snippets from the little man's SIXTH birthday | around here.

We spent his sixth birthday at his most favorite place in world (at the moment): Seattle! We did everything & anything this little kiddo wanted to do. He had a lot of fun -- and so did we! We visited this beautiful place last summer and all three of us equally fell in love with it. During this visit, it was an entirely different feeling -- in a good way. To us, he just seemed more "grown up"...even til this day, he just seems older to us. Oh, how time flies! Our little baby is growing...and we are thoroughly enjoying every single of minute it!

Our friends came by to drop this off to the birthday boy. And it was such a hit!!

Nice to meet you, 36!

This is me, the day I turned 36. This is us, Joey & me, being silly on Photo Booth! LOL. Love that kid.

I have to tell you, it was bittersweet leaving my 35th year. It was a really good 35th year all the way around! But, I'm really looking forward to what this new one will bring. The first week of being 36 was pretty rough -- definitely an eye-opener that affects every aspect of my life -- but the weeks that followed turned out pretty well. A lot of reflection and retrospection going on. All good things.

My 35th year in a nutshell: really good family life, D & I focused a lot on working on us -- date nights are the best, Joey -- all time fave: making leaps & bounds developmentally, been working on "me" -- on happiness, what's important, health, relationships with relatives -- reached out to cousins who live in other countries & keeping in touch with them, girlfriends -- do I have a really good circle of friends? You betcha!, reconnection with an old bestie warms my heart... and it can go on. 

What I'm looking forward to the most is continuing the 35th year and making it better!

Cheers to turning 36!

F-I-V-E!

Five years ago this little guy was born!!

                                      

I can't imagine life without this little man. I have to say I've never met a harder-working kid in my life -- especially in the last six months. So many good things, so much progress...such a happy kid. He even told me this morning "Mama, I'm so happy". Melts my heart instantly. As you've read in the past he doesn't like the Happy Birthday song to be sung to him. This morning D & I asked if we could and he replied, "Yes, but very quietly"...and so we did.  Every birthday one of my wishes is "I hope he doesn't cry this year"...This morning, I was the teary-eyed one when we sang to him. Such a special moment for all three of us! 

Happy, Happy 5th Birthday Joey!!!

(this was taken this morning with one of his gifts)

A few of his favorite things:

1. Loves Toy Story Anything!
2. Loves to swing on the play structure!
3. Loves to color & write out the alphabets.
4. Loves freeway signs & having them printed out.
5. Still in love with garages -- residential & commercial!
6. Loves to ride his bike, walks in the neighborhood & visiting neighbors (esp the Okuda Family).
7. His favorite colors: Blue, Pink, Orange, Green & sometimes Yellow
8. Loves to sing to John Mayer, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Green Day & Train...to name a few.
9. Best Friends are Hailey, Maya & Tanner.
10. Loves Pizza, Strawberry Jam sandwiches, and dinosaur chicken nuggets with a side of bar-b-que Popchips & fresh strawberries.

HUGE birthday party coming up!!! Stay tuned!

Grandma's Visit

Grandma was here for 5 days last week in time to share in the fireworks together! What an AWESOME weekend for us all. I love the relationship these two are developing together... They had a lot of sweet moments together...and a lot of hilarious moments! One funny moment was when Grandma was pretending she was Buzz Lightyear. Seriously LOL! As you can see in the photos, it was Pajama Day all five days she was here. Yes, he did change into day clothes but the kid LOVES his dinosaur PJs! I don't blame him -- if I could stay in my PJs all day long...I would too!

    

    

    

Thanks for looking!! More to come this week... We are in the midst of getting all the preparations together for the little man's 5th birthday! Check out the invitation I made...

                                        

He is definitely looking forward to his first birthday party experience! We are definitely looking forward to it! He was very involved in the planning process -- he chose his guest-list, his three character themed party and...his one special request: "I don't want to sing the birthday song". If you know Joey -- you'll know why he doesn't like the song. He really just wants to play with all of his friends! ...Wish granted, Buddy!!!

Have a great week!! 

Finding an excuse to blog...

I'm cleaning up my iPhoto and found some scrapbook layouts that I don't think I have posted yet? ...Also, its a good reason to blog. :) A lot of emotionally turn-of-events have been happening that I just wanted to write about something uplifting. Here goes...

This is a digital layout I quickly created after Jenny & Jillian visited me back in mid-August. This is a trip that almost didn't happen...so thankful it did! It was a very good distraction for things that were happening during this time...I loved this Girls' Weekend!

This is a layout I created with the ScrapGals in San Diego. I had so much fun this evening.

I love reconnecting with old friends.

This is a 2-page layout from Joey's summer. I only documented the half-way point of the summer... D + I were trying to make the most of this week since it shared the same week of the passing of a very dear companion. I miss you fuzzies!

My birthday this year has been 'different' compared to most birthdays. D + I are celebrating it 12 days later, which is tomorrow. :) The photo below is one of the gifts I received. I haven't used any of it yet...I just LOVE looking at it! Instantly warms my heart and puts a smile on my face.

Uplifting indeed!

Turning 4.

Guess who turned 4?

I cannot believe how fast time goes by. This little guy has developed quite the personality over the past few weeks. Really, this isn't the same little guy we knew only a few months ago. He is full of chatter...he even has some humor, he's definitely a comedian. The kid doesn't know what "comfortable silence" means. There isn't a dull moment. He is known at his preschool for having "one-liners" or the kid who will have his own talk show. He is 'too cool for words' to even describe what he says and how he says it. If you haven't met him, you need to...it's the only way to know what exactly I'm talking about. This is the Thank You card I made. I love this photo of him!

We started his birthday by waking up to presents. Then, he had a little party at his preschool. And his special request to not sing the birthday song was granted. Afterwards, we headed to the Disney store and picked out a Cars (movie themed) toy... Went home, took a nap...then off to Chuck E. Cheese; his pick -- he's never been, he's only seen the TV commercials with a surprise visit from his grandparents!

He had an awesome day...In his words, "Mama, I'm so happy". Very cool!

This face...

I was teasing him how I was going to get his "teddy bear" and he gave me this face...Really, I was trying to make him smile for the camera...Not so much...I got this face instead. I'll take it!!

TGIF! Today's a good day! Joey's been on a waiting list since April to attend a special day preschool in Santa Clara. We got the call on Wednesday and we had to make a decision by this morning. We didn't anticipate a phone call until well after July or at least by mid-August...but this will follow nicely after he turns 3 years-old next month -- yes, THREE and I still have the baby fat on me (but that's another day)...which is at the same time his current program will end. This whole process with his IEP (Individualized Educational Plan)-transitioning him from his early intervention program-transferring all of the paperwork to the school district-having more assessments/evaluations (before the school year ends)-being on waiting lists- and then, deciding what special day school he would attend and what he qualifies for...can be very confusing and exhausting.  But today, for now, is rewarding. Crossing our fingers this program will be right for him. Lots of milestones next month: Last day of school, his 3rd birthday, our very first family vacation, and the beginning of his pre-school years!...and, yes, Mama finally gets a little of her life back.  His current school includes parent involvement -- yes, I attend class (and therapy sessions) with him -- at first I questioned it but after being in school with him for 11 months now, I get it. The therapists have taught me to better understand Joey's challenges as well as his diagnosis...I'm a better person/parent because of them and because of Joey. So...yes, I get a little time for myself which is really foreign to me. It has definitely been awhile. I do know I will be very sad to see him detached from me. Seriously, I call him my "accessory"...he's like my wallet! I'm sure I will be on an emotional roller-coaster that week! But for now...it's nice to know we got that call!!

Happy Friday!!