Busiest Month of the Year

Saya loves to paint but also makes a huge mess!
She likes to brush her own teeth but not a fan when I do it.

Watching Jason work in the front today.

The area untouched on the left is going to be my veggie garden! Jason's going to build a cedar box for me!

This is one of the twins' birthday presents from us - a cute market stand! I thought it might encourage pretend play and communication with one another, but all they did the day1 was fight over it...

Every February, I feel like my profession is a party organizer. One party done and another to go. This year we are renting a venue for Sean's birthday party, which is going to be at our local YMCA. The birthday boy and the guests will spend the first 45 minutes playing in their kids' play area with a big play structure and the second half at their multi-purpose room (that's where I come for my Bollywood dance class) eating cakes. There will be around 20 children and 22+ adults, so it's going to be a fairly large party! I am glad I am having it out of my house.

Sean picked Diego (Dora's cousin) theme this year, so we are having an adventure/fiesta/animal rescue party with lots of colors for decorations. He's been eyeing for a Diego cake they sell at QFC and I had been torn between letting him eat it as an exception (it has milk and wheat) or sticking with the diet. Last Wednesday, I went to talk to the cake decorator at the store and asked her if I could bring my own GFCF cupcakes for Sean and if they would decorate with GFCF toppings. To my surprise, she said yes! I was so relieved and told her she couldn't guess how happy Sean would be! QFC Crossroads, you guys rock!

Apart from collecting things for the party, here are the things we did last week:

Monday - Sean took some chocolates for his classmates for the Valentine's day celebration. V-Day is a serious business in American schools! It's all about pink and red hearts and Sean collected so much candies and chocolates, he had to carry them in a separate bag. It was also Noah's first day of his preschool at Phantom Lake. The bus service didn't start until Tuesday, so I drove him to school with Aly and Saya. As I handed squirmy Noah to his teacher, I spotted Sean. He found me and did that shy smile, tucking his chin in. Noah didn't cry, he actually ran inside the door and never looked back! Amongst other must know things about Noah, I wrote to the teacher that he runs off without being aware of any dangers. I hope I didn't sound like a worry-worm Mom...

Tuesday - The twins had a 3 year well check with Dr. Uyeno. Noah was 35 pounds (75%) and 38 1/2 inches tall (75%) and Aly was 36 pounds (90%) and 42 inches tall (97%). I was a bit worried about Noah being small, but he is not a small kid according to the numbers. He still struggles to eat though, so I need to find a good feeding therapist for him. Oh, and he took his first school bus to school. He was clinging to me as I boarded the bus and cried when I strapped him in to the chair. He looked so little and terrified. A little less frantic than how Sean was though, so I didn't worry too much!

Wednesday - Nothing special went on that day. Sean was very oppositional and loud. We all wondered why that was and came up with the conclusion that he didn't get a good night sleep.

Thursday - Aly had the Japanese class in the morning, so Noah, Saya and I went shopping during that time. Malawaina got sick, so Noah didn't have a morning ABA at home. Sean was a little off again, his body moving constantly and acted very agitated. His best pal came over for a playdate, but they didn't play as well as other times. I just wish I could plug him into a computer of some sort and analyze what is going on in his little body! Can someone invent one please!?

Friday - A busy day for me. Mike dropped Noah off at a therapy school in Issaquah in the morning and I went to pick him up with Saya and Aly. I went to Costco with the girls and forgot to pick up a couple of key items because I was rushing. After picking Noah up, we dashed home to pack his snack for school and put him on the school bus on time. We took it easy in the afternoon - Sean had a good time playing with Ian outside digging the huge pile of bark we bought. We are covering the front yard with it where we pulled out overgrown bushes.

Today - Jason came over and worked on the front yard. Aly and Sean spent a lot of time outside "helping" Jason spread the bark around. It was a sunny but a cold day!