November life happening

In a matter of blink, November is gone. I feel like I’m just catching up with life here at home.

Work is still busy but very interesting! I’m really happy with work now. New countries to work on, new challenges to face, new colleagues, and new exciting projects! 🙂

Running is going well too. Still running 4-5 times a week, averaging 20-25 miles. Last week I had issue with high HR during most of the runs, but after taking a break during thanksgiving, HR came back to normal. Oh… I run a PR 10k too.

Lizzy is funnier than ever! I love love seeing her smiling faces. Even the face she makes when she’s annoyed/bored/wanting to be entertained is so cute.

sisterhood is going stronger everyday. Sofia loves playing with Lizzy, making her laugh.

for our date night last month, we went to watch Arrival. I was very skeptical of a science fiction movie, but it turned out to be one of the greatest movie I’ve seen for a long long time! It made me appreciate even more my girls.

I run Pacers veterans 10k race and had a blast. It was a really cold day. I couldn’t feel my feet and hands for 3-4 miles. But it turned out to be a perfect weather for a PR.

because I run a negative split race, finishing at below 8 min/mile pace.

My official time was 50 min 8 secs.

love the finisher medal

obviously my cheer group is the best. I really appreciate that Tony and Sofia cheers me up in all the races. It was really a cold day and they had to walk 1 mile each way from the parking lot to the race. There’s nothing more gratifying to see them at the finishing line.

we were treated with massages. It felt so good.

despite the coldness, it was a gorgeous day and the course had spectacular view.

I think that concludes my 2016 race season. 🙂

 

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Life lately October – first anniversary

Someone started solids (just few days before Lizzy turned 6 months)

!!! YEY! Let’s the fun begin. First I prepared her rainbow carrots

then made cooked lentils

she was curious to explore

but milk still tasted better

Grandma has been taking her for walk once a day and she loves it

And I love taking the girls to the playground on weekends, even nicer when Tony comes along too

Sunday is my long run day and I love it. First because I get to run with Tony for 2-3 miles, then I’ll have solo run for 5-6 more. When I come back home, Tony already gone with Sofia for her swimming class, which means I get to enjoy peaceful breakfast by myself. Still loving the toast + eggs + cheese + avocado combo

More birthday parties to attend (2 that weekend)

Sofia still loves her ballet class

Last Saturday 10/22 Tony and I went on a date to celebrate our first anniversary. The actual date of anniversary is 10/27, but I’ll be in Brazil that day for work, so we celebrate it the day before I left. It was a gorgeous day

we went to the French restaurant Chez Francois.. one of my favorite place in VA

we had the fix menu that started with a fennel soup with a very intense white wine flavor which I really liked

for appetizer, Tony had mussels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and I had mushroom crepe (I always have this when I come here)

for main dish, Tony had the lamb

and I had the seafood stew, love it

we both enjoyed a lot the food and each others company. Now with two kids is harder to have time alone as couple, but I’m glad that we both think it’s something important for us to keep our intimacy so we make an extra effort for it to happen.

sometimes I still find myself amazed by this new life. I could never imagined we would be together, so in love, and with two lovely girls.

cheers for more years in love to come!!!

Life: catching up & apple picking

After a low-key weekend, our schedule got packed up again last weekend. Well… life of two kids just got interesting.  First few recap of past few weeks

Sofia had a birthday party at her school on her actual birthday (9/26).

we sing a song, all her classmates gave her either a hug/kiss/good luck, and we had chocolate cake.

but then the teacher told me she lost the pics of that day so we had another party last week… the teachers brought cupcakes for the kids

this girl had two chocolate cupcakes with frosting and all.

Lizzy is loving mama’s milk. She’s taking 6-7 oz. twice a day while I’m at work and could probably take another one if we let her. To save her appetite for when I’m back home, grandma gives her 4-5 oz. instead.

she’s so happy these days… smiling at us all the time as long as her tummy is full

oh… she loves exploring with her mouth

I took Sofia to have dinner with a friend one Friday as “girls’ night out”, she loved it!

had adult-like meal and finished it all

she had shrimp with grits and I had sea scallop with corn, mushrooms and spinach. Delicious both of them.

she behaved really well during dinner time while I chat with my friend

post running fuel lately: toasts + eggs + goat cheese.

want to eat this face too!

