Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Breakfast on Saturday


On Saturday, we went back up to our cabin and met up with Mom's parents and sister in town for breakfast. Chloe rarely has the patience to sit through an entire meal, so Dad agreed to take her outside while everyone else finished up and visited. Pearl joined her on a wagon wheel bench and Dad shot this picture.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Giving Thanks and Family


Dad took Pearl and Chris over to his sister's house to spend Thanksgiving morning with his family. Mom took Chloe to the cabin to be with her family. After a great visit, Dad and the girls came up to the cabin to finish out the evening.

Picnic and Dress Up


The girls were having fun playing in their playroom. They did such a great job of laying out a blanket and setting up the perfect picnic, so I had to take a picture. Then they decided to dress up like princess cheerleaders.

Birthday Time



Grandpa and Grandma came to spend a month at the cabin just in time to celebrate Grandpa's 88th birthday. Uncle Dave and his wife came from a long distance to join in. It was a wonderful evening.

More Veteran's Day Pictures


We had a great time in Carmel and Monterey. On our way home, we stopped off at our favorite fruit stand, Casa de Fruta. 2008 is their 100th anniversary. The girls really enjoyed the carousel and train ride, while Mom shopped for Christmas items for the kitchen.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Veteran's Day Weekend


We took off Veteran's Day and went to Carmel and Monterey for the weekend. Sunday we went to the Monterey Aquarium. Here is one picture for now. Hopefully, there will be many more to follow.

Monday, November 05, 2007

Oops. I forgot a Post.


Here is a picture from October 24th. Somehow I already thought I posted it. Sorry Cousin Lisa.

Differences & Similarities

I was reading someone else's blog and she made a list of 108 things about herself for her 108th post (she missed 100). I found it quite interesting. When I had the idea to copy her, I realized that this blog is about Chloe and Pearl, not me (their mother). So I decided to modify the concept a bit. Instead, I will tell you my observations of my girls by comparison.

Chloe and Pearl are two very different little girls, yet they are amazingly close and rarely ever fight, although they do enjoy a good debate. I thought I would make a list of their differences followed by their similarities.

DIFFERENCES

1. Chloe (even as she approaches 4) will put almost any non-food item in her mouth, except her fingers. Pearl never puts things in her mouth, except for her fingers.

2. Pearl likes to walk everywhere. Chloe always wants to be carried. Neither ever liked a stroller.

3. Chloe is Mamma's girl and Pearl is Daddy's girl (although they clearly love us both)

4. Chloe is a picky eater. She won't even eat fruit, except for raisins and olives. Pearl will eat just about everything, especially fruits and vegetables.

5. Pearl is lean and slender with a round bottom and narrow hips. Chloe is thin, but stocky with a pot belly.

6. Chloe's hair is fine and silky. Pearl's hair is medium-coarse with body.

7. Pearl usually follows direction and goes with the flow. Chloe has her own map and tends to take the scenic route.

8. Chloe makes up lots of original songs and tells cute little stories. Pearl tends to stick to the facts.

9. Pearl is whiny. Chloe is fussy.

10. Chloe, if permitted, will change her clothes about 4 times/day. Pearl, if permitted, will put on the same clothes she wore the day before.

11. Chloe does her own thing. Pearl does whatever Chloe does.

12. Pearl learns by observation and immitation. Chloe learns by trial and error (and error and error, etc.).

13. Chloe is scared of the dark and scary movies. Pearl isn't.

14. While it is still too early to tell for sure, Chloe appears to be right-brain dominant--free thinking, creative, expressive, word-oriented. Pearl appears to be left-brain dominant--logical, direct, focused, numbers-oriented.

15. When listening to music, Chloe has rhythm. Pearl just flails around wildly.

16. When it comes to ice cream, Chloe loves chocolate, Pearl loves vanilla.

17. Chloe has to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes. Pearl can go for hours without a stop.

18. Chloe has never had a "dry night" (she wears Pull-ups). Pearl has never "wet the bed" (she sleeps in her underwear).

19. Chloe MUST sleep in Mom's bed. Pearl will sleep in her own bed (but wishes Chloe was in the room with her)

20. While they both like lots of colors, Chloe tends to prefer pink and Pearl tends to prefer purple.


SIMILARITIES

1. They both have more energy than they know what to do with.

2. They are the two silliest girls on the planet.

3. They both LOVE water, taking baths, swim class and fountains.

4. They are both courteous and polite.

5. They LOVE to dance and enjoy their dance class. They were having so much fun (and mischief) that we had to split them up into two different classes.

6. They both love to color, dress up, and to play with dolls, stuffed animals, legos, and especially jigsaw puzzles.

7. They usually want their hair done really nice with bows and they love to wear dresses and tights.

8. They LOVE preschool.

9. They are always asking if it is someone's birthday so they can go to the party.

10. They both have an annoying habit of asking me where I got everything. "Mom, did you buy this at the store? Mom, did you make this? Mom, who got this for me?, etc."

11. They both express gratitude for the simplest of things. The other day, Chloe wandered into the laundry room where she spied her yellow hand-knit blanket laying out to dry. She came running in to me with a big smile and hug and exclaimed, "Thank you Mommy for washing my yellow gankget!!!" They always thank me for making dinner too.

12. They are both exceedingly joyful and happy most of the time.

13. They always share food with each other, even their candy.

14. They love Dora, Diego, the Wiggles and especially, the Little Einsteins.

15. Both are excellent travelers, love hotels and sleep through the night away from home.

16. They love to wear pajamas.

17. I think their favorite food is spaghetti. They both ask for it for dinner most nights.

18. They both want to wear their fanciest shoes to daycare.

19. They are both Chinese (well, duh).

20. They love each other very much.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

More Halloween pictures

We had a few more cute pictures from Halloween that I thought I would post separately. Chloe found another ladybug to hang out with.




Thursday, November 01, 2007

HALLOWEEN



Well, it has been another long hiatus since our last post. We have been busy going about our daily lives and having lots of fun. Pete has been getting excited about Halloween. It is his favorite holiday. As a result, that enthusiasm and anticipation rubbed off on all the girls, including Chris. Chris carved her first pumpkin the night before Halloween. She created a rather intricate dragon design and was up into the wee hours finishing her masterpiece.

Chloe dressed as a ladybug, complete with detachable wings. Pearl was dressed as a bee and Chris was a pirate. We went to a parade and party at the local park. There were hot dogs, balloons, jolly jumpers and lots of fun booths. The girls met up with another ladybug (same age as Chloe) and proceeded to play chase as only three insects high on excitement can. They were moving too fast for a good picture.

Chris met up with her Calculus teacher. You can see him pictured in a big fuzzy suit (maybe a dog?) hugging Chris. After the park, we took the girls trick-or-treating and then rushed home to pass out candy before the evening wound down. Pete inflated a mini-haunted house and placed it in front of our door. Guests had to come through it to receive their candy. I think I can safely speak for all of us that we had a marvelous time. Even Chris exclaimed "I cannot believe we don't do this in China!"

There are lots more great Halloween pics on Loving Lydia's blog. Check them out!