Time for a Gymboree Class?

Justin has decided he likes climbing into things. If it looks like he can fit into it, he'll try climbing into it. I'm surprised these toys could hold his ample weight...

Justin, the Ham

I gotta say, I love it when the weather gets warmer in the Bay Area, because that usually means the start of Art and Wine festival season! Not that Jay and I are really interested in art or wine, but it's fun to walk around and eat fried foods for lunch!

We went to the Mountain View A La Carte and Art Festival on Saturday. Unfortunately it was kind of small this year, but it was nice to walk around anyways. We got a couple of balloons for Justin, so it was a worthwhile trip. He and Jay took some time to be silly and I snapped some pics. Kids' laughter is so infectious :)

Afterwards we went to visit my parents for a little while. In fact, we were able to leave Justin there for a couple of hours so he could take his nap and we could sneak out to Valley Fair for a little while! Apparently Justin was having fun of his own after he woke up...

That evening, Jay and I had a date night! Jay's mom came over to babysit and we went out to Dali, a tapas restaurant in San Mateo that was really good. Even better was the white wine sangria - yum! We even went to go see a movie - Iron Man 2. The movie was just okay, but it was great getting out of the house just the two of us! When we got home, Justin was snoring away peacefully...

On Sunday, we went to the Family Fun Day at the PJCC in Foster City. We've always wanted to check out the facility and this was a good excuse (it's beautiful!) There was a guy in an Elmo costume standing outside. Justin was really excited when he first saw him from faraway, but then when we got closer to take a picture, well, take a look for yourself:

They had all kinds of activities for kids inside - Justin had a blast. There was a teddy bear clinic, book giveaways, and a kids' tumbling area set up. So anyways, like I said, Justin had a great time. He was running through the hallways and would come to a screeching halt to wave at people. What a ham!

He did the same thing after we had dinner in San Mateo. We walked to a gelato place afterwards and he was running down the sidewalk, waving at people walking by and waving at cars driving off.  At least he was getting some exercise!

I also let Justin have his first taste of ice cream (ooo, bad Mommy!). I knew there was no way Justin was going to let us eat in peace without letting him have some too, especially when he saw the brightly colored spoons. So I had to monitor him to make sure he didn't get too big of a spoonful, but he definitely enjoyed it. He didn't even want to eat the strawberries on top! Heehee. I think he ran all the way back to the car afterwards...

How the Wong's do Mother's Day

...Well, by eating of course! Actually my Mother's Day started off with a really cool gift - Justin slept in until 9 AM! Whoopee! I never realized how much I would value my sleep after becoming a mother. That, and the ability to sit in a quiet room and read for more than five minutes. But I'll definitely take sleep anyday. So Mother's Day started off with a well-rested Mommy...a good thing for all involved.

We went to a brunch buffet at Astaria in San Mateo with my parents and Kevin. Little known fact about me: I am on a neverending quest for the perfect brunch buffet. Mother's Day is really just an excuse to try another one! Of course, I think I've just been spoiled by the Las Vegas buffets, but hey, we all need goals! Anyways, the food at Astaria was okay. The prime rib was really tender and the desserts were very nice, but the other food was pretty standard and nothing to write home about.

Justin had fun eating the fruit and carrot "noodles". (The kid is weird...he'll eat almost any food that is in the shape of a noodle...I think I need to drag out my mandoline to get him to eat more veggies.)

The kid is also turning into a ham. He was making friends with the waitstaff and generally anyone who walked near our table. He would cock his head and smile and act all cute. I'm waiting for his cuteness to be put to good use and get us something for free ;)

Then we celebrated with Jay's side with a dinner BBQ at our house. That was a lot of fun...I think we're getting better at throwing these parties because it didn't seem like as much work this time. But maybe it was because we made Jay's dad bring half of the meat. Jay barbequed up a storm and is in good form for the summer. Justin had a great time playing with his older cousins. He was following them all over the house and making them play with him. The kid was definitely tuckered out after running around all evening and hamming it up for the family.

All in all a good day all around. Mommyhood has definitely changed my life, but I wouldn't exchange it for anything!

18-month check-up

No pictures this time - just an update. I took Justin in to Kaiser for his 18-month check-up today. Here are his stats:

Weight: 25.8 lbs (50%)
Height: 32.5" (58%)
Head Circumference: 19.5" (90%)

He got three more shots today - poor guy! Luckily he didn't cry too long. Plus the nurse gave him some stickers so he felt much better after that. He only has one more shot to go in May and then he's all done until it's time to start kindergarten - whew!

The doctor wants me to take Justin in for an Early Intervention screening since he's not talking yet. Apparently he should be able to say at least 5-6 words consistently by now. Jay and I aren't really sure that he's even saying any words right now. He can kind of say atsui which is "hot" in Japanese, but he doesn't always use it consistently. He knows that the oven and food from the microwave is atsui, but apparently so is the refridgerator and freezer. We think he's associating it more with extreme temperatures.

And Mrs. Okano (his babysitter) says that he says ma-ma for food at her house, but he doesn't say that here at home. We're probably confusing the poor kid, because we're trying to get him to call me Ma Ma.

I'm not terribly worried because he can make his signs when you ask him in any of the three languages, plus he can understand and follow directions. Probably just takes after his dad...a man of few words. But it doesn't hurt to have him evaluated just to be sure.

Next time we see the doctor will be when he turns 2 in October. How time flies!

Mommy and Me Day

Justin and I are having a Mommy and Me day today. I took the day off work so we could to a special playdate with the Mother's Group I belong to. We went to U-Me Place in Menlo Park...it's kind of like a fancy Gymboree (with typical prices to match!) but since it was sponsored by the Mother's Club, it was half off today. 

Justin made a beeline for the play speedboat. Lots of buttons to push and wheels to turn!

Next he decided to cook himself a little something to eat.

 First, get your mise-en-place.

Add a little water...

Then stir it all together!

After we left, I realized I left my laptop at work and needed it for an early morning meeting tomorrow, so we swung by work to say hi. Needless to say, my office was almost as interesting as the playdate!

 I'm sorry, my Mommy isn't here right now. May I take a message?

So many things to do...I need to write that down on a post-it!

It's been a busy morning...nap time for everyone!

Just another Wong weekend

Typical for the Wong's...a do-nothing weekend generally evolves in a whirlwind of visiting friends and family. But that is the Way of the Wong :)

We started out with a trip to local park. I like this one because they have a separate toddler park that's fenced off. It was a beautiful day so there were lots of kids around. Justin especially liked the little bench and table there. What is it about kids and kid-sized seating? Anytime he sees a chair his size, Justin tries to sit in it! Maybe he thought a waiter would come by to take his order...

He also liked the sandbox. Even though he had his own toys, he seemed liked the other kids' toys better. Time for lessons on sharing?

Then it was off to visit Naih-naih and Tai-po and other aunties who were playing mah-johngg. Another opportunity for Justin to ham it up!

After that, it was time for dinner with Uncle Big Greg! We hadn't seen him in a while, so it was fun to catch up on his escapades! Justin got to sit at the table like a big boy!

On Sunday, we got to go to Kyson's "Blue Egg and no Ginger" party. Justin had fun trying out Kaeli's tricycle (uh-oh...something for Santa's wish list this Christmas?) and playing with all the other little boys there. I think we were all pretty tuckered out by the end of the weekend!

Let me check the calendar...

Okay, so I will admit that when I was single (or even just married), I wondered why it was so hard to schedule time with my girlfirends who had kids. They always seemed to be busy! Well, I can totally see why now!! Now that Justin's here, no one really wants to see me or Jay, but you know, someone has to drive Justin around to all his social commitments!

Last Saturday (oops, I'm late on the blog posts!), we took Justin to his second Easter Egg Hunt. This one was on the soccer fields by the Los Altos Library. At this hunt, they just had all the eggs out in the field, but they divided the field by age groups so Justin didn't have to compete with the big kids. We were running late and Jay had to drop us off in the parking lot while he found parking. Justin and I made it to the field with about a minute to spare! Truth be told, the previous egg hunt in downtown Los Altos was more fun since the eggs were "hidden". Just walking around a field picking up eggs didn't seem to be as much fun. But you can't complain too much about an event that's free!

But Justin got his eggs and even picked up a few extra for Caitlyn since she and our friend Terry got there a little too late (those kids are fast!). But Caitlyn had fun running in the field and making Daddy run after her.

After that, we had to book it down to San Jose to have lunch with some of the AGG and AGG 2.0 kids. Yum - Ringer Hut champon noodles! Kid-friendly and good food. They didn't even bat an eye when we walked in with seven adults and seven kids!

The AGG kids are getting so big!!

Next up was a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house so Justin could take a nap. Mommy and Daddy took the opportunity to escape and went to the De Anza Flea Market to walk around (how romantic).

After Justin was recharged, we headed off to a birthday party at Gymboree for the son of my hula friends. He finally seemed to enjoy playing on all the equipment and with all the little kids. He still doesn't like the parachute, but like bubble time!

After that, it was off to dinner with my family and then home! Whew! Just another weekend for the Wong's...