Dear Kaia

Lazy Sunday

2012-01-22T13:30:00.001+03:00

Had a very lazy Sunday today. Started with a Skype call with Grandma Mahin.

Then onto some face-painting...

I got into the game by painting Skye's face...

Then we both painted Daddy's face...

Computer Girl

2012-01-20T16:53:00.001+03:00

Can you tell that my parents spend a lot of time on their computers? I am loving mine too.

I want to see grandma on my laptop!

First Week Home

2012-01-14T16:09:00.000+03:00

It has been a good first week back home to Jakarta. Skyelar is still in her "by myself stage" where she wants to do everything. Here she is helping us make French Toast.

Here we are playing with all our new art supplies after school. Mommy and daddy were pretty impressed by how long we played quietly by ourselves.

Here are daddy and Skye being goofy with the phone before bedtime.

We had a big Chinese New Year Festival at school and I performed in a dance. I was a bit nervous, but it was great. See for yourself:

Afterwards, we painted masks and kites.

I was a bit antsy at home, so daddy took me to the park to stomp about in the huge puddles. It is the rainy season here, so it has been raining almost everyday. There was a break in the rain, so we went out to enjoy the fresh air. It was super fun.

Jet Lagged

2012-01-08T15:23:00.001+03:00

We have been spending the weekend getting over jet lag. It has been tough Skyelar and I have been getting up at 2am and today at 4:30 am. It makes our whole family tired an cranky. The other night Skye almost fell asleep on the couch.

But we are playing with our new toys and getting sorted before school starts.

Skye up at 4:30am today...

Great To See Family

2012-01-03T07:48:00.001+03:00

We had such a great time seeing family we don't usually see. We know that you all keep up with our lives, and so it was great to see you in person. Thanks Aunt Kathy for spending time with us and the great gifts. Sorry we were a bit cranky at photo time. It has been a long three weeks for us.

And we can't be thankful enough for the hospitality at Uncle Liam and Aunt Pam's and Sam house. You guys were great. Thank you for putting up with our screaming and overall chaos. We loved seeing you all. Remember you are welcome to come to Asia and stay with us for as long as you want. We can show you the beach!

Skyelar demanded that Pam snuggle with her on the couch, so I joined in.

It was hard to get a shot, but we did out best.

Till next time...thanks again everyone. Hope to see you soon.

Snow Day

2012-01-02T21:38:00.001+03:00

We went out to Whitnall Park for our last day in Milwaukee. We were lucky cuz it snowed a bit last night!

We were all bundled up and ready to go. it was 18 degrees. The coldest we have ever felt for sure!

Skyelar loves her glasses. J-Lo watch out! There is a new diva in town.

We walked on a trail and enjoyed the fresh weather. Here is some video:

Climbed over fallen trees...

...and helped each other out.

All in all we had a great time!

Though it did all end in tears with freezing feet and hands. (Not pictured) Finally we were back home and warm and cozy.

Hanging Around

2011-12-31T19:36:00.000+03:00

It has been a few days, since we posted pictures, but we have been busy! Here is a quick recap. Opening gifts from Grandma Mahin on X-mas. Thanks for the great hat. Kaia wears here purse everywhere she goes.

Sometimes we just need to spend time unwinding and watching TV. We are pretty good and rarely actually fight. Here we are just snuggling.

Although, sometimes Skye has a huge tantrum for no reason. This one lasted for almost 15 minutes.

Yesterday we went to the Betty Brinn's Children's Museum. It was super fun. So fun we didn't want to leave.

A few days ago we went to Appleton to see my mommy's God-Mother and her kids and grandkids. It was so much fun and great to finally meet Cortney! Nice to meet you Cortney. Hope to see you again soon.

X-Mas 2011

2011-12-26T17:43:00.000+03:00

It has been an exciting Christmas around here. On Christmas Eve, Kaia, mommy and Grandma went to a play, so Skyelar stayed home with daddy and Grandpa watching football. It was very exciting so she just entertained herself by playing and reading.

We had never seen a fireplace, so it was pretty exciting and cozy to turn it on and hang out on Christmas Eve.

But alas, it was time to go to sleep and wait for the big man. We left him some cookies and a note I left for him, thanking him for his gifts.

Next day bright and early (but not obscenely early) we got up and opened presents!

One of our favorite gifts were the binoculars!

We even took them to the zoo later that day, where we spent time enjoying the crips weather and fallen leaves.

Later we came home and played with some toys:

And Skyped with Grandma Mahin to open her gifts. Thanks for the beautiful hat!

We had a great Christmas and now looking forward to the new year.

Last Day in NYC

2011-12-23T06:23:00.000+03:00

By the last day in NYC, we had all become New Yorkers. No more complaining and lots of walking about. We even walked to Central Park and went on a carriage ride.

After the ride we went to a playground and rode a tire swing for the first time. Skye loved it.

My daddy carried me on his shoulders when I was too tired to walk .

Finally, here we are relaxing before getting on the airplane to go back to Milwaukee.
Watching Yo Gaba Gaba.

We had such a great time in New York. Looking forward to coming back soon.

NYC Girls

2011-12-22T16:19:00.001+03:00

Still loving NYC! We get tired and cranky, but we are have a great time walking the streets and riding the subway around town.

Yesterday we went to the Museum of Natural History and Skye loved looking at the "fishies"...well when she got out of her stroller.

New York City

2011-12-21T03:37:00.002+03:00

Arrived in New York City! Here is Skye swinging to the stars.

I had a great time playing in Central Park.

We were off to see Santa! The line was super long, but it moved quickly.

But it was definitely worth it...he was so nice.

It has been great to walk around the streets of NYC with Grandma and Grandpa. (I do complain a lot...it is cold, I am tired etc...but we are having fun)

We had fun at FAO Swchartz.

