Celebrating Cultures

This is William's first time participating in his daycare's Celebrating Culture Parade. Ed and I are really pleased with the programs in his school. We ordered this Barong Tagalog for this special day. The Barong Tagalog is the national costume of the Philippines. It is an embroidered formal garment, very light weight and worn untucked over an undershirt. It is a common wedding and formal attire for Filipinos.

Doesn't he look handsome? I'm bias, I know.

With Daddy.You can see the details of the barong in this photo.With his favorite teachers. These wonderful ladies are extremely sweet and genuinely cares for our baby. It's apparent how much he loves his teachers. 

How cute are this lil guys?  Infants participated by seating in high chairs and bouncies.

The toddlers. Some of these kids used to be at William's room. It's amazing that in a couple of months, he will be joining them.

With Mommy

Godfather Michael works nearby and decided to show William support for this big day:)

Vacation by the beach: Sights and Activities

I couldn't rave enough about our vacation at Watercolor. It was the perfect combination of relaxation and activities. The house that we rented came in with bikes. Everybody enjoyed leisure rides around the neighborhood. Kara, Monica and I would often peak at houses on the market. The houses will blow you away. You feel like you've stepped into the pages of Coastal Living magazine or perhaps Southern Accents. It is genuinely awe-inspiring. Large wrap around porches for lazy beach dinners or afternoon cocktails. Spacious living areas for everyone to spread out. Each house is absolutely impeccably appointed.We had a couple of great walks as well. The kids loved being in their strollers. Watercolor is next to Seaside. Recognize these houses??? Yes, this is where the movie The Truman Show was filmed.More famous sites in the area...Camp Watercolor where daily arts, crafts, nature lessons, games and more are offered for kids. Standing in front of the Pattiserie. Highly rated by Southern Living Magazine.In front of the famous fine dining restaurant Fish out of WaterSaturday afternoon and evening mostly revolved around college football. It wasn't a good day for our teams. Tech lost. Auburn won but played horribly. I guess a win is a win though, huh. But here's Ed's lil Tiger. Looking so cute!!! :)
We played a lot of Wii too. And ate a lot. Yumm-o :)

Vacation by the beach: The Pools & The Beach

Pools, pools and more pools. What I loved about this community is the abundance of pools in the area, mostly a short walk from our home. They are not so crowded and there were times where we have the pools all to ourselves. We hang out a lot at the pool and the kids (and kids at heart) loved it!

One of the pools had 3 fountains with the frog spitting water. It was gorgeous and William and Allison loved the watching it.
I think I have a future Michael Phelps in here:) He was paddling his legs like it was his business. These photos were taken at the Camp Watercolor pool. The pool had a shallow and waddling area. They definitely had kids in mind when they designed this pool.Allison riding her adorable froggie float. She loved it. Whoever invented these flots is brilliant!!! Aside from being really practical they also make good photo ops :)
My lil lobster needed some break from the sun,so we took shelter in one of the cabanas.
Ping pong area near the pool.

This pool area was our favorite. We had it all to ourselves. It was walking distance from the house. Had radio playing. Aahhh...what a life.

This has got to be one of the prettiest beach I've ever been to. This popular beach resort is well known as Northwest Florida’s Only Four Diamond AAA Hotel, was recognized with a World's Best Travel & Leisure Award in 2008, and has been included as a Condé Nast Johansens Recommended Hotel.The water was sparkly emerald green and the sand was powdery white. This was also William's first trip to the beach. The waves were strong due to Hurricane Ike whirling around the Texas are. The loud waves scared him a lil but he eventually got used to the sound. He loved playing in the sand and was mesmerized by it.
Clint and Monica

The Reding family.The guys

Vacation by the beach: The house

Ed, William and I just got back from a wonderful vacation with the Redings, Loftins and Mike. We absolutely had a great time and vacationed at one of the best resort ever in Florida. We stayed at Watercolor Resort and I highly recommend this place. The community is so exquisite with all the chic homes. Honestly, I didn't see any house in this community that I didn't like. Every single one of these homes can be featured in the Coastal Living Magazine. The house that we stayed at was marvelous. Pictures don't even do this house justice....and to think that this is one of the cheaper homes in the community, appraised at JUST $1.5M :)

Here's a group photo in front of the house taken by the next door neighbor.

I love how open the whole house feels. Also loved the detailed trimmings and finishes.The state of the art kitchen with Thermador appliancesWilliam loved pulling up at and swiveling these bar stools.

The hallway was perfect for Allison and William to run around...And for the guys to throw football :)These two can't get enough of these stairs and really wanted to climb it.The house also had great outdoor spaces. It had a screened in porch with fans to keep it cool. Perfect for afternoon lounging.Or if you choose, you can lay on the hammock just a step away from the house.The outdoor shower was great for cleaning up sand on your feet. Stay tuned....more posts on swimming pool, beach, sights and activities

William's 1st haircut

This lil guy was in dire need of a haircut. I was apprehensive at first to have his haircut before he turns 1--- somehow, it was a reminder that he's becoming less of a baby and is transitioning to toddler. His hair has been out of control lately so off we go to Snip its. It's a cute lil hair place catered to kids. Ed said no at first because their haircuts are quite pricey. Thankfully my friend Karen shared her coupon with me so Ed finally said yes. Snip it offers a special package for baby's first haircut--complete with a certificate and lock of hair.

Here's a before picture

The cape went inHaircut in action. He did real well. He didn't mind the scissors but he wasn't a big fan of the trimmers and the noise kinda scared him. 
Aahh, the finish product. So cute!Proudly holding his certificate...for meeting all the requirements of a first haircut with courage and bravery.

***CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICTURES***