Derek's 1st Birthday!

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!

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

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

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: