Matilda's first day of preschool

And here we go again. Another school start for us. Today it was Matilda's turn. She is now ready for preschool, the same one that Lukas started at. Her teacher, Mrs. Margarita, was there this morning to welcome her. She ate her breakfast, had a blast playing outside with the other children and did some serious art work. She even tried a tuna sandwich for lunch. And all of that in 3.5 hours. Now Tuesdays and Thursdays are school days for her.

Here she is marching to school this morning.

First day of Kindergarten

It's official. Lukas is a big boy now. Today was his first day of Kindergarten. This morning he was curious and nervous but not worried or scared. He waved good bye to us as we had to leave the classroom right after we dropped him off and he came out happy and calm.

He has to wear a school uniform and since I prepared him for that already, he didn't even ask for his usual jeans/character t-shirt school outfit.

Here is Lukas with little sister who asked the whole morning when we can go and pick up big brother.

We like to bike!

Now that Lukas mastered the biking on his own, we purchased a bike seat for Matilda. She loves to sit in the back and let Daddy ride her around.

No park is safe anymore, no distance far enough.



Lukas driving on his own. It took him 10 minutes to get the confidence to balance and drive on his own. Now he is doing stunts already.

Sunday afternoon

Matilda playing outside in the afternoon sun.

No stage fright

At our recent Great America visit we watched Matilda's favorite show with Charlie Brown. She even participated on the stage, playing a music instrument.


Hug!

A day at the beach

My favorite place to be is the beach. Any beach, anywhere. Last weekend we went to the Santa Cruz beach, right behind the Boardwalk. It's a OK beach but we still had a good time. The kids even dipped into the ice cold water.

My handsome husband.



We got the memo to dress in green.



Kids.

Mommy, I can swim!

The summer of firsts continues. As I mentioned in the beginning of this week, Lukas is taking swim lessons and over the weekend he showed his mad skills to Patrick.

He is doing pretty good, if you ask me.

Little fish little fish

Today Lukas had his first swim lesson ever. He loves the water and to hang out in the pool for hours but he still needs the floaters for assurance. So today he got into the water with the instructor and I think in few days he will be ready to move around on his own without floaters.

So many firsts this summer. Wonderful.

Another milestone reached. No more 4 wheels!

Yesterday, when Patrick came back home from work, we had a big surprise for him. Lukas just mastered to drive the 2 wheel bike! Oh, how proud I am of him. He overcame the fear of falling and he let me remove the extra wheels. I always knew he can do it but he wasn't so sure. After only few rides with me holding his seat, he gained confidence and went off.

Now he is speeding down the street like he has done this for years.

My boy is growing up.

Our little Kai-Lan

Matilda has discovered her love for Kai-Lan. She loves to read the books and she even picks up few Chinese words. Here she is in her cute outfit, given to her by Grandma who recently went on a China trip.

Say awwww!

Street artists

On the weekends, time stands still and we play from morning til night. This morning, while Patrick was tending to the grass, we made art outside the garage.

Here is Matilda's project (with some help from me):



Here is Lukas, with his own creation.

6 years ago!

Honeymoon to Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Phuket in Thailand. I want to go back!



Fun wedding in Las Vegas!



Traditional ceremony at Patrick's parents house.

Happy Anniversary!

Love you now and forever.

Another milestone reached

As Matilda is nearing her 2.5 years old anniversary in few days, she has also reached another milestone. She is fully potty trained and wears her Kai-Lan undies with big pride. Where did the time go? When did she start talking in full sentences? When did she start to bossy her brother around? When did she become this sweet person we can't get enough of?

Partners in crime:

I'm cute like that

She put the whole outfit together by herself.



Hello sunshine!



Flying high!

The rising Kungfu Star

Lukas' new interest is Kungfu. I have found a summer camp with some kungfu teaching, Chinese language and arts/crafts and so this week Lukas is attending that camp. He loved the first day and was excited to go back next day.

New moves.

Our summer so far

As you might have noticed, I haven't posted any photo since Lukas' graduation two weeks ago. Since he is off school, we have been doing lots of fun trips and excursions. We have visited the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum twice, went to the beach and picked strawberries at an organic farm in Watsonville, went to the Oakland Zoo and newly remodeled Happy Hollow Park in San Jose. Of course we have season passes for Great America and have just met Snoopy and his gang yesterday. Time is flying by so quickly and we love the summer.

What are your plans for this summer?

Here are Lukas and Matilda at Auntie Pauline's recent company festival.

Lukas' kindergarten graduation

Last Friday, Lukas' Kindergarten class graduated. After singing many songs to us parents and other guests, each child received their diploma and a special award. Lukas special award was "Most Atlethic" and the teacher highlighted his great spirit and energy. He made his daddy proud with this award, that's for sure.

The children also performed a play and Lukas was farmer #3 with few lines to say. He did very well, spoke loud and clear. What an improvement to his social skills after being shy and softspoken few years back. Maybe there is an acting future in the stars. :)

Overall it was a great evening and it will be sad to not see the other children anymore. Many of them are moving on to 1st grade in different schools.

At the beach

Finally, the sun came back and the summer started. Of course, that made us pack up and go to the beach right away. The kids love to play in the sand, drift through the hours without an agenda, just enjoying themselves.

Here is Patrick showing off his Hulk skills and making the boys scream.

We were even lucky enough to see a bunch of dolphins gliding through the water. Amazing how graceful and wonderful they are.

Matilda and the scooter

Yes, she is fierce. Yes, she is fearless. And she can go on her scooter like big brother can.

Last soccer game for this season

Today was the last game of the spring soccer season. The Golden Dragons didn't win or lose, this league didn't county any goals. Not sure if I like this.



Matilda is of course Lukas' most trusted audience.

Happy Mother's Day!

And off they go!

Lukas and Matilda going for a ride.

Learning math

These days, Lukas is learning how to substract. The additions he mastered well and he is moving now to the more challenging substractions.

Ms. Ilma, his teacher, has all these little methods how to make it easier for them to get the idea and it works very well. Hand on the head, hand behind the back, whatever it takes to make them understand. Thank you Ms. Ilma for being patient and resourceful!

Have a nice weekend!

Trip to Cancun

What a great trip it was! Our one week visit to Cancun last week has given us time to relax and spend time together. The kids mastered all the flights with patience and lots of sleeping.



Here is the view from our balcony that we woke up to every morning. The ocean was warm and pleasant to swim in but with strong current at times.



We took public transportation to get around in Cancun since the taxis are expensive and the bus stop are convieniently located on the main street, just short walking distance from the hotel or in town. This was our biggest adventure on this trip and we loved the open windows, crazy driving style and rap music played by the drivers.



Of course, I found another pair of sunglasses for Matilda at our local Target shortly before the trip so she was covered and ready to pose.



On our daily walks, we have seen many iguanas hanging around the hotel. Very much to Lukas' disliking. He is terrified of them. Matilda not so much, she was waving to all of them.