After the party...

...the kids opened their presents and they were definitely spoiled! Here's a shot of the aftermath. They will have lots of fun things to play with for a long time.



They then stripped down to their underwear (not sure why) and started playing with their new things. Here is Dr. Kaleb enjoying his new stethoscope and doctor kit.



Here's Noe eating some more lunch after she played with her new make-up kit (check out her fancy jewelry too). What a beauty!

We were all wiped out when we were all done, so we just watched some Disney movies and vegged for the rest of the day.

It's time to Party!

This year Kaleb & Noe had their first friends party to celebrate their birthday! Daddy & Mommy were up until 2 in the morning and then up again at 6 to get everything ready for it, but it sure was fun! 15 of their friends (& 4 parents) from school, church, and soccer joined us for the celebration. All the kids decorated party hats- sports balls for the boys and princess tiaras for the girls. We served a meter-long submarine sandwich with chips and juice boxes for lunch. Afterwards we played "pin the nose on the clown" and "pass the parcel" (which were yummy candy bars, each wrapped several times each).



After the games it was time to serve the cake and ice cream. For their first 4 birthdays I always made them their own birthday cakes. However, this year I just ordered a sheet-cake from the school's catering services, and it was fabulous- strawberry flavored. I did make them cupcakes for their class party though!



I was so busy hostessing the party that I didn't get many pictures taken. This is the closest to a group shot that I got. Kaleb and Noe, you have really nice friends and you all had a fun party together! Unfortunately, we ran out of time, so we didn't open their gifts until after the party. They shared the joy though and gave each kid a cool loot bag (if I do say so myself) to take home with them. Kaleb and Noe, I wish you many happy returns of the day!

Happy 5th Birthday!

Today my 2 oldest babies turned 5 years old. I can't believe they are now a full handful of fingers! Gavin & I whipped up these cupcakes to take to their class party.



Aren't they just cute in their self-made birthday hats?



Make a wish...



...and blow out the candles!



Noe and Kaleb have the BEST teachers- Ms. Paetzold & Ms. Han. After school Kaleb & Noe had a full-schedule of extracurricular activities.



With Ms. Litwin, Noe's awesome Occupational Therapist.



Kaleb, with one of his fun Kinder-Art teachers.



Noe, in ballet class practicing her swan.



After swimming practice, ready to go home.

The kids had a fun birthday! They were a little sad that daddy is out of town, but he will be back for their fun party coming up this weekend!

Baby Shower

The wonderful ladies of my ward threw a baby shower for Becky (and her baby-boy-to-be) and for Gavin and me! We had a fun evening of food, friends, games, and gifts. Thank you Amy, Adelaide, Carrie, Courtney, Ginger, Jennifer, Gavin, Becky, Kasumi, Yukino, Katie, Michael, Rachel, Bev, Julie, and Anne for a wonderful night!

I also want to mention and thank my friends back in Ottawa for throwing Gavin and me a backwards baby shower too! One night the ladies got together and showed each other gifts they had bought for us. Then they wrapped them up, and mailed them to us in Taiwan. I was so surprised when Len brought the package home from work. Thank you Mary, Laura, Rhonda, Melanie, Annick, Sheri, Marsha, Donna, Marjolaine, Sue, and Easter for being such remarkable friends!

I am truly blessed with all of the wonderful friends in my life!

Day at the Zoo

We took the kids to our 2nd annual trip to the Taipei Zoo. We love this zoo, because it was designed by the same people that designed the San Diego Zoo, but our whole family can get in for under $5 US- amazing!



No, the flamingos aren't headless- most of them are just sleeping.



This zebra was staring at us, so we said hello.



These zebras were a popular photo op. Today was the last Saturday of our Chinese New Year break. You can see how crowded it was because all of the local 6 million Taiwanese also had the holiday.



Can you believe I let my kids sit on alligators?



Some fun totem poles outside of the rain forest area.



Gavin was quite the attraction for the Taiwanese as well. We were stopped many times and asked if people could take his picture. Kaleb & Noe were too.



A cute little bridge with cute little kids at the end of a fun day!

Hands & Feet

These pictures were from our rainy day photo shoot too. They're not the best quality, but they're a good representation that we have big, little, and teeny people living in our home.



I just thought of the quote, "Children are tender, lead on softly." I hope Len & I can lead our sweet children in a soft way.

Rainy Day

Our Tuesday (Chinese New Year break) was rained out, so we decided to hold a little photo shoot at home. Our little family of 5 is growing!



Len & Jen, we're just crazy in love still 14 years after the first time we fell in!



Kaleb, our little soccer star!



Noe, our little ballerina diva!



Gavin, our little snuggly teddy bear!

Year of the Pig

To celebrate Chinese New Year's the kids had a party in Ms. Paetzold's class! They played fun games and made these yummy piggy treats.



Gavin & I joined the class for the Potluck luncheon. I brought a pasta bake, but the best dish was the home-made dumplings that the class made themselves!



Don't the kids look cute in their traditional Chinese clothing? They were each awarded red envelopes filled with chocolate coins and golden pigs too!

Happy Heart's Day!

It's Valentine's day, hooray!



I sure love this little family of mine...



...even if we all are a bunch of goofballs!



While Gavin & I were home today we whipped up some sugar cookies and a home-made card for our family. Noe also made some sweet Valentine's at school for daddy & mommy.



Kaleb bought a rose at school and brought it home to mommy. I was just spoiled because Leonard also brought me home a gift- yummy smelling stuff from Crabtree & Evelyn.



Little chunky-monkey, Gavin is everyone's Valentine! Kaleb & Noe love each other so much- I can't even imagine what it would be like to have a twin. They're so lucky to have each other on Valentine's day and all-year round!



Leonard will always be my Valentine! I LOVE that our love has made this wonderful family!

Our little Champ

Kaleb had a great soccer season! This was his first experience playing team sports, and he really did well. He'd run after the ball, kick it, and even scored some goals. However, if one of his fellow (female) teammates was on the field, or a girl on the opposing team on the field, he'd run after them more than the ball. It was really cute to watch him playing soccer while holding a girl's hand. He's definitely a little champion and charmer!



Leonard was also Kaleb's assistant coach. I love my sporty guys! After the last game they had a huge BBQ for all of the teams' players & coaches. Everyone was also awarded medals and their team photos. I look forward to watching him play again next year!