Party Crasher

One of the great perks of being a younger sister is having access to a ton of parties that you aren't even formally invited to, but get to attend by virtue of association.

Just this past weekend, for example, C-bao found herself stuffing her face with ice cream...

...splashing around at a pool party in Napa...

...running around crazily on a trampoline at said pool party in Napa...



...mixing it up with the older kids to "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift...



...all at birthday parties of her sister K-bao's various friends.

Furthermore, at each such party, she typically gets a ton of attention from the older girls (and their moms), who all recognize her now and treat her like a little cute puppy.

As if that were not enough, C-bao generally walks away from these parties with plenty of swag. Today, for example, she snagged both a balloon and a sizeable bag of candy (which included candies given to her by older girls who felt sorry for the fact that she wasn't quite big enough to snatch up candies when they were scattered from the pinata).

Pretty good life, we'd say!

Fillmore Jazz

Aunt Carol's family was in town over the independence holiday, and after church on Sunday C-bao took her cousins Justin and K-K to the Fillmore Jazz Festival.

The largest free jazz festival on the West coast, the Fillmore Jazz Festival routinely draws 100,000 visitors. Legendary Fillmore Street is entirely shut down to traffic, and music lovers pack the road and listen to the latest jazz beats from the California Jazz Conservatory Ensemble, Kim Nalley, Blue Grazz, Jungle Biskit, Native Elements and many others.

This was C-bao's first exposure to live jazz, and she grooved it. Couldn't stop moving her feet. Below you can see C-bao bringing out the Feraba African tap dance routine, with sister K-bao jumping in on the action as well, followed shortly by Cousin K-K.

Negotiating an extra bite of froyo from C-Mum

Sister K-bao with her well-rehearsed "Studied Indifference" look

Sabbath

Last Sunday was a typical Sabbath for our little one. C-bao awoke bright and early and got herself ready for church, which over the summer has temporarily relocated to the beautiful Sherith Israel on California Street.

By the way, over the last month or so C-bao has finally (finally!) settled in to the drop-off routine with minimal fuss, and after an obligatory "You'll be back?" will now generally wave goodbye and obediently join the rest of her Sunday School buddies, albeit with a few sad looks. This somewhat new development has been a huge relief for the C-folks and a big step forward for our little one.

After church, lunch was enjoyed at Bun Mee on Fillmore Street, as shown above. C-bao tried a few bites of more adventurous fare - C-Pop's Caramel Citrus Rice Bowl - before settling in to her tried and true vermicelli dish.

Given the nice day outside, the fam decided to trek all the way home on foot afterwards. Full of zest, C-bao marched without complaint the several miles home, and still had plenty of energy to complete some fun workbook pages before bathtime, dinner and bed. All in all a restful Sabbath day ahead of a jam-packed week of summer camp. 

Seriously?

C-bao took one look at C-Pop's outfit and had only one thing to say.

Granted, she learned this reaction from one person in the household, and one person only. Not looking at anybody in particular, or mentioning any names, C-Mum.