we're home!

9:12 AM 13 Comments »
And we had a FABULOUS time!!

The drive up would have been fine had we not run into traffic before we hit the freeway. Grrr. And then, there was another minor glitch when it came time for Gabby's feeding.




Note to self:




Just because baby drinks a certain pre-mixed formula, does not mean
baby will drink the same formula in a powdered version.
Oh my, it was a fiasco. We pulled over, I mixed her formula and began heating it up in the thermos of hot water I brought along. Five minutes later, Gabby is screaming, and the formula is still not hot. I decide I need more hot water, so I go in to Togo's. The chick gives me a tiny little dixie cup. Thanks.

So I come back out and try again. I finally get it to a decent temperature for Miss Diva. She decides it tastes like crap. I tried for about ten minutes. She wasn't going for it. So I send Nguyen into Safeway for the regular pre-mixed stuff even though we have no where to store it after I open the bottle. He comes back with it, but by the time I get it poured into the bottle, the hot water is no longer HOT, but more like luke-warm. Aghhhh! So again, I send Nguyen off...but this time to Starbucks for a venti sized cup of scorching water.



FINALLY I get it right, and Gabby sucks it down. 40 minutes later, we all get strapped back in the car and are ready to continue our journey. I made it just out of the parking lot before I heard




"I have to PEE, I have to PEE!!!"





You've got to be kidding me. By this point, Nguyen and I are both in a foul mood. I pull over at McDonald's and Nguyen takes Cam pee. They come back to the car. Nguyen cancels our dinner reservations since we are obviously NOT going to make it in time. Off we go again.



The kids slept for the rest of the way and finally we made it safe and sound to our hotel. It was pitch black by the time we got into Monterey so we couldn't enjoy the scenic drive. Boo.
We got in our room and Cam was super impressed
with the ocean view, but more so with these:



He kept telling me he had "nockulars" like Diego.




Gabby liked the room too.






















At this point, we were waiting for our bags to be brought up and all of us were starving. Nguyen had to venture out and try to find a grocery store where they sold the Princess's preferred formula. He went to two different stores and NEITHER one carried it. So he bought the "sensitive" formula and we just prayed for the best. : ) She ended up doing fine with it. She just didn't eat as much as she normally does, but she survived.




The room was so nice. We couldn't really see the amazing view we had because it was so dark, but we opened our windows and enjoyed the thundrous sound of the waves. It was SO loud, but SO nice. Everyone crashed hard. I was so surprised Gabby did so well. Superstar baby ; )



The next morning, I woke up to this:




And this little guy chillin' outside of our window:



And this is what everyone else was doing:



Finally, everyone woke up and we got ready for our day. It was about 9:30 when we finally got out and about. NOTHING was open. Nguyen and I came to the conclusion that everyone in Monterey must be really relaxed. There were no "store hours" signs on anything. I think people just show up and open their doors when they feel like it.


So, we just walked around Cannery Row and checked out the scenery.






















Finally, around 11am, some of the shops started opening. I have never seen more candy, candles, and chocolate in my life.














We were meeting some new friends who live in the area, so while we waited for them Cameron was begging to go down to the beach. It was a pretty crappy beach, but it served it's purpose, I suppose.
Eventually, a wave soaked Cameron's pants, socks, and shoes and he was in a super funk. This made it all okay though ;)



Yeah...I think I gained five pounds this weekend.



After all of that sugar, we decided a nice long rest was in order, so we headed back to our room.


Gabby and I cuddled.



and laughed















I am going to end this post here since I am fresh out of ideas for my 31 posts! SO...this post is "to be continued" TOMORROW!

xoxo

Its Nguyen's turn to blog finally!!!

7:00 AM 2 Comments »
Hello everyone.... It's me Winn... I haven't blogged for a while so I might be a little rusty at it... It's almost like learning how to ride a bike over again except there's no bike or danger of falling off and hurting yourself... so basically it isn't like learning how to ride a bike over again, that was just some random analogy I threw in there to make myself seem more confucious-like...


Okay, where do I start...

Well recently Sheree and I have totally been into doing backyard projects except none of us knows anything about backyards, or projects for that matter so it has basically turned into having people come by the house to give us quotes for stuff.


Our first thing was getting palm trees planted behind the pool. We had 5 palm trees about 6 ft tall each so we called a nice old mexican man to come by and tell us how much he would charge us to plant them. When it comes to negotiating, thats when the "asian" in me comes out. I'm pretty damn good at it. You can ask Sheree, she gets so embarassed everytime we go to buy a car or get any quotes for anything. Theres no way I was paying full price for negotiable goods when the economy was doing great, so you know there is no way I am paying full price in this type of economy.



Well the old mexican man ( all 5 foot 3 and 130 pounds) of him, tells me he would charge me 80 bucks to plant the five trees and he would do it in less than 2 hours. 80 bucks!!! So I stared him down for about a minute and I said "Amigo, how about I give you 100 bucks". He was confused, as he should have been. He kept saying "80 dollars" and I kept saying "no, 100 dollars". I mean how many times has this guy ever given someone a quote and they offer to pay him more? He finally understood and told me thank you about 20 times. And just like that all those years of negotiating and practicing how to break people down mentally, went out the window.


