First Real Haircut

Julian got his first real haircut yesterday. i consider it the first real one since this is the only time that he got the hair on the back of his head trimmed... before it was only to cut his bangs so that his hair is not poking on his eyes. it was his grandma yolanda or 'ema as he calls her who gave him his haircut as always. it actually reminds me of my dad who was the one who used to cut all of our hair (me & my siblings) when we were little. julian was so cute when he was having his haircut... at first he looked a little anxious about the whole thing while he was sitting on his highchair and then it changed to him just kinda like relaxing & trying to look at the postcard we got from the mail (almost like someone having a haircut at a salon while reading magazines)... and finally it turned to julian acting almost like someone who used to have verrrrryyyy long hair for a verrrrrrryyyyy long time & it was just then that the person was having a haircut (translation: kind of freaked out seeing his cut hair fall down on his leg/highchair :) all in all though julian was pretty calm & cooperative while his hair was being cut & afterwards, he jumped in the tub for a much deserved bubblebath with his new monkey & banana watering can...

monica's bday party

yesterday was the bday party of our good friends' renee & ralphy's little girl monica... she just turned 3! me, julian & jame's mom went to the party at meridian ave in los angeles. it was still pretty hot due to the heatwave here in CA but the trip was well worth it. monica had a princess party & boy, did monica looked so pretty as a princess. julian was able to see his good friends luke, leilani, lukey & sebastian & be with other little or bigger kids as well. cinderella was even there & julian enjoyed that his arm was painted (or rather, tattooed) with a happy face... he even touched his other arm when the happy face was done as if to say to cinderella that how come his other arm was bare... he was given an ice cream cone on the other arm :) there was music, games, dancing & goodies for the kids... julian loved his little lollipop so much that when he dropped it & i took it away from him to rinse it with water, he cried & screamed but when he got it back & tasted the sweet sucker in his mouth, he quieted down with much satisfaction right away... everyone at our table couldn't help but laugh... it was a lot fun. it would've been better if james was able to go with us since our good friends were there but sadly he had to work... thank you so much for working so hard for us daddy. to monica, happy happy bday! and to ralph & renee, that was a great party -- and to renee for dressing up like a fairy princess too for her little girl... great job mommy :)

Julian loves his animals

the LA Zoo is one of the most favorite place of Julian to be. he just loves looking & observing the animals. i remember one time that i took him to the zoo, while looking at the giraffes behind the fence, julian started fussing wanting to go down & pet them :)

he also loves reading & the one he loves the most is the baby einstein book about baby animals... he also likes the book what zebra likes which is about friendship and best of all, it comes with a zebra puppet!

mr hippo, a sort of washcloth/scrubber that's like a puppet too keeps julian company whenever he takes his bubble baths (another thing he loves the most) -- mr hippo is a very hungry hippo that helps julian get cleaned because mr hippo likes eating julian's dirt & grime & give him lots of tickles afterwards...

julian loves looking through our window too whenever dogs are passing by for their daily walks with their owners... he even waves at them & blows them kisses. whenever we happen to pass by a dog or puppy, we would almost always for sure be asking the owner if he/she is friendly & julian offers his open palm to be sniffed & later on be able to touch the puppy. he even sits on the floor sometimes & just wait for the dog or puppy approach him -- if it takes awhile though he would scoot his booty to go nearer to him/her :) and of course we can't forget our neighbor's cat, warm gravy (that's the cat's name) -- when julian was still like a few months old, we would go to the neighbor's house to feed warm gravy since our neighbor was out of town. now warm gravy visits julian in our porch & julian on the other hand, whenever we would pass by our neighbor's house, he would always look for warm gravy & when i ask where's kitty?, when julian doesn't see the kitty around, he'll just raise his shoulders & arms up like saying 'i don't know' :)

happy father's day

today is father's day & i now have two reasons to celebrate this special day... one is of course because of my dad, whom i call popsi-cle who's been the best dad to me and the rest of my family EVER. and then there's james, my wonderful husband, the best father there coulde ever be to our son julian.





my popsi-cle is a really hardworking man & is quite the disciplinarian but he's also quite the joker. he really loved all of us & still continues to do so with all that he has. i'm so glad that i have a pretty close relationship with my dad (closer than most children would have i would say... well i think) but anyway, my dad has always been someone i can talk to about my dreams & plans in life & he has always been there to listen & provide whatever support he can give. like any loving parent he does what he think is best for his family -- i remember a few years back when i got hit by a beer bottle in the head... anyway, he brought me & the whole family to baguio so i can relax & get out of all the craziness sa work & everything else. at first all i wanted to do was work & be with my friends & not be quite so far (even if around 8 hours drive lang)... he told me at the end of the trip that he hopes that even if i didn't want to be there, that i enjoyed myself. i felt so bad kasi i did enjoy myself... enjoyed so much being with them... being with my family. popsi, thank you so much for everything that you've done for us & continue to do out of your love for us. we love you so much too! and soon, julian, james & i will come home to see you...






to my husband james, happy 2nd father's day! if i had my way i would've loved it if you had the day off today... hehehe... but thank you so much for working so hard for our family & for being the best person that you are for me & julian. you really are a BEST father to our son & the BEST husband for me. love you oh so very much! mwah mwah mwah!

ps
the song 'Stand by Me' from julian's card is not just because you have always been there for him & me too but also that we, JULIAN & I WILL ALWAYS STAND BY YOU -- loving & cherishing you every day of our lives...

**to all the fathers... HAPPY HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

like a true man, our boy loves his car & his bike

last saturday, on our way to the park, julian & i stopped at a yard sale. the owners of the house had three children of their own so there were quite a number of toys... julian got attached to this little rocker that looks like a police car. he no longer wanted to go to the park but instead just wanted to stay on that little police toy forever. lucky for me it was being sold for only a dollar so i gave the owner a dollar & put the toy away for us & that was the only time that he (julian) let me pick him up & be placed back in his stroller to go play for awhile at the park. we of course brought the police car with us on our way home... it was a little bit difficult carrying the toy & pushing him on the stroller at the same time but seeing his smile & anticipation for his toy & the pure joy when he finally got to play with it is all worth it.


julian looks so cute when he's in his police car but he does look good too wearing his firefighter cheif's hat -- we got this from the fire department openhouse we went to 1st or 2nd saturday of may -- it was so much fun -- they had firetrucks, ambulances, helicopters, bulldozers, etc which julian climbed & played with. i'm really hoping i can find a way to retrieve those pictures....

like his dad, julian loves bikes & james got him a trike that's just a tiny bit too big for julian (his legs don't reach the pedals yet) but that doesn't stop julian from climbing on it, riding it & having fun :)

thanks sach!!!

sacha is james' younger sister & she's become my sister too. i feel comfortable talking to her almost as comfortable talking to my closest friends & even sisters who i've pretty much known all my life. she's really a great sister-in-law to me, a great aunt to julian & a great sister to james. thanks sach! aside from being an amazing person, i really admire her love for animals... in fact, she has 3 wonderful doggie babies namely mugsy, laila & nala. she used to work for the san diego zoo taking care of such beautiful animals like tigers & now she trains dolphins for the military. she also takes the most amazing pictures of us and of julian... in fact, last march when she came here for a visit, she took some lovely pictures of julian. here are some of them...



thanks again sach... for everything.

drinking in a glass...

this is a late post... almost 3 mos to be exact. anyway, julian was never really much for the baby bottle nor the sippy cup... he is normally for whatever i, his dad or his grandma uses. he prefers the real breakable glass when drinking. i remember when he was barely almost 4-6 months & we handed him a little pink glass at target, he held the glass with great ease & he even placed it in his mouth... t'was love at first sight :) he really loves eating & drinking on his own... he sometimes even beats me in getting some old newspapers to place under his highchair before mealtime.

why i haven't been blogging...

