Happy Fall Everyone

I find myself at, yet, another Fall. It has already been colder than the previous year. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and the leaves are falling. It certainly is beautiful. I am officially on maternity leave for the year, and I'm not sure how I feel about it so far. Joseph starts his new job tomorrow in which he will be commuting to the city center. Lucian will figure out these new changes this week. Hopefully he can handle having me around all day long. Otherwise, it is going to be a long week for both of us. I might have to plan out some fun artsy activities to do to keep him entertained and to keep myself from playing hours of Bad Piggies meets Jake and the Neverland Pirates. As fun as that game happens to be (for him) it can last what seems to be hours. I'm looking forward to the week and how we all adapt to the new changes.

Now to talk about what we have been up to.  Well, we did our annual tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch and picking out our own pumpkins. We've actually gone several times and our house is filled with fall pumpkin-y goodness. Today we were able to go with Lucian's friend, Luke, and his family. Everyone seemed to have a good time searching through the patch, finding pumpkins, riding the wagon, and feeding the animals. Lucian was just happy to have a friend around. We only got three pumpkins to add to the collection today. Overall, we have all sizes and shapes (we like the weird looking ones). We have been painting them in the driveway, and were able to paint a few more today. I can't wait to see how they all turn out when they are finished. We are planning on carving out one of the bigger pumpkins. Tomorrow, I might even pull out the Halloween decorations to go along with them. Lucian might like going through all the decorations and placing them around. Hopefully, the cats won't be too destructive.

Lucian had a new experience this past week, he played his first game of golf! We call it "big mini golf" because he loves mini golf so much. He had a great time playing. To make it easier we let him use his field hockey stick since it was more his size. I was the official golf cart driver. Lucian wouldn't let me convince him to drive. I did get him to push the "go" pedal a few times. It was a beautiful, warm evening for it, and it wore him out. Okay, it wore us all out. We all had so much fun that we attempted to play again. We still had fun the second time around, but maybe we will wait a little bit longer between game sessions next time. Or enjoy some more mini golf.

A lot is coming up for us all to worry about. Lucian is turning 5 soon, this baby could be coming any time now, and our work/home dynamics are changing. Above all, we have been living in this house since August and have been loving it, but we now have to find a new place closer to the city. We were hoping to stay here until the new year to find a place, but this house might sell before then. So on top of everything else, we have been busily looking for a new place to rent/live. I just hope everything comes together smoothly. With the new baby almost here, I'm afraid time is dwindling. All we can do is our best and make the most of what we have. Thank you everyone who has been helping us and sending us well wishes.

Thinking of Soup

The other day, I was really able to get a glimpse of Lucian's thought processes. We went to the grocery store, just the two of us, and decided to have some "soup bar" soup for dinner before picking out groceries. I usually show him each one that he is allowed to have and tell him what it is. Naturally, he picked chicken noodle soup. I asked him if he wanted some crackers, since they actually had it filled. He did. We paid for our meal and he picked out which table he wanted to sit at. He always gets to pick out where we sit. I opened up his soup and utensils for him and then my own. He wanted the crackers opened as well, so I obliged. He took a cracker and did what he always does; he uses his spoon to scoop broth onto his cracker and then eats it. He offered me the other cracker so I could do the same in my soup, but I dunked mine in the broth instead, as I usually do. As usual, he decides to try it as well. He doesn't dip the whole cracker though, he breaks the cracker into a smaller chunk and dunks the piece. With success the first time, he decides to give it another go. This time, the cracker piece falls into his soup, and he is forced to scoop it out with his spoon to eat it. This whole scenario usually happens every time we have soup with crackers. It is fun, silly, and we laugh about it. But this time was different. He took it one step further. He added multiple cracker pieces to his soup and stirred it around so he could use his spoon to eat all of it (he has a thing for utensils). That's right family and friends, my son is officially a smashed cracker in the soup eater.

Anyways, the point of my story is he has always been interested in how things work and why, which he has been asking a lot more lately. But for a small period of time, in the midst of the grocery store eatery, my four year old deducted the process of eating soup with crackers all by himself. he decided what he wanted to try discovered a new way of eating in the process. I did not guide or prompt him. He figured it out on his own. I explained afterwards that many people eat crackers in their soup that way. He seemed proud of himself. And I was proud of him. A small moment of progression to self understanding and discovery.

Summertime

Well, I realize I haven't been doing a very good job updating this year.  I've been trying to do my best. We have been down to one computer, that Joseph needed for school, so that had an impact. Then when mine was finally fixed, his finally died. Now we have the old backup going. Otherwise, we have just been very busy with school, tutoring, and work. I was also very sick for the first part of the year. We are expecting a new addition in Fall this year!  We do not know the gender and we are not sure if we will learn the gender beforehand or not. Lucian is very excited, he has been wanting a baby to bring home. We are all excited and preparing for this new addition and expansion.

As for Lucian, he has been growing up like crazy. He has been forming his own opinions, discovering what he likes, and talking more and more. We were at the park a few weeks ago and he asked a little girl what her name was, I was shocked. That was the first time he'd ever asked that question to another child or person for that matter. I was cheering in my head for him and wanting to cry at the same time. It's the little victories for me when it comes to speech. We have made so much progress, he is getting there. In the same instance, he introduced himself, and he is saying his name so much clearer than before. He still gets a lot of looks from other children and sometimes they aren't very nice or won't include him because he is hard to understand. But we have gotten so far. I get so happy when there is a kid who will include him regardless. Of course, he gets happy too. He likes to play with other kids, but when they are mean, which they are often, it really pushed him away. So I hope the summer will be positive in that area.

He currently loves rainbows. He wants rainbow ice cream, rainbow popsicles, rainbow water, rainbow bubbles... anything! I think rainbow might be his favorite color if you ask him. Or maybe he will still say dark blue, you will have to ask yourself.  He insists we race everywhere, but he has to win (very sore loser). We play board games, discover nature, and play tag. It's getting harder for me to run, so I think he legitimately wins. He also likes to cheat. Is very stubborn. And throws temper tantrums. I still love him to death.

On another note, he is happy to eat mint, basil and parsley straight from our porch garden. He even likes to pick some to make tea for himself. It is adorably awesome. Okay, maybe just to me. Until next time!

Turning in a New Year

Okay, okay, I have been slacking on entries the last few months. Between all the hustle and bustle, I just plain old forgot. So here's the nitty gritty:
Since Halloween:

• we went up North to visit family for Thanksgiving
• Lucian had his dance recital
• we visited close friends who moved back to town
• we went East to visit family
• Lucian got a new hair cut
• Lucian had a congestive cold all through vacation
• Mama and Daddy danced in the new year
• First Dental visit
• A new semester has come for Daddy
• Lucian is continuing tap and starting soccer 
• We are officially getting married in 2016

I think I hit all the highlighting points. It's been another wonderful year with my growing family. Every year we learn new things, Lucian grows bigger and bigger, and we have a lot more fun. I couldn't have asked for a better family. And Hao survived the long car rides. We vowed not to take him on anymore long trips unless it is one-way. Thanks to everyone who made it a wonderful year.

Halloween 2014

Another cold, rainy and snowy Halloween. Yes, Snowy. It was the first snowfall of the year. It was windy so we all wore multiple layers and still froze. Looks like it might be another cold winter. We did end up trick-or-treating for a little bit with our friends. We dressed up as the Pines family from the show Gravity Falls. Lucian was Dipper, I was Mabel, Daddy was Stan. I think our costumes turned out pretty good. Lucian ended up wearing his tiger hat due to the cold and everyone thought he was a tiger or tigger instead. But he has a great time trick-or-treating. He was able to say "Trick-or-treat" and "Thank you". I was very proud. It was the most adorable thing to watch him and his friend go up to houses without us hovering him. He received just the right amount of candy, which was great for us. We thought we would be throwing a lot away. He sampled and disposed of things himself. I think he is really going to be a fan of this holiday. This was certainly my favorite day of the year. Happy Halloween everyone.

Four Years

Well, it's official. We have a four year old on our hands. I'm not sure what will come in this new age, but I am anxious and dreading it at the same time. I must say his speech has improved so much. Considering that he has only been really speaking for a year he has come a long way. There are still some things he can't pronounce, but I'm sure they will come in time. He has been a lot of fun this last year - playing pom poms, bouncy balls, sword fights, water balloons and obstacle courses. He has been able to count past 10, write several letters, have a conversation, and is enjoying stories. On the downside, he is the king of self pain. He likes to show his dislike by throwing himself and other objects.Totally still love the stinker.

So, we attempted a birthday party. A small one. We invited two of his friends and their families of course. They both came and played. We had some food, a pinata, and little light. It was also a bit chilly; October after all. Turned out to be pretty good. Everyone had some goodies to take home. I made rainbow cupcakes/cake pops. The inside was rainbow and the icing was rainbow. I thought they looked pretty neat. He didn't open his presents until the next day. He was super excited and thanks everyone who came/ gave him a present. We had it at a little playground, so they were able to play until it started getting too dark. Overall, successful. Glad it worked out. Next year we will plan something a little more exciting.

Here's to another joyful year.

Grace Day

It is Sunday, the day of rest. Oh boy did we rest. We eventually left for lunch at our favorite (and only decent) restaurant in town The Scenic View. It sits atop of a hill and offers a lovely view of your wife and child, oh and of the lake too. With the best food in town, we stuffed ourselves. Headed home, and rest some more. People really never appreciate relaxation. Relaxing with family is so much more... relaxing, than doing it alone. So it was wonderful. And what a better way to spend a evening than with family made MEATBALLS!!! When dinner time came, all I asked for was grace and peace with my family for following week. And a damn spoon. With organic beef, love, and maybe a little bit of cat hair, the final product just melted in your mouth. Little did we know a day later, our beef came partly from Uruguay. Who knew? Thanks Europeans, for a day of appreciated fun. Next time though, I think we will stick to something more local. What times is it? POPCORN and Movie time!!!!!! Who's making the popcorn???