Kindergarten Shots

Sonia went to the doctor today to receive her "kindergarten shots" (she was so excited about the notion of being officially ready for kindergarten that she was jumping up and down with excitement this morning...I don't think she quite got what she was going in for). After checking her hearing, eyesight, and weighing & measuring her, she received 4 shots and promptly realized this was not the treat she had in mind. Nevertheless, one lollipop later the tears were gone and the state of California is ready to accept her into public school.  Oh, wait, what is this second form about an "oral exam"? Okay, apparently a dentist's visit is required as well...the to-do's never end!

In the spirit of posterity, here were her measurements (age 5 years, 8+ months):

• Weight: 39 lbs, 8 ounces (26th percentile)
• Height: 44 inches (43rd percentile)
• BMI: 14.34 (24th percentile)
• Blod pressure: 102 / 60

Apparently her belief that she should have dessert every single night has not yet translated into body mass...may she always be so lucky.  :-)

The tooth fairy's first visit

After much anticipation and wiggling, Sonia finally lost her first tooth (one of the middle teeth on the bottom). Tragically, she now has a matching gap to the naturally occurring space between her two front teeth on the top, but we can only hope that eventually the tooth fairy will come to claim those as well.

For the record, the tooth fairy brought Sonia $5 for her first lost tooth (TBD if that figure holds constant for future teeth) as well as a book about herself. Apparently, the tooth fairy collects the teeth and builds furniture and other things for castles in her magical world.  Kind of like that throne made out of swords on Game of Thrones, but this one is made of baby teeth. Who knew?

An orthodontist's dream

Alpine Adventures

Editor's note: remember that amazing trip we went on last year to Europe?  No?  Not surprising since I never managed to write about it on this blog, and then that somehow became this mental blocker to writing about anything else.  Well, the wait is over...one year later, here is what I vaguely remember...post dated back to the actual time we went.  Wish we were there again this year!

Very few things could make me agree to take Deven halfway around the world on an airplane, but our good friends Matt & Krista inviting us to visit them at their house in Zurich (along with the Dodsons, Weiss's, and Uncle Sudhir, of course) is one of the few reasons I would. So, we took the plunge, paid extra to get non-stop tickets to Zurich, dumped all of the planning duties onto Krista (a HUGE task to get all of us to agree to anything), and off we went.

The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start as nothing says "Hello, Zurich!" like your 2-year-old christening the plane with vomit. Did I mention Deven inherited my tendency to get motion sickness? At least he had the good graces to wait until we landed. After a quick cleanup in the airport bathroom, excited greetings from the Glotzbachs who were there to meet us at the airport, we were off to navigate a sea of trains and I think at least one bus to get to Chez (Haus?) Glotzbach. As advertised, the house was *fantastic*, and so much nicer than staying at a hotel. Particularly in the middle of the night when the kids were wide awake and the adults were not. Oh, jet lag, we hated you so.

We toured around Zurich and the environs, taking in a church I vaguely remembered from my backpacking trip at 21 (at least this time I wasn't wearing jean shorts), an amazing transportation museum in Lucerne (including a panic-filled 60 seconds where Lila was AWOL...only to be found perfectly safe), chocolate stores (of course), an entire restaurant focused on fondue (Sameer's dream come true), and the world's most expensive (but desperately needed) Starbucks lattes.

After 3 glorious nights in Zurich, we boarded the train to Austria to stay at the Schlosshotel Fiss, where we met up with the Weiss clan and learned what it means to take a family vacation European style. As in kids club every night, an indoor water slide, an on-site trampoline, and gondolas to hillside "playgrounds" that were ridiculous. Taking the gondola back down was optional, of course, since the alpine slide was also available. Flying through the sky on a zipline in some gerry-rigged contraption while Andrew discloses that he is afraid of heights and Sameer volunteers (mid ride) that perhaps both of us riding at the same time increased the risk of our children becoming orphans is a memory that I will never forget. All of the kids got along like they had been friends forever, and the ability to play zone defense with some of our oldest friends (supplemented by an only-in-Europe remote monitoring of the children in their rooms) made for countless fun times.

While we were sad to leave our all-you-could-eat buffet lifestyle, it was eventually time to say ciao to the Dodsons (off to Lake Como to hang with Clooney), and we trained back to Zurich for one last stop before departing. I literally laughed until I cried watching Jason attempt to do a flip on the trampoline when I bet him 100 Euros / Swiss Francs / the currency of his choice that he could not do it (a lifetime wager that still stands since he failed despite countless attempts). A leisurely dinner outside capped off the perfect trip, and we boarded the plane with two changes of clothes for Deven. Happily, none were needed as he was a trooper, and I discovered that there is a limit to how long your kid will play with an iPad, and it is about 3 hours shorter than the flight from Zurich to SFO. And don't even ask about the jet lag after we got back...I am afraid to write about it here for fear that it will just prolong the memories.

But, all in all, a fantastic, amazing, fun-filled trip...can't wait for our next adventure with this crew!

Welcome to Kusnacht! Let's get on a boat!

Sonia's matching jacket allows her to pretend to be a Dodson girl

Say cheese! This tiny camera (which Deven played with for hours) was the best $10 I ever spent. Gotta love Swiss exchange rates.

What do you do after flying 12 hours to get to Switzerland? Pretend you're on a plane at the transportation museum, of course.

Not sure how a merry-go-round qualifies as "transportation", but someone's excited

The amazing view from the backyard

I am still amazed that we were able to convene this whole crew for a photo somewhere in the Austrian Alps

It pays to be little

Girl power (and the hats the hotel "gave" our kids and later charged us for)

Come on, Daddy, faster!

Shotgunning juice...alpine fun makes you thirsty

Father's Day 2012 - The Year the Camera Battery Was Dead

One of our few lasting traditions as a household is that every year on Father's Day (or thereabouts) we venture up to Alice's on Skyline to have brunch as a family and to take a picture of Sameer and the kids. It is one of Sameer's favorite places dating back to when he was an undergrad, and it's just far enough out of the way that we don't usually make it there unless it's a special occasion.

2012 was no different, so we piled the kids in the car and headed up there, with thoughts of french toast and charming photos in mind. Alas, when we got there, I discovered that the battery on our "real" camera was 100% dead, leaving us to make do with our iPhones.

So, I highly encourage you to check out last year's post to see better pictures of the kids, but in the meantime this year I leave you with a collection of outtakes.  Somehow perhaps this is a better representation of the reality of our lives.  :-)

Sad that this is literally the *only* picture where everyone is looking at the camera

"We're not tired...who said that we were tired?!"

Two out of three looking at the camera is not bad

"Does that kid at the next table have an iPad?  Come on, let's go."

Despite the lack of photographic evidence, it was as always a wonderful, sunny, warm, California day, and the kids enjoyed everything from pancakes to impromptu visits from horses to unlimited quantities of orange juice. Next year I'll be sure to double check the camera battery, so hopefully we will be back on track for our annual Kodak moment.

Graduation Day

While I have exactly zero recollection of finishing preschool (and suspect at best it involved a mimeographed diploma), "graduating" from preschool is a big deal these days. Sonia's preschool was no exception, so Sameer and I both took off of work so we could be there to witness the big day. Sonia was thrilled to wear her brand new dress (purchased for the occasion) as well as a cap complete with tassel. I'm not sure she had any idea what moving the tassel to the other side of her head was meant to symbolize, but she loved the ritual and attention, as always.

Definitely the end of an era...when Sonia started preschool she still had crazy baby hair and refused to leave "woof woof" (her stuffed dog) at home.

First day of preschool - July 7, 2009

Preschool graduation - June 15, 2012

In just three years, she has grown up in leaps and bounds, all in large thanks to her preschool teachers who have been a constant, positive presence in her life. When she first started, something like coloring in the lines would have been unimaginable, and now she is writing and illustrating her own stories (admittedly, "writing" is pretty generous, but she at least is labeling herself, since of course she is the star of every story). She has made countless friends who will follow her to kindergarten, and most importantly she has learned to love school. I can't wait for Deven to start on the same journey...although that would of course require him to show at least slight interest in being potty-trained, but that is the topic of a different post.  :-)

A few more pictures to commemorate the big day!

Moving the tassel...it's official

One last hug for her little brother in the playhouse

Sonia and her best buddies

Sonia and her teachers -- thanks for all of your love and attention through the years!

Setting the wheels in motion

We had a wonderful Mother's Day this year, with Grandma, Grandpa, Kevin and Beth all visiting us for a relaxing weekend. There was lots to remember, including in typical Johnson fashion much good food and drink, but the highlight by far was Sonia graduating from training wheels...making her debut on two wheels with everyone watching and cheering.

A few lessons learned from the experience:

• 90% of the battle was getting Sonia the right-sized bike. She had been struggling a bit to learn on her prior bike, but we bought her a bigger bike and immediately she could do it. I have no idea why we waited so long.
• Buying elbow and knee pads made her feel better, but she wore them exactly once and then never again. Next time I am not taking the tags off.
• Little brothers get sad when all of a sudden their big sisters can go much faster and they are left behind...I predict Deven will be riding a bike about 2 years sooner than Sonia.  :-)

The captive audience assembles, ready for a show

No more training wheels

Deven is so distressed that Sonia is missing her training wheels that he runs along beside her trying to put them back on

And she's off!

Deven turns two

In the spirit of better late than never, we finally took Deven in for his 2-year old check up a month late.  For posterity, here were his stats

• Weight: 27 lbs 7.5 ounces (40th percentile) -- 1.5 lbs heavier than Sonia at this age
• Height: 35.5 inches (73rd percentile) -- 1.5" taller
• Head circumference: 50.1 cm (82nd percentile) -- 2 cm larger
• BMI: 15.32 (15th percentile)

So, he remains a lean guy, except in the noggin where I fear he is cursed with his mother's too-large-for-hats head.

There are too many wonderful, silly things about Deven to list, but a few highlights I hope I remember in the future:

• His vocabulary is slowly, but surely growing. His go-to words include Mama, Nana (Sonia), Dada, choo choo, NO, down, car, "I did it!" (complete with accompanying fist pump), "cheese" (instead of "please"), "Ha" (instead of "yes", and also -- strangely -- it means Mickey Mouse).
• He is very self-congratulatory...I guess when you're kid #2 you have to be president of your own fan club, but Deven is the first (and sometimes only) one to point out whenever he has accomplished anything, big or small.
• He loves, loves, loves his sister -- constantly asks for her, is devastated when she unexpectedly leaves the house without him, and is very generous with his impromptu hugs.
• He is pretty much a mama's boy these days, which is obviously from my biased point of view, but even Sameer admits he is a distant second most of the time.
• Very different from his sister, Deven is a complete dare devil. If it has wheels, he wants to ride it. If it can be climbed, he wants to stand on top of it. Unfortunately, I see stitches and casts in our future.
• Just like his sister, he is tragically mesmerized by the iPad / iPhone. Sigh.
• Deven is a bad traveler (I think he has inherited my infamous childhood car sickness), a good eater, and a wonderful son and little brother.

Happy (belated) birthday to our little guy!

Ready for scooting (apparently too excited to wait to change out of his pajamas)

"Excuse me, your antics are distracting me from my iPhone."

"What, is this not a good place to read?"

"I have a cookie, but I'll take another."

Hauʻoli lā hānau, Deven!

Dear loyal reader(s): in the spirit of FIFO, I am finally writing up our wonderful trip to Hawaii earlier this year (and back-dating it accordingly). Much has happened since then, but don't worry, I'll get there eventually...

For reasons that are not worth describing, we had four tickets to Hawaii that were due to expire in mid-February. Nothing like sunk cost as a forcing function to take a vacation! So, we decided to "celebrate Deven's 2nd birthday" by taking the trip, and since we had to go to Oahu (long story, but basically because of the way the tickets were purchased originally that was the case), we decided to try out Aulani, Disney's new resort in Hawaii. Yes, we are those people. Sonia was elated (having devoured every piece of direct mail marketing we received about the property, which was a lot), and we were psyched to stay at a brand new property where we would be able to get a room that was essentially a little mini-apartment (living room separate from bedroom, kitchen and w&d included, etc.). If you would like the scoop on how to book Disney Vacation Club properties at a discount when you are not a DVC member, drop me a line.

After a relatively uneventful flight (thank you Steve Jobs), we got off to a bit of a rocky start when another passenger mistook our luggage for theirs, and so we were short one bag. Of course, it was the one with all of the kids' stuff in it, so while Sameer toured the property, I made an impromptu visit to a nearby Target for swimsuits and Froot Loops, the latter because I have told Sonia that the cereal is only available while you are on vacation (miss smarty pants recently asked me if that was true, then why is it sold in our local grocery store, but seemed to accept 'because people come here on vacation too' as an adequate response).

After being reunited with our luggage the next morning, we proceeded to spend the next week on a vacation I would describe as relentlessly fun. I have never been on a cruise ship, but I can only imagine it must be something like this. Each day there is a schedule printed of all of the activities going on in the resort (all family-oriented, and largely included for free while you are staying there). So, instead of sitting your a** by the pool as we have done for all previous Hawaii vacations, you find your self taking "surfing lessons" with Chip n' Dale (note: on land, we're not there yet w.r.t. swimming ability). The kids *loved* it, and Sonia has asked to go back on a weekly basis ever since we've been home. Sameer and I were left to wonder a bit what happened to our relaxing week in Hawaii, but it is hard to imagine that there could be any destination that was more kid friendly (and I will say that their spa was an amazing refuge, easily on par with other high end places we have stayed). And I was very impressed by the multitude of lifeguards on hand (literally, several constantly positioned around each pool), to the point that if our kids could actually swim well, I could envision a very different vacation where we are firmly ensconced in our lounge chairs while "keeping an eye" on the kids. Pencil our reservation in for 3 years from now.

All sniping aside, many, many highlights to remember:

• Sonia was able to see her beloved Disney characters (or at least the ones who are "visiting" Hawaii, namely Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Stitch, whom she deemed weird, but still hugged to be polite). And that whole experience was much more low key than Disneyland, which was nice.
• The hotel itself is really amazing, with a pool area that was the best for kids I've ever seen. Sonia is still raving about the slide you go down in rafts, and even braved the "big kids" slide once (due to some ill advised daring on the part of her father). Deven was more of a fan of the lazy river, and everyone was thumbs up on the hot tub. The pool was so nice the kids were practically complaining when Sameer insisted they go to the beach (literally 50 feet from the pool).
• There are tons of activities around the hotel for kids, so on the couple of days the weather was less-than-sunny, we were able to hang out at the kids' club, do a very cool high tech scavenger hunt with custom configured loaner iPhones, watch tropical fish being fed in their big salt water aquarium, etc., etc. Way too much to describe. See my reference above about the "relentless fun."
• I was very grateful that they were very prepared to make Deven's birthday a big deal (obviously having children celebrating their birthday at the Aulani is not a new concept for them). We attended a "character breakfast" that morning where Deven received special attention from Goofy, Minnie, and "Auntie" (not clear he was happy about all of the attention, but his big sister enjoyed the spillover effect), and then at dinner that night they were able to provide a birthday cake complete with a tropical Minnie & Mickey decorations on top. I looked like I had my act together, even though that was not at all the case.
• Not to be outdone by the special attention being paid to her little brother, Sonia was delighted to get to go to the spa for the "keiki package", which I thought was sort of girly hula lessons, but turned out to be a full blown toddlers-and-tiaras style makeover. I drew the line at makeup ("pixie dust"), but since we had already gone through a manicure, pedicure, full updo, and a new dress, Sonia didn't mind. Yikes. Still, if you ask her what was the highlight of trip, she will definitely mention it, so I guess it makes the list here. :-)
• I should also note that they have a deal where if you buy one of their plastic mugs, you get unlimited self-serve refills on soda, so I had as many Diet Cokes as I could conceivably consume. Given that Deven stubbornly refused to switch timezones (causing us to be frequent visitors to the lobby to pick up the day's schedule when it is released at 5am), I very much appreciated this all-you-can-drink access to caffeine.

Not included on the list of "highlights" include several lowlights, most notably the absolute fit Deven threw on the plane ride back to California which caused a complete stranger to offer us his iPad just to get Deven to stop crying. Note to self: do not book flights during naptime with the overly ambitious goal that your child will sleep then, because odds are they will get too riled up, skip the nap, and then be a complete nightmare.

