Magic sparkles in my backyard!

What's even more fun than gardening in my backyard on a warm, sunny day is when Daddy sprays the hose up in the air to make it rain.

Flower Girl

Not too long ago, Mommy came home from work with a surprise for me. It was a shiny, thick envelope. I opened it up and the prettiest card was inside. It was ruffly and sparkly.



And inside was the note from Sabrina asking for me to be her flower girl! Yay!



I can't wait!

My BFF and Me

We like to explore.

When I Do Something Rong, by Yoshi

When I do something rong... by Yoshi


To Denise & Tom



When I do something rong... I feel relly relly relly bad. When you yell at me I feel relly relly relly scared.



after you yell at me I want to cry. after that at bedtime I just can't sleep


When I do something bad I feel relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly relly sory and sad

Good morning!

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

Leggo my Legos!

I got a purse and a gift certificate to Target from Auntie Sharen on New Year's Day. I love gift certificates! I like shopping now, especially when it's for me. I bought some candy because Mommy and Daddy hardly ever buy me any. Sometimes you gotta do things for yourself.

I also got this super cute lego set. It's a tree-clubhouse! It has butterflies, ladybugs, a cat, and all sorts of fun stuff. Mommy loves the birdhouse. I let her play with it, but I have to keep and eye on her to make sure she doesn't keep it for herself.

I love legos!

It's 2012!

I got a bunch of balloons and Mommy took pictures of me. We gave the pictures to Daddy for Christmas.

Balloons on the F Market Train!



Peek a boo!




Upwards and onwards!



Happy New Year!

I have a good memory

Mommy's memory is not very good.

Big Doggie the Bronco!

Yee-haw!

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!

Halloween!

I was a witch for Halloween. My dress had spider webby arms. Mommy sewed a sparkly jewel on my hat. And I wore green eyeshadow! I carried a cauldron to collect my candy.

Mommy became Little Dead Riding Hood again. She really likes to wear dead makeup because she's silly. Our first stop was the funeral home by our house. A funeral home is where dead people go so their living friends and family can say goodbye to them. I got to pick out candy from a casket. Spooky!

Daddy went as Tom. That means he didn't dress up this year.

We went trick or treating with my friend Lily. So fun! I weighed my candy when I got home. 1.4 pounds. Yummy!

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.

I like to take pictures...

...of abstract things.


...And fire trucks!


...parties for my toys.


...jewelry store scenes.


And I love taking pics of Mommy and Daddy!

Family Ghosts!

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

"Hey Yoshi..."

Huh?
Mommy always takes pictures when I least expect it. She's weird. This is me in the lobby of Uncle Justin and Auntie Lisa's building. I'm waiting for the elevator.

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!

Yard Sale!

Today I sold my toys, books, and clothes at a yard sale. Don't worry, it was just the stuff that I didn't want anymore. And guess what? I made some money! I even bought myself some ice cream from Bi-Rite. Yummy! I like making money.

I'm a Third Grader!

Last Monday I started school again. I was so excited to see all my friends and start a new grade. I was so excited that I put my pants on backwards and didn't notice until Mommy noticed when we were ten steps away from the house. She wouldn't just let me wear the backwards pants so we had to go back and change. Luckily we still made it to school on time.

Don't tell Mommy and Daddy, but I really like walking to school. We play a lot of make-believe games. We pretend we're Angry Birds or Pacman and chase each other on the sidewalk. Sometimes we just talk. It's nice. And we usually bump into friends on our walk too. Fun! It's like recess before school!

I was excited to see the same crossing guard there again!


Mommy asked if she should walk up to class with me. "Eh, it doesn't matter. You can if you want!" She said she was going to walk me to the door anyway. And she did. And I kinda liked that, but don't tell her.



My teacher Ms. B is super nice, fun and I really like her. J and I think that she's as nice as our kindergarten teacher Ms. F. I'm happy Ms. B is my teacher. She says we're going to do a lot of science this year. Yay! Science is my favorite.

This is me as a third grader!

My tiny toys

This morning Mommy and I gathered up my tiny toys. We put them on my Candy Land game. I carefully arranged them. And then took a picture. Why does it always take Mommy so long to take a picture? And then why does she take a million photos of the same thing? Geez. Get on with it already.

I like seeing all my tiny toys in one spot. They have a good time together. And guess what? This picture is going to be turned into a jigsaw puzzle! Yay!

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!