Are You Alive?

This morning, we visited Auntie Kristen who gave him a super cute Giant's outfit and one of those "I Poo'd" onesies too. After that, he promptly fell asleep on the stroller ride home. All of ten minutes later, we arrived back to the apartment and I did the hold-my-breath-that-he-doesn't-wake-up-transfer from the stroller to his crib. Success. He proceeded to sleep for ...count 'em...two and a half hours! NEVER before in his life has he napped that much. Talk about success!! Of course, Joe and I checked on him about 6 times to make sure he was alive during those 2.5 hrs. And of course, he was fine. Just two paranoid new parents whose 5 month old threw them for a curve ball today.

Scones Recipe

 Cream Scones

Recipe from The Emma Nevada House Bed and Breakfast

4C           all purpose flour

2/3C       sugar

2T           baking powder

1t            salt

3/4C       dried fruit (I used raisins and crystallized ginger)

3/4C       unsalted butter, cubed

1 1/2C   heavy cream

4 large egg yolks, room temp

Course sugar (optional)

Preheat oven 400 degrees.

In food processor, place butter, salt, baking powder, sugar, flour and pulse until well mixed.

Remove and pour into bowl. Toss in dried fruit.

In separate bowl, mix egg yolks and heavy cream until blended.

Combine flour mixture and gently fold until incorporated. Do not over mix. Batter will be clumpy and look dry.

Scoop 2” balls into parchment lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten balls with palm of hand.

Sprinkle with course sugar.

Back 15-20 minutes until top is lightly golden.

An Eventful Day

Today was an eventful day. It started out rather silly with Tristan toppling his activity mat over onto his face. Instead of crying, he laughed:
















Joe determined that Tristan was old enough to be held on his shoulders, 6'2" off the ground:


















And we visited my Yeen-Yeen (Tristan's Great Grandmother) and took some great photos. I haven't heard her laugh that much in ages. I love how the photos highlight their age difference, but show how playfulness is ageless.










































And to end the day on an even sweeter note, I was inspired to make these raisin ginger scones to go with strawberry preserves that Joe made from strawberries we bought at a local stand in Shingle Springs. The recipe came from the Emma Nevada House, a quaint B&B that Joe and I vacationed at in Nevada City, back in the days when we could, where we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast and a quiet evening by the fireplace.

For those who want the recipe, see above post.

Chillin' with my Girlfriends

How many girlfriends can one child have? My son already has multiple. If he continues on this path, he will be more traditionally Chinese then anyone in my family in terms of concubines. On Tuesday we spent the day with Auntie Alison, Auntie Pam, and Courtney.

So I said girlfriends plural, right? Well, his other girlfriend is currently in Auntie Pam's tummy, still developing ears and stuff.

Here are some photos of the day!
Belly time with Court



























Matching Skip Hop diaper clutches. How cute.

Babies' First Easter

So apparently Easter is kind of a big deal. My idea of Easter was obligingly going to church with my Po-Po, and having lunch after with the fam. Occasionally there were dyed eggs involved.

So when Joe asked, "What are we doing for Easter?" I was quite confused. The talk continued with discussions about the Easter Bunny, Easter dinner, taking photos with the Easter Bunny, dressing in brightly colored clothing, and the unsaid suggestion that somehow I had missed out on an integral part of childhood. Personally, I didn't think so, but hey, if Joe wants Tristan to get a visit by some bunny, who am I to stand in the way? It really is just another bribery tool that adults use to hang over their children. "Be good or the Easter Bunny won't come!" And observing Tristan's hyperactivity over the past 5 months, I anticipate I'll need all the tools I can get my hands on. So bring on the Easter Bunny!

We proceeded to my favorite mall, Stonestown, and paid way too much for computer print-outs of Tristan with the Easter Bunny. Good thing they turned out cute, or I would want my $26 back. Here are some photos of the event:



Daddy and Tristan waiting in a 45 minute line to take a photo with the Easter Bunny. (Notice the similar 'elf' ears on them. Kind of cute.)















What is Daddy doing with the Easter Bunny!?



















A happy Tristan alongside a kind of scary looking bunny.










On Easter Sunday, we had Easter dinner with the Marshmans. It included ham, mac n cheese, corn, and some good biscuits. Auntie Katie, Joe's sister, definitely has a way with Tristan. He arrived in a foul mood and she was able to change that around in a heartbeat. Soon enough, he was a happy smiley baby once again.

1st Family Trip

We survived our first family trip! Granted, it was only one night, and was at Collin's lakehouse only 2 miles away with all the amenities of home, but we survived! Unfortunately there are no pictures to prove it because I somehow packed the camera, two lenses, but no battery. Genius.

I used to make fun of families who traveled with, what seemed like, their entire household rolled up into 5 pieces of luggage, plus stroller and carseat. Until I realized you DO need everything, just in case. So our little overnight trip ended up filling the Acura TL trunk to the brim, and spilled over into the backseat as well. It was kind of ridiculous.

It was also Tristan's first time spending the whole night with us in bed. I figured it would either be a disaster or a success. He ended up sleeping very well, 5 hours straight during one period! Man oh man, if only he did that consistently at home. So I guess you could say it was a success, but also a disaster in that we learned he does sleep better with us. I can see how parents fall into that trap of letting their babies sleep with them; that extra hour of sleep felt soooooo good.

