Fremont Festival

gymbo watermelon picnic again. this time its the green shirt with the sequined fruit in front. the red shorts are really cute with watermelon pockets in the back. went to the 27th annual fremont arts & wine festival. i remember going to it when it first started in 80's at the fremont hub. did the kids zone first. ariana went on the tea cup, balloon ferris wheel and roller coaster with kuya josh. it was a joy to watch her on the flying swings. funny out of all the kids on it, she was the only one having a great time thru the air. she doesnt have the guts for the fun house yet, altho we stopped twice in front of it. maybe next time. we walked and browsed thru the 600 vendor craft booths. didnt buy a single thing, except some walnuts & pecans roasted in cinnamon.

Glamour Girl

gymbo spring sparkle - glamour girl top and shorts), with gap canvas slip-ons. i dont know if its the outfit or what - but doesnt she look like a big girl?? both are kidgirl size 4. maybe becuz they are a little bit bigger or its not a little girl print.

Gap Tropical

i got this linen dress from a loopie. its from gap and size 5T. i originally pulled it out of the bin for ariana to try it on, where she didnt want to take it off. or maybe not try on another outfit?? the neighbors behind us cut down their trees, those were our "wind" meter. now we look at the swings on the play structure. before we ventured outside, the breeze kicked in and on went the leggings.

byron hit his ankle/foot on something right before he was going to bed. believe me, ariana took it as a chance to keep daddy from going to sleep. she took off so fast to go retrieve her "boo-boo kit"- things from her doctor kit and her hairdryer. dad must have had a big owie, she asked me for 3 pieces of tape (bandage). doctor morgan to the rescue. speaking about doctors, joshua had his first physical appt with byron's doctor. i was surprised the pediatrician saw him til he was 21.

Memorial Celebration

attended the memorial this morning for Claudia Taylor-Bodmer. she worked at united. in fact my first day on the job april 1984, it was her first day in the department. claudia was one of the up & coming female managers - at a time the workplace was predominantly powered by men. she started the bean counting. of course we all complained "why do we have to do this?" needless to say, we finally realized it was worthwhile. whenever the dept needed something, she had the data to justify everything. i think she started writing one liners too (LOL little one liners). claudia knew i was privy to all the office gossip going on, she nicknamed me "kiosks" or TL. i called her CT. as her career climbed up the corporate ladder to general manager director, our friendship remained the same as i never felt intimidated by her title. sometimes when i would see her, i would joke around with her "oh i better not be seen talking to you - might jeopardize my reputation with us little people." we left the church with the message not to mourn for her, but to celebrate the life she lived.
we went to elephant bar afterwards, ariana was amazed at the row of ceiling fans going back n forth. i didnt have my camera with me, nor did i think about using my cell phone. she was looking at it telling me to put it (image) in our heads. keep it in our memory and lock up the picture. then when we get home to let it out on a piece of paper. ariana is wearing a bonnie jean dress, tcp black sweater shrug, shoes from old navy. i put this outfit together last minute. ariana said "everybody liked my dress, style and the way i looked." dont know where the word style came from. dad assured her that she is beautiful and pretty no matter what she wears, even a paper bag. ariana started laughing - people dont wear bags!

Savanna Sunset

gymbo savanna sunset outfit. both skirt and top are kidgirl size 3. glad sandals are gymbo too, from dessert flower. and she's been wearing this ribbon around her head lately.

usually ariana talks to grandmommy (byrons mom in chicago) on the weekends. the past few days, either her line was busy or it was too late with being 2 hours ahead. we finally got a hold of her today. i overheard ariana telling her this: "grandma, i know how to speak alot of countries. i even know japanese. na-hong-go. but i dont know what it means."

Happy Rainbow Flower

gymbo happy rainbow outfit. this is the line that came out during the lead law sale last year. and these two pieces - happen to be ones they never marked down. i needed the capris to go with all the tops. i cant believe i just took the tag off of this top, its a size 3 and was probably running too big for ariana to wear last year. she has the curly clips from the line, bummer i didnt buy the flower ones to match the top.

Filipino Sunday

for the time-being, our summer sunday afternoons are committed to the filipino folkdance lessons in oakland. at least it gets us up and out of the house "early", we're talking about 12 noon. ariana is wearing an ikks asymetrical top with gymbo black knit pants. black maryjane crocs.

afterwards byron read about a restaurant in oakland with soulfood. so we go and check it out. blackberry bistro on park blvd, in a quaint neighborhood in north oakland. the only thing on the menu closest to soulfood was grits. then we stopped by st.annes catholic church festival. it was almost like going to a filipino festival.

Watermelon Slice

gymbo watermelon picnic top (kidgirl 4) with a pair of red shorts from crazy8. red saltwaters size 10.

Lady Daisy

gymbo lady daisy was a small line, not having many items. even when it hit the outlets. of course, i just got the "black" pieces - the dress and shorts. this dress is the kidgirl size 3 and she wore it last year. we wore black original saltwaters earlier going consignment store shopping. then when we got home, ariana wanted her favorite yellow daisy shoes from gymbo too.

Daisy Days Gator

gymbo daisy days line came out early 2009. its made up of yellow, blue and a green alligator. i only bought the navy blue items - this top being one. its a kidgirl size 4 and finally fits her perfect. in the middle of summer, can you believe it calls for long sleeves? especially today with the weather being cooler. its almost like we have a wind tunnel in our backyard.

Awesome Ariana

the fog cleared up, lucky to reach low 70's, and a bit breezy every once in awhile. we got her bff to come over and play in the backyard. they somehow went on an "adventure" incorporating the playhouse and the swingset. bff kept wanting to go inside the house to draw - she knows theres more toys inside. funny bff mentioned to nana "i told my mom you always want to be the leader and do want you want to do." ariana said "i'm the leader at my house, you're the leader at yours." thus ariana picked the sandbox next where the 2 of them they played together. when ariana was born, joshua painted his old bedroom furniture white for her... since he got a new set from ikea. he didnt paint one dresser chest cuz i thought we didnt need it. well now we do (for all her clothes) - so he got around to painting it today. this is the domino effect from getting the twin size bed. there still remains for the play structure to be stained to match the new part. ariana is wearing the A is for Awesome tee, its from gymbo prep school line. ruffle hem jeans are tcp, and nike shoes with a pink swoosh of course.

Ciao Bella

ariana has phonic reading class on monday. last night we were reviewing her worksheets, she went thru them in a breeze. i got some puzzle flashcards out and she was getting all the words right. i thought she was looking at the pictures, but realized it was only half the picture and one really couldnt make it out. ariana was actually reading words such as "nest", "worm" and "tree". ariana is wearing janie & jack ciao bella, with a tank top from crazy8. the jacket is a size 4T, bummer i had to roll up the sleeves becuz the cuffs are with the blue stripe material. when i dropped her off at class, mrs yolanda noticed ariana's outfit "you look like you're going on vacation again". oh, if she only knew.

Pilipino Plum & Stripes

purple plum top from old navy paired with gap playwear stripe leggings. this will be our second time in going to LIKHA filipino folkdance lessons. the kids range from 4-12 years old. all of them are learning the pansal, and another dance for just the girls.
bedroom WIP (work in progress) update: since she is beginning to read, i moved all her books and more to the bigger bookcase. then all the toys to the small 2-shelf one. wish me luck in trying to rid of the "baby" toys. i keep telling byron that once ariana starts going to school, she will grow out of them. i doubt if he's gonna hold his breath for this one. i still have more things to tackle - there they sit in the middle of her room and the living room. one day at a time. one of ariana's ninong (Godfather) stopped by. she gave him a tour of her new bed room. also introduced to him all her dollies & babies. actually ninong picked each one up thinking he new their name, and ariana corrected him. he thought mrs bunny was thumper (bambi), and silvermist was natasha (from an old cartoon).

Birthday Princesses

this morning around 7:00, ariana woke up crying. she was having a bad dream. so we started to chant "bad dreams, bad dreams go away". she said "no, i want to keep my dream, just take the bad parts away." it worked, she fell back asleep for 2 more hours. ariana's bedroom is still a work-in-process, eversince we got the bed last weekend. my project for the day is to empty all her toy bins in her bedroom, move it to the family room, put her kitchen stuff in them. but first, i had to clean her kitchen area corner. a bin for vegetables, one for utencils, one for desserts, etc. i remember when she first got her kitchen, she hardly had any play food. and now its like she could open a play grocery store. ha, she even has a grocery shopping cart from pbk. every once in awhile we play "shop". i have to go back to her bedroom and tackle her toys arrangement & storage dilemma. tomorrow josh is going to move the dresser/hutch, fit her princess vanity in the floorplan, plus along with all her other stuff.
its ariana's ballet girlfriend's and her younger sisters birthday party. luckily i looked at the invitation (a scroll) and its not until 4:00. now that is my kinda party. we are not morning people, and just hate going thru the hussle & bussle in getting ready on saturday mornings. snow white & cinderella were there to face paint, magic tricks, balloons, etc. most of the little girls were dressed up in disney dresses. we are all princessed-out and ariana just wanted to be herself. she's wearing a. dress i bought at ross. the print is very similar to janie&jack tropical traveler line. shiny pink fuschia saltwaters.

Safari Gap

ariana had a doctors appt for her eczema and heat rash that she got while we were on vacation. you would figure by now, byron would remember the way to the pediatrician. this was josh's pedi ever since he was born. he knows the vicinity about where its at, but as we get closer - he chokes. i was telling him to get him the left lane cuz we're gonna make a left on california ave. out of the blue - ariana says "dad you need to listen to momma and don't listen to yourself." ha, now he has 2 backseat drivers. usually ariana hates going to the doctors, she doesnt even want you to talk about it. i told her no shots, no games (tests), no nothing. dr marsh is going to look at the rash and tell us what lotion cream to put on it. she did great - she kinda "feared-up" when we arrived in the parking garage tho. my brave little patient. ariana is wearing gap safari again - this time the ivory one. the glad sandals are from gymbo.

Naartjie Pink

i havent shopped at naartjie in a long time, and i'm considered lucky to live close to a store. i really need to go there as ariana only has 2 dresses left - the green long sleeve one and this pink one. most of their clothes look the same with muted colors. i tend to go for their other style & prints. ariana got to play on her playstructure. it was out of commission for awhile. it had a recall. i thought it was just the monkey bars rods, until we received a big ole box delivered. ha, it ended up being the whole half where the swings hang from. kuya josh assembled it - he's really good putting things together and has the patience to follow the instructions. waited for dad to come home to help attach to the fort slide half. now one side looks newer than the other. guess josh's next task is to stain the other side to match. we also took the blue rocket ship swing out, we'll hold onto it for when babies come over for a playdate.

Butterfly Kisses

gymbo social butterfly line. the bermuda shorts are the same print as the patchwork dress we wore the other day. by the way, thats her tinkerbell pose.

oh my little tornado could do major damage in no time. if you just let her play all on her own, she just takes everything out. but by the time i checked, it was too late - she hit every room. a game opened on her bed, another game out in the middle of her bedroom, she threw out all her purses out of the dress up box, dolls & pieces in the living room, the play kitchen looked like somebody was cookin up a storm, etc. i know why we give kids a middle name, its for when they are in trouble. i called out "ariana celine", and she knew right away only to burst into tears. i gave my speech about crying, and tried to set the rule "when you are finished with one toy, put it away before you take out another." it worked for kuya josh when he was little. i was the toy wizard back then, thats why all his toys are in great shape. it took him to accidentally step on the blue power ranger tho. ariana's are, but there is just too much for me to handle. and get this - she said she didnt have any power to help me clean up.

Gap Safari

remember yesterday about ariana going to phonics class? every week the teacher gives out worksheets and little storybooks for students & parents to review everyday. today i get out her assignments for week #3. right away ariana reads all the words on her own. i didnt say one thing. on sunday when we were doing the little storybooks, i was pointing to each word. at one point i took my finger/pen away - she wanted it back. and now two days later, she read along using her own finger. i remember using a ruler-like bookmark, wonder if they still do that??

i did some yardwork (both front & back). ariana put on her rollerblades and rode her razor scooter. she's just wearing a gap dress from the safari line 2008.

I Can Read

this was the second time we went to phonics class. we missed one cause we were on vacation and last monday was a holiday. when i went to the first session, i came home being a little skeptical. the class is an hour long every monday until august (8 all together), and the teacher gives the kids homework/worksheets for parents to review with them every day for 30 minutes. i told byron - i dont know how the kids are suppose to learn how to read with one class every monday and up to the parents. well today (actually last week) i have to admit - this program works. in 2 weeks time, ariana can read. she pretty much knows the sound of each letter, and it helps that there is a song for each letter sound. kids tend to learn and retain things when theres a tune to it. so when she gets stuck on a word - she sounds out each letter and puts it all together. i made a video clip of each exercise and her accomplishments. ariana is wearing gymbo social butterfly patchwork dress, i was able to find another one in a 5T.

ariana wanted to scare kuya joshua. she got into the laundry basket of tshirts to fold, put one of her blankie towels on top. BOO! dad said she looked like an egyptian, andi think she looks like a little ghost devil (see how the blankie on her head makes it look like she has horns).

My Own Bed

the other night byron didnt get any sleep, ariana kept waking him up EVERY time he snored. "dad you're snoring again. dad stop snoring." eversince ariana was born, i always asked him - you want her in the crib/toddler bed or with us. he chose for her to be with him, right dab in the middle of our eastern kingsize bed. then she started to grow, lined up with the planets - and turned us into the capital letter H. i took byron's que and off to do a search on craigslist (ie., twin bed sleigh white). found one that was just posted - score! its about 2-3 years old, the couple is getting a king and giving the daughter their queensize. while byron & josh went to pick up the bed, i went on a hunt for a twinsize mattress only - dont need the box spring. costco had them for $149. stopped by a mattress/furniture outlet store in union city, and scored another deal. while josh went to purchase it, i re-arranged the bedroom. the traintable is back out in the living room with all the dollhouses on it. the toddler bed is out in the garage - pending for my niece. and throughout this whole process - josh kept pointing out "nana has alot of toys". byron told me NOT to bring anything else home. of course i always say "i'm done", but i'm pretty sure i could easily come up with something she needs. but just think - one day i'm gonna do a big cleanup swoosh and hand everything down to my niece(s). i didnt even have any bedsheets, we used kuya josh XL twin bedding from his college dorm. the quilted blanket/bedspread was a gift from my sister-in-law's mother-in-law when ariana was born. she was suppose to have made a baby blanket. with all the coordination - ariana is one happy princess saying "i have my own twin size bed". dad is going to miss her. she told him "i'm not sleeping with you - you snore. i still love you."

we stopped going to ballet classes in june, i signed up ariana up for filipino folkdancing with LITHA group. we missed the first session while we were on vacation, ariana caught on quick just by copying the teacher. she's wearing a snoopy tshirt from oldnavy with gap yoga pants.

Floral Spring

janie & jack floral spring outfit. i think ariana last wore this outfit in october during the bay area's indian summer season. its a size 3T and i'm surprised it still fits her. paired with white swimmers saltwaters and curly clips from gymbo tea garden line. right after i dressed, she goes and gets all geared up like shes going to hit the roller derby rink. byron always asks her "whats my number one job?" - to protect you. she goes and models for dad "this is to keep me safe".

Silly Monkey

gymbo jungle gem line - silly monkey top (4T) and the flower shorts (kidgirl 3) again. we have the 2 capri pants in this line both in size 3T - sad to say she cant pull them off this year. out of all the sandals ariana has, she loves her GEOX sports one. can't blame her - i wear my pair everyday. i got mines last year at the outlet, this year i bought ariana a pair of tennis shoes. when we were at disney last summer, my flip flops werent cutting it. i was slipping & sliding when it rained. funny this time - i would say to byron "go ahead, ask me how my feet feel." of course i would say "great". my sister went to europe, she had bought a pair there. she didnt care if they matched her outfit or not.

Brown Knot

i woke up this morning and ariana wasnt next to me. i had thought she woke up early with byron, and went in the family room. i found her in her bed. apparently she got up and walked to her room, slept until 10:00 this morning. after ordering from matilda jane yesterday (known for their knot dresses), i put one on ariana. this is a custom one i got from a loopie. i know its brown which is a fall color, but there is an hawaiian print that screams for summer. right when i come back from vacation(s) and staying in 5 hotels in the past 3 weeks, you would think the last thing on my mind would to plan another trip?? our timeshare points expire today. i was going to convert them to hotel points, but the customer agent pointed out "why get a one-nights stay at a hotel, when you can stay a week at a resort?" as long as i booked by tonight 7:00 pm pst, my points wont go poof. hawaii is sold out next month (august) and we are in no means of hopping on an airplane anytime soon. ariana starts kindergarten, josh goes back to college in the middle of sept, and byron needs to schedule his remaining vacation time. with all that in mind, we have a weeks stay in las vegas right before xmas. guess the tree is going up early this year. is this what you call xmas in july?