we're ghana miss her.

so, i've been totally neglecting this place. september's always a crazy sorta month with it being the first month of school and all. and it's been extra busy this year because we tried to spend as much time as possible soaking up this girl:

my sister left for ghana last week. for a year. !!! we were definitely sad to see her go, but like i told her, as much as i'll miss her (and i'll miss her like CRAZY), it is trumped by how excited i am for what this year will be for tippy. i can't wait to hear about all of her adventures and see how she will grow and be stretched during her year in ghana.

we sent her off with a proper (somewhat teary -- ahem, momma) good-bye...with lots of hugs and prayers.

airport scenes are always bittersweet...filled with so much love and sadness, too. and ours was no different.

but after a dozen hugs and i love yous and i'll miss yous, we watched tippy begin her adventure as she walked off through those security gates. 

through the magic of technology, we've already been able to video chat and email several times. and, as expected, my rock star of a little sister is doing well and making friends with everyone. :) she's still getting adjusted and settling in, but i'm pretty sure everyone already loves her and vice versa. ;) 

besides, what's not to love, right!?

love you so much, tippy! update your own blog so we can all follow along in your adventures!!! (your big sister can still  boss you around, even over the interwebs, yo...)

whee! CB is THREE!

It is crazy to think that my sweet little boy is now THREE!

For some reason, three seems so much older than two and it really brings my little guy out of toddler-dom and into his preschool-aged years...waaaahhhh! It seems ridiculous to complain about my aging child, but it does feel like the weeks and months just slipped by and suddenly, Choi Boy is THREE.

Today we will celebrate with lots of fun and food and family and friends. And we will ring in the THREE with a proper party for our wee party animal!

And here's what the little man of the hour has been up to:

Talkin' the Talk:
When we're out and about and chit chatting, people will often stop and comment on CB's verbal skillz and say something like, "Wow, he talks a lot!" Dude. You have no idea. from the moment he wakes up calling, "Mommm-eeeeee! I'm a-waaaaake!" til the moment he whispers, "I love you. Goodnight!" he doesn't stop talking. He often says the silliest things (what *is* it with boys and potty humor?! sheesh!)...But even better than that? Now that he just talks all day long, he often says the sweetest things. For a while I've been telling CB, "I love being your mommy." The other day, he told me, "Mommy, I love being your son." I melted.

Of course, it's not all sweetness. Sometimes we get what we call, "the ugly voice" (I'm already afraid of what this year will bring...very, very afraid.) and along with it, a pretty ugly "nnnnnnnnoo!" but we're working on it. ;) As CB says, "I'll talk nicely, okay, Mommy? I'm sorry."

Walkin' the Walk:
Choi Boy continues to love all things sports related. And he's *constantly* on the move! My mother-in-law was surprised at how skinny CB is, especially considering how much he eats. I told her to watch him for 10 minutes straight and she remarked, "Wow. He never stops moving!" Yep, that's my boy!

CB loves to play any and all sports and the concentration with which he plays is pretty remarkable. You should see him try to perfect his dunk on his little hoop! He's starting a soccer class next week, so we'll see how that goes!

Little Foodie:

As I mentioned, CB eats a lot. Like, A LOT a lot. Often as much as I do! And he loves to try new food and (usually) happily eats whatever we're eating. But, while he eats his veggies without discrimination and adores fruit, don't be fooled because he's got quite a sweet tooth, too! The boy lives for frozen yogurt and can give me precise directions on how to get to our local Pinkberry!

Bookworm:
It warms my heart to see how much Choi Boy loves reading. He loves our bi-weekly trips to the library and loves reading together at bedtime. We've got books all over the house and it's not unusual to find CB on his own, nestled into a corner, "reading" his books. He loves to look at the pictures and make up the stories that go along with them. He starts every page with "once upon a time" or "one day..." it is SO cute. :)

Wheel Cool:
In addition to loving books and sports, our mini Renaissance Man has deepened his love for all manner of vehicles. His current favorite show is Chuggington and he loves naming the characters and what they do. He also loves seeing construction vehicles and I can safely say he knows far more about them than I do!


Charmy McCharmerson:
Choi Boy continues to turn on the charm with the best of them. It's actually slightly alarming how he can work it and just ooze of charm...at this rate, he's going to grow up to either be a politician (please, no.) or a morning talk show host (not too excited about that either!). His latest thing is waving and smiling at strangers at the store and saying, "Hi! How are you?" He'll be kissing babies in no time. ;)

Big Boy:
Our potty training boot camp was a big success and CB has been in nothing but "unnerwear" since. He's also getting really good at dressing and undressing himself (he also wants to pick his own clothes, but I'm so not ready to give that choice to him. ha! ;) ), brushing his teeth and washing and rinsing himself in the bath. While it's been a little sad to see CB grow up, I will admit that it *is* nice that he can do so much of his self-care routine!

Schoolio:
Choi Boy will start preschool next month! He will go to preschool 4 days a week for 3 hours and 15 minutes a day. He will be attending preschool at my school, where he will be a peer model in the Special Education Preschool program. This means that CB will be in a class of no more than 8 children (6 of whom have varying special needs that require daily support during the school week) with one Special Education teacher and two trained instructional assistants. Peer models are usually typically developing children who can appropriately engage in a preschool class with differently-abled children. We are really excited for CB to be a part of this program and think that the small class size and high teacher support, along with the diversity will be a perfect fit for our little guy. He is most excited about wearing a backpack and bringing his lunchbox. ;)  Much more on all that to come!

*     *     *

We are so proud of and so much in love with our three year-old! As hard as it might be to watch him grow up into a big boy, we are so blessed and privileged to watch and be a part of all of those growing up and big boy moments!

Happy 3rd Birthday, CB!

flashback flick.

still here. still procrastinating on our chicago trip recaps...i *will* get to them before next summer. i think.

anyway, school has begun and with it comes the madness of the beginning of the year easing new kinders into school. it's a wee bit exhausting, but always a fun adventure! and also a good excuse for not posting more substantial posts. ;)

lately, choi boy has been really into watching old videos of himself. (he's a bit narcissistic. but what almost-three year-old isn't?) this afternoon, we were going through photos and videos on the hubs' phone and came across this little gem of video.

it was taken last july, so cb was about 22 months old. i can't stop watching it! his little face and the "whoa!" and "oh no!"s just about slay me! (and please excuse piper's, ahem, bumhole. apologies.)


it's amazing how one year makes such a difference in how much older cb looks and sounds now! i just want to reach and squish those little cheeks!

thank you for indulging me. :) i'm off to watch it again. on repeat.