Hair's The Situation

Many of you have asked about Abby's hair. What do we do to it? Do we put gel in it? Why don't we comb it down instead of up?

No, we do not put gel in it. It sticks up like that on it's own. She has Scott's mom to thank for it.


And pictured below is why we don't comb it down. Is it ridiculous or what?

Side-swept bangs are all the rage right now...

Spoilers

Scott's parents came in for a visit over the weekend. Nick just LOVES it when they come. He gets to tell them all the same stories he's told us a million times, he gets extra cookies even w/out eating a good dinner, and in general rule the roost. They had been unable to make it to his birthday party and boy! did they make it up to him.

This has trouble written all over it!

Don't worry, little Abby got plenty of attention. She's learning quickly that flashing a toothless smile will garner extra minutes of walking time (she likes for you to walk around when you carry her.)

Thank you to Magi and Grandad for coming to visit. We know what a long drive it is. And thank you for loving and spoiling the kids. Nicholas loves, loves, loves his tractor. We can't wait until Abby is big enough to ride around in it w/ Nick.

Oh, in case anyone wondered whether or not Nicholas ever got the labelmaker he requested, he did. He used up a whole cartridge in less and an hour.

Great Skate

Nicholas attended his first skating party on Saturday. Kale celebrated his 4th birthday in style at Skate Land. It was actually a little early, but he has a baby sister coming in a week!

Being the ever enthusiastic kid he is, Nicholas announced that he wasn't going to skate. That was before we got there. But once he saw that it was a bunch of out of control kids on wheels torpedoing in all directions, he was game. They had these cool starter skates where the wheels only go forward. You could still fall, but it looked like it was much easier for the kids to learn. The parents were also able to go out there w/out skates. Thank, goodness. There was no way I was going to humiliate myself. I don't have game, unlike my friend, Don. He brought his own skates.

After a few rounds, Nick told Scott to go sit. He was going to skate all by himself. And he did! Well, he didn't so much skate as he clomped around, but still. He fell a few times, but picked himself right back up. We were extremely proud... in between cringing as we watched him go in the opposite direction. Thanks for inviting us to celebrate w/ you!

Sweet Kale and his mama.

Weekend o' Celebration

We were busy this past weekend. On Saturday, I attended a Stella & Dot party w/ my friends Beth and Kim. I ended up purchasing a necklace and 2 charms w/ the kids' birthstones. Then the whole family headed over to the Kaisers to help little Haley celebrate her second birthday. It was a Big Top/Circus theme. Heidi is always so good at these parties. She usually goes all out w/ the decorations and she did not disappoint. I have appointed her Abby's official party planner. We enjoyed celebrating w/ you guys!

How cute are those cupcake toppers? Birthday cupcakes are definitely the way to go!

Birthday girl Haley. I seriously want to bite her.

I think we all knew how this picture was going to turn out.

For more pictures, check out Heidi's post here.

On Sunday, we traveled down to my parents to celebrate Vietnamese New Year. It has been a long time since our last visit. Nicholas was beyond excited. We always enjoy our time down there and always eat way too much.

My brother Nghia. Her expression here cracked me up. I think she's really digging the obnoxious head gear.

My brother Steve with his favorite nephew.

Enjoying the grandkids.

4 Months!

Our baby girl is growing up way too fast. This last month just got away from us somehow. Next thing we know, you're 4 months old.

You still take 4 naps a day, although one is really a cat nap.

Your bedtime is usually around 7:30 - 8:00 and wake up at 6:30. You often wake up around 4am, not really hungry, just wanting some company. We're working on this.

You still take 6oz every 3 hours and eat 5 times a day.

You wear size 2 diapers

You weigh 13lbs and measure 24 inches.

You wear 3-6mos clothes and look really cute in leg warmers.

You're doing much better in the car, only crying at every other stop.

You are laughing now, but are very fickle. You require that we change it up. You won't keep laughing at the same thing.

You talk up a storm except when we want to record it on video.

You're holding your head up really well and can sit in the bumbo w/out flopping over now.

We think you're going to be a "thumb" sucker. You're pretty proficient at shoving your whole hand in your mouth.

You love trying to stand when we hold you, constantly locking your legs and looking pleased as pie w/ yourself when you do.

You still follow your brother everywhere w/ your eyes. But occasionally you look at him as if he was crazy. You're not too far off base.

Our Little Man - 4 Years Old!

Dear Nicholas,
Today you are 4 years old. Where did the time go?! I get so so sad thinking about how big you're getting. You are such a sweet, funny, crazy little boy. We love you more than we can ever express and more than you will ever know. This post is dedicated to you, all things Nicholas.


