I Want to Remember this Summer's Getty Trips

When I look back later at these days with you as a toddler and us as newish parents...

I want to remember our two trips to the Getty this summer to check out their Garden Concerts.  

I want to remember that these days you're all about your cereal snacks.  I want to remember that they kept you plenty occupied while we waited in line to ride the 'train' up the hill to the Getty. 

I want to remember that you love to be 'kawa' aka carried and will ask for this pretty frequently.  

I want to remember the awesome bands that we saw.  I want to remember how much energy they had.

I want to remember how many people were there before us and how that was okay because we went straight to the foot of the stage because we wanted to dance!

I want to remember how it takes you a little while to warm up to new surroundings.  I want to remember the look on your face while you take it all in - how focused you look.  I want to remember how much I love that look because I love to see you thinking.  

I want to remember that after you warm up, you're a different boy - one without inhibitions.  

I want to remember that you always ask to take off your own shoes when you see another boy or girl walking around barefoot.  I want to remember how excited you get when this happens.  I want to remember that you asked me to take off my shoes when you saw another mommy without theirs.  

I want to remember how you danced and danced and danced and danced.  I want to remember how much you love music and how much you love to dance. 

I want to remember how happy I felt to see you having so much fun.  I want to remember how happy I felt to know that you were comfortable enough to dance with other kids you didn't know.  

I want to remember how happy I felt that you were having this experience.  

I want to remember the atmosphere - the perfect weather, the great music, the energetic bands, the other cute kids running around, the lovely blankets that the Getty provided for everyone to sit on, the green grass that felt cool to sit on...

I want to remember our picnic dinner after the concert on our second visit.  I want to remember how much you love fruit and bread and carbs and how I have to remind you to eat the rest of your meals. 

I want to remember how you gravitate towards other people having fun.  I want to remember you following other kids around because you heard them laughing.  I want to remember you running up and down the hill and touching this wall because that's what other kids were doing. 

I want to remember you deciding to roll down the hill because you saw other kids doing it.  I want to remember how much I loved that you did that.

I want to remember that I love watching you observe and that I often wonder what you're thinking about. 

I want to remember that we made these masks at the Getty after the concert.  I want to remember that you look at them often at home and say "Chase made this one. Mommy made this one." I want to remember how proud I am every time I hear you say this.  

I want to remember how much I love you and how much joy you bring me and your dad. I love you, Chase! 

I'm a believer

Ever since I was pregnant with Chase I've read a lot of parenting books, blogs,e-mail feeds and magazine articles. One piece of advice I come across often is to talk to your baby even when you don't think they can understand what you are saying. This is something I've tried to do with Chase ever since he was born. I narrated most of the things I was doing with him. "Let's take a bath. Mom is turning on the water now. The water is too cold. Let's add some hot water so we can warm it up." What's neat now is that he's talking more and more and it's through this new found chatter that he's confirming that he's been listening this whole time.

I've gone to the drive through ATM 3 times with Chase. Each time I've gone, I've told him that we're going to the ATM, that I'm going to put my card in, push some buttons and take out some money. He also 'helps' me at the supermarket and at the store by swiping my debit card each time we pay. There's a point to this, I promise. ;)

One day, after going to the supermarket I set up a pretend grocery store in our living room. When I found him swiping our old Mervyn's card on the calculator, I asked him what he was doing and he responded 'ATM.'

Yes, I know that the card reader at the check out is not an ATM. Well, not a standard ATM at least. But what I love are the connections he made. I've never called the card reader an ATM, but he connected the label to something you use to swipe your card and that was certainly what we were doing at the grocery store. In his mind, they must be the same thing and, therefore, the contraption at the grocery store was an ATM.

Yes, I wrote this post partly as a gushing mom proud of her little guy's accomplishment. But, I also wrote this as someone who, as a mom, now has a deeper appreciation for how powerful a little one's mind can be. I'm finding myself stunned each day at how much learning is happening in there. I'm a believer of just how much listening has been happening this whole time. I'm a believer that although he hasn't always been able to reciprocate through dialogue, that he did in fact understand what I was saying. That he was making connections. That he was storing all of this information to use for when he was able to talk. My advice to all the new mommies out there is to listen to that advice you've been reading about - talk to your beautiful babies! They really are listening and processing what you're saying. It may seem silly to talk about things they don't yet understand, but eventually they will. Eventually, they'll prove it to you and you will be THRILLED!

Weekend Recap

I am so fulfilled with what the weekend brought our little family. These days, I think of events and outings as experiences for Chase. So I love when we are able to fill our free time with wonderful things for him to enjoy. Apparently, Chase thought the weekend was pretty epic! ;) 

We kicked off the weekend with a pizza picnic for dinner on Friday. Don't you love this time of year when it's still so bright out @ 6pm? We've been trying to take advantage of the weather by spending as much time as we can outdoors.

Dinner was followed by some rock painting. We ended up taking this rock home for Chase to continue painting. We often love bringing the outdoors home with us.  Lately, Chase has been bringing home sticks and rocks that he collects during our afternoons at the park. 

Chase's rock painting inspired me to try to learn to draw, which I talked about in my last blog post. Since then, I've taken a crack at drawing some of his toys. This excited him (which excited me). He loved seeing his play things 'translated' into a drawing. I gave him a drawing of one of his toy trucks and asked him if he wanted to color it. He did. But he also wanted to make sure that his actual truck was in front of him as he colored the drawing. *sigh* This little mommy feels fulfilled. 

Our sweet friend, Zenia (that's her in the background), invited us to watch Rio.  This was Chase's first movie. He did great - 3D glasses and all. Okay, well really he kept the glasses on for a good 30 minutes. But, he sat still throughout the entire movie. I was pleasantly surprised. And I loved the movie myself. Definitely brought tears to my eyes. I'm such a sap! ;)

 

The screening of Rio was on the Fox lot, so we got a chance to roam the previous set of NYPD Blue. We had so much fun, especially Chase. I'm pretty sure he would've been perfectly content with us leaving him there for the whole week. 

We kicked off Sunday with a visit to Nothing Bundt Cakes on our way to the beach.  Eep! The White Chocolate Raspberry Bundt Cake is yUUuUUuUmmMmMmMOOoOOoO! 

We spent Sunday late afternoon/early evening @ Santa Monica. Chase had a blast. He loved the sun, the sand and the water.  Seeing him having so much fun definitely makes me and Paul want to take him back there regularly. 

I love this picture of the two of them about to splash in the water. Paul's such a good daddy and Chase just adores him. I love that! 

Scooping wet sand with Bapa (uncle) Pipoy was a hit. Although this little guy has many uncles, Pipoy is the only one he calls Bapa. It's their thing and I love that too. Bapa Pipoy is great with Chase so a special name is totally well deserved.

And as our day @ the beach was coming to a close, Ms. Lady Bug paid a visit.  Hope she brings my fave little guy a lot of luck. 

Chase cruising back to the car....while mommy, daddy and Bapa Pipoy carried a ton of stuff. What a life!  

Good bye weekend.... Til next time. :)

Northridge Farmers' Market

I love the Northridge Farmers' Market. Even before Chase was born, Paul & I made it a point to go a handful of times every year.  It's my favorite Farmer's Market.  I like its' mix of yummy food, produce stands, entertainment, kid friendly activities and nearby shopping.  There really are a lot of things to see, do and taste at the NFM, especially when you have a curious toddler with you.  Chase and I have gone 3 times so far this year (Paul will be joining us soon!).

   

What $20 will get you: 

• Toddler fun: Pony ride or Petting Zoo - we alternate week to week. $5 each. Note that there isn't a time limit for the petting zoo and the $5 includes food for the animals
• Food: Hawaiian pineapple Chicken bowl - our go to NFM meal that Chase and I share.  $5
• Drink: Thai Tea for mommy - I'm addicted!: $2
• Produce:  Small basket of strawberries - to take home. $2
• Souvenir: Book or small toy from Borders - we use our weekly coupon! $3-$6

What I bring (I tend to be an over packer):

• Stroller
• Diaper bag
• Baby wipes & hand sanitizer
• Spoon - most food places only supply forks
• Sippy Cup
• Snack
• Cash - most vendors only take cash
• Cell Phone
• Border's Coupon - via e-mail on my cell phone
• Camera

Other things to know

• When & Where: Wednesdays from 5pm - 9pm, in between Macy's and Borders @ the Northridge Fashion Center. This is @ the corner of Tampa Ave. and Plummer St.
• Restrooms: The closest restrooms are near the movie theater, past Borders and tucked on the side of the mall, just past H&M. Note that Borders closes their restrooms during Farmers Market hours. I don't blame them!
• Nearby: Macy's, Borders, H&M, CPK
• Seating: It's definitely hard to come by. If you can come early, you might be able to get a seat at one of the few tables they have set up in front of or behind the stage (this is in front of Borders).  But I have a feeling that people show up before the NFM even starts just to snag primo seating. Chase & I usually sit on the sidewalk (with a ton of other people). It's the perfect spot to people watch, listen to the music and relax.  
• Place to run around: Check out the courtyard behind Borders.  There's a fountain area with a decent amount of space to let the kiddies run around. You'll still want to keep a close watch as it is still crowded, just less crowded than the main Farmers' Market area. If you continue to walk down the alley way towards the movie theater, it gets even less crowded.

If you go, we hope you have fun.  Maybe we'll see you there. :)

snip snip

this is ray. he was getting ready to give chase his first hair cut (back in november '10).  he was laughing because he doesn't normally cut kids' hair. he doesn't normally cut hair in general for that matter.  this probably makes you wonder why in the world we would ask him to do this. after all, it involves sharp scissors, a certain wiggly toddler and his hair.  

aside from waiting until chase turned 1, we also wanted his hair to be cut by someone with qualities that we want chase to emulate when he gets older. a role model of sorts. it's a not so well known filipino tradition.  

here's a fun little interview so you all can get to know ray better...
me: where did you meet chase's daddy? 

ray: i met paul @ st. cecilia in the second grade. i thought he was weird because he was wearing a green cardigan with his uniform -- the cardigan was only supposed to be for the girls. 

me: hahahah...paul knew you'd say that.

me: what do you do for work? 

ray: credit investor @ an investment fund

me: where did you go to school and what did you take? 
ray: business economics @ ucla, mba @ harvard

me: in your opinion, what's the most important thing(s) in life? 
ray: friends and family
me: i couldn't agree more! 

me: what's the secret to being well rounded?
ray: always keep an open mind!

me: what advice do you have for chase when he gets older? 
ray: work hard and do what you love

me: what is one fun thing you will teach chase when he gets older? 
ray: ..how to race cars at the track (with mom's approval)!
me: yikes!  we'll have to see about that one. 

ray's awesome.  what we love most about him is just how well rounded he is.  we love that he's just as social and fun loving as he is hard working and successful.  he's as down to earth and super sweet as he is intelligent and focused. and we love that he's always smiling and/or laughing - shows just the way he approaches life. we knew immediately that we wanted him to cut chase's hair! we would be proud parents if chase were to inherit any of these qualities when he gets older. thanks for a fun night, ray!