alaska – Kumquat & Peanut

eating, expressions, fine motor, gross motor, milestones, outfits, outings, play, special days

Peanut turns FOUR

July 31, 2019 No Comments

Peanut turned 4 today and he has learned and experienced so much this past year.

In August, he started swimming lessons and really enjoyed his new teacher, Coach Jin.

In September, he received his kung fu uniform and started the Little Tiger class. This guy became a big fan of Bruce Lee too.

In October, he went to the dentist and sat for his first set of x-rays and cleaning.

In November, he learned how to spell his name and started drawing the letter T.

In December, we went to Hawaii and he wasn’t afraid of floating around in the ocean or going down the big slide at the hotel. Swimming lessons have paid off.

In January, Peanut got on a snowboard for the first time and LOVED it. He was also not afraid to go down the hill from the moment he got clicked into the board.

In February, we went to Vancouver for the week and he discovered Tim Bits!!! This guy could finish a whole box of 6 doughnut holes all on his own. He also took his first snowboarding lesson.

By March, he was able to write his name and draw figures. He was also finding more interest in coloring.

By April, he was able to write all the letters of the alphabet, could write his last name and fill out a birthday card with Mama helping him with the spelling.

In May, he went to his first baseball game and enjoyed chanting “Let’s Go Oakland!” with the crowd.

In June, he took his first cruise and also visiting Alaska for the first time with his family.

And now it’s July and has turned 4 years old. We have learned that he has a very silly side but also gives the best hugs. In addition to all the things listed above, he had learned to pump a swing, dress himself completely, and has started to sound out letters. He has moved up to the white-black belt class in kung fu and moved up from Starfish to Seahorse in swim. His laugh is infectious and his confidence in life is pretty cool to watch. We love our Peanut and can’t wait to see what’s in store for him this coming year.

expressions, family, outings

Alaska Cruise: Day 6

June 21, 2019 No Comments

It’s Day Six of our Alaska Cruise: Ketchikan, AK

We are in Ketchikan today and had just enough time to have breakfast before heading outside.

Our window is always close to the port so we placed the friends at the window so they could see out the window while we were away.

Auntie Jia got each of the littles a polar bear that hugs your arm.

Janie got a harbor seal.

We booked a trolley ride today and hopped on for a quick ride around town.

Peanut got a front seat so he could see all the sights with an unobstructed view.

We stopped near a stream and the boys enjoyed watching Ankong play with the yo-yo he bought in town.

We also went looking for bears but they were all hiding today.

Back in town, we went to Creek Street to browse the shops built right over the creek that usually has lots of salmon running.

At dinner, Peanut played a mean game of Uno with Ankong but started to make up his own rules. He also had two servings of cocktail shrimp this evening!

Here is our towel animal for tonight. Is it a duck? A gorilla? We don’t know.

eating, expressions, family, gross motor, outings, play, videos

Alaska Cruise: Day 5

June 20, 2019 No Comments

It’s Day Five of our Alaska Cruise: Sitka, AK

This morning, we woke up in Sitka and saw lots of fishing boats out the window during breakfast.

Mama and Janie went out to the deck to get a better look at the view.

At the port, there was a free shuttle that takes you into the town.

It’s a cute little fishing community.

We walked to the Raptor Center, which was a little over a mile away. The kids started out well but then 3 of them ended up on shoulders for part of the way.

The kids also stopped to pick dandelions on the side of the road.

There was a mini walking trail through the forest next to the center and there was so much to see. We saw a carving of a hawk sticking out of a tree and different flowers and plants.

At the end of the trail, we found a stream that is supposed to fill up with salmon later this season.

We only saw baby fish on one side and the other side was good for skipping and throwing rocks.

Before heading back to the ship, the kids played at the library. They had a cute kids section and they also gathered flowers for the grownups.

Once back on the ship, Mama and Janie went to the back of the boat to see what the wildlife expert could show us. We saw sealions and jellies in the water as he set sail for the next town.

If you look carefully in the water, you can see little white discs floating in the water.

At dinner, the kids had a fancy watermelon sherbet.

Here’s our towel animal for the night. We couldn’t agree on what it is.

expressions, family, gross motor, outings, play, videos

Alaska Cruise: Day 4

June 19, 2019 No Comments

It’s Day Four of our Alaska Cruise: Hubbard Glacier

We arrived around noon and the excursion boat came by to pick up passengers that paid for a closer look around.

We arrived at Hubbard Glacier today and the ship took us pretty close to all the action.

The bow (front of the ship) was open for viewing.

The kids loved the open space and took full advantage of it.

It was hard for them to see the glacier but they had fun taking photos of each other.

They also served Dutch pea soup, which Janie really liked and finished a whole bowl!

This is a time lapse that was taken on the boat by the photographers on board. You can see the kids running around toward the bottom right.

Here is some of the ice breaking off the glacier and falling into the water.

It’s hard to see in this photo but there’s a bear on the shore (the brown speck to the left of the boat).

We also passed a group of harbor seals lounging on an iceberg.

In the evening, we had dinner in the Dining Room again and Peanut enjoyed the pineapple sherbet.

Here’s our towel animal for the evening!

The kids also had a late night in the game room. Janie learned how to play Battleship and the littles “helped out”.

eating, expressions, family, gross motor, outings, play, sleeping, videos

Alaska Cruise: Day 3

June 18, 2019 No Comments

It’s Day Three of our Alaska Cruise: Juneau, AK

This morning, it was business as usual. We had breakfast at the Lido Bar and then we went back to the observation deck to play.

The kids loved the “water elevator” on the ship.

One of the chess tables was free so Janie played a game with Dada.

For lunch, we ate at the taco bar that was by one of the pools.

Then there was just enough time to get in a hardy nap before we arrived in Juneau.

When we docked, the kids were excited to see where we ended up. We had been at sea for almost 2 days.

When we disembarked, we got a family photo while waiting for our dog sledding excursion to begin.

We all rode in a van up into the deep forest and arrived at a summer camp built for dogs training for the Iditarod Race. Look at all the dogs!!

Our driver and guide, Brittany, took us on a little tour and described how they train the dogs, how they get their care, and even fed us cookies and hot chocolate!

Then it was time to meet some of the dogs. There were 12 chosen to pull us today and they were all so excited to get started. One gave Peanut a giant kiss on the face.

Then we all got into a cart and off we went!

After the ride, we went to visit the puppies.

Dada held one of them while the kids said “hello” and petted him.

They also enjoyed feeding him treats!

We were all wet by the end but it was so much fun!

Back in town, the kids took one last photo together and then it was back on the boat!

expressions, family, gross motor, play, sleeping

Alaska Cruise: Day 2

June 17, 2019 No Comments

It’s Day Two of our Alaska Cruise: Day at Sea > Juneau, AK

This morning we were up early and the kids learned quickly that the day of the week changes in the elevator!

They also enjoy what they call the “water elevator” in particular.

After breakfast, we all gathered in the Observation Deck to play and relax.

It was rather cloudy outside most of the day but the kids didn’t care. They brought plenty of toys and games to keep themselves occupied.

We also went to the America’s Test Kitchen demonstration. Janie really enjoyed learning how to prepare salmon two different ways.

When we got back to our room mid-day, we found our basket filled with the fruits that we checked off last night on the card they placed on the table. The orange and apples did not last long before they were gobbled up.

In the afternoon, we went to Afternoon Tea in the Dining Room.

Janie enjoyed some of the English Tea and all the tasty treats on the tray.

They also went swimming in the pool, which was pretty wavy from the boat rocking back and forth.

This evening was “Gala Night” in the Dining Room so we all dressed up and had some family portraits taken.

It was really hard to get a photo of all the kids smiling at the same time.

When we came back from dinner, our room had been converted to “sleep mode” with a bunk bed and bat ray on the bed. This is so much fun!

expressions, family, outings, play

Alaska Cruise: Day 1

June 16, 2019 No Comments

It’s Day One of our Alaska Cruise: Oakland > Seattle > Holland America Cruise Terminal

Today we got up super early to catch our 7:10am flight from OAK > SEA (Seattle/Tacoma). The morning was a little wild with us being unable to find an Uber or Lyft driving to pick us up at 5:30 in the morning so Dada dropped us off with the van, we checked in our bags and got through security, and met Dada at the gate once he drove back home to catch a ride back to the airport.