Discovery Bay Museum

Discovery Bay Museum hosted a gingerbread house making activity, so we headed out to Sausalito for the day. Tai ate the candy, while his parents built the house.

It was our first time to this museum. What a wonderful place! So many neat things for kids to do. Tai got to play with these (fake) crabs that got flushed into a mini-estuary by a wave.

Tai took pleasure in the boat that he made, running alongside it as it sailed in the wind.

The museum is located near the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Tai looking out at the bay, pondering the day.

San Francisco in the background.

Tai, Kenji, and the gingerbread house.

Not to fear, we didn't forget Kenji.

Hosting Thanksgiving

Somehow with a three-week-old we managed to host Thanksgiving. Good times for all the hungry eaters, which was everybody.

Thu's family doesn't like turkey, so at this table, crab stole the show. Prime rib, jambalaya, Vietnamese egg rolls, sushi, clams, and spinach dip also present.

Grandma and Papa

Kenji and Tai got a visit from Grandma and Papa Thanksgiving week. Kenji was still peaceful, i.e., sleeping 15 hours a day. But Tai was very much adjusting to sharing the spotlight (see the last picture).

A New York Times Birth Story

Talk to anyone, anywhere with a smart phone.

One funny birth story to share. At about 1 p.m., after the epidural, while we were sitting around waiting for the baby to arrive, Thu mentioned that she forgot to tell me that a reporter from The New York Times left a message for her the day before. And as she checked her phone, it turned out the reporter left another message for her that morning.

I thought maybe I should call the reporter back and let her know that my wife was in labor, and that's why she wasn't returning her calls. So I called the reporter and said, "You won't believe this, but my wife and I are in the delivery room. By the way, what's the story about?"

She said it was about the San Francisco nail salon ordinance and that she only had one question for Dr. Quach. I asked what the question was, and I knew Thu could answer that one easily, so I handed Thu the phone. The very brief interview was conducted without problems and with hours to spare.

Six days later, the story came out. Lucky for us, Thu's quote was included, as well as one from our friend Julia. We'll save the paper and tell Kenji the story later. (The photo above is a different phone call, post-birth.)

"At Some Nail Salons, Feeling Pretty and Green," by Patricia Leigh Brown

More Visitors for Kenji

Kenji got some visitors from San Jose after being home for a few days. Nice and sleepy for his guests.

ông ngoại

Phuong

Catherine

Introducing Kenji

Kenji made his way into the world on November 5, at 3:34 p.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs., 4 oz., and measured 20.5 inches. As you can see, he bore a striking resemblance to his older brother right out of the womb.

The delivery went well, and much more quickly this time around. We checked in Friday morning, and Thu gave birth about five hours later, after 18 minutes of masterful pushing.

Auntie Uyen made it in time to see Kenji born!

Kenji's first bath, which this time wasn't given immediately because the nurse said it allows the mother to smell the baby first when she holds him, as opposed to the shampoo fragrance after a bath.

Kenji got some visitors on his second day, including Julia, Sam, and Kim, and ...

... his big brother, Tai!

Nguyen drove up from San Jose to pay a visit as well. All that practice with Liam is paying off. He's quite good with babies.

Time for Kenji to come home and be with Tai, who spent a couple fun nights with Auntie Uyen while we were away.

Cousin Ethan and family came over to see Kenji too.... One more month for Lan.

Tai is curious about and intrigued by his new baby brother.

And he cares for him too. He doesn't like to see him cry.

We'll have to be sure to keep giving Tai lots of attention, though.

Brothers!