We didn’t tell the girls we were going to Disney until the morning of our flight. My sister created an invitation from Elsa and Anna from their favorite movie, Frozen, inviting them to come and visit. Since the girls are only 2 and 5, they didn’t understand what Disney was. It was only when they found out Elsa and Anna would be there, they got excited. Having this invitation would actually be a cause of a problem at Magic Kingdom…
My in-laws planned this trip for the whole family. On our trip, we found out my sister-in-law is pregnant! It was a total surprise to me because just a couple weeks ago she was telling me they were just starting to try.
Our agenda was jam packed. The first day we were going to Animal Kingdom, second day would be at Magic Kingdom, then Sea World, and the last day would be at Epcot. We were on a mission to conquer Disney World!
We began our day at Animal Kingdom enjoying some rides.
Then started our wilderness exploration by finding bugs and plants.
We rode the Kilimanjaro Safaris open-air van to see animals.
The girls loved the enormous fish tanks.
The girls loved seeing all of the different animals.
The day ended with ice cream, ice pops, and an Animal Kingdom parade.
Day 2: Magic Kingdom. It ended up raining most of the day but we tried hard not to let it get in the way of our fun.
We got up really early to get to Magic Kingdom before it opened and be the first ones through the gate. The girls occupied their time by jumping down a stone wall.
Be began the day with a breakfast at Cinderella’s castle.
At the breakfast they saw Snow White.
Ariel from The Little Mermaid.
Jasmine from Aladdin. This is Baby’s favorite princess.
And Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. This breakfast was the highlight of the whole entire trip. The girls loved meeting the princesses. As a parent, it was such an amazing feeling to see how excited they were to meet the “real” princesses. They even endured wearing their (very) scratchy Cinderella costumes.
Next Princess had an appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique for a princess makeover. She got princess hair-do.
Princess manicure.
And princess makeup.
At the end, she was a cool, rocker princess with pink hair. She couldn’t wear her (very) scratchy Cinderella costume anymore so she wore the backup princess t-shirt and tutu instead.
One of the attractions we did was Enchanted Tales with Belle. This is an interactive storytelling experience where you get an opportunity to be in the story with Belle. Princess has stage-fright so she wouldn’t volunteer to play a part, but surprisingly, Baby likes to perform. She was Chip, the teacup. She loved being in the show and took every possible opportunity to be near Belle. I wish I could have used my flash to make this picture even better because it was priceless.
The line to meet Elsa and Anna from the movie, Frozen, was over five hours long. The girls couldn’t understand why we couldn’t wait to meet them especially since they received personal invitations (eek!). They got upset a few times during the day but thankfully there are so many distractions at Magic Kingdom, we were able to escape waiting in the long line with a promise to come back another time to see them. Hopefully, by then the line will be less then five hours!
Day 3: Sea World. The first performance we saw was a pirate performance. I had to include this picture because of the huge pink walrus on stage. Have you ever seen an animal like this?
The One Ocean show is with Shamu-like killer whales. This was an entertaining show but in the back of my mind I always wonder if wild animals are ok performing like this?
It rained for half the day. The girls were bundled up in their rain gear.
This was a very brave and hungry squirrel that helped itself into different lunch bags at the stroller parking.
A’Lure, The Call of the Ocean was my favorite performance. It was very Cirque du Soleil with all of the acrobatics. The glow-in-the-dark dolphins the girls got during the performance was the highlight of their day at Sea World. Simple Pleasures…
It was so nice the performers came out afterwards so the audience could take pictures.
We are the Jee’s, hear our Rooooaaaarrr!
The girl’s second favorite part of the day was feeding the sharks. They loved everything about this, even touching the dead fish.
At the end of the day we found the rides. Of course we had to ride the sea carousel.
Princess is realizing she likes roller coasters. She is always nervous at first but once she’s on it, she’s all smiles.
While we wait in line, we practice jumping. Can you guess who needs a little bit more practice?
