It's Christmas Time!

This is Grace's first Christmas with us. What a blessed time!

Grace seemed to really enjoy herself at all the parties we went to.

On Christmas Eve, we went to see our friends up the street. They had great food and friends for Grace to play with. It was a late night for her. I think we left around 9:00 PM.

On Christmas day, Grace had a great time opening her presents. We called up my parents on the computer so that they could see Grace enjoy opening her first Christmas presents from Pap Pap and Grandma. She really ripped them open and could not wait to play, even at 18 months, Grace is already very aware of what is hers. We then went to have Christmas dinner with some friends from Church. There were quite a few people there and 3 black Labs as well. They train guide dogs and Grace loved them. There was a telling of the Christmas story and discussions about the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. A good time was had by everyone.
Another late night for Grace. We left around 10:00 PM.

Last night we went to another party. We ate more great food, played charades and a "white elephant" gift exchange. (Why does it have to be "white!"). There was also karaoke but we left before then. Grace had a good time as well, although she fell asleep on Phuong around 10:10 PM. Yes, another late night for Grace, we got home around 11:00 PM...she's such a party girl!

Our home at Christmas


Grace at Christmas...it's like she knows!


Grace plays at a friends house Christmas Eve


This is Grace on Jarod's bike Christmas Eve. She looks "so cool!"

Grace is feeling much better

Grace is feeling much better now. She is eating more and sleeping soundly. Although she did get up today at 4:30 am only to fall asleep again in our bed...so sweet!

We have heat! Our heater has been fixed. The gas company will be coming out on Friday to check it though. Now, when it turns on, it kicks open the door of the closet that it's in with a blast of air. It's kind of scary so we want it checked to make sure that it's safe.

Tomorrow is Grace's 1st Christmas eve! We have some dinner plans with friends with kids around Grace's age so it promises to be fun.

On Christmas day we also have dinner plans which includes the reading of the Christmas story. It will be a wonderful and Godly day!

Stay tuned for the Christmas photos!

Interesting couple days

Well the past few days have been interesting. It started when our heater/furnace stopped working. Most East coast people might say "so, you're in California." The thing is for the past few days it has not gotten above 65 degrees and at night it goes down to around 35 degrees. The gas company will not be here until the 26th. We called someone to come and fix it but he got sick so he won't be here until Monday.

I purchased a portable heater and have the gas fireplace running which helps a little.

Grace got a fever a few days ago. Her temperature has come down over the past few days from 102.7 to 100. She has been very clingy and grumpy lately only wanting to sleep and be carried. Oh, when she wants to sleep, it's on us, not in her own bed. This really is very sweet in a sad kind of way. I try to think that it will be all too soon when she will not want to be held or sleep on us, so I try to savor these moments :)

Grace is also becoming a picky eater too. We hope this is just a phase. This might be our fault somewhat. To help bring down her temperature we gave her some ice cream because it was cold and it was the only thing she would eat.

On a more positive note, we went to our church Christmas concert last weekend. A few friends of ours joined us and all had a good time. After the concert all of us went back to our house for some food. Grace had a great time too as our friends have some little girls that she can laugh and play with.

More photos next time.

God Bless!

Updated photos...finally :)

This is Grace at some of her bedtime stages. Some people do a "cool down time" right before bed. For Grace, it's more of "let's use all our energy time." We do a quick round of peek-a-boo and count to 3 in Chinese to her as we cover her with the beloved blanky!









In an effort to get the perfect Christmas card photo, we dressed Grace up in a Santa outfit and took her to the park. She looked so cute.
However, it was around 80 degrees that day and although she looked happy, I am sure that Grace was not that comfortable. Needless to say, none of the photos from that day made it on the Christmas card :)
Here are some of the better ones.











We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year with our friends the Coopers. Grace was able to play with the cats and her "big sister" Kira!





Grace likes to play on her toy corner in the morning.
It's a fun start for her busy day of eating, sleeping, playing, diaper changes, playing, eating, etc.:)

Jarod's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a great time at Jarod's 3rd birthday party today. We went to a place that has very large bounce houses and they are inside! Even adults can go in...and we did!

Mommy and daughter getting ready to play!



Phuong and Grace in one of the big bouncers.







Phuong played some ping-pong while I followed Grace around and played. It was a great time.



Daddy and Grace on the big slide. WWWWEEEE!



Phuong went down the big slide too! WWWWEEEE!



Grace played in the "kids" area as well.



Grace loves to dance. We have never met such a young child that likes to dance as much as Grace. Almost any music or singing will get her going.



Once Grace got going, she loved playing on the bouncers. She loved the little slide as well because she could down by her self.



Just another adorable pose!

A week with the Grandparents

This past week my parents came to visit Grace for the first time. They have seen her in photos, video and of course, this blog :) But this is the first time they get to meet face to face!
My parents are staying at a hotel since my dad is allergic to the cats but we pick them up everyday and go different places around the area that are not only "kid friendly" but are also interesting and fun for them.

I picked my parents up on Saturday evening, took them to the hotel and then to our house to see Grace. All things considered, Grace and her grandparents (Pap pap and Grandma) got along fine. Especially after Pap Pap gave her cookie!

We went to different places during the week including, in no particular order: the LA Zoo, , our local mall, the Queen Mary (only my parents went while Phuong, Grace and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific), Santa Monica Pier, The Grove and farmers market, just to name a few. Needless to say we were all tired by the end of each day. But what a nice visit.

Here are some photos and video of Pap Pap and Grandma's visit:

Grace gets a present from Pap Pap and Grandma!









Mommy and Grace at Santa Monica Pier:



We went to Long Beach, CA. The grandparents went to the Queen Mary and Phuong, Grace and I went to The Aquarium of the Pacific. The Queen Mary might have been to scary and boring for Grace. Maybe when she is older.



The family in front of the Queen Mary.



Grace had a great time at the aquarium! Here is Mommy pointing out some fish to Grace.






The aquarium made for some interesting lighting. Here is Grace looking at some jellyfish.






She really enjoyed the seals from the moment she saw them.











This was a great area of the aquarium for Grace just to run around. It was easy to watch her and fun for her to have some "freedom."



A very big crabby!




At one point, Grace got bored in her stroller and decided to see what her fingers could find :)



"I'm ready for my close-up..."




Mommy and Grace enjoying a walk.



We were waiting for the shark feeding show so we took a rest at some tables. Grace wanted a snack so we gave her some goldfish crackers. There were a lot of pigeons around so we decided to feed them as well. We tossed some crackers onm the table and the pigeons got VERY close!




Grace "dancing" with the pigeons.



Scuba man!



Mommy and Grace at The Grove Farmers Market.



A Pap Pap, granddaughter moment.



Phuong and Mom enjoying making cookies.