Dan’s birthday was on the 13th, and he turned 32 years old! At his request, we just had a quiet celebration at home (you can’t really go wild for your birthday with two little ones at home anyway!) with Thai takeout and BonChon chicken, and his favorite cheesecake for dessert.
Mio’s excited, as if it were her own birthday!
Turning out the lights for the birthday song
The girls’ expressions are so funny here.
Blowing out the candles.
Elisa and Ted came over too, and we enjoyed board games and a scary movie together afterwards!
The next day, we went out to enjoy all-you-can-eat crabs as an extended birthday celebration for Dan. My sister and dad came along, since they also love crabs!
Ready to dig in! Between Dan and I, my sister and dad, we killed about three of these trays.
“Mi” Club (Mirei not pictured)
Happy birthday to a husband and father who fills our lives with immeasurable joy. We love you Dan! ♥
We got a decent photo with Santa this year! We had only taken Mio to see Santa Claus once before two years ago, and that didn’t end well. We just skipped it last year because she didn’t seem crazy about Santa then either, but this year she has actually been talking about him a lot, maybe because preschool has been hyping him up and partially because she’s able to grasp the idea of him a little better at this age. She’s had only one thing on her Christmas wish list this year (“pink octopus”, a Beanie Baby octopus she saw in a store a couple months ago), and she was determined to tell Santa in person to be certain he knew what to bring her for Christmas. This was Mirei’s first time meeting Santa Claus, of course, and she handled it surprisingly well!
When Mio spotted Santa, she dashed to him, yelling “I WANT PINK OCTOPUS FOR CHRISTMAS!” but I guess he hadn’t planned on having any further conversation with him, so once he sat her on his lap and asked her more questions, she was silent, looking slightly uncomfortable and awkward…
I can just see her thinking, “Did he hear me ask for pink octopus? I have nothing else to say to this man…”
Well, I’m glad that we got at least one photo of Mio smiling with Santa, and although Mirei just looks kind of startled, at least she’s not in tears the way big sister was the first time meeting him!
Mirei’s friend Lily turns one on Christmas Day, but her parents celebrated her birthday early this month with a Frozen-themed first birthday party in Alexandria. I’ve known Lily’s mom since we were kids ourselves as we went to Japanese Saturday school together growing up, and we reconnected this year after finding out that we have baby girls born only a month apart (to the day!). We were so happy to get to be a part of Lily’s very special birthday celebration!
Dan & Mirei at Lily’s Frozen-themed birthday party. So appropriate for the season!
The birthday girl! Loved her outfit!
She’s such a sweetheart.
The kids got to romp around in the soft playroom for an hour.
Mio, being the wild and active girl that she is, thoroughly enjoyed the playroom.
Mirei joining in the fun
Lily and her mama Moe-chan
Mirei & Lily together
Mio being interesting…
M&M in the ball pit together
Mirei being rocked by Daddy
Video clips that Dan captured of the kids playing in the playroom. They had a blast!
Afterwards, we went back to the party room to have some birthday cake!
Look at this gorgeous birthday cake!
Frozen-themed treats!
Cupcakes looked amazing, too!
Lily smashing her birthday cupcake.
…and of course, Mio was happy to enjoy one, too!
Happy early birthday, Lily! Thank you for inviting us and letting us be a part of all the birthday fun. ♥ Let’s play again soon!
It’s that time again… for one of our favorite holiday traditions: building and decorating the gingerbread house! I’m finding that it gets more and fun with every year, as Mio becomes more capable and involved in the decorating process… she placed a lot of the candy herself this year, and gave us some art direction! Mirei was asleep this year (probably for the better, since she probably would have tried to wreck our creation) but maybe next year she can help decorate, too!
Getting ready to start the gingerbread house! (Mirei asleep in the background)
I see you eyeing that candy, Mio…
Watching it all come together…
Mio placing the candy all over the house.
She loved being able to do a lot of it herself!
The completed gingerbread house – a collaboration between Mio, Dan and I. I love that it has character!
Mio admiring (read: drooling over) her creation.
In the days since, she’s been asking if she can break off a piece of candy off the house to eat almost daily. Eating it is part of the fun, too! π
See past years’ gingerbread houses: 2013 • 2012 • 2011
Thanksgiving is much anticipated in our household, and this year Dan took the reigns and handled most of the cooking, while I helped out here and there as sous chef. My mom didn’t have to lift a finger, and we got a delicious Thanksgiving dinner on the table for all to enjoy!
Our Thanksgiving dinner! And this doesn’t even include dessert…
The amazing spread
Mirei’s first Thanksgiving
Mio with Auntie Miwa on Thanksgiving
Mio with Daddy on Thanksgiving
post-Thanksgiving dinner selfies with Mio
I’m so thankful that these girls are healthy. That as a family, we laugh often. That despite all the ways I stumble along, they make me feel like I matter. That my husband is gentle, loving, and patient. That we have friends to love, who also care about us. That we have food on the table and a safe place to fall asleep each night. It makes me wonder how I’m worthy of so much. I still don’t have the answer, but oh, my heart could burst with gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
