Back to School

I apologize for not updating Miles' blog as regularly as I use to. August has passed us by so quickly and so many changes have taken place. I started taking my prereqs (back to college!), getting ready to apply for nursing programs. I got really lucky and put Miles on the waiting list for the child development center at the school and he got in! His first day of class was on Thursday.

I can't believe he is at this point in his toddler life. I thought his first day of school would be on the day he entered kindergarden but I was wrong. I remembered to bring my trusty camera to take some shots of this very special day :) Anyways, I had to get him up early ( I have an 8 am class--he begins at 7:45am) and get him all geared up. As soon as we arrived, he was a bit hesitant to walk in but immediately sprang forward as soon as his teacher offered to read to him a book on airplanes. Anyway, Miles was preoccupied within the first 3 minutes and I had time to say a quick goodbye & give him a kiss and I was off to my chem class. After a day of studying, I headed back to the Toddler room by 2ish so that I could catch a glimpse of Miles' new weekly schedule will be like. He was super excited to see me (and you know I was too!),screaming, "MAMA!," dancing around and everything. He wanted to show me all the things he played with and he also showed me his new friends. There was about 7 toddlers and 4 teachers. I felt so proud of Miles, hearing from his teachers how cooperative and well behaved he was the whole day. No crying, no fighting, no whining, napping on schedule with the rest of the bunch. They were swearing that he must have been in daycare prior to this but he has seriously been a homebody with me. They also mentioned how "advanced" he was in his speech and social skills, telling me that he was sharing with his new friends throughout the day, talking nonstop. Miles felt at home with the other kids, playing in the sprinklers, eating chicken adobo for lunch, having music time. amongst other activities. One great thing about visiting was seeing how well the teachers interacted with each of the toddlers. They were really patient and great at guiding each one--I felt really good about Miles being apart of this new class. Another good was that Miles did not want to leave. He seriously kept dragging me away from the door, wanting to keep his play going with the other tots. So we ended up staying for over half an hour longer. Anyways, I learned about a parent group for the toddler classes and I think I better get started in my involvement in his education and join. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment:

Double Trouble in July

The safest way to get high..in the sky!


Yeee!


Hanging with Unc Bob and daddy.


Fine dining with daddy and Unc Mikey.


Crusin!


Exfolilating in sand


Waterworld at Papo's frontyard


Unc Mikey hooked me up!


So fresh and so clean, clean.


Attacking daddy with Dangdang.


Miles is pooped!

Word Explosion

So I've read that between 18 months-22 months, toddlers experience what is called a "word explosion." All of a sudden, they are spittin out words like a playa spits game (ok bad analogy--but u know what I'm sayin'). But seriously, Miles is on a roll. It has gotten 1923847928374 times more easier with him being able to verbally communicate with us. Oh my baby is a big boy now!

Miles has even been learning some Spanish and Tagalog. His favorite Spanish word is, "Parque," (translation: his favorite place to be--the park) which he learned from his homeboy Diego. And his first Tagalog word is............."Carga"---which sounds like Cah-ga (translation: carry me!)

He's been doing very good communicating putting together words that he has mastered--meaning & everythangl. For example, every morning, when I'm cooking his breakfast--he says, "Cook?...Carga!....See, cook!" Translation: Are you cooking me for me? Carry me so I can see you cook.

Today, he got so excited that he hit Justin in the face, pretty hard. Justin whined to him and told him he was in pain. So Miles turns to him, holds his arms out wide and says, "Hug." Well, actually sounds more like "ug."

Everything he says is always in the tone of asking a question.

Miles Got Styles

Yesterday, at Bboy practice at Cellspace, Miles came in wearing his baseball cap. I noticed he was looking at the other Bboys--who were also wearing baseball caps, beanies, kangols. He kept touching his hat, identifying with them and gettin' loose on the floor. Everytime he puts a hat on, he starts dancing! It's like everytime he has one, he suddenly becomes too cool to be held by mama or daddy. He's actually progressing on his own, watching them do footwork and he somehow managed to coordinate getting his left leg around, under his right leg. It's not quiet the 6-step yet--more like the 3-step! I guess he really is just a natural born Bboy!

So July has flew right passed us. I can't believe it's our last month at this beautiful apartment! OMG! I'm definitely going to miss this place--the city period. Kimmy, I feel you girl. But at the same time, we will be back. We've been trying to enjoy the easy access to all the great kid-friendly places here, spending more time with Miles' homeboy, Diego, his mama Lorraine, and their other homeboy, Gabriel. Last week, we finally went to the Children's Discovery museum (at the other end of the Golden Gate bridge in Marin). Oh boy, those boys had too much fun. Miles was all soaked from splashing at Tot land's stream. We've also visited the newly renovated playground at Golden Gate Park (next to the Carousel). That place feels more like an amusement park with the crowd of kids going wild. Funny thing is--is that Miles is content with just playing by the large rocks. He has an obsession for rocks and fruits at this point. He is more excited when he sees a watermelon or a stone on the ground than when he sees a new toy. I think he is a 'crystal child' or 'rainbow child.' Google it and you tell me what you think!

Over the weekend, we had the surprise party for Awts. It turned out to be really fun, especially for Miles and Darrien. Miles was barely at my side the whole time, being so preoccupied with his cousin, Victoria, as well as Andre and another little boy. And when he wasn't playing with them, he was with Ninong Bob or Dang-dang. It was a bit hard to get him down for his afternoon nap, with all the loud noises, he was so wound up. But he ended up falling asleep, holding the orange he picked from Papo's tree with Ninong Bob, saying, "Unk Bob...Oran...unk Bob..oran....unk bob...." next thing you know he's out.

Today, Miles spent the day with Justin as I ran errands. Justin calls me to tell me this story about the boy. They were on Clement St., walking around. Miles spots the fruit stands and starts yelling for apples and watermelons. Jus busts out the snacks he packed for Miles, including watermelon chunks. So anyways, Miles starts eating the watermelons...and then starts spitting them out. Next thing you know, a flock of pigeons come down and start eating the watermelons on the ground. Miles tries to chase them away but they keep flying back for more, yelling, "No, no, no, no!" He then looks at Jus and starts whaling, so upset that the birds would not listen to him, eating all his watermelons. And it was the kind of whale he does when lets say, Darrien starts playing with Jus and he wants all of his daddy's attention. Miles is pretty aggressive and territorial. And he's just a little boy! I'm trying not to think too much about the teenage years to come....right now ,everything is pretty manageable and enjoyable!

Btw, 'no' is his favorite world.

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: