May 2010 Archives

The breeze went away and we were left with hot, humid air so we didn't last long today with our sunburns! Sarah "The Rooster" Martin woke our family up around 6 AM so we packed up, took a walk on the beach, and then decided it was just time to go. We really couldn't spend more time in the sun or we would have just gotten in the water and cooled off (I have a pretty bad burn, Craig & Sarah both have a bit of a burn). Rachel's family is staying one more night in Galveston but they have a hotel for the night.

Camping went really well which is great news but we will wait until the weather cools down to go in Texas again! We had some kind of annoying neighbors though. (At one point the mom yelled at her kid to get back in the tent because he was supposed "to be watching TV" with the other kids in their group. Their TV was on pretty loud and it did keep me & Anna awake longer than we would have liked but I'm just thankful Henry & Sarah didn't wake up because it could have gotten ugly really fast with them!)

The girls were so excited to go to the beach they were waiting out in the van well before it was actually time to go.

This is our massive tent. Henry is sleeping in his pack-n-play in there!

We had a great time at the beach today! I didn't get sunscreen on though so I got a pretty bad sunburn on my shoulders and face. Thank goodness I spent quite a bit of time with Henry in the shade or I'd really be having a hard time! We had a nice breeze today which kept the heat bearable. All of the kids thought the water was awesome (it was so warm!) and I'm glad no one was afraid of getting in (although my girls were a little more cautious than Rachel's boys were).

Henry took a short nap in my arms at the beach and didn't take too long to fall asleep in the tent. We'll see what the night holds for us!

Rachel, Mat, Jake, & Sam arrived this afternoon! We are excited to all go to Galveston tomorrow and camp at the beach and then spend the week hanging out with them here.

I've been trying to remove more wallpaper in Anna's bathroom while my mom is here to hang out with the kids but it is a very unsatisfying process (it is three layers thick and I can't get very much off at one time and it only comes off one layer at a time). There was a bit of kitchen wallpaper just begging to be taken off so I did it. One thing led to another and soon my mom & I were obsessively taking wallpaper off the kitchen walls! It is coming off so much easier than the bathroom but there are spots that are taking some drywall with it... anyway, it is refreshing to my eyes to see some of those flowers going away!

As we walked out the door tonight to get dinner and pick up my mom from the airport, Anna said her name was "Princess Sparkly Star" and Sarah said her name was "Cat Spit." Then to top things off, I got them ice cream at dinner and Anna said she didn't like how it tasted and that it tasted "funky." Sarah must have mis-heard her and said, "I didn't like it, either, it tasted like donkey." (Sarah actually did like it though because she ate all of hers!)

All the kids got their hair cut tonight. My camera battery died during Sarah's cut so I'll have to get a shot of their new looks later on (it was too late when we got home to take a picture with the other camera). Anna was excited, Henry did really well, and Sarah was really nervous (she was worried the lady was going to cut her skin). I love Anna's cut, Henry's didn't get trimmed as well as I had wanted (it's still touching his ears), and I am so sad that I cut Sarah's beautiful curls!! I did get a big pony tail from Sarah's hair (kind of creepy!) and a lock of Henry's hair.

The kids & I really enjoyed our class at the Waldorf school but now the teacher is not going to be there in the fall! Anna & Sarah really liked her and they both gave her a hug today (this is a big deal for them!) and Anna made some noises in response to the teacher today (this is an even bigger deal for her!). So, now we are debating sending them to this school in the fall or to public Kindergarten (Anna) and the local Montessori school/another private preschool (for Sarah) or homeschooling.

Henry is starting to stand a lot more. He is not necessarily interested in walking just yet but he is pulling up on everything and gaining strength in his little legs. He still doesn't really "talk" much but I really think it's because his big sisters never give him a chance! He has had a runny nose for the past few weeks but now that his teeth on either side of the front top teeth have come out a bit more he is at least not grumpy any more (except when that tissue comes to wipe his nose!).

It is getting to the point where it is too hot to go to the park in the afternoon and mid-morning. We'll have to start going before Henry's morning nap if we want to go at all this summer.

My Norwegian neighbor in Korea, Ingeborg, made this hat and scarf for Henry but it didn't fit him when we were in the cold Korean winter! It is adorable though so I had to get a few pictures of him in it for her.

This is Henry's second carousel ride. I didn't have my camera last time. He loves it!

The original carousel-lover.

Sarah is having a hard time staying in bed all night long (right after we got Henry to sleep through the night!) so we are working on a reward system with her. She gets a sticker each morning she follows the Sleep Rules (stay in bed, stay very quiet, close your eyes, and go to sleep) and after she collects seven stickers she gets to pick out a new stuffed animal (she falls in love with one everywhere she goes). I have discovered that she needs a little incentive around day three or four though so last night she was told we would go on the carousel if she followed the rules and that got us through last night!

Henry is pulling up on everything now so I will often leave him playing with something on the floor and then come back to this scene. He is still doing the army-crawl so I'm interested to see if he just skips the traditional crawl and moves on to walking.

Watching for cardinals on our new feeder.

I must have been in denial about the heat around here because I've had this pool for weeks and it has been in the 90s for weeks but I only decided to inflate it and fill it today. Should have done it this morning so the water would have a chance to warm up with the sun though because Henry was not pleased with the cool water when I plopped him in there! Tomorrow I'll plan ahead a bit more. Sorry, little Henry! (The girls didn't care one bit though!) I have to note that last year I bought a pool in Korea that was smaller for $40 and this pool was $5. Next time we go overseas I'll have to stock up on baby pools!

Tonight when I was reading Goodnight Moon to Henry, he was trying to grab the fire in the fireplace on each of the pages.

Anna will often come downstairs and declare that she is "Princess Strawberry Sunset" or something equally flowery. Sarah will then announce that she is "Fly."

We made the strawberry pie today and it was delicious! We used the Joy of Cooking recipe and the girls had a very hard time waiting the four hours for it to solidify in the refrigerator. It was worth the wait though!

I took the girls strawberry picking this morning and we plan to make a strawberry pie with the berries we picked (if they don't eat them up first!).

Our neighbor brought Sarah this fun cutting cake today. The girls had a ton of fun with it this afternoon and I'm sure it will be featured at many tea parties in our future.

Sarah Elinor Martin is three years old today! The girls were so excited that Sarah would wake up this morning and suddenly be three. We had decided to go to the zoo to celebrate her big day and they loved it. (Henry didn't really realize that he was looking at anything special when I tried to point out each of the animals but he enjoyed the train ride and was ready for a nap when we got home!) We went to Tommy Bahama's for dinner (her choice, she calls it "The Tallest Tree") and then to Coldstone Creamery for dessert.

I remember spending Sarah's second birthday at the park in Korea last year and it seems both like yesterday and like a million years ago. She has grown and changed so much this past year and we can't wait to see what she does this year! I always tell her that she is sweet, funny, smart, gorgeous, and full of pizazz.

This is also Sarah's first birthday in the United States (born in Qatar, 1st & 2nd birthdays in Korea).

Craig and Henry have some secret-language-thing going on. Henry clenches one fist and leaves the other hand open and flexes his arms and makes a growly noise. Very cute but I can't seem to catch him doing it exactly here.

Papa is making the airplanes that he & Anita gave the girls.

Sarah was happy that Papa was able to be at her birthday "party" today so I didn't push her to invite any of the kids she has met since we arrived in Texas. We had brownies and ice cream and she kept "forgetting" to make a wish when she blew out the candle so she had to re-do it two more times (both times we had to sing the Happy Birthday song again). I am planning to take the kids to the zoo on her actual birthday later this week.

The girls had fun checking out Papa's bed in the game room.

I started working on the wallpaper in Anna's bathroom this week and it is three layers thick! It might just take me forever to get it all peeled off. The plan is to take it off in here first so I can get my technique down before I work on the kitchen. Wish me luck!

Brian came in last night and he and Craig went to a wedding in San Antonio so tonight is the first night I'll spend in this house without Craig and it suddenly feels even bigger now that he's not here!