3 months old

Playing catch-up

My oh my, at the end of the school year you get behind pretty darn fast!! So it's time to play catch-up....

First, we had Addie's birthday. Here's a little video from her preschool class--if you're interested, that is (its mostly for the grandmas!). Sorry it's so grainy and jumpy...I must have been a little too excited that day! :o)

Then, Parker passed his test for his yellow belt in Judo:

On the same day he also hit his first home run ever in baseball....WAY TO GO, PARKER!!! What a GREAT day!


And then there was MEMORIAL DAY:

We were sure missing being back in the States and being able to BBQ, so we decided to head out to the ceremony at the U.S. Cemetery (for the soldiers who died defending the Philippines against the Japanese...and those who died during the Bataan Death March). There are over 17,000 soldiers buried there. It's a beautiful place! There were both Filipino and American soldiers there who actually fought against the Japanese. It really makes you proud to be an American.

Logan in his Jumper

Hide n Seek

fHave you ever had the urge to hide from your family? I'm not ashamed to admit that I HAVE (You know you have too)! I have even been known to play hide n seek with my kids for the sole purpose of getting a few minutes alone to myself while hiding in a VERY hard to find spot!! If you haven't tried it, you really should!

And that's exactly what I did yesterday...without even meaning to! It was one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days...and in a foreign country it's even worse!! I had gone to the pantry to find something to make for dinner. I stood there with the door open for quite some time, then a thought popped into my head, "If you close the door no one will look for you in here." So that's exactly what I did! I pulled up the big bucket o' crackers and sat down. It's surprising how peaceful a pantry can be! I got a bit of lite reading done while looking at the back of my canned goods for new recipes, and I took stock of what we had and what we needed. I must say, I quite enjoyed myself! I even got about 30 minutes of time to myself. So I think I'll hide in the pantry more often!! You should try it too!

Note to self: Hide a bag of cookies in the pantry to munch on next time.

Disclaimer for CPS: Husband was home during said hiding attempt--no child was ever left alone or unattended.

2 months

The unwritten rules of Mother's Day:

1. Kids MUST behave their worst on this day. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
2. You MUST be late to church every single year because of said behavior in rule #1. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
3. You MIGHT not have to make your own dinner (but you'll for sure have to clean it up). HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
4. You MUST take a nap while dad "watches" the kids--only to wake up to something resembling a tornado. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
5. The kids MUST go to bed early so you can re-coup from "YOUR" day! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

And now that they're all asleep and your house is peaceful once again, you can LOVE them and be GLAD you're their mom!!!

Bionic Baby!?

Logan has proved to be a strong, determined, yet extremely happy little guy! He has been rolling over (both directions) for awhile. When I told his doctor how mobile he is she was surprised but said it is a startle reflex some babies have when they get really frustrated or mad. Here's the thing, he's not mad when he does it! And he rolls over ALL THE TIME--not just once in awhile! And not only does he roll, but he also scoots--yes, I said my 5 week old scoots!! He can turn himself all the way around, and scoot for several feet in a matter of minutes. I am afraid to even leave him in the middle of our bed...he's THAT mobile!!
WHAT IN THE WORLD!?
So today, I laid Logan down on a blanket on the floor. I put him on his tummy...becuz he LOVES his tummy, and I went into the kitchen to put the dinner in the oven. I was gone for less than 2 minutes when I heard screaming. I ran back in, and you'll never believe where I found him---over 3 feet away from where I put him, laying on his back and kicking like mad!!! WHAT?! How in the world did my 5 week old do that??? I know what you're thinking....one of the other kids moved him. Nope....they were all gone to church! Parker keeps telling me that Logan is starting to crawl! And now I'm beginning to wonder! :o)

I think we've got a "Bionic Baby" on our hands!!!

1 month already?!

International Day at International School Manila...Logan's 1st outing!

The Fam before heading out for the big day: Notice our "American" attire...what says U.S.A. more than an Old Navy t-shirt, right!?! ;o)

The kids at the flag ceremony: They had flags from every country tied around the balconies of the school. They announced each country and everyone from that country cheered as loud as they could. Boy, talk about a good way to learn which countries have the most people here! Judging from the cheers, I think it's definitely safe to say that there are a lot of Koreans, Chinese, Australians, and Americans here!! But there are also people here from countries that I didn't even know existed. Craziness!

Addie's class: It was fun to see everyone dressed up in clothing native to their own country. Addie only has 1 other American in her preschool class. Her teacher is from Scotland...notice the fun Viking hat!

Did you all know we had a pet octopus?! And Addie's self-portrait!! :o)

This is about the only picture I have of Parker since I spent most of the morning with Addie...you may have to look hard to see him...he's in the very middle in the navy shirt. This was at his International Day Concert. Each grade sang 2 songs from other countries.

And here's one of his songs if you want to take a listen....

The thing I like the most about living here is learning first hand about so many different countries and cultures! However, the more I learn..... it DOES make me very proud to be an American!!! We are VERY blessed...and most of us don't even realize how much! It's not until you leave that you really appreciate what you had!!

Our newest arrival in Manila

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