are you happy mama's home?

i asked him if he missed me and he said he did. how sweet. even dotty stopped eating her food again, she does this when i'm not around. who knew a visit to ucla would turn into an overnight stay? so i didn't see him thursday or friday, i missed him so much! it was nice to see him so happy, even if it was over the dried mango.

swim with baba

we almost canceled having anyone over, but it turned out well. we swam, ate, talked, laughed... it was relaxing. i was especially happy that nj wanted to go in the pool. he happily splashed around with baba by his side or carrying him.

"more sushi please"

ah-gong came with various packaged foods from the korean market. nj wanted everything, but especially the sushi. he brought brown eggs, fish, dumplings, squash, spinach, and sushi. the kid ate more than i did. he kept asking for more sushi, more sushi! (thanks for lunch and coming by, dad!) grandpa was amazed at how our front and back yard looked all cleaned up. we were happy that he seemed as impressed as we were at the work the gardeners did.

nap time for all...

dot dot tore up the stuffing in her bed, so it's being fixed (and washed). I gave her this temporary cushion for her. The look on her face when i put it down... she may as well have said, what is this? she slept on it anyway, at least tried to!

going to grandma's

baba reviewed the usual rules to him before going: listen to what ah-ma says, sleep and nap well so that she has rest too, no throwing, no hitting, and no bossing ah-ma around. (none of these things are a problem with us, only while at grandma's. terrible.) hopefully this will be the last week of our ritual thursdays and ucla. although nj and ah-ma seemed mutually excited about spending time together. but if at all possible, we prefer to keep him. :) he's a keeper!

whenever we get in the car, nj automatically says to baba: "baba, seatbelt!" not that baba forgets, nj just says it before he even gets a chance to reach for it. we always thank him for his concern for our safety (even if he is being bossy).

"sit here, watch mama"

i was cleaning a piece of furniture (a cool craigslist find) and nj wanted to help. but he started to touch the dirt (to point it out) and try to move stuff, which was heavy. when i said he could watch and not touch, he climbed onto the bench and watched from above.

sweaty and sobbing

this is usually what he looks like when he's up from his nap. lately he's been waking up crying and whiney. it takes him a bit to become normal again. we kind of ignore it to discourage it and distract him with questions. i tell him to think about what he wants as a snack once he has his milk, that usually gets his mind going!

enzo ferrari

sixty three stickers! yes, we missed a few. but nj didn't notice, he was just happy to pick out a car.

what are you doing, nj?

he saw me getting bottles of tea, two at a time to put away. the next thing i know, he's disappeared and i find him with his head in the box once i return. he helped me put the rest away. i love having help! every day i try to clean little by little. it's frustrating to look around and want to clean, but not have the energy to do as much as i want.

what are you doing, baba?

let me see, smile for mama!

ok, now turn around...

poor nj was a victim of one of baba's practical jokes. good thing nj was a good sport!

for some reason, nj didn't want to change out of his pajama's today. that's a first! he must really like those car pants. too bad he won't be wearing them to bed anymore now that he's been wearing them all day.

family sunday at hcf

nj loves the music, but he got a little restless through the message. he still did a really good job with not talking, complaining, roaming, or being too antsy. we didn't do much socializing since nj and i are still getting over our colds. i actually tried to drive people away by warning them immediately. "hi. can't hug you, sorry. i'm sick." (as i step back) works pretty well! i'm sensitive to sickness, i'd want someone else to do the same. i've used up a ton of sanitizer and tissues this week! it's almost gone and it was a mild cold at least. we wouldn't have gone if nj needed to go to the toddler's room and we had lunch planned right after.

asian market

quick stop to stock up my distant friends on their asian cravings. as i browse the aisles, baba and nj are roaming the food stations. taiwanese sausage, dumpling, and noodle samples! wow, it's like going to costco! silly boys... nj was so excited about the bite of sausage, he had two! too bad i didn't have much luck finding what i was looking for. at check out, i caught nj checking out the funny little mirror.

"happy birthday, ah-ma. love you!"

it's grandma's birthday today and we met for lunch to celebrate. nj was very happy to see ah-ma and gong-gong (grandma and grandpa). and i think the feeling was mutual! it was all smiles during lunch, he behaved well and ate well.

at dinner, nj said in taiwanese: ate too much, can't walk. i wish it could be properly translate it, i have to record it next time.

nj played on the floor right in front of dot dot, it surprised me that she just sat there and didn't run away. she's getting less afraid of his sudden movements and he leaves her alone now mostly, which is nice.

"superman want skateboard!"

oh yeah? and how do you know that? that had us cracking up. i guess nj liked watching the x-games with baba. he watched some skateboarding, motorbike racing, and car racing. i've been wanting to take him to some motor cross racing or monster truck show. i think he'd enjoy it so much.