Outtakes

When I take photos of the girls I just "click" away! These two kiddos move at lightening speed and getting a good photo of them is sometimes very difficult.

Case in point, the evening of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. After the girls donned their beautiful, Chinese outfits, I took them outside to our doorstep to take some photos. I prefer to take photos in natural light since I am able to capture the natural shadows that fall so beautifully across softer faces. But, with natural light comes the possibility of movement in the photos... especially with very wiggly children. Add to that the difficulty of getting the two of them to smile perfectly at-the-exact-same-time... well, you get the "picture!"

Below is the series of events from that evening. Each time I view the photos I chuckle. I love how the Ladybug is doing everything she can to get her sister to smile perfectly, and the Butterfly is fighting it with everything she has to not smile. Then, she looks away, or makes a silly face.  The Ladybug, getting a bit frustrated, starts to smile a rather pained smile. Seriously, I only have two children. How in the world do people with several more kids do this and get a great photo? Photoshop, it has got to be Photoshop! Anyway, what am I to do? Just giggle and sigh...

(Note: Don't forget, these are the outtakes from our little photo session. They are not perfect, far from it. They are just some of the photos that make me smile because they captured the moment. They just weren't "perfect" enough for the final cut.)

I just love these girls... silly, grumpy, boogery, snotty, serious, and giggly faces and all! All of these faces are what our days are filled with from morning to night. And I wouldn't trade them for the world!

~~Aloha!

My Bug has the Frizzies!

The Ladybug has been taking ballet since September, as some of you may remember. Every Wednesday I pick her up, take her home to get ready, then we are off to the ballet studio for her lessons. Part of our getting ready routine is getting her hair done, usually up in a bun and her bangs off her face. Unfortunately, with so little time after school to do so before her lessons start, her hair (in September and early October) ended up looking a little messy. Fortunately, the Bug has a great teacher who loves to do my little girl's hair... woohoo!!! This teacher is very creative, each week coming up with a unique design, and ends up doing such a great job with the hair that we often leave it up for a couple days.

Yesterday the Ladybug had one of her lessons, so as usual, her teacher pulled her hair back. This time the teacher used about 14 little rubber bands which streamed down either side of her head, holding more and more hair with each band. The final look was adorable, so much so that other mothers at the ballet studio commented on how cute the hair looked. (Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the hairdo, honestly, it really was adorable. I am just kicking myself now for not getting that pic.)

Because her hair still looked great this morning, we decided to leave her hair just the way is was, no reason to take it all down when it looked so cute. So this evening, the Ladybug had to take a bath and her hair finally had to be taken out. Daddy and the Bug walked into the bathroom to start taking out the rubber bands. I was in the other room as I heard the two of them giggling every few minutes. Then, about ten minutes later she walked out into the living room and started to sing... "She's gonna be a big sensation... Izzy's got the Frizzies!"

Now, for those of you who are not familiar with that little tune, it comes from a popular cartoon called Phineas and Ferb. Izzy is a close friend of the two main characters. One day she encountered a lot of humidity and her hair turned very frizzy. The video below is from the episode and is of Izzy dancing to the song:

So, when the Ladybug walked into the room singing the song and doing the dance I couldn't help but laugh hysterically. I think that the Bug looked exactly like Izzy. See for yourself!

~~Aloha!

The Asian Squat

Sorry about my lack of posts. We successfully moved into our new house about 2 1/2 weeks ago. However, with our move I lost the power cord for my computer, thus I have not been on my computer or facebook at all while at home (plus we have been getting settled into the new house, so many boxes to unpack). Though I have limited access from work, everything I usually use for my posts is on my main computer such as the editing software and all my photos. Fortunately, I did find the power cord on Sunday, so I will be posting again normally very soon.

In the mean time I saw this little video and had a good chuckle. I thought that everyone else who has ever been to China will find this amusing. The 5-minute video is called How to Do the Asian Squat. I recall many people in China who squat down like this all the time. While at a Buddhist temple, I saw a worker on her lunch break, squatting down to eat her bowl of noodles. However, where I found the squat most useful is at a "squatty potty," or for those who have never seen one, a hole in the ground where you are expected to go to the bathroom. Children are taught this skill at an early age, and the squatting continues throughout their lives. The image below I quickly snapped of a mother helping her little boy go to the bathroom on the ground of the Temple of Heaven. Notice both of them doing the "Asian Squat."

For Westerners, this bending at the knees all the way to the floor is not fun at all. Mix that discomfort with the humiliation, aggrivation, frustration, necessity of having to go to the bathroom in a way that you are completely unaccustomed to. Nope, not fun at all. We are just used to the "throne" as some call it, and I will take a "throne" any day over the squatty potty. Either way, it is a very different experience for those who are used to doing their business at a bit higher altitude.

I found this photo of the Ladybug while we were in China. Looks like she has got the squat down pat. Must be nice to be young... and limber.

Here is the video, enjoy!


HOW TO DO THE ASIAN SQUAT (Hi-Res) from Daniel Hsia on Vimeo.

~~Aloha!

Silly Lips

The Baby Butterfly has a very silly personality, she definitely keeps us on our toes. She is wold and crazy and loves to laugh, dance, and play all day long.

Just the other day she and I were talking, and I moved my lips back and forth while I was thinking about something (don't remember what it was though... must be old age!). She tried to copy what I was doing, and ended up making me laugh. Her "silly lips" were totally unexpected, and now the funny movements makes me chuckle each time I see her wiggle her adorable lips.

Enjoy!


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~~Aloha!

Slow Boat to China

A friend suggested I do this because it would provide some great laughs. So, I did, and laughed!

I visited Google Maps and requested directions from Seattle, Washington to Shanghai, China. (Interestingly, I first tried San Diego, but the program rerouted me through Seattle, so I decided to start there instead... why not save me that part of a long drive!)

Anyone who has ever asked for directions from this program knows that it is common to be told to turn and then "Drive a couple hundred feet in this direction," and then "A couple hundred feet in that direction." In other words, you have to follow some very tedious instructions to get to the actual meat of the directions you requested. However, what I never expected from my latest request was absolute silliness and rather "impossible" directions. See for yourself!

I started my journey in Seattle, and after meandering around a few streets, I am finally making my way across the ocean... in a KAYAK!!! Yes, you read that correctly, Google Maps suggests that if you are going to travel across the Pacific Ocean, you should do so in a Kayak. I don't know about you, but if I am going to take a journey across a vast body of water, there is no darned way that I am going to use a kayak. But, apparently the people at Google think I should. Oh well. Any way, as you can see below in Step 8, I will kayak across for 2,756 miles.

Some of you may be thinking that 2,756 seems a little bit too small a distance to take me all the way to China, and you would be correct! This part of the trip actually takes me to Oahu. Woohoo, Hawaii!!! Nice to see that I will have a little bit of time to relax in gorgeous Hawaii. After making my way across the island, I will leave Honolulu in a kayak (again) and this time I will travel 3,879 miles (step 23).

After travelling almost 4,000 miles from Hawaii in a kayak, I would think that I would have finally made it to China (the "Chinese" characters in step 24 led me to this thought). Nope! I actually have made it to Japan! Well, at least I am almost there. So, after making my way across Japan, I will leave solid ground to make my way across the last body of water in a kayak, oops... apparently a kayak is too good for me for these last few hundred miles. Instead, I will use a jet ski (step 81)! Seriously????? OK, people at Google, do you honestly think that I will ride a jet ski from Japan to China? Really?!?!? Oh my, will I ever arrive in China? Apparently the answer is yes.

After riding a jet ski for 486 miles, I will finally make it to China. But, of course, Google Maps wants me to meander around Shanghai a little bit until I actually make it to Shanghai. Yes, you heard that correctly, after making it all the way to Shanghai, I will still have to wander around a bit until I make it to Shanghai. I don't understand it either... so don't ask.

Anyway, after 93 total steps, I have finally made it to China! Woohoo!!!

Wow, what an incredible journey! I will travel by car, kayak, and jet ski, and along the way I will visit Hawaii and Japan. Not bad!

All in all, the journey is 8,148 miles and will take me 35 days, 19 hours.

Just for fun I had the program tell me how long it would take me to get to China if I walked. Pretty much the same route with the kayaking and jet skiing. However, I would be walking through Hawaii and Japan. That trip would take me a little over 105 days. Honestly, somebody at Google is having a BLAST at his job! Gotta love the creativity.

Whoooooooo, after that long trip, I am exhausted! So... how am I going to get home?

~~Aloha!

Tub Time!

Our girls LOVE their time in the bathtub. The Ladybug has always enjoyed playing in the tub, and has often been found writing on the walls with tub crayons...


...and singing her heart out.

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With the Ladybug's love of bathing, we were of course hoping that the Butterfly would enjoy her time in the water as well. However, we could not imagine just how much our new little baby would love getting clean.


We found out about her love of the water while we were still in China. We visited the hotel's pool for a quick dip in the refreshing waters a few times because of the extreme heat during the summer. We figured our first visit would last no more than about 20 minutes, but the Butterfly had other plans. As soon as we got in the pool, the baby started splashing, giggling, squealing, and playing with such delight. Before we knew it we had been out there for a little over an hour, and we were all getting wrinkly. As can be imagined, our next few visits to the hotel pool were long and fun.

Now that we are home, the Butterfly has decided that she has her own personal pool in our home... the bathtub. And, she wants to go "swimming" every day. We do love that she is such a water baby, but knowing that if she had her choice she would spend almost every waking hour in the tub, we have decided to limit her time "playing in her pool" to every other day.


As you can tell from the photos below, she does love the water, and playing with bubbles... and her sister. We are just so happy to see this little baby coming out of her shell.





~~Aloha!

Opposite Roles

Just a quick post today about my girls. One is growing up so quickly, and the other is striving to go back in time.

The Ladybug is now 4 1/2 years old, and with her new baby sister in the house, the older sibling is really wishing that she was the baby in the house again. Just the other day I found her like this...

After dinner, she had climbed into her sister's high chair, and was playing with her toes, just like a one year old. Poor thing really misses being the baby in the house.

Later that evening I found the Butterfly, now 17 months old, walking around the house acting like a teenager...

Really "Bad to the Bone." She is now walking, and at times, running everywhere. She follows her big sister around everywhere she goes (much to the disappointment of her big sister), trying to be big just like her.

Of course she does still love her blankets!

We have been home just three months now and already our girls are wishing to be an age other than what they are... ahhhhh, such is life.

~~Aloha!

Sleeping Beauty

I went into the Baby Bug's room this morning to awaken her from her dreamy slumber. I opened the blinds to let light into the room and then found the Butterfly sprawled across her crib like below. This little girl definitely loves her sleep, and enjoys using every inch of her crib to get it... including the vertical edges apparently!





~~Aloha!

Painting... A Story in Pictures

A few years ago I gave the Ladybug a paintbrush and asked her to start painting. What she created was both simple and beautiful, something that we all cherish dearly. The Ladybug was 26-months old at the time, and there are a couple things I remember from that event:
1. The Ladybug concentrated very hard to make sure all of her paints were perfect
2. She found great joy in painting her toe nails (already a "girly" girl)



This evening I thought it was time to give the Butterfly, now 17 months old, a paintbrush to see what she would do. I figured that I would see some differences between the two girls and how they painted. What I didn't count on was some of the similarities. Below is our journey, in photos, as the Butterfly tried her hand and painting.

We started by putting some paint on her hand and making hand prints. She was quite fascinated with the paint.

The Butterfly then tried painting her fingernails.
(I am thoroughly impressed with how she holds the paintbrush at such a young age... yup, proud mommy!)

It was now time for a silly face.

Then, time to scratch her eye... with her painted hand.

Which lead to...

... a crying Butterfly.

So, mommy washed her face and we started again.

She even tried painting with her little hand.

Eventually she decided to get back to painting the paper.

But in the end, she found her favorite canvas to be her adorable tummy.

Just look at that concentration!


Yup, I think we have another artist in the family.

~~Aloha!