Family Visits

This is mainly a post to catch up on photos from a couple of the recent family visits we've had. I still haven't posted any pics from my grandparents' visit and it's been killing me that I'm so far behind! The main reason is I'm just busy. We, as a family, are busy.

But I've also been procrastinating the task of deciding what to do with posting a large number of photos.... for now, and because I don't have the time to figure out nor invest in a better solution, I've just created a new album for Callum, like I had once created for Logan. I'll slowly update it with past photos taken during other family visits as I have the time. But for now, let me share a few of my favorites from the last two recent visits.

The minute Callum was born, I thought he looked a lot like my grandfather. He definitely looks like several different people in both of our families - but when you see him up close and next to my grandfather Clock, it's hard to deny those Chinese genes. :)


My grandmother was quite smitten with the little one. She wanted to hold him, more than I had expected her to, any chance she could get. She was a trooper, holding him as long as her arms could support him. :)


Any of these pics will link to the album from my grandparent's visit. You'll also find the (few) pics I took while at my cousin Ellen and Matt's wedding reception event. I don't have too many pictures with all four of us together yet - and this one isn't great - but at least it's a snapshot of our now family of four! :)



I'm not sure my grandparents will get another visit out to California again soon, so I am extremely grateful and appreciative of my parents' hard work to make sure my grandparents' trip really happened.


A couple of days preceding our Texas trip last week, I started talking up the trip to Logan. I wanted him to be excited about the trip but more than that, I wanted to make sure I'd have my little helper with me lending a hand along the way. In the corporate world, we call this gaining buy in from your major stakeholders. ;-) Whether at work, or at home, it seems to be something I do every. fucking. day.

Thankfully, the plan worked. Logan was a real trooper throughout the airport both going out and coming home - rolling around his own suitcase and keeping up with his parents who might have been a little frantic on the way home, when the security check point took 30 minutes too long while their flight, several gates away, was already happily boarding. They were doing a last call for final boarding as we raced up to the gate - I think we were the last ones on the plane. :)

Logan's reading the "plane book" to his dragon Ruby.

Callum was awesome on the trip out - sleeping the majority of the flight out and drive to Bryan. Unfortunately, he was a little stinker on the way home - pissed as all hell that he had to stay strapped in his car seat for the 90 minute drive to Austin before his Mama would pick him up. Oh, the horror.

I think Jon was about to drive us all off the road at one point, so we made a couple of stops along the drive, pulling Callum out and giving him a few minutes break from the car seat to chill out. When we finally got to Austin, and I strapped him to my chest (with the Ergo carrier), he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately conked out.

We really didn't do much while we were visiting Jon's family in Texas. We spent a lot of time catching up on life with Papa, Mimi and Granny B, which was actually much more enjoyable and relaxing than going out seeing/doing stuff I think. Other family members (Doy's brother and sister-in-law, and Jon's two sisters) visited throughout the weekend which was also really nice. We watched a few movies here and there. Logan played with all the toys we got the first time he visited - and we bought a few more to add to the collection to keep there.


Jon, Papa and Logan had a "Boy's Day" on Saturday - eating good ol' Texan BBQ for lunch, napping and then buying his cowboy outfit in the afternoon. Doy, Granny B, Callum and I spent the day lounging around the house, dining at the Club, and chatting about everything from the weather to being a mother.


It was our first time traveling with both boys and overall, I think we really lucked out. Logan, for the most part, kept to his sleep schedule at home - which didn't really bother us, since it just meant he was up later at night to hang out with everyone before bedtime. Callum shifted back and forth from Pacific to Central time, so his schedule was a little harder for me to manage since I'm still nursing him, but not too bad either. I generally just slept in when I put him down for a morning nap while Jon and Logan got up and visited with the rest of the family.

Logan slept on a twin bed for the first time (funny that this should happen while traveling - but he actually has a monster double bed of his own at home!) - and without any bed rails no less! I was pretty nervous about the set up because he's a VERY active sleeper and usually sprawls out on his own bed, but he only had one night where he fell off and it didn't seem to bother him too bad (mostly just startled him). I did stuff a number of HUGE pillows all over and around him though. ;-)

Logan also attended Sunday school for the first time - since he and Jon accompanied the rest of the family to church on Sunday while Callum and I slept in that morning. At his age, they don't really do much at Sunday school but paint and play, but still it's another first and something that he can now say he's done (and something that his mother never has)!


