Our Pinkilicious-Looking Gals

By MAGGIE WANG

For my parents' 38th anniversary, we set them up at the Ritz Carlton Marina Del Rey for the night and then met up for lunch with them on New Year's Eve. While we were waiting for Felix, we hit up a couple shops nearby.

Here are the girls at the store Irene's Story: Kevin snapped some pink-filled photos of them playing with their iPod Touches and hugging on one another. Too cute!



Additional Presents

By MAGGIE WANG

Aminda is our housekeeper. She's been with us for almost two years, coming every two weeks. We really trust her in our home, and as a bonus she loves our girls. She brings them small gifts all the time and for Christmas gave them cute plate/cup/utensil kits.

Maven will say there are two Amindas: one who cleans our house and one who plays with them.

Anita and Jason also came over to bring the girls gifts -- adorable princess outfits perfectly selected for each girl: Tinkerbell for Maven and Cinderella for Sedona.

Christmas Celebration No. 3 (out of 3)

By MAGGIE WANG

On Dec. 25 the past three years, Whitney's family has come over in the morning to exchange small gifts and celebrate while Kevin is with the Lakers, who've always played at home on Christmas Day.

The girls playing in our nearby cul-de-sac with Sedona's new ATV. Riley loved it. We're just hoping Sedona, who does like it, will really love it as much as Riley one day.

In the evening we checked out the lights in Torrance with my parents and the Wynne-Tauber family. We left quickly at the end when the rains came, but it was fun!

Earlier in the day, the girls woke up Christmas morning to -- surprise! -- Santa Claus gifts ...

Santa put candy (Skittles and Nerds for Maven; Skittles and Gobstoppers for Sedona) and paint in their stockings. Maven got a stroller for her babies to ride indoors and Sedona got her much-requested Busytown Mysteries board game she had seen someone bring in one day at school.

The girls then also exchanged gifts they got each other (sort of): Sedona gave Maven a piano keyboard, and Maven gave Sedona a makeup kit.

About that makeup kit ... some of it ended up on Maven's face!

 Sedona also bought her daddy some Mountain Dew lip balm.

We bought the girls Silly Bandz, currently all the rage (though I figure they'll be going out of style soon).

 We decorated gingerbread men, making a very large mess that was worth it for the smiles!



What a Merry Christmas! We all truly had a great time and loved seeing how all our friends are changing or growing up with the Christmas cards we received.

Christmas Celebration 2 (of 3)

By MAGGIE WANG

This year we celebrated our second Christmas event for the year on Christmas Eve at my parents' house in Bel Air. My Uncle Felix and Uncle David were there along with Kevin's parents and Mike "Tru" Trudell (Kev's friend) and a few people Felix knows. It was a nice cozy yet busy gathering.

The girls started off the night playing with Tru in their bedroom at my parents' house: hide and seek first, then showing off their flips!

The girls were pretty much the only ones who got gifts, as we declared a few years ago to forgo adult gift giving in the family.



The girls got:

• Pajamas from Aunt Lulu & Uncle Kevin
• Twinkle Toes, candy, sweaters and a bike from Toshi A-gong & Alice A-Ma
• Cute dress and Burberry sweater from Uncle David and Aunt Nancy
• Red envelope from Uncle Felix
• Cookie Monster puppet, stuffed-animal penguin and Dora puzzle from Tru
• Body pillows from A-Gu Felix because the girls love the one he has



Holiday Spectacular & Ice Skating

By MAGGIE WANG

We wanted to keep with the holiday festivities, so with my parents and brother, we brought the girls to watch the Holiday Spectacular (starring Shirley Jones) at the Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks. Sedona loved all the music and sat really well for nearly two hours. Maven enjoyed it, but eventually went down for a nap on Kevin, as it was her nap time.

Afterward, we walked over to the Holiday Ice Rink at the Lakes in Thousand Oaks, where Sedona and Maven had a blast skating with their daddy.

We really had a fun day -- and I got to top it off with a shopping spree at M. Fredric!

Christmas Celebration 1 (of 3)

By MAGGIE WANG

Kevin is finally home - and this is what he posted today to Facebook:

Back from 11-day road trip, brushing teeth this morning with Maven sitting there and watching me ... just smiling. I asked, "Are you glad I'm home?" She said: "I haven't seen you in a while!"

We had planned more than a month ago to head down to Irvine for a train ride with Austin to the 'North Pole' to give Santa our list per Sedona's request from having so much fun last year. But with all the rains here, the Dec. 20 plan got canceled and we scrambled to put together a Christmas dinner for the Ding side of the family. 

The Chang-Ding family is headed to Taiwan for a wedding and getting back on New Year's Day. The change in our plans allowed us to celebrate with them before they left rather than when they got home.

We had a nice all-American meal of KFC!

The cousins all lined up to open gifts!

Let's see. ... Do you think they like opening presents?

Maven had the cutest reactions to gifts. So in awe, mouth gaping open upon first glances.

Sedona was much more focused! 

Getting ready for the GRAND FINALE!

The biggest present was coming down the stairs after being hidden in one of A-Ma Ding's guest rooms for weeks! 

A princess ATV for the girls! Sedona jumped right on. Maven was a little scared. 

Thank you kisses!

Showing off their new ladybug slippers (with matching pajamas) from A-Go Kristen. (Atticus picked them out and did very well.)

The stack of presents! 

And of course, we cannot end the Christmas celebrations without commemorating Kristen's 42nd birthday! 

Snow Day At Montessori

By MAGGIE WANG

The school brought in snow for the kids to play!

These are the days when I feel so fortunate that I can arrange my work schedule to be available for such special occasions. 











Sedona's best bud these days is Jake Yun.

Even though Sedona spends most of her playground time with Jake, she is accepted by most everyone, the teachers say. Good for her.