Visit with the Roths - Nov 14, 2008

Late last Thursday night Yuta's friend Brett flew in from Florida with his son, Ben.  They spent a couple of days in Cleveland, then Yuta, Brett and Ben drove to NY so they could go to see the Bills & Browns play Monday Night Football.

I was working on Friday, and the rest of the gang went to explore and show Brett & Ben some of the sites around Cleveland.  They started out by going to lunch and playing at the local McDonald's Playland for an hour or two.  Then they went downtown to show Brett & Ben the Rock Hall, Browns Stadium, the lake and our beautiful skyline.  At some point Yuta also showed them his childhood home.

Here are some pictures they brought home - I'm going to let Yuta had further explanation where it's needed:

On Friday evening we went to a birthday party at Bounce City - a new bounce house place in Strongsville that is co-owned by a couple of Browns players.  Everyone had a great time, and Taipan and Taisim can't wait to go back again.  

Taipan is 5!

Taipan's fifth birthday was last Thursday (Nov 13).  I took the  day off for celebrating, and we had a great day.  Rather than a set party, we had more of an open house, and asked some of our friends to stop by for cake and ice cream during the afternoon.  It was nice because while there was overlap between guests, there wasn't pressure to keep to a specific flow of a party, and since visitors were spread throughout the day there wasn't ever a point where we felt too crowded.

We actually started celebrating the evening before Taipan's birthday.  My mom mistakenly sent a package to our old address, so we spent a day or two tracking it down, and we were all happy to finally have it, and Taipan was anxious to open it, so we did.

He had specifically asked for a soccer ball, and Grammy did not disappoint.  He couldn't wait to bounce and kick it.  We rolled it in the house for a bit, and then went outside to do some driveway soccer.  While we were outside another package came, so we opened it when we went inside.  My sister sent two Pokeballs, which are perfect for his relatively new interest in Pokeman.  Taipan was happy to let Taisim help open the packages, and we've all been throwing an increased amount of Pokeman around the house:

This is the first year that Taipan was very specific about what he wanted for his birthday.  He asked for decorations that were red, yellow, pink, orange, white, blue, green and purple.  And he wanted the balloons to not have helium.  My plan was to decorate the house after he went to sleep so we'd wake up to a decorated house.  We were all up together, and I could tell that we would all be going to sleep together (late), so I decided to go ahead and decorate while Taipan and Taisim were awake.  

I don't have great pictures of what we did, but there were streamers and balloons over our kitchen table, on our living room mirror, and in an entrance way near our front door.  We also hung some balloons from the top of our stairs so you could see them in the foyer.

Here's Taipan playing with some super balls and tops we bought at the party store:

And fun with balloons:

The kids and I woke up kinda late on the 13th - Yuta got up a bit earlier to go pick up the cake and some other things from the grocery store, and he was gone when we woke up.  While he was out he found an impromptu gift  - a Pokedex that was on sale at a Circuit City that's going out of business:

Taipan was anxiously waiting for Yuta to get back from the store so he could open our gift for him.  

Is it a surfboard?

It's a guitar with an amp!

Here's Taipan showing us the Pete Townsend guitar move he's going to be able to do with his guitar:

Soon after, Yuta's parents came over for lunch and to wish Taipan a happy birthday.  They were our first birthday guests.  

Here are the kids playing a new game (Tier auf Tier) that Yuta's sister sent over with their parents:


Not long after lunch another package arrived - this one from my dad and stepmom in Florida. Taipan was very gracious and welcomed Taisim's help in opening a lot of his presents:

It's a skateboard and helmet!

After Yuta's parents left we had about an hour or two to ourselves where we played with some new things, and then three familes that we're very close with stopped by through the course of the afternoon and early evening.

At the point where we had the majority of kids at our house we brought out the cake - Taipan had been saying he wanted either a rainbow cake or a watermelon cake (decorated like a watermelon that is), and chose the rainbow cake, noting that when he turns six he wants a watermelon cake:

All in all it was a fantastic celebration for Taipan!  I feel fortunate to have such a great group of friends and family!  Thanks to everyone that helped make it a special day for him.

