Rewind (Part 2): Vancouver

We went up to Vancouver just as the June heatwave was peaking, so going up north was a welcome respite from the heat. We drove to the airport with David, who was also traveling up north, but while he flew into Seattle, we flew directly into Vancouver. The kids loved the integrated in-flight entertainment center, which kept them enthralled throughout most of the relatively short flight. We recently purchased a new luggage set, and Kai loved the 360° wheels which made it easy for him to help push the bag through the airport. Later when the kids got tired of walking through the airport, the rolling bag served as an impromptu stroller for Sora. Japadog had a stand at the airport, so we stopped for a quick lunch. The dog had a satisfying chew and the toppings were great.. but it was pricey, so Nik and I were happy to share one.

Our little helper

Whew! Finally out of customs and almost out of the airport

We took the Canada Line into town and ended up at our old haunt, Oakridge Centre. We ran into a snafu with our car seats (we didn't bring any), but fortunately Auntie Loretta lives close to the mall and she was able to ferry us over to her house, two by two, using Kaitlyn's car seat. The first day was decided low-key since without car seats, we couldn't go out. But the kids had a chance to acquaint themselves with their cousin Kaitlyn and later, Christine, Nathan, and Candace arrived, so we made do with take out at my Auntie's house.

"I tired," and this ledge is the perfect place to rest

Yogenfruz while we wait at the mall

By the next morning, David had arrived, bringing with him a much-needed rental car. We managed to solve the car seat crisis with relative ease after we found a local baby equipment rental company online. And with that, we set off to explore Vancouver. We first stopped in the downtown to grab some Japanese fried chicken and sandwiches to go. The kids couldn't wait, so they ate their chicken in the car and we finished our lunch at Stanley Park.

Strapped in and ready to go!

Sandwiches were ok, but the fried chicken was much better

After lunch, we headed over to the Vancouver Aquarium. I was impressed by all the exhibits that they packed into the aquarium: they even had monkeys! (Sora loved their shrieking and proceeded to imitate them) The highlights were undoubtedly the manta ray touch pool, sea otters, and the "meet a penguin" event, where the kids had an opportunity to see a penguin up close.

Sora found a froggie friend in the amphibian exhibit

Kai managed to touch a ray, though our little Sora's arms were too short!

Playful sea otters

The pair behind us was thoroughly amused by our attempt to take a family selfie

After our afternoon at the aquarium, we attempted to take the kids back to my Auntie's for a nap which was an utter failure. Though the kids fell asleep in the car, we tried to take them out of the car to have them nap in the house and after at least an hour of rolling around and "be quiet, Sora!", we eventually gave up (it's always so hard to figure out what will work with the kids!). After we threw in the towel, we decided to meet Christine and Kaitlyn at the club to play at the family fun area (Kai and Sora were particularly bold and ventured into the big kid inflatable) and then grabbed a quick dinner together.

When it comes to taking pictures of the cousins together, this is about as good as it gets 

The kids really bonded with Uncle David during this trip. They were constantly jockeying for his attention and chasing him around. The next day, we walked to a neighborhood playground with my Auntie; the kids had a wonderful time climbing and running around and Auntie Loretta was either impressed or frightened by Sora's fearlessness. After a morning of playing outside and a carbo-loaded lunch, we were grateful that the kids napped in the afternoon. Later, we met with Christine for dinner at White Spot, another old favorite.

Lil' daredevil

Ahh, White Spot

The next morning, we went to a nearby neighborhood church for service and then returned to my Auntie's for lunch (Daimo again.. we tend to stick with the tried and true whenever we visit Vancouver). After a few days of hanging out together, the cousins had finally gotten comfortable with one another just in time for us to go home. David dropped us off at the Oakridge and we killed time at the children's play area and the Lego store, while we waited to take the train back to the airport.

♫ Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon ♫

Finally! A decent picture of the cousins

Kai's Lego head totem pole: creative or disturbing?

The kids really enjoyed the train ride back to the airport, though I kept expecting one of them to fall over since they couldn't stop running around on the train. US customs took forever and Canadian customs seemed comparatively streamlined. Fortunately, I had had the foresight to grab some lunch to go and Sora fell asleep in the customs line. The flight home was uneventful and again the kids amused themselves by playing with the in-flight entertainment centers. Vancouver was a quick and family-oriented trip, but it was great to see family and have Kai, Sora, and Kaitlyn get to know one another. Hopefully we'll do it again soon!

Never miss a chance for a photo op, even while sleeping!

Angry face with the medium-sized airplane

Nik's resolution

A brief guest post by Nik...

A couple thoughts..

Sometimes when I hug Sora after a long day at work or when she's being particularly cuddly, I'll say "my beautiful, Sora".. recently she's taken to replying "my beautiful, baba."  Heart melts..

On our recent camping trip with our church friends, we saw a lot of the older kids run off to play with each other leaving the parents behind.  I have some mixed feelings about this as I can see that it would be nice to get some sort of independence back after taking care of the kids for so long but there's also some sadness because when the kids get older, they don't need you so much anymore.  So tonight I asked Kai if he'd eventually go off on his own with his friends and leave me and he said "no, baba, I'm going to stay with you all day and all day and all day because I love you."

I know it's not going to last forever, so I've resolved to enjoy this for as long as I possibly can.

Rewind (Part 1): Mid-June heatwave

I haven't been able to keep up with the blog recently. We went to Vancouver at the end of June and after 4th of July, the kids and I were sick.. an ordeal which lasted over two weeks. Anyway, we've got even more things ahead of us in the coming weeks, so I had better update while I can.

Picking up where we left off, it was mid-June and we were in the midst of a heat wave in San Jose. The temperatures peaked up to 100 degrees, but we still went out to celebrate Leo's birthday at Emma Prusch Farm. While the kids normally love exploring the park and playground, it was so hot that we stayed indoors for most of the party, though the bubble gun party favors were a real hit! Many of the of the kids at the party were Bright Star graduates, it's sad but I think that Kai and Sora have completely forgotten them.. I guess that's just how it is with young children.

For Father's Day, so I had the kids make a craft project for Nik. It wasn't as messy as last year, I guess the kids are maturing. The results weren't quite Pinterest-worthy, but I think the effort was appreciated all the same.

Unfortunately Nik had to work that evening so he wasn't able to join us for Father's Day dinner at Outback, but we did get lunch together at In-n-Out (almost as good, if not better!).

Someone loves their stickers...

Ophelia and Sue stopped by to visit us a couple of weeks ago. It was great to see them and catch up, the kids loved their gifts.. especially a silly book called Feminist Baby.

The evening after Ophelia and Sue stopped by, I had to work a night shift.. so the next morning, Nik did his best to get the kids out of the house so I could get some rest. After a stop a the creek to see the tadpoles, Nik and the kids walked all the way to the library.. two toddlers, nearly a mile, and no stroller. Of course it took over an hour, but I was duly impressed. Fortunately, I was awake by the time they wanted a ride home, so I gave them a lift back.

"That looks heavy, Kai-Kai.."

".. let's carry it together!"

With the summer heat, there's been plenty of opportunities to play outside or cool down with treats.

Kai vs. the bubble

Free Jamba to celebrate the Dub's NBA championship!

"You wanna share, Sora?"

Discovery Museum play date

Last weekend, we met up with Kai's classmate, Aaron, for a play date at the Children's Discovery Museum. We decided to pony up for an annual membership since both of our kids are now an age where they can really enjoy the museum. We recently moved Kai over to the Butterfly site (4-5 year old group) of his preschool, and Kai really missed seeing Aaron. They had a great time together, and Nik and I enjoyed getting to know a new family. Hope that we'll be able to do this again over the summer! They had a limited engagement Thomas exhibit that all the kids enjoyed, but it was really challenging to find trains to play with at the giant train table.

"This is my cheese face."

Bubbles: what a mess, but what fun!

After an exhausting afternoon (especially since I was still getting over a virus), the kids napped.. though not nearly as long as I had hoped they would. Still, I managed to sneak out to watch a late night showing of Wonder Woman with a few girlfriends from church (thanks, Nik!).

Obligatory dorky photo op

Fancy seats!

We visited my parents the next day, and what can I say? My girl loves selfies.

The kids' current favorite cartoon is Robocar Poli. I found Poli trainer chopsticks for the kids and they love them! The other evening, the kids wanted to send pictures to Baba while he was at work and they decided to show off their chopsticks.

Kai is enjoying the trike that we got him.. he's getting better at peddling, though with even just the slightest hill, he starts crying for help. To be fair, the trike doesn't get much traction with its plastic wheels.

We started potty training Sora last week. We decided to go cold turkey and just get rid of the diapers entirely and use big girl panties. Xiaoyan was skeptical when we brought Sora to daycare sans diapers and with four changes of clothing. For just the first day or two, she fought going to the toilet tooth and nail, but jellybeans are a pretty strong motivator. And after just a few accidents, she seems to have it down. Xiaoyan says that she's been going to the potty on her own at daycare. Sora even woke up last night crying because she peed in her diaper and wanted to use the toilet. We're pretty impressed, especially considering that Kai still occasionally needs prompting to use the toilet. So strange how different siblings can be!

"Look 'ma, no diaper!"