Merry Christmas 2010

xmas 2010

Merry Christmas! This year both Joel and Noah learned about Santa and were quite excited when they came downstairs in the morning to find a note from Santa and lots of presents under the tree.
We spent a cozy day at home, with less family around than usual. The boys did enjoy all the gifts, thank you everyone to help make the day even more special for the little ones. Their favorites are definitely the guns from Parker, which happen to be very noisy (thanks, Uncle Trip!). Daddy made a special pancake breakfast and Mommy made "Little Turkey (cornish hens)" for dinner. As Joel would quote Santa-"Ho-ho-ho", and a goodnight for all. Until next year!

Winter outdoor

december 2010

We're definitely getting a hang of being outdoor. The secret is layering and snowsuits!
Noah really takes to the snow this year and loves to play outside.
Joel is still a bit reluctant. They do agree on snow as snacks, though. Bo also loves snow. Noah is learning a lot from Bo, too. He was fascinated by how Bo can make yellow snow...and that Bo's poop make steam! Funny to see things from kid's point-of-view. Next on the list will be to try out skiing sometimes.

Tis the season...

The making of xmas card 2010

This year, Mommy resorted to bribery to get the kids and the dog to sit in the same photo frame.
It worked out quite well. So many good pictures...but only a few made it to the official xmas card.
Hope you all enjoy!

First Snow Winter 2010

First snow fall 2010

First big snow this year arrives a little later than usual-December!
Noah enjoys the snow much more and loves sledding. Joel is a little hesitant, but did say, "that was fun," at the end. Bo seems to be snow dog, and loves to run in the snow with all the kids.

Thanksgiving trip south

Thanksgiving 2010

We went to Herrin this year for Yai-Yai's special thanksgiving dinner.
Mommy said, it's the best turkey ever! Now that all the family are near-by, we even went to St. Louis that weekend. Nah Kao took us on a special horse drawn carriage to enjoy the holidays lights.
We sure packed it in during the trip, adding even a birthday celebration for Yai-Yai (who didn't turn four, either).
Noah and Joel got to play with Nolan and even Parker, too.

Moving Indoor

Indoor Fun

As colder weather arrives, we have to move indoor for more activities. Noah continues at his Keva Sports Complex, with Joel joining sometimes. We'll probably visit the new Children's museum more often, too. BUT, the cold weather also means soon we'll get to enjoy snow again!

Future Golfers?

Future golfers?

Noah really seems to enjoy golfing. Any chance he gets, he is out in the front yard, practicing. Ta-Ta really made an impression on Noah with his golf lessons. Of course, if Noah does something, Joel is never far behind. We'll see how what happens as they get older. Tiger who?

Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye visit!

Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye visit 2010

Ye-Ye and Nai-Nai came to visit for almost a month. Of course, they came to celebrate the son and grandson's birthday but there were much more reasons to celebrate. The times the boys get to spend with grandparents were priceless. Joel even got to share Nai-Nai with his class during his Star of the Week. Joel and Nai-Nai also bonded. He even has his own little inside joke with her... CORNER (for some reason, Joel thinks the way Nai-Nai say "corner" is rather funny)!If only we all get to see each other more often.

Guess who is NOT four!

More fall fun...

October is always so busy for our family. Of course, we celebrated Daddy's birthday, too. It was great, since not only Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye were there, Uncle Jonah came and even Uncle Linus.

We also got a surprised beautiful sunny Fall weekend to enjoy. It was great just to hang out everyone.

Noah is FOUR!

Noah is FOUR!

Noah turned FOUR! He has quite a birthday bash and has so many people who came to celebrate with him. Nolan even came to surprise Noah and Joel, when they picked him up from school. All his grandparents were there, too. There was just so much love and attention in the house.

Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween 2010

Halloween got to be quite a busy time.
The boys loved playing superheroes and really got a lot of use out of their costumes.
Remember Spiderman from last year? Nolan came up for Noah's birthday, too, so we took him to the wet pumpkin patch. There was Costume Parade at school for the boys. Later, Noah and Joel both enjoyed trick-o-treat in Swan Creek neighborhood. Noah also was quite sensible and told everyone that he needs to have peanut-free candies! Joel didn't mind all the treats, either. Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye joined in the fun...even Bo, too, reluctantly. Hope everyone had as much fun as we did.

Remember the Magic Sunflower?

Remember this?

And harvest time must come...

Remember Noah's sunflower? Harvest time brought attention of all the neighborhood kids.

Noah was more than happy to share his crop. May be next year, we'll have the next generation sprouting up around the neighborhood!

Meet Bo

Meet Bo

We expanded our family by one...with four legs and a tail.

Meet Bo-yellow lab puppy. Noah named him "BO", short for Rocky BalBOa!

We all went up to bring him home from Portage.

He really is a mellow yellow lab, which is great for our family.

The boys warm up to Bo quickly, and now we seem less complete without Bo around.

By the time Bo reaches his probably 85 lbs, the boys should become bonafide dog-lovers!

StepOut 2010

Walk to fight Diabetes 2010

The boys joined mommy and her team for StepOut-Walk to Fight Diabetes this year. They enjoyed the 3-mile trek through Vilas park and napped about half-way through. After the walk, we enjoyed the unusually warm October day by a picnic in the park and a visit to the zoo. Unfortunately, at the zoo, most of the animals were napping, too. Only a few were awake enough to greet us.

FFD Open House 2010

Fire station open house 2010

Noah gets to bring Joel to the fire station open house this year, finally.

The boys (all 3) enjoyed pretending to be a fireman. We learned more about fighting fire and what hard work it is. It was also an unexpectedly warm October day as well. What a treat!

Epelgaarden with the Giving Trees

First field trip of the year again this time is at the Epelgaarden. It was quite cool, very fall-like weather but the kids enjoy themselves. Everyone was supposed to pick 4 apples, but most picked 4 to take home and sampled some others. Healthy snack all around for everyone.

September fun around town

September fun around town

We left off our traveling shoes for the month (at least the longer distant ones).

The weather was mild, so we still ventured outdoor whenever we can. The boys enjoyed little hiking at McKee Farm Park and also at Governor Nelson State Park. Of course, one of our favorite activities is visiting a playground anytime we can and playing with sand!

Fun at the Dells

Fun at the Dells

We took another short road trip next door to the Dells.

This time we stayed at Great Wolf Lodge, which was a smaller waterpark, but actually just the right size for Noah and Joel. Joel still did not love the water part but enjoyed all the other festivities. The rooms and activities are really set up for young kids. The next day we also got to go the Dells train-which is a really big steam engine model train ride whose 1 mile route included a bridge over a good size ravine. That was quite exciting for the kids. Noah and Joel would love to bring his cousins here when they visit (hint-hint).

Labor Day Weekend 2010

Labor Day weekend 2010

Labor Day weekend this year was a treat with beautiful weather.

Essentially the whole weekend was spent outdoor. We took a long stroll around the lake, and Noah was quite interested to check out all the fishermen and their catch and baits. We then walked toward the Capitol square for the Farmer's market and also to see the vendors setting up for Taste of Madison, which we went to as well once it started. Lots of music and street performers, the kids really enjoyed all the festivities (so did the parents). We did so much strolling that we blew out a stroller tire (brought out a few scream from the crowd)!

First day of school

First day of school 2010

Joel has his first official day of school last week at Kids Express.

He is now a bonafide preschooler.

He was quite excited to get to leave the house with his big brother. Lunch box was a hit. Eating lunch was not so good, though. He did enjoy playing with friends and story time. He was a natural at napping and fell asleep at lunch table.

Noah was a good big brother and promptly told Mommy to ask the teacher to hold Joel, so he can go to his class. He did check in on Joel at playground time and played with Joel through the big kids-little kids divider fence.

Fun at Nolan's

Fun at Nolan's

Noah and Nolan enjoyed their time together. Nolan right away showed his cousins his new room and all the toys. Joel tried to join in when allowed. Their favorite activities for this visit seem to be Superheroes (Joel is the villain) and riding their bicycles. It sure is nice that Nolan is so much closer now, too.

First baseball game

First baseball game, Miners vs. ?

