Catching up Post

A lot has happened since I last posted! This will serve as an update up until now, except pregnancy and our newest addition. (Pregnancy/Birth story post coming up next!) First, I have to say that Jaya and Raja are just awesome. Jaya keeps composing songs. Here are a couple I wrote down this past year, both performed around 6:30 a.m., sung by a very awake Jaya to a fast asleep Raja:

You're my brother and I love you forever,
It doesn't matter if you never learn to go poopoo and peepee on the potty,
You can still share my pillow forever
And we will all love Raja forever
Because he's so special
and we love you Raaaaaaaaaajaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...........
15 January 2011

I dont want to see your shining face away from me,
I want to see it shining bright in the sun at me in loving harmony
Jesus knows us
and loves us in loving harmony
And I will be with you brother
I want to see you close by me forever
I want us to always stay by each other
and we will always love our parents
and all the other love we give other people
25 March 2011

They also got Pillow Pets this year from Madhu Mamman - they still love these things! Sleep on them every night.

Sometime in 2010, before I got pregnant, Raja was ready to transition out of our bed to sharing a room with his big sister. So we got their bunk bed ready, and put them to bed together in the same room for the first time. They eagerly went to bed and we could hear Raja yapping away for what seemed a really long time. When I went to check on them after a while, they were on the same bed, both fast asleep. Jaya had her pillow clenched over her head, and Raja was asleep with his mouth open, as if he fell asleep mid-sentence. In the morning, Jaya told me, "Mommy, Raja just wouldn't stop talking my head off! So finally I just had to block my ears and go to sleep!" What's funny is, outside of immediate family, Jaya is usually the incessant talker. Raja is much less vocal around other people, but at home, or one on one, that kid can converse for hours. Literally. The two of them sharing a room has worked out beautifully. It is so easy to put them to bed, and they rarely resist bedtime. They talk and read and always end up in the same bed, which we don't mind at all - I love that they will have memories of laughing and chatting and reading marvelous books before sleeping.





Jaya gave lots of talks in Primary this past year, as well as singing in her first Primary program during Sacrament meeting. She amazes me, because she doesn't have an ounce of stage fright. She speaks directly into the microphone, with a big smile on her face, making eye contact and is just pleased as can be to be up in front of a roomful of kids and Primary teachers. One Sunday morning when she was practicing her Primary talk before church, she turned to me and asked, "Can I give this talk in sacrament meeting instead?" I don't know where she gets it from, as it took both Marei and I being adults to be able to speak in public comfortably. When the Primary did their annual program at church, they sang numerous songs they had practiced, which Jaya gleefully participated in. At the end, the congregation was asked to sing the closing song along with the Primary. The chorister asked that we sing the 3rd verse, which Jaya apparently did not hear, as she sang the first verse - which you could hear loud and clear above the sound of the entire group singing the 3rd verse. Jaya also started taking ballet and was in her very first ballet recital, as well as her first powwow, and we love watching her dance. She is just so graceful and loves to make up her own choreography.

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Jaya also lost her first tooth! And got her first visit from the tooth fairy, who brought her toothpaste and wrote her a letter.

Raja has a great sense of humor. As shy as he can be around groups, when it's just family or close friends, he loves to make people laugh. He'll do crazy things like bang his head against the wall, and then turn and say, "Sorry Wall!" Or get inside a barely large enough cardboard box, and then demand, "Send me to the Post Office!" He also decided to name his baby brother Diaper-Q when he was in utero, and told stories about Diaper-Q, Potty Boy (himself), and Toilet Girl (Jaya).




Next post - all about the newest Wild Thing!

the shortest month

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. This month's been plagued with a knee injury (Marei), super occupied with work (Leatha), cold and earache (Jaya), fever and cough (Raja), and sinus infection (Leatha). And the last three came on about a week after I said out loud one day, "Wow, this has been a super mild winter for us being sick, don't you think?" (Doh!)
Some Public Service Announcements:
-Raja was born with a severe ear infection due to birth trauma, and Jaya woke up screaming in pain and clutching her ear Saturday night. Both times, breastmilk drops in the affected ear cured them. Cost-free and side-effect free. Gotta love that. Oh, and inconvenient-trip-to-the-doctor-and the pharmacy-with-two-sick-kids-and-a husband-at-work-free. Nice.
-A neti pot works really well to flush out a sinus infection. And no, it doesn't feel like you got water up your nose or like you are drowning. Honestly. It feels like you can breathe again. I highly recommend it.

Two sick kids, one not-so-discreetly picking his nose.

