Category Archives: Asian

Zebra Love, Gymboree x 2, Sausalito, Stinky Tofu, Playing Maracas

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April 19 – April 26, 2011

4.19.2011
We went out to eat with Auntie Vickie at Han Il Kwan (Korean BBQ) and Simon enjoyed himself but also made a big mess.

Thank you Auntie Vicki for coming to join us for dinner!

4.20.2011
Ziggy has a new friend: Tiger

Simon finds them both huggable.

4.21.2011
Simon has a Zebra outfit that we bought in Singapore. It was a little too big before but seems to fit perfectly now.

It has a cute little behind.

4.22.2011
We are quitting Gymboree membership after this month so we tried to make use of our make-up classes, at least one. We have six from when Simon was sick during the winter and kept on missing class. So we went to this evening’s class.

I must say, compared to the other classes that we’ve attended for make-up, our Saturday class teacher Laney is so much better than the others. Her songs seem so much better and the way she explains everything seems so much better. I think I will miss her more than Simon will.

Simon finally figured out his lawn mower toy.

4.23.2011
Ron was helping his brother move today so Simon and I went to another Gymboree class, this time in San Mateo. With our membership, we have two free classes worldwide so used one up today. Grandpa Chung came to watch and took some photos of Simon. Again, this teacher couldn’t compare to our teacher… but the facility was nicer and there were less kids.

Simon really liked this donut hole, he kept on crawling in and out of it and putting his ball in it too.

Lounging in his donut hole.

He really likes the balls.

He enjoyed the row boat today too.

He was afraid to walk across this plank since it was a bit wobbly but with his “security” ball and mommy’s hand, he walked across.

Knocked out for his afternoon nap. Not wanting to disturb him, I took a nap in the car too until he woke up.

After the nap, he was all refreshed and ready to make some music… and write some email?

Then climb on his desk chair to do some drawing. He can get onto the chair himself, feet first. He must be watched closely or else the chair might tip over.

4.24.2011
Simon in motion… some of his clothes are a little tight on him, I thought this made him look slim.

Just woken up from a nap, waiting for seats at Le Garage in Sausalito for lunch.

“I want everything on this menu!”

“Mommy, your croque madame looks yummy!”

Daddy had the burger.

After lunch, we drove to downtown Sausalito to walk off a bit of our meal. A little breezy but at least the mist and cold lifted.

While mommy and daddy had ice cream, Simon had a nap. The end of a good afternoon with our friends Susan and Ken.

Simon still likes his lawn mower… but gets tired so crawls onto the couch for a rest. The couch is low but it’s still amazing for me to watch him crawl up by himself.

4.25.2011
“I want THAT cup of water.”

We had dinner at Taste of Formosa. Simon had his first taste of stinky tofu and he actually seemed to like it… likely because it was fried and a bit crunchy.

Shredded pork and preserved vegetable noodle soup. It was a little watered down and not enough preserved vegetables.

Wah guay. Definitely not as good as Taiwan.

Dumplings. They were okay but nothing too special. The wrappers were a bit uneven.

Oyster pancake. This tasted good to me, this is not Ron’s favorite dish.

Ba wan. It was a bit tough… and took a long time to come out.

Not sure if we’ll be back. The best part was the stinky tofu… so maybe if we have a craving.

4.26.2011
Daddy Ron bought Simon maracas and whistles. He took the maracas right away.

Simon enjoys “reading” his Cookie Monster cookbook and looking at all the Sesame Street characters.

Simon playing his maraca and pointing at “Cookie”.

I love to see Simon in action but I also really love to watch him in a peaceful sleep.

Super Simon, Cheers!, Climbing Simon, Simon Sick

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April 3 through 8, 2011

Morning bread and milk (4/3/11)

Super Simon! Ready to tackle the day (4/3/11)

Wasabi poke bowl from Pacific Catch in the Marina. Lunch with friends. (4/3/11)

Pooped out Super Simon (4/3/11)

Simon playing with his fire engine (4/4/11)

Simon sporting his new long sleeved T-shirt with sewn on tie (4/5/11)

The BRAT diet seems to be working. I’m glad it wasn’t lactose intolerance. Simon loves his milk… with a little bread stuck up his nose (4/5/11)

Mommy’s lunch of a NorCal burrito, made with french fries! It was way too much, never again.

Simon watching Sesame Street. Look at that happy face! (4/5/11)

Simon learned how to raise his glass and what to do when you say “Cheers!” (4/5/11)

Simon has learned to climb on our small couch inside his playroom. When he sees us sitting there, he wants to sit with us too. (4/6/11)

He tries to get his knee on the couch (4/6/11)

Then cries when he knee slips off (4/6/11)

But he perseveres and gets himself up (4/6/11)

My free lunch today from management from Da’ Pitt BBQ. Brisket smothered in medium BBQ sauce and a side of mac and cheese. The brisket was tender but pretty fatty. The BBQ sauce was sweet but spicy and vinegary, I kept on wanting to eat it but it got too spicy. The mac and cheese was hard and kind of gross, maybe because it was cold since our order came really late. It was a large portion of meat and pretty smokey, I had half to bring home for Ron for dinner. (4/7/11)

