this sorta sums up my 2011

thanks maggie for the card. it kinda made my year...

on to a better, and healthier, 2012!

a day in the life of a kindergartner

a little playdate with jr. high school/high school friend's kids • a picture pillow christmas gift for nanea's teachers • nanea goes to work with mommy!

christmas ornament making • chinese new year • painting

making char siu bao for chinese new year • eating/showing off char siu bao • homegrown butterflies

nanea's teacher took a few days off to visit her son in D.C. always thinking of "her" kids, she brought back a little something for all of the children after visiting thomas jefferson's home. a note and a nickel, an actual pine cone from his home/property and a pencil which listed all of the president from washington to obama. how lucky nanea (we) is/are to have such an amazing teacher!

posting slump...

so many pictures. so much to talk about. completely unmotivated. 2012 has started off with a bang. lots of work (good and bad), lots of school commitments (carnival? h o l y • h e l l). and now taxes. between having to complete our personal 2011 tax returns by TODAY it turns out for financial aid applications (i thought i had until the 15th!) and being audited at work and dealing with the cpas and old, old, old paperwork, i'm a stressed out mess. so, eventually i will post all my old pictures from christmas at disneyland. stay tuned my 3 readers...

a little no more...

nanea leah

1.10.06

8:47am

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

today, my older "little" turns 6. i can hardly believe it! i know that all parents think that their kids are great, but nanea truly is (ha! yes, i do know that i am biased!). she is, for the most part, pure joy. smart, witty, outgoing, fun, responsible, loving, and of course as with most bright kids, can be sassy, opinionated and definitely a little miss know-it-all! i wouldn't have her any other way, and i am lucky to be her mom.

below are some pictures taken for Pacific Weddings Magazine last year by the uber-talented Frank Amodo. these are the shots that didn't make it into the magazine. they are all amazing!

happy birthday my sweet goosie-girl!

uncle frank had nanea chase him down the path, while running backwards shooting these photos. so. much. fun. !

new haircuts

we couldn't go to california and not get haircuts from aunt lennetta! makena had all her crazy layers cut to the shortest, probably about 4-5 inches, and nanea who has been asking for 2 years to cut her hair short, finally got her wish and cut close to 10 inches.

two different kids, two different schools, two different christmas programs...

...on the same day! not to mention THE SAME TIME!

luckily, noa was not working so we were able to divide and conquer. though, we were sorry to miss the other girl's program, they seemed to be ok with it

nanea's class program wasn't an actual christmas program, but it was their turn to be the hosts of their chapel service (which happens every 6th day of school)

after chapel, the class had a gingerbread-making activity with the parents. this is nanea and her classmate rylee.

meanwhile further west, makena's class program was in full effect. it was a toss up as to whether she would stand there with a straight face, or go all out singing-mode. she did the later, which was a delight to watch. the children's house class christmas program is an amazing thing. 48 three and four year olds, an hour of songs AND hand motions, and a nativity story. complete with some of the class acting out the parts, in costume. in the two years nanea was there, and makena's first yet, no crying, everyone participating, it's amazing!

tutu cute!

sorry, just couldn't resist the title...