Zen Zoe's

today is 1st Zoe's bday & she had a fun-filled japanese themed bday bash at their house in studio city. james, julian, aunt yolanda & i came in a little bit because we kind of lost our way & couldn't find their street -- it suddenly disappears & appears somewhere else - hehehe- anyway, we had chicken teriyaki, some rice, lychees, pickled cucumbers, sliced oranges, ice cream & raspberry cake -- everything was really yummy. there was even a haiku reading & a friend of Zoe's dad played the flute. julian was tripping on the flute big-time... he just loves music so much. he met some new friends too like Sebastian, Brandon (i think) & his twin who both had the loveliest curls & one little girl & her brother. (wow, i am getting so bad trying to remember names now - tsk, tsk, tsk) julian just loved playig with Zoe's playhouse & her little car too. the little girl he was playing with, 0aside from Zoe, ithink her name was Leah even placed water in the car's compartment much like a real car... hehehe. it was a really nice bday & everyone had fun. to Zoe, her mom & dad, Tamir & Sherry, thank you so much for inviting us :)

julian's fave toy

A tag from Twinpeaks!

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Here are the rules:

Post a photo of your baby with her/his first ever favorite/comfort toy. Write some details of your fondest memory of your baby and her toy. This will make a good moment when your baby grows up! Lastly, don’t forget to add the link to your website’s at the end of the page. I’m sure many moms would love to see your sites, too!

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julian's first ever toy was a little pooh bear rattle which was given to him by his uncle jeff & aunt krystal when they came to visit us at the white memorial when julian was born. he loved shaking pooh & taking little bites of him :) he also had a little toy letter rings he again loved to chew on. and his little exersaucer that provided him with tons of stimulation & fun. another thing too, he loves to play with this little can of tomato paste he found in our food cabinet -- sounds pretty weird but i guess its the size of the can -- it fits just perfectly in his little hands :) up until to this day, he still has that can of tomato paste... among other things though, julian loves to play with a lot of things now -- he loves playing with his tools and tinkering as well as riding on his bikes, trikes & wagon -- you should have seen the look on his face when his grandma got a new bike delivered! he was so ecstatic that it came in a whole bunch of pieces thinking that he'll be the one to put it all together. they let him hang while the bike was being put together playing with real nuts & bolts & screwdriver/s and other tools. he also loves his blocks, choo choo train/s especially his thomas the engine train, his daddy's bike helmet, bike pump, our cellphones & phones that aren't necessarily working -- right now he sometimes even hands me a phone while he holds on to another one & talks to me through the phone even if we're face to face already. he also has his favorite doll/s mr. monkey, scoundrel (the puppy), curious george, bob the builder, grandma's doll suzy whom he treats like a real baby -- gently all the time & mr. giraffe who has the same bday as he does & who plays music for him -- that and a whole lot more :)

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thanks twin for the tag & whoever gets to read this, if you have a child, what's his/her favorite toy? :)

sushi

james & i LOVE sushi! and after having cravings for an eat all you can sushi date for almost a month and a half, we finally gave in to our desires & had a little of our favorite sushi at our favorite place, Hama in Little Tokyo in downtown LA. we went there after spending a few hours at the Japanese American Museum with julian where they had their summer event at the courtyard. we missed the arts & crafts (it only ran until 5pm) but we got to see some of the exhibits inside the museum which was free admission for the day, got to watch a cool magic act & watch some hula dancers. it was pretty cool... we also went to the little garden that they had which was really very pretty & relaxing. julian was following this cute little girl at the courtyard & a little boy grew a liking to my little one, very happy to see julian running around & having fun -- the little boy kept on touching julian in the arm :) anyway, back to our sushi treat, we had tuna, salmon, spicy tuna rolls & of course, we can't NOT have UNI!!! even julian liked his salmon skin sushi roll & of course, he just loves his pickled ginger. he was even playing peek-a-boo with the lady servers & the sushi chef... mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... sushi is so yummy! i really had fun today & james & i can't wait for our eat all you can sushi date :)

julian's new radio flyer

james' auntie gloria & uncle gary came for a visit this afternoon. and along with them was lady, their lovely cocker spaniel & a huge new radio flyer (wagon) for julian. julian was a little bit shy at first just wanting me to carry him while looking at the wagon & not touching it at all... just looking at it with excitement & amazement in his eyes that the huge toy was really his. it even had his name & birthday painted on the front & the back of his new ride. after a few minutes of just looking, julian went dwon from my arms & started inspecting his wagon, got inside the house to get his giraffe, curious george & homey to take them for a ride. he was so happy with his toy he even gave uncle gary a high five :) james took him for a ride in the sidestreets & after a few rounds, julian made james jump in the wagon with him & let me, mommy take them for a ride... hehehe... it was really nice. thank you uncle gary & auntie gloria. back in the house we had some chicken oreintal salad & some strawberry/peach shortcake (yum, yum) to celebrate auntie gloria's & sari's (she came a little later) bday which they celebrated last july 24. anyway, back to the radio flyer, julian has already asked me again around 6pm to take him for a wagon ride... we took bucknell street & then back here through radford... i have a feeling there will be plenty more rides for me & james as well to take him not just on his stroller now but on his new wagon from his aunt & uncle... and as big as it really is, it will definitely be enjoyed with for quite awhile :)

Take 'Toos'

Thanks to my Twin for this tag :)
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What's your shoe size? Are your feet the same size as your mom's feet? How about your sister's feet? Can you borrow shoes from each other?

Post a picture of your latest shoe buy.

Tag the number of women of your shoe size, i.e. size 5 = tag 5 friends. Don't forget to drop a line in this blog when you're done. :)
Jenny and Belle
SAHMdom and Beyond
Jacque
The Happy Family (Rhea)
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My shoe size is between 9-10 but most of the time 10.
My mom's shoe size is around 6 1/2.
My sisters' -- I have two -- Ate Mayette has 7-8 & Ate Che is around 6 1/2 to 7.

I always had the biggest shoe size among the girls in our family & pati sa barkada... I think it really has something to do with the fact that my papa was usually the one who helped me buy my shoes & my shoes were always a size bigger dapat so that hindi bunched up yung toes ko. And since there's room for my feet to grow, it grew & it grew... hehehe... and of course, I having the biggest footsies, I was not able & still am not able to borrow my mom's, or my sisters' shoes :)

Being a stay at home mom, I don't really see the need to buy shoes... wala naman kasi akong masyadong pinupuntahan -- and for anyone who really knows me, I'm a flip-flops kind of girl. But last july 12, we had to attend a sweet sixteen party so I had to get myself some formal shoes to go with my dress. I found my buy at the local goodwill store & it cost me around $2-$2.50 only because the day me & julian went there, all their shoes were 50% off. So there, being the cheapskate that I am, goodwill/second hand bought ang aking most recently bought shoes :) its mainly black strappy, suede with heels sandals...



** I don't really know too many friends of mine who get to read my blog so I guess I'm tagging Jhoes, Monch, Josh. Farz, & Ms Tin -- sorry to my twin if hindi ko fully nagawa yung tag...

julian's 'toos'

i was reading my bestfriend honey's family blog yesterday about her daughter's recent obsession... her toos. at first i thought she was just like julian who a little while ago discovered that magic markers aren't just for paper alone but that you can have a lot more fun drawing on yourself :) honey was actually talking about andie's shoes... in our case though, julian's 'toos' are actually tattoos that he draws on his tummy & arms, and legs and so on... he draws his 'toos' with his magic markers -- it's good that i bought him washable markers... hehehe. about a few months ago, i was still oh so sleepy and julian happened to wake up way before we did. to my surprise, both my arms were covered with 'toos' too when i finally got to open my eyes :) he even tried to give me & him matching 'toos' on our right arms one time by using both blue markers and when his 'ady (james) came home, he did the same thing for him too... this time he both gave them green marker tattoos on their left arms... its a lot of fun watching him take interest in writing & drawing -- he keeps on darwing O's nowadays -- even if sometimes, mommy has to scrub the walls because his markers found its way through them while mommy's not looking...

it's luke's birthday @ traveltown

today is finally luke's birthday at traveltown in griffith park. james, julian & i and even aunt yolanda had been looking forward to going to this museum & celebrating with our friends for luke's birthday since rob, his dad told us about his birthday when we went to the LA Zoo last april... so you have an idea how much anticipation has built up... hehehe. the party was at 130pm & though julian hasn't taken a nap that day, he had a blast at the traveltown which is a museum of trains... there were the real trains, a trolley that we went a ride on too bust most of all, julian loved the modeltrains.




its funny because he kept on returning to it like 5 or 6 times during our whole trip to the museum. he didn't even notice when i left his side to kind of get some air from the cramped room where the trains were. that's how engrossed he was. he would scramble from one part of the display glass to another trying to get a bigger, better glimpse of the moving train/s. there were other little kids there too & it was just so nice to watch them interact with one another. julian even made choo choo sounds when the trains are passing right in front of him :) we had packed lunches of good ol' ham or roastbeef or turkey sandwiches, yummy yummy cookies, apples & chips... the kids had their own too... they had pb&j & apple slices & chips too. the kids had a blast too playing with their own little train town set up just for luke's little friends. they even had a bean toss in a little thomas the engine board. it was nice seeing our friends & seeing how their little ones has grown. julian just loves playing with them. julian's took two trolley rides... one with me & james & the second one was with his grandma... the second round-up of his second trolley ride was the last for our little one this time for he just finally couldn't keep his eyes open anymore... he was pooped. pooped from all the fun & excitement :) he was able to have the delicious cupcake train cake & got his own little goodybags & own thomas the engine toy train before he zonked out. he was so out of it that i was even able to put him down in the grassy area of the place without him waking up. before you know it, it was time for us to head on home. happy happy 3rd birthday again luke & to rob & mary, it was a great party. thanks so much for inviting us! i'm looking forward to taking another trip to traveltown with my babies soon... it was a blast!!!

Getting to see my Ate Judy again... and Kuya Omi... and Regina :)

last tuesday, july 29, james, julian & i went to hollywood & highland late in the afternoon yo meet up with my ate judy, kuya omi & their daughter, regina. it has been awhile since i last saw them... kuya & regi i last saw almost 3 years ago & ate judy when james & i wed in vegas. i remember when i was back in jersey, i usually go to their house & go with kuya whenever he needed to bring any of the kiddos to summer camp or anywhere else. it was really nice to see them again... it was the first time for all of them to meet julian & the first time for james to meet kuya omi. we just fetched them at the quality inn where they were staying & we went back to the highland center to have some dinner at CPK. it was really nice catching up with them, even if it was just for a little while. we all had fun & julian had the most fun trying to pet the little stuffed green dog at victoria's secret & trying to climb the stairs & going down the elevator with his daddy around 10 times or more... hehehe. i would've loved to take some pictures, but they didn't really feel like it... i really hope that regi gets into a CA college so that we'll get to see them more often next time :)

ps. thank you to kuya omi for julian's pitures... baliktad, dapat ako yung may pictures niyo nila ate :)

btw, CA was hit by a pretty strong earthquake today, around 5.4 in magnitude... i didn't really feel it though because julian & i were outside walking towards the house from our little trip to ventura blvd (ritz camera) & ralphs early this morning. james called on the cell right when it happened to check on us, i had just opened the front door then & he asked me if i felt it, i anwered, 'felt what?'... hehehe... windang na naman ako... i was really sweet of my baby to check on us :)

oh, and julian was able to finish two of his animal puzzles al by himself... he really never ceases to amaze me... he never cease to amaze US :)