Lora's 4th Birthday

On Jan. 9th, We went to Borami's house to celebrate Lora's 4th birthday. Summer had a lot of fun playing with all the kids and we had delicious Korean food.

Baby Lizzy's 1 month celebration

On March 15th, Dave & Helen had their new baby's 1 month celebration lunch at Todai. We were very excited to meet Baby Lizzy. She looks so much like Dave! Summer had a lot of fun playing with Samantha and she loved meeting Baby Lizzy. Towards the end, Summer took some pretty good photos with my camera.

Disneyland with Angie, Adriane & Nicky

On March 25th, I took Summer to Disneyland without Eddie and it was so wonderful that Angie (Eddie's cousin) and her two kids, Adriane (our flower girl when she was 2 yrs old) and Nicky could met us there. Angie and Adriane were so super sweet and helped me so much with Summer. Summer LOVED Adriane and had such a great time! Thanks so much Angie and Adriane!

Finally done painting the new nursery

With just a few weeks to spare (baby's due April 17th) I finish painting the walls and the crib. I was lazy this time and didn't do a good job chronicling my work so I had to dig up an old 'before' photo. It's dark, but you can see that the walls were green and the crib was birch wood color.

 

I used a different brand of paint this time, Duration Home by Sherwin Williams. It didn't cover that well and took a lot more strokes, but the earth-friendliness of the paint made it all worthwhile. There's significantly less paint odor too.

And then there's the crib. I was really skeptical about painting the crib white because I knew I would not be able to get it as smooth as any white furniture that you'd
buy at a store. After sanding the crib, priming it, and putting on the first coat, sure enough the paint had a very coarse finish. Turns out that there's this superfine sandpaper (400 grit) that you can use to smooth out paint. The crib isn't perfect, but it turned out better than I expected.

The bedding is from Pottery Barn, if you couldn't tell. Since we chose the wall colors of both the nursery and Summer's room based on the bedding, both rooms ended up with very similar shades of pink. I'm going to need to claim a room pretty soon to paint blue...perhaps the loft?

SeaWorld Again

On March 7th and 8th, 2009, we took Summer to SeaWorld again. We thought we should take her now before the new baby arrives. Our good friends Mia and Julia met us there and we all had a great time together. Summer is 2yr & 9mo old now.

Christmas Dinner at the Gorman's

On December 21st, 2008, Linda and Glenn Gorman invited us to have Christmas dinner at their house. Summer had a lot of fun playing with Grace and Elie.

Disneyland in December

On December 18th, 2008, we took Summer to Disneyland to see the Christmas decorations. It was really cold, but we had a lot of fun.

Summer meets her new 'cousin' Ginger

On December 16th, 2008, Summer met her new 'cousin' Ginger. My brother Charles and his wife Sandy bought a new min pin puppy.

Our Christmas Photos

On December 13th, 2008, we took over 100 photos to get one good picture for our Christmas photo card. Summer looks cute in almost all of them.

Thomas' 3rd Birthday Party

On December 7th, 2008, Summer had a lot of fun with Grandma Moto and Grace and Elie at Thomas' 3rd Birthday Party.

Annabelle's 3rd Birthday Party

On December 6th, 2008, Summer had a lot of fun at Annabelle's 3rd Birthday Party at the Eco Station.

Random Pictures and Videos from November 2008

In November, Summer got a new chair, went to the park, went to music class a couple of times, ate a delicious blueberry muffin from Costco, got some hugs and a kiss from Ross, and her Uncle Tommy came to visit! :)



Summer dancing and playing a tambourine in music class.


Summer playing the drums with Teacher Matthew in music class.


Summer helping Julia blow out her birthday candles.


Summer and Ava blowing the horn party favors at Darryl (Ava's daddy).


Summer is singing Old MacDonald to her Uncle Tommy, while riding her rocking horse and wearing pajamas and her cowgirl gear.


See all of Summer's YouTube videos here.

More Pictures from November 2008

We had a fun and delicious Taiwanese dinner at my aunt's (Gugu) house. Everyone had a great time.



We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at Glenn and Linda's house. Linda cooked all the food (including 3 turkeys) and everything was so delicious! Summer had fun collecting treasures from Linda's house, she was sad when we had to give them back.

Summer's first time baking

Today was Summer's first time baking. Summer (2.75 yrs old) and I baked banana oat muffins from scratch. She had so much fun and the muffins turned out delicious!

Summer's Big Girl Room

Summer moved into her Big Girl room on Jan 1 2009. Getting her room ready was 3 weeks in the making. It was perfect timing too because she had just learn to climb out of her crib. Let me take you through the experience. Perhaps it'll inspire other dads to do the same for their toddlers.

This is what the room looked like before. See those side tables? They were drilled in pretty tightly into the walls. And behind the bed was another built in shelf.


After ripping out the built-ins came the worst part: blue taping and plastic. It's a good thing I did though, because I got paint everywhere.


Before the primer, I had to sand the walls to get rid of the horizontal lines. Unfortunately it didn't help, as you can still see the lines after the primer and paint.


Two coats of paint.


And the finished product.


Then came the fun part. Summer's first time on her new bed in her new bedroom.


Of course the first thing she had to do was test the bed for springiness. It was like a little playground to her.


One last book before bedtime. Took us 50 minutes to get her to sleep that night, but when we did I sure felt a sense of accomplishment.

Summer's very first time riding her tricycle by herself

We've been pushing Summer (2 1/2) with the pushbar for a year now. Finally, she is able to reach the pedals and ride all by herself! We were all so happy and proud!

Summer rinsing after brushing

Summer (2 1/2 yrs) is being silly while she rinses her teeth. Although she is wearing her backpack, she is actually getting ready for bed.

Beach Babies Fall Festival

Summer had so much fun at her preschool's Fall Festival. There was a moon bouncer with a giant slide. Summer played with her classmates, Saleem, Chris, Timmy and Jordan. They all had so much fun!

Julia's 3rd birthday party

Summer had a lot of fun at her good friend Julia's 3rd birthday party. There was a cool bubble artist that put the kids in giant bubbles. Too bad Summer didn't want to be in the bubble.

Nerdy Summer

Summer received these fun glasses at Nehemiah's Halloween Party. It's funny, she always has a nerdy pose when she wears them.

Summer washing her face

My mom taught Summer how to wash her face like this.

Summer's first trip to SeaWorld

We all had a great time on Summer's first trip to SeaWorld. There is a great deal going on right now, buy one day and get an annual pass for free until the end of Dec 2009. So there will be more postings of SeaWorld in the future. We stayed over in San Diego at the Hilton Friday night, which Summer kept calling Elmo's house. Our good friends Mary, Alex, and Annabelle as well as our San Diego friends, Kento, Shiho, and Nanami joined us at SeaWorld.

We started the day with Breakfast with Elmo and Friends, then we went to see the Shamu show. Summer knew what Orcas were from her favorite show Go Diego Go. Then we went to the Sesame Street Bay of Play area and was stuck there for a few hours. We ate lunch as Summer napped and then we saw the Elmo in 4D movie and then the Shark and the Penguin Exhibit. Next time we go we will see the Dolphin and the Sea Otter shows.

After SeaWorld, we went to Kento and Shiho's beautiful new home for dinner and to play for awhile. Summer had a lot of fun, but it was a really long day. We were all super tired when we got home at 11:45pm that night.



Summer dancing to the Shamu show music.

Halloween 2008

On Halloween, Summer had a fun-filled day.

First, we went to music class and I was very happy that Summer agreed to wear the fairy wings. I thought she looked adorable and Summer thought she looked cute, too. She kept telling me, "I be butterfly princess!"

Then in the early evening, Summer's preschool had a Halloween parade. She usually does not go on Fridays, but I brought her for the party. Summer would not walk on her own for the parade, I think she was overwhelmed by all the people.

Then we went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with Summer's good friend and neighbor, Lora, and Lora's friend Ethan. This was Summer's very first time trick-or-treating. Although Summer was scared of some of the decorations, she had so much fun receiving candy. After the kids collected tons of candy, Borami, Lora's mom invited us over to play for a few hours. We all had a great time!

Summer's first time pumpkin carving.

My friend Jennie invited us over to her house to carve pumpkins. Summer and the other kids carved pumpkins for about 5-10 mins and then ran away to play. The mom's did all the carving. The last three pictures are of pumpkins I carved in 2003. That was the last time I had so much free time to carve pumpkins. :)

Random Pictures from May 2008

Here are a lot of random pictures from May, in chronological order. Summer is about 2 years old in these.

Summer's second trip to Disneyland on her birthday.

On May 21, 2008, we took Summer to Disneyland and California Adventure (again) to celebrate her 2nd birthday. This time we made it in time to see the Little Einsteins in the Playhouse Disney Show. Summer LOVED it and had so much fun!

Summer's first trip to Disneyland

In May, Eddie and I bought annual passes to Disneyland and we took Summer for the first time (she was free). We meet our good friends and neighbors Borami and her daughter Lora there.

First we went to California Adventure to try to catch the last showing of Playhouse Disney, but we were too late. We did stay there to see the parade then head over to the Disneyland side to see the other parade there, go on the Finding Nemo submarine ride, the jungle boat ride, and then to the Tiki room. Summer had lots of fun and was amazed by all the wonderful things to see.

Ross' 2nd Birthday Extravaganza

Summer met Ross in music class earlier this year and soon they became great friends. Summer attended Ross' 2nd birthday party on May 4th and she had the most fun ever! My friend Michele, Ross' mommy, went all out for her son's 2nd birthday. There was an abundance of activities, she had a petting zoo with adorable baby animals, pony rides, then lunch on kid-sized tables, a music guy, a face painting clown, and a Pooh bear impersonator. Wow!

Playa Vista Halloween Party

We attended a Halloween Party at the CenterPointe Club, our community center. Summer had fun playing with her friends Julia, Lora, Annabelle, and Saleem. Afterwards, Annabelle gave Summer a ride in her pink car and shared some berries she picked from the bushes.

Hawaii 2008 Part 2 ... Finally

Sorry we are so behind in posting photos. We went to Hawaii in April, but finally here are the rest of the photos.

Nehemiah's Halloween Party

Today, we went to Nehemiah's Halloween Party at his amazing home in Northridge. Summer had so much fun playing with her friends and decorating and eating cookies. Afterwards we stopped by a local pumpkin patch.

Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch

Summer (2 1/2yrs) visits Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch with her friends Lora, Julia, Max. and Ava. It was over 90 degrees that day, so Summer could not wear the fleece kitty costume I bought for her. Summer received this princess dress from Auntie Doris for her 2nd birthday.

Oktober Fest in Playa Vista

Summer had fun at Oktober Fest in Concert Park. There was free food, music, a bouncer, carnival games, and arts and crafts.

Disneyland in October

Today, we took Summer to California Adventure and Disneyland to see the Halloween decorations. We finally got a chance to ride on the new Toy Story ride with only a half hour wait. We were there at the park the day the ride opened in June and the line was 3 hours!

King's Hockey Game

Jennie and Sam, Max and Novella's parents, invite a bunch of us to an after party in a box at the Staple Center to see the King's play. It was the first time we had ever seen a hockey game and it was so cool to be in the box. We all had a great time.

Summer goes to Valoria's 3rd Birthday Party

Summer attended her friend Valoria's 3rd birthday party at the CenterPointe Club patio and fountain area. There were arts and crafts and Dora was there. At first Summer was afraid of Dora, but soon Summer was ok and had a lot of fun.



Summer sings Happy Birthday to Valoria's cake. The shrill voice in the background is Dora's. :)

Playing at my mom's house.

Summer, Keri and Kyle play at my mom's house.

Summer feeding Samantha

Summer (2 yrs) loves feeding her baby dolls. She finally got a chance to feed a real baby. This adorable baby is Samantha (11 mo), Julie and Eddy Kuo's daughter.



To view all of Summer's videos and to view them more clearly, click here to go to youtube.com
and click 'watch in high quality' at the bottom right of the video.

Summer eating blueberries

Summer loves blueberries, sometimes she even eats the sour ones.



To view all of Summer's videos and to view them more clearly, click here to go to youtube.com
and click 'watch in high quality' at the bottom right of the video.

