One of the reasons that I've been trying so hard to get this blog up to date is knowing that we'll soon have another baby to add to the mix. Anticipating the craziness that comes with having a newborn and two young kids, I know that if I don't get this blog current, I may never get it done.
Since returning from Santa Rosa (we were there the week before the fires O_o), we've had two trips to the pumpkin patch, two baby showers, and a birthday party. We picked up the kids from preschool early last, last Friday and took them to the Spina Farms pumpkin patch. The kids had a great time picking out pumpkins and running around the hay bale maze. We also took a hay ride through a sunflower field. After the pumpkin patch, we made a quick pitstop at Rita's to get an icy treat for the kids (and Mama).
Fun jumping on top of the hay bales. They don't quite understand the "maze" concept yet
Our second visit to the pumpkin patch was last week when Sora visited for a school field trip. It was the same pumpkin patch that Kai had gone to last year with his school, essentially a bunch of inflatables in a parking lot, but Sora had a great time after getting over her initial apprehension about the slides. Kai's school field trip to this pumpkin patch will be this week.
"This one for Kai-Kai."
She got over her fear of the slides after a few times down with Teacher Frida
Last, last Saturday, our neighbors hosted a baby sprinkle for Nik and me. It was a small and low-key gathering, but it was perfect since the kids kept themselves amused with the Elysia and Kazu's collection of toys while the adults ate and caught up. Eventually the kids all wanted to play outside and the party evolved into a neighborhood playdate. Kai and Sora even got to sit on Kegan's motorcycle!
My little adrenaline junkie likes motorcycles.. we're in trouble
Right after the sprinkle, we headed over to the Shaws' to celebrate Evelyn's birthday. The kids enjoyed making candy/cereal necklaces and door hangers. As usual, the kids took a little while to warm up to one another, but once they began playing with one another it was unusually peaceful.. perhaps we've finally reached the magical age when our kids can play with relative independence?? Just in time for us to add a newborn to the mix. -_- We stayed until dinner since there was so much food and the kids settled in to watch a movie.
And look! They're playing together peacefully!
Before switching to Kiki's Delivery Service, we started off with watching War for the Planet of the Apes.. until we noticed that all the kids were hiding behind the couch and watching. Perhaps trying to prove a point, Kai insisted that he wasn't scared
Couch potatoes
This past weekend, we had a dinner playdate at the Rongs' with Ethan and Micah. Kai had been looking forward to visiting Ethan's house for so long and the boys love playing with one another, but it's always so chaotic! Kai, Sora, and Ethan did manage to calm down and play quietly just as we were about to go home.
And just this Sunday, the sisters at church threw a surprise baby shower for #3! Nik and I are obviously excited and anxious, but this pregnancy has flown by and we haven't had time to prepare the way that we had for Kai. So it was wonderful to be surprised and celebrate #3's imminent arrival. I know that I've said it before, but our family is so lucky to have such an awesome community at church.
Yesterday, we picked the kids up early and took them to Ikea for dinner. Anticipating the new addition to our family, we need to get a new kitchen table and thought that the kids might enjoy the excursion. They totally did: Kai jumped into the ball pit at Småland, and the kids loved the food and playing around the showroom (Sora pointed out every pink item she saw).
"They don't let me do this at home!"
Too hasty in calling it the end of Slurpee season, we've had a heatwave lately
Loving it. "This is a really good lunch!"
Another community that we feel so lucky to have is our neighborhood: our Rock Canyon neighbors are so uncommonly nice!
Rainbow sticks!
