LAS to HOU

Our last day in Vegas was nice and relaxing with a bit of chaos during packing. It was madness trying to get all our stuff into our suitcases considering the extra items we were taking home. There was Brennan's old clothes, some of the kids' old toys, and the Thomas train stuff we bought during a Toys R Us sale that was only this weekend (long frustrating story that I won't get into--frustrating thanks to the disorganization and lack of knowledge on Toys R Us' part). But thanks to Papa and Ngoai who had ample room in their bags for it all!

It's always sad for me to leave the kids. And they were equally as sad too, which makes it even harder on me. I dread saying goodbye to them. How I wish they lived in Shreveport still or somewhere else where we could see them more often. And then there is Andrew who totally loves the Armstrong family. Aunt Anh Thu totally spoils him; I guess it's payback for me spoiling her kids. And Andrew is really starting to like Rick. Ever since our trip back in December, he usually says Rick right after there is some mention about Anh Thu. But they are all so good with him and so sweet to him--why wouldn't he be crazy about them as his mother is?!

I love seeing the dynamics between the kids. Cara and Emma treat Andrew as a little brother and are so nurturing and caring towards him. They are like his little mommies!! Brennan treats him like a little brother who he can finally play trains and trucks with as well as the little brother who can be a pest at times. Sometimes, B doesn't want to play with Andrew, but Andrew keeps following him around like a tail. The age gap between B and Andrew definitely comes into play. Andrew can still swipe and doesn't always share well, but there are those other times where he is very giving towards Brennan. But as much as Andrew may bother Brennan, B always says that he loves Andrew and wants to play with him still. And it's so cute how they want to be with him whether it be sleeping in the same room, riding in the same car, or taking a bath with Andrew.

Anyhow, we made it to the airport, through security, and to our gate with no problem. Andrew is getting to be a veteran traveller. He was great about taking off his shoes and letting TSA check his milk. To kill some time, we rode the airport train to get Andrew some pizza and juice. When we boarded the plane, he excitedly sat down and got buckled in. And it was so cute because he kept looking over at Papa and Ngoai in the next row over and would say "Airplane up." He was so good on the flight. Again, he loved looking outside the window and Daddy kept him happy by playing with him. The only downside was that Andrew can get a little loud since he doesn't know anything about his "inside voice." But I don't think people could hear him that much or didn't mind. We didn't get any dirty looks (actually, we got some smiles from nice people amused by how excited Andrew was when we first got on the plane). Not too long after, he got tired and fell asleep. I am so proud of my little flyer for being so good on both flights on the trip!

I didn't take any pictures of him on the flight, but I leave you with a couple of pictures taken my photographer-in-training, Cara.

Rick, Anh Thu, Cara, Emma, and Brennan, thank you for an amazing time. We had so much fun with you guys and love you so so much!!

Emma's First Communion

Today, our goddaughter, Emma, took her first Communion (the primary reason for our trip to Vegas). The house was abustle with everyone getting ready for church. Rick took Pop, Grandma, Emma, and Brennan to the church first since Emma had to be there long before mass began--I didn't want Andrew to be at church any longer than need be). But it worked out well because Andrew fell asleep on the way there; and we kept him in the car until just before mass started. Daddy and I had to take pictures with Emma with the professional photographer so Papa stayed in the car with Drew. After pictures, Daddy and I went to go relieve Papa so he could go join the others who were saving us a seat.

We never know how Andrew is going to behave in church--sometimes, good and sometimes, not so good. But today, he was good...good, but not great. I mean, he could have been lots worse so I will count my blessings with his behavior today. We brought a Thomas activity book which kept him and Brennan occupied for a good while. But what did him in was that I left the pew to go to the side to take photos of Emma receiving Communion. Andrew was not happy about that at all. Oops! Daddy ended up bringing Andrew back and we switched places.

After mass, we took some pictures there at the church before heading back home. Emma chose a Japanese restaurant for her big celebration but it didn't open until dinner. So, we went home and had cake and champagne (Sprite for the minors) and hung out before we left for the restaurant. Thankfully, this time, Andrew wasn't so scared of the teppanyaki this time. We warned him about the noise and fire and also let him watch the fire part away from the table. Andrew totally chowed down on his dumplings; we had to order a second one because he wanted more after he finished his first plate!!

After dinner, I was outside with Andrew and the girls who happened to mention there was a Dairy Queen nearby. What better way to finish a meal than ice cream!? And as luck would have it, there was a special (buy one Blizzard and get the second for $0.25) so you can't argue with that!! Then, it was time to go home and rest before bed time. It's been an exhausting day, but so very wonderful!

Emma, congratulations on receiving your first Communion! We are so proud of the young lady you have grown up to be and are so happy for you on this momentous day. We are honored to be your godparents and so glad we could be there today! We love you so very much!

There are lots of pictures from today, which are posted to our shutterfly site, but below are some of my favorites.

Morning Hike

This morning, we went out for another morning hike on a trail back behind my sister's house. The trail is really nice and provides amazing sights of the mountains, flowers, and animals. The three of us weren't ready to head out by the time Richard, Betty, Ngoai, and the kids were so they went ahead of us figuring we would meet up along the way. Daddy, Andrew and I walked around a bit and tried to look for animals. Andrew was getting pretty good at spotting them.

Before long, the group caught up with us (we didn't get too far) and Cara and Ngoai stayed with us for a bit while Emma and Brennan headed back up to the house with Pop and Grandma. Cara is so sweet to Andrew and he loves her so much. He kept wanting her to go exploring with him grabbing her hand as he always does to people. It amazes me up how adventurous he is. He ca be so braved and fearless that it scares me sometimes. I know boys will be boys, but he is still my little boy for whom I can't help to worry about.

Happy 26th Month Birthday!

So, another month has come and gone. Here are a few updates on what Andrew has been up to the last month:

I am happy to say that over the last month, Andrew's speech has vastly improved. He can now say more two syllable words, such as airplane and Anh Thu, but he also talks in simple sentences, such as "Mama, sit down" and "Eat please." We are so happy with how his speech is continuing to improve. We don't know if it was the hearing improvement, speech therapy, that he came into on his own, or a combination of the three, but we are just tickled pink no matter what the cause.

As for eating, he loves to eat pizza, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, ice cream, oranges, fruit snacks, and Cheetos. For breakfast, he usually asks for doughnuts, which he only gets once a week. I also get him kolaches and try to get him to eat that first before the doughnuts. There are times when he eats the sausage more than the doughnut much to Mommy's delight. Andrew is great about drinking milk, especially chocolate milk. Sometimes, he doesn't want to drink juice or water.

His favorites toys are trains, cement mixers, fire trucks, and police cars (or as he refers to them as "po po". Oops!) :) Drew also loves to pretend to ride a train be it in his train tent or on pillows on the floor. Lately, I will pretend to wait at the train depot. Next, Andrew will yell "all aboard" and punch my ticket. Then, Andrew will tell me where the train is going--usually Anh Thu's house, Papa's and Ngoai's house, Nonna's house, the zoo, or the museum. I love seeing how well Andrew can pretend. He does very well in Gymboree following along with the week's curriculum and pretending along with the lesson. And Andrew is still big into drawing and coloring. His hand control is definitely improving; and as such, he's able to control the crayon much better.

One new thing this past month is that Andrew's new favorite color is green. He loves to wear green clothes, color with green, and point out green things, such as cars and trucks. He gets so happy when he sees a green garbage truck! Oh, how easily amused Andrew can get. I am sure it's just a phase and that he will go back to liking blue or move onto another color. I am going to have to try to persuade him to like a certain shade of orange!!

Lately, as we are getting ready to tuck Andrew into bed, he will go into our room and get the baby monitor and pillow for me to lay down on in the hallway. It's so sweet to think of Mama's needs, but there is a little part of me that questions whether he is just trying to stall. Though, he could stall bed time by many other methods that don't concern Mama. We still say prayers before night night; Andrew will say "Amen" at the end of the Lord's Prayer and also a little prayer to Buddha.

Andrew knows count from 1-10, but sometimes, skips numbers. He also knows some letters, such as A, B, T, and O. On a less serious note, we have also taught Andrew to give double knuckles (bump both fists) and rub hugs.

He is really good about remembering who gave him what. For example, if you ask him who gave him his Polar Express train, he will answer "Nonna." Or if you ask him who gave him his Thomas lighthouse, he says "Uncle." One thing that cracks me up and ponders me a little is that if Daddy and Mommy gave him a toy and we ask him who gave it to him, 9 out of 10 times, he says Daddy!!

We have been working on Andrew's sharing with others. Some days, he is great about sharing offering up whatever to whomever. But other days, it takes some real prodding to get him to share. Usually, it is me threatening to put him or the toy in question in time out. Sadly, Andrew is still hitting and pushing. Time outs and my telling him to keep his hands to himself don't seem to do the trick either. We have even left places after he misbehaves, but that doesn't seem to be working either. I think a large part of it is that he cannot communicate his frustration and he instead acts out physically and quite aggressively. As such, I have tried to explain to him that if he is upset, that he needs to walk away or come to me. I don't know how much of this is sinking in though!! Hopefully, he will come around soon!

At first, when I asked him if he wanted to go to school, Andrew would always say "no." But now sometimes, he says actually says "yes." Usually, this is followed by "Mama" which I think he means to say that I will be going with him. My response is that I will be the one dropping him off and picking him up. We shall find out in a few months.

Below are pictures of my 26th month old out in Anh Thu's backyard. Too bad he won't go into the hot tub (he's scared of the jets) and the pool is still too cold.

Happy 26th Month Birthday, Andrew! Daddy and Mommy love you to the moon and back!

Go For It USA

Cara and Emma were invited by their gymnastics teacher at Go For It USA to perform in a show being put on at Dillard's Kids Day at the Fashion Mall. Cara had ballet practice and wasn't able to participate. But Emma was able to, so Anh Thu dropped Papa, Ngoai, Emma, and me at the mall before she headed out for her tennis match. We left Daddy at home to study.

First, just to get it off my chest, I have to say that I am not too happy with the organization--or lack thereof. Apparently, Emma was supposed to meet up at a designated spot inside the mall unbeknownst to us (and Anh Thu and Rick). We were waiting inside Dillards in the Kids Department for the longest time wondering when the rest of the squad were going to show up. We had seen some of the others earlier so Papa went back to try to find them. He rushed back and said they were practicing out in the mall. So, we darted over with Emma and Andrew in tow just as they were finishing and heading over the Dillard's.

Well, all's well that ends well. The show was good; and the kids were great. I give them much props for being able to do some of their stunts. And Andrew behaved well for the most part considering how long we were there. Shoot, even I was getting antsy--why wouldn't he!? But Papa was sweet to watch him so I could take pictures and Ngoai could videotape it. Dillard's had an activity table set up so the kids could color and draw, which Andrew did partake in for a little while before and during the show. But I do have to commend him as he did sit nicely with Papa watching most of the performance.

Emma, we are so proud of you!! You did awesome! I had a really good time watching you do her stuff!

Unfortunately, I am not posting any video tonight because they are way too big!

Brennan's Tee Ball Practice

This morning, we went to Brennan's first tee ball practice...ever!! Beforehand, I had asked him if I could come and watch his practice. Brennan enthusiatically said "yes" and that everyone was invited. He then proceeded to tell me that he wanted everyone to come. For him to have said that, I think he really want all of us to go watch him. I wonder if he has seen us go watch the girls at their countless ballet recitals, gymnastic meets, and whatever else; and now, he finally had a moment in the spotlight--well, within the realm of organized sports, that is. But he was so excited about it that it was contagious! So, all of us obliged his request.

Anyhow, Brennan did fantastic!!! He was really good in the throwing drills (Uncle Rick has been putting in the hours!) And Brennan sat and listened to the coach very well. My favorite part was when they were sitting in a line, I saw Brennan just start talking to a couple of the boys sitting next to him like he knew them when clearly he didn't.

While B was in practice, we took turns with Andrew at a nearby playscape. Cara and Emma joined us for most of it. They are so sweet with Andrew. But I did tell them they had to watch some of their younger brother's practice since that poor kid has had to watch so many of theirs! They quickly and sweetly acquiescenced.

After practice, Brennan said he had fun and liked it. He had the biggest grin and gave us a big thumbs up. I think he is going to have so much fun this season!

The Strip

Later this afternoon, we all went to the Strip (except for Uncle Rick who was at work) to see the lions at MGM Grand. I know we did it last time we were here back in December, but we wanted to take Andrew to the M&M's World (I call it the M&M Factory) and the other things we wanted to do were further away. Anyhow, Andrew didn't mind seeing the lions again; and this time around, we were able to see the baby lion cubs. They were so cute!!

Then, we walked over to the M&M's World. Right when we got there, a red M&M was outside the store greeting people. I wasn't sure if Andrew would be scared, but he wasn't. Whew!! As we walked inside, a woman was handing out the new pretzel M&Ms much to Andrew's delight. We walked around the store. Andrew was loving it especially the toys and green M&Ms. Sadly, the movie theatre was being renovated so we weren't able to watch it. But either way, Andrew still had a good time.

Here are pictures from today including Brennan with his new shades and him and Andrew in their Thomas the Tank Engine pjs just before bedtime.