Pixar Parade

We spent the afternoon with Adelyn and Charolotte at California Adventures to watch the cutest parade - the Pixar Parade. They play catchy music that makes you want to dance, and the characters squirt you with water which is perfect for the hot days we've been having. We had front row seats (facing the sun) so the kids were squinting in all of the pictures. We'll have to show up a bit earlier to get better seats. After the parade, we rode on Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, Flick's Flyers and Monsters Inc. The girls loved Flick's Flyers and had their hands up the entire time! The summer has come to an end and so have our playdates (for now). Maybe we can meet up in the afternoons on a school night. Hooray!

Charlotte and Adelyn

Big Mike

Home Version of Splash

All summer we never made it to the waterpark in La Mirada called Splash so we decided to play in our own version at home using a splash pool! This was probably just as fun for Michael and it works out because it's free. If I took Michael to the waterpark, we probably would've had to wear a lifevests because we both can't swim yet! lol.




After his nap, we headed to Disneyland and California Adventures with Tita Carmel, Anyleis and Ramon. We were only able to capture a picture at the honeypots this time. Michael loved the World of Color show and even the pre-show because Tigger was a part of it. We will try to see the show again when school is fully back in session...

Kaitlin turns 5!

I was on call for jury duty this week, and just my luck, I was called in to go today. So instead of taking Michael to Kaitlin's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese, my sister was kind enough to take him. It's a whole different world to hang out with moms who play with their kids all day! But come 10:00am, the court excused me because I'm the primary caregiver of a child who's not old enough to go to school. So for all you parents who want out of jury duty, you have an out..just use my excuse! Looks like I'll be able to make it to the party afterall...

We all hung out at Chuck E Cheese, enjoyed some pizza and lemon birthday cupcakes. Michael and Charlotte climbed up the skeeball ramps and put the balls in the holes instead of rolling them. You give a one-year old an idea, and they're all over it. I'm glad we didn't get in trouble.

This cute elephant cupcake looks yummy

Oh yeah it is!

Thanks Emily for making Michael cry.
Jk I know it was all my fault.

Del Mar Horse Races

We all took the train down to spend the day at the Del Mar horse races. The two little boys, Michael and Ethan, did very well on the train and became entertainment for our car. They ran up and down the aisle and played with all the other passengers. One guy called Michael a "thug" because he wanted to do everything; even when told "no", he would still go on and do it. Oh that Michael, he a thug! lol.

As for the horse races, Jason and I didn't even win one race! The horses I picked always came in 2nd place. The horses Michael picked always got scratched. And the ones Jason picked were all longshots...and well...ended up close to last place! He will no longer be invited to the races. The kids found a jungle to hide in and dig up dirt. This was their only playtime since it was mainly an adult beer event. We departed Del Mar at about 7:30pm and arrived in Fullerton at about 11:30pm! We had to rescue the train in front of us and do brake checks. People jumped out of the train, raided the cafe car and someone broke open a window! All the toilets were clogged and the airconditioning stopped. The kids were getting restless and couldn't fall asleep with all the commotion! To some it was an adventure, to others a nightmare.

The best shot of the kids

The three musketeers

First Haircut

Since Michael's hair was getting kind of long, we finally decided it was time to give him a slight trimming. The hair growing on the side of his ears reminded us of the grandpa from 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. Look at older posts to get a better look. Jason used clippers to shorten the sides of Michael's hair. Now Michael looks more handsome than ever! He was so proud of himself and couldn't stop staring in the mirror.

Before

After

Thanks daddy for making me look better!

Scooters Jungle

Who knew that Scooter's Jungle, an indoor bounce house, was just a mile from our house?? We met up with Adelyn, Abigail and Luke for some free toddler time because Nicole and Keri found coupons in the paper. We wouldn't turn down free air-conditioned playtime! Michael went down the gigantic slide with tita Carmel but didn't show too much interest in it. Instead, he loved playing with all the toys and tried playing air hockey but he was a tad too short to see above the table. We will definitely check this place out again because it's finally getting hot out.

We met up with more kids at Rubios to celebrate Keri's "29th" birthday. All the kids laughed at Michael as he painted his face with black beans and rice. He is such a messy eater!

Michael plays while mommy's away

Believe it or not, there are times when Michael is in the care of others. I would think it would be difficult for him to part from me since we're together all the time, but that's totally not the case. He's so happy when he's away! Here are pictures to prove it. And yes, we have a lot of fun together too! So if any of you would like to spend some quality time with Michael, just ask. He's so friendly and will make you smile, guaranteed.

What happens when I push his nose?

