De-Claire-ation of Independence

Playdates and Parties

2011-07-31T00:35:00.005-05:00

Just some extra fun-ness in July ...

Playdate at the pool

Watching fireworks with Tanisha

Peeking at daddy from our new playhouse

Waiting to ride a safari animal

Celebrating Jacob's birthday at Frontiers of Flight

More July pics in our album!

Dance Camp and Karate Stripes

2011-07-27T22:34:00.005-05:00

With all the fun daily activities at school during the summer, Mommy opted to send me to a two-week dance camp (two times a week) instead of doing dance class. I got to take the class with a bunch of my playgroup friends which was super fun doing little bunny foo-foo and moving like animals, and I still recognize when we're near the studio that we're getting close to dance camp!

Ready to dance

The cuties

What fun!

July was also when I got my first stripes in karate, and they are my favorite color: yellow! It was nice that I got them at my evening class (rather than my school class) because Mommy was there to watch me show-off my star block and frist creed ... and to catch me proudly showing off my strips afterwards!

Getting my stripes

I'm so proud of me!

Cow Appreciation and The Wiggles Live

2011-07-08T23:33:00.007-05:00

Going to Chick-Fil-A for some free chicken on Cow Appreciation day SEEMED like a good idea. I mean, what could go wrong with dressing Gavin up like a cow and eating yummy food?

Let's do this!

Well, there could be a GIANT COW walking around the restaurant terrorizing me while I try to eat! Sure, Mommy said that the cow was nice, but it's a GIANT COW.

Is the cow behind me?

Luckily, I got a flower balloon out of it, which was perfect because I wanted to take Dorothy some flowers when I went to see her at The Wiggles Live!

Quick nap on the way

Ready for The Wiggles!

We had a grand time at the show singing and dancing, and I even got to give my flower to the conductor guy who sang about it!

Serenading Dorothy

My souvenier

What a fun time! Check out more pics in our July album!

Law Kids Family Fun

2011-07-02T22:30:00.009-05:00

Xiao-Jiu, Crystal A-Yi, and Kirby came to visit for the weekend, and since Da-Jiu is in town now, we all had some fun together.

Getting pampered

Checking out the guinea pics

Getting Kirby wet

Watching the July 4th Parade

Best of friends

More July pics in our album!

More June "Stuff"

2011-06-30T22:54:00.006-05:00

Just some extra stuff from June ...

Smiles with Kaylie after playing at The Ark

Love Debbie A-Yi!

Conducting my version of "musical chairs"

Checking out Da-Jiu's cool graduation robe

Celebrating Chloe's birthday

More and more in our June album!

Karate Kid and Preschool 2

2011-06-28T21:38:00.004-05:00

After asking Mommy for weeks, I finally convinced Mommy that I really wanted to take karate. Mommy's pretty sure that my Shifu was probably coming by the school every day reminding us how much we wanted to do karate (clearly), but whatever it was, it worked! I take classes once a week at school and then we try and go by the studio at least once during the week as well. Everyone's already really impressed by everything they've seen, from my memorization, dicipline, and ability to take direction.

Star block

Not sure if it's normal to get air while kicking, but I did!

Prepared to take a blow. It looks scary, but I love it and crack up every time

In other school updates, after some drama (not worth mentioning here), I moved up to the Preschool 2 class at the end of June. It's a full-year curriculum, so it's the same class I'll be with for the next year until I start Pre-K.

Ready for my first day

July 4th presentation at school

Lots more pics in our June album!

Welcome, Summer!

2011-06-21T22:38:00.004-05:00

With June here, we're definitely spending lots of time outdoors enjoying the awesome weather. From watching a movie at the Frisco ballpark, doing water fun at our neighborhood get togethers, or just swimming at the pool, we always have a grand time!

Movie in the outfield

Water fun at the Shops

Waterslide! I called it the "river"

Wings at the pool. Easy to wash!

Throw your hands in the air like you just don't care!

You know with it only being June there will be lots more water pictures coming up, but for now you can see more June fun in our monthly album.

More May Memories

2011-05-30T01:04:00.008-05:00

Some other random May pictures ...

Playdate with Kaylie at our house

Greeting Mr. Al at the school Spring Fling

Showing off some of my art that we finally got around to framing

Making snowcones at home

Making pancakes (oddly similar to making snowcones)

Excited to have bubble tea in our neighborhood!

Painting a surprise for Daddy

May will be remembered as when I discovered the ICE CREAM MAN! Genius.

I'm going to get you, duck!

Don't you want to see my pretty nails?

... more of which you can find in our May album.

Lil Sluggers and Cuties Splash Fun

2011-05-23T01:20:00.007-05:00

I started Lil Sluggers baseball with some of my friends from my playgroup. I really like my coach, "Josh Coach", and I'm having a ton of fun.

Warming up

Starting with the big targets

My playgroup also headed to The Fields to do some splashing in the sun.

C'mon, Gavin

Going to make it across

Wet

Enjoying a post-splash snack

More playgroup fun in our May album.

First Dance Recital

2011-05-22T00:33:00.006-05:00

After months of practice, dress rehearsals, and pictures, it was finally time for my dance recital! I did AWESOME. I danced, I twirled, I pretended to fall down. All in all, I had a wonderful time and love dance.

Fitting in one last practice at school

My dance picture

All prettied up and ready to go on stage

Quick snack backstage while we wait

With our snuggle puppies and medals after the show

Proud family

Every star gets flowers after the show

Since then, I've watched the DVD multiple times; I'm happy to show you anytime you want to see it! Until then, you can check out more pics in our our May album.

Congrats, Xiao-Jiu!

2011-05-22T00:30:00.006-05:00

We made a quick trip down to cheer on Xiao-Jiu on his big day: graduation from the University of Texas at Austin!

I wonder if I can go on stage with Xiao-Jiu when he crosses ... and whether he'll care when I drop hotdog in his hair.

Excited to see Po-Po in Austin, too

Hook 'em, Horns!

So proud of my uncle

Afterwards we celebrated at a yummy Maggiano's dinner and the ever-present ice cream cake before settling down at our hotel.

Dinner was THAT good

Congrats again!

Just like the princess couch at home!

The next day we made a quick trip to see cousin James and his family, enough to eat some yummy food and fit in our "couch" pictures with the Pee sons.

The first-born Pees

It gets exponentially harder the more kids there are

It was slightly bittersweet as it was exactly the same day/time that Da-Jiu was also graduating from med school at Wash U, but Gong-Gong was there to support him in person while we were happy for him in spirit.

Check out the Austin-weekend pics (yes, it had its own album).

Mother's Day at The Fields

2011-05-08T00:29:00.007-05:00

To celebrate Mother's Day, Mommy couldn't think of anything better than spending time with her family in the great outdoors. We decided to have a picnic at The Fields with our good friends the Davises. We ate, climbed, played in the water, made sand angels, and had a wonderful time.

Happy Mother's Day!

Rocking the hats with my BFF

Trying to stand still for a picture

Swinging

I'm a perfect (snow) angel

And, of course, we took lots of pictures. Hey, it was Mother's Day, and "Mother Knows Best", right? Check out the whole Mother's Day album now!

Artist Unleashed

2011-04-27T15:31:00.007-05:00

Dressing up, being creative, and using my imagination are some of my favorite things. Luckily Mommy likes to capture it all on film. :)

Indian and top hat. Oo, la, la.

Egyptian Indian princess

Circus trainer

Slightly windy out here

Ready to create in our painting shirts

We are ar-teeeeests!

Hayden and I pretty in pink at our dance picture day

Ready for my closeup!

My alien friend

Check out lots more pics in our April album!

Easter - Glen Rose, TX

2011-04-25T11:08:00.010-05:00

For Easter this year, Daddy took us on a trip to Glen Rose, TX. It was a wonderful weekend full of fun, family, and festivities! We're going to shoot for less words and more pictures, and then you can check out our Glen Rose photo album to see even more!

When we got to Glen Rose, we went directly to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park. Seeing the animals was super fun, and I loved sitting in the front seat and helping Daddy drive the best.

Let's drive!

Headed into the wild

C'mon, giraffe! Over here!

He's heeeee-ere

At the hotel, we got settled into our room and then checked out the awesome property. We went directly on to a hayride where Daddy showed us the art of chewing grass. The rest of the first day was spent at the fun Kids Korral where we got to play while Mommy and Daddy had datenight at the restaurant.

The next day was a busy one checking out the property more and then visiting Dinosaur World before swim time. That night was the Kids Korral again.

Post-breakfast ring toss

First horseback ride

Noooooo!

Aaaaah!

Not...sure...how...I...feel...about...thiiiiis...

Sunday morning was Easter, and we were apparently visited by the Easter Bunny overnight because there were baskets full of treats waiting for us in the morning. We put the baskets to good use at the Easter egg hunts put on by the resort, but I was scared of the Easter Bunny until I realized "I can see his neck, Mommy!".

Is it Christmas again?

One for me ...

Weird, why does he have a neck?

Now THIS bunny I can handle

He's so cute!

After a super yummy brunch, we were back in Dallas, but not until we decided to make Rough Creek an annual Pee family tradition! Check out more pics from our wonderful weekend away!

Tangled Princess Party

2011-04-10T23:16:00.007-05:00

Mommy and I thought it would be fun to have some of my girlfriends from school over for a Princess Party after "Tangled" came out on video. Daddy and I got ready by baking cookies together to decorate, and I made sure I got in my princess finest.

Making cookies with Daddy

Ready to par-tay!

My friends and I decorated our cookies, played outside, ate some dinner, and made some more noise before settling down to watch the movie.

My cookie

Eats

Bouncing in the balls (and off the walls)

Movie time!

Cuddling in our Tangled blankets

Since then, I have watched Tangled maybe 30 times? I've watched it in Spanish, with closed captioning, and with the decriptive commentary for the visually impaired. What an awesome movie!

Bluebonnets

2011-04-08T22:26:00.008-05:00

Everyone in Texas knows that the spring brings the wildflowers, and this year Mommy decided to try and capture us in the iconic Texas flowers. I'm not sure that we made it easy on her, but I do think we'l try it again next year!

Funny faces

And more funny faces

Afterwards, we celebrated a successful photo shoot with lunch and ice cream at McD's.

Check out more pics in our April album! Until next year!

Other Random March-ness

2011-03-31T14:00:00.006-05:00

Just some other pics from March ...

Went to a St. Patty's playdate at Sarah's house

Went with Gavin to get his first haircut and got one myself

Tried using chopsticks

All dressed up for school pics

Got my new doggie Snow White from Kaylie

Made Logan a birthday masterpiece

Went to "the other" Claire's party

And then March went out like a lamb. On to April!

March Marches On

2011-03-20T23:59:00.002-05:00

The Spring Break week continued its surprises as we found out on St. Patty's Day that Da-Jiu is coming to Dallas for his residency! Hooray!

Hooray for Da-Jiu moving to Dallas!

Did he say "babysitting"?

Then that afternoon, Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye came to visit as well. They were originally going to watch me and Gavin so that Daddy could take Mommy on a date for her birthday, but she ended up getting real sick, so they helped a lot by watching us so that she could hide and nap.

Sandwiched by love

To the park we go

And THEN, on Mommy's birthday, Gong-Gong and Po-Po showed up at our door! They said they were in Dallas looking for places for Da-Jiu to live, but they came bringing cake, so I think they really just wanted to celebrate Mommy's birthday. :)

Thank for the cake ... and coming to see us!

Blow

Spring Break is fun!

Birthday and Belated Birthday

2011-03-13T23:49:00.003-05:00

Xiao-Jiu and Crystal A-Yi took time out of their Spring Break to come visit us for the weekend, and they brought me a belated birthday gift (I'm telling you, this third birthday just keeps on going!). I thought my gift was waking up to find them in our house, but they brought even more goodies! We had a fantastic time playing, doing art, and just being together.

You're here!

You're really here!

Hard at work on my masterpiece

It was also the same weekend as Sofia's birthday party (one of many as well). We partied our hearts out and had a great time!

I LOVE the parachute!

Please visit our March album to see more pictures!

Elmo and the Arboretum

2011-03-05T23:38:00.007-06:00

No, not Elmo and the Arboretum on the same day, but it was in the same action-packed weekend. Daddy got us tickets to the super-cool suite at the Verizon Theatre to see Seasame Street Live. It was awesome! We had lots of room to run around and dance to Elmo and his friends. Thanks, Daddy!

Excited for the show to start

The next day, we met up with Jacob and his family for our first whole-family outing at the Arboretum. It was the first time the daddy's joined us and was quite the affair. We had a picnic and checked out all the playhouses that were built this year.

We're going to the park!

I think this sign says "do not sit on frog"

The beast!

The surviving sucker

You're not going to leave us up here, are you?

I loved her yellow dress

Of COURSE there's more pictures, so check them out in our March album!

Ft. Worth Zoo with the Gebhardts

2011-02-25T23:47:00.005-06:00

Logan and Kaitlyn met Gavin and I at the Fort Worth Zoo. I was super-excited to see the giraffes, my favorite animal right now. We saw tons of animals, checked out the new exhibits, had a wonderful picnic, and made sure we saw the lions on the way out.

Baby elephant!

Logan and I reading all about the elphants

Hey, giraffes! We're here!

Riding the turtle

Petting the lizard

What a fun time!

There's some more pics in the Feb album if you'd like to check them out!

Birthday Party ... Um, Parties

2011-02-12T00:47:00.012-06:00

I shared some of my birthday cakeballs/bears with my playroup friends, and then I got a special princess cake at the Super Bowl party, so really my birthday should have been sufficiently celebrated, but when you're three, the party never really ends.

I had a little party at school with my friends. I brought them goodie bags and snacks to share. I felt so special having my whole class celebrate my birthday!

My last birthday party was at Build-A-Bear. A handful of my friends met me up at the mall playarea, and then we went to make our very own bears before going to Indoor Safari for a train ride and lunch.

Is THAT a Claire-bear?

Meeting up at the playarea

Giddyup!

All my friends signed a backpack for me

Ready to stuff!

Washing Vanilla Ice Cream clean

Thumbs up

Lunch!

As a nice surprise, Po-Po and Gong-Gong came up for my party even though they were super-exhausted from just having returned from celebrating Chinese New Year in Taiwan.

Thanks for coming, Po-Po!

Maybe I misspoke when I said my "last" birthday party. One of my BFF's, Kaylie, was sick the day of my party, so she and I met up the next week to re-create the whole experience. I didn't make another bear, but I brought Vanilla Ice Cream with me so that she could get a nice bath.

This is how we wash our bear

Couches for us all

More birthday pics in our Feb album!

3-Year Well Baby

2011-02-07T16:45:00.010-06:00

Yesterday (on my actual birthday), we had some friends over to watch the Super Bowl. Daddy took me to the grocery store -- the first time I left the neighborhood in 10 days! -- and let me choose a special princess cake that I proceeded to add extra sprinkles to once I got home.

Happy Birthday to me

Birthday girl

Extra-blinged out princess cake

No toy left behind

Just ONE more picture before bedtime!

Today, Mommy and Gavin went with me to my three-year wellbaby visit. I did an awesome job, and then we finished off the day working on Valentine's cards.

Height: 37" (60%)
Weight: 31.4 lbs(50%)
BMI: 16.12 (65%)

See, Gavin? This is what the doctor is going to do.

Say "ah", Gavin

Riding the roller coaster carts at "Tar-GET, Tar-GET, Tar-GET!"

Another card, another heart

My new Play-Doh friend

Snow-mageddon

2011-02-07T00:46:00.009-06:00

One snow day here and there in Dallas is pretty common, but a whole WEEK of the city being shut down is almost unheard of ... and, yet, here we were trapped at home for an entire week! We filled in our time with arts and crafts, music, bounce houses, and forts. Daddy slipped and slid into work a couple of days that week but also took some time to play with us outside a couple of days, too! By the end of the week, we were ready to brave the roads and get OUT OF THE HOUSE, so Mommy called the Community Center who let us use the big room for a couple of hours.

Snow-mageddon!

S is for snow

Mommy brings out the big guns and inflated between brown-outs

Our masterpieces

Ready to go outside

Our fort

Mush, mush!

Snowball!

Sofia pops in to play

I'm an angel

I'm happy to say, we did survive the week. You can se more Snowmageddon pictures in our February album!

2011 Birthday Madness Begins

2011-01-31T23:18:00.003-06:00

Being a February birthday, January sort of kicks off the birthday madness because lots of my friends have birthdays right around me. Though, if you ask Daddy, I don't think he believes it ever abates through the year.

Playing with Gavin's birthday gift: a train table!

Connor turns 3 with a Soccer party

With Ben at Tanisha's 3rd birthdayPump It Up

Kaylee and Kaitlyn turn 3 at Chuck E Cheese

Getting ready for MY birthday next month!

Post-Holidaze

2011-01-29T23:15:00.005-06:00

After the rush of the holidays (it starts somewhere around Halloween), January was a breeze. We enjoyed all our new gifts, caught up with our friends, and go back into the routine.

Happy to be outside on my yellow bike in January.
The upside of living in Texas.

I want to be a doctor when I grow up, just like Da-Jiu

Nap time with Daddy

Practicing to be a Jedi master

My new swim class with Miss Brittney. Just two of us this session!

Please check out the January album to see all the other pics from this month!

First Cavity

2011-01-27T23:05:00.002-06:00

The morning of my biannual dentist appointment was greeted with snow! Yay! Before we headed to drop Gavin off at school so it could be a girls morning, Mommy and I took the time to make a teeny-tiny snowman.

Ice. My snowman is there at the bottom left.

We used a frozen carrot for his nose and chocolate chips for his eyes.

At my appointment, I did an awesome job watching TV and enjoying myself ... right before my dentist told me that she found my first. Whoops. She said that having deep grooves such as mine may add additional risk to having them, but that drinking juice, eating anything sweet, or not brushing and flossing twice a day may also be the cause. Yikes! Mommy had to explain to me that a cavity is a little hole in my tooth and that I needed to brush every day or I'll get more of them.

Watching Dora on the TV in the ceiling

A couple of weeks later, I went back for my filling and to get the rest of my molars sealed as a precaution. Mommy didn't go in with me (they all agreed it would be best), but the nurse told her I did an AWESOME job the entire time. They painted a white sealant flower on my nail and gave me a beautiful tiara.

The diva is ready. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that's me on my shirt.

Afterwards, since I was such a good girl, Mommy said I could stay at home with her the rest of the day instead of going to school. We made a special trip to the mall and met up with my friend Ava to play.

Riding on the horse together

Hopefully I get my teeth from my Daddy's side instead of Mommy. :) Here's to no more cavities!

My First Cinematic Experience

2011-01-23T23:23:00.003-06:00

Daddy and I had a date to my first full-length feature on the big screen. He took me to go see Tangled 3D at the movies! I felt so special sitting in the big chair with my cool sunglasses, drink, and snacks. The movie was wonderful, and I was an absolute doll. Thank you, Daddy, for a wonderful date!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T23:59:00.000-06:00

What Happens in Vegas ...

2010-12-31T16:22:00.016-06:00

We managed to sneak in one last Law family vacation in 2010. On Christmas Day, our family headed to Vegas, baby, Vegas. The whole family arrived the day before and were all there eager to play with us until we fell asleep at 8:30 -- early for us, but late when you adjust for Central Time!

The next morning, we were up bright and early ... way too early for Vegas, for sure. Our family of four set up walking to the (deceptively close) MGM Grand from our hotel. We visited the M&M World -- all that chocolate! -- then headed to Paris to have yummy crepes with the rest of the family. Afterwards, we got our first view of the beautiful Bellagio fountains before heading back to the hotel for arts and crafts, naps, spaghetti dinner, and birthday cake. Happy birthday, Gavin and Gong-Gong! Stil on our own time zone, we were all ready to pass out after that while the adults (well, not Mommy and Daddy) went to O at the Bellagio.

Another bright and early morning, we headed for the Mirage to see lions and tigers (oh, my!) at the Secret Garden. We got there before it opened, so we enjoyed some yummy yogurt and this amazing sandwich that Daddy still thinks about to this day. The Secret Garden was really neat where we got up and close to animals ... including dolphins! Gong-Gong and Po-Po met up with us after that to head over to Caesar's to eat at Mesa, some restaurant by Bobby Flay. Another nap time, another spaghetti dinner, and another night done!

Our next adventure was to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. We got up close and personal with lots more animals, and then took the tram to Excalibur to play lots of arcade games! Everyone else was at the CSI experiment at MGM, but we met up for dinner -- buffet at the Bellagio. Gavin and I were surprisingly patient as we waited in line to get in, and we really enjoyed trying all the different stations of food. Lots of conservatory pictures later, and we were headed back to the hotel ... but not quite as early as the last few nights. Finally, we're really adjusting to Pacific Time, just in time to start preparing to go home!

We wanted to see the MGM lions the next morning, so we headed out not too early, but earlier than lions get up, apparently. It was sort of drizzly, so Gong-Gong dropped us off at the MGM (did I mention how deceptively close it looks?). We waited a LOOONG time to see them, but by the time they came out, we had front row seats to see them play! Gong-Gong picked us up and took us back to the hotel so that Mommy and Daddy could have a rare date-day.

Of course, we didn't exactly suffer without them. Xiao-Jiu and Crystal A-Yi took me to the fun, fun, fun Circus Circus where we watched performers, played games, and enjoyed some 4-D action! I also got enough stuffed animals that I made good use of my awesome new suitcase that Po-Po got me.

We had one last full day, and we really wanted to pack it in. We headed to the Venetian in the morning -- I got to ride in a cab ... sans car seat! -- where I got to go on a special gondola ride with Daddy. We enjoyed some gelato, the statue-man, and some yummy Italian food. After nap, Mommy, Crystal A-Yi, and I went on our girlie date to get our nails done, and then we met up with my two jiu-jius for Serendipity 3. The food was bigger than me, and oh, so good.

Suddenly, it was time to go home. We snuck outta Vegas before the craziness of the New Year hit, but Da-Jiu, Xiao-Jiu, and Crystal A-Yi stuck around for the madness.

Fun, fun, fun! Mommy tried out the new KodakGallery photobook software, so the trip book is already created (a record for her), plus there's always our online album because these few pics in my post don't really do this awesome trip justice.

See our Photo Book
See our full Photo Album

Christmas-ish Morning

2010-12-23T23:22:00.007-06:00

We're getting on a plane Christmas morning and aren't sure that Santa's going to know where we're going, so Mommy arranged it to have Santa come visit us early since we were SO very good this year. After finishing the gingerbread house, Gavin and I each got to open one gift from under the tree.

BLING!

I feel like a real-life princess

Then Gavin and I ran around the house giving Mommy and Daddy a hard-time while trying to change us into our holiday PJs.

You can change me if you can CATCH me!

Ready for you, Santa!

Right before bedtime, I made sure I left something yummy for Santa to eat since he was making a trip out just to see me.

Special Christmas brownies since I'm sure he'll have enough cookies

I'm sure he likes his brownies crunchy, right?

The next morning, I popped out of bed wondering if he forgot to stop by! I have to admit, I was a little worried until I saw my brownies were gone.

Did he come?

I WAS good, and Santa brought me a yellow bike! I've been wanting a bike (a princess one with pedals) and he brought me a special yellow bike with princess stickers to put on myself. Not sure what happened to the pedals, but Daddy assures me this is even better. We immediately took it out for a spin in the cold.

Safety first!

Let's do this thing

We're off!

And ... done for the day.

Mommy and Daddy showed that it truly is the spirit of Christmas, and they made sure we still had our Christmas ... even if it wasn't December 25th.

Gavin's Birthday (Party)

2010-12-19T12:21:00.010-06:00

December is not just Santa and parties and playdates -- it's also my baby brother's birthday! Since we were going to be traveling on his actual birthday (Christmas Day), we had a party for him the week before. To make it extra-special, Po-Po and Gong-Gong came into town to celebrate with us ... and help Mommy and Daddy out a lot!

Po-Po, just you being here is gift-enough!

They watched Gavin while Mommy and I went to the ICE! show with Sofia and Ms. Flo, and then it was playtime and get-ready-for-the-bash time! The morning of the party was a busy one, and it was fun to see my friends come over, too.

If I can't see you, you can't see me, right?

Quick snack on the tower

I think I'll take this dot right here

Helping pass out goodie bags

Happy birthday, Gavin! Mwah!

We had some other special out-of-town birthday guests: George Shu-Shu and Cousin James! They stayed through the rest of the weekend after Po-Po and Gong-Gong left, and we went to a party at baby Grace's house. She had all these fun toys, but our favorite thing was the Tuck's doggie cage.

Don't worry, CPS, it was all in fun

Even George Shu-Shu get into it!

We made sure we fit in some good laughs and before Cousin James had to head back to Austin.

I had fun with you. Thanks for coming to visit!

Happy 1st birthday, Gavin. I love you!

Playdates, Parties, and Pics

2010-12-18T17:23:00.005-06:00

Just a few random pics from various playdates, parties, and playtime this month.

Enjoying my soft-serve

Ho, ho, ho

Look at my reindeer cakeball!

Making a lion at Hayden, Peyson, and Madison's birthday party

Balancing at Hayden's (a different one's) birthday party

Riding the elevator with Kaylie and our dolls

Dance Class Guests

2010-12-18T00:26:00.007-06:00

Each semester, Ms. Cherie lets our parents come watch a class so they can see what it is we're doing with that money they pay each month. It is, however, not a good indicator of HOW we're doing because having parents watch is the same as adding chaos to insanity. Poor Ms. Cherie kept telling the parents that it's not usually like this ("this" meaning us not really wanting to listen to her because we wanted to show off for our mommies and daddies), and the parents kept saying, "don't worry, I don't doubt you at all".

Hayden and I ready for class!

Dance is fun!

I've got moves

Whoa! Faux floor!

Mommy really enjoyed seeing where a lot of the things I bring home come from: Bob the Builder ("can we do it? yes, we can!"), butterfly, and why sometimes my shirt is on backwards when I'm picked up in the evenings (Ms. Cherie encourages us to dress ourselves after class).

My whole family can't wait until my recital in May! Until then, you'll just have to check out more pics of my dance class in the December album!

ICE! Girls Day

2010-12-17T23:20:00.014-06:00

Mommy and I had a special "just us girls" day with Sofia and her mommy. It was a rare occassion to be doing something without either one of our siblings, and we really took advantage of the opportunity! The big event? We went to the Gaylord hotel to see the ICE show and eat brunch with Charlie Brown!

I'm ready! Let's do this!

We're here!

All bundled up

Whoa, ICE!

Sliding (very, very slowly, unfortunately) down the ice slide

Happy to meet "Jolly" the snowman

We walked through the huge hotel looking at all the fun decorations on our way to meet Charlie Brown at brunch.

This is a real phone? How do you play games on it? Hello?

THAT is a LOT of candy!

"Omafa" it is to ride

The brunch was awesome. It happened to be the first day of the whole thing, so we had the run of the place and broke the waitstaff in. It was nice that we could sit right by the huge gingerbread house and fruit table (we ate all the blueberries), and we got to get up and down (and get more chocolate ... hehe!) without having to worry about ANY of the other patrons. The four of us enjoyed all the yummy food, especially the chocolate fountain, and had a grand time with Charlie Brown. I even managed to sneak in a dance with my friend Chuck!

Your head is HUGE!

Cho-co-late

Okay, so it's a little bit messy, but it sure is good

Washing it down with a spot of milk

Round 2 ... or maybe it was 4 or 6

Hey, Charlie!

We had a fantastic time on our girls day, and I can't wait to do it again! Check out more pics from our big ICE! adventure in our December album!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-15T12:14:00.024-06:00

Nothing like the holidays to keep us busy, busy, busy!

Cuties' Holiday Party
Our playgroup had our annual holiday party at the Community Center. This year, we did a gift exchange where everyone brought a wrapped ball-gift. Then each one of us took turns choosing a present from under the tree. Surprisingly (or not), most of us selected our own gift that we contributed; I mean, I chose it to wrap, so why would I not take it home?!

Homemade ornament

Waiting to choose a gift

Wow, Mommy and I did a great job wrapping this gift!

Neighborhood Holiday Festival
Our family attended the holiday festival and tree lighting in our neighborhood. My favorite moment was probably the sledding down the hill, but I did love my face painting, too!

Whack!

Brr, huddle for warmth!

Wheeee!

I'm a snowflake!

Ready for the tree lighting!

Tree Decorating
Gavin and I helped Mommy decorate the tree this year. Each year, I get to participate a little more and more in the process. This year, I got to hang all of my new annual ornaments that capture some of the big milestones for the year.

2009 was a big Dora year for me

2010 -- when I started ballet!

Hmm ... family bed in 2010? Yup!

Potty trained in 2010 thanks to Po-Po and Gong-Gong

We did a great job! The bottom half was me and the top half was Mommy

Holiday Pageant
I had my very first recital at school. My class presented a Holiday pageant complete with singing AND dancing!

Ready to sing Jingle Bells. Hi, Mom!

With Ms. Cherie, my dance teacher, waiting to perform

Who's got a bubble in their mouth? I do!

I hope you liked the show!

Santa Pictures
Gavin and I got to visit Santa so that I could let him know I wanted a yellow bike for Christmas. Both Gavin and I did a great job sitting on his lap, and I'm feeling pretty good about my bike chances!

Ready to see Santa!

Let it snow, let it snow, let in snow!

This is AWESOME!

And, go!

Mrs Santa Visit, Too!
Just in case Santa didn't get the message, I got to reinforce my "I want a yellow bike for Christmas" reminder with Mrs. Claus after school one evening.

There are a TON more pictures in our December album.

Christmas Card bloopers

2010-11-30T17:32:00.007-06:00

Mommy knew that trying to get a really good picture of Gavin and I in our Christmas best for our annual card would be challenging, but I don't think she realized that it would be MORE than twice as hard! Here are some outtakes just for fun:

You can't see me!

I'm TWO!

Insert finger here

Curl your tongue like me

Rock, rock, rock

Of course I've been good this year

Surprise!

There are a TON of other pictures -- good, bad, and ugly -- in our November album. Check 'em out!

Fall 2010 School Pictures

2010-11-30T15:10:00.001-06:00

We got our school pictures back. Daddy thinks I look like a gangster in my individual pic, but at least I look happy (not so true in my pic with Gavin!). Well, there's always next year!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T18:31:00.008-06:00

This year for Thanksgiving, Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye came to visit us. We did a very casual Thanksgiving full of Luby's (yum!) and family time (yay!).

Come into my fort!

Nai-Nai is here!

Hello? Are you there?

Doing some crafts ... and feeling grape-y

My masterpiece

Thank you for the food we eat

Let's eat, friends

The rest of the long weekend was spent playing inside and outside and enjoying each other's company.

You think these hats are cute? We did.

Picnic at the train park

There's some more pictures of our thankful Thanksgiving in our November album!

Houston Trip

2010-11-22T22:31:00.007-06:00

Mommy took me and Gavin down to Houston for a quick weekend trip to meet Christopher (Charlie's new little brother), and we got to fit in some other fun things as well.

Po-Po! Gong-Gong! Love seeing them waiting when we pass security.

Waking up Charlie from his nap when we got to his house

"G'morning, Charlie" -- "'Morning, Claire"

Chowing down on Syndee's mommy's yummy chicken

I think a big hole needs to be RIGHT HERE

Ready for some cupcakes!

The next day, Da-Jiu was in town, so we got a fun-filled day playing with him.

Chow at Luby's!

"Omafa" it is to ride at Kemah's Boardwalk

Yes, this is the best picture we could get wit the tripod. :D

Believe it or not, that was it for our trip! The next morning, we were back in Dallas.

There's more shots in our November album if you'd like to see more from the trip!

Fun with friends and food

2010-11-15T21:27:00.009-06:00

We fit in a lot of activities in November, so here's a few shots just for fun:

Juliet's Birthday
My dear friend Juliet turned 3 this year, and we celebrated at her house wih a Dora party. Happy birthday, Juliet!

Happy birthday girl

Backback, backpack!

Cupcake time with BFF Sofia

Spaghetti Time
One of our favorite foods is Daddy's spaghetti. We just can't get enough! Po-Po, fair warning, these pictures are messy!

You want some?

And on to dessert ... jello!

Hmm ... who's going to clean this up?

Playgroup at the Park
I got to host one of the last Sunday playdates of the year, and I decided to do it at our hidden park. You can tell the weather was definitely colder but we quickly warmed up with all our running around. The brownies helped, too. :)

Quick! Everyone up the web!

We made it!

Everyone on the monkey bars!

Brownie?

Sofia says YUM

Quick Funny
Mommy got this costume on clearance ... she thought it was funny, and it made her think of me.

You really ARE what you eat!

More November pics in our online album!

Halloween Moooooo

2010-10-31T23:40:00.015-05:00

One of the biggest holidays of the year (at least for us kids) is Halloween, and this year was no different. I had no less than FIVE Halloween celebrations heralding the season of ... hmmmm, costumes and candy?

I've been very consistent all year on what I wanted to be for Halloween and didn't waver at all. And, if you know me, there was no way I'd wear a costume if I didn't choose it myself (remember the Great Pumpkin Affair of 2009 at the Cuties' party?), so Mommy kept asking me and confirming and still waited until just a month before to order my costume -- just-in-case -- but a cow is what I wanted and a cow is what I was.

1. Fall Festival at Primrose
The Fall Festival at my school was the first event that I got to break out the Halloween gear. Since Gavin was sick, Daddy and I had a date night together. They had lots of activities and games for us to play and lots of takeaways to show off when we got home.

Ready to go. Mooooooo!

Making my very own flipbook.

Tattooed. Spooky!

With BFF Sofia. This one was in the Gatekeeper.

Showing off my fangs post-bath

2. Emily's Pumpkin Carving Party
The next day, Daddy and I had another date night, this time to Emily's annual Pumpkin Carving party. Last year, I was to little to really appreciate the art. This year, well, pumpkin insides are stinky! I watched while Daddy took care of it. He's very good at arts and crafts. :D

Emily always has the best themed treats!

Daddy carved and I did this

Playing? Now THAT I can do!

3. Dress-up at school
The Fall Festival just wasn't enough; the Friday before Halloween, we got to wear our costumes again (or in some people's cases, wear their other costume). They had a parade costume where each class walked through all the other classes to show off their garb. Mooo!

Ready for the parade

Another cow?! Mooo!

Ready to march!

4. Cuties' Party
My playgroup had their annual party at the clubhouse the day before Halloween. It's quite the affair with the whole family coming out to spend some time together, and year-after-year it seems to become a bigger and bigger event. This year, we got these incredible goodie bags, Xiao-Jiu and Gong-Gong came to take pictures, and we ended up spilling out to the back lawn just to make sure everyone would fit! It was especially nice to have Xiao-Jiu and Gong-Gong taking pictures because it's one of the few family pictures we have and it also let the parents relax knowing there were great shots capturing some of the special moments.

So glad Crystal A-Yi
(and Gong-Gong and Po-Po and Xiao-Jiu and Kirby)
came to visit!

Me and Gavin

Family shot

Logan and I exhausted after a fun morning

The whole crew together

5. Trick-or-Treating Halloween Day
Finally, finally it was Halloween night. We make sure we headed next door first to say hi to Lexi and Layton before going out the block in the wagon. After awhile, I was sort of tired (I skipped my nap that day) so I just hung out bumping up and down in my little red wagon until we got back to Sofia's house to play. The only bummer to the whole thing was Mommy's candy basket got stolen! Not only did someone take the all of the candy she left out on the porch, they took the whole basket!