My Grouchy Husband and I both have weak stomachs which makes it hard for us to rides things like this boat. My stomach is weaker then his so he usually has to ride at least some of the rides with the girls. We found out during our trip to France that Baby has a weak stomach also. He rode this boat once with the girls but could not handle anymore. Princess wanted to go on again so she went by herself. This was a huge step of independence for Princess and I’m so proud of her.
On our way out, we took a picture with Shamu and dolphin. Baby won’t go anywhere near costumed characters but thankfully Princess just started to not be afraid to them this year. I’ve always wondered how you can see a character a million times on the television but somehow seeing them in person is so scary.
Last Day: Epcot. Finally, a sunny, beautiful day!
The girls love to look inside fish tanks.
Hanging out outside after riding The Seas with Nemo & Friends.
Princess and my Mother-in-law building sand bottles.
Jumping outside after dinner. The girls love to jump and have me take pictures of them. Can you tell?
I survived our first trip to Disney World…and now I need to sleep for seven days.
The Dumpling Mama xo
We just got back from our annual ski weekend at my Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Ronnie’s condo in 
Some of our spread for apres ski. Aunt Cheryl makes an amazing brie wrapped in crescent roll. This year she debuted two knew spreads, artichoke and crab. Yum-mm. I have the left over brie and crab in the refrigerator now. At the other table, we had dumplings and chili. After a long day of riding, I feel like I inhale the food. Then my stomach finally catches up to all I’ve eaten and I feel totally full, then have to take a nap. Now that I have two little ones, this is harder to do, but I at least try to close my eyes for 5 minutes.
We don’t usually watch TV but we made an exception for the 
My mom and Aunt Alice in the kitchen (where they spend most of the weekend).
Some pre-dinner toasting. My Baby was soo so excited to get a big-person glass.
And was totally over the moon to clink glasses with everyone.
3 of the 4 birthday boys.
My Baby showing my sister how to dance like a rock star. She just loves to dance and sing to 
My sister showing my Baby how to sing like a rock star.
My Baby putting me into a choke hold.
My Baby and her captive audience watching the Russian cartoon, 
Dinner is served!
My plate. The rib and salmon were amazing. I can’t believe I could still eat after apres ski.
I made everyone take a picture at dinner. As our family has grown, the table extension has gotten longer and longer. Now it is a totally separate table.
The dads on dish duty.
My Baby helping Aunt Cheryl plate the cupcakes.
Enjoying all their hard work.
Then my Baby helped Sami put the candles on my brother’s birthday cake. Sami taught her how to lick the frosting off the candles after they were blown out.
We come together every year around this time to celebrate my dad’s, Uncle Billy’s, Uncle Ronnie’s, and my brother’s birthdays with multiple birthday cakes.
Here we are! (minus my sister and her husband, they had to leave early to go to an open house because they need a bigger home with a baby on the way).
Last night we had a our big family celebration for Chinese New Year. Since it was going to be a very busy day we headed to Chinatown (Manhattan) early. The day started with a trip to the 
The savory pastries are a recipe from my grandparents (Dad’s parents) that my mom has tweaked a bit. The shell is made with potatoes which my dad says makes them extra crispy.
My sister-in-law, Melissa, and her husband, Chris came by to hang out before dinner.
We spent the day at my brother, Matty’s, apartment. He needed a nap after only an hour with us.
Crispy skin whole chicken (with head and tail) to symbolize completeness.
Now some pictures around the table. My cousins and sister. All wearing red for Chinese New Year.
My brother and Cousins David and James.
My Grouchy Husband and Princess.
My Baby and Alethia, Cousin David’s fiancé.
Cousin David and Alethia just got engaged so we toasted to their engagement.
My brother’s birthday always falls close to Chinese New Year so we celebrate it with a birthday cake.
I made everyone take a family photo. They will thank me for this one day.
At the end of the day, the girls turn into flying superheroes.
Before Christmas my brother, Matty, hosted for the second year, Cousins Dinner, at his apartment in Chinatown NY. It’s a dinner all of the Wong cousins get together with their significant others and eat Chinese food and drink from my brother’s collection of expensive stuff. This year we decided to order in because schedules were crazy and we would all be arriving at different times. My Grouchy Husband and I flew in that afternoon from New Orleans so we were going to be late for the party. The nice thing about ordering in is we can order our favorite things from our favorite places.
Lobster, peking pork chop, chow fun, fish, duck, Chinese vegetables were from 
Cousins dinner is our time to catch up with one another and have great conversation.
We also do a lot of laughing.
For dessert we had a chocolate cake from 
There was one accident that evening. My Grouchy Husband, the only one not drinking, opened up the last bottled of champagne, and the cork ricocheted on the wall and hit the champagne glass behind him.
Silly cousin Karyn wanted to take action photos.
We drank lots of great champagne all evening.
Cousin David’s girlfriend, Alethia, worked all day so she fell asleep on the couch for a little bit. Cousin David was very sympathetic.
We decided to take a group photo and discussed what we wanted to do.
We decided to start off more traditional.
Then it started to get a little silly.
A little sillier.
A lot sillier.
Then just crazy.
Christmas was a great day celebrating with family, drinking great scotch and champagnes, and eating, eating, eating. Appetizers were different types of noodles, a ham, dumplings, and pizza bread. It was hard to believe we still had to eat dinner in a little while.
It takes a small village to prepare the food.
My sister and her new husband, Mike, just got back from their honeymoon in 
My cousin, David, taught the girls how to pillow tackle.
Then he spun them on the floor. He was a huge hit with the girls.
When we were in 
He is semi-obsessed with the fire pit so he also cooked the paella on it.
Doesn’t this look so yummy.
Aunt Martha and cousin James were in charge of adding the breading on the baked clams. This was our between appetizer and dinner snack.
For dinner we had prime rib two ways, BBQ’d and roasted. This was the roasted version.
Perfectly cooked paella.
And Aunt Alice’s corn casserole, Chinese leafy green vegetables, salad, and mashed potatoes. It was an amazing spread.
I lost a little bit control when plating my food. It was just a mess because I had so much on it.
Everyone feasted.
This was the kids table. It was a true kids table, two folding tables pushed together and covered with a table cloth. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
After dinner we opened presents. The girls helped hand them out. It took longer then normal because they would forget who it was for, or got side tracked and went to get one of Aunt Alice’s famous chocolate covered pretzels.
I love matching the girls. When is it not cool to do this? I don’t want to leave emotional scars on my children.
My Dad only gives us functional gifts. Our stockings had gum and a flash drive. And my sister got new windshield wipers!
Even though we were all still full, dessert was served.
I, of course, had a piece of my Aunt Alice’s chocolate cake. She only makes this once a year on Christmas and it is always delicious. She also makes the most amazing cream puffs.
For our holiday card photo this year, I wanted someone to take the picture instead of using the camera timer. Getting everyone to look at the camera and smile is hard enough, trying to time it is even harder. When we had a sleepover at my sister-in-law, Melissa’s, and her husband, Chris’s new home over Thanksgiving, it was the perfect time and place to take our holiday card picture.
We decided to take the photo in the back yard. Now starts the hard part, getting everyone to stand in one place. It’s a little like herding cats.
Super. Cute. Cats.
This was the picture I initially chose but it felt a little too posed and my Baby had the weird smile she makes when we ask her to smile.
So this year I went a little less traditional and chose a silly photo. I’m not sure what was so funny at the time but I’m so happy Melissa captured the moment.
This past weekend we went to 
After walking around for a long while and seeing at least a hundred trees, this was the one we picked!
My husband used a borrowed hand saw from the farm to cut down the tree.
It fell quickly. The girls were amazed by the whole process.
My Grouchy Husband didn’t think he needed the tarp to bring the tree to the bailing station. After pulling the tree a few steps, and losing a millions needles…
He put the tree on a tarp.
And heavy!
We took both trees to the bailing machine.
Then my Grouchy Husband carried the trees to the car.
The girls made funny faces by the trees.
And more funny faces.
I didn’t think both trees would fit on the car, but they did.
It took a while to get the trees tied to the roof but the girls had great seats and were a fantastic audience.
There are so many things to be thankful for this year. My girls are happy, healthy, and loving their school and friends. Our hot dog shop, 
We all help make dinner. It takes a small army to get the dinner on the table.
Our holidays are a mix of American and Chinese. This year my mom included Lobster Cantonese in our Thanksgiving dinner.
We ate 
Here was our Thanksgiving dinner. I’m going to do some close-up pictures of my favorites.
I love lobster, especially Chinese style.
Homemade cranberry sauce. Perfect with turkey.
My brother is a foodie, he went to cooking school at the French Culinary Institute and is always eating at these fancy restaurants. Green bean casserole is his favorite dish at Thanksgiving. I don’t know how that can be but it is.
My mom’s stuffing is requested at both Thankgiving dinners.
We have to have greens at the dinner table. Chinese leafy green vegetables sautéed in garlic.
And of course mash potatoes. I don’t need them to be fancy…just potatoes, milk, and butter.
My sister made an apple pie for dessert. I made vanilla ice cream for the pie. I let the girls eat ice cream cones before dinner because the ice cream was so good.
Here was the Thanksgiving spread at my Aunt’s house. I couldn’t get all of the dishes in one photo. I still can’t believe I ate another Thanksgiving dinner after this.
As much as I love the food at Thanksgiving, my favorite part is spending time with my family. On Thankgiving day we ate appetizers with my in-laws. My brother-in-law, Chris, is entertaining the kids with a fireman puppet. We were watching a replay of the Thanksgiving Day parade on the TV.
This is the kids table at my Aunt’s house. Since I have my own kids, I can’t sit at this table anymore. I miss it.
Mike and my Baby before my mom’s Thanksgiving dinner.
Another Halloween has just passed. The festivities started out with my Baby’s school Halloween parade. The whole school circles the parking lot twice to “The Monster Mash” playing in the background. When my Princess was in the toddler class, she pretended I wasn’t there. As soon as my Baby saw me, she wanted me to hold her hand while she walked in the parade. Toddlers are so unpredictable.
After the parade, the class got together to take a group picture. There aren’t many things cuter then a group of 2-year-olds in costumes. My Princess had her school parade at the same time so my Grouchy Husband and I had to split up parade duty.
Later that day, we went to a nearby town to trick-or-treat. The town closes the streets where the shops are so they can hand out candy to the kids. This year, I let the girls be whatever they wanted. My Baby wants to do everything her big sister does so they were both Cinderella.
My girls don’t just give me simple smiles when they pose for pictures anymore.
These are silly princess curtsies.
This is just being silly.
We spent the day at 
The farm has a big petting zoo. You can buy milk bottles and ice cream cones filled with food to feed the animals. I think this is the only petting zoo that uses ice cream cones. The girls had a blast feeding the animals.
You could only give the milk bottle to the sheep and goats. They preferred the food so the girls had to try hard to find animals that wanted the milk.
All of the girls took a pony ride. They even let my Baby on with my Grouchy Husband walking next to her. She had this expression on her face the whole time. I don’t think she could believe she was riding a pony.
We visited the bird sanctuary this year. You buy these $2 sticks of food, hold it in front of where the birds are sitting, and they walk onto your stick to eat. This was sooo much fun and the girls were in complete amazement to be holding a bird. If we lived closer, I would visit the farm often so the girls could spend time with animals and I wouldn’t have to take care of them.
The girls took a train ride and got the caboose all by themselves.
My Princess and A got on the stage of one of the live performances for a dance party. This was so cute.
We ended the day taking a family picture in the pumpkin patch. I was so tempted to use this picture for our holiday card but thought the pumpkins would feel off-season.