Wine Country

Day 4
Mummy woke up extra early to get a "head start" on the weekend....well, in reality, it was because Erik kept kicking his toddler feet and jabbing at Mummy. A good night rest was pretty much "gone". So Mummy went downstairs and had a yummy early morning breakfast at the hotel all by herself with some peace and quiet!!

Then the whole gang woke up and was down to the breakfast room again!! Good gosh! We thought we'd have some time to maybe hit a trail or take advantage of the hotel pool but nope....we were already running behind schedule! LOL!

Mummy charted down a few vineyards that were "Family Friendly". A couple of places where Daddy hasn't even gone before! Both Mummy & Daddy are not really into wine so we were truly fulfilling the duty of designated drivers. However for the two aunts...they were super excited!!

Larson Family Winery
Our first stop was in Sonoma at Larson Family. We were first greeted with the winery's friendly dogs!! Yup! Wine & Animals are an "item" now...it was pretty cool. They also had a donkey plus a horse for Erik and his 2 teenage aunt & uncle to see too.



Our winery guide, Bob, was more than helpful in explaining to us the technique of tasting wine. Of course, we were the only visitors there at the time. Aunty Janet & Aunty Elizabeth tasted one of the most delightful & sweet "Late Harvest". They are really into dessert wines or anything that is just plain SWEET! hahah!



Cline Cellars
Next stop was Cline Cellars, still in Sonoma. This winery was packed with visitors. Some were from the city and was on a paid guided tour. This was another family-friendly winery with stuff to do for the kids. First, the winery offered FREE Popcorn....yep...the aroma of popcorn does not hinder the wine at all! LOL! Vicky, Walter, and Erik loved it and each grabbed a bag to sit by one of the 6 ponds!





FYI, wine tasting from the classics are complimentary but the premiums are $1.00 per taste, NOT bad at all. While Aunty Janet & Aunty Elizabeth waited for their turn to taste some delicious wines, Erik plus Daddy, Mummy, and Aunty Vicki went over to the Aviary where different types of birds were showcased. Erik was delighted to walk to the 10+ different cages to say a cheery "hello". Afterwards, we visited the wine cart on the property. That's where Aunty Vicki got a little sting from a hornet. Eek! But she's a trooper and she was A-OK!



We were about to take off when one of the visitors, who happened to be the mom of the Vineyard Manager says, "you must go visit the donkeys and feed them some fresh carrots". Daddy was a bit hesitant but Mummy said "Alright, let's go!". The whole gang, including Aunt Janet & Aunt Elizabeth (after their additional tasting of "Late Harvest"...and now a bit tipsy with an empty stomach!) went to the donkeys!



It was pretty neat! Mummy showed Erik where to pull the carrots from, the ground of course. Daddy & Erik got to feed the carrots to the two donkeys. So cute! By then, everybody was into it...and good gosh...Aunty Elizabeth was a bit embarrasing where she pulled two pounds worth of fresh carrots (ok, maybe a bit exaggeration here but it was quite a few). HAHA! We had a good time though!

Lunch Anybody
By this time, the kids were ready to eat, a little bit hungry already. But it was still 30 minutes until we hit the "jackpot" for food. Mummy searched online and saw Taylor's Automatic Refresher as a MUST TRY spot in St. Helena, CA since it was featured in two shows on Food Network and on Bon Apetite!! Daddy was getting grumpy since his stomach was ready for food...any type of food but he was willing try it out!

Mmmmmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm! was the reaction. Worth the wait! Daddy had a Ahi Tuna Burger, seasoned and seared and he loved it!! Mummy tried the fish tacos and it was yummy! Even the plain ole Cheeseburgers were given rave reviews by Uncle Walter! Maybe were all just starving by then?! HAHA! Erik had the least...he was pretty tired by this time...so major meltdown was anticipated, due to poor planning by Mummy & Daddy in playing the tour guide hosts. SIGH!





Afterwards, we also hit the Culinary Institue of America, V. Sattui Winery, where the aunts really got a lot of tasting in and loved one of the rose wines where it won 80 medals! WOW! Plus we also visited Robert Mondavi Winery...where the aunts lovingly refer it to "Robert DeNiro Winery"...yup...they were definitely tipsy. The kids were pooped and bored out of their minds since...the rest of the wineries didn't have anything too interesting to see...except for...well wine! By then, it was late in the afternoon and everybody was tired so it was off to home we go!!

Bay Area Weekend With Family

Mummy & Daddy decided to take our extended family out for a "Bay Area" weekend. Daddy planned out our Saturday to be spent in San Francisco and Sunday in Napa Valley where Grandaunty Janet and Grandaunty Elizabeth can taste some of California's finest "grape juice".

DAY 3

Golden Gate Bridge
We hit most of the San Francisco's tourist attractions. First we went to Golden Gate Bridge. This was a MUST SEE on the list of Grandaunty Elizabeth...she states that she must walk across it. Daddy & Mummy said "Yea Right! We'll wait here while you walk across" hee hee! Erik enjoyed the little park area and liked pointing out all the different rose bushes and its thorns too chirping "Don't touch it, give you owie!" He also walked across the "balanced beam" of concrete planters near US 101 (aka Golden Gate Bridge) and jumped to the ground shouting "TA DA!".



In the mean while, our family, also known as Canadian tourists walked halfway on the bridge and decided to come on back! They took in the beautiful view and the very lovely weather the Foggy city had to offer.

We did a quick stop over to the Palace of Fine Arts since it was on the way for some picture taking opportunity. Aunty Janet and Aunty Elizabeth fell in love with that area. They even picked a house that they wanted....of course, the current owners didn't know about it yet, LOL! HAHA!





Embarcadero
Next it was off to the Embarcadero Market for a quick lunch and more touring. There was a weekend Farmer's Market going on plus Craft / Jewelry Fair going so it was lots of people!! Uncle Walter loves Mexican Food so we settled for the restaurant there but Daddy also got a little Bento Box for Erik as well, just in case our boy wanted rice, which he did. What a smart Daddy!





There Erik got to run around the farmer's market chasing pigeons, one of his favorite past time. We have NO idea why Erik loves it but chasing after the birds fascinates him for some reason.

Throughout the whole day in the city, we also visited Pier 39, where Daddy & Erik got to share a wonderful Dreyer's Straberry Waffle Cone Ice Cream. Mmmmm....absolutely delicious!! (NOTE: We've been given Erik a lot more ice cream these days...maybe its the summer weather or either Daddy or Mommy has ice cream cravings too LOL).





We also took the family, per their request, to Chinatown. San Francisco Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. It brings back some nostalgia as Daddy & Mummy still remembers taking their first trip out to San Francisco together when they were still dating! HAHA! Loooong time ago!

Afterwards, Daddy also took them to Metreon for the sake of the teenage boppers to go to an electronic store and drool over all the cool stuff. We then took Erik for a much needed playground break. He got to go on the metal slides with his aunty Vicki, which was pretty cool. Erik also got to climb different structures and showed his family that he was a BIG BOY indeed!

Finally as the nightfalls, we made our last stop in the city, Union Square, where all the major shopping happens!! We wanted to go into Williams-Sonoma but man....it was closed. What a bummer! We basically took a quick stroll around since the evening was getting colder by the minute as the fog settles into the city. Daddy of course, had to stop at the local Apple store while Mummy tends to the family by visiting the Ghirardelli Chocolate for some yummy treats.

Elephant Ride With My GrandAunties & Daddy Too

Day 2
The next day after Daddy's family arrived, Daddy decided to take them all to the nearest Six Flags theme park. Of course, the 2 teenage kiddies voted on that one as well! Mummy had to work so she missed out on all the fun but Erik was able to spend lots of time with his new found family!



Some Activities that they did:

Daddy & Erik got to watch the Orca whale show and got a big SPLASH! of water :o) HAHAA!

Rode on an Indian elephant with Daddy plus GrandAunt Janet (ChunFei) and GrandAunt Elizabeth (ChunnKee)

Giggled like crazy for 20 minutes of "Shoo! Fly Shooo!" with his GrandAunt Elizabeth

Enjoyed the dolphin show

Got to visit the foam factory and throw around foam balls with Uncle Walter and Aunty Vicki

After a whole day of fun, it was time to eat a big family dinner with Mummy's parents as well. Grandma Wai & Grandpa Tik were introduced to Daddy's extended family for the first time, as well as Mummy's almost-one-year-old nephew, Sen. Erik loves his little cousin A LOT! He was caressing his little cousin, bringing bottle of milk to him, kissing his cousin's arm and head. It was just so adorable! Erik really loves babies A LOT!

O' Canada

Our home was recently invaded by Canadians. Mummy & Daddy say this lovingly, of course! Daddy's aunts & cousins, Vicki & Walter, who are both 16 years old. from Toronto came for a brief 4-day visit and as always with family, we love having them here with us!! Erik absolutely bonded with each one of them.

On Day 1, Daddy took all four of them to pick up Erik from school. At first glance when Erik saw them, he got really scared and cried. He became very huggy to his Daddy but after Daddy explained to Erik that its "FAMILY", he warmed up to them within 30 minutes :o) hee hee

We took it easy and took Erik plus 2 of his cousins to go swimming instead. That's when Erik had A LOT of fun! He got to jump in the water with his Uncle Walter and "race"! Uncle Walter is almost 6 feet tall but Erik "won" the water races and teased his uncle that he was too sloooooow! HAHAHA!

We then enjoyed a lovely meal at home with Daddy's infamous BBQ Ribs, Grilled Corn, plus Mummy made some vegetables stir-fry with rice. Everybody dugged in and chowing it away. Mmmmm! MMmm! Good! Family Dinner...lots of talking, lots of laughing, that's how it should be :o).

Children Book: Jack Higgins

Did you know that Jack Higgins now writes children books?! The author of over 60 novels, mostly of thrillers is now of an interest of Erik!!

Daddy has been reading Jack Higgins' novels for a very long time. So it is not a surprise that we have novels laying around. Erik decided that he shall also "read" one of the novels, particularly "Dark Justice".



Mummy did her best to encourage her Erik's new interest. She showed Erik how to spell a couple of the words on the book cover.

Toddler Talk
Mummy: "What is this letter?"
Erik: "D!"
Mummy: "D! Good job! This?"
Erik: "A!"
Mummy: "A! Good job! This?"
Erik: "R!"
Mummy: "R! Good job! This?"
Erik: "K!"
Mummy: "K! Good job!! D-A-R-K is DARK!"
Erik: "DARK! I cannot see."

Hee Hee! That is correct! When it is dark Erik really cannot see!

Mummy: "What is this letter?"
Erik: "J!"
Mummy: "J! Good job! This?"
Erik: "A!"
Mummy: "A! Good job! This?"
Erik: "C!"
Mummy: "C! Good job! This?"
Erik: "K!"
Mummy: "K! Good job!! J-A-C-K spells JACK!"
Erik: "Jack. At school."

Yes, there is indeed a Jack at Erik's school but in a different class!

After that, Erik flipped through the pages and said "I cannot read. There are no pictures." He proceeded to make up his own story of Jack Higgins thriller and it goes a little bit like this.

The story starts out "A, B, C, D..." the entire alphabet song TWICE! Then the plot continues with the Disney's Jungle Book Elephant March song "Hup Two Three Four And A Hup Two Three Four...Company March...Attention!!...." Finally the thriller ends with a happily ever after of "Twinke Twinkle Little Star...How I wonder what you are?"

Who knew that Jack Higgins does children book! [GIGGLES!]

Little Tadpoles

Little Tadpoles from Jigme Chhimi on Vimeo.

password: erikma

Happy Birthday Humpty Dumpty!

This past weekend, it was basically Mummy & Daddy cleaning up the house as much as we could to get ready for Daddy's aunts & cousins for visiting from Toronto, Canada. We've prepared Erik everyday since we came back from NYC that his Uncle Walter and his Aunty Vicky who are teenagers will be visiting (In American, we would call them 2nd cousins but in Chinese, they are considered aunts & uncles!). Anyhow, plus 2 additional aunties, Aunty Janet, and Aunty Elizabeth. We are pretty excited, eh?!

Erik has been such a good boy all weekend. He volunteered to help Daddy "sweep" the garage floor, water the plants (eh, really the concrete), and also enjoy a strawberry popsicle in the shade. He also helped Daddy re-assembled Erik's Kangaroo Slide, which we moved from his room to the great backyard. LOL!

So when Mummy asked Erik, what did he want to do for a Sunday mid-morning. He said "Humpty Dumpty Playground. I want to go to Humpty Dumpty playground." This is without prompting but the park/playground is like 30 minutes away so Mummy thought maybe Erik would "forget" soon as our morning continued. However, when Daddy asked the same question. We got the same reply. What does that mean? Off to a 30 minute ride we go!

Erik had a LOT of energy despite us reaching the park around 11:30 (closing in on nap time too!). He immediately went on a slide with Daddy. Erik had to go on the pirate ship and point to Mummy where he kept the treasure chest. Our little gardener also watered lots of plants and his favorite were the tomato plants! He even wanted to pick one of the ripe ones. HAHA! We visited Peter Rabbit and his siblings, Mopsy, Flopsy, Cottontail, etc etc.

We even laid down on a rainbow turtle back and just looked up into the sky. Yep! All 3 of us! Daddy first and then Mummy and then Erik. We pointed out the tree leaves we saw with the different colors (Green, Yellow, and Brown!). That was our 2 minutes of relaxation as a family!

Where he had the MOST fun was in the very cool Sherwood Forest where there was a climbing structure, slides, log bridge, and more. Erik & Mummy would play "hide & seek" with dinosaur roars! Giggles spilled all over the area!! What a nice way to spend a Sunday!

However, as we were starting to make our way to the exit. Erik heard music and children dancing on stage. We had to see what's the big commotion. Lo and behold, it was a "Happy Birthday Humpty Dumpty" celebration on Sundays!! Thus we had to find a shady spot and wait for the "Egg of Honor" to make its way out to greet the patrons. It was a live play with pre-teens about how Humpty Dumpty became famous. Erik lasted more than 15 minutes of it, despite the play being really wordy. He would ask "Where is Humpty Dumpty?" or "Where did Humpty Dumpty go?".

After a while, we decided to take off early but not before Erik shouting "Bye bye Humpty Dumpty" and "Happy Birthday Humpty Dumpty!". Mummy wonders if Erik really wanted to wait for end of the show to see if he'll get birthday cake! LOL!

Last Day In The City

MUSEUM
Our last whirlwind day in NYC, Mummy decided to take Erik & Company (well, that really includes Grandma Katy & Daddy since Uncle Penjo and Aunty Meina were still snoozing away) to the "American Museum of Natural History" near Central Park West. We figured Erik would enjoy looking at the dinosaurs, ocean life, and African animal exhibits. Daddy wasn't so sure though and thought maybe it was a bit too old/advance for Erik.

Boy! Was Daddy happy that he was wrong! Erik absolutely enjoyed ALL of the museum halls! We first visited the Ocean Life exhibit and it was filled with "Wows" and "Oooohs" and lots of "Look Daddy!" "Look Mummy!" from Erik. He round run up to the displays, point, and ask excitedly "What is that?!". Daddy or Mummy would reply and Erik will repeat the word and then point to another species of ocean life and repeat the same question. This went on for 40+ minutes!! It was amazing!

Toddler Talk In Ocean Life
ERIK: "What's that Mummy?" pointing to a huge life-size whale model hanging from the ceiling.

Mummy responds: "Oh that! That is a Grey whale, I think."

ERIK corrects Mummy: "No Mummy. That's not a gray whale, that's a SPERM whale!" and walks away.

SHEESH! If Erik already knew the answer, why did he ask Mummy in the first place?! HAHA! Guess Mummy really have to study up on marine life now! A 2-year-old corrected her...how embarrassing?!

ERIK inquires: "What is that?!" pointing to a shrimp

Mummy answers knowingly this time: "Oh that is a shrimp!"

ERIK says loudly:"Shrimp! Oooh...I love eating shrimp" and rubs his tummy.

ERIK moves on and asks: "What is that?"

Mummy replies: "That is a squid."

ERIK again says loudly: "Squid! Ooooh...I loooove eating squid" and rubs his tummy.

By this time, many museum patrons saw and heard the little conversation and the background were just filled with giggles and smiles at our son! One patron even ran to her daughter/niece and reenacted what Erik did. LOL! HAHA!

Day With My "Super Uncle" and "New Aunty"
Finally Uncle Penjo and Aunty Meina woke up from their dream state and took the 30 minute subway in and joined the rest of the gang at the museum. We were running through the Dinosaur Hall and it was like a long time reunion. Erik spotted his "Super Uncle" and had to go to him and hug him with a tight squeeze to make "Uncle Juice". Uncle Penjo literally melted at that point :o). HAHA!

Erik pointed out all the dinosaur and made lots of dinosaur noises with his uncle and aunt. Erik loved making his dinosaur horns like triceratops with this uncle.Mummy pointed out different types of dinosaur and named them. HAH! Mummy may have redeemed herself here LOL! At least she knew some of the dinosaur names, hey, maybe she can do a career move and be like "Ross" from friends!

When uncle Penjo pointed out to a globe and asked Erik what is that, Erik shocked his uncle & aunt by replying knowingly "Earth". Thus aunty Meina coined us as "over-achieving parents", which Mummy really doubts it. Erik's school did a big project of "Around the World" couple months back and pretty sure that's where he picked it up from, if not, then the credit goes to Daddy for reading to Erik every night.

TIME SQUARE
By the time we were done with the museum, it was almost closing! Daddy & Mummy decides to go out to Time Square just to do a 'tourist' thing. Erik pretty much slept in Daddy's hands at that point. So off the another 15-20 minute subway ride. In the mean time, we made dinner plants with Erik's Great Grandma Cho Lien. Erik is pretty lucky that he has 3 Great Grandparents, one in NYC (only ~3000 miles away) and the other two are in Bhutan (many many miles away).

Anyhow, Time Square, we all wanted a break...to be precise, a COFFEE break. Grandma Katy eyes literally lit up when Mummy says to Grandma "Mom, you want a coffee?" HAHA! Too cute!

We stopped at nearby Europa Cafe since Uncle & Aunty hadn't eaten lunch yet and it was near 4:30 already! Good gosh! We ordered a couple of sandwiches and soup plus some much needed caffeine and we were good! Erik was still snoozing away. We just took this time to get to know our newest family member and had some good laughs. That's what family time is all about, right? Laughter is always the best!

FAMILY DINNER (Thai Style)
Family Drama at least have stopped in for a brief visit. There's a recent tiff between Great Grandma Cho Lien and Grandma Katy. However, Mummy & Daddy felt it was unfair that Erik shouldn't spend at least some precious time with his Great Grandma. So officially Mummy became the "middle woman" and handled the delicate situation.

Since it was Daddy's last night in the city, he craved Thai food. So we picked out our local joint, Nusara. This really was our 2nd choice, our first choice was when Daddy's Aunty Ruth took him last year but since we didn't know how to get their via subway, it was easier to choose something local & nearby. We still loved and enjoyed it tremendously.

Great Grandma Cho Lien had A LOT of fun sitting next to Erik. Lots of giggles and laughters were exchanged. Honestly, Erik was pretty loud and wild in tiny restaurant, HAHA! Uncle Penjo sat directly across from Erik so he had lots of company to laugh with.

Our son's taste buds are also growing. He LOVED the thai chili fish and ate an entire plate of "Teddy Bear" rice. The jasmine rice was shaped like a teddy bear and Erik literally finished ALL of it. That was an eye opener! Erik also ate some Raad Na (thai stir-fried flat noodles). Which was just amazing! What a wonderful evening with family!

Handsome

Daddy & Erik looking so handsome!

Erik's Subway Ride

Erik's Subway Ride from Jigme Chhimi on Vimeo.
Password: erikma
Note: You can view this video in High Def by clicking on the HD button. Tech Specs: Shot with our new baby Canon HG-10 converted with Sony Vegas Pro 8.

Congratulations "Super Uncle" and "New Aunty"

The whole reason why we went over to the big apple is to attend Erik's Uncle Penjo and new Aunty Sarah's wedding. Daddy didn't serve as the best man, nope, that honor went to Uncle Penjo's friend, Krystian, instead. However, Daddy was assigned to be the wedding photographer instead. :o) hahah!

Erik had his first duty as the ring bearer. We practiced the day before throughout. Mummy would ask "who's getting married?" Erik replies "Sook Sook" as in uncle for Cantonese. He'd practiced holding a pillow and walking towards his Uncle Penjo. Erik was so proud of his duty! He practiced the night before too!

We drove up to New Paltz, NY the evening we flew in. Talk about a busy and hectic traveling day! Erik was super excited and didn't want to sleep when we had to get up at 6:00 the next morning! Eek! He visited his uncle next door and demanded to play with him. Jump on the bed. Jump on his uncle's belly. Yikes! There was definitely a great bond between uncle & nephew!

WEDDING DAY
It was a beautiful intimate ceremony. Erik was dressed up in his claiborne pin-striped suit (Thanks to Aunty Kelly and Uncle Tai for an awesome birthday gift that came in very handy!). He looks absolutely adorable, at least that's what Mummy says! However, even with all the practice sessions, Erik was too tired to hold his duty as the ring bearer. SIGH! Instead, he just wanted Mummy to hold him. It was too overwhelming and he was literally exhausted.

Uncle Penjo, being the nerd that he is, had to "Skpe" away for the wedding so Grandpa Tom & extended family of the whole Ma Clan in Bhutan can see the ceremony live too! HAHA! It was pretty cute and sweet!

After the brief ceremony, pictures were taken. Erik enjoyed looking over the pond and hearing a frog croak. He practiced his little froggy jump from one step to another. Of course, being the boy that he is, he fell and got a grass stain! Hee Hee. Quite cute!

We enjoyed lots of delicious food and cake plus Mummy drank 3 cups of coffee! Definitely needed it from only having 5 hours of sleep! Eek! Erik slept through the reception instead. He curled up in Mummy's arms on the front porch of the Bed & Breakfast and just snoozed away. Absolutely exhausted.

Red-Eye Day In The Big Apple

ON FLIGHT EXPERIENCE
Okay, last year's travel when Erik was only 17 months was a BREEZE. Seriously, he slept all through the red-eye flight and nursed on Mummy for comfort. This time around, no nursing! We have officially been weaned! YAY! Thanks to Daddy's personal bedtime story time. WhooHoo BUT the downfall is, Erik has to rely on himself for soothing and its hard to soothe yourself on a plane full of strangers and late night when super tired and exhausted.

With that said, Erik did GREAT! He didn't sleep when we were on the plane immediately. Erik was just super excited about being on a "rocket ship" and did his Little Einstein "patting for take off". Very cute! He took his own time to snooze, really, for the red eye flight, he only slept a total of 3 to 4 hours at most in a 6 1/2 hours flight. Daddy had to move to another aisle while Mummy & Erik was able to sprawl over all 3 seats to try and snooze. Thank goodness Mummy is short :o) HAHA!

We arrived safe & sound in New York despite rushing from one concourse to another during our flight change in Denver (Shout out to Uncle Sean & Auntie Kallie)! Mummy held Erik (all 30+ pounds) and Daddy holding all 3 of our hand lugguages, we pretty much ran...no sprinted from one gate to another. Sheesh!

VIDEO ERRAND
After taking a long nap with Erik in the morning, we took the subway down into Manhattan to visit a store that Daddy has been a long time customer of. B & H Video. Oh yeah, this is Daddy's little candy store, seriously major drools!

While Daddy was just picking out an extended battery for his new videocam, Erik and Mummy watched the big screen TVs showcasing some major underwater sea creatures. Erik was just happy!

FUN FUN FUN

Andrew's Coffee Shop
After our little errand, Daddy & Mummy decided to stop for a mid-afternoon snack at the local Andrew's Coffee Shop. It's really out of "nowhere", at least for us. We stopped in for a little pizza bite. Our pepperoni pizza literally had 8 slices of pepperoni on it. That's it! What the heck?! But oh well...Daddy, Mummy, and Erik just needed a place to "plan" the rest of their day. After a quick replan, we decided to take the train down to Central Park & 5th Avenue!

Central Park
Central Park is one of our favorite places in NYC. Mummy loves it because Daddy took her there on her first trip out to the East Coast more than a decade ago. Erik loves it because of the very cool water play area at the Heckscher Playground.



Well, actually Erik really just loved chasing the pigeons and sparrows at the park. Seriously, we flew 3000+ miles on a red-eye and our boy was content with chasing pigeons that we can easily find at home in California! HAHA! We let him do whatever he likes though. He was running free!!

However, with urban life comes with urban conflicts. A boy around the ages of 8-10 years old was just being a jerk. Yes, I am coining a little boy a jerk. He basically was pushing and shoving all the smaller kids, included Erik at the water play area. Mummy literally chased him down saying sternly "Excuse me, you do NOT push younger kids!" and his older brother, maybe 11-13 years old, immediately came over and apologized while this jerk of a kid yells "Who Cares?!". Where is this boy's mother?! Where are the manners?! Yep, Mummy gave him the "mean Mommy look".

Anywhoo, besides that, Erik had a BLAST! He ran all over the place. Daddy had a hard time keeping up and trying not to get his camera / video cam wet. Erik splashed every where and all of his clothes were WET! We literally only had one 3T shirt for Erik and no shorts/pants. As a result, our son was paraded Central Park and 5th Avenue in his 3T shirt and pull-ups. HAHA!

Nothing like eating a $2.00 chocolate ice cream bar in Central Park. We treated Erik to one while he rode Daddy's shoulders. We thought it'd give him a sugar rush and some energy. After wards, we stopped by the pond and had a "picnic" with the ducks. Basically Erik threw in cheerios, chex mix, pretzels, whatever he wanted to share with the duckies. He loved sharing!!

By the time we were on 5th Avenue, Erik fell asleep on top of Daddy's head.

Joe's Shanghai
One favorite place of Daddy's is Joe's Shanghai Restaurant at the Uptown location. It is a MUST visit every time for Daddy. It's because of there steamed shanghai pork buns (小龍包). Our nickname for it is "Bruce Lee" Buns because literal translation 小龍 is "small dragon" but also the name of Bruce Lee in Chinese. It's our little running joke. But this steamed dish is really Daddy's FAVORITE! Daddy was super-happy :o) HAHA!

New York Here We Come

We are jetting off to NYC for a long weekend to join in on Uncle Penjo's semi-elopment wedding in New Paltz, NY.

The news traveled to us in less than 2 weeks notice and Daddy decided to be there for his little brother on his big day. As a result, the whole family is off to the Big Apple for an extended weekend! Erik is pretty excited although he keeps saying "fly on airplane to Bhutan. see Grandpa" in Cantonese. Good gosh, what is this bond between Grandpa Tom & Erik?!

Last time we were in NYC, Erik was only 17 months and can still fit in Daddy's Kelty Pack (maximum weight 40 lbs). This time around Erik is 28 months (ok ok....2 1/4 years old) and when Mummy suggested Daddy bring the Kelty Pack, Daddy's eyes just opened wide in shock and said "No Way! Last time I was exhausted carrying him and now he's 2x as tall and more than 10 lb heavier plus 7lbs of the Kelty Pack." So we will see what happens!! Something tells Mummy that Daddy should've listen to her instead, HAHA!

Wish us a "Bon Voyage!" and will post soon!

You can our last NYC trip here

Daddy's Away From Home: Night 2

MORNING CONVERSATION (Day 2 being away from Daddy)
Erik woke up on Monday morning and asks "Where's Daddy?"
Mummy innocently asks "Oh Yeah? Where is Daddy?"
Erik: "Daddy is at the office."
Mummy: "That's right! Daddy is in the office. We will have to see 2 more moons before Daddy comes back home." [Mummy starts counting with fingers, one moon, two moon].
Erik: "Daddy comes back, 2 more moons."

Off to a weekday we go! Mummy feeds Erik breakfast, lunch was already pre-packed from evening before, and gets Erik dressed and off to Erik's school we go. Wonderful start!

Making Dinner at Lunch
Last two nights, Erik has been asking to eat salmon for dinner. Daddy has a lovely package of Harry & David salmon and each time Erik sees it...he says "I'm hungry, Erik eat salmon". Well, as a result, Mummy being indulgent went home during her lunch hour and grilled fresh salmon (not the packaged one) with teriyaki sauce and also made some noodles w/veggies and tofu to go with it. Mummy packed dinner back to the office and also Erik's swim clothes because he gets to have a swim play date with Jason (aka DuDu), one of his good buddies!

DUDU'S HOUSE
Erik and Jason has a strong bond and they love playing together. Not sure if its because of the weekly meet up at the local Little Gym or not. So when we pulled up to Jason's house, Erik excitedly calls out "Dudu's Home!" in Cantonese. Mummy holds Erik at the front door and he will insist ringing the door bell and then standing by himself.

WHY?

Because DuDu answers the door by himself (with Mommy Lin in the back) and these two always give each other their "HELLO HUGS" and "Ni Hao" before running off to play!

Two temporary "single" moms get the kids going for dinner. Erik eats a bit slow and sometimes is picky downs an entire 8oz of milk first and nibbles on his salmon & noodles (SHEESH!). After 30-40 minutes of trying, the kids were obviously done so off to the neighborhood's clubhouse we go!

WEEKNIGHT SWIM
Erik wears his swim suit and goggles and can't wait to swim with Jason! We walked the toddlers 6 houses down to the clubhouse and Erik gets soooo excited to see the water, even though it was a bit chilly being outdoors.

He dives right in without any hesitation! Mummy loves it because she's rarely in the pool with Erik but getting the opportunity for some 1:1 swim time is just awesome! Mummy loves seeing Erik's face under the water, he just smiles, happy, and relax! Erik loves playin on the steps too...diving for his toys. He even shared his diving toys with Jason (a pink seahorse, and a great white shark) while Erik gets the blue dolphin and green alligator.

Erik insisted on sharing Jason's swim noodle and wanting Jason to dive with him underneath. Erik also loves diving so he'll drop his toys under the the pool about 3 ft 6 in deep and Mummy & Erik will dive together and Erik will pick up his toys from the bottom of the pool! It was just wonderful to see and a great way to spend a weeknight!

MOON COUNTING
As we leave Jason's home "late night", really, it was late night...past 8:30pm after Bathtime, Erik's 4th meal of finally finishing rest of his salmon dinner plus fruit (white peaches, thanks to Aunty Lin for introducing it), andNemo watching with Jason. Erik & Jason gave their "Goodbye Hugs" and we drove off.

As Mummy was driving, Erik sees the moon, high up in the sky, hiding behind trees along the way.

He pointed out "Moon Mummy...Moon!" in Cantonese
Mummy: "Yes, darling, there is the moon."
Erik: "Yes moon, Daddy come home."
Mummy: "One more moon, we have to wait for one more"
Erik holds up his index finger: "one more moon, Daddy come home"

Daddy's Away From Home: Night 1

Daddy is spending his first few nights away from Erik. Not by choice but by work. Due to work, Daddy is sent off into the city for a couple of days training. Even though Daddy really would have preferred to uproot Mummy and Erik so that he won't be away from his son. However, Mummy just couldn't swing it, especially when we are going to be on vacation in just a couple of days.

So, Daddy spent majority of the day with Erik, just hanging out. They even snuggled during a much needed nap time. Then in the late afternoon/early evening, Daddy gave Erik his good night kisses and good night hugs before driving into the city.

Mummy prepared Erik in advance that he will have to wait for 3 moons before Daddy comes back from the "office". So what did Mummy & Erik do for first night w/o Daddy?!

We PARTIED! HAHA!

PICNIC IN THE PARK
Mummy & Erik decided enough of 'TV watching' for the afternoon and we went to the neighborhood park for an impromptu picnic. Mummy packed up some delicious wontons (Grandma Katy made in advance-frozen for us), Mac N' Cheese, Steamed Broccoli plus ice cold water. Erik loved the fact that we went to the park and had a hard time sitting down for his picnic but he ate up all his food :o) so Mummy was happy!

Afterwards, we played in the park for 1 hour (Mummy is the 'scheduled person'). Erik showed Mummy how he can climb all by himself, how he can hang on the bars, how he can sit on the "airplane" and fly to Bhutan to see his Grandpa. He also wanted to play with another 3 year old girl, Riley, by outshowing her that he can swing "high, high in the sky!".

GARDENING
Then it was back home we go to water our plants. Erik loves watering the plants and Mummy explained to him that when plants go from "green" to "brown", it means they need extra care and WATER! So poor Erik was rescuing all of Mummy's brown plants by pointing them out and spraying water on them! :o) (Brown plants due to the 'broken' sprinkler system...but is now "fixed" - ask Mummy/Daddy about that one for more details)

ICE CREAM
After all the hard work of watering the plants, Mummy rewarded Erik a little Breyer's 100 calorie vanilla fudge ice cream cup. Well, Mummy really ate 3/4 of it and Erik got the other 1/4. Thank goodness our son is "generous" right now and doesn't mind that he didn't get his "fair" share! He really liked it but after only 5-6 bites when Mummy declared "ok, all done, last bite", he did show a little perplexed look and had to verify the ice cream cup by looking in it...and there was one itsy bitsy tiny melted droplets, and Erik wanted that too! HAHA!

VIRTUAL STORY TIME WITH DADDY
It's not a night time routine without Daddy's story time so we made the phone call to Daddy's hotel room to get a "virtual" story time with Daddy. We could've done the web cam and all but it was kind of hard to 'snuggle' in bed with a computer monitor so we settled for the cell phone. The first thing he said to his Daddy when Daddy picked up the phone "I miss you, Daddy!" and it wasn't even more than a few hours since Daddy left. That's the strong bond between Father & Son!

Erik chose to hear his "NEMO" story from Daddy and that was just wonderful! Where Nemo swims swims through the East Australian Current and across the "Jelly Fish Forest", tells a joke to "Bruce the Shark" in a Sunkened Submarine, finally ariving to the coral reef to go home to his "Anemone" to find Daddy Marlin and Dory! Erik remembers this made-up story by hard and loves to "skip ahead" as Daddy says it. We love it that our son has an active imagination!

Otherwise, Erik did amazingly well for first night sleeping without his Daddy-O! We shall see how it goes tomorrow.