Blooming by the Bay – Page 66 – The Endless Stories of Dan & Misono & Their Beloved Mio

Christmas & 30th Birthday

December 27, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Milestones, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: 30th birthday, bells, cake, Christmas, family, Hape, Mio, misono, Tegu blocks, tiramisu, wooden kitchen

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas holiday! We had a wonderful time spending it with my family at home. Here are some memorable moments from Christmas morning… it was Mio’s second Christmas ever!

She looks so grownup here! Playing with her awesome magnetic wooden Tegu blocks from my parents.

Mio with her toy kitchen from Uncle Ted! I think I was even more excited than she was!

Playing with the bells from Dan's parents — Playing with the bells from Dan’s parents

Having a grand time! — Thank you Grandpa and Grandma!

As many of you know, Christmas Day is also my birthday, and this year was an extra special milestone as it was my 30th birthday! Dan made it truly memorable by showering me with little treats, gifts, and love notes during the twelve days leading up to my birthday (instead of the Twelve Days of Christmas), and of course I appreciated all the birthday messages from friends and family!

Mio taste-testing my cake — Mio got to taste-test my tiramisu birthday cake that Dan & my mom prepared for me.

30 has been wonderful so far, and I am so happy as long as I have this sweet girl and Dan by my side! They are my everything.Â â™¥ Thank you to everyone who sent birthday messages, cards, and even gifts. And finally, thank you to everyone who supported and contributed to my charity: water campaign. Thanks to all of our collective efforts of 37 donations, we were able to surpass the $1,000 goal and raise $1,030! This will help 51 people get access to safe, clean water. In 18 months, we’ll be able to see exactly which products we’ve funded and the communities we were able to help. Thank you for helping to make such a big difference this year and making my 30th really count! My birthday wish has come true, and it’s one I’ll never forget. 🙂

reindeer-mio — Warm holiday wishes from our little family. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! â™¥

Mio’s First Snow

December 24, 2012 By Misono in Mio, Seasonal Celebrations, Videos Tags: first snow, Mio, snow, video

This Christmas Eve, Mio got a big treat — she got to see snow for the first time in her life! She seemed really fascinated and curious. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she kept trying to grab at the snowflakes that swirled around us.

The snow didn’t stick and the flurries stopped after a while, so we won’t be getting the white Christmas we’d been hoping for, but it was still a memorable experience for Mio! We can’t wait until she can see enough snow to play in!

White Elephant Christmas Party

December 24, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Seasonal Celebrations Tags: Christmas party, dan, Eric, Hanna, holiday party, Liz, Luice, misono, party, Sisi, Tom, white elephant

We were invited to our dear friend Hanna and her brothers’ annual Christmas party this past Saturday, and we were so excited we could make it this year! (We’ve only been able to attend once before because we were always in California until right before Christmas.) We put Mio to bed and left her with my parents in case she woke up, and got to have a fun evening celebrating the holidays with friends!

With the lovely hostess! :) — With the lovely hostess Hanna! â™¥

With Liz and Luice. :) — With beautiful ladies Liz and Luice!

Love these silly girls! :) — Love these silly girls! 🙂

It was a potluck, and there was SO much amazing food! I ate so much, and it showed. haha* I should think twice before wearing a bandage skirt if I know I’m going to be stuffing my face…

Cherry pie - my favorite! — Having a piece of the cherry pie that I brought!

Hanna with all her girlfriends — Ladies in red! Hanna with her girlfriends.

The highlight of this annual Christmas party is always the White Elephant gift exchange! There’s always lots of laughs and interesting gifts, and this year was no exception! This year there was everything from a knockoff Snuggie to a Kindle up for grabs!

Eric opened our S'mores kit! — Eric opened the S’mores kit we brought! (But it was eventually stolen by Sisi.)

Very cute! — A lunch sack! (Which was eventually stolen a few times, so I got a travel cosmetic bag and a neat message-growing plant in the end.)

Dan and I with our gifts. He got Ferrero Rocher – my favorite! 😉

Handsome Cider. I remember he was so tiny when Hanna first got him 5 and a half years ago while we were in college!

Reunited with Sisi! — Reunited with gorgeous Sisi!

Making a heart â™¥ — I’ve missed this girl! â™¥

Showing off our moves! lol… I’m an awful dancer, but it was fun!

Beautiful family picture :) — Beautiful family picture 🙂 We love the Chang family!

Roomies reunited! — Catching up with my former roomie and one of my best friends! Thank you Hanna for a wonderful party. 🙂

An Enchanted Tea Party

December 23, 2012 By Misono in Family and Friends, Mio Tags: Mio, Miwa, nursery, tea, tea party

We’ve been trying to find ways to keep Mio entertained indoors during the cold winter days when it’s too chilly to play outside. Last week my sister Miwa, fresh off her fall semester, planned and set up a tea party for Mio in her nursery! It was so sweet and magical. Here are some pictures.

Miwa setting up the table — My sister Miwa setting up for the party.

A teacup for Mio — A mini teacup for Mio! The play teacup set was a birthday gift for Mio earlier this year from our dear friends Sonya & Sofia. 🙂

All of Mio's friends came! — All of Mio’s friends came!

Mio's invitation to the tea party — My sister had even made invitations for Mio and I that she delivered the night before.

Mio handing Miwa the invitation to enter. — Mio handing Miwa the invitation to enter the party.

Mio arriving at the tea party. — Mio was in awe upon arriving at her party.

The guest of honor! — Mio was the guest of honor, and she knew exactly where to sit without being told.

Our little Alice in Wonderland — Dressed in a blue dress, she was our very own little Alice in Wonderland.

Toasting with Auntie Miwa. Mio loves doing “cheers!” so we must have clinked teacups 30 times or so during the tea party.

Mio enjoying her tea. — Sipping (or rather, chugging?) her tea.

Mio trying to get her bear to drink. — She insisted on making sure all her friends had some tea, too…

Feeding her doll — …and that they were well fed. 😉

Mio giving me a kiss! — Mio loved the party so much, she gave me a kiss!

I love this girl — My little sweetheart. I’m so glad she had such a fun time!

Sweethearts. — Of course, the actual one to thank was Miwa, who orchestrated everything and made it such a lovely afternoon for all of us! Thank you Miwa â™¥

Mio seemed to really love the tea party, and it seemed like she knew she had to be proper and well-mannered during such an occasion, because she was on her best behavior! We’ll definitely have to do one again now that we know how much she enjoys it…. 🙂

Mio’s Bear Paws

December 21, 2012 By Misono in Mio, Videos Tags: bear, bear paws, Mio, paws, video

Dan received this ridiculous bear paw scarf in a White Elephant gift exchange at his workplace, and he brought it home for Mio to try on. She had so much fun chasing us around, terrorizing us with her newfound bear paws! Here’s a video of Mio-Bear in action!

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