2 1/2...a wonderful age!

Siri Ann is now 2 1/2 and it has become very obvious to us in many ways that she is now, indeed 2 1/2.  While she is like her sister when she was 2 1/2 in many ways, Siri has her own spin on being 2 1/2 that keeps things exciting.  For example, she told me when it was time to be potty trained.  She took her own diaper off and led herself to the toilet and peed in the potty before I was ready to accept this challenge.  But being that she was so ready, there was no challenge involved!  Now that is the way to potty train if you ask me!

Being number 2 adds to the complexity of this 2 1/2 year old as she has learned much from her older sister and she is seen less by her parents.  Oh, and her personality just allows for certain things her older sister would have never tolerated, like messy things and physical risks.

All of that to explain why I found this when I woke up the other day:

Yes, that is marker.  Yes, she is very proud of herself. And yes, after pictures and a bath she sat, unwillingly for her timeout.  But did she learn her lesson?

                                       

I'm just not so sure.

Man-Made Music: May Edition

This is a song I posted a number of years ago, but I've just recorded it with some *more* legitimate sound equipment.  This one was particularly fun to record because I did it with my friends Jim (cello) and Mark. Because of the nature of the song, we had to do it live, so this is live from our living room (after the girls' bedtime, of course).  The backup vocals, however, were put in after the fact.  I hope you enjoy it!




It falls apart
and it would all go our way
if we'd have done that right, done that different,
but these are my old ways

Something's changed around here;
this old path to nowhere
cuts right down through here
splits us down through here

When the rain comes
It all goes right here
Don't wash on by
Won't you wash me?

It's dark out here, and they
say that hell is cold
well here's the hell in me
here's the hell that I control

So be ashamed of me afraid of me
oh never lose me
This path is broad my path is clear
it's full of lies but lies are marked and clear

When the rain comes
It all goes right here
Don't wash on by
Won't you wash me?

I say that I want peace
and I hate like this
Please hate me, but don't hate me
because I just want peace

When the rain comes
It all goes right here
Don't wash on by
Won't you wash me?

Bring on the Heat!

The rule of thumb here is, "don't put away 'winter' clothes until after tomb sweeping day."  Tomb sweeping day is about mid-april and sure enough, the heat is here to stay!  WOW!  I must say I'm better adjusted to this heat, having lived it once already, but I still don't like to sweat (unless I've actually put forth some kind of effort).  So, in "celebration" of this new season, we bought a little pool that we have placed on our balcony for those really hot days.  In other words, the girls have been swimming every day! :)

I'm not sure to whom these children belong!  Though those faces seem to look like some of the funny faces of someone else I know.... 

"Why no posts?" You ask.

There is an answer.  Well more of an excuse, really.  I haven't posted in over a month mostly because I have been sick for that long...well a little longer than that, in fact!  Yes, you guessed it!  I am expecting our THIRD baby!!  This baby is due to arrive about mid-october, and NO, we don't know the gender just yet!  I will let you know when we find out on MAY 9th! We are very excited to know our fate! :)  At 14 1/2 weeks along I already look probably closer to 20 weeks pregnant, but I suppose that's what happens when you've already had two.  Otherwise the course has been about par, with no hiccups, praise God!

It seems a common question is, "Does this pregnancy feel different than the others?"  I'm thinking this question is usually an attempt to try to determine without ultrasound whether or not I'm having a boy or a girl, and for those wondering, every pregnancy has been a little different given different circumstances.  So I can not say with certainty whether this one is drastically different.  I am in Taiwan and THAT is VERY different! ;) 

Another question:  "Will this baby be born in Taiwan?"  YES!  We will go "home" to America this summer (which will mostly be the second trimester for me, though entering into the early parts of the third) and then return for school end of July and have this baby mid-october! :)  So yes, the world will have one more product made in Taiwan!  :)

And yet another: "Do the girls know, and are they excited?"  YES and YES!  In fact, daily I seem to say things like, "I love my two kids!"  Or "I'm so happy I have two girls!"  Or something of the like and Ellie reminds me, "THREE, mom!"  Oh yes, now I have three kids, I guess.  And in addition to praying for a healthy baby, Ellie has been praying for a baby boy since before I ever got pregnant, and she is convinced that God answered her prayer.  Siri usually just points to my belly and says, "You have a baby in your belly."  Yes, she is now speaking in full sentences AND is potty trained, by the way (SHE insisted, not I! And when she started taking her own diaper off, getting her kid-stool and putting herself on the potty, we decided it was probably time! Haha!  Needless to say, this has been an easy transition as she was more than ready!).

And so that is our big news, and the reason...well...excuse...for the silence.

Speaking of the girls, here are some recent pics!  :)

Our model

I'm attempting this post from my phone so I'm sure these already not-so-great-quality photos will be of even poorer quality but you at least you will get the idea anyway!

Being blonde-haired and blue-eyed makes you beautiful here in Taiwan. That's just that! So when a clothing company heard about our blonde baby 88cm tall, they just had to have her model for their new catalog. So Siri and I drove out with another mom and her son, who has been their model for some time now, and did an hour and a half photo shoot. Siri loved it! I wasn't sure how she would take to the make-up, hair-do, bows and 7 outfits but she really enjoyed all the attention (and candy) she received. I took a few pictures on my phone but we will get a copy of the catalog when it comes out in a few months which will, I think, be totally worth it! Oh and she got paid for doing it! (The money is going toward her diaper fees.)