Living the Life as an S-B

Aubrey Gets Her Ears Pierced

2012-03-02T23:31:00.005-08:00

The day following Aubrey's Winter ONEderland, we took Aubrey to Piercing Pagoda in the Plaza Bonita Mall to get Aubrey's ears pierced. Erica picked out the cutest Amethyst (Aubrey's birthstone) flower-shaped earrings before the piercing experience. Erica had the pleasure of holding our baby in our lap while I watched behind the counter. Aubrey cried for a little bit but after a few minutes, she was up and walking.

The before pic (Aubrey has no idea what's going on):

The after pic with the lady who pierced Aubrey's ears:

Erica, the kids and Lolo & Lola riding the train after the piercing:

Walking around the mall like nothing happened.

Aubrey's Winter ONEderland

2012-03-01T22:34:00.013-08:00

On February 23rd, 2012, our baby Aubrey officially became a 1-year-old! We celebrated her Birthday on the 19th of February by throwing her a party themed Winter ONEderland at our neighborhood community clubhouse known as Winding Oaks within Windingwalk. The room was decorated with winter elements, including snowflakes and penguins. The grab bags for the kids contained hostess snow balls, powdered donuts and several winter-themed items. There was even a hot chocolate bar. Family, friends and acquaintances were in attendance. Overall, the party was a success! Check out some pics from the special occasion, courtesy of our very great and awesome friend, Aurena.

Aubrey's Birthday Cake created by Sumi's Oven

The Invitations & Banner:

The S-B's

The Grandparents:

Our Friends & Aubrey's Godparents:

Cake Time!

Thanks to everyone who shared this special day with us and for our Family and Friends for helping us throw this amazing party!

More Picture to Come! Be on the look out for the following posts. We hired Heidi-O-Photos for some professional pictures during the party as well as Petula Pea Photography for Aubrey's 1 year shoot!

Aubrey Walks For the 1st Time!

2012-01-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

On January 29th, Aubrey accomplished an amazing feat by walking for the first time! She took nearly 12 steps from the middle of the family room to the couch. We've been getting her to practice so that she can walk before her birthday party and she did it! Check out the video!

Aubrey's 1st Christmas

2011-12-31T23:52:00.001-08:00

This year was Aubrey's 1st Christmas, nearly 2 months before she turns 2 years old. As usual for each Christmas celebration, Christmas Eve was spent in San Diego with the Buenaventura Family. Each year the family hosts the celebration at a different location from the last year. It was our turn to host Christmas Eve and what a better place to have Aubrey's first Christmas than in our home! Upon opening gift, Derek received an ipod touch, a leap frog leapster leappad tablet, a razor scooter and some other toys. Aubrey got a rockin' elmo toy, some clothes, other toys and money.

After the celebration of Christmas in our house, we immediately packed all of our presents, clothes and items and headed up north to Delano for Christmas with the Sison's. WIth no sleep, we hit the road at around 2AM and got to Delano at around 5:30 AM. From there, we settled for a couple of hours and then the whole family opened presents. We spent several days in Delano after Christmas and then came home to open the rest of the gifts.

Turks & Caicos For Michelle & David's Wedding

2011-12-08T00:14:00.000-08:00

On December 8th through 12th, we spent several days in paradise at Turks & Caicos in the Beaches Resort for our close friends and Aubrey's godparents David and Michelle Vickers' Wedding. We also made it a 5-year wedding anniversary trip for Erica and I.

Just in case you guys didn't know where Turks & Caicos is located at, it lies withing the Caribbean, 550 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, just below the Bahamas chain and just to the east of Cuba and the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti.) We traveled with Derek's godmother and Erica's BFF Nora, along with her daughter Bella, her Mother and Aunt V and good friend Armando. For this trip, we left Derek and Aubrey with the grandparents in San Diego for 5 days. This was the first time that we were away from our kids. We had a lot of fun while they had fun with their grandparents, but we also missed them so much towards the end of the trip.

Now about the trip...To summarize, we ate an unlimited supply of really awesome food, including jerk chicken and pork, steamed cabbage, sushi, fish, endless breakfast buffets, burgers, onion rings and a habachi-style grill. Not only was the food great and unlimited, but also the alcohol was all inclusive. It was great to not have to worry about paying for drinks or tipping. The concept of paying for drinks now is insane! Some of the drinks we had were BBC's (Baileys, Bananas, Colada Mix), Bahama Mommas, pina coladas, Frangelico, Caribbean Islands(long island iced tea with a bunch of random rums), tequila, sake bombs and others. We also did a bunch of activities including riding a hobie cat boat, snorkling and chilling at the beach.

CLICK HERE Check Out The Highlights of the Trip in This Album!

Overall, the trip was amazing! Not only were we there to for David & Michelle's special day, but we also had an awesome vacation. We would totally go back to Turks & Caicos and highly recommend it to anyone!

Aubrey's 1st Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T22:55:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving for the S-B's follows the same tradition since Erica and I got married. We celebrate lunch at the Buenaventura's and then dinner at the Sison's. This year's celebration was special because it was Aubrey's first Thanksgiving.

At around 11:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day, we arrived at Mom & Dad's house in San Diego. We had the traditional turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, honey-baked ham and a ton of desserts that included cheesecake, apple and pudding pies and cookies. Not only was it Aubrey's first Thanksgiving, but it was the very first time that she eaten table food and on her own. We chopped up some turkey and veggies and placed the food onto her high chair tray, where she grubbed her food. By the time she was done with her meal, there was no food left.

After we ate lunch and took photos, we took a took a 3.5 hour drive up north to Delano for Thanksgiving dinner. We made it just in time for dinner with the Sison Family and spent several days in Erica's hometown.

Stationery card

2011-11-23T23:03:00.001-08:00

Every Month Christmas Card

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Aubrey's Baptism

2011-11-12T22:28:00.000-08:00

On November 12th, 2011 our little Aubrey was baptized. The ceremony was located at the very first mission in San DIego called the Mission de la Acala, the same church that Derek was baptized. On this day, Aubrey gained two sets of god parents, our close friends Michelle, Steph, JR and Sam. Those in attendance included our immediate family and several of our other close friends, including Derek's god parents Nora and Joel, more friends. The baptism went well and Aubrey did not cry at all when she got her hair wet.

After the baptism, we hosted a reception at Nico's Steak & Chophouse, located in the Otay Ranch Mall in Chula Vista. The Menu was buffet style and included House Salad, Baked Fish, Stir Fried Teriyaki Sirloin Flat Iron Strips w/ Mushrooms & Onions, Chicken Pasta Primavera, Seafood Paella Espanola,Beef Sliders, Tuscan Potatoes, Macaroni & Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries and Dinner Rolls. There were a total of 65 guests, including some of our closest family and friends.

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T01:20:00.001-07:00

This year's Halloween was Aubrey's 1st as an S-B. All four of us dressed up for the occasion. Aubrey was dressed up as a cupcake, Derek was a firefighter, Erica dressed up as a woman firefighter and I dressed up as a baker.

Earlier in the month, we checked out a mini pumpkin patch adjacent to Southwestern College in Chula Vista. The "patch" had pumpkins and mini carnival rides for the kids. We took advantage of groupon offering $30 worth of ride tickets for $15. Derek was able to ride a train, a ferris wheel, cars and swings.

On Saturday October 29th, Aubrey and I went to our local Homeowner's Association meeting for a gathering and free Phil's BBQ. We thought it was contest but turns out it was just a raffle and a meet-and-greet. Aubrey wore her cupcake costume for the very first time and I was a baker. Our baby girl received a lot of "very cute costume" comments. Erica also snapped some photos after the HOA event.

The next day, we took pictures at Sears for some portraits. All four of us dressed up in our costumes and Erica and Derek paired up as firefighters while Aubrey and I were our baker and cupcake tandem.

After we took our photos, we got some lunch and the kids knocked out for their afternoon naps. Erica printed out some designs for jack-o-lanterns and as soon as Derek woke up, we carved out pumpkins. We made a Wonderpets "W" for one of Derek's favorite shows, a Manny Pacquiao logo pumpkin and two smiley faced pumpkins.

Halloween night was a blast! We passed out as much candy to the kids in the neighborhood and then headed out for some trick-or-treating. By then, Aubrey was over the cupcake outfit so we just dressed her up really warm and went outside. We met up with our good friends and neighbors Brendan, Nathan, Jenn & Ivan so that Derek and Brendan could get candy together. Pure coincidence that Derek was a firefighter and Brendan was a policeman. We didn't plan that, I swear! We were out for a good hour-and-a-half to two hours and the boys had a great time.

Derek's preschool had a Halloween party the day after Halloween and all of the kids in his classroom wore their Halloween costumes. Derek wore his firefighter costume for the third time and from what he told us, he had a great time with his classmates. The teachers threw a pizza party and all of the kids brought food, drinks and party supplies.

Overall, Halloween was a success. We had a great time celebrating and cannot wait until next year's celebration, when Aubrey can walk to the houses and get her candy too!

Aubrey's Milestones From Birth to 8 Months

2011-10-26T00:45:00.001-07:00

On the 23rd of October, our little Aubrey turned 8 months old. She has reached a bunch of milestones since she was born. Time is flying so fast. It seems like just yesterday that Aubrey was born. Here are few of the milestones that she has reached in her 8-month existence.

On March 28th, 2011, Aubrey slept 7 hours straight without any interruption. Keep in mind that at this point she barely turned a month old.

In April of this year, there were a couple of accomplishments. She started to use her voice on he 9th and on the 15th, she rolled from front to back. On the 19th, she slept through the night and gave us plenty of sleep in a span of less than 3 months.

On May 6th, she even made her first trip to Disneyland where she rode her first amusement park rides there, including the carousel, the Snow White ride, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.

Aubrey first rolled from her back to her tummy on May 20th.

The month of June was highlighted with her first time in the excersaucer(June 5th), discovering her thumb (June 10th) and sleeping in her bedroom for the very first time and sleeping through the night (June 23rd).

August brought out hand gestures, movement and the introduction to eating solids. On the 6th, Aubrey responded to a wave by waving back. Four days later, she first started getting on all fours and rocked back and forth as if she was prepping for crawling. On the 28th, we introduced her to solids by giving her rice cereal and she enjoyed it.

September 4th was the day Aubrey first ate peas, made by us rather than buying bottled jar food. The best part about making her food is that we know what's in it and it's purely organic. At first, she did not like them but after we strained them and softened the tecture, she became a fan.

Another huge accomplishment was Aubrey's first crawl on the 24th of September. She moved for 2 paces and then plopped on the floor. A day after that, she lied down on her tummy and sat up in sitting position very quickly.

The month of October was a busy month for new milestones. On the 1st, she began to stand on everything, including grabbing on chair legs, couches, our hands and other things. We also introduced her to puffs, Plum Baby spinach flavored snacks.

On the 2nd of October, we introduced Aubrey to greenbeans and on the same day, she crawled more than 2 paces, without plopping on her tummy. She's really getting the hang of the crawling.

The next morning, we found our baby Aubrey awake and standing up in her crib. She has been sleeping through the night for at least 7 months straight!

On October 8th, we bought Aubrey her first pair of shoes, the Pediped Abigail slip on shoes in white and silver. As you guys can see in the pic, she's very excited to have them!

Also on the 8th came Aubrey's first tooth(excuse the crying). It is on the bottom part of her mouth, the same location that Derek had his first tooth.

We can't believe it has been already 8 months! Can't wait for more milestones to come!

Derek's 3rd Birthday

2011-09-12T00:45:00.000-07:00

On August 26th, 2011, our first child, Derek Joshua became a 3-Year-Old. Where did the time fly??? I remember when Derek was barely crawling. Now he's a little man that can count to 10 in three different languages, who can feed himself, use the potty and do all sorts of other cool stuff. For his Birthday, we celebrated with 4 different events/locations. First, he celebrated his milestone with his Lolo & Lola (Erica's Parents) in Delano. Erica surprised Derek at his pre school with a visit and cupcakes for him and his classmates. We then spent a few days in Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure and then topped it off with a Birthday party at a local park within Chula Vista.

On the weekend of August 12th thru the 14th, the S-B's headed to Delano to visit the Sison House. This trip marked Aubrey's first trip to Delano. With only on pit stop for food and shopping in Valencia, we made it from our home to Delano in about 5 hours. All of us had a great time there and Derek got to blow out his first Birthday cake courtesy of his grand parents in Delano.

On the 23rd of August, Erica decided to pay Derek a visit at his school and surprise him with cupcakes for the class. During this special day, Derek received a Happy Birthday hat that we was very proud to wear and was able to sit in the teacher's chair with two friends that he selected from his class to sit next to him. Derek had the biggest smile on his face not just because it was his Birthday party at school, but because he got to spend that day with his Mommy. Check out some pics from the day.

The day after and through August 28th was the big Disney Celebration Bash. We booked a hotel room at the Carousel Suites, directly across Disneyland, the night before our trips to Disneyland and California Adventure. It was nice to not have to worry about driving up to Disney the day of our trip. We checked in at 4PM, walked around Downtown Disney for a bit to pick up some beignets and do some sight seeing, and then watched the Disneyland firework show from the 3rd floor of our hotel.

The following day, we walked from our hotel and spent the day at Disneyland. Our first stop was catching up with Derek's Ninang(Godmother) Nora. She happens to work at Disneyland so we stopped by and said hello. We proceeded to the Plaza Inn for breakfast with Minnie & Friends. Both Derek and Aubrey had a great time interacting with the Characters, including Minnie Mouse, Chip & Dale, Goofy's son Max, and others. This was the first time the kids had an up-close meeting with Disney characters. The food was excellent and Derek got multiple autographs from all the characters in attendance.

After the breakfast at the Plaza Inn, we proceeded to as many rides and attractions that Derek and the rest of our family could ride. Some of the rides that we rode included the carousel, the Disney Railroad, Autopia, Pirates of the Carribbean, It's a Small World, Finding Nemo Subarmine and Buzz Lightyear. All of us had a great time, including Aubrey and Derek. In the evening, we found an awesome spot for the fireworks towards the beginning of Main Street and watched the show. Immediately after the fireworks, we proceeded to Fantasmic, while unfortunately, the kids knocked out in the stroller. We can't wait for him to grow a couple of inches so that he can ride even more rides!

The next day, we continued to California Adventure on Derek's official Birthdate, August 26th. We noticed that there weren't as many rides that Derek could ride on like at Disneyland, but we made the most of it. We rode the Ferris Wheel, several rides in the Bug's life area, grabbed some hotdogs for lunch, walked back to our hotel for a quick break and then went back to Disneyland for a few rides, then back to California Adventure for the World of Color water show and then back to watch Fantasmic, since the kids missed it the night before. Check out some pics!

On day 4 of our Disney trip, we walked to this store called Ride Makerz, a store where you can build your own radio controlled car and we got Derek's Birthday present. He selected the car, color, rims, wheels and customized his own car. This car is still one of his favorite toys to play with.

The following Sunday was Derek's Birthday Party for the local friends and family. We had his party at a local park called Mountain Eagle Park, where we had some of our closest family and friends in attendance. There were two canopies set up and there was pizza, rolled sandwiches, pancit, lumpia, fruit, desserts and Birthday cake for our guests. Almost all of the kids brought water suits and played in an adjacent water fountain area. Great company and a great party. It topped the celebrations for our big toddler. We can't believe it has been 3 years since our Derek Joshua was born. Hope Derek and everyone else had fun celebrating 3 years of joy and happiness!

Happy Anniversary to us!!

2011-09-01T16:25:00.000-07:00

HI!! We celebrated our 5-year anniversary on August 19th. And exactly 5 years ago today, we were enjoying the final few days of our awesome honeymoon. Here's a flashback to our honeymoon journal. Oh my goodness, how different and carefree things were back then. :) Enjoy!!

Sunday, 8/20/06

Dean:
So the day after the best day of our lives, we gathered the Sison & Buenaventura families together for family portraits at La Jolla Cove in La Jolla, CA. Each of the family members wore white clothing. Our first photo was a portrait of all the family members from both sides.

Then we took some photos with the respective parts of the Buenaventura & Sison Families. It was the perfect start forging a new family.

After we got home from taking the photos, we received a preview of our wedding photos from Erica's Godbrother Don. He created this beautiful photo montage of various pictures that he took of our night. We watched the dvd with a few of our family members and friends.

We then watched several videos of our wedding day and night courtesy of Sam "the man." It was great seeing everyone enjoying themselves and viewing ourselves from a third party. We're so glad that everyone had a great time!

Monday, 8/21/06
Dean:
The night/morning of our departure, we packed, chilled and split a California Burrito. We did not get any sleep because we were excited and also worried that we wouldn't wake up. We caught up with our sleep on the plane.

Erica:
We departed from San Diego and made our first stop at LAX Los Angeles Airport. After the brief stop, we were on our way on a 5.5 hour flight to Maui. First class is awesome!! There’s so much foot room that I couldn’t reach the seat in front of me even with my legs fully stretched out. We also got free mimosas, champagne, cocktails, drinks, and also breakfast and dessert. They served either cereal or a cheese omelette for breakfast. Dean and I looked at each other and said “cheese omelette please!!

And oh my gosh that breakfast was soooooo good! After we ate, food coma took over us and we slept for most of the remainder of the flight to Maui. I woke up to a dark cabin, someone had gone around and pulled all the window shades down. Apparently we weren’t the only one’s who’d knocked out after breakfast, haha.

Dean:
As we arrived in Waikiki, we checked into our hotel, the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach:

and found our partial ocean view to be really pretty:

After we settled in, we made a quest to find authentic Hawaiian food. Instead we ended up eating at Cheesecake Factory. Yeah, we know this isn’t genuine Hawaiian food, but hey it is the only Cheesecake Factory in Hawaii. We ate some pasta and had leftovers. 2 hours later (6:00 PM Hawaii Time), we knocked out and did our best to catch up on sleep that we lost out on the night before.

Tuesday, 8/22/06
Dean:
Twelve hours later, we woke up and got ready to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We took a 1.5 hour bus trip to the Center where we found out where the tv show Lost and scenes from 50 First Dates and Jurassic Park were all filmed. At the Polynesian Cultural Center, we learned various facts of the Islands that make up Polynesia. We also ate at this awesome luau, where they honored all of the honeymooners at the Center by bringing them on stage and have all of us dance in front of all the visitors and staff.

We then walked around, took some pictures and watched the 7:30 show.

We got home at approximately 10:30 and knocked out in preparation for another exciting day in Waikiki.

Wednesday, 8/23/06
Erica:
We woke up this morning and made a run to the ABC store across the street to get some milk for the mini boxes of cereal we picked up from the breakfast buffet on Tuesday morning. We also picked up some bowls and utensils, a couple toiletry items, and one of those waterproof ID holder thingies. Then we came back to the room, sunscreened ourselves, and got ready for our water excursion.

We walked over to the hyatt regency pick up area at 7:45AM and got picked up by this really nice bus. After a few more stops to pick up other passengers, we were taken to the aloha tower, where our boat, the Starlet, awaited us.

So we walked to the boat, and after taking the souvenir picture, we boarded the boat. It was pretty big, 2 stories. They gave us ginger pills to settle our stomachs to minimize sea sickness, and got briefed on safety things, and restrooms, and the outline of the day, etc. We were taken half a mile off the coast of Waikiki and given fins, snorkeling mask and a choice of a life jacket, banana belt, or fun noodle, depending on our swimming ability. I of course got a life vest, and dean started out with a life vest, but ended up with a banana belt.

I was scared at first cause I haven’t been in the ocean since 2002 the last time we went to Hawaii, and I’ve also never gone swimming with a life vest, but I sucked it up and hopped in. not difficult at all. Just kinda scary when the waves of the water made the boat rise and head in my direction. But it was anchored, so there would be no scariness on this adventure.

They had a water trampoline, a couple innertubes, kayaks, a waterslide on the side of the boat, and a 10 foot diving platform to use. They also did a snorkeling tour that dean went on. I hung out on the boat and waited for lunch cause I was hungry, haha.

Lunch consisted of burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, baked beans, and various drinks. Really good food. Dean came back from the snorkeling tour, and he got his food.

So we ate and dean got dizzy, so he went out into the water, and I watched him as he got into a kayak. I was bored and decided to go into the water again too. And just as I was getting onto the platform to get in, I see him headed in the kayak, straight for the side of the boat…it was pretty funny, the lifeguard had to instruct him to paddle backwards to move away from the boat.

I felt brave and headed out to the trampoline so I could sit on the side of it. And sat there I did. Pretty fun, watched a couple brothers trying to see how far they could get on the inflated log thingy…I think it was meant for log rolling??

Anyway, we got called back onto the boat so we could go, and we were given brownies (OMG soooo good). We bought our souvenir pic cause it was cute. Then we got back to the dock, and then got bussed back to our hotel. We fell asleep on the way back to the hotel and I think we missed our stop, or we got off the bus early, but whatever. We debated whether we wanted to go to the beach or go back, rinse off the ocean water, and walk around. Since we were already in the ocean, it was pretty much the same thing if we went to the beach, so we decided to go back to the room and prepare to take a walk to explore.

Dean:
We made our way to Niketown.

There was nothing special about it. Personally, the San Ysidro Nike Outlet is way better. Better selection and better prices. We then took a bus to the Ala Moana Shopping Mall and walked around the mall. We bought some hats at the local “Lids” and then we ate some dinner at Bubba Gump’s. We then tried to find the Walmart in town but after walking several blocks, we were unsuccessful in locating it. People lie and give bad directions! So we went back to the hotel and called it a day.

Thursday, 8/24/06

Erica:
This morning we got picked up to watch this presentation for a couple hours in exchange for a dinner cruise and parasailing. We got a free light breakfast (ham and cheese omelette in a croissant and fresh fruit). When we got out, we got the vouchers for our activities.

In the beginning of our short walk back to our hotel, we saw this stand selling spam musubis. We had munchies, so got a couple, and ate while we walked.

We stopped by the front desk and asked if there was any microwaves around cause we had A LOT of leftover food in the fridge that we wanted to eat for lunch. They said they’d send one up to the room. As we were walking towards the elevator, we saw a couple people sitting at a table coloring. It was a coloring contest, and we figured that while we waited for the microwave, we’d need something to keep us occupied (and didn’t you know? We’re really 5 years old). So we did some coloring. We were very proud of how our sheets turned out, haha.

We went back upstairs, myspaced it for a bit, and got ready to go to the beach.

We stopped by the abc store to get one of those fold up mats, and headed out to find a spot on the beach. It was pretty crowded, but we managed to find a front spot, and I decided I wanted to go into the water, but not without an inner tube. So dean went back to the abc store to get one, came back and inflated it, and into the water we went. It was pretty shallow where we were, and the water was full of bright colored inner tubes, rafts, and various other flotation devices, all with children and adults alike attached. The waves were insane, and after being freaked out for a bit cause I was scared that I wouldn’t float when a wave came along, I got used to it and had some fun riding the waves. My inner tube kept getting deflated cause I don’t think the hole was closed enough, so dean kept trying to blow it up again while we were in the water. One really big wave sent us flying back onto the shore, so we got out of the water so he could re-inflate it. Then we went back in for a bit more, and back up to the room where we’re currently chillin until we get picked up for the dinner cruise tonight. It’s buffet. Very exciting :)

ok we just got back. The dinner cruise was fun. We had a lively escort from Samoa named “Cousin Biggie” who kept us chanting “bus number 6! Bus number 6!!” and dancing and yelling. She told us that if we forgot her name, to just look at her. Here’s a pic of us with her:

Friday, 8/25/06

We began the morning with parasailing. We woke up at around 8am and got dressed. The parasailing company was called Extreme Parasailing and they sent a shuttle to pick us up at around 9:30am. As we arrived at the docking port of the parasailing boat, we didn’t know what to expect. Both of us have never participated in that activity and were a little nervous. We boarded the boat and met a father and son from northern California that agreed to take photos with our camera in exchange for us shooting some pics with their camera. We also had the crew manning the boat take some photos for us for $15. As we ascended above the Oahu harbor, we could see the clear water and all the hotels along the Waikiki shoreline. It felt great. We felt like feathers floating along the wind. The view was so awesome! We took pictures of our own with our waterproof camera from our aerial view. Hopefully they turned out well.

After our exciting adventure parasailing, we grabbed some lunch at this hamburger joint called Cheeseburger in Paradise. The restaurant was kind of like Islands. We ordered a basket of cheese fries, a black & blue burger and an “its all good” burger. The cheese fries was composed of melted jack cheddar cheese. The black & blue burger was a bacon and blue cheese combination burger. The “its all good” burger came with guacamole, bacon, swiss cheese, colbyjack cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. All of the food was awesome.

We then grabbed our inner tubes and jumped in the beautiful Waikiki ocean. We floated in our tubes for about 2 hours and enjoyed the sunshine. The waves were huge and the water was warm. Inner tubes are great!

We worked up an appetite from the swimming and floating. After doing some walking, we came across this mom & pop sushi fast food shop and picked up 4 spam hand rolls. We took the rolls back to the hotel ate 3 of them along with left overs, while catching up on all of the Big Brother Allstars episodes that we missed. We also drank some complimentary champagne from the hotel to wash down our food. We knocked out at around 7pm and didn’t wake up until the next morning.

Saturday, 8/26/06

Saturday was dedicated to shopping. We took a 1.5 hour bus ride to Aloha Stadium where we hit up the local flea market to grab souvenirs and gifts. That place is probably the best place to go when shopping for aloha shirts, jewelry, necklaces and t-shirts. While walking around the flea market, we bought a baby coconut and drank coconut juice. After we killed the juice, we had the meat of the coconut cut up and ate the pieces. We purchased gifts for our family, friends and even snuck in a couple of things for ourselves. We rounded the swap meet for about 3 hours and took another long bus ride back to Waikiki where we stopped by L&L’s and Jack in the Box. We ordered small orders of chicken katsu and a loco moco at L&L’s and picked up some large fries and a chicken sandwich at Jack in the Box (yeah, there’s plenty of Jack in the Boxes in the main land but we both were craving French fries!) Taking full advantage of our beachside view on our room’s balcony, we ate our lunch while looking at the ocean.

After lunch, we chilled for a bit and packed our stuff for our trip to Maui. We stuffed all of our souvenirs in our bags along with our clothes and toiletries that we brought for the honeymoon. After jam-packing our luggage to their fullest capacities, we hung out and got ready for dinner.

For dinner, we headed to The Colony, an award-winning fine dining restaurant located in the Hyatt Regency Waikiki. This restaurant is best known for their steaks. We chose this place because earlier in the week, we got this coupon book called the Metrobook, where we found a coupon for a “buy one meal, get an entrée for free.” It didn’t hurt that this place was considered one of the best if not the best restaurant in Waikiki.

Dean:
Erica and I came to the restaurant each dressed in casual attire. I wore a shirt and a jumpman Jordan tank top while Erica wore a tank top and jean skirt. Supposedly, I wasn’t dressed appropriately for the setting, so the hostess provided me with a black and brown aloha shirt. We went in and received reassurance that we could be able to use the “buy one get one free” coupon and ordered our dinner. I ordered a 14 oz. filet minion with mashed potatoes, a bowl of clam chowder and an oreo cookie cheesecake. Erica ordered a 14 oz. filet minion with mashed potatoes (free entrée). We split the clam chowder and the oreo cookie cheesecake. The Colony did not disappoint. The food was awesome and we even had leftovers. I would definitely recommend this place, especially if you have that coupon that we had.

After the awesome dinner, we walked around a bit and wrapped up our shopping in Waikiki. We picked up a few more things and then headed back to the hotel.

Sunday, 8/27/06

Today, we started off the morning by eating at Duke’s Waikiki Restaurant, a eatery located in our hotel, the Outrigger on the Beach, in honor of the pioneer of surfing in Hawaii and all over the world. It was a breakfast buffet that offered omelets, French toast, pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon and other breakfast delights. The food was excellent. We didn’t do too much damage.

After breakfast, we grabbed our belongings and waited for our shuttle to the airport. We waited an extra 20 minutes longer that we should have and eventually we got to the airport. We got the airport and headed to our next destination, Maui.

At around 3ish, we arrived in Maui.

Once we arrived, we grabbed our baggage from the check out conveyer belt and proceeded to the Alamo shuttle service, where we went to pick up our rental car. We ended up with a convertible white Chrysler Sebring. After inspecting the vehicle, putting the top down and adjusting the mirrors, we hopped on the 30 and headed to the Hono Koa Resort, where we will be staying for the week in Maui (Thanks to Elaine & Carlito!).

The Hono Koa is a time share that is fully furnished with kitchen supplies, stocked bedrooms and baths and has a washer dryer. After unpacking our things, we met with the concierge lady who gave us restaurant recommendations and asked if we wanted to do any activities. Since we’d had an eventful week in Oahu, we just wanted to sort of chill this week, but graciously took notes on the restaurants, many of which we’ll be visiting for dinner this week. Since we mentioned that we wanted to pick up groceries, she recommended we go to Safeway and have dinner at this restaurant called E&O.

This place was like an Asian-Fusion-type casual dining place. We ordered calamari and this spicy chicken dish called Chicken Firecracker. The food was great and we had a satisfying meal. We then headed to the Safeway right next door where we picked up groceries for the week. It was a taste of normalcy being able to shop for groceries again, and having a car means freedom from sucky public transportation.

Monday, 8/28/06

Erica:

On our first full day in Maui, we had a really chill, restful day. It was nice to have a fully-stocked kitchen where we can prepare our own food and have a normal set of meals. After breakfast, we headed out to Lahaina, where we hit up the Hilo Hattie’s and I made a stop at Wet Seal to pick up a couple strapless tops so I wouldn’t have to deal with another messed up tan, haha. We drove down Front Street to see what kind of restaurants and places were around there, and when we got back on the 30, we spotted a mini swap meet and made a quick stop there cause we had forgotten to get something at the aloha bowl swap meet. After getting what we needed, we made another quick stop at Safeway to get ice cream.

When we got back to the Hono Koa, we made spaghetti for lunch. The spaghetti put us into food coma, and we ended up napping for a couple hours. We woke up and watched an interesting show on Discovery Health, and then headed out onto the deck up next to the ocean armed with magazines to read as we waited for the sunset.

Once the sun went down, we got ready to go out for dinner. We ended up at the Hula Grill in Whaler’s Village.

The waiting times were 30 minutes for the bar, and an hour for the main dining room. To save on having to pay tip, and also to save time cause we were pretty hungry, we just ordered for take-out. It only took 15 minutes, so we just walked around while we waited.

Dean found his long lost friend:

After we picked up our food (a couple pupus, and a couple pizzas), we headed back to the Hono Koa, and had a nice dinner.

It hasn’t been very eventful yet here, but we’re enjoying this change of pace :) There’s no schedule that we have to follow, and I’m really grateful for this time to just enjoy life. With the whole period of almost two years where we were planning the wedding and also getting settled into the new house, I forgot what it was like to not be busy. I was kind of worried that I’d have a problem transitioning into having free time, that I’d be bored easily. But it’s been wonderful. This time away is teaching me to relax again, to settle my brain of all worries.

Tuesday, 8/29/06

Dean:

Hanging out in Maui is great. There’s noting like a little R&R in the so-called “Best Island in the World.” Today we woke up at around 10ish (we seem to be getting up later and later the longer we stay in Hawaii). We munched on our leftover pizza from last night’s dinner, spam & eggs, cereal and oatmeal. It was kind of like brunch rather than breakfast. After we chowed down, we headed back to Hilo Hattie’s, where we claimed our free gifts which consisted of a beach towel and a mug, for spending a certain amount of money. Aftewards, we went to the local post office, where we picked up packing supplies to ship our souvenirs rather than taking them on the plane with us. We figured that it would be easier on our backs and luggage to send our gifts home. Then we headed to the Lahaina Cannery, a local neighborhood shopping center, where we stopped at Starbucks and walked around. In the center, we also went inside the ABC store to pick up a floating raft for the pool.

After our brief gallivanting around Maui, we went back to the condo where we packed our gifts in the boxes we picked up. We filled up two boxes and got them ready for shipping. As soon as we got done packing the boxes, we went out to grab dinner. We were craving sushi so first we went to this local strip center with a mom & pop sushi restaurant. The selection wasn’t that great and the prices were up there. We walked around the area with the sushi place and didn’t see anything appealing. We remembered this one sushi restaurant that the concierge at the condo recommended called Sansei. So we headed north to Kapalua, about 10 minutes north of the condo and proceeded to Sansei. We grabbed a to-go menu and ordered a bagel, spicy tuna, yaki maki and rainbow rolls. The bagel roll consisted of smoked salmon, maui onions and cream cheese. The spicy tuna roll had fresh Hawaiian ahi tuna. The yaki maki roll was a California roll wrapped with smoked salmon and baked with dynamite sauce. Finally, the rainbow roll was a California roll with fresh maguro, sake and avocado. We ate our sushi while watching the latest episode of Big Brother All-Stars. The sushi was awesome! Now we know why it was recommended and why it was an award-winning restaurant.

Wednesday, 8/30/06

Erica:

we got up at around 9 this morning and went to the post office to send the two boxes of souvenirs back home. We didn’t eat breakfast, so we went to Lahaina and got some McDonalds french fries and did a little more exploring. Dean had been wanting a plate lunch, and in the middle of our exploring, we ran into this place called Aloha Mixed Plate right behind the Lahaina Cannery Mall. It had won the award for best plate lunch and a couple other things, so we decided to stop by and give it a try. I got a Hawaiian plate, which had kalua pig, poi, lomi lomi salmon, two scoops of rice, and a scoop of macaroni salad. We also stopped by Safeway again cause we ran out of cheese for our sandwiches, and then went back to the condo.

Dean:

I finally got my lunch plate! Can’t have a trip to Maui without an authentic Hawaiian lunch plate. I ordered a breaded teriyaki steak plate which consisted of katsu-style teriyaki beef, 2 scoops of rice and a side of macaroni salad. That was very filling and satisfying. I couldn’t finish the lunch plate and therefore kept it for leftovers. I foresee us going back there before we leave Maui.

After our filling lunch, we chilled in the condo for a bit and then we headed to the pool. It took me 10 attempts, but I finally was able to lie belly-first on our floating raft. We swam, read magazines and sun bathed for a total of 4 hours. Cosmo is a pretty good magazine. I ran out of fantasy football magazines (yeah I have to prep for a couple of fantasy leagues) so I grabbed Erica’s Cosmo. There are a lot of interesting facts in that mag. It was very relaxing and it wasn’t too hot outside. Afterwards, we washed up, ate dinner. We checked our emails and guess what, we got an email from our wedding photographer, Susie, with a link to view our wedding photos! We were so excited that we spent over 3 hours viewing the photos via slideshow. There were over 1,000 edited photos. That email sweetened the honeymoon. We spent the rest of the night looking at the pictures.

Thursday 8/31/06

Dean:

After a nice sleep we got up at around 10ish. As soon as we got up, we ate some breakfast and more leftovers. We had cereal, pizza from a couple nights ago, the rest or our plate lunches and last night’s 4-cheese rice-a-roni. It was very filling. We then made a quick trip to Safeway for a small grocery run. We picked up some fruit, pancake mix and some water.

After the quick run, we chilled at the condo for a bit and then headed to the pool. I went for a swim while Erica read a few magazines and a book. We ate a quick snack, watched the latest Big Brother All-Stars episode and then played some cards.

We had dinner at Sansei, a sushi restaurant we got take-out at a couple of days ago. They had a special, 50% off sushi and appetizers. We took advantage of the deal and ordered a rainbow roll, a tempura shrimp roll, ahi tataki salad, Japanese calamari salad, tempura calamari rings and tempura sweet potatoes. All of the rolls and appetizers were great. The 50% off on each item sweetened the deal. After dinner, we headed back to the condo for some more R&R.

Friday 9/1/06

Dean:

We slept in again woke up around 10:30. Elaine called us and told us about this Pilipino fast food joint near the condo called Lourdes. After driving around, we spotted the place but instead of Lourdes, it was called Lynn’s. We grabbed some rice and a side of food. We were also craving lunch plates, so we drove to Aloha Mixed Plate for the 2nd time! L&L’s and Da Kine’s can’t touch this place. I ordered chicken katsu while Erica ordered the kalbi beef with rice and macaroni.

After lunch, we spent the Friday counting down the days until we get to go home. We were feeling the homesickness and wanted to see our girls, Nala and Kiwi. We basically sat around, watched TV and viewed the wedding photos for the rest of the day.

Saturday 9/2/06

Dean:

Another day in paradise and just a couple more days until we head home. We slept in and woke up around lunch time. For some reason, we were craving burgers. We found a local burger place called Johnny’s Burger Joint, a bar and grill next to the Kaanapali Golf Course. Both of us ordered a cheeseburger and we split a basket of garlic fries to go. While we were waiting for our burgers, we played some pool. The pool table was in an awkward spot. One of the sides of the table was really close to the wall, so basically we had to struggle to make a shot if the cue ball rolled on that side. Once the food was ready, we finished our game of pool and took our food to this park right across the post office. We found a bench and sat down with an awesome ocean view. After lunch, we cruised around Maui and headed back to the condo. We turned on the lap top and browsed our wedding photos once again. We can’t ever get tired of looking at those photos.

Towards the end of the night, we noticed a tiny lizard creeping around the condo. To put it in perspective, the lizard was the size of a quarter in diameter, but it still scared the crap out of us. After numerous attempts of trying to catch that thing, I finally was able to corner the reptile and trap it under a glass. In doing so, I accidentally chopped off a portion of its tail. I didn’t mean to do it, I just didn’t want the slippery thing to some how sneak into our bags and follow us to San Diego. I dragged the glass over a piece of paper and slowly placed the glass outside on the balcony. That event brought some adventure to our vacation. For a minute I felt like the crocodile hunter (may he R.I.P).

Sunday 9/3/06

Dean:

Sunday would be our last day on our honeymoon. It’s hard to go back to work and responsibility, but at the same time, it will be a new chapter in our lives as we begin life as a happily married couple.

We woke up at around 9. After packing the rest of our belongings, we let the uncovered the lizard on the balcony and checked out of the condo. Our flight wasn’t until scheduled for 10PM, so we had plenty of time to kill. We decided to head over to the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Mall and got there at around 11. This mall was an outdoor, 2-story mall with major department stores and a movie theatre. We worked up an appetite and made a pit stop at the mall’s food court, where we got some Hawaiian food, Panda Express and a taco. Pearl’s Barbeque, Panda Express and Maui Taco were the fast food places we got our grub. It sounds like a lot but it was just enough for the both of us. At Pearl’s, we grabbed a plate of Korean BBQ with rice and sides. That place was really good. We also grabbed a small bowl of chow mein and a taco at Panda and Maui Tacos. After lunch, we still had about 4 hours before check-in. To kill more time, we went to the movie theatre and watched the movie Step Up. It ended up being a really good movie. As soon as the movie was over, we gassed up the rental car and turned it in to the Alamo rental car company. We hoped on the airport shuttle and arrived at the Maui Airport where we checked out bags in and got ready for our flight back to San Diego. Unfortunately, our plane was delayed for an additional hour. We sat at the airport for an extra hour and snacked on some nachos. Finally, the plane arrived and we were able to board.

First class is awesome! We took our seats and prepared for the 5.5 hour flight. We were exhausted and ready to get back home to San Diego. Dinner was served at around midnight and it was really delicious. We had a side salad, pasta, ravioli and a chocolate cheese cake. Probably the best airline food both of us have ever tasted! After we ate dinner, both of us knocked out and slept through out the flight.

5 Years of Life, Love & Laughter

2011-08-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2011 marked our 5-Year Wedding Anniversary. To celebrate the momentous occasion, we celebrated with a nice evening of appetizers and desserts and hosted a small gathering of our wedding party along with their significant others.

On the actual day of our Anniversary, both Erica and I went to work. We were both treated with free lunches. Erica had a UCSD campus gathering while my team at work went to Jake's in Del Mar. As the evening approached, both of us enjoyed some fondue at Melting Pot in La Jolla, within 5 minutes of our places of work. For appetizers, we enjoyed cheese fondue with sides that included bread, veggies and apples. For dessert, with had two different chocolate fondues with an assortment of sliced bananas, strawberries, cheese cake, rice crispy treats and marshmellows. Check out the pics!

The week after our Anniversary, we invited all our wedding party and their significant others to a 5-Year Reunion. We had food, drinks, watched our Wedding video, played Buzz for PS3 and caught up with our lives. It was awesome to hang out with everyone (except for Nora, Noel, Dan, Rina & Alethea due to prior engagements). We had lots of laughs and "awe" moments. All of us partied passed midnight and everyone had a great time, including those who weren't at the wedding Dan- Aurena's Fiance, Jessica- Buddy's girlfriend and Jamie Sam's girlfriend. They got to see a whole new perspective of our wedding, including a behind the scenes glimpse as well as the fun that the wedding party and guests that were at the event. Thanks you guys for reminding us of what great friends we have as well as recreating the special day. You guys mean so much to us.

fun and funny

2011-07-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

Quickly dropping by to share a few glimpses into our past week:

We had a shoot with none other than the lovely Susie Linquist, a dear friend and our kids' lifelong photographer (literally). To us, she's family. She moved away a little more than a year ago to be near her own family as she now has a baby boy of her own. When I heard she would be coming back to San Diego, I jumped at a chance to meet her baby boy (he's gorgeous), and have her photograph our Aubrey. Here's a photo taken after we finished our session:

Saturday brought us a visit from Aurena and Dan. We hang out with them monthly and this weekend, they treated Dean and I to a date day. They watched Derek and Aubrey while we went to watch Harry Potter in 3D. Aubrey wasn't feeling too well, she wasn't really keeping anything down, but was otherwise in good spirits. Aurena and Dan were real troopers, I think she threw up on both of them...and every photo that Aurena texted me, Aubrey was wearing a different outfit, haha. We're very grateful to have such wonderful friends who love our kids.

On Sunday, we had a lazy morning and midday at home. While Aubrey napped, Dean and Derek ran a quick errand.

When they came home, Derek and I hung out, drawing in his new notebook and playing with his truck. I was laying down on the floor and Derek sent his truck rolling towards my head and...

Yes, it got stuck. Dean was able to get it untangled (thanks hub!) without having to cut my hair. I was NOT excited about this particular hair accessory, but Dean's reaction was pretty funny. :)

We wanted to go on an outing to the park, but I wanted to feed Aubrey before we left. Derek decided he wanted to feed her, so he put on the nursing pillow and I placed Aubrey on it. She looked sort of confused and when she realized that Derek wasn't me, she looked up at me with this look on her face:

and when Derek realized that his idea wasn't going to work, he gave me this face:

heh.

So I fed her, and off we went to the park!

We walked around the park a few times and visited Eric and Christina, our friends who live close-by. Then we headed to the playground, where Derek had a really good time on the slides and stuff.

So now it's Monday and already i'm looking forward to this coming weekend. Our kids are growing really fast. Sometimes I do a double-take when i'm looking at them and think, "Sheesh, they're really tall! when the heck did that happen??" Can time just slow down a little bit?? At least while our kids are still little so we can enjoy this stage.

Have a great week, everyone!

hello again!

2011-06-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

it's been a while, hasn't it? it's Erica, by the way. :)

i haven't written since before Aubrey existed, so just wanted to get back on here and play catch up.

things i've learned since becoming a mama of 2

you do more worrying about baby #1
seriously.
Before we left the hospital, our nurse gave me once bit of knowledge: your 2nd won't remember having to wait 5 minutes, but your 1st will. Which makes total sense, right?? So from the minute we brought Aubrey home, i've made it a point not to make him wait any longer than he used to before Aubrey was born. Of course, there were exceptions, such as when Aubrey was nursing or screaming her head off, but Derek knew that at those moments, his patience was greatly appreciated.
But back to the point. Having a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) child doesn't diminish the love you have for the first. I've found myself worrying that he'd feel like his importance has been cut or that he'd think we loved him less. The beauty of all the worrying, however, is that you're extra aware of that possibility, and do what you can to prevent it.

you discover the value of taking turns
When you have two kids, everyone is taking turns. EVERYONE. Your kids take turns for your attention, you and your husband take turns eating, napping, changing diapers, getting up in the middle of the night, etc. Derek came up with "taking turns" very early on. He'd always be very attentive to when I was busy with Aubrey. As soon as I would get up to lay her down, he'd run over and ask, "Is it Derek's turn??" It always put a smile on my face and I was thankful for his patience and the reminder to shower him with my attention.

coordinating naptimes is NOT easy.
Can we say SABOTAGE??
holy moly. my biggest challenge was getting one kid down to nap without the other sabotaging my efforts. For the most part, it was Derek waking up Aubrey everytime I would put her down to nap. Just when she'd fall asleep and i'd go to put her down, Derek would pick that exact moment to dump a bin of mega bloks or run up to me and yell, "IS IT DEREK'S TURN??".
Aubrey got her revenge a couple times though. Right when Derek's eyes would start to close, she'd start crying, then his eyes would pop open. And once Derek's eyes have opened, all hopes for a nap are gone, gone, gone. Then there went my two quiet afternoon hours of peace and quiet. And while I was out on maternity leave, boy did I look forward to those two hours.

taking care of the 2nd is just like riding a bike.
SO MUCH EASIER!! i definitely knew what i was doing this time around, which made things a lot more efficient. the major new thing to learn was how to keep Derek involved and used to having Aubrey around.

Derek is a loving big brother. Very attentive and patient. I couldn't ask for more. Both kids are amazing, Aubrey slept through the night very early on, and life is great. I've been back to work since the end of April, and I still miss my babies every day.

Now i'm gonna leave you with some fun videos!

Derek holding Aubrey at 1 month old (I think):

Derek flying a kite (sometime around May 20th):

Aubrey rolling over!! (May 22nd):

Aubrey and Derek switching toys (June 18th):

and a fun one featuring the S-B men (June 26th):

Happy 4th everyone!!

Aubrey's First Trip to Disneyland

2011-05-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

On May 6th, 2011, we made a spontaneous trip to Disneyland. Our really good friends Michelle & David hung out with us while we made the trip up to Anaheim. Erica had the day off and I had a half day of work. The night before, Michelle contacted Erica and asked if we wanted to go to Disneyland and we said “hell yeah!” Derek's God Mother, Nora, was able to score us tickets to get into the park. This trip was Aubrey’s first time at Disneyland and it was the first time we had a blast. With David & Michelle’s help, we survived the day with Derek & Aubrey. Our little girl rode almost every ride that Derek rode, including the carousel, Pirates of the Carribean and a few others. Derek rode the tea cups with David & I. It was cool catching up with Michelle & David and they tended to our kids like they were their parents. Those two will make awesome parents some day.  We capped the evening with the cool firework show and then picked up some beignets in Downtown Disney. The kids were knocked out while we were in Downtown Disney and slept for the entire trip home. Check out some highlights of our day!

Mom's 65th Birthday

2011-05-17T13:00:00.001-07:00

April 26th, 2011 was my Mom’s 65th Birthday. We celebrated her birthday and Easter on the 24th at The Cheesecake Factory. This was big milestone not only for my Mom, but also the S-B’s. That day marked the very first time we took Aubrey to a sitdown restaurant. In attendance were my parents, my brother Jay and his family Joanna, Jalen & Jolene and Joanna’s Mom, Jennifer. Aubrey was a trooper. She was very mello and even fell asleep on Erica’s lap. Derek ate some of his lunch and he also knocked out while the rest of the Family ate. This beats chasing a toddler around in a restaurant and tending to an infant. It’s a sign for good things to come!

On her actual day of her birthday, we gathered at my parents house and enjoyed some dinner and Birthday cake, where the grandchildren helped Mom blow out the candles on her Birthday cake. Hope you had an awesome Birthday celebration, Mom!

Safari Park

2011-05-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

On April 18th, 2011, Derek, Mom, Dad and Ron went to Safari Park, formerly the San Diego Wild Animal Park while Erica stayed home with Aubrey and I was at work. This was Derek's 2nd appearance at this place. The first time he went was when he just turned 1. Erica and I took Derek to this place for his Birthday and he's grown a lot since then. Over 1.5 years later, Derek was able to recognize more animals, climb up benches, run freely and ride the carousel. He had a great time spending the day with his grandparents and Uncle. On the way home, he knocked out and slept in for the day. Check out some pics:

Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa

2011-04-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

On April 16th, 2011, our Dad and Derek & Aubrey's grandpa celebrated his 65th Birthday. To celebrate his day, Dad went to church in the morning, hung out for a bit, then when to church again in the evening and capped the night by celebrating at Black Angus with the Buenaventura Family. With all of the events and responsibilities that each family member has, its always great to have every single member of our family together in one setting. Another special note for that evening: It was the very first time we took Aubrey to a restaurant. She did extremely well. Everyone had a blast! Happy Birthday Dad/Grandpa! Hope you had an awesome Birthday! Check out some pics from Black Angus!

A Full Year of Legoland

2011-04-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

It was a great idea to get the Legoland Resort tickets. We've had Legoland season passes for nearly 1 year and we've been to Legoland at least 15 times in that span of time. It was a great run and we watched Derek grow from being limited to certain rides to riding a bunch of new ones over the 36" mark.

On Monday April 4th, Derek and Erica had a Mommy-Son day at Legoland. Here are some pics:

On Monday, April 11th, I took the day off of work to take Derek to Legoland for the last time of our annual pass. We were accompanied by my brother Jay and his family Joanna, Jalen & Jolene. Derek's cousins were on spring break and we went there at a perfect time. The park was not busy at all and we got to ride almost every ride in the park. Best of all, Derek had a blast and we didn't have to use a stroller! It was fun Legoland...time for another annual pass to another theme park.

Aubrey Jade At 3 Weeks

2011-04-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

At the age of 3 weeks for Aubrey, we decided to take some photos from Chasing Light Photography by Kate. She photographed our family for Derek's 2nd Birthday. We found Kate from a Groupon certificate that we purchased. We enjoyed her work the first time so we bought another one for Aubrey's photos. The shoot was held at our local recreation center called Winding Oaks and in our home. Check out some of the pics!

For more photos, click here!

Grandma & Grandpa Take Derek to the Zoo

2011-04-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

On March 23, 2011, The Buenaventura Grandparents took Derek to the World Famous San Diego Zoo. He got to see a bunch of the animals there, including the elephants, monkeys, tigers, polar bears and other exhibits. All three of them rode the zoo bus that took them around the entire park. According to his grandparents, Derek didn't need a stroller and he walked almost the entire time there. Check out some pics!

Aubrey Jade's Birth Captured by Brit Mann Photography

2011-03-11T23:04:00.000-08:00

In the days leading to the birth of our Aubrey Jade, we hired a photographer named Brit Mann of Brit Mann Photography, to capture the special day. Brit specializes in photographing births, families and portraits. She did an amazing job in capturing our birth experience of Aubrey, including the very instant that we made it to UCSD Medical Center leading to the birth of our 2nd baby. We're so glad that she was there to not only snap the pictures but also to be a part of the special day. Thank you so much Brit!

Here's the Birth Story of Aubrey Jade, captured by Brit Mann.

We arrived at UCSD Medical Center on Wednesday February 23rd at approximately 2:15PM. I had the valet park the car while the attendant gave us a wheel chair for Erica.

We checked in and got our room for the birth at around 2:45PM.

Our midwife, Jaide, was in clinic the day of the birth so the midwife on-call, Linda, was there to deliver Aubrey.

At 3:09 PM, Miss Aubrey Jade was born.

I made some calls to let everyone know that Aubrey had arrived.

Brit (far left) and our Doula Eileen (far right) were there to help us get through the day. Brit did a phenomenal job capturing the photos while I did my best to encourage Erica. Eileen was an amazing doula who helped Erica get through the birth. Thanks again guys!

Welcome Aubrey Jade Sison-Buenaventura

2011-03-01T00:26:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday February 23rd, 2011 at 3:09PM, we were blessed to have our new baby girl, Aubrey Jade born into this world. At birth, she weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measured at 20.8 inches in length. She was born at the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest.

Here's how our the day progressed leading up to the birth of our daughter. At approximately 7:20 AM, we woke up and got ready for work (Yeah both of us went to work. Crazy huh?) We got to work and at around 10:30AM, Erica called to let me know that I might want to come and pick her up cause it was time. So I dropped everything and showed up at her office only to find her still working on stuff. After she finished up, we drove home and grabbed our luggage and other essentials for the birth. We proceeded to UCSD hospital at around 1:30PM and on the way over there, Erica's water breaks in the car. We checked in our car at the valet and I wheeled her into the waiting room. At the hospital, there wasn't enough nurses on duty at the birth center, so they had us go to the labor and delivery floor. We waited for almost an hour and the surges were coming at a rapid pace. It was time for the baby to come out. Only 17 minutes had elapsed from when they put the electro fetal monitor on Erica until she gave birth to Aubrey Jade at 3:09 PM, with no epidural, no IV, no drugs. She had an all-natural birth, the birth that we desired. Our birth photographer said that she made childbirth look easy. :) Erica was a trooper and even after Aubrey was born, Erica was up and walking, without any soreness or fatigue. That evening, Erica's parents and brother, Rick, drove all the way from Delano to visit us. The following morning, my parents visted us at the hospital. We were discharged Thursday at 6:30PM, and we came home to Derek waiting for his baby sister to arrive.

Welcome to the World Aubrey Jade! Now there are 4 S-B's in existence! Shout out to Erica, who carried Aubrey in her belly for exactly 39 weeks and delivered her without any medication. We can't wait to see what's in store for our household. Thanks everyone, including our family, our friends and everyone else that has supported us. We love you all!

Baby Showers

2011-02-28T18:58:00.000-08:00

Before we had our 2nd baby, Erica had a couple of baby showers thrown in her honor.

The first was a very intimate one with Erica's closest friends at our house. The guests included Aurena, Nora, Michelle, Rochelle, Annie, Steph, Sheryl & Yella. They played several games including Who's That Baby, Who's The Celebrity Baby, Guess Mommy's Measurement, Beat The Clock, Baby Price Is Right, Baby Parts Quiz and Wright Family Poem.

The following day, the Buenaventura's threw Erica a baby shower at Beijing Chinese Buffet in National City. This event included 65 of our close family and friends. We also played games including the measurement of Erica's belly, memory and an assortment of raffles.

Erica's 30th Birthday Celebration & The Ellen Show

2011-02-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

On February 9th, 2010, Erica was welcomed into the 30-year-old club. That same day, she became officially 37 weeks pregnant. Both of us went to work and took a half day. At work, Erica was greeted with Happy Birthday's from her coworkers as well as a cream puff cake. We spent lunch at our favorite restaurant, Onami's in Mission Valley. After lunch, we headed to several baby appointments. Erica's parents came in that same day and we picked them up from my parents house. We capped the rest of the day hanging out with them and got ready for a day in Burbank for the Ellen Degeneres Show.

The following morning, Erica, her parents and I took a day trip up to Burbank for the Ellen Degeneres show. We got tickets for the Grammy's show, which aired the following Friday. We woke up at 4am in the morning and left San Diego at 5am. We did not have guaranteed tickets, but rather standby tickets. This means that we had to show up at the WB Studios at least at 830am to get first-come-first-serve ticket numbers. Once we got there at around 840am, we were approximately numbers 40th thru 43rd as standby members. We had about 4 hours to kill so after we got the tickets, we ate at Bob's Big Boy, then proceeded to the streets of Hollywood, where we checked out the Hollywood sign, stars and the Chinese Mann Theatre. We finally got into the show and the guests included two performances by Ricky Martin and Samuel L. Jackson. Erica scored a free shirt since she was "13 months pregnant" and we all came home each with a Grammys Hits CD for 2011 and a Ricky Martin CD. On the way home we stopped by Irvine for some Thai food and then picked up our little man from my parents house.

Jalen's 10th Birthday

2011-01-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

Our nephew and Derek's cousin, Jalen, celebrated his 10th Birthday at Legoland California in Carlsbad. Jalen is my brother and sister's first of two children. This was the first time that we had an outing with my brother Jay and his family. Usually we spend time with the entire family during holidays and an occasional hangout out but we've never been to a theme park together. All of us had a great time. Even though the S-B's have Legoland passes and we've been to Legoland 12 times since we got the passes, there were still several rides that we did not ride until this day. These attractions included Skipper School, Sky Scraper Climber, Dune Raiders, Cargo Ace, and Hideaways. Derek had so much fun that he did not take a nap until we left the park. We ended the day by going over to Mom & Dad's house for dinner, which included Hawaiian BBQ and chocolate birthday cake. Overall, we were happy that Jalen enjoyed his 10th Birthday at Legoland we were glad to be a part of his special day!

Christmas & New Year's Break 2010

2011-01-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

This past Christmas & New Years break was full of family time, fun and relaxation. We kept the same traditions of spending Christmas with both sides of our family. As always, Christmas Eve was celebrated in San Diego with the Buenaventura's while Christmas Day was spent in Delano, CA with the Sison's. For the Eve of Christmas, we spent the evening at Jay, Joanna, Jalen & Jolene's house. That evening was spent hanging out, playing video games, eating lots of food and of course, opening presents. Each of the adults in the family participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange in which each participant spent a minimum of $50 on their perspective draw. The kids, Derek, Jalen & Jolene all got hooked up with presents from the family. Erica and I got gift cards and cash, while Derek ended up with a train set, some cash, gift cards, a dancing Mickey Mouse plush toy, a mini helicopter, clothes and a toy car. As a Buenaventura tradition, we dressed up in a single color. This year it was yellow. In the previous years it was powdered blue, green and red.

The following morning on Christmas Day, we took a trip to Delano and spent the weekend with the Sisons (minus Elaine, Carlito, Xavier, Zachary & Ysabelle. They were in the Philippines celebrating Christmas in the Motherland). We ate more food, opened presents and hung out with the family. We also did a gift exchange Secret Santa as well. The minimum for this one was $100 and of course the kids were except and got individual presents as well. Erica drew Dad while I drew Mom. Dad got a $100 American Express gift card and I got Mom a Barnes & Noble Nook. I was picked by Carlito, while Erica was picked by Elaine. Erica got a cool camera lens for our camera and I scored an XBOX 360 Kinect. Derek received a book shelf, clothes, a stuffed animal, cash and a pillow pet.

As soon as we got home from Delano, it was our turn to exchange gifts within our own household, S-B style. This year, I hooked up Erica with Juice Plus and she hooked me up with a Chargers Authentic Antonio Gates White jersey. We contributed to Mom & Dad's gift to Derek, a table top train set, and also bought a few Thomas The Train cars to go with his train.

This New Year's celebration was the first time Derek was awake for the majority of the evening. He almost made it to midnight but he fell asleep 10 minutes before. We did kick off the evening with a hunt for cake donuts. We couldn't find any of these particular donuts within proximity from our house so we drove to National City to finally pick up the last two pieces of cake donuts along with some glaze donuts at Winchell's and Yum Yum Donuts. For dinner, we had some Super Sergio's carne asada fries and roll tacos. Derek enjoyed the fries and even at a roll taco. We gave him a few bites of a glaze donut and had an immediate sugar rush. I guess that explained why he was up for a while. We planned ahead for Derek to celebrate New Year's by watching the East Coast telecast of the New Year's celebration at Times Square New York. Once it was 9PM Pacific Time, Derek got his taste of Happy New Year's and jump around and celebrated. We were hoping for him to stay up at midnight for the West Coast New Year's Celebration but as I mentioned earlier, he was out right before. Erica and I stayed up for a bit and tossed money all over our house for good luck and an hour later, we called it a night.

Overall, we had an fun Christmas and New Years Holiday. We were even productive on several errands, including getting our garbage disposal fixed, getting our house cleaned and repairing our Dyson. It was great to be off of work and spend a bunch of family time. Happy New Year Ya'lls!

S-B Baby #2 Pics

2011-01-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple of the latest 4D ultra sound pics of Derek's baby brother/sister. To this date, we are less than 2 months away until another S-B is in this world. Time is flying so fast and we can't wait for he or she to be present in our lives.

Chargers v. 49ers Game 2010

2010-12-17T00:11:00.000-08:00

Earlier this evening, we all went to the Chargers versus 49ers game with Erica's brother Rick, Brian, Dan & Aurena. Believe it or not, this is Derek's 2nd Chargers game. The first one he went to was when he was about 4 months old and the Chargers played against the Colts, his Ninang/Godmother Nora's favorite team. This time around he was able to pay attention and actually grasp what was going on. The final score was 34-7 Chargers. Derek enjoyed the scenery and fireworks on every Chargers score. Check out the pics!

Derek's Now in Preschool

2010-12-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

Everyday, Derek keeps getting smarter and continually absorbs new things. We decided it was time for preschool. Even though he's barely two years old, not only does he look like he's four, but he intellectually advanced for his age. Derek is now enrolled in the pre-K Concordia School located a block from our house. So far so good. This school will help him in the long run to develop his brain and social skills. He even made his stage debut for Concordia's Living Nativity play. Too bad it got rained out but at least he was on stage before it got shut down.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-12T23:11:00.000-08:00

This year's Thanksgiving was very similar to the past Thanksgiving celebration. Like last year and the past 4 yours since Erica and I got married, we celebrated Thanksgiving lunch in San Diego with the Buenaventura's and Thanksgiving dinner with the Sison's in Delano. The main difference is that Derek is now a toddler and he was able to run around and do more things. Its always awesome to spend time with family and catch up with each other, even if it means stuffing our faces twice in one day.

Here's some pics in San Diego:

Here's a few from Delano:

Mommy & Derek Days @ Legoland

2010-12-12T22:12:00.000-08:00

During the last two Fridays of November, Erica made a couple of spontaneous trips to Legoland. Since we still have our season passes and she is off on Fridays, Erica took a drive up to Carlsbad for some Legoland fun. Derek rode the Sky Cruiser for the first time and rode some of his favorites, including the boat ride, safari cars and the fairy tale boat ride. Here are some pics of the trips.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

This past Halloween was full of fun activities and marked the first time Derek went Trick or Treating. Halloween 2010 including a trip to Legoland, a visit from Erica's parents, jack-o-laterns and candy gathering.

A couple of weeks before Halloween, we made a trip up to Carlsbad for Halloween at Legoland. At the park, they had a special-themed area just for the holiday. Derek got to ride a bunch of new rides that he once was not tall enough to ride, including a water ride where all of us got drenched. He also got some practice asking for candy in a section dedicated to the kids for Halloween.

On the Thursday before Halloween, Erica's parents came down to visit us. During their short stay, we did a lot of things, including visiting a pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins and decorating out home.

Halloween night marked the first time that Derek when Trick-or-Treating. This year, we dressed up Derek as a dog. He picked out his costume while we went shopping for it. He loved wearing the costume and wore it all night. Aurena drove down to our house to join us for the walk around the neighborhood. We all had a blast! Derek especially loved the whole event and even enjoyed passing out the candy to the kids that stopped by our house. Overall, Halloween was a success!

A New Addition to the Family

2010-11-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

Guess what everyone??? The S-B's are having another person in the family! Currently, Erica is 24 weeks pregnant and we are all excited to have another person in our family! When Erica was pregnant with Derek, we jumped at the chance to find out the gender of the baby. This time around, we are going for the surprise and we will find out if Derek will have a baby brother or baby sister. Here's to another exciting chapter in our life.

Derek's 2 Year Birthday Celebration

2010-09-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

On August 26th of 2010, our little man Derek Joshua turned 2 years old. We can’t believe that two years have past us by. It seems like yesterday when we were initially blessed with our little guy. In celebration of Derek Joshua’s birthday, we commemorated his milestone with a Sears Portrait session, a trip to Disneyland/California Adventure & Delano, a shoot at Balboa Park, and a Birthday Bash at Kid Ventures in Eastlake within Chula Vista.

Here are a few portrait studio pics that we got done at Sears.

Next up was a trip to Disneyland & California Adventure, on the actual day of Derek’s Birthday. Thanks to Derek’s Ninang(Godmother) Nora, we got into the park for free. We rode a bunch of rides, including Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Autopia, Gadget Coaster, Roger Rabbit, and his very first roller coaster, Matterhorn. At the end of the night, we watched California Adventure’s Color of Water. Immediately after the show, we drive straight up to Delano, where we spent 3 days there relaxing and stuffing out faces with food.

On the following Monday, had some photos taken at Balboa Park. Take a look at few of the photos taken.

To celebrate Derek’s 2nd Birthday with our family and friends, we threw him a party at Kid Ventures. This place is like an indoor gym with themed rooms, slides and toys for kids. We self-catered the party with Costco pizzas & sandwiches, Royal Mandarin Salt & Pepper wings, fruit and drinks. Derek, our family & friends, and the rest of the kids had a blast.

Time flew so quickly. Derek is close to 30 pounds and is already 36 inches/3 feet tall. We can’t wait for next birthdays and for the future to come with our family!

Soccer, Father's Day, a New Playground & Surprise Birthday

2010-07-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

The month of June 2010 was full of fun and a nice surprise. We were up to a few things, including a trip to Legoland, Derek's last soccer class of the season, a kid birthday party, Father's Day at the beach, sushi and a surprise 30th Birthday celebration.

At the beginning of the month, we brought our really good friends, Aurena & Dan to Legoland. It was the very first time that they've been there and they had a blast. We also checked out Legoland's new waterpark for the first time. Although the day was mostly overcast, we made the most of it by riding several rides and hanging out at the lazy river.

The following weekend, we took Derek to his last soccer class of the season. He picked up the soccer skills so quick that we are in the process of enrolling him in the summer session soccer class. He will be joining his friend and son of Ralph & Sheryl, Andrew. Check out the little soccer crew.

Also in June, we attended a birthday party for Rylan. During the party, it was Derek's first time hanging out in an astrojump. It was great seeing Derek interact with his friends, Ryland, Andrew and LJ.

For Father's Day, it was an S-B day at the beach. We headed over to Coronado Beach for some fun in the sun. Derek enjoyed the sand and the water. We also attempted to build some sand castles.

On the day of my birthday, June 21st, both of us went to work and we met up for lunch at our favorite restaurant, Onami's in Mission Valley. The all-you-can-eat sushi was so awesome! We were so stuffed that we couldn't work the rest of the day.

We picked up this cool playground for Derek. We've been eyeing this set for a long time and we're glad that we picked it up. Derek loves it.

Erica saved the best for last. On the 27th of this month, she threw an awesome surprise birthday party for my big 3-0. Here's how the day went. Erica scheduled me a Father's Day/Birthday massage at Massage Envy. As soon as I went to get my massage, she gathered most of my closest friends and family and snuck them in our house at the same time. I got home to find the big surprise. It was an amazing party and I am eternally grateful that she was able to organize it without any hints or slight clues and the fact that she was able to get my friends under the same roof.

A Month of Firsts For May

2010-05-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

The month of May brought a lot of firsts for our Derek Joshua. During May, Derek experienced his first trip to the San Diego Zoo, Disneyland, 5K, airplane ride and Vegas trip.

Tuesday May 4th was Derek's first trip to the World Famous San Diego Zoo, my very first employer. Erica and I had to work but my parents, cousin Charm and Auntie Baby took Derek. We took Derek to the Wild Animal Park for his 1-year birthday so this wasn't his first time seeing zoo animals. He had a great time and learned how to say "zoo" for the very first time!

On Wednesday May 5th, we took the day off of work to take Derek on his first Disneyland trip. Courtesy of Derek's Ninang(Godmother) Nora, we were able to get into Disneyland free of charge. During this road trip, took Derek on several rides including Peter Pan, Dumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Carousel, Buzz Lightyear, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Tea Cups and the Ferris Wheel at California Adventure, including a lot of walking. We also stopped to take a few pictures with several of the Disney Characters, including Pluto, Minnie Mouse and Goofy. Ninang Nora also got Derek his first Mickey Ears hat.

On the 16th of May, we ran our first 5K, the Coronado Bay Bridge Run. Not only was it Derek's first marathon, it was both Erica and I's first ever run. We started the run at 8AM and finished it within an hour. It was awesome being able to go on the bridge without having to ride in a car.

From Thursday May 20th thru Monday May 24th, we brought Derek to Las Vegas for the first time. I was chosen by my work to attend the annual ICSC Real Estate Conference for retail. Besides his first Vegas trip, it was first airplane ride. We stayed at "our Vegas Condo" The Signiture at MGM from Thursday thru Saturday. If you ever go to Vegas, you must stay at this place at least once in your lifetime. For the first three days, we hit up The Signature's lazy river. Even with the college spring break & bachelor/bachlorette atmosphere we all enjoyed the lazy river. We also hit up the M&M store, where Derek got a blue M&M pillow and took a picture with a green M&M. From Saturday night thru Monday, we stayed stayed at Bally's (Courtesy of my work. They also paid for my flight to Vegas and back.) Our view was amazing! We could see the Bellagio water show from our room and had a great view of Paris' Eiffel Tower and hotel. We also did plenty of walking, watching the Bellagio water show from the strip and hit up a few malls, including the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, the Forum Shops at Caeser's and Fashion Mall near Treasure Island. In addition, we took lots of sight-seeing pics during our exploration of the Vegas Strip. A few spots in During this trip, we hit up a total of 6 buffets, including MGM's, Paris (2x), Planet Hollywood, Bellagio and Caeser's buffets. It sounds like a lot of food, but really we each at one or two plates of food and followed Derek around as he explored each buffet setting. Overall, the whole family had a blast!

Legoland, Flowers & Strawberries

2010-04-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was fun and relaxing. Erica and I decided that we should get annual passes to Legoland and take advantage of free admission for Derek while he still can get it at no charge(under 3 is free). It was actually a great idea. We don't have to worry about seeing the entire park within a day and we can go to the new aquarium and soon-to-be-open, Legoland Waterpark. This was Derek's first trip to Legoland (besides when Erica was pregnant with Derek). We first started our weekend by taking a morning jog at around 8AM. Then we headed over to Derek's Little Kickers class at 9:30. As soon as that was over, we ate and made some lunch and headed up to Carlsbad for Legoland. We got there at around 3PM and didn't realize that the park closed at 5PM. Its a good thing we got our passes. First, we hit up the Coast Cruise boat ride, which took us around some really nice mini lego structures of cool monuments like the Taj Mahal, New York, Mount Rushmore and others. Then we hit up Captain Crank's Challenge , Derek's first actual motion rollercoaster-ish ride. We found out at this ride that Derek does not like to get his height measured by strangers. The next ride we went to was called Flight Squadron. Erica rode with Derek on this one. Then Derek and I rode Sky Patrol. The last ride of the day was Safari Trek. Can't believe we packed all that in in less than three hours.

On Sunday, we decided to go back to Legoland and take advantage of our passes. We spent about an hour at the playground area. Derek played with this fountain-type of contraption where he placed legos in a pool of water.

After our brief stay, we picked up Erica's parents at the Oceanside train station. They have been watching and baby sitting Derek while my parents went a Mexican Riviera Cruise to celebrate both of their Birthdays. Happy Birthday Mom & Dad! We headed to the Carlsbad Flower Fields, where they had beautiful displays of a variety of flowers. At this attraction, we took a tractor tour around the fields.

As soon as we were done at the Flower Fields, proceeded to the Carlsbad Strawberry Company U-Pick, a strawberry farm just south of the Fields. We paid for an empty bucket, similar to the size of a KFC bucket of chicken, and picked our own strawberries. Derek, Erica's parents, Erica and I had a blast. We picked enough strawberries to make nearly 10 servings of strawberry shortcakes.

Easter Weekend 2010

2010-04-10T10:14:00.001-07:00

During Easter 2010, there were a lot of events, including Derek's first official San Diego Kickers soccer class, 3 Easter Egg Hunts and his first earthquake. Time flies so fast. Just last year at around Derek's first Easter, he could barely walk around. Now he's running all over the place.

On Saturday, Derek began his official first day at San Diego Little Kickers. For those who don't know what Little Kickers is, its a soccer class for kids 18 months old and up. They separate the groups by age group, with the youngest being 18 months. We got the heads up from our good friends Ralph and Sheryl. Their son, Andrew is about the same age as Derek. Hopefully they'll grow up as friends when they get older, playing all kinds of sports.

The first of three Easter Egg hunts was a big disappointment. It was located at our local community center called Winding Oaks. I'm sure their intentions were good, but what was really bad was the fact that they did not separate the kids by age group. It was a free-for-all and all of the big kids were snatching eggs left and right. Erica and I managed to get just 4 eggs for Derek. The highlight of the day for Derek was the Easter Bunny. We took several pics with the bunny and Derek kept hugging him. I think he's ready to see the characters at Disneyland now. We capped the night by prepping for Derek's 2nd Easter Egg hunt. Erica dyed about a dozen eggs while at the same time, I searched all over Otay Ranch and Eastlake for the last set plastic eggs(should have bought them earlier in the day).

On Easter Sunday, we decided to create a private Easter Egg hunt for Derek. Erica hid the eggs while I distracted Derek. This one was much better since there were no older kids stealing his glory. He had a great time and picked up about 10 eggs out of the 32 eggs that we hid. We took a few photos during and afterward the hunt.

After Derek's 2nd Easter Egg hunt, we killed some time in our backyard. We hit a couple of wiffle balls in the backyard and Derek took a quick nap.

We then went to my parents house for a Buenaventura Family Easter. My parents cooked and BBQ-ed and my whole side of the family enjoyed a nice Easter lunch. Derek played all day with his cousins and his grandpa. He participated in his 3rd and final Easter Egg hunt of the weekend. Even though his cousins, Jalen and Jolene were a few years older, they actually let Derek pick up some eggs. He ended up with 15 eggs. After a few hours of the egg hunt, Derek experienced his first earthquake (too bad I didn't get any video or pics). It was approximately 6.9 on the rictor scale in Mexicali and we felt the shake for about a minute-and-a-half. This was the first Easter that the entire side of my family. It was a great end to a wonderful weekend. Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend like we did.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and More Milestones!

2010-01-31T22:34:00.000-08:00

As everyone can tell based on the last full update, we've been extremely busy with lots of events and living life. From spending Thanksgiving on a Cruise through the Mexican Riviera, to celebrating our first Christmas and New Year's in our new home, we've watched our little man grow into a smart and fun-loving person. Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to since the last update.

November was a special month. Erica's side of our family celebrated her parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary by going on a cruise on Thanksgiving week. We departed from Long Beach, CA and took a 5-day Cruise to Puerto Vallarta, then to Mazatlan and finally to Cabo San Lucas, before heading back to Long Beach.

Not only did we have a blast on the cruise, there were several milestones that occurred during the month of November. When either Erica or I sings "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," Derek motions his body like if he is rowing. Another children's song that he can do the motions to is "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Whenever the words "head" and "toes" is seen or heard, Derek touches the corresponding body part. Another milestone that he picked up on during November was recognizing and saying the word "bubble." We have a mechanical bubble machine and when he sees bubbles in books and floating in the air, he can say "bubble."

December marked the very first time that we spent Christmas in our new home. We did our usual celebration format in which we spend Christmas Eve with my(Dean) side of our family while we spend Christmas Day with Erica's side of the family. Everyone from my side of the family gathered at our home and Derek had such a good time that he fell asleep at 7PM. We were still able to take a family pic with him though, via his baby monitor. On Christmas Day, we drove up to Delano early in the morning and celebrated the rest of the weekend.

We've noticed and experienced several new revelations from our boy. On the subject of children's songs, when Derek hears the song "I'm a Little Teapot," he acts out the "tip me over and pour me out" segment of the song whenever its being played. He kinda looks like LaDainian Tomlinson after he scores a touchdown. Also, we noticed that Derek can say a bunch of new words, including horse, ball, cat, car and both the words light and ilaw(the tagalog version of light). Not only can he say and recognize all of these words mentioned, he also can play peek-a-boo. Finally, another huge milestone during the month of December was the conversion of his crib into a bed. Since then, Derek has been sleeping on a full-sized bed and sleeps the whole night in there. He sleeps from 8-9 PM during the night, wakes up for a couple of minutes at around 3:30-4:00AM, goes back to bed and then wakes up at around 6AM. He’s established this schedule and we’re so glad that he gets over 8 hours of sleep. We can’t promise that for ourselves, but at least our little guy is getting adequate rest.

The month of January has brought more interesting events and more milestones to our family. We spent our First New Year’s day in our home. Derek knocked out during his usual bed time. Erica and I stayed up until the New Year’s countdown and about 15 minutes later, we hit the sack. We never were the party/outgoing types of people during New Years. We’re home bodies so it didn’t phase us that we spent the evening at home.

There were lots of food, drink and mouth-related milestones this month. As for food and drinks, Derek actually fed himself and he can drink from a cup. First thing in the morning after he gets up from his beauty rest, he eats two small bowls worth of Cheerios and Milk. During the beginning of this meal, we’ll feed him tiny spoonfuls, but towards the 2nd portion of his cereal and milk, he grabs the spoon and feeds himself. Not only does he eat cheerios and milk on his own, he can also eat table food such as rice, chicken and meatballs. The other day while we were at IKEA, he ate several meatballs and mashed potatoes on his own. Also, he can drink water and milk in a cup unassisted. Speaking of food, we know that our little boy is Filipino when he can say and recognize the word rice (and the tagolog word, kanin). Finally, we’ve noticed that he’s grown a few teeth this month, included his molars. His teeth count after 17 months is now at 14! Oh and he’s picked up what certain animals say, including saying “moo” when we ask him what sound a cow makes and mimics a gorilla voice when we ask him the same question, inserting gorilla for cow.

Our boy is growing up so fast. Cheers to more milestones and feats!

Update coming soon!!

2010-01-25T16:19:00.000-08:00

Hi All, Erica here!

Just wanted to let you all know that we're still here. We got a new camera in November and just now uploaded all 16 gigs of photos that we've taken since then onto my laptop. I'm sorting through them and hoping to put a new post up in the very near future. Here are a couple of photos that we took yesterday to tide you over until then. Derek is now 16 months old, and will turn 17 months old tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Derek's 1st Haircut

2009-11-16T22:50:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday on November 14th, 2009, we took Derek to get his first ever haircut. We stopped by this place called Pigtails & Crewcuts, a creative kids salon, located in the Otay Ranch Mall in Chula Vista. The mall is literally a few blocks away from our house. Since Derek was born nearly 14 months ago, he's had his same locks of hair. We decided to get his hair cut not just because it was getting super long, but also in preparation for our parents' Erica's side of the family) 50th wedding day celebration. Check out the before and after pics. Enjoy!

Our Baby Can Walk!

2009-10-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

We can't believe our little guy is already 14 months old! Time has flew so fast. One huge milestone that Erica touched on is that our little man can walk! Of course he sometimes needs assistance, but he can easily take about 15 steps. Since Derek turned 1, we've been up to a lot of things. We've visited our awesome friends, Elbert, Rina and their lovely family in San Pedro not too long ago. Also, Derek's Ninang and Erica's BFF, Nora came down for a visit along with her mom and her daughter. This past couple of weeks were also eventful. We headed up to Delano, CA, for Erica's parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary. The following week, Erica's parents took the Amtrak to visit us. This past weekend, we headed to an HOA event in our community where Derek won a costume contest dressed up as a penguin.

Catching up...

2009-10-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

It's Erica :)

Just putting up a quick post to highlight what we've been up to since Derek turned 1. He's now 14 months old and is just the most inquisitive, energetic, loving boy who loves Cheerios, his animal figures, books, and learning how to walk.

Yes, he's taken his first steps. On Tuesday, Octoer 20th, Dean's dad calls him to tell us that our son took 15 steps unassisted. 10 minutes after we dropped him off at their house. Of course we were happy cause we've been waiting for this milestone, but the first words that came out of my mouth were, "WE MISSED IT!! =( "

Here's the video taken by our cousins Don & Sam:

So since then, he still holds onto our finger when he walks (runs), but he'll take a few steps unassisted if he's walking towards someone or from one piece of furniture to another. I'm getting a glimpse of the type of energy that will be required of us once he's walking by himself all over the place, we won't be able to sit down much when at home, haha.

Other events through the last two months...
-He got sick with Roseola. It's a very common illness spread from child to child that starts out with a fever above 103 degrees, then ends with red blotches all over the body once the fever breaks. The blotchiness freaked me out, but luckily the blotches went away after a couple days.
-He's made up a word for bottle ("babap"), banana ("bop"), and Cheerios ("aiyah") to add to his vocabulary of mama, keys, and cheese. I've also asked him to say Derek, to which he replies "ek". :)
-We've gotten rid of his pacifier. Within the span of a week, we phased it out and he totally doesn't use one anymore. :) I'm ecstatic.
-He LOVES books! He chooses his bedtime books now, and during the day, he'll crawl up to any of his books lying around and quietly flip through them.
-He is holding up our phones to his ear. Pure imitation of his parents, haha.
-He's showing interest in using utensils to manipulate food and objects. We'll hand him a spoon while we're feeding him so he can get used to holding one. Unfortunately it ends up with food being flung all over the place, but it's all for the sake of him learning, right?

Ok that's it for now. There will be a picture post soon, once Dean gets around to it. Thanks for reading!

Derek's 1st Birthday!

2009-08-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

On August 26th, 2009, our Derek Joshua turned one! We can't believe how the time flew. To celebrate his first year in the world, we went to the Wild Animal Park the day of and had a big birthday bash the following Saturday.

Both Erica and I took Wednesday the 26th off of work and took Derek to the Wild Animal Park in Escondido, CA. It was Derek and Erica's first time going to that place and the last time I went there was when I was around 4 or 5 years old. The first exhibit we checked out was the Dino Mountain, a mechanical dinosaur exhibit. After Dino Mountain, we headed to the Journey into Africa tram tour, a 25 minute tour of animals including giraffes, zebras, rhinos, antelopes and other animals. Derek enjoyed looking at the animals on the tour. Afterwards, we ate lunch and then headed to the Lion exhibit. Our last stop was at the gorilla exhibit. By the time we made it to the exit, Derek fell asleep in his stroller. That was the very first time that he's done that. He had a blast at the Wild Animal Park!

Towards the end of Derek's birthday, we gave him his birthday gift: Tickle Me Elmo hands/gloves. He picked them out at Toys R Us a couple of weeks back. Erica baked him a cake and we helped Derek blow out his candle accompanied by wishes from each of us.

The following Saturday on August 29th, we celebrated Derek's Birthday with a party within our neighborhood community. The location was at the Winding Trails hall in Chula Vista. Our guests included family, friends and coworkers. The food was delicious. My dad hired a taqueiza taco company, where two people set up a grill, chopped up carne and polla asada and served our guests fresh grilled tacos. Also on the menu was a lechun (roasted pig), salt & pepper wings from Royal Mandarin, pancit, lumpya, lasagna, more chinese food and Derek's birthday cake made by Sumi's oven. The party started at 1PM and ended at around 7PM(even though the invitation stated 4PM). Everyone had a great time, including Derek. Despite the almost 100 degree heat, our guests and us were super stuffed. It was great to see familiar faces, family and friends. The party was a success and Derek got lots of gifts!

Our 3-Year Wedding Anniversary!

2009-08-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today marked our 3rd year as a married couple! Time flew by so fast! Both Erica and I decided to take the day off of work. For breakfast, we decided to pick up some Chick-Fil-A and try their chicken and biscuit breakfast sandwiches. Those were yummy!

After our breakfast, we watched our wedding video! Lots of great memories. Its awesome to hear people say to this day that it was the best wedding that they have ever attended!

We decided to get some air and went on an outing in our community. First we hung out poolside at our neighborhood pool. It was nice to see the place pretty empty. Usually during the day, it gets pretty packed.

We then headed down to the park where Derek went for a few swings.

Once we got back from the park, Derek and I took a quick nap while Erica worked on some decorations for Derek's upcoming party.

For dinner, we headed to our favorite restaurant, Onami's in Mission Valley. For those of you who don't know or haven't experienced this place, its an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet with plenty of other choices. What a great day! Can't wait to celebrate year 4 and beyond!

New Milestones

2009-07-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Its been almost two months since we updated this blog so we have plenty of milestones to share with the world for our little Derek Joshua. Let's start off with the month of June. We've noticed that at the beginning of the month, he looks under couches in search of toys. He's very determined, our little boy. Derek also says "hi mama" every now-and-then. He also likes to slide his upper body while crawling with his legs. When we shake our heads in a "no" motion, he also shakes his head and smiles. Babbling became abundant in June. Derek also distinctly waves when someone waves at him. We also heard him say "dadda" several times. When we brush our teeth, we hand him a baby tooth brush and he "brushes" his teeth too! Cruising around on couches as also appeared in June. On the 19th of June, Derek slept in his room for the very first time! He was sleeping in his crib in our room, next to the bed. When we till him "arms up," he raises his arms. Derek loves bathes and on the 20th, we gave him a bath in our master tub for the very first time. He didn't want to leave. Towards the end of the month, he picked up on where his mouth and eyes are. At the end of June, his upper two front teeth broke through. Lots of events in the month of June.

In the month of July, Derek continued to master the milestones mentioned above and then some. He can clap his hands! Also, Derek likes to give kisses, a lot of open mouth kisses to his mommy. He uses more stuff to assist him in crawling, including remotes and papers. Derek also points and laughs when we point at him. On July 13th, Derek poo poo'ed and peed on the potty! Yes people, Derek was almost 11 months old when he first did it! To his day, he goes at least once a day and sometimes twice. On the 16th, he stuck his tongue out on command and still does it when we ask him "Derek, where's your tongue?" Also, he touches his ears when we ask him to do it. On July 19th, Derek started climbing up the stairs on his own. Also on the 19th, we got Derek baptized at the Mission de Acala, California's first ever mission. The following day, we discovered that Derek can also touch his toes on command. He began to touch his head on command on the 25th. On the 26th, we took Derek swimming for the first time at our community swimming pool and he had a blast! At the end of July, Derek found out that he can sort of walk with a toy walker. He pushes it while he moves his feet. Also, he can drink from a sports bottle.

At the beginning of August, Derek got his first free balloon from Trader Joe's. The next day he got his second one. We got him this toy train that shoots out toy plastic balls and so in addition to the balls, he also puts random toys in the train. During baths, we have this baby basketball hoop and he actually dunked his first basketball.

On the 26th of August, Derek will turn 1 and Erica and I will be married for 3 years (August 19, 2009). Time sure flies and we wouldn't change anything!

Derek at 8 & 9 Months

2009-05-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

Every month, we've been taking portraits at Sears, tracking Derek's growth on a month-to-month basis. Here are some pics from his 8th and 9th month sessions.

Derek at 8 months:

Derek at 9 Months: