ShellMar Photo

Baby Aidan is here!

2011-07-25T01:41:00.000-07:00

Newborns, oh sweet newborns-they are just the sweetest! Baby Aidan is here and I was so excited to capture this handsome little man. He is a very alert 9-day old baby and wow...he is born a model! I have never been with a newborn who smiled SO much and basically posed for the photos. I am a happy photographer :) Big brother E also loves baby Aidan and was happy to smile for me. Check out the photos of this precious baby and family below... R&M, enjoy!

Playdate with the R sisters

2011-04-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun today playing at the R sisters' house. They have so many toys to play with! They especially love the Barbie jeep. Wes still had fun (hmm...perhaps even more fun!), even though he was the only boy :) Hope we can do this more often in the summer.

Waiting for Aidan

2011-04-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to be asked by my good friends, R & M again to capture maternity pictures of their upcoming baby boy. M is looking radiant, and soon to be big brother E is as cute and as well behaved as ever, so it was a wonderful photo session for all. I can't wait to capture Aidan, with all his newborn gorgeousness! Here are some sneak peeks....

Grandparents' Love

2011-02-25T11:46:00.000-08:00

"A grandparent is a little bit parent, a little bit teacher, and a little bit best friend." ~Author Unknown

I had the privilege of spending time with the R family a couple weeks ago. Mr. and Mrs. R have just celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary in the past weekend. They are such a cute couple, and one could tell that they are still in love with each other even after all these years. I can only hope that David and I will be as happy a couple as they are in the future.

Mr. and Mrs. R have six grandchildren. Just look at them! Aren't they beautiful?! They adore each other. Their relationship reminds me of my relationship with my own grandparents. It's that special bond only shared between grandparents and grandkids. And of course, it also reminds me of the bond shared between my kids and my parents, who are arriving from Indonesia this evening. How grateful I am that they are able to experience this special relationship just like I did.

Anyways, without further ado, here are some of my favorite shots from the session. Enjoy!

Our chiquita

2011-02-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

We have been putting Kay in Spanish class at her preschool for about 2 months now. This class is wonderful and we are hoping that Kay can at least learn David's native language. The class is interactive, which is perfect for preschool kids. The teacher speaks Spanish from the moment they enter the class. Check it out...

Wes' Valentine experience

2011-02-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

I took Wes to his preschool type class today and he did quite well. He enjoyed painting the color red and made a Valentine bag. During circle time, he got tons of Valentine goodies from his friends. His favorites were the lollipop and the red windmill given by his teacher, Miss Mona.

Location Research

2011-02-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

I took Kay with me to do some location research for my Saturday's photo session. It's difficult to capture her lately since she started to adopt that "forced smile" look. Here are two somewhat decent shots of her.

Little Gymnast

2011-02-04T22:04:00.000-08:00

We decided to put Wes in a gymnastic class, seeing how active he is. I was a bit worried that he may not follow the class structure, but thankfully it has been working out OK. I have had to drag him a few times while he was doing his typical minor tantrums, but so far it hasn't been too bad. He had fun most of the time, which is great. Check out a few moves of our little gymnast below. It's actually pretty cute :)

Universal Studios with Tia Doris

2011-01-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

Tia Doris and Joel were going to return to Honduras on Sunday night, 1/30 so we decided to send them off by going to Universal Studios the day before. It was a fun day for everyone! Surprisingly, Tia Doris was quite daring as she rode on basically all of the rides that we had time for, including the scary rollercoaster type ones! Since we had young kids with us, we couldn't go to too many rides. We watched the Waterworld and Animal Show, as well as Shrek. We also rode on the tram and watched that awesome 3D King-Kong vs T-Rex extravaganza! Even though it was his 3rd time watching this, Wes was quite scared this time around. Kay, on the other hand, had started to like it. Afterwards, we all went to Souplantation to have dinner. We barely had time to chat before having to go home since it was getting very late for the kids. We said goodbye to Tia Doris and Joel, and hope to see them return here very soon!

Jaws on the tram ride

Wes with Uncle Joel

The Waterworld show

Sisters

The lovely view of the valley

A very cool orangutan at the animal show

Dinner at Souplantation

Kay with Tia Meli

The New Goby

2011-01-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day Kay started her new swimming class (Goby). Miss B said she did very well. It's so cool to see how far she's progressed. She seriously swims better than me! :) Look at her go at it with her free-style hand movement now...She also has to move her legs on the back float. So proud of our little fish girl!

Mr. Wes

2011-01-26T22:49:00.001-08:00

I was about to be on my way to take Mr. Wes to music class today when I saw him dressed in his new blue guitar shirt. He looks so cute in it and I just had to take some shots! I would normally just snap it with my phone but with the nice overcast going on, I ran upstairs and grabbed my good camera. We only had a few minutes so only 2 of them came out decent. Here is Mr. Wes...

Smart Progress

2011-01-25T14:31:00.000-08:00

I was anxious today as I took Wes to his first day of preschool-type class offered by the city. He was sick last week so he didn't get to go. From what I observed last week, the class was structured and I was closed to dis-enrolling Wes, thinking that I may not be able to control him (considering his awful, frequent temper tantrum lately). But after chatting with one of the moms there, she encouraged me to give Wes a chance. So I did, and I'm glad that I stuck with it.

Wes did pretty well. He was manageable (only resisting a few minor times), and participated in most of the activities. Today, we learned the letter "W", the color brown, and number 3. He liked to paint (though I personally didn't since it's so darn messy) and he didn't resist too much when we had to go inside after the playground time. To my amazement, he liked Cheez-It during snack time (usually he only goes for Oreos or Pringles). Overall, I'm relief that he did well. He is going to turn 3 in a few months, and this is a good prep class for him before the real preschool. Yay, Wesley!

Wes in his "brown" outfit (color of the day)

His "W" hand stamp

His favorite activity (painting)

The Graduate

2011-01-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

After 9 months in the beginner (Frogs) level swimming class, Kay graduated to the next level (the Gobies). Yay!! It took her a while to master the back float but as you can see in the picture, she finally did! According to the certificate, she is "relaxed in the water and swims a short distance comfortably. She is able to perform a prone float, glide, and glide with kicks. She can kick on the noodles and swim on her back from the wall with minimal assistance."

I took her to the mall and she picked a Hello Kity necklace, bracelet, and ring from the Sanrio store for her well-deserved accomplishment.

Here comes the new Goby! :) We are so proud of her!!

Youthful museum

2011-01-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today we met up with Loraine, Aaron, and Matthew at the Chino Youth Museum. This is such a fun place for the kids. Especially for Kay, she truly enjoys hanging out with her friends vs. playing there by herself. Loraine and I also had a great time catching up while the kids played.

Matthew had just started walking last week so it was fun to see him walking around today. So cute!

