Blooming by the Bay – Page 29 – The Endless Stories of Dan & Misono & Their Beloved Mio

Happy Father’s Day!

June 15, 2014 By Misono in Seasonal Celebrations Tags: dan, Father's Day, Mio, Mirei

Happy Father’s Day to Dan, and to all the wonderful dads out there!

Our girls couldn’t be more lucky to have Dan as their Daddy! He works tirelessly for our family, and always makes sure he is 100% present for our children from the moment he comes home until they fall asleep, no matter how exhausted he may be from the workday. There are times when after our children’s needs are met, there’s little time and energy left over for each other. Gone are the days when we only had to worry about each other, when there was no shortage of sleep and our only commitment was to love and support each other. There are dark circles under my eyes, and noticeably more grays in Dan’s hair… but I cherish and love him in a way that I never could back then, because we’ve lived and loved through the sleepless, the mundane, the stress-riddled, the predictable and the less fairy tale-like moments of our lives together. And that is the kind of love that is real and will endure. He has our hearts for all of our days.

Dear Dan, thank you for all that you do. Your dedication to fatherhood is unparalleled. You’re our super hero, knight in shining armor, and best friend. We love you so much. Happy Father’s Day! ♥

Celebrate Fairfax! County Fair

June 11, 2014 By Misono in Local Gems, Recreational Fun, Videos Tags: balloon animal, Blue Sky Creamery, Celebrate Fairfax!, county fair, crafts, Fairfax, Fairfax Government Center, games, gyro, ice cream, Mio, Mirei, petting zoo, Polish hot dog, potbelly pig, rides, roller coaster, tortoise, train table, video

The local county fair, Celebrate Fairfax!, was this past weekend and we spent most of our Saturday there — there were plenty of rides, entertainment, games, crafts and food there to keep us busy!

Lamb gyro at Celebrate Fairfax! — Eating a lamb gyro before moving onto the rides.

Dan's polish hot dog at the county fair — Dan got a Polish hot dog which was pretty good, too!

Mio on the miniature drop tower at the county fair. Our little thrill seeker! — Mio on the miniature drop tower. Our little thrill seeker!

Some funny video we got of Mio on the drop tower. Love how she chimed in with the other kids! lol

Bumblebee ride:

Fishing game:

Waiting in line for a ride — Mio and I waiting in line for the caterpillar coaster ride.

Mio’s first “rollercoaster”!

Selfie video I took of Mio’s reactions on the ride. (At the end, she asks “can you more?” which means she liked it! haha*)

M&M at Celebrate Fairfax! — The sisters at the county fair.

Petting zoo at Celebrate Fairfax! — They had a petting zoo there as well!

This baby bunny was so cute!!! I wanted to take it home with me.

On the train at Celebrate Fairfax! — Riding the train ride.

Train table at Celebrate Fairfax! — Playing with the train table at the fair.

Mio with her balloon turtle. She loved it and named it “Crush” (like the turtle from *Finding Nemo*)

Crafts at Celebrate Fairfax! — Making a bunny mask with Daddy at the craft table.

Ice cream at Celebrate Fairfax! — Ending our day at the fair with some delicious ice cream from Blue Sky Creamery. It’s made using liquid nitrogen and was so smooth!

Mirei’s 4 Month Doctor’s Visit

June 9, 2014 By Misono in Mirei Tags: 4 month, appointment, baby, doctor, doctor's visit, growth, infant, measurements, Mirei, wellness exam

Today, Mirei went in for her 4 month wellness exam. (She’s technically more like four and a half months old now, but since her 2 month visit was so late and was more like a 3 month visit, the doctor pushed back this exam as well.) The nurse and doctor were amazed at how big she is for her age, and doted over her wide-eyed smiles during the checkup. She of course cried during the immunization shots, but calmed pretty quickly afterwards.

Here are Mirei’s latest growth measurements.

Mirei now weighs 18 lbs 6 oz, which pushes her up in the 97th growth percentile based on weight-for-age.

She measured 26.5 inches tall, putting her in the 97th percentile for height-for-age as well.

Her head size is now 17 inches, which is in the 95th growth percentile based on head circumference-for-age.

I had felt like Mirei had gotten a lot heavier recently (she is now moving up to size 4 diapers!), but was still kind of stunned when they told me she was over 18 lbs! I looked back at Mio’s stats and found that Mio was 16 lbs at 4 months old, which at the time we thought was so heavy! lol. Turns out Mirei is even more of a chunker than her big sister was! We feel really lucky, though, that she is such a healthy and happy baby girl — we wouldn’t change a thing about our precious not-so-little Mirei!

Dentist + First Manicure

June 5, 2014 By Misono in Milestones, Mio Tags: balloon, dentist, manicure, Mio, nail polish

Mio had her first true cleaning at the dentist today, and they said her teeth look perfect! Thankful to have a kid who loves brushing and flossing every day – it makes it so much easier for us. Mio received a bagful of little toy goodies, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a balloon as a reward from the dentist’s office.

For the first time, Mio expressed interest in painting her nails today. It was a fun little mommy-and-me activity. She initially chose black nail polish, but I suggested a slightly less bold choice for her first manicure.

Lewes Beach

June 3, 2014 By Misono in Recreational Fun, Videos, Wanderlust Tags: beach, Delaware, Lewes Beach, Mio, Mirei, video

We spent last Sunday at Lewes Beach in Delaware! It was our first time at the beach this year, and Mirei’s first time ever. Mio has been talking about the beach a lot lately so we’re so glad we could take her — she had so much fun! She’s been saying, “Go back to beach!” ever since. Here are some photos of all the fun in the sun!