Month 31 (8/12/09 - 9/11/09) - Fun Month

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

This was a really fun month. Mommy and daddy took me to Disneyland AND Chuck E. Cheese's. How is that for fun?

We picked a Thursday to go to Disneyland, but it was still very crowded because it was still summer. I didn't get to go on all the rides that I wanted to go on, but I did get on a few and took pictures with Mickey and Goofy. I also really liked the fireworks and Electrical Parade. We will go back to Disneyland twice next month. Mommy and daddy, let's come up with some sort of strategy next time so I can go on more fun rides, okay?

Then we went to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch one of the weekends. The pizza was nothing to write home about, but I enjoyed the games even though I am still a bit young for many of them. I wasn't quite sure how to play skee ball. Mommy and daddy tried to show me, but I wasn't exactly learning from the masters. (Psst... they suck.) I did not use up all my tokens so I can't wait to get back there again.

See my pictures and videos from Month 31. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 30 (7/12/09 - 8/11/09) - Hula princess

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk

breaking news... I am on time for a blog post for once... wow!

Mommy and daddy ditched me twice in one month. First, they ditched me for Auntie Annie & Uncle Tom's wedding. Then they ditched me again to go see Harry Potter 6. They had great fun both times, and I don't like where the trend is heading.

I did do something cool though. Mommy took me to see a brief Cirque Du Soleil performance at the Grove. I played with some of the props that the troop brought. Daddy wishes I pick up and put away my toys at home like I do with the little bean bags in the video here.

See my pictures and videos from Month 30. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 29 (6/12/09 - 7/11/09) - The snot twins

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

Mommy started off the month by taking me to a musical exhibit where I banged on random instruments. We then had dinner with Clara, Auntie Anne, and Auntie Betty & Uncle Hansel where they told us that I am going to have another little friend soon.

During our Bay Area trip, we stayed with Auntie Julie and Uncle Keno as usual, and I played with my snotty partner, Jayden, all week. We ate at Zachery's and Fentons, had lunches with Auntie Linh and Auntie Vicky, mommy and daddy rode the Segway at the San Jose Tech Museum (I can't wait to try it when I am older), and we had dinner with Uncle Dave, Auntie Ying, & Audrey.

Our trip could have been even more hectic, but daddy decided that rest was a priority, for once. And we cut our trip short to deal with some rental car issue back home. Since daddy packed our schedule toward the end of our trip, we actually missed almost half of our social gatherings by leaving early. That's okay though. I'll be back!!

Mommy and daddy had been married for 6 years already, and we got back to LA just in time to celebrate. Congratulations!! And thank you for getting married.

Lastly, I had a couple of firsts this month. I got my first professional haircut this month. But this haircut looked even more like a bowl cut than mommy's. Don't think I am going back anytime soon. I also saw my first movie (UP) in the theater. I love Pixar.

We did a lot this month, but I am not as long winded as I can be here. You are welcome! :-) See my pictures and videos from Month 29. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 28 (5/12/09 - 6/11/09) - Following daddy's footstep?

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

BIG NEWS: Yesterday (on 6/11) I did #2 on the toilet for the very first time!!! Mommy and Daddy believe I am finally ready to begin potty training. Duh... you think?!

Mommy and Daddy bought me an indoor slide. Surprisingly, I was pretty tentative at first.

We celebrated Mother's Day, Grandma's birthday, and we hung out with the various uncles and aunties a few times. But, all in all, it had been a mellow month.We are simply building up for another whirlwind Bay Area tour at the end of June.

See my pictures and videos from Month 28. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 27 (4/12/09 - 5/11/09) - Elmo Live

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

This is a relatively mild month, but mommy still managed to bring me to a Sesame Street event where I met Elmo. He was much bigger and more intimidating that I thought. BTW, daddy got me the Elmo Live doll and I broke it in less than 2 weeks. I've got talent.

Also Jayden was in town again this month. It is always fun to hang out with one of my favorite buddies.

