Riding my bike

Anna sure loves her Cinderella bike. When she first rode it on Wednesday she insisted on biking all the way to her favorite park, perhaps a half mile away.

The bike has sturdy training wheels, it doesn't tip as you pedal. It comes equipped with a drink bottle, a bell, and a mini carrier seat for a stuffed animal. I drove to the park and afterwards we loaded the bike and went to our favorite noodle place. It was a fun day, the first day of our vacation that was spent primarily outdoors.

So this is Christmas...

Here's Christmas at the Goeller household, it all started after 8:00 a.m., after Anna had much needed sleep to get over her ear infections. Anna got a Cinderella bike, Sam received some car toys, and Steve ordered...

... a video IPod! Steve says it's his next Christmas presents for the next several years, hee hee! Sam got a matching "IPod" player from Mari and Rob!

Here are Mari and Rob and Anna checking out the IPod, Anna noted since Mommy has an IPod, Sammy has an "IPod", and Daddy has two IPods, Daddy should give his "white IPod" to her... hmm... maybe I should get a "Sammy IPod" for Anna for her birthday.

What a cute photo of Sammy and Grandma.

We enjoyed a ham lunch (next year it will be Honeybaked!) and pototo salad, along with rice and spinach salad. Yumi and Chris were there as well. It was a very fun Christmas!

Walnut Creek Part 2

The drive up was very smooth, 7 hours with only one stop. The kids were sleeping at the same time for a loooong stretch, which was nice. In contrast we made several stops on the way back... Anna was quite fussy on the way back, understandably, since she was dealing with a double ear infection and fever, we later found out.

Here are Anna and Lily parading around the pretty Christmas tree. There are lots of beautiful handmade ornaments on it.

Here we are having one of several meals at the Goeller home.

Sammy sure was smitten with his relatives up north. Here he is with Aunt Kim.

Walnut Creek Part 1

We had a quick trip up north to visit Steve's side of the family, here are cousin Lily, and Anna and Sam, piled on Steve's lap. Anna and Lily seem to have a sisterly-type relationship, there was a lot of loving going on, as well as a few tears, that's what you'd expect with true sisters!

Here's Grandpa Ted with Sammy and cousin Carter. Carter sure surprises me everytime I see him, with his maturity and brains! He told me that in his Chinese language class he's the only boy, with several female classmates. That can partly explain his patience with younger Lily and Anna during our visit!

Blondie

Uh, mommy... can I have a haircut?


See, my hair is kind of getting long in back... A little too delicate-looking. I'm trying to project a tough manly image.


What, you said no?! Not for another 10 years? How long it that? Is that the length of two naptimes? Oh well mom, I guess I'll just grin and bear it for the time being.

Christmas Card Choice #2

We sent out our Christmas cards a couple of days ago... this photo here was choice #2, our expressions are more joyful in choice #2 but I didn't like how Steve was being separated from me by the vase in the background. A lot of families with kids seem to send picture cards without the parents photographed, but I like how our kids look quite unique to us parents.

Anna the Photographer

There are so many things to love about digital cameras, including not having to worry about using up film, and being experimental... Anna took this photo, and it's interesting seeing our reactions, Steve and I have such happy expressions, and Sam looks quite concerned while reaching out with his toes...

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree...

Last night we attended Anna's school Christmas performance. Kids from preschool age to 1st grade performed various holiday songs. Anna is the dancer in the center wearing the white dress, grooving to the above titled song.


Here she is post-performance with her good friend Divya.


Yumi and Chris were able to make it as well. Thanks!


Sam slept through most of it, thanks to Yumi who rocked him to sleep...

Yes, I am the birth mother...

... but does this photo come close to proving that point?

Fashionable

Gone are the days (and months) of red jackets, red pants and red t-shirts. Anna came to me last night and said, "I don't have a belt," and she was holding this one that she found in my closet, it is a rhinestone satin belt that was on one of my prom dresses from college. (I think wearing fancy belts is the new thing at her preschool.) I replied, "Do you want that belt? You can have it," and she was quite giddy. It was a bear fitting the belt through the belt loops of her pants, but it does go well with the glittery San Francisco shirt she picked out. Anna's wearing this belted outfit to school today.

Here's another interesting ensemble.

Long Beach Aquarium

It was a nice sunny Saturday so we decided to go to the Long Beach Aquarium since we have passes. I had a passerby take this photo, and as usual the timing wasn't right with at least one of the kiddies. There are a lot of new shops and restaurants going up in the area, we've been to the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant in the background.

Anna enjoyed petting the stingrays this time around, later I heard it was close to feeding time, that's why so many of them were swimming the surface which made them easier to pet!

I call this photo "synchronized eating".

This photo was taken with the camera timer function, it was propped up on the table where we ate lunch at the aquarium. It looks like we could be in Hawaii.