Saya's Frist Solid Experience!

Saya is past 5 month and she's ready to start eating solid food! Boy, we have one more meal to prepare, one more mouth to feed. She was propped up on Sean's chair (reclined) and with a plastic bib on, she was all ready for a very fist feeding session. The first meal was oatmeal. She wasn't sure about the spoon and the strange thing I put in her mouth, but she did swallow some. Alyson watched us behind me and she kept bothering me demanding attention. At one point, she said "Meme (that's Mommy in her language) aaah" and wanted to be fed. I am glad that we taped it in a video clip so that I can remember the moment forever. My baby's growing up!!!

Sickly Kids

Dress Rehearsal for preschool!? -- wearing backpack
Another Bumbo pic of Saya!
Sisters looking surprised

The first fall sickness is taking a visit to our house and the twins, especially Noah, are snotty dotty tots. Saya was sick for one day with congestion but thanks to nursing, she's recovered very quickly. Sean, the very person who had brought home the germ, didn't even lose a minute of sleep over it.
When Noah gets snotty, he wakes up during the night because he cannot breathe. So, we strap him on his rocking chair and he sleeps sitting. We also put on the humidifier with vics vapor for coughs. So far he hasn't woken up during the night. Whatever works!! The summer in the Pacific NW may have ended. It's much cooler now and I see many trees changing colors. While we reflect on this year's very short summer, we are looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas to make fun memories.

Happy Birthday, Jiji!!

Today is grandpa, Jiji's birthday in Japan and Sean wanted to wish him a very happy birthday by singing the Happy Birthday song!! Happy Birthday, Otosan Jiji~

Congee

One of my favorite dish to order whenever we go to Dim Sum is Congee. It's a Chinese style rice porridge with preserved eggs and lean meat. I made one for the first time this morning with chicken breast. With only a cup and half of rice, I was able to make half large pot full of hearty porridge. I think I did pretty well considering it was my first time. It has the right thickness to it and good flavors from the chicken and the soup base I used. The toppings are shredded and dried pork meat, fried red onion pieces and veggie pickles. The key to it being thick and creamy is soaking the rice in plenty of water overnight. It cooks pretty fast when the rice is soft and the grains break apart easily. Nice dish to serve in cold mornings~

Home made play doughs

Amy made some play doughs this morning for the twins. They weren't sure what to do with them and didn't take too much interest at first.

Saya Shhhhh

For Saya Fans

Apart from the eye shape, I think Saya looks a lot like Daddy!
Her neck is getting stronger

Saya with Kai Lan

Saya wants to go shopping

Saya is almost 5 month old and she is growing up so fast. We plan to give her solids from her 5 month birthday, so that is going to be happening very soon. She has certainly learned to assert herself, a very smart choice but a little pain for us parents! She rolls over like a pro now but still cannot pull her arm out and gets frustrated. Her neck is getting very strong though and she can last much longer on her tummy. She is smiley but not so much giggly as others were. We have to tickle her in the exact right spot for us to get the cute chuckles. She likes to have her chunky thighs squeezed. She gets very hyper when I have chocolates, so no more chocolates for Mommy! She does seem to get sleepier after I have a glass of wine. :-D She will be one tough cookie though because Sean might not cut her some slacks just because she's the littlest and the twins are used to competition. She'll probably start to show more personality in a couple of months and we are looking forward to getting to know her better.

Sweet Alyson

Alyson in a Hawaiian dress
She looks like a cheerleader

With Amy

Giving a hug to Amy

Our nanny Amy was gone for about a month due to her school schedule and she came back this Monday. During her absence, her mother Chiota was helping us in the mornings. Chiota is an excellent cook and she makes killer soups which the twins (and me) are addicted to. She also makes a hearty dish called Congee, a rice porridge with eggs and pork. She taught me how to make it, so I am going to try it very soon.

With Amy back, Aly has a personal hair dresser doing her hair everyday. Amy, I do not know how she does it, but is really good at doing her hair. Today Alyson wore a cute Hawaiian dress which Amy brought her from Hawaii. She looked super adorable in it with her pig tails. She acted really cute, too, singing songs and being happy. Is it just me or she's getting cuter and cuter?! By the way, she calls herself "Aa-chan" now!

Visit to the Kelsey Creek Farm

Do you see Sean, Daddy, Aly and Noah?
Wow, is this big creature a horsey?

Aly was afraid of Joy, the pig

Miss Joy snoring away

Taking all four kids out and about is a major pain in a butt. But we have to do it for the kids sake and also ours. Today, we took the kids to Kelsey Creek Farm nearby. It was a beautiful day and was already quite hot at 10 am. We strapped Sean and Noah in BOB (jogging stroller) and Aly and Saya in the double stroller. We get tons of stares and "oh you must be busy" comments from people whenever we go out with two double strollers. We do attract attention but not enough to have our own TV show and earn millions of dollars!! Anyhow, Sean being older had more interactive fun with the animals and the twins were just so excited to be in an open space and being able to "meet" the animals they've seen in their books. Alyson was so excited to name the animals she saw. She was a little afraid of Miss Joy, the huge hog that was sleeping and snoring loudly. We plan to tackle many outdoor outings before the rain hits us. I just have to figure out the art of public nursing as Saya does not like to take bottles!

Cute Twins

I just had to post these photos by themselves because Aly and Noah look so cute in them. They are now 19 month-old and look how big they have gotten!! They will be 2 years old in no time and although it is sad to see them growing up so fast, I am also happy they are getting more and more independent. I love my twins. They are my miracle babies and a true gift from the above!!

Japan Festival "Akimatsuri"

Sean by the stage
Aly getting scared

On Saturday, we took the kids to Japan Festival held at a nearby community college. It is an annual festival which celebrates and introduces Japanese culture. There were lots of exhibits and strolls selling Japanese crafts as well as shows on stage. When we walked in to the main hall they just started the Okinawan drums and dance show on the stage. The drums were rather loud and Aly and Noah were quite terrified of it. Alyson turned pale and started to shake. Noah stack his lower lips out and cry. Sean was a little scared but was also curious and could not keep his eyes off the showmen (and women). Saya was the only one maintaining the cool. She happily sat in her stroller looking peaceful. Sean was quite excited to see some carps and gold fish at the outside exhibits. We were there just for an hour or so but we had a good time. We explained to Sean that Japan is where Mommy, Grandma and Jiji are from and that he is also half Japanese. I am not sure if he got it, but we'll keep explaining to him until he gets it. We want the kids to be proud of being part Japanese and learn and live the culture as much as possible.

Sean and Alyson - BFF

Alyson, you and I have the same funny hat!
Please don't steal my chips!

As much as they fight, Aly and Sean are best of mates! They enjoy sharing laughs and making noises together and can often be seen making up games on their own, giggling away. Sean is discovering that it is so much fun if others are having fun, too!

Appointment for three kids

Who's that cute baby?
Noah likes to play with drawers
Twins getting bored!

Took my three younger children to the doctor's office yesterday for their regular check up. Taking them alone was not a good idea and I'll make sure our nanny comes along next time! Needles and three crying babies are not for the faint of heart!

Well well, Miss chunky has done it again. Saya is now over 17 lbs and won again the biggest baby contest in the family. She's breastfed exclusively and that entirely took out the worry of my milk being enough or not. She's also very tall at 26 1/2 inches long and both over 97% on height and weight. No wonder she's a little snag in the 6-mos-sized clothes.

Aly is our runway model, she is 35 3/4 inches long, very much off the chart. The nurse commented that she is the tallest 18 mos old she's ever seen. She is 27 lbs and 12 ounces and that is in 75-90% range. Tall and slender. She's on the right track!

Noah is an inch shorter than Aly, 34 3/4 inches long. He weighs 26 lbs and 13 ounces, so about a pound lighter. He is 90% in height and 50% in weight. He just looks little compared to Aly, but he is actually a large boy as well.

All of them had several shots and they are not a fan of them, but did very well. The twins got a flu shot, so they are set for the winter. Unfortunately, it isn't for the swine flu so we'll have to be vigilant this winter not to catch it.

Sean So Naughty!!

Family relaxin'

Oh my gosh!! Sean's in a strange phase and he is super naughty in the past few days. He kicks and screams, throws toys when we ask him not to, try to hurt his brother and sister and just plainly refuse to do anything we ask him to. We have no idea what is up with him. He had been so good in the past few weeks so it's a big one step backward and a little disappointed that he is acting this way again. We are reminding ourselves that it must be just a phase and it will pass, hopefully very soon!!

Blackberries Anyone?

I was going to pull some weeds off the front yard and discovered a large blackberry bush towering over me with jagged thorns! Funny, I've never noticed it or is it a sign that we never weed anymore. I grabbed a bowl from the kitchen and harvested some dark ripe ones. I washed them off quickly and gave some to Aly. She didn't care that much for it though. I think she does not like the seeds. I ended up eating all of them and they were sweet and sour, a perfect snack. There are lots and lots of them so we'll be eating them for a while!

Just Videos

Saya complaining:

Twins Playing:

Saya's New Milestones

For the past 5 days or so, Saya has started to make this interesting sound, almost as if saying "hey what about me?" which Mike compares to the noise of cat fighting. Mike and I looked at each other and asked "was that Saya?" Our little quiet princess is starting to show her personality. She also almost rolled over from back to tummy today. Her arm was stuck and she was frustrated by that. When I leave her on the floor, she turns 180 degrees in like a minute! As you can see in the photo above, she likes to stand on our knees. She stands pretty solidly and we only use our arms to balance her body. She's a very strong girl.

I finally ran to Target right before their closing time tonight and bought a breast pump because Saya's been boycotting my boobs today (I think due to the iron supplement I am taking, which I am assuming makes the breast milk taste different). I will stop taking the iron supplement as I think is probably too much for me anyway. Hopefully the taste returns to normal for her tomorrow. She's not a fan of formula, either, so she's been hungry pretty much all day. Poor thing.