The Im Family

last night mimi's tooth fell out while she was brushing her teeth.  this was the third tooth to fall out.  she was so excited.  we put it in the sterling silver hippo tooth holder and took it upstairs.  lately mimi has taken to piling up a bunch of pillows on her bed (a regular pillow, a sham, her FOM pillow, and her pillow pet unicorn) and sleeping on them, so we placed it at the very bottom of the pile so it didnt accidentally fall as the pillows moved around.  then we read together as usual (this night it was Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plot of the Purple Potty People).  by the time it was lights out, i was feeling tired and knew i still had lots to get done, so i headed back downstairs, already having forgotten about the tooth. the next morning, mimi comes downstairs, sobbing her heart out.  i hurry over to the stairs in alarm. "mimi, what's wrong?"  "MOM!  the tooth fairy never came!  WAAAAAH!"  she threw herself ...

just a bit of footage from the soccer fest today.  it was hot as blue blazes outside, and i was wilting away fast even in the shade.  i can't believe how much these girls ran despite the heat!  mimi downed a huge bottle of water in less than half an hour!  mimi scored a goal during the game.  i almost missed it while fiddling around with my iphone!  she just sort of snuck in there, got the ball, and shot it in! after the game was over we got a chance to get a few photos, get trophies/medals/goody bags (all the girls get one if the parents paid for 'em.  hee hee), and then later we all met up at coach's house for a pool party (which the kids looooooved). 

this past weekend, my cousin hae and i took our kids to lancaster county, PA to ride Thomas the Tank Engine at the strasburg railroad and to go to dutch wonderland while rob stayed home to oversee the new granite countertops get installed in our kitchen. "A Day Out With Thomas" or as i call it "Joy and Pain, Sunshine and Rain" we left early saturday morning and made it to strasburg without any delay (2.5 hours).  but once we got there, it was nutty trying to find the overfill parking lot.  i was trying to follow the white signs that read "to Thomas Event Parking" when i should have been following the little yellow arrows that said, "Thomas."  after some circling around, we find the satellite parking which appeared to be a giant field in the middle of a farm, with random cows lazing about and several of them sauntering across the dirt path (absolutely amazing to see how many cars were already parked out there by 10 am!!!).  there were big yello...

at the risk of sounding like a parrot with turrets syndrome, let me say again that things continue to be all about trains with ozzy.  sometimes buses, construction vehicles, and any type of truck, but morning, noon, and night, it's mostly trains. his sheer enjoyment of the trains would alone have been enough for me to indulge him in his passion, but there's been other benefits as well. playing with trains and watching the thomas shows has helped with language, social skills, story sense, color recognition, discrimination, to name a few.  he holds conversations with the trains and btwn the trains.  when he wakes up in the morning, he wants to go downstairs and 'play with trains."  he greets them lovingly, saying, "Hello Thomas.  Hello Percy.  Welcome to Island of Sodor!"  he serenades his his favorite train, Gordon with the song You Are My Sunshine, but changes it by adding Gordon's name.  "you are my Gordon.  my only Gordon.  you m...

some old stuff that i never got around to posting: ------------------------- ozzy:  oh no!  Emammy not working, mama! okay, batteries!  (he says, as he inspects his train Emily.  nevermind that the actual emily train doesnt take batteries, only the coal tender that attaches to the back of the train does)   i fix it! he yells.   (trots over to the cabinet w/the tool box.  rummages around and finds a gigantic screwdriver and starts poking at the tiny toy train with it) . ------------------------- while eating his snack, he suddenly starts crying.  he's frozen in his seat, wailing.  i thought he bit his tongue off the way he was carrying on.  what's happened?  i ask, starting to feel the rising panic that something horribly wrong has occurred.  "daddy, fix it!  mommy fix it!"  he wails.  not understanding, i start checking his food not finding anything, start checking his body for injuries.  finally ...

yikes!  one more month before he is two!  really, i should stop with this count down already.  despite the fact that he isnt two yet, he's growing so fast in so many ways, that the number really doesnt mean anything.  i should be saying "yikes!  he's already talking back!"  and "yikes!  he's making it thru his daytime naps without accidents!"  and "yikes!  he said his first bad word!" yes, he talks A LOT.  i thought boys werent suppose to be so verbal!  but i guess this is a second kid thing. he speaks amazingly well.  probably better than mimi did at this age.   oddly, when he cant get his trains on the track, he suddenly seems to lose all ability to speak.  then he flops on the floor, buries his face in his arms and cries and cries.  i have to remind him to not get so bent out of shape and to just say, "Mama!  help me." this morning while on the playground he suddenly stops what he's doing and pushes d...