NJ's runny nose has turned into sneezing and coughing too. I brought over a bento dinner that mom requested. I ate a little of it while watching NJ enjoy it. I didn't stay too long, though because he was all over the place coughing and sneezing and wanting to hug me. I'm always so sad to refuse any hugs or kisses or affection. I want him to hurry up and get better!

Poor guy woke up yesterday with a runny nose. He doesn't have one today, and no coughing, but you can hear his coarse voice. Otherwise, he's totally himself, thank goodness. We're still worried about me getting sick, so this is sadly all we saw of him today. He brought over his first Valentine's goody bag from school and I couldn't help but to go through it. Ha, ha. Lots of great stuff!

"I want more this cereal... this crunchy and this crunchy, the blueberries, and the strawberries... this one."

"Why this umbrella still here?"

NJ's drawing of a car.

A cold and rainy day was good for some indoor activity for the mommies... shopping! And later in the day, the sun came out for a double rainbow... all the way!

This morning when I went into his room, he was all dressed already. At first I saw him covered in his blanket so I thought he was still sleeping, but he popped up fully changed. He decided himself what to wear and put it on earlier that morning I guess. Shirt, underwear, socks, pants and everything. Just his pants were on backwards, but pretty good job.

"Eeeee... Cheeeese!"

NJ asks me all the time, "I want to go to librury. We can see the dolphin and the fish. With Ah-ee, Cameron guh-guh, and baby Connor." He had it all planned out in his head, "I want to see pond, and I want to see the dolphins, and I want to see the fish..." Mostly he talks about his plan when it comes to food. "I want to eat the crackers, then I want to eat the cheese, then I'm going to eat aaaaaallll that!" The library was pretty empty, so he got to wander around, even grabbing a book for me to read to him. That's a first. And outside, there were fish and two ducks in the first fountain. He loved saying hi to the duckies.

"I like Trader Joe's"

At Trader Joe's it was really busy and crowded. My first mistake was going during lunch time and second was going on Valentine's day. Oops. I'm lucky that NJ is pretty compliant and easy going. I did have to lift the thirty-five pounder in to the shopping cart, though. Ouch. I got plenty to cook for tonight and then some. NJ wanted everything. Good thing he's also good about not getting exactly what he wants. He was hungry though, so I bought him a dried fruit bar. Something my friend always gave her kids back when I'd go with her on her Trader Joe runs.

We had quite the morning feast for breakfast, which turned into brunch. In the words of his Auntie Becca, "He's a little bottomless pit!" Yes. Early in the morning I gave him some milk and a few crackers to hold him over while I showered and got ready. Then Auntie was nice enough to make the kids some scrambled eggs and mini pancakes (he had two or three). I baked up some blueberry scones and made a bowl of fruit to share. So he had a scone and some fruit. And when Baba decided to fry up some bacon, potatoes, fried eggs, and steak for us grown-ups... oh yes, he wanted some of that too! It was only small bites, though thank goodness. Even after that, he was asking for snacks.

NJ and David made their own cool ramp from the couch to the track, using extra track pieces. It's fun to see them play together and be creative. Today NJ shouted quite loudly, "David I love you!" Wow, he's never shouted that to anyone but us. We all laughed at their cute shouting conversation back and forth. David: "Hurry up so we can play!" (NJ was still at the table eating). He followed David so closely all weekend long, wanted to play with him, hold his hand, hug him, climb on him, it was all too cute. He's only been like that with Cameron and Gaby, but even then it wasn't so excessive. But then again, they were together 24/7 for this whole weekend. Ha, ha.

Glued to the tv. There were other cartoons on before that he was hardly paying any attention to. That is until Thomas the Train came on to PBS Kids. I just about dozed off, it was so boring. How little boys everywhere love it is beyond me. We were packed and ready to go, but we were waiting for the dishwasher to finish before leaving.

Home sweet home. I was a bit worried that with all the excitement and company this weekend, he'd act up or be all over us. But he was so good with playing by himself, helping me put things away and unpack.

Sea World!!!

Wow, a Shamu VW bug! We thought he'd be more excited, but he didn't seem as excited as we were! Oh well. Fun photo op, none the less.

NJ was freaked out by the huge walrus character. He was hesitant, but we wanted him to take a photo so that he wouldn't be scared. I thought he'd burst into tears, but it wasn't too bad. We convinced him with the help of Baba also in the picture.

Poor guy didn't get his nap so he was bobbing his head, dozing off around lunch time. He even had drool dripping from his lips. Hee, hee, hee.

Good job not being afraid! He was hesitant, when I tried to lift him to touch a starfish he refused. But when we figured out that he was afraid of falling into the water, Auntie got one close enough to the edge for him to touch. Yay!

NJ and his new buddy David. These two ran around the park holding hands, jumping around, and yelling. At least they got their energy out! They were so cute and funny.

Sesame Street in 4D. First theatre experience. He didn't want to put the special glasses on. I didn't want to force him since I was worried about him getting freaked out by stuff coming towards him. And sure enough, he was by a fish swimming towards us. I didn't take him out of the theatre for crying because I wanted him to keep watching and know it was ok. He calmed down really quickly and was fine the rest of the time.

NJ with sweet Uncle Dan who carried him all through the shark tunnel.

Turtles! In another aquarium exhibit he took off calling, "Ah-goo! Ah-goo! It's me!" I grabbed him before he could get caught up in a crowd. I looked and he was chasing a guy with a clean shaven head with similar black thick trimmed glasses as my brother. Oh my. He was calling him with such desperation and excitement. Thank goodness I grabbed him in time, he really would have chased the guy down. When I got a good look at him, he wasn't even asian. I tried to explain to him as quickly as possible that his Ah-goo (Uncle Perry) was not there, but at home. He was still trying to pull away and it was hard for me to properly talk to him with so many people moving along looking at all the fish. Crazy kid, he really wanted it to be his Ah-goo.

Penny souvenirs for everyone!

Almost every time, NJ would somehow insert himself into the family photo. It became the joke of the day that he was the adopted asian kid or token asian kid. After this, Lily and David's parents will see photos from the weekend and think: Who is this other kid in all the pictures?

"Hi Penguins, hi! Hi! Hi Penguins! Penguins! Hi!..." over and over, he was by far the most excited to see penguins! Uncle Perry and Auntie Karen's favorite. The penguins were my choice, but it was towards the end of the day and we were all getting tired. But David said he wanted to see the penguins too, so we went. Good thing we did!

Point to the fish and smile!

First time at an amusement park of any kind. This guy's only been to parks and the library (those are his favorite places). Not only are we cheap-skates, but our lives have not really allowed us to enjoy ourselves in this way. We also wanted him to be at an age where he could appreciate it more to make it worth it. It made us really happy to see how much he enjoyed himself. This mini getaway was so significant to me because our last family trip ended with me going straight to the hospital. It was nice to relax, have fun, and make our boy happy. I got to do something that I could only hope for last year at this time. It also made me think about all the places our parents took me and my brother. Camping, road trips, Disneyland, Knott's, Sea World, the zoo... It must have cost a lot and they both worked so hard. It made me appreciate all that they've sacrificed for us.