Tiny Bit

She does this thing where she says "just a tiny bit?" She phrases it as both a question and a statement, such as, "you can play with me, just a tiny bit?" And, "I eat candy, just a tiny bit?"

When accompanied by her little fingers spaced just slightly apart and her looking through the little space at you with the other eye closed, there's just no way to resist. Not even a tiny bit.

November Rain

 

 

November opened with rain and closes with rain, but in between we had some sweet fall weather, perfect for Thanksgiving.  We had clear skies and warm weather for our first Thanksgiving at the house, which was also our first time hosting Thanksgiving for the extended family.  When we were house shopping, the ability to host a Thanksgiving was a non-negotiable.  Andrew and Candy have hosted Thanksgiving and July 4th for years (don't know how you do it), and this was their first break in quite a while.   

I think a good time was had by all.... This was the first year that featured a smoked turkey, and with some coaching from Kevin, it turned out beautifully (I just make some smoked turkey soup yesterday and had a flashback).  David officiated the tequila tasting and no one broke any bones (though Barbara came the closest).  We had about 19 adults, three teens, and three kids (plus Patty, Anh, and Christine came for a post-nap dessert)- we'll need a few more mouths next year if we want to come closer to putting away the 40 lbs of turkey and about a ton of sides.

We also did an early B-Day for Liz with Patty at an Argentine tapas place in the Mission- pretty good, and we didn't get kicked out for a change.  That was a long weekend and we made good use of it. 

Usually I'd wonder where the time has gone, and how December/Christmas snuck up on us, but this year I don't feel that way for some reason.  It feels about right that Christmas is around the corner, even though we have almost four weeks.  Time to go and get a Christmas tree.

***Edited to update link to the correct album***
November pics here

Selfie

 

Bubble Beard

She says "I have a beard, like Chu Ti!" (that's uncle Anh)

Huelan Dem

She recently started counting (dem) to 10 in Vietnamese. Here she dem the number of cherry tomatoes she picked off our bush and ate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU7Ve9jhXGs

Buzzed

A few weeks ago, Huelan got stung by a bee, right in the neck. We got the stinger out pretty quickly and it's good to know that she's not allergic. We've told that not all bees bite, and that there are lots of good bees; she's now just slighty traumatized. That should only last 70-80 years.

Recent vid discussing bees:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knqOF-JuGew

Pre-ChristGivingMas?

 

 

I mentioned to someone a few weeks ago that it really felt like the holiday season had kicked off because we were seeing lots of friends and eating a ton of good food.  Well, if those are the main criteria, then the holidays are in full swing. 

Roxanna led the charge by setting up a date on everyone's calendar- one of the trickiest details this time of year.  We wanted to get the girls together before everyone's dance card was full for Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that.  Rox and Kevin also hosted, and of course they did it up as per usual.  Delicous dip, cheese, bread-thingy, and the crown jewel a smoked turkey (Kevin is my turkey mentor, though if our Thanksgiving is ruined I am laying the blame at his doorstep).  We ate and drank, the girls exchanged gifts, and there was general merriment.  Sydney and Stella have absolute angel faces.

A near perfect, crisp November day (except for the Cal game) that I hope we can turn into an annual gateway to the holidays- call it Pre-ChristGivingMas? I also like ThanksGifting and Festivus.  Eh, we 're still working on a name- thoughts?

Then to top the weekend off, we met David in Vacaville for his birthday lunch, and some good friends stopped in for dinner Sunday night.  Yes, it's celebration time.

some pics here

Evacuation

Warining: thus post is not for the weak stomached.

These pics were taken moments before a massive poop explosion that made an early night of the Oakland Art Murmur. We were all having a blast dancing and singing and eating, but when we stopped for a few mins to grub in between two food trucks, Huelan reached back and grabbed a handful of doodie. At first Liz and I were confused by what we were looking at, kind of like when you bump into someone you know in a foreign city and your brain does not compute right away, but the realization hit us just soon enough to prevent smearing. Credit to Liz who swooped in true momma style.

Pull ups don't have the same capacity as regular diapers. Now we know. Imagine muffintop of poo.

The funniest thing was that there were these three twenty-something, obviously single girls, witnessesing the whole affair, speechless but trying to be cool and pretend to not notice. I just laughed as I wrapped her up in my hoodie and carried her four blocks back to the car for a toweling down before our getaway.

Also funny, Huelan was still down to party and couldn't understand why we had to leave while people were still hanging out.