So on to my resolve of updating this blog more frequently! (I also have a bunch of catch up to do on 2018)
Sora was so upset that she had to go to school for one day while Kai was at home.. it's difficult when the kids' schedules aren't in sync, and since Kai and Sora are so close in age, Sora doesn't always see the difference between him and her. In the evening, we met up with Viet and family for dinner. It was chaotic going out to a restaurant with five kids in tow and our spoiled kids didn't enjoy the s'mores crepe nearly as much as they should've. :P
We were gearing up to go to the snow retreat the next day and that evening, disaster struck. I slipped on a stair and tore my ACL (I had had a partial tear which is now completely torn). We missed a day of the snow retreat so I could see the doctor and get worked up, but the MRI confirmed what we had already suspected.
Given the choice of having me try to take it easy at home on our own or take it easy at Tahoe with our friends, we opted to drive up to Tahoe nonetheless and make the most of the weekend. There was hardly any snow on Friday, so the kids were delighted when it started snowing on Saturday afternoon. The drive home was a bit hairy, as almost everyone decided to leave at 7 am to beat the traffic and snow storm, and then one of the families in our group got into a relatively serious car accident (though no one was injured), but going on this trip was the right choice, it's always easier to parent in community
Fortunately my knee is recovering, so it's been easier for me to get around, though since I now have a complete tear, I'm going to have to have a surgery.. hopefully in April if I can time it correctly. It's been a challenging since Nik's been working quite a bit and I've had to care for the kids on my own in the mornings, but we've also had a lot of help from the Halls these past few days as well. Luckily, my little social butterfly doesn't mind hanging out with Isaac and Owen.
Jad is such a joy, and Nik and I like to say that he lives up to his name (Jad means "benevolent" in Arabic). He's a cheerful, easygoing baby and loves people--he's happy as a clam as long as people are around and paying attention to him. He loves Kai and Sora, and will try to jump into the fray if he sees them doing something fun. With two older siblings, he's pretty assertive and he doesn't let himself get bossed around by older kids. He likes ride on vehicles and throwing balls.. his seventh and eighth teeth finally popped out (he's had six teeth for a long time now) and he's started taking his first steps about a week ago!
Sora is ever the little diva. She is so smart and clever, even though she has a late birthday and will be in T-K next year, she definitely could go to kindergarten. She is a complete girly girl, and loves pink, princesses, and ponies.. dance class suits her well. She is also stubborn as a mule, and will pout or stamp her feet if she doesn't get what she wants (no idea where she picked that up from). Perhaps it's also a bit of middle child syndrome, but she also doesn't like being ignored and will scream if you talk over her.
Kai's been doing well in kindergarten, though there have been a few notes to home ("the biting incident" and "the chalk incident"). His best friend at school is Abhai. He has a competitive streak and loves to get rewards or recognition. After winning Reader of the Month in October, he set his sights on winning Reader of the Year for the school year. Though Kai likes to read anyway, we've been impressed with his commitment to achieving his goal. His bookworm tendencies are starting to pay off and can now read whole books on his own. He is still going to jiu jitsu and has earned two stripes (they award stripes according to attendance in Kai's class). Kai can be a bit of a goofball and occasionally has problems focusing; Nik is constantly telling Kai to "pay attention to what you're doing," and sometimes he will literally start spinning around in circles for no reason in particular.
I'll try to keep up with the blog so things don't get too overwhelming for me in the future. Closing this post off with a surprisingly decent picture of the three kiddos. :)
Sora was so upset that she had to go to school for one day while Kai was at home.. it's difficult when the kids' schedules aren't in sync, and since Kai and Sora are so close in age, Sora doesn't always see the difference between him and her. In the evening, we met up with Viet and family for dinner. It was chaotic going out to a restaurant with five kids in tow and our spoiled kids didn't enjoy the s'mores crepe nearly as much as they should've. :P
We were gearing up to go to the snow retreat the next day and that evening, disaster struck. I slipped on a stair and tore my ACL (I had had a partial tear which is now completely torn). We missed a day of the snow retreat so I could see the doctor and get worked up, but the MRI confirmed what we had already suspected.
Given the choice of having me try to take it easy at home on our own or take it easy at Tahoe with our friends, we opted to drive up to Tahoe nonetheless and make the most of the weekend. There was hardly any snow on Friday, so the kids were delighted when it started snowing on Saturday afternoon. The drive home was a bit hairy, as almost everyone decided to leave at 7 am to beat the traffic and snow storm, and then one of the families in our group got into a relatively serious car accident (though no one was injured), but going on this trip was the right choice, it's always easier to parent in community
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| An amazingly nice family picture (thx, Peggy!) |
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| Kai's makin' a move ;) |
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| "Uh, Dad? I'm not sure how I feel about this.." |
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| ".. I like snow much better from inside." |
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| Jaddy's popular with the ladies |
Fortunately my knee is recovering, so it's been easier for me to get around, though since I now have a complete tear, I'm going to have to have a surgery.. hopefully in April if I can time it correctly. It's been a challenging since Nik's been working quite a bit and I've had to care for the kids on my own in the mornings, but we've also had a lot of help from the Halls these past few days as well. Luckily, my little social butterfly doesn't mind hanging out with Isaac and Owen.
Jad is such a joy, and Nik and I like to say that he lives up to his name (Jad means "benevolent" in Arabic). He's a cheerful, easygoing baby and loves people--he's happy as a clam as long as people are around and paying attention to him. He loves Kai and Sora, and will try to jump into the fray if he sees them doing something fun. With two older siblings, he's pretty assertive and he doesn't let himself get bossed around by older kids. He likes ride on vehicles and throwing balls.. his seventh and eighth teeth finally popped out (he's had six teeth for a long time now) and he's started taking his first steps about a week ago!
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| "Don't leave me out!" |
Sora is ever the little diva. She is so smart and clever, even though she has a late birthday and will be in T-K next year, she definitely could go to kindergarten. She is a complete girly girl, and loves pink, princesses, and ponies.. dance class suits her well. She is also stubborn as a mule, and will pout or stamp her feet if she doesn't get what she wants (no idea where she picked that up from). Perhaps it's also a bit of middle child syndrome, but she also doesn't like being ignored and will scream if you talk over her.
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| Our tiny dancer |
Kai's been doing well in kindergarten, though there have been a few notes to home ("the biting incident" and "the chalk incident"). His best friend at school is Abhai. He has a competitive streak and loves to get rewards or recognition. After winning Reader of the Month in October, he set his sights on winning Reader of the Year for the school year. Though Kai likes to read anyway, we've been impressed with his commitment to achieving his goal. His bookworm tendencies are starting to pay off and can now read whole books on his own. He is still going to jiu jitsu and has earned two stripes (they award stripes according to attendance in Kai's class). Kai can be a bit of a goofball and occasionally has problems focusing; Nik is constantly telling Kai to "pay attention to what you're doing," and sometimes he will literally start spinning around in circles for no reason in particular.
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| October Reader of the Month! :) |
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| Testing out the umbrella and rain boots |
I'll try to keep up with the blog so things don't get too overwhelming for me in the future. Closing this post off with a surprisingly decent picture of the three kiddos. :)
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| Wonders! They look and smile at the camera these days! |
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| .. and our family ornament arrived! (the tree is already packed away, but late is better than never, right?) |
