A favorite film of Mio’s to watch is Finding Nemo, and she always says “fishhh fishhh” and “turtle” whenever she wants to watch it. She must have seen the movie over a dozen times by now, and knows it pretty well now. (She’ll even exclaim “turtle!” right before the scene with the turtles start, which shows that she’s pretty much memorized the whole movie. lol) Today, she had a really intense reaction while watching the scene where Nemo is about to get abducted by the boat. She started shouting, jumping up and down and flailing as if to warn Nemo not to get any closer to the boat! It cracked me up. See for yourself!
Since moving back to the DC area, one of the things we’ve looked forward to most is going to see the famous cherry blossoms that bloom around the Tidal Basin every spring. The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees from Japan to the city of Washington, DC back in 1912. 101 years later, the beautiful cherry blossoms and festival celebrate the continued friendship between the two countries. Growing up minutes away from the nation’s capital and this spring spectacle of blossoms, cherry blossoms easily became one of my favorite flowers. I hadn’t seen them in years since I went off to college and then moved to California. Even while on the West Coast, I’d always wish I could visit during cherry blossom season so I could see the Tidal Basin surrounded by sakura, so I was really looking forward to being able to see them for the first time in over a decade! The initial forecast of peak bloom was at the end of March but those dates came and went without any signs of buds nor blooms due to the cold days of this year’s lingering winter. They finally came around, though, almost two weeks later when the weather jumped into the 80s, making it feel like we’d skipped spring and went straight into summer. It made for a gorgeous few days of sunshine that were perfect to walk about and see these magnificent blossoms in full bloom. Our family went on Wednesday afternoon, right after Dan had flown back in from the NAB Show since he didn’t have to go into work the rest of the day. It worked out perfectly because we could go right during the peak bloom period!
Our family of three by the stone lantern, with the cherry blossoms behind us.
Admiring the cherry blossoms hanging over the water.
The Jefferson Memorial and cherry blossoms behind us.
Mio with her namesake. Her name means “beautiful cherry blossom,” as she was born during cherry blossom season.
Cherry blossoms encircling the Tidal Basin
Mio with Daddy by the sparkling waters
Mio looking into a hole in one of the cherry blossom trees.
Such a beautiful sight!
Looking at the blossoms overhanging the water.
Taking a break on the grass.
Sharing a giggle with Daddy.
It seemed like all of DC was out to enjoy the blossoms and the gorgeous weather!
Making our way along the Tidal Basin.
Mio and I under a canopy of cherry blossoms.
By the new Martin Luther King Jr memorial that opened just a couple years ago in 2011.
This was our first time seeing the memorial – it was quite impressive!
The Tidal Basin engulfed in blossoms!
With the Washington Monument behind us.
The cherry blossoms were definitely in peak bloom!
perfect weather + perfect blossoms!
DC is so beautiful this time of year. I love this city!
Taking a rest at the Roosevelt Memorial.
A happy Mio! æ¡œã®ã‚ˆã†ã«ã—ã£ã‹ã‚Šæ ¹ã‚’å¼µã£ã¦ã€çš†ã‚’幸ã›ã«ã™ã‚‹å„ªã—ã„åã«è‚²ã£ã¦ã♪ Our hope is that just like these cherry blossoms, you’ll grow up to plant your roots firmly in the ground, and be a gentle and compassionate girl who brings joy to all those around her.
Goodbye gorgeous blossoms! We hope to see you again next spring. 🙂
It seems that spring is finally here. Or rather, based on the weather we’ve been getting this week, that we’ve skipped it altogether and jumped from winter to summer! We’ve been enjoying temperatures up in 80s so far this week, but after months of chilliness, the warmer weather is a welcome respite. I’m not complaining!
Here are some snapshots from the past few days, including the weekend.
First spring flowers in her hair… “Mommy, I’m ready for Coachella!”
Wrapping up cookies for a bridal shower order. With spring-inspired floral decorations…
Lunch at Temari together on Saturday before Dan left for the NAB Show in Vegas.
Sakura mochi from Temari… the only place I can find it in the DC area!
Celebrating my sister Miwa’s 23rd birthday on Saturday.
Mio and I spent Sunday afternoon at Great Falls.
We got to hang out with this new family of four: Pat, Theo, Anna and Cara!
Mio and Anna sharing a hug. ⤠Thanks for a fun day together!
Wild goose chase! At Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna.
Grandpas make good chairs.
Soaking up the sun on a beautiful day. ☀
Not spring-related, but Mio learned how to climb out of the crib this week. I caught her in mid-escape this morning!
Mio having her first popsicle with her new friend Kailee. â¤
Sharing a cold bite in this 80 degree weather. Of course, they wanted to try each other’s popsicle flavors. 😉
Mio turned two yesterday, and while we opted not to have a big birthday party with friends this year, we spent the daytime playing outside and had a little get-together with the family in the evening to celebrate with BonChon Chicken dinner, birthday cake, and opening presents! Here are some snapshots and video from throughout the day…
We had another little Easter egg hunt in the backyard in the morning.
But then she got distracted by the swing.
Smiles of delight on the swing.
