For the past couple of weeks, Maile has been a little girl on a mission. The mission being learning how to whistle. We’d catch her throughout the day trying again and again to make a sound through her mouth. We’d see her looking at herself in the mirror. She’d come over and ask us if we heard anything (and demand we listen harder when we told her we couldn’t).
And then, it suddenly, all came together…
We were quite proud of Maile Girl – only slightly less proud than she was of herself I believe 😉
(Click here for the video.)
Saturday was my birthday and I had a wonderful day celebrating with the girls. Mommy coordinated the whole thing from morning cards and signs to afternoon cake and then a fun evening out on the town. A perfect balance of fun with the little ladies and then a night out with Mommy and friends.
Here are some highlights…
Mommy made the cake, but the sprinkles were all Maile and Lauren
Wait, we have to wait for Daddy before we can eat this?
Lauren loved the cake; Maile not so much - not a fan of chocolate...
The benefit of waking up at 5:30 AM is there is plenty of time to write the perfect card for Daddy (since Mommy let him sleep in)
Maile's top secret birthday sign - perfect!
But the best part was definitely the singing of Happy Birthday, where Lauren just assumed you always use her name 🙂
(Click here for the video.)
It’s been a long week for all of us – colds, girls not sleeping great, lots of evening activities going on. We’re happy that the weekend is here!
I understand exactly how they feel 🙂
A couple of years ago when Maile’s school expanded to elementary school, the first class of kindergarteners started a tradition of a “semi-formal” or communal lunch. Basically, a couple parents help prepare a communal meal and the children help setup the room with glasses, plates, knives and forks and do chores like setting the table, serving and cleaning up afterwards.
These lunches happen 3-4 times a year. Christine and I helped out today and we had a great time. We joined with another family and made our theme about different ways to cook and prepare food. We made a smoothie and also showed how something as simple as vegetables could be arranged to look “pretty” and be art (they are doing a unit about what art is). The other family made pork sous vide style (which I’m not positive the kids totally understood), but they definitely got a kick out of the blow torch the dad used to finish off the pork!
Maile and her friend, Zoe, getting the table all setup.
Maile really enjoyed having us there and serving her classmates.
And after all the work setting up, the food was very yummy!
Kindergarten lunch is definitely a mad house - one day was enough for us!
On Saturday afternoon, Mommy took the girls to get some Japanese American culture at the Japanese American National Museum. Conveniently, there was a Hello Kitty exhibit going on – so needless to say, Maile and Lauren are big fans of “getting cultured” now 😉
Yay, Hello Kitty!
Lauren taking in the sites...
All smiles for Maile Girl...
When at the Japanese American museum you need to pose for pictures just like your big cousins in Japan taught you...
The answer? 7 and 9 apples respectively...
Selfie time at the Hello Kitty exhibit...
(Dad note: Mommy also found some cool immigration records for her family – will definitely be fun to share with the girls when they are a bit older…)
I had a conference down in LA this weekend, so we decided to bring the whole family. While I was doing the conference, Mommy and the girls had run exploring LA and visiting friends. On Saturday morning, they headed over to Disney and did one of those character breakfasts with Mommy’s good friend, Kari, and her boys. Maile loved every minute of it. Lauren, well…
All hugs from Maile Girl for Minnie and her friends...
It's right over my shoulder, isn't it?
Mommy - what is the deal with this place? Can you hold me please?
Mommy, what is that thing? Seriously, can you tell it to go away?
Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.
