1 week

I can't believe it's Lucas' 1 week birthday today.  We've had him home for 5 days now and it's been wonderful so far - although very tiring and never getting enough sleep.  He's doing really well and we are getting to know him...he makes some funny faces and is so cute - we just love it. 

Here are some more pictures from his first day and a couple from the last 2 days.
Kelvin's Album - First Day

Pics we took yesterday and the day before.

Happy Birthday Lucas!

WELCOME LUCAS JUN PANG BERLINER

Thursday, December 11th, 2008 ~ 1:31pm

Our pride and joy has arrived - Lucas Jun Pang Berliner announced his arrival with a hearty cry at 1:31pm on Thursday, December 11th, 2008. Lucas was born 18" long and weighed in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces. Our love and thanks goes out to all the wonderful family and friends that have supported us on our journey to this miraculous day!

 

Please check out the rest of Leonard Kho's beautiful photos of the first day!

we are gettting close!

Lima is due in a couple of weeks now and we are so excited. mom is especially excited since Lima, at almost 38 weeks, is getting heavier to carry day by day. the growth is actually really amazing and Lima's running out of room in there fast. only two weeks ago i could clearly feel the empty spaces around Lima but now when i feel Alisa's belly, it's solid baby. mom is doing an incredible job carrying our first official family member and i'm so proud of her, it looks like quite a burden, and a 24x7 burden at that. anyway, our dear friends in vancouver, Jul and Cam, had their beautiful daughter Maddison a bit earlier than expected so we're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping Lima follows suit!

so the stage is set, the actors in place, and the room made ready. from toys to diapers, strollers to bassinets, and excited mom to excited dad, all is ready, waiting for the bundle of joy that is soon arriving. ok world, are you ready for Lima?!?

Maternity Photo Shoots

Leonard Kho , one of our best friends and a budding photographer, took some maternity photos of us in the city with his super fancy Nikon camera.  It was a cold and foggy day, but you wouldn't notice that in the pics he took.  He did a great job and we had fun running from location to location with Hedda as the Art Director.  We stopped in the presidio at the legion of honor, in front of the painted ladies in Alama Park, and then in SOMA.  (Leonard is also available for photoshoots, check out some of his other shots)

Harry Who , one of our friends who is a professional photographer, called us up to do a maternity photo shoot.  He's a very talented photographer and really captures the beauty of pregnancy. (Check out his portfolio site, some great work, if you are looking for a photographer).  It's very Demi Moore like so I'm only going to share this one photo with you all :-).      

Showers, Showers

We're so lucky to be surrounded  by such great friends and family and were thrown 2 showers in the bay area.  Todd's mom Coni and his cousin Jennifer threw us a family one at Jennifer's house last month.  It was nice seeing Todd's family and Coni's close friends.  Todd's Aunt Robin and Cousin Ashley flew in, which was nice of them.  We played the how big is my stomach game - which got quite competitive between cousins Christine and Drew.  The cake was the same guava cake we had at our wedding shower at the Berliner's.  The nice thing, was we hung out with the family all day which turned into a BBQ at night.  Yes, we ended the night with the men grilling meat. 

A couple of weeks ago, Hedda and Susan threw our friends shower.  I was really impressed by all their planning - the ballons, the signs, food and the games.  People decorated onesies for Lima - so lots of personalized ones for him/her.  There was guess who's baby picture - (which I some how got all of them right), and the baby beer bottle game.  It was really funny watching the guys drink beer (and looked wrong) out of a baby bottle.  It's not that easy! Susan served the best pasta - which everyone was asking for the recipe.  Thanks everyone for all the gifts and for coming out!! 

Click on link for pics from Cheryl's album.

This was one side of the nursery after all the showers.  At this point Lima has more stuff than we do! Thank you everyone for all the gifts and for attending!

Halloween Party at the Drinan's

The past couple of years Susan & Davie throw a Halloween shindig at their house.  I was really impressed with all the decor - motorized ghosts that flew, mechanical eyeballs in the tree, bats, dry ice...and the hosts were dressed as a witch and dracula.  The early part of the party were all kids (I guess what's in store for us), but later on in the night it went to sambuca and tequila and the kegerator. 

As for our costume, we decided to play on the whole baby bump thing so we went as Juno and Bleaker from the movie Juno.  Of course only the people who saw the movie got it - Todd even had tictacks attached to his headband.

Birds In the Nursery!

the decorating is done!
 again, not much to say, so i'll just skip to the pics. the lovely birds in the trees are wall decals that we ordered online. although not pictured, there's a set of three pictures that my mom took of babe 'n me in 2001 in the corner. i thought it was a nice touch having photos of mom and dad in baby's room, yea? also the first bit of really cool "dad gear" arrived - courtesy of our dear friends Agnes and Gertrude Wong - the Maclaren stroller (the Triumph model to be exact)! Oh man, it is so sweet - it floats, light as an glistening 11 pound aluminum feather, cutting turns to make a flamenco dancer jealous. anyways, on to the "birds in the nursery!"

view of the wall just above the crib

babe next to the crib, and, technically, below the birds

boo-ya, triumph baby, triumph

~ love, dad

Now & Zen & Golden Gate Park

for those of you who don't know, alisa is the big planner - you're shocked, i know - she loves to plan events and "fun stuff for us to do." so my babe treated us to a little bit of sunshine and cultuer at the Radio Alice Now and Zen Concert in Golden Gate park on a beautifly sunny Sunday, October 12, 2008. It was a really cool show and there was lots of good music - but I'm going to skip to some cute photos of my babe cuz hey, that's what really matters to me! Oh, and we ran into two fellow "Buzzles" which is the cute and rediculous name for those of us that work at BuzzLogic, a startup in SOMA (by the way, we pay great ad premiums for top notch content so hit us up if you want high performance blog ads on your blog!).

The Now & Zen crowd and the beautiful day!

Babe L-O-V-E-S ice cream these days (and who doesn't love an It's-It?!?)

And there we are - isn't she cute?

so this photo should tell you a bit about alisa's fortitude, her iron will, her ability to dig down deep for the strength to lug her 29 lb. baby oven, using sore and strained muscles, all the way out there just to make sure that we have a little fun. love that woman...

Under Construction!

After several months of very diligent shopping, Alisa and I finally found Lima's first bed and dresser. Special thanks to Lima's WONDERFUL grandmothers - Mrs. Chan for the crib and Mrs. Berliner for the rocking chair! The bed, of course, is like some huge transformer and will fold all the way out to a toddler bed for Lima. Initially though it cracked me up - I mean look at the size of that mattress! As a matter of fact, the mattress is something like 27" x 50" and assuming Lima will be about 10" x 18" we'll be able to fit 7 and 1/2 Lima's in that crib! You'll notice that babe's not there - she was in the other room doing yet more diligent shopping!

dad's proud of his work! (and, i must say, lookin' hard core with the tattoo ;->)

On a slightly more serious note, it was a really moving experience for me to build this stuff. My dad absolutely loved building things and he also absolutely loved being a dad. So as I worked late into the night, obsessed with finishing, I literally felt the ancestry, the history, anchoring me to my past, to my family, as I lovingly furnished the room for the next generation. I felt good about starting my family, about trying hard to fill the gigantic shoes of my father. For a few hours I felt like him, fevered, with parts stacked in neat rows (never scattered or unorganized!), pouring love into the work that will surround my child, fill our family's home and feed the timeless current of each generation of Berliners loving their children. And that is about the best family tradition I could ever hope to uphold.

Babymoon in Sonoma

So we decided to take a "Babymoon" to Sonoma and Napa a few weeks back - a mini-trip we could take just before Lima arrives. You know, enjoy those few last moments together before we are a family of 3. Although I couldn't taste wine (Todd did that for me), it was a great retreat for 2 foodies like us.   The weather was amazingly hot - 90 degrees!!

We first stopped of at Bouchon in Yountville for a nice lunch, a Thomas Keller Restaurant.  It was a bustling Bistro, with traditional French fare.  Freshly baked bread awaited at the table from their next door bakery.  Todd had the Boudin Noir, while I had the Roasted Chicken with puff pastry and ratatoille.  We were stuffed silly, but I still had room for a chocolate elcair at the bakery next door.

Since we were so stuffed and delirious from the hot weather and the food, we checked into the Inn at Sonoma, a sweet boutique inn.  It was very country, shabby chic with a fireplace in our room and a resident teddy bear.  They served morning breakfast as well as an afternoon wine tasting for their guests.    For dinner, there were so many restaurants to choose from but we stumbled upon one in downtown Sonoma that was outstanding - The Eldorado Kitchen. I know what your thinking, the name alone would turn off anyone but the food was so delicious.  Everything we ate there was really good, including the rosemary pistachios they gave us to munch on.  So fragrant and savory.  They specialize in using fresh seasonal produce and the vibe was country casual meets contemporary chic.  The Chef was formerly at the French Laundry.   I couldn't resist ordering the truffle fries, but for the main course we had Corn Agnolotti, a  mushroom, corn and truffle pasta, and the pan roastested salmon in tomato water vierge.  The surprising thing was Todd didn't even like tomatos but the way they served this dish was so refreshing.  Of course we topped it off with dessert, a medly of sorbet, cake and everything delicious.

The next day we did some cheese tasting at Vella Cheese.   They know something about cheese there, been making it since 1931!  We took home some greyere and some rosemary jack cheese.   Olive tasting was next at Olive Press and picked up a couple of bottles to bring home and savor.  We went to a couple of wineries, but no wine for me.  I just got to smell the glass- boo hoo.  Another spot we checked out was the Copia Wine and Food Museum.  Never been to a museum that's all about food and wine.  They had some exhibits and of course wine tasting where you buy a card you fill up with money and go to a bunch of machines that automatically pours wine for you.    Our last few stops were at Taylor's for some good old burgers and then a stop at the Napa Factory outlet.  There were some great deals there!    All in all a fun getaway before the big arrival.

Vancouver Baby Shower

It's been awhile since our last post - 1 month already and I feel much larger now.  It's the home stretch - last trimester which I've heard is a pretty uncomfortable period.  I noticed my stomach is bigger, and the Lima doesn't have as much to move around as he used to so I feel him squirm alot.  I especially like it when he gives me a good kick to the bladder or the ribs - reminds me that s/her is there with me.

So catching up on what we've been up to, the weekend of Sept 6th I was up in Vancouver to attend my baby shower that Virginia and my mom threw for me.  I was very impressed with all the color coordination, green was the theme, so the house was decorated in green, along with the hosts and I showed up in a green dress (coincidence).  It was the first time I saw a diaper cake, very cool, and the actual cake they got me was a baby carriage one (it not only looked really nice, but tasted great).  We played a bunch of games - Virginia was great in getting everyone involved.  At one point it got really competitive.  Then we did the presents - thank you for all the cute little outfits and accessories.   



I also got to meet Madison Emma Dong, Juliet & Cameron's newborn daughter when I was in Vancouver. She was only a few days old and was so precious and sweet.  She was basically snoozing the whole time.

The Berliners go to the beach...

babe, Lima and I "headed west" to the beach in half moon bay and then up Cabrillo Highway to El Granada. Drive was nice and although we only stepped out onto Miramar beach for like 4 minutes (typical Berliner style of "doing the outdoor thing"), we did snap a few cute shots. further excitement ensued when I spotted a sign for "NBC's Top 5 Sandwich - Lobster Roll" at a place called Sam's Chowderhouse. Had the lobster roll, it rocked. Felt bad cuz Alisa couldn't eat it though...

babe at the beach...

 

babe and Lima at the beach...

babe, Lima (not quite in view) and me at the beach...

 

 random tree: looked thoughtful

hope you liked your first trip to the beach Lima!!

150 Sweet Beats per Minute

150 BPM never sounded so good! I should have posted this a while ago when it was recorded, but the wife and I have been knee deep in Alan & Marianne's wedding, as you can see below, and trying to figure out what the heck we need to buy in time for Lima's arrival! (That is a whole other post that needs to be written - but it's safe to say that it's delightuflly crazy. On the one hand there's so much that needs to be considered - ugly but functional high chair vs. stylish, overpriced "elevated seating apratus?" - and on the other hand the shopping is yet another sign imprinting the joyous reality of our coming child into my brain.)



Babe's lookin' fabulous as always, a cute and almost perfectly round bump protruding from her belly the only sign that she's carrying Lima in a warm bath, a internal hot tub, a true spa for Lima's growing pleasure. She's doing a remarkable job too, one that puts me to shame I'm sure. Functioning as a human oven, girdled with an extra 15lbs of baby growing equipment, and unable to see her own feet, Alisa's been marching on, working, putting up with me, and kicking ass in general. Rock on babe...



I guess it's time to get to the juice of this post, the 150 sweetest beats I've ever heard. Throught the magic of the "Storke Radio," so clever eh?, we get to hear Lima's heart pumping away any time we want. The process is pretty simple - just coat what looks like a smooth, white tv remote with some "ultrasound gel" and place it against mom's belly. Move it around a little bit and bingo - Lima's heart beat can be heard through the speaker. The technology is similar to ultrasounds - you can read about Storke Radio here - and amazingly enough, Lima can hear it even though we can't. Lima get super worked up when we use it and I'm not sure if she is excited good or is like, "knock it off!" Either way Lima kicks up a storm which results in a loud "bbwaammm" from the speaker. Lima, we're sorry if we were bugging you but we hope you understand - hearing your heart beating makes our hearts sing. Too cheesy? Too bad, it does!



So check it out:

Alan & Marianne's Wedding - Vancouver!

It was really nice to have 5 days off from work, especially to attend my brother Alan and Marianne's wedding. It was filled with events, preparation, family, out of town guests and to top it off we threw a surprise birthday party for my Dad - he turned 60! Oh and I was surprised when my Aunt and cousins threw me a baby shower.

The wedding was beautiful and very heartful - plus lots of performances. I knew my brother wouldn't go without singing. Anyway, we took a bunch of pictures. Click here to see album.