Hills of Hayward

These past two Saturdays, we found a little gastropub named the Chop Bar in the Jack London Square area.  I’m a sucker for Eggs Benedict, and unfortunately have become a snob of sorts for this brunch staple.  When I read that the Chop Bar was having a seasonal special of Crabs Benedict last weekend, I took Christine and the two kids to try it out, and hoped the best.

Christine and I were both very impressed.  The crab meat came in large tender chunks and fused perfectly with the avocados.  The egg was perfectly cooked, and we wound up regretting that we both didn’t get the same dish.  A photographer from the San Francisco Chronicle approached us in the middle of the meal, and asked whether we were willing to be photographed for their upcoming review article.  We gave our consent and quickly forgot about it.

This last Sunday, we were craving Eggs Benedict, and we found ourselves at Chop Bar again.  The waiter recognized Anders and asked us if we saw our picture in the paper.  This prompted me to pull up the review article in my iPhone and here we all are… in the San Francisco Chronicle article “Chop Bar is a Treat in Jack London Square.”

After having two kids, I never thought of celebrating my birthday anymore. However, Stonebrae sent me a dinner invitation so I showed it to Harrison two days before my birthday. Harrison said, “Why did they send it so early?” I didn’t have any doubt but just thought that he forgot which day my birthday was again.

So he scheduled a last minute dinner at Kiss Seafood Japanese Restaurant, though now I don’t know if he just played like it was a last minute reservation or it was really a last minute thing. Unfortunately we had to miss our dinner because Arden started crying for feeding while Anders was fussing and not going to sleep. We could only feel at ease if we calmed Anders to sleep before we headed out so our nanny could focus on the little one. I guess that you can never predict your schedule when you have two young kids.

Luckily, thanks to my dear husband, who is great at finding new and nice restaurants. Instead of Kiss Seafood, we had a great time of a late night dinner at this nice cozy restaurant, Izakaya Mai.

I thought that was nice and it should be it! I never thought that Harrison had planned for tonight for a while. It was the first time I hang out with friends for a movie after Arden’s birth. I enjoyed Star Trek a lot and have been craving for Tea Station. I was happy but not surprised to run into Nancy, Chuang and Wei at Tea Station since they live close by; didn’t have doubts when Nancy asked to combine the tables. I didn’t suspect a thing until the birthday cake was brought to the table. I started laughing out loud since normally I was the one planning surprises!

Harrison’s plan was considered a total success. Thanks, Nancy, Chuang, Wei, Duc, Howard and Paul for coming out. Of course, thanks to Harrison for always thinking for me.

Christine and I biked this easy Berkeley trail a long time ago. Big aunt and I walked it yesterday. I believe this is the best time for hikes as the hills of east bay are green from the rain. It also happened to be frog mating season, and every pool we passed brimmed with loud croaks and crys. Some photos we took along the way:

I was running into people all day on my birthday this wednesday.  After meeting with Tuoc and Peter for lunch, I ran into my cousin’s wife at Fantasia, then another cousin’s husband at Fry’s.

So when I ran into Howard at Dar Dar’s Restaurant, I didn’t think twice.  Little did I know that I walked into a little birthday trap set by my wife.  I have to admit that I brought it on myself by forgetting that wednesday was my birthday, and scheduled to meet up to help Duc with his renovations that night.

Here are some iPhone photos of our little party:

早在Anders10個月大時，他就學會“HiHi“和”ByeBye” （他的小手會舉起一張一合）。但對我們的話卻還是似懂非懂。慢慢地，他似乎聽得懂了但總是沒有確切的反應。直到這過去一個月（16個月大）Anders終於懂的“要”與“不要”，“是”和“不是”，“可以”跟“不可以”。他會點頭和搖手，連我處罰他的時候也會好好回答，很是可愛。

即便如此，Anders昨天的反應仍叫我驚訝不已。

每週四早上是他去圖書館“Play & Learn“上課的日子。他一吃完早餐就黏著我要抱要玩。已經快遲到了我還得收拾出門的東西，沒辦法，情急之下給了他車鑰匙，”寶寶乖，拿著鑰匙去門口等Mommy，我們要出去玩嘍！“ You know what！？ 他竟然真的握緊了鑰匙砰砰砰地”跑“到門口定定地站在那兒一動都不動。

圖書館“Play & Learn“的後半段是自由玩玩具的時間。每次到了該收拾的時候，老師會唱著“Toys away, toys away! Time to put the toys away.” 媽媽和大孩子們就會把玩具放到一旁。以前總是我在收，寶寶都聽不懂，只會把我放好的玩具馬上又拉出來。但昨天在我沒有任何期待只是習慣地邊收邊說，“寶寶呀！把玩具放到旁邊了呀！” 他竟然對著我指的玩具跑過去，雙手捧起搖搖晃晃地走到牆邊放下。原本以為只是湊巧，但屢試不爽！

也許寶寶終於開始聽懂Mommy的話了！