Maven's 2nd Birthday

By MAGGIE WANG

Oh, the credit for all the planning that went into this party goes to the amazing Auntie Anita. 

Beautiful cupcakes! Cookies on sticks! Blueberries and strawberries! Yum ...

Face painting courtesy of Aunt Susan (Anita's little sister)

Someone's hungry!

Happy 2nd Birthday, our amazing Maven!

Decorating bags!

Hanging with Aunt Lulu!

Getting excited!

We had a fun Easter Egg hunt. (For those who couldn't find eggs, there was at least the amazing view from Fort Lots of Fun, one of the higher spots in Hermosa.)

Nanny Linda with her "real" granddaughter, Rosalie. 

And look who was in town, Uncle Lester!

And the Ding-Chang family was able to join in the celebration. 

What a fabulous party!

Party favors were Becker's cookie decorating kits, plus Auntie Anita made Rice Krispies Cookie Monsters on sticks. Super yummy! I ate three myself.

Swim Class at Lucky Duck

By MAGGIE WANG

We have started the girls on swim lessons. Sedona tried it out about 8 months ago with Riley at South Bay Aquatics but didn't seem ready. It's a better time now, so here is our attempt to get Sedona and Maven ready for the summer.

I looked into a few options and concluded this was the most financially reasonable while catering to our children's personalities. To give you an idea, private lessons with Bonne Spivel in her backyard would cost $90 for half an hour for both kids. South Bay Aquatics (indoor pool) would cost us around $24 for 15 minutes each.  Lucky Duck Swim School is not much cheaper at $22 for 15 minutes each, but they have this great practice program that we suspected would be perfect for our shy Sedona and young Maven. 

The girls can get in the pool 15 minutes before their lessons and use another 15 minutes after their lessons to practice. For Sedona and Maven, who are somewhat water shy, this first 15 minutes is critical to get them even into the water. 

Maven was instantly okay putting her feet in the water but it took about 10 minutes to get her on the first step. Sedona sat in my lap and watched other kids finish their lessons for about 12 minutes before ever touching the water. (Her first lesson at South Bay Aquatics, she didn't even get into the water.) It's really great at Lucky Duck because Sedona and Maven can watch their instructor, Miss Alicia, give other people lessons and see how it works.

Sedona had such a great time that afterward, while Maven was having her lesson, Sedona was really practicing all the things she was taught: Tigger bounces in the water, walking with your hands on the side, blowing bubbles with her face in the water. 

I am so pleased with our decision, as the girls seem to love it. We are signed up for once a week until May and then will be hitting up the pool twice as week. 

I went to a really enjoyable and relaxing dinner with Anita after this lesson at Sashi's in Manhattan Beach.  She had just done a bar-method workout class and I was jealous because it seems like so much fun. She explained it was $20 each time, and I gasped ... but after telling her my daughters' swim lessons are $22 for 15 minutes each, Bar Method doesn't sound so expensive!  Ha! The things we do for our children ... but well, it's all worth it!

April Fun

By MAGGIE WANG

After Maven's 2nd birthday party, Sedona and I went to Sean Gauer's 4th birthday party! He is an adorable classmate. It was at Lucky Strike bowling alley. Sedona was shy at first but came to love it! She wants to bring Daddy next time.

A few days later we took a trip in their new Ford Flex with Whitney and Riley ("no boys allowed" is our newest saying in the house and prompts Sedona sometimes to say there is "one boy" around when Daddy is out with us) to Cerritos to check out the fancy kid-friendly library and eat at Guppy Tea House (our favorite for boba, popcorn chicken and spicy dumplings).

They had fun art projects for the girls at the library.

Sedona ended up at the dentist again, though she is happy going; she has pretty easily overcome her fear of going just 8 months ago. We went for a second opinion after the first dentist suggested a great deal of dental work being necessary.

The second dentist pretty much agrees with the first. Sedona has cavities galore! Now we need to figure out how we want to take care of them. When I was a child, I hated the dentist. I fear my child will have a similar experience but so far she sort of likes the dentist.

Maven and Daddy

By KEVIN DING

Maven's birthday party is coming up in a matter of hours, and her public will get to fete her then. But I wanted to document one private moment I savored with the not-yet-2-year-old.

I came home Thursday afternoon from more than a week on the road, and Maggie said it was the first time it seemed really to register with Maven that I was away and staying away for some time. That was validated Thursday night, when I was holding Maven in my lap while she ate a pre-sleep snack of cheese (and Sedona sat on the sofa eating some fruit).

Maven and I were sitting there, snuggling, when she put to use her rapidly improving verbal skills and said without provocation: "Daddy's home."

I looked at her, and she was smiling.

A while later, I told her: "I love you, Maven." And she said, "I love you, Daddy." And then she added again, with the same smile: "Daddy's home."

Preparing for Cookie Maven's 2nd Birthday

By MAGGIE WANG

I know I'm extremely fortunate when I have a friend who is willing to take so much of her precious time to help throw Maven's 2nd Birthday Party ... and even volunteer her sister to do face painting!

Thanks to ANITA WANG (OK, it's now Anita Chu... still strange to say 1 1/2 years later)!

Anita and I spent the week prepping for the party. I was buying food and supplies while Anita baked away. We met up Friday for a full day of prep work that was hard work but so much fun. I'm not sure when was the last time I got that much bonding time with Anita. It was really therapeutic. 

We started by filling our own bellies with a yummy Indian lunch. What followed was making the party favors: cookie decorating kits with egg-shaped cookies and frosting from Becker's Bakery ...

Anita also cooked dinner for everyone (Kevin and Jason joined us) Friday night, a super delicious shrimp pot pie. Then we moved on to decorating cupcakes into Cookie Monster's blue coconut fuzzy tops, which Anita made earlier in the morning.

So much love for Maven!!

Thanks, Auntie Anita & Uncle Jason for putting so much time and effort into making Maven's birthday party so special.

Mani-Pedi Girl Time

By MAGGIE WANG

In celebration of my 32nd and Maven's 2nd birthday, Whitney and Riley took us out for some private girls time in the morning. It was super fun! They had yummy bagels and coffee from Western Bagel (which I greatly appreciate because I rarely get to eat breakfast) while we had a great and relaxing time getting manicures and pedicures at Urban Oasis in South Redondo.