Happy Huladays!

Before we left for Chicago, Ava's school put on their Hawaiian themed Christmas play at the church by our house. She was very excited to get to play Mary and take care of the baby. I could tell she was a little nervous because she didn't want to talk about it very much. She worked really hard on all the songs and had memorized everything. I was pretty much ready to burn the cd after having to listen to it every day in the car for 3 weeks but she was determined. There is a certain monumental feeling when you see your child on stage for the first time. A moment that apparently every parent was feeling by the number of videocameras present. She did great and we were so proud of our big girl.

Practicing her songs for Tia (on skype)

The cheering section

Pre-performance jitters

The program

The paparazzi

Stagestruck

36 inches of adorable

For the record...

Ian had his two year checkup on Tuesday and was such a little trooper. Before she came in I pretended I was the doctor and checked his eyes and ears and heart and he thought it was hilarious. He showed off all his skills from jumping like a frog to counting to ten Ian style (uh, too, feee, or, eye, ix, emen, a, ni, ehn!) She seemed a little concerned because when he's just wearing a diaper you can see his ribs. But then she checked his chart and realized it was just because he's still in the 95th percentile for height and only 40th for weight. I don't expect that he will be a tall guy but it's funny that he's so long right now. I'm very thankful for a healthy boy and for a visit with no shots!

Ian James Theodore Hsieh

2 years

28 pounds

36 inches

favorite foods: apple juice, french fries, ice cream

best friend: Ava and Grandpa

favorite word: "ba-po" and today it was "no"

favorite toy: "ambi" his ambulance and "Bowda" his bear

favorite video: twenty trucks excavator video on you tube

naps: 1-4pm (my personal favorite :)

sleeps: 7pm-7am

He has a fairly serious personality and is very particular about things. He can be shy but will become your best friend within five minutes of knowing you. He loves to read and play with cars and will point out every piece of construction equipment that he sees on the road (and repeat it over and over until you acknowledge him). He is very smart but can't articulate all of his genius yet. :) He is a Mama's boy and I hope he always will be.

Sabrina Sparkles

Well I'm not sure how we pulled it off but somehow Ben and I got away with not buying our kids any Christmas presents this year. Ava has been begging for a pet since June and even though we know it's a hassle, this girl is designed to care for animals. It is in her DNA and frankly it was just too sad watching her A. try to play catch with the turtle and then B. try to play catch with her My Little Pony.

So we pulled a covert mission and went down to the humane society with a trunk full of kitty supplies, only to not find a kitten that we connected with. I was determined, however, not to give up and when Ava went to school the next day, Ian and I went back and found our kitty. I was pretty sure that as long as we weren't buying a backhoe or a bulldozer, that Ian wouldn't be capable of spoiling the surprise.

I managed to get the kitty over to my parents before we flew out to Chicago. Of course it got more complicated as kitty would be bonding with the wrong family for a week but our options were limited. I figured there were only a few times in your life when you can surprise someone with an itty bitty pet all wrapped up on Christmas morning and I was pretty determined to make it happen.

So after church we went to my parent's house and after they had opened their stockings we had them close their eyes and brought her out. Of course there are no good pictures as kitty was terrified and immediately jumped out and ran away but the moment was about as good as it gets and they were so excited.

She has adjusted well to her new home and is such a sweet little snuggler. Unfortunately she also wants to get outside so let's just hope my next kitty post isn't because she has run away. Until then, let me introduce Sabrina Sparkles "Titty" (Ian's contribution) Hsieh. We fully expect her to live up to her name and become a cat stripper.

All things Ian...

Baby boy turned two on December 18th. Doesn't he just look like a little man?

Lucky for me he still sucks his thumb and snuggles up in his footie jammies. He is still my baby. It was fun to plan a party that embodied everything he loves. His one friend Willa came over with her family and we started with a transportation collage.

Daddy helped him fill up his page with monster trucks and motorcycles and lots of 'ba-po's." Then there was a little competition to see who could draw the most eye-catching backhoe. (pretty impressive for five and fifty year-olds who had to recreate a backhoe from memory :) )

It got a little heated but in the end Ian chose Anne's creation. Unfortunately I have no evidence of her victory dance.

Finally he enjoyed his banana cake covered with construction equipment and chocolate rocks. After he had classified and sorted all the trucks by size, of course.

There are just no words for how much I love this boy. He has the most beautiful sensitive spirit and brings so much joy into our home. You would pee your pants if you saw how happy he was opening his construction equipment underwear on Christmas day! I never expected that I would be embracing rock-operas about excavators or that I would know the difference between a front-loader and a backhoe but it is all worth it. And even though we're entering two -year old territory, I am excited to see more of his personality emerge. Until we get to the hitting stage, then I'll be asking Santa for a fast-forward button for Christmas.

Happy birthday my sweet boy!

Merry Christmas!!

Ok, that's about all the energy I could give to a Christmas card. Between packing up everything for a west coast family Christmas and traveling to Chicago for the Hsieh side celebration I am delegating my limited resources this year. This photo cracks me up because it was taken by a random photographer who happened to be shooting senior pictures at our favorite hiking spot and the kids were very suspicious. They both have that same, "Who the *&%$ are you?" look in their eyes. And because it shows off Ben's dimples. Oh, I love those dimples.

We are chilling at home this week with family and family friends who have graciously traveled from around the country to basically play with our kids. Duncan is here from Chicago and has become Ava's best friend. Before I even get out of bed I hear them reading and coloring and being silly downstairs. He is her adopted Uncle and I'm currently trying to convince him to quit his job and move in with us. Tomorrow I'm making cinnamon rolls to sweeten the deal. And Tia is here spoiling all of us with her hugs and crazy photo taking antics. We are one lucky family. I have more to post on Christmas, Ava playing Mary in her school play, and Ian turning two but right now I have the living room to myself and I'm going to delegate my energy into a cozy fireside nap.

Christmas Card Reject 2011

Well another year has come and gone for the Hsieh family. This year we are embracing the small joys life brings. Ian James Theodore Hsieh is now two years old! We are celebrating Ian's first epic throw-up right onto his high-chair tray. I mean could he be any more considerate? Not like Ava's first epic throw-up projected out of her crib right onto Mama's new cashmere sweater and all over the guest room. So what if his language only includes one sound from each word, or he can only build a three block tower. It's selfless acts of kindness that really matter in our home.

Ava has been thriving in school and we're encouraged that her teacher says things like, "Ava really likes to do things her own way doesn't she?" We're also thankful that she's increased her repertoire of songs with catchy tunes like, "Booty, booty, shake, shake." (complete with motions!) And her spelling has really improved. See below:

In a surprise move, both our pets decided to take an outward bound journey. Stormy took the lead by escaping in June and then our beloved nearly-30 year old turtle decided life wasn't worth living and packed her bags too. We like to talk to the kids about the daily adventures their pets are having, and the fact that they tried to ride Stormy like a small horse had nothing to do with her decision to leave.

Ben and I are surviving on the occasional date night and our nightly addiction to cable television. We endured many hardships this year, such as Ben choosing to grow a mustache and me withdrawing all physical affection in a passive aggressive attempt for him to shave. We continue to celebrate the important milestones of marriage, like returning the toothpaste to the drawer and actually remembering to start the dishwasher instead of just loading it to it's maximum capacity and leaving it overnight so that there are no clean spoons and you are forced to eat your mini-wheats with a fork.

Yes, we have much to be thankful for, our children walk and mostly talk and Ben has a job and we have a home that is not infested with fleas (at the moment). We have a sense that 2012 is really going to be our year.

Merry Christmas from the Hsiehs,

Ben, Rebekah, Ava, Ian

In Memoriam: Stormy Cat & Tippy Turtle