Castle Park

2011-01-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

We love this small amusement park! It's sooo...close to our house (about 15 minutes) and has tons of rides that the kids can ride on. Plus, we barely have to wait for any rides so we hit all of the rides within a few hours. Such a gem! Of course, it can't replace Disneyland, but if we only have limited time (and energy!), this place would certainly do!

Kay saw silly hats at one of the stands and begged us to buy it. It looks so cute on her!

Here are a few clips I took today....

Check out the crazy 360-degree loop ride that my daring husband took... I wouldn't ride this, even if someone were to pay me! Then again, I'm a chicken when it comes to these things. No wonder Kay is such a scaredy cat (sigh...)

Easy Saturday

2011-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty relaxing Saturday this weekend. David and I decided to start the day with a homemade pancake. Yummy! It tasted soo...much better than the boxed one, even than the restaurants' ones! I added a corned-beef potato mixture with scrambled eggs to complete this meal. We then relaxed for a while at home.

We ended up going to the mall afterwards. It was Kayleen's first time using a booster seat that Aipo bought her a while ago. She absolutely loves it. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

TGIF

2011-01-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

Yay...it's Friday! While Kay went to school in the morning, I took tante Iin and Wesley to go shopping at the LE outlet. We got some great deals there. In the afternoon, the piano tuner came over to tune our piano. Apparently we have to have it tuned every 6 months for the first 2 years since our piano is brand new and needs to have its strings to be properly stretched out. Take a look at the inside of the piano below. It's pretty cool! Our piano sounds especially good after the tuning.

I then took Kay for her swimming lesson at 4PM. She has been taking lessons since April 2010 but started with this particular teacher, Miss B, in October. This teacher is fantastic and I've seen significant improvement since then. She said that Kay would probably graduate soon to the next level, if only she can be more comfortable with her back float, as you can see in the video clip below. Otherwise, she is quite comfortable with the water and I really hope that she can swim by the summer.

In the evening, I tried a new recipe, courtesy of our housecleaning service. It's a husband and wife team, and they are from Austria. The food is called Kartoffelgulasch, which is basically sausages and potatoes in a red stew-like sauce. The red color is from paprika and I got to put marjoram, which is an herb that I've never used before. When I first tasted it, it was somewhat bland to me so I added some chili powder and chicken stock. The result was quite a yummy dish, that was happily devoured by David and me.

New Year's Eve 2010

2010-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

We didn't do anything exciting for New Year's eve. David had to work but he was able to leave early. Oom Sulis and his family, who were vacationing here from Indo, came to visit us at our house. It was a nice visit.

After the kids slept, David and I just relaxed and watched TV as the countdown began. Per papa's instructions, we opened the doors to welcome the new year and "let in all the blessings" :) I made up a short list of a few goals that I'd like to achieve in the new year. One of the goals is to blog more often to document all the wonderful little moments of our daily lives. As you can see, so far so good! I sure hope I can keep this up :)

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day 2010

2010-12-25T23:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! This Christmas has been quite hectic for us since Tante Iin took a few days off to be with her family and went to Vegas. Soo...it was just us and the kids, which kept us very busy the whole time.

Our house is nicely decorated with Pottery Barn Christmas decorations. Check out the personalized stockings over the fireplace :) We only have a small tree this year because we plan to get a big tree during the after-Christmas sale. Regardless, I think it's pretty festive and certainly put us in a jolly Christmas spirit. To their delight, the kids woke up and found tons of presents under the tree. After breakfast, we opened the presents. Kayleen got the Toy Story 3 stuff animal characters, which she requested. She also got a purse with accessories, scarf and gloves set, play jewelry, and books. Wes got a toy helicopter, airplane, remote-controlled car, racing car set, and books. They had a lot of fun opening and playing with the presents.

David and I didn't give any big presents to each other, just a few small things like books by our favorite authors, favorite DVDs (Shrek and Eclipse from the Twilight series), and a gorgeous (and very functional!) 6" chef knife by Shun from Williams-Sonoma for Sheila hehe...

Afterwards, we went to Northridge to be with Aie and family. We had a lot of fun eating great food and opening tons of presents. It was a wonderful day for all!

Christmas play at Preschool

2010-12-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Kay came home excitedly and told me that there will be a Christmas play at her school. And guess what, mommy, she said...I want to be a sheep! I chuckled and told her...why not picking a bigger role such as Mary or the angel? She insisted and said...No, I want to be a sheep! Well, a sheep she was for the play :) The chapel was packed to the max that night and everything went well. Kay was a great sheep indeed, and we were very proud of her :)

Here she was backstage before changing to her sheep costume...

And here is our little sheep!

Tia Doris' Visit

2010-12-10T22:37:00.000-08:00

It's been 12 years since I last saw Tia Doris and her family so it was such a treat to see her again today. On Thursday, she arrived here from Honduras with her son, Joel. And today, papi and mami took her and Joel to visit our house. She has not changed much since I last saw her...still beautiful, looks young, and as sweet as ever. But Joel has changed soo...much since we last saw him. He is no longer "Joelito" since he is now a 17-year old man, totally different from the 5-year old little boy I remember when we visited Honduras 12 years ago! We hung out at our house, then went to have a barbecue dinner nearby. It was a lovely evening.

Christmas card family photo session

2010-11-14T21:00:00.000-08:00

We decided to ask my brother to take our family pictures for the Christmas card this year. To make it easier for everyone (especially the kids), we selected a nearby park to do it. I must say that it was THE most challenging session we've ever done for our family Christmas card. It was difficult to have the kids look at the camera (at the right moment), AND asking them to smile. Plus, Wes had a meltdown a few times, which made it even more difficult. Really...my kids are THE most difficult kids to take pictures of! Thank goodness, we were able to get a few decent shots. Let's just say that my Photoshop skills also came in very handy ;) Enjoy the pictures below...

Behind the scenes pictures:

The kids were not looking (50%)

Funny/blank looks (25%)

Wes having a meltdown (24.5%)

SUCCESS RATE: 0.5% (Aaaghh...!!!)

A few shots I liked but didn't make it on the card:

This is the final card...

The importance of little moments

2010-11-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

I brought Wesley with me when I dropped Kay at school today. Afterwards, we went to the park across from school and played there for a while. One thing I dislike is Wesley throwing a tantrum everytime it's time to go home. It's so frustrating having to carry a crying, struggling, heavy toddler! Hope this unpleasant period ends soon. When we got home, we took a short walk around the neighborhood. Wesley LOVES the fallen leaves. He was so fascinated by them and kept picking them up, crunching them, and examining them in great details. As always, he stopped by our neighbor's house to play with the red rocks that are scattered on their front yard. I love these moments of spending time with him!

