Logan needed a new bike as he has grown much taller lately.  Since Logan is not a big fan of biking, we did not think he would appreciate having a bike as one of his Christmas presents.  So we just decided to buy one over the weekend and we can use it over the break.  We asked Logan his preference of colors for the bike, and his first response was "a golden bike".  I was surprised with the response and not sure if I have seen a gold bike, I asked for some backup color choices.  Logan just replied "I like any colors except black, pink and purple".  Stuart measured Logan’s height and did some searching online, we decided on a bike at Toys R Us and we wanted to go there to have Logan try it out.  The interesting thing was that this model Stuart actually found with the better reviews turned out to be a gold colored bike.  What are the odds!  At the store the model was not available, so we just had Logan climbed up on an 18 inch frame to confirm.  We then purchased it with the free assembly. 
     On Sunday we went to pick it up after dinner.  Logan was quite excited to see the "golden bike".  It sure was shiny golden!   He did not mind climbing up on it in the garage or posed next to it to take a picture.  He was pleased to have it and I have not seen Logan smiling so much toward a bike before.  Hopefully he will really enjoy riding it too. 
     Connor was a little bit jealous at the "golden bike".  He touched it gently and said "Pretty!".  But when we told him that he would receive Logan’s previous bike as he is now ready for a bigger boy bike, he was quite happy.  It would be interesting to take both of them out for riding soon.

      After the kids went to sleep on Saturday, I drove to pick up Kathy headed to our destination restaurant to meet up with the others.  Michelle and Robyn were already there, then Julie and later Thuy arrived.  We all ended up having some food at this late hour, enjoyed a drink and shared a dessert too.  We had a great conversation, and before we knew it, it was almost midnight.  It was one of the latest I have stayed out for awhile.  Stuart stayed up for me; we ended up going to bed quite late after watching some TV.

     On Sunday, the Tashiros drove up to San Jose and arrived at the Hashiguchi’s first.  Then they all came over to visit us in our new place.  The boys had fun playing with the big kids and showing them around.  We then headed out to dinner.   Connor was funny, kept saying “Mommy, my tummy is BIG.  I don’t want to eat”.  So I just told him that he still needed to stay in his seat while the rest of us eat and talk.  Connor agreed and said “I am not going to eat.  I will sit and talk only”.  He ended up eating some food, but did stay in his seat folding his papers and talking with the big girls sometimes.  Logan requested “egg rolls, pot stickers, vegetables and that’s it”, and he ate a good portion of just that.

     Stuart posted both of the boys’ videos as Logan and Connor enjoy watching their shows.  I apologize for the shaky operator as I had to extend my arm up in order not to film the parents in front of me.  Connor was hidden in most of the video.  So if you like to see a glimpse of Connor, you will have to skip to the 5 minute mark or to the end where Connor met Santa.

      Logan’s drama skit was yesterday.  We were given the playlist awhile back and we were aware that Logan’s part in it was just “cheering”.  We tried to talk with Logan about the show periodically, but Logan kept telling us that he was not part of it as he had no line.  The day before the show, Logan suddenly told us that he only wanted mommy to be there but not daddy.  For the next day, we asked Logan several times and he was consistent.  Since this was just an extra-curriculum activity, we decided to follow his wish.

     I left work early and arrived at school before show time.  There were not as many parents as in Christmas Sing, but several classes of students arrived to watch too.  As I was checking out the crowd, I suddenly noticed Logan had arrived and was among the other students.  He was staring at me but did not give me much of an expression.  Then I saw the teacher helping the kids got ready, putting on their hats and having them spread around the stage.  The show then began.  Some kids were very good, loud and clear.  After a few minutes of dialogue, Logan along with few other kids came running up to the stage, but Logan was hidden behind and I could not see his expression.  The show ended with a couple of songs too.  Overall the performance was very cute.  After taking some group photos, the students were excused to go to the parents and Logan was happy to give me a big hug.  The drama teacher told me that Logan did well with her; he was quiet but he tried to participate and enjoyed being there.

    The weather was beautiful today.  So we made plan with Rohan’s parents to meet up in a nearby park.  We brought pizza and Vrinda brought side dishes, so we had a nice picnic there too.  Rohan and Logan were a little shy to see each other initially, but Connor showed his excitement right away.  They all played at the different structures, and later asked the parents to play chasing with them.  We were also prepared with their bikes for them to ride.  Both Rohan and Connor hopped on their bikes right away, but Logan needed some encouragement.  Connor was trying so hard to catch up with Rohan; he rode so fast but his bike was definitely not up for racing.  Logan was riding at a slower pace as he was worried about falling, and after a few rounds, Logan was done biking.  But instead, he was willing to run a few more rounds chasing the two bikes.  All the boys definitely had their share of exercise today.

       We attended the CCM holiday at a hotel this year.  We dressed up and got ready to go.  Connor was excited to wear dress shirt and was pleased to look at himself in the mirror.  We brought a couple of presents with us to the party, one for the gift exchange and the other one for Toys for Tots donation.  It had taken a few talks with the boys before they understood the donation and agreed to buy a gift for a child in need.  We arrived at the hotel following the Kaos and so we conveniently sat along with them.  Connor and I went around the room to say hello to some people.  Then the Kaos and us started taking photos at the photo booth.  Logan and Connor were not as excited as Mckayla and Marcus were, but they managed to wear some hats and took a couple of photos.  Throughout the night, Connor’s interest grew and had taken a few more, with Mckayla and Marcus or with me, but Logan declined any further shots.   

     The buffet began to serve, and we all sat down and had a good meal.  Connor was eyeing the cupcakes but he knew that he should finish his dinner first.  As soon as Michelle mentioned that Marcus was ready for cake, it immediately caught Connor’s attention and his eyes brightened.  Both Logan and Connor did not care for the icing, and Logan ate just a few bites of the cupcake while Connor ate the whole thing.  Logan did have a few tastes of my slice of chocolate mousse cake.  Throughout the night, they were raffling off prizes.  The boys had fun looking at the numbers on our tickets with Stuart and exaggerating their disappointment.  But finally when our number was called, especially since it was for a box of cookies, the boys were excited.  They actually came out from the table with me to receive our prize.  Everyone was happy for them, and they received a big applause.  After that, they did not want to let the big box of cookies down and took turns hugging it.  The dance floor was also opened in between the drawings.  Mckayla and Marcus had so much fun dancing and playing with each other, later some other people joined them too.  Logan and Connor were interested to go out to the floor to watch.  Connor did warm up and danced a little bit with us and did a bootie shake on his own too which I caught on video.

     The Kaos left first.  Since the boys were still having fun and I was waiting for the gift exchange, we stayed longer.  Just when Logan seemed tired and we considered leaving, the exchange was about to begin.  So Connor and I joined the rest of the guests on the dance floor to participate.  Connor was intrigued watching people opening presents.  When it was our turn, we walked around the opened gifts but decided to go for a wrapped one.  He was happy helping me opened the gift, and we were happy with what we received.  The exchange continued on, and our gift got stolen quickly, so we had to make our decision.  I was reminded that there was a toy out there “Battleships”, so I stole it from someone and Connor was proud to hold the box for us.  Later Logan came over to check out what we received and he was as happy as Connor holding the box too.  Once the exchange was over, it was definitely time for us to say goodbyes to everyone and left home.  It was a late outing for the boys, 10:15pm,

     This morning Connor talked about the party last night.  He recalled receiving two presents but he did talk about someone stealing our present before we got ours.  He also begged to go to a company party again.