Kokochi

Tesla's birthday tea party

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:30:28 -0800

We did it! We had a fun, rather successful tea party last Sunday. July 5th is T's real birthday, but we initially planned to be out of town, so we had her tea party last week. I had no idea whether our little guests would actually sit at the table, but they did! And they asked for more tea, milk, food, and waited patiently for the cupcakes.

It took a lot of preparation in buying all the mini table deco, plan cute little food bits, lay out an art project (decorating their own take-home goodie bag) to keep the kids occupied until everyone was ready to be seated, and create snacks for the adults. But I loved every minute! It was so much fun for me to create all the details, and as the table got set up, to see how delighted Tesla was.

I melted into bliss when during the party Tesla had to pee (we are pretty much potty-trained now!!), and I took her to the bathroom. As she sat on the potty, me sitting facing her, I asked whether she was having fun and liked her party. She gave me a big smile, and reached out to hug me. The best gift to mama!!

I am so glad the party went as I envisioned and hoped. I feel I got to make her birthday special indeed : )

Smartypants

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:55:33 -0800

One of our rules is that if Tesla is eating, she needs to be sitting down at the table. The other morning I caught Tesla munching while walking down the hallway, so I told her she had to sit down. She was passing by the stairs, so sat down on the stair step, and grinned at me smugly so that I knew that she knew she was playing with me. She was sitting right? Isn't that what you said, mama?

So I grinned back and asked, "are you being a smarty-pants?" to which she replied, "no, I have pajamas."

: )

Tea Party

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:04:28 -0800

Both Tesla and I are quite excited to have a very special tea party to celebrate her upcoming birthday. I mentioned my idea to her, and ever since, everyday, multiple times a day, she references her party as in, "this is mine for my birthday party" or "my party will be pink!!" or "Gran Marie and Daddy are coming to my party."

We'll see what really happens, but I'm planning to have a beautifully set up mini table for 6 toddlers to sit around with real cups (found perfectly sized espresso cups for $1.50 each!), tiny foods to eat, cupcakes, and tea! We'll see how long they will stay seated, if they serve tea to each other, and whether there will be sharing or complete chaos over the food. Either way, it'll be fun to watch. I will have lots of help in addition to parents as Gran Marie and my friend Lorene will join.

Super Michelle made this amazing invite that I love.

Last year, mama went to a spa with her girlfriends, so this year I'm going to make it up. I can't wait!

Michael Jackson tribute, San Francisco street-style

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:54:36 -0800

We came out of a restaurant after dinner, and totally by chance, this is what we saw cycle by. So S.F.!

And although I wasn't into his music, he was an icon, and I felt it. I am feeling mortality, and think about how no matter who we are, we are human and fleet away. Time is precious.

The Cats of Mirikitani

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:05:37 -0800

Drawing by Jimmy Mirikitani.

We saw a wonderful documentary the other night called The Cats of Mirikitani. We loved it and I highly recommend it. In addition to the historical experience of what WWII, Hiroshima, and internment camps meant to people, and Mr. Mirikitani specifically, the story of how the documentary came about from a real human-to-human sharing was touching. The person who created the documentary didn't expect to discover that the artist/homeless man she befriended had an amazing life story. Via 9/11 and the need to give him shelter, she unraveled his story and brought him out of a shell he was in. It's a beautiful story, and reminds me that we need to keep barriers down and be open to meeting people from all walks of life.

Our budding scientist

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:06:39 -0800

Playing with Daddy's magnifying glass. Considering she was into the telescope at Clan Kennedy's goodbye party rather than getting candy from the pinata, we may have a budding scientist!

Happy Daddy-o Day!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:55:12 -0800

Here's to the day for a very amazing & sweet daddy! Tesla loves her daddy, and so do I. I can't begin to list all the ways Dav is a wonderful, very involved Daddy. With each day that Tesla grows, we know she knows we love her, love hanging around with her, and love watching all the new stuff she does.

And here's a cheer to the other daddy's we know, especially Ian and Jeremy, and my dad, who showed us what great daddy-ing is all about.

We just had brunch. And per Dav's request, we are having fondue tonight!

Thinking of Finland

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:14:38 -0800

Right now, it's summer and wonderful in Finland. And I just got my very first email from Julia (yay!! love that!!). She says she would like to have her March birthday at the Lumi Linna snowcastle. I'm eagerly eating up any news from them, and their new adventure. Love the thought of Julia having a party in a Snow Castle!

Alameda to Finland

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:15:55 -0800

My brother and family just left for Finland! Yep...for 2 years, for Ian's work at Nokia, they will live in Helsinki. It'll be a great experience but it's hard for all of us, especially the kids. We were lucky to have dinner all together the night before they flew off.

And they had a lovely going-away party; the whole neighborhood was out to support them and wish them well. They are renting out their house in Alameda, and the neighbors promised to take care of the house for them. They have a great home here, with tons of friends for the kids,so it's hard for sure.

Things happened very quickly once the decision was made. I'm very happy I got to squeeze in an RV camping night with the kids, as I had promised many months ago. It was the first time we were together without parents which was special - not that we did anything too wild ; )

I have mixed emotions: so happy and excited for them. The kids will grow in many ways. But sad because it's been such a rare moment when Ian and I lived so close together since we've had such international lives. And to have Tesla become close with Julia and Tyler was important. She LOVED loved loved seeing them.

The Kennedy clan will be missed!

Waka is a girl

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:51:51 -0800

Been so long since I've blogged about my kitties, but now that Tesla, Waka, and Katsuo are establishing a comfortable relationship together, I'm bound to mention my cats as I continue to focus on Tesla.

Today, I announced I needed to brush Wakame to which Tesla said, "I do it" and ran to get the brush. She tried indeed, but Waka wouldn't have it. As I brushed her, Tesla started talking about how he does this and that. I explained in English that Waka was a girl, so Tesla should say "she."

Tesla clearly hadn't considered this. In fact, she stuttered saying something along the lines of, "no, he is Waka, Waka is a cat, not a girl. I am a girl!"

I never thought of explaining that animals can be a girl or boy. She has referred to Wanwan (her V.I.P. stuffed doggy) as a boy via "he" and we thought that was a choice. But now I think she assumed all animals were a "he."

It was one of those moments where I could almost see the light bulb go off in her brain. Of course, Waka could be a girl! I am a girl too! Kats is a boy! Indeed, she went running down the hallway to daddy, and I heard bits of their conversation where I heard words about Waka, girl, Telsa, girl, Kats, boy. I think she got it, and was delighted with the discovery.

FB Fun

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:13:50 -0800

From Anil Dash. This made me really crack up.

Dancing Tesla

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:48:24 -0800

I'm finally uploading a bunch of stuff on Flickr, including a video of T having fun dancing at Strawberry.

And this from the free music event at Treasure Island which was super friendly and beautiful to see the city from Treasure Island. What a city we live in!

Tesla's words

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:25:07 -0800

Daddy came home from a visit to an old friend, Michael Ray and family (whom we visited in DC when I was pregnant), in Kansas City. He talked to Tesla (who was quite happy to see daddy!) about Michael's daughter who is about 6 months older than Tesla. She then went into a rather incoherent talk about her baby sister's daughter. We're not quite sure where that came from or what she was saying...is she in touch with some future we're not aware of?

Whatever meaning, it's fun to hear her stories!

getting there...

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:04:23 -0800

Today Tesla spent most of her day in "big girl" underwear. Granted we didn't go too far from the house all day, but she had no mishaps! We went to gym class in the morning, with her in her underwear, then went to a coffee shop where she peed in the potty. Later at home, other than her nap, she was in undies. In the evening, she finally asked for a diaper which I put on her knowing she probably felt the need for #2, which she did. I've read about #2 being harder...that some kids will be potty trained for pee, but want diapers for for #2. She's used her potty for #2, but only after sitting on it forever while getting to watch Sesame Street or Handy Manny.

Details that I'm sure are not interesting for many, but for me, it's huge!

Russian River Blog

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:56:28 -0800

A friend's blog I follow is lovely in the sense that we wish we were there right with him experiencing all he encounters. He joined us in last year's BM, and look forward to hanging out together in green nature, although we've had little of that time.

Dav and I wonder where to live with sustainability in mind, and sometimes consider getting out of the city someday. Nik made the move, so his blog is like a window into a possible alternative lifestyle.