The days are going by as quickly as ever, especially with our lovely visitors! Grammy and Gramps arrived last Thursday and we have enjoyed every minute! Last week was very cold with lots of ice and snow, luckily it has finally started to warm up and melt a bit. Adayla and Tally have been very entertaining.
Adayla has been reading her books, showing them her stuff in her bags, and been a bit bossy telling them how things go at her house. (It is because they actually listen to her.) Tally has been crawling fast and getting into everything. She really wants to get the fireplace rocks and gets there very quickly. Maybe we just need to let her get them....Adayla never got into the mud again (my houseplant)! Speaking of things Tally put in her mouth, on Saturday we went to the PX (on Ft Belvoir) to show Grammy and Gramps how things have changed, and as I change her diaper I saw a bubble in it. I looked again and it was a round decorative translucent rock about the size of 3 nickels put together. We are going to have to be even more careful about what is on the floor!
Saturday Tim and I went to our first Chinese New Year party. We made Jiaozi (a Chinese dumpling) a noodle stuffed with onions, garlic, and a little meat. Then you either fry or boil them. They were very tasty, much better than in the restuarants. We will have to try making them one of these days! We had a bit of American food mixed with Chinese food. It was all tasty. Then they sang some fun songs and a few Chinese traditions. Then they busted out the Karaoke, how the Chinese love to karaoke! This is the year of the pig, which is a lucky year! We enjoyed ourselves and I will try to post of few of the pics. The girls stayed home with Grammy and Gramps and had an enjoyable night themselves.
Sunday we went down to church where the Kuehnes went all the years they were in Lakerigdge. Most people were new faces, but they were able to visit with some of the oldies. They were happy to catch up with President and Sister Kuehne. It was cute to see some people come up and give Tim a hug. They hadn't seen him since he was just a young guy! It is always good to see people that have touched our lives in someway or another.
Our days have been nice and relaxing. We have just loved hanging out with Grammy and Gramps. Adayla goes to bed saying when I wake up I play with Grammy and Gramps. Every morning she goes and gives them a big hug when she see them. It is amazing how though we see our family seldomly, how she remembers them and loves them.
Tim and I are watching the last of the AF/UNLV game. Air Force is #15 in the country right now, so we have been able to watch them a few times on TV. This is after an evening with Todd Epoch, Tim's friend from the academy, as he was in town for business. We have seen so many people in DC, an added bonus for living in the area.
I will add some pictures here before long, the girls are growing!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Chinese Church
Adayla with her stuff, getting ready for church. Do you like the hat?? She has been wearing it for a few days! It is actually Tally's.
We thought we had a little longer before this would happen, but she is a smart and fast girl. 
Two little buddies! Adayla was getting Tally some toys to play with, how sweet! Just a quick note for this evening....we are keeping too busy! Yesterday we drove 45 minutes north to attend a LDS Chinese branch. There were about 50 people there, most of them Chinese. The meeting was a mixture of Chinese and English. They had head sets if you only know one language, but we were adventurous and only listened. Tim picked up quite a bit, me on the other hand could pick out words here and there. Adayla was indifferent, the only thing for us was that with only 50 people, her little voice carried much further when she had to say something. Tally stood out with her eyes, the Chinese will lover her!
Adayla is fighting her naps right now, but she definitely needs them! She took about a 20 minute nap yesterday and bounced in her bed for about 2 hours today. She went to bed at 7:30 this evening and was out. She loves to go to her room for nap time though, she is very good at saying,"I go to my bed, get a milk, a cheesestick, and then I take a nap!" After two hours of listening to her bounce and play we go get her and the first thing she tells you is "I wake Up!"
We know she listens to what her mom and dad say to her, yesterday she told me I have to go pee-pee toilet and then she added, "Don't you DARE wipe me!" She is busy and we can't help but love her.
Tally is our little eater. Tim fed her before dinner and then during our dinner she grunted and grunted for more. We shared with her or else she lets us have it. Each day she is little more self entertained!! Mom can talk to her while getting other things done. She will sit and smile and laugh with you. We love her!
Enjoy the pics!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Wo Bu Zhe Dao
Well the weeks are going too fast! How is it already Saturday night?! Anyways we had a good busy week. We went to the dentist on Wednesday, pretty uneventful. The doctor only spent about 3 minutes with Adayla and that was plenty! She was okay with him up until he wanted to keep the mirror in her mouth. She got really nervous and he backed off. She did say AHHH for him really well and then we were down and out to the toy box. Which she didn't really want a toy for fear it had a connection to having to do something else! Oh well. The receptionist wanted to take her picture for the no cavity club. She said NO! Then as we were leaving she decided she'd did want her picture taken, so there is a cute little girl on the wall of dentist office in NOVA.
