Sophia Ruth is finally here

Sophia Ruth Macdonald joined our family on October 29th at 2:18 p.m. weighing in at 6 lbs 13.6 oz. She has a head full of hair (like her other two siblings) and makes the cutest gurgles and squeaks. She comes with her own set of cute birthmarks that include a couple of stork marks on her nose. It makes me want to call her our little red-nose reindeer. "Sophia" means wisdom, and it was a name that Sydney first suggested several months ago. "Ruth" means Companion or Friend, and we chose it because it's John's Grandma's middle name as well as a biblical name. The pregnancy journey seemed short and long at different times, and it's hard to believe, but that journey has come to an end. Now we begin a new journey with her here in our arms. I only hope we can treasure each moment as it comes.

Adam and Eve

Caleb was working on a project in our art room and he was supposed to do a piece of coloring for Uncle Adam and Aunt Anne (John's sister). When I asked him if he was going to finish his art work, he said

"Yes, I want to make this for Uncle Adam and Eve."

Too funny. I guess it's just easy for Eve's name to follow right after Adam's.

My Birthday

I just cannot believe that this is October and my birthday has come and gone. It used to be that when I was 10, I couldn't wait to be that magical 12. Then when I turned 12, it seemed like sweet 16 was the next age to look forward too. Then not to mention turning 21 - seemed like ages ago. Now I'm 33 and who's counting anyway. I had to actually think about the year I was born and count my way up.

John bought me a vase full of white and purple Daisies, the weekend before my birthday and they have just made the kitchen area so pretty and lively. Those flowers still look so fresh and bright that I feel like everyday must be my birthday. ** smiles **

John took the kids and I out for a birthday meal to a new restaurant called Clara's. It's on the way to downtown Lansing and next to the train tracks. The restaurant is a converted train depot with amazing features like a cathedral ceiling, bronze and crystal chandeliers, fireplace mantel and of course the amazing view of trains going by. The food choices were an excellent assortment and everything tasted great. The kids loved running up to the window when a train came rolling by and before we left the restaurant, they both received some colored mints and balloons - which made the experience so worthwhile.

Then we came home to have some cake and open presents. It's always fun to see the kids eyes light up when they see candles on a cake and they are so ready to blow them out too. Caleb couldn't wait for the Happy Birthday song to begin and started digging into the cake with his fingers. It was a wonderful Birthday week, and thank you everyone for the cards, gifts and kind wishes.

Homework

This past Friday, Sydney brought home homework from school for the first time. I didn't think Kindergarten had homework for 5 year olds but they do. On Sunday evening, Sydney asked to play Chess again. I told her she had to finish her homework first. Then it occurred to me that this is just the beginning. She didn't mind sitting at the table to finish some math/counting worksheets. Caleb quickly joined us at the table and asked if he could do homework too. Poor guy, he just doesn't know what he's asking for.

I guess Sydney isn't the only one with homework. Parents do homework too. I'm supposed to make a "Me Book" for Sydney that allows the other kids to read and get to know Sydney better. It's like a mini scrapbook with simple statements of "I like my family" or "I like PB & J sandwiches"...on and on. I'm still working on getting pictures for her book and need to get it laminated. I want to get it done before this baby comes because I won't be doing any scrap booking for a LONG time. I just find this a little strange / funny because my parents certainly didn't do homework with me at this age. Times have changed! Apparently, she will soon be bringing books home to practice reading and to complete comprehension sheets as well. Yikes.

My Indian Boy

Teaching two different cultures to the kids can be very confusing at times. Take eating for instance. The food choices between Asian and Western meals are as different as the east is from the west. I teach my kids how to use forks and spoons from the time they are about 18 months old. Fingers are fun for only some foods, but a no-no for things like spaghetti. Tonight, I served Indian food - typical rice, curry, sambar and a spinach dish (that is Sydney's absolute favorite). John and the kids were happy to eat using a spoon and I was happy to eat with my fingers - as we traditionally do back in Malaysia.

I could see it coming and sure enough, Caleb politely told me that it's not nice to eat with my fingers and that I should use a spoon instead. Sigh. How to explain this to an almost 3 year old, whom I often remind to eat with his spoon? (like his cereal, for instance) So, I tried to say that this is a special meal that tastes better with fingers. After looking at me (several times) with confusion written all over his cute little face, he put his spoon down and joined me by eating with his fingers - even using the correct hand, and only the right hand. John says he's definitely my little Indian boy. Sydney ate her meal with much joy but didn't join in the fun of using her fingers. She didn't care to get them dirty like that. It was so nice to see the whole family enjoy the meal and even ask for seconds!

Daylight Robbery

When I told my mom this story, she immediately laughed and called it "daylight robbery". This is referring to Caleb.

We had all the trims around the house painted, some wood replaced around the garage door and back door and John bought some nice maroon window shades (to replace the beige ones), which really brightens up the house. Anyway, Caleb has been intrigued with the painters working outside and they let him play with some of their tools - which he thought was a real treat. On the first day, he tried to climb up the ladder and imitate the painters who were trying to get to the roof. Then he would get into their paint and see if he could have a go at painting. Two nights ago, Sydney came to me and handed me a tool, (that looked like it was for scraping old paint off or something) and said she found it in Caleb's room behind the rocking chair. He obviously found it interesting enough to take it for himself. Thankfully he didn't hurt himself with it. Who knows what he's been doing using that tool. Sigh.

My mom tells us the story of my brother who once "stole" a box of matches from a contractor (who smoked) and who was working on our home and tried to strike a match in his room. But my brother was a few years older than Caleb, though. This gives me very little hope that this sort of mischievousness is going to go away anytime soon.

Sydney News Station

Sydney's Kindergarten had a Curriculum Night tonight and I got to meet the teacher again and learn more about what they will be learning in the school year. It was also fun meeting the other parents and having a chance to connect. It was good having a babysitter/friend at home to watch the kids so that I could have some productive conversations. What I learned from the teacher, is that Sydney loves to talk. I told the teacher that Sydney comes home with lots of stories about what she did in school and about the other kids. Two other moms overheard me and said that their sons don't tell them anything ,even when they ask all sorts of questions. So, we exchanged phone numbers and if they need to know what's going on at school, they can tune in to the "Sydney News".

Apparently, Sydney also told some kids in her class that she has an uncle named Grant, because there is a kid in her class with the same name. Then she said that another kid that sits next to her at the Red rectangle table, has the same skin color as her, and she told him that she thought that was pretty cool. And before she went off to bed tonight, she said that some kid (I'll refrain from using names) was running around the gym and wouldn't stop to listen to the teacher and she thought that, that made the teacher sad. Then she ended like this : " and I imagined that my teacher sent a letter home to tell you that I wasn't being good either". I assured her that the teacher thought she was doing great in class and she had nothing to worry about. Her reply was "well, I know mom, that's why I said I was imagining".

Kids Sudoku

Sydney loves doing maze puzzles and crossword puzzles, so I thought she might enjoy a bit of Sudoku as well. It's fun to find these puzzles online but it's more fun to watch her doing it.

http://funschool.kaboose.com/images/printables/sum_sud.pdf

Stories of Kindergarten

Since Sydney started Kindergarten on the 8th, and it's been nothing but sheer fun and loaded with stories every day. She is someone who comes home with details. I love it. I know not every child is a talker, so I'm grateful I get to enjoy this stage. Who knows if maybe someday she stops telling me things, right? So, here it is:

Day 1: She comes home on the school bus - is the last one to be dropped off because of a drop-off location miscommunication - but is very happy because she gets to ride home with her neighbor buddies, Lily and Teagan (and gets to sit next to them every day). She says that the best thing about Kindergarten is riding the school bus.

Day 2: She comes home and tells us that she thought of a word at school (Fantastic) and spelled it "fantstik".

Day 3: The teacher read the same book twice and she helped another boy in class open his snack bag.

Day 5: She is tickled pink that she gets to bring home a book from the school library every Monday. She gives me careful instruction that she needs to return it the following Monday.

Day 6: The teacher asks her to be the helper of the day and take some papers to the school office. She gets to pick a friend to go with her. The girl she picked out to go with apparently thanked Sydney, for choosing her. How nice!

Day 7: oh , i can't remember, but i know there's a story in there somewhere.

Day 8: Came home with a backpack full of leaves that she picked at the playground during recess.

Day 9: As soon as she got off the bus and gave me a hug, she started off like this: "Something sad happened today. A boy hit his head on the bar, going down the slide. So the teacher told me to go get an ice pack from the school office and help put it on his head. I was a good helper today". Oh, and she also asked me if Oklahoma has 3 'O's in it. (Her mind is constantly thinking. ) I had to stop and think before I answered her, because I wasn't sure if I knew how to spell Oklahoma correctly. Quite embarrassing.

And so on and on....she tells me about which kid says what in class and how others react and what she likes to do at the different centers. Sometimes, I wish I was a fly on her classroom wall, because it must be very interesting to watch her grow to be this little ms. independent.

Cucumbers

Did I ever say that I've been addicted to cucumbers these last 2 months? Nice, cool cucumber slices make me go crazy. I never had a strong craving with the other two pregnancies, but I have to say, I'm going nuts with cucumbers. I go through a cucumber a day sometimes. I end up cutting a few slices for the kids at lunch time too, and Sydney is starting to complain about them. I can't blame her for it, but I can't help to think of how good they are for her. So so yummy, ....I could grab a cucumber right now! Thank goodness they are low in calories and a loaded with goodness.