Sean at Redmond Town Center

Cute clip of Sean exploring the play area toy in Redmond.

Happy 4th of July

Daddy was gone on a business trip to Ireland from 6/27 until 7/3. He had a really good time going out to pubs and having fine Irish food, however missed his family a lot. The kids were good, but then the darn heat wave came and the house was like an oven. We were all miserable from lack of sleep because it was above 80 degrees inside the house. We are thinking of ordering AC... We go through this every year and then end up not getting it because it gets hot only a few days out of summer. But based on how miserable we were, it might be worth it. I mean, we have five people living in this house!

Sean's talking more and whenever we ask him something and if he wants it, he says "yep, please". Not yes, but yep. It's really cute. His favorite word is still 'no' but we are excited that he's starting to communicate more. He's been very happy since Daddy came home. Daddy called us when he arrived at the airport and Sean just could not believe that Daddy was on the phone. He leaned against the phone so much that he became off balance and fell. I told him Daddy will be coming back on a taxi and we just waited by the window for him. Sean just laughed so hard when Daddy popped out from the cab. He was really excited to see Daddy.

Noah is making a lot of noises and just loves being tickled. He is still very chubby and enjoys jumping in the jumping activity toy. Maybe he can start to work off the rolls he's collecting all over his body. Alyson is a very alert and straight-talk kind of a gal and she's loud like her big bro. She also enjoys jumping and she probably bounces more since she's lighter than Noah. She has longer patch of hair on the left side above her ear and it curls when it's wet. I think she is going to have a wavy hair.

Everyone's doing well and we had a good 4th of July. We were planning to go see the fireworks in the evening but since it's so late, I went to see it by myself. I really wanted to see it since in Japan, firework show is a big deal during summer. I over calculated the viewing spot and it ended up being not so good. I chose to see it from the parking lot of Home Depot since I'd remembered that it has a nice view of the downtown Bellevue. It turns out, the fireworks were shot behind a tall building and I was able to see half of them. Oh well, at least I had a quiet alone time!

Sore Lips Syndrome

I noticed that my lips are dry and sore these days and I could not figure out why. When Noah woke up this morning, I realized why... It's because I kiss babies' cheeks and heads all the time!! When I kiss them, they move so my lips get rubbed against their skin and if you do this a million times in a day like I do, they get sore! Noah and Alyson have this irresistibly plump cheeks like summer ripe peaches and I must say that they are very tempting to smooch.

Not everything is peachy here though. Daddy's leaving tomorrow for Ireland for a week. Things are a little stressful in the house and Sean's acting up quite a bit now. He is extremely stubborn and he refuses to listen to anyone! Like last night at the bath, he just kept screaming for no reason. I asked him to stop firmly, but he smiled and kept screaming!! AAAGGGHHH!!! I wanted to scream, too. This must be the terrible two everyone's talking about. We give him a lot of attention and we go for a walk every evening for the special bonding time (and to work on my twin-sized belly), but he has his own mind. All we can do is to be patient , but boy this little guy is in it for a roller coaster ride.

As for the twins, they are doing well. Alyson is wearing a skirt for the very first time and she looks really cute!! She reminds me of this adorable animal character wearing a tutu. A Mom I met online told me that I can buy a bow designed for babies with no hair, so I am going to order one or two for her. Noah 'talks' a lot and makes this funny noises that reminds me of the peculiar bird we saw in Australia. He also makes noises from his throat and nose and sounds like he's trying to speak French. He is talking and smiling at the ceiling behind me as I type. It's going to get up to near 90s this weekend, so we'll be out and about probably. Too bad Mike's going to be gone!! But I did line up some meet ups with friends so that I don't go insane!!

Hope everyone's doing well!!

Almost July!!

The rain has stopped but it hasn't been exactly sunny over here in the Pacific Northwest. Someone said this June was one of the wettest ever and I wasn't just imagining it. The kiddos are growing as fast as the ferns in the backyard. I wonder if kids grow faster in this region, too. Noah and Sean are becoming good buddies and they laugh and giggle together, which is darn cute! Alyson has been in a smiley mood these days, too. They started to make more interesting sounds like they are trying to say something. They make us laugh all the time.

