Peach Tree

My baby turns 4!!!!

My little Peach had her 4th birthday party at school today.

She got to wear a special "crown" and pass around ice cream sandwiches to all her little friends.

Happy Birthday, my little Peach!

Happy Birthday, Nico!

This handsome little dude was Lucy's 1st love ;)

Still Here!

Wow, almost 4 months since my last post! It's not like there hasn't been much happening around here. There has been a lot happening, and therefore a lack of time for me to write new posts.

So last weekend we went to Seattle. I'd enrolled in a one-day photography class months ago with the Nikon School, and we decided to make a little family trip out of it. We went a day early so we could spend a day checking out the city. We spent a fair amount of time at the Pike Street Market, and then at the aquarium. Of course, the girls were just as happy to hang out in the hotel, running races in the hallways and splashing around in the pool with Daddy.

The same day of our return to Victoria, my good buddy, Shin, and his new wife, Naoko, flew from Tokyo to Vancouver, then took the ferry over to the island and spent about 5 days and nights here with us - sightseeing, playing with the girls, drinking Canadian beer and Japanese shochu with us in the evenings. We all had a fabulous visit, and I miss them so much already!

Then this past weekend, the 4 of us took the ferry to the mainland to meet the newest additions to our family: fraternal twin boys, Oliver and Calvin, who were born on March 3rd at 11:59pm and March 4th a couple of minutes later! They are insanely adorable and totally precious. Holding them made me realize that my little Hana-chan is no longer a little baby, but a skookum toddler now!

On Monday, we spent the night at the impressive Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver because Paul had an all-day meeting nearby. Once again, the girls enjoyed running races in our spacious room and soaking with us in the hot tub outside on the 8th floor (spectacular view!).

My mom arrives tomorrow to babysit while Paul and I go here for a mini-vacation sans kids! It's the first time we'll both be away from both kids for more than a day, and the final stage of weaning little Hana-chan.

Then my big, little girl turns *gasp* FOUR YEARS OLD on Tuesday! My, how time flies...

 

My 1st BSJ

I can't believe I let this one hibernate for 9 months! I call this my 1st BSJ because I just know I'll be knitting a few more of these in the future (already bought more Berroco Love It - this time in solid blue colours). 

It's a good thing I finished this baby right now, 'cause in another month it will already be too small for Hana-chan. 

There's something about a baby in worsted weight garter stitch - so squishy!

 

Family Photo

I decided it was high time we had a proper family photo, so here it is:

T-I-R-E-D

It's 4:45am and Hana and I have been up for an hour.

This is what happens when your kid skips her nap because there's tons of company over, then put her to bed 2 hours earlier than usual. I'm debating whether to make some coffee. I'll think I'll just wake P up in half an hour and do the "tag team" thing.

Ugh.

My Christmas Day

I just wrote a lengthy post about my awesome day, only to have it vanish into cyberspace thanks to this *(^*&%# computer.

So I'll sum it up in pictures:

One of my stocking stuffers (How did Santa know? Or does every 30-something-mother-of-2 want a Bloodbath CD in her stocking...?)

The girls tearing into a present (I can't believe how much fun it is to watch them enjoy Christmas like this)!

Some pictures I took while on my walk to the beach through the woods behind our house (P was at home watching the girls).

This is what I was listening to in my ipod while on my walk (not many people can understand how melodic, black metal and a snowy, sunny day are the perfect match for me).

Then we had Christmas dinner at P's parents' place. Momo-chan had fun opening other peoples' presents while Hana-chan practised climbing up onto furniture.

Overall, it was a pretty fantastic day, and P&I agree that it's probably the best Xmas day either of us has ever had

:)

More snow!

We woke up this morning to an absolute winter wonderland.

Momo-chan was thrilled!

More pics here.

Cold Snap

It's been cold here lately. Well, cold for us here on the coast - not like the cold my poor family's experiencing in the prairies. I heard yesterday it got down to -46 degrees (Celsius) with wind chill in the province my brother and his wife live in! Over here it was only -16, with wind chill . Still, it's enough to make life interesting for us - checking to see if there are school closures, scraping the ice off the windows of the car, bundling up both girls and stuffing them into their car seats, slipping around on the roads which are more like skating rinks, hauling both girls into Momo's school for drop-off, bundling Hana back into the car, slipping and skidding all the way back home - and repeating the process again to pick M up, go grocery shopping, hit the library, and whatever other errands we have to run. Doing this 5 days a week can get pretty exhausting! The upside to this, though, is there's a good chance we could have a white Christmas this year, which is unusual in this part of the country.

So Momo-chan had her Christmas pageant at her school yesterday afternoon. As expected, she was the only kid who didn't participate. She's incredibly shy, and hates performing in front of large groups of people. At her ballet recital the other day she was the only girl out of 9 who refused to dance. We tell her it's OK to be shy and to feel free to join in whenever she's ready, but it can be really frustrating watching other people's kids perform with gusto and smiling faces while yours clings to your side with a grimace on her face, practically shaking with fear. She is her mother's daughter, however, so we really can't blame her.

This next picture cracks me up!

Poor little muffin!

My Baby's One Year (and a week) Old!

I just can't believe Hana-chan's one already. Where did this past year go?

I mean, just look at that face - she's such a grown up baby!

To help us celebrate her birthday, my mom flew down for a 5-day visit. It was the hardest thing ever - trying to keep her visit a surprise for Momo-chan. I told her we had to drive to the airport to pick up Hana's birthday present, and that she should keep her eyes peeled for a big, red bow. My mom walked through the arrivals gate holding a giant bow in front of her face, and I caught the girls' reaction to it all on video. Priceless! That afternoon we baked cupcakes in ice cream cones and Momo had her first-ever experience decorating the finished goodies all by herself. She was so proud!

As you can see, Hana was a big fan of those cupcakes!

For prezzies she got a wooden cart/walker with 4 colored "sensory balls" from Nana & Papa (she's sooo close to walking, so this will help her to practise), a Little People's circus toy from us because all the LP's toys we have now are hand-me-downs from Paul's brother, whose wife is now expecting twin boys(!) and we'll have to return them, and Mom's visit along with a pair of cozy, winter PJs from my parents. 

Happy 1st Birthday, Muffin! xoxoxoxoxoxo