$%*@

Grreeeaaat. I knew this would happen sooner or later. Chamina's got a new word in her expanding vocabulary: $%*@. One syllable, rhymes with lit, pit, or female mammaries. I uttered the word quite casually the other day (hey, I didn't think she was paying attention!) and lo & behold, she caught hold of it and won't let it go. Now she says it all the time, sings it even, like she's mocking me somehow. She's in her crib right now, supposed to be napping, but instead I hear "$%*@, $%*@, $%*@". Another bad mommy moment.

Finding Nemo

Our first summer excursion! We hit the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach last Sunday for a family day out. The last time we took Chamina to the Aquarium, she was too chickenee-nee to be involved in most of the exhibits. What a difference a year makes! She was much more interactive this time, wanting to know what each animal was, waving "hi" and "bye" to them, and calling all the orange fish Nemo. She liked dipping her hands in the petting pool, but wasn't quite ready to touch any of the animals in it yet.

Getting to the Aquarium was a whole other adventure altogether. That area of Long Beach is CRAY-ZEE poppin' these days! The crowds can only be described as "Disneyland-ish", and it took us almost 30 minutes just to find parking (and that was in a parking structure). There's all this construction going up around there with tons of new shops and restaurants, so it's quite the tourist magnet now. At least we saved ourselves the headache of admission lines (not to mention the $$). You feel so special when you can bypass a line and go right into someplace, like they do on "Entourage"! (Except, in this case, it's into a measly Aquarium, not some hip club like Butter or Koi. *sigh*)

Here's one from our first visit-- notice, mommy's wearing the EXACT same shirt. So much for fashion...

Hail the Conquering Graduate

Karla graduated from Mira Mesa High School!! EGADS!!! Wasn't it just the other day when she was that tiny gal who said "I'm sick of bread!" for our Christmas play? Or the one who pronounced squirrel "squirt-el" for the longest time? I still remember that picture of her as a pumpkin for Halloween (she must've been about 3?), with a sour look on her face and a scratch/bukol on her head because she face-planted walking out of the restaurant the night before. Why do they have to grow up?

Graduation not only reminds one of how old "the kids" are getting, it also serves as a solemn reminder that YOU are getting on in years as well. BLEH. As Abu & JJ were kind enough to point out at Karla's graduation, it's been 14 years since I was a senior. Yikes! Actually, Abu kept insisting I was from the Class of '85. (Beeyatch!) I can hardly believe he & JJ have already been in college for 4 years. Man, time stops for no one...

And now, some pictures of the soon-to-be-SDSU freshman:

Hey, Karla, is that your older sister?

Sibs

Poppy's Day & Pool Fun

I've been remiss talking about Father's Day on my blog, yet I celebrated Mother's Day to no end! I feel like such a jerk. It's been very hectic at work with the kiddies and I've barely had time to squeeze in a breath or two before something else comes up, but that's not an excuse. Or maybe it is. On a positive note, I have 2 (count 'em, TWO!) more days until I'm FREEEEEE!!!!!! Hallelujah, summer here I come!!!

Anyway, Edgar, Cham & I went to San Dieggers for Father's Day weekend so Poppy was a very happy man. He and Nonna took care of the little gal and spoiled her to tears while Mommy and Daddy went shopping at Old Navy & watched X-Men. We also brought out Chamina's favorite summer toy, a plastic wading-pool elephant (or "eh-fahn", as Chamina is fond of calling him) and set it up in the backyard. The day was simply beeeyuteeful, so she was able to play in the pool with her Uncle Kuya-Runny all afternoon. (Alas, no pictures of daddy & baby Cham this Father's Day... bad mommy!)

Say "Cheese!"

Chatting on her cellie with Uncle JJ

Hippo birdie, Chamina!

Well, no hippos, but there were lots of birdies for Chamina's second birthday! We celebrated at the Santa Ana Zoo. I know what you're thinking... "Wow, Santa Ana has a Zoo?" Yes, it does! It's not nearly as plush or extensive as the San Diego Zoo, but it's really cute and good for small kiddies. There are no scary animals (lions, tigers, bears, nada). Just lots of monkeys and birds, and cool picnic/play areas for the little tykes. The creepiest-sounding animals were the howler monkeys, but they were just creepy enough to remind us we were at a zoo in the first place.

Chamina had a blast celebrating with her cousins! Edgar & I didn't even see her for most of the party. She was very busy bossing her grandparents around and smiling for pictures. It was wonderful to see the mini-cousins running around and playing. There are SO many girls! Egads!

Here are some photos of the ragin' party...

The No-Babies (yet) Crew...no wonder they look so relaxed

Lee-lai gives Cham some birthday love.

WSP Part II--The Revenge (this time, it's personal)

There was even a train ride around the zoo, and a jungle gym with a slide that Lee-lai and Cham wore out their bottoms on.




And after all was said and done, this is what Edgar and I got for all our hard work and effort...



Does it get any better than this? =)

Uncle JT Graduates!

We attended Uncle JT's Graduation from UCI Medical School last Saturday. The entire Tierney clan was present and accounted for, with Cel in from Colorado and Deanna from Ohio. It was great to spend time with the out-of-towners! JT's off to do his residency at UCLA Medical Center in a couple of weeks and he's engaged to his girlfriend Mona, so there's nothing but good things happening for him. Congrats, JT!

Dr. John

Lolo, Chamina, Auntie Deanna, & cousin Jake

The movie star likes to travel incognito

All the Tierney grandbabies are male: Tommy, Steven, and Jake. Chamina was not quite sure what to make of all these boys at first. She's surrounded by little girls at Miss Myrna's, and she only has Gani on mom's side. After awhile, however, she discovered that they are more susceptible to directions if spoken to in a firm voice. Soon, she was yelling "Steebie, come here!" and "No outside, Steebie!". Poor Steebie just kept trying (unsuccessfully) to run away from her. Mommy Cel told him he'd just have to get used it.

Chillin' with her buddy Steebie

Sharing goldfish crackers with Tommy