New Glasses and a New Pet!

Well, we picked up Emily's new glasses last week. For the first few days, it was a little difficult getting her to keep them on. But now she keeps them on all day. She did have to take them off for gymnastics tonight and afterward she told me she didn't like taking them off! Yeah! Hopefully she is getting used to them.

Also, we have a new "pet." We've been playing a lot over the last week with our neighbor who is a six year old little boy who likes bugs. Apparently he keeps a "bug jar" in his house to store his finds. He first gave Emily a roly-poly but let's just say Emily set him free somewhere in our basement. So the next day, he gave her a pretty caterpillar. That was on Sunday. It is now Tuesday night and it's still alive! We are feeding it the same leaves that it was on when we found it and boy, can it eat. It has affectionately been named "Patsy" and Emily says it's her best friend. Patsy lives in a jelly jar and seems to be doing well. We are hoping she will make a cocoon and turn into a butterfly. We have no idea what kind of butterfly it will be but right now she's a really pretty black, white and yellow striped caterpillar. Here are some photos of Patsy and Emily (and the new glasses).

A Few Really Big Milestones

Emily has officially, FINALLY, given up her binky (aka pacifier). I'm a little ashamed to admit that my nearly 4 year old still used one when she slept. But it was like it was a part of her. She came to me with the clothes on her back and pacifier around her neck and that was it. So I felt like the binky was the one thing that helped comfort her during that difficult transition in her little life. However, over the last few months she voluntarily gave away or threw away a few of her binkies (yes, she had a collection that she carried in an eyeglasses case). But she did this knowing she always had one more safe in her room. Well, Labor Day weekend binky went missing. I mean truly missing, not that Mommy or Daddy quietly slipped in her room and took it. So she had a few sort of rough nights without it. Then about a week later I was putting her to bed and glanced in the corner and saw binky staring out at me from under some of her stuffed animals! Emily had made such great progress up to that point, I REALLY hoped she didn't spot it. She didn't and after she fell asleep, Mommy (aka Binky Fairy) came and quietly took it away. There has been no mention of binky since those first few nights without it. For that, I am grateful!

Second big milestone...my baby girl is getting glasses. She had an eye appointment yesterday and it was discovered that she can't see all that well. Who knew??? So, we will go Friday to pick them up and have them fitted. And yes, there will definitely be photos. Daddy took her to the appointment and was there when she picked them out. All I know is that they are "purply-pink"--Daddy's words--and Emily calls them Barbie glasses although I think they are Cinderella. So I'm not sure what to expect but as long as she likes them and WEARS THEM, I don't care.

More later...

Labor Day Weekend

We had a terrific Labor Day weekend last weekend. It was sort of a family reuinion as my family had not all been together for probably close to two years. It's sad, since we all live in the same state but we made it happen this weekend. My two older sisters and their families, my aunt and my dad and his wife all made the trip to our house. We cooked out, celebrated my dad's and aunt's birthdays, ate lots and visited. Emily enjoyed playing with her cousins and with my sister's step-granddaughter who is close to the same age. Of course, Benjamin just enjoyed the excitement and all the extra attention. I'm glad we were able to get lots of photos!

My sisters and me

All of us girls with our dad

Not all of the grandkids but most of them

Emily and BB's granddaughter, Carmella

Papa getting a physical before his workout shown below...

Emily instructing Papa on the fine art of doing the hula hoop!

Me and my baby boy.

The loves of my life!

A Quick Post

I don't know where the time goes but it's been two months since my last post. What's been going on here, you ask?

This past month, Emily has started at her preschool again. She is attending two mornings a week and this is her second week. So far, so good. She LOVES school and her teachers and paras. I have volunteered to be the children's clothing closet coordinator for the PTO so I'll be busy with that. I also will be volunteering for other various activities during the year. Here are a few photos from the first day of school. And great news! Her best buddy/our neighbor is also attending and they are in the same group!

Two weeks ago, Emily also started gymnastics. She attends just once a week but so far, it has also been a hit. She loves it and our next door neighbor is her teacher so that's a plus. The class only lasts for another three or four weeks and at that point we'll re-evaluate whether she'd like to enroll again. She's always doing headstands and somersaults here at home (usually on the sofa) so hopefully class will provide her an outlet for all her energy. Here are a few photos. The first one is a little hard to make out due to the net around the trampoline. But that's Emily working on the bar. :-)

Lastly, Emily has started a class at church on Wednesday nights. The kids meet for supper and then have their class time. It's 90 minutes and last week was a little difficult for her but now that she knows what to expect hopefully she'll not cry this week when I leave.

I'm happy to say we're trying to keep big sister busy with a variety of activities. At the same time, Brother is also getting lots more active. At my last post, he still did not have any teeth. But a week after turning 9 months old, the first bottom tooth appeared and a week later, the second came through. We seem to have stalled now on teeth and still only have those two at nearly 11 months old. He is able to eat some very soft solids but still really prefers his smoother baby foods.

Benjamin is not yet walking but is pulling himself up all over the place. A few times he has even let go, only to fall on his bum a few seconds later. He jabbers a lot and I heard the most precious words from him last Monday--"Mama." He's only said it two or three times and usually it's when he is upset or tired and wants me. But it's still nice to hear. Of course he's been saying "Dada" for a few months now. He LOVES his Dada and squeals with delight and waves his arms wildly when he sees Dada coming home from work.

We've joined a new Mom's playgroup here in our community and have met a few new friends through that. Benjamin even had a friend over last Thursday for a few hours. She is just a few weeks younger than Benjamin but they are right about the same developmental level. They seemed to like having another little person crawling on the floor and playing with toys.

The kids has cousins, Haileigh and Eric, come visit for a week earlier this month. Emily and Benjamin both loved having the kids here to play, especially Emily who kept saying she was a big kid just like H and E. Mommy enjoyed having her niece and nephew here, too. Hopefully we can make this a summer tradition! That is, if the kids weren't too worn out after they left here! Here are a few photos from that week...

Mommy and Daddy are both doing well. I started teaching another Counseling class to a group about 45 minutes away from where we live. It's one night a week for 6 weeks so it's a short term stint but nice to get out of the house, dress like a professional again and make a little money at the same time.

Until next time....

A Month in the Life of...

...Little ones! Time flies (and mommy is tired and very busy). Ha!

Well, let's see what's happened since my last post...

First, I started and finished teaching a six week long counseling class for my former full time employer. It was nice to get back into a professional setting, even if it was for just four hours one night a week. I enjoyed it. I will teach the same class to a group starting in mid-August so again I'll have the opportunity to actually dress up in something other than shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes!

Emily is still a three year old!! Some days are a challenge but I dare say she is now 100% potty trained, day and night (we NEVER thought the day would come). She seems to be outgrowing clothes and shoes at a faster rate than before. Sometimes I look at her and she looks like such a big girl to me. She continues to exercise her incredible imagination, makes up stories and make believe play all the time. Preschool is out for the summer and we are trying to keep busy. We try to go to story time at the library each week, in the month of July the library will have a craft time one day a week we'll be attending and the first week of June she did bible school at our church. I think she will be excited to have school start again in August.

Now for our little guy. He is now 9 months old and boy, is he on the move now! He is crawling all over the place (although at this point it more resembles an army type of belly crawl than a hands and knees crawl), loves scooting around in his walker (it's amazing at how well he maneuvers around corners, finding us in rooms, etc), and consequently is getting into everything! We really have to keep an eye on him. He is exploring everything and is starting to mimic his sister (God help us!). If she yells through the house for me, he will also join in. He still does not have any teeth but I'm not worried. They'll be here eventually.

Not to forget Daddy, he is doing well, too. Staying busy at work although we are looking forward to him having a few weeks off next month. Father's Day was a nice day, too (sorry, I didn't take one photo). My dad and his wife also joined us for a four day visit which was really nice.

Here are a few photos taken recently. Happy 4th!

When the boy is tired, he falls asleep anywhere!

Mommy is not looking so good here, but I had to post it because Benjamin is wearing his "Babe Magnet" t-shirt. He certainly is a babe magnet. However, most of the "babes" are 65 years old or older!!

Riding a horsey. Moments later, the horse bucked him off. Ouch! :-(

My two little firecrackers...

My biggest firecracker!!

Mother's Day, etc...

Here are a few photos taken during the hiatus from my last post. I had a really nice Mother's Day. When Emily woke up she brought me a card she had been hiding in her room since the day before when she, brother and Daddy went shopping. It was difficult for her to keep it a secret; she kept telling me she had a surprise for me and to come see. :-) We then went to church, then got some family photos taken (a certain little 3 year old was not being cooperative so there are not as many with the four of us as I would like). Then my dear husband made us brunch...bacon and spinach quiche and hashbrowns. I read the paper and had coffee while he cooked. Then I planted lots and lots of flowers and worked in the yard. While yard work may not sound like loads of fun to some of you, I really enjoy doing it and usually am unable to get any done due to a child (or two) being attached to me. So while Jeff supervised the kids for most of the afternoon I got to indulge my green thumb. Oh, and I got a wonderful gift...a lilac bush for our yard. I love lilacs and the particular variety Jeff and kids found is called "Miss Kim." How fitting!!

My Mother's Day gifts! Taken at church...it was wear red day.

My kiddos. Me and my baby boy...

All of us again.

Last week we attended Emily's school program and recognition ceremony. I told Jeff this will be the first of MANY programs we get to attend. I love it! I know I had lots of concerts and plays when I was growing up and I don't think my parents missed any of them. That really meant a lot to me and I plan to do the same for my kids. Here are a few photos from last week. The kids sang four or five different songs then got a certificate at the end since their last day of school is this week. While I was busy snapping photos in between songs, Emily must have thought I was too busy taking pictures and not paying enough attention to her...she told me, "Put the camera down, Mom." Uh, sorry. I don't think so!

Receiving her certificate

Updates

We've had a good month since our last post. Nothing much really to report aside from some new photos. Emily loves her school. Last week's lessons were all about recycling (I think Earth Day was last week maybe). Recycling is something we do at home all the time so it wasn't a new concept to her.

Last week was the week of the young child here in town and we only made it to one activity where Horton Hears a Who was read and then the kids were able to explore a fire truck, an ambulance and a smoke house where a firefighter talked to the children about what to do if there's smoke in their house. Here are a few photos. As you can see in one shot, Emily was ready to get out of the smoke house. Brother was wearing her Horton hat. She covered her ears as Daddy rang the fire truck's bell. And we were lucky enough to run into our good friend from two houses down and they hung out together while we were there.

She likes making a beard of bubbles in the bath.

This past weekend we got together with a group of other folks around our state with kiddos from China (and one waiting family). We had an awesome bbq dinner then played on the playground. Emily told us all the way home that she didn't want to leave. I think she had a good time! On the playground, Daddy was on slipper slide duty.

This past weekend was also a reunion in Atlanta for all the families who were in my Hubei travel group 2 1/2 years ago. We share something pretty special with these families and little ones as we all met our daughters at the same time, in the same room. Unfortunately our family was not able to go this time. But one of the moms was kind enough to send me some photos of the girls. Here's one of them together. Pretty cute, huh? Hopefully we can attend the next reunion.

Benjamin had his six month appointment last week. He's actually nearly 7 months but that's okay. He's 17 lbs 3 oz and 27 3/4 inches long. Unlike his big sister, he is in the 95%tile for his height! Strange coming from parents who are 5'5" and 5'6" but that's genetics for you! The nurse called him long and lean. Not exactly my definition of his body type as you can see by the rolls of chubbiness on his legs! He still hasn't cut any teeth but based on his recent uncharacteristic grumpiness, I don't think it will be long. Here are some photos from the last few weeks...

Look at my big boy sitting up all by himself!

Picking posies...

Riding sister's bike--which did not go over well with sister when she saw him!

Two weeks later and he had already graduated to a really cool chopper!!!