Turban Girl

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I was just having fun with Alyson this morning when I had to wash her after another poop incident. She is only two and four month old but look much bigger than her age, especially in this photo. She tests her boundaries these days and Mike and I are determined this time to be firm. She didn't get dinner last night because she refused to come and wash her hands. She cried and begged later, but we stuck with the decision. She was more cooperative today.

Our friend Liz brought a Gluten and Casein free brownies she baked this morning. They are very good and taste indifferent to the ones with wheat flour. I bribed Sean to eat his lunch and dinner, using the brownies as the prize. It worked beautifully! Later when I went to Albertsons, I found a gluten free cake, brownie and cookie mixes from Betty Croker. I think they are new. I was pretty happy to have found them and bought a box of yellow cake mix. I am beginning to think that GFCF diet isn't so bad.

I feel a lot better today. I think the low calorie stint was making me very tired. I did a quick run around the neighborhood at 9:00 pm, watched a TV show with Mike and off to bed now!

Rainy Long Weekend

Girls getting ready for lunch.

Lunch Time for Saya and Noah!
Saya with a little bow.

I am getting very big!

Sean during lunch today.

Aly enjoying watermelon.


Finally, the gloomy weather is getting to me. I had enough of this gray drizzly weather!! I deserve a sunshine at least after all I do!! Or maybe I am not doing enough? Suddenly, everything isn't going well for me. Kids spilled juice and milk three times yesterday, I dropped one of my favorite dish and broke it, Saya spits up all over her crib, Alyson's poop leaked and had to wash everything, etc... Maybe I took these incidents lightly if it were sunny outside, but boy did I take them personally!! It doesn't help that I am in a middle of low calorie diet, either. I am quite irritated that I can't run every night due to rain and even if it is not raining outside, I cannot run on my favorite trails because the path is flooded. My knees and ankle ache when I run on the pavements and I don't enjoy it as much.

My weekend started out nice with hitting the happy hour with my friend, Jen. We went to a hip Vietnamese place in old downtown Bellevue and feasted on fresh oysters and fusion dishes. I think I went crazy on them because I've been starving myself with only salad for dinner diet. The food tasted so good and I had a really good time chatting with Jen.

Saturday was a little boring and I was in a foul mood most of the time. We went to the Factoria Mall just to get out of the house and ended up exhausted chasing around Aly and Sean. We did not dare letting Noah and Saya loose, so they stayed in the stroller. We saw Hanae, Ayrie and Rion, looking so cute together. We keep running into them, Mike saw them at Mojo Sushi on Thursday.

Today was a little better, thanks to more sleep and a very special friend, Hanae. She came over with a huge beautiful bouquet of flowers just because I told her that I feel depressed over the phone! Thank you so much, Hanae-chan! The photo on the cover is the photo of the flowers. So gorgeous! We were going to have Sean's little classmate Andy and his family for a playdate in the afternoon, but unfortunately Andy's twin brothers got sick. We will set up another playdate very soon. I think things will look up from today and we will have a better week. I've decided to let myself eat more food at night other than salad and I had a very good Thai food from our favorite Thai place, Thai Chef. I did lose about 4 pounds in 3 weeks, so it's not too bad at all.

Cookie Face

Mike always makes fun of me that he can tell what I ate by looking at my face. I guess my kids took after me. I have varieties of snacks at hand in the cupboard these days because I am trying out different gluten and casein free products. Whole Foods carries a decent selection but Trader Joe's has quite a bit of salty snacks without the allergens. The sweets are the tough to find as most of them do contain wheat flour or milk. I found a brand called Udi's http://udisglutenfree.elsstore.com/ and their breads and even muffins are superb. I certainly can't tell the difference and nor can Sean.

On another note, Saya has finally started to sleep longer at night. She now sleeps from 9 to 5 straight and it is a big improvement. She also sleeps in her own crib in my room. After 13 months of interrupted sleeps, I finally can sleep longer than 5 hours now! If I only go to bed earlier...

Sean's teacher called me to thank me for the snacks I donated to his class. She said that Sean's a super sweet boy who follows directions very well and never disruptive. I am glad he is doing well at school. I just can't figure out why he acts out so much at home. Malawina, Noah's ABA therapist, is going to start working with Sean on Fridays, so we'll see what she suggests us doing. At least he is capable of listening to adults.

Going to Grandpa's House

Grandma Marie, always helping out in the kitchen.
Grandma Marie and Alyson looking at pictures on a magazine.

Saya and Grandpa bonding time on the couch!

Girls and Grandpa, cannot get sweeter than this.

Some adult conversation time.

Noah is complaining about something - grandpa and grandma Marie looking on.

Sean and Grandpa sharing a cartoon time.

Finally Grandpa looking at the camera not making a goofy face!

Some of the more peaceful moments on the road, thanks to two portable DVD players!!


I should be in bed right now after a long road trip back from Lewiston, but I wanted to post these so that I can share the photos with my loyal readers ASAP! :-D

We were at Lewiston this weekend, visiting grandpa, Shasha and Grandma Marie. It takes about 5 and half hours from Bellevue eastbound on a country highway passing through tiny farming communities. We always stop in the town of Othello, about half way between. This time, we let the kids play in the play area in Burger King right off the highway. I wasn't impressed with the sanitary condition and we will not stop there ever again!! We arrived at grandpa's after 8 pm and we all were pretty tired.

The weather was a little on the cooler side in Lewiston, but that didn't stop kids from venturing outside and play in grandpa's big backyard. They were running around everywhere inside the house, too, and they were excited to be away from home and get a lot of attention from all of us. Bob cooked us delicious meals and I forgot that I was on a diet. I really like your potato salad, Bob! I need the recipe!

Aly enjoyed reading with Grandma Marie and Shasha gave them plenty of cuddles. Grandpa is funny because he talks to the kids in a normal tone as if he's talking to an adult, even to baby Saya. We had fun visiting them and Aly in particular was asking about grandpa on the way home. I am sure Sean will be talking about Grandma Marie, Shasha and Bob tomorrow. They really had a good time and it was well worth the drive.

Thanks guys!!

The Weather Stinks Again and dreaming of half marathon!

Nice rainy day activity!

I let the kids play in the garage. I leave the minivan doors open on both sides and kids crawls around in there like a mini jungle gym! Anything to keep them busy!

We have had a fabulous weather in upper 60s to lower 70s up until last week. When Jan left, the weather decided to go sour and we have been having a cooler and rainier days ever since. You thought it turned sunny and then it rains the next minute. I was running in the evening yesterday and was chatting with a neighbor but it started to pour and had to dash back home. Thanks to the change of weather, the three younger ones got sick. We are supposed to go see Grandpa, Shasha and Grandma Marie tomorrow, but we'll see how they are tomorrow.

It's been 11 days since I started jogging every night. I missed once last Saturday when I had a headache and then today because it started to rain when I reached Spiritridge Elementary and had to turn back. I mainly train in the trails near by. I sometimes go to Weowna Park and sometimes go to the nature trail by the new Microsoft office. Both locations have lots of hills, so they are very good places for strengthening my legs and lungs. I didn't think I enjoy it this much. I am experimenting to see how I can run a little faster as most joggers pass me and they disappear from my sight so quickly! I get a little annoyed about that but one must be patient. I only started to run a week and a half ago after a looong absence. But I did discover that if I concentrate on kicking back with my heels instead of moving my legs forward, then I can take bigger steps. I also try to swing my arms straight back and that seems to help bring my legs forward in a nice rhythm. I suppose that keeps me in a better posture, too. I have not lost much weight, only 2 lbs, but I think I will lose a lot more if I stick with it. Who knows maybe I will try out for a half marathon next year, if all goes as planned. That would be a lot of fun!!

Jan/Nana's visit and Gluten Casien free diet!

Looking at him eating a cupcake made me feel very happy!
He didn't much care for the icing -- I need to find a way to make creamier icing without using milk.

After the cupcake, we went to Molly Moon's ice cream parlor in Wallingford. (Sean ate a milk free ice cream, but it seemed to have coffee in it and he didn't like it)

Aly eating sorbet.

Saya had her first ice cream.

Spinning around with Daddy.I took about 20 pics to get this shot!

Mike giving Nana an iPad lesson!

Finally, I am in a photo!!

Mike's Mom, Jan, Nana for kids, visited us from Minneapolis last weekend. She arrived on Thursday afternoon and left on Sunday morning. We kept her pretty busy from the time she arrived - just the usual schedule for us - and I hope she didn't get too exhausted. The kids were happy to see her and it was good to catch up with her.

The highlight probably was going on a field trip to the zoo with the entire preschool on Friday. Most children went together with one parent, but Sean was able to go with Nana and Daddy, too. That made him pretty happy. We also took the entire family to check out a gluten free bakery in Greenwood, Seattle on Saturday. Sean sat at a little table outside the bakery and savored the cupcake that doesn't contain wheat or milk product.

Mike and Jan played a lot with her new iPad. She was excited that she now knows how to use some of the apps on it. Thank you for coming Nana. It was fun having you here. We are looking forward to the next visit in the fall.

On Gluten/Casein free diet... Sean's peptide test result came back and it showed that he is highly allergic to milk and moderately allergic to wheat. Poor guy cannot eat most foods that are sold out there (except for veggies and fruits which he doesn't eat anyways). I've been studying online, visiting health food stores and stocking up on items that I've never heard of before like Safflower Oil, Sorghum Flour, Xantham Gum etc... They are quite costly, too! I found some recipes for cookies and cakes and I needed to collect all those weired sounding ingredients to bake them. It is all foreign to me. I now carefully read all the ingredients that are labeled on the package. I didn't know that even sausages contain lactose and so does Furikake, the Japanese rice sprinkle that Sean loves. I feel sad about this. I feel sad that he is not going to grow up with the same food experience as many of us do -- grabbing pizza after school, enjoying ice cream on a hot summer day etc... Sean's accepting it way better than I am. I need sometime to get used to it myself...

