We are crazy cats

Dear Maya & Emi,

Well, it looks like blogging is about a once-a-month thing for mommy now. Especially during the fall, mommy's business has become a full-time job so that's about as often as I can manage. I won't give up blogging, though, at least until you guys ask me to. Looking back on old entries is a joy for me, your dad, and probably lots of other family members and friends in the U.S., Japan, and elsewhere! And as of now, you guys like looking back at it, too.

October has been a really busy month, but with lots of fun things going on. Here are some moments:

How Emi dresses for the bus stop sometimes

Emi helping with kale chips

The tooth fairy made her first trip to our house!!! Maya was thrilled with her $1 reward. 

• Maya you've been doing lots of studying and you're reading so much better. Emi, you've been following along more and more in your dance class. You've both been drawing so much lately and I love your artwork!

Maya crawling around with Clio

Emi's cat  

Maya's book report project with a matching character pumpkin!

•  And speaking of decorating pumpkins, we went a little crazy with ours this year: 

Maya's Native American pumpkin

Maya's princess pumpkin

Emi's Muppet-looking pumpkin

Emi says this is a pigeon (!!!)

Mommy's glam fall pumpkin

And, of course, today was Halloween!! Maya you decided months ago that you wanted to be a cat, then you convinced Emi that she wanted to be a mouse. The other day, mommy decided to be a cat lady since it was a super easy costume. Mommy, Emi, and grandma went to the school for your parade, Maya, then we went to visit various family members on the way to a couple parties and trick-or-treating. It was a full, fun day and Emi, your ensuing meltdown tonight was pretty epic, too!

Well, it's time for mommy to do some work and get some rest. Love you both!

Apples and tap shoes

Dear Maya and Emi,

Over the few weeks since the last post, our schedule has become very full, very quickly. Maya, you're doing homework and acing spelling tests. Emi, you've started dance classes once a week and are learning tap and ballet basics. Mommy's super busy season has set in and I'm gone just about every evening. And Baba is working really hard, too, and taking up where mommy leaves off. We're all set to full speed, but we've had some fun, too.

We went apple, pumpkin & veggie picking with Grandma and Uncle Matt-Matt:

 

And dance class has been so cute!

How Emi wanted to dress for her first class--all the other little girls were in leotards & tutus :)

And we've had silly moments at home:

Maya is finally consistently tying her shoes well.

 

Emi can draw a really cute koala

And you've been cracking me up with your phrases lately, Emi. Here's a list of the best ones:

• I'm actually awesome (when sitting on the potty)
• You look amazing! (to mommy when I was wearing sweats and a ponytail)
• Turn the light on outside (when it got dark earlier than you were used to)
• I'm proud of you (when mommy got home from work and went in to give you a kiss)
• That's totally awesome, sir (when you were playing make-believe with ponies)

And Maya, your sense of humor and way of speech seems to be rapidly approaching pre-teen. You start lots of sentences with "I was like..." and then proceed to say whatever your reaction was in a silly, deeper voice. Sometimes you and mommy both find something funny at the exact same moment and catch each other's eye before we can even say anything. Between the moments of 6 year old whining and hyperactivity, I can see glimpses of the smart, fun, awesome woman you're turning into!

Well, mommy needs rest. Love you both!