Number One Hits

With a new baby, one of the sweetest things is all of her "firsts." We try to celebrate and record every milestone with her, and that's a lot of fun in itself. There is a slightly bitter side, though- that a first only happens once. I know all parents dote on their babies, and now I know why. I'll paraphrase my friend Omar- you've got to try to soak up every one of those moments because they're finite; you've got to be greedy with every little smile and coo. That's exactly how I feel.

This week, we had a couple of especially fun firsts- Valentine's day and the Lunar New Year. People always ask me about Vietnamese new year (called Tet) and Chinese new year. They are the same holiday, based on the lunar calendar, and many of the traditions are the same. Principally, eating a ton.

Along with Nicole's first Tet, she got her first jewelery- a necklace and charm with her Chinese zodiac sign on it (year of the Ox), and a little jade heart charm. And of course she got her first red envelopes, which she'll learn to look forward to every year for the next couple of decades.

Some other fun recent firsts:
- Keeping her head up upright by herself
- Loud giggles
- Liz's first sushi in over a year- our pre-Val dinner at Kirala
- Grandma and Papa's first time watching Nicole while we went out
- Nicole's first time meeting Zachary (thanks for the lasagna!)

Also, a notable second- Ba Noi's second visit to spend time with Huelan. She is having a blast, just like the first time.

Here are some pics from the past few weeks.