I am 31 going on 32

I am 32 going on 33 (No Wait)
I am 31 going on 32 - …
Older and wiser
Fatter and Balder

All kidding aside it’s my birthday – Daddy turned 32 which was awesome because for the last week or so I kept thinking to myself that I was 33 (As you can see I don’t count very well). So score for me I gained a year.

Well I don’t know about being older and wiser – but my life sure feels complete with having Erik in my life. Though lately he has been testing his limits but when your son sings you the birthday song in the morning – nothing beats that.

Mommy's favorite monkeys

From 02_18_2008_Zo...

Milestone Update: 22 months

Erik turned 22 months on Feb 9th! WhooHoo! 2 more months to go and our beautiful son will enter into 2 Years Old. Goodness, time does go by quick. So here goes for another milestone update, so Mummy and Daddy won't forget what great achievements Boo Boo have accomplished.

Testing His Environment - Also known as 'Terrible 2s' from many published articles. For Mummy, she doesn't want to think of it as 'Terrible 2s' but as a milestone achievement that our little Boo Boo have a better understanding of his universe. Erik has become quite the little scientist and adventurist in that way. He now knows that he doesn't necessarily have to do whatever Mummy and Daddy asks of him. Erik knows that when he wails in stores or public areas, he will get Mummy or Daddy's attention immediately (as well as an immediate trip to the car). He now knows that throwing unwanted food onto the floor is not an appropriate act (but still does it anyways with a wicked smile painted on his face!). He knows that he doesn't necessarily have to eat whatever Mummy & Daddy put in front of him and that there's always an 'alternative' given (Thanks to Mummy & Daddy being a spoiler!). At the same time, he knows that we will always love him even through this independent period.


Reading Emotions - For the past couple of weeks, Erik really knows how to push Mummy's buttons, because of the reasons above! Daddy's buttons were pushed too but Daddy has practiced much more restrain and patience. However, with Mummy's short span of patience, Mummy gets quite...hmmm, shall we say livid?! at everybody within a 10 feet radius and that unfortunately includes Daddy. So the other night, Mummy was quite upset because Erik didn't want to eat anything for dinner that we presented to him (good stuff too!). Erik then looks at Mummy's face and comments verbally "Mummy angry. (PAUSES to think) Mummy angry at Daddy." What does a Mummy do but to then explain "Yes. Mummy is angry. Mummy is angry at Daddy. Mummy is angry at Boo Boo for not eating. But Mummy needs to calm down. BREATHE IN. BREATHE OUT. Mummy is now calm." Erik looks at Mummy's face again, studying it for a little while "Mummy calm" and then happily chews the same food he refused in the first place! SIGH!


Three Languages - Erik really amazes us at the rate he learns and absorbs stuff, we really have to be careful on what we say in front of him. From his obsession with Dora the Explorer, Erik is getting exposed to Spanish as well. He now knows a few words, see the following, and can translate it back into English/Cantonese:

• Abre - Open


• Abajo- Down


• Cierra - Close


• Cuidado - Careful


• Lechuza - Owl


• Penguino - Penguin


• Rapido - Faster


• Salta - Jump

A Promise

A promise is not taken to be taken lightly. Mummy does not break promises! A mental promise is not the same as a written promise because its not as concrete and final and it allows "wiggle room and justifications (i.e. excuses)". So here goes. Mentally, Mummy has been promising for the sake herself and the sake of her family, that she will better take care of herself and her health. Why? To live healthier! To live longer! To set a better example for the next generation!

Being a self-proclaimed "Junk Food Addict", its not easy to make the right choices. Logically, Mummy should choose the very delicious healthy food, smaller portions, less sugar, less fat, etc. However, being the addict, Mummy craves for those junk food binges and its especially hard to resist when you see them in every corner, literally. Those plastic bags full of fat, salt, sugar....you've seen those at the grocery stores, at the gas stations, etc etc. Yeah, those are Mummy's pitfalls!

The other part that Mummy is bad about is regular exercising. Prior to Erik, Mummy was actually very good at this, due to 2 very wonderful girlfriends (Miriam & Kelly) always being the conscience and dragging Mummy to work out. Nowadays, even though the girlfriends does the friendly reminders as well as many of Mummy's other friends, Mummy was just not as motivated. Combination of boredom from the regular Step Aerobics routine, holiday, and just plain laziness is where Mummy got herself into.

So back to the promise! Mummy will make a written promise to take care of herself by doing the following:

EAT HEALTHIER (Not Just Junk) - Okay, Mummy have to make it realistic, eating healthier yes and only allowing a rare-occassional junk food craving!

EXERCISE REGULARLY - Mummy will start with working out at least 3x a week for 30 minutes each and will work up from there!

Let's make this happen! If any of you see me "falling" behind on my promise, confront me!!

Daddy always wanted a daughter :D

Chinese New Year

Year of the Rat is 2009 according to the Lunar calendar will come on February 7th, 2009! In preparation of the Chinese New Year, a couple of our wonderful friends, Lin, Jing, and their son Jason (aka DuDu), threw a Dumpling Making Party in their home this past Saturday.

The tradition is for families to get together and make homemade dumplings prior the New Year as a celebration. Dumplings are symbolic as fortune and wholeness since the shape of it mimicks the old traditional gold & silver money back in ancient China. So its symbolizes coming together as family.

As a result, Daddy, Mummy, and Erik joined in on the fun festivity, especially when we LOVE eating dumplings! Last year this time, we were celebrating Erik's FIRST Chinese New Year at home in Bhutan with his Great Grandparents and huge extended family including 6 grand-uncles and 6 grand aunts plus lots of uncles and aunts as well!! It was just wonderful! This year, we are here in the States and will celebrate it a little more low-key, by wrapping dumplings with close friends who are our 2nd extended family!

Daddy made his traditional Bhutanese-style dumplings with ground pork and onion. However, the salt measurement were off, but his awesome spicy dipping sauce made up for it. We made dumplings from Jing's made-from-scratch wraps. They were absolutely delicious and Erik had THREE whole dumpling stuffings (didn't want anything to do with the dough wrap though).

Erik had a lot of fun playing with his buddies: Austin, Gabriel, Jason, Jeremy, Kelly, and baby Khloe (who was just an angel and slept most of the time among all the chaos!). He also got to chase his friends around the hallway. Erik got pushed in a car by his little buddy, Jason. He got to play play-doh with everybody including Miriam (Gabriel's mom). He got to play basketball with Jing and Jason. Plus, Erik even got to play on the computer at the end of the evening. It was very nice! The party started at 3pm and really lasted until 9pm (at least for us). The best part was when all 5 toddler boys started jumping on one of the guest beds as if they were the "5 Little Monkeys" and the parents indulged by singing the song as well! The boys really went crazy for that one!

Of course, after eating a boat load of dumplings (really, it was A LOT), all the guys couldn't move and decided to watch a NBA basketball game. Sheesh! Near the end, the real traditional Chinese came out all of us as well because we even got to play a game or two of Mahjong (without gambling, it was just for fun)! Daddy even joined in! Erik wanted to stack the tiles and so did the other toddlers (Jason and Jeremy) LOL! Mummy thinks the next playdate get together, we will have to start playing some "family game nights". Think Toddlers can understand "Win Lose & Draw" game, right?!

Anyhow, we are definitely looking forward to the Chinese New Year this week! Gong Hai Fat Choy to all in Cantonese. Gong Xi Fa Cai in Mandarin. OR just a Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing all a properous New Year!

What A Great Brunch!

Our friends Sylvia, Steve, and their son Tyler invited us over for a Brunch playdate this past Saturday! Mommy is a HUGE fan of breakfast and brunch. Seriously a BIG fan! Nothing gets Mommy more happy than a solid yummy breakfast items on a relaxing weekend!

So a brunch playdate was just perfect! Erik hadn't seen Tyler in quite a while, since late-October actually! We weren't sure how he'd react. We would point to Tyler's Christmas Card and prepare Erik by telling him, we're going over to Tyler's House to eat waffles! So he was jazzed about the waffles for sure LOL!

Once we were there, Erik had NO anxiety at all. He made himself at home in Sylvia and Steve's home immediately. It was so cute. Right away, our little Erik made a mad dash to the train table set. Tyler took a few moments to warm up but was quick to share his toys with his buddy again. Tyler was such a good host and played Peek-A-Boo with Erik! Tyler gave out hugs so freely, which was just so nice!!

We also met a new little friend, Maris, and her parents Debbie and Winston. So 3 toddlers going crazy in the house, playing here and there. Erik behaved pretty well in a new environment. The toddlers even sat down like big kids to chow down on some awesome homemade waffles with syrups to dip along with a fresh fruit. Mmmm! Plus the three kiddies loved having Daddy Chhimi chase them around while the rest of the adults gabbed and ate brunch. HAHA! It was just a great Saturday morning!!

Our Little Flirt

This happened a quite a few months ago but just needed to do some "record" keeping on these cute moments.

Miss Sabrina and one of Erik's little friends, Karalyn, were playing outside (long time back when the weather was still nice!). Miss Sabrina says to Karalyn "Karalyn Pretty" and proceeds to comb Karalyn's hair.

Our little Erik overheard this and wanted to show he's a "fast-learner". He got up where he was and walked over to Miss Sabrina and says "Brina Pretty" and combs her hair! HAHAHA!

Where does this "sauve and flirtatious" side come from? Definitely NOT Daddy. Definitely NOT Mummy! Told this to a few moms in our playgroup and Karalyn's mom, Lynette, writes back "Sabrina pretty - what a pick up line! And on an older woman too.". HAHAHA!

Honestly, Erik was just logically thinking and copying whatever his teacher said :o).