Janie was super excited to see our new kitchen and wanted to show it off to our little world. After two months, it is finally done.
Neighborhood Party
We had a Holiday Party with our neighborhood friends this evening and everyone had a fun time.
It was held at one of our houses and it was bustling with activity.
We had crafts for the kids while dinner was being prepared.
After dinner, the kids made gingerbread houses.
This is Janie’s house.
We managed to get all 10 kids in the photo together.
Here’s the whole group! What a fun evening!
Card for Ankong
It’s Ankong’s birthday so the kids worked on a card together. Peanut drew a picture and said “this is a penguin”.
Thanksgiving 2017
The kitchen remodel wasn’t completed in time so we went to Uncle Jimmy’s house to cook the turkey. While Dada did the cooking, the kids played together.
When the turkey came out, the kids were so excited to taste it and got some little pieces as it was being carved.
When it was time to eat, the kids sat at the little table together. So cute!
Happy Thanksgiving!!! And thanks for inviting us over, Agustins!!
Halloween 2017
It’s Halloween and there was a parade and trick-or-treating at Peanut’s school. He brought his costume and shared it with his class.
Janie got picked up early from school so that she could join in on the festivities. She was Mama’s little helper and passed out stickers to all the kids.
Here come’s Peanut and his class!!
Here’s Zoe in her Wonder Woman outfit!
Peanut did a great job staying in line with his class!
Here are the Paw Patrol pups, ready for action! Peanut was Rubble and Janie was Everest.
This evening would be the kids’ first time trick-or-treating and buddies Henry and Hudson came over to join us! We had pizza together and then went out to get some candy!
Our neighborhood was filled with kids and lots of houses were giving out candy.
They had a blast! Alameda is a great place for these kids.
Dada’s Birthday
We celebrated Dada’s birthday at Trabocco this evening. Not only did she eat pizza but drew a slice for everyone – including Uncle Jason. She said his is the one on the bottom right. It has jalapenos.
Birthday Dinner
For dinner, we went out for Chinese food to celebrate Dada’s upcoming birthday.
There was a birthday tart from Porto’s and lots of singing from Peanut.
Happy Early Birthday, Dada!
First Day of Kindergarten
Janie is officially a kindergartener!! Her first day at Amelia Earhart School was today and it was went well!
Mama and Dada took the day off and we walked along the lagoon to get to school.
Here she is in front of the Amelia Earhart statue.
We arrived at the playground and she hung up her backpack.
There were only a few minutes to play on the playground and there were SO MANY people there in one place. At 8:20am, her teacher came out to greet everyone and they all went inside Room 14.
Parents were invited to spend the first hour in class so we got to see all 24 kids sitting on the rug together for their instructions. Their names were called one at a time to go find their desks.
Janie’s seat was right next to her pal Gavin! There were 4 projects to complete: a name tag with beads, a racoon mask, rainbow name, and two coloring pages.
She completed all the activities pretty much on her own and loved using the new school supplies that she got in the pencil box on her desk. The PTA supplied new crayons, a pair of scissors, a glue stick, pencil, and the pencil box.
What a great first day in Ms. Kuoch’s class! She also spent the afternoon in AIK (Alameda Island Kids) afterschool program. Luckily Gavin is also going there so the transition was super easy.
She came home with her projects including a lesson on the solar eclipse that occurred today. She also got special glasses to view the eclipse outside.
Last Whale Day
Today was Janie’s last day in the Whale Class. She rode the ferry with Dada one last time. Every morning, she does two workbook pages (front and back) and then gets some time on her iPad.
At school, she signed her name before heading inside the classroom.
They rode the bus back to Alameda to meet Mama at her new school. Then, we picked up Peanut and headed to dinner at Trabocco.
Before heading home, we stopped at Trader Joe’s and Safeway to stock up for our neighborhood BBQ tomorrow.
Janie scored a strip of stickers from the nice man at TJs and shared with her brother while waiting in line at Safeway.
Peanut is TWO
This boy turned TWO today. Yikes. He’s really turned into a little boy with a big personality. His birthday dinner was at La Penca Azul and he did a great job making (and eating) his own birthday burrito.
We also got him a cupcake and sang to him. He loved the singing and blew out the candles with a little help from big sis.
He also tried the cake this year but still said “don’t like it” and handed his half to big sis.
Instead, he opted for ice cream and demolished it. In addition to ice cream, he’s become very fond of berries and peaches. He enjoys a banana, Hawaiian bread, and yogurt for breakfast at school. He’s broken out of his hate for carrots and will eat them cooked or raw now. Broccoli and green beans are still his favorite veggies. He also prefers salty over sweet and meat over carbs. However, he does love a big bowl of rice just like his Dada and can slurp down a handful of noodles like Mama.
He’s talking a bunch and understands so much more now. He LOVES to sing at the top of his lungs and doesn’t have any volume control. Baby Beluga, Twinkle Twinkle, ABCs, and Brown Bear are his favorite hits at the moment with Itsy Bitsy and Baa Baa Black Sheep coming in close. He can count to about 13 in English and Spanish and will identify all the colors in the rainbow. He’s loving pink right now because he wants to be just like his sister.
Peanut picked up the scooter much earlier than his sister – mostly because it was available to him and he has plenty of kids to learn from. He’s also quite the risk taker on the playground and has learned how to sit and hold onto a regular swing without letting go and falling off.
His favorites: Mickey Mouse, Paw Patrol, Octonauts, and animals. Much of this was greatly influenced by what his sister is totally into right now. He enjoys coloring and cutting with scissors. He can use utensils, loves to practice cutting with a knife, and he’s very close to using chopsticks.
He loves his family with his whole heart and this includes his uncles, aunties, grandparents, and cousins. He recognizes them and can name them too.
I love his sense of humor. I love his hugs. I love his gusto for life in general. This boy usually has an opinion about everything and hopefully that will get him far in life.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Peanut! We love you to pieces and keep us on our toes every waking minute.