OBaby's First Christmas Program - Really Bad Video

You can just sort of see the top of O's head (she has a bow in her hair) on the far right, second row. But if you listen to the end, you'll hear Ying-a-Bing demanding her Jie Jie!

OBaby's First Christmas Program

Last Weekend at Wal-mart . . .

they were taking free pictures with Santa. Obviously not the best photographers or the best background (notice the fold line!), but hey, the kids are cute.

Breakfast with Santa

The girls had breakfast with Santa on Saturday. Since only 8 kids were there this year, they got to spend a lot of quality time with Santa. (Poor Santa!) Here are a few highlights from the morning.

Happy Holidays!

All I Want for Christmas . . .

. . . is my two front teeth! That's what OBaby will soon be singing. Tooth #1 came out yesterday while eating an apple, and #2 is just about ready drop any second now (I expect it to go before the weekend!). She is proudly exclaiming, "I'm toothless!" (That's the tooth in its little fairy bag, ready to go under the pillow and await the arrival of the toothfairy who kindly left TWO dollars - one for the tooth and one for being a big girl who lost her first tooth with no tears!.) Yeah! Exciting times, I'm tellin' ya!

5 Years

Five years ago today I got the phone call that changed my life. "You have a daughter." Guangdong Province. 9 1/2 months old. Beautiful. "Peaceful Spring".

My daughter.

My baby.

My O.

Wo ai ni, Ah-An.

Feeling Very BLUE Today!

And I mean that in a good way.

Before Tuesday, I had voted in 6 presidential elections. As a blue voter living in red states, my vote has NEVER counted - until now. For the first time, the electoral votes of my state actually went to the candidate I voted for. It's an amazing feeling. And, it's the reason why I think we need to do away with the electoral college and allow the president to be elected by popular vote. Every vote should carry the same weight, and what state you live in should not determine whether or not it does. Ok, that's my political rant for the year.

Oh, and because this is a blog about my girls, let me just add that OBaby was thrilled to hear (at 2 am on Wednesday when she woke up long enough to ask, "Did he win, Mama?") that Ba-Rock had won. "The boy", as she has called him since the days he was running against "the girl", was her favorite candidate. We went to Chicago yesterday and stopped to buy some copies of the Sun Times (yeah, the Trib was sold out by 9 am), and O wanted to buy her own copy (which she purchased herself then proudly carried to the train station all by herself - dang that girl is independent. Don't know where that comes from!).

O also got a haircut in Chicago. I'll have to try to get a picture of her tonight. I was too tired to think about it last night! (4 hours of sleep and a day in the city - I'm too old for this . . . stuff.) Ying-a-Bing did NOT get her haircut as she firmly insisted NO CUT MY HAIR several times while sister was getting hers done. Really, I didn't feel like fighting with her. It's just hair. We'll cut it when she's ready.

Trick or Treat

Kindergarten Party

Kindergarten Friends.



The popcorn hand (yeah, I have no idea)


Gabriella Montez and her popstar pal, Hannah Montana


Gabriella eating pizza - note the curls (or what's left of them)



And even though she wasn't at the party, here's little miss playing with a water cooler (I'm not gonna pull the lever, Mommy, really.) in her hand-me-down pumpkin shirt

Halloween is coming - be afraid, be very afraid

The girls have decided on costumes. O has to be Gabriella of HSM fame. And Y, well, Y is maybe going to be Minnie Mouse. Or Sharpay. Or Troy - but not the boy Troy, the girl (aka Gabriella). I think we won't know for sure until we walk out the door.

Meanwhile, enjoy the pumpkin patch pictures. They had fun, really. Not that you can tell from the pictures, but they had fun!

Yeah, I go pee-pee in the potty, what's it to ya?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

YBaby (who is still too young to care if I quote her here) has recently come up with a new favorite expression - "You best mama whole world." And, she is really started to be interested in the whole pee-pee in the potty idea. Life is good.

Happy Birthday, Woman!

She's not a little girl anymore, she's an adult now. Well, legally. Happy Birthday, E-Baby! We heart you!

10 Years

and yet sometimes, it seems like yesterday.

Time does not heal all wounds.

It's Not That I Don't Love You . . .

I know, you're wondering why I never tell you the cute stuff any more. No delightful little tidbits that fall from my children's mouths. I want to. Really, I do. It's just that, well, she won't let me. She?, you wonder. Yes, she. She Who Must Be Obeyed (i.e., OBaby) has asked that I NOT share some of the funnier comments she's made recently. Oh, and that I not tell anybody some things she's done. Yes, my friends, at 5 years 6 months my girl wants her privacy. She doesn't want all her secrets being shared with the world. Basically, she wants Mommy to shut up. Sigh. Too bad she's the funny one. Oh, don't get me wrong, the little one is cute and sweet and sometimes says funny things, but O is the one who makes me laugh out loud every day. So, you'll have to settle for the occasional picture now and then and maybe a chuckle or two from the little one. But OBaby's life is off limits.

Personally, I think she's just trying to reserve the copyrights to her life story.

Kindergarten Girl

Party, Party, Party

We had a very busy weekend celebrating YBaby’s third birthday. Last year, she was clueless about the whole birthday thing. This year, she totally got it. She was excited for DAYS ahead of time about “my birfday”. She has happily told people that she is “three a old”. Saturday, we had a party at the local kiddy pool for all of her best friends. Then Sunday, the fabulous little W Family came over for a family party. To say Ying had a great time is an understatement. She loved it. She loved the cake. She loved the presents. She loved the attention. It was a far cry from the confused little girl who sat through last year’s party without a clue what was going on. The pictures really say it all – Ying digs birthdays!

Wiggle, Wiggle

Olivia went to the dentist yesterday. The big news is that she has 2 loose teeth! Both of her bottom front teeth are starting to wiggle! The tech told her that her teeth were loose and that the tooth fairy would be coming soon. Olivia’s response: “Yes! Does that mean I get money?” Yeah for my big girl!

16-Hour Nap

Yeah, apparently that's what it takes for Ying to recover from her weekend of picnicking, swimming, and having more fun than a kid should have in a day and a half. I put her down (who am I kidding? we all 3 laid down) for a nap at 3:30 yesterday afternoon and had to wake her at 7:30 this morning. She didn’t wake up for dinner or even when I changed her diaper. The girl was worn out! She was all sunshine and Skittles when I woke her up, so I guess that 16-hour nap really did it for her. Ah, good times, good times.

My Babies

Don't you just want to kiss those cute little faces?

Vacation Photos

See, Olivia did have fun on vacation. So did Ying-a-Bing.

Three very cute girls.

The Eyes Have It

I took both Babies to the eye doctor this morning for exams. The good news is that OBaby’s eyesight is perfect. No glasses for her. The even better news is that YBaby’s eyesight seems to have improved since her surgery and so she does NOT need glasses either! Yeah, Babies!

(BTW, O had much more fun on the boat trip than the picture seems to imply!)

Sisters

Here are the girls on the first leg of our very long vacation drive. YBaby wanted O to hold her hand so that she could go to sleep. Aren't they precious?

Hair Do, Part Duex

Hair Dos

Here is Ying's latest look. See Papa, ponies!





















And O with her bangs cut.

And later today, we hope Mama with her new cut and color. I know you're all waiting for that one!

Why I Always Carry My Camera

Because you just never know what you'll see on your way in to work. Really. On an average Tuesday. Guy playing bag pipes. In a kilt. In front of my building. No idea why.

Happy Birthday, Jane!!!!!!!!!!!!!