it says in the blogger dashboard that my last post was dec 22... it's been awhile since i last made an entry. a lot has happened during the past month & a half and i guess that's even part of the reason why I HAVEN'T BEEN BLOGGING. i don't know if anyone can relate, but for sometime now i've been experiencing a dry spell in the spiritual aspect of my life. i feel as if i'm undergoing so much right now, not mostly good at that too & i just have that feeling of being alone at times. don't get me wrong, i know that i am still awfully more blessed because i have my loving husband, sweet baby, & my family & friends but still i feel ALONE... alone because i feel that right now God is somewhat NOT 'talking' to me... its like talking to someone and having that someone not pay attention to anything that you've been saying... i feel detached from HIM. i remember that a few weeks ago, i bawled like a baby after reading a part in a book that i was reading entitled God's Blogs. it's the part where it said, "I know your soul, and what makes you happy and sad" it's a very short statement but it just made me really sad, sad because i know HE knows everything & yet, still i hurt & still undergoing so much trials right now. and though i know that God doesn't give us trials which He knows we can't surpass, it really does not provide me much comfort still.

i hope this feeling ends soon... i hope that soon i'll be able to hear HIM talking to me again. won't you please, pray for me? (thanks) -- april

its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

3 more days, actually 2 not counting Christmas in itself before Jesus' special day... Christmas!!! the christmas tree's up with all the ornaments & lights, the christmas banner's now hanging out the porch, stores are always full of holiday shoppers, the weather has been really cold for the past days -- its really beginning to look a lot like Christmas as the famous song goes... this will be my third Christmas with James, well sort of since during the year 2005, he was all the way in hawaii as a special gift from his aunt yasmin (needless to say i missed him terribly) and this will be our second Christmas withour little angel Julian. last year, Julian was just barely a few weeks old & now, he's more than a year old, can walk so well & is already trying to talk (he got the non-working cellphone that we now use as watch last night when he woke up, put it in his ear and said, 'a-dy?' -- he was looking for his daddy since james wasn't home yet then), among the other things that he now does AND he was even trying to help decorate the christmas tree yesterday with some christmas bells. we don't have much money nowadays since James is the only one working but it doesn't matter... because for as long as our family's together, Christmas will be a happy & special one. eversince i've met James though, Christmas has even been more meaningful to me... its all because it also marks another special birthdate of one very special person, him -- my husband, my best friend -- my sweet baby James :)

to all our friends & families, MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS! We love you!

to Jesus, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY & thank you for keeping our family in your hands always. We love you!

and to my baby James, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Julian & I love you soooooo much!

thanksgiving

it was thanksgiving last november 22 and i was almost close to tears when i said my thanks before enjoying our dinner... i gave thanks for the people who have now been my family, with me being so far from my immediate family who are all in the Philippines. i was lonely too though not just because of that but because james wasn't home yet from his annual turkey bowl with his friends & things especially special occassions aren't just as happy for me when my husband's not there. he finally got home midway of the dinner. julian joined his daddy again in enjoying the fare even if he has already eaten with me & also on his grandma's plate. we had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, wild rice, blaukraut, pumpkin pie & candied apples... i wasn't able to take some photos but aside from me, james, julian & aunt yol, sacha & her boyfriend dustin came down from san diego & brought along with them their three lovely dogs mugsy, leilani & nala & dustin's mom connie was there too (she was th one who made the really good candied apples -- a nice addition to the already great list of food that were made by james' mom).

i really have a lot to be thankful of... for one thing, i'm so happy that my husband james didn't sustain any serious injuries when he was hit by a car while on his way to work last 16th of november... i was surprised to find him home after julian & i went to get julian's birth certificate all the way in downtown (i think maybe even farther than that) since he should've still been at work. i was so scared & so relieved at the same time when he told me what happened to him & to have him there right in front of me & julian, i had to give him a hug right away. (i actually had this urge to call him though for some reason earlier while i was doing the errand with julian but i don't have a cell anymore & didn't really have his office number memorized yet -- i'm thinking now that him getting into an accident could be it) anyway, it just made me realize even more how fleeting our life could be & that we should always make the most of our lives especially in letting the people in our lives know that they are special and they are loved by us. to my husband james, i know that we sometimes encounter rough patches in our lives but i know that things could never be better without you and julian in my life.

and i know that i have a lot of things to be thankful for but the most important for me is having the family & friends that i have in my life... thanks to you & of course to God who made and continues to make all things beautiful :)