Michigan Trip

Miles and I have been such travelers! We flew out to Michigan on the 9th and came back on the 19th! And during that time, we had a lot of fun with family & friends. The main events I had were my friend Carla's bachelorette party & wedding shower one weekend, and my college roommate Sarah's wedding the next weekend. Those celebrations were all amazing in its own right. The bachelorette & wedding shower were a ton of fun - which is pretty normal with my set of friends. My friend Sarah's wedding was just beautiful. It was at the Museum of Art in Ann Arbor. Amazing place to have a wedding & reception. I could write about those events on their own. During the week, Miles & I got to have a lot of fun with my sister & her 2 kids and both of my brothers!

It's pretty neat & very coincidental that my siblings and I could meet up in Michigan. My sister flew out from California, my oldest brother flew from the Philippines, and my brother in Michigan didn't have to go on-site for his job that week. The stars aligned! =) During the week, my nephew Ian turned 4. We had a little party for him at home. It consisted of a Big Boy lunch (it was Ian & Lily's first time at that restaurant). Ian was pretty excited to see a strawberry sundae for his birthday at the end of the meal =) We also danced around at home, had a nice dinner with cupcakes & a cake! And ended the day with some bubbles outside. My sister got the 2 older kids a bubble blower thing... Miles enjoyed every bit of this activity.

We also visited the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum which all 3 kids loved. On another day, we went to the Detroit Zoo. The weather was perfect but a bit too sunny for the animals, I guess, because a lot of them weren't out and about. We did get to closely see giraffes eat their lunch which was pretty cool. The kids had a lot of fun at the zoo and it was neat to see Miles' reactions to the animals.

It was such a busy week! But we had a great time and I'm so grateful still that I got to see all of my siblings and close friends in Michigan. 

Here is a little video fhte 3 cousins dancing around in morning. Pardon the sheets & blankets all around. We were a packed house that week!! =)

Miles and Lola

This past weekend, we took a road trip to New Jersey. This makes state #11 for Miles.. our little Miles has a lot of miles under his belt! =) We stayed at my cousin's house (technically, she is Tatay's [dad's] 1st cousin). They got to meet Miles and Tim for the first time. My oldest brother met us up there too! He is attending a training in Washington DC and so we made NJ the meeting point! =) 

The greatest part of this trip is definitely Miles meeting Lola. (Lola means grandma in Tagalog) Technically, Lola is my dad's aunt but in the Philippines, no one really uses the term great-aunt. Growing up in the Philippines, Lola helped take care of me and my siblings. She moved to the U.S. 10 years ago and moved to New Jersey where her daughter & family lives. The last time I saw Lola was when she first moved to the U.S. and she even attended my high school graduation. So much has happened in the past 10 years! It was so precious to see Miles and Lola together this weekend.. generations and generations apart - 88 years. She had a great time with Miles this weekend. Nagigil lagi =) I can't wait to see her again and for her to play with Miles again.

Miles is so good at knowing people so quickly. After introducing people to Miles in New Jersey, he knew each one so well. It was so easy to ask Miles to high five Lola specifically, and he would actually go to her and do it. He could be in the living room and you can ask him to go to a specific person and he will go to a whole different room to find that person. Miles amazes me daily! I'm so proud and grateful for him everyday.

Videos!

I haven't had a lot of time to post lately. When Miles is awake, I'm busy busy playing with him .. he's running all over the place. And when he's napping, I try to get as much work done as I can. And.. to eat. =) The past couple of weekends, we've been relaxing more at home. Trying to finally clean up more and decorate. We've also been going to a really nice farmers market. It's great to just go there for a little outing, eat lunch, and enjoy whatever activities/events are happening for that day. Last Sunday, we got to see a Fife & Drum parade at the farmers market. Very cool. This coming weekend, we'll be heading to New Jersey to visit some family. But for the rest of the summer, I feel like every weekend is booked! Crazy!

I've been recording Miles a lot more since he is so active and hilarious. His personality has always cracked me up. Even in his newborn days, I've always felt that Miles' personality has shown. And now that he's an active toddler, his personality definitely shines though! I love talking to him and asking him all sorts of questions and he always has a response for me. I love being able to ask him to do something or find something, and he listens and does it! I've always been and still am so proud of my little boy. He's growing up so fast.

Here are some videos I've recorded lately. Enjoy! I can watch 'em over and over! haha
I lovve Miles' laugh!


Dancing around in the house


Miles learned how to wink! hehe

Michigan Recap

We had a nice trip in Michigan. Miles had a lot of fun with all of the people we visited. He enjoyed walking around and exploring every house we stayed at in the week. We had a nice time at the Kuskowski home. I'm so thankful to them for having us over. Miles really had a lot of fun with Violet.

 After hanging out with a 2 year old, Miles got even MORE active. Tim went to Ohio for a conference during the week and when he returned to Michigan - we drove back up to his parents. Tim was the best man at his friend Aaron's wedding. I love seeing weddings of friends. Always such a nice time. The wedding was nice and the reception was fun. It was at a restaurant in Frankenmuth. I loved driving through Frankenmuth at night and all of the Christmas lights are on. The last time we were there, that's when we announced I was pregnant to Tim's parents. Before the wedding, there was a wedding rehearsal and bbq. Miles had soo much fun with the puppies at Kelly's (Aaron's now wife!) parent's house. Tim and I are still so surprised at how well Miles plays with puppies. We aren't avid puppy lovers or anything, so he definitely didn't get it from us!

In Cass City, we also went to the pool. Miles LOVED it. It was his very first time in a pool and he was not scared at all.. which made me feel good. I want him to be comfortable in water, more than I am! =P Miles had a great time playing with Abbie too. He really loves her! He kept hugging and kissing her. He even fed her a snack puff! It was all too precious.

Road Trip Catch Up!

Last week, we started our trip to Michigan. We drove through New York and Canada. It was Miles' first time in New York (State #10 for him!) and Canada was also his first foreign country! hehe We even got Miles' passport stamped. haha

The drive went smoothly and we stayed at a hotel on Friday night in New York to break up the trip. We stopped at Niagara Falls and hung out there for an hour or two. It was the perfect weather for it - not ridiculously hot. Last time Tim & I went there, it was in the winter and we were soaked & freezing because of the falls. This time around, it felt great to feel the mist from the falls. Miles enjoyed seeing the falls and he looked so cute with his hat on! After the falls, we headed out to see Tim's parents in Michigan.

Miles had soo much fun in Cass City - playing with his Tetah and Sedo. He was walking all over their house like he knew every corner of it! He loved kissing and hugging his grandparents - and showing his new skills like high-fiving, cheers!, and using his fork & spoon to eat maqluba. We also got to go to church in Cass City and Miles enjoyed walking around there too. He even got to play on their piano! After Cass City, we headed down to my brother's place in Rochester and stayed in the area until Thursday. I'll write about that later. Enjoy the pictures for now! =) Lots of driving for the Khoury Family. Miles has a lot of miles under his belt!

 CHOMP!

 Miles' kisses are too sweet!

 HIGH FIVE SEDO!

 

Miles' New Computer

I ordered a few things for Miles recently on Amazon, and one of them is a Leaptop computer toy. Miles sees me on my computer a lot and we use it to videochat with family all the time. And so, I thought he'd like one of his own. After he woke up from his nap today, we set it up and he played with it right away. It's pretty cute. I set it up with my computer, to personalize it, with emails and music. The computer says his name a lot and it reads emails from Mama & Papa. hehe Toys nowadays... so techy. =) As you can hear in the video, Miles is "talking" more and more and more. He's very expressive.

Father's Day Weekend

We had a nice relaxing weekend. I love days without plans sometimes and Saturday was one of them. We ended up driving around - which is always nice 'cause we always end up seeing something interesting or finding a neat restaurant/store. We hung out a little bit in West Hartford and had empanadas for lunch. (Yum!) We actually went to the hotel we stayed at when we first moved to Connecticut. They were really friendly and 2 of the ladies that work there became friends of mine. It was nice to visit her =) My friend was so excited to see Miles. It was funny to come in and have employees notice that we got Miles' hair cut. =) I guess Miles is pretty memorable ; )

On Father's Day - we headed out for a little "Rhode" Trip  (har har). It was our first time to Rhode Island - all three of us. This makes State #9 for Miles =) We really didn't have any major plans made, we just wanted to check it out and walk around. We went to Newport, RI and walked around town for a little bit. We had lunch at The Black Pearl and sat outside at their Patio - which was great. We could see many different boats and boat tours where we were sitting. Miles loved seeing the birds fly by and the boats floating away. We also drove to the beach and walked along "Cliff Walk" - which is a path by the ocean with many different mansions to see. It was pretty neat to see how grand those mansions were. Many people were walking and there was a family we crossed paths with with a little girl - and she ended up giving Miles a flower. =) Miles was in awe. haha 

We spent the whole day there and had dinner at a Brazilian tapas restaurant. It was a great day and Miles was zonked out by the time we got home. Super precious. We had a lot of fun and I think Papa had a great Father's Day =)

 

Miles' New 'Do!

Our baby is definitely a toddler now! Miles got his 1st haircut this past Saturday. And it definitely changed his looks! My baby looks so much older now! hehe We think it's so adorable though. Miles did great during the cut. We went to a place specifically for kids. They have cute toys and seats for different ages. Miles got to ride in a red car. =)  He also got a certificate at the end with a lock of hair saved. Very sweet.

It's a Filipino thing to have the dad do the first cut - so I had Tim do the first snip at the salon. The lady who cut Miles' hair was great. She is definitely a pro. My high school friend, Tom, drove from NYC to visit us on Saturday and he got to witness this milestone! He also helped entertain Miles during the haircut by blowing bubbles. haha This was a group activity! Funny thing, Miles was playing with my hairbrush at home before we headed to the hair salon - and he did not want to let go of it. So, he brought it with him - in the car and into the hair salon. Silly goose!

It took a couple of days to get used to Miles' new hairdo, to be honest. When I would go in his room when Miles wakes up, I would just stare at him for a few seconds with a smile. Miles would be giddy and happy like usual - not realizing why I'm just staring. hehe Time really flies by.

Also, here's a little video that I recorded of Miles this morning. Miles knows how to "mano" now. Mano is a gesture done by Filipinos as a sign of respect for the elderly. You would say "Mano po" and place their hand on your forehead. You usually do this to people in a different generation from you. I wouldn't "mano" to my sister or brothers, for example.. just parents, aunts/uncles, grandparents, etc.

Monkey Love!

Almost 14 months old.. and Miles is definitely growing! His bottom molars have broken through and I feel like his top ones are on their way. (He's been pretty fussy lately) Miles is also enjoying his new found skill of walking. I'm pretty sure he loves his independence. We went to a birthday party this past weekend at Tim's coworker's house and Miles walked around the house like he's been there a million times!

Miles and I have been busy at home and out & about in town. We checked out a local Children's Museum today. Miles had a great time. He was laughing and smiling and following big kids around. I'm sure we'll be back there again, since I bought a membership. I'm pretty excited about the membership for it since it allows us free access to many different children's museums all across the US.

Monkey Love. Miles loves his friend, Monkey. He sleeps with it every night and it's so sweet to see his arm around the monkey while sleeping. He loves to hug & kiss the Monkey. I bet he'll name the Monkey something else when he gets older, but for now it's just Monkey. In the morning when Miles wakes up, he'll play and chitchat with his Monkey for awhile before being ready to start the day with me. It's actually very entertaining to listen to Miles in the morning - with his babbling and "singing." Best thing my ears have ever listened to!

I can't believe how different days & nights are now with Miles compared to the early baby days. Miles has been sleeping through the night for a long time now but it still amazes me to look back at those nursing-throughout-the-night nights. How did I do that?? hah

Memorial Weekend with Friends

We celebrated Memorial Weekend in a couple of ways. First, I ran a 5K on Saturday morning - Miles & Papa watched me finish. It was the Color Me Rad 5K and it was a lot of fun. Definitely not a serious race - and they don't even time you. The whole point is just to have fun and get color bombed! Which is good - because I signed up for it a week before and I didn't train for it at all. I ran the race with Tim's coworker, who I met for the first time. She was nice and I'm glad I got to run with somebody. I was a little worried about the race the night before since I honestly haven't done any form of working out - but I did fine. It gave me motivation to finally start working out in any shape or form, which is a plus =)

 Saturday afternoon, my friends Melissa, Marilen, and Daisy came to visit for the weekend. They live in New York and in DC - so they took an Amtrak to us. (Well, Marilen lives in Michigan, but she was in town visiting her sister) We had a great time with them. We relaxed at home, ate a lot of food and "merienda", watched a Filipino movie at home plus a bunch of random stuff on Netflix, and also went to church on Sunday. I always have a great time with my girl friends and this visit didn't disappoint! Lots of laughing happened! =) They had a nice time at our new place and had a lot of fun with Miles.  I'm so happy they got to visit us. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Melissa since she is a lot closer now.

Here is a video of everyone hanging out at home. Melissa was having a lot of fun with Miles - trying to get him to hug her. haha Enjoy!