Saturday, September 18, 2010

Papa's Pinning Ceremony

Today was a big day - it was Rob's Pinning Ceremony where he was officially promoted to Chief Petty Officer.  The ceremony was about an hour, which is a long time for a 15-month-old boy.  At first RJ was a little overwhelmed by how many people were at the ceremony.  But then, as he recognized the friends and family that were seated around us, he warmed up and became excited.

What made him even more excited was when he finally saw his Daddy.  He was so happy to see his father and thought it was so cool that his Papa was leading the group.  All you could hear for a while was "Papa!  Papa!" 

His godsister, Ate Ava, was seated next to us too.  She was super cute because every time the audience clapped, she clapped too and exclaimed, "YAY!"  What was even cuter, was that when RJ, Rob's mom, cousin Phil (who was there to hold RJ while I put the pins on Rob because he woud not have been still for his Lola), and I went up to put on Rob's pins, Ava was cheering "RJ!  RJ!  RJ!" 

Highlights from today:

- Seeing all of our family and friends at the ceremony (who were early - wow!) 
- Seeing RJ get excited when he saw his Papa enter the room with his fellow Chief Selects
- RJ got to hang out with his Kuya Raiden, Kuya Kason, Ate Ava and Teyla
- RJ and Ava shared their first kiss (on the mouth - gasp!) 
- Watching Rob transition from Petty Officer to Chief Petty Officer, it was a very nice ceremony
- Hanging with my BFF and Ava during the ceremony
- Hanging with the Girls and their families at lunch afterwards and reminiscing about our BU days
- And most importantly, the overall love, support and pride that we felt from our friends and family today! 

Monday, September 6, 2010

Body Parts

Many years ago I giggled when one of my girlfriends called, very excited, to tell me that her kid can "finally do tricks!!!"  I thought, what the heck, this is a kid, not a dog... why is she calling them "tricks"?  She explained that he's very entertaining to watch and that his "tricks" are really a treat to see.  At the time, I didn't think much of it, but politely told her that I was very happy for her and her child. 

Today, I am a super proud Mama of a 15-month old boy who can "do tricks"!!!  Every day that we pick him up from day care, a teacher's note is enclosed in his bag that includes a section where she explains what they did that day.  I noticed that they were learning about body parts but didn't realize what that meant. 

A couple of days ago I heard RJ say something (couldn't make out what it was at first) and he kept pointing to his ears, then my ears, then his ears, etc.  After a while, I finally realized he was saying "EARS!" and was pointing to his ears.  AMAZING!!! 

Our child knows not only where his ears are, but also his head, his belly button and his feet - WOW!!!  We are super proud of this wonderful boy of ours and look forward to the many more things that he will learn!!!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

September 2010

Today was a very eventful day for RJ and I.  It's currently 10:36 pm and he is sound asleep.  He's been asleep since about 6pm-ish.  Hmmmm, wonder if it has anything to do with our action-packed day...

6:00am  Little guy woke up, right on schedule (apparently he didn't care that today was a Saturday).  He had his bottle of milk, and refused to go back to sleep.  Thank you Disney Channel for keeping him occupied while I catched a few extra precious minutes of sleep. 

7:00am  He kept me company as I did laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, replenished his diaper bag for the day, and picked up around the house. 

8:00am  Ate breakfast, brushed teeth, then got wiped down and dressed for the day

9:00am  Got into the car and left for Gymboree. 

10:00am  1st time at a Level 4 Gymboree class - it's meant for 16-22 month olds - he's only 15 months, but the teacher and I agreed that he's ready to move up to this class level - yippee!!! 

11:00am Got back into the car, drove to Mira Mesa to support Daddy and his other Chief Selects.  Picked up some KFC chicken snackers and BK double cheesburgers.  Fed RJ in the car (KFC took forever - all I ordered was 20 snackers???) 

12:00pm Watched Daddy wash cars, ran around the parking lot, blew kisses at complete strangers, and listened to Senior Chiefs and Master Chiefs as they passed on words of wisdom to the Chief Selects. 

1:00pm Got back into the car and drove to the Commissary.  Afternoon nap during the drive. 

2:00pm  Got gas on base, then got groceries at the Commissary where RJ insisted on reaching back into the cart, grabbing something, then dropping it on the floor.  Oh so fun for Mommy (insert rolling eyes here!) 

3:00pm Got back into the car to head home. 

3:15pm  While Mommy was busy unloading groceries and putting them away, baby boy got to run around like wild and LOVED it

3:30pm  After chasing him, catching him, and practically holding him down - RJ eventually agreed to eat his afternoon snack (1 container of baby yogurt).  He wouldn't go down for a mini-nap, so to chill we watched about 15 minutes of TV. 

4:15pm  Got ready to go to mass. 

4:30pm  Left for mass.  Visited Ate Angelina. 

5:00pm Mass - I did not allow my child's feet to touch the floor this time.  He struggled and fought, but at least this time I actually got to be a part of an entire mass, finally! 

6:00pm-ish  Got back into the car, baby boy fell asleep on our way home.  He stayed asleep when I took him out of the car and walked to the mailbox to get mail. 

Yeah... I guess I would be tired to.  Haha!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

He said "Mama"!

He did it, he did it, he finally said "Mama"!  I couldn't be more proud :)

Thursday, June 24, 2010

13 Months


Today my son is officially 13 months old.  (The picture above was taken on Father's Day 6/20/2010.)  It seems like just yesterday we celebrated his 1st birthday - where did this last month go??? 

I find that time is moving even more quickly now that he's one year old and walking - so I'm really trying to cherish our moments.  This little boy of ours is so confident and so independent.  He doesn't like to hold our hands when we walk in public - and thinks he can walk wherever he wants, and up to whomever he wants.  He's quite the ladies man... whenever he sees a baby girl, or any female for that matter, he puts on quite a smile and flirts!!!  The other day when we were at the park, he did a little dance for these two lovely grandmas that were sitting on a bench.  He's quite the entertainer! 

I've been working a lot lately, so when I realized that I would actually be home before 6pm today, I suggested that we take our son to the mall.  Best decision ever!  Baby and Daddy were adorable in their matching Lakers jerseys, and several times we were stopped by people who complimented our handsome child and wanted to know where we got his baby-sized jersey. (FYI - Orange County... they don't have any here in San Diego.)  We grabbed a quick bite to eat, walked around, bought BooBoo his new Nike Kobe Bryant sneakers (to match the jersey of course!), and let him play in the children's area where he had a blast.  Who knew that such a simple thing would turn into a really great family evening?

I thus continue to cherish these moments... and look forward to many more!