Here I am talking to Santa one last time.

Snow Bear

2011-12-21T03:22:00.000+03:00

We arrived in Chicago to a little snow, but it was pretty cool for our tropical blood! We bundled up and went to Uncle Liam's house

Daddy and I headed out to play with some snow. It started off with smiles and excitement....

but I won't lie. I was not a huge fan. May take some getting used to.

Long Way Home

2011-12-21T03:18:00.000+03:00

Our trip back to the USA stared the night before with haircuts!

Then a long thirty hour flight home...

Mommy and daddy were pretty tired but they made it. We were pretty good for the most part...

When we slept everyone was happy. The only problem was that Skye woke up every few hours, screamed, and kept mommy awake.

Our Week

2011-12-14T18:01:00.000+03:00

Started the week with some painting while Kaia and mommy where out shopping.

Then we went out for a walk and played in the grass.

Finished off the day with some piggy back rides and spinning/screaming.

On Sunday, we saw Happy Feet 2 t the premier theater. Look at the cozy seats and blankets!

Last night, daddy painted our faces just for fun!

Here I am in class. Daddy took this picture from the window...peaking in

Finally, Santa came to our school and gave us some goody bags. I gave my bag to the orphan kids, for whom we were collecting toys. It was hard for me to give the stuff away, but mommy and daddy said that sometimes it is better to share our gifts with others. I am learning about sacrificing my own needs and giving to others. It was hard at first, but I felt better about it after it was done.

Alice in Wonderland

2011-12-10T05:15:00.001+03:00

For the last few weeks I have been taking a drama after school class. We have been practicing Alice in Wonderland. Lat Thursday we had our performance. Here we are before the show. Look at Skye in the front row!

Here I am waiting off stage. I was Alice.

I am on stage with the cards and the Red Queen.

Skye lost interest early.

But after the show she was very supportive.

Most people forgot their lines and stood around a lot, but I did a good job and spoke nice and loud.

Jingle Bells

2011-12-10T05:10:00.001+03:00

Here is Skyelar getting the Christmas Spirit with her heartfelt rendition of Jingle Bells:

Our Week in Pics

2011-12-02T16:50:00.000+03:00

Daddy has promised to try and load all the pictures he takes of us, from his phone, at the end of the week, so our blog stays current.

I am becoming such a great reader. Every night I bring a new book from school, and I am able to read so many of my sights words and sound out the bigger ones.

We got our Christmas tree up this week. It's nice to have ornaments from the different countries in which we have lived. See from Doha and Jakarta!

Last weekend we headed out to brunch. We were all so excited when we started...

...but after two hours of sitting in traffic with no AC, things changed quickly.

Before and after...

Daddy trying to get Skye to sleep.

After school on Friday, Skye and I decided to play with some golden glitter.

Which brings us to Friday night. After dinner we all crawled into bed to watch Elf.

Here is Where We Have Been!

2011-11-19T14:38:00.000+03:00

Sorry folks, but since my daddy bought his phone, many of our photos are on Instagram and Facebook. We know, however, that many family members still access our photos on our blog. Here is what we have been up:

Daddy and I a few Sunday morning ago. Right when I woke him up.

Skyelar out on a walk.

Playing dragons at school.

Every time I see this statue at school, I scream. "Shops open!!!!"

Daddy went to pick up Skye at school and she didn't even notice he was there.

Another Sunday morning wake up call.

Playing airplane on daddy's feet.

Eating lunch at the playground.

Skye playing at the water feature at the playground.

Waking up before school.

I made these glass, cuz I thought they looked cool, but Skyelar won't take them off.

Story time at our house

Me in the glasses.

Dinosaur, Octopus, I Did It!

2011-11-12T05:24:00.001+03:00

Halloween Fun

2011-10-30T03:56:00.001+03:00

Carving pumpkins,

And our costumes:

Pretty Puppy

2011-10-29T08:16:00.002+03:00

I made this on daddy's phone after I drew all the pictures, then took pictures of them and used Puppet Pals to make the show:

YouTube Video

What do you think? Just a quick brainstorm, rough draft.

Spring Summer Time Me and My Sister.

2011-10-27T12:59:00.001+03:00

I want the blog post to be about me and my Skye being best sisters. I like Skyelar because she is my great sister. She is the best sister that you ever had. I love her so much that I hug her all the time. I really really love my sister.

Zero

2011-10-20T18:42:00.000+03:00

This is one of my favorite songs; I ask daddy to play it all the time. Hope you like our dancing.

Great Saturday Morning

2011-10-15T08:13:00.000+03:00

Mommy was off grocery shopping, but we had a pretty special morning. Started with some relaxing ad snuggles on the couch.

It was a beautiful day, so we headed outside on bikes and on foot! (We picked our clothes ourselves and Kaia wanted us to match!)

These ladies thought we were pretty cute!

After overcoming my fear of red ants, I asked dady to get me up in my first tree.

Before you know it, I was monkeying around ad even practice dropping from a branch. Daddy, had to put me up in the branch, but I had no problem with the drop.

Skyelar was having so much fun exploring and picking everything up. Who needs toys when you have these?

We had a quick cold bath and lunch with chocolate milk.

Skyelar's Birthday

2011-10-15T07:54:00.002+03:00

So sorry it has take so long for the birthday pics and so sorry there are so few We were having too much fun to take pic. Here are the cupcakes.

Skye in the goodie bags!

And Happy Birthday!

Twinkle Twinkle

2011-10-03T16:04:00.000+03:00

Here is a video of Skyelar singing Twinkle Twinkle. Warning: High cute alert!

A Little More Shanghai

2011-09-21T04:11:00.000+03:00

We all made it back home and are settled again. Grandma Mary Jo sent my mom these pictures of the three days that we spent with her and Grandpa Patrick, and they really show the great time that we had with them!

On the first day, we went to the aquarium. I really liked the jellyfish, and the SCUBA divers who were feeding the fish while we were there:

Then, of course, the exit went through a gift shop and arcade, so Grandma and Grandpa let us have a few rides before heading back to the hotel:

The next day, we went to Century Park, which was super fun! There were more rides to go on:

Some bubbles...we really love bubbles!

And a fountain to run through! We got very, very wet, but it was worth it, because we had an amazing time:

Luckily, it was a very hot day!

And on our last day, we went to Peoples' Square, where we saw some things that we don't see in Indonesia- pigeons! We had a lot of fun chasing them:

Then, we decided to do a little bit of singing and dancing. The Chinese people thought that we were pretty great:

I also got to have some sleepovers with Grandma and Grandpa in their room. Mom and Dad forgot to warn them about some of my sleeping habits, but they soon found out:

So, as you can see, Skye and I had a fantastic time in Shanghai, hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa during the day, and then going out with Mom and Dad at night after their conference. We're really lucky!

Shanghai 2011

2011-09-19T18:47:00.000+03:00

Looks like our photos from Shanghai have posted backwards, so try to follow the story backwards. Oh, and we hope to get a lot more picture from Grandma and Grandpa, because we spent the days with them while mommy and daddy were at work.

Here I am boarding the plane to Hong Kong on our way home. I have become a very good flyer and I carry my own bag everywhere in the airport.

Sometimes when it gets heavy we find a cart, and today Skyelar was learning to help too.

Here we are waiting to board the plane. Mommy and daddy couldn't stop saying how proud of us they were. We had a great travel day. Not too much screaming and we behaved.

Now here are some picture from Shanghai. Skyelar is brave when it comes to new food and she loved noodles.

Here I am in Yu Gardens playing with my new sling-shot toy.

Family on The Bund. You wouldn't believe how many buildings, lights and people there are down there.

Yu Gardens again.

Here I am bargaining with the lady for a new dress and some slippers. I had to sing Happy Birthday in Chinese as part of our deal, and she loved it.

By The Pearl Tower.

Cool lights by The Bund.

Look at how cool!

From our hotel room. So many people.

Me and my daddy.

Mommy and Skyelar.

Skye reading before bed.

Fun in a cab on the way home.

Cool statue I saw one night, while out and about.

Getting set to go to Shanghai. Remember these photos were backwards.

The Day of the Moon Festival

2011-09-12T17:06:00.000+03:00

The day started with me spotting this frog in the playground, first thing in the morning.

Then after school, I was still writing in a new journal my daddy brought from Shanghai. I love to draw and write in my journal.

Then after dinner the two of us headed back to school for the Moon Festival at school. It was so pretty with all the lanterns.

It is great having daddy back in town!

All in all it was a pretty special night.

Where Have We Been

2011-09-01T04:55:00.001+03:00

Since my daddy got his new phone, he hasn't been using his camera as much. But that doesn't mean there haven't been pictures of us. He is constantly snapping pictures, but we have been bad about posting them here. So here are some pics from the last few weeks.

Working on our robot.

Cozy in Bed

Playing in Singapore

Too Tired in Singapore

Before School

Pony Tail

Passed Out.

In The Fort

I want to design pretty buildings

Me and Dad

At School

Skye At School...

2011-08-25T05:58:00.002+03:00

I don't know if you know this or not, but I have been going to school with Mommy, Daddy and Kaia for the past month. I am in the Toddler class, and get to go to school for two hours every morning. Last year when I went for my trial period, I really wasn't too thrilled with the whole school experience, but this year, I love it!

My teacher sent us some pictures of me in the weekly newsletter to show you three things that I really love: sliding, reading and making friends:

Home With Daddy

2011-08-13T17:31:00.000+03:00

Skyelar and I stayed home with daddy today, and although he was a bit sick and grumpy. We had a good time. We started with a really loud and fast dance party.

Then a little art and gymnastic. This is Skye's latest trick. She balances on her head with no hands!

Finally, I thought it would be a good idea to let daddy rest and play his guitar, while we copied words from cookbooks.

Evening Walk

2011-08-13T13:25:00.001+03:00

Enjoying the late afternoon sun.

Random Footge

2011-08-10T15:41:00.000+03:00

We had some random footage from daddy's new phone. Take a look. Skyelar is becoming quite the chatty Cathy at the end.

Saturday Afternoon

2011-08-06T09:40:00.001+03:00

Thanks Ms. Adele

2011-07-28T14:54:00.000+03:00

My former teacher, Ms. Adele, sent us an email with this picture she took while on a trip to California. What a cool license plate. Don't you think?

Long Time No See

2011-07-27T15:21:00.000+03:00

We haven't been posting much here since my daddy got his new iPhone. But here are a few news pics that have been hiding on his old camera.

I also got this great game called Rush Hour that I love!

Exercise for my brain.

Caught in the Sunlight

2011-07-26T06:12:00.002+03:00

Playing With Hats

2011-07-19T12:42:00.001+03:00

Card Shark

2011-07-17T16:10:00.001+03:00

Playing cards before bed.

Skyping with my Favorite Teacher

2011-07-10T16:09:00.002+03:00

The other day I asked my daddy if we could Skype with Ms. Adele my teacher from last year. He made some connections and tonight, as we got ready for games, she came on the computer. It is great that we can stay in touch even though she is in America now. Here is our chat-

Great to talk to you Ms. Adele.

Our Summer

2011-07-10T06:44:00.002+03:00

We are having a fabulous summer! In fact, it's so fabulous that Mommy and Daddy are having a hard time keeping with the blog posts! So, they finally decided to make a movie about our summer, and hopefully some of the things that they weren't able to include are in it.