Taipan Sings Again

So with the advent of Rock Band 2, a new list of songs were introduced, and Taipan has added a few more to his repertoire. Karen also got me a mic stand, so I can better sing AND play an instrument (very sweet of her). As you can see from this video, Taipan has learned very quickly how to wield the mic stand.

Without further ado, I give you Taipan singing Lit's 'My Own Worst Enemy'

Halloween

This year we skipped our friend's annual Halloween party and opted to trick or treat in our neighborhood. This was the third Halloween in Ohio and it's the first time we've been at our house for it.

Originally Taipan was going to be a superhero, but a week or two ago we were in a store, and he decided he'd rather be a firefighter. Taisim wanted to be a princess (a barefoot one too - she opted for no shoes). The weather was beautiful too.

Here they are dressed up, ready to go and out the door trick or treating:



These are the pumpkins Yuta and I carved - mine is the one from Wednesday night, and Yuta did his yesterday. The skull is still lit up - we had a pretty large candle in it, and it's still burning. It's a jar candle, so it's protected from the wind:


At home checking out the candy. They sampled a few different candies, and now the rest is sitting in bowls in our living room.


A house about a block away from us had great outdoor decorations and props - lots of sound and motion activated stuff, plus some cool ghosts, and the owners had neat costumes on. Taipan stood in front of their house checking out the decorations for about 15 minutes. Then he came home for a bit and asked to walk back down there to look at them again, so we went back, and Yuta chatted with the neighbor, and Taisim got cold so we came back home, and Taipan clapped and made the decorations move. By the end of the evening we all agreed that next year we'd like to have some cool outdoor decorations, so this morning Taipan and I went out to hit the 50% off sales.

This is what we came back with (all for about $40) - the guy with the white hair changes from a man to a phantom, and the last picture is of Taipan making lots of noise with the drums in order to activate the props:

Pumpkins and snow

Wednesday morning we woke up to find snow on the ground! I knew it was in the forecast, but I was still surprised to see snow in October. By mid-afternoon it was gone, but most of the day there were bits of snow coming down that didn't stick. The kids thought it was pretty cool, though I don't think they went out to play in it.



That evening Yuta had to work, and Yuta's parents dropped the kids off after a visit at their house. After jumping for a bit in the bounce house (have I mentioned how much I love that thing??), we decided to decorate pumpkins.

The kids painted theirs, while I set out to carve one of our larger ones. Taipan was eager to use the carving tools, but lost interest while I was scooping out the insides. When I was a kid I used to love getting the slimy stuff out ... Taipan didn't even want to touch it, and Taisim had enough after one handful.

The final product of their pumpkins is below. Taisim wanted to wipe her pumpkin clean after she finished painting it, so hers is pretty clean.

I didn't get a picture of my final pumpkin because I needed Yuta's help to finish it. I used a pattern, and got it misaligned and got stuck and worried that I had messed the whole thing up. So I figured I'd stop while I was ahead and ask for Yuta's help when he got home. He finished it late that night. Tonight we'll get some pictures when we put the candle in it (the part that I got stuck on is the cat's tail).

Lasers and flying

Earlier this week the kids and I made a trip to Target. Our shopping list included a birthday gift for a friend. I had some ideas in mind, but wasn't quite sure what we were going to get. While browsing the games I saw a what looked like a neat game - Laser Battle. It comes with two laser guns, and the goal is to get your laser to hit your opponent's target tower. It also has a bunch of mirrors to use to angle the laser to the target.

I've mentioned the Contraptions game before, and in that game there are lasers and mirrors and laser mixers and laser activated something-or-others ... and when Taipan saw a game that has real live lasers he was very excited. So excited that we brought the game home for us (there was only one copy, and Yuta came up with a better idea for our friend anyway). As soon as we got home Taipan was eager to show Yuta and open up the game and play. Not play according to the rules, but rather check out the lasers and see how they reacted to the mirrors and how the target towers work. It'd be really cool if we had a fog machine and could see the laser beam in between the mirrors:



And here's a photo of the kids flying - each one climbs on one of Yuta's arms, and then he stands up while they flap their arms. It's a blast. I feel fortunate to have a husband that is so good at lifting and running and throwing and bouncing and jumping with the kids. He seems to have neverending energy sometimes - he can go way longer at this type of play than I can. I get sore and tired much quicker.

The Bounce House

This is the bounce house we have, with the kids inside. They put all of our stuffed animals in it with them, as well as a couple of beach balls. They like to bounce around with things in there with them. We also have a game where they toss all of the animals out of the bounce house, Yuta or I collects them in a basket and then it rains animals on them (the beach balls serve as thunder and lightning in that game).

Halloween package

My mom sent us a Halloween care package and it arrived last week. We were all very excited to open it.

Taipan and I looking at the cool ceramic ghosts she made for us:



Yuta lovin' the candy and Taisim showing us her new coloring book:

Taisim's foot and other stuff

I realized today that I haven't posted in almost 3 weeks. We've been keeping pretty busy ... working and playing. We've really been enjoying our lives!

We recently inherited great hand-me-down toys from two different families, and the kids have loved them. One friend gave us a bounce house! It is perfect for our unfinished basement, and is a great way for the kids to jump and bounce. They really like throwing things (soft things) in and out of it - stuffed animals and beach balls really.

We also were given a small drum kit - it's made for kids by First Act and a friend of ours was done with it, and Taipan always enjoyed it at her house, so she sent us home with it the other day. Taipan and Taisim both love it. The same friend has a full size drum kit, and Taipan would ideally have one of those, and we'll definitely consider it once he outgrows this small set.

Ok - about Taisim's foot. Last Thursday night she and Taipan were jumping off of our ottomans (as they often do), and Taisim landed wrong. I wasn't home, and Yuta didn't see it, but by the way she screamed out and the subsequent crying let us know that something was wrong. I got home about ten minutes after she got hurt, and she was still wimpering and couldn't walk on it. On Friday morning she still wasn't walking on it, so we decided to take her to our doctor. He sent us for x-rays, and after getting them he suggested we go to a pediatric orthopedist, and his office made an appointment for us for Monday morning.

So, Taisim and I got up bright and early (much earlier than we normally do) to go to the orthopedist yesterday. He looked at her x-rays and said she had a buckle, which would have been a break in an adult, but since her bones are more flexible it just kind of buckled.

Given how well she was walking by the time we went to our appointment he said that a boot would be overkill, and he could give her a stiff shoe for comfort. I suggested that if it was for comfort only then we could probably skip it - she has found a way to walk and even run a bit that doesn't bother her too much. I think battling with her to keep the shoe on would cause more distress than walking on her foot. The doctor said he was ok with that if we were ok with that. We go back in 4-5 weeks for another x-ray, and that's that! He also said it might take a month or two for her to walk without the limp. I'm glad we took her, and even more happy that there's not a serious problem.

Tonight we may go to the pool, or we might carve pumpkins. It's cold and wet and rainy here, so we may just hunker down at home and not do much of anything.

LENSC - October 5 2008

I'm almost current on my posts :-) This is from last weekend. The kids and I went to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. We decided to go here because the kids were wanting to see turtles. You'll see below that there are turtles here, and visitors are also allowed to touch them (just not pick them up).

I think most of the animals at LENSC were brought there for rehabilitation. They've got foxes, owls, a vulture, a raccoon, deer, turkeys, hawks, a bald eagle, rabbits, and inside they've got a tide pool, snakes and fish. It's a neat place.

The also have a planetarium, and they leave the entry way open during the hours that the center is open, and 4-5 times a week they have shows. The ones that are geared toward a younger set are at 11am or noon .... and we don't usually get places before noon. Even on the days where we wake up fairly early, it takes us a while to get out the door. I'm hoping though that circumstances will align (right day, right time, right moods) to get out the door for one of the shows over the next couple of months. The kids were *very* interested in going inside the planetarium and seeing stars.

Taipan checking out the turtles, and Taisim in the entryway to the planetarium - we all liked to see our clothes glowing:


A volunteer with a barred owl, and the kids by the pond - the pond and the bridge were Taisim's favorite thing:


The raccoon (probably their favorite animal to see), and a bunny:


Outside there are paths, and we took a walk on a shorter, circular loop ..... the weather was beautiful, and Taipan enjoyed being able to go ahead a bit: