k’s 1st Grade Performance

k was chosen to have a small speaking part for the performance her grade put on for friends and relatives.  I know it is not easy speaking in front of a large group with a mic—we are proud of her!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Yesterday was k’s first day of school.  There is a lot for her to adjust to: new (earlier) start time, new teacher, new classroom, new classmates, etc.  The school day is also a lot longer.  She seems to be handling it well, though. 

Her teacher (the one in the plaid shirt) is new to the school, so we don’t have any info about him.  k seems to like him so far, though.

Meanwhile, THIS has been giving me a headache.  I’ve given up hope, and our beloved Series 2 Tivo will need to be replaced.  It did last a good 8 years, though.  I’ve been teaching the kids that “people are more important than things” and I need to take that lesson to heart myself.

Build A Bear & Farrells

k’s Daisy troop voted to have their end of the year party at Build a Bear.  This was the first time for k to experience Build a Bear, and she had a lot of fun.  I explained to n beforehand that he would not be participating, and he seemed to take it very well.  (He mainly tagged along for the ice cream at Farrells afterwards). 

Pumping in the stuffing

Giving the bear a bath

All boxed up.  I will share a picture of the bear another time.  It is quite cute, with its own Daisy outfit and shoes.

I’ve heard that the Farrells at Mission Viejo Mall is not as crowded as the one in Brea.

The troop ordered The Zoo, with a sparkler!

I borrowed this picture from someone who was closer to the action.

n realized the benefit of having a sister in Girl Scouts.

School Pictures

One thing that has changed since I was in school is that there are two school picture days, one in the fall and one in the spring.  In the fall, you pick your package, pay, and hope that the one picture that they take comes out well.  In the spring, you don’t pay, and they send you 5 sheets of pictures.  You pay for the ones you want, and return the rest to the school.  I wasn’t planning on buying a second set of pictures, so I guess their tactics worked on us.  However, we only paid for one sheet of small pictures that we can distribute to grandparents, etc.  The backgrounds are a real crack-up.  To wit:

That doesn’t look unnatural at all, right?    There was also a waterfall background and some sort of European castle background. 

In Praise of the Balance Bike

I first heard about the concept of a balance bike at my moms' group. The basic idea is that kids need to learn how to balance before they try to put together balancing and pedaling at the same time. My parents bought k a balance bike (no pedals) for Christmas from Costco. It took a while in the beginning, but gradually k got it. Our neighbors gave us a hand-me-down girl's bike a few months ago. k tried it, but she thought it was too heavy and didn't like it. We had k try it again on Sunday, and within 1/2 hour, she was riding by herself! (I still have to give her a push to start her out, though. And, understandably, she only likes to ride where there is plenty of room). This process was so much less painful than what I remember from my own childhood. So, I heartily recommend skipping the training wheels and going for a balance bike! The proof:



Now, if there was only a "trick" to learning how to swim!

Jingle Bell Rock

Last year, k refused to even go up on stage for our church Christmas program. For Easter, she went up on stage, but didn't do any of the hand motions or sing. This year, at pre-school and church, she did the hand motions. Maybe next year she'll sing too! :) This is one of the songs from her pre-school program.

k's 4th Birthday

So, last week, n, k and I all (in that order) came down with the stomach flu. D managed to escape. We had to postpone k's birthday party, which we had planned for Saturday. :( But thankfully, we are better now, and we celebrated k's actual birthday today. We made m&m cookie pops for her classmates. D also brought home unwanted cupcakes from work. k got so excited about them, but barely touched hers. Probably too full from her chicken curry dinner. Anyway, Happy Birthday to our little k, who is not so little anymore!

A Dramatic "Reading"

A couple of months ago I bought a bunch of Berenstain Bear books at a garage sale. They have since become some of k's favorites. Here is an excerpt from "Trouble With Friends". (Note that for some reason, the video repeats itself, so stop in the middle if you don't want to see it twice!)

1st Day of Preschool

k had her first day of prechool today and it seems like it went well. She didn't cry when I left, although she looked sad. Her teacher was not there today so she had a substitute. When I picked her up the teacher and the assistant said she was fine, and that she played with dolls with another girl. I can't believe she is officially beginning the (hopefully) long journey of formal education.

3 1/2 Birthday

Today, the first day of summer, marks k's 3.5 birthday. I didn't have time to bake a cake, so I bought this "half" cake. I always thought it was funny that Ralph's sells these cakes, but it seemed appropriate for today. We sang "Happy half-birthday" to her. I asked k if she felt like she was three and a half, and she said that no, she feels like she is two and a half. She always wants to do everything herself, (changing clothes, etc.), but then she also constantly declares that she is "still a little girl".

Today was also a big day because we found out that she was accepted into our number one choice for preschool. For the last couple of months, we were waiting to hear back from this preschool, taking turns calling the director, but we could never get an idea of where we were on the wait list so it was very frustrating. We began considering our other options, including home-schooling and another pre-school. Well, the other pre-school gave us a deadline of tomorrow. I called the #1 pre-school to tell them that we had to make a decision by tomorrow, and that seemed to push us through. Who knew that pre-school admissions were such a process? Actually, I had heard about moms putting babies in utero on wait lists, etc., but didn't think it was really true. I'm just glad that we won't have to go through this again (hopefully) with n, since they give priority to siblings. We also found out that to reserve her space, k will have to start by the beginning of August. I was counting on September, so now it feels like summer is going to be really short. I feel like we're about to enter a whole new phase of parenting.

Merry Birthday

k's birthday was on Monday, so we went to Disneyland. (D pointed out that we could have gone any of the days prior to her birthday and she would still have had free admission. Oh yeah, didn't really think about that). Anyway, only k and my sister (who has an annual pass) actually went inside the park. D, n and I just hung out at Downtown Disney for a couple of hours. k had to go on her favorite ride, It's a Small World, of course. She reported back that the dolls were alternating between Jingle Bells and the It's a Small World theme song.

I would have liked to see how the park was decorated. We had a small taste from the outside. (I enjoyed watching Guy Fieri's Disneyland holiday special...those candy canes are amazing!) I saw the candy apples at Marceline's candy shop and they are quite labor intensive. Still don't think they are worth $8.95, though.







We ducked into the Grand Californian. It didn't feel like we were still in Disneyland. Very swanky, and love that tall Christmas tree!



After lunch, we opened presents. k received Duplos from D's parents. We had fun browsing at the Lego store at Downtown Disney. I have a feeling I'm going to have lots of fun with Legos once k and n become more interested. I didn't have many Legos as a kid, but I did have a nice K'nex set. I credit that toy with my penchant for putting together Ikea furniture.

In the Blink of an Eye

Our babies are growing up!

Hello September

This picture is for D's co-worker who moved back to Japan. She left behind this Hello Kitty pillow for k and wanted to know how it's doing. Here it is!


People often ask how k is adjusting to having a little brother. There are definitely ups and downs. Take, for instance, this lovely picture of the two of them. Sometimes, k says she loves n. She comforts him when he cries, saying "It's ok...mommy will come back." She loves to help give him a bath and feeding him.


But on the other hand, there are the times when she says "I don't love him anymore." She's quick to take away any toy he is playing with, declaring "That's mine!" Fortunately, n is at the age where he usually doesn't mind too much. Not looking forward to when he starts fighting back! He is growing up too fast...I can feel the beginnings of a tooth poking through his bottom gum!

5 Months Old

k & n enjoy their new bathtub. D got in with his swim trunks, too.

n is 5 months old today. We fed him his first bites of non-milk food (rice cereal). We'll post a video soon.

Hanging Around

This is my last week before I go back to work (at home). Of course, the time went by too quickly. Sometimes I look at k and wonder how she got so big all of a sudden. n is growing quickly, too, although we haven't made too much progress in the sleeping at night. He is in a cute stage, cooing and smiling (when he is content).


I'm a tough guy!


I found my hands!


I can lift up my head!


Forget fried rice, I want more ramen! (This was at Shin Sen Gumi in Fountain Valley. It is a tiny place. We arrived at 4:45 on Sat. and were seated right away, but by 5 p.m. there were people waiting outside. I liked how you can customize your ramen--I prefer my noodles on the firmer side while D likes his softer, and they delivered! We both put down that we wanted light oil and normal strength broth.)

Butterball

My mom's nickname for n is "butterball", which I think is very fitting. Look at those thighs...much cuter than the chicken legs he used to have.


k loves her tiny camera that she earned through last year's summer reading program. I think it is the only prize that she still has besides her "Just Go To Bed" book, which she also enjoys.

Improved ABCs

Recently, k has been singing her ABCs about 50 times a day. She's getting better...

Back in the Hospital

Little did we know when we left the hospital with n that we would be back 8 days later. The reason? k's pediatrician suspected she had Kawasaki's disease. He was right, and she had to stay at Long Beach Memorial from Thursday-Sunday! This was especially difficult since I could not stay overnight with her since I had to take care of n. My mom ended up staying Thurs. night and Sat. night and D stayed on Fri. night. We also took turns during the day. I am happy to report that k responded well to her treatment. However, she will continue to be monitored by a cardiologist. Thank you for all of your prayers for our family!


Poor thing. This was actually taken on the last day of her stay, when she was feeling better. Before her IVIG treatment, she was miserable!


This is where my mom and D had to sleep. (It folds out to a bed). n didn't cause too many problems at the hospital. He had his milk (from me), slept, and we just had to change his diapers.

k's Preparation

I don't think there is a sure way to prepare a two year old for the birth of a sibling. We've certainly been talking up baby NiNi (as k refers to him) more these past couple of weeks so it is not a complete shock when we come home with a newborn. k has become obssessed with playing with her "baby Abby" that we bought her for Christmas. She is also very interested in the crib, playpen, and bouncer seat that we have for baby N. Trying to explain that she is too big for these things is difficult since they appear to be so fun to her. k also likes to pretend that she is a baby. She does not seem to be convinced that it is more fun to be a "big girl".

One positive development is that k is pretty much potty-trained during her waking hours now. I was hoping this would happen before the baby came so we weren't constantly changing diapers. However, between k's trips to the bathroom, and mine, these last few weeks of pregnancy, we're spending a LOT of time there.

I am also happy to report that I have made significant progress in cleaning out our bedroom. It is amazing how a decluttered space can have such a positive effect on your psyche.

Happy 2nd Birthday, k!

k turned two today and we had a birthday party for her at my parents' house. A LOT of preparation went on for the past couple of days. k didn't take a nap at all today since her party was in the afternoon. We left my parents' house at around 5 p.m., and by the time we arrived home, k was fast asleep!



She did wake up when D tried to put her in bed, though. Now, after taking a bath, playing with a few of her new toys, eating dinner, and brushing her teeth, she is fast asleep. D and I are pretty exhausted, too. Although, not as exhausted as the day she was born. :) Ironic that December 21st is the shortest day of the year.