I took a Friday off to relax after the weekend of Sofia’s birthday party which left me exhausted. So Tony took Sofia to daycare by taking the metro. Sofia really liked the experience and asked for more.

Last week’s lunch at work: quinoa + cauliflower/eggplant/zucchini/tofu cooked in tahini/miso/ginger sauce. YUM~

Weekend activities:

Saturday: Tony and I went to IIF to see my advisor giving a talk. It was really interesting. And meeting with my advisor was even better! I missed her and it was really nice to reconnect. We might visit her in Boston this coming Thanksgiving.

Then I took Sofia to ballet class.  After lunch and nap, we were ready to go to a colleague’s birthday party with my girl

again she got her face painted in butterflies.

Sunday started with 10 miles run for me and a swimming class for Sofia. After that, we went to do groceries with grandparents. Lunch, nap, and had friends over to make and eat wonton together.

Monday started with a BIG EVENT, starting solid for Lizzy.

we introduced kabocha mixed with breast milk.

she DID great! making funny face and finished 1/4 cup worth of food.

then we went to apple picking

first time carrying her and she didn’t complain

unfortunately the kind of apple we liked (cameo) was out… so we didn’t buy any but we did have a lot of fun. Sofia had fun eating apples on the spot and feeding animals

My friend Susan also took her family, so it was a nice family trip.

Loving the pumpkin season!!!

 

Life: back to work, weekend happening

After 4 months and half of being on maternity leave, going back to work was not too hard. As I mentioned before, this maternity leave was less relaxing than the previous one before I had to be out of the house at least twice a day, and there were more errands to take care of. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it fully, had plenty of time to read, to run and to nap.

But it is also nice to be back at work, to have a routine, to be connected to friends and colleagues more closely, and have a purpose in life other than motherhood. And on top of all, Tony commutes with us, so in the morning we leave together. Both Tony and I work while Sofia has wonderful time with her friends at school. And then all three of us goes home together at the end of a fun day.

First day going back to work, I lied down with my girls and felt so lucky to be where I am now. 🙂

Lizzy stays at home with grandma. She’s such an easy, calm and happy baby, behaves extremely well, doesn’t fuss much and always laughing.

Grandma would send us pics of her during the day which make us miss her more and appreciate more time spent with her once we are home.

Sofia is transitioning to preschool class, a new building, new teachers and new classmates. She adapted it right away and loves the new environment.

There were 3 days that school was closed and Sofia had to stay at home. She behaved really well playing with Lizzy and by herself. She’s just a big girl already!

Tony started to run!!! YEY!!! I love that we share an activity together, actually my latest passion. So it’s great that he’s running too so he gets to appreciate and understand when I talk about all the running jargon.

He started to run 5 times a week, 2 to 3 miles, and then last Saturday he run 6 miles :shock:. I even went to the trail to look for him. He felt great after the run, experiencing runner’s high. But then next day, his foot hurt. opss…… too much too soon. Hopefully he recovers soon while doing some cross training, so he can resume running. We have a 5k in less than 2 weeks.

Our second “date” night was spent eating Korean food and at REI. Nothing fancy and we both enjoyed our couple time.

Last Saturday Sofia didn’t have her usual ballet class, so I took her to her favorite playground. It was nice spending time alone with my girl.

Sunday I had my longest run during this training cycle, 12 miles. I went slow and felt great.

Shower and had a big breakfast which I think worked because I didn’t experience runger the next day.

Then I wore my new compression socks for 1 hour and rest most of the day. I got to learn that eating and resting well after the long run, even if I don’t feel hungry or tired, is important, it’s part of the recovery and training.

what do I do while I rest? Read more about running!!! 😀

Tony took the family to an antique market, so I got to spend time alone with Lizzy, who is so cute and adorable!

We tested out carrying her… I don’t think she’s ready for it yet.

Then we went for brunch with friends at a new restaurant Requin. We shared two appetizers: eggplant-tomato ratatouille

mussel & clam escabeche, both served with crostini. Sofia loved the eggplant one and had 6-7 crostinis.

For main, I ordered grilled swordfish  with, beluga lentil salad, watercress, grapefruit. Unfortunately I didn’t like the swordfish so I gave them to Tony and finished the salad.

Sofia had French toast

which she surprisingly finished the plate! WOOO!!!

Tony had smoked salmon soft scramble  puff pastry, tomato, leek, potatoes, and market salad, which he liked.

It was a relaxing weekend with enough down time which I really appreciate, especially now that I’m away from home during the week. 🙂

 

Life: weekend outings and food lately

While I play with Lizzy at home during the week… I try to do more with my husband and Sofia over the weekend.

I’ve been reading more running related books

when Sofia woke up from her nap and saw me reading, she grabbed a book herself and started reading too. 🙂 So cute!

 

 

We had four months appt for Lizzy. She’s doing great! Such an easy happy girl.

Tony and I haven’t gone on a date for like…. ever? Actually not since last October when we got married. It has been too long. Although we love going out as a family, it’s important to go on dates with each other alone. It doesn’t have to be fancy but it feels different, specially going out on a Friday night. I first suggested the idea to Tony 2 weeks ago and we’ve been planning to go for a movie night. For some unexpected events, we couldn’t do it until last Friday.

So… after we had dinner and put Lizzy to bed, we left. We went to mosaic, which is just 5 min away from our house. Since we arrived 15 min earlier, I suggested to get ice cream. Obviously Tony liked the idea.

first couple pics since WAY TOO LONG. We were both excited for our date night.

so in love with this man! Sometimes I’m amazed that despite of what we’ve been through, how long we’ve been together, I look at him and I feel love.

on Saturday I took Sofia to watch Cirque du Soleil

we had free popcorn!!!

the show was really well done, a great combination of music, costumes, story and acrobatic.

we left the show a bit earlier because I had to go to a friends’ bachelor party

we went to Rural Society, an argentinean restaurant. It was my first time and I was surprised by how sophisticated the food was. Good taste, presentation and ambiance.

then on Sunday we went to a friends’ baby shower

we decided to take Lizzy with us. We weren’t sure how she’d do because when she’s at home her awake time is about an hour. But she did great! She was super calm, looking around for the entire 1.5 hrs we went at the party, even on our way home she got sleepy but she didn’t fuss at all. What a great baby girl! Look how proud is her daddy.

FOOD LATELY

waffles making

a banana bread

maybe the last kale salad of the season

I’ve been having tortilla pizza with vegan tofu sauce few times

finally tried the protein waffle (1 scoop of protein powder + 1 egg whites + water), topped with PB. It was not as crunchy as I expected but tasty nonetheless.

more pizza served with a sweet corn

breakfast post-run has been either 2 eggs with 2 toasts with LC, or 1 egg and turkey slice with toasts

for snack I made banana oatmeal protein bar

Banana oatmeal protein bar (15 squares)

• 300 g old fashion oatmeal
• 5 medium bananas
• 4 large eggs
• 2.5 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 scoop protein powder

blend everything, pour into a pan and bake at 375 for 50-60 min. I wrap each square and freeze them. It’s super easy to grab one on the go for snack.

The highlight of last week’s meal was this one that I had after Sunday long run. I first craved sea bass… but the price tag scared me so I got sea scallop instead. I cook them with butter, S+P, paired with roasted asparagus and steamed japanese sweet potato. YUM YUM~~~

I’m one week away from going back to work. I don’t feel ready… I am so enjoying this (probably the last) maternity leave. But I know I’ll do fine. I enjoy having a routine when working, I love my job so everything will be just fine. I just need to be super organized, plan ahead and be efficient at work so I can leave office on time. 🙂

Life: enjoying the summer

Summer is ending… my maternity is ending. We’ve been trying to make the most of it by playing with Lizzy

eating salads when it’s 90F outside

taking Sofia to swimming class. One day we found a turtle on the road

we stopped and helped it to move away from the danger

we usually go to Costco after swimming class. Sofia took a nap on the ride

and then on Sunday 7/31 we went to celebrate Lizzy’s 100 days

she got to see around

we got to eat

such a peaceful lady 🙂

so proud of my girls….

