First smile

He'll be 6 weeks tomorrow, and we think this may be his first real smile.

Happy 1 Month Birthday Baby Mason!

We celebrated our baby's 1 month birthday with some chocolate cake, and of course a photo session followed.
      

It was cool that my aunt from Japan was here to celebrate Mason's one month, just like she was here for Maddeux's one month. The cake was from Whole Foods. Very chocolaty and delicious.

Mason wasn't too happy at the beginning of the photo session, but after he calmed down he fell asleep. So sweet. One or two of the stuffed animals was the same one we posed Maddeux with when he was a month old.

Today we're back on our own (Family visits from Japan)

My aunt, who is like a mother to me, her friend, and my cousin all came from Japan to meet little Mason and to help out where ever they can. Fumi-chan (cousin) could only stay for a week, and the aunties were able to stay for 2 weeks. We were so excited that they were coming that we pretty much planned their whole stay.

I do have to say that we are so blessed to have such a loving family that would come all the way from Japan to visit the kids. They were such a huge help it gave us time to recoup and they kept Maddie preoccupied. He really took a liking to Fumi-chan, dragging her all over the place, commanding her to play with him. She was a really good sport. My aunt took the night shift watching and sleeping with baby Mason from the day she arrived. I don't know how she does it, but I hope to be a mom and grandma just like her! Love you!

It was great to catch up on family stuff and to spend time with them. I'm going to really miss them, but I know I'll see them again soon.

The detail of events:

Friday June 4th  -    They arrived 1 hour early. (Yes we ended up picking them up late, should have checked  their flight status a lot earlier). At night we drove around the city to see if we could get some good night shots.     

Saturday June 5th -  BBQ at the house.

Sunday June 6-8th - Las Vegas to visit my sister. Yes we drove all the way there with a 3 year old and 3 1/2 weeks old so my aunt can visit my sister, although I couldn't tell if my sister appreciated the gesture. Siblings! On a brighter note we were able to watch Mystere at a discounted price, and had time to drive around and so a little shopping.

 Wednesday, June 9th - Fumi's last day before she had to leave so we took her to do some shopping etc, and she wanted to make us a special dinner. She made us Okonomiyaki for dinner. One with beef for Peter and seafood for the rest of us. It was tasty. Yum.

Thursday, June 10th - Fumi-chan left. Maddie was good and said goodbye without crying. I asked him later where Fumi-chan was, and he said that she was on the airplane. I guess he did comprehend.  

 

Friday, June 11th - Went to the SF Japanese Embassy to add Mason to the family registry, took them around SF to the touristy spots and then had Korean BBQ for dinner.

Saturday, June 12th - Went to go see hubby at the autocross. My aunt got the chance to sit in one of the runs. She had a blast.

Sunday, June 13th - Went to the SF SGI Culture Center, and did some shopping afterwards.

Monday, June 14th - I went to go get my hair done while the aunties watched the kids. Took them to Stanford Mall in the evening.

Tuesday, June 15th - Went to the wine country, checked out Castillo de Amorosa winery and ate a burger at Gott's Burger. For dinner they made us Sukiyaki.

Wednesday, June 16th - SF Giants Game! Then went out for sushi for our last dinner together.

Thursday, June 17th - Got ready in the morning, loaded up the car and headed for a last bit of fun with the kids at the park. After that we then drove them to the airport to see them off. Boo hoo hoo.... 

I should have checked the flight status before going. Their flight was delayed by at least 3 hours. Delta isn't very good about keeping their passengers updated. My aunt and her friend didn't take off until 5:30pm, when it was scheduled for 1:15pm. I kept checking the flight status online to see if they really did take off, but selfishly I was hoping it was canceled and they had to take the next flight the day after home. They did end up arriving in Japan safely, 4 hours later than anticipated.  

Can't wait to see them all again. Hopefully the end of this year.