Santa Visit

We went to visit Santa today. To be honest, I was not expecting it to go well. I've only known babies to scream when they were given to Santa for photos. However Kai was quite enchanted. It may have helped that his big brother and sister were enchanted too. They told Santa what they wanted, and were very careful to make sure he understood they'd be in Australia and needed small toys that they could bring home on the airplane. It was all very cute.

It's as Easy as...

I had to smile as I overheard this conversation between Isaac and Lizzy...

"Lizzy, that's not easy as pie to me. It's as hard as baking a cake."

Beethoven before breakfast

Lizzy has started group piano lessons at school. She's had two lessons so far, and has cottoned on pretty quickly. This morning we had a little Beethoven before breakfast. The children have to learn to play Ode to Joy (or as Lizzy wrote, "Oh to Joy") with 2 hands and after that they can pick any piece of music they like from their music books. Lizzy is currently learning the right hand...

My big brother

I took this video the other day of Isaac playing with Kai. I love how these two interact.

Research

Kai is participating in a research study at the University of Washington. He is a control subject in a sibling study on Autism. This is him wearing an electrode cap and pretending to be an alien.

He did really well, and the cap didn't bother him at all. Although he did try to chew on the chin strap numerous times.

Halloween

It is that time of year again...when all American kids hit the streets for some trick or treating. For the first time, my kids joined in. Kai didn't get dressed up, but he still came along for the ride. Isaac was Darth Vada (again) and Lizzy was a rock star.

Here they are:

This is Isaac at his school parade on Friday afternoon...

And then just before trick or treating on Saturday night...

And here is our rockstar on Friday at the school parade..

This is how the wig looked when we first got it. However it's had alot of wear over the last week and became "wilder" each time. Luckily it just helped fit the rockstar image.

We had to modify the costume slightly for Saturday night, but as you can see the wig was still a highlight...

Smarty Pants

Lizzy has been having trouble falling asleep lately. Bedtime starts at 7.30pm and lights out is at 8.15. However, there have been a number of nights lately where she's still been awake at 10.00pm.

Tonight, we talked about some things she could do to help herself fall asleep. One of them was counting with her eyes closed. I knew she wouldn't be asleep by 100, so I told her to count to 1000. I had to search for her "blankey" and when I returned I asked her what number she was up to. 156. What a smarty pants :) The counting must of worked. She was asleep about 15 mintues later when I checked on her. Or maybe it was sheer exhaustion from a week of not getting enough sleep.

Happy 1/2 Birthday

Kai is 6 months old today. I didn't realise until last night that I'll always know when Anita is something and a half years old because Kai & her have birthdays exactly 6 months apart. Happy Birthday Anita :)

Anyway...here are some photos of the "birthday" boy from a a few days ago.

Flushing Issues

We've been having some issues with flushing the toilet at our house. It's not happening.

The other week, Ben, in his frustration, gave the kids have a time out in the bathroom and made them stand next to the toilet where they could see the unflushed product that someone had left behind. They were suitably grossed out.

Move along to tonight.

We have a toilet bowl cleaner called "Green Works". As you might guess by the name, it's green. I leave it in the toilet for about 10 minutes and then clean the bowl.

Lizzy saw this tonight and very seriously told me "Make sure you never buy Yellow Works or Daddy will make us look at it for a time out"

I can't help but laugh.

Computer Craft

Lizzy wanted to do some craft with me today. However, I think she's been playing on the Wii too much, as she asked me

"Mummy, do you want to make something single player or multiplayer?"

I elected to do a single player craft, and we made some place cards together. I decorated mine and she decorated hers. I wonder if I had selected to do a multiplayer craft if I would have been required to decorate the same place card she was working on.

First Day of School

The kids went back to school today. Isaac is starting year 2 and Lizzy is starting Kindergarten. Lizzy has been telling us that she's so excited for the past couple of days, and sure enough, she happily went off to school today.

Here are a few pictures of her first day.

Diaper Rash

The other week, Isaac was standing next to me while I was changing Kai's diaper. As I wiped Kai's bum, I said "It looks like Kai is starting to get a little bit of a diaper rash."

Isaac was unusually concerned about this and asked me if we needed to call the doctors. I explained that all I needed to do was put some cream on his bottom and it would be alright. "Then why is it in the Emergency Book?" I had forgotton that Isaac had been reading "Treating Childhood Emergencies and Illnesses", a free book that was sent to us from Seattle Children's Hospital. There was a page on dealing with diaper rash and Isaac was concerned that we had an emergency. It was quite cute that he was so worried for his brother.

Our boy will read nearly anything he can put his hands on these days. Only yesterday, he found a Real Simple magazine and was reading about how to save money by doing some simple repair jobs at home. A 7 year old fountain of knowledge does come in handy somedays :)

Food Choices

We never talk about weight with our children. I'm concerned that so much emphasis is placed on weight these days and I think it could lead to greater problems later on, espeically with girls. Instead we talk about being healthy. We talk about eating a balanced diet and doing exercise to make our bodies strong and healthy. Our children know that dairy products have calcium to make their bones strongs. They know that vegies have good fiber content (and yes - they know what fiber does too).

I thought they knew about iron until the other night.

We were talking about our meal and how the meat contained protein and iron. We were talking about how iron helps make our blood healthy and if we didn't get enough food with iron in it we'd feel very tired. Suddenly Lizzy pipes up and says "Mmmmm....this [meat] feels like it's ironing my tongue." Ironing your clothes is just like ironing your tongue, isn't it?

A New Skill

Kai is working on a new skill. He's no longer content to lay on his back or tummy but is very happy when he's either sitting or standing. Until the other day, he was unable to sit without some support, but today he managed to stay upright without help.

However, he can't stay up for very long...

This is the earliest any of my kids have been able to sit by themselves. It just goes to show how they all have their own timetables :)

Chess Camp

Both Isaac and Lizzy have been to day camp this week. Isaac chose to go to Chess Camp - and it's definately been a good choice for him.

Isaac began getting interested in Chess earlier in the year. He was coming home from school and telling us he'd been playing chess at school. Since then, he's borrowed nearly every chess book from school and last week we even borrowed a chess DVD from the library. It wasn't a hard decision to make, when we saw there was a chess camp during summer.

He's been coming home most afternoons with lollies/candy. Each time they win a game, they recieved a toothpick and when they got 3 toothpicks they could choose a candy. The person who won the most toothpicks over the week was the winner at camp. Overall, he came 3rd against all the little campers. Naturally he was very proud of himself. However, Ben & I smiled at each other when he annouced that he could have come 1st or 2nd but he never got to play against the winners. Obviously he thought he would have been able to beat them too!

The coach of the chess camp suggested that Isaac might like to come back another week, and join the harder camp. Not surprisingly, Isaac beamed and wants to go back to Chess Camp.

Laughter

We have laughter!

Three days ago, Kai laughed for the first time. I just love the sound of baby laughs. They start at the bottom of their tummies and spread over their whole faces. The beauty of it all is that it doesn't take much to get a baby to laugh. You don't need to tell a joke, you don't even have to be funny - you just have to be you and let him enjoy life.

Both Ben & I were present for his first laugh, although he really laughed at Ben. Ben was pointing to himself, Kai and I, saying our names and touching our noses. He laughed for a second and then had a startled look on his face, as if to say "Where did that noise come from?"

He laughed again for Ben yesterday, when Ben was saying "Jump" and lifting him up in the air.

Today he laughed for me alone, for the first time. Kai was being carried by Ben but he was looking at me. I just smiled at him and he laughed. And my heart melted for the hundreth time.

Melting

We are melting here. Seattle is known for it's mild weather. We usually have days in the high 20's with the nights getting cool, so in the morning the house is cool again. However, that was not the case yesterday. Yesterday it was 41 degrees, the hottest day ever recorded in Seattle. They've been recording temperatures since the late 1800's so that's really saying something.

Today is a little more bearable at 35, although there is still a chance it will get slightly hotter as the temperature usually peaks between 4.00 and 6.00pm.

Surprisingly, the kids have been dealing quite well with the heat. Last night we did quiet reading out on the back verandah, as outside was cooler than inside. We'd told them they only had to wear their underwear to bed which they were quite happy to do. Lizzy had her bath and happily started quiet reading on the back verandah in just her undies. However, at 7, you're a little bit more modest. Isaac didn't want to come out until I suggested perhaps he might like to wear his pajama pants while outside. I noticed however, they came right off again once he was back in bed for sleeping.

We've only got one more night to survive in this heat. By Friday it should be back to pleasant Seattle summers.

Girl Dramas

Lizzy is at day camp this week - and what an up and down adventure it has been. At first she was very excited about going but then, about a week ago, she started crying whenever camp was mentioned. Mean mummy did the "we've paid for it, so you're going" talk. Yesterday, as we walked into the camp ground, she exclaims "I remember here. I do want to go to day camp!". I have to admit I rolled my eyes.

It turned out that one of Lizzy's preschool friends was in the class with her. However, when I picked Lizzy up, she asked me "Do you think once you become friends with someone they should always be your friend?" Oh dear - I know what's happened. "Yes I do Lizzy. Did Emma say she didn't want to be your friend anymore". Eyes welling up, she tells me yes.

So come today, our second day and Lizzy doesn't want to go back to camp. "I don't have any friends there". "Lizzy, sometimes when people are mad they say things that they don't really mean. Was Emma angry when she said she didn't want to be your friend." "Yes - she didn't like something I did". Ahhh...the truth is coming out. "I'm sure she didn't really mean it, and wants to be your friend still".

We had arranged to pick up Emma on the way to camp, and Emma was thrilled to see Lizzy. Isaac, Lizzy & Emma were all in the back chatting, when it is mentioned that another of their preschool friends is in chess camp with Isaac. Emma pipes up and says "One of my preschool friends is in camp with Isaac and another preschool friend is is camp with me!"

I smile to myself, and in my mind I'm saying "Thank you so much for saying those magic words Emma!" For I have seen in my rear vision mirror a little girl who is beeming because Emma has said that she was friends with Lizzy.

I never realised raising a girl would mean dealing with such drama. Am I allowed to confess that I'm glad to have two boys?

How to Make a Baby Happy

Well...how to make one baby in particular happy...

1. Let him know that he is not illegitimate
Kai's great aunt Glenda gave us a beautiful frame for our wedding certificate when we married. It just so happens that Kai's change table is in our room, directly under the frame. He loves to talk to the certificate and give it big smiles. We think he likes knowing that he has a mummy and daddy who are married.

2. Watch Mummy & Daddy kiss
It's especially fun to watch mummy and daddy kiss. It almost always guarantees a smile. And so it should - he has read the marriage lines so it must be a good thing that the people mention are kissing :)

Look at me...I can hold up my head...

I did a "photo shoot" with Kai this afternoon. He's getting so strong these days and can hold up his head quite well. He also loves to push down on his feet if you hold him in a standing position.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Can you play Pick The Child?

So which one is Isaac, Lizzy and Kai?

Also - what color hair is Kai going to have? We know it's not brown like Lizzy & Isaac but the jury is out on what color it's going to be.

Here are some closer photos of Lizzy & Kai's hair color...

Kai & I

Click here to view these pictures larger

I've updated my Shutterfly webpage again. This is my favorite photo.

Poor 3rd Child

Poor Kai - he's a third child. It's tough being the 3rd. Take for example our house at 6.00pm. Kai is crying and I'm trying to make dinner.

Had this been Isaac, we wouldn't have been having dinner. Isaac would be getting held and comforted and dinner would be at 9.00pm. Ben & I would have been completely fine with having a late dinner without a crying child.

Then comes Lizzy. Lizzy too, would probably have been held however dinner ran a high chance of being burnt, as I tried to comfort and cook at the same time.

Then comes the 3rd. Poor Kai is placed in the bouncer at my feet. He's screaming, I'm using my foot to bounce him but dinner is ready for the four of us to eat - and it's even done before bedtime for the kids.

We'd better not have a 4th - she'd probably not even get the bouncer :)

Shutterfly

I just recently created a website on Shutterfly where you can see all of my photos. It has this neat little feature where I can pick a photo and it will post it to this webpage. This is the result..

Click here to view these pictures larger

I've also added a link over on your right, where you can click to see the webpage.

Little Mummy

Kai hates being in his car seat. We usually have about 1-2 minutes of peace until he realises that he's in the "evil" place and starts screaming.

Yesterday, I took Lizzy to a park about 15 minutes away from our house. Kai, in his usual style was screaming his little lungs out, when suddenly there was silence. I looked in my rear vision mirror and Lizzy has stuck her finger into his mouth and he was happily sucking away. She's seen Ben do this so often that she must have decided to try it herself and was very pleased with herself that it worked.

We won't mention the germ factor of a 5 year old sticking their finger in their brother's mouth, nor the safely of using a finger as a dummy in a car - but it was very sweet to see her comforting her brother. Or was it her just trying to get a few minutes of peace in the car?

Kai Alexander

Just in case you missed the news - Kai was born on 29 April, weighing in at 10lb 7oz and 21.25 inches long.

Here are some more photos of our (not so) little guy.

Rocks & Planks

Yesterday I worked on cleaning up the yard a little bit. (I also thought some good yard work might help induce labor but it didn't work.) I made a nice pile of largish rocks that had been lying around the back yard with the thought that I would take them to the dump one day soon.

Today however I was amused to see that my pile of rocks had become a source of entertainment for Isaac & Lizzy. They moved our planks of wood and the rocks, making levers and weights that they could walk over or balance stuff on the other end.

I'd still like to get rid of the rocks but maybe I need to wait until the end of summer.

Spelling it Out

Isaac is a very sweet child. And it's not just mummy bias, as I hear this from his teachers and friends.

However, lately the sweetness level is sky high.

Every day Isaac does some spelling for Ben & I. It goes like this.

I l-o-v-e y-o-u 1-0-0-0-0-0-0 (anywhere up to about 50 0's) t-i-m-e-s.

I've got to the point where I can't keep up with the number of zero's he says so I just spell back. I l-o-v-e y-o-u d-i-t-t-o.

I think I need to get a recording of this so I can play it back in 10 years time.

Potty Talk

Lizzy has suddenly found "potty" jokes extremely funny. I should have known it would happen, as I think every child goes through this stage. I blame Ben entirely. He started it at dinner one night when she dropped some peas on herself and he commented that she had peed on herself. That resulted in fits of laughter and the joke has continued most nights that we eat peas. Another fun game we have is we make up silly rhyming words. So of course, when I told her to put on her shoes, she replied "you mean my koos or how about my poos?" When she realised what she had said, the laughter began again and she had to go and repeat her ryhming word to daddy.

Ahhh..hopefully this stage won't be too long in passing.

Echo

The other day Lizzy was walking along screeching. She had a huge grin on her face as she'd loudly yell "eeeek". I couldn't work out why she was doing this to start with, until I listened very closely - there was a slight echo.

"Lizzy - are you trying to make an echoing sound?"

"Yeah - and the world answers back."

I love the perspective of a child.

The Weight of Responsiblity

Our scholastic book order arrived today. A virtual pet came with one of the books Lizzy chose.

She was eager to turn it on and play with it. She mananged to turn it on, and was asking me how to use it. I started going through the different things with her, such as feeding, playing, cleaning and health checkups. It was OK for about half an hour. She carried it around with her and occassionally chose to do something with her pet.

Then the tears started. "Mummy, I want you to turn it off". Unfortunately you can't turn those things off, so I said she could just put it in her toy box. More tears. "Why are you feeling so sad?" "I might forget about my pet. I want to call Daddy. I'm so sad and I want to tell him about that thing I don't like."

Oh dear.

Valentines

Can I make a confession?

I really dislike Valentines Day in America.

Valentines Day in America is so commercialised and it's all about telling people how much you love them, even when you don't. Spouses get Valentines (I'm OK with this one), parents & grandparents get Valentines (sorry grandparents - my kids are 1/2 Australia - you get the Australian treatment!), children get Valentines, all your classmates get Valentines, all your teachers get Valentines and you can even send Valentines to your friends. Valentines might be small or you can spend a fortune if you wish.

A typical valentine to give to classmates is a card with a lollipop threaded through it. You write the recipents name and your name on the back of the card. However, it seems quite wrong when Isaac is completing his school valentines and says to me "Ana is mean. Which valentine should I give to her?"

Nerves

Last Wednesday, Isaac's grade did a "President's Wax Musuem". Each child was required to research their president and memorize a small speech about them. Isaac was Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the USA.

On Tuesday night, halfway through dinner, Isaac annouced that he really wasn't hungry and wanted to go to bed. It was close to bedtime, so I said he didn't need to finish dinner and could go and clean his teeth and get ready for bed. Much to my surpise, he did this. Usually the only time my kids don't want to eat dinner is when they have something else they want to do that is more fun.

I went to check on him, and asked him if he was feeling sick. No. I thought for a minute. "Isaac, are you worried about the Wax Musuem?" Yes.

Ben came in at this point, and reassured him that it was normal to feel a little bit nervous about speaking in front of people and that he remembered getting nervous doing it when he was a boy. We also reassured him that he did great whenever he practiced his speech. A smile came back to Isaac's face, and it seemed like he was less worried.

And just so you know...on Wednesday he did wonderfully.

Pokemon Cards

It was frustrating me that Isaac wanted to play Pokemon on his gameboy for alot longer than he was allowed. It was a constant battle of "Isaac, you need to put away your gameboy for a little while and do something else" or "Isaac, your electric time is up for the day. How about you go an make something with your lego". I really don't like being a nagging mother, but I also didn't want him playing Pokemon all day.

Since Elizabeth has turned 5, she's been allowed to play Pokemon as well. She's picked it up very quickly, and the two of them will happily play a Pokemon card game, which I'm much happier about than them playing on the gameboy.

However, there's been a recent development which makes me even happier. Isaac has started making his own Pokemon cards. I love the thought and creativity he uses to come up with his new cards. Jan A once said to me that you need to use kids' favorite things, and incorporate them into learning. Pokemon is still an obsession, despite my trying to branch out this past Christmas - but now I'm happy to say he is learning new skills through it. He spells out his own words, draws his own pictures, and creates cards that are "realistic" in regards to strategy (although Ben did have to sit down at the beginning and explain that a card with 700 health points was not fair to other players)

Comparisons

We recorded Lizzy's Christmas pageant and were watching it the other night. Lizzy was one of the last children to come on stage to say her line. As soon as she came out, Isaac exclaimed "Lizzy, this video makes you look so much taller than you really are!"

He has always has compared his sister to himself and his friends and has rarely seen her against children of her own age. As a result, he's never really thought of her as being tall. So it was quite a shock to him to see how much taller she was than all her classmates.

A Yearly Glimpse

I don't often post pictures of myself. It must be becoming a tradition though, as I showed you a glimpse of me around this time last year. I forced everyone in my family to do a "self-portait" with me in the snow yesterday and here are the results.

Shovelling Snow

Last night, Ben & I were outside shovelling snow off our driveway. Every few minutes, Isaac would come outside to talk about Pokemon with Ben. Each time, he'd open the garage door and let the cold air into the house and I'd have to close it straight away. After a few times, Ben came up with a condition to slow down the opening and closing. "Isaac, before you ask me a question you have to shovel some snow." I was surprised that this didn't deter him. He'd come out, shovel about 5 scoops of snow and ask his question.

Isaac is allergic to grass pollen - so as a teenager he won't be given the job of mowing the lawn. However, I can see the future. He'll be shovelling our driveway each year.

Beanies

We had snow yesterday. Lots of it, for us anyway. Ben & I measured 7 inches just before shovelling the drive way.

Of course, the kids wanted to go outside and make a snowman. The only condition was they rugged up, because the temperature was below freezing. I suggested to Lizzy that she should wear a beanie under her snow jacket because she'd feel warmer.

A few minutes later she came back and said "I found a beanie". I could see something under her hat but I wasn't quite sure what it was. It definately was not a beanie. Instead she had found a ziplock plastic bag which I had filled with dried beans the other day. She had carefully put it on the top of her head.

I was not surprised when she asked me "What's a beanie?" after I removed her bag of beans. "A winter hat, love - go find a winter hat. That's what I call a beanie."

A Cold Snap

We're experiencing a bit of a cold snap here. The saying "Arctic wind" is a literal term right now. We've got cold air coming down from the north and we woke up to -10 this morning. I'm not expecting to see the temperature above freezing even during the day for the next week. However, much to the kid's delight, we are expecting snow. You've got to take the good with the bad, I suppose.

Happy Birthday Isaac

Today was Isaac's birthday.

He's had a great day. He wanted a Pokemon/Star Wars birthday - not exactly themes that go well together but we managed. We had pokemon plates & napkins and some Star Wars balloons. For the cake I placed some Pokemon and Star Wars figures opposite each other, and told him it was a battle between the two. He was happy with that, and told me that the Pokemon definately would have been the winners.

For dinner, we went out to Chuck E Cheese. Think pizza parlour with a games arcade. If Isaac or Lizzy are ever invited to a party there again, I'm sending Ben. I've been to two parties there with the kids. Each time you play a game, you can win tickets. The kids and I usually win about 100 tickets (if I'm lucky). Ben, however, was quite the expert and helped us win over 600 tickets. Isaac was thrilled that he was able to choose 3 prizes at the end of the night.

He told me that he had an EXCELLENT day. That's what we wanted for him, so I'm happy.

Happy Birthday to our young man. Photos to follow, hopefully!

Presenting for the first time...

our newest family member - debuting in their first photo.

I love the little button nose.

Everyone has to wait until April though, to find out if baby a boy or girl.

Disembarkation

When we arrived home today, Ben announced "Everyone Disembark". And suddenly from the back, we hear "woof, woof".

Ahhh...somehow I think someone didn't hear right.

Edited to add that I've been told I've created some confusion today! Lizzy must have only heard "Everyone bark" and started to bark like a dog. No new animals in our household!

Shopaholic

Our daughter is a shopaholic. There is no other word for it. She does not need to be shopping for herself although this is the preferred outcome. Today I went shopping for a present for a baby shower. I barely had a moment to look for something as I was being constantly told "Mummy, look at this. Do you think she would like this?"; "Mummy, this is sooo pretty - can we buy this for the baby?"; "Do you think our baby would like this one?; We could buy this for our baby and the baby we are going to see!"; "Look Mummy, it's a SALE!!!!".

Nearly every shopping expedition lately has become like this - whether it's buying clothes for me and my expanding belly ("Mummy, look this is green. Green is your favorite color - do you like it?") or whether it's for groceries ("Mummy, look it says it's on sale!"; Look Mummy, it says buy one get one free!) Ahh - the joys that come when a child learns to read!

I complained to Ben today that I don't know where she learnt to shop like she does - shopping is certainly not a favorite occupation of mine. He claims it's a recessive gene that comes from a certain grandmother ;-)

5 years ago today

We welcomed a little girl into our lives...

It's amazing where 5 years have taken us...

Happy Birthday Lizzy!

Kindergarten Plans

Yesterday, Lizzy informed me that she was going to go to Kindergarten where she currently goes to preschool. I gently let her know that she was actually going to attend where Isaac goes to school.

The bottom lip dropped and the wail came "But they have music lessons at our Kindergarten. I want to go to music lessons."

I was very thankful that Isaac was with me when this conversation happened because he piped up and told her that he also has music lessons at school and that he went two times a week. This led into a conversation between the two of them about when they had music lessons. Isaac proudly told her that his lessons were after lunch and that they lined up outside the music room. (This is more than he ever tells me, so I was greatly interested.)

All of Isaac's information cheered her up greatly and she now wants to go to the public school again. Whew....tears avoided thanks to a big brother.

Shake that Boody

Lizzy has a new toothbrush. It's called a Tooth Tunes toothbrush and it sings for the amount of time she is supposed to brush. Her toothbrush sings "The Bare Necessities" from The Jungle Book. It's quite a funny sight, for she now happily cleans her teeth with her bottom stuck out and a little tail shaking happening.

Who's cooking are we talking about?

I was about to cook sausages the other morning for breakfast and had just put them in the fry pan when Lizzy asked "Are they burnt yet?".

Considering Ben usually is the one who makes a cooked breakfast, I'm going to blissfully think that she was making a comment on Ben's cooking skills.

Halloween

Big brother worship is strong in our household. Once Isaac had chosen his halloween costume, there was no convincing Lizzy to be anyone but Princess Leia.

And another - as proof as to who really is under that mask!

Can I tell you something?

This is a phrase we hear from Isaac quite often, especially when talking to someone he doesn't know too well. Usually, when we hear this we know he's about to tell someone about Pokemon.

However, on Friday, he met Lizzy's Kindermusik teacher for the first time. During stamp time, he went up to her and said the usual "Can I tell you something?" I was thinking we were about to hear about Pokemon again when he said "My mummy has a baby in her tummy. We're going to have a baby after my birthday."

I've got to say I was taken by surprise as he's not usually one to give out too much information. It's sort of nice to know that a new baby and Pokemon rank up at the same level of interest.