See my pictures and videos from Month 27. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 26 (3/12/09 - 4/11/09) - Time for a nap

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

Mommy continued to take me to fun and interesting places. We had a science theme this month. We saw a CSI exhibit at the California Science Center by USC. We also went to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana where we met up with Evan and Ryan and attended the bubblefest. You heard right. It was a show about bubbles.

We capped off this month with a very social Saturday last weekend. We met up with Uncle Ken, Auntie Julie, Jayden, Uncle Andy, Auntie Healy, Uncle Martin, Auntie Melody, and Matthew for lunch at Fukada. We then headed back to Uncle Martin and Auntie Melody's place where I played with Mathew's toys all afternoon. Afterwards we went to Uncle Patrick, Auntie Susan, and Ben's place for dinner where we also hung out with Auntie Connie. There I played with Ben's toys all night. We were out for 12 straight hours. I was so pooped.

Man, I can't believe it, but I am finally caught up on this blog. The way things go, I am not sure when I can blog next. Let's hope it is soon. :-)

See my pictures and videos from Month 26. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 25 (2/12/09 - 3/11/09) - Welcome to the terrible twos!!

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

Catch up post # 3...

Biggest event of the month... My Birthday!!! I got cake (chocolate, of course) and a bunch of other hoopla.

Mommy and daddy thinks my terrible twos came early. My curiosity, energy, stubbornness, and mobility make for quite a lethal combination for them. You would think they are used to it by now, but no... they seemed tired all the time... hehe...

But despite all the fatigue, mommy kept coming up with cool places to take me on weekends. This month, we visited LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and a children festival at the Grove. Fun for me. Fun and tiring for mommy and daddy.

Oh, and I had my 2 year old check up. I am 50th percentile in both height and weight. Let's hope I keep this up.

See my pictures and videos from Month 25. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 24 (1/12/09 - 2/11/09) - Grandpa and Grandma visit

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

Catch up blog entry #2...

The biggest happening for us in January was Chinese New Year and Grandpa and Grandma's yearly visit from China. This year they stayed for an entire week. Daddy & mommy both took the week off and Uncle Vince came down for the weekend so we can all spend time as a family.

It was a jam packed week as we took Grandpa and Grandma all over LA: Griffith Observatory, Getty Museum, South Coast Plaza, The Citadel, 3rd Street Promenade, etc. We ate a ton too: Philippe's (best french dip), Hide (best sushi), Lawry (best prime rib), just to name a few. Totally fun. Totally tiring.

Coolest thing we did... Auntie Thao did a photo shoot at USC for us. The pictures were too good. See for yourself.

I was sad to see Grandpa and Grandma leave. The good thing was that daddy set them up with a web cam before they left. Now we can video chat with them in China over Skype. I feel so tech savy and wired.

See my pictures and videos from Month 24. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 23 (12/12/08 - 1/11/09) - X'mas & New Year '09

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I last blogged. I don't know where all of our time went since Thanksgiving, but I felt like we had been living in a whirlwind. So I am now going to post a series of make up blog entries to catch up. I just hope I remember what I did 4-5 months ago... here goes...

December is obviously all about Christmas and holiday, and Daddy took time off between Christmas and New Year this year to hang out, which was nice. Now that I am close to 2 years old, I appreciated the festivities and decorations a lot more. I opened presents on my own, and I even got to stay up to watch the ball dropped on New Year's Eve. I feel so grown up.

See my pictures and videos from Month 23. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 22 (11/12/08 - 12/11/08) - Happy Thanksgiving

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

Compared to the last two months, November was relatively tamed. Mommy and daddy took me to the playground a couple of times. I really like being the swing and the slides. Germs from all the other kids? Not so much.

I also had a play date with Evan and went to Ryan's 2nd birthday party this month. Ryan has so many friends and so many toys. He must have so much fun everyday.

And of course, we had our Turkey Day celebration. Mommy cooked again and invited Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Sonny, & Uncle Warren over. She pulled the feast off very gracefully. Awesome.

Finally, I can talk now! Not fully, but I can often communicate what I want. For example:

• Daddy, "mulk" = Daddy, get me milk.
• "Watol" = Give me water.
• On?! = Turn TV on for me.
• Down = Put me down or help me get down from bed.
• Out! = Take me out of the time-out box.
  
• Po-po = Carry me! (in Chinese)
• Daddy, broken. (I use this a lot.)
• "Noonle" = Noodle! (as in feed me noodle!)
• ah-chew = Thank you!. (We don't know why this means thank you for me. It just does.)

That's it. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

See my pictures and videos from Month 22. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 21 (10/12/08 - 11/11/08) - The lonely piglet

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

October certainly had its ups and downs for us.

First, I fell off my stroller and hit my head on the tiled floor. Then a week later, I rolled off the stairs at home. Third time's the charm, I fell off grandma and grandpa's couch and hit my head again. I pretty much carried lumps after lumps on my head for the entire month.

And remember, a few months back, I said the Civic will out live us all? Well, it didn't. It got stolen outside of our home. Worse yet, it was discovered two days later, and daddy had to pay to retrieve the car from the impound yard. Totally fed up, he donated (got rid of) it that very same day. Seriously. I have never met anyone with worse non-lethal car karma than daddy. Not even close.

The good news is that no permanent harm was done. At the time of this posting, I barely remember hitting my head and daddy is finding life without the cursed Civic quite liberating. All things considered, things could have turned out much worse, so we are actually very thankful.

Anyways, we went to several fall festivals and pumpkin patches in October. We went to Auntie Betty and Uncle Hansel's house for a Halloween party. Lastly, we attended a Thomas the Train event with Auntie Hilda, Uncle Mike, and Ryan. We rode in a life size train pulled by Thomas. It was a pretty neat event. :-)

See my pictures and videos from Month 21. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 20 (9/12/08 - 10/11/08) - Youngest Wii Mario Cart Champion

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk

Long time no see, people. Yep, yep...I am way behind in my blogging (sorry!) so this is one of several make up episodes.

Daddy and mommy took a week off so we can go to the Bay Area and attend Auntie Linh and Uncle Garson's wedding. As usual, we saw lots of Daddy's friends and had lots of fun.

The wedding ceremony was simple yet elegant. And, of course, there were some fantastic food since Auntie Linh was involved. I could not believe she CATERED HER OWN WEDDING!! Crazy woman! And she pulled it off without a hitch too! Amazing.

During the trip, we split our stay between Uncle Vince's place and Auntie Julie & Uncle Keno's place, which means... lots of play time with Jayden, who celebrated his one year birthday. For reasons that I am too young to understand, I am quite fond of him. Mommy, daddy, I think I am ready for a little brother or sister now. When are you two going to get cooking?

We capped off the month with some beach time with Ryan and Amanda, some poker, some Wii playing, a summer festival, and a CHOCOLATE CONVENTION!!! What a fun filled month!

See my pictures and videos from Month 20. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 19 (8/12/08 - 9/11/08) - The fearless shopaholic

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk

I am now officially one and a half years old!!! As of 8/19, I am 2 feet 7.5 inches tall (50 percentile) and weigh 22 lb 15oz (30 percentile). As you can tell from this video here, I am getting more independent already.

We had dinner with a couple of daddy's Hong Kong friends, Uncle Derek, Auntie Winnie, and Uncle Kevin. Daddy knows Derek and Kevin way back in Hong Kong when he was barely a teenager. It is neat that they are still getting together 25 years later half way around the world. It was also trippy to hear daddy hold an entire dinner conversation in Chinese.

I finally met little Camden. Uncle Dan was away for business, but we hung out with Camden, Evan, and Auntie Cora all afternoon. Camden was barely a month old. Man, it seems like eons ago that I was his size. I felt like a giant. Here are some pictures from our visit.

This past weekend we had Korean BBQ with Auntie Betty, Uncle Hansel, Auntie Anne, and Clara. Galbi... yum! Auntie Anne and Clara were up in LA all week so Mommy and I hung out with them at the mall for 5 hours Tuesday afternoon. Time flies when you are having fun as none of us wanted to leave.

