Rainy season

What do you do when it rains every day and your transportation to school is a moto?
You put on raincoats and ride....
We bought this last weekend for Sophia when the rains really started. I used to take her in a tuk tuk when it rained, but we are joining the masses and staying under our ponchos. She loves the raincoat.
Incidentally tomorrow is Er Tong Jie, or Children's day. They are off of school, with a big shin dig going on in the Square tomorrow evening. I am not sure if our whole family will make it...we had to bring a toy from our home for a 'toy exchange'. Sophia is excited about it, but has had not only cold, fever, cough, etc. but now some stomach issues as well. We think her problem may be milk as well, as she has drank a lot the past 3 days...we have trouble finding fresh milk that is good, all that we have been drinking is the UHT milk. Time for a change...we will let her recover and then re introduce it.

'who's that girl?'

If you are not from my generation (80's-90's) then you will not get that reference. Anytime I hear David say in a delighted voice: 'oh , go show mommy' I know I am in for a treat, and this was no exception. The bunny ears did not stay on long enough for these pics. But when I saw her I thought of Madonna, and the whole 'Material girl' era...Bella had on a ton of bracelets, shades and bunny ears.

More Sophia speak

"Dear God, thank you for this food you made. Please help Bella to eat it all, and help me to eat four bites"

What does 'except' mean? What does 'including' mean?

I didn't realize that you were there.

Tobin is so lovely.

These shoes definitely fit me!

Yes, Indeed!

On the road together

It is the time of year to plant rice, and it is HOT. Our helper asked off for a day to help her family plant and we of course said yes. On that day I took Sophia to school and kind of forgot how I would go pick her up with two other kids. David was in a business meeting, sometimes if he is home and our helper is not there I can give Bella an activity and he can work on while still 'supervising.' But this day I was on my own...
I put Tobin in the sling in a new position, so I still needed to guard his neck, this was just to get downstairs. I also needed to hold Bella's hand, she is not the most cooperative on the stairs and cannot do them by herself completely. The stairs were the hardest part of this whole journey.
I put Tobin in the stroller, Bella rode the buggy board and we walked the over half a mile (need to clock this) to the school (uphill, both ways :)). It was fine. And Sophia loved having her siblings come to pick her up. I did not take Tobin all the way in, to avoid the hoard of children that would want to touch, but the teachers got to take a peek.

We then walked home, and Sophia did not complain (wow), and it was HOT. We made it.

Later in the week I took the kids the same way to meet Daddy for lunch just up the street. By the time we were done it was about Tobin's feeding time, so I wanted to get home fast. I asked David if he would be willing to take Sophia on his moto (where she has to sit up on the moto in front, unlike my moto where she can stand), he agreed and they rode home slowly to the joy of Sophia! Only in China can you get away with this (actually, only NOT in America, in most Asian countries this is A-Okay)

Tobin at 7 weeks

Tobin is still growing like a weed (getting fat, basically), but at this stage it is such a cute fat. He is almost 13 lbs now. crazy.
We are a 'Babywise' family, though he hasn't seemed to have read the book yet :). For the most part he does eat, wake, sleep, with sleep props (pacifier still, not always, rocking some, not always). He eats pretty much every three hours, and for three nights (not in a row) he went four hours. And this morning seemed to crack a little smile in response....too cute.

All about Bella...

Bella is almost two... and her shenanigans are unending. If ever I can post a video you may just get a live glimpse. She knows that she is funny/clever as well...(this is not to say we don't have discipline issues, we are exhausted...)

while Sophia is at school, Bella and I get some quality time on most days, and if I am busy she plays by herself pretty well, or with Ayi. I have found her doing some funny stuff.


'reading' to Tobin





her sleep position, sideways on the big 'bumper' pillow. It is soft.



her sweet gift from Xiao Chen, her very own umbrella


giving her baby a bath in her sink, this after she saw me do this to Tobin, then we found her on top of a stool in the real bathroom trying to put her doll in the real sink (she is not allowed on the stool without us in there)





In the closet, where she pulls out all the toys...



Bella speak is quite hilarious, she is saying some pretty good sentences...


