by Papa K on December 16, 2015
Ever wonder what actually happens in a preschool classroom? We do all the time. At parent teacher conferences we get a taste sometimes from the videos the teachers share with us. Last week, one of the parents in Lauren’s classroom spent the morning staying in the shadows and photographing the kids. She got some great shots and shared them with all of us. Below are some good ones of Lauren doing her thing…
Lauren in music class singing along...
... building and constructing...
... running, running, running ...
... and, of course, crafting up a storm!
by Papa K on December 15, 2015
I wasn’t kidding, the holidays are in full effect out here in San Francisco! Tonight’s activity? Ice skating! Every year parents from the Maile and Lauren’s school rent out the ice rink down by Embarcadero Center for a few hours and a bunch of the families head down and do a little skating. Maile loves it and Lauren got into it as well this year. She was very proud that she and Mommy went around the rink “three” times. (And then they took their skates off, ate some pizza, and decided they wanted to go again, so we put skates back on and Mommy and Lauren went around another two times. And by “we” I mean “Lauren” 🙂
Hard to just stay standing so we'll forgive Lauren for not looking at the camera...
... this one on the other hand was all about the posing...
... no really, lots of posing 🙂
Here’s a good video that captures what Lauren and Mommy were up to as they made their way around the rink…
And here’s Maile Girl doing her thing…
(Click here for the first video.)
(Click here for the second video.)
by Papa K on December 14, 2015
One day last week, Christine texted me that one of the other parents invited the girls to visit Santa at their office after school so they were detouring there before heading home. When I arrived home, Christine said it was pretty funny watching the girls interact with Santa (and that little Lauren had trouble keeping her skirt below her belly). Today pictures of the event arrived and they did not disappoint. In fact, here they all are presented without further comment (they definitely do not need any!)…
by Papa K on December 13, 2015
This weekend made the 2015 holiday season official for us: we had the Pocket holiday party on Friday night and then on Saturday, we packed up the car for a one night get-a-away to Fremont to take a ride on the Train of Lights at Niles Canyon. While its only an hour away, we decided to stay at a hotel for the night do a little swimming in the pool and stay late(r than normal) with friends from school.
Lauren's class at school has been really into trains this year - so this was quite the adventure for her...
Maile, Lauren and Gemma on one of the train cars - they are all decorated and lit up...
And, of course, Santa was there! (Lauren is still a little shy around Santa...)
Maile Girl striking a pose with one of the many decorations...
Lauren loved that she got to stick her head out the window!
by Papa K on December 10, 2015
After the debut of Lauren, it was Maile’s turn to take the stage and rock some of the moves she’s been working on with her crew all fall…
As the routine was starting we realized that Maile Girl forgot to take off the watch. Didn't exactly compliment the outfit, but didn't get in the way either 🙂
Maile strikes her pose!
The Hip Hop Jazz dance crew at Nagata dance...
Here’s the full routine (warning like yesterday, long video ahead)…
(Click here for the video.)
by Papa K on December 10, 2015
(Dad note: Apologies for the delay with today’s post – had some video upload issues!)
Both Maile and Lauren had their dance recital this weekend, but it was Lauren’s very first, so she gets her own post 🙂
Patiently waiting her turn...
Strike a pose!
Lauren and her ballet-mates - quite the performers!
Here’s the full performance – unfortunately the lighting isn’t great, but you can see the full routine (warning: a bit longer than normal)…
(Click here for the video.)
It feels like ages ago when we started Soccer Tots with Maile. As of Saturday, we are back – this time with Lauren!
The first time through, Daddy was very excited about the prospect of playing soccer with Maile Girl. In hindsight, I might have overdone it a bit – Maile basically “retired” from soccer last year. Possible she picks it up again, but for now she is focusing on many other activities.
But with Lauren, we get to try again. We’re starting her a little bit older. Maile was only 2 when she started, Lauren is fast approaching three. We’ll see how it goes – I would say that day #1 was a success. We had fun running around and playing the games, she got a little shy when it was her turn to introduce herself. And getting mud on her hands was a drag. But on the plus side, she mentioned “playing soccer with Daddy” several times throughout the rest of the day – so we have a start!
Daddy and Lauren ready to rock some soccer!
Initial form is looking good...
A true soccer pose!
Giggly good times...
Maile came down to lend some of her expertise...
Done for the day, but we'll be back...
We’re back in San Francisco now, working off some jetlag (4:30 AM wake ups for both girls this morning – ugh!) and thinking back on a great week in Boston. This year was special for Thanksgiving since a lot of Grandma Jill’s family came in to celebrate with us. Of course, we did a horrible job taking pictures with any one – but that’s because we were having too much fun!
We did take a few pictures as we went about our week though and we had a ton of fun going all over the place…
First stop, getting our teeth all cleaned - and more cavities filled for Maile Girl 🙁
Lauren is the coolest dental patient around!
Then we headed into Boston to see Daddy's high school play at Fenway Park!
My first football game at Fenway Park! Do they always play here?
Lauren accompanied Daddy for his annual tackle football game with his childhood friends...
And we saw some Good Dudes in Boston on Sunday...
Getting in the spirit of the season...
Oh yeah, and Maile lost tooth #2 (with an assist from Papa Mike)!
And she got a little sick one day too 🙁
Lauren found a big giraffe made of Legos...
... and an even bigger Christmas Tree!
Uncle Stephen’s mom always brings fun presents with her on Thanksgiving. This year she brought us … turkey hats!
Yep, its a turkey that's a hat!
We put it on Daddy while he took a nap. Hehe...
by Papa K on November 29, 2015
(Dad note: my apologies for the lack of posts from the past week! I got caught up in some late night/early mornings for work and then we traveled to Boston last Tuesday which messed up my schedule even further. We are all well and enjoying Thanksgiving on the east coast! We head back to SF on Tuesday AM – will work to get things back on track with the updates 🙂
As we’ve discussed, Maile is getting more and more into cooking – so it was a no brainer to get her and Lauren involved in the Thanksgiving cooking this year. Before we left for Boston, the whole family made a pumpkin pie to give away to a charity that a friend’s school participates in to give away pies to families in need over the holidays.
Lauren manned the mixer - not exactly chef gear, but we let it ride...
Maile was in charge of the pie crust...
And Mommy showed the girls how to bring it all together...
And once in Boston, Maile made her traditional apple pie in muffin tins – a big hit last year that is now a part of our annual tradition!
Maile Girl preparing apples for her mini apple pies...
