Welcome to the world!

Sophie and I went to visit Wendy and her baby boy Ethan at the hospital today after dropping Lydia off at Mother's Day Off. Congratulations, Wendy, Nick, and big sister Kaitlin!

Me, Ethan, and Wendy

The proud daddy and his boy

What a cutie!

We'll miss you, Jade & Sieun!

Sieun, one of Lydia's best friends at Mother's Day Out, is moving back to Korea today. It's sad how Lydia doesn't know that she will probably never see Sieun ever again. :( We had a wonderful time getting to know Sieun and her mother, Jade; you both will be missed!

Sieun and Lydia at their last playdate

Sieun and Jade, all chalked up

2 Birthdays and a Girl's Night

We started Saturday off with breakfast tacos and pastries from Pablito's. Lydia had a muffin from which she only ate the chocolate chips on the top, while Sophie inhaled a pumpkin empanada.

Sophie sitting in a "big chair"

Yummy empanada

A few hours later we were headed to Henry and Susanna's house to celebrate Ethan's second birthday.

Susanna and I with our kids

All the kids from the party



Fun with Daddy after naptime

At six, we walked a few doors down to Khan and Hwa's house to celebrate Lana's third birthday. After enjoying authentic Vietnamese food, we put the girls to bed, and then I was off to the Melting Pot to have some fondue dessert.

The sunset on the way to pick up Wendy


Wendy, looking fabulous at 8.5 months pregnant and I enjoying the ying and yang dessert

Falkenstein Castle

I attended a party at Falkenstein Castle with a couple of friends Wednesday night. The sponsors of the party had a diversity of displays and activities like bungee jumping, henna drawings and water sliding; I had never seen anything like it even in my college days!

Falkenstein Castle at sunset

Rukaiya and I trying out toasted larvae, mine is still on my tongue

The perfect little place to hang out

Bungee jumping fun

Stay tuned for more pictures once my friend gets a chance to upload and send them to me.

My First Triathlon

For the last two months, I have been training for a triathlon. Initially I just wanted to get in shape, so I just joined Sarah and Ravel in their training sessions. I even threatened that if they asked me again to do the triathlon, I would no longer "train" with them. Well, three weeks before the event, I swam the required 800 meters without stopping and officially decided to do the triathlon; I even convinced Kyle to join that night via IM. Not only has this been a memorable experience, but I got to make some pretty cool friends.

Me, Kyle, Sarah, and Ravel before the triathlon...

and afterwards.

Yay, we did it.

Team Bruno (named for Kyle's cropped top)

A reenactment of our finish since our families arrived a bit too late.

Triathlon with kids

Some of the food Trung and I prepared at our after party. I made tri-berry cobbler in honor of the triathlon.

Three tanned triathletes

Adam and his "Asian girls"

Amy and Sophie

And now, for the Top Ten Triathlon Moments, drumroll please!

10. Swim Team - The nickname given to the young man who informed us how long the pool was. How did he know? "Because I'm in swim team".
9. Ravel borrowing Adam's sweaty and stinky helmet that he uses for his daily commute to work because his noggin was too big for all the other helmets.
8. According to Sarah and Ravel, me freaking out before the race and repeatedly stating how nervous I was
7. Sarah, Kyle, and I looking for the so-called sandy beach the first time we trained at Decker Lake, the site of the triathlon. All we really found was a small area with a sandy bottom.
6. Ravel and Kyle's triathlon tops that showed some tummy...can we say "Bruno"?
5. Sarah trying to determine the length of the swimming pool by counting the number of tiles.
4. Tall Kyle joining us for his first swim and finding that the water only came up to his waist.
3. Ravel needing assistance taking off his swim shirt before a run because it was nice and stuck on him
2. Kyle in the middle of telling Ravel and I how to get around Barton Springs when suddenly slipping on a rock and submerging himself underwater. *It's okay, we were already a couple feet in water.*
1. Finishing my first triathlon and having Trung say how proud he was of me. :)

A game, a spring, and a birthday

Just about every Friday night, we have a group of people come over to play Settlers of Catan or Seafarers of Catan, depending on how many people make it. We have everyone arrive around 7:30 PM, so both kids are already bathed and Sophie is in bed. Lydia watching a couple episodes of Sesame Street while we start the first game, and then we take a break around 9 so that Trung can put her to sleep. We've been doing this for several months now, and it's worked out quite well.

The entire Catan Clan finally trying out a new game.

In the morning we went to Zilker Park for some hot summer fun. Susanna, her mother, and Ethan joined us and got to enjoy the 68 degree water of Barton Springs for the first time. Afterwards, we ate at Shady Grove so that Trung and I could enjoy the green chile cheese fries on again.

Yay, Sophie can slide down all by herself now. It seems that the experience at Great Wolf Lodge has made her braver.


Water break for Ethan and his little love, Sophie.


Lydia swinging high with Daddy


Posing with Mommy


Enjoying the cool underground springs.


Is three really a crowd?

In the evening, we attended a surprise mini celebration for Maggie's 30th birthday. The kids had fun building blocks and running around, while the adults got tired just watching them (mainly Lydia). The delicious chicken and seafood skewer dinner was completed with an Oreo cookie ice cream cake...yum!


Taking down the castle that Lydia built all by herself



Teamwork


Future parents of America

Sophie knows to keep hydrated during this hot summer

Happy Birthday, Maggie; may this be the most memorable year yet!

Sophie and Trevor taking a step together

Ring around the Rosie

Fun times with our favorite lil' neighbor, Amy.

Sophie Stats

At Sophie's 15 month appointment, she weighed 17 pounds, 4 ounces, which is less than 5%tile for her age. Her height was 30.25" and head circumference was 45.6 cm, which are in the 45-50%tile, so it looks like she's going to be tall and skinny for awhile. The pediatrician thinks that Sophie is just petite, but just to make sure, we have an appointment next week with an endocrinologist. Hopefully everything will go well then and we don't have to be concerned about her size ever again, well, actually, so that the docs will finally be off her case because I know that she is totally fine.

Though Sophie may be tiny, she sure can throw a tantrum. Ever since she started teething last week, she's been very moody. When she doesn't have it her way or has something taken from her, she'll throw herself on the floor and start screaming and crying. *sigh* At least it comes in waves and she's her sweet self once again. Lately, the nursery rhyme of the little girl with the curl on her forehead comes to mind.

The sweetness that I love!

Endless fun "and night" at Great Wolf Lodge

We headed to Grapevine Saturday after lunch to meet Jimmy and his family. After a delicious dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, we went to Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor waterpark. Sophie had a really rough night, waking up at 12, 2:30, and finally at 6, so the adults, and especially me, did not sleep too well. Jason and Jocelyn slept through the crying, though Lydia stayed up with Sophie and I from 2:30-4. I walked around the resort with Sophie in my pajamas and glasses from 6-7:30 to give the rest of the family just a little bit more sleep. One resort employee felt bad for me and offered a glass of milk for Sophie...God bless him! Despite the sleepless night, we had a wonderful time playing in the water!

The family outside Great Wolf Lodge


The cool "log cabin" for the kids...


complete with bunk beds and paintings of forest animals playing cards.


The adult and Sophie side of the hotel room


Lydia on the lower bunk


Later replaced by Daddy



Sophie braving the tidal waves with Mommy


A bundled up Sophie, life jacket and all, with Aunt Cora


The Lee Family



Trung falling victim to water guns

Lydia having a blast going down the water slide

Sophie's turn


Fountain of sisters


Lydia and Daddy on the great fort



Goofying around during lunchtime


A different point of view


A beautiful way to end Independence weekend.

Goofy Old Self

Sophie has finally stopped teething and is back to her goofy old self again. I don't remember having a tough time with Lydia when she was cutting her molars, but then again, she didn't have canker sores at the same time either. For the last few days, Sophie only drank Pediasure and ate fruit; I was so worried because she is already so tiny as it is. Today she ate several mouthfuls of food, plenty of milk and lots of fruit; so she is definitely on her way to recovery. I just hope she's gain some weight by her 15 month visit next week. :/


Sophie playing postwoman, picking up and "delivering" packages.