Disneyland!

Honestly, we were a bit afraid taking a long vacation by ourselves without, but it turned out great and very relaxing. Disneyland was so fun watching the kids enjoy the "happiest place on earth" haha. I think Dan and I have more fun watching Isaac and Jeds expression than anything else and to be able to sharing that excitement with them was priceless!

School photos

Are my boys growing up?

So, 24 hours after we find out we are having another baby boy...and we shared with our two boys, Isaac was some-what excited, but said, "but we already have a Jed." and Jed didn't even listen. Today, it seemed like they suddenly grew up overnight.

This morning Dan was gone early taking his boards..and I had the fun with taking both boys to swim class. Isaac's was at 9 and Jed was at 11 therefore, I was at the Y all day long!

At breakfast, Jed, the I-want-to-do-everything-myself, fed himself his cereal with milk and then proceeded with apple sauce while I cleaned up the kitchen a bit. This is one of the few times that Jed is using a spoon and really feeding himself. I was so excited I walked over to find him with applesauce all over his head telling me he is all done. I literally had to rinse him off in the bathtub and then took him to the Y with bits of applesauce in his hair, but through it all, he was very proud of himself...

Isaac is my big boy now..After his swim class usually we go home and Dan would take Jed, but since I'm on my own today, I gave him the option of watching Jed swim or go to the nursery. He decided he wanted to watch Jed swim and understood that he'll have to sit by the pool and watch Jed and I in the pool. And for those 30 min, Isaac really behaved, he didn't cry, didn't whine, he just sat there waved at us and waited. While I was showering and get Jed cleaned up, he got me the soap and towel and was the biggest helper. He even knew to go to the drying machine to dry our swim suites. I couldn't believe it. He is going to be a great help with # 3!

Easter

We spend Easter morning going through Easter basket and reading the book about Easter and Jesus' resurrection. After church we headed over to the Weissman's house for brunch. Last year, Joy and I celebrated as solo parents with Steve as Chris was deployed and Dan was gone on conference. I had a baby and Isaac, and she had Hannah. This year, we have everyone there and an new addition, Grace. It was great seeing them. The kids had an indoor egg hunt as the northwest was blessed with rain showers!

#3 BOY!

This is the twenty weeks ultrasound everyone (including me) has been waiting for. I am proud to say that I will be a mother of 3 boys. Baby is measuring right on target about 10 oz. Honestly, part of me was hoping for a girl, even on my way to my ultrasound, I kept thinking to myself what could it be. As I disappointed? Honestly, No. I thought I was going to be, but I am not. I talked my friend Selin right before the ultrasound, the truth is, kids are God's miracle and I'll take all the blessing He is bestowing on us. It was neat to see the baby and hear the heart beat. You would think after two kids these thing would get boring, but each time I hear them or see them on ultrasound, I get so excited and can't wait to hold those tiny hands and body and cuddle. Now the hard part is to think of boys names...

I am posting some ultrasound pictures..one with him having his hand on his chin, the other is with him proclaiming himself and letting everyone know he is a boy, and lastly is his profile and I think he looks like Jed! Then there is me at 20 weeks. I actually feel pretty good other than the occasional heartburn.

19 weeks and counting

I am at 19 weeks and finally feeling great. The nausea and vomiting has finally subsided, although I still get occasional vomiting session where Isaac would stand by my side "helping me" while I puke. I'm starting to feel the baby a little bit more...I can wait till I can feel those kicks and hiccups. This time around I am finding myself having a harder time sleeping and heart burn. I am already waking up twice a night to go pee and can't find a position comfortable enough to sleep in. As for heart burn, anything I eat I pay for it...it doesn't matter what kind it is. I wish I had a craving so I can eat and feel that satisfaction..oh, do I love food! I started exercising again, which really helps me feel so much better! I wish I could run, but every time I do, I get so winded, I guess we'll just put that off till after the baby comes...

I will need to get some preggo pictures, but with #3 coming along, I've been dying to cut my hair and I love it! I am more comfortable with two kids and definitely looking forward to three. I know people are asking, do you want a girl? honestly? I don't know. I can't imagine having a girl because I have two boys. And even if I do have three boys, I would imagine I would just yell louder than before:) We'll find out soon...

We for us its looking like we may be going to Germany, but no official word yet. I'm thankful for the experiences to come. I had a hard time for awhile of not knowing and honestly we still don't know where we are going yet, but I'm excited for what's to come. The cool thing about it all is that I have my family to share with as cheesy as it sounds. Being away from home has really made our family stronger..anyways, before I cheese myself out...laters

Isaac and Jed

Isaac and Jed are growing up so fast, I can't catch up sometimes. Isaac is really talking and reasoning with us more and more. Isaac really loves animals and reading. oh, and singing in the car is a must no matter where we go. Jed just started talking probably about a month ago. When Isaac was his age, he was already singing. Jed is more developed at this age with his motor skills. He is quite but deadly. Whenever we turn around, we find him either climbed up on our dining room table or hiding on the second shelf of the toy chest. He loves dancing to music, but more importantly run after Isaac and copying whatever he is doing. This kid also have a love for sweets, where Isaac prefers salty foods. Its amazing watching them two learning to play together and learning to love one another.