Mother's Day and My New Resolution!

Kids like to play outside when the weather's nicer.
Aly with sand table

We took the kids to Issaquah Salmon Hatchery on Sunday

Being a mother of four is an incredible experience and I feel very grateful for the path my life has taken. I've always wondered what it would be like to have brothers and sisters and here I am watching my children grow up having three siblings. My first impression is WOW! The competition is fierce and even my little Saya's learnt to push over her brother or sister to claim the ultimate prize, my laps. Sometimes, I feel like I had them too close too soon. I would love to spend more time individually with them. However, I do feel like their bond will be stronger because they are close in age. They fight and fight, but I know they feel perfectly happy with each other's company.

I felt very happy and blessed on Mother's Day, reflecting on my life and thinking of our future together.

Mike had an interesting Mother's day though... I won't go in details but let's say he had too much fun the night before. He did give me a present though.

One gift I decided to give myself is health.

I've finally decided to be serious about losing weight and came up with a two weeks intensive plan.

It's actually very simple.

1) Run every evening

2) eat only salad and chicken for dinner

3) no unhealthy snacks

4) cut back on carbs

My plan is to lose 15 lbs. I am trying to see how much I can lose in two weeks and decide what to do next then. Running is tiring but I feel super good later!

Stinky Tofu

So, Mr World Traveler decided to order a dish called "Stinky Tofu" at the new Taiwanese place near by.

Me: Why would you pay for something that has "stinky" in its name?

Mike: They said it's a delicacy and it's really good, it's just a little stinky.

I smelled it and it was pretty stinky alright! It kind of resembled my kid's dirty diaper (sorry if that is just too much). But Mike insisted on trying it and I ran and grabbed my camera to capture the moment. The rest is what you see above. It was hilarious!! I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. He went upstairs and rinsed his mouth with Listerine. It was VERY MUCH worth the money!

p.s. He said it tasted like it smells.

Aly goes to school

Today was Aly's first day of her new preschool. She was so excited to go, she told me a pink school bus is coming to pick her up. She wore her Anpanman backpack which grandma sent from Japan and she was ready to go. It's the same school Noah goes to (different class though) so she is familiar with the facility. We went to the class 10 minutes early and met the teacher and familiarized ourselves with the class room. Soon after her little classmates came in with their parent. All children are younger than 3, mostly two year olds and they are all adorable. Most of them speak very well and Aly will fit right in.

I was able to stay the entire class because Sean didn't have his Occupational Therapy today with Jessica. She gladly participated in activities, occasionally glancing at me sitting in the corner. She was a little reserved with her classmates, but she was studying them intently and I am sure she will soon warm up to them. She made a sheep with paper and cotton balls during the craft time. She liked playing with the sand table (rice was inside instead of sand), too. After the snack time, they all walked over to the motor room where they have trikes, trampoline and climbing structures. She had a lot of fun moving around in there. On the way back to the classroom, she held hands with two little girls. That was really cute.

She came home, very very proud. She was exclaiming that she went to school today. She will go again on Friday, so we'll see if she will be ok with me not being there.

Update Post

I just realized that the picture above is the only photo I took last week. How did that happen? I must have been extra busy.

A new development in the Campbell's household.

Sean -We took him to the neurologist last week and the doctor told us that Sean made a great improvement and he thought that his autism symptoms might become very minimal in the next few years. Sean responded to the doctor's questions, joked about things and he initiated conversations with him with good eye contact. The doctor was impressed. We are so proud of Sean and I gave him an extra tight embrace after the appointment. It was a very good news for us - all our hard work is paying off.

Noah - He now loves to play with Saya. He initiates "conversation" with Saya by giggling at her, looking directly at her eyes. He also tries to play chase with her and he comes by her and then turn quickly towards the opposite direction. The speech therapist today said that a younger sibling who is on par in terms of developmental stage can be a great practice partner. We are excited that Noah has a playmate as he often gets left alone since Aly and Sean play together.

Alyson - She talks a lot these days and she can now express herself by words. She uses English and Japanese and she is absorbing languages like a sponge. She is going to start her preschool tomorrow and we are excited for her to take the next step. I am sure she is going to cry tomorrow when I drop her off but I am sure she will get used to the school pretty quickly.

Saya - She now says "dada", "Saya" and "mama" consistently now. She says "dada" more than the rest, but she is still a Mommy's girl. She is doing a little better in terms of sleep, but she still wakes up twice during the night. She all the sudden started to erupt four teeth on the top together and poor thing must be in pain. Maybe that's why she wakes up crying during the night. She is cruising, but not a long distance. However, she is trying to stand on her own and lets her hands go (and down she goes!) She climbed up the stairs all by herself when I left her in the basement and I guess I need to put up the gate now!

Mike and I went on another double date with the Collins on Saturday. We went to an Izakaya style restaurant in Belltown (downtown Seattle) and we ate some semi-Japanese food. It wasn't authentic Izakaya food, but it was good anyhow.

The rest of the week was all blurred now because I don't think I was in one place more than 1 minute and I am always thinking about what I should be doing next and after next.