Fall is FUN!!

LOVE this Fall Weather lately!
Leaves are changing.
The weather is nice and cool.
Pumpkin smells good.
and
the sun comes up later in the morning! :)

We got to go to the state fair last weekend. It was Eden and Salem's first fair. Oh yeah, and mine too. :) Brandon says I was sheltered as a child.
Sheltered from what you ask?
Funnel cakes. Hand dipped corn dogs. Fried oreos.
hmmmm. not sure about that one.

But, regardless of how we may have clogged our arteries during the Fair outing, we had fun.
Eden loved her first funnel cake. Brandon worked hard to locate the booth that he felt had the best corn dogs. We pet chicks, rode a carousel, and enjoyed all the free stuff. Well, except we paid way too much money for a coke that we *thought* would have free refills. oops.





and then we were exhausted.

Eden did awesome though, as it was her first outing as a potty trained toddler. Yes, that's correct people. She's all grown up. She still has her accidents, and thinks it's pretty cool to occasionally try flushing other objects down the toilet. But we're getting there. If you're seeking any advice in this area, let me give you some. Pull-ups are not your friend. *except for maybe at night time* But during the day, don't let your kiddo wear a pull-up. It's just a glorified diaper.
ok. I'm done.

So we're gearing up for our first Halloween with kids in costumes. Last year we kind of forgot about the costume idea, but this year we're prepared. Here's a sneak peek...



Eden did her first "Trunk or Treat" at our YMCA where Uncle Kevin works. She was a little thrown off by his disco costume, but he looked cool regardless of how he freaked out the little kids.


More to come on Halloween...aka Reformation Day!

Growin Boy

Charmer. That should be his nickname. Salem is such a charmer. He flashes his cute little grin to everyone. I'm gonna be such a sucker some day when he really knows how to use it to his advantage.

Blog audience, meet my large snoz.
Large snoz, meet blog audience.
There, now that you're officially introduced I can let you know that I'm not a huge fan of profile pics. As you can tell, they're not exactly flattering for me. :)

But really, you weren't looking at me in that picture were you? (No)
If you got past looking at that large nose, you noticed an adorable baby boy in my arms!

Such cuteness.

Eden's Birthday - Part TWO

We didn't really ask Eden what kind of birthday party she wanted...we weren't real sure she'd understand. But with her Elmo obsession over the past few months, we figured we couldn't go wrong with all kinds of Elmo stuff.
So Elmo stuff it was.

Elmo invites.
Elmo balloons.
Elmo cupcakes, forks and spoons.

Well, except for the forks and spoons part. it rhymed. :)

But we did have Elmo cupcakes. I wracked my brain over how to make these. And I came up with a great idea...let someone else make them. :)
I wish I had gotten a picture of her as soon as she saw the cupcakes. priceless. It made all the party planning VERY worth while. I wish I could say that I made em, but alas...I'm not that talented when it comes to icing!! :)

Brandon thought he needed to try one before the party got started!

Granddad chilled with Salem while we set up, and you can truly see the excitement on Salem's face! He was a little less than thrilled about being woken up from his nap!

Eden wasn't too sure what to do with all the attention during the birthday song.

And then the feast began.

Sweet Selah really enjoyed the cupcakes too!

We had visitors even from Alaska! ... well, ok not really. My cousin and his beautiful wife just moved here from Alaska so he could attend NC State's Architectural School. We're thrilled about being close to them again!!

Charis and Gramma helped Eden open gifts. I LOVE Eden's and Charis' face in this one!

We had a lot of fun and ended up with over a dozen Elmo cupcakes left! woohoo!!! You can never have too many Elmo cupcakes. Trust me.
And thank you to Eden's sweet friends that came! She had a great day and still talks about wanting to see you all at another Elmo party!

Eden's Birthday - Part ONE

ssshhhhhhh. Let's not talk about the fact that this post is about a week and a half late.

Eden had a great birthday! With all the hype we put up about it, the timing of presents, and Gramma and Granddad coming into town, it actually was more like a birthday week!

As soon as she woke up, we rushed in and filled her crib with balloons. aaaannnddd she's talked about it ever since. In fact, she enjoyed it so much that she's now learned to climb INTO her crib. She's too scared to try climbing out, which is a good thing, but now we'll occasionally hear her shouting from her crib after she's climbed in, "ba-oons!" oops. That kinda back-fired.


It was Wednesday, so that meant "gym-en-ats!" She got to sport her new "gym-en-ats suit" from BonBon and Pops, which she tooooootally loves!



Then we came home to have lunch and open presents.


Birthdays are a big hit with Eden, apparently! She's now obsessed with wishing Happy Birthday to everyone (and occasionally things) and can't wait for someone she actually knows to have a birthday.

Little Cup is Two!

Two years ago today, on the opposite side of the planet, our sweet baby girl was born!
I could spend blog eternity going on and on about how awesome Eden is and how I can't believe how much she's changed, but I'll just post pictures instead! :)





When Eden was born, we joked that she heard more Thai being spoken in those first few days than English. Thai has such a sing-song-y sound to it that she seemed to find it really soothing. The nursery workers could put her right to sleep! And because she seemed to like them and her pediatrician so much, we started calling her "Little Cup" because she'd hear "khup" so much while they'd be speaking (part of their language...not real sure what it means...different for guys than for girls...blah blah blah...I don't really understand it all). Anyhow, it stuck. :)

And now she's two!

More pictures of her birthday-day to come. Elmo themed b-day party is scheduled for Saturday! More to come on that "two!"

Speaking of two...
Since you've obviously all been adding things up in your head, may I introduce to you blog post #200!! And what a great day for it to fall on!
Some of our favorites since day one, post one:
Eden's Birth
Salem's Birth
A Tale of DouFu
Our Arrival in Chiner
Split-Pantology
Same,Same, But Different
Poopy Sleeve (this one has drawn recent interest! :)
Contagious Laughter
The Infamous Egg Line - a video MUST SEE!
Randomness
and just because I HAVE to keep trying...Argentina

If you had 3 hours you might realize the recurring theme is that most of them are from when we were in Chiner, The Big Chicken, Zhongguo...(take your pick) Maybe I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.

Happy TWO to Eden!
And happy 200 to our blog!

Dear Big Chicken,

We've missed you. (most of the time).

I'll be honest...Family is close, Target is fun, Arby's is just a jog down the street, and Redbox has become our special friend.

But you, Big Chicken, our hearts are eager to see you again.

It won't be long now. Plans are in the works.

Once again He has proven faithful, has renewed our calling, and amazes us with His provision.

Our hearts are bubbly with anticipation of what is to come.

We think of you daily.

See you (fairly) soon,

BAES

Helmet.....Check!

Brandon made the plunge and bought a bike seat for Eden.
meh...it's a little late in the "summer" but, better late than never!