Party Animals

Monkey Games

Two Old!

Jemma turned 2 on Dec. 21st and now, whenever we ask her how old she is, she replies, "Two Old!" (Thanks, kid...) She helped make the monkey cupcakes for her birthday party, which was a "Monkeying Around" theme. We made Banana cupcakes, monkey invites, pin the tail on the monkey, while monkey music played in the background...yes, we went bananas. We had beautiful weather and the kids went ape in the playground and park.

Tub-o-fun! 1

Bath time just keeps getting better and better - or should we say, wetter and wetter! Jemma loves to splash water all over, sometimes using our spray shower and sometimes just pouring a cup of water over her head. She was making daddy laugh in these photos and splashing more and more and wouldn't stop until he was wet and howling!

Tub-o-fun! 2

Yan Can Cook!

Jemma insists on helping mommy cook now. She climbs up on her high chair and sprinkles in seasonings or stirs up the ingredients. She likes to say, "Hot, hot, hot!" while she's doing it, and "Do myself!" Jemma's at that stage of fierce independence and everything is "No, by myself!" unless, of course, her sock is stuck on her toe or her shirt is choking her head, then it's, "I need help!" which sounds like, "I knee hep!" We look forward to the day she does the cooking for us, all by herself without any help at all... Yum!

Simon Says

Whenever we go out to eat with our Chinese sisters, it's more than just a feast. We do our best to find a corner of the restaurant 'cause we know that sooner or later it's going to turn into our playground. We sing songs and this time, we got a round of Simon Says going. The concentration was intense!

Papa Razzi!

The Daddys snapped away at their little girls, creating a red carpet scene at our local brunch spot. Diners were pretty sure these were some very famous Chinese girls, but couldn't quite place their adorable faces.

Cash and prizes!

The girls all got great gifts from their extended aunties and unclies - a piggy coin purse, an Elmo coloring book and crayons plus so much more. Jemma was very pleased with her bounty of booty.

Family Fun Fotos

We were tired of placing the camera on weird objects and setting the timer then running into place just to get a family photo. And after many failed attempts, it was time to go professional. We went back to the photographer who did Jemma's great Halloween photos (IMK in Silver Lake.) The dogs were welcome on the shoot and we're so glad we included them (even though Rua totally upstages us!) Jemma is very attached to both Ollie and Rua - she totally understands that they are part of the family. It was a really fun shoot - very relaxing and silly and we got so many pictures good picures of the whole fam damily. Here are a few of our faves.

Super Model!

There was nothing shy or anxious about Jemma during the photo shoot. She was well aware that we were taking pictures and was happy to climb up onto chairs and play with beads and she even gave us a spontaneous little pose with her foot. The kid can work it!

Mommy & Daddy & Me, Oh My!

Jemma has been very impartial with her love toward us. She has special things she does with mommy, like cooking or putting on jewelry and special things with daddy, like getting chased around the house or reading books. But it's very clear that she's happiest when we are all together and insists on holding both of our hands whenever we're walking about - it's a heart melter every time.

Batter Up!

The annual holiday pancake breakfast is a big ta-do at John's high school. It's the last day before winter break and everyone is in a very festive mood. This is Jemma's second pancake breakfast. Last year she was picked up and held by everyone, this year she held her own!

Post Hallow's Eve

A wonderful photographer in our neighborhood offers an annual Halloween special - hand tinted black and white photos of children in costume. Pirate Daddy was all dressed up for school so he got in the picture before walking the plank with his button girl.