Summer dancing to Go Diego Go! music

One of Summer's favorite shows is Go Diego Go! Here is a video of her dancing to the theme song.



To view all of Summer's videos and to view them more clearly, click here to go to youtube.com
and click 'watch in high quality' at the bottom right of the video.

Summer using her chopsticks

Summer loves using her new chopsticks. To view all of Summer's videos and to view them more clearly, click here to go to youtube.com
and click 'watch in high quality' at the bottom right of the video. You can also find all of Summer's videos by going to www.youtube.com and search under 'shaunyi'.

Daddy reading Blue Hat, Green Hat

For a while, Blue Hat, Green Hat was Summer's favorite book. She always cracked up when you read it to her.



To view all of Summer's videos and to view them more clearly, click here to go to youtube.com
and click 'watch in high quality' at the bottom right of the video.

Summer and Ross in music class

Summer and Ross have so much fun in music class. Here Ross sneaks a kiss from her, but it's hard to see because the other boy is kind of blocking Summer.

Summer's 2nd Birthday Party

We celebrated Summer's 2nd birthday at Under the Sea Indoor Playground. There was a mermaid there and lots of fun toys and play structures to climb, jump, and play on. Of course we had the same delicious cakes from King's Hawaiian Bakery as we did last year. Summer and all her friends had so much fun and this was the easiest party to plan. Everyone was happy, too bad the time flew by so quickly.

Nermie's 13th Birthday

On May 19, it was Nermie's 13th Birthday. Here Summer wishes Nermie a Happy Birthday and gives the kitties hugs.

Hawaii 2008 Part 1

In April, Eddie and I took Summer to Oahu, Hawaii. This was Summer's very first time to Hawaii and she had a great time. She loved 'swimming' (actually just floating in an inflatable boat), and playing in the sand at the beach.

We took about 700 pictures and so that's why it's taken us a little while to sort through them and post them. Here is Part 1. Be sure to look for Part 2 which will include Summer in more cute outfits, 'swimming' in the ocean, and a trip to Honolulu Zoo.

Summer peeling a tangerine

Summer loves peeling those Cutie tangerines. She actually squirted some juice in her eyes while peeling this one, but she was determined to finish peeling.

Summer knows her ABCs and some Numbers

On Tuesday, March 4th, I took these funny videos of Summer saying the alphabet (first video) and numbers (second video). She can say and recognize (upper case only) all her letters except for the letter X which she likes to call Y. Summer's Auntie Phoebe shows the alphabet puzzle pieces, and as Summer responds everyone (especially the Grandmas) cheers hysterically! Phoebe was already asking Summer some letters before I started filming, so you won't hear all 26 letters. I started filming when they were on the letter X, which is the only one Summer got wrong. Summer is 21 month now. Enjoy!



This video is of Summer saying the numbers 0-9, from her number puzzle. She only missed the number zero, which she called O. In this video, it is difficult to hear what she is saying because she is drinking milk and talking. At the end, she gives high-fives to everyone, even Sweet Pea. Enjoy!



Click here to see all of Summer's YouTube videos.

Summer sees a gopher

Last weekend, we went to the kiddie playground near our house and Summer saw a gopher.



Click here to see all of Summer's YouTube videos.

Summer dancing

This cute video of Summer at Old Navy was taken a month ago. Summer LOVES to dance. She is 20 months here.



Click here to see all of Summer's YouTube videos.

Summer sitting in the kitchen sink

We don't know what goes on in that little brain of hers, but Summer sometimes has these crazy ideas. In this picture, Summer got a blue plastic stool and brought it to her kitchen, took out the sink and climbed in. Then she decided to pretend to chat on the phone. Now we have to hide the stool. (She is 19 months here.)

Our Christmas Photo

We hope everyone had a great holiday. Thanks to those families and friends that sent us holiday cards and gifts. We really appreciate you thinking of us during those busy times.

Here is our Christmas 2007 Holiday Photo. Summer is 19 months here.



It's not easy trying to get the perfect family photo. These are the photos that didn't make it. Although we had a lot of fun taking the photos, it was a lot of work, especially with squirmy Summer. A special thanks to my brother, Charles (and Cookie Monster), who helped take the photos and made Summer laugh and smile at the right times. We really would not have such a beautiful photo without them...I mean him. :P Thanks Charlie!

December 2007 (Part 1)

Here are some pictures of Summer taken in December.

Photos of Summer

Here are some photos of Summer taken by a photographer friend on Feb 1st. Summer is 20 months here.

Summer eating watermelon

Summer (18 months) LOVES eating watermelon... it's her favorite fruit.

November (Part 2)

Summer loves going to Julia's house to play. She especially loves playing with the kitchen so we bought her a kitchen of her own. There are also pictures of Summer eating her favorite fruit, watermelon. I'll post a cute video soon.

November (Part 1)

Here are some random pictures and pictures of Summer eating her favorite foods.

Summer at the Park in November

Here are some pictures taken in November of Summer playing at the parks in Playa Vista. Summer's sleep schedule is all over the place, so most the time, we don't see her friends at the park because they are napping.

Julia's 2nd Birthday

More photos of the same cute kids, just different party.

Ava's 2nd Birthday

Here are photos I snapped at Ava's 2nd Birthday. Enjoy!

Halloween

This is Summer's second year celebrating Halloween. This year Summer was an adorable cowgirl. Her uncle Charlie bought her this adorable outfit from Texas. She had a pink cowgirl hat, pink belt with a heart shaped buckle with rhinestones, and pink cowgirl booties. Uncle Charlie was a cowboy for Halloween too, and SweetPea was a horse.

We took Summer to two pumpkin patches. The first one was one we just saw driving by. Summer doesn't look too happy because she didn't nap at all that day. The second pumpkin patch was on another day at Mr. Bone's in Beverly Hills. Mia and Julia (the adorable lady bug) invited us to go. Mr. Bone's pumpkin patch was sooo cute, definitely the nicest pumpkin patch we've ever seen! We'll be coming here again next year. Enjoy the pictures!

Playdates in October

The first few pictures, of the kids on the couch, are taken at a playdate at Julia's house. The rest of the pictures are taken during Nehemiah's playdate. Summer always has fun at playdates.

October

Here are a lot of pictures taken in October:
Summer had so much fun at Brendan's 2nd birthday party at the Under the Sea indoor playground. Then we had dinner with Mia and Julia at Soup Plantation. Summer's hair is finally getting long enough to tie. She sported pigtails many times this month. They look super cute on her. I'll keep tying, although she always pulls them out.

September

Here are a lot of random pictures all taken in September. Sorry that all the pictures are clumped together. I'm trying to get to the Halloween pictures as fast as I can.

August 2007

Here are some random pictures taken in August.

Gymboree

Summer and Ava have Gymboree class together. They have lots of fun playing with balls and hoops and climbing on and through things. Here are some pictures, taken in August, from three different days at Gymboree.

Summer feeding herself yogurt

This was actually taken in June but we forgot to post it. Check out her yogurt beard and how she signs "you clean!" Summer is 13 months here.

Summer wearing my slippers

Summer is 15 months here.

Ava's Play Date

On Tuesday 8/21, we went to Amy's house for a play date. Summer and I had so much fun with our friends.

(click on the slideshow to see it bigger)

Julia's Play Date

On Tuesday 8/14, we went to Mia's house for a play date. Summer had lots of fun!

(click on the slideshow to see it bigger)



Lora was so sweet and pushed Summer slowly in the little car.

(click on the video below)

Alaska

On July 23-30, Bill, Eddie's mom's boyfriend, invited us to go to on an Alaskan cruise with his family. We all had a wonderful time! It was so beautiful and the glaciers were amazing!

Summer's Very First Birthday Luau

On Sunday, May 20th, we threw Summer a big birthday luau. We were extremely grateful that so many of our good friends and family came to help us celebrate her first birthday. Many of our guests wore cool Hawaiian shirts and helped make our party more fun. It was so nice seeing everyone! We had a blast! Summer also had a great time, meeting everyone, looking around and taking it all in. She was absolutely exhausted when she got home after the party. she slept for over 3 hours! Summer received so many wonderful gifts. Thank you all so much!

(click on the slideshow to see it bigger)

Summer and her cowgirl hat

Uncle Charlie went to Texas for a business trip and brought Summer back this super cute, pink cowgirl outfit. Summer usually doesn't like hats, but she had a lot of fun wearing this pink cowgirl hat. Check out the video below.

One way to play the piano

The piano is on a mode where it plays one verse at a time. See what Summer does when the music stops (if your volume is too low, just look at the piano keys).

First Kiddie Candids

This was Summer's first studio photo shoot. We weren't planning on taking her that day, but the photographer approached us while we were shopping at Babies R Us. Summer was actually pretty grumpy because she hadn't napped all day. Luckily, we got a couple of good shots, and a free 8x10 print out of it. Summer was so tired she feel asleep while I was carrying her (something she hadn't done since she was 3 months old).

Summer's first steps

Summer took her first steps a couple of days before her birthday. She can now walk at least 10 steps on her own. As you'll see in the video, Summer was very determined to learn to walk. After each fall, she would get right back up and try again.

Grandpa came to visit Summer.

Summer loves to read in the tub. (6 1/2 months old)

Annabelle's and Valoria's 1st Birthday Party.

On December 9th, we went to Annabelle's and Valoria's birthday party. Mary (Annabelle's mommy) and Diana (Valoria's mommy) sang songs and we all had a great time.

Summer learns to sit up!

Here Summer just learned to stay sitting up on her own. She is 6 1/2 months here. Look how happy she is to accomplish this new skill! Click on the picture to see the album.

December 2006 Part 2

December 2006 - Part 1

Finally, some more pictures! Sorry for the huge delay, Summer is a handful! Here Summer is over 6 months old. Click on the picture to see the whole album.

December 2006 Part 1

November 2006 Photos

These are photos from way back in November. Sorry, we are still really behind. We'll catch up...one day...hopefully soon. Summer is about 6 months here.

November 2006

Summer's first teething biscuit

It's cute how thoroughly she examines the biscuit before putting it in her mouth.

More of Summer crawling

Click here to view on flickr.com

Summer, Ava, & Annabelle

This video was taken on Jan 20th with my digital camera. Summer and Ava both clapping and having fun at Aventureplex. Sorry the video is blue, I had the camera on the wrong setting.

Summer starting to crawl

We are at Madison's 3rd birthday party at Aventureplex where Summer crawled for the first time. Summer had a great time with her friends Ava and Annabelle.

Summer standing

This video was taken with my digital camera on Jan 9. Summer is standing propped up against the couch. She is 7 1/2 months old here.

October 2006 Photos

Sorry we are so behind on our postings. Summer keeps me very busy. It's hard to find the time. Finally, here are the rest of the October 2006 photos.

October 2006

Happy New Year!

This is my favorite family portrait of 2006.

Summer is 6 months old!

The Playa Vista Fall Festival

October 2006 - Fall Festival

Sunset at Manhattan Beach

Oct 2006 - Manhattan Beach

September Pictures

September Pictures

Sep 1, 2006 - 13 Photos

Five months and double her birth weight

Here is a picture of Elaine Roberts, my wonderful lactation consultant at Saint John's Health Center. Without her help, I might have given up on breastfeeding a long time ago. Since Summer was two weeks old, I've been obsessed with her weight, always worrying about if she is getting enough to eat. Elaine said that babies should be about double their birth weight at 5 months and triple their birth weight at 1 year. Summer is 5 months now and more than double her birth weight! :)

Summer's 2nd Immunization

Summer's 2nd Immunization

Sep 21, 2006 - 15 Photos

Extreme close-ups

On a sunny day like today, it's fun snapping photos of Summer. I took these in a shaded area behind tall buildings, yet the beaming sun provided plenty of light. She's nice and calm after her Sunday morning walk with Daddy.

Finally, no pink!

I'm always teasing Shaunyi about how Summer only wears pink. So it was a joy to come home to my little baby girl in a cute, blue dress. And coincidentally, I was wearing blue, too.

A couple of my favorite pics

Surf's up!

It's tummy time for Summer. She's 3 months old today so we're trying to get her to lay on her stomach for a few minutes a day. This is supposed to help strengthen her arms and neck.

Summer animation

Set the speed to 1 second and enjoy!

Click here to view on flickr.com