And no day is complete without climbing onto furniture! Mio loves to climb to the top of the sofa and straddle like a horse.
Wearing tupperware as a hat. Silly girl.
Eating BonChon chicken for dinner. Mio always says “kokko-” (short for “kokekokko”, or “cock-a-doodle-doo” in Japanese) while eating chicken!
The birthday cake I made for Mio!
I love this video that Dan took of Mio while we sang “Happy Birthday” to her. She seemed to know exactly what was going on, and that she had to blow out the candles at the end! I love her excited smile and clapping at the end…
…but then of course she thought the candles were candy and stuck one in her mouth! Very much a Mio thing to do. haha* You can see how much she loves eating the cake in the following video:
Mio with a mouthful of cake!
Mio + cake = happy girl.
Mio and Mama both share a love for desserts and all things sweet!
Dan says Mio and I have the same face here. lol
“Whatcha lookin’ at, Daddy?”
After cake, we opened some birthday presents together! Dan and I got her a dollhouse, while my parents got her a family of dolls to match. Her reaction was more than we had anticipated — she was ecstatic! 😀
She also got some sweet and generous gifts from Uncle Ted and Auntie Elisa!
An AquaDoodle from Uncle Ted and Auntie Elisa…
…and a toy medical kit to play doctor! Conditioning her early… 😉
Curiously looking at the stethoscope.
While it was a small birthday celebration in comparison to the birthday party we threw her for her first birthday last year, it seemed to leave quite an impression on her. Afterwards, she kept saying “two” in search of the candle shaped like a 2, and has been carrying it around with her ever since! I also caught her serving her stuffed animals toy cupcakes and singing to them “Happy~ to you~” (since she can’t say “birthday”) yet. It warms my heart to see how much she enjoyed and appreciated the family celebrating her birthday and how much love she must’ve felt!
Mio wouldn’t let go of the 2-shaped candle! Happy birthday sweetheart. ♥
Happy birthday to my sweet little girl! I can hardly believe that you are already two years old.
We have watched you grow and transform from a newborn, to a baby, to a toddler in what feels like a blink of an eye. I’m constantly telling Dan “This is my favorite age of hers†because in each of those moments, they’ve felt like just that. You are still so small, and yet you are bursting with so much personality, emotion, and life. You’re brave and fearless in exploring and discovering new things, and have such a sweet and tender heart towards those around you.
These past two years have been so precious and dear to our hearts, and we can’t wait for this next year, and all the years to follow. We’re so excited to watch how you’ll continue to grow and to discover the lovely girl — and eventually, woman — that you will become!
The happiest of birthdays to the sweet little girl who made me a mother, who brightens our days, who gives us a million reasons to smile and laugh. You are loved far more than you can possibly imagine.
I can’t wait to spend a lifetime of these priceless moments with you.
♥ Mama
The Rundown at Two Years Old…
Stats: We haven’t been to the doctor’s in a while, but I’m pretty sure certain you weigh around 29 or 30 lbs now, and I can barely pick you up for more than 2 minutes. I’ll update with more specific height and weight measurements in a couple weeks after we go in for your two year checkup at the pediatrician.
Things You’re Doing Now: You’re more independent than ever, and continue to imitate things that we do. You’re starting to show a very thoughtful and nurturing side to you: you pretend to change your stuffed animals’ diapers, prepare and feed them play food, and take them on strolls in your doll stroller. You’re learning your manners and you say “please” (although right now, it sounds more like “fwee”), and “arigato” (but it comes out more like, “a-to”). You’re definitely repeating a lot more of the words that you hear us saying, which makes us wonder if you’re on the brink of that verbal explosion that a lot of parents say comes a little after kids turn two. You’re starting to recognize certain letters of the alphabet and numbers by sight (particularly the letter “C” and number “2” are your favorites that you spot and point out most). Just today, we heard what sounded like you counting the first few numbers in Japanese as you went up each step on the stairs! At bedtime, you’ve gotten clever about picking out the longest books to ensure that you maximize your storytime before going to bed. You still want us to read you at least five books at night and sing to you before putting you to bed, but while you used to cry and protest for a couple minutes every night when going to bed, lately you’ve seem to come to peace with the routine and cheerfully say “bye bye” when it’s time for you to go to sleep. I saw some brief flashes of jealousy at a playgroup the other day when one of the moms asked me to hold and watch her newborn baby while she took her older child to the bathroom — you were playing across the room from me, but did a double take when you glanced over and saw the baby in my arms, and came running over whining and fake-crying “Mama!” It was quite a surprise to see! You’re eating more than ever these days, and it feels like you are eating/snacking on food of some sort every waking hour! You’re definitely the picture of health as usual, and while the rest of the family fell sick this past month, you were the only one who remained immune to the cold and flu. You’re starting to exhibit more playfulness and interest in other toddlers your age, especially at the Japanese playgroup we’ve recently started attending. While the frustrations and tantrums of the “terrible two”s are still there, you’ve also become sweeter and more affectionate in recent months — you’ve been showing such a wide variety of moods lately, and you keep us guessing and entertained every day.