But, I digress from the fun...and there was tons of that...here are just a few of the many moments:

Sporty Spice

I was never really into soccer when I was a kid. In my defense, it was Oregon, so soccer in the fall = cold and muddy, and there was also the fact I had zero natural skill for the game.  So, I acknowledge that it was pretty hypocritical that I decided it was time to sign Sonia up for soccer, even though she wasn't that excited to start.  She did get more excited when I explained we would be buying her a new soccer ball, cleats, shin guards, and matching soccer socks (all pink, of course). At this age, soccer is just a once per week class on Saturday where they play various skill building games before "scrimmaging" for 5 minutes.  And by "scrimmage" I mean run around in a pack somewhere in the vicinity of the ball, while the one kid who is naturally skilled scores goals at will (needless to say, not our kid).

In yet another reminder of why we deal with California's high cost of living, the weather has been beautiful, even though the classes started in January.  Sonia has learned how to kick the ball with the "power spot" on her foot (not her "stinky toes"), the basics of defense in a game that involves "kitties" chasing "doggies", and a bit of goal tending (where the ball is an "insect" which she has to keep out of her "house").  I don't think any of it has really sunk in, but I am just happy that she is having fun, and Sameer is working on controlling his facial expressions when Sonia allows the other kids to take the ball away from her when they are scrimmaging.  Apparently we have over taught her the importance of sharing.  :-)

The kids line up for the first day of soccer class (Sonia second from the right)

Running around, nowhere in the vicinity of the ball

Time for a juice break -- for the record, if you added in orange slices here you would have captured all of my positive memories of soccer

Sonia walks away after scoring a goal (of course, note the lack of goal keeper)

Showing off her "soccer pose"

Besides soccer, Sonia also goes to swimming each week (and she used to go to gymnastics, until we missed the cutoff date to renew her enrollment, so there went one shot at the Summer Olympics).  She has been working on getting her "red ribbon" (the next level of swimming) for what seems like at least a year, to the point that Sameer had considered enrolling her in more frequent swimming classes (earning him the nickname "Tiger Dad" from Molly).  After our recent trip to Hawaii (a blog post to come), the extra practice paid off and Sonia finally managed to get her ribbon. That means she can do 5 "up faces" in a row (essentially taking a breath five times while she swims), can "pencil jump" into the pool, can float on her back, and two other things I forgot. Next up is her "white ribbon", which requires her to swim underwater for 16 feet, pick items up off the bottom of the pool, and dive in from the side (head first, feet last).  Stay tuned for the post where she earns that ribbon...in about a year at least I would guess.

With her brand new red ribbon (note: I did not sanction the wearing of this 2 piece swimsuit, but maybe the lack of clothing propelled her to swim faster)

So You Think You Can Dance

As mentioned in the last post, one of Deven's favorite Christmas presents was a musical Thomas the Train toothbrush, which plays the Thomas theme song at surprisingly loud volume for such a tiny thing. Encouraged by his sister, Deven has taken to playing the song over, and over, again, each time "dancing" when he hears it.

Based on the video below, I fear some awkward moments during future school dances, but at least they've got enthusiasm. Perhaps Deven's dancing moves will improve once he figures out how to get his feet to leave the ground.  :-)

Closing Out the Year in Pictures

It's been a while since we posted pictures from all of our various comings and goings (since before the 4th of July!), so below is a random assortment of pictures from the second half of 2011. Definitely for true Team Dholakia fans as there are a ton of them...lots of great moments to remember!

Holidaze 2011

Taking another trip back in the time machine, here is a recap of the holidays...now backdating properly so things are less confusing.  :-)

2011 did not disappoint with another wonderful holiday season, even though we managed to take far too few pictures to document all of the fun occasions.  We started off by spending nearly a week up in Oregon for Thanksgiving, which gave us plenty of time to try new recipes, hit the zoo (which you have nearly to yourself when you're there when it opens and it is rainy and cold out), and even get in a little bit of wine tasting. The highlight was definitely our family Thanksgiving dinner at Julie & Randy's, featuring some amazing food and lots of kid antics. Sonia and Deven were active participants in building the barricade to the living room, which involved dumping every article of clothing, toy, and pillow they could find to wall off the room. Needless to say, the adult clean up crew was required to put everything back in order.

Somehow we managed no pictures of the great living room wall, but here are a few from the trip that we did manage to take.

Thankfully the play structure did not collapse under the weight of lots of cousins

Deven thoroughly enjoying his wipeout from the slide

Braving the weather at the zoo

Close encounters of the polar bear kind

Close encounters of the sea lion kind

After Thanksgiving, we returned home to discover that somehow it was almost Christmas and we were completely unprepared. Thankfully, we have one of those blasphemous (to Oregonians, at least) artificial Christmas trees, so we quickly put it up and not-so-quickly put up lights on our house (the latter involving more than one trip to Costco because apparently we can't do basic math to determine how many strings of lights we needed to buy) and overnight we were in the holiday spirit. Sonia in particular really got into the meaning of the season, which for her is requesting potential presents from every catalog that came in the mailbox. Which, as all parents know, is about 5 catalogs per day during the holiday season.

A new tradition we started this year was going to the Nutcracker ballet in San Francisco. Sonia was thrilled to have another occasion to wear her fancy holiday dress, and even more excited when it turned out that cousin Maya and Melissa were sitting right in front of us (an unplanned coordination, which is pretty remarkable given how large the auditorium is).  Note to self: next year smuggle in flasks and juice boxes as the intermission lines were crazy, and chugging champagne before you have to rush back to your seat is nearly as enjoyable as it sounds.

For the holiday itself, Grandma and Grandpa came from Portland, and Uncle Kevin came up from Los Angeles, and Dada and Bebe drove down from Tracy so we could all celebrate together. Santa and his elves were very busy Christmas Eve when Santa delighted Sonia and Deven by bringing them both a "mini" trampoline and a train table. Santa must have mistakenly thought we live in a big house! But, the rather large additions to our family room were well worth it based on the beaming smiles that lasted for days. I don't believe Deven was more than 3 feet away from the train table for at least the first week it was in our house.

As she does every year, Sonia monitors Santa's progress online with help from Uncle Kevin

Sonia works on making Santa cookies (an annual tradition, despite my resolution each year to just go with store bought)

You know you have too many presents when they stop fitting under the tree

Santa's cookies, milk, and carrots (for the reindeer) are all set

Sonia no doubt wonders how Santa managed to get such a large train table down our chimney

You can't imagine how tired Sonia was at the end of the day after jumping on her trampoline for hours

A lesson in frugality: Deven's favorite present was this musical Thomas toothbrush from his stocking

While Christmas was a true highlight, New Years was a bit of a lowlight as I rung in the new year slightly sick (two years running!), and for the first time ever called it a night long before midnight. But, we managed to rally to attend the Fiesta Bowl to watch Stanford lose (alas) in a heart breaker. But, it was great to see so many good friends in Phoenix, even if the outcome was not what Andrew Luck probably had in mind when he stayed one more season. I suspect next year we will not have the luxury of worrying about which bowl we'll be in, but you never know.

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday season...great food, lots of time with friends and family, spoiled children who managed to be (mostly) on their best behavior, and great memories that are finally posted here for posterity.  :-)

Family Photos

One of my new year's resolutions was to get back into a regular pattern of blogging updates, and since it's now February with no updates, it's obvious that that resolution was as successful as all of the others.  :-)


But, you've got to start somewhere, so going back in our time machine to last November (where we last left off), here is the next post I should have written....

Just in the nick of time for holiday cards (and with the weather only somewhat cooperating), we managed to get our "annual" family photos taken (annual in quotes since we don't seem to manage it every year, but two years running is almost a pattern!).

Here were our favorites...

The whole family, in our attempt to be coordinated in our outfits without being too "matchy matchy"

Two little munchkins (Deven's strange expression due in part to the fact he is chewing a pretzel)

"If I look at you long enough with my large eyes perhaps you will give me anything I want."

"Who me? I couldn't have done it...I look so innocent!"

Praying for divine intervention as Deven declares that the photo session is officially over