Hungry Boy

Monday, 10 December 2007

I was exhausted from waking up every two hours last night with Chase. He hasn't been getting his four or five hour stretches of sleep he usually gets back home. So, once he went back down at 8:30 am, we both slept in until about noon. I knew that today wasn't going to be a productive day.

Mom called at 1 pm to say that we could pick her up from work early and do some shopping. So, we headed into downtown and picked her up, stopping by Target on the way home. It was nice and sunny today, so we hung out on the front deck, watching a hummingbird feeding in the tree. Chase was mesmerized by the water and sounds of the fountain in the yard. It was then that I noticed that his hair is growing, with little spiky parts coming up near the back of his head.

After mom put a pot of jook on the stove, we went to Burlington Coat Factory to return some winter clothes that people bought Chase. We figured that at this point, he's not going to wear them and won't use them in Hawai'i, so we had fun looking for summer clothes instead and got a bunch on sale.

Chase was super bubbly (and I mean literally foaming at the mouth)and talkative today. Mom helped feed and bathe Chase tonight. The funniest thing was watching him eat, as he would totally go for the food (rather than waiting for the food to go into his mouth), leaning into the bowl and spoon (often getting the food all over his nose and face) each time, mouth wide open. It was as if he hadn't been fed in days! He had such a voracious appetite...We were all laughing because it reminded us of my favorite movie "A Christmas Story" where the mom makes the kid "Eat like a pig!", getting food all over his face with his nose in the bowl! Such a Mau I tell you!

Once he went to sleep around 8 pm, I enjoyed watching "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and catching up with Chris on the phone.

A Holiday Soiree

Sunday, 9 December 2007

We took Chris to the airport at 7 am this morning. Time to head back to work for him. He took my suitcase full of gifts, as well as my carry-on. Chase and I will be here for another week in California. We'll probably have to mail a box back, unless I can manage to carry another suitcase and carry Chase's carseat to the gate, when I travel back on my own next week.

Got home and enjoyed some warm apple cider, and then snuggled up back in bed for a nap. Chase had a huge explosion (as is his weekly duty), while grunting away sitting in the exersaucer once we got home. It was pretty funny. Too bad Daddy wasn't here to change his diaper!

We both slept most of the day, catching up from the week's busy schedule. We went to dinner at my mom's friend Judy's mother's retirement home. They have an annual holiday buffet dinner. We feasted on things like lamb chops and shrimp and delectable treats. Chase, donning his Santa hat, had fun entertaining the elderly. One fellow named Bill even held him and played with him, and we found out that he used to live in Kailua, on the windward side of O'ahu in the 50's.

On the way home, we stopped by the 33rd Street Bistro to pick up Chase's changing pad that we had left there on Friday night.

Checked email and messages and found out that Chris had gotten home safely.

Apple Hill

Saturday, 8 December 2007

Mom had a few friends over today, Diane and Frank (who introduced Gary to mom a few years back), Judy and Scott (coworker friend, along with her sister and husband visiting from Ohio), and Julie, Michelle and Ashton (friends of my mom's ex, Tosh). We enjoyed a light brunch of muffins, croissants, coffee, and juice. We opened baby gifts and talked about things like camping, traveling in Southeast Asia, and living in Hawai'i.

After everyone left and we cleaned up, we headed up to Apple Hill, appropriately named because there are acres and acres of apple orchards. Around this time of year, families come and drink fresh apple cider, go trout fishing, cut down Christmas trees, go for pony rides, and buy homemade apple pies and apple fritters or just plain apples to take home with them. We got there kind of late, at 3 pm, and it was super cold. We walked around and drove around a bit to find different places that were open. Many were closing as the sun started to go down. But, we did enjoy taking pictures in front of the fall leaves, drinking apple cider, eating apple donuts, and taking home some apple juice.

On our hour drive back to Sacramento, Gary jokingly commented on how there was another REI on the way that we could stop at for one last shopping spree before Chris headed back home. I thought he was only joking, but we ended up pulling into the parking lot of the Folsom REI. The Santa fairy got some stocking stuffers and gifts for myself and Chris (It's a good thing I was able to ask Chris what cycling socks he already has or doesn't have.)

I caught up with Miya on the phone and got her order of Trader Joe requests (one place I haven't stopped at yet).

Tonight, we stopped for dinner in the downtown Sacramento area and ate at Crepeville, a cool place with savory crepes and dessert crepes, as well as yummy salads and potatoes. All of a sudden, Chase started coughing and choking...and Chase blessed Daddy again with a huge spit up all over himself and Daddy's pants. It's a good thing we carry lots of extra clothes for Chase. But, we discovered that we must have left our changing pad at the restaurant on Friday night.

We got home late and finished packing all of our gifts and omiyage as Chris leaves for Hawai'i in the morning.

More Shopping

Friday, 7 December 2007

We went shopping again today, but this time I introduced Chris to IKEA. We spent a few hours there, eating swedish meatballs and exploring each department of the relatively new store in West Sacramento. We also went to the other mainland stores that we don't have in Hawai'i: Target and Linens N Things, etc. Chase was super-spit-up-baby all day today, from the moment we tried to put him in the car, to getting out of the car seat, to walking around the stores. It may have been due to the Mexican food I ate yesterday. We all went through several changes of clothing before we even got out of the house. I even caught a couple tablespoons in my hand when I wasn't wiping milk off the kitchen floor, carpet, or sofa.

We went out to dinner with Chris' friend Cami, a gal he used to work with at the bike shop back home. She lives and works as an attorney for the state now. We had a great meal at the swanky 33rd Street Bistro in Midtown, an area of downtown Sacramento. Chase was the hit of the restaurant. Our waitress held him at every chance she could get, showing him off to the others. He got a little ansy midway through dinner though, but the beautifully decorated Christmas tree was a great distraction for him. He wanted to touch all the colorful ornaments and put the red ribbon in his mouth.

Outlet Shopping

Thursday, 6 December 2007

Chris, Chase, and I went to the Nut Tree Outlet stores in Vacaville today, about a 45 minute drive from my mom's house (but longer for us, since we took a roundabout way of getting there). Chase slept through most of the day, waking up when I was trying on clothes (with him on me in my carrier). Bought some omiyage, Christmas gifts, and a couple of gifts (on sale of course!) for myself.

I caught up with cousin Stephanie in Seattle. She's counting down the weeks already until baby # 2 arrives. I told her how Chase always unlatches when he hears me talking and will look up at me and smile and laugh. I have to remind him to "Stay focused!"

It was a foggy, cold, rainy day today. Gary went to a crab feed with the guys tonight, so we took mom out to eat at a local Chinese restaurant that has a reasonable set menu (5 course dinner for 4 for $25). We ate a lot and had fun chatting with the table next to us.

Sutter Creek

Wednesday, 5 December 2007

We were planning on going to Lake Tahoe today, but it was super foggy this morning, so we cancelled. It was fine by me because I was super tired from the night (Chase was up every few hours last night). We decided to take drive (45 minutes to an hour)to the old gold mine towns of Amador County, Sutter Creek, and Jackson. There were cute boutiques and cafes, but a bit of a sleepy town for the winter. The highlight of our day was walking in and out of the antique shops and enjoying lunch at Chatterbox Cafe in Sutter Creek. Thankfully, Chris drove because I slept most of the way. Once again, Chase slept through most of the cool things, like our visit to the music box shop. I managed to feed him at each stop though. He did pretty good today.

We got back at 4:30 pm. Gary had picked up Mom from work. Although we were planning on driving up to Sierra Nevada to check out the Charles Dickens' Christmas parade and people in period clothing, we decided to stay home and eat another homecooked meal prepared by Gary.

Just as well because we were able to enjoy dinner while Chase slept, then feed him his oatmeal, bathe him, and then have time for the grandparents to play with him while we washed up.

Old Sacramento and Tree Lighting at The Capitol

Tuesday, 4 December 2007

After sleeping most of the night (I actually had to pump at one point because he didn't wake up), Chase seemed much better this morning. We woke up at 7 am, and he had fun playing with Mom as she got ready for work (and I think she had fun playing with him too, as she went in later to work). He was laughing, playing in his exersaucer, seemed to be less congested, and his eyes were no longer red and puffy. He seemed to be in a lot better mood, that is until about lunchtime.

Chris and I couldn't figure it out, but all of a sudden he was inconsolable. He didn't want to nurse, didn't want the swing, didn't have a dirty diaper. He was just screaming and getting himself all worked up. We thought perhaps he was hot, because we had a couple of layers on him. So, after about half an hour of crying, we shed his layers so that he was only in his diaper. He seemed to calm down soon after, but it was really strange. Teething? Hot? I don't know. That's the first time he's acted like that (in a long time anyway).

Because we missed our opportunity to catch the bus downtown, we decided just to take my mom's car and drive. It was already 2 o'clock and we hadn't left the house yet! Turned out fine. We toured around Old Sacramento, visiting the old shops, taking pictures by the trains, getting an ornament for Chase at The Railroad Museum, and buying some saltwater taffy. We even found a sock store and got some funky socks for gifts!

We got a late lunch/early dinner at Johnny Rocket's. Mom met us there after work, and then we all headed down to the capitol building to see the Christmas tree lighting. Katherine McPhee (American Idol star) and her mom sang a duet of "Silent Night", and Trisha Yearwood performed a song as well. Ahhhnold ("The Governator" as some novelty shops nicknamed him on t-shirts) and a little girl with Down's Syndrome lit the tree, and his wife Maria Shriver did a speech as well. We left when Chase started to get fussy. Funny thing is, he slept through our entire walk through Old Sac and the tree lighting tonight! He keeps missing all of our Sacramento tour!

We just snacked for dinner tonight. Chase was super fussy, spit up baby tonight. But, he did eat pears and oatmeal. He totally loves those pears. I've been chatting on the forums of Honolulu Mommies and am wondering if perhaps Chase is not really "sick" but may be cutting a tooth. We'll see.

We're planning on making a day trip to Lake Tahoe tomorrow. We'll see what time Chase lets us get started in the morning! Ha!

Sick Chase

Monday, 3 December 2007

Chase slept from about 3 am to 8 am this morning, which is a long stretch for him. I did his laundry the morning, then Chris and I drove my mom's car to REI. We both shopped a bit for ourselves and for others. Since Costco was right in the same parking lot, we grabbed lunch there, then got a nasal aspirator and saline drops and some baby food for Chase.

Gary prepared a delicious meal of pork and prosciutto with spinach, and my mom made yams to complement it. I recalled that Gary made this gourmet meal for me when I first met him years ago. It was just as delicious back then!

We bathed Chase, fed him oatmeal and yams, though he was not too interested in those, and much preferred his pears instead. Poor Chase is still really congested. We got a lot out with the nasal aspirator, but I hate using it, as he just screams and screams. He is all red and his eyes are so puffy, but he did sleep a lot today. He can still laugh too, so that's encouraging. But, I just want him to get better!

San Francisco

Sunday, 2 December 2007

Mom and Gary took us to explore San Francisco today. We caught a cable car, ate clam chowder at Scoma's down on Fisherman's Wharf, and walked around the shops at Union Square.

Chase is a little sick, sniffling and congested. He keeps rubbing his eyes too. Not sure if he caught a cold in Hawai'i before we left or if the change in temperature caused it. Could be allergies or teething too. We got some baby vapor rub. He slept most of the two-hour car ride to and from San Francisco and missed the cable car ride too, although he woke up for me to nurse him the last part of the ride until we had to get off at the Hyde Street turnaround.

Everyone commented on how good a baby Chase is. We got back to Sacramento at 7 pm. Again, I had a good nap in the car. I tried to shower Chase with me in order to have the steam help his congestion. We'll have to get a bulb syringe tomorrow to get all that stuff out of his nose, as he's just sniffling away and congested.

Chase's Debut For The Wong Family

Saturday, 1 December 2007

Washed Chase's new clothes (gifts from friends and mom), so he could have some new fleece sleepers to keep him warm. Mom borrowed a swing and exersaucer from someone at work, so we put the exersaucer together to see if he would like it, and he loved it! He's a little too short, so we had to put pillows on the bottom so his feet would touch. But, he loves playing with the different toys and grabbing at everything and making them move. We'll have to get one for our house in Hawai'i.

We packed up the swing and bags, loaded them into Gary's truck, and headed on our two hour drive down to Campbell, where my Auntie Shelley lives. Got there by 2:30 pm (well-rested, thank goodness I didn't have to drive!), and mingled with guests at 5 pm. There was lots of food (thanks to Costco!) and desserts. We talked to my cousins Tricia and Michelle via web cam since they're away at college and couldn't be here to see Chase in person. Chase had his share of spit ups and changes of clothing, plus a huge four-diaper-explosion finally, staying true to his once-a-week schedule. Chris and I had fun visiting with all of my aunts and uncles, friends of the family, and my high school friend David and his gf. Even Auntie Cynthia and Uncle Jimmy (my dad's brother) drove down from Santa Rosa to see Chase. There were probably about thirty people there.

When we weren't eating or taking pictures of Chase in his Christmas garb in the sleigh full of stuffed animals, we were watching football. We had fun watching the exciting UH vs. UW game. I hope Dad was watching.

With all the excitement, I forgot my pump, battery charger, and Chase's spoon there by accident. Got back to Popo's house in Mountain View at 11:30 pm and opened all the gifts for Chase...lots of warm clothes, some toys, hooded towels, stuffed animals, and books. Plus, we got lots of Trader Joe's snacks and Auntie Esther gave us some dried persimmons, which I've been enjoying snacking on.

Chase enjoyed meeting his aunts, uncles, and cousins at Aunty Shelley's house in Campbell. And, look at all the presents he got!