Jumpy time!

I love my cousin Ellie. We have lots of fun together. She's a great jumper!

Ellie!

Yay! Today is my baby cousin Ellie's birthday! She's two! She's not really a baby anymore. She's a toddler! She's smart, strong, and really funny. I love her. I finger-knit her a scarf. But Mommy hasn't mailed it yet. Come on, Mom, get with it.

Happy birthday, Ellie!

Skype!

I like Skype. I use it to see my friend Ella all the way in Israel. I also use it to talk with my cousin Ellie in Orange County. Ellie is still a baby. And she's really funny. And she's not shy. I'm shy sometimes. Even with Ellie. But I still love to skype with Uncle Eric and Ellie, even though I don't always know what to say. Sometimes Mommy makes funny faces to Ellie. And Ellie laughs. I laugh too.

Happy New Year!

It's a new year. Good bye 2010! Hi 2011! Sometimes I write the wrong year on my papers at school. Here are some things I did before the year ended.

My class sang at the Fairmont Hotel. I am embarrassed to sing in front of people, but I did it anyway.


I built a gingerbread house at school.


Then it was vacation! No school for 16 days! I did lots of fun stuff like go to the Nutcracker Ballet with Mommy. We celebrated Christmas. I got fun presents, like rock climbing gear, stuff for my bike, books, and games. I ate a lot of yummy treats.

Then I went to Hollywood! We stayed where there were a lot of stars with names on them on the sidewalk. When I stay at hotels, I test out the beds by jumping on them. It's especially fun jumping from one bed to the other. This hotel had very nice beds and lots of fluffy pillows.



And trying out the round chair.



I went to Venice Beach. There were a lot of people working out. I worked on my balance.



Part of my Christmas present from Mommy and Daddy was a trip to the Lego Store to pick out some legos. We found a store while on vacation. I wanted to take this giant one home, but I don't think it would fit on the other lego bricks so I decided to leave it at the store and get some smaller ones.


And of course I had fun being with Ellie Belly!



I rang in the new year with my walk-to-school-buddy and his family. We played Wii. And I tied balloons in everyone's hair.

I can tell that 2011 is going to be a great year.

I love to swim!

I'm pretty good at it too!



When Mommy and I went to Orange County we swam almost every day. Even my baby cousin Ellie got in the pool. She can't swim yet, so she did some happy splashing on the step.



Uncle Eric and I swam around. We had fun being silly.



Mommy was silly too. I took her picture when she wasn't looking.



Yay for swimming!

My song for Ellie!

Mommy and I are going to see Ellie in a few days! I can't wait! Tonight, at bedtime I made up a song for Ellie. Mommy made a video. I'm in it. So are Snoopy, Cloud, and Lay-Lay the Ladybug. I hope Ellie sees it so she knows I love her!

On my way!

I'm on my way with Bachan and Jichan to see my cousin Ellie! Sometimes I call Ellie my sister because it would be fun if she was. Mommy and Daddy are sure going to miss me while I'm gone. I might call them if I get bored. That would make them happy. I don't think I'll get bored though.

Happy New Year from Ellie and me!

I'm back!

I had a great time in Orange County visiting Uncle Eric, Auntie Wendy, and baby Ellie Belly. Here they are in case you don't know what they look like.



Lots of fun. I took their doggie Sami out on walks. I went swimming almost every day. I even went to the beach and made a fancy sand castle with seaweed and shells.



I played a lot with Ellie. She likes when I make funny faces and sounds at her. I met my other cousin Cali. She's fun too!



I also spent some time with Auntie Wendy's family. They are very nice but I'm very shy around them.

We visited a placed called something like Mission San Juan Capastrami. It's an old building. There is a Mission near our house here in San Francisco. But the one we visited in Orange County was a little different. I liked jumping around.



I also did a little photo shoot with Ellie. A photo shoot is where Mommy fiddles with her camera for way too long to get "the perfect shot" and I get impatient. How hard is it to press a button? I've been pressing buttons since I was a baby. Just take the picture already. But I do love holding Ellie.



I love a vacation, but I also love being home. I really missed Daddy when I was gone. Mommy missed him too. I think Daddy was bored without us. When he picked us up from the airport, I gave him a super big hug.

Later that night we went to watch the Persied Meteor Shower near Mt. Diablo. My friend Izzy and her mommy came along. We got to lie in our sleeping bags and stare up at the sky. We saw some really neat shooting stars with long tails fly across the night sky. So cool! But Daddy got really sick and threw up a lot. He mostly looked at the ground while we looked at the sky. I don't think he saw many shooting stars.

Two days later, I got sick. No fun. It was pretty miserable. I threw up a lot. I cried a lot. I stopped throwing up yesterday, but I'm still tired. I've been keeping busy by sleeping through. I told Mommy that I wish people never got sick. It really hurts.

But I'm feeling much better today. And did I mention that Ella is visiting again from Israel? My best friend is back! We have a sleepover planned for this week. Yay!!!!

I love Ellie!

She's so cute. I love giving my baby cousin hugs and kisses.

Me and my cousin

I love Ellie!

Wouldn't it be funny

Yesterday, Mommy and I looked at new photos of baby Ellie. Mommy asked me what I'm going to say when I finally meet my new cousin.

I said, "Wouldn't it be funny if I shook her hand and said, 'Congratulations! You just made it out of a belly!'?"

Mommy laughed. I told her not to tell anyone I said that.

She's cute!

When I saw this picture Ellie this morning, I said, "Awwww! She's sooooo cuuuute!" I really want to see her in real life.

She's wearing a hat that Mommy knit her.

I'm a big cousin!

Uncle Eric and Auntie Wendy had a baby last night. The baby's name is Ellie, which is a nickname for Elizabeth. The baby was born while I was sleeping. Doesn't Ellie know that she should have been sleeping too? The night is bedtime for kids!

Here's some things you might want to know about the baby.
Her name is Elizabeth Quynh Haruko Iwamoto. When she's in kindergarten, it's going to take her 10 minutes and two sheets of paper to write out her name on her homework.

She was born on April 13, 2009. That was yesterday.

At 9:06pm. That was last night.

6 pounds, 14 ounces. I weigh a lot more than that, like more than five Ellies put together.

20 inches long. I'm taller than that. I don't know how much taller though. Much taller if she's lying down.

I can't wait to meet her! I have so much I plan to teach her, like how to carefully place small toys on the floor so Mommy and Daddy can step on them. But first I will have to teach her not to eat small toys. Because that's dangerous.

Happy Birthday, Ellie!