The Snowy Day

It looks like we're going to have a White Christmas here in Chicago. Not that unusual, but since Ava was two the last time she experienced a snowy winter, she's pretty thrilled. Of course it took us forty five minutes to get on our hats, gloves, boots, socks, scarves, clothes, snowsuits, and coats but it was worth it. I mean is there anything cuter that a baby in a snowsuit? Especially when he's stuck on his back and can't get up. :)

snow babies

Baby turns one...

365 (ok 366) days ago Ian James Theodore Hsieh made his overdue appearance in the world. Can I just say how much I love this boy? He has the sweetest voice and although he doesn't say any official words yet, his little, "ja ja ja's" melt my heart every time. He's still a little on the reserved side and you have to work hard for a smile or laugh. He finally started to crawl on his hands and knees last week and I can tell he's understanding more. I love his easygoing nature and especially his need for 12-14 hours of sleep a night. :)

We had a low key party with our family and Ben's mom. I'm pretty sure Ian's favorite part was his first cup of apple juice. He held that cup the whole time and would not let anyone get near it. His Nai Nai bought him a ride on train that goes around a track and he loves it. He doesn't actually smile when he's on it, but he crawls over to it and grunts until you put him on. And he can't push the pedal down to make it go so Ben duck-taped it down for him. I'll have to put some of the video up because he is so cute on it. I can only imagine the fights that are going to erupt once all the cousins get here and see it. But for now he only has to contend with his sister, who is having multiple lessons in sharing and allowing her brother to enjoy his special day.

So happy birthday to my beautiful boy. We are so thankful for you and can't imagine life without you in it. Love, love, love you!

Take 2( or 40)

We landed safely in Chicago yesterday and Ava said, "We were just here Mommy!" My thoughts exactly. I think flying to the same place for both Thanksgiving and Christmas might be a little excessive. Not that the trips aren't great but there might be a few less next year. I was actually trying to count up how many one way flights Ava's been on since she was born and I lost track at 35. She is only 4! I realized that before her first birthday she had flown to Portland and Dallas twice, Florida, San Diego, and New York. The girl is a professional traveler. You should see her at security. I don't say a word and she takes off her shoes, gets her own bin, organizes her backpack, shoes, coat, and green blankie, and puts it up on the conveyer belt. It is hilarious.

So the flight itself went pretty well. I appreciate everyone who prayed for me. It was stressful but I felt this peace about the whole situation. Ian only slept about 30 minutes and the rest of the time I felt like I was being physically assaulted. He's just so active that it's hard to hold him in my lap for 4 hours. I let him rip out all the pages of the sky mall, pull out the flight info cards and throw them on the ground (20 times), read him every book I had 2-3 times, sang him all the songs I know, fed him snacks, and gave him 3 bottles to keep him happy. It was hard work but I didn't feel frustrated and I felt like I could handle it.

There was a very nice lady sitting next to us who luckily didn't ask to change seats after Ava told her that she had a dream that she had a penis and I wouldn't let her play with it. MORTIFIED! Oh how I wished I could disappear at that moment.

All in all I would consider it a success. Especially after having to wake them both up at 5:15 in the morning and not getting them back into a home for 10 hours. We all slept well last night and I actually had to wake Ian up after 15 hours of sleep because I thought he had died.

Now after having to restrain Ava for an entire day I'm off to take them into the snow!

Today I woke up with the gentle nudging of the spirit. None of my circumstances had changed. I still had more presents to buy and everyone needed my constant attention. The house was a mess, we were late for church, had to pick someone up on the way, and I had to be in the nursery. But I felt the gentle reminder of where my peace truly comes from and I was thankful. Then we got to church and I was so filled with community and warmth and time in the word. I felt overwhelmed in a completely different way. This song especially spoke to me today because I am thirsty and weak and I needed to come to the fountain and receive life. Thankfully God is patient as I'm an especially slow learner.

All who are thirsty
All who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life
Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of his mercy
As deep cries out to deep

Come Lord Jesus Come

Along for the ride...

Last summer our family was in San Diego and we were making plans and working out details of various outings and I looked over at Ben's dad and asked him what he wanted to do. He said, "Oh, I'm just along for the ride." I cannot tell you how much I wish I could say that, even just for one day, or one hour. How nice would it be to take the place of that middle aged man at the mall, reading his book while unshowered, list-yoked women (uhh...me) practically run from store to store looking for gifts for loved ones. Or to just go somewhere and not have to have diapers, wipes, toys, healthy food, utensils, snacks, and 2 changes of clothes just in case. Life right now is good, it really is, but sometimes it feels like there's just so much riding on me. It can get a little overwhelming. I know I would miss out on everything that matters to me but some days I wish I was just along for the ride.

New Traditions

Last year at this time I was 39 weeks pregnant and I vividly remember being woken up, after I had just fallen asleep, by the sounds of multiple firetruck sirens parading up and down our street. In a panic I sat up in bed and tried to comprehend all that was happening. Was there a neighborhood fire? Should I evacuate Ava and the animals? Were there terrorists ambushing our street? I ran to the window in a confused state and instead of answers, found more questions. Why are there adults dressed like elves running up and down the street? Why is there a giant sled and man dressed as Santa on top of an ambulance? What is going on?!? Ben assured me that everything was ok and told me to go back to bed. The next day I texted my neighbor Anne and discovered that our neighborhood participates in a toy/canned food drive parade of sorts every year. 'Maybe this should be posted on a welcome to the neighborhood flyer' I thought.

Anyway, this year there were signs posted around the street letting people know that Saturday was parade day. This year we were going to be prepared. So we collected all our canned goods and camped out on the driveway. Ava was blissful for many reasons. She had her parents all to herself, she had hot chocolate, and Ben taught her how to ride her bike down the driveway. We explained to her what was going to happen but we weren't really prepared.

It was almost 10 by the time the commotion started. You can hear the sirens from far away and anticipation builds as they get closer and closer. Then we had a front row seat. Four firetrucks, two ambulances, and a bus filled with adult elves come racing around the corner. Did I mention there's a santa in a giant sleigh on top of one of the ambulances? The elves jump out of the bus and race up and down the street collecting their goodies. With great pride Ava carried her big bag down to one of them and joyfully received two candy canes for her efforts. We sat on camping chairs all bundled up and watched our neighbors come out of their houses.

Last year I may or may not have tried to convince Ben that we should send a very angry letter to whoever thought up such a ridiculous idea. But this year I loved every minute of it and I can't wait to have it be a part of our Christmas traditions.

Christmas Card Reject 2010

Well 2010 is ending with a bang as our cat Stormy has infested our home with fleas. After Rebekah found 3 of them attempting to nest in our infant son's hair, she decided to fumigate our home and nearly killed Ben's beloved turtle of 30 years. Thankfully all animals were spared, and hopefully our children won't come down with various forms of cancer due to the severe fogging of hazardous chemicals all over their toys and stuffed animals. In other news, Ava has apparently caught a yeast infection and a rare form of strep in her va-jay-jay. Ben is now referring to this as Strepgina. Rebekah received her mother of the year award when Ava's doctor asked her with a puzzled look, "Ava hasn't had antibiotics since the end of October. When did Ava start complaining about itching and pain while urinating?" To which Rebekah lied and said she can't quite remember. Even though she knew Ava had been privately scratching herself for more than 4 weeks. Not to be outdone in the master of parenting department, Ben has now perfected the art of pretending to play, you -make- what- I- make- with Ava and the blocks, while watching various Miami Heat games on his laptop. And we don't want to leave out Ian, who we hope will celebrate his first birthday by learning how to stop drooling, eat solid foods, and attempt to show some interest in walking or even crawling correctly. Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for. No one has had a nervous breakdown, we are still ringing in the New Year as a married couple, and our children are naive enough to think we are the perfect parents.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Ben, Rebekah, Ava, Ian, Stormy, & hopefully by the time this letter reaches you, Tippy

Yuck!

You wouldn't think strep throat could cause such havoc on your body, but after 3 days spent quarantined in "the guest room of death" I'm pretty sure I would rather go through childbirth again. Eventually I made Ben take me to the ER because I knew I was dehydrated and couldn't keep any liquids down. After an iv drip, a giant shot of penicillin in my butt and about 20 hours of sleep I finally recovered.

I do want to say that after you are rendered useless for a while you really start to appreciate the capabilities of those around you. I was so thankful for Ben who took a few days off of work. Which meant he stayed up until 11 writing lesson plans, left at 6 to get the sub started, came home, took care of both kids from breakfast till bedtime, and everything in between. Then my parents watched the kids at a moments notice so Ben could spend 6 hours with me at the hospital. And just as I was recovering, my neighbor Anne shows up at the door with hot soup and it was the first thing I kept down in 4 days. Sometimes I feel like I have to do it all, but then when you can't it's nice to know that there are people in your life who love you and will take care of you, even if you haven't showered and smell like throwup.

deck the halls!

Last weekend we made it out to a tree farm by our house to pick up our 10 foot prized noble fir. You can do that out here because this is the Christmas tree capital of the world. They are usually wrapping up and shipping most of the trees to be sold in various Texas home depot's for $80. We just drive into the place with the cheapest sign. You cut/ All trees $8. It makes me happy. Unfortunately we decided on a 13 year old tree that had the biggest trunk in the field and poor Ben had to use a flimsy saw to cut it down. He was muddy from head to toe but I'm pretty sure I caught a smile. Ahh... boys and their cutting down tree fantasies. :) I forgot my camera but we got a couple pictures on Ben's phone.

Our friends Karl and Abby came over with a pizza and helped us haul in the giant tree beast. To say the tree is wide would be a crazy understatement. There is barely room to stand in the living room. But it smells good and looks beautiful. Ava loves decorating the tree with me and we talk about all the ornaments and she oohs and ahhs over each one. This year it was all about the birds that my grandparents gave us from their trip to China 20 years ago. They were all given names and Karl was made to wear one on each shoulder. It was pretty cute.

Buckle up, this is going to be a long one

So it's been awhile. I would say life has been busy but a more appropriate word would be full. And as I've just finished my Christmas wish list (a ritual required by my in laws and one I'm slowly warming up to :) ) I figured I would do a little catch up. I want to start with a visit from Amy and Wyatt. Ahh...it was already two weeks ago and it still makes me smile to think about it. Highlights included:

a warm cozy dinner at McMennamins

pre-dinner pomegranate sea breezes

watching Ava and Wyatt create adventure together

kid free Christmas shopping (thank you Ben!)

Late night talks

pre-dinner pomegranate sea breezes (did I say that already?) :)

I feel so greedy getting to see Amy three times this year but I'm already planning another visit. We were too busy enjoying our time to take many pictures but here's a few good memories:

I'm not sure what was going on in this scenario but I'm pretty sure that's Wyatt's "motorcycle hat"

This photo makes me happy.

And then we were off to Chicago for Thanksgiving week. Here we'll start with the plane ride. I was probably being punished for giving my baby benadryl to make him sleep during the flight. Ian did pretty well. Ben held him most of the flight and he whined and complained. He probably only slept 20 minutes of the 3 1/2 hour flight. And then we were about to land and Ben gives me this look of horror.

I saw poop all over Ben's arm and coat and then it started bubbling up Ian's pants. I am not kidding. It was oozing out the top. The smell. The smell. The smell. I can't explain the feelings of terror. We were one minute from landing and I went into go mode like never before. I stripped Ian down as Ben was throwing me wipe after wipe. I had poop all over my hands, it was all over Ian's head and face. Everyone around us was looking. I was trying to get Ian cleaned up and dressed all while breaking the cardinal rule of flying. I managed to throw him to Ben and brace myself as the wheels touched down.

Then I had to apologize to everyone around us and try to clean it all up in the airport bathroom. I wish I had a picture but obviously that was impossible. Please start praying now for my 7am flight back to chicago in 2 weeks with 2 kids, BY MYSELF. I can't even think about it.

The overall trip to Chicago was delightful. I am coming to terms with the realization that our new trips to Chicago are completely different than our pre kids trips. We use to pick out restaurants and visit friends and see movies. Now we babysit and plan everything around naps and sleep in separate bedrooms. (Ben's highlight) :) We were there for 6 days and left the house about 4 times. I did get some time with my friend Jenny and had a great haircut but these are Ava and Ian's memories now. I decided to hire our first babysitter this weekend to steal some time away with Ben. We have to make our own vacations wherever we can get them.

hot chocolate breakfast with Nai Nai

an official meeting of the council of the cousins

Amarie turns one!

And now we're off to decorate the Christmas tree. I'll try to post again before Christmas but no promises. :)

Super Ava to the rescue!

If anyone needs a belly baring princess to come and help them out just let me know and I'll hook you up. Ava's super-tia made her this cape to replace the couch throw that she made me tie around her neck everyday. She's a pretty lucky girl.

Birthday extravaganza!

Here's some photos from Ava's party. I think the kids had a good time and for a few it was their first birthday party. Ava had all her best friends here and they got along really well. Luckily the boys were able to stick together because the girls ransacked Ava's dress up box within 5 minutes of arriving. Even her princess pajamas were fair game.

Jaime reading her new book and Ava annoyed that I'm interrupting

Ian got an ABC book from his Tia

Ava blowing out her candles

Grant giving the princess pinata his best efforts

But in the end it was Miriam who gave the final blow

The Bounty

This was a mummy game I made up. It did not go well. The paper kept ripping and two kids ended up in tears from the confusion and attention of being wrapped in toilet paper.

Hannah the mermaid

Miriam the princess

Ava received a bounce castle from Ben's parents and it was a big hit at the party

And for my friends who want details on the menu, we served BBQ pulled pork in a crockpot, chips, and broccoli salad for the adults. The kids got pizza rolls, pirates booty, grapes, carrot sticks, goldfish crackers and an extreme sugar high.

As Ben was tucking Ava into bed that night he asked her what her favorite part of the party was. First she said it was the gumdrops on her cake. Then she said she liked the presents and the castle cake and having her friends over to play. Finally she told him that she did not like mama's mummy game. "Why not?," Ben asked. "Because it was wasteful and inappropriate."

I have spent two years drilling into her that you are only supposed to use a certain amount of toilet paper because it comes from trees and then I pull out three rolls and have them wrap each other in it. You live and learn. :)

Parties are a lot of work but at the end of the day you really feel like you've given a gift to your child with the experience and the memories. It's a good thing they only have birthday's once a year because it might take me that long to recover.

This side of crazy...

"Have you lost your mind?!" Why yes I have, thank you for asking. It all started when I saw this cute idea for fairy wand cookies in a may issue of family fun magazine. It looked super easy and so cute and Ava loves fairy wands. So I thought I would just whip them up the night before her birthday and she could pass them out to her class at the women's bible study I go to. I don't even remember how late I stayed up but I did get an, "oh my gosh mommy, those are the most beautifullest cookies I ever saw!" So I figured it was worth it. Unfortunately for Ben, he made the comment, "you know she would have been just as happy with chips ahoy cookies." Yeah, he's been in the doghouse awhile for that one. Here's my happy helper in the kitchen

It probably wouldn't have been that much work if I hadn't decided to make the sugar cookie dough from scratch and wrap them individually with ribbon attached, but there it is.

As if this incident wasn't enough to send me straight to a psych evaluation, I attempted to make Ava a castle cake for her party on Saturday. Again, I saw a cute picture and it looked so easy. And then I decided to make my own fondant, out of marshmallows. There were sugar cones and cake cones and multiple pans and sprinkles, and an 11pm meltdown involving flags. But with the help of my sister and the calming effects of advil pm, I made it through. It was a beautiful cake but my goal this year is to get Ava involved with sports. A ball cake seems much more manageable.

My poor sister's hands were bleeding from rolling out the fondant

I had to keep reminding Ben that it could have been much worse. My cousins wife posted 600 pictures of their daughter's third birthday party. It was mickey mouse themed and I'm pretty sure the insanity of that party was unprecedented. I'll only mention that they redecorated three rooms in preparation for the party (think, mickey mouse toothbrush holders), she embroidered matching polo shirts for every family member, and there were flower beds planted in the front yard in the shape of mickey mouse. I believe I kept the crazy to a minimum.

1,2,3,4!

See this little girl...

The one who wears heels for breakfast...

And prays every night that God would give her wings to fly "real"

She turned 4 this week
And then she got on her new bike and rode off to college :(

Here's a real conversation we had today:

Ava: I am not a baby anymore mama. God turned me 4 now. (said matter of factly with her hands on her hips)

Me: (Pretending to cry)

Ava: It's ok mama. You don't have to be sad. When I go away and leave you, you can give money to my teachers to come with me. I'll take you to see my friends and I'll always be your baby.

Me: (Still pretending to cry but this time almost crying for real)

Ava: Ok mama, here's the deao (deal), let's pray to Jesus that you won't be sad anymore. Ok, how's that?! (Bowing her head and taking my hand) "Dear Jesus, please don't make mommy sad anymore and take care of her when I have to yeave. Help her know that I will always love her and she is a beautiful, sparkly, disneyland, mommy. And byess this food to our bodies. Amen"

Me:( Crying for real)

my mornings just got a whole lot more interesting

Have your fun now little man because next week you'll be moving to a gated community.

Ian at 10 months

As usual time is flying by and Ian is changing every day. He has now learned how to climb the stairs :( which is weird since he still drags himself across the floor. And this morning I found him sitting up in his bed for the first time. He looked a little stunned at his accomplishment but realized it was a good thing after his mama smothered him with praise and giggly neck kisses. He is still a great sleeper and giving me 13 hours a night with two 2 hour naps during the day. And he is such a sweet boy! It's mostly da-da-da-da-da-da all day long but occasionally (i.e. crabby) he'll give me a "mama", although it sounds more like a whimpering, sniffling "maaaaaaa-maaaaaaa!" Here's a few of his favorite things:

his sister

pulling up

peas

pat the bunny

I can't believe we'll be celebrating his first birthday in 6 weeks! Can I just say how thankful I am to have him out of my belly. I am still relishing the stomach sleeping, husband hugging, non-peeing a thousand times a day, freedom from pregnancy. I feel like it was yesterday that I was crying in the shower every morning, praying that God would take away the pain of those last few weeks. And every time that boy flaps his arms like a bird (which is every 5 seconds) I tell Ben, "see...do you see!?!" I'm telling you that there was never a happier woman to arrive at the hospital to deliver her baby. I was dialated to 5cm, walking down that long narrow hallway with my suitcase and a smile on my face. "Hallelujah, I am here to have my baby!" Ok, not sure where that came from. Apparently I'm still healing from the drama of pregnancy. Maybe this will encourage me to start taking the birth control pills from my doctor. But I'll save that for another post.

Babies

Friday night we rented the documentary Babies, and although I was a little skeptical at first it turned out to be really good. Usually I like to watch movies to escape whatever reality I'm currently living in and I was worried that spending two hours watching a movie about babies would sort of erase any free time I was experiencing without my own. But it was funny and fascinating to see the similarities and differences between how babies are raised around the world. I'm not sure if I entirely buy into the premise that they aren't trying to make any sort of statement with the film but I guess with any good art you can kind of do your own interpreting. I would highly recommend the film. As does our cat Stormy.

He has honestly never watched a movie or tv in the two years we've had him but he watched for nearly two whole hours. Maybe it was the numerous cats in the movie or maybe he was terrified that we'd suddenly added to our brood. I'm not sure but I think he breathed a sigh of relief when we turned it off and they all disappeared. I mean he's a patient kitty but there's a limit people!

Male Bonding

It is just too cute to see how much Ian loves his grampa. He lights up when he walks in the room and does his little inchworm to get over to him. It's a good thing the feeling is mutual. :)

Wenzel Farm

Yesterday we took advantage of this GORGEOUS fall weather and went to a "farm" that has a spooky halloween trail. It was probably overkill for our little ones, do you really need the ghost to have a bloody knife?, but once all the gang was together they seemed fine braving it. I'm not really a fan of halloween except for harvesty type things and Ava already has enough trouble going to sleep with her fear of monsters. But it was nice to take a walk on a beautiful sunny day and they had a "pumpkin patch" for a cute photo op. The kids also loved the pirate ship maze and bouncy bridge. Although I think they need to revisit their "great for all ages" advertising.

All the kiddos and a headless Matt:)