Percy & Penelope Pandas

Last week Katelyn got to take home her classroom's stuffed pandas.  She was asked to take pictures with them and journal about her adventures.

Katelyn took the Percy and Penelope to the park for a picnic.  The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Katelyn's homework was a fun project for Mommy and Katelyn to do together.  Mommy taped the pictures in the journal while Katelyn wrote what she did.



 She said her favorite thing to do with the Pandas was to take them on a train ride.

When Katelyn went back to school on Monday she shared her stories with her classmates.

Tao Po hosted a Chinese New Year dinner last weekend.  All the kids had fun playing together as usual.

The last couple of months, Bella has been needing Mommy to nap with her.  At school, she goes to her cot by herself to go to sleep.  She can be put down awake at night in her crib, but weekends naps,  she cries hysterically when she is put in her crib.  Mommy is a sucker and ends up napping with her.

Bella has quite the character.  These days she will make a pouty lip when she does not get her way. 

Katelyn is learning about planets and the solar system.  Her class created this space ship.

The kids also made planets out of paper mache.  Katelyn likes to tell Mommy and Daddy all the planets in the solar system.

Valentine's Day Weekend

Katelyn wrote her name on a Valentine card for all the kids in her class.  She filled a goodie bag with bubbles and snacks.

Each student went around and passed out their Valentine's to their fellow classmates.  Mia gave everyone mustaches and they all posed for a group picture.

Auntie Marge and Lucas invited Bella and Katelyn to the gym.  The girls signed up for a trial class and had a great time.

Bella hung onto the rings.



Katelyn walked across the balance beam.



Bella went across the balance beam with the instructor and lifted up her leg for some stretches.

Katelyn favorite activity at the gym was bouncing on the trampoline



After the gym, the girls headed to Hannah's Red Egg and Ginger party.  Little Hannah came up from Los Angeles to meet everyone.

There was a trail outside the club house where the party was.  Courtney, Katelyn and Bella went for a walk.  Bella yelled to the big girls, "Wait for Bella! Wait for Bella!"  She tried as hard as she could to catch up to them.

Bella asked Natalie to hold hands and they walked at their own pace.

Daddy made reservations at Benihana that evening for an early Valentine's dinner. 

Katelyn found the chef entertaining.  Bella was scared of the chef.  She sat on Mommy's lap and would not look.

Katelyn had a private swim lesson since none of the students showed up for class.  Maybe they were all celebrating Valentine's Day.  Katelyn practiced swimming back and forth and got a good work out.  She was  pretty tired when nap time came around!




Katelyn finally earned her level 2 ribbon for being able to do a 10 second back float, for her sit jumps, 5 up faces, roll overs and back swim.  Mommy was able to capture Teacher Jane announcing Katelyn passing the level.



We love Teacher Jane!

Ashley came over for a play date later that afternoon.  The girls made hearts out of play dough.

What a busy weekend!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Superbowl Weekend

Last week, the girls celebrated Natalie's second birthday.  Mommy wanted a picture of the birthday girl.  She wasn't smiling, so Courtney did silly things to make Natalie smile. What a great big sister!

There was a jumpy house at the party.  Natalie's grandpa helped Bella go in and out and when it was time to deflate the jumpy house, she decided to lay down with Natalie's grandpa when he took a break.

Katelyn played dress up with the big girls.  She was so excited Courtney had a Jasmine costume since that is Katelyn's favorite princess.

The girls went to Diego and Sebastian's house for a Superbowl party.  It was also Aunt Lety's birthday.  Katelyn was not interested in watching the game.  She brought her Sleeping Beauty lego set and Diego helped her build it.

Bella on the other hand, fed Christian tangerines during the half time show.  For dinner the girls went to Tao Po's house for an early Chinese New Year dinner.  Mommy forgot to take pics of the delicious feast we ate.

Katelyn made brownies with Po Po for dessert.

The teachers say Bella likes doing puzzles during free choice.

She also enjoys playing with toys that connect to sharpen her fine motor skills.

During the month of February, parents volunteered in Bella's class by teaching the kids about their occupation.  A police officer came and one of the Mommy's explained her job as a scientist.  The children dressed up in lab coats and played with toy beakers.

Katelyn's class was awarded with a costume party for filling up the pom pom jar for good behavior.   Such nice smiles by all the girls!

Daddy took Bella to her 2 year check-up last week.  Her stats this visit were 22.8 pounds (10 percentile) and her height was 34 inches (50 percentile).  Like her big sister, the pediatrician said she needed to consume more calories.  Bella is a good eater, but she also burns off a lot of calories given how active she is.  Bella looked a little apprehensive in this picture.  Lucky for her, no shots this visit.

It's been quite chilly outside, but Katelyn wanted to take her new bike for a ride.  Bella can now reach the pedals on her bike.  She hasn't gotten the hang of pedaling and prefers to be pushed instead.

When the girls see cousin, Aiden they have a good time.  Daddy tries to see grandma and Aiden's family at least a couple times a month.

Auntie Stef came to visit with Preston.  He was such a good baby.  After he ate, he slept in Mommy's arms for over an hour.

Auntie Stef baked brownies to share with the girls.  They love chocolate.  Bella gave her cheesy smile.  The girls didn't eat the whole piece of brownie.  It was too close to bedtime.

Daddy tells Mommy, she spoils Bella.  He says the things Bella does, Mommy would not let Katelyn get away with at Bella's age.  At restaurants Bella wants to sit on Mommy's lap instead of sitting in her high chair.   Rather than having Bella cry and whine through dinner, Mommy usually gives in.  Mommy can't help it!  Bella is her last baby and she is going to get in all the hugs and cuddles she can.

After swimming on Sundays, Daddy's routine is getting a cup of coffee at Starbucks.  While the girls waited for Daddy's order, he took some selfies with his girls.  They decided to be silly and stick out their tongues.

Then came the family selfie.

The teachers told Mommy and Daddy during Katelyn's teacher conference, she is a ready for Kindergarten.  She has been doing really well with her writing.  Here she wrote the days of the week with her teacher's help.

Bella and Katelyn like to play family together.  Bella pretends Katelyn is her baby and pats her to sleep by singing her a lullaby.



Bella is full of mischief.  She likes to hide behind Daddy's clothes in his closet.