Our Funny Valentine At 8 Months

8 months!  Our little man is still such a happy boy.  He's trying new foods and unfortunately sleeping not as well (plans are in place and being gradually carried out... once he's in his own room things will really improve we're sure), but he has a ready and willing smile and is babbling and crawling all over the place and starting to cruise and is generally as pleasant as ever.  He's always learning new tricks, like waving and clapping and maybe even saying recognizable words... He has two little storybook illustration bottom teeth and beautiful baby blues and his hair is growing in (surprise surprise) fine and fair.  He did a really awesome job on his first long road trip and family vacation, and obviously enjoyed his first visit to Disneyland.

It occurs to me again that for the other two kids I had spent a lot more time at home with them by this point so I kind of feel like I haven't had as much face time with this one (and not as many pictures...), but it makes the time we do spend together that much more special.  I often sit him on my lap for church meetings -- and we often nod off together, ha.

Such a happy boy. 

Best traveler!

Saying goodbye to CA.

That hat is barely fitting these days!

Everyone is smiling!  I think I was making some ridiculous face and sound effect combination but it worked.

Then there was Valentine's Day which of course I don't have a single picture to prove.  Oh wait, yes I do!

The Boy enjoyed his party at preschool and there were flowers and chocolate and promises I intend to keep, the usual family couples' sushi party with some nice modifications, and conversation hearts aplenty (two thoughts: I had some of the littler ones this year and what is the point of them if the words are so smudged you can't read them??  Also, did anyone else know these are actually specific flavors?!?  What.).  Of course I have to read them first and this was a random pick, which I showed to Julie, at which she replied, "I did!"  And I'm so glad she took the chance and sent that email, almost twelve years ago exactly.

Also a couple arts!  This one's kind of melancholy but this one makes up for it.

Until next month!  Which is like next week.

8 Years!

Yesterday we celebrated our 8th anniversary!  I was at work of course but I was trying to decide what my wife would like most of all for an anniversary gift and I decided what she would probably want was time, so I arranged for my parents to pick up the two older kids and take them away for the morning, where they had a grand time playing with cousins (thanks again, Mom and Dad and Auntie Elise and cousins!), and then I came home a little early from work with flowers and so-so sushi from Walmart so that I could take over when they woke up from their naps so she had the rest of the afternoon free too, and then surprised her with this:

Still working on likenesses, but you get the idea.

Then we hired a really fun babysitter and took to La Jolla Groves for a delicious dinner with a little plus-one:

Such an adorable tagalong, and he didn't make a peep.

Then we went home and I sabotaged my own food dehydrator gift secret and then we shared some amazing cupcakes from the shop downtown and watched Psych until we couldn't make it through two episodes and crashed after a long and fun day.

The kids told us this morning that they want to get married (not to each other), and if that's not a ringing endorsement of how we're doing, I don't know what is!  It's wonderful to have a partner who's clever and lovely and takes care of so many things and makes me laugh.  All the love to my Juliet (as in O'Hara, not Capulet).

The real deal.  Smoldering back when it used to be called (yikes) smizing.

Lucky 7

Quick, before it's more than a full calendar month late!

We had our anniversary and even actually celebrated it!

On the Saturday before we dropped off the kids at Mom and Dad's house and went to do sealings:

Kissy kissy

 And then we went to lunch at the beloved Asian Buffet:

walnut shrimp *DIES*

 And then on the day of I surprised The Wife with this little number:

Like I do

Detail because sexy shoe in sexy toe point

And then we went to a work party celebrating our anniversary the new office:

He hasn't stopped talking about working at Daddy's desk ever since

And all in all we had a nice evening of free and delicious barbecue and then put the poopsies to bed and probably fell asleep on the couch because they do wear us out. XD

I do so love that wife of mine.

Lucky me.

Double-one / Valentines 2016

Well, our girl is just one month shy of hitting the big birthday, but before that here's her 11-month update, with some delicious Valentine's Day sprinkled over the top.  (Wife's blogpost is here.)

This girl is on the mooooove.  She crawls all over the place and at the time of her monthiversary was this close to taking those first few steps.  She isn't a very picky eater, though she does like variety and will often protest unless we break up the monotony by giving her bites of different things.  Her naps are hit-and-miss, but she sleeps quite well during the night.  As I said in the ten-month post, there have been a few times lately when she has been very vocal about bedtime and not wanting to put herself to sleep, and even resisting being put to sleep, but we calm her down and I've been really glad to take chances to put her down myself, not even bothering to rush because I realized with work and everything we don't get all that much daddy-daughter time, and those lovely and (eventually) quiet times come into my mind and linger there often for days after.  Oh, the soft and snoozy snuggles.  She and Big Brother are becoming really good friends and just sit there and laugh at each other, which never ceases to amuse Mom and Dad, and she is usually quite resilient whenever she happens to receive (on purpose or not) a bonk or a bop or a push or a kick).  She's starting to get into books, turning pages, admiring the interactive elements, even responding and making animal sounds (lion so far, and it is adorable).

There are few things these two love better than the car carts at Maceys.

I love whenever we get a chance to put these li'l Hmong hats on my babies!

Entranced by waking up to snow.

Just waiting for Mommy to get up from her well-deserved weekend sleep-in...

And then we had Valentine's Day!  There was a surprise snowstorm and we stayed home most all the day long and just enjoyed each other's loving company.  The kids were very excited to give Mommy her sundries (and some had to be a little late in coming, what with certain treats being hard to find every year for some reasons none of which being that I procrastinated and actually might have forgotten this year), and as per our usual tradition The Wife and I watched a Disney movie (Lady and the Tramp this year),

It was very important to him that Kitty had her socks on.

All my Valentines!  Not counting the balloon "cat" from Pizza Pie Cafe the night before.

Love is in the air and our smoochface only increases it so!  Is it so weird that it's already almost March??

Eight Is Great (+ Yay Mommy)

Our girl is 2/3 of a year old and getting cuter every day.  She's sweet and funny and scrunches up her nose when she laughs, which is often and heartily.  She loves her brother and is often entertained by her (even when his play can get a little rough), and she's enjoying trying new foods.  She has several teeth coming in and is sort of regressing in her onetime quite nice new sleeping habits (perhaps the two are related?), which makes for some adjusted evening plans, but she makes up for her occasional waking-up-every-time-you-put-her-down by being just adorable.

Pumpkin in the pumpkins.  We had a few good ones in our garden this year!

Wearing BB's old favorite hoodie (and apparently still a favorite, whether it fits or not).

Tinin and Snowy at the Pumpkin Parade.

My little girl.  Thanks for the use of your feet for this jack, Baby.

Ack, standing up.  Time to graduate to the bigger crib (which means you know what for The Boy who currently sleeps in it...).

Always crawling and climbing!  But she doesn't seem to mind getting stuck here.

It's always a good time for a post-bath mirror picture.  I

As per usual, The Wife's great update is here.

Speaking of, I feel like this is a good time to say that The Wife is really doing her thing these days.  She has always been an amazing mom, but now that she's on her own for 85-90% of the kids' waking hours she has really stepped up to the plate.  It's very impressive to me how she keeps the kids entertained and cared for and (mostly) happy and alive, and still manages to get side projects done and make Halloween costumes and running shirt quilts and all manner of things.  I don't think I could do what she does, and she does it while hardly ever getting upset.  I try to do what I can when I'm home, and even when I'm not, but she's carrying this family, and for that I am quite grateful.

We three love our little girl, and we three love our little mommywife!

Valentimes 2015, and 21 Months

Once when I was a kid my dad insisted that it was Valentimes Day, when I knew perfectly well that it wasn't, and that he knew good and well that it wasn't, well-educated as he was and is, but nevertheless he had me going for quite a while.  Oh, Dad.

Anyway, we had a lovely Valentine's Day.  Our attention is rather occupied these days by the impending arrival of The Poppy, but we still were able to celebrate our love for each other a little bit.  It's nice that it was on a Saturday this year, because I could spend the whole day doting on my love and occupying The Boy so the pregnant mommy can take it easier than she does on a workday.  We started out by heading out, just us guys, to pick up some supplies.  He helped me pick some flowers and chocolates, and then we grabbed Mommy's favorite breakfast burritos on the way home for some breakfast in bed.

Such a good messenger... And Mommy was still (almost!) in bed when we returned home with the goods.

We surprised her with little treats and presents throughout the day, including this little number for The Poppy's nursery that arrived JUST in time.

They're harder to find these days than one might think.

We had a fun and delicious time at our traditional family-couples sushi dinner party at my sister's house, where we brought sticky rice (of course) and an amazing cake The Wife made.  We didn't get to have a super fancy date (yet), and we didn't even get a chance to watch our traditional Disney movie together, but we'll get around to those things once the schedule allows it, and in the meantime we were glad to be able to be together and get ready for our upcoming addition.  Too well do I remember the Valentine's Day we spent some 1000 miles away from each other, that dreadful February of 2009, and ever since we were reunited I've never taken our togetherness for granted again.  The webcam was fun and all, but in-person is of course SO much better, and (so far...) we haven't even had to spend a single night apart (especially as last month's business trip was canceled at the more or less last minute).  I do so love that lady of mine.

OH, and there was this surprise that I did a few days early as part of a 30 day art challenge.  I call it The Wife: An Ode To Motherhood.  At first I almost didn't include The Boy, but then what was I thinking?!?  The point is to recognize and celebrate this woman and the wonderful mother she has been and is and continues to be, so he had to be in there.  Happy Valentine's Day, Wife!  You are my forever love.

And just a week later marked The Boy's last three-month mark before hitting another big birthday (The Wife posted a fun and photoful post just yesterday here).  He's growing like crazy and looks less like a baby and more like a little kid every single day, which continually blows my mind.  He's much more independent and strong-willed, but he's still sweet and (sometimes) snuggly and always amusing.  His appetite comes and goes, even when it comes to his usually favorite things (like bananas and avocados), but he'll always be glad to have bread anything, sometimes to the point of spurning absolutely everything else.  He looooooves going outside, even when it's nippy (not that this miserable excuse for a winter has given us much reason to hunker down anyway), and is getting better at resigning himself to coming inside after a fun walk to see the horses down the street or jumping on the trampoline or going down -- or, more preferred, up -- the slide.  His vocabulary is exploding, and it has a lot to do with how well and how much he mimics what he hears.  We were just driving in the car and talking about something, when he repeats, "Ooohhhh, maaaaan!", much to our delight.  He sometimes mutters little "prayers" while we're blessing the food and he likes to jump in while reading books with the parts he knows.  He's learning that he's much more likely to get what he wants if he says, "PeeeeeeeeEESE?" and he's pretty good at thank you too.  He sometimes wakes up pretty early, but he's always glad to just sit and play in his crib for a while until we get up and fetch him, and he's always glad to see us.  He always gives a nice, "Bye!" or "Sya!" (See ya) when I head down to work, and he always rushes to the top of the stairs when he hears me heading home at the end of the day.  Few things give me greater delight as I'm heading to the store or coming home from a run than looking up at the windows and seeing my boy peeking down at me and waving with a huge smile on his face, and his mommy sitting beside him.

Time for some Instapictures!

The Boy knows BCEs when he sees 'em.

Riveted!  And rightly so. (Also, Goodnight Moon.)

It's amazing to see him discover totally everyday things.

Such a good one!  He was a bit of a snuggly duckling this morning.

He prefers the original too, I think.

It still doesn't feel like a Disney movie, but he liked all the go-karts.

Aaaaand THE END!  It was quite a year.  Also, he started crying the instant LIG started.  Make of that what you will.

Coloring!!!  He loves it.  At this point he knew green and purple, but by now he knows just about all the major ones (though he still sometimes struggles with red for some reason).

Many thanks to Baby Einstein for making haircuts an easier and more pleasant experience for everyone involved. (And also for helping him get through the occasional rough morning.)

Free day at the zoo!  It has changed a lot in the last 20 years.

I thiiiink this might be a little above your reading level at present, son.

These stickers provided days of entertainment as he passed them from one canvas to another.

He's loving the out of doors these days!  He wouldn't take those mittens off all day, and recently his snow boots have been given the same treatment.

The static hair on the trampoline makes me laugh every single time.

Ummmm, wherrrre did this come from??

We're starting to get to that point, with two weeks until our family changes forever, where we are realizing that we'll never have this time to spend with just him, which is just something that we haven't thought about that much in the rush of everything that's been happening.  We've had so many good times, and I know for sure we'll have even more once The Poppy shows herself, but we'll never be a family of three again, and it's a big change, so we're trying to take in every detail and spend as much individual time with The Boy as we can for now.  I know he won't really realize how much things have changed right away, and he won't really remember being an only child that much, but it's still something to think about.  (Then again, things changed forever when HE came along, and even before that when we were married, and every phase has been better than the last, so there's no reason to expect anything different from this one.)  He gladly points to Mommy's tummy when asked where the baby is and loves spending time in the nursery with his old toys, and we're sure he'll be a most splendid big bro.

Happy 21, Boy! It's so crazy that he's just that close to turning two... We love our little man.

