I got a rock

Bachan and Jichan gave me a rock for my birthday. It's a special rock, called a geode. It looks like this when it's round:



And then you're supposed to crack it open. I put the geode inside a sock. Then I dropped it from the balcony in our backyard. It didn't break, so Daddy took a hammer to it. We all wore sunglasses to protect our eyes (because this is science!). He bashed it open. And then you get chunks like this:



And pretty crystals!



And curvy layers that look like rolling hills.



I like to put it back together like a puzzle.

Thanks Bachan and Jichan!

Daddy is My Favorite Daddy

I love Father's Day because it's all about Daddy. And I love Daddy because, well, he's Daddy! We do all sorts of fun things together. He's the best. So for Father's Day I took him to the aquarium in Monterey after I made him pancakes for breakfast (with a little bit of help from Mommy). I love the aquarium. All kinds of fishies. And cool plants. And penguins. And the sea otters are so cute! Especially when they roll over in the water and play together. I want to be an otter for a day so I can play like them.

The jellyfish are really neat 'cause they glow. And they're all blobby.


Then we played at a park. Super fun!


It was a great day.


And! A video!

Incognito, or I Like Sunglasses

Daddy and I played with my camera. We had a photoshoot. He took pictures of me wearing my glasses. And I took pictures of him wearing hats:

I'm Seven!

Today is my birthday! I'm seven years old today. I hear that 7 is a lucky number. So far, I like being seven. Yesterday I was six and I had the flu. That was no fun. I threw up a lot. My barf tasted like crayons. And I cried because my tummy hurt lots and lots. Ouchie. I cried until I fell asleep.

But today! I woke up and felt good. I read on the couch (I slept there!). Then Daddy came in and said, "Happy Birthday!" and gave me a hug and kiss. He and Mommy said that I could stay home from school today since I still needed to get better. That means lots of rest. But I was healthy enough to take a cab to Daddy's office and draw on the whiteboard. He works across from the big baseball place where the Giants play. He said it's going to be crazy tomorrow when the World Series starts. Sounds fun!

For my birthday I got green stripey fingerless mitts that Mommy made. Also a flower ring. I love when Mommy makes me things. And for dinner, we ate my favorite food--Udon. That is Japanese slurpy noodles in soup. We had an inside picnic in my room. I set up the picnic on the floor. Yay! We eat in my room only on very special days. My birthday is a special day.

I wonder what fun things I'll do as a seven year old!

On the roof

I've always wanted to go up on the roof of our building, but Mommy and Daddy would never let me, saying something silly like I'd fall off. But yesterday they were in a good mood and let me go up there so I could see the Blue Angels fly in the sky. Daddy thought I'd be scared climbing up the skinny metal ladder. He followed right behind me so I would be safe. Then I made it up on the roof. I could almost see our old house in Emeryville from there. I could see the Bay Bridge. And I saw the Blue Angels fly around. They are blue! And loud!


I was very careful to stay away from all edges of the building. Because I didn't want to fall off. That would hurt!

Mommy of course had her camera glued to her face and took a picture of me when I wasn't looking. I hate when she does that.



I guess that's the price I have to pay to do fun things.

My twirly-stripey dress!

Mommy knit me a dress. I picked out the colors. I like the dress. I've worn it for three days in a row now. I even slept in it. It's like wearing a blanket. It's very cozy.





Here's a silly little dance I did while waiting for BART. You can see the twirly in action.



And guess what else? I can fly! (with Daddy's help)

My owie

On Father's Day I went on a bike ride with Daddy. We borrowed our friend's bike. It is a big bike with two extra seats in the back. It was really fun.



And then, somehow, I don't really know how. I got my foot stuck in the wheel. It was a few seconds before I realized that it really hurt. Really bad. I started screaming and crying. Daddy quickly got my foot untangled and then biked back. But on the way I saw lots of my friends out. I was able to say Hi to everyone and tell them that I got hurt. "Waaahhhh!!!! Hi, Grace! waahhhhhh!!! I hurt my foot! Waaahhh!! Hi Serafina! Waaaahhh!!!"

Yesterday I stayed home from Summer Camp because I couldn't walk well or wear shoes. I'm much better today and am able to go back to summer camp. I still have bruises and scrapes though. And it still hurts. But I'm better.

Happy Father's Day!

I love you! I'm so happy you're my daddy.

Things I did in March

I told Mommy that time is going by way too fast. She said, "Hey, that's what grown ups say!"

In March, I did lots of things.

I went to Yosemite with my friend Izzy and her family. We went together last year, too. I hope we go to Yosemite together next year. And the year after. And the year after that.

I walked.


I hiked.


I sledded.


I didn't want to leave Yosemite. I found some really big rocks that made caves and told Daddy that we should move there. We could park our car next to the rocks. Daddy said it would be a long commute to school. Silly Daddy.

I guess Yosemite didn't want us to live in their rocks because we ended up back home again in San Francisco.

In school I made a penguin! And the secret part is that if you shake it you can hear the clay ball inside. It's a rattle! Mommy helped our class with the painting. That means her job was to make sure we didn't paint each other instead of our art project.



I cooked over spring break. Sabrina gave me a cookbook with recipes made just for kids. Yay! 'Cause I'm a kid. I decided to make Mommy and me lunch. I made pink lemonade. I went into the backyard and picked some lemons and then squeezed all the juice out. The pink part pink lemonade is food coloring. I just love those pointy food coloring bottles. I wish I had a collection of them. But all ours are full so I can't play with them. Yet!

I also made French Toast. I even used my special party napkins and fancy glasses to set the table. It was the best lunch I ever had. Mommy liked it too!



In March, I also played with my friends. That's one of my favorite things to do! It's so fun. Especially when the grownups aren't paying attention.




And I have a new friend! His name is Theo. He's tiny. But he weighs a lot more than any of my stuffed animals.



And those are some of the exciting things I did in March!

Things I've been up to

Our big computer with most of our pictures on it broke a few weeks ago. Mommy and Daddy said the hard drive died. I didn't know it was alive? And then Mommy and Daddy were able to get all their important stuff from the hard drive (like songs and pictures), so maybe it wasn't as dead as they thought. But the screen doesn't work, so I can't play any games or watch any videos. So to me, I think it's just broken. It's a good thing there are other computers in this house. Boy, we sure are lucky!

So here are some things I did last month:

Daddy, Mommy and I jumped around in the living room. Whee!



Lion Dancers came to my school for the Chinese New Year. They are from the San Francisco Police Department. I didn't know police officers also were lions! They tossed candy to us! And cabbage!



There were some dirt areas in our grass, so Daddy and I planted grass seeds there. It felt like it took forever, but they finally started to grow. Aww, it's baby grass! I think it's cute. I also think worms are cute.



Ooh, and the best thing of all that happened in February....

I got my ears pierced! (I'll tell you all about that in my next post.)

Don't forget to count 0

Daddy: Yoshi this will be your 6th Christmas.

Yoshi: No, it'll be my 7th. My first was when I was zero, then my second was when I was 1, so now that I'm 6, it'll be my 7th.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

You're the best. I'm happy that you're my daddy. I love you!

Yes I can. No you can't.

Daddy: I'm the daddy so I can do whatever I want.

Me: Well, you can't punch me.

Daddy: You got me there.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Yesterday was Mommy's birthday. She's much older than me. She's an old lady. I told her this. Then Mommy asked, "If I'm an old lady, then what is Bachan?" I said, "An older lady!"

I made Mommy waffles using Sha and Brenda's most favoritist Belgian waffle recipe. Daddy helped a little. Mommy loved my cooking.

I also made Mommy a chocolate cake while she was at her photography class. Daddy helped a little. I made sure the batter and the frosting tasted good. 'Cause you don't want to make a cake with yucky batter or yucky frosting.

Watch the video of us making the cake!

When I Grow Up

Daddy: When you grow up, Yoshi, do you think you want to be like Mommy and Daddy?

Me: No, I want to be like Yoshimi.

Puppets!

For Christmas Mommy and Daddy's friend Nick gave me a finger puppet kit. A kit is an activity that has all the goodies to make something. You get to put it together yourself. It's kind of like Fajitas at a restaurant. You put the food together to make a burrito type thing. But this is puppets. You don't eat it like Fajitas.

The kit makes three fairy princesses. Pretty! Here's how I did it.

Take out all the pieces of fabric, the glue pen, and the construction booklet.


Follow the "constructions." Mommy calls them "instructions," but I corrected her on that.



Glue things together.




Be careful not to get the fabric on Daddy's nose.


Let the fabric dry.


Fairy Princess Puppets!


Thanks Nick!

My daddy

I love Daddy. He's the best Daddy I've ever had. Good thing too, because he's the only daddy I've ever had. We often take the bus together to school. We play a game called "What do you want to eat?" Here is how it is played. One person says, "Hi! What do you want to eat?" The other person says what they want to eat. The first person will either say "Okay!" and then pretend to make the food and give it to the other person. Or the first person can say, "Sorry, we don't have that," and then ask what else they want to eat. If the other person can't think of something, then the first person suggests food.

Me: Hi! What do you want to eat?

Daddy: Hi! I'd like some edamame and a fruit smoothie.

Me: Edamame and a fruit smoothie? Okay! [then I pretend to quickly make it by moving my hands around and making gurgling noises]

Me: Here you go!

Daddy: Thanks!

then the roles trade.

Daddy: Hi! What do you want to eat?

Me: Hi! I want an ice cream cone and steak.

Daddy: Sorry, we ran out of steak. How about a hot dog?

Me: Okay!

~~~~~~~

I also love Daddy because he gives me stuff. He went grocery shopping the other day and when he came home, he brought me a flower!


~~~~

I also love Daddy even when he does things that are pretty silly. On Monday, Mommy, Daddy and I were out in the front courtyard taking photos. I like playing by the fountain because water is fun. Daddy thought it would be fun for him to jump off a ledge while Mommy took photos of him in the air. When he crouched down to jump, his big bottom pushed me into the water. I had no idea what was going on. One moment I'm out of the water. The next moment I'm in the water. Daddy finished his jump and then resuced me.

Before (notice his bottom getting ready to bump me in):


After (he looks embarrassed and I'm in shock):


Mommy said something about "parenting at its finest" but I can think of lots of other times that I liked better than this one.

Head shapes

When Mommy puts me to bed, we like to talk. The other night we talked about heads:

Me: Mommy, you're head is oval.

Mommy: Really? What shape is yours?

Me: Mine is round. [I trace my head with my finger]

Mommy? It sure is! What about Dad's? What shape is his?

Me: His is different. It's like my friend Jackson's.

Mommy: What does Jackson's head look like?

Me: Different, like Daddy's. My head is circle-y!

Graduation!

On Sunday, Daddy graduated. He got a piece of rolled up piece of paper and he owes someone lots of money. I also got a rolled up piece of paper because I also graduated my preschool. I no longer go there, but in a couple months I'll be going to a new school in San Francisco.


Lots of people came to my graduation: Mommy and Daddy; Grandma and Alex; Bachan and Jichan; Uncle Emilio and Auntie Laura; my cousins Kelly, Katie, and Madison; Aunt Kathy, and even Great Grandma! I felt very proud!

Mommy and Daddy need your money

Mommy and Daddy run. They run a lot. They get sweaty and stinky. For some reason, they want to share their sweatiness and stinkiness with others because they like to share. They will run with a team on a very long, long race. I can only count up to eleventeen, so they are at least doing eleventeen miles. Will you help them make some money to help sick people who need new parts in their bodies?

Here is Mommy's email that she sent out. I'm renting her this internet space for her ad for the price of three girl scout cookies.:

My dear family and friends,

I never thought that I'd be a runner, but I am. I never thought that I'd actually enjoy running, but I do. And I never thought that I would actually run a marathon, but I did. Now that I know I can run 26.2 miles without my legs falling off, I will be running 199 miles in two days. Okay, you got me. I won't be running this entire distance myself. On May 5th and 6th, I will be a member of a great 12 person team that will take part in The Relay, which starts in Napa Valley in Calistoga, runs through the Marin, over the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, down the Peninsula, through the Silicon Valley, and ends on the beach of Santa Cruz. Each team member will run 3 different times, some in the morning, some during the day, some at night. My husband and fellow teammate Tom will be run across the Golden Gate Bridge under a full moon around midnight. As for me, my very first leg of this race will be along the same course as the Napa Valley Marathon that I ran last March, so it will be a nice run (haha) down memory lane.

What I need from you, my dears, is your support -- moral and/or monetary support. The Relay Race benefits Organs 'R' Us (ORU), an organization with a cheesy name that does a world of good. Organs 'R' Us (nonprofit 501 (c) (3) Tax ID 94-3333306) promotes the need for organ donors through athletics. We decided on our team name "Sweet: Cheeks" (say Sweet Colon Cheeks!) as a play on words for this cause. We will all wear pink running skirts (yes, the men too) so you won't miss us if you want to cheers us on from the sidelines. Our team goal is to raise at least $1200 by MARCH 15th(!). This is where you can help. Please consider making a donation to ORU and help save lives. No amount is too small. Every little bit helps.

Checks can be made payable to: Organs 'R' Us. Please mail your monetary donation ASAP to me (email me for my address) or directly to ORU:

Organs 'R' Us 570
El Camino Real, Suite 150-330
Redwood City, CA 94063

Please remember to write my team name "SWEET:CHEEKS" on your check. And let me know if I should be on the lookout for your check in my mailbox if you send it to my home address. You may also Paypal me your donation. Send it to akemi.collier@gmail.com with the subject heading: RELAY

And, most importantly, if you haven't considered it already, please take the time to consider becoming an organ donor and discuss this with your family members. This will allow your loved ones to make an informed decision if they are ever faced with donating your organs.

For more information about The Relay race, visit: http://www.therelay.com
And to learn more about Organs 'R' Us, check out: http://www.therelay.com/organs/indexmain.html

Thank you so much for your support. And if you ever want to run with me, I welcome your company.

Warmly,
Denise