... potpourri ...

Day at the Beach
Once again, at the last minute, the Big Guy decided "why don't we go to the beach?" It was past noon when they got home from the barber shop for Jake's haircut and we didn't out for Half Moon Bay until 2pm. And who goes to the beach in October? :)
I'm not a beach person. First of all, it's cold even during the summer. One of my pet peeves is sand on wet feet (bleah!). But anything for Jake - why not. We decided to go to Venice Beach to just walk around and spend the afternoon. Jake had lots of fun, walking, chasing the birds, picking sea shells but he still had his Spider Man goggles on of course! I was already getting a headache from the wind and the surf that I asked to stop and just waited for the boys to walk towards the end of the path and back. Jake and the Big Guy had a great time. Jake's sweatshirt pocket was heavy with sea shells and sand dollars by the time they got back to where I was. As the Big Guy said, not a bad way to spend an afternoon. It was a crazy drive and the traffic was horrible, but it was all worth it.

On the way back, the Big Guy indulged me and we finally went to Whole Foods to get the fruit tart that I have been feening and craving for for weeks (no, I'm not pregnant!). It's really good - trust me! We also got some bread, mozzarella and basil - we'll try it again! :) On the way home, we got a call from my brother that he's at Mom & Dad's house and was calling to ask us to join them for dinner. Free dinner? Why not! Nelson was even thinking of having some flounder - and his wish was granted! We headed to our family restaurant and it was great company, with great food and great conversation!
Mom & Dad called Lola L in Manila and Jake sang and prayed to her over the phone. He now prays the grace before meal with us outloud, albeit missing some words but he prays along and it's great! He's been in a singing mood lately, performing everything from Barry Manilow's "Mandy" and "Old Songs" (Daddy's songs) to Mama's song (Leaving on a Jetplane), Biz Markie's "Oh Baby You", Phil Collins "You'll be in My Heart". He sings them all!


Peter Parker calls it a night...
The little boy insisted on wearing his cousin's Spider Man goggles at the mall last night. We somehow got him to believe that if he wears the goggles, he will be invisible and no one can see him. He intently sat in his stroller last night, the whole time, holding the goggles to his face, believing that no one can see him. It was cute! People at the mall were stopping or walking by and commenting on how cute he was ;). We didn't have anything to do yesterday so we decided to go to Valley Fair instead. With the Big Guy watching what he eats, we thought we'd have dinner at Nordstrom since their salads are really good, and good for him. On the way up, I kept imagining the creme brulee I had a couple of months back and thought if we were going to be good with dinner, then we can afford to indulge with dessert. The Big Guy decided to settle for their steak (not bad for a bistro dining - it was GOOD!) with very little carbs, I got the fettucini pizza and Jake got the hotdog kids meal. I was so disappointed that they no longer make the creme brulee :(. After dinner, as promised to Jake, we got some ice cream. He even scored a new lunch box, some new boxers and finally.... his halloween costume at babystyle! It was our last stop of the night and right when we walked in, I saw the lion outfit and I was even surprised that he was ok in trying it on. The second he saw himself in the mirror and smiled, walked out the door to see Daddy and roared, we were sold and had to buy it! It's a little long but I'll just hem it. We intially wanted him to be a fireman but it's soooo hard to find one his size. I don't like the cheapy costumes either. The lion was a great price so we just decided to get it!


Potty Training in the works...

Potty training has been a success!!! I'm so relieved that Jake took to it with no hesitations at all. We have mostly hits with #1 and a few misses with #2 but it's ok. It's only been a week after all :). He even chooses what kind and color of underwear he would want to wear. I got so excited about his enthusiasm with potty training that the Big Guy and I decided to get him another potty training book while at the bookstore. My baby is on his way to becoming a big boy! :)

Have a great week everyone!