13 months old-4th of July!

This was Joaquin's second 4th of July...that sounds weird that he has a 2nd of anything! Last year, he was one month old when we took him to see some fireworks. I spent most of the time changing his diaper in a mail station. This year, we did a big fireworks show the weekend before and he did well with it...he was walking around when the first one went off and I picked him up right away. I asked, "Are you ok?" and he did a very slow head nod with his eyes as big as saucers. The actual 4th, we were with Gid's family who does their own little show in the street. That was a bit much for him...too loud and we spent half of it inside. He did eventually warm up to it and watched the rest from the safety of his carrier.

The first month of his second year has been a big one. He has grown 2.5 inches, lost about 5 lbs., and cut 3 new teeth. He is a walking machine now...doing laps around our living room/kitchen all night when we watch TV. He answers regularly now with head nods yes and no. His favorite new thing is to answer the question, "What does a doggy say?"..."Woof, woof..." And now when the doggies bark, he says woof, woof. We're working on "Moo" now. He's got high fives and clapping down...everything gets applause now!

Two of my favorite things from the past month: the first happened when I left the room for a moment. When I came back, he was in the doorway with a book asking me to read it...he had gotten up, chosen a book, and went to go find me! My other favorite thing is the talking and motioning in his sleep. He's always laughed, but now he starts practicing 'Pick It' (like in patty cake) and clapping his hands about 30 min-1 hour before he wakes up.

Superdad!

Gideon is a great dad. This father's day was his '2nd' father's day, but it was really the first that we've celebrated. Last year, Joaquin was less than 2 weeks old when father's day rolled around...we weren't even bringing him out of the house yet. Gid ended up doing sprinkler work that day. I even had this bib that said something like "I love my daddy" ...and I forgot I had it and it didn't end up on Joaquin the day of.

This year, Gideon made my first mother's day so wonderful. He woke up early in the morning and got all the fixins for my favorite breakfast. In the afternoon, we had a gourmet picnic that he prepared and then went to Huntington Gardens. My mom had fixed up the backyard as well and Joaquin gave me a flower from the garden. It was such a lovely day and I wanted to make sure Gid had a day like that as well.

So on Sunday, Joaquin and I gave Gideon a book about Daddy's tools and some fancy shaving things. Joaquin gave daddy the book just like he gave me the flower, it was very sweet. Then we went to the grocery store and got all the fixins for a gourmet lunch picnic and a steak and lobster dinner. We headed to the Skirball then for their comic book exhibition. Nap time ran a little late, so we never got to the picnic, but the exhibition was quite fun and we had the unexpected bonus of hitting the Noah's Ark exhibition...artist sculptures using recycled materials to depict the ark plus interactive kid's parts galore. So well done! Joaquin liked driving the bat mobile and then had a ball in the ark...we will definitely be back! We went home for an early dinner and toast to Joaquin's superdad.

Here's one of my favorite stories from the day and it illustrates what a 'dad' Gid has become...the day before was a little rough. I wasn't feeling well and Joaquin had a little anxiety attack coming back from Bakersfield. That means that the morning of Father's Day, after he got his presents, dad had to clean the poo out of the bathtub and the vomit from the car. Then our blender broke and Gid found a way to blend anyway so we could have our smoothies because, as he said, "That's what I do. I fix things." Got to love a dad that fixes things. Isn't that what daddies should do? I love you babe...you are a great father and Joaquin and I are lucky to have you!

Goodbye my little fat feet...

Joaquin decided it was time to walk yesterday. He was playing (seated) in the doorway between the living room (where my mom was) and kitchen (where I was). My mom said something and he decided to go see her, so he stood up and walked over. He got such a big reaction that when we sat him down to play again, he stood up and walked to me.

This morning was the same...walking all over by himself. So like I mentioned below, that's it...he's decided he can walk, so now he will. I am already in mourning for his chunky little baby feet.

Joaquin at 1

What can I say about my beautiful baby boy at 1 year old? So many wonderful things have happened this year it feels overwhelming to write a 1 year old post. He is such a joy...we hear over and over again that he is one of the happiest babies the person has ever seen. And he really is...smiling and laughing all the time. He has started to throw little tantrums when we tell him no, but he has even found a way to make that into a game...now when I tell him no he will keep shaking his head no so that I say, "that's right, that's a no...good job!" and then I get my big smile.

He's started to high five and is still talking up a storm. He feeds himself with a fork. He seems to cycle through favorite things to say (meaning he'll say something for a long time, drop it, and start on something new) and his things to say right now are "Did you see?" and "Are you sure?" He loves the water...likes to drink out of the hose, play in Bailey's bowl, the toilet, and our fountains, and ran right into the ocean for his 1 year photo session.

He is not walking for long distances by himself yet and that is a big surprise for us. Since he was 3 months old he has tried to walk and we thought for sure he would be early. He is very...how to describe it?...almost analytical about things though and he wants to make sure he can do something well before he does it. So he can walk...we've all seen it...but I don't think he wants to go through the process of walking and falling over and over. And so he waits. He goes as long as he can go steady and then asks for a hand.

So I guess you can't predict things for your children, right? And I'm not sure I want to. We were so critical of bed-sharing before we were parents and now we love it. I am proud that as new parents this year we have followed our hearts and done what is best for our family even in the face of our naysayers (one year of cloth diapering and exclusive breastfeeding!). Having Joaquin around has changed us and I love the changes. I can't speak for Gideon, but I think for me, Joaquin has made me a gentler, nicer version of myself. I see things through rosier glasses, I am more forgiving to strangers and friends, and have a renewed appreciation for family.

What a wonderful gift he has been to us...happy birthday baby boy.

First birthday party

Joaquin's first party was at our house and started at 5 pm. We had family and friends who have hung out with Joaquin this year...about 25 people. We brought in sandwiches and fries from one of our favorite little independent places in town (BJ's Mediterranean Cafe). Ice cream cake and a chocolate cake that mommy made. The food was delicious if not over-ordered...we have bags of fries in our fridge!

My favorite story from the night comes when we were sang Happy Birthday and had Joaquin blow out his candle. He kept reaching for the candle and I kept telling him no. When we finished singing I told him he could dive into his cake now, expecting him to grab a handful like most little kids. Did he do that? Nope...grabbed the candle and went running away waving it in the air! He then proceeded to chew on it while everyone else had cake. Yum...candle wax.

Joaquin's favorite gift from the party was courtesy of the Bunag family...a toy guitar that sings songs. This toy is now getting a run for its money though from Tita Leslie and Uncle David's cool pop-up books.

And in true Joaquin fashion, he stayed up as long as we had guests...until about midnight. I kept trying to get him to go to sleep inside and then he would hear a laugh outside and want to go out. So we did. And Joaquin drank beer and laughed with everyone by the fire pit until midnight.

Joaquin's first birthday

Joaquin turned one Friday. May had been a hectic month as we tried to get our construction site of a backyard ready for a Saturday birthday party. We were still working on Friday, partially because the weather has been so unusual lately...thunderstorms and lightening slowed our progress in the days before Joaquin's birthday. Joaquin slept in a little on his birthday and woke up in good spirits. We had cheerios for breakfast and then went to Sam's Club to get some stuff for the party. We stopped at Fish Market for lunch. Then, Lola Elle came over to help and brought bubbles and a xylophone...both a big hit! Joaquin helped clean up the yard as well and, as you can see, definitely needed a bath after helping. After a nap and dinner of sausages and mashed potatoes, we took his 12 month picture...which is getting to be more and more difficult as Joaquin is very interested in the sign. Everyone was exhausted after working so hard all day and we went to bed for tomorrow's party.

11 months old

Joaquin turned 11 months old on Cinco de Mayo this year...his last 'month' birthday before the big one. In months past, I had always said "Oh, he's 9 and a half months" or something like that. This past month, even the day before his 11 month birthday I said, "He's 10 months." What happened to my little baby?

For his 11 month birthday, he was on a plane to Florida, just like his 2 month birthday. We visited my dad's side with Joaquin's great grandparents. It's been a pretty hectic time around our house and it was blissful not to have anything at all to do. Really...about all there is to do there is ride your bike and go to the beach and it was wonderful. I had very fond de ja vu memories of when my mom and I lived there and it was just her and I riding bikes and going to the beach. Joaquin rode in the basket on the back of the 3 wheeler and we went to the beach twice. In the Philippines, he didn't like the ocean but liked the sand. This time it was opposite...loved the ocean, but not the sand.

He is walking with one hand all the time now. When we went to Florida he would just walk all over that house the entire time we were inside. Every once in awhile he'd walk to the door and bang on it. If we didn't go outside, he'd go inside and try and take someone's hand and guide them to the door to bang on it again.

He has also started to point at things...all the time. He points at everything and everyone. And the crawling thing is pretty funny. He still hates it, but he'll do it to get something he wants. Normally though, he'll tuck his left hip under and skoot along with his right leg.

I've noticed that he's getting smaller, but everyone laughs when I say that because he is still such a chunky monkey. We are definitely into it when he starts cruising though...he is into everything!