2012 Family Photos

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Dana took some long-overdue family photos for us. No one really wants to be photographed 7 months pregnant, but I decided that the memory of what we looked like as a family of *just* 5 was worth the blow to my vanity. Dana does amazing work, as you can see below. I especially love the way she captured each boy's personality, and I don't think there is a better picture in existence of Kirk and me. I'm so grateful to have these photographs.

Lawson at 16 months old

Koen at 7 years old

Dillon at 9 years old

SoCal Spring Break

One of the nicest things about hosting an exchange student is that it gives you a good excuse to go fun places and have adventures that you might otherwise skip or put off.  This spring break we had the pleasure of taking Pim to Disneyland! 

I was a little worried when she told me beforehand that she didn’t like roller coasters, but she proved herself very brave, riding everything except California Screamin’ (the huge loop-the-loop coaster in CA Adventure Park) and the Hollywood Tower of Terror. She especially loved the Indiana Jones ride, and thanks to a clever combination of fast passes and switch passes (given to those with small children who can’t ride) she was able to ride it to her heart’s content. 

Even with Lawson along in the stroller, which could have slowed us down a lot, we had our best Disneyland trip so far. Everyone had plenty of chances to ride everything he or she liked, Pim and I waited out the line at the Princess Fantasy Faire (there’s something I would never have to do—I mean GET to do without my exchange student “daughters”), we had our own yummy picnics each day, and we enjoyed plenty of parades and shows. (My one disappointment was that the boys didn’t want to do Phineas & Ferb’s Dance Party or the Jedi Training Academy. Oh well, next time…) 

Lawson and I took plenty of breaks at the Disneyland Child Care Center, which is one of the best-kept secrets in the park. 

Before we left, Kirk was teasing me for wasting time reading Disneyland tips & tricks online, but it paid off when Dillon, Koen, and Pim got a chance to ride in the top of the Mark Twain Riverboat. The boys even got to ring the bell! 

Kirk, Koen, and Lawson were usually pretty tuckered out by the end of the day, so a couple of nights we sent them back to the hotel early and Dillon, Pim & I stayed at the park until closing time. One night we even made it to the 12:15 A.M. showing at the Enchanted Tiki Room!

We learned a couple of trips ago that we have much more fun if we take a day off from the Disney Parks (We usually get 3 day Park Hopper tickets). This year, we spent our break day at Newport Beach, and we were blessed with beautiful weather. 

If you've got the "jock gene," it's only right to use it...

The day after tomorrow will be the big boys' last basketball game and the end of a very exciting season. We were fortunate that D & K were able to play on the same team this year. Not only did that enable me to see all of their games, I also got to watch Koen's skills grow by leaps and bounds as he learned to keep up with the older kids. (The poor guy's going to have to do a lot of that this year, as he is also "playing up" on Dill's baseball team. More on that later, though...) 

The Bears' first two games of the season were pretty rough: we got trounced. By game three, however, the boys figured it out, and they started racking up the points. They have won every game since! Dillon is a basket-making machine these days, and although the league doesn't put them up on the scoreboard at this age level, he loves to wow the crowd with 3-pointers. He most enjoys breaking those out at the buzzer.  Showoff. Koen actually scored a couple of weeks ago, too, and he has been a reliable source of scoring assists all season. Unfortunately, I don't have any good action shots from their games, as I'm armed with only a small digital camera (and of course, hampered by a squirmy baby), but their official photos are a hoot! 

Yes, I grumble about the costs, and the weeknight practices, and the chaos of getting everyone out the door to games, but I admit I love to watch these guys play. Every season I fervently hope that they will choose to give up one of their sports, but the truth is, I don't want them to have to give up anything. I want them to use the talents they've been given, I want them to get every ounce of enjoyment possible. Now if just one of these guys could start showing a consistent interest in singing or dancing, I'd be perfectly content....

Three of a Kind

There were so many possible titles for this post: "Lawson's Lost Locks," and "My Little Lamb is Shorn," were among the least cheesy that sprang to my mind. (Yeah, if those were the LEAST trite choices, imagine the rest...) It's been a couple of weeks now since Lawson's first haircut and, honestly, I'm still more than a little heartbroken about it.

His long brown hair was just so adorable--the first thing that anyone commented on when they saw him--and I confess I loved that it made him look like me. It was becoming a problem to keep it out of his eyes, though, and Kirk seemed hesitant to let me trim it myself. (Perhaps his worry stemmed from his memories of the trim I gave 7-month old Koen. More than one person commented that poor Ko looked like Moe of Three Stooges fame.) Anyway, this is what my boys looked like pre-haircut:

Gorgeous, aren't they? Admittedly, they were a bit shaggy, so we headed down to a local barber shop that Kirk has frequented since the last time we lived in Brentwood.  The shop's owner, Brandon, had also done Koen's first (good) haircut, so it was fun to have him do the honors for Lawson too. Lawson did an amazing job of holding still, as you will see in the shots below.  He sat quietly through a scissor cut and a clipping with the razor; I was the one squirming and crying!

When Brandon was finished, I scarcely recognized Lawson. I didn't have a brown-haired baby anymore, but a blonde little boy. Most striking, though, is how much Lawson looks like his brothers now. He's always resembled them, but now the similarity is just ridiculous. I guess it was inevitable: my sweet baby is growing to be one of the guys.

Lawson at 7 Months

I intended to write a bit about Lawson last month when he met his 6 month half-birthday, but in the excitement of Christmas I missed the opportunity. He's at an amazing stage right now, though, and I didn't want to miss a chance to share it.

Lawson is doing all of the usual 6-month tricks: rolling both ways at will, sitting up fairly steadily, scooting himself around on his belly a bit, and eating some solid foods. He's a smiley guy, but it takes some work to get him to laugh out loud. Dillon seems to have the knack, though, and takes great pride in getting Lawson to chuckle. This week we noticed the best trick so far: he's been dancing whenever he hears music. He does a side-to-side and torso bob that is hilarious. He's lucky he's sweet,though, because he's still a bit of a challenging sleeper, and he gets incredibly whiny when he doesn't nap well.

Even with the occasional grumpiness, he is a pleasure. The boys compete to make Lawson happy, and we all daydream about the fun things he will soon be able to do.

Our New Daughter

Some of you might remember that year before last we hosted an exchange student from the Netherlands, Anita. Having Anita as part of our family was a very rewarding experience for all of us, and we all agreed that "someday" we would like to host another student. I never would have imagined that "someday" would be this year, as we have already had such an eventful time of it; but when the Youth for Understanding rep contacted me asking if I knew anyone willing to host, I got a little tug in my heart. Kirk & I decided that there was no time like the present, and contacted YFU to update our host family application. 

Within a couple of weeks, we got word that our new "daughter," Pim, would join us the first week of January. Pim is from a suburb of Bankok, Thailand, and lived with another host family in Sacramento for the first part of the school year. She will live with us until June, attending our local high school and coming along on all of our wild adventures. The boys already love their big sister, and she is definitely taking their rascally ways in stride. We hope you'll have a chance to meet her!