LELAND turns 9 Months... Pac-Man whoops a$$

On Dec. 6, Manny Pac-Man Pacquiao, the Philippines' most popular native became boxing's best fighter, not only dominating De La Hoya in all of only eight rounds, but making the Golden Boy say, "I give up..."

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/12/03/fight-pick-pacquiao-over-de-la-hoya-by-unanimous-decision/

Check out my comment/prediction on the Tim Kawakami's Blog in San Jose Merc... All the way at the bottom under Pac That! Was close!

On Dec. 7, Leland turned the big Nine Months!!! We took him to the doctor's for his check-up and he's doing real well. He's in almost the top percentile (72%) for his height, but he's near the bottom in weight (19%). Leland's doc (who won the 2008 Doctor of the Year award for Kaiser!) said its pretty normal considering his habits = nonstop crawling and playing + small cat naps during the day + the desire to not drink as much milk as before.

We're going to do our best to try and pump the kid up. He does have almost 5 teeth now (two on the bottom, three on top) and at least we know he's always happy! Check out these two great pics of him:

Eight is Great!

I know a little late... But our Leland Boy, as Grandpa Pacho likes to call him, turned eight months on 11/7. At this point, he probably weighs 20+ pounds- we can definitely tell when holding him for a period of time.

Luckily he doesn't like to be held too long- he wants to be put down so he can crawl everywhere. Crawl he does... And fast! He likes to stand on his own, sometimes letting go for long periods of time. He's going to be walking real soon, so we're starting to baby-proof the house.

Two teeth fully out on bottom, half of one on top with the other poking out. He's getting picky with what we try and feed him, but wants to eat anything we're eating. Smart a$$.

Anyways, Ninong Jeff came by and took pictures of him with his Professional Camera. Way better than the overpriced studio crap. Check out all the pics at http://www.flickr.com/gp/16870895@N04/21z1y0

Here are a few of our favorites: (*Note- Ed Hardy Clothing provided by Melissa's co-worker Sue, who's getting married in a few weeks! Congrats Sue!)

This year Halloween fell on a weekend...

... The infamous Geto Boys rap. This year Halloween fell on a Friday and was Leland's first. In trying to think of a costume for him, we wanted to incorporate a family theme. So, we went with the Crocodile Hunter, with Papa Leif as Steve, Mama Melissa as Terri, and Leland as a crocodile!

R.I.P. Steve Irwin

We also hit up the Abentoot Halloween Spooktakular. Although we didn't win any of the costume prizes, we still had a blast!

AWW CRIKEY! Take a look at this fellow...

The Irwins/ Macaraegs

Ladies of the night

Ten years ago on Nov. 1 around 1:00am, I asked Melissa if she would be my GF officially. Of course she said yes, and so marks our"Hooked Up" Anniversary. We celebrated this up until we had our Wedding Anniversary, but we always like to do something special on Nov.1.

This year was no different. After hitting up my "Best Damn Neighbor Ever," and sharing my Patron Anejo, he got us (free of charge as usual) Luxury Suite Tickets to Madonna's concert. I surprised Melissa two days before with them and she was pretty shocked because she has loved Madonna ever since grade school. I let her invite her two best friends Denise and (BT) Lyn and they had a blast.

Grandma Vivien & Grandpa Jessie Babysitting Leland, Free Luxury Suite Parking (in the area sort of "underground" at the Oracle- usually where the celebs park!), Free Luxury Suite Tickets, a plethora of Free Food including Jumbo Shrimp and desserts, and Free Patron, Vodka, Beer and drinks= Best Anniversary Gift Ever!

The Machos

Sharing the suite with other MILF's/ friends of my neighbor

The Menu in Suite that night... Never seen one like this before!

The Mac Boys (and Ladies)!

Last weekend we made a trip down to LA to visit our Macaraeg Family (http://www.macaraegmania.blogspot.com/). It was Leland's first flight and our first experience doing a vacation with a little one.

Its one of those things you can never fully prepare for. It was a short vacation (and a short flight!) but it felt like we packed EVERTYHING for Leland.

It was definitely fun. Leland was great. Palm Springs SUCKED (don't go there). But seeing family you haven't seen in a while makes it definitely worth the trip.

MACARAEG BOYS

Vinny & Xavier playing with Leland Xavier- the true Kuya! Macaraeg Ladies (and the reason our boys have light complexions)

The two Papa Mac's drinking Blue Moon

Leland's Big 7!!!

Its amazing just looking at his pictures we've put on this blog and seeing how much he's changed in just a short period of time. And TIME FLIES!

- He's eating more stuff now including yummy baby food and whatever Grandpa Pacho decides to give him.
- He crawls. He's starting to master it so he's gaining speed. We definitely can't leave him alone without a constant eye now.
- He sleeps WAY BETTER! His night routine: eats big, plays a lot, passes out. AWESOME!
- He can stand up on his own. He needs to lean on something still to remain standing, but he's not too far from standing on his own. Early walker= big trouble.
- A bottom tooth has popped out. Not good for mommy who still feeds sometimes...
- He still looks at the camera ALL THE TIME!

Check out these pics:

Leland at the Western Warehouse with Grandma
Leland wearing Daddy's Softball Jersey. TEAM OC FUTURE DRAFT PICK!
Leland's 6 1/2 month Studio Pics

First Family Studio Pic

Chargate Wedding

Char & Chris = CHARGATE
Saturday Oct. 4, 2008

LEGENDARY... WAIT FOR IT... DARY!

The Chargate Nuptials- another classic one for the books. I can think of about 20 different truly memorable moments from Char & Chris big day, but I decided to narrow it down. Here are the top five moments from Saturday, listed under each picture (although the picture may not illustrate the moment at all):

5. G-DAWG1027 IS MY HERO

- After the ceremony, the Bridal Party packed into a Limo/Bus to cruise the city, take some pictures and head out to the Reception at the Design Center. We had one huge problem- no alcohol. It was all consumed in the hotel beforehand. With virtually everyone heading towards soberness, a pit-stop at ANY alcohol-serving establishment was much needed.

We headed straight for the "Photo-Shoot Location" somewhere in the Financial District of the City. There was a large production crew that looked like they were shooting a movie right in front of us (later we found out it was Bridgestone shooting a commercial for the Super Bowl!). We recalled seeing a liquor store not even a block away, but as great Bridal Party members, no one wanted to just leave the photo session to get alcohol. Until:

G-DAWG1027 TO THE RESCUE. He was rolling with us in the bus, and although he was part of the Bridal Party, he wasn't needed in this part of the Photo Shoot. All the Groomsmen started raining $20 bills on G-Dawg who promptly went and made the run for us. I'm sure the entire Bridal Party will agree with me: The best (and most expensive) Hennessey Priv I've ever had...
4. OPEN BAR = EVERYONE GETS HAMMERED

- Henny-tini's, Appletini's, Kamikaze's... Everyone had one (or seven) of the above at some point during the night. Including our parents! Its awesome seeing our parents hang out and have a good time together. And you wonder why WE party so hard... Remember that one late 80's/early 90's commercial:

"I learned it from watching you!!!"

"Parents who 'get down and party,' have children who 'get down and party..."

Special shout-out to my dad who turned 50 on Oct. 3!!!
3. YOU BETTER FRIGGIN' RECOVER...

- Sometime between the Bridal Party introduction and salad being served, the ever-so-wonderful Wives/ Girlfriends/ Significant Others proceeded to get BLASTED!!! Wifey Macho probably had at least 10 drinks... SHOTS... She wasn't sippin' the Appletini's, she was downing them.

I remember her double fisting two Appletini's back to the table, taking both of them back with Wifey Jenny & Wifey Hellen, and turning to Wifey Consuerto while pointing at an empty glass saying, "Hey CON, I got you an Appletini... but I drank it B*TCH!"

Of course everything hit her like a ton of bricks. Eyes closing, unable to stay still, head on a swivel... And the salad just got to our table. I proceeded to stuff bread, salad, chicken, and whatever Con had on her plate in to her mouth while yelling, "YOU BETTER FRIGGIN RECOVER!!!"

And she did. What can I say?!?!? She's a champ for that. I think all the Wifey's were straight HOGGZ and showed it that night... HOTDAMN!
2. MAN, THAT B*TCH CRAZY!

- During the Bride and Groom Speech towards the end of the night, Chris made reference to one of the talented entertainers.

During dinner, there was a lovely trapeze artist who twirled around on a ribbon suspended from the ceiling. It was nuts! But it was awesome.

Actually, as Chris puts it, "Man, did y'all see that chick on the rope? That b*tch crazy!!!" 1. BILLY JEAN IS NOT MY LOVER

- I heard this song the Tuesday after the wedding and I immediately thought of the wedding. Actually, a specific moment in the wedding. The great band Keith Johnson's All-Stars were playing live at the Chargate Wedding. Right at the peak of dancing, they started to play Michael Jackson's hit "Billy Jean."

One of the groomsmen started to dance like Jacko on the dancefloor. To protect his identity (I don't think he really cares) we'll call him Saul Pasche. Saul was busting a move. A few of us challenged him to get up on stage and bust a move. We actually threw him on stage (I personally had my part in that) where he stole the entire show... He didn't just steal the show- DAMMIT THAT WAS THE MOMENT OF THE WEDDING!!!

It doesn't matter that one of Char's little nephews got on stage next to Saul and battled him out. Its the fact that Saul, otherwise cool, calm & collected without Heen, was on stage, drunk like a m*tha f*cka, grabbing his crotch and dancing like Jacko in front of EVERYONE...

GOOD TIMES? NO... GREAT TIMES? NO... LEGENDARY- Wait for it- DARY? YES

CONGRATS CHARGATE!

Happy Six Months Leland!!!

Half a year already. Man time flies. And there's a laundry list of milestones for the dude in the last month:

- Now eating solids; rice cereal/ oatmeal infused with mommy's milk, and the green mushy vegetables
- Rolling over; he's at the point where we can't just leave him on his own; Daddy learned the hard way= Leland fell off the couch already.
- Crawling; more like scooting, but he's getting from one place to another
- Blabbing; even more
- Sleep; Mommy & Daddy's favorite, on most nights he can sleep 5-7 hours straight! We're SANE again!

Here are a few pics:

What a smile! Leland in his car seat!

Grandma Lorna bought a small booster seat for Leland; Munchin' on Rice Cereal!

Leland and Cuzzin' JAH... "Do we have to pose?"

So on Sept. 7, Leland's six month birthday, where were Mommy & Daddy?

At another WEDDING! Congrats to Cathy and Anthony Lee!!! Leif has known Cathy since 3rd Grade, and even though their wedding was on a Sunday, it turned out awesome. Check out a few pics:

Leland Loves Sports!!!

Normally, a father's passion for professional sports teams passes on to his offspring. Usually it doesn't take any convincing- naturally a son or daughter will follow their dad in cheering for that team.

Here are my teams:

* Baseball: Oakland A's; my dad took me to my first baseball game in the mid-80's. It was against the Boston Red Sox and we lost. I was hooked. Through thick and thin, I cheer for my Athletics.

* Basketball: Golden State Warriors; the Warriors are the only team in town. I didn't go to my first Warrior game until I was 21, but in the last three years, have gone at least three times a season.

* Football: San Francisco 49ers; well, when you're growing up, you cheer for the winning team. Plus the Raiders didn't get to the Bay until the mid-90's. Funny thing- my first football game was the Raiders vs. Chiefs when I was 19, and I've been to WAY MORE Raiders games than 49ers... That's Bandwagon talk. LOL

Leland attended five Warrior games and one Raider game while in Mommy's tummy. We have gone to one A's game and one Raider game since he has been born. And that's probably not the end of it.

We've gotten spoiled since we moved to Dublin. Free tickets to the aforementioned Sports events. Most of the time, Luxury Suites. I won't/can't say who/how, but much love to my homie in the neighborhood...

Check out Leland. Looks great in Green & Gold and Silver & Black... I guess Leland's a Raider fan now.

Five Months!

Our little guy is getting older! And bigger! He's probably pushing 16 pounds now, more depending on his last diaper change.

Its amazing how quickly they grow up and how they do something new almost everyday. And if there's one funny characteristic Leland's been doing, its his blabbing. He's now our alarm clock! At 5:30am, he'll be almost wide awake in his bassinet just blabbing away, trying to wake mommy & daddy up. I guess it makes sense considering we're talkative/outgoing parents.

Here are some new studio pics Leland took last week with cousin Elijah. Leland is such a ham in front of the camera!

Leland, camera-shy? Not.

We decided to get some studio pics done for Leland, considering he's almost five months and because- well everyone else was doing it.

In my opinion, studio pics are sort of a rip off. You're definitely overpaying for "picture packages" that you have no choice but to buy. Everyone has 6.0 Mp+ camera nowadays and all it takes is that, a few bedsheets (different colors, if you'd like), good lighting and Costco.com and you're good to go.

I even know a few people who have Digital SLR's who are willing to take the pics for free. An even better camera!

But, to the studio Mommy went, with Leland. And we paid. And really, they turned out pretty good. Luckily it all kind of worked out really well. Parents know- babies have great days, good days, and just bad days. Mommy set it up so it would be a great day for Leland.

- A bath the night before: CHECK
- Good sleep the night before: CHECK
- Day of morning "care package" of a little playtime, Mommy's milk (from the source of course), and some more playtime: CHECK

Leland was ready. Of course, he ended up napping on the way to Babies R' Us where the studio is located, but he woke up ready to go. Check out these pics:

Its amazing how aware this kid is. He knows if we're taking a picture of him. Group pictures are a little different. But he knows when its a solo pic and he makes sure you get a good shot.

So we ended up paying for a package but we also received a CD with the full size pics in there. Even the lady taking the pictures suggested not splurging too much on a package and just printing our own elsewhere. And that we did. Thank you Costco!