I Can Never Choose

I can never choose which pictures I like the best, so I am just going to post all of my favorites. I get a little DB time every evening after AB goes to sleep. That is when I get to take cute pictures like the one below.

I call this one his tough guy pic.

This is his smoldering hearbreaker look.

This is his polished "politician-style" grin.


The kiddos and mommy.

What was I saying last week about AB refusing to ham it up for the camera?

Little Traveler

DB is a breast fed baby. Therefore where he goes I go, and where I go he goes. We are always together and I like it that way. Knowing that in a few months he will no longer let me hold him and cuddle with him is enough to help me savor each and every moment I get with him. He is my happy little boy who loves to smile and giggle for me. He still sleeps a lot, so he takes a lot of naps while on the go. Below is how he usually looks or some other variation of this. Since it is getting warmer I a letting him hang out of the sling a bit so he cool off. I know he has to be so hot in there.

Metting Room

Mischief

AB is now in a "big girl" bed. She has only fallen off of it once (ironically the evening we took away the pillows on the floor by her bed to soften a fall), and she acts as if she has always had a bed like this - like it is not something new. Someday I will post a picture of it, but if you are really interested in what bed she is sleeping in, it is a white Ikea daybed from the Hemnes line.


Anyways, as we predicted the major issue with having a big girl bed is the freedom to get in and out of her bed. Usually she gets herself in trouble playing with her toys or trying to read to herself out loud in the dark, but on Thursday she got herself in a different kind of mess. AB has a bit of a problem with Eczema. We are not sure what the cause of her eczema is, but it is only an issue in this country and not in the US. When it flares up we put a very thin layer of hydracortisone cream on her flare-up spots for a couple times a day for 2 weeks. Thursday afternoon I put some on her and then put the tube in the drawer of her dresser where I have always put things like that - you know, because she has never been able to reach them. Guess who can reach into the drawer now?

This girl.

I was not home when this happened. It was actually on KB's watch, but it could have happened to either of us. He said he put the cream on her face and chest, painstakingly put any extra cream he had back in the tube (it is from the US, and no one here wastes precious things brought from the US), put it back into the drawer and tucked AB into bed. He said he heard her about 3 or 4 minutes later messing around in her room and opened the door to find her face covered in it. She apparently speared it on the chair too. We thought it was funny that KB worked so hard to save like 1/8 a teaspoon of the cream when AB cleared out more than half of a brand new tube of cream.


We think KB got to her before it could really absorb into her skin. I heard it takes 17 minutes for medicine administered in a cream form to fully absorb through skin, but I have never checked to see if that is accurate. Also, as far as we know she did not eat any, but we cannot be certain of it.

This bath is not a result the cream experience. I just wanted to post this pic with a big thanks to Amy and her family for giving AB a few of their bath beads. She got a kick out bathing in pink water. By the way, does anyone have any tricks for getting their kids to smile for the camera? This is AB's smile face. She has a family member, who will remain nameless, who makes a similar face when appropriate to smile for the camera. Is weird stuff like this genetic?

Bangkok Chicken Wing

Cute Faces and a Little Poo

Guess who found their camera? We did! Last night after texting with one of my friends regarding my missing camera situation, it occurred to me, there was one place I was not absolutely certain I had checked twice for my camera - the black trunk. We have 5 black trunks we used when we initially moved here about 3 1/2 years ago. One of them holds a bunch of stuff like our medical records and other such important documents. It occurred to me that I had not needed to get into that trunk since we moved and perhaps that was where our camera was hiding. Unfortunately there were about 50lbs of KB's clothes on top of it, but that did not stop me from getting into it. Sure enough, right there on top was our camera! Happy Day! I was on the verge of ordering one online and having it shipped to me because who cares about ridiculous customs fees when you are missing precious pictures of your young children. But, I do not have to think about that any longer because I have my camera!

Below is a little video I took of DB. I thought it was cute because he was doing this funny thing with his lips. However what you cannot see in the video is that he is not wearing a diaper. I like to let him air out between changes, so at that moment he was going commando - his favorite. At the end of the video you will hear a tooting sound, DB will look up at me, and I will say "no!" It is up to you to guess what all happened after I turned off the camera, but I will say just like he does about 5 other times during the day, he got me.

