Saturday was a day of San Francisco-themed firsts for Maile Girl. We took the cable car downtown and then checked out the merry-go-round outside the Zeum at Yerba Buena. (Dad note: we’re not going to cover it in this post, but the Zeum was a hidden gem of a children’s museum. One of our favorites we’ve been to in the city.)
Maile and Mommy with Alcatraz in the background at Hyde and Chestnut
Is it coming Daddy?
Maile and Daddy riding the cable car
Maile didn't stop looking out the window and waving to people the whole way downtown...
Maile - is there something in your cheek?
Melon, daddy! Melon!
Cable cars are cool, but daddy is better...
Maile was not as enthusiastic about the merry-go-round. Here Chris is negotiating with her to ride one of the horses...
She ended up choosing the sleigh/couch setup. Technically, she was on the merry-go-round, but I told her it doesn't really count.
Not enjoying the merry-go-round. Is this over soon?
Maybe better with Daddy? Nope. (Hey, we paid for two rides!)
We thought we’d end the week with a quick video that captures that best part of the day for Christine and I!
Have a great weekend and happy 4th of July!
(Click here for the video.)
We heard the circus was coming to town, so Maile and I have been practicing our routine…
Introducing the Fabulous Maile and Daddy Deftifying Aerial Acts!
Reach for the sky Maile Girl!
And the big finish - Maile bows to the crowd and they go wild!
Mommy had a great idea that we should go for a family bike ride to celebrate father’s day. I told her that I wasn’t so sure we could all fit on my little green bike, but that I was willing to share. Turns out she had something entirely different in mind…
Wait, so I sit here and then Daddy drives up front? Are you sure you trust him on this thing?
Daddy and I reviewing our hand signals. One tap on the back means go faster. Screaming really loud means please stop.
It was a beautiful day, so after we worked out the kinks of driving the bike we went on a really fun ride along the bay all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. I had never ridden so fast before on a bike! Lots of wheee was involved.
Just like a true San Franciscan I touched Hoppers Hands at the base of the Golden Gate...
(What’s Hoppers Hands? Read here)
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY!
(Dad note: It really was a great father’s day weekend – the bike ride was the icing on the cake. We really had a lot of fun and will be doing it again really soon…)
(Click here for the video.)
When Maile was born, Christine and I agreed that we wouldn’t let distance and the difficulties inherent in traveling with a little one curtail us from seeing our family and friends. We love living in San Francisco, but with family in Boston and Hawaii, it means we have to travel a fair amount. A couple weeks back, we took our last trip with Maile Girl as a lap child.
I think it's safe to say we are ready for Maile to have her own seat!
On the way back from Detroit, Christine made a list of all of Maile’s travels in her first two years:
Whew! Seems a bit crazy when you line it up like that. And to think this is how we started…
Maile Girl's first plane ride - September 5, 2009
Through it all Maile was a great traveler and we are excited to continue our plane hopping going forward … just with Maile in her own seat (and earning some miles!)
Maile Girl all decked out in her soccer gear!
Saturday was a day that I’ve been looking forward to ever since I found out I was going to be a daddy – Maile’s first soccer practice! I actually thought I was going to have to wait awhile longer, but some friends told us about SoccerTots – a soccer program here in the city for toddlers 18 months and older. Perfect!
As you know we had a rough week being a little sick, but Maile started shaking the bug on Thursday and by Saturday morning we were ready to rock. We had a lot of fun at our first practice (well, at least for 2/3rds of it – Maile started to lose interest towards the end). One of our neighbors asked us to let us know when Maile had a game, so they could come watch – I’m not so sure we’re quite at that stage yet 😉
And how do we know it was a good practice? I think this picture tells it all…
Nothing like a good nap after hard work at soccer practice...
(Click here for the video.)
We took advantage of the family reunion get together to snap some family pictures at 23 months.
Mommy, Daddy and Maile at 23 months
Grandpa Mike, Stephen, Daddy, Auntie Elyssa, Mommy, Maile and Grandma Jill
(Note: Poor Maile Girl started to feel a little under the weather on Sunday – too much excitement from the weekend perhaps. Not as smiley as she normally is, but hey, the rest of us look pretty good 😉
Auntie Elyssa, Mommy and Maile enjoy a hay ride (Daddy opted out due to his allergies ... truth.)
Swimming(!) with Daddy - not quite Hawaii waters, but we still had fun!
We’ve been keeping things action-packed here in Hawaii. Typically, we have a morning activity around the house followed by venturing out after Maile’s nap. (Dad note: Since Maile has been waking up at 4:30 AM, not really much to do outside the house in the morning!)
Grandma Gail remembered how much Maile enjoyed making cookies over Christmas, so we tried again today. And this time, Maile didn’t have to battle her cousins for the sprinkles!
Decorating cookie silliness with Mommy and Maile
After a nice long nap, we headed over to visit Great Grandma Kiyoko and took a swim in her pool. We had the whole pool to ourselves and Maile absolutely loved it (which was surprising, since she isn’t always the biggest fan of her swim classes at the JCC). Maile has definitely come along way in the pool since we first started swimming more than a year ago…
Swimming is fun, but horsing around with Daddy is even better!
Hopefully, with all this adventure, we’ll wear Maile out and she’ll sleep later than 4:30 AM tomorrow… fingers crossed!
Quiet time with Grandma Gail
(Click here for the video.)
We took some great pictures today at Poipu…
Daddy, Mommy and Maile (22 months)
Grandpa Cal, Grandma Gail and Maile (22 months)
As of a couple months ago, this post was going to be our first from our Japanese adventure. We had been planning to go visit Katie and Emily in Japan as well as tour Osaka and Kyoto. Due to the earthquake and the tragic aftermath, we decided to postpone our trip. (We should report that Katie, Emily and the rest of the family are fine.)
Not bad to have Hawaii as the fall back plan though! We arrived this afternoon and immediately took to some fun outdoor action…
Should I use my purple club or my pink one for this hole?
Hmm... this doesn't feel quite right, can I get a little help over here?
Maile, fair warning, your daddy is awful at golf. We'll need to get Papa Cal in here to give you a true lesson...
After golf, we decided we wanted to ride the bike – unfortunately, Maile still hasn’t figured out the whole “move the pedals to make you go” aspect of bike riding… (although at least this time, she was interested in sitting on the bike!)
Bike riding powered by Papa Cal
Daddy-powered bike riding...
And, mommy-powered bike riding! Basically, everything except Maile powered bike riding...
