Introducing Tyler Lin Nichols

Great news! Tyler Lin Nichols was born at 6:51 this morning through natural childbirth (no epidural for poor Eunice!) after only 2.5 hours of labor. Mom and baby are both healthy, Tyler is 8 pounds 10 oz. Here are some cell phone pictures from the hospital.

Can't wait to introduce you all to our new arrival!

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Last Supper

We didn't know it, but this ended up being our "last supper" before Tyler was born! Jennifer and David had just arrived the day before (they're spending the summer in the Bay Area), and we'd made last minute plans to do dinner together on Thursday instead of Friday. Good thing-- Eunice's labor started 10 hours after this photo was taken!



Dinner was a preview of what life will be like with an extra tike (in this case 3) running around. Spencer was very excited to see his cousins, and loved running around the house and backyard holding their hands. Eunice's mom put together an amazing assortment of food, as usual. It sure will be nice having so much family around all summer.

Click here for more photos with the Tangs.

Maker Faire 2008

It's turning into a bit of a tradition for us to attend the Maker Faire, a sort of burning man/science project/crafts fair gone wild.


It's particularly convenient for us to attend since it's held each year at the San Mateo County Fair Grounds, just miles from where we live!


Highlights from this year included self-propelled carnival rides, all sorts of robots and radio-controlled objects zooming around the fairgrounds, exhibits involving loud pyrotechnics, fountains of pressurized Coca-Cola being launched into the air, and a guy using knitting needles to play the drums while simultaneoulsy knitting CD covers (talk about multi-tasking!). We were there for just a few hours and only touched the tip of the iceberg.

Click here for more photos from the Maker Faire.

Storytime with Spencer's Teddy Bears

Lately, Spencer has been personifying his stuffed animals, helping them get dressed in diapers and pajamas and pretending to put them to sleep. This morning, he really wanted to read some books to his bears...


So, he hoisted the bears up next to him on our living room sofa and "read" them one of his favorite books ("I'm a Big Brother Now!").


Hopefully, this is a sign of the kind of big brother Spencer is going to be in just a few weeks...


Even though Spencer is turning into a pretty good storyteller, there's still nothing quite like having dad read to him (and his bears).

Lake Del Valle

We were hankering for a fun day out on the water but wanted a guarantee of HOT weather, so we ditched our plans to hang out in Half Moon Bay and headed instead to one of Ryan's childhood hangouts: Lake Del Valle!


Roping Grace, Alonzo, and Theo into our adventure, we made the trek out to the Lake (just south of Livermore) and were rewarded by some serious heat, tons of kids playing in the cool lake water, a voyage maxing out the weight-limit of our trusty inflatable kayak, and yummy picnic eats while listening to a wandering mariachi band!

Click here for more photos from Lake Del Valle.

Brunch at Mimi's

This Saturday, we headed up to Marin to hang out at great grandma Mimi's lakeside house in Corte Madera. We could not have asked for better weather or a more perfect setting for an outdoor brunch.


Spencer and Uncle Adam strike a pose with purple flowers in their hair.


Spencer spent most of the morning throwing rocks into the lake, pointing out "quack quacks" (ducks), eating berries off of everyone's plates, banging away on Mimi's piano, and playing hide-and-seek with Nancy in the house.


Spencer with our hostesses: Donna, Nani, and Mimi.

Ryan's 33rd Birthday - Part 2

With Spencer in daycare on Ryan's actual birthday (April 21), we headed to Half Moon Bay for sunshine, ocean views, and tasty lobster rolls on the outdoor patio of Sam's Chowder House. Later that day, Nancy came over for dinner and to hang out with Spencer (blowing bubbles in our backyard) while we snuck off to watch a movie - a real birthday treat! :)


Click here for more photos from Ryan's birthday and some great videos of Spencer's first attempts at blowing bubbles!

Ryan's 33rd Birthday - Part 1

We had a small family celebration in San Francisco on Sunday as an early kick-off to Ryan's 33rd birthday with Ryan's dad, Adam, Rachel, and Rachel's cousin Emma (visiting from New York). We had a great time lounging in the sun, taking a 2-mile stroll through the Presidio, enjoying good conversations, and whipping up a delicious home-made meal of grilled steak with salsa verde, a tasty salad, and Rachel's quinoa concoction with avocado dressing. The evening ended with vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge cake, and some decadent chocolate peanut butter cookies fresh off the plane from Levain Bakery in New York!


Ryan makes a wish!


Hanging out with family after a perfect meal. Left to right: Adam, Ryan, Rachel, Eunice, Spencer, Michael, and Emma.


Spencer had a great time hanging out with dad on this special day!