One evening, Kai and Sora saw the kids playing outside from the living room window and ran out to play. Another impromptu playdate and we ended up having our dinner al fresco
Sora continues to thrive at Agape. She can identify most letters and numbers, colors in the lines, and can even write her name—such amazing progress for only being in preschool for two months! However, eating well and sleeping has been a struggle lately. She's easily distractable and loses interest in food quickly, and instead wants to play or talk. I had thought that we were headed in the right direction with her sleep, but we hit a speed bump when she caught a mild virus this week. For the past couple of nights, she's been clingy at bedtime and yesterday she cried for almost an hour before finally going to sleep.. tonight was a little better, a little over 40 minutes. :P
They started doing Show and Tell in Sora's classroom. She's showing off tweezers and a ring
Another shot from the pumpkin patch field trip
Creative color choices, but all within the lines and she wrote her name on her own
Kai is ramping to be a big, big brother. As I had posted before, there are moments of sweetness when he helps Sora figure things out and the other day he wrote a happy birthday message for Sora on the easel (to be saved until November). He dresses himself every morning and can buckle himself into his own carseat now. He is very conscientious and when he's coloring, he'll ask us what color things are supposed to be and then will try to color it true-to-life. He can finally write his whole last name now (he used to drop the final "-an") which I find to be very impressive for a four year old. He's also been eating better lately, which is a relief since it would be difficult to have two problem eaters.
Not what the worksheet was asking for, but a pretty good rendition of Tunip!
Happy birthday Sora
Really impressed by his color choices
The windshield to the Mazda got cracked a few weeks ago. The kids were completely enthralled by the repair and sat quietly for a whole half hour just watching.
On our last trip to the library, we had a book called Black Belt Bunny. The kids enjoyed practicing their punches and kicks while reading.
As I mentioned before, the kids are getting along better these days. I can only hope that #3 will fit in right along with his big brother and big sister.
Got room for another one, Nik?
After my trip to Maine, Nik thought it would be nice if I could have a short getaway with a couple of my friends. He tried to arrange it, but it didn't work out exactly as planned since it was short notice. I did manage to go on a day trip with Leslie to Half Moon Bay. The weather was great and we had a good time just catching up and walking around.
Lastly, today is Nik and my 8th wedding anniversary. Lots of changes within the past eight years and it hasn't always been easy, but I don't think I could've chosen a better partner.
I was just looking at the hand-me-down picture from the last post and thought about the similar pictures that I had taken when I was pregnant with Kai and Sora. Perhaps the biggest difference is how I barely look pregnant in the first picture and I'm already sorting through clothing.. ain't got no time for that sort of thing nowadays!
September was full of birthday celebrations. First up was my Dad's 70th birthday celebration. Since it was such a milestone, Auntie Loretta and Uncle Graham came down from Vancouver to help him celebrate. We went to the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco; the kids loved the prime rib and ate relatively well a little help from the tablet.
Sora was so proud of her sparkly blue dress. She's such a ham.
We celebrated my Dad's birthday again later that week with teppanyaki at Benihana. This wasn't Kai and Sora's first teppanyaki experience, but this was probably the first time that they were actually old enough to enjoy the show. They were amazed when the chef "magically" made eggs appear from underneath bowls and although they were scared of the onion volcano at first, they ended up loving it. The chef even encouraged the kids to eat their dinners.. good job, Benihana!
"Love it, love it, love it!"
Next up was Nik's 40th. Since it was also a milestone, we decided to celebrate with a big party. Nik's 40th ended up looking a lot like a 4th birthday party since we had planned keeping in mind that most of our guests have young children. We had the party at a nearby park and playground, and had tacos catered. There was a bit of a last minute scramble since we didn't have a reserved picnic site and we ended up not getting the picnic tables that we had been hoping for. But everything turned out fine and there was plenty of food to be had. Chris and April graciously watched Kai and Sora for us so we could actually socialize, and David brought his drink making supplies and made boba for anyone who wanted one.
Kai is always on hand to assist with blowing out candles
Proof that our SF friends do come down to visit on occasion :)
Nik's gifts. Apparently the requisite gift for a 40th birthday is alcohol
The day of Nik's birthday party ended up being a double header since Abby was celebrating her birthday on the same day. So after breaking down everything from Nik's party (big thanks to everyone who stayed until the bitter end, especially Chris and April!), we headed over to the Little Gym to celebrate Abby's birthday. The kids enjoyed playing on the gymnastics equipment and going through the routines facilitated by the staff. I was really proud of Sora since she was probably the smallest and youngest child to participate in the routines. She had a bit of a meltdown at the end of the party when she didn't get the pink lollypop that she wanted, but to be fair, she was probably exhausted after such a long day and fortunately, Hannah had a pink lollypop that she was willing to give up.
"Don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, but this is fun!"
Kai thinks limbo involves opening your mouth widely whenever you go under
We're at the stage where when you ask Kai to say "cheese" he makes a face
My kids are so silly! Wonder where they get it from?
On the day of Nik's actual birthday, we celebrated with Indian buffet and Foster's Freeze for lunch, we then walked around an arcade and played a round of Mario Kart. Dinner was a low-key family affair at Sala Thai.
Were arcades always this expensive or am I just getting old?
Our last birthday celebration of September was Zachary's Pump It Up birthday party. Since Nik was at work, I had to take the kids on my own, but fortunately our LSCC friends helped me watch Kai and Sora since pregnancy and inflatables don't mix. Kai enjoyed playing with Ethan and Sora was great at climbing up the inflatables.. sliding down, however, was another matter. :P
She's not saving anything for the way down
Near the end of September, we attended a farm-to-table dinner at Full Belly Farm. One of the awesome things about having a minivan is that we could offer Viet and Kayla a ride. Even packed with a tent and six people (and three carseats!), we still had room to spare. On the way up, we stopped in Walnut Creek to meet up with Ngoc and Lee Jae for lunch. Dining with six kids at a restaurant was a bit chaotic, but it was great to see them and catch up, albeit briefly.
Where's Kai-Kai?
We had the option of car camping at the farm, an offer we couldn't refuse since our kids love camping. So once we arrived at the farm, we set up camp.. a relatively easy task with our instant tent. Dinner was preceded by a tractor-drawn tour of the farm.
We were really worried Kai would hurt himself or someone else with that stick
Raja and Ravi had taken great lengths to make this a kid (and parent) friendly event, so the kids ate first at a kids' table and then proceeded to run amok on the expansive lawn with two babysitters. Not having to worry about the kids was refreshing, and we had a great time enjoying yummy food and catching up with our Valley Crew friends. Kai and Sora would reappear at intervals to grab a drink of water or say hi, but would quickly run off again to play. Full Belly Farm certainly lives up to its name and by the time we got to final dish, I could hardly eat another bite even though it was delicious.
Nomming at the kids' table..
.. and off they go!
Meanwhile.. at the grown ups' table..
"Whole wheat capanelle with anise-braised pork and chard".. so good, but so full!
And to top it off, ice cream for dessert
These lightning bug jars are so cool..
.. we'll probably try to make one of our own
For city slickers like us, it was a treat to be able to see the Milky Way and shooting stars as the sky grew dark. After dinner, we headed to our tent. We shared our tent with Viet and Kayla; the kids went down relatively easily although Sora fought sleep with her usual shenanigans of talking and singing. In the middle of the night, another child set off a chain reaction of crying kids (which included Sora and Everest), but it was an otherwise peaceful night.
Staying warm under the covers
The next morning, after breakfast on the farm, the kids enjoyed running around the campsite (an old apple orchard) and Raja and Ravi's pop up camper trailer became a romper room as all the kids decided it was the perfect place to play as the grown ups packed up. After an evening and morning of running around together, Kai had made friends with a number of the other kids. Sora and Kayla had also become fast friends, and by the time we were ready to go, they were picking apples off the trees and sharing them together.
Reading with new friends
The perfect hang out spot
"You want apple, Kayla?"
A (slightly) random aside: At one point during the farm dinner, Nik saw a guy that he thought he recognized but he wasn't sure until Gabe turned to his half-Indian children and wife, that his suspicions were confirmed. Turns out that we had met them before! In June 2011, we went to a U2 concert at the Oakland Coliseum. We had general admission tickets, so after finding a spot in the crowd, we sat and waited for the concert to start. We eventually struck up a conversation with the guy sitting next to us who happened to be waiting for his wife. When she showed up, it turned out that they were also both in medicine and super-friendly, to boot. During the course of our conversation, it somehow came to light that Raja was a mutual friend—what are the chances in a crowd of over 60,000 people?? After the concert, they gave us a ride back to our car since BART was closed by the time the concert was over. We became Facebook friends but didn't stay in touch much during the next few years (though we did run into them very briefly at a Kaiser retreat) until we saw them again at the farm dinner over six years later.. so random!
