Story time

At our house, we all like to read. (Big surprise, eh?)

Last weekend, first Dylan read a story to me and Maisie. Go Dylan!


Then Grandma Liisa read Ella a story...


looks like it was a pretty good one!


Then, Maisie wanted to take a turn. She can't read yet, so we all paid attention while she told us a story.


Maisie was actually so cute in telling her story, that my mom and I kept dissolving into fits of giggles, which Maisie did NOT appreciate. She kept saying "Please be quiet. Please give me your attention. Please listen now. Thank you." I think I know what she hears at school from the guides in her children's house!

Chinese New Year

On Friday, Maisie and I went to the Chinese New Year Celebration at Midtown Global Market! We decided it was pretty much the best holiday celebration, ever.

The first thing that happened when we got there was that Maisie got a gift:

a little red packet with a lucky coin inside! She was really excited about that.

Then, we saw a whole bunch of kids with balloons, dancing and playing in front of a stage. Maisie had to have a balloon and go join them.

One really fun thing about Maisie is that she makes new friends wherever she goes. She will just go up to some kids, start playing with them, and refer to them as "my new friends." The girl Maisie is playing with in this picture is named Tariah, and she really did become Maisie's friend! Maisie's balloon came untied from her string, and Tariah gave Maisie her balloon. It was incredibly sweet.

I sat by Tariah's grandmother and chatted with her, as the area filled up with lots of people...

They were waiting for the lion dance to begin!

It got full pretty quickly, so much so that the girls couldn't even dance and run around any more. We passed the time taking pictures of each other with my camera. Tariah took this picture of me and Maisie, which I quite like!


So after a while, the music started...

The big drum was really LOUD! It symbolized the lion's heartbeat, and got him up and moving around...

and that lion can really MOVE!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Aaron and I had a date night on Friday night, with babysitting courtesy of Gramma Liisa (thanks Mom!). So today was a family Valentine's Day.

We started with Maisie and I attending our friend Sophia's birthday party - she is 4! (Aaron and Ella stayed home for Ella's naptime.) There were about a zillion kids there. It was fun, if somewhat exhausting, in the way that only a child's birthday party can be.

Maisie really enjoyed the delicious cake! And yes, that's frosting in her hair. She also enjoyed playing dress-up with some of Sophia's dress-up clothes. I enjoyed the delightful company and delicious food. All in all, it was a really good time.

Later this afternoon, after "quiet time" (a.k.a. Mommy needed a nap), we all headed down to the Midtown Global Market for some indoor play time.

Maisie especially loved this little car that ran on a small rollercoaster-like track!

We managed to find dinner there, too - Maisie and I shared egg rolls and Vietnamese noodle salad from Pham's, and Aaron got a falafel pita from Holy Land. So tasty! Then we came home, put Ella to bed, and watched the Olympics with Maisie. The luge was on. Maisie was very impressed by how fast they want and said, "When I grow up, I do that?" I said, "No, why don't you play hockey instead?"

We'll see how those negotiations go.

There's a party in my city!

Yo Gabba Gabba is touring!

Faithful readers may remember that we got to see them last summer at the Target Children's Book Festival for free...


Tickets to the current tour are expensive. Dang! But, don't lose hope: the blog Minnesota Mama's Must Haves is giving away 4 tickets to the show! If you're interested, details on how to enter are here!

Threat level: Orange as an Oompa Loompa!

She crawls! And pulls herself up to standing! A triple threat (she's stinky, sometimes)!

Busy busy

Let's see, what have we been up to:

Rock the Cradle: Maisie, mommy and our friends Liza and Emi all decided to attend this annual event, which included dancing, yoga and an instrument petting zoo.


Birthday Party: Maisie and mommy once again ventured out to brave the insanity of Edinborough for our friend Jack's birthday party. Giant maze-like complexes of sweaty obstacles, slides and ladders. A germ incubator, in other words. Also, a gymnasium with scooters, balls of all shapes and sizes and a bouncehouse. And don't forget giving toddlers cake at 9am. That's important.


Being Cute: Ellie boo is cute.