Happy New Year 2013

Eric, Emily, Logan & Vaughn would like to wish you all the best in the upcoming year.

2012 seems to have raced by. Logan finished preschool and started Kindergarten. He’s already gone from being very skeptical about it (to say the least) t0 enjoying it and seemingly not minding his nightly homework.  Vaughn wishes he could now be with Logan at his new school.  But, if he can’t be with him, he’s happy to imitate him and “talk-up” his own “school,” where he goes on Fridays with Emily.  It’s all singing, music, laughter, fun & good times, just as it should be for a 2 1/2 year old.

With Vaughn now a year older, the boys are better able to play & have fun together.  Those moments after a regular school day can be special, as they truly enjoy seeing each other again — at least for a little while…until things start to get nutty!  Indeed, with each passing year comes more hell-raising, more physical ability & more death-defying stunts…just because they seem to have no concern or fear of pain.

On the safer side, both the boys enjoy music, but we’re finding out that we have little control over their “taste” in music. One of their favorite things to do is tune-in the clock radio to a song of their choosing, crank it up and start jumping & dancing on the bed. Logan will yell out “Mom, I love this song! You have to download it for me!” The song, “Dynamite,” is definitely a Logan pick. Check-out the boys painting & singing below . . .

Eric had finally had enough of the pain in his big right toe which was racked by bone spurs and, as it turns-out, a degenerated joint as well that needed replacing.  Surgery in July has led to a longer-than-expected recovery, the ultimate results of which are still evolving.  It’s been a frustrating several months, but the boys have been understanding.

No such physical issues for Emily, as she’s completed her first two half-marathons in 2012.  The first was at Disneyland here in Southern California, and the second – far harder – was in the hills of Malibu.  Suffice it to say, while such endeavors take considerable effort, some of the training has afforded her with more time with friends, which is always welcome.

One of our big goals to start-off 2012 was to see more friends & family.  In truth, we’re not sure if that was accomplished or not, because any time together always seems too short.  We were lucky to have had some great visits with friends, but are still long overdue in seeing some. Emily’s Dad & Cathy came-out earlier this year, and her sister, Sara, visited us twice with her growing family.  Logan & Vaughn love when their cousins, Jonah & Ila, come to visit, and now having a girl in the mix has – somehow- seemed to calm the chaos…a bit.  We were able to visit Emily’s home & family in July, and you’ll see our attempted family photo here.  It’s not easy!

Christmas, this year, brought the annual visit from Eric’s parents and spending good times with Mark, Pauline and Kyle.  The boys absolutely love when “Nana and Papi” stay with us, enjoying every moment of the extra love & attention from their grandparents.  Eric’s Dad was a good sport, doing his best to play “laser tag” & air hockey and just about anything the boys would throw in front of them.  We visited Grandma Chiyo, now 101 years old, and Eric’s Mom kept the boys entertained with an impressive game of tag and “bean the kid” with the ball.  Logan & Vaughn were thrilled!!  (She can’t throw very hard.)

With the holidays now behind us, and as we put together this blog — looking for pictures to “sum-up” the year, we find it both telling & equally wonderful that so many of the pictures of our daily lives actually look similar to last year.  While 2012 brought Logan’s first organized team sport (t-ball) & soccer camp, the overwhelming majority of our fun photos are filled with the usual days at the beach, the boys still jumping off sand dunes — just higher & farther.  Still playing in the water along the shore, getting more & more brave by stepping out into deeper water.  As their schedules begin to fill-up with the usual rituals of their ages, we know these are still leisurely times for us all.  Candidly, the word “leisurely” doesn’t really fit but, then again, it does.

We are lucky, and we’re so grateful.

Happy New Year!

The Tanakas