We were in a good spot :) (circa June 2011)
On the way back to the Bay Area, we stopped by Sacramento to visit Mukesh and Shveta. The kids enjoyed raiding Vishaan's toy collection and we got to meet Sahanna for the first time!
Hi baby!
Passed out on the way home
Over the course of this busy September, we managed to visit the Children's Discovery Museum twice (gotta make it worth it, since we have an annual membership!). Both times, we were accompanied by Ethan, and he and Kai had a great time running around and playing together.
BFFs
The second time, we also met up with the Haras, who we hadn't seen for almost a year. It was great to see them again (and finally meet Liora!), but it was difficult to catch up while watching our kids.
Catching up over a picnic dinner
Lil' raver at the Autumn Moon Festival
We hit the ground running once we got back from the East Coast and Sora immediately started preschool the day after we got home. Kai escorted her in and once inside, she joined the fray without any problems. Both kids are essentially night trained at this point, and we hardly have any accidents anymore, so I've packed away the size 3 and 5 diapers (though I've brought out the 1's!). Since Sora is night trained, we removed the railing from the front of her crib. We've had a few hiccups with her waking up in the middle of the night since we removed the railing (two to three times a night at its worst), but lately it seems to be getting better.
Music class on Sora's first day of school
Kai helped remove the railing
We took the kids to the dentist at the end of August; I was amazed that Kai tolerated sitting in the dental chair and having his teeth polished. He had seen me go in for a cleaning a few months ago, and I wonder if that had helped or if he's just getting older and more mature.
For his part, Kai has continued to do well at Agape, and Teacher Jenny tells me that he's getting better at reading and that he's starting to read sentences. We had a few behavioral mishaps mid-September when Kai wouldn't stop playing rough even after we had asked him to and then there was a teasing incident at school, where he had called his teachers names. It's difficult to find that middle ground between letting kids be kids and correcting inappropriate behavior (Kai calls it "acting crazy"). Ethan recently moved on to another school; Kai misses his bestie, but we're making do with play dates and the boys still see each other at church. Kai never seems to have problems making friends, right now he says he likes to play with Blake and Emily at school.
My conscientious boy: Thomas must be painted true-to-life
Sick at home means it's time to make a birthday craft project for Baba
Always making friends.. Kai and Emily
Military serviceman presentation at school. Kai and Sora saw this picture and both said, "Oorah!"
A few weeks ago, the Koralages gave us an old bike with training wheels and Kai has already gotten the hang of it! Sora enjoys using the scooter and is quite proficient at scooting around.
The kids love climbing at the playground.. Nik calls them "little monkeys."
The weather's already starting to cool down and it's now (California) cold at night. We may not have the kiddie pool, water balloons, and Slurpees again until next summer.
Grandma Udom came to visit for a few weeks mid-September and will return in December. The kids seem to be playing better together these days.. they still aggravate each other on purpose and fight on occasion, but it's rarely physical and it's definitely getting better. Just in time to introduce a new sibling to the mix. :P We're gearing up at home for #3: I finally unpacked and put away the bags of hand-me-downs we got back from the Shaws (from Ryan, to Kai, to Liam, and back to #3.. these clothes have gotten a lot of mileage!), cleaned out the infant car seat and stroller, and pulled out the bassinet. We're ready(-ish)!
Sorting through hand-me-downs is always a huge task
I'll end this post with a video. Matthew came and visited at the beginning of the month to help celebrate Dad's birthday and while he was here, he taught the kids "On Top of Spaghetti." When we were at my parents house a week later, the kids sat at the piano on their own and sang "On Top of Spaghetti" without any prompting.. they did a decent job remembering the lyrics too!
