Cashew loves BIG slides

This is what you do when you have kids - pretend that you're going out for them - but really, you have just as much fun too :) Look how relaxed she is going down - she loves the speed. When I went down my heart skipped a beat - it felt fast to me...

At the farm day - Cashew rode around the park on this tractor train ride just for kids. It actually goes really fast and was much more fun than the adult tractor ride. Ready ... set ... go !!

Took a walk down the scarecrow sidewalk with Daddy. If I tilt like this do I look like one of the scarecrow?

Like my costume?
The Cheesiest Elephant around! We went to Fallapalooza - tons of inflatables, games etc. Unfortunately, this little elephant wasn't feeling well and barely ventured into any of the activities. She did manage to find her way to Tigger and Miniseed's house though...and came home with quarters! Ha ha ha.

Welcome babes!

" Is it my birthday or something? Grandma got me a new bike. Hopefully we have some good weather still so I can get a little practice...I need to grow a little more to get it working. "

Welcome Wasabi!
"When I visit A-ma and A-gong's house, I often help A-gong out with his work."

No, we weren't neglectful parents. Nor did Cashew did have a major fall. The red stuff on her face and arms that looks like blood is actually a result of giving her free reign with stamps and a red stamp pad.

"Hmm, strange, this shark isn't moving very fast. What's up with that?"

Finally we made it to the sculpture park this summer.

"Just took a few moments to ponder my future, my dreams, my hopes..."

Kinda freaky looking huh?

Cashew has been going back memory lane by using Mei-Mei's toys. Guess it doesn't bother her that her legs get all squished up.

Mei-Mei doesn't seem to mind but she did sneak a few moments in Cashew's arm chair. She seems to be enjoying it.

Back to see Cousin S's new brother, Cousin M. (will have to add the pic later-issues uploading)

Thought this would be neat to share. Who knew barbies could be so Taiwanese and fashionable :) There were hundreds at the Cultural Festival dressed up to show the clothing styles through the centuries.

Working on the weekend

On Saturday, I had to work so I thought it'd be a great opportunity for the family to see the shelters. Cashew was anticipating going to 'Momma's work' which she hears about every day when I leave for work in the morning. So, it was nice for her to associate a place with what we've been telling her about. Of course, Golddustgirl was there too and she snuck in a kiss for Mei-Mei.

After church, we went to the grand opening for the hospital - we explained to Cashew that we were going to 'Baba's work' - so she got to see what we both do. They had a really friendly tour for the kids - here is Cashew at the teddybear station where she had to check the bear's heart - there were other stations to weigh him, take his temperature and get him a bandaid.

Next, Cashew had to perform a Candyoscopy. One instrument is the tool to grab the candy and the other is the scope.Bonus! Cashew got fitted for a bike helmet! Oh and as you can see, she also visited the face painting station where she painted her face herself. We had to hold her back from painting too much as she was really getting into it.

Poor Mei-Mei - with all this going out, she didn't get in her naps. Last night, she uncharacterically had a hard time sleeping. She woke up multiple times and each time that we tried to put her back in bed, she'd cry. So, we took turns holding her last night. Hopefully tonight will be a better night. I think she might be teething?

"Smile Mommy! I take a picture of you."

Mei-Mei is 5.5 months now - she's growing up! I hear she looks like me...

A rare family photo - this might be the only one since Mei-Mei was born? Thanks Sushi family for a fun weekend last week - BC Lions game, sushi lunch, Dragonball etc.

Look carefully - it's a bench made from hockey sticks!

Come and play...

"Here's a chair I got - needs some paint but it's just the right size for me or my friends that visit."
" Welcome to my picnic area - on your left you'll see our cheese stand..."
" If those other things didn't interest you, I'll bet you'll want to come over and ride my new horse!"

"Come on over - Mei mei and I are waiting for you."
"Elmo will tell you some jokes that will make you giggle. I'm thinking about entering him on Last Comic Standing. What do you think?"

The big 4

"I had four shots today...again. Now I'm the big 4 months. It was painful initially. But the two silver bandaids helped make it better."

"This is what I did after my shots...and after downing some tylenol. Have you tried sleeping with your arms above your head like this? It's soothing."

Spidey has been MIA these past two weekends...away on the weekends gallavanting by plane. First, it was Chicago and now Calgary. He's sure been enjoying the time sans kids.

"Take a picture of me."

Our weekend

We ventured out to the arts fair this weekend. They had lots of activities for the kids which was nice - bubbles, face painting, arts and crafts etc.



We all went to Momma Cashew's staff picnic where Mei-Mei made her debut. Mei-Mei was a little spooked by the loud music and announcers. Do you notice that her face is lighter now? On Sunday morning her skin tone had lightened up! However, her body is still pretty dark. She's like a whole new person!

Crib, no more

So, after Cashew jumped out of her crib for the 5th time, we decided it was time to get the crib out of her room. We're not sure how she did it or how much it hurt her to jump. But, the loud boom was enough motivation. Spidey took the crib apart and then we moved a futon we had into Maddie's room. So, the little queen is sleeping on a double futon - she surely has a lot of room to sleep now. We were afraid she would want to always get out of bed and out of her room. But, she's actually been pretty good. When we first set it up, she was really excited to sleep in the 'new bed'. It was fun seeing her so excited. I must admit though, it was strange having her walk into our room in the morning for the first time. After having to go get her out of her crib for over 2 years, it was weird that she could just open the door and come in. The timing actually works out well though since Mei-Mei has been kicking the sides of her basinette lately. I'm sure she'll welcome the crib that Cashew so willingly gave up. Now we just have to figure out where to put it.

Mei-Mei has been a really good girl. She sleeps pretty well and eats well too. For the last month I haven't been feeding her in the middle of the night. Sometimes she wakes up and I just hold her to get her back to sleep. I've omitted the late night feeding sometimes too and she's okay without it. So, we're on a four hour schedule which is much more manageable. She's smiling, cooing and getting pretty good at holding her head steady. She's done a good job at rubbing the hair off the back of her head too - she loves to turn her head from side to side. The last couple days, we noticed that she had these circular spots on her back. Spidey took her to see the doctor and it seems as though she as eczema - so, I'm not allowed to eat shrimp, eggs or peanuts until we figure out what's causing it and her dry spots disappear. Hopefully she's not experiencing too much discomfort and she'll get better soon.

Jumping Out

After my second day of work, we noticed a change in Cashew. When Spidey was putting her down to bed that night, she just wouldn't cooperate. It took over 2 hours for her to go down to bed - normally she sleeps around 7:30-8:30 (this is very loose now) - but she didn't sleep until 10pm! Spidey tried multiple times to leave the room but she would just cry - one time when he went back, he found her lying across the rail! He spoke to her and then put her back down in the bed. A short while later, we heard a BOOM! Yup, she jumped out of the crib. It's a long way down for a little one. I can't believe it doesn't scare her to do it. Then she was crying cause it hurt. On Saturday morning, we heard her crying a little (which she does in the mornings as our wakeup call) but this time it was different...it was getting closer and louder. She was walking to our room! She had jumped out of her crib again. Then, just now as I was writing this, I heard BOOM! Yup, she did it again. I'm surpised by her daring nature. It's dark so she can't see where she's jumping to plus, she's done it before so she knows it hurts. I asked her why she jumped, she said 'see baba' then I told her not to jump because it hurts and she said 'only Spiderman jumps'.

Lessons learned:
1. no more Spiderman
2. time to get a bed closer to ground level
3. Cashew is a daredevil

Sisters...

share everything...including the special yellow armchair. It was a sad day on Wednesday...while I went back to work for the first day after my leave, the kids were off having fun.

Good for you Sushi - for overcoming your fear of slides! These were bigger than any of those in the playgrounds. You go girl! Thanks for visiting and playing! Hopefully next time Uncle Pushi can join in too.

It was a good thing I only worked 3 days - I was pooped! It's going to take some getting used to driving and working again. Hopefully Mei-Mei will cooperate by sleeping through the night consistently. It's odd not seeing the kids as much though after seeing them all the time. But, it is a nice break too. With two kids - gee, we thought life was busy when Cashew came - even with Grandma here things still feel super busy. How do those moms with 3+ kids do it? They're amazing! I believe the age spacing between kids is one of the keys.