Frisco crew.

Miles has been spending most of the week hanging out with his homeboy, Diego. I had an evening with the two of them going wild at our place. The thing they loved doing the most was playing records on the portable vestax and dancing! Miles had to give Diego his orientation of toys, play space, and ofcourse--dance moves! I swear, everytime we play James Brown, Miles will just break out! He even has his own style of footwork!





Yesterday, Lorraine (our neighbor and friend), and I took Diego, Miles and our other neighborsʻ son, Gabriel to the park. We met up with Monique and her son Jackson. I guess you can say we started our own Mothers of Color group. Well, except for Gabriel who happens to be French! Anyways, all our boys are so close in age, Jackson is 12 months, Miles is 15, Gabriel is 17, & Diego is 19 months. So you can imagine what happens when these 4 boys get together. Thereʻs a lot of energy, excitement, pushing, throwing, laughing, fighting, etc....itʻs pretty entertaining to watch them socialize but it is also great to be around other mothers who are experiencing the same things.

Today, Justin was off so we spent most of the day outdoors, walking under the bay bridge at the piers, playing in Crissy field, and finishing it off with more play at the park. Miles is exhausted and so is Justin which is why I finally have some down time to update this blog.




Since Miles has been walking and communicating clearly (he can say what he wants or point to it or sign), the days get easier. He is so much fun at this point! His baby days were fun but Iʻd say it was more work than today. Nowadays, heʻs been helpin us sweep, throw trash out, and cook. Hehehe...Itʻs amazing what you can teach toddlers! His tantrums have been less and less because we decided not to pay attention to them really, allowing him to just let it all out. Since he sees that we donʻt respond when he throws himself on the floor, he stops crying after a few seconds and gets up as if nothing happened. Thank God! If anything, its so easy to uplift his emotions at this point. Music is especially soothing for him-and for us!

Happy 1st Birthday Darrien!

This past week was full of family celebrations! On April 9th, Uncle Eric and Ninang Jen were officially married in San Francisco. Darrien and I got to roam freely while we waited for the ceremony to begin. By the time it started, Darrien was asleep in his stroller. Ninang Jen and Uncle Eric looked so happy! We had a big feast following at Buca Di Beppo and got the hook up from mommyʻs DJ friend. The next day was daddyʻs 27th Birthday. Unfortunately, he was sick with a fever but mommy and I sang to him anyway and made him aroz-caldo. The next day, mommy had her energy work done while I hung out with daddy, Uncle Arjuna, and Aunty Christina. I mostly danced around and got all up in the mix when daddy & Uncle Arjuna were talkinʻ records. We picked up mommy after she was finished and had a very delicious dinner at Uncle Arjunaʻs. My favorite part was the ice-cream! I got to see the new kittens!

The rest of the week was pretty busy because we were getting ready for Darrienʻs big day! His birthday was on the 12th, Thursday, but we celebrated on Sunday at Papoʻs & Lolaʻs house. Mommy decorated the house with Ninang Jen. Lola & her sisters--my grandma Meg & Mening, cooked pounds of katsu, pancit, lumpia, baked fish, mac salad and Papo cooked beefsteak. I couldnʻt eat much because I still had the stomach flu! But I did enjoy a bite of cake. The whole day was really fun but I was over-stimulated by the crowd of family and friends. I got to hang out with my homeboy Ian and kuya Andre.

Kuya Andre and I were playing chase and he made me laugh so hard. I got to hit the pinata and flop around in the astro jump. Most of the day was spent in the backyard!




Darrien was just chillin out with everyone, enjoyin the party. We had a lot of fun, especially Uncle Eric & Ninang Jen! We stayed until late at night before returning to our home. I canʻt believe Darrien is 1. Heʻs already starting to smack me back because he is so smart and he knows Iʻm not the only one who can do that. Darrien! got so many gifts! I canʻt wait to see him and play with all his new toys!

Papo left for the P.I. for two whole months. When he comes back, who knows what Darrien and I will be doing!?!

I will post more pictures of Ninang Jen & Uncle Ericʻs wedding and Dang-dangʻs birthday party soon!

$Free.99

Wednesday was the 1st of the month which in SF means--the Zoo is FREE! So I had a fun-filled day planned with my dad, mom, & Aunty Awts who arrived in the morning from Connecticut. We picked her up from SFO and headed to the Zoo to meet up with Uncle E, Deng-deng, and Papo. We had so much fun, so much macararoni to eat, so much walking, so much animal watching! I also got to pet a few of the farm animals with daddy. I canʻt wait to go back on a less busy day with Deng-deng. There was a stampede of people! I stomped everywhere myself. Here are some of the highlights of my day:



We love Papo! He must carry the both of us at the same time--or else!



Deng-deng and I are rabbits. Happy Easter!



Checkinʻ out the flamingos yo.



Deng-deng loves the flamingos!



Walk it out!



Deng-deng is happy to be on his 2-feet feet and daddy makes him laugh!



Uncle E & Deng-deng check out my friends--owls and hawks.



Mommy bought me a sword balloon but I was sad later because it deflated.



So I was cheered up with a sweet treat. After a long day of animal watching, I had Polly Anneʻs Ice Cream with Aunty Cheryl.

Mileskiii in the place to be

Miles is back at home with us, enjoying the sunny days at Presidio. Each day, weʻve been going about our adventures in the outdoors, exploring with Miles. At Golden Gate park, we visited one of his favorite places--the Botanical Gardens. He ran around the mounds of green grass, following the ducks and seagulls, chasing the squirrels, and touching each and every plant we walked by. On Saturday, we found a little hiking trail right behind our apartment building. Miles loved being surrounded by tall pine trees. At the end of the trail, we found a little park which was like the treasure at the end of rainbow for Mileskiii. He just laughed in amazement. It really feels nice to just walk around with him without having to push a stroller or carry him.



We spent the weekend in Vallejo and Miles and Darrien got to kick it in the backyard that Papo fixed, getting ready for Darrienʻs 1st Birthday party. Yesterday, Papo barbqued and Miles stayed outdoors, chasing the dogs and throwing Darrienʻs sand toys at them in amusement! Poor, Snupe--he was his main target. Afterwards, we took the boys to some new parks in Mare Island. Darrien has been practicing his walking skills and is getting pretty good at it. Itʻs so funny how these boys interact now that they are a little older. Miles likes to punk Darrien but gets what he gives out when Darrien lays his heavy hands on Milesʻ face. Another thing they do is get jealous of each. Miles gets mad at me anytime I hold Darrien or play with him. Heʻll literally pulls Darrien off of me. Well heʻll try to! Ofcourse he cries when I scold him. Heʻs been having more tantrums now that he has this freedom of movement. Darrien also gets jealous of Miles but only when Papo cargas Miles. Darrien will crawl-run over to Papo and bounce on his knees, crying to pick him up to. Poor Papo! They are both very heavy to carry at the same time!

But overall, the nicest thing to witness is how they do play and share. When they are in their own little worlds, Iʻll catch them exchanging toys and smiling at each other. In the car ride yesterday, Miles wanted Darrienʻs sippy cup so Darrien handed it over and Miles gave him his chipeta in exchange! Ofcourse Darrien didnt care to use it but held onto it happily. They play more with each other directly besides all the parallel playing that they do. Justin was getting them all excited and so they started playing peek-a-boo, Miles standing behind one banister--Darrien on the otherside. It was cute watching them crack each other up.

Itʻs so nice to have him back here with us. Heʻs been impressing everyone with all the new words that he learned to say when he was in Hawaii--from his grandparents. He also showed everyone how he could wipe and clean the tables and floors. Papoʻs family kept calling him the "Hawaiian boy." Iʻm sure Miles misses Hawaii because everytime we pass the Ocean on a drive, he yells in excitement. He also looks around when I ask him where his grandma & Papa are. Justin bought Miles a red VW van to remind him of his Papa.