a rainy day

It was a rainy, gloomy day today. Kristina had to cancel our lunch plans because she was car-less. Something happened to Matt's car and he had to use hers. It's all good because it was so dreary today that I didn't feel like getting out of the house. And taking after Chris, Alex likes to sleep alot on days like today.

Oh! Tooth # 9 finally broke through the gums too! Seriously, that explans all the crankiness lately. Motrin has been my friend at night. I'm thinking Alex will get another molar in before his first birthday. I never thought an almost 12 month old could have 9 teeth. Amazing. He got his first, first birthday present in today - all the way from Dallas, Texas - from his Ninong Albert. I let him open it since it was just in a box. I'll put the stuff back in the bag if I decide to let him open his presents at his party. I haven't decided yet.

publix

I love Publix. Because it is a Florida-based grocery store, I shopped there all the way through college and the few years after. I missed Publix when I moved to Knoxville to start grad school. So I'm happy that there is a Publix not more than 5 minutes from our house. Alex and I made our weekly grocery trip to the store to get the basics, plus a few extras. Imagine my surprise when I saved more than I spent. Besides CVS, I think this is the first time it has ever happened when buying groceries. It's a good thing, too, because I have been spending all kinds of money this week and will be in the next few weeks for Alex's birthday.

On another note, I am looking forward to lunch with a friend tomorrow. It should be fun!

braver every day

I like to take Alex to the play area in the mall every couple of weeks or so - let him use some of that stored up energy. It's a good place to go because he can do whatever he wants. When we are at home, I have to tell him "no" a billion times. So he crawls around, climbs up things, etc. In the past, he has been scared of going through the tunnels, but today, he actually crawled through them. I was quite impressed. He even sat in the log one for a few minutes. Sometimes I wonder what he's thinking when he's quiet and by himself.

Anyhow, it was fun today. None of our friends met us there today, but usually we have a couple of people to have lunch with afterwards. I was telling Chris last night how it has been so amazing to watch him develop. For example, we've been watching his Baby Einstein sign language DVD for a few months now. When we first watched it, he really could have cared less and we could only sit in front of it for maybe 5 minutes. Now, he will watch the entire DVD by himself (YAY! leaving me time to do things). He'll laugh at the funny parts and point at all the things he finds interesting.

Well, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday so I had my last carbonated beverage this afternoon until after Easter.

my mornings

This is usually how I spend my mornings... before Chris and Alex are up. With my cup of coffee in hand, I make my way towards my computer to check my Facebook page. Around 6am is a great time of day for me. Chris and Alex are still asleep, and I have time to myself. It's so quiet in the house that I actually have time to think. My monitor is usually filled with post-its, reminding me of things that I need to do or lists of random things. For the next couple of weeks, it will be filled of reminders of things I need to get for Alex's party, a list of people who have RSVP'd, numbers for all the food places and all the exciting appointments he has for his birthWEEK. I have a list of potential babysitter's numbers, as well, since I am still trying to find one.

barkada

In Tagalog, barkada means a group of friends. These are some of my mom's barkada. She has known them for almost 30 years. Almost. She met them when we moved to Florida when I was a couple of years old. Their daughters are my barkada from childhood. Even though we all live in different states now, we are still close. I have always admired my mom and her friends. To this day, they still have girl's nights out and girl's weekends out. This weekend, they went to Orlando together. I have always and still want a group of friends like this. As an adult, I have found it harder and harder to make friends. Situations change, and people who you thought were your friends, aren't. It's a sad thing, and has been hard for me to accept. I hope one day, ecspecially since I think I am going to live in this town the rest of my life, I can have a group of friends like my mom does and that we can have regular girl's nights or weekends out.

part of the club

Thanks to my friends, Alex is now a member of the Bridge Street Buddies Club.

laundry

I hate laundry. In college, if I ran out of clean clothes, I would just buy a few more things instead of washing my dirty clothes. At least until I went home again, and my mom would help me wash my clothes.

Now, it takes me forever to get a load of laundry done. Not only do I have tons of it every week now, but I also have a 11-month old who likes to play with whatever I am trying to do. Today, it was laundry. I would put the dirty clothes in the basket so I could take them to the basement, but Alex thought I was playing a game and would immediately take them out of the basket. This went on for about 30 minutes today until I finally had enough and put him in his crib while I loaded up the washer.

happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to my baby sister! (Pictures from a 2007 trip to the Georgia Aquarium and the Norah Jones concert in ATL)

huh?

I took this picture of Alex last week. After I showed it to Chris, he proceeded to tell me that Alex looks like a girl in it.

On Friday, I took Alex to the play area in the mall and after being there for a few minutes, this other mom told me that I have "an adorable little girl." I corrected her and told her that I have a boy, not a girl. Although I could see why. His hair is getting so long and curly. But I dress him in "boy" colors so people don't get confused. She apologized and said that Alex is too cute to be a boy. What the heck is that supposed to mean? Are boys not suppoosed to be cute? I'm confused. I realize that not all baby boys are as cute as Alex is, but I don't think you should stereotype by saying he is too cute to be a boy.

the newest addition

To my Disney collection, that is. Sleeping Beauty is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies. I remember watching it as a little girl, then I would pretend to prick my finger on the spindle and fall asleep. Alex and I took another trip to Circuit City and I bought it today since it was 40% off, and classic Disney animation is never that cheap. I had to take advantage of it before it goes into the Disney Vault. Haha.