Dad's Visit From Guam!

My Dad had a business trip to San Francisco and since he'd be only a 4-5 hour flight away instead of halfway around the world, he booked a flight to come visit us directly after his meetings in CA! We were so happy to have him here, show him around C-ville, and introduce him to Sophie. Lucas enjoyed playing with Granddad- and continued the fun by piling every single one of his toys on top of his jet-lagged playmate when he fell asleep on the floor! It's still quite cold outside and Sophie is still a carseat-crier, so we didn't do a whole lot of touring around (especially because there's not as much to do here in Jan and Feb), but it was nice to have some downtime and relax around the house too! Thanks for coming out to see us, Dad! It was great to spend time with you!

Dad's and Janice's Visit!

Janice brought with her the most giant stuffed doggie all the way from China. Did it get it's own seat on the plane? :) Lucas LOVES it and quickly named him Lucky. The first stuffed animal with a name other than his fur color! :)
During their visit we went to the zoo,


where we rode my favorite choo choo (it meanders past the animals in natural habitats and through the hill country)


We also visited Mayfield Gardens to see the peacocks. Look how close they let us get!


And we went to the medieval festival




where Laith tried his hand at knife throwing. Blind. :)


We had such nice weather the whole visit. We decided to go for a walk around Town Lake where we were accosted by a greedy duck. Here the duck is negotiating with my dad for any crumbs that might be in his pockets
We had a great time with you Dad and Janice! We look forward to our next visit with you!

GrandDad Visits!

My Dad came all the way from Guam (2 days of travel!) to stay with us for 5 days and enjoy the beautiful late October weather. It was a wonderful and relaxing visit with lots of dessert-eating :) and lots of playtime. We all enjoyed Dad's easy-going company and all the groceries he bought (thank you!) Lucas would ask about "gan-dad" whenever he left the house and he also got entry to Lucas' favorite song where he sings hello to Ravyn, Sufyan and whatever he happens to be playing with at the time (what about hello to mommy and daddy, Lucas?) :) We look forward to seeing Janice next visit and we're already planning the things we want to do when they're both here in March! Thanks for staying with us, Dad- enjoy the pictures!

GrandDad and Lao Lao Visit!

My Dad and Janice came to the States to attend my cousin Patrice's wedding 2 weeks ago and since they were in the country, they made a side-trip to come see us too! Lucas is in a clingy-mommy stage still (though not as bad as when he was younger) so it took a day or so to warm up to his doting grandparents but once he did, he LOVED them (as evidenced by his sharing his beloved Pirate's Bootie snacks with Granddad). It was a fun visit as we spent time outdoors, ate at Whole Foods, and visited the Nature Center to see the rescued wildlife and play in a cave. Weee!

GrandDad and Lao Lao Visit From Guam!

And a photo we took at their last visit! I'm crazy for those 'watch us grow' type photos. Hopefully we can repeat this one each year! :)

We had a wonderful time with my Dad and Janice while they were visiting us at the end of November. We celebrated Thanksgiving together and Janice's delicious cooking skills saved the day when I managed to both burn and forget ingredients for a labor-intensive homemade apple walnut sausage stuffing. Everyone had a few bites of it but it was probably just to make me feel better. :) The weather was rainy for about half the time but we still had a great time together relaxing at the house, playing outside, reading out on the patio, eating at Whole Foods, and going on walks. I'm so glad Lucas has such great relationships with ALL of his grandparents- he loved playing games with Granddad; and on the night he awoke before Laith and I returned from our date, Janice got him to fall back asleep in her arms (which is a REALLY big deal since Lucas is so particular about his sleep habits/routine). Laith and I had the opportunity to go out on a date twice (!) while Dad and Janice were visiting. Thanks so much guys! :) Also, thank you Janice for reading some stories in Chinese on tape for Lucas and also for bringing us those great language learning materials. We hope to have a multi-lingual kid in no time! :)
Here are our photos from the visit:

Dad and Janice's Visit

My Dad and Janice came to see us from Guam last week and got to meet their grandson for the first time! Lucas really enjoyed all the attention and I enjoyed having an extra pair or 2 of hands. We went on a few stroller rides and a few trips to Whole Foods. Saturday Laith and I went on a lunch date at Blue Dahlia (one of our favorite restaurants) while Dad and Janice watched Lucas. It was so exciting for us that we got dessert and spent some of the meal in silence reading our own newspapers. :) When we got back, Lucas was napping and we had even more time to relax. All in all a great visit!