At 2 yrs 8 months, Wesley is still drinking a lot of milk (like 5-6 bottles a day!) and refused to do it with a zippy cup. He was allergic to cow's milk up until a few weeks ago. We are slowly transitioning him to cow's milk. But the real issue is that he is very picky with solid food so he doesn't eat a lot of it and ends up needing a lot of milk. Right now, he lives on these few things...french fries, chicken nuggets, chicken noodle soup, hot dog, Ritz cracker, cereal, bacon, Oreo cookies, and Yoshinoya rice...that's it! He doesn't like regular rice, bread, ice cream, cookies, and many other things that typical kids would like. I wanted to document this so that when he gets over this picky-ness, I can look back and be grateful! Anyhow, he also has this interesting habit of rubbing the back of your arms while drinking his milk or trying to go to sleep. Below are some shots of him doing just that with me when drinking his milk. He loves to pick and pick on your arm until he can't find any more bumps/scabs or whatever else he finds. So strange, yet so endearing at the same time.

Around 3:30pm, I took Kay to the Yamaha piano class. She loves this class. It's a group class for ages 4-6. The teaching starts them on keyboard first and has a lot of singing, listening, and rhythmic movements. Kayleen is doing so well and is now able to play a few simple songs on the keyboard while following the music. She's come a long way and pretty soon she'll be able to play the actual piano. I'm so proud of her! Take a look at a short clip of her playing the keyboard...

Strange week

2010-11-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

It's been a strange week with a few misfits... Today I had to go to my neighbor's house in my old neighborhood because I had sent out my print photo order to my old address. Apparently I didn't change my address information in my account. Plus, I found out that we had no drinking water today. Lovely....A technician came to change the filter yesterday and somehow managed to make our drinking water disappear. In addition, David bought me a nice wireless headset for my cellphone so I can comfortably make calls while on the road. It was supposed to be one of the best ones in the market so it shouldn't be too difficult to set up, right? Right, it was easy to set up except that it was somehow defective. I spent 30 minutes on the phone with the company troubleshooting the issue and concluded at the end that it was indeed defective. Sigh...

Thankfully, despite all of these unpleasantness, the kids behaved relatively well (except for the 15-minute meltdown of Wesley and Kayleen when we pulled them away from the technician who tried to fix our water, but that's minor compared to everything else!). After my running/driving around and the kids' nap, I took the kids out to the library so they won't go crazy at home. But what do you know...the library is CLOSED because it's Veteran's day (aaaagh....!!). I had to take them somewhere else to prevent the second meltdown of the day, so I took them to a nearby park. It was getting a little dark but the kids had fun for a little bit. They got to run around, played on the slides, and rode the little horses. The day didn't end badly and I'm glad the week is almost over.

Fine Motor Skills

2010-11-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to share that Wes is starting to acquire the fine motor skills. Below is a little video clip of him cutting a piece of paper. He is 2.5 years old and you can see how he is compared to Kay, who is now quite comfortable holding the scissors and cutting. We need to continue practicing but I think he is well on his way :)

Playdate with Miss C's

2010-11-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful playdate with Kayleen's old Gymboree friends today. The two Miss C's and their mommy came over our house. They had a slight detour on their way here since I mistakenly gave them the wrong direction (telling them to go West vs. East, duh..I felt so bad!). This was the first time they visited our new house so we gave them a little tour. Kay had a great time playing dress-up with Catherine, and I had a nice catch-up time with Maria. Wes tried to join-in once in a while, and Charlotte curiously explored her new surroundings. They went home around 2 o'clock. Hope we get to do this again soon! Check out these girls, aren't they so cute?!

Try to be Better

2010-11-09T15:29:00.001-08:00

I spent a few hours last night reading my past blog entries and I really enjoyed it! I especially love the entries about the kids. They grow up so fast that it's wonderful to be reminded of the little moments that made up their lives at that point. Well, I'm sorry that I missed a whole year of it this past year but I will try to be better. It would be such a nice memento for our family if I keep this up. We'll see :)

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Christmas session with the R family

2010-11-08T23:46:00.000-08:00

Geez...looks like it's been a year since I updated this blog! Tons of things had happened, mostly we had been very busy with moving to our new house and getting settled in the new area. Before we know it, Christmas is almost here again! And I have the pleasure once again, to capture my most faithful client...the R family. Miss E is now 4 and Miss H is 2. How time flies! Take a look at this beautiful family...they are the perfect model family! Good looking and very cooperative. Sigh...a photographer's dream I tell you :) M & M, enjoy the photos!

Adorable Baby G

2009-11-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

Baby G was three days away from being three months old when I had the pleasure to capture him. His beautiful mommy was my previous co-worker whom I kept in touch with for the past three years. This age is so fun to capture and baby G was no exception. Although he was a bit cranky due to a lack of nap that day, we were able to capture his adorable smiles and personality :) In fact, it was perfect because we were also able to capture a few sleeping poses that are usually very difficult to get past the newborn stage. L & C, enjoy the sneak peek!

Family Beach Day

2009-10-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to once again capture Baby E, who is now almost 6 months old. He is as adorable as ever, and growing up so fast! This time around, he is accompanied by all of R's lovely family. E's grandma, aunties, uncle, and cousins were all there to have fun with him. This time, R & M chose the beach, which was just perfect for the occasion. Sand, water, rocks...what could be better?! :) Here are a few for a sneak peek. Enjoy!

Old Friends

2009-09-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

What a pleasure it was to capture a friend's kids, but even more so when they are of friends you grew up with :) My parents knew A's parents since they were kids so I basically met him when we were babies. We often hung-out when we were growing up. On the other hand, I met E in the elementary school, and we continued to keep in touch when I came to the US after junior high in 1989. E's family moved to the US a few years later and again, we continued to keep in touch. A & E met for the first time at my wedding in 1997. A few years later, I "reintroduced" them again by giving E's email to A who lived in Canada at the time. Apparently sparks flew and the rest is history :) David and I traveled to Canada in August 2003 for their wedding.

Here are some shots of T and N taken at E's family's house while they were visiting from Canada. T is almost 3 and E is 4.5 months old. Aren't they just precious! Well, A & E, I hope our kids continue this long lasting friendship with each other. Enjoy the pictures!

Fun Cake Smashing Session!

2009-08-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

It's always great to capture repeat clients, especially when they are so cute and cooperative :) Sister E & H are going to celebrate their 3rd and 1st birthday soon, and I was lucky enough to be asked to capture these important milestones. And boy...was it a fun session! We had tutus, princess crowns, boas, and to top it all off...a cake smashing session! Super cute and yum...yum! M, M, & D enjoy the pictures :)

Handsome Baby K

2009-07-08T02:55:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of capturing yet another newborn, Baby K, who is the brother of a previous little girl client of mine, Sweet S. Baby K was 10 days old when I did his session and he was the perfect newborn client--sleeping almost the entire time! It was glorious to be able to pose him any which way and got those beautiful sleeping poses. He was also so very cute and cooperative when he was awake. In addition, I was able to capture some nice shots of Sweet S and the S family. C & C, enjoy the sneak peek :)

Sweet 60th Surprise Party

2009-05-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

I had fun capturing Miss P's mom's (Mrs. M) 60th surprise birthday party. What a party to remember! Great food, fun people, and gorgeous decorations... Mrs. M looks beautiful and she seriously doesn't look her age. Her reaction when she first arrived at the party? Priceless! This party is sure to be the memories she'll treasure forever. Thanks Miss P, for asking me to be part of this precious family moment. Enjoy the pictures...

Sweet Baby E

2009-04-26T02:34:00.000-07:00

It's so exciting whenever I get a chance to capture both maternity and newborn photos of the same client, especially if the client is a dear friend of mine. For a few months, I was impatiently waiting for the arrival of Baby E; buying way too many things in order to capture beautiful newborn photos. I haven't done many newborns so this opportunity was especially wonderful. Finally, Baby E arrived on March 29th, weighing 8lb 2oz and 20 inches long. I came over to take his photos when he was about 2 weeks old. M's family was there from Canada so we were able to take some group shots as well. Baby E was a bit excited during that time, so I came again a week later to take more detailed and "sleepy" shots. Check out this handsome little guy! R&M, enjoy your sneak peek :)

A few fave shots

2009-04-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a few favorite shots I took of Kayleen's little friends. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by cute "models"! :)

Valentines

2009-02-12T23:28:00.000-08:00

Just wishing all of you a very Happy Valentines Day! Enjoy each precious moment with your loved ones :)

Video Clips of Wes

2009-02-12T23:05:00.000-08:00

Check out these two recent clips of Wes...one with his sweet giggling and the other one showing his "walking" using the furniture. Probably not much longer to walk by himself....

Giggling

Furniture-Walking

Playdate

2009-01-30T02:03:00.000-08:00

Kayleen and I were invited for a playdate at the C's house. Aaron and L were also invited. It was a lot of fun for both mommy and kids! Thank you Ms. A and CT! Here are a few fun shots...

The H Family

2009-01-16T05:43:00.000-08:00

I was pleased to meet the H Family who was referred to me by Miss P--thanks Miss P!! :) I had fun photographing them, especially Baby K, who is absolutely precious. Such a nice and beautiful family! Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy the sneak peek, S&E...

Maternity of the L Family

2009-01-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

I had the honor of capturing the maternity photos of my dear friend's wife. She looks absolutely glowing and beautiful. Coincidentally, her mom was visiting from Canada so we were able to take some photos with her as well. What a refreshing change it was for me to take photographs without having to chase around the subject :) The subjects sat still the whole time, followed directions willingly, and truly wanted to be in the pictures! I just love it! :) Below are a few favorites. R&M, enjoy your sneak peek!

Holiday pics of The R Family

2008-12-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of photographing the R family again for the holiday. It was a little more challenging this time, getting the attention of two young children! Little Miss E is getting cuter each time, and Miss H is such a pretty baby. They are absolutely precious! This is indeed a beautiful family. M&M, enjoy your sneak peek :)

Handsome J and Beautiful Ms. P

2008-12-04T02:16:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love photographing good looking people... :) I had a great time hanging out with J and Ms. P. The dogs were great as well, until the little one decided to jump into the lake to chase after the ducks (which basically ended the session!). Thankfully, I already got some good ones at that point. I really love late afternoon shots....the lights are just perfect. Take a look at my favorites...

The N big Family

2008-12-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

Wow...it's been a while since I updated this blog! It's been very busy for me, with general life stuff and a few holiday photo sessions. I recently had the privilege of photographing the N family. It's a family with super cute kids, twins, good looking folks, and 4 generations. The great grandma is a lovely lady who is 85 years old! We did the session in the morning at a lovely park nearby. Interestingly enough, the park was on fire in that same afternoon and was closed the whole week! Thank goodness...I truly believe that the session was meant to happen. Here are a few of my favorites...

My SIL Family

2008-11-09T01:53:00.000-08:00

I recently did a mini photo session of my sis-in-law's family. Her parents are absolutely adorable! And of course...my brother and sis-in-law are cute as well. I had fun taking these pictures! Check them out :)

Nanny-Part IX

2008-11-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked me about the latest nanny. Thankfully, Tante L seems to work out pretty well. She works hard and is good with the kids. She doesn't have a crazy boyfriend and has not gone MIA after her weekend off. Interestingly, my parents also know her family in Indo. Soo...so far so good. I'm hopeful that you won't be reading colorful nanny stories anytime soon hehe....

Trick or Treat

2008-10-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Halloween. Kayleen and Wesley really enjoyed trick or treating around the neighborhood. Unlike Kayleen last year, Wes didn't cry at all and seemed to enjoy the ride. As you can see, David decided to carve pumpkins this year. We were all really impressed by the results so of course I had to take pictures of them. I think David found his hidden talent!! :) Check out that last pumpkin... Please excuse the non-stellar quality of the pictures--night photography is not my thing!

Kayleen and the boy next door

2008-10-23T01:49:00.000-07:00

We went to the park and saw N, the little boy we'd seen frequently at the park for the past 2 years. He is about 2 months younger than Kayleen. We haven't seen him for a few months so we were surprised to see how big he's gotten. He is much more outgoing than Kayleen, and enthusiastically took Kayleen's hands and lead her everywhere around the playground. Kayleen wasn't sure at all about this boy (as you can see from her face hehe...) but amazingly she didn't run away rom him. Here are some shots of them...

Don't Vote

2008-10-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Love this youtube video I just watched... Tons of celebrities. There ARE some profanities in this, so please don't watch it if you are under 17 or easily offended :)

Sweet Tiny Miss H

2008-10-06T00:36:00.000-07:00

The R Family's baby had arrived, and I had the pleasure of capturing this precious newborn. I must say that Tiny Miss H is one of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen! She was almost 2 weeks old when I photographed her. Isn't she just precious?! M&M&D, enjoy your sneak peek! :)

Shower cap

2008-10-04T22:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a snapshot of Kayleen in a shower cap. Isn't she cute? Hehe... It's a convenient way to make sure that her hair doesn't get wet during those "non-shampoo" days....

Family Practice

2008-10-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Practicing on my sister-in-law the other day...isn't she lovely? :) We also finally convinced my brother to join in. He doesn't like pictures but I got him hehe..... Great looking couple, aren't they?!

Sporty Wes

2008-10-03T02:53:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post this super cute picture of my 6-month old little boy. He looks so cute and sporty in that new outfit and hat! :)

Nanny-Part VIII

2008-10-03T02:01:00.000-07:00

I interviewed another nanny yesterday. An agent brought her to our house. She came with her husband and we really liked her. Let's call her Tante L. She was an Indo lady from Surabaya, 54 years old, and been here for 7 years. Had 3 grown-up kids in Indo and could speak English since she had worked for Americans. She also had extensive experience as a nanny and was with the families for a long period of time. Everything sounded great so we hired her and she started yesterday.

Even on the first night (which she hasn't officially "started" yet), she already helped me washed the pile of dishes and practically cleaned the kitchen. Kayleen also immediately taken to her because she made an effort to play and talk to her. Wes wasn't here with us since he was with my parents at their new house so I couldn't really judge how well she was with him.

