Happy Holidays

Dear friends and family,

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.  2009 is rushing by fast.   Isabel is such a big girl now and learning new words every day.  Her latest ones are "Ligh" which means light but she doesn't say the T.  She will just point at the tree and say Ligh to mean can you light up the tree?  Another word is "wooo" when ever she is impressed or wowed by something.  Not sure where she learned that from.

We are excited to have Jaime's sister, Em visit with her hubby Roy and little girl, Gabby.  Gabby is 10 months old and will be meeting her cousin Isabel for the first time tomorrow.

Happy holidays!  May you enjoy every moment of this holidays with your family, friends, and loved ones.  Best wishes in 2010.

many hugs and kisses,

- Lei, Jaime, Isabel & Agnes

Isabel's first birthday party

Isabel turned 1 on Sat, May 2, 2009. Wow, how time flies. We had a fabulous party for her at Grandma's clubhouse in redwood shores. Jaime's parents + tita Tusa cooked up a storm and also did all the decoration for the party. Thank you so much! We had about 30+ guest including 3 other babies (Lauren, Dash, Gavin) for Isabel to play with.

Isabel loved her gift from Jaime's parents which was a little princess push cart. She also got many fabulous clothes and gift cards from our friends. My parents gave her the ultimate practical gift which she will appreciate a lot when she grows up - set up money for her college fund plus her gorgeous cake below. Thank you mom and dad.

All in all, a great party. Thank you all for coming and help our little one celebrate.

She is walking.. She is walking

We have yet to capture it on film, but I am so excited. Yesterday, she stood up from the ground while still holding an empty shoe box (she loves boxes). She has been standing up for a few days now. I held out my arm at her shoulder level so she would be incented to walk toward me instead of get down and crawl. And she did! She took 3 little steps towards me while still holding the box in mid air.

I felt so happy - happy that she is starting to walk; happy that I was there to see her first step; happy that Jaime was there too. He was hanging out on the bed while I was playing with Isabel on the floor.

All is all, a really good day! I feel so grateful to have a more relaxing job so I can share so many special moments with our little one. :-)

- Lei

Family Portrait

Can you tell who is who? What a cute family, huh?


- Lei

Is This A Glimpse at My Future?

This looks like I've taken a peek into my future about 9 years from now. Could it be that I'm destined for two more daughters? After seeing this picture, I think I would love it. But just to make sure, I'm sorry to anyone for anything that I did anywhere at anytime. Did you hear me God? I only say this because I know what my father went through with one daughter (sorry Em) ... and she was relatively low maintenance. Can you imagine that times three?

These three lovely sisters just happen to be my cousins from Canada on loan to Lei and I for the holiday pic.

- Jaime

What's On Your Top List of Family Animation?

I've got to start prepping my list of favorites to watch with my daughter. Here it goes...

20) Chicken Run
19) Alladin
18) Beauty and the Beast
17) Finding Nemo
16) Toy Story
15) The Aristocats
14) Shrek 2
13) Shrek 1
12) Atlantis
11) Ice Age
10) Robin Hood
09) Antz
08) Tarzan
07) A Bugs Life
06) The Incredibles
05) Monsters, Inc.
04) Happy Feet
03) Ratatouille
02) The Lion King

and #1 is ..... drum roll please .......


!!!!!!!!!! Rikki Tikki Tavi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've included a little something for those of you who don't know it (and that's probably almost all of you).

- Jaime

Christmas in Vegas

In two days we'll be celebrating Christmas time in Vegas with our family. Everyone's flying in from around the world ( I just wish it was the entire family, but that would take up one of the resorts!).

Everytime we touchdown in Vegas, it's off to the races for food and relaxation. I know I know, "what about the gambling?" you may ask. I must be the only asian person that doesn't gamble (and imagine being able to say that visiting sin city 4 times a year!). I've never been much of a gambler. I'm all about calculated risk, baby!

Christmas represents a time for us to get the family together. And this usually encompasses one main function in our family: FOOD. On this trip, the family recipes for prime rib, bacalau (Portuguese codfish dish), and paella (Spanish seafood rice dish) will be waiting for us. You know....the traditional type of Christmas meal (if you have a family that's as mixed up as mine).

So wherever you are and whatever you do for the holidays, just remember to be thankful doing it with your family during the holiday meal. Happy Holidays from us to you!

- Jaime