The beginning of my end

Sam started rolling over sometime last week. I know I should be happy that he's hitting this milestone but I'm really scared. Another mobile willful child...ack!

I think I can...

Getting my left arm free is the tricky part...

Well, actually, keeping my big head up is trickier...especially since I have no neck!

Preschool Dropout

On Sunday night, Chang was getting the girls ready for bed. When they were whining about going to sleep, Chang reminded them that they both had school the next day.

"Oh Man! I'm tired of going to school!" Our burnt-out four year old replied. The girl doesn't even have homework yet and she is already complaining about going to school!

I'm fairly certain that Joey enjoys going to school. I am so impressed that she is learning to add and subtract, she is telling me about Vincent Van Gogh, and she brought home her third book to read to us. Maybe Montessori schools are more academically oriented than necessary for her age but I think she's having a good time.

"Mommy, did you know Da Vinci painted that one girl, um..."
"You mean, Mona Lisa?"
"How did you know? Do you know Da Vinci?"
"Mommy, did you know that Milton is dead?"
"Mommy, that's Martin Luther King Jr. He says that he has a dream."

I'm a little curious to see at what grade I'll have to start looking up information to help her with her homework. I hope I'll make it through elementary school...

Yummy!

I decided to give Sam a taste of rice cereal today. Mmmm...yummy! He had no idea what to do when the spoon came close to his mouth. So I touched his lips, he opened up, and he was so happy to have a little bit of food in his mouth. I kind of don't want to go through the trouble of feeding him solids everyday. But I suppose it is inevitable.

Speaking of yummy, Chang brought home these cute Cookie Monster cupcakes to celebrate Elysha's potty training. The girls loved them and gobbled them up!

Two down, one more to go...

Elysha is potty-trained. It literally happened overnight. On Monday, she said she wanted to wear underwear. By Friday, she was in underwear all day with no accidents. Plus, she was playing mind games with us for so long that the girl can hold her bladder for 5 hours. What finally got her to go consistently on the potty? A goodie bag from which she could pick a prize each time she went on the potty. The girl was holding out for more than cookies.

To add to my excitement, Sam slept 12 hours two nights ago and only woke up once last night. Despite being sick with bronchitis, I am feeling so refreshed these days. Unfortunately with my sickness, I completely lost my appetite. So my milk has diminished. I am thinking of just letting it go...the thought of eating like a teenage boy on steroids to get my milk back exhausts me. So another milestone, the last time I will ever breastfeed may be closer than I thought. It actually is making me cry. =( Sam made the most adorable sound when he nursed at nighttime. Everytime he swallowed, it almost sounded like a sigh...like the sound of bliss and perfect contentment. I always wanted to record it but never did...and now he doesn't make that sound anymore.

Judge me by my size do you?

That's what Elysha's little Yoda beanie says--"Judge me by my size do you?". It cracks me up because Elysha is a lot of person in a little body. She is starting to potty train a little bit these days. She definitely knows how to hold it. Bribery with sugary treats helped the first two days but she has lost interest again. On the second day of P.T., at 8:30 in the morning, I was sitting with Elysha. I told her that if she pee'd on the potty that I would give her a "special treat" like the other day. She immediately got up, sat down on the toilet and took care of business. With her Dora underwear still around her ankles, she asked for her special treat. So she was eating chocolate cookies for breakfast.

I was gone for an Arbonne conference last week so I took Sam with me to Atlanta. Chang took two days off and had a good time with the girls. They met my brother's family at Legoland...

Picnicked in the backyard...

They also stayed at a hotel and swam in the pool. According to Chang, the girls missed Sam more than they missed me. Surely, he is mistaken...

I love this picture because all three kids are doing their thing--Joey with sucking her thumb, Elysha with pressing the back of her hand to her mouth, and Sam with grabbing his toes. And of course, both girls are petting Sam's head with their free hand.

As painful as life can be with three kids, Sam completes our family and I have no regrets. Before Sam was born, I never felt that I was done having kids. After Joey was born, I hadn't even left the hospital before I was thinking of number two. After Elysha was born, I distinctly remember coming home from the hospital and while I was taking a shower, I was thinking about having another. But now, I have a lot of peace saying that this factory is closed!

Happy 5 months Sam!

I know that I am biased since not only did I give birth to him, I nearly died in the process (ha ha--I love to play that card a lot with Chang!). Sam is just so scrumptious! I just want to bite off every morsel of fat on his body. I've been putting him down to sleep at the same time as the girls and he sleeps from then until around 3-4am. So he sleeps a good 7-8 hours now. He is very happy on his belly but still hasn't figured out how to roll over. I don't put him on his tummy very much because I am concerned that he will figure out how to crawl. Whenever he is on his belly, he pushes his legs. He isn't moving forward but he is turning his body around. Seriously, I know I'm a bad mom but I just can't deal with another mobile child yet.

Look at what I can do! I also like to suck on my toes. Tasty!

The Next Generation

First of all, it was my man's birthday last Friday. The big 3-8! On the verge of a midlife crisis. But he's got so much to show for the last nearly 4 decades.

We also went to visit my mom this past weekend. My brother's family also came. The grandkids all got together for a picture. Ages ranging from 6 years to 4 months. I really love that the kids are so close in age. They play so well together and seem to understand that they are more than friends.

My mom got the girls matching dresses about which they were so excited.

As you can see here, Elysha was none too pleased that I kept asking her to smile for the camera, distracting her from her ice cream. Whereas Joey and her cousin are total hams.

The sign says, "free entertainment." The kids decided to provide that free entertainment by dancing on the stage for a good half hour.

A very happy grandma.

A cute picture of my little man. He had fun watching his older siblings/cousins run around. He almost rolled over today. I'm very nervous about this development. I'm going to have to throw a lot of the girls Polly Pocket toys away. Either that or Sam is going to have a lot of itty-bitty tiny high heels in his poop.

Spring Break

Joey was home last week for Spring Break so we had a few outings such as Paradise Cove, Knotts Berry Farm, and the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.

Joey sliding at the Peanuts Playhouse

We got annual passes for Knott's since we are in OC every weekend visiting Chang's mom. We've already been here three times in two month.

We stayed in a hotel Friday night so the kids could swim in a pool...and because we all love sleeping in hotels.

Then we met a school friend at The Discovery Science center in Santa Ana on Sunday.

There was a Clifford exhibit which the kids loved.

And the kids made imprints with their bodies. As much as I love Joey, I was happy that Spring Break was over and she would be back in school. 2-1 ratio is better than 3-1!