and now for my final TRICK: 03/01/2009

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

First Steps

No, Everett is growing fast, but not that fast! I am putting together a slide show of Holden's second year and came across a video of the day after she took her first steps. It's kind of dark, but it's all we've got. I can't believe that was only a year ago. She looks so tiny and hairless! I can't wait for more of these amazing firsts with Everett.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Holden's Second Year

Last year it took me 6 months to do this, but I am on the ball now! The hardest part was deciding on music. Cheers, Stevie!
Here is a photo montage of Holden's second year. It has been exciting! Learning how to walk and use a fork, going potty (yay), counting to ten, talking up a storm and having an opinion about everything, traveling to Pennsylvania and Indiana, going under water and blowing bubbles in swin class, moving into a big girl bed, going down the slide on her own, and becoming a big sister.

What a year it's been for all of us....enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCa7FZjnKiw

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Holden

Sooo, Holden loves Dora. It is a mild obsession. Uncle Kevin and Aunt Kasandra really came through this year with a Dora car and bedding. As you can see Holden has taken to making out with the blanket.

I already miss having Pop here to hold Everett all day- he is cranky when I put him down because he was so spoiled for the long visit!

Earth Hour and Oh Yeah...We're Moving

As Ian was scrubbing the kitchen floor tonight (don't feel bad for him, I was scrubbing the fireplace), getting ready for our home photographer tomorrow, he reminded me that at 8:30 we needed to turn off the lights for Earth Hour. This was not in my packing, cleaning, organizing plan, but what the heck. We shut down and poured 2 glasses of wine. It was great. We should do this every week. Without the distractions of TV, computer, and moving we could actually talk and relax for the first time in weeks. I guess once we are settled back in Denver we will have an opportunity to relax again!

And yes, it's true, we are heading back up to Denver. I have such mixed feelings. I am excited to find a new, and hopefully better house, to be closer to Casey and Courtney and all of our old pals, to go to Rockies games on beautiful summer evenings, and to have the museums for the kids. But, I am so very sad to be leaving the Springs. I have lived here longer than I lived in Denver. I remember our time in Denver fondly, but that was our crazy single time.

The Springs is where we built our family and our close network of parent friends whom we consider family. I know, I know, I will meet new mommy friends and have a chance to spend more time with my Denver pals, but I am still depressed. Who will rescue me at 7:30 on Tuesday morning when I am already losing my mind with Holden's antics, who will come over with Chic-Fil-A when I need a pick me up, who will be there on Thursday afternoon to babysit at a moments notice? How will I find friends who love my children like their own? Who instinctively know how to handle them, discipline them, and celebrate their successes with them? Everyone keeps telling me I will find people, but it doesn't make leaving Helen and Nichole, Julia and Emmy, the future John Thomas and Baby X, and our adopted grandparents, Ron and Joyce any easier.

So for now I will pout and be scared and sad. Luckily, I have this house and the fun cleaning and packing to keep me busy and my mind off the day when we drive away from Amsterdam Drive to our new life in Denver.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Happy Birthday Holden!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Holden's big second birthday. My mom, Mimi, and Pop-Pop came out to Colorado to help us celebrate. Luckily, Holden did not get sick and have her party canceled this year.

Holden requested a farm theme, well after I decided against Dora anyway. So we had farm animal cupcakes, cake, and cookies.

Holden, Chase, Julia, Braeden, and Lexie played so well together. Holden tried to smother each one with hugs and kisses. I think Chase was the only one who escaped her clutches.

All the kids had little cowboy hats and got to play in the soil and plant vegetable and flower seeds. I imagine we will have sunflowers and zucchini plants popping up all of our yard this spring. There was much more playing than planting!

The pig pinata was hilarious, the kids had no idea what to do when all of the goodies fell out. They were all pretty excited when they found sunglasses, whistles and bubbles, and especially when the parents opened the lollipops.

The singing seemed to be Holden's favorite birthday activity. We sang to her Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and let her blow out candles and eat a cupcake. She heard someone on T.V. say birthday and she started screaming, "CAKE!" and chasing me around the house demanding cake. We created a monster.

Holden was so happy and sweet the whole day. She had so much fun having all of her friends here to play with all afternoon. We missed one of her best girls Emily, but they will make up for it all this week! Here is the link to a few more birthday pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/KimHanou/2009Mrch23?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ3JzbHR7e-Q1gE#

Recent Reads

Honolulu by Alan Brennert- 4 Stars
A lovely tale told by a Korean woman who came to America as a "picture bride." We learn of her challenging and oppressive childhood in Korea, her journey away from all she knew, learning the new culture in Hawaii, escaping an abusive husband, becoming an entrepreneur, finding love, becoming a mother, and living a fulfilling life. I previously read Molokai by the same author and loved it, which is why I snatched this one up as soon as I heard of it. I think I enjoyed this one even more! The writing is smooth and easy, the tales are gripping, and the experiences are harrowing which keep you wanting more of this woman's incredible story.

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- 2 1/2 stars
This book is a collection of vignettes celebrating the awesome things in life. The cold side of your pillow on a hot night, finding money in your coat pocket, popping bubble wrap, when cashiers open up a new line at the grocery store, and watching Price is Right when you were home sick from school. This guy also has a blog where people can submit more awesomness. It was fun to read, but not as great as I was hoping. I will probably read his blog though, because he is pretty witty and definitely made me chuckle and remember to appreciate the small things in life.

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson- 3 stars
PAGE TURNER! I read this in 1 1/2 days. The story begins with a woman waking up in a bed, next to a man, in a house and she recognizes none of it. Over the next few minutes she learns that she has amnesia and every night when she goes to be she forgets most of her life. She begins working with a psychiatrist who convinces her to write in a journal, so she can reread it each morning and hopefully begin to build memories. The mysteries of how she ended up in this condition and her relationships with friends and loved ones kept me on the edge of my seat.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 4 1/2 Stars
Another winner here folks. This book was AWESOME (and a bit shorter than Cutting for Stone). This was a new perspective on World War II for me. The story follows a boy growing up in a Chinese household in Seattle during the war. He befriends a Japanese girl, which is STRICTLY forbidden by his domineering and emotionless father. He realizes he is in love with her just as her family is removed to a Japanese Internment camp for the remainder of the war. The stay in touch through letters and his enormous risks to visit her . I don't want to give away any more, but you simply HAVE to read this book. The relationships between the children and their families and even the public during these war years was an interesting perspective for me. The twists and turns kept me up till midnight and the ending was wonderful!

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese- 5 Stars
Oh my! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was long and delicious and I did not want it to end. The premise is a nun working at a clinic in Ethiopia dies while giving birth to twin boys. The story explores the people and relationships in these boys' lives through the eyes of Marion, one of the twins. He grows up in the clinic in Ethiopia with amazing adoptive parents who were friends with his parents and gives us a taste of the culture, food, and everyday life of an Ethiopian. He heads to America to pursue a medical career and his birth father. We read this for book club and had wonderful and rich discussions...I wish there was a part 2!

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton- 3 stars
This was pretty darn good. It took me about 100 pages to really get into it and the ending was a bit too quick, neat, and tidy. But not nearly as terrible as the ending of Handle with Care by Jodi Piccoult (I threw that book across the room and into a wall as I read the last word). I was hooked and couldn't stop myself once I was into it. It was a book club choice and there was more discussion than I remember in 3 years of book club. We were talking over each other and jumping into other conversations. I couldn't even keep up. This story centered around the lives of three sisters who grew up in a castle in England from World War II to the present. They had an eccentric family and extremely odd and famous author father. The mysteries weave through history and the walls of the castle, revealing themselves to the woman chosen to write a piece about the famed play written by the father. It was very good and I would highly recommend it.