abc's and music

nj loves pressing the buttons on these two toys he has. he likes the classical music one plays and the abc song on the other. sometimes he goes through the whole alphabet letter by letter and repeats them. he's much more interested in the letters now that he knows them and tries to sound it out. he doesn't sit still while pressing the buttons, though... he was all over the place!

we went out for an errand that turned into an extra long one! nj was a good sport, we were in the car longer than we expected and he complained of hunger and needing to going to the bathroom. when we were finally almost home, he burst out crying out of no where. i kept trying to ask him to stop crying and just tell us what's wrong! he sobbed that he had gone. oh, great! but when i thought about it, i'm glad he cried about it. only because that means he doesn't like the feeling or that he knows he's not supposed to. either way, it's better than him not caring about it. once we got home, he was totally dry! that was weird... but good.

"nice to meet you"

we actually ate at the table again tonight for dinner! unfortunately, this is the only photo i got of nj that wasn't blurry... i don't remember what he was saying! but he had a great time playing with his new friend and auntie. we had guests for dinner and nj was so excited to show off his toys, he took his new auntie and uncle so quickly! i'm happy he's much more social than he used to be and that he talks more with people now. before, no one believed us that he talked a lot! it was nice to spend time with the happy couple just before their wedding in a couple of weeks!

enjoying his "new" big dump truck and cement truck.

"mama, i'm sweaty!"

nj ran to me in the kitchen and announced that he was hot. i took one look at him and took him to get changed. his head was all sweat with wet hair! must've been from playing in the other room. the last couple days have been in the 90's, so strange since it was just starting to feel like fall last week. i was just about to put away his shorts and tanks, but i guess my delay turned out to be a good thing. i put some breathable, thinner shorts on him and a tank that was a bit snug. he could hardly get his arms through, i almost gave up on it, but he seemed determined to wear it!

"i am educated"

as nj ate his dinner, grandma saw that he used his hand to pick up some food. she said to him, "don't use your hands, that's for the uneducated." yikes! well, whatever works! when she repeated it another time, he said: "don't use your hand. i am educated!" oh my.

before dinner he kept asking me for a snack: "i want macadamia nuts more". i guess grandma gave him some today, i had never heard him say macadamia before! he said it so well, i asked her (grandma) about it and she told me she wouldn't give him any until he could say it right. hey, it worked and i'm impressed!

after dinner, nj played for a bit before bedtime. he stopped to say to baba: "they playing balls." baba answered with: "it's football, baby. they're playing football." (baba had a game on that he was watching, usc vs. cal)

"don't draw on the table"

yes, please! i finally removed the mat i had down on the dining room table for... i can't remember how long! it was one of my goals for the day. it took me a long time, but it was worth the work because i love the sight of a clear table. if only i could also clear all table and counter tops. oh well, one thing at a time. i'm relieved to see a clean table again, but now that nj is loving his crayons and paper, i'm worried about him marking it up. he already marked up my mat that i tried to clean today, it wouldn't come off! when i first saw it, i couldn't get mad at him since he didn't know. but now that he's already gone beyond the paper, i make it a point to repeat: drawing is only for paper, coloring books, or your sketch book. i especially emphasized not to draw on the table today as he asked me for his crayons and book.

"we going to see ah-ma!"

baba and nj went to pick up ah-ma (grandma) and her friend. there's no room for mama, so i'm staying home. he's all excited just getting his shoes on. i got a call from mom and she specifically requested that he be along for the ride. she also insisted that he be dropped off with her for the day. even though i told her to take the time to rest and unpack. nope, wouldn't take no for an answer! it was cute, they were mutually happy to see each other. I'm happy for the time they get to spend together and the time he gets with all his grandparents, he's one blessed little boy to have them all around.

with the boys away, i went out with the gals! i met up with some old friends and their kids. i'd post the group shot, but there were too many to ask everyone their permission to post... so here's my guppy house lunch! i was one of two other mothers without their kids, but that's because they're in school. nj would have loved to see his aunties and their little ones too (plus enjoy the food!) and i was sad not to be able to bring him... but it was also nice to enjoy myself, talk to everyone, and enjoy their kids. i told everyone how it was my first time driving since early january and i felt like a teenager leaving the house! i asked (baba) if i could borrow the car and he handed me the keys, telling me which ones were which, including the house keys. (my set of keys had been dispersed long ago when the whole family was in and out of our house while i was in the hospital). then i asked him if i could have some money, he handed me some cash. he told me to be careful, have fun, and we said our i love you's... i haven't been out by myself in a very, very long time! it felt great!

"ah-ma is in hawaii"

not anymore! she's home now. so is your other ah-ma (grandma), gong-gong (baba's dad), and ah-gong (mama's dad)! at one point almost all of them were on vacation at nearly the same time. he knew exactly where everyone was. everyday he'd say, "ah-ma is in hawaii, ah-gong is in machu picchu, ah-ma is in thailand, gong-gong is in philippines!" all the grandparents are home and he's pretty happy about that!

clinic with both my boys

3 back to back to back appointments
2 crying fits
1 time out
and 1 lollipop later...
made for a very, very, long day!!

after my blood test, we waited a bit until we could get breakfast. baba went to get it while i waited with nj. while baba was gone, he really had to pee... doing his crazy pee-pee dance and announcing it: "i need to go pee pee, i need to go pee pee, i need to go pee peeeeeee!" i wasn't sure what to do since i haven't taken him to a public bathroom before. how will he reach? how will i pick him up if i need to? i called baba, he said he was on his way back. but nj's dance got faster and his announcement got louder! so i just took him... i'll just say it wasn't easy and it was pretty messy! but i wiped up, i was considerate! well good thing he only had to pee...

we all shared a breakfast of eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon, and english muffin. nj enjoyed it and it made him happy to be fed. once he was done, he got to look out the window at all the cars. as each car passed (either going into the garage or to the drop off) we'd ask him what kind of car. he named almost every one of them. after a while, the ladies sitting next to us started giggling and watching the cars that passed too. that occupied him until the doors of the clinic opened.

appointment one, liver clinic. after scribbling in his sketch book and tracing both our hands several times, he moved on to some coloring and activity pages. one of the nurses was nice enough to print some out just for him. baba helped him color, which became a competition of who could color faster. silly boys. we haven't brought him to clinic before (not since he was a lot younger), so everyone was so surprised and all over him. it was cute and sweet of them. it's funny how people are different when you have your kid/baby with you even if they know you have one.

appointment two, endocrinologist (sp?).

no more insulin! woohoo! finally!

appointment three, kidney doctor. nj checking out one of the waiting room magazines. he chose this one because there was a car on the cover. surprise, surprise...

first lollipop! sugar free and all-natural. did my dr. just say that so he wouldn't feel as bad? he was surprised to see nj with us, he had never seen him before. he was so nice (as he always is) and asked us if he could give him a t-r-e-a-t. we said yes. we said it was his first lollipop, which made him (my dr.) feel bad. but it's ok, there's a first time for everything! nj really enjoyed it! the smile on his face was the same as him eating that free ice cream all himself! besides, he deserved it for having to spend half the day at ucla.

we were prepared for a long day and even longer with little nj in tow! i thought i had enough to entertain him... books, coloring book, sketch book, sticker book, cars, and snacks. nope, still bored and antsy! but overall, he was actually pretty good considering how much he had to sit still and wait around doing nothing. and to no surprise, he knocked out on the way home. poor baba had to go straight to work. our day started at 4:30am!

nj's first sketch book

he seems to really like drawing and coloring. i got him to draw/color for some cards and since then, he's been pulling paper from a pile i have to scribble on them. instead of wasting so many little pieces of papers, i got him a note book to use as his own. he spent quite a bit of time filling in some pages. glad he likes it! he was so quiet and preoccupied for a while.

pork tamale

i don't think he's ever had one, he liked it! good thing he did because baba bought a lot in support of hope's mexico mission trip. we love getting them every year, yum!

lunch & really enjoying his free ice cream!

one for me... and one for you...

how cute, every time he took a bite of strawberry, he'd offer one to ah-gong (grandpa). and i just noticed how they're making the same face in this photo! ha, ha.

"read bible with ah-gong"

i heard nj from the kitchen asking ah-gong to read the bible to him. how cute. ah-gong was impressed that he knew all the stories already. i just thought it was sweet that he was reading the bible with grandpa. this morning he randomly started talking about the story of noah, he said he wanted me to read it to him. but he was eating breakfast and we had to go soon. so instead, i told him the story about noah and his ark. and funny, it was the story at church today. he had the little worksheet that he colored on and everything. and then there he is later in the day reading the story once again with ah-gong.