Reno and Tahoe Trip

Dear Logan,

Since Daddy and your brother had no school or work the week between Christmas and New Year, we (more like *I*) decided to take a trip up to Reno and Tahoe to see some snow. We took your brother up to Tahoe once, but he was only 2 yrs old, and probably didn't remember anything. He's older now, and I think he would enjoy the trip a lot more. I was planning to take him tubing, but was worried that he's scared and wouldn't do it. Sometimes, it's hard to guess what he would and wouldn't do. He always surprises me.

So, we drove up to Reno on Dec 27, and arrived at Eldorado Hotel at around 4 p.m. The four-hour drive was a little longer, since we stopped for lunch and a few pit stops. When we stopped at Nyack Rd for a quick rest break, there were soooo many people. I had to wait in line for a very long time to use the bathroom. However, because of the wait, we also got to see some snowing (instead of just snow). There was already plenty of snow, and many people were playing and sledding. Mommy, personally, loves to see snowing, but your brother didn't quite know what to make of it, and Daddy was too concerned about driving conditions. So, I was the only one happy to see snowing.

The first day, we didn't really do much. We rested for a while after our arrival, and then headed over to Circus Circus Midway for some carnival games. Your brother has been here before, but now that he's played Wii Carnival Games, he's more into the different games and machines. He wanted to play all of the games (mainly only once), but wasn't always strong enough. Then we headed for some dinner, and then back to our room to rest. Later that night, Daddy tried his luck at the casino, and...

Our second day, Dec 28, we had a late start after a long, nice buffet breakfast at Eldorado, ended with delicious gelato. By the time we got to Northstar, it was already 11:30 a.m. Most of the parking spots were taken, and we only parked at the 2-hour village parking. It wasn't quite enough time for us to take the gondola up to mid-mountain to try out snow tubing. Instead, we just did some snow play. It ended to be incredibly fun, and a good way to start and re-introduce your brother to snow. Your brother was especially excited in throwing snowballs at Daddy and Mommy. Daddy showed him how to make snow angels, rolling down the hill, and to do all sorts of silly things. It was definitely a lot of fun. We then headed back to our hotel for an afternoon nap. The rest of the night, we just went back to Circus Circus for more games. It was so cold outside, we really didn't want to step out of the hotel.

Dec 29 was the last day of our mini-vacation. After checking out of the hotel, we headed to Boreal. This time, we really did some snow tubing. Since your brother isn't quite 42inches tall yet, he couldn't go to the adult tubing area, but the mini-tubing area. It ended up not a bad idea, as there was no line to wait, and it's a good introduction. Besides, since there's not magic carpet to take us up the little hill, Daddy and Mommy and your brother got some exercise by dragging the tube up. It's not that bad of a hike, it's just a little difficult to walk as we were wearing hiking boots and not snow boots. Your brother had a lot of fun, and definitely wasn't scare. He actually wanted to head up the magic carpet to the adult area, but I told him he had to be 4 years old to do that. Hopefully, next time we head up to Tahoe again, he would have gained another inch. Actually, no one was actually checking the heights of the kids. If we had gone up, I didn't know anyone would notice. After an hour of tubing, your brother had enough and we left. We could have played for another hour because the ticket is good for 2, but since we're all pretty tired, and I was a little sunburned, we opted to leave early.



That pretty much summed up our trip. After tubing, we just started our long drive back home. It was a short but fun mini-vacation. I am hoping we could go back up to the snow before this season ends. Next time, I think we should try some sledding, or even have your brother take a ski lesson. We'll see.


Love you,
Mommy

Christmas Update

Hello Logan,

Christmas has come and gone, and I didn't get a chance to tell you all the fun things that we did. It would be too long to list every single thing that we've done, so I am just going to write a little update. I think I might have to look at pictures we've taken to refresh my memory.

Christmas Eve:
- Started the day by making our annual gingerbread house. After going to several stores to locate a set, finally found one at Lucky's. So, your brother and I built our gingerbread house together.
- Went to Auntie Alex's house for lunch. Daddy and his coworkers still had to work that day, so they decided to all head over to Auntie Alex's house to work. Daddy made some huge burgers, and we had lunch there.
- At night, we met up with Uncle John and Auntie Katie for dinner in downtown San Jose. We were going to go to Old Spaghetti Factory, but it was closed. So we went to another restaurant around the corner.
- Headed over to Christmas in the Park. It was a lot of fun. I've been wanting to take your brother there to check out the decorations, trees and lights. I think everyone had a lot of fun. Daddy got Aidan a light saber as a souvenir.

Christmas Day:
- Of course in the morning, we opened Christmas presents. Your brother was eager to try out the big keyboard that Grandma and Yeh Yeh gave him. He couldn't quite play the keyboard yet, but he definitely knew how to play the recorded "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" after I taught him once.
- Then we headed over to see you and brought you. It was a busy and festive day even at your place. We see a lot of potted poinsettias around, and a few very decorated areas.
- Went to our annual Christmas Mass at St. Joseph. I knew we should go more often. Whatever I say would just be excuses excuses.
- After lunch at Cupertino, we headed home and tried to get your brother to sleep before heading over for an early Christmas dinner. Of course, the more we wanted him to nap, the more he wouldn't nap. He ended up falling asleep on our way to Auntie Karen and Uncle Greg's house.
- A love Christmas dinner with good friends. It was a nice way to end a busy Christmas Day.

That's all we did for Christmas. I'll tell you more about our Snow trip!


Love you,
Mommy

Merry Christmas!

Dear Friends and Family,

2009 has been a roller coaster ride for our family. We celebrated the new year by welcoming Logan home from the hospital, and the company of Virginia's parents. We also celebrated Aidan's 3^rd birthday in January. We enjoyed and treasured the family time we had, until things started to go downhill.

Logan has gotten very sick and left us in April. That was the lowest point of our lives. But instead of focusing on the negative, we have learned to think of the great things that Logan has brought us. He brought our family closer and friends together (those that we haven't had contact in the last 10 years!). He showed us how lucky we are to be surrounded by caring people. We had friends and family offering advice, prayers, food, gifts, and most importantly, emotional support. We are truly blessed. This is what we are going to remember Logan by.

In May, Hank stayed back in California to hold down the fort, while Virginia and Aidan went to Macau for a vacation. It was a much needed vacation and we were showered with love from family and friends we haven't seen in a long time. Aidan was totally spoiled by everyone! Grandparents, uncles and aunties, and little cousins all wanted a piece of him, and showered him with love, gifts and good food. No wonder he was so chubby then! Virginia also got to hang out with her old friends, to catch up, and to chat about life as parents. Most importantly, we were glad to be back when Virginia's mother had surgery, and Aidan was there to lift up her spirits.

Virginia finally went back to work in July, after an 8-month leave of absence. Life is somewhat back to normal, and work has been keeping us busy. Hank survived a round of lay-offs at Yahoo. We're lucky to still have jobs, while seeing many got laid-off.

We've seen Aidan grown up a lot since we got back from our Asia trip. There had been concerns at school about him not listening in class, short attention span and not sitting still. But for some reason, he seemed to have matured within our one-month vacation. He is able to express himself better in words, will sit down during storytime at school, and can hold a conversation. Of course, he is also very good at selective listening (translation: not listening to what we wanted him to do but continued doing what he wantsed to do). He has shown a little more interests in painting/drawing, but his obsession with numbers, cell phones, cameras and laptops has just gotten stronger.

In mid-November, we moved into our new townhome in Sunnyvale! Everyone was excited and nervous about this new change. Aidan was happy to have more room for him to run around, and stairs to climb up and down. He has his own room, yet he still comes over to our bed every morning and sleeps horizontally on top of us!

It's December now, and our new home is 80% furnished. We're glad to end this year on a positive note. In less than a month, Aidan will be turning 4! Time sure does fly!

Lastly, we want to wish you all a very Happy and Healthy 2010! Please stay in touch!

Love,

Aidan, Hank and Virginia

Welcome to Heaven, Monica!

Dear Logan,

Mommy received sad news today from work that my co-worker's sister, Monica, passed away last Saturday. Monica is the sister of Auntie Shelley, who I work with somewhat closely the past several years. Monica has Down Syndrome, and cancer took over her, and caused her a lot of pain. She spent the last days of her life in a hospice, but surrounded by her beloved family. I actually don't know Monica very well. I believe I probably only met her once or twice when she came to visit The Arc, and came to our client holiday parties. Even though she's not a client of The Arc, many of our clients know her, and were saddened by the news.

I remember talking to Auntie Shelley last Wednesday during the client holiday party that she's not sure when Monica would leave. My other co-worker, Auntie Kerry, and I were suggesting Auntie Shelley to take last Thursday and Friday off, not worry about work, but to spend more time with Monica. Auntie Shelley planned to work last week and possibly this week, but would spend time with Monica in the evening. We suggested her to just take the days off, and spend the time with Monica, plus her other sisters who were coming from out-of-town. I'm glad she really did take time off. Everyone at work was super supportive of each other, esp. during times like this. I know first hand what a great agency I am working for. I also told Auntie Shelley that even though one could be mentally prepared for what may come, when the time really comes, the pain is still there. I might not know exactly how Auntie Shelley feels, but I could guess. I believe she's relieved that Monica won't be suffering anymore. But on the other hand, she will miss her dearly.

So Logan, if you see Monica in heaven, keep her company and welcome her with open arms. Pray that her family stay strong during this difficult time, but know that love and support are just a phone call/e-mail/text message away.


Miss you,
Mommy

Holiday Cards...

Hi Logan,

This year, we finally did the cheesy thing. We sent out holiday cards with our picture on it. Yes, we did the unspeakable!

Ever since the birth of your brother, I've been wanting to do that. But I never did, thinking it was a little too cheesy to do that. Then last year, I finally wanted to do it, especially, since we have added you to our family. But then, I said, I'll wait for another year, because we didn't know when you would be out of the NICU. And by the time you were discharged, you still had your feeding tube and nasal cannula, so I canceled the thought again. I said to myself, I could do it next year when we could have a nice family picture. Year after year, I wanted to do it, but I didn't.

This year, after a minor internal struggle, I decided to finally take a family picture in front of our Christmas tree, and take that family picture. I felt guilty for doing it, because you weren't here. But then, I couldn't feel guilty every year, and kept on not doing things and not moving on, right?

Even though you're not in the picture, you're definitely in our hearts. Your spirit continues to live among us, and also in the special ornament that I purchased for you last year.


Miss you,
Mommy

Daddy's Birthday Recap

Hello Logan,

I'm sorry we didn't get to go visit you last weekend. It's been raining like crazy last week and I'm glad to finally see some sunshine this week. We'll definitely come see you this weekend.

Let me tell you how we celebrated Daddy's birthday last Sunday. We didn't do anything exciting, but I think it could be one of daddy's most memorable birthdays (at least I hope it was).

During the day, we met up with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle John and Auntie Katie for the annual noodle meal to celebrate Daddy's birthday at his favorite Taiwanese restaurant. This is a family tradition that everyone in the family gotta have noodles for birthday. You know, long noodles symbolizes long life. So it's pretty important! I know if we didn't go out for noodles, Daddy would probably have noodles at Grandma's house. What made this meal so especially special, was that it was the first big family meal we had. You wouldn't know how significant this meal meant to Daddy, and especially to Mommy. We had waited for 4 years for this meal to happen. And you know, I think we were able to all sit down and enjoy a family meal because of you.

After lunch, we went home to enjoy some birthday cake. Uncle John and Auntie Katie went to a fancy bakery in Saratoga to get Daddy a delicious Mango Mousse birthday cake. Before we enjoyed the cake, we also looked through their wedding pictures taken in Taiwan. Such beautiful pictures, and Uncle John and Auntie Katie looked so happy together. Now we're officially a family!

At night, Mommy planned a surprise birthday dinner for Daddy. He thought I was just not telling him where we were going for dinner, but didn't know there's more to it. Mommy actually invited his close friends to this Afghan restaurant called Kabul, which is close to where we live. Definitely a surprise! We've never had Afghan food, and Daddy totally didn't expect it. He was honestly surprised to see all his friends sitting there shouting out "SURPRISE" when we walked in. What's better than good food and good company? A few of the friends came over to our new house to hang out after dinner, just chilled and talked.

Like I said, nothing exciting happened, but definitely a meaningful and memorable birthday. I hope Daddy had as great a time as I did.


Love you,
Mommy

Quick update

Hi Logan,

Sorry Mommy hasn't been writing to you lately. Life has been busy. The move, of course, is all done. But the packing and unpacking are not. Each evening after work, I'm so tired already that I just want to veg in front of the tv, and not unpack anything. Most of the rooms are unpacked, except for my office/guest room, which also serves as a storage room for now. However, we need to clear stuff for Friday. We have finally purchased a sofa and loveseat set, and a bunk bed. They are both going to be delivered this Friday, and we have to prepare for them to arrive. I just moved some of the boxes in my office to the bathroom. Guess where I stack them? In the bathtub! Perfect place to stack up all the boxes, since we don't use this bathroom often.

I hope there's still enough room for me after the bunk bed is installed. The bunk bed is mainly for Ah Gung and Ah Po when they come to visit. This will be their room. When Auntie Mena or Uncle Carlos comes, they can sleep there as well. Other times, it will be my office, which I don't really come in as much.

Daddy's birthday is this Sunday. We'll probably be having lunch with Grandma and Grandpa, plus Uncle John and Auntie Katie. Then at night, we'll celebrate ourselves. We'll probably stop by and come visit you as well.

This week has been very cold. Can you believe it actually hit the 20s and 30s at night? Luckily, we are in the new house with heat and double-paned windows. It's actually not too cold when all the windows are closed, even without the heat on. But we still have the heat on, esp. for your brother since he still comes over to our bed every night and sleeps on top of the blanket. We don't want him to be cold.

Just a quick update for now. Once we get the couch and bunk bed, I'll take some pictures for you to see.

Take care now.


Love,
Mommy