New Year’s Eve 2014
On our first day back at home, it was also New Year’s Eve. We spent the morning just unpacking and putting things away. Janie also opened her doctor kit and had to introduce the new members of the GG club to the rest of the gang.
She also thought it would be a good idea to get everyone caught up on their vaccinations.
It is cold and flu season after all!
For lunch, we went to the mall and rode a very crowded muni train back.
We celebrated EST New Year with Uncle Johnny, Alice, and Auntie Joy. They all looked ready for by at 9pm.
http://youtu.be/rd2-kWLJo5E
Here she is saying “Happy New Year” to everyone.
http://youtu.be/peCOSmD_uss
This is a funny outtake.
http://youtu.be/cL74ZuFvfKk
Janie also enjoyed some lemon sorbet as a special holiday treat.
Later that evening, we bundled up and walked down to the Bay Bridge where they would have fireworks at midnight. Janie pulled the beanie over her eyes and just went to sleep. She missed the whole show and slept well.
This is what she missed. Happy New 2015!!
A little more Christmas
On Monday morning, Janie really slept in. I guess she just needed to recover from all the new experiences of the last 4 days.
Once she woke up, we drove down to Orange County to meet up with Auntie Marie and Cousins Cole and Brandon. She got to open a present from them.
She hadn’t eaten much at lunch so she had lunch with Daddy when we got home.
She ate some of Daddy’s rice and udon that we brought home for him.
Later that afternoon, Daddy got the car washed and then came back to re-install the car seat. Janie insisted on bringing the step stool out so she could sit and watch.
We moved her car seat to the right side so that Mommy can sit in the back seat with her on the ride home.
For dinner, we went to Ankong and Ama’s house.
She had an avalanche of Christmas gifts from her grandparents including 2 giraffes, a Mickey Mouse, giraffe blanket, clothes, and a doctor set.
Every package was labeled “For KK”. She is one lucky kid.
Auntie Jia also bought her a stamp set and mini globe. They opened the stamp set and got started. What a fun Christmas!
First Night in Mexico
After we checked into the hotel, it was time for dinner. We had Christmas dinner at the restaurant on site and Janie didn’t have much of an appetite by then. She just wanted to drink lots and lots of milk. So, she spent all of dinner drawing and coloring with Ankong.
She drew a portrait of Ankong. Those circles around the eyes are glasses.
She also drew Ama. Funny girl.
After dinner, we all hung out in our studio for a bit before everyone went to bed.
The pull-out bed was a perfect bed for her. Good night!
Disneyland 2014
On Christmas Eve, we went to Disneyland once again and it was Janie’s 3rd trip. This year it seemed more exciting for her and on the days leading to it, she would tell anyone around her “I’m going to Disneyland!”
http://youtu.be/eOXPMUxV9KE
Here she is waiting for the tram from the parking lot to the park.
Our first stop was Disney’s California Adventure where we visited Santa. She’s still not a fan of Santa so we took a family photo this year.
On our way to Cars Land, Janie was so excited to see the trolley and wanted to ride it so badly. So, of course, that’s what we did!
She also enjoyed the “special treat” that she received from Santa’s helpers. Candy canes are so yummy!
While the grown-ups went on the Cars ride, Janie and Alice hung out with Ta outside.
It was a very sunny morning in Cars Land and Janie saw Lightning McQueen drive by.
We also took another family photo in front of the sign.
On our way to see Elsa and Anna, the cousins held hands as they walked down the street. I love this picture of the two of them.
Up until this moment, Janie was so excited to meet Elsa and Anna. But, as I had predicted, she was so starstruck that she wouldn’t look at Elsa and only peeked at Anna from Daddy’s shoulder.
http://youtu.be/t76CdCokOPU
After the Meet and Greet, it was time to head over to Disneyland. I just love this video of Janie running across the esplanade with her favorite Christmas song playing in the background. This is one very happy kid.
Once we entered the park, the first thing she noticed was the horse pulling a trolley. She was so happy to see this for some reason.
This is how we kept her nearby as we walked through the crowds.
Here are some photos of us in front of some famous landmarks.
After lunch, everyone took a potty break and Janie was so happy to see that they had a toilet that was just her size!! It’s found in the baby care center where they have tiny little flushing toilets next to the changing tables. She managed to pee and make two “meatball poo-poos” (in her words).
