Happy Easter

We had a very nice Easter yesterday - spoiled by beautiful weather, good friends, family, and good food (if I do say so myself).

We hosted an Easter egg hunt at our house, followed by a brunch of corn, bacon and egg quiche, a green salad, fruit salad, and french toast casserole. Auntie Lisa (Goo Goo) came over and it's always so nice to have her around. Paris and Ava came down from San Francisco and Miles just loves his sweet friend Ava. (Paris is one of Derek's closest friends from high school, so it's super cute that Miles and Ava are close friends too). And, our neighbors, the Couson's (Allan, Katty, Mateo, and Michael), also joined us.


The kids had a great time finding eggs in the backyard... well, they loved sitting on the grass and eating sugar - of course! Then they had a "picnic" on the grass with hot dogs and string cheese and then they watched a bunch of Curious George on TV (the best cure to a sugar high). All in all, it was a fun Easter. And, our super egg finder Oliver found 2 more un-found plastic eggs yesterday!

Styrofoam fun

A couple of weeks ago, Derek put together a new TV stand for his mom. Miles quickly realized that the big box in the dining room was full of styrofoam and quickly pulled it into the kitchen to show his little brother how to really have some fun!

The pictures say it all. Our kitchen was a TOTAL mess and, truth be told, I got a little annoyed when Miles wanted nothing to do with the clean up process. But, it was harmless and so much fun (for them). Good times. I can only imagine what they will come up with next.

Does Oliver have a baby in his tummy?

Kids truly say the darndest things... and tonight was no exception!

Oliver always has a VERY full belly by the end of the day. He always eats a pretty good dinner for being a little 16 month old and drinks a ton of milk. And all of this just goes right to his cute lil big belly.

Well, tonight, Miles and Oliver were in the bath together and sweet lil Oliver will only stand in the bath. We've encouraged him to sit on his butt and enjoy the warm water but he will only stand (and therefore his body/belly is right in Miles' face). So tonight, Miles pointed right at Oliver's full belly and said "Does Oliver have a baby in his tummy?" And Derek and I just cracked up laughing! He asked it so sweet, innocent, and honest.

Miles associates big, full bellies with babies because of when I was pregnant with Oliver. And, sadly, he's asked me a few times post pregnancy if I have a baby in my tummy. So, I've tried to explain to him that he needs to be very careful with that question as it could hurt someone's feelings. :) It was pretty funny tonight though.

(I will try to post a picture of this the next time he takes a bath)

Thomas & Friends... A Circus Comes to Town

Yesterday afternoon, I took Miles to see
"Thomas & Friends... A Circus Comes to Town" which was a live performance that Hao-bu heard about on the radio. I wasn't sure how he would do since he doesn't like to sit still for long, but he was so excited!!! All morning he kept asking "Is it time to go to the performance?"


Our seats were in the Mezzanine (first balcony) in the 2nd row and I was worried if they would be too far back when I bought them, but no one blocking his way and we had a perfect view of the entire stage. The show started and it was adorable watching how into it Miles was and how excited he got when Thomas came on the stage. The performance was very well done and they did a great job of getting the kids involved. Miles clapped along with every song and even danced a bit. There was a mom next to us who seemed more excited than the 2 year old on her lap - she knew every word to every Thomas song - I was impressed and scared at the same time.

The performance was about 1.5 hours long but they had a 15 minute intermission in between. During the intermission, I asked Miles if he wanted to go to the bathroom or get something to eat or drink, but he said he didn't want to go anywhere. He wanted to stay put to see the rest of the performance. There was a cute (half Asian) boy in front of us who was counting down the minutes of the intermission and Miles was thrilled to get the 30 second updates from him.

After it was over, Miles asked if he could have a Thomas strobe toy that a lot of other kids had. Well, earlier I overheard a grandparent telling his wife that they were $15 each and he had to buy one for each grand kid. This toy was a total piece of junk and I felt bad but I just knew that it would be broken by the end of the day (especially once Oliver, the brut, got his hands on it). I told Miles that we weren't going to get a toy and that I would talk to him about it outside.