Some of our favorite pictures of you from the past year:

A few of your favorite things:

(My friend Heidi posted on her blog a series of questions for her kids. I thought it was such a fun idea. ) So I posed some of the same questions. It will be interesting to see how it changes by this time next year. It actually changes day to day.

favorite color - "green"
favorite dessert - "strawberry shortcake"
favorite drink - "water, that's helfy (healthy)"
favorite candy - "jellwee beans"
favorite ice cream flavor - "cookies and crweam"
favorite buddy (his stuffed animals) - "Doggy"
favorite tv show - "Super Why"
favorite outdoor activity - "pway on my swingset"
favorite toy/game - "Super Why toy"
favorite animal - "a dog"
favorite book - "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs"
favorite song - "ABCs"
favorite holiday - "Halloween"
what he wants to be when he grows up - "a Chef" (He initially said a bee, but after I explained to him, he reconsidered.)


Here are a few of our favorite "quotes" from you:

"I want to go to the colored park" - referring to the colorful church playground down the street. Thank goodness no one was around to hear that one. I suggested we call it the church park.

I saw something about tofu on tv and jokingly asked if you would like to eat some tofu. You replied, "No. I don't like to eat 'toefood', and I don't like 'feetfood', either." This is a ironic since you're obsessed w/ feet right now.

"I'm gonna throw your words away" - when we tell you something you don't want to hear.

"That was craaaazy!!"

"Biscuit's gotta come out soon. Maybe in one week." - this when I was about 6mos pregnant.

"I want a tickle spanking. Not a hurt spanking."

"Mommy/Daddy. You were Wrong!!" - this is one of your particular favorite things to say. You say it w/ relish, too.

"I should like that." - this is how you answer in the affirmative most of the time.

"Do you like feetie?" - you do this while shoving your foot in our faces and laughing hysterically.

"I'm feeling cry-ey/laugh-ey" - you add "ey" at the end of a word to describe how you're feeling.

"Ina should come here and cook that for us. I should like that." - every time we watch Barefoot Contessa.

"Wenember that?" - remember that?, we love it when you say it.

What you're doing right now:

You love anything that has to do w/ letters and numbers.

You can tell time and negotiate extra minutes before bedtime.

You can read. I'm not sure at what level, but you could read almost all your birthday cards w/out any help from us.

You can do simple math, addition and subtraction up to 10.

You're proficient on the computer and have figured out how to Google games (need to keep a better eye on you.) You work Windows Explorer like a pro.

You could swing for hours, unfortunately for you, Mommy wears out after about 20 mins.

You love watching Super Why, Caillou, Barefoot Contessa, Giada and KNWA news.

You love to help me cook, especially using the microwave. You love to watch the timer run down.
You're not a big snacker, but love, love, love sweets. Very much like your Daddy. You will often ask for candy for breakfast just to see if it's your lucky day. Not yet.

You're interacting w/ Abby more and refer to her often as "my Abby." You have the sweetest smile on your face when you see and hear her laugh.

When I wake you up for school, you now say, "I want to sweep for just a wittle bit wonger." or you say, "I'm not feelwing very well, I need to stay home."

You don't take naps anymore, you do "rest" time. This distresses me to no end. However, I can still threaten you w/naptime. If you only knew.

Visitors

We had a special treat over the weekend. Our good friends, the Dormans, stopped by for a visit. We have been trying to get together since I don't know when. I think Abby was 2 weeks the last time they were here. Each time, someone was sick or running a fever and we would have to cancel. We always look forward to seeing their little boy, Joshua. He really is just the cutest little monkey.

We love you guys. Please come see us more often.

The Mouse King

We celebrated Nick's 4th birthday, Chuck E. Cheese style. I made the mistake of not giving him a couple of choices on venue. Instead, I just asked him where he wanted his party. No amount of convincing after that would change his mind.

He was pretty stoked for his party. He puffed up w/ importance when our party host greeted him by name. "She knows my name!"

Surprisingly, he let the big rat near him.

A super special shout out to my friend, Heidi. She made these Superwhy cupcake toppers. Are they not the absolute cutest?! Being the fabulous mom I am, I waited until the last minute and she bailed me out. She is awesome. Love her!

Abby was there. She just slept through the entire party.

Overall, a good time, despite some permanent hearing loss. Nick really enjoyed himself. Thank you to all our friends for coming out to help us celebrate.

4mos and 4yr Checkups

We managed to get both kids in for their checkup together. Abby for her 4 month and Nick for his 4 year. According to the doc, everyone looked good. Nicholas weighs 36lb and is almost 3'5", both in the 50th percentile. After the doc showed us Nick's charts on the computer, he said, "now let's see what Abby looks like." Being the very literal person he is, Nick helpfully pointed to Abby and said, "she looks like that." Abby weighs 12lbs and is 24in long. Both are also in the 50th percentile.

They both had shots. Nick took it like a man... screaming and fighting. He was so worked up, he didn't realize the nurse had given him his shot. He proudly announced how brave he was afterwards. Abby also took hers like a man, lots of crying and whimpering. Poor baby. I hate watching them get their shots at this age.

We are thankful both kids are healthy and happy (relatively speaking). Sorry, no pictures this time.

Why No Photo Ops?

Because our main computer has a stinking virus and I do not want to mess w/ pictures on our netbook. This will have to be remedied soon. My little boy is turning 4 and has a party coming up!! Hope everyone is having a good week.