Studio Grow Visit

 Julia shaking it up on the dance floor!

 Alex and Demetra dancing away.

 Drawing a spider and web on the chalkboard together.

 Little artiste

 Stamping away!

 Wheeeee!!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

 A little girl who would rather be taking a nap than taking photos

 Julia:  not happy, Alex: trying to figure out what is playing on the iPhone, Matthew: enjoying what is playing on the iPhone.

 Bunch of crazies ;-)

 Big boy cousin

 The two boys chatting

 Cuties

 Goofing around already

Smile, Matthew!

 Getting up close with Xena

Cute family pic

We took these photos while Ming, Fiona and Matthew were here during Christmas, but somehow I realized that I didn't post them.  We used some of them on the cards which we sent out for Chinese New Year.  Unfortunately, Julia was about due for a nap and was not into photo taking at all, but that happens.  Fiona and I had the same idea, getting matching outfits for photos, so we had matching sweaters for the boys and matching kung fu outfits and a cute cheongsam for Julia.  The kiddos wore their outfits again on Chinese New Year, so thank you, Auntie Fiona!

Valentine's Dinner

On Valentine's Day, Alex and Julia set up a cafe and had some of their puppets and stuffed animals come to join them for a dinner which they cooked in their kitchen.  I had purchased the little tables second hand the day before, thinking that they would be useful and they immediately took them and used them as desks the first night and then the next night, this is how they were used.

When I inquired as to the name of the cafe, Alex responded "Whatever kind of food you like....it's all here!"  Maybe more of a tag line, but sounds like customer service is their strong suit!

The Little Valentines

 Snap peas are quite happy

 Look at who can almost reach the ground to use her Strider!

 Should be cruising on the bike by summer!

 Good garden helpers

More Party Pics

Posing as a Lego Man

A Lego Party!

This afternoon we have a few of Alex's friends over for a Lego party to celebrate his birthday.  Even though we had decorated inside, the weather outside was so nice that we decided to move everything out and enjoy the beautiful sunshine, instead.  David made a ramp last weekend and thanks to Berkeley Parents Network, I had snagged a huge copy paper box FULL of Legos of all kinds, a few months ago.  I had gradually sorted through them and we picked out enough wheels and axles to give each child a set as a base for their car.  They spent the first part of the party building cars, trying them out on the ramp and then modifying them until they would make a clean run down the ramp.  The little had the Duplos out to play with too, so it was fun for all.  After the car building, at some point they all became a wolf pack (most likely our son's idea) and they had fun chasing each other around up and down the downslope and howling while they were at it.  We had snacks, another Lego cake and ice cream and then a game of pin the shades on the Lego man, took some photos in the pose as a Lego man booth and then everyone headed home.  Made for a fun afternoon.  Happy Birthday, Alex!

Valentine's Day!

We did a few projects to get ready for Valentine's Day in the past few days.  Alex and Julia made valentines for Daddy and Alex made Valentine bookmarks for all 19 of his classmates.  Yesterday, we made crisped rice treats with crisp brown rice cereal and browned butter drizzled with dark chocolate and LOTS of sprinkles, as you can see.  We took some to a friend's house for a playdate yesterday and then had some after our Valentine's dinner tonight.  Hope everyone had a fun Valentine's Day!