Sharing the Big News: My Family

When we found out that we were pregnant on Wednesday, March 2, we were still a little skeptical. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I took another test the next day in the morning for a confirmation. We didn't tell anyone right away because we wanted to let the news sink in and enjoy it when it was just the two of us. It definitely is different once people know. It felt odd keeping such a secret though because that Friday was my school's annual Pajama Movie Night, and I had to order a well-done burger when a few of my colleagues and I went out to eat before the event. Everything I did made me wonder if I would do or say something that would give it away.

I always thought I'd tell my mom immediately, but it happened to be that my dad's birthday celebration was that Saturday. He always tries to tell me things, and I'll reply, "Mommy already told me." If there's anything new going on with me, he typically hears it through my mom because we talk so often and about everything. I thought it would be extra special to make the announcement specifically to my dad so that he would also see just how important he is to me.

Just to be on the safe side because Howard and I were still doubtful, I took another test on Saturday morning. This was just two days after the last test, and that line could not be any darker! There was no waiting for it to appear; it automatically appeared! It was amazing to see how clear it was; there was absolutely no denying it at that point! I also kept thinking about how great it was that my colleague told me to get the Dollar Tree tests. I mean, I took so many just to confirm!

Okay, now that we had that confirmation, I had to figure out how to reveal the news. I just knew it would be the perfect opportunity because my entire immediate family doesn't get together that often, and I really didn't want to just text it. This was a rare occasion with the best timing! I decided to make a card because I've done that once in a while in the past so it wouldn't be too out of the blue. My dad isn't really someone who likes getting gifts; he'll worry that we spent too much money on him! Anyway, I didn't have the time to make anything fancy with my Cricut or Silhouette, so I used the internet to get a simple black and white picture of a slice of cake and copied and pasted it so that there would be 9 slices on the front since the addition of our baby would make us a party of 9!

When we go to the house, I knew we would have to wait a bit. I wanted to make sure my brother, sister-in-law, and niece were there too. I kept waiting for the best moment because I did want Howard to film their reaction or take pictures if possible. When we went upstairs to the living room, I was thinking it would be the right time because we were all taking pictures of Ava, but my mom wasn't sitting anywhere near my dad. I wanted to make sure that they were together so that she could read it too when he opened the card. Okay, I'd have to wait a little longer.

Later that night, we were in the kitchen for dinner. We had ordered in so it was fairly relaxed, but I thought it was hilarious that my mom had brought up a Seagrams Escape Fuzzy Navel, which is what we used to get in Florida and is the only drink that I ever have that's considered alcoholic. I had to pass on it as I claimed I wanted Martinelli's instead and that I'd have the Seagrams later. I ate a little but not too much because I was feeling a little nervous! 

Finally when we were getting ready to have some dessert, I gave my dad the card. He took it, thanked me, and then put it aside. I told him to open it, and while he was doing that, my mom realized she had miscounted plates, but I didn't want her to miss out on reading it too! I had to tell her to look. My younger brother was on the other side of my dad, so he leaned over to take a look too. 

As I said before, the front of the card just had 9 slices of cake on it with the beginning of the happy birthday song, but instead of finishing the lyrics, I wrote, "Happy birthday dear ..." with the continuation on the inside of the card. On the inside, I wrote "Goong-goong!" because that means maternal grandfather in Cantonese. Even though my parents are already grandparents, they have different titles in Chinese because my brother had a baby. My parents can only be Goong-goong and Por-por because of me because I'm their only daughter. Anyway, I inserted a picture of the pregnancy test and then wrote the following: "We're going to have to split the cake into 9 pieces! Love, Howard and Rae (plus one)."

Soon to be Goong-goong!

We took this at the end of the night. I actually wanted Howard to get a quick shot of the card, but when I picked it up, my dad wanted to be in the picture too, which I thought was adorable.

The reaction was priceless. My dad laughed, but I don't think he realized what it meant or what the picture was until he saw the "plus one" portion. My mom and younger brother both looked up at the SAME EXACT TIME and said "Really?" at the SAME EXACT TIME! And then they both did a little celebratory dance IN THE SAME EXACT WAY. Here's just a snippet of the video:

It made me laugh so much, and even now as I watch the video, I'm reminded of what a great moment it was. I'm really glad that it worked out that my entire family was there. We were saying to my baby niece that she was going to be an older cousin! Now when we get together for dinners and celebrations, we're going to need an even larger table as our family continues to grow!

Meeting My Niece

Hello everyone! It's been quite some time since I last wrote here! I always kick myself for not jotting down a thought once in a while or a recap of the important moments of my life, so I figure it's better late than never despite the fact that it's been EXACTLY two months since this momentous day. What happened on May 27, 2015? I finally met my niece! She was actually born the day before a little after 5pm, but my parents were the only ones in my family who were at the hospital all day. 

If you've been reading for a while, you know that last August I was completely in love when I met my nephew Toby. Obviously a baby changes the life the parents, but I have to say that becoming an aunt was definitely one of the highlights of 2014. It's incredibly fun to get to experience the joys of having a baby in the family without actually having to deal with waking up in the middle of the night and poop explosions. All of you people out there who aren't parents yet but are aunts or uncles probably understand what I'm talking about because as a relative, you can just pass the baby back to the parents! We also get to go home and sleep well that night!  

Toby was the one who made me an aunt for the first time, and nothing will ever replace that. However, there was something extra special about the birth of my niece. It might be because it was my own brother's baby instead of Howard's sister. Of course, I grew up with my brother and experienced so many of life's adventures with him since he's only two years older than I am. It made me melt to think that he was going to be a father when we first found out that my sister-in-law was pregnant. All the things that he loved as a little boy were sure to come out when he had a kid of his own. I love my in-laws, but I don't have all the memories with them that I have with my own family.

The arrival of the baby might have also been extra special because she was a girl. When I imagine having my own kids, it's so much easier for me to picture having a little girl! Also, I've written about it before, but I am addicted to clearance shopping. I can be completely starved and so desperate for food (as I was during our recent road trip to Lancaster!), but the one thing that can quell the hunger other than actually eating is clearance shopping. The baby girl clothing racks are always rather full compared to the ones for baby boys. Plus, they're completely adorable! I get so excited when I find items that match the new mommy's own style that would be so cute on her new baby daughter!

As an aunt, I definitely get the best of both worlds since now I have a nephew and a niece! Now let's rewind to that wonderful day in May!

When my family arrived at the hospital, I was already jumping up and down with excitement. Literally. I was ecstatic to finally meet her! It did take some time getting used to the idea of her having a name since my brother and sis-in-law didn't reveal it until she was born. All along, we were calling her "Baby L." Even at the baby shower, the banner that my sis-in-law's friends strung up said that! Since my parents were at the hospital the day before when she was in labor, they knew where the room was. We walked down the hallway and used some Purell that the hospital had placed on the hallway wall. Alas, the timing wasn't exactly right as my sister-in-law was feeding, so we went to the waiting room until they were ready.

During that time, one of my sister-in-law's friends and her fiance arrived. My mom and I met her already at the bridal shower and baby shower, so the time passed by somewhat quickly with good conversation and some Cartoon Network playing on the television. After a bit, my brother told us we could go back to the room! Howard had his camera in hand, ready to snap the pictures of this wonderful occasion.

My mom carried her before handing her off to me. I admit I was a bit hesitant because she was unbelievably tiny. I remember being nervous about holding Toby, but my niece was even tinier because she was under 6 pounds. There was no way I was passing up this opportunity though. When we each had our turn, we sat in the chair that was in the room just to be on the safe side.  

I could have stared at her all night. The best part was that we were all discussing whether or not she had a dimple, and then she showed it to me. Even better was Howard capturing it with his camera! I cropped her face from the following picture and made it my lock screen on my phone. Even though she's already two months at this point and adorably round with squishy cheeks, I still have that picture on my phone just because it was such a special memory!

Talking about how my lock screen is a picture of my niece reminds me of this Buzzfeed video though! 

My younger brother also had a chance to carry her, and that was definitely something that had to be recorded since it was the first baby-baby that he ever held. I don't remember the last time my siblings and I took a picture together, but the birth of the next generation is definitely cause for one!

My parents are now grandparents! Even though she is still really young, I know exactly how they're going to be as she gets older. When my brother and I were kids, we knew not to ask my dad for the special treats that other kids got. We didn't ride on the carousel or the train at the mall or get ice cream from the ice cream truck. However, I know that my dad's going to be the kind of grandfather who buys his granddaughter a Mickey bar in Disney World even though he never bought it for us kids! Haha, he says he won't be like that, but we know it'll be true. My mom, on the other hand, will spoil her with activities by playing games with her and taking her to the zoo. 

