Jelly Bellys!

Yesterday Mommy and I took a field trip to the Jelly Belly factory. This is where the jelly beans are made. They are very yummy. Inside the factory you can see the people make the candy. It smells delicious inside, like lemon and cherry. A lady working at the factory told us to wear these hats all the time.





We also were told not to take any pictures inside the factory of the machines and people and the candy being made. These pictures were taken in the lobby and store part. There were big, giant jelly beans hanging from the ceiling:








They had funny mirrors that made me look tall:


There were cars and even a motorcycle and sidecar with pictures of jelly beans!


Mommy went crazy and bought a lot of Jelly Bellys. She likes the pomegranate flavored one. I like all of them!

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!

Stinky

Me: I'm stinky, like Daddy.

Mommy: Really? How so?

Me: I fart a lot!

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!

Smells like...

Not yesterday, but days before that, I was at school. I go to school a lot. This one day my teachers put different things in cups for us kids to smell. It was a game. We had to guess what was in the cup by what it smelled like. I was pretty good.

Teacher: Here Yoshi, smell this.

Me: sniff sniff (that's the sound my nose makes when I smell really hard)

Teacher: What does it smell like?

Me: It's brandy!!!

Teacher: It's vanilla extract.

Me: No, it's brandy.

Silly teachers.

My plant

Daddy helped me plant some seeds. We put them in dirt. I watered the seeds. The seeds grew into these stringy things. Then leaves appeared. Now there are more leaves. It's basil! Mommy and Daddy are not allowed to eat my plant.

I'm unarmed!

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

Shake, rattle and roll!

Tonight, while Mommy put me to bed, we felt our home shake! My bed shook, my clothes on hangers swung around, and I heard the windows rattle. There was a low, rumbling sound too. Mommy said, "Did you feel that? That's an earthquake!" She also told me that the rumbling sound is what earthquakes sound like. Daddy came bouncing in my room to share the excitement of the earthquake. I thought that the cars driving around outside made the earthquake because sometimes that's what it feels like when big trucks drive by our building. Daddy said that it's much stronger than a truck. Mommy said something about "magic" but I know she's crazy. I made a joke and said that it's Abiyoyo coming! But really, I wonder how the ground moved? Hmm... Maybe when I turn 4, the world's mysteries will be solved.

School Picture

Here's my school picture, taken a couple weeks ago. Last year the picture people gave me a shirt that has a picture of myself on it. You can't tell from this pose, but I'm wearing that shirt for this photo. This is a picture of Yoshi wearing a shirt with a picture of Yoshi! This year the picture people gave me a Yoshi-sized pack-pack (Mommy calls it a "backpack) that has this picture of me. So now I can wear a backpack with a picture of me wearing a shirt that has a picture of me. It's enough to make your head dizzy, like when you spin around and around and around really fast for a long time.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mommy painted me a big heart for Valentine's! She says we can hang it up in my room. Yay!

Marina Sunset

After school today, Mommy and I went to the Marina near home and enjoyed the sunset. She brought bubbles for me to blow. I climbed big rocks and threw small rocks into the ocean. Actually, I couldn't quite reach the ocean so I threw the small rocks in a nearby puddle. I looked at the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. It looks small from very far away. I also could see the buildings of San Francisco. I can't wait to live there one of these days.

Twinkle Toes

Mommy knit me slippers with my favorite blue colored yarn.

Happy New Year!

It's a new year. The old year went away. It's now 2007. And what does that mean? I'm not sure. I can only count up to 13 before I start making up numbers. Eleventeen is my favorite. It comes after 19. Anyway, there was a holiday called Christmas where Santa breaks into our home and eats cookies and leaves presents in socks that hang up on the wall. Weird. He left me these funny little candy hamburgers. I wonder if Santa realizes that I can eat bigger burgers.



Mommy, Daddy and I went to visit Grandma and Alex. They live where it is very cold. I went sledding. Whee! All the way down a hill by myself going fast, fast, fast! The next day Daddy dug a big hole and buried me. Here I am eating my way out.