Spencer's First Real Bed

Our little boy is growing up! We went to Ikea this weekend and battled the mobs to pick out a real bed for Spencer. We weren't sure we would find something that would work, but ended up with something that's just about perfect: low to the ground so he can climb on and off on his own, several settings that allow it to be as small as a crib or as large as a twin bed, and a cool leaf canopy that makes it a fun and cozy space for Spencer to hang out.


Spencer tests out his new bed, where he now spends lots of time reading books and taking naps. Won't be long (we hope) before he gives up his crib for good and passes it willingly on to little brother...

Eunice's Baby Shower

Nikki coordinated a fabulous baby shower for Eunice. A group of girlfriends whisked Eunice away for a fancy dinner at Le Colonial in San Francisco where they sampled delicious French-Vietnamese cuisine, shared humorous stories from their past, opened gifts, and celebrated a night out without men or kids - something Eunice might not get again for quite a while once baby #2 arrives in a few weeks... Thank you for a perfect night out, ladies!


From left to right: Julia, Amber, Grace, Eunice, Maggie, Blanca, and Nikki.

Jesse and Eileen's April Visit

Despite now living on the opposite coast as Jesse and Eileen, we have somehow managed to see each other every few months. This time, the Brackenburys made the trek out to the Bay Area for a weekend visit. We had a chance to play with Spencer in Dolores Park, sample burritos in the Mission, grab afterwork drinks with old friends, visit a local San Mateo farmer's market, check out baby equipment at Lullaby Lane, and eat a fancy meal at Coi - a new North Beach restaurant.


This trip was particularly memorable, in part because both Eunice and Eileen were sporting large bellies (though admittedly Eunice has several inches on Eileen!!!).


Thanks for coming out to visit us, guys! The next time we see each other, we'll have two newborns to add to the mix. :)

Bay Area Discovery Museum

On a beautiful Friday morning, Spencer and Eunice headed up to Sausalito to meet up with Nancy and the Kaegi's at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, located right on the water at the based of the Golden Gate Bridge.


We had a chance to hang out by the waterfront watching "ducks" (seagulls) and throwing sticks into the ocean as we waited for Nancy, Mimsy, Patricia, Cassidy, and Talulah to arrive.


The Discovery Museum is a fantastic place! Spencer and Cassidy got totally soaked playing with the "fish" in a mock stream, dressing up as ladybugs, watching frogs blow bubbles in the water, and exploring a playground filled with huge wooden ships. We'll definitely be back!

Click here for a slideshow.

Easter in Dallas

We headed to Dallas for a special Easter with the Tangs (and Eunice's last plane trip before the arrival of baby #2 - doctor's orders!).


Highlights of our weekend included exploring the Dallas Arboretum in full spring bloom, watching Spencer tackle his cousins with big bear hugs, eating a fabulous brunch at Cafe Brazil, participating in the DTS Easter Egg Hunt, letting Spencer take a spin in various toy cars at the entrance of the dorm, playing soccer with Melody, attending the Tang's church for Easter service, and getting a glimpse into the crazy and full life of being parents of three kids!


It wasn't easy wrangling everybody into one spot for a photo op, but we managed to take a great family photo in front of some colorful tulips at the Arboretum. Thanks to the Tangs for being such fantastic hosts!

Click here for a slideshow.

Oakland Zoo with the Cinquegrana's

Eunice and Spencer met up with Faith and Fiona for a fun morning at the Oakland Zoo.


As an added bonus, Eunice had a chance to catch up with Mr. and Mrs. Cinquegrana who were in town for a visit. Eunice hasn't seen them since Williams graduation back in 1997!


Spencer had a great time at the Children's Zoo - though he seemed more interested in the animal sculptures than the real animals!

Click here for a slideshow.

Nancy's Birthday

It was great to get together with Nancy and the Barrons to celebrate Nancy's birthday-- the first time we've seen her since her big trip to Africa to investigate microfinance. We celebrated in Marin with Donna and Tom, Ed and Mimsy, Betsy, Nancy and Michelle. It was a special day for Uncle Tom as well-- he hit his first hole in one! It was March 8th, Tom hit his hole-in-one on the 8th hole, his overall score was 80, Nancy turned 58... Could this possibly be coincidence?


After a yummy lunch of Chinese chicken salad and Donna's special Angel food cake, we headed out for a hike at China Camp. It was a fantastic day to be outside for a stroll along the coastline to the beach. Despite the jellyfish washed up on shore, Spencer had a great time throwing rocks into the bay. A great day to be outside... Happy Birthday Nancy!

Click here for a slideshow...

Kibbutz Redux: Venice Beach

The New York crew came together again for another "kibbutz" in Southern California, this time in Venice Beach with Jesse, Eileen, Lee, and KB. We rented a great old house on a quaint alley just a block off of Venice Beach. We left Spencer with Grandma Terry in San Mateo, and enjoyed what's probably our last couple's weekend before baby #2 arrives!

Click here for a slideshow of our photos...

We knew that our first night was going to be rough-- Ryan flew in from Germany, Lee flew in from Singapore, and Eunice and Eileen are both increasingly pregnant. But we rallied in true LA fashion: Ryan spent the afternoon with Jon brainstorming script ideas over beer at the beach. We ate Friday dinner at Three Square Cafe & Bakery‎ on trendy Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and even managed to crash the tail end of a private party to celebrate the end of the writer's strike!

The weather was lousy on Saturday, but we grabbed a foggy breakfast at Figtree's Cafe‎ and set out to see some sites.

Now we've been to LA a lot, but Jesse managed to plot a course through parts of the city we'd never seen before (you can check out all the details on the incredible map he assembled to help us plan, embedded below). We started at the Grand Central Market downtown-- a great indoor farmer's market that was a fantastic blend of Asian and Latino food culture. Next up was the Frank Gehry designed Disney Concert Hall and the very modern Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (known by LA hipsters as "Cool-Ota"). We ate a late lunch in East LA, sampling the outstanding barbocoa of El Borrego de Oro. We spent the afternoon up at the Griffith Observatory, where we lost Jesse and Eileen for hours as the rest of us napped in the car. We finally met up with KB at the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, where we paid respect to our favorite stars. We ate dinner that night at Grace Restaurant‎ in Beverly Hills... good food, but we were too full from gorging on Mexican food earlier that afternoon to truly enjoy it. Everyone zonked out in our minivan on the way home, but rallied for a killer game of speed Scrabble before calling it a night.

Sunday was beautiful-- a perfect day to hit the beach. We strolled along the boardwalk to Santa Monica, relaxed on the beach, walked out to the end of the pier, and headed to the 3rd Street promenade. We tried to hop in a cab to check out Father's Office, our dream lunch spot (30 beers on tap), but actually had to track down a police officer to force the minivan to take all 6 of us (we think the cab was just a front for nefarious activities). To top it all off, the restaurant wouldn't take the cheese off their cheeseburgers (even for someone with a severe dairy allergy!), so we had to cancel our orders and walk out.

All's well that ends well-- we found a fantastic new spot just across the street to grab California - Mediterranean. Then we were off to the airport. Farewell, LA... at least until the next Kibbutz!

Check out Jesse's map, plotting our adventures:

View Larger Map

Po Po's Solo Weekend with Spencer

Eunice's mom flew in to town on February 25th to spend some quality time with us. Her real purpose, however, was to make it possible for us to take off for our weekend Kibbutz LA Redux trip unencumbered by Spencer!


Spencer had a great time with Po Po eating yummy Chinese food, playing games, singing songs, reading books, taking walks around the neighborhood, pretending to drive the Xterra, and going to the park! Thanks for everything, mom - what a treat to spend a rare weekend away with friends, knowing that Spencer was in capable and loving hands back home.

Click here for a slideshow...

Brian and Cora's Visit

We had a full house last weekend-- we both had our post-college roommates out to visit! Brian (coming from New York) and Cora (coming from DC) were here all weekend... we also had a chance to catch up with our friends Spencer, Lee, KB, and Iein.



Activities over the course of the weekend with Brian and Cora included meeting up with Iein and his kids to check out the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday, hanging out the beer garden at Park Chalet with Lee and KB, playing frisbee at Ocean Beach, a beautiful drive down Route 1 to Half Moon Bay, clam chowder at Barbara's Fish Shack, hot pot at our place with Spencer and Lee, and dim sum at Joy Luck. The weather was fantastic (can you believe it's February?), and it was great to have so many good friends together in one spot.

Click here for a slideshow..

Happy Hollow Petting Zoo

We took Spencer down to San Jose for his first trip to a petting zoo, meeting up with Theo and Gaby for an afternoon of petting goats and watching parrots (which Spencer insisted were "ducks.")



The highlight of the day may have been lunch in nearby Little Saigon--- fantastic Vietnamese sandwiches on hot French baguettes washed down with yummy smoothies. The low-light of the day was certainly Spencer's open-mouthed faceplant into the dung-covered dirt in the petting zoo, neccesitating a rushed trip to the bathroom for a mouth washing. But overall, the kids did great with the animals!

Click here for a slideshow...

Meeting Fiona

Spencer and Eunice finally had a chance to meet precious Fiona, Faith and Erick's daughter, who was born just under four pounds on 11/18/07. Faith and Fiona seem to be thriving in their new life together...


Spencer poses with Faith and Fiona.


As Spencer gives Fiona a kiss, Eunice gets a glimpse of the loving "big brother" she hopes Spencer will be!