11/11 Veterans Day and Hansel's Birthday

The day before Hansel's birthday after work, i took the kids shopping to buy him a gift. I had money left on a PaperSource gift card. I told them I would pay for half of the difference and the other would come from their allowance. They got him a cooking flipper in the shape of a guitar. And then, we picked up a few Kara's cupcakes before heading home.

As I mention every year, Hansel's birthday is on Veterans Day, and the kids always have the day off. So this year, we planned to take them to Safari Run for the first open play session. We took two cars because I needed to pick up Hansel's gift after and Hansel would have to get home to relieve the nanny.

On the way there we stopped to look at a property in Menlo Hansel thought we should bid on. With the stop and Safari Run not having much parking, we missed the first session. I had told Leilani about it, and they were already inside when we got there. We decided to wait around for the next session instead of leaving and coming back. It was kind of torture for Maile and Beck. hansel went back home.

After Safari Run, I took the kids to get my gift for Hansel and to get lunch. It took forever to get lunch because the first McD's we went to didn't have a drive-thru. Anyway, I had only planned to take a half day off from work (and make up the hours later), so I had to work a few hours before making dinner.

After dinner, we had the cupcakes and gave Hansel his presents. My gift was a gift card to GoKart Racer in Burlingame. I bought enough for 4 people to do the SuperTrack on Sunday. I had already arranged with Wayne, Dave, and Telly to meet us on Sunday. Since it was Hansel's 40th, I wanted him to do something more than just cake with the family.

Hansel's aunt gave Hansel a remote-control helipcopter from Brookstone. He took the kids to the park with the helicopter for a test run on Saturday. The helicopter quickly caught the attention of a couple of boys at the park.

Hansel ended up going with Dave and Telly to a car meet on Saturday, so they decided to meet at GoKart Racer earlier before the SuperTrack time because Telly had plans. On Sunday, Telly ended up being late. The guys were quick to give him hard time about it. Since it was Hansel's birthday, he got a couple of free laps on the shorter track before the guys did their laps and race on the other track.

Telly came in first, of course, then Hansel, Wayne, and Dave. Afterward I was surprised to see them all sweaty. I guess that's what happens when there's no power steering.

I don't have a shot of all the guys but I do of the kids. It's all about the kids, right? Even during a 40th birthday.

Halloween 2010

During the day, we went to Stanford mall for trick-or-treating. A mom of one of Beck's classmates told me about it. Any store that had a pumpkin outside their door gave out a treat. Locating the pumpkins was half the fun, like a scavenger hunt. It was fun, the kids practiced their lines (trick or treat, thank you, and happy Halloween), and I think it got the kids even more excited about trick-or-treating later at home. We even ran into Beck's classmate's family.

We usually celebrate Halloween with my cousins, rotating who hosts each year. This year we decided to stay in our neighborhood. Mathis was definitely a factor. The Yaus had us over for dinner, which was nice. We started eating before 6, so the kids could get an early start on trick-or-treating. After we got the kids costumed up, I headed home with Mathis who didn't want to wear his pumpkin costume (a hand-me-down from Maile) and didn't seem interested in making the rounds. Everyone else went trick-or-treating.

I thought they'd only be out for an hour but they were out for two and came home with their buckets filled almost to the rim. Half of the kids who came to our house were teenagers. I was hoping to see more little tikes. Although, I was paying more attention to Mathis helping pass out candy to notice the trick-or-treaters.

The few photos we took that night before our camera ran out of charge didn't turn out because of the low battery.

10/29 Halloween Parades and Potluck

Now that I'm back to work almost full-time (I work 35 hrs/wk), it's hard for me to get to all of the kids' events. So, now Hansel goes or we tag team. The Friday before Halloween Hansel took Maile to school and stayed for part of the school's Halloween parade. Later that morning, Hansel went to Beck's parade and took photos and headed home. I then went to Beck's class for his potluck. I got there before the start time but since the parade and activities finished early, they started the potluck early. So I didn't take it personally when a lot of my pasta dish was leftover. I ended up having some of it for an afternoon snack.

In the above photo Maile is the one in the Wonder Woman costume.

10/23 Mia's 6th Birthday Party and Ohlone's Harvest Festival

Mia's birthday was originally going to be at a Golfland. But with the high probability of rain, Vanessa switched it to an art studio, where kids older than 4 made sun catchers and younger kids painted pottery. I was glad the kids weren't going to paint another pottery. Don't get me wrong painting pottery is fun, and I have taken the kids myself, but we are accumulating quite the collection.

The owner who was showing the kids how to make the suncatchers was enthusiastic and good with the kids, but I think found parents quite annoying. She told us to let the kids do it themselves and strongly encouraged us to leave and walk around or shop. At one point, a Dad was helping his daughter write her name, I think, and the owner asked him to let her do it. She then under her breath said something like, "Some parents can't help themselves." Vicki, who overheard, made a playful joke back. The owner then said, "Oh, you heard that." She then kind of apologized and explained her comment. I found it kind of amusing.

Besides having a talent for making suncatchers, Mia showed us another talent.

One day Vanessa had asked Mia if she could roll her tongue, and the above is what she did.

After the art studio, we had pizza at a nearby pizza place. To encourage the kids to eat, Spencer, Mia's dad, said whoever ate the most pizza would get a prize. Beck took the contest pretty seriously and would give updates on the amount of pizza he ate. In the end, the prize was tokens for the arcade games for all the kids.

The party was capped off with cupcakes. That's one of Mia's cousins doing the rabbit ears.

After Mia's birthday, I took Maile and Beck to Maile's school for their annual Harvest Festival. The money raised goes toward the school's farm (it's like a mini-farm, complete with veggies, hay, and animals). I bought the kids some tickets to participate in the games and activities, like the apple peeler and slicer.

10/10 Dinner with the Yangs

On Saturday, 10/10, we had both Yang families over for dinner. Jim and Joyce were in town on a semi-impromptu trip. Joyce had recently quit her job, and Jim's job at the time allowed him to work from anywhere.

I knew I wanted to make this turkey pesto meatloaf recipe I had clipped from the paper because Rich likes meatloaf. And to continue with the comfort food theme, I also made a Michael Minna mac n' cheese recipe I had also found in the paper. I made the kids a different mac n' cheese with turkey meatballs and mixed veggies in case the Michael Minna one was too strong. And, I steamed some broccoli. For dessert I bought a berry pie and ice cream.

Altogether there were 7 kids, and everyone got along. At one point Avery, Mackenzie, and Mathis were all nicely playing with the same basketball toy. The other kids were entertaining themselves with a large tube we got when we ordered shades and had kept for this very reason. We as a group never made it down to the basement, which is toy central and Joyce's favorite feature of the house.

This photo is actually from Joyce's blog.

It was good to see all the Yangs. One day we'll all be able to talk without distraction.

Random September Photos

The first is of Mathis enjoying some squeeze yogurt.

The second is Mathis using Hansel's phone as a camera.

Below Mathis is sitting on Beck's lap.

In the next few photos, Mathis is saying, "Cheese."

I thought it was funny that the boys were all scrunched together in the bath.

Our family photo for the month.We took a few photos, and Beck wasn't happy in any of them.

9/25 Tyler's 1st Birthday Party

On Saturday, 9/25, I took Maile and Beck to Tyler's 1st Birthday party. Since the party started close to Mathis' nap, Hansel stayed home with Mathis. The Yungs had a bounce house, where Maile and Beck sweated up a storm. It was just nice to see Vicki, Caroline, and Joyce in a somewhat relaxed atmosphere since I was sans Mathis. We also checked out the second half of their backyard without the hazardous, huge trees. Once they develop the rest of the backyard, their home will be like a mini-resort.

The kid in the middle is not Tyler. He'd be one big 1-yr old. Tyler's being held up on the side by his mommy, Joyce. His daddy, Jeff, and big sister, Madeline, are in the back left. You can seel Madeline's trying to help blow out the candles.

9/18 YCIS' Moon Festival and KJ & Kenny's Open House

Strangely enough I don't have photos from either event. I'm guessing it's because I was watching all 3 kids by myself at both. It was our second year attending Beck's school's Moon Festival, so the photos would have been similar, except Mathis would be walking. There was a ping pong game where you tossed or bounced ping pong balls into baskets. Mathis liked fetching the balls.

Later that day we went to Kathy and Kenny's for their open house. They had recently moved to Redwood City from San Francisco. Their house was already pretty much up to date. They made a few enhancements, like putting in a breakfast bar to create an opening between the kitchen and living room, and putting in a wall to create an office/guest room downstairs. The house came with an awesome play structure that was built into the hill in their backyard complete with a zipline.

9/17 Mathis' 1st Poop in the Toilet at 20 mths

Don't worry I'm not going to post a photo of his actual poop. On this evening during Mathis' bath, he got into his pooping position and starting grunting. So, I quickly scooped him up and put him on the toilet. I timed it just right because he pooped in the toilet. It was a pretty big one. I didn't flush the toilet, so he could look at it and, hopefully, be proud and inspired to do it again next time he needed to go. I'm not trying to toilet train him but figured a little inspiration doesn't hurt.

9/12 Zachary's 3rd Birthday at Lemo's Farm

On Sunday, 9/12, we went to Lemo's Farm for Zachary's 3rd birthday. It was my first time there. Hansel had been there before with Maile. It's a great place for kids. They have a "train," hay ride, pony ride, goats, bounce houses, and a seasonal haunted house. Since it was Half Moon Bay, it was overcast. We remembered to bring hoodies for Maile and Beck but didn't have anything for Mathis. We had a cropped white sweater of Maile's with a Little Mermaid patch on it in the van. So, Mathis wore that until Vicki saved the day and lent us Cameron's fleece.

Below are most of the kids except Zoe and Avery, who came later.

 Below, Zachary looks so happy on the rocking horse.

After watching all the other kids ride the ponies, Mathis looked like he wanted to ride. So, he got on, or I should say got lifted on. He wasn't scared and didn't cry. Alas, I don't have a photo, but I do have one of Maile.

Below are multiple shots from the cake part of the party. Usually, I only post one, but I loved Zachary's expression in all three photos.

7/25 Ann's Baby Shower

I'm writing this post out of order because I recently found these photos on my phone. 

On Sunday, July 25, Leilani, Vicki, and I went to Ann's Baby Shower for identical twin girls hosted by her sister and her mom at Ann's house. The party had a Hello Kitty theme because Ann liked HK when she was  younger. There was great food including Kara's cupcakes, and a fun, long game that had several shorter games within it. It started with a large ball of gift wrap, each time you take off a layer there was a note instructing how to pass the "ball" or a note instructing us to participate in game. One of the games was a picture of Hello Kitty cut into smaller pieces. Leilani and Vanessa were both commentating while they each tried to figure out the photo, but Vicki had a laser focus and finished first.

Below is a photo of Winnie and Sabrina (3.5 mths at the time). Sabrina looks totally like her daddy, Dave, much to his dismay. You can go to this old post about their wedding to compare 410-dave-and-winnies-wedding-day.

The other photo is of Leilani, Vicki, and Vanessa with Ann. They bought Ann gifts together. Not sure why my camera took the photo that way.

8/28 Palo Alto Festival of the Arts

Around this time Hansel said he had a new goal for himself and that was to get me to exercise regularly. So, he was going to help make time for me. I had tried before to integrate the kids in with exercise, like when I got the double jogger stroller. I think I took Maile and Beck jogging with me 2-3 times. Now the stroller is in storage.

Leilani had mentioned to me that she and Hannah were going to ride their bikes to the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts and asked if I wanted to go with Maile. I don't have a bike here. It is also in storage, so Hansel suggested I jog with Mathis while Maile rode her bike. Maile actually insisted on riding her scooter. Despite the decent distance Maile made it there and back all the way on her scooter without complaining.

The festival had a tented kids area with all sorts of arts and crafts. We did a couple of the activities and saw Leilani and Hannah there. We then walked over to see the large chalk drawings. Below is a photo of Maile with a chalk drawing of candy (not quite halfway done).

August Photo Shoots

August Family Photo

In the below photo, Mathis is doing part of a tickle rhyme that Beck learned. The part that goes, "Cut the pickle." The next line is "Tickle."

In the below Mathis was just doing funny poses on the kid chair.

Cameron's 3rd Birthday Party!

On Saturday, 8/21, we all went to Cameron's Thomas-themed 3rd birthday party. It was a great day for a mostly outdoor party. Cameron has the motorized Thomas ride-one train and track, and a Thomas-colored playhouse that his paternal grandfather built. Nice to have a very handy granddad. There was also arts and crafts, like making a Sir Topham Hatt hat, yummy food, and a pinata. But the highlight for me was the incredible cake that Vicki made. Maybe she'll get her own show -- the Cake Doctor (she's also a plastic surgeon).

 Below is a photo from the caboose end.

Aug 17 San Diego Trip

We saved the best for last...Legoland! Hansel got Legoland tickets that also included entry to the water park or to the Legoland aquarium. Even though we had been to the aquarium before and thought it was kind of disappointing, we chose that. We figured the water area in Legoland (vs the water park) was enough, and that Mathis would like the aquarium.

We used our Hilton timeshare to stay at a place right next to Legoland. We just had to walk down the street and then go through a pedestrian gate, and we were in the Legoland parking lot. Hansel took the kids on the safari ride first because we thought the line would be worse later. It was a pretty long, but luckily it was not indicative of the rest of the park. The only other long lines were for rides we didn't want to go on.

 

The next ride the kids went on had no line whatsoever.

And then after that, they each went on the driving rides, which are separated by age.

 

Below, Beck waiting for Maile to finish her driving ride.

While Mathis and I were getting lunch for all of us, Beck and Maile went on the boat ride. Apparantly, Beck wouldn't let Maile steer, so they got stuck a lot.

After the kids were done eating, they all played at one of the Lego stations.

After lunch, the kids played in the water area. Mathis enjoyed it more than I thought he would.

The kids spent a lot of time in the ball room in the Egyptian part of the park and went on a couple of rides there while Mathis napped.

After Mathis' nap, we caught one of the Bob the Builder 4-D shows (3D video with some water and air effects). I'm not into 3D stuff. The 3D experience does not make up for the headache I get.

Even though we were exhausted from a full day at Legoland, we went to the Aquarium. It was better this time around because I knew what to expect.

The next morning Hansel and the kids hung out at the hotel pool, which had its own mini water area, while I did some grocery shopping before our road trip back.