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Ethan Vs. The Water Hose...

This morning we took advantage of the low humidity and enjoyed the backyard. Ethan was super curious. We try to go swimming often so he can get used to the water but he is not very interested most of the time. Today, however, out of nowhere he crawls to the pool, crawls in with shoes [...]

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Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Garden...

Our goal was to take one year old portraits. We found a great place, but didn’t take into consideration the insane humidity. So, we have some cute sweaty photos! We will try again earlier in the day so it won’t be so hot. I feel motivated to have one year old pictures that don’t look [...]

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Birthday Party...

We had a small family party for Ethan this evening to celebrate his official birthday. Balloons, party hats, cake, and presents… what more could a one year old little boy ask for! We are so blessed to have family who love our child.

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Ethan Turns One...

Ethan is officially one year old today. That means I’ve been a mom for a whole year. Thinking back on what life was like a year ago is just wild. I was so naive. I thought I knew, but I did not have the first clue as to what motherhood really was. I had no [...]

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Giraffe BBQ Part 2...

Here are more pictures of the party. The little ones had great fun playing in the pool and in Ethan’s new wagon he got from Gran Gran and Granddaddy.

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Giraffe BBQ Part 1...

The long awaited party day finally arrived. We spent the morning busily finishing up little details. The desserts were baked, cupcakes iced, giraffe snacks dished and the giraffe birthday shirt made. I was very proud of myself for actually following through with the ideas I had for this party and it came out great. The [...]

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Family Time...

As we were getting ready for the big Ethan and Nguyen birthday bash, we set aside some time to celebrate dad’s birthday and just hang out. Eric and Leanna came in town so this was one of the few times a year my whole family is together. Everybody had a great time! We ate awesome [...]

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Nguyen’s Birthday...

We celebrated Nguyen’s 30th birthday with family and friends. We had a cookout, opened some presents and had a great time.

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Family Visits...

It was so nice to have my family come visit. Abigail and Ethan had a great time playing with each other. They poked and swatted and jump on air mattresses together. Mom and Dad loved having both grandkids in the same place.

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Fun Times...

This is just a post of random fun pictures we have taken lately.
So, Ethan recently received part 1 of his hair cut. I’m trying to get him ready for one year portraits, but I am not a professional barber. I’ve learned that it works better to do hair cuts in phases. It’s difficult for him [...]

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Pool Time...

For Nguyen’s day off we decided to have a family pool day. By “day” I really mean about an hour, but for an 11 month old it might as well have been all day. Ethan is funny about the water. He’s only interested for a few short minutes and then just wants to play in [...]

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Gadget King...

Ethan’s favorite things have buttons and lights and are usually the exact things we tell him he cannot have. It’s like he has a sixth sense about electronics. He can tell when we take the batteries out of something. But it is pretty cute to watch him hold the phone over his shoulder like he’s [...]

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Picnic At The Park...

Video of Ethan at Memorial Park looking at birds and eating apples

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Louisiana Vacation Part 3...

On our way to visit friends in South LA, we stopped by the newly opened Gone Wild Safari park in Pineville, LA. It was great and we had a blast. Jerry the Giraffe was awesome, and to be honest, was the inspiration for Ethan’s birthday party theme. Ethan was much more engaged this go around [...]

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Louisiana Vacation Part 2...

Next on our list of fun things to do in Shreveport was to visit some animals… Gators and Friends to be more specific. Ethan was not very enthusiastic about the heat, but he did show some interest in the animals.

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Louisiana Vacation Part 1...

We had a blast visiting Andrei for his 30th birthday party in Shreveport. While we were there we decided to try to find fun things to do with Ethan. The water fountains at the Barnwell Garden and Art Center seemed like a good choice. Nguyen and I enjoyed touring the park while Ethan slept. Then [...]

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My First Spaghetti...

Ethan has been rather particular about the texture of the food he likes to eat. So, I was surprised and super pleased when he had so much fun eating spaghetti for the first time. Spaghetti happens to be my favorite childhood meal, so his pleasure in eating this meal was near and dear to my [...]

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Swinging At The Park...

We love our house, but we are in a new neighborhood lacking well established trees for hanging baby swings. Since we are near a local park we decided to check out there swing selection. Ethan loved it! You can tell by the tongue sticking out. He giggled and laughed and had a blast. As we were leaving [...]

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A Day In The Life...

Ethan has been adjusting pretty well to our new home. These are a few pictures of a day in the life of little Ethan Le. He starts off the day exploring the plastic bowls. We gave him his own cabinet to keep him entertained. He fills his tank with a meal of yummy yummies. He’s [...]

