April 2009 Archives

I was talking to Sarah about turning two years old next week and her response was to yell: "I LIKE PINK!" I asked her if she meant she wants pink cupcakes and she responded (in a normal tone), "yes."

Craig took the girls for a walk on the boardwalk again this morning. One of the best parts of their walk is stopping at the benches and eating a snack.

I just want to remember that Anna was playing "bookseller" while we were in Colorado. She set up a "little kid's" section, a "big kid's" section, and an "adult" section. Her new chapter books were the only ones in the big kid section and all of the other kid books were in the little kids section. She seems pretty proud that she's listening to more advanced books although she still enjoys most of Sarah's as well.

Sarah and I have been going to the "playschool playground" after we drop Anna at school. Sometimes we make another visit to the bunny park and we usually spend about an hour playing around before we go home and play on the terrace. The weather has been so wonderful we are just happy staying outside! I'm sure it will start to get hot soon so we're going to enjoy it while we can. It is nice to be back into our routine and I'm really enjoying my Sarah & mommy time each day, especially knowing that we won't get it as much after July (when Anna is out of school and then Baby Boy arrives in August).

Since we're still getting up early we've been leaving for school a bit earlier so we can stop at the "bunnies, birds, & chickens park" before school. It's an extra thrill if we also still have time to play on the teeter-totter before the school bell rings. Sarah (and, consequently, Anna) likes to stop at every single flower planter on the way to the park (and back) and smell the flowers. There are at least twenty planters, probably closer to thirty so I've got to budget that into our walking time, too.

Profile.

Feet.

I had to fast this morning to take my glucose tolerance test and it was so hard because Sarah woke up early (which means I did, too) and then the girls took forever to eat their breakfast. Sarah did do a great job at the doctor today (just like I remember Anna doing when I took her to all of my appointments in Doha) which really surprised and impressed me. I passed my test (which means I don't have gestational diabetes) and got to take another nice peek at Baby Boy. The doctor was able to count ten toes and four heart chambers today. Everything looks good according to the ultrasound!

The weather was so wonderful today we got out and took a walk on the boardwalk in Okpo. The girls were up early in the night so hopefully all of the sunlight we got today will help us get on track quickly.

We got up early to get on our way back to Korea today. Anna did a great job as usual and Sarah did better than last time but still did have a crying fit on the long flight. I was hoping to have Sarah sit with Craig on the long flight but she wasn't having that. I am glad that she at least was a bit easier! The girls slept a bit on the long flight, Anna slept some more on the last flight, and Sarah fell asleep the last half hour of the drive home. Hopefully the adjustment will take three days or so as it did on the way there!

Craig & Anita took the girls to the park this morning while I started up our packing. Sarah was terrified to be on the baby swings when we went to the park at my mom's house but she apparently loves the big-kid swings!

Here's a shot of my profile since I still haven't done an official one!

The girls had a lot of fun at the Museum of Nature & Science today. I think they liked the animal dioramas the best but they also enjoyed seeing the dinosaurs and gemstones.

Sarah mis-heard me when I said we were going to King Soopers (the grocery store here) and thinks that the store is called Pig Slippers or Pink Slippers.

We had a nice Easter at Nana & Papas with everyone. Anna and Sarah think Uncle Ross is the greatest so he probably didn't have a very relaxing day between them and Own & Raisa! We had some cake and sang Happy Birthday to Sarah a few weeks early so the family could celebrate with her a bit. (Anna helped Nana decorate the cupcakes.)

Craig said Sarah was saying, "Soccer, Texas, Soccer, Texas" while she was kicking the ball around the park today. I've told her she can start playing soccer when we move back to Texas and I guess she is excited!

[Is the video playing kind of funky for you? I'm getting a lot of gray screen. ???]

Dyeing Easter eggs with Owen & Raisa.

The kids were thrilled to get their pictures taken!

We met up with Erin, Craig, Logan, Madeline, Erin, Dave, and Fergie the Dog today in town. We played at the park for a long time and then went to a great sandwich shop for lunch.

I officially look pregnant enough to the general public that I've gotten three random comments on my pregnancy by strangers this week. This is good to know that I'm not in the awkward "is she pregnant or just getting fat?" phase! Profile pictures sometime soon, I promise!

Baby Boy still doesn't have a favorite time to squirm but I am getting some stronger kicks when he does. Anna has told me that the baby in her tummy makes her tired and she can feel it moving. This could get interesting!

Baby is more than 11 inches and weighs over one pound now. I haven't checked how much I have gained to see how on track I am with the girls but will try to compare it when I get the official numbers from the doctor after we're back in Korea.

We met up with Grandma, Rachel, Jake, & Sam today at the zoo. Sarah did a lot of her own walking today, too! Craig did carry her some and Sam wore himself out pushing the empty stroller all day. Despite a few meltdowns, the kids all seemed to have a great time today!

Tonight, Craig & I met up with Corrine, Scott, Ross, & Lindsey for dinner while Anita & Brian were left with Owen, Raisa, Anna, & Sarah. The report was that bedtime wasn't too bad which was great news!

Pictures by Anita.

I left for a day completely to myself today (this involved me getting the rest of the things on my list and not a massage or anything particularly relaxing, unfortunately!). Craig and Sarah went to the pool and out to lunch. Anita took Anna down to Raisa's Easter party at her pre-school. Anna was so excited that I said she could wear her new party dress and just had a great time at the party. There was one little girl in Raisa's class that was super-sweet to Anna and kind of took care of her during the egg hunt.

One of the deer we saw on the way down into town today.

Checking out Nana's slippers.

We took the girls to a park in town for a nice walk along the creek before we met up with Corrine, Raisa, Opa, Ross, & Lindsey for lunch today. Sarah did a fantastic job walking the entire time, holding my hand, and not asking to be picked up. This is a great improvement over the past couple of months as I've been trying to get her to use her own little legs instead of getting carried so much.

We've been in the awful habit of bringing Sarah to bed with us when she wakes up crying between 5-6 in the morning while we've been in Colorado. This morning I was able to sneak out of bed and get a picture of Craig & Sarah snoring together. Cute, but we're going back to our regular routine once we are back in Korea!

We went to the pool with Nana, Corrine, & Raisa today. Sarah was so excited to try on her new swimsuit she could hardly stand to wait and asked me about twenty times on the way to the pool where her suit was. Anita asked the lifeguard to turn on the water slide and Sarah and Craig went down quite a few times (not enough for Sarah though). Next time we go I will have to bring the camera to get a video of Sarah coming down the slide! Anna acted like she didn't have any swimming lessons and lost all of her bravery in the water.

We moved up to Anita & Brian's today. Ross was there and, of course, Sarah was instantly smitten with him. Thanks to her, Anna even interacted with him this time (probably the first time!). Both girls were excited to see Riggs again, too.

I really need to get a profile shot sometime soon--I can't believe I've gotten this far without one. My belly button is just slightly starting to pop out. This feels earlier to me than the last two times but this pregnancy is also going by much faster because I have about zero time to focus on it.

There is really nothing new to report this week. I had a brief episode of nausea yesterday while I was sitting with the girls during their snack. I called Craig over to sit with them and I went to rest on the bed. As soon as I lay down, Baby Boy wriggled and jiggled and squirmed around and then I felt better. He must have been pressing on something the wrong way!

Baby Boy is about 11 inches and weighs almost 1 pound this week. I'm looking forward to checking in on him again when we get back to Korea.

Today was our last day with Grandma & Grandpa (and the neighbors, Rachel, Mat, Jake, & Sam). Sarah got a bit overstimulated after such non-stop action but overall did well. She has been throwing some pretty major tantrums starting the last Monday we were in Okpo. I hope it is travel-related stress and not a new theme to our lives! Time will tell.

We head up to Craig's parents tomorrow and then just like that our trip will be over next week! This four week trip seems to be going by much faster than the five week trip we took last summer.

Anna and Sam are really having so much fun together. They can get into their own little world and just play for the longest time. Today they made a cave under the kitchen table and then played outside since it was so nice. They have been playing "airplane" a lot. When Sarah & I joined them outside Anna & Sam were our flight attendants and they were very helpful meeting all of my daughter's and my needs.

Tonight we went down to the airport to pick up Craig. The girls were so excited to go get him and then to see him! Luckily he got a decent amount of sleep on the plane and his flight wasn't too delayed getting in. The girls ended up getting to bed about an hour later than usual but they handled that pretty well.

Jake reading to Sarah & Sam.

Anna & Sarah have really had a great time hanging out with their cousins each day we've been here! It has been fun to watch them play and get to know each other better. Sarah likes to give the boys hugs and thinks they are hilarious.