Mo-shi, Mo-shi

For those of you without kids, I am giving you another golden piece of advice. Do NOT buy expensive toys for your newborn. Heck, do not buy them any toys. Newborns like used water bottles, tupperware, paper...all stuff you have lying around the house already.

JT newest favorite toy...the telephone. He likes the mash all the buttons together. He likes to hear the busy tone when the phone is off the hook. He really gets freaked out hearing voices on the phone. For example, if Aya calls and talks on the phone while JT has the phone, he looks all around as if Aya was in the house.



This one was good timing because as I was taking the picture Aunty Shirley called!

Forgetful...

I guess about a week ago I was sitting around the house with Aya and something funny happened. I wish I could remember what it was...but I can't. I told Aya this is so good that I am going to put it on the website when I have time.

Two days later...I had the time...but forgot what was so funny. I remember laughing and tearing up...but I can't remember what was so funny. I asked Aya and she 'claims' not to remember.

Now, a week later we are BOTH trying to remember what was so funny. Oh well, I guess if I get jipped and I can't remember, then you guys don't get a good story!

10 Months...

JT is now 10 months old. A day before his 10th month, JT took a few steps. JT was standing and balancing. Aya and I were both staring thinking how long are you just going to stand there...when out of the blue he took one step, two steps, three steps, four. JT did it a few more times...where is the camera when you need one?

We went to visit Uncle Roger, Aunty Shirley and Jessica. JT was a little tired from being off schedule and we didn't even get a chance to take pictures with everyone. Aunty Shirley did bring out a bubble maker that JT loved.

San Francisco - Part III

Aya and I started our San Francisco trip having dinner with Sascha and Melissa in fishermans wharf. After dinner we headed out to Ghirardelli for some ice cream.



I knew Aya would ask me what I did in San Francisco while she was working. So instead of telling her my story, I thought I would take pictures.

Of course this is the real reason Aya brought me along. She needed someone to carry her baggage on the ghetto-ass BART, make dinner arrangements with the locals and then shine her shoes.



Started the day by catching the cable car to check out Alcatraz. I should have bought tickets online the week before. Sascha gave me the website, but I declined because I figured it is a Monday...after summer...how many people actually want to go??

So I get to Fishermans Wharf at 9:05 am...and all the boats are sold out until 2:30 pm! Doh!! So this is me, waiting for stores to open, watching sea lions. (Actually it just reminded me of Aya...so I took the picture)



I did find something that was open at 9:30....clam chowder, baby!



What follows up clam chowder in the morning?? Yeah, I couldn't think of anything either, so I went back to Ghirardelli's for more ice cream. I was the first customer at 10:15 am.



As you can guess, I wasn't feeling so hot after the clam chowder and ice cream. I thought I would walk it off a bit. I found a boat cruise around the harbor for $10 bucks...so I took it. First stop...the Golden Gate bridge.



Next stop, Alcatraz. Dammit, the weather was so nice, it would have been a good day to take the tour. Stoopid tourists on buses...taking all the morning tickets. Grrr.

Back on the cable car to Union Square and I can't pass up a trip to Blondies.

Hmmm, clam chowder, ice cream, pizza....all dairy products. Dairy + Miles = upset stomach. I had to go back to the hotel to get some rest. It is a tough day sight seeing. Too much walking in San Francisco too. My poor feeties were TIRED.

Nevertheless, I sucked it up for more dinner. Back to Fishermans Village for more clam chowder, ribs and some bread!

So, that was my day in San Francisco. The end.

San Francisco - Part II

Ha-ha! I lied...no pictures in this update. Work was super busy so I will have to upload pictures tomorrow when I don't home so late.

I wake up Monday morning in San Francisco and I feel great! Super rested and ready to go. Aya on the other hand is bleary eyed and tired. I ask Aya why she looks so tired. Apparently, I had snored all night long and it was loud. Normally, I snore for a bit when I am super tired but Aya nudges me a little and I wake up. Nope, not this time.

Aya even covered my mouth until the snoring stopped and until she thought I stopped breathing. Nice, huh. Once she uncovered my mouth...I would breathe and then snore again. I guess this went on for hours.

All I can say, is that for the first time in 15 months I was able to sleep in peace and quiet. About the 6 month pregnancy mark, Aya would move around in bed or get up a lot. After JT was born, I sleep with one eye/ear open so I always listen for him...just in case. Since I was in San Fran, with no baby and no worries...I was able to sleep like a baby!

It wasn't so refreshing to know that Aya was depriving me of oxygen when I was sleeping.

San Francisco - Part I

Aya and I went up to San Francisco Sunday. A short trip...Sunday thru Tuesday night. We left JT with my parents.

Aya went for work and since I worked last weekend I took some comp days and followed up my working wife to be her trophy husband!! The weather was great in San Francisco. We met up with Sascha and Melissa for dinner on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday I was on my own during the day (that is part II of the story).

With the new carry on policy of no liquids and gels, Aya and I packed a bag. Instead of packing a nice little bag, I took a big ass bag and packed it with lots of stuff. I figure if I have to check a bag, I might as well make it worth my while.

We fly into Oakland....where Aya tells me we are taking the BART. Hmm, never took the BART, but I am for it. Umm, no. So, I have big old bag. I have to take the bus from the airport to the BART station. Take the suitcase on the BART. Walk from the BART station in Union Sqaure to the hotel, which is 5-6 blocks away...up hill. Of course, it is no problem to Aya...I am the one pulling the suitcase.

Let me also say, Oakland is ghetto. The BART is ghetto. Actually, the BART wasn't so bad. The idea of taking the BART when the company pays for taxis...is stoopid. Yes, we took a taxi from Union Square to Oakland when we left!

It's funny, because I hate walking. Yet in every city we travel too for work....I walk. If I wasn't walking I was on the BART or the cable car. Now, in San Fran, I can see the need for an IPOD. I took my IPOD everywhere....it was great. I have no idea why people need an IPOD in LA. Unless you are the gym, it serves zero purpose for people with regular 9-5 jobs. Actually, that isn't true. I take my IPOD to work when I don't want to be social...but then work it totally cubicle land.

It was fun just being away from JT. Sounds mean, but it was nice to enjoy long dinner, drinks, friends without worrying about JT and getting back to him. Although, JT did crawl to me when Aya and I went to pick him up. What can I say? I am the greatest!!

Pictures to come tomorrow when I upload them.

Mini me...

I dunno why I think this picture is funny. It looks like I photo shopped my head in the picture, but it was me taking a picture of me and JT.

JT looks bewildered at my big head!

Amuse myself...

What do you do when your son falls asleep while eating? I put cheerio's on his nose! Hilarious. I crack myself up.

So what happens when you get ambitious and try to put star-like cheerios on your sons eyes to match the regular cheerio on his nose?

You get a woken up son who is cranky and mad. Oh well. It was worth a shot.

Long week....

It was definately one long week. We were upgrading systems at work over the weekend, new software and new hardware for our data warehouse. The project was really well planned out but no project and 'go live' date is without any problems. Naturally, one database has performance issues and the other database was wiped out and then refreshed but incorrectly. That just added to our problems before our upgrade. What did that mean for me? Just meant I couldn't go home at 5 like usual and I had to work longer.

The longer hours and working all day Saturday just made me tired. I was actually a dead beat dad the past few days. I hardly saw JT from Wednesday thru Saturday. On Sunday, I just wanted to lounge, rest and veg while watching football. I hardly had the energy to watch JT. Aya did almost everything this weekend as I just laid around like a big fat blob.

Now it is back to work tomorrow and I hardly feel like I had any down time at all. Life is already hard enough...throw kids into the mix and life is harder without sleep.

Jerseys....

A few years ago I started buying baseball jerseys for players that I really liked watching. The criteria I had was they had to be an established big league player that I would want my kid to watch play.

So I started with Cal Ripken....Greg Madduz.....Ichiro....Barry Bonds....Roger Clemens...WBC Japan Ichiro....Pedro Martinez. I realized that a lot of my jerseys are future hall of fame players....with the exception of Clemens. I noticed that I would buy the team jersey that I think the player will enter the hall of fame with.

I realized that as much of a Dodger fan that I am, there are no real Dodgers that I like that much. The only Dodger I really liked as a kid was Steve Garvey. Since then, I have liked a lot of Dodgers but none that I really wanted to see all the time. I was thinking about getting an Orel Herisher jersey. As much as I liked him, I always that he was a nerd. He was kinda like a moped. (Something you like to ride, but hope no one sees you riding it).

So, any Dodgers you like to watch??

In addition, I want an ARod jersey, but he is too good looking and I don't want people to think I am gay. I also am not sure if he will enter that hall of fame as a Yankee, Ranger or Mariner. These are my wardrobe dilemmas.

Labor Day....

A nice Labor Day weekend for us. Brentt moved back into the neighborhood, so I dropped by to say hello. We had lunch with Jeff and Melanie. JT peed on Aya. We took JT to the pool. Aya went to visit her family. JT dominated mommy and me class again, terrorizing 4 hapless victims this week. All in all a very nice weekend. Just what I needed before I start my 11 day work week. Sucks going to work after a holiday knowing that I have to work the next weekend.

That's my boy!!! JT with oranges?



Is this how to grab them?



Anything more than a handful is waste.


I love orange melons!!

ur-ine trouble...

I think the highlight of labor day weekend just happened. Aya and I were getting all set up to give JT a bath. JT is getting so mobile that we change his clothes in his room and carry him nekkid into the master bathroom. Normally we just have JT stand outside the tub, while we fill his tub up with water. This has been a slight problem because as he waits and hears/sees the tub filling up he takes a leak.

We thought we solved that problem by putting him into the tub while his little tub fills up. Of course JT never pees when we are prepared. Well tonight, I was just about done filling the tub and Aya was carrying JT...with JT facing Aya....and you got it. He took a wiz. JT pissed on mommy. Aya was freaking out, saying, "What should I do?" I said just hold him there. Might as well let him finish instead of spraying it around the bathroom.

Classic. Aya, carrying and hugging JT while he takes a piss on her. I love it.

9 Months...

JT went in for his 9 month checkup. All is well. JT is now 28.5 inches tall and 21.1 lbs. He is in the 55%-tile. I think it was 50%-tile but the doctor probably wanted to make us feel good and changed his answer from 50% to 55%.


Aya and I have moved onto sleep training method #2. We were using the Ferber method where we let JT cry, go soothe him but not pick him up. Aya and I lost that battle. Aya and I were pooped and had to take naps and we were still tired.

Now, we just let him cry. Lemmie tell you, it was one of the best nights sleep. I still heard him cry, but mentally I knew not to get him, so I just tuned him out and kept on sleeping. It was fabulous!

Lucy's bday...

Went to my cousin Tom's house to celebrate Lucy's 6th bday. (l:r Maggie, Lucy, Harrison, JT)


Tom had JT's jucuzzi all ready and reserved.

I might have retired from the indoor basketball game, but I am the current reigning and undisputed backyard swimming pool Valencia H-O-R-S-E champion!!!

Did you know that you can make bread from zucinni...aka zucinni bread? Angela made some zucinni bread at the bday party and it was super yummy. Who knew a vegitable would make for good bread??

The Aquarium...

Since it was vacation week, I thought it would be nice to take a family outting to the Long Beach Aquarium. I always wanted to go, but figured I would go when I had a kid...since I have a kid there were no more excuses. JT also likes looking at fishies. Grandpa takes JT to the pond in the backyard to look at Grandpa's fish every day but the fish aren't this big:


Aya showing JT the seal:



JT wanted to touch the rays but we were afraid he would grab and squeeze the ray:



Me and JT clowning around the sharks jaw:

Speaking of sharks, I bought JT a little rubber shark from the gift shop. When we came home and took a bath I put the shark in JTs tub. JT was kind of staring at the shark wondering what it was....normally he has a bright yellow ducky. Well, I grabbed the shark and the sharks mouth is open...JT is in the tub....so naturally I make the shark bite JT's pecker. That was a mistake. JT didn't like it at all.

I figured JT was cranky so the next day I put the shark in the tub. This time JT knew right away what the shark was and started crying again. So the shark is no longer a bath toy for JT. Ooops. My bad.