Christmas with the Chickens

Turns out it wasn't locusts (re. previous post)...it was a nasty 5-day stomach bug. (And torrential rains for the past 3 days. And also ants). As I type this, I am the last Gong standing. So, I'm taking solace in reflecting upon happier times, like Christmas.

For Christmas this year, we tried something new. Grandmommy and Granddaddy Gong rented a house up in Sebastopol (a town in Sonoma County), and the entire immediate Gong clan headed up there for two days over Christmas.

Fiona loved exploring a new house, was immediately enthusiastic about her own bed, and invited Granddaddy to lounge.
Here's the whole gang (except Granddaddy, who was taking the photo) on Christmas Eve, enjoying a delicious hot pot dinner.
On Christmas morning, Fiona expertly opened both her own and Campbell's gifts (seen here). It was, after all, her 3rd Christmas and Campbell's first. But she generously shared her new Hello Kitty sunglasses with her little sister.
We enjoyed a lovely Christmas Day stroll on the beach at Bodega Bay. Note Fiona with her entourage.
The best part of the house we stayed in? It was located on the property of Full House Farm, which meant that the day after Christmas we were treated to a tour of the farm.
Fiona got to ride the pony, Missy Brown. She was tentative at first, but soon gained confidence.

She met the two goats, and has decidedly overcome her previous goat phobia....
She really perked up, however, when we hit the chicken coop. She got right in there and fed the dozens of chickens, most of them almost as big as she is. Apparently our girl's a born farmer.

After our idyllic time in Sebastopol, we headed back to the Bay Area for a Chinese Christmas banquet with extended family. Despite the look on Fiona's face here, the food was delicious and she ate heartily. In fact, I have no idea what's really going on in this picture, but I feel it somehow perfectly captures our two girls. I'm willing to bet that if we all look back at this picture in 25 years or so, we'll say, "Yep, that about sums it up."
The HIGHLIGHT of Christmas was finding out that Uncle Wesley (Erick's brother) and Auntie Kristin are expecting their own little pickle in July. So Erick & I will have a niece or nephew, and Fiona and Campbell will have their first cousin! We are thrilled. Wes & Kristin will make wonderful parents.Well, at least we're positive that Kristin will!

New Year, New Developments

Happy 2010! There are many happy photos of the Gong Christmas and New Year to share. But I'm finding that a little bit daunting at the moment; those of you who see us in person or follow our Facebook updates will know that the past 2 weeks have been consumed by ridding our house of mice, sleep training Campbell and getting the girls to share a room, and replacing our bullet-punctured car windshield. So, as I sit here awaiting the plague of locusts that is surely on its way, I think I'll just do a quick update.

Our girls continue to grow up, as little girls do. Campbell has made some impressive strides over the past month. She is now starting to eat "solid food," in the form of watery rice cereal. From her very first encounter with the stuff, she proved to be enthusiastic only if she was the one in control of the spoon....
But she seemed genuinely contented at the results.
Campbell is also starting to attempt sitting up:

Although she's still a bit wobbly.

She's also showing an early inclination to devour books...in the literal sense.
Fiona, on the other hand, is finally starting to develop hair. Enough to support a "ponytail" of sorts:

As well as not just one bow, but ALL the bows she owns. This hairstyle was her own creation. After attempting to nap with it intact, however, she hasn't asked for a repeat.

Merry Christmas from the Gongs!

Tomorrow (Christmas Eve) we will pack up our car (with substantial overflow in Grandmommy and Granddaddy's car -- that's how we roll these days) and drive up to Sebastopol, where we will spend 2 days at Full House Farm with Grandmommy, Granddaddy, Uncle Wesley, and Auntie Kristin. Needless to say, there's much excitement in our house today -- Fiona can even say "Sebastopol!" Before we go, we thought we'd share some highlights of our Christmas season.

Decorating the house:

The girls in front of our little tree (which Erick, nostalgic for our NYC days when we would walk the tree one block back to our apartment, carried back the entire 1 mile walk from the lot to our house).

Exploring Macy's Union Square:

And today's adventure, baking sugar cookies for the first time...
and washing up afterward.
(We are shocked and thrilled that Fiona shows such early aptitude for washing dishes. It was arguably more fun than making the cookies. Each dish was washed multiple times. When we tried to get her outside for a bike ride, she actually said: "NO, I want to stay here and wash dishes!" We may have to remind her of this in a few years).
The finished product, which will travel to Sebastopol with us:

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Lookalikes

Like most parents, we tend to think of our children as unique. However, recent photographic evidence has suggested that our daughters may have been separated at birth from pop-culture alter-egos.

Take, for instance, Fiona, who has suddenly developed a great love of the harmonica. She can play it, folks, I'm not just tooting her horn here (excuse the pun). And when she plays it, as most recently during a spontaneous outburst at our Christmas caroling party, she does so soulfully.

Much like legendary harmonica player Bob Dylan. (Although if we ever catch Fiona with a cigarette in there, too, there will be a SERIOUS time out!)

And then there's Campbell. Our second daughter has always had quite a head of hair (unlike her older sister), but recently her hair has taken on a life of it's own. Check out her hair in this photo: it just does that by itself, and nothing we can do will stop it.

But with the holiday season upon us, we've wondered whether Campbell's hair is paying tribute to the not-as-legendary-as-Bob-Dylan-but-still-sort-of-legendary Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Just giving you something to think about.

Fiona Turns Two: Part II

FINALLY I am getting to the second installment of Fiona's second birthday -- almost exactly a month after the fact!

When we last left you, Fiona had celebrated her 2nd year with a party at the park the day before her actual birthday. The morning of November 18 dawned clear and sunny, much as it had two years earlier (except this time without the chest pains that would send me to the hospital for an unexpected delivery of little Fiona!). Fiona woke up to find her big-ticket gift, a "Hello Kitty-Cat bike and a pink helmet," waiting for her. She been asking for this exact thing for months. It is indeed a blessing to be able to give your child the desire of her heart (and it probably won't last long, so we enjoyed her excitement immensely!).

The rest of the day was actually quite laid-back. After a ride around the block on her new bike ("ride" is overstating it -- her grandparents pushed her the entire way!) and a visit to the Studio Grow playspace (we forgot to take pictures), we all gathered: Fiona, Campbell, her parents, and both sets of grandparents, for a Chinese feast at one of our favorite local restaurants, Asian Pearl.

Fiona enjoyed her food...

...and the undivided attention of both grandmothers.

Campbell enjoyed having her parents' undivided attention for once. (With 4 grandparents managing Fiona, we were extraneous).

Following what felt like a 264-course meal, we went home for MORE cake. She had the whole candle-blowing ritual pretty down by this point.

It was, of course, a hit.

The whole birthday was a lot of fun. We can't wait to see what the next 2 years will bring! She's a kooky kid, but we'll keep her.

Fiona Turns Two: Part I

Okay, I realize that this is almost a month late in coming. Thankfully we have forgotten to bring our camera to just about every major event since Fiona's birthday, though, so I have plenty of time to catch up! Maybe we'll actually get some documentation of Christmas; I make no promises.

Since Fiona is still so young, we had envisioned her 2nd birthday as a laid-back affair. In reality, the festivities began the day before her actual birthday, with a party in our neighborhood park. The guest list was limited to 3 friends: Constance, Luther, and Elisa. The theme: Hello Kitty, which Fiona has decided she loves solely based on owning a pair of Hello Kitty rain boots. There was a Hello Kitty balloon....
...and a Hello Kitty cake. (I plan to produce this picture in the future whenever Fiona accuses me of not loving her).

The guests arrived. The hilarious thing about 2-year-old birthday parties is that nobody quite knows the etiquette yet. So Fiona greeted Constance awkwardly....
...and rebuffed Luther's attempt to give her flowers.
But apparently everybody understands the etiquette of cake eating.

In the end, a fun time was had by all. And Campbell is already longing for her own chance at birthday fun. Eight months to go.....