We’ve instated the rule of not going to buy groceries until the fridge is empty, so it means we don’t necessarily go on weekend. This time it was a Friday and we took Lizzy with us. She was so entertained the whole trip

The Olympic season is here and we’ve been watching the games all day long

all the family

After my 5k race, Sofia asks to take her on morning runs. I can’t really take her for my runs but on my rest day, yes of course. Last Saturday we woke up early so excited that she’d go for a run with mommy. She really run….. not for long, but run walk run… it was so fun! I can’t wait to run with her side by side on a race. But for now, I think every Saturday we’d have our “morning run” together.

Saturday ballet class is always fun. They have different theme each week, so the girls are entertained.

Last Sunday my long run was 9 miles. Glorious 9 miles. I felt great! Not really tired the rest of the day.

We went to Earth Trek Crystal City in the afternoon. It was my first time since I got pregnant, so over a year already. I missed it so much! I was surprised how much I could still accomplish.

It was a great way to introduce Sofia to the sport. She had a lot of fun passing the ropes and insists that she wants to climb too. Unfortunately she can’t do it until she’s 40 lbs.

Now that the gym is closer to us, we’d definitely go more often. It’s a great sport.

Last Tuesday, Lizzy woke up warm but still happy. But then after her morning nap, she was really warm, fussy and refused to eat. I got worried and booked an appt with the pediatrician. She was calmer by the time we got there (she finally nursed after I expressed some milk to her mouth).

the pediatrician check her and she was fine, no ear infection. But the fever was 102.2F so she was given tylenol.

then she took almost 3 hrs nap and woke up back to normal. Rolling!!!

oh yes, that’s all she does these days! Unfortunately she doesn’t know how to roll back yet, so we have to help her or she’d “ask” for help.

Horay for quick recovery! 🙂

Life: weekend routines

I used to think those stay at home moms are so lucky because they have plenty of time for themselves. Well…. not so true because now that I’m temporary taking that role, I find myself busy during the week for no reason. I keep running errands in the mornings. I have a long to-do list everyday to tackle. Groceries shopping takes a lot of time now that we have 5.5 people in the house.

Fortunately coming home and see this face makes me smile

oh… she smiles a lot too, specially when I play with her.

We got our first batch of potatoes!!! Look how cute they are and really tasty too.

Last weekend: Saturday mornings are dedicated to soccer game.

Sofia and Tony warming up

Sofia plays and eats her fruits while I got to relax. Then at noon is Sofia’s ballet class.

She’s going to Tiny Dancers and the place is really cute. A small studio where parents get to see them the whole time.

Each week there’s a theme, they read a book and dress afterwards, and a parade with their costume for the parents.

first week’s theme was bubble bee

Sofia had a lot of fun!

Saturday evening we went to a friend’s new house for BBQ

what a great feast!

Sunday I started with 7 miles run. Unfortunately I didn’t feel strong in that run. Maybe because I didn’t carb load the night before? maybe because I didn’t sleep enough? Need to try another meal and sleep more this week.

when I came home, my lovies were watching soccer game and having breakfast

Sofia is getting into soccer games with Tony

then it was her swimming class

followed by lunch at Iron Chef with friends

 

On July 18th Lizzy turned 3 months!!!

she’s such a fun girl to play with

this weekend we did pretty much the same… soccer saturday morning

then ballet

Sunday was my 5k race! 🙂

Life: race is on & weekend happening

After 24 hrs of deep thought! I signed up for the September 12, 2016 Park half marathon, the same one that I did 6 years ago!!! 😀 What pushed me to make the decision was great memory I have from that training, the sense of accomplishment I had after each of the long runs, support from Tony and knowing that 4 of my friends are running it too, 2 of them run with me last time. I’m super excited about it.

On Sunday I did 6 miles. My plan was to run it slow so I could increase mileage. When I finished.. I felt great, so great that I could run probably 1-2 miles more. And it turned out, I wasn’t too slow.

There’s 9 weeks to go until the race day and I’ve written down my plan. Both for the half marathon and continuing with MUTU. Glad that I’m on maternity leave so I can spend 2 hrs per day training.

Lizzy started to play in the playmat and she seems to like it. She could lie down there by herself for half an hour. Sofia loves to join her.

Saturday morning we stayed at home and had BBQ for lunch

because Sofia and I had a girls night planned. We went to see Cirque Italia

it was our first time going to cirques and it was quite fun

Sofia was definitely excited to watch the show

Sunday morning was swimming class for Sofia. Then we went to have lunch at Iron Chef

We ordered 3 appetizers: a spicy seafood soup (I had it almost all of it!)

shrimp dumpling (mostly consumed by Sofia)

grilled squid

Sushi deluxe

Sashimi deluxe

It was a great meal, so refreshing for a warm day. Lizzy behaved real well. The trick is to time it well with her sleeping schedule. She woke up, I nursed her and left the house. When returned home 2 hrs later and she was ready to go for a nap.

Sofia enjoys eating out and trying new food nowadays. Although she’s not very adventurous but she’s willing to try at least one, like squid, and asked for more.

Sunday evening we went to a soccer play. Tony loves soccer but haven’t found anywhere to play. So meetup.com did the magic. We signed up on a Saturday morning and he was playing the next day. Definitely going back for more!

while he played, Sofia played in the playground, I fed her dinner and I did some reading. Perfect way to end the weekend.

Now that Tony started working, weekends are even more precious. Loving it!

Life: happening, eating and more

Playing catch up again. I really hope I can blog more from now on… maybe 3 times a week just as I did when I was on maternity leave last time. I really enjoy reading those. Good memories. Now.. we are living another special time.. and I want to record it too.

Happening

First let’s see how we celebrated grandma’s birthday this year. It was a surprise celebration. I didn’t tell her when was her birthday this year but secretly planned it with Sofia and Tony. Sofia came back with a cake and my mom was happily surprised! 🙂

following tradition, we had noodle for dinner.

Sofia helped blowing the candle while Lizzy continued staring at her sister

Everyone enjoyed the cake and the ocassion

including Lizzy… she had a “taste” of the cake

I love my mom so much. She’s the wisest woman I know. She is also caring, generous and always there when I need her. I notice that she’s getting older, not as energetic as few years ago. Her time with us here in the US will be limited. She will probably go back to  China next year. We will all miss her so much.

 

As present for grandma, I took her and Sofia to see Riverdance. I saw the show 7 or 8 years ago and at that time I knew she would love it. So when I was thinking about what to give for her birthday, Riverdance happened to be in town that weekend.

Three generations of women went on a date… it was a lovely day

it was Sofia’s first show experience and she behaved really well

It was the perfect present for grandma. She really liked it. Now that she’s getting older, I think she enjoys experience over material goods. I will definitely share more memorable experiences with her. These are invaluable.

We’ve been exploring farmer’s market on Saturdays. The last time I went with Miss Sofia alone and treated her with a popsicle. She was so happy.

Sofia started her swimming lessons. Now she’s in Peddle II.

We went to a pool party at Brian’s, one of Sofia’s classmate

she had such a blast! I wish we had a pool at home too. She could spend the whole afternoon in the water.

Lizzy started to smile and “talk” to us. She’s such a happy baby, so easy to be content! 🙂

On July 4th weekend, Sofia and I prepared a icebox cake to take to a friend’s BBQ party

she had so much fun putting those fillings.

We will definitely make it again next year.

We took Lizzy to the mall one day… one of few outings with her other than to restaurants. As long as I keep moving around with the stroller, she’s content.

I love seeing Tony interacting with Sofia. I know I say it repeatedly, but I still feel moved when I see them together.

Four days weekend at home drives me crazy… Sofia has so much energy to release. I was out of ideas… so I took her to ride bike for a while, teaching her how to turn without falling

I encourage Tony to exercise, Sofia likes to join.

 

We invited friends over to play with Sofia, so we make egg tarts

Sofia loves cooking with me and I love having her as company. I wish she enjoys cooking as much as I do in the future.

They played for few hours and they got tired too. Some downtime with the iPhone.

by the end of the long weekend, I was so exhausted. I didn’t want to move out of the couch.

This Monday the teacher called me. I was in panic. Fortunately it was nothing major but we  still took Sofia to get checked. Apparently little girls can have yeast infection too. Who knew? But it’s nothing to worry about. Just keep her private area clean and dry, apply the cream twice a day for two weeks.

Eating

I’ve been eating really clean lately because I can prepare meals myself. I love it! I enjoy cooking and I feel the greatest when I eat clean with tons of veggies, lean meat, limited fat and fruit, and almost no grains.

