The Perfect Gift

by Amy

Not long ago my dad told me he had a surprise he planned on mailing me. I tried to probe and figure out what it could be, but his lips were sealed. Well, last weekend a box arrived....My dad mailed me the manuel and supplies needed for a Wiltons' Cake Decorating class!! I love to decorate cakes for my kids' birthdays or special occasions, but I've never taken a class. I've never even had the cool icing tips or know how to use them. Now I have the instruction manuel!

So, this past week the kids helped me make some sugar cookies. I figured cookies would be a great way to practice many of the techniques in my manuel, since flowers, stars, bears, shells, and bows might not all make it on one cake. So Wednesday night, Brad took the kids out to eat some local food and I decorated cookies for them to eat when they came home. It's definitely not as easy as it looks in the book, but it's really fun! Then, yesterday, we made half a cake and I decorated it as a rainbow. We shared it today with some friends that came over.

So, here are a few pics ~ Thanks Dad!!

A New "Du"

by Amy

The other night in a taxi, Savannah was chewing gum and it fell out of her mouth. She couldn't find the gum, but she figured it was OK. About an hour later, we found it -- in her hair!! So, when we got home that night, I cut the gum out before she went to bed. The next morning I had to even things out a bit and here's the result! I think she actually looks pretty cute with shorter hair! It can still be put it up into a ponytail, so that's helpful.

About 2 years ago, before we moved out here, we spent the weekend with my college roommate Lori and her family. Savannah is convinced that since her hair is shorter now, she looks just like Lori and insisted that we email her a picture! Sure enough, it's pretty close!

A Minor Miracle!

by Amy


When Savannah was 3 or 4 years old, she did not like to eat broccoli. So, Brad and I would make sure we didn't have company over when I served broccoli. The rule was - she had to eat the one or two pieces I put on her plate. She wasn't allowed to be excused from the table until she did. This rule worked well... There were several instances where she cried a bit and ended up spending an hour at the table, but she would get it down. Now Savannah likes broccoli.

When Peter and Alex started eating solid foods, we implemented the same rule. But Peter would often sit at the table for 2+ hours. Actually he often sat there until bedtime. Then, I'd put the same food in front of him for lunch the next day. If he didn't eat it, he wouldn't get anything else. That usually worked. Only once did I have to reheat the previous day's food it for lunch and dinner on that second day. Then, Peter added a new element to the "game." He would often put the food in his mouth, but not swallow it. I remember him sitting in his high chair for 2 hours with a Mandarin orange in his mouth! (Do you remember that Dan Brown?) It was crazy! We tried everything we could, but there's no way to physically force a kid to swallow. (You can bend his legs and force him to sit, but we couldn't figure out how to make him swallow.) I remember one day we were at a party and I gave Pedo an oreo. About 45 min later he was running around playing with that oreo still in his mouth! He didn't want to swallow it!

Well, when we moved here, we decided to change the rules a bit.... We figured all of the food would seem strange, so we weren't going to make him eat it for dinner if he didn't eat it for lunch. (We eat local food for lunch and western food for dinner.) But, he had to swallow what he put in his mouth or get disciplined if he had to spit it out before nap time. Then, he wasn't allowed to have an afternoon snack, if one was provided..

Well, one of my favorite veggies is broccoli. So, at dinner I often will steam broccoli and melt a little cheese on top -- mmmmm!! Peter, of course, wouldn't eat it (or swallow when we made him take a bite). So, I would often plan to have broccoli on dessert night so he'd have a high incentive to eat it. Well, I'm happy to report that now my son likes broccoli! Tonight Peter came into the kitchen to watch me make dinner. When he saw the broccoli and rice in the soup I was making his said, "Mmmm! Mama, that broccoli looks good!" The he was the first one to finish his serving of soup!

So, all you mom's out there! Don't give up the food battle! If I Pedo will eat broccoli I'm sure your kid will too! It may just take 3+ years of persistence!

A Smart Cookie

By Amy

The other day Savannah and I were doing math together. I asked her a question and was surprised she could figure out the answer. I looked at her and asked, "Savannah, how did you get to be so smart?" I was hoping she say something about having a great teacher, but instead she replied with complete sincerity, "I don't know. I guess maybe it's because I live with Daddy." Who knew Brad was so smart that it just rubbed off just by living in the same house with him!

Thankful for Odyssey

by Amy

We love our kids' new kindergarten for many reasons (it's close, all my kids can be together, 3:1 kid:teacher ratio, etc...). But the one thing that I don't like about it is that there are no other kids Savannah's age. She's the oldest one in the class. So, even after living here for 1.5 years, Savannah still does not have a good, local friend her age. She has never complained about it, but I wish it wasn't this way....

One of the things that has helped Savannah not feel lonely is Adventures in Odyssey, a radio theater production put on by Focus on the Family. She LOVES to listen to Odyssey! She talks about the characters a lot -- quoting them and laughing at their experiences. Eugene, Connie, and Whit have become her best friends. Although, they are not real people, I'm so thankful that Savannah has them! And, she has really taken to heart many of the lessons/values the stories try to teach. They have led to many good conversations!

All I Want For Christmas

By Amy

This post is long overdue... the grandparents have been hearing about the new smile for a couple of weeks now, but I haven't had a chance to post pics. About 3 weeks ago Savannah's dangling front left tooth finally fell out. We had been anticipating that for close to a month! She liked to wiggle it (and gross her mother out!) but didn't want to pull it. Finally she was eating and it couldn't stay put any longer!

Soon after that first tooth came out she began talking about her other front tooth being loose. Then, when playing on an inflatable moonwalk-type toy, Peter accidentally kicked her in the mouth and made it a bit looser! Sure enough, about a week ago when biting into a sandwich, Savannah's other front tooth fell out! So, now our sweet girl has a new smile!

The Farm

By Amy

Last week in school we had a farm theme. So, we made tractors using different shapes I had cut out. We used this activity to teach us how to say circle, square, triangle, and rectangle in the local language. We sang all 9 verses of The Farmer and the Dell when some friends came over. Then, we studied how to say the names of different farm animals in the local language.

But, the most fun thing we did was make a farm-puzzle-cookie. In the morning for our first school activity, we made sugar cookie dough. Then we rolled it out on to my cookie sheet. After that we created a farm scene with cookie cutters and a knife. Later that night, we had fun icing it. They kids had to tell me how to say tree, fish, bird, cow, horse, and duck in our local language before I let them eat any! That was a pretty strong motivator! They all did great!

Clearly, Brad found the cookie and took a bite before I could take the picture! He said he wanted the fishy to swim away!