Spring Has Sprung!

With Springtime in the air, we have started doing some "Spring-like" projects.  It is a welcomed change after the long winter season that we had.  One such project involved making a birthday cake for my sister, Michele.  Her birthday is actually THIS weekend, but we knew that we would see her at the memorial for Grandpa, so we made the cake early and surprised her.  The girls helped me decorate it -- a sunflower (very "Spring-like"), where the petals were marshmallow Peeps -- her all-time favorite sweet.  She loved it!

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Samantha's preschool class is taking their last fieldtrip of the year next week.  They will be going bowling!  This is something that we have never done with Samantha, and while she completely understands the concept, we wanted to take her at least one time to familiarize her with the game.  Steve took her this weekend and Sophia stayed home with me to do a little "Spring-like" project.

When Samantha was about Sophia's age, we made some caterpillars out of egg cartons, and affectionately named them each "Chester."  Sam had so much fun with it, so I decided to let Sophia make some of her own.  It was a success!

We started with some light painting:

Followed by the placement of google eyes:

And a bow for one of the caterpillars:

With a little help, Sophia used a red pen to add "mouths" to her caterpillars:

And perhaps her favorite part was adding some jewels/bling to each of them:

Posing with her finished works of art:

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When the weather was nice on Monday, the girls and I had a chance to get out in the "Spring-like" air and go for a walk.  It was pleasant to be able to just take a walk without hauling the stroller with us.  Sophia is now old enough to walk alongside us on the road and is very conscious of any cars coming from either direction.  (We will reserve stroller walks for when our new little addition joins our family in a month).

Sporting their new sunglasses from the Easter Bunny:

Sisterly love:

And this is how they walked for most of our stroll:

{melt my heart}

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With the "Spring-like" weather upon us, we brought out some of our less winter-like pajamas, including this Tinkerbell ensamble that I could barely remove from Sophia's body the next morning.  She was completely unwilling to take it off; she loves it that much!

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The girls and I worked on yet another "Spring-like" project this morning, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is a success.  Each of the girls decorated their own cups (after choosing what color they wanted) and then we planted some grass seed in them.  If all goes well, the grass will start to grow and resemble hair!

Putting google eyes in place:

Adding extra embellishments:

(The number of things that I have in my craft box is amazing!  I guess that I just manage to pack things away in there whenever I have a chance, just waiting to put them to good use.  And I love how the girls get such a thrill every time they see me haul it out; it's as if they just know that a project is in their near-future).

Filling the decorated cups with dirt:

Holding their respective cups, ready to be placed on the kitchen window sill:

Pretty cute:

 

 

UPDATE:  Within a few days, the grass "hair" had already started to grow!  In two weeks time, there were full heads of "hair:"

 

 

 



Grandpa

On April 12th, my grandpa passed away, peacefully in his sleep.  We knew that the end was near, but it still makes it hard to say goodbye to someone that you have loved dearly. 

A few days before he passed away, he whispered to my dad, telling him that he had "had a good life."  I remind myself of this everytime I start to feel a little sad for him because he left with no regrets ... and we have none either. 

Grandpa holding Samantha:



Grandpa holding Sophia:

Four generations, out in the orchard:

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A week ago, when the loss was so recent for me, I somehow found the strength to help answer all of Samantha's questions. She understands (more than I thought a 4-year old would ever grasp) about the fact that great-grandpa is gone now and that while his body is in ashes, his spirit is in Heaven with Jesus. I am so proud of her and how respectful she has been during this difficult time.

Grandpa's memorial service was today, and we were so thrilled at the outpouring of love and support from so many people (family, friends and long-time customers from the orchard).  Several of us chose to read a tribute to him and share at the service.  This was mine:

My Grandpa, Albert James Koan, Jr.

(June 12, 1923 – April 12, 2013)

One of my favorite pictures of Grandpa is in a frame in my bedroom. It’s so special to me that I made absolutely sure that it would go on one of these poster boards for his memorial. In the picture, he’s leaning up against a wooden post at the orchard, sporting his usual “uniform” – boots, suspenders and jeans – and he’s watching in the background as my sister and I prepared for our first day of school. We were waiting for the bus to pick me up for kindergarten; Michele would later get a ride to preschool.

All through elementary and high school, the same school bus would pick us up and drop us off at the orchard. I would spend many afternoons at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, drawing on their chalkboard, playing “school” and doing my homework. Grandpa loved to ask me about my day – what I had learned and when my next big test would be. And I loved telling him all about it.

When I went off to college and my visits weren’t as frequent as they used to be, Grandpa never missed an opportunity to still inquire about the same things … what I was learning and now what my plans were for the future. His blue eyes almost twinkled every time I told him how much I was learning and how I couldn’t seem to get enough education.

After my undergraduate studies were complete, with a diploma in hand, I decided to continue my “learning” in graduate school. Less than four years later, I had gone as far as I possibly could in the educational world. I now had my doctorate, and Grandpa couldn’t seem to tell me enough how proud he was of me.

Sadly, I believed that this also meant that Grandpa was done, after all these years, of asking me about school. After all, what more would there be to inquire about? My formal learning was done.

But I was wrong. Because I went to graduate school so that I could receive my PhD, thus allowing me to teach at the college or university level. Deep inside, I yearned to bestow this same love of learning that I had on as many other impressionable students as I could. I hoped that some of them would come to love learning and realize all of the doors that it could open for one’s future. I get an opportunity to do that on a regular basis now.

And so it started again. My visits with Grandpa were filled with questions about my teaching – what classes I taught, how often and whether or not my students were passing my courses.

The bond was still there.

*****

A couple of weeks before Grandpa passed away, I made a point to take my girls to visit him. We knew that the end was nearing and I wanted to be sure that they each got an opportunity to see him before he became really sick. It was a visit that I will never forget.

The girls carried on a complete conversation with him that morning. Sophia mostly talked about how she “is two now” and how she uses the “big girl potty.” But Samantha’s part of the conversation centered around school. Yes, Grandpa was back at it again. He asked her all sorts of questions about her preschool and her upcoming kindergarten plans. But most importantly, he asked her about what she was learning. That unmistakable twinkle was back in his eyes (if only for a moment) as Samantha was was just as happy to answer that question as I had been for so many years.

*****

What is most noteworthy to me through all of this is how much value Grandpa placed on learning and gaining knowledge. Lacking any formal education himself beyond the 9th grade, he later came to realize the value of it -- encouraging us and taking extreme pride in the accomplishments of his descendents. This is part of the legacy that he is leaving behind for us, and I am so proud to have shared in his dream.

Outdoor Dinner

In between the torrential rains that we have received almost every day for the last 10 days, we had one day of "nicer" weather.  No rain, not too chilly.  Just an all around pleasant day.  We planned to grill hamburgers for dinner that night, and Steve had the idea that we could eat outside by the grill.  (I have to admit that I wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but the girls were "all for it.").  I'm glad that we did because something so simple pleased the girls tremendously.

They talked about it for days!  I have a feeling that we will be doing this more often this summer when the weather warms up a little ...

Bye, Bye Diapers!

It's official now.  Sophia no longer wears diapers! 

She has not had a single "accident" for over two weeks now, even during naps or all night long.  I was still putting a diaper on her during those times -- just in case -- and every single time, she would wake up completely clean.  I found myself re-using those diapers (just because I didn't want to waste them), and finally decided that we would begin "chancing" things.  After all, she has had a plastic mattress cover on her bed this whole time.  Sure enough, even with just panties on, we had complete success.

So on Friday, much like I did with Samantha, we had a little celebration and I took pictures of her packing away her diapers so that we could save them for the "new baby."  She completely understood the concept and we have made a real point to share the news with our family over the phone, just to further emphasize the significance of this milestone.

She took the diapers out of her drawer all on her own:

And then packed them away:

Yes, she was SO proud:

Holding all of her panties to show that she is a "big girl" now:

I'm not sure who is more excited about this milestone -- her, me or Samantha.  Her big sister has been so encouraging and so helpful during this whole process (partly because both girls get a fruit snack reward for #2 successes!).  But for me, I am especially grateful that she is 100% trained before our new little one has joined our family.  It was not my intention to have that happen (although I had hoped) because we weren't able to reach that point with Samantha before Sophia was born and it worked out just fine.  But when Sophia started showing signs of readiness two months ago, I went with it.  And here we are ... Diaper-free in this household for a couple of months!

Yay, Sophia!

Easter Morning - 2013

The girls woke up at their normal time on Easter morning -- 7:00 am ... ready to see what the Easter Bunny had left for them.  While on the the stairs, they caught sight of a few plastic eggs scattered about and decided that they wanted to collect eggs first.

I was amazed at how quickly Sophia had learned the whole concept of an "egg hunt."  She started right away quickly gathering eggs, holding them in her arms, almost forgetting about using a basket to put them in.

Her delight was obvious.  And I marveled at how she was able to spot eggs in the most obscure locations.

Note the curly hair that is starting to form.  This momma passed on the curly hair gene to both of her girls!

Samantha is just an expert now. 

After filling their baskets to the brim, the girls moved on to their Easter baskets on the dining room table.  Samantha was especially excited about her new watch -- not a digital one, but a real one with the hour, minute and second hands.

And the bubble wand was a big hit too.

Sophia loved her new sunglasses, although it turns out that the Easter Bunny accidentally mixed up the sunglasses for the girls.  So, a switch had to be made so that the appropriately-sized pairs went to the right person.

And the chapstick.  This girl has a real thing for chapstick.

And how adorable is her new raincoat?

As you can see, she was quite fond of it herself, and wore it for a majority of the morning, including while she was emptying her plastic eggs and collecting the loot. 

At one point, I had to jump in and assist because some of the eggs were sealed and we needed an adult with a sharp knife to help.  Overall, each girl scored quite a bit of coins and candy from their eggs. 

After that, we enjoyed a nice breakfast together consisting of pancakes and eggs.  Then, we spent a relaxing day at home until it was time to head to Steve's sister's house for our late afternoon Easter dinner. 

Coloring Easter Eggs

We did our annual tradition of coloring Easter eggs on Easter Eve this year.  I always get a little nostolgic whenever we do this -- not because of the actual tradition, but because we have been using my Grandma's punch bowl tea cups for this project for the last several years.  They seem to work perfectly to hold a single egg and the clean-up is minimal.

Now with two little anxious girls, it was a little bit tricky this year.  Each wanted to color as many eggs as possible and to be as involved as much as they could.  We had to keep reminding them that the eggs were fragile and that the dye can stain very easily.  Over all, it was a success.  But it definitely took both Steve and myself overseeing the whole process to make sure that everything went smoothly.

Dissolving the tablets:

Gently placing the eggs in the tea cups:

Fishing out their colored eggs:

Some of Samantha's creations:

Some of Sophia's creations:

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After cleaning up everyone and the kitchen, Samantha and Sophia each made a letter for the Easter Bunny.  I transcribed exactly what each girl said and then they decorated their respective letters with crayons and stickers. 

Samantha's letter:

Sophia's letter:

After that, we placed the letters in their Easter baskets (so that the Bunny would know whose basket belonged to each girl) and then they each placed a carrot on a plate for the Easter Bunny ... in case he needed a little snack.

And this is what they found the next morning:

Easter Egg Hunt - 2013

This was the second year that our subdivision has hosted an Easter Egg Hunt down at the park the day before Easter.  We went last year, even though Sophia wasn't even walking yet, and the girls seemed to enjoy themselves, so we opted to partake in the fun again this year.  What made it even more special was that my parents and brother and girlfriend joined us so that they could cheer the girls on.

It was very cold -- about 30 degrees.  But that didn't stop us from bundling up and making the best of it.  At least it wasn't raining!

Waiting for the hunt to begin:

And the race was on ...

Sophia completely understood the concept:

Showing off her loot:

After the egg hunt, there was a table set up with some craft projects, bubbles and cupcakes.

Sophia had her sights set on a cupcake right from the start.  There was no holding her back.

The girls tried out the hula hoops while they were there.  Of course, they begged me to do it too (and I did try), but it is a little hard to hula hoop when you have a 32-week pregnant belly in front!

And what trip down to the park/beach would be complete without spending a few minutes on the playscape?

The evidence of her cupcake was still on her face!

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After we arrived back in the warmth of our home, Grammy and Papa gave the girls their Easter gifts; and what a hit they were!  Special dress-up outfits -- Ariel. the Mermaid for Samantha and Olivia the Pig for Sophia.

Absolutely adorable.