The Beach

We had our first family vacation with the Jackson family at the Chesapeake Bay. The kids had a blast and the two families had such a great time bonding. When the kids were asleep one night, the two couples played a Marrieds board game and we laughed so much and had such a memorable time together. We are so lucky to have friends like them to create memories with.

My Babies

My babies are growing up too fast! There's always laundry and cleaning to do, but I'm trying to make the time everyday to sit down and spend quality time with the kids. It's just too easy to get caught up with the house chores and errands. Sometimes, I wish I had a maid to do all of that so that I can just focus on being with the kids. Every minute is precious!

Boys will be boys

My friends at home asked why there were less pictures of Caleb on this site. Maybe they think that I'm not taking as many pictures...you know, the 2nd child syndrom.... Well, that's not really true. I think with my digital camera, it seems like I take more pictures than I know what to do with. I take lots of pictures but I don't always print them. For those of you who are curious about this boy, Caleb is now 5 months old; weighs 18 lbs; wears size 4 diapers; eats like a football player; started rolling over; and loves to suck on his fingers. You can click to zoom these pictures.

Ears pierced

Sydney had her 3 year old checkup at the pediatrician's office and Dr. Adam's said she's growing very nicely. She weighs 28lbs and is about 35" tall - both below the 5oth percentile. Besides getting her 2nd dose of Hep A, she also got her ears pierced! That was an "adventure". It took me and another nurse to hold her still so that the doctor could pierce them, and after the "drama", she was happy and started showing off her earings. After leaving the doctor's office, we had to drive to Starbucks where John was studying so that she could show him her "new" ears.

May 14th

Sydney turns 3 today. She requested PB&J for dinner and so I cut out various shapes for her. She had a huge helping of apple slices and carrot sticks to go along with it. After her meal, we sang "Happy Birthday" and she blew out her candles on her little cupcake. Mind you, this is the third time she's blown candles. First at the party in the park, then at nursery school today and the last was with us at home.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was fun, and yet busy just like every other day. Caleb woke me up bright and early around 6 a.m. After feeding him, I decided to make French Toast for breakfast. We headed out to church later in the day and after that, John decided to take me to a Thai Restaurant for lunch. A few friends thought that sounded good and decided to follow us there. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, napping and web surfing at home.

Cute card from Sydney....made me laugh all day thinking about how true this has been for me lately!

Birthday party

Sydney celebrated her third birthday at the Thomas A. Dixon Aircraft Observation Park. We started the party around 10 a.m. and ended by noon. There is a little playground there where the kids played at. After we had cupcakes and juice, the kids enjoyed a few rounds of jumping on the air-compressor to launch the rocket. Whenever a plane landed or took off, the kids screamed with excitement as they were able to see them very close. Before each kid left the party, they each got an airplane model. Sydney loves her airplane that she now sleeps with it!

Sydney & Caleb

We were all dressed up for studio shots, but I think my digital camera captured better moments of both kids. Sydney is just a thinker (can't you tell by the picture?!) and Caleb just sits and observes Sydney all day.

John's Dissertation

People are always asking me when John is going to finish with his PhD. I guess they must think it's taking a long time too. Well, he started in Aug 2004 and it's a 4 year program. If all goes well (and so far, Thank God, it is!) he will be finishing in May 2008. Right now, he is working on submitting a proposal on his dissertation by May 30th. He hopes to defend the proposal in August before he goes on the job market. What does that mean? Well, Universities start the hiring process a year in advance. So, by August this year, he will start submitting resumes to various universities. I am hoping that we land something in the midwest, so that we can be closer to his family. John will travel to Seattle, Philadelphia and Phoenix between Aug and December to present papers and hopefully have some interviews as well. I don't know how he does it all - with school, work and family - but two things I do know is that 1)he loves to learn and he has a talent for school and 2) he doesn't compromise on his commitment to family, no matter how stressful things get. I also know that he'll make a great professor because he loves to teach and I've heard that his current students think he's a great professor. John's on the right path!