I learned a few dance moves this month and daddy captured some of them on video. Be forewarned though, some of them may make you dizzy. (You will see why.) Anyways, see my pictures and videos from Month 19. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 18-2 (7/21/08 - 8/11/08) - I am a girl

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk.

... and not a baby, but more on that later.

Picking up where last week left off, we had two weddings this weekend, one in the Bay Area and one here in LA. Since it would have been too much for mommy and me to make both, we lost daddy to the Bay Area for a few days so he could go to Uncle Mark's wedding on Saturday. Then on Sunday, he flew back down to join us for Uncle Admond and Auntie Cristine's wedding reception at night. Just thinking about all that traveling makes me tired. Good thing daddy is used to it. What a trooper.

Anyways, Uncle Admond and Auntie Cristine's reception was huge and elaborate, complete with dragon dancers, live entertainment, and even an Elvis impersonator. It was fun, especially with Uncle Mike, Auntie Hilda, and Ryan there. Ryan and I got to hang out quite a bit as our tables are right next to one another.

Btw, what a small world? Uncle Admond is mommy's cousin's cousin, but he also grew up with Auntie Hilda as their families are close family friends. What do they say about Asians and the 6 degrees of separation again?

Mommy and daddy are getting sentimental about me not being a baby anymore. I can walk normal, I am talking more and more each day, and I pretty much understand everything mommy and daddy says (even though I pretend not to so I can get away with stuff). I have even lost most of my baby fat. Sigh... how time flies...

See my pictures and videos from Month 18. My pictures are also available on Shutterfly.

Month 18-1 (7/12/08 - 7/20/08) - Bay Area road trip 2008

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Originally uploaded by gabeluk

Wedding season is in full effect with 3 weddings in 2 consecutive weekends in 2 different cities. Wow!

First, we made a road trip vacation up to the Bay Area for Uncle Eddy and Auntie Grace's wedding. Daddy took a couple of days off to hang out and to show me around his old stomping ground. We stayed with Auntie Julie and Uncle Keno's place, so I got to hang out with Jayden a lot. I love playing with Jayden. He is kind of like my own little baby brother, except that he ain't so little. He is almost as heavy as me and he is only nine months old. Let's just say that I am very impressed with his appetite.

Our Thursday schedule was a bit hectic as we ate hand pulled noodle (yum) in Fremont and hit Ghirardelli Square & Fisherman Wharf, Chinatown, and the expanded San Francisco Centre all in one day. At night we visited Uncle Dave, Auntie Ying, and Audrey in Palo Alto. Audrey was only about two months old when I last saw her, and she is about my size now. (Let me get this straight. Both Jayden, 9 months, and Audrey, 1 year, are my size? And I am close to 18 months old already? Hmm... I am not sure if I like where this is going. I think I need to start hitting the gym or something.) Anyways, hanging with Audrey was so much fun for the both of us that I kept her up way beyond her normal bedtime. Comes with the territory if you want to keep up and party with me.

Friday was all about food. We had Zachery's pizza for lunch. Unlike last time where mommy and daddy ate while I salivate, I got to taste the legendary deep dish pizza this time. In fact, I pretty much ate half a slice all by myself. Impressive huh? We then chase down our pizza with gourmet ice cream, daddy got his Mocha Bianca at Cafe Strada in Berkeley, and had Singaporean food with grand auntie Teresa and grand uncle Wilfred for dinner. Man, writing this makes me hungry.

The Bay Area gang were all in attendance for the Uncle Eddy's wedding. He was his usual goofy and sweet self. Good music and alcohol flowed freely as would be expected. How can that not be fun? See here for pictures and videos at the wedding.

Finally we had dim sum and boba with Uncle Willie, Auntie Karen, and Uncle Alan the next day before driving home to LA. While entirely too short, it had been a really really fun trip!!! I can't wait for my next visit.

See pictures and videos from our Bay Area adventure. As usual, these pictures are also available on Shutterfly.