Summer passed by all too quickly this year, and I have been really awful at keeping this space updated in the past several weeks. I thought I’d do a little compilation post of photos and videos here of some of our favorite cute/humorous moments captured on camera to share… better late than never, right?
…and thus follows the photo dump of all photo dumps.
Pooltime on the porch.
“Pool boy! Another margarita, please.”
“Just kidding!” 😉
Mio’s been obsessed with TMNT lately (or as she calls them, “masked turtles”). Today she’s Raphael and Mirei’s been anointed as Leonardo. (To me, they look more matsuri-ready…)
Mio patiently waiting for lunch at Santini’s. One of those moments where she still looks like a baby to me.
Lunch out with Daddy… one of her favorite moments.
Gelato and bingsoo at Sweetberry
Sticker-happy after a visit to Trader Joes.
All it takes is a blanket to keep them giggling non-stop!
Mio in her new bed!
Mio lined up these little animal dolls around Mirei as she slept on the Boppy.
Mirei’s first playdate with Lily. Mirei’s always tagging along to playdates for big sister, so it was nice to have a playdate for Mirei for once!
Mio pretending to kick Mirei… tsk tsk. Sisters…
Not sure what is going on here, but it looks like Mio is attempting to lick Mirei’s back?!
Mirei carrying big sister’s Minion backpack… which is almost the same size as her.
Such a funny sight!
Sisters both napping, in similar positions but in different places. (Mio fell asleep where she was playing, as usual…)
Mirei making an interesting fashion statement… (she can thank Auntie Miwa)
Crawling everywhere!
Sweet Mio
Our little angel ♥
She loves to roll herself up in her blankets.
Silly girl ♥
Mirei pulling herself up to stand by the cooler.
Mio playing frisbee with Daddy and Auntie in the backyard.
Mio coming down the slide at Meadow Lane Park
Sleeping giant at the park.
Mio riding the roundabout at the park:
Mirei being held by Obaachan
7 month old Mirei
Mio painting on the porch
Caught red-handed, getting into the diapers and making a mess!
Looking a lot like Daddy!
Going to the Lee District spray park again on Labor Day.Â
with my sweet M&Ms.
Mirei with Daddy
Mio is very much into making faces in selfies lately. She looks very fierce here!
Kissy-face selfie.
Mio likes to be in a “towel burrito,” as she calls it, after bathtime.
M&M in the window.
Standing in the crib already!
Our first time going to Japanese Storytime – wish I’d known about it sooner! Mirei was actually quite the social butterfly, constantly crawling away to other babies, making new friends. Mio preferred keeping to herself and exploring all the books there.
An ecstatic Mio with her mango popsicle.
Our resident flappy-bird…
Mirei playing with a taiko toy at a birthday party.
Spending a Sunday at the park
Stay forever Sunday.
Mirei will pull herself up to standing position every opportunity she gets!
This summer, in addition to ballet class and gymnastics class, I enrolled Mio in a program called Variety Zone, in which she can sample a little bit of each of the children’s programs offered in the county. In this class, the children rotate through different programs, experiencing two days each of Preschool Picassos, Gym Jam, Magic Kitchen, Wild about the Wild and Adventures in Gardening, over the course of eight weeks (one day a week).
Here are some photos and videos I took of Mio at the classes over the past couple months.
Making glitter fireworks for 4th of July for Preschool Picassos.
Adventures in Gardening class
Planting peas, garlic, and a sunflower.
Learning about the growth cycle of apple trees in Adventures in Gardening
Shaking up the whipping cream in Magic Kitchen. I think Magic Kitchen was Mio’s favorite among the programs, because it involved eating the creations. 😉
A video of Mio shaking the whipped cream, chopping up the fruits, and eating the completed snack.
Making marshmallow spiders!
Look at that smile! (Magic Kitchen, week 2)
Making girl and boy cookies out of crumbled graham crackers, cheese, pretzels, and raisins.
Gym Jam! It was also a hit with Mio, since she loves bouncing around and being active.
Our little athlete had a great time!
The program was a really fun way for Mio to sample a variety of fun activities over the summer, and she was always excited every week to go to the class! (I think she had more fun with it than gymnastics and ballet.) I really recommend it as a nice way to keep the kids occupied, especially during the summer when they’re out of school.
A bonus video of Mio from one of her last ballet classes:
We checked out the Lee District RECenter the other weekend, which includes Chessie’s Big Backyard and Our Special Harbor Spray Park in Alexandria. Admission is free and Mio had a blast splashing around at the spray park and then running around at the adjacent playground afterwards. Although it is a bit of a drive for us, we’ll definitely be back!
Mio at Our Special Harbor Spray Park in Alexandria.
Having fun splashing around
Mirei and I didn’t go into the spray area, but we had fun watching from the tented areas on the sidelines.
Mio on the pirate ship at Chessie’s Big Backyard
Mirei doing her signature expression, tucking her lips in.
An extra shot from the weekend, when we went to lunch at Pazzo Pomodoro the day before. Mio and Mirei are in matching shirts!
We spent this past weekend at Camp Shehaqua, a family camp at Hickory Run State Park in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. We arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday afternoon, so it was a fun three days and two nights spent with friends and their families in the great outdoors!
Our little cabin for the weekend.
Arriving at Camp Shehaqua
Mio relaxing in the hammock by the dining hall.
Mirei and I squeezed in too. It was so comfy!
Both nights, there was a campfire and s’mores after dinner. Here’s Mio on the first night by the campfire.
Hanging out by the campfire.
Roasting marshmallows.
Mio and I enjoying our s’mores! She loved them.
6 month old Mirei and 10 month old Avonlea.
Avonlea, 2 month old Alanna, and Mirei! So many baby girls!
Morning activity the next day for the “Twinkles” group (which was 3 – 5 year olds)
Mio had a good time participating in the activities with Dan.
Meanwhile, Mirei and I were in the “Milky Way” group for babies under two. Mirei got to make some new baby friends!
Mirei with her friends:
The campground had a really clean and well-maintained pool! Mio had a great time swimming in it in the afternoon.
Mirei got to take a dip, too!
With our sweet girls in the pool.
The dodgeball tournament in the evening of the second day.
Lots of outdoor fun!
Mio and Seiji watching their Daddies play dodgeball from the sidelines.
The girls with Daddy after the game.
Mirei sitting up in the field
Dojoon was so sweet and doting with Mirei!
Mirei getting lots of attention!
Seiji playing with Mirei
A bunch of the boys hugging Mirei. She was getting bombarded with affection!
Mio climbing a tree for the first time. She had such a good time at the camp!
While I’m not a very outdoorsy person and camping usually is a challenge for me, it was nice to unplug and get away with other families and friends, and spend time in nature together. The kids definitely enjoyed it, and we’re looking forward to going again in the future!
Mio had such a great time at the Water Mine last year that we definitely wanted to take her again this summer. We took the girls on Sunday, July 6th for some great splashin’ fun in the sun!
The girls on the turtle.
Floating down the lazy river.
Mirei being held securely by Daddy.
Dan holding both girls. 両手ã«èŠ±ï¼
Too cute!
Mio has been SLOWLY warming up to Mirei lately… She’s still not crazy about her, but occasionally shows glimpses of affection towards her.