" please 'give me" this means: Please forgive me.
"because I 'beyed": this means: because I disobeyed
"mommy can you help me?"
"watch mama!" meaning: watch me (jump)
"watch out mama!" meaning: move out of my way while I sweep
"may I have more please?" (this she says pretty clear)
"read books mommy"
"my nose running" (everyone is sick)
"baby Tobin sleeping"
"wamenon, wamenon, wamenon" (watermelon, watermelon, watermelon, she LOVES it)
"go outside!!"

And she repeats anything and everything...loves to narrate if we are on an outing. Her Chinese is improving, and hopefully next month we may have Xiao Chen come and play with her like she did with Sophia. It is the perfect 'parrot' stage....

Sophia's school days

Sophia is loving school. It works out in Tobin's schedule that I can take her and pick her up every day. I love this because it gets me out in the 'fresh' air early and wakes me up after a night of newborn wake up calls. We still go on the moto and the weather at that time is perfect.

Recently Sophia's school had some upgrades, they lined the halls (outdoors) with nice shelves, they had two pet rabbits (who died within a week), the teachers all now need to wear aprons and sleeve covers and sometimes (surgeon) masks. They also had a 'safety' day, they repainted the security guard station, put up police lights, put in big speed bumps and then invited folks (leaders? others?) to come and see. They (supposedly) taught the kids what to do in case a bad guy comes in, a fire starts, or an earthquake occurs. I really did not get this all from Sophia, she told me that if they blow the whistle they are supposed to cover their faces and put their heads down, I have no idea in which situation that would be helpful....we will do our own training on some of these.

She also finally got her uniform which she was supposed to receive last semester. They were supposed to wear these on this safety day, but the teachers did not tell me. And they were supposed to go early, did not know that either. It did not really matter, but I try not to have Sophia stand out even more if possible, so being the only one without the uniform was a mishap, oops.

When we did get it she loved to put it on, and she looks so grown up...I told her to stop growing up right now...with smiles of course.

Vegan no more (for now) and why

I keep forgetting to write this post...
Last year you remember we 'went Vegan' and had a grand time with carrot topped pizzas and bean burgers. Really, it was good and healthy. So why did we stop our veganhood? A number of reasons...

We knew when we returned to the U.S. last year that we would eat meat, etc. mainly because we were in and out of people's homes so much, and on the road so much. But what we did not expect was that in the time we changed our diet, Bella fell off her growth curve, down to like 7%, I was still nursing her at this time and she was eating solids, but I really probably should have weaned her because my milk was obviously not enough or not 'fatty' enough for her growth needs, and she was not eating meat. The other thing we did not expect was that both our girls became borderline anemic. Our doctors wanted us to keep an eye on this for them. It is easier for us as adults to eat iron-rich foods (non-meat) in abundance, but you can't force feed your child to eat a bowl full of broccoli or spinach or enough to get them what they need. We were still giving them milk, but no meat.

And then of course, I got pregnant while we were Stateside. I knew being so new to the vegan/vegetarian thing, I probably should wait to return to non-meat/dairy so that I would not need to worry about protein amounts, etc. since I was 'eating for two.'

And now I am nursing Tobin, so I am still waiting before doing any type of real 'dieting', at least a few months anyway.

But remember we read the book 'the China Study' which was very compelling. We then read an article that a women wrote that questioned the book's statistical findings. Actually, the woman who wrote the article (sorry I don't have the link, this was long ago), heartily agreed with the premise of 'the china study' and even agreed with the outcome, but took him to task on some of his stats, etc.

So, yes, I do think animal protein is not the best for you, and whole grains, and fresh fruits and veg are absolutely the best choice. And our family still tries to stick with that....healthy and balanced. But we do eat meat and dairy for now. Chicken for the meat, and really not much dairy (Bella is now lactose intolerant). Pork is the meat of choice around here, but we don't eat it in our home, only when we go out. And we still do our 'green smoothies' and love them.

I am not sure if/when we will become vegetarian and/or vegan again, it is a real possibility, right now we are just focusing on the 'whole' and 'fresh' and 'balanced' and learning as we go. Honestly, right now, if food ends up on the table that is a sign it was a good day :).

Blog issues

Our internet is always having some problems. Blogger does not work half the time, videos take too long to upload and do not work. This is really not a complaint, just the situation...so bear with me...

These kids...

I think Tobin is saying: 'what am I in for with these two older sisters?!'


'oh...mushy, mushy...yuck' ....and they love on...

Sophia talk

Sophia can say the funniest thing some times. I have collected these and not posted any in a long time! And there are some that are just lost in the moment, that is okay too...

(We have questions we do at night with Sophia)...
'Will God ever die?'
S: 'No, he lives forever, but he died once.' (the first part is the proper answer, the second part is her addition)
D: You mean Jesus?
S: Yeah.

(we were talking about smoke alarms and what to do if you hear it go off, she was SO concerned about helping Bella get out, and this was when she was still sleeping in the pack-n-play)
S: But I can't carry Bella. I need a ladder to get into her bed to help her.
D: 'God will look out for you, mommy and daddy will be here....'
S: "God will help me pick Bella up?"


(we, as a family, have been studying Col 3:12-14, : "...clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone, Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all in perfect unity". So we 'put on' these different virtues and use reminders. For 'bearing with each other' we try to bear with those who may have hurt us or done us wrong or bear with by 'letting things go' and forgiving easily. So we put a 'backpack' on to remind us to 'bear with each other'.)

One evening at bed time Bella was doing stuff that was annoying Sophia, David talked to her and told her to just 'try to let it go,' etc. and Sophia said: 'I will just put it in my back pack.' which David had not even mentioned in this scenario.


And more recently:
(David had just 'gone up the mountain' to look at our plants, for two days after the girls would get gear together, and 'go up the mountain' too)
Day one of playing, they ventured around the living room and went up the mountain 'to look at the plants.'
Day two of playing:
S: We are going up the mountain.
L: To look at the plants?
S: No, to find bears and wolves and get rid of them!!!
L: oh...(I was not expecting this answer, but then remembered our chapter in 'Little house in the big woods' the previous night). How will you get rid of them?
S: We will scream really loud and scare them away (incidentally, if you do 'run into' a bear you are supposed to yell, sing, scream loudly and walk away quickly, not run frantically away).

Out and about some more...

4.15.2011


It is too bright and hot out! I will just sleep! (and he did sleep, until it was time for us all to sit down and eat, perfect timing).


The 'garden' where the girls play. This is our yard, pretty much.


Father and Son


I had to go out and buy Bella two pairs of flip flops because she had a blister on her heel and on the side of her pinky toe, all healed up now, but these helped.



we found a new muslim (doesn't serve pork) restaurant right around the corner. Yummy pulled noodles. The girls loved them, and so did we! and we only took one stroller this time.


showing how he pulls the noodles...


usually a lot of restaurants that serve stir fried rice or noodles always serve soup with the dish. The girls loved this soup, it was yummy!

Funny kids

Sophia LOVES 'her little cute baby' as she calls Tobin.

Our Saturday as a family of five

This was a jam-packed day of just living life as five. We ate our 'special' breakfast: eggs, and bacon (yes, bacon, I know) and banana nut muffins. This was our breakfast because it was easy and I was out of flour for waffles (the muffins came from a mix).

Next, we decided to try to skype my sis and her family. We talked with Uncle Travis and Cousin Isaiah, they were at his office. Then we called again and did end up talking to Julie and the rest of her brood (she even got them out of bed for us!). This was refreshing just to see their faces and catch up for a few minutes. Love them. So much.

They are in the middle of trying to adopt from China, and Anna said she wanted to come get Sophia, this was hilarious.

Sophia ended by saying she wanted them to come over to our house. We wish it were that simple, sweetie. And the eyes wet just a little because it is not that simple.

Next we gear up to go outside. Tobin has not been out all week, this would be his first outing. The girls and David go down first, while I feed Tobin and get some stuff together. We spend over an hour watching the girls play, showing Tobin to neighbors and teachers, and we meet five new teachers and spend the entire time getting to know them. One of them asked jokingly what time I taught Sophia 'English' Kindergarten, he wanted to come over and learn too.

Then we walked to eat 'over the bridge' noodles, a local dish we love. We decided to take two strollers (maybe we were a spectacle but it did not quite feel like it). Originally we planned on Sophia always walking and Tobin and Bella on our new stroller which has the buggy board. But the girls had played all morning, it is a little bit of a walk, and we already had Tobin sound asleep in the big hefty stroller that does not have the Buggy attachment on it. So they all rode. It was yummy yummy. Tobin slept on...