J + R

One night, Jaya fell asleep on the way home, before our customary bedtime routine, which includes hugs and goodnight kisses all around. Raja refused to sleep until he could "night-night kith thithy (kiss sissy)." So I took him into her room to kiss her good night. He kissed her and patted her head, then scampered off to go to sleep himself.

In the mornings, Jaya is almost always awake first. She is there to greet her brother when he wakes up, bring him toys and make him laugh if he wakes up cranky. On the few occasions she isn't around when Raja gets up, he insists on waking her up, too lonely without her.

We often take the kids out one-on-one, for some extra special quality time. Inevitably, after about 30-45 minutes for Raja, and 2 or so hours for Jaya, they ask for the other incessantly until they reunite.

It gives me so much joy as a mother to see how much my kids adore each other. To know that even if she doesn't really want to, Jaya will share whatever food or toys she has with her demanding brother. That she will protect him from anything, or anyone, and vice versa. It just makes me smile to see Jaya bringing Raja a pillow when he lays down tired on the floor, or to see Raja console his sister if she's wounded. Sure, they fight over toys and there are times they simultaneously want my attention and compete fiercely for it. Still, they are a pair. An inseparable, tumultuous, earnestly affectionate and absolutely adorable pair.

"You might want to kiss me............"

Right before Jaya does something cute (which at this point could be almost anything) she says, while backing away, with a sly little smile, "You might want to kiss me.........."

Her description of her feet falling asleep - "My feet are sparkling!
Yesterday, she said to me, "Mom! I forgot what I was going to say. Can you think it for me?"

2 years plus (almost) 1 month

Dear Raja,

A few months ago, you were barely saying a few words, but you understood everything we said. Then all of a sudden, overnight, words started spilling out of your mouth. The way you speak is so CUTE! Your eagernesss to communicate is so endearing. You love to say prayers and end with "Jee-zhush Kise, A-MEN!" (you cut other people's long-winded prayers off with that too). You're a bit volatile these days - your eagerness to communicate is accompanied by severe frustration when you can't get across what you intend.
You are extremely attached to me. Although you are quite the social creature, lately, you become easily overwhelmed by people, and cling to me, expecting me to carry your 30+lb self constantly and do all my work one-handed. The other night, you were fussy all evening, clingy and sad. I expected you to go sleep almost instantly (since there is a direct correlation between your fussiness level and your exhaustion level) when it was bedtime. Instead, as soon as Sissy was in bed and the house was quiet, you started grinning from ear to ear and running around in circles exuberantly, yelling "I'm happy! Happy Mommy! Happy Raja!" All you'd wanted all evening long was some one-on-one time with your Mom, and as soon as you got it, you didn't care one whit how tired you were. Watching you, I was overcome by your sheer charm and could do nothing but sit and watch you. I watched you while you wound down, running slower and slower, and your yelling fading into a whisper. You sat down, grabbed a book from the shelf, "read" it to yourself, then came and clambered into my lap, smiled, and fell asleep. You know what you want and nothing pleases you more than getting it.
The other day we went to a toy store. In the midst of playing with all the display toys, you noticed a shelf where all the toys were out of order. You stopped playing in order to go over to the shelf and place everything back in the correct box. I anticipate that when you are old enough to read you'll enjoy all the labels in our house.
You are going through a hitting phase, and you hit especially when you are tired. You should thank your dear sister one day when you read this, because she usually bears the brunt of your frustration, yet she never hits you back. You are nearly always remorseful, and sometimes you feel so bad you put yourself in the corner before anyone has a chance to discipline you. And sometimes, you refuse to apologize and act miffed, as if someone owes you an apology. Once in a while, if you are having a particularly combative day, Jaya doesn't accept your twelfth "So-wee (sorry) Sissy" accompanied by hug and kiss immediately the way she usually does. This usually results in more aggression that your gesture of remorse is being rejected, but lately, you seem to understand and give sister a minute before you apologize (for the thirteenth time).
Although you can be quite aggressive, you get very agitated when other people are aggressive for what you perceive to be is no good reason. Anything - from two kids not sharing, to Daddy play-wrestling with a friend, can be cause for your severe consternation. And just as quickly, you get over it and are usually grinning and running around like a happy little madman in no time. This is you right now Raj - one minute a veritable snot-faucet, impetuous and demanding, and the next minute a sweet, adoring little cherub, eager to please and to take in the world. And I love you both ways.

Love,
Mommy

(all of these pictures were taken within the same 2 minute span of time)

wild things Wild Things say

Jaya - "Mommy, uterus rhymes with universe!"

Raja - "Happy Birfday!" (used as a greeting to anyone he is happy to see)

Jaya, twirling around holding a leaf - "Look what Daddy gave me! My Daddy is so lovely to me!"

Raja, whenever making a request, all in one breath - "PleaseMommyTankyouMommyWelcome"

Jaya, matter-of-factly - "Sleepwalking is when your body is asleep and your skelekon is awake."

As Marei is doing donuts in an icy parking lot -
Raja - "Again! Again!"
Jaya - "Daddy, we're going to run out of gas and you might run into the fence so you better stop!" (That's my girl!)

Some pics of Sissy and Little Buddy (as they often call each other)

Playing in their new tent and tunnel (Thank you Auntie Lynn and Uncle Ron!!)

Riding bikes (Thank you Nanny and Poppa!)

End-of-09 summary post (3 months)

What's been happening:

Jaya became an expert egg cracker.

Andrea came to visit and we had a fabulous weekend.

We ended the blissful year and a half of no television.

We celebrated Marei's 30th with a marvelously successful surprise birthday party.

We had an incredible trip to New York, chock-full of much needed reunions.

We watched Manny Pacquiao win and missed being in the Philippines.

Raja experienced snow for the first time.

Jaya graduated from milkie to milk.

Raja found his true calling as a contender.

Jaya and Raja got a bunk bed. (Although Raja doesn't sleep in it yet)

We had a wonderful Christmas with all the family from SD.

Raja turned 2 and Jaya turned 4.

We had an awesome year!

"But HOW do mommies and daddies love each other???"

Dear Jaya,

I love this face. This face is your serious face. The face that precedes the most precocious of questions and sentiments. This is the face (sometimes accompanied by tears) that you make when you come to a crucial realization, like that not everyone has a mommy who is alive, or that someone might be mean to Raja for no good reason. This is the face you make when you wake up at 3 am urgently in need of "rice and curry." The face we see after the gears have been turning for a while, or after you digest an explanation we've given you and want more. You wanted an explanation of how babies were made the other day. We gave you (what we thought) was an age-appropriate explanation - and that made you mad. You knew (how?) that it wasn't the whole story. And the face, we saw the face. So we tried again and gave you a J-bugs explanation, which was better. (You did go around the rest of the day classifying everyone you knew firmly in the appropriate category based on genitalia). You are growing up so fast, so responsible and mature. When Daddy works at night, and I need to put Raja to sleep, you are so responsible that I can trust you to read one book to yourself, and then turn out the light and go to bed. Never once have you taken advantage of that, although I know the temptation is there, since you spend hours poring over books. I love watching your insatiable curiosity and your voracious appetite for learning. You are a curious little delight, my girl. I love you.

Love,
Mommy

1 2/3 cups (years) of sugar (joy)

When Raja really wants something, he grins that huge grin, nods enthusiastically, and says, "Peeeeease!" (please) He's already learned how to get by on charm. It is nearly impossible to resist him.

He loves to be obedient. If he is 'naughty', he makes a guilty face and whines remorsefully - he even willfully puts himself in the corner for a time out. (And I don't even use time outs on him).

Raj the referee - If two kids don't want to share, or someone takes something from his sister - he marches right over, points his finger, and sternly says. "No! NO!" He stays mad until the situation is resolved to his satisfaction. He will wail and gnash his teeth if he thinks Jaya has been treated unfairly.

Teething is not his specialty. When he teethes, his normally excellent sleeping ability is disrupted, and he wakes every 20-40 minutes - and yells angrily, every time. He has gotten 4 new teeth in the last 10 days. Nightmare. But luckily, it means he'll finally be able to chew nuts and all the crunchy foods he's always trying to steal from his sister.

Raja has always hated to have his nose wiped. Detested it. He protests, limbs flailing, spewing angry growls and grimaces, EXCEPT when his sister does it. When she comes at him with the tissue, he peacefully submits. So sweet!

6 years and counting!

Yesterday was our anniversary. We're still best friends, and still pretty different, but here is one more thing we agree on.



Organized laundry = domestic bliss.

I am so glad to be married to a man who appreciates the pure delight of sorted laundry. I love you honey! Thanks for the anniversary gift! And thanks for letting me pick it out myself!
*There is no sarcasm involved here. I really would rather have an organized laundry station than diamonds or roses. Seriously. I'm not kidding. I don't think I have a single romantic bone in my body. I'd rather Marei clean the bathroom than write me a love note. In fact, cleaning the bathroom is a kind of love note for me. Is that odd?

What did we miss most about cold weather?

Brisk breezes? Snowfall? Boots? Snowboarding? Mittens? Sweaters? Hot cocoa? Nostril icicles? All lovely, but nope. The one winter thing that left a gaping hole in our lives last winter was the absence of the footie pajama.
Is there anything more endearing than the footie pajama? Anything? I couldn't wait until fall weather. I took advantage of the low predicted for tonight (53 degrees!) and suited these babies up.






*The random patches of color on the walls in recent pictures aren't mold or fungus or fingerpaint. We're trying to choose paint colors.

My favorite pics of the week

Visiting Mamman:

A fun free activity - go to Home Depot and let the kids "drive" the car cart everywhere.

A refrain I keep hearing: "Mom, I want a baby sister. I don't want to send Raj back, let's just get a baby sister."

We had our first harvest - this is the kids enjoying a meal with our homegrown tomatoes and yellow crookneck sqaush.

June/July happenings

Lots of significant things happened, like gaining a new sister/aunty and driving over 4000 miles of interstate and Marei getting a job and meeting up with some of our Cebu friends. But here are the real items of note:

Jaya has narrowed down her career path: Dump truck driver or rope-saver. What is a rope saver, you ask? "A person who swings on a rope and when people scream to them they swing and rescue them."

Raja is learning the haka (who knew fierce could be sooooo cute?)

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The great Jaya/Camila lipstick caper of 2009

Public Service Announcement: Rubbing alcohol followed by dish detergent and cold water gets lipstick out of blankets, sheets, and mattress covers. It also wipes off toilets, sinks, and light switches pretty easily.
Carolina, James (Camila's parents), Marei and I tried to be stern when we caught them, but it was hard not to laugh at these two 3-year old cuties getting "ready to go out" in heels, jewelry, and lipstick. Miraculously, nothing was ruined, and somehow, there was no lipstick in the carpet or on any of our clothes. Raja ended up with some lipstick between his two front teeth. And I moved all our toiletries to a higher shelf.

It's been a month.....

And here's the summary of what's happened in that month:

9 bittersweet days of parties, dates and sad goodbyes

17 long but tolerable hours of international travel

2 relaxing days of chilling on the beach in SoCal

2 fun-filled frantic weeks of family time in South Dakota

1 600-mile 24-hour trip driving from South Dakota to Utah

1 week of joyous reunions and settling back into our home sweet home.

Some random reflections on the last month:

Saying goodbye to so many wonderful friends was tough, tougher than we could have imagined. This year has changed our lives in many ways. More on that in later posts.

I was fully prepared that Raja would have a really tough time with the car seat concept. I was prepared that he would scream bloody murder when he couldn't take it any more. He did scream and get mad about being constrained, but it didn't take too long. I'm happy to report that although he may not love it, he no longer regards the car seat as a toddler torture device.

I was not prepared whatsoever for Jaya's tough adjustment back to being in the US. I knew it was a change, and she would need to adjust. I knew she'd miss our life there, and the stability, but I figured, once she got over jet lag, maybe after a few days, she'd be back to normal. I figured wrong. It took two weeks of her being a different child to adjust - being a fussy, whiny, tantrum-throwing child who cried at the least provocation. I will be totally honest, it was rough, and uncharted territory for us. I had to pray for patience and guidance to deal with her, and I've never felt I had to do that before. I'm happy to report that it worked. We all got through it, and she is back to her normal amiable self. Whew.

Our layover in LA was brilliant - two days of relaxation in gorgeous surroundings, courtesy of a generous employer friend. Staying in South Dakota was wonderful - getting to see the family after an entire year was the perfect way to end our travel back home.

I am no longer tall. Neither is Marei. The kids are average size once again.

Within days of being back, we all had dry skin issues. Ashy skin, dandruff, eczema, yuck. I miss the humidity - didn't think I'd say that a year ago. However, it is nice to not be perpetually sweaty.

Over there, when it came to lots of things, we were pretty much like everyone else. Here, there's the labels "extended breastfeeding" "cosleeping" "attachment parenting" "green" "crunchy" and I don't know what else..but I miss just being label free. I miss being in a place where this would likely never happen.

We dearly miss our ward family.

I miss smiles. It became so natural to smile at everyone and have them smile back. Jaya had to get used to the idea that not every stranger in sight would be friendly to her.

We love having water sanitation. I love not using bottled water. The kids love bathtub baths.

We're thrilled to see our friends and family here again.

Whether we get to go back or not, Cebu will always be a special place for us. We will never forget our friends and the time we spent in the Philippines.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We're here, we're busy, we're fine, and we're trying to savor every minute before we have to say good-bye to Cebu....