All Things Fall

Dear Kiddos, 

I'm going to start this post off with some obligatory pumpkin patch pictures. These were taken at our church's pumpkin patch last week when the weather was perfect before it got hot again. 

 Two weeks ago, Hannah you were awarded the R.O.A.R. award for your class. You were the first student to be awarded with this weekly award, so I'm super proud of you!

 On the first Saturday, we all went to Home Depot for their monthly building activity. Hailey, you worked on your first kit this month and you really insist on doing everything yourself...

 In the end, you all created 3 cool airplanes which kept all three of you entertained during car trips for the next few days.

 After the build, we went to the grocery store. Yes, all three of you tagged along and half way through the shopping trip, I started to regret my decision to bring all of you. At some point, a lady walked by us while you 3 were just scattering everywhere and said, "That is just too much!" Internally I asked, "What is that supposed to mean?" I definitely felt judged, but I just shrugged it off.

 That same weekend, we also had our school's fall carnival. The rides were super fun.

 There were plenty of cute animals to pet.

 And cool trains to catch a ride on.

 When it just got too hot and too much, Hailey, you and your friend just hung out in the stroller while we waited for the big siblings to finish playing.

 But sometimes you two got in on the action as well.

 Hailey, I just wanted to post this picture to share your love for Popeye's cole slaw.  I have a weakness for Popeye's fried chicken and once in awhile, I'll get some for lunch. Once you tried the cole slaw, you were hooked. I have tried giving you other cole slaw and you end up not liking them. You really just prefer the stuff from Popeyes.

 The weather really has been beautiful lately, so we've been spending more mornings at the park. You love to just sit in the gravel and play with construction cars or shovels and buckets.

 You've gotten to be pretty independent on the slide as well.

 And of course, you always love the swings!

 In fact, you were able to sit steady on a big kid swing for the first time last week! You used to just let go too often, but I think you've finally figured out that you need to hold on to stay balanced.

Hannah, you made a literary pumpkin for school. One of your favorite books is Pinkalicious, so we made a Pinkalicious pumpkin for the school library. You painted and decorated it yourself. I helped you make the hair and molded the crown, but the rest you did on your own. 

 Another day, we decorated ghosts to hang in your front yard. We invited our neighbor to come over and make ghosts as well. The big kids painted for about 15-20 minutes, got bored and moved on to something else, but Hailey, you stayed for an extra 10 minutes. You were very focused on decorating your ghost. Now you love to point out ghosts and pumpkins everywhere we go.

Since you love ghosts and pumpkins right now, I found these cool cling stickers at Target for you to play with. They are mostly....ghosts and pumpkins. 

 On Friday, we met up with another friend at the Thinkery. It was crowded, so we didn't stay long.

 It's really cool to see how much you've been just soaking up information. Your vocabulary is growing pretty amazingly and you are really picking up on the function of different things. You now know how to accessorize.

 So we are getting ready for Halloween and this year, our family theme is Pokemon. We have caught the Pokemon Go bug and are pretty much obsessed with this game.

I made Hailey's costume with a child's large uniform shirt. You love it a lot and sometimes refuse to take it off.

Tonight, we went with our friends to Boo at the Zoo. It was lots of fun as we zipped around to look at the animals before it got too dark. We were at the lions when a huge inflatable cow walked by. This worried the lions and made them very agitated. They pretty much tracked said cow until it left their sight. And then we witnessed the lions spraying the people watching them. It was crazy! We were lucky to be standing on the other side of the cage! 

So our costumes from left to right are as follows:
I am Misty
Hailey is Pikachu
Nathan is Ash
Daddy is Professor Oak
Hannah is May.
(when grandma and grandpa get here, they will round out the group as they join in as team rocket!)

 Here are a few fun shots that we got from the event.

Hannah has thrush, which is a fungal infection in the mouth. You are currently on medication, and it seems to be getting better. This is a pretty common infection in babies, but not in big kids. I've been researching to see what I can do better to keep all of this in check. Probiotics? More veggies? Who knows.

Well, that wraps up the past 2 or so weeks. Until next time!

Mommy

My Life with a 7, 5, and 2 Year Old!

Dear Kids,

This may be the longest I've gone without an update. Well, as you continue to read this post, you will quickly figure out why it's been such a crazy few weeks at the Havlir house. 

GYMNASTICS

On Thursdays we do gymnastics. Hailey, you LOVE going to "play" at gymnastics. Every time we pull up into the parking lot, you point and ask "play?" and when I say "yes" you basically squeal with joy. 

 

ACADEMY 4
Another thing that has been taking up a bulk of my time lately was preparing for the first Academy 4 day at Kocurek. Managing 90 volunteers and 70 students takes a lot of time (and paper). One day I clocked in 8 hours of work on top of my mom duties! But the stack of name tags below is a simple testament of what a impactful mentoring program this is.

Part of preparing for the program involves a lot of shopping. Hailey, you usually are my shopping buddy and you are getting pretty good at beeping our items at the self-check out line. 

 You all are so understanding when I tell you that I can't play because I have to work on Academy 4 stuff. Luckily the tough part is over and now we just have to keep things going throughout the year.

COSTUME MAKING
On Sept 15th, the whole family ran in CASA's superhero run. It was a super fun event. Daddy and I dressed up as villains and you all were adorable superheros.

 There were lots of kids activities and free food available for the racers. We could've easily spent 3-4 hours, but it got hot so we left after the race.

MATH PENTATHLON
Another new thing this year is Math Pentathlon for Nathan. Nathan, you love math and you love board games, so when I found out that Math Pentathlon was a thing last year, I tried to sign you up, but the team was full and we got put on a wait list. Come the start of the new school year I was pretty much told that if we wanted to have Math Pentathlon, I would have to coach. So I'm now coaching 1st grade Math Pentathlon.

It's actually a lot of fun and I really enjoy spending this extra time with Nathan. Also, this reminds me just how much I love working with students and the glimmer of light that sparkles in their eyes when they have an "aha" moment.

Some days get hectic with car rides, deliveries, and errands, so whenever we get a free moment in the morning, I make sure we stop by the playground so that Hailey, you can get some outside play time. You really enjoy playing in the gravel and can be pretty particular about who gets to share your toys.

 Hailey, you are pretty good at keeping yourself entertained if I have to do something else. As long as I'm close, you will happily play with something for a good 20-30 minutes before getting bored with it.

Your favorite is probably painting. I can pretty much calm any tantrum with a suggestion to paint.

You also love playdoh. Since we've been using the potty lots recently, you seem to be pretty excited about poopoo to the point that you will use an extruder to make poop and then run around the house, showing anyone and everyone what you made. This is actually so confusing for me because when I hear "poo poo" mom adrenaline automatically sky rockets as I instinctively run over to you to take you to the potty. This new "art form" of yours is really helping me calm down and not rush over to take you to the potty. You take the lead. 

One day, you decided to make a bow with these little thing-a-ma-jiggers. Almost got stuck in your hair. But then one time it kind of freaked you out when they actually got caught and I had to do some fine maneuvering to untangle the mess. You haven't played with them since. Hannah, you have also gotten some tangled in your dress, which are now almost impossible to remove without cutting. This is why we can't have nice things! 

 Eating also occupies a lot of your time, but only if you really like the food. (No brainer here!) I tried coconut yogurt with chia seeds as a snack (suggested by our amazing neighbor) and you scarfed it down like it was ice cream. On a side note, during meal times, if I am trying to get bites in you quicker, I will offer your bite to Teddy and you quickly will open your mouth.

ROLLER DERBY
You also like to think that you are helping. Sometimes I have to change my wheels out when I play/practice at different skating venues, so I usually have you help me for awhile before I get impatient and try to distract you with something else.

 You all have been pretty good for Daddy on the evenings that I have roller derby practice. One day we had a special sunday practice and because you kids and Daddy had to go to Chinese school, I would've had to miss the practice because there's no one to watch Hailey. Then, one of the travel team skaters offered to watch Hailey for free! This was amazing boost of encouragement because she believed in me enough to hang out with Hailey for 2 hours....or she thought I could use all the help I can get... haha. Hailey, I'm glad you are not shy and will pretty much play with anyone, as long as they don't take your stuff or eat your food.

POTTY TRAINING

 Hailey, from the moment we found out you were created, you threw what I knew of motherhood out the window. Morning sickness was crazy, you came past your due date, you didn't sleep through the night until almost 2, you look the least Asian out of the 3 kids, and you pretty much potty trained yourself.

I didn't quite know how to handle this because I am not ready for you to be potty trained. I even asked my friends if I should just ignore it when you tell me that you have to go "poo pah." All of them said, "No! Roll with it!" So, it's been about a week and she's only had 1 accident. We went all day without diapers for the past 2 days and you have been able to tell me when you need to go and hold it until we get to a potty.

We still diaper at night though.

TABLE TRAINING
We have finally trained you guys to help out by taking your dishes to the sink when you are finished with dinner, so now we are working on minimizing mealtime requests. One day, Hannah, you asked for some water. We told you to get it yourself and you announced that you need to sit and relax so you can't get it yourself.

