A Good Day

     Part of our late afternoon routine has become playtime in the backyard, usually me (Rob) and the kids.  This serves several functions- if Trey has not napped that day, it keeps him awake until bedtime.  If Trey HAS napped that day, it wears him out so there's a chance he'll go to bed before 10pm.  It gives the kids a lot of exercise, especially since their favorite activity is for the three of us to hold hands and run around the yard until we fall.  Or we pretend to be airplanes until trey decides where we land in one big heap.  And they usually spend a while doing one of their favorite things- digging in dirt.  Sometimes they write on the fence in chalk, which gives me time to study while sitting out there with them.  And usually it gives April time to make dinner, check facebook, or whatever.
     Today was different, though.  We did a little of the usual stuff, but most of the time (at least 45 minutes) we crammed inside the playhouse and talked about whatever was on Cosi's mind.  Cosi sat on my lap holding a ladybug she had found, which entertained her for 30 minutes straight, and Trey just kept peeking out the window at the clouds and diving into my arms for spontaneous hugs.  For 45 minutes.
     Today was a good day...

I Could Just Watch this All Day

Trey is all boy. Observe the dirt on his shirt and face (he may have tried to eat some of it)...

Kids Videos- Fall 2012, part 2

Trey is sick, having picked up whatever it is that Cosi has been dealing with for the past week. At least she shared something with her brother, even if it was germs...
Anyway, sick kids means fewer videos. But here's one I finished yesterday. April mentioned in an earlier post how Trey loves his play grill.  Well, here's what that looks like.  It's three different scenes- one in which he shows off his spatula skills, one in which he got the idea to sprinkle (toy) mustard on his grilled food, and one in which he put actual food on his grill.  We haven't been able to get this on video yet, but Trey now likes to close the lid of his grill and say "Hot! Hot! Bloooow..."  For a little guy who hates warm weather, he sure does like to cook out!

Videos- Fall 2012, part 1

Time for a few more videos (it's amazing what Rob gets around to when he doesn't have homework!).  April says I shouldn't post them all at once- she gave me a "2 videos per day" limit.   Today's videos of choice are a delightful peek at Cosi and Trey's sleeping habits followed by a look at the conversation surrounding Cosi's efforts to kill a moth. You may notice that at one point,Cosi refers to herself as "Mary." She started  doing that after learning the Christmas story at school.  Trey is Joseph (or "Jophes," in Cosi's version),by the way, and her toy cat is Baby Jesus...

Trey at 18 months

In keeping with our habit of making this blog an unofficial online baby book for the kids...
And in recognition of the fact that what most of our family really want to see here is pictures and videos of the kids...

Somewhere in the midst of a busy week, Trey sneaked into his 18th month.  I'm not sure if that's a milestone we are supposed to commemorate, but it seems fitting to do so. 

Trey is mischievous, brave, compassionate, and he thinks he's hilarious.  He's tough (anyone with Cosi as a big sister would need to be) and smart (I say that totally objectively, not just because I'm his father). 

Trey loves airplanes and birds, lizard watching, lizard chasing, lizard catching, and lizard tail removing.  He likes puzzles and buckles, Mickey Mouse, blowing out candles, and playing with his sister.  He recognizes a Papa John's pizza box in less than a second, and is convinced that every letter of the alphabet is either A, O, or an airplane (especially Ts and Ys). 

Trey, two years ago you surprised us in a big way.  Ever since then you have continued to surprise and delight us. We love you, big boy!

Jogging with Jesus

Trey's latest addiction is walking in the street in front of our house.  He likes to walk in the middle of the street, bark like a dog, and then wander in the direction of anything that answers.  And most times, I'm happy to just be daddy-in-the-background- close enough to keep him from doing anything stupid, but far enough back that he's free to roam.

This afternoon, while Trey was a-roamin', a jogger went past.  Not just any jogger, mind you, but one of those super-fit Adonis-types with no shirt who has a body that makes me instantly aware that I am in my mid-30's and incapable of even the mildest athletic feats.  This jogger went past and caught Trey's eye.  Trey watched him round the corner, then tucked his little head down and took off after him as fast as he could toddle.  I love my little boy's confidence.

When I was reflecting on that story this evening, I realized that I tend to think of Jesus that way- he's our great example, the perfect runner, taking great strides and showing us how it's done.  And I'm the little toddler who runs with all his puny might, with no hope of really catching up, but happy to just be going the right way.

It's sad how much I think of Jesus that way and how seldom I picture him scooping me up and carrying me as he runs...

Kids' Chores- A Video

One thing you need to understand is that we never force our kids to do the things in this video. Especially for Cosi, doing housework is a kind of reward. "If you finish your dinner, you may help Mommy vacuum." "If you behave at church, you can wash dishes when we get home." She has pretty high inclusion needs and wants to do whatever she sees us doing. Apparently, we do a lot of housework. As for Trey, well, he wants to do whatever Cosi does.

A Short Video for Those Genuinely Interested in the Latest Things Our Kids Learn to Do

Trey started walking by himself a few weeks ago- right around when he turned 10 months old. We finally convinced him to do it on camera. When Trey first started walking, he was fearless. After more than a few falls, he developed some sense of caution. He typically would walk all over the house while keeping a hand on the wall, couch, or the nearest set of legs. He would venture a solo walk only in between door frames or to get to a couch. Now, he's a walking machine.

Cosi, for her part, is a little threatened by his sudden ability to reach toys that were hitherto only in her range. She made up for that by climbing up onto her wardrobe today and retrieving a collection of items we thought would be safely out of her reach for a few more years. Cosi also enjoys standing in front of us and making sure that Trey is walking to her, and not to whomever ends up standing behind her. She's pretty sure she's the one who taught Trey how to walk.

A Re-enactment. Nearing the end of the walker...

We would like to thank Max (aka Clifford) for his willingness to star in this re-enactment of Trey tipping over his walker. Max was not expressly asked, but he showed no fear or discomfort during the proceedings, which is more than we can say for the baby who inspired this picture. That said, Trey was fine once we pulled him up :)

Our Kids Make Us Smile

Fact: Trey loves to use a walker.
Fact: Trey is strong (for a baby).
Fact: Trey adores Cosi and will do just about anything for her.

Cosi is learning to take advantage of these facts:

Going to the doctor in Asia...

Sometimes it's worth it to pay a taxi $100 to drive you to the Western Hospital located 2 hours away. Delivering a baby = worth it! That's where Trey was born.

Other times, like when your kid has a cold, it doesn't seem worth it. Instead, you might choose to visit a local clinic. One time we took Rob to a local clinic (after a bagel cutting injury - you might be surprised at how often that happens in the usa) and it was gross, both the clinic and Rob's cut finger. After he paid about one dollar for the doctor to see him, he was taken into an examining room. The last patient had left some blood on the bed and vomit on the floor. I guess they weren't in a hurry to clean up? (side note: there are much nicer hospitals in EA. This was not one of them)

Anyhow, I wasn't going to take my sick baby to a clinic like that. I took him to a Singaporean clinic. Singaporeans are quite Western, so I felt comfortable with the doctor. And - Trey just had a bad cold, so it's not like he needed to be airlifted back to the US.

I was happy with the clinic, but I had some funny moments.

When they wanted to know my 7 month old boy's weight, the nurse asked me to let him stand up on the scale. At first I doubted my East Asian language ability, so I had her repeat her request. Then I explained that he's a baby and he can't stand up yet. I guess they don't have scales for babies? I gave her an estimate of his weight, problem solved.

The doctor saw us immediately, no waiting. Is it good that they weren't busy? I don't know, but I like not having to wait. We went straight into his office. The doctor spoke perfect English, better than my English even (or at least it sounded that way because he had a cool British accent). He listened to Trey's chest and agreed that Trey had/has a respiratory infection. Since Trey's breathing was so labored, he recommended a nebulizer treatment to open up his airways for a bit.

That's how we ended up in the storage room with no heat. It said "procedure room" on the door, but it seemed more like a storage room. It seemed even more like a storage room when 20 minutes into the treatment, a nurse brought a few boxes into the room to...umm... store. She seemed surprised to see us, which only adds to my theory...

The nebulizer treatment wasn't so bad if you like holding down your struggling infant son and listening to his pathetic whimpers for help. I don't like doing that, so I thought it was awful. I kept alternating between praying for him to rest and get well and praying for him to have the memory of a goldfish ( i.e. short). Thankfully, Trey fell asleep after 10 minutes of struggle. Of course, he has a battle scar to remind me of my betrayal. Somehow we scratched his cheek? I was so thankful after the treatment was finished, glad to have it behind us. Then, they told me we needed to do it again. Darn.

I was thankful for a cold room. I might have been sweating a bit. I'm a nervous sweat-er. Trey had a blanket to keep him warm on one side and my body heat on the other side. He was okay. The metal chair was a bit uncomfortable, but I don't think any chair would have felt great while holding a baby in those circumstances.

The second treatment woke him up, but it seemed to go faster. When I noticed the medicine was gone, I turned off the machine. I waited 20 min in the cold room while Trey slept. After he woke up, we wandered out. The nurses seemed surprised to see me (not sure if they had forgotten me or thought I was rude for leaving the room). I smiled and jiggled the boy in a classic "just walking the baby around to keep him happy" gesture.

After I emerged from the room, the nurses must have felt the need to do something with us. One nurse brought in a tool that gets your heart rate via your finger, except it was built for an adult sized finger and a finger that wouldn't wiggle constantly. Trey's a big boy, but his finger is still itty-bitty and it moves a lot. She tried 5 times to get his heart rate before I finally intervened. Kudos to me for being patient! I gracefully told her (in no uncertain terms) that she should give up on getting his heart rate that way, it was never going to work. I guess she decided that she didn't need his heart rate after all.

We're going back again today. We'll do another neb treatment. It seemed to help him relax and breathe a little easier. It's so sad to see our little guy sick. Baby laryngitis & wheezing is beyond pathetic. But, it does make me thankful for his generally good health. However - I've gone from very little sleep to very very little sleep. Rob and I are taking turns holding Trey upright while he sleeps. I'm really thankful not to be a single parent right now. Days & nights like this make me really respect single parents that strive to care for children by themselves.

Things we probably shouldn't do...

Exhibit A: Strap our son into a chair and place him in front of a tv


But, at least one of our kids can be hypnotized by the power of the television. This mama needs a break sometimes...

Don't buy the cheap diapers!

Maybe this is why Mamy Poko brand never made it to the USA?

And - we didn't take any more pictures, but every morning he wakes up with the stomach/crotch area totally soaked through. It's gross, but I'm too cheap to just throw away the diapers.

On another topic, Trey is doing a little better with eating. Thank you for your suggestions! It seems that he likes avocados and sweet potatoes. Well, so do I! We also found some imported ($$$) egg-free baby teething biscuits at the store here in EA. He does much better if he has one of those to suck on. I'll sneak a spoonful of food in, then he'll swallow the food down while he's chewing on his biscuit. He also seemed to do better with apples after I added cinnamon. But, he had some sort of allergic reaction to the cinnamon. His chubby cheeks & both chins were really red. Next up is self-imported Walmart baby oatmeal!

Homemade Baby Food

At first I thought that starting Trey on baby food would make my life easier (you know, free up my chest a bit). Now, my magic bullet and I know better. Trey hates baby food. At first he tolerated it with wary glances and confusion. Now, he's fully aware and fully able to fight back. How do you stop a baby from spitting and pushing the food out with his tongue??? Especially when he looks so cute doing it???

Magic Bullet and I are still trying. We've pureed more than our share of vegetables & fruits. We've wasted plenty of personally imported Target baby rice cereal. We've varied the times of day that we try to feed the little one. We've googled looking for advice.

When I let my dryer go, I wasn't prepared for the amount of dirty clothes that come with feeding a baby. Bibs are a joke when your baby is this determined not to eat. The carrot soup is everywhere, except under a small patch just below his neck.

Anyhow, as you can see from the picture, our boy is not suffering any weight loss. Our neighbors regularly admire his nice, plump cheeks. Still, we will persist with our banana purees, knowing that someday (sometime near his 1st birthday, to be exact) his ready milk supply will be drying up and this baby will be growing up, like it or not.

Baby on the Move! Narrated by Trey

Master the Walker - Check!
















Follow Sister all over the Apartment - Double Check!
(Mental Note - Get my hands on that phone. It looks Awesome...)
















Still Following Sister all over the apartment - this girl is hilarious! I can't stop laughing. And Mommy and Daddy seem to really like it when I laugh.
























Look adorable - Done!
















Take a Break to Watch TV - It's good to be as close as possible, because then you can try to touch the buttons. Who knows what might happen? (My sister taught me this.)























Enter the Forbidden Kitchen - Loving it! Now on to touch the dirty trashcan!
















Ahhh....here's my prize.
















What the heck? What's going on here? I'm not giving up without a fight!

















You're going to have to pull me all over this apartment because I am not letting go! I'm holding on until the bitter end.
















Shoot! Who knew the bitter end would involve 3 small stairs? Contemplating my next move. To Be Continued...

Trey found his tongue (over a month ago)...

Sometime during the month of August, a 4 month old baby found his tongue.


Sometime during the month of September, a tired mother finally got around to taking a picture.

Remembering...

We took the kids to the grave site for the first time. I'm sure it'll be the first of many times. This was a quick visit, but in the future we hope to be able to tell our kids all about their grandpa Bob and grandma Patty. Oh, how excited Bob & Patty would have been to meet their grandchildren! We're pretty sure they would have loved seeing Cosi run around to the different graves and try to pull up the flowers...

They would have loved Cosi's vibrant personality and how she shares the same skin color as her grandma. They would have been thrilled to welcome Trey and see him carry on the Edenfield name. Cosi was asking if she could cook today- we're sure Patty would have loved to teach her some Lebanese dishes. And we can only hope that Bob's fix-it ability (which seemed to run strong in the Edenfield line until it got to Rob) has skipped only one generation and will show up in Trey, so he can help his Mom and Dad around the house.

We could have told them about how Trey found his tongue this week. It makes us laugh so much. Or maybe we would have told them about how Cosi keeps saying "umm....ummm..." just like mommy and daddy unknowingly say it multiple times a day. It's really hard not to have them around. Rob wishes he could ask them for advice as he's learning to be a parent. I wish they were here to love our kids. It still feels like there's a void in our lives. I imagine it will always feel that way.

Summer in the 'Burbs- in Pictures

It's a summer of firsts- Trey's first time in the US, Cosi's first time in a pool, first trip to the beach, etc. And like all good parents, we've got our cameras handy for all those moments, as well as the mundane ones. Here's a few snapshots of life in the States this summer (as always, remember that you can click on a picture to enlarge it).

Cosi's day almost always includes a walk through the neighborhood. One in the morning and one in the evening, whenever possible:


















Cosi really likes it when the whole family goes on a walk. She either pushes a baby doll stroller or tries to "help" Mommy push Trey's stroller.
















Cosi really likes to 'help'. Laundry, vacuuming, carrying groceries- yesterday at the mall she offered to help an employee push a cart of merchandise. She was politely refused.

An almost daily part of Cosi's routine is helping Mommy or Nana water the flowers. (Truth be told, Cosi usually ends up as wet as the flowers...)























Trey got a nice big gift from Mommy and Daddy (OK, who are we kidding, the gift was for ourselves as well!)- a bouncy seat! At first he wasn't too sold on the idea:
















But he warmed up to it:
















And now he plays in it so much, we're worried about it getting water damage from all his drool!
















An essential part of every sunny day is a dip in the pool. For weeks before arriving in the US, we were trying to prepare Cosi for the swimming pool, but how do you explain that in terms she can understand? We opted for telling her about the "big bath outside," since baths and being outside are two of her favorite things. She took to the pool like, well, like a fish in water. The challenge is that she will try to jump in the water even when she doesn't have floaties on. After a few trips to the deep end (Rob, April, and Pawpaw have all taken turns jumping in to pull her out), we now have a "floaties on before you leave the house and until you get back inside" policy.


















However, our little extrovert does not like to be the only one swimming. If you even think about sitting poolside, she'll insist "Mommy jump? Please? Daddy Jump! Push Daddy!" (She likes to 'push' Daddy in the pool, a fun activity we probably shouldn't encourage.)


















For Cosi, no day is complete without a bath, and last week she got a particularly special bath- she got to share one with Trey! guess which of the kids was more excited about that idea:
















A number of people have asked how Cosi is dealing with having a baby brother. The short answer is that she's doing very well. She loves him and is fascinated by him. She likes to bring him toys, pretend to feed him (mimicking how Mommy feeds him), she tries to make him laugh, and she always wants to hold him. She still has moments of jealousy, but overall she's becoming a great big sister. Trey, overall, really likes his sister. He is fascinated by her, and yet he also has a healthy fear of her (she's quite unpredictable and is prone to sudden ear-piercing squeals).























Shortly after arriving in the US, we were treated to a beach vacation. On the way down to the beach, we spent some time with family in Newport News, and Trey got to hang out with his "twin cousin":
















The beach was exciting, and Cosi certainly turned a few heads:


















Trey, too, got to spend some time on the shore and seemed to enjoy it:


















While at the beach, Cosi really, REALLY enjoyed riding on and driving the golf cart around the resort (more on that another time- a true cross-cultural experience). The problem is that ever since then, Cosi has wanted to drive every vehicle she sees. I thought I had at least 10 more years before she started bugging me to give her the keys to the car!


















And what is more suburban American than running through a sprinkler in the summer?









































In our next post, we'll share about our recent trip to that great American summer tradition- the County Fair! (Cosi + Roller Coaster + Deep Fried Twinkie = ?)

Laughing Baby

Yes, we realize it has been a while, and we promise many more pictures, videos and updates in the near future. But until then, please entertain yourself by watching this video of an out-of-shape Rob trying to keep an adorable little boy happy. You have to watch the second half to see why he's laughing...

Trey Pictures

He sits in a chair by himself these days....no big deal...

Just in case you didn't read the shirt, let it be known! Best. Baby. Ever.

Chilling in my split pants (which make diaper changing "oh so easy")

Gotta love the rear view :)

The internet speed here is so slow...

I mean REALLY slow!

My parents are jerks! Why won't they spring for the high speed so I can stream HD videos?

Whose team is Trey on?

and the rear view b/c he is "freakin awesome!"

Hope you aren't tired of all our pictures :)