We felt comfortable with her and so far, so good.... We are "cautiously" happy (for now).

Nanny-Part VII

2008-09-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

So, it's 13 days since Lady C started and guess what...we are nanny-less again as of today! Yup...I can't even begin to tell you how annoyed, upset, angry, stressed out, and overall slightly amused I am with the whole situation!! I could write a book on this whole nanny thing...

Lady C was working out OK for the 12 days she was working with us. Yes, she was SssLlllOoooWWW... (as in rated 3 on an intelligence scale of 10), but at least she had a great attitude, worked hard, and was pretty good with the kids. I was willing to overlook the fact that I had to tell her 10-20 times about things before she picked it up (big sigh...). How the heck did she manage to be a good nanny for that family I talked to, I wondered. But we all have our weakness right....

So, Friday (September 26th) came around and it was time for her weekend off. I paid her salary. Her husband picked her up. We met him and chatted with him. And off she went. Sunday night came around and no Lady C (not a call either). I called and called and couldn't get through. Her things were still here so I thought there might be a very good explanation why she didn't show up (e.g. both she and her husband got into an accident and couldn't call, etc.). But as the night progressed, I had the suspicion that she just sort of ran away from us.

David had to take the day off to help me out since my parents were at their new house in Corona. Finally, in the morning, the call got through to her husband, and he said that Lady C "had already worked somewhere else". What?? I was really upset! I told him that I really could care less if she wanted to quit. I mean, I wouldn't really want anybody to be forced working for me, would I?! But what's up with the "no telling" part? Even her stuff were still here! Geez...! Her husband said that Lady C didn't like the food here (uhmm...she ate like a pig everytime we cooked and gushed how much she liked it) and she also missed her TV's soap opera (well, she came here to WORK, NOT hang out at a friend's house for goodness sake!!). Her husband also had the nerve to say that if that other gig didn't work out (since Lady C was on a 1-week trial at that other place), he would take her back to us. YEAH, would LOVE to have her back @#$@%^!

We were completely dumbfounded with the whole thing... This really came from left field because Lady C always acted "happy" and in fact, stated that she was happy (that hypocrite!). What upset me was not because she quit on us (I'm getting used to this whole on and off nanny), but because she didn't tell us that she wanted to quit. What is WRONG with people?! Why can't I get a decent nanny?!

Nanny-Part VI

2008-09-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

Right before we left for Baby Kel's visit, the agency called and had me talked to a potential nanny. She sounded great on the phone so I asked her to come in for an interview, let's call her Tante M. Judging from the record so far, Lady C could very well be a 1-day nanny so I wanted to make sure that I had a back-up plan!

Tante M showed up at 5PM in hot pink tight pants, huge earrings and necklace, a very "bling" jewelry watch, and a huge LV bag. Hmmmm....was she planning to apply for a boutique sales rep position I wondered... After a few introductory questions & answers (about 5 minutes), Tante M asked when she could get started. Whoa...hold your horses, lady, I thought! Don't get ahead of yourself! She was quite good, however. I was carrying Wes at the time and he started to fuss. She swiftly took him from me, rocked him back and forth, and within 5 minutes was able to put him to sleep. My mom and I were quite amazed because Wes is usually quite particular with his sleeping habit. Tante M was very "dominant" throughout the whole interview. At the end, we told her that we had just hired Lady C, but of course, given our recent experience, we might need a nanny in a few weeks (or days). Tante M told us that she would wait until this coming Sunday, in case Lady C didn't work out. Our impression of Tante M was that she was a very capable lady but that we might have issues with her dominant personality (i.e. fighting with me, for example).

Lady C showed up at 8P. She thoughtfully brought us a few cucumbers. We were all excited and had high hopes for Lady C... How cool would it be if Kayleen and Wesley could start speaking Spanish! Yay!

Relative's Baby Visit

2008-09-16T22:25:00.000-07:00

My parents and I decided to visit Baby Kel and Pakme today. Baby K was 3 months old, only 3 months younger than Wes, but Wes looked soo...much bigger than him. Pakme could only hold Wes for a very short time hehe... Below are some fun pics from the visit...

Nanny-Part V

2008-09-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I interviewed a few people for the nanny yesterday and today. Yesterday, one person came from the Pennysaver Ad. She was a petite Mexican lady, 42 years old--let's call her Lady C. Had experience as a long-time nanny for 2 family. She also brought a folder filled with pictures of her and the kids she took care of and the 2 letters of recommendations. Wow, very organized, professional, and impressive! We really liked her.

David and I then went to the agency and interviewed two ladies. Both of them did not want to sleep with me and the baby in the same room. Well, we didn't have any other room in the house, soo...they were out. Today, another person came from the Pennysaver Ad. She was a lady from Guatemala, 43 years old, and very heavy set. She brought a friend (who also actively participated in the interview, which I found annoying), and asked whether it would be ok to watch the Spanish novela (soap opera). Hmmmm....not sure about that. We could just picture her strapping Kayleen and Wes on their chairs, while she watches that when we're not home!

Sadly, even though we received over 30 messages of interest from the Pennysaver, only 2 were worthy to be interviewed. Many of them did not speak English, some were too young (19 yrs old!) or too old (67 yrs old!), some already found a job, and some did not want to live-in (even though I clearly specified that in the ad...hmmph!).

Basically, the only choice we had at that point was Lady C. I called her refence, which was a local family with 2 children. The lady I spoke to raved about Lady C, which made me feel very happy. I called Lady C right away to extend the offer and she accepted--yay!! She will come tomorrow night and start work on Wednesday. Please oh please...let her be the one!!!

F&B Wedding

2008-09-13T04:14:00.000-07:00

My mom and I attended a wedding of my old church friend at the Arboretum in Pasadena. It was fun because we got to dress up for the occasion. Did you like my haircut? I didn't do it for this event but it's the first time I took a picture of it :) David, my dad, and Iie A Pung (who did our hair & make-up) stayed home to take care of the kids (hehe...). It was a beautiful wedding! There were tons of peacocks roaming around the place. The bride & groom were cute. They did a swing dance type of routine for the first dance. The food was delicious. It was Chinese food from Newport Seafood (yum, yum). One interesting thing to note about the food....they have a whole section of vegetarian food. I didn't try those but they had interesting names such as Peking Duck-less, Mongolian Beef-less, Soy Salmon, etc. I also met my friend from long time ago, whom I haven't seen for probably 10 years. She was with her husband and son. Below are some pics from the wedding. We missed the whole ceremony so these are only from the reception.

Nanny-Part IV

2008-09-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

So we are "nanny-less" AGAIN as of today :( I really liked Nanny #4--she was efficient, learned fast, was good with the kids, understands English, and was quite a nice person. I started to get quite comfortable with this nanny. In fact, I started to think that she was getting to the level of my old beloved nanny (i.e. able to multi-task, be trusted with 2 kids, etc.).

Well, enter the "weirdness" factor....AN OBSESSIVE BOYFRIEND. Let's call him PB, short for "Psycho Boy". No, I'm NOT exaggerating...You must read on to agree that this person deserves this nickname. I met PB on the day we hired our nanny at the agency. He seemed normal enough so I didn't think anything of it. In fact, I was kind of happy because he is this Mexican guy and has that Latin connection with David.

I guess PB kind of freaked out that he wouldn't be seeing my nanny for 2 weeks since she was supposed to be off every other weekend. My nanny did admit (after I hired her) that this guy is a VERY jealous person. He is jealous with E V E R Y B O D Y (real and imagined). If someone at the store looks at my nanny, he is jealous. If my nanny is talking to ANY guy (whether old or young), he is jealous. When David heard this, he nearly laughed becasue the lady isn't exactly a beauty queen. Anyway, she also admitted that PB was abusive toward her (i.e. had beat her, etc.)--umm...why she was still with him is a question that she really couldn't answer. If she weren't that good of a nanny, I probably would've let her go because I seriously didn't want to get involved. But I wanted to give her a chance and really hoped that this problem wouldn't be a hindrance to her good work thus far.

So, anyhow, PB obsessively started calling my nanny on her cellphone (like every 20 minutes), and when she didn't answer, he started to call my house, even at 10:30 AT NIGHT when the kids were sleeping (what the @#$!#$?!!)

Below are a few examples of my conversation with PB... I was seriously getting upset for having to talk to him so often. My nanny asked me to do that because PB did not trust her at all and wanted "proof" that she was telling the truth by having me validate it for him. What a dysfunctional relationship!@#$

1. Could he please drop off some "important" stuff for her? Like the $1.25 bus card that he bought for her and just HAD to give it to her that day. Umm...NO!!! My policy is not to allow people dropping by on and off to our place, unless it's critical and cannot wait until the nanny's time off. Honestly, he only wanted to do this to check up on her (my nanny told me that). And I sure as heck DID NOT want some psycho guy to be coming over my house!!

2. How about phone calls, he asked? I said, sure, but within reason. I told him that I had to let the other 2 nannies go because they were doing too many personal phone calls during work hours. He can call her AT HER CELLPHONE at night (after work) or in the morning (before work). And PLEASE DO NOT CALL MY HOUSE ever again if my nanny doesn't answer his calls--I made that quite clear to PB. I also told my nanny that if he did that again, I would have to let her go.

3. How about allowing my nanny to go out at night? H*LL NO! See reason #1. This is a LIVE-IN position. She was WORKING here, not hanging out at her friend's house, for goodness sake!

So we had a few days of "quiet" time without PB interfering with our routine. My nanny called him at 5AM every morning and 9PM every night and talked for 2 hours each time.

Until yesterday...I went with the kids and my nanny to Corona to pick up my parents. My nanny gave a call from PB to me because apparently he didn't believe that she was there with me. He accused her of going back to work with her old boss (whom he was very jealous of; the old boss is like my nanny's SON's age for goodness sake!). I grudgingly talked to PB and I thought that was that. When we were going home in the evening, I got a call from David who was home from work saying that he saw a plastic bag of stuff at our door (like soap, shampoo, etc.). I knew immediately that it must have been PB who dropped that stuff off.

PB confirmed that it was indeed him who did that and claimed that he just wanted to drop by so he could inform my nanny of the bus schedule since she was leaving for the weekend the next day. David and I were sooo..angry!@# We explicitly told this guy that he was not to come to our house and he did. He did this blatantly, and he knew that we were not home. At that moment, we decided that it was just not safe to keep this nanny around. What if PB showed up while we were out (the nanny with the kids) and asked to come in? This lady had not been able to stand up for herself so far and it was doubtful to us that she would anytime soon. It was also obvious that this psycho had no regard whatsoever to whatever we asked him not to do.

So we told the nanny that today (Friday) was to be her last day. I was going to take her home to her daughter's house at 5PM. I told her how sorry I was to do this because I really, really liked her. I also told her that I was very concerned for her safety. One of my previous coworkers actually got killed by her abusive husband last year and left her 3 young kids abandoned :( My nanny just cried and kept saying that she was sorry for all the trouble PB had caused us.

I decided to call my nanny's daughter, just to make sure that she knew of the dangerous situation her mom was in. I had met her daughter when I picked up my nanny on her first day of work. It wasn't until I talked to her daughter that I got the shocking full story...She said that she had tried several times to help her mom get away from PB, however, her mom KEPT COMING BACK to him (Huh?! Eeekkk....!!). One time, her mom just sort of disappeared (no phone calls, no notifications) while she was working as a nanny elsewhere. Her daughter was very worried, tore through her belongings, found PB's address, and asked the police to bring her mom home. PB and her mom showed up at the daughter's place for about 5 minutes, then left again TOGETHER. Police couldn't really do anything because the mom claimed she had not been harmed and then willingly left with PB again. Another time, the daughter picked her mom up from PB's house (more like tried to rescue her). When she locked her car doors to prevent her mom from running back to PB, her mom actually threatened to jump out of the moving car @#$%! The daughter even brought her father from Indonesia to try and talk some sense into her mom, but her mom ran away from her home and stayed with PB. She even offered to bring her mom back to Indonesia, and was willing to leave with her for good (in case PB threatened to hurt her family), but her mom refused! So basically, the daughter said that she really couldn't help her mom because the mom didn't want to be helped! Eeeekkksss.....after hearing this story, I was really glad that we had already decided to let her go. It is obvious that this nanny was also "problematic" herself (to say the least!). David says that some women are drawn to guys like PB like a moth to a flame. I guess that she's a good example.

So this morning, my nanny received calls from PB. She let the phone ring and ring (about 20 times) and completely ignored it. PB then called my house, which I ignored because I really didn't want to speak to this psycho any longer. David had just left home for work when all of a sudden, PB SHOWED UP AT OUR FRONT DOOR!!!

I just knew that he has been stalking my house for a while (proven by his earlier phone calls). I didn't open the door, of course, and spoke to him from the office window. He was very belligerent and demanded us to call "his wife" out. I told him that he was not welcomed here and for him to leave immediately. He kept saying that since she no longer worked for me, he had the right to take her with him. I was sooo...scared. For all I know, he was carrying some sort of weapon in his backpack. I threatened to call 911, and he threatened me back and said that he was the one who would call 911 if we didn't want to call "his wife" out. He immediately ran to the sidewalk after this (I guess because he didn't want to "trespass" to my property). At that point, I was sure that I wanted to kick the nanny out ASAP. She came out to speak to him briefly, went inside to pack while quietly crying, signed some paperwork to get her salary for the 11 days she worked for, then left bringing all of her bags with this psycho. He didn't even have a car (poor trash!) and they walked together to the bus stop.

I immediately called the nanny's daughter to inform her of the situation. I was just so grateful that my parents were there, and not just me and the kids. David was furious when I called and told him what happened. He was sure that PB waited until he left for work. Anyways, I'm glad that it ended that way. It certainly could've been worse! So, back to the drawing board to find a good and decent nanny (again) (sigh.....).

Water Baby

2008-09-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

We went swimming at my parents new house in Corona again this past weekend. How Kayleen loves the water....! She kept laughing and screaming in delight. She also kept swallowing the water (sigh)... If we could only keep her this happy all the time!! Will need to swim as much as possible before the summer is over.

Another successful solid

2008-09-10T05:17:00.000-07:00

This time we tried banana and Wes liked it! He is also liking the soy formula, although he is starting to smell a little like the soy formula hmmmm...., not sure if I like that. I think I'll lessen it a bit since my production is going back up.

Sweet giggles

2008-09-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

Wes is about to turn 6 months in about a week. I just love this age... He is very interactive, yet is still so much of a baby. Sweet and innocent. None of that tantrum and attitude stuff! The best part is his giggles. How I want to savor this stage.... Check out this video of him.

Little Miss E

2008-09-08T01:47:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Little Miss E again on 9-1-08. She is getting even cuter as she gets older :) Love that beautiful, bright color tutu on her! This time, I also got to photograph the R family as they are waiting for their new arrival. Isn't Mrs. R just beautiful?! Emma is getting a sister soon! Cannot wait to take pictures of her as well! Well, M&M, enjoy this sneak peek!

Nanny- Part III

2008-09-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

I submitted the "nanny wanted" ad for Penny Saver last week before I hired our current one. The Penny Saver came out yesterday, and I've been having non-stop calls from people. I literally have 30+ messages from people who are interested in the position, and I was very specific in the ad (disclosing all the requirements and salary information). I plan to do phone interviews with these people in case the current nanny doesn't work out. Amazing....I should've gone this route from the very beginning!!

Solid food

2008-09-04T20:53:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent allergy episode, I'm starting Wes on solid food. I was hoping that it will make him fuller and not needing as much milk. I fed him rice cereal by Gerber yesterday. I think it went relatively well. His tongue kept pushing out the food but at least he didn't throw up or getting weird rashes. Most of the food ended up on his bib so I fed his regular milk right after. Will try this again on a daily basis until he gets used to it.

Allergy

2008-09-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

We got quite a scare yesterday! I decided that it was time to introduce formula to Wes since my milk production has been going down a bit. I figured it would be fine since he had taken formula when he was a newborn with no problem. I gave him a 4 oz bottle and of course, he didn't like it. He kept spitting it up and fussed. I was prepared for this since Kayleen did the same, and she even threw up the first time I gave it to her.

All of a sudden, I started noticing that his chin (where a lot of the formula was spilled on) was turning red. I mean REALLY red with white bumps. Then I noticed the skin around his eyes started turning red, with white bumps, and swelling up. My mom checked his body and we saw red patches on several places. I was quite alarmed by this point. We stopped the feeding, quickly got a hydrocortisone cream and applied it on his chin. The white bumps disappeared in a few minutes but the reds remained on his face and body. I called the Nurse Advice line and they suggested giving him a liquid Benadryl (1/2 tsp) immediately, and called for a doctors appointment. My mom tried to put him to sleep at this point and I went to the store to pick up the Benadryl. When I returned, my mom reported that he had vomitted once. We gave him the Benadryl, but within seconds, he vomitted again, so we gave him another dose. I noticed at that point that his eyes were getting smaller (because of the swelling), his face was quite pale, and his lips were turning bluish. I quickly called the doctor and fortunately was able to get an immediate appointment.

On the way to the appointment, Wes threw up again all over the car seat. When we got to the office and as we waited for the doctor, he threw up again all over the floor, and at this point, he started to tremble. Again, his face was very pale, swollen, and his lips were bluish. I really panicked and asked them to PLEASE have the doctor see him NOW!! The doctor checked him and found out that everything was normal (oxygen level, temperature, and pulse). He did notice the rash, swelling, and tremble. Interestingly enough, Wes did not cry this whole time. He was just observing everything as the doctor and nurse examined him.

At the end, the diagnosis was that he "may" be allergic to the formula and may also be developing a stomach flu (huh?). The doctor said that he may be developing a fever as well, thus the tremble. If he is above 100 degree F, I am to give him Tylenol. He also suggested us sticking to breast milk vs. formula (you think?!) and if I really can't provide him with enough breast milk, we can "try" the soy formula. I don't think he was convinced that Wes had an allergic reaction! By this time, Wes looks fine. His swelling had gone down (probably because of the double dose of Benadryl) and he had no more rashes. So we were dismissed.

I fed him with his regular breast milk before we went home, then he fell asleep. He continued to sleep well, and was his regular smiley self by evening. He never did develop a fever, and I am thoroughly convinced that it was purely an allergic reaction vs. a stomach flu! I will be doing everything I can to increase my supply but I will try the soy formula as I really need to find food alternative for him. Kayleen did not have this problem so who would've thought that it would happen to Wes?

I knew that I love this little guy before this whole episode, but I never knew how INTENSE it was until I felt his little body trembled in my arms and saw how pale his face was. I felt very scared and helpless at the same time. Thank you God for making him well again!! I love you, Wes, and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE dont' scare mommy like that again!!!

Nanny- Part II

2008-09-03T13:22:00.000-07:00

We found a nanny--yippee! One of my relatives met her at church and told her about us. She is Indonesian, in her early 50's, and been in the US for about 2 years. She speaks English (yay..David can actually communicate with her :)). She lives here with her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson about 15 minutes away from our house. So far...

1) It's Day 3 and she has not told me that she wanted to quit
2) She doesn't hold Wes like a sack of potatoes
3) She remembers our kids' names (GREAT SIGN!)
4) Kayleen hasn't warmed up to her yet but at least she doesn't yell "Mommy, please help, Mommy" when she's around
5) She doesn't have a strong preference for 409 as the cleaner of choice
6) She is not ssslllooowwww...... She is calm (which is good for my "sometimes" high-strung tendency) but she is efficient
7) She doesn't have BO. In fact, unlike the other nannies, she truly "gets" that she shouldn't use perfume, wear scratchy clothing, or wear jewelries when she is working (all of which are NOT recommended when you work with babies!)

Basically, so far so good :)

Colorful hat

2008-08-30T10:32:00.001-07:00

Just edited a picture of Wes with this colorful hat. Bought the hat online and really like the way the picture turned out. Thinking of turning this into a canvas :)

My 2-year old

2008-08-26T01:58:00.000-07:00

Being two is tough... It is a time when everything is magnified emotionally. Kayleen can be the most pleasant toddler, singing, laughing, and expressing herself clearly in such a cute way. But wait until she doesn't get her way....oh the wail, whine, and tears! It can make even the most patient person (e.g. David) loses his cool. Below are some pics taken at our nearby park. I was scouting for locations for my next shoot and thought to bring her along. Why not, right? She'll be a cute little model. Well..everything was great until she spotted the lake water. Of course, she wanted to jump right in. I had to physically restrain her from doing so, and she had one of the biggest meltdowns. She just threw herself on the grass crying and wailing, and refused to be picked up. Soo...irritating and embarassing! After a while, I was finally able to pick her up and calm her down. Then as fast as it came, she was fine, smiling, and laughing, and became a cooperative little model (sigh....). Please tell me that a 3-year old don't throw tantrums like that? Or is that a hopeless expectation??

Thrush

2008-08-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

Poor Wes! Looks like he's got thrush again :( This is an oral infection that is common among small babies. He got it before and was treated for a while before it disappeared. Looks like it's reappearing again. So sad when he has it because he keeps spitting up his milk big time. Milk is his only food right now so the poor little guy must be hungry everytime this happens. Not to mention the inconvenience to us as well....lots of laundries! Hope he gets over this soon!

Beach Fun

2008-08-25T00:33:00.000-07:00

Since summer is almost over, I wanted to blog about our visit to the beach a month ago (July 17th). It was the first time we took Kayleen to the beach. I thought it was pathetic that we've never taken her to the beach given that we live in Southern California and how much she loves the water! So... we decided to go. The prep of going somewhere with 2 small kids (somewhat far, for a long period of time, and a "non-home" location) requires extensive prep. The prep started a few days before by buying the required "gear" for the beach. You know.. the usual big umbrella, beach mat, sand kit, swim suit, cute beach clothes for the kids, etc. Yes, sadly, we adults haven't been to the beach for a few years as well so we don't have all those goodies.

Then the night before, the "real" prep started. Diaper bags are examined to make sure that they contain all the necessary stuff. Is one change 0f clothes enough? How about if it gets wet? How about if the baby throws up/spits up? How many diapers should we bring for each kid to last us a few hours? How do we keep the milk for being spoiled (I guess we should bring a cooler). But how do we warm it up conveniently? What kind of snack should we bring and how much? To add to the madness, David decided (and I agreed) that we should have an egg salad for lunch. Yum, yum...but little did we know that Ralphs and other markets do not carry egg salad! We were so set on egg salad that I decided to MAKE it the night before. Yes...as if we had tons of free time to do this in addition to the prep!!

After a few more hours of prep in the morning, we finally got to the beach around 2P. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the beach, not too hot, not too cold. The beach was crowded even though it was a Thursday. We had to walk quite far from the parking lot. Thank goodness we brought the stroller! Because of all the stuff we brought, we had to make two trips from the parking lot to where we set up our stuff.

My oh my....Kayleen went crazy when she saw the water!! We thought she may get scared by the big ocean, but noooooo....she went right to it! It's actually scary for us. She literally had no fear of the water, even though the waves could easily swiped her off her feet. David had to constantly hold her, because if not, she would just go into the ocean! She also enjoyed playing with the sand. Wes, on the other hand, did not really enjoy the whole experience. Maybe when he gets older. Check out the last picture below....he was just about had it there hehe...! Afterwards, we bought some ice-cream at a gelatto store nearby. It was sooo...good! Reminded me of the yummy gelatto we had in Italy eons ago.

Did we enjoy the beach? Well, it was a 12-hour prep time for a 2-hour beach fun but it was all paid off when we saw how much Kayleen enjoyed her first beach experience. So, yes, but I wish we went to beach more often prior to having kids because I don't see having a "relaxing" time at the beach anytime soon!

Cute Little Miss J

2008-08-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the T family's place to do the proofing. So glad they love the pictures. Little Miss J is as cute as ever. I had fun photographing her on August 2nd. Nice family too. I especially love that last shot - beautiful family!

Beautiful Miss S

2008-08-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

It was a great day at a fantastic location (her grandma's gorgeous backyard) with a great model and enthusiastic parents... If my session can always be this perfect! I had a great time photographing Miss S on July 27th. My only challenge was selecting the ones I wanted to edit since there were so many great ones!

The C Family

2008-08-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics from my session with the C family on July 24th. It was quite a tough session, with full sun and runaway kids :) Thankfully I managed to get a few good shots. Check out the beautiful ringlets on Miss T! And what a handsome boy you are Mr. L! Nice family....

Nanny

2008-08-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

My life with our previous nanny (Tante D) was great. She loves the kids, helped us manage the house, and basically did a great job. I was even able to do some photography business on the side. Oh the good old days (sigh)... She then decided to move to New York to be with her son. No big deal, right? Surely we can easily find a replacement. Wrong!!! For the past 3 weeks, we've gone through 3 nannies. Yup...you read that right, THREE nannies!

The first one decided that she couldn't do the job (after 1 whole day). She needed to have a private "break" room so she can recharge and renew herself every 15 minutes throughout the day. That and a 30-minute shower. Umm..we didn't think it would be a fit given the nature of the job, don't you think?! She also carried Wes like a sack of potatoes, with one hand and talking on her cell with the other.

Enter the second nanny... I actually wasn't too sure about her. But she came after a few outrageous interviews/attempts (e.g. a candidate demanding a 7-day paid holidays, a candidate going MIA after the interview, etc.). So we decided to give her a try. This one was truly a piece of work. First of all, she couldn't remember our kids' names after 4 days. Kayleen became "that little girl" and Wes became Kevin. The kids also did not like her. Wes constantly cried while held by her, and Kayleen yelled "Mommy, please help, Mommy" whenever she was around. She also has a catering business on the side so she constantly talks on the phone. Plus she only wants to do things her own way. Example of our conversation:
"Tante, you can use Soft Scrub to clean the bathroom".
"But I usually use 409".
"We don't have 409, just use Soft Scrub".
"Not 409?"
"No, Soft Scrub functions the same way".
"Why not 409? It works great".
"NO!! We don't have it, just use Soft Scrub!!". Ackkkk...!!!
She was extremely clean though. She cleaned out our house, our backyard (including picking up after Obi-Wan!), even our garage. Too bad this wasn't our main priority, so she got to go.

The third nanny looked promising in the interview but showed her true color once she worked. She was veerrrryy.....ssssllloowwww. She also was VERY quiet and basically didn't speak a word to Kayleen, which just didn't work well when you try to play with a 2-year old. Plus, unfortunately, she has B.O. This was a problem since she has to carry Wes throughout the day. So again, she got to go.

Anyways, we are still nanny-less as of today so the search continues.... Below are some pics of our dear nanny taken on her last day with us.

Hello World!

2008-08-23T00:06:00.000-07:00

So I finally was convinced that I NEED to have a blog (thanks a lot Sandra!).... One more thing to hook me up to the computer and as if I have tons of free time (sigh...). We'll see if this blogging thing works out...

Since I'll also be using this blog to post pictures from my photo session, I want to have the images posted big. Let's see if the size is to my liking...