On the search for goodies

Pooped

Since Halloween is the 31st, it means that we've finally wrapped up October! You can see more pics in our October album, and come back soon to see about November!

Fun Days

2010-10-21T23:42:00.009-05:00

Just some other random things from October ...

Daddy and I made pizza from scratch.
We did a pretty awesome job, if I do say so myself.

I took Gavin for a ride at the mall.
What a backseat driver he turned out to be!

One of my favorite things is playing tag ... or racing ... or maybe it's tag.

We enjoyed the last of the warm days.
Until next Spring, I guess!

Mommy and Daddy got me a touch-screen computer so that I can play online by myself.
That pesky mouse gave me some troubles, so this works awesome!

My boo-boo healed (here it is after the bandages fell off and the bruise had mostly faded), but I'll always have a litle scar to remember the incident.

I got a special surprise gift (we got booed?) on the porch.
I did not hesitate to open and enjoy it.

I picked a magic pumpkin at school: pumpkins that sprout overnight from seeds!

Getting booed? Magic pumkin? That means ... yes, Halloween! And with all the activities around that "holiday", it definitely gets its own posting.

Of course, lots more to see in our October album!

Quick Austin Trip

2010-10-17T23:44:00.007-05:00

We went down to Austin for a weekend to see some of my favorite people. Auntie Daphne and Uncle Drew were in town for a wedding, so we wanted to stop by and say hello. When we got into town, we headed to Kirby's house first (and Xiao-Jiu and Crystal A-Yi, of course). It was a beautiful day, so we went on a walk through their neighborhood and got to play at Kirby's park. Later, we all snuggled in for a nice evening at home.

Kirby, like this!

Where'd she go?

Happy family

The next day, we went to see Auntie Daphne and Uncle Drew at my Cousin James and his new baby sister (and my new cousin!) Tessa's house. It was a wonderful surprise to also find Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai there!

James! It's so good to see you!

Hello, baby Tessa. I can't wait until we can play together.

Giddy-up

We managed to squeeze in a Pee family picture, and the two younger Pee daddies tried to get their usual "kids on couch" shot ... it's getting harder and harder to wrangle us!

Four pairs of hands for four grandkids. Perfect!

It's a little harder with 2 kids each, huh?

On the way home, I had to stop and potty in the middle of NOWHERE (plus Gavin's going through this "wah, I don't want to ride in my carseat, wah!" phase), so we pulled over in a parking lot. In the olden days (like when Mommy was young), Po-Po would just hold her bum-bum out to pee-pee on the ground, but I had my handy-dandy travel potty that Mommy carries everywhere. A whole potty comes out of this little backpack, unfolds, and presto! Pee-pee in a bag that you throw away! It's been a huge luxury especially in situations just like this.

What fun we had! I don't know how we managed to not get ANY pictures of playing with games with Crystal A-Yi, running around with Auntie Daphne and Uncle Drew, or me trying out the cool touchscreen machine that cousin James has, but I guess that happens when you're having fun. There are, however, a few extra pictures in our October album. Plus, it just means we need to try and get together another time!

Big Boo-Boo

2010-10-15T23:45:00.005-05:00

Just a quick posting to show you my boo-boo that I got. You know how there are accidents and then there are freak accidents that you have no idea how it could have happened? Well ... so I was just standing in the kitchen and I fell backwards over the back leg of Gavin's high chair. When I fell, I landed underneath the chair. So boo-boo on my bum-bum? Nope. A cut on my eyelid. Crazy, right?

Owwie!

It was just Mommy, me, and Gavin at home, so she quickly assessed the situation (deep cut, over the eye, potential head wound, immediate bruising) and decided to take me to Acute Kids where they -- well, gave me a popsicle first, yay! -- told Mommy that because of the location, I would either need a stitch or glue. Deciding that since it was just her with the two of us munchkins, glue would work well enough.

A popsicle makes everything feel better

Waiting with our hand turkeys

I did a pretty good job; they put a drop of glue and gave me two tiny strips of bandaid to hold it all together. The bandaids were supposed to stay for about a week, but the first fell off that night (it got stuck in my hair) and the second one about 3 days later.

If I play it up, I'll get more sympathy

I was very brave through the whole thing, and getting to watercolor afterwards helped, too. I thought the overalls without a shirt look was a nice touch; makes me look quite the tomboy, eh?

Boo-boo, what? Where?

All this and more in our October photo album!

Arboretum Fall Festival

2010-10-12T23:41:00.006-05:00

Of course we made our annual trip out to the Arboretum with Jacob this year. By now, we were very familiar with the drill and set out to play immediately.

A quick pose

And we're off!

Hold hands? Ewww!

We spent most of our time this year in the big field. We ran around, got our faces painted, and played a REALLY long time in the hay. I was so happy with my facepaint ("I'm a beautiful butterfly, Mommy!") until a lady asked me on the way out, "what happened to you, little girl?". I got scared and kept asking Mommy, "what happened to me, Mommy?!" until she washed it off when we got home.

Joining in on the Strollerfit class

Trying to sit still

Check out my masterpiece!

We're like superheroes

I'm the king of the mountain!

"Ah!" ... "Ah!"

Sneaking into a class picture

One shot with Mommy

What a fantastic time (as always)! There are some pretty good shots of us in all the pumpkin-y wonder, so I definitely encourge you to check out all the other pics in our super-special Arboretum-only photo album!

San Antonio, TX

2010-10-04T23:27:00.020-05:00

Another Law adventure, this time to San Antonio, TX! The resort in San Antonio is especially memorable for Mommy and Daddy because that's where they told their families that they were having me a few summers ago. It's a great location because it's just down the street (well, interstate) from Dallas but has lots of activities to do. Not brave enough to deal with a potential 5 hour cry-fest in the car, we took a family flight together instead.

Who's going to pack mule us?

The first day was just getting situated ... you know, checking out the grounds, hanging out with Po-Po and Gong-Gong, and making sure the beach was up to snuff. It was.

Elevator. Check!

Yee-haw!

Lazy river!

The next day, we went to the zoo! We saw sooooo many animals. I especially liked feeding the fish (they are very excited eaters) and watching the elephant be fed. At first I really liked feeding the tiny birds until they start landing on us. Eek! They had a really good kids center where I got to go fishing and a big field in back where Daddy and I performed. I was especially excited about the train outside the zoo that we saw on our way in and found it the perfect vessel in which to fall asleep for my afternoon nap.

Can I feed the elephants?

Check out our ride!

Going fishin'

Flap, flap!

Cotton candy is goooood

On Tuesday, Daddy and I did crafts at the Armadillo club and just stayed at the hotel where -- gasp! -- Sofia and her family showed up that afternoon! Yay! I was so happy to see here and incredibly excited to show her the beach.

Wanna come in?

Me and my BFF

Driftin' along

Wednesday turned out to be a special outing day with just Mommy and Daddy. They took me to the Children's Museum downtown where we met up with Sofia's family and then to the Riverwalk for Mexican food and a boat ride.

All a-board!

A Papi-sized bubble!

Feather!

Hippity-hoppity

Cheeeeeez ... and salsa!

After I got up from my afternoon nap, another surprise visitor -- Da-Jiu! Hooray! I was so happy to see him and couldn't wait to show him everything we'd done so far.

King me!

What are all those little people doing down there?

The next day was a "near" day again (we alternated throughout the week), and after art time with Daddy, we headed to the beach again. That night, I got to do something in the tub that I NEVER get to do at home ... bubbles!

Making a master-PEEs

Back to shore I go

I'll catch it!

Whoa ... my tub doesn't do THIS at home

Our last full day, Mommy and I did some girl time at the salon where I got my nails painted for the very first time. I was super patient waiting for Mommy (just soaking my toes, checking out all the chairs, and choosing my paint color), and I got pretty toes and a beautiful lamb as a reward.

I'm a unicorn

That paint is stinky!

Hehe!

Baking our piggies

My new lamb that I got from the "painting lady"

Then, later that day? Sea World! Our hotel was just across te street from Sea World, so we headed there ater lunch to see catch some shows and check out animals -- we saw dolphins up close (eh), clowns (yay!), and Shamu(oooooo!). Even for the beginning of October, it got kind of hot, but I did enjoy the Halloween decorations and costumes. I was determined to see the penguins, but they were SOOOO far away. Daddy said he would take me, so he pushed me all the way over there so that I could see them ... and promptly fall asleep.

Nice to meet you

The clown made me laugh

Carnival rides with Mommy

Enjoying the sea lions and walrus show

Pooped

Pooped out after a big day, I had to rest up for the last of my special visitors: Crystal A-Yi and Xiao-Jiu! They're right in the middle of school and work right now, so they couldn't come earlier in the week, but the one night with them was so much fun.

Together again!

Poor Xiao-Jiu lost a bet

Unbelieveably, it was time to go the next day. We went out to Mommy's Buo-Mu's house for a yummy meal and some family time before we had to head back to the airport and home.

On the road again

Snoozing

Was I glad to see my family? Yup! Was it fun! Always!

So sour! This picture makes Mommy laugh.

Check out the whole San Antonio album online!

Spunky Personality

2010-09-24T23:27:00.016-05:00

Auntie Debbie says I have a spunky personality. I can't imagine why. :)

You can try, but no way you'll keep me in here!

My Halloween costume arrived!

Ride 'em, cowboy!

Happy Birthday, Whole Foods!

Whoops!

I have perfected one of Mommy's staples during college: seaweed and rice. I will explicitly ask for it morning, noon, and night. I'll make it for you sometime when you come over.

A pinch of rice

Wrap in seaweed

Enjoy!

We had a parade of cultures at school where we all dressed up in clothes from our culture and waved flags from our countries. Mommy wasn't quite sure whether to have a China or Taiwan flag, so I had both!

Ready for my singing debut!

Waving my flag loud and proud

Taiwan?

China? Why can't we all get along?

Don't forget to check out all the other September pics online!

Play Fun - Parties and Playgroups

2010-09-15T23:26:00.008-05:00

I know I don't even need to tell you how we stayed busy this month, so her are some highlights!

Elmo
We went to another show by the lake, this time it was a safari person who looked suspiciously like the professor from a few weeks back. I enjoyed it pretty well until ... well, the special guest came out.

What's all the commotion?

Uhhhh ....

Elmo! I'm okay watching from WAY over here.

Happy family outing

Late night bundle snack

Dora
Because apparently seeing Elmo in person wasn't enough, my parents gave it another shot at the open play at MyGym.

Wheeee!

What tha..?

Again, I'm okay enjoying from WAY over here

Getting brave and a little bit closer

Reid's Birthday
I went to another Reid's birthday party at the Animal Safari. They had a running train on a track as well as these crazy mechanical animals!

Choo-choo

Waiting patiently for a turn

Go, elephant, go!

Trying a little golf

How come this one isn't walking?

And More!
Some other random things -- went to open bounce one morning and had a great time both there and at lunch with my friends afterwards; went to a playgroup at Reid's house where Sofia and I snuck off to play before joining the group.

Sliding at Bounce U

Caught ... actually being good!

Giggling together

Just a sampling of fun things done. See more in our September album!

Labor Day Visitors

2010-09-06T23:21:00.012-05:00

We had lots of family come visit for Labor Day. Da-Jiu is already here working hard at his rotation, and Cousin James' family was here for a wedding. Mommy's family came, well, to see us.

On Friday, George Shu-Shu and Aunt Christina had to attend the rehearsal dinner and Daddy had to work late at Ambition, so Mommy got to watch all three Pee kids by herself. Her solution: get us outside as long as possible. We went to a couple of parks in the neighborhood and enjoyed the great weather. Da-Jiu came home from work in time for dinner where he was a huge help.

To the park we go?

Safely feeding the ducks

Running off, but not too far

Dinner = chaos

Rub-a-dub-dub. Three in a tub.

On Saturday, the Houston and Austin Law contingencies showed up, and it was play time! We got some really quality time when Mommy and Daddy headed out to the Ambition finale party and we were left in the hands of five very capable sitters. Five watching 2? Yeah, that sounds about right.

Laptop time

Can you come up, Kirby?

Wheee!

We wanted to celebrate Po-Po and Crystal A-Yi's birthdays while everyone was together, so we fit in cake Sunday morning.

Cake!

Po-Po and HER babies

The whole Law-side together

Big hugs for Da-Jiu

One last group shot with our weekend visitors

The Austin visitors had to leave, so it was just Da-Jiu and Po-Po and Gong-Gong the rest of the weekend.

Exhausted after a busy weekend

Enjoying Po-Po's famous "silly noodles"

Modeling my Halloween costumer for Kirby

Getting a little trim from Po-Po

Showing Da-Jiu my knuffle bunny

What a fun Labor Day weekend! There are a WHOLE lot more pictures in our September album, so please take a look!

Fun with My Family

2010-08-28T15:06:00.011-05:00

One of my favorite games is "Ball Time" which consists of a lot of throwing of balls and running around. It's never quite the same game twice, but it's always a ... well, a ball! I've also slowly come to terms with the idea that I can't always win which was a heard lesson to swallow but now I'm willing to take turns winning.

Time to play ball!
But first we need to "clean up, clean up, everybody do their share".

This picture captures my spirit pretty well

Lined up with my animals "watching tv" in the playroom
(there is no TV in the playroom)

We're very lucky to live in a neighborhood that offers tons of family activities including entertainment on the weekends. We've made it out to the shops / lake a few times to enjoy the festivities this month.

Okay, so it's a little hot

Cooling off in the fountains

Da plane! Da plane!

But I don't wanna go home yet!

Smoke!

A "little" dessert

It's getting to be more and more fun playing with Gavin. He's starting to drag himself around the room, and he sits up, and he's getting into all of my stuff. Okay, maybe that part isn't so great, but the rest of it is!

Smile, Gavin! Lemme show you how.

Mommy caught us peeking out the window after naptime

One of the best family things right now is my Da-Jiu Zong is in Dallas for the next month for one of his rotations. Hopefully we'll get to see him some in between all his long hours and trying to get studying/work done.

Da-Jiu is here!

A special event that we went to as a family was the Nick Jr Live show. It was my first live show, and I enjoyed it immensely. I got to see Kai-Lan, the Wonder Pets, the Backyardigans, and Dora all in person! I was enjoying myself so much, when the lights came on during intermission, I refused to let go of the seat because I was scared they'd make me leave when I wasn't ready yet. I can't wait to go to another!

Let's go to the show!

Waiting for the show to start with Jacob

The excitement ...

... quickly turned into naptime for Daddy

Toys?! They're selling toys?!
I want that one and that one and that one and that one ...

More? Please?

Not sure if this is fun with my family or being a big girl now, but I had my first mishap with an electronic device. I was trying to show Sofia my movie, but somehow it ended up to where Daddy had to do surgery on the DVD player ... after which he found 4 disc all in the machine at once. Whoops. Mommy says it's today's equivalent of jamming the VCR player. V-C-what?

Code blue. Stat.

Please check out all the pics in our August album and don't forget to come back and check out September!

"P" is for Primrose

2010-08-21T13:53:00.005-05:00

Sometimes Mommy feels guilty about having me in daycare, but it's also hard to deny how much I'm learing while I'm there. This month while we were playing, I stopped Daddy before he could eat the food that I made him because, well, "we have to pray!". Mommy and Daddy didn't realize that we pray before we eat at school but have quickly adopted the behavior. Hands up high, hands down low, hands in the middle, here we go!

Thank you for the birds that sing ...

When I wake up in the morning, Mommy often asks me what I dreamed about, and inevitably my response is, "Mr. Al", the music man from my school and the special guest at my 2-year birthday party. Every. Single. Night. Who knew that going on a bear hunt would be so memorable?

Dreaming about, what else? Mr. Al!

I've known all my letters for awhile and am starting to get into what sounds each letter makes. The other day, I impressed Mommy by stating that "P is for Po-Po" ... which I then followed up with "and S is for Claire". Eh, well, 50% isn't bad.

"P" is for "puzzle" (my first one I finished by myself!)

"P" is for .. knuffle bunny?
The knuffle bunny is also a book that I was introduced to at school.

One of the most exciting things I'm doing at school is dance. I'm going to be a ballerina just like Crystal A-Yi. Daddy's especially excited about my recital in the spring.

Ballet

And tap

Off to my first day of dance class

At class ... maybe doing the bunny hop?

Some days I have no problems being dropped off and some days I'm a bit of a crybaby. I like to keep it exciting for Mommy and Daddy. :)

The school is pretty good about sending Mommy and Daddy pics of us during the day to make us smile, and there's a few more in our August album if you'd like to check them out.

Playdates and Parties

2010-08-18T13:42:00.002-05:00

Gavin and I are still busy going to playdates and parties. One day we met up with some of mommy's girlfriends from college at Going Bonkers -- think ninja exercises for kids (and adults!). Most of the girls were smart and brought their husbands, too, so the mommies got to chit chat while the daddies got some exercise.

Group shot

I met up with Kaylie at the mall to play. We have a bad habit of running around (and running away!) together, something I don't really do when it's just me with Mommy.

Doing a little window shopping

We also had a little playdate with Natalie at Sofia's house. Natalie's mommy is Ms. Mitchell, Gavin's old teacher, and Natalie was in my class at school.

We climbed on here and were just chit chatting

Chloe came over one afternoon to play while our mommies went to work out. Even though Chloe's a little older than me (she's 4!), we play really well together. We did a good job keeping ourselves company while the dadides took care of Gavin (for the first time all by himself! Go Daddy!)

Giggling by the windows

We celebrated Reid's birthday at My Gym. It's hard to believe the baby of our group has now turned 2!

Happy birthday, Reid!

Choo-choo!

Yeah, I know, it looks like it's MY party! :D

There was a fun playdate at the mall one morning where we got to ride a train and a carousel all in one morning!

All aboard!

Playing on the wall

We also had a playdate at our place where I got to introduce my playplace to my friends.

Three in the tower at one time

And four on the playplace!

One thing Mommy has noticed is that now that she's home more, we do more stuff but she takes less pictures. Whoops. At least there are more pics in our August album!

I'm a Big Girl Now

2010-08-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

I've been working on using the potty and not wearing diapers for a few weeks now, and really made great strides while in Houston with Gong-Gong and Po-Po. Then, earlier this week, I declared to Mommy that I wanted to wear panties to school. Adamantly. Tired of arguing with me, she decided to make it my teacher's problem (sorry, teachers!) and sent me to school in panties and two extra changes of clothing ... just ... in ... case. To her surprise, when she came to pick me up, I was in the same clothes! Dry! Success. See, Mommy? Told you I could do it. You just had to believe.

Washing my hands after using the potty.
One stool is not enough.

You sort of still need to keep an eye on me, though. I've unraveled the entire roll of toilet paper multiple times now (have you tried it? it's pretty fun), and today I tried to flush the ENTIRE wad of paper that I just unrolled. Luckily Mommy caught me before the real mess began.

It's not just what I'm doing.
It's what I already did.
And also what I'm about to do.
Hehe.

I'm a big girl in other ways, too. I help Mommy do the laundry -- diaper in the washing machine ... not a pretty sight -- and take care of Gavin.

Helping Mommy with the laundry

Catch my bubbles, Gavin!

'Nummy, nummy

August pics are up, so be sure to check them out!

Houston Heat

2010-08-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

We went down to Houston with Mommy again for an extra-long weekend. To actually get there took a little longer than we would have liked -- our flight was delayed by an hour -- but it was still faster than if we had driven (which Mommy still refuses to do!).

A little snack while we wait

Excited to see Po-Po and Gong-Gong waiting for us

Let's go get our luggage!

We quickly made our way into the pool, something we enjoyed a few times over the long weekend. I was so hungry, I ate a whole bowl (that is, colander) of silly noodles all by myself!

Swim-ming! Swim-ming!

To the wall!

Silly noodles!

The next morning, we enjoyed a cool(er) morning before heading up to North Houston to see Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye. They recently fixed up their house, so we got to see their new kitchen. I especially liked the bunk beds and picking veggies in Nai-Nai's garden and was impressed with the "so many paths" in their house that I could take.

Smooooothie

I'm so tall

Ye-Ye!

No mosquitoes will get us!

Fishies!

We had a nice sleepover at Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye's that night and then met up with Gong-Gong and Po-Po at lunch the next day. Mommy left us to go hang out with her friends, and we spent the rest of the day playing with Xiao-Jiu, Kirby, and Crystal A-Yi. I kept scaring Xiao-Jiu with my crazy jumping in the pool skills.

Check out the high chair ... circa 1970?

Sunday was a Mommy and Me day -- all day! Mommy took me to go play with her sorority sisters and all their kids. First we went to Stomping Grounds again to burn off energy, then Mommy and I went to Charlie's place to play ... I mean, nap. Neither of us particularly wanted to nap, but we jumped into his bed so that we could read each other stories and play. Finally, I fell asleep, and everyone got some rest. Then, we headed to one of Mommy's friends for a feast!

I've missed you, Charlie!

Jungle animals sliding together

Sandbox!

The kids table

The big girls together

The next day, we just stayed local. We started the day with morning swimming, then headed to fun, fun storytime at the local library. The library Mommy grew up in and spent so many hours has grown up. They rebuilt a brand new library next to the old one, and they included an incredible children's area. Storytime was really good, too ... including a parachute!

Getting ready to swim back to the wall

Coming up for air

Crafts before storytime

Tell me a story, please

Parachute!

Getting a stamp on my belly

After the library, we headed to Luby's for lunch (yum!) and then naptime. The fun didn't stop there, though. When I got up from naptime, we went over to Abby's house to play. Mommy visited with her friends from high school while us kids played with lots of toys and paints ... and the sink in the bathroom. We had a yummy dinner for our last night in Clear Lake.

Luby's!

Laughing with Abby

I like the insides

And just like that, it was time to go home. When we got to the airport in the morning, we had to check-in at the desk because of the whole lap-child situation. While we were in line, Mommy happened to check the status of the flight on her phone and discovered our flight was canceled! Luckily, they got us on the next flight, but it was going to be an extra hour wait (yes, again). Gong-Gong offered to come to the gate with Mommy, so we had an extra set of hands to help out.

I am so tempted to make a run for it

Checking out the art. Which side do I need to stay on?

Where's our plane?

Daddy was at the airport to meet us, and I was so happy to see him.

Happy to be home

No doubt about it, it was a great visit, and hopefully we'll be able to do it often. Of course, there are a TON more pictures in our album if you'd like to check them out!

Paradise Pond, Micky D's, and Chuck E. Cheese

2010-07-25T12:02:00.008-05:00

I got to go to Paradise Pond recently for the first time for Elle's birthday. What a fun place! It's an old church that they filled up with toys just for little kids like me! We had a wonderful time.

Whee!

Dor-da-dor-dor-dora!

Vroom, vroom!

Um, everybody look at Mommy!

Connor and I enjoying pizza

Another fun birthday party (that same day, actually!) was Chloe's 4th birthday. She had it at a very cool McDonald's that had a playarea that I could actually climb into.

Making my way to the top

Walk like an Egyptian

Mmm .. a meal fit for a queen

I showed everyone how to eat the cake-sicle

We cleaned the place out!

One of the places that I've really come to enjoy is Chuck E Cheese. I mean, what's not to like? Coins, games, and pizza! Daddy calls it "Chuck E Disease", but I call it fun. We went a few times recently including once with Johan and Joshua's family and once with Jacob.

I'm winning!

The ticket monster is hungry

Poor Auntie Diana holding us both up

Shooting daintily with my pinky raised

I wonder how many Tootsie pops I can get?

Don't forget to check out our other July pics!

Braving the Heat

2010-07-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

Just a few pictures of outdoor adventures since it's too hot to actually enjoy the outdoors much -- not that it would really stop me.

Blowing bubbles in the backyard

Kai-lan happy

Wet!

You're not so scary when you're not on, huh?

One evening we went to a baseball game with Daddy's company. I like baseball. I mean, what's not to like? You eat a lot, run around, and go on bear hunts!

Where's the bear?

Emily and I watching the game.

The snowcone before the cotton candy but after the hot dog

Believe it or not, this is the closest we came to all looking at the camera!

But I WANNA go outside. Hmph.

See more outdoor (and indoor!) adventures in our full July album!

Impromptu Austin Trip!

2010-07-08T23:08:00.000-05:00

We went to Evan's house to celebrate her birthday on Saturday, and as we were leaving their house, they had a conversation that went something like this: "So, where to now?" ... "Where does I-35W go?" ... "Austin" ... "OK, you want to go?" ... "Sure!". Seriously.

Enjoying some birthday jigglers

Before we had C-A-K-E!

Mommy and Daddy made some phon calls on the way down and found that both the Pees (George Shu-Shu, Christina A-Yi, and Baby James) and the Law/Liu (Xiao-Jiu, Crystal A-Yi, and Kirby) were there all weekend! More good news was Mommy had re-packed the diaper bag that morning with the most important items. The bad news was, that's ALL we had, so we had to get everything else -- more than the two diapers packed, clothes, toiletries, iPhone charger (like I said, the most important things), etc -- once we hit Austin. I was absolutely FANTASTIC during the car ride down.

Playing with Baby James our first night there

Our first stop was the Pee house. Baby James has grown up so much! He and I played really well together and made each other laugh over dinner. I was disappointed when it was bedtime because I wanted to play more, but we did get more play time in the morning.

Pees on Earth

Next we met up with Xiao-Jiu and Crystal A-Yi at one of Mommy and Daddy's favorite Austin eateries: Hula Hut! Yum. We had lunch and then went back to Xiao-Jiu's place to nap and play before we ate again ... SNOW CONES! It was July 4th, so that night we watched fireworks on TV while Mommy and I marched around the living room to the music before piling up in bed together for a good night's sleep. Well, good for some, but not for all (sorry, Mommy).

I was oddly quiet at lunch. Sleepy, I guess.

But once I got that snow cone ... whee!

The next morning, we headed to the park to play. It was only 9:30 in the morning but it was already hot, hot, hot!

Fire truck!

Checking out the swings

Thanks for the trip!

After lunch (more yummy food! Buffet at Trudy's), we headed back on the road where we drove straight through without stopping because Gavin and I slept almost the entire way. If it weren't for the traffic, we would have made it easy-peasy.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Check out our July photo album and Gavin's posting to see more!

Wrap-Up - June

2010-07-07T23:09:00.001-05:00

June's all wrapped up, and we're almost caught up. Okay, so we're not quite there, but now that Mommy's part-time, July will be soon coming and we'll be exactly where we need to be.