Kisses for the Old Navy pup

Say Goodbye to the Crib

We've been pretty successful in getting Michael to bed around 9-9:30pm. Our next goal was to get him back into his crib because our queen-sized bed is getting too cramped for us, including this growing toddler. Well today, I decided to try to ferberize Michael to take a nap in his crib. So I put him in his crib with just a blanket while he was still crying, and I shut his bedroom door. I made my way into the kitchen to charge my cellphone, and suddenly I noticed the crying had stopped. Then quickly after, I heard a huge THUMP, feet scurrying against our hardwood floors, and the door swinging wide open. OH MY GOODNESS! My little Michael had broken free from his crib! No bumps. No bruises. No tears. He must've landed on his feet! We all know Michael isn't the tallest 16 month old. In fact, he's only in the 50th percentile in height for boys his age. For such a little munchkin, how did he do that? I still can't believe it.

So now, I think it's safe for us to say goodbye to the crib. We won't be ferberizing him as he successfully made his way out. I think it will be much safer for him to sleep in a big boy bed than to hurt himself climbing out of the crib. What a milestone!

Homeward Bound

Before we began our journey back home, we had a delicious breakfast at the Broken Yolk Cafe, which was located on the next block. We couldn't have been more happy about the location of our hotel. They have this iron man challenge where you have to eat a 12-egg omelet loaded with a whole bunch of goodness, homefries and biscuits all within one hour. We were there to witness this stick-skinny girl make history as she was the first girl to ever finish the omelet! She joined Adam Richman, from Man vs. Food, on the Broken Yolk Hall of Fame!

We made a detour to the Sweet Cheeks Baking Company to pick up some carrot cake and red velvet cupcakes, and their famous chewy chocolate cookies! They were sooo yummy! Their cake is moist and their frosting is silky and sweet. I definitely recommend this place!

Then we were finally on the road to San Clemente where we hung out at the beach. We built sandcastles while Michael smashed them with his feet. He collected and cleaned rocks, and took one home. He washes his rock everyday now. LOL. We all got nicely tanned except daddy. Lesson learned -- thou shall wear sunblock while at the beach! Tsk tsk.

Sea World

We spent the day visiting our slippery friends and furry friends at Sea World. It was such a beautiful sunny day with a high temperature of 73 degrees. Before it got too hot, we went to see Shamu but Michael had no interest in the show. =( It's not his fault; he's got a short attention span and is a little too young to sit still for a 20 minute show. We skipped out on a lot of shows because he fell asleep and they don't let any strollers in any of the venues. Don't ask a worker if you can bring a sleeping baby in a stroller to a show because they'll just yell at you! LOL Sorry for asking! Thankfully he woke up right before the Pets Rule Show. He loved that one because he could recognize dogs, cats, birds and pigs. Afterwards, he got to pet a weiner dog! Oh yeah, Sesame Street is at Sea World too! He met Cookie Monster, Elmo and Zoe.

On a side note, does anyone know why Sea World doesn't have straws? Jason and I had to drink our Pina Colada and Strawberry Dacquiri (virgin) with spoons!

Go pets, go!

When asked to smile, I make this face...

Hotel Solamar & Petco Park

We stayed at the newly renovated Hotel Solamar in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego which was just a block from Petco Park. The room was very contemporary chic and the king-sized bed proved to be very comfortable for the 3 of us. We had a great view of the pool and outdoor bar, as well as Petco Park. So we decided to spend the afternoon splashing around the pool. Michael loves the water! He had the biggest smile on his face the entire time! I think it's time we get this boy into swimming lessons.

Petco Park in the distance

After a nice nap, we spontaneously decided to have dinner at Petco Park and watch a Padres game. We luckily scored some nice seats in foul ball territory. We rarely get tickets this close for an Angels game so this was really special. The stadium is so awesome. Its nice and intimate and well built around the existing brick buildings of downtown. They have a nice park area with a huge projection screen so you can watch the game from behind the field. There's also a small baseball diamond for kids so if you bring your own ball and bat, you can host your own baseball game. It was really neat!

At the sandlot

Ready for my pitch?

Old Town San Diego

On the first day of our San Diego trip, we stopped at Old Town for some yummy lunch at the Old Town Mexican Cafe, which is known for its fresh handmade tortillas. Butter + tortillas = delish! After lunch, we visited a few museums, a school, and some specialty shops. We squeezed Michael's bulky stroller into a tiny candy store called Cousins Candy Shop to get ONE piece of candy for daddy. Daddy didn't mind spending a little coin on one anise candy...a whopping 11 cents! Go big spender!

Which way do we go, Mr. Big Feet?

Michael's first day at school...so excited!