Wedding

Our most recent wedding in awhile. It's kinda nice to be dressed up and go out on a night of fun and catching up with friends. Tram came in from DC and Nimae came in with her pregnant belly. Isaac and Jed dominated the dance floor all night long. Jed danced so hard he had one of the little girls ended up with a bloody nose. Isaac danced so hard, he riped his pants with all of his crouch showing. It was a great time!

Two little soccer players?

Ski trip to Whistler

We are sort of counting down the days before we have to leave here...so every opportunity we get we like to go back to places we'll miss. One of them being Whistler BC. Each time that I've been there, i've been pregnant, but this time, the run wasn't too bad, because I had Steve with me. We took it easy and enjoyed the sights. The best part of going on the gonedela between Blackcomb and Whistler. The kids enjoyed swimming and playing in the snow. We wanted to sent Isaac to ski school, unfortunately, he was too scared to even put his winter boots on!

Baby # 3 Here we go again:)

We are so excited for baby #3 to join the solv clan. My due date is in early Sept. This pregnancy has been very interesting as in I am experiencing true morning sickness and frequent throwing ups. I am at the point of not knowing what to eat or what not to eat, anything could trigger it. I would literally sit down relaxing after dinner and suddenly have an intense urge to vomit and there I go. I am about 10 weeks along. Fatigue is the recurring theme, every night I would snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, but overall, I am feeling well. I know, everyone is thinking maybe this would be a girl. Honestly, we pray that this baby is healthy and happy. God willing children are such gifts from God.

Dan's Finally Home

After a long two weeks, Dan finally came home from Honduras. He had a great time working with the people and able to help make a difference in their lives. I'll let him tell whenever he feels like blogging...but here are some photos...

As for me, we survived. The final draw was the sunday that my father-in-law was suppose to come in and help out..that morning, I noticed Jed was having some difficulty breathing from 4 am on, everything just seemed labored. He didn't cry just appeared to have a hard time getting his breath. I call Aunt Patty and she was here within 5 min. I was off to the ER with Jed while she took care of Isaac and picked up Steve. Thank God there was no one in the ER, Jed was seen right away and given steriods and breathing treatments. It took him awahile t finally breathing better for awhile we all thought he was going to have to stay overnight for observation, he is such a sweet baby. Most of the time, he just slept in my arms as we waited for the medications to kick in. Seeing Steven when we finally got home was a relief. That week sure went by a lot faster and the kids seem to perk up more. When Dan came home, Isaac literally got so excited he couldn't get any of his words out and Jed just sat on his lap in awe. It was sweet and great to have him home...

Where is daddy?

I love my husband of 5 years dearly...he is currently on a work mission trip to Honduras for the next two weeks. I am almost amazed at how hard it is for me when he is gone. I feel like it gets harder (not easier) the longer you have been married. I think I started crying even before he left...the good thing is I have been able to talk to him daily and have great family and friends around to help me with food and kids...for that, I am so grateful! and Grandpa Steve is coming to the rescue.:) It has been going okay so far. The kids are in a funk, but they are adjusting and I'm doing better knowing that Dan is okay and having a good time. I just miss him so much.

What I am amazed is that the kids are just as close to him. Isaac ask about him constantly and finally he said, "daddy is going to fly home and have lunch with us" or "I'm going to sing my song when daddy comes home from work and he's not going to work" at one point he even told me"mom, don't cry, daddy will come home soon." Isaac is even having a hard time sleeping...I know it's because he knows that Dan is not around.

As for Jed, we come home and he is searching and yelling for "Da" When Dan finally talked to him on the phone the other day, he literally got this excitement on his face, he was reaching for the phone and waving. When I had to take the phone away, he got so upset, he threw a fit for about half an hour.

Holidays and then some...

I can't believe the new year has come and is already almost the end of January. Where did the time go? our time in HI felt brief..we had a great chilling out with the Chings and the Weissmans..oh, and running the Honolulu Marathon. It was so fun for me even though I wasn't that fast, I enjoyed watching people run and pushing myself to keep going...I would definitely do it again!

After Hawaii, we basically came back to a snow storm in the NW. Nothing like being a prisioner of your own home! I was literally stuck and couldn't even move my car out of the parking spot because it was so icy. It really frustrated me that people don't salt or invest money in snow plows! Needless to say, I was glad the snow finally melted, but I honestly haven't seen 5 inches of snow at one time since our time in Chicago/Michigan. Dan was driving home with people crashing left and right.

Our holidays were filled with family...my in-laws came in from Chicago and brought tons of gifts for us and the kids..I even felt like a little kids opening the gifts. It was different this year in that Isaac was so much more aware of what presents means and loved every minute of it.

Jed has turned into a monkey. He love climbing on chairs and tables. I often find him looking proud standing in our dining room table--don't worry, he is well supervised!

We started out the new year at Vien Dong, a pho joint in Tacoma on new years eve with steve and mo and the Charlie/Patty clan. It was so much fun just hanging out and eating good food..who said you need a reservation at a nice restaruant on new years eve...I may just have to do that more often! We then took a two day trip to Vancouver for some shopping and food. It was a great way to start out the new year!

Honolulu Marathon