Bong Fong Fong Birthday Love

Hongaongpongpongyong

Bongiongrongtonghongdongaongyong

(can you believe we use to write entire letters like that!!)

to the little girl I met in kindergarten who on the first day of school became my best friend forever! You don't know how badly I wanted to be with you celebrating your big

3-0. We hope you had a great time.

I love you!

Your Bong Fong Fong

Only 1 month Behind

The Phi went in for her 2 year check up yesterday. Her doctor is getting harder to get into, but we really like her. So I met up with PR Dad and The Phi at the doctors office. She still weighs 26 pounds and comes in at 35 inches tall. How can she still weigh 26 pounds, she feels like she has gained at least 10. The doctor asked the usual questions. The Phi was a total show off by pointing out circles in a book, saying "Hi Dr." and jumping. What a show off. They tested her iron levels with a small finger prick and gave her one vaccine. She was a champ. The doctor even gave is an inexpensive was to help clear up her constant diaper rash. We had tried everything from letting her 'free ball' it at home and changing her every hour, but it would not go away. The Dr. suggested using a straight 12% zinc oxide. Like the stuff you see on lifeguards noses. I found some plain zinc oxide (40%) at Walgreens for $3. It worked overnight. Nice. So the Dr. visit went well. Her iron levels were perfect and the doc said she was doing great and that she was adorable. And like after all good doctors visited I felt validated. I think it stems from my complete submission to authority. I have always feared/respected teachers, cops, doctors. And when the dr. tells me that The Phi is doing great and PR Dad and I are doing things correctly I feel like I just got a gold star on the chart of parenting. Why do I need a Dr. who sees me and my kid twice a year to validate that I am a good parent?

Grandma's Dinner

The family got together for dinner in honor of Gma Josie's big birthday.

A walking ad for The Whole Enchilada!
The clan chowing down. Naomi is the only one looking at me!

The baby of the family.

The Phi had a great time playing with her cousins. We had to leave with her kicking and screaming!

Santa Ynez Wine Tasting

Last year we went to Hawaii (something I had never done before!) This year we went wine tasting (something PR Dad had never done before). We went with the parents, the Dres, Rose and Geo Storm. We started at Sunstone Winery.
The Gals! Mom, Rose, PR Mom, and the good Dr. Dre

The Dudes, Pops, PR Dad, Dre, Geo Storm

Then headed to Buttonwood Winery.

Rose and Geo Storm at the last winery, Bridalwood.

The Dre's

Moms and Pops

Thats our PhD
All having a great time.
Rose and Geo Storm.

We tried to plan their wedding at one of the wineries but they were too obsessed with the crackers!
Dre, ready to tackle his ribs at AJ Spurs. I can't believe he ate the whole thing. He did for Flip.

Our last stop was the Firestone Brewery. As we walked up to the front doors I was greeted by a handsome man. He said hello and asked how we were doing. I told him hi and that we were doing really good. As he walked inside I realized that it was Andrew Firestone, the bachelor a few seasons ago. We did some beer tasting and then made the trek back home. It was such an awesome day. I hope that we can get together again soon and hit it some different wineries!

Game On!

We finally learned out to play beer pong. Good Times! It is not only about throwing ping pong balls, but it also involves The Robot, swatting, the tied it up dance, rinse cups and lots of laughs.

Solstice

Summer is a big deal in SB. When you live in paradise, summer is THEE best time of the year. Every year they celebrate the summer solstice with a parade. We took The Phi to this wild and crazy parade.

Hello Summer! We welcome you with open tanned arms!!

Summertime in the Big SB

In between Aunt Sam's grad and dinner, we spent the afternoon with Tia Uh-laine, Nana and Tata and The Dre's on the beach.

The Phi, with Tata and Tia Uh-laine. I am so disappointed that she is scared of the water.

Clinging to her Mom in fear.

Pr Dad rocking the pink stars.

She is afraid of the water, but loves the sand.

Aunt Sam Graduates

Tis the season of graduations. My BFF Sam graduated with her master's degree in clinical psychology. It was a nice graduation and she even gave a speech and rocked it. Her Mom and Husband threw a buffet dinner for her that evening.

The proud graduate.

This is a huge accomplishment and The PR Family is super proud of you!

Birthday Love

Happy Birthday to the coolest Great-Grandma around.

We love you Grandma Josie!

365 days

Today is our one year anniversary. It was one year ago when we had an amazing wedding day and we are back in Santa Barbara today to celebrate with family and friends. We are going wine tasting and leave The Phi with Tia Uh-laine for the afternoon. I think that PR Dad's card said it best. "If they say that the first year is the hardest, then we have nothing to worry about." So true so true. The relationship that we have is almost effortless. We genuinely love each other and want to be with each other all the time. Even after The Phi came along things have continued to run smoothly. We have developed a way to get through any disagreement or understanding. We have learned each others moods and know how to respond accordingly. But really I just adore him. He is the funniest man I know and even without trying really keeps me falling in love with him everyday. PR Dad is a beautiful and complicated man, who I cannot get enough. I hope that next year is just as filled with good times as this year was and I hope we add on to the PR Family.

"Love Song"

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am home again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am whole again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am young again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am fun again

However far away, I will always love you

However long I stay, I will always love you

Whatever words I say, I will always love you

I will always love you

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am free again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am clean again

However far away,

I will always love you

However long I stay, I will always love you

Whatever words I say,

I will always love you

I will always love you

Summer Reading

Today is Thursday and for us Thursdays are library days. And this is a super special library day because The Phi is signing up for her first summer reading program. They have a "Read-To-Me" program for pre-schoolers. I am so excited about this. When we were kids we always signed up for the library summer reading program. Every summer would have a different theme and we would track how many books we read and then at the end of the summer we would always get the end prize. I always loved when they were iron-on transfers. My Mom would iron them on to a tank and I would sport that thing with pride. I love reading. I always have. My Mom loves reading and even now that he has more time on his hands my Dad is a reader too. My sisters and I are readers and I always amaze PR Dad with how fast I can read. I read to The Phi at night before bed. We always pick enough library books to get us through the week. And lately I have found her sitting in her chair looking at books and pointing out things she recognizes. So today we will start the summer tradition of joining the summer reading program. I hope The Phi enjoys watching her name climb the chart at the library as much as I will.

Tag...I'm it!!!

So Suvii! (a fellow Mommy blogger who has an adorable little boy born on the same day as The Phi!) Has tagged me with this.....

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

So Here We Go!!

1. I collect anything and everything with La Virgen de Guadalupe on it. The more unique the better. I even have a collection of pictures of La Virgen. I have nail clippers with her on them, I have a beach towel, a blanket for our bed, candles, books, boxes, night light etc...... all with her on them. And one day when I finish my thesis I will get my tattoo of her.

2. It so super hard for me to just sit down and watch TV. Don't get me wrong , I love me some boob-tube, but I can't just sit and watch. I always have to be doing something else, knitting, reading, blogging, making lists.....

3. I TiVo the show "Reba". 2 episodes everyday. It is so cheesy but I'm totally hooked on that show. I have seen every episode at least twice. I was secretly devastated when it ended. I finally got to admit my love for "Reba" when I found out my sisters are also closet Reba lovers.

4. I am a girl and I HATE shopping for clothes.

5. I was a vegetarian for over 3 years. I had a friend in high school who was a vegetarian and he showed me a documentary about how beef is made and I went veg for a long time. It was the same friend who at a Baja Fresh 3 years later who talked me into eating chicken. Apparently I was heavily influenced by this friend!!

6. I love mowing the lawn. There is something about pushing the heavy mower over grass and the smell of it. And I always feel so productive afterwards when I have a nice mowed lawn.

7. I love music, but I listen to talk radio all day long at work.

Okay 7 people! Cari, Elaine, Chone, Dr. Patty, Mama Grouch, Gaby Jr., PR Dad (you have a blog, post something already!)

Close..... but no cigar

We were so close we were already planning the move. We had a family who were very interested in our house. We were told that they were ready to put in an offer and then after a weekend of high hopes our Father's Day was ruined when we received a call from our relator to let us know that the family was going to bid on a different house. We were crushed. We are ready to move, so ready to get out of here. We've even lowered the price by 15K! I don't know what else we can do. We don't have the money to fix up the place. This process is so hard and we are trying to keep our hopes up, but after days like this its tough.

Is There a DR. in the house??

We all gathered yesterday and our celebration was two-fold. Of course we celebrated Father's Day, but the main attraction was HUGE! My cousin Patty, The Phi's god-mother, received her Ph.D. from UCLA on Saturday and to thank her family for the love and support we had a Casino themed party. We had such a blast playing black jack and roulette.

Patty is one amazing woman. She has always been beautiful, smart and one of my best friends. When she started this long journey of higher education I knew that she would be successful at it. I knew that undergrad at UCLA would be a breeze and that grad school at Harvard would be great, even with the weather and the distance. And when she started her PhD program back at UCLA I knew that she would complete her dissertation and make us all so very proud. As a kid I remember we had a sticker collection together and she was so super organized and kept a log of all the stickers. Each were numbered and their description was kept on record. Like #176 = white unicorn jumping over a rainbow and clouds. Now with organizational skills like that a dissertation is a piece of cake! The family is so proud of her and everything she has accomplished. She is an inspiration to us all and we wish her continued success in her new career as a professor at Cal State Fullerton. We love you Dr. Patty and we are so proud of you.

Cant seem to get over it

I cant get over how much The Phi is growing everyday!!! Today she made me smile when I asked her "Where are all your crayons?" Now usually she just ignores such questions but today she walked over to a box, pointed and said "right there". And there they all were!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to PR Dad! Who is the coolest Dad around. I mean look at the goatee. Look at it. Stare at it. Doesn't it hypnotize you!

And to my Dad and brother Luis. Together the three of you are the trifecta of Father perfection!!

Independent Woman

Oii it is already freakin hot! The house was a awful 89 degrees when we came home from work! Ugh!



Yesterday The Phi was Miss Independent Woman. First, in the afternoon she disappeared. It was really quite so when I went to go check on her, she had put herself down for a nap. She even got under the covers and was hugging George! I was so shocked. Then after she was soaped down I went into the bedroom to work on some Father's Day stuff, and a few minutes later she walks into the bedroom, dripping wet. She had got out of the tub all by herself. If she could open the fridge she wouldn't need us anymore!

Totally Snubbed at the Playground

So yesterday we were at the usual park and The Phi was having her usual good time. PR Dad and I were hanging out, trying to convince her to go down the big slide and just talking like normal. You know about the weather, the house for sale, what we were going to make for dinner, normal boring married people stuff. PR Dad was noticing that most people there were either just Mom or just Dad. Then I spotted another couple with their twin girls. Since it was still the early afternoon the place was pretty empty. The little girls were about The Phi's age and I was secretly hoping they would say hi or talk to us. They never did, later on I noticed that the Mom and struck up a conversation with a different Mom. They were asking the usual questions like "how old is your daughter?" "do you live near by?" "Huggies or Luvs?" Then later I overheard them exchange phone numbers and make plans for a play date. What the!? I had to bring it up to PR Dad. Why doesn't anyone ever talk to us at the playground. Wait! A Mom talked to me once, she asked me where The Phi got her shoes. But that was it, she was in a full fledged Mommy group. So as we walked back to the XB I asked PR Dad if he thought we were unapproachable. I mean we don't yell, we don't smell bad, our kid is as cute as hell, so whats the problem. My brilliant husband thought this over and gave me the answer......

"It's the goatee"

Well at least its not me.

Warning...Lots of pictures ahead

The Phi has a Neapolitan Ghost. How trendy.

The hair has just become too unruly so we bought her a hat.

Lili = cuteness

Maybe he will be walking by Bass Lake!

At dinner for Tia Day Day's Birthday

Yummy. Zuppa Tuscana. Thats right we went to the OG

Since the twins need The Phi's crib, and she just looked soo huge in the crib we rearranged her room and put in a twin bed. The first night was hell! She was up by 4am and didnt go back to sleep until 8am.

The weather is definitely heating up out here in the desert and it was time for the plastic pool.

She mentioned baseball once so PR Dad had to buy her a glove an ball.

After a long weekend The Phi is ready for bed.

Birthday Love for Day Day

Happy Birthday Day Cari, aka Ouie, aka Day Day!!

Today my sister turns 27 years old.

Kriss Kross will make you....

PRESS PLAY...YOU KNOW YOU WANNA!

Birthday Luv

Happy Big Big Big Belated Birthday Love to My Boo!

Old-school circa: 1995

Happy Belated Birthday Boo! We love you.

This songs for you Boo....

Literally a day at the beach.

Pr Dad and his great ideas! He suggested we hit the road and spend a day at the beach. We had such a blast, even though we had to drive all the way to Newport Beach for some ocean fun!

The Phi was slathered with sunscreen and then turned lose to make sand castles with PR Dad. She got to sport one of her new swim suites, but was not too keen on the water. We took her in and she got her feet and legs wet, but was not very happy about it.

We then walked the little boardwalk and had some yummy lunch. We then walked the pier and watched the fisherman.

The Phi and PR Mom

The sun, sea and sand wore her out!

And since we were in the neighborhood we stopped by to see Sam at work. He works at the biggest Mercedes dealership in the USA! It is beautiful, complete with putting green, shoe shine service and a Starbucks in the lounge.

Then we headed out to Fashion Island for some window shopping.

Before we left the mall we put The Phi on the carousel. She had a blast. We had such a wonderful day. This area of Orange County holds special meaning for PR Dad and I. The first time we hung out together just him and I this is where we went. And now almost 4 years later we were there again at the some spots this time, happily married with our crazy kiddo along for the ride!