Phan Thiet

Welcome, Tristan!

Our son, Tristan Quoc Pham, was born on Saturday, March 15, 2008 at Franco-Vietnamese Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He was 6 3/4 pounds and 20 inches at birth. Below are pictures of Tristan on Day 3 (in the yellow towel) and Day 10 (in the blue striped top).

Tet 2008

Quoc, Lucie and I stayed in Saigon for the Tet holiday this year, enjoying life at home, venturing into town to see the colorful flower and light displays, and spending time with relatives. We visited the homes of our Ong Ba, Co Chu and Anh Chi bearing Tet greetings and gifts, while Lucie and the baby received lucky money and good wishes from our elders wherever we went. With our housekeepers away for the week-long holiday, Quoc and I cooked and cleaned for ourselves like in the good ole days B.V. (Before Vietnam). It was actually nice to have the house to ourselves for the week, but of course we welcomed Chi Hanh and Chi Tu with open arms when they returned. It was a lovely, quiet week for our little family of three-and-a-half, as we began the new year with a nod to old traditions and an eye on what lies ahead for us.

Baby Shower

The ladies at school organized a beautiful baby shower for Theresa and me on Sunday, February 24th, at the palatial An Phu home of Leesa Nolen, one of our ESL teachers. Martha Stewart would've been proud of this party! It was a gorgeous event, complete with color-coordinated diaper cakes, crystal punch bowls and gourmet finger food. Theresa and I felt truly spoiled with all the attention and gifts lavished upon us that day. Our babies are fortunate to have so many loving, generous aunties!

Below are photos of the Belly Belt game and of us opening gifts. That's Theresa's mom in the pink top.

Lucie's 6th Birthday

Lucie turned 6 on January 29th. Having lost her first tooth the night before, she was thrilled to wake up and find a note and gift from the Tooth Fairy. After breakfast Daddy drove her to the salon to get her hair curled for her special day. She then celebrated her birthday with 15 of her best buddies at home. We had an arts & crafts party with t-shirts and hat design, face-painting, jewelry-making and cake decorating. It was a very exciting day for Little Miss Lucie!

Quoc Travels - 2007

After years of trips to India, I got the chance to visit the Taj Mahal in Sept.

The construction of this marble masterpiece is credited to the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who erected this mausoleum in the memory of his beloved wife, Arjumand Bano Begum, popularly known as Mumtaz Mahal, who died in AH 1040 (AD 1630). Her last wish to her husband was "to build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen before".

The Makrana marble used is of such a nature that it takes on incredibly subtle variations of tint and tone, according to the changes in the light, thus picturing the passing colour of the moment.

A green carpet of garden runs from the main gateway to the foot of the Taj. It is a Persian garden from the desert flat of Persia with flowers and fruit, birds and leaves with symmetry all throughout.

Taj Mahal, what a wonderful expression of love. I hope to come back some day with my love ones.