Browse Author: beakatude

Big Boys

img_6142.jpg

Today was Cole’s first day of school.  On Friday, I went with Marie to take him for his second “trial day” and was so excited to see him in a school environment.  I think he’s going to have such a good time.  I’m just worried about the separation from Marie for such a long period of time.  So, today came and from what I heard from Marie, he did rather well.  Marie said that he cried a little as she was leaving but by the time she got outside and peeked through the window, he was over it.  I guess it sounded like his biggest challenges were lunchtime (wanted to steal everyone’s food) and naptime (it took him about 30 mins to fall asleep).  Overall, it sounded like quite a success and it’s good to hear that he’s adjusting.

img_6157.jpg

On Sunday, I drove to Cerritos to unload a bunch of boxes.  Since I knew I’d be gone all day, I brought Koa along.  Since the entire back of the car was full, he rode up front with me.  I was pleasantly amused at how well-behaved he was.  He just sat there like a passenger quietly watching the cars on the freeway.  In fact, I put the seatbelt strap across his chest for fun and he just sat there!   I can still remember just a year ago when he was constantly standing up at the window, sniffing the vents, and pushing the window button.  Boy, things have certainly changed.

Virtual BBQ

dsc_7164a.jpg

I spent my July 4th with Marie, Cole, and Kenji. The day started at Marie’s house where we had an udon lunch together at Cole’s kiddie table. Afterwards, I played with his new toys – a bunch of different characters from the movie “Cars”. I also brought my laptop and did some work while I was there. In the meantime, I introduced Cole to the internet. We played some online Elmo games and messed around with the Photo Booth program on my macbook. He certainly got a kick out of seeing himself on the screen.

Meanwhile, Jes was preparing some ribs for the BBQ that they were having at Jimmy’s house. So, we turned on iChat and Cole got to wave to Jesse. Eventually Cole got pretty grumpy and we decided to put him down for a nap. Unfortunately he was so excited by the internet games and everything else that was going on that he wasn’t really cooperating. Before he could start climbing on the furniture again, Jes got back online, looked him straight in the eye, and said “Hey, aren’t you supposed to go neh neh?!” Cole was so scared of him that he walked himself over to the futon with a really guilty look on his face and asked Marie for a pillow. He kept looking over to my laptop to check if Jes was watching. Since Jes was still watching him, it was only a matter of minutes before he fell asleep. It worked like a charm! Marie was so shocked since it usually takes at least 30 minutes or lots of coaxing to get him to fall asleep.

Once people arrived at Jimmy’s house, they came by to say “hello” to me. It was pretty neat being about to talk to see and talk to them. In fact, Jes put the laptop (me) at the dinner table with everyone. It was as if I was seated at the table with them. I could see who was there, what they ate, and could hear what they were saying. All I was missing was a taste of the ribs and a beer in my hand. Virtual BBQ!

The evening ended with dinner at On the Border, a walk around the shopping village for a balloon sword for Cole, and then a nice long walk down to the local park. We sat on the grass and watched the fireworks. We also witnessed a huge car crash involving at least 6 cars and a turned-over truck. Crazy.

Here are photos from the day’s events. Enjoy!

Look what I got!

dsc_7166a.jpg

Just kidding…it actually belongs to Kenji.  Haha.  He said he just walked into the Apple Store in Mission Viejo and picked one up.  I got to play with it and what fun it is!!  It’s like a $600 mini laptop and surfs the internet so much better than my Blackberry.  The buttons respond quickly and things scroll, zoom, and click so smoothly.  It’s also very pretty…too bad that it’s so expensive.   I would be so nervous carrying it around.  It just takes one drop and it’s history.  But once again the love/hate relationship continues.  Curses you, Apple!!  *quickly shaking fist in the air*

missed again

dsc_7110a.jpgLast night I had dinner at Debbie and Pish’s house and they made tasty carnitas. Thanks, guys! It was nice to hang out with family and to see Katie again. It’s crazy how fast babies grow. I didn’t notice it before when she was still a newborn but when she scowls she reminds me of our grandmother. It’s pretty neat!

Unfortunately for me, I came right between her two naps and only got to hang out with her for a few minutes before she had to go to sleep. This is one of the photos I got of her napping in the swing.  What an awesome life…sleep, eat, poop, sleep some more.

temporary

img_6082a.jpg

I spent my first day on my own today and it was a little weird but managable.  Last night I set up my Aerobed, put the little TV on a foot stool, and used a spoon from the picnic basket we left behind.  With a lack of pots, an odd set of bowls, and plastic utensils, dinnertime has been interesting.  But so far it hasn’t been too bad…just really temporary-feeling.  The dog also looked a little confused last night but he settled into his travel bed rather quickly.  Jes is now at Jimmy’s house and it’s like he never moved away.  The old roomies are back together again.

img_6085a.jpg

We also gave iChat a try and it was pretty cool.  The video is pretty smooth and you can adjust the screen small enough so you can keep working on your laptop.   I can also hear audio from the person on the other end and IM all at the same time.  It was kinda like I was hanging out with Jes, Jimmy, and Eleen.  We were even watching the same TV show and I could hear Jimmy’s comments in the background.  As much as we try to hate Apple, they sure do make a pretty good camera and video program.  By the way, the camera is just to the left of that little light at the top of my laptop screen.  And that’s Jimmy saying “hi”.