Where in the World are the Weys?

Where has the time gone? Our little Justin is becoming less little as each day passes - and it's happening so fast! The good days are slowly outnumbering the bad days now, and our little man is starting to show some of his personality. He loooooves to play now (instead of just eat and sleep), and has been letting us hear some of his giggles and LOLs. When he's not talking, he is getting to know his left and right fist! They're his favorite suck toys these days! One thing we've noticed is that little J has pretty good eye sight, much to the relief of Papa (and his poor eye sight) - he peers at Facetime all the time and can see me across the room! This might just be all babies, but he is also very impatient - when he wants a change of scenery, or when it's mahm mahm time, it's gotta be NOW, lest we hear his loud whines!

Little J is also getting so strong, kicking, peering over our shoulder, and doing lots of leg lifts. He's aaaaaaalmost rolling over. In due time, we'll see him on his belly all the time. But for now, Mama and little J have lots of fun belly side up!

As Papa put it, it's crazy to see him develop right before our eyes.

Now if only he would just hit that sleep milestone... ;)

Otherwise, is it terrible that I find it really hard to leave the house without him? I just want to play play play with him! I know that some solitary Mama time is good for me too (and with Papa too of course), but it's starting to get to that point where so many new things are happening, I really don't want to miss any of it. 

You know what, no one tells you how rough the first two months of parenthood are. One of the mommies I spoke to thinks it's because by the time you catch up with the mommy, she has passed that haze and is already enjoying their little one. Or most mommies maybe just don't want to scare the new mommies! But no joke!~ these past two months have been a mix of up's and down's, smiles and tears, and trial and error. But we've made it through! As we get to know our little Justin, there is one thing that always rings true and that is just how amazing he is. We love him so much and he doesn't even know it yet!

There was definitely something that happened right at the 2 month mark - Justin somehow grew up! He started showing the ability to sleep longer, with sparkles of 7 hr nights, but mostly 4-5 hour nights these days. He is actively smiling and recognizing Mommy and Daddy now, and his new favorite trick is sucking his fist! He has some strong legs and has been kicking himself in circles in his crib and on his play mat, and boy, is he a TALKER! it's too cute! He loves facetiming with Grandma and Grandpa Lie, and shows big smiles whenever he hears and sees their faces on my little dIphone screen. And as always, he's still proving to be a big, big eater. Just last week, he downed 7 oz. I was scared he would burst! We are now trying to figure out just what he wants at night when he cries, because he's displayed some ability to last really long between feedings...

Regardless, B and I are setting into parenthood now, thanks to time elapsing and the love, support, and advice of our family and friends. I really can't thank our dear friends and family enough for their support - it has been so helpful to just have other mommies to talk to, and to share questions or bounce ideas off of them. Even just hearing other experiences helps to feel that everyone goes through this, and it's not just us trying to figure out our little baby. a silent and resonating THANK YOU to all of you :) you know who you are.

So here is July! ! Justin has been keeping (us) busy, huh? 

(Photo candids of J from our cellphones - can you guess which one is the most recent?)

Justin grew rapidly this month, and is smiling a ton now when we talk to him. It's so cute! He likes having conversations during his happy time between eating and sleeping, and cooes regularly. For some reason, his favorite place is the changing table! Maybe it's because it's by a sunny window, but we have our most intense discussions there :)  He also recently discovered that he has hands! From stretching, scratching himself, and sucking on his fists vigorously, it's so cute watching this realization.

As for us, we have been getting the hang of this parent thing! It's so true, that each week just gets a little bit easier as baby Justin settles into his own little routine. We're up to 4 hours at a stretch of sleep at night, and more frequent day time naps! Now that he is up a bit more during the day, we are having so much fun getting to know our little J...

It's a bit less scary getting out of the house these days, so we hope to see more of you in July!!

Here is our photo summary of June!

December comes and goes so quickly - it's as if the entire year's social calendar is jam-packed into just a few weeks of holiday parties and meals. I love it! Eating in Asia was extra fun this year, thanks to Bean! While I tried not to over-do it, I definitely had more than three meals a day. Whoops! xP Belly bean has definitely grown, as you can see from this month's album.

Seeing family this year was extra special knowing what lies ahead for us this year. We know that we'll be relying on their experience and support this year, as we start a family of our own. I loved all of the little anecdotes I got from family and friends, including:

- Eat lots of cheese

- Drink lots of milk

- Eat one egg a day

- If you want to have a girl, eat sour things.

HAHA! Keep them coming!

Hope you had a wonderful, wonderful holiday season as well, and that this new year brings you many things to look forward to!

A few things linger after a fantastic vacation.

The laughs had and memories captured through photos. Time spent hugging your newly acquired pair of shoozies. Daily skype sessions from missing mummy again. And of course, the extra layers of blubber developed gently from a gelato-a-day and a week of carbs.

We've spent a lot of time in Europe this half of the year, but no city had the energy that Roma did. It's such an ancient city, and its old architecture inspires even the newer buildings to glamour and greatness. Our experiences in Roma were a perfect balance of food, culture, history, and shopping (!), and we got so lucky with the timing of the summer sales! wee! My daily guilty pleasure was a duo-scoop of gelato from Ciampini's, and my trip's guilty pleasure was 50% off shoes!  I loved walking around the streets with my family (those cobblestone ones are like natural reflexology when you're wearing flip flops!), sharing squeals of delight of another good purchase with mum, and my daily gelato with daddy.

On the coast, the pace was different, and everyone there treated us like family. When we left, we got gifted with parting gifts (most notable was the little Angeline doll my mum got wishing for a grandchild next year?) Super impressed with the drivers and their ability to navigate narrow cliff-side streets, and so envious of how they all live in their summer dresses and shorts all year around. You know you're on vacation when the biggest worry you have is what you're going to eat (fresh seafood galore), and when did I last reapply sunblock?! (Dru had "white face" syndrome most of the trip, haha) Amalfi had the most beautiful scenery I've ever experienced, and we can't wait to go back. It was seriously like waking up to a postcard every day - nothing more soothing than that! Thank you to my lovely fam-lie for 8 days of bliss!

I keep revisiting the photos and reminiscing, and then remember that with our great friends here in SF, life can be like a vacation here too.

Courtesy of Dru @ http://andrewlie.posterous.com

Winter 09 from Andrew Lie on Vimeo.

What an unforgettable year 2009 was, but I think both Brian and I are ready for a new year of fun and adventures as a married couple. We have lots of travel plans (in our heads) to act upon, new things to try, and above all, some couple resolutions.We just started our list, and the first one so far is -- watch less television. It's so odd that when we are out of town, even if we are hanging out in our rooms, the TV stays off! so we know it's possible..

And just as with any budding couple -- saving more money, spending less -- is also on the list, more so that we can fund our ambitious travel plans. hehehe. Help keep us honest!

Here is the December album filled with lots of family, food, and fun! My family flew in from Asia to spend christmas in Napa, and New Year's in Vegas. Unfortunately, every single one of us got sick during the last week of the year, and if there is any other resolution this year, it's to stay healthy!

Happy 2010!

Addendum: I had another thought that if my work travel allows this year, I'd really like to volunteer and give back to my community more. And maybe if I make that a couple activity, it'll be most likely to happen :)