Ready

My goofy husband - I don't think he expected me to post this...
This is my wee veggie patch! I was going to go to the gym, hence the work out clothes (ended up going to Target for some binge shopping to release stress - buying the kids' multi-vitamins!! hmmm...)

The cherry blossoms are very pretty right now. Hoping they will remain full bloom until my Mom comes on Sunday.

We had our lawn guy, Jason, build a box garden in the front yard a couple of weeks ago. Since it's been a little warmer these days, I think I am ready to plant something in there! I thought the moment will never come... I've enjoyed growing vegetables when we lived in California and they grew very well under the warm sunshine. When I moved here, I was a little heart broken since I thought I will not be able to have any veggie garden in this dump and dark corner lot... However, we cut down some trees, pulled dead shrubs, and got rid of the ivy from the front yard and now I am getting my first shot at growing something!

I am so excited to start it and so are my kids. Every time we go to stores, they notice the flowers being sold outside and insist on taking some flower pots home. Little Saya looks cute, clutching onto a pot of yellow flowers with her chubby little hands in the stroller. Of course, Aly picked pink flowers. Saya screamed and screamed when peeled her surprisingly strong fingers off the pot to scan it at the cashier.

We are planning to go buy some lettuce plants so that I can plant them in the garden tomorrow. I am calling my Mom now to see if my Dad has any tips! (my Dad is an organic farmer in Japan!)

Miss A and Mr. R's birthday party~

There is nothing jollier than children's birthday party. All children gather to do one thing and that is to have a blast! On last Saturday, we went to celebrate our little friends Miss A and Mr. R's birthday party at My Gym in Bellevue. Both Aly and Sean attended toddler classes there before. I saw some familiar faces in the crowd and enjoyed talking to the parents while children played silly games with the hosts. I was a little worried about Sean being around a bunch of children whom he is not familiar with in a bright and exciting environment, but he did well. He participated in all activities and had a lot of fun. Another step forward for Mr. Sean. I remember he didn't want to do much at their birthday party last year. A very fun party for all of us! Thanks for inviting us~

How to enjoy spring sunshine

This is my family! I feel proud of being a Mommy to four children~ Four!? How did that happen? I think of this everyday still.
I take a lot of pictures of Aly because she is normally cooperative and very photogenic!

Sean and Aly throwing rocks at the lake. It must be a lot of fun!?

Finally, I told Mike that I really need a photo taken because I have no recent photos with kids.

Eating sorbet is a serious business!

We didn't plan an outing today but we followed Daddy's lead and enjoyed a fun family outing in Seattle. Mike had to pick up two race packets for the triathlon for tomorrow and half marathon next weekend in the city. It was a gorgeous day and we can say it was the first sunny day that smelt and felt like spring. Everyone in Seattle was outside and I-5 was jammed, but we didn't have to be on it for long. Couped up in the Eastside generally, we forget how beautiful Seattle is especially under the blue sky. The deep greens of well nourished trees and the picturesque bay with sleek high rises and the Space Needle sticking up at a distance are a sight to see especially after the long spells of dark rainy days.

We parked the car at Green Lake so that we can walk around the lake and enjoy the sun. We can tell when Sean is enjoying himself because he pretty much does what we ask him to do without a fuss. The kids enjoyed watching the ducks and throwing little rocks into the lake. The place was packed with people soaking up the sun. There were so many dogs of all sizes walking with their owners. The kids had fun dog watching, too, and they giggled when a super tiny chihuahua walked by (only to be barked at which startled Aly). We stopped by at Baskin Robins and picked up some sorbet for the kids and a scoop each for Mike and I.

When the sun is out and warm, a family outing is fuss free. Just being outside makes everyone happy in our family. We got a taste of spring today and it reminded us how much fun we have spending time outside as a family. Sure, Saya missed her nap, but we fared well and have tired kids who snoozed pretty quickly at bed time!

Mini Sean and Mommy Day

Flight Museum here we come!
Blue Angels~

He sat down quietly and was watching the video on the in-flight screen.

At the second floor of the original Boeing factory.

Back in time, they built the airplens in this very barn.

Eating lunch at the Chinese buffet place near Aly's school.

Last Wednesday (yes, I am behind in posts) Sean and I had an opportunity to spend half day together doing fun things, just two of us. Jessica, the OT, was sick and Paul was kind enough to let us cancel the ABA session at home at 12:00 pm so that I can spend more time out with Sean. I asked him if he wanted to go to the aquarium or Museum of Flight and he chose the airplanes over sea creatures. Getting there was a disaster since I mistakenly took 405 to Renton. I had to cut across unfamiliar neighborhoods in Renton to get to the I-5 side. Eventually, after talking disapprovingly to myself for about 20 minutes, we were able to reach the destination.

We came here with Jiji and grandma a couple of years ago and he remembered it. He was very curious asking all kinds of questions looking at antique to modern planes. He particularly liked sitting in the real US Air plane that is displayed in the middle. The museum is big with four areas. He liked looking at the war time planes with unique markings to make them identifiable by their own military. He is a bit young still to learn the history about WWI and WWII, but he was interested in Japanese war planes displayed there. He has so much to learn~

We hurriedly left the museum in an hour and half since we had to grab lunch and pick up Alyson at her school at 1:30 pm in Bellevue. We drove down in mad rain and with all the noise, I didn't notice he fell asleep in the backseat. I gently woke him up not to trigger his tantrum and he was fine waking up and walking into the restaurant. We ate in about 20 minutes and picked up Miss Aly at the Japanese school. What a day! His day didn't end there though because he went to Lakeside for social skills therapy. He is a busy five year-old. He had a really good time though and I was glad we could squeeze in Mommy and Sean time in our busy day.

Sicklies

Saya - she takes her pants off and likes to run around pants/skirt-less and barefeet. She also takes her diaper off when she goes poopy... I have to keep an eye on her constantly...

I thought the flu season is coming to an end and our kids got lucky this year since no one had anything major as far as illness goes. But I celebrated too early! Their symptoms are not too bad, but they just seem to be sick forever! The twins and Sean started feeling sick the week of Sean's birthday party and although they recovered from the cold, they either caught another cold or it came back!? Saya still has the ridiculously runny nose, however it's clear now. Alyson also has some runny nose, but it's also clear. Sean has a stye on his left eye and it gets better one day and worse the next. Noah is suffering from a terrible diarrhea and cannot eat anything. I am mostly worried about Noah and I will probably take him in to see a doctor tomorrow. Poor kid has a bad diaper rash from all the episodes. I had to bathe him in the middle of the night because his diarrhea was so runny and made a huge mess on his PJ. I am so ready to have healthy kids back! Poor children, but I am feeling pretty sorry for myself, too.

Noah's First Weeks of School

I think this was the day#3. He was still crying when I buckled him on to the seat.
They look like this when I board the bus in the afternoon. Our neighbor and Sean's classmate, Ian, is seen behind them.

Noah wanted to look at our neighbor's giant snowman before the bus came.

Noah started attending Phantom Lake Integrated Preschool on 2/14. I didn't write too much about it amidst the chaos of February, so I wanted to write more about it. His teacher's name is Ms. Elizabeth Webster. She is a youngish teacher who seems to be well organized and has gentle and positive energy. There are about seven children in his classroom and only one or two children are the community peers (normally developing children). The classroom is a little smaller than Sean's, but it has sensory area, reading area, pretend playing area etc... just like Sean's. He only attends the class from 12:20 to 3:00 pm, so it's not a very long time, but I thought it will give him an opportunity for him to get used to the classroom environment. We are reserving mornings for additional private therapies.

Ms. Elizabeth said Noah is doing well. He started to look more relaxed and smiling more often she said. I found a clip and plastic rope in his backpack the other day and I wonder what that is about. I think it's a leash and they use it to make sure he won't run off while waiting for the bus outside. It's ok with me! I want him to be safe and I know how quickly he moves.

He seems to be getting used to the school bus, too. He used to tense up and whine when I put him on the bus, but now he has a neutral expression. He still gets startled when the bus makes a loud noise when its door opens. When the afternoon bus arrives, I find my two boys cutely sitting together, Noah by the window and Sean by the aisle. The first time Noah came home with Sean, Sean was all about smiles. I think he liked having Noah with him.

I have a cautiously high hope for Noah to flourish in the preschool. Sometimes, you just have to dive in and see what happens. I think he likes being treated like a 3 year-old and doing things that 3 year-olds do. I tend to baby him a lot at home, so it's a good thing he has a life outside!

Stretching the fun out

Hotwheels!
We got him a new bike and he loves it!

Ninjas with a bunch of gears. Sean slept with it that night.

Sean couldn't believe it! It's a Diego Rescue Pack!

We took the advice given by Jessica, the OT, to have Sean open presents he got for his birthday a few per day. We talked about how Sean tends to have extreme melt downs a few days after an exciting event, such as Christmas, family visiting, or birthday party. To avoid the blow out, we decided that we should gradually taper off the high so that there is no withdrawal symptom from it.

So, we finally finished opening all the presents we received for Sean's birthday party last Sunday and he could not be happier with all his new treasures. Thank you so much for all the neat things you gave him! Sean loves every one of them and he is a happy new 5 year-old. Alyson has been pouting a little since Sean was opening presents every day for the past week. "Aly chan no wa?" "Where is mine?" she was saying everyday.

Sean did share some toys with the others, like the Ninja play figures given by Marcus. There was a blue and red ninja, so he let Alyson play with the red one. Of course, the blue one beat the red one up as they played. Most toys were interactive toys, so everyone can join the fun. We will work on sharing and it's a very good opportunity to do so!

Thank you so much for the presents, friends! They did not fail him!

Uncle Aaron's Visit

Alyson was staring at Aaron and he could not help but laugh~

A big hug for uncle Aaron!

Sean opening present from Aaron and Tina looking on.

The kids hadn't seen uncle Aaron since two summers ago at grandpa Bob's house. It seems to be the case that the kids are the ones with greatest changes (appearance-wise) and us adults sort of manage to look the same if we are lucky! Aaron was surprised how kids have grown, especially Saya. She was only a few month old when he saw her last.

Aaron looked good and he brought his girlfriend, Tina, along from Minneapolis. The kids were very excited to have a fun uncle visit them. Uncle Aaron talked to them in silly voices and gave them lots of tickles and hugs. Who wouldn't love an uncle like that? Tina is used to being around children since she has five young nieces and nephews in Minnesota. I hope though that our children weren't too loud for their ears!

The pair visited a lot of places while they were here. Mike took them to Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market and Space Needle on the day they arrived. The next day while we were at Sean's birthday party, they visited Woodinville for some wine tasting. They brought a few bottles of wine for dinner and enjoyed them with some Korean food. On the last day, they were able to visit another place in Ballard and met up with Aaron's friends from Montana. I would say that they had a pretty fruitful visit and we hope they enjoyed their time in Seattle.

It was really nice seeing Aaron and meeting Tina for the first time. They are a very cute couple. We are very excited that they are moving to Portland this summer. Thanks for coming, Aaron and Tina!