my class had a holiday party at school today.  we brought in special treats to share with our friends (i insisted that mommy make 5-layer jello), and we put on a little performance for our parents.  (mommy came, but daddy couldn’t make it because it was at lunchtime.)

the first two songs aren’t your typical christmas classics, so you might not have heard them before.  they’re really cute songs though, so i posted them in case you want to hear.

the 3rd song we performed was “jingle bells”.  kinda, boring, i know.  so to increase your viewing enjoyment, keep your eye out for these fun little nuggets:

• the jingle woodblock and jingle maracas
• the kid who first looks like he’s scratching his butt, who later looks like he’s flogging himself with bells, who later whacks himself in the balls
• the white kid break-dancing
• my girlfriend, maria (hint: she has golden hair)

when sienna started being treated by dermatologists at UCSF, they didn’t really have any answers for her.  but they wanted to see her every 4 months to follow the progression of her skin condition.  so even though sienna didn’t expect to get any new info, she went in today for a follow up.

while she waited for the doctor to come into the waiting room, she was tired and restless.  she laid down to take a nap, but ended up flopping around and contorting her body like koda does when he is spazzing out.  mommy really needs to stop scheduling sienna’s appointments right in the middle of sienna’s nap time!

when doctors came in, they noticed that the peeling on sienna’s palms and soles seem to have improved.  the peeling is cyclical, but mommy agreed that overall, the peeling has decreased.  one of the doctors also noticed some redness/dryness on sienna’s achilles.  and then a light bulb went off over her head.  she ran off to grab a book and look up a research study online, and then she came back with a possible diagnosis:  pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP), type IV.  so that’s the current working diagnosis.

in addition to the peeling on sienna’s palms and soles, type IV PRP could explain the dry patches on her knees and ankles, which we thought were just eczema.  the good news is that it’s possible for this condition to resolve itself spontaneously.  the bad news is that it could get worse, and there is no cure.  the diagnosis could have been confirmed with a biopsy, but mommy declined that for today.  since the treatment would be the same, she didn’t see the point in letting the doctors cut out a chunk of sienna to examine under a microscope.

so, i guess this is progress, right?

isaac had his 4th birthday party at edge gymnastics today.  that’s the gym that sienna and i went to last session.  the party leader was my old gym coach, who recognized me and gave me a big hug when we arrived.  the coaches took us through some fun gym activities, including my favorite — swinging on the rope into the giant foam pit!  we didn’t actually do any skills on the pommel horse — i just thought that made for a clever title. 😛

during the gym part of the party, it was just kids us kids on the gym floor — no parents.  that was a big change from every other birthday party that we’ve been to (where parents participate in activities with the kids).  i guess that’s what big kid parties are like.  sienna was the youngest one there.

after gymming, we had pizza and cupcakes in the party room.  (that’s my kind of party.)  uncle warren even ordered a gluten-free pizza and auntie viki make gluten-free cupcakes for sienna.  isn’t that SO NICE?  happy birthday isaac!

we went straight from isaac’s party to cousin caitlyn’s house.  every year, auntie cindy (caitlyn’s mommy) hosts a neighborhood hay ride that departs from right in front of her house.  and since we live nearby now, she let us crash the party!

we had invited murci to join us for the hay ride, and she was already there waiting for us when we arrived.  her parents knew that mommy’s cousin (auntie cindy) was hosting the event, but they had never met her before.  they spotted auntie cindy immediately.  they said that mommy and auntie cindy look alike.  we don’t think so, but everyone has always said that, even when they were kids.  what do you think?

we enjoyed the quick ride around the neighborhood, but we didn’t understand why it was called a hay ride.  there were two really pretty clydesdale horses pulling a cart/carriage (big enough to seat ~15 people), but there was no hay.

after the ride, we got to pet the horses for about 2 seconds.  we barely even got to take this photo with murci.  (that’s murci in the purple jacket.)  maybe they would have let us hang out with the horses for a little while longer if we hadn’t forgotten to bring carrots for them.  next year, we’ll have to put that on our list (wunderlist app) so we’ll remember.

today was my 3rd day on the job at… guess where.  even if you’ve never read about day 1 and day 2 on the job, i’m pretty sure that the giant frog was a dead give away.  yup, i went to work at leapfrog.  i have a lot of fun testing their new games, but i take my job very seriously.  i told mommy that i was going to work really hard and do a good job.

while we were waiting for my turn, i sat nicely and colored in a coloring book that leapfrog gave me.  but mommy didn’t get to sit back and relax — for the first time, mommy had to work too!  a lady came out and showed mommy a new product (in the box) and asked mommy some questions about it.  (“what do you think the package contains?  what would you expect this product to cost?  how do you feel about the image on the front of the box?”  etc.)  and then the lady showed her the same product in different packaging and asked mommy to compare and contrast.  mommy thought that was fun.

when it was my turn to work, i went into the special room and the lady showed me a leappad tablet.  today, i tested a new octonauts game.  there were a few different mini games:  one about fish identification, one in which i could “help” the fish that were hurt, one that was too hard for me (i kept getting the answers wrong), and then another where i could tilt the tablet to steer my boat through a channel and collect items for points.  my favorite was the one where i helped the fish.

as usual, i got to choose how i wanted to be paid for my 15 minutes of work.  i couldn’t think of any leapfrog products that i wanted, so i chose a target gift card.  i was so excited because i love shopping at target.  mommy asked me what i am planning to buy with the gift card.  “a camera for sienna.  a princess one.”  and you thought i was going to buy another safety sign, didn’t you? 😛

for the first christmas that mommy and daddy spent together (married), daddy bought a fake tree.  mommy was so sad.  she had always had real trees when she was growing up.  but after some negotiation, they agreed that they would keep the fake tree until their future kids were old enough to enjoy picking out a real one.  that time has come!  so we renewed a family tradition that both mommy and daddy loved when they were kids — picking out and cutting down our own christmas tree!

so we headed out to the tree farm.  when we pulled up on the dirt road, a lady handed us a map, some twine, and a saw.  (WHAT?!  mommy thought that it seemed like the setup for an episode of CSI.)  we saw thousands of trees, but it looked like all of the big ones were already gone.   all the ones we saw were about 6ft. or under.  auntie mimi had asked mommy what she would do if sienna and i picked out a charlie brown tree.  mommy said that it would be fine — we could have whatever tree we wanted.  but once we got to the tree farm, we discovered that all trees were the same price, regardless of size.  so the idea of a charlie brown tree went out the window.

but i didn’t want a kid-sized tree anyway.  i wanted a big one like uncle henry’s.  and then i saw it!  i pointed it out to mommy, but she didn’t know what i was talking about.  how could she miss it?  it was the tallest one on the hillside!  but mommy said that we couldn’t get that one because it wouldn’t fit in her car.  i hope she gets a bigger car for next year.

so we set out in search of the biggest tree we could find that would still fit in mommy’s car.  we climbed up and down the hills, navigated through mazes of spiky branches, and stepped over and around freshly cut stumps.  after the 3rd lot, sienna and i were tired and ready to go home.  so we picked the biggest tree (6 ft.) in the lot we were at, and daddy and i cut it down.  (see videos, below.)  sienna and mommy didn’t want to help.

next year, i guess we’ll have to go tree hunting on black friday (that’s the day the tree farm opens) in order to get a big tree.

when we got home, we put up the tree and decorated it immediately.  mommy and daddy wanted to use the tiny white lights, but i insisted on the big colored ones because they are prettier.  and we could only find one box of ornaments (the others must be packed away in a box somewhere), so the decorating went really quickly.  we need to add this to our list of decorating experience for our half-tree decorating service!

here’s a video of me practicing cutting a christmas tree.

and here’s the video of daddy helping me cut down the tree that we actually took home.

