Hope everyone had a great Christmas

Orion celebrated his first Christmas this year at grandma's house where she cooked a 20 pound turkey with mash potatoes, sticky rice and spring rolls (we're asian afterall). Unfortunately the only menu item Orion chose to have is milk. He hung out with his little uncle, Wilson (3 year's old) and older uncle, Gilbert.

2-month check up

Orion had his 2 month check up today and got some shots. According to the doctor, he is in the 90th percentile with his length. Wow! Maybe he'll be like Yao Ming? We noticed that he's been wearing 3-6 month old clothing and the length has been fitting him fine, but he's not quite as wide to fill it out :) As for his weight, it's average (50th percentile). We were quite happy with his length though.

Some new developments with the little bear is that he now smiles deliberately and loves to stand. He can support his own weight when he stands (mommy and daddy just needs to balance him). He also uses his hands as a weapon. Both mommy and daddy got clubbed in the face when he slept in bed with them. He also babbles with different tones like he's having a conversation when you're talking with him. The babbles seem to be full sentences, but we just can't make out what he says yet. The little bear also seems to be enjoying bath time. It's his favorite activity and he is most active when taking a bath.

I'm a happy baby

Orion's first Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving picture together. Orion was too tired to smile for the camera.

Orion met his second cousin, Leyna. Again, he was too tired to play.

Hey Daddy! Where do you think you're going??!

I love bath time!

I'm one month old

Orion loves to be swaddled and seems to sleep better when he is all wrapped up like a burrito. Here's a one-month picture of our baby bear. He is getting longer, heavier and cuter everyday. We had to pack away some of his newborn onsies since he grew out of them already. Weeks seem to fly by these days and now our baby bear is 5 weeks old. Unbelievable. We were able to go out as a couple without him for the first time last night to catch the movie, Quantum Solace. This is Amy's first time away from him this long since he's been born and she missed him terribly through the movie.

Instant Tan

Four days after Orion was born, he developed jaundice so mommy and baby had to go back to the hospital for a couple of days for some light treatment. Orion had to lay in an incubator while these bright uv lights shined on him all day and night long. We think that is the reason for his dark skin. Either that or mommy is just too pale and anyone would look tan compared to her. With our new addition, life has definitely changed for the better. Mommy is in pajamas or a robe at home all day with Orion. This is her watching tv during Orion's bright-eyed moments.

15 days old

The general consenses is that he looks like his dad. What do you think? We think it's still too early to tell.

We love having him sleep on our bed. He looks so comfortable.

Orion is 15 days old and he's been a very good baby so far. He seems to only cry when he is hungry and even then he will just fuss a little. He wakes up to eat every 2 to 3 hours. The past couple of days he has been more alert where he will look into your eyes and even try to speak (baby babble). We can't stop looking at him, kissing him and cuddling with him. He is the most precious thing and truely a gift from God!

Happy Halloween!

Our precious boy

Announcing the birth of our baby boy!

Orion Paul Tran
Born October 18, 2008 (2:16 a.m.)
7 pounds, 4 ounces
19 inches long

Orion's first day of life in the hospital with his eyes open.


I'm so glad to be home! Snoooozzzz

I love laying on mommy's stomach!
My crib is quite comfy

Scooby updates

Scooby grows increasingly cute as days go by. All he wants to do is be close to us.

Amy's Birthday

Today is my beautiful wife's B-day. We didn't want to make a huge deal out of it because the baby's due date is so near. So, we went to a nice restaurant in La Jolla called Roy's and she got really good fish and this flourless chocolate cake that was awesome! I look at her and I can't help but be thankful for how good God is to me. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her as a senior in high school. She is more than I ever deserve! We've known each other for over 16 years and I love her more and more each day. I feel SO blessed to have such a beautiful soulmate and our little boy on his way! I would've never thought that we could make it this far. God's mercy and grace is just unbelievable! I am so thankful that He is in our lives and I keep telling everyone how life just keeps getting better with Him in it. I truely believe that the love He provides for us here on earth through our love ones are profoundly deep, nourishing, and necessary. More than that, they are preparation for the deepest love of all...His love! The love He has waiting for us is, "on hold" because our earthly bodies would never be able to contain the power and purity of His true, and completely fulfilling affection. So, as good as life is for me, I am certain that it will be unimaginably better when I get to meet our majestic heavenly Father!

Baptism at La Jolla Shores

Getting baptized by Pastor Ray Bentley from Maranatha Chapel.

Next month!

October marks the birth month of our little boy. We are so excited!

2 baby showers later

Can someone please tell us who mailed us the ocean wonders aquarium cradle swing? It came via UPS and didn't have the name of the sender. Please email me. Thanks!

Yummy cake at my work baby shower from the European cake gallery. White chocolate bavarian cream with strawberries in the middle!

A semi-group shot of co-workers at my baby shower.

Unfortunately, no one took a group photo at my home baby shower. They're all individual shots so I'll just randomly post a few here.

Jesus loves everyone!

I love my wife soo much! I'm so lucky! I can't wait for our boy to be born. I'm sorry I don't have anything clever to blog. I just want everyone to know that God is responsible for all the good things in my life and He will forgive anyone for just about anything. If you are in trouble, don't call me, call on God.

It's my birthday!

Scooby's 1st birthday was on August 21, 2008 and a birthday party was thrown for him and his siblings. This is the first time we've been to a doggie birthday party. There were 6 dogs total:
Buttercup (maltese and poodle mix mom - 12 pounds)
Cody (pure maltese dad - 4 pounds)
4 puppy siblings (oldest to youngest is Scooby, Bella, Jax, and Katie).

It was the reunion of the whole family with food, fun, and gifts! Here is Scooby in the morning, not knowing the festivities planned for him ahead. He generally likes to sleep with his head wedged between some part of your body:

The doggies had a birthday cake (below) and frozen yogurt (not shown):

The puppies and momma going at the cake (Scooby is the one on the right in the foreground):
Scooby caught on camera with whip cream on his face!

What a fun day for Scooby! He took home a new bed and stuffed animal filled with raw hyde. Mommy and daddy got him a frisbee and a couple of chew toys.

14 years ago

Us in Mt. Laguna around 14 years ago, sliding down the snowy slopes with a sled. It was fun times!

Can't believe these pictures were taken around 14 years ago. Sure brings back a lot of memories. The baby is Linda Poon, taken at Andrew and Gloria's old Mira Mesa home.

Phantom

We went to watch the Phantom of the Opera this past Saturday right after a birthday party for a friend's son who turned 1 years old. We got seats in the 7th row of the Civic Theatre. When we watched out first play, Miss Saigon, we decided that it is a must to sit in the front rows for any event so we can see the facial expressions or to even see what they look like! It makes a huge difference in the enjoyment. Phantom was very enjoyable and the music was the best of all plays we've seen. That was one of our last splurges for a while until baby is born. We inherited a lot of baby stuff, but there's still a lot of big items to purchase.

Boy bloom

We attended our first birth series class this week and during the introductions, everyone was supposed to say if they were having a boy or girl. Out of the 11 couples there, it looks like 10 couples were expecting boys! What is going on? That beats all odds. Maybe it's a boy bloom year? Didn't they say that there was a shortage in boys these days? I guess it's being made up now.

Soon we will meet face to face

Yesterday was our last ultrasound with the baby. Ultrasounds are nice, but all you see is a vague image of the real thing. We try to imagine what the little guy will look like in the flesh, but it's hard to see that based on the black and white ultrasound picture. All we know is that he's growing (2 pounds and 10 ounces now!) and it's getting cramped in his little dwelling place. Can't believe that we will soon be able to see him face to face! We went on a labor and delivery tour at the hospital yesterday. The hospital is not our favorite place and the rooms were so sterile and cold that it was more depressing and made us more nervous about the labor. They told us where to park and check in and showed us the labor/delivery room as well as the recovery room after delivering. The good thing about this hospital is that they have doula volunteers that go around while you're in labor to help out the parents. It was a struggle not to switch our hospital to March Birch (rated one of the best in the nation), but because we love the doctor so much, who will not be delivery our child since it's based on who's on call that day, we decided to stick it out anyway for the sake of keeping great UCSD doctors.

Lee & Phil's Scottish Wedding

The bridal shower was held at our house and it seemed like everyone had a great time. We played a couple of games and had finger foods and cake outside in the backyard.

Lee was a beautiful bride!

We snuck in a few photos of us during picture taking time. It was a little hot, thus explaining the shiny faces.
Thank goodness the wedding was this weekend. It was quite a challenge to fit into this dress that was purchased 3 months ago. Baby is getting big!

A shot of the bridesmaids.

A great shot of the groomsmen. Phil (groom) is the one with the plaid blue quilt. The guy in the tux was Lee's brother and the other two groomsmen in quilts were Phil's brothers. One recently moved from Scotland to New Zealand for work.

We are booked

I can't tell you how many evites we have received recently for very important events such as wedding rehearsal dinner, wedding shower, baby's 1st birthday, surprise birthday parties, and baby's first month, etc. We have a very busy 2 months ahead of us with every weekend and weekdays booked. Our schedule will probably not free up until mid-September. A friend has been wanting to come visit and we could not find a free weekend for him to come by. We have also been doing a lot of yard work and house projects. We recently installed plantation shutters in our living room by ourselves and it turned out really nicely.

Eventful 4th

Our little family had a mellow fourth of July this year. It was just the three of us (with Scooby) at our old high school watching fireworks from the bed of the Tacoma. Scooby wasn't born last year when there were fireworks so we weren't sure how he'd be with all the loud bangs. Well, his little heart was beating fast, but he was content to sit in our arms and watch the fireworks. The next day, we had a a friend's surprise 30th birthday party to attend at the hotel. She is pregnant too and only 2 weeks behind us so it's great to go through the exact same stages of our pregnancy together with them. The same night, we were invited to a friend's poker party. They had 2 tables of cash games with $5 buy ins. We played until 12:30 am and went home winners.

For the first time, we also hiked at Penasquitos Reserve that is just down the street from us. Scooby had a great time hiking 6 miles although he kept looking for shade throughout the way! There were some really dry parts of the hike, but then it went through more greenery in some areas. Scooby was really adorable. We tried to teach him how to not be afraid of the water so put him in a pond and he doggie paddled his way out. He doesn't go in the water willingly, but after getting dunked, he was more energetic and his tongue wasn't hanging out anymore during the hike. He was engergetic and looked refreshed. There was supposed to be a waterfall, but we probably stopped short of it because we never saw the waterfall. It was really hot and we weren't really prepared for a 6 mile hike so we decided to turn back and make it to the waterfall next time around. All in all, the weekend was great and mellow (propbably our last relaxing holiday before baby is born).

Speaking of the baby, he's been kicking and moving a lot more now that we've just about in our 3rd trimester. It's been slightly harder to sleep. Imagine sleeping with what feels like a 10 pound weight strapped to your stomach. It makes it harder to move around or switch positions at night. Sometimes you can totally feel the baby going through a growth spurt. It occurs every few days where your stomach is so tight and hard although you didn't eat anything yet. He feels heavier and heavier everyday!

San Jose Adventure

This weekend was the first time I have ever driven a car 9 straight hours (with only a couple of gas stops in between). My mom and I went to visit my brother in San Jose. We took a early morning flight with Southwest on Saturday and the plan was to drive his beater car back down to San Diego on Sunday afternoon. He purchased a new car and it was useless to have two cars up there. Anyhow, they didn't say it was going to be the hottest weekend of the year in San Jose! It turned out to be 107 degrees in San Jose on Saturday with no relief until 4am in the morning. No A/C at my brother's house where he rents his room either. We pretty much spent the day indoors at the shopping mall and dining out. It was chillaxing. Sunday rolls around and it was probably only 100 degrees. We leave around 4 since we were unable to turn on the A/C in the car for fear of it overheating (it has that problem). So imagine driving with sweat dripping down your back for 9 hours with 1.5 hours of bumper to bumper traffic. I was sweating so badly that my hands were wrinkled. No joke. Got back to San Diego safely at 12:30 a.m.

Poipu found!

A neighbor 7 houses down our street called me yesterday afternoon and said they found our bird. She was sitting in their backyard for 4 hours making cute little whistling noises. Her husband just put his finger up to the bird and she stepped on. They didn't see our "missing bird" flyer until the next day and called us. It was a long shot to find her since there are so many crows and bigger birds in the area. We're so happy she's home!

Poipu flew away this morning

Our bird, Poipu was outside on Allen's shoulder as he was watering the lawn and she got startled when he picked up the shears and flew away up towards some tree. We heard her, but we couldn't spot her. We then had to go to work and didn't think of leaving the cage outside for her to come back to. I hope we can find her. At bird crazy (where we purchased her), they said they usually stay in the neighborhood so we'll be passing out flyers in case anyone notices a senegal parrot with a band around her leg somewhere.

Bump

Past the halfway point and everything is going great :) It's no wonder they say the 2nd trimester of pregnancy is a blissful time. Besides the growing belly, your energy level is back to normal and you no longer feel morning sickness (if you ever got morning sickness) and you begin to feel the baby kick, which is the most amazing thing. His kicks are getting stronger each week. It's nice to be reminded that something "living" IS in there when he moves around or kicks. They say that they have a schedule, but I haven't been able to determine what this little guy's schedule is yet. I feel him active throughout the day at different times of the day.

Galore

So we were at Babies R Us this weekend doing some research on the bigger items we'll need for the baby. Hubby went through the 15 different strollers in the store, analyzing and testing each one of them individually and carefully for ease of use, functionality, etc. while I sat there on the side watching. If I were to pick, I would go for what colors look pretty and which one looks the coolest overall so thank goodness I have hubby to look into the more important things. Strollers are not cheap, especially the ones that have the car seat/stroller combo, which we decided was the only way to go. An hour and a half later, we chose our stroller and moved on to playards and bathtubs. I realized that I don't have as much patience for shopping like I used to. I often leave stores crossed-eyed and with a headache now.

Oh boy!

Finally, here's an updated ultrasound photo of our boy. Yes, it's a boy! During the ultrasound it was so amazing to see him yawn, suck on his thumb, give a "thumbs up" and wipe his face. A new life is so wonderful and miraculous. They said that the bottom of the feet itself is measuring over 1 inch long already. I would have been happy with a boy or a girl. Although I was always convinced it was a boy all along, there's a sense of peace to get it confirmed. I was so convinced that we didn't really think of baby girl names and only concentrated on boy names. Also, took in two bags of baby boy clothes for our baby. Now, it will all go to good use.

I'm really happy that's it is a boy too because I want him to have all the qualities of his daddy. "Daddy, " aka "Hubby" is the most loving, passionate, generous, and selfless person I know who loves God, life and thinks and puts me before anything in this world. Eversince he became a Christian 9 months ago, he's so serious about his faith. He goes to church up to 3X a week including prayer meetings at 6:00AM on a weekday when he doesn't even wake up that early for work. He evangelizes endlessly to his friends and family about God, brings/invites them to church and can read the bible for hours at night before bed trying to soak up everything. Besides one couple I've known forever, I never experienced this kind of dedication first hand. We hope our baby will grow up to know God and passionately serve Him with conviction.

Our one year anniversary

We celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary this weekend by camping out at the beach in our truck bed. We are not strangers to this as we've camped out in a station wagon-type car for 2 weeks in New Zealand and have slept in the bed of the truck by the beach before. It's soothing to hear the ocean all throughout the night, but also a bit annoying to hear surfers walk by at 4AM to get an early start on the waves! This year has been the happiest year in both of our lives and the amazing thing is that it gets better each day.

This month in itself is full of celebrations. We had Mother's Day, our anniversary, birthday, and finding out the sex of our baby. We are so excited for the months to come!

Where I want to be

I love being in bed with everyone. I just need to breathe.
That's me (in the short hair) running with my brothers and sisters. It sure was fun when I got to spend the night there last week!

Exhausting trip to Channel Islands

We had to be at the ferry at 7:15am. It was chilly! The ferry ride was about 1 hour long and it was not pleasant.

We are on land!

Overall the Channel Islands wasn't that spectacular. Hawaii was much more beautiful and lush. We went on two hikes (9 miles total) and half of it was straight uphill at a pretty tough grade. We all got a pretty good workout and felt a sore the next day. The ferry ride back was pretty cool. We saw humpback whales fluking so the ferry circled around for 20 minutes while we observed.