Picture Perfect...Well Maybe Not Perfect But It Will Do!

Waiting at the photo studio Sitting nicely at the photo studio waiting her turn

Too dark--the sun is shining in

These are the faces I get

Pretty in purple

Funny Face

Savannah's picture of a duck in water. I love it. She just sat down and picked up a crayon and drew it. I am impressed.

We had our professional pictures for age 1 and 4 to display on the "wall of fame" taken on Saturday. It is certainly a challenge since Savannah makes silly faces and has ants in her pants and Seth is 1 so you never know. All and all we got 54 shots before they were done and we got one nice one of them together a many of each child alone. Savannah's personality definitely comes through and Seth got mesmorized by the camera so he did not smile much. And Savannah was Savannah. A bundle of laughs and kept turning her head. But, she posed in a few and looks like an angel. Here is the link to the photos. The password is yuki and then click continue. You shouldn't have to sign in or anything.

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventthumbs?event=0IFM020H

After the photos we went out to eat and it was a disaster. The waitress spilled red wine all over our stuff and the manager did not even care. We will never go back there.

On Sunday Rich took Savannah for her final ski lesson of season. She did great and had a lot of fun. Seth and I went shopping at a great open air outdoor shopping village nearby and had a ball. Old Navy had great sales.

This is a busy week preparing for the kid's birthdays and getting ready to jet out in ONE week to Puerto Rico. Saying I can't wait is putting it mildly.

Yuki's Back and a Special Giraffe

Back for good! Acting normally and playing with the kids

Seth's new giraffe

Let me have it

Did not even give me a chance to take off the tag

So happy together

Hugs and kisses for giraffe

My friend Yolanda sent another package today. Like Savannah's shoes were not enough. She sent a giraffe stuffed animals that moves and plays music for Seth and giraffe soft shoes for his birthday. She remembered that his theme in his room is giraffes. He loved the stuffed animal right away and held and played with for a long time. He did not even want me to take off the tag. There were also goodies for Savannah and Mommy in the box. Yolanda, you spoil us. Thanks so much!

Yuki came home from the vet yesterday declawed and neutered. He is doing great and acting normally. Playing with the kids, purring, chirping, and jumping around like nothing happened. I guess he immediately forgets, so to him it is like nothing happened. We are happy to have him home and all be together.

Rich is off today, tomorrow and Sunday and then back to work on Monday, but in less than a week he will be off for 10 days and we will jet off to Puerto Rico for a week for our birthdays. Paradise awaits. Unlike the white stuff I woke up to on the ground today. It was only a dusting, but is is cold and gray and raw out. Sunday is supposed to be in the 50's though.

A Visit From Auntie I

Auntie I comes with shopping bags of gifts. Seth likes his card

Look

Wow!

Peek a boo

Doing art

Art projects are right up Savannah's alley

Dressing a princess puppet

Putting on her accessories

A new way to eat watermelon

My aunt paid us a surprise visit for 26 hours. She called at 8:30 a.m. and said she was in our driveway. Remember, she lives 3 hours away! Wow! This was the third time we tried to plan a visit since early February and it kept getting postponed due to weather and such. So, we were so happy to see her. She brought bags and bags of gifts for the kids from Valentine's Day and their birthdays. Savannah got a whole bag of butterfly toys, clothes and activities, including books, art projects and even a butterfly hut and net. When the weather gets nice in a few weeks we will order the catepillars and watch the metamorphes and then let the butterflies free. She also got a princess puppet where you can change the dresses, hair, and accessories. What could be more fun than that for a little girl? Seth got a Radio Flyer wagon walker that Daddy will put together this weekend, a Pooh bath stacking toy and lots of cute clothes for Puerto Rico, California and the summer. Thanks Auntie I. You spoil us silly! We love you and your visits. Thanks for coming!

Yuki will return from the vet today. He was neutered, declawed, and got his vaccines. It is just like having a baby. Savannah has been asking for him and she knows he will come back without claws and he will no longer scratch. The vet called and said he was doing great, was frisky, and getting a lot of attention.

Savannah is exceling in her letters and numbers from the Leap Frog series DVD's. Between that and going to Montessori in September, I am sure she will be reading by kindergarten. She is so motivated and interested and that is the most important thing. She loves reading, books, and learning.

This weekend we are bringing in the car, signing Savannah up for swimming, getting the kids pictures taken for 1 and 4 years old and then going out for Japanese food at Sakura Garden. Yesterday, March 3rd, was Girls Day in Japan. That is a day that you pray for happiness, health and prosperity for your daughers. Japanese culture is such a big part of our lives, that I am going to start celebrating it with Savannah. I am going to order her the special dolls for next year (when she is almost 5 and will truly understand) and dress her up in her kimono. May 5th is Boys Day and we will be celebrating that this year. Last year we were just home from Japan and Seth was a newborn and we were so sleep deprived.

We are very excited that in a week Seth turns 1, 2 weeks Savannah turns 4 and we won't say what Mommy turns, but we are all going to the beaches of Puerto Rico and we can't wait.

New Shoes

Wow! Color shoes in my size. Let's try them on.

She was so excited she couldn't even wait for me to get her socks.

Trying them out!

Look! I love them. She did not take them off until bath and bed!

My friend Yolanda is one of the sweetest and most considerate people ever. I met her on ebay and we became instant friends. She lives in CA, so I have never met her in person, but just love her and her family. We keep in touch through the Internet, blogs, e-mail and Facebook. I sent her a big box of clothes for her younger daughter of Savannah's outgrown and never worn clothes and shoes (no time or patience to sell them any longer) and in it were these sneakers that Savannah had LOVED, but outgrown. Well, her daughter also loved them. Since I told her how much Savannah loved them, but I could no longer squeeze her feet into them, she and her husband searched the Internet and found ONE place that still carried them and had them in her size and they sent them to her for her birthday. Now she has "colors shoes" as she calls them. So, I told Yolanda when Savannah outgrows these her daughter will still have colors shoes to enjoy too. That was just such a thoughtful and touching thing to do.

Thank you for brightening a little girl's day, birthday and her feet!

It's March

Drinking milk from a cup like a champ! Having milk together

My cup or yours?

This is fun to drink together.

Savannah just went over with her milk cup and laid next to Seth and the next thing I knew they were drinking milk together. How sweet!

Where's Seth?

How do I get this on my head?

Like that and wa la it's a hat!

Was planning to give away the baby bouncers, but they are still very much used and loved by Pumpkin and Yuki

Savannah and lamby reunited. Lamby spent a little longer in Lake Placid than planned.

Well, we made it to March and in 11 days Seth will be one. Hard to believe. Last year this time was a different story and now we have our precious son who is almost one. We are looking forward to their birthday party and Puerto Rico and celebrating our baby boy turning 1 and our big girl turning 4.

In anticipation of Seth's big day I have been giving cups of milk and formula mixed, but mostly still bottles and mostly formula. Well, this past weekend I gave 50/50 milk/formula and mostly cups and he did great. I truly believe having Savannah as the role model makes this an easier transition for him. He wants to be just like his sister and his cup looks more like hers now and she encourages him and goes by him and they drink milk from a cup together. For her it was 33 months on a bottle and a 2 year struggle to convince her milk in a cup is great. For Seth, it appears it is going to be a pretty easy and fluid transition.

We accidently left Savannah's prized stuffed animal (she only has two she is really attached to and she has had them both almost since birth_, Lamby in Lake Placid. Luckily, it was recovered and safely mailed home to her. They are now reunited. I tried very hard to find a replacement Lamby, but Russ-Berrie does not make that exactly lamb from 2006 any longer. So, I did get a similar one, but it would never be an exact replacement for lamby. So maybe now we will travel with Lamby 2, so nothing happens to Lamby 1.

Happy March to everyone. March is a bittersweet time for us. Five years ago I lost my mom and then last year we lost a referral, but BOTH of my precious children were born in March and we got both of their referrals in March and we traveled in March to meet and pick up Seth. So there is joy and distractions to take some of the sadness away. I will always have to be up and cheerful and excited for my children's birthdays, which I always we be because they are truly gifts from the heavens above and are a blessing every day of our lives.

Sweetest Kids On Earth

Seth and Savannah watching DVD together and learning letters. So sweet

Pointing to the letters

Breakfast, DVD's and my sister--perfect combination

Trying to get a picture from a distance

Before when I was cleaning up from breakfast, Seth started "complaining" a little bit in his highchair. Before I could blink an eye, Savannah unplugged her DVD and said, "Here you go, Seth. Have Letters." This is Savannah's prized possession.. Leap Frog Letter Factory. She put it on his highchair tray and then pulled over a chair and they watched together. She is so sweet, considerate, and loving to her little brother.

We are anxiously getting ready for the big birthday celebrations and our vacation as March approaches.

Ski Bunny

Savannah at Gore Mt. on the J bar Learing to use the J bar

Daddy and his daughter--in 7th heaven

Learning to ski--I love how they do it

Ready to go

Waiting in the lodge at Whiteface for her turn

Up the magic carpet

up, up, up

Lesson

This is at Gore. I love how they have it set up. Very safe

Her instructor loved her and was sad when her lesson was over. She is so motivated and fun.

Learning

Wow!

Up again

Learning to turn and stop

Using the cube for stopping

Great action shot

There she goes

Down the bunny slope

Her instructor showing her how to turn

Look at our girl go!

Back for more

And again

All the pictures of Seth are on the iPhone. But I snapped this one of him sitting in a chair in our family suite. How cute and what a big boy.

After a 7 hour (with stops) snowy ride home last night from the mountains, we are glad to be safe and secure. These photos are of Savannah skiing. Rich took the point and shoot to the mountain. He has some of us around the village on the iPhone.

We had a great time in the mountains and beautiful weather. We hit it right until coming home when we drove through very heavy bands of snow. Not fun at all. But in Lake George there was hardly any snow on the ground and when Savannah went to Gore Mountain and Seth and I went outlet shopping it was over 40 degrees. We got a lot of good deals and everyone loved Seth. He fell asleep in the stroller and Mommy got to shop a lot. Then he took a three hour nap in the hotel. He was awesome. In Lake Placid it was freezing when we got there, overcase, flurrying and windy. But then the next day the sky cleared and the sun came out and it was gorgeous. It was pleasant walking around the village and again Seth made a hit in every store. When we stopped for lunch he made friends with the people at the next table and we ended up talking to them for over half an hour. He is definitely a people magnet. He did not fall asleep until 1:45 p.m. and then he slept until Rich and Savannah got back from skiing. He is awesome. I had fun hanging out with him, but missed by previous shopping buddy while Daddy skis, but now Daddy has a little ski bunny to ski with.

Savannah took 2 ski lessons. Her one at Gore Mt. was a half an hour and then she skied for an hour and a half with Daddy. Daddy did not ski on his own that day, since her lesson was at 1:30 p.m. and only a half an hour. It wasn't worth the lift ticket and rentals for him. Then he skiied with her until they closed. Then at Whiteface in Lake Placid her lesson was an hour so Daddy got two summit runs in. Both of her instructors loved her, along with the lift operators. They thought so was so cute, so motivated, and was having so much fun. The instructor at Gore Mt. was sad when her lesson was over. She has really caught on quickly. Rich said she likes to go fast and do it "by herself." She doesn't want Rich to hold her hand. One problem--she can't stop. Rich also said skiing backwards is a good workout for him. She wants to go on the chairlift, but she knows she has to, 1. get bigger, 2. stop, 3. turn.

We had a wonderful time, but Mommy is looking forward to warmth, sun, and sand! Mommy also got a special surprise--two birthday presents--1. Rich said we can go to Disneyland for the Japan Families Adoption Reunion (I cannot wait to go and meet all my friends and their adorable children) and 2. the heart Tiffany key chain I wanted, but wouldn't splurge on myself. Thanks Honey. I love you!