Halloween mode

Miles is getting more and more excited for Halloween as the October days pass by and we count down. One night, he suggested decorating our home "like Halloween." He's also been in and out of catching viruses. One day he's better full of energy then the following day, his temperature rises. To entertain a cabin-fever boy, I dug up some construction paper, glue sticks, crayons and his safety scissors and he got busy. Here are a few of his masterpieces.





He worked so hard on his "Ben 10 ghost"

Today, we picked up his gramma from Ikea (yes, that's where her plane landed LOL!) and right after---headed to Target to pick up some motrin for the boy and he also chose some dress-up gear which is the makings of a possible Halloween costume.


"Tharr be good!"

Vegas

Thanks to Milesʻ Aunty Trish, we have some photos to share from our weekend in Vegas.


Aunty Trish & Miles have breakfast

Miles & mama @ Great Grandmaʻs & Great Grandpaʻs humble abode.

Jus w/ Jesse & Miles

Aunty Trish taking pictures while Miles tries to nap in the van! :)

The dadʻs & their boys, making pancakes for dinner!

Enjoying Uncle Brandonʻs cookin!

Skype playmates!?!

Ready to go shopping!

Woohoo! I wasnʻt even paying attention!

9-19-05

On Friday, Justin and I celebrated our 3 year marriage anniversary! We were planning on bringing Miles for a family night out but Jen & Eric insisted that they have Miles over for a sleep over with Darrien. Justin came home from work with some purdy flowers. Hehehe..he is so sweet, sometimes. We kept it real simple and grabbed a bite to eat at Taylorʻs Refresher. Then, came home and watched a movie. Pretty simple, but the perfect way for us to relax and just chill. Without Miles, we could enjoy uninterrupted conversations & an uninterrupted movie!

In November, weʻre going back to Vegas for Thanksgiving with the Cadabes fam, Miles Aunty Andreaʻs wedding, & Milesʻ great grandma & great grandpaʻs 60th wedding anniversary! 60th anniversary! isnʻt that beautiful!? Justin and I got long ways to go and many more memories and babies to make by the time we hit our 60th anniversary. Marriage truly is a beautiful relationship when itʻs with the most complimentary, loving, & committed partner. I could not have picked a better husband/father/comedian to share this lifetime with. I love you Justin!

The Pendulum swings

We have been so busy with school and I haven't had a chance to blog. We have those good days, those hard days, and all the ones in between--life is funny that way with the pendulum swinging from good to bad, back to good. Jus and I are taking it all in stride and doing what we can. He has been working really hard at his new job and got a promotion which is a blessing. Anatomy is full of excruciating details which I have to memorize daily. Miles got a stomach virus last week but thank goodness for his grandparents being here and watching him while I was in class and Justin was at work. He got to enjoy quality time with them and was so distracted that he barely whined even though he could barely eat anything for a whole week!

We are off to Vegas after school today to be with the Cadabes/Pacleb/Machado family. Miles' grandma Carmen (papa's sister) passed away on Saturday. We are looking forward to being with the whole family and celebrating her life with all our family over there. Aunty Carmen was a gangsta. She raised a big family of six. She was also the life of the party and knew how to get down and enjoy life when she wasn't busy taking care of everyone. Just raising 1 toddler is quite challenging so I honesty don't know how she did it. One thing thats so great about Justin's side of the family is how loving they are to each other. He has a bunch of aunts and uncles who treat him like he's their own son. Aunty Carmen was one of those kinds of aunts to Jus and he's been telling Miles and I stories of her driving them around as kids, swirvin' in her brown camaro to entertain the kids as they drove (something Justin does with Miles in the car). Miles is looking forward to going on a plane again so he can tote his thomas the train suitcase on wheels and be reunited with his gramma, papa, and cousin Jesse.

On a side note, this morning Miles got up, went on the bed with Justin (who was watching the news) and goes, "Daddy I wanna lie down with you." So he snuggles up against his dad and says, "yeeea boyyyy!"

Then, I go in and tell him we have to get ready for school and I turn off the TV with him protesting, "Don't do that! I'm watching the news!"


We love you Grandma Carmen!

Bye Summer Vacation!

Goodbye Toddler 1, Hello Preschool 2!

I'm a bit sad that our summer vacation is coming to a close. Tomorrow, Miles and I are back on the grind (hello, anatomy labs!). And Miles is starting preschool with his new teachers, Beth & Sarah, whom he got better acquainted with on Friday. I have a good feeling about his new teachers, getting to know them a bit and seeing how they interacted with Miles and the other kids. Miles also met 2 of his new classmates, Drew & Ely. I just finished packing up his change of clothes, pack of pull ups, and some nappies for tomorrow's first day of school. I'm not as worried as I was the first time he went to his toddler 1 class but I am hoping that now that he is much older and more independent, it will not be such a hard transition. I'm about to pray all day tomorrow and check in to see how he's doing. I need to chill off worrying so much about the boy and what he will experience in his new classroom with new friends and new faces! Before we left the campus, we asked Miles if he wanted to visit Adrianne (his toddler 1 teacher). His face lit up and he immediately walked over to the door. He is still attached to Adrianne and I hope that he can build a good relationship with his new teachers as well. Talking to Adrianne, we found out some good news-- Mark, from toddler 1, is going to be in his class! Someone familiar in the classroom will be comforting for the boy.

Here are some pictures from his meet & greet day at his new preschool:


Miles was intrigued by the cool stick bugs in his new classroom.


He got situated in his new office space.


Miles met his classmate, Drew & tried cooking in their new kitchen.


He also met Presleigh, and got along great right away.

We enjoyed our last summer break days with a whole afternoon day of playing at Children's Wonderland with Dangdang & Uncle Eric. When they are both together, all rules are out the door and they run wild! Then on Saturday, Justin, Miles, and I had a fun day at the Discovery Museum in Sausalito. We had a lot of fun, especially Miles & Justin (the big kid!). Miles and I use to go there a lot when we lived in SF but he was barely 1.5. He was so busy with every room, having so much fun playing. I couldn't help but notice how hard he plays with his curiosities running wild, he was really non-stop until the museum closed. I wish I had that much energy and drive! I love how kids get absorbed in what they do, truly living in the present!







Today, we went to Ayana's christening and Miles enjoyed himself at the party. He loves playing with Ayana and really tries to engage with her, playing peek-a-boo and talking to her, being very gentle. It's so cute. I think that when it's time for him to be a big brother, he will do such a good job. Ayana is such a happy and chill baby. She makes me want a daughter (in a few years!!).

Photographer in the making

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Miles has been going to town with the camera. Justin says that he gets it from his side of the family, the Lucido side, because his late granduncle Gary was a talented photographer. At first, I thought about buying him one of those kid cameras that they sell at target but then decided that our digital camera was even better. He's been pretty good at holding it correctly and focusing on whatever it is that he wants to capture. Here are some of his shots:


Painted Big Toe.

Family Collage.

House Plant.


And here's his "Daddy Getting Ready for Work Series"







And the grand finale....

Thomas the Train!

In other news, I didn't realize that it is ROCK THE BELLS weekend here in the Bay! Last time I went, I was pregnant with Miles back in '05. I definitely want to try to go as a family. What a great Hip Hop, kid-friendly show for Miles to experience!

Great Imitators

I'm really enjoying this book I borrowed from the toy library in Napa. It's called, You are Your Child's First Teacher. Anyways, its been a great read so far and the author of the book is coming from a wardolf perspective. In one chapter she emphasizes how kids from birth-6 learn from imitation. We've learned this from our experience raising Miles but after reading the chapter, I have been more conscious and aware of the things I say but especially--the things I do, Justin included--that end up being reflected back to us by Miles..and sometimes, even smacking us in the face!

The other week, we were walking down the street and their was poop on the ground. Miles notices it and says to Justin and I, "Be careful, don't step on the shit!" Hmmm, I wonder where he got that from.

And this morning, we were playing pretend, Miles wanted me to be the baby and he was the daddy. He balls a fist, holding it behind his back, saying, "Baby, I have a special treat for you..." then he opens his fist to show me his imaginary treat and he says, "It's a dollar toy!"....then he does it again and says, "It's a fruit wrap!"...and then again and says, "It's nem-n-nems (m&m's)!"

Summer time, summer time.

Whew! What a busy summer it's been. We've been trying to do and see as many things as possible before school begins in a few weeks. The past 2 weekends have been lots of fun. Miles got to check out a graffiti permission street/block party in the Mission at Lilac st. Here are some highlights:


Enjoying fresh mango slices w/ Aunty Diane in the Mission.


Posting infront of Fury One's piece.


Mi Amor!


He saw this one and said, "Mommy! Take on of me and the baby!"


Miles saw his Uncle Yzer and found out that he was not only a good DJ but a dope Writer!


Miles wanted to take flicks too-so here's one he shot of his other Aunty Jen.


..And he took this one of writers in action.


He got a treat from his Aunty Jen and found out how yummy taffy is.


And before we left the graff/block party, he found his favorite characters (that writer must have kids)!

This first weekend of August was a lot of fun too. He had a sleep over at nanay's & papo's house while Justin and I had our date night (give thanks for that!). I think it was the first time we had a date night this whole summer besides one night when Miles was in Hawaii and before Justin left for Korea. It is sooo important for us parents to have these! We feel so refreshed afterwards--and its not because of the wine or beer (hahaha) but the fact that we can just take our time, enjoying a nice dinner and even taking a stroll--just the 2 of us--to enjoy quality time as a couple. So while we did our thang, I heard Miles played all night with Dangdang! I have to admit, into our date, Justin and I were missing Miles' company like a couple--of losers! We really are a group of 3--Alvin, Simon, Theodore...Run DMC...Haiku de Tat...you name it.

Anyways, the next morning we went to the Aloha festival in our old SF presidio hood. We picked up Miles cousins, Boo & Angel and they spent the weekend with us in AC. Miles misses them already and wants to go swimming at the AC pool again with his older cousins.



Miles fell asleep early and Angel baked up some goodies.


Angel's finished product!


Miles is devouring the cupcake while we have family fun w/ photo booth!












We had a good laugh w/ photo booth & good times with Boo & Angel! We miss you two already!