sienna and i met a new friend today — baby audrey.  mommy went to auntie serene’s baby shower earlier this year, but none of us actually met baby audrey before.  today was her red egg and ginger party.  that’s two fancy events on back-to-back days.  (don’t tell anyone, but sienna and i wore the same outfits today as we did yesterday.)

when we arrived at the restaurant, sienna signed the guest book for our family.  i thought she was just going to make scribbles, but she actually wrote her name.  sort of.  she started with the S and wrote the letters in her name in the correct order.  sure, she wrote them right to left, but she’s left handed, so that’s understandable.  i know how that is because i used to write left-handed.  she ran out of room for the A so she put it over on the right hand side.  i made fun of her for writing her name wrong, but mommy pointed out that sienna writes much better than i did when i was 3.

baby audrey’s family knows how to party.  the party she had before she was born (her mommy’s baby shower) was the fanciest shower that mommy had ever been to.  and this red egg party was no different.  there were hundreds of people, a live band, and an open bar!  we didn’t actually get to spend much time with baby audrey or her parents (auntie serene and uncle ben), but we ate a lot of yummy food and mommy enjoyed catching up with her college sorority sisters.  i saw a couple of kids that i recognized there, too.  claire and i played on daddy’s phone while our parents were socializing.  sienna just hovered around the dessert table hoping to sneak a few sweets when nobody was looking. 😛

happy red egg party baby audrey!  hope we get to hang out sometime soon. 🙂

remember when we took engagement photos for uncle jim and auntie lana?  well, today was their wedding day.   and mommy was on a business trip in san diego all week, so she totally forgot to find a dress for sienna to wear.  so last night, we went to cousin zoey’s  house and raided her closet.  the only thing that sienna found was a hawaiian print sun dress that was a size too big for her.  and it wasn’t even wedding-appropriate, but it was the only option.  sienna loved it, of course, so that’s what she wore.

i’d been to a bunch of weddings before, and even a church wedding.  but this was the first church wedding that sienna stayed awake for (since she slept through uncle jason and auntie soomie’s entire wedding ceremony last year.)  and it was our first time attending a catholic mass for both me and sienna.  there was a lot of standing and sitting and standing and sitting.  and then the priest would say something and everyone would respond.  how did everyone know what to say?  sienna and i had no idea.  daddy didn’t either.  i guess mommy was the only one in our family who got the memo.  at one point, mommy (and everyone else in the church) said “thanks be to god.”  sienna replied, “welcome.”  throughout the wedding ceremony, sienna kept asking when “the show” was going to start.  even after it was over, she continued to ask.  “that was the show”, we told her.  i guess uncle jim and auntie lana were not entertaining enough for her. 😛

weddings look like so much fun.  i want to be in a wedding.  right now, i’m at the perfect age to be a ring bearer.  i’m old enough to reliably follow directions, but i’m still small enough to be cute.  so if any of my aunties or uncles are getting married soon, i am offering to be your ring bearer, free of charge!  and i’m pretty sure that sienna would love to be a flower girl once she sees the pretty dress that she’ll get to wear.  any takers?  i’m talking to you auntie barbara, uncle randy, auntie mimi, auntie judy, and uncle henry!

after the wedding, we went out for lunch, then we all went home.  but then mommy and daddy headed back down to the south bay for the wedding reception.  sienna and i were kind of mad that we weren’t invited to the reception, but auntie jillie and auntie mabel came over to play with us and then helped gung-gung put us to bed.  that was pretty fun.  it was the first time that we got to hang out with them without mommy around.

i got invited to my first school friend birthday party, and it was today.  my friend nikhil turned 5, and guess where we celebrated.  yup, partipalooza.  it was pretty much like my party all over again.  i played a lot of air hockey and foosball in the first room.  but in the second room, i took a short break from bowling to hit the rock wall.

most of the friends at nikhil’s party were friends from school.  i figured that he just didn’t have a lot of non-school friends like i do.  but it turns out that all of his school friends were kids that were in his preschool class before they started TK.  so i was the new kid. i was a last-minute invite, and i’m pretty sure i only got invited because nikhil and i ran into each other on the soccer field last weekend.

i guess i was lucky to be invited, but it was obvious that nikhil and the other kids were much more familiar with each other.  that’s okay, i still had a good time.  but my party was way better. 😛

i started planning my 5th birthday party almost a year ago.  for many months, i was sure i wanted to have a bowling party at a real bowling alley.  then i changed to pump it up.  then mini golf.  then a park party with a magician.  but i finally settled on partipalooza.

i put together my own guest list, which was really hard to do with the limited capacity.  i have all my old friends from the south bay, but i also have a lot of new friends that i’ve made here in the tri-valley.  and it seems like all my friends now have one or more siblings!

i wanted to have a superhero themed party — i even suggested that all the girls could dress up as wonderwoman — but mommy thought that my friends and i might not be very comfortable bouncing, climbing, sliding, and bowling in full costume.  so instead, i had a super hero pajama party.  and it sure was SUPER!

in the first room, there were a bunch of inflatables to jump around in/on, but i spent most of my time playing foosball and air hockey.  sienna was bouncing and sliding non-stop.  in the second room, there was another big inflatable, but there was also a rock climbing wall, basketball hoop, and my favorite… mini bowling!  i spent a lot of time bowling.  shocker.

we made our way to the party room where i got to sit in a big inflatable throne like a king!  we ate pizza and mini bundt cakes (my choice), and then i handed out my superman-themed party favors.  my favorite part of the night was sitting in the big throne. 🙂

i had a super great time at my SUPER pajama party and i hope all my friends did too.  click here for photos from the party.

sienna was supposed to come with me to my check up yesterday to get her flu vaccine.  but when mommy called our doctor’s office, they told her they were all out of flu mist, so mommy canceled sienna’s appointment.  it used to be that kids with egg allergies weren’t supposed to receive flu shots, but some more progressive doctors have recently started allowing it.  and since sienna got the flu mist last year (and didn’t have a reaction to it), mommy thought it was best to stick with that for this year.

so when i went in for my appointment yesterday, i was prepared for the needle.  but luckily for me, my doctor got a new shipment of flu mist right before my appointment, so of course i chose that option instead.  and then mommy scheduled sienna to get hers today.

because of sienna’s allergies and other health conditions, she’s been poked, prodded, photographed, and tested so many times.  she now dreads going to the doctor for “tests”.  but mommy promised her that today’s appointment would be quick.  all she would have to do is “smell” some medicine.  no shots.  not even a check up.  i confirmed what mommy said.

mommy knew she wasn’t going to have much time this morning, so she pre-registered sienna and confirmed that the appointment would be a quick in-and-out — 15 minutes tops.  well, that didn’t happen.  because of sienna’s egg allergy (and also because gung-gung, who lives with us, take a daily dose of prednisone), the nurse who was going to administer the flu mist had to ask mommy a bunch of questions as a follow up to the form that she had filled out.  and then she had to go consult with a PA.  and then the PA went in and asked mommy some more questions.  and then the PA had to go consult with a physician.  and then the physician went in and talked to mommy and sienna for a bit.  he wasn’t our regular doctor — she wasn’t there that day.  apparently, some doctors will administer the flu shot to people with egg allergies, but flu mist hasn’t been studied enough, yet.  so even though sienna had the flu mist last year, this doctor was not comfortable giving it to sienna.

so, the options were to give sienna the flu shot, or to come back another day to see if our regular doctor would let sienna have the flu mist (again).  since mommy had promised sienna that there would be no needles today, they opted to reschedule.  but while walking down the hallway toward the exit, sienna changed her mind.  she agreed to have the flu shot, needle and all.  so back into the exam room they went.

as an extra precaution (due to her egg allergy), the nurse took sienna’s vitals.  then came the needle.  mommy tried to distract sienna with her iphone, but sienna insisted on watching as the needle entered her leg.  she shed a few tears, but was all smiles a minute later.  we are so proud of her for being so brave.

in case of an adverse reaction, sienna was not allowed to leave the doctor’s office for 30 minutes.  mommy tried to sneak out a couple of times, but the nurse had set a timer.  and that how sienna’s “15 minute in-and-out appointment” turned into a 75 minute ordeal.

here’s a photo of sienna from today, wearing an outfit that she put together by herself.  temporary insanity must be one of the side-effects of the flu vaccine.

i had my 5 year check up today.  it was a short appointment because i was there less than 4 months ago to get some shots and a hearing test to get all my medical forms filled out for school.

today, i measured 41.5 inches (22 %ile) and weighed in at 37.5 pounds (26 %ile).  the nurse gave me an eye exam, which was kind of fun because i got to wear these really cool horse glasses.  i passed.  20/20.

my doctor gave me a quick check up and then asked me some questions.  what kind of exercise/activities do i do?  do i always wear a helmet when i ride my bike?  what i would do if a stranger asked me to help him find his puppy?  stuff like that.  easy questions.

then it was time for my flu shot.  but instead of getting a shot, i got a special flu vaccine that i just had to smell (flu mist).  no needles!

this was my easiest check up ever.  the only bummer is that my doctor predicts that i’m only going to be 5’8″.  that’s okay i guess, but i have been really looking forward to being the tallest person in the whole family when i grow up.  if i’m only 5’8″, i’m not sure that i’ll be taller than daddy.  he says he’s 5’8″, but that might only be on his good hair days.

i am 5 years old today!  now that i am in public school, i don’t get to celebrate my birthday with cupcakes or other special treats.  instead, the school recommends that students acknowledge their birthdays by donating a book to the classroom library.  so that’s what i did.  i donated “pete the cat and the new guy”.  i really like the other “pete the cat” books that we have at school, but we didn’t have that one — until today.  my teacher gave me a special birthday crown to wear all day, and also, mommy surprised me by coming to volunteer during PE time.

and of course, in keeping with our birthday tradition, mommy picked me up early from school and we went to the park.  here are some photos from my first afternoon as a 5 year old.

here’s what i’ve been up to these days.

daily schedule:

• 7:45am: on most days, i roll out of bed whenever i feel like it.  since i’m on a PM schedule, i don’t have to wake up early for school.  except on wednesdays.
• 8:00am: breakfast.
• 8:30am: i hang out at home, usually playing by myself or with gung-gung while mommy is on conference calls.
• 10:15am: mommy drives me to kids country (the before- and after-school care program on campus) whenever there is a break in her meeting schedule.  that usually happens between 10:00 – 10:30am.
• 11:55am: my kids country teachers walk me over to my school classroom (K1).
• 3:15pm: my kids country teachers walk from my school classroom (K1) back to kids country.
• 4:15pm: mommy usually picks me up from kids country between 4:00 – 4:30pm.
• 4:30pm: we pick up sienna.
• 4:45pm: we are off to our evening activities, or we go home and play (which usually means riding our bikes around the neighborhood).
• 6:45pm: dinner.
• 8:15pm: get ready for bed.  i’m still wearing pull-ups to sleep, but once my current pack runs out, i plan to stop.
• 9:00pm: mommy and daddy usually take turns putting me to bed.
• 9:15pm: lights out.

things i’m good at:

• reading.  i love to read, and i’m really good at it.  mommy and daddy (and gung-gung) don’t read to me (or even with me) anymore.  i read books to them, all by myself.
• organizing.  i like to organize things neatly.  i always help put things away at school, which is one of the reasons why i’m a teacher’s pet.
• remembering things.  i have a really good memory.  i am already reminding mommy and daddy to do things, especially setting their fantasy football rosters.

things i’m working on:

• apologizing.  when i do something wrong, i have a really hard time saying “i’m sorry”.  i don’t know why.
• writing.  i still write with a mix of capital and lower case letters.
• staying dry at nighttime.  i’m actually dry almost 100% of the time, but i still insist on wearing a pull-up at night.

favorite indoor activities:

• bowling
• making cards and signs.  i give cards to mommy and/or my teachers almost every day.  and you should see all the signs that i’ll posted all over our house!
• watching sports (especially football and hockey)

favorite outdoor activities:

• climbing and playing in the playground at the park
• riding my bike
• playing soccer

favorite book:  goodnight, goodnight construction site

favorite TV show: paw patrol

favorite song:

• best day of my life (by american authors)
• hey soul sister (train)
• let it go (disney version)

favorite mobile app: spell fall.  although, i lost my iphone 🙁 so i only get to play once in awhile on mommy’s phone.

favorite foods: i am a super good eater.  i always eat my healthy foods, but when given the opportunity, i’ll gladly eat foods that are not healthy too.

• pizza (i like making my own)
• gogurt-style yogurt tubes (frozen).

favorite character:  superman

favorite animal:  dolphins.  because they can jump so high.

favorite school subject:  recess

what i want to be when i grow up:  crossing guard.  because they get to hold stop signs and blow whistles all the time.

we did a lot of stuff today.  a LOT.  just like every saturday, we started the day bright and early with soccer practice and a match.  then we all headed across the bay to jeffrey’s dol.  mommy and sienna drove separately from daddy and me because we were going to separate places afterwards.

the first thing we did when we arrived at jeffrey’s party was guess which object he would pick during the doljabee.  i knew what to do because matthew (jeffrey’s big brother) also had a dol when he turned one.  i predicted that jeffrey would pick the baseball, ‘cuz that’s what i would pick.

just like at matthew’s party there was a balloon guy at this party.  actually, there were two.  the balloon creations that they were making were so elaborate that we needed two of them to keep up with the demand!  check us out!  sienna got a hello kitty headband and wand.  on the suggestion of the balloon guy, i agreed to a teenage mutant ninja turtle outfit.  it came complete with a turtle shell, headband, and TWO swords.  i didn’t really know what the teenage mutant ninja turtles were before today, but i am definitely a fan now!  i think these guys might be the best balloon artists we’ve ever seen.

