Daddy's Home!!!

Sadly for all you Lakers fans, they lost in the NBA Finals. But YAY for us! Daddy is home now with Mommy, Maven and me -- and we all love it! Since he has been home, he has been playing with us at a record pace and diligently doing laundry and dishes so Mommy can work.

She is leaving for Cabo, Mexico, on Thursday for five days to celebrate Auntie Jennie's bachelorette party. I wonder if she'll miss us? She has to! We're so cute!

Before I get too sad thinking about Mommy leaving us, let's go to the pictures.

DADDY! DADDY! He's our man! We love him as much as anyone can!

Daddy brought us to Hermosa's South Park with Mommy yesterday.


I'm flying a kite that A-Go Kris gave me! Pretty good, huh? It's twice as high as I am!

We also like chilling at home. Here we are showing how much we LOVE each other in the morning!
And here we are, nuzzling again at night!

Any time spent without me isn't nearly as exciting, but here's a photo of Maven managing as best she can during one of those boring, quiet stretches when I'm not there.

Love, Sedona

"Definitely, Maybe"

It's Kevin here ...

So in a blatant effort to earn more credit for my recent post here from San Antonio about how great Maggie is, I'll follow up now after just having seen "Definitely, Maybe" and all its father-daughter and romantic stuff again on my flight out there to Boston.

At the risk of overhyping the movie, which is the most unique romantic comedy I've seen in quite some time, to anyone who hasn't seen it ... I cried. Right there on United 164. Can't say that has ever happened on a plane before. (And what do you do when a tear rolls out of your left eye, and sitting to your left is a really big dude who is not contemplating crying in any way? Ah, it was dark; he probably didn't notice anything.)

There's no doubt that I still like my job -- even after some reader shook me up this morning with an e-mail saying he has read me from sixth grade into college -- because I can't jump in with the consensus of all the crotchety sports journalists out there rooting for their teams to lose to lessen their workloads. I like to see people succeed and write about people's success -- and I like the writing stage provided by the Lakers doing well and everyone reading my stories. So in some way, I absolutely like the playoffs.

All that about my job is meant to frame this statement: No maybes about it, having to leave home is definitely getting harder the older Sedona gets and the more our relationship develops.

And it's pretty cool, actually.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day from Maggie!

You might expect and hope that I could or would post an adorable clip of Sedona saying 'Happy Father's Day!' or write the sweetest note of all time ... but I can't bring myself to do it only to fall short.

I will say and document this much: Kevin is an incredible father. His girls adore him. He makes them smile and laugh in ways that I never can. He is truly an amazing dad.

Thanks, honey!

We also look forward to the summer, when we get to have him all the time!

---

Here is the fun stuff: pictures!

Sedona seems to have grasped the fact that Maven isn't leaving, so she is getting more hands-on as the big sister.

Maven is smiling and cooing a lot these days. She loves it when people talk to her.

Here's Maven during tummy time; she likes TV already (specifically Sedona's 'music' DVD)! Pretty good, huh? Especially when you have to lift up those heavy cheeks! We had Father's Day lunch with the Ding family to celebrate everything we could think of: all the Daddys, Mitch's promotion to full professor-ship, Kevin's birthday and Maven's birth. Three generations of Ding dads with Maven! It was the first time that Great-grandpa Ding met Maven. During tummy time, someone fell asleep. Lazy! A-Gong Ding and Maven watched the Lakers on TV tonight, seeing them win and cut Boston's 3-1 NBA Finals lead to 3-2 -- and causing Kevin to have to leave us for Boston again!
Making matters more complicated, we have lost our beloved Ms. Lin. Her next family went into labor Saturday (two weeks early) so she had to move on sooner than expected. We are sad to lose her, yet we look forward to the challenge. Well, sort of. This week will be interesting with Kevin out of town for potentially five days.

Side notes:

• Maven did 7.5 hours of sleep last night without a feeding, and we are hoping to stretch her out longer the next few days/weeks.


• Maven is eating 4-to-5 ounces every 3-to-4 hours.


• Maven weighs approximately 14 pounds and 8 ounces at 2 months.


• Sedona loves her "Mommy & Me" DVD. She wants to play it constantly, so we have to limit the number of times she sees it each day. She knows all the dance and hand movements with the songs. It's really cute. She is starting to sing the words to songs now, too. "Barney and Friends" is the other show that we use to distract Sedona so I can feed Maven in peace.


• Sedona is also loving her water table (given by Anita Wang). It's on our balcony, and she plays in it at least five times a week.


• Little Miss Doesn't-Like-to-be-Dirty is also loving 'paint,' which has been a huge change. The core of who she is hasn't changed, though: When she finally realizes what the paint does to her hands, she wants it cleaned off right away.


• Potty training in Sedona-land (she's 2 1/2 months from turning 2 years old) is coming along really well. We haven't changed a "poo" diaper in who knows how long. Nanny Linda has been taking her out diaper-less for months, but we weren't brave enough until more recently.


• Sedona's current favorite snacks: Dried edamames, kettle-corn popcorn, Kashi cereal, dried apples and all fruits.

- Maggie

Laney Week

What an exciting week! I had my first sleepover party with special guest star Laney Williford.

Laney came into town from Austin on Tuesday, 6/3, with her mom, Julie, who is pregnant with another girl (congratulations!) -- and Sara, my mom's other dearest Texas A&M friend.

Our moms were surprised that Laney and I hit it off instantly: We started with hanging out at my Mommy & Me class and then hitting Whole Foods to get Laney goat's milk. (She is allergic to cow's milk. Poor Lane, missing all those yummy milk products.)

On Wednesday, we had breakfast at Ocean Diner and shared a Mickey Mouse pancake, but the highlight was BACON!

I'm not a hand-holding type of gal, but for my guest, (almost) anything! My local gal pals will be jealous to see this, because they like to hug, kiss and hold my hand -- and I don't let them.

We then hit the beach together. Given that Laney is the 'inquisitive' one, it was surprising that I enjoyed the water more than Laney. But we both loved the sand ...
... and swings! (This nice photo of me was taken by our exclusive photographer, Sara.)
We then headed to the local deli to get some food. Laney and I couldn't wait, so we snacked on grapes. See, I share!
Whew, we were pooped! Play, eat, sleep! That's my job profile!

Auntie Sara bought Laney and me matching outfits! OK, so this was something I wouldn't do for my guest, as I don't seem so inclined to hug back, do I?

On Thursday, we hit Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica for some shopping!
Bath time! Laney showed me how to eat soap. I have to admit, I didn't really see the appeal.
On Friday, we hit Art Zone with hometown friend Riley. Last time I went there, I wasn't willing to touch any of the paint because it was 'dirty.' But now I'm really coming out of my shell. Laney loved it, too!
Then we went to the Hermosa Beach Farmer's Market. Aren't we adorable?

Don't worry, we didn't forget Maven!

Thanks for visiting, Sara, Julie & Laney! Please come again!

Love, Sedona

Photo Night with the Grandparents

As precious as Sedona is, there is no getting around the Terrible Twos! She is very much testing boundaries and exercising opinion muscles (especially when it comes to getting her preferred snacks of dried edamames, watermelon seeds or crackers).

Sedona is still very much loving Maven, as you can see ...

She is quite possessive sometimes ...


... and doesn't really like sharing Maven (or seeing Maven sleep so much, leading Sedona to demand: "Up! Wake up!"). Sharing me with anyone else (such as Maven!) is another issue. When I'm feeding Maven, Sedona tries to climb into my arms at the same time. It's sweet, because I love snuggling with her, but it is a bit impractical.

:-)


Maven is starting to be more interactive. She loves when we talk to her and will coo back with sweet smiles. It makes my heart melt.

Here are the girls with A-Ma & A-Gong Ding.
Sedona loves yelling for 'ALICE!' when her other A-Ma is around; it's quite hilarious and cute. Here are the girls with A-Gong Toshi and A-Ma Alice. The four grandparents were together for a mah-jong showdown, and we joined them for a yummy dinner. -- Maggie

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