She also had to announce it to the whole family so Uncle Johnny helped her celebrate.
We had talked about meeting Winnie the Pooh and all his friends for the past two weeks. When it came time to say “hi”, Janie only wanted to stand back and watch them from afar.
After riding the Pooh ride, Janie was out for the count. She and Alice both took a nice long nap while the grown-ups went on Thunder Mountain.
After their naps, we headed over to Fantasyland where Janie met Olaf! He said “hi” to her and told her some jokes too.
Here we are in line for the Casey Jr. Train.
We all sat in the monkey cage and Alice didn’t want the ride to end.
We also rode Dumbo together and Janie got to make our elephant go up and down.
The carousel was the girls’ favorite ride of the day. Luckily there wasn’t much of a line and we got to go on twice!!
In the afternoon, we went down to Main Street to reserve a spot for the parade.
The girls had a lot of fun snacking and hanging out together.
I love this photo of the girls with their grandparents.
This one is funny too. Alice was stealing Janie’s broccoli in this photo. Too bad she didn’t want to eat it.
Since there was plenty of time to kill before the parade, we browsed the gift stores nearby and Janie was so excited to see Nemo!! So many Nemos!!
When the parade started, Janie was awestruck. There was so much to see and hear!
She just sat there with these wide eyes and sheepishly waved to a few of the characters that went by.
After the parade, we headed down to It’s a Small World.
Once again, Janie just sat there quietly taking it all in. Funny girl.
While we ate dinner, Janie took another nap in the stroller. Luckily, she woke up just in time for the fireworks and snow.
What an exciting (and long) day for this little 2-year-old. This was certainly the best trip yet now that she understands and recognizes so much more.
Merry Christmas!!!
Thanksgiving Dinner
Daddy and Mommy made a big turkey dinner and Yai brought up a Honeybaked ham.
Janie loved the ham and turkey and also had lots of mashed potato, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato.
We also chatted with Cousin Alice on FaceTime! They had already eaten dinner but we enjoyed their company anyway.
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!
Saying goodbye
Today was Mirian’s last day with us.
This afternoon when Mommy came home, we all said our goodbyes and everyone got hugs.
It has been wonderful having Mirian and Abby with us these last two years. We are definitely going to miss having her around.
Chinatown
This morning, Ankong, Ama, Auntie Jia, and Uncle Jason came over. We took them to Chinatown and Janie was super excited to ride the bus again.
At Washington Bakery, she studied the menu with Ankong.
She also got a quick lesson on salt and pepper. Too bad she was too sleepy to really pay attention.
We managed to keep her awake long enough to eat and she had some porridge, Chinese broccoli, and Singapore noodles.
She also helped sing and blow out the birthday candle with Uncle Jason.
On the ride home, the bus emptied half-way through our ride and Janie got to stretch out for a bit. It was way past her nap time and she insisted on being carried home from the bus stop. Maybe it’s time to invest in an umbrella stroller.
Alice’s birthday party
Today, we celebrated Alice’s birthday with a big party. Janie helped set-up the table with Uncle Johnny and Daddy.
She had a buffet of tasty Thai food including noodles, rice, chicken, fruit, and Mommy’s favorite tapioca balls.
She made another bag at the craft table and insisted on having 3 eyes and a bunch of puff balls on it.
This girl loves gluing stuff!
Janie was also very good about telling Mommy when she had to use the toilet. We still had pull-ups on her but she managed to stay dry!
Here she is with 2nd cousins Cole and Brandon and Cousin Alice, the birthday girl!
Of course there was cake and it was paradise cake again from King’s Hawaiian! She had the same cake for her first birthday!
Alice woke up in time to blow out the candle. Unfortunately, she didn’t want any part of the cake.
Toward the end of the party, Janie was tired since she stayed up through her nap. Here she is pretending to sleep on the bench next to Daddy. Funny girl. I wish she actually did sleep on that bench. What a fun party!
http://youtu.be/1vmp_WFXFaE
Alice is 1
Today is Cousin Alice’s birthday and Janie sang Happy Birthday to her and helped blow out the candle.
The cake was an ice cream cake and it was delicious!!
Alice also had her first taste of whole milk. Cheers!!