Non-Stop November: Part 3

Calliope watches her Uncle Ree slay some bad guys on the Xbox. Yes, Calliope - boys will be boys.

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The month of November was a busy one for the Chan Clan, but by far the coolest thing that happened in the midst of all the madness was that my little brother Leon (AKA"Ree") came to LA for a visit. When I found out that he would be spending his first Thanksgiving as a father alone (his wife and son were on an extended stay in Singapore with his in-laws), I told him he should come to LA to be with family. So he booked his flight and arrived on Thanksgiving, just in time...

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...to take this picture of Vince's family. Thanks, Ree!
. Of course, the purpose of his visit was not only to serve as Chan family photographer. Leon was also here to meet his niece for the first time. As soon as he saw her, his voice went up about five octaves, and he squealed "Aw, Calliopeeeeee!! Hi, Calliopeeeeeeee!" It was as though he was going through puberty all over again. He was so smitten by her chubby cheeks and dimply drooliness that he called his wife Claire to inform her that they would not stop having kids until they had a daughter. Sorry, Claire!

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The day after Thanksgiving, we headed to the malls for some Christmas shopping. While I ran around scoring Black Friday deals, Leon bonded with the Boo and Calliope. They took to their Uncle Ree right away, which I think was due in part to the fact that he was willing to shell out seven bucks for that double-decker fire truck stroller that I've always been too cheap to pay for. Gee, thanks Uncle Ree - way to make Mommy look like a cheap bastard.

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We also took my brother to Third Street. We started out on the Promenade, where we ran into some friendly Santa Monica Firemen. Look at how hot they look... in all that heavy gear.

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For lunch, we stopped at a fancy-ish restaurant where I got distracted and accidentally dropped Calliope on her face. Luckily, she was fine. In fact, the above pic was taken after she fell. See how happy she looks? Water under the bridge! The only thing that was damaged by her unfortunate spill was my credibility as a mother. I swear I saw another diner pull out her cell phone and dial CPS.
. On Sunday evening, it was time for Uncle Ree to board his plane and head back to Kansas City. I think Benjamin was pretty bummed. He'd gotten used to riding up high on Leon's shoulders. Sorry to disappoint you Benjamin, but I don't think it would be a good idea for Mommy to try doing that. She might get distracted and drop you on your face.
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So that wraps up the third and final installment of my November recap. Yeah, yeah, I realize that we're already halfway through December, but give me a break - last month was a killer! It took me a good two weeks to recover from my November madness and finally feel like I'm ready for the holidays. Christmas, here we come!

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