Valentimes 2013

When I was a kid my dad used to call it Valentimes Day, and I just know he knew it was wrong, since he's something of a pedant regarding grammar and pronunciation and the Mother Tongue (I blame him for my own current pedantry), and he must have just thought it was funny, but he occasionally insisted that's how it's pronounced.  Silly Dad.

Anyway, it's high time I bump that SMASH post down and post about the latest goings-on, especially as regards the romantic events surrounding the most blessed Valentine's Day.  I always think it's funny when people go on and on about Singles Awareness Day.  I didn't make a big fuss of being all anti-Valentine's Day before I had a valentine myself, that's just silly.  It's a holiday, and people can celebrate romance in their own way, even if they're single.

So, first things first, we went to the annual Hale Freezes Over race in Orem.  I decided to stick with the 5K this time around, and Julie opted (for obvious reasons) to sit this one out.  She thought about doing the 1-mile run/walk, but it cost as much as the regular races, and we thought that was kind of ridiculous, so she just waited for me and then we thought we could just take a walk later if we wanted to FOR FREE.  So it was a pretty good run, VERY cold, I think colder than the previous years, and for once the course was actually pretty frozen over in parts.  They warned us not to run for a PR this race, but to be really careful and watch our step and not slip and die on the icy streets.  It WAS pretty tricky in some parts, but I still tried to run my fastest without slipping and cracking my head on the ground.  At first I was amazed at how many runners there were (they said something about 300+ this year?), and how I couldn't catch up with any of them, but then most of them turned off when the 10K and 5K routes split, and then I couldn't believe that the 10K runners were going SO fast right at the start...  I hope they knew they had a couple of hills coming up.  Yikes.  Anyway, I had a hill myself, as usual, and it was really hard, but I was determined not to walk up it, and I didn't!  Woot.  In the end, I was 3rd in men overall (4th in everyone overall, there was one super speedy girl who came in before me) at about 21:32 (about 7:03/mile, though it wasn't quite a 5K...  Would it kill race directors to plot out an exact 5K?  Just at .05 mile at the start, for heaven's sake, it's like a block).  It's interesting to note that I was more than a minute slower than last year, but I placed higher.  I was quite satisfied, and mostly just wanted to be done with it by the time I crossed the finish line.  Of course we didn't win any of the prizes in the raffle, and then we finally had just had enough of the cold and took off.

Award ceremony.  Vry srs.

3rd!

They had pretty cool medals this year!

She's so cute.

Since it was the Saturday before Valentine's Day, they kind of put a heart or two in the logo and acted like it was also a Valentine's Day kind of race.  I like their shirts, but they're always the same (but in different colors), and the artwork was fun at first but now it's kind of repetitive, and SOOO in your face.  I feel awkward wearing it because people will be like, YIKES, what?!?

Must we?

It's better than the Highway To Hale one though, because that's a Halloween race so it's the same character in the same pose but wearing a skeleton mask which makes it even more spooky.  New art, please!  I get that your golden boy illustrator designed it, but no one wants the same old shirt every year, or at least make it not cover the entire front of the shirt.

SO then that was fun, and for Valentine's Day proper, The Wife and I went to work like everyone else, but at some point someone had some flowers delivered to her workplace, and also produced some See's candy and sour cherry ball candies, and also posted this:

Any notable Photoshop skills I may possess I owe entirely to watching The Wife work

And then we had a really nice time having sushi and sticky rice and egg rolls and various other Asian foods at Amber's, as per usual.  (We were expecting my dear friend Seethong, visiting from Wisconsin to do some translating work for the Church, to join us for dinner, but he was all worn out from a long day of work.)  It's great to have a new fun tradition for Valentine's Day dinner so we don't have to fight crowds at restaurants and go out to eat on another night instead.  Then, instead of actually going out (ha ha), we stayed home and had Velveeta (The Wife's oft-chosen favorite) in bed as we continued our tradition of watching a Disney movie for Valentine's Day, and this year's selection featured this little guy:

Yes.  It's a great little movie.  I always thought Baby Mine was a very lovely and emotional scene, but this time, what with The Speck on his way, it made me cry like a human hosepipe.

And then The wife gave me this!

!!!!!

So much peanut butter!  It's humongous.

We thought it best if it were to be consumed like a pie, by the slice.

So that was Valentine's Day this year!  I don't think we took a single picture of dinner, OH, except for this one of the delicious cake that Julie prepared for us all to eat:

And there you have it!  It was a nice and cold and cozy Valentine's Day this year, and our last one as a childless couple, so next year's will definitely be different, but I shall never forget to love my valentine.