Here Comes Santa Claus!

It is that time of the year again, to visit Santa at the neighborhood Toys for Tots event. Kiddos were excited to see Santa and they know the drill now. Tell Santa about the good things that they have done this year. Liam went right up to Santa. Emilia needed a little nudge. No tears! (Even though it looked like there was a short moment of possibility.)

I dunno... Santa's either getting smaller or we are all getting bigger! Esp the kiddos!

Santa in 2014, 2012, and 2011.

Good Santa!

Finally! Santa is not such a bad Santa after all! It only took 3 years for the kiddies to warm up to Santa.

We missed seeing Santa last year, but compare this year to a few years back, 2012 and 2011, I'd say we're making progress!

I used to think these Santa photos were cheesy, but it is fun to look back and see the changes in all of us through the years. (Even Santa since we visit the same Santa!)

*** Heart ***

Cuteness Overload

The kiddies had a special play date!

Family Photos

Our neighbor, Mike, is a photography aficionado and Canon DSLR owner, which makes it fun for me to have someone to chat with about the latest camera gear gadgets. Anyhow, Mike was awesome enough to spend a morning taking some family photos for us. We had two remote flashes going on, a kids play-date during setup in-between time, and good wintery outdoor weather. Thanks Mike! Here are the few photos we picked out.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Bad Santa!

Bad Santa. I'm sure you and I and most people have the classic "fear of Santa" photo.. so here's to keeping up with the tradition! One for us to embarrass our kids with in the future. hehe.. yes, Ryan and I are a bit too amused, eh?

Maybe we should have taken a family photo with the holiday Marine or the Christmas tree that was there at the local neighborhood Toys for Tots community event. Oh well Santa... maybe better luck next year! =)

Photoshoot Fun with Liam

I had a little photo fun with Liam one morning and did a short photo session of him wearing a very cute onesie given to him by aunt Carey and a cute hat from surf gal, Amy.

The onesie is by Studio Bree Designs

Despite being ultra busy and lack of sleep, we're having a blast with Liam! =)

Emilia's First Year Album

Finally got around to putting together a photo album for Emilia's first year with lots of familiar photos from this blog. At some point, maybe in a few years, I'll get around to putting together our wedding album which nobody has seen photos from yet! But for now, here's a look back at how quick the year went and how much she's grown!

(click on the image below and it will take you to a Picaboo app site which will launch the book in a browser window.)

Tropical Weather

East Coast is getting earthquakes and we're getting tropical thunderstorms. This weekend was hot, humid, and muggy with lightning and thunderstorms. It produced an amazing rainbow right outside our front door though.


Emilia and I took in the sight outside with a few snapshots. Then proceeded indoors to sit together on the dining room chairs (which she loves to sit on.. it's her way of joining the grown ups) with the lights off as we watched the sunset light dim fast and the rainbow fade.

Dadda Drives, Bebe Sleeps..

and Mamma goes snap happy!!

Our Lil' Sleepy Angel


Our Lil' Boxer


Our Lil' Garden Gnome


Mamma just found her point'n'shoot camera.. oh, how much easier and portable it is to take ga-zillion of photos of the Lil' one!

And more sleep photos cause mama likes watching the lil' one sleep.

Mo' Photos

Bath Time...

Hair washing. Not so bad. Quite comfy.




This is what we call "the Yoda". She cries so hard she contorts herself into a little mini Yoda. She really does like bath time... just not today.

Parental Units Have Taken Over

My parental units have arrived and imminently taken over the kitchen in the traditional Chinese-y way... with lots of foods which are *very good for me and baby*.


There's pig leg, chicken feet, vinegar egg, chicken cooked in wine, papaya with short rib soup, bunch of roots and herbs I know not of, among other things. The Chinese culture believes that the first month after birth is vital to re-balance the body's energy. In fact, lots of people hire a special care-taker for the first month specifically for the balancing of chi for both mom and baby. While the reasoning behind why the food is *good* for me in terms of ying yang and chi is fuzzy, it's okay cause Ryan and I get home cooking for the duration of their stay, so I cannot complain! And while its best not to ask what the ingredients are, the food is surprisingly yummy and filling. =)

Emilia is their first and only grand-child, so one can imagine how excited they are. In fact, they usually don't like taking photos, but to document the occasion, they have even demanded a photo session with baby.