Rhiannon's first Christmas

Rhiannon's first Christmas was equally as lovely and very Californian. On the 23rd, we went to the beach and on the 24th, the mountains for their first snow. Joaquin had a hard time at first with all those clothes and snow getting in various places, but we got his gear figured out and then he had a great time. It was very peaceful and we had a patch all to ourselves.

We did stockings and dinner on the 24th and slept in on the 25th. Presents in the late morning and then we hosted the Bunag Christmas in the evening. Rhiannon receive a staggering amount of clothes and Joaquin a staggering amount of toys. If last Christmas was the first that he really 'got it,' he really got it this year and started requesting trucks very early. I don't know how the parents of multiple children in multiple age groups do it. I feel we are bursting at the seems with all our stuff!

2011 has been a great year for us and 2012 promises alot of change. Feeling blessed and anxious at the same time :)

Our world travelers at 3.5 yrs and mos.

The past 2 months have been a whirlwind. We started in early November going to Birmingham and visiting my Dad and Grandma. My Grandma has gotten sick and it is sad to see someone you love in that state-forgetful, frail. She still has her sense of humor though and it was fun to get little insights like finding the candy she had stashed in her bedside drawer.

We had a few weeks home and then Thanksgiving. Rhiannon's first Thanksgiving was full of love and family as we went to my mom's house and she saw her first movie (Happy Feet 2, which Joaquin deemed "scary") and then lunch with the family and Amy. We did dinner with Gideon's family and it was a late night, but a good one.

Rhiannon turned 4 months old just after Thanksgiving and the day before we took off for Thailand and the Philippines. In that month, she got especially adept at rolling around-her favorite is (still) to try and barrel role off her chairs. Joaquin got his first real haircut-quite the adventure as he seemed totally ok with it until he was actually called to the chair which led to a complete panic. A woman in the shop had to hold Rhiannon for me so that we could actually cut his hair. But it was going to be hot, so off it came and off we went.



We had a great time in Thailand and saw so many incredible things. We spent most of our time in Chiang Mai and went to the Elephant preserve, the temple, the Queen's gardens, a snake show, night market, indigenous village. The real highlight of the trip though was traveling with my old roommate Heidi and her kids, ages 5, 4, and 3. It was so fun for us to see Joaquin really interact with kids his age and I'm sure we saw so much more than we would have on our own. A group that age can make anything fun when they get along together! I am also so blessed to have friends that seem to grow in step with me. Heidi and I haven't seen each other in 6 or so years and it was like not a second had gone by-we just had all these kids with us now!

The Philippines was a bit more difficult with Joaquin and visiting the older folks. He is not around older people very often and he was a bit scared. It's also hard because we stay at a very 'no touch' house and go to alot of adult restaurants. We had quite the scenario with him when we left and that it is always hard-you want people to see your kids the way you see them and when they act out like that it is a little heart wrenching.

Joaquin turned 3.5 years in Thailand and has only grown a half inch in the past year. His 2 big things right now are telling me that he's scared or afraid and that something will be too hard for him. We are working on getting more yes's, so his other thing that is picking up is "Well, I guess I can try." A few growing pains, but other kinks have worked themselves out. We don't get nearly as much backlash about going to school for instance.

Rhiannon turns 5 months tomorrow and she just seems to want to grow up really fast. She is putting everything in her mouth like Joaquin, but instead of sitting she wants to go right to walking and likes when we help her practice. She also seems very interested in eating and specifically goes for food to get into her mouth. We've also noticed that she is a little more particular about what she wants than Joaquin was at this age. She's been traveling pretty well, but we had a rough time on our last 6 hour flight from Korea to Thailand. If that had been Joaquin, I would have been able to breastfeed him back to happiness no problem. She is not so easily fooled. She is very even tempered until she wants something and then she will really let you know. If I am late getting to her she will even finish her complaint before getting what she needs.