Daniel and Tai Tai

Daniel had so much fun spending time with his Tai Tai (great-grandma) in Laguna. Her house was filled with lots of new things to explore. She even had a "mini-shrine" of Daniel on the mantle. There is nothing Daniel enjoys more than looking at photos of himself or gazing at his reflection in mirrors. Tai Tai even found a free highchair in prime condition that her neighbors were getting rid of for Daniel to use during his visits. This is especially important because eating is one of the major activities when visiting the Lum Family.

San Clemente Cuzin

During our trip to Laguna we also visited the Wun's in San Clemente. We hadn't seen them in nearly a year and it was so fun to watch Daniel and Mailee interact with each other this time. Brian and Raymi became good friends during their Coast Guard days when they were both stationed in Hawaii on the USS Jarvis. Raymi was the best man in our wedding and now our little groms are growing up together. Best wishes to the Wun's on the upcoming birth of their new son!

Living Large in Laguna

At the end of June we took a quick trip to visit my PoPo and Uncle Allan in Laguna Beach. We took Daniel to the park across the street from my Auntie Nancy and Uncle Herb's house. I have a lot of fun memories playing here with my sister and the park did not disappoint. They had so many play structures and even had a playground for the toddlers. Daniel gladly skipped naptime to cruise around the park with Daddy, Mommy and "Gruncle" Al.

Gotta Wear Shades

Quick, put on your sunglasses- my naked baby is in the yard and his white booty might blind you! Daniel's new favorite activity is playing with water in my parent's backyard.

Solvang

I'd forgotten what a cute, fun little town Solvang is! My favorite part: the coffee and danish at Olsen's Bakery across the street from this dapper soldier.

San Francisco, Here We Come!

Daniel at Golden Gate Park (a.k.a. Disneyland for babies).

Brian and Daniel taking on the super slide.


The glorious cross at the end of our hike...what a beautiful sight!

The hike directly across the street from Jeff and Val's new home- amazing!

Daniel eating berries with Uncle J. Yes, he really did manage to get some in his mouth instead of Jeff's shirt. Berries was one of the thing few things consumed by Daniel that weekend- I think he was just too excited to eat!

Nothing better on a cold San Francisco day than a hot Irish coffee for the grown-ups and a PediaSure for the chubby-challenged baby.



Val and Jeff bought a new house in San Francisco this spring and we have been looking forward to seeing it. However, what I wasn't looking forward to was the drive up north. When my mom and I drove there in November Daniel was not a happy camper in the car. We had to stop so many times along the way that afterwards I vowed I would fly to SF the next time. Six months later I found myself with the minivan packed and ready to embark on what I was sure would be another L-O-N-G car ride. Much to my delight, Daniel was an amazing traveler both there and back (even better than some adults, in my opinion). We had a great trip visiting Val and Jeff. Their new house is beautiful and in a great location. We explored Fisherman's Wharf, sipped Irish coffees, enjoyed Val's cooking at their new pad with friends, went on a beautiful hike to a huge cross right across the street from the house, went to Golden Gate Park and had a Wii competition. Sadly, I just realized I didn't take any photos of their house- oops! Thanks guys, for being such wonderful hosts.

We're One!

(Click on the photo to enlarge)

The PEP group (moms and babies playgroup) Daniel and I belong to had a combined first birthday party for all the babies. This group has been great for Daniel and me. He gets to play with all the kids and I get a built-in mommy support group.

The Best Part of Presents

The best part of getting birthday presents for Daniel is sitting, standing, and playing with the boxes! (The basketball hoop inside the box from Uncle Jeff and Auntie Val is pretty awesome too.)

One Year Later...

Our little snuggle bug a year ago.

At his one year old doctor's appointment. (Trying to open cabinets, of course.)

Happy baby in the bath!

Daniel's most recent stats from his one year old doctor's appointment:
Weight- 17 pounds 10 ounces
Height- 28 inches
Teeth- Two on the top and two on the bottom
Stats at birth:
Weight- 6 pounds 10 ounces
Height- 18 3/4 inches
One Year Old- What He Loves:
Daniel loves playing with cars, balls, opening and closing cabinets/drawers, his dog Charley and exploring. He also loves looking at books and has his "favorite" books he wants us to read to him. His favorite time of day is when Brian gets home from work. As soon as he hears Brian, Daniel books it to the door as fast as he can. He hates staying still for diaper changes and will throw food off his highchair when he is finished. Daniel started walking on his birthday and he looks so cute toddling around. And, finally... (drumroll please) we can put him to sleep at night awake!

Happy Birthday Daniel Kai!

What an adventure this year has been! Looking back, the year has gone by so quickly (with the exception of some really LONG, challenging days/nights!)
My parents had originally planned a traditional baby luau for Daniel at Goleta Beach to celebrate his first birthday. The plans were to have a roast pig, but then swine flu hit and although it doesn't pass through food, we thought we should skip the pig this year. We had lots of friends and family from out-of-town coming to Daniel's party which was supposed to be the Saturday before his birthday. But come Friday, the Jesusita Fire was a major threat and my parents were in an evacuation warning zone (and two blocks away from a mandatory evac zone). So with smoke and ashes filling the air and nearly 30,000 people evacuated from their homes we decided to cancel the party. All the other weekends were already filled with prior committments so we ended up celebrating three days later on Daniel's actual birthday (May 12th). Since it was a Tuesday night, not as many people could make it but there was a good turn out and we still had a great time. Daniel still got to celebrate with both sets of grandparents and all of his great-grandparents. My parents and family cooked up tri-tip, chicken and we served "long-life" noodles. While everyone else had cake, Daniel got to dig into a mini angel food cake with fresh whipped cream and strawberries.
Daniel was so exhausted and fell asleep in his carseat on the way home. He didn't even wake up when we took him out and just crashed on his changing pad. (See last photo!) Happy Birthday to our sweet little boy!

Pack me up Auntie Val!

Daniel absolutely loves when his Auntie Val comes into town from San Francisco to visit and spoil him. On a recent visit, he decided to climb into her suitcase- I think he wanted her to take him home with her!

Hapa Baby Reunion

You may remember the above photo from our trip to Pasadena in July when Daniel got to meet Nephele (my good friend Erika's daughter) who is exactly one month older than he is. Daniel also met Phoebe (Erika's sister Jessica's daughter). In April, Nephele and family came from Vermont to visit again and we went to Phoebe's house in Pasadena to hang out for the afternoon. It was so fun watching the babies play and interact with each other. Needless to say, they had all changed so much since the summer!
Above is a sweet photo of all the mommies and babies. Every mommy is 1/2 Chinese and 1/2 Caucasian (Hapa) and all the babies are 1/4 Chinese!

We switched babies for this photo and I think that Nephele looks way more like me than Daniel does! Whoever thought I would give birth to a blue-eyed baby? I miss Erika so much and wish she still lived in town so our little cutie-pies could grow up together.

Daniel and his future wife Nephele! ;)

Driving Cars

Cars have been Daniel's favorite toys ever since we went to Hawaii and Daniel found matchbox cars to play with. He loves to push them around and make car noises too!

Spring is in the air!

Daniel really enjoys eating teething biscuits- especially after finally getting his first two teeth in.

The happiest boy on the block with a new swing Brian set up in our backyard.

Daniel stylin' in his Easter clothes.

Easter eggs filled with Cheerios are delicious!

Discovering his Easter basket.

At dinner for my 30th Birthday.

Hiding in an egg at the zoo.

The first time that Daniel realized toilet paper is also a toy. (He was only allowed to do this once!)