On Staycation

The three weeks I was off from work flew by like—poof! 

While I'm anxious about resuming work tomorrow, I tricked my brain into daydreaming only happy thoughts, like ~

Lay still in bed until ten am-ish.  

Hugs and kisses at bedtime. My kid is the best hug-ger and kiss-er!

Little Geb counting his fingers while we pretend to be asleep. 

ABC bores him to tears by now. Could it get more challenging? 

His take on numbers one-to-twennny.  

Not to forget, sannnah for seven. And, sannnah-teen for seventeen.  

At least the kid is consistent. Ha!  

One, two, three, four, five, six—nice and clear, and then? Sannah... bam! We're tickled pink.

My last day on staycation, in photos.

I followed little Geb around the house as he strut his trusty backpack and favorite hat.  We do limit his Ipad usage, in case you wonder.  Ipad or any gadget glues him to his seat, lets him stay still-- a perfect opportunity to pull out my camera and shoot. 

Kiddo-graphy

Photographing kids can be a daunting task. They run around. They're squirmy and fast! Case in point: the defunct Project 365 photoblog last year. The blog was a major flop, as I couldn't keep up with a curious toddler fascinated by gadgets. Geb couldn't keep his hands off the camera! He loves viewing himself in a video, and yet it's so hard to put him in it.

It also proved difficult to always have a camera with me. I whimper at the sight of a bulky diaper bag. To carry another gear? No, thanks.

But on some days, I get lucky. Like, now ~

Baby Jimmae Andrea ♥

She has arrived!

Oh, the long wait parents Ria and Adonis had to endure!  For one, it was a difficult pregnancy.  Ria had gestational diabetes.  Not fun!  So, tiny pea has to come out earlier than her due date.  But, like all little angels the heaven blessed every parent-- it's totally worth the long, and sometimes stressful wait!

Introducing, Jimmae Andrea.

Every ounce of her is delicate, precious and sweet. 

Welcome, baby love!

Sweet Dreams

Don't you love watching your toddler sleep?  I used to take awful lot photos of Geb when he's asleep.  Well, child or not, the unguarded facial expression of someone in deep slumber is priceless! You should see Brian conked off in bed after a tiring day. Ha!

So, this here is the best view I have tonight. 

Night Clouds

The little family went out with friends to see a movie.  Something we hardly do, but so glad we did.  The flick was real good, I cried.  Laughed.  And laughed some more. 

Just like the feel-good movie, the sky was extra beautiful tonight.  I die.

My child's humming a familiar tune by my side as I type away this post.  Ity-bity-piduh..laalalala.  Oh my, the cutest version!  Have I ever mentioned his number counting has  now progressed up to twenty?  He says TWENNY exactly.  Carefully dropping "t".  Reminds me so much of my call center job, when we'd desperately tweak our tongues to speak strictly American english.  Back to my child, he's looking straight up to our bedroom ceiling counting stars.  Our trusty night light render them in blue, green and orange.  The best thing I got since the good ol' nail clipper.  I should go now, catch up with the star gazing.  He had them in four sets of twennys so far.  Goodnight!

Water Park

We found a gem nearby!

A water park barely fifteen minutes from home?  Nothing short of awesome!  The place is perfect in size.  The changing area is clean, I've never felt that comfortable anywhere else.  I felt that the place is safe too, for small kids.  It didn't had all the fun view like Six Flags but, if your mission for the day is only to soak in pool waters, and some playtime on the side-- then, this park is all good.  It's also situated right behind Baker's Park, where we frequent on weekends.  So, you can just basically walk the kids there after a nice swim.  I saw a small lake past the area when we drove home.  Definitely worth a visit in the coming days.  We are going back!

Funny photo of Geb devouring a plum-- his fave fruit lately.  My kid is craaaaazy about cars and trucks.  He got a bunch of them in every corner of the house, and in all odd places like bathroom.  Eeek.  He does a lot of vrooom anywhere he please, even letting those little wheels cruise on an arm, on a face!  A human face as an imaginary road.  Crazy, right?  Glad we have friends who feed his delight.  Recently,  Ninang Rose gave him a full bag of cars and books! Thank you Ninang and kids.  That was really sweet, Geb could kiss you all right now!

We are savoring the first few weeks of summer. We're getting a lot of sunshine but, doesn't feel that warm yet.  Just perfect.

 

Summer Magic

I almost never get excited about summer, until that trip to Virginia Beach last month.  It was certified-fun I'd probably commit to love the warm season hereon.

Our toddler is now getaway-friendly.  That is, he's become amazing at long trips.  Could get fussy still, but manageable.  He also worships the sun, beach and sand -- a major plus, I tell you.

To Brian's delight surprise,  I announced a trip to Delaware under the wire.  If you must know, I'm the goddess of the so-called eleventh hour.  My decisions in life, if not all, are mostly done in the nick of time.  And oh, my destiny of choice in Delaware, by the way, is a 4-long-hour trip! Hee. 

So, we hastily put together a picnic, packed beach wears, scooped a sleeping toddler out of bed, and off we drove to a happy place called --

Bethany Beach.

 

My heart swells at how lovely the place was. We're back at Frederick now. Our bodies aching, skin burning. We sure brought a tan home (about three shades darker); and blueberry preserves, and sweet corn.