Noah is 1 month old!

Well, we have a new camera and I am not quite sure how to get pictures off of it, but I will try to post some pictures later.

Noah is one month old today.  I can't believe it has already been a month - it has just flown by.  Noah is really a very mellow and very quiet baby.  Almost a little too quiet ... it makes me a little nervous.  He only cries when he is really upset (like he's hungry or he's in his crib and wants to be picked up).  He fusses some in the evening - fussy for him, but still really pretty quiet.  The last couple days he has started to coo every now and then when you are talking to him.  But otherwise, he likes to sit and stare.

Noah sleeps a lot.  A ton compared to some of the other boys.  He sleeps all night, waking up twice to eat, but goes right back to sleep.  Sometimes, he wakes up because he needs to burp or spit up, but he really sleeps pretty well.  He only had 2 nights he woke up a lot - once in a growth spurt and the first night at the hospital, maybe one other one.  But otherwise, he wakes up twice.  I think he does one longer stretch, but honestly, I don't look at clocks anymore - we just go with it.  The first few days, I would sometimes I have to wake him to feed him up, but he has a good internal clock going now.  He goes to sleep between 8 or 9 or so and he wakes up between 7 and 8 or so in the morning.

He generally has a few awake times a day.  A few hours in the morning, then he usually sleeps most of the afternoon, and then he is awake for another few hours in the evening before going down for the night.  He still doesn't really have a schedule in terms of when he is asleep or awake, but we are sort of getting into a bit of a routine.  Sort of.  He will even let you lay him down tired but not asleep and he will often go to sleep.  He likes to be swaddled - we swaddle him tighter at night, though he manages to get out of it by the morning.  During the day, I just swaddle him pretty loosely and with his arms out, but he doesn't like to be put in the crib without any blanket on at all.

He is not a huge fan of the pacifier.  If Katsu gives it to him, he will take it, but that's few and far between.  I pumped some milk and Katsu needs to try him with a bottle when I'm not there.  We really need him to take it for when I teach lab on Friday mornings.  We'll have to do that ... very soon.  We don't have a bouncy seat or a swing or anything.  We keep meaning to buy one, but he doesn't really need to be entertained much.  If I set him on a blanket, watching his brothers is already very entertaining!  And he does well propped on on the couch, watching the world go by.  He is especially enamored with ceiling fans.  And windows.  But especially ceiling fans.  He used to hate being outside because of the breezes, but he likes it fine now when we sit on the porch and watch the boys play.  He doesn't seem to love or hate the car seat or stroller, but boy - they put him out.  He will just sleep and sleep.  You can tell that he will try to rouse himself, but something about being in the car seat just makes him so sleepy.

Noah is a good nurser.  He is pretty fast and efficient.  He really didn't have any difficultly at all - his latch wasn't stellar the first day, but since then, no problem really.  I make a ton of milk and it comes out to fast and he will choke on it.  At night he is fine and usually in the morning but in the fussy evenings, he hates it and will cry and fuss and choke.  Poor thing.  After a few breaks, he is usually fine again.  He nurses every 1 -3 hours depending on the time of day.  A little less at night probably.

Noah is getting chubby.  His legs seemed skinny to me for awhile, but they are finally starting to get some fat on them.

Noah is pretty strong.  He holds his head up well - he could hold it up in the hospital, but he does it even better now.  He likes to be on your shoulder and hold his head up and look at the world.  At night, he likes to cuddle - it's sweet.  He is okay with tummy time, depending on his mood, but he eventually gets bored on it.  He likes to always sleep facing his right when he is on his back so I try to put him half on his side, when I think about it, pointing the other direction because I am worried about his head getting flat.

We haven't been out much until the last week.  Before that, we went to the library a couple times and to Target once.  He has been to his pediatrician when he was 5 days old and also to redo his newborn hearing test (which he passed this time).  In the last week, we have been to story time at the library, Redbox a couple times, Chic Fil A, the pool, a party at a friend's house, church, my work, Krispy Kreme, and the shoe store.  I am hoping we can just stay at home, but with school and work starting next week and then soccer and all that jazz ... life is going to get busy.  At least it isn't winter!

We love Noah - it's been a great month!

Andrew in July 2014

Ahh - there must be something about being 7 and being a tease and incorrigible.  Andrew is just driving me crazy half the time!  He is always trying to tease his brothers or rough house or cause little trouble - never anything big or serious, but just the little stuff all the time.  I think it's just been a long-ish summer and I am ready for school to start back!  He isn't and has been asking me to home school.  Yeah, right, buddy.  He will do almost anything to avoid having to do what I say, so I don't think that would work out too well.  He is much better with a teacher who is not his mother.

On the plus side, Andrew is a great reader and I can usually banish him to his room to read when he is driving the rest of us crazy.  He is still reading the Boxcar Children, though it is slow going getting the books on hold from the library ... and he insists on reading them in order.  He is also working his way through the Hardy Boys - I think he is on book #3.  He has been reading some books by Roald Dahl - he read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this week and we were watching the movie tonight as a family.  He had to keep interrupting and telling exactly how it was different than the book.  He also is almost done with Little House in the Big Woods, which he really likes as well.  What a reader he is!  When is into a book, he can sit and read for hours!

Of course, the biggest news this month is his new baby brother Noah who as born on the 20th.  Andrew was very interested in how he would be born (but not at all interested in how he got there in the first place ...).  He learned all about dilation and cervixes and pushing and labor - he was very interested in it all.  He has really enjoyed helping take care of Noah, which mostly consists of holding him, talking to him while he does tummy time, and stuff like that.  He really likes babies and loves Noah.

Otherwise, a slow month - with me being pregnant and not wanting to do anything, and then the busyness/slowness of having a newborn in the house.  We went to the movies each week, and went to the pool and/or splashpark almost every day, which was fun, too.  Grandma and Grandpa were here for a week after the baby was born.  Grandpa took the boys on adventures - to Sonic, to see parks, and to go try and find all the bears in New Bern.  They found almost all of them and were gone almost the entire day.  They even saw some of them a couple times since Seth fell asleep, but then Andrew (in typical style) told Seth all the ones he missed.  We are still working on the "Is it helpful?  Is it kind?  Is it true" criteria for speaking, obviously.

Fun Things In July 2014
- Lots of movies.  We went to the movies every Tuesday before the baby was born and afterwards, Grandpa took them on Tuesday and Wednesday! 
- Going out to eat a couple times is always fun.  The boys are getting good with their chopstick skills.
- A couple adult birthday barbeques at the neighbors - always fun.
- Grandma and Grandpa in town.
- lots of pool time and soccer games outside with Dad.

Logan in July 2014

This has been a hard and exciting month for Logan - he has a new baby brother, Noah, and now he is a big brother himself.  Logan was getting excited for the baby to come, but I wasn't sure how he would actually like his brother when he saw what a baby was like.  So far, he is doing really well.  He loves to hold and touch and talk to the baby.  Sometimes he forgets and still asks to "talk to the baby" in my belly, but he realizes his error.  He still like to rub my belly, which I guess is okay.

I can tell this is a stressful time for him.  He is pretty fine during the day, though he does seem more apt to cry.  But he has a hard time with sleep.  He did not want Grandma and Grandpa to put him to bed, so Katsu came home the night I stayed at the hospital and stayed with him at night.  The plan was that he would stay in his own bed at night (although now he wants to sleep on his car toddler bed in the baby room instead of on a futon in the big boy's room) or that Katsu would sleep with him.  He did a really good job the first couple nights - you could tell he was trying hard and trying to be brave.  But I think it's just too much change for him.  So, he has been sleeping in our bed most nights about half the time.  But it's okay - Noah is sleeping in a pack and play next to us and it's working out.  The first week, it was too hard with my stitches to walk up the stairs, so Katsu put him to sleep, but I've been putting him to sleep most nights now because it is easier for him.  He is thankfully still taking naps - it was a little crazy the first week and he skipped some, but my goodness - he was grumpy!  So I am hoping he still takes naps for awhile.  It is nice for everyone and will be especially nice once the older boys are back in school.  I have hardly ever had two nap at once!

Logan loves for me to sing him to sleep - it's really cute.  I sing all the primary songs I can think of - well, at least the more mellow ones.  His favorite that he wants me to start with is, of course, "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam" and he usually sings along to that one and "I am a child of God".  He is quite a good singer and knows all the words.  He also likes me to sing him nursery rhymes.

Logan likes to go to nursery now.  One day, I told him that he only had a few more months of nursery left before he starts Sunbeams.  And how nursery is the best class because there are toys and snacks.  Well, he seems to have absorbed it.  Seriously, I told him once, and now he wants to go every week and will tell me about how they have toys and snacks and how my class is boring.  Score!  In fact, I had been planning on having him stay home with me and Noah on Sundays for awhile, but he wanted to go with Dad.  So, Katsu got to hold sleeping Logan all sacrament meeting, but he went happily to nursery!  Now, as long as he can keep the germs at bay ...

Logan has finally learned how to mostly pedal his tricycle, but he still will stop and be lazy, sometimes.  He loves to play outside - soccer and basketball, sidewalk chalk, and riding his tricycle.

Logan plays really well by himself.  He likes to play with his brothers (I think), but he likes to play when they aren't there and he can play exactly how he wants.  He's pretty independent about it - after he eats a meal, he will come up to me and say "I go play now.  Bye mom".  I love it!  One day, Andrew and Seth were gone with Grandpa almost all day and I don't think Logan missed them hardly at all until the end of the day.

Fun Things This Month
-  Lots of movies.  We went to the movies every Tuesday before the baby was born and afterwards, Grandpa took them on Tuesday and Wednesday!  Logan sometimes enjoyed them (he really liked Despicable Me 2 and talked about it for a long time, but usually he would tell me it was boring and sometimes he would fall asleep.  He was always very good about being quiet, though.
- Going out to eat a couple times is always fun. 
- A couple adult birthday barbeques at the neighbors - always fun.
- Grandma and Grandpa in town.
- lots of pool time and soccer games outside with Dad.

Seth in July 2014

The biggest news was that Seth got a new brother this month - his brother Noah was born on July 20th.  So, this month has been busy ... but less busy with going out and doing stuff than usual.

After Seth's birthday, the rest of June was pretty uneventful.  July, too.  Our days have been pretty much the same ... Seth wakes up pretty early, like 6:30 or maybe earlier.  He usually did his workbook pages (math and handwriting), but now he is done with those books, so he watches TV or plays.  He always make sure to watch his favorite show, Wild Krats, at 7:30.  He will spend the rest of the day quizzing you on facts from that show.  He loves to talk about cericals (?) and ospreys and whatever else he has learned about.

Sometimes the boys will play outside, though it has been pretty rainy lately.  So, usually they play together upstairs.  The game is always mostly the same - army using Trio pieces to make monsters and forts, using Lincoln Logs to build cannons and airplanes, and the blocks and train tracks to accessorize the forts / cities.  Basically, every toy is a support toy to the army.  When Seth gets bored, he will read Japanese comics (or sometimes I will see him actually reading English books to himself).  Or he will just come up to you and hand you 7 UNO cards and expect you to jump right into a game.

Usually, pre-baby, we would head to the pool around 10 am or so and play until about lunch time.  Seth has become quite a swimmer.  It's amazing to see the improvement going to the pool so often causes.  He has learned to dive down, also how to do flips under water, how to do a decent back float, and he can pretty much swim the short length of the pool, though he doesn't do correct breathing.

The afternoon is just more of the same.  He really still wants to have just me and him time in the afternoon and gets upset when we don't, but it's a lot harder now that Andrew is out of school and everyone is home.  I don't miss it much - I hate spending hours or, heck, even minutes, pretending to shoot the bad guys - but I do miss getting to spend some special time with Seth.

I don't know if Seth has been under a lot of stress lately, but he has been having night terrors at night every night, usually around 9 or 10.  He also has been popping into our room more frequently, but it's usually just for a bit and then he will go back upstairs on his own.

I think baby + grandparents being in town was kind of stressful for him.  He is a by the rules boy and it is hard on him when the rules change or when people infringe on his alone or quiet time.  The first couple days, he would cry whenever his grandparents asked him to do anything, but I think he adjusted after that.  He had  a great time going to New Bern with grandpa and seeing all the bears -even the ones he missed when he took a long nap.  They had other little adventures, too.

Katsu took the boys to church on Sunday while Noah and I stayed home and Seth thought it was a huge treat getting to sit with Dad at church.  He also has really enjoyed playing video games with Katsu before and after work since he is working less hours this week.  And going to the pool together in the evenings - though it sounds like Katsu is a little vigorous in the pool!  So, there are some perks to having a baby brother.  Seth also really enjoys talking to Noah and holding him and the boys are always fighting over when they can do it.  Seth seems as interested as the other boys in baby Noah, which is good - he didn't seem too interested when I was pregnant.  Though he is fascinated in how my body changed during and after pregnancy.  He told me yesterday that I now have an innie belly button again - it's true!

Seth had his well check this month.  He is about 15% for weight and height.  Otherwise, everything looked good.  They tested his iron and then was upset when he had to get shots - he thought the finger prick was the shot!  He's little but healthy.

Fun Things In July 2014
- Lots of movies.  We went to the movies every Tuesday before the baby was born and afterwards, Grandpa took them on Tuesday and Wednesday!  Seth had barely seen a movie in the theater before, so this was a treat!
- Going out to eat a couple times is always fun.  The boys are getting good with their chopstick skills.
- A couple adult birthday barbeques at the neighbors - always fun.
- Grandma and Grandpa in town.
- lots of pool time and soccer games outside with Dad.

Noah Naoto Funai is born

Baby Noah is here.  My due date was July 17, but no baby.  I was not surprised as my water has either broken or I've been overdue and then I end up induced.  So my midwife scheduled me for an induction on July 21st since my parents would be in town and they could watch the boys.  She said she could schedule one for earlier, but I thought that was fine.  When she was examining, she said the baby's head was right there and that it would be a fast delivery.  She couldn't believe I hadn't had the baby yet (I could), but I was still 3 cm dilated just like I had been 3 or 4 weeks earlier.

On the morning on July 20th, we were sleeping.  Logan crept into our bed.  I had been a little awake and felt a little crampy.  I had felt a little sick the night before, but figured it was because we had been at a party the night before and the food hadn't agreed with me.  When I picked up Logan to hoist him into bed, the cramping turned into a definite contraction.  Since I have had a couple contractions here and there, but I've never really gone into labor on my own, I figured I would wait and see what happens.  I had a couple contractions more and they seemed really close, so I told Katsu and got out of bed.  It was 2:30 am.  At that point, I had probably been awake about 10 or 15 minutes, thanks to Logan.  I walked around to see if the contractions would go away and went to the computer to time them.  They weren't too painful but I was pretty surprised to see that they were all about 3 minutes (actually less) apart.  After timing 5, I decided maybe we should call the doctor and someone to watch the kids.  It seemed a little surreal since they weren't too painful, but they were awfully close together.  During this time, Katsu took a quick shower.

Unbelievably (but I checked it on my phone later), we called both the doctor and friends around 3:15 am.  Luckily, we were able to get a hold of one friend and the husband came over to stay with the kids.  The doctor got back to us at 3:17 am, at which point we were still at home, but I could still talk during contractions.  I told him that it was my 4th and this was going to be quick.  He got off the phone, informed the hospital, and then headed out.

We waited outside for our friend, and then got in the car.  By the time we got in the car, my contractions started to hurt a lot.  On the drive to the hospital, I was pretty sure I was in transition and I was not happy - it was going too fast, this is not how it was supposed to be, and I wanted to be in the hospital with this painful of contractions, not in the car.

We got to the hospital, Katsu parked, and I wasn't quite sure how I was going to walk.  I walked over to the sidewalk and my water promptly broke.  Katsu rushed in to tell them we were there and then helped me walk in.  The staff could not find a wheelchair, I didn't think I could walk, but Katsu and the receptionist started walking me over.  They found a wheelchair and ran me into a room with doctors and nurses on the way.  My doctor was not there yet, but a resident was.

I waddled to the bed, they wanted to wait till after a contraction to check me, but they were pretty much continuous, so they checked me and I was ready to push and the head was there.  I didn't even really had to push - he more like fell out (but I suppose you could call it 2 pushes) and Noah Naoto was born at 3:37 pm.  My doctor showed up probably within the next 5 minutes and was able to sew me up (I guess you can't rocket ship yourself into the world, without a few tears).  I'm impressed he made it to the hospital that quickly even if he did miss it.

I still think it is somewhat of a miracle that I didn't have the baby at home, in the car, or on the sidewalk.  From the time we called our friends to come and watch the kids to when the baby was born was about 20 minutes.  That involved waiting for our friend to drive over, driving to the hospital and getting to a room and pushing him out.  Thank heavens he was born in the hospital!

Noah was 7 lbs 14.9 oz and 19.25 inches long.  He has long dark hair and sort of delicate looking features which I think make him look bigger than he is.  We stayed in the hospital for one day and left around 10 or 11 on Monday morning.  He seems to be healthy - he did fail one part of the newborn hearing test, but he probably just still has stuff in his ears.  He burps and farts a lot because he came out so fast, there wasn't time for much to be squeezed out of him, apparently.  He doesn't cry much, but has the saddest little cry when he wants to be fed.  He is now 5 days old and is already 8 lbs 1 oz, so he is gaining weight and doing well.

Andrew in June 2014 (and the rest of May)

Andrew finished first grade.  Andrew spent most of the month telling everyone that he never had a preschool or kindergarten graduation ceremony and how sad it was.  How he never graduated. .... typical Andrew.

He had an award ceremony that we all went to (a bit of an adventure since the wheel kept falling off the stroller ... I guess after 6 years, it will have to be retired).  Andrew won a couple awards - the award for having good values (Character Kid, I think they called it, they awarded one to one kid per class for the year),  an award for art (I was surprised by that one because the art he has brought home from school hasn't been very impressive this year), and I think an award for politeness or something like that.  The only awards I would have shocked if he received them would have been handwriting or P.E., but I still think it's fitting that all the awards were about being nice.  Andrew is a nice kid ... unless it's at home and then we're either very nice and helpful or not at all.

Andrew was sad the last day of school - he had a half day and we had Oreos waiting for him when he got home.  After half an hour, he said he was already missing his friends, but he hasn't said anything since then, so I think he's fine.  He brought home huge stacks of work for the summer - mostly math - and was very serious about how important it was to complete them.  But ... I don't think he's done any since we've been home and cajoling him doesn't seem to work much.

We have been doing some home work this summer.  He is slowly plodding along in his handwriting book.  It is a chore to get him to do it, but his handwriting has already improved quite a bit.  I don't know if it's because he's learning, or just slowing down and having guide lines that makes the difference.  He also has slowly been working through a math workbook which is pretty fun, but he would rather do anything than what he has to do.  He is pretty good at entertaining himself, however, so I'm mostly fine with it.

Andrew's favorite part of the summer has been learning new things.  Specifically, we have been learning to cook.  We did sandwiches one week and he has learned to make tuna fish (including using the can opener) and grilled cheese.  He also learned to make scrambled eggs.  The other day he wanted to learn to use the rice cooker and I forgot and started it without him and he was very unhappy with me.  Whoops.  We'll see how much energy I have, but I hope to teach him quite a bit this summer.

Andrew is still reading up a storm.  He has gotten into Boxcar Children book and read the 19 we have at home and has spent the last week waiting for number 20 to get to the library so we can pick it up.  In between times, he has also read a couple other books - Stuart Little and Matilda, which he seemed to really enjoy.  He is reading Charlotte's Web now, which I think he likes, but he is going a little slower through it.  He also has finally started enjoying reading Highlights magazine on his own and the Friend and also the scripture readers from the church.

Speaking of which, Andrew has started wanting to teach family home evening lessons.  He likes to read a story from the Friend magazine and then asking questions about it.  He also is very particular about bringing scriptures to church each week and sometimes reads them on his own.  We are needing to get started on reading the Book of Mormon together.

The first week after school was out, Andrew had vacation bible school.  I think he had fun, though he didn't really know any of the kids in his group, though there were a couple kids from school he sort of knew.  He seemed to have fun and enjoyed the games and snacks and toys he brought home.  They sang for us the last day and it was really nice and the boys seemed to like the songs.

Other than that, we have mostly been going to the pool, playing at home, doing work and learning new things.  We have gone to the movies each week for the $1 summer movies.  We watched Despicable Me 2 and also a Pirates movie.  Andrew has really enjoying it because we have hardly ever gone to the movies.  Andrew's swimming is improving just by going to the pool for a couple hours every other day or so.  He likes to have swim lesson time each time we go but also enjoys diving for rings and playing with the other kids.  He is a lot more comfortable in the pool.

Andrew got sealants at the dentist.  They were recommending having laughing gas, but they ended up not even needing to turn it on because Andrew did it so well.

Oh, and now it's hurricane season.  Guess who is nervous and wants an update each morning - Andrew, of course.

