Tom and Liren’s Latest News

Caeli Turns Six

Mon, 5 Jan 2009 22:04:37 -0800

Our little girl is now six years old, which for some reason just sounds so much older than five. It’s just so bittersweet. While we love how she’s really getting older, more independent, and more inquisitive, we can’t help but sigh at how quickly her baby and toddler years have sped by. We had a full weekend of celebrating...Caeli had her friend Jayne over for an almost-sleepover on Saturday, we had breakfast with Jayne’s family on Sunday morning, and that afternoon, we gathered with some of her good friends for a party at Build a Bear workshop. The fun continued when Caeli returned to school today, where she was able to do a small celebration with her classmates.
See more pictures here.

Christmas Magic

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:26:25 -0800

On Christmas Eve, Caeli and Carsten built and decorated their very first gingerbread house. That night, they left it out for Santa, along with a carrot and celery for the reindeer, near the fireplace. Caeli also added some notes, one of which asked, “Dear Santa, How do you go up the chimney?” When they woke up on Christmas morning (at 6:30 am!), they found crumbs all around the fireplace, a half-eaten gingerbread house, and a response to Caeli’s question. On the back of her note, he had written, “Magic.”

Holiday Ski Trip

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 23:02:43 -0800

This year’s trip to Squaw Valley was another of our last minute vacations. But it was so much fun and full of activity. For the first time, the entire family skied; Caeli was in lessons with an instructor while Carsten strapped on skis for the first time through the Snow Cubs program. While Carsten rode the magic carpet and made pizzas and french fries with his skis, Caeli was experimenting with backwards skiing and going on intermediate trails. Tom and Liren enjoyed three days of skiing together, ah. And when we were off the slopes, we were ice skating, chatting with Santa and Mrs. Claus, eating s’mores, or watching movies while the snow continued to blanket our winter wonderland.
More photos here.

Better Watch Out

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:48:11 -0800

It was a wet December day, but it sure was festive. We started off our morning by visiting a dear friend; we heard Santa was in town! Caeli was definitely excited to see Santa and Carsten was not scared like last year (though he looks a bit disturbed in the photos). The funniest part was hearing Caeli tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. After weeks and weeks of telling us that she wanted a snow globe, when Santa asked her, she blurted out “a reindeer.” What? It kinda reminded us of that scene in a Christmas Story when Ralphy panicked over the same question!
More photos.

Oh Tannenbaum

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 22:15:22 -0800

We surprised Caeli upon picking her up from school this afternoon: today was the day we were going to cut down (for the first time) our Christmas tree! The kids were giddy with excitement. We drove up into the Bay Area hills to a local tree farm, grabbed a saw and a cart, and roamed around until we found a suitable tree. Caeli took charge of pulling that cart everywhere, Tom took ownership of the saw, and Carsten kept up fairly well (considering he’s just getting over a tummy bug). What a great afternoon! After loading up the car and driving it home, we got to work trimming and decorating the tree.
See more photos.