Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Tai

Tai made it through his first airplane ride with flying colors. He drank his milk during takeoff, played with his Uncle Daniel during the flight, then sucked on his pacifier during the landing. What a good boy! Oh yeah, did we mention the destination? Viva Las Vegas!

Did Tai enjoy his trip? Who's to say? It's clear that he loves his grandparents, who met us in the lobby of New York New York when we got there and couldn't take their eyes off Tai. They were all too happy to play with Tai at night while his parents gambled away his college fund their fun money.


Las Vegas is a family destination nowadays as much as it is "Sin City." Arcades and game centers abound. In fact, after we lost most of our cash at the poker tables and slot machines, we ended the trip with a run through Excalibur's carnival games. We each won Tai a couple of prizes (including a pair of stuffed animals, the result of two convincing victories at the horse races over some 10-year-olds). It was an experience I might say was more enjoyable than all the gambling (unless, of course, we had won).

All in all, we ate like royalty, strolled down the glitzy Strip at night, and exposed Tai to, um . . . hey, it was a great bonding experience for the family. All I know is, if Tai grows up to play some cards, he'd better take after his Vietnamese side and not his father's!

Auntie Karen's visit

Karencita was finally able to come up from Los Angeles to meet Tai. During her visit, she gave Tai many new and creative nicknames, including "cachetes" (cheeks in Spanish). It's wonderful that Tai has so many aunties, even if they aren't blood relatives.

Tai flips over

We put Tai on his tummy to give him his nightly exercise. We noticed he was lifting his head higher than before. His eyes shot a glance straight ahead. Before we knew it, his left arm pushed up and his upper body had turned. One minute later, his legs flipped over too. Tai's first flip!

He did one more, then we called up his grandparents in Los Angeles to get them on video chat, which we started doing last week. They were able to see a full flip, performed in one easy motion.

Now to get Tai to sleep . . .

Presenting the iTai

We don't need an iPod or an iPhone. We've got the iTai, all the entertainment we need wrapped up in one guy.

It makes loud sounds, never runs out of batteries, and works day and night. You can never be bored with it. It can store more gigabytes than anything Apple can make. The only downside is that it takes nine months to order.

(picture and words submitted by Mommy)

Message from Tai

I'm two months old today. I can hardly stand the excitement. I have so much to say, but hardly the words to say how I feel. My parents understand me most of the time, between my coos, gurgles, flailing arms, cries, smiles, laughs, and little milk-covered-tongue-sticker-outers. We carry on wonderful conversations before I go to sleep. I'm even starting to learn some Vietnamese songs. What fun!

UPDATE (08/07/07): You see those folds developing in my squeezable thighs? That's because I'm gaining weight. Today at the doctor's office, I weighed in at 11 lbs., 8 oz.