Hannah at 84 Weeks and Nathan is 3.5

Dear Nathan and Hannah, 

I may be a bit biased, bu you two are the cutest kids ever. 

On Thursday, we had our weekly Chinese storytime and for the craft activity, we dyed eggs. Hannah did so well, until you spilled the container of yellow dye while I was not looking. Luckily, a little oxy-clean got it all out. 

 One day Hannah wanted to try out roller skating as well. Both of you shared the pair and it was so funny watching you both zoom around the house on one skate. In fact, Hannah is now able to push yourself on the scooter.

Saturday Morning, we went to our church's annual Easter extravaganza. Hannah pretty much picked up eggs like a pro. Thanks to your MOPS practice session, picking up eggs was second nature. 

 Nathan complained that your Easter egg basket (the one Hannah ended up using) was too small. You wanted to fit a lot of eggs in your basket, so you asked if we could make a larger one and there you go, one giant. up-cycled Easter basket.

 After the Easter egg hunt, we quickly got into the line to ride the train. While waiting, Hannah was really excited about the train, but when we got on, you had other thoughts.

 But half way through, you realized that it wasn't so bad and enjoyed the rest of the trip.

Nathan, you were not afraid to partake in the jumpy house activities. You even went in on the big kid sized ones!

 Look at the air on this one!

 And we also got in line for everyone to ride ponies. While waiting in line, Hannah, you kept reaching out your hands and saying "muo muo" which means "feel," indicating that you want to pet the horse, or the sheep that was nearby, but we would walk you over and you would then shake your head vigorously, "no!" As far as the pony rides go,  Hannah ended up chickening out the last minute, but Nathan was super excited to ride one by yourself.

 And of course, we couldn't leave without taking a picture with the Easter bunny. As soon as we put Hannah down, you jumped off and started to run towards me.

 Nathan told us during dinner tonight that he knew that the bunny wasn't real, but instead a lady dressed up in a bunny costume, but Santa, on the other hand, is a real man.

Later that evening, Nathan and I went on another Mommy-Nathan date to go watch some derby. Poor guy, your allergies were bad so you don't look terribly excited, but trust me, you really got into it, asking me questions about what the players were doing and cheering on the jammers.

I knew it was going to be a smaller event, so we brought your skates and helmet, and you got to practice on the rink just like the derby girls. I pretty much had to convince you that you couldn't skate in the rink because you are not a girl and you are not a referee.

Grandma and grandpa came to visit for Easter. We went to church in the morning, and then in the afternoon, we stopped by the wildflower center to take some bluebonnet photos. 

 In this picture, I asked Nathan to kiss your sister. Hannah ended up puckering up as well.

 And of course we have to stop by the swings.

 Nathan saw a few older kids jump off a picnic table and swing on a rope and decided to try.  I didn't think you were able to do it, but I stood nearby just to be available to catch you if you didn't make it.

 You did it! And you wanted to do it again, and again.

 The next day, you guys went to the San Antonio Zoo with grandpa, grandma, and Daddy while I went shopping with a friend. After you guys got home, you did the Easter egg hunt that I, that the Easter bunny left.  We were simply too busy to actually do it on Easter. Daddy told me that many of our wild animal neighbors got to the eggs before you guys did.

 Since I wasn't there at the zoo, here are some photos.

 Nathan was really intrigued by the anteater.

 And of course, you guys rode the train.

Hannah actually fell asleep on the train for 5 minutes and that apparently was enough to get you through to bedtime. On the occasional day where you both don't nap, I'd say that you both do pretty good.

Dropping naps for Nathan has been working out pretty well. You fall asleep quickly after your 8:15 bedtime and you wake up at around 7:15 each morning. 11 hours of sleep.

Hannah is falling asleep shortly after 7:30, waking up at 7:30 and then taking a 1.5 hour nap in the afternoons. 13.5 hours.

This week I have also weaned Hannah from her pre-bedtime nursing session. We are now down to 2 nursing sessions a day and Hannah is starting to ask for "milk" as opposed to "nai-nai" which is mommy milk. I hope to have you completely weaned by 2.

Well, that's it for now. Love you two so much!

Mommy

SXSW Gaming Convention, Marriage Proposals, and Lots of Spinach.

Dear Children, 

This week has been a pretty good one. Besides all the hay fever action, spring is my favorite season. The warmer weather brings about more opportunities for fun before the hot summer arrives. Last Thursday, we went to the SXSW gaming convention. There weren't a whole lot of things for you guys to do, but there were plenty of things to look at.  

 Virtual Reality boxes seem to be the up and coming thing. There were so many booths exhibiting these products. Everyone in the family got to try these out.

There was also a station where everyone could paint their own miniature plastic figures. That was pretty cool.

 And then there was a room where you could check out a board game and sit down to play it. We checked out Junior Settlers of Catan and found out that it was pretty much as complicated as the original one, but everything is just scaled down. Hannah played her own version of it.

On Saturday, I made some spinach ice cream. You guys really liked it and was scraping the last bits out of the ice cream maker for a good 15 minutes. That was the quietest you two have been all week! After dinner, I actually don't feel bad at all giving you guys this for dessert. Seconds? Of course! 

 On Sunday, we watched the little mermaid, fast forwarding through all the parts where Ursula or the eels made an appearance. You two loved the song under the sea and were dancing so happily.

 For Palm sunday, Nathan got a chance to hold some palms and be part of the worship service with many of the other medium sized kids.

 Then afterwards, I snapped this picture of Nathan dancing excitedly during children's hour.

 Hannah just about wants to do everything yourself these days. Putting shoes on, socks, brushing teeth, eating food, just to name a few.

 And I am also pretty proud that you are able to pull a pair of matching shoes out and walk in them around the house. All the shoes that you pull out match.

 Yesterday, Nathan suggested that we play play-doh. We've actually haven't played with these for quite some time because Hannah was eating them, but now she knows that its not food, and you guys played with these on your own for about 40 minutes! I was even able to get some housework done.

Well, lately, Nathan's been very curious about marriage, asking us about the details of our wedding, how we met, dates, and so on. Yesterday, we were eating lunch after soccer practice and Nathan, you ask me, "Why did Abigail say 'No' when I asked her to marry me?" I explained to you that only adults get married, and even though you have found a really nice girl that you like, you can't get married until you are adults and Abigail probably just said No because you guys are still kids. Maybe when you are adults, you can ask her again and maybe she will change her mind. When you asked Daddy the same question that evening, he pretty much said the same thing. So no more asking girls to marry you for now, alright? 

Easter weekend is coming up and so I'm sure we will have lots of fun then. Plus, grandma and grandpa will be visiting for a few days. 

Hoppy Easter!

Love, 

Mommy 

"Hey You!" , Rodeos, Zoo, and Tech Conferences! Oh My!

Dear Hannah and Nathan,

This week has been packed full of activities and trips. Hannah's vocabulary is slowly expanding to include "Ready?" "Ha-B-Boodie to You," and my personal favorite, "Hey You!" for when you know that you are doing something that you are not supposed to be doing...which is pretty much all day because you are just a walking vessel of destruction these days. If there's a tower, you will knock it down. If there's a bag, the contents will be splattered across the floor, and if there's a water bottle, you will find a way to sprinkle all the water on yourself. Yay for toddlers! 

Nathan participated in the annual rodeo at your school this year. Your teacher, Ms. Kim, helped you guys make these adorable rodeo horses! 

 This is the best cowboy we could come up with. Maybe next year, we can do rodeo clown....

 Hannah wanted to dress up that morning and found a pair of my heels. You were actually able to walk in them pretty well...almost better than me!

 On Friday after MOPS, we had a giant Easter egg hunt for you guys. Nathan, you were so proud and told me that you were going to help Hannah pick up some eggs.

 Hannah took awhile to get going, but you managed to pick up 3-4 eggs before the hunt was over.

 The next day, we went to a real rodeo for you two to participate in the rodeo rumble, a 1 k race for kids. It was a lot of fun so I think this will become a regular tradition for us. You two just loved soaking in the excitement in the air.

 Nathan, you even got to talk to a real cowgirl.

 Here's Nathan getting ready at the start line.

 Hannah is a bit unsure about everything, but during the race, you really enjoyed yourself, squealing as you ran as fast as you could over the bumpy dirt ground.

 Nathan ended up finishing 4th in the 0-3 age group and Hannah, with some help, didn't finish last.

Afterwards, we went to a petting zoo and then got a chance to watch a cow milking demonstration.

 Before we left, we got a chance to look at different breeds of animals on exhibit. Hannah is really into birds right now, so will say "ji ji" when you see a bird, or chicken. You really liked looking at the chicks.

 I'm going to skip to Monday and come back to Sunday in a bit...
On Monday, we celebrated my birthday. We started the day by going to the zoo with some friends and Nathan was brave enough to feed the animals. Hannah watched carefully, but didn't care to feed anyone except for yourself.

 In the evening, we sang the Happy Birthday song and all enjoyed some cake.

And later that night, Hannah was singing the birthday song all by yourself. 

 I'm pretty proud at the pronunciation and the melody. You can actually recognize the song!

Today, we had a few friends come over and you both got to see a friend whom you have not seen for a long time: baby Lucas. While Hannah and Lucas were a bit shy at first, by the end of the day, you two were climbing over sofas together and causing all sorts of ruckus! Hannah even cried when Lucas drove away.

 Hannah was also very interested in the little 2 month old baby who also joined our Chinese storytime.

Hannah is sleeping from about 7:30 - 8ish at night to about 7:15 in the morning and then taking an hour and a half nap in the afternoon. Nathan has been pretty good about staying quiet during this time. One of the activities that we've been working on are scissor skills. You are now able to cut curves and straight lines. 

 Sometimes Hannah wakes up a bit earlier and so she gets to do what you are doing.

Ok, back to Sunday. On Sunday, after church and naps, we decided to go downtown to Austin's SXSW Create festival. It's pretty much a convention where people come and show off their technological hacks and inventions. A lot of it is very interactive and we all had a lot of fun.

Playing the piano with bananas. 

Making an LED circuit. 

Meeting R2D2...Hannah was a bit reluctant. 

Playing in the cardboard castle. 

 Both of you love sitting anywhere but your carseats these days. Whenever I am unloading things like groceries from the car, Nathan will unbuckle yourself and Hannah, and both of you will make a mad dash to the front seats to push all sorts of buttons, but mainly to pretend to drive. Sometimes Hannah also likes to just climb and sit in Nathan's car seat. When I try to take you out, you fuss and so I just leave you for a little bit and you have been happy just sitting in Nathan's seat for about 5 minutes, which I then came to take you back inside. You kids are just crazy!

 But I love you two so much!

We have a few more crazy fun days ahead. Tomorrow: SXSW gaming convention!

Love,
Mommy