Tomorrow is my last day...

...of first grade! I learned a lot. I read lots of chapter books now.


I know what 5 times 7 is. I know that germs on my hands can grow into many more germs in a Petri dish in one week.

I did so many fun things this school year.

Halloween school parade:


We built (and ate) Gingerbread houses:


I saw Chinese New Year lions dance at our school:


We had a Valentine's Day party!


A nice man from the Opera visited the class and helped us put on a show.



We learned about many countries for United Nations Day. It was actually two days! Our classroom was Ethiopia. They grow coffee there. Mommy and Daddy should visit Ethiopia since they love coffee so much.


Last week we had our Junior Olympics! I like the obstacle course. It's tricky!


On Tuesday my class spent the night at the Marin Headlands. We are the only first graders in the school to go on an overnight trip. Without parents! We hiked, learned new songs, and stayed up real late. I became a member of the Hard Core club. That's where you eat an entire apple -- including the core! There's a special way to do it. I can teach you if you ask nicely and bring me an apple.

And tomorrow we're going to have a party with the other first graders and kindergartners. And then after school the Taco Truck is going to come! And then after that I get to go get ice cream. With two scoops!

I had so much fun in first grade. I wonder if second grade will be just as fun. But I can wait. Because I want it to be summer vacation!

Participate

I like the word "participate" because it reminds me of the word "pastry," like puff pastry. Participate! Mmmm.

My rhyme!

I love the planet. And did you know that Earth Day was a few days ago? I made up a rhyme.

The air we breathe goes to the trees.
The air trees breathe goes to the... we's.

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!

Holy Ears!

Mommy always told me that I could get my ears pierced whenever I wanted. And in order to get my ears pierced, a needle would have to go through my ear. Twice! Because it's one needle in each ear. I thought about it for a long time. I liked wearing pretend earrings like tiny stickers or dots drawn on with markers on my ears. I really don't like needles. Sometimes I think about when I got shots at the Doctor's and I start to cry because I remember how much it hurts.

Every day on the walk home from school we pass by the piercing parlor. That's where people get holes put in them. Mommy said that this shop would be the place to get my ears pierced. She didn't want to take me to the mall to get my ears pierced because Mommy wasn't happy with how her ears ended up when she got them pierced as a kid at the mall. I hear they use some kind of earring gun at the mall. That sounds scary too. Because guns can hurt people!

After thinking about this whole ear piercing thing for a couple years, I decide that I want to go inside the piercing shop to see what it's all about. Daddy is also with us. We all go in and see the people working there. They have lots of metal in their ears and face. And lots of tattoos. And guess what? They are nice! They say that I can come in anytime to look at the pretty jewelry and ask questions. And when I decide I'm ready they will pierce my ears. That makes me feel happy. But still a little nervous!

Two days later after going in, I tell Mommy that I am ready.

Daddy takes me to the little mini-market around the corner and we buy some bubble gum to have afterwards. Yay! And this was big gum! I'm excited! And nervous! But I really want this.



All three of us go inside. Mommy says, "My daughter would like to get her ears pierced." The man working there says, "Sorry, we can't do it unless she asks for it herself." Uh oh, I'm shy to talk to people! But I get brave and ask, "Can I get my ears pierced, please?" And then the man says, "Sure!" Mommy fills out some paper. And I even write my signature. That's a fancy word for writing my name. I feel very important. I pick out my pretty earrings, which are shaped like barbells. They are pretty sparkly blue, my favorite color.

This man named Kenny takes us to the room. Kenny has lots of piercings. I wonder if they hurt when he got them. The room looks a lot like a doctor's office. There's even that table-bed thingy with that thin paper stretched across, but this one has Dr. Suess characters on it! Fun! There are glass jars with cotton balls and other neat things that I want to look inside.

And then I start to get real nervous. Kenny is nice though. He tells me he's going to school to be a pediatrics nurse. He says that a lot of the kids he meets at the hospital play pretend doctor with their stuffed animals. It helps them feel better. I remind myself that I should practice piercing my Snoopy's ears when I get home.

Kenny draws little dots on my ears where the earrings should go. He redraws one of them because it didn't look perfect. Then we're all set.



I'm really, really nervous.



I get all woozy. I feel like I don't want to be there. I try to shrink inside myself and Kenny says, "I can't pierce your ears if you do that." So Daddy and Mommy help me relax. Daddy lets me squeeze his hand. Deep breath. And then the needle goes in.




Waaaaahhh!!!!! I didn't think it would hurt that much. And then I saw the needle in the mirror, just dangling in my ear. Yikes! That's weird, but I'm still crying. And then the earring is in. Then the other side. Waaaaahhhhh!!! But it felt quicker.


And then it's done. And two minutes later I'm outside feeling really great! I'm so excited and happy! I jump up and down and talk a million words a minute. "OhmygodmyearsarepiercedanditdoesntreallyevenhurtmuchanymoreandcanIhavemygumandletsgogethotcocoa!"



So I get to chew my yummy gum as we walk to the coffee shop to get a fancy hot cocoa. I show off my new earrings to the lady working at the coffee shop and she said I was brave. She said she cried when she got her piercing. I believe her because, boy, that really hurts!



And a few days later, I learned how to blow bubbles with my gum!

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.)

Valentine's Day

Sunday was Valentine's Day. I woke up to see a hanging paper heart with a lucky penny dangling down from the ceiling. Daddy made it for me. I love him.



Then I opened up a heart pop-up card that Mommy made me. I told her to make me a Valentine a few days before. Because I didn't know if she knew I wanted one.

Mommy made one of my favorite breakfastses. It's an apple pancake pie thing. So yummy! I set up my room for an indoor picnic. We only eat meals in my room on special days. Like my birthday. I made name cards so Mommy and Daddy would know where to sit.

Then we went on a hike with some of my school friends. We had lots of fun. The grownups could barely keep up with us. We walked two and a half miles! After that we ate ice cream and then went to a really neat playground made out of wood. Did you know that wood comes from trees? I just learned that.



Valentine's Day was also Lunar New Year. On the same day! Mommy cooked homemade potstickers that night. She wanted me to help, but I decided to say no thank you instead. They came out really yummy. They taste like the ones you buy at the store.

A great day for everyone! Especially me. I love my family.

Naming Party

Daddy and Mommy's friends Cedric and Maureen are having a baby. The baby is growing inside Maureen's tummy and should be coming out any day now. The baby is a boy. Mommy asked what I thought the baby's name should be.

Me: Cedric and Maureen should have a Baby Naming Party.

Mommy: Oh yeah? What happens at a Baby Naming Party?

Me: Well, everyone sits in a circle and each person says a name. And they keep going around until Cedric and Maureen hear the right name. And then they jump up and down and say, "Party! Party!" And then the party begins.

Mommy: Sounds fun!

Me: And! Then everyone cheers and picks up that person and carries that person around and they say "Party! Party!" (I dance around to show Mommy how it's done.)

Yup. That's what they should do.

Hey look at the fish

Here's me and my 100 Day Project! I drew Mommy pointing and saying, "Hey look at the fish" and I'm making a sand castle.

100 days of school

Today is my 100th day of First Grade. I celebrated by putting 100 flower petals into fishy shapes. There are ten petals for every fish. That's ten fish! I'm getting good at math. I'll try to get a picture of it to show to you. I like it. I think you might like it too.

Last year I was in Kindergarten. I also did a 100-Day Project for Kindergarten. Also with flower petals. I guess I'm the Flower Petal Girl now.

I have a video from my first day of kindergarten, way back in 2008! It's mostly from my walk to and from school. Because Mommy and Daddy weren't allowed to stay in class. I know they would have if my teacher had let them.

Girl Scout Cookies! My letter and signs

TV is funny

Sometimes, when I watch TV, I think it's funny when the people on TV are watching people on TV.

Girl Scout Cookies!

Did I mention that I'm a Girl Scout Daisy? I'm going to start selling cookies! If you live nearby, let me know if you want to buy a box of delicious Girl Scout cookies. They are not made of Girl Scouts though. 'Cause that would taste yucky.

I will have the pre-order form Saturday. I hear that they have a new cookie this year.

mmmm.... cooookeeeees

Cuddles with Snoopy (and Mommy)

Tonight at bedtime I didn't feel very well. Lots of painful coughing. I tried to dream about the solar system but I kept waking up because of the coughs. Mommy crawled in bed with me to help make me feel better until my yucky cough medicine started to work. We did lots of whisper-talking in the dark. It was nice.

I told her how I love cuddling with my new Snoopy I got from Bachan. "It makes me so happy to cuddle Snoopy because she's so soft." (My Snoopy is a girl.) "Really?" Mommy asked. "Yeah, cuddling super soft things make me so happy, I can't really describe it. I'm just so happy."

Mommy said, "You know, that's how I feel when I cuddle with you."

Happy New Year from Ellie and me!

Fudge

Me: Hey, this fudge tastes like brandy.

Mommy: How do you know what brandy tastes like?

Me: Well, it tastes like how it smells.

Storytime!

The Frog and the Turtle
by Yoshimi
December 17, 2009

One day a frog and a turtle met at the pond. The frog said, "Do you want to jump on lily pads?" And the turtle said, "No, thanks. Do you want to go to my house?" The frog said, "No, thanks."

"Then what do you want to do?" said the turtle.

"I want to jump on lily pads and hide in lily pads."

"I already said I don't want to do that," said the turtle. "What I want to do is make something good to eat."

"Good idea," said the frog.

"Let's go do it," said the frog.

So the turtle and the frog got lots of candies and lots of stuff to make sweet treats and gingerbread houses. They had a very good time.

"This is fun!" said the turtle.

"I know!" said the frog.

It looked delicious.

When they were finished, they ate it.

The end.

Racing dive

I love swimming! Here's me and my friend K taking practicing our racing dives. I went first. She went after me.

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.

At the symphony

Last week we took a field trip to Davies Symphony Hall. To see the San Francisco Symphony. Mommy even came! She rode the bus with us and everything. Mommy said something about liking the shoulder seat belts in the bus. She's weird.

Mommy sat next to me. I pointed out these clear plastic rectangles hanging down from the ceiling. She asked what they were for. I told her it was there so the music can bounce off it and land on the people watching. Mommy said something about uh-coo-stix. Again, weird.

So the music people started coming onto the stage and setting up their stuff. Mommy and I chatted.

Mommy: Ooh, look! There are some people with cellos over there. (She points to the right)

Me: No, Mommy, the cellos are over there. (I point to the left.) That's the bass and double bass. (I point to where Mommy pointed before)

Mommy: Oh. We'll I'll be!

What will she be?

Jingle Bells!

Fun at Bachan and Jichan's house!

In my head...

Me: I have a hundred things in my head that I'm thinking about.

Daddy: Really? Wow!

Mommy: That's a lot!

Me: Oh wait, I mean I have two things. I was thinking of eating walnuts and something to show you.

Storytime!

Rabbit and Mouse
by Yoshi


Once there was a little cute rabbit. And a cute mouse. They played together every day. They were very best friends! They had lots of fun together. They went to animal parks and stuff.

One day, a giraffe walked by. The rabbit and the mouse got very scared. So they left into a different wood. On the way there the rabbit found lots of carrots. And the mouse found lots of cheese. And when they got there, there was lots of cheese and carrots.

And the rabbit jumped to pick the carrots and the mouse scurried everywhere to pick the cheese. The rabbit and the mouse were very happy.

At dinner, the mouse had cheese soup and the rabbit had carrot soup. For dessert, the mouse had cheesecake. And for dessert, the bunny had carrot cake.

For breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, the mouse always had cheese things and the rabbit always had carrot things.

They found lots of stuff to make furniture and stuff. And they found other things to make decorations. And they had a very happy time and they made mouse and rabbit friends. And they partied a lot. And they drinked fruit punch. And sometimes they ate different colored marshmallows and cookies and brownies and muffins and cake and doughnuts.

The end.

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.

Needles make me sad

I got a flu shot today. Mommy and Daddy said it wouldn't hurt. Not true.

Big needle + little arm = owwww!!!

My needle was much bigger than the ones that Mommy and Daddy got. That wasn't fair.

But! I got another flu medicine that sprayed up my nose in both nose holes. It felt like sneezing backwards.

Tonight I get to sleep with Bandit Snoopy. That's Mommy's very special Snoopy that always sleeps in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Bandit Snoopy helps make my arm feel better.

Picture picture

About a year ago, I got a really fun cupcake baking set from Auntie Sharen. She's the Mommy of Kristen. And I was the flower girl in Kristen and Trenner's wedding. The baking set is really fun. Everything is Yoshi sized—small and perfect. Small bowl, small mixing spoons, little measuring cups, a mini cupcake pan... it goes on and on. There's even an apron that's the perfect size.

Anyway, when I first used it to make cupcakes, Mommy took pictures of me. Mommy is always taking pictures of me. Sometimes she gets kinda annoying with that camera in my face all the time saying, "Hey, Yoshi! Look here!" But don't tell her I said that. Because it might hurt her feelings. And also, I don't want to get in trouble.

So she took a photo of me. And then she gave it to the dad of my friend Leo (he was in my class last year). Leo's dad is a painter. And he made a painting of me! It's called "Yellow Bowl." That yellow bowl is actually a bowl from Jichan's Mommy. Now we have it. It's part of a set of 3 different sizes—mommy, baby, daddy sizes.

So here is the photo and painting side by side:


The painting is framed and hangs in my kitchen. I really like it.

Read-a-thon

Today we got to wear our jammies to school! I wore my purple and green froggie jammies because they are nice and soft. I brought my slippers in my backpack to wear in the classroom. I wore my bathrobe as a jacket. Fun!

Today was called Snuggle Down and Read to start the first day of our Read-A-Thon. That's where kids read books and then get money! But the money doesn't go in their piggy banks. It goes back to my school so that our library can get more books. And you know I love books! And you wanna know a secret? I love smelling books.

So this readathon goes something like this. Starting today until December 4th, I keep track of the amount of time I read every day. I also keep track of what books I read. Or chapters of books if the books are long. If a grownup reads to me, this counts too.

I write all this down on a reading log. This is not a tree that fell down. This kind of log is fancy talk for a piece of paper with information on it.

If you want to help me and my school, you can sponsor me. You can pledge to donate a certain amount of money, like 10 cents for every minute I read. And then let's say I read 15 minutes a day, every day. That's 0.10 ($) x 15 (minutes) x 30 (days) = $45 that you will give to my school. Or you can say you will donate a certain amount of money for every book I read. Or you can pledge money based on how many pages I read. I hear that you can even just donate a flat amount. So many choices!

So if any of you want to sponsor me or want to know more about this read-a-thon stuff, please let Mommy or Daddy know. You can email them, leave a comment here, or send them a Facebook message. Or the good ol' telephone works too.

Thank you very much!

Trick or Treat!

"Trick or Treat!" is what you say on Halloween when you want candy. I wish Trick Or Treat worked all the time. This year I was brave and went up to many houses. Last year I was more shy. I think it's because I'm six now.

For my school parade on Friday, I dressed as a Hindu princess. I wore my sari from Dee's wedding. I felt very sparkly in it.

For Halloween night, I went as a regular ballerina (I was a princess ballerina last year). I decided to use my blue bucket to hold my candy. I went trick or treating with my friends. Yay!



Mommy and Daddy let me eat a lot of candy that night. I went crazy.

Here is my loot! I couldn't get a photo of the candy I already ate since it was in my tummy and it's hard to get a camera in the stomach because eating it wouldn't taste good.

Another tooth...

...fell out! It happened like this. So I'm at L's house, eating dinner. I'm there to learn about taking care of her cat while she is in Japan with her family. I take a bite of yummy pizza. But then my tooth really starts to hurt. Then I realize that my tooth is sticking out flat. Mommy and Daddy say, "Pull it out!" And so I do. I bleed a little, just like last time. L's mommy is very excited. So am I! Mommy wraps up the tiny, bloody tooth in a napkin and puts in in her bag.

My tooth is now in another cute little envelope under my pillow. I wonder if the Tooth Fairy is going to come tonight.

Birthday paper fun

Mommy made me a beautiful birthday banner. It's so happy! I like the circles. I like the colors. I like that it spells out "Happy Birthday Yoshimi!" Mommy even used my favorite blue for the ribbon. She said we can hang it up every year for my birthday!

Here's my name up close.


I made the invitations that I gave to my friends for my sleepover birthday party last Saturday.


Mommy made birthday hats for me and my team (my two best friends). We wore them at the party!


Birthdays are so fun!

I'm six years old!

Today is my birthday! I'm six! I like being six. It's even better than being five.

I asked Mommy to make zucchini muffins to bring into my class today. So she did. 'Cause I'm the birthday girl! At first, when my classmates learned that there was zucchini in it a lot of them were grossed out by veggies in their treats. But then they all ate it and said, "Yummy! It's so good!"

Every kid in my class said something nice to me when the kids took their turn doing the Birthday Toast. This kind of toast has nothing to do with bread though. Weird! Here are some things my friends said:

"Happy Birthday, Yoshi. I'm glad we're friends."
"You're always nice to me. You're never mean. Happy Birthday!"
"Happy Birthday, Yoshi!"
"Happy Birthday!"
"You're a good friend. Happy Birthday!"
"I like playing with you. Happy Birthday!"
"I'm glad you don't have lice anymore. Happy Birthday!"
"Happy Birthday, Yoshi!"

Then Mommy led the class to sing Happy Birthday. And everyone said, "Cha! Cha! Cha!" after each line.

Mommy picked me up a little early from school today and we went with one of my friends in my class to a cafe. We did our homework first. Then we drank Italian sodas. Yummy! I had orange soda and my friend S. had strawberry. She had a cookie and I ate a buttery croissant. Then we went to the library that just re-opened and looked at all the books and videos. I picked out a Snoopy video to take home.

We ate one of my favorite meals for dinner. Mac and cheese! We had an indoor picnic in my room with my little star light and a candle. I drank fizzy orange juice and it was the same color as my food!

Then Daddy and Mommy read me two chapters of a Roald Dahl book and then put me to bed.

I feel very special. I love being the birthday girl.

Tooth fairy!

Look what the Tooth Fairy brought! A crisp dollar bill and and pack of yummy gum with squirty flavor inside!

I lost my tooth!

I lost my first tooth today! It happened this afternoon. First, it got caught on my sweater sleeve because I like to chew on my clothes sometimes. Then, the bottom of the tooth was all bloody. Mommy says, "Oooh! You're tooth is ready! Yank it out!" So I did. There was a little bit of blood. I was really excited and happy. I jumped up and down. Daddy worked from home today so I brought the tooth over to him.

Yay!


I put my cute, tiny, bloody tooth into a cute, tiny envelope that Mommy let me use. I put it under my pillow. I hear that there is a Tooth Fairy. I wonder if she's going to visit.

Two wheels!

I learned how to ride my bike today! I went to Golden Gate Park to meet up with my friends. We all brought our bicycles. I had training wheels on mine, but Daddy took them off after five minutes. I was a little nervous, but really excited too. Look! I'm riding my bike! And my friend Leo is chasing me!



Then I rode away!