Happy holidays from the Sanui family!
Here is a snapshot of 2014 of our family:
Ryuta
Ryuta started on his new journey towards becoming an
“o-sha-rey” (stylin’) hair stylist. He
started night and weekend classes at Fremont Beauty School while transitioning
into a day-time stay-at-home dad routine.
The days were filled with trips to the park, to Happy Hallow, laundry,
and cooking the family meals. We’ve
gotten into a better meal routine and Ryuta has expanded his recipe
choices. With childcare and school,
Ryuta hasn’t been able to spend as much time playing tennis, but gets out
whenever he can. He still enjoys
SLEEPING(!!!) and manga. The boys are so
lucky to spend a lot of time with their dad!
We are all getting used to the new schedule and Dad’s new hair styles!
"High Maintenance.. You say it like it's a bad thing."
Somer
I finished my first year back to teaching at Weibel and
am still there, happily, teaching 2nd grade. It was a huge adjustment getting back into
the working world full-time AND having 2 little boys running around at
home. Fortunately, I got hired back for
the new school year before the summer and was able to store all of my teaching
things at school (rather than our garage.)
However, I changed classrooms and it was crazy getting settled into my
new room in August. But, I love it! It has been such a fantastic new school year
with a really sweet group of students.
My days are so happy and I’m so grateful. Other than allowing Ryuta to color my hair,
highlight it, chop it, not much has changed for me. I still love going out to eat sushi, rooting
for the SF Giants, hanging with my family & friends, going out if I can (to
shop or watch movies), and staying involved at church.
Kai
Kai turned 5 in September. We pulled him out of preschool last year and
spent the last months of his 4 year-old life doing what 4 year-old kids should
do—a lot of playing, imagining, a lot of nothing (it’s pretty important!),
reading. Over the summer, Kai went on
his first roller coaster at Happy Hallow and loved it! Kai started TK (Transitional Kindergarten) in
August at Gomes. Every morning, he rides
his bike to school with his dad and his brother. This fall, he learned how to ride his
2-wheeler. He’s such a big boy now!
He really transitioned well into the daily
routines of school and is currently transforming his bedroom into a
classroom. He really loves
school—learning how to spell, learning about the calendar, how to sing
different songs (especially the “color songs”.)
It’s amazing how much he is learning at school and even just on his own
at home. He is so curious to learn. Although with Kai, he is very specific and
particular about what he likes. Over the
summer, the boys grew VERY attached to the Ice Age movies series. Kai developed a big interest in maps, globes,
and soon, we started to discuss earth history.
Why don’t mammoths and dinosaurs still live on the earth? This led to talks about a possible asteroid that
hit the earth and then, he became very obsessed with outer space and the solar
system. We got a family membership to
the Chabot Space & Science Center for his birthday. Kai has drawn multiple maps and built
freeways with the exact directions to Chabot.
It’s amazing how he knows the roads, the freeways, the speed
limits. Kai has become such a little
expert about the solar system that he has created lots of solar system art and
has taught his 2 year-old brother the names of the planets. The kid continues to amaze me.
Kai
changed his color interest from green and yellow to red and blue. He still really likes popsicles and chocolate
chip cookies. He has yet to try ice
cream and has decided that he no longer likes cheese, spaghetti, or hot
dogs. But, we are so lucky that he is
still a healthy eater and actually requests to eat broccoli!
For Halloween this year, I thought I’d get the easy way
out this time and that Kai would want the astronaut costume at Costco. My unique kid wanted to be a woolly
mammoth! Thank goodness my mom knows how
to sew and was willing to help! He was
the cutest woolly mammoth ever. During the fall, Kai wore an eye patch to bed,
to parties, and around the house, to be “Buck the Weasel” (from Ice Age
3.) I thought I could get away with him
being Buck for Halloween. He insisted
that he was Buck every day, but that he’d be a mammoth on Halloween. That kid!
On Kai’s letter to Santa, he requested “solar system
toys” and a “number line” (like in his classroom.)
"Dear Santa, I was a good boy. I would like solar system toys and a number line. Thank you. From, Kai."
Lukas
Lukas is still our affectionate, physical, active little
monster. Lukas turned 2 in June. The kid thinks that his big brother is his
personal punching bag and the little angel with the doll eyes shouts with this
husky monster voice, runs, stomps, throws, kicks, climbs wherever he goes. We had “sleep wars” most of the year. I lost count, but currently, we are still on
the losing end. Lukas learned how to
climb out of his crib and sneak into our room every night. My goal over the summer was to sleep train
him, but I think he tired me out and ending up winning the war. We always start the night in separate rooms
and I wake up to a foot in my face. My
students know that Lukas is a tiny ninja who moves quietly and quickly in the
dark. Lukas started gymnastics this
summer and it’s been nice to let him have his own activity where he can be
physical. I’m thinking to eventually
sign him up for a sport like soccer or martial arts. Lukas loves being with people and can’t stay
by himself. He loves his big brother and
likes what he likes—dinosaurs, planets, cars.
Lukas is still the destroyer while Kai is the builder. Kai is order and Lukas is chaos. That’s just part of being the little
brother. He is still our junk food baby
and it has been a challenge to get him to eat healthy food, especially at
dinner. The boy will just eat carbs,
fruit, yogurt, and if we let him, junk food (anything with high amounts of
sugar!)
For Halloween, to stick with the Ice Age 3 theme, Lukas
was a dinosaur (since big brother was a mammoth.)
On his letter to Santa, Lukas asked for “Santa clothes”,
dinosaur, dinosaur clothes, dinosaur toys, and candy.
Trips, Changes, & Fun Stuff
We started the new year in San Diego visiting family and
friends. The boys had a blast with their
cousins, Tay, Risa, and Brooke! We even
considered whether we could move down because it was so great to see all the
kids out in the street together. In
April, Ryuta courageously flew with the boys to Japan to visit family. I traveled 2 weeks later to meet up with them
and we got to eat really well, relax, and spend time with Ryuta’s parents. In July, Ryuta and I got to get away for a
weekend and explore Seattle. We had a
really wonderful time exploring the city by bicycle and getting some alone time
away from the kids. Over the summer, I
got to take it easy with the kids and we were so lucky. My parents got us all a membership to the
Aqua Adventure water park. We were there
at least once a week! In October, our
family got to get away for a weekend to the cute beach town called Avila
Beach.
The boys loved playing at the
pool and digging holes in the sand in the beach. In November, my mom and I did our annual
mother-daughter weekend and relaxed at the spa.
The timing was perfect! I
actually got to sleep in for daylight savings!
Happy birthday to me!
J The BIG change in our house was the kitchen
remodel. My mom has been anxious to
remodel the kitchen for years and this year was her big break. During September and October, we camped out
in the garage and the backyard for all of our meals. Remodeling is no joke, but we couldn’t be
happier with the end result. It is
soooo
nice to have such a beautiful kitchen with an open floor plan. If we haven’t invited you over yet, we are
taking advantage of such a nice space to be hospitable and to entertain. So, please come on over and we’ll cook you
something!
Well, 2014 is coming to a close and it has been a pretty
good year. We wish you a very merry
Christmas & a happy new year!
The Sanui Family--Ryuta, Somer, Kai &
Lukas
Luke
2:11: Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the
Messiah, the Lord.
