So That Happened...

More Family Fun with Photo Booth

Oh, look how I am not dead but rather just being kept very busy!  I know I swore I'd get my blogging legs back again but I haven't kept up my end of the bargain.  D'oh!  Must work on this.

I got to spend some time last week with my nieces (AKA My Most Favorite People in the World), where we did a lot of this:

Hooray for Photo Booth, for it is the only way I can take a picture with both girls once I manage to corral them in my arms for five seconds.  The little one was a bit upset because the older one tried to take something from her, but those tears went away right quick once I broke out the computer.  

We also played with masks:

Here's the older niece in her awesome polar bear mask.  (I tried to put the third mask on the little one but she wasn't having any of it.)  I love how she kept her backpack on even though we weren't going anywhere just yet.  And because I couldn't let the kid have all the fun...

...here I am looking deranged yet sad in her panda bear mask.  Seriously - how crazy do I look?  I'm talking stalk-you-in-the-dead-of-night-and-stare-at-you-through-windows crazy.  Even more seriously, isn't this mask awesome, too?  I'm thinking this should be my next Facebook profile photo.  (Aside: I just realized that we would make the most non-threatening bank robbers in these masks.)

Finally, here are the little ones checking out their Fisher-Price digital camera for kids.  I'll admit it's a pretty neat camera.  It made me so very happy to see both girls wanting to play with it!

I'm Not Dead

Hey everyone! Look who is not dead! I would be posting daily as I have since the beginning of this blog, but right now I've been bogged down by lots of other things and I sadly let my writing here lapse. But no more! I still have to finish that travelogue even though it's been almost six months since Budapest and Prague, and I want to finish it because it will be the way I can remember the trip if I want to reflect on where we were, say, on New Year's Day, plus I need to finish it as I have my Hawaii trip coming up in a month (YAY!) and I want to write about that, too. I've taken lots of food pictures, got to enjoy a Dodger game from a suite (fancy!), and most recently, visited my nieces last week. Look at how big they are! 

 

Niece #1 is SO SMART. She is learning how to add and can write her name now, which is about the cutest thing I've ever seen. People say she looks like me, but she's really the Asian version of my brother-in-law.  For those who are curious, she will be four (!) in July. 

 

Isn't Niece #2 adorable? I cannot believe how much she has changed; she's no longer a baby (even though I still call her that) but rather a full-grown toddler, and a really funny one at that. This little one (who is the Caucasian version of my sister, I swear) will be two in August.

This picture cracks me up.  Niece #2 looks so fresh-faced and cute with her giant cup of apple juice, and I look so tired with the bags under my eyes.  Okay, it's the angle, I know, BUT STILL.  

More later from me tomorrow! Thanks for tuning in!

A Quick Family Update

Sorry for my delay -- I have been swamped as well as out of town for the past few days. I will resume my travelogue posting shortly (they take a long time to write), but in the meantime here are some new photos of my beautiful nieces, both taken by me last week at the Bay Area Discovery Museum.

Niece #1, who will be four (!) this year. I apparently didn't wipe all of the chocolate milk off her face.

Niece #2, who is ALL ABOUT walking everywhere. She will be two this year! Sniff.

Family Photo Time

I meant to post these pictures (taken just before Christmas) earlier. Hey - better late than never, right?

My favorite little shutterbug. Hmm, I wonder where she gets it from.

This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Little Chef

I LOVE this picture.

Because I have to work on Christmas (yeah, BOO), I had an early holiday with my nieces last week. While there, I had the great fortune of watching the older one have fun in the kitchen. My sister has always been big on letting her help with cooking (she always asks 'Can I help you?' if you say you're going to be in there - so cute!), but this was the first time she got to roll the sugar cookie dough by herself. I love her little apron and footie pajamas!

This photo - God. It just kills me, it's so sweet. See, I have enjoyed baking and cooking for as long as I can remember (my mom likes to tell me about how I always made pancakes with my grandfather as a young girl and would have him read the recipe off the side of the Bisquick box to me, which says a lot about why I loved my Lolo so much, not to mention pancakes), so it warms my heart to know my niece enjoys doing the same things. I really can't wait for the girls to get older so we can work in the kitchen together. It's going to be GREAT.

Methinks the little one can't wait, either:

She tried to help with the cookie-making...

...but she interpreted "helping" as "taking all of the silverware out of the drawer."

Finally, I leave you with this photo of Niece #1 right after she threw a wiffleball at me:

Doesn't she look fierce? Tyra would be proud. (Also, doesn't her hair look a little Saleisha-esque? I think it's because of the angle.)

Standing On My Own FTW!

Niece #2, who took her first steps last week. She's so big now! Sniff!

More cute niece pictures to follow.

(Photo taken by me December 14.)

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving, a time to eat, drink, sleep off the tryptophan, and - for my brethren - watch football!!  FIGHT ON USC!

I'm thankful for many things (like soup, lip balm, good hair days, and Vivaldi's The Four Seasons), but these are the two things I am most grateful for:

How could I not be thankful for having such smart and beautiful little nieces?

(Photos taken by me on November 8, 2007.)

More Family Fun With Photo Booth

One of the features I like most about my Mac laptop is Photo Booth.  It's GREAT.  My older niece thinks so, too.  Whenever she sees me with my laptop, she sidles up to me and asks sweetly, "Can you take a picture of me?"  Who am I to deny such a request?

Someone got into the sunscreen.

Just one of our many funny face photos.

This is one of my most favorite photos with my niece ever. 

You're Not Sick Of Halloween-Related Posts, Are You?

Because I have not yet posted photos of my nieces in their costumes!

Niece #1 as a witch (the picture of her with the boa constrictor makes me laugh - her expression is that of, 'Whaa?'')...

...and as Disney's Jasmine.  The costume fit her perfectly!

And now for my younger niece as a witch (who says witches can't wear lavender?)...

...and as Tinkerbell (aka her sister's old costume).

I can't get over how big her baby teeth are.  They look like permanent teeth!  I've never seen teeth like that on a baby before. 

Family Fun With Photo Booth

And now, some pictures of my nieces being silly, courtesy of this neat Photo Booth feature on my new laptop.