Feliz Cumpleanos

HAPPY 99th BIRTHDAY, GUNG-GUNG!!!!!!!!!!!

Giving

My daughter has a very giving heart. In fact, the last time Po-po, Talia, & A-yi were here Kaia tried to give A-yi the Father's Day card she had made for Ba-ba...except it was that, she made it FOR SEAN. She knew how much Kim liked the card and wanted to give it to her.

We had a pretty good laugh about...although I wouldn't be laughing if Kaia tried to give away my mother's day card...I really love that card.

Still...the innocence of children can warm your heart, make you giggle, or do both.

I'm glad my kids' innocence does both.

Picnicking on the Deck

Since we're back in our first home and have this amazing view, you'd think we'd be out there all the time. Except, we're not. One word: bugs. Well, two, bugs and SUN. We're east/west facing so we get some crazy sun. Sean's more of the bug-a-phobe (entomophobia for those needing the exact terminology). Maybe he's not so much of a bug-a-phobe, but more of a bug-hater....like he really, really, really does not like bugs.

Anyhoo, I digress...weather was good, deck is freshly painted, and both kids are home...so with grilled cheeses, a fresh juice concoction (spinach, blueberries, red grapes w/seeds, strawberries, ground flax, & water...all whipped up in the Vita-mix), and our picnic blanket (we still need new deck furniture)...we headed outdoors...along with Jax.

It was really nice. The kids loved it and watched the butterflies flying around our bushes. Sean missed out...on all the flies, that is! HAHAHAHA. The kids are so used to disciplining the dogs they were yelling "NO!" to the flies instead of swatting them away!!

The only sad thing is, I realize how fast the kids are growing and that both of them will be in school this September (well Jaron possibly only part-time...we'll see). I feel like I've just missed out on so much even though I've been with them almost everyday of their lives (save a total of 5 days for Kaia and 2 days for Jaron).

Really...where did time go and when did my babies grow up?

Order Up!

As I was giving the kids a light breakfast before having lunch in two hours...they already had their toast and I was giving them their fruit salad, Jaron looks at the fruit and says:

"I didn't order that!"

Pu-hahahahahaha.

Yes, welcome to Tanya's Cafe.

Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaa...Talia!

So much for posting about Jaron's birthday...shoot, even Kaia's birthday LAST YEAR. I'll try to get that up sometime. We're so far behind.

But...in bigger news...

OUR BABY WAS FINALLY BORN!

Talia Mei Shih made her debut almost two weeks ago!! We barely made it up there for said debut!! Thankfully, after lots of scrambling and anxiety...we got there! You can read the short of it here.

Anyhoooooo...Talia Mei Shih: 5lbs, 11oz. and 19 inches long....and absolutely gorgeous and SUCH A GOOD BABY!!! We are so missing ourselves some Talia right now and can't wait for the weekend to come so we can see Our Baby again. I've been sick since her birth (kept myself away from her homecoming) and Jaron's sick too. We'll be all good for this weekend where I intend on doing some night duty and get some bonding time in with Our Baby. Maybe if Mom takes care of the kids, Sean can join me...so he can be on poop duty...HAHAHAHAHA. ;o) The doting uncle did volunteer to do diaper duty whenever we see her anyway! What a awesome uncle!!!

Kim & J are, as expected, fantastic parents. Kim was amazing during the birthing process. She was awesome! J was a excellent coach. Mom provided much entertainment...particularly taking hits on the oxygen mask...funny lady!

The kids are dying to see their little cousin/sister. Thank you, Talia...you have now made being away from DC even HARDER!!! It's been easier for me to be away from home, but increasingly harder for the kiddies. Now, they have Talia here and something's screaming at me that leaving DC on our weekend trips are going to be H-A-R-D!

Without further ado...Talia Mei Shih:

Sweet

Sean's standing duty tonight and the kids have been AWESOME! We've been dealing with a bit of sibling rivalry...so much that we think: "Yeah, two's good." Although my ovaries are definitely hurtin' for a third, we'll see with our upcoming moves and life changes if a 3rd is in our cards or not. Right now, we're enjoying our two...even with their little tiffs.

Still, I live for moments like these:

It's Been a While...

...without further ado...our pre-bedtime monkeys and their antics:



Some updates & tidbits:

*Both kids went to the dentist over here and were SOOOOOOOOO good!!! Both were nervous. Jaron went first with me and Kaia the next week. Jaron was really nervous, but the staff was AWESOME and he wanted to go to the dentist everyday! He also calmed Kaia down a bit...who. being older, calms down a lot easier since she listens to our explanations. She was sooooo good and the staff loved having them there. Kaia does have some "sugarbugs" that she'll get "brushed" out starting next week...and she's excited about it! She knows her tooth is going to go to sleep and that she might hear it snoring. Cutie.

*As we were getting ready for Jaron's birthday party up at Mom's. Jaron says good morning to Talia (still in A-yi's uterus) and then tells us he sees Talia's mouth...it's Kim's BELLY BUTTON!! But the funnier part about that...he said that SHE'S WHISTLING!!!! Funny Boy.

*Our Baby Shih/Cousin Watch 2009...Talia's still not out, but we're shooting for Mother's day weekend...;o) I'm going to make sure she runs some laps or whatever while we're up there so we can be there for our baby's birth. Regardless, we WILL be up there for her birth...period.

*I'll post some photos of the party...we're still recovering from it. HOWEVER...we have the BEST FAMILY...hands down!!!! Party preps were amazing and the family who came to celebrate with us...AWESOME!!! We're so blessed!!!