Lauryn & Sydney's Birthday Bash!

We decided to make life a little simpler and relieve my nagging feelings of guilt somewhat for not having a party for Sydney's first birthday and celebrated our two daughters' birthdays together last month. We had a Dora jumper - any jumper is always a big hit with the kids and guaranteed for you not to see your child for more than a few minutes all day, and the kids got to make backpacks.

We had chili, fajitas and tacos with authentic Taco Bell sauces (I sent the Kim girls in their Stanford sweatshirts to do the dirty deed. - Sorry for being such a bad influence on your kids, Peter and Emily!).The REAL treat for the day, however, was for adults and young-uns alike. Shaved Ice! Thanks to our good friends, Jeff and Sarah and Sarah's mom, who brought the shaved-ice machine back from Taiwan. The shaved ice brought back lots of memories of growing up in Taiwan for some of us ABC'ers. Most of us had at least 2 bowls. Some kids had 4 or 5! Who doesn't love condensed milk? It was a refreshing dessert for a perfect summer day.

Jeremy's picking out his piece of the cake ....or maybe counting candles?

Auntie Sarah knows the way to Isaac's heart. Let's play ball!

We also got a pleasant surprise when my cousin Min and his wife Cindy arrived and told us they were moving back to the Bay Area from China! Yay!

We were so glad to celebrate with our friends and family. The kids had a great time and a good nap afterwards. And mom got to check one more thing off her list. :)

SF Zoo

We took advantage of the free first wednesday deal and headed to the SF Zoo with Little Lambs. I don't recall ever going to the SF Zoo as a child, but I'm sure I must have having gone to grade school there. But I seriously didn't have any recollection of ever being there.

Do you know it's cold enough in SF to keep polar bears outside in their habitat? Likewise for penguins. Though both were very stinky...as you can see from Lauryn's picture. Lauryn and Ashlyn had lots of fun navigating with their map. Morgan LOVED feeding all of the animals. I think she's going to either be a vet or a zoo keeper when she grows up. While we were in the family petting area, some of the little rams and goats were being left out of the feeding. I saw a couple of them get upset after a while and start headbutting the visitors with their horns.

Congratulations To The Happy Couple!

One of Lauryn's bears, Pody, recently went through 2 very dramatic life changes.

When Lauryn made Pody in San Diego last year, she picked out a Mulan outfit for her. We asked why Pody had a blue nose and didn't that make him a boy? She said, no, she's a girl! And blue is her favorite color! So Pody was dressed as Mulan for many months.

Recently for Lauryn's 4th birthday, we received a coupon for a free bear since her birthday happened to be the same time as their mascot bear, Bearemy. So we took her and her friend Naomi (for fun and support) to get her free bear. She picked out a bear and a Sleeping Beauty outfit for her new Aurora Bear, and Naomi chose a Tinkerbell outfit for her TinkerBear.

Pody now had a friend! But instead of keeping Pody in her Mulan outfit, she asked her daddy to get Pody some new clothes. (She knows better than to ask mommy for such things.) So of course Daddy dutifully took her the other night to get Pody's new clothes. The two of them came back and Lauryn happily annouced the exciting news. Pody got a tux and he's a boy bear! And not only that, Pody and Aurora Bear are engaged to be married!

The next day, we dressed the bears and invited their friends, Cinderella, Belle, the Prince and a mysterious stranger to the wedding. There was music and dancing and even a cake for all to share. Towards the end, Cinderella had a few too many drinks and couldn't stay on her feet. Sydney also attended the festivities and expressed her disbelief.

Congratulations Pody and Aurora Bear!

Favorite Summer Activity

One of the kids' and my favorite activities when it's warm outside is to have a picnic playtime in the backyard. Lauryn loves eating grapes on the blanket and placing Sydney's toys all around her. We lounge and play, water the plants, do gardening and eat cold fruit.

Ahhh....those are the days....

Sydney's Latest Hangout

Our little daughter decided to start crawling backwards while we were in London. Talk about missing out! But we rejoiced in her new milestone! Her latest hangouts have been halfway under our sofas.
And just in the past week, she started to push herself to sitting. I have yet to see her do this with my own eyes. She's done it about 5 times now and I've missed it every time! I put her on her tummy to play and then step away for a few minutes. When I come back, she's sitting up playing with her beads.
It must be some sort of conspiracy!

Something You Don't Want To Do Everyday

Our friends the Wongs were over one night and since all the girls needed a bath anyways we threw them all in our tub. Take two 4 year olds and an almost 2 year old, add a couple capfuls of bubble bath and turn on the jets, and this is what we got.

How Many Princesses Do You See?

We Love Our Au Pair

Our most recent trip to the happiest place on earth was made even happier when our favorite Stanford undergrad, i.e. au pair, got to join us! I think Jennifer enjoyed Disney the most out of the 5 of us.