What We Did in July

July is special because Serena was born in this month. She turned 2 and what a beautiful girl she is. Just like Devin, she has bountiful of energy & smarts and a great sense of humor. She loves playing with Devin & his toys but I can't say Devin reciprocate the sentiment. She is always thoughtful of him when he's not around, when I get something for her, she always picks up another for Devin. But she does has her quirks...the other day I witnessed her saying "excuse me" to Devin to get through but instead of waiting for Devin to move aside, she pushes him aside. That's when the chaos starts...and that's my Serena.

Starting her morning with a birthday muffin.

The birthday crown she picked out for herself at the dollar store.

And of course the famous birthday pictures. I had to take these at a later date because we were traveling that night to Rochester, NY.

Peeking over the paper sign.

She loves taking pictures.

As mentioned above, we left for Rochester, NY that night to meet up with Andrew's mom. She was spending a week with her sister & her husband for some "sisterly" time. And Aunt Paula & Uncle Rick were so welcoming & their hospitality just made us felt right at home. Even though their kids are all grown up & moved away, they still have tons of children's books around(Aunt Paula was a grade school teacher)and Devin loves books. We went to the Seneca Park Zoo, then the Strong Museum of Play on another day, enjoyed their pool on couple of days...it was so much fun. And the bonus part was we got to see Andrew's mom there as well.

A mocked supermarket inside the Strong Museum of Play.

A train set-play area inside the Strong Museum of Play.

And of course we celebrated Serena's birthday-again!

Serena LOVED the cake.

See what I mean?

Seneca Park Zoo

Serena fits right in!

A very tired boy!

Aunt Paula reading to the kids.

Serena has motion sickness-Rochester, NY is about 7 hours drive...she didn't do so well going there or coming home...

Memorial Day Weekend Through June...

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to visit my sister Connie & her family in VA. Our visits to her house always includes a trip to one of the Smithsonian museums. And with Devin around, it's going to be the Air & Space Museum, of course.

The retired space shuttle: Enterprise

Popsicle break.

Water park.

It was Devin & Serena's first time at a water park & they loved it!

Volcano

On our way back from VA, we stopped at a Cracker Barrels for a meal. But the main attraction for us is their store. We LOVE their store. Andrew bought Devin a volcano making kit.

Here it goes...!

Even Serena wanted to pour the vinegar & see its "eruption". We used up a small bottle of vinegar and then some.

Aquarium

Serena loved watching the "fishies".

I love Devin's expression here!

Graduation

June 22, 2010-Devin's Pre-K Graduation Day. All the kids were dressed up-especially the girls! They were just adorable! I didn't take such great photos of Devin & his classmates but here's the link to the photos his school took:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hSdyqIICi8&feature=player_embedded

Devin with his shirt & tie and his cap!

Walking up to get his one of his 3 certificates/awards.

Post-ceremony picture.

Astoria Park

On June 30th, Astoria Park had a July 4th celebration. They usually have the firework celebration a few days earlier so it doesn't fall on the same day as the Macy's firework show. So we packed some dinner & snacks, set up a picnic & watched the fireworks. Devin & Serena loved it!

Serena excitedly waiting for the fireworks to start without even knowing what "fireworks" is.

Serena & Daddy.

Devin & Mommy.

Funny faces.

Even funnier faces!

The Rest of May...

Tribeca Film Festival-Family Day

We've always enjoyed going to this annual event since there are always something for Devin to do there. This is Serena's first time, and she seem to like it as much as Devin did.

Devin & the fire truck dials...

With one of the friendly fire fighter...

And another friendly fire fighter...

Devin playing street hockey, courtesy of the NHL.

Jog-a-Thon

Devin's school had a fundraiser, but the parents were told the wrong time. By the parents showed up, the event was over. To make up this error, the school had the parents stayed for a couple of hours for a Parents/Kids Day. So we did arts & craft, the class read books & sang to the parents. But I really wished we saw the kids ran. Devin was disappointed too because he reminded us that very morning to come & cheer him on. Regardless, he did very well. He ran 27 laps around the school gym and came in third place. Thank you so much to everyone that have sponsored him!

Even Serena enjoyed the Parents/Kids Day.

A certificate for participating in the Jog-a-Thon.

This certificate was a surprise-unbeknownst to the parents, the school had a ceremony presenting the Jog-a-Thon awards. Devin was so funny when I asked him how his day was, he said nonchalantly, "Oh-we had gym, chapel and then I went up to the stage to get my Jog-a-Thon award."

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, my brother Hon took all of us out for dinner since all his sisters are Mommies too. It's always nice to have all of us together & have a meal, no matter how chaotic it feels at times. Actually, it didn't feel chaotic this time.

My brother Hon & Mom.

My siblings & my Mom, but missing my sister Connie who lives in VA so we let Serena sneak into the photo. I didn't realize how badly I was slouching in this picture until I loaded this picture up. Yikes!

Meeting Curious George!

The Jewish Museum had an exhibit on the authors, Margret & H.A. Rey, of all the Curious George books. They were Jewish & it was Curious George's 35th Anniversary. Devin actually met Curious George AND the man with the Yellow Hat when he was 6 months old in Boston, but too young to remember it.

The last weekend of the exhibit was Kids' Day. They had a band, The Funky Monkeys (or something) performing for the kids.

Arts & crafts: Devin was in the process of making a book.

Curious George and the Lopez's! Serena was so excited to meet George, we went back in line so she could give George a hug.

Reading Curious George books that were scattered around in the "Book Room".

Surprise, Surprise: Serena immediately went to get Curious George (stuffed toy) off the shelf when we got home. It's really Devin's so there was a little fighting over George after this picture was taken.

Meeting Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat when Devin was 6 months in Boston.

Devin trying to reach for George. I don't have the picture digitally (it was made into a button) but I had the Man with the Yellow Hat holding Devin. Maybe I'll try to take a picture of it & post it here someday. Don't hold your breath though.

Stitches

Devin got 4 stitches on his left eyelid last month (4/22 to be exact). He was playing & fell onto the head board of his bed, right on the edge. He was hysterical. It was towards the early evening so Andrew took him to the ER for examination (our doctor's office was closed by then). And the ER doctor decided to give him stitches since it would leave less of a scar (would've healed fine without stitches too but the scar might be more visible).

They were at the ER for 5 hours. Serena & I went there at 9pm to bring them dinner because they couldn't leave in case they were called. Two hours later, he was called in. This began Andrew's hardest task to-date as a parent. He basically had to hold Devin down (after he was wrapped in a large sheet to prevent him from thrashing about). It broke Andrew's heart. What broke my heart was when they came home, Devin simply had no words for me when I asked if he was ok. He gave me a look & just fell into my arms & weep silently. It was midnight. He was spent. I wish I could undo everything that happened to him that night. But he bounced back pretty quickly the next day. He was happy again & daddy told him he was the bravest son in the world. And Andrew got him a trophy to prove it.

Five days later, the stitches came off. It was almost as horrible an experience as when he was getting the stitches. Again, Andrew restraining him...the doctor had to use a scalpel to remove 2 of the stitches because it was so tightly sutured. Andrew just prayed for the doctor to have steady hands with the scalpel so close to Devin's eye. Thankfully, everything went well.

Devin, tired & spent, for the second time in a week, got his stitches removed.

On a side note, since Devin was receiving so much attention from us, the first day or two, Serena would point to her eyelid and say, "boo boo" and begins to fake cry (and she does that very well).

Oh boy, I think we have two comedians on our hands.

April Happenings...

Legends of Aerospace at the Intrepid

Ok-this happened in March but I didn't get a chance to post it & way too exciting(to our family) not to mention it. As we all know, Devin is a HUGE fan of NASA/space shuttles & rockets, planes & jets, etc. So when I found out Neil Armstrong (along with other great legends) was going to be at the Intrepid, we jumped at the chance to go since Mr. Armstrong doesn't make a lot of public appearances. We went despite NYC was enveloped in a torrential rain storm. As it turned out, the guests couldn't get to NY because of the rain. So the event was moved to the following day which we went back. However, Mr. Armstrong didn't talk about his moon landing experience at all. Slight bit disappointing and meanwhile, Devin turned to me and asked, "Where is Buzz Aldrin? Is he gonna come?"

L to R: David Hartman (moderator-retired USAF officer), Neil Armstrong, Steve Ritchie (the last AF Pilot ACE-meaning have shot down 5 or more enemy jets during aerial combat) & Bob Gilliland (SR-71 Blackbird chief test pilot). Scheduled to show but missing due to date changed: Gene Cernan (last man to step on the moon) & Jim Lovell (Commander of Apollo 13 which Tom Hanks portrayed in the movie).

Grainy picture of Neil Armstrong & Steve Ritchie: I couldn't get close...

Now the followings REALLY happened in April:

Andrew gave himself a day off and we went to the CP zoo...

then to FAO (Serena's first time, not counting in utero)

At the Hall of Science, trying to build a molecular structure...

At cousin AJ's birthday bash-what a fun party. It was a "mobile gaming" party. A van pulls up with video games (wii) set up inside, seats 12 kids. And a rock band video game up which was a huge hit with Devin & Serena.

Serena playing the drums while cousin Elizabeth singing, "You belong with meeeeeeeeeeee..."

Devin's turn to sing & Elizabeth playing the drums.

Devin playing the guitar with mommy's help...Uncle Mike looking a bit perplexed in the foreground.

Another day at the zoo, this time in the Bronx. Serena loved the bug carousel, she rode it twice!

At the zoo's butterfly garden, Devin pretending to be one of his favorite character.

And yes, we celebrated Easter but took pictures with our camera phones. Someday, I will consolidate all our photos...someday.

More Birthday Pictures!

Almost forgot to post my "famous" birthday pictures! Enjoy!