On New Year’s Day last week, Mio hosted a little party for Dan and I and her doll friends using her new kitchen. We also let her play with her cupcake set (which our friend Katie got for her last year) and she was super excited to bake cupcakes just like Mama! She knew exactly what to do because she’s always watching me closely while I’m baking.
Taking the cupcakes out of the oven. She even wore her oven mitt and said “Acchi-cchi!” (Japanese sound for when something is hot to touch.)
Putting frosting and candles on the cupcakes.
She made sure everyone got a cupcake. (Poor girl scratched herself in her sleep so there’s a scratch next to her nose. Thankfully, it’s already healed and disappeared!)
I helped Mio decorate the cupcakes. By the way, this cupcake set by Melissa & Doug is awesome! It comes with a cupcake pan, removable “frosting” and dry erase “icing” markers that you can draw on the cupcakes with. And it all wipes clean when you are done.
Daddy and Mio admiring the cupcakes.
Mio was so happy with her cupcakes!
Dan teaching Mio how to properly drink tea (pinky up! lol).
A video that I took during Mio’s “party”:
It was so sweet to see how much Mio loved playing with the cupcakes along with her kitchen. She’s definitely a dessert lover — she’s so quick to spot them in a book or at a restaurant, and will point and says “kei-ki” (her way of saying “cake”) obsessively. A girl after my own heart! ♥
My first blog post of 2013! I haven’t had a chance to really write because the first week of this year has been a whirlwind… lots of office visits to get my professional life in order for the coming months. It was tough only seeing Mio for two hours in the evenings, but I’ve come back with even more of an appreciation for the time I have with her now.
Here’s a funny video we took of Mio over the weekend. We noticed she was walking funny and wobbling in a way that looked like she was almost limping. We watched her closely and realized that she was walking/running on her tip toes, not letting her heel hit the floor. It’s nothing we taught her nor showed her, and I’m not sure what prompted her to do walk like that, but it amused us so we got it on video.
This Christmas Eve, Mio got a big treat — she got to see snow for the first time in her life! She seemed really fascinated and curious. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she kept trying to grab at the snowflakes that swirled around us.
The snow didn’t stick and the flurries stopped after a while, so we won’t be getting the white Christmas we’d been hoping for, but it was still a memorable experience for Mio! We can’t wait until she can see enough snow to play in!
We’ve been trying to find ways to keep Mio entertained indoors during the cold winter days when it’s too chilly to play outside. Last week my sister Miwa, fresh off her fall semester, planned and set up a tea party for Mio in her nursery! It was so sweet and magical. Here are some pictures.
My sister Miwa setting up for the party.
The delicious spread
A mini teacup for Mio! The play teacup set was a birthday gift for Mio earlier this year from our dear friends Sonya & Sofia. 🙂
All of Mio’s friends came!
My sister had even made invitations for Mio and I that she delivered the night before.
Mio handing Miwa the invitation to enter the party.
Mio was in awe upon arriving at her party.
Mio was the guest of honor, and she knew exactly where to sit without being told.
Taking everything in.
Dressed in a blue dress, she was our very own little Alice in Wonderland.
Toasting with Auntie Miwa. Mio loves doing “cheers!” so we must have clinked teacups 30 times or so during the tea party.
Sipping (or rather, chugging?) her tea.
Mio stirring the tea.
She insisted on making sure all her friends had some tea, too…
…and that they were well fed. 😉
Mio loved the party so much, she gave me a kiss!
My little sweetheart. I’m so glad she had such a fun time!
Of course, the actual one to thank was Miwa, who orchestrated everything and made it such a lovely afternoon for all of us! Thank you Miwa ♥
Mio seemed to really love the tea party, and it seemed like she knew she had to be proper and well-mannered during such an occasion, because she was on her best behavior! We’ll definitely have to do one again now that we know how much she enjoys it…. 🙂
