Sleeping Beauty

Life has been pretty hectic for me lately. I don't get to hold my baby before she goes to bed or before I go to work. It is the most beautiful thing when I see my little girl posing like a little angel. I just want to pick her up and squeeze her until she cries!

Happy Father's Day! Mommy Katie dressed Ava up for the special occassion. She hates it! She still loves her onesie!

Here's Ava measuring next to Care Bear at 2 weeks old.

How it is to Be a Daddy

Beware of Complacency

I remember talking to Mike Yang , owner of Golden Gate Badminton Club and former member of the US Badminton team on what the secret to winning is. He said that you can't ever let up not for an instant, because when you do that's when the opponent begins to destroy you. Complacency is a curse and even worse it's a natural human instinct. Yet there is another human instinct that is stronger than all and that is survival. Why do you think poverty pushes many to success? This is because when you have nothing there is nothing to lose and more incentive to come out on top. When you have enough or an abundance, there is a-lot more to lose and easier to be complacent. This applies to all aspects of life, work, family and sports. We have to keep pushing forward before some underdog fighting for survival takes something that you hold dear.

We are going to apply this to sports though. =) The Boston Celtics were down 21 points in the first quarter, 24 points in the second quarter and 18 points at halftime. I turned on the TV right before halftime when the Lakers sent in their bench player with 5.4 seconds and he ran down and banked a 3 in to make it an 18 point lead. I truly thought this game was over. I had to study unfortunately but that is what the DVR is for. Around midnight I crawled into my room and quietly sped through the game and to my amazement I was cheering quietly (sleeping baby) all night for Boston. Sorry folks I dislike Boston for all their championship teams but when it comes to basketball, it's been a long time for Boston and the Lakers well they have plenty of rings in the last 2 decades and I have always liked KG's passion for the game. People think he's crazy but I love that raw emotion that drives him. Hey to each their own and that's how he pumps himself up.

I watched as the Celtics simply played defense and took opportunities to make unbelievable shots. At one point it was a 21 - 3 run for the Celtics. They kept on coming all fourth quarter and did not let up. Amazing defense amazing offense, a team that knows it's the finals and they were just going to forget about the score and play their hearts out. Sunday is the next game and there was plenty of time to rest play the starters and they did. They closed out the game 97 - 91.

How does this happen you ask? The answer is complacency at half time. The game was going the Lakers way. Constant 20 point leads are typically tough to overcome in the finals and a team usually gets demoralized and plays it's bench players. It's natural human instinct to let up and believe that you have the game. But in the NBA and the finals where everyone on the opposite team is just as good as you are? Never let up. This is a classic case of the hungry underdog team on the road down 20 points that played like there was no tomorrow. At times there is nothing you can do to stop a team that has this much passion and desire. You've been their before and these guys have been dying to get there and they aren't going to go quietly.

Bravo to the Celtics, that is what the NBA finals are about and here's to game 5! The Lakers might pull one at home if they can recover from the loss and save face, but Boston will close out in Boston and have another parade for their long overdue basketball team. Go Celtics!

Photo 1 courtesy of Sports Illustrated and Photo 2 http://www.sptimes.com/

Farewell Alan Pun!

There are just some people in the world that are simply pure in heart, great people without an ounce of evil and raised with manners worthy of a gentleman. Who would have guessed that a Craiglist ad would bring together a roommate like Alan to us with similar personalities, the same values, a passion for old Alan Tam songs, a shared Cantonese language and the same name "Alan" spelled the right way!

Living with Alan for so many years and still keeping in touch all this time we have been so blessed. It is with great sadness that we must send Alan off to the land of Hong Kong that will take another one of our great friends from us. We will miss your "zook (congee)," your pork bone soup, your durian and assorted fruits, your passion for veggies, your All In poker hands and my partner on the karaoke microphone singing Alan Tam. We do wish you the absolute best and we will be seeing you the next time we are in Hong Kong!

Love always! Alan, Katie and Ava!

Learning About Ava Part II

Today is the second visit with Dr. Tsu. Ava gained 8 ounces and grew half an inch. Ava always enjoy her ride to the doctor.

Picture of her peacefully sleeping on her way to the doctor.

The hardest part about our newborn is understanding her sleeping schedule. The first week she cried a lot! She stopped crying if we turn on some of her favorite music, aka., Alan Tam and Jim Brickman.

One thing we noticed about her is how she startles in her sleep. Auntie Jackie recommended that we let her sleep on her chest during the daytime (as long someone is there to keep an eye on her). It really works! She put in a 3-4 hours power nap during the day by sleeping on her chest. Here is a picture of her peaceful dreaming in her nap! Thank you Di Thao!

At this stage, Ava has all sort of facial expressions when she's sleeping. She'll cry, smile and frown all at once. It’s very hard to snap a picture of her when she's smiling, but we were able to capture that moment!

At day 10, Ava's remaining umbilical cord came off. According to Grandma Vo, baby Ava will be stubborn little girl, b/c the length of time it took the cord to fall off.

Another picture of Ava with her eyes opened captured by Gu-Gu Annie

We'd like to say Thank you to our families and friends for your love and support. You're awesome for thinking of us through phone calls, emails and gifts! We love you all! Come by and meet Ava if you get an opportunity to do so!