. He's also expressing more and showing his wants more. I.e. terrible twos coming in. Here are some pictures of Joshua playing in the park with his pal, Alice. The park is lots of fun! Then there are some of Joshua's signs.

Drinking and driving...he'll need to learn about this in his teenhood at driver's ed.

Would this be the aftermath of drinking and driving - drunk driving? You be the judge. Luckily for Joshua, he did not get pulled over and tested for BMC (Blood Milk Content).

No hat has ever stayed on Joshua's head for more than a split second before he pulls it off. However, for some reason he just loves putting this armchair armrest cover on his head. He looks like a little pharoah and maybe that's why he likes it.

Here's Joshua with his buddy, Kasten. Joshua doesn't like to push Hippo, as the toy is intended. He'd rather sit in it.

Below are some of Joshua's favorite signs. He's learning some new ones but never grows tired of the "essentials". See if you can figure out what he's signing.

This is by far Joshua's most common sign, "eat". He says "eat" in chinese as well when he does it. He used to do it for eat and food but now seems to use it when he wants something. We'll need to get him a new sign for want.

This is Joshua's version of "drink". It's actually the sign for water but eh, he usually drinks either water or milk anyway.

This would be "banana". I know for those of you ASL purists, this is not exactly how you would sign banana, but you've got to give him a break. It's hard to make a fist leaving the index finger straight with one hand and then to mimic peeling a banana with the other hand. If it's not understandable, there's always his reach out and grab what he wants method.

This would be the sign for "baby" - it's like rocking a baby in your arms. Of course, as a boy Joshua kinda rocks hard and fast. For some reason, he just loves to sign "baby" and "sleep" whenever he sees a baby. Let's hope this is a sign that he loves babies (will help when his little bro/sis comes into this world).

2007-03-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Well, last weekend was the Chinese lantern festival and we were in for quite a treat at the Irvine Chinese Community Center. There was a lovely life-sized lantern exhibit that was lit up at night, on-stage entertainment from the children, and plenty of freebies (flashlights, mousepads, etc.) for all.

Little Josh was fascinated by all of the festivities and actually sat still for several minutes on the bench as the kids performed. Ah.. this harkens back to fond memories of Chinese school on Long Island... Ian was kind enough to give Joshua a big hug for being a good sport.

Climbing Stairs

2007-02-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

It's February 4th, 2007. Joshua is now 15 months 1 week. He has been very amibtious with the stairs. He's been more interested in stepping up and down like adults even though he can move much quickler with his normal crawling. Today, he was able to take 14 steps up the stairs with just the aid of his mommy holding his left hand. Unfortunately, a camera was not readily available but below are some fun pictures during dinner!

He gets injured at least once a day (generally many times more) and today was no exception. The scratch across his face is from falling onto one of his toys. It's so painful for his parents to witness and be completely helpless!

Plyaying with mommy's belly. He doesn't know that his little sister or brother is resting in there right now!
Or maybe he does and is giving his future sibling a hug?

First "arcade" experience

2007-02-03T23:26:00.000-08:00

On January 20th, Joshua attended Ava's 2nd Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's. His daddy was very excited about going (more so than Joshua it appears). Well, who knew this place was SO POPULAR to kids and adults alike! The parking lot was packed full and the drivers in the remaining vehicles were fierce in guarding any spots they found. Inside, singing animals, clamouring bands, sounds, lights and children's voices filled the room.

Ava enjoying her pizza with her mommy.

They actually have a preschooler and younger section with rides for them! Joshua had lots of fun figuring out what the buttons and gromets did.

Practicing how to drive so that he can weave in and out of traffic when he gets older.

From the expression on his face, looks like we are about to crash, but luckily this wasn't the case. A light came on and started blinking.

The horse ride was a bit interesting to him. This look on his face is identical to his daddy's when he was a toddler (see below).

New meaning for ski ball....

After all that fun, a bathroom break is in order.

Toddlerhood

2007-01-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it's now 15 months (3 months since Joshua turned 1) and boy does he move FAST! He no longer looks like a baby, no longer crawls, and no longer sucks his two fingers. Now, he prefers walking, though most of the time, he swaggers like a drunken sailer and falls a lot! But, it doesn't stop him, he just get's up and keeps moving. He also has an affinity towards plugs, electrical outlets, electrical cords, all sorts of phones (except for toy phones), computer parts, chemicals and whatever else his parents try to keep out of his reach. He recently learned how to turn the light switch on and off and gets on his tippie toes and reaches has far as he can to turn that switch. He gets a kick out of hit. He's also learned to say and sign the word "eat" in chinese. It is very cute! His mommy and daddy can go on forever, but we'll just post some pictures instead!

Is Joshua 1/2 Klingon?

2007-01-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

Joshua has his cake but can't eat it

2006-11-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

Joshua is never one to refuse another chance to celebrate his B-day! Here he is getting a little help in blowing out the candle on his cake. No chocolate for the baby though. Bad news for him, good news for the rest of us. Thanks to Anna, Elan and Barkley for hosting this special event.

Joshua's 2nd Halloween

2006-10-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

Joshua was only days old when his first Halloween can by. This time, he's a whole year old and had a chance to try on different costumes. At the end of it all, he settled with a chinese outfit and strolled through the local mall looking at all the strange characters running about.

Sitting Bear.

Opening presents.

Monkey Soo eating cherrios... Do monkeys eat cherrios?

One of the few monkeys who like to crawl instead of swing.

Joshua Turns 1!

2006-10-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

The big day finally came and Joshua got to celebrate his birthday...TWICE! With so many friends and family that love him, he couldn't exclude them from celebrating his BIG day! He enjoyed all those who came and had his first bite of CAKE! Some of his milestones this year:
2.5 months - propping himself up.
5 months - rolled over.
5.5 months - wants mommy and daddy's food.
6 months - started crawling. Learned to climb off bed.
9 months - master at crawling, climbing up and down stairs, getting into all sorts of trouble!
11 months - started opening cabinets.
12 months - took first steps!

Can you believe this is Joshua's uncle, Kevin?

Those flames are really cool...hmm... can I touch it?

Two birthday cakes b/c my great aunt loves me sooo much, she couldn't just get one!

A week after one birthday party, Joshua got a chance to have another one, this time with lots of friends..

Well, this is his first ever bite of a cake. Luckily for him, this cake has no suger but does have juices and apple sauce, making it VERY sweet.

Anyone got milk?

Sneaking a peak at a present!

Greek festival!

2006-10-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

We took little Josh to his first Greek festival in Covina, CA. He was a good sport, reading the program with Ketsana, and even doing a little dancing to the live music. So far, his only dance move is to wave his arms up and down, but he's really really good at it!

Viva Las Vegas!

2006-10-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

Not quite 21 yet, but Joshua still took a trip to Vegas for a three day getaway...well, kinda. He went with him mommy, his friend, Alice, and her mommy. It was quite a luxurious experience as they wined and dined at a resort about 15 minutes from the Strip. The resort was called Green Valley Ranch and had a beautiful garden as well as a nice family friendly and pet friendly outdoors mall across the street. Joshua and Alice had lots of fun playing with each other during the day in their rooms and afterwards, at the pool!

Upon arrival, he had to help carry stuff since his mommy had her hands full. (for those who wonder, it's a bag of peanuts from SWA).

Sunscreen anyone?

Maybe sun suncreen before dinner.

Hey, this water is cool!

This has got to be the cushious reclining lawn chair ever, not that I've had that much experience with them.

This is the life....

Kasten's Birthday and BBQ with George

2006-09-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend after the New York trip was NOT a weekend for resting. Oh no, Joshua went and partied with friends! As a matter of fact, he attended his friend's (Kasten's) first birthday party. Afterwards, he visited his friend, George.

Wagon ride to see the duckies.

Blinking at something...not sure what.

This is Kasten pointing at the camera. He's definitely not camera shy...any talent agents out there? Alas, the fun had to end as Joshua needed to head over to visit his friend, George, later in the day.

This is George. He's quite a sweet 2 year old. He offered Joshua his toys and was willing to get down on fours to play with Joshua.

Hmm... it looks like they're heading for the watering can.

Joshua got to the watering can and of course, couldn't help to taste it out. He hasn't quit figured out that he can get water from a smaller glass as well.

The poor doggie looks like she's the target...

These two were blowing razzberries at each other and giggling non - stop. It was quite an act and entertaining to watch.

First Few Days in Long Island

2006-09-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Joshua made it through the 8 hour flight from coast to coast and came out like a champ! Full of energy and curiousity, he explored his new surrounding for the next 7 days. The first day was focused on exploring the home. The second, the family visited Greenport (once a whaling port, now more of a tourist spot). The third day, Joshua was curious what all the fuss was about the Hamptons.

Playing chase with Cinder, the schnauzer.

Posing with grandpa Soo and Cinder. Joshua just can't keep his hands off of her hair.

After a long, eventful day, he settled down with a nice bath in a tub created just for him.

Day 2

Joshua had a chance to see the beach in the East Coast. He actually hasn't seen the beaches in the West Coast yet, even though he's a whole 10 months old already. Mommy and daddy are a bit behind.

Grandma teaching Joshua to walk. He seems up to the challenge.

Nice little portrait of grandma and grandson on the dock.

Day 3 - visiting the Hamptons

It's a quaint little town, similar to Carmel. Quite a bit upscale with unique and interesting boutiques.

It's amazing how a little gelato spoon can be so entertaining to a 10 month old. He had blast with it!

What's been going on during the 9th month

2006-08-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

The months of May - June were packed full of trips to MN and SF. The months of July & August has winded down, but still very action packed for Baby Soo. Joshua has charged on, perfecting his crawl, cruising, climbing up and down stairs, pulling books off shelves, picking up and eating pieces of food, and even holding a stand for about 1 second. He also loves to say mama and baba, give razzberries(?), and make popping sounds. He gets a kick out of those! There's just so much to explore that it can be quite a handful for both mama and papa Soo.

Joshua hanging out with two of his playmates, Alice and Kasten. Kasten is a couple of months older than Joshua. From his skin color, it appears that he may have eaten quite a bit of carrots.

Joshua likes to help his mommy do the laundry or maybe he's hiding out to take a coffee break?

Is Joshua trying to determine Alice's finger size for a proposal? Hmm.... wonder what their parents think of this early courtship?

This picture was when Joshua was first learning how to climb down stairs. Thank goodness he's figured how to step down by crawling backwards instead of charging head first.

This was taken during the July 4th weekend from SF. It was added here because the pappa and son look so happy together!

Water, Water, Everywhere!

2006-08-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Joshua went swimming! The water was cold but did that stop Mommy and little J from jumping in? Nope. At the end, Mom was complaining about the cold, but Josh didn't say one peep. I knew that baby fat was good for something.

A nice instructor came by showed Josh how to kick his feet like the pros. We think he's off to a pretty good start.

A San Diego Birthday

2006-07-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

Joshua had a blast this Saturday at his friend's (Allison) 2nd birthday! Oh, the toys to eat, other babies to meet, the places to explore, and the joys galore! It was a smashing good time and well worth the 5 hour round trip!

Allison dancing to her daddy strumming Beatles music on the guitar.

Potential book worm?

Learning how to meet girls. The first thing to is dress hip!

Don't bother me; I'm eating toy phone.

Yea, mommy just adores me. What can I say, look just like her.

Posing with Aunty Casey.

Oh no! Wait.. he's okay.

2006-07-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to see this picture of Joshua in Hue's camera. Did he fall? Was he smacked? But.. all was well. In fact, it appears that Josh just finished a deep breakfast of pure beets. That would do it!

Oh, he also likes wearing Hue's hairnet from work. It helps him get in touch with the inner artist in him. See for yourself.

Move to move

2006-07-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

It was wonderful to be able to attend the wedding of Anne Su and Galen Yee in the Bay area. Anne and Galen are so perfect for each other! Along the way, we were able to visit with our dear friends Manie and Jeremy, Kevin and Wei Kuan, and Nick and Kim. Here is one picture from the wedding ceremony in Portola Valley, one with Anne the day after, and one with Daddy.

Back to MN.. for a weekend

2006-06-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

We went back to MN to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends Grace Lee and Larry Ho. Here are a few pictures from the reception and a couple from a Caribbean restaurant on Nicollet, where we hung out with Stephanie and Sherri. It was quite a whirlwind weekend and a beautiful wedding. Even if we only had 1-2 things planned, it felt like double that with an active baby. It is still a mystery as to where little Josh gets his energy. It certainly isn't from either of his parents.

Joshua's Friends

2006-05-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

So much has happened in the last month with Joshua, but this blog will just be focused on introducing some of Joshua's friends!

Joshua attended one of his friend's, Haley, first birthday. There were lots of fun toys and he had a great time!

This is Michael, whom he had visited back in March or so when she was only 2 months old. Now, she is almost 5 and just as big if not bigger than Joshua!

A determined Joshua is about to grab the camera from his mommy.

Here's Alice, Joshua's playmate. They see each other every week. Usually Alice just looks as Joshua moves about and gets into all sorts of trouble!

Sharing his toy with Alice.

Taking a stroll with mommy, aunty Jane, and Alice while the dads were out snapping pictures at Woodbridge.

Alice amusing Joshua.

This is Aiden and his mommy, Lewelyn. He is only 1 month old!

One of Joshua's new faces - biting his lower lip - with Grandma Huynh.

Visiting the Queen

2006-04-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Joshua had a very adventurous day visiting the Queen Mary with his mama, papa, and grandpa. They had a wonderful lunch at the Promenade restaurant on the ship, where Joshua was a bit bored with his meal and tried to steal some of papa's french fries. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for his parents) he was unsuccessful and had to settle for milk. Then they all went strolling about the ship. My, it was one GIGANTIC ship. His parents walked all over and got a bit lost too, trying to find the various exhibits. One thing they did learned was that Grandpa Soo had come to New York on the Queen Mary back in 1967. It was one of her last trips before she headed for Long Beach and stayed there. After lots of walking, sightseeing and quite a scare at the "ghost" exhibit, they all had a nice meal at Gladstones and then headed home.

Getting bundled up for the day.

Posing with Grandpa Soo.

Hmm... that Pepsi looks interesting..

Reaching....

Trying to taste...

Only 6 months and beginning to not like mommy's kissing.

Tired and ready for his crib after a long day in Long Beach.

Visiting Monterey & Carmel

2006-04-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of April 7th, the Soos took a road trip to Monterey & Carmel to visit grandma Soo and grandaunty Chen. This is the view from the suite we stayed at.

One morning we all decided to explore the reserve nearby. Joshua was quite a trooper, "hiking" for several hours...He definitely enjoyed all the sights and sounds!

His mommy couldn't decide whether he looked more like a little "emperor" or an alien coming out of her.

Posing for the camera.

We all visited the Monterey aquarium where Joshua enjoyed watching all the active children around him more than the aquatic beings in the tanks. His mommy and daddy, however were mesmerized by the sea life, especially the jelly fish.

Yumm!

2006-04-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

Today, Joshua had his first introduction to solid food. Well, it wasn't "really" solid but compared to the milk that Joshua was drinking before, it was solid. Joshua couldn't wait to taste the spoonful of rice cereal. He eagerly devoured every single bite and wanted more!

Life's Too Short to Lay Still

2006-03-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

It is amazing that Joshua is officially 5 months, over 20 weeks, old now! He's grown so fast. The first Saturday of March, he had is first official unassisted roll over. Since then, he can roll over with a blink of an eye and with one hand in his mouth! Also, did we mention that he LOVES to talk? His favorite word is "ba". Mommy tried to get him to say "ma" but it didn't quite catch on like "ba". We'll continue working that one.

This is a pose with his uncle; the one that lots of folks say he resembles. What do you think?

Napping with grand aunty Holly. He's learned now that napping on someone's arms is much more comfy than on a cold bed. Smart kid.

His mommy and daddy thought that he had no flexibilty but they thought wrong! This last week, he started gumming his toes. It looks like 10 fingers just isn't enough for him.

Baby time

2006-03-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

Just some pictures of little Josh when he was 4 months old. He is as active as ever. We noticed that has has pretty strong legs. He's kicked his mommy and daddy quite a few times in the chest! Perhaps he'll end up being a good soccer player?

Joshua's new friend

2006-02-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

Joshua recently visited a new friend, Michaela. Michaela was just born in January, so she's about two months younger than Josuha. He looks a bit like a brawny football player against the very feminine Michaela. Joshua had a great time cooing, girgling and laughing away while Michaela just looked on.

Got Pacifier?

2006-02-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Now that Joshua is 14 weeks old, he much more active than a month ago.

For one thing, he has discovered the comfort of his fingers! One, two, three, even four at a time, he doesn't mind. As long as they're in his mouth to put him to sleep or calm him, he's content. It leaves a slippery mess of saliva around his month. Even though mommy has to frequently wipe it, she's just glad that he's happy. Daddy would prefer him to suck on a pacifier, but he would just rather have his fingers at hand.

He's also learned to lift his head up pretty high. He doesn't enjoy being placed in one position. He'll get bored and is always ready for a new viewpoint.

Recently, he's learned how to grab with his fingers. He can finally hold the fingers of his two hands together; he does it pretty tightly too. He also likes to grab mommy's hair. As always, he is full of expressions!

Taking a sucking break.

First Flight

2006-01-22T17:35:00.000-08:00

On January 21, 2006, Joshua took his first flight. He boarded the Jetblue plane without any fears and landed in San Francisco without a single tear. Well, he slept most of the way. In San Francisco, he got see his aunty, Andrea, uncle Kieran, grandaunty Vicky, grandma Vivien, grandpa Peter, and a bunch of other folks. Joshua greeted everyone with bright smiles and giggles!

Joshua learning how to grab onto daddy's finger. It's tough when your fingers are so small compared to daddy's.

Joshua smiling with grandma Soo. Hmm...is there a resemblence?

Aunty Andrea gets a chance to hold Joshua.

Joshua hanging out with grandma and grandpa Soo.

This picture with Greatgrandma Chen was taken in December during Greatgrandmas' last days. It was the first time they met each other. This trip was a memorial to Greatgrandma Chen who lived through 92 eventful years.

The running baby

2006-01-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

Now that Joshua is 9-10 weeks, he has grown much and is much more active! His hands still have a ways to go but he is flailing them more now and loves to take them to his mouth, especially when he is hungry! His hair may need some Rogaine help but hey, we won't have to worry about haircuts for a while. More coos, gogos and indescribable sounds other than whah whahs are projecting from his lips now. He is especially chatty during diaper changes. During his free time (when he's not eating or sleeping), he enjoys exercising his arms and legs. One of his favorite moves is the "running baby" as seen below.

Future Jet Li?

Working out his neck muscles. "Hello Mr. elephant".

Relaxing with his hand to his mouth. That was a hard workout!

A year to give thanks

2005-12-25T20:38:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Joshua's first Christmas with a big family dinner at our place. Hue's Mom prepared a sumptuous Vietnamese meal consisting of sauteed clams with basil, fish maw asparagus soup, and lettuce wraps. This was a good year for our family, with some of us celebrating new jobs, new friends, new ambitions, and for us, of course, a new family addition. For all these things, we are all very thankful.

In the group picture (from left to right) are Kim, Hiep, a sleeping Joshua, Papa Huynh, Tran, Hue, Casey, Phil, Momma, and Holly (Hue's aunt). As you can see, Joshua was out for the count, but made up for it by keeping us up most of the rest of the night. After getting stuffed, we played several rounds of the card game Apples-to-Apples, followed by many more ruthless rounds of Texas hold 'em. Holly, a beginner, entertained us immensely with her aggressive betting and bluffing, and actually did pretty well until she went all in against someone with a legitimate hand. Ohh..

The gift exchange went really really well; the gifts were very thoughtfully selected and everyone really liked their stuff. Even Joshua got a little set of winter clothes for his future visits to Grandma and Grandpa Soo on the East Coast. I say we should all do this sort of thing more often.. just to see the smiles on people's faces. : )

Welcome to our Web Log!

2005-12-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! We have finally caved in to all of the pressure from our friends to start our own blog and post pictures of our new family addition, Baby Joshua. Of course we also hope to use this to update all of you on all of our latest triumphs and tribulations as well.

Let's get started! Here are three pictures from our little photoshoot this morning. Joshua is just starting to learn how to smile, and indeed he is quite the cutie when he does. His smiles usually turn into furrowed brows and frowns when I put a camera in his face. Fortunately, I was able to snap a couple of decent shots off before he knew what was going on.