Blooming by the Bay
The Endless Stories of Dan & Misono & Their Beloved Mio
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Easter Sunday

April 20, 2014 By Misono in Seasonal Celebrations Tags: Easter, Easter egg, Easter egg hunt, Easter Sunday, egg hunt

first Easter together

 

Happy Easter! Mio’s already had her fair share of Easter celebrations this year with two egg hunts last weekend, but she got to go on one last mini egg hunt on Easter Sunday. I dressed both girls up in celebration of their first Easter together.

Egg hunt at NVFC

 

Egg hunt at NVFC

 

Egg hunt at NVFC

 

Egg hunt at NVFC
Because this was her third egg hunt this year, Mio was a pro!

 

first Easter together
The sisters’ first Easter together.

 

I think we are now officially Easter egg-ed out. 😉

Grandparents Visit from California

April 20, 2014 By Misono in Family and Friends, Local Gems, Videos Tags: DC, FDR Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, grandchildren, granddaughters, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, Jefferson Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, Mio, Mirei, MLK Memorial, singing, song, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, video, Washington DC, You are My Sunshine

Dan’s parents flew over from California last week  to visit us from Tuesday night to Saturday morning. Mio’s face broke into a huge smile as soon as she saw her grandparents on Wednesday morning, and they were nearly inseparable for much of their visit! It was so sweet to see Mio interacting with her loving grandparents, and they got to meet their new granddaughter Mirei for the first time, too! Here are some photos and video from their visit.

Mio & Mirei with grandparents
Mio & Mirei with their grandparents

 

Grandma with granddaughters
Mio has been doing this funny thing lately where after she touches or comes in contact with Mirei, she smells her hands and often goes to wash them afterwards. Kind of mean, but I guess Mio doesn’t like the baby smell! lol

 

Grandma meeting Mirei
Grandma meeting Mirei

 

Mio's scrunchy face
Mio’s scrunchy face of joy!

 

Mirei curiously looking on.
Mirei curiously looking on.

 

Grandma with Mirei
Grandma with Mirei

 

They got a big smile out of her!
They got a big smile out of her!

 

Mirei with Grandpa
Grandpa with his newest granddaughter

 

Such sweet moments!
Such sweet moments ♥

 

I captured this video of Grandpa and Grandma singing to the girls on my phone camera. Unfortunately the lighting is a little dark, but it’s still a very sweet video nonetheless!


 

Sisters in Grandpa's arms.
Sisters in Grandpa’s arms.

 

On Friday, Dan took the day off so that we could spend the day together with his parents. Even though they used to live in Maryland and are familiar with the sites, there were some new memorials that were built since they moved away 19 years ago, and they wanted to visit the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in particular.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
By a statue of Eleanor Roosevelt. Mio kept pointing and asking, “Who’s that?”

 

Mio and I at the fountains by the FDR Memorial.
Mio and I at the fountains by the FDR Memorial.

 

Mio and grandparents by the FDR statue.
Mio and grandparents by the FDR statue.

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
With Dan and I this time.

 

Mirei is asleep while at the FDR Memorial
Mirei was asleep for most of the time we were sightseeing the memorials in DC.

 

Mio with Grandpa
Mio was all smiles with Grandpa

 

Sharing a laugh.
Sharing a laugh!

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, always impressive! It’s definitely one of my favorite memorials.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
One of my favorite quotes by Dr. King. I love reading all his quotes along the wall at the memorial — he was such an eloquent man and his words are often very poetic and beautiful.

 

"Out of the Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope."
“Out of the Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope.”

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Mio and grandparents by the MLK memorial.

 

Washington Monument
Washington Monument across the Tidal Basin.

 

Mio was in such a great mood while she was being pushed by Grandma in the stroller as we were walking around the memorials that she started singing! I’d sang this Japanese song to her a few times, but this was the first time I’d heard her sing so much of it on her own so I went a little overboard with recording it on video:


 

Take 2:


 

Take 3:


 

Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Dan’s parents wanted to see the Jefferson Memorial again, so we stopped there before leaving DC.

 

This was one of my favorite pictures from the day.
This was one of my favorite pictures from that day.

 

Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Posing with TJ inside the Jefferson Memorial.

 

Lunch at Niwa no Hana
Enjoying a Japanese lunch before heading home.

 

We’re so thankful that Dan’s parents could make the trip out here to visit us and the girls! Though their visit was short, Mio and Mirei both got so much love from them and were able to make priceless memories with them. We look forward to the next time we’ll get to see them!

Tidal Basin & National WWII Memorial

April 15, 2014 By Misono in Family and Friends, Local Gems, Recreational Fun Tags: cherry blossoms, dan, DC, Jackie, Jefferson Memorial, Mio, Mirei, misono, National World War II Memorial, National WWII Memorial, sakura, Ted, tidal basin, Washington DC

Dan took the day off on Monday so that we could all spend the day with Ted and Jackie before they left DC. We thought it’d be a great opportunity to see the cherry blossoms by the Tidal Basin, but alas, the blossoms were definitely past their peak (they were probably best over the weekend, but we knew the crowds would be crazy) and were looking pretty green, with most of the petals in the water and on the ground. It was really windy that day, too, which probably expedited the wilting of the blossoms. Still, we had a nice time walking around the Tidal Basin and admiring the few trees that were still in full bloom, and also got to check out the National WWII Memorial as well. Despite how windy it was, it was a beautiful day — sunny but not too hot or uncomfortable. 🙂

 

Jackie and Mio on the Metro
Mio enjoying all the attention from Auntie Jackie while on the Metro.

 

Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin
Arriving at the Tidal Basin… but both girls were conked out.

 

Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin
Jackie and Ted with the cherry blossoms. Such a cute picture of a cute couple!

 

Mirei woke up so we took a photo with her.
Mirei woke up so we took a photo with just us girls.

 

Attempt at a family photo... but Mio is too focused on eating her tortilla chip.
Attempt at a family photo… but Mio is too focused on eating her tortilla chip.

 

The Jefferson Memorial in the distance.
The Jefferson Memorial in the distance.

 

Cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin
What was left of the cherry blossoms…

 

My favorite flowers are still beautiful!
My favorite flowers and Mio’s namesake… still beautiful!

 

Mirei at the Tidal Basin
Mirei was so well-behaved the entire time. Even when she was awake, she was so quiet and let us enjoy the cherry blossoms in peace.

 

Dan and Mio by one of the original cherry blossom trees.
Dan and Mio by one of the original cherry blossom trees.

 

A cherry blossom tree in full bloom
A cherry blossom tree in full bloom

 

Our family under the DC cherry blossoms
Another family photo… looks like we just can’t get one without Mio eating a chip!

 

Ted & Jackie under the cherry blossoms
Ted & Jackie under the sakura.

 

Mio getting swung by Ted & Jackie
Making our way over to the National WWII Memorial. Mio had a blast getting swung by Auntie Jackie and Uncle Ted!

 

She couldn't get enough of the attention!
She couldn’t get enough of the attention!

 

National WWII Memorial
It was actually my first time seeing the WWII Memorial too since it had been built in 2004, and it was really beautiful and impressive!

 

National WWII Memorial
Mio getting a photo with auntie and uncle.

 

National WWII Memorial
She thoroughly enjoyed playing by the fountain.

 

National WWII Memorial
Full of “what’s that?” questions.

 

National WWII Memorial
The Freedom Wall on the west side of the memorial has 4,048 gold stars, each representing 100 Americans who died in the war.

 

National WWII Memorial
There were so many people there!

 

National WWII Memorial
Mio with Ted & Jackie by the fountain.

 

National WWII Memorial
Mio was in such a good mood the whole day! Love our little sweetheart.

 

enjoying a popsicle
Sharing a popsicle before heading home.

 

Ted and Jackie left after dinner on Monday, but the family visits continue with Dan’s parents flying in tonight! They haven’t seen Mio in over a year and it’ll be their first time meeting Mirei. We look forward to spending lots of quality time together. 🙂

Dinner with Ted & Jackie

April 14, 2014 By Misono in Family and Friends, Local Gems Tags: Courtside Thai Cuisine, dan, dinner, Elisa, Fairfax, family, Jackie, Mio, Mirei, misono, Old Town Fairfax, Ted, Thai

Dan’s brother Ted and his fiancée Jackie are in town visiting for a couple days, and our whole family went out to dinner with them on Sunday evening at Courtside Thai in Old Town Fairfax. They love Mio so she got a lot of attention from them, and they got to meet 11 week old Mirei for the first time, too!

Dinner at Courtside Thai

 

Mio with Uncle Ted and Auntie Jackie
Mio with Uncle Ted and Auntie Jackie

 

Mio wasn't quite ready for the photo...
Mio wasn’t quite ready for the photo…

 

Better! Mio was in such a great mood this evening.
Better! Mio was in such a great mood this evening.

 

Mio with Uncle Ted
Mio circled the table and made her way over to her other Uncle Ted (my brother’s name is also Ted), who she also loves getting attention from.

 

Sharing a laugh with her uncle.
Sharing a laugh with her uncle.

 

Eating delicious Thai food. This is one of our favorite spots!
Eating delicious Thai food. This is one of our favorite spots, and we ate outside because it was such a beautiful day! 

 

Mirei waking up
Mirei slept for most of dinner and woke up towards the end, but quietly waited until we finished eating.

 

She just stared off into space...
She just stared off into space…

 

Mirei with Auntie Jackie
Jackie meeting Mirei for the first time, and feeding her for us. She’s a natural with babies and kids!

 

Mio with Ted & Elisa
Mio bothering Auntie Elisa and Uncle Ted again on the other side of the table.

 

Mio with Ted & Elisa
Mio is so lucky to have so many uncles and aunts! No shortage of love there!

 

Egg Hunting with the Lee Family

April 13, 2014 By Misono in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations, Videos Tags: Chwan, Danny, Easter, Easter bunny, Easter egg hunt, Easter egg roll, egg hunt, egg roll, Lee family, Mio, Stephanie

The kids with their Easter eggs

 

Mio got to be a part of another Easter egg hunt this morning at her friend Danny’s house! Danny’s mommy Stephanie did an amazing job of decorating their front lawn and setting up Easter egg hunt stations as well as an Easter egg roll! Mio had so much fun at their egg hunt last year, and this one was even more amazing — more kids, more eggs, more activities! We’re always so impressed with how well Stephanie & Chwan organize their egg hunt event!
 

Easter egg roll
Mio and Danny waiting for the Easter egg roll.

 

Easter egg roll
Waiting for the spoon to make its way over so Mio can roll her egg.

 

Roll that egg!
Roll that egg!

 

Time for the main event: Easter egg hunt!
Time for the main event: Easter egg hunt!

 

Today was so hot that I dressed Mio in this adorable romper.
Today was so hot that I dressed Mio in this adorable romper. Egg hunting in style!

 

Some video Dan took of the egg hunt:


 

Easter egg hunt
Mio’s basket was getting heavy…

 

All the adorable kids lined up!
All the adorable kids lined up!

 

Mio is all smiles with her Easter egg loot.
Mio is all smiles with her Easter egg loot.

 

post-egg hunt family photo
A family photo after the egg hunt.

 

Thanks again to the Lee family for organizing the egg hunt and inviting us to be a part of it! Mio really loved it, and it was a whole lot of fun for our whole family. 🙂

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