Fun Things So Far In June:

• Lots of pool visits
• Andrew sang for Father's Day - Katsu was out of town, though.  He was pretty sad that Katsu was out of town and missed it.
• Vacation Bible School 
• Visiting the dentist - no cavities!
• Picking blueberries - Andrew was picking blueberries competitively with Seth.  He wanted the most and really enjoyed it.
• Bird sanctuary - they were excited by the playground and running around to see all the birds.   There was a little fossil dig there that the boys loved and found some more shark teeth.
• Beach - Andrew loved learning to use his boogie board and making lots of sand castles.  We even saw some dolphins.  Andrew was super excited after that and kept trying to see more.
• Aquarium -  They had a dinosaur exhibit with moving (and one water-squirting) dinosaurs scattered around the aquarium, mostly outside.  In addition to all the tanks inside, we got to see some water birds and crabs in the wild outside.  The boys also loved touching the sting rays and the crabs inside.
• Movies - Despicable Me 2 and Pirates.

Logan over the last 3 months

Wow - I have gotten lazy on blogging.  Poor Logan.  So, what's up with our little boy.

First, he is obsessed with the baby.  He loves to rub my belly all the time.  He always wants to "talk" to the baby, which mostly consists of pulling up my shirt and then rubbing my belly, sometimes accompanied by saying "It's okay, baby, it's okay".  He talks about the baby a lot and will pretend to put the baby asleep.  He has started to ask if the baby is coming in 2 minutes (which is his general expression for time).  Hopefully, he will like the baby after it is born as well as he does now!

Logan has been extremely attached to me lately.  He doesn't want to go anywhere without me, though if Katsu is there and I have to go out in the evening, he is usually okay with it.  He ends up in our bed every single night - half the time before we even go to sleep!  He won't go to nursery any more.  He usually falls asleep in sacrament meeting and then wakes up right when it's about over (well, technically he falls asleep in the car ride over).  I hold him the entire time, which is pretty exhausting/hot this late in pregnancy, but it is much easier only having two boys to deal with instead of three.  He usually is pretty groggy when he wakes up from a nap and it takes him about 30 mins to really wake up.  But this Sunday, he opened his eyes, looked right at me, and said "I not go to nursery".  He will wake up on Sunday morning and say he is going to Relief Society with me.  Occasionally, Katsu will try to get him to go to nursery but he just screams.  I don't think it's worth pushing it, but I won't reward him for not going to class, so he has absolutely nothing to do - no books, no toys, nothing.  But he will sit quietly and still for pretty much the whole 2nd half of church - he must really not want to go to nursery!

Speaking of naps, Logan still takes them!  Yay!  My longest napper yet.  I lay down on my bed with him every afternoon around 1 and he will sleep for an hour and a half or so.  Sometimes he is pretty resistant, but lately he has asked to take his nap and is ready to sleep.  Hopefully, this continues for a while.  If we have been swimming in the morning, sometimes he sleeps a long time which is really nice!  He sleeps at night from about 8 or 8:30 till 6:30 am usually.

Logan finished up his Friday morning preschool class.  He liked it mostly to the end, but the last month Katsu was out of town to Japan and I was not working, so I would drop him off and he did not like that at all.  I don't know if it's because he knows that I am not working if I drop him off or if it is because I don't have M&Ms ... hard to say.  He asks every now and then if he has preschool and I am hoping he will like his class in the fall.  He will be going 3 morning a week - mostly because I really need him in class on Fridays when I will be teaching, and it works out since I teach MWF as well.  He is definitely excited about the playground they have just for the 2 year olds.

Logan talks really really well now and in complete sentences.  Occasionally I can't understand what he is  saying, but usually just when I don't quite know the context of what he is talking about or it's something very unexpected.  He is always saying funny things - this is one of my favorite ages I think, because you finally get to know what they are thinking!  He is definitely on track for language development.

Logan has a long attention span and is also very good at playing by himself.  He will play by himself for quite a long time.  It's cute to watch his make all the little characters talk to each other and play.  He likes to play army (mostly because the boys do) and make guns with Trio blocks, but he also really likes to race cars down race tracks and build big train tracks and race trains along them.  He also very much likes to read books - he likes to read Arthur books (not sure why - they are pretty grown up for him) and Clifford and Thomas and Curious George.  But pretty much anything.  He really loves going to the library and storytime, though I'm not sure how much he actually likes storytime when we are there.  He is pretty clingy and doesn't want to participate much.  But he loves to go to the library - probably because we went so much with the preschool being right next to the library.

Logan loves to play outside.  He likes to ride on his tricycle, but usually still doesn't pedal, but does it with his feet.  I think he can coordinate pedaling now or at least is starting to, but it's a lot more work than scooting with his feet.  He wants to learn to ride a bike, but I don't think he is really ready.  He really likes to draw with sidewalk chalk - mostly monsters and things like that.  He loves to play in the sand and on the playground.  He likes going to the pool.  I stick him in a lifejacket and a ring and he is pretty much good to go, though he doesn't have the greatest mobility.  But I usually try to take a little time without anything on so he can practice swimming.  He still doesn't really have the whole holding your breath thing down, so we can only do so much but he likes to sit on the steps and retrieve rings or to do Superman (on his tummy, arms out, legs kicking).  He thinks I'm crazy when I try to get him to back float while I hold him.

Logan loves to go to the beach.  He asks to go to the ocean pretty regularly, but we've only been once this season so far, but he loved it.  When he got tired, he came over and sat on his chair and just feel asleep, so he will even take naps on the beach.  He likes to get in the water if one of us is there and he also likes to build sand castles and just enjoy the water.  He loves the aquarium, too.

Logan throws fits, but I don't think they are too bad.  I mostly ignore them and I think they are pretty mild for his age.  He will scream or say "no no no" for like 10 minutes or so, but then he'll eventually get over it.  He is pretty good at being distracted and to some extent negotiating with him.

We had a pretty failed attempt at potty training.  I waited till preschool was done and we spent a week trying, but Logan did not have one success on the potty and I decided we might as well wait.  We might try again after the baby is born.  I am pretty sure he doesn't need to be potty trained for his preschool class, so I guess there is no reason to sweat it, though I am pretty tired of changing his diapers.  Sometimes he'll tell me to change him, but often he will hide and I will have to find him and figure it out.

Logan went to the dentist.  He allowed them to clean his teeth and put on fluoride, but he was pretty unhappy about it and kept closing his mouth and almost biting the hygienist.  Afterwards, I kept telling him what a good job he did, so he will be encouraged and do better next time.  But he always said, "No, I cried".  I guess there is no fooling that boy - but I hope he doesn't feel bad that he cried - it's pretty age typical for going to the dentist.

Logan still is a big boy and still loves to eat.  I moved him up to 3T clothes yesterday, at least in shirts, because all the 2T is getting too small.  He will eat all the time if I let him.  He is pretty good about getting what he wants out of the fridge or pantry and bringing to me to open or cut or whatever.  He is also good about cleaning up his things and putting them where it goes if we ask.  He usually throws away his trash unprompted.  He also will say please and thank you unprompted most of the time.  He generally is pretty helpful.

Logan loves to go places and is always asking to go places, especially the ocean.

Logan is basically a happy boy.  He wakes up with a big smile on his face and is generally pretty happy and pretty easy to get along with.  He throws some fits and makes some messes and sometimes drives me crazy, but he is pretty happy and easy to get along with.

Fun Things In April:

- General Conference - the boys probably paid attention to all of one session but they still really enjoy this tradition.  Logan liked the special snacks but was otherwise pretty oblivious
- Soccer & Tball - watching lots of games.
- PIRATE FEST.  We went to a soccer game and then went to pirate fest.  We bought some tickets for bouncy houses, but didn't have time to do everything, so after another soccer game and some Sonic (with free coupons from Pirate Fest), we went back to Pirate Fest.  It was so fun - all the bouncy houses and the fun carnival games, and we watched a BMX bike show and I feel like we ran into everyone we know.  Greenville is really a small town in some ways.  The boys can't wait to go back next year.  Logan couldn't do all the bouncy houses because he was too small, but he enjoyed what he could go on.
- Our traditional Easter activities.  We did a little more low key this year.  The boys' favorite for Palm Sunday was watching the Skit Guys skit on Palm Sunday on You Tube.  They thought it was the most hilarious thing ever!  We also had all our traditional food (passover dinner with real lamb this time, our Jesus dinner with traditional foods, hot cross buns, resurrection rolls, and the traditional ham dinner).  Andrew wanted to have EVERY single food on the list for our Jesus dinner, but it wasn't quite possible.  We also tried a symbolic dinner one evening while reading through a couple chapters in Mark where each food was symbolic of something in the story.  The kids really enjoyed it so we will have to do it again!
- Spring Break started on Good Friday, so Katsu took the day off and we went to the zoo - it's about 2.5 hours away, but the drive really didn't seem that bad.  Andrew and Logan LOVED it!  Andrew was a little sad we missed one of the animals, but it was such a long walk around the zoo (I think they had like 5 miles of walking within the zoo).  We brought a lunch and had it half way and thankfully there was lots of places to play for the kids near the end, too.  It was a nice zoo in a woody setting.  We all really enjoyed it.  I think Seth wasn't feeling very well - he started complaining as soon as we got there.  He got sick over spring break and we ended up staying most of the week at home.  Logan still keeps asking to go back to the zoo.  We will probably try another one in Virginia in the fall when it's cooler.
- Easter - we had two egg hunts.  One at church on Saturday (I was so glad because the boys are so sad that most of the church or community egg hunts here are on Sunday right during church).  The boys got tons of eggs.  Then, we had an egg hunt at home on Sunday morning.  It was a lot of fun - if the weather was better, we might have had it outside, but it was a pretty wet and rainy weekend.
- Gardening - we spent a lot of time in April getting our garden ready.  The boys are always excited when new things grow - to watch the daffodils and tulips pop out or new strawberries to start growing.  Logan loves to pick up strawberries or pull out radishes - we just has to make sure he is harvesting things that are actually ready.
- Spring Break - we all ended up getting sick with colds, so it was a pretty boring spring break.  We were going to go out and do things, but unfortunately, we mostly stayed home and watched way too many  movies.  Oh, well.  Next year, we'll do fun things!
- Family Fun Day - after the last soccer games, Katsu and the boys went to the ECU family fun day at a big recreational facility they have north of the city.  The boys had a blast - I won't get all the details right, but they played games, bounced in bouncy houses, and went canoeing and got quite wet.  They had lots of yummy snacks, too.  A great way to end the soccer season.

Fun Things in May
- Jarvis Fun Day  - after going to Seth's T-ball practice, we went over to Jarvis (where Seth & Logan go to preschool) for their family fun day.  Wow - it was really a lot of fun.  It was pretty hot, but we still had loads of fun.  We all got some hot dogs and popcorn for lunch.  Then, the boys had snow cones and cotton candy for snacks.  They played all the games and got tickets.  Much to Katsu's chagrin, no one was convinced to pool their tickets to get a full size basketball.  They, the boys played in bouncy houses - I think they had 4 in the church's parking lot!  And it was all free!  They even got to see a firetruck.  It was really fun and boy were we worn out afterwards.
- Children's Day - to celebrate Japanese children's day, we put out our special wind socks and then we went out for Japanese food for dinner.  The boys LOVED it and have been very motivated to use their chopsticks to eat even more at home.
- Birthday Party for Seth and Andrew - Logan slept through half of it, but enjoyed running around when he finally woke up.
- Swimming
- Fossil Festival - The weekend Katsu got home, we drove an hour to Aurora to see the Fossil Museum and just in time for the Fossil Festival.  We saw the parade and then went into the museum for a quick look before crossing the street and digging in their big fossil pit.  The boys found tons of fossilized sea shells and also about 17 fossil shark teeth.  They loved it.  We went and saw a few of the tents on the way back and then drove home to make it in time to the birthday parties.
- Memorial Day - we went to the pool with friends and stayed a LONG time.  Then, we went to a party at Katsu's coworkers.  The boys went to the park there and also played in water and ate tons of food.
- Botanical Gardens - Logan went and looked at these with me after we dropped off some soil samples.  He was very interested in the little fairy houses.

Fun Things In June:

• River Park North - we went and saw the little nature center there.  The boys enjoyed it.
• Lots of pool visits
• Vacation Bible School - the older boys went to vacation bible school and Logan enjoyed getting lots of time with me to run errands and get ready for baby.
• Picking blueberries - They all went into Logan's mouth by the end, but he loved picking them and loved eating them afterwards.
• Bird sanctuary - he was excited by the playground and running around to see all the birds.   There was a little fossil dig there that the boys loved and found some more shark teeth.
• Beach - Logan always loves the beach
• Aquarium - Logan loved it.  They had a dinosaur exhibit with moving (and one water-squirting) dinosaurs scattered around the aquarium, mostly outside.  In addition to all the tanks inside, we got to see some water birds and crabs in the wild outside.  The boys also loved touching the sting rays and the crabs inside.
• Movies - we have been going each week to the dollar movie at the theater.  Logan really liked the pirate movie we saw the first week, but was not as interested in Despicable Me 2 that we saw this week.  He will sit still and be quiet for pretty much the whole movie, which is awesome.

Seth is 5 years old!

Today is Seth's birthday and I can't believe that he is 5 years old already - it doesn't feel like it's been that long or he could possibly be that old.  We planned a fun weekend (since he already had his party, we didn't want him to feel left out).  We went blueberry picking and to the bird sanctuary on Saturday and then out for milkshakes.  On Monday, Katsu took the day off of work and we went to the beach and the aquarium and out to Olive Garden for dinner - where they sang to him.  Today, we mostly did things that Seth enjoys - he played Angry Birds on Katsu's tablet this morning.  Then, we went to the $1 and saw Pirates - a movie made by the creators of Wallace and Grommit.  It has been a really long time since we went to the movies, so that was a special treat.  Then, we bought stuff for his birthday cake and dinner and the boys played video games (Lego Star Wars) while Logan took a nap.  Then, we went to the library and got a ton of books.  We had his favorite dinner - Pasta alfredo and then cake (strawberry with chocolate frosting and blueberries on top ... it was his choice) and ice cream and then opened presents.  He got some more circuit pieces from me for his snap circuits (he is very excited about this) and then a game from Katsu that helps you learn to write your Japanese characters and then Spiderman roller skates from Grandma and Grandpa.  He had to try out the skates and the game and then it was time for bed.  A great birthday!

Not much new with Seth.  Still loves to play games - Uno and Sorry are his favorites.  He loves to look through Japanese comics, though he is starting to read himself (or to Logan) easy readers as well.  He really is reading quite well.  He enjoys any kind of screentime.  He loves to go to the pool.  He loves to do anything athletic - sports, running around, scooter, trying to ride his bike, etc.  He also likes to play army with Andrew and is starting to enjoy playing with Logan as well.

Seth is super motivated.  He wakes up early (like probably around 6 am) and gets himself dressed and brushes his teeth.  His clothes are still often backwards, but he always dresses himself.  He likes to watch Wild Krats on TV (a show about nature) and it comes on at 7:30 but he is really supposed to do his work in the summer before doing screentime.  So, he will do his math and handwriting workbook by himself, often while we are still asleep.  And then he will pick out a couple easy reader books to read with me when I wake up.  He is so self-motivated.

Seth has also been learning some around the kitchen, when I am motivated.  He has learned to make grilled cheese sandwiches and scrambled eggs and did a pretty good job.

Fun Things So Far In June:

• River Park North - we went and saw the little nature center there.  The boys enjoyed it.
• Lots of pool visits
• Last Tball game - Katsu was out of town, so I took him.  Seth got a real out (maybe the only one of the season?) and they had cupcakes to celebrate at the end.
• Seth sang for Father's Day - Katsu was out of town, though.
• Kindergarten assessment - Seth read the sight words so quickly they couldn't even check them off.  He is very ready for school.
• Vacation Bible School - the boys were a little reluctant to go but they had fun.  Seth was lucky that his preschool teacher was also his teacher for VBS.  They learned the songs well and sang to us the last day.  They also were excited to donate some money to the water fund.
• Visiting the dentist - no cavities!
• Picking blueberries - Seth picked so many and really had a great time!
• Bird sanctuary - the drive was a little too long for Seth but he was excited by the playground and running around to see all the birds.   There was a little fossil dig there that the boys loved and found some more shark teeth.
• Beach - Seth loved learning to use his boogie board and making lots of sand castles.  We even saw some dolphins.
• Aquarium - Seth was a little grumpy after falling asleep on the way there, but he loved it.  They had a dinosaur exhibit with moving (and one water-squirting) dinosaurs scattered around the aquarium, mostly outside.  In addition to all the tanks inside, we got to see some water birds and crabs in the wild outside.  The boys also loved touching the sting rays and the crabs inside.
• His birthday!

Seth in April & May 2014

Seth is done with preschool.  He had his last day on May 23rd and had a graduation ceremony.  Katsu had just gotten back from Japan early that morning, but he was there.  The graduation ceremony was very sweet and so formal!  They had it in the little chapel.  Each kid wore a little cap and walked down the aisle when their name was called while Pomp and Circumstance was playing.  Then, they received their diploma, shook hands with the head of the preschool, and had a photo op.  Then, the kids sang A TON of songs - like 12 or something.  Seth knew pretty much all the words and sure sang out.  It was really really sweet - some of the songs were about growing up and graduating.  Then, they all threw their hats and afterwards had a reception with cake and snacks.  They all had pictures in frames they made of themselves with pictures in a white cap and gown, too - super super cute.  Seth had sure enjoyed the last week being home from preschool, though.  Seth's teachers said he was delightful to work with, always obedient and eager to learn.  His teachers were great - they would bring in harder games and activities for him to work on since he was so far ahead of his class.  His teachers said that he would always read directions for the rest of the class, but wouldn't do so in a show-off-y way.  I thought it was kind of funny.

The last couple months of preschool were busy.  Seth had an Easter Egg hunt at school where his teacher took the cutest pictures.  It really looked like a lot of fun.  They had a week off for Spring Break the week after Easter.  The Friday before Mother's Day, there was a Mother's Day tea.  It was just me and Seth, for once, which was really nice.  We had a little brunch together and they gave us some sweet Mother's Day presents.  One with their handprints - kind of classic - and also a little flower where each petal said something that we were good at.  Seth said I was good at reading him stories and that I was smart, fine by me.  Seth also had an end of the year party a couple days before his graduation.  They had all kinds of snacks, ran around and played games, and had a visit from the Chic-fil-A cow (one of his classmates' dad owns one or something).  Overall, a fun end of preschool and Seth really seems to have enjoyed and got to know the kids well.  Several of them will go to kindergarten at our elementary school and one even lives down the street from us, so hopefully we will get to see more of them.  He even wants to name the baby after a boy Samuel in his class.

We celebrated Seth's birthday in May with a joint party for both Seth and Andrew.  We won a free party at a nearby party place / kid care place called Jump Fit.  I still can't believe we won, but it was a really great party.  They have a really fun bouncy house and a big indoor play ground and basketball and air hockey.  We invited some of Seth's friends from church and also from preschool - I think almost everyone Seth invited came.  Anyways, the kids had a blast just running around for an hour (there was only two girls there, so they spent a lot of time chasing the girls, go figure).  Then, we had cake - Seth picked strawberry (they were actually Black Forest) cupcakes with chocolate frosting and chips and fruit punch and opened presents.  Seth was most excited about the Avenger costume he got.  The first few days we wanted to wear it all the time.   Then, the boys all played some more.  It really was a fun party and I am so grateful we won it.  It sure made our life a little easier this summer.  That evening,  we made a fire in our fire pit and had hot dogs and eggs and chicken outside and now the boys are camping out in the backyard in the tent.  It should be a fun night - we'll see if anyone sleeps!

Seth is OBSESSED with games lately.  He wants to play games all the time.  Like 20 games or more of UNO a day.  He also likes to play Blink, Set, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, and Memory.  But I was starting to go crazy with those games, so I have been trying to add different ones into the rotation.  We have been playing this geography game called Take Flight or something like that where you fly around the world.  I also taught them to play Rummicube.  Today, I bought them a couple new games - Battleship and Sorry, that hopefully they will enjoy playing themselves.  They also really like Life, but I do not enjoy playing that with them because invariably Logan will be into everything (actually, he is like that with all games, but Life takes so long and the little cars are so appealing!).  Seth doesn't quite get all of the older games, but he can play passable.  He is quite good at UNO, but then again, he sure gets a lot of practice.

Seth has also been obsessed with going to the pool.  For weeks before it opened, he begged to go, and then it opened while Katsu was out of town and then I got the stomach flu and then Seth got the stomach flu, but we did finally make it to the pool a few times.  No one really wanted to go much this week - I am kind of surprised.  I never really made it to putting them in swim lessons this summer - I just feel like everything is kind of up in the air, but I want to try to teach them to swim and also Seth to ride his bike this summer.