Do Not Throw Cigarette

Been Up To

Our life here is settling down. Although we are not extremely organized and in our bedroom we still have more clothes sitting on top of the dresser than inside of it, we are more unpacked than packed now. Actually we just have one more box to unpack. Now we are trying to go through all the cabinets and drawers that we shoved things into and organize them or contemplate moving them to another spot. It is a slow tedious process, but thankfully most days when I run out of time I can just shut the drawer or cabinet and not have to look at it again until I have a moment to address it again.

On Sunday our basement storage room flooded with some nasty muddy water. KB spent about 4 hours cleaning it out and now we have our 10 suitcases spread out trying to dry. That was annoying but we are just thankful our neighbors were kind enough to tell us about it (the entire basement flooded) - otherwise our things would have certainly been ruined and not just dirty.

KB was sweet and got me flowers for mother's day. I am only saying this because I think it is really funny and not to put him down, but he just happened to get me the one flower I am allergic to. I am allergic to lilies and I have told him this before. Whenever I remind him that I am allergic to them, he says he remembered there was something special about lilies and me. He assumed it was because they were my favorite flower, not that I was allergic to them. After a couple days their potency wore off and I stopped having to take Advil for the headaches they cause. It sounds like the time my dad cut down a cedar tree to use as a Christmas tree when my parents were newlyweds. Little did he (or she) know, my mom was like deathly allergic to cedar trees. I think she thought she had the flu for the entire Christmas season. It is the thought that counts, right?

We will be starting language classes soon. I am glad about that because it will give us a schedule to stick to and plan around. I like the structure of it. Also, SUPER YEA!, we now have a house helper. There is a lot of training that must go on with a new house helper, but it is already totally worth it. I was able to read to AB today rather than spend the 3 hours she spent making tortillas. I was able to work on my expense report today rather than wash dishes for an hour and so on. It is nice and totally necessary (according to me) when living overseas. However I do not ask her to wash my kid's diapers. There are things that no one outside of family should be asked to do, and specifically AB's poo diapers fall in that category.

Speaking of diapers, the cloth diapers are going well. I am loving not spending more than $120 a month on disposable diapers now. AB wears a diaper when she naps and when she sleeps. The rest of the day she is wearing panties. However, she holds her poo for those two times of the day we put a diaper on her. I won't lie. It is really really really nasty. If DB is still in diapers when we get pregnant again (God willing of course), KB will have to do the washing of the pooie diapers because I will most certainly vomit. It is horrible. The smell is awful and then seeing it so up close is just too much for me. I do not like it. But, DB's diapers are just breast milk diapers and pretty easy to clean. We are just counting the days until AB finally decides the toilet is the best place to poo.

SWEET CHEEKS!!!

Hong Kong Fish Ball flavored Pringles

No Smoking & Fire

I guess one could lead to the other.

Good Effort

The other day when we were leaving to go see some friends, AB insisted on putting her shoes on by herself. Neither KB or myself realized there were a couple issues with her shoe job until we got into the taxi. It made sense why she was walking so funny.

Seeing this picture makes me realize she has her daddy's feet but a very cute non-hairy version of her daddy's feet. Those are not my toes.

Egg Hunting

On Good Friday our little group of friends held an Easter Egg Hunt. This was AB's first time to do an Egg Hunt. Our friends were so sweet to let the younger kids have a private little hunt then let the big kids loose to find the more creatively hidden eggs. AB enjoyed finding the treats hidden inside the plastic eggs, but she really enjoyed her egg cookie (Mommy enjoyed her cookie too).

This is how DB and I spent the afternoon.

Can't forget daddy.

DB Video

It worked ("It" being our internet was finally fast enough)! I finally uploaded a video!

Indonesia Satay flavor Pringles

DB Several Weeks Ago

The Toby Delima - The Conclusion

Toby and the Brown family have separated. He is now living with one of KB's friends back in our old hometown. It came down to me, I think. I began to resent that little creature every time I walked into our newspaper, pee and poo covered bathroom. There is actually an area for dogs to use the bathroom on the roof of our apartment, but apparently it has not been cleaned in like a month or there are a lot of dogs in this building. Toby needed to have his feet washed every time we took him outside, and with his long fur that got really old for him and us. Our friend is KB's best local friend. He is single and what could help him meet the girl of his dreams but a fluffy little white dog? KB's friend, Roger, has enjoyed having Toby and said he considers it temporary, that whenever we want him back, we can have him back. He said he will keep Toby for months or years, whatever is best for our family. What a guy!

We have enjoyed hearing stories of Roger and Toby. So far Toby has fallen into a river, into a manhole, and has been partially covered in honey. KB visited him when he was in town earlier this week and said Toby looked filthy and would probably need shaved. I do not know why I find that so funny but I do.

