On a lazy Friday morning

with nothing better to do, Brian decided he was going to rock out with the help of his iPad.

"Mama, exercise!"

Brian is still a little under the weather which meant we did not make it to the gym today.  I decided this would be a great opportunity to try out a few of the workout videos I've pinned over the last few months.  Of course this thought did not occur to me until after Brians nap.  I wasn't sure if Brian would allow me to get more than a few crunches in, but much to my surprise he tried to do everything I did.  Seeing my 2 year old on the floor next to me trying to firm up his butt cheeks might have been the most adorable thing I've ever seen.  I knew Brian enjoyed himself but when we got home from our errands and he handed me the computer and said "mama, exercise," I knew he was hooked just like Howard and I.

                                             This is the face I got when I asked him to flex.

Knowing how to dress runs in the family

I am convinced that part of the reason Brian likes going to church so much is because he knows it means he gets to wear a nice outfit.  Under normal circumstances Brian fights me on wearing anything but sweatpants, but never on a Sunday.

I pulled out Brians outfit this morning and Howard got him dressed.  While I was getting ready I heard Howard tell Brian to "show mommy his outfit."  He ran in with a huge smile on his face and did a spin so I could see the entire look.  I told him to go into our closet so he could check himself out in the full length mirror.  Howard followed him in there and a few moments later I heard "ooooohhhh wonderful."  Yup, thats right, Brian was commenting that he looked wonderful in his Sunday best.  I know people assume their own children are cute and funny, but I'm pretty sure Brian really does take the cake.

This one is dedicated to Bob

A few weeks ago Howard and I took Brian to Toys R Us to buy some more Legos.  While we were perusing, Brian came across the Thomas the Train table they have set up.  He has played with the same exact table with the same exact pieces at least 30 times, but for some reason that night was different.  Howard and I took turns looking around the store while Brian played with the set for over an hour.  It was at that moment Howard and I decided we would buy Brian his own train table.  Seeing as though the official Thomas table alone is $250 I decided to do some research when we got home to see what else was on the market.  I was thrilled to find a KidKraft table with 100+ pieces of track and accessories   for a mere $150.  Not to mention the tracks are compatible with almost everything else on the market.  Howard and I set the table up Thursday night so it would be ready when Brian woke up the next morning.  It is only Saturday evening but he has spent almost every second at home playing with the table.  He has also insisted on taking one of the trains into his crib for naps and nighttime.  I am hoping that he continues to enjoy the table for at least a few more months to come  :)

Please excuse the outfit in the photos below.  I am well aware of the fact that his t-shirt is about 3 sizes too small but he loves it so much we let him wear it to bed.  His diaper is sticking out like a crazy person because he ran out of his room yelling "train set" so I did not get a chance to change it before the pictures were taken.

For some reason Brian loves the "hospital" sign.  However, he pronounces it hosipital.  It might actually be one of the most adorable things I've ever heard.

That is not a Snickers bar

Brian and I took our first official trip of the year to the pool at the gym yesterday.  I figured a high of 89 was enough to get me in the water.  Our gym has three pools; a large lap pool, a medium sized 4 foot pool and an 18 inch toddler pool.  The toddler pool is worth it's weight in gold.  It is a gated area with lounge chairs and tables for lunch/dinner.  After about 45 minutes of hanging in the toddler pool with friends we all noticed something circling the drain.  It only took a few glances to realize a few nuggets had escaped from one of the other kids swim diapers.  Needless to say we were all out of there like lightening.  Now, for anyone with young children you know they are not phased by a little poop in the pool.  Especially when there is another perfectly good pool a mere 20 feet away.  Brian spent the next hour and a half making me lift him out of the pool so he could jump in and then "swim" a few laps.  If I had to guess we repeated this process about 60 times.  Needless to say it was a great time had by all that ended with early bedtimes and restful sleep.

Today, Brian hit the trifecta

I will give a quick recap of our day highlighting Brian doing incredible things by our standards, which will probably leave all of my readers thinking we are bad parents.  This morning Howard and I took Brian and Daisy to the reservoir.  About 1/2 mile into our walk we decided to do the entire 2.75 miles around the lake.  Brian sat in his stroller for the entire 50 minute walk (Miracle #1).  After our walk we went to Nordstroms to get Brian some new shoes and to CPK for lunch.  After Brians nap we all went to the gym.  Here is where it gets interesting.  While I was getting dinner ready I heard Brian ask Howard to sit on the potty downstairs.  Howard took Brians diaper off, helped him into the potty and I ran in to see if anything would happen (it never ever ever ever does).  After about 15 seconds Brian pee'd (Miracle #2).  He was so proud of himself he must have two handed high fived Howard and I 10 times each.  We then made our way upstairs and he pee'd two more times on his small potty.  By no means am I going to push anything but I was so excited to see him able to do it on his own.  After the peeing madness it was time for dinner.  I decided Brian was going to be served what Howard and I were eating for dinner.  I probably only do this 50% of the time because Brian tends to be picky when it comes to new foods.  The 3 of us sat down to dinner and Brian ate the chicken I made and it was something he had never tried before (Miracle #3).  I actually sat back this evening after he went to bed and thought "wow, my baby really is almost 3 years old."

Brian MUST know he is half Korean

I wouldn't say that Brian is the pickiest eater I know, but when it comes to new things they generally need to be physically forced down his throat.  For example, the first time I made him turkey meatballs I had to jam three pieces in his mouth before one made it's way down.  However, once he tasted it he ate two of them.  The first time Brian ate a piece of red meat was right after we moved to CA at a Korean restaurant.  As we went to Korean restaurants more often he began tasting a lot of the banchan (small side dishes that come with the meal such a sprouts, broccoli, kimchi, egg etc.).  He is now at a point where he loves going out for Korean food.  Tonight he dug large pieces of spinach out of his Miso Soup and ate them.  Howard and I couldn't believe it.  I can promise you that if we were not at a Korean restaurant that spinach would have ended up on the floor and not in his stomach.  Below is a picture of Brian enjoying not one, but two treats at the end of our meal.  Apparently when you can't choose between two things you eat them at the same time.  In case you can't tell one is a lollipop and the other is a probiotic yogurt drink.

In case anyone was wondering

what happens when you put bubbles in a tub and then turn on the jets, here is your answer.  Clearly Howard came home early enough today to help with bathtime.

Mans best friend

Brian spent a full 30 minutes in his crib after nap today reading to Daisy.

The apple does not fall far from the tree

Does anyone remember the show Duck Tales from the 90's?  I used to have dreams that, much like Scrooge McDuck, I would one day have my very own vat filled with money to dive into.  I knew I had met my soul mate when Howard confided in me he shared that exact same fantasy.  Apparently when you combine the DNA of two money hungry fools you produce a 2 year old who's most prized possession is his piggy bank.

Brian loves Easter

because he really loves chocolate!!!

Brian is saying cheese and trying to smile for the camera in the above photo.  However, the 4 pretzel M&Ms in his mouth are making it rather difficult.

And all I got was this stupid hat

We signed Brian up to meet the Easter Bunny who made an appearance today at Kids World.  For those who don't know, Kids World is the name of the daycare at our gym.  I hoped that since Brian would be seeing the Easter Bunny in a familiar space surrounded by people he knows that we might be able to get a few pictures.  Sadly, that furry white Q-tip scared the ever loving crap out of our child.  On the plus side they were making paper hats that Brian liked so much he left it on for the remainder of the day.

Do you look this cool at the park?

Brian might look a lot like a Ro

but he most definitely has Silverman ears.  It wasn't too noticeable this morning but after a haircut there is no hiding those suckers.

The many faces of Brian after nap

Safety First

Brian and I went to a friends house today who lives on a cul-de-sac in a very quiet neighborhood.  Said friend has a very adventurous 3.5 year old girl, which means their garage is full of bikes, scooters, cars etc.  Brian is always very cautious but he relaxes a little bit when he is around older kids.  I was absolutely shocked when Brian asked to put on the helmet let alone stand within 5 feet of the scooter.  99.9% of his time spent with the scooter consisted of him pushing it while walking beside it and ringing the bell.  However, he did get on and push himself properly with it for about 3 seconds.  I've never been so proud of my little daredevil.

Finally took a trip to the Reservoir

Do you ever get really excited at the thought of doing something or going somewhere but it takes you forever to finally get around to it?  For us that was the Lafayette Reservoir.  When Howard and I came out to CA in June 2011 to see some houses our realtor drove us around the Reservoir just to take a look.  According to their website the reservoir "is an all year, day use area that is ideal for hiking, jogging, fishing, boating and picnicking."  Our goal today was to walk on the trail for about a mile and let Brian hang on the playground they have near the entrance to the park.  I would say it was a huge success and we are hoping to conquer the paddleboats on our next trip.

Howard learned a valuable lesson yesterday

Howard spent 3 days in Palm Springs at a work function.  As any wonderful father would he decided to bring something home for Brian.  Much like you I thought to myself, what do you bring home from Palm Springs that would excite a toddler.  The answer to that can be seen in the photo below.  Needless to say our evening ended with a lot of screaming, whining, drooling and cleaning products.  I'm pretty sure next time Howard travels Brian is getting a bag of peanuts.

Wow

it has been a very very very long time since I have blogged.  I received an email from my mother last night informing me that she is going through Brian withdrawal.  I have been toying with the idea for the last few weeks of doing "365 days of Brian."  I think my mothers email was the kick in the rear that I needed to finally start on this.  I like the idea of the "365 days" because if I do not have the motivation, energy, ideas, etc for one of the very intelligent and humorous posts you have all come to know and love from me I can slap a photo of Brian up here and 99.9% of you will be happy.  To kick start this project I will walk you through what has kept me away from the blog for the last 9 months (OUCH!!).

In mid July we finally moved into a house after being in the apartment for a LONG 9 1/2 months.

10 days after we moved into the house we had Brians second birthday party.  I'm pretty sure I got less sleep in those 10 days than when Brian was a newborn.  I apologize for the lack of b-day pictures but we still need to get the family pics from Howards cousin.

A few weeks after Brians birthday we headed to Dana Point for Brians first beach vacation.  That was also the first time I got to experience the perks of being married to a partner.  Howard had a 3 day meeting at the St. Regis so Brian and I just tagged along.  It was a beautiful hotel.

About a week after we got home from Dana Point Aunt Laura and Uncle Mike came out for a wonderful visit.

Ten days later Howard and I were headed to China for our 4 day trip

To cap off our insane 3 months Howard surprised me with a trip to Hawaii for my 30th (still hurts to see that number) birthday.  Brian still mentions Hawaii at least 3-4 times a week.  I think another trip might be in order for October 2013.

I don't have an excuse for not blogging after mid October.  However, I think after how crazy things had been I got lazy and just never started up again.  I can't promise I won't get lazy again but at least you can expect something from me for the next 364 days.