The Adventures of Only Mommy!

Well, it looks like it'll only be the adventures of mommy until Thursday. However, once my little one is back, we're back on track! :)

Manhattan Beach Surfer's Paradise!

Thursday was just a beautiful day! We're so fortunate to be living in a state with such wonderful climate. As soon as we woke up, my little one wanted to go to exercise with Gung Gung. I suggested that we head out to Manhattan Beach because my father (Gung Gung) and I hadn't gone out in such a long time. Also, I knew my little one would enjoy it as well. Parking was great! We found one right away on Highland Ave. There was alot of metered parking as well. The first place that we headed to was the Pier. At the end of the pier there is a little marine aquarium called the Roundhouse that we visited. The Roundhouse is where many schools have their field trips. The trips include pollution awareness, animals up-close, and beach exploration. The Roundhouse is FREE & is great for all age groups! However, to continue to operate this educational facility donations of $2.00 per person and $4.00 per family are suggested.

After walking on the pier, my little one wanted
to go down to the shore to play in the sand & dip her little feet in the water. We were having tons of fun running and following the waves as it came in & out. The surfers were waiting for a good wave to ride on while we were digging for sandcrabs in the sand. My little one has never seen one before so it was fun trying to find one for her. I told her that they were in the sand and you could feel it tickling your feet. Well, she was fine with the idea until I actually found one. From that point on, she wanted to be carried to the water and lost the enthusiasm for play. It was interesting watching the surfers. The surf wasn't too high but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. After about 5 minutes of this, my little one wanted to head to Coffee, Tea & Leaf to get our usual drinks. Mocha Fraps! Yum Yum!

But first, we had to climb up those steps that you see before you! It wouldn't have been so difficult if I wasn't carrying a 25lb backpack with a stroller in hand (note: I was carrying it) and a big bucket of sand toys. I almost had to carry my little one too but I convinced her that mama had no more hands left.

Well, these wonderful steps lead us to Gung Gung who saved the day. He met us half way down and helped us carry everything up. From there, we walked past a variety of restaurants ranging from pizza places to fine dining. Trendy restaurants, ice cream shops, bakeries, and coffee shop hangouts are everywhere. We stopped at Coffee, Tea and Leaf for an enjoyable cup of Mocha Frap with whipped cream! Even Gung Gung enjoyed his!

Reaching Another Level of Maturity

Well, my little one has reached another milestone. She had an annual appointment with her pediatrician today. While sitting in the room waiting for her doctor to arrive, she asked me if she was going to get a shot today. I told her that I wasn't sure. So when her doctor came in, he told me that she will be needing another chickenpox shot. I told my little one this and she seemed to be fine especially since she knew that a treat would follow...a lollipop. When the nurse came in to administer it, my little one sat still without moving and before we knew it, it was done. Eversince she turned 4, she suddenly matured. She told the nurse that she's 4 and a big girl now and asked if she was going to get a cute bandaid. Unfortunately, the nurse ran out of the character bandaids and gave her a plain one. After much tugging, we went and she picked out a red lollipop. She wanted to eat it right away but I told her after school. She didn't much like the idea but gave in because it was a no win situation with mommy. :)

Happy Father's & Grandpa's Day!

I grew up visiting Chinatown every weekend to buy Chinese groceries with my parents. Fortunatly, my little one has come to love these outings as well. There's a restaurant in L.A. where they serve Hong Kong style waffles. This is a favorite of my little one. For Father's / Grandpa's Day, we came here. Although the menu is varied consisting of rice, noodle and porridge dishes, she only has eyes for the waffles. I think it's because she likes to tear them apart like a puzzle. Afterwards, we went to 168 Supermarket to buy groceries. We must've been there for hours. Usually, I'll take my little one out to the carousel and let her ride a few times. With the weather being so warm & hot, we have to take a few breaks and go back into the supermarket to take advantage of the air conditioning. It's so refreshing! After a couple of hours here, we headed back home. On the way back, while grandma drove, grandpa, little one & myself fell fast asleep. :)

Splashing Away

Thursday was a warm day. I took my little one out to Irvine Spectrum and we played in the water area for about 1 1/2 hrs. She loved it! The water shoots out of the ground and the little toddlers attempt to catch the water as it comes up. It's so cute. My little one will just stand there over the spout and wait for the water to come up and wet her hair. After this happens, she comes running back to me giggling and does it again. Oops, here she comes...

My Real Birthday!

Yesterday was my little one's actual birthday. She went to school and I picked her up at 12:30pm to take her to have lunch with her daddy. We lunched at Buca's in Huntington Beach and ate just a little or maybe alot too much. Her daddy gave her a new outfit and a pair of roller skates. Since my little one is somewhat reserved, it took her some time to reach a level of comfort with the skates. Once she reached that level, she wanted to roll everywhere...that is within the artificial turf at the mall. After an hour or so of playing, we headed back home to her cousin's house for more cake and ice cream because it was also her grandma's b-day a few days before.

Little One's B-day

I haven't had an opportunity to post the last week or so because life... as usual... is very busy. Last weekend was my little one's b-day party. Typically, we would invite all the relatives and friends; however, this year was different. At my daughter's request, we only invited the immediate family...Gung Gung, Pau Pau, Auntie, Uncle, Jason and Auntie Mable & her 2 little girls...Kelly and Jackie. We went to Adventure City in Buena Park & it was great fun for the little ones. We had a little birthday party with a "princess' b-day cake, pizza, punch & lemonade. There weren't a whole lot of rides but enough for Jason and the girls. Half the day was spent there and they still didn't want to go home. Finally, all the adults were tired so we convined them to head back home to open presents.