More time in Phoenix

We took another trip to Phoenix this past week, although it was just a short one this time. I think Graham really loves looking at planes, especially when he has a new toy airplane to play with too!

And it was quite funny because the minute we found our seats on the plane, Graham immediately kicked off his shoes and got comfortable!

Moving onto the next toy...

And the next...

Look how long his hair is!!!

And finally, on the way down - Graham tries to spot other planes, cars, school buses, birds (and anything else you can think off!).

Travel days are always long days for both me and Daddy, but I guess it an even longer one for Graham!

And the first order of business when we arrived in Phoenix was to get a hair cut! Despite another dramatic experience on the hair salon's chair, Graham looks so much better!

Graham still obviously loves to play with all the gravel in the backyard:

We finally had a chance to take a trip up to Scottsdale to eat at our favorite breakfast restaurant. Graham had banana pancakes and guess where it is..!

Graham loves hanging out by the water fountains:

And we tried to take some pictures by the "LOVE" sculpture. Graham just doesn't make it easy!

Run....!!!!

We did get a nice picture of Graham and Mommy by another sculpture:

And finally, before the end of our trip, another hike at Papago Park. Graham loves to hide behind big rocks and play peek-a-boo:

Boo!

We're so lucky to have the opportunity to travel to Phoenix during the winter time. The weather was so nice and it's great to be able to spend more time as a family. We love it!

Here we go again...! Baby #2!

Yup, pregnant again! Here's our little "peanut" #2 at 8 1/2 weeks:

Can't imagine the baby was only 2cm long then! I'm now at 13 weeks and my belly already feels bigger than I was at 13 weeks with Graham. I hope it's not another 9lbs 2oz baby!

And again, my belly button is already starting to poke out to an "outie!" AHHHhhhh...!

Nonetheless, we are all very excited about this new chapter/adventure in the Lee-Pridgen household. Hopefully the Water Dragon (the Chinese horoscope of the new baby) won't conflict too much with the Fire Dragon (that's me!).

Here was happy Bobby when I showed him the pregnancy test back in mid-December:

I guess I had somewhat surprised him as he didn't realized I was going to take the test that weekend. So, he was super SUPER happy when he saw the "+" sign :-)

Baby's estimated due date is August 11th. I heard that being pregnant during the Summer is quite difficult. Guess I'll find out in a few months!

Happy Chinese New Year!

This year is the Year of the Dragon - which is my year! I was born in 1976 - the year of the Fire Dragon (vs. the Water Dragon this year). GROWL!!! Haha... I recently just purchased a "dragon" head cover for my driver/golf club and that's what it would say to Bobby when we play our matches :-)

Chinese New Year was celebrated this past January 23rd. Normally, back in Malaysia, we would spend the eve of the New Year making veggie dumplings. The first meal of the New Year is suppose to be vegetarian (I never figured out why actually!) but we would stay up past midnight to ring in the New Year. This year, since we were not back in Malaysia, I decided to make a noodle dish - we're really big into noodles too back home! Long noodles for long life! I did however make it with beef broth. I found some home-made wonton noodles at the Asian market here. Not quite the same as home but still quite yummy!

I also did get a chance to make some dumplings - another Chinese New Year tradition. Graham looked excited at first when he saw the dumplings:

But when he put one in his mouth, he said "blah"!

I tasted one and it seemed that the cabbage that was mixed in with the meat was still a little bit crunchy. What a fussy eater!

So anyhow, he just started playing with the dumpling wrapper instead:

He'll need to learn to eat dumplings eventually! Hopefully by the next Chinese New Year, which means he has one more year to get ready for it. He is getting better at eating noodles, so that's a good thing :-)

By the way, we finally finished putting together Graham's little cozy coupe! And he loves it!

And it even comes with a little cup holder at the back of the car:

As long as he doesn't drink and drive when he gets older!

The weather has still been unusually warm, but on colder days we started to learn how to paint. Who knows, we might have another Picasso! Wishful thinking perhaps ;-)

Graham at 20 months old

It's getting so much more difficult now to take Graham's monthly picture for his album.

I just can't get him to sit still long enough!

Graham is growing up so quickly and talking so much more now. He is able to say even more words now, in which is able to express himself quite well:

- upstairs/downstairs

- Mommy/Daddy sit

- air purifier

- thermometer, stethoscope

- medicine, honey (see the trend here?)

- school bus, cement truck

- Pluto, Donald Duck, mouse, Goofy

The weather here has been unusually warm for January, so we have been able to spend some time in the yard. We were finally able to put the other side of the yellow frame and the door on the cozy coupe. Thank you Daddy! Now it's just a matter of time before we put the whole thing together. And yes, Daddy was able to dig for the screwdriver (twice!) that Graham had put into this cozy coupe through the holes.

And oh, here's a new development around the house. We started potty training this week. Let's just say we have a long way to go! Graham loves to just sit on it with its cover closed and say "motorcycle" as he moves his legs like his on a bicycle!

And we still need to work very hard on letting Graham know that he can't put his hand in the bowl, which as you can see - he really enjoys doing!

Thankfully the bowl is still clean as of now!

A trip to New Jersey

Last week, Bobby had a trip planned to New Jersey to teach his class at Rutgers University. That meant a trip for Graham to see Grandma and Pop-pop! He warmed up really quickly to both of them which was really nice to see. And that worked out great for Bobby and me since we had a trip planned to NYC on Monday.

The train ride to NYC was uneventful - although we almost did miss our train because Bobby was trying to find a parking spot for his mom's car at the train station. When we got on the train, he told me that he gave the key to the attendant of the lot along with the house keys! (Thankfully our car was still there when we returned. I suppose the $10 worked too!). Anyhow, after running a chore, we had a wonderful meal at Bryant Park Grill and later found an ice rink at the park:

We didn't do too much around the city as it was quite a chilly day. We did find the Empire State Building. I've yet to make that trip up to the top!

And of course, we found some clothing stores along the way back to the train station :-)

Graham really enjoyed himself in NJ. Pop-pop found a little tractor for him to play with:

And while we were at Uncle Doug and Auntie Myla's place, the boys enjoyed playing in the basement:

And he was so excited (and so quiet!) when Auntie Myla found a container full of Thomas the Train and Friends!

Look at that concentration!

By the end of the trip, Graham was able to say "Grandma", "Pop-Pop", "doobie" (the dog), and we also discoverd his "funny" face!

By the way, before leaving for NJ, Graham busted his lip when he tripped over another kid at daycare and fell on a toy.

Guess I needed a close-up of his bottom lip. Anyhow, it didn't stop him from eating his first chocolate popsicle!

Since being back from NJ, Graham has been going through my pot drawer. He had a fun time stirring imaginary soup with Grandma's pots. I knew I should have saved those cheaper pots from college!

Now when I ask Graham where's Grandma and Pop-Pop, he would actually answer "New Jersey!"

Happy New Year 2012!

I can't imagine 2011 is over! Where did the time go?! I suppose every day flies by pretty quickly when you have to deal with a little toddler! Haha...!

We actually spent our New Year at the airport - flying back from Phoenix to Tulsa. But before that, we finally had a chance to put our new couch together. And of course, another big project from IKEA! Thankfully Graham was ready to lend a hand:

And unfortunately, it took a little longer since Graham misplaced a little tool that came with the instructions. When I was done with the tool, I did not realize that I needed it again so I let Graham play with it. Bad mistake! Anyhow, nothing a spanner couldn't take care of, but it obviously took a little longer. Phew!

Back to our day at the Sky Harbor Airport....

You wouldn't believe the check-in line that was at Terminal 4! It was at least a 2-hour long line! Thankfully Bobby had a fly-by pass and we literally jumped the queue and were able to check in within minutes! Yay to Daddy!!!

So, off to the gate. Graham got on the walk-scalator for the first time and really enjoyed it:

And... UP!

And then, a little snack by Starbucks and watching planes take off almost every minute!

And then, helping Daddy with the luggage (it didn't last for very long!)

The flight was only 2-hours long and Graham finally fell asleep in the middle of the flight.

Unfortunately, he woke up screaming just as we were about the descend and eventually, Graham just ended up sitting on the floor, by my feet - saying "no" to everything that we offered to him! Thankfully, a couple of laps up and down the plane helped and once we got back to our seat, Graham found a comfy spot with his blankie and finally fell asleep again. During all the commotion, Bobby reminded me why we were NOT flying back to Malaysia this year for Chinese New Year! :-P