We have been putting off cutting Mio’s hair for years, because we love the way her baby hair curls into adorable ringlets at the end, but we decided it was probably time to just get it cut already, because it was getting so uneven and they’d sometimes get tangled. Dan’s actually the one who was more attached to the curls, as he takes really good care to condition them during and after bathtime, so on Saturday before the haircut, he made sure to cut and save a lock as a keepsake and take some before-and-after photos to commemorate the milestone!
Mio, pre-haircut:
Goodbye, baby curls…
We went to Cartoon Cuts in Fair Oaks Mall for Mio’s first haircut. They seemed a little rough with keeping her head in position, but they did a good job of keeping her occupied during the haircut and we were pleased with the result.
Here’s a video during the haircut:
…and post-haircut photos:
We miss the cute curls, but we have to admit that her hair’s so much more even and clean-looking now!
She looks so grownup… 🙂
Checking out her new look in the mirror.
Her hair is so much easier to wash and take care of now, too. Overall, we’re happy with Mio’s new hair and she seems to like it, too! 🙂
Our local youth group organized a Halloween party and Trunk-or-Treat for the kids, so we took the girls to be a part of the fun on Halloween night! Dan decorated our trunk for Trunk-or-Treat, and was excited to show off his creation while handing out candy.
Our little Fit turned into a monster for the night!
Owin and the youth group leaders did such a great job of decorating!
Mio shouted “skeleton!” “ghost!” “bat!”, naming each decoration she spotted.
She REALLY wanted to go inside the “mystery room” that was locked up.
Peeking in.
Mirei was her typical exploring self, crawling everywhere.
Crawling and walking in the kitchen:
Mio participating in Trunk-or-Treat
Happy to get more candy!
Getting a photo with zombie hunter Owin
Mirei standing tall!
They had set up fun little games and activity stations outside.
Mio playing the fishbowl game.
Mirei crawling with baby Alex, who is a few months older than her.
My sweet little shrimp!
They had a photographer at the party, who took photos of everyone against a backdrop… Mio took full advantage — she kept going back in front of the camera, and even jumped in front of other people getting their photo taken and ruining their photos! She was so hyper at the party! (Special thanks to Yuseki Ota Photography for the pictures below.)
I realized that photos of the four of us are rare these days… so it was nice to get a family photo!
Showing off the girls’ sushi costumes
Posing like a pro in front of the camera!
There were a bajillion photos of her at the end…
She demanded, “Take a picture!” to the photographer. Little Miss Bossypants…
This might be my favorite!
A group photo with everyone who was in costume.
Thank you to Owin and all the other youth group members who did such an awesome job planning and organizing the Halloween party! Our whole family thoroughly enjoyed it — Mio didn’t go to sleep until 11pm that night because she was so excited from it.
Mio’s preschool had a Halloween parade and performance for parents and siblings to come see last Wednesday. All the kids wore their Halloween costumes, and Mio decided to dress up as Minnie Mouse, to mix things up a bit and she declared that her sushi costume was strictly “just for trick-or-treating.” Here are some video and photos I took!
Holding hands with the assistant teacher during the parade around the school.
As soon as she spotted Mirei and I, she tried to run towards us!
Sitting down inside the Fellowship Hall for singing.
Some video of the performances and the kids exiting afterwards:
The kids got a kick out of the inflated ghost outside the class.
We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this announcement: Mirei has officially started walking! While she’s been doing some little mini-steps for the past week or so, she took her first “real” steps on Sunday evening to walk to Daddy, and I was able to pull my phone out in time to capture some of it!
I love her beaming smiles of accomplishment! Reminds me of when Mio took her first steps, because she was cheesing so much then, too. Hooray, Mirei!!! We are so proud of you, sweetheart!
(Excuse the awful mess in the room. You can blame it all on the little toddling one that you see there in the video, as she loves to pull out her diapers and clothes and scatter them everywhere. 😛 )
Now that Mirei is getting more and more active, she and Mio are also interacting more. While Mio still often seems to regards Mirei as a little bit of a nuisance, it’s sweet when we find that she is not just tolerating/ignoring her and letting her join in activities alongside her and even playing together.
Mio and Mirei playing in Mio’s room.
Backyard fun together back on first day of fall
This is from over a month ago, but Mio tickling Mirei with me:
Shopping at Home Depot with Daddy
Sisters napping together
Mio playing with Mirei… and Mirei deciding she’s not going to take it anymore.
Bathtime together. They both love taking baths! (And it’s so much easier now that we can bathe them together.)
Watching a Japanese children’s show (Shimajiro) together
Mio likes to crawl into Mirei’s crib and put a blanket over it, creating a little tent within it. Mirei usually hates being put in the crib, but she’s totally fine with staying in it as long as big sister’s in there with her! 🙂