I hope I get a harmonica...

...on this lovely, lovely Hanukkah!

On Sunday I went to Ella's house for Hanukkah. It involved lighting candles and singing. But it wasn't for a birthday. Ella's mommy shared the story of Hanukkah as we lit the Hanukia (that's the Menorah, or the fancy candle holder). We ate yummy latkes. My friends Abe and Alma also were at the party. Ella happily shared some of her dreidles with me and I took home a blue one. Mommy and Daddy made chocolate covered apricots and wrapped them in shiny foil for gelt.

O Christmas Tree

How lovely are thy branches! Especially when they are cut off and made into a little Yoshi-sized wreath! Here I am with Daddy holding the tree that we cut down. Daddy tied the tree onto the car with string, but something happened when we got on the freeway. The tree flew off. Mommy carefully drove backwards on the side of the road and Daddy rescued the tree. I told Daddy that next time I will hold the string so the tree won't fall off again.

Every year Mommy makes wreaths using extra branches from the tree. She made a big one for our front door. Daddy made a small wreath that hangs on the door to my room. Yay! It smells good.

Gobble! Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Peek-A-Boo...

I see you!

Hamburger

On a long, long, very long drive back from visiting Uncle Eric and Auntie Wendy yesterday...

Daddy: Wake up Yoshi, it's time to get lunch.

Me (rubbing my eyes): huh??

Mommy: Do you want tacos or hamburger for lunch?

Me: Hamburger!

Daddy: Okay! Burgers it is.

Me: Yay!! I want the hamburger with the black thing in it.

Mommy: You mean the meat?

Me: Yeah, the meat. And two breads--one on top and one on the bottom.

Mommy: You mean the buns?

Me: Yeah, the bread buns. And Yellow cheese.

Daddy: Okay, a cheeseburger.

Me: And with pointy sides on the cheese.

Mommy: We call the pointy sides corners.

Me: I call them pointy sides!

Yoshi-size fruit

Daddy went to Berkeley Bowl, also known as the store that sells pink and brown pretzels. Today he brought home little Yoshi-sized fruit. Tiny bananas, itty-bitty apples, and a small bunch of dark purple grapes. Mommy put the fruit in a small bowl and it sits next to the big bowl of grown-up size fruit.





My favorite are the tiny bananas! So yummy!!

Boo!

I'm a Lion!


RAWR!!!

Three

Today is my birthday! I'm three years old! Yay!

Ohr-jange

I can't say "orange." It always comes out sounding like "ohr-jange." Yesterday Daddy and I gathered things from around the house that are orange. I put them on this table.

Z is for Zubbles

Zubbles... The World's First Colored Bubbles!

Lookey here! Colored bubbles! Maybe I can get these for the summer time.

I know, I know. I'll update soon.

Mommy has been very busy with the computer these days, so I haven't been able to update my website. Here are just a couple recent photos. Ella and I are carpool buddies once a week. I will try to get my cameraman and director (i.e. Daddy) to get another podcast ready.

No more monkeys jumping on the bed

Mommy made me a nice pair of jammies. It's cozy flannel with monkeys and circles on it. I like to put my tiny Snoopy in my pocket. There are three pink buttons. It is too big for me, but I like having the floppy arms and the baggy pants.

Tumbling like a tumble weed

Mommy and Daddy think I might be shy at my first day of gymnastics, but I am so excited to see so many cool things that I have no time to feel shy. WOW!! It's like a playground that's inside! The first thing I do is run over to climb a ladder up to the uneven bars. Then I run to the other side of the gym and swung from the trapeze bar. I swing there a lot. Then I climb another ladder, this time backwards, and walk across a balance beam, and then slide down backwards on the slide at the other end. I jump on a trampoline and bump heads with another kid. Bonk! No worries. I climb off and swing from these two rings that hand down from a rope. Whee!!! Then I climb up on a big, foamy, half circle thingy and try to balance. I get some help from Daddy. Then I crawl through a tunnel. More balance beam. I do footie wall (Mommy calls it a handstand). I also hang upside down on a bar by myself. My gymnastics teacher sings songs, dances, and does all sorts of fun things with the kids. Yay! The time went by very fast. Next thing I knew it was time to leave. I wanted to swing on the giant tire swing, but I was too late. It will have to wait until next week when I go back. I will try to remind Mommy to bring the camera.

Children's Fairyland -- take 2

Yesterday was my second time at Children's Fairyland. The first time I went I was too scared to go on many of the rides. I didn't even go down the spiral slide because it was in the dark. But yesterday my cousin Ai-chan was with me and we played everywhere together. She helped me be brave. We went on the slides, the merry-go-rounds (3 times!), the ferris wheel. We walked through the Alice in Wonderland adventure. We said hi to all the animals. We played in the sand. Ai-chan even fed goats with these little pellet things that look like big rabbit food. It was great! I can't wait to go back with her again.

Put it all together

You are now looking at my new and improved website. My blog, videos, podcast, and pictures can all be found now at littleyo.com. I hope you like it!

Hey Rocky, watch me pulla rabbit outta this hat

Mommy and me at the magic shop near 9th and Irving, SF.

Changes

It is a new school year for me and Daddy. With that comes a new website, a new look for my blog, and new podcasts. I told Mommy and Daddy I want to streamline and simplify my internet life. I still have some work to do on my website and blog. It should be done soon, unless I start getting homework from school. That would really bite into my free time.
http://www.littleyo.com/

iPod ads

I have this week off between summer school and my regular preschool. I decided to make some ads to go with my podcasts. But shhh, don't tell Mommy I used her computer. She really doesn't like when I use it. She should learn how to share better.

Fixed

The podcast is fixed for now.

Technical difficulties

I'm having some problems with my Podcast page. I'll see if Daddy can use his connections to fix this.

My podcast!

Daddy taught me everything he knows about podcasting. For those of you who don't know what a podcast is, it's like a radio or tv show that is downloaded from the internet. You can see my videos by clicking here. You can download iTunes free and the program will download the videos, or you can simply watch the videos online by clicking on the pictures of the videos. Enjoy!

Purse

Mommy knit a new purse. Here I am modeling it:

Mommy and Daddy's vacation without me

Mommy and Daddy told me to share these photos from their trip. I told them to ask nicely so they said, "Pretty please?! Share these photos with your adoring readers." Sure thing!

Clicky here.

Mes vacances sans mes parents

I was on holiday last week. Bachan and Jichan took care of me while Mommy and Daddy went on a trip far away to Iceland and France. They said that if I'm potty trained the next time they go, they will take me. I'm working on it!

Here are some pictures that Auntie Wendy took of me when I visited her and Uncle Eric. We went to the Aquarium and I saw lots of fish. I also went on a super big ferris wheel at a fancy outdoor mall. I am very brave.

Mommy and Daddy called me every day while they were away. I did not talk to them very much though. They did most of the talking. I was a little upset that they did not take me on their vacation. Still, I had a good time even though they were not around. I even got to have a sleepover at my cousins' house. I love playing with Kelly, Katie and Madison because they do everything I tell them to, unlike when I'm at home and Mommy and Daddy always seem to want to do something other than what I want. Funny how that works.

"I didn't sell out, I bought in."

You may have noticed that up near the top of my blog there are now small advertisements. Everytime someone clicks on one of these ads from my blog, I get a little bit of money from the advertiser people. Mommy and Daddy say this is how I'm going to earn my college tuition. So, if any of these ads strike your fancy -- clicky clicky, support Yoshimi!

Crafty calls

Don't tell anyone, but Mommy has an excellent stash of crafty supplies. Why, just the other day she tells me she can make a phone out of two paper cups and some yarn. I tell her, "I'd like to see you try!" Okay, the words don't come out quite like that, it is more like, "Yay! Cups!" Mommy takes a sharp, pointy thing and pokes a hole in the bottom of each cup. Then she takes some yarn (she's got oodles upon oodles of yarn), pulls it through each cup, then ties the ends with knots. She gives me one cup and told me to hold it. She walks all the way down the hall with the other cup. She tells me to hold my cup over my ear. She talks into her cup. "Hello!" she says. I hear her voice in my cup! I also hear her voice out of the cup too since she's only just down the hall. But still, this is neat! Then she holds her cup over her ear while I say, "Hellooo!!" in my cup. She hears me.

I tell her I want to talk to Uncle Eric but she says that the yarn isn't long enough. I'm not sure I believe her. I mean, have you seen how much yarn my mommy has? It's a lot.

Pool

Here I am chillin' at Auntie Misa and Uncle Ed's vacation house. They set up a little pool for me.

Shout out

Just wanted to give a shout out to my Daddy!

I love Daddy. His work is far away so he spends a lot of time in his red car and I miss him. I always plan to wake up early before he leaves and sneak into his car so I can ride with him to work, but I never wake up in time. I need an alarm clock.

Camping at Mt. Tam

Two weekends ago, Uncle Eric and Auntie Wendy drove a long time from their house to ours. We drove across a bridge and then up a moutain called Mt. Tamalpais where we camped. Mommy forgot the map though so we didn't know exactly where the campgrounds were. We drove to the top, turned around, found a map, and then found the campground. The sites are "first come, first served." This means you need to get there first thing or else they won't help you! Luckily we found a nice place to camp.

I helped Auntie Wendy and Uncle Eric set up the tent. Auntie Wendy has camped before, but this was Uncle Eric's very first time camping. He was lucky that I have all this camping experience under my belt. Uncle Eric and Auntie Wendy's tent was a little too small for them to get very comfy, so I'm not sure how well they slept that night.

After we set up camp, we set out on a hike. Daddy wore the backpack to carry me, but I walked a lot in the beginning. Then I got tired so Daddy carried me while I took a nap. When I woke up, we were halfway done with the hike. We turned around, found a shady bridge to eat our sandwiches that Mommy made, and then hiked more. I hiked a lot! There was a 10 foot ladder that I climbed by myself. I held Daddy's hand so he wouldn't fall.

We played leapfrog with a group of other hikers. This is where we hike ahead of them, then later on they pass us and get in front of us, and then it's our turn. And so on and so forth. They said something to me about being a "trooper" for hiking so much by myself. I'm not sure what that means but I think it was a good thing.

For dinner, we ate chili hot dogs! Yummy. Then Mommy made Jiffy Pop over the campfire and we all ate popcorn. Next, s'mores!

Oh, I forgot that we went down to Stinson Beach and got some yummy ice cream after our hike. I had a scoop of mocha fudge ice cream and a scoop of berry sorbet. Good stuff! Daddy bought some grownup drinks for later that night.

I sure had a good time camping with Uncle Eric and Auntie Wendy. I hope we can go again soon!

Updated 6/27

Come check out my updated photos and videos on my other website! Note: there are several albums and the videos are large files so they may take a while to load.

ETA: Big thanks to Auntie Wendy for taking the camping pictures!

We like the cars, the cars that go boom

Today Daddy, Mommy and I went to the movie theater to see a movie. This is my second time being at the theaters. We watched Cars, made by Pixar. Pixar is three blocks from my house. Mommy and I walk by it a lot. I even waved to the man who made the Nemo movie once. Anyway, Cars was a fun movie (it's about, guess what? Cars!), but I like Finding Nemo better. Maybe I would have liked it more if I knew how to drive. Of course, I don't really know how to swim yet so I'm not much like Nemo the fish either. I sat through the entire movie, ate a bag of popcorn and had some candy that I hear some dude named E.T. likes. Good stuff!

Nap game

I play a game with Mommy. I pretend that I am Mommy. I tell Mommy to lie down on the sofa. I put a blanket on her. I gently pat her and tell her it's time to go to sleep. I sing a song. Sometimes I sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Then I tell her I have to go do some work. Or sometimes I tell her that I'm going to bed too. I run up to MommyDaddyBed and climb inside. This is a picture of me lying there, pretending I will go to sleep. Bandit Snoopy cuddles next to me. He stays on MommyDaddyBed.

