saying goodbye

last monday, while james was getting ready for work, julian went crawling into the room and sat down on the floor where he could see his daddy. for awhile julian just watched daddy move around the room when all of a sudden julian flapped his right arm waving bye-bye to his daddy. he knew that daddy will be going to work & that we'll be saying bye to daddy. julian & i always tried to make it a point to see james off to work. we give daddy huggies & especially kissies when he leaves. julian actually did the wave thing on the bus last sunday to an elderly couple on our way home from target but that was the first time ever that he ever did the waving to either me, james or his grandma. it was awfully cute & sweet at the same time when he did that.

it actually reminded me of the time around 2 and a half years back when i left our house, jumped on a plane to go here. it was one of the hardest things i ever had to do my entire life. saying goodbye to my family, friends & practically everything i grew up with for a life of uncertainty but at the same time endless new possibilities. i still miss my friends and most especially my family eventhough they're never really far away from me for i always have them here in my heart. i want to eventually go back but wherever james & julian are, that's where home is & always will be for me. our family needs to be & will be together. but i sure am looking forward to the time when my parents, siblings & their own families & OUR family will all be together again. here, there or wherever... it really doesn't matter :)

"boo"

this is a very late post. i wanted to write this since it happened but never got to. last monday, julian is having a pretty rough time with his errupting teeth. his right tooth is really out now but his left tooth & the teeth alongside those two front teeth have yet to show themselves pretty soon. tuesday was better. he was shrieking for most of the day but it was through sheer delight of whatever he/we were doing. mommy couldn't find time to blog then. my joints for some reason have been aching too especially in the late afternoons for the past days, and i'm just hoping that i'm not getting the flu. but then again, we've been experiencing a terrible heatwave so that could be just that too.

before i get sidetracked even more, let me go ahead and write about what i really meant to blog (& maybe brag too) about. this happened a couple of weeks back. while i was lying in bed and julian was on the carpetted floor in the room crawling around, julian made a beeline to where i was and pulled himself up to a standing position. he said what i first thought was "pooh". i repeated it to him and like what he normally does, gave me his ever sweet smile in response. it took a couple more times of julian squatting & standing up saying what i thought was "pooh" before i finally realized that what he was saying was actually "boo" and that he was playing peek-a-boo with me. and when i said peek-a-boo? his smile was bigger than ever. peek-a-boo continued on for a few more minutes but julian usually just mouthed the word. he knew that mommy knows it was "boo" that he was saying. mommy may have been clueless for awhile but julian was so patient until mommy FINALLY got it :) thank you my baby boy for being with me.

i inserted the link to the first ever set of blogs that i created last year. i didn't know that i actually created another one thereby not including the ones i wrote last year to be placed in the archive (duh, april... :)


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anyway, last sunday james' cousin vincent & his wife evelyn joined us for a little barbecue dinner. it was really nice to finally get to meet vincent since james has been told me so much about him & most importantly, it was nice to finally have him safely back home. you see, he served for awhile in iraq & even the first time that we heard the news that he volunteered to go there, we all worried & we always prayed for his safety.

we took some pictures of vincent, evelyn & julian & they were just adorable... i really liked the one where julian was sitting on vincent's lap & julian had his head sideways just looking at evelyn... it was sweet. vincent & his wife didn't stay that long since they came all the way from san diego and will be driving all the way to gardnerville to his mom's house. there's definitely going to be a next time though for more stories & more laughter. the war has still not yet seen the end of its days but so glad that vincent is home to his family.

another milestone...

julian was having his usual afternoon snack of diced up fruits yesterday when he finally got a tiny piece of nectarine in his mouth all by himself. here's how he did it... he got some pieces of fruit (a combination of nectarines, mangoes & melon) from his tiny bowl which i was holding and was inspecting them when he clenched his fist and one piece of nectarine got left on top of his hand. he opened his mouth then slowwwly, he brought his hand to it & tada... he got to eat a piece of nectarine all on his own. mommy couln't help but clap for his boy & let him know that he did a good job :) when daddy came home he was so happy to hear & was so proud of what his little daddy (julian) was able to do...

to our baby julian: Mommmmmy & Dadddddy... Lovvvvves JD!

the first of yet many more to come...

julian is growing his first set of upper teeth and for a few days, he hasn't been eating much or sleeping much for that matter. he's been a bit cranky but its understandable. his gums right now are so swollen & so red from the errupting teeth. its a little bit frustrating when he cries in pain & there's not much me & or his daddy can do except to try to calm him down with our words & our huggies & kissies. its coming out though (the teeth) and pretty soon, the pain and the fussiness willll be over. well, at least for the time being... until new teeth start showing up again...



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we celebrated julian's 8th month birthday by attending his first ever kids birthday party. our friends' rob & mary's son luke had his 2nd birthday at their house in la puente. the theme was the disney movie cars & julian & mommy & daddy at that had a lot of fun. they had those big, inflatable jumpers at the party & julian & james got inside. julian had his first taste of chicken nuggets which all the kids love & julian love as well. he also experienced his first ride on a little toy airplane that one can push & it makes sounds too. it was really nice seeing julian interacting with the other kids & vice versa. and even if he's just in the crawling stage, that didn't stop him from playing & having fun with the other kids who were mostly older than him & were already walking & running around. he looked so adorable everytime he would chase a balloon or the purple ball that was on the floor & when everytime he tried to grab it, it would just bounce away & off he goes again to chase it. and to further prove that julian was having a blast, he stayed up crawling & playing long after his other playmates where all in the comforts of their own home & bed fast asleep (i think he finally, reluctantly dozed off around 11 pm or so). we stayed the night there at la puente (which is a very lovely house). it was indeed a fun party & i can't wait for the next gathering... to see our friends once again & their kids too who has grown so much already from the last time we saw them.


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last saturday, aug 18, i took julian to the nearby park & we played in the playground. he played with the sand & the abacus... he even went down the slide. of course i had to hold him from the sides since i was a bit skeptical whether my weight could be carried by the slides which were made of some kind of hard plastic. and i didnt really see any other parents get on it with their kids so it would be pretty embarassing if someone would tell on me when they do see me going down with julian. it was so nice to watch him have fun even if it was pretty hot out there & it was pretty funny whenever he would put his hand in his mouth forgetting that he has sand sticking on it. now, the swing is another story. here i was able to go on it & hold julian sitting on my lap. though julian held on with both hands on to the right side of the swing, i saw him smiling & heard him giggling so i knew it was fun for him. and it was really fun for me too. it brought back memories when i was a child playing with my siblings & cousins in the playground near our grandparents' house in sanville. anyway, though julian & i had a lot of fun, it would've been so much more fun if daddy was with us. next time though he promised he will go with us... i can't wait... maybe this coming weekend...


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this next one though i wish will be the last one...

going home after a fun time at the playground last saturday, we had a little scare or maybe not so little. while waiting for the pedestrian light to give us the go
signal at the corner of Radford, which is just a few more steps and houses away from our very own this old lady in her car suddenly turned left all of a sudden w/o noticing that there was still another car going straight. bam, the cars hit each other & before you know it, i hear tires screeching & there i saw the other car kind of skidded out of control. it slammed right into the pole (& also unto the laurel hall fence) where julian & i were standing just a few seconds ago. its a blessing in disguise that i was carrying julian that time since he got a little bit fussy a few blocks back & we left his stroller farther than where the sidewalk kind of goes down OR else, who knows what could've happened. that was the reason you see why julian & i were not right beside that pole. we were going back for his stroller when the car skidded towards us. thank God too that our guardian angels were working way over time as usual & they made sure that my senses were so alive too that i didn't froze when i saw that fast moving car on its way to us.

i kinda froze though when i heard the driver of the car who slammed on the pole shouting when he couldnt get out of his side of the car. his car was in smokes and i was going to help him but seeing his car, i stopped for a moment because julian was still in my arms. i wouldn't do anything that would end up hurting my baby. another blessing, the driver was able to get out of the back door & he seemed alright. i dont know what happened next since i saw my mother-in-law from the other side of the street (she came running from our backyard when she heard that awful screeching noise from the accident) & decided that since everyone looked okay (both drivers were able to get out of their respective cars & walk towards each other to discuss what had happened), it was time for me & julian to end our eventful day.

i felt so happy & relieved when we finally reached our house. though still a little bit shaken, it was so nice to be in the safety of my husband's arms once again. thank you again Lord & our guardian angels for bringing me & julian back home...