Temple and Dessert

We went to the Thai temple today.

Kit performs a very nice wai.

Kit enjoyed a mildly spicy steamed fish dish for lunch. She is eating much better now and gaining some weight. It is very nice to see her eating well.

Afterwards we went for gelato.

Kit loves PINK flavor.
Kit helped make a new dessert: Blueberry buttermilk cake with raspberry sauce and whipped cream, inspired by Debbie's crepes.
She was proud to serve a slice to her mom.

Last night I noticed we were out of yogurt for Kit's breakfast so I doctored up a Jello flan hoping she would like it. I added a tiny pinch of nutmeg, a sprig of lemon zest and some vanilla. The flavor was amazing but she didn't like it. She wanted her yogurt.

:(

Trains

We ended up going to Vasona park today. Here is Kit waiting in line for the train. She is a real train fan. In Japanese, she's a "tetsu-ko" (rail/iron girl)
She loves to ride the train.
Tuk and Kit waiting for a seat up front in the cab.
Kit enjoyed waving to everyone from the cab. She learned all about driving a train. She knows how to operate the big horn, the whistle and the bells.
Afterward we had a wonderful picnic. Kit enjoyed many foods, especially the blackberries and blueberries.
When the train came by Kit would wave to everyone.

As she became full she enjoyed feeding the berries to me.
Sometimes she would pop one into her mouth before deciding to give it to me.

After lunch she blew some bubbles.

We went home and took a nap. Kit woke up first and came to give me a hug.
She tried many methods to get me up but they were not working.

Seems dad can ignore just about anything.
Finally, she found something that worked well. She started playing music for me.
When we were in Japan Town the other night we bought some gobo root to make a simple yet delicious dish. Kit helped make it.
Here it is. It needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight.

I love the crunch but next time I will cut it across the grain to see if we prefer it that way.

Artist

Today Kit wanted to paint. She quickly set to work. She has a very nice technique.

Sometimes she even uses two hands!

She often thinks of something for inspiration, like ants or the park.

If you look closely you can see she uses a variety of techniques including long linear strokes, circles and dots. The lines often represent slides, trees and such. The circles represent motion. The dots often represent ants. It is fun to hear her comments as she paints.

However, she doesn't like getting her hands dirty.









She is very proud of her paintings.

Kit uses biocolor paints.

Meet the artist.

We just missed registering Kit for the 2009 Silicon Valley Open Studio. She can start building up her inventory for next year.

After a brief break she desides to go draw with markers next.

We went to Gombei in San Jose's Japan town for dinner to celebrate Kit's lovely works of art.

Kit suggested that I take two of her paintings to work with me. What a wonderful idea.

Bike Ride and Pool Party

Last night Kit went on a nice bike ride through the neighborhood.
She loves being outside.
Today Sophia, Bryan and Kit played in the kiddy pool.
Kit has discovered that watermelon is good. She has been eating really well the past few weeks.

Santa Cruz with Sophia

Kit and Sophia met at Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz early this morning to see the -1.79 low tide. It was very nice and the two girls were so happy to see each other. Tickling a sea anemone to make it wiggle. Starfish too. Kit and Sophia touched different types of kelp. Some were crinkly, some were leathery and some were like lettuce. The two of them really enjoy being together. They chat and sing songs. We arrived at 6:30 AM and are having a great morning at the beach. Kit had hoped to see a sailboat. In The Wild Things Max sails across the ocean in her own sailboat. Playing with mommy. We must wave goodbye to Sophia for a few minutes. We'll meet again for breakfast down the street at Kelly's French Bakery then head up to Swanton Berry Farms just past Davenport to pick organic strawberries. There are many low tides this year in Santa Cruz but after that it seems there are not very many really low ones until 2012. There will not be anything like next month's -1.91 again until 2022. Some years have lots of really low tides and other years have very few. Holding hands and singing songs on their way out to the strawberry fields. The girls have fun picking strawberries together. Kit enjoys feeding them to Sophia. Kit ate some herself too. She filled up her basket several times. We stopped at Porter College on the UCSC campus to see the koi pond. Kit and I stop here often yet it has been a while since Tuk last visited them. When we got into the car this morning Kit said, "Goodbye mommy." She was very happy to hear that Tuk was going with us today. It is often just Kit and me on these weekend outings. Kit liked the golden-orange one the most. She chaced it up and back down the pond. Just enough time to smell some flowers before heading home.