For breakfasts I’m addicted to is this protein cake. Made with 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree, 3 egg whites, 2 TB corn flour, 1 TB cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, pinch of salt and stevia. Mix, microwave for 3’50”, top with PB2 sauce. It’s like eating dessert for breakfast. So so good. I think I had it for 3 weeks straight and each day still looking forward to it.

for savory option, I’d have a grilled wrap filled with 1 egg, 1/2 C egg white, 1 oz. mozzarella cheese and 1 slice of smoked ham.

or this savory pancake made with 1/4 C of chickpea flour and the same feelings as the wrap.

For my mom and Tony, I prepared egg muffins

bread with ham, bacon and hash browns

 

waffles with PB2 sauce and homemade berries jam

I don’t often have morning snacks, if I do, it has been mainly pistachios, my fav nuts!

I usually eat lunch pretty late… around 1:30pm. Some random combos:

a soupy mixture of shrimp head, tofu, napa cabbage and shiitake noodles.

taco bowl made with grounded turkey, sautéed kale, chipotle salsa and cauliflower rice. Such a filling and tasty meal.

when it’s hot, I’d have a salad. This one has lettuce, tomato, cucumber, asian blend veggies and grilled shrimp. I made an asian dressing with sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey.

similar salad with grilled tofu

Quick stir fry with whatever I had: kale, palm heart, red onion and tempeh.

Asian blend sautéed with onion, kale and homemade turkey meatballs, with tons of spicy korean sauce.

asian blend sautéed with shrimp, paired with cauliflower rice

asian blend sauteed with onion and turkey meatball, paired with cauliflower rice

sauteed purple cabbage with kale, grounded turkey and shiitake noodles.

Tony’s (he gained 10 lbs recently, so I’m trying to get him to eat cleaner too).

seaweed tofu soup, homemade chickpea and bean burger, and sweet potato fries

pasta with carrot and turkey meatball. I added carrots so he doesn’t feel it was too small a portion of pasta.

milanese with tomato and roasted sweet potato

We eat a veggie loaded chinese dinner. We typically have 1 or 2 veggie dishes, 1 protein (mainly fish or chicken, occasionally beef or pork or tofu)

We’ve been doing a lot of BBQ too. As simple as salad with sausage

and grilled vegetables

Misc:

I finished Grit. I was very excited when I first hear about it. However, the message is simple and I don’t think it needs such a long book to deliver it.

I’m running again! I started at 6 weeks postpartum. Now I’m addicted to it. I’m following Nike’s 5k coaching program so I don’t have to decide how long I should run everyday. I just follow the plan and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!

Well… that’s a long recap. Hopefully I’ll start posting more from now on. Good news coming up.

Life: lately

Life has ups and downs. We all know that but still find it hard when you are in downs. We’ve been experiencing rollercoaster lately. It’s hard but we are trying to be positive and hopeful.

I know this moment (newborn stage) is precious, no matter how hard life hits us, we still need to enjoy it as much as possible. I remind myself of that everyday.

I try to have quality time with Sofia every weekend as she’s in a stage between liking to be accompanied when she does things. As simple as taking her to playground makes her so happy.

I am amazed by how happy she can be be playing the toys that she’d played hundreds of time as every time is her first time! I need to learn this skill, it could make me so much happier.

Summer is here means festivals!!!

The last time we were at Vienna festival, Sofia was one year and half and she couldn’t play. But this time she wants to do all of them!

She’s truly fearless and adventurous.

As I watch her going in and out by herself, I am a bit sad, my little baby has turned into a kid, soon she will walk out of my life. Well… I’m being dramatic, but if you are a mom too, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

I can see in her face that she has mixed feeling about going into new things… a mix between excitement and fear. But that’s great! Because she’ll have so many more new things to her, and I’d encourage her to try them. Life is about experience, good or bad, we need to experience them by ourselves to truly understand the feeling and treasure them, they are all valuable to form who we are.

Some people says at age of 3 personality has formed. If that is the case, Sofia is adventurous but cautious, caring, compassionate, sweet, flexible, thinker (quick in making connection between events or things), and has facility with languages. She’s fluent in english, spanish and shanghainese. She’s still learning mandarin although she understands it. She even sings french sometimes. These languages will be assets for her in the future and they came so natural to her, effortless almost.