After naps some friends came over. Normally Sophia loves these girls, but it took her a while to warm up. She was so stand-offish (her words: 'I am too shy') that I sent her to her room for a few minutes. Part of this was because she had just woken up too. But she warmed up and had fun with them....and they loved on Tobin.




One of these girls talks to our helper quite a bit. It was hilarious to hear from her our helper's reports back to her as to how we deal with a newborn. The custom here is for the woman to basically do nothing for a month or quite longer, she cannot wash her hair, she can only eat eggs and chicken, she must always be clothed in long-sleeves, she should not really go out at all, and a lot of other things we think are a little crazy. This really is supposed to last for 100 days in some places (we have heard). The baby of course is swaddled tight during all of this, should never be exposed to wind or fan, is never planned as to when he/she will eat or whatever, never 'kept awake', etc.

So...we don't follow this custom. And they all think we are crazy too, for not doing so. This is all okay, we don't mind, and we love to tell how we do things and hear how they do things, just cultural learning, but we are not budging (gotta wash my hair! And MUST wear short sleeves in this heat!). My arms get slapped every time I am outside and I am told I need to be wearing sleeves, I don't mind it, but I don't buy it.

One of the things our helper went and told our friend was: 'and he has two fans in the room where he sleeps!!!' We actually do not put the fans on him, but it is 85 degrees in our room where he naps during the day, and the overhead fan is on low, the other one not blowing near the bassinet, this is just for some airflow and trying to cool it down a bit in there. But it was funny to hear her take on it.

And one of the craziest things we do is not have him sleep with us, not even in the same room. We are CRAZY parents, but I am sleeping better at night, and he is fat, so all is okay in the world.

After dinner, we had one of our closest friends and his wife (he just got married) come over. you have seen his face here before. Sophia loves him, it did not take her long to warm up to him and give good hugs, of course it helped they brought gifts.



In general, I am not a huge fan of giving stuffed animals as a gift, the girls have so many. But you have to admit, these are precious dogs, one for each. The girls LOVED them. It was so thoughtful.


And Tobin loved his too.





And the kids are all in bed, I should be menu planning and planning what is next for Sophia's homeschooling, and lots of other things, but I blog on....

Sophia's first pseudo real hair cut

I say 'pseudo' real because I was the one doing the cutting. I can honestly say I have never cut anyone's hair before (except David's with clippers and only in the back, easy peasy). I can also honestly say that I did not do a very good job. I can tell it is not even, I may fix it tomorrow. But her hair is curly and it is not too noticeable.

She did a GREAT job (unlike me, the hair cutter). I had talked this up a little in Thailand too, and she was ready. Of course, when I snipped she moved her head (excuse #1 as to why it is not straight), but she did really well, and was happy. (And she wants to tell her cousin Anna that it did not hurt at all!)

The Coker beauty parlor (which may be only used this once), has real stools that move up and down, and kinda the same smocks you wear as most beauty parlors. I even wore an apron!


First I had to comb through some tangles, and the girl smiles..wow.



I am concentrating (apparently didn't help much). Sophia looks like she is sitting still.




this was at the most 3 inches (in some places, smile). But the girl has a lot of hair.

Maybe I was brave for doing this, looking back, it just might have been a little stupid, I don't want to keep fixing it and cut off all her beautiful hair. I really thought it would be easier than it was, kudos to all you hairdressers out there!

And meanwhile, Bella was throwing quite a little fit. Really she is crying because she has a bad blister on her heel (because her half-aware mommy let her wear too-small-for-her shoes outside to play). She can fall flat on her face and be a little bloody, get up shake it off and say 'hurt head' with no tears, but this blister thing, the cries and complaints about it are wearing us out. When she walks barefoot she walks on her tippy toes because she thinks it makes it feel better.

Tobin Elias: One Month Old

Tobin weighs about 5.2 kg (11. 4 lbs) and is doing well.

At one month old he eats about 8 times a day (every three hours almost), waking me up 2x at night...and then usually waking up earlier then he should for the first morning feeding...
He is a very efficient eater, just like his two older sisters. He eats and gets enough in about ten minutes, sometimes in more time and sometimes in less, but this is just like the girls and it always kept me guessing as to whether they were getting enough. But he is, he is gaining weight and he can go three hours between feedings, if I try to force feed (like I did with the girls), it is spit up/throw up central.....

He is 55cm long, 21.6 inches.

Right now we are using the pacifier to help get him to sleep during the day. We may start letting him cry it out soon, another hurdle, the 'getting to sleep on his own' thing. We will tackle that soon.

His sisters adore him, and wish they could hold him more and love on him and treat him like their baby dolls...

He is definitely out of those 'newborn' clothes, too long, and too fat for them, we have moved on to the 0-3 month stuff...

Our first real outing since being home was today, we put him in the stroller and went outside to play, and then we walked to eat 'over the bridge noodles,' he slept the whole time. We made it back home in time for his lunch feeding. Today more local friends will come to visit Tobin for the first time.

On the homefront

Our helper (Ayi) with Tobin.

We have been home just under a week and we are adjusting. We were so INCREDIBLY blessed by a fridge and freezer full of food, a clean house, fresh sheets on beds, fresh wonderful Lilies on the table, sweet smelling Gardenias throughout, and the wonderful feel of Home! Thanks K for going above and beyond the call! Girlfriend, you outdid yourself. And just a day later she brought us some cinnamon rolls, and a cute bib she found here that said: 'My little Gator' on it, it did not mean Florida Gator, but she knew I would love it! Seriously so blessed by you, K, thanks and thanks. (not to mention for a few days straight Sophia went to her house to play in the afternoon, so helpful!).

So, with such great blessings, our adjustment has gone well. Yes, the early mornings are tiresome, that is the name of the game at this point. And I still question everything in regards to: is he really hungry, or just gassy, or just fussy, should I feed him early, or try to get him back to sleep, use the paci, not use the paci, rock him, not rock him, let him cry... ad infinitum (yes, I have done this two times before, but newborns still can't talk and tell me what their needs are, so I have to re-discern each time).

Now, at the end of the week, I can reflect a little on the week and see points (read: days) where I seriously failed as a wife, mom, person, but... with an encouraging husband and a little better rest, I can see even more clearly and experience even more fully the Grace that abounds in Jesus. Seriously. Sounds a little abstract, but it has been real to me these days when I cry out: 'help me God, please,' and 'be patient with me Lord, I am struggling,' and when the Spirit's word enters in and I rest in thankfulness (finally, and it is a shame I don't just ooze it like I should), and I say: 'thank you God that I have a baby to rock in the middle of the night, and I have three healthy babies that need me to show them grace and tenderness and patience, just like I need it from you! Yes, Thank you God!'
And I repent of ungratefulness and grumblings and wake with new mercies and the need to fight to recognize them all over again....still failing, still repenting, still leaning on His Everlasting Arms, and trusting in his patience towards my heart so ugly at times.

So.....we are getting to a new normal I suppose. Which I know will just unfold over time. Of course our lives will never be normal, (I mean, my hubby brought the leg of goat home to eat from his trip up the mountain on day #2 of being back...that is another story), but we don't need normal, just lives of faithfulness....and that my friend is what I am learning, and I have some friends helping me (authors of good books, also another post) along the way, speaking truth into my weary heart.

And I hope to capture some of all the goodness God has bestowed on us, but my memory is short these days and already great Sophia quotes and cute Tobin pictures, and crazy Bella stories have passed me by. But I resolve to try to stick with blogging not just for your sake but for our family memoir sake...so I press on....



The biggest fights between the girls have been over this stroller. The other #1 love the girls have taken to every day is wearing their 'heeled' dress up shoes, which are NOISY. The clank clank on the tile immediately sends my voice up an octave of frustration, 'not when Tobin is sleeping' (which is a lot), I just had to let go of that one, because really they don't wake him up and I got used to it and they are girls loving their shoes, whatcha gonna do?


'Touch Tobin's feet?' is Bella's constant question, because we have kept them from touching his hands and face so much, she has just stuck with his feet. Though she has tried to throw her whole body weight on him in a hug a few times.


One month old, and growing into a little man already!


A friend visits to love on Tobin