Watch us grow!
It’s rare that we get the whole family together in the Bay Area. We almost got everyone up here but Uncle Johnny and Auntie Joy couldn’t make it up this weekend. After the birthday party, we all went out for dinner at Southshore Center. The kids ran around for a bit, had some Chinese food, and then stopped for ice cream.
Uncle Jason bought the birthday girl some cherry vanilla ice cream with sprinkles to top off her special day.
Today, our playground was bustling with activity from morning until evening. There were 4 birthday parties in a row and Janie inadvertently attending 3 of them just because she was outside playing with Gavin. You can see them playing under the tree (shady part off to the right of the playground).
They used the tree stump as a snail farm. They gathered leaves, tore up small pieces, and “fed” them to the snails that Gavin had brought over.
Here is Janie singing “Happy Birthday” to neighbor Nadia during her party. She welcomed Janie to the party and gave her a cupcake and goodie bag too. I guess it’s understood that if you throw a party at the park that you should have a few extras for the neighborhood kids. Good to know for our party next week…
Peanut also joined in on some of the activity. He also rode the big bumpy slide on his own today for the first time. it was faster than he expected but still managed to make a smooth landing.
The spiral slide is still a bit hit with him too.
At one party, they had a bunch of beach balls out on the lawn. In watching this video, we realized that Peanut is pretty steady on his feet lately. We also love how protective and helpful Janie can be to her little brother.
I don’t know her name but this little girl took an interest in Peanut at school and helped him out of the sandbox and held his hand to come greet Mama at pick-up time.
He also got to take his Easter basket and hat home.
Janie made friends with the two boys next door. The older boy is just a month younger than her and his name is Gavin. He has a little brother named Collin and he’s 3. This evening, Gavin came by, rang the doorbell, and asked if “his new neighbor” could play. So cute! They went outside and played with their brooms and all the leaves on the sidewalk.
Janie and Dada went to Isla’s birthday party this afternoon. It was at a taekwondo studio and Janie was a little anxious about joining the group.
As the session progressed, she warmed up to the party and got up to join the kids.
We had dinner at SPARK Social SF today. Dada bought ramen for everyone to share and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.
For dessert, we had mini cinnamon sugar donuts made to order.
Janie also made friends with these two boys. She ran around, climbed, jumped off logs, and also made a barricade on the upper deck of the double-decker bus.
Here’s a photo that Dada took of the kids making the barricade.
Peanut had fun climbing up and down the large steps to the platform.
This may be our last visit to this place for a while and the kids made most of it. In fact, Janie cried when it was time to go home.
These two don’t always get along but when they do, it’s often very cute. Here they are having their milk together on the kitchen mat. It’s one way of ensuring they don’t wander around the house spilling their milk.
This evening, they continued to clink cups. Peanut loves his new trick and often says “Cheers!”
They also played with their Tegu blocks on the metal board.
This afternoon, we had lunch at the food truck park and the kids had fun playing together.
There was also a dance/exercise class going on nearby and both kids enjoyed the music and watching the girls dancing.
Janie’s “boyfriend” Sota is moving to Japan in a little more than a week. He had a going-away party at his apartment and we were there early enough for the two kids to have some alone time before the others arrived.
Peanut had a fun time with their tunnel.
The apartment was on the 9th floor and it was overlooking the Caltrain Station.
They also enjoyed watching the excavator working to fill a giant pothole down below.
We managed to get a group photo of the the kids together. All the boys are from Janie’s class. If you look out the window, you can see our building down the street!
Bon Voyage to Sota and his family!!!
We stayed home for the rest of the day and the kids did a little drawing with markers together.
Next, the Duplos came out and somehow the activity lasted MUCH longer than expected. They played before dinner and then continued on afterward to bedtime.
Janie made a McDonald’s and said that “grown-ups eat outside” (old man on the outdoor patio) and “the kids eat upstairs”. This establishment serves bacon and burritos.
This was the scene right before Peanut’s bedtime. He just sat quietly next to his sister watching what she was doing. Then as soon as she crawled away with her back turned, he went straight for the fish and brown fences sitting there on the floor. What a sneaky guy. I’m just happy they were getting along and keeping themselves busy.