Way Back in 2013 Part 2- HBD edition

Ok, so it's been longer between installments than I had planned, but my excuse is that a many of my pics are tied up on a jard drive that I can't access right now. Hopefully I'll get that sorted out soon and be able to post some pics from the holidays. 

For now though, Here are some pics from my phone in a attempt to get caught up. 

Huelan's birthday is just two days afer Christmas, so we're going to be challenged to find a way to celebrate it every year when most everyone we know is partied out. Grandma set up a family party during dessert at the Lee Christmas gathering, so she was able to have cake, ice cream, and all the BD festivities. 

On her actual birthday, I took the day off from work and we went on an SF adventure. First, Bart to downtown, where we went to the big mall to see the snowflake show on the dome and hit up the Disney Store (Dec 27 sale was pretty good). Shared a pretzel on the way up to Union Square where she jumped off tons of stairs and we took in the giant tree. She got into a taxi for the first time and we went to pick up Mom at work. A full afternoon concluded with a long nap. Not a bad birthday. 

Then of course a few days later Anh, Patty, and BiBi came with more cake and presents. And I forgot to mention the cupcake party at school. No less than FOUR seperate celebrations for a four-year-old, tacked on to an extended Christmas season. January is the season for recovery. Thank goodness Vansen's birthday isn't til July....

Way Back in 2013, Part 1

 

I owe some posts from a wayz back, so I think I'll just dive in this week and try to be caught up by next week.  I'll start with what I can remember from Thanksgiving. We started the road trip Thursday morning, Thanksgiving, and I'll be darned if it wasn't pretty painless. Huelan is a practiced roadtripper now, and with Nhuanh and Vansen in the backseat with her, she rode like a champ. DVDs and headphones didn't hurt either.  This was Vansen's second trip south, and he did even better this time.  With casual stops (lunch at Denny's, the only place open on Thanksgiving in Bakersfield), I think it was about 8 hours.  No sweat.

We showed up with a little time to spare before dinner and proceeded to stuff our faces. 

And then did it again the next day at Mike and Caroline's new pad in LA-ish (technically Hawthorne).  Friendsgiving was another success, and kicked off 5-6 weeks of festive gatherings of friends and family.  

Catching up with so many people in a relatively short period of time is a reminder that nothing ever stays the same. I'll do my best to relay that over the next few posts.  

For now, here are some pics from the end of November.

Deliverance

Often, one of the first things a mom will ask a new mom is to tell the delivery story. First time moms have the best stories- everyone goes about it differently, and things rarely go according to plan, so it's part harrowing thriller and part ridiculous comedy. 

There are always some crazy details; from fainting husbands to loony nurses, something's always goes a bit wacky. 

I'm waxing on this because we've got a sudden influx newish babies and have heard some classic stories. One of the most recent radiant mothers to share her story with us was Bo. She and Ray went to the hospital earlier than anticipated, and brought home little Rylan. As with most good stories, it's all in the delivery.