Pics from my b-day

I had a great birthday, a couple of weeks back. Here are some pics of the actual day. My favorite part of the day was the fact that my kiddos had made me cupcakes with my hubbie. I'm often the one baking, and it had been my secret wish to have someone bake for me. That day, Peter didn't have a car (one was in the shop) and it was raining, but he thought creatively and happened to find a box of cake mix in the pantry and none other than Nutella for the frosting. They were delicious!



Here the kiddos "frosting" the cakes. At least girlie frosted a few. T-Max frosted one and immediately ate it!







A pic with each of my kiddos. Doesn't T-Max look most like me?






The yummy cakes. Anything is better with a little Nutella. :)


Our Zay Bear enjoying his cupcake...always so diligent about eating.


Just a few more pics from that day I didn't include here.

T-Max

I've been having frequent headaches the past several days. Peter asked T-Max to pray for me and to repeat, "Dear God, please help Umma's headache go away." He mumbled something similar, then paused to ask, "Why Umma head go away?" with the most puzzled look on his face. So darn cute!

1 year and 5 years

Just want to jot this down quickly:

Zay Bear's 1 year stats:

Weight: 24 lbs 14 oz 75th percentile
Height: 311/2 in 90th
Head: 18 3/4 in 75-90th

Some of the things he's doing:
- loves to throw things down and say "uh oh!"
- loves saying "hi" to people
- points to picture of a ball in a book and says "ball"
- points to family picture and says "bba" = abba, "umma", and "na" = noona
- loves dropping different objects in containers and taking them out
- rolls cars on the floor making car sounds
- added a few new words: "ba-oon" = balloon, "psh" = fish, "mamma" = food in Korean. "boh" = bboh bboh - kiss in Korean
- loves playing peek a boo saying "puh-boo"

N also had her 5 year check up. The doctor was shocked to see that she had gained about 6 pounds and 3 inches in one year. Most of the growth happened pretty recently when we thought she had gone through a growth spurt. Despite how much she grew, her percentiles are the exact same as last year.

N @ 5 years:
Weight: 42.6 lbs 50-75th percentile
Height: 43 1/4 in 50-75th

I finally purchase my homeschooling curriculum for the fall. We got a huge box of books in the mail yesterday, and I spent hours looking through everything. I can't believe that she's starting K. I'm both excited and terrified that I'm actually doing this. Preschool was just a test run, and not "official", but something about having to fill out forms for the state that makes me a little nervous. But also excited at the same time!

Our Zay Bear Turns 1!

Last Sunday, we celebrated Zay Bear's 1st birthday. We had a traditional Dohl (Korean 1st Birthday celebration). He was a trooper through wearing his hanbok, taking family pictures, and doing the doljabi (choosing an object to "represent" your future). Can you guess our theme?

Here are some pics that capture the day.

Pictures of the little guy over the past year.


The favors: I made bear chocolate lollipops with molds.


And this little bear was a clearance score at Michael's.


Goodie bags for the little ones


The centerpieces


Greeting his cousin with a "boh boh"


The birthday boy


We had to bribe him with food for pictures.


The 5 of us! Notice the random Snoopy in the decor. The restaurant set up the table for us, and I didn't notice til I saw the pictures that they put him in there. Oh well!


Peter's family


My family


He just sat still and looked for a couple of minutes not grabbing anything. He looked like he didn't know what to do.


He ended up picking the brush (like his brother).


But then "picked" my dad, just like T-Max too! And reached for the money after that, just like his sister. It looks like he'll learn a lot from them!

Zay Bear saying, "No Noona, you need to get your own cupcake!"


The bear cupcakes




My tradition for each kids dohl


His first bite of birthday cake.


More pics from the day on flickr.

The only picture of his real smile all evening.

N's Princess Knight party

We had a blast celebrating our little girlie's 5th birthday! Everything was themed around princesses and knights.

As the fair maidens arrived, they were crowned princesses for the day with handmade tiaras from pipe cleaners. The little gentlemen arrived, and they were dubbed knights for the day with their pipe cleaner swords.



All the princesses and knights together!


They were told the tale of a princess who had been locked up at the top of a tower by the fire-breathing dragon. She was soon to marry her prince, when she was captured by the dragon and put away. In order to save her, the princess and knights needed to find the "King's Treasure" and pay a ransom to the dragon. So the King asked them to search high and low around the castle to find the golden nuggets (chocolate). Their task was to collect at least 25 gold pieces to free the princess. The knights and princesses succeeded at the task, and even collected more than 25 pieces!

Counting the king's gold


The presented the treasure to the dragon, but he did not release her until they were able to unlock the door. In order to open the lock, they would need to successfully land the "beanbag" into the tiaras. Each princess and knight had a turn, and they were able to "unlock" the door. The princess was free at last!

"Unlocking" the door


Once the princess was free, she was ready to marry her princes. But wait! She found that the dragon had turned her prince into a frog. In order to change him back into human form, she must "kiss" him with true love's kiss.

"Kissing" the frog


They turned the frog back into a prince and were married to live happily every after!

Next the princess and knights worked on a craft. The princesses decorated foam tiaras, while the knights decorated their shields.


Afterwards, they ate their royal meal, and sang to the princess of honor.


They yummily devoured their dessert.


and their ended their day at N's castle! We had a blast!

The Royal Family


See all the pics from the fun day here. Videos to come soon. The King is busy working on our littlest prince's 1 year video/slideshow!

Heaven and Theology

N and I were cuddling before bed tonight, and after we prayed, I could see in her eyes that she was thinking about something, and smiling. So I asked her what she was thinking about. Then we had the following conversation:

N: I want to go to heaven to be with Jesus and God one day.
Me: Why?
N: Because heaven seems like it will be beautiful place. And there is no crying and no hitting people and kicking people.
Me: Do you know how to get to heaven?
N: Umm...actually no.

We have talked in the past about what heaven is like as described in Revelation. And in contrast we have also talked about what hell is like as described in the Bible as well. I don't know what made her think of it tonight, but we had a deep conversation about believing in Jesus and His death on the cross. So we prayed a prayer that God would help her to believe and help her to know when she believes. My little girl is not so little anymore. Here is the prayer I had her pray:

Dear God,

Please help me to believe. Help me to believe that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Help me to believe that Jesus died on the cross for MY sins, which deserve death. Thank you that I am forgiven for all my sins. Help me to believe, Lord. And help me to know WHEN I believe. In Jesus name, Amen.

After that, I saw that she was contemplating something else.

N: Who made God?
Me: No one did. God just is. He was there in the beginning, and He will be there for all time. He doesn't have a beginning; He has always existed. He will not have an end; He will always exist.
N: That's a little confusing.

Amazing how a little almost-5-yr old is contemplating that existence of God. I hope that she continues to ask lots of questions. I love how her little brain thinks. Can't believe she is turning 5 on Sunday.

More pics to come from her Princess and Knight party today with all her little friends and cousins!

11 Months

Zay Bear is changing so fast...just want to get these down before he turns one in a few weeks! Eeeek! Can't believe that time has already come.

Just a few weeks ago, he started signing "please". Usually he's screaming for more food when it's not coming fast enough. Not wanting to reinforce the screaming, I started teaching him for "more" like I had done with my other two children. He had done it few times when prompted, but I knew that he really understood when I was holding a toy that he wanted, and he preceded to sign "please". Smart boy. Good at getting what he wants. He also started doing this grunting thing as he reaches for something and raises his eyebrows to show you that he wants something. And now when we say "all done", he usually takes off his bib or raises his hands to imitate the sign for "all done". Saying "uh oh" when he drops something is a new favorite thing also.

He loves to sing! Since a couple months back, he started saying "ahhhh" at the end of our dinner prayer song (A Korean prayer song that Peter sang growing up that has now become party of our daily traditions) when we sing "Amen". Now when we sing that song, or when I sing to him before bed, he "sings" along in his own little way. Sometimes when I hum to him, he will hum back.

Zay Bear has also discovered dancing to music. Just today, he was dancing (which consists of holding onto something and bouncing up and down enthusiastically) watching /listening to the Wiggles. So fun!

Just last weekend, he stood for several seconds by himself for the first time! He's a very good crawler, so I don't know what will motivate him to start walking. He doesn't seem so interested yet. But he will stand and loves it when we clap for him in delight!

More updates on his dohl when he turns one in a few weeks!

bedtime conversation

Don't want to forget this conversation I had with N just before bed tonight.

N: I wish I didn't have eyelashes (as she is rubbing them).
Me: But if you didn't have eyelashes, you would get all this mungee (dust in Korean), dirt, and other stuff in your eyes. You don't want that to happen.
N: You never told me that! Oh, that's why boys have eyelashes too!
(All this time, she has noticed that in book illustrations, cartoons, etc...usually it's only the girls that have eyelashes, and hardly ever the boys, but in real life girls AND boys have eyelashes. I think she had an epiphany tonight).
Me: I wonder why we have eyebrows, though.
N: Maybe it's...like for decoration or something!

As it turns out, I googled why we have eyebrows, and it's to protect our eyes from rain and sweat from dripping into them. Pretty cool!

Fast learner

Zay Bear is creeping closer to turning one (10 months right now), and I am trying to cherish every moment, every milestone, every smile. But he seems to be changing so quickly and learning so much! His latest delight are balls! He even says "ball" every time he sees one. He loves playing throw and catch. Just a bit ago, Peter taught him how to throw, and right away he started dropping the ball. In just a few days, he's started throwing it, and sometimes he will even say "doh" for "throw". We are amazed at what a quick learner he is. Like just tonight, the big kids were saying "nigh-night Zay Bear" over and over, just giggling at how cute he was staring and smiling at them. And after just smiling silently and watching his brother and sister, he softly spoke, "nigh-nigh" to them waving his hand.

T-Max's prayer for Noona

Just want to get this down...

The other day, N's tummy was hurting (as it often does these days!), and we asked T-Max to pray for her and this was his prayer:

"Dear God, thank you make Noona tummy better. In Jesus name, Amen"

T-Max on Prunes

Our family likes to eat a couple of prunes each after dinner. Yes - all three kiddos like them too! T-Max, for some reason, cannot say "prunes". Peter was having him say, "p...p...p...prunes!", and this is what he said, "p...p...p...CROONS!" So now, after dinner, we just say, "Who wants to eat CROONS!"

Happiest Mom

Had a great mother's day weekend! I am so happy to be a mother to these three little buggers! They bring me so much joy! I don't need gifts, so all I asked Peter for was a day that I didn't have to cook. So he got a quick breakfast ready before church, and after church he made some tasty grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, and then my mom had invited us over to her place for dinner. So I got my wish! And Peter made me a video/slideshow of me and the kids that brought me to tears within the first couple of seconds.

And as I get deeper into motherhood, I appreciate my mom more and more. My hope is to be even half as generous as she is with her time, love, serving, and giving to others.

More pics from the rest of the day here.

The Prodigal Daughter

Saw this yesterday on the girltalk blog. I'm posting it because I want to be able to see it easily again and again. We read the Bible story of the prodigal son with our kiddos, and watched it afterwards. It makes me tear up every time. The kids wanted to watch it several times in a row. We showed them who Satan was and explained to T-Max that he is a bad guy. He just kept repeating, "Bad guy, bad buy...I hit him!"



The Prodigal Daughter

You held out Your arms, I walked away
Insolent, I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute, a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends that I had bought
Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still
You never left, You never will
Running to embrace me, now I know
Your cords of love will always hold
Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace
Such favor undeserved
You sing over me and celebrate
The rebel now Your child

© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP)

Bugs and Yeast!

As I mentioned before, we are making our way through the 6 days of creation. We have been on Day 6, and just wrapped up our study of insects. I had been saving egg cartons from months ago thinking that I wanted to make a caterpillar with the kids at some point, and this seemed like the perfect time. We also made a spider even though it is not actually an insect. Check out our bugs! This is the closest you'll ever see N handling bugs. She screams, or rather cries at the sight of them!

Finishing the legs on the caterpillar:


N did a great job painting all by herself!


Caterpillar


Spider


Ladybug


Butterfly


And this science experiment was so cool!


For our section on cells, we did an experiment to see how yeast is a living cell. We mixed warm water, yeast, some sugar into a large soda bottle. We put a balloon on top, and when we placed the bottle in some warm water, the balloon began to blow up! It was so cool! Apparently, as the yeast feeds on the sugar, they release carbon dioxide, thus filling up the balloon. Our directions said to use a 2 liter soda bottle, but I wish we had used a smaller bottle because I think the balloon would have filled up more. Maybe we will do it again.

I didn't use this link, but here is the experiment.

9 months

Zay Bear's 9 month checkup stats from last week:

Weight: 22 lbs 1 oz - 75th percentile
Height: 30 in - 95th
Head: 18 1/4 in - 75th

This past month, Zay Bear's been busy standing up everywhere, and starting to cruise around. He's still eating like a champ! Like this morning, I had left the boys with Peter to attend a women's conference at my church, and he told me that for breakfast he had yogurt, cheerios, and 2 whole oranges!

Earlier this month, he got his first hair cut by my mom. I attempted one day, and then gave up very quickly because he was moving around SO much! So my mom cut, while N and I distracted with trucks and lots of puffs.

Zay Bear seems to be the most social of my three. He is always looking for his hyung and noona, and easily gives smiles to people, even strangers. He's also very vocal. Either he's screaming because he wants something (usually food) or because he wants your attention, or he's babbling like he's got something to say. He and N seem to have this special relationship where he likes to repeat what she says. His first official words are "Hi", "Umma" (mother in Korean), and "Abba" (father in Korean). N claims that he also said, "Noona", but I'm not sure about that one!

Before


Almost done!


T-Max loves his little brother. His affections for his little brother are growing every day.




More random pics I've taken on flickr.