Blooming by the Bay – Page 47 – The Endless Stories of Dan & Misono & Their Beloved Mio

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2013 By Misono in Creative Corner, Mio, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: Halloween, Mio, painting, parade, preschool, pumpkin, pumpkins

Happy Halloween! The Halloween fun continued into this week, even though we’d already had a good share of activities over the weekend. While Dan had carved his pumpkin at the Halloween party on Saturday, Mio and I decided to paint our pumpkins at home this week. She’s still a little too young to be wielding a knife, so we thought painting would be a much safer alternative. 😉

Painting the pumpkin — Painting our pumpkins at home together.

With our completed pumpkins this morning. Happy Halloween!

Our painted pumpkins — Mio and I’s painted pumpkins next to Daddy’s carved pumpkin.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, there was a little Halloween event at Mio’s preschool! Parents were invited to come by earlier than the usual pickup time, so we could sit down in the classroom as the kids sang to us. It was our first time really getting to observe our kids in the classroom setting, so I was really looking forward to it!

Halloween at Mio's Preschool — The sign on Mio’s preschool classroom door showing the kids’ names.

While Mio was quietly sitting in the circle with all the other kids in the class when I entered, as soon as she noticed me sitting at the table, she sprang up and clung to me, refusing to sit back down in the circle and sing with the other children… much to my dismay because I wanted to see her participating like all the other kids. Oh well… she’s the youngest one in the class (they let her into the class this year even though her birthday was just past the cut-off date), so I guess she’s still comparatively a bit of a baby and has some separation anxiety issues. After the kids finished singing their songs, they were invited to change into their costumes for their mini Halloween parade outside.

Mio changing into her Snow White costume for the third time in a week... — Mio changing into her Snow White costume for the third time in a week…

The 2.5 year old class is the youngest class, so that day they walked out into the parking lot, showing off their costumes to the older classes that were seated across from them. The older classes then sang songs to the little ones — it was really cute!

Mio being bashful in front of the older kids.

Taking a picture of all the kids in Mio's class together... or trying to. — Taking a picture of all the kids in Mio’s class together… or trying to.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Hope it is eventful and full of fun. 🙂

Trunk-or-Treat!

October 28, 2013 By Misono in Mio, Recreational Fun, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Halloween, Mio, preschool, Trick-or-Treat, Trunk-or-Treat, Vienna Baptist Church

Mio had a fun-filled Sunday afternoon as we took her out for her first real trick-or-treating experience! We hadn’t introduced trick-or-treating to her the last two years, because we figured she was too young for candy, but now she’s definitely at an age where she can understand and appreciate the concept and of course the treats! A growing trend at community centers and churches in recent years is trunk-or-treat — it provides a safe and fun alternative to the tradition of going to door-to-door asking for candy. Volunteers gather in parking lots, their car trunks open and decked out in decorations and sometimes games, handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. It’s also an easier option than the traditional walking door-to-door for younger kids (as they tend to easily get tired) because they can still get plenty of candy without having to travel as much. Mio’s preschool had a Trunk-or-Treat event which we went to first, and then we continued onto Vienna Baptist Church, which probably hosts the largest Trunk-or-Treat in the local community.

She got the hang of trick-or-treating pretty quickly!

Mio making her way around the preschool parking lot.

The second Trunk-or-Treat event we went to had an accompanying fall festival for kids, with lots of games, activities, crafts, and face painting that they could partake in before they went trick-or-treating around the parking lot.

Mio throwing her fishing line over to get some candy.

The finished facepaint: an apple to go with her Snow White costume!

Time for Trunk-or-Treat, round two! There were about 30 cars to collect candy from.

Some of the decorations were pretty elaborate... — Some of the decorations were pretty elaborate…

We ran into Mio's friend Junna-chan (in the penguin costume) there, too! — We ran into Mio’s friend Junna-chan (in the penguin costume) there, too!

Mio helping herself to candy. She made sure to say “thank you” at every station!

A vintage Ford Model A vehicle that was also at the event! Dan had a fun time talking to the owner about it.

A happy Snow White with her Daddy! Her bucket of candy was so full by the end of the afternoon that she was having a hard time carrying it.

Mio had a blast trick-or-treating for the first time, and she kept saying “Hooray! Candy!” and examining her loot in the car ride home. Mama and Daddy have to be careful in making sure the candy is rationed and she doesn’t eat too much at once. 😉

Halloween Party

October 27, 2013 By Misono in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: Halloween, Halloween party, Mio, pumpkin carving

On Saturday, our friends Xiaolu and Ryan threw an impressive Halloween party complete with detailed decorations, pumpkin carving, great food and games. It was a potluck so there was no shortage of delicious food, and our whole family had a great time celebrating one of our favorite holidays with friends.

Scooping the inside out. Dan’s pumpkin carvings always impress! I forgot to take a photo of the completed carving, so I’ll have to post it later this week!

The Hwang Super-family! Loved their family costume.

Mio was Snow White. Thanks to my cousin Yuko and her daughters, we always get the cutest hand-me-downs, including this costume. 🙂

Halloween Party — Mio and Ellie all dressed up.

They were just the cutest bunch! — They were just the cutest bunch, monopolizing the couch.

Mio had so much fun with her little friends at the party, and Dan and I had a great time catching up with friends and playing board games with them, too! Xiaolu and Ryan were amazing hosts and thought of everything, and by the end of the night there were well over thirty guests taking part in the revelry. Mio was so excited that she didn’t want to leave — I think Halloween is quickly becoming one of her favorite holidays, too!

Animal Sounds

October 22, 2013 By Misono in Mio, Videos Tags: animal sounds, Mio, The Fox, video, Ylvis

Mio reciting her animal sounds.

We can blame Daddy for that last one… (He’s been singing/playing the Ylvis song on occasion around Mio.)

Mommy & Me Art Class

October 18, 2013 By Misono in Creative Corner, Mio Tags: arts, arts and crafts, class, crafts, Mio, Mommy & Me, Oak Marr, rec center

Although Mio started preschool two days a week last month and we have playdates with her friends during the week, I wanted to do something special with her before her baby sister is born, because I know it’ll be a lot harder to give her my undivided attention. I enrolled her in a Mommy & Me arts and crafts class in which we learn ABCs and 123s through arts and crafts we do together at the local rec center, and today was the first day. It meets weekly every Friday morning for an hour for 8 weeks, and there are lots of other kids Mio’s age (between 2 and 3) there with a parent. At the beginning of class, we have circle time in which we get in a circle and sing each child’s name together, and then the instructor reads a book to the kids (today it was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) and we work on a related art project or craft afterwards. I thought it’d be something fun and creative that we could together as mommy-daughter bonding time, and Mio seemed to enjoy her first class today!

Mio working on her Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree... — Mio creating her Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree… We worked together to glue down the tree trunk, leaves, coconuts, and then Mio got to place the foam letter stickers down all over the tree.

As we left, Mio stopped to say “thank you” and “bye bye” to the instructor. Looking forward to the next class!

Gotta enjoy this one-on-one time with my first baby while I still can, during the quiet before the storm! Last night, Dan and I were looking back at photos from when she was a newborn, and we’re continually astounded at how much she’s grown up already. We’re excited to be having anotherÂ sweet little baby to experience it all over again with, but we can’t forget to treasure each moment with our Mio too, as she grows more and more independent each day!

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