birthday boy!

really, he's happy about his gifts, which he's wearing/holding. he's just galit he has to go to school.

i can't believe he's four! our little man is a not-so-little man. when we got home from san francisco, we got to lolo and lola's house where they were having a swimming partay for gani with all his favorite people on earth... his cousins and family. thanks so much to the entire family for giving gani a wonderful party and entertaining the little beast while we were gone. lolo has the pictures of that night, so i'll have to upload it this weekend.

we bought gani a bike for his birthday, which we'll definitely use along the beach paths and parks. our neighborhood association held a bicycle rodeo, sponsored by the city to promote bike safety. it was awesome!!! they even gave out free helmets, and gani landed one that matched his bike.

"what is this place? what's on my head?"

this was the first time he attempted to ride the bike, and he was a little bit unsure of what was going on. he kept saying, "can we go home? i want to watch tv." (OMG! the indication of his personality). anyway, papa helped him learn how the pedals work, and did some practice biking before taking on the obstacle course. after a while, he was doing it while singing the alphabet.

then he was ready to take on the obstacle course. they had paths chalked out, with real street signs to teach them what they mean. the course also let them practice certain skills, like how to make hand signals, how to ride a figure 8, and how to control your speed by riding super slow.

then at the very end, they even quizzed their knowledge about safety and laws. here is my super responsible son listening so closely and brilliantly answering the (c'mon, it soooo obvious!) questions.

the event ended with food (mama and papa's favorite part, cheap and filling) and a raffle, where gani won a bike light, which, according to his safety check, his bike needed to be licensed.

gani even met a friend who lives a few streets down. i can't believe we didn't exchange numbers with the parents. i'll just have to hover around their hood like a stalker until i run into them. these two got along really well. until...

...the plunge of death. our awesome day came to a horrific end. j/k. after 20 minutes of crying, he was fine. but it was a sign that the day was over and we needed to rest.

and now, he's a biking expert and an official big boy! happy 4th birthday, son! we love you!!!!