On the drive to Herrin, Noah saw Busch Stadium and asked if he can go to a baseball game, too.
Uncle Trip and Uncle Steve thought it would be fun to take the boys to Marion Miners game since we were right there. We got lawn seating for the night game and the boys have a great time. The Miners didn't, however. Though, who really watches the game anyway, eh?

A visit to Herrin

Herrin visit summer 2010

Since St. Louis is so much closer to Herrin, we did take the advantage of that and paid visit there.
The boys enjoyed spending time there and even got some private golf lesson from Khun Ta, too. Khun Yai was in her happy place with all the grandkids at her house.

Pool time with the boys

Pool time with the boys

The weather in St. Louis really made it seems more south than it is.
With the heat and humidity, we really took advantage of the pool at Parker's house.
Parker even tried to join in, but as it would happen, the temperature dipped to 80s that day from the typical closer to 90s. Noah is quite good with his lifejacket. Now we just have to figure out how to get him out of it and also how to get Joel to enjoy the water more.

St. Louis Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden visit

The Botanical Garden has a special exhibit this summer called Dinoquest. We thought the boys would enjoy it, but as it turned out, Joel was a bit afraid of the sound effect. They did enjoy strolling through the park, though. Parker and her Mommy also came for the outing.

Entertaining Parker

Entertaining Parker

The boys are supposed to keep Parker entertained while Nah Nit enjoys some breakfast time. They really took their duty seriously.

"Parker" by Noah

Noah portraits of Parker

Noah is learning the trick of digital photography.
He actually has quite the eyes for beauty. Parker really was a cooperative subject, too. Mommy only did very minimal editing.

Meet me in St. Louis

Meet me in St. Louis

With summer break for the boys, we decided on a little trip down south to spend some times with the family. We got to see everyone since Nolan now lives there, too.
The car ride was not too bad, both boys behave. Daddy drove down with us, but we brave the trip back without him, since he has to come back first for work.
The boys spent a lot of quality time with the family. Parker really grew just in one month.
In true spirit of vacation, the boys got to visit Botanical Garden, St. Louis Science Center and neighborhood parks while in the city. Everyone had a great time.

Magic Sunflower

Noah and the magic sunflower stalk

Sometimes last year, Noah brought home a packet of sunflower seeds.
He recently planted the seeds in the pot and took care of it regularly. He later transferred it to the ground. It sprouted so big! He is quite proud of his sunflower plant.

More summer fun...

More summertime fun

A summer would not be complete without a trip to the Dells here in Wisconsin. Ikey and Ellie made a trip up north to visit our family with their family. The kids enjoy spending time at the water parks. Joel may have enjoyed a bit less than others, however. We try to spend time outdoor as much as we can. The boys seem to grow much faster in the summer, must be all the sunlight!

Joel is 2 years old!

Happy Birthday, Joel!

Happy Birthday to Joel! Can you even believe that it's been 2 years?
We celebrated the whole weekend. Birthday cakes, balloons, decoration all in dinosaur theme, one of Joel's favorites at this time. He even knows his dinosaurs and is impartial to iguanodon and triceratops ("tops" to Joel). Party guests: Noah, Nolan, Connor and Riley and the rest serve as chaperones. We end the weekend with pizza dinner at our neighborhood hot spot, Roman Candles. Cheers to Joel!

Boys of summer

Boys of summer 2010

We didn't venture out too far from home to enjoy our summer. .Summer means swimming in a beautiful setting at Goodman pool, returning to Opera in the Park, eating Stoneman sweet corn and of course, playing in the park. The fun is even more exciting when we have family visiting us. Noah and Joel were quite a host to cousin Nolan.

Cousin Parker!

First meeting with Parker!

While Daddy was away to spend sometimes with his brothers, Mommy decided to take a road trip with the boys to St. Louis to meet the newest cousin-Parker. Congratulations to Uncle Trip and Nah Nit!
The boys did great on the trip (in-car DVD is a great invention). Noah and Joel were at first a little reluctant but eventually warm up to Parker. Soon enough, Parker will be chasing after everyone. She sure looks like she can take on the boys. There will be plenty more trips down south, since Nolan now lives here, too. It's like going to a summer house-swimming pool and ice-pops!

4th of July?

No real firework this year. The boys were a bit under the weather. We did manage a picnic in the park and then watch the firework from the bedroom window and on TV. Next year, may be we'll brave the real fireworks.

June just flew by!

June 2010

The boys enjoy spending more time outside as the weather gets warmer. Mommy had her official away trip from the family for her annual meeting. Skype came in handy! Kun Ta-Kun Yai came to help Daddy and the boys (all) enjoy the times as always. It is neat to see the personality emerging more from both boys. Noah is so gentle and Joel..well not gentle but definitely is showing himself as quite a jokester!

Chicago Summer 2010

We had a little weekend getaway to Chicago. It just so happened that Nolan visited, too. The boys went to Lincoln Park zoo, Magnificent Mile, Shedd Aqaurium, Milleneum Park and even enjoyed some fine dining. Noah said he wanted to come back again, soon.

Little Gym Big Show

Little Gym Big Show

Noah finished his first session at the Little Gym with the Big Show.
We all went to watch. Noah was quite proud of his accomplishment and we all were, too. He even had a little routine show stopper-Donkey Kick!
We all celebrated with ice-cream at the end. Yeah, Noah.

Goodbye Time of Wonder

Goodbye Time of Wonder

It's the end of Noah first full year in Time of Wonder class.
Joel and Mommy went to the End of the Year celebration. Noah helped us find the special ice-cream treat at the end of the scavenger hunt and showed his little brother around. Over the year, Joel has become somewhat of a little mascot. One parent commented, "so this is Joel, we've heard so much about him!" Noah loves to talk about his little brother and Joel loves to visit his big brother, too.

May with the boys

May with the boys

May has been another busy month. We started the month spending a Sunday with Love Madison volunteer project. Our family signed up the help our neighbor farmer at Eppelgaarden. Even Joel pitched in and helped sorted popcorn corn to sell later at Farmer's market. Noah helped Daddy prepared a special dinner for Mother's day: Flan and special steak and salad!
The following week we went to St. Louis to visit Nah Nit and Uncle Trip. Somewhere in between, Mommy took a day trip with the boys to Baraboo to meet up with Mommy's high school friend at the Circus. Then the last weekend we took another road-trip to Ta-Yai with a stop at U of I on the way. Let's just say the suitcase got a lot of use this month!

Disney Trip 2010

Disney trip 2010

We took a family trip to Florida this year since Daddy had a conference there.
Disney sure was overwhelming, especially for the parents. We did spend part of our stay at Animal Kingdom lodge, which sure was wonderful. It was amazing to see so many animals, so close up from our room balcony! The funny thing was that with all the exotic safari animals we saw, when asked what his favorite was, Noah said "bull cow" in the petting zoo part.
As for Joel, pretty much all the animals were "moo-moo" to him, antelope and all. True Wisconsin boys, we have.
Noah and Joel want to go back again and bring out the cousins, too!

Spring Break 2010

spring break 10

Noah and Joel has Spring Break from school and daycare this year.
Luckily, Kun Ta and Kun Yai returned from Thailand just in time to help keep the boys company. Spring is beautiful this year-full bloom. The down-side is that allergies are all also full-bloom!

Child of the Week

Child of the week

At Noah's school, all the kids get their turn as "child of the week". It's a special week when the child gets to bring his/her family, to do show-and-tell and gets picked to be the helper for the teacher. Noah was unfortunately out sick for 2 days that week. We did make up for it as the whole family went to school with Noah and spent part of the day with him. Joel seems to fit right in and became a little class mascot in a way. Everyone loves to squeeze his cheeks!

Spring is coming soon!

Spring is coming

March finally brought us much needed sunshine. Noah came out of the house one day and said "oh, the grass is here!" The pile of snow is dwindling. The birds are out. We took the kids to the zoo one day, and Joel was very excited. It probably was like a first visit for him, since he was able to roam around without being carried so much. He learned to say "turtle" and perfected his "roars".
I think the monkeys are still their favorite.

Cancun 2010

Cancun 2010

What a way to celebrate!
Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year and early Nai-Nai's birthday!
Cancun visit was great despite the cooler weather that we had or the fact that Micah and Joel both were a little under the weather. All the cousins enjoy playing together. Noah became Eli's little shadow, and Ella became a little caretaker of Joel. This trip marks a little more grown-up Noah. He actually was quite independent swimming with his life-jacket, braved the kayak and innertube at Xel-Ha. Joel still is a little shy with water in general. Definitely we'll have to do the trip again, but may be later in the year, so it would be warmer next time.

xmas 09

Xmas holidays 2009

Another Fitchburg xmas holidays.
What's unique this year is that Noah and Joel have all 4 grandparents visiting.
So much love and attention for the boys.
Of course, Noah loves to see his cousin Nolan. Joel also tries to join in the games now with some success. This year, they seem to get the concept of gifts a bit more, so it's fun to see. And, there was progress made in that the doggies get to roam around now that Noah and Joel are not afraid of them. Noah even offered to keep Holly and Lily for Nah Nit.
Thank you so much for visiting us, everyone.

Pre-Holidays 09

Pre holidays 09

December has been a busy month. We certainly did enjoy the crisp outdoor air.
Even before xmas holidays, Nai-Nai and Ye-Ye came to visit.
So we all took a trip down to Illinois to see some old friends and introduce Noah and Joel to them.
Noah and Joel love to visit their "old friends"-Ikey and Ellie, too.
Right before xmas, despite the forecast of bad weather, we travel Wisconsin style to the Dells and enjoyed the indoor waterpark. Wilderness Lodge is definitely a place to visit again.

The making of xmas card 09

The making of xmas card 09

So, mommy has the idea of dressing the boys up in matching PJ's again for Christmas card. The photo session proved to be quite challenging. Noah has developed an aversion to camera in his face. Joel has the opposite issue in that he has too much affinity for the camera. Most of the time, he grabs the camera before a picture can be taken. Hope that you all will appreciate the end result when you get it in the mail. There's always next year!

First blizzard 2009

First blizzard 2009

Snow Day! It was a special treat to have a day to spend together as everything was shut down, school and even work! The area was greeted by 12-18 inches of blowing snow overnight. Noah really enjoys being outside this year. Joel was fine until the snow blew into his face. Daddy also got quite a use on his new snow blower. All-in-all, it did look quite beautiful, all white and peaceful. The only sounds outside that day was the wind, neighborhood kids and snow-plow trucks. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Early Winter 2009

Winter 2009

We are enjoying the change in season here in Madtown.
Early on we were greeted by a few very nice days that were unseasonably warm. We even had a picnic on the Capitol lawn, after enjoying outdoor Farmer's market for the last time this year. This year Thanksgiving we spent in Herrin, visiting Kun Ta and Kun Yai. Nah Nit and Uncle Trip came as well as Nah Orm. Noah and Joel loved all the attention. Mommy and Daddy even left the boys for a night with the grandparents! Don't think we were missed much at all. It's great to see how Joel and Noah are able to interact more and more. We even have some tender moments between all the shouting and "MINE" or "ME"!

SoCal visit Oct 09

SoCal Oct 09

We took a little trip to visit Cousin Nolan this Fall.
It was a treat for Noah for his birthday to be able to spend with his cousin and all the family.
Nolan was a great host and took Noah to many places: Mother's beach, Orange County Zoo, Irvine Railroad park and Sea World! The two cousins love to play and sometimes will let Joel play with them, too. Keeping up with Noah and Nolan was a great motivation for Joel to finally walk! The trip came to the end much too soon. It was hard to have to leave for everyone.

Halloween 09

Happy Halloween 09

Noah and Joel picked out a perfectly big pumpkin this year and turned it into Jack-O-Lantern the last minute. Noah dressed up as Spiderman. In contrast to last year, when he was very reluctant about costume, this year he loves to dress up. It's almost Thanksgiving, and Noah will still be found in his favoriet superhero costume. Joel was a bumble bee, just like his cousin was a few years ago. He discovered lollipops and loved to pass out (throw) candies to all the neighborhood kids.