July 26, 2010

Rainbow Scratch Paper and Color-by-Number


Sarah is drawing a rainbow.


She was still working on her color-by-numbers and wasn't totally convinced to move onto the rainbow paper yet.


Some of our art. I had to do a few to get them interested, you know.


She worked really hard for a very long time to scratch all the black off of the paper. She was mildly annoyed that Sarah & I were "too lazy" to also scratch off all the black off of a sheet. I felt like it had been done so why do it again?


Mine on the left and Sarah's imitation on the right.

July 24, 2010

Happy First Birthday, Henry!



Anna & Sarah were thrilled when I said they could go get Henry's gifts from our room and put them on the hearth.


Henry had two lovely assistants to help him open his gifts.


Yes, it is hard to believe that a year has gone by since Henry arrived on the scene! The last few months have gone by especially fast with the move. Henry came into the world and the Korean nurses announced that our baby was "a prince" and he really has been. I called him "Mr. Wonderful" early on and he has proven to be the easiest of the three kids so far. I don't know if that's what third kids just do or if we just got really lucky.

Henry is starting to sign and make a few specific noises (trumpeting like an elephant, mooing like a cow) and has a tiny interest in walking (he really liked the alligator walking toy from Nana & Papa) but is such a good crawler that I don't know how long it will take him to venture out on his own. He is in between Anna & Sarah in his level of daring at this age. (Sarah is not very daring any more but she was at one year, that's for sure! Anna has always been on the cautious side.)

He is definitely the most social of the three kids. From the start he always seemed content if you would just sit and chat with him; but he also likes to watch his sisters and he is starting to annoy them like a good little brother should by tearing apart whatever they're playing with or trying to eat their toys or just drooling on them.

He is starting to put things in containers and really study his toys. He is magnetically drawn to all electronics and cords (he takes after his father!). He loves to take baths (although it is really not fun to give him one because he does not sit still) and he's climbing up the stairs and cruising everywhere. He loves drums and other musical instruments and he likes to read (I think more than Sarah at this age but probably not as much as Anna did at this age). I am looking forward to some one-on-one time with him this fall while the girls are in school.

Henry you are one amazing kid and we can't wait to watch you grow and learn over the next year!

July 23, 2010

Spin a Dial

Anna and Sarah do this thing that they call "spinning a dial." They take one another's hand and then spin each other around until they get dizzy. Sarah wants to do this much more than Anna and gets very upset when Anna doesn't want to do it any more. If I offer to do it then she insists she only wants to "spin a dial with a kid." Probably because I don't last very long at all!

Crystals in the Morning

The crystals grew quite a bit more during the night!

July 22, 2010

Crystals


The start (watching the liquid go up the cardboard).


One hour: the inside ones.


Two hours: we brought the outside ones in due to rain.


Three hours: the ones on the left are the ones from outside.


Four hours: the biggest one we got.

I got this crystal kit at Lakeshore Learning. Sarah wanted to try some of them outside but we had to bring them in part-way through the growing because it started raining. The ones that started outside were the best growers of the bunch! My mom & I talked about making rock candy, too, but decided there is too much to do to get ready for Henry's party so we'll have to try that another day.

Gymnastics


Waiting for class to start.


That's Sarah with her legs up.


Anna watching someone in her group do something.


Anna on the un-even bars.

I am constantly telling the girls that they are not allowed to "do gymastics" in the house so I signed them up for actual classes. The girls do their warm-up together but then are in separate classes organized by age. Sarah had a little freak-out when I dropped her off. I ran a bunch of errands during the 45 minute class and came back to see them both participating very reluctantly. We're signed up for a month (one day per week) of classes plus there is an open-gym night each week. We'll see how it goes!

My mom & I did take the girls to open gym tonight and they tried a few things but mostly liked to run and jump into a pit filled with foam blocks. Well, Sarah would run, stop, and then climb down into them. Finally one of the teachers took her hands to help her jump in and then she switched to the new method: run, stop, jump. Anna had a blast running and jumping to see how far she could go. Sarah had a major meltdown when it was time to go (she didn't want it to end). I hope I don't have to witness that again next week!

July 21, 2010

Playdate with Help

Sam & Ally came over this morning for a playdate. Kim brought her nanny and Grandma was visiting, too, so the adult to child ratio wasn't totally out of control. However, my girls didn't play as well with Sam & Ally because they were too excited to see Grandma. (Not that Anna & Sarah would have actually played with Sam & Ally but they weren't with them as much as I wanted them to be.)

July 19, 2010

Art on Monday

I bought a tissue paper flower-making kit from Land of Nod that said for ages 5 and up but most of it was too difficult for Anna to do (I had anticipated helping Sarah with hers). So, the girls chose the order of the colors in the flowers and I did the rest. We all thought the flowers were nice when we finished and have decided to leave them out for Henry's birthday party this weekend.

Ferris Wheel

The kids had a blast on the ferris wheel at the aquarium today. The aquarium itself was pretty lame though and we had to go through it again when we realized we got to the end much too fast the first time.

July 17, 2010

Artistry

The girls always like to take the end of the background paper roll and create some art. I think I'll cut some of their paintings out and hang them in their bathrooms for some personalized art.

July 16, 2010

Fingerees

Sarah is so creative and silly. Her latest thing (the past several weeks) is that her fingers are little toys that she can bring everywhere (very convenient!) and they are called "Fingerees." (This is pronounced "finger-ease.") They can act out stuff, talk to each other, and sometimes they get in trouble ("I didn't do it, Fingerees did!"). Anna also has Fingerees now.

July 14, 2010

After

The rooms are finished! We are pleased with all three rooms although I'm a little shocked by the color in the bathrooms just because I'm not used to it. Once we hang up the towel bars, some pictures, etc. though I'm sure it will soften it a bit. The painters did a great job and I am so relieved that it is all done. I don't feel bad that I didn't do it myself at all now. We did take all of the personality out of the kitchen, however, so I'll be on the hunt for the right art to hang on those walls.

I got everyone out the door to go to music camp and not quite half-way there Sarah started throwing up in the car. The poor little thing! I turned around and drove home as fast as I could but I didn't have anything in the car to give her to clean up immediately. I have put baking powder on the car seat and am airing it out but I'm not totally confident it will get all the stink out (I can't take the cover off of the seat).

Anna was a bit disappointed that they didn't get to go to music camp again. Let's hope they make it tomorrow (their last class!).

July 13, 2010

Not as Planned

Today did not go as planned... The girls had been sick over the weekend and I was a little sick yesterday. Today Anna was throwing up so of course I didn't send the girls to their music camp but I also had to go out and get the paint for the painters. The paint store was having a bit of trouble with their computer and so had a hard time matching our paint for the kitchen. Poor little Anna just wanted to lay down and was stuck waiting it out for a long time at the paint store. Finally the paint store guys said they'd deliver the paint to me when it was ready.

I ended up calling Craig home early from work because I was also not feeling well and needed to get some things at the store for Anna but couldn't drag her out again. I don't know if the painters realized we were sick or just thought we were the laziest family ever since we spent most of the day hanging out in my room! (Henry had to nap in Craig's closet due to some noise in his & Sarah's bathroom.)

I think Sarah was secretly happy that she didn't have to go back to music camp.

July 12, 2010

Music Camp

The girls are going to a music camp together at the rec center this week. Anna looked ready to go but Sarah was hesitant. When I came to pick them up Anna was participating but Sarah was just watching the class. Anna reported (with shock in her tone) that Sarah spoke to the teachers and that she (Anna) whispered something to one of the teachers. I just hope they have fun this week and see that they can survive without me for a stretch of time.

July 10, 2010

Nicknames

Sarah & Anna are kind of like twins who develop their own language. Someone (I'm guessing Sarah) started calling Henry "Hen-a-ree-ah" (yes, it rhymes with diarrhea). This, thankfullly, turned into "Henreek" and then that morphed into calling Henry "Sen-teek." That doesn't even make sense but that's what they call him (when they're not calling him "Hen-honk," "Hen-roy," or "Hen-a-reek-ah." Sarah is "Sair-yeek" and Anna is "Anne-yeek."

July 9, 2010

Sweethearts

The girls play so well together and on their own but this house is so big compared to our apartment in Korea I don't often get pictures of them playing any more. In some ways I wish the house were a bit smaller so that we wouldn't feel so disconnected but ultimately I'm happy for the closet space we have (no basements here!). We're still adjusting, I guess.

July 8, 2010

Grandma

It doesn't take Grandma long to get the sewing machine out when she comes. She made the girls new skirts today (they got to pick the fabric).

July 5, 2010

Fireworks

Craig took the girls to the fireworks last night (he didn't bring a camera). This was the latest the girls have ever been out. He said there was a fair amount of whining and that Sarah said at about 8:30: "I should really be in bed by now!" The fireworks started after 9 and I could hear them from the house and just barely see a few through the thick trees. Craig said both girls fell asleep about 35 seconds after he buckled them in the car and they were thrilled in the morning when they realized that they had slept in their clothes. The report is that they loved the fireworks even though they were too loud.

July 3, 2010

Parade


I had to be dorky and get the kids to wear red, white, & blue today while none of them realized they had a choice.


Waiting for the parade to start.


Here comes the first float: noisy fire trucks and police cars!


The girls were excited about their temporary tattoos! (These were really just stickers, not "real" temporary tattoos.)


I don't think they believed me that they'd be getting candy at the parade. The difference is now they hand out the candy instead of throwing it. A couple groups dropped it in front of the kids but there were no mad rushes of mobs of kids like I remember when I was a kid!


He was so happy to get that flag!


Democrats exist in Texas!


One of our neighbors is on this float (and we saw a few of our old-neighborhood neighbors in another float).


This was one of the girls favorite floats.

We walked to the parade today and it was super hot. We brought the double stroller so the girls took turns riding in it. If you ask Sarah how sweaty she got today she will tell you she was so sweaty that she "sweat off her temporary tattoo!"

Everyone loved the parade but Henry was the most fun to watch get excited by the different floats going by. Next year, however, we may just drive over in the air conditioned car!

July 2, 2010

The Princesses

Anna came up with adding the scarf under the tiara and then thought they should have thrones to sit on. Sarah always thinks she wants to dress up with Anna but then lasts about 2-3 minutes before she starts throwing everything off and shouts, "I don't want to be a princess any more!!"

June 30, 2010

Lessons & Sitter

I left Henry with the babysitter today while I took the girls to their swimming lesson because it's 20 minutes each way plus 30 minutes of the lesson that we can't go to the park for (because it's so terribly hot!) and I thought he'd rather not spend more in the car. He wasn't entirely happy with the sitter but I'm going to do it again on Thursday because that will be the girls' last lesson and really, he has more potential for fun at home than in the car!

June 29, 2010

Kansas to Texas

Sarah must have swallowed too much pool water at the hotel last night because she threw up a few times in the middle of the night. Poor thing! We brought our Holiday Inn Express Ice Bucket (now known as the "Holiday Inn Express Puke Bucket") with us in the car just in case but, luckily, she didn't need it again. Otherwise the ride back was relatively uneventful but we are glad to be back in Texas!

June 28, 2010

Minnesota to Kansas


Maeve showing me Hopper the frog.


Checking out Maeve's room.


Helping make the lemonade.


Anna didn't want to sit next to Maeve and Maeve insisted on it.


Craig made his elephant noise that usually at least gets eye contact if not a smile from the kids.

We stopped in Iowa to meet Heather & her family on the way home. Heather & I have been part of an online group that started on Babycenter when we were pregnant with our first children. (I met Sophia in Denver from this same group a few years ago.) Heather made us a really good lunch but we didn't get to stay long (and it was, of course, no where near long enough for either of my girls to warm up to anyone in Heather's family!! Heather's kids are all the same ages as mine. I don't think Sarah & Finn noticed each other but Henry & Oren seemed to think the other kid was pretty cool.

We are staying in the same hotel in Kansas that we stayed in on the way up last week.

June 27, 2010

Sunday in Minnesota



Craig took the girls to the Mall of America with Rachel, Mat, Jake, & Sam while Henry & I were at my grandma's.


Then everyone came back to my grandma's until it was time to head out for dinner.


Waiting for our pizzas at Carbone's!


Henry & Chris!!


June 26, 2010

Family Reunion

June 25, 2010

Kansas to Minnesota

The kids did really great all day yesterday & today. I was surprised that Sarah actually travels better by car than by plane (I assumed it would be about the same: not very well). Henry did cry for the last hour or more when we hit traffic going through St. Paul, but who can blame him? And at least we were in our own private car and not on a public airplane!

When we stopped in Iowa, Anna asked if we could live there (because it is so much cooler and less humid there than in Texas!!).

The girls mostly colored or played with their My Little Ponies all day. Henry didn't care for any of the toys we tried to hand him but did like snacking and having books read to him or just being conversational. He took several short naps but never anything longer than 45 minutes which is a shame because he really needed it! Craig & I checked out his new iPad and used the map on it to look at traffic on our route which was really cool.

We were all glad to get to Bonnie & Neil's house and settle in. (Bonnie and Neil are way too kind and let us have their bedroom which means Henry gets to sleep in another closet (the last time was at the temporary housing in Texas) which is perfectly dark and quiet.)

June 24, 2010

Texas to Kansas

We got up early today and hit the road (the girls were so excited they were buckled in the car before I even had Henry ready!). We spent the night in Emporia, Kansas which is right about where Henry decided he was done for the day. We got there just around his bedtime and he fell asleep within minutes of getting in the pack & play while Craig took the girls to the hotel pool to get a little exercise.

June 23, 2010

More Lessons

The girls are doing really well with their lessons and I've signed them up for a few more while we've got some momentum going.

June 22, 2010

Pesto & Blueberry Cobbler

The girls helped me make home-made pesto with our own fresh basil and then we had the left-over blueberry cobblers from last night for our Tea on Tuesday.

June 19, 2010

Swimming

We took the kids to one of the local pools today. Henry liked the baby pool (and the girls liked going down the slide in it) but he tired of the experience faster than I thought he would. The girls had fun swimming (Anna refused to let go of her noodle, Sarah mostly refused to hold it even though she's not quite ready for noodle-less swimming!).

June 18, 2010

Shopping Cart

The girls were so thrilled when we saw kid-sized shopping carts at one of the local upscale grocery stores today. I'm just glad that they shared and didn't ask to each get their own.

June 17, 2010

Swimming

Today was Anna & Sarah's fourth lesson and they are doing really well but they both need more work so I've signed them up for at least two more next week.

Ten Month Portraits


He had breakfast this way to keep his white shirt clean so we started the session this way.


He was so not into sitting still today!


Sarah really wanted to get her portrait taken.


Anna slept until almost nine this morning so she missed out!


She finally woke up!


Sarah is just a goofball.


Anna's mushroom is on the left and Sarah's is on the right. It was a dorky little one-spot kit from Target for a "garden mushroom."

June 15, 2010

Skirts by Grandma

The girls love the new skirts that Grandma made for them and they are the same size so they can switch and share. (Anna was mad at me for something in the photos so she is mad at me, not not loving the skirts!)

June 14, 2010

Back to Texas

We had a good flight back to Texas today although when we checked in the airline told Craig that they put the kids in exit rows and they didn't have a seat for him and that we should go to the gate to get that worked out. Awesome. In the end Craig got a seat and we all had seats together (not in an exit row). As always, it is good to be home!

June 13, 2010

Happy 40th Anniversary!


More snowflakes coming down today!


Driving to the party. We told the kids (and Anita & Brian) we were taking them to a restaurant and stopping at Corrine's first. Anna tried to get mad at me for lying to her about the surprise party but I guess she understood why I did it.


Henry had a good time with Lindsay at the party. (Thanks, Lindsay!)


Mat was pretending that he was going to take a bite of Sarah's cake (she is territorial about food, like me!) and she started fencing him with her fork.

I don't know if they were surprised or not but at least Corrine & Scott were able to pull off a great party in their garage after the weather ruined the original park plan!

June 12, 2010

Family & Snowflakes


No, it wasn't piles of snow but it was exciting enough (and cold enough) for this group of Texans to enjoy it. (It has been miserable in Texas the past few weeks!)


I think Anna interacted with Opa more on this trip than she ever has before.


The girls wouldn't go sit with the kids unless I went with them.


Henry didn't mind sitting with the grown-ups.


I posted this one because I love Henry in it, sorry Anita!


The big kids were watching Harry Potter. Anna really liked it but it was a little too much for Sarah (she came upstairs partway through and wouldn't leave my side).

June 11, 2010

Colorado



Opa & Henry meet at last!

We went up to Colorado to introduce Henry to Opa, to get the kids some more time with Corrine's family before they come down to take care of our kids in July , and to help celebrate Brian & Anita's 40th wedding anniversary. I think it has been long enough since we got on the plane last that we didn't have any dread about the flight. That and we didn't have as many bags, we didn't have any cats, and the flight is just two-and-half hours long.

It is a little weird being in Colorado right now as this is the first time we've been here since we've moved back and the last three years we came we were coming from Qatar or Korea and Colorado has become "America" and we felt the urge to go shopping and see what was new in the world. Then we remembered that when we go "back" we are going back to Texas which is also part of the United States (yes, really, it is!). I wonder how long it will take to reprogram our brains on this?

June 10, 2010

Swimming Lessons


Anna is on the left and Sarah is in the middle of the pool.

The girls' first swimming lesson was rained-out Tuesday but we made it yesterday and today. I'm not allowed to stay at the lesson (kids don't pay attention to the instructors when their moms are watching!) but I can watch the last few minutes. It seemed to go well in that Sarah didn't freak out that I dropped her off and no one was crying when I picked them up. I can already tell after two half-hour lessons that the girls are going to learn a lot!

June 9, 2010

Courtney & Mackenzie

The girls were so excited for Courtney & Mackenzie to come today! I think Anna was thrilled with Mackenzie (she is a baby and she's a girl!). Henry actually played with some of "his" toys today if only because Mackenzie was playing with them. I'm sure he won't even glance at them again tomorrow. Mackenzie is just a few weeks younger than Henry so it was fun to see them together and compare notes with Courtney.

June 8, 2010

Favorites


Four of my favorite people in the world!

June 6, 2010

Bowling

The girls had a great time bowling this afternoon! I don't think Anna realized that the score was being tracked until the very end and by then it was too late. She did all of her own bowling though and Sarah did have help (she was pretty upset when she realized the had the lowest score). Henry thought the bowling alley was interesting and got to get a lot of people-watching in.

Crazy Dress-up and Hopscotch


Sarah is always coming up with "crazy" outfits. The crazier the better. She had a purse and wand before I took the picture but ditched them when I got the camera out.


An update on what Anna's room looks like.


I got my mom to hang the mirror on the door and hooks on the wall (in the closet) for dress-up stuff.


My camera is a little fogged up from the change in temperature/humidity from the house to outside. I am too impatient to wait for it to de-fog so the pictures have kind of romantic softening to them.

June 3, 2010

Blueberries & Painting



Sarah & Mat were hard to corral at the end. Sarah was stuffing her cheeks with blueberries on the way out!


We left the house just after 7 to go blueberry picking and it was a really smart decision. The weather was actually cool and not humid so we had a pleasant experience! Rachel helped me with Henry (my carrier was not in my car for some reason?) and he had fun eating halves of blueberries along the way.

June 2, 2010

Trolley & Water Taxi

We took Rachel's family out for a trolley ride and lunch. Then Rachel & Mat took Jake, Sam, Anna, & Sarah on the water taxi when I went back to the house to meet up with the irrigation people and to let Henry take his nap. The story I got on the water taxi is that it was a bit too long and not enough to see that was very interesting so not really worth it.

May 31, 2010

Much Too Hot

The breeze went away and we were left with hot, humid air so we didn't last long today with our sunburns! Sarah "The Rooster" Martin woke our family up around 6 AM so we packed up, took a walk on the beach, and then decided it was just time to go. We really couldn't spend more time in the sun or we would have just gotten in the water and cooled off (I have a pretty bad burn, Craig & Sarah both have a bit of a burn). Rachel's family is staying one more night in Galveston but they have a hotel for the night.

Camping went really well which is great news but we will wait until the weather cools down to go in Texas again! We had some kind of annoying neighbors though. (At one point the mom yelled at her kid to get back in the tent because he was supposed "to be watching TV" with the other kids in their group. Their TV was on pretty loud and it did keep me & Anna awake longer than we would have liked but I'm just thankful Henry & Sarah didn't wake up because it could have gotten ugly really fast with them!)

May 30, 2010

Camping at the Beach


The girls were so excited to go to the beach they were waiting out in the van well before it was actually time to go.


Mat was patient with the girls and helped them roast their marshmallows.


This is our massive tent. Henry is sleeping in his pack-n-play in there!

We had a great time at the beach today! I didn't get sunscreen on though so I got a pretty bad sunburn on my shoulders and face. Thank goodness I spent quite a bit of time with Henry in the shade or I'd really be having a hard time! We had a nice breeze today which kept the heat bearable. All of the kids thought the water was awesome (it was so warm!) and I'm glad no one was afraid of getting in (although my girls were a little more cautious than Rachel's boys were).

Henry took a short nap in my arms at the beach and didn't take too long to fall asleep in the tent. We'll see what the night holds for us!

May 26, 2010

Cat Spit & Donkey

As we walked out the door tonight to get dinner and pick up my mom from the airport, Anna said her name was "Princess Sparkly Star" and Sarah said her name was "Cat Spit." Then to top things off, I got them ice cream at dinner and Anna said she didn't like how it tasted and that it tasted "funky." Sarah must have mis-heard her and said, "I didn't like it, either, it tasted like donkey." (Sarah actually did like it though because she ate all of hers!)

Haircuts

All the kids got their hair cut tonight. My camera battery died during Sarah's cut so I'll have to get a shot of their new looks later on (it was too late when we got home to take a picture with the other camera). Anna was excited, Henry did really well, and Sarah was really nervous (she was worried the lady was going to cut her skin). I love Anna's cut, Henry's didn't get trimmed as well as I had wanted (it's still touching his ears), and I am so sad that I cut Sarah's beautiful curls!! I did get a big pony tail from Sarah's hair (kind of creepy!) and a lock of Henry's hair.

Grandma!


May 25, 2010

Last Day of Class

The kids & I really enjoyed our class at the Waldorf school but now the teacher is not going to be there in the fall! Anna & Sarah really liked her and they both gave her a hug today (this is a big deal for them!) and Anna made some noises in response to the teacher today (this is an even bigger deal for her!). So, now we are debating sending them to this school in the fall or to public Kindergarten (Anna) and the local Montessori school/another private preschool (for Sarah) or homeschooling.

May 24, 2010

Monday

May 23, 2010

It's Getting Too Hot!

It is getting to the point where it is too hot to go to the park in the afternoon and mid-morning. We'll have to start going before Henry's morning nap if we want to go at all this summer.

May 22, 2010

Portraits Continued



May 21, 2010

Carousel


This is Henry's second carousel ride. I didn't have my camera last time. He loves it!


Her face doesn't show it here, but she loves it, too!


The original carousel-lover.

Sarah is having a hard time staying in bed all night long (right after we got Henry to sleep through the night!) so we are working on a reward system with her. She gets a sticker each morning she follows the Sleep Rules (stay in bed, stay very quiet, close your eyes, and go to sleep) and after she collects seven stickers she gets to pick out a new stuffed animal (she falls in love with one everywhere she goes). I have discovered that she needs a little incentive around day three or four though so last night she was told we would go on the carousel if she followed the rules and that got us through last night!

May 17, 2010

Bird-Watchers


Watching for cardinals on our new feeder.

Pool

I must have been in denial about the heat around here because I've had this pool for weeks and it has been in the 90s for weeks but I only decided to inflate it and fill it today. Should have done it this morning so the water would have a chance to warm up with the sun though because Henry was not pleased with the cool water when I plopped him in there! Tomorrow I'll plan ahead a bit more. Sorry, little Henry! (The girls didn't care one bit though!) I have to note that last year I bought a pool in Korea that was smaller for $40 and this pool was $5. Next time we go overseas I'll have to stock up on baby pools!

May 11, 2010

Opposites

Anna will often come downstairs and declare that she is "Princess Strawberry Sunset" or something equally flowery. Sarah will then announce that she is "Fly."

May 10, 2010

Strawberry Pie

We made the strawberry pie today and it was delicious! We used the Joy of Cooking recipe and the girls had a very hard time waiting the four hours for it to solidify in the refrigerator. It was worth the wait though!

May 9, 2010

Sunday

May 8, 2010

Strawberry-Picking

I took the girls strawberry picking this morning and we plan to make a strawberry pie with the berries we picked (if they don't eat them up first!).

May 5, 2010

Wednesday

May 3, 2010

Monday


Papa is making the airplanes that he & Anita gave the girls.


The girls had a ton of fun with the stickers that Rachel, Mat, Jake, & Sam sent for Sarah's birthday today after we took Papa to the airport.


May 2, 2010

Sarah's Third Birthday Party



He hangs out on his side like this a lot. Funny boy.


