From the monthly archives:

August 2015

A Good-bye to Kelly

by Papa K on August 31, 2015

The start of school for Lauren meant we had to say good bye (well, not complete good bye, but “see you every day” good bye) to Kelly, our nanny who had been watching Lauren for the past year and a half.

You don’t see many pictures on this blog of Kelly because when she was around, it largely meant, we weren’t. We couldn’t have asked for someone better to watch Lauren as she grew from a baby to a little girl. They got out and about quite a bit, read, played games – she was great about sending us pictures and sharing little stories about whatever Lauren learned and did that day. She clearly got a kick out of the sponge that Lauren has become and it was awesome seeing them together.

Lauren and Kelly - best buds!

Lauren and Kelly developed quite the bond and we are going to miss her very much. She promises to still stop by and say hello – and we’re going to hold her to that!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Maile’s Hope & Dream for Grade 1

by Papa K on August 30, 2015

Last week as part of settling in, Maile and her first grade classmates talked about their “hopes and dreams” for first grade. We received an email from one of her teachers on Thursday night with the picture below and a note saying:

“We had a great second day in our first green class. We talked about our hopes and dreams, Please see attached Maile’s hope and dream: reading books. It seemed that she is very good at drawing, she drew the reading corner of our classroom, with details: turtle and giraffe on the bookshelf.”

Maile definitely picked up some reading over the past year, but she’s not at the point where she’ll curl up in a corner and read by herself. Looking forward to reading with her to make her dream a reality!

Maile's Hope & Dream for Grade 1 - reading books!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

First Day of School, Part 2: Preschool

by Papa K on August 27, 2015

I remember the night before Maile’s first day of school she had one of her worst night’s sleep ever – just cried and was up all night. Lauren? Slept straight through the night until 6:30 AM (a good 30 minutes later than she normally sleeps).

There she is! Our little preschooler!

Maile and Lauren ready for day #1

Needless to say, Lauren was ready to rock preschool. And rock she did. I think going to the school over the past couple years with Maile made her pretty comfortable and the fact that she got to meet her teachers and see the classroom on Sunday also helped. All led to her feeling right at home when we arrived. She barely acknowledged us after we arrived and set to work playing with some play-doh and the teachers. Christine and I gave her a kiss good-bye and left around 9 AM – a very smooth first day.

(Of course, when I do drop off solo tomorrow – I’m sure it won’t be quite as smooth 😉

Christine picked Lauren up on – she reported having fun and playing with friends. Apparently there were some tears when she saw Maile. But it was Maile crying, not Lauren. Of course 🙂

On the steps of Presidio Knolls

Oh? You're still here? I'm playing - you can leave.

Christine snapped this when she picked her up - plenty of smiles on the way out - a good sign indeed!

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

First Day of School, Part 1: 1st Grade

by Papa K on August 26, 2015

(Presidio Knolls staggered the start for the little ones – so although Maile started today, Lauren doesn’t start until tomorrow. So we get two first day of schools this year allowing each girl to star on her own day!)

So. Long. Ago.

That was 4 years ago. Today it looks more like this…

So. Old.

It was awesome walking back on to the Presidio Knolls campus – the place was buzzing and when we left her Maile was already running around and catching up with her friends. When she came home she declared it was the “best day ever” – that sounds like a good start to the year to me.

Daddy, Maile and Mommy and day 1 of first grade...

Maile is very curious about having Lauren at school. She told Christine that if she needs to come out of class to help, she will. But she doesn’t want to miss too much.

Lauren is very excited for school.

Maile and Mommy

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

First Day of School – The Practice Run

by Papa K on August 24, 2015

Hard to believe it’s already here … almost.

Maile starts 1st grade on Wednesday. And Lauren starts preschool on Thursday(!)

On Sunday, the school had a “practice run” play date. It was a really great way for both girls to get acclimated before the start of school. Maile met her teachers and dropped off some of her stuff. And then she ran around all around with her friends.

Lauren checked out her classroom for the very first time and I think came away impressed. She touched as many toys as she could, met her teachers (“Hi, I’m Lauren”) and even made passing contact with some soon to be friends. The teachers did a circle time with some singing, we washed hands and ate snack (Lauren wasn’t a fan of the offering) and then hit the playground outside for some serious sand time. She even told us on the way in that we were supposed to leave now – hopefully, she’ll remember that come Thursday!

Here are the girls on their way in…

Maile and Lauren are ready for the school year!

Notice the similarities in outfits – dress with leggings and fancy sandals. This is not a mistake. I remember the first few months of school we were able to dress Maile how we pleased. That all ended pretty quickly. I imagine the same will be true for Lauren – except will have the added challenge of her wanting to match Maile every day.

Should be an exciting year – we’re looking forward to seeing what it’s like having both girls at the school, how much they’ll interact, etc.

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

American Idol Live! Jax! Nick Fradiani!

by Papa K on August 23, 2015

Tonight Maile and I went down to The Warfield to see American Idol Live, featuring Maile’s favorite Jax and the other top 5 contests including the winner, Nick Fradiani. I purchased the tickets for Maile’s birthday and we’d been counting down the days all summer. It was truly a night to remember…

First, we had to make sure we were properly dressed. Maile Girl picked out a great outfit for herself and Christine helped her put on some finishing touches. We spent A LOT of time deciding which necklaces and bracelets to wear.

Initially, I thought I’d pull my old sleeveless jean jacket out of retirement. But Maile had other ideas. When I put it in on, she told me in no uncertain terms that it “wasn’t very Nick Fradiani” and I “should change”. She let me keep my Bon Jovi t-shirt (that was cool enough), but instead put me in a darker color pair of jeans and a sport jacket. Judge for yourself, I think she was right…

Daddy's initial outfit for the concert...

... and the update after Maile's improvements!

Lauren didn't join us this time, but we'll get her to a concert soon enough...

After we were properly attired we headed out for the show. Here’s Maile describing what was about to happen…

Along the way we stopped for some rock star poses...

And there it is - outside Maile's first concert, American Idol Live at The Warfield!

First concert t-shirt - Jax! Never taking it off...

Daddy and Maile before the show started...

And then the show started – basically consisted of the top 5 contestants taking turns singing covers. We had pretty solid seats off to one side, but that allowed Maile to stand on the chair and dance around with me. We were also right in front of a gaggle of 15 or so screaming girls – Maile was almost as transfixed by them as she was by what was happening on stage…

Oh my god! Jax is RIGHT THERE!

Jax came down into the crowd and Maile ran over (and then got run over) with a bunch of the other teenage girls and Jax sang right to them. You can’t see much here, but posting anyways so when Maile checks this out later she can see how close she was to Jax…

We didn’t make it until the very end – around 9:30, Maile started to get really tired. She actually asked me to leave early. It doesn’t matter though – it was an amazing night. Perfect venue and small concert to get Maile started – just overwhelming enough to blow her mind, but still keep it mostly intact.

(Click here for the first video.)
(Click here for the second video.)

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Maile & Lauren’s Chair Dance

by Papa K on August 20, 2015

Yes, we’ve been dancing A LOT this week…

(NOTE: Maile certainly draws your attention here, but be sure to look over at Lauren – doing her absolute best to keep up!)

(Click here for the video.)

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Learning to Moonwalk…

by Papa K on August 19, 2015

It wouldn’t be much of a Michael Jackson dance camp if the moonwalk wasn’t prominently involved. And sure enough, Maile brought home the beginnings of what I have no doubt will blossom into a killer moonwalk. I love her focus on the steps in this video…

And, of course, she taught Lauren too…

(Click here for the first video.)
(Click here for the second video.)

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’?

by Papa K on August 17, 2015

Maile is at Michael Jackson dance camp at Nagata Dance this week. If the moves she came home with from day one are any indication, we are in for quite the treat!

A good first Michael Jackson pose...

Pretty good. Mommy noticed something was missing though…

Nailed it.

Word on the street is that tomorrow they learn the Moonwalk. Stay tuned…

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Cape Cod Vacation, Part 3: Go Fly A Kite!

by Papa K on August 16, 2015

One last memory from our Cape Cod vacation before we move on. Maile and I went to a store in downtown Chatham and picked up a kite. I’ve mentioned this before, but I love kite flying. Our Cape Code kite flying was short-lived (apparently there are endangered birds that are scared of kites so it wasn’t allowed on the beach we were on), but we had fun while it lasted…