Coloring Project

The owners put a new fridge into our apartment.  We asked them to keep the box so that our kids could make a fort.  We decorated the fort a few days ago with crayons.  The kids had a ball.  

 Richard put a flashlight into the top of the box to create some light for their space.

 Calvin loves to be with his sister and do whatever she is doing.  He wants the toys she wants, which sometimes causes problems.  For the most part, they play together very well.  Calvin is a willing accomplice.  He will play dress up and princesses with Nora, although their is usually some cars that come along for the adventure.

 Nora is a very good artist, but she also really enjoys scribbling.  The box was mostly just scribbles, although she did draw a mountain range.

A little Nora story.  Whenever we are in a new and unfamiliar place, she will look around and exclaim, "This place looks just like Salt Lake City!"  It is hilarious, because NOTHING looks like Salt Lake City here.

 Calvin's language has just exploded the last few weeks.  He's fantastic at repeating what you say, but he is also great at generating his own words.  He says "Ara" for Nora, which is funny because he can say "No!" plain as day.  He can say the N, but he just prefers to leave it off.  When he says his prayers, it sometimes hurts Nora's feelings that he doesn't say her name right.  He also prays every night for a little girl that we have play dates with.  We haven't seen her for about 6 weeks because of holidays, but he has consistently prayed for "Emma".

 Nora likes to play I Spy while we are on the bus.  She likes to pick things that are "tricky" but gets disappointed if you pick something too tricky for her to guess.  She likes to take the bus to school, but really loves to take the trolly home from school.

 Both kids are in a stage where they want to be acknowledged frequently.  If Richard and I are talking during dinner, Nora will ask us to stop.  She will say, "Stop talking serious!" or "No one is talking to me!"  The second one is typically said in a very whiny voice.  She is a master whiner and I am working on my patience on a daily basis.  I'm trying to remind her to speak in a kind voice and that I won't respond unless she is talking nicely.  It doesn't always work and I'm ashamed to admit how much the whining makes me lose my temper.

Calvin will hit you until he gets your attention.  So, you will hear "MAMA, DOG!" "MAMA, DOG!" "MAMA, DOG!"  Until you say, Yes, Calvin, that is a dog.  He loves dogs.  Until they get too close.

 Nora's imagination is fantastic, although she does request me to make up stories frequently.  It stretches my creative muscles to come up with a fun, short and sweet story on the spot.  I've tried adapting stories that we have read before, but she sees right through me.

 As part of our bed time routine, we usually sing 4 or 5 songs.  The kids started requesting songs several months ago.  I think it was just an attempt to extend bed time, but it worked.  We are suckers.  Currently, Nora loves to hear "Puff, the Magic Dragon" and "The Princess Pat."  Calvin loves "Horsey, Horsey."    Just in looking that song up, I realized that I've been singing it wrong.  Oops!

 Calvin loves socks.  He is very particular about his socks.  If you put them on wrong, he will let you know.  He likes them pulled all the way up, with his toes properly aligned.  He also likes his socks with cars on them, but his favorite socks are those with Curious George on them.  He makes a monkey noise for Curious George.  But, he also makes monkey noise (Ohhh, Ohhh, Ahh, Ahh) for his water bottle as well.  It's a little tricky to figure out exactly what he means.

He got new shoes last week because we lost one of his in a cab.  I was sad because they were expensive shoes.  We found some cute yellow tennis shoes that have a fish on the side (the Dr. Suess blue fish from One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish).  He's very proud of his fish shoes and wants to show them to everyone.

 Calvin also started a little Mandarin play group once a week.  He loves it and the first day he came home saying "Ni Hao!" and "Xie, Xie" like a champion.  I don't know how, but the play group leader also gets him to eat vegetables!  She told me that he ate tofu, broccoli and rice the other day!  What!?!?  I was shocked!  For me, he seems to only eat apples, white rice, and oatmeal.  The Chinese are very powerful!  

Calvin makes the best "Cheese" face.  You can see it below.  His eyes go into tiny slits and his mouth is big and wide open.  I love how he tilts his face up towards you.  So adorable.

I think I need to do a little update on me and Richard and all our accomplishments the past month.  Richard has been very busy with work, but has still managed to do an amazing job as a husband, father and in his responsibilities at church.  He is really amazing and I don't understand how he does it all. He had two all nighters at work last week, but made time for the kids when he came home, rather than going straight to bed (which is what I would do).  He also manages to have a fairly good attitude about his job, even when it is tough (which I would NOT do).  A deal he worked on for the last year went public this past month, and I'm so proud of him.  I knew before I married him that he was brilliant and hard working, but he has blown me away during the past 16 months with how much he has learned and developed in his career.  He's pretty incredible.

I'm taking two classes this semester, which started about a week ago.  I'm gearing up towards graduation, which is really exciting.  I have 4 more classes after this, and then an internship.  I'm shooting to be done by summer 2013.  After that, I have vowed to Richard that I will not pursue any more graduate degrees.  Unless someone pays me to do it.  And even then, I really should be paying back my student loans by actually applying the knowledge that I have gained.

I've finished ZERO books this month.  YIKES!  I have book club on Thursday, so I need to finish one soon.  But, I have run 70.2 miles so far this month, so maybe that makes up for it a little?  I'm trying to run 20 miles a week and/or run 6 days a week this next year.  I've done pretty well so far.  And I'm mostly enjoying it.

So, there you go!  A lengthy post for you with a substantial update on all the Hawkins family!  I'll even try to post again tomorrow about our Chinese New Year Parties.  We've had a blast this year.  CNY is starting to become a favorite holiday.  Mostly because my husband gets 3 days off of work.  Life is good.