Notice that Henry swiped some of Craig's brownie here?


She is concentrating so hard that her tongue is sticking out!


Sarah was happy that Papa was able to be at her birthday "party" today so I didn't push her to invite any of the kids she has met since we arrived in Texas. We had brownies and ice cream and she kept "forgetting" to make a wish when she blew out the candle so she had to re-do it two more times (both times we had to sing the Happy Birthday song again). I am planning to take the kids to the zoo on her actual birthday later this week.

May 1, 2010

Weekend


The girls had fun checking out Papa's bed in the game room.

I started working on the wallpaper in Anna's bathroom this week and it is three layers thick! It might just take me forever to get it all peeled off. The plan is to take it off in here first so I can get my technique down before I work on the kitchen. Wish me luck!

Brian came in last night and he and Craig went to a wedding in San Antonio so tonight is the first night I'll spend in this house without Craig and it suddenly feels even bigger now that he's not here!

April 30, 2010

Friday

April 28, 2010

Settling In

April 24, 2010

House-Warming Party

I didn't take a single picture of the house or the party today! We invited our old friends and our new neighbors over to our house today for a house-warming party. It was great to see everyone but we didn't get to talk to everyone enough, either. Henry was great in that he went to anyone who was willing to hang out with him (Lyn and Kate, mostly) so I actually got to chat with a few people and he actually got to crawl around. The girls had fun even though it was totally crazy here. I think they were mostly excited about the food but they had fun meeting all of our friends and seeing some of the people we used to see in Okpo, too.

After the party Craig & I tried out a new babysittter who happens to live down the street from us. Anna really liked her and even talked to her right away which was really surprising to witness. We took it easy on the sitter for her first time and had Henry & Sarah in bed already.

April 22, 2010

Gardening

We planted pumpkins, watermelons, carrots, onions, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, and some flowers in our garden. I have warned the girls that nothing might happen or that the squirrels might eat anything that does grow.

April 21, 2010

Well-Child Exams

Anna's 5 Year stats:
39.25 lbs (25-50th percentile)
42.5 inches tall (50th percentile)

Sarah 3 Year stats:
34.5 lbs (75-90th percentile)
36 inches tall (25th percentile)
19.75 inch head circumference (75-90th percentile)

Henry's 9 month stats:
20.2 lbs (75-90th percentile)
28.5 inches tall (75-90th percentile)
18 inch head circumference (95th percentile)

Sarah was a little jealous that she didn't get a vaccination today even after she watched her brother and sister get theirs (Anna was strong and held herself together and Henry didn't even notice his). Anna actually responded to a few of the doctor's questions and otherwise the kids did a great job waiting for and during the appointment. I had to put up a bit of a fuss to get all three kids' appointments back-to-back and I think I spent about as much time there as I did when we went for just Sarah the last two times so I'm glad I did it.

Bath-time

Henry took a bath in the other bath tub but joined Anna & Sarah for a quick splash in their bath before he went to bed for the night. Henry loves to take a bath and will not sit up but has to swim around in the water.

April 20, 2010

Tea on Tuesday

We had our first Tea on Tuesday in our new house today. The girls were excited to sit at the dining room table and use my grandma's china (I think it's better to use it or it doesn't mean a whole lot, does it?).

April 18, 2010

Sarah: (Almost) Three Year Portraits



Is it obvious that Sarah is my silliest child?

Portraits


April 16, 2010

Beach Party

The girls spent a long time getting the blankets and umbrellas just-so today. I asked what they were doing and Anna told me they were playing "day at the beach."

We did get some birds to our feeder already—very exciting stuff!

April 15, 2010

Bird-Watchers

We bought some bird seed to put in the feeder that was already in our yard and the girls decided to sit down and wait for the birds to come by. I told them it might be a day or two before we see any but they were determined to wait it out!

April 14, 2010

Dark Outside

Sarah has had some issues lately with staying in bed (not just at bedtime but in the middle of the night as well—and I thought we'd be done with this now that Henry is sleeping through the night?!). Tonight she woke up in the middle of the night and said, "it's so dark outside you can't even see a lizard!"

April 13, 2010

Picnic

We had a picnic at home after we got back from school today (the girls lingered outside long after I brought Henry inside to take his nap). The kids & I are really enjoying our parent/child class at the Waldorf school so far.

April 11, 2010

Birthday Party

I took the girls to Bryan's (5) and Allie's (3) Pirate & Princess birthday party today. They both had fun but were both really shy. Anna did take a turn with the pinata but Sarah wasn't bold enough for that. It was a little strange going to a party in the US after three years overseas! I didn't know what the typical price-limit was, was overwhelmed by the choices of gifts I could give, etc.

April 10, 2010

Biking

My mom left this morning and I'm thankful to her for all that we got done this week while she was here! Tonight we got the bikes out of the garage and strapped on the girls new bike helmets and took a short trip around the neighborhood. Sarah was pushed most of the way but did a pretty good job pedaling on her own for some of the way. Henry really seemed to enjoy getting out and seeing the trees and things on the path.

April 9, 2010

Sewing and Tunneling


It didn't take long for the girls to ask Grandma to sew them something when she got the machine out for a quick alteration I needed the hanging bar in Anna's closet!


Anna asked for a "baby" star to go with the others my mom & I had made her and Sarah wanted an elephant.


I got out the tunnel for Henry and he had a blast crawling back and forth through it!


April 8, 2010

Outside


Anna is so sweet giving her sister a push on the swingset.

The girls are still having so much fun playing outside and I love that they can go out there on their own while I unpack during Henry's naps. My mom is busy lining all of my shelves in the pantry and kitchen and is being a great help with childcare!

April 6, 2010

Grandma & The Trolley

My mom came to town last night and I had promised the girls we would take the trolley around town when Grandma got here... so we did and it was fun. We parked at the grocery store and took the trolley to lunch and back to our car. Next they want to go on the water taxi but we'll wait until Grandma comes again, I think!

April 4, 2010

Easter Morning

Everyone loved their Easter baskets and had fun hunting for eggs. Henry's were filled with "puffs" and the girls got a variety of candy. Anna had left a note for the Easter Bunny by her door the night before and when she got up in the morning it was gone. We can only guess that the Easter Bunny took the note with him when he left our house this morning!

April 3, 2010

Coloring the Eggs


All of our eggs are finished (Anna spilled on her shirt and didn't want to be in the picture because she took it off already!).


Henry didn't help color the eggs but he did enjoy some bread at snack-time.


These little berries/flowers (?) are growing in the "grass" of our backyard. I don't know what it is but they are cute.

We're still getting our house set up but we had to color Easter eggs so we made a quick run to the store for eggs and vinegar (I already had the dye and amazingly knew right where it was in this mess!).

April 1, 2010

Tree House

Our sea shipment from Korea was delivered today. This delivery was much more comforting for the girls since this is the stuff they have been living with. Tonight when I put Sarah to bed she said, "My room is like the Berenstain Bears tree house!" I think because there are so many trees outside her room and she is on the second floor (so up high like the bear family).

The girls are having a blast in our yard and I have gotten quite a bit of unpacking and organizing done while they play outside. I still have a long way to go though!

March 31, 2010

Empty Inside


Family room with kitchen to the left, master bedroom to the right, front door behind me.


From the dining room to the family room. (We hope to get rid of the "step-down" thing completely at some point, get wood floors put in in the family room, new tile in the kitchen, new appliances, etc.)


From the family room to the dining room and front door.


The gameroom up is open to the family room below.


The wood paneling on the wall in the family room (master suite is behind this wall).


The "conversation nook" is to the right of the kitchen here (it is a wet bar with seating).


Office area of the master bedroom.


Into the master bathroom.


His & hers closets.


Inside Craig's closet.


The "conversation nook."


From the conversation nook to upstairs. Sarah's room is at the top of the stairs.


The kitchen. I cannot wait to get that wallpaper down!


Giant pantry.


Laundry room. (There is another closet behind the opened door!)


Seriously old appliances!


Sarah's room.


Henry's room.


Sarah & Henry's bathroom.


Game room.


Game room. (Anna's room is to the left of the circle-part of the game room.)


That's Sarah's door and Sarah & Henry's bathroom door.


Anna's room.


Anna's closet and bathroom.

I wanted to get some pictures of the house before our stuff comes in because I just don't know how long it's going to take to get our stuff organized and looking OK for pictures! Today was a long day. Craig couldn't take the day off of work so I was on my own (he was able to come for a bit and bring us some lunch, thank goodness!). The girls played outside a lot and although Henry took two naps he was definitely difficult to corral most of the time. We received the things from storage today and tomorrow we'll get our sea shipment. There were several things that I didn't even remember having and it was really hard to figure out where a lot of it should go in this new space. We are planning to go through our things and get rid of the things we didn't miss/didn't know we had/don't like any more and hope to not accumulate so much stuff again!

March 30, 2010

Closing

We closed on our house this morning! The kids were great during the closing (the girls were engrossed in coloring and Henry had enough new stuff to explore that he didn't even get fussy although it was his nap-time.). I took the kids over to the house to spend a little time there before we move in tomorrow. Before we went, Sarah said she wanted to stay in our temporary housing and not move into the new house. After we spent some time there, however, she is definitely ready to move in in the morning!

March 29, 2010

Texas Bluebonnets


Anna was trying to make sure Henry didn't fall over. I didn't see her hands by his neck until after this one and then the rest where she had her hands around his waist were worse than these! There's always next year!


I don't know if eating blubonnets makes you officially Texan or not.


Can you tell she was not into this? The ground was wet and she didn't want to get dirty. (?!)


Finished!

March 28, 2010

Concert in the Park


Craig & the girls are giving Henry a push on the swing.

We went to the concert in the park tonight and had a picnic dinner which is incredibly difficult to do with an eight-month old who wants to be on-the-go and eating things he shouldn't be eating. We had a fun time though and we hope to do it again a few more times this spring (the summer concerts are later so those will be harder to do).

March 27, 2010

Nature Trail



Playing "super-closey" in the booth at dinner because they were cold.

Craig went golfing today so I took the kids on a nature hike near one of the new parks we checked out last week. It was totally flat so it was really different than what we've been doing in Korea but it was already really warm and humid so I'm not sure how we're going to survive the summer here just yet. I know we'll adjust but I don't know how long that will take!

March 23, 2010

IKEA and Firetruck

We went to IKEA today to scope some things out and to get a dresser for Henry (for a changing table—I left the old one in Korea because it was not going to survive another international move!). I dropped the girls off at Smaland but could hear Sarah crying for me when I made it downstairs (there is a pick-up point when you get half-way through the store) so I got the girls out and they walked through the rest of the store with me. I was hoping that since they were together they would be fine! We'll try again another time, I guess.

This afternoon we walked over to the book store and then to dinner. We are not going to be in this town house much longer so I thought we had better take advantage of it while we are so incredibly close to everything. On the way we saw a fire truck outside the grocery store and I was making a big deal of it since we hadn't seen a fire truck up close for a long time (the Children's Museum in Denver a year ago). A firefighter came out of the truck and gave each of the kids a little firefighter hat which made everyone's day!

March 22, 2010

Seven Month Portrait

Needless to say, things have been crazy this month and I didn't get to Henry's official seven-month-portrait until the very last day! Henry is really crawling a lot and getting into everything. I will be so happy when we are in our own space and we can properly baby-proof (he wants to eat everything he gets his hands on!).

March 21, 2010

Rodeo

I was so excited when we found out we were going to be back in Texas in time for the Houston Rodeo but it was hard to actually find the time to go once we got here! We made it on the last day (and a very cold day!) and we had a good time. The girls got to pet some different animals in the petting zoo (we were surprised they had some deer and I took Henry out of the zoo when the deer started trying to eat the Baby Hawk straps. (I didn't want it to start nibbling his toes by mistake!) Then the girls got to ride ponies and watch chicks hatch out of eggs. Henry did enjoy people-watching but got totally wiped out by the time we found some lunch and fell asleep for a bit in the Baby Hawk. He woke up when we got settled at the pig races (!) and shortly after that we made our way back home.

March 19, 2010

Switch


Here a few pictures of the inside of the townhouse we've been living in this month.


We went to the park to keep people happy while we waited to go look at house #2 again (this was the third time we've been through it, the first time was during the first week we were here!).

We decided to not go with the first house and instead have made an offer on the second house. I am feeling much better and less stressed already!

March 17, 2010

Walking

The townhouse we're staying in has convinced us to buy a house near-ish to here. We have inspections on a house this week but I'm starting to get cold feet about it. I'm not sure if it's just because it's a big decision or what but I keep thinking about one other house (but would I keep thinking about house #1 if we were getting inspections on house #2?). We'll see what the inspections say and go from there, I guess. In the mean time we are thoroughly enjoying being so close to everything right now (within walking distance to all sorts of great stuff!).

March 16, 2010

Grandma-time

Thankfully, my mom was able to stay for a few days this week so I could run around and get a few things done while she watched one or two kids for me. Thank you, mom!

March 15, 2010

33

And for Craig's 33rd birthday, Sarah & I spent the afternoon and $150 at Toyota buying a second key and a key fob for my car.

March 13, 2010

The Country

Craig got my new minivan this morning and my parents came down for a visit. We all got in the new van (it's an 8-passenger!) and went to visit my dad's aunt about an hour away from us. The girls liked checking out her yard but Henry got pretty tired on the way home and screamed for a good chunk of time (of course only to fall asleep shortly before we made it back to the townhouse).

March 12, 2010

Fairy Houses

The girls are always finding things at the park to add to their fairy houses at our temporary house (even though the town maintains the front yard and keeps destroying their houses).

March 11, 2010

Another Park


He just loves the swings!

March 10, 2010

HEB and New Favorite Park

The kids are still easily entertained by going to the grocery store and to the park. I wonder how long this will keep up?

March 9, 2010

Waldorf School


Henry dove right in and started chewing on the toys.


Anna is giving Sarah a push here.

We all really enjoyed our morning at the Waldorf school's parent/child class. The class is for 18months-3 years but I asked if it would be OK for Anna to come along to try to ease her back into a school setting where she might be comfortable enough to speak in class (and hopefully eventually to the teacher). Anna & Sarah played with the barn most of the time and had a great time. Anna really seemed to enjoy the bread and tea part of class and she seemed really comfortable overall since there was no pressure on her in any form. Sarah was hesitant about going but had fun once she & Anna started playing but but shedidn't start eating her bread until it was nearly time to clean it up! (I'm always surprised that she acts a little shy when we try new things/meet new people because I just don't think of her that way.) They both loved the swings hanging from the oak treas outside and didn't want to leave to go home for Henry's nap. Henry did take a short nap in the Baby Hawk so I went ahead and signed us up for the spring session (it is ten weeks long and starts the week after next).

March 8, 2010

More Nana & Papa

March 6, 2010

Sarah


Self-entertaining Sarah!

Poor little Sarah is still having a hard time with this move. She keeps telling us she wants to go back to Korea. It's hard for her since all she knows is Korea and we are not in our "forever house" as the girls are calling the house we are looking for right now. Since we have a "temporary" van (a rental) and a "temporary" house I think she is just unsettled. I really hope she will feel more at ease once we get into our house and we can finally get back into a normal routine (although who knows how long that will take).

March 4, 2010

Nana & Papa

Thank you go Anita & Brian for coming out to help with childcare while Craig & I go house-hunting. The house-hunt has been a wild roller-coaster of emotions so far. I have been looking online for so long that maybe that is what makes me feel like it's taking so long to find the right house but I didn't think we'd have to see so many places to find the right one!

February 26, 2010

Gifts & Gamjatang


Hanmi stopped by with a really nice hanbok for Henry today (I will photograph him in it when he turns one) and several people from Craig's office sent him home with some little things for the kids. We were so lucky to meet so many nice people while we lived here.


We decided to head out to Gamjatang one last time. The girls will miss the trampoline!

Yesterday and today have been hard without all of our "stuff." We can't keep up our regular routines, etc. We are all getting antsy to get on with the traveling part of this adventure (Craig and I, at least, can't wait to get that part over!

February 24, 2010

Movers


The movers arrive (Henry is napping so the kids & I wait until he wakes up to get out of the way.)


The hospital where Henry was born. (I needed this photo before we leave so I made sure to get it today while the skies are sunny even though it was raining the day he was born.)


A playground we haven't been to for a long time was the perfect choice for our morning entertainment.


Henry was happy to get out in the fresh air, too.


Our afternoon entertainment was the D-Cube indoor play area (it started to rain around lunch time).


Anna loves the zip-line.


Sarah was a little too scared to do it.


She would always get about this far before letting go and then hopping the rest of the way off the mat.


Henry hung out here for a bit.


And then I let him stretch out here. One little girl was fascinated with him and I had a very hard time getting her to stop touching him.


Sarah on the slide and Anna on the zip-line.


They are finally almost done packing and have started loading the truck.


Clementine napping on the cushion-less couch (Sarah is using it as her mattress until we leave). The cats are pretty confused at what happened today but they had some good training for their carriers since we kept them in there all day while the movers were here.

February 23, 2010

Packing

We are packing our suitcases now. The shippers come tomorrow so we need to have everything we're bringing on the plane with us out of the way. Anna is packing clothes, Sarah is throwing random toys in her suitcase. I am trying to remain sane! (It's a good thing I have made lists for each person's suitcases so I know what needs to actually get inside some of these bags.)

February 22, 2010

Ballet

Sarah, Henry, & I went to Anna's ballet class today (her last class is Thursday) to watch and see how she has progressed. The owner's moved to a new studio last week so it was nice to also check that out (much nicer and cleaner than the old one!). I also learned that Anna's teacher is due in March with twin boys (I can't even imagine!). It is getting really sad this week as we are quickly doing a lot of things for the "last time" in Okpo!

Sarah got pretty bored shortly before the class ended. I attempted to tell her that she was going to think the ballet class was pretty short after our upcoming trip to Texas on Sunday but I don't think she truly grasped what I was trying to tell her.

February 21, 2010

Last Minute Tourism


There was no heat in the "museum" part (but the store was nice and comfortable for leisurely shopping!).


They thought this tiara was amazing.

I took the girls up to the Tongyeong Pearl Museum today. (I tried to go in September with Anita but we went on a Monday and they are closed on Mondays!) I originally wanted to get a little necklace for Sarah similar to the one I got for Anna in China in 2004 but I wasn't inspired by anything. There were some beautiful pieces there but nothing in I adored in my price range.

February 19, 2010

Fridays


Probably our last visit to the Gohyeon Starbucks.


Henry likes that he can finally sit in the high chair here!


We have stopped watching TV during the week and just have "Friday Afternoon at the Movies" each week now. If we can we stop at the movie theater to get some Movie Theater Popcorn but the girls don't complain if we just have microwave popcorn sometimes.


We gave Anna one of our old digital cameras (one Craig had gotten for free from work) because her kid one was frustrating her.


He's getting on his hands & knees!


It's more fun when Henry is at the table with us! (We are just skipping purees and moving on to finger food. He loves Cheerios!)


Reading to her bunny.


Playing with her ponies... The girls are so good at playing on their own!

Cleaning Ladies

Sarah often says she "loves the cleaning ladies 100" (and she says she loves Craig "100" as well). She says this because Anna will say she "loves (something) 10" or "infinity," etc. to show varying degrees of love. Anyway, I thought if she loves them that much we had better get a picture with them so that they can remember them after we are in Texas.

February 17, 2010

Mini Photo Shoot

This was Sarah's idea but Anna is the only one who ended up doing anything with it: this is a "photo shoot."

Hike

The girls were excited when they discovered that a new bench was put in on the hiking trail near our house.

February 16, 2010

Tea on Tuesday

The girls & I have been practicing our Best Manners at Tea on Tuesdays in the afternoon when Henry is napping. Since Craig had today off (for Lunar New Year; he doesn't go back until Thursday!) he joined us. I guess we were too polite to tell him he should get out of his pajamas for tea!

February 14, 2010

The Rest of the Shoot

Happy New Year! (Year of the Tiger)


I didn't bother putting on the pants that go with Henry's since they were way too big. He'll wear them for his one-year portrait though.

Today is the first day of the Year of the Tiger. I gave the girls some new hanboks because their old ones were getting too small and worn out. I bought Henry one for his first-year picture since I have that of the girls. It was difficult to pick a hanbok for him because they were all in what I think of (as an American) "girly" colors. I chose this one because I liked the dragon and I will probably take the dragon off and frame it after he's had his one-year portrait in it.

Basket Lady

Sarah comes up with some of the funniest stuff around here.

February 13, 2010

Saturday


I have no idea what the game was here.


Adding the "V" and "M" pages to their alphabet books.

February 10, 2010

Wednesday


Waiting for the banana-oat muffins to bake.


Playing "muddy-gooey shoes" in the rain.

The kids have been sick again this week (me, too) so we've been taking it easy for now. This morning for our science experiment we put some carnations in colored water. I didn't have any white carnations so I think this didn't work as well as it could have. We did see some good results with green food coloring but not with purple. The colored water shows up in the petals after a few hours of the flower drinking it.

February 6, 2010

Last Things

The girls and I made a list of things we'd like to do before we leave Korea at the end of the month and at the very top of their list was to go to the dinosaur park one more time. We had beautiful weather today so Craig took the girls. (I stayed home with Henry to clean up the house so that some people could tour the apartment.)

February 5, 2010

This Week

Since everyone was still kind of sick this week we took it pretty easy again. Sarah learned about the letter D and we made sun prints and butter (Anna got back to her reading and math lessons as well). Today we made some brownies with some of the chocolate I've been hoarding for so long. (I get all of my baking chocolate from home because there is not a good source of chocolate here—on Geoje, at least!)

February 3, 2010

Butter

We made butter for our science project today. The girls shook this container of fresh cream (I put it in a sour cream container in case you can read that it says "sour cream" on the container) for about ten seconds each. When it became obvious that I was the only one who intended to do "my share" of the 20 minutes of shaking required I put it in the food processor instead. We were all just as impressed (I think) and I added some honey to the butter for a different taste than what we buy in the store. It was really good and I didn't realize how simple it is to make butter until now.

February 2, 2010

Tuesday


Everyone is finally feeling better (still some coughing but no fevers) so we had to get out of the house today for some fresh air and a walk through town. **Note the ride Sarah is on has a "police officer" with his gun drawn.**


Too bad Craig & Henry were not also on the couch. Now that would have been a picture!

January 31, 2010

Painting


A house in the winter woods.


Stones.

January 28, 2010

I'm Not Sick

Sarah refuses to admit she is sick. But she doesn't nap anymore and she doesn't leave fruit snacks un-eaten. Poor little girl. I feel especially bad for her because Henry is also sick and he is in the Baby Hawk a lot which means I can't hold her like she wants me to. At least Craig is back from gas-trials and can help in the evenings and Anna is finally starting to feel better.

January 27, 2010

Backwards

I set Henry down on the floor near where Sarah is standing and he made his way all the way around the kitchen table going backwards (he is on the other side of the table there with Anna in the picture above)! I think he has started to realize his potential here because he never backed into a chair or a wall but made all the turns very nicely. We are definitely stepping up the fun-factor here soon! Yay Henry!

I ended up taking the kids in to the doctor this morning because Anna still has a fever, Sarah has it, and I think Henry's coming down with it (he sounds a little congested in his chest). Henry was supposed to go in this week for his six-month check-up but since he was sick they won't do his vaccinations until next week.

Here are the kids stats:

Anna (4 years 10 months)
-Height 108.4 cm (42.7 inches)
-Weight 17.3 kg (38.1 lbs)

Sarah (2 years almost 8 months)
-Height 92.7 cm (36.5 inches)
-Weight 14.4 kg (31.7 lbs)

Henry (6 months)
-Height 70.8 cm (27.9 inches)
-Weight 9.2 kg (20.3 lbs)

January 26, 2010

Early Valentine's and Pie


The girls were super-excited to get a box from Anita filled with Valentine's candy and these cute sweaters.


Anna & Sarah thought it was fun to have Henry join them at the little table for hippopotamus pie.

Sarah is starting to get sick now, too, so I can now just hope Henry & I don't get what Anna started! Craig should be home tomorrow though so at least I won't be on my own much longer.

January 25, 2010

More Eric Carle


Henry especially likes his Eric Carle books.


Sarah's owl (I cut, she glued).


(I also cut Anna's pieces, at her request.)


Anna's fish.


I got in on the action, too, and did this butterfly.

The girls & I really enjoyed this project and I was so pleased with the results that I framed them and hung them up (mine will go into the trash soon). I drew each piece on tracing paper and then the girls laid the tracing paper cut-outs on the colored papers so I would know where to cut/which colors to use. Anna isn't feeling well today (slight fever & a cough) so this just about all we got accomplished today. Craig is on gas-trials until Wednesday so I hope Sarah, Henry, & I don't get it, too!

January 24, 2010

Art

I found a cool art web site so I got the girls started today on some Eric Carle-inspired art. We'll see what they come up with tomorrow!

January 22, 2010

Friday


Nutella on a digestive cracker. Yum!


Sarah was into the threading for a little bit but then just wanted to turn the beads into "food" for the kitchen.


Lacing.

January 20, 2010

Lemons, Rainbows, Minivans, etc.


We started our morning with a science experiment.


Sarah is measuring the fish with fish-crackers for a letter F activity (confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com)


Anna is working on graphs in her math workbook.


Sarah sorted my (small) button collection by color.


And then made a button rainbow (white on the ends for clouds)—I think I got this from confessionsofahomeschooler, too.


Sarah learned about the letters F & R this week.


"Star's Den"


Playing "minivan." Sarah is in the "way-back."


Now Sarah gets a turn driving with the cat-pillow steering wheel.

January 18, 2010

Pouring

This kept Sarah busy for quite a while this afternoon.

January 16, 2010

Playschool Playground & Lemon Tree

Craig the Shipyard Builder

Sarah started calling herself "Craig the Shipyard Builder" and turned all of the stools in the house into ships. Clustering them together makes it the "shipyard."

January 15, 2010

In-Town Playground

It has been increasingly difficult to get out and about lately as the weather has been colder and windy the past week or so. I think Henry enjoys getting out as much as the girls & I do though. I think we are all already looking forward to some spring weather.

January 13, 2010

Magnets


Trying to get a paperclip out of the water without touching it.


It worked!


Could she be more excited about this?


Sarah is always eying Anna's math book and today she wanted to get out her tracing book when Anna was working in her workbook.


S and H activities.


They have been playing some pretty elaborate games lately. I think this involved a doctor's visit for the poor animals.

January 12, 2010

Tuesday



Henry & Gunvor.

Sarah likes to sit at the table with Anna & me when we do her reading and math lessons. Sometimes she likes to color and other times she wants an "activity" to do. This week I decided to give her two days of learning about a letter (so I could have some focus when coming up with her activity!). We did H & S this week and she can now tell you what sounds those two letters make.

Our neighbors came back from Norway yesterday and we got to meet baby Gunvor for the first time. She is eight weeks and didn't seem that much shorter than Henry but she is light as a feather compared to him! Henry grabbed her shirt and held on tight. She doesn't move yet and Henry only rolls to the left (both front to back and back to front) so they can safely share a blanket for now as long as we put Henry more than one roll's distance away from her.

January 11, 2010

Winter Attire

We went to the ferry-terminal playground for a bit today before lunch.

January 10, 2010

Craig's Sweater




Henry is 5.5 months in these photos.


Sarah is 8 months here. (January 6, 2008)


Anna is 10 months here. (January 15, 2006)

This is the sweater that Carolyn knit for Craig when he was a baby. I wonder if he also wore it in January?

January 9, 2010

Saturday Morning


Blueberry muffins.


"Get well soon, Daddy" (he has a cold so we let him sleep in).


Relaxing with a good stack of books.

(Henry was in the Babyhawk but I couldn't get a good picture of us.)

January 8, 2010

Friday Fun


Henry is starting to push up on his arms already!


Drool-induced rash.


Note the drool on his chin.


First taste of solid food!

Henry has a rash on his neck and chin from constant drooling (I swear I thought Sarah was a drooler but that was only because I hadn't met Henry yet!) and it isn't going away with my attempts at treating it. Worried it would turn into a yeast infection, I took him in the pediatrician. He prescribed a cream that was part hydrocortisone and part clotrimizole and said it is not yeast. Here's hoping this cream does the trick!

We also decided to get Henry started on solids tonight because he seems like he is ready. He really seemed to like it!

January 7, 2010

Rhyming Time

Sarah is super into rhyming right now and loves to sing the "Name Game" song (Sarah Sarah bo-bera, banana-fana-fo fera...) and says stuff like, "I want to be in your arms your arms your barms."

January 6, 2010

Outing

Henry fell asleep on the way home from lunch with Craig and rather than wake him up to put him down for a nap I decided to take the girls to the Lotte Mart play area (45 minute drive). He woke up by the time we got there so it was all just as well that we were out and about. The girls, however, did not want to play in the play area as it was pretty busy with kids. So, we went to the Daiso section (Japanese discount store) and got a few little things then packed up and went home. The kids were all great at the store as they have been each time I've gone out with all three.

Will it Float?

The girls had a blast doing the "Will it Float?" science experiment this morning. Anna was especially thrilled that they had data sheets.

January 5, 2010

Tuesday

I took the girls to the play area at Home Plus today because it has been too cold to go to the playground with Henry. They had a lot of fun but only when it was them and two other girls who were pretty tame. Two little boys came and Anna & Sarah got a little less enthusiastic about being there. This is actually a place where I can drop them off and do my shopping if I want but based on today only they aren't quite ready for it (Sarah anyway). We might check out the D-Cube play area next week.

January 4, 2010

Monday


Reading to her friends.


A house for more private reading with her friends.


Anna and Sarah have been on a coloring spree since November.


Anna wanted to sit with Henry on the couch and I really have no idea what Sarah was doing here (she wouldn't explain herself).

Today was our first day of school at home for this semester. OIS and Playschool don't start again until next week but I thought it would be best to just get going here to start and set some new routines. I started daily (Monday through Thursday) reading lessons with Anna last week and am adding daily math this week. We will also do a science experiment this week. Next week I might add something else or we might just keep it at those three things for now. I'm also reading chapter books to Anna at night (we're reading Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary now) and some longer fairy tales to the girls during the day. The girls are always coloring or drawing and Anna is always writing notes or stories.

The big thing is that I felt like I never saw Anna when she was going to OIS because she was gone five days per week from 8:30-2:45 and she is only four years old. She has learned a lot in Miss Susan's class and that made the decision difficult. What made it easier was that she still got super upset at drop-off and came home tired and grumpy after being at school all day. She also has not made a whole lot of social progress (she does not talk at school to her teacher or her friends) and I wonder if taking a semester off will allow her to forget that she had previously decided that she "doesn't talk at school." If we end up in Texas for the 2010-2011 school year I may also consider continuing homeschooling since that is also a full day for Kindergartners (this is billed as a positive thing).

I've dropped Sarah's enrollment at Playschool down to two days per week but will probably drop it down to one day or none at all. I think it will be hard to convince her to go when Anna is at home but I'd like them each to have something away from home for a few hours per week (Anna started ballet again today so she's going to that twice per week for one hour each time).

So far we've done our schoolwork when Henry goes down for his morning nap and it only takes ten or twenty minutes. Sarah listens in and colors or plays nearby during this time and sometimes I have a little something for her to do and sometimes not (one day this week I had her match pictures of the insides of fruits to the outsides of fruits while I worked with Anna on something else). I think it will be wonderful to spend more time with Anna at this age and to let her have more time to be a kid.

January 3, 2010

Sunday at the Park


Henry likes to watch his sisters swinging. At least for now!

Shipyard Tour

Craig took the girls on a tour of the shipyard today. No pictures allowed there but they liked seeing the massive ships and equipment there.

January 2, 2010

Busan Skating Adventure


Sarah wanted her bag of books & animals on her lap when we got going. I convinced her to put it down on the floor and I would hand her things as she wanted them.


The car ferry coming in to the dock.


Henry in his convertible seat.


Henry & I joined Craig and the girls upstairs for a bit.


They loved looking out the window and seeing the other ships, islands, and birds outside.


Four trucks full of seafood. We were parked right in front of the truck with the blue cab.


Anna & Henry at Au Bon Pain (yes, really!)


The ice skating rink at the mall.


Henry took a cat nap.


It was really hard to get us through this tiny door with everyone fighting to get on or off the ice. They were not polite and I had to yell at several people to not knock Anna & Sarah down.


There we are hugging the wall!

Henry and I have not been off of Geoje Island since we went to Seoul for his passport (I'm not counting Lotte Mart since that's barely off of the island) so it felt like a great adventure today taking the car ferry and going to Shinsegae Mall to take the girls ice skating. We had talked about doing that in July but they don't carry Craig's size at the skate shop and I was too pregnant to go so now seemed like a good time. If we had known that Craig & Henry could have gone into the area with us it would have been a much better experience though.

The girls and boy split up and we hoped that Henry could take a nap in his stroller. It took forever for me to find and adjust the helmets for the girls, get a locker for our shoes, get the skates on everyone, wobble to the ice, and then get onto the ice. Sarah's skates were much too big for her so she had a harder time than Anna but she had a good attitude and laughed every time she fell instead of getting frustrated. It would have been much better if I could have left one girl with Craig while I did a lap around the ice with the other girl and then switched girls every couple of laps or so. If we go back we will try it that way. The girls both said the best part of ice skating was when it was time for the zamboni to come and the ice rink guy picked them up and skated them to the carpeted area. (!)

We had fun and we were all glad we went. Henry did not nap as well in the car or stroller as we thought he would but he was still easy-going. I think he enjoyed getting out and seeing some new stuff. Also I was happy to find that there was a nursing room at the mall near the restrooms so I didn't have to go back to the car or into a bathroom stall (I'm not 100% sure of the breastfeeding laws here but I know I have never seen anyone doing it and I am under the impression that Korean moms are more into formula-feeding than breastfeeding—I could be wrong about that though).

December 31, 2009

New Year's Eve Party


We all made felt crowns with sequins for decoration.


Say what you will, I think he looks adorable in his tie!


I was laughing at myself trying to make him laugh for the camera.


There's my crown.


We had Charlie Parker on the stereo (iTunes which is why the TV is "on").


He seemed surprised but not unpleased each time the girls sounded the noise-makers.


Opening her New Year's cracker.


He looks pretty cute in his tie, too.


Next New Year's will be so fun when Henry can jump in and join in the action as well. He did like watching Anna & Sarah jumping around tonight though.


Sarah wouldn't try the creme brulee because she didn't want to eat dessert that had fire on it. I think she thought it would still be hot.


We ended the night with some dancing.

We needed an excuse to get dressed up so we had a formal hors d'oeuvres party with the kids tonight. The kids liked most of the menu and we all had fun. I think we'll do the same next year and make it a tradition as long as they're into it. Now that there are five of us it really felt like we were having a party! The crackers I bought from Crate & Barrel were lame and didn't come with crowns which is why we had to make our own this year.

December 30, 2009

Wednesday


Making the "2010" look sparkly.


Our banner. I love how it showcases Sarah's art.


Sarah had the puzzle pieces between her toes until she saw my camera coming. Anna has wrapped up the puzzle in a medical bandage. Henry just thinks hanging out with his sisters is cool.

December 29, 2009

Hippopotamus Pie


Sarah makes the best Hippopotamus Pie this side of the Pacific.


She has prepared a picnic here with the pie being the main attraction. We had to put the bones in a basket when we were done (like we do at the Gamjatang restaurant in town).


I wish I had taken a picture of these shoes when they were new at the beginning of the school year; the bows have fallen off of both pair. Sarah chose these pink ones for her indoor shoes at school but then switched to wearing pig slippers for indoor shoes there so she could wear her pink sparkly ones out-and-about.


The last of our Christmas presents arrived tonight: capes for everyone! Anna's has a star.


Sarah's has a heart. (Anna said her cape doesn't really work but Sarah says hers really does. She is really flying in this photo.)


Yes, even little Henry got a cape... I figured since I was ordering anyway I might as well get it now since it won't take up space in the closet. His has a lighting bolt.

December 26, 2009

Upgrade


Sarah is so in love with her new pig pajamas we had a hard time convincing her to put on her clothes today!


Checking out Sarah's new bed.


Henry wanted to get in on the action. Note that he is pulling Sarah's hair and she is laughing.


Henry seemed to like having more space to stretch in his new full-size crib.

We really want to get Sarah "trained" to sleep in a regular bed before we move (probably by the end of February) so we decided she could "give" Henry the crib for Christmas. She thought this was a great idea but wanted to "wait until Saturday." I think she has matured a lot since we tried this six months ago so I'm hopeful that it will go well tonight (and I'm really glad we don't have to deal with a nap now!).

December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!



The girls were amazed when they saw their stockings filled with chocolates, pens, a giant lollipop, and post-it notes.


Too young for chocolates, Henry got a teething ring from Santa.


Sara was beyond thrilled with the chocolates. They were truly the hit of the day for her.


The star tiara she wanted from Sarah.


Sarah had asked for an elephant so Anna picked one out for her at Home Plus.


The kids got Craig a remote-controlled helicopter.


The best wrapping move I've made in a long time. I put all of the books, puzzles, and games we gave the kids in a big Amazon bag instead of wrapping each individually.


Chopstick wondering what the heck just happened.


Playing with some new animals.


Anna's favorite gift of the day.


You can kind of see the helicopter coming up off of the ground near the bottom of Sarah's chair. It's pretty cool but the cats were freaked out by it.


Checking out her dinosaur stamps.


Solving some dinosaur puzzles.

We had a great Christmas morning. The kids were so excited that it was finally time to open their presents but they were also disappointed that Zamp (the elf that had watched them all month) had gone back to the North Pole with Santa in the night. We made Corrine's sticky buns for breakfast and spent a relaxing day checking out the new stuff.

December 24, 2009

Five Months

Henry is five months old today! I think he is looking so much more mature here in these pictures now that he is sitting up a little better. He can sit for about 5 seconds on his own and at some point in the next month he will start eating solid food. I can hardly believe it is already time for that; it seems simultaneously like yesterday and like ages ago I started pureeing apples and pumpkin for him. I'll start letting him have some water out of a cup soon and then we'll probably start with avocado if Home Plus has some in stock (they usually do).

Henry still only rolls from back to tummy and he always rolls to the left. He is starting to get "stuck" on his tummy at night time which is frustrating. If I felt confident in his abilities to roll back onto his back I'd let him figure it out but until he does it (and does it consistently) during the day I feel compelled to go in in the middle of the night when he's fussing and roll him back over.

Henry loves to watch his sisters play and really loves it when they stop and talk to him or show him something. He loves to read books (he kicks his feet in excitement) and he likes to get out and about for a change of scene. It's too bad it's such a hassle getting three kids ready to go out in freezing cold weather or we'd probably go out every day but right now we're probably doing it every-other-day (there aren't that many places to go when it's this cold anyway!).

Henry's naps are getting better/more consistent which is great. He is taking three naps per day now and is still nursing 6 times per day (including one time in the middle of the night). He wakes up around 7 AM and goes down for the night around 6:30 PM.

December 23, 2009

Oops

Sarah & I made another batch of Opa's vanilla pretzels this morning. She went to taste the flour as I was measuring and knocked the bowl on the floor. Thankfully it was at the start of the recipe and not the end!

December 21, 2009

Monday



The girls doing art, Henry on the Gymini, and Chopstick under the couch by Henry.


Our tree with presents. I had to tuck a few that had bows way under the tree because of the cats. Surprisingly the cats haven't bothered with the tree much at all this year.


I laminated this triceratops that Sarah colored since she is so obsessed with dinosaurs right now.


Some of the salt dough ornaments we made.


A Santa that Anna colored at school.


"Zamp." Our Elf on the Shelf. The girls love finding him each morning when they wake up.


The nutcracker is from Anna's & my trip to see the ballet last year in Seoul. The elf is a gourd I bought in The Woodlands. I believe the short doll is from my grandma's house (! correct me if I'm wrong mom or grandma!).


Button tree from my mom.

December 20, 2009

Gingerbread Cookies

The girls & I made gingerbread cookies today for part of our Christmas cookie gift-giving. We used the cutters from my grandma. We also made Opa's vanilla pretzels this year so it is nice to have something from each of them on our cookie plate!

Portrait Sunday


I had so many exactly like this one; I think his mouth was stuck open like this!


Could you get any happier?


This is the look I get when I ask her to look in my eyes.


December 19, 2009

Painting

Craig went on sea trial on Monday with the plan to be back Friday. Thursday he said it would probably be Sunday but luckily today he called and asked us to come pick him up! Funny how he was technically late but we were all excited to have him home "early!"

December 18, 2009

Santa at OIS


The Wombats playing "Duck, Duck, Goose" while they wait for their turn to see Santa.


Sarah and Henry waiting it out in the cold! (He has three layers of blankets on him.)


Lining up to see Santa.


Santa calling out the kids names with their gifts.


The Wombats with Santa.


Opening their presents.


Anna got a Barbie magnetic dress-up kit, some markers, and some fun tape.


Anna wanted her picture with Miss Susan.


The girls got to work right away when we got home.


Wardrobe change and finger painting.


Anna has taped her tiara together. I call it her "Poindexter Princess Tiara."

December 16, 2009

Wednesday

December 15, 2009

Hopping


Sarah likes to hop around the house. Why walk when you can hop?


We were playing train and she is the conductor.


Vision is highly over-rated.

December 14, 2009

Puppet Show

December 12, 2009

Park


Sarah has been obsessed with collecting leaves this fall.


They are pretending to be trees and letting their leaves drop.