Sedona's Music-in-Me Class

Sedona here!

Today was the last day of my Music-in-Me class. We've done two sessions of it but will have to take a break this summer since Miss Sara is going to be out-of-state.

Here is the picture of my Spring 2008 class (I have my fun cap on that Daddy bought me a while back; here in the group photo, it sort of makes me look like a tough guy):

I love playing with the guitar and beating the drums. The parachute is super fun, but my favorite is singing and doing all the hand motions ... especially to "Slippery Fish." When I'm lucky, Mom plays it in the car while we are driving!

Simple words

Hi from San Antonio ...

It's Kevin with a rare straightforward post that I was just in the mood to write here in the hotel room. No cute photos or fun videos, just a few words.

Noticed the movie "Definitely, Maybe" was available on pay-per-view in my hotel room, and it got me thinking back to Maggie and me going to see that movie in the theater and how we really, really liked it. And it sort of led me to a few thoughts about how I just miss Sedona (and now Maven, too) more and more when I'm on the road.

Maggie said recently the day after I left for a trip that Sedona came up to her and asked for Daddy. She was told that Daddy was gone working. Sedona said in response: "Home. ... Home!"

After I got back from that trip, I was talking to Sedona about whether she was happy that Daddy was "home." And she repeated: "Daddy. Home." And then she heartbreakingly added: "More. More."

Anyway, beyond that, my real point in writing this little note is that "Definitely, Maybe" is a romantic comedy -- though there is some seriously good father-daughter bonding going on -- and my love interest was also on my mind: Maggie is home alone tonight with both girls (our handy Mrs. Lin is gone to tend to some personal business), and I thought it was a timely opportunity to say for the record that Maggie is just awesome with the girls and with me and with the home and with her work -- flat-out doing it all.

Simple words work here: She's great, and I love her.

A-Ma Days

Hi, it's Sedona to talk you through this blog installment! Here are two nice shots of my little sis, Maven. To put it simply in my terminology: Up! And down!

Do we Ding girls look alike? This is Maven wearing the same outfit I was photographed in (and Mommy made into a coaster).
On Saturday (5/17), we celebrated Mother's Day with A-Ma Ding (Daddy was back; he was out of town for the actual holiday). We hit New Tony's on the Redondo Beach Pier. Our Mother's Day grandmother gifts were custom-made "Maven" shirts. Custom-made, because we can't just pick shirts up in a nearby Arizona city, as is the convenient case with some people's names! Here is a family picture of us four. Pick which one is the fun one!
On Sunday (5/18), we celebrated Mother's Day with A-Ma Alice (formerly known as "A-Ma Wang," but that presents a myriad of pronunciation complexities, you have no idea ... because is it a long "Ahh" sound or more like the letter "A"?). She was in Las Vegas for the actual holiday. You have to look very closely to see where we went.

Yes! The Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. Daddy had to work, so Mommy brought both of us girls on our first big dual outing. On the drive up there, Maven got hungry and started to cry. I heard my her sister in pain, and so I started crying for Maven. Mommy said it was the sweetest thing.

After about five minutes, then Mommy said it was the most obnoxious thing.

Anyway, once we got there, Maven just sat there and missed out. Ha! I got to try sweet roasted corn, fried artichokes, sausages and garlic fries ... and strawberries, of course.

After our fun-filled weekend, Ronin Tsai (Jimmy & Rosana's son) came to visit for Maven's second play date ever. (Austin Lev was the first to visit, but he didn't like that Maven was bigger than he was. If Austin only saw the photos of me from 2-to-6 months, he'd know Maven's only gonna get bigger! At the doctor today, Maven weighed in at 12 pounds, 15 ounces, and she's only 6 weeks. So she's right on my off-the-charts pace.)

Aren't they cute together? He has his arm around her.

Later!

-- Sedona Ding

Maven Meets Austin

It's Maven here! Austin Lev came over for our first meeting. Aside from him whispering to me that he was leaning toward asking out 10-day-old Elle Greenstein instead of me because he didn't like how I towered over him (see last photo), it was a sweet gathering. Sedona was walking around asking for "Austin! Austin!" long after the Levs had headed home.

A 36-day-old Maven ... is that a smile?This is my Sedona-as-a-chubby-baby-with-small-eyes impression. Ha!



In case you haven't already seen it, check out our Mother's Day video message below. (I'm saying "our" because I'm taking some of the credit: I kept Mommy occupied while Daddy and Sedona filmed in secret! Yes, yes ... they did film while Sedona was on the potty, which some Sedona fans out there think was just not right on Daddy's part. Fine. Next time we'll do it differently: Sedona filming Daddy on the potty. ... See, by comparison now what we did doesn't seem so bad at all.)

Special shout-out to Uncle Mag Lev for doing the final posting step of Daddy's uploaded video for Mommy's Mother's Day surprise after Daddy's laptop died in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. Sedona insists she would've been able to do it (and there are photos coming to show just how much she is trying to get herself online).

Love,

Maven

Happy Mother's Day to Maggie!

Party Time (for A-Ma Ding)

Sorry, it has been a while since we've posted. There has been fun stuff to deal with: Maggie has had minor issues with this second C-section -- starting with a hormonal/allergic reaction that caused her to get on oral steroids ... steroids that likely led to an infection in her incision that she is currently fighting off. Fun!

In all seriousness, we are actually still all having fun, as you can see ...

Maven is doing great. At her appointment on April 29, Dr. Saad said Maven is 'perfect' ... and her tally was 21 inches; 9 pounds, 15 ounces. Today, she is officially 1 MONTH OLD!

Sedona had her first experience with that grand American bastion of family entertainment (and germs): Chuck E. Cheese's. It was Saturday at a party for Zack's second birthday. Sedona liked the rides ... as long as they weren't moving! :-)

On Sunday, we surprised A-Ma Ding with a party (Kevin acknowledges that it was Maggie's great idea to throw the party, but at least he did show up ... after covering the Lakers' game) to celebrate A-Ma Ding being cancer-free for three years, a major threshold to reach for a long and healthy future! We are all very happy about it and love her very much.

The party was at A-Go Kristen's house. She had lots of fun toys to play with [see below] but also a SLIDE that Maggie bravely asked if we could take home with us given that it seemed a little small for Atticus and Skyler. Bingo! It's now in our house, and suffice it to say that Sedona is on it EVERY second of EVERY day!

All the guests signed and created a personal-message page in a homemade book for A-Ma Ding that Kristen had bound together. See us all trying to get a peek at it?


When there are no surprise parties on her calendar, Maven is just chillin' and practicing tummy time on the rare occasions that she is awake.

Love,

The Dings

A week in the life of Sedona and Maven

With both of us being second children, we're trying to make sure that our second child Maven gets lots of pictures -- but we've also kept snapping away with Sedona so we don't slight her as she develops. So even though we haven't posted in a while with the Lakers and Kevin getting back to work in the playoffs, we have been documenting.

Check out last week:

Last Monday, we took Sedona to Fort Lots of Fun to hang out with her usual Monday afternoon buddies. Kevin had never been there, so he had fun taking pictures of her as she alternated between her usual thinker self and her developing adventurous side.

You're not supposed to compare your kids, but who are we kidding? Maven has been a better newborn sleeper than Sedona by a knockout margin. Isn't Maven a sweet sleeper?

Here is Kevin's first time giving his baby Maven a full bottle.

Our live-in doula, Ms. Lin has been a blessing, really helping out with Maven and taking diligent care of the house. Everyone should have a Ms. Lin when they have a baby.

Ms. Lin cooks all our meals these days (giving Kevin's mom a little breather!) ... and Sedona is very appreciative.

Debbie came from Texas to visit over the weekend and looked to be a natural with babies! It was great to get quality bonding time with her.

"A-Ma Ding" (Sedona's new favorite thing in the world to say after Kevin taught it to her) and both Wang grandparents are pitching in with great support and fun with Sedona so that Maggie can follow (or at least sometimes try to follow) doctor's orders of six weeks 'pelvic rest.'



Thanks for stopping by for the week in review!

-- Kevin & Maggie

Since we've been home ...

It thankfully has been a great experience bringing Maven home. We've been extremely fortunate to hire an Asian doula who is cooking all the proper food to help me recover the 'right' way and allow me to rest, according to the prescriptions of Asian culture.

I'm not sure I'm a believer in it all, but I'm trying my best to listen and eat the right things -- even though I've broken some 'rules' already:

(a) I washed my hair in the first month.

(b) I have gone out in public already - and sometimes even when it's windy!

(c) I am working rather than just resting my pelvic area.

Hee-hee, but overall I'm being a good girl and I'm grateful to have hired and family help. We are extremely fortunate.

--------------------

Sedona has adjusted to Maven brilliantly. Sedona certainly hasn't lost one bit of appetite, as you can see.

On Saturday, Anita & Jason came over to meet Maven.
The whole Ding gang came over right after that.
Maven is preciously looking up at her A-Go Kristen here. So sweet. Sedona is truly loving her sister and constantly asking where she is and seeking her out. Sedona isn't stingy with the kisses when it comes to Maven, and Sedona is moving in for one here.
Never too early for tummy time!
Sarah & Mag came over for a visit last night to check out Maven while they await the arrival of their baby any day!

Whitney & Riley and Loretta & T.L. also stopped by for great bonding time. Sorry there are no photos!

Love,
Maggie