Seth started playing Tball as soon as soccer was finished.  Seth really loved soccer and he seems to be enjoying tball as well.  As soon as we bought a mitt for him, he didn't want to put it down.  He wanted to sleep with it and would hide it around the house so that Logan couldn't find it and then we would spend days searching the entire house to find it.  Seth is so good at hiding things.  Anyways, I think tball is kind of a mess compared to soccer.  The parents have to participate the whole time - thankfully, Katsu has gone most weeks, but I went one or two weeks.  They have to play catch, etc.  And the games - I guess I thought that they would be actual games like soccer.  No, each child bats every inning.  There are no outs or scores or anything.  All the kids in the outfield are doubled up so they take turns each hit trying to catch the ball.  And a parent stands out in the outfield with them the whole time.  The kids can't even tell where the bases are because there are so many people on the field!  The week, I went to a game, I had to take Logan outfield, too, because he was freaking out, and Andrew was super grumpy because he didn't want to be there.  And with me super pregnant and then getting the stomach flu later that day - it was fun!!!  Ha ha ha.  But Seth likes it.  He wants to do every sport, so I am sure we will play again next year.  No sports over the summer which Seth is disappointed about, but we can go to the pool every day.

I bought some workbooks for the summer and Seth has already started trying to do all the handwriting book while I am putting Logan down for a nap.  I really wanted to work with him, but I have to hide the book now to keep him from doing the whole thing.  He has started up doing his reading lessons on the computer, as well, and is doing really well on reading.  He doesn't want to read books if I suggest it, but sometimes I see him sitting and reading stories out loud in the living room.  And sometimes he will read to Logan at night.

Otherwise, it is mostly the same - reading comics, playing army, and board games.  He is starting to play more with Logan and hates to play by himself.  

Fun Things in April:

- General Conference - the boys probably paid attention to all of one session but they still really enjoy this tradition.
- Soccer games - Seth loved every minute of soccer.  He usually got tons of goals, though not as much the last game.  He got a trophy which was exciting for all of about 10 minutes.  Seth would happily play soccer all the time if he could.
- PIRATE FEST.  We went to a soccer game and then went to pirate fest.  We bought some tickets for bouncy houses, but didn't have time to do everything, so after another soccer game and some Sonic (with free coupons from Pirate Fest), we went back to Pirate Fest.  It was so fun - all the bouncy houses and the fun carnival games, and we watched a BMX bike show and I feel like we ran into everyone we know.  Greenville is really a small town in some ways.  The boys can't wait to go back next year.
- Easter Egg Hunt at school 
- Our traditional Easter activities.  We did a little more low key this year.  The boys' favorite for Palm Sunday was watching the Skit Guys skit on Palm Sunday on You Tube.  They thought it was the most hilarious thing ever!  We also had all our traditional food (passover dinner with real lamb this time, our Jesus dinner with traditional foods, hot cross buns, resurrection rolls, and the traditional ham dinner).  Andrew wanted to have EVERY single food on the list for our Jesus dinner, but it wasn't quite possible.  We also tried a symbolic dinner one evening while reading through a couple chapters in Mark where each food was symbolic of something in the story.  The kids really enjoyed it so we will have to do it again!
- Spring Break started on Good Friday, so Katsu took the day off and we went to the zoo - it's about 2.5 hours away, but the drive really didn't seem that bad.  Andrew and Logan LOVED it!  Andrew was a little sad we missed one of the animals, but it was such a long walk around the zoo (I think they had like 5 miles of walking within the zoo).  We brought a lunch and had it half way and thankfully there was lots of places to play for the kids near the end, too.  It was a nice zoo in a woody setting.  We all really enjoyed it.  I think Seth wasn't feeling very well - he started complaining as soon as we got there.  He got sick over spring break and we ended up staying most of the week at home.
- Easter - we had two egg hunts.  One at church on Saturday (I was so glad because the boys are so sad that most of the church or community egg hunts here are on Sunday right during church).  The boys got tons of eggs.  Then, we had an egg hunt at home on Sunday morning.  It was a lot of fun - if the weather was better, we might have had it outside, but it was a pretty wet and rainy weekend.
- Gardening - we spent a lot of time in April getting our garden ready.  The boys are always excited when new things grow - to watch the daffodils and tulips pop out or new strawberries to start growing.  Seth loves to garden, especially to plant seeds and water plants and he is especially good at pulling weeds.
- Spring Break - we all ended up getting sick with colds, so it was a pretty boring spring break.  We were going to go out and do things, but unfortunately, we mostly stayed home and watched way too many  movies.  Oh, well.  Next year, we'll do fun things!
- Family Fun Day - after the last soccer games, Katsu and the boys went to the ECU family fun day at a big recreational facility they have north of the city.  The boys had a blast - I won't get all the details right, but they played games, bounced in bouncy houses, and went canoeing and got quite wet.  They had lots of yummy snacks, too.  A great way to end the soccer season.

Fun Things So Far in May
- Tball
- Jarvis Fun Day  - after going to Seth's T-ball practice, we went over to Jarvis (where Seth & Logan go to preschool) for their family fun day.  Wow - it was really a lot of fun.  It was pretty hot, but we still had loads of fun.  We all got some hot dogs and popcorn for lunch.  Then, the boys had snow cones and cotton candy for snacks.  They played all the games and got tickets - Andrew redeemed his for a candy bar.  Much to Katsu's chagrin, no one was convinced to pool their tickets to get a full size basketball.  They, the boys played in bouncy houses - I think they had 4 in the church's parking lot!  And it was all free!  They even got to see a firetruck.  It was really fun and boy were we worn out afterwards.
- Children's Day - to celebrate Japanese children's day, we put our special wind socks and then we went out for Japanese food for dinner.  The boys LOVED it and have been very motivated to use their chopsticks to eat even more at home.
- Mother's Day Tea
- Birthday Party
- Swimming
- End of Year Party
- Graduation
- Birthday Party - Seth went to a couple birthday parties.  One was at River Park North and he made a lava lamp and had a lot of fun.
- Fossil Festival - The weekend Katsu got home, we drove an hour to Aurora to see the Fossil Museum and just in time for the Fossil Festival.  We saw the parade and then went into the museum for a quick look before crossing the street and digging in their big fossil pit.  The boys found tons of fossilized sea shells and also about 17 fossil shark teeth.  They loved it.  We went and saw a few of the tents on the way back and then drove home to make it in time to the birthday parties.
- Memorial Day - we went to the pool with friends and stayed a LONG time.  Then, we went to a party at Katsu's coworkers.  The boys went to the park there and also played in water and ate tons of food.

Andrew is 7 years old!

Today is Andrew's birthday and it's hard to believe that he is already 7!  He is growing up so fast.  I can't believe that he will be getting baptized in a year.

Andrew had a great birthday (I think!).  He woke up early and played video games with Seth and got to play for way too long.  He had some lunch and we played outside and then he and the boys went over to our neighbors to play on their bouncy house / water slide thing.  They had a blast and played for like 2 hours almost!  We came home and the boys played more video games (!) until I finally got a little bit of food in them and then we went to Andrew and Seth's joint birthday party.

We won a free party at a nearby party place / kid care place called Jump Fit.  I still can't believe we won, but it was a really great party.  They have a really fun bouncy house and a big indoor play ground and basketball and air hockey.  We invited several of Andrew's school friends, but there is no school directory or anything, so I have no idea how many of the invitations actually made it home.  Only one came, but he also had several friends there from church as well as our neighbors. We'll have to rethink how we do it next year.  Anyways, the kids had a blast just running around for an hour (there was only two girls there, so they spent a lot of time chasing the girls, go figure).  Then, we had cake - Andrew picked chocolate cupcakes with strawberry frosting and chips and lemonade and opened presents.  Andrew was excited about all of them - let's see:  he got a couple gift cards and a spiderman toy and a sling shot and some little toys and also from us he got binoculars and book light for reading at night and from his grandparents he got an airplane making kit.  It all looks really fun.  He has already played with the slingshot and has been looking at the moon with the binoculars.  Then, the boys all played some more.  It really was a fun party and I am so grateful we won it.  It sure made our life a little easier this summer.

Then, we made a fire in our fire pit and had hot dogs and eggs and chicken outside and now the boys are camping out in the backyard in the tent.  It should be a fun night - we'll see if anyone sleeps!

Other than his birthday, Andrew has been super busy reading.  Most days, he comes home and goes straight for his books.  He is finishing up the last Magic Tree House book today - boy, those 51 books sure went fast!  We'll have to see which series he gets caught in next.

He still loves to play.  He plays army and makes hideouts and elaborate structures all over the upstairs.  It is his favorite thing to do.  He also likes to play video games when we let him.  He likes to be sneaky and do tricky things.  He is starting to enjoy telling jokes.

Andrew learned to ride his bike, but he hasn't spent a lot of time doing that (Katsu needs to be around a little more to help because I can't launch him on the bike very well).  He likes to help around in the garden and is good at watering or harvesting plants.  He likes to play outside on the playset in the "fort".  He likes to run around and play with and tease his brothers.  And he loves to talk and talk and talk and talk and talk.

Fun Things in April:

- General Conference - the boys probably paid attention to all of one session but they still really enjoy this tradition.
- Soccer games - Andrew finished out the season and got a trophy.  I don't know if he got any goals this season, but he tries - he doesn't have a lot of innate athletic ability and isn't a great runner and doesn't have a lot of ambition, but he tries hard and doesn't get discouraged or give up.  Still, I think this season was a little frustrating for him.  I thought he didn't want to play again next season, but today he was asking me if he could still get a free Chic-fil-a sandwich on soccer day if he wore last year's shirt.  I told him that that wouldn't be honest.  After some thought, he told me he wanted to play again next fall.  We'll see.  Andrew likes the trophies, the snacks, and sitting and talking to the other boys on the sideline.  If only I could find an actual activity that he enjoys as well!
- Andrew had a field day at school.  He seemed mostly worn our and frustrated that he didn't get to do all the "fun" activities, but I bet he had fun, too.
- PIRATE FEST.  We went to a soccer game and then went to pirate fest.  We bought some tickets for bouncy houses, but didn't have time to do everything, so after another soccer game and some Sonic (with free coupons from Pirate Fest), we went back to Pirate Fest.  It was so fun - all the bouncy houses and the fun carnival games, and we watched a BMX bike show and I feel like we ran into everyone we know.  Greenville is really a small town in some ways.  The boys can't wait to go back next year.
- Easter Egg Hunt at school - they put words on the eggs and gave each kid a list and you had to find the words on your list.  Andrew was disappointed that he didn't win the prize by being first - he was really upset that it wasn't fair because one of the eggs he had, the word fell off.  He also was upset that he didn't get to bring in extra eggs, but I know he still had fun.  How lucky to celebrate Easter at school at all!
- Our traditional Easter activities.  We did a little more low key this year.  The boys' favorite for Palm Sunday was watching the Skit Guys skit on Palm Sunday on You Tube.  They thought it was the most hilarious thing ever!  We also had all our traditional food (passover dinner with real lamb this time, our Jesus dinner with traditional foods, hot cross buns, resurrection rolls, and the traditional ham dinner).  Andrew wanted to have EVERY single food on the list for our Jesus dinner, but it wasn't quite possible.  We also tried a symbolic dinner one evening while reading through a couple chapters in Mark where each food was symbolic of something in the story.  The kids really enjoyed it so we will have to do it again!
- Spring Break started on Good Friday, so Katsu took the day off and we went to the zoo - it's about 2.5 hours away, but the drive really didn't seem that bad.  Andrew and Logan LOVED it!  Andrew was a little sad we missed one of the animals, but it was such a long walk around the zoo (I think they had like 5 miles of walking within the zoo).  We brought a lunch and had it half way and thankfully there was lots of places to play for the kids near the end, too.  It was a nice zoo in a woody setting.  We all really enjoyed it.
- Easter - we had two egg hunts.  One at church on Saturday (I was so glad because the boys are so sad that most of the church or community egg hunts here are on Sunday right during church).  The boys got tons of eggs.  Then, we had an egg hunt at home on Sunday morning.  It was a lot of fun - if the weather was better, we might have had it outside, but it was a pretty wet and rainy weekend.
- Gardening - we spent a lot of time in April getting our garden ready.  The boys are always excited when new things grow - to watch the daffodils and tulips pop out or new strawberries to start growing.
- Spring Break - we all ended up getting sick with colds, so it was a pretty boring spring break.  We were going to go out and do things, but unfortunately, we mostly stayed home and watched way too many  movies.  Oh, well.  Next year, we'll do fun things!
- Family Fun Day - after the last soccer games, Katsu and the boys went to the ECU family fun day at a big recreational facility they have north of the city.  The boys had a blast - I won't get all the details right, but they played games, bounced in bouncy houses, and went canoeing and got quite wet.  They had lots of yummy snacks, too.  A great way to end the soccer season.

Fun Things So Far in May
- Jarvis Fun Day  - after going to Seth's T-ball practice, we went over to Jarvis (where Seth & Logan go to preschool) for their family fun day.  Wow - it was really a lot of fun.  It was pretty hot, but we still had loads of fun.  We all got some hot dogs and popcorn for lunch.  Then, the boys had snow cones and cotton candy for snacks.  They played all the games and got tickets - Andrew redeemed his for a candy bar.  Much to Katsu's chagrin, no one was convinced to pool their tickets to get a full size basketball.  They, the boys played in bouncy houses - I think they had 4 in the church's parking lot!  And it was all free!  They even got to see a firetruck.  It was really fun and boy were we worn out afterwards.
- Children's Day - to celebrate Japanese children's day, we put our special wind socks and then we went out for Japanese food for dinner.  The boys LOVED it and have been very motivated to use their chopsticks to eat even more at home.
- Second Grade Move Up Night - Andrew and I went to a presentation about going to second grade.  I have no concerns and know he will do great, but I was a little concerned that the teachers didn't have good suggestions about some new series for Andrew to read.  He loved being out with me and getting pizza, but found the presentation boring.
- Birthday!!!

A few other noteworthy events.  There was a lot of tornados nearby the last couple of weeks, which has been scaring Andrew half to death.  We also have been going on exploring walks int he neighborhood, which Andrrew loves.  We found out where the trail in the woods goes (to the neighboring neighborhood) and we saw over 10 deer one morning on a walk!  A fun month or two.