During our day stroll, Joe strapped him in the Bjorn as we walked around the lake. He really does love the fresh air and sights and smells of nature. And as we clustered around the fireplace at night, he was mesmerized by the flames as well. Either we have a little pyromaniac on our hands, or Tristan has the makings of a nature boy. I told Joe when he gets older, they can go on "boy camping trips" and mommy will stay home and relax at the spa. One can dream.

So happy birthday to Auntie Kimi, and thank you for inviting us to celebrate your birthday on our first family vacation!

Separation Anxiety

Tristan's new thing is to cry when I leave the room. It's both flattering and annoying at the same time.

Updates

Let's share some updates that have occurred this week.

1. Because of the bottle strike, we were forced to bring him to Uncle Mikey & Auntie Christina's wedding. It was great to see all the family friends and to celebrate Mikey getting married. Joe and I barely had to take care of him that night; all the aunties wanted to hold him, which was fine with us.

The highlights for him was 1) getting a shout out from Auntie Christina as she finished walking down the aisle (such a beautiful bride!!) and 2) wearing this fit:


2. At my girlfriend's shower lunch, I learned that I have TWO google reader followers! Big ups' to Jac and Alice! It's the closest I've ever come to being famous.

3. We hung out with Auntie Rhee-Rhee and Uncle Joaquin, visiting all the way from the Big Apple. Playing with Tristan, Rhea noticed his half smile and coy looks, proof that he is also developing his flirting skills.
3. Tristan is figuring out his Marshman athleticism more and more each day. (The Choi-Dea side has passed on desirable traits, but let's be honest, athleticism is not one of them). His legs have grown longer and stronger. He's constantly doing air kicks, like he's working out on some imaginary exercise bike. And just today he rolled over from back to front (as opposed to front to back like he did over a month ago)!

Cry Baby

My son is a cryer. I was not bestowed with one of those angelic babies you hear about that rarely cry. I birthed a cryer. Today he woke up from a nap at Gung Gung's hysterically crying, and continued to do so for 45 minutes, even when picked up. Three hours later, right now, he's been crying for 45 minutes, refusing to take a nap in his crib. And at this point, we're too far into the crying to pick him up because then he'll learn, "If I cry 45 minutes hardcore, Mommy and Daddy are putty in my little hands." So we'll just keep on letting him cry til he gets it.

Ball and Chain

This is me. I am tied to my son by an imaginary ball and chain. For the past few days, he hasn't taken the bottle...again! And this time not just from Joe, but from anyone. Which means that I am chained to feeding him "straight from the nip" as Uncle Matt says. We have about two more months of pure breastmilk before we introduce solids, at which point I'll be more free. But in the meantime, family and friends, please take no offense if I can't be somewhere without him for more than 3 hours at a time. It doesn't mean I've become one of those mothers who can't let go, it doesn't mean I don't want to spend time with adults only, it just means I can't bear to starve my child just so I can have adult time. I keep telling myself it's temporary.

If anyone has any suggestions for tricking him into taking the bottle again, please let me know. We've tried everything we know of and have researched, but someone must know of something we haven't heard of yet.

Lovers

Today we shared a romantic stroller stroll with Bianca Pio Roda and her Mommy Jacqui. Tristan and Bianca promptly fell asleep while Jacqui and I were at the market. Produce is not exciting apparently.

After the walk, we spent some time at their place, Tristan on the floor, Bianca walking around him. Here are some photos with appropriate captions. I wish I had the caption bubble option on this darn blog, but you get the picture.
















Bianca: "His cheeks are a good consistency."

Tristan: "Yah, she likes me. It's so obvious."








Love's First Kiss












Mmmmmm...arm.....

No Sleep, Again

What my son does to make me wish I wasn't a new mom:

Wake up every two hours from 11pm to 6am.

Joe and I decided to let him cry it out at 3:30am, but that lasted half an hour and I just got up to feed him. Then he woke up 2 hrs later at 6am and we decided to let him cry it out again. But that lasted 1hr and 15 minutes of pure agony and Joe got up to soothe him.

We all get frustrated. When we're young, it's not being able to ride a bike, or tie a shoelace. When we're in high school, it's not being able to get the guy we like to ask us out. And when we're adults, maybe it's getting the runaround from a potential new employer. But let me just say that if you haven't heard a baby's piercing cry down an empty echoing hallway for 75 minutes, you've never felt frustrated. It's the kind of frustration that knarls at your being. You find your teeth clenched, your shoulders stiff, your head about to explode. You wait during those silences in between cries, hoping that 3 seconds becomes an hour, but it never does and the crying begins again. And then you get to a point where you swear if you hear anymore, you're going to punch the wall or yell out profanities, or throw your spouse out the window just cause they're there. And then you can't take it anymore and you give in to a 4 month old and pick him up. And he smiles at you like nothing happened, so happy to see you.

He wins. We lose. The Battle, but hopefully not the War.

Gag Me

Tristan's new thing is sticking his thumb in his mouth so far back that he gags. I suppose it's good that he's discovering a reflex, but he does it over and over again. Apparently gagging is not a deterrent from sucking his fingers.

In Bloom

The cherry blossom trees in Golden Gate Park are in full bloom so we took a stroll with Baby for some nature lovin'. Here are some shots of us frolicking among the blooms. My intent was to come out of the photo session with a good family shot of the three of us-- surprisingly we have none. But using the tripod and timer, Joe was convinced it would look "forced". So here are some shots, including the "forced" one.

Naked Baby