The minute we got outside he said "I thought we were going to talk about the toy!" Gosh, this kid doesn't miss a thing. I explained to him that the tickets for the performance were expensive and that he already has a lot of Thomas toys at home and that I was sorry but we weren't getting it. (Truth be told, I also wanted to explain that we are in a recession and that his dad would have my head if I bought this piece of $15 junk, but I decided that wouldn't mean much to a 3 year old). He immediately put his head down and said "I am sad", his new phrase for when he doesn't get something. (And I know Hao-bu is thinking "Poor guy" as she's reading this. LOL!) Then he said that he was very upset with me and that he doesn't love me anymore. Ouch! I told him that I was sorry he felt that way but that I had a really nice time with him at the performance. He sulked until we got to the car and then he said "I am not upset with you anymore. I am upset with Oliver." HAHA. I asked him why and he said "Because he hit me earlier." Oh my gosh, this kid cracks me up.

In hopes of not sounding like I am too mean, I did take Miles to Whole Foods after wards and bought him a chocolate chocolate chip muffin which he ate happily. I had a feeling that he was hungry as he didn't eat much earlier. Combine that with no nap, no wonder he said he didn't love me any more! :)

This morning when Miles woke up, I asked him if he slept well and then I asked if he had dreams about the Thomas performance. He said "No, I dreamed about the toy you didn't buy me" LOL. Are you kidding me?!

My sweet Miles

One of the main reasons I started a blog is so that Derek and I would have a way to document and therefore remember the funny, sweet, and even the not so sweet memories of our boys. Sometimes I feel like I am boasting, but I do try to document the times when they are being stinkers too. :) When our kids start getting attitude, we will have to re-visit our early years of the blog and remember when they used to be sweet.

Today, I want to remember how super sweet and caring Miles has been at various times...

One day, he went with Hao-bu and Oliver to visit their sweet friends Shake, Shoushan, and Mutsuko. When Miles saw Shoushan, he remembered that the last time he saw her that she had an aching knee so he asked her how her knee was feeling. When she told him that it still hurt, he told her that he would rub it for her. All of the ladies couldn't believe how sweet this was.

Recently, Hao-bu's knee has been bothering her and Miles told her that she could have his knee. It was such a sweet, simple, thoughtful gesture that makes me feel proud of my first born. He's very special - according to Hao-bu "one of a kind." I couldn't agree with her more.

15 months

Our (not so) little man Oliver is 15 months old now and since he's mastered the art of walking we decided that it's time to put him work with the family chores. As you can see from the picture, he is in charge of taking out the recycling (gotta start him early on doing right for the environment). All joking aside, Oliver is actually starting to follow instructions and seems to like doing so. I will give him his diaper and tell him to go put it in the trash and he happily does it. We will see how long this lasts! HA.

Oliver had his 15-month check-up today and he continues to be "above average" or in the 75th percentile when it comes to his head circumference, weight, and height. I asked the doctor if he thinks Oliver is a "bruiser" and he said that "he is definitely more stocky and solid than Miles was." (And, this is why I tell Miles to be nice to his little brother, LOL). Oliver continues to be horrified of the nurse and Dr. Lan but Miles went through this and it shall pass. Overall, he's doing great and we couldn't agree more! :)

Brothers

This morning was one of those mornings where I had a warm heart and realized how blessed we are to have two healthy, incredible, sweet boys.

It's funny because now that Oliver is truly a toddler...
whatever Miles has, Oliver wants.
(And, because of this, I am thankful for having two boys. I can only imagine how complicated this aspect of sibling rivalry could get with girls!)

This morning was no different.

I made Miles a baggie of sliced Asian pears to eat as a snack before school. Once Oliver saw what Miles had, I heard an immediate scream followed by "No Oliver! These are my pears!" And then crazy crying from Oliver. Of course I was slicing some pears for Oliver too, but I had to take the skin off for him.

Soon, Oliver got his baggie of pears and he was happy as could be.

Together they sat on Oliver's bedroom floor, munching on their Asian pears. Miles leaned over and gave Oliver a big smooch on his head. I told Oliver to give Miles a kiss and he scooted over on his butt towards Miles and gave him a kiss. This went back and forth a few times and Derek and I just smiled.

It's truly the small, simple acts of love that give me so much pleasure as a parent.

A few recent pics to share: