c's 79th week

Our last week in North America was fabulous! We were able to enjoy so many great things that California and life in the States has to offer.  We ate lots of yummy foods (loved the mexican food truck nearby), went shopping a couple more times, and hung out with my brother.  The highlights though were definitely our day at DISNEYLAND and celebrating the 4th of July.

Disneyland was a treat we received from friends.  We basically went all day, from about 11am - 8pm.  It was exhausting, but so totally worth it! C really got into it and enjoyed all of the rides.  He only cried once on the carousel, which he road like a champ the second time round.  He took a nice long nap when we stood in line for our first time on It's a Small World, but couldn't stop pointing at everything he saw when we went on it again.  He napped in line, through the ride, and even long enough for Matt and I to go on a couple of roller coasters.  It was fabulous.  We hustled through the day and were able to go on about 15 rides.  The night ended with the amazing fireworks.  It was a really memorable day.  Can't wait to do it again when C's older!

We celebrated the 4th with my brother's friends.  It was the day before we had to leave, so it was all a bit hectic.  We went to Redondo Beach and had a fun party at his friend's house.  There was swimming, a bbq, delicious foods/snacks, and nice people.  Later in the evening, we also caught a firework show from the rooftop of where we were staying for the night.  C loved it all!

July 1 - July 7


Getting ready to enter Disneyland!


Let the fun begin!


Enjoying flying on Dumbo!

C loved it, honest.  He loved it so much, he fell asleep while waiting in line for It's a Small World! :)

Crying on the carousal.  

We went on about 15 rides, which is unheard of apparently! So fun!

Happy Fourth of July!

(How lame am I for only getting this one photo?!?)

...All About C...

C has been a trooper with all of the shopping we've done while in California.  It isn't always fun, but he's managed just fine.  Bert really helped us out as he took a day off to help watch C at the mall while Matt and I got our shopping on.  We bought a lot and were pretty fast with it all even if the guys don't think so! HA!

C's done a great job of meeting new people.  During this trip, he's had the chance to meet a lot of people and he's enjoyed everyone he's met.  Lots of credit goes to all of the amazing people we've met as they've got out of their way to include the three of us and make us all feel welcome.  Yay for new friends!

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

c's 78th week

We have so enjoyed our first week in LA.  My brother has been an awesome host welcoming us into his space.  We started off our time by taking a day to just relax and decompress.  Then I took the plunge and drove my brother's truck all over the place.  It was quite nerve wracking to drive again (on the wrong side of the road), but I have to say that I got the hang of it pretty quick! HA! I drove us around a bunch of times during our time in LA.  Some highlights this week include heading over to Venice Beach, going to Santa Monica, heading over to Redondo Beach, and hanging around downtown LA.

Since being in LA, we have enjoyed hanging out with my brother.  It's been so nice to see what his life is like and to be introduced to all that is important to him.  He's been a trooper and has taken us out to different places and has let us me shop while he runs around after C.  We have been to Target, been to grocery stores including a Trader Joe's, and have been to a couple of malls so that I can get my shopping on.  I'd just like to tell you that shopping with a kid around is not nearly as fun as doing it on my own.  :)

We have also had some amazing food while out here in LA.  We've had a lot of Mexican food and we are loving it! I've also had some Panda Express and a handful of Krispy Kreme donuts.  Yum! It is crazy what sorts of things you miss when you live overseas.

A personal highlight for me was being able to catch up with a bunch of friends from University.  Since our time was tight, we weren't able to do a lot with my friends, so I am thankful to have been able to catch up with a few of them over some fabulous meals.  I have to be honest in saying that I wish I could have met up with more friends, but it is really hard to put yourself out there to try to get people to get together when it's been so long since I last saw them.  My time at University was brilliant and I made many wonderful friends, but it's been basically a decade since I've seen many of them and to push to see them in person instead of just on facebook was not something I felt comfortable doing.  Hopefully next time I'll put aside my fear and make more of an effort.

June 24 - June 30

First time at the beach.  It was cool and windy.  C loved chasing the birds!


Hanging in his awesome new shark stroller from TARGET!
We didn't bring our big one as we were hoping to get an umbrella stroller.


Uncle Bert swinging C in downtown LA.

LOVE my boy.

C so enjoyed hanging with his Uncle!

We saw a neat tattoo exhibit at a museum.

(Matt and I found it difficult taking C to the museum as he was loud and wanted to touch everything.)

C's second trip to the beach.  He wasn't such a fan to begin with, but eventually warmed up to it.  

He didn't like the water, but did run around in the sand.

...All About C...

C has had a great week.  He's really enjoyed hanging with Uncle Bert and warmed up to him very quickly.  It's been fun watching the two of them interact with one another and I'm so thankful to have a brother that will humor his nephew the way he does.

C's had to become fairly flexible this week with his schedule.  We've been out and about a lot, so C has learned to nap on the go.  Also because of my brother's work, our dinners have been far later than we are used to.  Thankfully C hasn't seemed to mind too much and has remained a happy camper.  I think it has been hard for Matt and I though as we do like the structure of our routines, so being without it can be quite difficult.

This week, C was able to experience the beach for the first time ever.  He didn't love it initially, but he did grow to like it and be comfortable on it.  He was fine on the sand, but even though he loves the water, the waves were just too much for him to handle.  I think we'll have to take him to a Thai beach someday soon as I'm absolutely sure he'll love it.

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

c's 77th week

We have had a slow second week in Canada as Matt has been really sick due to getting too much sun and not enough water on our day to Niagara Falls.  Oops.  So it's been lots of days at home playing in the back yard, going for walks around the neighborhood, and visiting the park nearby.  C's also had lots of fun playing with his Grandma this week.

June 17 - June 23

Wanting to go outside.

A boy and a dog.

Playing catch!

Grandma's in town!

Slide fun with Grandma!

Saying goodbye to Grandma.

...All About C...

C's had a good week and is learning to enjoy being outdoors more.  He's not been a huge fan of grass, but has gotten better at running around on it since he's been in Canada.  He loves running every where now and has fallen a few times causing him to have some nasty scrapes on his face.  It's gotta happen, right?

Since being here, C's been able to play on slides and swings a lot more.  He LOVES both of these and can play with them for long periods of time.  It is cute watching him swing as he just chills out completely on it.

One thing we are really happy with is how comfortable C has become with the dog.  At first, C was a bit scared of her and very hesitant around her.  After being here for a week though, he is totally enjoying her.  He will give her hugs, play catch with her, and chase her all over.  It definitely makes us want to get him a dog someday.

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

c's 76th week

We have enjoyed our first full week in Canada.  We've gone on walks and have enjoyed the cool weather and clean air.  We've had lots of yummy food to eat including my favorite, cheerios! We've had bbqs outside, played at the park, shopped at target, and gone grocery shopping! What can I say...we are adventurous folk!

The best part of course is seeing family and watching C get to know his Canadian family.  The boys are getting along and have been playing well with one another.  C is fitting in as the youngest and slowly learning to share and take turns.  WOHOO! 

June 10 - June 16

Park fun!

Pretending to be in high school again.  :) 

Saying 'Sawasdee krap', swinging, and driving!

Going for some ice-cream in the wagon.

C's first time eating ice-cream.  He loved it!

Curls!

Hanging at the park with C's Grandpa and Uncle.

C has grown really comfortable with this beautiful dog.

Yay for extended family visits!

Saying goodbye to Grandpa.

Visiting Niagara Falls for Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day Matt!

Hanging with the boys.

Grandma!

Papa!

...All About C...

C's had a great week, but has been missing his Asian food.  This week, we gave him a cup of noodles and he devoured it.  He seriously shook in delight and was so excited to eat something he was familiar with.  It never occurred to me to consider how much he'd miss Asian food and how he'd feel about it.  I felt so bad for him.  Knowing this, we have since tried to give C something Asian to eat every few days!

C is loving the different snacks out here.  He's had a lot of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.  He's also enjoyed a lot of goldfish crackers and applesauce packets.  He's also really enjoyed the cheese and yogurt as well.  There are so many snack options for kids, it's insane.  I wish I could bring all of these options back home to CNX with me as it sure would make life a lot easier.  No worries though...we are definitely getting our fill and enjoying it all right now.

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

c's 68th week

We are loving being off work for another week! It has been so nice to relax at home and hang out with C.  It's terrible, but we haven't done anything super exciting with our time off as we've also stayed super busy trying to get our house finished, which seems to be like a never ending project.  Once this house gets done, our life is going to change so drastically as we'll suddenly have time for other things.  I cannot wait!

The highlight of the week was attending a fun Easter event a friend hosted.  We were so happy to be included as it was a fun morning filled with Easter crafts, an Easter egg hunt, and an ice-cream sundae buffet! This year C totally got into the spirit of finding the easter eggs and enjoyed filling his basket up with the eggs.  He didn't need a lot of help and stayed super focused the entire time.  C also had some ice-cream, which seems to be the only dessert he likes. 

April 15 - April 21


C started off happy and ended up crying! Not a fan of the man on stilts...

Sawasdee krap!

C's furrowed brows always make me chuckle!

A boy on a mission! Gotta find those eggs!

Eggs!

Waiing again.....

Happy Easter 2014!

...All About C...

C has been sleeping in these days, probably because we haven't had to get up early to go to work.  It has been really nice and we are enjoying waking up after 7am (so sad that this is now considered sleeping in for me).  Sleep is still an ongoing battle as C has a bunch of terrible sleep habits.  You'd think we'd get right on it and fix it sooner rather than later, but it really doesn't seem to make sense to deal with any of it until we move into our house and have more space.  So for the time being, C is still nursing to sleep, sleeping in our bed, and waking up throughout the night to nurse.  Good thing he is so cute is all I gotta say! :) Fingers crossed that when the time comes to fix all of these bad habits, C will be more mature and will understand the changes that need to be made and will transition easily.  A girl can dream....

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)

c's 67th week

We are on our Spring Break and are loving every minute of it! The only bad thing is that C's grandma Jacquie finally left us and is heading back home to Canada.  We have so enjoyed having her around and will miss her greatly.  C bonded with her and loved playing with his grandma.  Thankfully we'll be back in Canada this summer and we'll get to be reunited again! YEAH!

This week has been a low key week with lots of family time.  We've not done a whole lot and have tried to just decompress from the stress of school and building our house.  It's been nice to spend time as just our little family of three as it is easy to get overloaded with all of our obligations and forget to make time for just us.  Matt and I even made it to a movie this week and had time to go to the mall by ourselves.  Who would have thought that this would be such an achievement for us?!?

The highlight of the week for sure has been celebrating Songkran, which is a fabulous festival in Thailand.  My mom, C, and I got up really early on the 13th and went to a cool food market that we went to last year to start off the festivities.  I'm pretty sure this is going to be a new tradition as I do really enjoy it.  We bought tons of delicious food and enjoyed being out and about.  We missed the monks, but did catch a glimpse of some of the ladies running for Miss Songkran.  On this day, we ate a real Thai breakfast of sticky rice, friend chicken/pork, spicy sausage, and a couple of different different spicy dips/sauces.  YUM!

Matt and I also headed out to play Songkran with our friends.  It was so much fun hanging with friends and celebrating Songkran together.  This is for sure a tradition now as we've done this two years in a row.  We played on the streets and had tons of fun splashing people.

If that wasn't enough, this year we ended up meeting up with my extended family and playing from the back of a truck! That's right.  We sat in the back with large buckets filled with water and blocks of ice.  We had a ton of fun getting people with our cold, cold water.  Don't worry, C joined in the festivities too...from inside the truck! He hung out in the truck with my mom and his other grandmothers while my uncle, cousins, Matt, and I played out back.  He loved it and had a great time watching everything.  Since there was so much traffic, C ended up eating non-stop while on the drive.  He also tried a happy meal for the first time from McDonald's as it was the easiest thing for him to eat.  Definitely not a proud mommy moment, but it's not the end of the world, right?

April 8 - April 14

Ready to go swimming!

Fun in the pool!

All ready for Songkran! Strolling along with Apo.

With papa and mama (yes, we are embracing the Chinese names!) :)

My cutie pie!

Making friends!

...All About C...

So C has been off on his naps this past week.  It's sad, but it seems as though he's beginning to go to only one nap a day.  It's not consistent though, so we do try to get him down for two naps.  Sometimes it works and other times not so much.  On the positive side, on the days he only has one nap, C does tend to go to bed a bit earlier than usual.  That's right, gotta find the silver lining in all of this.  HA!

We also took C swimming again this week and used a super cool new inner tube that we got from the US.  He wasn't a huge fan of the pool, but at least he didn't hate it.  Hopefully as we get into the pool more, C will start enjoying it as much as he does his baths.

HERE are more pictures from this years Songkran festivities!

(Linking up with Our World Tuesday, P52 Sweet Shot Tuesday, Wednesdays Around The World, Little Things Thursday, 

Photo Story Friday, Favorite Photo Friday, Practicing Simplicity, Simple Things Sunday, and Sunday Snapshot.)