My usual optimism and faith in the world has gone down a couple of notches this morning. After reading my friend Liz’s latest blog entry, I went on to the National Sex Offender Public Registry to see if there were any sex offenders in our neighborhood (I did a search by ZIP code).

I was certain that, even in a nice, family-oriented Los Angeles neighborhood, I would find several offenders. After all, it is a major metropolitan area, and there were bound to be some “offenders” who got on the list by having intimate relationships with 16-year-olds when they were 18, or something like that. I was not prepared to see a list of 22 offenders just in my ZIP code! I clicked on each person’s name to see what kind of offense they had committed, and how old they were. To my surprise (not the good kind of surprise), only one or two were of the previously mentioned category of fooling around with underage girls when they were teenagers themselves. (I mean, not that this is a good thing, but at least it’s not scary.) The others were middle-aged or even older men (one born in 1928!) who had committed rape, “annoyed or molested” children or engaged in sexual acts with children younger than 14. I noticed there was one street on which three offenders were living.

Then I decided to look up sex offenders in the neighborhood in which I grew up. Palos Verdes is a really nice area with multimillion dollar homes, great schools, etc. In my old ZIP code, there were six offenders, including one who lives literally around the corner from my old house.

So I guess you can’t hide anywhere! Sex offenders are a lot funnier when they’re on Family Guy than when they’re in your own neighborhood!

We had such a hot weekend in Los Angeles! The weather was into the 90s; even near the ocean, temperatures soared well into the mid-80s (usually it remains somewhere in the 70s or maybe low 80s right next to the ocean). All the sunshine was lovely, though!

Friday night, Johnny and I enjoyed a quiet evening at home. After Jack went to bed, I made chicken curry with rice, and later, we watched the second episode in this final season of Battlestar Galactica, one of my favorite shows ever. To tell the truth, I don’t normally go for TV shows that are as complex as BSG, and sci-fi is not usually my category. In fact, I made fun of Johnny for watching it once upon a time, but then I noticed that there were some really good-looking people on the show and reluctantly started watching. A few minutes into my first viewing of BSG, I realized that much of the plot is actually about relationships, and I was hooked. 

Saturday, we drove out to Corona to visit my friend Gesina, her husband, Matt, and their two dogs, a Westie named Barney and a puggle named Cali. I met Gesina when we were both bridesmaids in Meghan’s wedding in June 2006. We had a great time at Meghan’s bachelorette party and wedding but haven’t seen each other since. Recently Gesina and Matt moved to Southern California, so we planned a get-together. We had a great time. It was good to finally meet Matt (he was serving in Iraq when Meghan got married, so we didn’t get to meet him then) and see the doggies I’d heard so much about. Their house was gorgeous, and they prepared a wonderful lunch of grilled kabobs. We also had the best guacamole ever and some cut-up fruit with a scrumptious yogurt-sour cream-honey dip. For my contribution, I brought Shelly’s spinach-mandarin orange salad, which so yummy and went well with the kabobs! Next time I am going to make a ton extra of the sugared almonds that top the spinach salad, because I’d love to just snack on them.

Jack had a good time at Gesina and Matt’s, too. He was so jolly all day — he crawled on the floor after the dogs, and he played this game where he crawled to some chairs, then kept peering around them at me (I was sitting on the floor) and cracking up. It was so cute! While we ate, he munched on Cheerios in his stroller. He very cooperatively ate his whole lunch and even napped in his Pack N Play! I had been worried about the long outing, but Jack was quite flexible that day.

Our little soldier in his camo (to go with his hairstyle), crawling around on Gesina and Matt’s kitchen floor

Gesina has an awesome Harley-Davidson! I’m not really a fan of motorcycles, but even I have to admit that she looks hot on the bike! It made me want one for a second. Then again, I would not look this good on a bike. I would look scared out of my mind.

Our delicious shrimp-okra-grape tomato kabobs. These were my favorite, although the others (involving chicken and beef) were also yummy.

Jack decided to walk all over Gesina

Ok, Gesina would probably kill me for posting this picture, but we both look good in it, and (the main reason I’m posting this pic) I think what Jack is doing is so hilarious! He’d better drop that habit by the time he starts dating!

After our day of hanging out, we headed to my mom’s place, which is only a half-hour drive from Corona. We had decided to spend the night at my mom’s place so we didn’t have to drive all the back to LA, and so we could spend some time with her and June. After Jack went to sleep, we had a yummy dinner. Then, Johnny did some homework while my mom and I headed to the Southern California College of Optometry (where June is a first-year grad student) to be June’s guinea pigs. She’s learning to take eye prescriptions, so my mom and I took turns sitting for her while she determined our prescriptions. June was really precise with her measurements, and her final verdict very closely matched what my “real” optometrist told me just a couple of weeks ago! I was really proud of her for knowing how to use all the fancy equipment that I wouldn’t even know what to do with.

Sunday, my mom and I went to McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast for the gang. Now, normally I stay away from fast food places, but I do love McDonald’s new iced coffee (I had some sugar-free vanilla flavored iced coffee on Sunday), and I enjoy the very occasional egg McMuffin without cheese (the version with cheese makes me feel sick — that’s not too uncommon with me and dairy). It was a fun outing, and Jack and my mom had a blast after breakfast.

In the afternoon, we dropped June off at her friend (and classmate) Tina’s house. Tina has two adorable kids (also halfies!), including Sophia, who’s exactly a year older than Jack. The two semi-played together.

Jack and 21-month-old Sophia

Cute profile, if I do say so myself!

Tee-hee, two little halfies. Sophia is very contemplative!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Can you guys believe that Jack is turning nine months old tomorrow? As of tomorrow, he will have spent as much time outside the womb as he did inside it*. Literally, because he arrived right on his due date. Nine months ago, this was my last day pregnant with him. Now, he’s the master of his universe: laughing, crawling, pulling up to standing … where is my helpless little infant? Not that I want him back … at the pediatrician’s office today (nine-month well check), I saw a pair of brand-new parents, all anxious about all sorts of issues, looking frazzled and tired. It really reminded me of me and Johnny right after Jack was born, and I was very thankful to be where I am now!

Here are Jack’s stats:

Weight: 20.5 pounds (50th percentile; up half a pound since a month ago)
Height: 29 inches (75th percentile; up an inch since a month ago)
Head: 46.5 centimeters (75th percentile)

The pediatrician commented that Jack’s not a “typical Asian baby” because he’s tall for his age. I guess he’s not, in that the typical Asian baby is not half white , but neither Johnny nor I are very tall. I’m 5’4″ and Johnny is 5’10″. Based on our genes alone, Jack’s not destined for great (physical) heights, but my father-in-law is over six feet tall, so we’ll see!

Oh, and I have something Jack-related to brag about. It’s my blog, so I get to! Yesterday, our wonderful nanny told me that she set Jack down for a nap, but then realized she needed to go wash her hands (she had just changed his diaper). So she set Jack in his crib, and when she came back, he was sound asleep. Normally, we rock him until he’s drowsy, then set him down. I was amazed. I asked if he fussed. She said that he did a little when she started going to the bathroom, but then as she was washing her hands, all was quiet. She thought he might have started to play with his crib toy, but when she came back, he was asleep.

So, I decided to try it last night. I did his bedtime routine — bath, quiet playing, reading, bundle in sleep sack, kiss goodnight, provide pacifier, put into crib. I cut out the rocking. I walked out of the room. Jack promptly sat up and started pushing the buttons on the aquarium crib toy. Music played. Ten minutes passed. I left for my Bar Method class, with instructions to Johnny that if Jack started to cry furiously, to rock him as usual. All through class, I wondered how it went. When I got back, Johnny rushed to the door and reported that he’d actually forgotten all about checking in on Jack, because as soon as I left, Jack fell asleep. The crib toy music stops automatically after five minutes, so by the time Johnny looked in (maybe 10 minutes after I left; 20 minutes after setting Jack down in the crib), Jack was sound asleep! He slept until after 6 a.m. (as usual).

For his morning nap, we tried the same thing. Again, not 10 minutes after being put down in his crib, sans rocking, he was out like a light! One second he’s looking at his crib toy, the next he’s face-down and asleep.

I was actually wondering when I’d stop rocking Jack. I wasn’t going to stop for a while yet, but I knew someday in the near future, he would get really big and unwieldy to rock. I figured I’d just wait and see, and that the actual process would take “training,” but it seems to have just happened. Of course, now that I say this, parental karma is going to bite me in the @$$, and Jack will refuse to go to sleep unless being held.

I have to say, though, as proud as I am of my independent boy, I’m a little sad that he no longer seems to need us to rock him at night. And of course the mommy guilt sets in. A while ago, I was reading one of Dr. Bob Sears’ books (he’s the attachment parenting expert) and it said something about how babies who don’t fuss at bedtime, who sleep entirely through the night, could just be doing that because they felt that mom and dad won’t respond to their needs. Of course, since Jack has slept for 11 or 12 hours at a stretch since he was about 11 weeks old, this philosophy constantly haunts me. Among my play group, I keep pretty quiet on the fact that I work full-time, stopped breastfeeding Jack at six months, use disposable diapers, give Jack a pacifier and let him sleep in his own room, because I am certainly in the slim minority on all of those things. While I was pregnant, I would have pointed a finger at myself and said, “There’s one of those moms who doesn’t care about her baby.” Now, I know better — every mom does what works for her and her baby, and yes, I know that there’s no way Jack feels neglected or emotionally bereft, and Johnny and I are very devoted parents. Yet whenever another mom asks about Jack’s sleeping, eating, diapering, or pacifier preferences, I feel this twinge of guilt, like I’m not doing well enough for him. The only thing working in my “favor” is the making my own baby food thing, and I hate to say it, but although I really do enjoy making Jack’s food, one of the reasons I keep on doing it is so that I have that little badge to hang on to when I feel the guilt or judgment pouring in. (And the judgment is probably all in my imagination.) You would think I could let it go … it has been nine months since the boy was born. Somehow, though, I think mommy guilt stays with us all. Most days I do manage to talk myself out of it!

Anyway, didn’t mean to go on that big tangent — I’d really just set out to brag about my baby and share his stats. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

* Yes, I know, pregnancy is technically 40 weeks, but those first two weeks don’t really count. Plus, by the time implantation happens and the embryo is viable, you’re at four weeks anyway. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, consider yourself lucky that you have never been obsessed with TTC.

I have no expectations for Jack’s college education, except that he gets one. That part is non-negotiable, and to help him out, Johnny and I are dedicated to fully funding his tuition wherever he chooses to attend college, just as our parents generously did for us. In fact, Jack’s grandparents have already set up a college savings account for him! Lucky boy. But, I digress.

Just because I had a terrific time at Northwestern, got an excellent education, made life-long friends and even met my husband (yes, that would be Johnny) there, does not mean that I secretly hope for Jack to be part of Northwestern’s class of 2029 (YIKES!) and perhaps meet a lovely girl while he is there. ::whistles innocently:: No, not at all.

Hey, they’re just cute baby clothes! We bought this T-shirt for Jack before I was even pregnant, during our trip to Chicago for Ann and Jared’s wedding in October 2006. And Jack has no shortage of cute Northwestern gear: Ann and Jared brought him some more adorable T-shirts (that have now become the right size, just in time for warm weather!) and a cute stuffed bear wearing a Northwestern sweatshirt; Monica bought him another version of a Northwestern bear and a onesie that, alas, he outgrew after only a couple of wearings; and one of Johnny’s fellow Mattel interns over the summer (also an NU alum) bought Jack an 18-month-size T-shirt.

No harm in dressing Jack with Wildcat pride, right? Otherwise all the gifts would go to waste.

As Ann (also a proud Northwestern alum) has astutely pointed out to me over the years, after hearing us rant about Northwestern for their entire childhoods, it will probably be the last place our children (in her case, future children) would want to go to college. Of course I will not be pressuring Jack to attend any particular college, and it’s important to me and Johnny that Jack and his future sibling live their own lives the way they want to, and all that good stuff. However, I do admit to daydreaming about him walking the same paths as I did to class, attending lectures in the same buildings and meeting someone special there. Oooooh, imagine if his “someone special” turns out to be the daughter of one of our friends! OK, now I am probably going too far.  Besides, by the time 2025 rolls around, I probably wouldn’t recognize half of the buildings on campus. A mother can dream, though, right?

** Edit below**

It seems like this past weekend just sped by!

Johnny took Jack to the park for a long while on Friday afternoon while I was driving back up from a meeting in San Diego. Jack had a lot of fun playing in the sand with the other kids. He used his sand toys for the first time. Before having kids, I had no idea what big deal sand toys were … it seems like all the kids have them!

Jack gets acquainted with the rake

Hmm, the rake looks like my hand!

This is what Jack does when he wants to be picked up. Cute, huh?

We spent Saturday with my mom, June and Charles. June and Charles went to a beach party for a while, so Jack, Johnny and I accompanied my mom to Costco. Jack sat up in a grocery cart, using his new Fisher-Price grocery cart seat cover, for the first time. The seat cover is pretty cool — it even has a mirror, makes animal noises and plays music. Truth be told, I didn’t set out to buy such a fancy grocery cart seat cover (it’s also good for restaurant high chairs), but it was the cheapest option — can you believe there’s a seat cover for almost $90 out there?! I just refuse to buy a $90 grocery cart seat cover. I mean, come on. I remember sitting in the grocery cart without a seat cover!

This is a cute pic, even though Jack has his eyes closed. The Costco cart is so big that the cover didn’t go all the way across! I never noticed before, but I guess Costco carts can seat twins!

Delighted with the playthings on his seat cover

I thought it was cute how Jack was snacking (on a teething biscuit) while we shopped

After Costco, we headed back to my mom’s house, where the boys started playing Super Smash Brothers Brawl. Jack wanted to be one of the big boys!

Lately he pulls up to standing every chance he gets

Right before Jack’s bedtime on Saturday night, he and June had a fun crawling session. Mostly they were chasing after a stuffed dog. June and I also spent some time tossing the dog between us and watching poor Jack turn around to chase after the dog. Is it cruel to play “monkey in the middle” with my son? Hee hee.

Fun times with Aunt June and the stuffed dog

If only Jack had been looking up!

Sunday, Johnny and I made a run to Target. Jack sat in a shopping cart again. This time, the seat cover fit all the way across!

He’s so delighted!

Sunday afternoon, we went to a barbecue for Johnny’s business school section at his classmate’s beachside condo. There was another couple there with their son, Tomas, who’s only two weeks younger than Jack. Last time I saw them was at Johnny’s 27th birthday party back in June — we even took a picture to document the dual pregnancies! Well, time flies, because now our boys are almost nine months old. Jack and Tomas had fun with each other — and by that I mean they didn’t accidentally claw out each other’s eyes or pull out each other’s hair. Babies don’t really play with other babies … they coexist cutely. The two of them busied themselves with a contest of who could stuff the most Gerbers Graduates cherry puffs into his mouth. They also crawled on the floor, and in an especially cute moment, took turns shouting “Aaaaah!” back and forth at each other.

Hey, let’s see who can eat finger foods fastest

Eating contest! Go go go!

Jack shows off his standing skills — my fingers are his best friends lately!

Partying with Mommy

That’s it! This coming weekend will be busy, too. We’re spending Saturday with some friends in Corona … should be fun!

** Edit:

Here is a video of the monkey-in-the-middle game that June and I were playing with Jack on Saturday!

End Edit **

People often tell me that Jack is my mirror image. While I’d love to take credit for his cuteness, I do think that his dark hair, eye shape (although Jack’s eyes are definitely bigger than mine) and typical baby snub nose exaggerate the mother-son resemblance. I’m eager to see how Jack’s face will change as he gets older, but even now, I am sometimes taken aback when I see Johnny’s features on Jack’s face. Take Jack’s eyelashes — the same texture and thickness as mine, but with the length and curliness of his dad’s eyelashes. Or Jack’s ears — the same silly elfin shape. But then, there’s his chin! Take a look at this:

That’s totally a miniature replica of Johnny’s chin. How cute, right? I hope Jack also gets Johnny’s creativity, zeal for life and can-do attitude.

Of course, it doesn’t really matter who Jack looks like, but it’s fun to analyze!

Jack has had his first brush with fame! He was chosen as this week’s featured baby at lilsugar.com. If you go here, you can read the story about him and see some pictures (you’ve probably seen all those pictures on my blog before, though).

I’m not a stage mom, but I’m very proud!

Happy Monday, everyone! This weekend passed in a blur of activities.

Saturday morning, we met up at the park with one of my mommy friends, her husband and their adorable two-month-old baby daughter. She spent most of the time sleeping, but Jack had fun on the swings and playing in the sand while I talked with my friend. Since Jack can crawl, push up to sitting and pull up to standing on his own now, we’ve recently let him play with sand toys. Previously, I was concerned about him falling face-first into the sand. He loves the sand!

Talking to my friend reminded me of the way I marveled at older babies when Jack was younger. She remarked on how crazy it seemed to her that Jack was able to crawl, push to sitting and totter around (while holding on to our fingers). I told her that soon it would be her daughter’s turn, and I remembered the time when Johnny and I took Jack to Gymboree class when Jack was two months old. There was a five-month-old boy just starting to sit without assistance, and I was so amazed. I felt like it would be forever before Jack was doing that, and now here he is! It’s really crazy!

This next picture has nothing to do with milestones, but I thought it was super cute. Jack’s hat became askew while Johnny was holding him.

It’s a very Fresh Prince look

Saturday night, our friends Katie and Dave came over to sit for Jack while we attended a work dinner for my office. Jack has met Katie before, but since he’s going through stranger anxiety right now, I was worried that Katie would have a hard time putthing Jack to bed. Jack took to her well, though, and was giggling with her from the start. We timed our departure so that Katie was feeding Jack his favorite dessert (yogurt mixed with strawberry and banana puree) when we left. Katie sent me a text not long after we arrived at our dinner, saying that getting Jack ready for bed and putting him down was a breeze, and he was now fast asleep. Whew! I was proud of my little man.

Dinner was fun. It was at this restaurant that used to be a bank, and it was a murder mystery party. I had my doubts going in, since the last murder mystery party I went to was back in February 1999, during my freshman year in college, and it was a date party for my sorority. It was actually one of me and Johnny’s first dates. It was fun at the time, but I was a little dubious of a murder mystery party for adults. Surprisingly, it was fun! They had hired a company that uses actors to supplement the “real” people who are involved in the game. The main character in the mystery was sitting at our table, plus, thanks to a colleague’s very smart husband, our table came closest to the right answer and won the grand prize. Don’t get too excited! The grand prize was a DVD that enables you to host your very own murder mystery party. Anyway, there were some good laughs during the “show,” we got to hang out with friends, and I had some yummy margaritas. It was fun to be dressed up and out with Johnny past, say, 5 p.m.

Johnny and I at dinner

Here we are with my friend E (whom I have the pleasure of working with) and her boyfriend, Joe. I forgot to take a good picture of my dress, but this shows a good portion of it, and besides, if you’re really curious, there are some pictures of me wearing it in this entry from 2006

The next day, we met up with June and Charles at Rose Hills memorial park, where my grandmother and my paternal grandparents have their memorial sites. It’s getting close to the Asian holiday where families pay respects to their loved ones who have passed on (I don’t know what the day is called in English, but the closest other holiday I can think of to it is Day of the Dead). Around this time, the memorial parks are filled with Asian families. They bring all the relatives, all the kids, spread out a giant picnic and camp out (well, not literally camp out). It’s kind of neat because on that day, the memorial park actually seems like a happy place — and really, after I go someday, I want people to have a good time remembering me. Because the actual day is a zoo at the memorial park, we decided to go this past weekend instead of this coming one. Well, everyone else had the same idea … it was hard to find parking! We saw one family bring in a whole barbecued pig on this big platform. I thought that was a tradition for weddings; I didn’t know that it also took part in funerals. Johnny and I were getting hungry and were wondering if the family was going to eat the pig and whether they needed any help (I’m kidding. But only kind of). Anyway, we spent some time with my grandma, filling her vase with flowers, pulling weeds around her marker, washing her marker, telling her about what we were up to. I had brought a big mat for Jack, and he crawled around on that and watched all the other people. Once again I felt sad that my grandma never got to meet Jack, but Johnny reminded me that my grandma can see Jack anytime she wants.

After that, we all went to lunch. Jack was very well-behaved and ate his own lunch while we enjoyed ours. We parted ways with June and Charles then, and headed to our friends Ana and Andrew’s beautiful condo. I work with Ana. She and Andrew recently got engaged and invited me and Johnny over for a long-overdue double date. We had such a good time! Jack was simultaneously afraid of and amused by Andrew. He had fun crawling on their sectional couch while we “adults” talked and laughed.

Ana and I with Jack

Andrew is from Wisconsin. It didn’t take him long to don the cheesehead hat, much to Jack’s amusement

However, Jack’s not so sure about being a cheesehead

When dinner time came, Andrew grilled up some delicious shrimp and carne asada, and Ana warmed up some rice and beans, tortillas and other makings for a delicious Mexican meal. Everything was yummy, and when it was time to leave, shortly before Jack’s bedtime, Johnny and I were shocked to see that the four of us had managed to go through almost an entire bottle of tequila during the afternoon! Andrew kept making delicious margaritas for us. Luckily there were no ill effects today. It was definitely not the typical weekend for me. In my pre-baby life, I would probably have one drink a week, usually socially (nursing a drink at a bar; I drank sparkling water a lot at bars, even before I was pregnant, because I don’t like the way makeup tends to look splotchy on me when I drink). Since Jack’s arrival, I don’t go out to bars much — before this weekend, I could count the number of drinks I’ve had in the past 8.5 months on one hand. My attitude toward alcohol is pretty indifferent (I could take it or leave it), but I have to say, it was fun to enjoy margaritas again without thinking about whether or not it was OK!

Hope you all had wonderful weekends! I’m taking the day off tomorrow so that Jack and I can pick up my mom from the airport. She’s finally returning from Taiwan. I can’t wait to see her, and I can’t wait for her to see how much Jack has grown!

When I arrived back at home after a 12-hour day (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) today, I was totally exhausted. But, a few minutes after setting foot in the door, I’d completely forgotten how tired I was. That’s because I finally got to spend time with Jack (who replied “Aaaaah!” and smiled when I called out his Chinese nickname upon my arrival), and also because …

… drumroll, please …

… he’s now crawling for real after almost two months of creeping and scooting along his stomach! For a while now, I’ve posted about how Jack’s gotten up on his hands and knees, but will scoot both knees forward, then lunge toward his destination with his upper body. He got across rooms pretty quickly, but it resulted in frequent forehead-to-floor contact, and it seemed to frustrate him. Then he became obsessed with standing and trying to walk (while holding on to our fingers) last month, so I kind of thought he would skip crawling. Lo and behold, quite unexpectedly, he’s gotten the hang of it! We captured it on video (excuse my high-pitched Chinese and English babbling to Jack):

And, of course, since Jack has also figured out how to easily push himself into sitting position from crawling position, this means endless new possibilities for adventures with Atari. Today Johnny watched in surprise as Jack started picking up a ball and tossing it to Atari, who would grab it and bring it back for more. Johnny started recording a video as this game was winding down. Despite what it seems in this clip, for most of the whole segment (which we edited out for length), Johnny was not coaching Jack.

I can tell that these two will have a beautiful friendship. Today I really noticed a difference in the way Atari behaves toward Jack. He’s always been gentle with Jack, but more or less neutral toward him. Today, though, he seemed really happy to be around Jack, and when he licked Jack’s hands, I got the feeling that it wasn’t just because Jack’s hands tasted yummy. It’s pretty cute.

We also have some photos to mark the occasion.

Jack has never been this happy in his Pack n Play, but now that he can crawl like a big boy, he’s delighted!

The ball hangs in mid-air after a bouncing toss from Jack

Jack waits eagerly as Atari fetches back the ball

I’m trying to demonstrate how to nicely scratch Atari’s tummy, but Jack’s more interested in the controller

I know I look ultra tired and shiny after my long day, but I thought this was a cute picture … see how impatient Jack looks? He was eager to get moving again!

I can’t describe how giddy seeing all this made me. Every day, Jack is becoming more and more of his own person. This makes me wistful for the days when he was a tiny infant, but mostly I’m amazed and humbled by the joy Jack finds in simple discoveries. He crawled on his own into our bathroom (while I was supervising him), and the moment he touched the linoleum floor for the first time, he just cracked up, then looked around him with this huge grin on his face. He also took a moment to sit there and look around, then got into crawling mode again, touching everything and laughing. I called to him and he followed me into his room, then when Johnny got home from walking Atari, he followed Johnny into the other bathroom. The whole time, Jack had this light in his eyes like he’d just made some earth-shattering discovery (from his vantage point, I guess he has!). I’m a happy person, but I can’t remember the last time I felt like that. I don’t mean to paint an overly rosy picture of motherhood — I’m convinced that motherhood (especially new motherhood) is filled with low points that no one dares tells you about when you’re pregnant, and that nature makes you forget (because otherwise we’d all be only children ) — but sharing Jack’s joy today was well worth every sacrifice, frustration or challenge.

Hmm, I daresay being a mom has made me even more of a sap! Tee hee.

I hope you all have great weekends ahead. Tomorrow is another busy day of work, then I can take a deep breath. We have a full weekend ahead. Saturday night, Johnny and I are going to a murder mystery party (it’s my company’s annual party) — there will be cocktails and dancing, but I am really excited about the opportunity to wear one of my great Betsey Johnson dresses. I haven’t worn it since September 2006, for Kerri-Simone’s wedding, and it is one of my favorite party dresses. Of course these days I don’t have many opportunities to dress up, so the thought of dressing up is almost more fun than the event itself! Sunday, we’re meeting up with June and Charles to spend some time at my grandma’s memorial site, then in the afternoon, we’ll be going to a little barbecue. I’ll update with pictures next week!

I don’t normally post two entries in a day, but I had to share these pictures that Johnny sent me today of our little FOB (fresh off the boat).  He’s wearing this cute but very fobby outfit that one of my parents’ friends sent from Hong Kong. As is typical of fobby clothes, it has a giant animal on it and some nonsensical English text (in this case, it’s “Hot-B Marine”). June and I did not escape the fate of having to wear fobby clothes when we were younger (we have some generous relatives who liked to send us clothes). Since Jack is half Asian, he should at least be exposed to half of the fobbishness June and I experienced as kids. At least baby fob clothes are cute!

Enjoy the pics of our little FOB-io!

The cup in the upper left corner makes it seem like Jack was drinking, haha! The little drunkard