April 1 was Mio’s last day as a 3 year old. We had a fun playdate with her friends Hiroki and Chika at their home and neighborhood playground.
Holding hands and running together.
Mio running off ahead with Hiroki-kun
Mirei and Chika-chan riding together.
Cuties at the playground together.
Mio is the oldest of the bunch… she’s looking so grownup here!
She was so excited at bedtime about waking up as a four year old, that she couldn’t go to sleep! Mama, on the other hand, was an emotional mess… I always feel a little bittersweet on the eves of my kids’ birthdays, but I’ve been feeling more teary than ever this time… 4 years old just sounds and feels so big, and time seems to go even faster as they get older. Mio is definitely not a toddler anymore.
I will always look back on and treasure my memories of Mio as a 3 year old, as I will her other ages. Each age is so special, but three was so much fun because she really started talking a lot at this age and her personality really started coming out. I can’t wait to see what four has in store for us!
On Saturday, we ended Mio’s birthday week with a party with a bunch of her little friends at Mobu Kids in Falls Church! Mobu Kids is a local private play studio (similar to Gymboree) and we thought it’d be a fun place to host the party so that the kids could have enjoy all kinds of play and activities. The staff there were great in that they really engaged the kids, helped out a lot with set-up and did most of the clean-up, and kept the party on schedule. It was still a little chaotic (as is expected with 20+ toddlers and preschoolers), but our stress level was significantly reduced because of them!
The tables set up for the party, complete with party hats and noisemakers.
Mio checking out the party room before her friends arrive.
Mio with her scrunchy-face she makes when she’s super happy!
With more of a normal smile this time!
Cupcakes with custom acrylic toppers that I designed and Dan cut out of with a CNC cutter.
Mio loves ice cream, so I decided on an ice cream shoppe theme for her birthday party. These are cupcakes I baked in cake cones to look like ice cream!
Homemade sugar cookies, also in the ice cream theme.
Mio got an early start on playtime in the gym while the guest started arriving.
Instructor-led play in the gym.
Making music together!
Pat with her adorable girls Cara and Anna
The kids shaking their little egg shakers to the “Milkshake!” song.
Playing with the parachute!
A video of the kids playing with the parachute:
The bubbles were also a huge hit!
After nearly an hour of playtime, the instructors got the kids cleaned up and moved to the party room, where we enjoyed pizza and desserts!
Time to eat! The kids all looked so adorable in their party hats!
The party room got quite loud with all the noisemakers going off, too.
Cutiepies eating at the table.
This may just be the cutest photo from the party… Mie and 7 month old Avonlea!
We got a video of everyone singing Happy Birthday and Mio blowing out the candle. Mio looks so happy!
Mio enjoying her cupcake cone. Look at that content smile!
With Daddy and Mommy… Mio is too focused on her cupcake.
Finally got her to look at the camera!
Ice cream-themed goody bags I made for the kids to take home. They were filled with stickers, ice cream cone punch poppers, erasers, and more sugar cookies.
Mio and Kailee squeezing in some more playtime before the party was over.
Cutiepies. So glad Mio and her friends had fun!
We’re so glad all of Mio’s friends and their families could make it out to celebrate Mio turning three. Some of our guests came from pretty far, so we’re really thankful that they made the trek out! It was so great seeing everyone, and Mio had so much fun — she’s been talking about the party ever since. Thank you to everyone who helped make her birthday so special for her! ♥
On Wednesday (Mio’s actual birthday) we celebrated at home with her grandparents, aunts and uncles with dinner, cake, and presents. Here are some photos and video from that day!
Mio opening her present from her grandparents (my parents).
Mio has been obsessed with Minnie Mouse lately… so she was thrilled to receive this Minnie plush!
Such joy!
The elated birthday girl!
Whenever we asked Mio what she wanted for her birthday during this past month, she always would respond with “bear cake!” She’d seen this adorable cake at Shilla Bakery and had her heart set on it for her birthday. It’s all she wanted! So of course, we had to get it.
Mio’s birthday bear cake
The much-anticipated moment captured on video:
Happily eating her birthday cake.
A family picture! 🙂
This time with the grandparents. Happy birthday Mio!
Mio celebrated her birthday with her preschool class on Tuesday, April 1. She couldn’t wait to bring these birthday cookies I baked for her class to school!
The teachers there are so sweet, and they took a couple photos of Mio during the class party (since parents can’t be there), and printed them out to give to me by the time I picked her up that day.
The birthday girl at preschool. ♥
Mio’s birthday celebration continues as we’ll be throwing a birthday party with all her little friends tomorrow! We’ll be sure to post photos and video from that after the weekend. 🙂
Happy third birthday, Mio! Three years ago today when I looked upon your face for the first time, I could hardly believe you were mine. Today as I watch you playing on the floor of your room, I find that I feel exactly the same way. The sense of wonder and disbelief that you came from us doesn’t goes away, and I have never gotten over how lucky we are to have you. At three years old, you still have one foot planted in toddlerhood with remnants of baby fat still visible on your face and frame, and yet you’re growing into a little girl with an exuberant and complex personality. Your quirkiness charms everyone you meet, from your preschool teachers to random ladies at the grocery store. You are an independent free spirit — a delightful paradox of dress-up and a dirt-smudged face; fairy wands and Legos. You light up our lives with your giggles and sweet hugs, which smooth my rough edges and restore my tired spirit at the end of the day.
You have my heart, now and forever.
♥ Mama
The Rundown at Three Years Old…
Stats: I’ll updated more accurate measurements once we go to your doctor’s checkup, but according to your growth chart, you are now exactly 3 feet tall (36 inches). You weigh around 34 lbs — definitely too heavy for Mama to hold for over two minutes!
Things You’re Doing Now: We are definitely seeing your transition from toddler to kid lately — your vocabulary and communications have grown by leaps and bounds in the past couple months, and you’re now talking in full sentences. While we had initially worried about a delay in speech, you’ve clearly hit the “verbal explosion” stage we’ve been long anticipating, and you are speaking a lot in both English and Japanese, and know how to use them separately according to who you’re talking to without jumbling the two languages up. Your brain is such a sponge right now, and you’re constantly full of “What’s that?” and “Who’s that?” questions and pick up and learn those answers and new words immediately upon hearing them only once. It’s really amazing to see how much you’re picking up but that also means we have to really watch what we say in front of you. You sometimes say random funny things, like “Oh, man…”, “Come on guys! It’s time to move!”, and “CATCH HIM!!!” — undoubtedly language you’ve picked up from preschool! The other day, while we were shopping at the mall, you went up to a mannequin and touched its dress, scrunched your face up into a big smile and effusively gushed, “SO CUTE!” … which Dan laughingly pointed out were gestures and words that you had picked up from me and were imitating. It was pretty funny, and maybe you really are turning into a little mini-me! You’re also able to recognize the letters of your name now and can point out when you “read” your name somewhere, and like to arrange your alphabet magnets to spell out “MIO” too. You love books more than ever, and are especially interested in Japanese folk tales. Your current favorite movie is “Monsters Inc” (“Finding Nemo” is still a close second!), and your favorite characters are Minnie Mouse, Daisy Duck, Anpanman, Doraemon, Hello Kitty, and Super Why. Dan and I noticed that since a few months ago, you’ve mellowed out of your “terrible two”-dom and gotten much easier to reason with. Of course, you still have your occasional meltdown when you are overtired, but you listen to what we say and follow rules without getting upset or throwing tantrums — we agree that we couldn’t have asked for a sweeter child! We’re relieved to announce that after months of failed attempts and accidents, you are almost fully potty trained. As of a couple weeks ago, we can take you on outings and to preschool in underwear without accidents, and you only wear a diaper at night when you go to sleep. You’ve even started telling us when you have to go recently, instead of us having to just periodically sit you on the potty. You’ve permanently moved to your big girl bed and are getting better at using normal cups without spilling. You are also playing a lot more autonomously and quietly work on building with your blocks and putting together puzzles when I have to take care of your baby sister. While you are not quite the doting big sister yet and most of the time you choose to ignore Mirei, it seems like you’re starting to come around and warm up to her a little bit more, offering toys to her, planting the occasional kiss on her, and saying “Mee-dey-chan kawaii~” (or “Mirei’s cute” — you can’t quite say “Mirei” and pronounce it with a “d” sound instead of an “r” sound). You also help Mama and Daddy by bringing over diapers, wipes, bottles, and burp cloths when we need some help. We’re so proud of you for all the ways you are growing up and being able to do things more independently. It’s been a wonderful three years, and we look forward to many more fun-filled years ahead!
