Chicago memories

It's a little past due but here are some highlights from our weeklong visit to the windy city. Unfortunately (for the kids) there was no snow for the whole trip. It was weird but made our busy schedule much easier. We had a great visit this year and loved seeing the relationships grow between the cousins. It never matters how much time they spend apart. The minute they are within eyesight of each other (even if it's in the middle of the second worship song at church) there are screams and hugs of joy. It is absolutely beautiful to me. Besides sweet cousin moments here is the photo journey of our trip:

Four hour airplane trips are much easier with a laptop and an ipad.

I ♥ technology.

Our first day there we celebrated Miss Amarie's dedication, Adeline's 4th and Ian's 2nd birthday. Again, A LOT of joyful chaos. :)

One of my personal highlights was an afternoon spent with the lovely Jenni Brown. She really should just write a book called The Cozy Afternoon because she is the expert. From the perfect snacks to a fridge full of yummy drinks to a gingerbread man on hand just in case two little sillies are in the mood for decorating. I never want to leave her house and am sad that we didn't get more time together.

We took the kids to the winter wonderland fesival on Navy Pier and I was blown away. Being Chicago and all, I fully expected it to be loud, crazy, crowded, and overpriced. But there was hardly anyone there, few lines, and so much fun stuff to do. We spent hours there and didn't get to do everything. The kids loved the jump houses and the 'snowball' fight room and Mama loved the Garett's popcorn, the happy kiddos, and the long sleepy ride home.

The girls were mesmerized by the nutcracker ballerinas and Ava even got a dance lesson at the end.

Ian decided he was born to be a hot wheels driver.

Nai Nai treated all the cousins to new build a bear outfits. Unfortunately I was out of suckers to bribe them all into doing a smiling cousin photo, so here's our best shot.

Ava's favorite hot chocolate at Mama's favorite breakfast spot: Burnt Toast. And now I'm craving french toast at 11:15 at night.

Finally an amazing Christmas Eve feast and Yeh Yeh's traditional reading of The Night Before Christmas. As only he can do it. :)

I am already looking forward to our next family adventure!

Two

Between the frequent outbursts, the hitting followed by lavish affection, the complete lack of understandable English, the food pickiness, the waxing and waning of appetite, and the utter helplessness combined with stubborn independence. Sometimes living with a two year old feels like you have a manic-depressive exchange student from Romania going through heroin withdrawal.

*No offense to Romania intended.

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!