Clapping

I thought I'd share one more "cute" moment before I go to bed. Watching the cake video again, I was reminded of something that happened the other day. Miya is a clapper, and she not only cheers for herself, but for anyone who looks like they need "cheering". The other day before lunch, I was saying a blessing on the food, and right after I expressed gratitude for the blessing of Jacob's acceptance into the MBA program in the fall, Miya appropriately broke out in claps and happy sounds. Right on cue...she can't say "amen", but I think she still gets the important stuff.

Here's a picture of her after she crawled underneath the table. I can't remember, but it's likely that she celebrated that achievement with cheers and claps as well.

Birthday Cake

Miya is one year older and one year cuter! We had a few friends over yesterday for lunch, cake, ice cream, and good times. Obviously this party was all about Jacob and Michelle, since Miya wouldn't know this day was different than any other day...except for all the extra people hanging around the house...and except for the fact that she was finally allowed to smash food in her hair without fear of an immediate washcloth attack. She's always the center of attention, though, so that wasn't any different either. All in all, we had a good time and were glad Miya's friends could come over and play for a while.

Birthday Cake from Jacob Nishida on Vimeo.

Our little mermaid

Occasionally, crawling around gets a little tricky for Miya when her jammies get stretched from being dragged across the carpet. And occasionally, she somehow manages to get both legs stuck in one leg hole, which is hillarious. She eventually figures out that she can no longer crawl efficiently, and will look at us with a "what now?" expression. Evidently she hasn't figured out how to get around mermaid-style.

Earth Day

So, yesterday was Earth Day. It was rather amusing to me that on Earth Day our neighbors told me that their daughter (Abby, who is 3) came over to our lawn and said, "Look mommy, they're growing flowers!" This would have been more appropriate had we actually intended to grow flowers, but as you can see in the picture, the only flowers we've managed to grow are the wrong ones, and in all the wrong places.



When we moved in last fall, we tried to kill off the old lawn/weed mess, and then we reseeded. Well, the beautiful lawn we were hoping for didn't make an appearance. In fact, we can't figure out why the lawn is covered in these tiny white flower-like plants as well...an extra bonus in the grass seed bag? Who knew... Evidently Abby has been known to leave her yard and come over to ours saying, "They have more flowers over here, mommy," happily picking dandelions all the while. At least our "garden" is appreciated by someone. Though not by our neighbors, as I've noticed that none of them have opted for the flower-lawn look this summer. :(

End-of-the-semester stress

I was just rereading our previous posts, and I noticed that I have managed to make spelling errors. Go ahead and check...I left the "steel" for "steal" error in there, just so all the errors weren't gone in case someone really wanted to check. I have to admit that the end of the semester is getting to be intense, and since life is a little more stressful than usual, I tend to skip the proofing step before I send e-mails, post blogs, jot down notes,etc. So please ignore the errors. :)



So...on another note...although I still have 6 whole days, I'm getting geared up for Miya's birthday this week - Happy Birthday (early) Miya! - and I thought I post one of her first pictures. I can't believe it's already been nearly a year...time does fly.q

Hillarious

I'm pretty sure that it's probably due to the late hour, but I just found this video on a friend's blog, and I've watched it three times now. I laugh harder and harder every time I see it, so I've decided to steel it and post it here to allow more people to get a good laugh (or two...or three). Enjoy!

Park Playday

The warm weather comes and goes around here, so since we had several beautiful days in a row last week, we took a few outings to the park. The ground was relatively dry, so we let Miya discover the grass...she wasn't too sure about the texture at first, but she warmed up to it. The rocks and the swing were definitiely highlights, and we were so glad that we had the foresight to bring the camera!

Miya at the park from Jacob Nishida on Vimeo.

Wacky Doodle Dandy

Miya got Wacky Doodle Dandy as an Easter present from Mimah (Grandma) Nishida. This is but one example of Miya groovin to music. She absolutely loves to dance. Her two signature moves are body rolls and head bops. We are still working on the running man and the cabbage patch. ...It'll come, it'll come. Stay tuned for a couple of Miya's new talents - singing and guitar playing.

Wacky Doodle Dandy from Jacob Nishida on Vimeo.

So I went out to dinner at an incredibly yummy restaurant tonight, and I was reminded of just how much I really do love Thai food. And food in general, really. And in the spirit of recognizing fabulous food, I just discovered a new recipe yesterday (with a Thai-like flavor) that I LOVED and feel like I should pass on: Acorn Squash Soup. And the secret ingredient: dill! This will be one of my new all-time-favorite dishes for sure. Here's the recipe in case someone else might need further convincing that it really is the greatest combination of flavors.

1 small onion
1/4 cup chopped celery (I used carrots + 1 roma tomato instead...for color)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I left this out, and it was plenty thick)
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon curry powder (I used a hot Thai curry)
dash cayenne pepper (or several dashes - the more the merrier)
2 cups chicken broth
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk (I just used an extra 3/4 cup water + a little cream)
3 cups mashed cooked acorn squash
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, saute the onion and carrots in butter. Stir in flour, bouillon, dill, curry and cayenne until blended. Gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the squash, salt and pepper; heat through.
In a blender, process the soup in batches until smooth. Pour into bowls; garnish.