Summer Time in the SFC

Miles enjoyed his vacation time in Hawaii-- and so did Justin.

Jus made it in time for dadʻs birthday.

Miles got to spend his last days with all the family and even with his local homeboy, Paulo.




Itʻs been about a week since heʻs been here. Last Thursday, I waited for Jus and Miles to arrive by the magazine stands at SFO. I was so excited, feeling anxious and all jittery. After watching many passengers pass by me, I saw a big long head, Justin, and a little long head, Miles walking down the path. I called out to Miles and he spotted me, running towards me with the cutest smile ever, I was all teary-eyed! I missed him so much! He was so funny, pointing out everything he could name, avoiding eye-contact. And when he finally looked at me, he screamed! Miles had so many words and tricks to share with us, learning so much from grandma and papa in Hawaii. His favorite thing is counting everything but from 1 to 2 (haha!), and pointing out trucks or "chucks" and buses or "bas" and "bikes." We know he misses his grandparents cause everytime he sees pictures of them, he yells their name and looks around to see if theyʻre here. Poor boy! Justin said he was well-behaved on the 5-hour flight back to the bay...




Since then, Miles got to see the Elacio bunch. We took him out Friday night for Ateʻs surprise bowling-welcome-back function at Presidio bowl. Miles and Darrien had a lot of fun, amazed everytime they knocked over the pins.

Then on Saturday, we left Miles with Papo, Lola, and Darrien cause Jus and I DJed Neil & Antoinetteʻs wedding. Check out DJ JusformalJones:


It was painful to leave him again, even if it were just for a day. Even though we came home by 11:30pm, he was still up, waiting for us. The next day, we all decided to go bowling since the boys enjoyed the alley Friday but this time we were at Vallejoʻs Kentwig. The place felt nostalgic! It was dadʻs first time bowling and he even managed to strike! It was women vs. men and unfortunately, we lost by a few points. We had a lot of fun. It felt kinda funny having a family day like that cause I donʻt remember ever doing these things when we were kids but what a great way to make new memories for Miles and Darrienʻs childhood. Iʻm telling you, it feels like we are re-living ours with our kids, and making up for growing up too fast!






Miles is already catching up with his Frisco homies, having had playdates with Isagani at the cool lilʻ Vicente park. And yesterday, he had lunch at his Aunty DJ Bevʻs house, playing with Jacob. Sometime this week, he is going to visit Diego because its been over a month since they played! Time has been going by way too fast!




Our summer days are even better now that Miles is back with us. We got lucky with some sunshine here in the city today. Jus was off so we got to spend the day outdoors. First, we headed to the civic center to buy Milesʻ weekly groceries--organic fruits--you know, this earthboy likes to buy local. He is killinʻ the strawberries already. I should have bought 2 boxes. He had a lot of fun people watching and chillin by the water fountain. Afterwards, we went to the mission where it is always nice and hot, hanging out at Dolores park. Justin and I were big kids, swinging with Miles and climbing the monkey bars and everything. Miles agreed to leave the park when we told him we were going to get ice cream at Mitchellʻs.



He is finally out for the night, still on Hawaii time, and now itʻs time for me to get records together for my gig this Saturday.

It takes a lot of work being a toddler...

...we need vacations sometimes! And so here I am, in Oahu...Aloha! Itʻs been so long since I seen daddy & mommy but Iʻve been so busy living the islander life in Waipahu with my grandparents. Iʻve gotten a lot smarter here, breathing in all the fresh air, learning from my teachers, Mrs.Grandma & Mr. Papa. Hereʻs what Iʻve been doing:


Rising to the top, climbing ladders...

Cruisinʻ with grandma (look, I smile like my daddy)...

Riding the bigboy swing with papa...

Being one with the Ocean...

...And ofcourse, meeting all the local wahines....


Here I am, showinʻ papa some mileskiii love at Koʻolina.

Iʻve been spending time being one with the land...

Checking out an oldskool carshow with papa and grandma...

Learning how to swim...

...and ofcourse, I need my music time with grandma Rosey. Iʻve been living it up!

Papa lets me drive his VW....

Grandma has art time with me and I get to paint and color...

I also spend time with my Aunty Bri at the local mall, the flea market...But you know, Iʻm still playing my favorite game when Iʻm just chillinʻ at home with papa and grandma...

PEEK

A BOO!

A Work of Art...

Hereʻs what Miles (& grandma) sent Justin for Fatherʻs Day:




Heʻs an artist already! Iʻve heard that heʻs been having art time with his grandparents, coloring and painting away. I wish I was there to join him! It feels I havenʻt seen him in ages! The only thing that keeps our spirits up is when we hear him blow kisses on the phone and also when we hear the stories about his vacation.

At 18 months, heʻs learning so fast. His grandparents have been teaching him so much. Yesterday, Jus and I learned that Miles knows the basic colors. You know--red, white, green, blue, yellow...Ask him to pass you the white crayon and heʻll understand you! Iʻm so proud of this little boy!! I miss you Miles!

Fatherʻs day

Today, Justin started his day off with his Sunday record digginʻ at Alemany. Weʻre heading to Vallejo to celebrate with some BBQ with Dad and Eric and the whole fam. While Miles is not here to celebrate the day with us, he is making his grandparents very happy in Hawaii with his presence. Iʻve gotten many pictures of Milesʻ adventures in Oahu and many stories already. First of all, Miles can swim!! What a milestone (one that I havenʻt reached yet! hehe)!!! Thanks to Sprint and technology, mom recorded it on her video phone and sent it over to Justinʻs phone for us to watch. I felt so proud to see him swimming on his own! Ofcourse, he is wearing his floating wings on his arms, but he really is just kicking his legs and moving his arms on his own. His papa is teaching him well! I heard he has been disciplined with time-out in a corner! Hehehe..so funny to hear. He looks so much older and itʻs only been about 2 weeks since Iʻve seen my baby! Heʻs having such a good time at the beach and spending time with his ohana. He even got to attend the Kamehameha parade, one of his first parades.

So, hereʻs a glimspe into his life in the sunshine:

4 days have passed....

...since our baby has left for paradise. I didnʻt think too much about it but now Iʻm feelin just how much his presence is missed! From phone calls to grandma, I hear that he is ofcourse at home in Waipahu, having his papaya and waffle breakfasts, and going pashal everywhere with grandma, grandma Rosey, and papa. Oh, they are so lucky to have him!

Before he left, Miles stayed a week in Vallejo to spent quality time with lola on her last week of vacation. We got to hang out with Dang-dang all day and night! It was so much fun. Then on the weekend, everyone came to SF and we all had dinner at Celiaʻs with Bob, hung out with Bob and Awts (virutal Awts on icamera) at their apartment. Afterwards, we went to the Def Ed jam at cellspace where Justin spun for the all-city Bboy kid jam. So much fun! Miles got to kick it with Gani before he left. And as bad as his teething was, he pretty much was distracted from the pain with all the loud music and dancing.

We took him to all his favorite SF spots before he left too...the parks. Playground, Golden Gate, Washington Square, etc...Miles got to feed his friends, the birds or "berrr" as he calls them.



Monday, I drove Justin and Miles to the airport to see them off and was with him up until the check-in point. And thatʻs when it really hit me that I would not see him for a whole month! Itʻs such a drastic change from my normal stay-at-home mom life. Iʻve been able to do a few things that I havenʻt been able to do in awhile! But what a trade-off. Got my hair did, bought a dress (whoa!), took the muni around with no restrictions--no worrying bout Milesʻ naps, diaper, hunger, been able to do cardio (besides walking), and Iʻve been able to take my time eating. But all in all, I still would not trade these few things for Milesʻ presence. I love that boy so much. Justin keeps staring at his picture phone la tratos. Seriously, we are missing our arm and leg without that boy.


When Iʻm driving, itʻs so quiet and boring. Iʻm so use to having my buddy in the backseat while Iʻm driving yo.



The good thing though, is that he is sooo happy to be with some of his favorite peoples in the world, grandma and papa. And he has the chance to spend time in the most bestest place ever, the warm, clean, blue Ocean--white sand, coral reefs and everythang.



When Miles comes back home, July 5, we are going to party. Lolo will finally be home to see him after over 3 months, and so will Awts. Sheʻll be home for good because she.....drum roll......passed her boards!!! Wooohoooo! Miles will always have someone to clean his teeth for life! hahahahha!! Congrats Aunty Awts!

Where did all the time go?!

Baby Miles


As the days go by, I realize how much a baby Miles is not. And I canʻt help but miss the days when all he needed was for me to nurse him. I donʻt know what was easier, all that nursing, or feeding him the meals we eat. I guess its cause at least with nursing, I knew he was getting the best nutrition. Miles is too clever for me to try to slip some brocoli into his macʻnʻcheese. I canʻt fool the baby anymore because heʻs not one. So sad, really. This week, we are just giving him regular soy milk, from the carton. No more formula. Bye-bye. Itʻs like the end of his baby era. Iʻm sure once the bottle is completely out of the picture, it will really feel like he is a grown-up. He might as well move out. I donʻt know why but besides feeling excited everytime he reaches another milestone, I also feel a lil sad that time is going by that fast. But back to the nursing thing, actually--Iʻm really glad that I did nurse him for about a year, but Iʻm also relieved to not be nursing him. I just remembered the other day at Rochambeau park (Milesʻ stomping grounds), I witnessed a toddler being nursed and throwing a fit, back nʻ forth, back nʻ forth. It seemed more challenging than ever. I canʻt imagine having to nurse this big boy in his present monster-form.

Nursing is no joke! No one told me how much work it really is--so I was really shocked in the beginning. You literally are bound to the baby by the breast. Itʻs a loving sacrafice but a sacrafice, indeed. Iʻm tellin you, I had to be alcohol-free and everthang! Anyways, Iʻm so glad that I did nurse Miles, it was full of bonding moments and calorie burnin sessions. That was the easiest way to work out, ever. All you do is sit there, feed them, and voila--you burned 500 calories, gave your baby all the nutrients, and connect with baby. Itʻs a whole package. Anyways, I donʻt know why Iʻm thinking of nursing. Maybe because I realize that itʻs also been a long time since I did that. Miles is so far from being the baby he was. He is such a big boy.

The other day, Justin woke up, decided to shave Milesʻ head, handed him soy-icecream & popped in a Bboy DVD to distract him, and shaved him clean. All his baby hair was on the floor! I was kind of in shock. Iʻm so attached. I was thinking, "Am I suppose to save this? Why did Aunty Ely save my cousinsʻ hair? What would I do with it if I saved it?! Itʻs his baby hair! Itʻs his first hair cut!" Geez, what a big deal I made in my mind....I ended up sweepin it up and throwing it out. No point in saving anything really...Iʻve been giving up his baby clothes. Iʻm not trying to save it for the next baby being...gotta make room for change and growth. Thatʻs what Iʻve been practicing (trying to at least!). Miles is now calbo. We are hoping that his hair grows out all even this time. When Rube-dude saw him calbo, he said, "Hey you donʻt look like a little boy but a big baby."

L.A. L.A. Big City of Dreams

What a great month! I got to do many fun things with Miles this past month. May is the beginning of all kinds of outdoorsy events, including different types of festivals and concerts. The weekend of Ericaʻs birthday, Miles got to party it up with her whole family and before that we spent the day in Berkeley for Hip Hop at the park. Jen and Darrien rolled and it was a great time for the two rascals. I swear, as soon as we got to the corner of Amoeba, hearing the music bumpinʻ, Miles started dancing down the street! Heʻs really a dancinʻ machine.






The following week was real nice, taking a short break from the Bay to dwell in Hollyhood (Ok, too much MTV yo). We flew out there (courtesy of grandpa & grandma) and spent the week with family in honor of Milesʻ Aunty Terri, graduating from USC. It maybe a long time until Miles sees his Aunty because sheʻll be leaving for Texas for 2 years. Her graduation was a trek to get to but once we arrived and saw her in the procession, we all felt very proud and happy for her!
After the ceremony we celebrated with dim sum at Chinatown. Yummy! Miles loves him some dim sum.







Miles enjoyed every second of his time in L.A., so happy to be reunited with his grandma. The first thing he did when he saw her at the airport is grin really big, then started pointing in all directions to take attention away from him. Heʻs so silly. Once grandma carried him, he refused to even go to Jus!





Miles got to spend time with his grandpa-ninong Cesar in his lovely abode in Pasadena with Uncle Hoa.

He calls Uncle C, "no-nong." Thatʻs how he says "ninong." Hahaha....Oh, and he learned a lot from his cousin-doggies, Chico, Ann, & Pepe, panting and barking with them. Now everytime he sees a dog, he starts panting! So funny yo.

Miles got to showcase his toprocks and freezes for everyone in the hotel we stayed at afterwards. Everytime James Brown plays, he is all ears, waiting for that 1 to hit and bam...heʻs on the go! Itʻs very entertaining. So besides dancing and catching up with fam, we pretty much spent a lot of time eating, shopping, driving in traffic, and sleeping. We even got to go for some deep fried goodness at Roscoeʻs with freddy-5-sac. Good times! I enjoyed it and so did Miles. But after 5 days in L.A., we were definitely so happy to be back in the bay.