Fall Update

I honestly cannot believe it's the middle of October.  Where did the time go?!  Lots of big and little things to update everyone on.  I'm hoping I'll get caught up here and stay caught up.  But you know how these things go, especially now that...

**ABBY IS WALKING!!**
She took her first steps a week after she turned 11 months.  I had hoped this day would come later rather than sooner.  I'm so sad, she's growing up too fast.  And I'm terrified.   Everyday she finds something new she's not suppose to get into.  All joking aside, a huge milestone for our little peanut and we are all excited for her.  You should have seen how excited Nicholas was.  When he saw her take her first steps, he shouted, "Abby!  You're a toddler now!"

I have a video of  Abby walking to me, but it was taken sideways and I don't know how to fix it.  Darn smartphones.  Anyway, here are a couple of videos.  The first is of her walking w/ Nick and her cousins cheering her on.  Second is a week later.  You gotta love her orangutan walk!!

**LITTLE KICKSTER**
We signed Nicholas up for soccer for the first time this fall.  There weren't any games, just a huge group of kids out there following directions and learning the basics.  And allowing the moms to admire their cute little punkins in uniform and the dads to live out their coaching dreams.  The last fifteen minutes of practice the kids would "scrimmage."  All 30 of them.  Ask me later how I feel about that.

Nick was pretty pumped for his first practice.  But after his first water break he asked why it was taking so long.  This was pretty much how his first practice went.  He did do most the drills and, I have to say, looked pretty darn cute out there doing it.

He stuck w/ it and enjoyed it more and more w/ each practice.  It helped that his friends, Jack and Keller, were also there.    Favorite moment of the season was during a scrimmage.  Julie (Jack's mom) and I were looking at the swarm of kids trying to locate Jack and Nicholas.  Then off to the side, I noticed Nicholas, Jack and Keller strolling along together, oblivious to the game.  At one point Jack even put his arms around his friends' shoulders.  It was the cutest thing, at least the moms thought so.  Julie had to shout to her husband, who was perturbed his son wasn't paying attention to the game, a reminder that, "He's four, Ben!  Four!"  I about died laughing.

Here are some nifty pictures of our future Pele.  Does that show my age?  I meant to say Beckham.

That's his buddy Jack in the red shorts.



**SO HAPPY TOGETHER**
Now that Abby's mobile and really interacting more, Nicholas has found a new victim playmate.  He's developing the fine art of taunting and mocking.  He loves to move all her toys to areas beyond her reach.  He loves grabbing her hands and feet and not letting go, especially when she yells.  He likes to use her as a coat and hat rack, often seeing how much stuff he can pile on her head.  But don't worry, she gives as good as she gets, maybe even more in some cases.  She will not hesitate to take a swipe at his face if she's displeased or if she wants him to move.  She is quite vocal when he takes things from her.  I once over heard him telling her that it wasn't nice to yell at him like that and she should stop.

It's been fun watching our two monkeys together.  They have their moments, but you can tell they adore each other.  She often looks at her big brother as if he hung the moon.  He calls her "his little Abby" and tells everyone he knows and doesn't know about her.  His face just lights up when she's there to pick him up from school.  He will proudly tell everyone what a mess his little sister is.  He talks to her sometimes like a 4 y/o brother would and sometimes like a grown up.  Can't wait til she starts talking.  They are just the perfect little pair.

**MONDAY NIGHT COOKOUTS**
Every Monday night for the past few weeks, we've been attending a neighborhood cookout/potluck.  Our neighbors, Mark and Mary Claire, have graciously hosted every week in their front yard. We all bring something for dinner, bring our lawn chairs, eat and talk while the kids run around and play.  It's been wonderful getting to know everyone.  We moved here 2 years ago and up until now have only known the neighbors to either side of us.  Now we meet a new neighbor every week.


Mary Claire, our gracious host, in black.

Happily munching on a cookie she wasn't suppose to have.

Whew!  That's it for this update.  Be sure to check back.  I will have Biscuit's birthday and party post up soon!

Newbraska

My brother Steve got married over the weekend. Woo hoo! It was in Lincoln, NE.

We were looking forward to the wedding, the trip, not so much. Early Thursday morning, we loaded up the minivan and started our 7.5hr trek to Newbraska. That's how Nick says it. This was our first time staying in a hotel room w/ Abby. We've traveled overnight w/ her before, but she usually has her own room. Note to self... next time shell out the dough to get a suite/extra room. I think the last time we both got so little sleep was when she was born. Oh, and apparently she goes on hunger strikes when away from home. She was cranky and tired the entire trip, but only cried and fuss at the hotel. Nicholas, on the other hand, wanted to know why we couldn't just live in the hotel forever.

At least someone got some sleep.

We were able to get a little sightseeing in on Friday before all the festivities started. Our favorite was the Lincoln Children's Museum. It's really not so much a museum as it is an activity center. It was really cool. There were 3 floors of hands on exhibits. Nicholas loved it, especially the news room where he could see himself on camera. The had an area for toddlers as well and Abby tore it up. It was hard getting her back into her stroller.

Day of the wedding. I attended the tea ceremony early in the morning leaving Scott at the hotel w/ both kids. It was a lovely ceremony and brought back wonderful memories of our tea ceremony before our wedding. Poor Scott, he looked a bit ragged when I got back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. He did manage to get the kids bathed and partially dressed.

The wedding was beautiful. We are so happy for them! The reception was fun and loud. You can't have a Vietnamese wedding reception without karaoke... to techno. And fortunately for all the Arkansans, they had a big screen tv out in the lobby w/ the Arkansas-Georgia game. The reception was even more enjoyable once the Hogs won.

Ah, the roasted pig, a gift from the groom's side.

My proud parents making their way inside to the tea ceremony.

Ignore how broad I look next to my size 00 sister-in -law, instead focus on my son's expression.

How cute are they? Plus, I love the 80's background. Awesome.

Congratulations to my brother Steve and his new wife, Nguyet. We love you guys and are so excited that we will have another person cooking Vietnamese food for us! :)

Sunday Afternoon

We took advantage of the pleasant weather by hanging out in the backyard. I think this was Abby's second experience w/ grass. We tried putting her down once and she wailed. It was much better this go around. We pulled out a couple of Nick's old pusher toys for her. She loved it, got a kick out of being able to "walk".

Photo Op - Day 112

I think this means #1 is all good or it's all good being #1.

First Day Of School

Today was Nick's first day back at school. He's in PreK-4 now as he likes to tell everyone. If you know Nick, then you know his relationship w/ school. It's a mostly intensely dislike/hate relationship. If not, check out our first day of school last year!

Leading up to today, if anyone asked whether he was excited about starting school, he'd tell you not really. Then something happened. Perhaps it was a fever. He got up this morning without complaining. Ate breakfast without dawdling. Brushed his teeth without being asked to. He was chipper and quite personable. Scott and I just waited for the other shoe to drop. But it never did. He happily greeted his new teacher, Mrs. Davis, said goodbye to us and went into class. We were stunned. Hopeful, but stunned. He greeted me with a big smile when I picked him up. He voluntarily told me he had had a good day. He said he was excited about coming back to school the next day.

All joking aside, we are so proud of him. Keep your fingers crossed and hope that this lasts!

Photo Op - Day 111

She recently started smiling for the camera. Here she is w/ her Uncle Nghia. What a little poser. Abby that is.

Photo Op - Day 110

Couldn't get a good picture of the outfit, but it was a gift from my friend Thao. So glad Abby can finally wear it. It's adorable. Thanks Thao!

Photo Op - Day 109

Watching a little Mickey Mouse. She looks like my dad here. Please ignore the stain on her sleeper.

A Fishing We Will Go...

And then we'll turn right back around. Not really. But close. Scott thought it would be fun to take Nicholas on his first fishing trip. So they went to Walmart and bought Nick a fishing pole and a fishing license. He spent the afternoon teaching Nick how to cast his line. I must say, Nicholas got pretty good at it. They headed out early in morning with a cooler packed full of sandwiches, juice and snacks. I thought Scott was being a bit optimistic in terms of how long they would be there, but I give him credit for his enthusiasm.

Unfortunately, Nick failed to grasp the patience part of fishing. You know, the part where you just sit there and wait. Imagine that. He kept asking what was taking so long. Enduring intense complaints of various maladies caused by the heat and the wait, Scott lasted only an hour. Poor Scott. Needless to say, there were no pictures taken during the actual excursion.

Although I thought they had a successful outing as no one fell or got thrown into the water.