Unfortunately, we did have to eventually go home. Although the visiting hours were over, we did get to stay a little bit longer than when we should have left. It was time for the little baby to get some rest from all the extra attention and stay with the new mommy and daddy! I personally love this shot that Howard captured of my brother holding her as we left. Hubs did also take a picture of the new family of three, but as I've said to them before, it's more for the sake of documenting it even if it's just for them. I didn't want to post a picture here just because I don't know that I'd necessarily want people posting pictures of me after being in the hospital for almost two days! 

The moment we walked out of the room, I was already missing her. My mom and I say it every time we leave from visiting her even now! I can't wait to see her again and again!

Celebrating Chinese New Year

I think I'm becoming more Chinese. If you didn't already know, I'm an ABC, which stands for American-born Chinese. When Howard and I used to go to church in Chinatown and then pick up lunch from the restaurants, the workers there would know to speak to me in English. I was baffled as to how they knew that, and Howard explained that I even look like an ABC. 

I never quite understood Chinese customs and traditions, and I've definitely had disagreements with my very traditional father when I was growing up because I couldn't grasp why some things had to be the way they were. I mean, having to invite my dad's friends to the wedding when I didn't even have a clue as to who they were? Things like that just didn't make sense to me. Sure, I was all for getting some extra cash in red envelopes during Chinese New Year and respecting elders as they had their big celebration dinners. But there were other customs that seemed pointless to me. Though I may never truly understand why we did things the way we did, I knew I didn't really have much of a choice. Tea ceremony on our wedding day? Um, didn't quite understand why that was important, but I guess I just had to do it. Avoiding black clothing on birthdays? Um, I look thinner in black, but if you say so!

As Howard and I approach our 3-year anniversary in May, I realize that I've actually come to accept more Chinese things without questioning it. I'll be honest and say that when we first got married, I didn't really consider myself part of the "F" family. My parents told me that in the Chinese culture, getting married meant that I was no longer a member of the "L" family. I didn't really take it seriously because as I've mentioned before in previous blog posts, I felt somewhat of a separation due to the language barrier. In my mind I thought that I was marrying Howard regardless of what his last name was. But month after month, I see that I am more and more of an "F" even if I still don't understand all the parts of the conversation during a family gathering!

I came to the realization this week as we went over to my in-laws' house to celebrate Chinese New Year. We already had dinner with Howard's family three times since 2015 began because of my sister-in-law's birthday, Howard's birthday, and my mother-in-law's birthday. But there was something different about Chinese New Year. Maybe it was because it wasn't at a restaurant and was instead at the house where we all sat around the family table. I've sat at that table a few times before when we were dating and then when we were engaged, but something changed that night. Maybe it's because my nephew Toby is in the picture now, and it just made it feel like we were a family of 7 joining together to eat dinner that night. Maybe it was because of the time we were playing with Toby and trying to entertain him while Howard's parents did food preparation and cooked the meal. I can't put my finger on it; it just felt like what a family does. 

I know it doesn't seem like such a huge change, but in my mind, I really do see it as becoming "more Chinese"! 

Here's an overhead shot of the food that my father-in-law and mother-in-law prepared. I remember my grandma and my own mom making the "fat choy" (the black stuff that looks like hair) around CNY, so despite being an ABC, there are some things that I "know" even if I don't remember why it's so important to eat it during that holiday. My favorite dish was probably the "dow mew," which is like, pea shoots or snow pea leaves or something like that (the big plate-o-green). I haven't had it in so long, and Howard and I commented that we haven't had oyster sauce in ages too! I also enjoyed the shrimp, of course, and the mix of veggies with the cloud ear mushroom (bottom left). I even had a few pieces of the tongue (bottom right)! It was a ton of food for the 6 of us since Toby is still too young and was gnawing on a banana.

After dinner, Howard took some pictures. His parents wanted him to take pictures of an orchid plant they're growing, and then my sis-in-law plopped Toby on the table for some pictures too! He's not entirely steady when he sits, so I was behind the table with my hand there just in case! I thought I was hidden, but my hand was in the shots, but hubs was able to edit it and crop it out! 

Later on, Sharon put Toby in some CNY gear, and we gave him some red envelopes. He proceeded to pop them in his mouth and gnaw on them!

We left a little after 10pm. Before we did, we got some homemade turnip cake to bring home! My in-laws make it the best in my opinion. That's probably one of the BEST parts of CNY! 

Happy 90th Birthday, Grandma!

I posted this on Instagram and Facebook, but I think it's entirely appropriate to post it here as well as my grandma turned 90 today!

Happy 90th birthday to my grandma! I grew up just a few blocks from her and my grandfather, so we were actually in walking distance. Each Sunday, my grandparents, Jon, and I would squish in the backseat of the car to go to church. When my grandfather passed away, she would still go out to eat with us on Friday nights. I feel I spent a lot of time with her but never got to know her much because of the language barrier. But then when I started getting sick in college and had to go for all those tests and then the surgeries, my grandma was always faithfully praying for me and reassured that she was. I remember one specific Christmas family gathering where my uncle was praying at the house, and my grandma kept interrupting and saying, "Rachel ... Rachel ..." because she wanted to make sure that they prayed for my upcoming surgery. Though we could never quite talk about it, she has been an example of a woman of faith especially over these last 10-15 years. Love you, Gma Law!

Meeting Toby

This past Saturday, Howard and I made it over to his sister's house to meet her new baby, Tobias! I was rather excited to see the tiniest new member of the family who will now make dinners a group of 7 instead of a group of 6. When my younger brother Matt was born, I was 14 years old. I was enamored, so I would sit by his crib in my parents' room or by the bassinet downstairs in the dining room and just watch him. When I saw Toby, I felt the strange desire to just observe once again. I was so content watching him and his little movements and adorable facial expressions while he was sleeping. I didn't realize Howard had his fisheye lens when he was taking this picture, so he caught me at the corner of Toby's pack-and-play.

Sharon and Keith told us that we could pick him up and carry him, but neither of us wanted to disturb him. Plus, it's been so long since I picked up a newborn and Howard has never directly done so that we were a little nervous about it. Despite the fact that he was sleeping, he was picked up and placed in my arms! Oh, that wee little one! So adorable and so surprisingly light! I think it's funny how easy it is to "forget" just how small newborns are and how you really don't need too much energy to hold them. After a bit of carrying him, I passed him off to Howard because he's going to need practice if we intend on having kids too!

In the early afternoon, we all ate lunch together with my in-laws and with Howard's Aunt Grace who flew in from Vancouver to be here when Toby was born. Toby woke up near the end of the meal, but it was because he was hungry. We waited downstairs in the living room for a bit and watched TV. Then Howard's mom and aunt used FaceTime to chat with one of their other sisters in Canada. It was kind of funny to see just how far we've come in terms of technology that they could do that with Toby in view too. I snapped a quick picture of the conversation as Howard held up the iPad. I think that's why Howard and I would make a good photography duo, don't you think? He can take great pictures, but I see the need to take photos of moments like these! Maybe there will be an opportunity in the future ... as long as I can continue shooting on auto, haha.

An hour or so before we left, Sharon said that we could go upstairs to his nursery and take pictures there. Toby was placed in his Boppy, but he then began fussing a lot. His crying was getting louder and louder, and Howard and I couldn't comfort him while he was lying there, so I just picked him up. I bounced a little and started talking to him. What do you talk about with a 4-day old baby? Um, Disney World, of course! I began telling him how one day we would be able to take him on a vacation to Disney World and how there are so many things to see there. I told him about "it's a small world" and all the colors that he could see. I told him about the castle and all the characters he could meet. After a minute or so, he had calmed down and looked at me as if he were listening to every word! Howard took a close-up picture of him with his fist propped up under his chin like it is in the photo below, and we see it and think it's like Toby going, "Hmm, Disney World you say? Tell me more!"

I fell head over heels for him at this point. I mean, I adored watching him when he was sleeping, but this just hooked me on that little man. He began closing his eyes and actually fell asleep in my arms, but for a few minutes, he kept opening them as if he still wanted to listen. Yes, I know he's just an itty-bitty baby, but hey, I can think about the future days of being the fun aunt who takes him him (and maybe our own kids) to Disney World, right? Every day since then I've said to Howard, "I want to hold him!" 

When Howard went downstairs to grab a different lens, Sharon popped these sunglasses on him so I took this picture. Oh man, look at that expression! Absolutely adorable!

I'm sure I will obsessing about this little face for quite some time!

Throwback Thursday: Biking in the Poconos

My grandparents used to have a house in the Poconos where all the family would go on mini-vacations. I remember getting really excited once we found out that we were going there. It was extra fun when we were there with our cousins because that meant walking just a short distance down the road to the lake where we could skip rocks in the water, pretend to push the huge unmovable boulders, jump from rock to rock outside of the house, compete with a small plastic foosball table, and ride our bikes. There was one bedroom that had bunk beds, and that was the only time my older brother and I were exposed to them, so it was such a treat! We'd also go downstairs to the basement that was pretty much empty except for a dart board. Thinking about all the things we did then makes me wonder if many kids in this current generation would be satisfied spending a weekend like that since we didn't have electronics and couldn't really watch anything on the TV that didn't even get good reception. 

My older brother and I enjoyed riding our bikes all the time back at home, but we could only ride on the sidewalk. At the Poconos house, we could ride on the road because there were very few cars that traveled that area. Even so, we'd stick to the side of the road and call out to each other, "Car!" and stop until it passed. There was one occasion where I was trying to turn my bike around after a car had passed, but instead of moving it in the right direction, I actually started rolling into this ditch of like, wheat or weeds! I just kept laughing and laughing even though I had no clue how I was going to get out of that situation since I continued going farther and farther down! I distinctly remember what it felt like when I was stuck in that spot, but what makes it even more hilarious now is the fact that we have it preserved forever because my dad was recording a video! Haha, why he didn't come over and help me is beyond me! 

A much more pleasant bike riding memory would be all the times I sat on the little kiddie seat on the back of the big bike. Above is a picture of my grandpa and me enjoying one of those rides. When we sat in that seat, that meant we were actually able to go our journeys farther away from the house since an adult was riding. I'm glad that I have so many memories at the house but especially with my grandpa!

Celebrating Father's Day

Celebrating holidays usually means making plans with Howard's family and with my family. Since we postponed Father's Day celebrations with my dad, we didn't have our official dinner yet. We did go out to church on Sunday with my parents as always, and then after service and Sunday School, we joined them for lunch.

We went to a Shanghai restaurant on Mott St (can't quite remember the name), and my Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Emma were there too. It was a surprise seeing them since my uncle is back in NY for a bit. Though it's bad saying I have favorites, I can't help it! Haha, they're my favorite aunt and uncle out of my dad's side because they live next door to my parents, so that means I grew up with them always there. My older brother Jonathan and I would just leave the house through the kitchen sliding door, walk in the backyard, and then let ourselves into their house to play with our cousin Stephen. Steve did the same thing and came over all the time too. Then when I was older, I used to hop in their car to get dropped off for high school since I didn't mind getting there early and my cousin had to go for jazz band during 0 period (my brother took the bus later for 1st pd). Nowadays, they're helping Howard and me because we're renting our apartment from them, so it's always nice having meals with them.

We split a bunch of dishes including noodles and then three different orders of dumplings including pan fried dumplings of which I ate one (oo, living life on the edge!).

The xiao long bao (or soup dumplings) were more my speed. I didn't have any soup spillage as I nibbled off the top portion to slurp the soup.

We unfortunately had to sit in traffic on the way home from church, so we didn't have as much time at home as I had anticipated. It worked out though. We headed back out to Howard's parents' house and all 6 of us (yay, almost 7 because my sister-in-law is due at the end of July!) hopped in the van to go to a restaurant in Brooklyn called Marietta. I was happy to see that we were able to park right across the street! I love when it works out like that. The decor when we first walked in was interesting. I said to Howard that I liked the place already because they decorated with potatoes, haha.

We sat at the end of the restaurant by the windows where we could see people from the neighborhood just lounging on the street with their lawn chairs. This, however, was the view I had since my back was to the window. There were a few other people in there, so I took this picture after they left. I liked the country-esque feel to the place.

We split the Charcuterie Plate ($16), which included "Brown Jam, Cheek, Mousse, Ham" as listed on the menu. It was a sampling of all the items that could have been ordered individually. 

At the top of the plate is the country ham, which the waitress said was their version of prosciutto. On top was their homemade shaved sesame butter (pretty sure that's what it was, and I just asked hubs for comfirmation). I didn't try any of that because I'm not a fan of prosciutto or those types of cured or salty meats other than pepperoni on pizza or salami in a sandwich every once in a while. I think everyone like it though.

My favorite was the chicken and foie gras mousse, but I couldn't detect how it was any different than regular chicken liver other than the fact that it had a stronger liver taste. Of course, it was incredibly smooth compared to chopped liver. That was paired with the cherry marmalade. 

Below that you can see the little brown patty, which was the seared pork cheek. I don't really know how to describe it other than it was like pork, haha. The whole grain mustard that was served with it was really good though. I would put that mustard on EVERYTHING. I like the Gulden's spicy brown mustard, but this totally trumps it.

Lastly, the stuff in the little jar was the Tennessee brown jam, which is "whipped pork shoulder." It definitely had a kick to it and had a smoked flavor to it. I tried it and said to Howard, "Do you know what this tastes like? Spaceship Earth." That really was the best way to describe it because the smokiness reminded me of the smell during the scene where they show the burning of Rome! It was so exact! Later when I had some more, Spaceship Earth was still the first thought that popped into my head. This was my second favorite on the platter.

We were given grilled country bread to eat with it. When we got this plate, I said to Howard that they could've given us 6 pieces instead of the 5 since there was 6 of us! Haha, I mean, I get that 5 was probably the serving, but it would've been a nice gesture. When she came back later on, she asked if we wanted more bread to finish the charcuterie plate since we still had a little bit of stuff left, but we said it was okay. We just ate it with the remainder of bread or just ate it plain. As Howard and I looked up the menu just now to get the item descriptions and prices, I saw that the grilled country bread was $2. I wonder if we would have been charged if we had said yes to the bread.

The other appetizer we got to share was the Roasted Beets ($11). This was delicious! But then again, I love roasted beets in any form. It is served with black quinoa, lemon ricotta, and lamb's leaf lettuce. The quinoa gave the dish some texture. I admit I probably could have just eaten this whole dish as an entree, and I definitely would have been satisfied. When we were leaving the restaurant, we passed by two girls who were sharing it as well, and I would've reached over and grabbed some if the thought of eating other people's food wasn't so disgusting. Oh, and if it weren't rude and against all proper rules in a civilized society.

For the entrees, Howard ordered the Rib and Tail ($23), which is seared ribeye, lime, red chile, fresh herbs, and oxtail sauce. He said that one of the herbs had an intense flavor and was also a little spicy. I think he enjoyed it more when everything was put together in one bite. They didn't ask how he wanted the steak cooked, but it was kind of thin and served medium.

I ordered the Long Island Whiting sandwich ($13) that came with red cabbage slaw and "Comeback" sauce. Though I tasted the sauce in the larger bottle, I ended up eating it without it because the waitress said they were spicy. I was already pushing it by having fried food. For me, it definitely didn't need the sauce anyway. It was really crispy, and the fish wasn't at all overcooked. Since they piled on so many fillets of fish on the bread, I didn't actually eat it as a sandwich. I used my fork and knife to eat it and didn't finish all the bread either because that was grilled as well. Haha, that's why bread can be so good in terms of taste when you eat out, but in terms of what I should and should not eat, I like plain ol' bread. With so many foods that I should avoid because of my health issues, if I'm going to eat things that might upset my stomach, I'm going to be picky about it. So I enjoyed the fish a lot and just had about half of the bread instead. The slaw had some tang to them too, so it worked well with the fish. I should have eaten more bites of both of the things together.

My mother-in-law had Crispy Skin Arctic Char ($21), my father-in-law and sister-in-law had Extra Fancy Memphis Fried Chicken ($16), and my sister-in-law's husband had Blue Crab Spaghetti ($18). An appetizer of the Ham and Cheese Heirloom Grits was also ordered for the table though I didn't try that since I didn't want to push it trying something rich. I didn't take pictures of any of their dishes, haha. They did take pictures of their own though as you can see below!

Dinner was really delicious, and because it was Father's Day and not Mother's Day, we didn't have to deal with heavy crowds at restaurants. We were able to get home fairly early in comparison to other dinners, so it was a pleasant day!