happy half birthday micah

my micah kalel is now 2 and a half years old! such a big boy. he chose to make cookies instead of a cake to celebrate. we gave him a practical gift for his half birthday... a potty. he was excited to open up his froggy potty, he wanted to take it in every room that he went. and then he just wanted to sit on it like a regular chair. before bed, we put the potty in its "home" in the bathroom and i asked him if he wanted to try peeing in his potty. he said, "yup." so he sat and watched himself pee. i think malia was the most excited for him. then he sat there and started to poop too. he was very proud of himself. and so, potty training has begun. i won't be that strict yet and transition to underwear because he still asks for milk occasionally at night. plus i'm not ready for that. once the underwear is on, there's no turning back. maybe in a couple of months. i'm just glad he's interested and likes his potty.

legoland for spring break

m&m are on spring break and have been wanting to go back to legoland. plus, it was probably our last time to go for free for a while, so might as well take advantage of it. micah just loves the sealife aquarium. malia, roel and i were ready to pass on that this time, but micah really wanted to go. so we went and he took his time touching the little creatures. malia's favorite ride for the day was driving the lego boats, although she would get nervous and make me steer. the kids love explore village and wanted to spend the most time there. and no day at legoland is complete without barbeque, apple fries, and ice cream (not all at once though). see you next time legoland!

weekend in julian

last weekend, we went to julian to celebrate my auntie nene and uncle bobby's 50th wedding anniversary. what a momentous occasion! they are relatives on my dad's side and they've been a part of my life for as long as i can remember. i adore their whole family.

m&m were excited to go for the short getaway, but they don't like long drives, just like me. micah was the first one asking, "are we there yet?" when he got tired of looking at the rocks and trees, he fell asleep. it was super cold and windy in julian, but still fun. we stayed at the Julian Lodge, our first stay at a bed & breakfast.

this is the response i got when i asked them to pose for

pictures. can you tell micah doesn't like to take pictures?

the mass was at St Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church given by Father Moraga. and the reception was at the Julian Grille. everything was just beautiful. here are some highlights:

on sunday before we left, we all stopped to get some apple pie. they had other yummy goodies there. malia chose a cinnamon roll and micah chose an apple donut.

micah didn't want to stand under the sign to take a picture. so we told

him there was a bug on the sign. it was the only way to get him under it.

dr seuss week

a few things from dr seuss week at micah's school. loved the green feet. the hat didn't really fit his head, so funny.

green eggs and spam

the kids have been reading dr seuss books at school since last week in honor of dr seuss' recent birthday. so when malia asked for spam on the way home yesterday, i made a joke about green eggs and spam. they thought it was a great idea. so that's what we had for dinner. i thought it was kinda gross looking. micah didn't even touch the eggs. but malia loved it, just like that sam i am.

malia's first award

consider that my official bumper sticker. i don't think they hand out bumper stickers for student of the month anymore. when we got the notice last week that malia would be receiving an award today, we were kind of in shock. we know that malia is bright, but she has a strong personality, and only does things that she wants to do. and people aren't surprised when i tell them that she often gets in trouble for talking too much in class. one time when i was reminding her to be good in class, her response was, "but it's so hard." i wanted to laugh. she's quite a character, and quite a handful. roel and i were proud to be at that assembly. we hope it's the first of many awards.

a&c on a rainy day

now that malia is beyond preschool art, we can do all kinds of arts & crafts together. but we usually have to wait until micah is sleeping because he sticks to me like static cling or wants to touch everything that he's not supposed to. so during his nap today, malia and i did some a&c, perfect for a rainy day. we did DIY shrinky dinks, which we'll have to do more of when i get more plastic take-out boxes because it was fun. then i remembered i had some felt flower kits i bought a while ago. sometimes i forget how old she is and that she can read the directions and do it all on her own, glue and all. she made a felt flower clip and a ring. they turned out really nice.

ouch report

when i picked up micah today, he was at the table eating snacks with his friends. he was talking and laughing with them. then his teacher approached me after she was finished attending to another child. she brought me an ouch report. apparently another kid bit micah's arm in the morning. she said it happened out of nowhere, they were playing and all of a sudden micah was screaming. so i pulled back his sleeve and saw the red marks on his arm which were of both top and bottom teeth of the other kid. my poor boy! of course the teachers wouldn't say the name of the kid who did it, but the kids at the table all said, "michael did it." it's preschool, it happens. i understand that, but my poor boy. last week he had wood chips accidentally thrown in his eyes! roel was upset, but i reminded him how much malia got hurt in preschool. if i had an ouch report for every time malia got hurt in preschool, i'd have a book. micah said he was fine. and of course we had the talk that biting is a no-no and instructed him to tell his friends that biting is a no-no.

thank goodness all of the injuries m&m get are minor. but please, no more ouch reports...at least for a while.

lia's baptism birthday

happy baptism birthday to my baby girl malia! it also happens to be our wedding anniversary. yes, i planned it that way. i wanted her baptism to be on a very special day. she's always happy to celebrate more birthdays.

lent has begun

m&m were excited to get their ashes. micah got upset when i wiped his off before giving him a bath. "that's mine," he said. i hear that a lot.