June was ...

All About Daddy
Inside Fun
Outside Fun
Busy Saturdays

I invite you to also check out our June photo album where you can see it all inone fell swoop!

Overdue Wrap-Up - May

2010-07-06T14:50:00.000-05:00

May was similar to April in that our grandparents were here so we got lots of quality time, and we stayed busy on the weekends doing lots of fun things.

Daddy went on a business trip which Mommy referred to as his "vacation" and I referred to as "Daddy working ... on a plane". I'm also talking a lot more; the other day, there were some kids climbing the neighborhood fence behind our house, and Mommy told me it was dangerous when I asked if I could do it, too. I wanted to make sure the girls knew it, too, so I started yelling, "Hey! Dangerous! No, no! Come down!". They didn't listen. Another day, Mommy and I were taking turns listening to each other's hearts with my stethoscope. I declared her heart as sounding "strong and puffy" (no one's quite sure where that came from).

Here are some postings for your enjoyment:

May Was...Grandparents
May Was...Festivals, Fairs, Birthdays, and Fun
May Was...Family Vacation! Austin, TX

Again, sorry if all the detail that you're used to wasn't there, but things should be better now because (drum roll) Mommy's going part-time! She's going to dial back her career some so that she can spend more time with moi -- and Gavin, too, of course. I can't wait!

You can jump straight to our May photo album as well.

June soon to follow!

LONG Overdue Wrap-up - April

2010-07-05T23:14:00.018-05:00

The last time I really posted was March 18th and now it's July 5th. So what happened in between? Well, first, Mommy went back to work full-time, which is why my blog got neglected. Apparently working and raising two kids is a lot of work or something. :) However, with the magic of backdating, I can give you a recap -- and provide a lot of pictures, of course!

Without further adieu, here's the first update to catch you up ... APRIL!

April Was...Easter
April Was...Grandparents
April Was...Birthdays
April Album with MORE pictures!

June Was...Busy Saturdays

2010-06-28T23:45:00.001-05:00

We've been staying super-busy on the weekends. I wish we were taking better pictures of all our adventures, but sometimes we forget. Here are some highlights!

Swimming Lessons
I moved up to EXTREME Waterbabies this session which means that it's just us and the teacher in the pool without anyone sitting behind us to make sure we don't jump in. Our mommies and daddies sit outside the pool area just to cheer us on. The day my new class started, I started asking for Ms. Debbie ... who happened to be my old teacher. Mommy had no idea that I even knew Ms. Debbie's name! All three of us in my class are swimming the length of our area and floating on our backs. The teachers said that the three of us are doing great; all three of us are above par for the course, and it's probably because we're encouraging each other to excel.

Gymnastics?
Mommy and Daddy were thinking that I might like gymnastics since I am full of energy and pretty athletic. I run fast, fast, fast and can already do forward rolls. For two weeks, we went straight from swimming to gymnastics, but the verdict is still out whether it's something we're going to do long-term right now. Until then, "spaghetti and meatballs!"

Eye Doctor
Before Mommy went part-time and we change our insurance, we needed to make sure we went to see all the doctors and made all our appointments. I got to visit the eye doctor for the first time during our family visit. I did a good job sitting on the stool and doing the test with the red dot, but they didn't even attempt the one where you blow the air into my eyes. Then, I got to read letters during the eye test while the doctor covered an eye. He also switched to pictures instead of letters -- I pointed at the direction the E was pointing and identified lots of pictures. The only I got wrong was the doggie ... apparently it was a telephone? I sure have never seen a phone like that one! My eyesight is right on par (all little kids are near-sighted since that's all we really need right now) but it should adjust as I get older.

More June activities in our album!

June Was...Outside Fun

2010-06-27T23:59:00.001-05:00

We're trying to get outside as much as possible with the knowledge that in just a few weeks, it'll be too hot to even THINK about the outside!

School Daze
My school has the coolest summer program! Every day is another adventure -- storytime, tumble bus, snow cones, music time, and splash day; we also have themed-days each week ... Daddy did a great job with Crazy Hair Day! The school does a pretty good job sending pictures to Mommy during the so that they can see the fun I'm having.

Backyard Toys
Mommy and Daddy have been making the most of the not-yet-scorching weather. Daddy got me some water toys for the backyard. He teased me with the crazy arms of my water caterpillar, but the student quickly became the master, and I got him!

Mommy also surprised me with a fun, fun playhouse. She found it on Craigslist and found it was TOTALLY worth it to rent a truck and pick it up ... not the money she saved but the 3 hours of assembly time! Mommy discovered after she brought it all home that the biggest part didn't fit through the gate, so she left it in the garage until Daddy got home. When we heard him open the garage door, I immediately rushed to the back to call out, "Hey! Don't hit my playhouse! Be careful, Daddy!"

Swimming
Not only am I swimming indoors each week in class, I've gotten to swim in a few neighborhood pools. My technique is not nearly as clean when I'm just playing, and I'm actually a little bit scary because I have no fear of the water.

The Park
Hello, Park. I love you, Park. I ask for you a lot, Park. I'm sorry that it might be a few months until I see you again, but Mommy and Daddy are just too scared we're going to melt into the plastic. I'll miss you, Park.

See more pictures from our June adventures!

June Was...Inside Fun

2010-06-26T23:13:00.001-05:00

It's starting to get hot, so we're having to be inside more and more. Here's some highlights of what we've been up to these days. Besides, some of the best shots are the most random ones!

Playing with the Camera
I've figured out the little button to turn on the camera and the big button to take the picture. I love both taking pictures of other people and hamming it up as the subject of the picture as well.

Bathtime
Mommy and Daddy have found that it's easier to just bathe both Gavin and I at once. I'm pretty good about not splashing Gavin TOO much, but unless you want a nekkid Claire running all around the house, it still takes two parents at the end to get us dressed.

Toy Envy
I can't help it. I know I have a lot of toys, but I also need to check out all of Gavin's, too ... especially since they used to be mine. Luckily I still fit in them ... for the most part.

Choo-Choo
Okay, this was just fun. Mommy thought it was especially nice since it kept us in one place for more than a couple of minutes. Besides, what makes me laugh makes her laugh as well.

More fun June pictures in our album!

June Was...All About Daddy

2010-06-21T23:13:00.001-05:00

June is a special month for our family because Daddy has both his birthday and Father's Day all within a couple of weeks of one another.

Daddy's 36th Birthday
For Daddy's 36th birthday, we did a quiet evening at home. Since he's eating healthy, we didn't want to tempt him with a cake, so we got him a fruit bouquet! There was a balloon (that we still have around the house known as "Daddy's Birthday Balloon!"), lots of fruit, and some chocolate covered bananas (hey, we couldn't be TOOOO healthy!). Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Dress Like Daddy Day
They had a "Dress Like Your Daddy" Day at school the Friday before Father's Day. I was going to wear a long-sleeved shirt with short, but it was too hot, so I wore a geeky shirt instead. Unfortunately, we showed up too late for the "Donuts with Daddy" at school so Daddy missed out on that. Whoops.

Father's Day
For Father's Day, we had been planning for a few weeks ahead of time. Since Daddy's the master chef for our family, we decorated an apron for him and got him lots of fun things for cooking and grilling. It was like Christmas where we tore into the gift as soon as we woke up in the morning.

Please check out ALL our June pictures!

May Was...Family Vacation! Austin, TX

2010-05-31T16:47:00.013-05:00

Our family headed down to Austin so that we could attend Crystal A-Yi's graduation. Given that she's one of my favorite people in the whole world, we couldn't miss the big day!

I was very good in the car on the way down. Once we got to the hotel, I quickly made myself at home. Xiao-Jiu, Crystal A-Yi, and Kirby came to visit, so I got to give Crystal A-Yi her sign/card that I made her and the box I filled up with school supplies that she can use when she gets her classroom in the fall. That night, we got a simple dinner from the Whole Foods nearby and hung out in our "new house".

The next morning, Daddy and I went swimming after breakfast. It was BRRRR BRRRR BRRRR cold! But I didn't want to get out, so we hopped in the hot tub to warm up some. Then we got dressed to go to Crystal A-Yi's graduation on campus.

I was all prepared with my sign and noisemakers to cheer when Crystal A-Yi walked acros the stage, but then I got shy. Oh, well, I got to give her the finished card afterwards. After she went across the stage, Mommy and Daddy smartly took me out and let me run around while we waited for picture time.

After that, I was pooped, so we headed back to our new house until dinner. Mommy always wondered what kind of people take their kids to fancy schmancy places like Eddie V's ... and then she became that person. Hah! Xiao-Jiu and Crystal A-Yi took me outside to play on the lawn while we waited for our food, and then I enjoyed all the yummies they ordered me. After dinner, we headed back outside for more family pictures and a little bit more running on my part.

The next day was the day we headed back to Dallas, but first a visit to see Baby James! Although he's not really a baby anymore. I was a little bit afraid of 'Night, but I really liked seeing my cousin.

All in all, it was a great trip! If you want to see more pictures, you can find them here.