Hanbok Tryouts

We arrived this afternoon in Los Angeles after an eight hour drive. Quite a bit slower than normal considering we had one less child. Ingrid's first birthday "Dohl" ceremony will be quite a celebration affair, just as Annika's was. Woody's aunt sent over three new traditional hanbok dresses from Seoul - all matching. Here's Ingrid enjoying the head piece. We'll save the rest of the pictures until the actual event in six weeks.

Happy Birthday Jen!

Today is my cousin, Jenny's birthday. Jenny, or Jen, as she is now known, is only five years younger than me. With our cabins next to each other, we used to bang on the wall between our loft bedrooms.
One of my favorite memories is "sleeping over" in her loft. I showed her how to carefully drop M&M's over the loft into the unsuspecting hairdo's of the adults below when we were supposed to be sleeping. Just one of those 70's updo's could hold a couple or more of M&M's

Now Jen has TWO beautiful children, one of whom turns TWO months old today, too. Yeah Edie!

Packing for Harmony's

Annika wanted to make sure we weren't forgetting ANYTHING for our trip to California early tomorrow. We're going for a week and including a mid week stay in San Diego (sans infant).

Bing Soo and Don't Squish the Fish

This evening we enjoyed a Korean desert called Bing Soo. It's shaved ice covered with either fresh fruit or canned fruit cocktail, sweet red beans and either a small scoop of green tea ice cream or vanilla ice cream. Ours was fresh fruit. It's wonderful and comes from a sandwich shop less than 3 miles from our house. What a great luxury.

We are totally missing Morgan but we are getting daily reports. Morgan has figured out Grandma's cell phone but still can't manage to comprehend the time zone difference. She likes to call as soon as she gets up which is early for us!

Annika got a new blanket courtesy of Grandma. And it was no surprise that the soft fleece blanket was covered with fish and a fish satin binding. Just as we started to read, Annika informed me I needed to move my Bans (Korean for underwear). She said I was squishing her fish. She even started naming them. Thanks Grandma! We love the blanket and the one of a kind daughter under it.

Little Cousin Party

Morgan is having high style fun with Grandma and Grandpa in Minnesota. She left Tuesday with Grandma, still in almost disbelief that she was about to get two whole weeks of one on one time with her grandparents. We didn't tell her until the day before she left which was a good thing. Take 20 questions and multiply that by a factor of 5! Morgan asked nearly everything there is to ask about anything. The best questions included whether or not Grandma had any books to read. If not, she said she would bring the boxes of books that Grandpa just sent via U.S. Media Mail. That way she could read them and he could mail them back to her in Arizona so she could get another package! Real smooth Morgan. She also asked if she needed mittens; whether the bald eagles would play with her; and if she could bring Ingrid - she might miss her! "And Ingrid doesn't need a plane ticket, Grandma, so it won't cost anything to bring her!"

Grandma and Grandpa have the two weeks packed with activities. Grandpa got a bike for her so they could go for rides. Susan and Randy planned to meet everyone at the Dairy Queen for evening ice cream. Grandma scheduled a horse back riding lesson. One and a half weeks at the "cabin in the woods" and fishing are only a few of the highlights of her trip. Today was a special picnic at Oxbow park and zoo with all of Morgan's second cousins. What a treat. Here's Morgan and her cousin Megan having a super time.

While we're stuck in the heat of Arizona, Morgan appears to be having a blast. Thanks to Deb for e-mailing the pics!

USB Device Not Recognized

Anyone with a newer computer knows USB devices can get very tricky. That's even true for wireless laptops. This evening, Woody was working on his laptop with Ingrid playing next to him on the floor with her toys. All of the sudden, a popup window appeared stating "USB Device Not Recognized." Woody "x'd" out of it and then it appeared again. Annoyed, he started trying to figure out how the popup appeared. Only then did he look down and see that Ingrid had put a USB cable in her mouth and produced enough saliva on it to make a connection. A funnier popup window would have read, "USB Device - Ingrid Elizabeth - Recognized. Do you wish to Install?"

We Have a Winner!!!

If you look at the post from a few days ago, we let our daughters put Perilla leaves over their noses. So congratulations, Diane, you are right. The Perilla leaf (Shiso) is very similar to a sesame leaf. Watch for some Korean snacks coming your way.

Hiya, Baby!

"Hi ya baby!" is a phrase commonly used to greet an infant. If the infant responds, it may be repeated a few times. And then a few more, and then a few more. Finally, a baby's brother may just assume the baby's name is "Hiya baby", or just "Hiya". That's exactly what happened to my little cousin, Chad.
Chad or "Hiya" is just enough years younger than me that he had to suffer through all my play mothering and practice baby-sitting. His mom, my aunt, used to let me change his outfits seemingly as often as I wished. At about the same time, my parents gave me my first camera, a Kodak 110 Instamatic. I now have several photos of Chad (and his brother Chucky), in many outfits. The 110 produced very fuzzy pictures. Here's one picture of "Popeye" Chad.
Now Chad is all grown up with a son of his own. Interestingly, he married someone whom I used to really babysit (where I got paid), although she lived in a completely different city. How's that for a small world. Hi Allison!

Well, today is really, really Chad's birthday. Happy Birthday, Hiya!!

Tonight's Reading

The books chosen by the girls for reading are:


Fish is Fish, by Leo Lionni, copyright 1974.

Magic Treehouse #14, by Mary Pope Osbourne, copyright 1978

The Real Mother Goose, by Blanche Fisher Wright

Chung Family Contest - Name that Leaf

To our family and friends:

Name the edible leaf that is plastered over our daughters noses and we will send you a Korean treat. Have fun.

P.S. It starts with a "p".

Update 6/21/07: It looks like a few more hints are needed. This edible leaf is used in Asian dishes and is Japanese. You can find it in the produce section of an Asian store. Koreans eat marinated meat, rice, and pepper paste wrapped in this leaf. The dish is called Bulgogi. Another name for this leaf starts with an "s".

Great treats ready to mail to the winner. Any takers??

From Morgan

Dear Dad You are a great dad. I love you. Annika and Ingrid love you.

(Note: The picture is from Woody's birthday in January).

Happy Father's Day

As with our mothers, Woody and I are extremely lucky to have super supportive fathers. Our dads also are extraordinary grandfathers to our girls. For this, we say thank you, thank you. Happy Father's Day!

Flip and Tumble for Father's Day

Woody did the old switch-a-roo on the girls and suprised THEM with an early father's day gift. Our family room sported an inflatable trampolene jump center complete with portable fan. The girls were very surprised and shocked. It was fabulous fun for a hot Saturday and wore the kids out (perhaps that was the real gift). In any case, despite the increased decibel level from the jumper and the girls, what a super surprise. "Thank you Dad!, said the girls.

Happy Birthday

It's Saturday - a relaxing day in the Arizona desert at home. The girls are playing with building blocks. Ingrid is napping. Today is my cousin's birthday, Adam. I found these small pictures of him from family events. Now he's married and lives in Colorado. Happy Birthday Adam!

Back in the Saddle

Ingrid is back in the saddle again and doing well. We still have no explanation for her fevers and discomfort but we appreciated the full night sleep. I'm sure it helped her as well. This weekend includes the fun project of cleaning up the garage. Oh joy...

Ingrid Update

Ingrid is doing better this evening. She hasn't gotten her appetite back yet but she is finally taking in more formula. We'll closely check her tonight. Everyone here needs a good night sleep. Annika is all set, with a nice bath and lavender powder. Check out the Christmas pajamas...

Ingrid

It was a long night again. Ingrid continues to have a fever that only breaks for short periods of time. She's uncomfortable, but she did get five hours of sleep at one time. Woody and I took shifts. We have a tentative appointment for her because we can't find the source of the fever. Atleast it isn't spiking too high and she is still taking formula.

Other than that, Annika is still wearing the shorts, night and day. We're working on a strategy to get them in the wash.

More updates on Ingrid later.

Parental Compromises

All parents realize that sooner than later they start compromising with their children to get the needed behavior. That has become apparent with our middle child. We find our compromising is really giving Annika two allowable options and mixing them up to make her believe we compromised together to achieve the desired behavior.

However, there are other times when energy and time dictate the level of compromise. In tonight's case, there really was very little discussion. We readily gave in and said, "oh well". There's always another day. And honestly, what really matters is that we include it in our blog now to show her later when she's older. Yep, this ensemble was posted on the Internet for all to see. Annika really, really likes anything that has to do with fish. This includes, but is not limited to, her fish sundress and shorts. Tonight's photo illustrates how we got Annika into her pajamas and ready for bed while maintaining her favorite shorts (she's worn them for several days). We may sneak in late tonight and get them into the wash!

Tonight's Book Recommendations by Annika

Tonight's reading included Junie B. Jones and two other books.

1) The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Du Bose Heyward

2) The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch.

Fabulous stories, very entertaining!!

Cooking with the Girls

It's not as often as I would like, but I finally got some time on Saturday to do some cooking with the girls. They made whole wheat pancakes with blueberries for their dad. What a mess - what fun. Grandma makes super aprons for the girls for their parties. These aprons came from Annika's first annual Valentine's party that she had with her friends.

P.S. I'm glad the pancakes were for Dad. They really didn't taste that great...

The Home Theater is Done

We have finished installing a home theater in our living room. Woody is very handy and we were able to connect the satellite and hide all the wiring in the ceiling. Our final project will be to create a "cover" for the screen when it is retracted that will match the wood tower shelves. The girls celebrated by watching the first "theater movie" with their friends, Kelly and Abby. The projector great for movies and absolutely superb for HD sports. We finished the wiring just in time to watch the final period of the final game of the Stanley Cup. Not that we were interested in the Mighty Ducks or Senators, but the game sure was sharp on the screen!

Nature's Toys

Every parent dreams about giving their children the best. It's fun to oogle at all the expensive toys. Most parents don't act on impulse and the fancy toy viewing is just that - viewing. Sometimes, the best toys are the ones you never knew existed. But children know about these toys. The eyes of a child are different. Children can create a toy from the simplest of things. In Ingrid's case, the simple patch of light was the moment's entertainment. Ingrid went back and forth over the light. It one direction, the white light was the toy. In the other direction, it was her shadow. She spoke to it, crossed over it and wondered where it had disappeared, only to be re-excited by the patch of light. What fun! How innocent and natural. The simplest toys do come from nature and the imagination. without blip sounds, blinking lights, or synthetic voices singing sythetic songs. I hope Ingrid holds on to that imagination as long as possible!

Last Nights Reading

Last night we read, The Farmer, by Mark Ludy. Morgan and I had the pleasure of meeting christian author Mark Ludy at the AZ Kidney Foundation Children's Literature Luncheon in Scottsdale. He is a good author and an amazing illustrator from Colorado. His books are filled with wonderful drawings and amazing color. One of his other books is called, The Grump. Morgan read aloud to the entire family.

Tonight's Reading List

Tonight's reading was an inclusive affair. Woody read Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel to the girls. Here's the action caught on camera.

True Grit

We're watching the John Wayne movie, True Grit, for the umpteenth time. We're in the midst of setting up a home theater. Ingrid was interested in the movements of the horses on the big screen so we got down the rocking horse her grandpa made. It's a replica of the horse my great-grandfather made my brother. Here's a picture of Ingrid on the horse and one of Annika riding the same horse three years ago. Annika is eight weeks younger in her picture. Ingrid is the one in purple.

Another List

Morgan's first event of her summer vacation is a trip to the dentist for her semi-annual teeth cleaning. We took the first appointment of the day at 8:00 A.M. Morgan proclaimed (again) that she is preparing to have a busy day tomorrow. In order that she not forget her day's needs, Morgan prepared a list (in order):

1. Take a shawer

2. Eat Brekfisk

3. Brush my haier

4. Go Poty

5. Brush my teeth

6. Get dreest

7. Go to dentes

New Wheels and Bigger Heads

My middle child has a big head. She's not narcissitic, and she doesn't have thick hair. She simply needs a new bike helmet. Annika moved from "Toddler" to "Child". I was in a state of denial and said it was the ponytail that was making the helmet too small. After a couple taps, it still didn't fit. I asked her to try on Morgan's helmet and it fits! We bought her a new bike helmet to go with the new bigger bike. When did she get so big?