k’s 4th Birthday

So, last week, n, k and I all (in that order) came down with the stomach flu. D managed to escape. We had to postpone k’s birthday party, which we had planned for Saturday. 🙁 But thankfully, we are better now, and we celebrated k’s actual birthday today. We made m&m cookie pops for her classmates. D also brought home unwanted cupcakes from work. k got so excited about them, but barely touched hers. Probably too full from her chicken curry dinner. Anyway, Happy Birthday to our little k, who is not so little anymore!

4th birthday

cupcakes

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A Dramatic “Reading”

A couple of months ago I bought a bunch of Berenstain Bear books at a garage sale. They have since become some of k’s favorites. Here is an excerpt from “Trouble With Friends”. (Note that for some reason, the video repeats itself, so stop in the middle if you don’t want to see it twice!)

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1st Day of Preschool

1st day of preschool
k had her first day of prechool today and it seems like it went well. She didn’t cry when I left, although she looked sad. Her teacher was not there today so she had a substitute. When I picked her up the teacher and the assistant said she was fine, and that she played with dolls with another girl. I can’t believe she is officially beginning the (hopefully) long journey of formal education.

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3 1/2 Birthday

3.5 birthday cake
Today, the first day of summer, marks k’s 3.5 birthday. I didn’t have time to bake a cake, so I bought this “half” cake. I always thought it was funny that Ralph’s sells these cakes, but it seemed appropriate for today. We sang “Happy half-birthday” to her. I asked k if she felt like she was three and a half, and she said that no, she feels like she is two and a half. She always wants to do everything herself, (changing clothes, etc.), but then she also constantly declares that she is “still a little girl”.

Today was also a big day because we found out that she was accepted into our number one choice for preschool. For the last couple of months, we were waiting to hear back from this preschool, taking turns calling the director, but we could never get an idea of where we were on the wait list so it was very frustrating. We began considering our other options, including home-schooling and another pre-school. Well, the other pre-school gave us a deadline of tomorrow. I called the #1 pre-school to tell them that we had to make a decision by tomorrow, and that seemed to push us through. Who knew that pre-school admissions were such a process? Actually, I had heard about moms putting babies in utero on wait lists, etc., but didn’t think it was really true. I’m just glad that we won’t have to go through this again (hopefully) with n, since they give priority to siblings. We also found out that to reserve her space, k will have to start by the beginning of August. I was counting on September, so now it feels like summer is going to be really short. I feel like we’re about to enter a whole new phase of parenting.

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Merry Birthday

k’s birthday was on Monday, so we went to Disneyland. (D pointed out that we could have gone any of the days prior to her birthday and she would still have had free admission. Oh yeah, didn’t really think about that). Anyway, only k and my sister (who has an annual pass) actually went inside the park. D, n and I just hung out at Downtown Disney for a couple of hours. k had to go on her favorite ride, It’s a Small World, of course. She reported back that the dolls were alternating between Jingle Bells and the It’s a Small World theme song.

I would have liked to see how the park was decorated. We had a small taste from the outside. (I enjoyed watching Guy Fieri’s Disneyland holiday special…those candy canes are amazing!) I saw the candy apples at Marceline’s candy shop and they are quite labor intensive. Still don’t think they are worth $8.95, though.

n @ Disneyland

CA Adventure

k's birthday

We ducked into the Grand Californian. It didn’t feel like we were still in Disneyland. Very swanky, and love that tall Christmas tree!
Grand Californian @ Christmas

duplos
After lunch, we opened presents. k received Duplos from D’s parents. We had fun browsing at the Lego store at Downtown Disney. I have a feeling I’m going to have lots of fun with Legos once k and n become more interested. I didn’t have many Legos as a kid, but I did have a nice K’nex set. I credit that toy with my penchant for putting together Ikea furniture.

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Hello September

This picture is for D’s co-worker who moved back to Japan. She left behind this Hello Kitty pillow for k and wanted to know how it’s doing. Here it is!
hello kitty pillow

People often ask how k is adjusting to having a little brother. There are definitely ups and downs. Take, for instance, this lovely picture of the two of them. Sometimes, k says she loves n. She comforts him when he cries, saying “It’s ok…mommy will come back.” She loves to help give him a bath and feeding him.
k & n

But on the other hand, there are the times when she says “I don’t love him anymore.” She’s quick to take away any toy he is playing with, declaring “That’s mine!” Fortunately, n is at the age where he usually doesn’t mind too much. Not looking forward to when he starts fighting back! He is growing up too fast…I can feel the beginnings of a tooth poking through his bottom gum!

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Hanging Around

This is my last week before I go back to work (at home). Of course, the time went by too quickly. Sometimes I look at k and wonder how she got so big all of a sudden. n is growing quickly, too, although we haven’t made too much progress in the sleeping at night. He is in a cute stage, cooing and smiling (when he is content).

tough guy
I’m a tough guy!

eating hand
I found my hands!

head control
I can lift up my head!

shin sen gumi
Forget fried rice, I want more ramen! (This was at Shin Sen Gumi in Fountain Valley. It is a tiny place. We arrived at 4:45 on Sat. and were seated right away, but by 5 p.m. there were people waiting outside. I liked how you can customize your ramen–I prefer my noodles on the firmer side while D likes his softer, and they delivered! We both put down that we wanted light oil and normal strength broth.)

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Butterball

My mom’s nickname for n is “butterball”, which I think is very fitting. Look at those thighs…much cuter than the chicken legs he used to have.
chubster

k loves her tiny camera that she earned through last year’s summer reading program. I think it is the only prize that she still has besides her “Just Go To Bed” book, which she also enjoys.
tiny camera

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