A Fun and Painful Night

It feels like months since we've seen the gang, so we decided to reunite and have a dinner date at Chuck E Cheese, instead of the normal lunch dates since the mommies are back at work. Bad idea. All of Brea decided to be there too on a Wednesday night, a school night may I add. The entry line was out the door and people were waiting at least 30 minutes to get in; can you believe that? It was pure chaos, but it was fun to see everyone again. The kids had fun going down the slide, putting "pennies" in the game slots and "sharing" other kids' balls at skeeball. When it was time to leave, Michael had a little bloody accident, and had to be rushed to the ER.

Michael and his friend "Ad"

Right before we left, we decided it would be a good idea to go down the slide one more time, except we didn't quite make it down the slide. Michael ran towards the stairs but on his way there, he tripped over another kid's shoes that were scattered on the floor. He fell down, bit his lip and bumped his chin on the step. The cut on his chin was pretty deep that you could see tissue or flesh if you stretched it open. So we rushed him to the ER. Poor Michael. He's been to the emergency room 4 times in the 18 months of his life. Daddy met us at the hospital after having such a long day; he did a turn around trip to Seattle and back.

Michael does this when asked to smile.

Like father like son. Jason has a scar on his chin too.

After waiting 2 hours, Michael was glued up with this skin adhesive instead of stitches. The doctor played dressup with him, wrapping him up as a little burrito! He loved being a burrito, up until he was taped down to the bed. His chin should heal in about 10 days, and the adhesive will fall off on its own when the skin is healed.

The wiggle worm was so strong that he busted the tape off the bed

Happy again with my new wrapped chin

Dave & Busters

After years of papers and team assignments, Jason finally completed his degree in Business Management! And to celebrate, we decided to go out for dinner and some indoor fun at Dave and Buster's. We were stuck with an indoor celebration because the weather wasn't permitting outdoor fun, but we still had a great time. Michael liked sporting his new hat and shoes while playing games and collecting tickets. Congratulations daddy! We are so proud of you and can't wait to throw you a party!

More more games please

I earned 100 tickets but everything I wanted was 400+ tickets. =(

18 month update

Michael is now 18 months old and of course, he went to see Dr. Rawal for his well-baby checkup that included a few shots. The doctor said that her most difficult appointments are the 18-24 month old babies because they don't cooperate, but she was very happy that Michael listened and was a very good patient. She told us that we need to wean him off the bottle cold turkey though. As for his stats, he's growing very proportionately in the 25th percentile! My little man is really a little man. He was measured at 31.5inches and weighed 24 lbs 2oz, but I don't think his height is very accurate. The nurse had him stand up against the wall; his legs were bent and his back wasn't even straight.

A few fun things about Michael:

• Words - He's still a quiet guy, but a few words he says clearly are ball, bat, dada, mama, lolo (grandpa in filipino), nana, duck, moo (moon), cahck (clock), har (heart), golf and uhhno. When you ask him what animal this is, he will tell you the sound it makes rather than its name.
• Teeth - He has 15 big teeth, sharp and straight. Why sharp? Because we get bitten almost daily.
• Body Parts - He knows all his body parts. In addition to the last update, he knows eyebrows, shoulders, knees, toes, elbows, armpits and kneepits.
  
• TV - Move over Yo Gabba Gabba, it's all about Sid the Science Kid, Super Why!, Caillou, and Oobi.
• Food - He loves Korean food (tofu, bulgogi), Filipino and Mexican food, pretty much anything with rice, and prefers the Filipino spaghetti to the Italian style. He loves sweets like banana cream pie, cupcakes, and ice cream. He can use a spoon to eat cereal and milk and yogurt!
  
• He will not share his snacks with you if you don't share yours. Right daddy?
• He likes things closed like the doors and shutters so our house is always dark during the day.
  
• His bedtime is back to 11pm and refuses to go to sleep. We have to excite him for the next day but in order for all that to happen, he must sleep first. It works everynight!
• He loves to count the number of vents in the house.
  