This makes me laugh because just the day before, I announced that all meal time requests must be made before I sit down because I was not going to get up until after I finished my meal. #firstWorldproblems


CHURCH STUFF
So we have been trying to get a picture of our kids in their graduation shirts with their church friends since the start of school, which is almost 2 months ago. I decided to go ahead and take a picture of Hannah by herself because it may be Christmas when we take the picture.

 2 Weekends ago, I was able to sneak away for a 1 day women's retreat at Camp Tejas. The speaker was a potter, who shared her powerful testimony and it was still just as good the second time around (I had heard her speak previously).

So, I don't want to brag, but I did all sorts of fun stuff including zip lining, riding a giant swing and I led a macrame craft project. So prepping 8 strands of 4 meter length ropes x 35 took up a good chunk of my time.

I most enjoyed eating in peace and being able to sit down without any interruptions. I decided I deserved this luxury more and made the proclamation the next night at dinner.

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Nathan, you are continuing to take piano through ipiano. Every session, they have you pick a song to play for the recital. You came home with "let it be," by the Beatles. I played it on the piano and you quickly stated, wait a minute, that's not "Let it go? I picked it because I knew Hannah would like it."
Yeah, that was a super difficult song. You returned it and brought back "Happy Birthday" with chords.

Hannah, you are in tippi toes dance and you are learning the art of hip hop dancing. You love it and when I ask you to show me some moves, you always say, I'll just show you at the recital. Well, then, I guess I'll have to wait.

Last year pick up for after-school programs was nice since it was only Nathan. This year I pick up Hannah at 3, and it takes us 10-15 minutes to walk back home, we have a snack, decompress and then we have to head back out at 3:45 to go and pick up Nathan. *sigh* I will need to work this out better next year.

HOMEWORK
Nathan and Hannah, both of you don't have much homework from school other than reading, but we have about 10-15 minutes of Chinese homework each day, and Hannah, you and I are still working through reading lessons. While 15 minute sessions don't seem that bad, when you throw a post-nap toddler in the mix...afternoons can get a bit crazy (on top of prepping for dinner). Luckily we've worked out a system where I work with one kid while the other kid plays and if Hailey is extremely cranky, she'll get some screen time with the non-working kid and then we switch.

MARTIAL ARTS
We are continuing with Martial arts and this school year, we have lots of friends who are joining us. This makes sitting while you guys practice a bit nicer for me because I have friends to chat with.

On your birthday, Nathan, Sensei put you on his shoulders for you to hold the pork chop as the other kids ran by. 

BIRTHDAY x 2

Since Nathan and Hailey, you were born 5 years and 2 days apart, we had to be very careful how we celebrated your birthdays. Too much frosting never fared well with toddlers. So Nathan, your birthday was on Thursday. I made your favorite dinner and we sang a quick happy birthday as the candles slowly topped while the food melted the candles. Then we had ice cream for dessert.

On Saturday, we celebrated Hailey's birthday with a waffle and shrimp brunch. I made waffles from scratch and even made a candy baby shark to put on your waffle "cake." We invited your best friend and their family, along with your favorite neighbor a few doors down.

 As we were all singing to you, you didn't quite know how to react, so you had this little "I don't like all this attention" grimace on your face. (This picture doesn't capture it, but I have video footage that totally does)

In the afternoon, we celebrated Nathan's birthday with your classmates at National Elite Gymnastics. You all played hard for an hour and then ate dinner. We cleaned everything up and packed up to go home. Easiest party ever. I am pretty proud of the cupcakes that I made...they were a hit with your friends. You even thanked me for all the special touches; this warmed my heart and I'm so proud that you were thoughtful enough to think about all the work that goes into hosting a birthday party.

 We had about 24 kids at the party, so it was a hopping place! We are still opening all the presents  Pokemon cards that you received. I think we have figured out a pretty good system: You may only open up a new present after you have written a thank you note for the previous one. I'm actually pretty proud of your self control.

 There was even an after party at the playground. The weather is starting to get nice at dawn and dusk...still hot in between though.

 And I leave you with this final picture of the girls playing with Hannah's new present from the grandparents. You both spent 45 minutes outside "cleaning." Now, when I ask you to help me clean inside, Hannah, you dart away as fast as a minnow approaching a bass.

 Well, this totally took longer to write than I expected. Hopefully as things fall back to a normal routine, I will be able to return to bi-weekly updates.

Until next time,
Mommy