Tally is just a happy little waver! She loves to wave to her daddy when we walk into a room where he is. It is so cute! She is getting much happier as she can get what she wants a bit more. But she still lets you have it if her mom leaves the room. Tonight we did our kid swap and the little girl is about 6 months old. Tally wasn't the least bit bothered if I held the girl, but boy if I left the room. She is also pulling herself up a little more each day. Her hair is growing a little more each day, I think or at least I hope it's really starting to come in! She
Adayla is busy trying to get herself into trouble these days. She has learned that she can move a chair around to get to about whatever she wants. It is driving her mom crazy, not because she is getting into too much stuff, but because I am afraid she is going to fall and conk her head. She likes to turn lights on and off this way. The light heading to the basement is in the hall above the stairs. She scoots her little wooden chair to the very top of the stairs and turns it on or off. Today we had a good talk about this, we'll see if it stuck. She is so independent. This week she has decided she doesn't need our help going to the bathroom, which is quite nice. She told me mom I have to go peepee toilet and I don't need you to wipe me, I do it by myself! She doesn't even need the stool to get on the toilet. She is growing up!
A few more of the Adayla funnies....She is still the crazy bag lady. Here is a brief list of some of the surprises you might find in her bags: Taco Bell taco sauce packet from the fridge, a sock (or 3 or 4), magnet letters, random little toys, outlet plastic inserts, random pics of people she likes, her Washington DC magnet (which she will point and tell you what each pic is, Monument, W's house, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial), and some of her play money and I can't forget Chapstick. She calls them her stuff and carries up and down the stairs where ever she goes. I usually don't let them take them into places, but last week when we swapped kids I let her take in one bag. I won't do that again as they so kindly returned some things that were left....2 outlet inserts and an old funny Santa Christmas ornament that we recieved a dozen of this year from our white elephant ornament exchange which she thinks is baby Jesus. (The ornament looks nothing like Santa or Baby Jesus, in fact my friend said I don't know what the last thing is :)
As her friends were leaving tonight from the kid swap, Max was missing one of his gloves. I was looking for it, Tim was looking for it and then asked Adayla, "do you know where Max's glove is?" She told Tim "Wo Bu Zhe Dao!" or I don't know in Chinese. Which tomorrow since church was cancelled due to a building plumbing issue we are going to head up to the Chinese branch about 45 minutes away from here.
Tim took his 2nd ACSC test on Thursday and passed! Only four more to go. It is for his Major's school or PME (proffesional military development. He realized he must dive into it before we go to China because he doesn't know what the access is to a testing center. So he is studying right now for his 3rd test which he hopes to take on Thursday.
Enough for now.....
Tally is just a happy little waver! She loves to wave to her daddy when we walk into a room where he is. It is so cute! She is getting much happier as she can get what she wants a bit more. But she still lets you have it if her mom leaves the room. Tonight we did our kid swap and the little girl is about 6 months old. Tally wasn't the least bit bothered if I held the girl, but boy if I left the room. She is also pulling herself up a little more each day. Her hair is growing a little more each day, I think or at least I hope it's really starting to come in! She
Adayla is busy trying to get herself into trouble these days. She has learned that she can move a chair around to get to about whatever she wants. It is driving her mom crazy, not because she is getting into too much stuff, but because I am afraid she is going to fall and conk her head. She likes to turn lights on and off this way. The light heading to the basement is in the hall above the stairs. She scoots her little wooden chair to the very top of the stairs and turns it on or off. Today we had a good talk about this, we'll see if it stuck. She is so independent. This week she has decided she doesn't need our help going to the bathroom, which is quite nice. She told me mom I have to go peepee toilet and I don't need you to wipe me, I do it by myself! She doesn't even need the stool to get on the toilet. She is growing up!
A few more of the Adayla funnies....She is still the crazy bag lady. Here is a brief list of some of the surprises you might find in her bags: Taco Bell taco sauce packet from the fridge, a sock (or 3 or 4), magnet letters, random little toys, outlet plastic inserts, random pics of people she likes, her Washington DC magnet (which she will point and tell you what each pic is, Monument, W's house, Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial), and some of her play money and I can't forget Chapstick. She calls them her stuff and carries up and down the stairs where ever she goes. I usually don't let them take them into places, but last week when we swapped kids I let her take in one bag. I won't do that again as they so kindly returned some things that were left....2 outlet inserts and an old funny Santa Christmas ornament that we recieved a dozen of this year from our white elephant ornament exchange which she thinks is baby Jesus. (The ornament looks nothing like Santa or Baby Jesus, in fact my friend said I don't know what the last thing is :)
As her friends were leaving tonight from the kid swap, Max was missing one of his gloves. I was looking for it, Tim was looking for it and then asked Adayla, "do you know where Max's glove is?" She told Tim "Wo Bu Zhe Dao!" or I don't know in Chinese. Which tomorrow since church was cancelled due to a building plumbing issue we are going to head up to the Chinese branch about 45 minutes away from here.
Tim took his 2nd ACSC test on Thursday and passed! Only four more to go. It is for his Major's school or PME (proffesional military development. He realized he must dive into it before we go to China because he doesn't know what the access is to a testing center. So he is studying right now for his 3rd test which he hopes to take on Thursday.
Enough for now.....
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Assume the position......
It is genetic. Adayla had a position she assumed and Tally does the exact same one, for those who ever saw Adayla go #2, you know what I am talking about. Tally lays on the floor, sticks her legs straight out, and then pushes up with her arms (the push up position). So I know when she needs her diaper changed. I know Little Grandma said none of her kids did that, so it must run on Tim's side of the family. It strenghtens anyone's arms really fast....so fast that after only doing it for a couple of days, Tally pulled herself to a standing position tonight. She was out to far and then had to take a few steps to get standing up straight. She definitely has mastered the crawling, but we are not ready for walking!
Adayla had a late night last night with the Super Bowl (read further), but woke up at her usual time. She was quite cranky no matter what I did this morning. So finally I just told her to go play in her room for a while. (She has no problem doing this as her mind is always going and she easily entertains herself.) She went straight to her room and shut the door. About 10 minutes later I go check on her and she has gotten about 10 articles of clothing out the dresser including the ones she is wearing. She had a "jamee" shirt she slept in, her pink kitty panties, a pair of white bloomers on, and then a pink pair of Tally's 3-6 month long pants which came to her knees. She was quite a site! It was all layered on her, you could see it all. I told her she couldn't wear Tally's pants and so she decided on an Adayla size version of the previous pants. This time when she put them on she had them on backwards, so she had two back pockets on her front and the button on her back! I think this is just a small part of what is to come. She never has really been interested in what she wore until today. After her nap, she then changed into her cute little white skirt and put her white Adayla sized heels on! She was cute, especially since her toes and fingernails today were painted red! I told her that when she goes to Little Grandma and Grandpa's house she can have her nails done everyday by Josie. She was fine with that, but did tell me, "Brodie not paint my toenails!"
Just a bit on our evening last night. We joined some of our neighbors for a Super Bowl party. It was fun and good food! We had a few juniors in high school come hang out at our house and watch 7 little kids. I fixed them dinner and then left. I was surprised at how well Adayla did. She had a bunch of kids of who most she didn't really know and was so excited to play and share her toys. We left with Tally (babies would have been too much for them...) and Adayla was so excited she didn't even mind! We returned 3 hours later and Adayla was just as happy as could be (probably because the girls let her have as much apple juice as she wanted!)
Tomorrow is a big day....we get to go to the dentist! We have to have clearances to move overseas and we are going to get our teeth checked out. All dependents two and older must be seen. I hope she does well, I am not too worried as she has always loved getting her teeth brushed! I'll let you know how she does.......
Adayla had a late night last night with the Super Bowl (read further), but woke up at her usual time. She was quite cranky no matter what I did this morning. So finally I just told her to go play in her room for a while. (She has no problem doing this as her mind is always going and she easily entertains herself.) She went straight to her room and shut the door. About 10 minutes later I go check on her and she has gotten about 10 articles of clothing out the dresser including the ones she is wearing. She had a "jamee" shirt she slept in, her pink kitty panties, a pair of white bloomers on, and then a pink pair of Tally's 3-6 month long pants which came to her knees. She was quite a site! It was all layered on her, you could see it all. I told her she couldn't wear Tally's pants and so she decided on an Adayla size version of the previous pants. This time when she put them on she had them on backwards, so she had two back pockets on her front and the button on her back! I think this is just a small part of what is to come. She never has really been interested in what she wore until today. After her nap, she then changed into her cute little white skirt and put her white Adayla sized heels on! She was cute, especially since her toes and fingernails today were painted red! I told her that when she goes to Little Grandma and Grandpa's house she can have her nails done everyday by Josie. She was fine with that, but did tell me, "Brodie not paint my toenails!"
Just a bit on our evening last night. We joined some of our neighbors for a Super Bowl party. It was fun and good food! We had a few juniors in high school come hang out at our house and watch 7 little kids. I fixed them dinner and then left. I was surprised at how well Adayla did. She had a bunch of kids of who most she didn't really know and was so excited to play and share her toys. We left with Tally (babies would have been too much for them...) and Adayla was so excited she didn't even mind! We returned 3 hours later and Adayla was just as happy as could be (probably because the girls let her have as much apple juice as she wanted!)
Tomorrow is a big day....we get to go to the dentist! We have to have clearances to move overseas and we are going to get our teeth checked out. All dependents two and older must be seen. I hope she does well, I am not too worried as she has always loved getting her teeth brushed! I'll let you know how she does.......
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Most Handsome Boy........
Is our little Tally! Tonight at a baptism in our ward, someone called Tally the most handsome boy they'd ever seen. She is cute is all I said. She wasn't wearing pink and she doesn't have any hair (hardly) and so I can't blame them She was wearing mostly purple "jameez" with a tiny bit of green. Anyways they were giving her a complement and then they added, what pretty big blue eyes she has! (Maybe it was her voice though, she makes these funny grunting noises and her voice is deeper than many boys!)
She is over her fever and back to herself, which we are still trying to figure out who she is. We can't quite figure out what keeps her happy. She definitely likes her mom, I can barely set her down before she lets me have it. She has at least learned to crawl and is getting faster each day. So when I leave the room, her screams get closer. Her big accomplishment of the day was.....I think she is finally getting baby sign. She did our "more please" sign!! It was so cute to see her get her little hands a moving. She loves to eat and will quickly learn this is the best way to get our attention. Adayla is very good at helping her remember the signs. We will just teach her the most basic signs (5 or 6) that will help to cut down the level of frustration. Adayla used them and it was so helpful.
As for the baptism, we all went as Tim had to give a short talk on baptism and we thought it would be good for Adayla to see a baptism for herself. She sat pretty reverently and was very intriqued by the people in the "bath". It happened quickly and as they shut the doors to the font she said "I want to see it again." But she won't forget what it means to be baptized from now on. She loves to learn and experience new things!
As for the rest of the week, it went by fairly quickly. We didn't do much, the washer broke and a repairman came on Wednesday. He was an older man (in his 60's for sure) and Adayla kept saying "Grandpa fix Adayla's laundry!" So we called Grandpa Skinner so she knew he was in Wyoming and wasn't the one fixing our laundry.
Friday night Tim and I were able to go on a date!! Like I said last time, we swap kids with our friends occasionally and it has worked out great. It was pretty cold to go ice skating, so instead we enjoyed a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Arlington overlooking the airport and Washington DC. We sat by the window and were able to see the Capitol and the planes. What a marvelous site! And the food was excellent as well. We love our sweet girls, but is was nice to have a delicious meal by ourselves. The girls did well for our friends. Adayla and her friend Max played. They were surprised by our two little eaters! Adayla had 2 pieces of pizza and Tally devoured two jars of baby food. Tally has never spit anything out, she likes everything (either that or she is just hungry!)
That is pretty much it, I am sure I will remember something later, but I can always add it!
She is over her fever and back to herself, which we are still trying to figure out who she is. We can't quite figure out what keeps her happy. She definitely likes her mom, I can barely set her down before she lets me have it. She has at least learned to crawl and is getting faster each day. So when I leave the room, her screams get closer. Her big accomplishment of the day was.....I think she is finally getting baby sign. She did our "more please" sign!! It was so cute to see her get her little hands a moving. She loves to eat and will quickly learn this is the best way to get our attention. Adayla is very good at helping her remember the signs. We will just teach her the most basic signs (5 or 6) that will help to cut down the level of frustration. Adayla used them and it was so helpful.
As for the baptism, we all went as Tim had to give a short talk on baptism and we thought it would be good for Adayla to see a baptism for herself. She sat pretty reverently and was very intriqued by the people in the "bath". It happened quickly and as they shut the doors to the font she said "I want to see it again." But she won't forget what it means to be baptized from now on. She loves to learn and experience new things!
As for the rest of the week, it went by fairly quickly. We didn't do much, the washer broke and a repairman came on Wednesday. He was an older man (in his 60's for sure) and Adayla kept saying "Grandpa fix Adayla's laundry!" So we called Grandpa Skinner so she knew he was in Wyoming and wasn't the one fixing our laundry.
Friday night Tim and I were able to go on a date!! Like I said last time, we swap kids with our friends occasionally and it has worked out great. It was pretty cold to go ice skating, so instead we enjoyed a dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Arlington overlooking the airport and Washington DC. We sat by the window and were able to see the Capitol and the planes. What a marvelous site! And the food was excellent as well. We love our sweet girls, but is was nice to have a delicious meal by ourselves. The girls did well for our friends. Adayla and her friend Max played. They were surprised by our two little eaters! Adayla had 2 pieces of pizza and Tally devoured two jars of baby food. Tally has never spit anything out, she likes everything (either that or she is just hungry!)
That is pretty much it, I am sure I will remember something later, but I can always add it!
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