Tra la la la

I went to Pennsylvania for a wedding this past weekend with Mommy and Daddy. We went on two airplanes to get there. One plane was big. One plane was small. The small ones only had 9 rows of seats. There were two spinny things on the wings that went really fast. I watched the wheels move up and down. Neat stuff.

My cousins were in Pennsylvania too. They are such fun. We did flips on the hotel beds. We ran around the grass at the wedding. We danced at the reception. We ate lots of cookies and drank lots of soda and stayed up until 2am. My cousins sure know how to party! And now I do too.

Summer school

Today was my first day of summer school. My friends Ella and Abe were there too. I go to a different school with different teachers and different classmates than my other school. This is only for the summer. This is why it's called Summer School. Daddy has a new job too, working for a place that's named after a kind of fruit that begins with the first letter of the alphabet. It's a summer job though. So he only works during the summer. When summer is over, it's back to my other school for me. It's also back to school for Daddy. Mommy continues to work at her same work, Akemi Designs. Sometimes I pretend that I work for Akemi Designs too. I cut up all of Mommy's paper. I sometimes also call my work Lennon Designs.

At first I felt shy in this new place. I felt comfortable after a little bit. When Ella came, she also was very shy and clung to her daddy. I asked her, "Ella are you shy?" Ella said, "Yes I am!" and then she didnt' say anything else. Later, after our morning snack of juicy oranges, apples, and crunchy crackers, we played in this big table-box thing that had dried beans, rice, and pasta. It was sort of like a sandbox without the sand. Ella looked happier. I asked her, "Ella, are you talking now?" She said yes and so she and I played.

Summer school is really fun. There are lots of friendly kids in my class. Today we walked to the park. Summer school hours are not as long as my regular school, so Mommy picks me up before nap time. I don't really like napping much these days though. I'd much rather play in Mommy's office so I can see her make her no-no face. Works every time.

Oh, I have this really neat lunch box. It's in the shape of a robot! The food goes in the tummy. His head also opens up to hold extra goodies. Today Mommy made a card with a "Y" on the front and a drawing of Daddy, Mommy, and me on the inside with a heart in the corner. Yay! Another boy in my class has a robot lunch box too. He accidentally took my robot. He thought it was his. I pointed out his mistake by showing him my name on the back. He gave it back to me and he found his own robot lunch box. Lunch sure is yummy when it's eaten from a robot's tummy!

Class portrait

Last day

Today was my last day at preschool with Fong, Marie, my other teachers, and my friends. There was a party, but a lot of the other mommies and daddies seemed a little sad. I had a good time. I ate watermelon, pink and green cookies, drank lemonade and played with my friends.

My teachers made a nice photo album with lots of pictures of taken at school during my 9 months there. Fong wrote a lot of journal entries about my days there too. Mommy has read some of them to me already.

The parents gave Fong and Marie gift certificates to buy a tree for their homes. Once they pick the trees out, we will come over and help plant them. They will be able to see them grow. I drew on a card for my teachers. One of my other teachers Vivian gave me a green bear. It's really cute. Vivian is moving far away. When will I see her again?

I noticed my cubby was all cleaned out. The picture of me was taken down. Someone put it in my photo album. Will I ever use my cubby again?

Soon I will start summer school. Daddy tells me it's not at the school I've been going to. It's at a new school. I hope everyone there is nice. I'm nervous. Luckily two of my friends will be there too so we can play together.

When summer school is over, I will go back to my other school, the one where Fong and Marie teach. Marie isn't going to be my teacher though. Fong might, but she doesn't know for sure. I hope so. I really like her. I will get to be a student in the bigger kids' classroom. Neato!

Here are some pics:

Paula gives good hugs:


Fong hugs me:


Marie says bye:


Vivian gives good hugs too: