this kid

outsiders

J2 looooves outside. If we put him down after taking him out of the car, he makes a beeline for the backyard. He loves playing on his sister's scooter, chasing bubbles, and digging in the dirt. He somehow got the notion that you dip the bubble wand into dirt rather and bubble solution and then blow, which results, in his case, a mouth full of potting soil. Gross.

This weekend was so gorgeous, we obliged and spent as much time as possible outside. On Saturday morning, we took our regular walk to the bagel store for breakfast.

Then we played outside ...

Then it was time for soccer.

J2 had fun running around the park and swinging while Little Miss J played socer.

Then on Sunday, we finally busted out the bikes. J2 got a new sweet ride.

Spring has sprung in Sacramento!

she is number 4

4 years old. It's a whole new kind of hard. It's the kind of hard where your daughter can't even get dressed until her grandma arrives because she wants to match socks with her grandma.  It's the kind of hard where she so desperately wants to "help" you do something that I spend more time thinking up something for her to "help" with than actually doing whatever I needed to do. Crazy making, I tell you.

Of course, at the same time 4 years old is some kind of wonderful. Little Miss J is learning how to read and sound out words. Every week they have "kindergarten club" where they have a homework packet to turn in on Tuesdays. Being the overachieving Asian family that we are, we make sure Little Miss J's homework gets done. That's not to say we get it done early or anything. This week, it was Monday night and I was through book 2 of 4 at bedtime, when I realized that we hadn't done the homework. I hauled Little Miss J and Gus (because he's the homework helper) out of bed to get it done while I put J2 down. I guess she was just too tired and Gus told her that she HAD to get up early in the morning to finish. She woke up in the morning and without waking anyone else up, sat down at the table and finished her homework, which was writing her name and practicing her "r"s. Let's just say that was a proud parent moment for us. 

She tends to be a little on the bossy side. Last night Gus was instructed to "turn off the light, shut the door, put J2 to bed and stop playing on his phone," and that was all in one breath. I do hope that this eventually translates into leadership rather than actual bossiness. In case you are wondering, she will not hesitate to tell you when you are doing something wrong and she's quick with a "SERIOUSLY?" or a "that's ridiculous." Yes, yes, I realize the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. She is her mother's daughter - but hearing it from a 4 year old is a bit much. 

This little girl ... she's pretty much my favorite girl. I certainly don't need (or want) her to be 4 years old forever, if the time could go just a bit slower. I will freely admit this now ... I will be the mom crying on the first day of kindergarten this fall. I just never understood until I did why my Auntie Lori was so neurotic when her kids started graduating from high school. I may give Auntie Lori a run for her money in the tears shed category. I just can't imagine this little girl being anything but my little girl - the one who wants me to snuggle with her as she falls asleep, read everything from books to street signs to her, tell her jokes, play her songs, etc. 

daddy's girl

mini me

first day of t-ball

Four. It's something special. Especially my four year old.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night!

We haven't really gotten to just hang out with our friends for what has felt like FOREVER. So Saturday it was ON! Just a chill night with pizza, mac and cheese, yoga pants, and plenty of beer, wine and bubbly.

The kids did such a good job playing together. They even let J2 in on the action.

J2 saw the big kids with juice boxes and demanded his own. It was his first juice EVER. He sucked that down like he wasn't going to get another, which he wasn't, so I don't really blame him. You can also see how excited he was about ice cream cake.

It was just a fun night to chill and catch up with friends. Just what the doctor ordered.

jammin' out

My friend, Kate, introduced me to Jamberry. I had a hard time jumping on the bandwagon, as I've never been that concerned about my nails. Perhaps I should be, but I'm not. I wanted to like them because everyone's jamicures (yeah, that's the lingo) looked so adorable. But given how much money I don't spend on my nails now, I didn't think it made sense to embark on a new potentially expensive and time consuming habit. I have enough of those already. Trust me. Then my friend, Jenn, had a second Jamberry party right around the time I was trying to get Little Miss J to stop biting her fingernails (nasty habit). I told her I she could get her nails done if she didn't bite them for three weeks. I even let her pick out her own wraps. While I really wanted her to stop biting her nails, I was also really dreading having to put these things on - it is a multi-step process. I lack patience. You do the math. This is where Auntie Rachael comes in ... thank goodness! Rach had also gotten Little Miss J some Jamberry wraps for Christmas. She told me that she'd help put them on and voila, I'm off the hook. We haven't seen Rachael for several weeks so it was the perfect excuse to hang out. I brought both the kids, she made me a latte (yummy), we got to chat about what's been going on in our lives, and Little Miss J got her first Jamicure.

Thanks for the help, Rachael!