Whoa!

It's been over 4 months since the last time I updated this site?!?!? LoL... I mainly use this site to store files online these days... I actually thought about cancelling the subscription to the host and the domain name, since I rarely use this space anymore. However, when I tried to cancel I was offered a price reduction that I could not pass up =) I now pay something close to $3.80/month to keep this domain and host/provider. Not bad...

Anyways...

On to a Joey update. She is doing great, and is growing up so fast. She is now almost 2.5 years old. I am dumbfounded... She is this little person now... No longer a baby... She talks her head off and she is so smart! Betty and I teach her words and phrases in both Japanese and Vietnamese... Joey amazingly has an excellent accent in both! LoL...

Betty and I are thinking about preschool, but we don't want to put her in there too soon. Especially, since we love our daycare provier right now. More importantly...Joey loves her! I'd hate to see Joey go through a rough re-adjusment period right now in preschool. Maybe we can put her in at 4 years old? I never went to preschool, and I turned out fine! =)

I've negelected taking photos of Joey lately. Partly because I'm still busy playing Street Fighter 4 and have so much to do around the house, but also because I recently upgraded my camera! Yes!! I sold all of my Canon gear, and now I've switched to "The Dark Side" That's right... I now shoot Nikon. I got myself the Nikon D700, which is a dream camera for me. I love it so far even though I haven't had a chance to extensively shoot with it. I've just run off some test shots here and there. What I've found is that it has awesome high ISO capabilities. This shouldn't be a surpise considering it is full frame. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to afford the high end glass to accompany my D700 as I had with Canon. However, I found some freakin' awesome deals on a couple of budget lenses. I basically stole a Nikon 50mm f1.8D from a guy selling it on Craigslist for $80.00 !!!! It is in brand new condition with all original boxing included. This sucker is SHARP wide open! I also stole another lens on an ebay auction ($162.00 shipped!!) for a brand new looking Tamron 24-135mm f3.5-5.6 lens. The range on this lens on a full frame is fantastic, and it gives awesome IQ considering it is a budget lens. Hopefully, I get a chance to use my new toys this weekend.

Oh...and another new toy I got (for my wife really) is the Flip UltraHD video camcorder. This thing is TINY (a little larger and thicker than my cell phone)! It's definitely smaller than my compact digital camera that I currently use for video. It has 8GB of flash memory, and it holds 2 hours of 720P video. Now I can post some quality videos of Joey growing up. Saweet! This is gonna be cool to have since Betty and I plan on trying for another baby soon. I need to get more footage of Joey before she grows up, ad it will be great to have when we have out second one.

More updates soon... and hopefully more photos & videos =)

Some Funny Conversations with Joey...

Joey: I want chocolate daddy...
Me: No Joey, I don't want you eating too much chocolate (while i'm chewing on chocolate myself).
I pick her up to have her sit on the kitchen counter to wash her hands.
Joey: I smell something good. I smell chocolate.
Me: Doh!

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Me: ppfffttt!!!
(30 seconds passes by...)
Joey: Ewwww!! That's gross. Daddy farted...(while pointing at me)

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Me: pffftt!!!
(I roll down the windows in the car so the air can circulate)
Joey: Ewwww! something stinks!
Me: What is it??
Joey: Daddy farted!! (while making a stinky face and covering her nose)

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Joey: (playing with me while I'm carrying her) That's disgusting!!
Me: What's disgusting??
Joey: Your face!
Me: hahahahahahahah

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These are just some of the funnier ones that I can remember. She talks so much now that everything she says can lead to something pretty funny.

Kids say the funniest things. They have no filter and tell it how it is...

I've said it before, and I will say it again... I am amazed at the words that this little girl can say and use in a sentence. Not only can she repeat very complex words for her age...she uses them in her vocabulary... Awesome! =)

Disneyland...

Betty and I took Joey to Disneyland for the first time this past Memorial Day weekend, and I have to say that she thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm guessing that she won't remember much, if anything, at all. I can't remember anything earlier than maybe...3 years old?

I guess it doesn't matter since we took photos of her and some videos, so we can all remember how much fun she had. I have to say...the girl has absolutely no fear. She went on every and all rides without hesitation and without crying during the ride. In fact, she did not want to get off any of the rides. We basically had to trick her by telling her that we needed to get back in line to go on the ride again. She threw a fit here and there, but what can you do? Joey's only two years old so we've got to keep that in mind...

She loved the Haunted House, Pirates of the Caribbean, and most of all It's a Small World. It's so funny because she will now randomly start singing "It's a Small World After All..." It's VERY adorable.

Joey's growing into a little character. Her speech is progressing very fast! I love it when she talks! She sounds so stinkin' cute that I want to bite her cheeks!! She has her moments when she talks a bit too much, but I guess that is a good thing... It's amazing how she can emulate what adults say. I randomly choose multi syllable words that I think could be hard for a 2 year old, and I tell her to repeat it. She does it in stunningly accurate fashion! Amazing I tell ya.

Joey is two so she is also testing us now. For instance...she will sometimes play with me and bite me. It's playful biting, but we are strongly against this, since she could be doing this to another kid and think that she is playing. I would tell her that biting is not nice and that it is not OK. Joey would immediately rest her mouth on my arm and nibble...not bite...but just nibble. ahahah... Inside I think is funny as hell that this two year old is testing me, but I know for consistency sake that we need to be somewhat stern when correcting her behavior. I could go on and on on how she tries to test me...LoL... I suppose this normal and is a part of the learning process...

I haven't updated much of this blog since I found Facebook, but I will try to post some photos from Disneyland. I actually don't feel like I had a chance to take many photos. I am quite disappointed in the amount and quality that I took, since I was trying to juggle the DSLR with a two year old. Word of advice for any Disneyland goers bringing their kid for the first time... Bring the compact point and shoot... It will make your life so much easier...

Ummm...SA-WEET!!!

I am SOOOO there...