Is the search finally over???

At the risk of jinxing ourselves, we appear to be in escrow on a house in San Carlos!

Miscellaneous May 2009

Here are a few miscellaneous shots from May. Both kids have grown up so much. Roan likes to talk all the time - he's especially talkative while driving and is constantly questioning why I stop at red lights, why the other cars get to go, what would happen if I didn't stop, what would happen if there were no stop signs or stop lights, etc. It goes on, and on. I think he'll have all of the traffic rules down by age 5. He's still really in to doing puzzles and it's impossible to keep enough maze books in the house - he'll finish a whole maze book during a 45-minute quiet time.

Mali is all about talking right now too and is very big on "I DO!!!" for everything. She's still extremely independent and such a quick learner - she quietly watches everything we do and then does it when we're not watching - this is how she taught herself to ride her brother's scooter. Unfortunately this can be dangerous as well as she's known for helping herself to whatever is cooking on the stove (like eggs in a frying pan). She just gets a fork, reaches up, and catches something. Yikes. She's still obsessed with the color blue (while her brother says his favorite color is ALL the colors) and is very into coloring, including decorating her Daddy's laptop with a dry-erase marker when he wasn't looking. She's very into clothing as well and loves to get dressed every morning in a dress, preferably one with blue in it!

A Day at Preschool with Roan...

I took some photos on my last work day at school with Roan. He's really settled in and it is such a joy to watch him at school - he's so outgoing, fun-loving, and curious!

Mothers' Day Tea

Roan's preschool hosted a "Mother's Day tea" for all of the moms, complete with all sorts of treats and tea (served cool of course!). The kids had prepared a sweet song for the moms that definitely brought tears to your eyes!

Moving Time!!

It's official - the Arendtsz fortress has been sold. We will be officially homeless on July 2, though we will be taking a sublet (and putting all of our stuff in storage) in the area through the end of August. We're crossing our fingers we find a house to buy by then!

Roan's Fourth Birthday!!!

Roan turned 4 on May 14! We celebrated all day long, beginning with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, pizza and a cookie out for lunch, and a burrito out for dinner followed by frozen yogurt (all of his favorite activities). He had a celebration that weekend with a few of his friends in our back yard, complete with a train jump house. His big gift was a bike and he is speeding around the neighborhood way to fast for Mommy's taste already. Here are a few pics from the celebrations.

Grandma & Granddad's - April 2009

There's been a big break in posting due to putting our house on the market!

These pictures are from our trip to Houston to visit Grandma and Granddad (and to escape being here when the house went on the market!). The kids had a bunch of fun celebrating Easter, visiting a close friend of Mandy's from college (Kinsey) and her two little ones, going to the zoo, visiting the Children's Museum, and enjoying the wonderful weather outside and Mom got a little break.

February 2009

Mali's communication has just exploded this month. She's combining two and three words together to make complete thoughts (like "Ro-ro Dada car?" (Roan's in Dada's car?); ). She's also started using her name ("May-me"). She recently told us that her ear was hurting and when I took her to see the pediatrician, the doctor first wanted to listen to her chest...Mali said "No", then pointed to her ear to tell her that's where it hurt - it was too funny. Her favorite color is blue and she's obsessed with it (she MUST have the blue cup, the blue plate, the blue sweater...you get the idea). Roan's world is just amazing and he's so full of stories. He's so outgoing (once you get him out of the house) and loves to jump into games with other kids (mostly involving chasing and monsters) at the park. He's wonderfully joyous and full of energy.

Where's baby?

Mali is learning to take a picture of her baby doll in this video (sorry, it's a little dark as it was 6am in the morning)...

January 2009

Mali's been very busy this month asserting her independence and one of her favorite new words is "mine". She also mastered "baby" and likes to direct her babies all day long (e.g., "sit there, baby"; "wa-wa, baby?" (do you want water, baby)).

Miscellaneous December 2008

Some of the highlights of the month (other than Christmas!) included visits from Uncle Pankaj and Aunty Ruby from Houston and Sherilyn (one of Roan's favorite former babysitters) from Seattle. There are also some shots here of decorating the Christmas tree, Mali tending to her babies, and of Roan with Grandma and Granddad on the day they left (Mali was in a bad mood and wanted no part of it).

Christmas Morning 2008

We very much enjoyed having Grandma and Granddad here again for Christmas this year. Roan was soooo into Santa this year, which was a lot of fun. Mali, of course, didn't understand much, except that her brother got cooler gifts than she did. Roan's big gifts were the "Grand Central Station" for his GeoTrax train set and a big Tonka front loader truck from Grandma and Granddad. Mali got some Tinkertoys from Santa, a front carrier for her babies from Grandma and Granddad, and an outfit for her baby doll.

Christmas Eve 2008

We went to see the amazing lights on Eucalyptus in San Carlos again this year. Roan was not feeling well and did not particularly enjoy himself, unfortunately, and spent nearly the entire time in Daddy's backpack, but Mali had the time of her life - so much to see and touch ("No, no, Mali!!")!!

Santa Train December 2008

We did our yearly pilgrimage to see the Holiday Caltrain come through town. It was a hit as always.

Playgroup Holiday Party 2008

Thank you, Audrey, for hosting a wonderful holiday party as always!

November 2008

Here are a few other shots from the highlights of the month, including a visit from Roan's former (favorite) babysitter, Sherilyn.

Niles Canyon Railroad Holiday Train, November 2008

Roan and Jan joined Jake and family for a trip on the Niles Canyon Railroad Holiday Train, complete with a visit from Santa which, as always, was not received well by Roan.

Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving with friends Chris, Amelia, Jake, and Helen. Jake and Roan are the same age and great buddies. Here are a few photos from the evening...

A trip to the city, November 2008

We spent a morning in San Francisco - Jan and Roan took the train as always and spent some "boy" time watching trains and buses - Mali and I joined for lunch and some leaf gathering with Uncle Arjun later on.

What a smile!

Mali has one BIG smile.

Budding Artists...

Roan drew his first railroad track recently...















And here is Mali's first drawing. She drew the circle and then said "ball-ball". The line she drew later.

Portraits (October 2008)

These portraits were taken at Mali's school - Little Wonders.

More of Halloween 2008

Here are some pictures from the Halloween party at Little Wonders...












Jan and Roan did some pumpkin carving...









Here are a few shots from trick-or-treating. Unfortunately Mali had a bad day and was going to bed when Roan headed out...

Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico (October 2008)

We spent a fun-filled 8 days in the sun in Mexico (just north of Puerto Vallarta) with Mandy's parents. It was a beautiful location right on the beach, complete with multiple kids' pools. Mali and Roan were in heaven.

Note: there are a LOT of pictures here, but given we took over 800, it's a small sampling :).

Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

Here are some pictures from our first trip to the pumpkin farm for the Halloween season.