Good morning!

I like to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy on the weekends.

I'm 8!

Today is my birthday! I am now eight years old! I didn't think I would like being eight because I liked being seven so much, but so far I like it. Mommy and Daddy came in my room this morning and sang Happy Birthday instead of saying, "Yoshi wake up!" like they usually do. We went to my favorite place for breakfast, which is the cafe around the corner. I got a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Yum! Then we went to school. My friends gave me hand made cards, hugs, and lots of happiness. At the end of the school day, Mommy came to class with the chocolate chip cookies that Daddy and I baked the night before. My friend said he gives the cookie an A+ 'cause it was so tasty. I also gave cookies to my old teachers and the principal. And the principal gave me a pretty lei!



I've been getting lots of mail these past few days. Birthday cards, a Halloween card, and stickers! I even got more mail than Mommy and Daddy. Getting mail makes me happy.

And guess what I got from Mommy and Daddy? A microscope! It's so cool! I love it so much. It's weird how it can see things that I can't see with my regular eyes. I saw my first cell. It has a dark dot in the middle. That's the nucleus. And I saw a cell that was in the middle of splitting into two cells! I like collecting things outside to put on slides, like moist leaves, dried up leaves, flower petals, dead ants. These aren't slides you slide down, like in a playground. These are flat pieces of glass that you stick stuff on to look with the microscope. Everything looks so interesting under a microscope. Even paper! And Bachan and Jichan gave me a big geode that Daddy helped me crack open, so I put the crystals under the microscope too. I love science.

And on Saturday, my best friends Z and J spent the night for my birthday sleepover. It's been a long time since the three of us played together since Z moved away. We had a lot of catching up to do. Plus it was Sunday Streets, where cars aren't allowed. It was a big party in my neighborhood! Lots of fun stuff, like...

Face painting!


Hopscotch!


Chillin' with ice cream!


Hula hooping!


This evening we ate dinner in my room, picnic style. I'm not usually allowed to have any food pin my room, so getting to eat a meal there is a very special treat. It only happens on my birthday. And sometimes on Valentine's Day. After, we drove to the beach and painted with light. I made a heart!



Finally we went home because it was dark. Bachan and Jichan wished me a happy birthday on the phone. My cousin Ellie made a super cute video singing Happy Birthday to "Yosi" and I also got to see an online card from my older cousins, Kelly, Katie, and Madison. So much birthday goodness.

Turning 8 couldn't be better.

Family Ghosts!

Watch out! It's a family of ghosts! Keep your eye on Baby. She's sneaky!

Friday Night Fun

Yesterday was family photo fun night. We did silly stuff in front of the camera.

Karate kick! Hai ya!


HIGH five!


Daddy gets mad to his wine.


Rock star Mommy!


I love family photo fun!

Family bikes!

Today was a good day. Today was the first day that Daddy, Mommy and I rode our bikes together as a family. I made sure to slow down at all driveways. I stopped at each intersection. I looked in all directions for cars coming. It was a little like an obstacle course because there were a lot of people on the sidewalk that I had to go around. Mommy and Daddy were proud of me. I even was the leader part of the way!

We rode to City Hall! The building with the gold bump on it! There was an open house there, even though it's not a house. We got to walk around in the fancy offices. I had hot cider. And candy canes! Daddy and Mommy talked to the City Attorney's press secretary because they are running buddies. I was shy and didn't talk. I was thinking about eating more candy canes.

There was a lot going on. I ran into my friend from pre-school! And we hung out with Mommy and Daddy's friends. I played on the playground.

And I biked all the way home too! That's three miles I biked today!

Yay! I'm tired, but I want to ride more!

Daddy, Mommy, and me

Last week we went to a street. It wasn't a regular street. It was called Indie Mart. It was a walking street with lots of tables with people selling stuff. Like little shops. And there was a photobooth. We took a family photo. Fun! But my favorite part was digging through the suitcase of fun dressup stuff.

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.)

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!

I'll miss you, Great Grandma

Great Grandma had been in the hospital for a little while. On Saturday, I spoke to her on the phone. "I miss you! I love you Great Grandma! I'm going to make you a picture!!" And she was happy to hear me even though she couldn't talk back. I painted a picture of her and me together. I gave her rainbow hair. We mailed it Monday, special delivery, over night to Utah so she would get it right away.

Great Grandma passed away late last night. That means her body no longer works.

This morning, Mommy, Daddy and I had a silent moment to think about her. I closed my eyes and thought. When I opened them I told Daddy and Mommy, "I thought about Great Grandma, Grandpa, and me all together."

Go Speed Racer!

One of my birthday presents was from Uncle Ed and Auntie Misa. They gave me a plastic card. I got to use it like money at a toy store and get a whole bunch of goodies, not just one thing. I got Lincoln Logs. They are tiny wooden logs used to build all sorts of neat towers and houses. Yay! I also picked out a princess book. I also got a toy puppy for the bathtub. More yay! But this is my favorite:



Thank you, Uncle Ed and Auntie Misa!!!! Yay yay yay!

Happy New Year!

2008 is great!

Hello! It's a new year, but it's the same old Yoshimi. Daddy says the world based on the Roman Calendar is one year older. Daddy says a lot of silly things that I have no idea what he means, but I just smile at him because I'm cute.

I got all sorts of great things for Christmas (A big THANK YOU to everyone for thinking of me and giving me such thoughtful gifts). Books! Toys! Clothes! Yummy Foodies! And I played with lots of family, which was my favorite part of the school holiday break. I took a road trip with Bachan and Jichan to see Uncle Eric and Auntie Wendy. They live in Orange County. It's a long drive. But totally worth it to see them. I played with their puppy too. I yell "Fireplace Sami" to Sami when she bothers me and that scares her. Maybe she's afraid of the fireplace like I'm scared of the dark. Do puppy monsters hide in fireplaces?

I went through my old toys, clothes, and books to donate to the thrift store the things I no longer use and play with. My room is much easier to clean when there isn't as much stuff to clean up. Go figure.

Not only did Mommy give me some great presents, she also gave me a cold. She and I share everything! *cough cough* *sneeze* I stayed home from school for a couple days and she decided to stay home from work so she could be my servant and take care of me while I watched videos and played card games like Old Maid.

I'll hopefully get some photos up on my next blog post.