Simon trying out a spoon to eat with… not really, he’s really just playing with the spoon and bowl. Now that he is over his stomach bug, now he has a runny nose and cough so isn’t sleeping well at night. I hope I don’t catch what he has as I’ve already been not feeling very well this week myself. I’m starting to finally feel back to normal and I hope it stays that way! (4/7/11)

Little Simon stayed home with Ron today instead of going to daycare. His nose was running like a drain this morning and he kept on coughing so it was best not to expose him to the other kids again. There are some babies now at his daycare so he’s no longer the youngest. Simon was all exhausted and fell asleep on this comforter and Ron covered him with a blanket. His eyes popped open as Ron took the picture (4/8/11)

His little nose is all red and his cheeks are chapped from all the moisture. He used 3 bibs at daycare yesterday and is on his 4th one tonight. What makes little kids’ snot so yellow and thick in the morning yet so clear and watery during the day? and why do little kids hate having their nose wiped? Sigh, I hope this means he’s building up a strong immune system! At least he’s not feverish and he’s still eating and drinking normally… get well soon my baby!

Chopsticks

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Day 327 = January 23, 2011

Mommy and Daddy, I want to use chopsticks like you!

We had lunch together at King of Thai Noodle House in Union Square. I had the roast duck noodle soup.

Ron had a rice dish with minced chicken.

We shared an appetizer of fish cake wrapped in tofu skin and deep fried.

After lunch, we did some shopping together before Ron went back to a coffee shop and Simon and I headed home. Simon and I made a stop for a snack and cup of coffee. We sat outside to watch the cable cars rumble by.

When we arrived home, Simon was exhausted after our excursion and went right for a nap but woke up to have dinner with us. Silly boy showed us how lazy he was feeling.

Since his nap was late, he went to be a little later than normal but you could tell he was exhausted by his droopy eyes.

It’s a Gymboree Day

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Day 319 = January 15, 2011

Simon moved up a class at Gymboree today since he cruises pretty well and now the time matches up better with his morning nap. He was actually excited about walking again with us supporting him. Recently when we tried to hold him up by his arms, he would just sit down but he participated in this song that involves walking around in a circle and turning round and round.

They had slide day today, you can see a mixture of fear and fun in his face.

Simon loves these whiffle balls at Gymboree.

There was also this setup where the babies bounce down this soft log. Simon’s expression seems like he is a bit confused but didn’t mind it so much.

After Gymboree, we went to lunch and tried this place called Taipei Restaurant. We passed by it plenty of times and so we finally decided to see what type of food they had. Ron had a rice dish with pork and preserved vegetables. He said it was pretty good.

I had their version of ja ja mien and the sauce was a bit salty for my taste but was nice and spicy. There seemed to be too much noodle for the amount of sauce though.

This is one order of rice roll. Ron found the rice kind of weird and the dough stick a bit chewy.

But the size was big enough to just have that for lunch.

As I mentioned earlier, Simon’s seems to be okay with walking with us again. Grandma Tam bought these “walking wings” for him but he refused to use it the first time we put it on so we kind of forgot about it. Ron tried it again today and Simon was really excited about it. The video is horizontal…

Ron taught Simon today how to toss a plastic ball back and forth with him.

Simon’s four top teeth have really grown in. He doesn’t like us to take a picture of them though.

Pretty soon, it’ll be time to visit the dentist again.

Cali Pho Nia

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Day 314 = January 10, 2011

Some mornings Simon wakes up too early so that I don’t have enough time to prepare his breakfast so I take his high chair into the kitchen with me and make his breakfast and feed him and also make my lunch and pack his food for the day. He seemed happy to spend time with me this morning.

On his way to daycare on this chilly morning. He will soon outgrow this hat!

We were going to pick up Simon from daycare but he was taking a nap so we ended up having dinner beforehand at Cali Pho Nia. They get 1 star for a creative name but lose stars in the service department. We were the only patrons yet we felt like we were being rushed to order and rushed out. We’re not sure if the waitress thought she was being helpful but instead came off as pushy. The best thing about the meal were the lemon grass french fries. The batter they use on the fries has visible pieces of lemon grass and it’s served with a spicy aioli sauce.

I had the vermicelli platter and overall it was pretty tasty except maybe a bit oily and probably should have been served in a bowl, rather than a plate. But for some reason, maybe an hour later, I was extremely exhausted and wanted to sleep. Maybe it has too much MSG? Ron felt the same way after eating his rice plate.

Ron’s rice plate.

I also tried their three color drink which was a bit weird. It tasted like they used whole milk or a mixture of cow’s milk and coconut milk. I ended up taking it to go because I felt really full from the vermicelli.

So I’m not sure how the pho is but I think they only thing I’d eat again are the lemon grass french fries. I’d be a little afraid of eating the other dishes again if it made both of us so tired. Since Simon had a nap, he was wide awake and ready to play when we got home… and we were exhausted… but we did our best to keep him entertained. Simon has started to kneel and play with his toys, rather than sitting. His balance seems to be getting better everyday.

His dexterity is also improving. Now he seems to have no problem taking snacks out of his snack cup.

So many little changes everyday…