we enjoyed the buffet at jeffrey’s party, too.  buffets are the best because we get to sample a lot of different things.  we love samples — especially when they are desserts.  mommy even let us try some cotton candy.  sienna and i had one pull each, and then mommy set the rest aside.  and then mommy turned to talk to auntie ann for a couple of minutes, and when she looked back, there was no more cotton candy.  guess who at the WHOLE THING.  i’ll give you a hint — her name rhyme with “bienna” and starts with an “s”.

daddy and i had to leave jeffrey’s party before the doljabee because we had a sharks game to get to.  i love hockey, and the sharks are the best!  i especially love going to sharks games with daddy because we always get to eat yummy junk food like pizza and giant pretzels.  today, we got to go to lee’s sandwiches!  bahn mi is so yummy and lee’s is the best.  one of the things i miss most about our old house was that there were 6 lee’s within 5 miles.  the closest lee’s to our new house is ~30 mins away.  anyway, dinner was delicious!  oh, and we beat the ducks, too. 🙂

mommy and sienna stayed for jeffrey’s doljabee, and guess what.  he picked the baseball.  i was right!  i guess that means that he is going to grow up to be an athlete.

after that they went to auntie mimi’s new house for her house blessing and birthday party.  auntie mimi never actually gave them an address and she never answered her phone.  but based on landmarks that auntie mimi had referenced and house photos that mommy had seen, they found the party.  once they got there, sienna got to play air hockey on a mini table and eat lots of yummy food including s’mores pudding and chinese cake.

the next morning, sienna and i compared notes about our evening activities to see who had the better night.  i rubbed my lee’s sandwich in her face, but she trumped that with s’mores pudding and chinese cake.  i think sienna might have won this round, but i didn’t tell her that.

every year on their wedding anniversary, mommy and daddy go out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate.  this year, their anniversary fell on a monday, the day that they usually play volleyball.

wait, i don’t know if i ever told you that daddy has a new job now.  he started working at stubhub (an ebay company) about a month ago.  oh, and his new office is in san francisco.  that’s good news for his commute because he can now take BART to work instead of sitting in traffic for 2-3 hours/day.  but it’s bad news for volleyball because it’s now logistically impossible for daddy to get to the south bay in time for first serve every week.  so no more volleyball for daddy.  mommy is going to play without him.

tonight is the first night of the season, but mommy skipped volleyball to spend the evening with daddy.  she drove out to SF, met him at his office, and then they walked over to quince.  in case you didn’t know, quince is a 2-star michelin restaurant.  daddy didn’t know.  he felt under-dressed and was definitely not prepared for the 4-hour dining experience that was in store.  i think mommy must have forgotten what it’s like to eat a fancy prix fixe meal because she made the dinner reservation for 9:30pm.  (she wanted to get sienna and i fed before she headed out to the city.)  when it got past midnight, mommy and daddy were ready to ask for the rest of the meal to be brought out all at once. =P

they made it through all ~13 courses and had a nice night out.  but i’m pretty sure that next time, they’ll plan on starting their meal much earlier in the evening.  and so that mommy doesn’t have to worry about preparing dinner for us before she heads out, sienna and i will just go with them next time. 🙂  i mean, hanging out with gung-gung and uncle henry all night is cool and all, but that hazelnut torte looks delicious!

happy 7 year anniversary to mommy and daddy.  mommy says to bring on the 7-year itch.  i have no idea what that means.

last weekend, we went to a party for one of sienna’s ex-school friends.  today, we went to a party for one of my ex-school friends.  siri and i were both in the eagles pre-K class at the goddard school.  both of us also also have late birthdays, so we are too young for kindergarten but eligible for TK.  i decided to go to TK, but siri decided to stay at the goddard school and repeat pre-K in the eagles class (rather than attend a new school for one year and then transition to her resident school for kinder).

siri is a cool chick.  she did the same triathlon that me and my buddies did over the summer, and she also did the wipeout cancer obstacle course this year (i recruited her).  so even though we don’t go to school together any more, siri and i are still buddies.

she invited me and sienna to her paint and splash birthday party.  the party was at the clubhouse near her house, and they have a playground and a pool there.  so we kicked off the party by playing in the playground while the taco caterers were setting up.  then we had made-to-order tacos for dinner.  after tacos, we all got to pick a pottery piece and paint it.  how cool is that?  we’ve never been to a pottery painting party before.  i painted a train and sienna painted a cupcake.  (check me out painting left-handed.  i still haven’t decided if i’m left- or right- handed.)  apparently, the pottery people are going to take our painted pieces back to their studio to fire and glaze them, and then we’ll get to pick them up in about a week.  after painting, the plan was to go swimming in the clubhouse pool, but nobody else wanted to swim.  i didn’t care — i went swimming by myself.

sienna and i both had a fun time and we can’t wait to pick up our masterpieces.  happy birthday siri!