She loves dancing. Often time she’d ask me or grandma to play music so she can dance for us.

More recently, she’s developed the girl nature… wanting to be pretty! she’d sit still if it means she’ll get her hair done. So funny!

We went to Herdon festival the following week. She didn’t enjoy it as much as the first time.

she still prefers mommy than anyone else. Although I’m very strict with her and often time yell at her (during meal time), she still feel safe with me, and wants my approval or acknowledge more than anyone else’s.

We could be “fighting” one minute, and 5 min later, laughing silly to each other. I think it’s important to be able to have fun with her despite having to enforce rules.

She does powertot at school. Once every semester parents are invited to see their progress. It was my first time going and she was extremely happy.

so proud of her.

she has been such a great sister to Lizzy. So caring and protective of her.

I think she has my look and smile. 🙂

We’ve been having visitors to meet Lizzy. Since Lizzy is sleeping so much and not interactive yet, Sofia got to play with them.

Lizzy, the angel baby, is getting cuter and cuter.

We’ve had our first harvest of the season.

the most tender, fresh and delicious lettuce ever!!!

I’ve had lettuce salad for lunch in a row until I finished all we had for the moment. Because the lettuce is so fresh, simple ingredients as tomato, heart of palm, red onion and tofu, dressed in olive oil and lemon, makes a delicious meal.

or with a chickpea quinoa burger

with tahini lemon sauce

I’ve also had several kale salad. Massaged kale with a spicy tahini dressing (tahini, lemon, S+P, cayenne and nutritional yeast), tomato and seared tofu.

I’ve been making waffles for the family. Sofia likes it with PB for breakfast.

Myself, I’m in a pumpkin protein cake kick lately, topped with PB sauce. It’s so satisfying and delicious, it holds me for good 4 hours.

I’ve been working out every morning, like very early. It’s great to breath fresh air, clear mind, awake my body and hear interesting podcasts. I head out around 6:30am when the sun is still not too strong. I started jogging almost two weeks ago and it feels great! I started with 15 min jog, and now I can do 40 min. To have some structure, I’m following nike 5k training plan. I don’t have a race signed up, but jogging 3 miles everyday could get boring. So far I’m enjoying the plan.

Eating out is not easy with two kids but we try to do sometimes. When we eat out, we like to try new cuisines, things that I don’t know how to cook. The most recent one was another middle-east cuisine. We started with a mix of greek yogurt, hummus, baba ganoush and olives.

a spinach tart

for our entree, it came a bean/vegetable soup with a side of salad

we shared two dishes: one mixed kebab that has chicken, lamb and grounded beef

and the other only chicken

while we enjoyed our food, Lizzy looked around, that’s enough entertainment to her.

grandma takes so good care of her

we eat very simple for lunch and often time at different times (mom likes to eat around noon, I like to eat when I’m hungry, usually around 1:30pm, and Tony somewhere in between). But we all sit together for dinner so we prepare a good dinner to enjoy as family. I think family dinners are important part of the family tradition, a moment when we share our days and thoughts. Although we don’t do the talk part yet because otherwise Sofia talks instead of eating, but at least we make sure everyone is around the table at dinner time. As she gets older, we will introduce the talking part. Now it’s mainly just me talking to Tony and mom, and trying to get Sofia to eat meanwhile.

In term of food, we eat heavy in vegetables as you can see, and 1 or 2 dishes or either fish, shrimp, chicken or meat (only 1-2 times a week of red meat).

6/5 was chinese festival when family get to eat 粽子. A packet filled with glutinous rice and aduki bean wrapped in a big leaf. None of us have ever made it before so it was new to us. It was quite fun to figure out how to wrap it so the rice would not escape while cooking.

Tony tried and failed. My mom tried and failed.

but I did well…. not pretty, not equal sized, but it worked.

Sofia loves it!!!! This girl loves all things made with glutinous rice. It was delicious!!!

Lizzy has became such an easy-to-laugh baby. When she’s fed, she laughs when we talk to her.

Last weekend we celebrated Tony’s first father’s day with a surprise gift from three women.

Sofia even sing a song for him.

and had a simple BBQ at the backyard.

Summer has just started. It’s humid and hot, but it’s summery, relaxing and sunny. It puts us in a positive mode by default, we just need to follow. 🙂