It's beginning to feel a lot like winter...

With the start of winter, there is definitely a chill in the air. The kids had their first hot (warm, really) chocolate and they enjoyed it. Kara said, "let's pretend it's coffee."



Ben got a cute little chocolate milk mustache after each delicious sip.



With the holidays approaching, we hope that your homes are full of love and laughter.



Cheers!!

Happy Early Birthdays!

With the whole family in town for Thanksgiving, we celebrated birthdays a little early.

Ben was very excited to have his own cake with Lightning McQueen and Mater. Mommy was excited about cream cheese frosting.

Ben has loved playing with his new toys... a big garbage truck and all of the Disney cars.

Kara chose the four princesses for her cake... like picking teams in school, we lined the princesses up and the first four made the cake!

And to Kara's delight, she has a brand new, big mirror so she can see herself.... all the time.

Hug!

It is so sweet to watch the kids be so loving towards each other... Just melts your heart.

Our Project Hallway

Project Runway challenges designers.... and Kara has challenged us to come up with dresses out of a pink sheet. Let's start the show!

Our first look was inspired by Princess Dinh's wedding gown, with one "shoulder tap" as Kara likes to call it.

And then we have our off the shoulder look, which has been popular for our little client.

We could not forget the accessories, which we learned are important in styling the look. Ben feels his slippers make the outfit.

Ben is showing the winter look because it's beginning to get chilly!

The final look pulls it all together for Kara... She has jewels, exposed shoulders, pink and her "prince" walking her down the hallway.

Hope you enjoyed the show!

When Will They Kiss?

Kara's been waiting to wear her fancy purple dress and thanks to Kevin and Dinh, she finally got to wear it to the wedding! Kara leaned into the aisle to watch the wedding procession and asked a few times when the kiss would take place.



She insisted on taking a picture with the princess...



We all had a great time... The kids loved the wedding and are now wondering when they get to be IN a wedding... no pressure Tantie Miwa and Uncle Todd!

Ghost Cookies!!

It's not a Kozuki Halloween without the ghost cookies! Kara was a great help in cutting out all the cookies.



Kara and Ben both helped to decorate...



And we ended up with such colorful, happy ghosts! Can you spot the one classic Kozuki ghost?



Kara's ghosts were, of course, pink.



And Ben was also proud of the masterpieces he created. Until today, the only cookies Ben has decorated were on the iPad. Needless to say, these cookies took a little more time to clean up, but so worth it!

Have a Hoppy Halloween!

Tortoise versus the Hare... who will win the race?



Though quick at times, I think our bunny is more interested in looking cute.




Our little turtle is very independent and resists holding your hand and opts to do things by himself. And if you don't let him, he usually just plops himself down and sits.... I'm not going anywhere.




And at the end of the preschool Halloween trick-or-treat parade, our turtle and bunny finish together with plenty of candy for all.

We love Holly...

On Saturday, we met our photographer, Holly Port, at the Huntington Library in Pasadena and she took pictures for us. We got a few sneak peaks sent to us last night and thought we'd share a few with you....

Hawaii Anyone?

These two cuties decided to make their own airplane seats out of pillows and said they were going to Hawaii. Kara and Ben each have a passenger on their laps as well as two friends sitting in between. But there's still an open seat next to Kara... anyone up for an adventure?

In Shades

On Sunday, we went to two outdoor parties in the 100 degree heat! So we did our best to keep cool... Kara thinks the sunglasses give the appearance of cool.




Until your little brother comes and messes with you...




and thinks he's hilarious. Not cool.

The Gyoza Machines

Kara is a great helper making gyoza...



She's very careful when she lines the outside of the wrapper with water...



Then does her signature fold to make the gyoza complete.



And then Ben comes along and eats a bunch. I think he can give Auntie Anna a run for her money in the gyoza eating competition!

Disney Day

We took the kids to Disneyland and I think this was the first time that Ben actually enjoyed going on rides. He rode Dumbo twice and the carousel three times in a row... We used to convince him he liked the rides, but this time he said "again" when the ride stopped.



Kara enjoyed the rides, but also liked watching some of the live shows and of course, seeing Mickey and Minnie.

They just keep growing...

Once Kara got a lunch box, Ben had to have his own. Every day he proudly carries his lunch box to school. Ben still loves to spot trucks and buses as they go by and he can keep himself occupied by playing with his cars and his garbage truck "Marty". He is a chatty guy who picks up on new words and incorporates them into his conversations. We love to hear him say "why" because his voice is so cute... and "love you" is up there too.



Kara loves drawing and writing and often makes things for me to take to work. Her people now have arms... and she likes to draw rainbows, suns, lollipops and flowers. Her teacher at school told us recently that she always writes Ben's name along with her own on her papers... and when asked why she includes Ben, Kara said, "because Ben is my brother and I love him."

Make It Work!

I think Tim Gunn on Project Runway would be proud to see Kara own the runway and make the outfit work! She definitely chose her accessories thoughtfully.



And just to show us the versatilitly of her outfit and how accessories can really change it up, she showed us her second look.



And Ben could not stand on the sidelines. He decided to fully take advantage of all the accessories... forget the clothes!

Summer's End

The kids definitely enjoyed their share of watermelon this summer... but gone are the days of eating watermelon outside in their underwear.

So we say bye-bye to summer and swimsuits... but maybe we'll still have watermelon inside with clothes on. Definitely not as much fun.

Our Loves

It's so sweet to see the kids love each other and be so good to each other.... it helps to balance out the times when they push and fight over toys or our attention.

Kara is a sweetie, but Ben is the sweetest! He is so good to Kara, always thinking and asking about her. And he's so vocal now, he can say what he feels like "love you."