Sis & family's visit to Phoenix

We were back in Phoenix earlier this month. We ended up driving there again since daddy took too long to purchase the air tickets and it was going to cost us about $700 a piece! Anyhow, it was better that way because we had left the other bar stool here in Tulsa. And so it was one of the first things to go into the car before forgetting it again.

My sister and her family decided to join us in Phoenix this time for about 4 days. It was great to see everyone again! Graham really enjoyed playing with Michael (4) and Caden (1). The new bubble machine was a big hit in the backyard!

And Graham loved hanging out with his cousins in the double stroller!

Play time at the park was great too. Monkey see monkey do!

And while Daddy and Scott enjoyed their "vegetables" in the fridge...

... the little boys enjoyed sitting in their kid-sized IKEA table and chairs during mealtime in the kitchen with us:

And it was definitely more fun having a crowd to watch cartoons with:

I'm just glad that the guestroom worked out with so many people! When we arrived on Sunday evening, it was trip to IKEA right away to pick up a daybed. And of course, it was assembly day the next morning. As usual, Graham was Mommy's great little helper:

He loves playing with that drill!

Ta da!

And we managed to fit a queen-sized air mattress in the tiny room as well:

And Caden ended up sleeping in Graham crib, so everyone was taken care of (while Graham slept in his travel crib in our bedroom). Phew! I'm just glad there won't be any more IKEA projects for a while.

"80% boy"

We had another doctor's appointment last week and we were all trying to take a peek between the baby's legs during the ultrasound. The doc only had his little handheld device so it was a little bit difficult to see, but the doctor did get quite a good view from what he said "the photocopy/machine angle" and it looks like it's going to be a boy! We'll have further confirmation at the end of the month when we visit the ultrasound technician, but for now, looks like we need to think of a new baby boy's name!

And in the meantime, Graham has found a new use for Mommy's belly:

A ramp for his toy trucks!

Graham continues to love to paint:

And play too, of course - with his new alphabet train:

And as if, Graham doesn't have enough toys, we just keep buying more! This little cooking set was for sale at 80% off! So it was definitely difficult to pass up on. And Graham loves to cook!

Despite all the play, we continue to try and learn new things. Right now, we've been focusing on counting. Looks like we still have quite a ways to go!

Graham is 21 months old

Graham is 21 months old now and talking up a storm! He's starting to form sentences with 4-5 words in it, such as:

- Wen-wen eat the mash potatoes

- Daddy close the garage door (this one still needs some work :-)

Then, there's times when Graham would have conversations with Mommy. For example:

Graham: Where bird?

Mommy: In the sky

Graham: No... no bird. Bird sleeping!

The weather was so nice yesterday, so we took the opportunity to go out to the golf club. We just found out that this new club that we joined, has an entire practice hole! So, we just parked the cart on the side of the bunker and had the whole place to ourselves! Graham loves raking the bunker. He probably spent a good 45 minutes raking the sand:

Then, took a break to hit a couple of shots. He still predominantly swings lefty:

Then moved on to picking up the golf balls:

I hope he continues to enjoy doing this because that would help me tremendously with practice time! :-)

Then, more time in the bunker:

Then, literally in the bunker. It's his own personal sand pit!

At one point, Graham even started climbing in and out from the high spot of the bunker - getting sand all over the front of his shirt and pants. Then, he would sit on a high spot inside the bunker and try to slide down on his bum, saying "wheeeee" as he pushed his bum down the sand slope.

Needless to say, we all had a great day! :-D

Garden Update

The warm winter seems to have made the spring flowers arrive early this year. The daffodils are almost in full bloom! A few of them actually started blooming a couple of weeks ago. Crazy!

The hyacinths are starting to peek through as well.

The buds on the Bradford pear tree are starting to appear:

And new leaves are starting to sprout on the rose bushes!

I hope it's not too early because technically, it is still winter... and we've only have one snow fall this year! And it didn't even stick for very long.

In the meantime, Graham has gotten cheekier each day. This is him saying "cheese!" at breakfast one morning:

And this is his impersonation of the Cookie Monster. Too funny!

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 ;-)