Miracles@14months...

BorisPop: There will be other entries going into your blog here that cover the day better, as it was a great, big day for you.......but i just have to get this out of my system, as i am so proud of you, and the little (big) things you do. yes, these are things that we all accomplish in life, and everybody ends up doing them, but you are my son, and i am gong to take pride in the fact that it was you that did these things, all on your own......be it your first painting, song, touchdown, what ever. but today, you stood (and you walked.....but more on that later) for the longest time without gravity having a hand in how long you stood. you stood up in the grass at the zoo today, and just hung out, like all the other kids around you, as if you have been standing for years. you did not let gravity make the decision in how long you stood, you simply decided to ease down to the ground to continue to play with mommy's sunglasses after you had your fill of standing up. my shock in this, having seen you stand now for weeks (but not as successfully) was almost instantly replaced with pride. and i dont know if it was really the standing that got me, as much as your casual sense of confidence. you do not display the sense of fears that a lot of little ones your age tend to........as a matter of fact, for the most part, you give me looks of "hey, its alright", followed up by a look to see if i was really paying attention......so i may smile at you, and tell you how good you were at what you just attempted. the returned look on your face is the best payment on the planet.
its been almost 14 months since you entered our lives (well, out of the womb and all).......back on the day when you gave me this look...........


........i was not thinking of the day that i would be seeing you do these sort of things for the first time.........



.......like i said.......we all eventually do it, and more. but you are mine, ours, and for me, every bit of it is a miracle. im proud of you BeeBao.

Mommy was feeling a little creative today!

EARTH DAY DRUM CIRCLE

BeeBao's first Earth Day drum circle. We had so much fun today at Overlook park!
BorisPop: im not usually the drum circle type.......as a matter of fact, usually when i have been within the proximity of one, i do a 180, and walk fast and far......as they usually mean a couple of unsavory things, and usually have the fragrance of dreadlocks
"sweetening" the air. but what a difference having you, my boy, to sit and pound away in real tribal fashion with! you see, you are opening my mind to try different things all the time, all in the sprit of you trying them for the first time. whats next? parasailing? mechanical bull riding? tofu? you are my excuse to try all things exotic!....heehee.
Earth Day was fun for all of us.......the drum circle, the parade that we joined in on, the painted dinosaur, and of course, all the dogs (you love dogs)! the people on stilts were freaky, especially the little girl.......yikes!

SSSPUH-GET-EE...

Your first time eating Spaghetti!

All done! YUMMM!

Joshua, Michael,+Timmy! BeeBao misses you guys!

Joshua rode BeeBao tricycle around the house. You had so much fun sharing your toys with your BIG cousin Joshua! We went to the park and had lots of fun in the sun.

Joshua was swinging on our neighbor's swing. Daddy loves sharing his toys(XBOX, WII, etc...) with cousins as well. Joshua made 30 paper boats(we don't know why) so Timmy got a little creative. Michael was very surprised and happy that he woke up with the cutest little fuzzy animal he've ever seen!
BorisPop: ahhh, to play Halo 3 with people i know, and get dissed to my face, rather than by some other faceless punks in some other state or country over my ultra geeky headset.......bliss. and one of my favorite moments of the nephews' visit--> Timmy's Oragami McDonalds employee uniform and fries. priceless.

We went to OMSI and had lots of fun. We saw dinosaurs, and played with lots of cool stuff. Timmy and Michael learned how to make delicious sushi. Thanks to our friend Nagi and Dan for showing us how to make sushi. BeeBao looks for Joshua every morning to play.

Thanks Joshua, Michael and Timmy for helping us paint our diningroom wall. It looks so much better red instead of yucky green.
BeeBao's in his dragon towel getting ready for a bath. We met up with our friends and had some delicious pizza.

We hung out by the river and had dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. We told the waiter that it was Timmy and Joshua birthday, so they had to wear funny costumes and sing infront of lots of people.

You love your cousins and they love you so much too! We miss them lots! Hopefully we'll see them soon!!!

BorisPop: it was very nice to have your cousins, our nephews, for a whole week! the one thing that dada hates about not living in LA anymore is not being able to see them as much. we used to spend so much time together, and now they are growing up so fast, and we only see them a few times a year. your cousins have always been very special to me, BeeBao, like my own sons, or my own little brothers, or my best friends. your closeness to them, i believe, is in your DNA, as your mama and i love them so much........it was natural for you to feel the same. they will be back soon, and this time, lets hope for some sunshine!

An afternoon at the park with Cousins

Even though the weather was a bit chilly and unpredictable today(rain then sunny on and off) BeeBao, Joshua, Michael, and Mommy went to Grant Park(2 blocks away from our house). Daddy and Timmy went to the gym to work out. We got the whole playground to ourselves because all the kids were in school. Last week was Portland schools spring break and your cousins are here for their spring break. We had fun taking pictures with the weird/scary statues and watching Joshua running around and yelling. Joshua and Michael even did a lap on the track. We had a great time. When we got home, we saw Joe(Gus dad) on his way home from work. He rode his bike to us and Joshua and Michael met him. Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow so we can play outside. We'll still play outside if it's not sunny.

Wendy, the kids are doing great and eating healthy meals!!! They are too busy to miss their parents now.(SORRY!) I'm sure they will by the end of the week. Heehee! :)

Joshua AKA trouble maker.

A Surprise For BeeBao!!!

This morning you woke up to a wonderful surprise. Your cousins Joshua, Michael and Timmy flew in late from LA last night while you were sleeping. We woke up early, got dressed, ate breakfast and then surprise surprise! You were so happy to see your cousins. Today was such a fun and wonderful day! We are so happy that they are here visiting us for a whole week. We're going to have so much fun!

Watching You Sprout

BorisPop: one of my greatest joys in this new experience of being your DaDa is watching you observe your environment, taking in new things with some or all of your senses, and your innocent and random bursts of joy in doing so. if you ever notice my staring at you doing the simplest things for long periods of time (no matter how simple you might think it is), i can tell you that it is me taking in these moments, soaking them into my mind, heart, and spirit......to preserve this feeling of complete bliss.
i have had this habit with your mother, watching her take in experiences that are new to her, and through watching her, i feel the same joy and excitement in her heart.....this has been going on for almost 8 years, and is even more rich, watching her soak in the experience of being your MaMa.
so now you know why your Pop is a staring fool. you will in time, learn to tell me to chill out with it......and ill just have to use the same techniques i use in soaking in your MaMa, my wife. the two of you are my whole world, and i love to quietly observe it.
its one of the only things i do........quietly.

BEEBAO'S NEW TRICYCLE!!!

We got you a cool tricycle!!! And you love looooooveeeee loooooooooveeeeeee it!!!
BorisPop: Nagi (your buddy, Lennon's mom) told us about a really cool tricycle that Lennon had, and where to get one one
for you, so we went in the middle of a hail storm to pick you up your first tricyle! she was right.....the company that makes these
trikes is really cool, and your first ride is a very cool one at that. a couple days later, i took you to get your bile helmet at a bike
shop, and in your size, all they had were pink ones with cartoon chickens on them, or baby blue ones with poorly drawn race cars.
then, you lunged toward the only one on the shelf that was black and had a flame job on it (it runs in your blood). just by luck, it was your size! yesss! so 30bucks later, you have the coolest first bike helmet ever. the next day, i had the best time taking you to the park all duded up in your black biker sweater, your new flamed helmet, and on your new, sweet ride.
you loved it, and you got to see lots of dogs as we peddled away, along with running into your friends Jack and Gus at the park, and even Mom joined us on our journey home.
heck on wheels, Dinky Bee!
Click pix to see larger size.

BEEBAO... HANGING OUT WITH YOUR BUDDIES...

It's always fun and nice when we get together with your buddies because Mommy get to hang out with her friends as well. BeeBao enjoys sharing your toys with friends. You're all so so so cute!!! We're gonna have so much fun with all of our friends this summer!!! YEAYYYY!!!
BorisPop: always a good time when your buddies visit! your friends have been inspiring you to get up and walk, and they even get down for a crawl with you, so ya dont feel left behind.....
you are weeks, if not days away from being up on your feet with them, and we cant wait to watch you guys run around together!
(Click pics to see a larger view)

A Surprise Trip for Grandma's Birthday

Two weeks ago we went to LA to surprise Grandma for her 70th Birthday. Yes it was a great surprise for her. She was so happy to see us, especially BeeBao! We had a great time with the family. We ate so many delicious home cooked meals. Timmy BBQed some delicious food for us. Uncle Sang and Auntie Hanna cooked the most amazing food as well. Of course Auntie Wendy can cook a great meal as well but she was too busy to cook for us this time. But she bought us some yummy food. :) We also celebrated your belated birthday with the family. We hope they will all visit us soon. We sure miss them. Oh this was at least your 10th flight! Wow! I think for a 1 year old that's a lot in a year!
BorisPop: wow......you have flown now, more than your dad did in his first 25 years! you always dig flying back home to see the family, and spend time with them. this trip was nice, as you got to surprise your grandma, who loves you so much. you really made her birthday for her, after having a tough time this year with your grandpa passing. you also got to spend 4 days just playing with your cousins, especially Joshy, which always makes you a happy Bee. they will now be here to visit you in a couple days........now, your turn to be surprised!

A Nature Walk with Mommy

After a week of being sick from the cold, Mommy and BeeBao took advantage of a nice sunny day this week and went for a nice walk around our neighborhood. Is it Spring yet? Most of the trees around here have been blooming all kinds of beautiful flowers. Pink/White Cherry Blossoms are everywhere. We watched many little squirrels climbed on trees and we also saw a crow plucked a worm from the ground. There were birds singing everywhere we went. There are lots of flowers blooming around our house as well. This is one of the many reasons why we love living here in Portland.
Click pics to see them larger.