Little Twin Stars

Civitavecchia (Rome)

2010-08-15T22:55:00.000-07:00

If mommy had to pick one place out of all the places we went to that she enjoyed the most it would have to be Rome! I mean who could resist the Trevi fountain, all the churches in the Vatican, the Greek history too, the list goes on and on. Despite the language, people, food, etc, etc, etc it was just too much to take in for one day. I would love to go back one day soon to see all the things we missed.

I think the girls enjoyed it too although our land excursion was way too long for them to endure in the heat. That day alone I think mommy and daddy lost a few pounds from all that walking, pushing the stroller, and did I mention the heat?....100 degrees+ To make it up to the girls mommy did give in to a couple trips to the gelato shop.

Sophie, Mommy, Hannah in front of the Trevi.

Sophie, Daddy, Hannah in front of the Trevi.

The coliseum where the gladiators fought to the death. Sophie and Hannah were more into the local birds flying around on the grass.

Mommy and the girls look around the seating area in the coliseum. The girls make friends with the worker.

Here the worker tries to shake their hands and the girls suddenly become shy.

Inside of St. Peter's Basilica.

Mommy, Hannah, Stefania (our tour bus leader) and Angela (our land leader).

It's a towel bat!!!

Naples, Italy

2010-08-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

We got over the culture shock in Barcelona, but we got another shock in Naples...the honking and driving! Wow, can I say that our driver of the tour bus we had in Naples was not only shocking, but really good. He managed to squeeze us into small alleys and get us to our destination in one piece.

The tour speaker was nice enough to tell us to sit on top of the bus since there was no AC on the shuttle. Though we were up top and having warm breezes blow in our face we were still HOT! We saw quite a bit from the top of the shuttle, but the girls weren't of course into any of the sites, so to keep them busy I let them take turns playing games on my iTouch and listen to the recorded tour on headphones.

We tried to go see a museum and was unsuccessful since we couldn't find the entrance (very embarrassing). Instead we talked to the locals and roamed some back streets. We also walked around the park and saw the locals playing soccer. It was during the World Cup too so people were all into it. People really took to the girls and wanted to take pics of them (I'm not sure if it was an Asian thing or because they were twins, but it was interesting). I found it strange, but the locals were really nice and friendly. Later after visiting so many locations I would have to say that Italy was my favorite because people were warm and friendly and it really felt nice to be around that.

We learned that siesta time is all around the region and if you ask for a cappuccino it should be before 10 a.m. or you will get some aggravated people. I never really experienced any of that in Italy....only in Spain and France.

Sophie playing with the iTouch and drenched in sweat up on top of the shuttle next to daddy.

From the shuttle you see parts of Naples.

A local bunch of school kids so friendly and nice wanting to take pics of the girls :)

Hannah and Soph get a free mini cone from the nice lady behind the counter and daddy puts some Italian gelato in there.

Story time on the ship before bedtime. "Big dinosaur!!! RAWR!!!" Thanks for the interjection Hannah.

Hannah and Sophie quickly adapt to the suite life.

Elephant towel gets taken in with squeals of delight.

Mommy and Hannah enjoy the sunset.

Silly on the jogging track.

Day at Sea 7/5/2010

2010-08-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

We spent the next day at sea on our way to Naples. The girls had fun swimming in a pool made just for them in 8" of water with a slide. The pool on the side was fun as well and we spent a good chunk of time splashing around keeping cool from the warm weather. The girls made friends with some kids that spoke Spanish.

We had fun exploring the ship, but if you can believe it we didn't get to use all of the facilities because there was just too much to see. We missed looking at the ice rink! We did see the miniature golf, basketball court, rock climbing, arcade, etc. We did spend time on deck 14 on cloud 9 which is for kids 3 yrs and under.

The girls enjoying the pool made for munchkins!

Hannah looking for mermaids with mommy.

Hannah and Sophie enjoying the first of many animal towel creations made by our stewart Manuel. The swan towel wearing daddy's sunglasses.

Boarding the Voyager of the Seas

2010-07-26T22:57:00.001-07:00

The fourth of July was when we boarded the boat and we decided to do it early as did everyone else. It was my paranoia of boarding early and looking back I think we had more than enough time to explore Barcelona more, but we were still newbies and very green to getting around. Live and learn...

We had one day at sea as we made our way to our first port which was Naples, Italy.

The girls eat the croissant, but not the contents of the sandwich. The only place open for food was the promenade which was one of the places that was 24/7 which served sandwiches, pizza, cookies, fruits, and cakes
.

Mommy, Sophie, and Hannah check out the view from the ship as we say good-bye to Barcelona.

The running path that circled deck 11 which overlooked the pool and the view of the ship looking out. We spent many a days taking the girls for a walk around the ship on the track.

Exploring Barcelona

2010-07-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

The second day in Spain we took a tour via a shuttle and had to choose which sites we wanted to see. I know we should've seen the Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's most famous church, but it was on another tour route and unfortunately traveling with toddlers you have to make choices on which is the better route. I looked forward to using what little Spanish I could muster up from my days in high school, but the native language is Catalan which is a mix of French and Spanish. The locals understood me and were nice enough to draw, use simple Spanish I could understand, and some people did know enough English to communicate. Either way the first day was a shocker for us as we were trying to find our way around like "Lost in Translation" with new money, new food, and massive heat.

Let me say it was hot! Mind you it wasn't as hot as most people said it would be, but it was in the 90's. All of us sweated massive amounts that we lost weight and keeping hydrated became more of our worry sometimes more than taking good pics. Good thing we had artist daddy Der! He took more of the better pics we see here. Both parents were armed with a camera each so we didn't miss anything LOL!

Besides the girls not liking the local cuisine...Mommy didn't either. Daddy was more open as usual and enjoyed the tapas, etc. Mommy enjoyed getting her Starbucks...sad I know, but it was comforting knowing you can order a mocha! We were worried about the girls and searched high and low for a McDonalds because it would be the only thing they really liked and they had not eaten much for 2 days. Der found a local man with a Micky D bag who directed us to the nearest Micky D and we managed to get chicken nuggets and some apple juice for the girls to eat...YAY!

At a port as we walked along the area looking for a place to eat lunch.

Hannah plays with her food, but manages to eat some potato wedges and mommy sneaked in some small pieces of roasted chicken (which was super yummy!).

Sophie was just not having any of it.

After eating tapas for lunch Mommy and Soph wait for the tour shuttle.

The girls stop to look at the local graffiti.

Der with the girls in front of Catedral de Barcelona one of the many Gaudi churches.

I took Hann and Soph in by myself as Der stood outside patiently with the strollers. Sophie and Hannah really enjoyed looking at everything inside and outside the church and were really excited to tell Der all about it.

There were just much too many pics to post as combined Der and I took over 300 pics, but I tried to get the more spectacular ones.

More of the inside of the church.

One of the many scenes behind bars that the church had.

The girls amazed at the surroundings. Sophie holds a map of our tour.

Der and the girls in front of the water show at night in front of the magic fountain.

My turn to pose with the girls.

Totally beat! Sophie and Hannah spread out in our bed.

Girls enjoying the Font Magica de Montjuic in Barcelona.

My first passport stamp

2010-07-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've been lagging, but with all the things that were happening I have good excuses for my lack of entries which I will not bore anyone with it since this for the girls :P Everything is a blur up until we left for Europe and even then it's like a dream. We left July 1st to embark on our first trip anywhere outside the US.

The girls did pretty good considering they were in and out of airports for extended periods of time (12 hours of flight, but waiting around airports, etc brings it to way more than that). We flew out of SFO and landed 10 hrs into London's Heathrow airport. Our stop over was 2 1/2 hours and personally I didn't mind since the airport is like a mall!!! The girls got to stretch and have something to drink and snack on (they did not like British food at the airport). The next flight into Barcelona was roughly about 4 hrs and we basically got in at roughly 6:30 p.m. their time. One meltdown was with Soph Soph who could not be calmed down and I figure it was due to her not being able to "pop" her ears :( Other than that we did pretty well and Der and I enjoyed the British tea cookies on the plane and we really loved the movies on the way over...yay British Airways!

First night in we were pooped, but that wasn't the clincher....it was getting my iPhone stolen which not only upset me, but the girls as well. I brought it along for them to play games on along with another iTouch so each girl had their own to play with.

Later we tried to find something for the girls to eat since they didn't like the airport food nor the airline food. Unfortunately they didn't like the hotel food either. I knew going to Europe was going to pose a problem since they only really like Asian food.

Sophie in her PJ's and her travel companion Pooh bear.

Swimming in San Ramon

2010-06-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last weekend it started to get hot. Summer has officially kicked off its weather and we've hit high 80's. What is the perfect thing to do? Go to a water park/pool in San Ramon. Our friends the Yabut's had found a fun pool/water park and we have gone two weekends in a row (this past weekend with more friends). The girls have a nice tan going on and they love the water they are definitely island girls at heart. Sadly mommy had forgotten her camera two weekends in a row and these pics were from her iPhone. I lost taking pics visiting friends' babies, a friend's birthday party, some cool parks, etc. We've been taking the girls all over, having them experience new things.

Other updates are the girls have been fighting over mommy's iPhone and both girls have become very proficient on the phone (this has been going on for a while). Because we'll be going on a trip soon I decided that an iTouch would be much more useful than any other hand device for them to keep occupied with and the fact that I always have to have two of the same thing for them to play with at the same time. Yes, people outside of tech and casual bystanders cannot believe I let them use my iPhone. Kids today are much more advanced....yes I sound old...hahahhhaha! I also want to set up a child friendly computer for them to use, but we'll see.

They both love to draw and they are pretty good at it. Biased or not they both can draw faces (expressions), bunnies, whales, Mickey mouse, etc and it amazes me. Der and I both enjoy drawing and doing art, so it gives me great pleasure that our kids are following in our footsteps. Besides the art thing they both love music as well which makes us overjoyed. Sophie is a dancer and Hannah is a singer.

They are communicating more and more and we have so much fun watching them at this stage of development. At 34 months we find that this is the "testing the limits" stage and I find I must tap into my secondary set of patience. From teaching potty training (yes we're still trying!!!), to learning to control anger (parents included), to demanding requests, and learning how to communicate better, I know that this is probably the easier stage in life and I'm not looking forward to the teen years!!! It scares me that I see the kids exhibit our personalities, but it's also pretty funny too :D

The first weekend the girls had so much fun at the water park that was less than 1 ft of water near the play structure.

The next weekend they had more fun with mommy and daddy in the water with them and more friends like the Clarkson's, Ko's, and Yang's joining us. Here they munch on some Pirate Booty and Caprisun drinks.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

The highlights of this weekend was spent going cherry picking at Seko Ranch out in Brentwood. We did this last year when the girls were about 18 months (with the Yabuts) and now going back at almost 3 yrs old they still got the hang of it and had a grand ole time. This time we went with the Yabuts, the Ko's, and Adel's friend Lilly and her son. We found a hummingbird's nest and even got to see the mommy bird (who needs the nature channel). Later we had a mini picnic in the back of our minivan which consisted of some teriyaki spam musubi (Der made), mini wheat honey peanut butter and guava jelly sandwiches for the keiki's (mommy made), char siu baus and custard tarts (the Ko's), sandwiches (the Yabut's), and homemade chocolate center cookies (Lilly) and some other snacks as well. The weather was the hottest this year (89 degrees)! The kids had alot of fun and took a short nap in the car as we made our way back to get a pie for the next stop.

We were invited to our friend Nick's house in San Ramon for a BBQ. We also met up with some other friends (the Yangs, the Clarksons, and our host the Chen's), and a bunch of other friends of Nick's. The girls had fun meeting new friends and playing with their old friends as well. Emi came along as well and made a new friend named Toby.

Hannah gets right to it and starts picking some cherries.

Sophie finds some yummy cherries to pick!

All the kids in one pic this was as good as it was going to get. Sophie, Hannah, Aiden, and Lauren (left to right).

The girls already using the Asian squat.

Hannah looks on as Sophie and Lauren throw fallen cherries into a hole in the ground.

Hummingbird's nest within arm's length on the cherry tree.

Mommy bird comes back to check on the two eggs.

Sophie plays with Emi on Nick's deck outside.

Sophie playing in the backyard at Nick's house.

Thank you Adel for the invite! Thank you Nick for inviting us!

Castles and Dragons

2010-05-31T15:44:00.001-07:00

May 23rd - I try to find fun, new and interesting things to do for Sophie and Hannah, but sometimes I run out of ideas and stick to parks which is never a bad idea. The weekend of the 23rd of May I decided I had enough of congestion and wanted ramen. Do you know you cannot find ramen in the Hayward vicinity? Much less east bay...unless you go to Oakland maybe. I decided we should cross the bridge and go to San Mateo where I used to work and knew that there were a bunch of ramen places (there is like a mini Japan town there).

Instead of my favorite Santa Ramen, we decided to Yelp it and try Ramen Dojo (which took the location of the old Santa Ramen shop). The girls loved my spicy ramen surprisingly and decided they rather eat mommy and daddy's ramen instead of the gyoza and rice which was ordered for them. We later hit up the posh toy store called Talbot's down the street. We walked about 3 blocks and it was just a beautiful day to walk around. After the little shopping spree where I bought the girls some Kumon learning books, level 1 reading books, and let's not forget some great Tinkerbell coloring books (these come in handy while waiting for meals in restaurants).

Ahh, but it didn't stop there, we took the girls to a park called Coyote Point Park. It was a great park (although not free $5 entrance fees for all the Coyote parks, even the one in Fremont) filled with lots of fun playgrounds for all age groups. It was packed! It is also near the water, so it had a cool breeze, although the sun was out in full effect the wind made it quite chilly. The theme was castles, mid evil dragons, etc. How cool was that? The girls felt the same way I did and had a blast!

Hannah and Sophie ride the purple dragon. I don't think it was Puff the magic dragon LOL!

Uh oh the girls being swallowed up.

Hannah and Sophie in the mouth of the dragon.

Hannah and daddy enjoying the beautiful day at the park. Look at the castle in the back!

Hannah trying out the balance beam.

Sophie rides the horse.

So many structures and things to do. What did the girls like the most? Walking up and down this hill! They thought it was the coolest thing to do because the grippy floor kept them from flying down the hill.

Bedtime giggles

2010-05-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here the girls are refusing to go to bed and they decide to have a giggling fit.

May 20th - the girls are going through a phase where bedtime takes a little longer than usual. Naps seem to get shorter and they seem to want to stay up longer. We are still keeping to the schedule although I read that we might need to modify it soon as the older the toddlers get the less sleep they require....sigh... Parents need their naps too! Hahaha!

Hannah is still a finicky eater and at times tries most of daddy and mommy's patience. Most of the time the girls want to eat whatever I am eating, so I am trying to eat healthier in the presence of the girls, however I cannot give up my coffee and diet coke. Both Hannah and Sophie's favorite statement is "I like ice-cream!". You know it's become a problem when Sophie wakes up in the morning and asks for ice-cream for breakfast or when I go to Starbucks and Hannah asks for ice-cream pointing to a picture of a frappacino LOL! I do not give them ice-cream on a regular basis and I've recently replaced fruit gummies with raisins and dried cranberries. Other snacks are dried veggie chips and the usual fruits (apples, bananas, and grapes). I'm not a mean mommy I do let them eat some sweets from time to time, but with all the finicky eating I have to limit the amount of junk food intake.

Hayward Pho

2010-05-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hannah waiting for her combination fried rice at our fave pho joint in Hayward called Pho Kim.

This pic was taken a while back (May 16th to be exact). We went to dinner with Auntie Dana and the Ko's. I caught a very bad cold from the girls and I'm still recovering. The girls got over it fairly quickly especially Sophie (Hannah has allergies just like mommy). I think my allergies on top of having the cold from the girls is drawing out my recovery time.

California Adventure

2010-05-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

We had breakfast the next day at a place called Jagerhaus with Auntie Vincy. Then hit the road to go to California Adventure. We had the girls play at A Bug's Life playground where there some kid rides. Their favorite ride there was these twirling lady bugs. After the ride we went to watch the Bug's Life theater which they said was "scary", but fun LOL! We tried to hit up some other places, but some of them were closed. We did get Monster's Inc ride in and prior to that we did Disney's Playhouse which Sophie enjoyed so much she got up and danced.

All in all the girls really love music which shouldn't be surprising since mommy and daddy love it. They got to experience many different genres and surprisingly they loved it all. They liked the old style rockabilly band and some female Mariachi singers. I guess I should enroll them in some classes as there is a real deep found affection for music! With Hannah singing along to all the songs and Sophie dancing to all the songs, it was just too cute! The drive back home was exhausting (I say this like I was the one driving, but Der drove all the way home) and we all had so much fun it was sad to say good-bye.

Vincy hugging Soph, Hann, and Lauren.

Hannah loved the Peter Pan hat although she has never seen the movie.

Mommy made Soph Soph pose with this awesome hat.

Uncle Eric strikes again...Sophie enjoying her cotton candy.

The girls eating cotton candy.

Playhouse countdown.

More Disney

2010-05-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

The day was long and hot, but after buying a Mickey mouse sun hat for myself and stopping to drink loads of liquids we all fared well in the heat (which wasn't that hot anyway). Uncle Eric bought the girls churros, cotton candy, and lollipops to "experience" their first trip or so he says. Either way they were happy to consume most of it.

We rode the Pooh ride and Buzz Lightyear which they really enjoyed. Later on the way back to the hotel for the afternoon nap we bought some Tinkerbell toys like a tea set, stamp and book, and some Tinkerbell lighted fan propeller. The nap lasted a very long time, so by the time the girls awoke it was time to go to dinner.

The Ko's took us to a character dinner at the Disney hotel which was amazing. Everything from a waiting room that played Disney cartoons to meeting and taking pics before dinner with Pluto! The dinner was a buffet and it was very yummy. In between the eating there were dancing with the characters and periodically the characters would show up to the table to meet the kids. All three girls got to meet Mulan, Dale, Goofy, Minnie, Snow White, and Pluto.

After dinner we went back to the park to see the fireworks. Tinkerbell was flying over the castle and the girls were so excited!!! You can imagine by then the girls were done and so were the parental units.

Minnie Mouse, Hannah, Sophie, and mommy...girl power!

The girls love Mickey!

Mickey Mouse!

Uncle Eric gives the girls churros, one of the many sugar treats he gave to them.

Hannah looking into a water fountain. So cute!

The Ko's, Pluto, and the Sakai's.

Pluto with the Sakai's.

Goofy visits. Hannah and Lauren greet him and Sophie finishes her dinner.

Sophie dancing with Goofy!

1st Disneyland visit

2010-05-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

My birthday and mommy's day present all wrapped into one was to go to Disneyland :) I loved watching the girls have the time of their lives and although there were some meltdowns, sun beating down (I'm allergic to heat and not once did I get sick...yay!), and lots of walking it was really, really fun! Thanks daddy!

We left for the road along with our neighbors the Ko's on Friday night and arrived at our hotel a little past midnight. The hotel Ramada Maingate is located very close to the entrance, so we didn't need to move the minivan once we got there. A whole lot of walking going on, but after several days of good pain it was all good.

The girls were really upset early on because A - they didn't know what was going on, B - The Finding Nemo ride was scary because they didn't know what to expect on their first ride, C - NOT ENOUGH SLEEP! After a while they got used to seeing the characters they were used to in movies and on tv and the excitement and smiles were really worth it. They weren't too keen on their favorite Tinkerbell nor Minnie Mouse, but when it came to Mickey...holy cow! They love him and well who doesn't? Of course I wanted to share my all time favorite ride as a child and took them to Small World. It's changed a bit, but still the same ole great song which Hannah hummed and sang all through the ride.

Sophie and Hannah got their "First visit to Disneyland" buttons as they entered the Happiest Place on Earth!

Lauren, Sophie and Hannah, standing in line to see Pixie Hallow's Tinkerbell!

The Sakai's in Pixie Hallow. Pixie dust anyone?

Oooh...Ahhhh...The Fall scepter.

Hannah is bit scared of Tink even though she loves watching her movies.

Sophie decides to brave it, but she was pretty hesitant as well.

The girls in the boat awaiting the best ride in the park...Small World.

Hannah, mommy, and Sophie riding a Goofy car in Toon Town.

Sophie playing on a Goofy slide.

Hannah inside a huge pumpkin.

The girls make themselves at home in Goofy's house.

Soph Soph enjoying Goofy's chair.

Minnie meets us at our dinner table.

Monkey monkey

2010-04-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sophie combs the monkey's hair.

Hannah too tired to ham it up for the camera. The girls laugh and get excited when the monkey makes crazy sounds and turns over.

Thank you Auntie Stacie and Uncle Calvin for our new toy!

Behind the Scenes at Daycare

2010-04-29T21:35:00.001-07:00

Hannah in the front with a music instrument and Sophie in the back in a highchair.

Sophie finding eggs.

The girls line up (Sophie on the end).

Birthday celebration.

Pictures courtesy of Eileen Xu.

Fun with a New Toy

2010-04-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

More birthdays at daycare the girls brought home some goodie bags (two in the past week!) and their new favorite toy is a sticky ball that when you throw it on a flat surface it will stick. All night long we had the sticky ball flying all around the room followed by giggling.

The girls are growing quickly and recently I had to up Sophie and Hannah's size in shoes as well as clothes. I feel extremely sad boxing up all the clothes, but their new clothes are super cute, so I can't be too sad LOL! We're still waiting for the warm weather to arrive...

The girls are still hooked on watching Totoro, Ponyo, Jungle Book, and Tinkerbell. I think it's finally time to take them to Disneyland.

Multitasking! The girls brush their teeth, read a book, and have their new toy sticky ball in hand.

Hannah shows off the new toy and Sophie smiles for the camera.

Hannah and Sophie sings the Happy New Year Chinese song.

Welcome Kona!

2010-04-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we got to meet Uncle Huey's new addition to the family. A puppy named Kona! The girls had fun playing and mommy had fun with the puppy :D

Uncle Huey and Kona.

Hannah and Sophie play the piano. I think we got future musicians!

My musical munchkins!

April Birthdays

2010-04-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

The updates were far and few because the girls caught something called Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease (HFMD) several weeks ago and they got over super quick. Mommy however caught it and it was pretty bad for her. Don't worry the name sounds horrible, but I did a lot of research and it is a virus that you can only really get once like chicken pox unless of course you're the rare person that can get the second strain of it. Usually this only hits children 10 yrs and under. The rare few adults that get it didn't get it as kids....I guess that was me :(

There were two first birthdays in mid April one for Tyson and one for Enzo. Daddy Der braved it by himself and here are some pics he took.

The birthday boy Tyson and his grandpa.

The girls acting silly with daddy.

This must be the latest fad.

Yup, looks like Hannah caught onto to it too.

Sophie eating lunch at Enzo's party. No pics here of the b-day boy :(

Hannah eats some lunch too :)

When mommy felt better the girls played with bubbles outside.

My Have We Grown!

2010-04-14T03:20:00.000-07:00

Where is spring? We have no idea, but the weather still hasn't let up. Some days cold, other days less...some days raining, other days not. With mommy working many hours, the blogging seems less and less, but hopefully she'll be more on top of it after this week when she regains her second wind.

This past weekend during glimpses of "free time" we got to go to a place called Super Franks out in Dublin (a sort of younger kids Dave and Buster or bigger Chuck E. Cheese). Super Franks has a sort of Starbucks cafe indoors with seating and also there are TV screens with sports playing for adults, but having younger kids I don't know how you can enjoy that kind of thing the TV that is not the Starbucks hahaha! The middle of the area has video games for age groups 3-12 (I'm guessing). They also have areas where they're geared for kids 5 and under, sports and gymnastic like area, and a princess castle theme area. It's a very cool concept.

We ended up paying for the younger area and it was just mayhem, because it had tricycles and all sorts of little vehicles and not enough room. I do realize that it was a Saturday afternoon and the weather wasn't nice outside, so the logical thing to do was find a place such as this, so it wasn't entirely unexpected. The bouncy house was cool, but it got very crowded at times. They had arts and crafts (yes, the girls got super messy) and loads of toddler toys, but for a claustrophobic person like me, it was just a little too crowded. At one point they announced over the speakers that they had to check kids for wristbands for "unpaid" children....hmmmm....yeah..... The girls enjoyed themselves, so it was worth it. If I had to pick between this place and Bounce-A-Rama, I'd pick Bounce-A-Rama because it has more of an open space and less crowded at specific times which causes less stress....on the parental units.

Before that we had lunch at a place called Willow Tree in Dublin where we like to have dim sum from time to time. We like the place because the people that work there like the girls :P (yeah we're silly like that). It's not as good as Oriental Tea House out in San Leandro, but if we're lazy, don't want to wait in line, and don't want to drive all the way out there we usually stop by Willow Tree.

On Sunday we went to the farmer's market in Fremont and met up with the Ko's. The girls had fun using their Dora the Explorer umbrellas for the first time. They had so much fun in the rain. We got some great strawberries, carrots, and oranges. Later we went to Ala Shanghai for lunch (we haven't been going regularly since the girls ended their classes at Gymboree a long time back) and had yogurt next door at YoSwirl. The weather got worse at that point and we ended up staying home the rest of the day. Actually I take that back after the girls' nap we went to Target with the intention to go to a Micky D playground after we went shopping. Turns out they walked all over the store and were tired out by the time we wanted to leave, so off to bed it was after Target :D

The girls' hair is growing longer and you can tell from mommy's hair cutting skills that she's not cut out to be a hair dresser.

Hannah is getting more talkative and structures her sentences quite well. She speaks her words very clearly and just when you think she can't get more loving, she does. She daily says, "I love you!" followed by a run to you and a hug! She has great manners too and says "Thank you!". Hannah's favorite line to tell mommy is "Mommy! I love ice-cream!" :D

Sophie on the other hand has been a little rascal and has learned to lock daddy in the garage with the bolt on top of the door. What is scary is that she can open any door now, locked, weighted or otherwise. She's always getting into things and always keeps mommy on her toes. She learned how to do a thumbs up and it's so darn cute!

Rain, rain go away!

Easter Bunny!

2010-04-06T23:43:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

Yes, I'm a bit late, but as always things have been a bit hectic at work thus the late entry. This year the girls had celebrated an egg hunt at daycare. We also decided to have one at home thinking we might not have another egg hunt to go to. Daddy hid eggs in the front yard and the girls had a blast hunting and eating chocolates (their reward).

Later we met up with Adel, Ervin, and Aiden at a Thai Temple in Fremont for lunch and later we got to do an egg hunt at the temple! It was a great surprise because the temple supplied baskets and everything!!! The girls had so much fun. Sophie wasn't phased by the Easter Bunny, but Hannah was, so in the pic below you only see Sophie and Aiden with the Easter Bunny. Hannah did like the bunny, but just didn't trust him hahahahah!

So three egg hunts later the girls are experts at finding eggs. I find myself really happy watching them really get into finding eggs. Strangely they've always enjoyed doing this and we have to pry the eggs away from them because if we don't I think we'd have eggs all year 'round.

Easter was super cold this year, so the girls were all bundled up later in the day, so no dresses this year. Special thanks to Nana Kage and Uncle Chris they for their styling Cinnamon girl matching shirts. You can see the shirts in the earlier pics from the egg hunt at home.

Easter Bunny, Sophie, and Aiden at the Thai Temple in Fremont. Pic courtesy of Ervin.

Hannah, Sophie, and Emi check out their findings :)

Hannah already picked out what she's going to eat.

Hannah shows Sophie what she found.

Twins at a happy state and not fighting over who gets what :D

Let's get some eggs!!!

Spring time at Castro Valley Park

2010-03-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Springtime is here and the weather is still strange as some days it's warm and others cold. It doesn't seem to bother the girls and they are enjoying the first signs of spring. Saturday we took them to Union City park (after we went to a farmer's market in Hayward where they loved getting orange samples and oatmeal cookie samples) and they really enjoyed watching geese, ducks, bugs and hares! They're really nature loving kids. How they like bugs I do not know because I hate them! They like pointing out spiders in their room so daddy can "take it away" (daddy squishes them LOL!). I think they like bugs because they watch all these movies with them in it.

Sunday we took the girls with us to run some errands at Target and ate lunch at New Park Mall where they had their first Orange Julius strawberry drink (YUM!). Mommy spoiled them with an early Easter egg lighted thing-a-ma-jiggy toy and a Tinkerbell coloring book (yes, they're still on a Tinkerbell kick). Later we took Sophie and Hannah to Castro Valley Park where they did their usual play. Sophie played in the sandbox and Hannah ran all around going up and down the big kid's slides (Every single one of the slides and multiple times making me super nervous. She is the thrill seeker, such a fearless toddler!).

As we took the girls back to the minivan to leave the park, they made a pit stop by the open field park where people have picnics. They had more fun there playing with the pine cones, flowers, watching people play tennis, and running around the grass than playing at the playground.

Hannah picks up a flower and shows mommy.

Sophie loves dandelions. Although when she blows she sprays it...eeeew hahaha!

Sophie and Hannah explore the park.

Pine cones! I love these things!

What's going to work? Teamwork!

And more pine cones.

I've got two how many do you have?

Strong Sophie!

Who can throw the pine cone the farthest.

Tink! Tink! Tinkerbell!

2010-03-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

I recently bought "Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure" on blu-ray for the girls, because they had interest in a Tinkerbell balloon which they got from a birthday celebration at daycare. They kept talking about Tinkerbell and I decided to surprise them. Well, they've been hooked ever since and have watched the movie every day since getting the movie (their friend Lauren is hooked too). After about two times of watching the movie I had already decided I had enough of Tinkerbell. The girls however love it and can't get enough of watching it. It's actually nice because the movie is about 1 hr long and Sophie and Hannah actually sit and watch it from start to finish!!! This is a major accomplishment :D

Hannah does get upset at some scenes in the movie (she doesn't like anyone harming Tinkerbell) and likes to ask questions about the scenes she sees. Hann doesn't like trolls LOL! I'm really happy with her progress in communicating more and constructing more sentences.

I forgot to add last week that the girls learned how to sing "God Bless America" from daycare. I'm now trying to teach them the pledge of allegiance, just for fun. I'm also trying to reinforce "colors". They're having a hard time grabbing the concept which is strange to me because they're both so artistic. I remember saying that Hannah was more artistic, but I think I shouldn't rule out Sophie. Sophie can draw things with detail and explain it!!! Holy cow! Liz had shown me Sophie's drawings of a truck, a person, and a ladder, and how Sophie explained it, but to see it in action myself is amazing. Derek is going to scan the pics she drew, but I took one pic of Sophie's and one of Hannah's to show the grandparents what great artists our little girls are. Anyway back to the colors I'm trying to incorporate it into our conversations. That is a brown bear, I like your purple shirt, do you like that purple flower?, etc. We'll see if anything sinks in. But for now Sophie thinks everything is green and Hannah thinks everything is purple LOL!

We also went to the farmer's market in Fremont today and the girls have changed their minds about oranges. They both love oranges now. They tried various types of oranges, but I ended up buying the cuties because I know if they don't eat it, I will. I also picked out some strawberries which Sophie seems to love and Hannah doesn't, so for Hannah she gets some pink lady apples.

My picky eaters are driving me crazy, because if one eats something the other doesn't. I don't give in, so in any given meal one will be hungry away from the table. The one thing they can agree on which we found out is they like Thai pineapple fried rice and Thai BBQ chicken :D

Mommy spoils her girls by getting them fairy wings. Hannah and Sophie-bells!

Is that a squirrel out there?

Pixie dust so we can fly mommy!

Hug awww!

Hannah plays with her iCarly toy from Micky D's.

Hannah's drawing.

Sophie's drawing of Totoro. See the eyes, mouth, and feet. She also wrote "Hi" on each side. I got all of that from her explaining to me as she drew it. The pic is on it's side facing left for some reason I couldn't get the pic to be the right side.

Sophie likes ice-cream.

Hannah likes ice-cream.

Thank you Auntie Adel for the oreo cookie ice-cream!

Playdate at Bounce-A-Rama

2010-03-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been a bit busy with work and just too tired to do anything, however this past weekend we finally managed to have a play date with some friends of ours. I will try harder to post, but I think things at work will start ramping up again, so I might have to turn it over to daddy Der.

We had some fun this past weekend at Bounce-A-Rama where we met up with some friends. Eric, Liz, Lauren, Adel, Ervin, Aiden, Mark, Berry, Eamon, Oliver, Maan, and Samantha. The girls had lots of fun bouncing all over and mommy had quite the workout. They also played some video games and had a blast. We later ate dim sum next door at the Mayflower. It was a fun day for all of us as we really enjoyed seeing everyone!

The girls are still in the midst of potty training and we have positive results when we're at home with number one and number two (yes, for people who are not parents this may seem a little strange to be talking about going to the bathroom, but this is a major development hurdle!!!). We did manage to get some dry diapers at Bounce-A-Rama and they did tell me at the venue that they wanted to go potty! We're not completely dry as of yet, but I feel they've come a long way and I'm super proud of them.

Along with the girls progressing rapidly comes attitude and they say 2's and 3's are challenging. I understand the magnitude of this and both girls' communication is on full speed ahead, however it's never fast enough for them and they cannot express themselves in the way they want to or in such a way that we can understand them.

I think we will need to get them some swim lessons again because they love "swimming" in the bathtub. They seem to naturally find their island girl roots and love the water. I also want Hannah to get some music lessons of some sort as I think she follows in her daddy's footsteps. Hannah seems to have a knack for singing, loves the piano, and just likes anything that makes music. Sophie likes it too, but not in the way like Hannah does. She finds passion in it. Hannah can carry a melody and can recall many, many songs. She is also very observant and will tell you what she sees outside the window or out from a car. She also likes to moderate a movie she's seen many times.

Sophie is probably more like me and she loves to draw. She's very artistic in drawing and playdoh, she finds the mechanics is fascinating in the medium she's using. She loves puzzles (just like me as a child). She's very logical and can point out numbers, spell her name, knows stories by heart, and can in detail communicate to you some things she's learned. Daycare has said that she is fluent in communicating in both English and Mandarin. She has a never ending curiousity which has been interesting to watch and at the same time gets her into a lot of trouble. She is the one that gives me the most heartattacks. I find myself pulling out the most cliche parenting lines on her.

I remember a long time ago Bill Cosby had a show called "Children say the Darnedest Things". Der and I get to live that show every day. Sophie and Hannah keep us young, they entertain us, and warm our hearts. They can always brighten up the darkest day.

Everyone bouncing in the basketball area.

The girls playing basketball.

Hannah and Sophie sliding.

Sophie running.

Bouncing at the Dora house.

Day at Micky D's and Fenton's

2010-02-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

Hannah feeds Sophie a french fry at Fenton's. The girls ate really well that day and ate a lot of ice-cream too! They helped daddy eat a root beer float and mommy and Auntie Dana a Black and Tan sundae.

Sophie helped Hannah up the Micky D playground in Castro Valley! Sophie is so strong!!! After she helps Hannah, she ends up pulling herself up as well.

More Bouncy

2010-02-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

The girls bounce, bounce, bounce. They had a ton of fun bouncing in the different houses, playing video games and eating dim sum at the Mayflower with Uncle Eric, Auntie Liz, and Lauren.

Bounce-A-Rama

2010-02-22T22:17:00.001-08:00

Hannah coming down the slide at Bounce-A-Rama at the Great Mall in Milpitas.

Sophie having a grand ole time.

It looks like Sophie is pushing Hannah's head into the floor, but I think it was a coincidence.

Lauren, Sophie, and Hannah at the Dora and Diego bouncy house.

Hannah eats it going down the slide. Uncle Eric comes down after.

The Banana iPhone pics

2010-02-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

Wearing mommy's sunglasses.

Hannah with some static coming down the slide at Kennedy park today before the Super Bowl.

Emi play

2010-02-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

This seems to happen a lot these days where Emi likes to chase the girls around the table. You should be warned that there is a lot of screaming in this video. Emi nips pretty hard too! :P

Santana Row Fun

2010-02-07T23:35:00.000-08:00

I'm behind in blogging and it might be sparse during the month of Feb as mommy is working quite a bit and will be working strange hours for a release happening.

Last weekend mommy had to go to Santana Row, so we met up with some friends Uncle Mark, Auntie Berry, and Eamon. The girls had a lot of fun playing with Eamon, making new friends at the playground, and listening to a Spanish guitarist play. Soph and Hann even got to go to Borders to get some new books.

Later that night Auntie Dana came up to hang out, it was a fun weekend!

Sophie and Hannah liking the waterfall near the parking lot.

Hannah and Sophie taking a snack break at the small playground in Santana Row.

Peaking through the glass.

Soph and Hann look at daddy. You can see "The Counter" burger restaurant in the background where we ate for lunch.

So this is what it must feel like in a washing machine.

Sophie sliding.

Hannah likes to hang off the jungle gyms.

Sophie ate all her bun off the mini burger, sweet potato fries, and fries, but left the burger and pickle. All those carbs got to her and she took a snooze at the table. Meanwhile Hannah wouldn't eat her burger either and only ate her hamburger bun, the potato fries and the sauce that came with the sweet potato fries.

Eamon gets Uncle Mark and the girls to convince him to come out and play.

The girls giving love to mommy while the guitarist plays one of mommy's favorite Santana song "Samba Pa Ti". Eamon, Sophie, and Hannah really enjoyed running around the fake grass area. There were many kids just enjoying the nice weather, the music, and
all the different dogs hanging out.

Sick days

2010-01-26T23:31:00.000-08:00

Cheers! The girls drinking some Sprite for the first time to calm their tummies.

Singing and signing along with "Signing Times" song.

I'm a big kid now

2010-01-24T20:53:00.001-08:00

Besides a week and then some of bad weather and sickness in the house, we have come to finally give in (or shall I say Daddy Der finally gave in! :P) to changing the girls' cribs into beds. Yes, it was a big day as this is when we finally say they are no longer babies. It's been going on for a long time now that both girls could climb out of their cribs (Sophie at 19 months I think), but until recently, the girls get up earlier than we do in the morning, they climb out and can't seem to climb back. We find them in the morning on the floor reading books. You can see from the pics that they are ecstatic of their new beds.

As we thought we were in the clear with healthy kids this weekend, turns out Sophie had diarrhea this morning, so once again today we were home bound except for our quick errands out to get the bed rails and some milk. The theme seems to be battling whatever health issues that seem to turn up on the girls. Both Sophie and Hannah are getting potty trained. Hannah is a little more successful as she is dry in the morning and after naps. Both girls love getting rewards after doing the deed, so I think we're on the right track. How did my babysitter get me potty trained before I turned 2?! I want to know!!!

Oh yeah Soph Soph and Hann memorized most of the books we have (there's quite a bit), so I think I need to buy some new ones. Any suggestions would be great! They are in love with their vast collection of Playdoh which seems to take up a good chunk of playtime (Thank you makers of Playdoh!!!). Hannah is great at catching and throwing a ball and Sophie is pretty good at hitting a ball with a bat. Yes, all of that is nerf toys not really hard bats or balls.

To make up for last weekend's updates: Hannah was down and out with the flu, so I took Sophie out for a little while to Aiden's birthday party which was at Chuck E. Cheese. Soph Soph and I bonded and had a lot of fun meeting Chuck, eating some yummy cake, and playing video games. It was raining just as it is now for over a week, so there really wasn't much we could do outside. Most of the time we had that weekend was spent at home.

One little tid bit was that I guess the girls were really bored that weekend (we were at home most of the time) and because mommy enforced strict nap times she made daddy leave them in the room to nap regardless if they were super tired or not. Well there were some loud giggling and shenanigans happening over the monitor, so mommy went to check out what was going on. The girls had thrown everything out of the crib, stuffed animals, blankets, pillows, clothes, and yes, diapers. The girls went streaking and as I entered I was shocked and called out to Derek who came running up and hid behind the door because he was laughing so hard. I couldn't help, but laugh uncontrollably too. Ahh the joys of parenting! We enjoy being parents of twins, but I seriously don't know how people have more than 2 children :P

Sophie making a face in her new bed.

Sophie making sure the rail is durable.

Hannah joins Sophie in her bed and jump like monkeys on the bed. Mommy reminds us "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!"

Hannah can't get enough of jumping....testing the patience of mommy.

Daddy blinds Hannah with the flash.

Rain Rain Go Away and you too germs!

2010-01-24T20:46:00.001-08:00

The girls have been on and off sick for the past couple months and it's been exhausting. I haven't been able to do much of anything else except take care of them, so not much on the updates or anything really. We haven't met up with anyone for a long time, but this weekend we did manage to get together with Uncle Ray, Auntie Flo, Zach, Auntie Liz, Uncle Eric, and Lauren. The girls had a lot of fun playing with Lauren all day.

Hannah future rock drummer? Daddy was really happy she picked up the sticks.

Zachary arriving in his carseat carrier.

Zach and Uncle Ray oversee the playing with Sophie, Lauren, and Hannah.

Mommy forgot what it's like to hold a baby. Here cutie Zach stares off into the camera.

Sometimes I'm Grumpy too

2010-01-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

If you want to be a grump that's ok, but could you be a grumpy kind of further away. It's not that I don't love you 'cause you know I do sometimes I'm grumpy too. "Grumpy" song by David Weinstone.

The girls were pretty grumpy tonight even though they're feeling way better we were all Oscar the grouches...must be the weather.

UPDATES:

Sophie memorized a bunch of books which is amazing to me. Sophie loves doing puzzles and after being shown how to do it once she can do it all on her own every single time. She seems to have that talent with everything and thus is very mischievous. Sophie's attention span is super short and it might be because of mommy, but we're working on that. We're also working on her being less of a bully to Hannah. She does say "Thank you", "I'm sorry", and "your turn" to Hann Hann which is a great leap in my opinion. We have an "I Spot" book where there are items on the side that you have to pick out within a picture and Sophie not only points out to where the item is, but she will tell you the position of the item (example. - "the book is on the table", "the doll is on the floor"). She simply amazes me everyday with the new things she learns.

Hannah is an entertainer and I'm always excited to hear a new song she has learned. She loves singing and dancing. She can sing parts of songs like "Do Re Me", "Maria", "So Long Farewell", "Ring Around the Rosies" (in Chinese as well), theme to "Totoro" (in Japanese), Dora theme song, Wonderpets theme song, "Jingle Bells", etc. She speaks clearly when she has something to say, but most of the time if she's not singing she's not as talkative as Soph. She's not as outspoken as Sophie and has a hard time expressing herself. She is the more loving twin and will hug and kiss you without having to be asked. She is excellent at sharing toys and food. Very laid back and the total opposite of Sophie. She has a longer attention span than Sophie and can spend longer periods of time drawing, playing on her own, etc. However she is a finicky eater and we have major issues finding foods that she will eat. Sophie is more open to eating if she sees mommy eating it.

So yes it is the interesting 2's (not the terrible 2's) and I love watching them learn, grow, and develop. They are amazing loving little girls (yes, not babies anymore)! I look forward everyday I come home to see their smiling little faces.

Kiki creeps out of her hiding place.

Sophie smiles.

No playing with the closet!

Hannah lying on the glider.

Too cute for words

2010-01-12T21:09:00.001-08:00

I put the girls' hair up in pig tails since they've got long enough hair. Here they're in good spirits and decide to pose for daddy.

My cuties Hannah and Sophie!

Hannah says, "Show me your belly!"

Sophie says, "Here's mine!"

Sophie looks so funny hahahhaah!

Happy New Year! 2010

2010-01-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

On New Year's day we went to Castro Valley Park. Yes, mommy is trying to catch up with blogging as the girls have been on and off sick with colds. It's been pretty exhausting for the parents to deal with.

Sophie gets over her fear of heights and starts sliding down all the slides!

Hannah has fun!

Hannah and Sophie's favorite...sandbox.

Hannah pretends to sleep on Stitch.

Hannah yells, "Hello!" to who? We have no idea, but she does gather alot of attention from other parents and kids LOL!

CDM

2010-01-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

During the winter break we went to the Children's Discovery Museum (CDM) in San Jose. Here's some pictures we took:

Soph with the tornado of water.

Hannah on some Mario Bros like mushrooms.

Having some fun playing with butterfly dishes.

Building with some big purple blocks.

Hannah playing with the ball and maze.

Mommy, Hannah, and Sophie look at the big ducky on top of CDM.

The girls play pizza parlor.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2009-12-30T02:12:00.000-08:00

On Monday we went to Monterey Bay Aquarium. The girls napped on the way down almost the entire trip down. To prep them we played "Finding Nemo" in the minivan as we took a long car ride (although they slept through it). We knew they would love the aquarium as they have great affection for sea life.

When we got there they were already so into the seagulls flying up above. We got there by noon and we decided to eat lunch first at a place called the Bushwacker's. The place wasn't that great as far as food goes, but the people working there were super nice. Later there was a line to get into the aquarium. By the time we got in it was packed!!! The girls were in good spirits and were excited to see the first set of attractions like the huge tank with sharks, fishes, stingrays, etc. Sophie enjoyed touching the starfish while Hannah being so girly thought it was gross. They both enjoyed the waterfall both inside and outside of the building, but shortly after that the girls started to get tired. We made it to the otter exhibit and I really wanted them to see the seahorses since that was the special attraction and both Soph and Hann love seahorses. It was at that exhibit where I had to call it quits. The place was even more packed than the other attractions and the girls patience had worn thin by that point.

Outside of the aquarium things returned to normal, but we figured we all had enough and mommy really wanted to go to a foofoo toddler hat store called "The Little Hat". Both girls modeled some hats for mommy and we ended up with two very cute handmade knitted hats (pics to follow). We also made a stop at the Nestle shop!!! Mommy bought some apple juice for us, chocolate chip cookies (which were surprisingly not good), peanut butter chocolate cookies (which were really yummy), and a brownie (ahh ok).

On the ride back "Finding Nemo" was on re-run and the girls were exhausted and took another nap. It was a fun road trip out :)

Sophie and Hannah looking at the huge tank filled with sharks, fishes, etc.

Sophie touching the starfish and other sea life.

Starfish!

The girls try to touch the stingray.

Soph and Hann wait for mommy outside of Nestle.

The twins hugging "nemo" and seahorse.

The seahorse exhibit!

Here comes the wave!!! Hannah and Sophie really enjoyed the waves.

Hannah makes some friends.

Waiting for the wave indoors. Wow!!!

Sophie touches the starfish.

Merry Christmas 2009!

2009-12-30T01:32:00.000-08:00

It was a quiet holiday week off with the girls as we celebrated at home on the mainland. The weather is starting to get colder and colder and every year it always gets me melancholy to be away from the islands during this season.

This year Derek had time off and we got to have some quality time off together. The girls were shaking off the last leg of a cold (yes again!!!) and the first day out we went to the Kennedy park out in Union City with Lauren and family. Sophie tripped in her new shoes and pretty much her face tells you what happened that day (see the pics).

On Christmas the girls opened their presents and had a grand ole time. Their favorite gift was the coloring books that Auntie Joy sent and it was hard to get them to open the rest of the gifts as they were crying to color their new books. They eventually opened the rest of the presents and we spent the day at home. Later that night I convinced Der to take us out to see the Christmas lights out in Pleasanton and we were sure glad we did. Apparently other families do that kind of thing too (you can find the places quite easily as the cars line up on the streets. The idea came to me from my friend Adel who suggested this site for the best Christmas lights in the bay area) and the houses we went to were so spectacular (just like a mini amusement park!) we ended up only going to two houses as it was just too much to take in. The girls had fun and so did we.

Our little Christmas tree.

Sophie and Hannah opening some presents.

Hannah loving Daddy and Mommy's gift - zhu zhu!

Poor Sophie and her cut up nose and mouth :(

Emi Emi.

The first house we stopped by in Pleasanton it was mind blowing, but little did we know that the next house would be so much more. This house was a corner house and had lights that wrapped around the corner. The garage had tons of toys fenced in with the Christmas theme. On the side of the house they had two mini scenes. Yes, there were donations for their electric bill.

Mommy and Hannah look at one of the many scenes at the second house we saw in Pleasanton. This house was amazing!!! The front yard had signs and lights which directed you to the back of the house. The backyard was so HUGE it contained so many different scenes and it seems like there was a miniature golf course that resided under it. It had to be the best Christmas light house in the area. It too took donations for PG&E.

Mommy looks in wonderment and Sophie explores every scene.

Sophie runs to the front of the house.

The girls open their first present.

It was too cute to see them dancing to the Beach Boy's Christmas song, but little do the girls know that mommy dislikes Beach Boys. This was in front of the second Christmas lights house.

Meeting our buddies part 2

2009-12-19T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics that Auntie Maan took of us last week when we went to Kalesa for lunch.

Auntie Neren with Ethan, Sophie, Eamon, Sammantha, and Hannah.

Munchkins!

Sammantha and Hannah pose for a pic.

Sophie copying Auntie Neren by sitting on the post.

Holiday Party

2009-12-19T22:11:00.000-08:00

Today started off with the girls (Lauren, Soph, and Hann) playing in their pajamas. They all did puzzles, played with trains, and watched part of G-Force. The holiday brunch over at the Ko's lasted all day long until early evening. The girls had lots of fun playing with all the Uncles and Aunties. They got to meet up with Zachary too.

Lauren, Hannah, and Sophie drinking their watered down juice, eating organic apples, and watching "G-Force".

Holiday party with Dana, Marcus, Chris, Ray, Flo, Zachary, Micah, Eric, Liz, and Lauren.

The girls opened their gifts from Auntie Flo and Uncle Ray and put the bows on their head.

Lauren, Sophie, and Hannah opened their presents.

Zachary and Sophie look at daddy Der for a pic.

Meeting our buddies

2009-12-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

Sunday we met up with our friends at a Filipino restaurant called Kalesa (6 babies and toddlers and 9 adults) out in Milpitas for lunch. The girls enjoyed their food alot and Hannah ended up eating quite a bit (which is a huge deal these days because she's so picky). They ate Shanghai lumpia, boiled eggs, spaghetti, and adobo rice. After lunch they had fun romping around on the sidewalk playing with the restaurant's sign and playing with Auntie Neren.

Later we tried to go Christmas shopping at the Great Mall, but it was too insane. Mommy gave up and called it quits. I guess shopping is going to be done during the week or online :(

Hannah hangs out with Hello Kitty in the kitchen and shows off her new house slippers.

Sophie joins the fun!

Mommy is so funny!

2nd H1N1 shot

2009-12-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

The girls got their 2nd H1N1 vaccination on Saturday (At our local firestation makeshift clinic in Hayward in the rain and somewhat long line). After their vaccinations Sophie cannot nap and so she lays with daddy.

Moo Slippers

2009-12-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

Hannah tries on mommy's cow slippers. It's Friday and the girls got up early and decided to hang out in our room while we got ready.

Christmas photo shoot and visiting Cadence

2009-12-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

Today we were doing a photo shoot for our Christmas card, so I posted some of the shots that will not be on the actual card, but I couldn't resist to post these pics because the girls are just too adorable (yes, mommy syndrome). This was outside our favorite Chinese restaurant in Fremont called Ala Shanghai.

Before that we were shopping at Old Navy for some winter gear, but ended up with some much needed boots and warm house slippers for the girls. After lunch we met up with the Yangs and got to meet Cadence for the first time (the new addition to the family).

Later we went to Target and finally found some rain resistant cold weather jackets for the girls. Apparently there is a shortage of that, so mommy quickly snatched it up. Still no mittens, but maybe next week mommy will be lucky when she shops for Christmas gifts. The holidays is quickly coming upon us and we are once again behind on our shopping, cards, etc.

Sophie and her Pooh bear. What a cute smile :)

Sophie lets Pooh take a pic and Hannah tries to smile.

The new big brother, Ethan.

Mommy holds Cadence.

The girls run on the wall as mommy tells them to slow down and come back.

The cold weather begins!

2009-12-06T21:51:00.000-08:00

The cold weather began a few days ago, but this weekend it really kicked in at about 46 degrees. The girls didn't mind because playing at a park is more fun than caring about their hands being cold. Mommy did bundle them up real good with some heavy jackets and some nice winter hats. Here we are playing at the Union City park before our trip to the new Costco in Hayward this past Saturday.

Sophie points to a doggie running around the park. Meanwhile look at that huge jungle gym in the background. Not as big as the Kennedy park in Newark, but still impressive.

Mommy looks on as Hannah climbs up and goes sliding off the bigger slide.

Sophie deciding what to do next.

Hannah on the rocking horse.

Hann stares off the jungle gym.

The sun was setting and it was time to head to Costco.

Smiley Sophie sliding :)

Sick and Stir Crazy

2009-11-30T22:59:00.000-08:00

The 4 day holiday weekend was a bust as the girls were sick throughout the holidays. We thought the girls were recovering because they had picked up a cold the Sunday before and by mid-week they seemed better. We spent Thanksgiving quietly at home where daddy made an excellent dinner of turkey breast from Costco that was marinated, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and last but not least some pumpkin pie. The girls were not keen on the pumpkin pie, but Sophie did enjoy the turkey and mashed potatoes. Hannah my little carb baby only ate the mashed potatoes. Both girls didn't enjoy the pumpkin pie!!!

On Black Friday the girls were still coughing away, so we decided to take it easy but I knew they were a bit stir crazy so we took them to a deserted park up in the hills... Apparently other parents thought the same thing and they took their sick kids to that park, so mommy quickly packed us up and left the park because she didn't want us picking up anything else.

By Saturday Hannah took the turn for the worse and developed a fever. We had to skip out on a friend's get together Thanksgiving party and hoped that by resting that day Hannah would feel better. The afternoon looked promising and I can't remember what we did, but we did not venture out. Hannah's fever went away and we thought she was on her way to recovery.

Sunday Hannah's fever returns and mommy starts to freak out and starts doing research online before rushing Hann off to the ER. Mommy eventually gathers her cool and decides to wait it out until Monday. During the afternoon Hannah bounces back with no fever and we get some fresh air (because by day 4 the girls are super stir crazy) with some lunch out and grab some fruits and veggies from a quick run to a farmer's market.

Monday Hannah's fever becomes really high, so we take her to the doc where he confirms that she does not have H1N1 and that it's a cold that worked it's way up to an ear infection. Some antibiotics later, we are monitoring her. Two days of monitoring and it's all just the doc's theory! The doc tells us if she doesn't get better in two days Miss Hann will have go to back in. Sophie in the meantime is super stir crazy (and pretty much recovered except for that lingering cough) and tomorrow will probably go to daycare.

Daddy stayed home with the girls today as he caught the twins' cold. Tomorrow mommy will stay home with Hann Hann and make sure she rests well while Sophie goes to daycare and burns some of that energy out.

By Doctor's scale the girls weigh:

Sophie - 28.5 lbs
Hannah - 24.25 lbs

My poor Hannah eating some organic fruit cup for dessert.

Sophie scarfs on some chocolate pudding.

Emi gets a treat too.

Sophie and Hannah's new playground is hiding behind the pillows on the couch since they can't go outside and play.

In action on the new playground.

The Aftermath

2009-11-22T00:55:00.000-08:00

After spending almost 2 weeks of sleeping in the bed with mommy and daddy it was a hard adjustment for Sophie to go back to sleeping in her own bed. We are still dealing with both girls transitioning back to sleeping on their own beds. Separation anxiety :(

Also Sophie can climb out of her crib and open the door. Hannah is trying and can get half way over the railing...time to convert the cribs to beds :(

Sophie and Hannah both grew on this trip. Sophie moved up a shoe size to a 6 - 6 1/2 and Hannah moved up to a 5. Both girls got taller too!

Another thing is that on this trip they both picked up a lot of English and can now communicate more with us.

Sophie and Hannah's favorite book at the moment is "Goodnight Moon" and they love the Diamond Head animal cracker cookies that Nana got them hooked on.

That's all for updates...

Aloha Oi

2009-11-22T00:46:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Sophie, Auntie Stacie and Hannah.

On our last day on the island we spent the morning packing and prepping for our trip home. After arriving at the airport we were told our plane was not coming and there was a delay. After stressing out and having the girls restless we were told Hawaiian Air found a replacement plane and we were on our way back home (just a little off schedule).

Everyone asks me the same question "How were the girls on the plane?". Both ways going and coming home were very difficult, the girls do not sleep and cannot sit still. We will definitely have to come up with better toys, books, whatever the next time we take a long plane ride. :P

Last full day on the island

2009-11-22T00:31:00.000-08:00

On Monday we ate lunch with Grandpa Kage and Nana to say good-bye as we were not going back into town on the day we departed. We headed to Waioli tea room (where mommy and grandpa Kage have never ever ate before and the restaurant is in Manoa!!!).

Nana watches as the rest of us walk into Waioli tea room in Manoa.

We had the chance to visit with our dear friend Janine out in Palolo Valley. Janine gave Sophie a beautiful hibiscus and the girls were again fascinated with her fish in her pond.

Here we take a group pic in front of her house.

They love those fish!

Soph and Hann explore Janine's huge yard.

Bothering Uncle Chris at work. The girls say good-bye.

The girls say good-bye to Uncle Jay at his work.

We stopped by briefly to visit with Uncle Ryan and Uncle Greg.
Daddy with Hannah, Uncle Greg with Sophie, and Uncle Ryan at Uncle Ryan's parents house in Pearl City.

Sophie rocks out in a chair made just for her at Waioli tea room.

Playing with Grandpa Kage at Janine's house. They really like all the flowers.

Sophie is a future rockstar.

Thank you to all our friends and family that made the trip back home so memorable! We are sorry that we didn't get to see some of our friends and family. Travelling with little ones is a little challenging and as the girls get older their schedules will be more flexible. Take care and hopefully we'll see you all soon.

Sunday marathon

2009-11-21T23:44:00.000-08:00

The night before we stopped by to wish Kevin a happy birthday. The guys posed here with a missing Gareth, but not to fear we had his pic in so he wouldn't be missing. Kevin kissing his bro's pic, Derek, and Calvin.

Sunday lunch was at Helemano plantation (Dole) with Derek's side of the family. Hannah and Sophie have their first ice-cream cone. Here Hannah is so happy!

Hannah happily eating a chocolate ice-cream cone.

Took a while for the girls to actually eat the cone itself, but after a while they figured it out and ate the whole thing and wanted more. Sophie in action :)

Julius as a pineapple tourist.

My Sophie pineapple.

My Hannah pineapple.

Mommy pineapple.

Grandpa Sakai, Daddy and Hannah, Grandma Sakai, Julius, Auntie Joy and Sophie.

Grandpa and Grandma Sakai with the grandchildren.

Uncle Kip takes a pic from the front while daddy takes a pic of the back of Sophie, Hannah, and Julius.

Sophie and Hannah run to daddy at Moanaloa park.

A nice lady gave fish food to the girls and a little boy (the girls made friends with).

The girls have a deep affection for sea life and love fish!!! I don't know where they get it, but after watching them in action I will definitely need to take them to the Monterrey bay aquarium and the Academy of Sciences in SF.

Hann and Soph run and chase the birds under the beautiful trees at Moanaloa park.

We ate dinner later that night with my side of the family at Tanaka of Tokyo at Ala Moana. The food was sooooooo good and the entertaining chef was not bad too. Here he took pics around the table. Jayden, Uncle Chris, and Nana Kage.

Sophie, mommy and Hannah get their pic taken by the chef.

Grandpa Kage, Daddy, Sophie, and Mommy's turn.

The chef does the onion volcano.

Sophie enjoys her miso soup.

Hannah and Jayden are mesmorized by the chef's show.

Hann and Soph were not afraid of heights, but mommy was so she was on nerves while the girls were looking over the ledge at Ala Moana. That night people were yelling at the near-by patio bar as there was a huge football game on.

At the Anime store the girls find Ni Hao Kai Lan stuffed animals. Mommy let them play with it, but didn't let them buy it. Too much things to pack and too much stuff animals.

Jayden and Hann by the koi pond in Ala Moana after dinner.

Sophie really took a liking to cousin Jayden. They both had so much fun together even though in this pic Soph doesn't look too happy.

Jayden, Uncle Chris with Hannah, Mommy with Sophie, Grandpa Kage, and Nana Kage.

Running around chasing the birds at Moanaloa park.

Feeding the fishes with a new friend.

Watching the teppanyaki chef at work.

Mommy's Cousins

2009-11-21T23:20:00.000-08:00

We didn't take much pics on Saturday and I'm not sure why, but we did go to Costco earlier in the morning and then ate some Fat Boy plate lunches in Waipio. Later we met up with mommy's cousins Sindy and Troy. Mommy misses her extended family dearly and really was glad to see Auntie Sindy and Uncle Troy.

Daddy's plate lunch from Fat Boy's in Waipio.

Cousin Trevin plays with the girls by pushing them around in the laundry basket.

Uncle Troy watches on as the kids play.

Cousins, fish, and Magic Island

2009-11-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

This was a Friday and it was the island's school furlough day which meant that the girls could hang out with their cousins. Earlier in the morning and day we had a visit from Derek's Aunties, Uncles and cousins. Auntie Joy came by also with cousin Julius and the girls had such fun playing with everyone.

Cousin Carina gets persuaded by Sophie to go into the play cardboard house that Grandpa Sakai made for the girls.

Too cute as the girls peek out from the window of the playhouse.

Fishes! Grandma and Grandpa Sakai have a fishpond in the yard. The girls have a great fascination with fishes and the sea.

Here Sophie shares fish food with cousin Julius. Sophie and Hannah loved feeding the fish!

Later in the afternoon we picked up Nana Kage and went to Magic Island to go to the beach. Later we briefly met up with Uncle Chris, cousin Jayden, and Aunty Robyn. Ended the night eating at Big City diner which had some ono food.

The girls have so much fun running towards the beach. Mommy and Daddy really took in the scenery and really missed the beauty of the island.

Hannah runs across the park to the car. You can see Ala Moana park beach in the background.

Sophie running around the park.

They both love the sand so much.

The sun is going down and the girls didn't want to go home.

Mommy and Nana sit on the bench.

The sun was setting and it was time to go to dinner. Besides seeing a crazy woman half exposed, interesting people walking/exercising in the park, and a man that got knocked in the head with his own surfboard that the lifeguard saved, I'd say that it was quite an interesting day at the beach!

Memories and Some Good Food

2009-11-17T23:37:00.001-08:00

I haven't had much time to blog, so the longer I wait to write this out the more my memories are fading. So I'll try to recount the best I can on what we did via the pictures...

We decided this time around that we need to hit up Waiola more than once, so here we are with our first shave ice since returning home. I had a mocha bowl with ice-cream and Der had an orange cream. This time the girls really took to the shave ice. Der and Grandpa Kage shared their shave ice because mommy didn't want the girls to be caffeinated.

Nana Kage, Sophie, mommy, and Hannah walking to the playground.

Pile up at Manoa park playground. Uncle Chris gets crushed under Hannah and Sophie. These are newer playgrounds (that seem to the same model at all parks on the island) and the ones I grew up with are no longer around :( The park has been sectioned off for a while for baseball fields which was another thing I was bummed about.

Sophie shows Grandpa Kage the yellow flower she found.

The girls really like Uncle Chris and here Hannah hugs him while Sophie tries to show him her flower.

Uncle Chris really gets a workout as the girls run him all over the place. Here they look at the swimming pool which brings back many memories to mommy. Many a days, weeks, years did mommy spend in that pool. Grandma and Grandpa Kage thought mommy was going to be an Olympic swimmer one day :P

Sophie drinking juice. Manoa park and the mountains.

Hannah in Manoa park.

The girls watch people do their laps in the pool.

Driving to Kailua for some Boots and Kimo!

Hannah and mommy drooling over the banana pancakes and mac nut sauce! It really lived up to all the hype!!!

Daddy's pulehu ribs, eggs, and rice.

Playing with Uncle Chris.

Swap Meet and trying to run away from the rain

2009-11-17T23:13:00.000-08:00

It was long day as the girls played with Grandparents Sakai, went to swap meet, met up with Grandparents Kage, and played with Uncle Calvin and Auntie Stacie.

We started the morning hanging out with Grandma Sakai and Grandpa Sakai. After being cooped up in a stroller at the stadium swap meet in the morning which was super hot and humid. By lunch we were starved and went to Manoa to eat at Hanaki with the Kage grandparents. It was raining in town (especially in Manoa), but we did end up playing at McCully stadium park for a bit before heading to Kahala mall to play in-doors.

Later that night Uncle Calvin and Auntie Stacie stopped by and gave us cute Hello Kitty purses and Hello Kitty shirts! Thanks so much!

Hannah being silly as Sophie and Grandpa Sakai watch in the background.

Eating guava sweetbread at the stadium swap meet.

Yummy!

Sophie munching as my smiley Hannah looks at the camera.

Playing at the stadium park with Grandpa Kage as it drizzles.

Auntie Stacie and Uncle Calvin watch as Hannah poses with her cute Hello Kitty purse that they got for her.

Fun Factory

2009-11-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

We ate lunch Kenny's drive inn which was pretty good after going to a Target (finally a place that had organic milk!). People usually think that we go back home to have an eating binge and they are somewhat right. Daddy had Korean chicken and mommy had loco moco. Daddy's chicken was really good!

What was also located in the Salt Lake shopping center was a Fun Factory. Flash back to the '80's, Fun Factory seems to be still the thing to do there. Besides the girls having fun riding all the kiddie rides, Nana Kage had fun playing games too!

Hannah and Sophie riding a school bus.

Hannah crashed out from all that excitement.

Giving high fives on the merry-go-round. They rode it several times and are hooked!

North Shore

2009-11-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

Sunday we spent the day at the North Shore where we met up with Auntie Gloria before she set out on her US tour with her boyfriend's band and Uncle Tony who was about to go to Australia. We were going to check out the turtles on the beach, but didn't and instead we passed by a surf meet.

Later we tried to eat at the place that was out past the North Shore called Laie that was featured on the Food Network, but low and behold it was CLOSED! We ended up eating a restaurant called Haleiwa Cafe which was ok, but served burritos or mainland type food. Mommy was disappointed and we did not get to eat garlic shrimp off the shrimp truck :(

On the road to the North Shore.

The girls grabbed every toy in the store, it was a good thing that the owner liked the girls alot and Auntie Glo directed the girls to put all the toys back. This was at Scoop of Paradise in Haleiwa.

Auntie Glo tries to get the girls to pose for the camera with her.

Bunny ears for the girls was all we could get.

Livin' the life at Kahala beach and resort

2009-11-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

After Halloween we spent the day at the Kahala resort with Nana Kage, Uncle Chris, and Jayden eating by the beach, swimming in the ocean, and checking out the "Nemo character" fishes, turtles, and dolphins.

It took some time for the girls to get used to the ocean and waves, but after a while they warmed up to it and wade in the shallow area, made some sand castles, and even saw a sand flea that Uncle Chris caught under the sand.

Sophie and Hannah had so much fun watching the fishes, dolphins, and turtles they didn't want to leave, so mommy told them they could watch "Finding Nemo" when they got back to Wahiawa. When we got back to the Sakai's house in Wahiawa I put the dvd in for them and both girls watched their favorite movie almost to the end!

Sophie in the house that Grandpa Sakai made out of cardboard box for them.

Sophie building a sand castle.

Hannah and Sophie warming up to the water.

Hannah, Sophie, and Jayden.

Sophie and Jayden enjoying the ocean.

Hannah enjoys the beautiful day!

Building a moat for the water to surround the sand castle with Uncle Chris.

Sophie asking for "up" as she was somewhat afraid of the waves.

Halloween in Hawaii

2009-11-16T03:59:00.000-08:00

We started the day off by seeing the Kage grandparents, the girls were too tired the day of arrival to go into town, and spent the entire day and night there. We hung out at the Kage's yard, visited Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Kuwata, then went to Ala Moana for a Kikaida meet and greet where we bumped into Dan and his family. Later that night we went back to Manoa to celebrate with all the cousins and went trick or treating in mommy's neighborhood.

Whew that was a long day and night for the girls! They had such a blast! This was the girls first time trick or treating and they did good saying "trick or treat". Sophie grew really attached to Jayden that night and Hannah loved her glow stick (which Auntie Joy gave) and showed every house the stick LOL! Sophie and Hannah are not allowed to eat any candy, so we ended up giving most of them away and of course daddy took out the ones he wanted and mommy took a few too. They did get to keep the goodie bags that their Aunties and Uncles gave which consisted of some really cool bags, dvds, glow sticks, and Nana's Hawaiian animal cracker cookies.

Grandpa Kage showing the girls how to kill ants after they put on some sunscreen.

The girls got to visit with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Kuwata at their apartment. Here Sophie takes off with Great Grandpa's stuffed frog while Hannah leads the way.

Hannah was the only one awake to see Hakaida (daddy's favorite character whom he dressed up as one Halloween) and surprisingly she was not one bit scared!

Sophie finally woke up, but the Kikaida was gone. All she had was a balloon to play with. Sophie was well rested for some Halloween celebrations. Meanwhile Hannah was loopy.

Sophie in her Dora princess outfit.

Hannah in her Dora princess outfit.

Cousin Jayden looks so pretty in her Cleopatra costume. Hannah's costume was a bit big on her, but surprisingly both girls managed to keep their gear on through the night (they're not big on accessories such as their crown).

Cousin Julius came by as Peter Pan. See the skeleton that Uncle Chris put together in the ground? The kids were not one bit scared.

Jayden, Hannah, Nana Kage, Sidney, and Julius.

First day on the island 10/30/2009

2009-11-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Honolulu on October 30 and the plane ride was very challenging as the girls did not sit still. 5 hrs later we stepped off the plane and it was so hot and humid. The girls adapted to the hot weather and so did mommy. No sick babies nor sick parents...yay!

Uncle Jay met us at the airport along with Grandma and Grandpa Sakai. When we got to the grandparents house there were so many toys for the girls to play with they had a grand ole time touching and exploring everything (especially after being cooped up for so long). Auntie Joy and cousin Julius came over to play with us as well. After a long day the girls were really fussy and surprisingly not sleepy.

Playing with Julius and Uncle Jay.

The girls love the kitchen set.

Hannah having some fun.

Sophie taking a break.

Mommy, Soph, and Hann picking flowers in the yard.

Playtime on the Stairs

2009-10-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

The girls were being silly as they are going through a phase where they think it's funny to pretend to sleep on the stairs, so it was a great opportunity to video tape the occasion. Sophie and Hannah were in their diapers as it was bedtime and they were stalling the inevitable "sleepy time". They both climbed up and down the stairs repeatedly by the time we put them to bed they gave little resistance, but wanted mommy to sing them the umbrella song along with the whole blanket parachute routine.

Sophie sporting a Matsumoto t-shirt getting ready for our trip to the homeland.

And up the stairs we go...and down the stairs we go. If only I had a 1/3 of their energy!

Hannah picks up some bat stickers that Sophie dropped on the ground. They're both learning a lot about Halloween. Tonight we watched Ni Hao Kai Lan celebrating Halloween and tried to get them to say "Trick or Treat!" Sophie chimed in with mommy :)

Hannah and Sophie both can go up and down the stairs fairly quickly which makes mommy super nervous!

Hannah bugs Emi...what if i squish your face like this :P

Here Hannah is on the rampage and starts to bug Kiki. Sophie wants in on the action, so she tries to pull Hannah out by her leg so she can get to Kiki's new hiding place.

Poor Kiki flashed by mommy!

Sleeping on the stairs the latest and greatest trend.

Zachary's

2009-10-26T00:20:00.000-07:00

So maybe it was a bad idea for mommy to eat pizza when congested, but who could resist the best deep dish pizza in the bay area? We couldn't! There are three locations in the bay area all located in the east bay - Berkeley (being the first), Oakland, and San Ramon. We went to San Ramon Zachary's to check out the area (San Ramon has rank 10 schools throughout the area) for possible re-location. Sadly after eating the pizza mommy wasn't feeling up to looking at the area, so we ended up going straight home shortly after.

Hannah wasn't up to even trying pizza, so she ended up coloring and eating some Goldfish.

Sophie was super tired and almost fell asleep in her lunch, but she did eat a couple bites of pizza.

Ahhh the yummiest Chicago style pizza!

Pass the germs

2009-10-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

It started with Sophie being sick who then gave it to Hannah who then circled around back to Sophie and then to mommy. Will it end?! I hope so, at least in time for our trip back home to Hawaii. So we've been keeping it low key this weekend and just went to pick up some stuff to bring back home for the family and friends. Mommy and Sophie just have a colds....we think...

With the cold and flu season in full swing mommy and daddy has been super paranoid with the H1N1 looming out there! Mommy has been calling the doc's H1n1 vaccination hotline for the past two weeks to get us in line for some shots, but to no avail. Armed with some anti-bacterial foam and lotion, vitamins, and sports drinks with electrolytes hopefully we'll all be healthy.

Sophie and Hannah with their hair all done up. Soph Soph looks like Boo (from monsters inc) and Hannah looks like Pebbles.

Sophie getting ready for Halloween, here she snarls at the camera.

Sleepy Sophie

2009-10-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

My sleepy Sophie.

Pumpkin Patch part 2

2009-10-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics that Ervin and Adel took:

We started out by taking pics at the front of the patch. Auntie Adel, Aiden, Sophie, Hannah, and mommy sit on the Pumpkin King and Queen chair.

Daddy, Sophie, Hannah, and mommy.

Aiden runs off while Soph and Hannah sit with the pumpkins.

We all head to where the pumpkins are.

Hannah and Soph ride a wagon.

Sophie runs through the paths.

Aiden leads the way.

Hannah and Aiden run up a path.

Look at all the pumpkins! Reminds me of a Charlie Brown special...Oh Great Pumpkin!

Sophie, mommy, and Hannah ride a train.

How many kids can you fit in a wagon?

Hannah and Aiden don't care too much for the bouncy house.

Mommy goes to watch Hannah while daddy watches Sophie in the bouncy house.

Hannah rides a hay bull with the other kids and doesn't like it.

I said I don't like it mommy!

Does Hannah not like hay bulls?

Here the girls sit in a car.

We had a lot of fun :) Thank you to Ervin and Adel for such great pictures and for inviting us!

Pumpkin Patch part 1

2009-10-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a pumpkin patch out in Castro Valley called Moore's Pumpkin Patch with some friends of ours. It was the first time we went to one and we had a blast. We met up with Auntie Adel, Uncle Ervin, Aiden, and their family. There's two parts to the blog entries one with pics that Der took and one with pics that Ervin and Adel took. For lunch we went to Willow Tree and ate some dim sum it was very yummy.

Mommy hides in the back, while Sophie looks through and Hannah gets in on the fun.

Hannah tries it out from the back.

Sophie's favorite...bear.

The Sakai family and some pumpkins.

Auntie Adel, Aiden, Soph, Hann Hann, and mommy.

Hannah playing in the pumpkin patch.

Hannah jumps, while the rest of us make the trek up to the big pumpkin head.

Hannah running down the path, Aiden walks up, and Soph is walking towards the side.

Giant pumpkin head, Aiden as Batman, Sophie, and Hannah.

Sophie in the bouncy house.

The girls window shop for some pumpkins.

Pre-Halloween party

2009-10-17T22:13:00.001-07:00

Today we went to a pre-Halloween party at Barry's house in Santa Clara. The girls had so much fun playing with all the toys and with all the holiday festivities. We caught some of it on film. The twins did some crafts, played with ATV's, slides, toy strollers, toy shopping carts, sand, playhouse, chalk, etc...they even had a pumpkin pinata. They did play a little with Barry's son Parker who is close in age to the girls.

Thank you very much to Barry and Jeneal! We had so much fun!

Sophie and Hannah in their hula gear (Thank you Auntie Joy for the cute hula outfits!)

Two hula girls and a biker boy (Parker).

Cute little pumpkin set up that Barry set up for the kids to take a pumpkin, decorate it, and take it home.

Soph and Hann pose with a pumpkin :)

Sophie goes down the slide and Hannah goes to play underneath it in a mini-house.

Pumpkin pinata time.

Hula 101

Cuties!

Girls get candy for mommy and daddy.

Hannah takes a ride in the ATV.

Sophie's turn on the ATV.

Octopus and Ladybugs

2009-10-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went shopping for some winter clothes (it's getting mighty chilly fast, where was our summer?!) as we don't have a lot of extra jackets, pants, etc for daycare. I guess not all is lost on our summer clothes we'll hopefully get some use out of that when we take our trip home at the end of this month. Yes, Halloween in Hawaii! I haven't decided if we're going trick or treating yet, but I guess we just might do it. Not sure what to dress the girls in though...

Along the way mommy and daddy let us play at our usual Micky D playground in Castro Valley and Castro Valley park (the park visit wasn't planned, but there were some sick kids at the Micky D playground, so mommy was very upset at the parents letting the sick kids play with other kids, so she told daddy to take us for a short stint at the park).

I forgot to add we finally ate at Wakamatsu in Hayward (only like 2 yrs later). Mommy was really curious about that place and we got to eat there on Saturday night. It's a very small Japanese restaurant that looks to have been there for a very long time. The restaurant seats about 30 people max and the family that owns it is very nice. The food was really good (daddy had a sushi platter, mommy had chicken katsu and us girls had chicken teriyaki, miso soup, and shrimp tempura), but my only gripe was that they took too long to give us the check. With toddlers in tow, waiters should always have the check ready to go for a quick exit. Other than that we pretty much hung out at home and had a relaxing weekend.

Sophie on the ladybug.

Hannah on the ladybug.

Hello kitties!

Octopus? Star.....(fish)

Mommy gets a group hug! :)

We love to watch our munchkins run :D

Thank you Auntie Flo and Uncle Ray for the cute Hello Kitty shirts.

Catching up

2009-10-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had some friends from out of town visiting - Ryan and Dawn. We took them out to see the Disney Museum out in SF at the Presido which grand opening was a few days ago. The museum is centered around Walt's life and it is not really geared for children, so the girls had a rough time getting through the museum (warning to parents that want to take their toddler children there). Before that we ate at Fisherman's Wharf at Alioto's which was not too bad. The girls didn't enjoy the seafood unfortunately, but the adults enjoyed their meals.

Sunday we took the girls to a farmer's market in Fremont where we all enjoyed the sunny day out and about. Daddy took the girls to play on the grass while mommy shopped for some really yummy organic fruit and one almond pastry that was super yummy. Hannah helped mommy carry some spring greens back and daddy carried the bulk of fruit which consisted of gala apples, white peaches, strawberries, and dark purple grapes (don't know what type). Sophie kept mommy company on the walk back to the car commenting on her surroundings. We will definitely be back to that farmer's market!

We had lots of fun on the weekend, but atlas back to work... Today the girls had yogurt and bananas for breakfast, but something didn't agree with Hannah. Unfortunately half way through the commute to daycare Hannah threw up everything in the car :( I think it's because she had car sickness and ate a healthy meal, but we'll see how tomorrow goes. Poor daddy!!!

Silly Hannah using the powercord to mommy's laptop and mouse usb cable as headphones.

Next she plays with my work badge. This is why I need a replacement holder!!!

Thanks for showing us how you love your organic gala apples :P

Do you think Sophie is thirsty?

Sophie tired and trying to get mommy to give her more propel.

Thanks for getting together with us Ryan and Dawn! Have a safe trip back to Hawaii.

Feeling Better

2009-09-28T20:41:00.001-07:00

The girls are back in the swing of things after being sick for a couple of days. Today was the first day back to daycare and I really missed them a lot and couldn't wait to see them when I got home. I think every time I get back to the work week I realize the time I have with them on the weekend is only a short amount of time and they are growing up so quickly I feel that time is quickly slipping by.

We are looking forward to spending more time with the girls when we go on vacation to visit friends and relatives next month. We will be celebrating Halloween in Hawaii this year :) Prices for the holiday season were way too expensive and this time we pay for their seats since they made 2 yrs old, so we opted for out of season tickets.

Sophie works on mommy's laptop.

Hannah is playing on mommy's netbook.

My sassy future systems administrator.

Sophie with her favorite stuffed animals that she takes everywhere with her. Pooh bear and Eeyore.

Hannah tired and fussy.

Sophie and Hannah posing with their Totoro friends. They saw the movie recently and love Totoro :) They know a couple of Japanese words like Totoro, momo (peach), ohayoo gozaimasu (good morning), bocha (bath), nene (sleep), and oyasumi (good night). Overall though we know they know more Mandarin more than any other language as I hear certain sounds often (people comment that they are speaking Mandarin - Shanghai), they sing and count too. I try to keep up by watching Ni Hau Kai Lan, so I know some words that my Soph Soph and Pooky bear are saying ;)

Yo Gabba Gabba funny face time!

Sophie walks up stairs without holding on to anything and Hannah is being her silly self. Sophie is really strong and has been walking up stairs, climbing up everything she can, opening doors, opening refrigerators, etc. Hannah is not far behind as she is starting to climb out of her crib, climb on everything, tries to basically do what Sophie does.

Google babies

2009-09-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

The twins have had colds for the past few days, but today they were finally feeling better (Daddy stayed home with the girls on Friday and Saturday was mellow). They were feeling so much better that they became stir crazy and we had to take them out.

In the morning we took the girls out to dim sum at our fave place in San Leandro where we bumped into our neighbor/friend's parents. After brunch Soph took a cat nap only lasting the car ride back and Hannah ended up napping close to two hours. The girls soon wanted out of the house to play play, so we took them to Castro Valley park where they made friends with a very cute hapa boy.

Later we met up with Ranvir and her son, Auntie Adel, Aiden, and Uncle Ervin at their house in Union City. Aiden was recovering from a cold just like the girls. And so it was a mini Google babies reunion... (Adel, Ranvir, and myself used to work at Google).

Auntie Adel with Aiden, Mommy with Hannah, Ranvir with Sophie, and Ranvir's son in front.

Sophie and Hannah had popscicles from Auntie Adel and the sugar high worked so well that Sophie started break dancing.

Oh also a bit of a tidbit - I cut Sophie's bangs, so if her hair-do looks a little strange it's my fault LOL!

Thanks we had fun!

Got fun?

2009-09-22T02:20:00.000-07:00

The girls had lots of fun on Sunday. We met up with Auntie Adel and family for some brunch at Kalesa (yummy Filipino food), then headed to Castro Valley for some fun at the water park. After a long nap (almost 2 1/2 hrs) we played with Lauren at our local playground whew! Mommy and daddy then took us to dinner at the Naked Fish (Japanese food). After dinner we went to Safeway and the nice cashier gave us stickers to play with.

Hannah playing with the toy stove.

Sophie with the "Thank You" sticker from the Safeway cashier and her make believe groceries.