Happy Thanksgiving!

Our last Thanksgiving...

I am thankful for...

• sleep deprivation - that means my baby has lungs of steel
• the mess to clean after - that means my baby is curious and gets into everything
• being by ourselves on holidays - that means that my husband has a job and supporting us and our lifestyle
• a thousand and one phone calls - that means that even though we are by ourselves on holidays, we have friends and family who still think of us on these days
  

I am thankful for my wonderful family who have made my life whole! I love you all!

Nai Nai and Gu Gu are here!

Dear Izzy,

Your Nai Nai and Gu Gu are here to see you all the way from Malaysia! You guys are going to have lots of fun together.

Love, Mom

Godma and Uncle Justin's visit

Dear Izzy,

You had an awesome time when Godma and Uncle Justin came for a visit. We went to sooo many places with them...shopping, dinners, to the beach, Godma joined us at your dance class etc. It was a week of activities!

It was great having Godma and Uncle Justin visit. The next time you see them will be in January!

Love, Mom

Dinner at Lawry's prime rib house. As usual, you were being all cute and the waitress gave you free food and ice cream!

At the beach! Our last beach day of the summer...

Mommy's Birthday!

♪ ♫ Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy...Happy Birthday to me! ♫ ♪

Dear Izzy,

It's Mommy's birthday today, and what a wonderful way to spend it then to spend it with my 2 most favorite people in the world, you and Daddy! What a year Mommy had...being a mom is really the best thing that has ever happened to me. Parenting is an amazing journey and there is nothing quite like it...especially being a Mommy to you, Izzy!

I love you and thanks for being such a good girl today!

Love, Mom

At Johnny Rockets for Mommy's birthday lunch

Back in LA

My little Jetsetter,

We are back in LA and oh how much did you miss all your toys? A LOT! The moment we got back to the house, you ran right to your ball pit, jumped in it and hugged all your stuffed animals! It was awesome. You played for 1/2 hour even though you were dead tired and went to bed around 10 pm. So back to our normal schedule of playdate, outings and maybe some preschool classes!

Love, Mom

Milestone: Mommy & Daddy's First Trip Away

Dear Izzy,

Our first milestone! Mommy and Daddy went away on our first overnight trip without you. We went to Nanaimo, BC and stayed at a beautiful property called Wickaninnish Inn. The last time we were here was 10 years ago...wow, how time flies!

Although Mommy and Daddy enjoyed and needed this trip, we also missed you soooo much! Ah Ma and Lau Yi took care of you while we were gone. Apparently you were very well-behaved! You ate and slept very well. Ah Ma says you behave better when we are not around...and why is that, Izzy?

Anyway, only after a night away from you, Mommy and Daddy were glad to be back together with you. One day, we will take you here...hopefully we don't have to wait another 10 years for that to happen!

Love, Mom

Beautiful property on the cliff overlooking the ocean

View from our room

Our room with floor-to-ceiling windows

Happy Father's Day!

Dear Isabelle,

It's Daddy's 2nd Father's Day and this time you are actually able to celebrate with him! Last year you were just an itty-bitty thing. So what did you get for Daddy this year? Well, actually, "what did we get YOU?" is the question. We got you a mini apron that reads "Daddy's Little Sous Chef" and a t-shirt that says "When I grow up, I want to be a chef like my dad". You love to watch Daddy and get involved when he cooks so the apron will come in handy in the future and the shirt, it's just soooo cute, Mommy couldn't pass it up.

Happy 2nd Father's Day, Daddy!

Love, Mom

Brunch for 3!

Izzy,

You are getting so big now that Mommy and Daddy have to order you food off the kid's menu. Daddy was so tickled by this when we went to brunch. No longer do you share off our plates but you get your very own meal! Your first ordered meal at Morels French Bistro today was Grilled Cheese sandwich with Aged Chedder and Granny Smith apple slices. But it seems you are a fast food addict...you wanted french fries! But you did eat half of the sandwich and some apples.

At the restaurant, you also captivated the interest of a much older boy. Mommy always thought that older kids (older than 5) usually don't have that much interest in little babies but you caught his attention and he shared his french fries with you the whole time.

I see the makings of a heartbreaker already...but don't grow up too fast!

Love, Mom

Grilled aged chedder cheese sandwich with Granny Smith apple slices

Fast foodaholic

Izzy and her much older friend

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Dear Izzy,

It's Daddy's birthday today! You were supposed to share Daddy's birthday but because you had a mind of your own (and also maybe you don't like to share) you decided to come into the world early last year.

We went out with Godpa Dan for a small celebration dinner for Daddy's birthday. I think you had more fun than anyone else! You were so talkative and cheeky this evening, playing with Godpa Dan and the wait staff at the restaurant. You got to try duck confit, scrambled eggs with caviar and mussels in white wine sauce. Daddy is having a blast feeding you different stuff after Dr. Scott's OK. You really enjoyed the scrambled eggs and caviar! You are going to grow up with one hell of a palette. Your future boyfriends are going to have a hard time impressing you at restaurants, much to Daddy's delight!

Happy 34th birthday, Daddy! We know you've been very busy preparing for your competition in April so after it's over, we should have a big celebration!

Love, Mom

Cheeky face is at it again...

Izzy trying to blow Daddy's candle

Happy 1st Birthday, dear Izzy!!

♪ Happy Birthday to you ♫ ... ♫ Happy Birthday to you ♪ ...
♪ Happy Birthday dear Isabelle ♫... ♫ Happy Birthday to YOUUUU ♪!

Isabelle,

I think you heard this song about 20+ times today! You like it so much that everytime Mommy or Daddy starts singing it, you begin to clap excitedly.

You woke up today all smiles and extra happy...I think you knew that it was YOUR day. Mommy and Daddy had a special day all planned out for you! We took you to the L.A. Zoo. Mommy figured that it would be a great place to take you to because you LOVE to look at different animals. At home here, you are always on the look out for cats, dogs and squirrels when we take Zoë for her walks.

You had a BLAST at the zoo! We took a tram ride around the zoo and when we finally got off to check out the animals, you were really curious. We only had time to go to a few exhibits and your favorite one was the komodo dragon. We also came really close to the giraffes...they are such magnificent animals!

The zoo is so huge and we didn't get to finish looking at all the different animals. But don't worry, Mommy and Daddy got you a 1-year membership so we can return anytime! Looks like we will be spending the summer at the zoo this year!

When we got home, you were pooped and fell right asleep. And when you woke up, we had another mini-celebration! You got to eat some leftover birthday cake from your party. You couldn't wait to dig in but had to listen to another round of "Happy Birthday".

We hope you had a great 1st year and a great birthday. Although you will not remember this day, we hope that you will have lots of fun looking through all these photos when you are bigger.

Love, Mom & Dad

1st Birthday Party

Dear Izzy,

Daddy threw your 1st birthday party today and boy was it fancy! Mommy almost thought he was planning your wedding or something. Daddy's theory is "Go BIG or go home" so he went all out. First, the venue was spectacular...it came all decked out with a pretty red chandelier. Eve on Nemo had a beautiful kitchen, spacious indoor space and modern outdoor patio. The was a chance of rain today but the weather held up very nicely...the sun even peeked out!

Daddy has been busy prepping for your party for the last 2 days that's why you haven't seen him at home. But now you know why because the food was impeccable! We had about 40 guests who joined us in celebrating your 1st birthday. Your little friends came as well...you had a blast!

The theme of your party was "Hello Kitty" and you were decked out in your Hello Kitty tunic dress. We had Hello Kitty candy and also a Hello Kitty cake! You ate your first lollipop and some cake today and so you were running on pure sugar all afternoon.

You absolutely loved it when everyone sang you "Happy Birthday"...even clapped to yourself when they finished. You were also serenaded by Markie, he sang you his own version of "Happy Birthday" and you were mesmerized by him! It was the cutest thing ever.

All in all, it was a great day and we are so lucky to have so many friends and family who made this day EXTRA special with their presence. You received so many gifts and now our living room has been taken over by all your new toys. You also received monetary gifts that have been deposited into your savings account for future educational use.

You will never remember this day but hopefully with all the photos we took, will be able to relive it.

Love, Mom

Izzy looking at Daddy in appreciation for the birthday party he catered

Happy 49 week birthday!

Dear Izzy,

My oh my, your stubborn streak has surfaced BIG TIME! You shake your head "no" to everything! You used to be such a good eater, now you are on a food strike and shake your head and close your eyes to everything Mommy offers you. You haven't really had a full meal for the last few days. I hope this is just a phase and you'll snap out of it soon!

You also haven't used the potty too. Every time Mommy puts you on the potty, you whine and crawl off. Then you arch your back so Mommy can't put you back on. You then proceed to pee on the floor while Mommy grabs a diaper to put on you. Is this some kind of a control issue?

On the up side, you are always standing independently and a couple of occasions, you've take a step. Your legs are getting strong because it takes very little effort for you to stand and stoop. You zip around the apartment with your stroller walker. Mommy's life is going to change forever when you start walking!

Ah Ma is back in town helping Mommy out. We are going to be super busy this couple of weeks planning and getting your party ready!

Love, Mom

Goodbye Vancouver, Hello LA

We are going home today, Izzy. We were supposed to leave on Friday but Daddy didn't get enough of Vancouver so we decided to stay a couple more days.

You had an awesome time in Vancouver...you had a few playdates with your mini-friends, Kaiden and Maika, sampled a good variety of Vancouver's food, celebrated Christmas and New Year's, went shopping every chance we had and most importantly of all, spent lots and lots of time with Ah Kong, Ah Ma and Godma. They are certainly going to miss you!

Our plane ride back to LA was a late one and by the time we reached home, it was already 11pm and you were dead tired!

Mommy hopes you keep up your holiday sleep schedule of sleeping at around 7:30-8pm and waking up around 8am!

Welcome back to warm and sunny LA, baby.

Love, Mom

Sunday Brunch with the extended family

Isabelle's First Christmas

Dear Izzy,

We celebrated your first Christmas today. We went to the 9 am Christmas mass in the morning before your AM nap. Then after your nap, we had our present opening ceremony. You got a lot of presents for a little girl celebrating her first Christmas! Mommy has to leave some of my own stuff here to bring home all your presents! What a lucky girl you are, so many Uncles and Aunties love you!

After that, we went for dim sum and you entertained everyone at the table with a new dance. Not sure where you picked that up from but it was really hilarious! After lunch, we came back home in time for your PM nap. You slept like an angel again...you've been doing so well for the past week!

See, it definitely pays to be a good girl because Santa brings lots of presents to good girls!

Love, Mom

Yay! Presents for Izzy...

Miss Claus and Santarina

Isabelle Meets Santa!

Dear Izzy,

Have you been naughty or nice? We took you to the North Pole to meet Santa today. You weren't scared at all! You sat on Santa's lap and Santa asked you what you wanted for Christmas this year. Mommy couldn't hear what you whispered in his ear. We took some pictures and you didn't want to leave his lap after. You just kept on staring at him. I think you wanted to go back with him to meet the elfs and the reindeers and of course check out all the presents at Santa's workshop! But Daddy didn't want to leave you.

Can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas with you, Izzy! We will be back in Vancouver and hopefully you get to see a white Christmas.

Love, Mom

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, Izzy!

We celebrate our first Thanksgiving today. Although Daddy is not home for Thanksgiving, he came back from work for a little while this morning to see and play with you. He misses you so much! After your first nap, we went to the park to play on the swing and slides to tire you out. Then we came home and you went down for your second nap.

Today, Mommy gives thanks for our perfect little family, for the best husband any wife could ever have, for a beautiful, healthy and growing daughter and not forgetting, our little Zoë. Even though she's in Vancouver this Thanksgiving, we miss her and we can't wait to see her in 2.5 weeks.

Happy 1st Thanksgiving, my American baby!

Love, Mom

Izzy & Peter Rabbit (thanks Auntie Janet!)

Goodbye Ah Ma & Ah Kong

Dear Izzy,

Ah Ma and Ah Kong left to go back to Vancouver today. You had so much fun with them and they were so much help to Mommy. Mommy finally got all our boxes cleared and we just have a few other small loose ends to tie up but our apartment finally feels like home now. With Ah Kong's help and Daddy's brilliant idea, we got our TV centered on the wall and our electronics all hooked up. Now you watch Ni Hao, Kai-Lan in stereo! They took Zoë home with them because you and Mommy are going back in December to celebrate Christmas there. Daddy can't come with us so Zoë had to go with Ah Ma and Ah Kong so it will be easier for Mommy and you to travel.

I am sure you can't wait to see them and your little Zoë next month!

Love, Mom

Beach Clean-Up Duty

Dear Isabelle,

Being the good citizen that you are, we joined Daddy and his colleagues for beach clean-up duty today. We had to pick up the small little pieces of debris because the fishies and the birdies think those things are food and they accidentally eat them and get sick. While we were cleaning up the beach, Daddy took you close to the water to watch the waves. You really enjoy the sound of the ocean, it sounds just like your Sleep Sheep and also maybe it's because Mommy and Daddy took you to Punta Mita Four Seasons resort on our babymoon!

After beach clean-up, we had lunch on the beach and you entertained all of Daddy's colleagues with your cuteness. They couldn't get enough of you! What a beautiful November day it was!

Love, Mom

Picking up debris

Watching the waves

What a beautiful day!

Hello Kitty Three Apples Exhibition

Dear Izzy,

Since we are such BIG fans of Hello Kitty, we went to the Three Apples Exhibition today with Ah Ma and Ah Kong. The exhibition celebrates 35 years of Hello Kitty...Mommy grew up with Hello Kitty too! It was a great day and I think you enjoyed yourself. We hope that you will continue liking Hello Kitty even after you grow up!

Love, Mom

Izzy & Ah Ma

Izzy in her Hello Kitty top from H&M...courtesy of Godma who is also a Hello Kitty fanatic!

Izzy's bedroom one day...her nursery is pretty close though!

Surprise! Ah Kong is here!

Dear Izzy,

No one can stay away from you for too long...so surprise! Ah Kong arrived today joining Ah Ma in her visit. YAY, another pair of hands to help Mommy out!

Love, Mom