Enjoy!

Happy 5th Birthday, Kaia!

2011-07-08T20:41:00.002+03:00

OK, well, I know that I've had a few practice birthdays before today, but this is it! My REAL birthday, and I am actually five years old now!

I had a great day! This morning, we went to the beach, and the water was perfect! Mommy said that the ocean knew it was my birthday and was helping me have a great day. The water was so calm that we all had a super fun time swimming, even Skyelar.

Then, we went out for dinner. I got to choose, and I chose my favorite place, Nikita's Beach Bar. I really like their pizza and pineapple juice!

THEN, we went to an overlook to watch the sun go down. It's a really pretty view. I hurt my ear on the way, though, so I didn't get my picture taken with the sunset.

Finally, on the way home we stopped and got a piece of cake so that I could have ONE last candle to blow out. It has been a fantastic birthday!

Thanks, everyone, for all of the birthday wishes! I miss all of you!

B-O-W-L-I-N-G!

2011-07-08T19:55:00.000+03:00

I am having a great time on our holiday, but a few days ago, I got a bad ear infection. It's OK now, because we went to the doctor, but he said that I couldn't swim for a few days. So, what is there to do when you are staying in a beach town, besides swim? Well, we found out the answer to that question when we went to a mall and discovered that there is a bowing alley!

They had bumper bowling for me, as well as a ramp to help me roll the ball (it was pretty heavy!), so I had a really fun and easy time!

Skye can't bowl, so she sat and colored while we played. I helped her when it wasn't my turn.

She wasn't too impressed with my bowling skills, but once I got a strike, and she was pretty excited for me!

We also discovered that another fun thing to do instead of swimming is to have a dance party! Skye and I had Mommy play some music on her computer, and then we danced and danced and DANCED!

Mommy has some great video of our dance party that she will include once she has the chance to edit all of it! We're keeping her pretty busy...

Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part VI

2011-07-03T09:26:00.001+03:00

This has got to be one of the best vacations we have ever had. We already miss lounging and eating with Grand Ma and Grandpa, but it was great to have them here.

See how relaxed they look:

When we are not at the beach, I am playing some great new games I got for my birthday.

But the best time is spent playing in the sand with daddy.

Or swimming in the surf with mommy and Skyelar. Skye loved the waves today and didn't want to get out.

I am getting more and more comfortable out in the waves myself. See I can swim in the breakers. I even swam under the waves to pick up sand. We have some video, but haven't sorted that out yet.

Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part VI- Birthday Edition

2011-07-01T17:11:00.000+03:00

My birthday is actually next week on the eigth, but since tonight was the last night my grandparents were here- we had a party! First we went out to dinner at my new favorite place Nikita's on the water.

Then we came home for cake. My mom baked it. My daddy and I decorated it with the coolest Tinker Bell fairy decorations that my Grand Ma brought.It was two layers with pudding in the middle!

You guessed it! It was yummy.

Then it was time for presents! My mommy and daddy had already given me my mask & fins and a guitar back in Jakarta, but my Grand Ma and Grand Pa did not disappoint.

I got all kinds of new games and books.

Skeyalr was upset it wasn't her birthday, but hers is coming up.

Then the mother load! My first Barbie.

It was a great birthday and I am so happy that my grand parents were here to share it with me.

Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part V

2011-07-01T16:59:00.000+03:00

Spending an early evening at Kata beach. Beautiful sunset.

We broke my daddy's number one rule of island life: Always wear your swimsuit.

Hope we can come back one night and swim in the punk water.

We also spend lots of time painting around the house.

Here we are contemplating the social significance of our latest piece.

We also spend time playing board games with Grand Ma and Grand Pa.
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Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part IV

2011-06-30T15:09:00.001+03:00

We spent the day at the Chalong Temple yesterday. It was very pleasant to just walk the grounds and see all the pretty statues and gardens. I asked my daddy lots of questions and had a great time bowing and being quiet. Skyelar had a good time too.

This was in a tree house room with life like statues of monks.

Then we headed to a giant Buddha statue called The Big Buddha. It is on a mountain and is 45 meters tall.

I got a bit cranky up there and refused to take a good picture with my dad, but he forced me anyway.

Skyelar was much more amiable.

The Big Buddha indeed!

Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part III

2011-06-29T17:36:00.000+03:00

You can read about our day in the water at Phi Phi on my daddy's blog. I did an amazing job in the water. There is some video too, but we will try to get some better footage on our next dive.

See how I swam and floated on my own.

There were so many fish!

Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part II

2011-06-29T17:29:00.000+03:00

We have this great beach near our house called Nai Harn where we have been spending the time we are not by the pool.The waves are a bit rough, but makes for good surf swimming.

Skyelar is getting her sea legs, but is still a bit terrified of the waves. She plays on the sand.

I thought I would love this ice cold coconut,but alas it was gross. Cool umbrella through.

No problem Skyelar drank it.

Making friends.

Summer Fun- Phuket Edition Part I

2011-06-29T17:23:00.000+03:00

We have been busy doing a whole lot of nothing and it feels good. The pictures are piling up, so we will post a few here and there in the next few days. We also have a bunch of video footage, but will put all that into a final "film" at the end of the summer.

Here is my daddy and I on the scooter. It is so much fun to explore the island with our bike.

Playing with bubbles by the pool.

Skylelar loves just sitting at the edge of the pool and playing with her cups and buckets. Although, she is getting better and coming in the water.

I love having my grandparents around. We talk a lot and draw.

and of course, we read and read and read!

I Feel Sorry For Mountains

2011-06-22T15:04:00.000+03:00

We took the motorbike out to the beach again today, just you and me. You wanted to start with a quick sandcastle, but quickly gave in to the lure of the ocean. The waves were a bit big and I could tell you were scared. I had sworn to myself not to push too hard this trip, so to let you find your comfort zone yourself. The ocean can be intimidating and I want you to find your place in it on your own.

We started timidly. Holding hands. Ankle deep. Running back to the safety of the shore. Your eyes sparkled and your yelps were uncontrollable. I watched as you looked from the waves to the horizon, amazed that anything could be so vast and powerful.

Knee deep now. The water sprays your face. You lick your lips and wipe away the foam. You let go of my hand and feel the water with both hands.

"Try just swimming around here. If you feel like you are losing control, just stand up."
"I don't want to."
"Okay than, just hold my hand."
"Can we go further out?"
"We can go as far as you want."

Waste deep. You are scared and excited. You let go of my hand and quickly doggie paddle about, springing up at the first sign of a breaking wave. The weather is perfect. The sun plays hide and seek behind the clouds. The next wave knocks you down. You face is underwater. I see your feet pop up. I am sure that our day in the surf is over. You spring up, wiping the water from your face. You are laughing.

"Never fight the ocean. It is is too strong. If you try and stand up to it, it will knock you down and you will lose control. The secret is to go with its flow. Swim with the waves. Don't try to be still. Move. Flow. Kick."

You are listening. Watching the waves. Weighing your options. Next set-incoming. You turn your back slowly and jump forward to catch a wave. You kick holding your head above the water. You go under, but you spring back up. I am so proud of you. Later, we are sitting in the wet sand as the tail end of waves lap up against our bodies.

"Isn't it amazing that all these pieces of sand are just tiny pieces of rocks from old mountains? The ocean keeps smashing against the earth turning it into sand."
"Yeah, but I feel sorry for mountains turned into sand." You sift the tiny pebbles through your hands.
"Where do new mountains come from?"
"Pieces of the earth are always moving and when they bump up against each other they form mountains like this." I show you with my hands.
"Can we go back in the waves? I want to practicing going with the flow."

Almost Five

2011-06-17T17:26:00.000+03:00

Dear Kaia,

Today was such a proud day for me. Not just because you got an amazing report from your teacher; well that was part of it, but it was because I can see the amazing little lady you are becoming. To watch you interact with your friends and our friends and your teachers and strangers makes me so happy. You are not yet five, but you exude such confidence and joy. You are intense and passionate and such a beautiful child.

We have started to give you some early birthday presents and to watch you drawn to them is amazing. Sometimes, I wonder where the line is between giving you opportunities, and influencing who you are. I see so much of me in you and this is worthy of admiration and pride and fear. I want you to be your own person, but to see you love taking pictures with your camera, or yearning to learn how to snorkel with your new fins and mask is nothing short of a miracle. Thank you for showing such eagerness in trying the things that re so important to me. I only hope that they will equally enrich your life.

Today was the piece de resistance. We gave you your first guitar and to watch your eyes light up and ask me to grab my instrument so we could play together made my heart sing.

I dream of the day when you are older and we walk down a quiet beach after a day of diving, guitars in hand, ready to sing by a fire, after a day of taking photographs. Am I using you to create a mimi-me? Perhaps, but I hope you take these tools that I value so much and make them your own. I will guide you and share what I know, because I cannot wait for the day when you do the same for me.

One day you will gently strum a six string and sing like I never will. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You are my life. You will be five soon and you are already my best friend.

Report Card

2011-06-17T13:24:00.000+03:00

Thank you to all my great teachers for helping me have such a great year at my new school. My mommy and daddy are so proud of me. I had so much fun learning this year and look forward to some time to rest and play, before going going back to school.

Check out this great report all my teachers wrote about my learning:

Kaia Report Card

My Year in K1A

2011-06-16T13:23:00.004+03:00

I am so lucky. Not only do my mommy and daddy take great pictures and blog, but so did my teacher this year! Take a look at this amazing slideshow she made of my year!

Lost in Music

2011-06-12T12:46:00.000+03:00

I just dressed up today, asked daddy to play some soft music and got lost in dance.

This is my daddy's favorite shot.

Lost in Music

Long Time No See

2011-06-12T12:34:00.000+03:00

Hi everyone!

Just a few shots from before we went out last Saturday.

Look At Me Appreciating My Teachers!

2011-06-10T12:42:00.011+03:00

Our school had Teacher Appreciation Day today, and during the assembly, I performed this great song with the other elementary kids. The theater was FILLED, so I was really brave to be able to do this in front of all of those people! My mom was there, and she was so proud of me (Dad was on a field trip)!

Have a look for yourself:

I hope you like it, I worked really hard!

Saturday Morning Jam

2011-06-04T10:59:00.001+03:00

Skyelar and daddy getting silly.

First Haircut

2011-05-29T12:08:00.000+03:00

As you may have noticed, I have been rocking a mullet for some time now. Well no more! I got my first haircut today. Unfortunately my parents forgot the camera. Yeah, I know they documented Kaia's first cut, but who is keeping track. I did a great job as the lady gave me this lovely bob!

The May Girls

2011-05-23T07:17:00.001+03:00

Here is a movie that my mom made with bits of video that she and Daddy have taken of us this month. They are pretty funny, so I hope that you like them. Skye and I had a lot of fun making them, as you can see:

Lately...

2011-05-23T06:06:00.002+03:00

We have been having so much fun lately that Mommy and Daddy have had a hard time keeping up with posting pictures and video! However, Mommy finally got some time in her day to show you some of the great things we've been up to!

Here are some pictures of me and Daddy reading together at school. I am learning to read, and all I want to do is practice all of the time:

Here are some cute pictures of Skye and I during the weekend, cozying up in bed to watch a video after dinner:

Finally, here are a couple of shots of Daddy, Skye and I doing an art project. I am making a card for a friend in my class, and Skye is just practicing learning how to color:

Skye is learning to pose and say, "Cheese!"

There will be another post very soon that will have video, so be on the lookout for us!

Chinese Twinkle Twinkle

2011-05-20T13:54:00.000+03:00

Since we are learning Chinese and Bahasa at school, I am always walking around singing in different languages. So tonight, my daddy asked me to sing Twinkle Twinkle again on video. I hope you like it.

Boots and Hopscotch

2011-05-17T10:41:00.000+03:00

We had a busy four day weekend of playdates and swimming pools. so we didn't have too much time to take pictures. Though here are a few. Starting off with us getting ready to go to the pool. Why boots? Why not?

Then we decided to play a little hopscotch in our driveway. It was all great until those pesky mosquitoes made it impossible.

By the way, I am getting really good at picking out my own clothes. Pretty snazzy outfit right? I know.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T13:11:00.000+03:00

As you may know, we have found this great out door playground in Jakarta, called The Playground. Clean, not too crowded, great food and water features make it our weekly destination.

So this mother's day there was no place we would rather hang out. These pictures speak for themselves. We had a great day in the water and sun.

Look how high I can swing all on my own these days!

Skyelar loves the swing too, with a little push from mommy.

Skyelar is learning how to climb and go down slides all on her own.

Then there is the water area!

We had a great day. Hopefully mommy did too. Happy Mother's Day!

Monkey Bread

2011-05-08T12:29:00.000+03:00

Something magical has come to our house and it is called Monkey Bread. Here I am helping my mommy make one. Lots of sugar, cinnamon, and doughy goodness.

Some Fun Lately...

2011-05-06T04:41:00.001+03:00

My mom has been taking tons of pictures lately, but we've been so busy that she hasn't had time to post them. So, here they are! Be prepared to see LOTS of great new pictures of Skye and me...

One day, everyone was taking a nap except me. My mom woke up first and came to see what I was doing. She found me in the play room, making a card for one of my friends. She was very proud of me and thought that my card was great!

Doesn't my card look awesome? I made it ALL by myself!

My mom then got this great shot of Skyelar eating risotto. She was loving it, as you can see:

One of my after school activities is a Chinese culture class. Last week, we made these pictures. First, it is a caterpillar...

It has a tab on one end. You'll see why soon...

I also got to bring home the book mark that I'd made the week before!

So, when you pull the tab, the caterpillar...

...turns into a butterfly! Isn't that cool? I really like that class.

Speaking of bugs, Skye is turning into a real book worm! Most of the time, this is what you will find her doing:

She really loves books, just like me!

And finally, the piano pictures! Our school has a piano in the lobby, so during lunch and after school kids can play it. One day, no one was on it, so my dad and I decided to give it a go!

Neither of us actually knows HOW to play the piano, but it was fun! Mom and dad asked me to think about taking piano lessons, if I decide that I really want to learn how to play.

That was our week, hope you liked it!

Skye in School!

2011-05-02T04:21:00.001+03:00

My mommy and daddy aren't sure how I am doing at school. They hear the teachers talk about how well I'm doing during class time, but all they see is me crying and screaming when they drop me off and pick me up. Well, on Friday, they were very excited to get actual PROOF from my teacher that I am sometimes happy to be there!

Look, here is a picture of me during play time outside, and you can see that I am SMILING!

See? I look pretty happy, don't I?

A Little Patience

2011-04-30T13:53:00.000+03:00

What do you when mommy is out of the house all afternoon? Play some rock and roll that's what! Here we are singing Patience by Gun's and Roses.

Happy Easter, Everyone!

2011-04-24T15:48:00.000+03:00

We had a really great Easter today! We spent the afternoon at our school with a lot of other families. First, we swam for a while. It looked like it was going to start raining, but then the clouds passed in another direction (it was an Easter miracle!). Next, we ate from the potluck buffet. We had a lot of great food: pizza, hot cross buns, homemade french fries...you know, all of the "traditional" Easter food! Then, we went to the Peace Garden and had our Easter egg hunt. Skye wasn't really into it, but I found a lot of eggs! Here is a slide show to give you a better idea of our day:

When we got home, we were both pretty tired, so we had an early supper and got ready for bed. As you can see, Skye almost fell asleep at the table! Oh, and when we got home, we also discovered that the Easter Bunny had visited our house while we were out and left a basket for us! It had chocolate and jellybeans, our favorite.

Happy Easter, everyone! We miss you all!

What's Been Going On This Week...

2011-04-20T17:30:00.002+03:00

This week is a good week, because we have a short week, followed by a 3-day weekend. Mommy and Daddy say that we are going to do lots of fun things, but we've already been doing some fun things so far this week. Check them out!

First, I practiced using my roller blades, and I am getting pretty good at using them on my own. We are going to take them to the playground soon and see how I do:

Then, Skye discovered how much she LOVES trying on other peoples' shoes:

Today, I had a great time dancing after school:

While I was dancing, Skye was playing with Zoe the cat:

See you all next time!

We Miss Our Daddy!

2011-04-14T18:40:00.001+03:00

Daddy is coming home tonight! We miss him so much and we are so excited to see him tomorrow. However, we got the chance to Skype with him while he was waiting at the airport today.

Here is us showing Daddy just how much we've missed him:

Here are some pictures of me taking pictures of myself and the card that I made for him a few days ago:

What can I say? We are Daddy's Girls!

Dinner Fun...

2011-04-11T18:41:00.001+03:00

Skye and I take care of each other, as you can see from these videos!

First up is a video of me sharing some of the cake that I'd brought home from a birthday party with her:

Next, Skye decided to return the favor by making sure that I was eating all of my fruit at snack time:

I love having a sister, and she loves having me.

First Day of School!

2011-04-11T17:30:00.000+03:00

Today was my first day of school! My mommy was so excited to have me come to her school during the day, and so was Kaia. I wasn't really very excited, because I didn't know what was going on. As soon as I saw Mommy, though, I became super happy!


Don't I Look wonderful In My Uniform?

When she dropped me off at class, though, I freaked out a bit and cried A LOT. Mommy tells me that it will take a few days and then I'll get used to it and love class.

Hopefully, I'll love school as much as my big sister does!

The Playground

2011-04-10T17:50:00.001+03:00

Well, my daddy is in Vietnam this week for a conference, so we girls are on our own! Today my mom decided to take us someplace new since it was such a nice day, and we were lucky enough to be joined by some friends. We went to a place called The Playground, which was so much fun! Both Skye and I had a blast, and we stayed until we were about to pass out.

My mom had such a good time and took so many pictures that it was easier to put them into a slideshow instead of posting them individually. I hope that you like them!

If any of you come to Jakarta, we'll take you here! It is a really fun place.

SOOOOOOOO Big!

2011-04-05T10:17:00.000+03:00

So, I am finally big enough to stop sitting in my high chair! I really wanted to be able to sit next to Kaia at the table, so Mommy and Daddy decided to let me try. Here we are, enjoying our breakfast:

Do we look like we are having fun? I'm getting to be such a big girl!

ZhaZhu Mania

2011-04-04T09:09:00.001+03:00

Skyelar and I are enjoying getting to spend a lot of time together during our Spring Break. In fact, we've been playing together everyday, and it's a lot of fun!

This morning we got out my ZhaZhu Pet and had fun pretending that it was a REAL hamster. Skye was a little scared at first, but then she thought that it was so much fun!

I love hanging out with my little sister, and she loves hanging out with me!

Dancing Skye

2011-03-30T16:26:00.000+03:00

We went to Lollipops today, which is a great play place with lots and lots of things for kids to do. However, apparently none of it was as interesting as Skye's need to dance! This is what she did for most of our time there:

Two Wild And Crazy Girls!

2011-03-29T19:21:00.000+03:00

Here is our favorite thing to do in the evenings when Mommy and Daddy are getting dinner ready:

Awesome, isn't it?

Sunday Morning Dance Party!

2011-03-29T17:04:00.000+03:00

Pasta Mama

2011-03-29T15:45:00.000+03:00

When I woke up this morning, my daddy said that we were going to make pasta from scratch. Mommy and Skyelar had gone out, so we cranked the music really loud like we do when they are gone and set up our kitchen.

I love cooking with my daddy because he lets me do everything myself. We started with two mounds of flour with two eggs in the middle!

Then we smashed and smooshed and kneaded the dough until it turned into a ball. Daddy worked on his first then helped give mine shape.

I was very careful not to make a huge mess. I pounded it and finally it started to look like a ball. We talked about how making food with love makes it taste yummy and how sometimes just because something is easy and fast doesn't make it good. I said, "if we want to be green we can make things from scratch!"

After we let the dough sit for a while, it was ready for the pasta machine. We rolled it into squares and fed it through the machine. My job was to set it up, then daddy cranked it and I picked it up and got it ready to do it again. While daddy was cranking we chanted, "crank, Crank, CRANK!"

Then we cut it up into Fettuccine and Spaghetti.

You can see more pictures of the process here and read my daddy's thoughts here:

Then we cooked up some Spaghetti and added sauce. Daddy said next time we could cook the sauce from scratch too. We didn't have time today because we were off to see Gnomeo and Juliet. (Which was really good by the way!)

As you can guess it was yummy! It does taste better when you take the time and add the love!

Skyelar loved it too!.

After the movie, Skyelar and I did some water color, and...

...finally we ate dinner!

Great day!

Student Led Conference- The Movie!

2011-03-29T15:06:00.000+03:00

A week ago, my mom posted some pictures of my Student Led Conference that we had at school. She also took tons of video, which she then had to go through and edit. Well, she finally had time to put it all together for you all to see!

Here is my Student Led Conference movie, I hope you like it!

I had a great time presenting my work, and my parents had a great time watching me!

'Cuz You Had A Bad Day...

2011-03-27T17:42:00.000+03:00

People think that I am pretty darn cute, and most of the time, they are right. Most of the time, I am sweet and delightful, and I bring sunshine to my parents' life. However, I also have my bad days, when I wake up in a bad mood and pretty much stay that was all day!

Like today, for example...

Here is I was at 7:00 a.m:

...at 9:00 a.m:

..at 11:30 a.m:

Yep, Mommy and Daddy decided to take me out in public! I have no idea why why...

...at 4:00 p.m:

And this was AFTER a nap!

...and finally, at bedtime:

Hopefully, tomorrow I will wake up and have another good day and give my parents a break! Though, the way that I see it, I am preparing them for our teenage years...

Met a New Friend

2011-03-27T09:38:00.000+03:00

Out on a walk the other day and we met a new friend, Luna.

U really love dogs and so I was really excited to see one up close. I have not ever really been a round a big like her.

Hope we see her again soon.

My Student Led Conference!

2011-03-24T05:49:00.002+03:00

Today I had my Student Led Conference with my mom and dad. They came to my class during their breaks, and sat down with me so that I could show them all about my learning.

First, I got out my art book:

Then I showed how well I know my letters by putting together an alphabet puzzle:

Finally, I took them to my gym and showed them what a good hoola-hooper I am:

My mom and dad were super proud of me. They said that I was confident, spoke very well, and showed them what a good learner I am! I was really happy when they said that.

They took some videos, too, but they said that they need to work on editing them a bit this weekend before they can post them. Something to look forward to!

The Princess And The Ice Cream Freak- A Study In Opposites

2011-03-22T09:30:00.000+03:00

On Friday, we had a Character Day at school, which meant that we could go to school dressed in costumes instead of our uniforms. I, of course, always dress as a princess on Character Days. This time, I decided that I would be Belle from Beauty And The Beast, and you can see the beautiful dress that I wore here:

Later that night, my dad made some homemade ice cream with our new ice cream maker. This time, he made vanilla with M&M bits. You can see from the pictures below that Skye thought it was pretty, pretty good!

So, you can see that both Skyelar and I had a pretty good Friday!

Messy Painters

2011-03-19T11:34:00.000+03:00

We had a great Saturday this week. Daddy let us make a huge mess while we painted in the morning!

Skyelar had such a great time.

Here are some more pictures in a slideshow format.

After painting, we headed to the pool to cool off.

Then naps!

Night Owls

2011-03-19T08:52:00.000+03:00

Hangin' out and chillin' before dinner.

Now that we share a room, I sometimes crawl into Skyelar's crib and keep her company until we both fall asleep. It annoys my parents, but Skyelar and I love it.

Daddy, snuck up on us and took these pictures!

I Love Mommy!

2011-03-18T04:41:00.000+03:00

Sometimes my mom and dad have staff meetings in the morning before school. On these days, I usually sit outside the meeting room and color while I wait for it to end so that my mom can take me to class. This week, I decided to surprise my mom with this picture that I made just for her:

My mom was so happy that she immediately hung it on the wall in her classroom!

Don't worry, I promised my daddy that I would make one for him next time!

Starting 'Em Young!

2011-03-16T16:27:00.003+03:00

I have been asking my mom and dad for a long time to let me wash the dishes, because I REALLY want to do it (I must get that from my mom!). Finally, during the past few weeks, they have been letting me help sometimes. Tonight, though, I got to wash all the dishes by myself!

I'm still wearing my face paint from today's activity!

My daddy is excited because soon I'll be able to take over the dishwashing duties, AND because while I was washing the dishes, I was extremely concerned about not wasting water. I am a Green Girl, you know!

Face Painting!

2011-03-16T15:48:00.004+03:00

Everyone knows how much I like to have my face painted, so imagine how excited I was when I got to school today and found out that, as part of Arts Week, they were doing face painting for the elementary kids! It totally made my day!

After school, I told my mom to take my picture and put it on my blog so that everyone can see it...

We're not exactly sure what's going on with the Nixon impression...

Then I got a little bit silly...

All in all, a pretty great day in the life of a 4-year-old!

Ballerina Girl

2011-03-16T06:19:00.006+03:00

I started taking ballet classes a few months ago, and I love it! This week, I got a new ballerina outfit that makes me feel like a REAL dancer!

There is nothing that I love more than leaping around, practicing my moves!

My mom and dad love it when I show them what I've learned in class, and when I make up my own dance moves!

Little Angels...

2011-03-16T06:06:00.013+03:00

Sometimes, Skye and I actually calm down for five minutes! Sometimes, we are not trying to take away what the other one has, or getting upset because one of us messed up the tea party that the other had set up in the playroom.

Sometimes, we snuggle and are happy that we are sisters and that we have each other!

Aren't we cute?

Another Artist in the House?

2011-03-06T12:17:00.002+03:00

Art Projects

2011-03-05T18:29:00.001+03:00

Had a great time participating in my daddy's various art project today. First we sang this song from Uncle Ari's poems

Candle by intrepidflame

Then took this picture for his dailyshoot project.

Make a photograph of something that you find amusing today.

My First REAL Mani/Pedi!

2011-03-03T08:29:00.009+03:00

My mom really likes to spend time with me, so sometimes I go with her to the grocery store on Saturday mornings. Going to the grocery store isn't really very fun for me, so we usually go and get a treat afterward. This past week, my mom took me to the mall to get my first real manicure and pedicure. I've been wanting one for a long time, because I love to have my nails painted pretty colors.

First, the lady soaked my feet in water. It felt very nice!

Then, she used something called a pumice stone to rub my feet. It tickled!

I had to sit VERY still and wait for my fingers and toes to dry. My mom sat with me and we talked and sang songs to make the time pass.

When it was finished, I had pretty gold fingers and silver toes! I was very excited. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

Hangin' With Pops

2011-02-28T13:19:00.000+03:00

Realized it has been a while since we posted any photos. Here I am with my daddy on a Sunday morning.

I am getting so big that I am starting to talk. I say, "mommy, daddy, again, more, and thank you" regularly.

Skyelar on a Sunday

2011-02-13T12:41:00.000+03:00

Play Doh-Mation

2011-02-13T11:54:00.000+03:00

A few night ago, we were watching TV and there was a show about a Geie and some cats and the characters were made of clay. My daddy asked me if I wanted to learn how to make clay characters move. It is something called Claymation. I said of course.

The next day we went and bought some fresh Play Doh and got started. Here is a video I made of my first Play Doh-Mation. I did most of the steps all by myself. I am getting really good at cropping photos. I also learned how much time it takes to make even a short movie. Next time we will try and make a movie with characters.

KidZania

2011-02-05T16:11:00.001+03:00

We went to Kidzania today and it was all very exciting. I was so brave and independent. Take a look at my picture story for more details. Looking forward to going back again soon with some friends.

Cool thing was that there were no parents allowed in any of the stations. My mommy and daddy were so proud of me being brave and doing everything on my own. There were so many stations we didn't get to, like chocolate factory, firefighter, and actor's studio. There are lot's of jobs that I can try and I am looking forward to next time.