We were invited to celebrate Liam and Ellie’s joint birthday party to celebrate them both turning five! It was so much fun seeing our friends and getting our kids together for loads of family fun! There were lots of great food, a well-planned obstacle course, and exciting activities for the little ones. Thanks to the Jubb and Jenkins families for having us!
The spread for the party was impressive!
The kids running out onto the front yard for the obstacle course.
Waiting in line in their teams for the first part of the obstacle course…
…the egg race!
It was Mio’s first time competing in an egg race! She ended up being the last one to finish because her team got a late start and she was the last leg, and she kept dropping her egg, but the other kids cheered her on and she did great! Proud of her ♥
Mirei was too young to participate to participate in the obstacle course, so she stayed comfortable with Daddy.
Part 2 of the obstacle course: ball throw!
Part 3 of the obstacle course: a mummifying game, reminiscent of the toilet paper wedding dress game that’s often played at bridal showers. 😛
Setting up the pinata!
The finale of the obstacle course was the pinata! Here’s Mio taking a swing at it:
When the seemingly invincible pinata finally did get destroyed, the kids descended like vultures!
The green outfits were worn a day late because Mio’s preschool had a St. Patrick’s Day party on the 18th, but here are the girls dressed for the occasion!
March 3rd was Hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day in Japan), so we celebrated by giving thanks to the continued health and happiness of our daughters, and girls everywhere. We had the hinaningyo dolls on display (gifted from my aunt a couple years ago), and Mio loved admiring them. Dan’s parents recently went to Hawaii and sent a cute shirt for Mio they had bought there, remembering that she had had a similar-looking shirt with a Japanese girl/doll when she was a year old, around Mirei’s age, and suggested Mio and Mirei wear them together. It made for some cute photos of the girls matching! 🙂
Ohinasama on display
She’s disciplined enough not to touch, but she loves looking at them!
Can’t believe she is almost four…
13 month old Mirei
The perfect occasion to wear this outfit!
This is Mirei’s second hinamatsuri.
Dan’s mom also sent a whole bunch of hina-arare crackers for the occasion, so I gave some to the girls and they loved it!
Mirei stood on a stool so she could be tall like big sister!
Being goofy together. Love our girls!
Our daughters bring so much joy and laughter to our lives, and we are always so thankful that we are blessed to get be their parents. We hope they continue to grow healthy and strong, and wish for them a future of happiness, love, and abundant blessings!
I was going through baby stuff to get rid of, and came across this gem (which Mio wore here). Naturally we had to turn Mirei into Olaf for the afternoon! 😉
Mio loved it and she kept going over and hugging Mirei and cupping her hands around her saying, “I’m building a snowman! It’s Olaf!”
Someone is way too excited about being turned into a snowman!
So gleeful
“Wait… I’m not sure I like this look.”
The back view is my favorite.
Glad the snowman costume got to enjoy a second life!
I have been a horrible procrastinator about updating the blog lately! Here are a bunch of photos and videos from the past couple month that we’ve taken of our sweet girls! Some are quite funny — never a dull moment with these two!
Mio singing “Happy Birthday” to Mirei, about a week before her birthday. We had been telling Mio that Mirei’s birthday was coming up.
Mirei riding the zebra toy — her favorite!
Mio singing and guiding Mirei through the Japanese song, “Ito Maki Maki.” She was pretty sick and sniffly at the time, but it was really sweet to see this moment between the two of them!
Pesto-faced Mirei
They look like freckles!
Mirei clapping to the Japanese songs in her musical book! This totally reminds me of the video of Mio doing the same thing when she was around Mirei’s age!
Sisters scooting around on their princess ride:
It was pretty adorable!
Mirei continuing to ride while Mio dances around her…
Love her sweet gaze ♥
Mirei is kind of scared of the talking Mother Goose doll she received for Christmas:
Warming up to it, but still seems distrustful…
adoration + indifference
Mio climbing up the stair railing
Dance party in Mio’s room!
Mirei loves to pick up apples and oranges while we’re not looking, and walk around taking little bites out of them. She’s definitely a fruit lover!
Mirei is quite the messy eater!
She’s a big eater, just like her sister!
ohmygoodness
“Welcome to my ‘humbled’ home.” Not sure where she picks these phrases up, but I love it! (Dan claims she probably learned it from Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh.)
Blank stares… lol
Storytime with Daddy ♥
Bathtime with M & M!
Mirei dancing (or rather, swaying) to the music from a Japanese kid’s show.
Stealing a snack from big sister.
Mirei playing with pop-on toys:
Mio explained that she was making “avocado soup” here.
Marshmallow teeth!
An attempt at playing instruments together… our family never really did have any musical talent. haha*
Mirei trying to twirl to the xylophone music: (Her hair looks funny because she had just pulled a pigtail out.)