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Father’s Day...

Nguyen enjoyed his first Father’s Day with Ethan and me. Ethan made him a homemade card and they shared some special stories before bedtime. Ethan is blessed to have a wonderful father!

Nguyen also got a new toy for Father’s Day…
a new grill!!!

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Beat The Heat...

It’s been a while since we have posted. We have had a month of moving, teething, sickness and overall adjusting to a new home. Things are starting to settle down, so I will play catch-up for a few posts.
One thing we learned very quickly about Houston… it’s hot. Not the normal kind of hot, but [...]

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Strolling Along...

Ethan is strolling along behind his walking toy.

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Our Little Helper...

Sure is fun trying to pack up with a 9 month baby cruising around!

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Mr. Fix-It...

It’s hard to believe that my once ity-bity is becoming a little person. He’s got the best expressions. He is so curious about his world. He spent a while this morning playing with his scooter. He’s determined to figure it all out.  If only he had some tools, he could really get some work done!

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Music Man...

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for my new “Welcome to Houston” toy! I love it! It will keep me very entertained in my new house while mom and dad unpack. Love You!

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Texas, Here We Come...

We’re moving to Texas! Not just to Texas, but to the fourth largest city in the country. Yep, Houston. So, this is beginning of a pretty big transition (seeing that Alex is the largest city I have ever lived in). Nguyen and my dad loaded up his truck and trailer to take the first load [...]

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Look What I Can Do...

Ethan is 8 months old and busy as can be with all sorts of new tricks! He started off 8 months by crawling on his knees. He quickly followed that by pulling up on furniture and now he is cruising. He also began waving. Sometimes, he will just sit and watch his hand as he [...]

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Happy Easter!...

Happy Jesus is Risen Day!
We are so blessed to have a family we love and a God who showers us with blessings each day. We serve a good God, full of grace and forgiveness. Thank You Jesus!
We had a great Easter celebrating our faith together as a family. We even did an Easter basket for [...]

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Saturday In The Park With Ethan...

We spent the afternoon at the park. It was beautiful and Ethan had a great time. He loved eating the grass and leaves. He was intrigued by the thick patches of clovers, he liked to eat those too! Yay for nice weather!

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My First HairCut...

I can’t believe my little baby is big enough to get a haircut. At 7 1/2 months his hair has been more than long enough for a little trim. Now, for those who have not experienced giving their child their first haircut I will say it is not easy. My squirmy little son was not [...]

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Easter In GA continued...

Ethan had many “firsts” while we were in GA. He was away from his daddy for the first time. He had his first wagon ride (which he loved)! He and Abbie both loved being outside and riding in the wagon. Granddaddy would even run them up and down the driveway. Super Cute! Ethan also had [...]

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Easter In GA...

Ethan and I road over to Georgia with my parents to visit Amie and Abigail for a week. Nguyen had to work so he couldn’t join us. Ethan did a great job traveling! He was a super good baby. We had a fabulous time visiting with Amie, Rich and Abbie. Mom and I did get [...]

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Just Hanging Out...

Ethan is getting very active and is enjoying his new found mobility. He is super adorable!

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Down On The Farm...

The benefits of parents living in rural Louisiana…

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7 Months Old...

Ethan is celebrating being 7 months old at his Grandma and Grandpa’s house this weekend. He played in the yard, sat in clovers, ate a leaf, and played with Daddy and Grandpa. It was a wonderful day to be 7 months old.

“What I can do now” Update:
At 7 months, Ethan is…
sitting up, rolling over, reaching [...]

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Mr Mohawk Man...

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Dinner Date...

The past 5 months have been a whirlwind. It’s gone by so fast and consisted mostly of changing diapers, feeding, bathing, rocking and pacing our adorable little boy. He is so worth it, but I was feeling a little stressed and slightly disconnected from my sweet hubby. Hubby’s response… home cooked gourmet goodness!
The menu:

As an [...]

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Merry Christmas...

Recent Sighting!  We spotted this lil’ guy shuffling around the tree and then trying to make his break for the door until he realized he couldn’t yet crawl… he was, however, quite adept at sitting up.  When asked for the whereabouts of his jiggly accomplice, the young elf let out an abrupt “Gahh!” and then [...]

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Dinner Time...

At 4 months and 9 days, Ethan had his first meal from a spoon! He did so good! Well, I expected the spitting, weird faces, and fussing. But even with all that he still got several bites of cereal down. As you can see from the pictures, sweet red wubby was a huge help in [...]

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Looky There...

(click on photos for larger view)

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At The Lewis’...

After a fabulous Georgia family thanksgiving, we headed up to Amie and Rich’s new place. We had a wonderful time shopping and hanging out in her newly decorated awesome looking house!
We also got to meet up with the Cipollas for a while.  The last time we saw them we pre-giovanni… and I must say, he’s [...]

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Thanksgiving With Family...

Georgia.  Did you know we made it to Georgia and back with a 3.5 month old?  That’s something like… a bunch of hours away.  In over 1500 miles, we lassoed a good chunk of 4 states and a sliver of Florida.  Ethan slept most of the way there and back!  That’s quite a feat in [...]

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Thanksgiving With Friends...

Forth Annual Friends’ Thanksgiving was great fun with great food.  A big Thank You to everyone and again to the Constantinescu Family for opening up their home to all of us.

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Happy Birthday Tyrus...

So it’s been a little while since his birthday… November 13th.  But that’s no reason to not share these cute photos.

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Moosin’ Around...

Ethan was just a little over 2 months in these photos.  It was a little nippy that day so we decided he absolutely needed to wear his best moose outfit.  Of course, we took photos.  About half way through he just had to strip down and make faces.  I don’t know… things just happen.

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SuperBaby...

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Happy Halloween!...

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My First Picnic...

This past weekend we took Ethan on his very first picnic!  It was a little windy and quite cool so he stayed bundled the whole time.  He wasn’t really in the mood for photos… and he took a nap.  All in all, I think he had a blast and a successful first picnic.

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Two Month Old Baby Ethan...

I can’t believe we have a 2-month-old baby. He is a really good baby. His favorite word is “ahGOO”. He has a precious toothless grin and is sleeping 6 or 7 hours at night. We are blessed beyond measure!

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Grandparents Visit...

My parents came to visit Ethan about 2 weeks ago.  He hasn’t really feeling too well so they were trying to cheer him up.

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Hey There, Fancy Pants...

OK so Ethan just turned 2mo.  Over the next few posts we’ll catch you up with photos.  This is him in his fancy pants at exactly 1 month.

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Way Back in AU...

So this is from a while back… yah.  I have no excuses.  Enjoy!

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My First Visit to DeRidder...

Last weekend was full of first for this little man. His first visit to Gran and Grandaddy’s house, first visit to Catfish Hut (aka Best Salads Ever), and first Sunday morning at church (he got to wear his “fancy pants” his Gran bought for him). With so many firsts, we decided to have a little [...]

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True Water Baby...

I couldn’t resist posting this picture of my adorable niece. She loves the water just like her momma! And yes, that is the cutest flamingo baby bathing suit, ever.

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Ethan and His Bumbo...

I woke up late last evening to some tapping… something of a wild rapping sound outside my bedroom door.  Surely, someone had broken in.  They went straight for my gadget bins that were stashed neatly in my closet store.  From the sounds, they’re still rummaging through.  I heard specifically a dropping PSU, and the rapidograph [...]

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My First Bath Time...

Day 18 – Well, the umbilical cord stub fell off so it is time for the first tub bath! He really seemed to enjoy the water. I was a little surprised with how calm he was… and how wavy his hair gets.

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My First All-Nighter...

Day 16 – So, this wasn’t really Ethan’s first all-nighter… he has been staying up all night since he was born. But this was his first father-son-computer-gaming all-nighter. I’m sure there will be many more as time goes by.

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Power of the Jade Paci...

Day 14 – Ethan is not yet addicted to the pacifier.  But in the rare event that he wants it, he really wants it. He has also started to be very protective of the pacifier and will hold on to it with both hands sometimes. It’s really cute!  His daddy will sometimes wait for the [...]

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Cousins Unite...

Here starts some catching up with a few micro-posts.
Day 8 – My sister, BIL (Brother-In-Law), and niece came to see Ethan. My sister and Abigail stayed for a few days to help bring a little sanity to those first crazy days. It was wonderful to have them around. The cousins were able to meet and [...]

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Oh Happy Day Of Rest...

Finally, after 9 sleepless nights, baby boy gave his mommy 5 consecutive hours of sleep! Ahhh, life is better with sleep.
Here are a few other cute photos I couldn’t resist posting.

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A One Week Old Ethan...

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Ethan Le Nguyen – The First Week...

OK so it hasn’t been quite a week.  Ethan is 5 days old today!  It’s hard to believe so much has happened in just a few days.

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He Is Here...

Ethan Le Nguyen
Born August 13, 2009 10:56PM
8.0 lbs
20 1/4 inches long

Meet Ethan, our beautiful baby boy.  This photo was taken a few hours after he was born while he was resting on his mommy’s lap.  Both mother and child are doing very well.
More pictures to come…

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Happy Birthday...

YAY!  Today Nguyen turned another year older. I can’t believe we are getting so old. It seems just yesterday we were dating and were like little kids… so young… so free. Ahhh…
Despite our old age we were able to have an enjoyable day! We celebrated just the two of us (Ethan seems to enjoy where [...]

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I Think I’m Turning Japanese...

…I really think so.  Well maybe not, but we did have a day of Japanese food.
Today has been perfect! Sleeping late, searching the web for crafty ideas, watching a movie, and cooking Japanese with my precious hubby… what better to do while waiting on baby to arrive! Our Japanese menu consisted of chicken yakisoba, steamed [...]

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Around the World...

Yen, Jeremy and Tyrus have trekked half way across the world… or is it the whole way?  Canada, Hungary, and now Australia where they’ll spend the rest of the summer.  Here are a few more photos of their trip so far.
Get ready.  There’s a bunch.

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The Calm Before The Storm...

It’s a quiet and peaceful Saturday afternoon. Nguyen is visiting a friend while I am watching a movie and anxiously awaiting this little bundle inside to make his appearance.  The crib is ready to snuggle a sleeping baby.  His clothes are folded and put away. Our hospital bags are packed. The doctor says Ethan has [...]

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Photos of Yen, Jeremy & Ty...

So I’ve been slacking on the posting of photos.  Yeah I know.  Yen would so diligently and consistently send them to me yet all I do is horde them as my very own.
These photo are actually from way back in May in their travels to Ontario, Canada… then way over to Budapest and Siofok, Hungary.  [...]

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Fried Rice Like Mother Used To Make...

I’ve always enjoyed some good fried rice but, if you live anywhere like I do, it’s not always very easy to find a restaurant that put much care to this traditional dish.  A lot of places seem to believe that simply mixing rice, soy sauce, and sesame oil makes fried rice.  Maybe.  But that’s not [...]

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SOS…Laundry Fairy Needed...

So you may be wondering, “A post about laundry? It must be a slow day at the Nguyen house”. Well, this is not just ordinary laundry… this is the first load of baby laundry! That’s right, we are finally organized enough to start washing all the baby things. This is momentous because it marks the [...]

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Baby Shower Homecoming...

Recently, some family friends from DeRidder gave Nguyen and I a wonderful baby shower. I had the privilege of spending time with people I grew up with and had always looked up to and admired. They have been incredibly supportive throughout high school, college, weddings and now babies too! I am blessed to have a [...]

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Sweet Little Niece...

Recently we had the joy of taking portraits of my precious little niece, Abigail. Though 8 months of pregnancy can make a person feel a little awkward and grouchy, I was still able to get some pretty good shots.

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These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I thought I would update my list of favorite things during pregnancy.
Smoothies
I heart smoothies, especially ones made by my beloved husband!  For some reason, when I get a hold of that blender it just doesn’t come out right. But Nguyen has a magic touch when I comes to smoothies. So, whenever he offers I [...]

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A Growing Baby!...

As you can probably tell by the countdown at the top of the blog, we are getting REALLY close to having a baby! Well, I guess its the closest we have ever been! We had another sonogram and our little baby is growing! (So is his mommy!) He is appr. 3 pounds and 9 ounces [...]

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Mommy’s First Baby Shower...

YAY! My first baby shower! It was a morning filled with lovely people and lovely baby things! The lovely hostesses had beautiful decorations and WONDERFUL food. Brunch-slash-breakfast food is one of my favorites! Our friends and family have been SO generous with helping us get ready for little Ethan. We are truly blessed to have [...]

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Daddy’s First Baby Shower...

Ethan had his first big party. It was a surprise baby shower at Nguyen’s work! The sad part is that Ethan and I couldn’t make it. To get us there but keep the surprise, one of Nguyen’s co-workers invited us out to lunch. Well, I just started a new job and couldn’t make lunch, but [...]

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Spring Roll Madness...

As some of you know, Vietnamese spring rolls are one of my most favorite dishes. They are super simple and so much fun to eat with other people. It’s what I (and most other people) call a communal meal, one where everyone shares from the main pot. Nguyen introduced this type of eating to me [...]

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Cousin Togetherness...

We were recently able to share a delightful dining experience of spring rolls with my darling cousin Allison. It was her first time and she did a phenomenal job! Nguyen and I were both impressed.
YAY for sharing spring rolls!

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A World of Dumplings...

As some of you may notice, this is the second post on dumplings in a rather short amount of time. A while back Yen inspired us to relive the glory days of dumpling making. Since then, Nguyen found an excellent cookbook on dumplings. The awesome thing about the book is that it gives recipes for [...]

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Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez...

While we celebrated the Streder’s wedding, we also had some time to explore New Orleans. Despite the fact that I have lived my whole life just a few hours from New Orleans, I have not really spent much time in the city. So, this was an exciting trip for me, one of my first New [...]

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A Weekend With the Streders...

To celebrate Shonnie and Paul’s marriage, the whole gang drove down to New Orleans for a wonderful weekend. It’s been a while since we last saw Shonnie and we got to meet Paul for the first time. It was great spending time with the two of them together. Here are a few pics of our [...]

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A 3-Month Abbie...

Abigail Grace and her Granny Lou

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April Photos of Ty...

Yeah I know it’s May but I don’t yet have photos of him for this month.  You’re just going to have to settle for some random photos that Yen sent me in April.

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It’s Dumpling Time!...

So, in honor of a certain sister-in-law’s birthday, Nguyen and I decided to make her world famous dumpling recipe! She taught me how to make these last year at Christmas and I felt that we bonded as we rolled out the dough. Ahh, the memories. I didn’t remember all the details. But with Nguyen’s expert [...]

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106 Days To Go...

We wanted to document the growth of the baby belly, so Nguyen played around with the camera a bit. This is me at 6 months pregnant!

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Newbie Baby Onesie...

OK so i couldn’t resist… had to… couldn’t help it.  Below is the very first onesie/creeper that I bought for baby nguyen.  Did you expect anything else? 

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Lions, Monkeys, and Sheepies...

As we all know, lions are the bizzomb… as are monkeys, sheepies, elephants, giraffes, and wombats.  The little guy you see hangin’ out up top there is <nameless>, the plush lion that Emily bought for our baby boy just before the test showed positive.  Well he’s not named “nameless”; he just doesn’t have a name [...]

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Announcing Baby Nguyen...

We had our first sonogram today! I am 21 weeks pregnant and this afternoon we got our first glimpse of our little baby. It was so exciting Nguyen almost got teary-eyed! Almost. We are happy to announce that come August we will be having a baby boy! Here’s a little peak of our precious child! [...]

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Passport Photos Are Always So Tough...

I received about 30 of these the other day after Yen tried to get a good passport photo for Ty.  The set’s numbering scheme seemed to be rather scattered so I’m assuming she took a lot more than that.  Here are a few from the set that I recieved.

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Protected: Abbie’s First Photo Sho...

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Yen, Tyrus, Grandparents, and Snow...

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To Grandparents’ House We Go...

Abbie visits her Granddaddy and Granny Lou!

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He’s HUGE...

Here are some more photos of baby Ty. He’s growing up so fast it’s insane.

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Abigail Grace...

Abbie’s arrival was quite exciting! I left work just in time to get to Lake Charles about 2 hours before she was born. Labor and delivery was smooth sailing, at least from the waiting room’s perspective! Amie did awesome and there were no complications. These are a few pictures of little Abbie’s first few days [...]

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Playing Catch-up With Baby Ty...

For the next while I’ll be catching y’all up on photos of both our niece and nephew. Here are some of Ty that predates those posted earlier.  More of Abbie to come.

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Vacation In The Wilderness...

Nguyen and I are spending our weekend in the foothills of Missouri at a resort in the woods called Big Cedar. It’s very beautiful! I am currently sitting in front of a roaring fireplace looking out over the lake and the hills and the smoke rising from all the chimneys in the woods. Because of [...]

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Welcoming Abigail Grace Lewis...

Right now Emily and I are on our first vacation in 2 years, albeit only a mini 4-day getaway… more on that later.  Now that we’re here I would like to take some time to highlight some major news.
Rich and Amie Lewis just gave birth to their first baby girl Abigail Grace Lewis.  She was [...]

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Baby Tyrus Dante Pinyon...

So Emily and I went to visit my sister in VA almost 2 months ago.  I brought back a few pictures of her and our nephew Tyrus Dante Pinyon.  I’ll most likely be posting more photos later on but here are some to start things off.  I know I’m quite a bit behind.  I’ve got [...]

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Protected: Testing A Locked Post...

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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Profile Photo...

Now I’m just testing a large photo links within a post.  You can click on the photo link to show the full resolution image.  Most of the photo popups are designed to [almost] fill out your browser window.  Maximizing your browser window will ensure that you see the largest and clearest photos uploaded.  If you’re [...]