A Park Day

Today was a mommy and Michael day at the Brea Sports Park. We were the only visitors there since everyone and all our friends are back at school. It was very nice having the place all to ourselves though. We played hide n seek and pretended to have lunch under the playground. I ordered through the little window and Michael served me pretend food at the little table. Michael has become quite active too. He can go up the stairs and down the spiral slide all on his own. He can also rock climb!

Ahhh this park is so much fun!

Watch me climb. One rock at a time.

I think I got the hang of it

I made it!

New Wheels - Jeep Liberty

We've been packing on the weight lately with all these foodie functions that it was time for a new set of wheels! No, not a new car (you wish), but a new stroller! We bought a Jeep Liberty jogging stroller to help us get mobile again and perhaps shed a few pounds. So far it's been a great purchase. It's easy to push and the undercarriage has two compartments with easy front access for the little one. Michael can grab and put away his toys or snacks at will. We took it out for a stroll along the Santa Ana River Trail and walked/ran about 4 miles. For us who are only accustomed to walking to the market or around Disneyland, it was definitely a workout.

Michael's new ride

Michael decided to run with us

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After a nice and much needed nap, we (including the new stroller) went to Disneyland for dinner and a few rides. We battled at Buzz Lightyear, but Michael and I were no real contenders for the high score since Jason scored well above 500,000...and we got a mere 60,000.

A Day at the Beach

We spent the day at the beach very close to where Jason proposed to me. Every time we've visited that spot, the weather has been the same -- chilly and cloudy, and the sun peeks out when we're already about to leave. But today was extra special because we got to share it with Michael, and boy did he have a lot of fun. He smashed sandcastles, chased birds, tried to jump into the ocean by himself, and threw sand everywhere. He even ate handfuls of sand and loved every grain of it. Is this normal?

Oh how I love sand!

Michael's footprints

Food Food Food

It's been a big foodfest for us all summer - weekend after weekend at the OC Fair, then the OC Foodie Fest, tracked the Kogi truck and lastly, the Orange Street Fair.

First, a recap of our Foodie Fest experience: It was super hot and every line seemed to be jampacked with people! There wasn't much for Michael to do but to stand in the long lines, so you can imagine his temperament. He could have spent time in the Pretend City tent but it was on the opposite corner of everything that we wanted to try. So, we were only able to try these trucks before having to call it a day:

• Nom Nom Truck - Bahn Mi grilled pork sandwiches using a nicely toasted french baguette. Now I know why the lines for this truck wrapped around the corner. They were so delicious! Too bad this truck doesn't stop in the OC regularly, or at all.
• Calbi Truck - Tacos filled with Korean meat like calbi or spicy pork. Another great fusion idea. We will have to compare this with the Kogi Truck.
• ChunkNChip - Build your own ice cream sandwiches. Great idea but nothing about it was spectacular. The cookies were cold and the ice cream was not memorable. I'd rather have Mrs. Fields with Thrifty ice cream.

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After the Foodie Fest, we tracked down where Kogi was going to be, and luckily they were stopping 4 miles away from our house at a reasonable time, 6:30pm! It was meant to be. We were the first ones to arrive but being a foodtruck novice, we weren't the first ones in line. Mike, Nicole and Adelyn met us up for dinner there. We tried the spicy pork tacos and short rib burrito which were both good. I liked the tacos whereas Jason enjoyed the burrito more.

Waiting our turn for Kogi tacos

The kids played in back of the truck while we ate

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This is our second year at the Orange Street Fair as a family, and of course we picked the hottest day of the weekend to go. We had the option of going on Sunday when it was 10 degrees cooloer but because we wanted to hang out with Adelyn, Denise and Wiley, we decided to go and melt. I can't really remember what we ate because the heat made me lose my appetite. All I wanted to do was drink...lemonade, of course! After eating and drinking, we spent some time in the mist tent to cool off. And then on our way out, some child model and talent scout approached us. Perhaps Michael can model for Toys R Us one day?

Wiley, Michael, Denise and Adelyn
(Wiley looks huge for a 4 month old)

The Perfect Circle Cupcakery
Banana Nut, Red Velvet & Cookies n Cream