do you suffer from back pain caused by bending over to hang ornaments on the lower branches of your tree? 

do you scuff your knees while crawling on the ground to spread out your tree skirt? 

the tanaka kids have a solution for you — hire us to decorate the bottom half of your tree!  services offered:  hanging ornaments, spreading tree skirts, stringing lights (although nobody has allowed us to string lights yet), setting out decorations

we have decorated 3 trees with an ornament breakage rate of 0%.  we are not very efficient, but we are super silly, a ton of fun, and we get the job done.  eventually.  but don’t take our word for it.  feel free to contact our satisfied customers for references:  mommy & daddy (2011),  mommy & daddy (2012), uncle henry (2013, pictured here).

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while stepping into the bathtub this evening…

me:  oh no!  my penis is not looking good.

mommy (concerned):  what’s wrong with it?

me:  it’s not sticking out!

the conversation continued from there, but nothing that was said could top that exchange.

mommy asked me where i learn stuff like that.  i’m not telling.

all day today, everyone was saying that it was mommy’s birthday.  when sienna and i crawled into mommy’s and daddy’s bed this morning, daddy whispered to us that it was mommy’s birthday.  sienna wished mommy a happy birthday.  i said “no it’s not”.  when we went downstairs, gung-gung wished mommy a happy birthday.  i told him that it wasn’t mommy’s birthday — her birthday is tomorrow.  and then when i went with mommy to uncle henry’s house to do a puppy placement, he wished mommy a happy birthday, too.  “it’s NOT mommy’s birthday!” i told him.  “mommy’s birthday is tomorrow!”

i know mommy’s birthday is november 30, but all day, i thought that today was the 29th.  by the time evening rolled around, i realized my mistake.  and i finally wished mommy a happy birthday.

daddy has never taken mommy out on a date night for her birthday before — at least not in the past 4 years, which is forever, as far as i’m concerned.  we usually just spend family time together, cuz’ what better gift is there than quality time with me? 😀  but this year, auntie mimi scheduled a playdate with sienna and me, so daddy and mommy were free to go out by themselves.  daddy told mommy that the restaurant that he was going to take her to would be determined by her level of hawtness.  and then he looked at her and told her that she was headed for taco bell.  taco bell???  aaack!  mommy immediately went upstairs to change.

when mommy came back down, she was wearing nice clothes, and get this… she not only brushed her hair, but she curled it.  CURLED it!  i don’t think mommy has curled her hair in the whole time that i’ve been alive.  no joke.  but that’s not all.  mommy then put on make up.  auntie mimi took out her camera to capture photo evidence that mommy actually owns a curling iron and make up.  sienna and i both insisted on taking photos with her.  (sienna’s came out cute, but my eyes are closed in my photo. :()  but wait, there’s more.  mommy also slipped on some real shoes.  you KNOW it’s a special occasion when that happens, because mommy almost always wears flip flops — even in the snow!  i guess she wanted to make extra sure that she didn’t end up at taco bell for her birthday dinner.  (she didn’t.)

anyway, auntie mimi, gung-gung, sienna and i had a playdate while mommy and daddy were out.  we mostly just ate dinner and made birthday cards for mommy, so there wasn’t all that much playing.  but we had a fun time together.  sienna and i always love hanging out with auntie mimi.  mommy and daddy said that they had a nice night out, but i bet they really missed us and wished that they were home with us, instead.

it’s not often that our family splits up to do separate activities.  at least, not for the whole day.  but today we did.

we had tickets to the sharks game today.  it was my turn to go (since sienna went last time) but i insisted that i didn’t want to.  sienna didn’t want to either.  daddy’s feelings were hurt.  sienna always wants to be with mommy, and daddy is used to that.  but i had always loved going to sharks games in the past, and i especially like going to games with daddy because he lets me eat pizza and pretzels!  so why not today?  it took mommy and daddy a little while to figure out that i don’t like going to games without my earmuffs.  (we lost them somehow when we moved to our new house.)  the games are too loud, and those disposable foam ear plugs don’t stay in my ears.  so i agreed to go to the game if i had my ear muffs.  luckily, logan let me borrow his.

in the morning, mommy went to have brunch with her high school friends (auntie jo and auntie cheryl) and their families.  we see auntie cheryl’s kids (logan and mason) pretty often, though not as often as when we lived in the south bay.  we see auntie jo’s kids (sierra and sofia) only a few times a year because they live in socal.  but today, they all met up together.  mommy brought sienna with her.  i missed out because i was going to the game with daddy.  i heard that the brunch wasn’t all that good anyway.  but the company was great!  they all played on the planter outside the restaurant and then walked over to starbucks afterwards.  i wish i could have had some bubble milk from starbucks.

while mommy was brunching with her friends, daddy and i made some art projects and played wii bowling.  and then we were off to the tank (with a small detour to the brunch spot to pick up logan’s ear muffs).  as usual, we had pizza for lunch, and then i had a giant pretzel for snack.  meat, cheese, and carbs.  mmm….  the game was exciting, and the sharks continued their winning streak.

after the game, we headed to grandma’s house.  mommy and sienna met us there later.  when i saw mommy, i proudly told her that the blues got 3 and the sharks got 5.  and i got to see everyone throw their hats inside (on the ice)!  yup, i saw my very first hat trick.  how exciting!

so who do you think had the better day today?  the boys or the girls?

thanksgiving is a time when we take time out to celebrate all of the things we are thankful for.  earlier in the week, when mommy asked me what i was thankful for, i said “optimus prime!”  but the next day, i made a turkey at school, and on each of its tail feathers, my teacher helped me write the things i was thankful for:  TEACHERS, MOM & DAD, TOYS, HOUSE, FOOD.  mommy was curious if i came up with those things on my own, or if those ideas were influenced by teachers or friends at school.  so at bedtime that night, we had a talk.

mommy and i talked about what it means to appreciate the things we have and not take them for granted.  we have a house and warm clothes.  some kids don’t have those things.  “why don’t they have a house or clothes?”   mommy explained that their mommies and daddies might not have enough money to buy a house or warm clothes, so they have to sleep on the street and wear the same clothes all the time.  “but why don’t they have money?”  mommy explained that they might not be able to find a job like she and daddy have.  and so on.  i had many more questions, but i eventually understood.  i am glad that we have a house and clothes to keep us warm.

we also have a mommy and a daddy.  some kids don’t have that.  “why don’t they have a mommy and a daddy?”  as i thought about that, i got really quiet, and then i began to cry.  instead of answering my question, mommy just held me really tight and told me that she and daddy love me so so so so much.  she never gave me a straight answer, but i let it go.  it was a pretty heavy bedtime conversation, and i was exhausted.

by the way, when sienna’s teacher asked her what she was thankful for, she said “mommy and daddy”.  she was the only one in her class who said that.  (others were thankful for their toys or for ABC’s.)  do 2 year-olds even understand what that means?

anyway, thanksgiving dinner was a fun family gathering.  we went to uncle mike’s and auntie zhelia’s house.  it was my first time in their new house, and i really liked it.  they have something called a bay window, but it basically looks like a stage.  check out the show that sienna, cousin zoey, and i put on.  (scroll down to see the video.)  our show is really not all that interesting, but mommy just wanted to document how silly we are when we get together.

as always, everyone brought so much food for our thanksgiving feast.  my favorite was the berries with whipped lemon marscapone that mommy made.  and sienna… she would have eaten nothing but candied yams and cranberry sauce for dinner if we let her.  we had a nice time seeing all of our family, and i had fun acting crazy with cousin zoey.  check out our family photo.  can you believe that all 21 of us are looking at the camera?  amazing!

we didn’t get to see grandma and grandpa today, but we will go visit them tomorrow.  happy thanksgiving!  gobble gobble.