Quick Post!

Just pictures today as I need to go to bed! We had a good weekend as you can see!

On Friday, Mommy and Sean went to the school playground

Factoria Mall

Kids are dressed up because we went to a church today! Yes, a church!!

Saya overflowing from an infant tub

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saya taking a bath while Alyson looks on - a night before Thanksgiving!
We didn't bake turkey, but had plenty of food.

Sean at Dim Sim place today

Aly liked the mango pudding

She normally stuffs food as much as she can

We had fun!!


We had the Dutts and Yukako over for the Thanksgiving dinner. We didn't cook turkey this year (maybe next year), but I prepared pork tenderloins, sausages, garlic green beans, traditional dressing with sausage, miso soup and a very tart apple pie. The tart part was unplanned... To try reduce the workload on the day, I prepared the apples the night before. Apparently, I put too much lemon then. The rest of the dishes turned out pretty well. The guests brought pasta salad and inari, the sushi rice wrapped in sweet tofu skin. The girls sat at the table almost the whole time and kept eating while chatting... Mike and Baskhar watched football downstairs and came up several times to load up the food. Since Baskhar is not familiar so much with football, Mike was enthusiastically explaining how to watch the game.

The kids were overall behaving well. Hanae's kids, Ayrie (3.5 yrs) and Rion (1.5 years) were champion eaters. Aly enjoyed chasing around Rion while Noah enjoyed playing downstairs with choochoos. Sean played well with Ayrie and he was asking where she was today. Saya was being shockingly loud, but that's not a surprise to us anymore. I just felt very fortunate to being able to enjoy the company of good friends and watching our children play and having a good time. I love my life!! I do feel very lucky to being able to say it.

Today, we were recuperating from overeating. Since Amy came to work this morning, Mike and I took Sean and Aly out. Aly has a gym class every Friday at 10:30, so I took her to the class while Sean and Daddy went to the Crossroad Mall. Aly had a good time at the gym, wide-eyed and constantly running around. We took the kids to our favorite Dim Sum place nearby. As we sat at the table at the restaurant, we joked how easy it is to dine with only two children. It is true!! Try doing it with four little kids and you'll be the grumpiest parents on the planet! We had a good lunch there. It was a really nice treat.

In the late afternoon, Mike cleaned the roof and gutters and hang the Christmas lights. He was being a very good husband. Thanks Mike!! Tomorrow, we'll set up the Christmas tree. Sean has been looking forward to this for a long time, so it will be fun. We'll try to take the kids photos in front of the trees again some time and hope they turn out better than last year!

Saya's Personality

Aly opening the present from Nana and Pinky
Mike showing pictures on iPhone

With Pinky

With Nana

Saya will be 7 months old next week. She is getting ready to sit up and be a little more independent in terms of play. Whenever there is something interesting in front of her, she is not shy to reach out and grab it. She sort of dives for it in a sense, I don't think she's worried about falling and getting hurt at this point. She seems to be a very determined girl. She interacts with Alyson a lot and they both giggle and laugh together. I think they will be good friends. Her legs are strong and her thighs look bigger than rugby boys', more like power lifters'. She rather stand than sit or lay down and she 'lasts' the longest on the jumber. I need to be careful and make sure I trim her nails because she makes this raking motion with her fingers and manages to scratch herself and others around pretty well.

She babbles a lot and currently into blowing raspberries. Her bibs get soaked in no time! She looks somewhat like Daddy and a tad like me. People say she looks like Sean when he was a baby. She has pretty hazel eyes and I think they are going to stay gray/green now that she's passed 6 month. Her hair is medium brown and looks like it is going to be lighter than her brothers' and sister's. It is still hard to picture what she might look like in a year, but she is going to be a pretty girl. I just cannot believe she is going to be 7 month soon and she'll be crawling in a month or so. We were just there with Alyson and Noah a year ago!

The photos are from the trip to Minneapolis. Sean had a blast!! Well, everyone did!! I am glad they got to spend some time with Nana and Pinky. Thank you Nana and Pinky for the presents for the kids and me!

Little Glimps of Sean's Visit to Minnneapolis

Sean and Nana on the first night

Sean enjoying the ride at the arcade in America Mall

Look at his happy smile!!

With Grandma Pinky

With Nana and Grandma Pinky


I wanted to post some photos of my little boy who's visiting his great grandmother and grandmother in Minnesota. Mike sent me those pictures on iPhone. Sean went to the Nickelodeon Amusement Park (situated inside a big shopping mall) on Tuesday and had a blast as you can see in the photos. Today, they went up to Little Falls to see grandma Pinky. They are all having a great time it seems!

All is well at home, too. A friend of mine will be coming over for dinner tonight so should be fun!

Almost Thanksgiving!

Noah looking intently at horses in the Crossroad Mall

Gorgeous Cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes - I am not a cupcake fan normally, but I am a fan! They are that good!
Aly likes to imitate whatever Sean's doing. Here, she'd grabbed a spoon for herself and a few blocks so that she can be just like her brother!

Noah is happy 90% of the waking hour!

Aly is like a bright sunshine. She really lightens up the groomy weather.

Sweet Saya - she's got very strong grips. She likes to pull out Mommy's hair by clumps!

Aly playing with display toys at a toy store at the Crossroad Mall.

The kids all go to different directions when they are set loose.

All the merchants, it seems, were very eager to get over with Halloween so that they could pull out their cheerful Holiday decorations. Forget about the harvest theme already, it's the money making Holiday season! Well, that's the impression I got when I went to the mall with Sean this morning. Is it just me or I feel more rushed this year?

Mike and Sean are going to Minneapolis from Monday through Thursday to visit Nana and grandma Pinky. This is the very first time I am not with Sean overnight or longer. I will miss him and Daddy very much, but I am sure they'll have a good time over there. So, I will stop worrying about things!! He's a Daddy's little boy anyway, so he'll do fine without me. Aly and Saya are attached to me and Noah's to no one, so things should be ok in the house, too. It's a strange feeling though not having my little boy in the house with me.

Noah is making some progress with speech. He now says "Juice" and makes dog sounds. He also seems to respond better to music. When I sing a song about jumping, he starts to jump etc... So, he seems to be understanding a lot. He still has problems responding when I call his name and that is very concerning. We booked a neuro evaluation with Dr.Vlcek on Dec 17 and his speech eval appointment (for over all Autism eval) should be ready to be set up as I sent in his paperwork last week. He is a sweet boy and since his demeanor is so good, he gets put on the side a lot. I am sorry Noah-chan!!

We will see how the next four days go without Mike and Sean. It will be quieter for sure, but not so much as I still have three little noise makers around, keeping me working hard~

Alyson's Speech

I wanted to document what Alyson can say at 20 months before I forget!

Mommy
Daddy
Saya-chan
Sean-chan
Noah-Kan
Grace
Kitty
Wanwan (dog) - she can also say doggy
Miki (hamigaki - brushing teeth)
Cherio
Dou (for budou - grapes) she also says grapes
Tou (for Tofu)
Banana
Water and Zu (for mizu)
Kirekire (wash hands)
Pen
Crayon
Chair - she can also say Isu
Dirty and Bacchii
Per (diaper)
Poon (spoon)
Milk
Juice
Kii (blankie)
Keys
Kiss
Hug
Dakko (carry me)
Otete (hands)
Head
Meme (eyes) she can also say eyes
Ohana (nose and flowers) she can also say nose, but not flowers
Cup
Panpan (bread)
Cookie
Futsu (fruites)
Gohan (rice)
Ta (onakasuita meaning hungry!)
Get down
down stairs
upstairs
door
pyon (bunny's jumping sound in Japanese)
Paon (elephant)
and these are just a few!! There are many more.

Exercise Saya

Saya had her eyes covered when I looked away for a few second!
She's working out sweats

Saya was wearing a sweat jersey today, so naturally I had to put a headband on her to complete the athletic look. She was kicking her legs as if she is doing some cardio. Later when I put her in the jumper, she was furiously jumping more than ever before. I think she was quite frustrated that no one would pick her up. Mike was late again! It's 11 pm and he's no where to be found!?

I am having a real tough time with Sean. His behavior sometimes is unbelievably bad! He would kick me, hit me for no reason (well there got a be a reason but he won't tell me!) and he would do the opposite of what I ask him to do. He is skinny but very tall and strong, so it is becoming more difficult to handle him. Is this a phase? I sure hope so. I used to watch those Super Nanny shows and it just seems sometimes that Sean is just as challenging as the kids on the show. Dr. Jensen please help!! (he's the ABA doctor) I love him very much and I just hope he returns to being a sweet boy we know very soon...

Alert Saya

I can put this whole thing in my mouth!
Finally, kept my eyes open!

Sean giving me an awkward smile. When I say "Niko~" (smile) to Sean, he kind of forces a smile.

Saya is more alert and aware of things now. She cries when I leave the room or gets furious when someone takes her toys away. She also is becoming the loudest baby yet! She's the littlest but boy her screams can shake up the house! She turns red when she screams as if she's giving all she's got. She does not like loud noises such as someone banging on the wall or any sudden scary movements. She sticks her tiny lower lip out and cries. Sean isn't particularly nice to Saya, so she's learning to protest and protect herself by screaming for me.


Sean is having a bad week. He is finally feeling better and has gone back to school since yesterday. He is having a tough time at home though. He refuses to share any toys, pushes, kicks and hits his siblings. We booked a home consultation with an Applied Behavioral Analysis expert, so I am hoping he can help us better manage his not so nice behavior. I also hate myself for losing patience with him. I really don't want to yell at him because I do believe that he just cannot help himself most of the time. But when I see him kick Saya on the head, I cannot keep my cool. Being a Mom to an autistic child is VERY HARD. But I am sure there is a way to make things easier for all of us. We shall see.

Staying Put

Noah getting his bangs trimmed -- he would have been a cute girl!



Noah loves Frank the koala bear



This week was eventful in its own terms, not a pleasant one. Sean got sick after getting the swine flu shot on Tuesday and missed school on Thursday and Friday. Turns out, his little friend in the neighborhood had a swine flu recently and he might have gotten it from him or it probably is going around the school right now. The doctor said his symptoms are consistent with swine flu, however is a mild one. The rest of the kids are fine, they haven't even coughed once. Mike had a day or two of feeling tired, but now I have the coughs and sore throat.


This means we had to postpone the trip to Minneapolis to the week after. The fee to change the flight was $$$$ and it's as if they are going to Japan. On top of this, we are having problems getting our money back from a contractor we almost hired last May. We paid him a deposit for the materials but the project got cancelled due to their initial quote being inaccurate. It looks like we may have to sue him... We are so busy as is and it's so annoying to be put in this position.


Sean's having a bad week emotionally, too. He just screams, hurts his brother and sisters (Saya, too), and just miserable. If we are to have a nervous breakdown, this week would have been a good one. I am seriously considering putting him on the gluten and casein free diet. If it makes Sean more manageable, I will do anything!! I made an appointment with a nutritionist next week, so I am planing to ask her about it.


I am just glad to say that we are starting a new week tomorrow. We will keep Sean at home for another day to see if his coughing improves. We have to make sure he gets better for the trip next week as we won't be able to afford to change the travel plans again. I can't wait for things to get back to normal because my kids like being on a routine, especially Sean. I think this out of ordinary schedule is making him very upset. Sigh...

Sean Trick or Treating at School

Forgot to post the video of Sean at school.

Happy Halloween

Family Portrait~

She is supposed to be a superhero, but is it just me that she looks bad?
Sean at circle time. Miss Nia in the middle


Sean washing his hands

Sean enjoying the cupcake!

Trick or Treating at school

Noah didn't mind the chicken costume!

Saya-chan looked cute in her bumble bee costume -- all my other kids had worn this costume!

I tried...

At Mike's building

Well, where do I start?!

The kids had a blast this Halloween, especially Sean. On Friday, he wore his Muscle Man costume to school and he was just out of his element all day having lots of fun. They had a little party at school, so I went to check it out. When I walked into his classroom, they were having a circle time singing a song. He was sitting facing the teacher and I quietly sat behind him. He was singing the apple tree song happily and he raised his hand to volunteer to stand on a little podium to do the dance! When he stood and faced me, he noticed that I was there, but he just smiled really widely and continued to sing and dance to the song. I was VERY IMPRESSED that he was participating in the activity and yet alone orderly following what he is supposed to do. This preschool business is doing him so well. After the circle time, we sat and had some Halloween snacks. They called out kids to wash their hands and Sean was the first one to line up to wash his hands!! WOW! After the little feast we went to do some trick or treating within school. Sean was so polite and well behaved, I swear he was the best one in the class. The teacher told me that Sean is just a very happy boy and he is all but smiles in school. Sean insisted on riding the school bus home, so I put him on the bus and drove home alone. It was such an eye opener that now I believe Sean is capable of doing so much more than what us parents previously thought!

After school, we changed Aly, Noah and Saya into their little costumes and drove to Mike's work. They allow kids to do trick or treating in the office every year. This year was a little quieter than normal because Mike's team had moved to the new posh building in downtown Bellevue. They had a main event at the Redmond but we did not go there this year. It was good that we didn't go to the big party because the kids would have wondered off and gotten lost. Mike's new building has a luxurious shopping center on the first few floors called Nieman and Marcus. We kind of checked it out and took some photos there. It was fun but it also was getting late so we hurried home to have dinner.

The Halloween day was a little crazy and hectic because we, as always, try to cram too much into one day. When we got home around 5:30, the neighborhood kids were already starting to knock on the doors, so we hurried and fed the kids in front of the front door so that they won't miss any action. Sean and Daddy went out to knock on the neighbor's doors after dinner while I stayed home with the babies to hand out candies. We had a medium turn out this year. I think people were planning for a rain and they had probably arranged doing something indoors. Sean had a blast though collecting candies. When he got home, he dumped his bag on the couch and proudly looking at his stash. Later, I took Noah to meet one of my new neighbors. I shared my famous chocolate zucchini cupcakes I baked earlier.

By Sunday evening, the kids were super tired and pretty cranky. I call it a success though!!