Laurel Neighborhood Party

i just woke up from taking a nap after a fun day today attending our neighborhood party which was held conveniently on the street right in front of our house :) earlier today, julian & i bought some cupcakes at the supermarket so that we have something to share... on our way back home, those who were in charge were already setting up the tents, tables & chairs & once we stepped into the house, julian kept on pointing to his daddy what was happening right in front of our doorstep. needless to say that james, julian & i came to the party almost exactly at 1pm which is the very start & of course, we were one of the last ones to leave helping out put away stuff. the party was really nice. it was nice to see some of the neighbors that we already know, like mama gina, erin, mako & erin & mako's daughter sena & of course meeting new ones as well. there were lots of free food -- hotdogs, burgers, cake/s, fresh fruit cut-ups, salads and most importantly, there were nice activities for the kids. julian just LOVED the reptiles that were brought in by the animal guy & julian was just so relaxed with a little smile on his face when he touched frogs, lizards & even a boa which was around 8 feet long! he actually wanted to join the little boys to hold the boa altogether but he didn't really have anything to hold onto the boa that's why he just touched it right on its head, not just once but 3 times :) he even had a corn snake placed on his shoulders and neck too! julian loved painting his pet rocks -- one he even created with 3 eyes & he also love putting the pasta into a string for a necklace which he wore after he finished making it. a number of times i placed julian on top of our neighbor's tree along with the other neigborhood kids & boy, did he loved that... he enjoyed sitting on the trunk & just listening & watching the other kids climb & play around him. the party ended at 5 & though we didn't get to win a prize at the raffle, being at the party was enough prize in itself :) oh, we got to bring home the little cardboard 70's buggy that they had at the party... its big enough to take pictures in (of course i took julian's picture on it.. hehehe) & james & i are planning to use it for julian's bday in december...

My babies' trip to the DENTIST

we barely got home a few minutes ago. we went to Dr Hunanian for julian & james' destist appointment. our appointment was at 430 for james & 500 for julian but due to a little disorganization at the office, we were seen a little bit later than that. julian got a little bit freaked out by the big, bright lights and the big patient's chair at the clinic that the dentist did his routine check-up for him when julian was screaming his head off... i don't think he would've been able to get him to open up his mouth otherwise :) james got his x-rays & had a tooth extracted which he says went pretty well... they did the extraction quite faster than what we're accustomed to although he said that one of the injections that they gave him, the one aimed on top of his mouth was a killer -- it made his whole body tremble. julian actually got upset when his daddy was getting injection in preparation for the tooth extraction, he started weeping & trying to go to his daddy fearing that the dentist was hurting his dad. it was sweet... i had to take him out though as to not further traumatize him or something close to that.

the dentist i guess was just a little bit too much for julian -- no matter how much i tried to prepare him a few days ago by trying to look at his teeth and explaining to him that when we see the dentist, he will check if julian is taking care of his teeth good, for when we went out of the clinic into the waiting room, julian just fell right asleep into my arms...

james has to go back in 2 weeks time or so for a root canal & hopefully soon i can get my teeth laser cleaned -- i doubt it though since the dentist said that my teeth cleaning would cost like a whopping $1000. i would just rather save up to go home once allowed to & have my cousin who's a dentist clean my teeth - i'll get to see my family AND have my teeth cleaned AND for sure have some money to spare :)

Labor Day weekend/Luau Party

we just came home a little while ago from spending a nice weekend at our friend's in san marino valley. it's the labor day weekend so james & of course pretty much all those who work didn't have any work today. we started our nice weekend last saturday by going to a luau party at ralphy's in-laws. james, julian & i tried to look our hawaiian best... it reminded me of my twin's bday celebration for her daughter andy and how i still very much wish that james, julian & i were able to attend that one too. anyway, after around 2 hours or traveling from the amtrak station in union station all the way to san marino, we just made a quick stop to ralphy's house so that the 3 of us can change into our party clothes before heading off to the party itself. the party was really nice... we even had leis placed on our necks, a tiki bar was in place, lots of other pretty hawaiian decorations were in place too. there was even this little picture board of a surfer & his lady where you can place your head/s and have a cute photo souvenir taken.




the food was really great & i really enjoyed the pinacolada -- woohoo. there was even hat making for the little kids wherein they were given hat/s made out of paperbags & they were given lots of foam stickers & markers to decorate it... julian loved it :) julian was having such a good time hanging out mostly with his dad and the other guys there & showing them how he does the 'maroma' or tumbling. he even chooses to do it mostly on the concrete florr instead of the grass. the party was a whole lot of fun -- i had to try like 5 or more times to make julian go to sleep before succeeding to do so. we were one of the last ones to leave -- going back to ralphy's place before finally dozing off in our assigned sleeping places around 3am or so...




sunday & monday were mainly all about playing with the kids (julian, crystal, isabella & isaiah), watching cartoons with them & catching up with ralphy & his brother oscar who came to visit that weekend too. it was a nice relaxing weekend & we can't wait to go back there again soon :)

ps
thank you to oscar & his little girl crystal for giving us a ride back home... & to ralphy, gina & their family, thank you for inviting us to a great luau party & for your hospitality.