Hangin' at the Aquarium

I haven't seen my buddy Matthew in a really long time. I used to see him (and Kyden) every week at Little Gym. But since they moved up to Funny Bugs, I don't see him very much any more.

So mama planned a playdate for us at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We ran through the jellyfish and stopped at the big tank to look at the hammerhead sharks and sea turtles.  Then we ran through the seahorses before heading over to the kelp forest and SplashZone.

On the way over to the kelp forest and SplashZone, we stopped at a special craft area and stamped postcards.  Then we took a photo with a shark. (hint: this shark is not Sharkie, who I have yet to see at the Sharks game.) These special activities that were part of a special Shark Days exhibit.

After running around the SplashZone, we headed out for dinner at Bubba Gumps.  While we were waiting for our table, Matthew and his dad made a special penny too. It was flattened with a shark on it.  I thought it was so cool that I wanted one too. After trying to convince mama or dada to let me have one, Matthew gave me his. That was really nice of him! Turns out he has a couple of other ones from other places.

Thanks for sharing your special penny and for playing with me at the aquarium Matthew!  We'll have to get together again soon.

Waaa...Preschool

I started transitioning to preschool last week.  Mama thought I'd be fine because:

• On showcase night (think open house), I had a blast in the preschool room and didn't want to go home.  I played with all toys and books and did most of the activities. And there's a computer we get to play with in preschool!
• I'm transitioning with several of my friends, including my BFFs Henry and Mitra. We've been together since we were infants.
• My daycare does a gradual transition where my current teachers drop me off at preschool for a few hours on the first day and then pick me up.  Each day I spend more and more time there until I get picked up in preschool.

Well, I did great on the first day. I didn't cry and had a fun time.  Mama and dada thought it would be a smooth transition.  But they were wrong!

On the second day and every day last week, I cried when Ms. Darlene dropped us off at preschool.  I clung to Ms. Darlene -- sobbing, shaking and saying that I didn't want to go to preschool.  At breakfast with mommy, I'd start to cry and say I didn't want to go to preschool either.

I don't like preschool. My teachers are different. I'm sad because I miss Ms. Darlene, Ms. Kathleen and Ms. Lilly. My preschool teachers -- Ms. Lizzie, Ms. Becky and Ms. Diana -- all seem very nice. But it's not the same.  They reassured dada that my behavior is normal and that I participate in the group activities after a I settle in.

Mama and dada hope that I get used to preschool before I'm completely transitioned to preschool (in a week). Otherwise, drop off is going to really rough.

Sweethearts Day

Valentine's Day (or Sweethearts Day as we call it at daycare) is a day you tell the people you love that you love them.  Dada says you don't need a special day to tell people how much you care about them.  You should do that every day.  I don't think he realizes how expensive that will get. Mama agrees with him, but she thinks it's still nice to when someone shows you how much you mean to them.  It doesn't have to be fancy, but she really likes those fruit bouquets.  Noted: send mama a fruit bouquet instead of a floral bouquet.  :)

Every year I make something special for mama and dada (with help from my teachers).  This year is the first year that I gave valentines to my friends at day care.  Mama bought heart-shaped stickers that I gave to all my classmates.  She also made heart-shaped cake pops for my teachers and Mason's teachers.  And I got valentines day cards and stickers from my teachers and friends. It was so fun!

Every year I also get a Valentine's Day card from grandma and grandpa. This year I got a super awesome card. It's a card that doubles as a board game! How cool is that?! It's perfect because I'm really into board games. I ask mama to play it ALL the time.

Happy valentines day!

Happy Year of the Snake!

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Or if you speak Cantonese, Gong Hey Fat Choy!

It's the year of the snake. I don't know any snakes, but I know that a snake says, "Sssssssssssss."

Last night, we got together with Po-po, Uncle Eddie, Auntie Lia and Caylie to celebrate the year of the snake. We went to a Chinese restaurant in Fremont.  It was packed! And the service was terrible. 

Luckily, mama brought some pears and Caylie shared some of her food with Mason.  Otherwise, it could've been really bad.  We waited for an hour for our food, but still no food.  A lot of the tables around us also didn't have their food either.  One of Po-po's friends and her family were at a table next to us.  They had been waiting for over an hour, and their soup just came out.

At this point in time, we decided to find a different place to eat. Luckily the new restaurant had a table for us.  And the food came out quickly!

Another cool part of Chinese New Year is collecting hong bao, red envelopes. Mama tried to get me to say, "Gong xi fa cai. Hong bao na lai." to Po-po and Uncle Eddie, but I wouldn't cooperate.  Even though I didn't earn it, I still got my red envelopes!

Happy Birthday Dada!

Yesterday was dada's birthday! 

To celebrate, mama and I snuck out in the afternoon to pick up a dozen mini-cupcakes at Kara's Cupcakes and a little ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.  I stayed home with mama yesterday because I was sick over the weekend.  Not to worry, I'm fine...no more fever. 

Since dada's birthday was on a Monday, he had volleyball in the evening.  After he left for volleyball, mama told me and Mason that we were going to surprise him.  I love surprises!  When we finished up our dinner, we headed out to the gym with the mini cupcakes and my noise protection headphones. (Volleyball gyms are loud, but not as loud as the Sharks game.)

Dada was surprised to see us.  And we were surprised to see him wearing Sienna's tutu while he played volleyball!  Mama says there are so many things wrong with that. Perhaps the most disturbing thing is that he fits Sienna's tutu.  I don't get it.  I think he looks fine. 

We sang happy birthday to dada in between one of their matches.  We got to stay and watch him play for a little bit, but had to leave before the cupcakes because Mason was getting tired and cranky.  Bummer, I wanted a mini cupcake.

This evening, we got to sing to eat the ice cream cake mama and I got.  Yay! I love ice cream and blowing out birthday candles. The ice cream cake was delish.

Happy Birthday dada!  And thanks for the pic of dada wearing a tutu, Auntie Christi!