I just offered this guy 20 bucks more than what he was asking just because I felt bad for him. What the hell is wrong with me? If this guy was selling toyota's I would've probably paid 50 thousand for a corolla.






I need counseling.






Bye everyone!

"Are you China?"

8:00 AM 9 Comments »
"Are you China?"




I am still laughing. My kid is funnnny! Apparently he has taken notice that I don't look like his dad and his grandparents. And amazingly, he was able to make a reference to his facial features being linked to descendents of China. Kids are so smart.


So this evening, Nguyen, myself, and Cameron were all hanging out in Cameron's room when he turns to me and says "Mommy, are you China?" I knew right away what he was trying to say and I was trying to not to chuckle too much. I explained to him that I was not "China" and Nguyen threw out "No, she's white!" My kid is now super confused.
We are leaving for our mini vacation this afternoon so wish us luck for the car ride! It really isn't that far, but I always feel bad for my babies when they're stuck in their carseats for longer than an hour :(
Peace.

Sugar Cookies!

7:00 AM 6 Comments »
Let me just say...it is HARD to write everyday. I realize more and more how boring I actually am.

SO, without further adieu, here was our excitement for the day....



SUGAR COOKIES!




Cameron thinks that once they are frosted, they are completely ruined and he won't come near them with a ten foot pole. Whatever. I won't go near them withOUT the frosting. Goofy kid.










I was playing with my new camera while the baking was going down, so enjoy all of the pics! ;)






My son has also decided that since I went out of my way to buy a snazzy new camera with all of the bells and whistles, he will no longer let me take his photograph. So, from now on, all pictures of Cameron will either be of his back, or of him throwing a tantrum. Thanks kid.
VOILA!


wordless WEDNESDAY!

8:00 AM 7 Comments »

8/31


more pics from the buddy walk!

9:13 AM 4 Comments »
7/31






















I am capable of more than I think I am.

7:00 AM 7 Comments »
6/31


This is something I found somewhere online written by a man with a little girl with Down syndrome. I thought I would share...


I Am Capable Of More Than I Think I Am

by Gregg RogersGregg


Rogers is an English professor at Pennsylvania State University. He spent 10 years as a writer, reporter and editor in New York and Los Angeles. Rogers and his wife host a Web site for other families in their area who have children with Down syndrome:


“I now believe Genevieve is here for everyone. I believe Genevieve is taking over the world, one heart at a time -- beginning with mine.”




"It is trisomy 21. It is Down syndrome." Beyond those words I heard nothing, sitting in the obstetrician's office. The doctor was talking about my unborn daughter, and the results of an amniocentesis. I know there were words after that statement, but I don't remember them. I do remember returning home with my wife and crying on the sofa. I distinctly remember saying, "I don't want this." I didn't want this situation. I didn't want this responsibility. I didn't want to become one of those parents — the parents of a child with a disability.


People told me, "If anyone can handle it, you can." "Easy for you to say," I thought."God never gives you more than you can handle," they reassured me."Really? Then why do people have nervous breakdowns?" "We'll help however we can," they said. "Fine," I thought. "You have the kid with the developmental delay, and I'll help you out."


For months I was terrified. My wife, Lucy, and I now refer to the period of time leading up to my daughter's birth as "The Pit." We barely spoke to each other because we didn't know what to say. We simply suffered through each day, together, but feeling terribly alone. And then Genevieve was born. She spent her first eight days in the neonatal intensive care unit at a regional medical center. On each of those eight days I made the 150-mile round trip to see her, because she was my daughter. I sat in a surgical gown in intensive care, holding her in a tangle of tubes and wires, singing the same songs I had sung to other daughters.On the ninth day, she came home, and I began to realize that my feelings of fear and anxiety had changed in a way that no prenatal screening could ever have predicted.


I now believe Genevieve is here for everyone. I believe Genevieve is taking over the world, one heart at a time — beginning with mine. I believe that what was once our perceived damnation has now become our unexpected salvation.Genevieve recently turned 3 and is doing very well for herself. She runs and climbs on everything and loves to wrestle with her two older sisters and her younger brother. She doesn't have a lot of spoken words yet, although her first full sentence turned out to be, "What's up with that?"She does have over 100 signs that allow her to ask for strawberries, pizza or ice cream, or tell us when she wants to sleep, or play on her computer. She goes to a regular preschool three days a week and seems to know more people around town than I do. I laugh every day because of Genevieve.


On my right wrist, I wear a simple silver chain with three little beads on it. I used to say the three beads signified the third chromosome that results in trisomy 21, Down syndrome. Now when I look at those beads, they simply remind me that I don't ever know as much as I think I do, but I'm always capable of more than I think I am.
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