For the Grandparents

I owe a huge thanks to my friend Becky who is letting me borrow her camera. It was just painful to let these days of absolute cuteness pass by without taking any pictures of my kids. My littlest heart breaker is filling out and has developed those awesome cheeks his older sister also had and inherited from me. Also, he can old up his head completely on his own now. My little redhead is looking more and more like a little girl and less like a toddler everyday. Both of you, slow down! Stop growing up!

Incidentally I finally chose yesterday to be the first day for DB to use cloth diapers. Cotton Babies gave us a full supply of diapers, and I have been waiting until 1. his tiny hinie was big enough for them, 2. I could locate all of them, and 3. my washing situation was firmly established and routine. I have learned that not one bit of those handy liners should be sticking out of the diaper cover because it will make whatever it touches wet. Also, I should wash the poopie diapers and liners in a not so full washer because otherwise there may be some poppie bits caught in the bunched up elastic areas. Lastly, I should double up on liners at night. I have chosen to use cloth because AB was allergic to something in Asian diapers (but not to US diapers) and had an almost constant diaper rash. The local doctor said even the foreign diaper companies put junk in the diapers that should not be in them. They are not regulated here like they are in the US.

Also incidentally, yesterday was my birthday and I have come to terms that I am now 30. I have never adjusted to change very quickly, especially change that I have not sanctioned - like getting older. Also it does not help that I truly do not feel any different than I did in college; I do not feel older or even more mature (that's scary), I feel 23. It was a good age for me, but I am not 23. I am 30. Anyways, I had moments of self pity that were quickly followed by self-loathing for being so self-centered and short sighted. Ultimately I came to the point of gratitude. I am grateful for the years I have been given and can only hope that I next 30 years are as wonderful as I have experienced so far. I have accomplished everything I hoped to accomplish by the time I am 30, so now it is time to set new goals. Hello 30's. I will enjoy you to the best of my abilities because I would rather by in my 3o's than in my 40's.

Random Pics

Our camera is still M.I.A. but these are from before the move, that is the move to where we live now, not the move back overseas.

Because DB has a problem with reflux, we have found he prefers sleeping in his bouncer. It keeps him up somewhat upright and helps keep that nasty acid down. It is also convenient for us because a bouncer is much smaller than a pack and play. However, now that he wiggles a lot, it is not such a good idea to forgo strapping him in. In my very weak defense, I did not strap him in because sometimes he fell a sleep in my arms and strapping him in woke him up...that still makes me sound bad, but sometimes new moms will do almost anything to keep their baby sleeping peacefully, even risk their saftey - what was I thinking?

The other thing that helps DB sleep is his medication. I love his medication. He probably does too.

We arrived back in country on a Wednesday. Friday morning KB boarded a train to go to the capital of our province and file some paperwork. Come to find out there was another piece of paper he needed to file first in the town we were living in at that time, but fortunately he had other matters to take care of keeping it from being a wasted trip. AB, DB and I got to spend a couple of days alone working through our jet-lag. We only ventured out once to go register with the local government. Basically we stayed in our PJ's almost the entire day and laid around.

Every other picture I took of DB that day was blurry, but this one picture is extremely clear. You may not be able to see it on the blog, but on my computer I can even see the dried milk on his face. He should be so embarrassed.

Like I said, a lot of laying around...and attempts at potty training.

Settling In

This is a long one and it does not include pictures. Did you know we were moving to a new city? Did you know that we have already moved? A little less than 2 weeks ago we moved to a new city. It was a good move for many reasons. Here are two of our favorites - Papa John's and Starbucks! Actually our favorite reasons for moving have nothing to do with delicious chicken barbeque pizza or non-fat decaf lattes, we have friends! I have several females I can talk to, AB has girls she can play with, and DB is soon to have 4 boys he can call his friends all under the age of 2! This city is also conveniently located along a speed train route to the capital of the country making it so that we can be in the capital in 3-4 hours, no need to fly! There are more foreign amenities like avocados, whipping cream (to make sour cream with), and even cake mixes. Also, with having several new girlfriends, I now can even get some good recipes that they have perfected over the years - there are ways to make food in the US and ways to make the same type of food here. Not the same.

Our new apartment is small but cute. It is actually two stories, but it is quite narrow and not deep. On the first floor we have a bathroom (that usually does not smell, yea!), a little living area that is wide enough for 1 three person sofa, a narrow dining area, the kitchen and our bedroom. Upstairs is a bathroom, dressing area, and the two kid's rooms. We feel the lack of space the most on the first floor. Our kitchen is what I call a 1/2 butt kitchen. It is quite narrow, but thanks to Ikea's specialization in small spaces, we have found some nifty things to help maximize the space. Our round table is too big for our dining area, especially since our double wide refrigerator is also in our dining area - classy I know. In our bedroom we have to walk sideways to get around our bed because our two dressers take up too much space in our bedroom.

DB's room is very small, it is like a little nook. The wall paper is pink with flowers and butterflies, yep. His wallpaper will be the first to go once our landlord says we can take it down. AB's room is a decent sized room covered in pale yellow wallpaper that has clovers and dandelions on it.

Our favorite thing about our apartment is our bathtub. Since our apartment is tiny it makes sense that our bathtub is tiny, like 1/2 size. It is cute, and its size has not hindered me from taking a bath every single night (except for when it was clogged and drained into the floor...which has happend 3 times so far). I just have to be creative in how I lay down to wash my hair since it is not even long enough for me to straighten my legs out.

We have nice dark wood floors, better overhead lighting than in our old apartment, and it just seems this landlord has better taste overall. To create the illusion of more space he installed several mirrors throughout the apartment. In our old place we were mirror poor and here we are mirror rich!

The move itself was not so fun. I did not realize how time consuming it is to move one's entire home. Every time I have ever moved, I basically just moved my clothes. When I went to college I moved my clothes. When I moved graduate school I moved my clothes and bedding. When I moved here we sold everything and moved with our 9 suitcases. I have never experienced boxing everything up and moving. I did not realize it could potentially take a month to get settled in. Thankfully some of our friends here have helped us have realistic expectations for ourselves, because I was getting discouraged that it was taking so long.

We have spent the last few days putting together furniture from Ikea. A couple of our new friends were in the captial last week (on their way to see their now legally adopted boys in Ethoipia) where they and our credit card made a big shopping trip for us at Ikea for us. AB now has pretty white day bed and a matching dresser. DB is getting all of her old furniture. It is in bad shape so we figure he can finish the job she started and then we can get him new stuff after it fully cracks into 2 pieces.

I have a lot more to say, but it is just going to get long and boring since I do not have any pictures to post. Somone (not me) packed our camera in a box and did not put it on our inventory list where it was packed. Why it was packed in a box in the first place and not put in the baby bag can only be attributed to the frenzy that was the morning of our move, but regardless I want my camera. DB is smiling like crazy and I have not gotten a single shot of it!

The Tragic Ear Piercing

The Wednesday before we flew back overseas we had AB's ear pierced. I had been planning all along to get them done while in the US, but truthfully I have been putting it off primarily because I couldn't bear to purposefully inflict pain on her purely for the sake of vanity. But alas, for her at least, vanity prevailed and I could not put it off any longer.

I myself had just turned 2 when my ears were pierced. However from what I understand my mom's motivation in getting my ears pierced was to stop people from thinking I was a boy. Apparently I looked so much like my dad that even pink clothes could not convince people that I was a she. I wanted to get AB's ears pierced when she is young because the holes are a lot less likely to close later on when she is supposed to be responsible for herself and forgets to put in earrings for months at at time. Also, I do not want her to get a crazy earlobe infection, therefore she must have them done in the US and not where we live right now.

So, my mom, DB, AB and myself took off the the mall late that Wednesday evening. AB had no idea what was coming, not that I did not tell her she was going to get her ears pierced, she just did not know it was going to involve pain. I was told to go when there would be two technicians available to do the piercings. I figured during the week there would be a greater chance of two workers at night, you know, since during the day at at least half of all adults are at work and get their shopping in a night. My reasoning was off because we arrived about 30 minutes after the second technician left for the day. Oops. Sorry AB. It physically hurt you more than it physically hurts me, but I was totally with you emotionally.

AB was excited to get to sit in the tall chair...the piercing chair. She watched with curiosity as the ear piercing technician (is that what they are called?) prepped everything to pierce AB's perfect, unmained ear lobes.

She cleaned AB's ears, marked them with a purple dot, then... WHAMO!!!! AB got her first earring.

Clearly it hurt. While she was dealing with the pain... WHAM-O!!! She was slammed with one in the other ear! Poor AB. Beauty is pain.

After getting both ears pierced the technician needed to clean AB's ears. However, fool AB once, shame on you. Fool AB twice, shame on mommy. Fool AB three times, shame on AB! AB had learned her lesson and she was not about to let the technician touch her again. She used every evasion technique she had acquired in her 2 years of life, but alas Gigi (my mom) was stronger and the technician was quicker.

Do I detect a faint smile? Perhaps you like what you see?

Maybe one day she will thank me for it.

This is how DB spent the whole ordeal, and his facial expression sums what what he is probably thinking, and I think it might be a little cocky. He is thinking "Stinks to be you AB. At least I know mom is not going to damage me when I am 2 years old." That is okay DB. Be a little cocky. Apparently you have forgotten that little procedure that happened to you the day after you were born, ya know? I think AB might have gotten the better deal compared to what happened to you little guy. AB's pain was short lived, but even today AB is convinced her ears still hurt every single time I put the antiseptic on her earlobes. What a drama queen.

Toby Dilemma

Guess who finally came home on Thursday? Toby the family dog. Guess who was ready to send him back to where he came from Thursday night? Me.

We got Toby about 4 1/2 months after we arrived overseas and 1 1/2 months before we were surprised with being pregnant with AB. He was my baby for 10 1/2 months. I bathed him probably more than he needed. I brushed him just like the Bischon books said to. He took naps with me on our bed. We played with him all the time. I carried him around like he was my baby (remember I was pregnant and needed a baby fix). It did not bother me to clean up his pee and poo, and I had the time to disinfect the area where he used the bathroom (he was paper trained). Then we had AB.

We were in Thailand for 2 1/2 months when AB was born. We paid a girl to live in our apartment and take care of Toby. She took care of him to the best of her abilities, but we came home to a dog who had lost all of his manners. It took months to get him to stop barking so much, but an even wost offence was his angry peeing. Like a cat he peed on our bed when he got into trouble. After he lost bed privileges, he then he took to peeing in other undesignated places. After several months we broke him of that bad habit too. However over time an angry little dog emerged. We did not beat our dog, so we are confused why he had began to react in extreme self defence when he got into trouble.

Now when Toby gets into trouble we send him to his home. When we go to close the door on his cage Toby growls and snarls at us like he is going to take our hand off. He has never snapped at us, and I honestly do not think he will bite us...but what if he does and what if it is one of the kids?

Since Toby came home he has spent the majority of his time in his cage, in the bathroom. His barking wakes up the kids so we cannot let him roam throughout the house while they sleep, but when they are awake we are afraid of him around them. Also, the other day he peed on DB's activity gym/lay and play. What if DB was there, would he have peed on him?

We are in the midst of trying to potty train AB. Her brief spell of holding her pee until we put a diaper on her unfortunately ended as soon as I wrote about it on this blog, and now she pees whenever she needs too, no matter what where she is. I feel like I am constantly cleaning up pee, her pee and Toby's pee. Cleaning up her pee has purpose since ultimately she will be potty trained, but what about his pee? He is older than her and has had known where to go for years!

I feel like we have failed Toby. I do not know what we did to make him so defensive. I do not know why he refuses to pee where he is supposed to. I do not know why he continues to bark even with that darn bark collar on. I read that Bischons are very intelligent but also stubborn. I need to find a dumb dog, one that will just do whatever we tell it to do. Actually I do not want a dog at all now. I spend the day cleaning up after and taking care of two kids. I do not want to have to take care of a dog now.

What do we do? KB has a friend who said he will take him. AB was so excited to have him back. I feel awful taking him away again. I feel like such a failure!

Few Pics from the US

We attended a family fun night at our church. They played the movie "Up" and served goodies for the kids. I think AB liked the movie, but I am certain she enjoyed the treats even more.

My little motor mouth is talking away while she and her friend Madeline enjoy the movie.

It was my plan all along to get some new jeans before we left the US. Of couse I could not try anything on before DB was born, so while he was just a few weeks old he began to take trips with me while I tried to find jeans. I just tried to make him comfortable, and he seemed to like shopping with me everywhere we went, except for Old Navy. I do not know why, but he cried everytime we went there. Below is a picture of him napping at the Gap.
DB is just a newbie here. He still is a bit yellow from his jaundice. These are his two girl cousins. Paige is 4 and Presley is about 8 months old.

I like DB's expression in this one.

This Post Is All About...

This girl.

New mommies tend to focus almost entirely on the new baby. This comes primarily out of necessity but I do not want to neglect my daughter and therefore want to take a few moments and talk about AB.

My first born is well into being a 2 year old. She is slowly falling into the category of "strong willed child." Can you blame her? She got it from both sides. Our biggest adventure with her right now is potty training. We took a hiatus when DB was born and are now back in full swing of things. She is sooooo close, but she refuses to use the potty. One of the benifits of living in an apartment that is entirely tiled is easy clean-up, so we have been letting her run around without a diaper. However, we have not had a single accident, not one, but that does not mean she is using the potty. She is holding it for when we put a diaper on her to take a nap and for when she goes to bed. We know she needs to pee. She knows she needs to pee. In fact she asks us to put a diaper on her because she needs to pee, but alas, she is bound and determined to hold it until we put a diaper on her. Even bribes of chocolate and watching Dora cannot coax her into using the potty. Obviously she is now capable of being entirely potty trained, but she refuses to do it.

I am amazed and a bit scared at how observant she is now. The other day DB pooed in his diaper, and at his age it sounds like a rocket going off in his pants and is hard to miss. I was out of the room when this happened and AB was playing with him. I came back into the room and AB said, "Baby DB (substitute in here your own version of poppie sound)." I had never heard her mimick even an animal sound she heard first hand, and this was her first choice of sounds to mimick. Priceless.

She learned to pick her nose a few weeks ago and then she learned to stick her finger in her mouth afterwards. I am horrified.

Her favorite food is cheese pizza and anything sweet. She refuses to eat almost all veggies except for fried potatoes, aka, French Fries.

AB is very concerned that we get everything done concerning her bedtime routine. While we are giving her a bath she is asking for her allergy medication. While giving her the allergy medication she is asking for her teeth to be brushed. While her teeth are being brushed she is asking to have her ears cleaned...and so on. She will not let us forget a step.

She calles all cake like things (including but not limited to pies, brownies, cupcakes, and fruit pizzas) "happy cakes." Ever since her birthday that has been her choice name for deserts, and it makes sense to me. They make me happy too.

She calls Christmas trees - "Baby Jesus Tree" which seems more appropriate if you think about it.

There is one other AB-isim that is super cute, but I cannot remember it at the moment. Mom, can you?

Once she had a hole in her footie pajamas that her bit toe stuck out of. Hoping she would not notice we put them on her anyways. After putting her down for the evening we heard her yell from her room "toe!" She continued to yell "toe" until it turned into a pitiful cry of "toe." We eventually realized she was so unnerved by her toe sticking out of her PJs that she was absolutely not going to go to sleep unless we changed her PJs.

AB loves to help. It is hard for a mulitasker like myself to step back and allow her to "help" sometimes. Her sweeping tends to spread the dirt more than piling it up, and when she stirs the brownie batter it often turns into a big mess. However, I want her to be involved as much as she would like to be, and I hope she will remember the moments we spent doing things together and cherish them.

My little girl is a skinny little thing. She is in between 18 month clothes and 24 month clothes. They need to make an 18 month in long, because they clearly are not making kids clothes to fit my kid.

AB is a little mommy. She loves to pretend she is putting her baby doll to bed. Once we get settled in to our new apartment I plan to get her a little baby bed from Ikea.

When I nurse DB she often points to my...um breast (it is once again akward to write about my own body parts on our blog), and says "ouchie boobie." Yes AB, it is most definately an ouchie boobie.

AB is quite handy these days. She brings me my phone when it rings. She can get me a tissue. She turns off the vibrator on DB's bouncer, and she managed to drain the entire baby bathtub in our dining room floor - I was bathing DB in the dining room floor because our bathroom is a cold as it is outside.

I think she is hilarious. She makes crazy facial expressions and she does the funniest things. Once when in Old Navy she saw some shoes. Since she was riding in the cart she reached down, pulled off her shoes, threw them both over her shoulder, yanked off her sockes, looked at me and said "shoes?"

AB also melts my hearts when she randomly looks at me and tells me she loves me in both English and our Asian language.

Her favorite song is "The Wheels on the Bus," but she also likes "Jesus Loves Me," "Deep in the Heart of Texas," and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." Everytime she sees a bus, AB insists we sing the song while doing the motions of course.

Right now AB is working on learning her colors. She astounded me the other day when I handed her a brown crayon. I said "this crayon is brown." Then she said "Avie Brown" (she cannot say her real name yet, just her nickname). Who taught her that? Also when we were in the Hong Kong airport she saw the sign for baby changing area and she said, "change diaper" while pointing at the sign. KB and I were stunned.

Anyways, this is our girl. She is so fun. We love her and are alwasy proud of her.