Saya sleeping in the car

Poor Saya sometimes misses naps due to her brothers' schedule and she ends up falling asleep in the car. She looks adorable sleeping and I just had to take photos of her. I am sure there will be more "Saya sleeping in the car" photos to come!

I forgot to post the video from doctor's appointment the other day, so here it is!

At YMCA

Sean was getting ready to "swim" to the edge of pool.
Aly refuses to stay in the childcare, so she comes with me to the pool to watch Sean.

Saya was not happy in the locker room.

Sean has been taking swimming for three weeks now at our YMCA. He is getting more brave every lesson and we are very proud of him. He is used to the instructor now and does not mind her working with him at all. He even went under the water while trying to swim toward the edge of the pool, but that didn't stop him. He was a little frightened but kept on going with the lesson. I was quite amazed!

I put Noah and Saya in the child care and Alyson comes with me to the pool to watch Sean. She has to learn to get used to the child care, but for now she is happy to come with me. Eventually, I want to put her in a lesson, too. Maybe next year after she turns three!

Another Busy Week

Sata at 15 months well check appointment

Min with her two boys, Derex and Adric

Saya at lunch time

Mike's friend Mike ("another Mike" according to Sean) preparing dinner for us.

Lamb with carrot and celery sauce with eggplant and sauteed vegetables


We had another busy week last week, hence delayed post. We had a playdate with Min, Vince and their boys Derex (2 1/2 yrs) and Adric (5 mos) on Saturday morning. We haven't seen them for a while, so it was really good to see them. Derex and Sean were pals from Bijay's daycare days. It was good to catch up and decided that we should meet more often!

On Friday night, Mike's friend from Boise, Mike McKoy, arrived to stay with us for a little over a week. He is here to earn certification for boat safety, something required to work on a boat as a chef. He is trying to secure a position as a chef on a French-American scientific research boat, which sounds like a great fit for him. He worked with a master chef in France for a while. He offered to cook for a few nights and we enjoyed his food very much. The lamb dish he made in particular was delicious and even Noah liked the sauce, which is a big deal! I have to ask him to teach me. He will fly back to Boise on Tuesday.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Charlie and Finn's 3rd birthday party. They had it at My Gym, our familiar locale and it was a blast! I forgot to take the camera and I don't have any photos, but the twins were so cute! The same teacher from when Aly was attending the class while back was facilitating the activities and the kids were entertained the whole time. They were never bored and all four kids had a blast. Turns out we have a mutual friend and Sean was so happy to see his other friend (he calls him "big Noah") there, too. Liz and Tom made sure that our GFCF kids can eat cakes, too, and had a pastry chef bake GFCF cupcakes identical to the regular cupcakes. It was so nice of them to do that and they were delicious! Thanks Tom and Liz!

Hmmm... what else did we do? Oh, on Tuesday, Noah had his first dentist appointment. He wasn't a fan and the dentist and I pinned him down while he was kicking and screaming, but we got what we needed done. He's been so fussy lately and seems to be teething for a while, so I wanted to make sure everything in there is ok. The dentist said the teething process for one tooth can take up to a month and I did not want to hear that! He's only working on one molar in the top back and hasn't even started on the other side. He will be miserable for the next few months...

Miss Saya had her 15 months well check last Friday, too. She was 23 pounds and 34 inches. She is long and skinny. She just turned 16 month old two days ago and it is so hard to believe my baby is going to be a year and half in two months! I enjoy watching her waddling around falling occasionally. I don't put socks on her at home to avoid slipping and she makes this cute noises with her feet when walking around on hard surfaced floors. She is just adorable and I cannot get enough of her. Aly and Saya began to play together more and it's so cute to see two girls giggling together. I love having four kids!!

The Last Minute Family Vacation

After we checked in, the kids ran the hallway to get to the pool.
Saya was a little nervous and she looked pretty tense by the pool side.

Aly enjoyed splashing around. A big progress from being terrified of water.

Noah loved the water! He was content to sit down and just chill.

No nap and Saya was pretty tired by the end of the day!

The kids did great at the restaurant. The food took forever to come but the kids were mostly well behaved.

Sean enjoying coloring at the restaurant.

They had a separate area for kids bank beds. Aly and Sean slept there, but Aly fell from the bottom bed and that woke us up at 4:30 am!

The last souvenier shot in the lobby area.

The front desk area. The whole hotel was designed like a big cabin.


Sometimes you just have to do something because if you think too much of something, you never get to do fun stuff. That was what I was thinking when I booked an overnight stay at the Great Wolf Lodge a week ago. We were at the wolf/cabin themed indoor pool resort on Monday and Tuesday.

We had a lot of fun! The kids mainly stayed at the kiddie pool area having fun with the kiddie slide and water fountains. Saya was a little scared of the water and she was clinging to me, but she did manage to stand in the water a bit. She was happy to walk around by the pool. Sean liked going down the slides and he even went on the big slides a few times. He is getting very brave. We weren't at the pool too long, but we had enough fun.

Sean's going back there again in Nov with his friend and we will probably go in December when my parents come. If they had hot spring bath house in there, I would be going there more often!

Company Picnic

Aly's cute wavy hair after taking out the braids.
Noah and Aly having lunch at the picnic.

Mmmm, jumbo chili hot dog!!"

Saya walked in her shoes for the first time today.

Sean and Aly having lunch.

Daddy and Saya at the playground.

Aly was looking at the crowd at the beach.


Every year Mike's team holds a family picnic at Vasa Park, which is literally down the hill from our house. You can see the photos from the last year's picnic here: http://thecampbell-ozawa.blogspot.com/2009/08/company-picnic.html

We had a very hot weather today, a perfect weather for a beach picnic party. The park is on the west side of Lake Sammamish and it has a nice view of the mountains towards the east. Amy was able to come with us to help us watch the kids. We were sure that Noah would march right into the water and that is exactly what he did. He has no fear and loves the water. Aly enjoyed playing at the playground and watching people at the beach. Saya was happy she was able to walk around in her shoes for the very first time. She didn't have any difficulties walking on the rough surface and walked like she's been walking for weeks. Sean was wide-eyed and had lots of fun running around. I didn't chat with too many people since I was busy eating or watching kids, but I did get to speak with Mike's manager, John, and some of his colleagues. I do sometimes miss being in a professional environment, being part of a team and having a place in a business world, but nothing beats the excitement and challenge of being a stay at home parent! No quarterly reviews and might not see the fruit of labor for 20 plus years, but definitely have lots of bonuses and perks in a form of hugs and kisses.

Like Daddy

Sean being silly and he looks pretty funny. I can't get over his eye brows and expression on Saya's face!
I asked him to turn around so that I can take a picture of the new backpack.

Alyson watching a Japanese TV show. Not sure if she understands what they are talking about but she sure looked serious.

Amy braded her hair today.

I wanted to write the funny things Sean does these days.

Sean and Parker were playing downstairs yesterday and noticed that they were lining up chairs. I asked them what they are doing and they told me that they are having a big business meeting. Parker had a toy cell phone and when it rang, he answered it and said in a very subdued serious voice "no, I can't play now. I have a huge business meeting." and hang up. Later, Sean picked up a tin can and said that is his business. When he lost it, he was looking around saying "where did my business go?" They are a funny duo.

Sean has been super excited about his new school gear I got him yesterday. He's been carrying it around and insisted on taking them to bed again tonight and even to bathrooms. When I turn around he's wearing the backpack on his little shoulders. He did end up taking them to his afternoon therapy today, even the lunch bag, although nothing was inside. I did not know he would be this excited! But then, this is very familiar because Mike is like him. I remember one time he was wearing a new swimming cap, a google and swim pants at home on the day he bought them. It's funny how things are all connected.

Eating Little Fish and Swimming

Aly ate the head of the little fish!
We ate the whole thing in one night.

We had two play dates with Parker today and Sean was sooo happy!

We have been going through a cloudy and cooler period which is unusual for this time of the year in Seattle. I already feel like summer is coming to an end and feel sad about that. The stores are now in the full swing of back to school sales and all the pool gears are at the clearance section. This year was Sean's first official summer break since he was still at Bijay's daycare last year. I thought it would be a challenge to keep the kids busy all summer, but between summer schools and therapies, it has been pleasant (occasionally, one can hear me chanting "crazy" infinitely). In fact, I do enjoy spending more time with the kids, especially Sean. I have a mixed feeling about school starting and I am surprising myself for feeling this way.

But Sean's super excited about school now. He got a new blue big boy backpack, Toy Story lunch bag and metal water bottle. Now that he is on the gluten and casein free diet, he needed a nice lunch bag to take his home made lunch in and a bigger backpack to accommodate it. He's so excited, he is sleeping with them right now.

He's also proud of himself today because he was very brave at his first swimming lesson at the gym. It took him about 10 minutes to get used to the idea of jumping in the pool without any floaters and being held by a complete stranger. The instructor was trying to persuade him to get in the pool with her, but he was too anxious. We walked away to the other side of the pool and he watched people swimming in the pool from the bench. After observing others for a little while, he said he wanted to do it. So, we walked back and Sean hesitantly held the woman's hand and got in the pool. I was storming the applause and claps like a crazy lady. I suddenly realized that outside the special education world, the world is quite harsh. I say that because 1) the instructor, Vicky, seemed annoyed that Sean was taking extra time, 2) she raised her voice at Sean for jumping at the pool side (he jumps and flaps his hands when he is anxious, an autism thing), and 3) I was the only one with exaggerated applause in the whole place, which is a standard in special ed. I am proud of myself though that I stuck with it. I almost walked away feeling angry at Vicky. I have to learn to slowly let my protective hands off my sons to prepare them for the real world. That is what I learned from the swim lesson incident today.

What I meant for a quick post is turning into a novel! I have one more thing to write about the little fish I bought at the Asian market the other day. Shishamo, smelts in English, is a savory little fish which you eat from head to tail fin. They are about the size of long french fries, so their bones are soft and small. The best kinds are the pregnant(?) ones. Being pregnant three times myself that is the oddest thing I write, but it's true. We call them "komochi shishamo" meaning shishamo with babies. I love komochi shishamo and I decided to cook them yesterday. BUT, I had no idea how to cook them. Do I season them or do they come salted (some fish do in Japan)? I called my Mom but she wasn't home. Like all other things unsure of, I decided to throw them on the grill. They turned out great! I am so proud of myself for being able to cook them perfectly, just like I used to eat in Japan. I wondered if I would traumatize kids if I layed dead little fish on the table in front of them, but they were tougher than I thought. Aly asked for it and ate it from the head, Saya ate the head, too, and even Sean licked the little head and pressed it with his lips! I am going to make them again and I am all for expanding the kids culinary senses!!

Saya joined the walking club!

Our baby Saya is a walker now. She's been walking here and there but until today, she still preferred crawling. She decided today that she had enough of crawling and graduated to walking. She happily walked all day long, walking to the kitchen, going back to the living room, coming back to the kitchen again... a big fan of walking now. She still falls a lot but she gets up right way and resumes her new found passion. She's quite proud of herself, too. Her little legs are still spread apart widely to balance herself and her arms slightly sideways, but she can walk pretty fast for a beginner. We'll see if she would be willing to walk with shoes on this weekend.

My Beautiful Family

I feel very lucky to have a beautiful family inside and out. These photos were taken today and two days ago. Saya was eating crayon while she scribbled, Noah was looking at trees on the deck, Sean was being silly, and Aly was driving her pink car. Mike lost a lot of weight in the last couple of months and he is looking very fit. He is planning to run his first half marathon this coming October.

Blueberry Pickin'

Bad Boy Noah (in James Dean kind of way) - after taking this picture, he took the sunglasses off and snapped it into half.
Saya likes to look at the new ABC poster and learn letters and words. She can say some of the words on there in both Japanese and English.

Alyson, picking blueberries today. She kept picking the green ones and Sean was making sure she doesn't put them in our bucket.

Sean really liked picking blueberries today. Now he needs to work on more natural smiles...

Noah and Saya feeling a little pissy because they are strapped into the stroller. They did get to come out later on.

He had a nice expression but as soon as he noticed that I am taking his photo, he gave me this smile...

Sean making sure Aly picks big blue ones. When she does, he said "good job, Alyson, that's a nice one".

Well, it's August already and I cannot believed I survived June and July without Sean's full-time public school. It's one more month to go before his school starts and part of me likes spending more time with the funny 4 year-old, but who am I kidding - bring on school!! Cannot wait for it to start again.

We've been very busy with the usual therapies and a few appointments for kids here and there. Lately, I've been told from various professionals that I am doing an amazing job taking care of four young children two of them with special needs. When I list everything I do during the conversation, from GFCF diet to taking kids across town to therapies, I realize that I am doing quite a bit. I never feel like I cannot go on being the kids' advocate though. It's something I need to do and I feel quite happy pursuing what's best for them.

On the lighter note, we went to pick blueberries at a local blueberry farm today. It was a pretty awesome idea because Sean and Aly loved it. Sean carried the bucket and was being so sweet. Every time someone put the berries in, he said "thank you!" or "good job, that's a good one". Aly sometimes picked green young ones and Sean gently told her "Aly no, they are not ready yet. " He was being really good and it's a sign he really enjoyed it. We ate them after lunch and they were delicious. Sean even put one in his mouth (didn't eat it though).

Saya has been walking around in the house lately. When she wants to move fast, like when she notices the living room door is open, she still prefers to crawl. But we are seeing more walking than crawling for the past few days. She's really cute. She started to scream a lot though, ear-piercing high pitched sound and she turns red while emitting the sound. She thinks it's funny and we are considering introducing time-out...

Noah is becoming more vocal since starting the GFCF diet. The overdose of Vitamin B turned out to be false. I now suspect he is experiencing the withdrawal symptoms from the opiate effect of gluten and casein peptide. It is very common for children to go through some sort of symptoms from being cranky, not napping etc... and it fits what Noah is doing. I am hoping it passes soon.

All in all, things are going well and I am ready to conquer another busy week!