Birthday Celebration

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Happy happy birthday to our wonderful hubby and daddy Ron! We love you!

Morning goodbyes with Iris.

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Simon made this during school today. Ron took Simon to school this morning and he still cried like usual but was his cheerful self in aftercare and happily showed me what he made today.

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To celebrate Ron’s birthday, we went out to eat at BUILD pizzeria in downtown Berkeley. It was our first dinner out since moving to Berkeley. The restaurant lets you pick your sauce and toppings then fires up your pizza in 3 minutes! Super fast and the pizza had a nice chewy yet crunchy crust. Delicious especially with the fresh ingredients.

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We also shared the fries and calamari. The fries came with a blue cheese dipping sauce and the calamari with an aioli.

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After dinner, Iris enjoyed playing with the little metal pail that the appetizers came in. She was grabbing at it, tossing it around, and attempting to put it into her mouth (and she did get it in once!). Guess she might need some new toys.

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Birthday cake for Daddy Ron.

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When we got home, there was a beautiful edible arrangement from my parents to Ron. Simon really wanted to play with the balloon by “boxing” with it.

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Simon and Iris played together.

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Looking forward to digging in to the fruit tomorrow. Thanks mom & dad.

One more happy birthday to Ron: Happy happy birthday!

Forgetting Essential Supplies

Monday, October 7, 2013

Moving is no picnic and unpacking is definitely no fun either. But little kids don’t have a care in the world so are always smiley, as they should be.

Simon trying on a pair of slippers.

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Morning Iris.

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Today when I took Simon to school, one of the administrators showed me some pictures she took during their picture day. She told me that Simon had a really good time and was so happy. She assured me that he is only really sad in the morning when I leave but is fine during the day so not to worry. He does look so happy in the picture. I’m looking forward to getting his first school photo.

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So today, I unfortunately forgot essential pieces of my pump so had to go home to retrieve it. I probably only left it at home because of the mess of unpacking but it’s good that we live closer so that I *can* go home to get it. The best thing about rushing home in the middle of the day is seeing Iris’ happy face.

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Although not very ladylike, Iris really likes grabbing her toes and lifting her legs. Good exercise too.

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We’ve unpacked a good amount of boxes but there’s still plenty more to do.

Bear Territory

Sunday, October 6, 2013

“You know it! What? You tell the story! What? You tell the whole d*mn world this is Bear Territory!”

We have returned to our old stomping grounds.

Saturday, October 5:

I mentioned a few posts back that we were moving. Well today was moving day! We decided to move to Berkeley for the sake of our kids and lucky for us, an easier commute to work. Simon and I were spending AT LEAST 40 minutes in the morning and 50 minutes in the evening for commuting. I wouldn’t mind if it was just me but it was starting to wear on him. We plan on keeping him at this mandarin immersion school for a while and sending Iris there as well. We think that knowing Chinese is important for their future and they would lose their skill of speaking if we sent them to a traditional English only school. I think going to a school daily with practice, also will help them to write. Unfortunately, there are no programs like this school in our area.

Berkeley is closer to my work in Oakland and Ron’s new job is in San Francisco so commuting by BART is shorter and hopefully means we will all have more family time. We love Berkeley from our college days so are looking forward to rediscovering the area as a family. We have returned to Bear Territory! 🙂

So the move today involved the Chung grandparents taking Simon out for the day, Iris hanging out with Annie and me, and Delancey Street Moving Company. I highly recommend hiring a moving company for peace of mind and to save your back. We are too old to be moving like college kids where all your belongings fit into a few boxes. Delancey Street Movers did a great job loading the truck and performed some amazing feats. Are you familiar with those IKEA 5×5 shelves? Here is how they moved one from our upstairs to downstairs.

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We were lucky they brought extra guys and didn’t charge us extra since they were in training. Only a few plastic bins got broken on the move into our rental house which isn’t bad considering how many boxes we had. They also had two smaller moving trucks instead of a large one so they could navigate the narrow roads of the Berkeley Hills.

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Thanks Delancey Street Movers!

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Iris surprisingly got a good nap during the move. She slept in her car seat while being strolled around in the backyard.

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Then played in the empty family room while curiously watching the movers and listening to them shrink wrap our furniture.

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After the movers left, I packed up some more kitchen supplies and Iris essentials before heading out. She also had another nap. Soon Simon and the Chung family came over for dinner. Simon checking out the place.

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Super exhausting day!

Sunday, October 6:

Waking up to the first day in our new home.

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Kids playing on the bed. Ron went back to WC to finish cleaning up so I had the kids for most of the day.

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It was too hard to unpack with the both of them and understandably, Simon was bored so we took a trip out to the Little Farm at Tilden Park. We bought a picnic lunch for us and some lettuce for the animals.

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Both knocked out after our trip.

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We all helped to unpack some of Simon’s toys. Well except little miss Iris, who was playing with her feet.

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Big brother Simon.

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Exhausting weekend! Still much more to unpack! And a few more things to clear out from our WC home before the renters move in. Ron’s fish tank is still at the house and so are the cats. They will all be moved in the next few weekends. Busy busy month it will be. I know I’m forgetting some “milestone” to write about but I’m tired from the move and lacking some sleep from staying up unpacking and trying to keep on my pump schedule. Iris has been sleeping on and off all evening. Waking up by crying, drinking 4 ounces of milk, falling asleep, waking up by crying, falling asleep, drinking 4 ounces, waking up by crying, playing, bath, breastfed, then slept again. Either she’s exhausted from the move or else I think she is teething. Simon had his first tooth around 6 months but drooled for at least a month before that so that’s why I think she must be teething. We are on tooth watch!

Finally Friday

Friday, October 4, 2013

It feels like it has been a long week. I think the exhaustion of late night wakings is catching up with me. Iris hasn’t been sleeping well all week. I think she may be teething as she feels a little warm and she’s really been chewing at her hands. Only time will tell if a tooth pops out. Simon had his first teeth right around six months so she’s getting there.

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So she also has been kicking up her legs exploring her toes. Good exercise for her core so she can sit up in the future.

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Simon said he had a good day but was pretty happy that he doesn’t have school tomorrow. Today’s lunch was rice with chicken wings, carrots, persimmons, apples, popcorn, fruit snacks, and a piece of Hershey’s chocolate. He left one chicken wing, a few carrots, the rice, and some apple. Not too shabby.

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Silly Simon this morning was eating a bagel but didn’t like the “bread” part and only wanted to eat the crunchy “outside”. He proceeded to pick out the insides and form a big pile on his plate.

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At school they made this art project. Simon is pointing out some of the different parts to me.

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Iris and I had a short conversation before bedtime. She’s been squealing and making lots of different sound. She can be quite loud (though not so much in this video).

I love babies’ concerned looks.

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More Super Super Super Better

Thursday, October 3, 2013

A little bit of sunshine to get me through the day.

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Simon said his day was “more super super super better!” He was still sad after I dropped him off in the morning but he said he had a really good day.

Today’s simple lunch was dinosaur chicken nuggets, curly fries, carrots, honeydew melon, popcorn, and milk. He only left a few carrots, 2 of the 6 chicken nuggets, and some melon.

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They made these craft projects yesterday and brought them home today. Simon says it is a phone.

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Sweet little Iris was happy to see us when we got home.

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Grandma and Grandpa Tam visited Iris on Tuesday since they were in Walnut Creek. Grandpa sent me this picture of Iris with Grandma. Her cheeks are so chubby!

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Exhausted and hanging out with the kids before bedtime.

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There never seem to be enough hours in a day nor do I have enough energy in a day to do all that needs to be done. I am foreseeing a busy coming weekend.