Time flies!

Lucas at 9 weeks old!

Okay, so I have been a terrible blogger since the baby arrived! I spend most of my time on Facebook these days, but for those who are actually reading this, here's a quick summary of the last two months:

November 14, 2010: Baby decides it's time to make an appearance. I start contractions around 4 am, head to Piedmont Hospital around 7:30 am, and Lucas Cole enters this world at 5:28 pm. It's a boy! 7 lbs 8.6 oz, 21" long.

The rest of November and early December we kept to the house for the most part. My wonderful mother spent the first three weeks with us and helped with the baby, cleaning and cooking. My sister was able to come visit for Thanksgiving and spend a week playing auntie. My dad also visited several times between work and helped out with a lot of handy things around the house. A huge thanks to them all! We also had visits from neighbors, friends and in-laws.

December 18, 2010: My dear SIL Jennifer weds my brand-spanking-new BIL, Scott, in Pensacola! This was really a great trip, as we were able to celebrate a new marriage, introduce Lucas to the extended Bachmann and Williford families, and also get out of the house for a bit. It was a nice long-weekend trip, and I think we handled our first trip with baby pretty well. When we returned, we spent a nice quiet Christmas at home. My sister was able to visit the week after Christmas for another week, so it was great having our own in-house auntie/pediatrician with us once again!

December 28, 2010: My parents had a traditional Chinese 1-month party for Lucas (he was actually closer to 6 weeks old, but the timing worked out so that my sister could be in town for the dinner.) We had a wonderful dinner party at Shangri-La Chinese Restaurant in Augusta with about 45 people. Lucas got showered with many generous gifts and red envelopes from my parents' friends. We had a great 9-course meal, complete with angel food chocolate chip cupcakes and lucky hard-boiled red eggs for party favors made by Mom.

New Year's Eve was spent quietly at home with a few friends that came over for dinner and Wii games until the ball dropped. Lucas and I fell asleep shortly after midnight.

January: We enjoyed our last week with DH home before he started spring semester at GSU. But then we got hit with a major snow and ice event here in Atlanta on the 9th, so classes were canceled for almost the whole first week. We hunkered down at the house for 5 days, then ventured out for a short walk on Friday, however there was still ice on the roads. Things finally started melting when we got above freezing on Friday and Saturday.

Today: I'm working on finishing up many thank-you notes for many nice and generous baby gifts for Lucas. I'm also trying to get baby announcements done before I am heading back to work and Lucas starts daycare on February 1st. My, has my maternity leave flown by! Lucas had his 2-month appointment yesterday: 2 shots, 12 lbs 14.6 oz, and 22 1/2" long. He's growing up so fast! Happy New Year!

San Francisco Recap

We did so much in San Francisco, I decided to create a list rather than paragraphs. Naturally, being part of an Asian family, a lot of our visit centered around food. Here's what we got done on the laundry list. (You might want to loosen your belt a bit...)

Wed Feb 3:

• First significantly delayed flight (ever), due to a loose sheet metal flap at back of plane that did not have anything behind it for fasteners to attach to - happy to get on a new plane that would stay in the air, even though it put us back about 3 hours. Still beat parents to OAK.
• After arriving at OAK, got the rental car and headed to downtown Oakland for a snack while waiting on parents to arrive - Ying Kee Noodle House = lots of food for little $!
• Made it to San Jose for the night - stayed with Aunt Sophy and Uncle Chi-Yin for a few days.

Thurs Feb 4:

• Visited the Intel Museum in Santa Clara. Had fun getting a personlized tour following a bunch of school kids on a field trip. Didn't know friend Kent worked on the 6th floor, but no matter since we met up with him and Mandy for lunch on Fri.
• Lunch with bonus sister Erin and her friend at Golden Era Vegetarian Restaurant in downtown SF - mock chicken was great! Followed up with a walk through the drizzle around Union Square and San Francisco Centre on a search for coffee/gelato/crepes. Found it at Melt - lycee gelato was delicious!
• Took scenic/long way back to SJ after dropping Erin off in Hayward - stuffed pizza dinner waiting when we got back.

Fri Feb 5:

• Dim Sum (#1) at Hong Kong Saigon Harbor Restaurant in Sunnyvale with the family and friends Mandy and Kent from GT. My aunt warned that we had to get there right at 11 AM, or we wouldn't get a table - she was right! By the time we sat down and had a few bites, the place was packed, including a line out front by the time we left!
• Visited the Computer History Museum in Mountain View - exhibits were getting reworked there, so not much on exhibit, except for the amazing Babbage Differential Engine No. 2 - the second one built in the world by a Microsoft exec., to Charles Babbage's exact drawings, except his house can't hold the weight of the machine right now, so it's on indefinite loan to the museum. The docents ran the machines, showed us how it worked, how it was put together. Incredible!
• Quick dress change and we were on the way to R&G Lounge in SF Chinatown for the Rehearsal Dinner. Sis was flying into SFO, and since the wedding rehearsal ran a little late, made it via BART just in time for dinner. Shark Fin Soup, Salt and Pepper Crab, Peking Duck, Mock Abalone (mushrooms) with Greens, Beef and Scallops, Roasted Chicken with Shrimp Chips, Honey Prawns with Walnuts, Steamed Whole Sea Bass, and to finish it all off, Red Bean Soup with Tapioca - the best I've ever had! (This is only the beginning, folks!)
• Post-dinner ice cream gathering at Fenton's Creamery. Oh my goodness, talk about some serious ice cream sundaes! Sis, D and I shared the black and tan sundae, and it's a good thing because it was gigantic! I am in love with their toasted almond ice cream. Fenton's also made a cameo appearance in the animated movie Up - check out the scene near the end!

Sat Feb 6:

• Dim Sum (#2) at Dynasty Chinese Seafood Restaurant in San Jose with family and some other relatives. Pretty good, but DS#1 was still better.
• By the time we finished Dim Sum, it was already time to head over to the First Chinese Baptist Church in SF Chinatown for the wedding.
• Saw the wedding party heading into the streets of Chinatown for some pre-wedding photos on our way to the church - I got a couple good shots. The wedding was beautiful - the sanctuary was a unique, square layout with sunken seating, and then steps back up to the altar area- - very intimate. The reception was at the Bancroft Hotel in Berkeley, in a space that reminded me of a large, cozy library/study complete with huge fireplace. Dinner was Spanish paella, complete with cheese and bread platter, olives, and sangria. Dessert was coconut wedding cake and 4 other types of flavored layer cakes, all made by Ani's mom and aunt. Everything was delicious! Fun things at the reception included a wedding trivia game adminstered by Brian and Ani, a slide show of the two of them, and a "photo booth" in a corner complete with remote control so that the guests could take photos of themselves. (Can't wait to see that photo album!)

Sun Feb 7:

• Dim Sum (#3) at South Sea Seafood Village in Sunset with family, including cousins Ging and Billy and new baby Damien, Uncle Chuck & Aunt Denise (Chuck's my mom's cousin). This was the most interesting Dim Sum place, as you ordered everything a la carte from a checklist menu (much like sushi), and they brought it to your table instead of carts around the restaurant. We also tried some specialty teas - gingseng and lychee flavored. 7.5-month-old Damien stole the show, with everyone wanting their turn to play with the baby. We visited Uncle Chuck and Aunt Denise's house in the neighborhood after lunch - what a beautiful view of San Francisco from their back deck!
• Drive into SF for some quick sightseeing stops so my Sis could get some sights in before her flight back out. Drove down the curvy part of Lombard Street, walked along Fisherman's Wharf to see the (very few) sea lions at Pier 39, drove through North Beach/Little Italy, then headed to my Uncle Kai and Aunt Jackie's in Hercules for dinner.
• After settling in, D, Sis and I headed out to dinner with Cousin Ian for the taco truck experience. (The "adults" were not as adventurous.) Ian has the taco truck culture down, so we put our complete trust in him, and it did not disappoint! The truck we visited was Mi Grullense, with a partner truck of same name on the other side of the parking lot. Ian said the usual truck was better, so we tried tacos from that one, and D ordered a burrito from the partner truck. Yum!
• After tacos, we headed into the Mission district for a quick stop at Bi-Rite Creamery before taking Sis to the airport to catch her flight. Flavors we tried included salted caramel, mint chip, and coffee toffee. The salted caramel was interesting, but perfect for someone (like me) who always needs that little bit of salty after sweet.

Mon Feb 8:

• Outing to Muir Woods to see the big redwoods (and apparently the banana slugs were on the move, according to signs at the entrance to the park). The trees were so peaceful and majestic - amazing nature.
• We headed to see the Jelly Belly Factory, but needed lunch on the way. Luckily we spotted (the only) In-N-Out Burger (in Marin County) off the interstate, so we made a stop so that D could experience his first "double double, animal style." I enjoyed my cheeseburger and strawberry shake.
• Jelly Belly Factory Tour was interesting - I learned more about jelly beans than I ever knew (not that I started off knowing much about how they are made). Got our free samples, then headed back to Oakland for dinner.
• We got into Oakland earlier than anticipated, so we had some time to spare before dinner. Perfect for a quick stop at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, which my uncle had suggested. The Cathedral was very modern on the inside, with its signature horizontal fins to let in natural light all along the exterior walls. The space was inspiring, even on a cloudy, rainy evening.
  
• Dinner was at Binh Minh Quan Vietnamese Restaurant in Oakland - whole roasted catfish, beef salad (like carpaccio), fish soup, frog legs (yes I tried a bite, yes tastes like chicken), and another stir-fried beef dish. All good.

Tues Feb 9:

• Headed to San Mateo area for the day to meet up with my high school friend Wendy. Had lunch at a GREAT Mongolian hot pot restaurant, Little Sheep, in downtown San Mateo. We got the half spicy, half original broth and all kinds of meat and veggies to cook in it. It really hit the spot on a cool but sunny day. We walked down to a little Taiwanese restaurant, China Bee, for jelly tea afterwards.
• Wendy had to get on a conference call in her car (a mobile working day) for a bit, so we found the San Mateo Japanese Tea Garden while she did that. Then we all headed to Half Moon Bay State Beach to see the ocean and enjoy the sunny weather (we were expecting it to rain, but it didn't after all!). We got some gorgeous pictures, stopped in downtown Half Moon Bay for some coffee and dessert.
• We headed back to El Cerrito to meet up with our family for one last dinner at Jac's Asian Bistro. Talk about Hong-Kong style Cantonese comfort food! All of the usual suspects, hot soup, chow fun, salt and pepper fried short ribs (YUM!), egg pancake, fried rice hot pots, oh it was all so good. It was such a great way to end our trip.

General notes:

• Thank goodness for our TomTom - although it didn't always pronounce the names right (Spanish names esp., e.g. "San Hwah-zay" for "San Jose"), it got us where we needed to go.
• Time to get back to the gym - just in time for Lent!
• I love my family - got to visit both mom's side and dad's side and had a great time seeing them all. Such a blessing!
• There's still so much to see (and eat) - guess we'll have to save some for next time.
• Speaking of that, when are we going again?? :)

My photo albums:

SanFran Part 1

SanFran Part 2

Dress shopping

I'm just going to take a few sentences to complain to the cyber-world about the lack of pretty dresses in stores these last few months. I had the worst time trying to find a party dress back in November/December, and now that a have a wedding or two ahead of me this year, I'm once again trudging store after store trying to find something that is not (necessarily) a) a solid color b) shiny satin c) empire-waisted/bohemian d) ugly print or e) a cheap material that does not drape well (read: clingy and wrinkly). Oh yeah, and I forgot f) black! Perhaps I am looking in all the wrong places. But it's been a trial finding something to wear to a nice afternoon wedding. After about a week of on and off shopping, I have finally found 3 acceptable things to wear. Now to decide which to go with... here's a swatch of each without giving away the whole outfit...what's your vote? :)

Houston = humid but fun

DH and I had a whirlwind long weekend in Houston. It was the convergence of many relatives. Simply put, several convenient coincidences allowed members of both my mom's and dad's side of the family to be there while we were. This meant herding cats bunnies (my cousin Justus has 2 house bunnies, Badger and Peppercorn) relatives, several cars, big meals out, and random sightseeing - all typical at my extended family reunions/vacations.

Highlights from our trip:

Thursday: We arrived mid-morning in Houston. After a quick stop at my aunt's house, we headed to lunch at Ninfa's on Navigation (awesome fajitas and homemade tortillas), a trip to the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, taking photos of ducks and ducklings at my cousin's girlfriend's office park pond, visiting my maternal Grandma and Grandpa's resting spot, a big Chinese dinner with family at Fung's Kitchen, and hole-in-the-wall Mexican shaved ice.

Friday: Breakfast and coffee at Brasil, an outing at the Menil Collection (including the Cy Twombly Gallery, Rothko Chapel, and Dan Flavin Installation), hanging out at my cousin Justus's apartment (where we stayed), visiting cousins Eric and An's place (playing with doggie Skyy), and attending my cousin Marina's Rehearsal Dinner at Cafe Ginger.

Saturday: Early morning play time and photo shoot of the bunnies and cousin Justus, breakfast at Baby Barnaby's, a walk downtown to see some of the skyscrapers (yes, nerdy architect stuff), coffee at "The End of the Universe", a visit to the Beer Can House, and, of course, my cousin Marina's wedding at The Houston Club. The bride and groom were beautiful and handsome (respectively) and a great time was had by all! (We also played a late game of Ticket to Ride, which I actually won! So of course I had to add that in there.)

Sunday: I took an early walk with my cousin and his girlfriend through their Montrose neighborhood and took some photos while DH caught a few more winks, then we headed to Laredo Taqueria for some late breakfast (excellent tacos and homemade tortillas!), a group of cousins headed to the theater to catch District 9 (interesting) and took us by a Jamba Juice (to satisfy my craving - they really need to open some up in Georgia!), a quick stop at the Williams Water Wall and Galleria Mall before another big Chinese dinner at Confucious Seafood Restaurant with the family, then a cousin outing to see the Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders - our first ever MLS game!

Monday: We hopped onto a flight at the crack of dawn and got back in to work in Atlanta at noon. (Thanks, Justus, for getting up so early!)

Click on the images below to see my photo albums:

Houston - Part 1

Houston - Part 2 - Marina and Nicholas

Houston - Part 3

Wedding Weekend

Whew! Well I made it through the week and completed my matron of honor duties for Cyndi and Matt's Wedding. All went well - the bride and groom were beautiful, the wedding was beautiful, and the reception was beautiful. I am so happy for Cyndi and Matt, and also excited for their adventures ahead, as they leave for Denmark in a week and half to live for the next year as Matt finishes grad school there. I am really going to miss them! I was WAY to busy to get any actual shots on the big day, but here's a photo from the rehearsal and me after the wedding - showing off my makeup, 'do, and the beautiful Swarovski bridesmaid necklaces that Cyndi made for us. Hopefully better photos to come soon. Time to get a load off my poor feet and rest up for this week!

Seattle!

Seattle!

We spent a fabulous week in Seattle! The weather was perfect and cool for the most part - a very enjoyable break from the Atlanta heat. We got to see a lot of sights, and of course enjoyed the family reunion aspect and my cousin's wedding! For more photos, click on me and DH above. We stayed in a rented house just north of the University of Washington campus, known as the University, or U-District. We were able to walk around their beautiful campus several times and enjoy the neighborhood farmer's market on Saturday morning. Some of the sights we got to visit include: Seattle Center, the Space Needle (didn't go up), Snoqualmie Falls, North Bend (home of where Twin Peaks was filmed), Everett Boeing Plant, Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park, Bellevue Botanical Garden, Seattle Public Library, The Chapel of St. Ignatius (outside only), The Edgewater Hotel (where my cousin's wedding was held), just to name a few spots. We did a great walking tour on Friday evening with a private tour guide that one of my cousins arranged - that was great too. I really enjoyed spending time with cousins on my Mom's side - all 8 of us were able to make it this time. And on top of all that, we managed to look up one of our GT classmates and have dinner with him and his wife. They joined us on the walking tour too and learned a few things about Seattle that they didn't know. Anyway, now back in the heat of the Atlanta summer and wishing I was back in 70-degree weather...

A fun weekend celebrating Cyndi

I had a really fun time participating in my friend Cyndi's Bachelorette Weekend. Nikki (the other local bridesmaid) and I had a great time planning for the weekend and the bridal shower. In keeping with her travel theme for the wedding, I created a weekend "Party Passport" for her to document the various activities - I have to admit that I even impressed myself with the way it turned out! We started Friday night by seeing a movie and having a few drinks at Martinis and IMAX, then headed to Cyndi's fave Mexican place, Nuevo Laredo, for a late dinner with everyone else that came into town for the weekend. Saturday morning we held a brunch bridal shower at Agnes & Muriel's. As party favors, I found the cutest wedding dress cookies from Rhodes Bakery - that's Thoth up above, the cookie inspector, helping me put them into goodie bags Friday night. We then spent the afternoon on a photo scavenger hunt that DH put together for us that was a lot of fun. Saturday night we had dinner at a great Italian pizza restaurant, Fritti, then walked a block down to Dad's Garage for TheatreSports - their Saturday night improv show. Of course, with her blinky "Bride To Be" button and shiny silver "Bachlorette" sash (Miss America-style), she could not be missed. They saved the best for last and called Cyndi up on stage for one of the last improv skits - "A Day in the Life of Cyndi," and I laughed so hard I cried! The actors were so great - we had a really great time. Sunday we attended church with Cyndi at St. Paul , where she and Matt will be married, and then headed south of town for the last day of the Georgia Renaissance Festival. It was hot, but fun and a great way to end the weekend. I'm going to bed early tonight!

Weekend in Natchez

Weekend in Natchez

We had a really fun weekend in Natchez. Pretty relaxing, really charming town, and fun visiting with our B&B proprietor as well as David's family at the wedding. Now it's time to get back to the books in preparation for my exam on Saturday - probably not much else to report at this time. Click above to access my photos from the weekend. More detail about the trip to come. Just happy to be home for now.

Shop 'til you drop

So Cyndi and I hit 3 dress shops today to look at wedding dresses for her and bridesmaid dresses. I think we both agree that we shopped 'til we dropped today. We did find a few promising dresses, so at least we have a few picked out that we can show the others. Time for bed!

Canstruction 2007

Okay, so we didn't get a prize, but I still think our Canstruction was really cool! Go Aqua Teen Hunger Force! Here's a photo of me with our masterpiece at the gala this evening. In all, the whole Rosser gang did a great job - not only did we field a team (go Captain Becky!), we also had 4 other employees in leadership roles organizing Canstruction Atlanta 2007. Great job everyone!

On another topic, I have the distinct honor of being Matron of Honor (that makes me sound old!) for my friend Cyndi's wedding next summer. We're going dress shopping tomorrow! Yay!