From the monthly archives:

November 2014

Thanksgiving Fun 2014

by Maile Girl on November 30, 2014

Maile Girl here – it’s been awhile since I’ve written and thought I’d say hi and tell you a bit about our Thanksgiving so far in Boston.

It looks like Daddy already covered the snow … which was awesome! If you could take the temperature in Hawaii and add snow to the mix, I think that would basically be the best thing ever. We should talk to Olaf.

Just two California Girls bundled up and enjoying the beginnings of winter here in Boston...

Just two California Girls bundled up and enjoying the beginnings of winter here in Boston...

It’s definitely a full house here and Grandma and Papa’s and Lauren and I have been taking full advantage. Papa, Grandma, Auntie Elyssa and Uncle Stephen are all here and that doesn’t even count the other people that have stopped by to say hi and play with us.

Lauren and I in our Big Sister/Little Sister sweaters - (Thanks Susie!)

Lauren and I in our Big Sister/Little Sister sweaters - (Thanks Susie!)

On Wednesday and Thursday there was LOTS of cooking going on for our Thanksgiving feast. The whole house smelled so yummy. I even chipped in this year making mini Apple Pies that I learned to make at cooking camp a few weeks back.

Check out the apple pies I made for Thanksgiving - my first Thanksgiving dessert!

Check out the apple pies I made for Thanksgiving - my first Thanksgiving dessert!

Helping Daddy carve the turkey - I think I might be ready to go solo next year. (Dad note: not quite, Maile Girl.)

Helping Daddy carve the turkey - I think I might be ready to go solo next year. (Dad note: not quite, Maile Girl.)

It’s not all cooking and eating though – we’ve also been spending a lot of time outdoors (even with the cold weather). Daddy has taken Lauren, Mommy and I on some walks and showed us where he grew up.

Wet leaves are FUN! I wish there were more of them in San Francisco!

Wet leaves are FUN! I wish there were more of them in San Francisco!

Daddy and I went to the beach to see what the ocean is like in the winter - I hope its different when we go to Hawaii next month!

Daddy and I went to the beach to see what the ocean is like in the winter - I hope its different when we go to Hawaii next month!

On Friday, we went to Daddy’s school that he went to for Kindergarten and met up with his old friends – people that he’s known as long as I’ve known Tori and my other friends! We played in the snow and then Daddy played football with his friends. Well, at least that’s what he called it – it didn’t look like the football games he watches on TV. At all.

StanFoot 2014 - Daddy says we'll be playing soon enough!

StanFoot 2014 - Daddy says we'll be playing soon enough!

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Evolution of the Snowman

by Papa K on November 28, 2014

(Dad note: apologize for the lack of posts this week – we’ve been caught up in all the fun here in Swampscott with Grandma and Papa. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and don’t worry we’ll be sharing some of the adventures we’ve been having.)

We arrived in Boston on Tuesday night – luckily just ahead of the storm so no delays or anything like that. Maile was very excited about the possibility of seeing snow. (Technically, she has seen it once before, but she was too little to remember). It rained all day Wednesday, but the forecast called for some flurries over night. We put Maile to bed Wednesday evening with the promise that if we saw any snow we’d wake her up.

Still no snow when Christine and I went to bed, but when Maile woke up at ~6:15 AM she looked out the window and thought she saw something that might be snow. She woke Christine and I up and through on shoes and our winter jackets and headed outside to check things out. Sure enough there was just enough snow on the ground to make a itty bitty snowman – Maile’s first…

Maile's very first snowman - just a wee little guy...

Maile's very first snowman - just a wee little guy...

A few hours later, after eating some breakfast and putting proper clothes on, the girls headed outside for more fun. Lauren is really into Olaf (from Frozen) – she’s never seen the movie, but she recognizes him from the books Maile has. She went to play with the first snowman, but he broke – she was very upset. So Maile made her a new one…

Maile and Lauren working on snowman #2...

Maile and Lauren working on snowman #2...

Maile with her creation, affectionately known by Lauren as Olaf

Maile with her creation, affectionately known by Lauren as Olaf

We thought that might be the end of it – the girls had fun, but I was still feeling like they didn’t get the full effect of snow since the snowing had mostly stopped and there really wasn’t too much on the ground. Luckily, Mother Nature agreed and dumped some more snow on us Friday morning – and this time it was perfect, big, beautiful flakes and still going when the girls woke up.

They bundled up and headed out again, this time with Papa in tow to show them how to do snow right!

When the real snow came, Papa headed out with the girls to show them how a snowman is done right...

When the real snow came, Papa headed out with the girls to show them how a snowman is done right...

Maile Girl catching snow flurries with her tongue...

Maile Girl catching snow flurries with her tongue...

... and, of course, whatever Maile is doing, Lauren is doing too...

... and, of course, whatever Maile is doing, Lauren is doing too...

Papa and Maile hard at work with snowman #3

Papa and Maile hard at work with snowman #3

Meanwhile, Lauren had enough of the cold and was warming up inside...

Meanwhile, Lauren had enough of the cold and was warming up inside...

Maile and Papa with their finished product - a recycle friendly Olaf :)

Maile and Papa with their finished product - a recycle friendly Olaf 🙂

All in all a fun snowstorm (especially since we weren’t trying to travel through it!) and likely a snow experience Maile will remember now – maybe even Lauren too!

(Click here for the video.)

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Ready for the cold!

by Papa K on November 24, 2014

Boston here we come!

All smiles now - they have no idea what they are in for!

All smiles now - they have no idea what they are in for!

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Maile’s Family Tree

by Papa K on November 23, 2014

For the past month, Maile and her classmates have been doing a unit at school about their Personal History. The unit concluded this Friday with a presentation of family trees that each child made. Christine and I went for the presentation. Maile and her classmates sang a song in Mandarin – that I gather was about all the different members of the family and then they had their family trees posted around the school science fair-style. So you could walk around and each child would tell you about their family.

Maile and her classmates singing

Maile and her classmates singing

Maile with her family tree and her book about herself

Maile with her family tree and her book about herself

A close-up of the family tree

A close-up of the family tree

They also made books about themselves. Each page had a photo of them at a certain age (0 – 5) and a drawing and writing (in Chinese) of something they were able to do at that age. So at 0, Maile could drink a bottle and cry. At 1, she could talk. Etc.

(Dad note: The whole project reminded me of something I did with a preschool teacher when my Grandma Judy passed away. She worked with me to make a picture of my whole family. I have a vague recollection of the picture – maybe Grandma Jill can dig it up and we can show Maile over Thanksgiving!)

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#TBT Lauren Learning to Walk

by Papa K on November 20, 2014

With the way Lauren zips around the apartment and everywhere else these days, it’s hard to believe that a year ago we were waiting and waiting for her to start walking…

(Click here for the video.)

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Science with Maile

by Papa K on November 19, 2014

I walked into the bathroom the other day and caught Maile doing a “science” experiment. She was using a modified scientific method – skipping over the “hypothesis” stage right into the “make a mess” stage…

(Click here for the video.)

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Volunteering at the Food Bank

by Papa K on November 18, 2014

On Sunday, Maile and I headed over to the SF Marin Food Bank to volunteer for the morning alongside some of Maile’s classmates. One of the parents at PKS has really setup a great service program at the school – we’re big fans and have been having a lot of fun participating in the various activities.

I have to say the Food Bank volunteering was really well organized. We were tasked with sorting about 25,000 pounds(!) of pears – they were in these huge baskets and we sorted the good ones into boxes for delivery to families and removed the rotten ones. You really got a great sense of accomplishment working from the top to the bottom of the baskets – and the work was perfect for the kids. All in all an A+ service event!

Maile and Daddy getting gloved up and ready...

Maile and Daddy getting gloved up and ready...

... Maile Girl listening intently to the instructions.

... Maile Girl listening intently to the instructions.

Maile and her friend, Ellie, starting to dig in.

Maile and her friend, Ellie, starting to dig in.

When we got close to the bottom we threw the kids in the baskets (which they loved) and they finished things off...

When we got close to the bottom we threw the kids in the baskets (which they loved) and they finished things off...

(Dad note: If you are interested in learning more about the SF Food Bank or possibly volunteering, check it out here: http://sfmfoodbank.org/)

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In search of some good ice cream…

by Papa K on November 17, 2014

Lauren and I spent most of our Saturday together while Maile and Mommy were off at dance class and a birthday party. After a nice long nap, we decided to hit the streets in search of some ice cream. Lauren is at an awesome age to walk around and explore – she mostly sure on her feet, but still stumbles a bit and is interested in everything she sees in the big wide world.

It’s not the fastest way to move on down the road, but definitely the cutest. And at the end you get this…

Mission Accomplished! Lauren digging in to her vanilla ice cream... Mission Accomplished! Lauren digging in to her vanilla ice cream…

(Click here for the video.)

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Ice Skating with Mommy

by Papa K on November 13, 2014

Tonight, Maile and Mommy went to an ice skating event with Maile’s school down at Embarcadero Center. It wasn’t her first time, but we actually hadn’t gone in awhile. They had a blast and I think we are rocketing towards ice skating lessons for Maile Girl.

A little tentative starting out, getting the feel for it again...

A little tentative starting out, getting the feel for it again...

... but shortly thereafter - all smiles!

... but shortly thereafter - all smiles!

I arrived towards the end and caught a video of Maile doing her thing on the ice…

(Click here for the video.)

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Peeling an Orange … Lauren-Style

by Papa K on November 11, 2014

When Christine arrived home from work this evening, Kelly (our nanny) asked her if she had ever seen Lauren peel an orange. She hadn’t. They gave Lauren an orange and she proceeded to peel it, one piece at a time, putting each piece very carefully into the trash can.

Apparently, she loves doing this and it takes her a little while to get through the whole thing – so by the time she is done, she is REALLY hungry for that orange 🙂

(Click here for the video.)

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