Aly and Noah had their 4 month check up on the 12th.

Alyson - 15 pounds and 13 ounces, 25 3/4 inches

Noah - 16 pounds and 8 ounces, 26 inches long

They are both above 90% which means only 10% of other 4 mos-olds are smaller than them.

Considering they were four weeks premature, they are doing exceptionally well.

Pats on the back to us!

We are almost fully recovered from the cold Sean nicely shared with everyone in the house. Not fun at all when three little kids are all sick plus you aren't well, either. At least they did not get a fever! Mike is going to Ireland starting from this Sat and comes back on the following Friday. He is so excited to escape from the Campbell house circus and enjoy a pint of the cold unpasteurized Guinness in an old school pub in Dublin. He is sooo lucky!! I am bummed because we are going to miss the Strawberry festival on Sat. Oh well. We'll survive somehow!

Daddy's Birthday and Father's Day

Mike's birthday was on the 12th and we celebrated with one of his favorite meals and a homemade ice cream cake. Kids gave him a new pair of slippers and Mommy got him a thermal bento jar. Daddy keeps losing the tapper ware at work since he leaves it in the communal fridge, so the new lunch jar should do!

On Father's Day, we attempted to go on an outing to a park with the whole family but numbers of things went wrong. 1) Forgot to take Sean's shoes (he had indoor slippers on), 2) freaking too cold for the babies, 3) Alyson won't take milk even though she's hungry and kept screaming, 4) Noah also started to cry since his sis was upset. So in the end, we left the park in about 10 minutes and we were bummed out. We figured that it takes practice to have a reasonably enjoyable outing with the whole family. We could probably handle one crying baby in public but when there are two of them, it gets too tough. So, that was our Father's Day this year.

Noah 'talks' a lot these days and we feel like we are having conversations with him. Here is a cute clip of Noah in a content mood:

Happy 8th Anniversary

Mike and I got married on June 3, 200o. We feel like we've been married much longer than that since we moved about a dozen times and traveled to many places. We are thankful that we enjoy ourselves before having kids, indulging in fine foods, going to little jazz/blues concerts and many long walks etc... Now, they are replaced by mall food courts, Thomas DVDs' and pushing double stroller in a fast forward mode, but we have no regrets! We feel so lucky to have three adorable kids and so excited about future!

Today, our friend stopped by with her two-year-old daughter and 3 month-old son. Sean had a good time playing with Ayrie and the babies were pretty good as all of them had gotten some naps. Ayrie's little brother, Rion, is pretty chunky like Noah. The kids are very close in age and they will be playmates for a very long time.

Alyson rolled over from back to stomach yesterday. When she's on the floor, she tenaciously practices rolling over. Within a minute or two, she moves 180 degrees, sometime even more! Her hair over the left ear is starting to get a curl and she's going to be really cute with soft curly hair. Noah continues to lose hair. His fine fuzz is like a puppy's and Mommy is addicted to rubbing his hair (his belly as well for a good luck). Sean has a cold and cranky but doing a great job being a big boy. Mommy and Daddy have decided that he's ready to do things on his own, so they will take a back seat and let him be a big boy. It gets rough at times disciplining him but it's all for the big boy and getting him ready to tackle school next year!

Uncle Aaron's Visit

Uncle Aaron flew in from SLC to see the Campbell bunch. He was just as energetic as Sean and the twins, so he fit right in to the family! Sean was happy to have him around and kept saying "uncle Aaron" (more like 'unk aon') and "Daddy big brother". Daddy, uncle Aaron and Sean went for a walk in the nearby Weona park and had a good time exploring the woods. Daddy was happy to have a stiff drinking partner around and they cleared the 'beer fridge' in the garage. The twins spent some time in his arms and seemed content to cuddle. It's always nice to see him and catch up. Thanks for visiting us, Aaron!