I feel we were very fortunate to have the time to steal away for a long weekend to visit Jon's family in Texas, since they wouldn't get to see Callum until he was older, otherwise. Even though I'm on maternity leave, every day still feels like "work" to me (just a different kind of work!) - so I relish these vacations, no matter how hectic they may be. It's rare that I get an entire day where Jon is around to help out with the kids, let alone several in a row! ;-)

Howdy y'all!

A pic of Callum on his first flight! The kids did really great. :)

We just landed in Austin and now finally on the road to visit Mimi and Papa. We had a bit of a delay at the airport because the airline left one of our car seats in San Jose. :( But they gave us a loaner and will deliver our seat tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Travels

We've been home now for a week and I'm just now sitting down to write up a post about our Thanksgiving travels. I often say you need a few days off after returning from a vacation just to relax and settle back into the swing of things. If only that were possible! Both Jon and I have been super swamped at work - it's a combination of having too many projects on our plates, coming back after the holidays with everyone refreshed and ready to hit the ground running, and everyone knowing that the Christmas/New Years' season is coming up, which in our industry also means "network freezes" (i.e. no work can get done). So, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is usually jam packed with every co-worker, manager and client trying to cram in as much as humanly possible into your workload before the end of the year. Wheeee!

That is my long winded way of saying a post about our Thanksgiving trip had to wait until this weekend when I had a breather! ;-)

We took off for New Mexico first, to visit my grandparents. We flew into El Paso, TX which is the closest large airport to my grandparent's town. Logan was a trooper the whole way and did a great job on the flight. Once we landed, we grabbed a bite to eat before hitting the road. The drive to my grandparent's house is about 2.5 hours from El Paso and practically a straight shot the entire way. The land in Western Texas and Southern New Mexico is very flat, dry, barren and wide open. I've actually grown to like the scenery over the years, but I would guess most people thing the terrain is pretty ugly. Logan was most shocked by the lack of cars on the road - there were maybe 60 cars an hour? Hard to say but not too many and we'd have long stretches of just us and the highway. He fell asleep asking where all the cars were. ;-)


We got into my grandparent's house that Friday evening, said our hellos and pretty much settled in. Staying at my grandparent's house with a rambunctious toddler was quite an experience - it was probably most jostling for my grandmother, who is in her mid 80's and recovering from heart surgery she had just a couple of weeks prior, and who isn't used to a lot of action and noise in the house to begin with. Heh. So, I tried to get us out of the house at least once or twice per day, and with the long naps in the middle of the afternoon, I think that helped space things out.


On Saturday, Jon and I took Logan to the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park. They have a lot of natural wildlife available to see from the area which we don't normally see in a typical zoo here. Logan was particularly interested in the mountain lions and bobcats, probably because they just look like bigger version of his cats at home - and anything BIG is good by him. ;-)




On Sunday, Logan and I visited the massive playground along the river while Jon watched football with Clock (who, though he can't see the tv because of his poor eyesight, enjoyed Jon's constant football jabber and score updates throughout the games - it was a match made in heaven). My grandfather Clock was actually probably the most interesting person to Logan on our entire trip - I think because my grandfather would eat with a bib and spill half of his food on his lap - just like Logan! I caught him staring at my grandfather several times when we were at the dinner table together. I can't imagine what was going on in his little head, trying to figure out why an adult was needing just as much help with his food as he did. :)



Over the weekend, we actually sent the nursing help home early one night, because she had some extremely terrible flu-like sickness. And frankly, I was concerned about her exposing any of us at the house (luckily, none of us seemed to catch whatever she had)!! However, that meant that Jon and I (mostly Jon) had to help dress and put my grandfather down to bed for the night (he is paralyzed on the left side of his body since his stroke many years ago). We aren't sure exactly why, but Logan was absolutely TERRIFIED when Jon picked my grandfather up to transition him from the bed, to the wheelchair, and back to the bed again later that night. He screamed and cried, visibly upset and screaming for his Daddy while running to be held by me. We weren't sure if he was just scared and upset, or perhaps jealous.... we saw a little unhappiness from him later in the trip when I was holding baby Stella for a little bit, but it wasn't as extreme as this time with my grandfather. It will be interesting to see how he reacts once the baby arrives in a few months.



Monday, we returned to the playground on the river, this time with Daddy (and a camera for me!). We had an excellent time, as to be expected. Logan was partial to the twisty tunnel slides and took his Daddy on several rides over and over again. We then walked to "The Beach" where we found some ducks (and apparently some geese too, my father tells me) and fed them pieces of bread which Logan was absolutely thrilled about.




Tuesday we had to take off, back on the 2.5 hour long drive to El Paso, to catch a flight over to Austin, TX. We had a wonderful time with my grandparents and I'm really glad we took the opportunity to make our way out to visit them this year.


From Austin, we drove another 1.5 hours before reaching Bryan, TX - where Jon was born and where we'd be spending Thanksgiving with his parents and several siblings and cousins.

The next few days were a whirlwind of activity. We were the first to show up which was actually quite nice since it allowed us and mainly Logan, to settle in and remind himself of the house's layout once more (the last time we visited was last Thanksgiving!). We pulled out the toys we had bought last year and lo and behold, they were still perfectly fine for him to play with. That's the good thing about "new" toys that he hasn't seen in awhile.



On Wednesday, a couple of Jon's brothers and sisters starting arriving into town: Mark (Jon's brother) and Renee flew in from VA, Curtis (Jon's brother), Renee, Luke and Stella flew in from LA, and Kate (Jon's sister) drove in from Houston. Anne (Jon's sister) and her daughter Sydney showed up for the festivities as well (they both live in town). It was wonderful to see everyone after so long! It was especially fun for Logan to spend time with so many of his aunts, uncles and cousins (a couple for the first time!). He was especially taken by his cousin Luke, who is only a couple of months younger. They immediately became fast friends and the two of them ran around the house after each other, or looking after each other. You'd often times hear Logan yelling out: "Wuke? [Where'd] Wuke go? Wuke, [where] are you?"




Thanksgiving day was an even bigger ordeal with MORE family piling in to visit! It's incredible how far reaching Jon's family is and I don't think I'll ever get completely used to it. :) We had an amazing feast with football blaring in the background on every TV in the house. When eating was done, people broke into smaller groups to play cards, watch TV or sit around and catch up on family gossip. Logan would wander from group to group asking anyone (usually an uncle or grandpa) to play cars with him. He loved the attention and the amount of people to choose from, all at his fingertips. ;-)


On Friday, Doy arranged for a Girl's Day Out at the Spa. It was absolutely wonderful! We all had some combination of a pedicure, facial or massage and then gathered around to chat and drink wine (sparkling grape juice for me) and munch on fruit and cheese. Afterward, Kate took a few of us to a fantastic little chocolate shop, around the corner from Nolan and Doy's house, where she went to school with the owner. Each truffle looked like a piece of art and I was mesmerized. I bought the largest box they had with one of each flavor that I could fit in it! :) (We just had a family dinner with my parents and Zane the other night, so I brought the truffles over for dessert. We polished off EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM in one sitting! It was excellent!! Logan was a fan too ;-) I will have to put in an order or two for Kate or Doy to pick up some more the next time they think of it!)


Of course Saturday was then the Boy's Day Out while we women-folk stayed home with the kiddos. The guys took off with a truckload (no joke) of guns and went to a large piece of land owned by a friend of Nolan's where they could shoot targets and whatnot for fun. Jon had a wonderful time with his dad and brothers of course. ;-) Meanwhile, the women lazed around and continued to cook, eat and visit with relatives. It was joyous and relaxing and so much fun.


Sunday was a tough day to leave - we had such a pleasant visit and enjoyed seeing all of our family that it was really sad to say goodbye. On the other hand, we also missed home, missed our own dogs and cats and were looking forward to sleeping in our own beds. We drove the 1.5 hours back to Austin to catch our flight home - the "Nerd Bird" via Alaska Airlines (Jon got a kick out of the nickname). :) We rented one of those DVD players on the plane so that Logan could watch a movie or two - but he seemed to be more content playing with his cowboys and horses and cars, so it was Jon who ended up watching the movie while Logan kept me entertained. It was a bit of a cramped flight home, especially now that Logan has grown so big and my belly is starting to pop. It was particularly annoying anytime he insisted on folding the tray-table down and then get upset that it wouldn't go down all the way. :) This was our last flight with Logan as a lap-child and though we'll be sad to see the free flights go, it will be good to finally get Logan used to his own seat!


The lady next to me happened to be a mother, grandmother, and 2nd grade teacher from the Bay Area, and was particularly patient and forgiving of our son throughout the entire flight. Once we landed, she turned to thank me for how involved and interactive we had been with Logan the entire time. She recognized how much work it was to keep him entertained and said our involvement really showed - he's a bright beautiful smart little boy who was wonderful the entire flight. She said she hoped we continued to do what we were doing - because we seemed to be absolute wonderful parents to Logan and it really showed (she also commented we are the type of parents that teachers dream of - ha! little does she know...).

We are always very proud at how great our little traveler is, coping with our constant trips around the globe in good spirits, but hearing those words from a complete stranger - especially with how sincere and friendly as they were - really warmed my heart. We couldn't have received a nicer compliment nor perfect ending to a great trip! Hope everyone else had as wonderful a Thanksgiving holiday as we did!


Click on any picture above to get to the full album.

Full on Thanksgiving

Logan's bed is a mattress on the floor with a ton of pillows propped up around him since he moves so much (the first night he made his way under the bedside table!). Here he is sleeping in after HUGE festivities with family coming and going all day yesterday. Two of Jon's brothers and two of his sisters are here visiting as well, not to mention cousins galore.

There has been more food than imaginable, football nonstop on TV (it is Texas afterall) and fun and games with our loved ones. Hope everyone else has had an excellent Thanksgiving as well!

Next turn in 130 miles

Had a great visit with my grandparents in Carlsbad, NM and now heading back to El Paso to catch our flight to Austin (and then onto Bryan, TX).

Logan keeps asking to see more cars on the drive... I guess he's not quite used to seeing an empty barren land like this. ;-)

Birthday Dinner

A few days late but wanted to do another post about Logan's birthday so I could share a few more pics of his big day (click on any of these to see the full album). :)


We had a really casual low keyed birthday celebration for Logan. We went to his daddy's favorite pizza joint (Giovanni's) where he munched on pasta, pizza and cheesy garlic bread. YUM!


My parents and brothers joined us since they are all in the area. He was in a great mood (surprisingly, given he had a number of shots earlier in the day) and laughed and giggled and smiled for anyone who would look his way.


Afterward we headed to our house for some good ol' chocolate birthday cake and a few presents from his faraway grandparents in Washington state (a fun Rock 'n Ride Pony!) and Texas (a crazy bead maze cube).




He loved all the new toys of course, but faded pretty quickly after the sugary rush of cake - so I put him down for the night and hung out with my mom to catch up on life while "the boys" talked pool strategy (my dad just got a new pool table) and poker (where they started a late game) all night.











It was a perfect evening to Logan's big day. Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes and wonderful gifts! He is loving every single one of them. :)

Relaxin' in Texas

I was scrambling at the last minute yesterday to get to my flight on time. Let's just say I should have been at the airport at 1pm, yet I was in the shower at 12:30pm.... I begged the airport guy to let me on the plane, telling him I didn't even care if my luggage made it, I just had to be on that plane! :)

I guess it worked since he smiled and let me through. *whew*

I also ran into a really nasty rude woman on the plane, but decided to keep my trap shut and ignore her. The guy next to me wasn't as thoughtful and blurted out a few choice words to her, which had her literally in tears, all before take off. Good times!

When I arrived late last night, Jon had wonderfully big news to tell. Logan had taken two steps toward Nolan ("Papa") all on his own!! We are so excited and I can't wait to see the walking action with my own two eyes. :)

We're doing nothing but eating tons of ridiculously decadent southern food and relaxing (I just got back from an out-of-this-world MUCH NEEDED massage).

Life is good when you're on vacation and stressful work is a thousand miles away.

The Texans Visit

Nolan and Doy (Jon's dad and step-mom) came to visit Logan these past couple of days. We had a really great time! :) Logan's been a star - on his best behavior for his Texan grandparents. We just saw them off this morning, on their way to see Logan's cousin Luke down in LA next. We also saw my grandparents Nana and Clock off this morning -- my parents are escorting them back to New Mexico, via train! It should be a fun, but an exhausting trip, I am sure.

I was able to capture a number of different pics during Nolan and Doy's visit. Click on the picture to the left for more!

I should note that we had an unusually bad night last night. :( Logan seemed to be really restless all night long. He wasn't wearing his brace (Daddy forgot to put it on when he put him down for the night) and I wonder if that made a difference - because he was kicking and squirming a TON! So much that, every few hours, he made his way to the other side of the crib (even while swaddled). I had to keep dragging him back to the center of the crib so he wouldn't smash his head against the siding, but it didn't seem to help. He woke up a few different times throughout the night, his head up against the side of the crib and his arms/legs cold as ice because he had kicked off all of his blankets and wrestled his arms and hands free of the swaddle. So, I was up several times feeding, comforting and trying to get him back down. It was exhausting! How quickly our minds and bodies seem to forget those sleepless nights we had to deal with just months and weeks ago!! ;-)

I almost forgot! I also took some random pics of Logan playing with his musical worm toy, courtesy of our good family friends Stu and Robin. And, some pics of Logan hanging out on the bathroom floor, where Daddy set him down while he finished his business. *sigh*

It was actually pretty damn cute (yeah, he's totally NOT shy) so I went photo crazy..... see for yourself!