Life Goes On

As this posts, I'll be driving south to the Oregon Coast to have a lovely little anniversary weekend w/ my gaw-geous hubby. That's right. The period ended that sentence right there. It’s our first sans kid anniversary weekend since having a baby. WOOT! Meanwhile our beautiful little girl is going to be at home (not missing us) playing with one of her favorite people on the planet, my crazy ass mom. It's a little ridiculous how much fun they have together and honestly if it weren't so stinkin' cute I'd probably be a leettle bit jealous. 

Milestones like this always make me nostalgic. Five years of marriage, eight years in Washington, ten years since graduating college (eek!), and a baby? Amazing to think this is where life has taken me. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family surrounding me and I'm trying to be better about slowing things down and enjoying life because it's beautiful, fragile and sometimes way too short.

Kuen was born a few weeks earlier than expected in late January of 2012. She was a perfectly healthy 5 lbs. 7 oz. munchkin stretching out at a petite 17". Have you people seen Gabe and I? We are not small people. Gabe's 6' and I'm a respectable (certainly for an Asian) 5'7" which is so interesting because both Gabe and my parents are on the shorter end of things (parents are 5’3” to 5’6” max between the 4 of them). Even with that, the doctor is expecting she'll be about my height. I actually didn't get a chance to see her until a few minutes after she was born but I got some pretty interesting looks from the doctors and nurses when they announced she was a redhead with dark blue eyes. Weirdest look by far was from Gabe. 

When we both saw her we knew her name would fit.

Kuen Alexandra Bell

Has a nice riiing to it, no? 

I like to pun.


More weird looks ensue. 

"Que-en?"

"Coon?" 

"Is that a boy or girl??" 

You're probably more used to seeing it "Quinn" but the spelling is unique for a very special reason, she's named after my late father. Sigh - over six years ago already..he wasn't even 60. 

Eff you cancer, a big ol' EFF YOU. 

Not a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination but a great dad to my brothers and me. That’s how he spelled it and no, I don't regret saddling her with a unique moniker. (Booya, hon! We have contests to see who can sound more pretentious.) She will have to take over for her parents when she's old enough to correct people on how to pronounce her beautiful name and I already know she won’t have a problem setting people straight. Aside from it being a family name, my dad’s name in Cantonese, it means power and if nothing else, she is definitely that.

Gabe and I agree that as she's growing out of the baby phase she is - hands down - the funniest person we know. Parents can attest to this as children have an amazing knack for being ridiculously adorable and hilarious at the same time.

She babbles, dances, plays and exudes this infectious joy that only a child can do. She love baths and swimming – total water baby like her dad. She’s changed our lives. She’s made us stronger, better. She has opened up my eyes and helped me to experience life through a child’s eyes because I experience things from her perspective now. Full circle. Life is amazing.

Her facial expressions = pure comedic genius.

Happy anniversary to my crazy hubby as 8/8 marked our 5 years of marriage.  We did good.  Love you more than ever.

For REAL I'm back (I hope)

So. After a 2+ year hiatus, I had the most amazing lunch at home that put me right. over. the. edge. As I took bite after glorious bite, I said to myself, "That's it! No more excuses! Amytacular is back!" To myself of course..while standing in my kitchen. Talking to my dogs. 

If you have been living under a rock (or just aren't a FB friend), the last 2 years have been filled with some pretty big life events. Ok, event. Singular, really. I had a little baby and she's now 1.5 years old. That was weird just typing that. She's a year and a half (technically not until the end of the month) but those people who would always speak about their children in months always annoyed me. It was like, I know you think b/c I'm Asian I like doing math, and honestly, I do but don't MAKE me do the math, mkay? But if you are one of those people that refers to their children's age in months, I get it now. My b for being so annoyed. And for all you people who find it annoying too that don't have kids - the true reason is b/c they change SO quick during those first few years that you HAVE to say what month b/c so much happens from month to month. One month they're rolling around, next they're crawling, then they're walking, then running, talking, talking back, driving, going to prom, running for Congress etc. Parents, can I get an Amen? (Amen) She's totally awesome by the way. More about her later.

Anyhow, I just wanted to get it out there that I'm dippin' the toe back in the bloggy pool. IDK how well I'll actually keep up but I have realistic hopes. I'm thinking it'll be pretty consistent for a little bit b/c of all the backed up material I've had swimming in my head for the last few years then I'll relapse into a monthly deal. That's life w/ a kid, man, deal w/ it! 

Oh, and I logged back on for the first time in a while and I noticed not ONE follower anymore. I leave for 2 years and you people abandon me? Not that it's THAT hard to believe but one of the TWO followers I had was my own freaking husband. Really, hon? Really? You blog reading people are a fickle bunch, I tell you. There are blogs out there that I've followed for YEARS after their authors have ceased to post. That's my commitment, people! That and I'm too lazy to really go in to my subscriptions and manage them. So does that mean you guys (hon, this is directed at you) went in and UNSUBSCRIBED? Or does it just kick you off as a Follower if you haven't posted anything in say, ohh, 2+ years? Gah. 

First (food) post back will be a good one, working on it now. It'll change your life as it has mine. LITERALLY. Stay tuned!

For Real?

Just a quick follow-up to my last post. My brother, his family and my mom came over for the Memorial Day weekend and we had a great dinner. Threw some steaks on the grill for the carnivores, some salmon burgers for my mom and me the pescavores along w/ some asparagus and potatoes.

I was testing the waters with the whole raw asparagus thing to the family and my mom then threw out eating raw asparagus would cause kidney failure. Not sure where my mom got her medical degree or whether she was moonlighting at med school when we were kids but she is getting crazier than ever.

And Gabe wonders why I'm as crazy as I am.



Love you, mom!