Bible Verse of the Day

June 2013

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Happy Trails…We’ll Miss It Here!

June 29, 2013 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | 2 comments

This afternoon, we will bid a fond goodbye to our home here in Marlborough, MA.  We’ve been in Marlborough for the past 7½ months, and we’ve created memories that we will cherish forever.

Our home here has been terrific to come back to, and it definitely feels a little more than sad to leave this place behind.

When we arrived, it was at the start of winter, and the forest behind our patio was all drab and grey, but we’ve seen it through winter in all its snowy glory and now that it’s spring going into summer, it’s a lush sea of greenery.

The kids love to look for squirrels, badgers, beavers and rabbits scampering about freely… this was taken sometime last week.  Can you see a brown rabbit/hare in the background behind them? 🙂

Well, we’ll miss it here, but it will forever remain etched in our hearts.  The kids definitely had the time of their lives, experiencing snow for the first time and in more ways than one, gained independence in their own individual ways.  Only time will tell if we’ll return, but for now, we’re just extremely happy to be part of this entire wonderful experience.

Farewell, Six Flags…Thank You For An Awesome Experience!

June 28, 2013 in Emma, Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

 

Last weekend, we took the kids to Six Flags(again!).  It was bittersweet because it was going to be our last visit there before we head for home in Malaysia next week.  The weather that day was spectacular: sunny, warm with a light breeze.  We didn’t forget our sunscreens! 😀

The kids enjoy all our visits to this theme park, although the crowds can sometimes be unbelievably HUGE.  As we bid goodbye to Six Flags, here are some pictures we took during our several visits to the park (five or six in total, maybe?).  Ethan and Hannah hopes to come back again when they are tall enough to ride on all the roller-coasters though.  Only time will tell when. 🙂

 

Emma and Bumbo

June 27, 2013 in Emma, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | No comments

We recently started putting Emma in the Bumbo.  We’ve had it since Ethan was born, but I had forgotten all about it until the other day when I was doing some blog housekeeping and happened to chance upon a picture of Hannah when she was 3 months sitting in the Bumbo.  So I checked the information on the Bumbo, and it indeed states that a baby can begin sitting in the Bumbo from 3 months up.

Haha, what can I say?  Caring for 3 kids makes me a wee bit forgetful at times.

Looks like Emma likes it, huh? 🙂

…and both her siblings were equally excited about Emma sitting in the Bumbo.

 

Hannah and Her “Kids”

June 26, 2013 in Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

These here are Hannah’s “kids”.  She takes really good care of them, and they sleep with her at night.  In the morning, she would bring them out from the bedroom with her when she wakes up.  She cooks for them, and holds birthday parties and tea parties for them.

I just love watching her attend to her “kids”.  From left to right: the dark brown dog is Cliffer, the teddy bear is Emma and the beige dog is Sunshine.

Yes…EMMA.

Hannah had named her bear Emma way before we decided on a name for her baby sister.  So we had a bit of a back-and-forth discussion with Hannah before she agreed to have her sister named Emma too. 🙂

Don’t Hannah and her “kids” look simply adorable? 😀

Absolutely Rewarding

June 21, 2013 in Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

Do you know what’s the most rewarding thing I’ve earned from blogging thus far?

Watching my kids read my blog postings together. 🙂

Previous postings I had made would bring back fond memories that I could only remember by referring to my blog!

Ethan would read out loud and they would laugh at funny stories I had written about them.  Then they would ask me to elaborate (sometimes), and they would giggle at their own pictures from when they were babies, toddlers up to the present day.

Now isn’t that the most precious, rewarding thing ever? 🙂

Emma at 3 Months

June 18, 2013 in Emma, Milestones | No comments

Scrap Credits
Shades of Grey kit from Xcenedra Designs
Grrrrr Collaboration from Emma
HoldEmUps from Tara Dunstan

Weight

12 lbs 3 oz (5.52 kilos) as of May 29 2013.  She’ll be seeing her pediatrician for an early 4-month visit this coming Monday.

Height/Length

I don’t have her exact height/length yet but she is definitely growing taller!  I can tell based on the fact that her 0-3 month sized sleep ‘n plays are getting tighter!

Motor Skills

  • Emma loves to coo at us and has even started “blowing raspberries”!
  • Emma likes to try to sit up, exercising her abdominal muscles.  When we lay her down at an angle, supported by pillows, she would try to pull her head up.
  • She kicks, squirms, wiggles and stretches a lot.
  • Her neck muscles are getting stronger by the day, and during tummy time, she would try to lift her head.
  • She loves to look at herself in the mirror when she is taking her bath.  I prop her bathtub on the sink and it’s beside the mirror.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Emma is quite sociable, and will smile when we talk to her, but only when she is in a good mood.  Most of the time, this happens in the mornings.  She does get irritable at times, when she’s hungry or tired…but don’t we all?
  • Her eyes will follow me wherever I go.
  • She knows how to get our attention when she senses someone is nearby, and when she is done crying, she will sometimes sob silently.
  • Emma is a very responsive baby, and we can have endless conversations with her.  It would look as though she is conversing with us in her own special way.

Others

  • We’re still working on getting her to sleep through the night.  She has done it a couple of times before, but it is still inconsistent, especially when she is going through her growth spurts.
  • She has discovered her fist recently, and sometimes we would see her soothe herself to sleep by sucking on her fist.  Ethan calls it the “fist ice cream” or “fist milk”. 🙂
  • Her skin condition has vastly improved, but we are still applying some light creams and balms to help soothe her skin.  Her cradle cap has also improved tremendously.

Food and Feeding

She is 100% on Mommy’s milk.

 

Cute Gift For Father’s Day

June 16, 2013 in Celebrations, Ethan, Funny Moments, Hannah, Parenting | No comments

 

Ethan and Hannah had waited till the clock struck midnight to wish their Daddy a Happy Father’s Day.  Then they presented him with gifts they had made.

Hannah made picture frame with her picture and a message that said, “I love you Daddy” and Ethan wrote an interesting account on Daddy for him in a huge card.  Hannah had also made a paper necktie and decorated it all by herself.  Those of you who follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram might have seen it, yes?

Well, in the morning, she asked Daddy to wear the tie while he had breakfast, but when we were on our way out for lunch, Hannah exclaimed, “Oh no…I wanted Daddy to wear the tie I made for him to lunch!”

Daddy said, “That’s okay Hannah, I’ll wear it at home..”

Hannah replied, “Wear it for dinner, okay, Daddy?”

Daddy said, “Just at home, all right?”

Hannah pleaded, “Dinner Daddy, please..????”

And Daddy said okay.

When dinnertime came and we were preparing to go out, Ethan conveniently “reminded” Daddy about the tie.  So Daddy wore the adorable tie to dinner at McDonald’s.

Ain’t it sweet? 🙂

Worth More Than Gold

June 13, 2013 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 1 comment

What a pleasant surprise this was!  Made me go “Awwwww…..” and melted my heart so…

I found this in one of the activity sheets Ethan brought back from school last week. 🙂

My Sister, My Friend

June 10, 2013 in Emma, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments


Scrap Credits
6June13 Monthly Template from Sahlin Studio
Celebrate GDS! Freebit kit from Go Digital Scrapbooking.com

My big sister Hannah is the BEST because:

  • She sings to me, and she has the sweetest voice in the world!
  • She tells Mommy what songs she thinks I would like to hear.
  • She fans me to sleep when it’s too warm.
  • She tells everyone around me to keep it down when I’m asleep because she knows I might be disturbed.
  • She loves to hold and cuddle me.
  • She loves to take pictures with me.
  • She pats my head and strokes my hair gently.
  • She reads to me from her books and magazines and shows me pictures from them.
  • She makes me cute art and crafts items.

Night of the Arts

June 8, 2013 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | No comments

Ethan’s school was transformed into a little art museum last Thursday night, when they had their annual celebration of arts called The Night of the Arts.  Every child would have a piece of artwork displayed outside his/her classroom with his/her name on it.  Ethan’s school places a lot of emphasis on cultivating the love of art in the students and that can be seen by the amazing murals on the walls of the school.

It was a fantastic way to instill the love of the arts in the children, as well as a perfect time for families to get together in the evening.  Ethan proudly showed us his art piece and we also got to bring home his entire year’s “art portfolio”.

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