Snoozing in the backpack carrier

It's time to give credit where credit is due - our girls have done an amazing job getting used to the work week schedule. (This post will probably change the current alignment of goodness, but...) The schedule has the potential to be rough for them. Each morning during the week, the Freeca needs to begin rolling towards Paradise by 6:40. This means that the girls are up, dressed, fed (for Xian this means a two to three course extravaganza) and buckled into the car seats. For the most part, they have been on the ball! They are so good at the schedule that they carry it right on through the weekend.

Hmmm, not quite what we were hoping for. Yep, this past weekend Xian even tried to earn a gold star for being ready by waking at 4 am. On Saturday! I tried to coax her back to sleep to no avail. Finally, I dropped her into the backpack carrier, woke Audrey up and went for a walk. Since she is now on my back I can't keep an eye on her but somewhere around the halfway point she got quite still. Asleep?

Getting home I slowly sat down on the couch and gently laid back. Unbuckling the carrier, I turned to see my sleeping beauty.

Conversations with Sage

Another seat at the table

Sage is closing the door on her 4th month of life and continues to fill out. Today, we gave her a try at the breakfast table and she seemed to enjoy the promotion. (Her former "kitchen seat" was a small recliner that put her at an eye-to-eye level with Audrey instead of her sister.)

Hey! Is this how you do it?

Lucas, is one of Sage's buddies. He is a rabbit from France that hangs out in our kitchen and shares a seat with Sage on most days. Here, Sage checks out his shoes as she appreciates the great toy tray that comes along with the big girl seat.

Xian, who has been sitting in a high chair for almost as long as Sage has been alive, shows Sage how to relax at the breakfast table.

Sitting up can be hard work!

Corner booth

It's the weekend!  The girls decide how to act at the breakfast spot.

Busted (again)!

While driving in Taiwan, it is easy to get the feeling that the big brother with the stick may be watching you at any moment. Cameras are everywhere though not at every intersection. In many instances, cars blaze through red lights without bothering to stop. A stop light is located at the end of our development. We typically give a good 5 second count before pulling out at a green light to give the scooters and cars that choose to run the light plenty of time. There must not be a camera here...

I'm good for 1-2 camera tickets a year. So far, I've collected two camera-trapped speeding tickets and one for running a red light that I contend I did not see. In my local area, I now know where the speed cameras are located and in what direction they operate so my speeding is no longer an issue and I have a pretty good feel for the red light cameras.

But, from time to time we venture out of town where Google Maps is our best friend. We follow the blue dot along streets with characters we cannot pronounce. Sometimes the search for the correct turn can be distracting and a camera-monitored intersection can pop up at the most in-opportune times.

I recently received this in the mail. The writing tells me to stop at the line when the light is red - good to know! Fortunately this ticket is small compared to some of the others...

Bangkok Revisited

Even before we received our little bundles of joy, we were planning for the day when we would get the call that we were to be parents. There was a lot of preparation that began over a year before our first wee one was born. Packages arrived from the States filled with tiny little outfits, cloth diapers were researched and cribs were purchased. In addition, whenever we traveled throughout the year preceding the girls' arrival, babies were on our minds. It seemed as if everywhere we went had a slew of baby items ripe for the picking. So how could we resist when we saw these cute outfits on the streets of Bangkok? Khao San Road was filled with graphic T's and fisherman pants. There were just so many items to choose from. Darth Vador Ts,

 elephant butt pants complete with the tail. . .

impossible to turn down; and just how would we know that the OM shirt would be donned by our peaceful little Xian a year and a half later?

Rockin the Tutu

I have just recently discovered the joys (and frustrations) of Photoshop. It truly is an amazing program that you can do just about anything with; however, I am completely and utterly in the dark when it comes to actually creating anything fabulous with it. My first (and only) project so far has been to create a thank you card. I believe it came out. . .OK. . .not spectacular. Which is why I was completely blown away when I received this photo. . .

Seriously, does this get any cuter? My friend, Allison, has been my mentor of sorts-giving me tips as she fights through the frustration that is Photoshop. Tutorials are shared, and the latest of her battles (which I'd say she won) was the photo above of Sage, rockin her hot pink tutu. 

Tic Toc

Here we are, cruising into the last week of April. Tic toc. This time of year is often accompanied by tired, yet smiling faces. The descent towards the end of the school year is on. Tic toc. Conversations stray from weekend plans to summer adventures. Books are flagged for the famous summer reading list. Dreams of outings under long summer days creep into the busiest of times.

tic toc

This year is different. Put the brakes on! The ticking repeats with an urgency. We need this time. It must slow. tic toc Bureaucracy tugs at our sleeves. Our two girls, constantly in our minds, have been with us for almost seven and four months. tic toc. Paperwork abounds. Rules - to keep everyone safer - form a tunnel with little light. June 11. tic toc On this day we hope to all board a plane for Portland. It has been almost two years since we left. The girls need passports. tic toc. The US government believes that it is in everyone's best interest to require a visa for them to enter the country. tic toc The Taiwanese government  demands registration of the girls. But, we can't do it. We're not Taiwanese. tic toc Time is going by too fast. Will we get on the plane? All of us? On June 11?

Tutus for Two

One of the things that absolutely stumps me about my girls is any time they are dressed in super duper cute outfits and I'm all ready to get photos taken, they are as grumpy as all get out. Picture day is always ruined and I am left wondering why I tried in the first place. Today began like any other picture day. The girls were rockin their party clothes. The intention was we would get photos, then run along to a baby shower in our honor, as well as two other soon to be parents. Well the one thing I've learned in my short time as a parent is that I can make plans but the babies typically have their own agenda that have nothing to do with my plans. So, today was that day. Following a quite successful fun filled Saturday, XO woke grumpy and clingy. I couldn't put her down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she would raise her arms and begin to cry as she lunged in my direction. With three cat naps before noon, I was dreading the afternoon. These are the days where I desperately miss our parents being here to help out.
One o'clock rolled around and both girls finally decided they were tired and would take more than the obligatory 30 minute nap. All was quiet on the home front. Problem was our shower began at 2. So, girls were woken, clothes were half-hazardly changed and we were off!
The shower turned out to be a huge success. Sugar and Spice and everything nice turned out to be EXACTLY what little girls are made of. The girls decided to put the morning behind them, and have a great time.

Party Time!!

The time was spent with their buddy, Tegan, new friend Mikayla finally made an appearance, and XO had a nice time being read to by Ella who was a bit overly zealous with her affections towards XO.

Ella and Jen

 What more could two babies ask for? And for the parents? Well, chocolate dipped cookie dough, croissants, and cookies were all up for grabs (grab them I did). Extra hands were available to help with the wee ones and Frank and I had a much needed break from holding babies. Oh and when asked, why the tutus, I answered: why not? It is a party isn't it and every girl needs a tutu. . . or 4

XO already has a love for reading

Sage LOVES being thrown in the air by Mommy!

Finally, family photo, Daddy has his hands full.

Early Bird for Breakfast

This morning we grabbed the girls, a bit of courage, food and diapers to head out for breakfast. We were early birds at the Early Bird - trying to get in before the weekend rush. The girls woke up a bit too early this morning and Xian decided to take a nap around 7:30 but we still got out of the door at a decent time, were awarded with princess parking in front of the diner and almost had the place to ourselves. The girls enjoyed the scenery and a late reward was the arrival of buddy Tegan to say hello.