Our fashionista!

Our girl has her own sense of style.

While on holiday she stopped wearing her swim vest that she had insisted on wearing for most of the first part of the trip because one of her friends gave her a bathing suit. When we explained that she would have to wear her vest for the boat rides she asked if she could wear the bathing suit on top of the vest.

Yesterday when she was getting ready to go to the park she decided she didn't want to wear her socks that she wore to school. Instead she insisted on getting tights. She was crushed when we made her put on her pants over tights and as soon as she and her friend came in the house she took her pants off so everyone could see her tights!

Today she is wearing a shirt she picked out in Singapore that she fell in love with and wouldn't take off when we got home even for the wash.

She is thrilled to be back with Sab. our neighbor who is three weeks older. They are playing everyday and today K told me to pick her up early so they could play on the slide. When I reminded her that I do come early it just takes 40 minutes to leave school she asked me to remind her that I am picking her up early so that she can play on the slides.

Back home

Our last day in Singapore involved a lot of shopping, good food and the last few moments of warm weather and watermelon for a while.

K charmed us with her travel skills back to the Bay Area... She rocked and was thrilled to be home... As she has been saying for the last few days... "my life came true" she has been having a great time playing at home, visiting MoCa seeing Gma S and today demanded I take her to school early because she missed her friends. We even took her to the market and for coffee yesterday morning after our 18 hour travel day because of the time difference.

Oct 13

Ang and I just heard that we got picked out of the random lottery for the Nike Women's Marathon. We are going to run in SF in Oct. Lots of training ahead. And knowing the two of us lots of cute training gear so we are even faster runners. It can only help!!! Should be fun! Luckily we are planning a girls LA weekend at the end of the month. In addition to our normal shopping adventures we will now have to plan for some runs.

More fun

Our second day on Phuket was more incredible beach time. The ocean is so warm!!! And lots of pool time for K. We also ventured off the resort to Patong Beach for a bit of shopping before going to a beautiful Thai restaraunt that overlooked the ocean allowing us to take in sunset.

We spent the last couple days in Koh Phi Phi where we saw some of the most beautiful views ever, took in even more ocean time on this quiet little bay and did some neat hiking.

Last night ended up being one of our best dinners as we ate at the resort on the beach after collecting sand dollars and watching a lightning storm on the water. K got to run in the sand and the hotel set up little lanterns for folks to light up and fill with hot air so you could make a wish before releasing the lantern into the air. They looked like little stars in the sky. It was beautiful.

Today K got to feed the baby elephant some lychees and we are going to ride elephants and try another fun restaraunt after some beach massages. The grand finale before we head back to Singapore to play with our friends and make the trek home.

Phuket

The last day in Bangkok was more family time. We hit up the beautiful pool, checked out the weekend market, which was so overwhelming we only covered a tiny bit and tried to do some more shopping. The city has incredible shopping.

We arrived in Phuket yesterday and are on a beautiful warm beach with fantastic water and lots of neat resort pools. K got to touch her first baby elephant and even got to feed him papaya and watermelon and sit on him. More beach bumming ahead.

day two

We went to some beautiful temples and the stunning Grand Palace today. It was incredible and K loved the stairs at the Grand Palace as she and Daddy jumped off them, explored in the tunnels and ran around like banchees. She also really enjoyed the National Museum and chose looking at more art versus pool time when I was trying to convince everyone to go home. It was hot! She kept looking for all the Buddhas, which was cute. The evening was amazing as she ended up being wiped from the day and T and I sat for drinks, dinner before shopping. We left the stroller so our arms almost fell off.

Overall the experience has been great, but the fighting with cab drivers, dealing with the lying tuk tuk drivers, the insane traffic, horrible polution and how hard it is to walk around is just tough. We saw two different moms with their toddlers begging on the streets which just breaks your heart especially when you see how lucky K is. It is also sad to tell K to be careful who she talks to and have her hold her hand almost all the time.

the last couple days

We spent the last couple days in Singapore playing with Mad and Gab, shopping for matching outfits, having m&m parties in our hotel room, swimming till we were prunes and meeting Daddy for dinner. One night we went to a Med restaraunt that we tried the last time we were here nd visited the kitties again. Of course we went back to my fav IndoChine as it looks over the water with a backdrop of skyscrapers, very pretty. K pointed out the first time we headed there this holiday that we always went this way. Guess she remembered it from the last visit.

We started our Bangkok adventure yesterday and spent some time at the beautiful pool. Unfortunately they pick up all the flowers and so no bumblebee soup like our last few pool days. Everyone loves K so the staff happily picked a few flowers for her. We took advantage of being in Thailand by eating Thai twice in one day. The traffic here is insane and so we ended up having to abandon our plans for the night market midway by hopping out of the taxi and walking back. As the Four Seasons is next door and our driver from the airport suggested the only sites to see as hotels we went there for the best Thai food ever. K loved the mac and cheese they served, the m&m sundae, the cod pool,the music and family time. Unfortunately we didn't see any sites as K took a giant nap in the afternoon and we didn't get in till midday. Luckily today the adventures really begin!

wow

The day zoo is just as great as the night safari... K got to feed kangaroos, we were just a few feel from a beautiful cheetah and we met some folks from Colorado with a little boy just a bit yonger than K so they played all day and loved the playground. We went back to the fullerton hotel which was just as good although we were very sleepy.

Sunday we decided to just explore the city so we could visit this great Buddhism exhibition at the Asian Civilization Museum before my favorite place... Indochine! Yummy.

The last two days have been spent with Mad. and Gab who are also American, but live in Germany. The girls are claiming to be sisters and are in love especially with pool time, meals out, the water part at the zoo and treats. Of course, the mommies are having a great time too! K is pooped everytime she leaves them as it is 8-9 hours of nonstop playing... Awesome!

We made it!

K is the perfect travler... she did great on all the flights, met lots of kids and loved her midway flight suprise of Lucy who is snug in bed with her now. We seemed to have missed any horrible jetlag and are so excited to be warm! So we may be hot... but that is ok.

We have been meeting friends everywhere we go and are trying to get to know any girls aged 3-6. Tonight at dinner we missed our entire meal because we met a family that is in the same hotel with a couple girls slighty older than K... Lots of pool playdates coming our way.

Today we took Daddy to the Singapore Gardens where we fed turtles and fish.... but the best of all was getting caught in a giant rainstorm! We ended up having to fly through the gardens to get to a gazebo drenched, but after we got there we spent most of the hour splashing each other and collecting rain... We collected lots of rain. Of course the thunder was way too intense, but we tried to sing it away. We also went back to this French cafe that I loved the last time I was here.... and of course we met another little kid... I am sensing a theme to our trip!

We are off!!!

We are improving our packing skills! Got completely ready and packed in less than three hours this morning!!!! Done with finals and now heading on our big adventure. Luckily the Kate Spade coupon came just before I left and I convinced the store to hold my purchase until we return home as I had to explain I was buying the purse and wallet on the airplane. A great way to include it in the trip budget and not my shopping budget!!!

K is ready for her big flight.She picked her travel outfit... Way stylier than necessary. In fact T commented on the fact that I had picked a really fancy outfit for a flight which I didn't understand until I saw that she had tossed aside my choice and picked all white clothes for the flight.

A weekend of playdates

We met Tay and Am on Fri night for dinner, ice cream and of course merry go rounds. Sat we met Carter for coffee and drawing, followed by an easter egg hunt and bunny ride with Fi and Andreeeewww before meeting James for running and more coffee. Lots of playing and lots of fun. We finished the weekend with even more coffee on Sun with friends and a yummy dinner and wine at Mantra with MJ... Lots of fun, lots of studying and a couple pics.

College and K

College has been on K's mind lately. She has been calling someone on her cell phone to ask them about her joining college.

Yesterday she mentioned that after preschool she would be heading to college.

Today the conversation came up again and she described college to me... Sand, toys, swings, snacks and merry go rounds. With finals next week I am dreaming of K's idea of college.

Missed a great photo

K's pajamas last night... a scarf, hat, gloves, skirt on top of pjs and a headband under the scarf... All the things you can put on when your parents leave the room after tucking you in... It was a hilarious sight when she came in our room this morning.

A family beach day

LUCY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night K and Mommy were solo so we agreed on a shopping trip... shock... I know! We went to Valley Fair for some indoor warmth and as we wandered through the shops K kept looking for something... We haven't been to the mall since right after the holidays so I had no idea what she was looking for.. finally she told me "the animal store" (Translation: Pottery Barn Kids) We were wandering around when we saw Lucy.... and guess who wants Lucy again. K wants Santa to bring her Lucy... They are still sold out and we returned our Lucy long ago after it was clear Santa had to bring her the blue and pink baby who we still love.. Looks like we will buy Lucy in April when they finally get their shipment in.

Is MoCa really accepting her?

Instead of leaping off the bed and running for cover as MoCa normally does when she discovers K in our bed reading books in the morning.... MoCa took her spot and went to sleep (Mommy wasn't even in between the two of them) ... Even when K started jumping on the bed MoCa managed to keep on sleeping... and when K decided to pet her and sing to her.... MoCa still hung on... Way better than getting a dead bird as a present!

This week has been a blur so no details necessary... Our trip is finalized though...
beach time in Phuket and Koh Phi Phi (photo below)
city time in Singapore and Bangkok

All in all some much needed family time!

Mice and gymnastics

K's three favorite moments of the weekend..

Going toy shopping for bday gifts for her friends and getting a new baby doll! I know shocking! Another Kevin in our lives. We hadn't been to the toy store since July so it was a dramatic outing...

Going to LG's party singing happy birthday and doing gymnastics.... We are wearing our new party favor sunglasses everywhere. We spent some of the morning practicing singing happy bday and hoping we would get to lick the candles like some of the other parties.

Getting introduced to the world of disney with Disney on Ice with Gma, Daddy and Mommy. K was so excited to see the mice... (her first intro to Mickey & Minnie and a dog (name escapes me) however definitely no interest in the princesses except when they were alone as she worried they were lonely and wanted them to skate with friends. Her other favorite part was the dragon who blew fire... hmmm definitely no princess interest.

The sleep is getting a bit better and on Sunday K slept in until 8:30 which was very needed as we had friends over for dinner Sat night and with homemade dessert crepes and a fun dinner to make they didn't leave until after 1am.

My favorite comment today: I was putting dishes away and cleaning the kitchen after serving K breakfast and she reminded me part way into the process that I had to eat breakfast. Apparently I took too long because after another minute or two she told me that I needed to worry about myself!

Can we go now?

We have finally decided we are going to make Singapore work for spring break. We are also hoping for Malaysia, Thailand and Tokyo or Hong Kong... but have to narrow down choices and book our flights. Our Hawaii trip fell apart after the hotel we were booking went to 750 a night... Craziness and a bummer to miss group travel with our friends SR at least for this trip. So this weekend we will figure our trip out! Exciting. When we told K we were going to Singapore she asked.... Are we going now? Can we go right now? We know who she takes after! Especially when we were asking her if she wants a short or long flight and she requested long flights...The funniest part of the whole thing is yesterday I had a work trip come up for my favorite place in the world... Manhattan, of course while we are planning to be in Singapore! Bummer.... to have to turn down a ticket and hotel for one of the best places in the world.... Maybe we can just scrap other Asian adventures and settle on Bali again....

A lot less exciting is the schoolwork load.... Two presentations next week, a fifty page group paper, a midterm tonight and managed to turn in a group project on Tuesday.... If only I could figure out how to not need sleep... things are busy.

We started our weekend with Fi's bday party, which K loved... She had a great time dancing, playing with someone elses dolls and horses and getting to go home with eight little rings and various bracelets. She keeps informing us that the rings are for M & her as they are going to get married and dance and listen to music. No idea where they got a wedding in their head...but the two girls have been having such a great time together at school.

Sat we went to brunch at D&Js which ended up being a really nice way to spend a cold rainy day... I also decided to sign up for the Mermaid RUN - All Women's 5K, 10K, Half Marathon with J so I am looking forward to my first 10k in prep for that half later this year.

Sunday was a marathon school day for me although K and I hit the coffee shop for two hours to sing, talk and play with horses while T was off golfing. K and I also tried more baking together last night before having Gma over the Academy Awards and made really yummy oatmeal cookies at K's request! The paste she made of flour, water, cinnamon, cashews, milk and raisins looked less appealing, but she loved it.

A sleepy week

We have had a sleepy week... getting K to bed has been tough... guess it is the big girl bed. The highlight of the week was definitely turning off the lights and watching the lunar eclipse the other night. The second highlight was our three year check up, which went fantastic with a very brave girl who didn't cry about shots, blood being drawn etc... I got her a Icing on the Cake cookie between meetings as a treat! So proud of her.

Yesterday I went to Napa for work and was hoping to bring Dean & Deluca home for dinner... no luck due to too much time in meetings... I did get to try the farm at carneros inn, which was fantastic!! My favorite meal... beet salad, mushroom risotto, yummy pinot noir followed by a chocolate souffle... Good thing I am back to working out... Today will be a salad diet to make up for all the yumminess!