First Day of School

Oliver and Tai arrived early to school and got first dibs on the train set, while their teacher Marcelena watched over them.

Oliver has been at New School for a month already, so he showed Tai around, including where to put his bowl and spoon after snack time. The nap teacher said they fell asleep next to each other.

We all survived Tai's first day at preschool. It went very well, actually. It helped to have his good buddy there with him. We'll keep our fingers crossed—teachers say there's always a "honeymoon phase"—but I think Tai will enjoy this setting. More people, more toys. Play all day.

Fire Truck, Ethan's 5th, Sentences

Albany Firefighter

Earlier last week, Tai and his daycare took a field trip to the local fire house. They got to see the big fire trucks and they each received a fireman's hat. So when I came home from work, Tai looked like this at the dinner table. It was really cute.

Ethan and Tai

We celebrated cousin Ethan's 5th birthday yesterday at their house. They threw a very fun party. Tai had his eye on this Wall-E character, but Ethan didn't mind. He cleaned up in the video game and action figure department.

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

* * *

One thing I have forgotten to blog about has been the increase in Tai's vocabulary and use of short sentences (and long ones that don't make sense to us). One day earlier this month, after we'd pakced away most of his toys, Tai managed to wedge his way into his closet, climb the shelves, and pick out a toy from his basket. We could hear him yelling, "I found Dory! I found Dory!" We looked in the closet, and there he was, holding up the fish from "Finding Nemo."

The next day, at one of Clarence's dinner parties, Tai was wandering around the kitchen when he caught sight of a chocolate cake. Of course, he screamed "I want cake! I want cake!"

Not the most complicated sentences, but he put them together himself. He's repeating a lot of what we say. His favorite sentences right now by far are "I did it! I did it!" He yells that after climbing onto our bed or opening something. Tomorrow it's on to preschool. What kinds of words could he possibly learn from the other kids?

End of a Daycare Era

Tai shares a laugh with Priscylle and Neto on his last day of daycare.

Today was Tai's last day at Priscylle and Neto's daycare. It's been a great year and four months. Tai learned so much from them—how to play with others, how to jump and run, and even some words in Portuguese. But it wasn't just about the things that he learned. What was great was that he enjoyed all of his time there, and that he was cared for lovingly, and that his parents never had to worry one bit whether Tai was okay or not.

Sure, daycare cost us a boatload of money—Thu and I could fly to Asia and back every month for what we paid—but there's just no way to put a price on Tai's happiness and well-being. We can't quite shake, at least for now, the mistake we made enrolling Tai in his previous daycare. But at least it's useful for the sake of comparison. The way Priscylle and Neto took care of Tai and all the kids, that is how they're to be nurtured, always feeling loved and constantly engaged, all while still learning the difference between right and wrong.

Tai, Will, and Tuli look at the card we gave to Neto and Priscylle.

It was sad to say goodbye, at least it was for me. What Tai makes of all this I don't know. He starts at his new school, called The New School, on Monday. It'll be a big new place for Tai. But that's the way it goes. He'll just keep going to bigger and bigger places, taking in all that the world has to offer.

It's nice that at one time, he had a safe little home where he could knock on the door and be greeted with smiling faces and hugs, and if he felt like playing, he could run to the boxes of toys and pull out the trains and yell "Choo Choo," and when the music played, he could dance wherever he stood and jump around. And when he wanted to be hugged or flipped upside down for fun, Priscylle and Neto were always there.

Tai's goodbye present, a framed collage of Tai and his buddies, assembled by Neto. Look how Tai has changed in just a year.

Thanks Priscylle and Neto!

August Roundup

In the mad, mad rush to clean up our place in late July in order to put our condo on the market, we took some time out to enjoy a weekend brunch on our wonderful deck that overlooks Albany and Albany Hill.

Our agent Stacey gave us her son's "big boy" bed. It not only made Tai's room look better, Tai loves sleeping on it. He snuggles with Piggy and snoozes away. He sleeps through the night almost all the time now, certainly more than he ever did in the crib. He loves it, and we love it!

The day we held our condo's Open House was also the day our good friend Clarence got married to Shefali. Here's a pre-ceremony shot where Clarence goes off to think by himself while his family and toastmasters gather for a picture.

A colorful Indian ceremony in Piedmont.

The day before was the rehearsal dinner, where Tai became friends with Hana and her brother Yuji (not pictured, which is too bad, because this kid looked exactly like what I'd picture a hapa Yuji to look like).

Counting all the pre-parties and gatherings, this wedding celebration was five days and nights of constant eating. Here's Tai and Dylan at the Monday night Chinese banquet.

Tai stuffing his face with one final piece of food before leaving the restaurant and saying goodbye to the newly married couple, now honeymooning in Turkey.

Good news! The open house was a success. Less than a week after it hit the market, the condo got three offers. We accepted the best one right away. No more having to make our place look perfect every time an agent calls!

The following week, we went to visit Mia and her family in Concord, where there was a big Obon Festival happening. First, we went to Mia's place. Tai was a little too into the TV in the beginning. Sorry Mia.

Next we went swimming in the condo pool. Perfect thing to do on a hot, summer day.

Hiromi made delicious birthday muffins. The first candle was for Tai to blow out. . . .

. . . but not the second one too! What is Tai doing???

Tai looks up in wonderment at the dancers. This was a very big festival, even bigger than the ones in Gardena that I used to go to.

Tai and Mia ended the festival with shave ice. What a fun and full day.

Why is there a picture of me golfing here? Because this took place at the Aquarange at our hotel in Reno. We drove there to meet Grandma and Grandpa for a quick family vacation. This was one of the coolest driving ranges I've ever seen. You hit balls into a man-made lake. And if you hit it into the barrel or in the hole on one of the islands, you win a prize (nearly impossible).

Tai was more interested in placing the ball on the mat.

We stayed in a very large suite, one of the nicer aspects of Reno, which all in all is a very strange place. On the one hand, we probably wouldn't have had this big a room in Vegas. On the other hand, there was a firearms convention in our hotel. Reno was just that way. (Picture of us under the Reno sign at night to come.)